Chapter 7

### Chapter 1: The Golden Holy Dragon

Oh no! Why is this happening to me! I've been wandering around in this damned forest for a whole day! Just yesterday, after getting my auxiliary profession certification, I impulsively ran into this damned forest to mine, only to realize I didn't have a return scroll. Now, I either have to find my way back or get killed by a monster and respawn. But in "Zero," death means losing a level, and I don't want to lose a level!

Just as I was thinking, I noticed that the trees ahead didn't seem as dense. This usually happens at the edge of the forest. Could it be that I've made it out? Excited, I rushed out, thinking I was saved!

"Clang!" As soon as I burst out of the forest, I collided with something. Even though the pain in "Zero" is only 50% of what it would be in real life, I still felt like I had been hit by a truck! There were so many stars in the sky! Why is the ground so uneven, making me fall over every time I try to stand up!

"Whoosh!" A huge sound, like a train whistle, snapped me out of my daze. Shaking my head, I realized I was facing the forest, having turned around in my dizziness! I quickly turned back, drew my sword, and prepared to teach whatever I had hit a lesson.

"Clank!" Don't be surprised; that was the sound of my beginner's sword falling to the ground. Want to know why a samurai like me would drop his sword? Just look at what I saw.

"Dragon!" I screamed and backed away. The creature in front of me was at least as long as a bus, with blue and white scales that shimmered like water ripples as it moved. "Don't... don't come closer! I'm a samurai, I... I'm not afraid of you!" I said, not even believing my own lie, as I picked up my beginner's sword, which was still too weak to deal with a dragon!

"Whine!" The creature in front of me made a sound like a scared puppy.

I kept backing up until I hit a tree. The creature didn't attack me; it just kept looking at me and whining. Gradually, my mind cleared. I thought about it: although "Zero" has over a billion types of monsters, the strongest few are detailed on the website. I seem to remember reading about dragons.

I recalled the information about dragons. Dragons are the strongest creatures in "Zero," the only 1000-level boss. Adult dragons are generally over 100 meters long, proficient in human and monster languages, and can cast all non-top-tier spells of their own attribute as well as all other attributes. Their physical attack power is generally over 10,000 points, and they have a 75% chance to ignore defense. Even a newborn dragon has a physical attack power of at least 300!

Thinking about this, I felt both happy and sad. Happy because the dragon in front of me, about ten meters long and only whining, was clearly a baby dragon. Sad because even a baby dragon, without magic, still has a physical attack power of over 300. Even a 100-level, fully equipped tank would be finished in a few hits, with no chance to heal!

It looks like I'm definitely going to die today! Oh, how unlucky I am. The top player on the leaderboard is already level 54, and I was hoping to catch up to him. Now, I'm lost and about to be killed. My dream of being number one is over!

Well, I'm already lost, so who cares if I die here or somewhere else. With this resolve, I wasn't afraid anymore. "Brother Dragon, I don't have much, but here are two Fire雷兽 (18-level small monsters) I just killed. I was planning to have them for dinner tonight (although you don't need to eat in "Zero" to avoid hunger, eating can speed up health and mana recovery, acting like a potion). Here, take them. In return, when you kill me, make it quick and don't let me suffer!"

I threw the two Fire雷兽 to the dragon. It opened its mouth and swallowed them in one gulp. I closed my eyes, ready to die, but suddenly felt a cool sensation on my face. I opened my eyes and saw that the dragon was licking my face. Hehe, it doesn't seem like he wants to kill me. Maybe I can even get him to lead me out! Just as I was thinking, the dragon's head suddenly jerked, and he sneezed. The scene in front of me blurred, and I was thrown back by the powerful force, hitting a tree. My bones felt like they were about to shatter. This dragon actually sneezed at me! Which idiot designed this program? Ouch, my back! Damn, I only have 3 HP left out of 930! This is insane; a sneeze almost killed me. Dragons are strong, but they don't need to be this strong! Just as I was about to stand up, I found myself frozen. Oh no, not this!

After seven seconds, the freeze finally ended. Even a baby dragon is this strong; imagine what an adult would be like! Who wouldn't be thrilled to have such a powerful pet! Suddenly, a light bulb went off in my head. Since there's nothing to lose, why not try to capture it! Hehe! I carefully walked to the "little guy" and said, "Be a good boy!" Then I used the handler's skill—Capture.

