His conversation with Song Lian Yu went about as well as it did with Ashvattha Rana and Schwarz Eis. The epoch dragon was surprised to know that so many years had passed since his death but was beyond shocked to realize that he had been summoned within a System Introduction.

Jon had brought Song Lian Yu up to speed, informing him of some of the more important things that had happened over the past six months. After that, he allowed Eis and Rana to explain the specifics of his abilities and as much time as he needed to decide on what manner of fragment he wished to ascend to Knighthood with.

After summoning the Threaded-Princeps Of Terminus Est, Jon returned back to his camp and started refilling several of his Blooming Gourds, placing them, alongside his sleeping bag and blanket within his [Red Archives Of Mars Quirinus].

It was almost time for them to move on from their current campsite and head south in the direction of their first Safe Zone.

"Jon! Do you think you can store more Green-Lobster meat within your Red Archives?" Wilheim asked, prompting Jon to nod and accept the neatly wrapped meat in both hands. Avahni doing to the same although asking Sariel to store a small assortment of fruits and vegetables within her [Gluttonous Bird Of Cobalt Sanctuary].

All of their summoned companions had returned back to their dwellings, save Huo Liyu and Despoina.

Despite how… chaotic the past twenty-four hours had been for Jon; things were going quite smoothly all things considered.

After becoming a Knight, he initially suspected that the others would all start to act strangely around him. Each rushing to integrate as many fragments as they could in an attempt to also ascend to Knighthood.

Fortunately, his interactions with Avahni and Wilheim had not changed. Although found Shamael, and to a lesser extent Sariel, staring at him from across the camp, swiftly turning away moments after he returned the stare with one of his own.

Their reactions to his ascension to Knighthood were interesting but were more curious than anything else. Jon had the feeling that Sariel and Shamael wanted to ask what the experience was like, rather than the changes that he had gone through.

'A certain blonde-haired lutin on the other hand…' Jon suppressed the urge to sigh, seeing Aerilayna ask him for the third time in twenty minutes if he needed help with anything.

The temporary sixth addition to their merry band of companions had, for lack of a better term, being "sucking up" to him knowing that he was now a Knight. The attempts were blatant and somewhat humorous all things considered.

He thought that Aerilayna was trying to appeal to him, in hopes of obtaining another fragment from out of their agreement but quickly realized that she was trying to placate him knowing that he would soon be meeting her companions that once tried to kill him.

Although Aerilayna had not seen the fight between himself and Theodore, she did witness the aftermath of said battle. The sheer amount of destruction the two of them released was beyond anything she was capable of producing as a Mortal.

Not to mention that powerful ice-natured area-of-effect Spell that he had used as a distraction in order to escape. Jon had managed to evade capture after being surrounded by seven other Mortals, even succeeding in taking a hostage before leaving the battlefield.

Now that he was a Knight, who knows what he was now capable of?

Especially now that his two summoned companions were also Knights.

'I hope they do not hold a grudge for me kidnapping Aerilayna. She was insurance, not leverage. And besides, she even managed to obtain a Fragment Of Heart in the end as well.'

She definitely got the better end of the deal, at least in his opinion.

After another hour of two of preparing everything for their next trek, the six of them, eight including Huo Liyu and Despoina all started travelling southward. In the direction of their closest Safe Zone.

With Wilheim and Shamael in the lead, Sariel took up a defensive position behind them and in front of Avahni and Aerilayna. Jon took it upon himself to guard their rear as they travelled through the forest.

His eyes occasionally glancing from left to right but allowed his [Monstrous Intuition] to warm him for any approaching dangers or sources of spiritual energy. If their group was to encounter the Malum Hobgoblin, Venomous-Sand Hydra, or even the Moonlit-Shadow Crab again, there was not a single shred of doubt within his mind that he could slay them in a single move.

Someone like Theodore would be another story, but Second-Veined Knights, and even Third-Veined Knights would eventually be overwhelmed if they did not specialize in defence or pure agility.

'I wonder what type of fragment Song Lian Yu will want to integrate,' Jon felt his thoughts trail off to more interesting matters, glancing towards his task reward page and all the rewards that he had yet to claim.

Although he had used three tasks rewards on each of his summoned companions, Jon still had yet to claim the rewards for the completion of the second and fifth mandatory tasks.

[2]: Discover the relationship between Mana Cores and an individual. Individuals will receive a series of set rewards depending on the comprehension and understanding of the function of a Mana Core and their mutative effects on an individual.

Mortal Rank rewards: Choice of one fragment.

Knight Rank rewards: Choice of one spiritual item.

Lord Rank rewards: Mortal Title Fragment "Wisdom."

