Chapter 123 - Bonding on the Back of a Dragon

  The wind howled like a beast across the open sky, tearing against their bodies and hair as the group of five soared high above the ground on the back of Zhuhai. The enormous vermilion-scaled dragon, a creature of serpentine grace and overwhelming majesty, twisted and surged through the night with alarming speed. Its lithe body coiled and arced effortlessly through the currents of wind, parting the sky like a living comet.

  Beneath them, the world blurred into streaks of distant mountain ridges and darkened forest lines, while above, the stars trembled with each of Zhuhai's rhythmic beats through the air. The cold bit at their skin, and the sheer force of the wind made it nearly impossible to see, much less breathe, let alone speak.

  At first, it was a struggle for everyone except Drake, who was already used to that situation. Adam clung to one of the tufts of fur along the dragon’s neck, his eyes narrowed into slits as the air threatened to rip the breath from his lungs. Beside him, Katya looked pale, more from the speed than from fear, her hands gripping the fabric of her skirt with white knuckles as she tried to remain upright. Angela had squatted low to stabilize herself, lips pressed tight, her usually composed demeanor interrupted by the chaos of sheer velocity. Vaelric, for his part, seemed caught between awe and sheer physical disorientation, his crimson cloak snapping violently behind him.

  But then, Drake shifted forward, bracing his feet against the wide top of the dragon’s head, and raised both arms outward, channeling his inner energy with calm precision.

  A pulse of Ki surged from him like an invisible dome, expanding until it enveloped them in a translucent shell. Instantly, the wind’s violence was cut off, muffled to a soft hush, and the air inside grew calm. Their bodies stabilized, and for the first time since they had taken flight, they could breathe easily. The change was so drastic that everyone exhaled almost simultaneously in relief. Angela even let herself fall back onto the plush fur, looking upward with a heavy breath. Katya blinked, finally able to open her eyes fully, and muttered something under her breath about never getting used to that sensation.

  “Thank you, but I would have appreciated a prior warning.”

  Adam said, turning toward Drake as he adjusted his footing. Drake nodded.

  “Yeah, sorry about that… do you mind if we take turns? It’s draining to hold this for too long.”

  Adam agreed and, as he took over after a few minutes, concentrated. Cursed energy gathered in the space before them and began to harden into a similarly shaped barrier. It wasn’t as elegant as the Ki version, nor did it feel particularly pleasant, but it was stable and functional—and that was enough.

  With the wind no longer drowning out their words, conversation soon followed. They were, after all, looking at a journey that would take most of the night and stretch well into the next day. Vaelric was the first to speak, raising his voice above the steady hum of the wind against the magical barrier.

  “Uldroth lies far to the northeast. It takes no less than three days to arrive by horse. But with this magnificent beast, I daresay we’ll reach it past morning.”

  He said, his tone more regal than before. Adam nodded at the estimate. It seemed to be the case based on the speed at which they had traveled from Morvael to Velmoria.

  “That seems accurate. We’ve got time.”

  He said, adjusting his balance. Katya said little, her face partially turned, one hand resting lightly over her chest as if feeling something invisible. From time to time, her fingers would twitch, and her eyes would tighten slightly—checking, most likely, the state of Kazue through their soulbond. She didn’t need to speak for Adam to guess what was on her mind.

  Still, every time Drake joined in on the conversation, adding a quiet remark or asking Vaelric a question, Katya would speak up a little more. Her tone softened around Drake, and her reluctance eased—just a little. Even when she snapped back at a comment or rolled her eyes, her shoulders relaxed in his presence; whether she noticed it or not, the contrast was clear. There were plenty of conversations and remarks from everyone in the group, and Vaelric seemed very amused by every interaction.

  “Huh, I never imagined that I would ever enjoy a ride beside humans.”

  The vampire said at one point, after a long silence, Angela quirked an eyebrow.

  “What!?”

  Vaelric gave a low chuckle.

