The Drake Rider
The city of Milberg.
Nestled near the Western Mountain Range, it was a bustling hub where knights, mages, and mercenaries gathered to hunt monsters. Through the trade of monster byproducts, its economy had flourished into something truly impressive.
Naturally, the city was filled with taverns, most of them packed to the brim. And in quite a few of those taverns, the same topic of conversation kept surfacing.
“Hey, did you hear? They say a seriously powerful mage just arrived in the city. Word is he’s from the Blue Magic Tower.”
One of the ten great magic towers of the continent.
A hall of intellect renowned across the land, responsible for producing numerous Grand Mages worthy of appearing in history books.
But the mercenary sitting across from the speaker simply snorted.
“How long has he even been in Milberg? One, two days? You think I haven’t seen mages from big factions or knights from noble houses come and go?”
Those so-called promising talents often came to Milberg to make a name for themselves. Their patterns were almost always the same.
They strutted around thinking they were geniuses, only to get brutally humbled by the mountain monsters.
Unlike the average monsters found elsewhere on the continent, those that crossed over from the Monster Land to the west were far more ferocious, larger, and stronger.
Even legendary creatures from myths occasionally appeared, the kind that required the continent’s true powerhouses to step forward.
So the so-called geniuses who underestimated them like common beasts inevitably ended up bleeding—one way or another. They either tarnished their reputations, fled injured, or despaired at the limits of their talent…
“No, this one’s supposed to be the real deal.”
“Just because they’ve got a powerful backer doesn’t mean they’re strong themselves. You know that.”
Surprisingly, there were a lot of greenhorns who didn’t understand that simple truth.
The veteran mercenaries of Milberg loved mocking those naive fools.
“Hmm. I don’t know about his backers, but they say he’s riding a drake.”
“What?”
“A mage from the Blue Magic Tower who tamed a drake and rides it around.”
“······??”
Whispers. Murmurs.
Whispers. Murmurs.
On the main avenue of Milberg, Lim Dojun rode atop his drake, drawing crowds like a magnet. People swarmed in from all directions just to catch a glimpse.
“Oh my god… what is that thing?”
“A dr-drake is invading… wait, no?”
The drake was so massive that even in a dense crowd, it stood out clearly. Its savage snorts and overwhelming aura made it impossible to meet its gaze.
The gathered onlookers couldn’t help but feel fear, but the drake paid them no mind whatsoever.
The city guards, however, found themselves in a very awkward position.
“U-um… Sir Mage. Is… is this creature truly safe?”
Normally, they would beat troublemakers senseless and throw them out of the city. The guards had that authority. The problem was that this particular troublemaker was riding a drake.
They didn’t even want to imagine the devastation if the beast went on a rampage.
And to make matters worse, its master was a mage from the Blue Magic Tower. All they could do was ask politely.
“Yes. I have it firmly under control, so there’s no need to worry.”
“Krrrng!”
Lim Dojun nodded and gently stroked the drake’s scales. The creature snorted in response.
“······.”
The guard debated whether he could actually trust those words, but there was nothing else he could do.
“U-understood. Please, just… be very careful.”
In the end, all he could do was plead earnestly.
Right beside them, Dietrich muttered under his breath.
“No matter how many times I see it, I still can’t believe it. Is this what a first-year mage from the Blue Magic Tower is capable of…? My lifelong dream was to surpass the great towers. Looks like the seeds of talent were different from the start.”
As a sixth-year mage from the Blazing Flame Tower, he had always felt inferior to mages from the ten great towers. Deep down, he believed that if given the chance, he could have joined one. He even thought he wouldn’t lose out when compared to their members.
At least until he met Lim Dojun.
“Hmm. That’s not quite right. Not every mage from the Blue Magic Tower is like this. Jun is a rather special case.”
Gunter shook his head beside him.
Even as a senior from the same tower, he found Jun incredibly unusual. He had no idea how the man had managed to tame a drake.
‘Actually, I didn’t even know drakes could be tamed in the first place.’
Dietrich asked with a puzzled look.
“You’re from the Blue Magic Tower too, yet you’re saying you couldn’t do that?”
“I’m a third-year, but something like that is beyond my wildest dreams.”
“Are you perhaps the least talented person in the Blue Magic Tower? How did you even get in?”
“······.”
When Dietrich looked at him with clear suspicion, Gunter felt deeply wronged. At his level, he should be considered perfectly average in the Blue Magic Tower, yet here he was getting that kind of look!
Meanwhile, Lim Dojun was lost in thought as he looked down at the drake he was riding.
‘A drake pet. Never imagined anything like this.’
He had encountered the drake suddenly in the mountains. The moment it saw him, the five-meter-long beast had flipped onto its back and started acting ridiculously cute.
At first, he thought it was trying to trick him into becoming easy prey. But that wasn’t the case.
It kept following him everywhere. When he tried to shoo it away, it would whine and pile on even more adorable gestures. Anyone could see it was genuinely attached to him.
‘It must have been drawn by the aura of the Crystal Dragon I possess.’
Drakes were called sub-dragons, essentially distant relatives of true dragons. It made sense that it would instinctively feel favorable toward him.
Or perhaps it was drawn to his Dragon’s Body or his magic. Maybe all three factors combined.
Either way, he couldn’t exactly force it to leave, so he had no choice but to ride it all the way to the city.
Of course, the sight of Lim Dojun and the drake caused an absolute uproar. The rumor spread like wildfire.
And that turned out to be an unexpectedly excellent development.
You have earned the reputation of “The Mage Who Rides a Drake” in the city of Milberg.
You have received 1 Achievement Point.
He had already accomplished his goal of gaining some fame!
