章 168: Chapter 167

(A/N: This chapter is brought to you by Kirov Briggs, a true action hero.)

...

Though he had seen dozens of photos of the Vermillion Palace while researching it, Izuku was still taken aback by its sheer size and majesty. The location appeared to be underground, but at least three kilometers separated the ceiling from the floor or, more accurately, the river of lava that flowed throughout the breach. As for the palace that gave the breach its name, its structure was reminiscent of ancient Roman architecture but scaled up as if it were made for giants and comprised of red, orange, and golden-hued stone that glistened with a faint metallic sheen.

Suppressing the urge to test the stone's durability, Izuku made his way toward an enormous coliseum that dominated the breach's interior with a radius of more than 2km and a height of 500m. There was a grand palace and forum in the distance, but past attempts to explore and plunder them had ended in failure. The same indestructible barrier that prevented Izuku from exploring other breaches barred entry to outsiders, and if you spent enough time trying to break through it, the draconic ruler of the 'demesne' would come to expel or incinerate you to ash...

...

After passing through the rectangular archway serving as the coliseum's entrance and navigating various corridors that eventually took him to the stands overlooking the central arena, Izuku's pupils briefly contracted to the size of pinholes. The sight of the more than 50m-long winged dragon covered in vermillion scales was one reason, but the other was that it was sleeping, half-buried, atop what must have been millions, if not billions, of gold coins, gem-encrusted goblets, and other treasures...

Demonstrating that he wasn't oblivious to Izuku's presence, the massive red dragon stirred like someone refusing to get out of bed, adjusting its sleeping posture as a telepathic ripple spread through the area as a lazy, masculine groan as it stated, 'Do us both a favor and come back in a few hours. You really don't want to wake up cranky...'

"Hmmm..."

Since the telepathic message was one-way, Izuku couldn't respond with his thoughts. Instead, after a moment of deliberation, he decided to make himself comfortable, lying down atop one of the oversized stone benches that circled the arena like bleachers.

'Heh, you've got balls, kid...' said Wilnas. Then, using one of its massive taloned wings like a blanket, it covered the lower half of its draconic maw and promptly went back to sleep, unconcerned about the possibility of a surprise attack. And for good reason...

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Name: [Wilnas]

Species: True Dragon

Title: Lord of Vermillion(Vit+5000%. Other effects sealed.)

Class: Divine Smith

Current Level: 300(Sealed)

Effective Level: 500,700

[Attributes]

Strength: 3000(sealed)

Agility: 1000(sealed)

Vitality: 5,000,000(sealed)

Intelligence: 1000(sealed)

Dexterity: 1000(sealed)

Luck: 1000(sealed)

Free Attributes: 0

[Perks]

[Authority(Wilnas)], [Telepathy], [True Dragon's Sight], [Dragon's Heart], [Vermillion Scales], [Genesis Flame Hammer], [Soul Reading], [Magmous Blood]

[Skills]

[Fire Dragon's Breath], [Fire Dragon's Roar], [Fire Dragon's Flame Claw], [Fire Dragon's Wing Attack], [Fire Dragon's Whip], [Eruption], [Seventh-Circle Fire Magic], [Seventh-Circle Destruction Magic], [Defense Crush], [Hammer Fall], [Tempering]

[Authority]: The one who bears the Authority of Wilnas reigns over all Blacksmiths and possesses absolute mastery over flames.

[Telepathy]: Able to link minds and communicate without the barrier of language.

[True Dragon's Sight]: Perceive weaknesses and see through all illusions.

[Dragon's Heart]: Vitality and Mana Capacity increase exponentially with age.

[Vermillion Scales]: The scales covering your body can absorb and retain temperatures in excess of 10,000°C before melting.

[Genesis Flame Hammer]: Materialize the very essence of flames into a hammer capable of forging Divine Armaments.

[Soul Reading]: See the nature and origin of all things.

[Magmous Blood]: Your blood burns at 5,000°C and congeals into an obsidian-like substance harder than processed carbon.

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Though he expected Wilnas to be tough as nails, seeing something with a Vitality of 5,000,000 was, despite his closed eyes, eye-opening for Izuku. It was 'very' evident that Wilnas was no ordinary Boss monster, but while Izuku was willing to trade blows with the apparently god-like dragon, he wasn't in a hurry to piss it off...

...

"So, you're Telania's Champion? This world might be fucked," said a rough but friendly voice, stirring Izuku from a shallow slumber. When he rose to a seated position, he discovered a nearly 240cm tall, incredibly muscular man with a mane of predominately red hair but with tufts of white and two strips of white braids running along the sides of his head. A loose topknot completed his hairstyle, but while his expression was friendly, his fiery red eyes exuded the impression that all others were beneath him.

Creating a disparity between himself and the surrounding architecture, the man, revealed to be Wilnas through Izuku's Digitalization, wore red, black, and gold-trimmed hakama-style pants, elaborate banded tassets, similarly elaborate shoulder armor with golden clasps and a dragon motif on his left shoulder, and a thick, loincloth-type garb bearing a dragon's visage with glowing eyes. Accenting this, he wore gold rings on his middle fingers and toes, their nails painted black, stylish black-and-gold bracers, and carried a large black-and-gold gourd on his hip.

"Are you in a talkative mood? Because I certainly wouldn't mind asking you a few questions," replied Izuku.

