Calculating Gains (Part 1)

The next day, Draco left the house rather early—just as he planned the previous night.

His first stop was the post office, where he was able to successfully post his letter to his mother, and afterwards he began to walk in the direction of the nearby woods which existed in the outskirts of Argo City.

The woods were relatively safe, especially since a travel path had been created there about a decade ago. This path connected Argo with another main road, reducing the distance traveled by at least a few days.

It was very convenient, so the road became quite popular, with increased security and routine checkups. So far, there had only been two to three incidents that took place there, and those were swiftly handled before they escalated.

Besides, the last incident took place almost five years ago, so there was barely any worry in the minds of the travelers using the path. 

Draco's purpose wasn't to use the path, but rather explore the woods themselves.

Why?

'I need some privacy, and that place is the only area in this city where I can get some…' His thoughts flowed with a sigh while enduring the several gazes that landed on him as he walked in the streets.

At this point, his achievements in the Cave of Trials had spread throughout Argo City, and he had become akin to a local hero.

Draco was already quite popular before, but now… it was on another level.

He was greeted and acknowledged by at least ten people per step that he took. Smiles and pleasant whispers echoed in the air as he walked past, and even after leaving his previous position, everyone still indulged in their impression of him.

There was no way he could get some privacy within the city.

He certainly couldn't get some by staying indoors, since Zara could barge into his room at any time. Even if he locked his room, she could easily decipher any lock and effortlessly enter with no noticeable difference in time.

Do not forget who Zara is. 

She remained the number one genius in all of the Southern Territory!

What tricks could Draco play to get her out of his room, especially if she was determined to get in? None!

And so, left with no other option, he had to find solace in the Edge Woods.

'Merely being accepted into the Dragon Hunter Academy is enough glory for most people, but the fact that I got first adds to my prestige. I discovered Essence Stones as well…' Despite his weariness, Draco couldn't help but smile.

After all, with recognition came opportunity… and he was not one to reject those.

As long as his path to becoming a Dragon Hunter was not hindered, but instead bolstered, he had no real complaints.

After a few hours, Draco finally reached Edge Woods. It took another hour for him to find the right spot, secluded from any interference or detection that could prove troublesome for him. Once he was certain the coast was clear, he let out a sigh of relief.

'Returning shouldn't take as long, but I can't believe I spent so much time just getting here. It's a good thing I left the house early…' Draco had told the Norrins he wanted to stretch out his muscles by doing some hunting in the woods, so they wouldn't be worried about him in the slightest.

Dragons were the apex predators of this world, and Draco was strong enough to face Rank 1 and perhaps Rank 2 Dragons on his own. There were really no wild animals in the woods that could pose any dangers to him.

He was completely safe in the woods, and even if he spent a few days here, the Norrins still wouldn't worry.

'Now then…' Draco took a deep breath, stretched out a hand, and smiled. "Dragon Summoning."

A flash of brilliance burned within his eyes as he chose his preferred option.

Dark mist suddenly swirled around him, coalescing on the ground about two meters from his position. Then, in an instant, a creature emerged from the blackened world that had formed around it.

It was a Rank 1 adult Nightcrawler—the one Draco had tamed in the Cave of Trials.

It stood at about three meters tall, twice as tall as a regular human, with its imposing build and monstrous form. Its dark scaly body was still, its single horn protruding out of its forehead, as its eyes opened very calmly.

Soon, its tail began to slither around like a snake, and its body jumped energetically. Its eyes flashed with joy as it hooped around Draco with unrestrained excitement.

This Rank 1 Nightcrawler was glad—happy to have been summoned by its Master. 

Despite Draco's disgust for Dragons and his bottomless killing intent, his expression relaxed after seeing his tamed Dragon, and he petted it on the head, hearing it let out low growls of pleasure. 

"Sigh…" Draco smiled, taking note of his elevated mood. "It seems I really do feel affection towards the Dragons I tame. I can't even muster any killing intent towards this guy…"

He couldn't kill any of his tamed Dragons if he tried his hardest.

That offered no detriment at the moment, but Draco couldn't help but think about several situations where this could be a problem. For example, when he was fighting the Rank 3 Nightcrawler Champion.

'Back then, I wanted to sacrifice my tamed Dragons to Level Up, but the thought nearly made me throw up. They ended up dying to protect me and buy me time, but I couldn't kill them myself.'

In a sense, that was such a waste.

Draco could think of a few other instances where this restriction would be detrimental to him.

'Oh well… the advantages of having an army of Dragons still outweigh the disadvantages.' He nodded quietly and made another observation.

'Looks like my total Essence has dropped.' From 100 Percent, it was reduced to 85 Percent… just from summoning a Rank 1 Dragon.'

That was a 15 Percent cost!

'How much would it take to summon a Rank 2? 30 Percent? And I'm guessing summoning the Nightcrawler Champion would take about 45 Percent.' This was just his conjecture, but Draco wasn't far off from the truth.

In fact, he was spot on.

Summoning a Rank 1 Dragon at Level 10 would actually take up 15 Percent of his total Essence.

Back when he was Level 5, it would have taken him 30 Percent of his Essence to summon the same Rank 1 Dragon, and 60 Percent of his Essence to summon a Rank 2 Dragon. Rank 3 would have been his limit, consuming a total of 90 percent of his Essence.

But now… things were different.

With a Level increase, his Aptitude had gone up, which meant his Essence consumption rate reduced. It took lesser Essence to summon Dragons or even use their [Breaths].

This was the advantage of Leveling Up and increasing one's stats.

'Lumina is still injured and recovering, so I can't summon her yet. But… I still don't know her Rank yet, and she's even a Variant. Would I even be able to summon her with my current Level, even if she had recovered?'

Draco had seen Lumina before. Even when she was injured, her size was simply too unbelievable and grand. He seriously doubted he would be able to summon a creature like that at his current level of strength.

'But… I should be able to summon the Rank 3 Nightcrawler Champion, right?'

He wasn't wrong.

VWUUUSH!

Dark energy—far more intense than before—gathered around him as they rapidly coalesced in a particular spot. The summoning took considerably longer than with the Rank 1 Nightcrawler, as the immense darkness was a lot to gather in one place.

After waiting at least six times longer than last time—which was still under a minute—he was able to summon his Rank 3 Dragon.

The Nightcrawler Champion!