"So you're all over your cold?" Natsu asked through a mouthful of food. He and Happy were sitting at a table in the guild hall, enjoying some breakfast, with Lucy standing at their pew.

"Yep!" Lucy happily exclaimed, holding up a peace sign, "I'm rearing to go at one hundred percent!"

"Yay!" Happy jumped up.

BANG!

The guild hall doors suddenly burst open, with a seething Makarov brandishing his fist in the air.

"Alright!" He raged, "Which one of you numbskulls uprooted the city's prize cherry tree!? The mayor's been breathing down my neck all morning!"

Natsu and Happy suddenly had looks of fear on their faces as they began trembling. Lucy noticed, and her confused frown turned into a small, grateful smile, "Aw, thanks guys!" She rubbed their heads and hugged them close.

"What're ya thankin' us for?" Natsu deadpanned, blatantly avoiding Lucy and Makarov's gazes.

"Yeah!" Happy screamed out nervously, "We didn't do anything, we swear!"

"You guys are cute," Lucy squeezed them close again, "By the way, where's Kilgara? I need to thank him for staying with me yesterday," She released Natsu and Happy to look around the guild hall.

"Huh?" Natsu tilted his head in confusion, "We thought he was with you."

"Aye," Happy nodded, "Is he not?"

Natsu and Happy gave each other a blank stare, before freaking out.

"AGH!" They both yelled, "You mean he ran off again!?"

"Wait, he's not here?" Lucy's eyes widened, "I mean, he was gone when I woke up. And hold on, again!?"

"We have to find him," Natsu took off from his seat, "C'mon Happy!"

"Aye sir!" Happy flew after him, with Lucy right on his tail.

"Wait up guys!" She ran to catch up to Natsu.

On the other side of the guild hall, Wendy watched Lucy and Natsu take off together.

"They must have a job…" She turned to look at the request board, "Maybe I should take on one…"

I once read that dragons have a great sense of direction and memory, that they're able to find their homes and hoards after traveling miles away from them.

I'm gonna call bullcrap on that sense of direction.

Granted, the wind blew me all over the place, severely limiting my vision while probably throwing everything else off, but still!

I had to pick a direction and move. It was better than just standing around. Good thing I don't need food or water, I'd have starved to death by now!

I've been wandering for over two days.

I tried to see if Luxion could act as a compass, but I had to explain to him what a compass even was. It was remarkable how well and in depth his scan and analysis of me was; he even began an analysis on my physiology and composition, which I found weird at first, but I could see how having a better understanding of my new body could be beneficial. The real mind blowing thing was his ability to scan my mind and spirit.

Unfortunately, it took him much longer to perform an in depth analysis on anything else. And as we were on the move a lot right now, he didn't have a good opportunity to analyze much.

Despite being lost with only a curious A.I. for conversation, it really wasn't all that bad! I got to practice flying a lot.

It made me sad that I couldn't level up skills by using them, I can only improve through leveling up and investing in my skill trees. The only exception to this is my runecaster mastery. I've been able to experiment and come up with some new ones.

I perfected my fire rune first. I figured it'd be a nice thing to have on hand if I was going to be friends with Natsu.

In that spirit, I created a heat protection rune, and was now working on a cold resistance rune. I was actually having a lot of fun with it; I'm sure that with some more time and experiments, I'd be able to come up with a rune for nearly every situation.

Maybe I could somehow utilize the lacrima I've collected to make even stronger runes.

As I traveled, searching for any signs of civilization at this point, I browsed through my skill trees.

I put most of my focus on my racial tree, Arcane Royal Dragon. Each branch of the tree focused on a different aspect, from physical to magical ones. I could increase the power of my scales, wings, claws, or my base magic, mind, or senses.

Heck, I could even influence my fertility here! There seemed to be no limit!

Then there were other skills related to dragons, such as my flight, crawling, and swimming skills.

Each skill had different tiers they branched into, offering further development for that specific aspect.

A part of me wanted to start selecting everything, to become as developed as I could; even without magic, I could become one terrifying creature!

I had to restrain myself though, some of these cost a lot of points. Some were only 5 points, while others nearly made their way to the hundreds; specifically the higher tiers.

Right now I was trying to figure the best way I could deal with Edolas, though it wouldn't even matter if I wasn't there when Magnolia gets snatched up.

