Chapter 347: Surprise · [Dragon Race Transcender], You Have Stolen the True Dragon Lord's Crown
The golden giant dragon's hollow, balloon-like body was injected with the power of the ancient fire dragon's corpse, and its withered, shrunken muscles became full once more.
The thin golden scales also solidified, beginning to grow thicker and harder. The visible gaps between the numerous scales were covered, layer by layer!
Sunlight from above the valley shone down upon the golden giant dragon's body, its scales reflecting a faint, golden-red luster like molten gold.
"This feeling... it's a bit like Wild Transformation, but so much more real!"
Tang Zheng couldn't help but raise his dragon head, controlling the golden giant dragon to fully extend its dragon wings, which were wider than its entire body.
At this moment, he felt a sense of comfort, like bathing in warm sunlight in the middle of a cold winter.
As he gently unfurled and flapped his wing membranes, gusts of wind swept through the surroundings, rolling up all the broken branches and fallen leaves from the ground and turning them into a green-and-yellow ocean!
A pair of golden-brown eyes was revealed.
Through his dragon eyes, Tang Zheng could clearly observe things in the shadows of the scattered rocks in the depths of the valley, and even his hearing had become extremely sharp.
At this very moment!
Tang Zheng clearly noticed that he seemed to have truly transformed into a dragon, not the false change from before, and certainly not the magical disguise of "Wild Transformation."
"The true ability of the [Heart of the True Dragon Lord]?"
Tang Zheng understood. This change was the effect produced after that Heart of the True Dragon Lord was triggered.
*Hwaaa—*
The light of the magic formation on the ground suddenly brightened.
The enormous corpse of the ancient fire dragon made 'pfft, pfft' sounds as it began to decompose and dissolve at a speed visible to the naked eye!
"This is!"
Tang Zheng abruptly pulled out of the dragon's senses, his pupils filled with astonishment.
He once again sensed that his just-replenished body was beginning to deflate like a punctured balloon. It was only due to the infusion of the ancient fire dragon's power that the 'leak' was much slower.
"Just as I guessed before, even with the support of the ritual, this state can't be maintained for long."
Tang Zheng was inwardly calm, not at all surprised.
The [Heart of the True Dragon Lord] was like a magical item that could transform him into a "dragon." He had triggered the magical item's effect through contact.
This was the reason he could transform into the golden giant dragon. It was like a password-protected door, and Tang Zheng had used the fingerprint of the dragonewt Ladon to unlock it.
As for why Tang Zheng didn't use the [Heart of the True Dragon Lord] himself, it was because this magical item had a strong repulsive reaction to him.
In game terms, it was "usage conditions not met"!
This heart, refined by the Eight Greed Kings, came from a True Dragon Lord. A dragon that could be called a "True Dragon Lord" had to have mastered Wild Magic!
Tang Zheng possessed the power of Tier Magic, and this power was fundamentally irreconcilable with Wild Magic!
"What a waste of the ancient fire dragon's corpse."
Tang Zheng thought to himself.
He had originally planned to wait until his level increased and have "Body Armament" absorb the ancient fire dragon's scales, bones, and so on.
Now, it could only be wastefully used to temporarily maintain the golden giant dragon's form.
"First objective: the effect of the [Heart of the True Dragon Lord] is now clear."
"Second objective: confirm if it can trigger a class!"
Tang Zheng controlled the golden giant dragon's body to descend from mid-air, closing his eyes to carefully sense the changes in his own aura.
A short while ago, upon sensing that his aura was in the same state as that of Leinas and Enri, Tang Zheng had become a little excited.
The conditions for obtaining a class in the Otherworld weren't complicated; they were mostly related to life experiences and personal training. Special classes, however, had a certain connection to things one came into contact with.
Leinas's [Cursed Knight] class came from her contact with the curse-afflicted Forest Gnomes, while Enri's came from her unique state of mind during a special situation.
Now.
Coming into contact with a heart related to a True Dragon Lord, one that was also suspected of being refined by the Eight Greed Kings with a World Item—if this could trigger a class!
He wasn't expecting a special class, but a high-tier class should be no problem.
After all, high-tier classes were too rare in the Otherworld!
Tang Zheng also had no confidence that he could continuously deduce a high-tier class from an intermediate class.
Time passed, second by second.
The ancient fire dragon's corpse was being consumed faster and faster.
Yet Tang Zheng was still unable to capture that sense of power one felt when obtaining a class. After a moment, he opened his eyes and sighed softly, "Did I fail?"
He subconsciously summoned his stat panel for a look.
Suddenly!
On Tang Zheng's majestic dragon head, covered in spiraling scales, an expression of visible shock and disbelief appeared.
