The First Legendary Dragon Tamer

Luke's eyes snapped open.

The familiar hiss of the pod's hydraulic release accompanied the rush of stale, metallic air flooding his lungs. His muscles ached faintly, though he knew it was more his mind adjusting to reality than his body truly being sore.

With a heavy sigh, Luke stepped out of the pod, his bare feet pressing against the cool tiled floor of his small apartment.

For a long moment, he simply stood there, dragging his fingers across his face.

"…Draco," he muttered under his breath, his tone carrying a mixture of irritation and reluctant respect.

He had felt it, even as he was pulled from the game — Draco's wild laughter echoing inside their shared consciousness, the surge of System notifications, and the unmistakable drain of his S Points.

Luke clenched his fists, his lips twitching in frustration. "You really spent it all…"

Yet, the anger couldn't hold.

He knew the truth. The SP Draco used hadn't come from Quest rewards.

The System had drawn a clear line: Luke gained SP from Quests, while Draco could profit from sales in the Shop.

It was a strange balance, but in hindsight, it made perfect sense.

"…Fair is fair," Luke finally admitted, collapsing onto the chair beside his desk. "If I get SP for quests, and he gets SP for loot, then neither of us can hog everything."

The thought was comforting. Even if Draco was reckless and selfish, he was also obsessed with growing stronger. Quests were directly tied to that very goal. Luke didn't have to fear Draco ignoring them.

As long as they pushed him forward, he would complete them — and Luke would reap the rewards.

Almost on cue, the System's crisp notification flared across Luke's vision.

[System Notice]

Quest Rewards Delivered!

—Primary Quest: Assist the Plant Dragon in hatching her eggs (Completed)

—Secondary Quest: Eliminate all Water Dragons occupying the Underground Oasis (Completed)

—Hidden Quest: Tame at least ten Dragons (Completed)

Total Reward: 500 SP

Luke's heart thudded.

"Five hundred…" he whispered, staring at the golden glow that represented his newly-earned points.

It was a lot more than what he earned from the Tutorial.

More than five times the amount, in fact.

Of course, just 500 SP was a fraction of what he needed — a tiny scratch against the colossal goal of 100,000 SP — but it was something.

It was proof that he was moving forward.

'I'm sure the next series of Quests will give me a lot more than this. I look forward to that.'

The Supreme Grade Recovery Pill and the time running out for his adopted father weighed him down a little, but the mere fact that he was working towards accomplishing his goals rejuvenated him.

"It's far, but I'll get there." Luke's lips curled into a small, determined smile. "The quests will get harder. The stakes will rise. And the rewards will rise too. I just need to keep going."

His stomach growled loudly, breaking his moment of resolve.

"…But first, food."

Luke left his room and padded into the modest kitchen, heating up a bowl of instant noodles.

As the steam fogged his glasses, he sat with his phone propped up in front of him, opening the Hunters & Dragons forum.

The page was relatively desolate, but it had a host of past activity — bizarre commentaries, detailed guides, wild theories. Players chattered about dungeon clears, Dragon encounters, and bizarre bugs they had stumbled into.

But as always, the pinned posts floated to the top.

[Prettygirl_Lilith's Progress Update]

Luke's eyes narrowed as he scrolled through.

Lilith, the player who had already established herself as one of the strongest, had advanced further than anyone else. Her synchronization rate was climbing rapidly, and she sometimes flaunted her wealth and resources as proof.

Despite this, she didn't come off as arrogant.

Instead, it seemed she was trying to encourage others by showing just how far they could go if they took the game seriously.

"She's racing ahead of everyone," Luke muttered, slurping a mouthful of noodles. "Just how strong is she compared to Draco? I can only imagine…'

Another name caught his attention was 'LordCephas', the newbie before him.

His posts weren't as detailed as Lilith's, but his sheer pace was shocking. He was climbing fast, perhaps even faster than Luke had expected from a newcomer.

Luke hesitated.

Should he post about his own progress? About Draco? About the Plant Dragon, the Nightcrawlers, the underground lake?

He imagined the flood of attention, the scrutiny… and the suspicion.

"…No. Not yet." He shook his head. "I need to be stronger first. Compared to everyone here, I don't have anything really worthwhile to post."

He also reckoned that was what Draco would do as well.

Luke closed the forum and sat in silence for a while, spooning the last of his noodles into his mouth. His mind, however, was restless.

The game had shaken him — not just because of the Dragons, the Quests, and the bizarre bond with Draco, but because of what it represented.

This was more than a game.

It was a frontier.

Luke set his bowl aside and pulled up another tab.

Articles, videos, and journals filled the screen, all revolving around one subject: the gaming industry. More specifically, the VR and E-Sports boom.

He scrolled slowly, absorbing the information.

The arrival of full-dive VR pods had rewritten the rules of competition. What once was a niche hobby had become a global phenomenon. Teams formed across the world, leagues sprouted in every nation, and the prize pools dwarfed even the largest traditional sports.

"And it isn't just action-based games that are lucrative…" Luke whispered, his brows furrowing as he clicked through rankings of the most competitive titles. There were strategy-based VRMMOs, real-time combat arenas, sports simulators, and even hybrid tactical-RPG competitions.

The top dog, however, was undeniable: Silent Eclipse

Luke leaned back in his chair as highlight reels auto-played on his screen.

Players fought in teams of five, wielding avatars that merged sci-fi and fantasy aesthetics. Swords clashed with plasma rifles, elemental spells collided with mechanized drones.

The graphics were great, but what stunned Luke most was the sheer precision.

Every movement was tight. Every strategy was razor-sharp.

The announcer's voice roared over the footage, hyping up plays that seemed impossibly complex to Luke's untrained eye.

"This is insane…" he muttered. "Has gaming always been this intense?"

But beneath the awe was something else.

A spark. A pull.

'I think… I can do this stuff too!' Despite mostly feeling like he was in the passenger's seat for Hunters & Dragons, Luke had all of Draco's experiences, and he was constantly growing stronger with every login.

As such, he felt like he could actively dive into gaming… competitively!

His hand curled into a fist.

He researched for hours, digging into everything from sponsorship structures to VR hardware requirements. He discovered the brutal truth: without his own VR pod, his chances were slim. Public VR setups were functional, but limited.

They couldn't compare to the responsiveness and stability of a personal unit.

"If I want to take this seriously…" Luke muttered, clicking through price listings that made his wallet ache. "…I'll need my own pod."

Even though he could currently afford them, the numbers were still intimidating.

Regardless, Luke refused to look away.

By the time the sun dipped below the horizon outside his window, he had read article after article, watched countless matches, and scribbled notes across an old notebook.

His eyes burned, but his resolve had only sharpened.

After trying, Luke had already realized that he wouldn't be able to log into Hunters & Dragons for another week or so. That meant he had more than enough time to set up his personal life and make progress on Earth.

Thanks to spending so much time learning, Luke already knew his next step.

[STATUS WINDOW]

- Name: Luke (Lvl: 15)

- Race: Human

- Class: Legendary Dragon Tamer (Locked)

- Integrity: 15 (+24: Locked)

- Physique: 15 (+24: Locked)

- Aptitude: 15 (+100: Locked) (100% Essence: Locked)

- S Points: 500

- Quest Completion Rate: 100%

[Current Quest Information]

Primary Quest: Assist the Plant Dragon in hatching her eggs (Complete)

Secondary Quest: Eliminate all Water Dragons occupying the Underground Oasis (Complete)

Hidden Quest: Tame at least ten Dragons (Complete)

[Synchronization Rate: 13%]