A Sudden Chill in the Air

The atmosphere suddenly grew icy cold!

Tae-hyun pulled out the stone tablet with a sour expression.

"...I actually came all this way to find this tablet and return it to you..."

Yong-yong, Heuk-heuk, and the Archisus Battle Angels all glared at Nitinger with frigid eyes.

There was a limit to rudeness. How dare this Red Dragon behave so insolently?

Even the demons bound below chimed in.

“Wow, even a demon wouldn't be that rude. Doubting someone right after negotiating on your honor! Not even a demon would do that!”

Tae-hyun looked at Nitinger with sorrowful eyes.

"Right... Well, I suppose that makes sense... Coming from someone who ignored my good intentions, went completely wild, and blew up several cities when I only wanted to return his tablet..."

“N-no! It is a misunderstanding, Lord Archisus! A misunderstanding! A complete misunderstanding!”

"Save it. What misunderstanding? I understand your true feelings perfectly clear."

“Master. As expected, one should never associate with Red Dragons. They are...”

Hearing such words from a devious, cunning Black Dragon—and a ridiculously young one at that—infuriated Nitinger to no end, but...

He was in no position to argue right now.

Damn it!

“I was in the wrong, Lord Archisus. I held a foolish prejudice because of the rumors and misunderstood you!”

"Well... I suppose so... Even though I chased it all the way to Frozeland, dealt with all sorts of weird scumbags, and brought this tablet back just to return it to you... only to be attacked the moment I arrived while my soon-to-be-conquered city burned to the ground... I guess that's just how it is..."

“...”

Even a Red Dragon possessed a conscience. A conscience located somewhere right next to his Dragon Heart!

Tae-hyun stabbed directly at that very conscience.

"And here I thought Red Dragons were magnanimous, trustworthy creatures..."

“We are exactly that kind of dragon!”

"No. I think I was mistaken..."

“...A scroll! I will give you a magic scroll!”

A Red Dragon getting extorted further just for misspeaking!

The captured demon watched in sheer awe.

As expected of Archisus! ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Once he bites into an opponent's weakness, he never lets go, just like a hellhound!

"What kind of scroll?"

“I-it is a scroll I crafted myself, inscribed with my Breath.”

"Hmm..."

A Red Dragon's Breath! Few things in existence could match the sheer destructive power of a breath that unleashed a torrent of devastating flames in a single strike.

Of course, a scroll would naturally be weaker than a direct blast, but a scroll crafted by a dragon of Nitinger's caliber would still be at a level players could never hope to replicate.

The problem was...

"Uh. Do you have anything else?"

“?????”

Of course, Nitinger had other scrolls, but what magic scroll of his could possibly be stronger than his own Breath?

Nitinger spoke in a bewildered voice.

“I am offering you a Breath scroll, so why would you want anything else...?”

"Well, you see... I already possess Sadiq's Authority, so I don't think I really need a Red Dragon's Breath..."

Why bother when he already had the divine authority skill, Sadik's Flame?

At Tae-hyun's words, Heuk-heuk smugly shrugged his shoulders. Hmph!

To Nitinger, however, this was a provocation on par with plucking a dragon's whiskers.

“What! How could you compare me to some minor deity's punk—cough, I mean...”

“...”

Heuk-heuk's expression turned dead serious at the slip of the tongue. Hey, Sadiq is a pretty good god too...!

“Ahem. Cough. Sadiq is indeed a great god, but even so, how could his flames possibly compare to the fire of a Red Dragon?”

"Really? But Sadiq ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠is literally a god who makes his living off fire..."

To Tae-hyun, Sadiq truly was a god who survived solely on fire. If not for fire, he would have starved to death long ago!

I definitely sized Sadiq up perfectly.

Of course, while Red Dragons were powerful and masters of magic, it didn't seem likely that Nitinger's flames would be stronger than Sadiq's.

Sadiq's flame properties were quite useful in their own right. They burned well, lasted long, and even had a holy effect...

Hmm. Now that I think about it, it's kind of like a battery.

"What kind of advantages does a Red Dragon's fire have?"

“It is powerful and hot!”

"...Isn't all fire like that?"

Lukewarm fire wasn't fire at all!

Nitinger was flustered by Tae-hyun's point. It was technically true, but putting it that way left him speechless!

“No, it really is exceptionally powerful... I-I will bestow an Authority upon you. So please, appease your anger.”

What kind of broken reward was this...?

"Mmm!"

...It was amazing, but it was a shame Nitinger was a Red Dragon!

A dragon's Authority skill was an incredibly broken reward that couldn't be obtained anywhere else, but from Tae-hyun's perspective...

