Chapter 279: Going Taming Wyverns

Victor continued along the road with his hands tucked into his pockets, walking without hurry while the terrain gradually stopped looking urban and began taking on wilder characteristics. The buildings had been left behind some time ago, replaced by dry fields, small rocky elevations and scattered trees that followed the road toward the mountainous border regions. He did not seem particularly concerned about the distance. In fact, he was using the journey to organize a few things in his head, mainly because, if Serafall was right, the most efficient thing would be to find a Wyvern before trying to continue toward another continent.

“Do either of you know how to tame a Wyvern?” Victor asked calmly while looking ahead, without slowing his pace. Rowena walked beside him in her spiritual form, while Fafnir remained projected on the other side, apparently much more interested in the outside world than she was willing to admit.

“Beat it until it bows.” Fafnir replied immediately, as if that were information so obvious she did not even understand why Victor needed to ask. She crossed her arms and continued looking toward the distant mountains. “Those beasts inherited the arrogance of Dragons, but they didn’t inherit enough power to support half of it. In the end, they’re little ants that follow the strongest.”

Victor looked at her from the side and waited for a more elaborate explanation, but Fafnir clearly considered the subject finished.

“That’s basically it.” Rowena commented while placing her hands behind her head and walking beside him. She seemed far less impressed by the species than Fafnir. “Wyverns aren’t exactly the smartest troops in this world. Most of them spend their lives fighting over two things: territory and females.”

Victor let out a small laugh upon hearing that.

“So they’re just territorial perverts?” Victor asked while stepping around a rock in the middle of the road. The description seemed overly simplistic, but it matched surprisingly well with what Serafall had mentioned about dominance.

“Pretty much.” Rowena replied while making a disdainful face. “They choose mates based on strength, fight to control territory and obey any creature capable of imposing a superior position. If you defeat the leader of a group in front of the others, there’s a good chance the rest will simply decide that you’re in charge now.”

Victor thought about that logic for a moment.

“Wanting a good female and marking territory doesn’t sound that absurd.” Victor commented while a smile appeared on his face. “Come to think of it, I’m not that different from a Wyvern.”

Rowena slowly turned her head and stared at him.

“Don’t compare yourself to those things.” Rowena replied with an expression far too serious for such an idiotic conversation. She genuinely seemed offended by the comparison.

Victor started laughing.

“You don’t seem to like them very much.” Victor commented while watching Rowena cross her arms and avert her eyes.

“I’ve had bad experiences with those flying rats.” Rowena replied while her expression became more closed off. The contempt in her voice made it quite clear that this was not merely a personal preference.

Fafnir finally showed some genuine interest in the conversation.

“I understand.” Fafnir commented while looking at Rowena with a little more attention. “Wyvern riders caused quite a lot of trouble in the past. There were entire wars between humans and werewolves because of them.”

Rowena nodded.

“The Human Realm always liked breeding those creatures.” Rowena explained while beginning to walk a little more slowly. “They crossed specific bloodlines for generations trying to obtain some special characteristic. Most results were just a slightly larger, faster or tougher Wyvern, but when they truly succeeded…”

She paused briefly, apparently remembering something she would rather not have seen personally.

“In my time there was one that inherited part of the shadow powers of a Black Dragon.” Rowena continued while her expression became more serious. “That thing was terrifying. It would dive close to rocks or the ground, enter its own shadow and disappear completely.”

Victor frowned.

“It literally entered the shadow?” Victor asked while trying to imagine how that would work in combat.

“Literally.” Rowena confirmed while raising one hand and tracing the movement through the air. “Then it would emerge inside the battlefield through any other shadow. Sometimes it came out beneath a soldier, other times from the shadow of a wall, a tree or even the army itself. Before anyone understood where it was, it had already crossed through hundreds of people.”

Victor remained silent for a few seconds.

“That really does sound terrifying.” Victor commented while imagining a creature of that size moving through a shadow dimension. “A flying monster entering surfaces and appearing in unpredictable places would be a nightmare for any army.”

“It was.” Rowena replied dryly while looking ahead. The memory was clearly unpleasant.

Fafnir shrugged.

“Beings like that appear once every many centuries, maybe a thousand years depending on the bloodline.” Fafnir explained while looking toward the mountains again. “You don’t need to expect to find a legendary Wyvern in every nest. Most of them are only strong by ordinary standards.”

Victor nodded.

“Better that way.” Victor replied while continuing to walk. He was not exactly interested in turning his first taming attempt into a war against some ancient aberration.

Fafnir looked at him for a few seconds before changing the subject.

“Since you’re going to keep walking for quite a while, you’d better learn how to use Gram.” Fafnir commented while pointing at the ring on Victor’s hand. “She was born to kill Dragons. Using her against Wyverns is almost excessive, but it works perfectly for getting you used to the weapon.”

Victor did not need to think much.

“I agree.” Victor replied while raising his hand. “Then teach me.”

Gram appeared the next instant.

The enormous red-and-black sword materialized in his hand accompanied by that heavy draconic pressure Victor was already beginning to recognize. He held the hilt calmly, but Fafnir shook her head.

“Don’t hold it.” Fafnir ordered while pointing toward his back. “Put her on your back.”

Victor raised an eyebrow, but obeyed. He adjusted Gram so the sword rested diagonally across his back, leaving the enormous blade extending behind his shoulder.

