I was in the kitchen enjoying the soup that I have concocted out of nothing when suddenly I heard a loud explosion. I looked at Gordon and he nodded at me. We ran towards the direction where we heard the explosion coming from. In front of me was a dragon and as I squinted my eyes, I saw two people riding on it.

“So, I guess the Devas have finally made their move, today marks the end of times, the start of the 14 Cataclysms.” I said to myself.

Gordon then glanced at me with nothing but the expression of fear in his face. I glanced back at him and held his hand.

“Whatever happens today, we must survive… even if it means sacrificing others.” I said in a grim tone.

Gordon nodded and let go of my hand and ran towards his house. Meanwhile, I ran towards the infirmary, hoping that I could steal something off of Liam. When I arrived at the infirmary building, I saw Liam frantically moving in and out of the building.

Looking at his face I could tell he was debating whether he should leave everything behind and run away or try to grab as many things as possible with the little remaining time he has. As I saw my chance to sneak into the window, I then saw a large fireball heading towards the infirmary.

BOOM. The impact of the fireball hitting the infirmary shook the ground around me. I looked up, seeing Liam standing just outside of the explosion’s area of effect. I then quietly ran into a bush and watched Liam as he exploded in anger.

“God fucking damn it all to hell!” Liam exclaimed as he started kicking the ground. “Whoever fucking did that show yourself!”

“Oh. Sorry.” said a girl hovering over.

“And who might this bitch be?” asked Liam

“This “bitch” is Liberalitas.” she replied in an expressionless tone. “How about yours?”

“The name is Liam. Perhaps you might have heard of my exploits, little girl?”

“Little girl? But I am a boy?” he replied.

“Ehh…?” Liam replied in daze. “Y-you’re a boy?”

“Yes, I am a boy.”

“So, boys like that exist in this world too…”

“This world?” Liberalitas replied with a slight change of tone.

“Don’t worry about it.”

“Worry about what?”

 “Kids these days.” said Liam even more pissed off. “I shall show you to respect your elders!”

“But I’m pretty sure I am older than you are though?” Liberalitas replied without trying to sound offensive.

“Shut up!” Liam shouted as a fireball started forming in his hand. “Don’t try to correct me when I am trying to discipline you!”

“I don’t understand the people of this era.” said Liberalitas as he pouted.

Liam then launched a fireball at Liberalitas, who spun his staff, dissipating the fireball entirely as it struck the rapidly rotating staff.

“Huh, that felt a bit too easy.” Liberalitas remarked in a confused, yet emotionless expression.

“You think that was it? Well I will show you my true power!” exclaimed Liam.

In my opinion, I think he has personally lost it, but hey, how can I judge when I am only watching this battle…

Liam then pulled out a staff out of satchel and slammed the bottom on the ground.

“I will show you…” he said with a crazed expression.

See I told you he has lost it… wait who am I talking to? It's just me here…

Liam extended both of his hands out, one of them holding onto staff, a magic circle appeared in front of him, then sparks of lighting started shooting out. The sparks were purple and made a sound similar to the stock sound effects of electrical circuits in those crappy movies.

When the sparks of lightning struck Liberalitas, he remained unphased and stood still. When the magic circle disappeared with the sparks of lightning. Liberalitas remained unwavering and just moved his arm to sniff himself.

“Smells like magic cast by a child,” he said with a lack of sincerity.

“A CHILD?!”

“Did I stutter?”

“N-no you didn’t,” said Liam as he began to rub his eyes with his right hand.

 “I guess it's my turn now.” said Liberalitas as he pointed his staff at Liam. “[Ice Spike]”

A magic circle appeared in front of the staff and an icicle shot out of it towards Liam, who just stepped to the side. The icicle then hit me as I covered my mouth as I screamed internally from the pain.

“Hey not cool,” said Liberalitas.

 “Do you really think I would just chill and get hit by your spell?” Liam replied.

“Mages in the era are abominable, aren't they?” asked Liberalitas rhetorically.

“Stop speaking as if you’re frozen in time, little boy!”

 “Your anger is really snowballing now,” Liberalitas replied coldly.

 “And who’s fault is that!” said Liam as if he was blaming someone for giving him frostbite.

Liam then extended his arms in the same manner as last time, this time an orange magic circle appeared, and a massive fireball shot out. Liberalitas stared at the fireball towards him and pointed his staff at it.

“[Fire Bolt]” A magic circle then appeared in front of his staff and a lightning bolt made out of the fire came out of it hitting Liam’s fireball dissipating it.

