Arc | Chapter. 81: Crownbearer Wyvern

Chapter. 81: Crownbearer Wyvern

Wyvern, a lesser species of dragons. Their race name would send tremors through the land. They were mighty, their name almost at the same height as the fabled S Tier beings.. They were the descendants of dragons, childrens of their blood, kindred of greatness, true born heirs to carry the greatness of their ancestors.

There were wyvern subspecies that carried the illustrious torch of dragons, those that mutated and attuned to their draconic bloodline, growing closer than ever to the heights of their forefathers and touching upon their same Tier.

S Tier.

And within the mountain, one of such great wyverns resided. It had taken the place as its residence. Slumbering and using it to rest, having fled from its home due to a scare from unknown and terrifying magic. It could sense that the surroundings weren’t safe for even an S Tier being there. Hence, this new home, this new place where it had to adapt and learn how to live life.

The wyvern hardly understood what had happened amongst the forefathers, those who commanded the elements, those who could split the sea, bend the sunlight⁠— control reality itself. And yet, in spite of wielding such power, they had faced a threat that it couldn’t comprehend, and perhaps it would never comprehend it. Just like how other lesser beings wouldn’t comprehend the struggles that the wyvern faced.

They would come and try to hunt it, only to be felled in battle with relative ease. It was jarring, it was grating, it was annoying. The wyvern had chosen to make its nest for rest, and yet those pesky little things, those pesky humans. Annoying little things that thought all land was ruled by them; as if territories didn’t exist ⁠— a ridiculous mentality.

They were pests. Plaguing the land and claiming it as theirs even though most didn’t have the power to back up their goals. It was a ridiculous mentality that the wyvern looked down upon. As a Crownbearer Wyvern, it was only natural that it would claim a territory to rule with its mighty strength, a place to call home. But the humans had been quick to take issue with that, and they hadn’t stopped pestering it ever since.

Lately they hadn’t come by, but who knows how long until they would come to pester it again. The Crownbearer Wyvern couldn’t take it much longer. Those lesser things perpetrated into its land on a quest to reclaim what was supposedly rightfully theirs⁠— it was delusional, it was deluded, and it was ridiculous.

Just thinking about it made its blood boil. Its claws dug into the ground of its resting place⁠, it was infuriating! But in the end, getting angry about it was meaningless. Right now, it had to rest and settle, evaluate the state of things and how to deal with the humans, not get angry about them. And so it had tried to do so, that was until⁠— he sensed them.

The humans stepped into his cave, they slayed any monster that came their way in a matter of moments, but all the Crownbearer Wyvern felt was irritation; anger, bloodlust. It felt nothing more than an intense desire to rip them to shreds⁠— the gal of these lower beings! It had known something was wrong, it hadn’t felt emotions like these about humans for days now! But all of the sudden they were back in full force.

It just made sense.

The Crownbearer Wyvern rose from its spot, its scale covered body coursing with strength as its lumbering figure was put in full display. Its chamber was the place for battle, a wide cavity underground that was hundreds of meters tall and wide, enough for the wyvern to show its full mighty wingspan.

It was a terrifying beast, one that would be the nightmare of hundreds of thousands of adventurers, and a daunting challenge. It was a Crownbearer Wyvern, its scales black with a golden sheen, at its head a pair of horns grew reminiscent of a golden crown. A dignified existence that commanded respect for anyone to see, and its power unfathomable to most.

It was going to end things in a single moment, get rid of the puny humans that dared intrude upon its territory. And all it took was to display its strength, first it’d make them cower with a mighty roar, then it would slowly torture them until they begged for mercy before finally finishing them off and letting one get away to spread the word that the territory had been officially lost.

The Crownbearer Wyvern was a beast of great intellect, and as such it decided that that was the best course of action to warn the neighboring human settlements. Ruling through fear was for the best; the humans had already tried to bite back, and now it was their last ditch effort before they realized it was an unwinnable struggle.

The wyvern listened in great detail as the footsteps grew closer until, finally he saw the group emerge from the cave, unlike other humans they were no armor, just colorful clothing. Their demeanor; casual, but that was about to change. The wyvern leapt and immediately landed in front of the group, unleashing a mighty roar.

The human’s hair was ruffled by the wind as they didn’t even flinch, but it didn’t matter.

“You puny humans dare to intrude upon my lair?!” Its mighty roar echoed. “A dragon’s lair?!”

Contrary to expectations, most of the humans frowned upon hearing it. However, what the Crownbearer Wyvern didn’t expect was the green haired one to step forward and grit her teeth.

“You, a lesser species, dares to claim to be a dragon?!” venom came from her voice.

It found her words irritating and stepped forward, its claws digging into the ground as it roared back.

“Silence, human!”

All the woman did was step forward and an overwhelming pressure hit it⁠— what was even happening!? The wyvern struggled as it felt the air around him force him down.

It didn’t understand what was happening, all the woman had done was take a step forward and now it was being brought down?! The wyvern felt its legs give way as it knelt before the human, it was humiliating. Fury quickly overcame its being⁠ as mana within its maw began to accumulate.

Even if she had strange magic, against its strongest attack it was meaningless⁠—

And in front he saw the woman shift⁠; right before his very eyes her form contorted with green light only to be met with a light-green being⁠—

Its eyes widened as the mana dispersed from its maw in shock.

