Journey to Become the Zenith

The Bones Beneath the Mist

”I reached what looked to be the center of the forest. You wouldn’t believe what I saw there.”

Heavy silence came before his words, not planned - just how remembering felt. Golden eyes stayed on Isabella, fixed, reading what she might show. The sound of his voice dipped, pulled down by something old.

She didn’t disappoint.

Did the dungeon do it? she said right away, shifting slightly ahead, curiosity now where annoyance had been.

Not a single word came out as Victor moved his head side to side.

”No,” he said calmly. ”There was no dungeon in the forest. It was actually something even more incredible.” He paused, letting the words settle before finishing, ”I saw the bones of a Dragon... and based on the structure and the mana residue that formed the forest mist, it was a water Dragon - and a very powerful one at that.”

The room stilled.

For a heartbeat—

Nothing moved.

Then Isabella shot up from her chair so abruptly that it scraped loudly against the floor.

”DRAGON BONES?!” she blurted, all traces of laziness gone in an instant. Her sharp eyes locked onto him, disbelief and hunger for opportunity clashing within them. ”Did you bring some? Of course you couldn’t... if it was a real Dragon, then the bones must’ve been massive... heavy... impossible to carry...”

She started pacing slightly, thinking out loud now.

”Victor,” she continued quickly, turning back to him, ”do you think you could go back? Guide a team? If we can recover even a portion of those remains for assessment, I can promise you thirty percent of whatever the guild gains from it.”

There it was.

The Guild Master.

Not the lazy woman who avoided work—

But the one who saw opportunity faster than anyone else.

Victor watched her quietly, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

”To answer your first question,” he said, lifting his hand slightly, ”yeah—I got its claws.”

Silence.

Then—

Her eyes widened.

”...You what?”

He continued like it was nothing.

”And for your second question... no.”

That stopped her.

Completely.

”I’m not sure we’d even find those floating orbs again,” Victor added, his tone turning more serious now. ”If I go there a second time, I might not be able to come out. The only way anyone’s getting those Dragon bones safely... is if the mana residue around that corpse disappears.”

Back he went a little.

”From what I saw, that’s going to take a few hundred years.”

A hush dropped through the air. Stillness followed close behind.

Back into the chair she settled, Isabella moving like time itself had grown heavy.

A shadow crossed her face, the spark fading into stillness. Frustration settled in, soft but sure.

”...Of course it would,” she muttered.

Deep down, she already knew.

It seemed Victor meant every word he said.

And more importantly -

He wasn’t someone who said things lightly.

Still...

Thirty percent of a Dragon’s remains...

Gone.

She exhaled slowly, running a hand through her hair.

”...Unbelievable.”

But something didn’t sit right.

Her eyes narrowed slightly as she leaned forward again.

”...Wait.”

Victor raised a brow.

”What?”

”Dragon?” she repeated, her voice slower now, more careful. ”Are you sure about that?”

Victor met her gaze calmly.

”Yes.”

She leaned back slightly, folding her arms.

”That’s not possible.”

A small silence followed.

”Dragons disappeared from this world millions of years ago,” she continued. ”What we have now are drakes. Lesser beings. Incomplete. Powerful—but nowhere near true Dragons.”

Her eyes sharpened.

”So I’ll ask again...”

”How are you sure?”

Victor smiled.

Not wide.

Not mocking.

Just enough.

Inside—

A thought flickered.

Because I’ve killed them before.

Images, distant and buried, stirred faintly.

Scales.

Flames.

Blood.

A sky torn apart by something vast and alive.

But that wasn’t something he would say.

Not here.

Not to her.

”...I read about them,” he said instead, effortlessly.

Isabella stared at him.

Long.

Carefully.

She didn’t fully believe it.

That much was obvious.

But—

She didn’t push further.

”...Books,” she repeated, leaning back again.

Victor shrugged lightly.

”Useful things.”

She clicked her tongue.

”...Even if that’s true... Dragon bones appearing now...” she muttered, her gaze drifting slightly, thoughts racing. ”That would be... a discovery beyond anything this guild has seen.”

Her fingers tapped against the table again.

Slower this time.

Measured.

”...And you’re just sitting here like it’s nothing,” she added, glancing at him.

Victor smiled faintly.

”It’s already behind me.”

She shook her head slightly.

”...You’re ridiculous.”

But there was no real bite to it.

After a moment, she exhaled again, letting the topic settle.

”...Okay then...” she said, her tone quieter now, the earlier excitement replaced by a lingering weight of missed opportunity. ”So how did you escape?”

Victor tilted his head slightly.

”The exit just... appeared,” he said.

She blinked.

”...What?”

”After I found the Dragon bones,” he continued, ”a path opened. Straight to the exit.”

A pause.

”...That doesn’t make any sense,” she said flatly.

Victor shrugged.

”Yeah. I don’t understand it either.”

She stared at him.

Long.

Then—

She sighed.

”...Of course you don’t.”

A brief silence followed.

Victor stood up.

The chair shifted softly beneath him as he rose, stretching slightly like someone who had simply finished a casual conversation.

”Anyway,” he said, adjusting his sleeve lightly, ”now that I’ve reported that... I’ll be on my way.”

He turned—

”Oh, right.”

Her voice stopped him.

”Because you suddenly showed up like this,” Isabella added, sitting up slightly again, ”I almost forgot something important.”

Victor paused.

Didn’t turn fully.

But listened.

”The necromancer Alibaba,” she said, her tone more serious now, ”disappeared somewhere in the Red Cliff Mountain Range.”

Victor’s hand stilled slightly.

”The scout tracking him lost his trail completely,” she continued. ”Since you fought him directly... I thought you’d want to know.”

Silence.

Victor didn’t respond.

Didn’t turn.

Instead—

He extended his hand forward.

Isabella felt it immediately.

A subtle shift.

Mana.

Not explosive.

Not violent.

But precise.

Controlled.

Something unseen gathered in his palm.

Then—

It appeared.

A large claw.

It materialized as if pulled from empty space itself—long, curved, and gleaming faintly with residual power. It was nearly the size of a longsword, its surface smooth yet ancient, carrying a presence that made the air around it feel heavier.

Victor didn’t look back.

He simply tossed it.

Instinctively, Isabella caught it.

The weight shocked her.

”...What—”

Her eyes widened as she stared at it.

This wasn’t just any material.

This was—

”Take it,” Victor said calmly.

She looked up at him.

”It’s payment,” he added, ”for the information you gave me.”

Her grip tightened slightly.

”...You’re serious?”

He didn’t answer that.

Instead—

He walked.

”See you later, Isabella.”

And just like that—

He left the room.