Somewhere in Serisis.

00:56 am. 23rd Banem 1092.

31 Days to World's End.

Kashi and Drixlia appeared within the sigil he left behind. The daeben sighed as he thought back to Syel's daring request. He'd never expected Syel to be the type to propose a date. Not in a million years. Even more shocking, Shoko not only accepted, but immediately logged out after dragging Syel into Orez.

The ensuing silence between Kashi and Lunette could only have described as deafening. The daeben quickly escaped before the situation got even more awkward. Kashi let out another sigh. He knew he could not avoid Lunette forever. Still, this was not the time. Right now, he had to figure out a way to defeat Razznik.

That's right. Despite what he told the kings, Kashi considered it a foregone conclusion that Razznik would be successfully summoned. This was not because of some prophecy, or fate, or feeling. No matter what, Kashi did not forget that this was still a game world. The return of Razznik could be considered the end of a major story chapter. What developer would introduce this massive threat, and then not use it? The Chaos Order would undoubtedly be tough opponents, but they had yet to generate enough clout amongst casual gamers to justify being an opponent capable of uniting the entire playerbase.

No. Razznik would definitely show up. And when he did, Kashi had to be ready.

But there was one small problem.

Razznik had trained for a thousand years sharpening every skill he had to perfection. The Chaos God's battle instincts were as close to perfection as one could reasonably get. Kashi, on the other hand, had slacked off greatly when it came to improving his basics. Increasingly, he found himself reliant on [Gilgamesh] and [Asura], a pair of OP skills which decimated opponents without requiring much strategy on his part.

'Razznik was not like this.' No. Razznik, despite his overwhelming strength, often fought with the bare basics. It was precisely this simplicity that often made it nigh impossible to catch the warrior off-guard.

What about Kashi?

Kashi was definitely strong. No one could reasonably doubt the daeben's accomplishments. But, his over-reliance on powerful one-shot abilities would be easily found out in a fight against true experts. [Gilgamesh] and [Asura], despite locking Kashi in place when activated, were godsend against monsters. But would he dare use them against Syel or Shoko?

'No. That would be suicide.' Kashi placed his bow on the ground as he recalled Nornesh's test. What was the difference between he and Syel in that fight? That was the first time Kashi fought an opponent that did not give him any chance to use Gilgamesh. No. That was not quite right. It was not that Nornesh did not give him any chance, but that Kashi did not dare use any skills that would lock him in place for the briefest second.

'Useless.' Razznik's rebuke echoed in Kashi's mind. The daeben sat next to his bow as he pondered. Was he truly useless? When did he start relying on system skills? Even without skills, he should have been able to injure Nornesh much earlier. Compared to Syel, Kashi's performance had been subpar, both at long and short-range. While Syel pressured Nornesh with a myriad of intelligent combination magic, Kashi relied on his body to catch the dragon off-guard.

On one hand, Kashi's immunity to fire and dragon blood were his hard-worn abilities. To not use them was stupid. But on the other hand... Kashi clenched his fist. 'I'd have lost if Nornesh specialized in ice magic.' Kashi had been lucky so far. Fire was the most common attribute among mages for its destructiveness. He had gotten cocky because his fire attribute countered most mages. Couple that with the fact that his dragon blood made him physically stronger than most of his foes, then it was no surprise that Kashi had neglected his training.

'No more.' Kashi looked at his fist. Starting today, he would return to the basics. But, Four weeks was not enough time. Razznik had mastered the basics. Kashi would never beat the Chaos God if he fought with just basics.

'I need something original.' Kashi needed something no one had seen before. Only a unique style would give him a chance against Razznik. With this in mind, the daeben took out everything he had and placed it on the ground. A quiver of arrows, a painting, a drop of his blood, and after considering it, he also placed Rosario's brush beside the rest.

These items represented everything that was Kashi. Unless he wanted to throw everything aside and start from scratch, he had to build using these as the foundation.

Kashi revealed a bitter smile. "What do you think, Drix? Got any ideas?" Drixlia harrumphed in response. The kirin gave Kashi a look as if questioning the daeben's sanity. Kashi chuckled. "Well, I guess that's the appropriate response."

Shaking his head, Kashi slung the quiver and bow over his shoulders. He returned the painting to his inventory, but then hesitated after picking up Rosario's brush. He thought about returning it to his inventory, but then ultimately holstered it at his waist.

Perhaps because of the situation, Kashi was ready to consider any and all options. It might have been desperate, but these were desperate times. Once he was ready, Kashi rose to his feet and then climbed atop Drixlia's back. The foundation was strong, but he was not sure what to do with it right now.

So, Kashi ultimately decided to focus on something else. Something new that he could train while he reinforced his foundation. With his next target in mind, Kashi spurred Drixlia on. "Let's go to the sea."

