Lu Cai reached out uncertainly to hold the silver dragon's neck.
Slender and strong, he could feel the vigorous vitality beneath its scales. It was different from most of the extraordinary creatures he had faced before...
Those were mostly monsters affected by dark matter more or less carrying evil powers that opposed the Tao but the dragon before him was pure with only fierce and surging primitive power.
The silver dragon seemed pleased with Lu Cai's touch humming twice in a hurry.
Lu Cai had no choice but to climb onto the dragon's back with a sullen face.
The dragon's back was very wide and lying on it alone his hands and feet were just enough to grip and support the several raised scales.
The silver dragon also seemed to have adjusted the angle of its scales so they wouldn't hurt, which made Lu Cai feel a little more at ease about the rest of the ride.
But after a while the silver dragon didn't move.
Lu Cai's mind was filled with questions. What was it waiting for?
Was a lighthouse signaling it to sail?
The next moment, the silver dragon turned its head and gave him a quiet look, a look that seemed to contain anger, resentment and a hint of mercy, "I'll forgive you..."
Lu Cai watched helplessly as the silver dragon walked to the pile of treasure, picked up the broken sword and turned to solemnly place it in Lu Cai's arms.
"As a knight who cherishes honor, how could you forget to even carry your sword? Seriously, I won't help you next time."
Lu Cai listened blankly as the silver dragon spoke a long string of Latin but besides the word "sword," he didn't understand a single word. He simply put his sword back on.
Perhaps it was just a friendly custom Lu Cai thought uncertainly.
After completing all the preparations Zeshia rubbed her feet nervously on the ground and slowly walked to the edge of the cave.
Lu Cai was unaware of the silver dragon's complex feelings. He suppressed the discomfort of the dragon's saliva on his skin and leaned over to glance outside the cave—a bottomless abyss.
He made another mental note: Western dragons are solitary creatures, their lairs typically located high on cliffs, perhaps to better hide the treasures they collect...
Before Lu Cai could fully survey the surroundings, the silver dragon's back slowly rose and fell as if gathering strength for takeoff.
Immediately, the silver dragon's wings flapped with a thud, stirring up a massive blast of air. The overwhelming weight pinned Lu Cai to its back!
"For the glory of the knight—!!!"
"Wu ... He squinted his eyes watching the silver dragon fly straight across the sky for a while then in an S-shape, then straight again...
Finally, for some unknown reason it landed in a spherical shape rolling straight off course.
Lu Cai had already jumped off the dragon's back the moment it touched down. Although inertia caused him to tumble a bit leaving a few scratches on his face, after watching the silver dragon tumble through the grass, he actually thought his braking posture was quite handsome in comparison.
Is this... the normal landing posture of a real dragon?
Lu Cai hesitated for a moment, then slowly walked over to the silver sphere and reached out to nudge it. "Are you okay?"
Zesia, unwilling to face reality had no choice but to turn over. In a split second it resumed its calm, hands-covered, crouching position.
"Brave knight, I'm glad we've completed our first flight together."
Grass dust drizzled down from its body showering Lu Cai with dust.
Lu Cai: "..."
When handling extraordinary events at the Foundation he could always guarantee a spotless presence nine times out of ten arriving clean and returning clean. He never expected that on his first day here he'd end up as filthy as a savage.
Nutty.
Lu Cai's lips twitched. From what the Silver Dragon had just said he'd only understood the word "fly," so he bowed slightly and replied, "Thank you."
The Silver Dragon held its neck high, motionless like a proud princess.
Seemingly there were no further problems Lu Cai breathed a sigh of relief and turned to walk towards the lakeshore, not far from the meadow.
Since this was the place the Silver Dragon had brought him to and judging by its friendly attitude there shouldn't be any danger. So, after a quick scan Lu Cai relaxed a bit, approached the lake and slowly scooped up a handful of water.
Not far away the sound of water splashed. The towering Zeshia finally moved its noble eyes, shifting its gaze slightly.
The human undressed revealing a slightly gaunt but overall tall and sturdy figure. Hmm, a decent knight nonetheless...
It was just that it had just been so embarrassing!
Thinking of this Zesiah covered her face with a plop feeling completely ashamed of her dragon-like appearance.
Before takeoff she was already nervous because she had never carried a human before!
Although Grandpa Ode and Chris occasionally transformed into humanoid forms and towed each other she considered herself a future dragon rider and knowing her precious first time must be reserved for her own knight she never submitted to other dragons and had no experience in towing anything.
While flying it was fine. This human was worthy of being her destined dragon rider having already mastered the ropes of dragon-back on her first flight.
But!
