"Dragons were considered to be one of the strongest races ever conceived. Many claimed that their power even surpassed the Fairies, and if not for the birth of Haru Sini, they would have surely stayed at the top of the food chain."
Sieg nodded and grabbed his massive arrow. "They were certainly powerful, I'll give you that. It is why my arrows are so big."
"But Dragons, even with all their might, were not able to stay at the top of the food chain. And do you know why this is?"
Sieg frowned and shook his head. "I guess because Haru was stronger?"
"Close, but no. They had a flaw. They were too few. Haru likely would have wiped them out, but this fatal error they had ensured they would fail. Did you know that only five dragons actually existed?"
"What? That can't be right, can it?" Sieg said, surprised.
"Oh, but it is. The first dragon, Sigurd the Dragon King. He is what is known as a True Dragon. See, the angels, they didn't make other beings like the stories say. They started off with a single creation, and that was Sigurd. He was truly a mighty being with scales harder than anything in the universe and fire that burned so hot it could create new stars. They say he was the one who inherited this world, and he was free to do as he wished, for the fairies left him behind. However, unknown to them, they made a mistake. Sigurd was born with a skill he shouldn't have."
"And what was that?" Sieg asked.
"He was born with Omnimorph, a skill that was able to bend fate and the laws of the universe, allowing him to do as he pleased. And do you know what Sigurd did with that power?"
"What?"
"He created a family. The Almighty created the angels and left them behind in this world, and in turn they made Sigurd. I believe they created him because they were lonely. Their God had left them, and so Sigurd was a way to fill that hole that had been left in their hearts. In the end, though, they did the same as their master and left Sigurd alone. And so, he created life. Using Omnimorph and the power left over from the Angels and the Almighty, Sigurd created four treasures. Four children."
Sieg nodded and finished strapping on his bow and the rest of his gear. He was about to step outside of the small cabin he and his teacher had been living in, but he decided to stop and listen to the rest of the story.
"The four dragons were Sigurd's greatest creation, and he gave them all a piece of his power. These four are the Greater Dragons, and they each hold a color and a concept. The white dragon, the Great Dragon of Roads, and his twin brother, the black dragon, the Great Dragon of Stories. These two inherited their father's ability to manipulate the laws of the world, though to a far lesser extent. Next, you had the red dragon, the Great Dragon of Love, and her brother, the blue dragon, the Great Dragon of Hate. They inherited their father's emotions and sense of life."
"If there were only ever those five dragons, why is history filled with knights fighting them?" Sieg asked. "I thought the elven king wiped them out with his curse?"
"The four Great Dragons would follow in their father's footsteps. Specifically the blue and red, for they both needed beings they could love and beings they could hate. This would lead to the creation of the Lesser Dragons. These beings were not true Dragons. They are things like wyverns, drakes, hydras, and other such beings. They resemble dragons, and it can be said they're mighty, but they're not actually dragons themselves and lack the divinity that Sigurd held. As these lesser dragons were created, Sigurd would still consider them his children and would create the giants with the last of his divinity. He did so hoping that the race of Giants would be servants to his kids, but ironically the Giants would create the Elves and attempt to overthrow the Dragons. Of course, the Elves in turn would also turn on the Giants."
"And the elves did manage to slay the dragons in the end."
"Indeed they did. It took a while, but the Elves would create a new race. The race of man. They would cultivate this species for years, using them as foot soldiers and test subjects. Then one day, Haru would appear, and everything would change. Humans would begin to break away from the Elves. Beings like Han Yuan would flee them and forge their own nation. Realizing that the end was near, King Sylas would pour all his efforts into creating a deadly curse. This spell was so dark and evil that it would snuff out the souls of every female dragon. The Lesser Dragons were nearly wiped out in an instant, and even the Greaters suffered. Mana, the red dragon, would slowly wither away, and she would die."
"And this event would lead to the downfall of the elves," Sieg snorted. "Sigurd would team with Haru, and together, along with the Ebony Knight, Han Yuan, and the Loudest Thunder, they would storm Sylas's home, destroy his ultimate weapon, and slay him. A happy ending."
"If you could call such an event a happy ending."
"I would. Wouldn't you?"
"Many died, and in the end it led to the creation of the Demons. As I told you, those guys are able to negate my power, and so, should one get unsealed, we will be out of luck."
Sieg shrugged. "Personally, I don't care about any of that, sir. I only care about getting strong enough to defeat Evelyn and save my brother."
"And that is why I am training you. The one who is now calling herself Evelyn is extremely dangerous. She can control and bewitch the minds of others, no doubt a trait she got from the Great Dragon of Roads. What a fool he had been. With this power, she has quickly gained control over history, and thus everything I know has quickly gone wrong. This is why, when I am done training you and I ensure my skills and techniques are engraved into your body, I'll be wiping your mind. You'll forget that you ever met me and will simply follow the mission as if it is through your own instincts."
