Halime melted in Archer’s arms, savoring his caress and loving words. His open display of affection filled her with a sense of belonging and deepened her feelings for him even more.

The couple didn’t let the roaring of the crows bother them as they watched the fight or the other spectator’s eyes. Archer didn’t care about expressing his love for his girls in front of people because he wasn’t ashamed of loving them.

While hugging the snake girl, he looked around to see the arena, which he ignored until now. The circular stadium was huge, with rows of seats rising to the sky. Thousands of people filled the stands, cheering and waving flags of different colors and shapes.

The noise was deafening, mixing chants, horns, drums, and whistles. He saw Professors roaming the edge of the large stone stage, watching the ongoing fight. But that’s when Halime’s word brought him back to reality.

”Thank you, Arch,” She tightened her hug before continuing, ”You’re the first person aside from my Mother to accept me despite my condition.”

His gaze lingered on her, captivated by her attire. Halime wore a black kaftan that perfectly complemented her silky, ebony hair. As he met her gaze, her yellow eyes radiated affection, resembling those of a snake.

”You’re my beautiful snake girl, Hali. Why wouldn’t I accept you? I’ve grown to love you.” Archer answered.

Yet, what truly captivated him were the scales adorning her body, mirroring his own, a shared trait that resonated deeply within him. Archer smiled when hearing her. He leaned down and planted a sweet kiss on her plump and inviting caramel-toned lips.

Halime returned it with a passionate one, causing the other girls to grow jealous. Once they separated, he had to kiss the others, which caused Lioran and Cian to laugh until he gave them a look, causing both boys to shut up.

Maeve started laughing, which was a beautiful sound to Archer’s ears. She calmed down before commenting in an amused voice, ”Only our Grandmother and Father can do that. You must really scare him.”

He turned to the orange-haired girl, who was dressed like a warrior wearing leather armor that couldn’t contain her large assets, which caught Archer’s attention. Her curly hair was tied into a pony, similar to Teuila’s.

Archer noticed the thick cape she had wrapped around herself when she sat down. He thought she was a beautiful girl who reminded him of Celtic women from Earth, but that didn’t bother him.

With a shake of his head, he responded, ”He says it’s to do with my aura, but I have no clue. As long as people leave me alone.” .

He explained that his aura was very powerful because he was a dragon, and people he disliked felt. Archer and Maeve laughed when he told her about some of the reactions he got in the past.

The Avaloch Princess was reeling him in as they watched the fights. When the other girls saw them chatting, they left the two alone while talking to Nalika, Leonora, and Cassie, who came with the boys.

Cian looked at Lioran and Alaric and smiled as Archer was telling Maeve the story of him being hunted through a forest by cannibals when he was thirteen. When the large group heard this, they all turned their heads to him.

Talila asked in a voice full of curiosity. ”Why haven’t you told us this?”

”It didn’t come up,” He shrugged before noticing everyone looking at him, including his friends, and continued. ”Well, I was thirteen and on my first long quest for the guild. We were taking aid to a nearby kingdom that requested help from the Adventurers Guild, and when the convoy arrived, an army of beasts overrun the city.”

When they heard this, their eyes widened, but Nefertiti asked, ”Where was this husband?”

”The Forsaken forest, my love. It was a creepy place to be with their screaming and hooting throughout the night as they searched for me.” Archer answered with a shiver as he remembered his time in the forest when he washed up in the south.

He went on to tell them of his time in the forest as he was hunted down by the cannibals, which everyone listened to as they waited for Eveline, Aurelia, and Talila’s fight.

___________________________________

Four years earlier

In the dense, shadowy forest, Archer cautiously stalked along the twisted branches of an ancient tree, his senses alert for any sign of danger. The moon cast eerie beams of silver light through the thick canopy, illuminating patches of tangled undergrowth below.

