Parallel - A Virtual Reality.

Slap!

A clear, crisp slap falls on Isca as he is sent flying to the side of Scardi's Fors' council room.

"Idiot! Who gave you permission to follow Grudell beyond the Dungeon of Death!? Your mission was to be here!" Casca shouts loudly with a stern expression, waving his hand lightly.

As soon as Isca stabilizes himself on the ground, he visibly grits his teeth, but keeps his silence, kneeling at Casca while keeping his head low.

"You are thought to be the future Chief, the Guardian of Fors! You can't be that reckless!" The Chief shouts loudly again at Isca.

Isca's muscle visibly tighten and then looks at Casca, "I am a warrior! My life is at the frontlines of battle! Not at an empty seat of power!"

Casca expression turns furious as he looks at Isca, but before he could say something, Grudell kneels in front of him and says, "Pardon my rudeness, Chief! Isca shouldn't be punished alone, as it was also a whim of mine to have someone as reassuring as him in my scout group, thus not reporting the matter at the time!"

Casca's expression soften a bit as he hears that from Grudell, and shakes his head, "I know the stubbornness of my child, Grudell. I know you were swayed by his disposition, you two have been comrades from childhood, and I can understand you trying to share the responsibility. Your punishment is also swept away against your merits this time, so this is only Isca's punishment!"

Disappointment washes over the eyes of Casca as he looks at Isca, and says "You are one of the Scardi Warriors with the greatest potentials in our recorded history, born with not only the responsibilities to become strong, but to shield your people and lead them to greatness, why are you so stubborn in being a simple warrior?"

Casca shakes his head, "If only you could watch…" falling silent in the middle of his speech. He looks upward and sighs, "Fors has chosen you. Warsaw has chosen you, Isca!"

Unwillingness shows on Isca's eyes, as determination shows in his face. Casca sighs again and says, "Learn from Grudell, Isca. Now, get out of my sight, I hope the battle against Dorek opens your eyes."

Casca turns around and slowly walks towards his seat.

Isca stands up slowly, watching his father's back. Isca's arms trembles as his muscles bulge out, his fist gripping tightly and his jaw clenching hard. He bows slightly at Casca and departs with heavy steps.

His golden eyes trembles as he looks at Grudell for a moment and he keeps his way to the door, vanishing from sight.

Grudell slowly stands and looks at the direction of Isca, a glean of light showing from his deep, azure eyes.

"Please… look after Isca, Grudell," The stalwart back of Casca seemingly growing softer as he stands in front of his seat, not looking at Grudell's direction, "and… sorry. This seat should've been your right for all of your merits over the years."

"You don't have to give me explanations, Chief. I am deeply grateful for all the care and help I have received from you throughout my life," says Grudell as he bows at the Chief.

"Is that so…" and the Chief falls silent while looking up,

No one knew what the Chief thought at that time nor what would come out from the decisive battle against Dorek…

Not even what would lead to those fateful steps of Isca and Grudell took as they left the Council room.

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Booooooooooooom!

An explosion echoes heavily from the cavern, as I and Kagito are pushed far back from the Dragon.

Kagito improvement with the Space Element made him a dreadful enemy to the Silver Dragon. As if he was a natural nemesis, he managed to hurt it again and again. If there is any downside to it, that would be…

'He is still too weak'

So, our strategy became quite simple. To not let Kagito die accidentally, I took the place of the vanguard, confronting the Dragon head on for Kagito to ambush it whenever he can.

While that looks as if there was no change from before, the factor that Kagito can damage became a key to the battle. Because of that, the Dragon had to focus on protecting itself even when it was attacking me. Its area attacks were partially useless, and in fact, detrimental to it, when it fought against me.

While those were very powerful, as much as almost bringing me to my knees, I managed to push through and give them back to it with even more power behind them.

And even when it tried to teleport…no, blink away, as Kagito told me, "This isn't Teleport. It's a skill below it called Blink that can be used to move in short distances. While faster than Teleport, it is also simpler, making it easy to interfere against it."

