Kael sat frozen.
His mouth opened. Closed. Opened again.
"Ten beasts… two realms above me…"
He rubbed his temples.
"Wonderful. Should I write my will first?..Because that's not a requirement, that's execution!"
Azreath didn't even bother to sigh this time.
His voice came out low and dry.
Azreath's voice rolled through the forest, sharp and unyielding:
"If ten beasts unsettles you, brat, then you truly have no idea what you carry inside you.
if a number alone frightens you… how will you ever face the beasts themselves?"
Kael opened and closed his mouth twice, like a dying fish.
"…You can't be serious."
"I do not waste breath on jokes."
Kael dragged his hands down his face.
"Azreath… I barely survived an Emberfang.
You're talking about something two realms above that!
Ten times!"
Azreath didn't soften.
He didn't comfort.
He didn't reassure.
He simply spoke.
Ancient.
Inevitable.
Absolute.
"Listen well, brat," Azreath said.
"Your body is not human alone.
Your strength will not come from one source —
but from three things fighting inside you."
Kael swallowed tightly.
Azreath continued, each word ringing with age:
"A beast's blood essence forges the body. It strengthens your mortal flesh…and it tempers the draconic foundation inside you."
Kael blinked.
"My dragon core too?"
"Of course," Azreath growled.
"Strengthened flesh supports a strengthened core. A weak vessel cannot house a mighty flame."
"Every beast carries a monster core. Your budding dragon core feeds on that strength. Do not disappoint it."
A shiver crawled across Kael's spine.
"Their Flame essence will become food for you divine flame seed."
and then there is also your own mana cultivation
Kael stared blankly.
"So one kill gives me… all of that?"… flame beasts are the best for me?"
Azreath rumbled in amusement.
"Triple gain. Triple potential.
So tell me —
shouldn't you also prove triple worth?"
Kael forced himself to ask:
"…So why ten? Why two realms? Why not… something survivable?"
Azreath answered without hesitation.
"Because only that level of danger can temper the three forces within you.
Too weak, and your nature stays fractured.
Too strong, and you die."
"No human alive gains this much from a single battle…so your worth must exceed them all."
Kael stared at him, horrified.
"This is insane…"
Azreath ignored the complaint.
"This is the only acceptable path."
Kael sank onto a fallen log.
"And… this unlocks the Dragon Codex?"
Azreath's voice deepened.
"It unlocks the first level.
Nothing more."
Kael choked.
"THERE ARE LEVELS?!"
Kael slumped, defeated.
"How am I supposed to kill beasts two realms above me?
Do I actually have to fight them head-on?
Or can I use traps, stealth, ambush— anything?"
Azreath's amusement sharpened.
"Head-on?
With your current strength?
That would only prove how quickly you can die."
Kael glared weakly.
"…Then how?"
Azreath's tone grew cold and instructional, the sound of an elder shaping a student through truth, not kindness.
"You misunderstand what worth means."
He elaborated:
It is choice.
Judgment.
Instinct.
And intelligence."**
Azreath let the words simmer before continuing.
"If intelligence is excluded, what separates you from a mad Earthbull charging blindly into stone walls?"
Kael's lips twitched. "…Fair."
Azreath went on:
"A dragon is not merely strong.
A dragon is cunning.
Calculated.
Patient.
Predatory.
Wise.
And merciless."
Then, almost softly:
"Brute force is the way of beasts.
But dragons are not just any beast , they are the king."
Kael felt the truth of it settle painfully inside him.
Azreath finished:
Blood spilled is blood spilled.
The Codex judges results — not theatrics."**
Kael exhaled shakily.
"So traps and ambushes are allowed?"
"Encouraged."
Azreath added, almost annoyed that Kael still doubted:
"You are not as weak as you pretend."
Kael blinked.
"What?"
Azreath paused for a moment, then spoke with the certainty of someone stating obvious fact.
"Your body already shows signs of imbalance.
The dragon core in you sharpens your instincts.
Your dragon blood strengthens bone and muscle.
And that flame seed of yours… makes you leagues ahead then normal flame cultivators."
Kael blinked.
"So I am stronger?"
Azreath snorted.
"Stronger, yes.
Stable? Absolutely not."
He continued, voice flat but ancient:
"Your foundation is scattered.
Your soul defense is thin.
Your control over mana is laughable at best."
Kael groaned and threw his head back.
"Can you stop insulting me for one minute?"
Azreath answered instantly."No."
Azreath's final words landed like a verdict:
"If a child wishes to inherit the sky,
he must show he can stand beneath its weight."
Kael's breath trembled.
He looked at the forest.
At the scrolls beside him.
At the path stretching ahead.
Ten beasts.
Two realms above.
Triple worth for triple potential.
He finally understood.
He rose slowly, fists clenched.
"…Then I'll do it."
Azreath's rumble echoed with something close to pride.
"Good.
Let us begin."