"What?!"
"Kill the Demon Dragon?!"
The words hung in the royal chambers, heavy and suffocating. Qi Yan and Erza Scarlet were simultaneously shocked by the audacity of the King's plan.
A Dragon. That wasn't just a monster. Even the legendary ones could casually wipe a country off the map.
Erza wasn't surprised that Dragons existed; her guildmate Natsu Dragneel was raised by the mighty Fire Dragon Igneel. But for Qi Yan, the stakes were clearer—and much, much deadlier.
He knew the lore. Dragons were practically the world's greatest darlings. They were born with terrifying lifespans, impenetrable hides, and the ability to wield Dragon Magic. Unless you were a rare Dragon Slayer Mage, human magic was largely ineffective. It was a matter of inherent super-strong resistance. Against a Dragon, your most powerful spell would land like a wet noodle.
"That's right! Kill the Demon Dragon!" the King declared, his expression serious and utterly earnest. "After four hundred years, the seal must have weakened its power. Why wait for it to break free and slowly recover? We will strike first. We actively break the seal, kill the beast, and eliminate this threat to the kingdom once and for all!"
The King's conviction was startling. Both Mages stared, momentarily stunned by his sheer courage—or perhaps, his recklessness.
"Your Majesty," Erza said, her voice dropping into a tone of professional warning. "Slaying a Dragon completely exceeds the scope of an S-rank mission."
The King nodded, already prepared for this. "I know. I plan to upgrade the mission to SS-rank. And the reward will increase from 15 million J to 30 million J!"
"30 million!" Qi Yan gasped.
His mind was already running calculations. $30,000,000$ J... that was equivalent to a massive payout in the real world. Splitting it evenly with Erza still meant a fortune. He'd thought the $6$ million J mission they just completed was a haul, but this was a tsunami of cash.
The bigger the waves, the more expensive the fish, he mused.
But the real jackpot wasn't the money. The SS-rank commission, according to his system, offered a reward of 'ten consecutive draws x 2.' Two guaranteed sets of the system's best rewards. This was a chance he couldn't afford to pass up.
Erza, however, was purely focused on the danger. "I need to discuss this with my companions," she said, ready to turn and flee this insane offer.
The King simply extended his hand, granting them leave.
Erza immediately turned to Qi Yan, her metal armor clanking softly. "Qi Yan, this mission is too dangerous. I expected to find a legendary sword, not fight a Dragon. My suggestion is simple: we give up."
She was a fearsome S-Class Mage, but this was beyond a measure of valor. A Dragon, no matter how weak, was not something to be faced with mere courage.
But Qi Yan wasn't looking at the exit. He was looking at the King.
"Since Your Majesty has such a plan," Qi Yan said, his eyes narrowed, "surely you aren't unprepared, are you?"
The King stopped, a flicker of surprise and then deep appreciation in his gaze. "You are right. This concerns the life and death of our kingdom. Naturally, I wouldn't be unprepared. But how did you deduce that?"
"Because the tone of Your Majesty's voice just now wasn't asking for our opinion," Qi Yan explained. "It was describing an event that is about to happen."
"Indeed!" The King confirmed. "Even if you two hadn't come, I had already planned to launch an expedition against the Demon Dragon."
Click!
As he spoke, the King twisted the armrest of his throne. The floor beneath his feet separated, and a magnificent, ancient longsword slowly rose from the ground. Embedded in its hilt was a single, fiery-red gem.
"A sword?" Qi Yan and Erza said in unison. The Kingdom of Swords indeed, Qi Yan thought wryly. Is this their 'preparation'?
"This is no ordinary sword," the King announced. "This is a Dragon Slayer Sword crafted by a master. And this gem? This is a Dragon Slayer Magic Crystal."
"A Dragon Slayer Magic Crystal?!" Qi Yan's eyes went wide. Now, the King had his full, undivided attention.
"Qi Yan, you know about this?" Erza asked, seeing his reaction.
He nodded sharply. "Yes. It's a crystal made from a Dragon's heart. If embedded into a human Mage's body, they can use the corresponding Dragon Slayer Magic."
"Precisely! This is a Fire Dragon Slayer Magic Crystal," the King confirmed. "I purchased it at a high price from the northern continent of Guiltina. However, Dragon Slayer Magic requires long-term training. We do not have that time."
The King grabbed the hilt of the sword. "Since human magic is useless against Dragons, I ordered the kingdom's artisans to forge this. Only by wielding this sword and attacking the Demon Dragon can it be truly harmed."
He gripped the hilt tighter, and the sword body burst into raging flames. The heat was instant, terrifying, making the entire hall feel like a furnace.
"So hot!" Erza muttered, instinctively taking a step back.
The flames soon extinguished, and the King reinserted the sword into its pedestal.
Qi Yan frowned, a key question on his mind. "Such an important weapon... surely wouldn't be given to others to use casually, would it?"
"Of course not!" the King declared. "This is the key to our victory, the survival of this nation! Only the strongest swordsman is worthy of wielding this sword."
"The strongest swordsman?"
"Exactly! You two have actually arrived at the perfect time. For this operation, I have convened the World's Strongest Swordsman Tournament to select the strongest swordsman in the Ishgar continent."
"The World's Strongest Swordsman Tournament?!"
Qi Yan and Erza were completely floored. This King was a master of the dramatic surprise.
The King's gaze then settled, admiringly, on Erza. "This Mage lady is also an excellent swordsman, isn't she? Able to defeat a 5-star Blazing Boar in one strike, her strength is at least that of a 6-star, perhaps even a 7-star swordsman. Don't you want to give it a try?"
Erza's eyes, normally stern and focused, now held a deep, unshakeable flicker of desire. The SS-rank danger was still there, but as a warrior of the blade, how could she ignore the call to prove she was the strongest?