Chapter 98: Illusion

Roa's dragonification was not complete, which was why the Red Dragon could easily pierce his scales. However, even in this incomplete state, Roa's physical abilities were terrifying. With this drag, he nearly pulled the dragon from the sky to the ground.

The Red Dragon struggled, letting out a mournful cry toward the distance. Its front claws continued to slash at Roa's body, and the two began to wrestle.

Hearing the Red Dragon's cry, three more Red Dragons emerged from the distance. Their sizes varied, with the smallest being eight meters long.

Roa's claws easily tore through the Red Dragon's wings, exposing the white bones beneath. He slammed the dragon into the ground.

The adult Red Dragon was dazed by the impact, and Roa dove toward it once more.

The other Red Dragons circled above, watching their fallen comrade. They began to gather magic power in the air, compressing and expanding a fiery sphere. They were preparing to unleash their Dragon Breath.

With the terrifying heat of the Dragon Breath, a direct hit could severely injure this weakling of a dragon.

And indeed, that was the case. The Dragon Breath alone was comparable to some weaker king-level magic.

Roa's bloodline was still fusing, and his incomplete dragonification couldn't withstand the full force of the Red Dragon's Dragon Breath.

The scorching heat wave rolled through the air, turning half the night sky into a fiery red.

The intense heat caused the air to churn and rise in temperature, and the heat wave surged toward Roa's location.

But the moment the Dragon Breath touched him, the black dragon disappeared, melting into the blinding flames like snow under the sun.

The Dragon Breath didn't stop. It continued toward the molten rock, the fiery flames obliterating the ground and leaving a deep crater. The surrounding area was engulfed in a towering heat wave.

The Red Dragon's crimson eyes scanned the area, but it still couldn't find Roa. It flew toward its fallen comrade.

But suddenly, the beast's intuition screamed at it—danger!

The black dragon, which they had deemed weak, had somehow flown above them. And now, it was preparing to unleash its own Dragon Breath!

Massive amounts of magic power were compressed and gathered. Roa's body already contained an immense amount of magic power, and in this dragonified state, it was even greater.

The elements of wind, fire, water, and earth were compressed and solidified, forming a massive magic sphere.

By the time the Red Dragons realized what was happening, the black Dragon Breath was already upon them. The violent surge of mana swept through the area, its overwhelming force obliterating everything in its path.

A deafening explosion echoed across the Red Dragon Mountains. The black mana expanded and contracted, and in an instant, all tangible objects were annihilated.

The mountain peaks were shattered, and nearly half of the summit of the Red Dragon Mountains disappeared in the blast.

As for the four Red Dragons, they were naturally reduced to ashes.

In the southern range of the Red Dragon Mountains, a man with silver hair and golden eyes stood, his features as if carved by a Sword. His pale golden eyes exuded an intense pressure. He wore a white coat made from the scales of an ancient white dragon, and at this moment, he gazed at the aftermath of the distant explosion.

Orsted, the second of the Seven Great Powers, stood at the pinnacle of the world, his strength immeasurable.

His expression was chillingly cold, and as he looked up, he caught sight of Roa soaring through the sky, his dragon wings flapping.

"Such immense mana… it surpasses even Laplace. But where did this guy come from?"

Orsted's expression was already stern, and when he fell into thought, it only added to his intimidating aura.

Orsted was conflicted. To be honest, he really wanted to go and investigate, but if he were to clash with the other party, a battle would be inevitable. Moreover, this place wasn't too far from where the explosion occurred, and if he were to go over, the other party might have already left.

And a battle would deplete his mana. Hmm, forget it. Let's spare this little guy for now. There's plenty of time in the future, after all.

Besides, his intuition told him that he and the other party would meet again.

For some reason, Orsted's lips curled into a sinister smile.

——

Roa's condition wasn't great, or perhaps his mind had been pulled into an illusion.

In the illusion, Roa looked around in confusion. The surroundings were a vast expanse of white, but not like before. To be precise, everything around him was covered in snow.

