Behind Door

"What do you think this place is, kid!? A tavern where you can just come and go?!" Killgragah snapped as his voice boomed through the air, almost making Emery's ears go deaf.

Hearing the serious tone in Killgragah's voice made Emery's face change. He became worried and a little bit fearful because of the sudden roar.

"Err... No! Of course no, supreme being. I… It's just.. I still have things I really need to do… I am sorry if my words have offended you." Emery quickly added.

"Huh! You have to know that as long as you are in Khaos with me, our minds are interconnected! So don't lie to me, kid."

"I know the thing you wanted to do. Let me tell you that what the Leaf Lady asked you is just secondary. You have to always think of Khaos first! The Lord of Shadow is the answer to everything."

"..." Emery became speechless, as he did not know how to react to that statement.

Ignoring Emery's current condition, Killgragah continued his 'lecture',

"Your next recall will happen in three years time, right?!? With only your mere B aptitude, you will not be successful if you don't spend every second of your time training in this place!"

Naturally, Emery wanted to spend as much time as possible in here to increase his power. But at the moment, he still had many things he had to do in his list and people depended on him.

Reading what was currently on Emery's mind, Killgragah snarled, "Kid!"

"Aren't you forgetting about your dark core?! That should be your priority right now! You think too much about other things, when what you should do is to focus on yourself first!"

Upon hearing that, Emery immediately remembered that important part, the dilemma he currently had. His dark core, the core everyone in the Academy, even the headmaster, could not do anything about it.

Subsequently, he realized the implied meaning of Killgragah's words. With a doubtful gaze, Emery turned to look at the massive dragon and asked, "Then… supreme being... Do you... know the way… to solve my dark core issue?"

Emery swore he could hear Killgragah scoffing, as if he heard the stupidest question of the century, "You really are foolish, kid. If I didn't know the solution, why would I have told you to do it in the first place?"

Emery was surprised, then delighted. In an instant, he said, "Please supreme being. Tell me how!"

Seeing the eagerness in Emery's tone, Killgragah laughed, "Hahaha... The answer is… behind that door."

While saying so, Killgragah looked towards the door, the one that had been closed since the beginning, the one Emery couldn't open no matter what he did.

Emery followed Killgragah's gaze, saw the door, returned back to the dragon and asked, "What's behind the door?"

He was curious about what was hidden inside it.

Killgragah spoke his next words calmly, as if it wasn't something much, "The legacy of the Lord of Shadow is in that room."

"Then... How can I enter the room?"

"Like I said previously, kid. Only when you are worthy... You, as of now, are only worthy to take care of my poo, kid."

Emery once again sighed when he heard another of the dragon's mocking words. For a moment, he even thought that it would be nice if the dragon could cut down his mocking habit.

"Therefore, I forbid you to get out of this room until you are worthy."

Realizing that he would be stuck here for a long time if he allowed the dragon, Emery immediately pleaded, "Please, supreme being. Is there really no other way? There must be one."

"No. Other. Way! It's not negotiable! Huh! You are indeed a human. They think everything is negotiable. How laughable."

Emery wrecked his brain capacity, trying to think of a solution that could satisfy the two of them. After a period of time, he thought of one thing the dragon might be interested in.

"How about this, supreme being. What if I bring you the part of Khaos that was stolen.. That granny of mine. That must be something that you want, right?!"

By simply saying the first reason, Emery managed to change the dragon's expression.

"Actually… that would make things much easier…" Killgragah murmured, as his massive claw rubbed his chin like an old man.

Inwardly and silently, Emery recalled the word 'not negotiable' the dragon had just said a second ago. He chuckled at that.

Seeing his idea being bitten by the dragon, Emery quickly pushed forward to not let the momentum go, "And how am I going to find her if I'm stuck here..?"

"You… that's- Yes... You do make a good point, kid."

At the moment, Emery really thought his idea was brilliant. This way, the High Priestess' quest and Killgragah would be connected with each other. The exact definition of killing two birds with one stone. For a moment, Emery almost believed he was a genius to even think of this.

Killgragah fell into deep thought for several seconds. He then said, "No, no... with your level of intelligence, you would never find her. It would just end up being a waste of time. You have to stay here practicing."

Emery knew he only needed one more thing to negotiate, to convince the dragon. Hence, he pressed on.

"Alright, Killgragah. How about we do it like this.. I spend one month outside and then, I return here and stay for one month as well. And when I manage to complete my quest, I can stay here indefinitely. How's that sound? I think this is the best way."

Seeing the dragon show a more agreeable face, Emery decided to add the last push.

"And supreme being, I can bring you many, I mean MANY tasty things from outside whenever I return. What do you think?"

Apparently, Emery's last push was successful as the dragon became excited.

"Ahh. yes... It's indeed not a bad idea... Not bad indeed. But, one month is too long... No, no. You would only waste precious time…" Killgragah murmured, contemplating.

The dragon thought of an idea.

"Aha! Yes, you actually can do it like this."

Turning his attention back to Emery, Killgragah said, "Kid! If you master the Spatial Gate, you can return here everyday! Yes! Daily! And then you can keep bringing me those- I mean, you can still continue your training uninterrupted!"

Emery required a moment to follow and understand the dragon's words. When he did so, he was surprised. He just didn't think it was possible.

"Alright, kid! This is the plan! You will learn and increase your mastery of the Spatial Gate spell until you are able to return to this place whenever I need you."

Right in this moment, both the dragon and the man had the same target in mind, but for two completely, different reason.

…

It took Emery two full days before he could cast the [Spatial Gate] spell that would create a rift big enough for him to walk in and out the gate. Mastering the [Blink] spell had helped him a lot to pinpoint the location he wanted to teleport to with his eyes.

Now, the next challenge Emery had to face was to teleport to a location outside of his sight. Hence, he began with feeling the area outside the Khaos, outside this enclosed space.

"If you can have a glimpse outside of this Khaos space, it means you have mastered the spell. Then, we will proceed with the plan."

It took Emery three more days before he could finally do the task. He casted the spell and he could finally see the familiar stone formation through the rift he created.

"I did it!!" Emery exclaimed. He was truly excited to see the success of his efforts.

Thus, it was time for him to go.

Before Emery walked out of the Khaos space, Killgragah reminded him to not waste his time outside of Khaos and to come back as soon as possible.

Even though the dragon's words seemed sincere, Emery could clearly see what the dragon's true objective was.

After nodding and giving his respects to the dragon, Emery then took a step outside of Khaos.