Dawn of the Last Dragon Rider - Chapter 076 - Pammon and Kaen's stats (Patreon)

“What do you mean you haven’t checked your stats in a while?”

Kaen shrugged and then pointed at Pammon.

“He told me to stop worrying about every increase I gained and to focus on training.  Since then, I haven’t paid much attention to anything but my skill points.”

Hess grumbled and nodded as he heard Pammon begin to laugh.

You two and your silly concerns over whose is bigger.

Kaen snorted, caught off guard by Pammon’s comment and how true it was.

Fine, I’ll see what they are.

Full Status Check

*****

Kaen Marshell - Adolescent

Age  - 17

HP  - 403/403 (15%)

MP  - 173/173 (15%)

STR  - 22 + 3(15%)

CON  - 22 + 7(15%)

DEX  - 24 + 13(15%)

WIS  - 15 + 1(15%)

INT  - 17 + 1 (15%)

Blessings:

Improved Dragonbond - 15% current bonus to all stats

Hunters Tunic - + 3 to Str / Con / Dex

Blessed Vambrace - + 1 to Dex / Int

Blessed Vambrace - + 1 to Dex / Wis

Bonded Bow of Archer - + 5 to Dex + 3 to Archery *Locked*

Blood Ring - +4 Con

Eagle Pendant - +2 Dex + 1 to Archery

Gold Band - +2 Dex + 1 Con

*****

It took Kaen a moment as he saw the stats he had resisted looking at his numbers before he could share them with Hess.

Hess let out a low whistle as he shook his head.

“Improved Dragonbond… I think I know how that happened.  I learned to share my strength with Pammon, and everything changed once I did.”

Hess held his hands up, showing he had no idea.

“Dragon stuff is again not my purview.  Hopefully, we can find some more information soon, but I would gladly take that boost, as would every other adventurer.”

Kaen smiled while Pammon thrummed.

“Most people will never reach those numbers, especially not a silver,” Hess informed him as he scratched a few things in the dirt.  “Your strength and constitution are unbelievable for one your age.  Perhaps all that rock breaking was worth it.”

Kaen chuckled and nodded.

“Your dexterity is your greatest asset.  Especially with the gear.  Forty is a special number, as you know.”

Nodding, Kaen knew that twenty, forty, and the elusive sixty stat numbers were all significant milestones.

“What happens at forty?” asked Kaen.

Grunting, Hess tapped his chest with his thumb.

“You know what my strength is?” he replied with a grin.

“Bren said you are probably in the mid-thirties before factoring in items.  So I would assume that you are over forty fully equipped.”

“Damn that, Bren,” Hess said as he nodded yes.  “Fully equipped, I sit at a forty-two or forty-five, depending on my gear.  That is why I can break through most people's weapons or shields when I attack.  Beyond just the strength it provides, that number comes with an overpower bonus.  If I attack you and your strength is below that twenty threshold and your gear is not special, it will shatter.  Even if you have a shield that is magically strong enough to resist being broken, the force of my attack will flatten you to the ground.”

Ask him what would happen if he and I swung at each other and hit our weapons and my claw simultaneously.

Did you check your stats again?

A snort of air came from Pammon’s snout as he grunted.

No, but I can.

Simple Status Check

*****

Pammon

Young Dragon

HP  - 2000/2000

MP  - 400/400

STR  - 40

CON - 40

DEX - 45

WIS - 20

INT - 25

*****

“Elf tits,” muttered Hess as he listened to Kaen rattling off Pammon’s stats.

“So who would win? You or Pammon in a swing of the hammer and claw?”

Hess started to laugh as he motioned to Pammon with his head.

“Size would win that fight.  As big as I am, Pammon weighs so much more than I do.  I can overcome some weight and size factors, but there comes a point when the size and weight difference can outplay the strength.”

Standing up, Hess walked over to a log and grabbed it with two hands, easily lifting it as it was only five or six feet long and a foot or so wide.

“Is this heavy? Yes.  Can I easily lift it? Sure!  What about if I swing it?” he asked as he demonstrated swinging the log in his two hands. “While I can imagine the ogre you saw that was almost twice my size swinging this in one hand.  Even though we are close to strength levels, the force they can generate is different.”

Tossing the log down near where he had been sitting, Hess sat on it.

“Your problem with the archer we fought in the woods was his dexterity was closer to yours.  He most likely had a skill that helped him dodge, and those two things make it hard for you to pin someone down.  Once you hit a forty on your agility, you will seldom miss a standard shot on a creature or person under twenty.”

“So how about a sixty?”

“That is a hard one to actually be able to explain,” replied Hess as he bent over and picked up two rocks.  “This small rock would be you, and this rock that is four times bigger would be the person with a sixty. The exponential level gap is massive.  Only dragon riders have ever hit these numbers, which is why I told you at the beginning they can take out an entire army on their own.”

Dropping both rocks on the ground, Hess chuckled.

“Legends tell of a dragon rider who cut down thousands of men and women in a few hours.  He waded into the field in full plate armor with a shield and a sword.  Every swing of the sword cut people in half, and every time he slammed someone with his shield, it turned them into hamburger meat.  The armies ran, killing their own general on the way out.  A person with multiple sixties is like a god.”

Someday, that will be you!

Kaen shook his head and laughed.

I doubt it.  I’m not sure I want people to think of me like that.

Imagine all the families you could protect if we reach that!

