Chapter 35: 35. One month later

One Month Later.

In a small city named ashvale, a quieter city than fortnox, found at the edge of the kingdom of Averion.

That’s why Yuki chose it.

She walked through the narrow streets wearing black leather armor that hugged her frame and a half-mask covered her face from nose to chin, leaving only her eyes and forehead visible. Her hair was tied back in a tight ponytail.

She looked nothing like her former self, which was intentional as she didn’t want any hunter from her would identifying her.

When she spotted other hunters,she would turn down side streets, duck into alleys, avoid eye contact. She couldn’t risk being recognized. Couldn’t risk being pulled into another party. Couldn’t risk watching more people die because of her mistakes, not that she intended to ever make one again.

The Ashvale Adventurer’s Guild was a single-story building, cramped and dim. No grand quest boards. No crowds. Just a handful of local NPCs taking mundane jobs, escort duty, herb gathering, pest control.

Yuki approached the counter and scanned the available quests, Her eyes landed on one.

[BANDIT ACTIVITY REPORTED ON EASTERN ROAD. CLEAR THEM OUT. REWARD: 500 GOLD.]

Her hand trembled as she reached for the paper.

Bandits.

The memory flooded to the surface of her mind, forcing her to hold down the urge of puking. Oak’s body. Lucien’s final words. The dark mage’s laughter.

She squeezed the paper so hard it crumpled.

She shoved the quest into her pocket and walked out.

—

Outside the city gates, Yuki stopped on the empty road.

She glanced around, no one watching, and summoned Owen from the [Beast Space].

He materialized beside her, his black scales gleaming in the sunlight. Still in his baby dragon form, but closer to the next evolution.

“Status check?” Owen asked.

Yuki nodded and pulled up their screens.

—

[Tamed Beast: Owen]

[Species: Dragon (King Bloodline)]

[Status: Baby dragon]

[Rank: S]

[Level: 17/20]

—

[Hunter: Yuki Goldberg]

[Level: 45/100]

[Rank: C]

—

They had been grinding nonstop for a month. Every day. Every quest. Every monster. Level after level.

Owen was on the verge of breaking his level cap. One more high level fight, maybe two, and he’d evolve into his next form.

Yuki unsheathed a katana at her waist, a weapon she’d purchased in Ashvale. It was simple, well-balanced, and deadly. Owen had recommended She get it, mostly because it looked cool as fuck but it had also proved to be useful. She tested the edge with her thumb, then slid it back into its scabbard.

“Ready?” Owen asked.

“Yeah…”

They continued down the eastern road.

“How are your Sovereignties?” Yuki asked as they walked.

Owen pulled up his skill list.

—

[Sovereignty of the Dragon King (SSS-Grade)]

[Sovereignty of Destruction (SSS-Grade) (Mastery: 1%)]

[Sovereignty of Space-Time (SSS-Grade) (Mastery: 23%)]

—

“Space-Time is getting easier” Owen said. “I can hold it longer now. The mana drain is way less than before.”

“And Destruction?”

Owen’s expression darkened. “We have only used it once. And… yeah. Let’s keep that one as a last resort.”

Yuki nodded. They had tested the first form of [Sovereignty of Destruction] exactly once during the past month, against a high-level Trolls with insane regenerative abilities. Owen had entered a berserk state, his power skyrocketing with every passing second, his attacks obliterating everything in his path.

But his rationality kept eroding, and if not that it drained his mana fast and ended, he could’ve almost attacked yuki, also, when it ended, His skills locked. His stats reduced to nearly nothing. It had taken hours for him to recover.

Never again. Not unless they had no other choice.

“I guess we’ll focus on Space-Time for now” Yuki said. “We’ve gotten good at coordinating it with [Beast Shift]”

Owen grinned. “Yeah. That combo is sick.”

—

They rounded a bend in the road.

A cocky voice called out from the bushes.

“Hold on there! Where do you think you’re going without paying the gate toll? Hehehe!”

Six men emerged, ragged, dirty, wielding rusted machetes and axes. Bandits.

One of them, a scarred man with a missing tooth, grinned at Yuki. “Well, well. What do we have here? A pretty little adventurer all alone? You look too old to be playing dress up ma’am, hehehe”

Another bandit licked his lips. “She can pay the toll with her body, boys.”

“Or we can have our fun then sell her as a slave” the scarred leader added. “Win-win!”

They all laughed.

Then one of them noticed Owen.

“W-Wait… is that a dragon?!”

The laughter stopped.

The bandits tensed, raising their weapons defensively.

But the leader scoffed. “Relax, idiots. It’s not a real dragon. Real dragons would never serve humans. This is just some flying lizard that looks like one.”

The others relaxed slightly, though their eyes kept darting nervously to Owen.

Yuki’s hand moved to the hilt of her katana.

“Owen. Let’s Begin”

“Say no more!”

She drew her blade in one smooth motion.

The bandits laughed again. “Oh, she’s gonna fight! Look at this! Six against one! And her little pet lizard is even—!”

Yuki activated [Beast Shift].

Black scales rippled across her body. Her eyes blazed golden. Wings and tail erupted from her back. Her stats surged.

At the exact same moment, Owen activated [Sovereignty of Space-Time].

The world slowed.

The bandits’ laughter stretched into distorted, low-pitched echoes. Their movements became sluggish, like they were moving through water.

But Yuki and Owen moved slightly normally.

But still evidently affected by its restrictions.

Over the past month, they had discovered something incredible, when Yuki was in [Beast Shift] form She could move more freely within his Sovereignty of Space-time activation than when she wasn’t.

Yuki activated [Beast Sync], copying Owen’s [Momentum Shift].

Then she moved.

She blurred forward, her katana flashing.

The first bandit’s head separated from his shoulders before he even realized she’d moved.

The second bandit’s throat opened in a spray of blood.

The third, fourth, fifth, all fell in rapid succession, their heads rolling across the dirt road.

The scarred leader’s eyes widened in slow-motion horror as Yuki appeared in front of him.

Her blade swept across his neck.

Owen released the [Sovereignty of Space-Time].

Time snapped back to normal.

Thud.

Thud.

Thud.

Thud.

Thud.

Thud.

Six heads hit the ground simultaneously.

Six bodies collapsed, blood spraying from their severed necks.

The leader’s expression was still frozen in shock, a look of disbelief permanently etched on his face.

Blood splattered across Yuki’s mask and armor.

She didn’t flinch.

Ding—!

[Level Up! x2]

[Level: 47/100]

—

Ding—!

[Level Up!]

[Level: 18/20]

—

Owen landed beside her, shaking blood off his claws. “Ew, I just hope they don’t have any STIs”

Yuki wiped her katana on one of the corpses and sheathed it. “Let’s go”

They turned to leave and froze as a shadow fell over them.

The sunlight vanished, blocked by something massive overhead.

A voice echoed across the road, not spoken aloud, but transmitted directly through mana. It felt oppressive and powerful.

“WHAT THE HECK!?”

Yuki and Owen looked up.

A dragon.

Even more Majestic than Owen.

Hundred of metres tall, its red scales shone like polished rubies. Its wings stretched wide, blocking out the sky. Its golden eyes, so similar to Owen’s, stared down at them with intensity that made Yuki’s knees weak.

It was the dragon they had seen on the first day. The one that had flown overhead when they entered the Story Dungeon.

The dragon descended, landing on the road with a ground-shaking impact as its tail swept across the field, breaking some trees down.

It lowered its massive head, bringing its face to level with Owen’s.

“What… are you two?”

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