Xavier and Famarial stepped out of the portal and arrived at the hunting grounds he’d selected. Xavier had paid for Famarial’s fee. The elf had been useful to him, and he didn’t mind having him around. He certainly wouldn’t be able to become party member material—he was far too low level, and he was focused more on business than training—but he would be more useful to Earth if he was a bit stronger, and the elf seemed to what to stick around.

  They stood at the bottom of a tall mountain. The trees here looked ancient, reaching higher than anything they had back on Earth. That made Xavier wonder how old this world was, and how long ago it had been integrated—that information hadn’t been in the packet, though he supposed he could gain it if he wished.

  It wasn’t the mountain where Xavier wished to train, it was in the ancient, tall forest. He took a moment to take it all in. He’d been to many different worlds by now, but the vast majority of those worlds had been in alternate universes on floors of the tower.

  Now, he wasn’t on a tower floor. He was on a world that was in his universe. It made where he was standing, what he was doing, feel more real than it had before—even though those alternate universes had been real.

  I can’t ever revisit those places. As far as I know, doing so is impossible. But here? That’s another story.

  Famarial looked around cautiously. The elf had a staff in his hands. Xavier had never seen him fight before. “So, uh, should I stick by you?”

  Xavier smiled. “Only if you want to face D Grades.” He rested a hand on the Companion Cube that hung from his waist and summoned Volkarin, something he hadn’t done in Famarial’s presence before.

  The baby dragon materialised, letting out a small roar the instant he did. Volkarin looked around, sniffed the air, then stared at Xavier expectantly.

  Food?

  Xavier sighed. He intended for the dragon to hunt his own food, but it might take a little while before their next task was complete. Honestly, he didn’t know how well it would work, but he was interested to try.

  Volkarin didn’t know what they were about to try to do yet. The dragon was still Level 0, and when he had told Xavier his first kill should be an E Grade beast—something that, at the time, Xavier hadn’t even considered—it had made an idea occur to him.

  What if the dragon’s first kill was actually a D Grade? How would that affect the beast’s development?

  The kill would, of course, have to be an assisted one, but he’d been speaking to Rhaalir about how Mastery Points were distributed between Denizens—and beasts, in this case—when the kill was shared, trying to gain as much information about the topic as he could before moving forward.

  He thought he had enough now.

  “What the hell?” Famarial took a step back as the dragon appeared. For a moment he looked afraid, then he paused. He must have scanned the dragon’s level. The elf visibly relaxed. “You have a dragon?” The elf smiled and stepped forward, reaching out a hand to touch the beast’s snout. “He’s so cute!”

  The dragon snapped at Famarial’s hand. It had been eating at the time, and clearly didn’t appreciate being disturbed—or called cute.

  Cute! I am not cute! I will rip your hand from your arm and crunch the bones before I swallow it whole! Your blood will slake my thirst and your death shall come swiftly!

  Famarial, apparently not expecting this reaction from the dragon, hadn’t moved away in time. Volkarin grasped the elf’s hand with his teeth, gnawing and ripping back and forth with its head.

  The dragon, only being Level 0, wasn’t actually able to pierce the elf’s skin.

  Famarial chuckled. “Adorable.”

  This only further enraged the baby dragon. At least until he remembered he was hungry and returned to the meat that had been tossed on the ground in front of him.

  “Famarial, meet Volkarin,” Xavier said. “I’m here to train him.”

  Xavier intended to train the Spirit Golem while he was here as well, but training Volkarin was his main goal, so the golem was still within his Storage Ring.

  Famarial ran a hand through his hair. “But you said you were going to be fighting D Grade beasts?” The elf looked confused. “That thing is only Level 0.”

  “Indeed.” Xavier nodded, then started moving. “Come on, Volkarin. Let’s find something to kill.”

  Volkarin looked up from what he was eating. He mustn’t have heard what Famarial had said, as the dragon didn’t mention anything about D Grade beasts. There was a pure look of confliction on the baby dragon’s face as it looked from the meat on the ground, to Xavier, then back to the meat.

