Lore was tired from the first two Demon Lion's, but he knew he had to finish this. He refused to die here.
Lore stood ready, waiting for the third demon lion to arrive.
The shaking intensified, and dust erupted from the floor. The Demon Lion was charging Lore with unbridled anger.
Lore fired spell after spell, from Lightning Arrow, to Fireball, healing magic coursed throughout him. His body glowed with a soft light.
As the last few seconds ticked away, Lore dashed to the right of the Demon Lion, swinging his sword upwards. The weapon cut deeply into the monster's side, and severed a large chunk of meat.
The Demon Lion roared in pain as its insides spilled out.
Its roar caused another earthquake, and the entire cave shook violently.
A moment later, the Demon Lion toppled over dead. A cloud of smoke rose from where it once stood.
When everything settled, Lore looked around, and realized all the eggs had been smashed, and he shook his head.
He then began to skin the Demon Lion's, he had a new ide for a set of armor. After he had all the skin, fur, and mane, Lore used a basic Summon: Courier Pet. Once the courier bird was summoned, he wrote a letter, and sent it to Knight Order HQ.
Lore was pleased with his accomplishment, but was ready to go back.
Knight Order HQ received the message, and immediately dispatched an expeditionary force to investigate. When they arrived, the first thing they did was examine the cave.
After a brief examination, they concluded that the cavern contained nothing but piles of crushed eggs, dead lizard-creatures, and three Domon Lion corpses. The expeditionary team returned the corpses to HQ thus verifying Lore's completion of his mission.
***
Once returned to Knight Order HQ, Lore debriefed with Commander Radi, and explained how he had completed the task assigned to him.
Commander Radi nodded approvingly when he heard about Lore's encounter with the Domon Lions. He told him that he was dismissed, and the trial results would arrive in one week.
Lore left the office, feeling good about his success.
Back outside, he stopped to take a breath of fresh air. In front of him was the main building of Knight Order HQ. Next to it stood the statue of King Arutha First of his name, first and rightful king of Internia.
On top of the pedestal sat a knight in full plate armor. At his feet rested a shield emblazoned with the symbol of Knight Order, and atop his helmet was a crown.
After admiring fot a while he headed to his room. Lore rested for the day. He waited to hear from the instructors about the next trial.
**
Two weeks flew by, and two hundred candidates had finished the trial. Today, Commander Radi would give them their next test.
Commander Radi had summoned all two hundred members, and stood before them in a meeting hall.
"Well done, all of you deserve praise. You completed your task, and survived. The first to finish was Kyo, The Red Paladin, who defeated a A-rank troll. The Knight who killed the strongest enemy is.. Apprentice Lore: Who defeated three A-rank Demon Lion's. The slowest candidate was Dora, a Squire of Windora. Continue to improve, and growing stronger. " Radi took paused briefly before continuing.
"For the final trial... one hundred teams of two... must slay an S-rank, or Disaster class monster."
There was silence in the room, everyone seemed stunned by the news.
Radi spoke again, "All teams are to report to the Command Office inside Knight Order HQ. I will meet with each team myself in forty minutes time. Choose wisely, your lives depend on it..."
With that, Radi walked out of the meeting hall.
The One hundred ninety-nine candidates began swirling and moving among each other, looking for the best partner. Many people flocked to Lore, and Kyo who were the top candidates.
Lore approached Kyo in the storm of people and extended his hand. "I'm Lore, and I want to be your teammate."
Kyo stared at his outstretched hand, and then shook it lightly. "You're Lore? Well met friend"
"Well met. I hope this means we can be partners.?" Lore said, with a smile
Kyo smiled and nodded. "I think we'll have no problem with this exam."
Once the two chatted for a moment, they went to the Command Office to speak with Radi.
