Madman’s Retirement

"My confidence?" Richard asked, and the boy clearly looked unsure.

Why would Grant bring up his confidence?

Because that's what he was missing, what he lacked and what he would need in the long road forward.

"I've watched you for a good while child. You're cautious. And caution is a good thing." He paused thoughtfully.

"But you can only be so cautious before it becomes cowardice." Before Richard could speak up, Grant held up his hand.

"What have you done up to now?" He leaned in, and Grant asked the pressing question.

"What?" Richard responded unsurely, but Grant continued, ignoring this confusion.

"With the chance you've been given, the powers you've been given, hell, the golden finger if you will, what have you done with it? "

He shook his head. "Nothing. Such wonderful gifts, and you waste them.

Do you know what other players have been doing?" he demanded, and the poor poy could only shake his head helplessly.

Grant continued, as if oblivious to the resigned look on the young man's face.

"Player 565 has managed to foil an assassination,

player 73 is currently escorting a high elf,

player 1313 is in a turf war with a wyvern,"

Grant had to admit he did enjoy seeing the look of exhaustion and acceptance on the young man's face, a familiar look he had received from all of his students. How nostalgic.

Clearly, the young dragon was tired out by the droning on, but he was also clearly understanding his point. The boy wasn't stupid after all, just a little overly cautious.

This was seen as the boy shot back. "You've pointed these people out, but what of the ones you didn't? I'm sure not everyone's rushing out to do something. Some of them must've been cautious."

Grant sighed. "They're either further than you, or dead."

The wyrm intervened suddenly, seizing the opportunity to argue. . "Dead. And how many are there out there who've died to a lack of carefulness and preparation? Dozens? Hundreds?"

Grant responded casually. "Thousands."

"THOUSANDS!? AND YOU'RE TELLING RICHARD TO TAKE MORE RISKS?! IF ANYTHING WITH THOSE KIND OF NUMBERS, HE SHOULD BE MORE CAREFUL!" The loud annoying squirrel jumped in. Indeed, it was a familiar situation, as Ratatoskr himself often blasted his poor ears, but far louder.

The man snorted. "Because those players were in worse situations. They weren't coddled. Most of them didn't have the luck of being born in a low level area as a high level monster, free of all responsibilities, blessed with the help of a wyrm, or being accompanied by three powerful familiars.

And yes, thousands have died, wyrm. But thousands more have survived. When we discuss the lives of tens of thousands of people, a mere few thousand become nothing." He sighed, before focusing on Richard again.

Players dying was normal. 2 or 3 thousand may sound like a lot, but with the numbers involved, this was nothing. If anything, it was a higher survival rate than most sects he knew of.

"Do you know what the most dangerous form of carelessness is?"

" Charging in without thinking." Richard responded.

"... well that's a close contender yes. No, what's really dangerous is assuming the world will give you time to be careful. You are under the impression that you have all the time in the world for "prep time." He paused. "And maybe you do. You're a dragon. You have a good 10,000 years of life, base line, as long as you don't cultivate, find a magical longevity resource, etc. But that's theoretical. It presumes that the world will wait for you. That trouble won't arrive at your doorstep. That's not how the world works.

Take your friend for instance. You want to save her, correct?" Richard nodded. "With what power, exactly. Yours?" Grant said scornfully.

"A mere B-rank beast and pals wants to oppose a marquis? An adult wyvern would have better odds. At least some of them are S-rank.

The wyrm? Oh sure, she's strong. Maybe she can help you. And maybe she can wipe away the whole problem for you right now."

Pause

"But what about next time? Or the time after that? Will she always be there to help you?"

"I will always be there to help him." Alexandria said firmly as she slithered next to Richard.

Grant ignored her, continuing to talk to Richard. She may feel that way now, and maybe even in the future, but being so dependant on the whims of others was dangerous.

He did not want this for his descendant. His grandson from across space and time.

"And what if she's not strong enough? She's strong, but what happens when the day comes, and she's not enough? What will you do then?"

Grant paused, as if hesitating, contemplating what to do, before finally making his decision.

The mask was for fun and cosplay, yes, but he did not deny that cosplay also had another purpose. Fear and inspiration. To make his presence feel incomprehensible to others.

