Prologue: The Legendary King's Crest
Long ago dragons conquered the world.
The king of humanity and all his subjects resisted but it was a futile effort.
When the world was on the brink of destruction the king of the humans announced he would deliver a certain gift that he chose to describe as "humanity's hope" when he returned from the battlefield.
The world of Gayeal was anticipating deliverance. But it never came.
Shortly after his proclamation, the king was killed and his blessing fell into the monster's clutches.
The world had been usurped. And the dragons held dominion.
No matter how hard they tried, war after war, the remnants of humanity couldn't get it back from the dragons. They split into different factions, and the gift remained a mystery to all the people.
This legendary hope became known as the King's Crest, the world's most sought after enigma and valuable treasure.
Though with enough time, the world turned its back on it.
The struggle for superiority had faded, and the struggle for survival in a war torn world ruled by monsters was being born.
The dream of humanity's hope had disappeared.
And so began the new age...!
Chapter 1: Rust, Dust and Zero Luck
"Nothing useful here too, huh?" He groaned to himself, slightly annoyed.
The short child in dirty clothes slid down the pile of mismatched bones and broken skulls before his feet hit the ground of the begrimed cave. He casually wiped the dust off of his already grimy shirt before bursting into boisterous laughter.
"At this rate I'll end up dead before my tenth birthday, this boredom is killing me! Haha!"
A deep silence took up the expanse of the cave before he quickly muttered to himself.
"Okay but seriously Teus, there has to be something useful here…"
Teus looked at one of the skulls in the pile, it sat about eye level. As he rummaged through the pile one more time as he disappointingly threw away worthless remnants of destroyed weaponry.
"Nope, nothing at all…"
He then gently patted the skull, he sighed, before he spoke to it condescendingly.
"Sorry, but I was looking for more metal than memories. You mean to tell me all of you died fighting against the dragons and not one of you could leave behind a decent weapon. I can't even sell these for scraps!"
Inside the large cavern laid the remains of battle. Scattered skeletons littered the floor. The bones varied in all shapes and sizes, human and dragon alike, though the bones of people far outnumbered the bones of dragons. Wide gashes and cuts were spread throughout the battlefield as well as broken blades, spearheads and split shields that were rusted and thinned over time.
The cave had a terrible miasma. It was faint but just putrid enough to make any cheerful heart feel as though their nose had betrayed them.
A vast gaping hole was stretched across the dust coated ceiling, letting sunlight into the dreary and decrepit atmosphere.
However, this place became the boy's complete obsession.
While his eyes eagerly darted around the desolate cave, searching for anything of value amidst the destruction, a large skeleton of a dragon caught his eye.
He ran towards the colossal sized dragon bones, many times bigger than him. He stared in awe at Its heavy skull, it was punctured with a giant battle-axe at the center.
Thoughts tumbled through the boy's mind as he thoroughly observed the spectacle.
"That's a two-handed Titan-Cleaver Axe! You sacrifice mobility in exchange for a whole lot of force! Its rectangular shape is designed to smash opponents while you cut them. It's more like a hammer than anything! But it's super strong!"
He continued to creep around the scene and noticed a fair amount of broken swords, seemingly flung around the dragon's remains.
His eyebrows jumped up as he began to theorize.
"Ah! This dragon could have had a thick hide. It was probably hard to pin down, it sent all these swords flying everywhere. It looks like nothing pierced the bone but the axe…"
Countless hypotheses began to swirl in his head as he stroked his chin before coming to his conclusion.
"…They probably decided to do an all out gamble, sword users were used to distract it, while the axe user dealt the finishing blow. It would take too much time to strike it in such a vital spot otherwise. It's completely different from the dragon I saw yesterday, where the sword users had the advantage in cutting the joints of the bone. I think speed was key there. I imagine this battle axe wouldn't be as useful in that situation…"
He continued to sit there in quiet thought before he began to aggressively compliment himself.
"Wowie Zowie, I'm a complete genius! My deductions are spot on as usual! One day they'll gather around me and say 'Oh my goodness, you're so smart Teus! How did you kill the dragon and figure out its weakness so quickly!' and I'll be like… 'I don't know, I guess I was just naturally born gifted.' I can't wait to say that line!"
Teus continued to maniacally chuckle to himself.
