Book 2: Chapter 159
The explanation Bargan gave was concise, but Lukas had a feeling that it was much more complicated than that.
Nevertheless, Bargan did all of those frivolous tasks on his own.
Lukas was inwardly surprised by this fact. It seemed that he wasn’t just a wandering Fighter who could only earn his living by fighting.
That wasn’t all.
Bargan seemed to have a good understanding of the behaviour one should have for their superior and knew exactly how rude or polite he should be at any moment.
But this kind of behaviour couldn’t be innate.
Lukas suddenly asked.
“Did you serve someone before me?”
When he heard this question, Bargan’s expression changed slightly.
“No. This is my first time serving a Lord.”
There were other types of superiors that one could serve.
Lukas was curious, but he didn’t ask any further. He knew that, were he to ask, he would certainly receive an answer. However, such an action would affect Bargan’s loyalty.
‘Though I don’t really plan to increase his loyalty.’
He was a bit curious about this man named Bargan’s past, but that was all.
While Lukas was lost in his thoughts, they arrived at the roof of the building.
Upon opening the door and stepping outside, they were immediately greeted by strong winds which ruffled their hair.
As Lukas had expected, the roof of the building had been fashioned into a landing strip of sorts.
The Flame of Herui was the tallest building in the area, and from it, they were able to see the beautiful scenery of the waking city. However, there was something else that drew their attention.
Sitting beneath the slowly brightening morning sky were a group of large carriages. And in front of each carriage, was an even larger flying dragon.
‘It’s big.’
The monster seemed to be at least five meters long, and if it spread its wings, it would certainly be much larger.
Although it sat on the rooftop in a seemingly calm manner, the feeling it gave wasn’t like that of a docile pet. Instead, it seemed to give a faint sense of danger like that of a sleeping lion.
It was strange.
This monster was a flying dragon, something that should be as ferocious as the drakes and wyverns in Lukas’ homeworld. That was why he found it strange that they were able to tame them enough to pull their carriages.
“You’re here, Bargan.”
It was at that moment that a Dragonman approached them. It seemed that he also knew Bargan.
“Squad Leader, Igaru, we’ll be in your care for a while.”
“Haha. I should say the same. After all, it is ‘Headsmasher Bargan’ that’s joining us. You are much more reliable than even a hundred of my foolish squad members.”
When Bargan simply nodded, Igaru’s gaze turned to Lukas.
“You can call me Igaru. Are you Bargan’s rumored Lord?”
“Yes. I’m Lukas.”
“Hmm…”
Igaru briefly glanced at Lukas’ body before nodding.
“Nice to meet you. As you may have already heard, the cost of the trip will be 500 erus. Since there are two of you, it would normally cost 1000 erus, but Bargan has joined us as a mercenary, so you only need to pay us half.”
“…a mercenary?”
It was Bargan who answered Lukas’ question.
“To put it simply, I’ll be helping the subjugation team.”
That explained why Igaru was so happy to see Bargan.
“I’m sorry for not telling you earlier. I thought it would be better to save, even if it was only 500 eru.”
“No, thank you for your consideration.”
After saying that, Lukas turned back to look at the carriages once again.
Each carriage had one flying dragon attached to it. Before boarding, he decided to see how the flight worked.
‘There is no way it can fly properly just by putting reins on a flying dragon.’
Considering the weight of the carriages and their occupants, no matter how powerful the flying dragons might be, there was no way they’d be able to fly for extended periods.
Lukas decided to take a closer look at the carriage. As he expected, runes were engraved all over it.
There were runes for reducing weight, runes to block the wind and prevent shaking to some extent, and also runes that helped with levitation.
‘The Dragonlings on Desire Island are said to be good at using runes.’
Runes was a field that could be considered quite common in different types of magic.
The difference between spells and runes was the fact that even those who might not have the necessary magical talent would be able to use runes as long as they had the required knowledge, materials, and tools.
‘It probably has something to do with the abundant mana in the air.’
Since there seemed to be a never-ending supply of potent mana in the air, it was natural for the Dragonlings to not see the need of storing it in their bodies.
This also caused the direction of their development to move from using spells, to using runes.
The principle behind runes was to take the energy flowing in the air and transform it to suit your specific needs. For that reason, it was possible that the runes the Dragonlings created could have only been used in the Heavenly Realm.
As he watched Lukas carefully observing the carriage, Igaru tilted his head to the side.
“Are you a Sorcerer?”
Lukas thought for a moment before nodding.
There was no reason for him to tell him about spells, which would probably be a new concept for him.
Suddenly, the squad members who had come over with Igaru burst into laughter.
“A Sorcerer…”
“I didn’t think there would be sissy’s who played with runes here on Combat Island.”
“…”
Unlike Igaru, the other squad members didn’t seem to have a very good impression of Lukas. And when he turned to look at them, they gave him provocative glares as if to say ‘what can you do about it?’.
