NOVEL NEXT Chapter 44: A New Stranger
"Huh? Who's there?" I repeated, turning my head this way and that. Still, no one. "Huh…"
"Down here, dummy," the voice came again. "You should've realized that by now, you know." The voice's huge mouth and condescending tone were definitely not something I was liking.
My gaze dropped to the only possible source: the fish pond. The fish were moving around casually. Could it be? Could one of them be the source of the voice? But… which one was it? I stared at the pond, my attention switching from fish to fish. Maybe if I called out, I'd be able to detect them.
"Hello," I said, hoping for a response, and I got one.
"Yes, I can hear you," the voice said with a hint of sarcasm. "Come closer to the pond."
I followed its instruction and moved in closer. Then, the voice, sounding amused, threw a curveball question at me.
"Now, take a guess which one am I, the carp or the koi fish?" it said, urging me to play a guessing game.
"Umm, I don't know," I replied. "Why don't you just say?"
"Boring! Now where's the fun in that?" the voice replied. "Come on, guess! Don't be boring…"
"Mmm, okay… the koi?" I replied, as that was the only thought that came to mind.
"Wrong! Hahaha! Try again."
I stared at the pond, feeling confused. What did it want me to try again? Was it not aware that the only thing left was the carp? "Obviously, you're the carp. Tsk."
"Wrong again! Man, you're really bad at guessing games." I couldn't believe it. It was like this voice didn't understand how guessing games worked. It had just given me two wrong answers and wanted me to guess again.
"The correct answer is, I am the pond, dummy! That should have been obvious, right? Don't you see the glow I give off from the pond any time I talk? Should have been obvious. Haha, you fail, you fail, I win."
"Umm… okay, that's good. You win." This voice obviously had the mind of a child, but where did it come from? There wasn't anything in my father's book listed as a talking pond. And if there was, how did Father even get it and why did it just appear now?
"I'm sure you're wondering where I came from," the voice responded as if it knew my thoughts. Then, in a cocky tone, it added, "Let me save you the trouble… since you're bad at guessing games, I'm from that koi pendant."
Wait, so the thing that protected me from the demon? It was this voice? So this is what Midwife Anaya meant by the pendant would protect me? It had some kind of spirit inside it?
"Are you a spirit?" I asked the voice. After all, I had just found myself in Derrick's domain; a spirit wouldn't be a crazy thought.
The voice replied, "Well… technically, and no, hahaha." Of course, this voice was never straightforward. "But hmm, if I remember correctly…," the voice said, sounding deep in thought as it seemed to recollect past memories, "I'm what my master calls a dragon seed."
"A dragon seed?" I rephrased, as if I hadn't heard him the first time. Was this how dragon seeds were? Father had described them in his book as more like cores or essences that could evolve into dragons, but this was completely far from it.
"Wait, back in the cave, were you the one who protected me from the demon?"
"Demon? Cave? Sorry, pal, you've got the wrong dragon seed. I just gained consciousness since my seal was broken from that pendant." It seemed not to know what happened in Derrick's domain. Could this be the power Derrick was talking about? Well, it did seem powerful.
"By the way, why were you sealed in a pendant? I thought dragon seeds only exist in animals."
"Well, dummy, that's because my master is a great mage… yes, he is!"
"Oh, really?" I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes.
"He really is! He was so good he made me exist outside a dragon seed's natural settlement."
"If he was so good, then why did you get sealed in this pendant?"
The voice turned sad. "Umm… I failed my master. I couldn't evolve to Stage One." Then, suddenly, its tone brightened into a nervous, energetic laugh. "But don't worry—hahaha—Master said he had a plan…"
"And what exactly was his plan?" I asked.
In an energetic tone, it said, "He would seal me inside the pendant. He said I was no good to him in my current state, but the only way to prove my worth was to show him I could be sealed in the pendant. Then he would unseal me, when I was ready to wvolmeaning I could evolve. But it's been so long…" The voice now sounded sad. "I went unconscious after, but I do remember the last thing I heard was someone ask how much for the pendant. Too bad for them, Master would never sell me."
"Poor guy, he probably got sold as some protective charm tool."
"Are you my master's son?" the voice asked, trying to get a sense of its new environment.
"Well, that depends," I replied. "What's your master's name? Maybe I can see if we're related." I was thinking to myself that his master was most likely dead, and Midwife Anaya, the person who gave me the pendant, probably knew more about it.
The voice then revealed its master's name: "Gilgamesh."
"Is that the family name?" I asked.
"Oh, Amestre… Gilgamesh Amestre."
"Sorry, I've never heard of him," I replied.
The voice sounded shocked. "What? Not even the family name? Then what is your name?" it asked.
"I'm Astraga Fula."
"Astraga? Haha, that's boring." Something about him using the word "boring" always got on my nerves. Gritting my teeth, I asked, "Well, what's your name?"
It thought for a moment. "Well, my friends called me Mo, for short, but my name is Morad. NICE TO MEET YOU, ASTRAGA."