The streets and towers around us were adorned with stipes and other kinds of decorations.

The more we got closer to the center and the more we could see.

Even some stalls started to appear.

But nobody looked at us because of the commotion.

 

As we got closer the voices from the narrator increased exponentially.

"ahhh. The chief. The chief is out!"

"He looked at me! I am going to faint."

"The chief is the strongest!"

"ahhhhhh"

 

Can books have an headache?

My head almost exploded.

 

After a bit, the voices calmed down and I could understand more about the situation.

The chief was an old man.

When it came out of the door of the great stone tower he shouted and then his muscles bulged. His shoulders and part of his arms became covered in dragon scales.

 

It was a skill that only the strongest dragonkin could use. Dragonification.

 

When he was at his peak he could cover his entire upper body in dragon scales increasing his strength and toughness.

He started to talk.

"Welcome! Fellow dragonkin! Today we are celebrating the 500th anniversary of the creation of dragon's village.

Our great dragon ancestor feared no enemy! He broke every wall that stopped him. He killed everyone that angered him. His strength was unrivaled. He founded this village on those principles. We, the dragonkin, have his blood running through our veins.

We are the strongest race in existence. No one can mess with us.

Those barbarian bests don't dare to get near our village. Even the so-called king of those lowly beasts is hidden in some puddle and doesn't dare to stick his head out.

Every year. With every new generation, we become stronger and this generation is no exception!

John! came here!"

 

The son of that woman that we met before went to the side of the chief.

 

"He is best one those who awakened today. He might have a middle-grade contract but he is far stronger than those of the older generation who had a high-grade contract"

 

At that moment the voices which previously calmed down became chaotic once again.

"Only middle-grade, are we really getting stronger?"

"Last time there were two high-grade contracts"

"Low-grade is the lowest and peak-grade is the highest"

"We only had peak-grade contract hundreds of years ago, are we getting weaker?"

"Idiot, how can that be. Now we are stronger. Those peak-grade contracts are a legend"

"But the facts say that ..."

"Idiot"

 

The chief started to speak again making the voices quiet down.

 

"As a symbol of our strength, we will place the 500th stone on the great stone tower.

John"

 

There was a goods lift on the side of the tower. A large stone was on that lift.

John got on the lift and started to pull a rope. The lift slowly went up.

 

On top of the tower, there was a wooden platform with a system of pulleys and ropes to ease the lifting.

John was slowly getting to the top. After reaching the top would move the huge stone to his place.

 

While John had stared to pull on the rope Thorn and Thomas had reached the center.

They were on top of the second and third highest towers which were connected by a bridge.

The great stone tower was only a few meters from them.

 

Thomas looked panicked. He was at the edge of the bridge with nowhere to run.

"Thorn! Why are you doing this! You are weak! You should know your place! Why do you keep fighting back! The gap between us will only get larger!"

Thorn: "For what you did back then! For what you are doing now! For how you hurt my family! Do you think I can stand still! Do you think that just because you are strong you can bully whoever you want? That the world is yours? That you can treat other people like dogs and that they should be blessed to be your dogs?

Do you know what saddens me the most! It is not just you who acts like this. It's this whole village. They act like they are strong. They expect others to revere them because of their ancestor. But even if that ancestor was the strongest and mightiest being in the entire world he is just an ancestor. Just because he was strong we are strong too? Why? Because of that insignificant trace of blood? Because of the contracts?

Then why are they called contracts and not gifts?

I'll tell you why! You have to work and then you will get paid. You have to put in the effort to get something in return. You will not get anything for free. And yet you don't do anything and just talk about the past and how great you are. 

What strongest race! We are the weakest race! One day we might collapse without not even knowing what hit us!

While you were in the village bickering on who to bully I was training. That is why I will beat you even without a contract!"

 

"Hahahahahahah!"

"Hahahahaha"

Thomas put his hand on his belly to not die of laughter.

"Ahhahaha"

 

"That! That is exactly what a weakling would say. Even if you are strong you shouldn't take anything from a weakling. Well, f**k you weakling. I'll beat you and take anything that you own me. Now come. Let me how painful is the bite of a mosquito"

 

Thorn started to run on the bridge pointing his blade toward Thomas. He was almost at the edge when he noticed Thomas preparing to jump. He jumped to intercept him. At this distance, he couldn't miss him.

 

Thomas's lips turned up in a sinister mockingly smile. One that said gotcha!

A huge energy shot from his feet making him jump two times higher than his highest jump from before and making Thorn's blade miss. 

He had just used his mana.

A shocked expression of realization appeared on Thorn's face.

His opponent had not even used mana during the entire fight.

 

"Goodbye weakling"

 

A second realization struck Thorn's face. After jumping and missing his target he was falling from the top of the second-highest tower right in the plaza where the ceremony was taking place. He would fall on the teeth of the dragon ancestor statue and he would be gravely injured after the fall. He had to stop his fall somehow

 

At that moment on the top of the great stone tower John was trying to lift a heavy rock.

He was smiling but a hint of deep worry that showed on his face destroyed his reputation of the strongest awakened which he was trying to maintain at all costs.

"I can't lift it"

 

"What is going on"

"What is he waiting for"

"Does he have some kind of problem?"

"Hey, It can't be... He can't lift it?"

 

People were starting to worry when they saw a strange object

A person was falling to stop his fall he stabbed his sword in the spaces between the stones of the great stone tower at the center of the village.

An unremarkable stone, one that looked like the other 499 that composed the tower cracked when colliding with the sword.

Some of his pieces fell to the ground leaving an empty space in the tower.

The stone above that empty space moved as if it wanted to close that space but instead, it fell.

Then the other stones followed. When the dust disappeared every one saw it.

The tower that stood for 500 years had fallen.

The symbol of their strength. The monument of their past had fallen.

 

Thorn was coughing but was not hurt.

Killing intent filled the air.

As he looked around he found the gazes of countless people rushing to kill him.