Tri-Border Ocean
The Tri-Border Ocean should have been a picture of calm—a warm, white clouded sky, gentle winds, and a shimmering sea stretching endlessly in every direction. Yet the illusion of peace was shattered by the towering pillar of white smoke rising like a phantom wall. From the Ravendawn side, twenty wooden frigates quietly detached from the main fleet, their sails full as ship-mages continuously cast wind spells to push them into the fog as swiftly—and silently—as possible.
The goal was simple:
Slip inside the fog while the Dwargonian vision are blocked by the towering smoke.
On the deck of the lead frigate, a young woman in a full, one-piece dark leather flightsuit stood near the railing. The suit hugged her form like it had been stitched onto her skin, reinforced with buckles, straps, and padded plates from collar to ankle. She held a leather half-helmet under her arm, complete with goggles perched on top, their dark lenses reflecting the swirling white fog ahead.
Her long, ash-brown hair fluttered in the magically accelerated wind as she stared at the churning smoke wall.
The woman inhaled deeply. Exhaled even deeper.
"How did I end up here…?" she muttered.
She lifted her helmet, staring at it like it personally wronged her.
My name is Katja. I'm a wyvern rider. But not once in my life did I ever imagine ending up in this situation…
She paused dramatically, staring off into the middle distance like the side character of a filler arc who suddenly decides today is the day the audience will learn her tragic backstory, even though they absolutely won't remember her name by the next episode.
---
Bremen Kingdom — One Year Ago
And thus, her filler episode began.
The scene cut to bright blue skies and rolling forested mountains. Katja—wearing a humble adventurer's outfit instead of a tight leather flightsuit—flew across the sky on Meja, her beloved wyvern. Meja's bronze scales shimmered in the sunlight as the massive creature flapped its wings with lazy power, carrying Katja and a wooden box strapped behind her back.
I was an adventurer—a wyvern rider at the Bremen Kingdom.
And my wyvern, Meja was a gift from my father, who was also a wyvern rider. Growing up, watching him soar through the sky on Meja's back… it was magical.
She and Meja landed near a lonely wooden cottage tucked into a mountain slope.
I always believed that being a wyvern rider was a blessing. I dreamed of traveling the world with Meja as my partner…
She knocked.
The door swung open, revealing a female mage sporting the sourest expression ever recorded.
"WHY are you so late!? My request CLEARLY said to deliver the ingredients within three days!"
"I—I'm so sorry! There were, um… a lot of griffins around your friend's magic tower—"
The mage's scolding continued for a full five minutes, uninterrupted, while Katja bowed repeatedly in shame.
But my father never told me the truth… that adventuring as a wyvern rider basically… sucks.
When Meja took flight again, Katja exhaled another long sigh. From above, she watched a group of adventurers happily emerging from a cave, bags full of dungeon loot and laughing joyfully.
It only made her slump deeper in the saddle.
We're useless inside dungeons—you can't bring a wyvern in, and wyvern riders don't have any special skills for indoor combat.
On the ground, we're useless too. Wyvern firebreath turns monsters into charred lumps, which ruins their parts.
So the only quests we can reliably do… are glorified delivery jobs.
Courier quest. The lowest of the low.
---
Bremen Adventurer Guild
Katja stood at the reception counter, staring at her payment for the delivery mission: a miserable handful of copper and silver coins. A sum so small she could barely afford dinner, let alone life.
And courier quest doesn't even pay enough to live.
That's why most wyvern riders eventually give up and join the military. Free meals and a bed… but your wyvern becomes government property the moment you quit. Or die.
Before she could sink too far into self-pity, she noticed a commotion near the quest board. Adventurers were crowding around a notice.
And then, one day… I thought I saw a miracle.
"What are they looking at?" Katja asked.
"A big announcement from the Ravendawn branch." The receptionist leaned over. "They're recruiting tons of adventurers for quests in Raven City."
Katja shrugged. "Huh. They probably don't need wyvern riders, though…"
"Actually," the receptionist said, "it looks like most of the good quests are specifically for wyvern riders."
Katja instantly dash to the board with pure adrenaline. She shoved aside several adventurers twice her size.
And there it was.
A glorious drawing of a wyvern rider soaring heroically above the clouds, with shimmering letters beneath:
"Wyvern Riders and Beast Tamers – High Priority."
Her eyes sparkled brighter than gold.
---
Katja and Meja flew for days. Through scorching heat, bone-chilling rain, and freezing winds.
And so I left Bremen, it was far, but I didn't care. Ravendawn meant hope—a chance at a better life for me and Meja.
She didn't have food, money, or even a change of clothes.
But she had hope.
And desperation.
Mostly desperation.
---
Raven City
Katja gasped the moment she saw the colossal skyline of Raven City. Quaint medieval buildings mixed with towering Murican buildings—titanium, glass, steel, and magic. Barbarian walked next to a businessman. Bards carried Pentabucks coffee cups.
She parked Meja outside the city gate, paid the free wyvern-parking fee (which she would later learn was a scam), and entered the city.
A beautiful mage entered a luxurious hotel—The Helton—and was greeted by a frontman in a crimson uniform.
