Chapter 794 - 794: Is This How Dragonborn Are Treated?

Compared to that slightly crude content, Ben found many other interesting things in the game.

For example, when the guards in the game would talk, their lines made Ben chuckle.

"I used to be an adventurer like you, then I took an arrow to the knee."

This immediately reminded Ben of the opening cinematic when he entered the game.

It was incredibly vivid.

After walking around Whiterun and putting the crude "Uncle" back in his inventory, Ben headed towards Dragonsreach, located above Whiterun, to continue his quests.

He explained his purpose to the court guards, then met with the Jarl, Balgruuf, to inform him about the dragon discovered at Helgen Keep. Balgruuf agreed to send troops to Riverwood.

He also asked the player to consult the court wizard to see if they knew anything about dragons.

The court wizard then directed the player to a place called Forelhost, where an ancient dragon was rumored to be buried, possibly providing clues.

Forelhost was located on a snow-covered mountain and was occupied by a group of bandits.

However, they weren't difficult to deal with. Inside Forelhost, there were puzzles involving mechanisms.

Compared to the puzzles in the Divine Beasts in Uncharted and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, the puzzles in Forelhost were child's play.

The only thing that almost drove Ben crazy was passing a giant camp on the way to Forelhost.

When he first arrived in Whiterun and saw the Companions NPCs beating up giants, he thought these monsters were weaklings.

But when he ambitiously went to challenge them, two giants kicked him so hard with one leg each that he questioned his life choices.

Furthermore, once inside Forelhost, the monsters, which were either spiders or undead, were even more terrifying.

"This place is so creepy!"

After killing an frostbite spider and rescuing someone wrapped in spiderwebs, Ben was speechless.

The art style of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim was already quite realistic.

Although Ben could tell that Nebula Games had exercised some restraint, the undead and spiders in this dark dungeon were indeed incredibly unsettling.

While not as bad as 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 suddenly pick up a bunch of side quests?"

Ben complained, looking at his quest log.

As he explored the city, he had unconsciously accepted a bunch of quests along the way.

"Is this Dragon language?"

"Yeah, I can't understand it at all!"

"But I can't use this Dragon language yet."

As he ventured deeper into the hall, he saw information on the wall teaching him the Dragon Shout "Unrelenting Force" and the Dragon language inscriptions. Ben remembered Nebula Games' Dragon language event.

What confused him was that the Dragon language was clearly a skill, but he couldn't use it, indicating that some condition hadn't been met.

After defeating a Draugr Overlord that crawled out of a sarcophagus behind him and taking its Dragonstone, Ben began his return journey.

After retrieving the Dragonstone and returning to Whiterun, he spoke with the Jarl. At that moment, a soldier came in to report that a tower outside the city had been attacked by a dragon.

"Here it comes, finally! I get to fight a dragon!"

Following the surrounding soldiers towards the tower outside the city, Ben was a little excited.

After all, playing this far, apart from the dragon at the beginning, he hadn't even seen so much as a dragon scale, let alone a dragon.

Although he had learned a Dragon Shout in the ruins earlier, the skill was grayed out.

Now he could finally fight a dragon.

When they arrived at the tower, the Whiterun army was already fighting the dragon named Mirmulnir.

Following along with the general Whiterun forces, Ben charged forward without hesitation.

"Holy crap, this dragon can fly!?"

Watching the dragon soar in the sky, Ben was instantly dumbfounded.

He didn't have any arrows!

His only ranged attack was a Fireball spell he found in a chest in the dungeon.

Fortunately, the dragon only circled in the sky for a while before landing.

"This dragon seems a bit small!"

Looking at the dragon in front of him, and comparing it to the black dragon at the beginning, Ben clearly felt the difference.

Dragons really couldn't be compared to each other.

Once the dragon landed, Ben charged at it with his sword.

But the next moment, Ben was turned into a human by dragon breath.

The dragon unleashed a blast of dragon breath, and Ben instantly lost half his health, also succumbing to a burning status that caused continuous damage.

"Sorry, gotta go!"