 “Im-impossible.”

 “What’s impossible?”

 “Y-you are negating my spell with a lower-tier spell,” said Liam trying to keep his composure.

“Oh, you mean that? It's a simple spell, but quite unbreakable.”

“Wh-what do you mean?”

“It’s a rather non-sophisticated answer you see, all I have to do is cast a spell that’s similar to the amount of mana you expelled to cast your spell.”

 “If a lower-tier firebolt spell costs the same amount of mana that must mean-”

 “Yes, it means that my staff has a debuff that causes my destruction spells to cost more, but in exchange, the spells deal more damage.” Liberalitas replied with a smirk.

He then lifted his left hand and shot some kind of light blue orb at Liam causing him to freeze in place.

“Now let's end this,” said Liberalitas as he pointed his staff directly at Liam. “Oh blackness shrouded in light, frenzied blaze clad in the night, In the name of the Dragonlord Liberalitas, let the end of origin manifest. Summon before me the root of thy power hidden within the stars of destruction! [EXPLOSION]!”

A large magic circle then appeared in front of the staff, and around Liberalitas. A black orb with orange particles then shot out of the magic circle in front of the staff and headed at Mach speed towards Liam. It then exploded into a large, yet contained area, causing him to blast off into the sky. As I looked at the sky, I saw a little twinkle appear where Liam once was. I swear there were way too many familiar things happening there.

I sighed as I looked back. Suddenly I saw Gordon standing in front of the Dragonlord. This can only go so well…

“I have come to challenge you!” said Liam in his usual smug tone as he glanced at me and winked. Fine, I guess I will do something then, I started searching my inventory pouch looking for an idea to appear in my head.

“And who might you be?” asked Liberalitas politely.

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

“I am the retired adventurer Gordon, and who might you be?”

“I am the Dragonlord Liberalitas and I’m a male, in case you were wondering.”

“A male, huh? Well, I can’t judge, when I was an adventurer, I saw many people like you!” Gordon exclaimed proudly.

“There are others like me in this era?”

“Of course, there are, It is quite a progressive period right now,” Gordon replied as he stuck his thumb up at Liberalitas.

“Then I can die happily,” Liberalitas replied with a smile.

“Dying? Who said anything about you dying? I am here to make sure that you can’t hurt anyone else.”

“As a Dragonlord, it is my destiny to be killed by a Dragonslayer.”

“Well I have some good news for you, I am not a Dragonslayer, nor do I have any intent to kill you.”

 “Then you are nothing but a fool… a fool who I will not take any pleasure in killing.”

“Fine by me,” said Gordon with a smirk as he pulled out his battleaxe.

“Then shall we begin this battle,” Liberalitas replied as he moved to a battle stance.

Gordon then charged at Liberalitas, swinging his axe at him. Liberalitas then used his staff to block the swing, whilst kicking his gut. Gordon then moved back, clenching on his stomach with his left hand, while holding onto his waraxe with his right hand.

“For someone so small, you sure pack a punch.”

“Thank you I am several centuries old.”  Liberalitas replied with his usual cold expression,

Gordon then tossed his battleaxe at Liberalitas, whilst pulling two swords out of his satchel. Meanwhile, Liberalitas managed to tank the battleaxe with some kind of shield he created with his staff, which shattered the two-handed weapon into pieces. While he was distracted Gordon then used one sword to cut Liberalitas’s leg and his sword to slice at his opponent’s right arm.

Liberalitas quickly cast an AOE lightning spell at the ground with his left-hand causing Gordon to quickly back away. As Gordon was backing maneuvering away, Liberalitas quickly healed himself by breaking a health potion with his bare hand that got from his inventory pouch.

“Well that’s one way to heal yourself…” Gordon mumbled.

“Do you really think I would get killed by a mere mortal, who is not even a Dragonslayer?” Liberalitas replied monotonously.

“No, no I don’t, in fact,” said Gordon as he prepared to charge once more.

Liberalitas sighed. “I guess you’re really stubborn, aren’t you?”

“That’s a fair assumption,” Gordon replied as he charged towards him.

Liberalitas then conjured a short sword to his left hand and used it to block all of Gordon’s incoming attacks. Gordon thrusted both of his swords towards Liberalitas’s chest, who only managed to block one, as the other pierced his heart. Liberalitas looked down at his chest as blood began dripping onto Gordon’s hand. He then dropped the short sword that he held and slapped Gordon’s face.

