Stuck as a Dungeon Mob

The heat that Mite exuded was hardly enough for he himself to withstand without proper reinforcement. The flames were scalding and anything that came into touch with Mite's body would burn to a crisp without question.

That was unless they had an answer to the flames. Bloody's resistance had increased after absorbing the dragon blood, it wouldn't become scorched to bits. But Bloody also had an answer.

Bloody's body solidified further from its coagulated state and took on a metallic sheen. The coiled metallic slime restricted the emperor's movement.

This was an answer to the flames, but not necessarily the best. Bloody showed signs of melting. That said, it was nowhere near fast enough for bloody to be in any actual danger. Not right now at least.

Mite grit his teeth, the way he saw it, he was now bound by a metallic coil instead of a monster or skill. He could get out of this bind, it was just a matter of having enough strength or power.

Mite didn't let up his scalding flames as he flexed his muscles and strength, Bloody was really sweating. Mite's eyes darted searching for a solution, that was when he came to notice something.

'...!" W's body was missing, the robed man was no longer beneath his feet! He was wary, but still bound. He needed an out and he now knew what to do. Turn the heat up another notch! It was wasteful but he couldn't dally anymore.

The ground near Mite started to catch fire, it was very hot now! Bloody's melting was augmented. Having turned into melted slush, Mite's flexing allowed him to walk out of his binding. The young emperor then decided to retreat a bit and maintain a wary stance. He needed to gather his thoughts and consider how to address this unknown enemy.

As for how W took this… he allowed the emperor to get his breather, he needed one too. The fire spear nearly got Brennan's brain. It was a good thing that W managed to use the metal body skill to tank a good chunk of the damage.

'A part of the brain was still hit' In another stroke of luck, it was a part that Brennan's current vitality could regenerate with the aid of W himself. The dragon blood W and Bloody integrated thus played a big part in Brennan's survivability.

Realistically, there was no guarantee that Brennan's body would not be at all impaired even after the regeneration. Being alive was good though, so even if Brennan earned a limp he should have nothing to complain about.

W really couldn't be blamed for crippling him. Sure, if he didn't choose to come back for the dragon blood nothing might have happened but on another hand… wasn't Brennan the one that insisted on turning back to fight?

As for his soul... There were stories of people dying for a couple of minutes and still living. He- Brennan should be alive...

Which reminded W...

'I've burned the bridge with Brennan, is it time for a new body?' W only came to think about this because... The young emperor was a perfect target!

'It's too bad, getting close to the emperor is too hard' Bloody's goal was supposed to be getting into him and that obviously failed.

'I should stick with Brennan' As long as he could make peace with Brennan at least. Getting a body with a better status might prove troublesome but raising someone from rags to riches should not be impossible for him either.

"Who are you? Are you willing to come under me?" Mite's voice finally broke the silence both he and W had maintained in their pensive states. He broke it by declaring his decision to approach the situation differently.

'Subordination huh' W wasn't used to such a position. He was keen on declining the offer but there were actually quite a few benefits. First, he'd be on the same side as the stronger party. Secondly, there was a lot to learn from a dragon.

"It doesn't matter who I am, I don't want to be under anyone" W might not be 'the real' Ed but he still had some pride.

"But if you want to enter a partnership of equals that's a different story" Subordination was off the table. If it was really necessary W wouldn't have minded it, but he needed to test the depth's of Mite's intention to cooperate with him.

Mite was initially angered by the rejection, but a smile quickly formed on his face. As long as there was room for negotiation, he might be able to improve the strength of his empire... 

"Let's just do this… a trade. The conditions need to be discussed however" Mite informed W.

A trade was very different from a partnership. W now knew that the Volcan emperor was after something. That said, discussing things would be difficult under their current circumstances. Putting aside that they were in a burning and crumbling building, there was a lot left to know, like what were they trading?

'He needs to know what I want, and I need to find something he wants' A trade would not be completed if neither party was satisfied.

"That's fine by me, I just need some information" W said in return. He wasn't too specific, letting the other know precisely what he wanted would put him at a weaker position in the discussion.

"What a coincidence, you might also have information that interests me" Mite said putting down his wary stance on the surface.

W did the same, he came out of his hiding spot which Mite already knew of thanks to his voice. Indeed, that meant that if Mite's offer had been a trap and W replied he would have been in a tough position.

To W's credit, he had been wary of the possibility. But if speaking meant stopping this losing battle... W figured that taking the risk to speak was worth it.

"Well, any conditions?" W decided to take the initiative and ask.

"I will need your identity" Mite said narrowing his eyes. The build was that of a man but the robe prevented him from seeing the face of the stranger.

"I am Brennan Bosque" W said causing Mite to become rather surprised.

"I see, with your strength it now makes sense that my assassination attempts failed" Mite was very nonchalant about his identity immediately after overcoming the initial surprise. W was not with Brennan when the assassinations happened so Mite was completely wrong. Still, he found Mite's behavior amusing.

'Hah, it doesn't seem like he intends to cancel the offer after learning this' W thought that if it was the actual Brennan Mite was talking with then negotiations would have broken down.

What Mite wanted was the information Brennan possessed on how to manipulate blood. He saw an opportunity in blood magic. He believed it might be possible for him to create near immortal soldiers if Brennan was a good frame of reference.

His empire's current research with death was targeting the same goal. Undead were immortal, but at most they were recycled strength. Which was still the goal, Mite wanted to squeeze out as much use from each individual in his empire.

If that meant turning them into an undead after death so be it. If the future was as grim as Pyre painted it, the Volcan empire would need absolute strength to withstand the coming calamities.

"Well, is that your only condition? I thought you would restrict the information" W said to Mite who smirked. He could have narrowed down the information to say magic only or just the magical elements.

W wouldn't lose out if Mite did restrict it to either of these aspects but still, Mite would have something to gain.

"Leaving it without conditions makes it more prone to exploits, why would I add something that could bite me in the back?" Since they both wanted information but neither was willing to specify, they could only hope the other party would truthfully answer their questions.

Once more, W was amused. Mite was really arrogant considering he was flaunting his intentions to undermine the integrity of their future exchange.

"By the way former king, I hope you realize I will still be taking over this country" Their exchange of information was completely different from the matter of Pyre destroying the capital.

"That's…" W had already come up with a way to reconcile with Brennan. That way was to have him truly and properly reclaim his throne. If Mite insisted, things would get troublesome.

"I can't give you that" W didn't want to die at the hands of a dragon or Mite either though. Currently, his control over blood was not swift or adept enough to take Mite on seriously.

Mite's fire was also far too oppressive preventing Bloody from sucking the emperor dry from the inside.

"Hmm… " Until Mite received what he wanted, he couldn't kill the man yet.

"I'll just have to torture you then" Mite declared boldly.

'So it's like that' W was certain Mite was telling him to back down as he was in a lower position. If he truly intended to torture him, all of their back and forth would have been for naught 

'He must want me to acknowledge my weaker position and maybe reconsider going under him' The trade of information was fine, but there were no guarantees by design. The least both parties could do was make a pinky promise to not lie to one another, being on the same side might help the odds.

W was now stuck in a hard place. He could go under Mite Volcan and receive the benefits that came with that, or he could stick to his pride and watch as the kingdom was slowly destroyed.

He couldn't say he cared about its destruction, but Brennan did. The more he thought about it the more W realized that a body with high authority might actually be a curse. How could he placate such a person?

Raising someone from the start was much more convenient if a little more morality frowned upon.