I Received System to Become Dragonborn

Erend bets that this place must also be comfortable for lying down and enjoying the sunlight and breeze.

Erend doesn't participate in their training. Why would he? When his power is far beyond theirs. Even beyond the understanding of the Elves. As he watches their training from a chair under the palace canopy, Gulben approaches him.

Erend glances briefly, but doesn't feel the need to stand or bow. He is not one of his subjects after all.

King Gulben smiles, appearing not bothered by Erend's behavior. "Your Majesty," Erend calls. "What are you doing here?"

Erend is a bit confused because he thought that the king of the Elves should be doing something important for preparation. But when he's here now, maybe that's not the case.

"May I sit here?" King Gulben asks, pointing to a spot beside Erend. Erend just nods. It's his kingdom after all; he should be able to sit wherever he wants.

But the fact that he asks for permission indicates that he has a good attitude. Erend's view of the king improves slightly from before.

"I think I can't thank you enough for what you've done for my kingdom," King Gulben said. His eyes follow Erend's gaze, looking at the people training in front of them. Erend turns to him.

'Yeah. You shouldn't have run from your kingdom,' he thought.

"Don't mention it, Your Majesty. I did it for our common good," Erend replied.

"Right. I heard my children and Saeldir also helped you resolve issues in your world."

"Yeah. We're all a great team."

Silence occurred between them for a few seconds. The wind blew, swaying the trees and the green grass.

"The secret of our Magic you already know, but just the three of you know about it. I hope it stays that way," King Gulben said after the silence.

'I guess he is just concerned about the secrecy of Magic of their kind. They won't change.' Erend thought.

Then he said casually, "You don't need to worry about that. We will keep the secret."

King Gulben nodded as if satisfied. He turned to Erend, staring at him for a few moments with his sharp eyes.

"Are you despising me?" he suddenly asked.

Erend turned, regarding him with a confused look. "What do you mean?"

King Gulben shrugged. "Because I am the king who ran away. After that, problems arose in my absence and I made your children bear the consequences."

Erend remained silent for a moment. He sighed, then replied. "It's not despising. I just think your actions are... irresponsible.

"I can understand your reasons. Losing someone you love must be hard. But you didn't lose everything. You still have Aurdis and Aerchon.

"I guess I used to resent you because you seemed to neglect them."

King Gulben's face turned full of sadness.

"You're right, Erend. I am indeed a bad father," said Gulben. "But you can say that because you've never lost someone you love in such a terrible way."

After saying that, King Gulben stood up from his seat. He flashed Erend a thin smile tinged with sadness. Then he walked away.

Erend watched the king's back from his seat with a spinning mind. In the end, he had to admit that the king's words had some truth to them. He had never really lost someone he loved so much.

His father had passed away long enough for him to forget what it felt like to love him. All he had now were Arty and his mother. And he couldn't imagine what he would feel if he lost them.

Hell, even just because they were hurt, Erend already wanted to rampage and destroy anything that caused that wound. Just like that time when the Chaos God came.

After hearing King Gulben's words and knowing his story, he began to understand him. He himself might do the same thing if it really happened. Or he would do something worse.

He looked back at Adrien and Billy's training with Saeldir and his apprentices. It seemed Saeldir's apprentices were shocked by Adrien and Billy's rapid progress.

~~~

A week passed unnoticed. Adrien and Billy finally reached a level of strength considered sufficient for the journey.

On the night of the seventh day, they all gathered again in the stone room.

"What do you think? Are you ready?" King Gulben asked, looking towards Adrien and Billy.

He didn't need to look at Erend because he knew he was more than ready.

"Saeldir said that we are ready," Adrien replied. "So I guess we don't need to waste any more time."

They realized how serious the situation was. King Gulben nodded his head.

"You will go in a small group to avoid attracting attention. Saeldir will go with you," said King Gulben.

Nervousness was visible on their faces.

"Based on your estimate, how long will it take us to reach that city?" Billy inquired.

"About three months. Could be more or less based on the conditions along your way. Which right now, is unknown to us," King Gulben replied.

Three months was quite a long time. Hearing that, the spirits of Adrien, Billy, and Erend dampened. But they had to do it.

"I'm sorry for only being able to send you off. Actually, I wanted to send even Aerchon and his army, but that would attract too much attention, which would then attract more enemies in your way," King Gulben said, showing a guilty expression.

"We understand," Adrien replied. Then he chuckled while looking at Billy and Erend. "This is just like one of our special ops missions."

Erend and Billy chuckled along. It was nice to see that they could still have a little bit of humor in the middle of this situation.

"Anything else, Your Majesty?" Adrien asked.

Gulben looked uneasy. He glanced at the three of them and then let out a sigh. "We will provide you with the best equipment we have. Hopefully, it's enough."

After that, there was nothing more the king said. The three of them left the room to go to their own room.

Meanwhile, King Gulben, Aerchon, Aurdis, and Saeldir remained in the room.

"Father-"

"No, Aurdis." King Gulben immediately cut off his daughter's speech because he knew what she was going to say.

Aurdis bit her lips, her fingers fidgeting on the table. Everyone there could see that she was anxious.

"They will be fine. You know what Erend is capable of, don't you?" Aerchon said, looking at his sister with a gentle gaze.

"Adrien and Billy are also strong enough. They are warriors at heart, so it's not hard to train them to be one. Now that they have the magic power inside their bodies, they are even more fearsome. You don't need to worry," Saeldir added, providing reassurance for her.

Upon hearing their words, Aurdis finally felt a sense of calm wash over her. The anxious feelings that had been plaguing her seemed to dissipate, originating from within her own mind without her fully considering the reality—the reality that Erend was a Dragonborn. A being who could be described as possessing power akin to that of a demigod.

The next day, Adrien, Billy, and Erend woke up while it was still dark. They didn't waste any time. After doing some stretching, they immediately went to the preparation room.

King Gulben, Aurdis, Aerchon, and Saeldir were among them. Some Elves came to help set up their equipment and prepare their supplies.

It didn't take them long to get ready. Thirty minutes later, they were prepared. The four of them wore armor enhanced with Elf Magic—light but strong.

Swords at their waist were also enhanced by it. Although they were not magic weapons, those swords were still very powerful weapons.

Saeldir brought his Magic weapon because he was the only one who possessed it.

Their horses were four magnificent stallions that had been cared for by Elves since birth. So they were much stronger than the usual horse.

"Be careful," Aurdis approached Erend and held his hand in a warm grip.

Erend smiled. "Don't worry. We will be fine."

King Gulben stepped forward, regarding them with a firm and respectful gaze from his blue eyes.

"My dear friends," King Gulben began, his voice resonating with authority and warmth. "Today, you embark on a long and dangerous journey, one that will test your determination. May your quest be successful, and may you return safely, bearing the artifact that will aid us in our time of need."

Adrien, Billy, Erend, and Saeldir nodded. They jumped onto their horses, and a few moments later, the horses started galloping, leaving dust behind them.

~~~