Dungeon of Niflheim

292 Chapter 292: The B.F.G (3)

Druakai still held onto Frost’s hand as he struggled to come to terms with his genuine comparison. It was certainly a first in his life to be compared to an elf, yet Frost didn’t sound as though he was lying.

“The name’s Frost, I’m an adventurer as well as Sam and Lola’s student. Nice to meet you Druakai.”

Druakai looked towards Sam in query. “He’s yours and Lola’s student?” He never heard of the couple taking in any students and if they were nearly half the young folk in the enclave would be clamouring to be accepted.

“It’s a long story, why don’t we find somewhere to sit and chat. We’re not here as a simple visit but on official business”

“I see.....Ruby can you take the kids to the cub den while I talk with Sam and our new friend here?” Druakai quickly shifted to his business persona as he gave orders to Ruby.

The red tailed snow leopard looked up at her partner and nodded before leading Tulip and the rest towards the cub dens where they keep the very young animals. She even picked up Ren in her mouth and tossed him onto her back as though she’d done it many times. Ruby was so intelligent and gentle that she was pretty much another employee on the farm instead of a monster mount. Druakai had absolute trust in her as did the children.

“Yayyyyyyyy!”Tulip and her siblings screamed in excitement, finally they get to see and pet the baby monsters, the highlight of this little trip.

“That should keep them occupied for a while, come let’s head inside and discuss this official business.” Druakai then led Sam and Frost into his farmhouse, where he and Ruby lived. It was quite spacious and well decorated. A lot cleaner than one might expect from a single man and a farmer to boot. Frost couldn’t find a speck of dust or muck around, just some dropped fur from Ruby, yet Druakai still said, “please forgive the mess” as he gestured for the two of them to sit down. It was clear that this giant orc wasn’t just a B.F.G but also very homely. Out of the corner of his eye Frost even spotted several aprons hanging up, further contrasting his orcish background.

“Tea, or coffee what’s your preference?”

.....

“Coffee straight up please.” Sam replied as he took a seat.

“I’ll take a tea please.”

“I’ve got milk tea, green or lemon?” Druakai retrieved a jade box that was filled three different types of tea, all arranged very neatly and labelled.

“Lemon please.”

“Alright, give me a few minutes.” Druakai then got to work preparing the beverages. He used lifestyle magic to heat up the kettle while he delicately ground the coffee beans with a special apparatus.

A few minutes later three mugs were on the table, ready to be enjoyed.

“I’m assuming that since you’re here and with a happy expression the old man’s gonna make it?” Druakai sat down causing the floor to shake from his substantial weight.

“Yeah, Mira just gave him the medicine. He’s right as rain now.” Sam replied while taking a sip of coffee.

“Good, good.....” Druakai’s eye’s grew slightly red, and he discreetly wipe away a lone tear. Yarrow was well loved by his people, most especially by those close to him. Druakai was not only an important member within Kranor thanks to his position in the agricultural department he was childhood friends with Sam and therefore was quite close to Lola and the mayoral family. Hearing that his mayor and friend’s father in law was healthy he couldn’t help but grow a little emotional.

Frost and Sam simply sipped on their tea and coffee while they waited for Druakai to compose himself.

“So then how did you and Lola gain a student?”

“Well....” Sam then told Druakai of the story, leaving very little unsaid. It took Sam close to 40 minutes to bring Druakai up to speed.

“I see, no wonder Ruby gave me a subtle warning about you. If your capabilities are really as high as Sam said it makes sense that Ruby would be wary.” Druakai’s eyes were filled with deep respect when he looked at Frost. Though he had a large frame and fairly substantial muscle strength, when it came to a fight he was completely useless. Having little to no fighting instincts, unable to wield any form of weapon and only capable of using lifestyle magic given his poor mana pool. In many ways he was a disgrace to orc kind and received a vast amount of teasing for it when he was younger. Even now many of the younger generation orcs in Kranor see him as a failure as an orc, refusing to be associated with him.

But thanks to those that ‘were’ his friends as well as his elder sister and many elders who saw passed his physical appearance to see underneath, he discovered his passion and true talents. Druakai was not gifted in terms of battle, magic or even smithing no his skills lay in his communication with nature and monsters. His thumb was not just green due to his skin colour no he was a highly skilled farmer that understood crops, allowing them to yield far more produce than normal. Monsters would naturally have high affinity with Druakai, willing to listen to his instructions even without a contract. Acting far more docile than normal in his presence. A very rare gift, he’d be an excellent tamer if his mana reserves were larger but even if that were true Druakai was not fond of violence. He was more than happy breeding monsters and crops down here on the lower floors.

“So as a reward for saving Lord Yarrow he’s being given the opportunity to try and contract with him” Druakai emphasized the word ‘him’ as he looked at Sam as though asking for confirmation.

“Yes that’s correct, father thought it would make for a suitable reward.” Druakai then looked over Frost once again, judging him.

“Haaaaaaaa very well but I can’t promise anything. A fair few that were leagues beyond him in strength have tried and failed. He’s a stubborn little rascal but his time is running out, hopefully you’ll fare better.” Druakai let out a deep sigh as he shrugged and waved his hands as though he held no confidence in Frost.

The ‘him’ that Druakai was referring to, was his most prized monster mount. Far rarer and stronger than even his Ruby and because of that it was really arrogant, refusing to contract with anyone it didn’t deem worthy. Which so far was everyone, only Druakai could safely approach him given that he’d raised him since the moment he was born. The rest would be violently attacked the moment they crossed into his domain. Unfortunately, time was running out for the young monster. It had gotten to the point that Druakai could no longer support its potential. If a powerful person didn’t contract with him soon and bring him out into the world, Druakai would likely have to force a sell or set him free into the wild. He could no longer support a monster of such capability here in Kranor.

Frost still didn’t know much about this prized monster mount but given Druakai’s reactions as well as the occasional mischievous look that Sam showed he couldn’t help but be curious.

‘With all this fuss I wouldn’t be surprised if it was a dragon.’ Of course, that would be impossible, a dragon would be way, way beyond what Kranor could safely contain even if it was rather docile. Frost estimated that it was likely a monster that would achieve upper C-rank once it reached adulthood otherwise people stronger than him i.e. B-rank fighters wouldn’t have come to contract with it.

“Alright since it’s Lord Yarrow’s orders I’ll allow him the opportunity but be careful, he has quite the temper and is quite mischievous. The moment you enter his territory he may very well attack you, are you ready for that?” Druakai turned to Frost, the one who would be placed in harm’s way and asked.

“I think I’ll be fine, I’ve come across some pretty powerful monsters in my life, no matter what species this guy is I’m pretty confident I can hold my ground.” It’s not like he’s a fenrir or anything, how hard could it be.

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Druakai simply shook his head, no longer giving out warnings. He’d come across a great many people who said the exact same thing and each and every one of them not only failed in their contract, they returned with injuries.

The group didn’t have to worry about time given that even if the kids were given three days to frolic within the cub dens it wouldn’t be enough.

Druakai led them to a very large barn made from high quality wood as well as stone, very sturdy, hard to break even for a monster. This was where the prized monster mount was kept as it no longer liked to mingle with others nor did the other monsters feel comfortable when within its presence. Of course, Druakai never neglected his monsters regardless of their strength. The monster would receive lots of care and attention from Druakai personally several times a day plus he’d arrange for it to leave the barn when most of the other monsters were resting in their shelters. But it wasn’t enough now, it needed more space, more freedom and adventure, something Druakai couldn’t give it.