Chương 186: The perks of being a dragon slayer

The next day Alex left the Orcus labyrinth with Anne and kuorka through the magic circle that was prepared by Oscar. Staying behind was Rias, Yue, Grayfia, and Hajime, who was sulking about his defeat the day before while muttering about how unfair Saiyan's were. Alex of course explained part of the details to him about being world hoppers themselves, but for the time being he couldn't explain the whole story until Hajime went to Asora. After using the magic circle the trio found themselves in yet another cave, except this one led to the surface. After passing through several traps and seals that were bypassed with the proof of conquering they received along with the creation magic, the three of them finally saw Tortus Sky again after nearly two months.

"Ahhhh fresh air!" Anne was in a particularly good mood, as clean air meant more to her as a sky dragon slated than to Alex or Kuroka. The good mood was short lived however, when they were swiftly surrounded by a horde of monsters. Kuroka tried to use her spells to quickly wipe them out, but instead,

"What?! My magics weaker~Nya!" Though she couldn't fully use her spells Kuroka didn't panic after her initial shock, and was about to engage the monsters in close combat before they all suddenly collapsed. The two girls were looking around in confusion, while Alex said,

"Let's go, I'll explain on the way." Anne gave one more look at the passed out monsters, and quickly followed Alex as he walked down the rocky slope they were on. She then asked,

"Is it just me or did those monsters not feel as threatening as before?" Kuroka nodded, and added,

"Yep~Nyan, they didn't feel very strong. It was more of a surprise to find my magic didn't work." Alex nodded, and said,

"We're in a place called the Raisen great canyon, it's a natural death trap for those that use magic since it seals it. You're a very powerful magic user which is why you should be able to still use magic to some extent Kuroka, but normal magicians would be useless here. It's also a place where criminals are sent for execution, as the presence of monsters on top of magic sealing makes it nearly impossible to escape. As for why they felt weak, it just means we're too used to the monsters at the bottom of the labyrinth." Both girls looked interested at his explanation, but Kuroka asked,

"Why didn't you say anything before~Nyan?" Alex shrugged, and replied,

"It's easier to believe by experiencing yourself than just hearing about it. Plus it should be in the report that was made along with the maps I bought before." At his words Kuroka suddenly started looking away, seemingly finding something better to look at. Anne then asked,

"So what was that skill you used to make all the monsters pass out?" Alex smiled with pride, but didn't explain that one. As he led the way down the canyon, they eventually reached a relatively flat area, and pulled out something he went to fetch from the Grigori a few days back. What appeared was a dark red sports car that Azazel left to him, with the bonus function of running off of ones power instead of gas like a normal car. Alex and Kuroka both smiled when they saw the car, while Anne looked shocked at it from not having seen any kind of vehicle in twenty years.

"DIBS ON THE FRONT SEAT!" Kuroka cried out as she reached for the handle. Alex calmly walked to the other side to enter the drivers seat, while Anne squeezed into the back seat, still looking around the car in awe. She then asked,

"Isn't this a little too eye catching? I though we were trying to lay low." Alex nodded and said,

"The chances of us seeing someone in the canyon that'll be able to spread the word is extremely low, so it's ok for right now." Once he was done talking Alex then pulled something out from a compartment and handed it to Anne, making her confused as she looked at the barf bag.

"I don't need this, even though it's been a while since I've been in a vehicle I highly doubt I'll get car sick from it." Alex didn't say anything, and simply started the car while pulling forward a few feet, before the distinct sound of a person vomiting immediately came from the backseat. Kuroka looked disgusted, and Alex laughed while saying,

"Enjoy the perks of being a dragon slayer." Before actually pulling away. They then spent the next several hours driving through the canyon with Alex either using Conquerers Haki on the monsters that tried to chase them, or throwing Anne's filed barf bags out the window at them. As such, their journey was rather uneventful until Alex found the staircase that led out of the canyon. By the time they left the Raisen great canyon, it was around lunch time.