“You’re really an idiot, aren’t you?” said Liberalitas without an ounce of remorse. He then punched Gordon in the gut, causing him to collapse onto the ground. Liberalitas stood over him, staring at his opponent clenching his gut. He then used his staff and began relentlessly hitting Gordon with it.

*Thump* *Thump* *Thump* the sounds of his staff hitting Gordon repeatedly. With each strike, Gordon’s face, and the ground, became bloodier. With each strike, Gordon gasped for air, whilst coughing out blood. With each strike, a tear fell from Liberalitas’s eye.

With one last strike, Gordon then fell unconscious, or so Liberalitas thought. Liberalitas stared at Gordon’s body lying on the ground wiping the tears from his face. Liberalitas then kicked his body causing it to fly several meters before landing.

As he turned his back on Gordon to cast a healing spell on himself, Gordon then lifted himself from the depths of hell and stood up from an impossible state of living.

“You’re a fool, a stubborn brat, an idiot, and what now?” Liberalitas asked coldly.

“Someone who’s about to introduce you to your worst nightmare,” Gordon replied as he finally collapsed to the ground for the final time in this battle.

“And who might that be.” Liberalitas sarcastically asked his unconscious body.

“That would be me,” I replied as I came out of the bushes in my ragged clothes. “Mary Tudor, your “worst nightmare” at your service.”

“You’re not someone I expected,” he replied looking at my chest.

“W-what do you mean?”

“I mean you somehow flatter than me,” he replied coldly.

“W-what are you pervert? I’ll have you know as a 13-year-old Dark Elf, I am still growing.”

“Is this what they call a tsun?”

“I am not a tsun! Hmpf, you ought to learn how to treat a lady properly.”

“W-well to be honest I have never been around the many g-girls be-before,” Liberalitas replied while poking his two index fingers together.

“What kind of person is this guy…” I thought to myself as I walked over to Gordon’s body. I crouched down to where his satchel is, I reached into it and pulled out two Ironwood daggers. I stood up standing in the stance that my mother taught me when I was younger.

I took a deep breath, and I changed my expression to show I was ready to battle. When I saw that Liberalitas was beginning to aim his staff at me, I charged forward at him, moving in a zigzag motion, whilst making my movements unpredictable.

As I approached him, I used my dagger to cut his leg, while aiming for his chest. The sword that Gordon had pierced through his chest was still there. The blood was still continuously dripping as he tried to block my attacks.

When I saw Liberalitas aiming his left hand at the ground, I used my elbow and struck his stomach, while stabbing him in his upper back. As I quickly moved around began to slice around spots where he left himself open Liberalitas grabbed a hold of my hair with his left hand.

“[Flames]”

As my hair began to catch on fire, I kicked him in the shin and quickly moved back. I glanced at his eyes, they were soulless, yet showed a hint of sorrow. He… doesn’t want to kill me… does he?

I gripped on to my daggers and gave a devilish smirk. I guess I’ll give him a reason to kill me then. I rushed towards him once more with my hair still on fire. As I approached him, he tried to push away by swinging his staff around.

I grabbed a hold of his staff and using my elbow and all my might I broke it in half.

“W-what,” he said in a daze.

I looked at him and winked before forcing a dagger into the side of his gut.  As I watched him collapse onto the ground, I then started rapidly punching him until his body laid flat on the ground.

“Looks like you underestimated me.” I taunted as I sat on top of him, repeatedly punching him.

As I charged up for a hard punch, he then headbutted me, striking my forehead, knocking me back a couple of meters. I rubbed my forehead, as I stood up. When I looked in front of me, I saw nothing but anger in the eyes of Liberalitas. I sense the intent to kill, now this will be fun.

I gripped my daggers harder and lowered my legs. Liberalitas mind was now filled with nothing but emotions. These emotions will cloud his mind. These emotions are the reason why I will easily defeat him. I’ve scenes like these before in movies, where the villain’s judgment is clouded with anger. That clouded judgment forces them to make irrational decisions. It is time to put that movie logic to the test.

I charged at him, my fiery hair behind me, burning like a phoenix. Liberalitas began shooting random spells at his staff. Each spell missed me as I came closer. When I reached him, I kicked him in the shin forcing him down. I then pointed my dagger at his neck. Using my hand that was free I pulled out the sword that was stuck in his chest out.

“AGHHHH” he screamed. Whilst trying to grab me.

