Noise filled the air everywhere. Towering buildings and prominent castles could be seen in the distance, with crowded shops and people of various races walking around, while the summer sun shone high in the clear sky. This was the Holy Capital—Ethelas.
Amid the bustling capital, inside one of its luxurious taverns, the atmosphere was a bit quieter. Some men called out to the busty waitresses, while others sipped their drinks with elegance, embracing one or even two women. But among them all, there was one man sitting alone. He wasn't doing anything other than drinking. Despite the many glasses stacked on his table, he didn't appear drunk.
That was Vinnel. It seemed like he hadn't found anything to do after his failure in tracking down the Dark Eye. He felt a heavy sense of failure. He had no desire to do anything other than surpass the Dark Eye. This defeat had completely shattered the pride of this knight—but it hadn't crushed his love for trying, the strongest desire this knight possessed.
"You've been drinking a lot lately," said a voice from behind as it approached Vinnel's table.
The person sat down with him. Vinnel seemed to recognize him, so he didn't react. The figure wore a hooded cloak that covered his face—black with red embroidery. He was tall, though the cloak didn't quite reach the floor, even as he took a seat. He didn't order anything and simply stared at the knight sitting in front of him with disappointment.
"What is it?" asked Vinnel.
"His movements have changed. He's no longer targeting adventurers in Iveleth, but in Yavan now," the hooded figure replied.
"There's also important news—Ralce has become the number one adventu—"
"What?!" Vinnel suddenly shouted, lifting his head and interrupting the cloaked man.
"He became the number one adventurer and has set out to kill the sleeping dragon that the kingdom had assigned Gaziel to slay."
"That's insane! But… does that mean the Dark Eye is targeting Ralce now? It's strange that he went to Yavan right after Ralce went there."
"No, that's actually common. When the strongest adventurers move somewhere, others always follow. That might be why he moved—because of the crowd. And honestly, I don't think he could even defeat Ralce and his party."
Silence fell between them. The cloaked man seemed to be waiting for Vinnel's next response. What would be his next move after hearing this information? It looked like the knight hadn't done anything regarding this issue for weeks. So now, his decision would matter—would he make a new move and try to defeat the Dark Eye again, or would he give up... just give up?
"I have to end this game… We're going to Yavan," the knight said with an incredibly serious expression—perhaps the first time he had shown such a look.
◆ ◆ ◆
Far from the capital and Vinnel's decision, Ralce and his party were gathered around a map inside a wooden cabin. It didn't look like an actual map, more like scribbles of a large circle with several connected points. Yes—it was a strategy. Their plan to defeat Slytha. It seemed a whole week had already passed, and the final battle was about to begin.
"Okay… what about the seventeenth possibility?" asked Nowy.
"I don't know for sure, but I think Lisa would survive if it happened."
"Ughhh! There are too many possibilities—I can't make sense of anything anymore! Rommy, explain it again, without possibilities or any complicated stuff!" Ralce shouted suddenly, getting up from his chair and stepping forward to stare at the plan.
"Alright, alright. First, Lisa will attack with a ton of spells. Then Nowy will buff you. At that point, twenty-two possibilities will emerge—should I go over them?"
"I said no."
"Okay. Once you're buffed, try to deal as much damage to the dragon as possible before it flies or fully wakes up. Because once it wakes up… over a hundred possibilities appear—and only one of them has a weakness I was able to find," Rommy said confidently.
"That possibility involves the dragon collapsing after failing to take flight, because it's still drowsy. And again, we want to deal as much damage as possible."
"So, what you're saying is—you want to keep the dragon grounded?" Ralce asked.
"Exactly. But that's nearly impossible. Also, I have a plan to block its black fire," Rommy replied.
"What is it?"
At that moment, Rommy placed several pink potions on the table. A look of pride spread across her face, as if she had just accomplished something legendary. Everyone leaned in to get a closer look at the potions, but since no one knew what they did, they just stared at each other in confusion.
"Alright, alright, you losers. Let me introduce you to what I bought while all of you were clueless!" declared the Red Hood.
"These potions are called elixirs. They're a very rare type of potion. When sprayed on you, they completely prevent poisoning. They're made from legendary herbs—some say even from world trees themselves."
"Whoa, that's amazing!" Ralce exclaimed excitedly as he examined the potions.
"What do you think?"
"Well, we've got some more useful items here," Nowy said as she pulled something from her bag.
What the dark elf revealed was a collection of multicolored gems. They looked more like shards, likely extracted from a massive crystal. She placed them on the table and began organizing them methodically. Once she was done, she said: "These are magic shards. You've used them before, Ralce."
"I forgot."
