"From the information I got from you, either the dragons are extinct, or they are hiding their presence from this world for some reason."
Orion, feeling a sense of foreboding, interrupted, seeking clarification:
"Patriarch, you said the dungeons stopped existing. Am I right?"
Dracula, with a serious grin, affirmed the situation and questioned Orion's anxiety:
"Yes, brat! That's what I said. Why? What happened? Why are you so tensed out about it?"
Orion, grappling with possibilities, attempted to deny the disappearance of dungeons:
"Patriarch... he staggered. Dungeons are there in this world?"
Dracula dismissed the idea firmly:
"No, it's impossible. How can that happen? I saw it with my own eyes—the X dungeon fell to the ground, and all dungeons ceased to exist. Brat, don't make fun of these things."
Orion, reluctant to consider an alternative, proposed a theory:
"Patriarch, what if the X rank dungeon was not the only one, or originally, the Dragon Lord wasn't able to kill it but instead sealed it?"
Dracula, contemplating various scenarios, expressed concern for Pandora's future:
"Brat, huh? I think Pandora will perish in the future if this was true. Unlike the past, there is no Dragon Lord; Pandora is doomed to destruction. One thing I can give you is this necklace of mine. It was given by the Dragon Lord to all of the four patriarchs as a sign of goodwill. It increases your potential exponentially."
Orion, questioning the necklace's limitation, sought answers:
"But, Patriarch, it only increases until SSS Rank. What about X rank?"
Dracula, acknowledging Orion's knowledge, disclosed the existence of ancient keys:
"Brat, I don't want to know how you knew that. In reality, there were originally five stones in the Awakening Chambers. One for each tribe and the dragon family. They are the key to inheriting the will of the Dragon Lord. But another use of these keys is to increase the Rank of individuals to SSS rank. Only this one and humans' keys are left, as others were used to enter the training grounds, and none ever returned. I saved this key so that my successor could have an SSS rank potential. But looking at the scenario, it is better for you to enter the inheritance ground. Remember not to awaken until then, as trials' difficulty increases as you grow stronger. It measures your mana to gauge your strength. In the past, we sent unawakened children into it, still leading to no success. So, I would advise you to live your life fully and don't regret your decisions." And the image of his spiritual form was fading.
"Lad, meeting you has been joyous, and my time in this world is running out. Take this necklace with you and decide which path you want to take. Also, take this storage ring; it contains books regarding history and some gold that you might require."
"Goodbye and thank you, Patriarch. Maybe I will see you later up there, might be a bit late... because I am going to save the world."
Dracula, imparting final instructions, reminded Orion about the training grounds:
"Brat, one last thing, remember if you want to enter the training grounds of the Dragon Lord, go to the awakening chamber and place it on the red ruby slot."
"Yes."
Recalling Dracula's words, Orion returned home, contemplating his destiny and formulating plans for the future.
Orion pondered his quest for strength and considered developing his aura, an alternative to mana:
"One thing that hasn't changed is the fact that I still have to become the strongest. But how? I can't awaken mana. Maybe aura. Aura is the only thing that can rival magic. Now how do I train my Aura in secret?"
Aura, the physical manifestation of spiritual energy, varied based on an individual's will. Orion remembered his great grandfather, Nathan Nightshades, an Aura King who achieved greatness despite a poor mana rank. He excelled using only sword aura.
Orion, contemplating his path, mused about resurrecting Nathan to learn from him:
"Guess it's time to rob some villains of their cheats to resurrect Nathan to teach me. Huh, what have I included myself in, some hidden plot? I am supposed to be the manipulator who controls the MC. Why should I save this world? Ara... ara... the things this world wants from me. I thought of ruling the world from underground, but after defeating the dungeon and becoming the strongest, I am going to be their king and they will become my slaves. Time to go back."
Orion marveled at the capabilities of the storage ring, realizing its vast space of 250 m^3, providing an excellent hiding place for his belongings without the need for mana to operate.
As he explored the contents of the ring, he discovered a trove of treasures: gold coins, jewels, and a variety of potions for healing, stamina, and anti-venom. The sheer abundance of wealth astonished him, considering it could buy a medium-sized city. Dracula's generosity seemed boundless.
Engrossed in his newfound wealth, Orion lost track of time. Unbeknownst to him, the door creaked open, and someone entered the room – possibly one of the maids, possessing the key. Orion, swiftly climbed onto the cradle and slept on it.
"Oh god, why did you not take care of him when I was not here? Don't you know the patriarch will be back tomorrow?"
"Don't you dare put this on me! We are both responsible for this. Quick, bring the elixirs. We have to provide him with various health and vitality elixirs to wake him from hibernation."
"But those are the ones we hid from the butler to earn money. Can't we just give him blood or something?"
"Have you gone mad? How can a young infant drink blood? Due to the heightened euphoria effect, babies crave more of it and lose their minds. If the butler knows about this, he will kill us."
"I don't know why he cares about this devil so much."
After their gossip, they went back and fed Orion with several elixirs, but his skin didn't return to normal.
"Why isn't this working? We even poured our personal savings to buy these elixirs. This should've worked on other babies. Why isn't it working?"
"Is he dead? No, that can't be. He is still breathing. Besides, hibernation is common among poor families, so why isn't he waking up?"
Orion, who had pranked them, finally let go of the act. He opened his eyes and cried loudly, causing chaos in the room. As an act of revenge, he even peed on them and pulled their hair for abandoning him.