The dragon's body trembled, and it backed away, looking at me with hostility. As the elf girl said, you can't capture a boss that's too high in level because the capture skill will anger them! I didn't care; I used the capture skill again. 'Clang' The system prompt sounded. "Player Ziri successfully captured the super boss Ice Blood Black Dragon King! Player Ziri becomes the first player to capture a pet, and is randomly rewarded with a treasure." Ding! A ring fell, black and only showing the word "ring," with a design that looked like the One Ring from the movies. The system voice sounded again. "Player Ziri becomes the first player to defeat a 1000-level boss, and is rewarded with five skill points and a treasure." Ding! Another ring fell, this time with a unique design: a black bat standing on a black gem, with red gem eyes that glowed with a seductive power.

These skill points are really valuable. They are different from attribute points, which increase basic attack and defense. Skill points are used to upgrade skills. Normally, players need to use a skill frequently to gain experience and level it up, with each skill maxing out at level 100. Additionally, players gain a skill point every ten levels after level 20, which can be used to upgrade a skill by one level. I just gained five skill points at once, which is amazing! Considering how hard it was to get these points, I decided to save them for later to upgrade skills that are harder to level up!

The system prompt continued. "Player Ziri's capture skill upgraded to level 2, player Ziri's capture skill upgraded to level 3, player Ziri... player Ziri's capture skill upgraded to level 13."

Ha ha! Ha ha! I'm rich now! I laughed wildly and suddenly realized my pet dragon was gone. I frantically searched and found a white ball! Wait, could this be a dragon egg? I studied the egg for a long time but got no results, so I put it back in my inventory.

Sitting around was boring, so I started to check the surroundings. This was an open area, with a cliff behind me. I ran over and found a large cave on the cliff. This must be a dragon's lair! Hehe! Dragons are known for collecting treasures, so maybe there's something here! I ran into the depths of the dragon's lair. Ha ha, there really is something. Oh my God, what is this? Damn, it's all junk, not much better than my beginner's equipment. The game has only been out for a short time, so there aren't many treasures yet! After searching for a while, I found a white one-handed heavy sword with an attack of 5-10 (equipment in "Zero" is ranked from white, attribute, gold, elite, holy, to divine); a black iron armor with a defense of 9, also white; an attribute equipment, Honor Leggings, with a defense of 4 and a 5% increase in movement speed; a pair of leather boots with a defense of 1 and a 1% increase in speed, which was pretty good; a pair of gloves with a defense of 2 and a 5% increase in attack speed; and a shield with a defense of 7 and a 25% chance to block. Although the attributes weren't great, they were still pretty good compared to the beginner's equipment everyone was wearing.

Just as I was leaving the dragon's lair, I remembered that the system had a help function. I quickly opened the chat function, and the help option was the first one. I selected it, and a voice like a phone call sounded in my ear. "Hello! This is the customer service system, and I am agent 2237, here to assist you!"

"Hello! I have a question. I just captured a pet, but it suddenly disappeared!"

"Did you see a white egg nearby?"

"An egg? Oh, yes! I found a white ball where it disappeared!"

"That's a pet egg! In this game, all pets are reduced to level 0 and become pet eggs when captured. To complete the bonding ritual, you need to drop your blood on the pet egg. You can also sell it. Once bonded, the pet egg will hatch immediately, and the pet will automatically become level 1. After that, you and your pet can fight together to level up the pet until it reaches its maximum level. Each pet has a different maximum level, and there is a small chance that some pets can evolve beyond their original level, but the success rate depends on the player's luck. Note that once a pet is bonded, it cannot be changed, so don't think about using one temporarily and then replacing it. If your pet dies in battle, it will automatically respawn but cannot be summoned for 20 minutes, and it will also lose a level."

"I understand, thank you!" Now I know this is an unowned pet egg that can be sold or kept. But do I really need to think about it? Selling it is a one-time deal, but keeping it to help me level up will make me rich! "I want to confirm it as my pet."

I used my beginner's sword to cut my finger and dropped my blood on the pet egg. The system prompt immediately sounded. "Player Ziri has confirmed the pet. Please give it a name."

"A name?" I thought for a moment. It brought me so many benefits; it's truly an invincible lucky star. "Lucky! I'll call it Lucky!" I hope it brings me more surprises in the future.

"Player confirmation successful. Player Ziri now owns the pet Dark Dragon King Lucky."

"Crack!" The eggshell in my hand cracked, and a small black creature crawled out. It saw me and immediately climbed onto me, rubbing my face affectionately.

Ha ha! Leading a dragon around will definitely get me 100% attention! Ha ha! Ha ha! The more I thought about it, the happier I became. But why is it black? It was clearly blue outside! Maybe it's because of my profession! Oh well, black is still pretty cool! By the way, I haven't checked Lucky's attributes yet! I summoned Lucky's attribute panel.