The kingdom of Leferon was in a period of peace and prosperity. Although it could not be considered a very big country, it enjoyed abundant resources and a good economy. Although not all the neighboring countries were friendly, Leferon was surrounded by natural barriers making invasions difficult. Even the country closest to them, the kingdom of Forthon, would have to go through the Great Forest in order to attack them and there was little threat of that as Leferon had been friendly with Forthon since its founding a thousand years ago. Furthermore, there was little strife between nobles and commoners as corruption was dealt with quickly and harshly. In the Royal Office of Leferon, a handsome blonde haired man was doing paperwork when someone came in with a stack of papers and a tray.

“And these are the last of the documents for today, Your Majesty. Before that though you should take a break. I’ve also brought your favorite tea.”

“Thank you Glenn but I’ll drink it after I finish. And we’re alone here. There’s no need for my best friend to use formalities.”

“Although you may think there is no need, I still believe it is necessary as your subject.”

As the eldest of the three sons of the previous king, Arthur had been king of Leferon since he was fifteen years old. His parents had allegedly gotten lost at sea when attempting to establish peace and trading treaty to neighboring countries. Thanks to them laying down the framework, Arthur was able to maintain and even improve Leferon for the past ten years. For the past ten years, his best friend Glenn had been helping him as his secretary and bodyguard.

“Glenn, can you tell Ed to deal with the hydra in the report? I think he can deal with it without having to risk the lives of ordinary soldiers.”

“I’m sorry Your Majesty. Prince Edmund left a note in his room saying he is currently traveling with his adventurer party and cannot be reached quickly.”

“Knowing him he’s probably getting wasted in some noble lady’s bed right now. Alright then how about Barry?”

“I believe Prince Barton free to handle this matter. I believe he is currently in the training ground at the outskirts of the palace. But are you sure about this?”

“Of course. He may be the youngest but there’s no way he’d be killed against a mere hydra. I’m sure he’ll be fine.”

“Then I shall go and inform him, Your Majesty.”

As Glenn left, Arthur stared out the window. Although he thought he may have been looking too much into it, there had recently been an increase in monster attacks. Most were only low level trolls or golems rather than a hydra but Arthur still couldn’t shake off a nagging feeling that something bad was happening. I hope nothing comes from this feeling.

***

Clang

Two people were sparring with each other on the training grounds near the royal palace. The man was wielding a long silver spear while the woman was wielding an axe almost as large as she was. Although they were just sparring, they were using magic as well so the training ground was littered with massive craters and burns.

“Come on Dulhan! You call that a strike? My grandma could hit harder than you!” The woman was in her early 20s and wearing white armor. She continued to swing her axe at the man while her long blonde hair flowed in the wind. Any ordinary onlooker would question how she could effortlessly swing her axe around as if it were made of paper with such slender arms. Although she had an attractive face and her body had curves that could cause most men to stare at her in the street, she currently had a bloodthirsty grin plastered on her face that would scare anyone away.

“Sorry if I’m not as bloodthirsty as you Medony! Besides, your grandma could probably kick all our asses, right Barton?” Dulhan was wearing black armor. He was also in his early 20s and had short brown hair and a carefree face. Although he was constantly being forced back by Medony’s insane strength, she was unable to get a direct hit on him while he had already struck her a few times with his superior speed and range. Furthermore, it was just a sparring match so he was quite relaxed.

“Well that’s kind of obvious. Medony’s grandmother was the Adventurer Guild’s grandmaster for decades. Hell, I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one who still has bruises from the training she gave us last week.” Prince Barton was wearing blue full body armor and was armed with a longsword and a shield. He had short black hair and a face just as attractive as his brother’s. However, his head was completely hidden by his helmet and was currently training with his contracted beast, the Heavenly Dragon he had named Bailong. As he gave his reply, Bailong had launched an energy breath at Barton. Although he was able to block it with his shield, the cape of his armor was still slightly singed.

“Damn I should have put up a barrier instead!”

Bailong let out an amused roar. He was about three meters long and two meters wide with wings on his back and a magnificent white scales that reflected countless different colors when light was shining. Although he was a Heavenly Dragon, one of the most powerful types of Dragons in existence, Bailong had yet to reach maturity and achieve his full strength. At the age of five, children are taken to a contract beast gate and allowed to attempt to summon and bond with a newborn beast. The chosen partner depends entirely on luck and Barton had been able to summon Bailong. Bailong was currently fifteen and it usually took Heavenly Dragons around fifteen to twenty years to reach maturity. This meant that he was on the threshold of reaching his true power. Though his power was a force to be reckoned with even now, he could still be threatened by more powerful or more experienced opponents.

At that moment, someone approached and the group stopped sparring. The three touched a crystal on their wrists and their weapons and armor faded away leaving them in their normal attire. These were Class Crystals which could store equipment. As they were quite easy to mass produce and doubled as a Spatial Storage, even civilians had Class Crystals. By touching it, a user could instantly put on or take off a set of equipment corresponding to a Class. The Class system was used widely enhanced certain aspects of the Class Crystal user. However, most people could only use one Class. The Classes that Barton, Dulhan, and Medony were Knight, Dragoon, and Berserker respectively.

“Prince Barton.”

“Hey Glenn. Is there something you need?”

“His Majesty King Arthur has a mission for you. You are to eliminate the hydra currently attacking towns in the easternmost part of the kingdom. His Majesty would have sent Prince Edmund instead but he cannot be reached. Furthermore, His Majesty would prefer if you left as soon as possible to minimize the damage. Shall I prepare a Dwarven carriage for you?”

“It’s fine. We’ll leave now. Let’s go Dulhan, Medony. It’s about 3000 kilometers away. If we go at top speed, we’ll probably get there in a day or two."

““Right!””

As they said that, a magic circle appeared on the back of their hands. They had summoned their contracted beasts. Dulhan’s was a Nightmare Horse named Altoras while Medony’s was a Lightning Griffin named Azun. Nightmare Horses were jet black horses with manes of hellish blue flames. They lacked defensive capabilities but their speed was unmatched and could gallop through the skies as easily as on land. Lightning Griffins were golden in color and had majestic wings which pulsed with electricity. They were as fast as lightning and had the strength to match. Both were only slightly lower in rank to Barton’s Heavenly Dragon.

As all of them had contracted beasts who could fly through the skies, they could ignore roads and fly straight to their destination. They had already been sparring so they had all their equipment with them. The only thing they had to worry about was food but they could easily stop in a town and buy something or go hunting in a forest.

“Good luck Prince Barton.”

“Thanks Glenn. Let’s go.”

With the parting words, Barton and his group took off to the skies.