THE DRAGON SOVEREIGN TAMER

The first strike

Chapter 2: The First strike 

Kin’s POV

​The shatter of broken glass rattled across the concrete floor as the remaining light fixtures hummed and died. Emergency red backlights flickered to life, casting long, sharp shadows across the ruined shelter lobby. The smell of ozone sharp, metallic, and hot filled the room, drowning out the stench of animal feed and dragon waste.

​Chad Maryer picked himself off the ground, clutching his bleeding elbow. His custom tailored guild uniform was torn at the shoulder, ripped by the sheer vacuum force of the sudden force. His face was covered in disbelief and raw embarrassment.

​"What... what kind of trick was that?!" Chad screamed, his voice cracking. "You used a hidden explosive device! A dirty street rat like you doesn't have the mana to suppress a C - Rank beast!"

​On the far side of the lobby, the shelter manager was huddled behind the overturned front desk, shaking uncontrollably. "Young Master Chad... that wasn't an explosive..."

​"Shut up!" Chad snapped, spinning around to glare at his Crimson dragon.

​The dragon, a massive canine covered in jagged reddish-black scales, was struggling to its feet. Liquid fire dribbled from its jaws, but its legs were visibly trembling. Its glowing yellow eyes were locked onto the creature perching on my outstretched arm.

​Ian had completely transformed.

​The once-pitiful E-Rank Dust dragon was gone. In its place stood a sleek, lethal predator nearly three feet tall from head to tail. Its scales resembled overlapping plates of polished silver armor, edge-lined with a shimmering cyan hue. Tiny, harmless sparks of arc electricity skittered across its wingtips, popping softly in the quiet air.

​Companion Status Panel

Name- Ian 

Species- Storm Harrier Stage 1 Evolution

Tier - C-Rank Growth Phase

Level- 5 / 25

Attributes:

​Strength- 28

​Agility- 45

​Spirit- 38

Active Skills - Wind-Blade Dash E-Rank, Static scales Barrier F-Rank

Passive- Sovereign’s Aura Causes lower-lineage dragons to suffer a 15% stat penalty due to ancestral pressure.

I felt a surge of hot invigorating energy coursing through my own veins. The Host Feedback system was no joke. 

My vision was sharper, I could see the individual dust motes floating in the red emergency light. The chronic ache in my wrists from years of heavy cleaning had completely vanished, replaced by a dense, coiled physical strength.

​I took a slow step forward. My work boots crunched softly on the shattered glass.

​"I asked you a question, Chad," I said, my voice flat and devoid of any fear. "You came here looking for a warm-up. Are you going to command your dragon, or are you just going to stand there bleeding?"

​Chad’s face flushed dark crimson. He was the son of a high-ranking officer in the Fire-Tiger Guild, one of the top five private taming factions in the district. In school, people bowed to him. On the streets, lower-ranked tamers stepped out of his path. Being stood down by an F-Rank shelter cleaner was a humiliation he couldn't survive if word got out.

​"Arrogant garbage!" Chad roared, thrusting his finger toward me. "Crimson dragon, kill him! Use Ignite Charge!" He screamed.

​ROAR!

​The Crimson dragon let out a guttural howl. The scales along its spine flared bright orange as flames enveloped its entire body. Turning into a roaring ball of fire, the dragon lunged forward, cracking the concrete floor beneath its hind legs. It covered twenty feet in less than a second, aiming its open, fiery jaws straight for my throat.

​To an ordinary human, the attack was a blinding blur. But to me with the newly boosted 45 Ability, the dragon looked like it was moving through thick syrup. I didn't even flinch.

​"Ian," I muttered. "Left wing. Wind-Blade Dash."

Ian didn't cry out. It didn't waste my breath.

​With a sharp, metallic shriek, the Storm Harrier launched off my arm. It vanished.

​Where the dragon had been a millisecond prior, only a line of distorted air remained. A split second later, a high-pitched sonic boom echoed through the lobby.

​FOOM!

​Ian reemerged directly above the leaping dragon. Its right wing snapped downward like a falling guillotine, coated in a concentrated razor-sharp crescent of compressed wind.

​SLASH!

​The wind-blade sheared through the dragon fire armor like a hot knife through butter. The impact struck the dragon directly in the chest, crushing its momentum and slamming the three-hundred-pound dragon hard into the floor.

​BOOM!

​The concrete ruptured. Dust and stone chips flew everywhere. The Crimson dragon skidded fifteen feet backward across the lobby, leaving a streak of black soot before crashing violently into the heavy metal storage lockers. The fire surrounding its body sputtered out instantly. It lay there, groaning softly, its eyes rolled back into its head.

