Upon activation, Draco noticed that some energy was drained from the surroundings in order to facilitate the summoning. This was something he failed to notice during Luxia's summoning, because summoning a Light Phoenix would of course warrant big moves.
But theoretically, this meager manticore contract should not even make a twinge, but it certainly had a reaction even here in the Refinement God's Treasury. Could it be that the quality of ones summon had nothing to do with their own characteristics, but the available energy around?
Thinking like this, he was naturally curious to see what would come out of this. Since there was such abundant energy here in the Treasury, would the manticore be a Rank 7 entity?
Or even a True God?
Draco's endless greed was ignited, and logic fled him. If he were able to rub his last two brain cells together, he would easily be able to know that it was impossible for such a thing to occur.
But looking back at Draco's life so far, when had he ever utilized those eternally idle brain cells before?
Soon, a form came swinging into the area from the sky. From a distance, it was like a typical manticore, with the head and body of a lion, two wings on its back and a tail that was like a scorpion's stinger.
Qiong Qi was enraged by this. Daring to summon another lion in his presence, was this bastard Draco trying to cheat on him so openly? If this f.u.c.kboy wanted to build a harem of mounts, he needed to consult Qiong Qi himself first!
As such, Qiong Qi waited for the manticore to swoop in closer before he struck! After teaching this newbie a lesson, he would establish the hierarchy here, otherwise wouldn't this newcomer think he was a hotshot?
Since the manticore came from the sky, in the direction of this small world's 'sun', its form was like a shadow. However, Draco with his Eyes of Caelo could see with ease.
What he saw made him adopt a weird expression, which was why he didn't stop Qiong Qi's assault.
Thinking that Draco was feeling guilt for his betrayal, Qiong Qi was happy. With his confidence boosted, he added more oomph to his attack, but when the form of the manticore came into view, he directly lost all steam.
Beautiful!
Too beautiful!
The manticore was not a male lion, but a female one! What was confusing though, was that instead of being like a typical lioness, she was similar to a male lion, only with a sleeker form.
In essence, she had a soft, small and curly mane, hazel eyes that had a black outline - like she had done makeup - a soft snout and a lithe body. Her coat was a shiny yellow color, and it glistened in the sunlight.
Her tail was short but very deadly and her wings were streamlined. She exuded exoticness and delicacy despite being a very dangerous species of monster that many players hated.
Draco had an expression of strangeness while Clarent had a raised eyebrow with a skeptical expression. As for Qiong Qi, he looked like someone had sucked the soul out of him.
However, his situation was relatable. Imagine lying in wait to ambush some poser who was trying to trouble one of your homies and upon jumping out to strike, it turned out to be a beauty?
How would one react in such a situation? There were many different ways to do so, but expecting Qiong Qi to react normally was asking for too much.
ROAR!
"MY SOUL IS QUIVERING!!" Qiong Qi cried out to the heavens, raising his paws to the sky.
Tears fell from his eyes as he kowtowed to the gods. In his mind, only his continuous acts of benevolence towards the world would warrant him being blessed by the sight of such a superb female.
Despite his extravagant reaction, the manticore did not even look at him. She was currently sizing up her new master, which was naturally Draco.
Draco also sized up his new mount with a smile. Despite being a manticore, and despite being a female, she seemed different from the various ones he had fought in the past.
As such, Draco inspected her with the Divine Eyes of Caelo.
｢Name: Sheera - Rank 1 Manticore
MON Str: 30
MON Dex: 30
MON End: 30
MON Int: 30
MON Spr: 30
MON Cha: 30
MON Lck: 30
Abilities: Poison Sting.
Traits: Flight.｣
｢Poison Sting – Ability
Effect: Pierce an enemy with a scorpion stinger to poison them. This drains 1% HP per second.
Duration: 15 seconds
Cooldown: 10 minutes.｣
｢Flight – Trait
Effect: Can take to the air at will. A maximum of two people can be safely carried when in the air.｣
Her abilities were pretty average, but then again it was basically only a mount with attacking capabilities. Luxia was a mount with attack, support, and defense, while Qiong Qi was an all-around mount that could do anything.
What came as a surprise was that Sheera could carry more than one passenger in flight. Draco fully expected it to be just himself, but it seemed Sheera was truly a high-tier manticore.
He didn't even need to observe her to see her uniqueness, just Qiong Qi's reaction alone would tell. Even when he had been among many beautiful lionesses in the Wood Elf village, he had been suave and calm.
However, just one Sheera was able to turn him into an idiot. Draco was certain that in lion terms, she was the equivalent of Eva, but probably with Zaine's body.
Draco was satisfied with her and unleashed the entirety of his bloodline aura upon the mount. Sheera's pupils dilated as she crouched down in fear and awe. She had thought her new master was just an above-average human, but it turned out he was equivalent to Heaven's Son!
Draco was pleased by her reaction. He then spoke to the mount, fully expecting her to understand his words. "Do you submit?"
Draco waited for the manticore to nod or bow her head, but he was startled when she spoke. "I did from the moment I adhered to the call of the contract, but I have to admit, you are an exemplary master."
