Jon looked at the change in his "System" with some surprise. This was the first time he had looted a perk.
Daenerys had used her "Unburnt" ability to start her path to dominance.
This skill was incredibly useful.
However, for Jon right now, revealing his heat resistance wasn't ideal.
He could only be—and must only be—Ned Stark's bastard.
If he went around shouting that he was the rightful heir to the Iron Throne, Melisandre would likely send a shadow assassin to silence him.
Better to keep a low profile.
As for the extent of this white-grade [The Unburnt] perk's heat resistance, he would test it when he had the chance.
Jon still had two upgrade points left. He decided to put them all into his [Archery] skill.
Jon's plan was to use a bow and arrow to deliver the rope to that pine tree.
This required him to jump outward and, in the brief moment of hang time, loose a precise and daring shot.
"Jon, will this work?" Sora asked worriedly.
Jon had tied two ropes around himself. One end was tied to the arrow, and the other end was held by Sora, Old York, and the others.
He would jump out and shoot the critical arrow.
To ensure sufficient range and power, he "stacked" two bows together.
"Let's try. Dragon eggs are worth a fortune."
Although Jon had various concerns about hatching a dragon, who wouldn't want to soar through the sky on one?
He kept his true thoughts to himself.
Start adding points, Jon thought silently.
With two points added, the green Archery perk turned blue, and finally into a deep, crystal-like purple.
Jon found his vision sharpening significantly; the world before him became clearer.
The veins on leaves, the texture of stones, even the pores on the faces of people around him were clearly visible.
His hands were steadier, his heartbeat slower.
He could even feel the muscles in his arms and back used for drawing a bow had been strengthened considerably.
He was now a marksman one in a thousand.
"Jon..."
Seeing Jon stare at her, Sora turned her head away shyly.
In fact, he was just looking for pores on her face.
But apart from a tiny mole near the corner of her eye, her skin was smooth.
Jon didn't explain. Instead, he turned to Old York:
"Everyone hold tight. I'm jumping!"
Sora gripped the rope tightly alongside the others with her slender hands.
Her knuckles turned white from the effort.
"Jon, please be careful."
Jon didn't speak, just nodded.
Old York and the others lowered their center of gravity, gritting their teeth, planting their legs like old tree roots.
After all, they worked for Jon now. Whether they got their "pension" depended entirely on him.
Ready, Jon sprinted outward, stepping off a rock to leap high into the air.
In mid-air, he spun 180 degrees, drawing the bow and nocking the arrow.
In that instant, the air seemed to freeze, and time appeared to stop.
Suspended in the air, Jon looked like a god descending from the heavens. The clouds bowed to him, and the distant mountains prostrated at his feet.
The mountain wind wrapped around him gently.
Thwack—
The enhancement from his "System" allowed Jon to draw the two stacked bows simultaneously.
The arrow flew with a piercing scream.
Crack—
The sound of the arrow piercing the tree trunk was like thunder tearing through clouds!
But to the others, it didn't sound particularly clear.
With hearts in their throats, they suddenly felt the pull on the rope and hauled back with all their might.
The "falling" Jon climbed back up along the rope.
The arrow had pierced through the trunk and lodged horizontally, securing the rope.
"Alright, you can let go now."
Confirming Jon was safe, they released the rope.
Jon pulled himself up along the rope, stepping on the cliff face, and soon flipped over the top.
Hakon, freshly bandaged, swallowed hard at the sight of that archery feat, which combined imagination with extreme difficulty.
He had accepted that he could never reach Jon's height in swordsmanship, but he hadn't expected Jon's archery to be this outstanding too.
He was certain that among the nearly hundred thousand people in the Mountains of the Moon, not a single one could do this.
Hitting a tree trunk nearly a hundred meters away might be possible for some.
But Jon did it with a "suicide jump," seizing a fleeting window to shoot. Hakon couldn't imagine the mental fortitude required for this young man, who was several years his junior.
