Obtaining a dragon's physical structure was far harder and more painful than Reinh had expected.
The pain was not shallow. It was not something he could endure by gritting his teeth or getting used to it. This pain directly crushed both the body and the soul together, as if every cell in his body was being forced to change its identity.
If it were not for his experience from his previous life, if he had not already touched the pain of death many times before, this process alone would have been enough to break his mind.
Another problem was that during the entire process, he had to stay conscious. Even if he lost consciousness for a single moment, he would be forced to start everything from the beginning again.
If he had an adult body with experience, he could have dealt with the pain more easily. Unfortunately, his current body was only twelve years old.
Worse than that, his calculations had been wrong. He had thought that with enough mana, equal to three mana rings, he could fully obtain the dragon's physical structure.
But reality was far more cruel. Now that he had used more than seventy percent of the Sovereign core, he had only managed to obtain about fifty percent of the dragon's physical structure.
This meant the core was not enough.
If he continued at this rate, the mana would run out before the structure was completed. Even so, he had to reach at least seventy or eighty percent before the core's mana was fully exhausted.
He would complete the rest later, when he himself reached three mana rings. This was the only logical option.
Even so, obtaining only fifty percent of the dragon's physical structure brought benefits far beyond what he had expected.
His current power had reached a level where he could fight evenly with a three-ring mana user, without using mana at all.
This was exactly why he had been able to block August's accidental mana strike and take almost no damage.
He clearly remembered August's reaction. The shock that even an old man with so much experience could not hide. It made sense. From the view of any sane person, Reinh was nothing but a monster.
A twelve-year-old boy who could completely pressure a nine-ring mana user in sword skill alone.
Of course, this was only true for swordsmanship. August himself was a warrior, not a swordsman.
If the battle turned into hand-to-hand combat, even with all the experience from his previous life, Reinh would have no chance. Punches, knees, grappling, crushing, this was a field where August was a monster, even without using mana.
In terms of sword skill alone, Reinh was still raw compared to August and probably better than almost the entire world. There were only five people who could compete with him in sword skill or be better than him.
And among those five, three were members of his own family: naturally, his father, his eldest brother, and his eldest sister.
On the other hand, defeating one-ring and two-ring mana users had become far too easy for him.
And Reinh was certain that once he obtained the complete dragon physical structure, even with only three mana rings, he would be able to easily defeat five-ring mana users.
Higher than that?
He was not sure. After five rings, the difference between each ring increased in a brutal way. Still, this did not worry him too much.
Because when he reached fifty percent of the dragon's physical structure, he noticed something he had not expected.
Between his soul and his body, a place had formed.
At first, he thought this was a trait unique to dragons and asked Arsius about it. But the dragon's answer was unexpected even to himself.
That place was actually the core seat.
This meant Reinh, like beasts, could form a core inside his body.
According to Arsius, when the dragon physical structure was fully completed, the core would also naturally be completed. Even a one-Lighting core alone would give him power equal to a five-ring mana user.
And when that core combined with the dragon physical structure, bones, flesh, skin, and a body that was unmatched in durability and strength among all races, Reinh would be able to easily defeat… or slaughter six-ring mana users.
Even fighting evenly against seven-ring users no longer seemed impossible. Still, he was not fully confident about this. He doubted he could truly win against a seven-ring user while having only three rings himself.
After all, seven-ring users were specialists and warriors at the level of powerhouses, and they even carried titles. Even with all his advantages, he would probably need to reach four or five rings to fight one of them evenly and defeat them.
This realization made him understand that sooner or later, he would take his revenge. And in this life, he would finally have a real chance to stand face to face with that bastard brother of his.
Of course, that was not all the benefits. In terms of appearance, his skin had become clearer, and even his height had increased slightly in just a few weeks. His shoulders had become broader and more masculine.
His current height was close to 180 cm (5'11), much taller than in his previous life at the same age.
Before leaving, there were still things left to do. Reinh returned to the library again. During these weeks of injury, he had read almost all the books there. In any case, he had nothing else to do except limited training and reading.
The only notable news he had heard during this time came from August.
The assassination organization, The Last Whisper, had been completely destroyed.
Exactly as he had expected. His father had personally ordered the destruction of that organization. They had broken one of the most important laws of the Vorhelm family.
No one is allowed to attack the Tyrant Palace. Anyone who does so will be executed regardless of identity or status, and if it is the act of an organization, that organization will be destroyed.
More importantly, this was a direct message to the Empire. His father had ignored the main branch of that organization, or at least, that was how it appeared.
When he finished studying, night had fallen. Reinh ate dinner and immediately returned to his room. Without any extra thought, he lay down on the bed and fell asleep.
This might have been the last night he could sleep without pressure, without plans, and without the smell of blood.
Because tomorrow, he would return to the Garden of Crowns.
A place where rest no longer had any meaning.