Privilege!

The moment they looked in the direction from where the voice came, their eyes met with an elegant-looking young man riding on top of an enormous grey dragon.

The air in the surroundings seemed to tense up as Derek only stood there without moving an inch, his long white bow ready to strike down the young man who just appeared, killing him on the spot, but a look of hesitation was clearly attached to his face, born after he sensed the person's strength and origins.

Tom, on the other hand, reacted a bit differently; his long spear was already sheathed on his back, while his face looked calm, not concerned about this situation. For a moment, everyone who looked at him would think that he just didn't attempt to kill his highness's personal assassin in front of him.

The gigantic grey dragon measuring tens of meters in length, slowly landed on the river shore, facing the two humans and the baby dragon hiding behind their legs.

The dragon's calm crimson eyes sat narrowly within the creature's soft, narrow skull, which gave the creature a threatening-looking appearance.

One enormous central horn sits atop its head, just above its thick, angular ears. Large fan-like skin and bone structures run down the sides of each of its jaw lines.

Its nose is flat and has two short, curved nostrils, and there's a horn on its chin. Rows of sharp teeth poke out from the side of its mouth and show a glimpse of the terror hiding inside.

A huge neck runs down from its head and into a long body. The top is covered in wide scales, and an armored ridge runs down its spine.

Its bottom is covered in stone-like scales and is colored slightly lighter than the rest of its body. Two massive limbs carry its body and allow the creature to stand imposing and elegantly. Each limb has five digits, each of which ends in pointy talons seemingly made of obsidian.

Gigantic wings grow to start from its shoulders and end at the lower end of its back. The wings are almost angel-like, the insides of the wing seem to be made of thin crystals, and curved talons grow from each ending like giant scythes.

Its wide tail ends in a sword-like edge and is covered in the same wide scales as its body.

Its looks alone made Sam fantasize about his future form, a hint of yearning even visible inside of them as he gazed at the majestic dragon in front of him.

' This is only an ordinary dragon, yet it looks this majestic and terrifying; I wonder how I'll grow to look in the distant future. But given that I'm a True Dragon, I should be much more frightening than this one and even more magnificent.'

On the other hand, Sam directly noticed that the young man did indeed look like some royalty characters in the fantasy books he had read.

Green, flowing hair almost fully covers a thin, lived-in face. Bulging amber eyes, set charmingly within their sockets, watch eagerly over the people of his kingdom they've grown affectionate of for so long.

Several moles are spread seductively on his right cheek and leave an aching memory of his upbringing.

This is the face of Einar Varman, the king of Stegon. He stands easily among others, despite his scraggy frame.

There's something irregular about him; perhaps it's his decency, or perhaps it's simply a feeling of coldness.

Tom walked a few meters in front of Derek and Sam, but his next actions surprised everyone watching this scene and knew about what had just occurred.

He stood there in front of Einar, not even kneeling, and loudly spoke," Your Highness, I'm gonna have to ask you to forget about everything that happened in this place; since no one witnessed this scene other than your personal assassin and us, no words will ever come out, which gives me the rights to use that."

Tom avoided the words of Einar the moment he appeared, knowing full well that answering his taunts would only lead to a bloody path with a lot of struggles following it. Thus, he took the smartest approach, which is honestly something he never wished to do.

' Even though I have no reason to do this and I'll only endanger my future self and interests, my heart is more than determined to save Derek, my little friend and the son of my old deceased rival.' He inwardly sighed as he awaited his Highness's words.

" Given your past actions, your words, and your expression of that of a man that is about to do something foolish, then I believe you are about to use that privilege, no? Correct me If I'm not mistaken, Tom."

The old man took a deep breath as he looked at Einar's face and then slowly spoke, confirming his words." Yes, I will use one of my last two privileges bestowed upon me by the great master of the hunter guild himself to exchange for our lives."

Einar looked briefly at the white bow held by Derek and then pointed at the baby dragon the size of a lion hiding behind him.

He didn't speak, but his words were clear as crystal.

Tom followed the direction of his hand and looked at Derek and then the baby dragon and said," I think if I ask for the baby dragon to accompany us, you will request another privilege, so just our two lives, you get to keep the dragon."

" You know, Tom, I would have asked you to consider your decision, but seeing the white bow held by that kid, I understand why you forfeit such a privilege. After all, you are not stupid to think that I'm gonna kill you for merely trying to assist your friend. So your words didn't make sense at first, but then after I saw that bow, everything linked up together."

He paused for a moment as he made a hand gesture with his right hand, which was quickly followed by a gentle whirlwind that appeared right around the baby dragon, slowly taking him on top of the enormous dragon head right in front of him.

" You should be careful when you are back to the capital city Irinas; the news of you using one of your privileges will be announced as per the agreement that was made thousands of years ago. By then, a few nobles might make a move to take away your last one and get rid of you for good."

After he finished his words, the dragon, as he appeared to be connected to his master's thoughts, slowly took flight, and then with a speed Sam could only link to plans, he flew into the horizon, slowly but steadily vanishing from Tom and Derek's line of sight.

Tom nodded and replied thankfully," I'll be careful from here on; thank you, friend."

His voice was so loud that it effortlessly reached the departing figures of the dragon before he totally disappeared from his sight.