—How is this possible!
Tang Zheng stared intently at the stat panel. He saw that all the classes on the panel had turned gray.
It was like their status in a game when they were unusable.
"Magic Arrow!"
"Ninjutsu: Detect!"
"Mana Slash!"
He tried using magic, skills, and class abilities one after another, but none of them could be used.
"Mind's Eye! Hm?"
Finally, he tried to use a Martial Art and discovered it could be used normally.
"What in the world is going on?"
This was the first time Tang Zheng had ever encountered such a situation, and a rare hint of alarm appeared in his eyes.
"Is my power restricted? No, my level hasn't dropped, and all my powers and passive effects are still present."
"Except for Martial Arts, all my active skills have been affected because of my classes."
This completely unexpected situation, far outside his control, made Tang Zheng anxious. His first instinct was to cancel his current transformation.
Although he didn't know what was happening, it was undoubtedly related to his current situation!
*Bang!*
Tang Zheng controlled the golden giant dragon and swiftly raised a sharp foot, preparing to destroy the magical ritual beneath him.
Soon, however, he hesitated.
"This strange situation might also be an entry point!"
Tang Zheng's eyes flickered.
He had used the effect of the [Heart of the True Dragon Lord] to transform himself into a golden giant dragon, and then used a magical ritual to devour the flesh and energy of the ancient fire dragon to maintain this state.
In his current form, he was essentially no different from a real dragon!
"I'm level 50 now, which theoretically makes me the same as a level 50 Dragon Lord!"
Tang Zheng seemed to have grasped something. "Before Tier Magic polluted this world, for the dragon race to become stronger, they mainly had to raise their racial level."
"Only after breaking through the level 50 racial level cap could they come into contact with Wild Magic and become a True Dragon Lord, a rare existence even among Dragon Lords."
"Now that I've transformed into a golden giant dragon, does that mean I'm a Dragon Lord who has reached the level 50 racial cap?"
"This might be the reason why all my classes have turned gray... they've been replaced by a counterfeit 'racial class'!"
Tang Zheng's train of thought began to clear up. "It's extremely difficult for a Dragon Lord to break through level 50. This isn't something that can be achieved through effort alone, just like how humans can't easily break into the heroic realm."
"—But!"
"For a Player, raising a level is just too easy!"
Tang Zheng didn't know if his guess was correct, so he decided to verify it directly.
"Acquire Class: [Sword Saint]!"
Because he still retained the skills from the intermediate class he had previously dropped, he could acquire the class again at any time based on those skills.
『Overall Level: 51』
*Boom!*
Tang Zheng's aura suddenly surged. The [Sword Saint] class that had just appeared on his stat panel was a normal color, unlike the other grayed-out classes.
*Weng—*
『Class Build Conditions Met!』
『Build Error...』
『Class Build Conditions Met!』
『Build Error!』
『Class Build Conditions Met!』
『......!』
『Build Error!』
As if to verify Tang Zheng's speculation, the messages for acquiring the class appeared in a flash. The text on the panel flickered and jumped continuously, but it could never coalesce.
Meanwhile, the golden giant dragon that Tang Zheng had transformed into began to become even more real. A corrosive liquid actually started to overflow from the corners of its mouth.
With every breath, sparks faintly emerged from its nostrils.
From the gaps between the golden scales all over its body, wisps of hot steam rose, causing the temperature of the surrounding air to rise.
"Not enough!"
"It's still not enough!"
Tang Zheng's entire body tensed up, and a sense of urgency rose in his heart. He could clearly feel that he was still missing one important condition.
What was he missing!
"Ahhh!!!" A shrill scream suddenly rang out.
The unconscious dragonewt Ladon awoke with a wail, even breaking free from the influence of the Charm Magic. The pain, beyond description, made his entire body go limp as he convulsed ceaselessly on the ground.
Before Tang Zheng could react to what was happening.
The next instant!
A bloom of blood exploded from the dragonewt Ladon's chest.
The [Heart of the True Dragon Lord], covered in a silver, web-like pattern and flowing with blue magical script, burst from his chest.
It flickered in mid-air with a scintillating blue-gold light!
—And flew right in front of Tang Zheng.
*Thump!*
*Thump!*
The [Heart of the True Dragon Lord] beat, seemingly in response to Tang Zheng's aura.
"The aura of a Dragon Lord?!"
Tang Zheng's expression changed slightly as he looked at the heart floating before him with uncertainty and astonishment.
He had felt this kind of aura from the ancient fire dragon when it was still alive!
*Swoosh!*
After a brief pause, the heart slammed into the chest of the golden giant dragon that Tang Zheng had become. There was no normal collision; instead, it merged into the golden scales like a melting snowflake.
