"Turn into a beast, or whatever," Vaerros commanded.

"Turn into a beast? Do you mean like, turn into a Dragon? Drag out? Can't do that yet." Zac responded, shrugging his shoulders. Vaerros looked a bit disappointed as he let out a disappointed groan.

"Then draw your weapon, then!" Vaerros pointed his axe at Zac.

"Make me…" Zac chuckled as he charged forward at a speed that took Vaerros by surprise. Before he could properly process what was going on a knee crashed into the bridge of his nose. His large head reeled back, but not a drop of blood was seen. Zac felt like his knee just smashed against a steel wall. Vaerros snapped his head forward, delivering a headbutt down upon Zac, who curled his body to protect himself.

The collision of the headbutt shook the entire room as Zac was launched towards the ground. He landed on his feet, sliding back several meters. As he gathered himself, he looked up only to see no one where Vaerros once stood. The next instant a shadow loomed over Zac. The sound of an AXE breaking the sound barrier crashed down on his location.

Zac dodged the attack as the ax bashed against the obsidian platform. The force of the collision caused an upheaval of obsidian shards. The blow also knocked Zac off his feet and sent him flying towards the platform's edge. Landing on all fours, he looked up to see Vaerros holding out his hand, with a system floating behind his head. The shards of obsidian bent to his will and rained down on Zac.

"Tsk…" Zac sucked his teeth, extending both his hands as he ran forward, parting the torrent of obsidian shards as he charged. As the torrent of obsidian was parted, Vaerros was there to meet him, his axe in hand, ready to strike.

"Shit…" Zac groaned as the strike was faster than he could properly respond to. He had no choice but to cross his arms in front of his face.

The axe clashed against his arms, blowing away his sleeves and sending him tumbling across the platform. Trigger and the others were shocked. This was the first time they had even seen a Titan Orc, let alone seen one in action. For such a large body to move that fast and still have control of earth minerals was astonishing.

What was even more astonishing was that Zac's arms were still intact, yet he had not activated his Nano-Armor. Vaerros as well as Zac seemed to be surprised as well.

"Would you look at that… I was expecting my arms to be blown off or cut in half, but this is just weird." Zac said as he looked at his forearms. There was no blood, no gash, only a scratch across his forearms that seemed to be cracking.

"Looks like your shedding is about to start soon," Vaerros said with a smile as he rested his axe's handle on his shoulder.

"How long does it take?" Zac asked.

"There is no official time, but it can range from 1 to 5 months to complete the shedding. If you don't let your shedding happen naturally, it could lead to scale rot. With the composition of Gteju scales. The pain and irritation of Gteju Scale Rot has been known to drive some of your kind to madness until healed or a following shedding relieves the situation." Sylvaira commented.

"Want to put this on pause until it's done?" Vaerros asked.

"Hell no, we finish this now!" Zac shouted.

"That's what I like to hear!" Vaerros charged forward with speed that was obscene for the size of his body. Zac matched his charge as his nano armor began to cover his body. As his mask covered his face, a spear emerged, and he met Vaerros in the center of the platform, clashing in a furious melee.

The clashing of their blows shook the platform, and obsidian shards exploded off the platform with each clash. Vaerros' eyes widened as Zac's strength and speed increased as soon as that armor covered his body, and they kept rising. But that wasn't the issue; the issue was the tempo—he couldn't catch it.

"No way…" Trigger mumbled to himself as his pupils turned to slits. He could feel the shift of momentum in each of Zac's attacks. Zac was using Trigger's Program, but he was using it in ways Trigger had not thought of.

He not only increased his momentum, he also decreased it; he changed the trajectory of his weapon swings mid-flight. Trigger thought the constant, inconceivably quick, and unnatural changing of pace was something only someone like Zac, who had encountered countless fights with beings stronger than he could think of on the spot, could do.

However, Trigger was wrong. This was not something Zac developed in the heat of battle. These were ideas and strategies Zac had thought about for years while having no powers and watching others with them "squander" their potential. Now that he could do literally anything he wanted, he felt almost paralyzed by choice.

The furious melee continued between two comically mismatched opponents. The look of shock on Vaerros turned into a broad smile. There was no taunting, there was no posturing. There was nothing but battle and the thunderous sounds of their weapons clashing as they planted their feet on the platform, neither moving from their position.

Everyone silently watched the spectacle in front of them. Sparks flew off of the Nano armor as the Axe's blows grazed past him. Nicks and cuts appear on Vaerros' body as Zac's spear grazed him. It had been centuries since any of them had seen Vaerros so focused. The system behind Vaerros's head lit up, and the shards of obsidian that were bursting into the air shot toward Zac.

Zac twirled his spear as he spun away from Vaerros, deflecting the shards. Mid-twirl, Zac made a motion with his hand, and the system behind Vaerros shattered. Causing all the Seats to stand up in shock. System deletion was a high-level skill that only those with immense knowledge of systems could perform. Usually, it was only systems they were familiar with.

