’Huh? Did you just say a dragon?’

’What the f***.’

’So I signed a contract with a dragon?!!’

’No way, so I actually spoke to a dragon?’

’A real dragon?’

’Me??’

’Oh my gosh, this is too good to be true.’

’This world actually has dragons and I’ve spoken to one of them.’

’This world is definitely the best!!’

’I love it here!!!’

’Now, I’ve got to see her for myself.’

’Oh, that’s right though, I’m not sure if she’s still around, but I think she should be.... right?’

’Oh well, I guess I’ll have to ask around just to be sure.’ Austin swiftly came to a decision as he barely kept his excitement in check.

To be honest, he was still surprised to realise that he had talked to a dragon back in the forest.

When Legolas had told him about the history of Rowena’s territory, a part of him had doubted that dragons were real.

After all, based on the memories of the previous host, things like dragons and demons didn’t exist, and since Legolas wasn’t even certain the dragon was the cause of the change in the forest, Austin had been speculating that it might have been something else entirely.

However, a part of him had also believed Legolas’s story, and he had wondered what it would have been like to see the bones or remains of a dragon.

But it turned out the dragon wasn’t dead after all.

So if the dragon wasn’t dead and was in fact alive, then what exactly was the real cause behind the sudden change of Blacksand Forest and the effects that had plagued Rowena’s territory?

Austin wondered about this, but simply concluded it would be better to just go see the dragon lady herself rather than sit around thinking about trivial things.

’Alright, let’s go take a look at Miss Dragon now.’ Austin uttered in his thoughts before noticing the system screen blinking once again.

It had been blinking since he realised that the female who saved him was a dragon, but Austin hadn’t paid attention to it because he was still too surprised by the fact that he had spoken to a dragon back in Blacksand Forest.

But seeing as how the blinking didn’t seem like it was going to stop anytime soon, Austin decided to check the notification once and for all.

[Congratulations to the Host for having an increased power value and mana capacity overall. Would you like to take a look at your current status, along with that of Nora’s?]

’Oh, I totally forgot about checking my status.’

’Alright, show it to me.’

’Let’s see what a symbiotic contract with a dragon offers me.’

Austin requested, and both his and Nora’s status screens appeared before him.

***

[Name: Nora.]

[Race: Wolfkin.]

[Age: 26.]

[Class: Enhancer, Swordswoman.]

[Level: 5.]

[Lifespan: 120 years.]

[Title: Scary Female Wolfkin, Austin’s Woman.]

[Power Value: 3,300.]

[Mana: 800.]

[Talents: Swordsmanship (E), Mana Control (E), Blade Enhancement Mastery (E), Wolfkin Battle Instinct (E), Cooking (E), Sewing and Mending (E), Foraging (E).]

[Skills: Sword Art Technique Tier One (2/5 learnt).]

[Affection Towards Host: 70%.]

[Relationship Status: Girlfriend, Upgradeable.]

**

Name: Austin Rin.]

[Race: Human.]

[Age: 26.]

[Class: Conjurer, Giant Arm Conjurer.]

[Level: 4.]

[Lifespan: 100 years.]

[Title: Useless Son of the Rin Household (Upgradeable), Drunkard (Upgradeable), Obsessed Potion-Making Maniac (Upgradeable).]

[Power Value: 2,120.]

[Mana: 1,500.]

[Talents: Mana Control (E), Mana Sensitivity (E), Swordsmanship (F), Resource Management (E), Sharp Mind (E), Potion Brewing (E), Reading People (E), Negotiating (E), Cooking (E).]

[Skills: Giant Arm Combat Technique Tier One (2/5 learnt).]

[Harem Count: One.]

[Official Wife Count: None.]

[Number of Children: One.]

[Host gained 800 power value from your completed mission.]

[Host also obtained 50 power value from slaughtering goblins and a death worm, along with a copy of a dragon’s 5% power value (500) due to your symbiotic contract with said dragon.]

[Your mana capacity also received a boost of 500 mana, in addition to the 400 obtained from the mission you completed.]

’Woah, woah, woah.’

’Wait a minute.’

