A/N : God. I finally found time to write the next chapter. I am terribly sorry that I left all my readers, or only three of them checking repeatedly for an update. I was suffering from the heartless writer's block, and a need to study for my end of term exams. Please review.

Chapter 6 : A step on the right track

Glad Lan's love interest was a guy they did not disapprove off, Lan's parents let them have a time of their own.

X as exhausted from his rigid training schedule. While most Navi's were probably surfing the Net, X was trying to fend himself from his simulated enemy, a regenerative Ice Dragon with a sword. He dodged a head butt from the Dragon, slicing the dragon into half, buying himself sometime when the Ice Dragon regenerated the severed area.

X cursed. He did not expect this trouble killing a Dragon. Heck. Even Bass was easier than this Dragon. Suddenly, a dastardly plan formed in X's mind. He was sure he could kill this dragon without his buster.

X moved.

Slicing thru the neck of the Dragon, X started mutilating the head.

"Back to the Basics : Mutilation."

After seriously damaging the Dragon, by destroying it faster than it can regenerate, X claimed victory by slicing thru the thickest and most protected part of the dragon. The tail.

After the tail was destroyed, the dragon started to disappear, random codes flying into the air, lost forever. X, satisfied with his training, rested.

The next morning, the sound of an alarm clock ringing, sliced thru the neighbourhood, scaring away ids on tree tops, and earned a few curses from residents who wanted to sleep in. One of them was Shin.

As Shin's mother came in his room, with a frying pan in hand.

"SHINCHIRI JEENABI! IF YOU DON'T WAKE UP THIS VERY INSTANT, YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE BAD LUCK!"

Shin jumped up, scared out of his wits. Nobody wanted to land on Mrs Jeenabi's bad side. Because all those who dared have not end up sane, and well.

X was greeted to a sight of Shin running in and out of the toilet, trying to find his clothes. Sighing, X said in a deep breathe.

"They are on the clothes rack in the toilet"

"…Oh! I forgot. Heh heh…"

X sighed again, wondering which god he offended to deserve an operator like Shin. As a Shin rushed downstairs, PET in hand, he tripped and fell all the way down, landing in a pile at the foot of the stairs. His sarcastic Dad said.

"Ohh… Wife Dear, I didn't knew we have a new mat."

Shin stood up, with a bruised ego and a hurting chest, he ate his breakfast of cereal with milk, and he quickly ran to school.

Mrs Maruto(no reference to Naruto, just that I was fooling with words and came up with this) was busy giving out test papers.

Jaws agape, Shin asked Mrs Maruto what was going on.

"Surprise Test."

Just then, the ever-late, King of Lateness, Lan, came in, apologizing for being late, before being abolished by Mrs Maruto for being late.

The test went on, asking general questions about Netbattling.

— (Excerpt from text of test) —

Q1. What is a Chip?

Q2. What are the Letters on the Chips for?

Q3. What are NetNavies?

Q4. What are NetSaviors?

Q5. What do NetSaviors do

Q6. What is a PET?

Q7. What is the plug on the end of your PET's cable for?

Q8. …

— (End excerpt from text of test) —

Shin sighed. He did not just went to school for this sort of easy tests. Taking his pencil from his pencil box, he started…

X was busy cleansing his wounds from his Ice Dragon fight. MegaMan and the others were just slacking, pitting themselves in NetBattles. GutsMan was fighting a losing battle against MegaMan.

"GUTS! GUTS WILL NOT LOSE TO MEGAMAN! Ugh…"

"Are you alright GutsMan?"

"Humph! How dare you lose to that shrimp of a MegaMan?"

"Dex! Get back to your test!"

While GutsMan massaged his bruised pride, Roll was latching to MegaMan's hand.

X was summoning another Ice Dragon to pit his wits against when he was shoved by a running navi.

"Ooff!"

"Sorry!"

But it was too late. The Ice Dragon was formed, attacking a downed X. X bounced up, striking the Dragon like a mad man. All the other Navies were looking on the battle.

X jumped up, slicing down in a Rolling Slash. Like a chainsaw, X "sawed" thru the dragon, slicing off the tail, and ruthlessly bashing the dragon up. X landed a strike on the tail, immediately shattering the regen chip. X leaped up, equipping his fire element, sliced the Dragon in half.

X stood up, and immediately summoned a Fire Dragon. As X avoided the fiery blasts from the dragon, he shot MegaCannons at it. The dragon reared his fiery head and shot a fireball at X.

X dodged, dashing to the side, before dashing forward, doing the Thousand Slashes skill on it. X immediately followed up with an Ice Punch. As X emerged from the other side of the Dragon, fist with a light blue tinge, the Dragon cried out in pain before collapsing on the ground, deleted.

X huffed and puffed. That had taken a lot out of him. He was determined to kill his last dragon. An Electric Dragon.

When the Dragon was summoned, X immediately started using his Electric Element Sword. With another skill, Desperado, he hacked and slashed like a desperate man. Within minutes, the dragon also was defeated. Just then, Shin finished his test paper, and was doodling designs.

Shin doodled out a design for an armour. The armour would shift shape with elements. He immediately started planning and coding it. When it was time to go home, Shin sprinted all the way. After one hour of hardwork, Shin integrated the armour with X's coding, making it the base armour.

X was testing out his new armour before he went to register for the N1 Grand Prix at the new booth at City Net 2.

In the Undernet, one cloaked figure stands, plotting his return after his defeat…