"Oh goddess... Anyway, these shards let you enchant your weapon with magic for a short time. All you have to do is break them over the weapon you want to empower. Look—orange for fire, which lets you launch fire slashes. White for enhancement. And green to unleash wind attacks."
"This is awesome. Looks like this'll be an easy fight," said Ralce.
"Well, try not to move too fast during battle, or I might miss the target," Lisa muttered.
And so, the strongest party prepared for their battle against the sleeping dragon. A battle that would go down in the history of Yarum's adventurer world. But they weren't the only ones setting their sights on the dragon—another adventurer was too. One now known by many as the number two adventurer. Far from Ralce's cabin, in a village in Yavan, Etomi was sharpening one of her short swords as she sat leaning against a tree.
Calm as always, while she focused on sharpening, a deer approached and sat in front of her. She gently patted its fur. Etomi still aspired to surpass everyone. Her thoughts were consumed by nothing but the desire to reclaim the number one spot. But what made her special was that this obsession never disrupted her calm. Behind that serene expression, it was clear that a strategy had already been written for her upcoming battle.
After a while, she left the quiet spot and returned to the village. It looked like a smaller version of Bloomy—mushroom-shaped houses and children playing outside. It seemed Etomi liked places like this: quiet and peaceful. She headed to the village's only tavern and sat down after quietly ordering a cup of tea. That alone made it clear—her plan was complete, and this was her rest before the battle.
But far from the number one and number two adventurers, there was someone no one even considered: Laos. An adventurer that no one would imagine joining a competition like this. A competition between the strongest adventurers—one joined by someone with barely a few months of experience. But some say that madness is what leads to legendary tales.
"You're seriously insane!" Thalesa's voice echoed in my head.
A week of training had passed. Unfortunately, I didn't achieve any stage of harmony, but it seemed Thalesa's power had increased, so now I could fire off way more abilities. That was going to be a huge help. But there was still one major annoyance—Thalesa herself. And that really got on my nerves. Just imagine if Maris found out… ugh.
I know this decision is insane, but I really feel like I can do it. If that dragon is weaker than Gaziel, then I'm sure I'm stronger than Gaziel now. I've got an unbreakable sword and… a healing spell? At the very least, I won't be in life-threatening danger. And if that happens, well, I'm good at running away anyway. Alright. I've made my decision. It's final.
"You're seriously annoying."
"Laos… I don't want to die. Remember, if the spirit user dies, the spirit dies too."
"There's no way I'm dying. Just fight with everything you've got. And don't even think about firing off weak slashes like you did with Gaziel—I haven't forgotten that."
"You do know that dragon is at least tier 10, maybe even mythic!!"
"I don't care."
Man, what's with all this sudden confidence?! I'm fully aware of how difficult this is, yet I have this overwhelming urge to do it. It's something I can't understand no matter how hard I try… My excitement was immense—so immense that I'd feel angry just hearing someone reject this decision… This is madness. Madness I can't control!
I'm like a starving lion, desperate to devour prey even larger than itself. And despite all the obvious dangers, it still wants to hunt—because it's simply a predator. Yes, what I should be thinking about is my life after victory, not negative thoughts like death. I will not die in this battle. This time, I'll break free from being a puppet and follow my own instincts. I've said it before and I'll say it again—I'll be a tool that chases strength.
"So... there's no stopping you," Thalesa muttered.
"Exactly. We'll walk together down the path of death, dance together on the edge of a towering mountain. If we finish the dance, I promise we'll live a life of luxury. But if we fail, well... you already know."
"How do you change like this all of a sudden?"
"I don't know either. But my desire to fight that dragon is insane—a desire stronger than me... I can't control it."
"At least wait until you've trained more."
"No, no. Didn't you hear? Etomi and Ralce are already on their way to the dragon's nest. I won't waste even a second."
"Adventurers of this generation are far too reckless. They could have at least planned an alliance between the strongest parties, then launched a joint attack."
"Even that's a foolish choice. You don't understand what greed is, Thalesa. Greed builds up a massive desire inside you to gain more—to surpass everyone in your path. That's what the three of us are feeling right now. A massive greed. Each one of us wants to knock the others off the top."
"That's nonsense. Neither Etomi nor Ralce even know that you're going to fight the dragon."
"Yeah, yeah. And that's actually a huge advantage—I'll appear on stage like a hero out of nowhere. I'll be the plot twist of this world."
"Your madness worries me."
It seems this NPC's excitement had gone overboard. He'd never done anything like this before, which made Thalesa all the more confused. This time, Laos felt an intense desire to accomplish a goal—despite how difficult it was. He didn't hesitate, didn't care. Just imagining success made him drool. But what this teenager doesn't know... is that all of this is happening because of a reason—one from a little over a month ago.
His quest.