Draco almost asked her how she could speak before he caught himself. That would be a truly stupid question after everything he had seen about Sheera so far.
Her voice made him a bit sad because it was similar to Roma and Zaine but different. She had a thick Egyptian accent while Roma's was Caribbean and Zaine's was West African.
Draco wondered how his four beauties were doing but reasoned that they should be fine. On their own, each of them was enough to destroy a kingdom, much less if they all stuck together.
"Glad to have you onboard then Sheera. I'd like you to meet my buddies Clarent and Qiong Qi." Draco gestured to the two of them.
"Heyo." Clarent greeted lazily.
"Greetings, Noble One." Sheera replied respectfully.
Draco and Clarent weren't surprised by this. Any member of the beast kingdom worth their salt knew to pay homage to the ultimate beasts in this world, Dragons!
When Sheera turned to inspect Qiong Qi, she finally took notice of his presence. When she arrived, she saw that he tried to attack her but halted, and took it that he had been scared by her aura, meaning he was a small fry.
However, Sheera was startled when she sensed the purest Divine Lion blood flowing through his veins. Not to mention that in Lion terms, Qiong Qi was a handsome fellow on the level of Draco, and around that age as well.
Sheera immediately had a good impression of Qiong Qi. Whether it was his looks or his bloodline, they were top-notch. He was definitely a lion worth interacting with.
However, what happened next was out of her expectations. Qiong Qi lay on his side and took out a lute. After stringing it slowly and carefully, he began to play a gentle tune while gazing at Sheera.
The overture of whatever piece he was playing was really moving, like an intro to a song that would move the heart to the heavens.
Sheera was a manticore that had little time for such matters or little interest in them, since manticores were the typical 'only the strong can live' type of beast race.
However, with her good impression of him coupled with the solemn atmosphere his actions had built, her tail began to swish as she listened curiously. Was this piece dedicated to her? If so, then she was quite interested.
At this moment, Qiong Qi began to sing in a deep tone, his words echoing out in the area as if the world itself was his speaker.
"At the dawn of time, there was a King~"
"This King was a Lion King~"
"Beside him stood his human pet~"
"Above him floated his dragon follower~"
"'Wow, so handsome' the human pet said~"
"'OMG, so kewl' the dragon follower said~"
"'Haha, if you bite one of the fleas from my beautiful coat~"
"You might be able to emulate 0.1% of my handsomeness' the Lion king said~"
"'Thank you, awesome Lion King' the human pet said~"
"'Blessed be your mane, My King' the dragon follower said~"
"The Lion King then went on to conquer the world~"
"All the beasts fell to his might~"
"And he presented their skins to his empress~"
"A beautiful manticore to great, that her light illuminated the world~"
At this point, Sheera's tail swished furiously. Her eyes drooped and her posture became inviting. It was clear that Qiong Qi's rubbish had moved her greatly through some means Draco and Clarent could not understand.
The two fellows shared a look.
Dragon follower?
Human pet?
F.u.c.k, why did that sound familiar?
…
…
Shit, wasn't that the two of us?!
Damn!
Draco and Clarent became enraged. How dare this fellow through them under the bus just to get a girl? Had he no sense of brotherhood? Of camaraderie?
What annoyed the two fellows was that they wouldn't mind being his wingmen if he asked them, but he didn't even do so! After seeing an unparalleled beauty, their value became less than shit in his eyes!
Damn!
Draco and Clarent shared a look then smiled evilly. Wanting to use us as a foil to capture a beauty? How could there be something so good in this world?
Since he attacked first, Qiong Qi couldn't blame them for what happened next!
Just as Qiong Qi was going to launch his final move on Sheera and seal the deal, Draco stepped forward and patted the manticore on her neck. She was startled out of the reverie she was under and focused on her master immediately.
"From now on, you must avoid Qiong Qi at all costs. Hm, yes, I heard he has Lionic Gonorrhea, so you should never let him put that tiny fingernail in you, do you hear?"
Clarent gasped. He knew Draco would ruin Qiong Qi's momentum, but he never expected Draco to be so ruthless. Clarent swore to never provoke Draco while he was also skirt-chasing, otherwise he would be destroyed before he could even take a step forward.
Sheera was confused, as she had no idea what Lionic Gonorrhea was supposed to be. However, she understood the latter part of Draco's warning and nodded seriously.
She wasn't a young girl who would blush or become shy by such talk. In Lion terms, she was around Zaine's age, so she was a woman… or a wo-lion if one could say so.
She gazed at Qiong Qi with pity and shook her head, ignoring him completely. What use were handsomeness and good bloodline if he was poisonous to her? She would never risk having cubs with such a fellow.
Qiong Qi was rendered foolish by the current development. Just now, he was on the cusp of making Sheera his mate for life, but everything crumbled to ashes?
When Qiong Qi stared at Draco's smug and mocking expression, his hatred grew to epic proportions.
"F.U.C.K! BASTARD DRACO, FIGHT ME TO THE DEATH!!"