Ah. If only Nitinger had been any other type of dragon.

Their elemental affinities overlapped!

And Nitinger had picked up on Tae-hyun's inner thoughts. This was the ultimate humiliation!

“I told you it is stronger than Sadiq's! Why won't you believe me! Just take it!”

"No, wait. Let me think about it first."

“Take it! Hah! I said, take it!”

Now, it was a matter of pride!

"Hey! I said I wanted to think about it, so why are you forcing it on me!"

“Just take it, I say!”

"???"

Tae-hyun was dumbfounded. I'm not even a fire magic specialist...? I just happened to get this by chance!

But ignoring Tae-hyun's protests, the quest details continued to unfold.

It's a flood of Legendary Quests.

How many Legendary Quests were going to pop up just from clearing the Curse of the Volcano quest?!

And above all, this looks like a quest meant for Pyromancers...

Why was this appearing for Tae-hyun instead of the players who actually specialized in fire magic?

Tae-hyun should be spending his time looking for another of Archisus's Authorities rather than searching for these fire authorities.

Could he even clear this?

Well, there's no harm in accepting it, but the chances of completing it seem pretty slim...

“How is it, Lord Archisus?”

"Huh? What is?"

“...The fire of a Red Dragon, of course.”

"Ah. Oh. It's great? Really great. As for why it's great... well, anyway, it's just really great."

It was a soulless compliment that wouldn't fool even a child!

Yet, Nitinger seemed immensely satisfied.

“Indeed. It is only natural that a Red Dragon's fire is a cut above Sadiq's.”

"Y-yeah. Anyway, thanks for the scroll. Here, take your tablet."

Having extorted just about everything he could, Tae-hyun prepared to wrap things up and make his escape. It was time to say goodbye!

Only 4 more levels until level 200!

Before celebrating this fact, Tae-hyun decided to handle a more pressing matter first.

"Wait. So the Curse of the Volcano is ending right now?"

“Yes. I shall lift it immediately—”

"Is there any way you could wait a bit before lifting it?"

“...”

Even Nitinger was taken aback!

“W-well, no. Is there any point in delaying it?”

"They say haste makes waste. It's always better to take things slow and steady."

The Curse of the Volcano had to be lifted eventually. After all, places other than Tae-hyun's Valley were currently burning up.

However...

It's better to sell off everything I can before it's lifted.

Because of the Curse of the Volcano, cold-attribute items were selling like hotcakes—there weren't even enough to meet the demand.

The prices of these items were skyrocketing by the day!

It was so extreme that merchants were holding onto their stock, thinking, Surely the price will go up even more?

“I do not quite understand... but very well, I shall lift it when you tell me to.”

Nitinger didn't care whether humans died of heatstroke or not. If Archisus wanted it that way, so be it!

“Then, I shall take my leave...”

Although he couldn't fly due to the Curse of the Volcano and his Word Magic, Nitinger was prepared to swim back if he had to. He desperately wanted to put some distance between himself and Archisus for a while!

"Ah. Wait a moment."

“??”

"Before you go, could you let me ride on your back and walk around for a bit?"

“????”

Nitinger was puzzled. It wasn't a difficult request, but he was curious about the reason. Didn't the Avatar of Archisus already have two dragons?

“It is not a difficult task, but why...?”

"Well, when people think of dragons, the Red Dragon is always the absolute best. I simply wanted to experience the honor of riding on your back just once."

“...Haha! As expected, you have an eye for greatness!”

“Guys, you know I didn't mean it, right?”

“I-I believed in you, Master!”

“I never doubted you for a second, Master!”

Perhaps because his pride had taken such a heavy beating, Nitinger was absolutely thrilled by a single compliment.

Even Carbanog, watching from the sidelines, shook its head in disbelief!

Thanks to this, Tae-hyun was able to ride Nitinger completely free of charge.

"!!!"

"W-what? Is the conversation over?!"

"What happened? Is there an announcement?"

"I don't know either..."

"Kim Tae-hyun is on top of Nitinger!! Kim Tae-hyun is riding Nitinger!!!"

"What did I tell you! I told you Kim Tae-hyun put a leash on Nitinger and made him his pet!"

"N-no way. Was that actually true...?"

The skeptical players were thrown into utter shock, muttering amongst themselves.

Come on, there's no way anyone could make a dragon their pet...

But seeing this sight forced even the doubters to abandon their skepticism!

What on earth was going on...?!

"Now, Nitinger. Could you walk over that way for me?"

“I am rather curious about your intentions, but...?”