Chapter 208

"PC: 273 > 773"

Back in his garden, Ali sat down on the soft, vibrant green grass, his gaze fixed on his interface as he checked his newly acquired winnings.

'All six of them only had 500 PC each...' he thought, unimpressed. 'Jacob told me it makes sense-guild members spend everything they have at the guild shop the second they return from any world!'

With a tap of his finger, his inventory opened, revealing the contents within. A small glass tube filled with a rich red liquid, a pack of gold coins, and two new sets of clothes—a casual outdoor fit and a sleek black tuxedo-all neatly stored.

'The only truly useful items I got from them were this healing potion and the gold coins. I kept the gold since it's valuable in most worlds. Other than that, their inventories were filled with useless clothing, which I traded on Merchant's Road for new outfits.'

Closing the interface, Ali laid back on the grass, hands behind his head, staring at the sky in thought.

'But the most valuable reward wasn't their items—it was their revealed stats. Lava Fist, the strongest of the six, had two points in Spirit, two in Strength, and three in Speed. His Body stat was only half a point, which made him ridiculously easy to kill.

And like the others, he had zero points in both Intelligence and Luck... a common theme among all six.

He smirked slightly, analysing the numbers in his head.

'If I compare myself to them, my base stats alone put me far above their level. My normal body would already equate to four points in Speed, four in Strength, and an extremely high Body stat thanks to my regeneration. That alone places me in the top 5000 ranks...'

Ali waved his hand, summoning his terrace interface, which opened up before him, displaying his current ranking.

"Rank: 9876"

He let out a breath.

I'm not in any rush to climb the ranks right now. Maybe if I see someone with an item I like, I'll challenge them.. to the death.'

With that thought, Ali stood up and closed his eyes.

When he opened them again, he was no longer in his garden.

He now stood at the edge of his Spirit Pond, a vast pool of thick, black liquid, swirling with a heavy, almost living presence. This dark substance represented his two points of Spirit.

Ali looked up at the massive colossal gate that stood before him-the gateway to the Hall of Dragons.

He willed it.

The door slowly creaked open, just a sliver-only one inch wide.

'Bahamut... come out.'

In an instant, Ali's entire Spirit Pond was drained, its thick black essence violently sucked into the tiny gap in the gate.

Two points of Spirit-gone.

Ali's eyes snapped open, back in his physical form.

A foreign presence now lingered over him-an intrusive, overwhelming entity that made its existence very, very known.

A sharp stinging sensation shot through his palm.

Ali looked down.

A straight cut had split his palm open, blood oozing from the clean incision.

Then—

SPLIT.

The wound widened.

From within the fresh cut, a monstrous purple eye opened, its black, vertical slit pupil staring up at him with an unrestrained, primal hunger.

The Darkness Dragon's eye-Bahamut's presence-had manifested directly on his palm.

It twitched grotesquely, shifting unnaturally, as if attempting to move on its own.

Ali remained unfazed by the pain, simply watching the horrifying spectacle unfold.

"That's disgusting.." he muttered, visibly unimpressed.

"You wouldn't want a giant dragon to suddenly materialise in your garden, now would you?"

Bahamut's deep, ancient voice echoed in Ali's mind, completely silent to the outside world.

Ali narrowed his eyes. "How do you even know I have a garden?"

"The moment you open the gate, I-the great Bahamut-gain access to your senses by manipulating our soul link," the dragon revealed.

Ali frowned slightly. 'So, he can see through my eyes the second I summon him...

Noted.'

"So this is Paradise, huh?" Bahamut's voice took on a different tone. "It smells... so rich... so powerful... If only I could sink my teeth into this place..."

Ali's expression darkened. "You're not here for that today. Maybe soon... if you behave. But for now, answer my questions."

The eye on his palm narrowed slightly.

"Ask away, human."

Ali's voice was cold. "Tell me everything you can offer me with the amount of Spirit I have right now."

Bahamut let out a small, amused huff. "With what you have now..? Not much."

