Boom—!!!
That massive fireball, fused with all of Caesar's will and Z-Power, trailed a crimson tail of flame as it crashed straight toward the Ground.
The energy canopy and ice dome constructed by the Bronze Dragon Viola were as fragile as paper before the [Inferno Overdrive].
"Break... for me!"
Caesar's roar vibrated through the dream world.
The deep blue silhouette of the Ancient Garchomp, like the sharpest of spears, instantly pierced through the layers of defense...!!
The fireball collided with the energy canopy, letting out a deafening boom, and the entire burning city shook violently.
The Bronze Dragon Viola let out an incredulous dragon roar as its massive body was directly hit by that sun that was constantly contracting and expanding—
The flames exploded, and a heatwave swept through!
The shockwave reduced the surrounding ruins and debris to powder—!
When the light dissipated, only a bottomless, massive crater remained on the Ground, its edges still melting and smoking.
In the center of the crater, the figure of the Bronze Dragon Viola still stood, but a terrifying hole had been melted into its chest by the high temperature, allowing a clear view of the scene on the other side.
"..." The golden will flickered violently in its eye sockets a few times before finally extinguishing completely.
The massive Bronze Dragon skeleton collapsed with a crash.
[Ding! Detected that the host has defeated the LV.78 Echo of History: Bronze Dragon Viola. Calculating battle experience...]
[Rank Up! LV.24 -> LV.27!]
The System notification sounded in Caesar's ear, and his forty-meter-tall "Ancient Garchomp" form slowly dissipated, reverting back to the appearance of a Gabite... looking down at his claws and feeling the increased power within his body, the dragon found it a bit hard to keep a straight face.
"That's it?"
He had worked so hard, using Dragon Dance and Z-Moves, risking mental collapse to take down a boss nearly fifty levels higher, only to get three levels of experience?
Did this trashy System embezzle his rewards?
But on second thought, Caesar understood.
This was a dream world after all, and he had only defeated a shadow left by history, not Viola herself. His physical body hadn't actually participated in the battle, so getting less experience was reasonable.
"Forget it, better than nothing."
He opened his panel to check the gains from this level-up.
Besides the increase in all attributes, a new Move had appeared in his skill bar.
A Dark-type physical Move—[Bite].
[Bite]: Attacks by biting the opponent with sharp teeth. Continuous biting deals damage, with a 10% chance (current proficiency) to cause the opponent to [Flinch].
"Well..."
Caesar rubbed his Gabite chin and curled his lip.
[Bite], huh... it's better than nothing, I suppose.
This skill requires continuous biting of the target; it's like a junior version of [Crunch] learned after evolving into a Garchomp.
And in terms of coverage, it's about the same as the Ghost-type [Shadow Claw]; the types they counter basically overlap.
"Hey! Earth Dragon!"
A crisp, slightly exasperated shout came from not far away.
Caesar turned his head and saw a small silver figure running toward him on four short legs, huffing and puffing. It was indeed Cecilia.
That Paralysis Breath from earlier had been quite timely and was a big help to Caesar.
"How did you get in too?" Caesar asked.
"It's all because of you!"
Cecilia ran up to him and protested indignantly, "Who told you to Sleep while pillowing your head on the noble tail of the Great Cecilia... It made me feel uncomfortable all over, and I accidentally fell asleep!"
Caesar glanced at her, too lazy to expose her.
The little thing sounded fierce, but Caesar had caught a glimpse of a lingering trace of worry in her eyes.
She likely saw him baring his teeth and twitching in reality like he was having a seizure, and worried that her long-term meal ticket was about to kick the bucket, so she risked following the mental link inside.
"What are you looking at...?"
Cecilia felt a bit guilty under his gaze, but she remained stubborn.
She circled around Caesar, her beautiful dragon pupils filled with curiosity and suspicion.
"Speaking of which... was that big guy flying in the sky really you?"
As soon as she entered this dreamscape, she saw the blue giant dragon fighting the Bronze Dragon in the air, along with that familiar aura.
That might made her feel a tremor deep within her Bloodline.
This guy... could actually become so big and strong?
—Could it be that he isn't a common Earth Dragon subspecies, but some kind of rare Variant Dragon?
"Are you done circling...?"
Caesar was getting a bit annoyed by her circling, so he raised a claw and pinned her to the Ground with a [Shadow Claw] to the forehead.
"Since you're here, stop talking nonsense and follow me. We're going to break that Seal."
"You... you're bullying a dragon again...!" The Little Silver Dragon struggled, but to no avail.
The two little dragons, one after the other, passed through the shattered ruins of the city and arrived at the very center of the Dungeon.
Sure enough, there was a towering white stone altar here.
On the altar, an energy array composed of countless complex runes was slowly rotating, firmly imprisoning a strange lifeform in the center—
It was a humanoid lifeform with a white ceramic-textured shell, a skirt-like lower body, and a red core embedded in its chest.
There was no panel; the System had no information on the entity.
"Is this... the Gear Princess?" Caesar was stunned for a moment.
No matter how he looked at it, the design resembled the Mythical pokémon from his previous life—Magearna.
"It should be a [Stellar Energy Doll]."
Cecilia leaned in from the side and stared at the figure for a long time, finally finding the corresponding information in the True Dragon's Legacy memories.
"They are retainers of the Star God and possess extremely powerful Mental Energy. There are even legends that they are 'Angels' created by the gods."
Divine messenger? Angel?
Caesar looked at the sealed "Stellar Energy Doll." The entity was emitting a pure and powerful Psychic wave that made him feel a sense of mental pressure even through the Seal.
Beside the altar stood an ancient stone tablet covered in cracks.
Caesar leaned in and read the text on it using the System's translation function.
"Before the first year of the Elemental Era... the First Star God ruled the land... possessing the power of'Star Crystals'..."
"...Demons from Ultimate Space invaded, Chaos elements ran rampant, all things withered, and intelligent beings struggled to survive..."
"...The First Star God Race fell, and Elemental Deities rose from the ashes..."
The content following that on the stone tablet was blurry and unrecognizable.
Wait, what?
Star Crystal element? Ultimate Space?
Caesar's DNA was triggered.
Isn't this just "Terastalization" and "Ultra Beasts" from pokémon...?
It seems a bit too localized, doesn't it?