  “Do not mistake me—I recognized what you are the moment I saw you near Lord Adam. Even when your visage mimicked our own.”

  Adam turned his gaze toward him, clearly nervous, just like the others, who were not expecting that kind of comment.

  “What do you mean?”

  There was a short pause as the wind carried on around them, the barrier still humming softly with cursed energy. Then, Vaelric straightened slightly, his posture upright with quiet confidence as he glanced at Adam once more.

  “Of course, let me explain, my Lord... One of the blessings of being born from our esteemed Monarch Lilith’s bloodline is that I can sense the nature of my kind. It’s not a matter of sight or sound—it’s an instinct. That’s why I instantly knew you were a great vampire Lord and that your entourage were… different. They wore our face, but not our soul… Well, for that reason and because it’s impossible that you had converted in such a short time since I saw you at the entrance to the city.”

  Adam didn’t answer. There was no point in trying to explain the concept of system titles or hidden mechanics to someone born into this world since it was forbidden. The vampire, however, didn’t seem to suspect that there was a larger framework at play; to him, what he sensed was the natural order of things.

  “But it doesn’t matter, I’ve never hated humans. Nor the Giants. My hatred belongs only to the paladins and the divine shackles their goddess draped upon this world. If powerful humans now stand behind the one who carries our blood’s blessing, then I see no conflict in serving alongside them.”

  He paused, turning his eyes to Drake with solemn respect.

  “May I ask your name, warrior?”

  The blond blinked, caught slightly off guard since he was still making the ki dome.

  “Oh… Drake Shaw.”

  “Then I shall address you properly, Sir Drake.”

  Vaelric said, inclining his head.

  “Your strength is evident. I’m honored that my Lord is accompanied by an entourage like yourselves.”

  Katya’s mouth opened at that, her face darkening, clearly ready to object to the idea that Adam had an "entourage" of any kind. But before she could utter a word, Angela leaned forward, quick and practiced, and pressed her hand over the girl’s lips.

  Katya’s protest was muffled into Angela’s palm, her wide eyes full of disbelief.

  “Don’t.”

  Angela muttered with a sigh, then shifted her hand away after a second, casting a weary glance over the group. With another flick of her wrist, subtle and almost lazy, a shimmer passed over her, Katya, and Drake. The illusion concealing their human appearances peeled away like a translucent film dissolving in the moonlight. Their true faces returned—Drake’s sharp features, Angela’s piercing eyes, Katya’s pale gold hair fluttering freely in the high-altitude breeze. There was no need to keep hiding anymore.

  The hours passed in steady rhythm as the great dragon cut across the sky, gliding with elegance despite its tremendous speed. Conversation ebbed and flowed among the group, shifting from tense formality to moments of unexpected laughter and mutual curiosity. The strangeness of their mission, the uncertainty of what lay ahead, and the shared absurdity of their situation had slowly begun to erode the remaining walls between them.

  Even Katya, still visibly irritable from the separation from Kazue, found herself occasionally joining the conversation when Drake spoke, her responses curt but less confrontational than before. With the cold sky and high altitude around them, those moments of exchange became strangely grounding, a brief illusion of calm. Then, as if the world itself had chosen to remind them of the passage of time, the darkness of the horizon began to fade. The first rays of dawn broke across the peaks of distant mountains, illuminating the clouds in faint streaks of gold and pink. It was serene and peaceful. And then, suddenly, not…

  Adam’s eyes widened as he turned sharply toward Vaelric, a gasp forming on his lips as he realized the direction of the sunlight. Drake and Angela reacted at almost the same time, stepping forward instinctively as the light fell directly onto Vaelric’s face. Katya flinched slightly as if expecting to hear a scream or witness his flesh begin to sizzle. But nothing happened. Vaelric blinked slowly, confused, turning toward them with a furrowed brow.

  “…What?”

  He asked, tilting his head. For a long moment, no one answered. Adam stared at him in disbelief, and even Angela looked uncertain, as if trying to reconcile what she was seeing with what she knew. Finally, unable to contain her curiosity, Angela leaned forward slightly and asked.

