Emery would never forget this rumbling voice.
"Killgragah!!"
Emery shouted as he looked around, trying to find the source of the voice.
The moment Emery called the dragon's name, a black shadowy thin line appeared in front of him, Then, it slowly widened itself until it formed into some kind of a door.
Looking at the 'door' in front of him, Emery felt apprehension yet also excitement.
"You have succeeded, kid. You may visit Khaos once more."
Upon hearing that, Emery took a deep breath. The last time he went inside, he got a lot of benefits but he was also trapped for almost six month.
Emery threw out all of his doubts about the place and stepped forward, entering the shadowy door.
The sensation of going in and out of a portal had become a common thing for Emery, but entering the Khaos had an entirely different feeling. The moment he went inside the Khaos space, he could clearly feel the rich spirit aura.
Probably because Emery had advanced the level of his Dark core, he could somehow perceive the energy much better. For a moment, he was so intoxicated that he stood motionless in front of the 'door' which slowly disappeared out of existence.
Emery began walking through the narrow hallway until he reached a big, massive room where he couldn't see the ceiling. Astounded for a brief moment by it, he proceeded to throw his gaze around, looking for the figure he came here for.
"I am here." said Killgragah, as he moved out of the darkness. At the same time, several dark flames appeared and lit up the entire room.
Seeing the colossal form of Killgragah, Emery took a respectful gait and said, "My respect to you supreme being."
Emery felt it was time for him to be smarter with his words. Even though the attempt was mediocre at best, he had to do whatever it took to obtain more leverage on the dragon.
"Aaahhh... You are no longer a kid, aren't you…?" said Killgragah, when he saw how Emery acted. "Come… come closer." added the dragon, with a loud rumbling on his voice.
Emery stepped forward while checking around him. The room was still the same as previously, the dragon was still bound by chains in front of him. A large door that previously could not be opened also in its previous location and the window that showed the sight to the outside in the left wall. Everything appeared to be the same.
While Emery was doing his 'inspection', the dragon's snake-like head moved around and stared at him closely, from different angles.
"Let me see what you are now…"
After the dragon said its thoughts, a wave of energy bursted out of the dragon and made its way to Emery, entering his body at such speed, he didn't have the time to react.
Emery's feet left the ground as his body floated into the air, borne by the energy Killgragah discharged. At the same time, Emery felt his mind was being loaded with energy that it almost shattered apart.
When the transference stopped, Emery opened his eyes only to find he was back in the illusionary space. The faceless man was standing several meters in front of him.
Emery felt as if his mind was being probed and his stats came to mind.
"These restrictions are really annoying, aren't they?" commented the dragon as it saw Emery's stats. "But I have to say, with a B aptitude, your progress is not bad, not bad at all. There is probably hope for you, after all."
Emery smiled a little when he heard that, as he rarely heard a compliment coming from the dragon.
Next, Emery suddenly felt as if the events that had happened the past 3 months were coming back at him. Just like the previous time where Killgragah probed his childhood, this time, Emery knew the dragon was trying to probe his memory again.
Passing through the memory of Emery winning the Magus Game, Killgragah laughed loudly, "Hahaha... Impressive achievement in such a useless game..."
Emery let out a I-knew-it sigh when he heard the dragon's mocking session had once again begun.
"Such a childish game... Humans... Phuii…" said Killgragah, as he perused his memories. "If it's not a life and death fight, then all those competitions don't mean a single thing. Only in the face of death will a person's real identity be shown. Don't you think so?"
Emery had to admit there was actually some wisdom from the dragon's words.
…
Emery was thinking and planning his future plans when the dragon suddenly got excited.
"Aaaah! She found you. No wonder you improved so much..."
Hearing that, Emery wondered who the dragon meant, "Who do you mean- Wait... Is it… her?"
A figure who helped Emery in his cultivation, a female and the one who 'found' him; there were none other than Grand magus Zenoia.
Killgragah laughed at the rhetorical question that Emery asked him, "Hahaha... Who else?"
Because the faceless man had no expression, Emery couldn't tell if the dragon was smiling or smirking. Recalling the words of Killgragah that indicated he knew Grandmaster Zenoia, Emery asked, "Do you know her? Please tell me what you know about her. Who is she?"
"Hehehe... You don't need to know… not now at least."
"I will tell you when you are ready."
Emery frowned when he saw the dragon refusing to answer his question. Starting from the High Priestess to this dragon, why did these mighty figures like to talk in riddles? Their demeanor truly brought a headache to him.
"I see you are doing really well there. I see you also got the item I asked. Very good."
After he said that, Emery could feel the probing finally stopped. At the same time, he returned back to the massive room, facing the dragon.
"Now show me the item."
Emery took out the Void Crystal from the bag and showed it in his hand.
He then felt a force that wanted to take the crystal away, but he held it tight as if he wasn't willing to give the dragon.
Emery's questionable action made the dragon confused. At that moment, Emery decided to say his piece.
"Killgragah, with all due respect, it was very hard for me to get this. Honestly, you didn't really give me much information. Your quest is not easy at all... I even needed to figure out a way to fix the stone formation by myself. Therefore, I hope to be rewarded handsomely for this."
Emery thought Killgragah would be angry or offended by his words, but instead of doing those things, the dragon laughed.
"Hahaha. kid… The whole thing was a test. If you couldn't even do those small things, then you wouldn't deserve to be the master of Khaos"
Emery frowns hearing about another freaking test. He hated it, did the dragon really try to get this item which was worth a fortune from him for free?
As if knowing Emery thinking, the dragon continue with something that startle him
"Anyway... that crystal you got kid… it was never for me or Khaos. It's prepare for you, kid."