[Lesser Dragon Slayer (Blue): Personally slaying dragon-type creatures grants you dragon-like presence. Dragon-type creatures no longer seem terrifying to you.
Ordinary creatures (including humans) will be intimidated by your aura, and some timid creatures will directly kneel and submit to you.
Your anger will make ordinary creatures want to run for the hills, and your attacks against dragon-type creatures deal extra damage.]
Conqueror's Haki?
That was Thane's first thought after reading the trait description.
This time there were two upgrade paths: [Fierce Beast Hunter] and [Pseudo Dragon Slayer].
The first one required personally hunting down 500 carnivorous beasts, while the second needed him to personally take out 100 dragon-type creatures.
Neither was gonna be a walk in the park.
The first one might still be doable, but the second was basically a pipe dream—who knew if there were even 100 dragon-type creatures in this entire wilderness.
But scoring a bonus trait out of nowhere left Thane pretty damn satisfied.
"Dawn Lord's blessing—you actually took down this dragon!"
Maxim was the first to snap out of it from inside the wooden house, staring at Thane like he'd seen a ghost:
"You're brave as hell! Like some kind of war god!
You can slap the Dragon Slayer title in front of your name now!"
Thane shook his head and came back to reality, waving his hand with a modest smile: "Just a lesser dragon, supposedly with some real dragon blood in it."
Despite playing it cool, Thane could feel his body still shaking from the adrenaline rush.
According to what he knew from his previous life, this was just the crash after an adrenaline high.
"My brave Baron, are you seriously thinking about dragon hunting?"
Maxim looked at Thane like he'd lost his mind: "This wyvern is already the most badass creature I've ever heard of! Real dragons only exist in fairy tales!"
Yet you still believe in gods?
Thane thought to himself but kept his mouth shut.
Maxim was busy singing his praises—how could he start an argument now?
Just thinking about it made Thane feel like a jerk.
"I just saw my shot and took it. My knights and soldiers are the real heroes here."
Thane smiled and looked over at Ryan in the distance, giving him an approving nod: "And my hunters, of course."
Ryan and the others snapped out of their daze and quickly bowed back.
The soldiers who'd been saved also came to their senses and immediately dropped to their knees, kowtowing to Thane:
"Thank you for saving my life, my lord!"
"Thank you!"
"I'll serve you till the day I die! Whatever you command!"
The pure joy of cheating death was impossible to put into words, all of it poured out as gratitude toward Thane.
"Get up and take it easy."
Thane had people help up these rattled soldiers.
Soldiers protected their lord, and lords should protect their soldiers—that's just how it worked.
Thane didn't give them grief for being scared. After all, they were regular folks, and going toe-to-toe with something like a wyvern wasn't exactly easy.
"Who was the guy yelling about 'Mom's pancakes' earlier? Don't forget to bring me some when we get back."
"That was me, my lord! When we get back to Fontdmer Town, I'll have my mom whip up a batch just for you!"
A tall, skinny soldier pounded his chest in promise.
"Don't you dare forget!"
Taking down the wyvern had burned through Thane's last reserves, and he unconsciously rubbed his growling stomach.
Pamin caught on to his lord's hunger and immediately got the women out of the cellar to start cooking.
Pamin had gotten over his shock, realizing the Fine Steel Claymore had been the game-changer.
But that didn't make him think any less of his lord.
The young lord, when his people's lives were on the line, pushed down his fear of that nightmare creature and charged out of hiding without hesitation.
One swing to kill the beast and save the day.
That kind of guts alone earned Pamin's respect.
In that moment, Pamin suddenly knew that following Thane into the wilderness was the right call.
Eliric had no clue how powerful the Fine Steel Claymore was. He rushed over to Thane's side, his face a picture of shock:
"Baron, how the hell did your sword slice through that thing's hide?"
Eliric crouched down, eyeing the Fine Steel Claymore with curiosity: "Can I give it a try?"
"You can try the sword, but leave the wyvern alone."
The wyvern's hide was tough as steel. Made into leather armor, it'd be worth a fortune even if he didn't sell it.
"Got it, I'll test it on something else!"
Eliric grabbed the Fine Steel Claymore with both hands, his eyes scanning the camp before settling on an iron pot the wyvern had knocked over.
"Don't..."
Before Thane could get the words out, the Fine Steel Claymore struck the iron pot dead-on, slicing it clean in half like butter.
"What a waste!"
Thane groaned—that sword stroke just cost him money!
Eliric ignored the busted pot, walking up with his jaw on the floor: "Baron, is this sword for sale?"
"Not happening."
Thane's answer was rock solid.
Even with help, it took Thane nearly a month to forge one sword. No way he could afford to sell them to other people right now.
"But if you join my territory, I might consider making you a battle axe just as sharp."
"Are you pulling my leg?"
Eliric's eyes went wide: "Custom made?"
Thane nodded.
"I'm in."
Nobody could say no to a battle axe that cut through iron like it was paper.
Eliric had already been on the fence about whether to quit the wandering life and settle down in Fontdmer Town.
This Fine Steel Claymore smashed his hesitation to smithereens.
Even though he'd asked if Thane would sell the sword, Eliric knew his handful of gold coins wouldn't even come close to covering it.
Now with Thane's promise, Eliric wasn't about to blow this chance.
Eliric dropped his grin and went straight to his knees without a second thought, solemnly bowing his head to swear:
"I swear on my life and honor:
From this day forward, my battle axe and my life belong to you, noble Baron of Shadowpine Ridge, brave Dragon Slayer, Lord Thane Ividaya.
Your glory is my glory, your word will guide every step I take until death drags me off this earth."
Not expecting Eliric to commit so fast, Thane got serious too.
He slowly touched his sword tip to Eliric's left and right shoulders, his voice steady and solemn:
"I, Thane Ividaya, in the name of Baron of Shadowpine Ridge and Dragon Slayer, accept your oath of loyalty."
"And I swear on my noble honor to protect you and your descendants forever."
As his words hung in the air, Thane sheathed his sword and stuck out his right hand to Eliric.
Eliric grabbed Thane's hand and stood up, back to his usual self, grinning: "My lord, when do I get my battle axe?"
Before Thane could answer, Pamin stepped up and clapped Eliric on the shoulder.
"Great to have you on board, but sorry—my single-handed sword's got dibs."
Thane nodded: "Give it about two weeks, Eliric."
"Fair enough."
Eliric had no idea what was up, but he wasn't gonna argue with being second in line after Pamin.
Thane hadn't realized before how much of a difference weapons could make. Now he was dead set on cranking out the single-handed swords and battle axes they needed as soon as they got back to Fontdmer Town.
On top of that, Thane also wanted to craft a batch of fine steel arrowheads—those could be lifesavers in a pinch.
"Alright, everyone who needs rest should get some. Pamin, get some people to store that wyvern carcass properly—we'll deal with it tomorrow."
"Yes, Baron."
After Pamin responded, he immediately got his crew moving.
Maxim nearby also picked up on the fact that the Fine Steel Claymore was a goldmine, but after hearing Thane wasn't selling, he didn't push it.
Even though he was a merchant, he got that no lord would just hand over weapons like that.
"Oh right, I still haven't shown you the surprise yet," Maxim suddenly remembered.
"There's more?"
Thane couldn't help but frown.
Just now, because of Maxim's mention of a surprise, that monster had shown up.
Now there was another one?
"What I mentioned before, just got interrupted by the wyvern. It's in that corner house up ahead."
Maxim didn't say another word and quickly led Thane inside.
"Check this out—this is the surprise: wyvern eggs!"