As he peered over the edge of a branch, his heart skipped a beat as a twisted figure lunged out of the darkness, its wild eyes locking onto his with a feral intensity. With a gasp of horror, Archer instinctively recoiled, his pulse racing as he stumbled backward.

Reacting on pure instinct, Archer unleashed Eldritch Blast. The blast struck the cannibal square in the chest, sending it staggering backward with a guttural cry of pain before the creature could recover.

Archer leaped agilely to another nearby branch, his claws digging into the rough bark as he propelled himself away from the looming threat. Adrenaline surged through his veins as he darted through the forest.

Behind him, the forest erupted into chaos as a horde of cannibals emerged from the shadows, their bloodcurdling cries echoing through the night air. Archer’s heart pounded in his chest as he raced through the darkness, the pursuit of the cannibals driving him onward. 𝘪𝘳.𝒸𝑜𝑚

Branches whipped past him as he darted through the tangled undergrowth, his breath coming in ragged gasps as he pushed his body to its limits. The sounds grew louder with each passing moment.

The frenzied footsteps were closing in on him from all sides. With a burst of desperation, Archer leaped from branch to branch and was a blur of motion as he evaded the grasping hands of the bloodthirsty cannibals.

The canopy overhead swirled with shadows as he vanished into the depths of the forest, his only thought to escape the clutches of the cannibals and live to see another day in the heart of the dark forest.

Archer fled into the darkness, his heart pounding as he raced through the tangled undergrowth. With the relentless pursuit of the cannibals hot on his heels, he sought refuge in the hollow of a massive tree, hoping to evade their grasp.

Breathless, Archer pressed himself against the damp walls of the hollow, his eyes wide as he strained to listen for any sign of his pursuers. The sound of snapping twigs and guttural cries echoed through the stillness of the forest.

Suddenly, a group of cannibals emerged from the shadows, their twisted forms looming ominously in the moonlight as they gathered beneath the tree. Archer held his breath, praying they wouldn’t discover his hiding place.

But fate had other plans. As they stopped directly in front of the tree, one of the cannibals glanced up and caught sight of the hollow. With a curious expression, it reached out a gnarled hand and prodded at the entrance.

Reacting on instinct, Archer unleashed a Plasma Shot from his outstretched hand, sending the cannibal reeling backward with a startled yelp. Seizing the opportunity, he cast Blink, vanishing from sight in a flash of mana and reappearing on a nearby branch.

Heart pounding and breath coming in ragged gasps, Archer wasted no time in fleeing once more, his feet flying over the forest floor as he raced toward the safety of the river. But just as he reached the water’s edge, a massive beast burst forth from the depths.

Its razor-sharp teeth gleamed in the moonlight as it lunged toward him with a deafening roar. With a cry of panic, Archer cast Blink again, vanishing from the creature’s path in the blink of an eye and reappearing on the river’s opposite bank.

He scrambled to his feet and sprinted into the darkness. As Archer darted through the dense undergrowth of the forest, his heart pounded in his chest, his breath coming in ragged gasps as he pushed himself to his limits.

Suddenly, without warning, a rustling from the nearby bushes drew his attention. Before he could react, a twisted figure burst forth, lunging at him with outstretched arms. Archer dodged to the side with lightning-fast reflexes, narrowly avoiding the cannibal’s grasp.

His heart racing, Archer stumbled backward. The cannibal snarled and hissed, its wild eyes gleaming with malice as it advanced on him once more, but without wasting any time, he cast Eldritch Blast into the creature before running off again.

___________________________________

Back to the present

After he finished telling the short story, everyone looked at him like he was crazy before Llyniel asked. ”You weren’t terrified?”

Archer looked at the wood elf and shook his head, ”No. They made me jump sometimes, but that’s all. My magic could easily be dealt with, and I outran them before they could swarm me.”

Maeve started laughing and asked once she calmed down. ”I feel like you have many stories to tell, and I want to hear them all.”

Please let me know if you spot any mistakes, and I will edit them. Thank you

𝑖.𝘤ℴ𝘮