As player 0, as the madman, the mad god even, he had always made himself a force of nature in the eyes of others. Unpredictable, incomprehensible.

But he did not need this aura right now. He did not want it in front of this child.

He did not use the youthful face, but his older face. The real one perhaps, the one that reflected his reality, his age,the truth of reality.The pain he had faced over the course of a millenium, the strife for all to see.

And for the boy, perhaps his destiny were he not careful. He was a dragon. He would go beyond a mere millenia. Dragons are born with the proper mentality, but this child was not. He needed to face reality.

The wyrm scrutinized the face, much to his displeasure and worry.

He did not believe his features were anywhere on the young boy's face, but perhaps he was wrong.

Regardless, the talk had to continue.

"I was like you once. Cautious. I preferred to take things slow and steady, assured that my elders would be able to hold the sky until I was strong enough to take their place."

He chuckled dryly, as the pervading sense of exhaustion increased.

"Until the day they couldn't. Until their strength, wasn't enough. And I hadn't grown fast enough.

I lost everything. I had grown too slowly, taken my time, and when fate finally came knocking, I was unprepared. "

"I had people I cared about as well. A special someone.

She was a firecracker; the light of my life." He laughed happily for a moment and smiled as he relived past memories, and yet pain could be heard. Pain and regret.

Yes, those were the days...

Grant reminisced fondly, recalling those ridiculous days of being dragged around by his friends into the most ridiculous of situations.

"I wasn't strong enough, so I lost the light that day. By then, all pretenses were gone, and I took all sorts of risks, made all kinds of deals. But by the time I was able to find her, she had changed. That firecracker had been doused. I was too late." He looked at Richard meaningfully.

"You have a chance now; standing at a similar crossroads as I. I do not tell you this merely to diminish you, but to warn you. Ultimately, the only thing you can rely on to protect you and all that you love is you. Your elders may do their best to hold up the sky for you, but they cannot do so forever, for all things must face fate one day.

It's good to be careful. But if you allow carefulness to become a stumbling block instead of a building block, I can assure you that you will regret it.

... Trust me."

Clearly, Grant's speech had gotten through to the child to a certain extent, but even so, he appeared hesitant.

Fine, thee is one more card to use.

"You're still hesitating?" Grant asked. He did not sound particularly surprised over it.

"I know the reality of it, but knowing and acting upon it are two different things." The young dragon admitted.

"If I told you that you didn't have to worry about it, would it help?"

"A little." The dragon admitted and Grant promptly sighed. "Still too cautious, after that whole talk we had. Fine. Well then, don't worry about it, you're incredibly lucky."

"It's going to take more than a little luck to convince him to really let loose." Commented Panda, and Grant rolled his eyes.

"Not merely lucky. Karmically so. Do you remember that little talk we just had? About your 20 lives?"

Alexandria's eyes widened as she seemingly grasped something, and though Richard suspected, it required confirmation.

"Yes? Is this about my last life in particular?" Richard hesitantly asked and Grant smiled approvingly.

"Already grasping it. I knew it, a smart cookie. Yes, think about it. Life 19 was meant to be a repayment for the suffering of the previous 17 lives of suffering. Great blessings and wealth were to be your gift, and the favor of three Gods.

But that was denied, and on to the 20th life you went.

What do you think happened to all that luck? Did it simply just vanish? Whoosh!?" Grant looked at him expectantly, awaiting the boys answer.

"Did it increase?" The boy did not dissapoint.

"Exactly!" Grant said as he snapped his fingers.

"The result of 18 lives of punishment has resulted in such an insane amount of luck focused in one lifetime, that as long as you're not outrageously stupid and make suicidal decisions, you are likely to live the rest of your life out in blessings.I mean, case and point," Grant pointed at Panda, "Do you think just anyone can have a demigod as a familiar? The system only has 10 other demigod eggs lying around in its inventory, and only 1 other has been won.

And the other 4! I mean, a creature with a mythical bloodline, a creature with the secret potential to be a powerful symbiotic armor, a kaiju, and a beast so rare that likely almost no one even realizes it exists. That's not normal luck.

