I pulled my blade back while the beast disappeared into dust, only leaving behind a crystal the size of my torso in the middle of the pile of gold.

  “HOLY SHIT! WE’RE GOING TO BE RICH! How the hell did you do that?!?”

  I held out my hand and the entire crystal went into my storage.

  “-You know swearing is very uncharacteristic for a fairy.”

  “Doing that is uncharacteristic!”

  I grabbed a single gold coin from the ground and put it in storage along with my sword, then started to make my way out of the cave.

  “Wait! Don’t you think you're forgetting something?!”

  “I wouldn't be that careless.”

  “The gold? You could build an entire mansion with that much!”

  “When would I use an entire mansion?”

  “Anytime! To relax, of course!”

  “It seems to me like you want it more than me.”

  “What? No! Of course not!”

  As I was running out of the cave, still in the dark, I opened the menu again and started browsing.

  “Skill shop.”

  “How did you even kill that thing in one hit though? You were level one?”

  “Check the sword.”

  “Hmm? Appraisal!”

  Weapon Class - Sword: Mist Relic Sword

  Weapon Skill: Boosts sacred water skills

  Attack power: 245

  “Wait… and your skill Sacred water strike…”

  “Yeah?”

  “How lucky can you get??”

  “Luck? Luck doesn't exist.”

  “What do you mean it doesn't?”

  “Everything is a set outcome depending on what you do. Luck isn’t a stat I can increase.”

  If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  “So you're saying that fight wasn’t luck, and you were always going to win?”

  “Fire dragons are weak to water, and this sword boosts it. Even at level one, a medium-level strike is enough to… Nevermind.”

  Use skill points:

  Low-Level Sprinting -> Medium-Level Sprinting: 5 points

  Medium-Level Monster Taming: 10 points

  Total: 15 points

  Yes

  No

  As I reached the end of the cave, I pressed "yes".

  “Hey, uh…”

  When the light hit my eyes I saw another dragon staring at me.

  “...there's another one.”

  “I can see that.”

  “Appraisal!”

  Level 43 - Unnamed: Forest Dragon 128 years old

  Titles: Dragon, Devourer, Merciless…

  Skills: Medium-Level Grass magic, Low-Level Water magic, Medium-Level Dragon claw…

  “That must be its friend… or rival… How are you going to kill this without the element of surpri-”

  As Mel was monologuing I was already sprinting away from the scene.

  “-Hey! Don’t leave me!”

  The forest dragon gave chase and started bolting after me.

  “Look at that new skill coming in handy already.”

  Replying now while full sprinting would be the death of me. My stamina was now at a high enough level that I could sustain this speed for a while, but not forever. The next step was finding somewhere to shake this guy off.

  “It’s catching up!”

  Mel said with a smug expression, it seems she’s eager to see me in a real life or death situation. Oh well. In the distance I could see I was approaching a ravine. Getting down wasn’t a problem, but getting up certainly was. Doing this was always a challenge. The dragon and fairy also seemed to realize what we were approaching at this point.

  “Uh… you’re not really going to suicide into that pit, right?”

  I only got closer.

  “I don’t think you need me to tell you that’s a bad idea, right?”

  The forest dragon now stopped to see where this was headed.

  “RIGHT?”

  I smirked at her.

  “Wrong.”

  As I fell into the ravine below, I got a good look at it as I was passing by. It was a lush ravine filled with moss and different trees branching out from the sides, centered around a river flowing through the center. There were birds you couldn't see where I came from, of all colors and sizes, with the main difference being these ones had mana in them, mana I have a max-level skill to detect. Without hesitating I put my arms around a giant purple one’s neck and hold on for dear life. It started freaking out and squawking in a panic. I held myself closer to it and shouted-

  “I, REIN, WISH FOR A TEMPORARY CONTRACT!”

  A green light surrounded it.

  Temporary Tame Successful!

  Level 22 - Unnamed: Tamed Purple Honey Hawk

  Would you like to give it a name?

  Yes

  No

  “Up!”

  As the hawk dived down and flew up at twice the speed I caught a glimpse of Mel’s face wide open, which I only smiled back. I saw her then look behind her at the dragon, still behind her, when she came bolting through the sky towards me. The dragon seemed to stare in awe as he knew he couldn't catch up, I respect that.

  “What the hell was that??”

  “My grand escape.”

  “Was that really the best way to go about it?”

  “Yes, I’ve tried…”

  Rename successful!

  Level 22 - Ivtred: Tamed Purple Honey Hawk

  The menu in front of me only now came to a close.

  “I’ve tried to find a faster way, but it always leads back to this.”