"Will you just continue standing there now? Don't you have any questions for me?"
"By the way, I am Fenix... a humble servant of the Dragon King, don't bother asking about my clan name or something like that; I don't have a clan or family..."
Sitting on the skull of a dragon, Fenix's tattered cape waved in the air and made him look more mysterious.
Rio tilted his head a bit and asked,
"The purpose of bringing me here is?"
The illusion spell of Ayla didn't work on Rio as it was considered harmful because it could have teleported him to a place filled with harmful illusions, thus his true immunity got triggered automatically.
As for the 'sleep' spell that was likely cast on all participants by Aria, it actually worked on Rio because it wasn't considered harmful by true immunity.
Moreover, at that moment, Rio himself wanted to sleep as it was night, so it worked because of his permission.
But if someone had tried to harm him in sleep or Rio himself had wanted to wake up, then the spell would have broken instantly as true immunity would have been triggered.
Rio didn't suffer any harm, so the sleep spell kept him in deep sleep, and Fenix was able to carry him here.
Due to the sleep spell, now Rio doesn't know why he was brought here, so he asked this question to Fenix.
Fenix replied to that question in a stern voice.
"Hmm... you could say it's a competition or something like that, an evaluation of sort..." For the next few minutes, Fenix explained the details to Rio in his calm yet stern voice. After the explanation was finished, Rio nodded his head and then asked,
"For an evaluator, you seem quite unmotivated, though, Fenix, 'The Ruler of Drake Nest'..."
Fenix's eyes widened in surprise at Rio's words,
"Hoh, I didn't expect that someone from the outside world would know about me... how interesting..."
Rio just shrugged his shoulders and said,
"Well, a certain talkative princess gave me some basic knowledge of the dragon valley..." (Keep in mind that Rio's lying skills are top-notch...)
Fenix smiled in amusement at those words.
"Hahaha, you are the only person who has dared to say that the princess is a talkative person; everyone else says that she's cold-hearted and doesn't even talk with her father much..."
"I am genuinely surprised that she went out of her way to talk to you... As I said earlier, you are an interesting kid, Rio Flash..."
Rio tilted his head in confusion and thought,
'I seriously can't picture Selain being a cold-hearted person... She seems more like a girl who has too much to talk about... Forget it; everyone has their own circumstances...'
'Maybe something happened in the past that caused her to become cold toward the people of the Dragon Valley. I am just an outsider here; there's no need to get involved in this thing...' Rio has helped quite a few characters improve their lives, but it was unintentional most of the time, and only a few times it was on purpose, so he isn't interested in getting involved right
now.
'But seriously, the more I stay in the dragon valley, the more I feel that something is amiss... I have a very strange feeling in my heart; I am missing something crucial right now...'
Ever since Rio came to the Dragon Valley, he has had a strange feeling in his heart, as if something was calling out to him and trying to attract him towards itself.
But this feeling is so vague that Rio can't figure out what's going on.
...
While Rio was busy thinking about various things in his head, Fenix shook his head and spoke in a tired tone.
"Truthfully speaking, I didn't even want to take part in this evaluation, but it was a direct order from the dragon king, so I dared not to deny him..."
"Moreover, the fact is, you are the only participant I am in charge of evaluating; there isn't any other participant here aside from you..."
Fenix seemed really bored with all this evaluation and stuff.
"The dragon king claims to trust me a lot, but he didn't even give any other participant to me —only you, a human kid, not even a dragon... This just shows the lack of trust in me..."
"Sigh- my sh*tty life..."
Rio ignored Fenix's words, which were full of self-hatred, and found a spot to sit down himself.
'Seems like we are in for a long and boring talking session here; I better sit down already...'
Rio glanced at Fenix and asked,
"By the way, I am quite good at making tea; wanna have some?"
Fenix was taken aback by Rio's words for a moment, but then he nodded his head
immediately.
"But where will we find tea in this barren desert-"
Before Fenix could finish his words, Rio brought out his whole tea set from the space ring on
the spot.
"Don't worry about that; I carry more tea with me in place of emergency rations... A cup of tea is equivalent to enough to help you skip a meal..."
