[Warning: Chapter is going to be boring.]
When Casper, the shadow dragon, appeared for the first time, Ken was thrown off balance. He had never heard of a shadow dragon emerging from the Roaring Cave in his past life.
However, when he learned that Galanar had stolen Casper's treasure, everything clicked into place.
Casper's arrival reminded Ken of the monsters that had attacked his city in his previous life. "Would Casper know about the demons and their plans?" Ken pondered.
Despite his regression, Ken had made no headway in collecting information about those demons. Lost in thought, he was brought back to reality by the sound of Casper's enraged voice.
"I will not let you leave my home alive," Casper growled, staring directly at Galanar. "You will pay for your insolence with your life, and your friends will watch as I devour you whole."
Ken knew that Casper wasn't going to spare anyone. As the dragon revealed more about his diabolical plans, Ken became certain that everyone's life was in danger.
He glanced at the other students and saw fear etched on their faces. Ben was frowning deeply. Ken thought to himself, "I don't think I can save everyone. Maybe I should run away. At the very least, I can take the map from Ben and escape from here. After that, I'll contact the professors."
Ken knew that his choice was rational. He still had to find out about those demons, and he had a bright future ahead of him.
He couldn't afford to die here in this cave, but as he thought of escaping, his thoughts were interrupted by the memory of Kevin's words before leaving for the exam.
An inner turmoil started in his mind. Ken thought about his friends, who were still in the cave.
He imagined their faces and remembered the good times they had spent together.
He realized that he couldn't just abandon them to face the danger alone. "I can't just run away and leave them all to die. They're my friends, and I have a moral obligation to protect them."
"But how can I possibly fight a shadow dragon?" Ken knew that the shadow dragon was one of the most powerful and dangerous creatures in this world.
He had only read about them in books and had never seen one in real life till now.
"I don't have to fight it alone. Maybe I can work together with the other students." Ken knew that he wasn't the only skilled one in the school.
Others had been studying just as hard as he had. Maybe they could band together and fight the shadow dragon as a team.
"If I don't do this then who will do it?" Ken said with a polite smile.
Casper initially watched the scene unfold with great interest, but as the talk continued, he started to grow bored.
Casper: rubbing his chin "Hmm, I wonder if I should get some popcorn for this. It's like a real-life soap opera."
He snapped his fingers and a tub of popcorn appeared in the air. He started eating popcorn as he watched Ken talking with other students.
"If you fight with him, I will also fight alongside you," Noah said.
Some students also came forward and said they will join, too.
"No, while I fight with him, you guys find the way out of this cave and get help from the professors," Ken suggested.
Like that argument started. Both parties kept saying things.
Casper: rolls his eyes "Oh come on, this is getting ridiculous. Can't they just talk it out like adults and be done with it? I can't stand here all day."
Ken's statement had caused a stir among the group of students.
Some of them were hesitant to leave him behind, while others felt that they should all stay together and face the danger as a united group.
One of the students spoke up, "But Ken, we can't just leave you and Noah to fight alone. We need to stick together and face this danger together."
Ken shook his head, "I appreciate your bravery, but we don't know what we're dealing with here. It could be too dangerous for all of us to stay."
Casper: scratches his head "Okay, now they're just repeating themselves. Can someone please fast-forward to the end of this episode?"
After 2 minutes, they were still talking.
Casper interrupted them.
"Well, sorry to disturb your opera, but can you end it quickly? Or make it interesting. Like add some songs or dance. I am getting bored here."
Hearing this, everyone was dumbfounded.
Ken came forward and unsheathed his sword.
"Oh, that soap ended? That was a real cliffhanger. I wonder what will happen in tomorrow's episode." Casper smirked.