Inside the throne room of a destroyed palace that looked made of ice, a king had his eyes closed, while resting on his throne while supporting his head with both hands. He wore an emerald armor made of an especial mineral that could only be mined inside the ancestral cave of the Guardian of the Lake, which was also the resting place of its bones.

This armor had a special significance to the people of the kingdom, but most of all, it was thought to be indestructible, as even the mining of said mineral is almost impossible to do by anyone but the most powerful warriors and handled only by master craftsmen.

“My king.”-The calm but delicate voice of a woman came out of the knight that quickly kneeled right beside the throne, with her head down. “Let me go. I’ll help his majesty Prince Zulgar and end the life of the intruder.”

“No…”-A lethargic voice came out of the King’s mouth. “You stay here, with me.”

“But, my king!”-The knight raised.

“I order you, to stay here.”-The voice of the king resonated once again, while his head slowly turned towards the knight while frowning.

“But-”-The knight started to speak once again but was stopped by the hand of the kind, who gestured her to stop.

“I know what you want to say…”-The king said while stepping to the front of the throne, where stairs led down to the ground level of the throne room, which was exactly four steps under the throne.

*RUMBLE*

A sudden tremble came to the throne room, making everyone present in the room shudder from fear. Fear of the fight between what, for them, could perfectly be monsters in humanoid form. A fight that has been making the whole palace tremble and crumble down.

“If any of you wishes to, you can leave this cursed place.”-The voice of the king resonated inside the room. “I won’t hold any grudge against those who chose to leave.”

“My king!”-The knight once again rushed towards him, but was stopped by the king’s hand.

“I was the one to bring forth such disaster. I was the one that put our kingdom inside this danger.”-The calm voice of the king resonated again, before turning to his throne, grabbing his emerald-colored helmet and sitting down while putting on the helmet and grabbing the scabbard that was resting beside the throne. “I’ve already spoken. You are free to do as you please.”-With those last words, the king stayed in silence, only looking straight to the door.

“…”-The knight looked at him, before turning to the rest of the warriors. “You’ve heard our king! Those of you that wish to leave, can do so freely. You won’t be held responsible nor be treated as a traitor for your choice.”

A still silence permeated the place, no one moved, no one answered to the knight. Everything was in complete silence until the palace trembled again, this time, with a big part of the castle crumbling down on the east-wing.

A group of werebeasts stood tall and proud, their species one made for war and fighting. They had different shapes, from sharks to whales and even turtles. But if there was something, they all had in common, was the determination to fight to the death.

“We’re not such cowards that would escape while our king stays here to fight.”-The biggest of them all, a blue whale werebeast spoke.

“We’re not running away.”-Said a warrior that took out his helmet, his undine ancestry clear on his face.

“W-we were commanded to wait here, to wait for our lord’s return. We’ll wait here for our lord to return with glory!”-One of the warriors that came with Prince Zulgar shouted.

“*chuckle*”-A deep chuckle escaped the king’s mouth. “There’s no glory in what we did…”

“W-what do you-”-The warrior tried to ask, but was interrupted.

*knock, knock, knock*

Three knocks came from the other side of the closed door.

***

Right now, in front of the door that led towards the throne room. Cristopher stood with his new spear in hand, one basically useless arm that needs time to heal, and probably some help, and his torn clothes.

 

“Almost there. I hope I didn’t lose all my life’s luck while finding this spear.”-I said while letting out a chuckle. “Oh, well, let’s have some manners and knock on the door.”

I let the spear stand beside me, it seems like it’s semi-sentient or at least can follow some basic orders on its own. I then raised my right arm to knock on the door.

*knock, knock, knock*

“Let’s wait now.”-I said before grabbing once again the spear, while I hummed a song.

“Hmm, you, will most likely die by the hands of my arm, when I come and fly, and take over your face, with the front of-”-I sang right as I started to raise my leg to kick open the door, but was stopped by the sound of the door opening.

{Huh? I thought I would have to actually open it by myself… Ow man… I wanted to shout hatredcopter while kicking it open! Such bad luck…}-I said while putting my leg back down, and waiting for the door to finally open. And once it did, I just walked inside while resting the spear over my shoulder.

The first thing I look once I got inside was the dismayed face of the warriors that came with Zulgar as they look at the spear in my hand. Then it was the turn of the humanoid monsters.

“Willy! It’s so good to see you man!”-I shouted at the blue whale humanoid while smirking.

“Gr…”-It growled at me, but didn’t move.

“Why the long faces? I thought we were all in a party here.”-I smiled while finally looking towards the end of the room, where a throne rested at the top of a flight of stairs. With who I assume was Zlatan, sat on it, and a knight right beside him.

“YOU…!”-A melodious voice came out of the knight, who now I knew was a woman. She tried to say something but was stopped by the hand of the king.

“Stop.”-The king raised himself, with a scabbard on his hand, walking right at the front of the throne, close to the stairs. “I…”-He stopped, before continuing. “I welcome you here.”

“My king!”-The knight shouted but was once again stopped by the king’s hand.

“Let me speak. Everyone.”-He said.