​One hit.

That's all it took my dragon Ian to knock down A C-Rank Guild dragon, trained with thousands of dollars' worth of luxury nutrient pastes, had been knocked out cold by an F-Rank cleaner's starter dragon in less than three seconds.

​Silence fell over the room once more, heavy and suffocating.

​Chad stood frozen, his hand still raised mid-command. His breath caught in his throat. "No way. My dragon is a mid-tier C-Rank. How can an E-Rank dragon..."

​"It’s not an E-Rank dragon anymore,"I said, walking toward Chad with steady, unhurried steps. 

​Ian swooped through the air, circling smoothly before landing back on my shoulder. Ian tilted its head, its bright silver eyes staring down at Chad with cold, avian disdain.

​Chad backed away until his shoulders hit the wall. The cocky, violent smile he had entered with was completely gone, replaced by genuine terror. "Don't. Don't come any closer. Do you know who my father is? If you touch me, the Fire-Tiger Guild will erase you from this city!"

​I stopped two paces away. I was way taller than Chad, and with my newly acquired physical attributes, my presence felt overwhelmingly heavy to the untrained teenager.

​"Your father isn't here, Chad," l said softly, tilting my head. "And your dragon is unconscious. Right now, the only thing keeping my dragon from taking your other arm off is my good mood." I said with confidence.

​Chad swallowed hard, trembling. "W-What do you want?" He replied. I could feel the fear from him.

​"Simple,"I said, holding out my hand. "Your wallet and your entry pass to the District Novice Cup tomorrow."

​Chad’s eyes widened. "The Novice Cup? That’s an invite-only tournament for guild rookies! The grand prize is..” he said in a trembling voice.

​Ian let out a sharp ear-splitting screech, its wing scales fanning out like a deck of silver knives. A tiny spark of lightning zapped the wall an inch from Chad’s ear, singeing his hair.

​"Okay! Okay! Take it!" Chad screamed in panic. He fumbled frantically at his belt, ripping off his leather pouch and a golden invitation badge, shoving them into my open hand. Ian must have really scared him.

​Item Acquired- 15,000 Guild Credits

Item Acquired- Official Novice Cup Entry Badge Tier-1

I glanced at the golden badge, feeling the cool metal against my palm. The Novice Cup was held every year in the city's main arena. The winner didn't just get cash; they received a high-grade Unbound Beast Core and a contract exemption, meaning the winner could legally register as an independent licensed Tamer without selling their soul to a corrupt corporate guild like Fire-Tiger Guild.

​This was exactly what I needed. I thought to myself.

​"Good,"I said, pocketing the badge and credits. "Now take your dog and get out of my shelter."

​Chad didn't wait to be told twice. He scrambled across the floor, recalled his unconscious Crimson dragon into its red soul-gem with shaking hands, and sprinted out the shattered front doors into the night without looking back once.

​I turned my head slowly toward the overturned front desk. Looking for the shelters manager.

​The shelter manager slowly peeked his head out, his face pale as chalk. "Kin... please... I was just following orders! I didn't mean to let him hurt your dragon!" He said in a scared voice.

​I walked over to the desk. For four years, this man had stolen half of my paycheck and forced me to work 16-hour shifts. He  treated me like dirt simply because I had no power.

​"You're right, Manager Vin," I said, my voice terrifyingly calm. "You were just following orders. So here is mine. You're going to use the money in the shelter register to fix these broken windows."

​"Yes Of course!" He replied 

​"And as of right now," I added, grabbing his old coat off the rack, "I quit."

​Without waiting for a reply, I turned and walked out of the shelter into the cool night air of the city.

​The modern skyline stretched out before me, glowing holographic billboards advertising famous S-Rank Tamers towering guild skyscrapers, and in the distance, the massive purple light of the Central Abyss Gate humming against the dark sky.

​For four years, I had been trapped at the absolute bottom of this city, scrubbing cages and taking beatings. But as I looked down at my glowing blue system panel and felt the razor-sharp wind energy swirling around Ian's wings, I knew everything had changed.

​System Alert

New Quest Available- Win First Place in the District Novice Cup.

Reward- Unlocks Second Soul Slot + Ancient Gene Lineage Tracker.

​I smiled, a sharp and confident glint in my eyes as I pulled my hood over my head.

​"Let's go Ian," I whispered. "Tomorrow, we show this city what an F-Rank tamer can really do."

​Ian let out a soft, low trill of agreement, disappearing into my shadow as we head down the street toward the grand arena.