  It clamped down on the chunk of meat and held it in its jaws.

  Kill, kill, kill! the dragon replied in Xavier’s mind, blood dripping from its mouth, its eyes wide in excitement.

  Not for the first time, Xavier wondered what he’d gotten himself in for, bringing this particular dragon spirit back from the Otherworld.

  Xavier took his time making his way to the small slice of the hunting grounds that he was after. This particular hunting grounds was on a moon half the size of Earth. He looked up at the sky. It was almost entirely covered by the planet this moon orbited. The planet was a wash of purple, green, and blue. There were some similarities to Earth, and yet parts of the planet looked completely and utterly alien.

  The moon he was on was owned by the same corporation that owned the planet.

  Xavier wondered if the System had changed Earth’s moon as much as it had changed Earth, though admittedly there wasn’t anything there to change—as far as he knew, at least.

  Trekking through the forest at such a slow pace felt strange. He was used to moving swiftly these days. Rushing from one encounter to the next, or one task to the next. But he couldn’t help but breathe in the fresh air of this place and just take a moment to look around—he wasn’t here to clear a floor or do a Hunt Quest. There was no need for that insane rush.

  Though he knew this respite could only last for so long.

  There were other Denizens in this place. He could sense the weaker of them deep in the forest, their auras evident. Other auras blinked out of existence as they trained, fighting beasts. Some of them ran down the path, heading back to the portal, glancing at him with suspicion. The fee for this hunting grounds was modest. According to the information he’d read about it, that was because the owners of the territory didn’t provide any protection to those who chose to hunt here.

  Xavier just shook his head thinking about that. It was strange there were dedicated hunting grounds in the first place, places where the populace of a world or moon had decided to keep the bestial areas untamed so there was always somewhere for people to train. But what felt strangest was the idea that someone would come and train here with protection. Then again, the protection afforded in places like this often came with protection against other Denizens—as the hunting grounds weren’t monitored, Denizens might kill each other here without getting caught.

  That’s why everyone here looks so guarded. Maybe I shouldn’t have left Famarial alone…

  Though the two had a Communication Stone in case anything happened to Famarial, and he was even carrying around a Portal Stone so Xavier could make his way to him swiftly should the elf come to any danger. That was something Famarial had provided to Xavier when he’d agreed to come here.

  There, Volkarin said in Xavier’s mind as he sniffed the air. I smell power. Something strong. E Grade for sure.

  “E Grade won’t be strong enough,” Xavier told the baby dragon. “We’re going to put you up against something even stronger.”

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  Volkarin stopped in his tracks, eyes widening. You intend to put me up against a D Grade? That’s why you took me to another planet?

  Xavier stopped walking and looked at the beast. He could sense the fear wafting off it. For a moment, Xavier wondered what it would be like to be in Volkarin’s position. It was much like what Alexic was going through, only far more severe.

  Once Volkarin had been an incredibly powerful beast. Xavier wasn’t exactly sure how powerful, but he knew the dragon would have eclipsed Xavier’s power quite easily were he still alive.

  And now that dragon had been put inside the vessel of something that was essentially defenceless, becoming more vulnerable than he perhaps ever recall being.

  And here Xavier was, telling the dragon he was to throw him at something two Grades higher when the beast couldn’t even take something on that was two levels above it.

  Still, this was the best move Xavier could think to make, and he wasn’t about to let any harm come to the baby dragon. Perhaps he needed to make that more clear.

  “I’m not going to let you get hurt,” Xavier said. “I’ll protect you.”

  The baby dragon took on an offensive pose on all fours and released its deepest, most powerful roar yet, which still didn’t have the effect Volkarin wished.

  Protect me? I devoured worlds! Toppled billion-year-old dynasties! I was alive when the sector was mostly dark, and the world you came from was still crawling with lava and your people were nothing more than single cells! You dare profess that you shall protect me?

  Xavier remained silent and let the baby dragon talk. Let him go through what he was going through.

  The baby dragon released a growl low in his throat, the fight leaving his body as he sagged. You will protect me? There was a sense of pleading in that voice now, nothing like the threat in it a moment before.

