[Black Dragon Herkest]0

I dismissed the notification window immediately. Now wasn’t a time to be distracted by unnecessary information.0

My focus needed to be on the massive creature in front of me. The dragon’s deep emerald eyes gleamed through the settling dust and sand, sharp and unwavering, boring into mine. Its gaze made the situation feel even more unsettling.0

None of the foes I had faced would have prepared me for a dragon. I had only encountered humanoid enemies up until now. But this... this dragon was something else entirely. 1

Sure, the tower is trying to challenge me, but a dragon?0

I had to stay composed.0

The dragon’s expression wasn’t immediately hostile—it seemed more inquisitive than aggressive. It didn’t seem like it planned to attack me just yet, which gave me a small window of time to think.0

Two possibilities crossed my mind. Either the “pearl” in the notification window referred to a treasure buried beneath the sand or the dragon. Seeing it rise from the sand made me suspect that the dragon could be the prize.0

I can’t decide on one possibility, but...0

Either way, killing the dragon was out of the question. Doing so would probably bring the twelfth floor to an abrupt end, and I wasn’t ready for that.0

I needed to either locate the pearl or, if the dragon was the pearl, figure out how to befriend it, as I had done with Doppy.0

But how do you forge a bond with a dragon?0

I racked my brain,...0