Baron Rank rewards: Choice of one Mana Core.

[5]: Exceed the constraints of a Mortal coil and obtain the qualities befitting that of a Knight. Individuals will receive a unique reward upon the completion of this task.

[1]: Choice of one fragment.

[2]: Choice of one Knight Ranked spiritual item.

[3]: Knight Title Fragment "Forerunner."

The final reward causing Jon to raise an eyebrow in interest, glancing towards Aerilayna leading them through the forest before lowering his head and focusing on his two new Title Fragments.

Mortal Title Fragment "Wisdom": Increases the effectiveness of all abilities with the Spell Trait.

Knight Title Fragment "Forerunner": Infinitesimally increases the effectiveness of all abilities when combating enemies of the same Race as oneself.

Being his first Knight Ranked Title Fragment, Jon could not help but wonder about the differences in both conceptual weights of Forerunner in comparison to Wisdom, in addition to how he would be able to still make use of Mortal Title Fragments, now that he was a Knight.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

On que, the voice of a certain epoch dragon echoed in the back of his mind.

"You would be correct in saying that Knight Title Fragments possess a much more potent concept, or collection of concepts within them in comparison to Mortal Title Fragments. As it stands, three Mortal Title Fragments are considered equivalent to a single Knight Title Fragment."

"In the eyes of the System at least." Song Lian Yu answered, watching as Jon nodded in response.

He assumed that such a thing would be the carried over from Knight Title Fragments to Lord Title Fragments. Meaning that once he only relied on Mortal Title Fragments to create a complete Title, Jon would require eighteen Mortal Title Fragments to form a Knight Title, and one-hundred-and-eight in order to form a Lord Title.

Such a thing became astronomical as he imagined the number required to form a Baron Ranked Title or even a Viscount Ranked Title.

Jon shook his head, allowing such thoughts to sink deeper into his Sea Of Knowledge. Allowing it to sit between Guf and Tehom, between half-forgotten and disregarded.

"How do you think I have handled the System Introduction thus far, Song?" Jon asked, hoping that the epoch dragon would not mind the shortening of his name. He also wanted to make conversation with his newest summoned companion, knowing that he had spent more than three months with Eis and even longer than that with Rana.

Song Lian Yu remained silent for a few seconds before stroking his scaled-whiskers, nodding his head in praise.

"After seeing some of your memories from back on Earth, I can say that you have performed quite admirably within this System Introduction. Perhaps within the top-few percentile of the entire 37th universe. Although I was sceptical of certain abilities, the uniqueness of your Source more than makes up if."

"The combination of mutation based enhancements combined with a Title such as Princeps Of The Wandering Mutation is, at least what I would consider, your greatest strength by far. Your Seir-Perpetual Heart, Murmur-Glacial Marrow and Helel-Testament Pride all show immense compatibility with said Title."

"And that is without including the "trickle" down relationship between your Title, Yaochi-Jade Prana and two incarnations. When combined with the effects of your Memento Source Item… I dare say that even I would find it difficult to kill you outright back when I was a Mortal." Song Lian Yu complimented.

Both Rana and Eis made their presences known within the back of his mind, causing Jon to twitch as the Threaded-Princeps Of Terminus Est continued with his explanation.

"The combination of your Fragment Of Annihilation and Fragment Of Eradication is a literal rudimentary, but I suppose both of them pair well with the Mana Cores you have decided to integrate."

"Of the more offensive natured fragments, a Fragment Of Extinction or even a Fragment Of Obliteration might have been a better option. Fragments Of Extermination often manifest finicky abilities, but a Fragment Of Judgement might be an interesting avenue to explore down the line." Said the epoch dragon, prompting a certain ice devil spirit to make an appearance within his Sea Of Knowledge.

The White Devil Of The Ninth Circle sat atop a glacier within his Fragment Of Mind. Although imaginary, the sheer size of the glacier stretched from the surface of his Sea Of Knowledge, past the limits of Guf and Tehom reaching the lightless depths of Hadal beneath multiple layers of spiritual shields.

Schwarz Eis tapped her foot against the core memories beneath her, raising an eyebrow at Song Lian Yu's words.

"Fragments Of Extinction? Fragments Of Obliteration? The latter is much to destructive to integrate while still a Mortal! Even with his Yaochi-Jade Prana enhancing his natural lifeforce, Spells or Techniques that draw upon it should wait until someone has at the very least reached Lordship."

"We cannot all share in the benefits of the Draconic Races. Your natural strength, speed, size and even lifespan often exceed that of Mortals at the Sixth Initiation, while been uninitiated mortals yourselves!" Eis retorted, emotions such as annoyance and frustration spilling out from within her Fragment Of Summon.