Sieg reached up and tapped at his brain. "No worries. You can wipe my mind as much as you want."
"Oh? You're very trusting."
"We've likely had this conversation before." Sieg hummed. "After all, you've said you wiped my mind a few times to see what stuck and see how well my memories were guarded. I obviously can't recall those moments, but the fact I'm still here and not dead means that you haven't tried to kill me. After all, with your power you could. You're so strong; I doubt anyone could stop you."
"Well, sorry, but there are still plenty of people who can. I hate to break it to you, but even from where I originated from, I was never that strong. I prefer being a backup rather than the one who pulls the strings. This mentoring stuff and going against Evelyn has me stressed out."
Sieg laughed. "Well, I guess that makes sense, but you're good at it. You've taught me how to use my lightning, and thanks to you I was able to get my monster core mostly under control." He glanced down at his hand and balled it into a fist. "I need to grow a lot stronger. I still have to save my brother. If that means becoming a monster or losing my mind from dozens of wipes and rewrites, then so be it. After all, it is the duty of an older brother to die for the younger sibling."
"..."
Sieg glanced back at his teacher and managed to smile. "Thank you again, sir." He placed a fist into his hand and bowed, showing his respect. "I couldn't have done this without you, Master Alpha."
Alpha sighed and scratched at his chin. "You really shouldn't say thanks yet. We still have a few years. I'll be posing as a member of the Phoenix Flight guild and have managed to use my circuits to make them think I've always been there. I'll be going by Vlad from now on. Not like you'll remember. After today, you'll be wiped once again, and I'll place you where you'll need to be."
Sieg hummed and finished his bow. "Right. I just have to finish this one mission."
He was able to get a lot stronger after meeting his teacher. Alpha was a strange man, but one who was effective as a mentor.
Alpha wore long black pants and a faded white hoodie, which he had pulled up. His face was that of an elderly man in his late fifties or early sixties. He had various wrinkles and scars across his face, and his messy reddish-brown hair was filled with various grey streaks. What stood out the most about him were his eyes. One a bright blue and the other a dark black. They were both dull and so tired.
Sieg often wondered how old his mentor truly was or if the man even came from this world. The things Alpha could do and spoke of often made him think otherwise.
"I'll be off then." Sieg turned away and gave a half wave. "I guess I won't be seeing you again, will I?"
"You will, but you won't know me."
"Fair enough." And with that, Sieg left the cabin.
***
He had been training with Alpha for nearly three years now.
Alpha claimed he wasn't a good teacher, but in actuality, Sieg had learned more from him than he had from any of his teachers back when he had lived in his home village.
This was because Alpha was known as a Regressor. He didn't fully understand what it meant, but it seemed like it gave Alpha the ability to rewind time, but only by a small bit.
Alpha used this power to try out dozens of different training methods and styles, build off those, and use what resulted in the most effort. Sieg appreciated that, as it allowed him to rapidly grow his power and become far stronger than he normally would have.
That said, he could only recall fragmented sections due to the number of times his brain had been fried and rebuilt by Alpha. Over and over again, over the course of three years, Alpha had taught him everything, then wiped his mind, and did it all again to force it to stick with him. The plan was that even after his mind had been wiped for the final time, his body would recall all the lessons and be able to do it all instinctively.
This would be his final test. Either his body would remember everything, or he'd die.
Sieg marched forward and arrived in a forest. He glanced around, and his skin burned as the mana of the dungeon washed over him. He took a deep breath.
"Alright. I'm ready."
Then a switch was flipped.
Deep within his mind, hundreds of circuits that had been sliced in began to flare as an imaginary pulse of mana danced through his nerves. For a second, Sieg's body shook, then he blinked and glanced around.
"Where am I?" He groaned and rubbed his head. It was killing him, and his brain felt like it was on fire. He also tasted copper, and he could feel a powerful nosebleed coming on. "What the hell happened?"
The world was shaking, and he tried to collect his thoughts but was blanking on them. For some reason, he was dressed in leather armor, with a cloak thrown over him and a quiver filled with spears. His oni mask hung on a chain and rested over his heart. No matter how hard he tried to recall, he couldn't figure out why he was here.
The last thing he remembered was…
What was the last thing he remembered?
Davi had been taken by some woman, and he needed to get his brother back. That woman was evil and needed to die, and only he could do that. He had trained with… Someone? Who? When? For how long? How old was he?
His muscles were bulging, and he could feel that his mana had rapidly strengthened. He must have gotten a lot stronger-
Just as he was wondering about that, the forest began to shake, and from the ground something began to rip its way out.
