A Taxed Exchange

Arriving above the Redscale Garrison, ground-crew personnel waved red and yellow signal flags to relay instructions to the flying wyvern. Mantou decoded the signal at a glance. He patted the side of Noodles's neck and murmured, "Landing Bay Thirteen." "Awoo—" Noodles let out a low rumble, circled several times over the garrison, and touched down dead center within the yellow-lined box marked on the platform. Ground handlers swarmed forward at once to wipe down the wyvern's scales, secure its tethering chains, and shovel its favorite blood-and-meat mash into the feeding trough. The wyvern put up no resistance whatsoever, simply stretching out its limbs and basking in their care. With the Empire's steady development and flush coffers, the Redscale Garrison had established a comprehensive logistics operation that kept the wyverns in peak condition at all times. "Thanks, everyone!" Mantou gave a casual wave, dismounted, and hurried down the stairs in eager anticipation. He trotted along until, caught unawares, he bumped headlong into another player—who turned out to be none other than Singo, clad in grand viscount robes. "What's the big rush?" Mantou eyed Singo's lavish, viscount-exclusive regalia with undisguised envy. "Headed to redeem some abilities, of course." "Didn't I just read that guide you posted? It said competitive players should spend their XP early on to buy abilities and boost their personal combat power, didn't it?" Singo spared him a cool glance. "That guide was meant for top-tier competitive pros. Are you one?" Mantou ground his teeth. "I like to think I am." Singo casually glanced over Mantou's stat panel and scoffed in a mild, mockingly polite tone. "No way. Surely no one's actually stuck below the level cap, hopelessly stranded at level seven, right?" "You haven't even hit the level cap—where would you get surplus experience from?" Mantou stubbornly dug in his heels. "Ever heard of planning ahead?" "Whatever, don't worry about all that. Just tell me: where's the garrison's Experience Shop?" "Right there with Marquis Alger. You have to look for him in his office. There are already dozens of people queuing up." "Damn it." Mantou continued down the staircase, quickly reaching the commander's office on the garrison's third floor. Sure enough, a long queue snaked away from the door. Practically every Redscale Conqueror player he recognized had shown up. Left with no other option, he fell in line. Fortunately, each player's exchange took very little time—only a few minutes per person. After waiting half an hour, Mantou reached the office entrance. He pushed the door open cautiously and stepped into the spacious, opulent office. Alger, Supreme Commander of the Redscale Conquerors, stood a short distance away. He retained his half-dragon, half-human appearance, though the horns on his brow had grown longer and sleeker, and the scales over his flesh were noticeably denser. The splendid robes draped over his shoulders and the dragon-head medallion pinned to his chest made Mantou green with envy—that was the insignia of an imperial marquis, the hallmark of exalted status. A dragon-blooded giant eagle lay curled beside him without any tether or chain, casually gnawing on precious magical ore while tilting its head to peer curiously at the arriving player. Mantou looked above Alger's head. [Head of the Redscale Conquerors - Alger] [Faction: Cinder Empire] [Challenge Rating: ???] Mantou could not help a sigh of wonder. Even after reaching level seven, he still could not see the Challenge Rating of this "First Redscale Conqueror." With that thought in mind, Mantou adopted an ingratiating grin. "Boss Alger, I'm here to exchange for some abilities." He fidgeted awkwardly for a moment before pressing on: "So, uh... Boss Alger, considering I was one of your first two students, could you cut me a little discount?" "No," Alger answered coldly. As a genuine native NPC, he had no ability to view player panels. He was merely following orders from above to stand here, receive players, and carry out these so-called "ability exchanges." Each time an exchange concluded, Alger would feel a peculiar rush of energy surge into his body, but he had no way to control it consciously and could only passively absorb it. Consequently, any notion of a "discount" was entirely out of the question. "Alright then..." Mantou scratched his head in embarrassment and opened the Experience Shop interface. [Alger Yeoman's Experience Shop] [Proficiencies: Riding +18, Military +14, Scouting +12, Hunting +11, Athletics +10, Survival +10] [Special Abilities: Commander's Ambush, Dive Attack, Aerial Brake, Rapid Turn, Action Surge, Second Wind] "Holy crap, that many?" Mantou felt a sudden surge of excitement. Yet the moment he saw the experience costs attached to those abilities, his spirits plummeted. Raising Riding proficiency to +18 required a staggering 9,000 XP—nearly a third of all the experience he had accumulated to date. And coveted combat skills like Commander's Ambush demanded upwards of ten thousand XP. "Can't afford it. Not a chance in hell." In the end, Mantou chose to spend 3,000 XP to bump his Riding proficiency up to +14. The moment he pressed the confirmation button, his experience bar took a massive plunge. Between him and Alger, through the shared bloodline derived from the red dragon, a resonant frequency awoke, forging a unique mystical bond. Alger's memories and techniques regarding riding poured into Mantou's mind and body. His proficiency shot upward at breakneck speed. In that fleeting instant, Mantou felt as though he had trained in mounted combat from early childhood, spending every waking hour alongside his mount and soaring upon the back of an eagle for decades. Even his physical body developed instinctive muscle memory. By the time Mantou returned to his senses, his status panel had already undergone a dramatic transformation: [Riding +14] "Incredible..." Mantou clicked his tongue in awe, deeply fascinated by the sensation. Alger gently closed his eyes, savoring the influx of bizarre energy that made him noticeably stronger. *Starfallen...* *What strange creatures.* Though he had grown accustomed to their erratic antics, this peculiar transfer of power still caught Alger by surprise. Little did either of them realize that half of the experience Mantou had just burned had been levied as a "tax" and funneled straight to the faction leader—the Emperor of the Cinder Empire, the red dragon Cassius. *** [You have gained 150 XP] [You have gained 300 XP] [You have gained 200 XP] [You have gained 400 XP] [You have gained 1,900 XP] *** Cassius browsed the continuously refreshing logs on his panel. Watching the dense stream of incoming experience, he felt immense satisfaction at this combine-harvester approach to reaping the player base. *So the experience is channeled through the bond of Imperial Grace.* *Leave it to the players.* *In just this short span of time, they've pulled in tens of thousands of experience points. If this momentum keeps up, breaking through to level eighteen won't take long at all.* *Leveling up while kicking back and doing nothing—this beats the grueling slog of hunting down enemies any day.* The red dragon bared his fangs in a ferocious grin that radiated the pure joy of an abundant harvest. From this day forward, these players would serve as nourishment to fuel his ascent. With an effortless sweep of his wings, Cassius wheeled high in the sky above Antonio City. "Long live the Empire!" "Long live His Imperial Majesty Cassius!" Roars of jubilation erupted from the populace below, celebrating the Emperor's grand descent and greeting their future with boundless hope.