The moment she landed Zesiah was consumed with contemplating how to land more gently and securely so as not to bump her rider. Should she fold her wings first or stretch her legs? Should she lift her neck first or lower her tail?
Before she could even finish her thoughts she was already rolling out!
Out!!!
Zesia, the most handsome and majestic silver dragon in Dragon Nest!
It hadn't even reached adulthood but it possessed a physique surpassing many adult dragons!
It had won the Hurricane Champion of the Dragon Nest Flying Competition for three consecutive years!
It had a terrible fall!
And right in front of its dragon rider it had taken a nasty tumble on its first flight!!!
Wuwuwuwuwuwu! I wish I could live!!!
Lu Cai cleaned off the dirt and put on his wet pants. He glanced at his clothes then realized he had only wrung them dry and didn't put them on again. He walked back to where he had been shirtless and saw the silver dragon lying on the ground, clutching its head.
Hit the head?
Lu Cai paused, racking his brains to recall the Latin word for "hit the head." After a long struggle he couldn't come up with anything. He coughed twice in despair letting the silver dragon know he was alright.
It was time for some necessary communication. Lu Cai prepared himself mentally. The next moment the silver dragon suddenly raised its head a look of noble coolness.
Lu Cai discreetly examined the other's head...but saw no wounds.
Zesia sensing the human's gaze tilted her head slightly feeling guilty and interrupted with a pretentious air:
"Maintaining cleanliness is indeed a virtue a knight should possess. As my dragon knight I admire you greatly."
The vocabulary was a bit complex and archaic and Lu Cai racked his brains to understand it but judging by the other's expression it wasn't a bad word so he calmly nodded, accepting it.
Zesia's golden pupils widened instantly!
He actually followed through with his words so calmly! He hadn't refused to become his dragon rider after seeing me fall so hard! What else could this be but trust and love?!
Indeed, aside from this minor lapse my excellence in every other respect is obvious to all. It's a privilege for this human to have a dragon like me!
All this is as it should be!
It instantly brightened up, its noble and sleek form shifting into a new pose as if it were about to soar into the sky and roar with joy.
Lu Cai hurriedly called out to him unsure of the other's volatile mood swings and using his limited vocabulary and gestures, he said:
"Thank you, Lu Cai. What's your name?"
Open communication was the first step toward a friendly relationship and Lu Cai was a little nervous.
But in Zeshia's mind its dragon rider had always had a language barrier so this kind of communication was perfectly normal. So, suppressing his excitement he twisted his neck and replied with wide eyes:
"Hello, Lu Cai. I'm Zeshia your dragon."
Lu Cai's eyes lit up. The other party truly understood the meaning of friendly communication and was even willing to exchange names.
He shook out his wrung-out clothes and spread them aside. He sat shirtless across from the silver dragon and carefully repeated its name in Classical Latin: "Zesia... your dragon."
It seemed a bit long.
Zesia smiled patiently and tolerantly: "No, it's your dragon."
"Your dragon."
Lu Cai, thinking he had mispronounced it, repeated it again.
Zeshia paused, realizing this wasn't quite right so she changed her words: "Zesshia, my dragon."
Lu Cai frowned, feeling the pronunciation was different from before but he bravely tried: "Zesshia, my dragon."
"Hey!"
Zesshia narrowed her eyes and responded then let out a low laugh.
Lu Cai suddenly realized that the pronunciation was correct.
Before joining the Foundation he had raised a group of intelligent puppies in his school. Every time he called their names the pups would jump for joy.
Animals really do like being called by their correct names, he thought.
Then Zeshia repeated "Zesshia." Lu Cai guessed that "Zesshia" was her regular name while "my dragon" might be a surname.
Afterwards, Lu Cai tried to communicate with her again and roughly learned that this was the dragon's habitat, a place called "Dragon Island."
The exact location wasn't clear but Zeshia said their ancestors had seen humans here so Lu Cai reasonably suspected this was still Earth merely undiscovered due to its geographical location and the peculiar habits of the extraordinary creatures.
Since it was still Earth that made sense. The Foundation had been starving for new blood in recent years and the monsters outside were growing increasingly powerful. If he disappeared those teammates still holding out in the distance might struggle to hold on.
Even more... After he was teleported here by the summoning circle there was no telling what his teammates still fighting would encounter.
He had to find a way back.
"I need you,"
Lu Cai looked at Zeshia seriously. Unable to find polite words he simplified them. After a pause, he pointed at himself and gestured,
"Leave here, go back."
Zesshia's tail instantly swept down a stout tree. Lu Cai was startled thinking that some taboo had been mentioned. The next second Zeshia sat calmly and said: "Since you have invited us sincerely, let's set off immediately." Lu Cai: "?" Set off immediately?