The Achievement Junkie

"Skaryn went on to be a simple adventurer, in the purest form of the term." Daruun explained, "He did whatever he wished and went wherever he desired. After spending a year or two training professionally and traveling all over the island, Skaryn inevitably left the island nation. Though the people wanted their hero to stay, they didn't stop his departure.

"First, Skaryn explored what made him most curious. He had discovered that dragons weren't only legends after seeing Flood Dragons off the Kustram coast. The free-living adventurer explored the depths of the coast, becoming quite the diver with help of his affinity for water magic and a water-breathing spell among the many skill acquired via the king. That's when Skaryn's fascination for dragons became a part of his nature, as they were the only physical being that could naturally compete with his freakish strength and skills. That's what would eventually lead him to the mainland and create his meeting with Halmut."

Changing the topic, Daruun asked, "Do you remember Halmut's dragon form, Jack?"

"Of course I would, it's huge! It's even bigger than Dragov and Lunara's hydra form," replied the hero.

"What if I told you that was a false form?"

"Huh?"

Daruun continued, "Halmut was born as the runt of the litter, the unwanted child that only existed for the other Sun Dragons to bully and demean. After ascending and gaining more control of his physical form, Halmut always prefers to inflate his true size. In reality, he's only one hundred meters tall and a couple of hundred meters long."

"Seriously?! That's it?!" Jack burst into laughter. "You mean the greatest dragon in the history of Kartonia has a height complex? That's hilarious!"

Chuckling as well, Daruun continued, "Similar to Skaryn, Halmut was born into an oppressive environment but for different reasons. Being labeled as naturally weak yet still managing to survive adolescence scarred Halmut's personality forever. After more than a century of being belittled and ridiculed, the small Sun Dragon was beyond the point of enraged.

"However, as the runt and weakling, the other Sun Dragons refused to allow the world to see Halmut. Halmut was under lifetime house arrest from the moment he was born, the only one in his entire species. The grandiose reputation of the arrogant Sun Dragons would be tarnished if the world discovered the tiny, frail Sun Dragon that was Halmut, at least that's what they felt as a species. With only a few dozen Sun Dragons to exist at one time, it made sense for such prideful beasts to maintain their unrivaled image of power.

"Ohhh… So that's why Halmut grew to hate his race and eventually kill his own kind," deduced Jack.

"Correct."

"What?!" Duorda blurted out in question. "What do you mean by that?!"

Jack answered with a shrug, "Not only did Halmut wipe out the other Sun Dragons, Halmut had his Sun Dragons war with the Spectral Dragons beforehand. Halmut is responsible for the removal of the Spectral Dragons and the Sun Dragons."

"That… Is he that mad?" asked Duorda, looking to Daruun.

Nodding, Daruun stated, "I'll get to Halmut's tipping point later, but first you should know the gist of how Halmut and Skaryn came to meet.

"Driven by his curiosity, Skaryn couldn't help himself after learning that Sun Dragons existed at the pinnacle of the dragon food chain. He inevitably journeyed to the believed location of the Sun Dragon nesting grounds.

"Using his skills with illusions and shadows, Skaryn found it easier than expected to enter the Sun Dragons' habitat. At first, all he wanted was to witness what they were and possibly collect some loose scales or some memento of his trip. That was until he found a young, weaker-looking dragon sealed in its own separate space. With his interest piqued, Skaryn spent the next week exploring the entire nesting grounds and constantly returning to that sealed dragon. And thanks to witnessing how the other dragons treated the young dragon, Skaryn began to better understand the situation.

Jack and Duorda listened eagerly as Daruun continued the story, "Skaryn used some shadow manipulation to enter the sealed space and visit the young dragon directly. Though the young dragon was caught off guard, Skaryn was sly to offer the young dragon a large portion of various meats.

"As Halmut carefully turned his back toward the slits in the walls, hiding his meal, Halmut kept a close eye on the visitor. He may have been young compared to other dragons, but after living for a century or two and with bullying as the only interaction the young dragon had ever experience, Halmut was always on guard.

"The two became acquaintances in an instant. Halmut was glad to sense no poison in his food, a common occurrence whenever the other dragons brought Halmut any food apart from scraps. Skaryn was overjoyed to get to know one of the most legendary dragons, even more legendary than the Flood Dragon Skaryn had befriended long ago. They spent a few days together until Skaryn offered to get Halmut out of there, which Halmut agreed to only in exchange for fair treatment.

"That was when Skaryn offered to create a seal as a mark of their equality. By sharing EXP it was proof that they were equals in every aspect."

"Wait, you mean--"

"Yes, Jack. Skaryn is the creator of the mutual seal that you're still using over ten thousand years later," Daruun stated, confirming Duorda's earlier statement about Skaryn's skills with seals and inscriptions.

Continuing, Daruun chuckled and shook his head, "After taking a week to come up with the seal and sharing each other's food, Skaryn performed the mutual seal and then stored Halmut away in his shadow."

"What?! That's possible?!" Jack shouted.

Daruun nodded. "It's called Shadow Storage, one of Skaryn's original spells. Skaryn was not only the most powerful human up to that point, Skaryn had become widely regarded as the most genius inscriptionist in all Kartonia. Also, Skaryn was regarded for his wide range of original spells and skills, marking him as the strongest pure mage and the most powerful physical warrior at the same time.

"Like I said, Skaryn was the first person to impress me and show potential to become my partner. Halmut was only included in my plans upon Skaryn's insistence."