A few minutes later Levi spotted the Uber rounding the corner and easing to a stop in front of them.
The window cracked open just enough for the Black driver to eye them both, his gaze lingering on the full suit of armor.
“Yo, name on the ride?” the driver asked.
“And is your boy drunk?”
“Levi.
I called it,” Levi said.
“My friend’s a method actor.
Prepping for a stage play.”
The driver gave them another once-over, decided they weren’t carrying, and popped the back doors.
“Whatever kinky shit you’re into, I don’t care.
Back seat only.
Front’s closed at night.”
Levi thanked him, helped Don Quixote climb in, then slid in from the other side.
Inside, the yellow-and-black recording sticker on the dash stared back at them.
Don Quixote started complaining the second the door shut.
“Squire!
Why is this carriage so cramped?!”
“Keeps us from standing out,” Levi said quickly.
“Everyone rides the small ones.”
He’d been too cheap to drop a hundred and eighty on the luxury option.
Don Quixote muttered about demanding a proper grand carriage from the Duke once the witch was dead, then finally shut up.
Levi leaned forward.
“Sorry.
He’s really committed to the role.”
The driver stayed silent and kept driving.
A WhatsApp ping broke the quiet—another driver warning about a police chase shutting down Brownsville.
The driver checked his map in the rearview.
“Chase happening on the street right next to your drop-off.
If it ain’t life or death, I’d turn around.”
“Sir Knight,” Levi said, turning to Don Quixote, “the driver says there’s danger ahead.”
Don Quixote didn’t even blink.
“A knight fears nothing!”
Levi looked back at the driver.
“Is it really that bad?
We’ve got something important to grab.”
The driver studied the map a second longer, then shrugged.
“Go if you have to.
But with sirens everywhere right now, the dealers might actually stay inside.
Could be safer than usual.”
Levi nodded.
Made sense.
The driver took the long way around and dropped them at the construction site gate.
“Sir Knight,” Levi said.
“Time to slay the dragon.”
“Follow me, squire,” Don Quixote answered.
“I can already smell the filthy beast.
It’s close.”
He led Levi through a gap in the bushes like he’d done it a hundred times.
Cigarette butts covered the ground where the crew snuck out to smoke.
Once inside, the nighttime site felt dark and wrong.
Distant sirens wailed.
Their footsteps and the clank of armor were the only other sounds.
“There!” Don Quixote suddenly roared.
Under the work lights Levi watched his uncle charge straight at a parked excavator.
Don Quixote reached the tracks and started punching and kicking the machine, even trying to rip the track off with his gauntlets.
The armor kept him from eating shit, but the excavator didn’t budge.
He spun toward Levi.
“Squire!
Help me slay this earth dragon!”
A quest window exploded into Levi’s vision.
[Quest: Slay the Dragon]
[The earth dragon nesting deep in the forest serves the witch.
Even the great Knight Don Quixote struggles to pierce its hide.
Countless slayers have died to its claws.
Its power is beyond anything you’ve faced.]
[Reward: Strength +0.1, Agility +0.1, Constitution +0.1]
[Hidden Reward: After bathing in dragon blood, unlock skill: Berserk]
One-point-three points plus a skill.
This was worth every damn dollar he’d spent tonight.
Levi dropped all hesitation.
“I’m with you!” he shouted and ran forward.
He scrambled onto the tracks in two moves.
Inside the cab he spotted a construction manual on the seat.
Perfect. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
He turned and yelled back.
“Sir Knight, I see it!
The map’s inside the dragon’s mouth!”
Don Quixote’s face lit up.
“Exactly!”
Levi yanked open the cab door, stepped inside, and shut it behind him—dragon officially slain.
Now for the blood part.
He found a half-empty water bottle on the seat, unscrewed it, sniffed.
Just water.
He poured a little on his hands and rubbed them together.
Jumping back down, he held out the manual.
“Sir Knight.
Is this the map?”
Don Quixote took it with closed eyes, studied it a long moment, then grinned wide.
“Precisely!
And you did well, squire.
Slaying a dragon is a true knight’s deed!”
Levi glanced at the closed cab door but said nothing.
“Want to bathe in the dragon’s blood, Sir Knight?” he asked, holding up the bottle.
“Supposed to make you stronger.”
Don Quixote nodded reverently and stood still while Levi poured the water over his head.
The system chimed the second the water hit.
[Quest: Slay the Dragon — Complete]
[Reward: Strength +0.1, Agility +0.1, Constitution +0.1]
[Hidden Quest: Bathe in Dragon Blood — Complete.
Skill unlocked: Berserk]
Power slammed into Levi’s body all at once instead of the usual slow burn.
[Strength 1.1] → [Strength 1.2]
[Constitution 1.0] → [Constitution 1.1]
[Agility 1.0] → [Agility 1.1]
[Knight’s Path Stage Two complete.
Two attributes reached 1.2.
+7 Gold Coins awarded.]
Heavy coins dropped into his pocket.
Levi felt the new strength settle into his muscles, the berserk skill clicking into place like a loaded gun.
Everything just got a hell of a lot more dangerous—and a hell of a lot more fun.