Heading home.

The hero stares at the great fallen foe before him. Nivdriv. An ancient white dragon.
He honestly expected more from this fight. Maybe for it to take longer. Perhaps for it to be harder. 
But then again, brought in from another world, his levelling system is pretty broken.

A notification goes off. "Level up! You are now level 72."
Sweet. Another level. I'll sort my spells and skills another time.

Borghild and Jeff come in running, amazed.
Jeff: "That was incredible!"
Borghild: "I can't believe.. That you've slained such beast with ease. It took my entire life and I've barely dealt damage to that thing."

Saito smiles back at him.
"Don't be too harsh on yourself. The only reason I managed to win so early is because you got some of its scales removed. Otherwise this could've dragged on for hours. It wasn't even injured from my attacks. How did you get them removed."

Borghild bend his eyes, making a face.
"My fight with the dragon lasted two days. I suppose with a lot of determination."
Jeff: "You have this kind of stamina at your age still?"

Borghild grabs his hammer.
"Want to see exactly how much stamina I got left punk?"

Jeff shakes his head with vigor, making Saito laugh.
Saito: "Dragon scales are valuable right? Can we take them off?"
Borghild: "You can try. But usually, we wait for the dragon's carcass to decompose before pulling them of."
Jeff: "How long will that take?"
Borghild: "A couple years, give or take."
Jeff: "Seriously..?"

Borghild's attention turns back to Saito.
"You've used a lot of skills and spells there. How did you gain this much strength?"

By getting my sorry self beaten up every day.
He quickly opens his menu, looking at his skills and spells.
The list is pretty long enough. He remembers them by heart, but there is a lot in there. Some of which he doesn't use anymore, left behind as memory.
(Panther form. Tiger form. Lion form. Dragon form. Berserk. Strengthen. Accelerate. Forward. Impact. Release. Target. Spike...)

He doesn't have many skills, but they're very much nice to have.
(Side step, mirror image, repel.)

Saito: "I... I've gone through a lot myself."
Borghild: "I see. I'm fine being told this much."

Jeff: "What about.. The dragon's treasure?"

Their head slowly turn toward the completely collapsed cavern. It's still smoking.
Borghild: "Tough luck."
Jeff: "No.. It can't be.."

Saito chuckles. I think they'll get along together well.
Saito: "So Borghild, you'll be following us from now on, yeah?"
Borghild: -I gave my word. I'll follow you until you find the demon you're looking for. Where are we heading out to next?
Saito: "I need to head back home, otherwise my wife will get mad."

The old man sighs.
"A wife. Sounds like a load of problems to me. Can't believe you fell for that rookie mistake."

If you say so. I've never once regretted it. If anything he's looking forward to completing his adventures and have children of his own. That's what his parents would want.

Saito: "Can't relate. From my side of things, you're missing out."
Borghild: "Nahhh I've tried that done that, I'm good. Glad you're happy."

(Sure am).
Saito: "Is there anything else you have to do here?"
The old timer's gaze moves upon the dragon. The singular entity that drove his entire life to a corner. Many emotions goes through his face.

Borghild: "Yeah. I can move on now."

The leader nods in response.
"Then let's head back."
Jeffrey: "Thank you, it's cold here."

It would take two whole days just to leave the mountain range, much to Jeffrey's pain and suffering. He never was good at handling the cold.

Now back onto the warmer regions, they follow the path heading back toward Glowvia. The travel will take about 10 days.

Saito: "Maybe we should buy a horse."
Borghild: "A good investment I say. As a champion you do have the wealth needed for one."
Saito: "True, I do."

While his mind drifts on the thought of acquiring a horse, the exiled man gives Jeff a good look. He hasn't seen him fight at all. But since he's with Saito, he's likely as capable.
Borghild: "So Jeff. Are you a swordman?"
Jeff: "Uhh yeah."
Borghild: "How well do you fend for yourself?"

(Oh I hate that question.)
He's clearly not that strong. But he was also proven to have a really bad self-esteem in his exam a week ago. He clearly can't rely on his own opinion.

Jeff: "I'm not sure. I don't have a great self-esteem."
Borghild: "Saito brought you along. I'm sure you're fine."
Saito: "Huh? Sorry I was thinking."
Borghild: "I was just asking Jeff how well he fends for himself."
Saito: "Oh, he's good when it comes down to it. When it matters most, he's reliable. He saved me before."
Jeff: "That was two whole years ago."
Borghild: "So you should be a lot stronger than you were back then huh? I look forward to fighting with you now."

Jeff holds his head in his hands.
(NOO THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT.)

Few days passes. They now near the Capital city.
Jeff: "So, about fighting the Kingdom's chosen.."
Saito: "I don't know about that one. If what you said is true, I'd rather get stronger first."
Jeff: "YOU'RE ALREADY BUSTED."
Saito: "But I could more busted."
Jeffrey: "Bro, please. Listen to yourself speak. You're probably strong enough to take him on."
Saito: "What benefits would it give me?"

Jeff searches his memory.
"You answer directly to the King. You will be fully finance by the military. Unless the Kingdom itself is at stake, you won't be deployed. You also will get the highest military authority outside Commanders."

That doesn't sound too bad. It's basically more freedom and more money.
I've heard many stories of that man before. If half of those are true, he would've taken that dragon down faster than he did. He hasn't met anyone that can match his strength in a while, but he's not in a rush to find someone who does. Maybe he'll just make it a project of his in the future.

Saito: "Yeah okay. Once I feel ready I'll give it a shot."
Jeff: "That's a start."
Borghild: "I never understood your military hierarchy. It doesn't make much sense to me."
Jeff: "How so?"
Borghild: "Feels like you get ranked up based on your individual strength. And then you get power because of it. If one strong corrupted people with no discipline was to become this Kingdom's hero, it'd go to crap quickly.
Jeff: "Oh, you actually need both. If I had the strength but refused to listen, I would've been kicked out of the military anyway."
Borghild: "Good. That's how it should be."

The sky is clear, completely blue. The sun is warm and gentle, allowing them to relax, basking in its light as they keep on walking. It would merely take two more hours for them to reach the city.
A nice feature of cities is that stables are kept right outside the gates. Making a purchase should be quick.

Jeff: "Buying a stallion sounds great. But are we ever going to get a pet?"
Saito: "Uhhh... I don't think so Jeff."
Jeff: "Think about it though! A dog would be so nice to have around."
Saito: "I'm more of a cat person, sorry."

He looks sad. But then again, all of his reinforcement forms are based on cats.
You should've seen it coming.

Saito: "Excuse me! I'd like to buy a horse."
"Of course! We recently sell all of our horses to a growing company, so we don't have many options left.."
Saito: "What's left?"
"They left the mare behind. It's a common misconception that mares are weaker than stallions. But this one is a noble steed I assure you."
Borghild: "If you're buying a horse, someone here is going to have to walk."

Oh right. Saito sighs, scratching his head. Might as well go for the while package.
"Do you also sell wagons?"