The Demon Dragon Transformation and Void Flames were the two main gains Damien had made in the past battle. Although he didn’t pay much attention to levels, he noticed that he had passed the level 150 mark, making him halfway to the level requirement for 4th class.’
But even after he had tabulated the gains so far, there was still much left to test.
The Demon Dragon Transformation was a final form. It was something Damien couldn’t use unless he was sure of victory or if he had no other options. But the two transformations that created that ultimate form were things he could use as he saw fit.
Evidently, both the Demon Transformation and Dragon Transformation bloodline skills drastically advanced his physical strength, but he had to see what other benefits they had. If they only amounted to this much, then what was the difference between a dragon and a demon?
What Damien knew about dragons was scarce. Even though he stayed in White Dragon Grotto, he had never reached an appropriate status to gain the information he needed to fully understand his bloodline. But he at least knew some of the basic facts.
For one, dragons were a race with a strange dichotomy. They were both a warring race and a race of scholars, with most dragons choosing between these two paths.
Dragons were known as the domineering rulers of the sky. Their breath could burn the heavens and their claws could split the world into six. This kind of dragon was what Damien was most familiar with, as it matched his own belligerent personality.
However, there was also another title the dragon race had acquired over the years. That was their identity as rulers of mana. Dragons could summon the winds and rain at will, maneuvering mana as if it was an extension of their body and performing miraculous feats that others couldn’t even fathom.
In fact, these dragons were responsible for many of the advancements in mana control and development that the universe had seen to this day. Even Damien had received the benefits of the knowledge they passed down.
For instance, Mana Circuits. Or rather, the concept of using a medium to optimize and increase the efficiency of mana circulation and output.
This was knowledge that was publicized on a universal scale eons before Damien’s time, and over the years many different variations of the concept emerged.
Apeiron’s method of creating one’s own Mana Circuits, the Cloud Plane’s method that allowed their people to possess inborn Mana Circuits, and even Damien’s own Ananta Matrix were all examples of these variations.
But at their core was knowledge publicized by dragons who took the path of the scholar, becoming sages that contributed largely to the development and prosperity of society as a whole.
Damien himself had only learned this through the White Dragon King when they conversed on their way to Taesi. Although he took the battle path, he held heavy admiration and pride for the accomplishments of his extremely distant ancestors.
Worlds like Apeiron had long forgotten the origin of their methods. And while Damien hadn’t explored the Cloud Plane enough to know for certain, he figured that only the ancient records of some ancient sects would still possess such knowledge.
The reason Damien’s thoughts moved in this direction was because he was sure his Dragon Transformation didn’t simply lean towards one path or another.
While his physical strength would receive a large boost, it was only a result of his body acquiring draconic traits. If he truly mastered his transformation and gained the ability to use his bloodline abilities in tandem with it, he was certain he could elicit much greater results.
Like this, his Dragon Transformation could heighten his mana control to unprecedented levels and allow his mana capacity to temporarily increase as well. With his vessel gaining the appropriate strength to contain such energy, he could become a true master of mana.
‘In short, I’ll be able to spam my strongest moves and harass people like mad!’
It was only theory, but Damien was more than a little excited to turn it into reality. There was no way he’d simply sit still and let his two transformed physiques take such a boring path of just increasing physical strength.
As for his Demon Transformation, it was a different story. For one, the word Demon was something he used out of convenience. He didn’t actually know the origin of the bloodline he gained from the dark material.
Damien sat on the ground in a meditative posture as he examined the bloodline. Soon, a blob of inky black liquid appeared in his hand.
‘It’s not the same.’
This was the conclusion he made. The blob in his hand was naturally the bloodline he had acquired from the various Demon Captains and Generals he had devoured during his crusade.
He didn’t want to associate with the Nox, so he never allowed their bloodline to merge with them. He expected the same thing to happen when he devoured the dark material, but he was entirely wrong.
The amount and purity of Nox blood within these corrupted Demons was minimal, but with the refinement of Void Essence and the coagulation of blood from hundreds of their species, Damien was able to get a decent sample of what the blood of a purebred Nox would be.
But when comparing it to the Demon blood in his body now, he was certain they were different things.
Damien furrowed his brows as he fell into thought.
‘It’s impossible for that Demon God to be anything but a pure born Nox. I’ve seen it with my own eyes, and the evidence from my encounters with the Demons confirms it. If so, then why is the bloodline I received from a piece of that Nox something entirely different?’
He couldn’t understand it. Even with the existence of mana, creating something out of nothing was near impossible.
‘The refinement of Void Essence is definitely a variable that could’ve caused this change, but in the end, that’s still refinement. It isn’t able to intrinsically change the bloodline into something else.’
Damien barely had any comprehension towards his Void Essence, so he couldn’t be entirely certain if what he thought was the truth, but he still assumed it was so. If Void Essence was actually so broken even at the lowest level that he possessed, then what was the point of there being higher levels of the essence?
In the end, he couldn’t figure it out. The only thing he knew was that the bloodline he possessed was from a far higher race than the Nox could ever be, and the Demon Transformation he had gained was barely even scratching the surface of its abilities.
But it was still so powerful.
Damien shuddered when he thought about the implications of this new ability. Perhaps, he had inadvertently gotten involved in something even those 4th class experts were too weak to understand.
‘Sigh, I never want to meddle with these crazy things, but I always end up getting involved in one way or another. Well, whatever. Until the time when problems actually begin to arise, this bloodline will be something that I rely on heavily. If so, then there’s no need to fear it.’
As Damien meditated, he slowly regained the lost stamina and vitality from when he used his Demon Dragon Transformation and waited patiently.
Only after this process was finished would he be able to properly experiment on his Demon Transformation.