  Xavier nodded. “I will. You’re with me now. Nothing bad is going to happen to you.”

  Xavier couldn’t tell if the baby dragon was going to attack him or not as it moved forward. Then, it nuzzled its head against his shoulder. Thank you, young dragonkin. The dragon seemed to remember himself, for after a moment of nuzzling, and something that suspiciously sounded like purring, he took a step back and cleared his throat. Not that I need your protection!

  Xavier smiled. “Of course not.” He gestured toward the path. “Shall we move on?”

  The fear the baby dragon felt was still there, though it was only a small spark where before it had been a raging flame.

  Dragonkin and baby dragon walked on until they came upon the area Xaiver had read about in the description of this place.

  There were scant D Grade beasts to be found in these Hunting Grounds. In Xavier’s search, he had found hunting grounds with many more D Grades than this one had, but he wasn’t looking for the most powerful D Grades—just something of modest power, something that he could control easily enough with his Willpower Infusion spell.

  Xavier was now able to see the health of enemy beasts, after he’d trained to gain the Health Seer spell. He’d also discovered that he could have a Denizen’s or a beast’s health appear as a bar over their heads when he looked at them. Doing that made his life feel even more like a video game than it already was, and he couldn’t help but smile and shake his head at the sight of it. He didn’t see health points, but seeing the percentage was more than helpful enough for what he needed to do.

  When they came upon the hunting grounds, Xavier commanded Volkarin to stand behind him. The baby dragon narrowed its eyes at him, released a puff of air from its nostrils, then did as he was bid.

  Xavier didn’t think Volkarin liked the fact that Xavier was able to give him commands, but he needed to be sure the beast was safe. He hadn’t actually seen one of the D Grades he knew would be around here yet, but they would be along soon.

  Xavier was constantly intrigued by the fact that the beasts in the Greater Universe, the ones that he had encountered, mostly all looked so similar to animals he had back on Earth, and that there had been humans around for billions of years. He still didn’t have all the answers as to why that was, but it made the fact that there were beasts on this alien world that he wouldn’t be surprised to encounter back home something to be expected.

  The D Grade beast that he was after was called a Great Shell. Something that resembled that of a giant tortoise, except that it had trees growing from its back. It was so large it was often mistaken for a hill. The area they’d trekked around had been hilly enough already, and Xavier worried the beast’s natural camouflage would take them unawares if they weren’t careful.

  The beast wouldn’t be able to do any damage to Xavier, but it would certainly be a threat to the baby dragon. One hit from anything in these parts would see the beast dead, something Xavier wished to remedy as swiftly as he could.

  It turned out he needn’t worry about the Great Shell catching them unawares, because though the beast was hard to spot with the naked eye, it had a very distinctive smell.

  It was the only thing that smelled like the sea on this landlocked moon.

  What he’d read from the information packet that gnome Kylina had given him said that these beasts had been imported from the world the moon orbited. These hunting grounds had been cultivated.

  He breathed in the odd smell that was clearly saltwater and struggled to recall his last trip to the beach back on Earth.

  What manner of beast are you to have me kill, dragonkin?

  Xavier blinked. Was that the first time the dragon had called him dragonkin and not young dragonkin? He wasn’t sure, but he was going to take lack of young being added as a good sign, even if he was.

  He stopped roughly forty feet from where the Great Shell stood. The baby dragon sniffed the air and took on an aggressive pose. Xavier couldn’t help but grin at the sight of it. Nothing about the little beast looked threatening. Not yet.

  That will change, soon enough.

  “You can smell it, can’t you?”

  The baby dragon growled. It smells strange. Unlike the other beasts that reside here. Like it isn’t of this world. Like it is of another.

  Xavier inclined his head, a little amazed by the knowledge the baby dragon could gain just from sniffing the air. Xavier possessed far superior olfactory senses than the baby dragon could have, not only because he was dragonkin but because he was D Grade himself. Yet the dragon was able to ascertain this at Level 0.

