Zam and Zoku began their journey in the evening, as the sky slowly grew darker.
"Are you sure we need to start our journey at this time?" Zoku asked, his face clearly frightened.
"Scared already?" Zam teased.
"Tch… I'm not scared," Zoku replied.
They walked through the jungle for a long time, but not a single Dangerer appeared.
"This is boring," Zam said. "I expected a fight before sleeping."
The night was cold, and Zoku was shivering. Zam pointed at a tree and said, "Zoku, let's sleep on that tree."
"Are you out of your mind?! Dangerers can come from anywhere!" Zoku shouted.
"Weren't you born into a family of dragons? You sure don't act like one," Zam teased.
"Okay… okay… I'm not scared. Don't blame me if a Dangerer attacks us," Zoku said, frowning.
"Come on already," Zam said as he climbed the tree.
Soon, both of them fell asleep.
In the middle of the night, a pair of blue eyes appeared from the nearby bushes. A Dangerer slowly stepped out.
"There are fighters here too… huh," the Dangerer muttered as he moved closer.
Dry leaves covered the ground. Unfortunately, the Dangerer stepped on one, making a faint sound.
"I don't think one of them is a fighter. He has no aura—"
Before he could finish, Zam's eyes snapped open. In an instant, Zam appeared right in front of the Dangerer.
"A sneak attack, huh?" Zam said calmly.
The Dangerer was surprised by Zam's sharp instincts, even without aura.
"Hey, you're just a traveler. Don't get involved, or I'll have to kill both of you," the Dangerer warned.
"Who said I'm not a fighter?" Zam replied.
"So you want to get in my way… huh? Then I guess I'll kill you too."
"WATER MANIPULATION: WATER BULLETS!"
Bullets made of water shot out from the Dangerer's hand. Zam dodged them swiftly.
"I guess you are a fighter," the Dangerer said, "but you can't defeat me."
Zam moved rapidly from side to side, making it hard for the Dangerer to focus. In a flash, Zam closed the distance and landed a solid punch. The Dangerer was sent flying backward, but he quickly stood up again.
"You're not bad," the Dangerer said, wiping a drop of blood from his mouth."Now I'm getting serious. WATER MANIPULATION: WATER BALLS!"
He formed large balls of water in his hands and threw them at Zam. Zam struggled to dodge them.
The noise finally woke Zoku. He jumped down from the tree but failed to land properly.
"When did this start?" Zoku asked.
"Just now," Zam replied."Zoku, get my FAG ( Fighter Analytical Glasses)."
"Roger!" Zoku quickly climbed the tree and grabbed the glasses."Here you go!"
He dropped them into Zam's hand. Zam put on the glasses, and the display appeared:
Low-Rank Dangerer — E RankName: Unknown
"An E-rank, huh…" Zam said."This might be tough."
"That's why we've gotta fight him together," Zoku said.
He pulled out his katana.
"DRAGON MISOMA: DRAGON SLASHES!"
Zoku swung his sword with great force. His slashes took the shape of a dragon as they rushed forward.
"WATER MANIPULATION: WATER SHIELD!"The Dangerer created a barrier of water to block the attack.
"A Rolio family member, huh… It will be an honor to kill you," the Dangerer said.
The Dangerer leaped toward Zoku and grabbed his katana. Zoku jumped back, but the Dangerer tried to punch him. Zoku barely blocked it with his sword. The Dangerer tried to punch again, but before he could react, Zam smashed a punch straight into his face.
The Dangerer staggered back. As he tried to get up, Zam punched him again. The Dangerer threw Zam away, but Zam didn't fall.
Zoku stood up and shouted,"DRAGON MISOMA: DRAGON'S BREATH!"
A dragon-shaped slash flew forward and struck the Dangerer. In the next instant, Zam rushed in and landed a powerful punch directly on his face.
Zam's FAG displayed:
'You have successfully defeated a Dangerer.'
"Oh, finally," Zoku sighed.
"Yeah, it was a bit tough," Zam said. "But we need to fight more if we want to become great."
"Zam, I promise I won't slow you down as this club's vice-captain!" Zoku said firmly.
"Where did that come from?" Zam asked, surprised.
"You fought him alone before I woke up, right? I was careless while sleeping," Zoku said.
"Oh, it's okay, Zoku," Zam replied. "Besides, I was the one who told you to sleep on that tree. So it's my fault. Forget it—it's almost morning. Shouldn't we continue?"
"Sure. I don't want to stay here anyway," Zoku said.
As they walked, Zam said, "I'm hungry."
"How are we supposed to get food? Master Urakaki didn't give us anything. He only gave us these FAGs. How do other fighter clubs get food?" Zoku asked.
"When I asked Master about this, he said we would eventually learn it," Zam replied. "I guess we should get a cook for our club."
"Yeah, but what do we do for now?" Zoku asked.
"Oh, look—there are some fruits on that tree. Let's pluck them and eat," Zam said.
They picked some fruits and started eating.
"If this is our food every time, it'll be exhausting," Zoku said disappointedly.
"Cheer up. Just eat for now," Zam said, trying to lift his mood.
While they were eating, Zoku asked, "Hey… I wanted to ask you something. Why are you so determined to become the Fighter King, even though you know you don't have aura?"
"Oh…" Zam paused. "I want to become the Fighter King to show everyone that even a boy without aura can become the strongest. And… it was also my mom's last wish."
"Oh… you had a really hard childhood, huh," Zoku said softly. "I'm sorry for your loss."
"Thanks, Zoku," Zam replied. "What about you? What's your dream?"
"Mine?" Zoku smiled. "I want to be the first to awaken Dragon Misoma and summon Shichiki."
"That's a really difficult dream," Zam said, throwing away the fruit seed. "You'll need to work really hard for it."
"I guess… let's continue the journey," Zam said.
"Alright!" Zoku replied.