Chapter 76

Wyvern (2)

"It's not your concern."

In response to my words, Naeho let out a small snort and didn't say anything more.

Wyvern.

I had always known about its difficult nature, as it was the same in the game. The quest to obtain a wyvern in the game was notorious for making some players smash their keyboards.

It wasn't even a hidden or special quest, but a mandatory one to get a mount as part of the story progression, yet it was that challenging.

Even I, who was obsessed with Rasae and played all day except for sleeping, took a full four days of all-nighters to finally get one.

'Honestly, the chances of just failing are probably higher.'

Still, I didn't want to waste the remaining time idly, so I decided to go and look. But there was another reason.

The wyvern I had obtained in the game.

The one to whom I had given the catchy name 'Dyong' after pondering for a few minutes.

The place where it lived happened to be the Glide Mountains, my current destination.

'Would its nest still be in the same place if I go there now?'

Curiosity couldn't help but arise.

Would it still exist like other named NPCs or monsters in this reality that had become a game, and if it recognized me, would it acknowledge me as its master?

Still, if I were to get a wyvern, I wanted it to be the one I had in the game.

"Let me ask one thing, 7th Lord."

Then, Naeho spoke again.

"What was the true intention behind killing the 6th Lord?"

I turned my head to her, my gaze still on the burning bonfire.

"I already explained at the assembly."

"Who's asking about that? I'm asking what your so-called best judgment means."

I shrugged without answering.

She let out a hollow laugh.

"The Supreme Lord has the ability to distinguish truth from lies. It seems he decided to observe you a bit more, but I will never trust you."

How could I blame her?

I asked her in return.

"You've shown animosity towards me since the first Lord's meeting. Is there any other special reason?"

"......Isn't it obvious? Sitting an outsider with uncertain abilities and identity in a high position, even if it's the Supreme Lord's decision, how could anyone accept it easily?"

"......"

"Ultimately, you caused great chaos by killing up to the 6th Lord. So, I still don't think my actions were wrong. Although I lost Laxia due to your incomprehensible and strange abilities......"

She took a deep breath, seemingly getting angry again, and continued.

"I don't know about the other Lords, but I genuinely want Caldric to be stable. Of course, it was a mistake to go to you today and speak so harshly. But even without my personal hatred, you are an extremely unstable element for Caldric."

Naeho's voice, now calm and emotionless, seemed to have regained her composure, unlike earlier in the castle.

I knew her words were partly sincere.

Regardless of good or evil, in the game, she was portrayed as someone who genuinely wanted peace for Caldric.

Actually, thinking about it, the Supreme Lord and other Lords were so out of the ordinary that Naeho couldn't be considered particularly strict or picky.

If they were more ordinary, would I have even become a Lord in the first place?

"As I said, I have no ulterior motives."

Naeho immediately retorted.

"That's why I don't trust you."

The short conversation ended there, and no more words were exchanged.

***

The sky brightened, and the journey continued.

As Naeho had said, it took just under five days to reach the Glide Mountains.

'Oh.'

The Glide Mountains had a unique landscape compared to the other mountain ranges I had seen.

Especially, it had many small peaks scattered around.

After briefly enjoying the scenery, I soon started searching with my eyes.

Now that we had arrived at our destination, I needed to find where the wyvern's nest was.

Wyverns were said to live alone, not in groups, and their nests were usually in places like caves.

I remembered that the nest of the Dyong I was looking for was a fairly large cave, located clearly in the middle of a cliff.

Kiaak!

Suddenly, a roar echoed, and something approached quickly from below.

A giant White Wyvern was flying towards us, flapping its wings.

'Oh.'

I had already encountered a wyvern, but unfortunately, it seemed to have no intention other than to attack us.

Naeho's wyvern and the wyvern of the knight also roared.

The knight raised his arm, seemingly preparing to charge, and then unleashed his mana.

Whoosh!

A wide wave of mana swept like a storm, striking the wyvern.

It lost its balance, wobbled in the air for a moment, and then quickly turned and fled.

'Huh.'

I watched its quick change of attitude with a slightly bewildered look.

Wyverns are inherently savage and aggressive but also intelligent, so they are quick to sense danger.