I really need to find this darn city.

I haven't found any cities at all, as a matter of fact. Not even a village. I wonder how Earthland as a planet scales with the earth I came from. Is it bigger? Smaller? Who knows.

I had traversed two more dungeons I came across too. One was a common dungeon; I had to face off against a pack of wolves. Even as a hatchling, my arcane breath was more than enough to take care of them. I only got one gacha and information token though.

The other was a blue portal, a rare dungeon in other words. It was another lycanthrope dungeon, except this time they were savanna themed lycanthropes.

I got three gacha from this one, along with two level ups and a single pink info token. The boss, an elephant lycanthrope, also dropped something this time. Two ivory elephant tusks, roughly the size of a human arm. Observe wasn't yet at a high enough level for me to know if they were special in any way.

And so, Luxion and I carried on, hopelessly lost. Man, this is inconvenient.

As these thoughts were going through my head, I noticed two more portals, a blue one and a green on.

Huh. Maybe it won't be too bad after all.

Lucy was tired. Extremely so. She, Natsu, and Happy had been searching for Kilgara for a few days now.

During this time, they had only visited Magnolia once; when they got so hungry they had to go back.

Which is how they found out Guildarts had come back. Natsu briefly got distracted with his desire to fight him, but quickly changed course, sprinting out of the guild, Lucy and Happy right behind him.

Days later, they hadn't gotten any closer to finding that black reptile.

Natsu managed to track Kilgara's scent down to the outskirts of Magnolia, and a ways into the East Forest.

After that, the trail went cold.

They were currently searching through the forest again. A low rumble off in the distance caused Lucy to look up; dark clouds had gathered on the horizon.

"Natsu!" Lucy called out, "We should head back! A storm is coming!"

Natsu, who had been getting increasingly frustrated, let out a low sigh. Of course it would start storming now.

He looked off into the distance.

Kilgara, He thought to himself, Where on earth did you go!?

By the time Natsu, Lucy, and Happy made it back to the guild, they were soaking wet. The rain started pouring down as soon as they made it back to town.

"Welcome back!" Mira called out as she put her coat on, "Where have you three been?"

"Uh, well…" Lucy started, trailing off at first, "We've been…well, looking for Kilgara…" she chuckled nervously.

"Ya lose him in the storm or something?" Gray questioned, before smirking at Natsu, "Can't even take care of an animal, can ya Pyro?"

"Watch it, Frosty!" Natsu nearly charged at Gray, but Lucy intervened.

"Actually," she placed an arm in front of Natsu's shoulders as she addressed Gray, "He was with me when we lost track of him."

"What happened?" Gray asked.

"We're not sure," Lucy shrugged, "He was with me when I was sick, but gone the next morning."

"When you were sick?" Gray frowned, "That was days ago, wasn't it?"

"Uh…yeah," Lucy cringed.

Natsu went over to a booth, slamming into the bench as he sat down.

"Somethin' wrong, Natsu?" Guildarts walked up, sitting down across from him. Happy floated to the table, worry on his face as he looked up at his best friend.

"I just don't get it," Natsu said, frustrated, looking down, "Do all dragons have a habit of disappearing?"

Guildarts' frown deepened. This situation must be reminding him of Igneel.

Lucy sat down next to Natsu, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. She was thinking the same thing.

"Don't worry, Natsu," she smiled at him emphatically, "He probably just got hungry and went to find food. He's a baby animal, his instincts probably took him to the forest so he could hunt!" Although her tone was hopeful and upbeat, inside she was worried. Probably more worried than Natsu himself.

"He's not an animal," Natsu firmly stated, "He's a dragon! They're just as smart as people!"

"But he's still a baby," Guildarts pointed out, "You can't forget that."

"That's the problem!" Natsu retorted, "He's a baby! He shouldn't be out on his own!"

"Wow…Natsu's actually worried about something other than food?" Gray chuckled, "That's rich!"

"Hush Gray," Ezra pitched in before a fight broke out, taking a sip of a warm drink, "It is worrisome. Especially with this storm."

"Fair point," Gray looked outside, "Wonder what the little guy is up to now…"

"And go find some pants, would you?" Erza said without looking up from her cup.

"Aw, damn it!" Gray whirled around, looking for his missing britches.

