He stood in front of the portals. Humans and other species were streaming into and out of the portals constantly.

From giant figures that were nearly five meters tall, to small ones that might not even be one meter tall. Fat, skinny, muscular. Blue skin, green skin, scales, fur. The amount of diversity was crazy.

The fact that these were all intelligent life forms that existed in the cosmos was mind-blowing.

Shaking off his excitement and wonder, he approached a gate and found what appeared to be a guard.

"Hello, is this the Yonkel faction portal?"

The large clay red being glanced down at him with disdain. "It is. What is your purpose here, human?"

Kade raised a brow, confused as to why this person was so impolite. "I'm seeking passage. An acquaintance, friend even, told me to find him in the Yonkel territory when I returned."

With a scoff, the guard continued the screening "Is that so? And what is the name of this 'friend' you speak of?"

"Graakas, the apostle."

"Pfft, HuaHuaHuah." The large guard bent backward as he released a boisterous laugh. It took nearly a minute for him to calm down. "That's a good one, human."

Kade's expression turned cold as his brows knitted slightly "You find my claim funny?"

Humans were prideful beings. Kade and his friends more so. Few things could stoke their fury like being disrespected.

"Indeed. Perhaps, you're unaware?" The guard's expression and tone changed, seemingly to indicate disbelief.

"I must be." Kade kept his eyes locked with the guards in defiance "I've been away since my last conversation with him almost five months ago."

"Ah, then of course you wouldn't know. Allow me to educate you. Some time ago, a group of humans sought trouble with Graakas. After teaching them their place, we all assumed it was over."

The guard shook his head "But that wasn't the case. Your people continuously disrespected the mage until he had enough. He made an example out of the aggressors and denounced humans. He hasn't entertained a human guest since."

Kade narrowed his eyes. Humans causing issues wasn't surprising. There was never a shortage of fools, and anything could be turned into a problem if one's perspective was warped enough.

"Graakas was always amicable to us humans. It's a shame that the fools of my species caused him trouble." His mood was growing increasingly sour.

First, he had to be reminded of the fate of his reputation. Then, he was disrespected by a being that he had no previous interactions with. Now, he learned that a man he considered his friend was openly disrespected to the point of abandoning humanity.

"Even so, I believe he will accept my visit. If you won't let me pass, then at least send a message that Kade King is here to see him."

The guard frowned "You think yourself special, human? You humans' are all the same, self-absorbed and ignorant of your insignificance. Foolishly arrogant. You do not have the right to request a meeting with a shopkeeper, much less Graakas."

Kade's eyes studied the guard, imprinting his appearance into his memory before replying "Are you saying that Graakas gave you permission to make decisions for him?"

The guard's face warped, his eyes becoming sharp as he grasped the handle of his axe "Watch your tongue, human. Few species are as dull as yours, and we can see through your thinly veiled intimidation."

"Intimidation?" Kade scoffed "I simply want to know if Graakas truly refuses to see me, or if you are just causing me problems."

"And if I am?" The guard's hand tightened on the axe

"Well, I'm the type that returns the treatment I receive multiple folds." Kade grinned "It might not be today, nor tomorrow. But someday, it will come. When it does, I wonder if you'd regret this moment."

The guard scoffed as he pulled the axe from his back "I will never allow the chance of future trouble to dictate my actions. Perhaps you could grow, and maybe you would become a threat, but the chances are infinitesimal. And by threatening me today, you have given me a reason to nip that chance at the bud."

Kade watched the large guard raise his enormous axe. The head would cleave him in two from the weight alone. This definitely wasn't the direction he saw this interaction going, he had just wanted to convince the guard to do his job properly and stop hassling him. Yet his anger had got the best of him, and he doubted that anything he said would convince the guard to stand down. This fight was happening whether he liked it or not, and he was probably going to die. However, he didn't intended to allow that to happen without a fight. A bright light flashed.

The guard closed his eyes just in time, but that was okay. Kade used the opportunity to dart to his left while channeling another spell. He knew that this guard was far above him, his pathetic crowd control spells would be completely useless.

He knew it was stupid to express his intent to repay the disrespect he received, but he was fed up with being stepped on. He might lose his life today, but this fucker would remember his name!

By the time the guard had spotted him, a blinding white ball was forming in his hand. He raised his hand to the guard's face as the fireball grew. Surprisingly, the guard allowed the fireball time to grow to full force.

The two stood less than two meters apart. One, over three meters tall, the other two meters. A huge, blood-red axe held aloft, in position to strike. A white fireball at the end of an extended arm. The tension was palpable as two beings stood poised to decimate each other.

The axe began its descent, wind whirring in its wake. At the same time, Kade's fingers twitched as he activated the spell.

*Boom*

The ground was split causing dust to shroud the area, a white light could be seen burning within. When the dust settled, the spectators didn't see the outcome they had expected.