  “You’re… fine in the sun?”

  Vaelric looked at her, then at the growing light across the sky, and smiled faintly.

  “Yes. One of the few blessings passed down through my bloodline.”

  He explained with calm composure.

  “Descendants of the Monarch Lilith are not bound by the same restrictions as the rest of our kind. The sun does not burn me.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  Angela muttered, clearly both impressed and annoyed by the convenience of such an ability. Her skepticism lingered only for a moment before Adam cleared his throat and spoke up again, this time with something more pressing on his mind and prepared to address the elephant in the room.

  “If you don’t mind me asking, why didn’t you mention this before? When we met you in Morvael, you never said anything about being descended from Lilith. You just… you were the leader of a small village under siege.”

  The boy said, his voice even but sharp with focus. Vaelric chuckled softly, his expression warm, even amused.

  “It was never my intent to deceive you, Lord Adam, but it also didn’t seem necessary to mention. Having Lilith’s blood doesn’t grant me a title or inheritance. It’s a legacy in blood, not politics. A mark that brings with it some minor blessings, but not one that elevates my standing in the eyes of vampire nobility.”

  The vampire said with a smile.

  “But among vampires, aren’t bloodlines everything? As far as I saw, it seemed like hierarchy was even sacred.”

  Katya said, narrowing her eyes and leaning forward.

  “In most cases, you would be right.”

  Vaelric admitted with another chuckle, clearly entertained by their human assumptions.

  “Pure-blooded nobility is absolute among our kind. But the children of Lilith… we’re different. You see, our dear Crimsom Monarch, Lilith never bore children of her own. In our race, childbirth is rare to begin with—vampire infants take centuries to mature. Instead, the ones she called her ‘children’ were once human. She chose them, turned them, and gifted them her own blood. They inherited a portion of her power—that has been reduced as generations pass— but not her throne. We were acknowledge by tradition, not by law.”

  There was a pause as the group digested that. Vaelric went on, his tone dipping slightly into something more somber.

  “After the Monarch vanished during the ‘Great Awakening’, what little influence we had began to disappear. Over time, we were reduced to nothing more than lesser nobles, our voices drowned beneath the weight of a hierarchy that no longer valued blood without titles. I don’t even know if any of us remain. I was stranded in Morvael for many years. Cut off from the world. So, if there are others like me, I haven’t seen them.”

  Adam had to admit—there was something strangely endearing about Vaelric’s story. For once, he could allow himself to relax, if only slightly, and believe that every word the vampire had said so far was honest. It wasn’t blind trust; it was the system’s doing. After everything that had happened in these twisted worlds, he had learned one immutable truth—when the system marked someone as a fixed ally, that bond was not easily broken.

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  It went beyond manipulation, beyond deception. It was law. And for once, Adam was genuinely grateful for that particular safeguard. He still didn’t know where this path would lead, but having someone like Vaelric—a being bound by legacy, conviction, and now loyalty—by his side, was a small comfort amidst the looming uncertainty.

  The flight continued for a couple more hours, the scenery below gradually shifting from night-stained silhouettes to softened dawn light. The silence became companionable, broken only by the occasional comment or movement from one of the passengers.

  Somewhere along the way, Katya had finally succumbed to exhaustion. Her usual sharpness dulled by constant worry for Kazue, she had curled in slightly on herself, arms crossed, head bowed, and slipped into sleep without even realizing it. It was a vulnerability rarely seen in her. Vaelric, surprisingly, followed soon after. Having pushed himself nonstop since departing Morvael, the weight of travel, confrontation, and revelation finally took its toll. His arms folded over his chest, armor humming quietly against the shifting air, his eyes closed, and he remained perfectly still—as if resting were a habit long forgotten, but one he instinctively remembered now that he was no longer alone.