I'm getting sidetracked. Another day has passed now, and there have been several distractions keeping me busy. Namely in the form of dungeons. Normally I would love this, but right now it's inconvenient!

I don't know what law in the universe states this, but now that I wasn't looking for dungeons, they were the only thing I was finding!

I had come across four more common dungeons, two uncommon, three rare ones, and a super rare! I'm not complaining too much, cause they're currently the quickest way for me to level up, but dang this is bad timing!

The dungeons yielded fruit though, I'll give them that. In total, I had earned 18 gacha, 10 info tokens and several different raw materials, ranging from pelts, spider fangs, gold coins, herbs, and books.

The books had come from a library dungeon, which was the super rare one. It had different contrasts of book golems, lantern monsters, and floating brains for me to fight.

Gamers Mind helped protect me from several mental attacks, especially ones that came from the boss, who was known as The Librarian. It was a witch.

This witch wasn't as tough as the rock dragon, but she still put up quite the fight. I was excited to read through the books her death dropped.

But the greatest thing that came from these distractions were the levels.

Runcaster - LVL 100/100

Max level achieved!
Perk gained:
Runemaster
Doubles the effectiveness of all runes you cast and create.

Select new class:
Fighter, Mage, Rogue, Support

I had finally maxed out my first class! It's barely been a few weeks since I hatched, but it feels like it's been forever!

Now I had to decide my new class. Let's see…

I pondered my options as I flew high above the treeline, Luxion right behind me.

I could go with a fighter class. I had fully maxed out a mage class, even though runecaster is technically a support class, it was still magic related. The runes I cast were now of legendary quality.

Looking at my stats though, I really wanted to level my DEX attribute. Aside from luck, it was my lowest one, and ironically the one I relied on the most. My stealth skills have only been getting by because of my Hidden spell, and my arial and maneuverability skills only graze by proficiency because of my small size.

I didn't want to have to leave those up to circumstance or chance either; not anymore. I really don't want to try and rely on plot-armor or anything like that. I'm not a canon character in this world, I'd probably be killed quite easily by some of Fairy Tail's biggest enemies. So if I plan on sticking around, I better catch up to speed here.

With that in mind, I selected the Rogue category.

Select a Subclass!
Archer, Assassin, Hunter, Thief

Not bad options. Though there are only four, I'd imagine more would become available as I unlock more classes and meet certain prerequisites. I'd like to have a class that'll help prepare me for the upcoming battles. Out of these four then…

Assassin it is.

Class gained!
Assassin (LVL 0/100, 0%)
Gain 2 DEX and 2 WIS every level up.

I figure this class would give me more combat options than a thief or hunter class would, and being an archer isn't exactly practical for my current physiology. Though I wasn't expecting WIS to be something important for an assassin. And hold up, level 0? Weird.

Select main skill-set!
Inquisitorial, Executioner, Stealth

All of these sounded so cool! Right now though, I was looking for more combat oriented skills, so I'm gonna have to go with Executioner.

Executioner
Cold hearted, merciless and brutal; the Executioner is not afraid of killing in broad daylight. Despite not being fit for prolonged battles like any assassin, they specialize in combat, making use of available weaponry, and knowing where to strike their victims for quick kills.

And boy, oh boy, I was not disappointed!

The assassin skill tree had so many dope options! I could branch off into different executioner skills, inquisitor skills, or stealth skills! Because I selected Executioner as my main specialization, the prices for those skills were lowered.

As I read through the descriptions for some of these, I was surprised by how many social and acting perks were available to assassins. It makes sense, when you think about it, but still surprising.

I gotta say, I'm excited to see how a dragon will utilize these abilities.

I turned my attention away from the interface for a while, focusing on trying to find Magnolia.

If my memory is correct and the canon timeline is still followed, then Magnolia will be swept up into Edolas soon. As in tonight. If I want to make it, I need to hurry and find this darn city! Why is it so difficult!?

"Grrrr…" I snarled, the sound coming from deep in my throat. Though it was still high pitched. I can't wait until I'm not a hatchling anymore.

I suddenly angled into a dive, using my wings and tail for balance; Luxion followed close. I landed in a large tree, using my talons to grip the thick branch.

"Status," I called out.

