"Skriek…"
The disgusting growl of a Dragon echoed in the cavern as it slithered around, searching for prey to fill its belly. Nightcrawlers—as this species of Dragons were often called—were relatively weak Land Dragons.
They had no wings, neither did they have any [Breath] that they utilized.
Instead, they simply had very agile bodies, the incredible strength of Dragons, and were masters at concealment. Unless one was properly trained in the art of fighting against them, a human would never see them coming.
Darkness was their ally, as they could perfectly see in the cover of night, which made this cave irresistible to them as a Nest.
'Other than their acute sense of sight and the basic superior abilities that Dragons possess over humans, Nightcrawlers exhibit no particularly special trait.' Draco had this thought as he silently lay on the ground and stalked his prey. 'I suppose that is why they are simply Rank 1 and nothing more.'
Regardless, they were still spawns of evil which made them extremely dangerous.
Not for Draco, though.
"Phewew!" He whistled rather loudly, enough to aggravate the indifferent creature, who now glanced everywhere in response to the sound.
Draco smiled, revealing his limb as a lure for the creature.
'Come on… take the bite!'
Licking his lips, he watched as the Dragon displayed initial curiosity, which eventually transformed into sheer savagery as it charged at Draco's outstretched arm with the intention of tearing it apart.
To the unsuspecting Dragon, it had just seen its lunch, and for that it was extremely happy.
WHOOSH!
It tried to pounce on him but Draco was too fast and so he evaded the assault at the last minute, thus giving him the initiative in the battle. Not only had he fulfilled the conditions of [Friend Before Foe] limitation, but by successively evading the Dragon's assault at the last minute, he had also positioned himself right behind the nimble creature.
If his intention was to kill the Nightcrawler, then his position would be slightly disadvantageous, since it wouldn't give him direct access to his prey's heart.
However, Draco had no plan to kill this Dragon.
"[Let There Be Light]." He whispered, creating a bright explosion of pure light.
"Skriaaakkk!!!"
The Dragon screamed in pain, its eyes that had permanently adapted to the dark struck blind by the intense radiation of Draco's attack. It stumbled backwards, losing its bearing as it squirmed like an injured worm.
Draco watched this with intrigue, swiftly moving out of the creature's way before it ran into him.
'It seems like I can just blind them by its basic activation.' Draco stared at his hand, still witnessing sparks of remnant light warbling at his fingertips.
He was yet to fully understand the scope of this [Breath], but he had practiced enough with it in the cave for basic uses like this. He considered trying more, but decided against it; choosing instead to proceed with his main test.
"[Dragon Taming]."
[No Special Condition Required To Tame This Dragon]
Draco suddenly felt some kind of strength—both physical and mental—being sapped from his body as his eyes focused on the retreating Nightcrawler. The creature had seemingly lost all its will to fight and was in utter confusion.
It could not notice the wave of energy that was charging its way from Draco, not to mention resist its power.
In a flash, golden energy shrouded the two of them, causing absolute silence.
[Taming Successful]
"Whew…" Draco whispered as the brimming light subsided, his eyes solely focused on the Nightcrawler who now adapted a submissive pose to him.
Its head was on the ground, with all four limbs stretched in their respective directions. It no longer had any rage or hunger on its face, and instead possessed a golden glow in its eyes.
"Come closer."
The creature instantly obeyed Draco and rose to its feet as it approached him.
"Stop."
It immediately halted.
"Roll over."
It obeyed.
Draco could not help but chuckle at the sight, no longer disgusted by the creature but instead feeling a weird bond between him and the beast. It wasn't at the level of what he felt towards the white Dragon—not even close—but he certainly didn't feel like killing this Dragon.
—Not anymore.
'Just look at its eyes…' Draco smiled as he patted the Nightcrawler on the head.
If anyone in Te'rah was to see this happening—a man taming a Dragon—they would drop dead in disbelief. How could a spawn of evil, an uncontrollable force of nature, bow its will to a mere human?
It was inconceivable!
However, at this moment, Draco could no longer view his Nightcrawler as evil.
Its eyes contained nothing but submission and purity, one akin to the dogs he knew from Luke's memories. It was completely tame, obedient, and its will was perfectly aligned with its master's interests.
'Looks like the Dragon Taming works.'
He was satisfied with the overall results, which meant he could proceed with his plans to sweep through the entire Cave of Trials—so he could Level Up—and ultimately challenge the Hidden Quest that the System provided.
'It's unfortunate that I can't get EXP from Taming, but with more Nightcrawlers on my side, hunting should be easier.' Draco had this thought as he proceeded to pick up his spear which he had placed a short distance from him in case the Taming was unsuccessful.
With all the cards at his disposal, he set his eyes ahead as he advanced forward.
**********
"Attack."
The half a dozen Nightcrawlers under Draco's command charged forward, instantly surrounding a much larger one. The latter appeared confused, seeing its fellow Dragons being controlled by a mere human.
However, it did not have the luxury of considering that, as its natural instincts kicked in and it began to growl; feeling intimidated by the surrounding Dragons while displaying feral aggression.
Draco watched this scene play out and laughed to himself.
The growls that used to sound disgusting to him—like metal grating on metal—now felt soothing. It was almost like a dog's bark.
"Cute."
He slowly walked forward and approached the Dragon, stretching out his hands as he narrowed his eyes in focus.
"Submit."
Draco realized he didn't need to call out the name of the Privilege for him to use it, and so he set up a keyword that would activate the corresponding action that he intended.
The result?
[Taming Successful]
"Hehe…" He smiled, looking at the now composed Dragon up ahead. "Come here, boy."
The much larger Nightcrawler, over two times taller than a human, rushed at Draco—not with the intention to kill, but out of excitement to serve.
It wagged its slithery black tail as it sat in front of Draco per the latter's instructions.
"Good boy!" Draco rubbed its head and proceeded to rub his chin as well.
The Dragon seemed to like that a lot, beating its tail on the ground in excitement as the other Nightcrawlers watched this with envy. They all seemed like dogs starved of attention, their puppy-like eyes pleading to be pet as well.
"Alright… come here guys."
All the Dragons gathered around him as he took his time to pet them one at a time, causing them to leak out pleasant growls and low-pitched moans similar to how cats would purr or how dogs would softly whine under the same experience.
Draco no longer felt any repulsion for these Dragons, but that did not stop him from despising other Dragons as spawns of evil. It just so happened that these ones were his, and hence domesticated.
He made no mistake in his judgment regarding the true nature of other Dragons.
Also…
'... I'm beginning to feel a bit of burden inside me. I can manage it for now, but I suspect adding more Dragons will only increase the burden.' Draco felt a wave of nausea hit him, causing him to experience lightheadedness.
There were only so many Dragons he could Tame at once, especially with his low Level.
He had put off killing any more Nightcrawlers for a while now due to his intention of testing out the limits of his Taming capabilities, and upon reaching this precipice, Draco reckoned it was time to stop postponing the slaughter to come.
'It's time to use my Dragons for real hunting!'