Ki Horizons - [Litrpg, Adventure, Power Levels]

I woke up bright and early in the morning. I yearned to get back in my tank, it feeling far more comfortable than a bed. I'd truly spent way too much time in one that it just felt wrong to sleep on a bed. But yesterday, well, Vincent had clearly needed some peace and quiet. Some alone time without me being right there next to him. Master had been the same.

Getting up, I plotted out today's course. I still had six more days before Master would let me return to my training. I doubted a cat alone would be enough to change his mind on that and I didn't really want him to anyway. I loved training and fighting Master but I needed these kinds of experiences just as much as anything else.

And today, I had a few different goals.

I walked out of the Dojo, wearing some of my new clothes. I hadn't found a washer or dryer in the Dojo, and I was kinda scared to ask Master about them, but I'd bought a piece of tech to help with that. For once, it wasn't something made by The Smile Company, just two small boxes that charged with sunlight that could wash a handful of clothes at a time. Still needed to pour in your own water and soap though for the washer. Good for camping.

The first place I went to was a small restaurant nearby. I didn't know anything about it but smiled when I walked in. It had gotten good reviews and I could already see why. A lot of buildings style in this city were kind of same-ish but this one could already be seen as special. It was less rectangular and more round, like an orb from the Great Night.

Entering it, it had swaying and moving paintings on the walls. They didn't look like screens yet despite that, dragons and more seemed to all swim around and through them, creating an amazing effect like I was seeing a whole other world on the other side. The dragon even seemed to be looking at me-

Suddenly, it came out!

My eyes widened and before my very eyes, that slim and long dragon transformed into a woman with a uh, bountiful chest, wearing a long kimono. Horns like antlers and a thin trailing of blue scales going down her face and body.

I'd gotten used to seeing a lot of things in my time but even for Vega City… this wasn't normal. At all. Dragons were… Dragons were legendary creatures. They're even before Vega's time, said to be lost to history.

"Are… are you a dragon?"

The woman burst out laughing.

"Sorry, sorry. I love that reaction. No, no. I'm no dragon, just a descendant of them."

"Ah…"

That was still amazing. I didn't know how common dragon descendants were but I definitely hadn't expected to meet one here and now.

"So, table for one?"

I blinked.

"You're the server?"

"Owner but I love people having a good meal. Now, why don't we get you seated?"

And so I found myself admiring a fairly beautiful restaurant that felt mystical. I didn't really know how the owner had managed to come out of a painting like that or whether that transformation was real or not but there were all sorts of abilities and more as one grows in strength. After all…

[???]

I couldn't see her power level.

Strong people abound in this city and my measly strength was definitely nothing special when taken as a whole…

The idea of someone that strong and descended directly from the legendary dragons just owning a business, it was amazing and humbling. One never knew what they'd run into.

"What would you like to order?"

"Oh. Uh. I…" I'd been too lost in thought. It wasn't a very big restaurant all things considered and it was even more strange that the owner was the server. I couldn't even see anyone else here, but, well, it was early.

"How about some eggs and, uh, bacon? Oh and miss…" I didn't see a name tag.

"Oh please, just call me Ryu."

"Ryu, do you have any tea?"

"Of course. I'll be out with it soon."

I smiled. This was a beautiful and calming place, with a beautiful and calming owner. It was a great start to the day. I leaned back, looking at the paintings and my eyes opened wide as I saw they weren't just floating around with moving images now. They were painting a story. I knew this one.

The Great Night.

I watched as they followed the classic Legend.

Long ago, on a night like any other, the dragons came to be. None were more shocked than them. This was a time when the planet had barely started, barely existed, and the mortal races were far lesser than they were today. Weak, powerless. The dragons were anything but. Mighty, all powerful, but also wise and overall kind. Some were wicked, some were brutal, all were prideful, but none were truly evil. They all followed their own rules, even if some of those rules resulted in Ultimate Destruction.

Yet in this period of time, they were all made equal in their confusion and lost thoughts. They had not been born, they had been spawned. They had not evolved, they had emerged. They had been made.

Yet by who, by what?

Together, they used their great power and found the source of their creation.

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A young child. Weak, weaker than all. Yet born with a great power beyond all.

The dragons observed and found that although they had just been born, there had been legends. Creations of mortal kind, of giant dragons, mighty and prideful, wise and wonderful, terrible and awful. As many kinds as there were now in existence. The child had been read to day after day, night after night, from his mother and father. These great stories, fiction, and yet… filled with so much more.

With magic.

And so the child had made a wish.

"I want there to be dragons! I wish for dragons!"

And in doing so… his wish had been granted.

The Dragons were many things, ranging in a gambit of emotions. Terrified, amazed, in awe. This was no mere mortal! This was a true king, a God in weak flesh! Some wished to raise this child as their own, many wished to kill the child immediately lest he unmake them. A war began to brew among the dragons on the same night of their birth. Who could allow such power to manifest? That is, until one came up with a plan.