“And now?” Victor asked while looking at Fafnir, waiting for the next instruction.

“Don’t use the sword.” Fafnir replied while walking toward him. “I want you to use the draconic energy inside her as if it were your own.”

Victor frowned slightly.

“Without drawing the sword?” Victor asked while beginning to pay attention to the connection between his body and Gram.

“Exactly.” Fafnir replied while bringing her hand close to his chest without actually touching him. “Gram isn’t just a blade. There’s an enormous amount of draconic energy accumulated inside her. You need to learn to let that energy pass through your body without relying on a direct attack with the sword.”

Victor closed his eyes.

Fafnir began guiding him through the bond.

The energy inside Gram was different from anything Victor normally used. It did not have the smoothness of Natural Energy, nor the immediate aggressiveness of vampiric energy. It was heavy, ancient and carried a sensation of almost physical authority, as if every small amount carried with it the memory of a creature too enormous to accept resistance.

“Don’t try to control everything at once.” Fafnir warned while keeping her eyes on him. “Pull only a small amount and spread it through your body.”

Victor nodded.

He found the flow.

Then pulled.

A current of red energy traveled through Gram and entered directly through Victor’s back.

Fafnir immediately frowned.

“Wait.” Fafnir commented while realizing that the flow was not merely passing through his body. “What are you doing?”

Victor did not answer immediately.

His body had recognized the energy before he even decided what to do with it.

The draconic energy entered his meridians, mixed with his blood and began slowly disappearing from Gram, absorbed as though his body were starving for a new source of power.

Fafnir widened her eyes.

“Victor, stop.” Fafnir said while quickly approaching. “You’re not supposed to absorb the energy!”

Rowena did not even look concerned.

“He does that naturally.” Rowena commented while observing Victor with her arms crossed. “This guy is an adaptive sponge.”

Fafnir looked at her.

“A what?” Fafnir asked while trying to understand whether Rowena was joking.

“A sponge.” Rowena repeated while pointing at Victor. “His body has an absurd compatibility rate with different energies. If something enters him and can’t kill him immediately, there’s a good chance his body starts understanding and adapting to it.”

Victor slowly opened his eyes.

The draconic energy continued entering.

“It’s integrating easily.” Victor commented while raising one hand and observing small red marks appear beneath his skin before disappearing. “It doesn’t seem to be conflicting with anything.”

Rowena nodded as if she had already expected that.

“It was the same with Natural Energy.” Rowena explained while looking at Fafnir. “He absorbed something that theoretically should have been incompatible with a Vampire and simply decided it worked.”

Fafnir, however, did not look reassured.

“That’s not the problem!” Fafnir replied while quickly pointing at Gram. “If he keeps eating energy like this, he’ll drain the sword!”

Victor turned his face.

Fafnir continued before he could speak.

“Gram doesn’t regenerate draconic energy easily!” Fafnir explained while concern finally appeared on her face. “That reserve took a very long time to accumulate. If you consume everything at once, she’ll be left without—”

She stopped.

Gram’s energy had decreased considerably during the few seconds of absorption.

Then, before the three of them, the sword simply recovered everything.

The draconic pressure returned to the same level as before almost instantly.

Fafnir stood still.

Rowena also paid closer attention.

Victor looked at Gram.

Then at Fafnir.

“She recovered.” Victor commented while pulling another minimal amount of energy, just to confirm.

Gram recovered again.

Fafnir approached the sword.

“That shouldn’t happen.” Fafnir said while placing her hand against the blade and analyzing the flow. “She never did that.”

Victor pulled more.

Gram replenished it.

Fafnir looked at him.

Victor looked at Gram.

Then opened a satisfied smile.

“Well, it’s pretty easy to control this.” Victor commented while feeling the draconic energy circulate more and more naturally through his body. “How cute.”

Fafnir stared at him.

“Cute?” Fafnir repeated while her expression slowly transformed into indignation.

Victor stroked Gram’s hilt over his shoulder.

“She notices I’m eating energy and fills herself back up.” Victor explained while seeming genuinely satisfied with the discovery. “She’s practically a sword that feeds itself.” ℯ𝓵.

Fafnir opened her mouth.

Closed it.

Then pointed at Gram.

“This is a weapon created to kill Dragons.” Fafnir spoke slowly while trying to make Victor understand the importance of that sword. “She carried my soul for two thousand years. She’s one of the most dangerous weapons in existence.”

Victor nodded.

“I know.” Victor replied while continuing to walk along the road.

Fafnir narrowed her eyes.

“Then stop calling Gram cute.” Fafnir complained while following him.

Victor smiled.

“She is cute.” Victor replied while feeling another small amount of draconic energy integrate into his body.

Rowena started laughing.

Fafnir spent a few seconds looking at the two of them.

“I really made a contract with an idiot.” Fafnir grumbled while crossing her arms and continuing to follow Victor.

“You’re starting to like it.” Victor teased while glancing at her from the side.

Fafnir immediately turned her face away.

“Keep walking.” Fafnir replied while pretending to pay attention to the road.

Victor laughed and continued toward the mountains, now with Gram on his back and a new energy slowly circulating through his body. 𝖋𝙧ⅇ

If Wyverns truly respected only strength, he was beginning to think that this taming would be much more fun than Serafall had made it sound.