Chapter 23: The Realm in the Ring
The return to the surface was less of a triumph and more of a tactical retreat. We emerged from the spatial fissure in the canyon, the ground still trembling faintly beneath our boots from the Star-Turtle's indignation.
"That was close," Anya breathed, dusting off her uniform. "The big turtle was grumpy."
"He was just possessive," I corrected, admiring the grey stone band now encircling my finger. "But possession is nine-tenths of the law. And I am the law."
I clenched my fist. The Ouroboros Ring hummed. It felt heavy, not physically, but spiritually. It was an anchor to a pocket dimension that existed outside the jurisdiction of the Arbiters.
"Ria," I commanded. "Status report on the camp."
"Camp remains secure, Master," Ria replied, her eyes flashing silver as she accessed the remote sensors. "However, the captive Viper has regained consciousness. He is currently attempting to gnaw through the Spirit Ropes with his filed teeth. Success probability: 0%."
"Let's go say hello to our guest," I said. "And then... we test the Ring."
The Interrogation.
When we arrived back at the campsite, the students of the Dining Hall Faction were gathered in a circle, poking the bound assassin with sticks.
"Is he really Viper?" Simmons asked, trembling slightly. "The guy who killed the Top Disciple of the Wind Sect?"
"He looks small," another student noted.
Viper glared at them from the dirt. He was stripped of his armor and weapons, wearing only his black undertunic. His mask was gone, revealing a scarred face and eyes that burned with humiliation.
"You are all dead," Viper hissed, spitting a glob of green venom onto the ground. "When I get free, I will skin you and wear your faces as masks."
The students recoiled in terror.
"Play nice, Viper," I said, stepping into the circle. "Or I'll put you on potato peeling duty."
Viper looked up at me. His eyes flickered to my neck, looking for an opening, then to my stomach, remembering that I had eaten his poison dagger. Fear warred with pride in his gaze.
"Kill me," Viper spat. "I failed the contract. My life is forfeit. I will not talk."
"I don't need you to talk," I said, crouching down. "I know Vex hired you. I know the Order of Providence uses the Shadow Guild as their wet-work dogs. I know everything."
I reached out and tapped his forehead.
"What I need... is a janitor."
"A what?" Viper blinked.
"I have a maid," I pointed to Ria. "I have a mascot," I pointed to Anya. "And I have cooks," I pointed to the students. "But I lack someone to take out the trash. Someone to handle the dirty work that Ria is too pristine for."
"You want me to serve you?" Viper laughed, a rasping, broken sound. "I am a killer! I am a Core Formation expert! I would rather die!"
"Suit yourself," I shrugged.
I pulled a small vial from my pocket. It contained a drop of the Basilisk Venom I had extracted from his dagger, mixed with my own Dragon Blood.
"Open up," I commanded.
I forced his jaw open and poured the liquid down his throat.
Viper choked, coughing violently. "You... you poisoned me with my own venom?"
"Enhanced venom," I corrected. "I added a Bloodline Curse. If you try to harm me, or if you try to leave without permission, your blood will boil, and your bones will liquefy. It's a very messy way to go."
Viper clutched his throat. He could feel the heat spreading through his veins. It wasn't killing him—it was waiting. It was a leash wrapped around his heart.
He looked at me with pure terror. "You are a demon."
"I am the Chef," I smiled. "Welcome to the kitchen staff. Your code name is Garbage Boy."
I cut his ropes.
"Now, clean up this campsite. We are moving."
The World Inside.
The sun was rising over the Deadlands. The howls of the beasts were fading, replaced by the eerie silence of the morning.
"Master," Ria asked. "Where are we moving? Zone Z is vast, but anywhere we go will be exposed to the elements and tracking spells."
I held up my hand, showing off the Ouroboros Ring.
"We aren't moving across the map," I said. "We are moving in."
I gathered the fifty students of the Dining Hall. They looked confused, holding their woks and ladles.