I was mesmerized. Only fancy adventurers stayed in places like that.
Nearby, a druid and swordsman exited a massive Murican megastore carrying mountains of shopping bags.
I was jealous. They were buying everything at that magical shop called Wailmart.
Finally, she reached the Adventurer Guild. Inside were adventurers tapping away at strange rectangular crystals—Murican information screen.
But to afford any of that, I needed money. A lot of it. And I spent all my savings just getting here.
She marched to the receptionist and registered herself.
A new life began.
---
Dark Forest
And the quests?
Embarrassingly easy.
Katja snapped a Polaroid photo of a monster that Meja had cooked to a crisp.
They didn't even need the body—just the picture.
---
Raven City Adventurer Guild
And the rewards?
Katja is mesmerized by the glowing things in her hands. Shiny things that never rested in her hands. Gold coin, and there's seventeen of them.
Her eyes glittered.
It was… life-changing.
---
From that moment on, Katja's life transformed at breakneck speed.
Hay bed? Replaced with a memory-foam mattress.
Stale bread? Now steak and wine.
Scratchy hemp clothes? Now silk outfits worthy of nobles.
Old boots? Now stylish Murican shoes.
Everything was expensive, but she could afford it.
I finally got the life I always dreamed of—and I wasn't even an A-rank adventurer. If I kept this up, Meja and I could travel the world anytime soon.
Naturally, she also visited the city's beloved casino.
"Just a little," she told herself the first time.
Then she lost a blackjack game.
Bought more chips.
Lost at roulette.
Bought more chips.
Lost at slots.
Bought more chips.
"I'll earn it back tomorrow," she told herself confidently.
It was fine. I still had quests.
And she did—over and over—until one day…
---
Raven City Adventurer Guild
"I'm sorry, miss," the receptionist said sweetly. "But there are no quests available for wyvern riders at the moment."
Katja froze.
"W-W-What do you mean!?"
A day passed.
Then a week.
Then two.
Still no wyvern-rider quests.
And then—
"Excuse me, miss,"
A casino manager appeared behind her.
And the hotel manager.
And the restaurant manager.
And the pawn shop manager.
"It's time to pay your bills." They all giving Katja a soulless smiles.
Katja fell to her knees and slammed her forehead onto the floor.
"I—I—I'M SO SORRY! I CAN'T PAY!"
---
Raven City Courthouse
"Military service for ten years," the judge declared.
KNOCK
The gavel hit.
Katja sighed.
And then, my adventurer life ended. Just like that… and my military life began.
---
Tri-Border Ocean — Present
Returning from her flashback, Katja blinked as the frigate around her shook slightly. She looked at her back.
Later on, I learned that I'm not the only wyvern rider who suffered this fate…
The frigates opened massive deck hatches. Wyverns emerged one by one from the lower decks—five of them—guided by their riders.
Katja helped Meja climb out. She placed her helmet on, adjusted her goggles, and tightened the straps.
Meja spread her wings wide.
And then—
FWOOOSH
They launched.
Apparently, this was how Ravendawn filled their air force quickly… and cheaply.
They climbed through the thick white fog—
Higher…
Higher…
Until they burst into the open sky.
And found themselves inside absolute chaos.
BOOM.
BOOM BOOM BOOOOM.
SCREEEECH.
Fire lit the heavens. The air stank of smoke and scorched metal.
Dozens of Dwargonian airships unloaded volleys of cannonfire as countless Ravendawn wyverns swarmed them, launching firebreath and fireballs.
And Katja immediately wished she'd stayed in Bremen delivering some mages groceries.
Now, here I am… fighting the giant air fleet of a major dwarven nation in Talvaris.
Katja and Meja dove into the battle, weaving past cannon blasts and retaliating with bursts of fire.
She fired a fireball—direct hit on an airship's balloon.
She dodged an incoming cannonball.
She screamed.
She dodged another.
She screamed louder.
She fired again.
God, I wish I never came to Ravendawn…
---
Inside a Dwargonian Airship
"WHERE DID THESE WYVERNS COME FROM!?" the captain screamed.
"SIR! THEY WERE HIDING INSIDE THE FOG!" an officer yelled back.
"BUT WITH WHAT!? THERE'S NOTHING BUT OCEAN BELOW—"
A wyvern suddenly loomed right outside the bridge window.
Everyone froze.
The bridge crew stared.
The wyvern stared back. With an opened jaw.
FWOOOM—
A firebreath engulfed the bridge.
The airship lurched violently, its metal frame shrieking as flames consumed the command deck. It spiraled downward, out of control.
SPLAAAAASH
It vanished beneath the waves.
---
Dwargonia Main Fleet, Super-Dreadnought Wavecrusher
The bridge was filled with speechless officers. They watched helplessly as chaos unfolded in the skies above their vanguard.
Wyverns shouldn't be a threat. Airships were designed to shoot them down before they ever got close. And no wyvern should be able to fly hundreds of kilometers from land.
Yet here they were.
Destroying airships.
One after another.
Admiral Durnick's expression darkened.
"…Send the fighters."
The order echoed across the fleet.
War had changed.
And the skies above the Tri-Border Ocean were about to become a new kind of battlefield.