[Location: The Frost-Peak Mountains]
[Altitude: 15,000 Feet]
The air was thin enough to kill a normal man.
We were walking.
The HMS Profit Margin was parked at the captured Outpost. A giant airship is great for intimidation, but for stealth hunting? It's a billboard that says "Shoot Here."
"Master," Ahri whined, shivering despite her nine tails wrapping around her like a coat. "Are we there yet? My paws are freezing."
"Stop complaining," I said, checking my map. "We're close to the Nest."
"The Nest of what?" Seraphina asked. "A Wyvern?"
"No. Wyverns are lizards with wings. Trash mobs."
I pointed to a massive cave entrance near the summit. It was surrounded by bones. Big bones. Whale bones.
"That," I whispered. "Is the lair of Glacies, the Frost Monarch."
Sylvia stopped dead in her tracks. Her face went pale (paler than usual).
"You're joking," she breathed. "Glacies is a Myth. He's the Guardian of the North! My ancestors signed a pact with him 300 years ago!"
"And he broke it," I said. "He's eating your border patrols."
"That's because we stopped offering tribute!"
"Exactly. He's a mercenary. And I'm going to make him a better offer."
"What offer?"
"His life."
I walked up to the cave mouth.
"Wait here," I told the girls. "If I'm not back in 10 minutes, run."
"And if you die?" Ahri asked, hopeful.
"If I die, the bomb in your slave collar triggers. We go out together."
Ahri's ears flattened. "I hate you."
"Love you too."
I stepped into the dark.
[Inside the Nest]
It was cold. Absolute Zero cold.
My breath turned into ice crystals before it left my mouth.
[Passive: Ironclad Active.]
[Passive: Cryo-Stasis Active (Stolen from Sylvia).]
I was immune to the cold. But the pressure?
Dragon Fear.
A crushing aura of dominance washed over me.
LEAVE. WORM.
A voice boomed in my head.
I kept walking.
In the center of the cavern, sleeping on a pile of gold and frozen corpses, lay the Dragon.
He was magnificent. Scales like diamonds. Wingspan of 200 feet. Breath like liquid nitrogen.
[Boss: Glacies, The Frost Monarch]
[Level: 60 (raid Boss)]
[Status: Sleeping.]
I walked up to his nose.
I tapped it with my dagger.
Clink.
One giant, reptilian eye opened.
It focused on me.
"A SNACK?" Glacies rumbled. He didn't even open his mouth. He just telepathically projected his hunger.
"I'm not a snack," I said. "I'm your new Uber driver."
The Dragon snorted. A blast of ice wind hit me. I stood firm.
"YOU ARE ARROGANT. I WILL FREEZE YOUR BLOOD AND USE YOU AS A TOOTHPICK."
He opened his maw to unleash a Breath Attack.
I didn't dodge.
I held up my Left Hand.
[Trait: The Usurper.]
But I didn't target him.
I targeted His Hoard.
The gold. The gems. The ancient armor frozen in the ice.
[Active Skill: Gluttony (Mass Intake).]
SHWOOOP.
My ring turned into a vacuum.
In three seconds, the entire treasure hoard; worth maybe 50 Million Gold vanished.
The cave was empty. Just bare rock.
Glacies froze. He looked around. He looked under his tail.
"MY... MY SHINIES?"
"Gone," I said, showing him the ring. "I ate them."
"ROAAAAAR!"
The Dragon stood up, enraged. The cave shook.
"GIVE IT BACK! I WILL MELT YOUR SOUL!"
"You want it back?"
I held up a single gold coin from my inventory.
"Sit."
Glacies paused. His primitive dragon brain short-circuited. Anger vs Greed.
"YOU DARE COMMAND ME?!"
"I have your retirement fund, lizard. If you kill me, the ring destroys the loot. It's soul-bound."
I tossed the coin.
Glacies snapped it out of the air like a dog.
"MORE."
"Sit."
The Dragon growled. A low, rumbling sound of humiliated pride.
Slowly... very slowly... he lowered his massive hindquarters.
THUD.
[System Notification]
[Taming Check: Success (via Extortion).]
"Good boy."
I walked up to his leg.
"Now. I have a proposition."
"You work for me. You fly me where I want. You kill who I point at."
"And in return?"
I opened the inventory menu.
"I pay you 1,000 Gold per day. Plus 50% of the loot from any enemies we eat."
Glacies narrowed his eyes.