"Ahhhh~"

Kuroka opened her mouth to have Alex feed her, as they all sat on a blanket he set out. Rather than having just left one of the most dangerous places in the world, the twos attitude was more like they were on a picnic. Anne sat to the side, barely nibbling on some food since Alex already warned her that they'll be using the car again once lunch was over. Now that she was able to actually hold a conversation again, she interrupted Kuroka's spoiling and asked,

"So all dragon slayers get motion sickness?" Kuroka made a face of disgust when Anne brought it up, recalling the sound and smell of her vomiting several times during the morning. Alex on the other hand nodded, and said,

"As far as I can tell it happens to all of them eventually, and one can be considered a "true" dragon slayer if that's the case. By the way, the only known cure for it that I can think if is your own powers, but it won't work on the caster. In other words you're pretty much out of luck for the time being." He then went back to feeding Kuroka, who then fed him afterwards with his head in her lap, while Anne was in deep thought about how she couldn't even enjoy rides in vehicles anymore.

After having lunch for about an hour, they packed up and got back on the road. The trip in the afternoon was pretty much the same as the morning, except They didn't have to deal with monsters as much. It was several more hours later that they started to see signs of a town ahead, and Alex swiftly put away the car and took both girls to the side. He then turned to kuorka, and said,

"It's your turn now Kuroka. There's these Status plates everyone uses, I want you to sneak into the town and find if they have any. If they do then they'll probably be in the adventurers guild, or any nobles house. I'd start with the guild, and swipe as many status plates as you can so that we'd have enough for everyone." Unlike Horlad they'd be more active in checking the status of those entering the towns here, being so close to the canyon that was used to execute criminals. And Alex couldn't take the girls and get their statuses the official way, as they would have to be recorded by the one they got them from. So his plan was to have Kuroka steal the status plates and bring them back, then he simply needed to purposely keep the extra information hidden once he needed to use it. Kuroka did a mock salute, and said,

"Leave it to me~Nyan! I put the 'cat' into 'cat burglar'!" And swiftly disappeared. This left Alex and the still recovering Anne to sit outside while they waited. Anne then asked,

"Do you think she'll be ok? I mean it's something they'll have secured to prevent thieves from stealing, right?" Alex nodded, and said,

"Most likely, but you have to remember she uses magic not native to this worlds, meaning it shouldn't be hard for Kuroka to bypass all of their security measures. Plus you don't know this, but I had her prioritize learning stealth and thieving skills in the months before coming to this world, imagine stealing anything and everything you can in a house full of high leveled people on alert because their stuff has been going missing. She'll be fine." After hearing Alex's words Anne did feel more relieved, and started to relax while they waited. Alex smiled at this, and similar to Kuroka while they were having lunch earlier, pulled her head into his lap and had her lay down while he leaned back against a tree.

Anne simply closed her eyes, and recovered from being sick the whole day, completely content and relaxed in Alex's care. She couldn't help wanting this to go on forever, just the two of them. The two simply relaxed like this for nearly two hours, before Kuroka returned with her prize.

"I'm back~Nyan! I took ten of them, one for each of us and a few left over." Alex smiled and stroked Kuroka's head, specifically her still present cat ears, and said,

"Good job, now we can have the Grigori study them and hopefully replicate them for anyone who'll need one." Kuroka grinned, pleased with the head stroking and praise. Alex then said,

"Go ahead and head back now Kuroka, I'll visit you when I can but I'll probably spend the night here tonight then head back either tomorrow or tomorrow night." She pouted at his words, but still took the remaining plates after Alex and Anne grabbed one, and teleported back to the hideout. After Kuroka left, Alex and Anne both pricked their fingers and dropped a bit of blood onto the plates and watched in awe as their information started to appear. For the most part it was just like their usual status they could see, though Alex didn't know if Anne's was set up differently, his also showed his his stats like strength, or magic. He didn't put a whole lot of faith into those numbers though, and practiced hiding the extra information before heading into town.