  Xavier wondered how much knowledge Volkarin possessed, and how he could use it all to his advantage. But he put those thoughts aside to focus on the task at hand.

  He scanned the Great Shell.

  {Level 242 - Great Shell}

  He nodded. That was a good level. He didn’t feel the need to read the beast’s description—the information packet had detailed all of this thing’s attacks, and Xavier wasn’t about to let it strike him or Volkarin anyway.

  Purple mist flowed from Xavier as he cast his Willpower Infusion spell. The D Grade beast was a higher level than his own, but that didn’t matter. Xavier was sure its mental defences would be far too weak for it to be able to resist him.

  Willpower Infusion wasn’t the only spell Xavier cast. He also cast Time Alteration. The baby dragon glanced around, but he was too low level to be able to see the barrier that had formed. Volkarin could, however, see that the leaves were no longer moving in the breeze.

  You froze time?

  “Indeed.”

  The time dilation field encompassed the dragonkin, the baby dragon, and the Great Shell. No threats from the outside would be able to enter. Xavier touched a hand to the massive tortoise-like beast. It had grass and moss all over its shell. The trees growing from it were far shorter than the ancient trees that surrounded it, and they looked to be a completely different species. Even Xavier, who knew next to nothing about trees, could tell that. From the look of the thing, Xavier was unsure how he would have ever missed it even if it didn’t smell so odd for this place.

  I cannot even decipher its level, Volkarin said in Xavier’s mind. I do not like feeling so weak, Xavier. Tell me, what is your plan?

  Xavier had, essentially, kept the baby dragon in the dark. Volkarin had been inside the Companion Cube for the last several days as he’d been gaining the Health Seer spell and unlocking the System Shop back on Earth.

  Xavier detailed what he was going to do.

  Volkarin released a small grunt. That will work, but there is something that will work better. The baby dragon looked at him. To completely decouple the shared kill the Mastery Points we’d share because of it, you must not be close to this area when the beast falls.

  Xavier blinked. He tilted his head to the side, staring at the baby dragon. “How far away should I be?”

  Volkarin closed his eyes. A world away, with the portal you move through closed when I strike the beast dead. Only then will it ensure I gain the full credit for the kill.

  Xavier shook his head. “That’s too dangerous. I can’t protect you from a world away.”

  Volkarin growled. If we are to take this route to restore my power we must commit to it, dragonkin! Else what is the point?

  Xavier lowered his head in thought. He wasn’t even sure this would work. He could get the Great Shell down to 1 percent health. That was part of the plan. But even then, how long would it take for the baby dragon to even cause 1 percent of damage to this thing? He had a plan for this, but he needed to be here for it to work.

  But this… This was madness. Folly.

  How was he supposed to protect the baby dragon from another world?

  As to how to get to another world, Xavier had an answer to that—these hunting grounds weren’t portal locked like the world he’d just left. That was another criteria he’d looked for when selecting somewhere to powerlevel Volkarin.

  But just because he could do it, didn’t mean he should.

  “Perhaps this was a bad idea,” Xavier said. “There were E Grade beasts farther back on the path.” He pursed his lips. “Actually, we need not have you kill something of a higher grade at all.”

  The baby dragon growled ever more. You have risked your life in battles ten times as insane as the one you deny me now! The path you walk, you must understand that at times it is not only you who will step into danger. If you wish me to serve by your side and one day actually make a difference to the fights you throw yourself into, then do not deny me this choice!

  Xavier stared at the baby dragon, then looked over at the Great Shell once more. Resolve settled on him. He closed his eyes and remembered what Volkarin had looked like when he had fought to protect Xavier with everything he had. When he had let himself get injured to such a high degree that he could no longer be summoned from the Otherworld.

  That dragon was the same dragon that stood before him now, and he must endeavour not to forget that.

  “This risk is one you wish to take?”

  Volkarin turned and faced the Great Shell. If it is the best path to power that I can take, then it is one I shall walk with my head held high and not an ounce of fear in my heart.

  “All right,” Xavier replied. “Then let’s get down to business.”

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