CH 65.

Episode 65. 2nd Class Advancement

-          You may advance from the 1st class Dragon Rider to the 2nd class Dragon Rider Chief.

-          Would you like to advance to the 2nd class?

Despite not knowing what “2nd class advancement” or “Dragon Rider Chief” meant, Seon-Hyeok’s eyes grew wide as he heard the message. His bewilderment only lasted a moment, however, and he shouted cheerfully.

“Hell yeah, I will! I’m advancing!”

Although he suffered during the early levels, he was only able to reach his current status because he became a dragon rider. There was no reason to refuse the 2nd class advancement.

-          You have advanced from Dragon Rider to Dragon Rider Chief.

As soon as the message disappeared, a brilliant flash of light enveloped his entire body.

“Ah…”

He felt uplifted. The fatigue from his repeated, high-intensity training was completely blown away, and new vitality took its place.

-          Status elements have been added and changed while advancing from Dragon Rider to Dragon Rider Chief.

-          All stat values have increased slightly as a result of your advancement.

-          Leadership has been added as a basic stat as a result of your advancement.

-          The skill “Command Squad” has been added under possessed skills as a result of your advancement.

-          The dragons tamed category has been renamed “Dragon Squad”.

-          Drake (Goldrake) (Earth) (Lv. 06) has been added to the Dragon Squad.

“Huh?”

Upon hearing the message, Seon-Hyeok immediately opened his status window to see the changes.

[Kim Seon-Hyeok]

-          Level. 10

-          Dragon Rider Chief

-          Unique Attribute

o   Wind / Attribute Control 99

§  Wind Bite

§  Wind Body

§  Wind Spirit

o   Earth / Attribute Control 53

-          Spirits Contracted

o   Low-Tier Wind Spirit (Atiya)

-          Dragon Squad

o   Drake (Goldrake) (Earth) / Obedience 100

§  Condition – Full, Sleeping

-          Strength 37 / Stamina 35 / Agility 37 / Leadership 26 / Magic Resistance 48

-          Possessed Skills

o   Dragon Taming

o   Dragon Riding (Low Tier)

o   Command Squad (Low Tier)

o   Charging (Wind)

o   Wind Piercing (Wind)

o   Attribute Weapons Mastery (High Tier) (Wind) (Earth)

o   Advanced Horsemanship

§  Advanced Horsemanship + Charging = Complete Charging (Wind)

o   Abnormal Spearmanship (Highest Tier) (Wind) (Earth) ←→ Abnormal Cavalry Spearmanship (Highest Tier) (Wind) (Earth)

o   Standard Kingdom Swordsmanship (Mid Tier) (Wind) (Earth) ←→ Standard Kingdom Cavalry Swordsmanship (Mid Tier) (Wind) (Earth)

o   Heavy Armor Proficiency (50kg) ←→ Heavy Cavalry Armor Proficiency (90kg)

o   Infantry Shield Proficiency (High Tier) (Earth) ←→ Cavalry Shield Proficiency (High Tier) (Earth)

o   Manual Labor / Civil Engineering (High Tier) (Earth)

The rank of chief or sergeant felt strangely familiar, but that wasn’t important. What really mattered was the changes in his stats. The most noticeable changes were the newly created leadership stat, Command Squad skill, and the Dragon Squad category. It wasn’t difficult to understand what kind of class the Dragon Rider Chief was based on these three new or altered entries. The Dragon Rider Chief specialized in commanding a dragon army.

[Now you’re one step closer to me.]

It was a voice he hadn’t heard in a long time, but the dragon spoke like that wasn’t the case.

“Wow. It’s been a while, dragon.”

Excited about reaching the 2nd class advancement that he didn’t even know existed, he greeted the dragon joyfully.

[What an odd greeting. Like I said, your words and attitude are not compatible…]

“But I don’t even know your name yet! There’s nothing I can call you.”

[You are not yet worthy of knowing my name. When you build on the steps you have taken and the advancement you reached today to eventually come to me, you will be able to call me by my name.]

Seon-Hyeok found it surprising how the dragon could convey simple ideas in such a difficult manner. However, by now, he was used to the dragon’s speech, and he asked about the Dragon Rider Chief class instead of being taken aback.

[Gather the dragon subspecies scattered around the world. They will be your new strength.]

It was the right thing to say to the Dragon Rider Chief, who had the ability to command a dragon squad. However, there was a problem. Even if there were other subspecies aside from the drake, he had no means of locating them.

“I’m not in a situation where I can freely wander the world. It’d be nice if you told me where those other subspecies are.”

In this world, it took almost a month to cross a kingdom located in the east, so how could he leave his territory unattended to search everywhere without knowing where the dragon subspecies were? The dragon didn’t exactly answer his question.

[Find the smallest and weakest subspecies of dragon, one which has abandoned its form and maintained its aura of mystery.]

“The smallest dragon species? What’s that?”

The dragon paused for a moment before responding.

[Fairy Dragon. That is the first guide you must find.]

“Lie down.”

The huge monster fell flat on the floor at his command.

“Sit.”

Growl.

The monster expressed his disapproval by huffing roughly, but he did not disobey Seon-Hyeok’s orders. The beast lowered his rear onto the ground and awaited the next command.

“Oh. It really works?”

Seon-Hyeok celebrated as he saw Goldrake repeatedly sitting and standing up at his command.

