Chapter 395: Dragon master

Words : 2509 Updated : Oct 13th, 2025

Chapter 395: Dragon master Noah’s consciousness surfaced slowly, like swimming up from the bottom of a deep, murky pool. His head felt like someone had used it for target practice with a sledgehammer, and his mouth tasted like he’d been chewing on synthetic metal for hours. The first thing he registered was warmth—bodies pressed against him from multiple angles, soft breathing, and the lingering scent of perfume mixed with something else he couldn’t quite identify. His eyes cracked open to find himself in the center of what looked like the aftermath of a particularly enthusiastic pillow fight, if pillows were replaced with gorgeous women in various states of undress. Kira was curled against his left side, her blue hair fanned across his chest like spilled paint. Zara had somehow ended up at his feet, using his leg as a pillow, while Lysa was sprawled across the foot of the massive bed. And Sophie... Sophie was pressed against his right side, her arm thrown across his chest possessively even in sleep, her dark hair creating a curtain that partially obscured her face. ’What the hell happened last night?’ The memories were there, but they felt strange, like looking at someone else’s experiences through frosted glass. He remembered pleasure, lots of it, and Sophie being... different. Aggressive. Confident in ways that didn’t match the careful, controlled girl he knew. Just then, Sophie stirred first, her eyes fluttering open with the same confused disorientation Noah felt. She took in the scene around them—the other girls, their position, the evidence of what had clearly been a very eventful evening—and her face went through several expressions in rapid succession. Confusion, realization, and then something that looked suspiciously like horror. "Noah?" Her voice was hoarse, barely above a whisper. "Did we...?" "Yeah," he replied quietly, his own voice rough. "I think we did." The movement and quiet conversation gradually roused the others. Kira stretched like a satisfied cat, her lips curving into a sleepy smile as she looked up at Noah. "Morning, handsome. Sleep well?" Zara yawned and sat up, seemingly unbothered by her state of undress or the situation. "That was incredible. I haven’t felt that good in months." Lysa was the last to wake, and she did so with the kind of satisfied sigh that suggested she’d had very pleasant dreams. "Mmm, what time is it? Please tell me we don’t have anywhere important to be." Sophie sat up abruptly, pulling a sheet around herself with sharp, jerky movements. The casual way the other girls were acting seemed to be grating on her nerves like fingernails on metal. "We should get dressed. And leave. Soon." "Leave?" Kira pouted, sitting up and making no effort to cover herself. "But we were just getting to know each other. Want to go another round? I bet we could make it even better this time." The words hit Noah like a physical blow, and suddenly his system flashed a warning across his vision: [ALERT: FOREIGN CHEMICAL COMPOUND DETECTED] [CLASSIFICATION: PHEROMONE] [CONCENTRATION: HIGH LEVELS DETECTED] [RECOMMENDATION: IMMEDIATE DEPARTURE ADVISED] ’Son of a bitch.’ The pieces clicked into place with disturbing clarity. No wonder everything felt off, no wonder Sophie had acted so completely out of character. They’d been drugged. Not with traditional substances, but with something far more insidious. "No," Noah said firmly, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and reaching for his scattered clothes. "We’re leaving. Now." "Aww, come on," Zara whined, crawling across the bed toward him. "Don’t be like that. We had such a good time." "Sophie," Noah said, his voice carrying an edge that made her look up sharply. "We need to go. Right now." Something in his tone must have conveyed the urgency he felt, because she nodded immediately and began gathering her own clothes with efficient movements. The other girls watched with varying degrees of disappointment and confusion as Noah and Sophie dressed quickly, their previous easy camaraderie replaced by something that felt distinctly hostile. By the time they were both fully clothed, the atmosphere in the room had shifted completely. The other girls had also dressed, but their movements were languid, almost predatory, like they were waiting for something to happen. Sophie had grown increasingly quiet as they prepared to leave, her face settling into the kind of blank expression Noah recognized as her way of processing something deeply disturbing. She kept glancing at him, then at the other girls, then back to him, as if trying to reconcile what she remembered with what she knew about herself. They made it to the door before Kira spoke up again. "You know, most people would say thank you after a night like that." Sophie’s hand froze on the door handle. "Thank you?" Her voice was dangerously quiet. "Well, yeah," Lysa said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "We showed you both a really good time. That’s worth something, isn’t it?" Noah