The First One Of The Cosmos -OLD VERSION-

Chapter 7 - Doom Approaches

Ash escorted me through winding corridors of roots and vines, I was gradually beginning to wonder if she was lost, but after stopping abruptly in front of a pair of double doors engraved with intricate carvings of the forest.
"We're here, I hope you're ready for this. There are many important figures here, so try to act as normal as possible."

I gulped, unsure of what was to come.
"I'm ready."

The huge doors opened to reveal a round table circled by a number of different species of monster. I sat down on a chair next to Ash, the comfortable feeling of the furniture eased my anxiety a little, at least until I looked to my left.

I had placed myself to the left of a colossal dragon.
I had never seen such a majestic creature before, The last sighting was said to have been by the hero himself.
I looked away without attracting attention and studied the rest of the guests. Many were dressed in luxurious clothes, they must have been royalty or some other noble position. While analysing the room, I felt something familiar to me. Someone was looking at my stats, judging me.
I wasn't surprised, a person of unknown origin like me strolling into their important meeting must have been quite unexpected. As there was no harm in doing so, I had a quick glimpse at the statuses of the leaders at the table.

Many of them were nearly level 100, with stats doubling mine. Almost all of the attendees also had the Translator skill, which was why I could clearly understand their chattering.
However, what caught my eye was the status of the dragon I was sitting next to.

Priscinus
Job - Ruler Of The Dragons
LVL - 438
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HP - 9070/9070
SP - 6880/6880
DP - 2616/2616
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STR - 153
DEX - 136
INT - 426
DEF - 202
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Skills - Demonic Inferno, Intimidation, Flight, Black Providence, Eye Of Truth, Body Resize, Storm Call, Bless, Curse,
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Passive Skills - Demonic Aegis, Hunter (Master), Reincarnation, Predator, Translator, Forethought
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Titles - Ancient Dragon, Demigod, Dragon Lord, Monster Slayer

Priscinus's stats were insane, I've heard a rundown on the situation with Voidin, but he must be incredibly strong if Priscinus has to work together with others to defeat him.

"You are quite intriguing, yourself, boy."
A calm but imposing voice came from my side. I froze in fear.
Did he just speak to me? What should I do? How do I reply?
"I assume you have seen my status, but there is no reason to fear me. If you have been brought here, then that must mean you are on good terms with the Nymphs."

"I guess you could say I am."
"Then that means you are my ally as well."

Despite his menacing demeanor, Priscinus had a somewhat kind heart.

"Anyway, the meeting is starting now. You might want to fix your posture as well, the other leaders are leering at you."
Feeling their gazes, I straightened my back and sat up in my chair.

"If I may have your attention. This conference has been made to discuss how the residents of the forest shall deal with the Calamity Dragon, Voidin."
The Nymph delegate raised his hand, forming a translucent image of a dark-scaled dragon for everyone to see. Even from just a model of the evil creature, you could almost feel his aura seeping from his image.
"Voidin has been corrupted by his demonic power, at the time it happened, no-one had noticed, for he was still very weak, however his strength has been fueled by his hatred for the humans that killed him in his previous life."
I saw the skill reincarnator in Priscinus's status as well, maybe it's in a dragon's blood to be reborn.

"Currently, he is deep in the mountains to the North, but judging by his wake of destruction, it won't be long before he enters our territory. If we fortify the perimeter of this zone, we can delay his attack on the main colonies. This will require the villages on the outskirts to evacuate their homes."
This statement caused a ruckus on one side of the table, where a group of village leaders were chattering among themselves. I could feel the atmosphere get heavy.