’Is this for real right now?’

’What do you mean 5%?’

’So you’re telling me I feel so strong right now because I’m only carrying a fraction of a dragon’s true power?’

’Awesome.’

’Oh, wait a minute.’

’If her 5% is 500 power value, then 10% would be 1,000 power value.’ Austin muttered to himself as he pondered deeper.

’So that means her current power value at 100% will be.....’ Austin’s jaw dropped in shock when he did the math, and he still couldn’t believe that he had actually made a deal with such a powerful being.

’How am I still alive right now?’

’That woman is currently at a level where she could destroy the entire kingdom with just a sneeze.’

’And yet, I was prepared to approach her as though the two of us were old friends.’

’Someone with that kind of power would be difficult to approach or talk to, but would she really react that way with me?’

’Well, technically I saved her, so that should be enough to give me the chance to have a talk with her, right?’

’Yes, I know she saved me too, but.....’

*Sighs* Austin paused his train of thoughts.

He was overthinking right now and he didn’t like it.

He wasn’t the same guy he had been in his previous world, the one who couldn’t walk up to a girl to ask for her name, much less her phone number.

Instead, he was now a man who had the most beautiful female wolfkin as a wife.

And he had a really high amount of mana and power value to back him up as well.

So shouldn’t he be a lot more confident in himself, especially after impregnating the most beautiful girl he had ever been with? She had become his first ever baby mama, and he definitely couldn’t wait for more, so why cower like a boy when he could just be a man!

’Hell yeah, I’m definitely not going to be a wimp anymore.’

’Let’s go see the dragon lady now!!’ Austin was now fired up.

Yes, he was a little scared to face a woman who could break him in two with her fingers, but he was not going to let fear get the better of him.

And so, with his mind made up, Austin swiftly glanced at his sleeping wife, then kissed Nora on her forehead before quietly leaving the room so as not to wake Nora or their baby.

Although one might think he had naughty intentions in wanting to see the dragon lady, the truth was that Austin genuinely wanted to thank her for saving his life.

Though it was a gamble at the time to trust her, but now Austin was glad he had made the right choice because if he hadn’t , he probably wouldn’t have been able to see Nora or their baby today.

But aside from thanking her, Austin genuinely wanted to know what had happened to her and how it might be connected to Blacksand Forest.

And so, he gently stepped out of the room, but upon doing so, Austin suddenly recalled something he had seen on his system screen a while ago.

For the quests he had completed, the system had only rewarded him alone, but it hadn’t rewarded Nora as it usually did whenever he leveled up her affection toward him.

So this meant future quests might only reward him alone, unless he kept increasing Nora’s affection, but that hadn’t been easy these past few months.

He wondered what was needed to increase her affection even more, but he wasn’t going to give up anytime soon.

Yes, it might be difficult, but he truly loved his beautiful wolfkin and was ready to do anything to make her love him even more.

Of course, he had a few ideas on what he needed to do, and he was going to slowly implement such plans with the hope that they worked out in the end.

But for now, he was willing to play a patient game since she had just given birth a few days ago.

Anyways, recalling the power value rewards he had obtained from the system for completing his quests, Austin couldn’t believe how low his power value increase had been for killing all those goblins.

Despite killing over a hundred goblins, alongside the hobgoblins and the large death worm he had punched to death, the system had rewarded all that effort with a measly 50 power value increase.

It was such a disappointing result, and now Austin could finally understand why it took most people years to level up from level one to two, much less reach any higher level.

And this made him even more grateful for having the greatest cheat ability ever.

Moving on, Austin focused his mind on what was more important right now.

He hurried his steps across the hallway, but then suddenly heard the voices of two female elves talking to each other.

Both ladies had just watched Rowena return to her study after spending the whole day busy with affairs related to her territory.

"Countess Rowena is back?" the first female asked.

"Yeah, she is, but she looked really tired." the second replied with a sad look on her face.

"Oh, so we can’t tell her that Sir Austin is already awake?" Both ladies knew how their beloved Countess had visited her friend’s chamber every night to stay close to him, so they knew she would be extremely happy to hear that he had finally woken up.