Holding up the thumb, index, and middle fingers of his right hand, Wilnas, grinning mischievously, said, "I'll answer three of your questions, but you have to answer six of mine and fulfill a similar number of requests. Refuse or consider modifying the deal, and I'll give you a three-minute head start before I chase down and beat some sense into you."

"I can at least hear out your requests, but if your demands are excessive or unreasonable, I retain the right to refuse them," replied Izuku, causing Wilnas to burst out laughing as the surrounding temperature skyrocketed. He wasn't enraged, but because his restraint weakened when he laughed, a fraction of the heat within his body managed to escape.

Ceasing his laughter after several seconds, Wilnas took a seat on the same bench as Izuku, this stone hissing and cracking like the stones in a sauna as he said, "I won't make you do something against your will, but if you say you'll fulfill my requests, there will be consequences if you renege on your promise. Keep that in mind."

Nodding in understanding, Izuku got straight to the heart of the matter, asking, "How can I stop or bring an end to the Convergence...?"

Waving his hand in front of his face, Wilnas replied, "First, you can forget about preventing it. When the vital force of a planet develops an ego and wishes to develop further or understand the nature of its existence, it has no choice but to interface with the Greater Will, Akasha. The Convergence is the natural consequence of that process. The way it 'ends' is you killing or coming to an agreement with the Champions of other Realms and their Patron Gods. The more likely scenario is that you die, and Telania is either subsumed by a God of Destruction or comes under the Authority of a God of Creation."

"That was a very thorough response..." noted Izuku, somewhat surprised as he expected Wilnas to answer dismissively or concisely, leaving things as vague as possible.

Seemingly disregarding Izuku's words, Wilnas stated, "Now I'll ask you two questions and make two requests. Question one: are you a native of this land?"

Shaking his head, Izuku responded, "I hail from a country called Japan, far to the East."

"Then you should be dealing with Lu Woh or Wamdus, not me," expressed Wilnas, following the statement by declaring, "As for my first request, you will bring me a native of this land, one who is pure of heart or regarded as a 'true hero' by the masses."

Without waiting for Izuku's response, Wilnas added, "As for my second question, do you know anyone that fits that description?"

"I have an idea, but they're more of an aspiring Hero than one recognized by the masses," replied Izuku, the face of Historia immediately coming to mind.

"Then my second request is that you help them prepare for my challenge," said Wilnas, grinning as he added, "I'm a hell of a lot more 'understanding' than most of my kin, but actions have consequences. If someone unfit or 'unworthy' takes on my trial and fails, they only have themselves to blame for the outcome."

Nodding in affirmation, Izuku responded, "I'll make sure they hear your words and are adequately prepared. As for my second question...just who are you and your kin? The architecture of this place is Greco-Roman, but your hairstyle and apparel are more...oriental."

"Holy shit," said Wilnas, adopting a sharp-toothed grin as he appended, "You fuckers are even more screwed than I thought. I understand that history can be lost to time and that shit tends to slip between the cracks when a new era begins, but how do you forget about the literal Founders of your race? I'm the guy who gave your ancestors the Blessing of Flame and taught them the art of metallurgy!"

Shaking his head before Izuku could speak, Wilnas said, "Forget it. You're not originally from this world, so I can't condemn you for forgetting roots that aren't your own. But it does give me two new questions. Your culture must have at least one legend pertaining to a God or Goddess presenting fire and wisdom to your people, right?"

Nodding in affirmation, Izuku replied, "The most popular pertains to the Greek God of Fire, Prometheus. It's said that he defied the other Gods of Olympus by stealing fire from them and blessing humans with the means to oppose nature and develop civilization."

"Then that's my third request," said Wilnas, veins of fury bulging in his temples as he said, "Find the breach this Prometheus inhabits and either beat the shit out of him or bring its location to me. I don't mind imitators, but he clearly usurped my position in the lexicon of human knowledge and wisdom. If he doesn't provide adequate compensation, I'm going to shove my hammer so far up his ass I can use his face to work metal."

Snapping his fingers as if he had thought of something, Wilnas added, "On that note, my fourth request is for you to find out who usurped the positions of my kin, the Founding Dragons. If you can pass judgment on them or bring me their Apostles, I'll reward you accordingly."

"I'll see what I can do," replied Izuku. "Fortunately, my mentor is one of the most intelligent and capable people in the world. There shouldn't be any information he can't access or uncover."

"What's this person's name?" asked Wilnas. "Consider that my fourth question."

"He's not really a person, per se, but his name is Nezu," replied Izuku, earning himself a slight nod. Then, as it was once again his turn to ask a question, he took a moment to deliberate before questioning, "You keep expressing how fucked we are...is there anything I can do to 'unfuck' or improve our situation...?"

Grinning from ear to ear, Wilnas remarked, "Now you're asking the right questions. As for my answer, consider it my fifth request. You are to seek out the Lord of Eternal Splendor, Lu Woh, or the Faerie of the Fathomless Abyss, Wamdus. You may not be a native of this world, but as Telania's chosen representative, you have the right to vie for our legacies. Hell, you can even take on my trial if you want, but I can tell you right now. You lack the character and aptitude to succeed."

Though he felt an inclination to argue or ask what Wilnas meant, Izuku's [Intuition] told him it wouldn't be a good idea to ask more questions than he had been allotted. Wilnas's words also implied that he and his kin were on humanity's side, so staying in the muscular dragon's good graces was presumably for the best...

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