A different wave of something hit Kaen as Pammon spoke.  It wasn’t an emotion but a sense of… purpose.

You are just as committed to my purpose of being an adventurer as I am.

We are one.  You and I are bound till one of us dies.  If you are that committed to this task, I shall help you with everything in me.

Standing up, Kaen walked over to where Pammon was and grabbed his snout, pulling it close and scratching it with fervor.

“Let’s make sure that doesn’t happen for a few hundred years.”

Pammon snorted, blowing snot and air on Kaen, causing the three of them to laugh as Kaen began to wipe the snot off him and back onto Pammon’s scales.

“I’ll find a way to get you back for this,” joked Kaen as he flung mucus in Hess’s direction.

Rolling from the incoming dragon slime, Hess stood up and pointed a thick finger at the two of them.

“Play all you two want, but keep that stuff off me!” he growled.  “I don’t need any help coming back and getting in trouble for how my clothes and armor smell.”

Kaen began slowly moving to where Hess was, holding both hands out, preparing to fight with his snotty hands.

“Payback isn’t fun, is it?” asked Kaen as he started to charge Hess.

(Story shift / paragraph break not showing)

“So we are going to stay here tonight?  Won’t the guild know we are back in town?”

Hess nodded as he ate off the plate he held as they sat in Sulenda’s office.

“It will be ok.  It’s dark and late,” he answered between bites of the boar they had been given.  “Remember, we needed to lose some time so they don’t wonder too much why we are back so early.  Most would not have expected for another day.  This lets us show up because of the urgency of what we found.”

Kaen nodded in understanding and turned back to his plate of food.  It really was amazing how good Sulenda’s cook could make stuff taste.  So far, nothing he had eaten was awful.

“Three more days…” Kaen said with a slight sigh.”

“Yup.  You and I need to go tomorrow and try on those outfits.  Unless the King changes his plan, we will have a long day ahead of us.”

Sulenda was tapping the desk with her pen. Obviously, she was anxious about what they had just told her.

“That report is going to cause a lot of problems.  You know that, right?” she asked as she looked at Hess with worry all over her face.  “They will probably send out multiple squads to try and handle what is out there.”

Kaen folded up the map he had marked up since Sulenda was done looking at it and moved to the large map on her wall.  Looking at it, he realized how much of it matched what he had seen while on Pammon.  Sure, some small streams and other things were missing, yet the scale looked well done.

“How old is this map?”

“Excuse me?”

“How old is this map?  Where did you get it?” Kaen asked as he tapped the area where they had done their scouting.  “The lines here match up what it was like.  How does one get a map like this?”

“I don’t know how old it is, but I do know what it cost.  It was from a noble house who lost their fortune, and I got it for a steal,” she replied with a wink.  “There are not many maps as nice as that one in the kingdom.  I am sure you can only guess how that level of detail and exact scale was created.”

Kaen nodded as he turned back to the map.

“A dragon rider,” he mumbled.

“Exactly.  So that must be well over five hundred years old as no one has performed that service that I know of since Elies took up residence in our kingdom and in Roccnari.  The elves have been generous to share him, knowing we would struggle to keep one for our own.”

“Why is that?” Kaen asked without turning around.  “Why is it hard to have one of our own?”

Sulenda glanced at Hess with a questioning look and saw him give her just a shrug.

“Well, there haven’t been any new ones in ages.  The dragons that are left alive keep away from us and protect the rare egg that does hatch.  Their lack of trust for us and our people's fear of them makes having a dragon rider hard to come by.”

Kaen nodded as he ran his finger along some of the lines on the map, comparing points and distances.

“What if there was one?  Would our King or the people welcome them?”

Sulenda started laughing and motioned to Hess for help with this line of questions.

“What if?  What if?” Sulenda asked as her voice got louder.  “Get your head out of the clouds, Kaen.  There hasn’t been one and won’t be one ever again.”

Letting out the breath he had been holding in, hoping for Sulenda to say something more than that, Kaen turned and looked at her. She saw how his eyes held her, making her sit back in her chair, uncomfortable.

“What would you do, Sulenda, if Elies decided to stay here instead of in Roccnari?  Would you support him?  Would you demand that he leave?”

Hess was trying to hide the smile he was fighting against behind his massive hand as he covered his face, watching Sulenda squirm at this line of questions.

“I guess I would accept him,” she finally replied, obviously flustered by his refusal to drop this question. “You keep forgetting that people are afraid of what lies just a few kingdoms over.  Stioks and his dragon are a threat to all who would not bow to his will.  These mountains have kept us safe for generations, but to a dragon, they mean little.  Eventually, he will come, and when he does, we better hope Elies is willing to help.”

“Or another dragon rider,” Kaen replied with a grin.

“Holy mother of dwarf balls!” Sulenda shouted as she stood up from her chair and pointed at Hess.  “You deal with this shite!  I can’t handle this esoteric bull.”

She stormed toward the door and slammed it behind her when she left.

“That did not go as I had hoped,” Kaen stated after the room returned to silence.

“Nor will it,” Hess answered as he glanced at Kaen.  “The kingdom is not ready for a dragon rider, but she is right.  It needs to be.”

“Does that mean we can tell them about Pammon yet?”

Hope was evident in Kaen’s voice from the pitch it took.

Shaking his head no, Hess sighed.

“Let’s see how the meeting with the King goes first.  Do not worry, I am afraid we are running out of time to keep Pammon hidden.”