『Class Build Conditions Met!』
『Class Build Successful!』
『Obtained Special Class — [Dragon Race Transcender]』
『Acquire this class?』
"Dragon Race Transcender?" Tang Zheng was stunned.
Isn't this a class that only the dragon race can obtain? Or rather, a class that only True Dragon Lords can possess!
"A-Acquire class!"
Tang Zheng subconsciously swallowed, his voice trembling uncontrollably.
His original idea was just to see if he could acquire a high-tier class related to dragons!
『Class Acquired!』
......
Class: Dragon Race Transcender
Level: Special Class
Passive:
「Golden Dragon Scales - Enhanced」: Scale armor shines like gold, reducing damage from physical and magical attacks by 15%. When suffering a critical hit, ignore the extra damage (Critical Hit Invalidation).
「Claw & Wing Strike - Enhanced」: Golden dragon claws become sharper, molten-gold wing membranes become more resilient—Slashing-attribute damage can effectively destroy an opponent's structural functions (Movement Impairment Invalidation).
「Bite - Enhanced」: Sharp teeth can shred anything—Piercing-attribute damage can penetrate armor, dealing critical damage to a creature's weak points.
「Tail Hammer - Enhanced」: A thick tail becomes more powerful—Bludgeoning-attribute damage inflicts greater destructive force on fragile structures. Striking the ground heavily produces a wide-area earthquake and knockback effect.
「Dragon's Might - Enhanced」: When released, can inflict negative effects such as Fear, Panic, Confusion, and Weakened on the opponent. The lower the opponent's level, the greater the effect.
「Golden Bloodline - Dragon Lord」: Gain Immunity to Fire, Immunity to Poison, and Night Vision. Suffer Vulnerability to Ice (Double Damage) and Penalty: Vulnerable Reverse Scale.
「The True Dragon Lord's Murmur」: filth... filth... power... must not be tainted...
「Power of the Dragon Race Transcender」: Triggers at max level—HP, Physical Defense, Physical Attack, Magic Defense, and Agility increase by 10%.
Class Skills:
1Lv · 「Golden Dragon Lord Transformation - Degraded」: This is a power that should not exist—Costs 10% of max HP and MP to transform into a Dragon Lord.
5Lv · 「Flame Breath - Degraded」: Breathes a fan-shaped cone of flames, dealing continuous burning damage to the opponent. The higher the level, the higher the damage (1/day).
10Lv · 「Sulfur Breath - Degraded」: Exhales a fan-shaped cone of yellow, sulfurous smog, inflicting severe continuous poison, blindness, and obscured vision. The higher the level, the higher the poison damage (1/day).
(All base stats increase by 20 points per level-up)
Introduction: My name is Aurimolis-XXXX. Do mortal hands deserve to touch the power of a Dragon Lord? The majesty of gold shall not be offended. What you have stolen is not a mere shell, but the Crown of a True Dragon Lord!
Pray, Defiler!!
Atone with death before you are discovered, otherwise—this shame will become an unending feud with the entire dragon race!
......
"—ROAR!"
The moment Tang Zheng acquired the class, he gained complete control over the massive body of the golden giant dragon. The feeling of being filled with immense power from the inside out made him let out an involuntary dragon's roar.
He raised his head. Within his terrifying golden dragon eyes, flames seemed to burn, flickering with a golden-red light!
The golden giant dragon... no!
He was now a true Golden Dragon Lord!
"Cancel transformation!"
Tang Zheng spoke in a low voice.
His enormous body no longer deflated rapidly like a punctured balloon, but instead shrank in a very natural way.
Tang Zheng's figure appeared, standing steadily on the ground. A rippling wave of air spread out, and a stream of golden light flashed past his eyes.
He quickly looked at his stat panel!
"The grayed-out classes have returned to normal."
After confirming that his classes were fine, Tang Zheng breathed a sigh of relief and looked with delight at the new class that had appeared on his panel: [Dragon Race Transcender].
"To think I could actually obtain this class, it's unbelievable!"
"This is a class only the dragon race can acquire. Is it thanks to that [Heart of the True Dragon Lord]?"
Tang Zheng subconsciously touched his chest, hesitating slightly. "It merged into my transformed dragon body and disappeared."
He was actually a bit dazed by the whole process.
"No matter what, this is an astonishing harvest!"
Tang Zheng looked with anticipation at the information for the [Dragon Race Transcender] class.
A full eight passive abilities dazzled him.
"These passives... eh, are they completely dragon-specialized passives?" When Tang Zheng saw the first few, half of his excitement dissipated.
(end of chapter)