Xavier sat at the table in Gimble’s quarters for a long while examining the key.

  A Universal Travel Key.

  In his hand lay something that could get him anywhere in the entire universe. Well, the local universe—whichever one he happened to be at the time.

  He supposed that he could use this Universal Travel Key right now if he wished. He didn’t know much of anything about the universe that he was currently in, other than the fact that time worked differently here. But what if there was another version of himself out here somewhere, one that he could visit?

  Could he use this key to travel to Earth? And if he did, what exactly would he find?

  The Earth had been around for billions of years before the System was integrated there. That meant there was a high chance that he would return to his world in this alternate universe and find… That he was in medieval times, or perhaps that dinosaurs still lived. It could be far in the past, or far in the future.

  Potentially, the Earth might not exist at all…

  No, it wasn’t worth risking. He would not use this key until he had a very specific purpose for it.

  Right now, he didn’t know what that purpose was. But he was sure that this item would be vital to his progression in the future.

  Xavier humoured Gimble the dwarf by finishing off the keg of Dwarven Fire Ale with him. Every sip burned all the way down his throat and into his chest. It wasn’t as good as coffee, but Xavier found the sensation oddly satisfying.

  The ale was strong enough to get even him a little tipsy, and considering what he wanted to so after this, being in an altered state wasn’t something he could afford.

  “The effects will wear off within a day or two.” The dwarf said with a wink. “Closer to a day, for the likes of you, I imagine.” Gimble raised his mug, a calculating expression on his face.

  Xavier frowned at the dwarf who had become his friend during his time on this floor, suspicion flaring within him. He placed his own mug down. “Any reason you’d want that?”

  Gimble sighed, shook his head. “Gold Gaze.”

  Xavier’s mind turned. He looked around the room. This was a Safe Zone. And he trusted Gimble. Yet the second the dwarf had said “Gold Gaze” Xavier couldn’t help but think of what the barkeep Felicia had said—that there was a good chance someone on the floor wished to assassinate him.

  There could be quite the bounty on his head.

  Gimble gave Xavier a quizzical look. “Dunno what’s going through your head, lad, but I’ll stop you before steam starts shootin’ from ya ears. I’ve seen the way you looked at that Elemental Dragon Hunt Quest notice, from the first moment you were standing in front of it.” He nodded at the door. “And I saw the way you looked when you were standing outside of this place—you were ready and raring to fight some battle. Off ta slay the dragon, aye?”

  Xavier’s worries fled in an instant. His body relaxed, muscles that he hadn’t even known were tensed eased. “Aye, Gimble. I’m off to slay the dragon. That’s what you want me to think about as this stuff wears off? I suppose I can’t fulfil that favour I owe you if I’m dead.”

  The dwarf nodded. “Aye, that’s very true, lad. But it’s not the only reason. I wouldn’t want to lose a friend.”

  Xavier smiled. “I don’t intend to die.”

  Gimble sighed. “Very few people intend such a thing, I’ve found. But, it’s your life to do with what you will. I’m sure I’ll hear about your exploits soon enough.” The dwarf stood. He touched a hand to the empty keg of Dwarven Fire Ale and it was deposited back into his inventory. “It’s been good knowing you, lad. If you survive all this, maybe you’ll use that Universal Travel Key to visit my world someday. Fulfil that favour you owe me.” He winked, then headed to the door, leaving Xavier sitting at the small table, more drunk than he’d been in a long time, contemplating the dwarf’s words.

  A few minutes later, Xavier soared above the trees of the great forest on the hundredth floor.

  He had not contemplated the dwarf’s words for very long, nor was he drunk anymore. Despite his high Toughness attribute, that hadn’t actually been strong enough to negate the effects of the Dwarven Fire Ale. There had clearly been some alchemical potion mixed into the ale that allowed it to negate someone’s health regeneration.

  It’s straight up poison, Xavier had thought when he’d realised that. Coffee would never do this to me.

  Then again, since when was alcohol not poison?

  He’d sat there for a full minute, feeling frustrated at the dwarf, and frustrated at himself. During that minute, he did seriously consider Gimble’s words. The dwarf had been around for a while, and Xavier would be a fool not to heed the wisdom of those that had been in the Greater Universe longer than him.

  But, once he’d thought it through, he knew his goal remained the same. Half a keg of ale wasn’t going to stop him, nor were the dwarf’s words.

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  Xavier had cycled Celestial Energy through his channels, his eyes closed, his body relaxed. It had just been a theory, at first, but it turned out that being drunk helped him gain a whole 5 ranks in Body Cultivation.

  Body Cultivation allows me to strengthen the body, and yet all I’ve really used it for is offensive attacks.

  He was proud of what he’d been able to do. It hadn’t even taken him all that long. There was a lot of untapped potential available in this skill.

  If only there was someone out there who could teach me how to use it properly.

  Considering how long it had been since anyone had possessed the skill, Xavier knew the chances of that were slim to none.

  The mountain loomed ahead of him. Xavier hadn’t been to this part of the great forest before. If he had ventured here earlier, he would have been too curious to get a glimpse of the Elemental Dragon.

  And so this was the first time that he’d seen the mountain the dragon called its home. The mountain where the most powerful C Grade beast on the entire floor protected its egg.

