Supreme Monarch

A simple-looking magic carriage galloped slowly through a rocky path as a group of five walked in an arrayed formation by its side as Kylyra casually munched on her packed snacks from her position behind the carriage. Seeing her act like she usually did, Dohel made a silent sigh of relief as he had been wondering why she had been so unusually quiet this whole trip.

A trip to the Fabelt's Pass would usually take around a week and a half but thanks to the magic carriage and the tier 2 Six-eyed bull, they would be able to make it there in only a full day depending on the number of monsters their encounter during the trip.

Being a little ignorant to the type of monsters they would encounter in this part of the continent. Tyler decided on browsing his horizon by asking the experience Hunter party for the information so he would be better prepared for whatever Zelda would send his way.

Right now he was considered a merchant from the far east so not being aware of the monsters that dwelled in this region should be considered normal.

Tyler thought about the best way to phrase his question before turning to fave Dohel in the side and asked:

"By the way, Mr. Dohel, what type of monsters would you say are indigenous to this Fabelt's Pass."

"Ah please, I told you before to just call me Dohel Sir Lix. Also, there are several monsters that live in the Fabelt pass although there are a few more notable ones like Lesser Basilisks and Giant scorpions."

"Is that so... How strong would you say these Giant Scorpions are?"

Dohel had a strange expression on his face the moment he heard Tyler's question which made Tyler think he had asked something strange but he could not figure out why such a question would be considered strange.

He had only asked for the level of strength of the Giant Scorpions because he already knew enough about Lesser Basilisks. However, he quickly came to the conclusion that he was being looked at like that because he had prioritized finding out more about Giant Scorpions in the face of an advanced monster like lesser basilisks.

Indeed he was right. A lesser basilisk was an advanced class monster only a step away from the legendary beast, an actual Basilisk. Dohel was surprised when he heard Tyler asked about the Giant scorpions first even after hearing about the presence of lesser Basilisks.

Giant Scorpions were Intermediate class monsters that were mostly around the upper Tier 2 level to around the mid-Tier 3 level. Such a creature could not even be compared to an ordinary advanced class monster much less a lesser Basilisks.

The fact that the mysterious Lix had disregarded the news about the presence of lesser Basilisks meant that he was either already aware of their strength personally or he was completely clueless about a lesser Basilisk and Dohel could not imagine someone like Lix, a man capable of traveling all the way from the far east here and was strong enough to render a Platinum rank Hunter like themselves powerless under his grip as being clueless.

The first option was most likely the case as information on monsters at the advanced class was not widely spread and even VIP Merchants would need a lot of money to purchase such information. Giving as he had only just become a VIP merchant, Dohel could only guess that Lix had come faced to face with an actual Tier 5 creature and lived to tell the tale.

For some reason, he also couldn't picture the cool and mysterious Lix losing to a monster even if he was by himself. They had originally thought of Lix to be slightly stronger than an Orichalcum ranked Hunter like Kylyra but now, however, he could not imagine Lix being any weaker than a Tritanium ranked Hunter. Hell, he may even be strong enough to be considered amongst the strongest Hunters in this world.

Quantium ranked Hunters were usually the stuff of legends. In the history of the demon continent, there had only been a single hand full of them at a time and right now, he was only aware of two of them. 

There was the Scarlet Ravens, a team of seven all-female Hunters that, although their individual strength was not quite at the Quantium rank, their combined force was indeed at that level.

There was also the Golden Feathers, a party of four extremely strong individuals whose feats were the stuff of legends and were based in Blackwing City. Dohel knew there was one more group of Quantium rank Hunters in Sun City, but he did not know much about them.

The fact that the mysterious man known to them only by the name Lix was a fighter at such a high level made his back tightened as he realized how bad thing would be for them if something was to go wrong.

Scratching his cheeks awkwardly, Dohel tried to speak normally but failed. However, just like always, Larut came in with a timely assist:

"Hmm, well... err, you see—"

"Giant Scorpions are only Intermediate class beasts and are nothing to worry about, the real problem would be running into a horde of lesser basilisks. Their tough scales and poisonous flames would be hard to deal with. However, the Fabelt pass is also home to an actual Lord class monster, the ColdFire Drake. An intelligent magic beast that is also known as the King of the Pass." 

The King of the Pass was a Lord class monster that could use ice and fire-type magic and was therefore frighteningly powerful. Because its lair was in the innermost parts of the Fabelt's Pass, there were virtually no eye-witness reports about it. Although its existence had been a topic of discussion since very long ago. The information the group had been able to find of it was extremely vague as most of the Hunters that had seen it had never made it back alive.

