Red Drake (4)
“Wh-what did you just say? Mag…”
“Stop! Don’t say it out loud!”
It was definitely a direct hit. His hands, busy with casting, froze on the spot, and Kim Seok Yong went blank, his mind clearly reeling.
“Yeah, I had no choice in the heat of the moment. Handle the situation for now—you got this. We're about to hit the next window!”
“Got it!”
Hyunjung approached Seok Yong right away and struck up a conversation, while I focused back on hammering the Red Drake, whose health was down to 30%.
The party was on the way, but I had to trust he'd keep Seok Yong under control calmly.
I had no choice. It was gonna come out eventually anyway—if I could make use of it like this!
People hadn't suspected I'd changed my ID and rebuilt my character after soloing the Orc Lord and Taeseong guild members on Titan, so Seok Yong freezing up in shock was understandable.
In truth, ever since I'd maxed out 8-star Stealth and stepped into the field with the Holy Sword, I'd been bracing for my identity to leak. I'd just been careful until I could tackle a few key challenges with the new ID.
So spilling it a bit early to Seok Yong wasn't a big deal. If anything, leveraging that info to tame the Red Drake right here? Solid call.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
No law against another player showing up, so I cycled my optimal DPS rotation, hurrying while keeping MP above 80% with smart skill and potion use.
“Kieeeek!”
Soon enough, I whittled its health under 10%, finally unleashing the Taming Monster skill I'd been dying for.
Using Breath of Binding (3) on the target.
As the skill fired, my hands went empty, stretching toward the drake in a casting motion. Golden vapor-like energy seeped from my palms, slowly enveloping its body.
It didn't stop attacking me, though.
Mana Shield absorbs 1,324 physical damage.
Mana Shield absorbs 1,872 magic damage.
Final phase, health nearly gone. No basic attacks—just nonstop bites and fireballs with zero delay.
I couldn't pop potions or absorb MP from damage, so my MP plummeted.
Heart pounding, I endured the 10-second casting bar filling in my HUD.
“Argh! Damn it! Nothing goes right!!”
MP had tanked hard during the cast—down to 30% now. Field boss or not, tanking hits nonstop would do that.
But worse: any player could pop in at any second.
Trembling, I resumed attacking calmly. Hyunjung and Seok Yong watched quietly now.
Taming Monster cooldown: 10 seconds. Whittle a bit more HP, absorb some MP, then recast—safer that way.
Holy Sword's light magic might burst it down if I overdo it.
Careful not to screw up, I stopped at ~2% HP and recast as cooldown ended.
Last shot! Fail this, no MP left to tank.
If I fail, I just exposed myself for nothing. Come on, pretty girl... please!
Pouring my soul into it, hands outstretched again.
Using Breath of Binding (3) on the target.
25%... 50%... 75%! The bar crawled agonizingly, but I stared it down. MP drained fast—Mana Shield nearly broke!
Then, full bar. Golden vapor sucked into its body.
Tamed Red Drake.
Taming Master
“Yes! We did it!! Uwahahaha!”
“Whoa, that guy's... he actually pulled it off!”
“Wh-what? The drake was tameable? No way!”
The Red Drake knelt tamely before me, head bowed. Smaller than its boss form as a pet, but still sleek and badass—sharper, even.
Taming odds were iffy, so success left me stunned too. But its nameplate said it all: Sandro's Red Drake.
“Mr. Kim Seok Yong, thanks for the interference at first—but you came through in the end. Whew, that was close, but we nailed it.”
“Mag—er, Sandro-nim. You're really him? I mean, seeing this with my own eyes... it has to be.”
“Yup, that's me. Leveled down and swapped IDs in the meantime.”
“Gasp! In that short time? Wait, not the point. You're really doing the solo interview? With Taitonic TV?”
“Promised, so yeah. Not right now—I'll pick a date in a few weeks and hit you up. Got a lot on my plate meantime.”
“Fine by me. Just make us your first exclusive?”
“Obviously. I'm a real fan, no cap. Only watch Taitonic in Taiton, you know?”
As we chatted, two of Seok Yong's party members arrived—familiar faces.
“Huh? Hyung, what's this? Weird modifier on the Red Drake's name? Not a respawn—quest or something?”
“Sandro's Red Drake? Rings a bell... where from?”
