Chapter 794: Is This How a Dragonborn Is Treated?

Compared to the more risque content, Song Ren discovered many other interesting things in the game.

For example, the dialogue of the guards in the game also made Song Ren burst into laughter.

‘I used to be an adventurer like you, until I took an arrow to the knee.’

This instantly reminded Song Ren of the opening cutscene when he first entered the game.

It was quite vivid and atmospheric.

After strolling around Whiterun for a bit and putting the lewd fanfiction back in his inventory, Song Ren headed towards Dragonsreach, located above Whiterun, to resume his quests. After explaining his purpose to the court steward and meeting with Jarl Balgruuf, he informed the Jarl about the dragon sighting at Helgen Keep. Balgruuf agreed to send troops to Riverwood and also asked Song Ren to consult with the court wizard for information about dragons.

The court wizard then instructed Song Ren to go to a place called Bleak Falls Barrow, where an ancient dragon was rumored to be buried, hoping to find some clues.

Bleak Falls Barrow was located on a snow-covered mountain, occupied by a group of bandits. They weren't difficult to deal with. Once inside Bleak Falls Barrow, some puzzle-solving was required. Compared to the puzzles in Uncharted or the Divine Beast levels in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, the puzzles in Bleak Falls Barrow were child's play.

The only thing that made Song Ren somewhat exasperated was encountering a giant camp on his way to Bleak Falls Barrow. When he first arrived in Whiterun, he saw the Companions' NPCs beating up giants and thought these monsters were pushovers. But when he bravely went to challenge them, two giants each kicked him, making him doubt his existence. And inside Bleak Falls Barrow, the monsters, either spiders or undead, were truly unnerving.

“This place is too grim!”

After taking down an Ice Spider and rescuing a person wrapped in spiderwebs, Song Ren was speechless. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim itself had a realistic art style. Although Song Ren could clearly feel that Nebula Games had exercised some restraint, in these dark dungeons, the undead and those spiders still made the place feel incredibly hellish.

While it couldn’t compare to Bloodborne or Dark Souls, it was enough to give players some psychological trauma.

“And I just came to do a main quest, how did I inexplicably end up with a pile of side quests?”

Song Ren couldn’t help but grumble as he looked at his quest list. As he explored the city, he unconsciously picked up a bunch of quests along the way.

“Is this Dragon Language?”

“Hmm, completely incomprehensible!”

“But this Dragon Shout can't be used.”

Deep inside a great hall, looking at the prompt that taught him the Dragon Shout ‘Unrelenting Force’ and the Dragon Language on the wall, Song Ren remembered Nebula Games’ Dragon Language event. However, what puzzled him was that this Dragon Shout was clearly a skill but couldn't be used, evidently because some condition hadn't been met. After defeating a Draugr Overlord that crawled out of a sarcophagus behind him and taking the Dragonstone from its body, Song Ren began his return journey.

After retrieving the Dragonstone and returning to Whiterun, he conversed with the Jarl. Just then, a soldier rushed in to report that the watchtower outside the city had been attacked by a dragon.

“Here it comes, here it comes, finally! Time to fight a dragon!”

Following the soldiers towards the watchtower outside the city, Song Ren felt a surge of excitement. After all, up until now, apart from the dragon at the very beginning, he hadn't seen a single dragon, let alone a dragon scale. Although he had learned a Dragon Shout in the previous ruin, the skill was grayed out. Now, he could finally fight a dragon.

Upon arriving at the watchtower, the Whiterun army was already battling the dragon named Mirmulnir. Following the Whiterun forces, Song Ren immediately rushed forward without a second thought.

“Holy cow, this dragon can fly?!”

Looking at the dragon soaring in the sky, Song Ren was instantly dumbfounded. He didn't have any arrows! His only ranged attack was a Fireball spellbook he found in a dungeon chest earlier. Fortunately, the dragon only circled in the sky for a while before landing.

“This dragon seems a bit small!”

Looking at the dragon before him and comparing it to the Black Dragon from the opening, Song Ren clearly felt the difference. Not all dragons were created equal!

Once the dragon landed, Song Ren charged forward with his sword. But in the next moment, Song Ren was quickly put in his place by the dragon's breath. The dragon in front of him spat a torrent of fire, and Song Ren immediately lost half his health, falling into a burning state and continuously losing more health.

“Sorry, I’m out of here!”

