I awoke in darkness, my mind trapped in a relentless loop of my death. Klaus's cruel smirk, the flash of the dagger, the searing pain—it all replayed with agonizing clarity. I still couldn't believe the betrayal.
Moments later, I snapped out of the horrifying memory. A pulsing crimson light shimmered in the distance. Its color. My ring. But that couldn't be right. We had run countless tests on it, seeking any trace of magic, and it had remained inert. So why was its light guiding me now? Where was I? Was I not dead? Shouldn't I have moved on to the afterlife?
Slowly, cautiously, I began walking towards the glow, my mind racing to comprehend what was happening. After a few steps, I found the source: my ring, hovering just out of reach.
As I extended my hand, it darted away, and a translucent window materialized before me.
"Does the user wish to accept the system?" Yes / No
Perplexed, I mentally selected Yes. The ring instantly vanished from my sight, only to reappear, cool and familiar, on my finger.
Another window popped up: "User has accepted the Draconic System."
"Draconic System? What does that mean?" I muttered, confusion swirling in my thoughts. As if in response, a new prompt appeared: "System has been updated to user's mind. Would the user like a tutorial? Yes / No"
I stared at the screen, utterly bewildered, and mentally clicked Yes.
A haughty female voice echoed directly in my mind. "Hello, Host. I am the Draconic System's assistant."
"Hello, System," I responded, still reeling from the shock. "What exactly is this?"
"It's the Draconic System, obviously," the voice retorted, a hint of disdain in her tone.
I bristled. "Yes, but what is a system? I've never heard of this before."
"So you wore me around, not knowing what was inside?" she scoffed, sounding genuinely surprised. "Hmm, okay. I guess I should introduce myself then. I am Eevee, the system assistant. What you see is an all-powerful system called the Draconic System. With this system, you will slowly gain the power of the most powerful and beautiful creatures in the world: dragons! Though right now, you are just a weakling."
"Weakling?" I erupted, insulted. "I was not weak! I ruled over a great kingdom! I was—am—the strongest man alive!"
Eevee scoffed again. "Your strength was nothing but a speck of dust. Even a newly hatched dragon would kill you with one look. Your stats were nothing compared to a dragon." As she spoke, a new panel shimmered into existence before my eyes, displaying my stats:
System Rank: 1
Level: 0
EXP: 0/100
Name: Michael
Race: Human
Age: 28
Title: None
Health: 10000/10000
Mana: 10000/10000
Mana Regeneration: 222/minute
Draconic Rage: Locked
Draconic Essence: 0/100 (Dormant)
Magical Affinity: Fire, lightning, ice, gravity
Fighter Rank: S
Mage Rank: Archmage
Strength: 10 Agility: 10
Endurance: 10 Intelligence: 10
Charisma: 10 Perception: 10
Fighter Skills:
- Grandcrest Cross
- Grand Defense
- Guard Counter
- Phantom Blade
Mage Skills:
- Gravity Fall
- Gravity Well
- Light Weaponry Arsenal
- Light Orb
- Flame Spear
- Fire Ball
- Ice Lance
- Ice Shard
- Ice Armor
- Mana Slash