Time attack fame was niche—under-leveled old-timers only. Rare anyone recognized me in Centura Volcanic Zone.
Why familiar? These two were the jerks who'd cockblocked my first tame attempt.
“Your party members are these guys?”
“Yeah, my company juniors. Know 'em?”
“Oh, I know 'em. Sabotaged my tame try recently—pissed me off big time. 'Level up instead'? How'd that go? While I was taming that 'waste of time' drake?”
They finally clocked me, panicking.
“Now I see—you were really taming it. Sorry. Never dreamed it was possible...”
“My bad too. Didn't realize you were a legend. But first tame ever? Scoop of the century?”
“Hey! No spoons here—you booked with me first. Dream on.”
“Yes, sir...”
Broadcast blood—apologizing but sniffing scoops. Seok Yong shut 'em down like a boss.
I prepped to bounce.
“Gonna split before patrols swarm. Catch you solo next time, Mr. Kim.”
“Got it. Every move you make from here's gold. Prepping questions for that interview.”
“Cool. Don't overdo it, yeah? And Blessed Face—got Riding skill?”
I said bye to Seok Yong and turned to Hyunjung.
“Me? Nah. Why?”
“Too bad—you miss the test drive. On my new ride!”
With that, I hopped onto the crouched Red Drake's back.
(passive) Mount tamed monsters. (Mountable types only)
(passive) +20% mount movement and attack speed while riding.
(active) Mana cost: 120 | Cooldown: 420s
Dash full throttle for 10s, +80% mount speed.
Recent common skill pickup and pre-bought saddle let me mount right away.
Pulled saddle from inventory, fitted it, sat down—two system windows popped.
Dragon Rider
First: achievement. Drake's low dragonkin, but Dragon Rider title—unique vibe.
Rename tamed Red Drake?
Second: name your pet.
Days of attempts—I had a name ready. Perfect for this sleek red beast!
Ferari
Sandro-nim's pet Red Drake renamed to Ferari.
“Let's go, Rari! To the wide open skies!”
Kieeeek!
Yanked reins—Ferari spun in place, then launched skyward.
Bouncy at first from wingbeats, then smooth gliding.
“You two! Remember what you said? Taming's a waste? Pfft! Play like that, you'll never feel this in Taiton!”
“Whoa... a player riding a drake...”
“Insane...”
Glided past the stunned duo, soaring high over the volcanic zone.
“Whoa! At least 2x—no, 3x faster than griffons!”
Faster than any flying mages or mob riders I'd seen. Ground blurred beyond Ferari's imposing wings.
Taking periodic damage.
Hit altitude limit—MP started draining with the warning.
“Right, they block map edges like this! First air time, forgot.”
Dived to ground level, switched to glide—warning gone, MP recovered.
Open map airspace free, but stray too far or hit unrevealed zones? Penalized like this. Old news, irrelevant till now.
“Taiton's huge though—plenty of fly space. Faster than expected—hunting grounds and bosses in half the time!”
Gliding leisurely, checked new pet specs and achievements.
HP: 134,200/134,200
MP: 76,500/76,500
Attack: 2,335
Physical Defense: 1,540
Magic Defense: 2,362
Exclusive Skills: Fireball Breath (!), Wing Gust (!)
Taming a field boss—the pinnacle difficulty.
(+30 Vitality, +30 Magic Power)
Pet gains +10% EXP from hunting.
Pet skill cooldowns halved.
Mount a dragonkin with Riding skill.
(+3% Movement Speed)
Share damage with dragon while mounted.
Most dragonkin ignore you while mounted.
Beyond expectations. Figured it'd weaken a ton as a pet—specs said otherwise. Half raid boss power? Still crushes top solos 1v1.
Not just transport—a beast battle buddy.
Fireball Breath: strong AoE, short 30s CD. Wing Gust: long CD, but AoE knockback—tactical gold.
Field boss skills? Pure quality.
Nailing Taming Monster was genius. Quitting then? Massive regret later.
A/B-grade achievements packed sweet perks. One extra? Bonus harvest.
“Kya... perfect...”
Best part: epic views and freedom from the skies. Used to run summoned horses to shake off blues—now ultimate liberation.
VR or not, Taiton felt real. Experiences like this? Pure blessing.
No real-world spot or method matches this thrill!
And so, today I became Taiton's first dragon rider.