Chapter 810

【 OLD JOHN’S ASTONISHMENT 】

The two elves stood side by side, with their exquisite robes and striking beauty, they looked as though they had stepped straight out of a fairy tale.

However, a closer look revealed subtle differences between them.

Although, as a human, Old John found it difficult to distinguish the features of individual elves, he could still sense the completely different aura each of them possessed.

The pink-haired elf was slightly shorter, with a sweet, youthful appearance that radiated vitality. The other, a golden-haired druid like Miss Dōngdōng, carried herself with the noble bearing of someone accustomed to a position of authority.

Judging by appearance alone, this female elven druid might not have been as breathtaking as Miss Dōngdōng, nor as adorable as that petite elven mage. Yet it became almost impossible to look away once your gaze happened to fall upon her.

This female druid has that kind of beauty that became more captivating the longer one looked at her.

Not only that, but every gesture and movement she made exuded elegance. Rather than an adventurer, she seemed more like a noble lady from an illustrious household.

As though noticing Old John’s gaze, the elven druid looked toward him. Her emerald-green eyes resembled a deep, tranquil lake, carrying an indescribable charm that seemed capable of drawing anyone into their depths.

She smiled gently, offering him a warm and friendly smile. At that moment, Old John felt as though the entire world had subtly grown brighter.

Yet no feelings of infatuation arose within him. Instead, he found himself becoming inexplicably restrained.

“Boss Cat, Sister Féng, he’s the miner who saw the Gold Dragon. His name is John, though everyone calls him Old John.”

Miss Dōngdōng introduced him to the two newly arrived elves.

In an instant, Old John became the center of attention once more, with everyone looking at him, making him feel increasingly awkward and self-conscious.

These elves’ appearances were simply too perfect.

Standing among them, Old John felt even greater pressure than he did in the presence of nobles.

However, unlike when facing nobles, where he felt only reverence and fear, standing before these elves filled him with a sincere sense of inferiority.

For the first time in his life, despite his usually carefree nature, he felt truly inadequate.

That feeling lasted only until the female druid gave him a slight nod and introduced herself in a gentle voice.

“Hello, Mr. John. I’m Féng.”

Her voice was soft and pleasant, carrying a strange soothing power that instantly dispelled the uneasiness in Old John’s heart.

“I’m Little Salty Cat.”

The elven mage also introduced herself with a cheerful smile.

“H-Hello! Hello! Lady Féng, Lady Little Salty Cat!”

Old John hurriedly lowered his head in a respectful bow.

Before long, five more elves arrived from different parts of the city and joined the group, all of whom were male.

There were simply too many odd sounding names, and the Elvish pronunciations sounded rather awkward when transliterated into the common language. As a result, Old John failed to remember all of them, retaining only names like “Tomato,” “Ji Gang,” and “Achan.”

Including the elves who had already arrived, there were now ten of them in total.

Standing together, clad in magnificent equipment and blessed with exceptional appearances, they attracted the curious attention of many passersby. Old John even noticed that the city guards, who usually carried themselves with great authority, had begun lingering nearby.

It was only natural. So many elves had suddenly appeared in the city, and anyone could tell at a glance that they were exceptionally powerful, so their group were bound to attract attention.

Even so, no one dared approach and disturb them as the aura surrounding the elves was simply too overwhelming.

At that moment, Old John found himself feeling less nervous than before, especially when he noticed the astonished and curious looks people directed toward him for standing alongside these elves.

He even spotted an adventurer who had bullied him in the past, now staring at him in open disbelief.

When the elves smiled and chatted with him in such a warm and friendly manner, Old John caught, from the corner of his eye, that disbelief gradually turned into utter shock.

A trace of satisfaction welled up inside him. It felt as though simply by being with these elves, he himself had somehow become a different person.

Having crossed paths with these group of elves was an experience he could boast about for the rest of his life.

Even years from now, bringing it up in a tavern would earn him the respect of others.

After all, although the elves’ reputation had risen and fallen in recent times, there remained an old saying that had long been passed down throughout their World:

—Only those of noble character could earn the recognition of the elves.

Even if… only Old John himself knew that these elven ladies and gentlemen merely wanted him to serve as their guide.

Oddly enough, apart from Miss Dōngdōng, Sir Li Mu, and Demacia, the three elves who had first met Old John, all the others already seemed to know about him even before he introduced himself. This left him both deeply flattered and greatly puzzled.

That included the matter of the mine as well.

It felt as though, while Old John had been telling Demacia and the other two elves about the mine, all the remaining elves had somehow received the same information at exactly the same time.

