Chapter 10: Proof of folly in the land of dragons

The quests that visited Elysium have mostly now gone home. The only exceptions were Maria the priest and Loren, the representative from Vortias. Lud has asked that Maria and Loren will be taken care of properly as quests.

The reason why Maria stayed was clear, but the reason why Loren stayed was something that Lud didn't expect. Loren, even though Lud was a human, sought a good relationship between Vortias and Elysium. Why didn't the other two demon countries try to suck up to Elysium is probably due to their pride according to Loren.

Weiss expressed her wish to stay in Elysium so that she could train, but she had other duties that she must attend to in Rucksta as sword-saint, so this couldn't happen easily. However, Xu and Weiss talked about the possibility for co-training camps for people willing to better themselves. Weiss was sure that the other sword-saints probably would take up on the offer if Weiss recommended it, but the decision to hold such an event would require the permission from Lud and the king Jeremaja. Lud was up for it if Xu thought that it would be beneficial. So when Weiss left, she made a promise to bring this suggestion up to the king Jeremaja's attention. However, the representatives from Rucksta weren't too happy about this proposition.

When Lud thought he could rest, Brutus came to his office saying "Hey boss. I heard that there are a bunch of islands in the south-east that are ruled over by dragons of this world. Can me and my boys go and investigate those islands?"

Lud thought for a moment and then said "I don't recall there being any country ruled by dragons in this world, but I do recall there being queendom of so called draconians. Ryth… Rythgorm… Rythcourt…"

Then Brutus' gray haired female subordinate comes and says "Rythcoth my lord. You are looking for Rythcoth." Lud then says "Ah yes. The queendom of Rythcoth. Now I remember. I heard that they are in constant struggle with the merman."

The subordinate Sarias says "Yes. Since the merman empire of Hydra controls almost all of the seas in the middle layer of Lutah, they bicker quite often with the island nation of Rythcoth. As far as I know, there seems to be constant disagreement on where Rythcoth's territory ends and where Hydra's begins."

Lud then says "So if we send some of our people, we'll have to deal with that kind of struggle." Sarias responds by saying "Yes, however, according to my sources, the bickering is mostly done by the nobles and the common people don't really care either way about the situation. In fact, the seaports there are big hubs for trading between the two races and others. It is a shame that the ninth battalion hasn't been able to make much progress on the political structure of the two."

Then Brutus said "So are you going to let us go or what?" To which Lud said "I… Suppose it is for Elysium's interest to understand the things around us. Sure, go on ahead. But be sure to not cause trouble."

Brutus said "Yeah, I'll do that. Do I need to take some of my boys along?" To which Lud said "If you took too many along with you, that could be interpreted as hostility if we weren't careful. You may have up to five people together with you and leave someone in charge during your absence in case of emergency."

Brutus then said "Sure, I'll get on that. Sari, do you want to come with?" To which Sarias said "Someone who has the guts has to come and make sure you don't cause any political issues." 

Brutus asked "Then who will we leave in charge?" And Sarias said "Shouldn't you be the one to figure it out?" Brutus scratched his head a little and said "Yeah, well… let's go with Angie. She knows how to deal with the boys. Now let's go."

After Brutus and Sarias were done preparing for departure, they left for the land of dragons with two other dragons named Loyd and Urip. Angie wasn't too happy that Brutus left with Sarias, but as her commanding officer, she had no choice but to follow orders. That is because… Angie is Brutus' wife and Sarias is also a woman.

Side note:

Angie is a powerful frost dragon who is married to Brutus the primal fire dragon. Angie is smarter and more powerful than Brutus, but since Brutus was first to arrive at Elysium, he got to be the commander of the second battalion. She doesn't contest the official titles, since she knows that she has more respect over the second battalion even with being lower in rank than her husband. It is in situations like these that she regrets letting Brutus be her superior.

Another side note:

Sarias is a water dragon who is basically the book keeper of the second battalion. She doesn't have romantic interest towards Brutus and she is oblivious to Angie's worries. She is on the side of equal rights, but she doesn't try to break the hierarchy that exists in the army. Generally speaking, female dragons were stronger than male dragons in their original world.