"What human dares to set foot within my domain?" A monster began to rise up, coming from deep beneath the earth. It was nearly fourteen feet long and had shimmering white and red scales along its body, along with white fur that wrapped around its neck like a mane. It had the body of a snake, but it floated off the ground, and two little arms poked out of its side, and there was a pair of whiskers that rapidly flowed up and down, poking out of its face.
A Lung.
One of the lesser dragons. These ones usually resided near the bottom, and since all the dragons died out from the elf king's curse, that meant this one was most likely a type of mutation. A human had become the thing that stood before him, and if he wasn't careful, he'd also become one.
The monster core inside of him vibrated, and for a second he recalled the dragon that burned his home to the ground.
"Speak, human!" The Lung roared. "Why are you here?"
Sieg looked at it coldly and spoke. "Row Electric Bolt."
The bolt of lightning blasted forward and slammed into the Lung's eye, making it roar in pain. Its body thrashed around for a moment, and blood poured down the side of its face. It then growled and blasted out a stream of fire straight at the arrogant human who had marched into its home.
"Row Electric Aura!" Sieg felt his body move on its own, and he became coated in a shimmering aura of orange and gold. Spells he didn't even know came to his tongue as he avoided the fire and pulled one of his spears off his back. In a flash, he zapped over to the Lung and slammed his weapon out, forcing the blade beneath a scale, and then he pulled back, ripping it off.
The Lung roared again and smashed down with its body. "You damn bastard!"
Sieg narrowly dodged the strike, his aura greatly boosting his speed, and his mana flowed so cleanly through his weapon. The monster tried again, and this time he blocked it with his spear. "Row Electric Shield." A bubble of lightning appeared around him right as the Lung smashed its body into him.
Sieg was sent flying back, but his energy kept him safe. Meanwhile, the bubble of lightning exploded, and the energy flowed into the Lung's open wound, boiling its blood. This caused the Lung to spasm in place and left it wide open.
Sieg used a tree to stop his fall and took aim with his spear. "Vil Electric Bow!" Since when did he have a spell on the level of Vil? The mana swirled and formed into a crackling greatbow, the size of the man, which he wielded with one arm, and in his other arm, he placed his spear onto it and began to pull back. "All dragons will die. Every last one of them. Along with all their spawns. That includes the witches of this world." Sieg fired the arrow, and it exploded through the sound barrier. "I will kill that woman and save my brother!"
The spear rammed into the Lung and hit it hard enough to pierce all the way through. The monster's eyes went wide with pain, and then it began to fall forward and collapse.
"No!" The monster's eyes flared, and fire exploded out of its mouth. Its entire body ignited, and it flew forward at incredible speeds, ramming into Sieg, who was unable to react. The two of them went through several trees, and Sieg cried out as the fire burned his clothes and flesh. "If I'm going to die, then I'm taking you with me!" The Lung declared.
The monster came ramming down with its body and slammed into the blonde-haired man as hard as it could, shoving him into the ground. It began to strike at him over and over again with its skull, bashing him again and again, and the fire that coated it flared hotter and hotter.
Sieg felt his eyes roll back, and his vision began to darken. Everything hurt so badly, and he felt like he was dying. His life began to flash before his eyes.
Davi…
He had to save Davi.
"I won't be defeated here!" Sieg's mana erupted, and it began to change into a shadowy black color. The Lung froze, and its eyes went wide. Sieg's mask also turned dark, and he placed it over his face. "Row Electric-Shadow Vault."
Lightning rained from the sky, and the Lung screamed as various black hands exploded out, and they began to grab at his body. Black lightning was swirling around Sieg, and he casually snapped his fingers, causing the hands to rip the poor beast apart, spilling its guts and killing it almost instantly.
Just as fast as the Lung died, Sieg's aura suddenly shut off, and he nearly vomited but just barely managed to hold himself back.
"W-What the fuck? Why the hell do I have the ability to use a Core Mask? Was that Davi's shadow magic? How do I have that? That was his Shadow Vault?" He grunted as the pain in his head grew worse, and memories he simply couldn't recall tried to surface but failed. "What the hell is going on? What happened to me?"
Slowly, Sieg managed to stand back up, and he glanced down at the dead snake. He didn't understand what had just happened, but one thing was for sure. He had gotten a lot stronger.
Meanwhile, unknown to Sieg, Alpha, or Vlad, as he was now going by, quietly stood at the top of a nearby tree and watched the entire encounter.
The man gave a soft smirk. "Well, he's no Hope Lauren, but he'll do. Next time we meet, kid, hopefully we'll both be in the Phoenix Flight guild."