Chapter 2: Dragon Slayer
"Let's hope the Dragon Slayer Sword can actually slay dragons," Rynar sighed.
As a subspecies of dragons, the Wyrm was dangerously close to being a true dragon.
Its lineage was second only to that of the flying dragons, inheriting the dragonkind's brutal combat abilities and deadly breath of fire. It could easily decimate a small army.
Rynar couldn't just sit and wait for death.
He quickly led his horse out of the cave and saddled it. As for putting on the horse's armor… he could only pray he'd survive this encounter first.
The good news was that his horse, having been thoroughly trained, wasn't frightened by the dragon's fearsome aura, which meant it wouldn't panic in the middle of battle.
This small detail gave Rynar a sliver of hope that he might stand a chance.
"Hyah!" Rynar spurred his horse, thrusting his sword forward as they charged.
"Roar!"
The Wyrm lunged at Rynar with its massive maw wide open.
"Crap!"
Rynar yanked on the reins, narrowly steering the horse out of the way as the beast's massive jaws snapped inches from him.
"You foul beast! Taste my blade!" Rynar yelled recklessly as he swung back with his sword.
"Grah!" With a painful roar, a splash of scorching dragon blood followed the sword's tip.
"It works! I can actually pierce its scales!" Rynar exclaimed in surprise.
He quickly followed with another strike, opening a gash on the Wyrm's tail.
Enraged by the pain, the Wyrm thrashed, its enormous tail swinging wildly. But Rynar's horse, agile and well-trained, dodged the deadly sweep.
"Boom!"
Wyrm's massive head reared back, and a torrent of flames roared past Rynar's side, missing him by inches.
"That was way too close!" Rynar gasped, still feeling the intense heat even through his armor.
With a sharp battle cry, Rynar raised his sword just in time to meet the dragon's tail again, this time slicing through it cleanly. The severed tail fell with a heavy thud.
"Wow… this sword is incredible!" Rynar muttered in shock, realizing that he had instinctively blocked the attack and cut off the dragon's tail in one swift motion.
The furious Wyrm, now further enraged, began unleashing its fiery breath in all directions, setting the nearby trees ablaze.
The surrounding area lit up like daylight, allowing Rynar to fully see the creature he was fighting.
The dragon was at least ten meters long, its enormous head filled with dagger-like teeth, and its muscular body was armored in thick, impenetrable scales.
"Now that's a beast!" Rynar marveled at the monstrous creation of nature.
"Bam!"
Lost in admiration for a moment, Rynar was struck by the dragon's thrashing tail, sending him flying from his horse.
He tumbled to the ground but quickly rolled away to avoid being crushed by the dragon's massive claws. By pure luck, he ended up right under Wyrm's belly.
Grinning, Rynar took advantage of the opportunity.
He thrust his sword upward, tearing through the dragon's soft underbelly, before crawling away as fast as he could. Dragon blood splattered all over him as he rolled to safety.
"Damn! Wait, no!" Rynar's face went pale. He suddenly remembered that Wyrm weighed several tons. If that thing fell on him…
Breaking out in a cold sweat, Rynar scrambled out from under the beast. Only once he was clear of the dragon's body did he allow himself a sigh of relief.
His luck had held—he'd managed to slice a three-meter-long gash in the dragon's belly. This fight was over. The dragon was as good as dead.
As the dragon thrashed in its death throes, Rynar located his horse, which had stood calmly nearby, waiting for its rider.
It hadn't run off during the chaos, which pleased Rynar greatly.
"Subjugation of the Wyrm: Complete. You have proven your courage and strength. Reward: One Wyvern Knight, available for summoning."
"A Wyvern Knight?" Rynar's eyes widened.
That was the second most powerful airborne unit—only the Dragon Knight ranked higher.
He couldn't wait to see what kind of wyvern he had summoned. Wyverns were a low-level species of dragonkind, but they came in many varieties.
For example, Smaug from The Hobbit was a massive fire-breathing dragon, even larger than some true dragons.
While a true dragon might not be as enormous, in a fight, Smaug would still get crushed…
"Let's summon him!" Rynar's excitement felt like opening a mystery box.
"Greetings, my lord! I am Caslow Thornfield, at your service!" A young, golden-haired knight appeared before Rynar.
Even someone as worldly as Rynar, from the age of mass media, couldn't help but be impressed by how striking the knight looked.
"How old are you?" Rynar asked, noticing the youthful face.
"My lord, I am eighteen years old," Caslow replied respectfully.
Wow! Older than me! Rynar thought. Before being transported to this world, he'd only been sixteen. Was everyone here a born hero?
"What's your rank, and most importantly—where's your dragon?" Rynar asked, eager to see the beast.
"My lord, I am currently at the level of a Grand Knight. As for my dragon, it resides within this dragon flute," Caslow explained humbly.
What?! Rynar nearly swore. An eighteen-year-old Grand Knight, capable of reaching the level of a Knight Commander, possibly even becoming a hero!
The pinnacle of knights, like the grand wizards known as sages, were called heroes—an almost mythic rank.
"Summon your dragon! Let me have a look," Rynar commanded.
"Yes, my lord," Caslow replied, pulling out a flute from his collar and playing a few notes.
Shortly after, a massive, fifteen-meter-long wyvern with dark black scales descended from the sky.
"Hmm, a wind-element quadrupedal wyvern—not bad. At least it's not a bottom-tier bipedal wyvern," Rynar said, satisfied.
Quadrupedal wyverns, as the name suggested, had four legs and resembled true dragons.
They had great bloodlines, capable of using even high tier dragon magic and were very useful in combat.
While their breath and physical strength were slightly weaker than true dragons, they could easily be mistaken for young dragons due to their simpler bone crests.
"Alright, you can put him away now," Rynar said casually.
Though owning a Wyvern Knight was a great asset, it was best not to show it off too soon.
In this alternate version of Middle-earth, being cautious was key.
Without a secure base and power to back him up, revealing such a prize too early could draw unwanted attention.
The worst outcome would be having rival factions hunt him down for the wyvern flute.
Wyverns themselves weren't particularly rare, but Wyvern Knights and Dragon Knights were scarce.
"Start walking..." Rynar sighed, suddenly feeling envious of Caslow.
This guy was the real knight, decked out in mithril dragon armor, wielding a mithril longsword, a star iron hammer, and even carrying a bow made from dragonbone wood.
Meanwhile, all Rynar had was a sword, a shield, and his armor.
…
After processing the Wyrm's body and storing the useful materials in the magical ring's endless space, Rynar led his horse back into the cave.
He laid down to sleep once more, comforted by the knowledge that no other beast or monster would dare approach with the dragon's lingering aura still in the air.
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[A.N: Hey everyone from now in Caslow will be refereed as Dragon Knight not Wyvern Kinght and same goes for his Wyvern. As Wyvern is a type of Dragon too, also his Wyvern has four legs so quite similar to Dragon.
This is because it will be quite jarring to write Wyvern Knight over and over cause it is such an unfamiliar word so it decreases immersion and it also reduces aura of some scenes, at least for me.]