Little over half a day later, Brutus and his group saw the land of Rythcoth. They landed on a spot that was empty enough and paid it no mind. However, when they landed, they garnered much attention from those around them.

After turning to their humanoid forms, Brutus asked Sarias "Hey Sari, why do they look us like that?" To which Sarias said "I believe that, while they are dragon based, they are strictly not dragons. Seeing a real one come up to their city like that must have made them… let's see…"

Sarias looks around the people and then she concludes that "They look to be in awe." Brutus said "Why would they? Aren't they dragon based? Oh wait, I get it now. They probably revere real dragons, don't they."

Then Loyd said "And since we look like the dragons of this world…" and Urip continued "They are looking at us like we are royalty." Brutus corrected Urip by saying "More like godlike by the looks of things. What should we do?"

Then one of the locals comes to them and asks "Are… are you real dragons?" To which Brutus says "Dragons from another world, to be exact." Then the same local shouts to the crowd "Hear that?! They say that they are real dragons!"

Then a crowd gathers around them and starts to ask them all kinds of questions. Most of the locals have horns, a dragon tail and reptile-like eyes.

Then a bunch of guards come to the scene and shout "Move aside! Let the holy ones be!" The crowd then leaves Brutus and his group and then one of the guards says "You four, come with us." Brutus and his group complied and started to follow them.

One of the guards said to them "We just got word that you were coming so we haven't done any preparations for your arrival." 

Brutus asked "You knew that we were coming?" To which one of the guards said "We only heard that real dragons were coming here, but we didn't get any more info than that."

Brutus then asked "Where are we going?" To which one of the guards said "We are bringing you to Landtruthsin house. You can compare them as the nobles who control this area."

Brutus asks "What do they want from us?" To which one of the guards says "To prepare you to go to the holy land."

Brutus asks "Holy land? What is…" And Sarias says to him "I believe it is an island that floats up in the sky. I believe it is where the dragons and descendants of dragons live." One of the guards says "You are indeed correct. As expected of a holy one."

Brutus then says "Cool. We are finally seeing dragons of this world." After which, the mood suddenly changes between the guards. Brutus notices this and asks "Did I say something wrong?" To which one of the guards says "It's nothing really. It's just that…"

One of the other guards stops the other by saying sternly "Hey, don't spoil the holy one's mood. It is said that if you bring a dragon's mood down, then your luck will be bad for a hundred years." Brutus and his group start to suspect something, but none of them feel like asking further questions.

Then the group sees a high class eastern house and they are guided to it. The guard guarding the entrance says to the other guard who guided Brutus and others there "Are these the holy ones?" To which the other guard says "Yes. Please allow us to enter and bring them to Lady Windstinthe."

The guard guarding the house says "Permission granted." After which the other guard says "Please follow me."

Brutus and the others could hear the guards guarding the house saying "I never would have guessed that we see real dragons." "Yeah, I would have loved to be the one to guide them to Lady Windstinthe." "It is unfortunate, but we have to follow orders."

Eventually the group enters a room and they see a familiar face talking to the woman of the house. The man talking to the lady says "And now I present them to you, Ms. Landtruthsin, true blooded dragons of Odysseium."

The lady says "Ah, how marvelous. For me to see a real dragon in my lifetime. Oh how marvelous." Then Brutus says to the familiar man "Elusive fucker strikes again." To which the man says "Oh come on now, I merely came here before you after I heard your wish to come here."

Brutus says "Still. For you to show up and make arrangements before we even landed here is just something you would do Li." Li says "I merely did one of the gods of this world a favor."

Brutus says "Hypocritical much?" and Li answers "I see your point." Then Li says to the Windstinthe "Now then Ms. Landtruthsin. Is there anything else you need me to do in order for us to be granted an audience with the queen and her council?" To which Windstinthe says "Before I make the arrangements, I simply must ask the holy ones a few questions."

Li says to Windstinthe "I'm afraid that our time is precious, so please keep it quick, ms Landtruthsin." Then Windstinthe says "I understand. I'll keep it short as possible."

Then Windstinthe clears her throat and says "Holy ones, how does it feel to be you?"

