Chapter 741: Dorran’s Story
With the current situation resolved, Nox walked past Dorran, who was still gritting his teeth, to speak with the chief sailor in charge of the merchant ship.
"Thank you, good sir, for helping us... if you hadn’t shown up, these low-life scums would have hijacked all our goods," the sailor said, shooting daggers at Dorran.
"It’s fine. You can proceed to the Lumina Bay. When you arrive there, your ships will be repaired as compensation," Nox replied with a generous smile.
The merchant bowed several times and rushed off to attend to something else. When he was gone, Nox returned his attention to Dorran.
The teenage pirate boy was still staring at the sky, specifically at the menacing frost dragon circling above. The sea shark, out of fear, had already retreated back into the water, only peeking at the predator overhead.
"As long as you don’t make any funny moves, it won’t attack you," Nox reminded him, startling Dorran.
Just like Nox, he had a lot of questions as well. And one of them was... how did he get his hands on a powerful and rare monster such as a dragon?
At that moment, Nox made a whistling sound, and the dragon stirred, slowly descending.
When he saw this, Dorran’s breathing hitched as he flinched back, thinking the beast was about to attack.
Subconsciously, he summoned his sword, brandishing it against the creature. However, the dragon didn’t spew fire or ice on him as he expected.
Instead, it bowed in front of Nox like a loyal pet—which it technically was. With a swift movement, Nox kicked off the ground, his body soaring upward before landing on the dragon with the ease of someone who had done this countless times.
"Come on," Nox gestured to Dorran.
The pirate swallowed noisily, his eyes darting between Nox and the frost dragon.
"Come on to where?" he asked in a hesitant tone. "Do you mean I should climb this... this thing? What if it attacks me?"
A cocky smirk touched Nox’s lips as he teased, "I didn’t know the lord of the seas was a scaredy cat."
Dorran’s eyes went bloodshot and a vein bulged on his temple.
’Tsk, I’m not scared.’ He snickered, then channeled just enough strength to stomp the ground hard and leap onto the dragon.
In a bid to prove he wasn’t frightened, he had acted recklessly. Yet now that he was mounted on a dragon—the natural predator of the skies—the pirate, whose domain was the sea, was shivering.
Nox felt his trembling body behind him, and with a light kick, the dragon took off into the air.
Dorran pressed his lips tightly to stop himself from screaming. The rushing wind whipped across his face, ruffling his hair wildly.
The two flew in silence, save for Dorran’s rapid breathing. Some time later, they arrived near the capital city of Crownhold.
Dorran’s mouth hung open. It was the first time he had seen walls so towering and mighty. It would take millions of soldiers to bring them down.
"Which kingdom is this? Is this still the Western Region?"
When he heard this, Nox realized the pirate didn’t know that the Western Region had become a kingdom of its own. This was natural, as it was still relatively new.
Naturally, not many would know about it.
"Welcome to the capital of the Cromwell Kingdom, Crownhold," Nox announced, his voice carrying a hint of pride.
"Cromwell Kingdom..." Dorran muttered to himself, then his eyes widened, threatening to pop out of their sockets. "...Wait... there... there are more dragons."
Right above the capital, several dragons could be seen circling as if keeping watch.
Nox veered his frost dragon past the others and landed at the foot of the castle.
The frost dragon lowered itself slowly, wings folding as Nox hopped down with practiced ease. Dorran followed clumsily, nearly tripping as his boots hit the stone. He looked around like a lost child.
There were guards stationed near the entrance alongside humanoid, ant-like creatures.
Dorran had a lot of questions but decided to keep his mouth shut and follow Nox into the castle.
Nox turned to one of the guards and ordered,
"Prepare a room. He’s not a prisoner. He’s under my watch."
They obeyed without a word. Soon, Dorran was led through the castle halls and given a spacious chamber with clean water, fresh clothes, and food. He had never rested anywhere like this before. For the first time, his guard lowered, though suspicion lingered in his eyes.
’Why... why are they treating me like this?’ he thought as he washed the blood from his hands. ’I’m a pirate. I killed people... I raided ships. Shouldn’t they just execute me? Or is my class really that important that he’s going to overlook everything I’ve done?’
After some time passed, Dorran changed into the fresh clothes provided. They were simple but clean, unlike the rough pirate garments he was used to. He sat on the soft bed, staring at the ceiling.
Later that evening, Nox entered the room. He pulled out a chair and sat across from Dorran, who had just finished eating.
"You’re probably wondering why I didn’t chain you up," Nox began calmly. "Or kill you outright."
"...Yeah," Dorran admitted, staring at him.
"It’s because you’re not ordinary," Nox said, holding Dorran’s gaze. "You’re an Awakened Beast Tamer, aren’t you?"
Dorran stiffened. His eyes darted away, but Nox leaned forward, not letting him escape.
"How did you Awaken it? And why waste it on being a pirate?"
There was silence. Then Dorran let out a bitter laugh. "Awakened? Waste? You think I chose this life? Hah... I was born on the sea. My father was a raider, my mother died when I was small. The crew raised me... until I stumbled upon that status that day."
"Status," Nox repeated, looking at Dorran with intrigue. "Start from the beginning. I want to hear about your life and how you stumbled upon this status."
Dorran hesitated, but after a while, he took a deep breath and began.