Unlimited Power 02 - The Ranger's Domain

"No, thanks," Ryan said. "We are going to find our friend and get the hell out of this planet. We don't have the luxury to get more involved in your war against the dungeon masters."

It will take a few more days for the tribe to have a decent-sized army. Still, once they have one, they might be able to take one dungeon master at a time, but not enough before the enemies decide to join forces to wipe them out of the planet or capture them. So, tagging along with Ryan and Femradiel was the best thing they could do to buy time and decrease the number of enemies. Not to mention, they will have the chance to free their allies as well.

"We can pay for your help," Nakine said.

"We don't need it," Ryan said.

"Are you sure about that?" Femradiel asked.

"At times like these, you have to back me up, Femradiel…" Ryan said and then sighed.

"I am just saying, will things go that smoothly once we find Alissa?" Femradiel asked. "She was pretty angry at you, wasn't she? Not to mention, she is probably trying to obtain knowledge from the dragons to find a way to bring Orgar back. She won't give up until she finds a way or until she is sure that she can't find her answers here."

That made sense, but Ryan still didn't want to get involved in that battle any further. His instincts were telling him that those two that faced Alissa were two elder gods and a battle against two of them was the last thing that he needed to face right now.

"… Let's say that we are going to help you, how do you plan to pay for our services?" Ryan asked.

"I don't need payment," Femradiel said.

"Well, I do need and I will ask enough for both of us," Ryan said.

"Give me your word that once I show a certain thing, you will work with us until all of our allies are free from the dungeon masters," Nakine said. "You two will receive a great power that will be more than enough of a reward for helping us."

Ryan and Femradiel looked at each other. Neither of them is the type who goes back on their word, but it was hard to accept such an offer since they had no idea how long that might take. Still, all power was welcome, and give that it came from a different species of dragons, Ryan assumed that it was different from anything they obtained so far. Even though the pendragons weren't particularly strong.

"It seems this offer is connected to some of your secrets, why did you change your mind about hiding information from us?" Ryan asked.

"The first reason is due to the fact that you were planning to leave without asking more about it," Nakine replied. "The second reason is because you don't have any reason to help us. Since you don't have any reason, you ask for something in exchange. I believe we can trust in someone who clearly expresses what he wants instead of someone who would want to help for free. Femradiel is an exception of course, because she is a dragon."

"I see… well, I guess we give our word that we keep everything you tell or show us from now on as a secret," Ryan said. "However, you guys should work hard. I am not very patient, and if this fight drags for far too long, I will do everything necessary to end it as quickly as possible. I have a world to return to and I don't feel secure in staying away from it for too long."

"Naturally, we don't plan to let this war drag for too long either," Nakine said. "We are too tired of running away and it is time to take what is rightfully ours… follow me."

In the end, Nakine guided Femradiel and Ryan to exactly where the rock was located, and by moving his arms a little bit, the rock moved, revealing a hole and a weirdly shaped crystal inside of it. It wasn't like the crystal inside the dungeons… it seemed equally as powerful, though. Which was weird since Ryan didn't find anything like it.

"Many generations ago, this world was filled with cursed dragons that fought against each other and against dungeon masters that tried to obtain the mithril," Nakine said. "During that time there wasn't a single day in which dozens of dragons weren't killed. However, after many years, some dragons recovered their sanity and they tried to free others from the madness of corruption. In the end, the only way they found to free them was by killing the cursed dragons and so they did it. By doing so, seven dragons became absurdly power and managed to protect this world alone for hundreds of years against the dungeon masters. They waited patiently until their kids became strong enough to take their places, but unfortunately, the difference in power was just too great. Those who were born protected under the wings of their parents couldn't become as powerful as them before they could fall due to old age. So, the seven dragons decided to sacrifice their remaining life span in order to turn their hearts into crystals."

Ryan didn't expect to hear about the history of that world, but even though the tale was pretty impressive and a bit ridiculous, it didn't go against the information he already had, so it was probably all true. Those seven dragons condensed all their energy and created some crystals with their hearts… to give power to their children. Apparently, Nakine wanted Ryan and Femradiel to use that.

"Even with the help of your ancestors, you didn't obtain enough power to protect your species?" Ryan frowned.

"It is said that we can only obtain the true power they left to us once we touch the seven crystals," Nakine said. "I have touched three of them and I doubt that there is another dragon who has outdone me in this regard. We couldn't obtain the power we meant to have due to the circumstances, but with your help, we will obtain that power."