Naturally, Lukas wouldn’t care about this kind of childish provocation, so he simply got onto the carriage without giving them a second glance.
The interior of the carriage was much larger than he expected. It was large enough for five or six people to sit comfortably.
Then, he heard Igaru’s voice.
“Everyone, get on the carriages!”
* * *
Three flying dragons flew across the blue sky.
The group this time consisted of nine squad members, including Igaru, Lukas, Bargain, who was also controlling a flying dragon, and three other passengers.
On an island above the clouds, it was certainly a novel experience to be flying once again, but Lukas didn’t find it interesting.
He had long since lost any interest in the scenery flashing past the window.
Rattle, rattle…
In all honesty, the ride was not good. Instead, it would be better to say that it was terrible.
No matter how many runes were inscribed on it, the carriages were drawn by living creatures. Whenever the flying dragons flapped their wings to propel themselves forward, the entire carriage shook as if it had been buffeted by heavy winds.
Nevertheless, although this shakey trip was uncomfortable and puke-inducing, Lukas simply sat with a nonchalant expression, reading the book he’d prepared in advance.
“Are you really Bargan’s Lord?”
When he lowered his book and looked past it, Lukas saw a man looking at him with an expression of interest on his face.
The horns sticking out of the sides of his head were a clear indicator that he was a Dragonman as well.
“That’s right.”
“Amazing. You really don’t look like much from the outside. In that case, how about we spar later?”
“If we have the chance.”
“If we have the chance… That’s fine.”
The man then spoke with a smirk.
“I’m Guaba, by the way.”
“Lukas.”
“That’s a pretty weird name.”
Contrary to his serious appearance, Guaba was quite the chatterbox.
While the other squad members didn’t seem to pay any attention to Lukas, he continued to talk nonstop.
“I’ve been doing this for 10 years.”
“Do I like this job? To an extent. As long as we fill our quota, we can take the rest of the time off.”
“You don’t need to be scared. In the past 10 years, only two passengers who came with our squad died, and they were both accidents.”
Of course, Lukas just read his book without responding to his chattering, but that didn’t seem to bother him.
He had reached an interesting part in the book so he began to concentrate even more.
[The lifespan of Dragonlings is much higher than that of Dragonmen. They also continue to grow until they die.]
[Individuals that managed to survive for several hundred years are called Ancient Dragons, and they gain strength that is on a completely different level from other Dragonlings.]
[The ‘Untamed Island’ is the place where the most Ancient Dragons can be found, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be found on other islands too.]
[Because of their extreme adaptability and tenacious vitality, it is possible for Ancient Dragons to even survive on Death Island, which is known as the forbidden land.]
Ancient Dragons.
That name reminded Lukas of the Dragons from his homeworld, but they seemed to be a bit different. (Note: For reference, Lukas’ Master, Isolla, was an Ancient Dragon.)
‘No. I can’t say they are completely different.’
In the history of his world, according to Lord, Dragons were simply massive, incredibly strong unintelligent beings who gradually developed as time passed.
So it was also possible that the Ancient Dragons had developed intelligence after thousands and tens of thousands of years.
Lukas kept reading the book intently.
The next phrase piqued his interest even more.
[The corpse of an Ancient Dragon can only be described as a treasure trove. It is a valuable treasure in itself, but many parts of it can also be used as unparalleled elixirs, or supreme ingredients.]
[Bones, teeth, claws, scales. All of these are things blacksmiths pray to get their hands on, but only a few are so lucky.]
[For most Dragonmen, fighting an Ancient Dragon would be no different from throwing themself off a floating island.]
[There is no confirmation of this fact, but it is stated that the heart of an Ancient Dragon has miraculous properties. Only a handful of those who try to refine it would be able to handle the immense power contained within…]
‘An Ancient Dragon’s Heart.’
Recalling his past, Lukas nodded inwardly.
It could certainly be said that the heart was the essence of life. Especially for monsters who have lived as long as the Ancient Dragons. Their hearts alone would contain a tremendous amount of energy.
‘That might be a special item.’
Lukas raised his head slightly and looked at Guaba.
Even now, he was still chattering happily.
“That’s why, after this mission is over, I intend to confess to her…”
Lukas stopped Guaba before he could continue.
“Have you ever encountered an Ancient Dragon?”
Guaba rolled his eyes at that question.
“If I met one, do you think I’d still be here to talk about it?”
Lukas’ expression became a bit unsightly when he heard those words, and maybe he picked up on it, as Guaba laughed heartily.
“Now I understand. You’re scared. Haha. There’s no need to be scared.”
Guaba laughed until his stomach hurt.
“In all of my ten years on the subjugation team, I have never seen even a trace of an Ancient Dragon. Hahaha!”
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