"And once I find a powerful weapon, I'll leave this pathetic town behind me! Then I'll be able to raid dungeons on my own! I'll be such a good treasure hunter that I'll find the King's Crest in no time!"
He laughed to himself for a little while longer before he gave an exasperated sigh.
"And then finally…everyone will stop treating me like a peasant…"
The clouds from above slowly began to clear up, sunlight peaked inside the cave, directing his gaze upwards as he stared.
"The boy everyone considered worthless, finds the world's most valuable treasure! I like the sound of that. I can see it now...! My dream is awesome! I'm certain of it, there's nothing else I'd rather be in life than a treasure hunter!"
As the light from the sun pierced into the cave, a metal blade, sticking out of the ground, perfectly reflected one of the sun's rays into Teus' left eye.
"Ah, right. I should probably get back to actually hunting the treasure! Let's see what we're working with..."
He knelt down and inspected the quality of the snapped and crushed swords. His eyes flickered across the hilt to the fuller of the blade before a massive frown stretched across his face.
"Damn it all! These are useless too! And the axe is too heavy for me to take back…"
Before standing up Teus grabbed a small dagger that was sticking out of the ground and placed it in his linen pouch.
"At least I might be able to sell this one for scraps…"
The giant dragon's skeleton continued to loom over him in the vast terrain. His echoes bounced off the cave walls. The depressing scene of all the skeletons began to slowly bring down Teus' mood.
A huge sigh left Teus' mouth as his thoughts became more realistic.
"...I guess it's only natural…Afterall anything that I pick up here is kinda useless, because everyone who used it died. Knowledge or scrap, whatever I get isn't gonna be worth much. Unless if I find a dragon's core…"
He continued to venture deeper in the cave whilst musing to himself about the beguiled weapon.
Dragons for the most part were enigmatic creatures, there was still much to be explained about their power. But there was a chance that if a dragon had died, it would leave behind a crystalized gem that housed its essence and power. If one could find such a thing and seal it to a weapon of their choosing. They could possess the unique abilities of the dragon who left the core behind when they died.
Warriors who possessed a dragon's core were known to change the tides of battle and possess absurd amounts of strength.
Once Teus heard this rumor he could not stop himself from searching for one. He had spent the last two years without fail, combing through the cave each and every day. With the sole purpose of obtaining the core of a dragon.
"If the dragons who have the King's Crest are strong, I just have to be stronger! Once I find the dragon core, I'll have a massive power up and I'll be one step closer to finding the King's Crest!
They'll call me Beast Breaker Teus, I can see it now! I'll be hacking and slashing them with ease and be everyone's knight in shining armor!"
"I'm certain of it, if I want a headstart against those overgrown lizards then I gotta fight fire with fire and get a dragon core!"
As Teus was slowly descending into the cave, he approached an area where there were two tunnels before him. He kicked a rock down the empty expanse.
"...Still though! I've been searching for two years and haven't found a damn thing! All I keep finding are these different paths and none of them got a weapon I need! I just have to think… If I were a super-ultra-awesome legendary weapon where would I be hiding…Yeah, that's it!"
Teus looked into the two different paths and tilted his head to the right. He sighed out of frustration as he scowled at the left path.
"I already took the left path yesterday and there was nothing there, I guess it's time we take the right one."
The boy took two steps before he tripped on a stray rock that was sticking out and tumbled his way deeper into the cavern.
With a large thud he hit his shoulder as he slid down the steep slope that had been the path downward. He dizzily raised his head to take a look around his surroundings and gain his bearings.
What he saw next shocked him.
The bones of a giant dragon, larger than any skeleton that he had ever seen in the cave before.
It was covered in scars and scratches and surrounded by other broken blades and hordes of other bone piles. The little sunlight that was still able to peak through was able to let Teus know just how big of a mountain this beast truly was. Its existence suggested a long and drawn out battle that resulted in plenty of casualties. But that is not what excited Teus the most.
The boy's eyes glimmered when he saw just above the dragon. Pierced into the skull at the very top of the massive slain beast was a pristine condition sword that held a blue, soft glowing, gem that held a mark on the inside that resembled an ember, right in the center of its pommel.
"I can't believe it…T-there it is…!"
He was sure of it. After all his time spent searching…
He had found the dragon core.