The Celestial Dragons—those who rule under the heavens—are a title passed down through generations in Tianlong, given to seven individuals with power above all others, each representing a fundamental aspect of natural order and magical power. Although they rarely leave their homeland—unlike the Sanos, where the strongest may leave and return at will—the land of Tianlong is always well protected, with each Celestial Dragon equally stationed around the continent.
All of them are eighth-circle mages and rank among the top ten strongest at that level, which grants immense power to Tianlong for having seven of the ten strongest eighth-circle mages, along with the second strongest ninth-circle mage: Empress Jiutian Huanghou.
And the guard standing before Enrico is the daughter of the seventh Dragon.
"Jin Lianhua, daughter of Jin Guang."
"Don't speak his name, boy..."
Lianhua was trying to figure out what he was about to say. What did he mean by something that would interest the Empress? This boy had the audacity to think he could interest the Empress?
'I should just kill—'
"The Golden Dragon Elixir."
The Golden Dragon Elixir was something all seven Celestial Dragons were seeking for their Empress—something from the family that could increase her chances of reaching the tenth circle. It was a secret known only to the seven and the Empress. So how did this boy know?
She quickly placed her spear against Enrico's throat with an irritated expression.
"Don't play with me, boy."
"I'm not playing. I want to make a deal."
"Speak."
"First, I need to be sure you won't kill me afterward."
Enrico was serious and wanted her to remove the spear from his throat. But she pressed it slightly deeper, drawing blood and making him feel a sting.
"I give the orders here."
Her gaze was threatening; she had no intention of trusting anything he said.
"Then I guess you'll miss out on the elixi—"
The spear sliced part of his hair and the wall behind him, leaving a deep hole too dark to see through.
"You think I'm joking?"
"No, but I'd say the best choice is for you to lower your spear because I can prove it."
"And how?"
Enrico pointed to a piece of paper in his hand and handed it to her. When she read it, there was only one sentence written: "When we leave the dungeon, I'll tell you."
She crumpled the paper and looked at Enrico—only to be surprised as he stepped onto what seemed like a trap and vanished. She immediately began to search for him.
Meanwhile, Enrico appeared in a room filled with objects that looked like Nartheis cores—but it was all a trap. He moved on until reaching the back wall, where he pressed a hidden spot that sank in and opened a passage across the room. He ran quickly and sealed the passage behind him.
"I made it. If I had taken longer, I'd have been expelled from the room, and it would've changed location."
[Is there a Nartheis here for you to fight and get the next item?]
Enrico entered the next room. In the center floated a body encased in a red metal orb, visible through a glass section in the middle. It hovered above an altar. The name of the artifact was Red Torturer.
"I'm not fighting that thing, not even if I wanted to."
[Looks like we have a coward here. Come on, wake him up.]
Enrico looked at the system, pressed a nearby button, and the orb began to shrink, squeezing the body and releasing blood through small holes beneath it. The blood poured onto the altar, activating it. Enrico removed all his clothes and looked in the mirror, seeing the mark of the Fire Cancer.
"I have to get stronger—faster."
Enrico noticed his body looked more athletic, and since he was alone, he smiled at the mirror, proud of his training.
"I look way better now, hehe."
[What an idiot. Why are you smiling?]
Right—he had forgotten about the moment-ruining voice next to him. Enrico saw the blood run dry, and the orb was now the size of half a hand, shrinking further to half a finger. He picked up the tiny orb, examined it, and stepped onto the altar.
"Are you going to do a ritual now?"
Enrico swallowed the core and felt a burning sensation throughout his body. He sat in a meditation position and breathed calmly. The blood on the altar began to glow, evaporating and entering Enrico's skin. The burning intensified but he managed to endure it.
After five minutes, when the burning subsided, he opened his eyes and looked at his body, jumping off the altar when he saw no blood remained.
Name: Enrico Solcren Ferreira
Magic: Fire – Circle 1 – 17%
Mana Amount: 153
Unique Ability: Elemental Clone
Soul: 65
Looking at his stats, he was excited to see his improvement. What he had just performed was the Ghoul Blood Ritual. Not only did it enhance his blood, it also improved his fire magic, mana amount, and soul—a great result. This is also one of the few dungeons that contain an artifact capable of evolving the percentage.
"With this, my blood is above seventy percent of the people in the territory. The next item from the boss's defeat will elevate me to among the top five in the world."
[I'd really like to know more about this fourth artifact, since I'm at the part where that villain gets these three.]
And of course, with the fourth one, his blood would become the greatest of all generations. The room began to change, and he was taken elsewhere to put his clothes back on. He walked out and saw that Takeshi had already exited the boss room. Yumeha and Rina were about to go looking for him, but he waved and stopped them.
"I'm here."
Yumeha looked over his body to see if he was hurt. Rina glanced around.
"Where's the guard who went with you?"
"She should be arriving."
Lianhua appeared in the distance. Seeing that Enrico hadn't told the others she was from Tianlong, she stayed on guard.
"Young master, you shouldn't go off like that."
"Sorry, it won't happen again."
Takeshi handed a blood-red necklace to Enrico.
"Here's your reward, young master."
Enrico looked at it and thanked him. He took the necklace, and they all left the dungeon, which dissolved behind them, with the guards carrying the rest of the rewards and the Nartheis cores.