"Everyone, hold hands," I ordered. "Do not let go."
"Is this a bonding exercise?" Simmons asked nervously.
"Inject Qi into the ring," I commanded.
I channeled a massive surge of Void Qi into the stone band. The ancient runes on the ring flared to life.
Space distorted. The air around us ripped open like a fabric. A vortex of golden light swallowed the entire campsite—students, tents, cooking fires, and the grumpy assassin.
ZAP.
One second, we were standing in the barren, grey wasteland of Zone Z.
The next second, we were breathing air so fresh it tasted like sweet nectar.
We stood on a lush, green grassy plain. Above us, a small, artificial sun hung in a sky that shifted between blue and violet. In the distance, floating mountains hovered over a crystal-clear lake. The spiritual energy here was ten times denser than the Academy.
The students gasped. Some fell to their knees.
"Where... where are we?"
"Is this the Spirit Realm?"
"Look at those herbs! That's a Rank-4 Star Flower just growing in the grass!"
"Welcome to The Garden," I announced, my voice echoing in the pocket dimension. "This is the world inside the ring."
It was a Small World. Roughly ten kilometers in diameter. It had its own ecosystem, its own day-night cycle, and thanks to the Star-Turtle's influence, it was saturated with Time Laws.
"One day outside is equal to two days inside," I explained. "We have double the time to cultivate. Double the time to cook."
Anya ran into the field of flowers, laughing as butterflies made of pure light danced around her.
"It's so pretty! Can we build a castle?"
"We can build whatever we want," I said. "Simmons! Set up the kitchen by the lake. The water there is Spirit Spring Water. It will make the broth taste divine."
"Y-Yes, Chef!" Simmons stammered, looking around in awe.
I turned to Ria. "This is our base. No spies. No Vex. No Order. Here, we are untouchable."
Ria scanned the horizon. "Master, the energy density is sufficient to construct a Spirit Forge. We can begin the upgrade of Antakala immediately."
"Good."
I looked at Viper, who was staring at the floating mountains with his mouth open.
"Garbage Boy," I snapped my fingers. "Stop gawking. Dig a latrine. Just because it's paradise doesn't mean we don't need plumbing."
Viper gritted his teeth, humiliated, but the burning in his veins forced him to obey. He grabbed a shovel. "Yes... Master."
The Hunt for the King.
We spent two days inside the ring (one day outside) setting up our base. By the time we emerged back into the Deadlands, we were rested, fed, and stronger.
But I still had a goal.
"The Thunder-Horn Drake," I muttered, looking at the distant peaks of Zone Z. "I didn't come all this way just for a camping trip."
Vex had assigned us to Zone Z to die. He expected the Beast King of this area to wipe us out.
Instead, I was going to wipe out the King.
"Anya, Ria, Viper. With me," I ordered. "The rest of you, stay in the ring and peel potatoes."
We exited the ring and materialized back in the grey canyon.
"Tracking the target," Ria said. "High-energy thunder signature detected three kilometers North. It is resting in a volcanic crater."
"Let's go."
We moved swiftly. Viper, despite his reluctance, was an excellent scout. He moved ahead, clearing the smaller beasts silently.
We reached the rim of the crater.
Below us, curled around a pillar of obsidian, was the Thunder-Horn Drake King.
It was magnificent. Sixty feet long, covered in scales the color of storm clouds. A massive, jagged horn on its snout crackled with blue lightning. It radiated the aura of a Rank-3 Peak beast—equivalent to a Late Core Formation cultivator.
"That's a big chicken," Anya whispered.
"It breathes lightning," Viper warned, crouching beside me. "Its scales are harder than diamond. Even my daggers couldn't scratch it. You can't fight that thing head-on."
"Watch me," I said.
I stood up on the rim of the crater.
"Hey! Ugly!" I shouted.
The Drake's eyes snapped open. Vertical, reptilian pupils focused on me.
It let out a roar that shook the mountains.
ROAAAAAR!
