Thunder Dragon City.
The heavy rain had just stopped.
A Giant Dragon was coiled atop a tower, its Dragon Wings obscuring half the sky over the City Lord's Mansion.
"Hold out your hand, Raylo."
The Duke—Raylo's father—spoke in a low, dignified voice.
He stood on a high platform, his ornate ducal ceremonial robes unable to conceal the Iron Blood aura of a man with a military background.
Raylo shifted his feet.
His movements were somewhat stiff.
Raylo was nervous. He never expected to be thrust into such a grand ceremony right after transmigrating here.
And he was the main character, no less.
He lifted his gaze to the center of the array.
There, a Thunder Dragon Cub that had hatched not long ago lay languidly, its pale blue scales shimmering like smooth silk under the magical glow.
But its golden, slitted pupils held a wild and untamable glint.
Nearby, his "excellent" older brother, Eliot, wore the faint hint of a smile.
It was a smile so perfect it looked like it had been measured with a ruler.
Sifting through his somewhat hazy memories, Raylo finally pieced together his situation.
The Thunder Dragon Family. Today, Raylo, the Duke's second son, was to perform a bonding ceremony with the Young Dragon born of the family's Guardian Giant Dragon.
"What are you dawdling for?" the Duke's voice called out.
"The family's honor rests on this one attempt."
Raylo took a deep breath. The scent of Dragon Breath in the air was thicker now, making his throat itch.
He extended his hand, fingertips trembling slightly, and slowly approached the Young Dragon.
According to Contract Magic, if the Young Dragon was willing to accept him, a glow of Magic Power would flare to life the moment his fingertips touched it, and the contract would be formed.
"HISS!"
The Young Dragon suddenly lifted its head and let out a threatening growl. A blast of hot air washed over him, carrying the acrid smell of arcing electricity.
It jerked back, its golden pupils filled with disgust and impatience.
No light flared.
No contract formed.
A dead silence fell.
The Duke's expression instantly darkened to the point you could wring water from it, and his glare cut into Raylo like a knife.
His older brother, Eliot, no longer bothered to hide the smile on his lips. It bloomed, clear for all to see.
The whispers of the surrounding nobles were like countless tiny needles piercing Raylo's eardrums.
The Duke's expression soured.
He turned and said coldly to the Dragon Speaker presiding over the ceremony, "The ceremony is over."
Raylo stood frozen in place, his hand still suspended in midair like a marionette.
He could feel innumerable gazes—pitying, mocking, gloating—washing over him like a tide.
He lowered his head and silently retreated to the edge of the crowd.
The rain began to fall again.
「Half an hour later.」
The Duke's study was filled with the acrid smoke of a cigar.
Outside, the sky was still overcast, and the dim light made the room's luxurious furnishings feel oppressive.
The Duke sat behind a massive oak desk, not even lifting his head as his fingers toyed with a document.
"You failed the bonding. There is no longer a place for you in Thunder Dragon City..."
"Sign this Pioneer Order, and you will be the Pioneer Lord of the Black Stone Territory."
Raylo stood before the desk, his rain-soaked hair plastered to his forehead, cutting a rather pathetic figure.
'The Black Stone Territory?'
From his hazy memories, he recalled that this place was in the northernmost part of the Duchy. It was a godforsaken wasteland where, it was said, the winters were cold enough to freeze rats to death and the summer mosquitoes could carry a person away.
This so-called "pioneering" was just a more respectable form of exile.
"Father..."
"Don't call me Father."
A sheepskin scroll was tossed at Raylo's feet.
"From now on, you will address me only as Your Grace!"
Raylo bent down and picked up the deceptively light Pioneer Order.
He said nothing more.
'Argue?'
'Beg?'
'Pointless.'
In a world where power was paramount and strength was everything, losers had no right to speak.
The Thunder Dragon Family had used martial might to build a great Duchy from nothing in the north of the human kingdoms, relying on their Iron Blood and ruthlessness.
Iron-blooded toward their enemies, and merciless toward their own.
Family law dictated that any scion who failed to bond with a Giant Dragon upon reaching adulthood must become a Pioneer Lord, sent to the northern wilderness to expand the Duchy's territory.
To be faced with such a harsh predicament right after transmigrating was a bitter pill for Raylo to swallow.
'But, on the other hand, perhaps leaving this place and everything familiar about my old identity would be a good start.'
With these conflicting thoughts, Raylo signed his name on the Pioneer Order with a messy scrawl.
Just then, without any warning, a cold, emotionless, mechanical voice sounded in his mind.
[Ding! Host has acquired the status of Lord. Daily Intelligence System successfully activated...]
[Today's intelligence has been refreshed. Please review, Host.]
Raylo jolted, his hand, still holding the pen, freezing in place.
'My transmigrator's cheat has activated?'
Immediately after, lines of pale blue virtual text appeared abruptly before his eyes, like a projection.
[1: In the family's Knight Order, the Great Knight Ed is languishing unrecognized. He is righteous and strong but has stagnated for years in the position of a squad leader because he is not skilled at currying favor. If you promote him to Personal Guard Captain and entrust him with heavy responsibility, he will break through his bottleneck in a short time, be promoted to Earth Knight, and swear eternal loyalty to you.]
[2: Kerry, the Guard Captain of Thunder Dragon City's east gate, has hidden the 1,700 Golden Dragons he embezzled from military pay and taxes under a broken water tank in front of an abandoned thatched hut, three hundred paces south of the east gate.]
[3: In three days, a rare Thunderstorm will hit the Black Stone Mountain Range. It will be accompanied by the appearance of a small Space Rift, and an unknown 'foreign object' may fall from the rift into the depths of the mountains.]
[4: In a wide river valley on the southern slope of the Black Stone Mountain Range lives a sizable flock of Gray-headed Geese. The Gray-headed Goose is a Tier One Demon Bird with delicious meat, and its liver is a delicacy highly sought after by nobles.]
[5: An envoy from the southern Violet City-State will arrive in Thunder Dragon City this afternoon. The purpose of the visit is to negotiate with the Duke of Thunder Dragon regarding the repayment of a war loan.]
[6: The Nine-headed Demon Serpent Hydra has occupied a vast area in the northeast of the Duchy, and the army of minions it has recruited is now extremely large. The slumbering Hydra is about to awaken, and its tide will once again sweep through the surrounding Kingdoms.]
[7: On the road from Thunder Dragon City to the Black Stone Territory, a massive beast migration is about to begin. Over a hundred thousand Demon-Horned Horses will set off from the northern plains, traveling more than two thousand kilometers to the southwest to breed at the lush Dongyue Lake. Large numbers of carnivorous Magical Beasts lie in wait along the Demon-Horned Horses' migration path, anticipating this annual feast. Transportation between Thunder Dragon City and the northern territories will be cut off for a month as a result. If you wish to travel to the Black Stone Territory, you must depart as soon as possible.]
[8: In the eastern mountains of the Black Stone Territory, deep within a long-abandoned mine, hides a young Silver Dragon abandoned by its parents. This dragon is a rare mutated specimen. Though it belongs to the Metal Dragon Species, renowned for their physical prowess, it unexpectedly possesses a magical talent far exceeding that of an Elemental Dragon. It is currently extremely weak and wary.]
...
Raylo's eyes widened bit by bit, and his heart began to pound uncontrollably.
'A Silver Dragon?'
'A Mutated Silver Dragon with extraordinary magical talent, no less?'
At that moment, he could almost hear the sound of his own blood rushing in his veins.