"Finally..."

Kaiser muttered under his breath, his voice barely audible over the faint cries of the blinded dinosaur in the distance, looking for a certain mouse to crush.

At last, victory was his—against this final wave of invaders. Well, most of them, at least. And he had done it alone, without completely dying. That fact alone was worth some pride, especially for someone who once died on his very first day in this cursed Realm, slain by lowly bandits, no less.

It was undeniable how far he had come since then. Every step of progress had been a trial by fire, his lessons learned through harsh trials and errors. Fortunately, immortality afforded him the luxury of learning the hard way—an edge that had proven invaluable in surviving this merciless domain, letting him try again, and again.

Of course, much of his success came from exploiting the predictable nature of these creatures. No matter how massive or swift, most of these beasts were still ruled by their primal instincts. That lack of intelligence was Kaiser's greatest advantage, allowing him to outthink them at every turn.

After all, sheer might were no match to the wise, often times.

But not all monsters were so simple. There exists old stories from the earliest Players, speaking of monstrosities with chilling intelligence. Creatures whose minds rivaled humans in cunning, and whose strength dwarfed even the fiercest of beasts. Legends, perhaps, but Kaiser didn't dismiss them entirely.

He couldn’t. Not after facing the Shifter, or what he likes to call it instead of undying hound.

The memory of that grotesque creature still sent a chill down his spine to this day. The Shifter was a deceptive monster that infiltrated a remote village disguised as a harmless horned hound. It had shed its disguise only when no one was looking, hunting humans in the shadows. Had Kaiser not exposed its ruse, who knows how much destruction it could have wrought? The fiend had the patience of a predator, the cunning of a demon, disguise of a deceitful monster and the insatiable hunger of a void. It grew stronger the more it consumed, raising the number of its victims daily, becoming more active the longer it stayed.

If Kaiser hadn’t known better, he might have believed it was an ancient abomination, feeding on a remote settlement to silently recover its strength to unleash its wrath upon the world once it did.

'Good thing it’s dead,'

The Shifter had been a nightmare to kill, even in its weakened state. It took a coordinated effort, Alfred’s decisive leadership, and no small amount of luck to bring the creature down. Now its charred remains were scattered to ash, its wretched existence snuffed out forever. Never to return again.

The dinosaur’s pained cries pulled him back to the present as Kaiser reached the Southern Boundary.

Standing before the vast, enigmatic barrier, he couldn’t help but marvel at its eerie presence. The Boundary loomed like an unending wall of distorted reality, stretching into infinity in either direction. Up close, its deceptive properties became clearer, and it appeared as an unsettling, glass-like veil separating the Greenland from whatever lay beyond. Its reflective surface shimmered in the dim light, distorting the world on either side like a fractured mirror. Strangely, it's not reflecting him, only the false land ahead.

Kaiser squinted, his head throbbing slightly from staring too long at the unnatural barrier this close. He glanced down, noticing a thin crater under his boots—a clean scar cut deep into the tough earth, measuring one meter in length. The gaping chasm beneath seemed bottomless, dark and foreboding.

Creepy how the land itself recoiled from the Boundary. Nothing dared to linger near it for long. Because anything that touched the barrier was pulled into its depths, swallowed into the unknown Realm on the other side, or somewhere else. However, its pull wasn’t absolute, Kaiser knew, thanks to the daring humans who had tested its grip in the past, tethering themselves with ropes and escaping the Boundary’s pull with the combined strength of many.

Which explains why the invaders struggled to breach it, their advance met with an invisible resistance, pushing them back from going to Greenland like an immense, unrelenting pressure.

"Just like a vacuum cleaner," Kaiser mused, tilting his head as he observed the surreal expanse. "But large. Really, really large."

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Perhaps he should test his current strength with it? Kai shook his head, and couldn’t help but chuckle at the absurdity of the comparison. Yet, despite his attempts at humor, the Boundary’s ominous presence sent an unshakable unease crawling up his spine. Whatever lay beyond it, he had no desire to find out... But that dino was more than welcome to come back to his home, or wherever this ominous Boundary leads to.

Readying himself, Kaiser cast a glance at the blind dinosaur. Its enormous form loomed in the distance, rampaging, brimming with fury as it searched for the damned mouse. He raised the horn, took a deep breath, and blew.

And there it is, the same annoying note that had plagued the massive creature all this time. Once adorable turn irritating, and now, it has become a mocking symphony of disdain.

The noise it hated the most.

The dinosaur froze mid-step, its body trembling with unrestrained rage. Ragged breaths escaped its nostrils in heavy huffs, breathing restlessly. Its bleeding eyes—twin streams of crimson—locked in the direction of the sound, crying blood that rolled down it's scales. Though sightless, it could sense the presence of the wretched insect that had tormented it, stripped its vision, and left it vulnerable for life.

There's no room for forgiveness anymore, only rage.

It roared.

A primal, deafening bellow erupted from its throat, the loudest one yet announcing it's fury to the world, a sound so powerful it rippled across the land. Saliva and a shockwave of air blasted outward, slamming into the Boundary and causing its reflective surface to shudder like disturbed water. The echo was so loud that every corner of Greenland heard it.

