Draco carefully followed the map etched in his mind, his breathing stealthy as he intentionally avoided regions with bountiful Dragons in order to preserve his strength.
His herd of tamed Nightcrawlers also followed him, masking his presence to other Dragons; preventing any of them from attacking. As he traversed the labyrinthine spaces of the cavern, he soon began to realize the Cave of Trials was a lot more complicated than he initially expected.
Perhaps the examiners knew this, but chose not to mention it to examinees since their goal was simply to make it to the other side. Or, maybe they were also unaware of the complexity that the cave offered.
There seemed to be several unexplored areas that anyone would miss, but since Draco was being guided by his Mind Map, he was able to easily find them. It took him a few hours, but he finally arrived at his target destination.
"Here we are… the Champion's Lair."
Not every Dragon Nest had a Champion, but they were present in Nests more often than not. Since the Champion was the strongest in the Nest, it naturally had its own secluded area that was dubbed: Champion's Lair.
It also had another name for anyone in the business of hunting Dragons.
—The Hunter's Graveyard.
Draco gulped as his bright blue eyes reflected the gaping hole that served as an opening to the clearing below him. It felt like the jaws of death itself had been opened, inviting him to partake of its bitter nectar.
If he went in… there was a big chance he wouldn't return.
Glowing bright orange warbled from beyond the entrance, almost as if a furnace existed deep within. Draco could even feel intense heat wrap around his still body. Whether it was his instinct as a Dragon Hunter or a Dragon Tamer, he could feel a sense of danger unlike anything he had ever experienced before.
"Grrr…." His tamed Dragons began to growl, but their voices quickly turned into whines and whimpers.
They were clearly scared.
'I can override their fear and still make them fight, but this clearly shows the level of my adversity.' He reasoned. 'Should I just give up on this Hidden Quest?'
The Cave of Trials usually lasted about two days.
Over a day had passed, and the second day would soon come to an end. Draco had to leave this place at some point, else he would be presumed dead by the examiners and fail the examination.
Using that logic, and the level of danger that the Champion posed, perhaps forfeiting the Hidden Quest was wisest.
'No!'
Draco clenched his fists, his grip tightly squeezing his spear. 'I already failed my Secondary Quest, which will definitely come with consequences. I can't afford to fail another Quest, which could bring about bountiful rewards.'
Plus, Draco did not fear death.
'I won't die here! I already promised myself that.' He growled, despising himself for the weak train of thought he had moments earlier.
He could tell where it came from.
'Looks like Luke's memories are influencing me somewhat. His cowardly ways are seeping into my warrior's spirit, which made me think like him for a moment.' Draco shook his head. 'Never again!'
Draco had his personal thoughts regarding Luke, and despite feeling like he was the individual, due to having all of his memories, he despised the thought. This was because Luke was weak… and he despised weakness—especially in himself.
And so, despite being connected to Luke, he wanted to distance himself from that person.
'Let's do this!'
Draco took a step forward, feeling a gust of hot wind blow on his face, before taking another step… and then another. Before he realized it, he was walking into the massive opening, taking death's invitation with a confident smile on his face.
Was he scared? Yes.
Would he back down as a result of this fear? No!
'I am a brave warrior of Te'rah, who will become a Dragon Hunter and purge the world of all the spawns of evil.' His thoughts were clear and resolute. 'This Champion is only a stepping stone to achieve that.'
After advancing for a few more minutes—feeling the cave grow brighter with every step he took—Draco exited the great tunnel, bringing him straight to a large clearing that glowed bright amber.
This was a strange sight, considering how the rest of the Cave Of Trials was perpetually engulfed in darkness, but one look around the space was enough to show the slightly stunned Draco why this place was different.
'Essence Stones.' Draco's eyes widened, his attention fixated on the honey-yellow colored crystals that were stuck on the jagged cave walls, ceilings, and even ground. 'There are so many of them.'
This was a treasure trove!
Seeing this many Essence Stones told Draco that there was no way the examiners had explored this portion of the Cave of Trials. If they had seen this place, they would have long ransacked it and plundered all the Essence Stones.
Nest Champion or not, it wouldn't matter to Dragon Hunters who required the Stones as a major part of their crusade against Dragons.
