“We should deal with the most important matters first,” Adam stated, his voice serious.

Jaygak felt the hairs on the back of her neck tingle. ‘Should I stop him?’

“I have five adorable children now,” Adam declared with his arms crossed, puffing out his chest.

“I have heard the news,” Amokan said.

“They’re so cute!” Adam began to gush about them to the group, while the other adventurers, Amokan’s companions, glanced between one another. “You have a cute little sister too. Her name’s Inakan, and she’s so tiny.”

“I have heard,” Amokan replied. “I will win the tournament and return to see her.”

Timojin snorted, but said nothing. Amokan crossed his arms and leaned back, before eyeing up Timojin. The pair made to quarrel, but Adam cleared his throat.

“Which tournament are you fighting in?” Adam asked, stopping the pair from arguing.

“Magical martial, second range,” Amokan replied.

“Ah? Isn’t that the same as you guys?” Adam asked, looking to Jurot.

“Yes,” Jurot said, sitting up taller. He met their eyes, recalling when he had faced them both together. Back then, they had barely mastered the basics, and he had narrowly lost against them. This time, he would show them how much he had grown.

“This time I will beat you without Timojin’s help,” Amokan said.

“This time you will be conscious when I beat him,” Timojin stated.

“What kind of magical gear do you both have?” Adam asked, seeing as they were about to fight again.

“A Basic Enhanced greatsword,” Amokan replied, and Timojin nodded.

“What do they do?” Adam leaned in, narrowing his eyes. He looked to the blades beside them. They were large, one seemingly made of marble, and the other was more intricate in design, but made of typical steel.

“You will see.” Amokan grinned wider, exchanging a look with Timojin.

“Hmph! Then I won’t tell you what my axe does.”

“I will find out when we face each other in the tournament.” Amokan chuckled.

“I probably won’t be facing you. I’m going to be fighting in the magical magic segment.” Adam paused, wondering if he said it right.

“Then you will face Ilyakan.”

‘Ilyakan! That was it!’ “Will I?” Adam asked, looking to the beautiful Iyrman.

“I will not be fighting in the tournament,” Ilyakan replied, simply.

Amokan recalled back to when they were signing up for the tournament. He had been too busy arguing with Timojin and hadn’t realised.

“Ah, right.” Adam replied, glancing between the pair of Kans. He smirked slightly. “Did you know I faced your grandmother, Amokan?”

“You did?” Amokan asked, leaning in quickly, unable to contain his surprise. “Why?”

“I fought the old geezer, Jarot, and…” Adam frowned. “The old geezer, Jarot, beat me up and bragged to her.”

“You fought Jarot?” Amokan asked, even more surprised.

“Fought him? He beat me up!” Adam huffed again. “That old man! He tried to steal my kids from me too!”

Amokan could see Adam had become queerer since last they met, but hearing that he had faced both his grandmother and that Jarot, he couldn’t help but feel the tingling sensation within him. “I would like to hear the tale.”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

“Jurot can tell you it,” Adam replied, pretending to be annoyed.

Amokan noted the look on Jaygak’s face. On the surface it seemed to be still, but it was far too still for his liking. He had grown up with her, so knew what it meant. ‘What happened?’

Upon hearing the tale, it all made sense. They had only heard of distant whisperings of Adam since the trio had left the Iyr. In order to become Experts, they pushed themselves to the limit, switching between multiple adventuring parties so they could adventure more often.

Yet, to hear that Adam, before they had even become Experts, had faced against Jarot and Otkan, it filled the pair with envy. Not only had he faced Otkan, he had beaten her? Even if she held back, something like that was still nearly impossible.

“Adam!” Amokan almost shouted. “Let us fight!”

“No thanks,” Adam replied.

“Will you refuse me the honour?”

“You Iyrmen are too scary. If I lose against you, then I’ll have to say I’ve been beaten three times! I don’t want to admit I lost to Jarot, but I can’t lose to you especially. If I do beat you now, it’ll be harder for you to become Unrivalled Under The Heavens. Once you’re stronger, I’ll face you.”

“Once I am stronger, I will be scarier,” Amokan stated.

“Yeah? Me too.” Adam almost smirked, though realised he had promised to face Amokan when he was stronger. ‘Oh, damn.’ “Ah, nevermind. I won’t face you when you’re stronger either.”

“Would you take back your words?”