Song Ren scrambled away from the dragon’s breath. Luckily, the dragon’s aggression wasn’t focused on him. “But, it looks like I don’t even need to attack, this dragon has already lost half its health.” Song Ren, who had replenished his health, suddenly noticed a detail. He was playing on Normal difficulty, and under this setting, the surrounding Whiterun soldiers seemed incredibly strong! The dragon had already lost half its health.

Hiding in the dilapidated watchtower, watching the battle between the soldiers and the dragon outside, Song Ren smacked his lips. It seemed he wasn't needed at all. Seeing the dragon with only a sliver of health left, Song Ren stepped out of the watchtower and threw a Fireball.

Accompanied by a roar: Dovahkiin!

The dragon's massive body fell.

He approached the dragon's corpse to harvest the spoils. He watched as his Dovahkiin absorbed the dragon's power and knowledge. The Dragon Shout: Unrelenting Force, which had been grayed out in his skill bar, now glowed white and was usable. Of course, in addition to learning the Dragon Shout and acquiring resources from killing the dragon, what truly thrilled Song Ren was the attitude of the surrounding soldiers towards him.

After being able to use the Dragon Shout, Song Ren immediately tried out the Unrelenting Force shout. Its effect was similar to the Aard Sign in The Witcher: Wild Hunt. With a roar from the Dragonborn, like an air cannon, the stones and other debris in front of him were blasted away by the powerful force. The surrounding soldiers, upon seeing him use the Dragon Shout, all looked on in astonishment.

‘By Ismir’s name, you really did it! You killed a dragon!’

‘A Dragon Shout, the legends are true! The legendary Dragonborn.’

‘The legends are true! Dragonborn… you must be the legendary Dragonborn.’

Amidst the soldiers' awe, Song Ren, returning to Dragonsreach in Whiterun, met with the Jarl again. After speaking with him, he received appropriate rewards: the title of Thane, an NPC guard follower, and weapons from the Jarl's armory. After learning about High Hrothgar and the Greybeards from the Jarl, Song Ren didn't rush off, because he remembered that completing the Bleak Falls Barrow quest had unlocked a feature: he could now buy a house in Whiterun.

After conversing with the Jarl's steward, Song Ren, having just killed a dragon and earned a hefty sum, decided to make himself a home. But upon seeing the property price, Song Ren fell silent.

“Is this the difference between city and town housing prices? I killed a dragon and still can't afford a house!”

The price of 5000 gold crushed Song Ren's dream of buying a house, and that seemed to be the price for a bare shell apartment. Who could afford a house like that?! Looking at the gold in his inventory, he couldn’t even afford the down payment. Song Ren silently closed the housing interface. He’d rather sleep under a bridge. Anyway, a Dragonborn wasn’t afraid of the cold. He finally understood why the Jarl rewarded him with the eligibility to buy a house, rather than an actual house. Even the Jarl found Whiterun’s housing prices a bit much!

After a moment of reflection, Song Ren walked out of Dragonsreach, preparing to take a look at his beautiful guard. Well… alright, he took that back. Looking at the NPC named Lydia in front of him, Song Ren could only say she wasn’t ugly, but she was definitely far from being called beautiful.

‘The title of Thane is an honor, a reward for your contributions. If the guards know you’re a Thane, they’ll turn a blind eye.’

As a guard, Lydia dutifully explained the honor that came with the Thane title to Song Ren.

‘You are the Dragonborn. You killed a dragon?’

‘Unbelievable, I always thought it was just a legend!’

After leaving Dragonsreach, soldiers who saw Song Ren along the way would also show great respect. That is, until Song Ren took a tomato from an unattended vegetable stall in the Whiterun market.

‘Put your hands down!’

‘You have committed a grave crime against Skyrim and her people. Do you have anything to say?’

?????

Looking at the guard with a sword and shield pointed at him, Song Ren was bewildered. How was it a grave crime?! He just took a tomato! He was the Dragonborn! Is this how a Dragonborn is treated?

After telling the guard he was the Thane, the guard issued a warning not to let it happen again and walked away. Song Ren couldn't help but sigh with emotion. Indeed, NPCs were such a fickle bunch, just like the NPCs in Monster Hunter. On the surface, they called him the Dragonborn, the Thane, the savior of the world, but in reality, he was just an errand boy.

(End of Chapter) <>