  Hours later, during one of Adam’s rotations maintaining the barrier, Angela slid closer to Drake, who sat near the front edge of the dragon’s broad head, his gaze fixed on the horizon. The wind was calm behind the barrier, and their voices were low but not hushed. She leaned slightly, adjusting her posture so it appeared casual, and spoke with a relaxed tone.

  “You know, it’s easy to forget how peaceful this can feel sometimes. Flying like this. Quiet skies. A bit surreal.”

  She began. Drake nodded once without looking at her.

  “It is.”

  She smiled faintly but didn’t linger in the pleasantries. Her voice shifted slightly, dropping just a little in pitch—less friendly, more focused.

  “But we only have four days left before the next team arrives. You do remember that, right?”

  Drake’s expression didn’t change. He blinked, slowly, and then glanced over at her.

  “I do. I’m not too worried.”

  Angela gave a dry exhale and shook her head.

  “Of course you’re not.”

  Drake tilted his head.

  “Should I be?”

  “Yes…”

  She answered immediately, her tone sharp now.

  “Because you don’t get it. Your team doesn’t get it. Most of mine don’t get it either—they’re fairly new. Green. We've been lucky so far. But a real conflict between user teams? That’s hell, Drake. Worse than any scenario. There’s a reason only a few teams even try to talk first before drawing blood, and those few... we’re the exception, not the rule.”

  He furrowed his brow but remained quiet, listening. Angela pressed on.

  “There’s no guarantee that the next group will be like us. ‘Dragon Utopia’… you don’t know what they’re capable of. You don’t know how far they’re willing to go. And I don’t want any of us getting blindsided just because we assumed they were decent.”

  Drake looked thoughtful for a moment.

  “I wasn’t there when it happened, but the others told me something. That team—Dragon Utopia—they used a Plot Device, ‘Fluoroscopy’, To look at our team data.”

  Angela froze. Her lips parted slightly, and then she brought a hand up to her face in disbelief.

  “Are you serious!?”

  Drake nodded.

  “That’s what they said.”

  She smacked her palm against her forehead, dragging it down over her face with a groan.

  “Why the hell didn’t anyone mention that?! That’s important!”

  The blond raised a brow, clearly surprised by that reaction.

  “How bad is it? I figured maybe they were just checking if we were a threat.”

  Angela narrowed her eyes at him, like she couldn’t believe such naivety.

  “No. It doesn’t work like that. WNATN didn’t get scanned. Do you know why? Because they didn’t care. Under no circumstance does a high-tier team waste something like ‘Fluoroscopy’ just to check if a low-tier group is dangerous or not.”

  Her words carried the weight of realization.

  “They scanned your team because you were the real target, not a curiosity. Not a threat to avoid but a prize to claim. And they did it early—before even entering the scenario—so they could prepare and learn your structure, your composition. They didn’t even bother with mine.”

  Drake’s expression tightened. He didn’t reply immediately, but he understood now. Angela exhaled again, this time slower.

  “We have four days. Four. And I promise you, if we’re not out of this world before right after they drop in, we won’t get another peaceful sunrise like this. We’ll be running. Bleeding. Or worse.”

  There was no melodrama in her voice. Just experience. Drake nodded finally, his expression grim. Angela leaned back slightly, arms crossed, eyes cast toward the sky.

  The blond boy remained silent for a few moments, Angela’s warning echoing in his thoughts like the trailing edge of a storm. She wasn’t wrong—nothing about the current scenario guaranteed that the next team would be friendly, and he would be a fool to ignore that possibility. Yet, despite the severity of her words, he couldn’t quite feel the tension she expected him to.

  His eyes lowered to his hand, and there it was again—the faint trace of his Imperial Ki, swirling like glowing embers just beneath the surface of his skin. The energy he had cultivated for a long year of training in Murim, sharpened through trial and endless repetition, remained steady, alive, and almost eager. He had spent an entire year in that world, not only growing stronger but learning what it meant to truly protect something. Someone. His body remembered every strike, every stance, every lesson carved into his bones by sweat and blood. He briefly thought of his younger brother—his face flashed into his mind. If only he had been this strong back then...