A lithe, alabaster-skinned woman stood between the two. Kade's wrist was held within the grasp of three fingers, while the guard's axe had veered off course slightly and was buried into the concrete beside them.

"What's the meaning of this?" She asked in a soft but commanding voice.

"This human threatened me when I refused to let him pass." The guard spoke with frustration and anger.

The woman turned, frowning at Kade "Is that true?"

"Partially. I'm not sure I would say that I threatened him, rather warned. But any disrespect was only returning the disrespect he showed me." Kade replied with an eerily calm voice.

Her eyes narrowed "Perhaps you can show me more respect and tell me the entire story, rather than remaining vague."

Kade nodded "Sorry. I came to visit Graakas extended an invitation almost five months ago. He told me to find him in the Yonkel faction territory. However, the guard refused my passage and derided me repeatedly."

"So you threatened him?" She asked as her long, narrow ears twisted and bent.

Kade assumed that was her method of expression. "Not initially. I asked if he could send a message and allow Graakas to know that Kade King was here to visit. He denied, and I asked if he had the right to make decisions on Graakas's behalf."

"He does not." She said as she glanced at him "I assume this is when you threaten him?"

Kade nodded "Warn, but yes, that's right."

She released an odd sound that Kade immediately understood to be a sigh.

"Is this true, Qwaek?"

The guard huffed "More or less. Does that matter, Captain Yui? These humans are all so insufferable. Their arrogance overshadows any intelligence and all they do is cause issues."

She scoffed "It seems to be the other way around this time. A few bad hoola's don't account for the entire tree, and humans are still our allies. As a guard, you should act more professionally and extend a minimum courtesy to all rather than antagonize others."

Her gaze snapped to Kade "And you. Perhaps Qwaek did wrong you, but how foolish can you be to threaten a being stronger than you and even come to blows with him?"

Kade frowned deeply "Are you suggesting that I lick his boots because I'm weaker?"

Her ears fluttered rapidly for a few moments before she understood "Yes. The weak show respect to the strong for their safety. That is a rule of the cosmos. The strong reign, while the weak bow."

Kade frowned while shaking his head "I bow to none. I won't be weak forever, and I'd rather not look back and remember throwing my pride away by shamefully groveling before a being that I have since dominated."

She clicked her tongue, a habit picked up from humans "Can your pride feed you, does it keep you safe? It's foolish to cherish your pride more than your life."

"No, it can't." Kade shook his head before smiling "But it allows me to stand up straight and proud, even in the face of death. Sacrificing that would cause me to be a shadow of what I should have been."

"Heh, you are an idiot, Kade King. Bow today, and kill those that witnessed tomorrow. That is the creed of the indignant. Being overly prideful only serves to sever your future."

"That's not a solution, but a vain attempt to wash away shame."

She tilted her head "Vain? If no one is alive to remember the 'shame', then isn't it effectively washed away?"

Kade narrowed his eyes "You remember it, don't you? The first time you bowed, and every time after."

He watched her ears flutter rapidly and knew that he had struck a chord that sent her soul into chaos. He felt the soft fingers that were still gripping his wrist tighten, causing pain to radiate up his arm.

This was exactly what he strived to avoid. The feelings of self-loathing and indignation. He already had enough regrets and knew the gut-wrenching pain they caused well.

He remained silent, even reigning in the groans that threatened to escape his lips from the pain in his wrist. He had made his point and would likely suffer for it, there was no need to make things worse.

Soon, the pain subsided as she released his wrist before turning to walk away "Qwaek, wait with this human. I will send word to Graakas. You can handle it as you see fit depending on the response." Her voice was calm, it was her words that expressed her anger.

Kade didn't react. He had made his bed and he would lay in it. Truthfully, he wasn't confident that Graakas would be willing to see him after what he experienced. However, he didn't believe that Graakas was narrow-minded enough to hold him accountable for the actions of other humans.

So, he endured the plethora of emotions Qwaek expressed while waiting.

Nearly an hour passed before he saw Graakas appear from beyond the portal. It only took a moment for him to find them, as they were given a large berth due to the earlier dispute.

"Kade, what took you so long?" Graakas said with a light smile.

Kade sighed "I was hunting. I only returned to Earth less than a week ago and came as soon as I was free."

"Speaking of, I heard you had trouble contacting me," Graakas said before presenting a silver talisman covered in engravings "This should allow you to pass without issue in the future."

"Thanks." Kade accepted it with a nod "I hope I didn't come at a bad time. I have so many questions." He said with bright eyes.

Graakas grinned "Few things are more important to a mage than exchanging knowledge, so don't worry, I'll make the time. So, tell me, what is this I hear of a white fireball? The spell manual I gave you just has the inferior fireball spell."

