Serpentine groaned as he appeared back next to Deer in a flash of golden light, his butt landing square on the ground. He grumbled, while rubbing his head to relieve the ache. Suddenly, a silver light flashed between his hands, and a second later, he held a bottle of root beer.

"Looks like you won, eh?" Deer teased the demon, who rolled his eyes.

"Barely. I could have probably finished it a lot faster if I used my scythe, but..."

"But your pain tolerance has reset, so you would rather find other ways, and polish the rest of your skills in the meantime." Deer completed with a faint smile, his arms folded and legs crossed as he levitated two feet above ground.

"Pretty much." Serpentine sighed, before his gaze turned to his bottle of root beer. It was a little depressing to recall that root beer wasn't alcoholic. Alcohol was pretty much the demonic trademark beverage, after all. Well, they drank the likes of methanol, which would kill the average human, but alcohol was alcohol.

"Well, was it at least fun?" Deer asked, tilting his head.

"Oh yeah, plenty. Lots of gore. And I made a new spell. Really cool thing with binding chains that absorb energy."

"Sweet."

"You can't see it here because the Quest Space patched me up, but I was covered in sticky blood, slime, gastric fluids, and powdered bones. It was awesome!"

"...sweet."

"Though I'm pretty sure there was vomit in there. Like a really acidic type of vomit. And rot. I think it had necrosis somewhere. Oh, and I also smelt urine?"

"......uhuh. Anyway, let's continue. We've to walk for quite a bit." Deer shifted the attention, checking his watch.

"Right. The president of the united wheels or the pope of faith or whatever." Serpentine slowly got back on his feet, patting off the dust and hay.

He looked around, the street being slightly cracked in some places, but no major potholes. Grey-scaled concrete buildings, each at least three stories high, were scattered across the area. There were random piles of sand and gravel in various places, a few stacks of hay and some... donkeys, leashed and left to eat grass, for some reason.

"So, uh, where is this place?" Serpentine asked, curious as they walked in the direction of the golden spire in the distance.

"The Auxile District. It's here people with Non-Canon Wheels like me and Yogurt with his Curse Wheel reside. The Auxiliary Wheel district, essentially." Deer explained, making very animated hand gestures in the process, which reminded Serpentine that Deer was a very spirited, well, Spirit.

"Huh. That's interesting. I'll check out the other wheels later, I suppose." Serpentine mused, replaying the information in his head. "Wonder if I should start a wheel business too."

"Now that would be fun." Deer chuckled, thinking about the chaotic wheels that would come out of this.

"I already have something in mind." Serpentine laughed, his eyes turning crescent from how wide his smile was. A chill snaked up Deer's spine.

DING!

"Hm?"

Serpentine and Deer both turned to Deer's watch, the source of the ringing sound.

"Ah, you are in luck." Deer smiled, checking the silver watch on his wrist, which had just struck twelve.

"...it's midnight already? The sky's still blue though..." Serpentine scratched his head, staring at the vibrant blue sky. There were a few stars starting to be visible in the sky, signaling it would be dark soon, but it was still far from midnight.

"The watch is linked to my hometown's timezone." Deer explained, pointing to his watch, "Since powerful enough figures or people with the correct powers can easily control the day and night cycle, the weather cycle, and so on, I use this timezone as my own personal reference."

"Ah. That's smart." Serpentine nodded, acknowledging the issue and the solution. It was a problem even for astronauts and spacefarers, let alone living in a world such as this, so this simple solution worked wonders.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"Anyway," Deer's voice snapped him out of his reverie, almost able to hear the spirit's grin in his talk, "Want another quest?"

Serpentine blinked twice, before his eyes lit up. "Of course!"

Deer could only give out one quest per person every day, under normal circumstances. And right now, the 'day' had ended.

Once again, a golden wheel materialized above their heads. Its angelic glow of gold drowned all it touched with a holy purity. Grabbing the axis, Deer gave the wheel a powerful spin. A deep, almost holy sound like someone saying 'oum' rumbled lightly through the space around them.

The wheel clattered noisily as it spun, a line of golden text slowly flickering into existence, only completely decipherable when it had spiraled to a halt.

[Quest: Break a diamond with your bare hands]

The silver wheel followed, appearing beside it, and Deer spun it all the same, a calming silver light erupting from the circlet. It, too, spiraled with a low hum, this one sounding similar to someone saying 'ling' until their lungs collapsed. Eventually, it stopped with a faint ding, revealing the words:

[Reward: A Dragonslayer Axe]

Serpentine frowned, "I already have a weapon though–..."