Roa stood in the center of it all.

The scene could be described as a world of silver. A cold, pale sun hung in the sky, its faint rays providing no warmth. A biting cold wind brushed against Roa's face, his golden hair swaying in the wind, the chill making his cheeks ache.

Roa was bewildered. His brain had essentially shut down. Wasn't he supposed to be awakening his bloodline? How did he end up here?

Had he passed out? No, that wasn't it. The pain shouldn't have been enough to knock him unconscious.

So, what was going on?

Snowflakes drifted down from the sky, landing on Roa's cheeks before melting away.

The icy sensation left Roa feeling strangely disoriented.

Roa didn't just stand there dumbfounded. He began to move forward.

The snow was deep and soft, and with each step, Roa left thick footprints in the snow-covered ground. The biting wind continued to sap the warmth from his body, and Roa felt his fingers growing numb. It seemed as if his blood had stopped flowing, and his entire body was freezing.

The warm breath he exhaled quickly vanished in the snow. With each inhale of the icy wind, Roa exhaled warm air, but his body temperature continued to drop, and his consciousness grew hazier.

Even the saliva in his mouth seemed to freeze in this weather, and a thin layer of frost formed on his eyebrows.

Yet, with each step, the light in his eyes grew brighter, and his molten golden pupils burned even more intensely.

The snow fell heavier and heavier, quickly turning into a blizzard.

The sky was filled with a cascade of snowflakes.

They say that when a person is freezing to death, they experience a warm illusion?

This was Roa's final thought. At this moment, he wished he could feel that last bit of warmth before his end.

But no, his body temperature continued to drop, and his consciousness gradually faded.

A strange melody drifted from the distance, an ancient and solemn sound, carrying an inexplicable sorrow. For some reason, upon hearing this sound, Roa's heart began to pound violently, and an inexplicable pain surged in his chest.

Even though he couldn't understand it, even though it was the first time he had heard it, the message began to translate in his mind, and the following words appeared:

"Awaken… my king."

Roa was confused. He couldn't comprehend the meaning of the message, but in the next moment, the world spun, and the white illusion shattered like a bubble.

When Roa emerged from the illusion, the surroundings were in complete disarray.

He looked around in bewilderment, his consciousness merging with the scene before him. The area around Roa was a scene of utter devastation. The mountain peaks had collapsed, revealing the bedrock beneath.

In Roa's hand, he held a strange creature whose name he didn't know.

Upon closer inspection, it seemed to be a juvenile Red Dragon, about 2 meters in length.

Its appearance was somewhat odd. Its scales didn't seem fully developed, and a patch of its head was bald, as if it had been burned by some flame.

The creature struggled fiercely in Roa's grip, and when Roa's gaze fell upon it, its crimson eyes met his.

It was a gaze that symbolized unyielding defiance, as if the creature was trying to express its indomitable will.

Roa's fingers tightened slightly, ready to crush the creature's neck.

The juvenile Red Dragon seemed to sense something. Before Roa could exert any force, its head tilted to the side, feigning death.

Roa: "…"

The scene was too absurd. He didn't even know what to say.

Roa reached out and patted the creature's crimson skin, his expression filled with exasperation.

This guy is way too timid. Can't he learn from his parents and relatives?

After a moment of contemplation, Roa felt a pang of guilt and decided to let the creature go… just kidding.

Roa felt that this scene was strangely familiar, reminding him of a question from his past life.

The question was: You are an ancient hero who has trained in martial arts for twenty years and finally wiped out your enemy's entire family. At this moment, you discover a child hiding in the corner.

His answer in his past life was: I hid better than you back then. The next time we meet, I'll kill you.

He prepared to leave, taking one step forward, then suddenly turned back.

"Nice to see you again, idiot~"

The main goal was to deliver a mix of surprise and terror.

Cough, the current situation was somewhat similar to that question.

In any case, Roa was by no means a kind-hearted person.

