A month passed faster than Kyle expected.
It wasn't a quiet month. The guild was already busy preparing for the dragon slaying campaign.
The hero's party was also preparing, and their participation in the campaign had become common knowledge throughout the city.
But Kyle didn't waste his time either.
Kyle's team accepted two missions this month.
The first mission they took was simple. It was an escort job. A merchant caravan heading to a nearby mining outpost, worried about ambushes along the road.
Kyle had expected bandits.
Instead, it was wolves. Not ordinary ones—bigger, leaner, eyes too sharp, moving with the kind of coordination that made them feel almost... trained.
They hit at dusk, rushing the back of the caravan and trying to drag a horse down.
Leo took the front like a wall, planting himself between the wagon and the pack. Mira kept firing, shouting at Leo every time he stepped into her line of sight. Weston kept everyone safe with calm, efficient holy magic.
Alara led like she always did—quiet, clean decisions, no wasted movement.
Kyle didn't try to dominate the whole fight with mind control.
He didn't want to rely on it completely. He wanted to develop his own skills and instincts.
So he moved like an assassin.
Although he did not have combat experience honed over the years, his high stats helped him in battle.
Fear Blade didn't look impressive. Matte black with thin red lines like dried veins.
But when blood dripped onto its blade, the dagger absorbed the blood and the red lines glowed slightly, as if charged.
At the same time, the effects began to appear on the wolf—a twitch in its movement, hesitation, and a fading intent to kill.
Kyle didn't miss his chance—one clean stab to the side of its head finished the wolf off completely.
He felt it then—how smoothly the dagger fit him. Not just in his hand, but with his skill as well.
The caravan continued traveling for two days. Kyle protected the caravan with his party in the morning, and spent his time fucking Mira or Alara in the night.
The second mission was even simpler. A request to eliminate monsters near one of the villages.
Large two-headed dogs with sharp teeth and claws. There weren't many of them—about 10 dogs attacking animals near the village and trespassing on farms.
The dogs were stronger than ordinary goblins, but they were not as strong as evolved monsters.
It only took them a few hours to get rid of all the dogs and complete the task.
Nightmare grew quickly too. That was the name Kyle gave to the bird he had contracted.
Because after seeing that creature in the yellow sky, Kyle couldn't call it anything else.
The growth of the nightmare was surprising.
At first it was chick-sized. Then it was knee-high. Then waist-high.
And by the end of the month... It stood as tall as Kyle.
It wasn't huge, nor was it heavy. Its four wings had become wider, and its tail feathers had also grown longer.
But what made Kyle feel uncomfortable was the appearance of eyeballs on the roots of those wings.
Not many. Just enough to make Kyle's stomach tighten every time he noticed them.
Still, Nightmare obeyed. It didn't show aggression. It scouted when Kyle asked. It perched where Kyle told it. It also obediently returned to the mark at Kyle's hand.
But Kyle never forgot the feeling of that other place—the meadow, the sky, and the thought that wasn't his.
Although he now knew everything about this creature, he had not let his guard down.
Kyle didn't spend this month just training and developing. He also spent time with Mira and Alara.
Since Kyle had fucked her that morning, Mira had become more daring in her flirting. However, she immediately turned shy once he stripped her naked.
She visited Kyle almost every morning under the pretext of "going to the guild together," even though the guild was right next door to Kyle's inn.
Kyle didn't mind that, and took his time fucking her every morning. They would arrive a little late to the rest of the party gathered at the guild.
Alara on the other hand, Kyle visited her almost every night. He fucked her in various positions and cum inside her several times, until she fainted from ecstasy.
Her personality in bed was radically different from her personality it the party. Her moans were loud, her lust uninterrupted, and her expressions did not suggest that she was a leader at all.
So much so that Kyle wondered what her personality would be like when he secretly harassed her in the presence of the rest of the party.
When Kyle did so, he found her deeply lustful, trying to stifle her moans and keep her expression steady while her pussy got wetter than usual.
He knew then that his strict leader was an exhibitionist.
Kyle didn't stop, and continued to harass her secretly in public. The feeling was addictive, and her expression made it even hotter.