Not only were Zac and Trigger new to Systems, Vaerros had the majority of his own hidden behind him as a force of habit. That Zac could decode and delete his system with less than a third visible was outrageous. Lun was the only one who remained seated and let out a chuckle.

With the system destroyed, Zac easily took control of the Shards of Obsidian himself and shot them back at Vaerros with a wave of his hand. Vaerros let out a grunt and held out his hand. The shards stopped mid-air as the two of them struggled for control. Vaerros, like many creatures, didn't need systems to use their natural abilities; they just helped them fine-tune and elevate them. Vaerros clenched his fist, and the shards exploded. He then stomped as a system formed on the bottom of his foot.

The platform rumbled, and spikes of obsidian sprang up. Zac's body moved faster than most there could follow as he avoided the hardened spikes of obsidian. He tried to slash one of them but found it impossible. Not only was Vaerros controlling the obsidian, but he could make it more durable. After the spikes stopped, Zac looked up only to see Vaerros gone again. Like a phantom, Vaerros shot out of one of the large, spiked obsidian pillars, crashing down on Zac from above.

Zac parried the blow and shifted his momentum, allowing him to move between the spikes effortlessly. However, Vaerros kept pace with him as he flowed through the obsidian spikes. Traveling through them propelled him forward even faster. The sounds of clashing steel rang out again as the two furiously exchanged blows. Only instead of being stationary, they zipped at blinding speed around the limited space of the obsidian platform.

Zac grunted as he was knocked off his feet and slammed into an obsidian pillar. Zac looked at the giant Titan Orc charging him and let out a shout. His spear and Nano Armor branched out in a countless swarm of thread-thin spikes. These spikes tore through the pillars and tore pieces of flesh off Vaerros who ignored his injuries.

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He brought his ax to bear down on Zac's exposed neck as a cluster of nano spikes raced toward his neck.

"That's enough!" Nethyros shouted as she appeared in front of Vaerros. Her palm was placed under his hand and stopped his axe mid-swing, much to his displeasure. The nano spikes that were heading towards Vaerros's throat were stopped in place by Ferradorn floating over Zac's head. Their fight was cut short, and Vaerros still had plenty of energy left to rant and rave at Nethyros. While there was blood dripping from his wounds, there wasn't a drop of sweat.

Zac, on the other hand, was a heaving mess of exhaustion. Not even Devin was able to keep up with him now, yet this massive mound of meat was superior to him in both speed and strength. If it weren't for his experience fighting to be stronger than himself, he wouldn't have lasted a minute. He started to chuckle.

"What's so funny?" Vaerros shouted at Zac.

"That was fun… Let's do it again." Zac smiled at Vaerros.

The enraged look on his face melted into a wide smile. He walked over to Zac and brought this large hand down on his shoulder, causing the exhausted Zac to lose his balance momentarily.

"You're a Seat now, so you can come and find me for a fight anytime!! Next time we'll find a mountain range to tear up! By the way, what is that shit?" Vaerros laughed again as he pointed at Zac's nano-armor.

No one seemed to object to Vaerros' declaration, as Nethyros just shook her head at Vaerros' willfulness. However, she had no intention of denying Zac his seat. There were still things to work out.

"I call it Dragon Scales, funny enough. Oh, we're going to need a place to stay… while we wait." Zac commented.

"Wait for what?" Zyvaroth asked.

"Information on the Heka bases and my soldiers… I mean employees. Oh, and system tutors for those three." Zac pointed over Sage and the Twins.

"Get the details from… get the details…Lun." Zac then passed out, falling backward.

Before he could fall to the platform, Sylvaira extended her hand as a bed of flowers manifested to cradle Zac's fall.

"We will take care of our guests," Sylvaira said she was more than willing to watch over a couple of dragons.

"I think it would be better for us to take care of them. Everyone knows we have the most luxurious amenities for comfort." Veydris offered.

Sylvaira let out a groan. She knew Veudris was correct, but she was not keen to leave a

recovering Dragon in the care of a Kitsune. Especially one who had gone through such emotional trauma so recently. However, it was Lun who interjected,

"It's fine, Sylvaira; besides, you'll be busy with his request for a tutor for this young lady." Lun pointed at Sage, and Sylvaira gave her a good look for the first time. She looked over her and then nodded her head.

"I see, her connection with nature is astonishing. I suppose the human accompanying 2 Gteju would be incredible as well. Alright… I'll teach her myself. Come, girl."

"It's Sage." She responded.

"Sage? Then I'll call you Salvera. Come with me, Salvera." Sylvaira motioned for Sage to follow her. Sage looked at Zac and then back at Trigger.

"Don't worry, I got this." Trigger reassured her. Sage nodded and followed after her new teacher.

"Hmm, I'd be careful if I were you." Sylvaira warned Sage.

"What do you mean?" Sage asked.