Brutus and the others stare at Windstinthe for a while, so Li says to her "I think you'll need to be a little more specific than that."

Then Windstinthe asks "Then, how does it feel to have so much power?" Li thinks "At least we have something to work with now." And Brutus says "Oh, it's awesome. I get to order people around as long as the boss doesn't mind."

Windstinthe then says "Your… boss… I… I heard he was a mere human." To which Brutus says "He is. So?" Windstinthe says "How… How can a magnificent dragon bow down to a mere human being?! They are leagues beneath you and they are disgusting! Is he using some sort of trick?! He has to be! Why else would such magnificent beings follow him?! Rest assured holy ones. After the meeting with the council, we'll make sure to free you from your chains."

Brutus and his group are angry after hearing this and Brutus is about to say something, but Li raises his hand as to keep Brutus and the others in line. Then Li says to Windstinthe "We'll see what'll happen after the meeting Ms. Landtruthsin. Say, how long do we need to wait for the audience?"

Windstinthe says "The members of the council are currently on their way to the great hall where the meeting will take place. I'm also part of the council that represents the sun guild. Others are the representative from the full moon guild, Pinatistar Artistlandend, the representative from the half moon guild, Rilica Tanstirieth, the representative from the new moon guild, Roliensis Aliturtis, the representative from the eclipse guild, Riliath Lordend, the representative from the abyssal guild, Rilot, and of course her majesty the queen Alisisius Sinnerreign. Of course there'll be at least two guards per representative, four queen's guards and her majesty's voicetress."

Then Li asks "Then when will we depart?" To which Windstinthe says "Shortly, my dear, shortly."

They continued to chat about some minor things, but the group of dragons were clearly not satisfied with how Li dealt with the insult to their lord. A while after, one of Windstinthe's attendants came to tell that the council had arrived at the great hall, after which Windstinthe said "If you all could follow me, please." They did so.

While they were walking, Brutus asked Li directly in his head "Why are you letting them talk shit about our boss?" To which Li answered in kind to Brutus' head "I understand how you all feel, but you'll have to bear with it for a while longer. I'll make sure they'll regret talking ill of our lord. Better yet, this'll all end in what they could call blasphemy."

Brutus then says to Li in the same manner "Oh now I'm excited to see what you are cooking." And Li says "I knew teaching you some real ones' slang was a mistake."

After a while of walking, they arrive at a platform that will send them to the great hall in the holy quarter. A huge island inhabited by the most direct descendants of dragons of Lutah.

After some more walking, they enter a big hall that has 14 stairs that cross the whole width of the hall. Every second stair has more depth in it to facilitate a place for a representative to sit. Each seat has a veil that blocks all but the outlines of the one sitting on the seat and lets the one sitting on the seat see the people in front clearly. The first seat is on the left side of the hall and after two steps, there is another seat at the right side of the hall. This happens six times and the 14th step is where the queen is sitting, with a veil going across the hall's width.

One of the attendants explained that sun, eclipse and abyss guilds are on the left side of the queen and in that order from top to bottom. The right side of the queen holds the full moon, half moon and new moon guilds in similar order.

Li puts his sleeve to his mouth and acts like he is going to throw up. The queens voicetress asks him on behalf of the queen "You seem unwell mr. Last. Is everything alright?" To which Li just says "I'm sorry. The blatant hierarchy based on their positions here is making me feel a bit nauseous. Don't worry about me and just start the meeting."

While the veils are there to hide the expressions of the representatives and the queen, there is a clear aura of confusion in the hall. Brutus and his group kind of know what this is all about, but decide to say nothing further.

Then the meeting began and people started to introduce themselves. After the introductions were done, Rilica said to Brutus and the company "So you are dragons from another world. Does this mean you compare to dragons of our world?" To which Brutus said "I haven't met any dragons from this world, so I cannot say, but you all seem quite hung up on our bo- king being human from another world that it might as well be the same. What do you say Li?"

Li gathered himself and said "Yes. While I have conversed with some of the gods, I discovered that they are of the opinion that while there are some minor differences, the races with corresponding names tend to be about the same in both worlds."

