Chapter 17

It was now late in the evening.

Groggily and tiredly, he made his way on a carriage back to his pub—or rather, his new house near his pub.

"I'm tired..."

He mumbled under his breath, resting his back against the wall of the carriage heading back to Crossfort.

He could have used his Wyvern to return, but he was too tired to operate one.

After his match, he immediately resumed the finals match with Lux.

It was aggravating, given Lux's fighting style.

Lux, who had thoroughly analyzed Rayto's fighting style, knew he likely wouldn't be winning against Rayto.

Unlike Lux, Rayto was aggressive in attacking, not only possessing incredible reaction timing, but also a customized Wyvern that boosted said speed.

Lux, on the other hand, who had modified his dragon machine for a defensive style was a bad match with Rayto's modified dragon machine for speed.

No—Both were bad match for each other.

While Lux had high defense power, Rayto's speed allowed him to chip away at Lux's defenses.

And while Rayto was able to chip away at Lux's defenses, he also had to be extra careful in his approach, or at any giving opening, Lux would take advantage of it.

It was that much of an aggravating match that it annoyed Rayto.

"From one tiring battle to another."

"I want to laze after getting back."

[Side quest: Participate and win the monthly official drag-knight mock battle.]

[Rewards: Atismata currency x100,000, +1 Stat Point.]

"Ahh—I forgot this was there too."

Rayto sighed, closing the panel. He didn't need the kingdom's currency anymore; the stat point was the only relevant reward at this point.

Winning the mock duels had earned him the nickname [Howling Dragon], now forever attached to him.

With the option of joining military raids.

[Abyss Raids: Coming soon upon 10% Completion.]

Along with that came the Queen's favor and recognition as a Drag-Rider.

Thanks to this, he had already achieved a 7% completion rate of the main mission.

His next side quest, however, was what truly bothered him.

The Black Marketeer.

While Rayto had been able to grow stronger by maximizing the efficiency of his new body, yet even with that...

...Amphisbaena is still out of reach for now.

Since side quests were neither time-limited nor compulsory, Rayto had decided to skip that quest for now.

However, the time-limited quests were a different matter, and he planned to wait two more weeks before making a decision.

Regarding other matters, Rayto didn't even want to think about them.

"Ah... Now that I think about it... I have a meeting with Lux tomorrow."

Even though he didn't want to remember, he couldn't help but linger on them for a while.

The Kreutzer's and Schultzer's house plots during the match, the Queen's favor—it all smelled fishy to him.

As for the Kreutzer's and Schultzer's house plot, earlier, after his first qualifying match against the military Ex-class drag rider.

Two other people—rather, servants from that house—had come to recruit him under their banner, just as some had tried a few days earlier.

Maybe it was because of the rude way Rayto had rejected them...

According to Lux, it wasn't farfetched to think that was their reason for the hostility.

As for the Queen's favor, Rayto couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he guessed he'd be involved with her in the future.

"Haha... I'd rather not," Rayto mumbled with a cracking wry smile.

"Arghh! Are we not back yet!?"

Rayto, already tired from the bumps along the way, cried out from the back of the carriage.

Today had been exhausting enough.

A good sleep in his bed was all he needed at this moment.

And... it didn't take long before he would finally get home.

He flopped on his bed, drifting off to sleep.

Thanks to his special body and willpower, he managed to stay awake until now.

He had also used the overdrive technique during his match with Lux at the last moment to give him the upper hand, which, in turn strained his body further.

Not in the mood for food, sleeping was his only option.

The rest could be dealt with tomorrow.

And so, under the dark skies of the evening.

In a comfortable one-story house.

Rayto lay in the master bedroom, drifting off to sleep and putting all his worries behind him for future him.

Next Morning

The dark skies cleared up, revealing a clear blue morning sky.

Rayto shifted from one side of his bed to the other, seeking a more comfortable position.

The warm sun rays filtered through his windows, casting a golden glow on his closed eyes.

"Ugh... Five more minutes..." Rayto muttered tiredly.

Rather than being truly tired, his body was already back to peak condition. However, he simply found it too tasking to stand up from his bed.

"...Haah."

Covering his face with his arms to block out the sunlight, the warm rays on his skin prompted him to wake up instead.

"The universe... wants me to wake up..." he muttered along those lines.

All it took was for him to stand up and close the darn windows.

But doing so, especially with this body of his, meant the moment he got up, the sleep would end.

But with no other choice left, he sighed, "Haah. I'm up, I'm up."

Rayto said, irritated, as he forcefully closed the curtain of his room.

After doing this, he ruffled his hair and headed straight to the makeshift modern toilet he had another construct for himself.

After cleaning up, he sported simple clothes.

Though it was early in the morning, that didn't stop him from his morning routine.

Leaving his house, he jogged along the lonely streets at the far end of Crossfort city.

This area was usually more silent than other parts, making it the ideal place for him to jog and exercise to.

Later...

"95... 96..."

"97... 98..."

"99... 100..."

"Phew," Rayto wiped the sweat from his forehead after completing a hundred push-ups.

Getting up from the ground, as usual, he barely felt any fatigue.

In the first place, riding a dragon machine uses physical and mental energy to operate.

And there were only a few ways to minimalize this, in which most aren't even aware of.

First is by undergoing baptism, which elevates a human's capabilities to the level of an Olympic athlete in a short span.

The more baptisms one undergoes, the stronger their body and soul become, allowing them to perform feats that normal Drag-Riders wouldn't be capable of.

A prime example is Rayto's [Howling Roar].

—At the same percentage as another person's.

Rayto's version would still be stronger due to the buffs he had received from baptism, and understanding of the Force Core.

.... Rayto has unknowingly received his first baptism from the system, though he himself doesn't know and isn't aware of.

Second is through having a higher affinity.

A higher affinity allows someone to ride a Drag-Rider for much longer than an ordinary person would be able to, even without baptism.

Prime example would be normal Divine Drag-Riders.

They are the normal precisely because they haven't undergone baptism, but are capable of driving a Divine which most can't ride because of pure affinity.

And thirdly, is to brute force it.

Yes! Physically and spiritually training oneself. But whether that's possible or not...that is up to the less privileged to try it out.

"Fuu... Morning training is done."

Rayto said, wiping the sweat off his brow.

"Better get back and prepare for my afternoon appointment."