???

1:18 am. 23rd Banem 1092.

31 Days to World's End.

BOOM!

The underground cavern trembled. Simultaneously, a mighty earth dragon crumbled to the floor in a messy heap. Hundreds of Rockbiter Rats peeked out from tunnels, staring in shock and greed at the delicious looking corpse.

Unfortunately, none dared to enter the cavern because of the young man next to the corpse. Hektor grunted as he brushed dust off his face. Earth dragons were notoriously difficult to fight because of their skill in earth manipulation. Hektor couldn't count how many times he face-slammed into massive stone walls while fighting this beast. Ultimately, however, he still emerged victorious.

Hektor clucked his tongue as he examined his injury-free body. It was an easy victory too, despite all the dust. A grin spread across the young man's face as he clenched his fist. Yes! He had gotten stronger. Definitely.

· &(^%(*

Hektor glanced at an empty space on the ground. As if in reaction to his gaze, a white ball slowly appeared as if a veil had been torn off. Rex playfully waddled to Hektor and gently raised his front paws.

"Can't be helped." Hektor chuckled as he lifted Rex. The baby dragon cried with joy and snuggled its head against the young man's chest. It then turned to the earth dragon and let out the cutest little roar. Well, it was much closer to a cat's meow, but the baby's exposed teeth affirmed its intentions. "Alright, go eat." Hektor pet Rex and then let him down next to the corpse.

Hektor cut out a hole in the dragon's scales, and then sliced out a chunk of meat for himself. He did not need to worry about Rex. He might be a baby dragon, but he was a dragon nonetheless. Hektor bit into the dragon meat as he watched Rex tear a hole in the corpse, and then walk inside.

The first time Rex did this, Hektor panicked, but contrary to his expectations, the dragon did not drown inside the blood vessels. In fact, it appeared right at home as it swam up the vessels until it reached the earth dragon's heart. Rex gobbled the human-sized heart, drained the dragon's blood and then tore its way out of the corpse.

By the time Rex emerged, Hektor wore a strange expression as he looked at the snow-white dragon. The young man could not understand where the dragon kept all that food, and most importantly, how its scales remained so white. It was almost like it rejected any dirt.

"Do you feel proud?"

Hektor froze. He slowly turned to see the Sword Spirit wearing a harsh smile. A lump formed in his throat. "I... won." Hektor finally managed to find his tongue. The Sword Spirit's aura was just too strong. Especially when it seemed upset. Hektor felt like he would crumble if the spirit just exerted a bit more pressure.

"Yes. You won." The Sword Spirit's harsh gaze bore into Hektor's. "But it was quite the stupid victory, don't you think?"

"...What?"

The Sword Spirit snorted. Hektor made quick progress after practising the Dragoon Technique. The technique's strength greatly depended on a mixture of the dragon and the dragoon's latent talents. In Hektor's case, his personal strength had exploded exponentially. Although the Sword Spirit had not confirmed Rex's level, he was at least an Elder Dragon. That was why Hektor had gotten so much stronger.

But.

"You became stupid." The Sword Spirit frowned. Previously, despite sustaining injuries, Hektor fought with caution. Granted, he was more instinctual, than analytical, but the young man possessed fear in his heart. Fear made him cautious. Fear made him careful. But, Hektor's new strength had largely eroded a lot of that fear. "Why did you let yourself get hit so many times? You could have just as easily dodged them all."

Hektor's gaze lowered. Indeed, he could have, and should have dodged the earth dragon's attacks. It might have taken longer, but it was certainly the safest, most assured method. At that moment, he recalled as Kashi battled alone in Suvron's pass against a horde of monsters. "Yeah. I could've dodged." Hektor raised his head. Resolve burned strong within his eyes as he admitted, "Yeah. I'm pretty stupid. I'm not as smart as Leila, Miote or the others. I'm not as strong as Kashi, Syel or Shoko. There's nothing special about me. I'm just a kid from the swamps." The young man's fists clenched tight as he gritted his teeth. "I will never be worthy of fighting by Kashi's side. So, at the very least. I want to be his spear. I will go ahead of him to clear the way. I will pierce through whatever blocks his path. Opening the shortest path to Kashi's goal. That's the path I want to take."

The Sword Spirit's mouth twitched as he observed the fervent youth's expression. "You want to swing your sword for another's cause? You are fated to become a Dragoon. One of the strongest beings in the world. Will you truly be satisfied following another?"

