Book 2: Chapter 168

Even in the cities of Dragonmen, City Lords existed.

However, it was a bit incorrect to view them as absolute or supreme powers. This was because the meaning of the position was stronger than the City Lord’s authority.

Of course, this didn’t mean that it was just a nominal position or that they didn’t have any real power.

It was simply the fact that it was not easy to get the position in the first place.

In order to become a City Lord on Combat Island, there was a condition that first had to be satisfied.

‘Maintain the position of Champion for at least one year in five different cities.’

It was a condition so difficult that most would just give up upon learning it.

Becoming the Champion of a city was, in itself, a difficult task, but it was even harder to maintain that position for a year.

And yet, one would only be eligible for the City Lord position after repeating this process five times.

It was for this reason that all City Lord were relatively well-known, including the City Lord of ‘Hirup’, Sshiris.

However, Sshiris was different from other City Lords.

Even after taking the seat as City Lord, most Champions do not neglect their training, but it had been more than 10 years since he last held a weapon.

His pretentious appearance, which was completely unlike any other Fighter, proved that fact.

The reason for this was simple. Sshiris had become infatuated with the charm of wealth. Something extremely rare for Dragonmen, and even rarer for those living on Combat Island.

This was the reason why he didn’t easily believe the report he received just after dawn.

“…what did you just say?”

He stared at the Dragonman in front of him in disbelief.

He was certain that this was a member of the ‘Ashstar Squad’. He just couldn’t remember his name.

At first glance, this Dragonman appeared nervous, but he was even more excited than that.

“An Ancient Dragon appeared in the Samis, Great Forest…!! A, a huge one! And a Sorcerer named Lukas managed to slay it on his own! S-, Squad Leader Ashstar said that we should quickly go retrieve the body before other cities have the chance to intervene…!”

“…”

Sshiris frowned slightly.

For someone like him, who was picky 24 hours a day, he usually wouldn’t tolerate this kind of rude gibberish.

More importantly, the squad member’s report was filled with unbelievable nonsense.

The fact that an Ancient Dragon had appeared in the Samis Great Forest. The fact that the monster was huge enough to be described as a small mountain.

And above all, the fact that the monster had been slain not by a group of well-known heroes or great Champions, but by a single Sorcerer.

Just as he was wondering just how to deal with this foolish squad member who had come to tell him such nonsense first thing in the morning, the squad member hurriedly pulled something from his pocket.

Perhaps he had sensed his bad intentions.

“T-, this is Squad Leader Ashstar’s letter.”

“Give it here.”

Sshiris quickly looked over the piece of paper with the letter.

“…”

It didn’t take long for his eyes, which had been a bit dull and blank to become sharp. This sharpness gradually became surprised, and the surprise soon morphed into shock.

Tang!

Sshiris roughly smacked the letter onto his desk. His beard trembled.

This was a rare(?) sight that could only be seen when he was extremely excited.

“How many Sky Carriages are available right now?”

The attendant at his side quickly answered.

“17, sir.”

“Not enough.”

That wasn’t enough.

Sshiris stroked his chin for a moment before saying.

“Contact every carriage that is out on missions of lesser importance and tell them to return immediately.”

The attendant made an expression of surprise.

“That means not only those on subjugation missions but also those transporting passengers… There will definitely be some backlash.”

“Tell them that we will refund them double the fee and they will be able to use a direct carriage after the city has completed its task.”

“Understood. What do you intend to do, my Lord?”

“Head to the Samis Great Forest with the least amount of people necessary.”

Intense greed flashed in Sshiris’ eyes.

An opportunity of a lifetime had appeared before him.

Fortunately, he’d received the news before anyone else and would be able to move one step ahead of the other City Lords.

‘Dragon Hunter Lukas.’

It was said that he was an outsider, so it was highly likely that he was ignorant of the true value of the Ancient Dragon’s corpse. In other words, if he played his cards right, he could get his hands on a mountain of treasure for practically nothing in return.

As he had this thought, sweat began to appear on his palms and his heart raced.

‘Is this finally my chance to get out of this god-forsaken city?”

Sshiris’ heart pounded heavily in his chest.

He had great ambitions, and in order to realise them, he needed to get out of this small, cramped city as quickly as possible.

It was possible that this opportunity would become the great cornerstone to him achieving his ambition.

Sshiris left his seat and practically floated out of his office.

At that time, his excessive excitement caused him to overlook a certain fact.

The more one tried to hide something, the faster it would spread.

* * *

Igaru was a squad leader from the city of ‘Herui’. So naturally, the news of what Lukas had done reached the City Lord there.

And once the news reached the City Lord, it wasn’t hard for it to spread to the ears of the City’s Champion.

In other words, Min Ha-rin.

“Ahahaha! Ahahaha…!”

Upon hearing the news, she burst into laughter like a little girl. In fact, if she could, she would have even wanted to roll around on the ground.

That was how happy she was.

She felt much more refreshed than if she was standing on a coast, being hit by the ocean breeze.

As expected, he was on a completely different level.

In less than a month, Lukas had easily overtaken even her greatest achievements.

Nevertheless, she didn’t feel jealous or inferior.

She felt proud.

She remembered when she’d first entered the Heavenly Realm.

For Min Ha-rin, it was a world that was big, scary, and altogether unfamiliar.

Wild Dragonlings threatened her life daily, and extremely strong beings constantly stimulated her inferiority complex.

And yet, in this place infested by monsters, her Master stood tall, as usual.

Right.

In her eyes, even this huge world wasn’t enough to be much of a problem for Lukas.

To put it bluntly, what she was feeling was, in essence, surrogate satisfaction, but Min Ha-rin almost felt like saying, ‘What’s wrong with that?’.

After all, she was that person’s disciple.

“I’m not really surprised.”

…Dragon Hunter Lukas.

It wasn’t quite as nice sounding as Great Teacher or Great Mage, but she thought the name suited him quite well.

“I have to work hard too.”

This wasn’t really the time to feel admiration.

She was the Great Mage’s first disciple.

Lukas was preparing to run. This was simply the first step. And yet, it had already created such a stir.

Min Ha-rin couldn’t help but wonder just how powerful the storm would be when he finally began sprinting.

Gripping her sword tightly, she muttered.

“As expected of the Great Mage Class.”