Name: Kilgara
Age: 0
Race: Arcane Royal Dragon
Rank: Hatchling
Alignment: Neutral Good

Level: 100
Class: Assassin LVL 0/100, 0%

HP: 850
MP: 6,150
SP: 850

STR: 204
END: 85
DEX: 40
INT: 246
WIS: 216
CHA: 50
LUK: 40

Points: 325

I have 325 points to work with…

I pulled up my Racial skill tree, scrolling over to the wings and flight branches.

The features I had here were Flight Tier 1 and Wings Tier 1. It cost me a whopping 90 points in total, but I boosted both of them to tier 3. It cost so much because I had to purchase tier 2 for both first, and Flight was more complicated.

Wings Tier 3
Your wings are some of the strongest wings seen among dragonkind. You can quickly and efficiently take off from the ground. On top of this, with a flap of your wings, you can create powerful gusts of wind that can deflect physical projectiles, such as arrows, knives, javelins, crossbow bolts, etc. This feature is still influenced by your STR stat and size.

When I purchased the tiers for my wings, I physically felt them change and grow. They became larger, more structured. When I fully extended them, I immediately felt the wind catch under them. I flapped up, and holy mother!

Even from such a small movement, it was so easy for me to gain air and glide back down.

As for the tiers in Flight, I was able to get Flight Tier 2. When I tried to purchase tier 3, this popped up.

Notice!
Flight tier 3 requires at least Wings tier 2; and Tail tier 2, Fins tier 1, or Feathers tier 2.

I had the wings already, but not the other requirement. I could either upgrade my tail, or give myself feathers or fins. Interesting. After reading through their respective descriptions, I went with Tail Tier 2. It was more expensive (as I had to purchase tier 1 first), but I didn't want to add fins or feathers to my body.

Tail Tier 2
Your tail is now prehensile. It can grab multiple objects, be used during grappling to choke, grab, hold, or restrain. The bone structure of your tail is robust and strong. It can withstand heavier impacts and be used as a weapon, almost like a whip. In addition, it also aids in balance for flight, making you more dexterous in the air. This feature is influenced by your STR stat, DEX stat, and size.

This allowed me to obtain the third tier in flight.

Flight Tier 3
On top of being more agile, you are extremely graceful and fast in the air. You would be hard pressed to find a creature who could match even half your aerial speed and maneuverability. This feature is still influenced by your DEX stat and size class.

Because these stats were highly influenced by my size and DEX stat, I wasn't expecting there to be all that much of a difference, but when I took to the sky again, I could tell that I was moving much faster.

So fast that Luxion couldn't keep up, so he had to store himself in my soul.

Not only was I faster, but flying felt more natural to me. Before, despite enjoying it so much, I felt like I was putting a lot of unnatural effort into being able to fly; but now, it felt as natural as walking or running.

Another hour of flying passed, and it was past noon now. Storm clouds were beginning to gather, and though it wasn't raining yet, I could tell it was coming fast.

I had covered a lot of ground, though I wasn't even certain I was going the right way. So, I dived down, landing on the earth this time.

I pulled out a pink info token, tossing it on the ground.

"Hello, hello!" Katie materialized out of nowhere, "What can I do for my favorite draconic friend today?" She smiled at me, hands on her hips.

"I need the best way to find Magnolia," I said, my desperation leaking in my tone, "How do I do that?"

"Hm…" Katie cupped her chin, "To be honest, there are multiple ways you could do it. You could use your racial tree to unlock your instinctive sense of direction, I could tell you how to unlock your mini-map, or I could just point you in the right direction." She smiled at me, "Which would you prefer?"

"Mini-map?" I asked. Now that was intriguing. I'll go with that; now that I know about the instinct stuff, I'll just search through my skill tree myself when I have the time.

"How do I unlock that?" I asked.

"To unlock the mini-map, or any other aspect of the Interface you don't already have, you must summon me, and then hand over a specific amount of gacha tokens," Katie explained, smiling, "The mini-map costs 15 tokens."

"Geez!" I exclaimed, "That's quite a few!"

"Yep!" Katie smirked, "Gacha were selected as 'Gamer Currency' by the interface since it's something almost all systems have in common, and all gamers want them. It works both ways, ya know; if you want to 'sell' an aspect of your system, you can get gacha tokens from it!"

"Well…alright, I'll get the mini-map," I sighed, handing over the tokens. That left me with only six tokens left. I was really looking forward to using all of those. Guess I'll have to grind again soon.