“[Wrath!]” I whispered. Suddenly a fire vortex erupted and surrounded us. The flames that were once burning on hairs quickly dissipated, being absorbed into the vortex. I glanced at Liberalitas, seeing the confusion in his eyes I smirked. Looks like it's my win.

Liberalitas then dropped to his knees slamming both his hands into the ground.

“[Ice Storm]” he yelled into the air, whilst I was in the midst of canceling [Wrath!].

When the flaming vortex disappeared, a small snowy storm ravaged our miniature battlefield for 30 seconds. I stood in front of him with a confident stance. Liberalitas then reached towards his satchel. His hand touched nothing but thin air. He then began looking around seeing his satchel charred on the ground and being covered in snow from the spell that he had cast.

“Tsk,” he remarked, trying to keep his face expressionless as ever.

“What’s wrong? Sad that you are unable to heal?” I taunted as I grabbed an HP from my inventory pouch and crushed it with my bare hands as he did.

*Crack* *Snap* *Boom*.

The percussion of thunder filled the air. We both looked up, glancing at the once clear sky which was suddenly cloudy but had a golden hue.

“Talk about convenient timing!” I exclaimed with a devilish smile.

“What do you mean?” Liberalitas replied in confusion.

“Oh, you didn’t know? I guess I will enlighten you.” I replied as a golden aura began to surround my body. “I am a Dragonslayer.”

I looked into Liberalitas eyes. They were filled with nothing but fear and regret.  His once emotionless expressions had changed into that of a crying child. His body began to shake as I approached him. I then kicked his face into the ground, drilling it further and further in.

As he glanced at me, I took a deep breath and yelled straight into his face, “Ut Dii, Rumpe Te, Gentibus!”

His skin then started to crack as particles began leaving his body. A golden circle of flames surrounded us as we enveloped in bright light that filled my eyes. When the light had disappeared, the world seemed frozen in time. The world around me was dark and gray. The scent was stale, and the sounds of fire were gone. As I looked around, I saw a figure standing on the roof.

The figure wore a black cloak and had pale skin. The figure had a familiar shape and smile. As I took a step towards the figure, I felt its glare staring deep into my soul, giving me goosebumps. When I took another step, the figure then faded into the shadows as I felt the wind touching my skin.

When I blinked the world around me was back to normal. The smell of smoke filled the air once more. The sound of fire crackling filled my ears. I looked at where Liberalitas once was. There were no remains except what looked like giant cracked eggshells.

I then rushed over towards Gordon and threw several health potions on his face. The cuts and bruises on his body began to disappear, whilst the glass shards failed to harm him.

I lifted his body up and cast [Lesser Heal] at his heart. Several passed as I waited for any signs of breathing. When I saw that all his wounds had completely disappeared, but his breathing had not returned, I sighed. I then moved to his back and placed my right where his heart was physically located.

“[Spark]” I whispered. His body then jolted as I used my pointing and index fingers to check for a pulse on his neck. With each jolt, I paused for several seconds before casting [Spark] again. After 3 attempts I started feeling a pulse.

I took a sigh of relief. Thank god he’s alive because I still need him. I then used my back to keep his body up. I closed my eyes and gave myself a small reward of rest while I waited for his consciousness to return. When I felt his heart rate increasing and his breathing returning, I opened my eyes.

“Hey, Gordon?”

“Mmm?”

“Did you legitimately think I would be able to defeat a Dragonlord?”

“Mhmm.”

“How?”

“Hmm…” he thought deeply before I felt his head shaking behind me.

“You really are an idiot, aren’t you?” I asked rhetorically as I saw a couple of prison guards gathering around us. “I guess it's time for our rest to be over… you ready for this?”

Gordon then forced himself up causing my back to quickly land on the ground. He then picked me and princess-carried me towards the eastern wall, which had a giant hole blasted into it. As he carried me away I took a final glance behind the bushes where I watched Liam and Gordon fight the now dead Dragonlord.

Messily carved into the ground were the words “Gentibus” and “Abierunt” along with several empty mana potions on the ground. I smirked. Perhaps the greatest exploits aren’t the ones the developers didn’t intend you to use, but the ones that bend the world to your will.

As Gordon ran through the hole in the wall, I saw the prison guard stopping as they saw us leave. When we entered the forest that was beyond the wall, the prison guards disappeared entirely. I glanced at Gordon who then glanced down at me. He smiled.

“Rest now milady, we still have a long journey ahead of us,” said Gordon as he looked forward.

“Thank you, Gordon,” I replied as I closed my eyes and slowed down my breathing…