Hektor laughed and scratched the back of his head. "My Army Instructor used to say something to us. 'Some men choose to lead. Others to follow. Neither is more important than the other. A leader without followers is like a lion without a pride. Strong, but fated to be killed or swallowed by an unforgiving world. A follower without a leader is like a headless chicken. Wasting his energy and vigor, running without a goal until he eventually falls.'" Hektor's eyes shone as he regarded the Sword Spirit. "I'm more than happy following Kashi. It's because of him that a kid from the slums could one day meet dragons, and talk to gods." Hektor pumped out his chest. "I don't want to be a Leader of Men. It's enough being the Leader of One Man. I'm fine as long as I'm in control of my own life."

Rex walked over to Hektor's side, admiration in his eyes as he observed the warrior's proud stance. The baby dragon pushed on his stubby little feet to raise his chest high. It then glared at the Sword Spirit over his lifted chin, and softly growled.

The Sword Spirit glanced at Rex. Its lips curled up in a frustrated smile. "I watched over you for a thousand years." Unfortunately, Rex had no recollection of that time. Plus, its grasp over human language was still too little. It might not have recognized the Sword Spirit's words regardless.

The Sword Spirit, realizing the futility in speaking to a baby dragon, gave up. It looked at Hektor. "Leader of One Man, is it? That is not a bad principle to live by. Heh." To Hektor's shock, the scary Sword Spirit chuckled. "You are more like me than I thought. Indeed, who cares if you want to swing your sword for the sake of another?" An imposing aura suddenly burst out of the Sword Spirit, causing goosebumps to shoot up both Rex and Hektor's skins. "People will tell you your path is foolish. I will tell you your path is foolish. But why should you give a damn what the world thinks? You are You! Your path, for as long as you can pursue it, is the correct one. That conviction. That is what it means to be a Dragoon. Pierce through the world's beliefs to forge your own path. That is the Dragoon's creed."

Hektor's eyes lit up. His heartbeat accelerated. Hot blood gushed through his veins, causing his face to flush red with excitement. "So... So. I'm not stupid?"

"No. You're stupid!"

"Huh?"

"Extremely stupid! Insanely stupid!"

Hektor felt like someone drenched him with cold water. The youth's eyes dropped, and his fingers shook with fear. If a being like the Sword Spirit believed he was stupid, then was there any hope? Rex, sensing Hektor's discomfort, cried and rubbed his head against the youth's leg.

"But―" Hektor's gaze trembled as the Sword Spirit continued speaking. "You are a stupid kid with a chosen path."

Hektor looked up. To his surprise, the Sword Spirit was smiling. "Chosen path?"

"Ah." The Sword Spirit pointed at the bone sword in Hektor's hand. "Stupidity can be cured through practice." He then pointed at Hektor's heart. "But no amount of practice can help a rudderless fool. You need to know who you are, and what you want to achieve in order to work toward it. Or else, you will end up like a washcloth in the wind, blown whichever way nature fancies."

A sword materialized in the Sword Spirit's right hand. "First lesson. Do not charge in blindly. That is neither brave nor valiant." The sword spirit tapped its foot and a stone wall emerged in front of it. "Next time, rather than breaking through with your body, utilize your ki."

"Ki?"

"Your ki is the most flexible weapon you have. It can be a weapon, a shield, a boost, and also..." The Sword Spirit swung the sword. A red ki blade shot out and rammed against the wall. BANG! A tremendous explosion followed, but the wall stood firm. The Sword Spirt looked at Hektor. "... a scouting tool." The Sword Spirit dematerialized its sword as it regarded the young Dragoon with a stern stare. "The earth dragon's intellect is sub-par, so your brute force, no, mindless approach worked. If it were me, I would put up a succession of weak walls, and then utilize half of my mana to create a powerful final shield. You, overestimating your strength, would crash into that obstacle with full force. At your level, this might only leave you disoriented for a second or two."

Schling! Hektor swallowed as a ki blade appeared next to his neck.

The Sword Spirit's cold eyes bore into Hektor's. "But you should know. At your level, that is akin to an eternity. You can get killed seven times over in that timeframe. Do you understand?"

Hektor's gaze turned grim as he nodded. He realized that he had indeed gotten cocky. What would have happened if he went to battle with that mindset? Hektor shivered at the thought. He then looked at the Sword with admiration and awe. This was the importance of having a great, wise, benevolent mentor.

"Good." Evil shone in the Sword Spirit's eyes as the sword reappeared in its hand. Its lips curled in a deadly grin as it proclaimed, "Now, I shall commence beating the stupidity out of your bones."

Fuck. Benevolent my ass.

Rex cried in agreement, but just as Hektor assumed it wanted to fight alongside him, it immediately turned invisible. The little baby then cheered on its 'big brother' from safety.

"Fuck." Hektor did not know whether to laugh or cry as he gazed at the empty spot. Fine. Whatever. He brandished his bone sword and then focused on the Sword Spirit. A certain future reflected into he young man's eyes eyes as he pushed off and charged. "Soon..."