'Not the face!' the Dragon pleaded as I drew back my fist again. He was kinda bleeding out of his nose already. Fine! Not the face anymore.

"You burned my pants!" I yelled, and kicked him in the ribs with 19 percent of my force. Damn durable things, these Dragons. Something cracked, but I was a bit angry.

The Emperor of Man was waiting for me outside. How was I to face him with my bits hanging out?

'Wait, wait! I can fix this...' the Dragon offered and summoned a pair of golden silk pants out of nothing. I took the pants and checked them. It wasn't really silk, but some kind of metal weave. Probably gold wires, very very thin.

'You know the Chamon Wind too?' I wondered a bit surprised.

'I don't know! It wasn't like I went to school in this cave. Magic is Magic. I just willed a pair of pants. Don't you like them?' the Imperial Dragon said in a worried tone.

Did he just invent a new spell, just to get out of trouble? I doubted there was a 'Create pants' spell in the Golden Order spellbook.

Could be useful. Not the pants, for future spells.

"My apprentice has a bear as a mount. But I think a Dragon would be better. What do you say?" I asked in a calmer voice, now that I wore pants again.

"...I don't wanna!" the Dragon claimed in a proud voice.

I drew my fist back again. "On the other hand, it would be nice to leave this cave and fly around. Maybe fight some weaker monsters..." my dragon observed with a wary voice.

"Don't be such a coward, Jet. There won't be many things out there as strong as me." I demanded and casted Hunters Moon on him for extra vitality.

Jet measured me with a surprised eye. 'My name is Jet?'

'Exactly! It is how you introduced yourself, right? A jet of fire to my face.' I explained in a serious voice.

'I should have picked a grand name...' my dragon realized in a sheepish tone.

Thinking a bit ahead, I stared at Jet with cold eyes. "You also burned my coat. Make me a new one!"

"Uhhh. Coat, human sized...here!" Jet offered as his spell took form and created a nice (priceless really) coat made of golden wires.

At the least the girls will love an instant clothier to make them new outfits on demand.

"Goldenweave. Jet Goldenweave. It's a pretty good name for a Dragon. Now behave as we meet the Emperor of Man. I let you keep your teeth, but I can always change my mind." I ordered as I flew out in my new outfit.

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I guess training my new Dragon took a while, as my Amber Bow has already arrived, being held by Gissela as she waited beside the Emperor and his Reiksguard for me to emerge from a Dragon's Lair.

"New clothes, Lord Warden?" The Emperor asked with a surprised voice.

"Jet decided to improve my outfit with his magic. They feel just as amazing as they look." I explained and offered my sleeve for his touch.

"Oh my! Is this the fabled...why is my Imperial Dragon in such a state? He looks like he fell off a mountain and smacked every tree with his face!" Emperor Wilhem exclaimed as Jet dragged himself out of the cave, still battered and bruised and sporting crusty blood all over.

"Pretty much what happened. A mountain fell on him. But now Jet has learned his lesson. Right, Jet?" I asked a bit rhetorical.

The Imperial Dragon nodded with a sad face.

"You are indeed stronger than a Dragon!" the Emperor realized a bit too late.

"Quite so. Jet, make a nice coat for the Emperor too." I demanded in a warning tone.

Jet obliged, and spelled out a coat that would fit Wilhem just right.

"He listens to you?" The Emperor noted in an awed voice, while taking the coat in his hands.

"Yeah. Jet Goldenweave, Imperial Dragon! Salute His Majesty!" I ordered and Jet raised his wing in salute.

A few of the Reiksguard chuckled in amusement. It was not the proper Imperial salute, but as a Dragon he could get some reprieve.

"Jet also wants to go fight Vampires in Sylvania, your Majesty. Says it's boring in the cave." I continued, volunteering the Dragon for some fiery purge of vampire corruption.

If Gissela could do it, Jet would be even stronger. Might need to get Jet some magic armor though. His scales cracked a bit too easy.

Luckily, I knew a Runesmith with plenty of free time.

'Vampires? I don't want to fight Vampires! They bite.' Jet commented in outrage, not unlike my own apprentices when sent to the forest after snakes.

"If you say so..." the Emperor mused in a doubtful voice.

"I do. Want to ride a Dragon around for a while? Jet will be ecstatic to fly a bit." I proposed with a cunning voice.

The Emperor was only human after all. To ride a Dragon was any man's dream. "Yes! But you better catch me if I fall." Emperor Wilhem spoke in a cautious tone.

"Of course. You can't grow wings and fly unless you have Magic. And you don't. Now let me place you on the right spot..." I said in a giddy tone, and lifted Wilhem on the Dragon's back.

A few tours over Altdorf later, I gained an Imperial Decree about using the Imperial Dragon to support the Empire, while Wilhem gained the right to ride Jet when we visited Altdorf.

"Do you like my Dragon?" I asked Gissela who rode on the Dragon now.

"He is amazing! I thought Dragons were mere myths." my fiery wife yelled over the wind.

I flew on my back and stared at the blue sky. While I didn't need a Dragon, having him on the frontlines was far better than leaving Jet locked in a cave. And the Emperor got rid of a giant mouth that ate entire cows as a snack.

On the other hand, I had my new Amber Bow, a wonder of an artifact bristling with magic enchantments.

*You have obtained an Amber Bow. +5 Amber Magic affinity.

-Arrows fired by this bow always strike the heart of your target.

The game screen description was too broad though. Perhaps by design?

Even better, while the bow could be drawn by a mere mortal, it could also be drawn harder. Not even 3 percent of my strength made it crack. Magic bullshit. That amount of force would break even a cannon in two, not to mention a wooden bow.

Should I risk it?

I drew the bow again, this time with 10 percent force. The Amber Bow lit up with magic, gaining a Ghur feeling into its wood.

Hmmm. Probably enough to deal with any Vampire. But not a Zombie Dragon.

I drew it again, with 20 percent strength. The bow became almost ethereal, glowing with a blinding amber light.

Yeah, that would kill a Dragon too. I could have drawn even harder, but probably not much more. Whatever shaman made it probably never considered a user far stronger than a Dragon.

A day later, since Dragons weren't that fast, we landed at Essen where my Army of the East had its supply base. Jet was really popular here.