"Thank you for your patronage!" Katie bowed, before disappearing.

As soon as she left, a circular map appeared in the corner of my vision, along with a notification.

Mini-map Tier 1 unlocked!
You now have access to a 2D map, projected through your HUD. It is filled in through exploring the area you're in, and shows you where you've been. By default, it is always in the corner of your vision, but if you wish you can turn it off and back on. You can also manipulate it by interacting with it, enlarging certain areas or zooming in on it.

Wow! The details on this thing were cool! It was really realistic! If tier 1 looks this good, what do the other tiers look like?

Though this brought up more questions too. What other features of The Interface could I purchase or upgrade? Though these thoughts would have to be entertained at a later date, I had more important things to do right now!

I expanded the map in my field of view, enlarging it. My icon was a simple purple arrow, facing the direction I was. Turns out, I wasn't that far off! I was off by a few degrees, but Magnolia wasn't terribly far from here!

Still several miles, but maybe, just maybe, I can make it!

Using my map as a guide, I flapped and flew for all I was worth, putting every point of my stamina to good use!

Gajeel stared at the brown cat he was holding up.

"Hm…" He thought hard for a moment.

"NO!" He stormed off.

"Not this one either!" He declared to a stray white and blue kitten.

"Definitely not!" He shouted at a funky looking orange cat.

He stumbled through the back alley he was cat-hunting in, his movements loopy and groggy. He collapsed to the ground exhausted and frustrated.

"Salamander and that little girl have their own magical flying kitty cats!" Tears welled up in his eyes, "I'm a Dragonslayer, so I deserve to have a furry friend like they do! Hell, Salamander's got a freakin' dragon now!" He banged his fist on the ground.

Then, a silhouette of a cat appeared from the light, catching Gajeel's attention.

Could this be it? Could this be the magical furry friend he's been searching for? A smile appeared on his face as he giggled in a hopeful manner he would deny the rest of his life.

Later that day, Gajeel would be seen with several scratch marks all over his face, on top of his frustrated demeanor.

Meanwhile, back at the Fairy Tail guildhall, Lucy and Wendy were sitting at a booth with drinks in hand, conversing while Charla sipped some tea.

"Why are you so fascinated with July 7th, x777?" Lucy asked.

"It's because that's the day the dragons that raised me and Natsu disappeared," Wendy answered with a solemn smile, "So I guess it's just always on my mind."

"I wonder what happened," Lucy contemplated, "Cause according to Natsu, apparently Gajeel's dragon, Metalicana, disappeared that very same day."

"Do you have any thoughts on the matter?" Charla set down her tea, looking up at Lucy.

"Maybe they all went on a dragon picnic?" Lucy thought out loud, unconvincingly.

"An interesting idea," Wendy laughed nervously, "I actually never thought of that one before."

"Hm…then again, Kilgara goes off on his own a lot too," Lucy thought through it some more, "Maybe all dragons have something going on. Maybe they visit somewhere, or migrate, kind of like butterflies do."

On the other side of the guild, Happy was preparing a gift next to Natsu, who was sound asleep with his cheek propped awkwardly against a pillar.

"This'll be great," Happy muttered to himself as he set down the fish he prepared. Back on the other side of the guildhall, Lucy and Wendy continued to converse.

"Then again," Wendy continued, "Now that you mention it I've always been afraid that they decided to abandon us," She frowned, "But if that's the case, where do you think they've been hiding all this time?" She asked.

"There!" Happy finished tying a bow around the fish, then waddled his way over to Charla, Lucy, and Wendy.

"Hey Charla!" He smiled as he leapt onto their table, "Look! Isn't this the biggest mackerel you've ever seen? Thought you might be hungry, so I caught it for ya!" He said proudly.

"Thanks, but no thanks," Charla declined, turning her nose up, "It smells, and I don't care for fish."

"Oh, I see," Happy acknowledged, still smiling, "Then tell me what you like and I'll fetch it for ya."

"Get away from me!" Charla suddenly shouted, "I don't have time to waste on someone so annoying," She hopped down from the table, walking towards the guildhall doors.

"Hold on a minute, Charla," Wendy said sternly, only to be ignored by the white feline.

