"No, don't go, Grandpa! They'll rob you instead!" Nox shouted in a panicked voice. The mere thought of his frail grandfather robbing someone gave him cold feet because the victim would likely knock him out with one blow!
Besides, why would he want to rob someone? Was this something appropriate to tell a child, or were the inhabitants of this world just weird?
"Brat, are you looking down on this daddy?" Nathan shouted, flexing his bony muscles. "Although I look like this, trust me, I'm one of the few experts you wouldn't want to fight in the whole Far West!"
"The whole Far West? You must be kidding me. Grandpa, it's not good to tell kids lies, you know?" Nox reminded him. However, Nathan just laughed it off with a dismissive attitude.
From what Nox understood, the Far West was the human continent/domain, the same continent where the Vermilion Kingdom was located. Whatever way you look at it, Nox saw his grandfather's rambling as mere bluff.
'I mean, if he was that strong, why isn't he a viscount, a count, or even a duke?' Nox reasoned.
However, just then a piercing shriek reverberated through the air, attracting everyone's attention in the Cromwell Barony to the sky.
"This sight never gets old!"
A nearby little girl sitting close to Nyx exclaimed. She was small and delicate with porcelain-like melanin skin and beautiful braided dark hair; her mesmerizing chocolate eyes sparkled like dark stars as she gazed at the giant shadow approaching the Barony.
In the entire Barony, most people believed her beauty was only second to Nyx's, and she had a fair share of future suitors. This girl was Serena Flair, the daughter of Gordon and Camila Flair. She was Nyx's only friend in the entire Barony.
Because of her aloof personality, most girls didn't approach her. The only one who could was Serena, who had practically grown up with her and Nox. After Aina gave birth, Camila, who had been pregnant, also gave birth shortly after, so their age gap wasn't huge.
"What's that?" Nyx, who rarely showed emotions, got up on her feet and looked at the shadow. She'd been in the Barony for five years, but this was the first time she was seeing this creature, and she was left in awe.
"You don't know?" At first, Serena seemed surprised, but that surprise was washed away. Since her father was a druid, she'd only seen the creature in the Luminary Forest with him in his expedition, not in the Barony.
But from the citizens' awestruck expressions, it was clear that this wasn't the first time they'd seen this majestic creature. The creature had not returned to the county in the past four years; it had been away securing the western region, definitely not looking for cashco-bandits.
However, as the townspeople gazed at the creature, they noticed something strange. A few seconds later, they discovered that it was the creature's flying pattern—only one of its wings was flapping strongly while the other looked stiff.
Finally, her curiosity got the best of her. "Come, let's go!" Nyx said from her position.
They were currently sitting on a slanted roof, but with one mighty leap, Nyx, who was yet to awaken her class, launched herself into the air like a wildcat. Her body soared through the air as she jumped from roof to roof in the Cromwell Barony before landing at the back of their mansion with a low thud
"Ha, and she's gone." Serena smiled bitterly as she jumped down from the roof and followed on foot. Unlike Nyx, she wasn't a monster!
Although it took a while, she finally arrived, panting heavily. She could see Nox, Nyx, and Nathan looking at the creature.
"Grandpa, run! We're getting attacked by a beast!" Nox tugged on his grandpa, trying to get him to run, but the old man remained rooted in the same spot. Nox thought his grandfather was paralyzed with fear and couldn't move, so he pushed with all his strength.
But that was when he realized he couldn't move his fragile grandfather even an inch. As if this wasn't surprising enough, the old man patted Nox on the head with a light, hearty chuckle and started to approach the black dragon-like creature with two legs, a muscular build, and a pair of wings. Just standing there, the creature emitted an aggressive and dangerous aura.
As Nox stared at the creature, a flurry of text appeared in his retina.
'K-King Tier?' Nox stuttered. 'And why is Grandpa stroking the creature's head?'
(AN: There are eight beast tiers, each with nine mini levels: Wildling, Intermidiate, King, Emperor, Legendary, Ascended, Demi-God, and Sovereign.)
The five-year-old was stunned. He had expected the King-Tier wyvern to pounce on his grandfather. Although he wasn't fleshy, the bones were chewable, but that didn't happen. Instead, the wyvern was emitting a low growl that meant it liked being stroked.
"Close your mouth, you look less stupid that way!"
Just then, Nox heard a familiar voice from his side. Turning around, he saw the indifferent Nyx and Serena.
"H-Hi, Nox," Serena waved shyly, a red blush tinging her cheeks. "Don't be scared; Doombringer is Uncle Nathan's pet."
"Pet? Grandpa's pet?" Nox's eyes shot wide open in surprise. His skinny grandfather actually owned this fearsome creature as his pet?"
"Yes, my father told me that Uncle Nathan got it from the reward room of a dimensional rift."
"Hmph, go ahead and praise me," Nathan said as he looked at the awed Nox, radiating an extremely smug aura.
"In case you die, Grandpa, let's be clear about something," Nox said with a very serious expression. "I'm inheriting the wyvern!"
"Hahahahaha, unfortunately, that wouldn't be happening anytime soon," Nathan laughed.
A while later, when Nathan and the wyvern rider, Yuan, were discussing, the three kids started to check out the wyvern, running their fingers all over its body.
Some time later, Nathan looked at the kids with a smile. "About that robbery, what do you say?"
Nox looked at his grandfather with a knowing smile. "Say no more!"
With this powerful creature on their side, the target would find itself in extremely dire circumstances.
"What robbery?" Nyx and Serena couldn't help but look at each other, confused