Also, Kyle finally managed to submit his promotion application and officially became a C-rank adventurer after those two missions.
---
Now, that month was over.
Kyle sat in the Golden Vanguard Guild's meeting hall with the others, the air heavier than it had been during any mission briefing.
This wasn't a small job. This wasn't escort work or monsters clean-up. This was a campaign.
And the room was already packed.
C-ranks and B-ranks filled the benches. A few armored veterans stood against the walls, quiet and watchful.
A large map was pinned to the front board—Blackroot Mountains marked in dark strokes, with a route traced leading into jagged terrain then to an X mark.
Kyle sat together with his party. His hand rested on his thigh and the other near his belt, where Fear Blade sat hidden.
The mark on the back of his hand felt quiet. Nightmare was inside it, asleep or waiting—Kyle wasn't sure which.
The doors opened.
A hush rolled through the room without anyone being told when the guildmaster stepped in. Behind him came several officers, carrying scrolls and stamped documents.
And behind them... The Hero's Party.
Arthur entered, silver armor polished, chin lifted, trying to look calm while his eyes shone with restrained excitement.
Kaia followed with that familiar confident stride, bow over her shoulder, expression half-amused.
Celestia was the last to enter, wearing her transparent white veil. She looked elegant and calm.
They took their seats near the front.
The guildmaster stepped up to the board and placed a hand on the map.
"Listen carefully." His voice carried without effort. "This is not a quest... This is not a hunt... This is a coordinated campaign against a three-hundred-year red dragon."
Some adventurers shifted in their seats, their gazes becoming more focused.
The guildmaster continued in a steady voice. "You will not charge. You will not improvise. You will not play hero."
Kyle's eyes flicked briefly toward Arthur.
Arthur held his expression... but his jaw tightened.
The guildmaster's gaze swept the room, choosing his words carefully.
"You will follow assigned roles. The primary assault team will engage the dragon directly. Secondary teams will handle surrounding threats, patrol the perimeter, and intercept anything that tries to flank."
Kyle already knew where this was going. C-ranks weren't killing dragons. They were the shield behind the shield.
"The primary assault team will consist of," he pointed towards Arthur. "the hero's party," then he pointed to himself. "and my own party."
`Which means the primary assault team will have five B-rank adventurers and one A-rank adventurer.` Kyle thought to himself.
He glanced at the hero's party, then at the guildmaster's—a middle-aged man in a purple robe with an enchanted staff, and a short girl in light armor, utterly calm with a massive axe that looked heavier than her body resting against her chair.
The guildmaster continued. "The secondary assault team will consist of Alara's party and Stewart's party."
Kyle's gaze slid to the other party. Four C-rank adventurers—Stewart sat at the front, with a ratlike face. Leather armor hugged him, and a short dagger rested at his hip.
Beside him was a chunky shieldman in chainmail, and across sat a quiet archer with a compact bow and a watchful stare.
The last one was a robed caster with tired eyes and ink-stained fingers, clutching a wand like he'd rather be anywhere else.
"It will take half a day to reach the Dragon Cave." The guildmaster pointed to the route on the map. "We leave at dawn... Until then, prepare well."
The adventurers in the room nodded their heads. Some were excited, some were hesitant, and some were only interested in the rewards.
Kyle leaned back slightly, eyes narrowing as his thoughts moved.
`So it's really happening.`
A few days ago, Kyle and the rest of the party were surprised when Alara told them they would be participating in the campaign.
Mira and the other members tried to object because of the danger involved, but Kyle felt the opposite.
`You don't see dragons every day, do you?` That's how he was thinking... But in reality, he was just very greedy for the idea of killing a dragon and getting stats points from it. His mouth literally watered at the thought of it.
But when Alara informed them that they would not be facing the dragon directly, the group agreed... and Kyle cursed in his mind.
The adventurers stood ready to leave the room and prepare for dawn.
Across the room, the guildmaster was speaking with the Hero's party in a low voice—too far for Kyle to catch a single word.
Kyle didn't care. Instead, his eyes narrowed. `Now... let me see your stats, Guildmaster.`