Once there the pair of men knocked on the door, and then entered. Radi stood at a window and turned to approach the pair. "You two will make a fine pair. As you know, your target will be an S-rank, or Disaster class monster. Said monster will be assigned to you. One hundred monsters have been tracked, and we'll provide you the general location. For your pairing, I've decided to assign you thr strongest monster on thr list. Itrixa the Elder Drake. A Disaster Class Drake monster."
"That sounds interesting," Kyo replied.
"We should get started right away," Lore added.
"Very well, follow me." Radi led the duo to another room where a map of the continent was displayed upon a large table.
Radi pointed to a spot near the eaat edge of the continent. "This is the place. There are many islands surrounding the area, so it may take you a while to find your way in."
"How far do we need to go exactly?" Kyo asked.
Radis voice took on a serious tone. "It's not easy. You'll have to travel to the eastern coast, and then sail for miles until you reach land. Once there, you'll encounter a series of obstacles including coral reefs, and storms. But if you survive the journey, the reward will be worth it. On this large island live Itrixa the Elder Drake, and there will other monsters there as well."
***
A few weeks later, Kyo and Lore sat atop their ship. They'd made good progress since leaving the port city of Wistram.
Lore kept watch over the ocean while Kyo slept below deck, exhausted from a lack of sleep due to his sea sickness.
As the sun set, Lore felt the wind pick up, and knew that night would come soon.
He scanned the horizon for signs of trouble when suddenly he spotted a dark shape floating above the waterline.
The creature was enormous, easily three times larger than any ship in existence. It hovered motionless overhead.
Lore watched as the massive object began to descend, slowly descending until it was directly overtop of the ship.
When it landed, Lore could see that its body was similar to a dragon's head and neck, but much wider and longer.
The monster ignored the ship, and dove into the water, diving deep into the sea.
Lore thought to himself how majestic the monster was. Lore had heard or read fables of Dragon's being that large. He had read somewhere that Dragon's this large were stronger than even Elder Dragon's. They were named Arch-Dragon's.
The wave created from the monsters dive exploded in waves and shook the whole boat, sending it rocking against the waves.
Lore held onto the rails tightly as the ship rocked back and forth. When the shaking stopped, Lore climbed down from the deck.
A couple days later, Lore and Kyo had finally reached land. After making landfall, they decided to rest for a bit.
Kyo went off to explore while Lore stayed aboard the ship.
After about an hour, Kyo returned to the boat carrying a small box.
"What did you find?" Lore asked.
"I found a magic item," Kyo replied. "There was a note attached to it. I think it might help us."
Lore examined the box curiously, wondering what kind of magical items Kyo had managed to obtain.
Inside the box was a glowing gemstone. It pulsated softly.
Lore picked up the stone and studied it closely. He wasn't sure if it was safe to touch yet though, so he put it down gently.
"This is amazing!" Lore exclaimed excitedly after examining the gemstone further.
"Who knows what magics could be sealed away inside there. Where did you find this? Lore said with a grin.
"It was buried on the beach, but why was it just lying buried on the beach." Kyo said inquistively
The two agreed to put the box away, and start searching the island for Itrixa. The monster was described as a massive Drake with onyx black scales with flakes of red, and it's teeth and claws were dyed red with blood. Glowing green eyes with vertical pupils. The information provided by Commander Radi said that the lair could be found to the north of the island.
***
Several hours later, the group made camp near a stream.
Lore sat at the edge of the river, watching it flow past. He was lost in thought when Kyo walked up to him.
"Hey, Lore! Wake up!" Kyo shouted.
Lore blinked sleepily, and looked over at Kyo. His eyes widened when he saw the look on Kyo's face.
"Wake up Lore, we're almost there." Kyo said with excitement in his voice.
Lore stood from the spot, and rubbed his groggy eyes. "I was just resting. Don't use up your energy, the enemy could attack at any moment?"
Kyo nodded in agreement.
"We should get going." Lore said.
"Where are we headed?" Kyo asked.
"To kill Itrixa, obviously." Lore replied confidently, as if he already knew where they would find their target.