  The memory began to settle into regret when Angela suddenly shook his shoulder, pulling him back to the present. Her tone was quieter now, and her expression unreadable. When she spoke, it was almost a whisper, as if she didn’t want anyone else to hear.

  “Drake... can I ask you something?”

  He looked at her, a little surprised by the shift in mood.

  “Yeah. What is it?”

  “It’s about Adam…”

  She said, her eyes narrowing slightly.

  “You two talk about him like you’ve been through everything together. Is that real? Do you actually trust him?”

  The question wasn’t an accusation, but it wasn’t casual either. It carried weight. Drake tilted his head a little, brow furrowed as he considered it.

  “Adam joined the team at the same time I did. He’s... weird, yeah. Really weird sometimes. But I’ve never met anyone like him before. He’s the type of person who thinks three layers deeper than anyone else, and even if he doesn’t always show it, he cares about people. About us. And honestly?”

  He gave a small, uncharacteristic smile.

  “He’s the only one I’d call a leader in this hell. And he doesn’t even like that role.”

  Angela listened, quiet and still. Drake’s gaze returned to the swirling Ki at his fingertips.

  “But more than that... he has a reason. A real one. Something that keeps him going no matter how bad it gets. He won’t stop until he’s out of this place. And I respect that.”

  The girl didn’t respond at first. Her gaze stayed fixed on him, unreadable, the wind from the high skies catching strands of her white hair. Finally, she exhaled slowly.

  “I see. I asked because… well, you already know. A Patron showed interest in him.”

  Drake blinked and glanced up.

  “So?”

  Angela’s voice dropped again, serious and focused.

  “You don’t get it. When a Patron shows interest in a user, it always means—”

  But whatever she had been about to say was lost. Without warning, Zhuhai halted mid-flight, the dragon’s massive body stilling in the air as if gripped by an invisible force. The momentum shift jolted everyone. Vaelric and Katya, previously asleep, snapped awake with immediate awareness, their bodies instinctively coiling for a threat. The blonde blinked, wild-eyed, her hands already searching for something to grab on to, while Vaelric’s eyes darted to the horizon in confusion.

  Adam’s voice cut through the tension before anyone else could speak.

  “There!”

  He said, raising a hand and pointing ahead. The sight that met them was awe-inspiring—and deeply unsettling. They hovered above a mountainous region, the landscape jagged and treacherous, shaped by time and battle alike. Spread across the terrain were remnants of what must have once been a great city, now reduced to ruin. Crumbling stone towers and shattered walls told the story of a civilization long lost, their foundations blackened as if scoured by divine flame.

  But amidst the wreckage stood something impossibly pristine.

  A temple. Towering. Monolithic. Carved of blinding white stone that gleamed like polished ivory and adorned with veins of radiant gold that caught the morning sun. The structure rose like a sanctified spear into the sky, taller than any fortress they had seen before, its architecture more akin to a holy skyscraper than a place of worship. Energy radiated from it—raw, divine, unrelenting. It flooded the mountains, filled the sky, and sank into the very bones of the earth. Even from this distance, Adam could feel it. A choking pressure, clean and absolute. It disgustinly pressed against his corrupted core. He saw Vaelric shift uncomfortably beside him, his jaw tightening as the sunlight bathed them and that holy energy touched his undead flesh.

  The boy’s voice came low and certain.

  “We can’t get any closer like this. Not in daylight. They’ll see us.”

  No one argued. Drake nodded once and turned to his companion.

  “Zhuhai. Take us down.”

  The dragon obeyed, its great body coiling downward, slipping between clouds and descending toward the shadowed crevices of the mountain range. The air around them changed as they dropped in altitude—the sun dimming, the divine pressure growing ever sharper with each passing second. But they remained silent, eyes fixed on the sacred colossus ahead, their hearts bracing for whatever truths or horrors lay waiting in the temple of Uldroth.