It was…

The Crownbearer Wyvern recognized her, not because he had seen her before but its very genes⁠— its very instincts and body told it who the being before was. It was a dragon, but not any dragon⁠. It was one of the true ancestors.

The Dragon of Wind.

At that moment, all it could do was gulp as the Dragon of Wind looked down on it, then a moment later she tail whipped⁠— the wyvern was sent flying across the cave and hit the stone walls with a small screech of pain. Its mind was blaring, its emotions were confused; it didn’t make sense. Nothing made sense.

Why⁠— why was the mighty Dragon of Wind with some humans? Why was someone of such status working with them? Those thoughts plagued its mind, filling it with nothing but growing hatred before it felt the growing pressure on its body vanishing. The wyvern stood in anger and screamed in anger.

“Why are you working with puny humans?!”

The Dragon of Wind said nothing and next the red-haired boy stepped forward and transformed before its eyes. The wyvern paused as he once more⁠— recognized one of the forefathers, this time it was a red dragon that sent chills down its spine. It was…

The Dragon of Flames…

What?

It didn’t understand, or rather it didn’t make sense to it. However, something in its brain was itching, so it turned to the human in black.

“Are you?”

And she just nodded in response, before once more transforming before its very eyes⁠— this time it was none other than the Dragon of Shadows. Three mighty beings stood before it, but why? The wyvern didn’t understand, it was confused, it was angry at itself that it had disrespected its higher kindred.

Then, it spotted the last being, the one in white.

“That must mean… you are the Dragon of Frost…”

“Huh?” The woman blinked. “No, I wouldn’t wish to be that lunatic.”

The wyvern blinked, its mind hearing nothing but white noise. She had denied being the Dragon of Frost, and that begged the question. Who was she? However, before it could ask anything further, the woman spoke again.

“I’m just a human with draconic blood, and I’m better off this way.”

The wyvern felt further confusion, at her words. Human? A human was traveling with the mighty dragons? It was… there was only one thing that made sense to it, and it was anger inducing. A deep hatred quickly rooted within the wyvern’s heart.

“A slave like you dares to back off while the dragons fight?!”

At that moment, the world darkened, the wyvern was pressed against the ground and the temperature rose by several degrees, danger blared in all directions as a deep hiss from the Dragon of Wind entered its ears.

“You dare speak to the Dragon Ruler in such a way?!”

Dragon Ruler? Her?! A human?! That didn’t make sense to it at all, and in fact, angered it even further. All of the previous conflicting emotions the wyvern felt spiraled into a single assumption⁠.

Mana gathered at its maw.

The assumption was simple, and that was:

It prepared itself.

Humans were a plague that had to be eradicated if they had managed to rule over the dragons too.

And he…

He would be the one to initiate the culling!

And he fired the strength of the attack easily breaking into S Tier⁠— in a single moment a blinding yellow light was fired in a cone, destroying one side of the mountain.

* * * * *

Ceylon couldn’t believe her luck, but as soon as she opened her class options, she sobered up and fast. In fact they seemed to be getting worse and worse, first was [Fledgling Aristocrat], then [Merchant], then [Peddler], then [Explorer] and then…

[Freeloader]⁠—

But just as she was about to give up, she saw her sixth class option.

[Unwavering Companion ⁠— You have chosen someone and made them one of the most important aspects of your life; and as such ⁠— whether it is because of their status, their strength, or their personality ⁠— you have chosen to have an unwavering loyalty for them, and as such won’t stop at nothing to be a great companion.

“Unwavering, loyal, and everlasting, that’s what I am.” Mysa, the Hero of Darkness. ]

Finally…

It was something that… seemed worth it even if non-descript. Classes had theme descriptions, and based on that one could gauge the type of skills they would acquire in the future. While… being a great companion was a very broad term, Ceylon felt that it wouldn’t be a regretful choice…

Taking a deep breath she looked at the next option.

[Chosen Merchant ⁠— You have closed a business deal never seen before in history. Your talent in business is immeasurable, and you’re destined to reach great heights in the monetary world.

“At my hands, commerce will be the way to a peaceful society,” Credence, King of Draliz.]

It was… a lot less appealing to say the least.

Though it had a quote from King Credence himself, which Ceylon did note, but it didn’t matter too much. This class meant, only one more real choice remained, and she wasn’t sure if she was ready to read it.

But she had to…

For Arc.

[Illustrious Friend of the Hero ⁠— Heroes, fabled beings that are placed on pedestals; you have chosen to befriend one and deal with their human side, for better or for worse your fate has been intertwined, and as such you have expectations to fulfill. From magic, all the way to relationships. Your attunement to light shall help you on the way there, but until then all you can do is remain faithful.

“Ha? You think befriending you was a mistake? It’s been a blast, grow up.” ⁠— Elana, the Unwavering Light.]

Ceylon knew⁠— just from the class name, this was… it.

Sure all of the classes sounded more like titles instead, but they were unique classes, and this one was everything she wanted and more. It wasn’t even a decision to make.

Taking a deep breath Ceylon extended her hand towards the floating system window.

And at that moment, she heard someone call her name⁠⁠ as the rock of the mountain began to shine with yellow hues, growing more intense by the second.

She touched the class and at that moment⁠— everything exploded into blinding light.