'Essence Stones are just as important as DragonHearts, after all…'
Draco took a good look around, swiftly making calculations in his head as he carefully advanced forward. He made sure to be as quiet as possible, keeping an eye out for the Nest Champion while observing his surroundings.
'How much fame and fortune would I gain by reporting this matter to the examiners?' He beamed.
A wicked thought suddenly entered his mind about keeping them for himself to sell, recognizing how much more he could benefit from the trade, but Draco swiftly banished it from his mind. Such transactions were illegal, as Essence Stones and DragonHearts were meant to be submitted to the government.
That was the law in the Southern Territory.
'This many Essence Stones will greatly aid humanity in fighting against the Dragons, and it will also help in protecting more domains from attacks or… even a Dragon Tide.' Draco could list several reasons why it was for the greater good that he reported his findings.
He was going to be rewarded handsomely for it as well, so it was a win-win.
'The problem is explaining how I managed to find it.' He reasoned. 'I had to pass a lot of narrow spaces and explore very fringe parts of the cave to reach this point.'
How could he justify finding a treasure trove that none of the supervisors and invigilators had been able to sniff out over the years?
'I'll figure it out later. For now…' His eyes narrowed in a particular direction as he deeply frowned.
'... I have an enemy to face.'
"How surprising." A voice suddenly emerged from the edge of the cave—the only place shrouded in utter darkness. "To think someone actually stumbled into this place."
'W-what? What is that voice?!'
Draco's eyes widened as his pupils shrunk in confusion. His glare magnified as he took a step back while keeping his full attention on the dark blot in the cave.
"This human is weird. Why is he looking in my direction despite me being cloaked? Could it be… can he see me?" The voice continued in puzzlement. "Nah! There's no way that is the case!"
Draco didn't know what to think or say.
Truly, he could not see the entity that was speaking—whatever it was—but the System had already etched the location of the Nest Champion into his mind. This first served as a map that led him to the clearing, but now that he was here, it became an invisible pointer that showed him precisely where the target was.
In game terminology, it was akin to a 'Lock On' effect.
"Should I sneak up on him and scare him a little? Killing him too quickly will be too boring, and it's not like I get visitors like this every day…" The voice continued, chuckling in amusement as if laughing at a funny joke.
Draco had reached the limits of his patience at this point, so he sighed in exasperation and spoke aloud, his gaze transfixed on the hidden creature.
"I can actually see you."
"Eh? He can? No! He's lying… he's trying to bluff so I can reveal myself."
"I'm not lying, neither am I bluffing." Draco responded with a bit of irritation. "You're not going to be able to sneak up on me."
"Huh? How did he know I wanted to sneak up on him? No wait… he just said he wasn't lying… did he hear what I just said to myself?"
"Yes, I can hear you."
"What?! Impossible! But you're a human, aren't you?!"
"And?"
"What do you mean 'and'?" This time it was the voice's turn to be exasperated. "Last I heard, humans can't communicate with Dragons."
"Well, you're talking to one now, aren't you?"
"H-hold on, that's true… how can I understand you? It happened so naturally that I didn't even notice." The voice showed so much confusion that Draco couldn't help but smile, reminded once again of how unique this Legendary Dragon Tamer Class was.
However, before he could utter another word, he suddenly felt a presence in front of him.
WHUUUM!
The pressure he felt at that moment was suffocating, causing his entire body to freeze almost as soon as a massive shadow covered him. It took all of his strength to raise his head and stare at the terrifying creature that stood before him.
'Ahh… it's big.'
While not as large as Lumina, the Nightcrawler Champion was still about ten meters tall, with a scaly black body that shimmered beneath the surrounding amber. It had multiple spikes—both large and tiny—that decorated its back, and its shoulders also had protruding spikes rising from their joint regions.
Its tail slithered on the ground like a colossal snake, and its face drew nearer, revealing its pitch-black face with three horns; two by the sides of his head, while the other was atop its snout. Spikes grew starting from its glabella, stretching all the way to the base of its neck , and they all gleamed with sharp prospects.
It was without a doubt that this was a Spawn of Evil through and through.
—A Dragon.
"Strange…" It whispered, looking at him with a puzzled expression, its bright green eyes narrowing as it circled around Draco.
"You really are just a human."