The epoch dragon, in return rolled his eyes. Jon able to sense feelings of indifference from the Fragment Of Dragon that had borne his Title. The tension between the White Devil Of The Ninth Circle and Threaded-Princeps Of Terminus Est became more and more apparent with each passing moment.

"Then by all means should our summoner begin to rectify some of these shortcomings at Knighthood. A Fragment Of Dragon integrated into his Yaochi-Jade Prana should be a good start. Or even a Fragment Of Drake or a Fragment Of Wyrm into his Murmur-Glacial Marrow."

Jon could almost imagine a vein beginning to throb on Eis' forehead, hearing the words that was coming out of Song's mouth.

"I suppose a lesser draconic species would do as well. Fragments Of Hydra often boast superior regenerative capabilities, while Fragments Of Wyvern assist in the formation of a fragment pathway down the line. Although you lack both a Time Mana Core and an End Mana Core, I have several other fragment pathways within my possession that might be a better fit than-."

"Song Lian Yu! Who the hell do you think-." The sound of Eis' voice boomed from one side of his Sea Of Knowledge to the other. Jon suppressed the urge to wince at how loud she had become all of a sudden, interrupting the ice devil spirit, his tone somewhere between stern and placating.

"Alright, alright. That is enough of that," Jon said, waving his hands as if trying to hush someone around him. His cheeks slightly red seeing Avahni, Sariel and Aerilayna turn behind them and peering at him with a strange expression on their faces.

Jon ignored their stars and addressed his two summoned companions thankful that Rana was somehow the more mature of the three of them.

"Song, I appreciate the recommendation to integrate a Fragment Of Dragon into my Yaochi-Jade Prana. As it stands, it is perhaps the best option considering how I want to develop [Green Shall Become The Ode To Eternity]." He could feel the epoch dragon almost preen at his words, before shattering his draconic pride with the bluntness of his next sentence.

"However, regardless of what advantages more draconic-type fragments would give me, I would not hesitate to trade them away for more unique or interesting fragments, such as a Fragment Of Derivation or even a Fragment Of Individuality."

"You should understand that the path I have chosen closely aligns with the concepts and laws contained with my Source. Mutations. Transformations. Even creation to a smaller degree. Sin, or perhaps some twisted version is included in there too, albeit to a lesser extent."

Jon let out a small sigh, taking a breath in between his sentences.

"And please… and this applies to you too Eis, stop antagonizing each other. Otherwise I swear, I'll integrate Fragments Of Ugliness and Fragments Of Duck into the pair of you and see how you like it!" For the first time in a long time, Jon felt as though he was berating his younger siblings for fighting over some immature and ridiculous argument.

Despite the annoyance that was evident with his tone, he did not even realize that a small smile had started pulling at the corners of his mouth, prompting each of his summoned companions to perk up, feeling the unfamiliar emotions bubble up from within his Sea Of Knowledge. Although Eis and Song had been arguing mere moments ago, the two of them paused, noticing a slight difference within their summoner.

The Threaded-Princeps Of Terminus Est allowed these emotions to spill over into him, silencing the epoch dragon as he accepted Jon's scolding.

'Family… what a foreign concept,' Song Lian Yu thought to himself.

The feelings of concern and familiarity were strange, but not necessarily uncomfortable.

The seventh-born son of the Angel Of Endings was not the most successful or even the most powerful of His children, but he was amongst the first. Of tens of thousands of pure-blooded draconic descendants.

A faint memory, of Song Lian Yu interacting with his oldest sibling manifested itself from the depths of his mind. When he tried to reach out towards it, the memory vanished, as if trying to snatch smoke from within a dream.

The epoch dragon suppressed all thoughts and feelings related to said experience, focusing on the present, rather than the past.

The threat of having a Fragment Of Duck integrated into him aside, his summoner had almost reached the nearest Safe Zone. If the hundreds, if not thousands of sources of spiritual energy emanating from the area ahead of them was anything to go on.

'What a peculiar master I have.' Song Lian Yu thought, before feeling his focus pulled back towards potential fragments he should integrate at Knighthood. The epoch dragon closed his golden-silver eyes, preventing his thoughts and emotions from spilling out of his Fragment Of Dragon.

Eis on the other hand, remained stalwart and poignant, despite having been scolded by Jon.

'Fragment Of Ugliness… the nerve of this child,' although her true thoughts betrayed her, perking up the moment Jon and his companions observed the Safe Zone with their own two eyes.

Feelings of wonder and awe filling his Sea Of Knowledge, overflowing into his Fragment Of Tree, Fragment Of Summon and Fragment Of Dragon.

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