It was night, in a quiet inn in the capital, maybe too. Inside one of the private rooms, Dusteria sat on a worn-out sofa, arms wrapped around her legs, her chin resting on her knees.
She stared through the window at the night sky beyond.
Behind her, her father, the Baron, stood by the entrance, his arms crossed as he looked around the modest room.
His nose wrinkled with disgust.
"This place is ridiculous," he muttered, brushing a bit of dust from his sleeve like it was a disease. "For people of our standing, staying in such a... hovel, it’s almost codic."
Dusteria didn’t respond. Her eyes stayed on the window.
The Baron sighed and walked toward the corner of the room.
"Do you think we’ll ever recover, my dear? From nobles in a manor... to peasants in an inn, and we’re not even the one paying our fees. But at least, in this Hell, we have the best treasure."
Dusteria blinked, slowly turning her head.
"What..."
"You, of course," the Baron said with a chuckle. "Our savior. Our little heroine. You’ll restore our na, won’t you? You’ll lift us out of this pit, rescue our legacy with a single noble smile."
She frowned.
"What are you talking about?"
He ignored her confusion. His voice turned bitter.
"This kingdom is built on power, image, and history. Even among nobles, there are "nobles". And we, Dusteria, were not just anyone."
She sighed.
"Don’t roll your eyes," he said. "You know the story. The first hero appeared in our land. It was our predecessors who found him. We healed him. Guarded the sacred forest. And the royal family trusted us with one of the Seven Treasures."
He turned to a faded painting on the wall, a proud depiction of a young man holding a glowing sword.
"But mories are short, and egos are big," he said, smile vanishing. "And now our na is spit on in back alleys. Our family’s legacy is reduced to... this."
He took slow steps toward her, arms clasped behind his back.
"But not for long. Because you, my daughter, are going to change all of that."
Dusteria tensed. Her hands curled into fists. She looked away.
He leaned closer.
"You’re young. You’re beautiful. You’re a noble. Irresistible. That’s your power."
"Dad..."
"No need to be modest," he said, waving her off. "Though n of high station like a humble girl, yes, yes. And speaking of such n..." He tilted his head. "How’s your relationship with Crest?"
She hesitated.
"We—It’s... not good. I think I need more ti."
The Baron’s eyes narrowed.
"And what about that other thing?"
Dusteria’s breath caught. She looked at him, eyes wide.
His tone turned cold.
"You know what I an. The demon. How close are you to him?"
Silence, for seconds. Enough to tell everything.
The Baron sighed quietly, stepping away with a casual grace that didn’t match the heavy air in the room.
"Why is it so hard to fake affection?" he asked softly. "A smile here. A light touch there. A few words of praise. Surely that’s not too much for soone like you?"
Dusteria shifted on her seat, uneasy, her gaze focusing again on the window.
"It’s not that simple," she murmured, voice low. "He’s... distant. Barely even around lately. And he left Crest’s party. I think he hates ... I don’t know what to do."
"Ah." The Baron nodded slowly. "Still too young. Too naïve. You don’t yet understand how the world works."
Dusteria bit softly her lips, but then ca a sudden crash.
She flinched.
The Baron had thrown a chair through the window.
Shards of glass flew everywhere. Cold wind blasted into the room, scattering papers and sending the curtains flapping wildly.
Footsteps thundered in the hallway.
Voices cried out.
"What was that?!" "Soone call the owner!" "Is everyone okay?!"
Dusteria stood frozen, her heart pounding.
The Baron exhaled slowly, adjusting his cuffs like nothing had happened.
"Hm? That? It’s just a minor inconvenience. I’m sure the duke will cover the cost. If not... well, at least now he knows we’re still here. Loud and annoying, like parasites."
He turned to her with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
"Why are you trembling, my dear? Cold? Or is it fear? Probably cold. After all, what’s the worst they can do? Throw us out on the street like rats?"
He stepped toward her again, slowly, steadily, like a predator.
"But it doesn’t matter if we sleep in a trash can, right? Because you, Dusteria... you have a better option. Sothing better than a duke’s son, even a king. You just need to understand..."
She backed up.
He leaned down, whispering in her ear.
"That if you don’t hurry to make out with that dragon... then you really won’t like my illustration of the consequences for us."
She trembled, breath caught in her throat.
Outside, the hallway erupted in panic. Doors opened. Guests peered out. The staff ran down the corridor, calling for calm.
But inside the room, the only sound was the cold wind... and the silence between father and daughter.
Further away, in the depths of a dungeon, a spectacular battle reached its climax.
Bel spun through the air, blades of fire and ice trailing behind him like twin cots.
Sparks flew as he clashed with a giant of stone and muscle wielding two enormous axes.
Bel ducked under a swing, his normal flas flashing, then pivoted and slashed with ice.
Every movent cracked the ground, every step lit the darkness. He jumped backwards, in a quick movent switching his ice blade with a new monster in his arsenal.
[Stonecleaver Blade]
Type: Rare
Effect: Each strike applies [Shatter] status, lowering target’s defense by 15%. Extra damage against enemies with Earth affinity.
Bel growled and leapt again, his blade glowing red-hot.
He struck the giant’s chest with the Stonecleaver and sent a shockwave down its body.
But the giant roared back. A massive axe swung down.
CRASH!
Bel was flung backward, smashing through a jagged rock wall.
[HP: 10,160 / 11,200]
[Terrahide Armor]
Type: Rare
Effect: 120 Toughness, 600 HP, 300 Stamina. Grants 15% Earth resistance.