A bolt of lightning shot from its horn, aiming straight for my face.
I didn't dodge.
'Technique: Heaven-Devouring Sutra.'
I raised my left hand. A vortex of black Void Qi formed in my palm.
The lightning struck the vortex.
Instead of frying me, the electricity spiraled into the black hole. I absorbed it. I refined it. I tasted it.
"A bit static-y," I critiqued. "But good voltage."
The Drake looked confused. Its strongest attack had just been eaten by a tiny human.
"My turn," I said.
I jumped into the crater.
I didn't draw a sword. I wanted to test my physical limits.
Seal 1: War God.
Gravity Seals: Release.
I landed on the Drake's back. The impact drove the massive beast into the ground, cracking the obsidian pillar.
"Get off!" the Drake seemed to roar, thrashing wildly.
I grabbed its horns.
My muscles bulged. The Dragon Sovereign Bloodline within me roared back.
This wasn't a fight between a human and a beast. This was a fight between a False Dragon and a True Sovereign.
"Kneel!" I commanded.
I pushed down.
Using sheer brute force, I forced the sixty-foot monster's head into the dirt.
CRACK.
The Drake struggled, shooting lightning everywhere, but my grip was iron.
"Anya! Now!" I shouted.
Anya jumped from the crater rim. She fell like a meteor, her small fist wreathed in Phoenix Fire.
"Rocket Punch!" she screamed.
BOOM.
She punched the Drake right in the snout, just below my hands.
The combination of my suppression and her explosive fire was too much. The Drake's eyes rolled back. It went limp.
"Is it dead?" Anya asked, landing on the beast's nose.
"Unconscious," I said, wiping sweat from my brow. "We need the core fresh."
I looked at Viper, who was watching from the rim, his face pale.
"Viper! Get down here! We need to butcher it before the blood coagulates. The blood makes excellent spicy soup."
Viper slid down the crater wall. He looked at the unconscious behemoth. He looked at the eight-year-old girl who had knocked it out. And he looked at me, holding the Drake down like it was a unruly puppy.
"You people are insane," Viper muttered.
"We are hungry," I corrected.
I pulled out my butchering knife.
"Ria, prepare the massive wok. Tonight, we feast on Dragon."
The Reaction.
High above the Shattered Plains, in the observation deck of the Academy Airship.
Vice-Principal Vex was staring at the Soul Jade tablets of the students.
He was waiting for Rudra's jade to shatter, signaling his death.
Instead, the jade representing the Thunder-Horn Drake King—the Boss of Zone Z—shattered.
CRACK.
Vex froze.
"The Drake King... is dead?"
He looked at the scoreboard.
Rudra Ye: 0 Points.
"He didn't take the points," Vex whispered, his hands trembling. "He didn't kill it for the exam. He killed it... for himself."
He grabbed the communication talisman.
"Viper! Viper, report!"
Static. Then, a voice answered. But it wasn't Viper.
It was me.
"Hello, Vice-Principal," my voice came through the talisman, accompanied by the sound of sizzling meat. "Sorry, Viper can't come to the phone right now. He's washing dishes."
"Rudra!" Vex screamed. "What have you done to my assassin?"
"I gave him a job," I replied calmly. "By the way, the Drake was delicious. Thanks for the recommendation. Next time, send a Rank-4 beast. I'm still a bit peckish."
Click. The connection cut.
Vex stared at the dead talisman. He screamed in rage and threw it against the wall.
"He mocks me!" Vex roared. "He eats my assassins! He eats my monsters!"
He turned to the window, looking down at the clouds covering Zone Z.
"Fine. If the beasts won't kill him... then the Tournament will. I will rig the bracket. I will put him against the geniuses of the High-Level Worlds. I will see him crushed!"
Far below, in the safety of the Ouroboros Ring, I sat around a campfire with my family, enjoying a bowl of spicy dragon soup.
The sleeping dragon was fully awake now. And he had just finished his appetizer.