Kang Oh appeared in Teyno's Nest.

"Welcome, Master!" The giant monster turtle happily greeted him.

Teynos was the kindest of his guardians, so Kang Oh really liked him. It was also the guardian of his first soul dungeon.

"How have you been?" Kang Oh petted the tip of Teyno's nose. Then, he pulled out several items from his inventory. 

They were regional products he'd gained from traversing the continent and completing various Guardian of the Continent quests.

"They're for you."

"Thanks, Master!"

Teyno's shell opened up, making way for tentacles that grabbed the treasure.

[Teynos is thankful for all of the presents.]

[Closeness has increased significantly.]

[Closeness with Teynos has been maxed out.]

[Teynos regards you as his true master.]

Kang Oh smiled. Is this what it felt like to see a dog wagging its tail at you?

'As expected of my pet turtle!'

However...

That wasn't all there was to the system message.

[You have satisfied a special condition.]

[The Teynos Summoning Scroll has been added to the dungeon's rewards.]

'The Teynos Summoning Scroll?'

"Give me the soul stone." Kang Oh quickly extended his hand.

"Understood."

Kang Oh accepted the soul stone, and opened the Dungeon Management window.

[Repel Points: 10,415]

[Maintenance Fee: 1,000 Repel Points]

Without his knowledge, he'd accrued a ton of repel points. He had so much that he'd have more than enough to expand the dungeon and have a lot left over.

Kang Oh immediately checked his dungeon rewards.

[Dungeon Rewards (Monthly Payment)]

3,000 gold.

300 Gnus Skin.

...

1 Teynos Summoning Scroll.

"Teynos," Kang Oh said.

"What is it?"

"A new reward called the Teynos Summoning Scroll has been added..."

'Is this what I think it is?'

"It's a scroll that'll allow you to summon me wherever you want, Master."

'Wow, it really is!'

"For how long?"

"10 minutes."

"Mm, it's too short!" Kang Oh said.

"There should be an option to increase it under the Reinforcement tab."

"Oh!" 

Kang Oh checked immediately. It was exactly as Teynos said. There was a new option that allowed him to increase the summoning duration.

"Teynos."

He was curious about something now.

"I'm listening, Master."

"Are you the only one who provides this summoning scroll? Or does every soul dungeon guardian have one?"

Kang Oh's heart pounded as he anxiously waited for Teyno's answer. 'Please give me the answer I'm looking for!'

"All of them have one!"

"Oh, yeah!"

Kang Oh clenched his fist, and quickly asked a follow-up question. "Was the scroll added because I satisfied a special condition?"

That's what the system message had told him at least.

"That's right."

"What's the condition?"

"Your closeness with your guardian has to be maxed out, and you have to spend a certain amount of repel points or gold on expanding the dungeon, reinforcing the guardian, changing the interior of the dungeon, etc."

"That's it?"

"Finally, the owner has to be a Master. The class doesn't matter."

The guardian summoning scroll could be a powerful weapon. What if he were able to summon Bone Dragon Akite?

That's why it could only be unlocked by a 'Master'. Only then would the player be judged skilled enough to handle such a potentially powerful weapon.

Kang Oh clapped his hand.

'Yeah, that's right! I have to get the scroll from my other guardians too!'

Kang Oh thought of Akite, Violf, Wakaiser, and Uru.

He had to do whatever it took to get the scroll from Bone Dragon Akite! A part of his mind desired to summon even more guardians.

Thus far, he'd obtained and sold a ton of soul dungeons. Did any of them have a half decent guardian?

What about the soul dungeons that'd already been revealed to the world, but he'd yet to go to?

"By the way, Master. At some point, a lot less people started coming here."

Teyno's voice broke Kang Oh out of his stupor.

"Ah, is that so?"

Kang Oh checked the Dungeon Log.

Teynos was right. The Moss Cave had fewer visitors than before.

'It must be because of the Great Change.'

