"This is only a prototype. I haven’t fully worked out the kinks, so it’ll take so ti to publicize my inventions. Until then... I’d like you to use this incomplete version and let know how it serves you."
’Ah... so it’s like beta testing on Earth...’ Draco’s thoughts trailed as he nodded. "I understand."
"Consider it your gift for passing the Cave of Trials." Zara’s hand was outstretched, and the device gently sat on her palm, waiting for him to pick it up.
Draco’s expression softened upon hearing this. A warm smile ford on his face as he touched the smooth, cold surface of the compass. In one elegant move, he picked up the compass and looked at it, feeling a strange hum resonate inside him.
He was at ease.
"Thank you—"
"I honestly wish I could test it out myself. It isn’t my wish to subject you to any danger at all, Draco..." Zara’s words echoed out like murmurs, her expression turning grave.
Draco sighed, fully knowing what she ant.
Zara was incompatible with D-H, which ant she couldn’t beco a Dragon Hunter.
Only one in a thousand people had the potential to use DragonHearts, and even among those who were qualified, many possessed neither courage, wits, and or the physique to beco proper Dragon Hunters.
Such a profession was reserved only for the cream of the crop.
The best among few.
’If Zara was compatible with D-H, she would definitely rise to beco a Dragon Master! Maybe she could even beco like so of the legends that existed throughout history, like Lord Drakonivich the Dragon Butcher and Mistress Elise, the Bloody Witch. Maybe... just maybe... she could beat the record of the greatest Dragon Master recorded in history—Kol, the Dragon Destroyer.’ Draco sighed and shook his head. ’Unfortunately for humanity, she doesn’t have that potential...’
Despite thinking this, Draco was actually relieved.
Why?
Because he understood how dangerous the job of a Dragon Hunter was. Most Dragon Hunters died within the first five years of their service, and only about ten percent made it past ten years of service.
Throughout history, there had only been nine Dragon Masters that ca out of the Southern Territory, and nearly all of them ultimately died at the hands of Dragons.
In the end, despite how much humanity advanced and grew stronger, Dragons still had the last laugh. They were simply too powerful.
’At the mont, we only have two Dragon Masters in the Southern Territory...’
One was the Dragon Master of the Central Court, the fad human monster who had lived for over a century and possessed unimaginable wisdom.
The other was the Savage Queen who was only in her early thirties and had killed over half of the number of Dragons that the forr had accrued in his lifeti.
These two were exceptional cases among the rest—beasts among n!
While Draco understood—more than anyone—that Zara had the potential to one day stand by their side and be their equal, chances were higher that she would beco one of the many Dragon Hunters who died in battle before ever reaching their full potential.
He didn’t want that for her.
’She is the smartest person I know, an indispensable asset to humanity, but... I don’t want her to risk her life on the battlefield.’ To Draco, it was best that Zara stayed away from the horrors of battle... continuously supporting humanity from a distance.
Ironically, Zara’s thoughts regarding Draco weren’t too far off from his.
"As happy as I am that you are well on your way to becoming a Hunter, I can’t help but worry for you." Zara looked into his azure eyes, her erald green eyes glistening under the moonlight.
"... Zara..."
"I wonder if you’ll rethink entering the Academy. You could contribute to humanity in so other way and lead a peaceful life... like ."
Draco was silent.
In the past, before the System beca a part of his life, he had never given this any thought. He was hell bent on becoming a Dragon Hunter, no matter the cost. However, now that he was a Legendary Dragon Tar and also had Luke’s mories, his horizons had been broadened and he actually seriously considered the matter.
’Using Luke’s mories and the knowledge from Earth, I could collaborate with Zara and create even better technology that could help humanity. I could participate less in dangerous missions and safely Level Up, taming more Dragons in the process...’
Now that he thought of it, life as a Dragon Hunter would be fraught with too many difficulties due to the restraints of his Class.
He also had to keep his identity and the System’s existence a secret.
All of these things swirled in his mind and he gave Zara’s suggestion serious consideration.
But—
"No."
—In the end, his mind could not be changed.
"Becoming a Dragon Hunter is about helping humanity and protecting the people of this world, yes... but it’s also more than that." Draco calmly said, looking at Zara with a scary expression on his face.
His eyes quickly darkened and his breathing beca rougher.
In an instant, his voice turned deep and scary.
"I despise Dragons! They embody everything I loathe! I want to kill them... all of them... show them no rcy and watch them suffer with my own eyes as I personally slaughter them with my very hands. It has to be ... I have to be the one to do it, else I won’t be able to quell this insatiable rage within ."
"But to what end?" Zara asked, sadness forming on her face. "When does it end? Till all of the Dragons are gone? Will you be satisfied then?"
"Yes! Don’t you get it? They deserve to suffer! Exterminated! Just like my father did... just like your brother did! Just like humanity has suffered since the dawn of our existence! Powerless under their terror and rule."
To Draco, there was no such thing as a middle ground.
Dragons were bad. Humans were good.
Until humanity could stand above the Dragons and treat them the sa way that they had been treated, he would not be able to rest.
"I want to be the one to do it... with my own hands." He looked at his trembling hands with a crazed expression, his eyes wide with obsession.
The kind, considerate Draco was no more. What was left was a vengeful human who was drowning in so much pain and anger that his eyes only seed to scream one thing—REVENGE!
"I... understand..."
Draco snapped out of his daze once he felt the sadness laced in Zara’s words, quickly turning towards her with an apologetic expression. "Zara, I—"
His words were stopped by the soft planting of lips upon his.
Zara had kissed him.
It was brief, lancholic... dispassionate. However, Draco could feel a wave of emotions charge up within him like electric currents.
He was silent, but was in no daze.
At that mont, he understood the depths of Zara’s feelings for him... and his feelings for her.
"Take care of yourself, Draco..." Her whispers echoed in the air as she slowly pulled away from him and made one final smile. "I’ll be rooting for you."
Draco remained silent, his wide eyes capturing Zara’s beautiful smile.
The girl quickly rose to her feet and hurriedly left the edge of the cliff, running straight in the direction of her ho. Just as she was no longer able to see the flabbergasted expression on his face, he too could not look upon her flushed appearance.
The distance between the two simply grew wider, until she completely vanished from Draco’s sight. Only then did he move.
"It seems I really do love her..." He sighed, roughening his hair as he carried his distracted gaze to the bottom of the cliff, where the abundant waters of the ocean could be seen for miles.
Waves crashed upon waves as the silence quickly beca a re illusion.
’I love her, but I could never be with her...’ Shaking his head rather slowly, he noticed an ember of sorrow etched within his soul. "I can’t provide her the stable life that she desires... the life she deserves."
He gently caressed the compass, cradling it like a newborn child.
The only promise he could make to her that night... was that he would cherish this gift she gave him—no matter what.
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