He paused himself midway, as if thinking of something violently ill. Or so Deer deduced, knowing his friend. As expected, moments later, Serpentine chuckled in a way that almost seemed evil, nearly maniacal to Deer.

"I'll take it." Serpentine grinned, before a golden light shrouded his body, leaving just a second later. As the light faded, Serpentine almost stumbled.

"With human specs this time, eh? No matter, I'll simply back this with my wits... just like how you should go and back the Kickstarter Campaign for only four dollars–"

Deer palmed his face.

After a minute, the self-promotion ended, and Serpentine was ready to crack the diamond. A golden light flashed from within his fist, revealing a small diamond, one that Deer stared at incredulously.

"What? You didn't specify the size." Serpentine defended himself.

Deer just shrugged. "So, uh, how will you do this? Diamonds are hard as hell, you know?"

"Diamonds aren't just hard. They are also brittle." Serpentine grinned, his answer causing Deer to stare at him blankly.

So he decided to elaborate. "Real diamonds often have tiny internal flaws called inclusions. If you can identify one, it’s a weak point."

"And that's enough to break a diamond?"

"Not even close, so we study lattice chemistry and physics here."

Deer groaned.

"Diamonds have planes of cleavage where they are more prone to splitting under the right force. If you can get access to a naturally flawed diamond or one cut in a way that aligns with a cleavage plane, this will make it much easier to break." Serpentine carefully calculated the science behind his actions, as he narrated his plans.

"And I didn't specify a perfect diamond either?"

"You didn't. Also, I'm pretty sure most natural diamonds are flawed."

Deer nodded, thinking he had understood the plan, but Serpentine's next words threw him off again.

"Do you know where we can find an ice cube or a refrigerator?"

And that's how they ended up at Zero's Viper GTS, a corner store with a refrigerator because Serpentine refused to go forward without it.

"I don't think that counts as bare-hands?" Deer said, unsure.

"Oh, I'm not putting the diamond in the freezer." Serpentine clarified. "I'm putting my hand."

"...excuse me???"

Deer watched the next thirty minutes spent by Serpentine rubbing the diamond rigorously between his hands, warming it up with his body heat and friction alike, and then immediately subjecting it to an extremely cold hand, a result of Serpentine pouring a bottle of freezing cold water over his hands and then holding the diamond between them. He repeated this process several times.

It was around the forty-minute mark that Serpentine stopped.

"This should be enough..." Serpentine muttered.

"What the hell are you doing?" Zero, the owner of the shop, growled at him.

"Generating thermal stress. The sudden temperature change, though minor, creates micro-stress due to uneven expansion and contraction." Serpentine explained, before holding it carefully.

The diamond was held between his thumb and index finger, but rather than applying pressure on the flat side, he held the edges between his fingers – focusing the force along the natural cleavage planes of the diamond.

"And now, when we combine this thermal stress with appropriately applied pressure..."

Serpentine triggered a sudden, snapping motion between his fingers... and the diamond shattered along those lines of cleavage.

"Easy." His hands would definitely be calloused in a few hours.

As if on cue, a bright, silver flash erupted in front of him, taking the shape of a powerful, double-edged battleaxe before the light dispersed, the handle of the deadly weapon landing squarely in his grip.

The dark, metallic surface of the axe gleamed under the flickering torchlight, a grim relic forged for one purpose: to end dragons. Its massive blade curved with a sinister elegance, each edge honed to a razor's perfection, bearing faint, glowing red veins that pulsed like the dying embers of a forge fire.

Serpentine could tell that this wasn't a ceremonial weapon, as the blackened steel betrayed its true nature – a tool designed to cleave scales and bone alike. The jagged teeth at its edge hinted at battles fought and won – and though its deadly form remained unblemished, ready for the next kill, he was more curious about its origins.

He had no clue where the Quest System acquired the rewards from, after all. So to acquire a weapon that has clearly been used in battle before was a huge hint... or perhaps it has been generated on the spot, already aged, or aged artificially later.

Dropping the speculations, he turned his attention back to the axe.

Its haft was a sturdy length of dark, reinforced wood, rough-hewn but masterfully crafted to endure the crushing force of its swings. Wrapped in supple, black leather, the grip promised control and comfort. Subtle engravings of dragon scales ran along its surface, clearly a silent mockery of the creatures it was made to slay.

At the base of the handle, a metal counterbalance gleamed dully, ensuring the axe's perfect weight distribution. It wasn't a decorative flourish but a practical addition, making the weapon as swift as it was lethal.

The Dragonslayer Axe exuded menace, not through gaudy ornamentation, but through its brutal simplicity.

A predator’s fang, built to conquer legends.

Just the way Serpentine liked it.