How about the fact that you're being protected by Alexandria, god slayer?"

The wyrm interrupted at the mention of that title, looking very much embarrassed. "That wasn't really a kill, for it was only a temporary death!" She denied, but Grant denied this.

"Even so, you've killed a god. The number of beings who can do that are near 100 in this empire, a small number comparatively.

And so far, you're the only player to really achieve this, except for the butler, who's protection happens to be a past acquittance, so that doesn't really count."

He paused before beckoning his hand. "Look, you bought something from the korvold right? Mind handing me that for a second?"

The child handed the mysterious stone to Grant, and upon seeing it, he clicked his tongue.

"Imperial jade. One of the most rare forms of jade, and it already has the location of a secret realm with the inheritance of a powerful dragon in it. How... lucky." He said, shooting Richard a look, one that screamed at him to recognize the reality. Children cannot play dumb forever.

"And the stone I used on Achil?" He asked "A lazarus stone." Grant narrows his eyes. "You have no idea how lucky you were in that case. They're most commonly used to revive the dead and thus the name Lazarus was attributed to it, but that is not the best use of such a stone. Lazarus stones are the fossilized forms of a God's authority, often left behind in the wake of such a beings death. It takes countless eons for such a stone to form.

With 5 pieces of similar size to what you dug up, one could ascend to Godhood. Not a good one mind you, as you'd be using a chaotic and decayed one and would have to refine it thoroughly, but given how hard it is for most to do so, I assure you, anyone who knew the value of such a stone would've killed you." He looked at the boy meaningfully. "Good thing you kept it in your inventory until you used it. Not even the Gods can pry into your inventory. Had you taken it out in public, Isis may not have come after you, but plenty of other Gods might have been tempted to personally come and take it from you. I assure you, not even your luck could save you then."

This was true. The lazarus stone has had many names, but nearly all of them were associated with the resurrection of the fallen. But in reality its power was so much more. It was the kind of treasure that would be considered top level amongst cultivation families, a resource never to be shown, for it was sure that they would be torn apart in the frenzy for such a thing.

Genocides have been caused for less.

Richard shivered as he realized the implication and couldn't help but take a deep breath.

It wasn't hard to see the reality as long as he wasn't a complete fool.

Perhaps for others, such a thing would be useful, but for the week, it was practically a tactical missile strike focused on them.

Grant sighed. "Innocent men and jade, you know. Frankly speaking, you made the best choice you possibly could have." He looked at the boy Achil with surprise and envy.

The young dragon before him had managed to consume the authority miraculously and assimilate it into his own foundation.

As the only dragon- dinosaur hybrid, meant to be the start of the new species, he had the potential of a progenitor, a spark of authority, which had blended with the lazarus stone's essence.

What the outcome would be is hard to tell for now, but bad it would not be.

"He's retained some of that authority, though it is dormant right now. But given time, it can be a powerful weapon for him." He added before turning back to face Richard.

"So are you convinced now? That your safety is assured? Are you now willing to take more risks?"

The boy conceded and said what he was waiting for him to say. "Then where do I start?"

Hearing this, Grant did not hesitate. "Change your form. Its a small step, but a large one at the same time."

Richard frowned. "I'm not going to take my dragon form. That's not confident, that's stupid."

Grant raised an eyebrow. "How much have you looked at the spell you bought? True transformation?"

"Only what the spell initially showed me." Richard responded and Grant couldn't help but tut.

Another reason why the system often felt like a crutch. It often encouraged people to take thins at a surface level, but rewarded those who looked deeper. It was good that it did reward those who looked deeper, but the convenience was like the internet. Poisonous.

"Tut tut tut. Bad move. Always experiment with and study the spell without the system. Otherwise you'll miss things like this. The shapeshifting spell has the ability to add attributes from all your "skins" to create your ideal form." He pointed at Richard, attempting to warn the child about this important flaw, though not focusing on it too much. It wasn't the child's greatest weakness after all, but his confidence or lack thereof.

"You've been having issues walking haven't you? Use the wings and tail from your dragon form and bring them into human form. It'll give you a dragonewt like form, especially if you grow horns as well. Although they're rare, they do exist as a populace here in the empire."

"But I'll stand out..."

