Chapter 3: Welcome
Jim’s vision swam as the bright glow of the gem faded, leaving him disoriented and breathless. The last thing he remembered was talking to the old man—Garret, his mind supplied—before the Devourers emerged from the shadows, their hollow eyes locked onto him. The gem had burned bright in his palm, and now, he was here. Wherever here was.
A crisp chime echoed in his mind, clear as the toll of a bell.
Ding.
Welcome to the Dragon Rider System.
Name: Jim
Talents: Dragon Rider
Achievements: The Last Dragon Rider
Attributes: To be determined
Skills: To be determined
Jim blinked. A floating blue screen hovered in his vision, filled with words that made little sense. His heart pounded. He tried to reach for it, but his fingers passed through the translucent display like mist. Before he could make sense of it, another notification flashed.
Ding.
Welcome to the Dragon Rider Training Grounds.
Training grounds? Jim turned in a slow circle, taking in his surroundings. He stood in the middle of a vast clearing, the trees surrounding him twisted and ancient, their bark cracked with age. Above, the sky was an eerie shade of violet, unfamiliar stars flickering in the twilight. A cold wind whispered through the leaves, carrying with it the scent of something… old.
Another chime rang in his ears.
Error. Insufficient resources.
No trainer available.
Jim frowned. “What?”
The system didn’t respond. Instead, after a moment of silence, the text on the screen flickered, shifting rapidly.
Solution found.
Self-training protocols engaged.
Before Jim could react, a sudden wave of knowledge slammed into his mind. Images, words, techniques—everything flooded into him in an instant. He staggered back, clutching his head as pain lanced through his skull. He gasped, his knees buckling, but the knowledge kept pouring in.
Flight patterns. Battle formations. The history of dragon riders. The art of bonding with a dragon. The way to channel raw magic through his soul. It was too much, too fast.
And then, just as quickly as it came, the flow stopped.
Jim collapsed to the ground, panting. His body felt strange—lighter, stronger, more… attuned. The remnants of the knowledge still burned in his skull, but now, it was settled. He knew things he had never learned. He could almost feel the phantom presence of something vast and powerful waiting to be called.
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“What now?” he muttered, forcing himself to breathe. He needed to think. Needed to process.
A rustling sound cut through the clearing.
Jim stiffened, every muscle in his body coiling in instinctive readiness. The grass shifted, something moving through it—something large. His heart slammed against his ribs as he scrambled backward, eyes darting across the shadows.
A low growl rumbled from the underbrush.
Jim’s mind screamed for a weapon. His hands fumbled against the dirt, searching for anything—a branch, a stone, anything to defend himself. His fingers closed around something smooth and cold, and he jerked it up without thinking.
A bone. A thick, ancient bone, yellowed with time.
His grip tightened around it as the rustling grew closer. The grass parted, and from the shadows, something stepped forward.
A wolf.
But not just any wolf.
It was massive, its fur dark as ink, its eyes glowing an eerie silver. Jagged scars lined its flanks, and when it bared its teeth, Jim caught the glint of unnatural fangs. This was no ordinary beast.
The wolf snarled, lowering its head. It was watching him, studying him. Hunting him.
Jim’s grip on the bone trembled. He had no training, no experience fighting—except… he did. The knowledge still burned in his mind, the system’s gift seared into his soul. He knew how to fight. He knew how to move, how to predict an opponent’s attack, how to counter.
He just had to trust it.
The wolf lunged.
Jim moved on instinct, his body reacting before his mind caught up. He dodged to the side, the beast’s jaws snapping inches from his face. Rolling across the dirt, he came up on one knee, gripping the bone like a club. The wolf pivoted, its silver eyes narrowing.
Jim’s breath steadied. He could do this.
The wolf lunged again, and this time, Jim was ready. He swung the bone with all his strength, catching the beast across the snout. A yelp echoed through the clearing, but the creature was undeterred. It spun, claws raking the air, forcing Jim to backpedal. His heart thundered in his chest.
His body moved without thought, weaving between the wolf’s attacks with an agility he didn’t know he possessed. The training from the system—he wasn’t just remembering it. He was living it.
The wolf lunged once more, and Jim saw the opening.
He twisted, stepping inside the attack, and drove the bone straight into the creature’s ribs. The impact reverberated up his arms, and the wolf let out a strangled whimper, stumbling back.
Jim didn’t give it a chance to recover. He pressed forward, slamming the bone against its skull. Once. Twice. A third time.
The wolf collapsed, its body twitching before finally falling still.
Jim staggered back, panting. His hands trembled as he dropped the bone, staring at the fallen beast. His mind raced.
Had he really just done that?
He looked down at his hands. They were steady now, strong. He had fought. He had won.
A slow realization settled over him.
He wasn’t the same farmhand who had unearthed that strange gem.
He wasn’t the same boy who had lived a simple life on the edge of the forest.
He was something more now.
Ding.
A new notification blinked in his vision.
Combat experience gained.
Skill unlocked: Instinctive Evasion (Passive).
Skill unlocked: Improvised Weapon Mastery (Basic).
Jim exhaled slowly, his body still thrumming with adrenaline. He didn’t fully understand what was happening, but one thing was clear.
This was just the beginning.