Dragon Revival Ritual [2]

It didn't take Orca long to reach the entrance of the Giant Valley. He arrived quickly after starting to sprint, his speed strengthened by channeling mana to his legs.

But as soon as he arrived, it was as if his world had crumbled. There were no living monsters ahead, as if a mysterious event had occurred that took away all the monsters from the stampede. Before him were the corpses of some of his henchmen, a crumbled earth wall, and carcasses of some monsters from the stampede.

His throat became dry at the sight. His fist wounded his palm from clenching so hard, and his eyes dropped to the ground.

All of his efforts had disappeared in an instant.

"Whoever did this, I will make sure they suffer," he promised himself with hatred before turning his back.

The revival ritual was a type of magic circle ritual. With ingredients needed at the core powder and an intricate pattern that should surround the town, he wasn't defeated yet. Orca now knew someone was trying to stop him. He didn't know who could possibly do it, stealing his stampede and the lives of his men, but this wouldn't stop him.

The circle of the town had outskirts. He had placed magic circles at each point, surrounding the whole town with a group of magic circles, creating a huge magic circle from this method.

Orca knew it wasn't the end. He could still get the sacrifice, the lives of 10,000 people in the town, to activate the ritual. And to do this, he would kill the townsfolk with a simple method.

Spells would be the most efficient way, but he knew an enemy was lurking, so he dismissed the idea. If he drained his mana, he would be unprotected from his enemy.

He took out his communication artifact and slid his finger over some of the patterns on it. As soon as he finished, it glowed and connected to the other owners of a similar artifact in the town.

"Prepare the massacre," he commanded, but someone on the other end replied with concern.

"But, my lord, wouldn't the kingdom suspect it? Wasn't the stampede the alternative?"

"The stampede disappeared." Orca dismissed the concern and ended the connection.

He didn't care anymore about the other possible outcomes. As long as he revived the dragon, he could manage to escape the kingdom's judgment. Despite the monster stampede serving as his cover from the eyes of others, he had another plan prepared.

Massacre would be it. He would kill the people and destroy the evidence when the dragon awakened. After that, he would plan again on how to blend in with the kingdom.

'The first dragon won't be the only one I revive. After this, I'll take control of another piece of land and revive another dragon until I control the entire kingdom. There's no choice but to hasten the progress; slow progression is no longer an option.'

He had hoped for a slower progress for his family's safety. He didn't want to snatch away the life his family had grown accustomed to.

As Orca's resolve stood strong, he checked every magic circle he had planted around the town. Seeing they were still intact, a smile of relief and exhilaration appeared on his face. The goal was still within reach.

With the wineglass-shaped artifact in his hand, he checked the luster of its gold. The wineglass had a slightly red hue at its bottom, indicating that blood had been shed for the artifact and the revival of the dragon.

'The Cup of Blood is going to be filled. Now, with some of the people dying, I can't help but be more excited. My ancestors and my goal are just at my fingertips.'

As Orca observed the town from a vantage point, Jaxon, on the other hand, had left Titan One to deal with the monsters. Although Titan One was still in its premature state, capable only of fighting the monsters surrounding him, Jaxon could feel them through their connection via 'Gadget Control.'

The skill gave him an advantage despite not having a subconscious connection with Titan One. It was still possible to leave that job to him.

Jaxon's job now was to ensure the settlers wouldn't die.

[I am back, Jaxon. I extracted another skill from your ability. It is called Weapon Mastery. You can now register a weapon and be connected to it, displaying mastery. I have also extracted Storage. You can now store weapons and gadgets.]

Mysteries still surrounded his unique ability and the Assimilation System. It seemed that every other second, the system would try to uncover Jaxon's full potential. This made him question his identity and existence. What was he? This had never happened before in his first life, and he could never think of any reasonable explanation for the existence of such a unique artifact that became the Assimilation System.

Although he wanted answers to clear his confusion, he wasn't focused on that in the meantime. Saving the world was his priority. Hence, he should take advantage of the ability while it was still unlimited in potential.

Down in the town, Jaxon noticed men clad in black, supposedly Orca's men, had spread out. They had swords grasped in their hands, exuding an unusual intent.

'Don't tell me… Orca! How dare you initiate a massacre!'

Rage washed over him as he sprinted toward one of the men who had entered a house. The man caused terror among the townsfolk, their screams echoing through the night. They were already afraid of the tremors, and now a suspicious person had entered their home with an unsheathed sword.

"Please don't kill us!"

The man raised his sword, and the mother and children could only close their eyes. However, as the sword never reached them, they peeked with hesitation and fear, only to see the man losing his heart. A hole showed what was behind, and they saw another figure cloaked in black.

Fear still gripped them, making it hard to think. All they could do was escape from the figure who had killed the intruder.

Jaxon saw their fear but didn't attempt to ease it. He took the sword and left the house. He wasn't done; people were dying every second.

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[Assimilation System]

Spells: Calamity Bringer, Destruction, Ending's Call, No One is Alive, Void Bringer, Wide Range Explosion, Undead Hands, and 11 more

Weapons: Iron Sword

Gadgets: Titan One

Artifacts: Cog of Eternity, Boots of Aurora, Mana Gather, Brave's Call

Passive Abilities: Gadget Control, Weapon Mastery, Storage

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A/N: I am still excited about what will happen in this story. And I am curious about what you guys are expecting as well. Are you excited about the turn of events?