Meanwhile, Bruce felt a strange sensation ripple across his skin as his vision snapped into darkness. His instincts sharpened instantly, but even as he braced himself, he couldn't stop the thought from slipping out. 'What the hell is happening now?'
When sight finally returned, he narrowed his eyes, scanning his surroundings.
'This… it feels almost like the Thousand Life and Death trial. Is this another trial?'
He clenched his jaw. He didn't know much about this world yet, but he did know one thing: trials were always solo. And beside him...
~kyuuuu~
A soft familiar sound.
Bruce glanced down to find Ash clinging to his shoulder, nuzzling his neck in a frightened whimper.
'Right. Ash is here. That rules out a trial. This is something else entirely.'
He rubbed the little dragon's head, his fingers running over its smooth scales to calm it. "It's alright, Ash. I've got you."
Then he looked around.
The sight stole his breath.
An endless swirling sea of color stretched in every direction, flowing like liquid light. It wasn't sky, nor land, nor sea—just an infinite kaleidoscope, shifting and humming with raw energy. And there, hovering a few meters ahead, was a crystal shaped like a perfect diamond, as large as a small bucket, pulsing with an inner glow.
Bruce exhaled slowly. "So… I was teleported here, huh?"
The moment he breathed in, he realized just how thick the air was. Mana. Unfiltered, unrestrained, drowning his senses. His skin tingled, his veins felt alight, and a strange euphoria pressed at his mind, urging him to stay here forever, to bask in it, to surrender.
His lips twisted into a dry smile. "Tch. Nice try."
No matter how intoxicating, his will wouldn't bend so easily.
Then the system stirred.
[You are in the Core of the World Velmora]
[All abilities boosted by 1000% within this location]
[Mana regeneration boosted by 1000% within this location]
Bruce's eyes sharpened. 'The Core of the World…?'
His thoughts churned. 'So it really is because of mana overflow. If that's true, then...'
The scientist inside him roared to life. Curiosity burned through him like wildfire, demanding to peel back every layer of this mystery.
With a steady breath, he began walking toward the floating crystal.
But before he could reach it—
Ash stirred.
The small cub that had been nestled calmly on his shoulder suddenly tensed. Its wings snapped open with a violent flap, and in one leap, it soared ahead of Bruce.
Light exploded from its body.
[You have been momentarily blinded by intense light.]
[You're now immune to such stun]
[Your eyes can adapt instantly to the change.]
Bruce blinked—and in that fraction of a second, his healer's body responded. His vision adjusted at once, sharper than any SSS-ranked Awakened. And what he saw made his chest tighten.
Ash was no longer a cuddly cub.
In that instant, its true form unfurled—monstrous, magnificent. Standing nearly ten meters tall, its obsidian-black scales shimmered with an otherworldly luster, like a night sky studded with faint stars. Each beat of its massive wings stirred the air into a gale, and its golden eyes glowed with primal fury.
The crystal hovered at only three meters' height, yet compared to the towering dragon, it suddenly seemed small—pathetic.
Ash lowered its head, lips peeling back in a guttural growl that reverberated through the air. Then, with a roar that shook the very space around them, it swiped one colossal paw at the crystal, its claws tearing the mana around it like paper.
Bruce froze, not from fear, but from understanding. He knew Ash. After its evolution, the dragon had grown fiercely protective, considering him and even Sophie as family. For it to bare its fangs now meant only one thing.
It saw the crystal as a threat.
Bruce's mind clicked instantly, speculation surging to the surface. 'Wait… could it be? Is that crystal… alive?'
[To think you could evolve a drake with your class. Well, I suppose nothing less should be expected from an Awakened whose class stands above this world…]
The words weren't spoken aloud—they slid directly into Bruce's head, echoing with a weight that made his temples throb.
Bruce's eyes narrowed, his voice low and steady. "Who? What are you?" He ignored the flattery, focusing only on the threat.
Ash's massive claws had already swiped across the crystal, but the result was startling. No cracks. No tremors. Not even the faintest vibration. It was as if the attack had struck nothing at all.
Bruce's mind raced. From what he sees now, With brute strength alone, Ash—at C-rank—was already strong enough to go toe-to-toe with him, maybe even hold its own against other A-ranks. Yet against this floating shard? Nothing.
The fact alone was terrifying.
But he didn't let the fear show. His eyes stayed locked, calculating, weighing but it all amounted to nothing. Afterall this thing teleported here here like it was nothing… this entire space is its domain. What could he even do?
He thought hard, No answers came. Not yet.
[No need to be nervous, Ash.]
The telepathic voice came again, calm yet condescending. [I would never dream of harming your master. He is, after all, my lucky star…]
The words dropped like a hammer.
Bruce stiffened, but his gaze flicked to Ash.
The dragon cub's body shimmered with light—then, in a flash, the monstrous ten-meter titan shrank, compressing back into its chubby, adorable form. With a soft kyuuu, it flapped its tiny wings and flew back to its perch on Bruce's shoulder.
It nestled there, curling against his neck, but its eyes never left the crystal. The protective gleam in them hadn't dimmed one bit.
Bruce lifted a hand, instinctively stroking Ash's smooth black scales, grounding both of them.
Then—
A chuckle. Low, resonant, and utterly alien.
It wasn't heard with the ears, but felt in the marrow, crawling along Bruce's spine and settling into his bones like frost.
***
A/N:
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