Ben scrambled away from the dragon's breath attack. Fortunately, the dragon's aggro wasn't on him.

"But it seems I don't even need to attack. This dragon is already half dead."

After replenishing his health, Ben suddenly noticed a detail.

He was playing on the normal difficulty, and on this difficulty, the soldiers of Whiterun seemed incredibly powerful!

The dragon was already half dead.

Hiding in the ruins of a dilapidated tower, Ben watched the soldiers fighting the dragon outside and smacked his lips.

It seemed he wasn't needed at all. Seeing the dragon with only a sliver of health left, Ben walked out of the tower and cast a Fireball.

With a roar: Dova-kin!

The dragon's massive body fell to the ground.

He approached the dragon's corpse and harvested a portion of the loot.

He watched as the game's Dragonborn absorbed the dragon's power and knowledge.

And in his skills menu, the Dragon Shout "Unrelenting Force," which was previously grayed out, was now white and usable.

Of course, besides learning the Dragon Shout and the resources obtained from killing the dragon, what satisfied Ben the most was the attitude of the surrounding soldiers towards him.

After he could use the shout, Ben immediately tried out the shout called Unrelenting Force.

The effect was just like the Aard Sign in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

With the Dragonborn's roar, like an air cannon, the stones and other debris in front of him were all sent flying by the powerful force.

And the surrounding soldiers showed looks of astonishment when they saw him use the Dragon Shout.

"By Talos, you actually did it! You killed a dragon!"

"Dragon Shouts, they're real! The legendary Dragonborn."

"Those legends are true! Dragonborn... you must be the legendary Dragonborn."

Amidst the soldiers' shock, Ben returned to Dragonsreach in Whiterun and met with the Jarl again.

After speaking with him, he received his rewards.

A Thane title, a follower NPC guard, and weapons from the Jarl's armory.

Learning about High Hrothgar and the Greybeards from the Jarl, Ben didn't rush off. He remembered that after completing the Forelhost quest, he had unlocked a feature: he could buy property in Whiterun.

He spoke with the steward of Dragonsreach. Having just killed a dragon and earned a large sum of money, Ben was ready to settle down.

But after seeing the prices of the properties, Ben fell silent.

"Is this the difference between city and suburban housing prices? I can't even afford a place after killing a dragon!"

The price of 5,000 coins shattered Ben's dream of buying a house, and it looked like that was for an unfurnished shell.

Who could afford a house for this price!

Looking at the gold in his inventory, he couldn't even afford the down payment.

Ben quietly closed the housing interface.

He'd sleep under a bridge.

The Dragonborn weren't afraid of the cold, anyway.

He understood why the Jarl rewarded him with the eligibility to buy a house, rather than a house directly.

The Jarl probably couldn't afford the houses in Whiterun either!

With a sigh, Ben walked out of Dragonsreach, heading to check out his beautiful bodyguard.

Um... okay, forget he said that.

Looking at the NPC named Lydia in front of him, Ben could only say she wasn't ugly, but she was clearly lacking in the beauty department.

"The title of Thane is an honor, a reward for your contributions. If the guards know you are the Thane, they will turn a blind eye."

As his bodyguard, Lydia diligently explained the honor that came with being a Thane.

"You are Dragonborn, you killed a dragon?"

"Incredible! I always thought that was just a legend!"

After leaving Dragonsreach, every soldier Ben encountered on the way showed him great respect.

Until Ben, in the Whiterun marketplace, took a tomato from an empty vegetable stall.

"Put your hands down!"

"You have committed a grave sin against Skyrim and its people. Do you have anything to say?"

?????????

Ben was stunned, looking at the soldier with a sword and shield pointed at him.

How was taking a tomato a grave sin!?

I just took a tomato!

I'm Dragonborn! Is this how Dragonborn are treated?

After informing the guard that he was a Thane, Ben watched the soldier leave with a warning of "don't let it happen again," and felt a wave of emotion.

Indeed, NPCs were all fickle, just like the NPCs in Monster Hunter.

On the surface, they call you the Dragonborn who saved the world, the Thane, but in reality, you're just a errand boy.

(End of this chapter)