“Well, this sure is a surprise. I thought you would be as rowdy and stupid as that guy Zulgar and start shouting from the start while attacking me.”

“You! Don’t you dare tarnish the name of our prince!”-One of the warriors that came with the late Prince of Ol’Karut shouted. “Attack! Kill him!”

“WAAAAH!”-The rest of the warriors shouted and chose the best way to attack, throwing their spears at me.

“…”-I just stomped my new spear’s butt in the floor, and a shield of torrential water appeared around me, deflecting and even destroying some of the spears that came into contact with it.

“…”-The king calmly looked at me, while the rest of the people present just gasped in surprise.

“Just like your lord.”-I said before piercing the shield with the spear, right before spinning it over my head and then at both left and right side of my body, all the while the water of the shield started to follow the tip of my spear and spin with it, making it seems as if I was making a circle of water rotate.

With each change side, from left to right, and right to left, a blade of water rushed out of the spear and attacked the surprised warriors, cutting them. Once the water disappeared completely from the spear, more than half of the warriors laid dead. All it took was a few seconds.

The remaining warriors were on the floor, groaning in pain while holding their missing limbs.

“With that taken care of. I guess we can now talk. Right, Zlatan?”-I then turned to the king, while frowning at his armor.

“Yes…”-He nodded. “I see that you’ve awakened the true Guardian of the Lake’s Fang…”

“Oh? Do you know about this?”-I asked while nodding towards the spear.

“Each sovereign under the lake knows the legend of the treasures given to us by our guardian deity.”-He said.

“Mm… I thought you all only knew how to swing this thing around, and not its real power.”-I shrugged.

“The legends say, that only the worthy might control the power inside the spear.”

“Oh well, I guess the same can be said about that armor of yours.”

“Huh? Do you know something about this armor?”

“Not about the armor. But the mineral that it is made of.”

“…”-The king stood there silently. “This mineral can only be found inside our guardian’s resting place. And it’s not something that just anyone can take out and work with.”-He solemnly said.

“Of course not. You need either the technique, the tools, or the power to work with Dragonite.”

“Drago…nite?”-The king asked.

“A special mineral that grows inside a Dragon’s Lair. It’s a mineral full of Draconic Energy that has been passively released during years while the Dragon rested in its lair.”

“I see… Then I guess our deity should be a Dragon, then…”

“Yeah, has to.”-I shrugged. “Still, old man. What’s this? What are you trying to do while speaking to me?”

“I-I wanted to ask for a favor.”-So he said, making me frown.

“Explain yourself.”-I said.

“Forgive my people, and kill me only.”

“My king! Why!?”-The knight shouted.

“Silence.”-Before being stopped by her king. “I’ll end this senseless war.”

“Why would I do that?”-I glared at him. “You think I would just let potential enemies escape? Who do I know that they will just stay quiet and don’t look for revenge?”

“Because once I’m dead. This…”-The king spread his arms around. “Dungeon will disappear. They won’t be able to look for you, nor will be able to actually go out to your world.”

“Why would you do that?”

“I’m… I’m at fault. It was me who made us fall into this predicament. I accepted the proposal of that temptress… And it led my people to dead… I must stop this madness here. And the only way to do it is giving my life.”

“STOP! I won’t let you!”-The knight said.

“You won’t be able to stop my decision.”-The king answered.

“But I’ll at least die with you.”-She declared.

“Ivania… Stop… I already lost your mother. I won’t lose you too for my foolishness.”

“And I won’t let my father die right in front of me! I too lost my mother; I don’t want to live without a father too…”

“Ivania…”

“Such a cute family you have…”-I interrupted them. “But. I want to end this already, so can you decide?”

“YOU!”-The knight shouted.

“*sigh…* Listen, my daughter. I have to do this. If not, everyone will die. I’m the only one that had to die from the start. And now, I at least want to let the remaining ones survive. It’s my duty as a king.”

“I won’t let you father!”-The wailing scream of the knight resounded while she took out her sword and turned to me.

“That decides it then?”-I ask while covering the spear with Natural Energy, Draconic Energy, and Magic Power. Letting a mix of light-cyan, white, and red and black auras surround it.

“Please! Kill me! But let my people live!”-The king shouted.

“I won’t let you!”-The knight rushed towards me with as much strength as she could, appearing right in front of me.

“…”-I looked at her eyes through the helmet. Two emerald-colored eyes filled with anger looked back at me. “I’m sorry.”-I said as I swiftly turned behind her and hit the back of her head with the shaft of my spear.

“Ivania!”-The king shouted while drawing his sword and trying to jump at me, Demonic Power slowly forming around him. The rest of the warriors also started to move. But a second later, everyone just stood in their place.

“Stop.”-I said while pointing the spear’s tip to the knight’s neck. “One move. And she dies.”

“Grr… Please! Let my daughter go!”-The king growled.

“…”-I glared at him. “It was your own stupidity that makes all of this happen. Selling your soul to a Devil? Ha! As if that would pay off… Sadly for you. It was me who came here. Still… I’ll accept your deal.”-I said.