  ————————————————————————————————————

  Far from the mountainous ruins of Uldroth and the divine pressure that loomed over Adam’s group, a very different kind of presence stirred in the flawless, marble-paved streets of ‘Celestia Sanctum’. The city, as immaculate as ever, basked under the eternal radiance of the sacred sun, its towers glowing with divine brilliance, its people walking with purpose and devotion.

  High above the tranquil scene, unseen by any living soul, a translucent system window hovered in the air, pulsing faintly in shades of violet and gold, its content invisible to all but those it was meant for.

  In an instant, eight figures emerged from thin air. No portals, no flashes of light—just sudden presence. They stood perfectly still for a moment, their sudden arrival seemingly unnoticed by the people around them, cloaked perhaps by whatever high-level tool they had employed. Slowly, each of the eight stretched, moving as though their bodies had been compressed during transit, adjusting to the new atmosphere and pressure of the world they had entered.

  One figure in particular stood out the moment she shifted. A woman—young in appearance, with long, cascading crimson hair that shimmered like fire beneath a black formal outfit that clung to her with militaristic precision. Her frame was lean, predatory, and controlled, but what truly set her apart were her eyes. They were golden amber, but the irises within them were slitted vertically, unmistakably inhuman, glowing faintly with an inner light that pulsed with hunger. She yawned, wide and unbothered, stretching her arms high above her head, and made no effort to hide the gesture.

  Without even glancing at the others, she spoke casually.

  “Konrad, what’s the current status of the ‘marked’?”

  Her tone was dry, bordering on bored, as though the entire endeavor they were about to embark on was little more than an errand. At her command, another figure stepped forward from the group. He was shorter, more subtle in posture. His hair was cut short and silver-white, and his skin was pale as moonlight. A strange tattoo curled along his left cheek, reaching toward his eye. He wore a black cloak, the edges of it frayed as if purposefully distressed, and it covered much of his face in a shadowed hood.

  Without a word, Konrad lifted his left hand and summoned a strange item into existence—a slip of paper, glossy and pale, not unlike a train ticket or coupon. There was a symbol engraved on it that shimmered with the unmistakable light of a system artifact. He held it up between two fingers and tore it in half.

  As the announcement echoed into nothingness, a new screen materialized before each of the eight members. Each one examined their respective projections in silence, scanning details, cross-referencing stats, studying whatever data they had gained about their prey. Minutes passed like that—quiet, analytical. Only the sound of flickering screens could be heard within the illusionary veil that kept them invisible to the world around them. Eventually, the red-haired woman spoke again, her voice low but amused.

  “As we suspected. The amount of points they had after their last scenario wasn’t natural. Definitely used it all to grab some powerful upgrades.”

  Her amber eyes narrowed slightly as her lips curved into a small smirk.

  “There’s a lot of interesting stuff here. Looks like this is going to be worth our time after all.”

  Konrad exhaled through his nose, a tiny smile rising on one side of his face.

  “And our objectives?”

  The woman was still reading when he asked, but she finished quickly and shut the projection with a flick of her fingers. Then, she summoned something else—three silver knives, thin as needles, each engraved with sharp runes along their flat sides. She spun them casually between her fingers, letting the metal glint beneath the morning sun.

  “Just three, these called Adam, Emir, and Sebastian. They’ve got the only skills worth stealing.”

  The knives spun faster now, one catching a glint of gold. Her grin widened, all previous boredom vanishing from her expression.

  “This is our first official assignment under the ‘Hunt3rs Alliance’.”

  She continued, her voice gaining that dangerous cadence of anticipation.

  “Let’s make sure we leave a good impression.”

  And with that final note, she tossed one of the knives into the air and caught it by the hilt.

  “Let’s do this with a boom!”

  The eight turned as one, their feet already in motion, their presence still hidden from the world around them. In perfect unison, they began to walk deeper into the sacred heart of ‘Celestia Sanctum’.