Mana continued to compress and gather, forming a black seed of magic.

The juvenile Red Dragon, which had been playing dead, began to struggle frantically, its front and hind limbs flailing wildly. But Roa held it by the neck with one hand and lifted it up.

With a thought, the magic seed rapidly spread, roughly binding the Red Dragon. The black threads of the magic seed forcefully penetrated its blood vessels, spreading throughout its body.

Roa tossed the magic seed into the creature without further concern. This little one wasn't anyone important to him. If it succeeded, it would become his subordinate. If it failed, it would naturally die.

Roa began to assess his own condition.

He actively began to exit the dragonified state. His current form wasn't as terrifying as before, being more of a half-human, half-dragon state. His limbs had taken on dragon-like characteristics, but he remained mostly human.

As he exited the dragonified state, the scales on his body gradually disappeared, and the burning sensation throughout his body vanished as well.

Roa raised his hand and looked at his arm, slightly surprised.

The calluses that had formed from years of sword practice were completely gone. His skin was now as smooth as jade.

"This, tsk."

Roa marveled at the change, then touched his face, abdomen, and looked at his arms.

His once muscular body, though still lean and fit, had lost some of its bulk.

Roa's features had become even more handsome, and his skin was now fair to the point that it would be the envy of countless women.

His golden hair cascaded down to his waist, and his molten golden eyes exuded an intense pressure.

It was the dominance of a superior over an inferior, the gap between different levels of life.

Without a word, just by standing in front of someone, Roa could make them instinctively lower their heads.

The density of Roa's muscles had changed. Even in his human form, the density of his bones and muscles had reached an astonishing level.

Now, Roa's physique resembled that of a pampered young master who had never done a day of hard work in his life.

If Roa's previous body was rated as a 1, his current form was at least a 5.

With his current physical condition, Roa could now contain even more mana.

Roa opened the system panel to check what had happened and saw a series of densely packed notifications.

[Bloodline fusion, current progress: 100%]

[Location change detected. Your talent: Pristine Body (Stage 1) has been altered.]

[Bloodline/Talents: Dragonification, Blood Rage, Dragon Body, etc., have been integrated into the Pristine Body category.]

[Your talent, Pristine Body, has been altered.]

[Pristine Body (Stage 1)]

[Current progress: 50% Note: When it reaches 100%, you can consume Origin Power to upgrade the talent.]

[Traits: Dragonification (1), Blood Rage (1), Dragon Body (1), Pristine {Initial talent is at the highest limit}]

[All your attributes have been enhanced.]

[Bloodline fusion completed.]

[Your current attributes are as follows:]

[Character: Roa Greyrat]

[Age: 13]

[Strength: C+]

[Agility: C]

[Stamina: C+]

[Intelligence: A]

[Talents: Pristine Body (Stage 1), Fool (Stage 2), Greed, Sword Heart (Level 3)]

[Traits: Dragonification (1), Blood Rage (1), Dragon Body (1), Pristine {Initial talent is at the highest limit}]

[Fool (Stage 2)]

[Traits: Erudition, significantly increases mental capacity.]

[Erudition: Combines existing knowledge to more easily create things that do not exist (including but not limited to sword techniques, magic).]

[Skills: Advanced Magic Knowledge, Sword God Style (Saint Level), Thunderstorm Cumulonimbus (Water Saint Level), Demon Sword, Magic Seed]

[Evaluation: The vast sea allows fish to leap, and the high sky lets birds soar.]

Roa slowly exhaled, feeling a sense of awe. Was he now almost invincible?

The path to invincibility lay ahead. All he needed to do was defeat the Dragon God and then take down the Human God, and he would become the most powerful being in this world.

Thinking of this, Roa couldn't help but smile. He recalled a phrase from his past life.

"You're invincible, kid."

Although it was somewhat derogatory, he decided to take it as a compliment.

But now, the question was how to get back. Roa looked into the distance. This place was already quite far from the Kingdom of Asura, wasn't it?