Chapter 123 - The Devil Himself
In the end, Alissa's presence only recovered its usual power just before the sun could rise on the next day. As one would expect, Orgar woke up first, and he looked much more annoyed than usual.
"We underestimated our foe and that world… the level of mana here and there were too different. Due to that, Alissa got tired faster, and she didn't use her powers efficiently."
That sounded like a bunch of excuses, and Ryan wasn't really interested in that, so he just stayed silent. He didn't like Orgar's attitude as well, and he had no intention of trying to be friendly with any dragon.
"Regardless, Baal didn't have the intel we were looking for. That being said, he knows of some planets where the invasion began, and dragons appeared, in the same manner, they appeared on Earth. However, he never discovered why that happened."
"Still, his boss must have some clue," Alissa said after slowly opening her eyes. "His name is Lucifer Morningstar."
"Great… the devil himself is the next target," Ryan said and then sighed.
"Not exactly," Alissa shook her head. "I didn't have time to ask him where I could find him. Besides, even I know after that fight that we can't face them yet."
"So, what is your next plan?" Ryan asked.
"Get stronger by obtaining new classes and getting used to Orgar's powers," Alissa replied. "Meanwhile, we will also look for information in other dungeons. I highly doubt that demons are the only sapient species invading Earth."
"Very well," Ryan said, and then he began to separate the loot that he obtained in the last hours and put the small ones on his backpack. "I am ready to go."
"… Thanks, Ryan, for looking after us while we were unconscious," Alissa said.
"I was just repaying my debt," Ryan replied without looking. "Don't get used to it."
Alissa transformed into a dragon again, and then Ryan jumped on her back since his salamander will stay behind. Hopefully, the monster won't lose the coins before Ryan returns. In any case, since Alissa was still weak, her flying speed had decreased a little. Thanks to it, Ryan had plenty of time and chances to level up his Earth Manipulation. Although he had decided not to rely too much on magic, he was determined to learn some skills by himself. Besides, even if it wasn't the same thing, Ryan could always make dirt emulate the powers of telekinesis. It would be great if he could reach a level where he could fire arrows at greater speed without using too much mana. Unfortunately, it looked like it would take a while for him to reach that level of mastery.
"Do you want to stop by your friends and sell the things that you obtained?" Alissa asked.
"They are not my friends and don't try to be nice to me," Ryan said. "It won't change anything."
Truth to be told, Ryan was already getting tired of those harsh replies, but unfortunately, they were necessary to keep a distance from Alissa. Besides, he didn't lie. In the end, even though some dragons were nearby, none of them approached even when Alissa and Orgar were weakened. Thanks to it, Ryan was a bit disappointed.
It became kind of obvious after he thought for a while, but Alissa decided to check things around Las Vegas. Why? Because it was relatively close to the ocean, and most likely, the chances of them finding dragons there were relatively low since the monsters could fight megalodons on the ocean. Knowing Ryan, despite all his talk of wanting to do his own things, he wouldn't just watch a dragon trashing a city and the survivors in it. He was brave and fooled enough to challenge even more than a dragon at a time, and that would be troublesome since Alissa wouldn't be able to help.
Along the way, they even thought of stopping at Phoenix, but even from a distance, Alissa could tell that the city got nuked, so they changed their mind and head straight for Las Vegas. There were some dungeons along the way, but they needed to know how things were there before cleared them. Surprisingly enough, they found a good part of the city still standing, and, in some parts, they found walls blocking the monster's approach.
"It looks like we will find a good number of survivors here," Alissa said. "My presence will probably complicate things, so I think you should investigate things inside the city alone."
"I guess so," Ryan said.
"I will investigate the area while you see how things are in there," Alissa said, and then she prepared to land. "Considering that they had enough leisure to build those walls, they must have some camps near the dungeons. I will check those places and confirm if there is any monster it would be useful for you to tame."
Ryan sighed after jumping from Alissa's back, she sure was insistent, and his level as an asshole didn't reach a point where he could say harsh things every single fucking time. So, he just walked toward Las Vegas. In the end, Ryan didn't even have to wait for Alissa's report. Along the way, he probably found all the monsters of the area. They were Desert Wolves, Harpies, Salamanders, and Earth Worms.
"I guess I will tame the boss of the Desert Wolves later," Ryan muttered. "That one will be as useful as mount just like the elder salamander."
The salamanders were a bit troublesome since they had a high level of Fire Resistance, but the other monsters died rather quickly after getting hit by the Flame Arrows. It was only natural since the skill leveled up fifteen times while Ryan was fighting demons.