Exactly. In this way, regardless of his confidence, he would have to fight.

Of course, Grant didn't mention it, but this was but one way of Grant forcing the child to gain his own confidence, alongside the confrontation with his father.

"Good! You'll stand out, and be forced to be more confident. You're a dragon for God's sake! Be more confident. If you can't even swallow the idea of taking a dragonewt form, then it'll be hard to maintain your own confidence.

Be proud! You are a dragon, a great lord of the land, part of a heritage spanning millions of years."

He paused, before casually throwing out.

"And you know, if you use the dragonewt form, you'll match more with your dear sister Lyssandra..."

Richard inadvertently perked up at that, causing the wyrm to quietly giggle and the screecher squirrel to roll his eyes.

Neither commented, not wanting to interfere in his choice.

And Richard?

He had to make a choice.

This was a step forwards, to becoming more confident. He'd already stepped off the mountain, ready to take on the world.

This was merely announcing his presence.

The step the young man took here would be a major step of sorts.

The boy seemed to have made his decision as his body began changing and new limbs protruded out of the body.

Wings, a tail, and webbing on the side of his head more reminiscent of a siren than a dragon personally.

"Do I look fine?" He asked a bit anxiously, turning to his teammates.

"You look wonderful!" Alexandria said happily.

"Good." The child nodded approvingly.

"I mean, you look fine." The tsundere squirrel said before adding, "I'm sure you look good by human standards.

Richard seemed reassured with this, and Grant butted in. "Alright, you seem a hint more comfortable now, right?"

The boy nodded hesitatingly.

"Good, so now that you're willing to take a few more risks, let's talk about your friend Lyssandra." He said, quickly sliding into the next subject.

The boy's face twisted, as if filled with anxiety and worry.

Noticing his expression, Grant responded. "Yes, her situation is that bad, though she likely doesn't realize it. She's chasing your corpse currently."

Richard's face changed rapidly at that as he looked confused and worried in equal measures.

"My body? Shouldn't it be in the churches graveyard currently?"

"Well here's the thing: it was. Until Daddy dearest came by, laid claim to your body and promptly took it away. He was denied the first time around so he just dug up your body. And now Lyssandra is chasing that corpse." Grant sighed exasperated. "You see what I mean by good luck right? Where do you find such good friends willing to fight a Marquis over a corpse? Well, your luck and her misfortune I suppose.

She thinks that she's the hunter, but has yet to realize that behind her is another group pursuing her. She has about, 2 weeks maybe? Before the group catches up. She may be a dragonewt, but unlike her father, I doubt she has the proper skill to deal with such a group."

"Where is she!?" Richard asked urgently, and Grant responded calmly. "WIthin 2 weeks, she'll arrive at mountain city. You know, the one in the joke, mountain out of a molehill? That one. " Checking his nonexistent wristwatch, the man leisurely continued. "Take Diggers Road to a Hop town, use the teleportation circle there to head to the nearest Skip village to Mountain city." Seeing Richard already turning to leave.

... Wouldn't this be a fun opportunity to test the boy?

"Wait wait wait! It's dangerous to go, take this!" He said, before throwing three adventurer's cards to the three of them.

"I took the liberty of preparing adventurer identities for you guys, to avoid the trouble at the gates some guards like to make. And you know, a life saving measure I guess." He said, before casually throwing a card to each of them, and to Richard, a bottle filled with... lightning?

Seeing the boy's curious look, Grant chuckled.

Heavenly tribulation lightning.

If it wasn't a lifesaving measure, than what else could be?

"A test and a lifesaving measure. If you consume this within the evolution after your next one, it will significantly amplify the results of your next evolution. But it will also be an item that can save your life one time. But remember"

He said, wagging his finger. "It's lightning in a bottle. You only get the one use."

Richard nodded solemnly before turning to leave quickly, and the rest of the group quickly followed, though sister Alexandria glanced at him carefully, as if trying to figure out why he looked so familiar, before leaving the bar.

Thankfully, he wasn't recognized.

Grant sighed as he sipped the beer once more.

"Kids these days. They're always in a rush." He paused before smiling quietly.

"Let's hope this generation of players has the guts to rise up."