Dragon System

Chapter 3 A – The Longest Night

The door creaked shut. Silence pressed down. Three women, strangers bound to him by law and circumstance, stood in the cramped room.

Desmond felt their gazes pierce through him like blades. The system’s voice pulsed cold in his mind:

[Challenge Active: Earn trust before dawn. Time remaining: 9 hours, 57 minutes.]

Desmond’s throat was dry. “You should… sit. It’s not much, but”

Selene’s laugh cut him off, sharp as glass. “Sit? In this hovel? Don’t insult me.” She brushed dust from a rickety chair, nose wrinkled. “…I shouldn’t even be here. Father will hear of this.”

Desmond flinched at her thought. She meant it. She saw him as less than dirt. Lysandra smirked, settling against the wall with arms folded.

“Relax, princess. You’re not the only one who hates this arrangement.” Her gaze slid to Desmond. “Tell me, boy, do you even know what you’ve done?”

Desmond blinked. “I… followed the law.”

“You mocked it,” she snapped. “One man, three wives? The King will make an example of you.” Her eyes narrowed. “…still, maybe I can use this fool. A shield. A cover. Enough to slip away.”

He swallowed hard. She wanted escape, nothing else. Only Mira spoke gently. She tucked loose hair behind her ear and lowered herself to the floor.

“It isn’t much… but it’s shelter. Thank you for bringing us here.” Her thoughts were softer, too. “…he’s nervous. Lonely. Maybe kind. Or maybe I’m desperate to believe it.”

Her fragile hope warmed him, even as despair gnawed at the edges. Hours dragged. The women whispered to themselves, exchanged barbs, or glared at him. Desmond tried to speak, but words always died under their stares.

Finally, Lysandra’s voice broke the stillness. “So, Nobody, what do you plan to do? Keep us all locked in this shack until the King drags you to the square?”

Desmond’s lips trembled. He almost stammered out a denial, but then the system’s warning flashed.

[Trust Level: 0%. Progress required.]

He clenched his fists. “I… I plan to survive. With you.”

Selene laughed, cruel. “With us? As if you deserve”

But Desmond’s voice cracked louder, surprising even himself. “Do you think I don’t know what you’re all thinking?”

Three heads turned, sharp and suspicious.Selene’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”

Panic raced in him. He couldn’t tell them about the system. Not yet. But he couldn’t back down either. His voice steadied.

“I mean… I see it. In your eyes. One of you thinks I’m weak and only good as cover. Another wants nothing to do with me, believes I’ll never be enough. And one…” His gaze flicked to Mira. “…one hopes I might be different.”

The silence afterward was thunderous. Selene’s face hardened. “You presume too much.” But her thought betrayed her: “…how did he, did I show that much?”

Lysandra tilted her head, interest sparking. “You’re sharper than you look.” “…maybe not entirely useless after all.”

Mira’s cheeks warmed. She lowered her eyes, whispering, “Then… you really do see me.”

The system chimed. [Trust Progress: +2%.]

Desmond almost smiled, but then a noise outside shattered the fragile moment. Clink. Step. Rustle.

All four stiffened. Desmond edged toward the door. Through the cracks, shadows shifted in the alley. Whispered voices.

“…in there. The freak took them.”

“…the King will reward us for reporting.”

Desmond’s heart pounded. The bullies. They’d followed. He turned back. “We’re not safe.”

Lysandra’s hand dropped to her waist, though she carried no weapon. Her stance, sharp and ready, told of training. “If they come through that door, they’ll regret it.”

Selene scoffed, though fear flickered beneath. “Bravado. Typical.” “…if I die here because of this idiot”

Mira clutched her shawl, voice trembling. “Desmond… what do we do?”

[Mini-Challenge Triggered: Protect your household.]

Desmond swallowed. His first challenge wasn’t only about words, it was survival. The door rattled. A fist slammed against it.

“Come out, Desmond! Show us your little brides!” Laughter, cruel and hungry, filled the night.

Lysandra bristled. “How many?”

Desmond’s gift surged, voices spilling into his mind. “…three of us, enough to drag him out…”

“Three,” he said, startling her.

Her eyes narrowed. “You heard them?”

“No time,” he hissed.

The door creaked again. Mira whimpered. Selene cursed under her breath. Desmond’s hands shook. He’d never fought. Never won. But something inside, the system, the creature, his own buried rage, burned.

He whispered, more to himself than to them: “Not tonight. I won’t be their victim tonight.”

The door splintered. The fight was chaos. The bullies lunged, snarling. Lysandra kicked one square in the chest, sending him crashing back. “Martial training,” she spat. “Don’t waste it, fool!”

Selene shrieked, ducking as another swung toward her. “Do something!”

Mira cowered, until she grabbed a broken chair leg and swung wildly, smacking a bully’s arm. He cursed, stumbling.

Desmond’s blood roared in his ears. A thought slipped through“…he’s nothing, hit him once and he’ll fold…”

No. Not this time. He moved before he could think, snatching a loose stone from the floor and slamming it against the man’s knee. A howl split the night.

Another lunged, but Lysandra caught his arm, twisting it brutally. “Finish it!” she barked.

Desmond drove his elbow forward. Pain shot through him, but the bully crumpled. The last man cursed, clutching his injured friend. “This isn’t over, freak!” They staggered back into the night.

The silence that followed was broken only by Desmond’s ragged breathing. The system’s voice chimed, cold but triumphant.

[Mini-Challenge Complete.]

[Reward: +Strength, +Endurance.]

[Trust Progress: +7%.]

Desmond staggered, stunned. He’d fought back. He’d won. Lysandra eyed him, lips curling. “Maybe you’re not as useless as you look.” “…but don’t think I’ll trust you yet.”

Selene smoothed her hair, glaring. “Enjoy your little victory. It changes nothing.” But her thought trembled: “…he surprised me.”

Mira smiled softly, voice gentle. “You protected us. Thank you.”

The system chimed again. [Trust Progress: +3%. Current total: 12%.]

Desmond collapsed onto the cot, sweat dripping. Dawn was hours away. The night was far from over.

But for the first time, three women, strangers, skeptics, enemies, looked at him not as a nobody… but as something more.