Then, without warning, his eye snapped shut, and Ali suddenly felt himself being pulled into his Spirit Realm.

He let it happen.

When he opened his eyes, he stood once more in the dense fog of his Spirit Realm.

Bahamut's gigantic purple eye loomed ahead, far larger than before.

"First, you can call upon the Biting Head, as you did before..."

The fog shifted…A massive, shadowy dragon's head materialised from the mist, its rows of jagged teeth gleaming as it darted in and out of dark portals, weaving through the realm like an ethereal predator.

Ali's gaze followed it carefully. "How are you doing this?"

Bahamut's voice dripped with sarcasm. "Ancient Dragons can use Ancient Magic, fool."

Ali ignored the jab and focused on the demonstration.

"The more Spirit you possess, the stronger-and more complete-the Teeth Dragon will become."

Ali nodded in understanding.

"Second," Bahamut continued, "I can grant you my eyes-to see through the darkness. Nothing can hide from the gaze of the Darkness Dragon in its own domain."

Ali raised an eyebrow. 'Interesting...'

The fog shifted again, this time forming a replica of himself.

Except-this copy had monstrous, elongated teeth, its darkened skin writhing unnaturally as though it were barely holding its form together.

Ali's expression turned flat. "Is that how you see me? Or how you wish I looked?"

"That is how you will look, if you fully accept my power and take on my teachings... Powerful and monstrous."

Ali scoffed. "Yeah, no chance."

Ignoring Bahamut's disappointment, he focused on the eyes of his fog clone. Two glowing purple dragon eyes replaced his own.

"It's not of much use to m since my eyes ca see pretty well in the dark anyway", Ali shrugged off this ability.

Bahamut's voice rumbled. "These eyes do more than pierce through darkness you fool. They unravel illusions, break through barriers, and expose those who hide their true forms. My eyes see all."

Ali smirked. "Now that sounds useful. I thought you were just offering me night vision goggles."

Bahamut scoffed. "What is that?"

"Forget it. Continue."

The fog shifted again.

"With your current Spirit and at the same time you summon the tooth dragon, I can grant you one of my teeth as a weapon..."

A sharp white fang formed in the clone's palm.

"It can be used in direct combat..."

The clone swung the fang like a dagger.

"Or from the shadows..."

A second fang erupted from its own shadow, impaling the clone through the back, causing it to disintegrate.

Ali smirked. "That... I can use."

He crossed his arms. "And if I doubled my Spirit?"

Bahamut's voice darkened. "Then you would gain access to my realm-allowing teleportation through the same gates the tooth dragon uses... and, of course, all your abilities would be enhanced."

Ali grinned. 'Now that's power...'

Ali absorbed the information carefully, his black eyes reflecting the shifting fog of his Spirit Realm. "Are all the other Ancient Dragons going to offer their abilities as well?"

His mind raced at the thought. If he could gain access to the powers of Lightning, Fire, Ice, or even Wind Dragons, his arsenal of abilities would become nearly limitless.

'This way, l'd essentially have a spell for every element. That's completely overpowered.

The only thing standing in my way is my Spirit stat...'

"No."

Bahamut's answer was immediate and absolute.

Ali frowned. "Why not?"

The colossal purple eye stared at him in silence for a moment before responding.

"Only I... and our so-called leader will offer you power. The others have children who will answer your summons instead."

"Well that's disappointing", Ali said out loud.

"Which is why you should always call for me, the tooth dragon doesn't have any fear and will follow every order even if it destroys itself in the process unlike the children the others will send you. They feel fear and argue back…Unreliable…", Bahamut's monstrous voice rang out all over Ali's Spirit realm as his eyes got closer and closer to Ali.

"Yeah because a unintelligent dog that exudes the intent to eat me and fills my head with endless hunger when it's summoned is so much better…", Ali shook his head at Bahamut.

"Of course…", these were Bahamut's final words before the eye dissipated and the gate to the hall of Dragons closed.

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