“You mean…”

“Your life. For your people’s life.”-I then turned to her daughter. “She’s strong. And she has the potential to grow even stronger. Sadly, for her, I’m wouldn’t be so sure she will have a bright future.”-I frowned. “But I won’t end her life with my own hands.”

I held the spear and started walking towards the king, who was also walking down the stairs.

The warriors tried to move, but the king raised his hand to stop them, before dropping his sword and taking his helmet off to also drop it to the side. His now handsome face was shown to me.

We both stopped in front of each other, both standing at the same level.

“I, King Zlatan, thank you for your compassion and mercy.”-He bowed at me.

“Stop it. This is no compassion nor mercy. I just don’t enjoy massacring.”-I said. “Now, let’s end this.”-I raised the spear.

“…”-He closed his eyes.

With a quick thrust, the spear pierced his heart.

“URGH!”-A pained moan escaped his mouth.

“I’ll hope for your daughter’s bright future.”-I murmured, making him open his eyes wide.

A smile formed on his face.

“Thanks.”-He said before I quickly took out the spear and decapitated him.

“I forgot to tell you… Dragonite won’t work at all in front of me…”-I murmured before everything started to turn bright among the screams and shouts of the loyal warriors of the king, right before the familiar sound of breaking glasses appeared around.

After a few moments, I was once again inside the cave where I killed the giant crab. With the spear still in my hand.

“I guess I’ll be able to keep this.”-I smiled.

A new brilliance appeared. Looking around, a white light started forming in the middle of the cave, forming two chests.

*sigh…* {I won’t hope for anything… All my luck was probably wasted while getting this spear…}-I thought while walking towards the chests.

Opening the first chest, I looked inside and was actually surprised. A basketball-sized emerald-colored crystal sat there. It was a well-known crystal, for me at least.

“You could give me the complete armor… You know?”-I murmured while grabbing the piece of Dragonite.

[Emerald Dragonite]

[A crystal formed under the influence of a Water Dragon’s Energy. It contains water element properties and remnants of Draconic Energy. Its toughness is second to none while pure.]

“Hehe… With this… I’ll be able to forge a great weapon or equipment…”-I murmured. “Well, then. Let’s see the other chest.”

Opening the second chest, what laid at the bottom, was a ring and a rapier.

“*sigh…* This has to be a joke… Another accessory… And a rapier… I don’t use that kind of sword…”

[Ring of the Ol’Karut]

[Worn by the royalty of the kingdom of Ol’Karut, this ring represents the royal blood of its porter. It’s also a symbol for those who fight for their people.]

[Enhancing. Water attribute.]

[Royalty of the Lake of Asora: The porter of this ring increases their affinity to the water element, and once a day can summon the waters of the lake depending on the amount of Magic Power of the user. The Swiftness of the Undines: The user of this ring can move as fast as an undine underwater.]

“…”-I look at it. “Well… It’s not that bad. And it works perfectly well with the spear…”-I said while putting the ring. It was a really simple ring, apparently made of silver and with a flat surface on top, with the engraving of a water drop with a spear diagonally cutting through it.

“Let’s check the rapier then.”-I then took the sword from it. It had a thin blade, with sharp edges and a really pointy tip, perfect for thrusting, the blade had an aquamarine color to it, while the guard of the sword had the form of a blue lotus flower, with the lowest leaves at the front of the guard turned down almost covering the handle completely.

[Asora’s Edge]

[One of the five treasures of the Lake of Asora, this rapier was enchanted by the Guardian of the Lake and was wielded by the first queen of the undines, also the first queen of Ol’Karut. Its grace and elegance are matched by its deadliness. The legend says this rapier was created from the same water of the lake by the goddess Asora.]

[Treasured-grade sword. Enchanted]

[Bless of the Guardian: the blade of this sword has extreme durability. Droplet of Asora: once Magic Power is injected; the sword is covered in a thin water edge that is as sharp as highly pressurized water. Flowing River: the user’s speed is increased by 1.]

“Perfectly useless to me.”-I just shrugged, but still took the sword, as it at least could be sold. “I’ll later see what to do with this.”-I thought to myself.

While putting the sword over one of the loops of my pants, as I just had one usable arm, I bit the spear’s shaft, and held the Dragonite with my right arm, walking towards the entrance of the cave that was the small pond that led to the river. Before stopping.

{I’m an idiot.}-I thought to myself while letting the Dragonite enter the water, and grabbing the spear with my right arm, right before diving in too.

While swimming, I used the control the spear had over freshwater to drag the Dragonite through the river, at least until I was out of the river, after which, I just had to surround the Dragonite in a sphere of water, and took it with me towards the hotel room I was staying, where I would get ready to go back to Korea.

{I’m glad that International Portals work out late because I would be pretty much fucked if they didn’t…}-I thought to myself while I was getting everything ready inside my room, including my change of clothes.

“Mm… I guess this is everything.”-I said while looking at my luggage in front of me.

{It’s currently 3:30 AM here, so in Korea, it should probably be somewhere around 11:30 AM. Oh well, I’m earlier than I thought I would be. I’ll first go to grab a few beers before going back.}-With that last thought, I went out of the hotel with my luggage, with direction towards the nearest open bar or liquor store.