Greed!

' This is not something I wanna do, but I have no choice in this matter.' Sam sighed as he adjusted his body according to what his dog back in the day used to do.

Even though his memories did indeed turn blurry, not everything was gone; bits of information here and there were still lingering, accompanying his days of reading fantasy books.

At the same time, he could still vividly recall anything he wanted if he tried hard enough to do so. Thus, he found no problems copying how his dog acted.

As for the memories and the gift?

He chose to take care of that after this matter was dealt with since he somehow felt that something was wrong with this man.

Sam stuck out his long thick tongue as he slightly buried his head into Derek's chest, then casually raised his head and started licking him on his cheek and the bottom of his chin.

His movements instantly piqued the attention of the old man standing a few meters in front of Derek and his cute dragon pet, a hint of anger visible in his eyes.

Yet, despite his reaction and hostile aura, his voice was gentle and friendly, contradicting his expression of a man that was ready to murder someone on the spot.

The old man had white hair and blue eyes, and his long white beard that almost reached his stomach made anyone that first met him instantly connect him to a wandering scholar man, a sage of the human race, someone with unfathomable age and wisdom.

Unfortunately, first impressions often deceive people, since the moment their eyes catch a glimpse of the black armor and the long tip of the spear slightly visible behind the old man's white head, they will instantly drop their first notions and connect him to a warrior who had gone through countless battles during his long lived years.

" Derek, what is the meaning of this? Has gold blinded you the moment you saw that dragon? Are you that selfish to the point you never thought about your friends and chose to go against everyone?"

The moment Derek heard the old man's words, his heart beat faster, and he knew that something was wrong.

" What are you talking about, Tom? I haven't been blinded by anything, and where is the team and dragon mount I asked for?" The moment he finished his words, he tightly embraced the baby dragon with his left arm while his right arm swiftly and stealthily was placed behind him.

Tom could only sigh with disappointment and sadness as he spoke, his voice slightly shaking from the feelings he was currently experiencing.

He had seen Derek grow up in front of him since he was just ten years old.

At that time, he was so obsessed with fighting and getting stronger that he constantly pestered everyone in Tom's guild to teach him how to use weapons, bringing him along to their missions for experience and even spending all of his days with them.

Tom had always tried to shake him from that bloody and cruel path; he always advised him to do something else or at least just stick to becoming a guard or anything of that sort.

Yet, despite his numerous warnings throughout the long period he spent with them, he never listened to the old man and kept always coming back every day to go on missions and learn how to use weapons in the hope of getting stronger.

Over the years, everyone got used to him, and even Tom himself gave up on trying to persuade him after he saw his skills with the bow and the talent he displayed.

Deep down, however, Tom never wanted to see him grow up and become stronger cause he saw through his greedy nature.

He at first thought that his passion for learning and going on missions with them was to get stronger and be able to roam the world unhindered, but Tom soon found out the real reason.

Derek was a greedy person who always coveted other people's things. Hence, when he saw that almost everyone around him was a warrior or a mage, he instantly made his way to the hunter's guild to become like them, surpass them, and take over their knowledge.

" This is why I had always warned you not to grow stronger, Derek. You reached the point where you killed your friend, Don, betrayed my trust, and even went against his highness."

He paused for a moment as he placed his right hand on the long spear behind him; a tear even escaped his face as he thought about the sin he was about to commit.

" You know Derek, his Highness, giving my strength and authority in the kingdom, immediately reached out to me after he saw what happened in one of his farms. At first, I didn't believe him; after all, you had always been a smart person who knew what he was doing, but then, you called me asking for a mount and the strongest team in the guild."

Derek's forehead began profusely sweating, hearing his friend's words, the force behind his right hand embracing the baby dragon on his chest getting stronger by the second.

" Liar, there is no way his highness will be spying on us; this farm was neglected for decades after the egg refused to hatch; I even went out of my way to scan everything inside of it the moment the egg hatched, and the dragon came to life. Just say you wanted the gold this baby dragon will be sold for and wanted to make a profit out of it."

Sigh!

Tom sighed deeply as he looked at the crazed look Derek was having; for some time, only silence descended on the whole snowy region; he then slowly shifted his head and glanced at the trees next to him for a split of a second before speaking.

" I don't want to do this, but I also cherish my life; if I let you live and escape this place, his highness will surely hunt us down and kill us, and even if we manage to somehow kill the spy he sent to oversee this farm and safeguard his precious dragon egg that was taking decades to hatch, we might still die."

" Derek, just hand over the baby dragon, and I will try my best to save your life, I'll personally go and speak with his highness to spare you."

The aura in the surroundings suddenly changed.

Sam, given his long years of being an assassin and the natural instinct he developed in that time, instantly noticed that something was off about this situation.

He quickly moved the rest of his body closer to Derek in hopes that his safety would be a little guaranteed with this greedy man that valued him so much, even to the point that he was placing his life on the line for the gold.