pulled the door open, his patience completely exhausted. "Let’s go, Sophie." They stepped out into the corridor, where the geometric patterns on the walls seemed somehow less appealing in the harsh light of morning. But they weren’t alone. The three boys from the beach—Jax, Tor, and the third one whose name Noah couldn’t remember—were leaning against the opposite wall, waiting for them with expectant smiles. Noah had already whispered what he’d learnt from the system to Sophie by that time. And she wasn’t having it. "Well, well," Jax said, pushing off from the wall with casualness. "Look who’s finally emerged from their den of pleasure. How was it?" "It was fine," Noah replied curtly, moving to walk past them. "We’re leaving now." "Hold up there, dragon boy," Tor said, stepping into their path. "We need to have a little chat first." Sophie, who had been silent since leaving the room, finally spoke up. Her voice was carefully controlled, but Noah could hear the anger simmering beneath the surface. "A chat about what, exactly?" "Well," the third boy said with a grin that was all teeth and no warmth, "about payment, of course. You two had fun, didn’t you? On Raiju Prime, when someone does you a favor like that, there’s usually some reciprocation involved." Sophie laughed, but there was nothing humorous about the sound. It was the kind of laugh that preceded violence. "Payment? You think we owe you payment for drugging us?" "Drugging?" Kira had followed them out of the room, along with the other girls. "That’s a very harsh word. We prefer to think of it as... enhancing the experience." "My ability," Zara added helpfully, "only work on feelings that are already there. We can’t make people do things they don’t want to do deep down. We just... remove the inhibitions that stop them from acting on their desires. And it’s not like I willingly just to use it. It’s always on! You guys ran with it remember? You were in charge!" Sophie’s face went through several shades of red before settling on a color that Noah was pretty sure didn’t exist in nature. "Are you saying this is my fault?" "Nobody’s saying it’s anyone’s fault," Lysa said with infuriating reasonableness. "We’re just saying you both had a good time. And it’s not like you were forced to do anything. Everything you did last night was your choice, just without all the usual mental barriers." Noah stepped forward, his training finally overriding his confusion and anger. "What you’re describing is chemical coercion. Where I come from, that’s considered a serious crime, regardless of whether the victim ’enjoys’ the experience or not." "But this isn’t where you come from," Jax pointed out with a smirk. "This is Raiju Prime. Different rules, different customs. And here, what we did for you two is considered a favor. A pretty significant one, actually." "So what exactly are you asking for?" Noah asked, though he was pretty sure he already knew where this conversation was heading. "Well, originally we were just going to ask for an introduction to the royal family," Tor admitted. "Maybe get a chance to meet Prince Lucas’s parents, see if there were any opportunities for... advancement." "But then," the third boy continued, "we got to thinking. Why settle for small favors when we could aim higher?" Sophie was vibrating with barely contained rage. "Get to the point." "Your dragon," Jax said simply. "We want your dragon." Noah actually laughed—a short, sharp sound that held no humor whatsoever. "Yeah, that’s not happening. Nice try, though." "Oh, but it is happening," Tor said, and suddenly all three boys were reaching into their jackets. They drew weapons that looked like they’d been crafted from beast materials—handles that pulsed with internal light, blades that seemed to drink in the ambient illumination of the corridor. Noah’s system immediately identified them: [BEAST WEAPON ANALYSIS COMPLETE] [CLASSIFICATION: LEVEL 3 LANCE BLADES] [MULTIPLE TARGETS DETECTED] ’Level 3. Impressive, but not exactly terrifying.’ Noah had faced far worse with far less backup. Still, this was Lucas’s home world, and starting an international incident probably wasn’t the best way to repay his friend’s hospitality. "There’s no need for weapons," Noah said calmly, his hands visible and non-threatening. "What do you really want?" "I told you," Jax said, his weapon—some kind of energy whip—crackling to life. "We want the dragon. See, we’ve got a contact. Someone who deals in... exotic specimens. The kind of creatures that are so rare, so unique, that they’re worth more than most people see in a lifetime." "And you think Nyx qualifies?" "A Dragon?" Tor laughed. "Hell yes, he qualifies. Our buyer’s been looking for something like that for years." "Tell me about this buyer," Noah said, genuine curiosity coloring his voice. "Do you understand what you are bargaining for? Has he, your buyer dealt with dragons before?" The three boys exchanged glances. "Well," the third one said hesitantly, "not exactly dragons like yours. But our handler says the buyer’s got experience with similar creatures." "Similar how?" "He... he’s got his own dragon," Zara said from behind them, her voice carrying a note of awe. "Or so the rumors say." Noah felt his heart rate spike. ’Another dragon? Nyx isn’t a one of one?’ The implications were staggering. Where had it come from? Were there others like Nyx and Storm out there, waiting to be found? "You’re sure about this?" Noah asked, trying to keep his voice level. "Hundred percent," Jax nodded. "The guy’s scary as hell, but he pays extremely well. And word is he’s got creatures in his collection that would make your dragon look like a pet lizard." ’If this person really has a dragon, they might know where Nyx came from. Where Storm came from. Hell, they might know if there are others.’ The possibilities were too intriguing to ignore. "In that case," Noah said, his lips curving into a smile that made all three boys take an involuntary step backward, "I’d like to meet this person. Tell them I have a Red Death Dragon I’m interested in trading." Sophie whirled to stare at him, her eyes wide with shock and what looked suspiciously like betrayal. "Noah, what the hell are you thinking?" The boys looked just as surprised. "You... you want to meet him? Nobody meets with him in person. He works through intermediaries, handlers, people like us." "Then I guess I’ll be an exception," Noah said pleasantly. "Call your contact. Tell them I have a Red Death Dragon that’s been giving me trouble lately, and I’m looking to make a trade. But I only deal face to face." ’If this person really has dragon-level creatures, they’ll be curious enough about Nyx to agree to a meeting. And once I get close enough, I’ll have answers to questions I’ve been carrying since I first found those eggs.’ The boys huddled together for a whispered conversation while Sophie grabbed Noah’s arm and pulled him aside. "Are you insane?" she hissed. "You’re going to hand Nyx over to some criminal collector?" "Of course not," Noah replied quietly. "But think about it, Sophie. If this person really has a dragon, they might know where mine came from. How many others are out there. This could be the key to understanding what Nyx and Storm really are." Sophie stared at him for a long moment, then slowly nodded. "You’re playing a very dangerous game." "I know. But the potential payoff..." He didn’t finish the sentence, but she understood. The boys turned back to them, Jax holding a communication device that looked far more advanced than anything Noah had seen outside of EDF facilities. "We’ve made the call," Jax said. "He’s... interested. Very interested. He wants to meet you personally." "Excellent. When and where?" "Now," Tor said, looking slightly pale. "He wants to meet you now. There’s a transport waiting outside." They walked through the building in tense silence, past the main party area where the previous night’s debauchery was still winding down. Noah caught glimpses of other groups in various stages of activity, but his mind was focused entirely on what lay ahead. They reached outside and saw The transport vessel. It was sleek and black, clearly designed for speed rather than comfort. As they climbed aboard, Noah noticed that the boys seemed nervous—more nervous than they’d been when threatening him with Level 3 weapons. "So," Noah said as they lifted off into the morning sky, "tell me about this collector of yours. What’s his name?" "Vex Marduk," Jax replied reluctantly. "And he’s not exactly... well, let’s just say he’s not someone you want to cross." They flew in silence after that, the transport carrying them over Raiju Prime’s sprawling urban landscape and then beyond, into mountain ranges that looked like they’d been carved by giants. The peaks rose in impossible formations, their surfaces gleaming with the same energy networks that powered the cities below. After what felt like hours, they began to descend toward what looked like an abandoned runway carved into the side of a mountain. But as they got closer, Noah could see that ’abandoned’ was definitely not the right word. The place was crawling with security—armed figures in dark uniforms, vehicles that hummed with energy, and sensor arrays that tracked their approach. "This is it," Tor said unnecessarily as they touched down. "Welcome to Vex Marduk’s private collection." Noah stepped out of the transport and immediately a screen blocked his vision. [MASSIVE ENERGY SOURCE DETECTED] [CLASSIFICATION: UNKNOWN] [POWER LEVEL: EXTREME] [ANALYSIS: INCONCLUSIVE] ’Something’s here,’ Noah thought, his pulse quickening. ’Something big. But what?’ The energy signature was unlike anything he’d encountered before—not quite like Nyx’s draconic power, not like Storm’s either, but something else entirely. Something that made the air itself feel heavy with potential. As they walked toward the massive facility built into the mountainside, Noah couldn’t shake the feeling that he was about to get answers to questions he’d been carrying for months. The question was: would he like what he learned?

Chapter 395: Dragon master

Comments (0)