Was it somekind of special communication spell? Or perhaps some unique ability possessed only by the elves?

Old John could not help but wonder. The more he thought about it, the more mysterious the elves seemed.

And mysterious, noble beings naturally inspired reverence.

“Now that everyone’s here, let’s head to that mine.”

The elven druid named Féng spoke gently.

Her suggestion was met with unanimous agreement.

Only then did Old John realize that, although no one had explicitly said so, all the elves naturally regarded the druid named Féng as their leader.

That inevitably led him to wonder what kind of status she held among the elves.

Whatever it was, it had to be an exceptionally high one.

The difference was obvious even to him. Lady Féng’s bearing far surpassed that of the other elves. Although Old John was nothing more than a rough laborer and could not quite explain what “presence” or “bearing” really meant, he could still instinctively feel it.

Only after listening to the elves chatting among themselves did Old John learn that Miss Féng was the leader of their group.

According to them, it had something to do with a “hidden quest” and someone being an “extremely lucky player.”

Although he did not understand what these words meant, it certainly sounded impressive.

Old John instinctively equated the position to that of a mercenary company’s commander. After all, these elves truly did resemble the legendary elven mercenaries from the old tales.

“The mine is about twenty kilometers northwest of Luke City. I used to live there and only returned to Luke City about once every half month.”

“There used to be a baron’s castle at the mine, but it was abandoned after the war. It wasn’t until the Young Baron Lawson became the Governing Lord of Luke City that it was repaired.”

“Of course, it’s a dragon’s lair now.”

“Young Baron Lawson belongs to a branch of the Lawson House. I’ve heard his ancestors settled here after failing to compete for the position of family patriarch. He’s also the owner of the gold mine, although I’ve heard that ninety percent of the mine’s profits are handed over to the Lawson Household’s main branch.”

“The one who withheld our wages was Young Baron Lawson. After the dragon arrived, he couldn’t do anything against it, so he took all his anger out on us instead.”

Old John continued recounting everything he knew as he walked alongside the elves and whenever he mentioned Young Baron Lawson, he would ground his teeth in anger, his resentment unmistakable.

However, after leaving the city with the elves, he suddenly froze.

“Lady Féng, Lord Li Mu, this is the southwest road. The mine is to the northwest.”

He hurriedly reminded them.

The elves exchanged glances before smiling.

“We know.”

“Twenty kilometers isn’t exactly close. We’re going to meet up with our mount companions first.”

Mount companions?

Old John’s heart skipped a beat.

According to the legends, the elves were the children of the forest, beloved by the noble and beautiful unicorns, the sacred children of nature.

As such, these supposed mount companions…could it be…?

Unicorns!?

Recalling the stories he had heard from some wandering bards, Old John gradually became excited.

He had never seen a unicorn before.

However, when he followed the elves to a secluded forest outside the city and finally saw the companions they had been referring to, his eyes widened in utter shock.

The elves each let out a sharp whistle.

As the whistles echoed through the forest, flocks of birds burst into the sky. Then, accompanied by a series of loud roars, no fewer than nine enormous creatures flew out from the woods and landed before their group.

“D… Dragons?!”

Old John cried out involuntarily.

M-Majestic dragons!

By the gods above! These elven adventurers actually rode dragons as their mounts!

Just… who were they?

Although Old John was merely an ordinary free man, he loved listening to tales told by wandering bards. And in most of those stories, anyone capable of forming a contract with a dragon was always a legendary figure.

At that moment, a thought suddenly flashed through his mind.

He remembered hearing rumors not long ago that a group of elven dragon riders had appeared throughout various nations, punishing evil and defending the innocent.

Perhaps, could these group of elves be… them?

From that moment on, the way Old John looked at these elves completely changed.

According to the stories he had heard, these elven dragon riders had recently slain a Legendary-rank magical beast.

A Legendary-rank being…

That was essentially the pinnacle of mortal power across the entire continent. Even emperors were not entitled to their bows. Instead, emperors were expected to treat them as honored guests.

Old John had no idea how powerful these elves truly were.

But in his simple understanding of the world, only another Legendary-rank expert could defeat a Legendary-rank being.

Realizing this, his nervousness returned all at once.

Good gods almighty!

The strongest expert he had ever met in his entire life had only been a Silver-rank knight.

And that had been one of Young Baron Lawson’s knights, an arrogant man full of pride and conceit.

If all of these elves really were Legendary-rank experts…

Then he… he…

An ordinary commoner like him had somehow crossed paths with such lofty and exalted figures?