"It's my own modification of inferior fireball," Kade replied as he raised his hand and formed the trace, a white fireball springing up. "I changed some glyphs and added a few partitions from other spells. This was the result."

Graakas raised his brows as he studied the fireball. After a few moments, a trace formed over his chest, and purple energy shrouded his body.

"Hit me with it."

Kade nodded and cast the spell without hesitation. He knew that he was much weaker than Graakas, his spell was no threat to the apostle once he was prepared.

The fireball struck Graakas's, encasing his forearm in a blazing white flame. Graakas observed for a moment before shaking his arm violently but the flame remained. No physical methods worked to remove or kill the flame, forcing him to resort to magic.

"Very surprising!" He exclaimed gleefully "Though the strength of the spell remained low, it became incredibly resilient. Come, let's speak of this privately."

Kade smirked when he realized how eager Graakas was. Originally, he didn't believe that his modification was anything special, but Graakas's reaction seemed to indicate differently. Which was a massive ego boost.

He followed Graakas through the portal without noticing the complicated gazes that followed them.

The moment Kade disappeared through the portal, Captain Yui ground her teeth while clenching her hands. Kade had thrown her into disarray, but she wasn't as angry at him as much as she was herself. His only fault was opening her eyes.

...

"Hm." Graakas tapped the table as he stared at the trace with knitted brows. "I see that you increased the size and temperature, but what is this partition for?" He asked while pointing to the added partition.

Kade pulled out the spell manual he had and flipped to the freeze spell "I took the partition that causes the freeze spell to explode and spread, tried to swap the ice particles with fire and hope to achieve a similar effect."

"Hm, well. The fire glyphs you created are working. The oddity comes with the rest of the partition. While it's similar to the freeze partition you tried to copy, there are small differences." Graakas traced his finger over the glyphs he was speaking of as his expression grew more confused.

"I've never seen something like this... Perhaps you didn't know, but when creating a spell trace you have to be incredibly precise. Not just with your lines either. There is a formless intent that is transferred into the glyph and that intent has to be compatible with the glyph or the effect will be wildly different."

Kade nodded. This was the first time he was hearing of this, but it made sense. He already had the feeling that traces were just a guide to create spells, similar to chanting. If that were true, then couldn't it be possible to manipulate altaris and cast spells without any assistance? If so, 'intent' could be the key to doing so.

"That makes sense. Honestly, I spent quite some time trying to complete the modification and I was getting frustrated. I started trying whatever I could, and suddenly the fireball had acceptable qualities."

"Bad idea." Graakas's tone was grave "Altaris, spells, all of this might seem novel to you. Outright game-like, especially with the system, but I assure you that this is anything but a game. Messing with things you don't understand is one thing, but to do so with such carelessness. That's outright foolish!"

Kade sheepishly rubbed the back of his head "Noted. I just got so excited and frustrated at the same time. I didn't know how long I would be gone and I wasn't patient enough to wait to learn from you."

"Haa, you brat." Graakas's anger faded into a light grin "It's not bad to experiment. There is a limit to what can be taught. Learning is a lifelong endeavor, but if your only source of learning is from someone else then you will never grow beyond them. Not to mention, what works for one person might not work for another."

He tapped the spell trace "This is good. I couldn't have taught you this. I'm only trying to stress how important it is to understand the risks. While we are on the subject of stupidity and risks, tell me about that scuffle outside of the portal."

Kade sighed before breaking into a passioned rant. He knew that what he had done was incredibly stupid. He could barely handle the lowest level of beasts on his own and while he felt accomplished, he was under no illusion about his strength.

He was weak.

If the captain of the guards hadn't stepped in, he would be dead. His measly fireball would have done nothing more than add to Qwaeks domineering image as he stood over a bisected human.

Even so, he would rather be stupid than a cowardly boot licker.

"Pfft, haha." Graakas chuckled "Well, you seem to understand how idiotic your actions were so I won't lecture you here. I will say this, I advise you to seriously think about Captain Yui's words. Though, I do admire your stance on the subject."

The conversation change was just that quick. Rather than spells, they began chatting like estranged friends about what had happened in the time since they had last seen each other, and what they had planned in the future.

Hours passed before Graakas finally stood up. "It's getting late. For now, halt your plans. I understand that you want to get back out there as soon as possible, but it's better to consolidate your current experience. Which I will help with, of course."

Kade stood with a smile "That works. As enjoyable as it was, I felt pretty lost when I training alone."

He didn't mind delaying things a bit if it would allow him to return stronger than before. The most important question was how fast he would grow under Graakas's tutelage.

"Good." Graakas nodded before leading him back to the portal "Inform your friends, then return tomorrow as early as you can. I'll have a place for you to stay then."

Kade nodded and waved before disappearing through the portal. He immediately took his cellphone from his pocket and called Jones to update him on their plans before leaving the base and checking in to the nearest hotel.