  Hundreds of Champions had gone after this thing in an incredibly powerful raid group, and not a single one of them had survived.

  The mountain was possibly the tallest structure that Xavier had ever seen in his life. Though he had never been to Mount Everest, he was sure this thing would made that look like nothing more than a small mound on the ground.

  Xaiver wondered what it would be like to climb up that mountain. It was completely covered in snow, the peaks of the mountain so cold they were capped with ice. Trees grew on the sides of the mountain, but they were drowned almost to their tops the snow was so thick.

  Did the raid group climb all the way to the top, or did they have some teleportation or summoning mages among their group?

  He hoped for the latter, but he could see how they might be determined enough to make the climb without magical help.

  Xavier smiled, glad he didn’t have to get to the top of the mountain the hard way. He flapped his massive black dragon wings and propelled himself upward to heights he’d never before reached.

  The entire area where the mountain sat in the great forest had been clouded by a thick layer of mist. He’d passed through that mist maybe ten miles back, leaving a layer of water clinging to every inch of him. The mist guarded the mountain from view—that was why, despite its incredibly size, Xavier hadn’t seen it before.

  So far, he hadn’t seen any sign of the dragon, but he had seen plenty of beasts. The beasts that roamed this area were stronger than the ones that he’d faced in other parts of the forest. Groups of Giant Ice Trolls roamed around the bottom of the mountain, carrying clubs made from ice. They battled against a goblin horde—goblins the very same height and colour as the ones Xavier had faced back at his university the day the System had come to Earth.

  Except these goblins were far more sophisticated. They had mages and archers and tanks in their number. There were dozens of them, and despite their lower level, they were decimating the larger Giant Ice Trolls simply because they were better organised.

  Xavier shook his head. He’d explored this floor extensively, but there was still so much of it he was yet to see. The side of the mountain wasn’t only home to trees. He’d heard that there was an extensive network of caves that held all sorts of different sapient beasts. There was a civilisation inside of that mountain, a civilisation of beasts. He’d been intrigued when he’d learnt that, wondering what such a thing would look like, but that wasn’t why he had come.

  I’ll have countless years to explore all the Greater Universe has to offer.

  The higher he flew up the mountain, the less signs of life he saw. Giant Fire Eagles soared around the rocky crags, protecting nests filled with eggs of their own. Xavier activated Fear Dominion whenever one of these eagles spotted him, not wishing to deal with the beasts.

  He soared ever upward. Soon, he saw no signs of life at all. There wasn’t a single beast in sight. The goblins. No trolls. No eagles. He spotted a cave or two but he knew that if he ventured inside of them, he wouldn’t find anything within. The air became thinner, and the snow began to turn to ice, but that wasn’t why no beasts ventured here.

  There was a powerful, oppressive aura that hung heavy in the air of this place. Something deep within Xavier recognised the aura—a primal, bestial part of him that was connected to his new dragonkin race.

  He recognised a superior being when he felt it. A pure predator. A beast that filled him instantly with a fear he wasn’t sure he’d ever felt.

  That feeling of complete and utter dread almost made him turn around. Almost made him flee.

  Almost.

  Xavier banished the fear, mustering up the courage that had gotten him into and out of danger ever since the System had integrated him into this new reality.

  Though he was not able to banish the fear completely, and that was when Gimble’s warning hit him hardest.

  Xavier gritted his teeth and steeled his resolve.

  I’m not going to die here.

  He thought of the reasons he had come and of the goals he wished to accomplish. From an outside perspective, it may have seemed terribly foolish to think that he could face—let alone defeat—something as powerful as this dragon.

  But that didn’t matter.

  It was time.

  As he soared higher up the frozen mountain, he still did not see signs of life. He did, however, see signs of death. There were parts of this place that weren’t covered in snow or ice, and those parts were covered with something else—

  Bones.

  Bones of beasts. Bones of Denizens. Bones of anything the Elemental Dragon got its claws into, he supposed. Though he knew that no beast would voluntarily venture into this place, which made him wonder how the bones had gotten here.

  The Elemental Dragon must leave this place to hunt.

  But from all he had heard about this dragon, he found it difficult to imagine it leaving its nest to hunt. It wouldn’t wish to leave the egg unguarded.

  Admittedly, he knew little of the Elemental Dragon. There were no accounts of this beast. Xavier had asked Gimble and Felicia more than once about it, but neither of them had been able to provide any real information.

  “No one who goes up that mountain ever returns,” was all he was told.

  Xavier soared over the bone-laden ground, climbing to ever higher peaks, until he saw what he was looking for—a cave, at the topmost peak.

  The entrance to that cave looked as though it had been carved from the very rock… No, not carved. The rock around the entrance had been melted to create a giant archway.

  Large enough to fit the dragon. That must be where its nest is.

  Xavier landed on the ground before the entrance. The powerful aura was even stronger here. He looked at the threshold of the cave.

  Now or never.

  Xavier took a step.

  Something inside the cave roared. It was the loudest roar that Xavier had ever heard. The sound of it made fear run through his veins. The dread he had endured when he’d first felt the effects of the Elemental Dragon’s aura was nothing compared with what he felt in that moment.

  That was when a second roar sounded.

  This one came from outside of the cave.

  The dragon has a mate!

  Accidental Champion!

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