"Gteju, dragons… have a natural draw to them. Especially those who are close to nature, like ourselves. I see the way you look at that young hatchling. Make sure you sort out those emotions and make sure they are yours." Sylvaira smiled at her.

"Would it matter?" Sage asked.

"That depends on what you want. You're a smart girl. I'm sure you'll figure out the answer."

"Hmm, how many dragons have you met before?" Sage asked.

"Quite a few. I have a cousin who is married to a son of Tiamat, the Keeper of Dreams. Yes. I am distant in law to you, Sensei." Sage's eyes widened when she looked at Sylvaira. Not a descendant but a son?

"Why is someone like you here?" Sage asked. Sylvaira let out a sigh.

"All of the seats aside from the 7th–9th seats were all very important individuals, humbly speaking. How and why we are here is a VERY long story. Perhaps I'll tell you later." Sylvaira guided Sage out of the chamber as they made their way to her personal sky-train.

The Twins were standing in front of their would-be teacher on the Platform after Lun had introduced them to Ferradorn. The old, rough dwarf looked up at the twins and said,

"And why the hell should I teach you two anything I know?"

"Because we're amazing, idiot," Zidane said,

"Yeah, stupid. What a dumb question." Roisin added.

Lun chuckled to himself. Ferradorn was an old, cantankerous lout, but he was the best on Earth, and one of the best, period, at what he did. This was the first time in his life that someone wasn't groveling at his feet begging him to teach him.

"What is it that you kids have to offer?" Ferradorn asked the Twins.

The Twins then proceeded to explain what their abilities were. Ferradorn stood there deadpan, but internally he was freaking out. The "programs" of these children were incredible. What would take a dwarf centuries of study, these two could do through instinct.

"Plus… if we want it, Zac will give us his first shedding," Roisin said as she and her brother smiled sinisterly at the old dwarf.

Ferradorn's body instantly quaked. He knew that was a threat—that if he didn't teach them, he could never get his hands on that shedding. Lun raised his eyebrows in shock. He knew the Twins were talented; however, he thought the two of them had a few screws loose. The quick shift from them was jarring.

"Is that just a play they put on?" Lun wondered.

"What have you created that you are most proud of?" Ferradorn asked.

"The new Nanites that Chasers are using now, also the Dragon Scales you just saw," Zidane answered.

Again Ferradorn was taken aback but did not show it. He acknowledged that while the Nanites were primitive, they were incredible achievements for humans. And that Dragon Scale armor was something even he found impressive and was already coming up with ideas to improve upon it.

"How do I know you won't take what I teach you back to the humans?" Ferradorn asked,

"Screw humans, we work with Zac," Zidane said.

"Yeah, dummy. We follow Zac." Roisin added.

"Very well… Follow me, you little devils!" Ferradorn said as he started to walk towards the exit.

"Little? I know you're not…" Before Zidane could finish his statement, Roisin jabbed him in the side with her elbow, shutting him up before he could finish.

Trigger remained on the platform looking at Zac lying on a bed of floating flowers created by Sylvaira, who had already left. Nethyros sighed as the meeting hadn't officially been adjourned, but everyone had already left.

"We will call it here for today," Zyvaroth said to everyone present, seeing the annoyed look on Nethyros' face. Everyone in the crowd began to leave as the remaining Seats remained on the platform, including the newest one.

"How long will it take for you to get us the information?" Trigger asked.

"Someone sounds very demanding…" Vaerros commented.

"And someone sounds very smug. Especially when someone's rent is multiple centuries late." Trigger stared at Vaerros.

Vaerros growled a bit at Trigger's attitude, but there was nothing he could do about it because technically he was correct. The fact that Zac and Trigger's matriarch hadn't come here herself to demand tribute was already a great deal of grace afforded to them.

"It will take a few weeks to verify, but we won't be able to give you an exact location," Veydris answered.

"That's fine. A general location is more than enough; the Twins can take it from there."

"What will you be doing then?" Zyvaroth asked.

"I'll be guarding him until he wakes up. Then… I don't know. I'll just go tour the Firmatha Sanguar, I guess until things are ready. Maybe I'll go check up on Mom." Trigger responded as he looked over at an individual that everyone seemed to have forgotten.

"Let's get going! You're coming with me, Noct. You don't have a problem with that, do you?" Trigger commanded as he looked over at Lun.

"Nope, he became your problem the moment Zac became a Seat." Lun waved the question off as he and Varythiel made their way to the exit. There was a lot that the two of them needed to talk about.

Veydris floated over towards Trigger with Zac resting on the bed of flowers floating behind her.

"Please follow me. Do you have any preferences in terms of accommodations?" Veydris asked.

Trigger found himself lost in thought after hearing Veydris' question. There was a lot on his mind at the moment. So many things had happened; too many things had happened in such a short amount of time. He needed time to process everything he had seen and learned and contemplate things to come. Even after the weeks were up and they got the information they needed, they were just at the halfway point.

"Somewhere quiet," Trigger mumbled softly.

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