Dawn crawled across the jagged cliffs of Midgard's wilderness, painting the stone in hues of molten gold.
The morning silence was broken only by the soft crunch of Ryujin's boots and the steady, low growl of Nox, the Abyssal Drake stalking beside him.
Ryujin's eyes darted constantly, every snapped twig and shifting shadow putting him on edge. The ambush in the ravine days ago had proven one thing; his father wasn't just angry.
He wanted Ryujin erased, and he had sent someone truly dangerous to do it. Someone patient, calculative, and insidiously poisonous.
The serpent scouts were only the beginning.
Even now, Ryujin felt watched. He couldn't explain it, but there was a weight to the air around him, as if some unseen predator slithered just beyond sight, matching his every move.
That morning, they found the first sign.
A fresh serpent-scout corpse lay in a shallow gorge, its armor cracked like an eggshell, body coiled unnaturally. Ryujin knelt beside it, fingers brushing over a clean, precise cut along its throat.
"This wasn't me," he murmured, frowning. "And it wasn't beasts either… this was surgical".
Nox sniffed the air, nostrils flaring, molten eyes narrowing as it let out a guttural growl.
"Yeah," Ryujin muttered, gripping his spear tighter. "Whoever's hunting us isn't sloppy. They're killing their own scouts to cover their tracks".
The sheer brutality of it all left him shaken. And he couldn't help the shadowy image of a man appearing in his mind.
'Is it him?' He thought.
Further ahead, he found traps; wyrm nets strung between rocks, tripwires rigged to poison-tipped darts. Each was expertly hidden, designed not for beasts but for him and Nox specifically.
Ryujin dismantled one, muttering, troubled. "Someone's bleeding me dry before they strike".
Paranoia alone wouldn't save him. Ryujin knew that if he stayed at F-Rank, whoever hunted him would win easily.
Nox's C-Rank was definitely the only reason why his enemy took so much time, and was so cautious in his approach.
He needed E-Rank at least, and fast.
System panels confirmed what he already felt.
DING!
~----~
[Progress Toward Rank E: 63%]
[Requirement: Demonstrate control over higher-tier dragon combat/survive battle against superior foe.]
~----~
So, Ryujin set his sights on the mountains north of the ravine, where rumors spoke of a rock wyvern nesting among shattered cliffs.
Unlike lesser wyverns, this beast's stony hide could withstand spears, and its tail strikes could crush a man in one blow. It was rated B-Rank, a challenge far beyond what any F-Rank tamer in existence attempted.
But from the moment that Ryujin gained the Eternal Dragon Legacy, he stopped being a regular beast tamer.
Standing before a canyon riddled with wyvern claw marks, Ryujin muttered. "This is insane".
Nox snorted, shadowflame curling around its maw.
"But if we survive this," Ryujin continued, gripping his spear, "no assassin, no bounty hunter, no damned house guard will touch us easily".
…
The Rock Wyvern's Lair.
The nest reeked of stone dust and iron.
Shattered bones littered the canyon floor, some crushed to powder beneath massive claw prints. The wyvern itself slumbered near a rocky overhang, wings folded like jagged blades, scales resembling slabs of granite fused with molten veins.
Ryujin crouched low, signaling Nox to circle. The drake's shadow melted into the rocks, silent as a phantom.
The plan was simple: draw the wyvern out, wear it down with coordinated strikes, and push their bond to the limit.
Ryujin had no delusions of killing a B-Ranked Wyvern, but he believed in his and Nox's ability to survive.
Ryujin hurled a stone. It clattered near the beast's head.
Instantly, the wyvern's molten eyes snapped open. It rose, wins unfurling with a deafening crack, a roar shaking loose stones from the canyon walls.
The fight erupted in a storm of stone and fire.
The wyvern lunged, tail smashing the ground where Ryujin stood. He dove aside, rolling to his feet as Nox struck from the shadows, shadowflame searing the wyvern's flank.
The beast roared, snapping at Nox with razor fangs. The drake twisted away, tail whipping across its muzzle with a sharp crack.
"Flank left!" Ryujin shouted, sprinting up a slanted boulder.
He leapt, driving his spear toward the wyvern's exposed neck. The point scraped uselessly against stone-hard scales, nearly shattering the shaft.
With a snarl, Ryujin adjusted. "Eyes! Go for the eyes!"
Nox obeyed instinctively, spewing black fire that scorched one of the wyvern's eyes, blinding it. The beast staggered, smashing rock pillars in blind fury.
And then…
DING!
System prompts flared in Ryujin's mind.
~----~
[Dragon Bond Resonance Surging… 90% ~ 93%]
[Adaptive Combat Bonus Achieved]
~----~
Fueled by desperation, Ryujin moved like a phantom, weaving through crushing blows. At one point, the wyvern cornered him, its jaws snapping inches from his face, only for Nox to crash into it from behind, dragging it off balance.
Ryujin seized the moment, driving his spear deep into the creature's remaining eye.
With a final, guttural roar, the rock wyvern collapsed, its stony hide cracking as its life-force ebbed.
Panting, Ryujin collapsed against a rock, blood trickling from a cut along his temple. He stared blankly. He could not believe it. "We… we killed it".
The system's voice rang clear and triumphant.
DING!
~----~
[Wyvern Defeated: B-Rank Threat Neutralized]
[Beast Tamer Rank Increased ~ E-Rank]
[New Ability Unlocked: Dragonic Aura (Passive)]
[Dragon Mastery Surged to 65%. Combat Synchronization Enhanced.]
~----~
As power surged through him, Ryujin felt his bond with Nox lock deeper than ever before.
For the first time, he could sense not just the drake's instincts but its emotions; a predatory thrill, a fierce, protective loyalty.
Nox rumbled low, lowering its head beside him.
Ryujin reached out, resting his hand on its snout. "We're climbing, Nox," he whispered. "One dragon at a time".
…
High above on a cliff, Valtheris watched the entire battle unfold through his spyglass. The assassin's serpent mask betrayed no expression, but his voice was a hiss of quiet fury.
"He's adapting," he murmured. "Growing faster than expected".
A dead B-Rank Wyvern. This was exactly why he took his time, afraid of a direct confrontation against a beast tamer controlling an Abyssal Drake.
The wyvern mount beside him hissed, wings twitching with restrained energy. Valtheris stroked its scaled neck, gaze never leaving Ryujin's exhausted form below.
"No matter," he said coldly. "E-Rank or not… prey remains prey".
As the wind shifted, carrying the scent of blood and shadowflame upward, Valtheris whispered into the night.
"You can feel me now, can't you… boy? The serpent's breath on your neck. Soon… you won't just feel it".
…
Far below, as Ryujin prepared to leave the canyon, a chill ran down his spine. He turned sharply, scanning the cliffs, hand tightening on his spear.
Nothing. Only shadows.
Yet deep down, he knew.
The hunter wasn't just coming. He was already here.