"She's never been friendly, but that was downright harsh," Lucy frowned, turning to Happy, "You okay, little guy?" Happy frowned at his fish, a sad look in his eye. Wendy got up, running up to Charla.

"What's your problem?" She questioned, "Why were you so mean to Happy?"

Charla paused; her fists clenched as she grit her teeth. She kept walking out of the hall, not answering her friend.

"Charla, wait! Please, talk to me!" Happy called out, jumping off the table and running after her. The two faded from sight of the open doors.

"Ya know," Lucy frowned, concern in her eyes, "It seems like Charla treats Happy the worst out of everyone. Do you have any idea why?" She asked Wendy.

"Trust me, I wish I knew," Wendy said, "I'll go find her."

After some time had passed, Lucy found herself at the window, gazing out at the stormy sky. Wendy had yet to come back, along with Charla and Happy. The rain continued to pour, with no signs of relenting.

"Geez, we're gonna be stuck in here for a while," She frowned at the pouring rain and dark clouds.

"Yep," Cana said dryly, hugging her barrel of booze.

"I hope you don't think I caused this," Juvia said.

"Trust me," Gray grit his teeth, "You're not the one who's annoying everybody."

Natsu's snores could be heard throughout the guildhall.

"Kid saws logs with the best of 'em," Elfman acknowledged as he and Mira prepared to go visit their sister's grave, "Impressive."

"I think I just figured out how I'm gonna pass the time," Gray smirked, a black marker in hand.

He then proceeded to decorate his pink-haired rival's face, with some classic whiskers and a mustache.

"I thought someone with your talent would have gone with something more creative than cat whiskers," Lucy sweat dropped, a nervous smile on her face.

"Alright, well if it's fine art you want," Gray's smirk grew.

A few seconds later, Natsu was sporting a nice beard and sideburns, along with two black eyes. He looked like a pink-haired panda.

"How could he possibly sleep through that?" Lucy exclaimed. Almost as if she jinxed it, Natsu's eyes suddenly burst open.

"I'm ready to brawl!" He declared, brandishing his fist, "I'll take everybody on!" He wildly glanced around.

"Wow, shocker," Lucy deadpanned, "I should have known it would be food or fighting," She shrugged before sighing, "Look." She held up a mirror.

Natsu's eyes bugged out of his head when he saw the state of his poor face!

"Okay," He clenched his fist as flames set off on his arms and back, "Who's the moron dumb enough to draw on my face!?"

"Any minute now, his tiny brain will remember the one man daring enough to do it," Lucy whispered, breaking the fourth wall.

"OHO!" Natsu breathed in, before banging his head against Gray's, "Hope you're hungry, Snowflake!" His fist was on fire now.

"Listen panda-boy, if you don't like the graffiti, you shouldn't have harassed my eardrums with your obnoxious bear snore!" Gray pushed back, his own fists emanating frost and cool air.

"You're gonna wish I stayed asleep!" Natsu declared before the two started brawling like children.

Lucy sighed, going back over to the bar to sit next to Levy, leaving Natsu and Gray to their squabble.

"So bored…" She drawled on as she sprawled her arms over the bar.

"It's hard to feel motivated when the rain's bringing you down," Levy acknowledged as she read from her book.

Lucy sighed, breathing out through her mouth as she turned her head over, "I wish something interesting would happen today."

It was then that the storm in the sky took a turn for the worst. Outside the guildhall, a black hole seemed to open in the sky as lightning struck across it. With only a sprinting and worried Wendy seeming to notice.

Magnolia was finally in my line of vision! It was still a ways away, but I could see it in the distance!

Unfortunately it seems I was already too late…

I could sense a foreign magic practically stab into the magic of this world…

Edolas was already making its move.

The black hole had appeared in the sky already, and the storm was making it especially difficult to fly. My wings seemed to be working against me rather than with me in this ferocious wind!

I flapped for all I was worth, only to be blown back by some fierce turbulence. Fun fact, storms get even worse the closer you are to the freaking clouds!

I wasn't making any significant progress in the air; so I dived low, flying just above the treeline.

I flapped and flapped as the rain beat against my face. The wind howled as lightning continuously striked against the sky. This lightning wasn't natural; I could sense the magic raging through it.

In the distance, buildings began disappearing, all of them vanishing as if being suctioned away. I could sense, almost see, as the buildings and people began vanishing, turning into pure magic power.