"HUMANS ARE TASTY. I PREFER MEAT."
"I'll let you eat the Generals," I offered. "And maybe a few Nobles. They're marbled with fat."
The Dragon licked his chops.
"DEAL."
[System Notification]
[New Pet Acquired: Glacies (Mount).]
[Loyalty: Transactional.]
I climbed onto his neck. The scales were slippery, but I dug my boots in.
"Let's go," I ordered. "To the Capital."
——————————————————————————————————————————
[Outside the Cave]
Sylvia and the others were waiting nervously.
"He's taking too long," Seraphina paced. "We should run."
"Wait," Ahri's ears perked up. "Do you hear that?"
WHOOSH.
A massive shadow fell over them.
Glacies burst from the cave mouth, roaring in triumph (and the promise of paid labor).
"It's going to eat us!" Sylvia screamed, charging a spell.
"Chill!" I shouted from the dragon's back.
I steered Glacies into a landing. The wind pressure knocked the girls over.
Glacies landed. He lowered his head, looking at the three women.
"ARE THESE THE SNACKS?"
"These are staff," I corrected. "Do not eat the staff. Unless I fire them."
I extended a hand to Sylvia.
"Get on, Princess."
"You... you tamed him?" Sylvia stared at the monster she had feared since childhood. "How?"
"I introduced him to the concept of a Salary," I said.
We loaded up.
Seraphina clung to my waist, terrified of the height. Ahri sat on the tail, enjoying the wind. Sylvia sat behind me, guiding the way.
"To Winterhold," Sylvia pointed North. "The Capital."
"Glacies," I commanded. "Full throttle."
"HOLD ON, MEAT-BAGS."
BOOM.
The dragon launched.
We broke the sound barrier in five seconds.
The landscape blurred. Mountains became speed bumps.
I looked down at the world.
I had an Airship.
I had a Dragon.
I had a Saintess, a Princess, and a Fox Demon.
And I had a Credit Card with no limit.
"I love this game," I whispered.
——————————————————————————————————————————
[Location: Winterhold - The Imperial Palace]
Empress Freya sat on her Ice Throne.
She was beautiful, cold, and cruel. She looked like an older, deadlier version of Sylvia.
"Report," she demanded.
A general knelt. "Your Majesty. The Outpost has fallen. We lost contact with Commander Draven."
"And the Fleet?"
"Director Nibras... is offline. His life signal has vanished."
Freya gripped the arms of her throne. Ice spread from her fingers.
"One man," she hissed. "One boy and a few whores have dismantled my southern defense?"
"It seems so, Majesty. And... radar detects a high-velocity object approaching the capital."
"A missile?"
"No. It's too big. It looks like..."
CRASH.
The stained glass ceiling of the Throne Room shattered.
Ice and glass rained down.
Glacies landed in the center of the court, crushing the royal banquet table.
The guards froze.
"A Dragon?!"
"It's Glacies! The Guardian!"
I sat on the Dragon's neck, looking down at the Empress.
"Hi, Mom," Sylvia called out from behind me. Her voice was shaky, but loud. "I'm home."
I slid off the dragon.
I walked toward the throne.
Guards rushed to intercept me.
"ROAR."
Glacies let out a warning growl. The guards dropped their weapons, paralyzed by Dragon Fear.
I stopped at the foot of the stairs.
"Empress Freya," I said.
"You owe me a ship."
Freya stood up. She drew a sword made of pure diamond.
"You insolent pup. You think a pet lizard scares me? I am the Ice Monarch!"
She unleashed her Aura. Level 50. Intense cold.
I didn't flinch.
I pulled out the Black Gold Card.
I held it up.
"I'm not here to fight you, Freya."
I grinned.
"I'm here to buy your Debt."
"System," I shouted. "Activate [Hostile Takeover] Protocol."
[Black Gold Card Activated.]
[Target: Imperial Treasury.]
[Action: Absorb Liquidity.]
The card glowed black.
The magical lights in the castle flickered. The Empress's mana jewels on her dress dimmed.
"What... what are you doing?" Freya gasped, feeling her connection to the castle's wards fading.
"I'm foreclosing on your kingdom," I said.
"You have 24 hours to vacate the premises."
"Or I feed you to the dragon."
[Quest Update: The Northern War.]
[Objective: Tame Dragon (Complete).]
[Objective: Infiltrate Capital (Complete).]
[New Objective: The Boss Fight - Mother vs Daughter.]