If he had gone about it normally—hunting monsters and slowly building a name for himself—it would have taken much longer to earn an achievement point.
Milberg was full of incredible mercenaries and had seen many knights and mages accomplish great feats over the years. But a mage who walked around with a drake? That was completely unheard of. It became an enormous topic of conversation.
From that point on, Lim Dojun deliberately paraded through the city’s main streets. He hoped the rumor would spread across the entire continent.
That evening.
Normally Lim Dojun would have been in Astelgard without fail, but today he had an appointment and came outside.
Ever since the last Returnee Association gathering, many returnees had been requesting to meet him.
Their intentions were obvious. Having learned about his unique ability to utilize subspace, they wanted to get close to him.
Lim Dojun saw no downside to it, so he scheduled meetings one by one.
Today was his first appointment—with Go Wonjin.
‘Better to get the beating over with first.’
That was why he had chosen to meet the hot-tempered Go Wonjin first.
Vroooom!
A compact car sped down the road.
Lim Dojun sat in the driver’s seat. It was a car Kim Eunju, the center director, had lent him. Since he had an appointment today, he was driving himself.
—Are you really sure this is okay? I have bigger and nicer cars. Shall I lend you one of those?
—This is more than enough.
Kim Eunju had offered him a decent foreign car, but Lim Dojun had declined. Just being able to drive again was satisfying enough.
Whether it was a compact car or a sports car didn’t matter. As long as it moved, that was fine.
The place he arrived at was a residential complex in the Gyeonggi region, filled with large mansions that the wealthy often used as second homes.
It was also the same location where the previous Astelgard Returnee Association meeting had been held. As it turned out, Go Wonjin was the owner of this house.
‘Who would’ve thought Brother Go was this rich?’
His first impression had been that of a wild, untamed man. He never dreamed the guy was loaded.
Lim Dojun had decided to treat him as an older brother during their last meeting, and now he felt that had been an excellent decision.
One should always stay close to rich people!
When he reached the mansion, Go Wonjin was already waiting at the entrance. The moment Lim Dojun’s car arrived, he personally came out to greet him.
“Brother! You made it?”
“Brother Go. Have you been well?”
“Of course. Except for being a bit bored.”
“I brought you a gift this time.”
Lim Dojun pulled a small dagger from his bag. It was a common iron dagger easily found in Astelgard. This had been Go Wonjin’s request.
—I want a sword from Astelgard.
—One that you used? That might be difficult…
Lim Dojun had explained his ability as being able to bring ordinary items from Astelgard.
—Not one I used. You said you could only bring things as common as pebbles on the roadside, right? Then could you bring me one of those cheap daggers that mercenaries use?
Back in the days when he lived every moment worrying about death, he had swung whatever cheap iron sword he could get his hands on.
Go Wonjin wanted to relive those memories.
“Is this what you wanted, Brother?”
“Ooh! Perfect!”
Beaming, Go Wonjin took the dagger and began stroking it with sparkling eyes.
“Sssip… Haa. Yeah. This smell. That metallic, rusty iron scent. You can’t get this feeling in Korea at all.”
He sniffed the dagger as if it were a fragrant flower, then even gave it a little lick.
Lim Dojun wondered what kind of bizarre behavior that was, but he stayed quiet. It was never wise to provoke a madman.
“Alright. Let’s head inside and have a drink. I prepared some good liquor for my brother.”
“Yes.”
It was at that moment.
Zzzzzzzzt.
A strange sound that grated on the nerves echoed through the air.
Go Wonjin frowned deeply.
“Here we go again.”
“What is that sound?”
“Some necromancer bastard from the Ghost Temple moved in next door a while ago. Ever since then, this annoying noise keeps coming out at regular intervals.”
“!”
‘Ghost Temple?’
Lim Dojun flinched. He had actually planned to subtly ask about the Ghost Temple today. He never expected Go Wonjin to bring it up first.
“What? You know about the Ghost Temple?”
“I’ve heard of them.”
“They’re a bunch of unlucky shamans. I went over yesterday and warned them. Told them if they made noise at night one more time, I’d shove a blade in them. But they’re at it again.”
Go Wonjin scowled.
And then—
Zzzzzzzzt.
Giiiiiiing.
Goooooooh.
The sounds grew even worse.
It wasn’t simple noise. It stimulated the mind and soured one’s mood. Even the usually calm Lim Dojun felt his emotions strangely fluctuating.
“…Ha.”
Go Wonjin grinned viciously. A murderous gleam flashed in his eyes.
He had never been a patient man. The slightest irritation and he would draw his sword first. That was how he had lived in Astelgard, and even in Korea, he often pulled his blade when adjusting to this world proved difficult.
He had already given them one warning. Yet they ignored it and made the noise even worse. And of all times, it had to happen when he had invited his precious younger brother over.
This was no longer something he could tolerate.
“Brother, just so you know in advance—the news won’t report this.”
“The news?”
“You know those headlines, right? ‘Man stabs neighbor over noise complaint.’ Since I’m a returnee, they’ll put an embargo on it. Don’t worry.”
Smiling brightly, Go Wonjin drew his sword and leaped high into the air. Red energy surged from his blade and shot toward the neighboring mansion.
“I told you to be quiet, you damn shamans!”
Kwaaaaang!
The wall collapsed, and sword energy ripped the mansion apart.
Go Wonjin charged inside like a bullet.
“······.”
Lim Dojun was momentarily stunned by how quickly the situation had escalated.
But only for a moment.
‘This is my chance.’
He never expected to get entangled with someone from the Ghost Temple like this, but Lim Dojun wasn’t about to let an opportunity slip by.
He followed Go Wonjin and jumped over to the neighboring house.