The God of Creation had changed the entire continent, and in the process, new dungeons had been formed.

The players headed for new dungeons or any areas that had been affected by the Great Change.

Thus, dungeons like his, as well as other normal dungeons, had gone quiet.

'I should postpone expanding the dungeon or investing too much into it for now.'

If he expanded the dungeon, he'd also have to pay a larger maintenance fee. Plus, the Great Change discouraged people from coming to dungeons that weren't affected, so it didn't matter what he did. It would remain this way for quite some time.

After all, the effects of the Great Change would be felt for a long time to come.

Thus, he decided to spend a ton of repel points on Teynos. He needed Teynos at its best if he wanted to summon it.

'Let's see here...'

In the past, Kang Oh had reinforced Teynos twice.

He had given Teynos an ability called 'Returning Pain', which deflected a certain percentage of damage done to it, as well as 'Tsunami of Vengeance', which increased in power and scale based on how much damage Teynos had taken.

What else would Teynos need to be effective when he summoned it?

Kang Oh thought about it, and eventually came to a decision.

[You have spent 500 repel points to reinforce Teynos.]

[Teynos has acquired the Slowpoke ability.]

[The once Immovable Teynos can now move, albeit very slowly.]

[Teyno's title has changed from Immovable Teynos to Slowpoke Teynos.]

[The Slowpoke ability can be strengthened further. Requires 1,000 repel points.]

[Remaining Repel Points: 9,915]

"Ooh, Master. Look at this!"

Teynos, whose four feet had been deeply embedded in the ground, pulled out its feet and slowly moved across the floor.

Kang Oh nodded his head.

If Teynos were to just sit here and guard his dungeon, then not being able to move wasn't very detrimental. 

However, if he were to summon him, being unable to move may prove disastrous.

Thus, he had given it the Slowpoke ability.

He continually reinforced Teynos.

[You have spent 1,000 repel points to reinforce Teynos.]

[Teynos has acquired Large-Scale Taunt.]

[Large-Scale Taunt forces any enemy within 100 meters of it to attack it for 30 seconds.]

[Large-Scale Taunt can be strengthened further. Requires 1,000 repel points.]

[Remaining Repel Points: 8,915]

[You have spent 1,000 repel points to reinforce Teynos.]

[Teynos has acquired the Surprising Regeneration ability.]

[Teynos regenerates 300% more HP every 10 seconds.]

[Surprising Regeneration can be strengthened further. Requires 1,000 repel points.]

[Remaining Repel Points: 7,915]

[You have spent 1,000 repel points to reinforce Teynos.]

[Teynos's summoning duration has increased by 20 minutes.]

[Remaining Repel Points: 6,915]

Lastly...

[You have spent 2,000 repel points to strengthen Returning Pain.]

[The amount of reflected damage has increased significantly.]

[Returning Pain can be strengthened further. Requires 5,000 repel points.]

[Remaining Repel Points: 4,915]

He'd thought long and hard which skill he should reinforce, Returning Pain or Tsunami of Vengeance. In the end, he had picked Returning Pain.

Kang Oh would love to see the expressions of those who'd been affected by Teyno's Large-Scale Taunt.

He would keep the rest of his repel points in reserve for now. He would save it for the maintenance fee, and use it as needed.

"Master, I've gotten stronger." Teynos extended its giant face and rubbed it against Kang Oh's body.

"Yeah, I'll make you even stronger from now on."

"Thanks. You're the best."

"Ah, and could you give me my rewards?"

"Oh, right."

Kang Oh received the dungeon rewards from Teynos. There was a dried out scroll amongst them.

It was the Teynos Summoning Scroll.

'This is cool!'

It felt like he'd been given a button that'd allow him to call a missile anytime, anywhere.

He was sad that he'd only been given one of them though.

If he wanted another one, then he'd need to wait another month. Thus, it was a precious treasure that couldn't be used haphazardly.

Kang Oh carefully placed the summoning scroll in his inventory.