Until now, Goldrake had been stubborn despite his obedience stat reaching 100. But now that Seon-Hyeok reached his 2nd class advancement, Goldrake faithfully carried out his demands like an obedient dog.

This was the strength of the Dragon Rider Chief – the power of “Command Squad”. The ability most certainly was not given so that he could treat the giant monster like a puppy, but it was a huge benefit for him to be able to control Goldrake at a distance. Thanks to this, he no longer had to worry about micromanaging Goldrake. He gave Goldrake a variety of instructions as an experiment, and Goldrake learned his commands through trial and error.

“Uhh. I don’t think this will work. I really don’t think so.”

“I’ll give you a vacation using my authority as company commander.”

Seon-Hyeok exercised his authority as he looked at Hansen, face pale as he stood in front of Goldrake laying on his stomach.

“No matter how nice vacations are, this…”

“Not three days, but a week! A week of paid leave. You still don’t want to?”

Hearing his offer, Hansen clenched his teeth and seemed to make up his mind.

“Fine. A man can only die once.”

“Oh! Hansen. You’re so cool!”

The riders in the surrounding area cheered Hansen on for his determination.

“Then let’s begin.”

Seon-Hyeok gave a look at the determined Hansen.

“Uh. Don’t bite. Good boy?”

Hansen stuttered forward and stood close to Goldrake. His eyes were fixed on the monster’s eyes as they followed his movements.

“Ah, you’re such a coward. What are you doing! Get on already.”

“Ugh. Fine. All right. All right!”

At his urging, Hansen closed his eyes and climbed onto the specially designed drake saddle.

Growl.

“Whoa, whoa. Good boy. Stay still, Goldie.”

When someone other than his owner got on his back, Goldrake growled threateningly and expressed his disapproval. Seon-Hyeok hurried forward to calm down his drake. Thanks to this, Goldrake did not bite Hansen or cause an incident.

“Okay. Get up. That’s right.”

Goldrake slowly rose at his command.

“Uh. Huh? Huh?”

Surprised at how high he rose, Hansen let out a strange noise between a scream and a groan. However, his reluctance was only temporary, and the simple and ignorant Hansen quickly let out a cheer.

“Wow! This is awesome!”

Seon-Hyeok clenched his fist in victory when Goldrake didn’t cause trouble even with Hansen on his back.

He was currently testing his “Command Squad” skill, a unique ability of the Dragon Rider Chief. It was an important test to see to what extent Goldrake would follow his instructions after he followed minor commands flawlessly.

The experiment was a success. In the past, the drake would threaten anyone who wasn’t his owner if they approached. Today, however, he allowed a different human onto his back.

At this point, it could be said that his commands were being prioritized over the drake’s natural ferocity and instincts.

‘If things go well, I really could make a Dragon Squad.’

Since he advanced to the Dragon Rider Chief class, which had the ability to control a unit, couldn’t he look forward to forming a squad of dragon subspecies? Today was the first step towards that goal, and it had been a success.

“Ugh. But where do I find those subspecies.”

The problem was that the only dragon subspecies he had successfully tamed was Goldrake. He had no idea about the whereabouts of the fairy dragon, supposedly his guide to the other dragons.

“Uh? Huh?”

His concentration was momentarily broken while he was deep in thought, and the moment of carelessness almost caused an incident. The calm Goldrake took advantage of the opportunity to cause a disturbance.

“Ack!”

“No! Goldie! Back off!”

Hansen screamed and rolled onto the ground, and Goldrake opened its maw as if to devour the rider. Panicking, Seon-Hyeok rushed forward to avert disaster. He repeatedly smacked Goldrake on the back of his head.

“Hansen. Are you okay?”

“Uhh…”

After checking that the drake was deflated and no longer acting violent after being hit, Seon-Hyeok asked whether Hansen was fine.

“Uhh… I… think so?”

His words were jumbled. Hansen’s front teeth were broken.

“Hansen…”

“Huh? I’m okay.”

Despite his face being covered in blood, Hansen looked happy at the prospect of having a week off. Seon-Hyeok felt bad for him and added another three days to his week-long vacation.

“Hell yeah!”

Hansen cheered excitedly, and he even said he’d like to ride the drake again if he got the chance, showing a surprisingly positive attitude.

“Julian. Give Hansen money for his vacation and medical expenses.”

He knew Hansen didn’t completely neglect his body, and that he would find new teeth or something if given the funds.

After that day, Seon-Hyeok refrained from conducting additional experiments. There had been an accident during the process, but he was able to confirm the potential for a dragon rider unit. For the time being, however, it remained nothing more than an idea, as Goldrake was the only dragon subspecies under his control.

The important part was finding additional dragon species. Sadly, however, the dragon had not told him where to search. He had to do the legwork himself, as he didn’t even know the location of the fairy dragon, which was supposed to act as his guide.

“Where can I get the most information about monsters?”

Whether or not they were dragon species, they would have all been classified as monsters. He thought it would be possible to get relevant information by asking around on the distribution of monsters, and he asked Julian where he could gather as much data as possible.

“Hm. In terms of having the most data, I’d guess either the royal library, the mage tower, or the archives of the capital knights?”

“Aren’t all of those at the capital?”

Seon-Hyeok frowned at Julian’s response. He learned full well from his previous visit that he wasn’t very compatible with the capital.

“Yes, if you’re looking for information.”

Somehow, Julian seemed to be hinting that there was another way to gain information on monsters.

“Then what else is there?”