Old York stared wide-eyed at the climbing Jon.
They had been together for months. He knew Jon's swordsmanship was superhuman, but he hadn't expected his archery to be this formidable too.
But in his view, that wasn't the point. The point was that Jon had never shown it off!
That was incredibly rare for a young man.
He is definitely not just a mere bastard of Winterfell.
Old York trusted his judgment and simultaneously abandoned the idea of marrying his granddaughter to Jon.
The two surviving veterans chattered and gestured excitedly.
Among everyone, Sora's thoughts were the simplest.
She simply believed Jon should be this strong!
By now, Jon had climbed over the cliff. The pine tree turned out to be dead, bearing marks of a lightning strike.
Its roots were loose; he could see fresh soil turned up by the swaying roots.
Jon suspected if he were ten pounds heavier, the thing would have been uprooted completely.
"Don't come up. Wait for me down there."
Confirming Jon had made it up, everyone felt jubilant.
This mission to the mountain clans was not only a complete success but might even yield dragon eggs!
Old York watched Jon's figure disappear, his heart full of anticipation.
Having crested the cliff, Jon soon found a cave not far away.
The cave was pitch black, but it radiated heat significantly higher than the surrounding temperature.
Could Sheepstealer still be alive?
Taking out a prepared torch, Jon walked toward the cave.
Usually, caves were damp and gloomy, and "adventurers" would disturb a swarm of bats upon entering.
But this cave was clean—no bats, not even insects.
The dragon was dead, but its aura remained!
As Jon approached the cave, the torch in his hand burned brighter!
Similarly, the surroundings gradually revealed themselves.
A pile of massive, night-black rocks appeared before his eyes.
Jon followed the light upward, and his pupils contracted sharply!
Those weren't rocks; they were the remains of a dragon!
A dragon skeleton that almost filled the entire cave lay curled there, its skull resting on its front claws as if asleep.
Judging by the remains, it had been seventy or eighty meters long!
This was the legendary Sheepstealer.
Jon reached out to touch the black bones, finding them surprisingly smooth.
Dragonbone was an excellent material for crafting weapons.
Lightweight and tough.
Although dragons had been extinct for over a hundred years, the profession of "dragonbone merchant" still existed.
People used dragonbones scattered around the world to make weapons and even jewelry.
But Jon didn't plan to do that. Among all Targaryen dragons, this seemed to be the only one that had a "peaceful end."
Since it died here of old age, best not to disturb its peace.
Jon's goal was still the dragon eggs Hughwolf mentioned.
He wandered around the cave.
He discovered murals on the walls.
The murals seemed to record methods for hatching dragons.
The first showed a servant placing a dragon egg in a baby's cradle.
The second showed a dragon hatching in the cradle.
Nettles probably painted these. This method of hatching wasn't guaranteed, even for true Targaryens.
There were other murals.
One depicted two intertwined dragons.
One dragon's neck took up nearly half its body length—that must have been Caraxes, the Blood Wyrm.
Prince Daemon had been Queen Rhaenyra's husband.
But Rhaenyra suspected Daemon of having an affair with Nettles and ordered Nettles killed.
Judging by this mural, perhaps rumors had distorted the truth.
The truth might be that Daemon's dragon and Sheepstealer had mated.
But neither the murals nor the dragon bones were what Jon wanted. His goal was the eggs.
Even one would make the trip worthwhile!
As long as he kept it secret, no one would know.
Once he had territory and power, he could secretly look for ways to hatch it.
Jon continued searching and soon found a small, rough secret chamber.
His torch was nearly burnt out, so he didn't delay and entered the chamber.
The yellow firelight illuminated the room, and the scene before him made his eyes widen.
Round dragon eggs, large enough to require two hands to hold, were neatly arranged at his feet.
A rough count showed at least twenty!
But...
Jon frowned, looking at the dragon egg by his foot.
Broken?