Pinatistar asks Li "You… have conversed with gods?" To which Li says "Yes. As much as it pains me to say, after the mythril tower was brought to this world, I've had a connection with the gods of this world. According to what I have learned, the tower can be used to ease gods' access to the other realms, meaning that when it is fully integrated, gods can converse with other realms basically like any other being in Lutah."

Then the queen's voicetress says "We'll have to wait and see the accuracy of your claims. And moving to the next topic, holy ones, would you bless us with your divine form for a brief moment if it isn't too much to ask for. The great hall was built to house several dragons of our world, so it should be big enough for you to transform."

Brutus looked around a bit and asked Sarias "Should we?" To which Sarias said "I don't think it causes any harm to do so." So Brutus nodded and then all four of them turned into their dragon forms.

Brutus was the largest one of them and his crimson red scales made the council look at him in awe. Loyd was more of a dark blue lightning dragon and Urip was dark green poison dragon.

Sarias on the other hand was a gray scaled dragon that had unusual four wings on her back. She was by far the smallest of the four, but that was to be expected of that specific dragon species that specialized in hoarding knowledge, and by byproduct magic. Her specific dragon species is a sub variant of a wind type dragon, though this variant has lost the ability to fully utilize their draconic winds.

The people of the council were murmuring amongst themselves for a moment, until Li jokingly said "You think that is majestic? If you had seen what was basically a dragon for the rell, you wouldn't even be able to compare."

Brutus asked "I haven't heard that one before. What were they like?" Then Li begins to explain the dragons of rell people.

"They were called Ournist Degs and they were more snake-like than lizard-like. They held three to seven wing-like structures around their body and they could fly through the air like they were swimming in water. Their form was hard to distinguish because, like the parent of rell, their body blended to the air around them to some extent. You would have had a hard time to see where the body of the Ournist Degs' ended and where the air began. 

They came in many colors, some of which were impossible for the non ana users to see, making them sometimes transparent in a way. I heard the gods of our world call them "serpent clouds" sometimes because of the transparency.

They had five eyes, but you could only see the middle one in their forehead, as it was most connected to the organ-like parts that controlled their ana. The remaining four eyes were almost impossible to pinpoint, but Ournist Degs could still "see" through them.

They could split their lower jaw to two and extend two sharp "jaws" from them. The rell called those part lucstin and they held a venom-like substance inside them.

Their habits were… well, I believe that should do to describe them." Riliath said to Li "That doesn't sound like a dragon at all to me." To which the other council members said "Agreed." And then Rilot said "They sound a little disgusting to be honest." To which the other council members said "Agreed."

Li looks disappointed and says "My my, but it is your dragons that look ridiculous." To which Roliansis responded with a little annoyed "How dare you say dragons look ridiculous? They are majestic creatures. Yours sound like a worm."

Li says "Let's just say that it is a matter of aesthetics and culture." Then Sarias responds with "Both sound like they could be described as worms in a sense."

And now Brutus asked "What are you talking about? We look nothing like worms." And Sarias asks "Have you seen the rell counterpart of a worm?" To which Brutus had to say "No, but…" And Sarias then says "Point proven." Brutus just asks in a frustrated tone "How?"

Then Sarias says "Let's move to the next topic, shall we?" And with that, Windstinthe says "How about we talk about welcoming all the dragons in Elysium to Rythcoth."

Li thinks "We are moving to that already?" And Riliath says "Yes, since their king is a lowly human, it is our duty as those with dragon's legacy to make sure the holy ones aren't tainted by that human. Hence, we'll make a formal order to the so-called king to let us have the dragons of Elysium." 

This angered Brutus and his group, but as per Li's request, they'll hold their tongue for the moment, though it may be unbearable. As such, Brutus stares at Li, who then says "If I may interject. This is no way to treat a king of a country."

The queen's voicetress says "It is acceptable as this one is human. And as per the sin that draconians once did, we cannot compromise on this." To this, Li says "You are referring to the belief that the reason why there are no dragons in the middle realm is because of how you allowed humans in your lands, correct?" Brutus and his group are surprised to hear that there are no dragons in the middle realm.

