I Only Tame Dragons

"And you managed to steal an important item from the Radiant Church with your low stats?" Nyx suddenly butted in, her eyes wide in disbelief. "They're supposed to be crazy powerful, right? How in the world did you pull that off? Either the church has gotten lazy, or they're not as strong as they claim if someone like you snatched their treasure."

Lydia just grinned, a glint of mischief in her eyes. "A relic hunter never reveals her tricks."

"You mean a thief," Nyx shot back, crossing her skeletal arms.

The two locked eyes, the tension crackling between them as they began to bicker.

Horizon sighed, caught in the middle once again.

He didn't blame Nyx though. For a dragon, thieves were the ultimate enemies. Her greatest fear after all was losing her hoarded treasures to one.

"Anyway, with these bullions, we can finally buy some real equipment!" Lydia's excitement bubbled up, but it was short-lived when her gaze darted to something in the distance.

In an instant, her expression changed. She quickly ducked behind a nearby wall, her voice dropping to a harsh whisper. "F*ck. What the hell are they doing here?"

Curious, Horizon edged closer, peeking around the corner. His slit eyes slightly widened as he spotted a group of armored figures — knights and paladins, their gleaming armor adorned with the unmistakable emblem of the Radiant Church.

His pulse quickened. Trouble had found them, and it was wearing holy plates.

"Are they here to searched for their dead troops?" asked Horizon.

"Who cares! We need to get out of here, fast," Lydia whispered.

"We haven't bought any equipment yet," Horizon protested, eyeing the shops they passed.

"Just follow me, and don't act suspicious," Lydia snapped, walking calmly in the opposite direction of the Radiant Church knights.

"You're the one acting suspicious," Nyx muttered under her breath.

The trio made their way toward a nearby blacksmith shop, but before they could step inside, a loud voice cut through the crowd.

"Hey! You! Stop right there!"

Lydia and Horizon froze. They exchanged a glance before slowly turning around to face the approaching knights, their armor gleaming with the insignia of the Radiant Church. Horizon's hand instinctively moved toward the hilt of his sword, but Lydia's fingers caught his wrist in an iron grip.

"Idiot. Don't. Do you want to end up on their wanted list too?" she hissed.

"Then what's the plan?" Horizon whispered, eyes darting between the knights and Lydia.

"Leave everything to me." Lydia pulled her hood and stepped forward, her face in full view.

Both Horizon and the lead knight were caught off guard as she revealed her face, her violet hair spilling out from under the hood and her piercing violet eyes locking onto the knight.

The man blinked, then glanced at the wanted poster in his hand, comparing the image with the woman before him. The poster showed a thief with golden hair, blue eyes, and wearing leather armor. In front of him stood a mage with long violet hair, violet eyes, and a completely different face.

After a moment of hesitation, the knight spoke, clearly unsure. "Sorry, lady, but have you seen this woman around? A bank teller informed us she was in this area."

Lydia smiled, relieved that her disguise held up. Good thing I changed my appearance after leaving the bank. Cursing that gnome under her breath, she put on her most innocent face. "I think I saw her heading out of town, northbound."

The knight scratched his head, a slight blush creeping over his face. "I-is that so? Thank you for the help." He grabbed Lydia's hand, his nostrils flaring as he added, "Be careful out here, alright, pretty lady? There are a lot of thieves around."

Lydia forced a sweet smile, pulling her hand away. "Thanks, officer. I'll be careful."

The knight frowned as his gaze shifted to Horizon, but before he could say anything more, his comrades called him over. He reluctantly turned away, relaying the supposed location of the thief before leading the others north.

As soon as they were out of sight, Nyx turned to Lydia, her eyes narrowing. "You — there's something on you, isn't there? An undetectable artifact, one that can change your appearance without being caught by spells or enchanted items."

Lydia's eyes widened. "I'm surprised you know." She frowned a little, realizing Nyx was far more perceptive than she let on.

Like she thought, this dragon wasn't just a pet. Something about both Nyx and Horizon seemed . . . off.

"So I'm right?" Nyx's eyes sparkled with intrigue.

"Not that it matters." Lydia pouted, crossing her arms. "The artifact's attuned to me, so even if you stole it, it wouldn't work for you."

Nyx clicked her tongue and lost all interest.

"Wait . . . what the hell is going on?" Horizon finally asked, still baffled by the entire situation.

Nyx rolled her eyes. "You're such a noob. Fine, I'll explain. [Shape-Shifting Potions] are easily detectable with spells like [Detect] or specific enchanted items. Knights and officers of the Radiant Church carry those items to uncover the true forms of certain creatures. But what Lydia has?

It's no mere potion or items."

"Oh . . . that makes sense." Horizon nodded thoughtfully, then looked down at Lydia. "So, that means what you have is an artifact?"

Lydia nodded but couldn't shake the growing confusion. Something wasn't adding up. Nyx's earlier comment about Horizon being new here — new in Eternia, with a stat range of 300? How could someone so powerful still act like a novice?

Meanwhile, Horizon was equally wary of Lydia. A half-human with stats in the 50-100 range, yet she had an artifact powerful enough to alter her appearance beyond detection? And she had stolen something so important from the Radiant Church that they were actively hunting her?

Both of them kept their thoughts to themselves as they entered the blacksmith shop, the air between them thick with suspicion. But as they walked, their curiosity about one another only deepened, a silent question hanging in the air:

Who exactly are you?

"What's with the two of you?" Von asked, raising an eyebrow as he approached Horizon and Lydia inside the blacksmith shop.

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