He wiped blood from his lip, teeth clenched.
"Tch... alright then."
His aura burst out.
His body glowed purple, then blue with his fire, crackling lightning. Bolt Mode, Burning Soul, and his Draconic Form fused into one destructive force.
Bel moved, and with his Bolt Mode activated, ti froze.
He vanished, then appeared at the giant’s leg, blade already slashing.
Again, vanishing and appearing on its chest. Dual slash.
Then, again, this ti on its face.
Slash.
Slash.
SLASH.
With a roar , he delivered a final, explosive strike with both blades, blazing with elental energy, then deactivated his Bolt Mode, resuming the flow of ti.
All at once, the giant let out a terrible groan, its body lighting up. Dozens of wounds burst open, covered by fire and lightning.
The giant was blown back, crashing to the floor like a falling mountain.
[Boss Defeated]
Bel staggered, breathing heavily.
[MP: 2,100 / 23,000]
Not bad.
A soft glow hovered before him.
[Item Acquired: Rune of Quake (Earth)] Effect: Grants [Localized Earthquake] ability. Sends a shockwave in a radius.
[Item Acquired: Rune of Endurance] Effect: 500 HP, 300 Stamina, 50 Toughness
Bel exhaled and let his draconic form fade, relaxing his limbs.
He held up the runes, a great addition to his stats, but his face said otherwise.
"Damn it," he muttered. "It’s really earth... again."
————————————————————
[Draconic Evolution System] ————————————————————
[1. STATS]
[Level: 50]
[Race: Dragon]
[Title: Demonic Lindworm]
[Class: Demon General]
[HP: 10,160 / 11,200]
[MP: 2,100 / 18,500]
[Stamina: 10,800 / 10,800]
[Unallocated Stat Points: 10]
[Maximum Level Reached]
[Experience Capped. Evolution Complete.]
————————————————————
Primary Attributes
Strength: 685
Toughness: 480
Agility: 790
Endurance: 465
Intelligence: 730
Wisdom: 820
Pressure: 85
Luck: 11
————————————————————
Draconic Core: 75%
————————————————————
Secondary Attributes
Final Wyrm
Lindworm’s Legacy
Pressure: Lindworm Class
Aura Suppression: Maxed
Draconic Regeneration: Advanced
Elental Affinity: Fire, Ice, Lightning, Water, Earth (Maxed)
————————————————————
[2. SKILLS]
Abyssal Fla
Eternal Ice
Bolt Mode
Primordial Drench
Terra Genesis
Elental Convergence [Stage 2]
Reflex (Passive)
Poison Mastery
Critical Chances (Passive)
Lesser Demon Slayer
Beast Slayer
Reptilian Slayer
Piercing Strike
———————————————————— [3. STORAGE]
[Inventory Slots: 100/100]
———————————————————— [4. REFINENT]
Fuse Skills
Upgrade Traits
Synthesize Weapon
He scowled at the screen. His stats had ballooned to insane levels. He was, in pure numbers, an overwhelming monster.
But still, no new elent.
"Why is it always the sa?" he muttered.
He checked one of the new abilities.
[Skill: Terra Genesis]
Effect: Shatter the ground under a target area, creating a powerful localized quake.
MP Cost: 1,600 MP.
Powerful. But just the sa skill with a different na.
He sighed, crossing his arms.
"I’ve cleared dozens of dungeons, killed thousands of monsters, devoured core after core. So why..."
His eyes narrowed. He had the answer. It wasn’t random.
It was the system.
Ever since the black orb changed his system, it had beco more reactive. It gave him exactly what he needed at the mont he needed it.
It sold him spells before the boss arrived. It gave him gear against lightning monsters. And the dungeons had changed too.
Each ti, the elent lined up with the dungeon the.
But now? Now, no matter what dungeon he entered, it circled back to those sa five.
"Fire, Ice, Lightning, Water, Earth," he whispered.
No Wind, no seventh elent.
"I’m stuck in a loop."
He opened his inventory, completely full since he had stopped caring. All the sa elents. Even his synthesis options weren’t offering new paths.
He thought back to the duke’s library. Basic elental theory spoke of four main elents: fire, water, earth, wind.
Then so mages split them further: lightning from fire, ice from water. That made six.
So traditions added a seventh, light or darkness, depending on the region.
Here, light was famous as the symbol of the legendary Hero, but then there should be darkness.
In Bel’s system’s case, there were no such rules.
Ice and lightning weren’t sub-elents. They were main paths. Fully ford.
And now, it had stopped.
He stared at the system. His eyes moved slowly across the screen until they landed on the glowing line.
[Maximum Level Reached][Experience Capped. Evolution Available][Initiate Evolution: Y / N]
Bel didn’t blink.
He’d been ignoring this for days, waiting to master every elent. But what if... that was the mistake?
"Maybe it’s not about the elents at all," he whispered. "Maybe... I’ve already gotten everything this form can offer."
The system had shifted after every major transformation.
When he evolved from wyrm to lindworm, his body changed, and so did the way he utilized his power. That’s when elents first appeared.
So now... maybe this was the system telling him: you’re done with this part.
Maybe, the rest would co... only after.
He stared at the YES.
Silence fell in the chamber. His eyes didn’t move from the screen.
Then, with a single breath, Bel’s lips curled.
"Let’s do it."
His gaze sharpened.
[Y]
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