The Birth of Heuk-heuk
Kim Tae-hyun smiled, slowly approaching the Black Dragon with his sword drawn. If Cain had been here, he would have shouted, "Watch out! It's a trap!" but unfortunately, Cain was nowhere to be found. If the players who had gathered to ambush him were still around, they would have cried, "H-He's beating someone up again!" but they had just been swept away by the dragon's breath. There was no one left to help the Black Dragon.
However, the Black Dragon remained completely oblivious to his plight, continuing to run his mouth.
"Master, as a human who belongs to Sadiq, you should consider it a stroke of luck to command a being like me. First of all, although you are my master, that is in name only. What truly matters is who is more beloved by Sadiq. I, the Black Dragon, am a magical beast loved by Sadiq. You are but a mere human. It is obvious whom Sadiq loves more, but since I am generous, I will temporarily recognize you as my master. Now, quickly go capture some humans—urk!"
Smack! Whack!
Tae-hyun brutally struck the Black Dragon.
"W-What do you think you're doing?!"
"Sorry. I've beaten Sadiq up way more than I've ever been loved by him. Still, Sadiq seems to like me. He even gave me a few of his Authorities."
To be precise, Tae-hyun had stolen those Authorities, but he spoke with absolute confidence.
"What on earth are you talking about?!"
"It's fine. You don't need to understand."
Thud! Thwack! Bam!
You have successfully struck the Black Dragon's torso.
Strength has increased.
Reputation has increased.
"!"
"Master, calm down! I shall generously forgive this insolence!"
"...! Really? Thanks! Keep on forgiving me then!"
"Huh? No, that's not what I meant... Wait, why are you looking at me with those eyes?"
Tae-hyun's gaze had already shifted to that of a predator looking at raw experience points.
He doesn't seem like he'll listen to me anyway. Should I just kill him and turn him into EXP?
If Tae-hyun had been a devout follower of Sadiq, killing Sadiq's beast would have incurred a massive penalty. But Tae-hyun was the Avatar of Archisus! Killing Sadiq's beast would bring its own unique rewards.
The server's first dragon hunt, EXP, scales, and since it's a dragon, there must be a Dragon Heart... With my Luck stat, it's a guaranteed drop, right? Plus, there'll be a Reputation reward...
Tae-hyun's eyes gleamed with a deep, dark light. Being a Black Dragon, the beast quickly caught on to Tae-hyun's thoughts.
"Master! Sadiq will not forgive this! Do you have any idea who I am?!"
"It's fine. Sadiq forgives me no matter what I do."
"That makes absolutely no sense! Sadiq's wrath is terrifying! Sadiq's wrath will never stop!"
"He forgave me even after I burned down his sanctuary, torched his headquarters, and slaughtered his bishops, though?"
"?!"
Only then did the Black Dragon realize Tae-hyun was completely abnormal. This guy was far from a devout follower of Sadiq.
"W-Wait, let's talk for a second... Ack! Urgh! Stop hitting me! Let's talk!"
"I do my talking with my sword."
Before long, the Black Dragon's HP had dropped below half. No matter how powerful a boss monster he was, he had been summoned as a beast, spent most of his power on his breath, and was now weakened and shrunken. He couldn't block Tae-hyun's relentless attacks.
The Black Dragon desperately cried out.
"You heartless human! Have you no mercy? I helped you sweep away your enemies!"
"I'm hitting you gently out of gratitude."
Of course, he was doing it to maximize the stat bonuses from hitting the dragon's tough hide.
"Let's compromise! I will recognize you as my superior!"
"Thanks. Goodbye."
"...Let's compromise! Lord Master!"
"Sure. Thanks. Goodbye."
"Lord Master! Please! I just got summoned, I don't want to die!"
Once his HP dropped below 10%, his true feelings came out. Tae-hyun finally stopped his sword.
"Really?"
"I want to live!"
"Geez. I can't trust you. You Sadiq bastards are all vicious and ill-tempered, lying is like breathing to you."
Then what does that make you, the guy who used Sadiq's Beast Summoning Authority?! the Black Dragon thought, but he wisely kept his mouth shut. He was quick-witted and knew when to compromise.
"No! I may be Sadiq's beast, but I am also a dragon. A being who knows honor!"
"Really? You're not going to backstab me later?"
"No! I will show absolute loyalty!"
"Swear it on Sadiq's name?"
"On Sadiq's name... gasp!"
The Black Dragon was horrified. Swearing on Sadiq's name meant he could never rebel!
"Great. Then I'll believe you."
"..."
The Black Dragon watched Tae-hyun's face and spoke up.
"But, Master."
"Did you forget the 'Lord' part?"
Sshring—
The sword rose again. The Black Dragon sensed a demonic power from it. Edaor's Crimson Greatsword!
Why is a human who supposedly worships Sadiq holding a weapon used by demons?! The Black Dragon was dumbfounded, but he shut his mouth to avoid getting hit.
"But, Lord Master. Hehe."
"Right. Speak."
"Lord Master, you aren't a believer of Sadiq, are you?"
"Of course not. Honestly, isn't Sadiq just a nuisance to the entire continent, playing with fire? It offends me to be associated with a guy like that."
"..."
The Black Dragon held back his words. Let's ask more.
"Then... how did Lord Master acquire Sadiq's Authority?"
"I killed his avatar and took it."
"...!!"
Only then did the Black Dragon realize. Tae-hyun was not a follower of Sadiq, but Sadiq's enemy! A monster who absorbed Sadiq's power.
What a crazy human! How could he do such a thing...!