"Then, I'll get going now," Kang Oh said, sporting a satisfied expression.

"You're going already?"

"Yeah, I'll be back."

"Take care."

Teynos slowly walked over to the magic circle and saw him off.

'You're so cute.'

Kang Oh smiled and yelled, "Saul Graveyard!"

To the dungeon that Bone Dragon Akite managed!

* * *

'You money grubbing dragon!' 

That's how Kang Oh thought of Bone Dragon Akite.

Thus, he would always look at Akite somewhat scornfully.

But that was all in the past.

'Mm, he looks awesome.'

Today of all days, Akite's giant body and his thick, large bones looked so cool.

What if he were able to summon him?

His enemies would be completely speechless.

Kang Oh smiled as he imagined that scene.

"It's been a while, Akite. How've you been? Good? Anything stressing you out lately?" Kang Oh said sweetly.

"Why are you acting like this?"

Kang Oh's attitude actually made him wary of him. It was just so different than how he'd normally act.

"What do you mean?" Kang Oh feigned ignorance.

"Why are you acting so differently?" Akite rebuked.

"I just thought you looked really cool today."

'I'm being honest here. You really are a cool weapon, Akite!'

Akite could hear the honesty in his voice.

"Haha, I've always been like this." Akite's jaw bone opened. If it were alive, it would probably be laughing right about now.

'Nice. Let's get in his good graces.'

Kang Oh knew exactly how to do that. 

The most reliable way would be to pay him. However, the dragon was really greedy, so if he went that route, he'd probably come out penniless. 

'So let's use a different method!'

"Take a good look at me." Kang Oh stretched out his body.

Akite briefly observed Kang Oh.

"I can sense Lord Gainus's energy from you. I can also feel those damn Mayanes' energy too."

Long ago, dragons thrived in the Arth continent. However, they were almost completely annihilated in the war against the Mayanes. In other words, the Mayanes were the dragons' mortal enemy.

"You got it in one. What do you think happened to the Mayanes?"

"Did you kill them?"

'I really hope you did,' Akite earnestly thought.

Kang Oh waved his finger. He did kill them, but that wasn't all there was to it.

"Then what else?"

"I annihilated them. The Mayanes have gone extinct."

"Really?" Akite stood up.

"Yeah."

"How?"

"Where should I start?" Kang Oh sat on the ground. Then, he began to tell his story, like a storyteller in the marketplace whispering to their listeners.

"So..."

Akite listened to Kang Oh so attentively that its bones made no sound, not even the sound of them rubbing against each other. 

Kang Oh exaggerated the story of how he dealt with the Mayanes. He also lied a lot too, like a private who'd just been discharged from mandatory military service. He adjusted the story to match Akite's preferences!

He made it sound as though Gainus was the hero of the story, and continuously praised the Divine Dragon and his race as a whole.

On the other hand, he disparaged the Mayanes and spoke of them as though they were weak beings.

"...Then I stabbed my sword into the final Mayanes, who was coiling up in fear. It was easier than smashing an ant. Even an ant tries to move out of the way, but the Mayanes couldn't even do that. They're much different from dragons, aren't they?"

"Indeed! The Mayanes have black souls and are lower than bugs! Comparing them to us, who have pure souls and bodies, is like comparing heaven and earth!" Akite nodded its head and chimed in excitedly.

[Closeness with Bone Dragon Akite has increased significantly.]

Kang Oh's lips curled upwards. That's exactly what he was hoping to see. Then, he continued his story.

"That's how the last Mayanes died... About Lord Gainus..."

Ultimately, Akite was completely fooled by Kang Oh's silver tongue.

He added that Gainus believed that Kang Oh was a trustworthy human.

"He's right. You are a trustworthy human."

[Closeness with Bone Dragon Akite has increased significantly.]

[Akite thinks of you as a small friend.]

However, he hadn't maxed out his closeness with it yet. Kang Oh opened his inventory, ready to land the final blow.

He had prepared an amazing present.