I roared out, moving as fast as I could. My SP was dangerously low, and with its regen rate, there was no way I was going to make it!

My stamina ran out, forcing me to glide along the air. As soon as it hit 0, I felt genuinely tired for the first time since coming to this world.

Bad timing!

The city had been fully consumed by now, and I must be minutes away still!

I couldn't let this happen.

I moved as fast as I could with 0 SP, which wasn't all that fast. I barely managed to keep myself in the air. I wasn't able to sprint, but I could still move; that was something!

I reached what would have been the border of the city, which was now a plane of white foam and rising bubbles.

I felt the foreign magic in the sky flare before it started to be swallowed back up to where it came from. By now I had some SP again, and I used every point I could to sprint and flap my wings high into the air.

Rings of light had already appeared in the darkened sky, signifying the closure of the only portal to Edolas. It was closing rapidly!

I flapped harder, roaring again! The rings of light began collapsing in on themselves! I sensed the hole in the magic of this world close completely, just as I zoomed right past it; The rings of light rapidly collapsed, resulting in an explosion of magic that sent me flying. It hurt.

I was blown away, but steadied myself with surprising ease. I flapped my wings, hovering where I was, looking around.

The storm had gone, leaving only dark, somber clouds in the sky, with an occasional rumble.

But I could tell. I was still in Earthland. The portal had closed, and I missed my chance.

Damn.

I roared out, searching through the clouds, using every sense I had, physical and magical, to try and detect something, anything out of the ordinary!

But after nearly twenty minutes I resigned to reality. I was too slow.

I dived down, landing where the guildhall used to stand.

I stayed poised in my landing stance for a minute, a low rumble in my throat.

I roared out my frustrations, stomping against the soft, foamy ground.

Even after all my upgrades, it still wasn't enough!

Luxion appeared before me.

"Are you alright, Master?" He inquired.

"No…" I trailed off. I was furious. Furious at my carelessness and weakness.

"What seems to be the problem, sir?"

"I…was too slow," I growled, "I didn't make it in time."

"Hm…" The black ring around Luxion had white light flash through it; I learned this meant he was scanning something, "Scans indicate serious magical activity took place here. Are you upset you missed this event?"

"Yes," I growled out, "My friends were kidnapped; taken against their will and turned into magical power."

"And this is bad?" Luxion asked.

"Of course it is!" I reared my head up, roaring at the sky, "They're gone and there's nothing I can do! I mean, I know they'll make it back safely even without me there, but I still want to help them!"

"I left to get stronger for their sake!" I turned to Luxion, "But how am I supposed to use this strength if they're not here?"

"So you want to protect them," Luxion stated, "Isn't one of the best ways to protect something to let it learn to fend for itself?"

"Huh?" I tilted my snout at him, "What are you talking about?"

"During our travels, I have analyzed every plant and animal species I could to the best of my current ability," Luxion stated, "It seems many animals and plants learn to survive and thrive in their respective environments through experience. Many mothers of different species put their young through hard things to help them learn to survive, while others completely ignore their young."

"Yes, they do…" I acknowledged, "But what does that have to do with this?"

"If you want the ones you care for to be safe, is it not better for them to grow strong on their own?" He continued, "I believe you know this to be termed as 'character development.' Isn't this done by going through hard things?"

"...You got all that by analyzing some animals?" I raised a brow.

"More specifically their behavior, but yes," Luxion confirmed. I let out a long sigh.

"I mean…you're right," I confirmed, "Experience is the best way for a person to grow…"

"You want to be strong, correct, sir?" Luxion asked.

"Yeah," I answered, wondering where he was going with this.

"Then what did you learn from this experience?" His red lens seemed to shimmer with a knowing gleam.

My own eyes widened as I realized what he was doing. This guy…this freaking robot! He was right.

"I learned…that I'm too slow," My eyes hardened with my resolve, "I'm not strong enough, and I'm not smart enough. I've been too content with being a shoulder pet."

"You want to be less slow?" Luxion inquired, "Perhaps this is presumptuous, but can you not use your skill trees to evolve your body?" My eyes widened as I understood what he was saying.

"You're right…" I thought outloud, "I can use my skill trees to adapt myself to just about anything…"

"Okay," I looked at Luxion, my mind set, "We need a plan…"