It must have judged that we were too strong to handle and decided to retreat.

Despite the brief incident, I continued to look at the vast mountain range to determine the direction to go.

Fortunately, I remembered exactly where the wyvern's nest was.

That's because it was located in a very noticeable and unique terrain.

'A huge, flat cliff.'

There was a cliff in this mountain range that looked like the stump of a tree.

The nest was located near that area.

From up here, I should be able to spot it from a distance.

Just in case, I asked the knight.

"Do you know a huge cliff that looks like a tree stump?"

She shook her head.

"I'm sorry, but I don't know."

Well, there's nothing I can do about that.

I said again.

"Let's circle the mountain range until we find the terrain I just mentioned."

"Understood."

Thus, the search for the location, which I had done tediously while riding a wyvern in the game, began.

The only difference this time was that it would be much faster and more comfortable.

While searching for the nest, various wyverns occasionally appeared.

Most ignored us and went their own way, but a few, like the White Wyvern earlier, attacked. The knight chased them all away.

In the game, wyverns were classified into five types based on the color of their scales.

Green, Blue, Red, White, and Black Wyverns.

They not only differed in color but also had distinct characteristics.

While each individual varied, on average, they became larger, stronger, and more aggressive from Green to Black. They were also rarer.

Therefore, in the game, the Black Wyvern had the best stats among wyverns, but it was also the hardest to find and tame.

The Dyong I rode in the game was also a Black Wyvern.

The stat differences based on color weren't that significant in the game, but I wanted the best wyvern, so I went through a lot of trouble to catch it.

"......7th Lord! You said you were going to catch a wyvern?"

As we continued to fly without landing, Naeho, flying beside us, shouted.

"The place you're looking for is here!"

Before I could speak, the knight answered for me.

Naeho glared at me with a dissatisfied look but didn't ask further.

"That's the place you mentioned."

We found the location within a few hours of starting the search.

A huge rock cliff stood out among the large and small peaks.

Flying slowly around its edge, I enhanced my vision to the maximum and thoroughly scanned the cliff face.

'......Found it.'

I soon discovered it.

A large cave located high in the exact middle of the cliff.

"Let's land there."

The knight landed at the entrance of the cave as I requested.

Naeho, who landed behind us, looked around the cave with a puzzled expression.

"......Do you know this place? Why did you come here?"

Without answering, I walked into the cave with anticipation.

Because I could sense something inside.

The passage was short, and soon a large, black creature was visible, curled up and lying in the darkness.

"......A Black Wyvern."

Naeho and the knight also looked surprised upon seeing the wyvern.

Grrr.

I stared at the wyvern, which was snoring loudly in the cave.

'......Is this Dyong?'

Well, it probably is.

Honestly, there was no way to distinguish by appearance.

Because in the game, wyverns didn't have different appearances; they were all the same. How could I know?

But if it was a Black Wyvern nesting in this cave, it had to be this one.

"......"

After a while, the snoring stopped, and the wyvern opened its eyes.

It yawned widely and stared at me with its elongated pupils.

I took a slow step forward.

From behind, Naeho said with a slightly mocking tone.

"Do you know that there are only a few people in the continent who have tamed a Black Wyvern? You'll definitely fail."

The wyvern continued to stare at me as I approached slowly, and then it stood up.

I prepared to defend, knowing it would attack if it didn't recognize me as its master.

The distance between us narrowed to less than ten steps. And......

Grrr.

"......?"

The wyvern let out a gentle growl and extended its head towards me.

I stroked it, a bit surprised, as it tried to bury its large head in my arms.

'......What is this?'

It seemed to have recognized me as its master right away.

But from what I knew, it shouldn't have been this friendly, especially a Black Wyvern with a bad temper.

"......"

Naeho, watching from behind, let out a bewildered exclamation.

I felt a strange certainty as I looked at the wyvern, which was showing an unusually friendly attitude to me, a complete stranger.

This is definitely the wyvern I rode in the game, Dyong.

'Hello, boy.'

I greeted it mentally, feeling a bit of joy.

I stroked its neck, which it kept pushing towards me.

With this, I successfully obtained the wyvern.