Fenix looked at Rio's skillful hand movements and said,
"I did hear once that talented people always have one or two addictions, but this is the first
time I am seeing it in person... you are addicted to tea?"
Rio wanted to reply that he was also addicted to the 'stuff' called 'lipium' (Lia + copium), but
he only nodded his head and said,
"Well, I guess that saying is true then..."
Rio put his tea set back in the space ring.
Fenix waved his hand, and the tea cup that Rio had prepared for him teleported into his hand
instantly.
"But seriously... using 'Sword Intent' to make tea... If the world knew about it, many young talents would shed tears of blood... It's quite extravagant..."
Rio just shrugged his shoulders and said,
"Extravagant? Nope..."
Fenix frowned a bit at Rio's words and asked,
"Why though?"
Rio's expression turned serious at that question. He sipped the tea and then said,
"The thing is, I don't consider 'Sword Intent' to be a 'weapon'; it's more like an extension of my 'will' or my 'mind'... like an auxiliary ability or something..."
Hearing Rio's words, Fenix laughed a bit and said,
"AHAHAHA, you really are an interesting kid; the legendary skill that all swordsmen dream
about is considered just an 'Auxiliary ability' by you!"
"AHAHAHA, I haven't laughed so much in the past five hundred years! Also, I have to
acknowledge it; you make some really good tea..."
A smile appeared on Fenix's face at that moment.
Rio waved his hand and said,
"Nah, I am just a humble swordsman who was lucky enough to learn a trick or two..."
Fenix smiled at those words and said,
"Then I am just a humble, lowly drake too..."
Rio shook his head and said,
"No, no, how can the ruler of all drakes be considered 'lowly'..."
Rio didn't know much about the dragon valley or other dragons, but he surely knew a lot
about Fenix.
In the novel, Fenix is a late-stage villain.
You could count the number of villains who posed a threat to Fade throughout the entire
novel on the fingers of one hand.
And Fenix is one of them.
Although Fenix isn't a true dragon, he's still extremely strong.
There are three types of things that can be born from a dragon's egg.
One is a total failure caused by imperfect genetic merging, known as dragon men.
The second is a true dragon who has inherited the full inheritance and knowledge of its parents and has been given its own true name from birth.
Lastly, there are 'Drakes'; they are failed dragons of sorts. They are the kids who failed to inherit their dragon lineage and don't have true names of their own.
Although they have a strong physique like dragons and are strong, they aren't dragons in the truest sense, as they can't use 'unique' dragon magic without a true dragon name. Just like dragon men, drakes are also thrown away by the dragon parents on the day of birth.
Usually most of them die from starvation, but a few survive every now and then.
Then the group got together to rely on each other to survive.
It was Fenix who created a safe haven for other drakes in the southern coast area of the dragon
valley.
All drakes are welcome in that place, and Fenix rules over that area.
Fenix has been the only drake in the long annals of history who has reached rank SS; not a
single drake has been able to reach the realm of demi-gods before him.
Dragons respect those who are strong, and only after becoming an SS-ranker was Fenix truly
recognized by the Dragon King and other dragons.
He is the very reason why the other Drakes are able to live in peace nowadays and aren't
getting hunted to death by the dragons.
Even when he died in Fade's hands, his last words were filled with worry for the Drakes;
without him being there, the Drakes would have no one to protect them, and they would lose
their peace.
Fenix's greatest wish is for someone to succeed him. The drakes don't have other SS-rankers;
he wants a drake to appear who can keep the race safe in case something happens to him.
Rio can't disrespect someone like Fenix, who has dedicated his life to creating a safe home for
his entire race.
From the perspective of the drakes, Fenix is the real 'Hero'.
...
Author's Notes.
Yo! It's your beloved author here!
Reaching the realm of a demi-god is a long path; each and every demi-god represents a story
that was filled with difficulties...
Question of the day:.
If you get the chance to talk with Rio while sipping tea together, what would you ask him
about?
(Tell me your thoughts in the comments.)
By the way, don't forget to use those power stones and also leave a review if you like the story.
Comment your opinion about the chapter. Your support is my motivation.