Poor Noble Nord’s Adventure

29.1. Long Vacation 2

In the forest, there was a beast.

Its head bore large antlers, stretching straight like spears.

The two horn spears sprouting from its head made it stand out.

Its form closely resembled a deer, leading to its name: Spear Deer, Dielansa, a monster.

The spear deer raced through the forest.

Relentlessly, feeling the thudding heartbeat in its chest, it leaped through the gaps between the trees.

At present, the spear deer is fleeing for its life.

Its pursuer was human.

By the time it noticed the threat, both of its prized antlers had been broken in half.

Hunted— the spear deer, collapsing in shock onto the ground, realized instinctively and froze in fear.

Run—it had to run, but terror paralyzed it for a moment, locking its body in place.

Yet, for some reason, the human who had caught it so defenseless did not deliver the final blow.

They gripped a greenish branch-like object in one hand and did nothing more.

An instant later, as if the spell had broken, the spear deer’s body became free to move again.

With no thought of questioning why, it resumed its desperate escape.

The spear deer ran, driven purely by instinct.

The broken horns did not even cross its mind.

Ignoring its racing heart that screamed of impending rupture, it ran.

When it finally reached the forest’s edge, utterly exhausted and out of breath, the spear deer halted.

In the next moment, a sudden impact hit it.

Heat spread around its neck. It realized it was under attack.

“Brurrr!”

“Gyahh!!”

It shook its head, trying to dislodge whatever had bitten into its neck, but fatigue from the earlier sprint sapped its strength.

Eventually, the fangs pierced deep into the critical artery, and warmth gushed from the spear deer’s neck.

Strength drained from its body.

Unable to stand on its legs, it collapsed into a pool of its own blood, and light faded from its black eyes.

§

“Well done.”

Standing nearby, the scene of the spear deer’s end unfolded.

Spear deer were the kind of creatures even adventurers with stone plate ranks could hunt.

Their sharp, spear-like antlers, extending from their heads, could pierce through leather armor.

Thus, their horn-based attacks were the only true threat they posed—otherwise, they were low-level monsters.

Left unchecked, they would devour and devastate forests near human settlements.

This made hunting them a regular guild request.

“Gyah!”

It was Newt who had delivered the finishing blow.

Norde had already weakened the spear deer by breaking its dangerous horns and tiring it out.

Even with help, Newt had succeeded in hunting it.

After leaping from above, Newt latched on with razor-sharp claws, anchoring itself and biting the creature’s neck until it tore through.

“Monsters of this level aren’t a challenge anymore.”

“Kyui!”

At Norde’s signal, Newt pulled away from the carcass.

With blood-soaked jaws, Newt chirped joyfully as Norde affectionately patted its head.

Though Norde assisted, Newt was already capable of handling weak monsters.

Norde quickly processed the kill.

After draining the blood, he expertly wielded a carving knife to dismantle the carcass.

The deer hide, while inexpensive, was worth collecting.

Meat from its thighs and shoulders would serve as dinner tonight.

“Here you go.”

“Kyau♪”

As a reward for the successful hunt, Norde tossed a chunk of meat to Newt.

Newt deftly caught it in midair and began eating with relish.

Covered in blood, the young green-scaled dragon gnawed at the meat it held with one claw, growing bigger and stronger with each hunt.

Its body had become sturdier, its limbs bulkier, and its claws sharper for catching prey.

Its jaw strength had increased too.

In no time, Newt licked its plate clean, chirping at Norde for more.

In total, it consumed nearly a third of the deer meat to satisfy its hunger.

The hunting training Norde gave Newt over the summer break led to astonishing growth.

Starting with rabbits and birds, they quickly moved to small monsters, and now even mid-sized ones.

To be safe, Norde still removed dangerous parts of their prey beforehand, but Newt’s dragon scales were tougher than most armor.

Norde thought it might soon be able to hunt without his help.

“Hmm… Looks like there’s more. Ready?”

“Kyut!”

From the forest floor, Norde noticed signs of more nearby prey.

He signaled to the young dragon beside him and resumed the hunt.

§

“…And that’s how it went.”

“Impressive.”

After reporting mission completion, Norde regularly visited the research facility’s “professor” to share details.

The professor, reading Norde’s report, watched Newt with fascination.

Since their adventures began, Newt’s growth far exceeded the Iron Dragon Knights’ data projections.

“Is there that much of a difference?”

“A huge one. Regular feedings at the Iron Knights couldn’t compare.”

Meanwhile, Newt lay bored on the lab floor.

When first brought here, the room’s unfamiliar items sparked its curiosity, but now it was used to everything.

From old feather pens to dragon skeleton models and even eggshells—it had seen it all.

Now, it merely watched as Norde and the white-coated man talked.

“Look here… like this, and then here…”

“Oh, I see. What causes that, I wonder?”

“Still a mystery. Maybe diet, or stress conditioning?”

“Possibly strength gain and leveling up.”

“Interesting thought. Norde, ever consider working here?”

“Eh, uh, no thanks.”

“Just kidding. But I’ll need more combat data.”

“I’ll look into finding suitable foes.”

“Good luck!”

Though their conversation excited Norde, Newt understood nothing.

Since growing too large to carry, it simply waited for Norde to finish, sprawled on the floor.

“Well, take care.”

“Understood.”

Once finished, Norde’s movement woke Newt.

Following Norde’s “let’s go” signal, it rose and exited the lab.

Outside, night had already fallen.

Norde loaded Newt onto the wagon he borrowed from the military, hidden beneath a canopy.

Unable to hide Newt under his cloak anymore, Norde arranged special transport for them.

Taking the reins, he drove them into the night.

§