Seeing Ethan freeze next to him, Komait heaved a sigh of relief, a spark of joy flashing in his eyes.
His intention was not entirely benevolent, nor was he simply trying to attack Ethan while he was occupied with the weapon…
Given Ethan’s strength, it was almost a certainty that he would gain the weapon’s approval.
He didn’t want to face retribution later.
As for ambushing Ethan, wouldn’t that be asking for a death wish?
All he wanted was to distract Ethan for just a short while.
Komait reached out and laid his hand on the dragon corpse’s skull, closing his eyes.
Suddenly, the dragon’s body began to tremble violently, and a black Dragon Ball slowly emerged from its forehead and floated into Komait’s own.
ƥαṇdαs ηθνε| After successfully absorbing the Dragon Ball, Komait suppressed his excitement, standing modestly to one side.
“Heh heh… Ethan, once I’ve fully absorbed and refined this lifebound Dragon Ball and achieved S-rank, I’ll come to settle the score with you.”
…
Wave after wave of icy killing intent crashed against Ethan’s mind.
In his sea of consciousness, the phantom image of a lance constantly appeared, solidifying, then violently thrusting towards him.
Excruciating pain surged through him.
The space around him started to warp as if he was crossing through time and space.
When he came to, he found himself standing in the midst of a battlefield.
A colossal Black Dragon, dark as night and eclipsing the sky, roared above the barren lands.
His furious howls shattered the clouds, making him seem like the sole ruler of this universe.
The source of his fury?
At his feet were the seemingly insignificant, yet audaciously defiant, heroes.
Leading the pack was a towering Giant Orc.
Standing at nearly three meters tall, his upper body bare and a dark, ominous spear held firmly in his hand.
It was said that among the orc tribes, only a handful who underwent a rare mutation were granted the title of Giant Orc, one in a million.
Born to be many times stronger than their kin, naturally Herculean, each emergence of a Giant Orc has led to countless legends about them across the continent.
This Giant Orc was no exception.
Alongside him, there stood a hulking werewolf, a beautiful treant, a skinny undead, and a short goblin wielding a dagger.
All originated from the same place, the land oppressed by the Black Dragon.
Not long after reaching adulthood, the Giant Orc led many young people of different races to escape from the Black Dragon’s territory, and they wandered outside for decades.
Of those who started this journey together, only these five survived.
Carrying the wishes of their fallen comrades, aiming to bring freedom and peace to the oppressed inhabitants of their homeland, they ignited a massive rebellion against the Black Dragon.
They had all but won this battle. Most of the Black Dragon’s followers chose to switch sides at the outset, and those who stayed loyal were quickly eliminated.
Their campaign was a steamroller, and they stormed directly into the Black Dragon’s lair… only to be confronted with the ultimate challenge: the Black Dragon himself, the greatest threat to their lands.
Unless he died, no matter how many minor battles they won, the outcome remained the same.
Led by the Giant Orc, the five heroes risked everything in a do-or-die battle against the Black Dragon.
They fell one after another, with the survivors carrying the will of the fallen, charging fearlessly at the Black Dragon.
After four comrades paid the ultimate price, the Giant Orc, with his semi-divine spear, pierced the skull of the Black Dragon… at the cost of his own life.
Critically wounded, the Black Dragon fled back to his Dragon’s Lair and used his bloodline power to seal it, but he couldn’t hold on.
The semi-divine weapon inflicted irreversible damage, and after struggling for a period, he died humiliatingly in his own lair.
As the spear of the Giant Orc pierced the skull of the Black Dragon, Ethan felt that in that moment, he became the Black Dragon.
Waves of terror, akin to death itself, assaulted his nerves.
If not for Ethan’s Divine Dragon lineage and naturally strong mental fortitude, he might have succumbed to this mental onslaught.
The scene of the Black Dragon being skewered by the spear replayed incessantly in Ethan’s mind.
He had to relive this agonizing cycle over and over…
After what felt like an eternity, when the spear lunged at Ethan again, he suddenly regained control of his body.
Ethan firmly grasped the spear and counter-thrusted!
The entire illusory space shattered, and Ethan’s consciousness gradually returned to his body.
As he regained his senses, he caught sight of the respectful Black Dragon Komait, who had been standing guard beside him.
This guy’s behavior was somewhat unexpected to Ethan.
Initially, Ethan had assumed that this guy would take the opportunity to escape, or, while Ethan was trying to control the lance, launch a surprise attack on him.