"Are you telling us to abandon our homes? We have lived in these villages for hundreds of years! Are you telling us to throw away our history?"
"If you have a better plan for your survival, then you are welcome to speak up."
The chief now had a grave look on his face.
"No... we shall evacuate our citizens."
"Moving on from that matter, how are we going to deal with Voidin himself? He is a powerful dragon that rivals even Lord Priscinus in power."
Many of the rulers put ideas forward, but were shut down by others for being too risky. But amid the silence, someone called out.
"Why don't we have Saarl help us?"
I looked at Priscinus, the owner of the voice.
"How would this human be able to help at all? Why is he even here in the first place?"
"I'm not sure how many of you have the Eye of Truth skill, but this man has harnessed the power of the cosmos."
Ash was speaking on my behalf now. Many of the envoys were staring at me in disbelief, Cosmic power was still a power shrouded in mystery, after all.
"If we can train Saarl, then our chances at beating Voidin will be increased tenfold. Of course, it may take a little while, but with the speed that he has gained that power in, it should be child's play."

Some of the leaders were still suspicious of me. I definitely wouldn't trust a person I'd never met before.
"How can you be so sure that he won't betray us?"
"The boy could be here just to gain his own personal power!"
"Saarl's birthplace is in great danger from Voidin as well. He has no reason not to help us if it means saving his kingdom."
"Very well. Prove yourself useful in the fight against Voidin, Saarl."
"Understood."

After the meeting was over, leaders from the different species grouped together, most likely to discuss their personal plans.
I was about to go back with Ash to pick up my equipment when A scaly tail swung down from above, blocking my path out.
"Do you need something, Priscinus?"
"I would like to partake in training you as well. Your power has piqued my interest."
"I haven't had the time to think on how I should go about my training yet, but I appreciate all the help I can get."
"I will be staying in the nymph's territory until the danger is dealt with. Come to the clearing on the East side of the city, first thing next morning. We have no time to waste, so you will begin training for the upcoming battle starting tomorrow."
"I'll begin preparing immediately then."
"Get lots of rest, you will need it."

An escort met us outside of the room, as I went to grab my equipment from the prison.
"You won't need to do that, sir. Your belongings have already been transferred to a room in the guest quarters."
"Ah, thank you."
I said goodbye to Ash, who hurried home after seeing the time. The nymph that was taking me to my lodging pulled out a map of the entire city and showed me the locations of key buildings and structures. After I got acquainted with the layout of the area, I thanked him and stepped into my room.

Arranged in a neat pile were the leather bags I had filled with monster parts and my makeshift bone weapons. I never thought I'd have an attachment to a bundle of bones and dried skin, but I was happy to see that none of my stuff was mistaken for trash.

I looked around the rest of the room to see what kind of place I would be living in for the foreseeable future. I sat down on the ornate bed. It was a little big, but the guest rooms were probably made for nymphs and other large humanoids. I saw a few young children on my way to my room, but even they were nearly as tall as the adults back in the kingdom.

Across from the bed, they left a pile of freshly washed clothes with a lingering flowery scent on it. There was also an extravagant feast of different vegetables and fruits cut intricately into thin slices. It was quite a change from my usual diet of rabbit monster meat, nonetheless, it was delicious.

My stomach full with salad, I took a look through the door to my right. On the other side was a steaming hot bath. A wooden tub heated with fire seemed like a fire hazard, but it did not catch fire. It seemed like all of the wood in the forest has strange properties, this one is resistant to fire.
Even if I had to prepare for the training tomorrow, I couldn't last any longer. I hadn't had a bath in over four months. I wasn't sure how good a nymph's sense of smell was, but I hope I didn't leave a dirty stench around all of the leaders.

I stripped off my dirty fur rags and dove headfirst into the bath.
For the first time in ages, I felt relaxed. It almost made me forget that I've had so many near death experiences.
I stayed in the bath for the next hour, scouring every piece of dead skin off my body.

With my body rejuvenated, it was time to begin preparing.
I packed all the food and weapons I needed into one of my leather sacks and left it by the door.

I wonder what kind of training Priscinus and the nymphs will put me through. Well, there's no point in dwelling on it for too long. I need to have a good rest so I'm full of energy for tomorrow.

I clambered into the king-sized bed and fell asleep.