“Jurot, do you see how he bullies me?” Adam grumbled, pouting.

“If we do not face each other in the tournament, I will face you after it,” Jurot assured. “I, too, am strong.” Jurot then switched to their tongue to reveal his greatest accomplishment. “I joined the Vanguard during my first time.”

Amokan paused from the shock, and Timojin and Ilyakan also reacted the same.

‘The Vanguard?’

The trio wondered what had happened in the Iyr whilst they had left. Not only had it closed its gates, something which hadn’t happened previously, but there were so many crazy things which were still ongoing.

“You did well,” Amokan said, patting Jurot’s shoulder, unable to contain his wild grin.

Amokan and Timojin both thought they had caught up to Jurot. Yet, to hear he was still thriving and making a name for himself, they had to prioritise Jurot as a great obstacle in their ambitions once more.

“Will you tell us your tales?” Ilyakan asked. She avoided looking at Adam, realising this had all happened after Adam had joined the Iyr. She couldn’t help but think there was a connection between him and the events which had passed.

The adventurers beside the trio of Iyrmen glanced between one another. They realised that this conversation wasn’t a place for them, especially after hearing the unbelievable tales from Jurot’s lips.

‘There’s no way it could be true, right?’

‘Definitely not.’

‘You ever heard of an Iyrman lie before?’

‘Yes, but, two Dragons? Two?’

‘…’

Amokan grit his teeth, his entire body turning red hot as he fell into a rage. He relaxed once more, stopping himself from shouting at Adam for a fight. Timojin had almost done the same, but he stared at Jurot, who seemed to also hold great strength.

Jaygak exchanged a look to Kitool, sighing slightly, sipping the ale she had brought from the server nearby.

“Then we returned and found my Jirot and Jarot,” Adam said, remembering the day. “It was the eigth day of the ninth month, a day before Nobby’s birthday.”

“It was the seventh,” Jurot said.

“What?” Adam asked, feeling his heart drop. “The seventh?”

“Yes.”

Adam’s cheeks turned red as he flushed. He thought back to the time. ‘Front Iyr was the ninth. The night before we were at the village, and then…’ “I hate maths, Jurot.”

“Yes.”

“It was the seventh.” Adam closed his eyes and repeated it within his mind. “Anyway, then I found out I had three more children from a previous engagement.” ‘I probably shouldn’t mention they’re Entalia’s kids from another world.’

“Twins and triplets?” Amokan asked.

“Your seed is strong,” Timojin said.

“Well, they’re not my children by-,” Adam stopped himself. “Well, I mean. The triplets are obviously, but they’re special. My twins didn’t come from my seed.” Adam cringed at the words. “We found them in the mud when the Goblins were eating each other.”

“They tried to eat your children?”

“I’m not sure,” Adam admitted, barely remembering the scene other than when he had almost fought Dunes. “Anyway, I picked them up, and they were so tiny. They’re already walking and talking. Jirot keeps bullying me. Jarot is, somehow, well behaved.”

“Jarot?” Amokan asked. However, there was something else Adam said that caused him to think.

“Jurot named them,” Adam replied awkwardly. “There’s Konarot, Kirot, and Karot, and also Jirot and Jarot.”

“They are good names,” Amokan said, nodding his head.

“Yeah.” Adam wasn’t sure if he should mention their race, but he didn’t want to say it in public with so many people around. “Anyway, yeah. So what’s your story like?”

The pair spoke of their adventures, killing all manner of creatures. Manticores, wyverns, and so many more. They had fun during the current year due to all the beasts they had come across.

Soon, the unofficial fights began.

“Can we bet?” Adam asked, realising it was a stupid question.

“Yes,” Jurot replied.

“Jurot. Are you going to win first place?”

“Yes.”

“Alright, I’ll bet on…” Adam frowned. If he bet on Jurot, that would mean he was betting against Kitool and Jaygak. “Nevermind. I’ll bet on Nobby to win his segment. Can we bet on each fight too?”

“Yes.”

“Nice.” Adam smiled.

“You should be careful with your strength,” Jurot said. “Especially your magic.”

“I wasn’t going to use much magic,” Adam admitted, smiling slightly. After all, he could just do that, the thing he had yet to reveal. His magic was great, and though he could probably use Shield and get away with it a few times during the bout, all of his Mana was instead going to go into smiting. ‘First place, here I come!’