A Dragon's Soul Pledge

When the rankers took a firm stance, even the executives began to waver. There was clearly no other choice.

"Su Ning-nim. Perhaps we should ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠contact Alcott..."

"Urgh! But how can I say such a thing to Alcott! I have a conscience too!"

'What on earth is wrong with Su Ning?'

'No idea. Must have eaten something bad.'

As Su Ning put on a one-man melodrama, the other rankers grumbled inwardly. Without them realizing it, Su Ning and Alcott had grown incredibly close.

Alcott had not only completed several self-sacrificing quests but had also faithfully handed over his territory's income—though in truth, he only did so out of guilt, fearing his collusion with Kim Tae-hyun would be exposed! Naturally, his image had completely transformed in Su Ning's eyes.

With teary eyes, Su Ning said, "I will speak to Alcott myself. That is the least I can do out of courtesy!"

"As expected of Su Ning-nim!"

"Five times... Five times is a bit..."

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Nitinger had finally negotiated up to five times. Five summon tickets that would bring him flying instantly to Tae-hyun's side, no matter where he was on the continent!

'Five times should be...'

"Master. It seems acceptable."

The other companions agreed! Being able to exploit a dragon five times was a highly profitable deal.

Perhaps feeling uneasy deep down, Nitinger began to ramble, laying down conditions. "When you summon me, there must be a clear enemy to defeat or a specific target. You cannot summon me and then intentionally drag out the time or give me some vague objective, Archisus-nim."

This was a cautionary tale that had spread throughout the dragon community, all thanks to the Gold Dragon! Although Nitinger didn't think he would fall for such tricks, he wanted to make absolutely sure just in case.

"Who do you take me for? Don't worry, I won't call you unless it's to face an enemy."

"Vague goals like making a kingdom the richest in the world, or destroying every kingdom on earth..."

"I won't do it, I won't do it."

'Hmm. Honestly, I was thinking of asking him to turn one wish into two...'

'Of course, that wouldn't work.'

Nitinger had probably anticipated this and firmly ruled it out. In truth, five times was more than enough. He would have to fight enemies worthy of summoning a dragon five times, but how often would that even happen?

'Even if I kill all the Demon Archdukes, wouldn't three times be enough...'

'Don't jinx it. Let's not talk about that.'

Suddenly, a thought struck Tae-hyun, and he asked Nitinger, "But putting aside cases where I give you a weird objective, what happens if you fail?"

"What do you mean by that?"

Nitinger tilted his head, not immediately understanding Tae-hyun's words.

"I mean, for example, let's say I'm fighting an enemy, and because it's too tough, I summon you. But instead of winning, you end up losing."

"...Bwahahahahaha!"

Nitinger burst into roaring laughter. He considered it an utterly ridiculous joke. His laughter startled the players waiting outside.

"Nitinger laughed!"

"He must have acknowledged Kim Tae-hyun!"

"He burst into that kind of laughter because he accepted Kim Tae-hyun as his master."

"Everyone, I am Go Jung-wook, a professional ranker! Speaking as someone who has tamed over a hundred pets, I am ninety-nine percent sure that the Red Dragon has become his pet!"

"Ohhh...! Is that really true?!"

"Yes! Otherwise, why would the rampaging Nitinger suddenly become so docile? In my opinion, the skill Player Kim Tae-hyun used is undoubtedly a powerful taming skill!"

A beam of light that pierced from one end of the horizon to the other! It had to be a legendary pet skill capable of taming even a Red Dragon.

"If you look at Player Kim Tae-hyun, he already travels with two rare dragon-type pets!"

"That's true."

"Is Archisus actually the god of pets or taming? Since the records were erased, maybe that was the case..."

It was actually a fraudulent contract rather than taming or a pet skill, but there was no way the players could know that. Meanwhile, Nitinger stopped laughing.

"...Wait, are you being serious?"

"I am serious, though...?"

"Even if you are Archisus-nim, what do you take me for?! I am the Red Dragon, Nitinger!"

Nitinger shouted, staring at Tae-hyun with eyes filled with a mix of bewilderment and absurdity. No matter how much he had humbled himself before Tae-hyun, this was going too far!

"The only reason I cannot exert my full power right now is because I was struck by grand magic and sealing curses, definitely not because my abilities are lacking! If only this magic were gone..."

Hearing this, the battle angels growled fiercely.

"If only this magic were gone, what? Are you saying you would attack Archisus-nim?"

"As expected of a dragon, your heart is pitch black!"

"N-no, that is not what I meant, Archisus-nim! Hahaha. Hahaha. Hahaha."

Nitinger quickly forced a laugh. At that, the demons being dragged on leashes by the battle angels growled.

"There is an evil energy in that dragon's laughter..."

'Ugh.'

