COLD.
Lucifer felt an unbearable chill crawl through his skin as he groggily pushed himself up from the cold, unforgiving ground. The icy surface clung to his clothes, soaking through to his bones.
Subconsciously, his hand moved to his chest, where he felt a strange warmth pulsing around his heart.
'What…?' He inhaled sharply, stunned.
He sat upright and pressed his fingers against his chest again. The heartbeat was steady, but something felt off. It didn't feel like a normal human heart. He couldn't explain how, but he just knew it was different.
Then it all came crashing down.
His memories returned like a storm, overwhelming his mind.
Lucifer's eyes went blank as he tried to process everything.
'I was... betrayed.'
A bitter laugh escaped his lips.
'Hahaha... the last two people I trusted betrayed me!'
His voice echoed around the dungeon walls, filled with something twisted. His laughter grew louder, more unstable.
Lucifer had always been an orphan. Only through the scholarship meant for underprivileged children had he made it through school.
'My parents lived and died for the organisation, and this is how I'm treated?'
Another harsh laugh escaped him, almost as if he had stopped caring altogether.
Eventually, the laughter died out, and he took a deep breath, scanning his surroundings.
'I'm still in the dungeon?' He noticed the dampness in the air and saw small, pale creatures crawling slowly across the moldy stone walls.
His expression shifted. He whipped his head toward the spot where the dragon had stood—the place where its claw had pierced through his chest.
His eyes widened.
'Gone? The dragon is gone? Did it... pity me because of how helpless I was?'
He couldn't say for certain. He had blacked out after the attack.
'No matter what, I'm alive. Even if I go back and they bully me again... even if I'm treated like an outcast, it doesn't matter. I just want to live.'
With that thought, Lucifer slowly stood up. His gaze drifted to the portal a few meters away. At some point, it had appeared, shimmering faintly as though the dungeon had been cleared.
But he could tell it hadn't.
Suddenly—
[Ding! Congratulations on awakening the Primordial Dragon System.]
Lucifer's eyes shot open.
'What? WHAT?'
A glowing blue panel appeared in front of him. Before he could process what he was seeing, new text flashed on the screen.
[You have a message left from the Primordial Dragon. Do you wish to view it?]
Without thinking, Lucifer nodded.
The system accepted the response and displayed the next message.
[Human. I am one of the last remaining dragons. If things continue as they are, I know my kind will be wiped out completely. We were too proud, too stubborn to accept defeat by the ten thousand races. But I know the truth.]
[After descending to this lower realm and wandering for billions of years, I have finally found my successor. You. There is a great secret within you—one I could not fully see—but in time, you will understand.]
[I entrust you with my final wish. Destroy the ten thousand races. Rise above time itself. Bring the dragons back to their former glory.]
[You may not want this burden, but I sacrificed myself to fuse with you. You are now half-human, half-dragon.]
[With each evolution, you will grow stronger. You will gain the traits of legendary dragons and continue to evolve until you surpass even the Primordial Dragon.]
'This…' Lucifer stared at the glowing words, frozen in disbelief.
'What…?' he muttered, struggling to comprehend what he was reading.
Was something like this even possible?
Had dragons really been so powerful that it took all ten thousand races to bring them down?
And what was the secret hidden within him?
Why him?
Was he now considered a dragon?
His head throbbed slightly under the weight of so many questions.
'Still… I actually awakened a system!'
A wave of emotion surged through him. He knew that only people with SSS-rank talents could awaken systems.
'Does that mean... I now have an SSS-rank talent?'
There was only one way to know.
He took a deep breath and spoke quietly, 'System, display my information.'
[Host: Lucifer]
Strength: 10.2
Agility: 10.4
Endurance: 10.7
Defense: 9.1
'These stats…' Lucifer frowned. From what he had heard, they were below average.
Still, his eyes moved down the screen.
[Congratulations. Your F-rank talent, Creation, has evolved to SSS-rank talent: Primordial Genesis.]
[Primordial Genesis: By using energy points gained from killing, you can create anything.]
[Bloodline: Primordial Dragon]
[Current Bloodline Abilities: Primordial Eyes, Dragon Devouring Art]
[You have received the Primordial Dragon bloodline. Due to its uniqueness, only 1% has been infused.]
[Use the Dragon Devouring Art to kill other creatures and absorb their bloodlines. This will naturally increase your Primordial Dragon bloodline percentage.]
[Collect 100 F-rank dungeon cores to evolve your dragon bloodline into a Fledgling Dragon Bloodline, after fully infusing the necessary bloodline points.]
[Bloodline Points: 0/100%]
Lucifer read the entire message carefully, eyes widening at every line.
'Damn…'
'So it's true. SSS-rank talents really are a class of their own. And now I also have a dragon's bloodline...'
He fell silent, absorbing the gravity of it all.
'Killing creatures. Clearing dungeons. Growing stronger...'
He read over the information again and exhaled deeply. His entire life had just been turned upside down.
From a discarded orphan, betrayed and left to die... to someone chosen by a dragon, reborn with gifts beyond imagination.
'Humans...' His expression grew cold as he turned toward the portal.
'I'll destroy all the races. And I'll start with the worthless humans.'
He no longer considered himself one of them. He was something else now. Something more. Something ancient.
He felt a chill stir within him again, but this time he forced it down. With steady steps, he approached the portal.
As it flickered and cracked, Lucifer paused and bowed slightly toward it.
'Thank you, Primordial Dragon... for giving me a new life.'
[Ding! You have received a new mission.]