After Alex completed the ritual to gain his [Dragon Bloodline], the remaining trial survivors followed in his footsteps.
Lira was the first to step forward after him, then Clovox, and finally Draven.
Each of them approached the fountain in turn, and though the process remained the same, there was one noticeable difference: the color of the liquid that emerged from the mouths of the statues varied for each of them.
For Alex, the liquid had been a radiant gold.
When Lira placed her token into the fountain, the liquid turned a brilliant white.
Clovox’s was a rich, earthy brown, while Draven’s took on a dark, almost black hue.
Despite their successes, none of them chose to examine their new perks and abilities immediately.
Alex could guess why.
Just like him, they probably preferred to review their powers in private, away from prying eyes.
They had passed the trial together, but that didn’t guarantee lasting alliances.
The tension between them hadn’t disappeared, it had just been postponed.
For Alex, that tension ran deeper than mere competition.
He knew the future would bring more than just rivalries.
The angel, minotaur, and dark elf clans wouldn’t just be threats within Universal Descent, they would align with the gods themselves to wage war on humanity.
He had no illusions about this.
To protect his people, Alex would eventually have to take drastic measures.
Destroying cities, assassinating leaders, or even swaying entire factions by cutting down the gods they served were all on the table.
He needed to show his true power to force them into submission or, at the very least, to reconsider their loyalties.
But that was the future.
Right now, Alex knew he wasn’t strong enough to take on those challenges head-on.
If he excluded [World Cleaver], his power was on par with the others at best.
Their leaders, not to mention their top warriors, were likely even stronger.
Any premature move would be suicide.
He needed patience. The right moment would come, but this wasn’t it.
Then it was Astariel’s turn.
The process started as it had for the others, but Alex found himself wondering about one specific detail.
‘Wait,’ he thought, eyeing the fallen angel as he approached the fountain, ‘He already has four wings. Does that mean he’ll get six?’
“I don’t know,” Alphox shrugged.
As Astariel placed his token into the fountain, the liquid turned a deep crimson.
After thirty seconds of submerging his head, he emerged, his features unchanged at first glance.
But unlike the others, Astariel didn’t hesitate to check his new abilities.
He wasn’t worried about revealing his power to anyone.
Alex wasn’t surprised by that confidence.
Fallen Angels weren’t on his [Elimination List] after all.
And that meant that they were notoriously neutral, in fact, Alex had never even encountered one before.
They didn’t seem to have a stake in the fight against humanity.
The moment Astariel activated his new powers, Alex’s question was answered.
Two new wings sprouted from his back, joining the ones he already had.
Now, Astariel sported six wings in total.
Two white wings represented his origins as an angel, two black ones marked his fall from grace, and the newest pair, deep crimson, signified his freshly acquired dragon bloodline.
Astariel glanced at the panels in front of him, a satisfied grin spreading across his face, “Not bad,” he murmured, “Three new skills and a decent boost to my stats.”
Without another word, he flapped his wings and soared into the sky, leaving [Dragon City] behind without a second thought.
He had no reason to linger.
His tribe of [Fallen Angels] awaited his return.
Lira followed shortly after, ascending with her angel wings and disappearing into the clouds.
Clovox and Draven, on the other hand, opted for a different approach.
Instead of flying away, they casually strolled into [Dragon City] to explore, their postures relaxed but their eyes alert.
With everyone else gone or occupied, Alex found himself alone in front of the [Dragon Bloodline Altar].
‘Well,’ he thought, ‘Might as well head out.’
Ding!
[Dragon City has been added to your World Map]
That notification brought a small sense of relief.
He could return here whenever he wanted, though he doubted the dragons would be eager to welcome him back.
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Being a human, and a half-blood at that, meant he’d never truly belong here.
“Let’s just go,” Alphox said, snapping Alex out of his thoughts, “I think it’s time you spoke to Arceus again.”
“Right.”
Alex remembered the quest Arceus, the grand mage, had given him.
[SSS-Level Grand Mage Student Quest #3: “New Bloodline”!]
[Objective: Acquire a new bloodline, either “Angel” or “Dragon.”]
[Reward: ???]
Now that he had fulfilled the objective, it was time to claim his reward.
Alex opened his [World Map], and a large, translucent screen appeared in his field of vision.
Without hesitation, he navigated to the [Mage Tower] tab and selected it.
In a flash of blue light, he vanished from [Dragon City].
The real battles were about to begin.
The time had come for Alex to grow strong enough to make even the gods fear his name.
…
Primordial Dragon Order, Dragon City
Moments after the bloodline ceremonies concluded
“Looks like they all managed to acquire the bloodline,” Xyrran groaned, his voice laced with annoyance.
The dragons were gathered in a vast chamber, seated around a massive table laden with exotic foods.
Servants moved silently between them, refilling goblets and presenting platters, but the dragons barely acknowledged their presence.
This was where they held their most important discussions, and today’s topic had soured the mood.
In this chamber created by Xyrran, time flowed differently: a few hours here passed as mere minutes in the outside world.
This gave them more time to plan and strategize.
“I still can’t believe we let a human get our bloodline,” Draegos, the Primordial Earth Dragon, muttered.
He was one of the weaker members of the order, but his pride stung just the same.
“Shut up,” Xeltharion, the Primordial Chaos Dragon, snapped, “You’d have lost to any one of them in a fight.”
He scoffed, shaking his massive head, “I don’t care about the others, they’re strong enough to earn it. But a human? That’s going to ruin our reputation.”
“He is strong, though,” Xyrran admitted grudgingly.
That admission carried weight.
Xyrran, the Supreme Primordial Dragon of Space and Time, looked down on everyone, even the other dragons.
For him to recognize Alex’s strength meant the human wasn’t just a fluke.
He was a real threat.
“But strength isn’t the issue,” Xyrran continued, “He could be a god for all I care. I still won’t accept this.”
“So, what do we do?” Zyphir, the Primordial Storm Dragon, asked, his tone cautious, “They’re all leaving the city now, it’s going to be hard to get to them later.
You know they won’t come back unless we order them to, and something tells me those ‘lowly beings’ won’t exactly follow our commands.”
“Especially not with a skill like [World Cleaver],” Vaelros, the Primordial Fate Dragon, pointed out, “He could probably cut through all of us, no matter what rank we are. We can’t take him head-on.”
Even among the Primordial Dragons, there was a strict hierarchy based on their strength and unique powers.
[Supreme Primordial Dragon: Xyrran (Space and Time)]
[High Primordial Dragons: Vaelros (Fate), Xeltharion (Chaos), Orvion (Arcane), Seraphyxis (Celestial), Morgathis (Abyss)]
[Primordial Dragons: Zyphir (Storm), Draegos (Earth), Ignareth (Inferno), Vaelith (Frost)]
The lowest-ranked dragons were still immensely powerful, but their elemental powers paled in comparison to the more specialized abilities of the High Primordials.