Nameless King

Crackle.

The Knight's armor split in two and fell to the ground with a rumble. The Dark Spirit that controlled the armor flew out and evaporated like mist.

"Hmm? Where is his Soul?" Wain asked with a confused look.

"Well, it's time you knew something." Gladius muttered in a suspicious voice, "Look what's under the helmet."

Wain frowned, plunged his sword into the ground, and lifted the knight's helmet. Wain brushed away the dust with his finger as his eyes widened, "What is that?"

From the top of the helmet protruded a small dark shard that was even smaller than a grain. Powerful energy emanated from the shard, just like the Gladius.

"Bastard..." Wain muttered as he realized, "So that's why this Knight was so strong. You brought me here on purpose to get your shard, right?"

"Yeah, but that was a side goal. The most important thing is that you've gotten so much better. You've grown as a person in these ten days, so I see no reason to blame me." Gladius said in a careless manner.

"Okay, maybe you're right, but this shard is so small... will it make you stronger?" Wain asked before throwing the shard to Gladius.

"Yes, though it will be insignificant, but it is better than nothing. We need to find shards much larger than this to regain most of my power." Gladius said as dark energy burst out of him.

"Like the one in Dragon World?" Wain asked.

"Exactly, but so far, it's too dangerous. For Dragons, even most Arkans are not opponents, so they will deal with you even easier." Gladius said in a serious voice.

Whooooosh.

The shard glowed brightly and turned into dark smoke that headed toward Gladius as a gray streak appeared on the blade near the guard.

"What is that?" Wain asked while looking at the stripe.

"Part of a rune. The more I get shards, the more runes will appear, then some of them will turn into something tangible, something that will complete me as that is the main difference between small shards and large ones." Gladius muttered as he soared above the ground.

"I see." Wain nodded, "By the way, are Dragons dangerous to me? I mean... Kadridas helped me, without him, my friends and I would probably be dead. Why can't we just go to Dragon World and get your shard?"

"Don't be ridiculous. Dragons are neither good nor bad, each Dragon has a different worldview. Some will want to kill you, while another Dragon will invite you in for a cup of tea. You can count on your friends to help you, that's fine, but you should not rely on strangers, especially if they are Dragons. Anyway, you know what I mean." Gladius spoke in a serious voice.

"Yeah..." Wain nodded as he remembered that he had forgotten to do something.

Whooooosh.

A blue Soul flew out of his chest that was bigger than himself, but it didn't have much energy.

[Soul of Armored Giant Lizard.

Chronicle: Fourth

Rating: Rare]

"Hmm? Why is there nothing written next to the Soul? Is it supposed to be like this?" Wain muttered with a confused look.

"Huh, isn't it obvious?" Gladius said in a mocking voice, "You can no longer obtain items, skills, and so forth from such souls. Your only option is to hope for luck with Legendary Souls."

"What?! I already know about the skills, but then how do I get everything else? My armor and artifacts I got while in the low Chronicle, most of them are already seriously damaged and unusable! In the world's opinion, I should turn into a bum?!" Wain exclaimed with a dazed look while in disbelief.

"Well, isn't the answer obvious? You need a blacksmith. In the Fourth Chronicle, any self-respecting blacksmith is adept not only with rare materials but also with souls." Gladius muttered while hovering around Wain as though a satellite near a planet.

'Blacksmith... Hmm, I could go to Lea or Ern, but they still need time to get to the Fourth Chronicle, it looks like it's time to take a trip through the World of Destiny.' Wain inwardly muttered while holding his chin with a thoughtful look.

'By the way. What about the Legendary Souls? If I get one, should I use it or go to the blacksmith?" Wain asked.

"Hmm... It depends on what you're interested in. If you need a skill, then take the energy out of the Legendary Soul, but if you need a weapon or armor, then take it to a smith, however you will need a special smith."

"That was to be expected. I'm not a blacksmith, but I've seen them create items a couple of times, I'm sure dealing with Legendary Souls is very difficult." Wain nodded.

"Yeah. You have to be a true master to do it, so even if you find someone suitable, be prepared for the high price." Gladius muttered as he turned into a jaw-shaped seal on Wain's palm, "Okay. We're done here with everything. Time to get back to town."

"Okay."

Wain crushed the massive Soul as a stream of blue energy flew into him.

[You absorbed the Soul of Armored Giant Lizard. You gained a small amount of energy.]

[Your second Torch is 0.02% full.]

'Seriously...?' Wain inwardly muttered, 'Could this be some joke? I have to check it out.'

Click.

Wain opened his status.

[Wain Norheim

Ascension: First Stage (1.02%)

Race: Human.

Beyond: Calamity

Soul: Nameless King

Title: Savior of the Damned, Echo of Samurai, Mentor Inquisitor, The First, Soul Gatherer, Cartographer, Slayer of Goliath, Contender, Defeating One of the Four Kings, Killing the Legend, etc..

Majesty: 10]

I'll need to kill thousands of those Lizards to fill the second Torch at this rate, surely the third Torch will need even more energy... Damn... Now I actually feel that the level of difficulty has increased.' Wain shook his head, closed his status, and ran toward the city.

On the way, Wain met several beasts that wanted to fight him, but Wain ignored them as he could not afford to waste his time and strength on such weak Souls.