In distant settlements, people were awakened from their slumber, nervously scanning the horizon. High-ranking figures in grand, elevated homes stepped to their windows, their eyes narrowing in the direction of the disturbance.

The roar’s sheer intensity gripped the land with unease.

And there stood Kaiser, facing the beast’s wrath at the very edge of the Southern Boundary. The wind from the roar pressed against him, ruffling his tattered cloak and making him shield his nose from the putrid stench.

He grunted.

“Your breath stinks! Seriously, do dentists not exist in your Realm?”

The roar subsided, leaving the air heavy with tension. Kaiser didn’t miss a beat. Raising the horn again, he blew into it, as if playing a rough melody of mockery.

Hummm... Hum? Hum, humm. HUMMM! Hummm!!! HUMMMMMMMMM!!!!!! huummm...

Who wouldn't be irritated by that? More so when that musician poked the audience's eyes.

The dinosaur snorted, smoke curling from its nostrils. Its burning eyes, weeping blood, radiated unbridled hatred. It lowered its massive head, claws digging into the earth as it took the stance of a charging bull.

Kaiser observed the incoming charge with a calm yet wry expression. The ground beneath him quaked with each thunderous step as the colossal beast barreled toward him without hesitation, blinded by rage and instinct.

"It sure is angry," he commented, his tone dry, though a flicker of dread danced at the edge of his thoughts.

Still, he wasn’t particularly worried. Stepping back, his boots hovered at the edge of the chasm behind him—the abyss that separated Greenland from the Boundary. Loose pebbles tumbled into the darkness below, disappearing into the bottomless darkness.

Kaiser let out a quiet sigh, his eyes fixed on the beast's dreadful approach. The ground trembled beneath its weight, each pounding step amplifying the sense of impending doom. Yet he stood firm, his calm expression betraying none of the tension that coiled in his muscles.

The massive reptilian, the last invader, pounced wildly and blindly, driven by rage. Its furious charge shook the earth, its momentum unrelenting. From its perspective, the insolent prey hadn’t moved an inch, standing boldly while continuing to play that maddening horn.

Kaiser raised the horn one final time and blew into it. The sound echoed between them, a mocking note that sliced through the air just as the beast closed in.

And then, with perfect timing, he stepped back.

Kaiser vanished, plunging into the bottomless chasm between the Boundary and Greenland.

Suddenly robbed of its target, the massive beast snorted in confusion and frustration, feeling something amiss, but it's too late, its momentum carried it forward, unchecked and unstoppable. The dinosaur slammed headfirst into the Southern Boundary.

The eerie surface rippled on impact, like a tranquil lake struck by a massive stone. Strange waves cascaded outward, distorting the glassy expanse. Yet, there was no sound, no splash—only the silent and willing absorption of the beast into the Boundary’s vast, consuming it into the otherworldly void. Moments later, the surface stilled, as though nothing had happened.

The dinosaur was gone.

Clinging to the cliff’s edge, Kaiser heaved a sigh of relief, his fingers gripping the rocky ledge tightly that had withstood hundreds of years and the massive creature's descent and leave. That quality is what convinced Kaiser to trust it with his life in this stunt. Of course, other less risky options were available, but a beast might not be smart, it's instinct wasn't easily fooled because it's their sharpest weapon.

Nevertheless, with all the invaders gone, Kaiser could finally breathe. He could return home and face tomorrow without the burden of regret or guilt, knowing he had done everything in his power to prevent a calamity. Instead of staying idle in the comfort of his carriage while others risked their lives for his safety, he had stepped up, using his strength to make a difference.

For once, he felt proud of himself—genuinely proud. It was a rare and foreign feeling, enough to make him pause before reflexively calling himself a piece of sh*t. The accomplishment warmed his heart, a far cry from the usual self-doubt gnawing at him.

Slaying numerous lesser invaders and outwitting a colossal beast he couldn’t hope to kill was nothing short of extraordinary. And though exhaustion weighed heavily on his immortal body, Kaiser allowed himself a small, satisfied grin.

It felt good to achieve something meaningful for a change—to do more than just survive.

Additionally, this deed of his wasn't left unpaid. The invaders he slayed improved his strength leaps and bounds through leveling, making him a dreadful force that not even a hundred of those nightmarish horses could hope to defeat... Not like anyone actually kill him.

But most importantly, he can finally return to his stepdaughters... Companions. After all, he did, promised to return and probably buy a house of their own with the money he will receive. Surely, the Greenland government will reward his heroism, if not, Kai doesn't mind forcing them to give what he deserved, and it can't be anything lesser than a mansion.

After being a poor orphan for many years, his finally filthy rich!

Though, his skeptical.

'That went smoother than I thought.'

Too, smooth, in fact, it left him doubting the saying that nothing ever goes as planned. But what can he say?

'I guess plans do work nicely, sometimes.'

Or not.

Before he could pull himself up, a shadow loomed over him...

Both that of a human and a beast. Looking up, he froze.

While that thing, crouched and started clapping.