The queen's voicetress says "That is correct. We shall not make the same mistake twice." To which Li says "If I may, our lord, Faust Ilumnos, has asked me to tell you a message. In that message he made a proclamation to the whole Rythcoth. It states:

"If any Draconians can make Li Last bleed, I'll relinquish my position as the king of Elysium to the queen of Rythcoth. The one condition I have is that you'll make a public event out of it. However, should you fail in this challenge, the queen of Rythcoth has to make a public statement saying that "Rythcoth shall never stake claim to the dragons of Elysium." The offer in this proclamation is only valid until one side has been given their prize. After that, the offer in this proclamation ends. This is my proclamation."

And that is the end of it. And here is written proof with his signature." Li takes out a stone tablet that has the whole proclamation that Li said just now in it. One of the guards comes to pick it up and hands it to Pinatistar. 

After Pinatistar confirms that it is indeed written on the tablet and it has a signature reading "Faust Ilumnos", everyone is stunned by this message. Brutus and his group are questioning if their king would do such a thing and the council is stunned by the audacity of Lud.

Alisisius started to laugh for a while and nothing else could be heard in the great hall, then the voicetress said "If that low life thinks that highly of his subordinates, then why not take on this offer. Are there any objections in this council?" To which the hall fell silent.

Then the voicetress said "If that's the case, we shall hold an event in the grand arena once used for the holy ones to duke it out. The event will be held in two days, further information will be given once all the preparation is sorted. Quests from Elysium, you may leave if you so wish."

Li then asks "Before I leave, I have to ask one question that I don't have an answer to. Is the face of ms. Sinnerreign off limits for people like me?" To which Pinatistar says "Together with her voice, her highness' face is not to be observed by the public."

Then Li says "So that's how it is. Then I refrain from giving you one tip of knowledge so as to not make you all upset." Pinatistar asks "What are you…", but then Li gives a light bow and starts leaving. Brutus and the others soon followed suit.

Brutus asked Li "Is this really going to happen?" To which Li asked in turn "Do you think I would be so daring to falsify such a statement?" 

Brutus fell silent and soon Sarias said "Did our lord think of this by himself?" To which Li said "I think it was Ms. Livendig's idea."

Then Brutus asked "You think you can pull it off?" To which Li said "Dodging these people would be child's play, but I think I'll go with the fully defensive strategy." And Sarias said "So you are going to put all your stats on defense." And Li said "Precisely."

Then Brutus asked Li "Come to think of it, haven't you gotten used to the hierarchy in Elysium by now? Why do you feel sick this time?" And to that, Li answered "I have come to tolerate the hierarchy in Elysium to the point it causes little to no discomfort. But seeing something like this is, in simple terms, another flavor entirely."

Then Brutus says "So what you are saying is that in turn of tasting one kind of bullshit for a while, you have to taste another kind of bullshit now." To which Sarias says "That is a little crude interpretation." And Li says "That sums it up quite nicely, to be honest."

They walk for some time and then Loyd asks "So what was that about not upsetting them?" To which Li says "I could see behind the veil with ease." To which Loyd says "That definitely would have upset them."

Then Urip asks "By the way, where are we going?" To which Li says "I do wonder as well." To which Brutus says "Wait, but we were following you since you seemed to know where you were going. Did you just start walking randomly in some direction just because?" Li just smiles happily and says "But isn't this the way to see the world's wonders? You never know who you see and where you go."

And so, Sarias says "Why don't we go ask for some help?" To which Li says "You can do that if you wish so. I'll just walk around and see where I'll end up in two days."

Sarias then says "You do know that you'll have to be in the event, right?" After which Li starts to whistle carefree as he goes. Sarias tries to stop Li, but Brutus grabs her by the shoulder and shakes his head.

Two days later, people gathered at the great arena that was about two times larger than a regular football field. Somehow, Li managed to find himself in time there in spite of no one from the council managed to get in contact with him between the time he left the great hall and now. He was carrying a bunch of books with him and the crowd was murmuring about his character.

