When I turned ten years old, I sincerely believed that I was blessed to be born as a Dragon Born.

We were a part of the proud members of the Dragon Race, for the blood of Dragons flowed in our veins. This made us stronger than the other races in the world, and it allowed us to grow at a very fast rate.

As I grew older, the pride I felt in my heart turned into arrogance. I always thought that the Low-Landers, or those who lived in the lands beneath our floating Kingdom, were just second-rate races.

They were those who weren’t blessed to be born as Dragons or Dragon Borns, making them inferior to our race.

However, this belief changed the moment the Half-Elf, Lux Von Kaizer, arrived in Karshvar Draconis.

For better or worse, the Dragon King had chosen me to become his supervisor, watching his every move, and making sure that he didn’t do anything stupid that would cause trouble for our Kingdom.

At first, I treated Lux like an animal. Something lower than a dog that only existed for my amusement. But, after the incident that happened in the Outer Reaches, I found out that the lowly dog that I thought was harmless, was actually a shameless bastard, hiding in sheep’s clothing.

Then, one thing led to another and little by little, I noticed that he was growing at an alarming rate.

It came to the point that I wondered if he was consuming some kind of elixir that speeds up his growth, allowing him to surpass, even those of the Dragon Race.

I thought that maybe, if I knew his secret, I would be able to become a Ranker in no time at all, so I decided to accompany him on his journey.

However, he had a condition.

————-

“Cethus, you wanted to go with me, right?” Lux asked.

“Yes,” I replied despite the weird feeling I felt back then due to how confident Lux sounded.

“Perfect! Since that is the case, how about you fight me? I am a Necromancer, and you are a Dragon Born. I only take strong individuals with me on my journey. If you can beat me then I will allow you to accompany me, deal?”

————-

I accepted his condition thinking that I would easily win against him, and make him obedient to me.

However, I was wrong.

Very wrong.

I thought we were going to fight a one-on-one battle, but the bastard actually summoned his Undead Creatures and used some kind of taunting skill to force me to fight them in close combat.

On that day, I realized just who I was dealing with, and on that same day, I made a vow never to fight Lux in a one-on-one duel again.

Why?

Because the bastard doesn’t fight one-on-one duels!

After my loss, I genuinely felt that if I let Lux leave Karshvar Draconis without me, I would lose the one and only clue I had for how to get strong in a short period of time.

Because of this, I did something that I never thought I would do in my life.

I begged him to take me.

It was the most humiliating, and shameful display I had ever made in my life, and I thought that if I could only endure the feelings of shame in my heart, I would be able to become stronger once I found out Lux’s secret.

Perhaps it was out of pity, or perhaps he was thinking of something else, but he did take me with him.

Back then, I was confident that although I lost to Lux, I would be able to surpass him once I became a Ranker.

The battle in the Shaufell Plains was perhaps the first time that I thought I was going to die.

The Crimson Berserker Mantis was truly powerful, and there had been more than one occasion when I felt that I should flee and leave everyone behind.

For me, they were just a means to an end, and they were not worth risking my life to save.

Just as I was about to leave everyone behind, I saw a miracle happen.

Lux revived the Giant Termite, and it transformed into a powerful Demi-Creature that he named ALL-MITE.

Perhaps, in the eyes of the Ancient Dragons, as well as the Saints, the battle between a Deimos-Ranked Beast, and a Low-Ranker, was just a bunch of kids playing sword fighting.

However, for those of the same Rank, and below that Rank, it was a battle against Power Houses that decided our life and death.

ALL-MITE had won that day, and it made me rejoice internally that he appeared before I left the battlefield to save my life.

Because of this, I was able to continue my journey with Lux, and even managed to be rewarded with a Pseudo-Legendary Spear and a Skill Book that allowed me to learn the skill, Gravity Domain.

A skill that was tailored for me, which greatly increased my fighting prowess.

After saving the residents of the Town of Abingdon, we continued our journey to the Blackrock Clan, where the Transcendent Flames were located.

Little did we know that we had unknowingly arrived at a wrong time.

Thinking back, perhaps we didn’t arrive at the wrong time.

We arrived at the perfect time to join the war, and it made me think that it was a good opportunity to steal the Transcendent Flames, while the main bulk of the Orc Army was dealing with the Humans from the Haca Dynasty.

Unfortunately, Flamma was there and heard my plan, which led to me fighting him in a duel

For the second time in my life, I lost again.

I tried to brush off the loss thinking that since Flamma was a Deimos-Ranked Alpha Monster, my loss was justified.

But, it still didn’t sit well with me.

After tasting defeat against Lux, I vowed to never lose again.

However, that vow sounded like a joke after Flamme crushed any remaining pride that I had.

Fortunately, Lux also defeated Flamma, so I was spared from falling into depression.

For some reason, I found satisfaction in having the one that bullied me, get bullied back with the same tactic that was used against me.

My only regret was that I wasn’t there when the Skeleton Gangbangers screwed Flamma ten times over.

Oh! How I wished I had seen that!

I would have definitely recorded it with a Recording Crystal, making it one of my prized possessions.

After Flamma was soundly defeated, Lux went to the front lines, alongside the Orc Army, leaving us behind.

I was gravely injured, and the others were tasked to look after me while I healed.

That was also when I started to pay close attention to the green-haired Half-Elf, Gerhart, whom Lux had recruited to his guild not long ago.

He gave off the presence of a lone wolf. Someone who didn’t need anyone to look after him, and would simply lick his wounds if he ever received any injuries during his journey.

Since we were both of the same Rank, I definitely thought that if it was him that I was fighting against then I would win easily, or so I thought.

As I propped myself up from the ground, and wiped away the blood that flowed from my lips, I was starting to hate Half-Elves.

‘Get a grip, Cethus. We can’t always be on the losing end, right?,’ I said internally as I stood up to face the green-haired Half-Elf whose presence descended on me like a mountain.

Although my instincts were screaming at me that I should concede and accept my defeat, my heart, and soul said otherwise.

“Hey, Gerhart, there’s something I’ve wanted to tell you for a long time,” I said with a smile.

“You talk too much,” Gerhart replied. “But, I guess I’ll hear you out before I smash your face with my fist.”

I didn’t know what came over me at that time, but I just laughed.

A laughter that came from the heart.

“That’s right,” I said as I raised my middle finger at the green-haired Half-Elf, which I had seen Lux do to the Vanguard Commander, Ronan, of the Haca Dynasty.

I didn’t know what it meant, but for some reason, I felt that now was the time to use the gesture, as well as the words Eiko would often say whenever Lux wasn’t paying attention to her.

“Come, F*cker!” I declared as I, too, put my life on the line to fight for what little pride, and dignity still resided in my heart. “You’re going down!”