Nitinger cursed the angels and demons. Why couldn't they just stay in the Heavenly Realm or the Demon Realm instead of coming to the continent and acting so cocky? He absolutely detested them!

"There is absolutely no way I will lose!"

"Really?"

"Yes, Archisus-nim! No matter who the enemy is on this continent, no one can defeat this Nitinger. Even if it were another dragon!"

Nitinger thought to himself. Of course, if it were another dragon, Nitinger wouldn't lose, but it would be a difficult fight to win. However, Nitinger had the Avatar of Archisus on his side. If it was the Avatar of Archisus + Nitinger versus another dragon?

Nitinger was still misunderstanding Tae-hyun's combat power. He mistakenly believed Tae-hyun possessed the combat strength of an ancient Red Dragon.

'Hmm. Carbanog. Is Nitinger really that strong? He seems overly confident.'

'A Demon Archduke? Other dragons aside, even if a Demon Archduke comes to the continent, wouldn't they be unable to surpass level 1000? I don't think they can.'

Nitinger's estimated level was over 1000. Once his seals and restrictions were completely lifted, the terrifying power of that level would be fully revealed. In contrast, if a Demon Archduke manifested on the continent, they would have to sacrifice a massive portion of their Demon Realm power. No matter how he looked at it, they wouldn't be able to surpass level 1000.

The Demon Archdukes were ancient powerhouses who had existed since the era of fighting gods. Naturally, they had abundant experience fighting dragons as well.

'Thanks for the explanation, Carbanog.'

In the end, Nitinger would be at a disadvantage against a Demon Archduke, and he couldn't guarantee victory against another dragon either...

'But why is he so overflowing with confidence? Is it a racial trait of Red Dragons? Or did Carbanog and I misjudge something?'

Perhaps misinterpreting Tae-hyun's contemplation, Nitinger said resolutely, "Then I shall swear upon my soul. No matter who the enemy Archisus-nim names is, I will defeat them! If I fail to slay them, I will follow the precedent of the Gold Dragon."

"?"

"?"

Tae-hyun, Carbanog, and Yong-yong, who were all listening, were utterly dumbfounded. Follow what??

Just like in the ancient past, when the Gold Dragon Elder made a single bad contract with Archisus and handed over the young Gold Dragon Yong-yong as a divine beast... Nitinger was about to do the exact same thing.

'Uh-uh. Carbanog, quiet. He might hear you.'

With a pounding heart, Tae-hyun silenced Carbanog. 'So if he can't keep his word, Nitinger will hand over a Red Dragon as a divine beast?'

"So, if you can't defeat my enemy, you'll offer Reddy as a divine beast?"

Tae-hyun had already named the prospective pet!

"I do not know who this 'Reddy' is, but yes, that is how it will be."

Nitinger was brimming with confidence.

'It seems Archisus is trying to find a loophole, but I won't let that happen.'

Nitinger suspected that Tae-hyun was trying to downplay his strength just to squeeze out more summon counts. But Nitinger was not about to fall for such tricks. There was no opponent on this continent who could match him! ...Especially not if Archisus fought alongside him!

"Very well! Nitinger, I shall trust in your confidence."

Tae-hyun nodded, thoroughly satisfied. If Nitinger fought well, that was great. If he couldn't, that was also great. It was absolutely perfect!

'Oh.'

His Supreme Eloquence level 4 skill was already at 94%!

Considering how painfully slow the Speech skill had been to level up after reaching the Supreme tier, reaching 94% in a single negotiation was an incredible feat. It was all thanks to negotiating with a dragon!

'Then again, negotiating with a dragon isn't exactly an everyday occurrence.'

The skill *Dragon's Authority* was similar to the *Gold Dragon's Authority* skill he had obtained previously. While it wasn't quite as powerful, it was still incredibly potent in that it reduced overall skill cooldowns and MP consumption. Skills that reduced cooldowns or MP consumption were always top-tier!

'195!'

This chain quest was truly a jackpot. Tae-hyun was gaining an immense amount of levels from this questline.

...Of course, by other people's standards, an "immense level-up" meant jumping twenty or thirty levels at once, but still...

As level 200, which had once felt impossibly distant, slowly drew near, Tae-hyun's heart began to race. 'And here I thought I wouldn't even reach it before the game ended...!'

"Then, Archisus-nim, let us part ways on happy terms..."

Nitinger spoke empty words, clearly desperate to leave this uncomfortable spot as quickly as possible. However, Tae-hyun still had one more piece of business to attend to.

"No, Nitinger. Actually, there's one more thing we need to discuss. This was the real reason I came looking for you in the first place..."

Tae-hyun began rummaging through his inventory to pull out the stone tablet item. At that, Nitinger cried out in sheer terror.

"Archisus-nim! Didn't we just negotiate with our honor on the line?! You must uphold your honor as a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠god!"

"..."

"..."