"We, who are great and mighty, shall also be wise. Is fear to be our way? To kill those in the cradle? No! Our existence shall be long and glorious. Let us not stain our future by destroying our origin!"

And thus a plan was concocted.

The dragons would take the child's power, but leave the child unharmed.

It's said that right before the dragons took the child's power away, he saw them. Dragons, just like in his dreams! It is said, in his awe and happiness, that he made one final wish before the power was to be taken from him.

No one, not even the dragons, knew what the wish was. But in doing so, the world became alive. Races unlike anything ever seen began to arise. The stars, few and far between in the night sky, shined like diamonds numerously. Magic itself came into being and Ki, previously hidden, began to be unlocked by all! Orbs rose from each dragon's breast, before sinking inside them, filling them with a small slice of the child's own power. What was meant to be taken forcefully… was given willingly.

The child lived out the rest of his days with the dragons, happy and content. Even as he aged into a man and then into old age and finally into death… he was known by each and every dragon, a friend to them all.

That child's name was…

Rabahgahdan.

"Here you go!"

The words knocked me out of my daze, as Ryu was back. And carrying my food!

"Whoa! That's a lot of eggs and bacon…"

And it really was, she was carrying two plates and I'm pretty there were over fifty pieces of bacon on one alone and a small mountain of scrambled eggs on the other!

"I know warriors." Ryu said with a captivating smile that seemed to hint at more. "It's important to eat well or your body will starve."

She was right about that. I began digging in, happy as can be. This much food was great! I usually had to order more before they brought out this much. As I was digging in, Ryu left and came back with tea. Two cups. She placed one down before me…

… and sat down in a seat across from me with the other.

My eating slowed as I took this in and looked at her. She merely smiled that charming smile, her serpent like eyes peering into mine.

"Is something wrong valued customer?"

I swallowed my food down.

"W-Well… uh… you can just call me Mutai you know?"

"Mutai then."

"Well, uh, why are you… aren't there other customers today?"

She merely sipped her tea, ignoring me. This was a bit weird but… I went back to my food. I was starting to think all powerful people were all kinda weird and I was hungry. If Ryu wanted to sit and have tea with me, well… maybe it might be that my brain wasn't currently doing all the thinking for me but I couldn't say I minded…

"What do you think of it?" Ryu finally said, after having only drunken her tea silently for the past five minutes while I ate.

I looked at her face and where she was looking at.

"The paintings?"

"The story."

"Ah."

I thought about it for a bit. Is this why she sat down, she wanted to know my opinion on The Great Night? Well, I guess she did put a lot of care into showing it in her restaurant…

"I think it's a great story."

"Is that all?"

"Uh, well…"

Now I had to really think about it. How did I feel about The Great Night? It was just an old legend. So old it even outlived the dragons themselves. So old it predated most people's histories. But every dragon was said to have told the story, in the exact same way, and that lived on in their descendants and the clans they had protected and built up over the centuries and millennia. It was important to them. To me… well…

"...Seems kinda cruel."

"Hmm? How so?"

"Well… the dragons found this great and amazing child that can make their wishes come true right? That created all of them and could do even more amazing things if only given the chance. And the first thing they want to do is either kill him or take it away from him. They never even gave it back when the child grew older and into a man or even when he was old. If they did, or used the power together, he could've lived right? He might still be around today. Even if it was freely given… they should've given it back when he had matured."

"Would you?"

"Huh?"

"Would you let anyone, anything, have that much power all at once? Even if it was originally theirs? I would think you would not be keen on having such strong entities given the existence of Vega." She said, with a raised eyebrow.

I frowned.

"Power is power, it's always going to be around. I could go and kill… a lot of people before I was stopped. So could you. So could this entire city, if they all decided to attack people at once. Power is power. It's about who has it. The dragons were friends for Rabahgahdan's whole life. They knew he wasn't evil. He could've used the power to do great things."

"Ah, but that was then. What about in a hundred years or a thousand or ten thousand? Do you think Vega started evil?"

I was at a loss for words. I'd never thought about it. He'd been killing and destroying for so long… was there really a time when Vega wasn't evil? I could barely believe the idea.

"It's hard to trust someone with ultimate power." She continued. "If Rabahgahdan ever turned evil, like Vega did… who could've stopped him? No one. There must be equals. No one person can be that high above everyone else, so unstoppable against everyone else. You've seen the results of that."

I frowned. Her words felt wrong but I couldn't deny them.

Except…

"Rabahgahdan could've made everyone just as strong as him before putting limits on himself. He had that kind of power. He would've understood that, I think. The dragons, they were just afraid and greedy."

Ryu frowned, hard.

"Maybe. Maybe they were."

With that said, she got up and walked away.

I finished my food in peace and left shortly after. That was a strange experience, thought provoking even. But more than anything?

I smiled.

It was an excellent start to the day.