There were also other people in the arena, ready to give glory to their homeland. And while the council was in belief that the rumors about Elysium's might were just rumors, they didn't take any chances and made sure the best of Rythcoth would come to take the win.

The announcer introduces Li and why he was there and during their speech, insults the king of Elysium. Brutus and the others were also watching the fight in special seats, but they knew better as to not cause any trouble. However, Brutus was getting on the edge of losing it.

As the announcements were finished, Li's first opponent came forth and the announcer introduced them. "Here comes the rising star of the moon-knights, Larisios Untrusted!"

There were magical devices that would take a close up view of the fighters and put it in giant screens that floated around the arena so that viewers could see them closer.

Li was casually reading his books, turning pages in about five second intervals. Larisios said to him "Are you going to start or what, human's lapdog?" To which Li said while he kept reading "So we are doing insults now? Very well then, don't mind me, you mistake of a person. I'm quite confident I can deal with you while I read this piece."

Larisios was annoyed, but still held his composure as to keep up a good image. Then he said "Suit yourself" and attacked Li with his sword. Li however, didn't move an inch and wasn't injured in the slightest. People were surprised by this, as Larisios was known to have quite good swordhand.

Larisios just said "Don't think that even though you came unharmed, I still got more in me to make you suffer." And so Larisios kept attacking Li with his sword.

Attack after attack, no hit caused any change in Li who was just casually reading his book. At some point, Li placed the book on the ground and picked another book. Larisios became more and more irritated, but nothing he gave made any progress.

And so the queen's voicetress gave an order for Larisios to leave the arena, as he couldn't make any progress at all. Gritting his teeth, Larisios left the arena frustrated, swearing he'll make Li suffer the next time they meet.

Then came another person to make Li bleed. He was quite a muscular man who had plenty of scars around his body. The announcer said "Now then, let us welcome our next fighter, an S-rank adventurer. He is known for his fights against colossus tortoises. A terrifying man known as… Rudolf Anglora!"

Rudolf looked at Li and said "I think they are getting too lax on the moon-knights to give us such a weak person. No matter, I'll give you a run for your money little man." Li just said while reading his book "Even though it doesn't really matter, I'd much prefer the insult of "old man" than "little man". Just a preference though."

Rudolf says "Whatever" and attacks Li. Again, Li didn't even budge from that attack. The announcer goes wild, saying "You see that?! Not even the mighty colossus tortoise slayer could make a scratch on our quest! Is this truly the might of our colossus tortoise slayer, or is the quest just that tough?!"

Rudolf says "Not bad little man, not bad. It seems you are much sturdier than you look. Let me get a little serious." Then a powerful aura comes from Rudolf that even reaches the audience. The announcer shouts "You see that folks?! This must be our S-rank adventurer's special attack called "Mountain splitting strike"! I doubt our little quest can withstand this one!"

Rudolf then says "Any last words, little man?" To which Li simply says "See wisdom in the words of your elders." And so, the mighty downward slash comes down at Li and the dust flies everywhere.

When the dust settles, Li is still standing while Rudolf has flown back a little from the drawback of hitting an immovable object. Li just comments "Would you look at that, the ground held on without cracking. Oh right, this was built by and for dragons, my mistake." He didn't take his eyes off the book even for a single moment. His other books that were sitting besides him previously, have now flown thanks to Rudolf's attack.

While everyone but Brutus and the group was astounded, Li just used ana to gather the books to their previous positions. After the books were neatly stacked and the dust blown away, Li switched books and started reading again.

Rudolf, not sure what to do, tried the same attack a second time with the same result. Then a third time. Then a fourth time.

Tired, Rudolf dropped to the ground and said "Monster." To which Li just commented "You are just weak. The formation of your mana is off when you try to channel your attack and you need to do something about your actual stance and form."

Rudolf said "I give up" And the announcer said "Thi- This is amazing! The legendary adventurer Rudolf couldn't even leave a scratch on our guest! Now who will be able to bring glory to our glorious nation?!"

