Max opened the door, revealing a man dressed in a white, casual shirt paired with slacks and black dress shoes. He sat casually at a small coffee table, sipping tea, as if he had been expecting Max all along.
"Come in, come in," the man said, gesturing for Max to enter without a hint of hesitation.
Max stepped inside, closing the door behind him. For a moment, he was taken aback by the discrepancy between the house's massive exterior and its rather modest interior. The space seemed too small for such a grand structure, with only three visible rooms: a living room, a dining area, and a kitchen. A set of stairs led to what appeared to be a second floor, but the compactness of the layout made the house feel much smaller. The walls were white, contrasting with the brown wooden floors, and the air was thick with a strange, almost mystical energy.
"Looks can be deceiving," the man remarked, observing Max's expression of bewilderment.
Max gave a slight nod, his curiosity growing. The man set his tea cup down on a small plate, the clinking sound punctuating the silence in the room.
"You've arrived much earlier than I expected," the man said, leaning back in his chair as if pondering something deep.
Max frowned. "Who... are you?" he asked, uncertainty lacing his voice.
The man chuckled softly. "Ah, I forgot. You don't recognize me in this form."
"This form...?" Max repeated, growing even more confused. Before Max could ask anything further, the man's entire body began to shift and warp, his features melting away like liquid, reforming into something unmistakably familiar. His once human frame dissolved into a purple, amorphous blob with black, beady eyes.
Recognition flooded Max's mind. "Zekphyr?"
"Correct! Well, sort of. I'm a piece of him that broke off. You can call me a fragment," Zekphyr responded, his voice still warm but with a hint of something more sinister underlying it.
Max blinked in disbelief. "What do you mean?"
The blob reformed itself back into the man, smoothing out as if the transformation had never happened. "It's a long story," Zekphyr said. "Do you know about the seven gods of chaos?"
Max shook his head, utterly lost. "No…?"
"You will, soon enough," Zekphyr replied cryptically. He stood up from the table, his eyes gleaming with a mysterious light. "But first things first. I know you've got a lot of questions. However, before we go any further, I need to assess your power."
Max's heart raced. This was the opportunity he had been waiting for. "Yes! This is perfect! I've been dying to see just how far I can push myself."
Zekphyr gave a dark grin, his eyes narrowing. "I like your enthusiasm, kid. But let's see if you can handle what's coming next."
Max's confidence wavered slightly. "What do I need to do?"
"They'll be here soon," Zekphyr said, glancing toward the door.
"They?" Max asked, confusion creeping into his voice.
As if on cue, a deafening explosion rocked the air outside the house, shaking the floor beneath Max's feet. He rushed to the door, flinging it open to see a massive cloud of smoke billowing just outside. Squinting into the haze, he could make out a silhouette emerging from the chaos. As the smoke cleared, a woman stepped forward, her dragonoid features immediately catching Max's eye. She had blazing red eyes and scales adorning parts of her body, and wore nothing but a black sports bra and matching shorts. Her gaze locked onto Max, filled with an intense, almost predatory seriousness.
"Woah…" Max muttered under his breath, unable to tear his eyes away.
"That's enough, Cassandra," Zekphyr called from behind him, stepping outside to join the scene. "We don't want to scare the boy off."
Max watched in awe as Zekphyr casually strolled onto the grass, standing beside the fearsome woman. "This," he said, gesturing toward her, "is who you'll be training with for the next four days."
Suddenly, Max's vision was filled with a familiar notification.
**[Quest Complete!]**
**[Rewards: 500 RG]**
**[New Quest!]**
**[You have been chosen by a remnant of a Being of Chaos. Gain his acceptance to return home.]**
**[Clear condition: Endure hellish training for 7 days and gain the approval of HIM to leave this realm.]**
**[Rewards: 30,000 RG, Title: He Who Conquered the Void, Infinite Potential, Iron Mentality, Skill: Void Speaker, Judgment, Hidden Void, and Shattering Counter.]**
**[Time limit: 7 Days]**
**[Failure conditions: Forfeit of Character, or Death of Character.]**
**[Will you accept?]**
**[Yes]** or **[No]**
Max stared at the screen, weighing the decision. "So, a high-risk, high-reward quest," he thought.
"You don't have to accept it now, you know," Zekphyr said, his voice cutting into Max's internal deliberation.
Max shot him a look. "Wait, you can see this too?"
Zekphyr chuckled. "Of course I can. I'm part of this world, just like you are now."
Max hesitated, his mind racing. "This could be a trick... or a test. The failure conditions are brutal. I could die during the training..."
But then, a vision of his mother, trapped and helpless, flashed in his mind. He couldn't afford to be hesitant. Not now. "My mom is waiting on me, and those monsters that have her won't wait long. To gain the strength I need, I have to act now."
With a firm resolve, Max pressed **Yes** on the screen. The moment he did, the screen vanished, only to reappear moments later with a final message:
**[Good luck.]**
"Good luck?" Max murmured aloud, puzzled.
Zekphyr grinned darkly, his expression shifting into something more ominous. "So, it seems you've chosen to proceed. I like your tenacity, kid. We'll get started right away."
Max gulped. "What have I gotten myself into?"
Moments later, Max found himself seated on the grass as Zekphyr began outlining the details of the training regimen. "For the next seven days, you'll be training with me... and her," Zekphyr said, nodding toward Cassandra.
Cassandra stepped forward, crossing her arms. "I'm Cassandra, a dragonoid born of both human and dragon blood," she said, her voice sharp. "Assuming you're not a complete idiot, I'm sure you already knew."
Max raised an eyebrow, her tone catching him off guard. "Sheesh, why's she so mean?" he thought.
"I'm a magic swordsman," Cassandra continued, her tone unyielding. "One of the best you'll ever lay eyes on. I'll be teaching you swordsmanship, so be ready."
Max braced himself. He could already tell this wasn't going to be easy.
"And for the next few days, the real hell began."