Thanks to that, I managed to be able to read on the small fluctuations of blink too and was able to counterattack the sudden movements of the Dragon.

But even then, I wasn't able to damage the dragon too much, and…

'My body is creaking a bit' I think bitterly. Upholding Three-Elemental Enhancement for too long is very straining on my body, I even activated Razer body to keep it up as long as possible. Any less than that, and I wouldn't be able to keep up with this monstrosity.

I considered activating Overflow, but my instincts told me not to, at least, not yet.

Feeling traces of Spatial fluctuation, I move my swords agilely and strike at the space behind Kagito. As if waiting for that, Kagito ducks to the front and the Dragons appears at that position, striking heavily on my swords.

Its expression intense with increasing murderous intentions. Of course, we weren't the only ones with injuries. The Silver Dragon's shiny body had become lackl.u.s.ter comparing to the beginning, clear signs of Elemental debilitation. That didn't make it less dangerous, though. In fact, it made it even more lethal, as it started attacking crazily, even at the cost of getting injured too.

Crack!

Because of the constant onslaught of fierce attacks of the Dragon, my armor had been damaged despite the maintenance I did previous to the fight. But it wasn't the only thing cracking, my bones also creaked because of the pressure. While my Fast Recovery and Water Element helped out a lot in keeping them together, it still has generated a lot of strain in my body.

But the most troublesome skill of the Dragon would be…

'Shit, I've been locked again!' I think while suddenly feeling my whole body frozen in place, as if the space itself didn't want me to move a single muscle.

Tremendous waves of power surround the Dragon instantly. The Dragon gulps it down, preparing for a breath attack.

I push my fighting spirit and the power of the elements to my limits, but I knew I wouldn't be able to do it fast enough. 'I'll have to activate Overflow in the end…' I think fast, but before I use the skill, I feel a small wave behind me, and the spatial lock is gone.

Acting fast after being freed, I wave my swords with the whole power I acc.u.mulated, stomping on the ground hard to bring my whole momentum forward.

Dragon's Breath, one of the most known attacks of Dragons because of their lethality and tremendous power, coalesced in front of me. Elements charging it as the Space Element holds it together. The power from it felt very similar to the Almighty power that those creatures had at the Almighty Zone.

Inspiration struck me as the elements interweave themselves inside me, fusing bit by bit.

Tremendous waves of energy flows out from each of our attack before they even strike themselves, each millisecond passing through slowly, until…

…little by little…

…They touch each other.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!

A powerful explosion came from the clash of our attacks. As our attacks collided, the Dragon and I looked at each other eyes. Unyielding ferociousness sprouted from its expression, and I drove my fighting and killing intent to their limits.

Intense shockwaves spread from the center of the clash, so I barely hold on standing and pushing forward. I can see rocks flying and breaking apart because of the pressure.

Both of our attacks about to go through, both of them lethal enough to leave us in critical conditions. I would take the worst end of the stick, which would mean in my probable death, but…

'Overflow!'

Tremendous waves of the elements surround me, even the ones in the attack of the Dragon, weakening it a bit and making mine stronger. Powerful strain goes through my body as I drive Three-Elemental Enhancing to its limits. Series of combinations and fusions of the elements go through my body, increasing each time in power.

I grit my teeth hard as I push every shred of energy in my body and beyond to make my attack even a little bit stronger.

- Your Elemental Enhancing skills has leveled up!

A notification appears in my eyes, but I ignore it as I feel another wave of energy as if pushing my body from behind. That step that was impossible until now slowly advances.

A new breath goes in me, and as I exhale, a last, but new, strand of power appears.

My attacks cuts through the Dragon Breath, going directly to the Dragon. But I know that its attack won't dissipate. Just as I expect, I feel a searing power from the front of my armor, but I can't summon any more energy.

- Your Swordsmanship Skill has leveled up!

- Your Dual Sword Skill has leveled up!

I look at the Dragon as it receives my attacks without being able to evade or defend, and it roars in tremendous pain.

My view fades away as I feel its attack piercing through my armor and a soft touch on my back.

ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAR ~~~!!!!