The audience looked doubtful for a while, until voicetress said "Captain Ylifa." Then a woman clad in armor appeared like a flash to the arena. After double checking, the announcer shouted "Ladies and gentleman, now the stage has truly been set! Our guest who has been able to withstand the blows of the rising star of moon-knights Larisios and the mountain slasher Rudolf, will now go up against the captain of the queen's guard, the lightning empress herself, Ylifa Rain!"

The crowd cheered, but Li didn't even raise his head to see her face, which was considered beautiful all across the nations. Ylifa drew her sword with authority and pointed it at Li.

Before Ylifa attacked, she said to Li "I will not let her highness be forced to speak such terms, let alone use her own voice."

Li, feeling like something is off, raises his eyes off the book he was reading and thinks for a moment, but in that moment Ylifa had already struck a mighty blow that had defeated many opponents.

Then Li says casually like Ylifa wasn't trying to kill him "Oh, I think there has been a misunderstanding. There were no terms in my lord's proclamation that demanded her highness to speak using her own voice."

Ylifa, while stunned by Li being unaffected while not showing it on her face, readies her blade again and puts all the power she has in it and strikes yet again. Only this time, pointed at Li's throat.

As expected, the strike didn't go through and Li was unaffected. Only thing that was affected was the shockwave that was born after the all piercing strike of Ylifa met the immovable Li. The shockwave made dust go all around and the books were all scattered again. Ylifa also broke her right arm that was holding the sword.

After the dust had settled and Li put his books in the same conditions they were previously, the atmosphere fell dead silent. Before the dust settled, people were murmuring about the results, but those were now silenced. Everyone knew that the queendom's best couldn't even make a scratch on the person standing in front of them.

After noticing that no one was speaking for quite a while, Li just calmly said while still having his attention on the book he was reading "If that is all, I'd like Ms. Sinnerreign to make a public statement."

While he said out loud that Alisisius didn't need to use her own voice, he had the feeling that it was now a matter of dignity of queendom of Ruthcoth, no, of the whole draconian race. And as such, he let the queen herself make the decision if she should use her voice or not.

People near the queen's seating could hear the voicetress trying to speak to Alisisius, but soon, a very meek and trembling young girl's voice could be heard from the speakers "I-I …Alisisius…Listus… Artictisius… Ilminuesus… Sinnerreign… hereby declare… that the queendom… of Ruthcoth… shall never… and will never… stake claim to… the dragons of… of Elysium."

Silence only followed after Alisisius spoke. Then Li started speaking in a way that everyone in the arena could hear. He said "Now that that is out of the way, let me give you a little lost knowledge about dragons to the queendom of Rythcoth. You see, the common belief that dragons don't come to the middle realm because they let humans roam free once upon a time, is false according to the dragon god Trixtitkitus. The real reason why there are no dragons in the middle realm is quite the opposite.

You see, the belief of one's race's realm of origin having an hierarchy system of any kind is the product of the people of the middle realm. The dragons of the middle realm once were so disgusted by the actions of those residing in here that they made a pact to never set foot on this realm. Those dragons who thought the hierarchy between different realms was how things should have been had their dragonhood stripped away and would be forced to become those draconians residing originally on the holy island."

This caused people to murmur for a while, but then Li continued "I know what you all are thinking. "Who is this guy to say such words" "He is so full of himself that he uses the word of gods to further his words legitimacy." These are only thought that you'll have to let spew for a while longer, since the era when gods can commune with other realms is nigh as the mythril tower has appeared in this world. When the gods come, they will once again try to fix your crooked belief in the hierarchy between realms system.

So take these words to your heart for now and try to amend your way of thinking if you believe me. But should you not believe me now, then wait for the day when gods may come down to speak the same words as I did today. Do this, and maybe you'll see dragons of this world in your lifetime.

And if I haven't made a convincing argument by now, riddle me this. Why can you see dragons in the lower realm if the sin you talk about was about you letting races of the lower realm come to this one?

I'll leave you with that. And ms. Sinnerreign." Li appears where Alisisius' was seated but still the veil between them, bows like a gentleman and then says "The beauty of your voice matches the beauty of your appearance. A shame that you present the idea of you being against the idea of my lord." With those words, Li disappeared from the arena and all that was left was confusion.