The creature was said to be as old and as cunning as the oldest of the four kings that ruled the Darknar forest, the Ancient Rykir. While Tyler was unaware of how old and cunning the ancient Rykir was. He held a powerful magic crystal that was once the core of the creature so he was keenly aware of how strong the monster would've been.

His interest in this so-called king of the pass was shot up to the extreme.

"A ColdFire Drake, is it something like a dragon?"

"Huh, ah no... Well, I guess that's as close as one could get to an actual dragon as there is no record of them. Although, there are a few legends and myths of dragons once ruling the world. We don't have any records that far back so it's impossible to prove it."

Larut touched his chin and thought for a second before adding: "I guess if we go by the myths, a drake would be similar to a dragon, or rather a lesser species of one so maybe the ColdFire Drake would be like one."

'Interesting, I'd really like to see it. I wonder if it's anything like the infamous Smaug... Hehe...'

He did not know if their information was true or false, but if it had lived all these years, it should possess a surprising intellect. After all, it was able to live in a region ruled by one of the great five and had still managed to not only survive but claim a large territory for itself. If he could capture it… He should be able to strengthen the defense on the castle.

Tyler pieced together a hazy image of what he thought the monster looked like in his mind based on his impression of the word drake.

With a name like ColdFire Drake, it was most likely a beast with a similar shape and appearance to a reptile or maybe it was something like a serpent instead. The fact that he also had no idea what dragons in this world would look like irked him a little. Then again perhaps this world had all the kinds and types of dragons.

Just as Tyler's imagination was about to run wild picturing the various shapes of a creature that may already be extinct, Dohel called out to Nadine again in a flighty tone:

"Well then, if we complete this mission perfectly, I wonder if my lovely lady Nadine will develop any affection towards me."

Nadine didn't seem to have heard him though, as she simply focused on driving the carriage while keeping her guard up as Tyler had instructed which may have damaged Dohel's confidence.

Dohel put on an exaggerated look of shock, but nobody seemed to really care about it as Kylyra was still busy with her snacks and the twins were on the other side of the carriage and couldn't see him. Larut seems to smirk at Dohel's bad timing which may have been a product of his growing nerves.

Seeing Larut's smirk, Dohel quickly recomposed himself and they proceeded on their way. With his nerves finally calmed he was able to initiate a conversation as everyone chatted casually as they moved under the sun that had finally won its battle against the thick ashen clouds. 

The path they took was only lightly covered in snow and the carriage could easily move on the uneven surfaces. While the sun shone brightly for the first time over the past few days, the cold in the air still remained the same and the group was only fine because they had equipped cold resistance gear.

However, this did not reduce the effort needed to travel in the snow, and the more they walked, the more sweat Tyler saw on their faces and as the cold wind hit. He could clearly see their perspiration rapidly evaporate, chilling them even against the effects of their cold resistance gears.

As he watched everyone breathing slowly get heavier, he was glad his body had evolved over the years he was asleep underground. While he was seated on the carriage and not slaving away amongst the party, he was sure he would not feel fatigued from that much labor.

Only Dohel remained energetic and cheerful, talking and laughing with the others, who were marching in silence:

"You guys don't have to be so tense... We have the all-seeing Larut on our side and with my amazing reflex, I'll be able to react the moment something happens, just leave the rest to Larut."

"Why on Neron are you bragging on my expense."

"What's wrong, didn't you say you were the best ranger in Sentro, why are you backing off now."

"I only said I was the best ranger currently in Winged city, don't escalate my words without my permission."

"Aine thinks Larut is good enough to rank at the top of all the rangers in Sentro."

"Yeah, yeah, Anne thinks so too."

The twins nodded in unison as Larut chuckled dryly at the pressure they were placing on his shoulders.

Chuckling softly at Larut's predicament, Dohel decided on changing the topic: "So, sir Lix, by any chance are you and the lovely miss Nadine dating?"

"Hey! don't ask such personal questions, what's wrong with you."

Contrary to Tyler's expectations, it was. Kylyra who spoke up from behind after being silent the entire trip. Her harsh tone had even startled Dohel who scratched his head awkwardly as he had wanted to start a light-hearted conversation to distract everyone from their growing nerves.

"Ahh yes my bad... I apologize for my insensitivity."

Tyler chuckled and responded briefly as it seemed Nadine had tunned out the sounds coming out of this man's mouth and hadn't heard anything he said. Her expression was still serious as she concentrated on her surroundings.

"It's fine, there's no harm in wanting to know more about the people you're traveling with. However, I'll advise you to please don't ask unnecessary questions Mr. Dohel."

Dohel's mouth was forced closed as he felt a sudden chill even though he was not perspiring and the cold should not be able to overcome his cold resistance.