A mere human who fought a god and stole their authority. The Black Dragon was shocked at first, but then realized Sadiq was the one losing out, not him. The Black Dragon only contracted with Sadiq to borrow power and manifest on the continent. Whether Sadiq's authority went to Tae-hyun or not didn't matter to him. In the end, the winner was his master.
Come to think of it, it has nothing to do with me.
If he were a divine beast of a good god, he would have been enraged by Tae-hyun's wicked actions and resisted to the death. But Sadiq was an evil god. The relationship between Sadiq and his beasts wasn't built on loyalty.
But fighting Sadiq... is he some kind of holy knight of a good god?
The Black Dragon looked Tae-hyun up and down. A guy holding a demon's weapon and stealing Sadiq's authority...
...A holy knight? Really?
"Lord Master. Which god do you worship, then?"
"I'm the Avatar of Archisus."
"..."
The Black Dragon's eyes instantly changed to pure contempt.
"What's with that look? It's kind of annoying."
"A-Ah, it's nothing. For Lord Master to be the Avatar of Archisus, that b... I mean, Archisus... Indeed, now your behavior makes perfect sense..."
"..."
"Archisus. If you are the Avatar of Archisus, everything is explained."
The Black Dragon nodded in understanding. Tae-hyun felt annoyed and smacked him again.
Thud!
"What's wrong with Archisus? Huh? Got a problem?"
Having been forced into this class, Tae-hyun always got strangely defensive whenever someone insulted Archisus.
"N-No, of course not. Archisus may have deceived and scammed other gods and demons, but that has nothing to do with Lord Master."
"...It must have been a fair trade. If they're gods or demons, it's their own fault for getting tricked. He didn't scam ordinary people. That's all that matters."
"Usually, when other gods make a contract for a divine beast or magical beast, they negotiate with the race. But Archisus pulled a scam all by himself. He scammed the Gold Dragon race to make a divine beast contract..."
"..."
The shocking secret of Yong-yong's past! Meeting this Black Dragon already reminded him of Yong-yong and made him feel guilty, but now he felt even more sorry for him.
I should treat him better from now on...
"Lord Master. Please give me a name."
"I was thinking of naming you Yong-yong."
"Oh, that is a fine name."
"But that name is already taken."
"?"
"Let's go with Heuk-heuk."
"...Lord Master. That seems a bit much..."
"Let's go, Heuk-heuk. By the way, how do you recover your strength? Don't tell me you eat my EXP too?"
Tae-hyun's voice carried a hint of murderous intent.
"N-No! I won't eat it!"
"Are you saying you can eat it, or you won't?"
"If I don't fight, I don't have to eat it!"
"So it's the same system as Yong-yong."
Tae-hyun sighed. Divine beasts and magical beasts were incredibly powerful compared to normal pets or summons, but their restrictions were too severe. Especially this EXP-sharing system. For Tae-hyun, who was already struggling with EXP, they were a massive burden.
"Yong-yong could recover using Holy stats and things like that. Do you have anything like that?"
"For me, if I burn down cities and burn people..."
"...So it's the Infamy stat."
As expected of Sadiq's beast, it seemed he could recover his strength by accumulating Infamy. Tae-hyun picked up the shrunken Heuk-heuk and placed him on his shoulder.
"Let's go. We need to head to my territory first."
"But is it alright for me, Sadiq's beast, to hang around with Lord Master, the Avatar of Archisus?"
"It's fine. There are Sadiq paladins in my territory too."
"?!?!"
Heuk-heuk was shocked. What on earth had happened to the continent while he was gone?
"Time to harvest!"
"Sniff. It was so hard. This farming season."
The farmer players approached the fields with tearful faces. How much they had suffered for this single harvest! The weather was still cold, and rabbits were running wild in the distance, but at least this territory was relatively safe. The rabbits never came here in the end.
"Why didn't the rabbits come?"
"Maybe because of that dragon?"
"Definitely..."
The players whispered as they looked at Yong-yong, who was sitting miserably on guard duty. Beautiful golden hide! Sleek body shape! A dragon's majesty! Occasionally, when monsters approached, the lightning attacks he unleashed terrified the farmer players.
"They said Kim Tae-hyun was keeping him, and he really is strong!"
At that level, it made sense that the rabbits would be too intimidated to come. Some players prayed to Yong-yong as they passed by, or left food for him.
"..."
Yong-yong looked like he wanted to say something with a complicated expression, but just lowered his head. He had half-given up! He had already become the mascot of the territory.
"Compared to other farmer players, we're actually in a much better spot."
"Honestly, this place is surprisingly good. Aside from the lack of facilities making it a bit inconvenient..."
Taxes were practically non-existent, and the church NPCs were incredibly kind, as if they had been threatened. Although there were no facilities, there were tons of specific crafting professions.
Rustle, rustle—
The players moved back and forth through the fields, gathering their crops.
"Huh?"
"Wh-What???"
Shouts of shock erupted among them.
"I-I planted low-grade seeds, so why am I harvesting advanced wheat?"
"I was supposed to get one, so why are there five...?"
The farmers buzzed with excitement, checking the situation.
"So, nobody used any buff magic? Not even a scroll?"
"I'm telling you, no."
"Then..."
"It's the Blessing of Archisus! It has to be!"
"Hey, but I planted wheat and got tomatoes."
"I planted wheat and got herbs..."
"..."
The farmers' faces turned complicated.
"W-Well, either way, it's a good thing!"
"Yeah! The yield is way higher!"
"And these tomatoes are top quality, right?"
"I mean, yeah... but... why did tomatoes grow when I planted wheat..."
"Let's just gather the rest first!"
The agricultural products piled up. Chairman Yoo had absolutely no idea. The astronomical amount of produce that was about to come out of the farmland in front of the Valley of Despair and Sorrow!