Brutus then talks to Li and asks "What was that last part all about? You trying to charm some chicks as well?" To which Li says "You jest. I simply tried to put a seed of doubt in her, however small it may be."

Brutus asks "What for? Do you think she'll work for us? Even after what she said?" To which Li says "The only words we heard from her mouth were the public statement. There is hope that ms. Sinnerreign has some empathy towards humans."

Brutus asks "You seem so sure about this. Why is that?" To which Li answers "I just met similar people before. Those whose opinions were suppressed by the masses. But I have to say that it is only a hope that I have that she'll stand with us when the time is right. It could very well be that she hates humans as much as the masses."

Brutus asks "At least you are aware. But what are you talking about "When the time is right"?" And Li answers "There will be changes coming to the middle realm and we are the catalysts of that. When the gods will descend to speak their mind to the people of the middle realm, will they listen, or will they ignore it."

Brutus says "For someone who hates hierarchy and gods, you sure are putting a lot of faith in the gods." To which Li says "Don't even mention that again. I'm feeling even more sick than I did when I said those words to Ms. Sinnerreign."

Brutus asks "Which time?" To which Li asks "What do you mean "which time"? I obviously talked about the compliment I gave her."

Brutus says "I thought that you had a thing for her or something." To which Li asks "Where did you get that idea? I can tolerate serving our lord, but sucking up to someone who takes their position for granted is another thing. Though then again, I don't know how she views her own position."

Brutus says "You should see the people's faces right now. Those who heard what you said about the dragons are both angry and confused. And those who heard you say those words to the queen or whatever are out for blood after what you implied." To which Li says "I expected as much. I think I can manage to do a few things in Rythcoth before there is a notice for my arrest."

Brutus asks "You have something you want to do in here?" To which Li says "While I was walking around Rythcoth, I met interesting people and managed to make few friendships blossom. That is also why I had that many books to read."

Brutus asks "I may regret asking this, but what were the books about?" To which Li answers "From gardening to woodwork. From cooking to sewing. Generally all kinds of topics about craftsmanship, though there were also few books about wars and tactics."

Brutus asks "You read those kinds of books while you were fighting? Talk about confidence." To which Li says "I made sure to calculate their capabilities when they came in front of me. A perk I acquired when I was the so-called "top dog of single player bosses"."

Then Brutus asks "So what are we going to do now?" To which Li answered "Do whatever you like in this so-called "Land of dragons". Just don't try to cause any political issues during your stay. Now if you excuse me, I'll have something to attend to."

Li then blocks any communication after that point to make sure he'll be able to enjoy his "vacation".

When Brutus and his group left to Rythcoth, Lud called Li for a chat.

He said "Hey Li, do you want to go on a little mission?" To which Li answered "That is quite a straight request coming from you. What is it about?"

Then Lud gave Li the stone tablet he had prepared after Brutus and others decided to go to Rythcoth. Li read it and asked "Are you sure about this, my lord? This has a magical contract attached to it." To which Lud said with a warm smile "I have faith in you that you won't fail me."

Li then said to Lud "I feel a little sick after being talking to so many gods and now I'm handed a mission… from my *burb*... superior… It is a really tough position I agreed to take that day."

Lud said "Sorry. I know how hard it is for you to do all these kinds of things that involve hierarchy and the like. But since you have done so well after we came here, I thought you could handle it. If it is too much, feel free to refuse."

Li said "You have to learn what it means to be a leader, my lord. Sometimes, even if you think of something as a request that your underling could refuse, there will be a stigma placed on the person placed on that underling about how they refused your request."

Lud said while pondering "So what you are telling me is if it is a request coming from the top, it can be taken more like an order." To which Li responded "Precisely."

Lud just said "I'm sorry. I only ever worked at construction sites and the likes so I haven't had to think about these kinds of things. I'm more used to just doing what I'm told, so leadership isn't something I'm so used to."

Li said "It is fine, my lord. As they say, no one is born a master blacksmith. I'll take this request then." To which Lud said "Thanks. And since you have worked so hard since we came to this world, why don't you take a vacation for a couple of days after you are finished."

Li smiled as he left and said "You are getting there, my lord. You are getting there."