Unexpectedly, he didn’t do anything…
Black Dragon Komait, oblivious to Ethan’s suspicions, inadvertently saved his own life.
Maybe it’s true that being in this Dragon’s Lair comes with the protection of their ancestors.
If Komait had dared to make a move on Ethan, Ethan was ready to kill him on the spot.
After all, this Black Dragon’s biggest utility to Ethan was to unlock the gate to this treasure.
Now that Komait was behaving so obediently, an A-rank power could still be useful, both for the current Riverside and for Ethan himself.
Thanks to the Black Dragon’s good behavior, Ethan decided to spare his life.
Having passed the test of will, the lance in Ethan’s hand had recognized its master. Occasionally, a pulse, like that of a living creature, would run through the lance, making Ethan feel as if it were an extension of his own body.
He also learned the real name of this lance – the Dragon Slayer.
Upon acquiring the Dragon Slayer, Ethan also heard a system notification:
[Ding! Congratulations, host. Hidden Quest ‘Black Dragon’s Treasure’ is completed!]
[You’ve earned an S-rank treasure chest x1!]𝗈𝗏𝓛xt.𝗇𝓔t
In addition to the reward from the Hidden Quest, Ethan, who had acquired the vast wealth in the Dragon’s Lair, saw another massive increase in his attributes.
[Name: Ethan]
[Strength: A+ Rank]
[Bloodline: Golden Divine Dragon]
[Skills: Golden Divine Scale (Intermediate), Magic Immunity (Advanced), Fiery Dragon Flame, Thunder Claw, Wind Wing, Holy Light Judgment, Holy Shining Form, Deluge, Demon’s Gate, Heart-Eroding Spell, Scale Space (unlocked), Shapeshifting (unlocked).]
[Attributes: HP 10,000, Spirit 750, Strength 205, Constitution 190, Agility 110]
With his HP exceeding the 10,000 mark, the current Ethan was indeed deserving of the title of final boss.
Besides the overall attribute improvement, he had also unlocked two new spells.
Ethan instantly spent some gold to unlock both of these very useful skills.
[Scale Space]: The reversed scale, for dragons, is the toughest scale and also the dragon’s vital part. After being purified by your Bloodline, your reversed scale now has spatial powers and a huge storage space inside it.
This skill was non-aggressive, equivalent to a giant space ring carried with him.
After unlocking the skill, Ethan immediately sensed the space opened up inside the reversed scale.
It was over 200 meters in length and width, more than enough to store all the treasures he had acquired so far.
“No wonder they say ‘the dragon’s reversed scale is not to be touched.’ …So that’s what they mean.”
This skill was not exclusive to Ethan.
Those high-rank dragons would also unlock it when their strength reached a certain level.
And for the dragons, who were known to be greedy, it was clearly the safest to carry treasures with them.
Daring to touch a dragon’s reversed scale was like reaching into his wallet to rob him. Of course, he would fight you to the death.
In addition to [Scale Space], the other unlocked skill was [Shapeshifting].
This skill didn’t need much introduction.
With this skill, Ethan no longer had to rely on potions, and he could change into any race that Ethan knew of at any time, moving freely in this continent.
Ethan was very satisfied with both skills.
Rubbing his hands together in anticipation, Ethan looked expectantly at the reward he received for completing the Hidden Quest – an S-rank chest, probably the most valuable reward he had received since his transmigration.
[Ding! You’ve opened an S-rank chest and gained a Bloodline advancement!]
Bloodline advancement?
The Divine Dragon Bloodline was already incredibly strong, and if it could be advanced once again… the implications for his power increase went without saying.
Filled with a quiet thrill, Ethan chose to claim his reward.
An arcane golden glow burst forth, and countless symbols flooded into Ethan’s mind.
Within just a fleeting moment, Ethan felt as if thousands of years of Divine Dragon lineage memory had been integrated into his mind.
Upon the birth of a dragon, they would receive a Bloodline inheritance, teaching them how to grow.
As the dragons became stronger, they would gradually unlock more and more of this inherited memory.
Because Ethan was a Dark Lord and had traversed realities, he had not undergone this process.
This round of inherited memory allowed Ethan to make up for this deficit, and even added thousands of years of lineage memory passed down through generations of Divine Dragons.
It gave him a deeper understanding of this world.
However, he could only absorb a tiny portion of this memory now.
To fully integrate this inheritance into his mind required a great deal of time.