For a moment, Old John felt lightheaded, his imagination already weaving one incredible adventure after another.

—Wait.

If that were really true, and these elves were interested in that dragon occupying the mine…

Then… was he about to witness a new epic tale of them slaying a dragon?

Or perhaps…

Its subjugation?

Just as Old John’s thoughts were running wild, another resounding dragon’s roar suddenly echoed through the forest as a golden dragon burst out from the trees.

The instant he saw its golden scales and majestic figure, Old John’s expression changed drastically.

“It’s… it’s actually that one! T-That dragon!”

Under the elves’ puzzled gazes, he let out a startled cry and hurriedly hid behind Mr. Demacia.

As for why he chose Demacia…

That gleaming suit of heavy armor this red-haired elf wore simply looked incredibly reassuring.

However, Old John’s fright lasted only for a moment as he quickly realized that this golden dragon was much smaller than the one he had seen in the mines.

To his astonishment, the golden dragon let out a cheerful roar, flew straight to Miss Féng, and affectionately rubbed its head against her cheek.

At the same time, he heard Little Salty Cat speak with a helpless smile.

“Oh Christine, if Brother Optimist saw you acting like this, he’d probably cry!”

At the elven mage’s words, the golden dragon turned its head, shot the petite elf an exasperated glance, and continued nuzzling Lady Féng’s face.

Little Salty Cat: “…”

“You rascal! If you keep rolling your eyes at me, don’t expect to get any more gems from me! And don’t forget, I’m the one paying for your meals throughout this mission!”

Little Salty Cat huffed indignantly.

Only after hearing those words did the golden dragon reluctantly leave Lady Féng’s side and obediently begin licking Miss Little Salty Cat’s palm.

Its expression was surprisingly human-like, carrying an awkward hint of flattery.

Old John was speechless.

His eyes widened in disbelief.

These dragons, long depicted in old legends as terrifying creatures, actually had… such a… fawning side.

The other elves burst into laughter.

“Hahaha! Boss Cat, it’s not like you don’t know. Sister Féng has always been especially popular with magical beasts.”

“Exactly. She’s the number one druid on the server, after all. So it’s obvious Miss Féng naturally has exceptional affinity with magical beasts.”

The number one druid?

Old John’s heart stirred.

Although he had no idea what the word “server” meant, he certainly understood the words “number one.”

After all, these elves had always been speaking in the common language this entire time, and while they occasionally used strange words whose meanings escaped him, he could relatively understand most of what they were saying.

The number one elven druid…

As expected, Lady Féng was one of the strongest among the elves.

From that moment onward, Old John’s gaze toward this female elf was filled with even greater reverence.

“All right, let’s set off.”

Once all the dragons had arrived, Lady Féng smiled and spoke.

She then turned to Old John.

“Mr. John, you’ll ride with All-Star Achan on one of the dragons.”

Old John was once again overwhelmed with gratitude, his mind almost going blank.

Good gods!

A mere destitute free citizen like him would actually have the opportunity to ride a dragon!?

Had he somehow used up every last bit of luck he had left in this lifetime?

His heart pounded wildly in his chest as excitement and disbelief mingled with an almost overwhelming sense of nervousness. Trembling from head to toe, Old John carefully climbed onto the dragon’s broad back before instinctively reaching out to grip the male elf’s clothing as tightly as he could, afraid that loosening his hold even for a moment would send him tumbling to the ground.

The dragon beneath him let out a mighty roar, spread its wings, and soared into the sky.

The scenery below grew smaller and smaller.

Old John saw the wheat fields beyond the city walls, the entirety of Luke City, and even the people walking through its streets, now no larger than ants.

He felt that he had just gained another experience he could boast about for the rest of his life.

Carrying the ten elves and Old John, the dragons flew northward.

Twenty kilometers was neither particularly close nor especially far.

With the wind howling past them, the dragons flew swiftly. Before long, the familiar mining mountain came into Old John’s view.

The mine had been built against the mountainside and covered a vast area and at its summit stood an old ancient castle.

That was the famous Gold Mine Baron’s Castle, once home to the troops responsible for guarding the gold mine.

Now, however, it had become the dragon’s lair.

At the foot of the mountain, beyond the mining grounds, a vast crowd of people had gathered.

There were knights, warriors, and mages, all equipped with fine weapons and armor.

It was a fully armed noble army.

Among them, a banner embroidered with the emblem of two lions fluttered proudly in the wind.

It was the banner of the Lawson Household.

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