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While struggling to absorb the bloodline, my body trembled uncontrollably. Waves of cold and heat surged through me in endless cycles. My friends noticed and rushed over, but I waved them off.
"D-Don't worry, I'm just going through a small… ritual. Nngh…! Agh?!"
I collapsed to the floor. Visions flooded my mind. I found myself standing in the center of an infinite black void.
Above me loomed a gigantic being, three heads, six wings, and a body forged from flames, magma, lava, and volcanic landscapes.
It was so immense that my entire body quaked in primal fear beneath the gaze of its six golden eyes.
"So you're the one? The one destined to awaken the Bloodline I granted your ancestor long ago?"
"W-Wha…! What are you?!"
"That shallow bloodline you consumed was merely the catalyst. How long has it been? Hundreds of thousands of years since one of your kind last unlocked the Dragon Heart?"
"What?!"
"Oh well… you're still inadequate."
"Who are you?!"
"…"
He stared down at me with piercing golden eyes. His aura erupted, instantly transforming the black void into an infernal volcanic realm.
Countless dragons and reptilian beings thrived across this endless spiritual landscape of fire and inferno. Volcanoes erupted without cease.
"W-Wha…?!"
I couldn't tell if this was a hallucination or if my soul had truly been seized by some divine entity.
"A-Are you a god?!"
"…I am a King. A Divine Spirit King. Son of the Dragon King, successor of Ifrit, the Ancient Divine Fire Spirit King."
"…?!"
"And the greatest guardian of your oldest ancestor—the one who merged her bloodline with that of the Yggdrasil Fairies."
"…!"
"Your tribe struggles now, but the power dormant within your bloodline could turn the entire world upside down."
He sneered with all three heads, eyes gleaming with fascination.
"Perhaps it's time to stir things up a little. It's getting rather boring, isn't it?"
"A-Ah… I… I guess?"
"Good response!"
With a deafening roar, flames engulfed my body and burned me alive. Every inch of my skin, muscles, bones, organs, and soul felt seared to ash.
"AAAAAGGGHHHHH!"
As I screamed in raw horror and agony, I realized I was no longer physical. My body had become a being of pure flame.
"Eh?"
From my back, a pair of massive wings erupted. A long tail extended behind me. Sharp horns pierced upward from my head.
Scales spread across my skin, and my nails lengthened into razor-sharp claws.
"W-Wow…! Hold on, this wasn't in the game…"
As I muttered in disbelief, he smiled and nodded.
Deep within my chest, something glowed, a golden-red crystallization of ancient, primal power.
"You're a fine vessel! Grow strong! And perhaps one day… you will awaken the true power still dormant within your True Bloodline, Heir of Crimson Fang!"
"A-Ah…!"
He lowered all three heads toward me. Each eye was the size of a mountain.
"Do you know why your tribe bears the name it does? Because of wolves? Not at all. It's because of me!"
"…! But then… who are you?"
I couldn't recall him from any tale, myth, or NPC dialogue in the game—not even from stories passed down in my tribe.
Though I had heard elders speak of an ancient guardian, a spirit of fire…
Shaped like… a winged lizard.
Wait, winged lizard?
Wyvern?
No, that felt too ordinary.
Then…
"You're a dragon?"
"Heh!"
He smiled with all three heads.
"It seems my name has faded from history! I am Ignatius, the Infernal Dragon Spirit King!"
As he declared his true name, flames consumed me once more—and I finally awoke.
"Ah! W-What?!"
I found myself resting near the bonfire. My friends were already devouring a delicious meal—and they hadn't even saved me any.
"Hm! Brunhild! Y-You're awake! Are you okay?" Ylva rushed over, licking grease from her fingers after tearing into hydra meat moments earlier.
"I'm fine…" I sighed. "I think I awakened a bloodline. Did anything change about me?"
"I guess," Veldr said. "Touch your forehead."
"Hm?"
I reached up and felt a horn sprouting from the left side.
"WOAH?!"
Ylva conjured a mirror of light magic so I could see myself.
A sharp black horn curved from the left side of my forehead, tipped faintly red.
My right eye had turned orange-red-yellow with a clear reptilian slit.
Red scales spread across my neck and right hand, where my nails had become long, sharp black claws.
"Like some of the elders…" I muttered. "Ah, do I look too ugly?"
"Not at all—you're beautiful, Ylva!" she insisted. "It clearly shows you've awakened part of the ancient bloodline!"
"How did you even do that?!" Veldr asked. "Honestly, I'm jealous."
"It's incredible!" Ivar nodded.
"Wow, well, I didn't know it would turn me into a celebrity," I laughed. "I drank a Blood Elixir from the treasure chest over there—Hey!"
I noticed Veldr polishing the axe with a smug grin.
"What? This is my reward," he said.
"You don't even use axes! Give it back!" I groaned.
"I told you I was getting something, right?!" he snapped. "This is mine for helping you."
"But I want that axe!" I stood and slapped his face. "Give it to me!"
After nearly twelve years in the village, I knew that sometimes the way to get what you wanted was through force.
"Ouch! What? You wanna fight for it?!"
"Bring it on."
It wasn't even a fight.
I punched his stomach hard. He crumpled to the ground, groaning.
"Ouch… Aaahh…"
"Thank you."
I took the axe and stored it in my inventory.
"Where's the scroll? That's mine too, by the way!"
"W-We kept it hidden."
Ylva quickly pulled it from her robes and handed it over.
"Thank you!" I nodded. "And about rewards? I'll make it up to you with food, materials, armor, weapons, and more once we get home and I start crafting what we need. Veldr, sorry about that—I'll find you a great sword or forge one myself."
"Ugh, shut up!" he groaned, tears in his eyes.
I felt a little guilty, but I wasn't giving up my shiny new axe. I'd learn Blacksmithing and Alchemy later and craft him the best Spell Blade imaginable to make up for it.
As I sat down to eat with everyone, I saw that Ylva and Ivar had cooked a huge portion of hydra meat. They wished they could have eaten more wyvern too, but since it was all in my inventory, they couldn't access it.
"Ah, so you made do with what you could. I'm sorry," I sighed. "I shouldn't have passed out like that. I really didn't expect… any of this."
Just remembering that terrifying three-headed dragon burning me sent shivers down my spine. I never imagined I would encounter such a being.
And he claimed to be the origin of this bloodline? One that… merged with "Yggdrasil's Fairies"? Wait—what? So this bloodline truly was a strange fusion.
Fire Dragons and… Yggdrasil Fairies? Elves? Maybe that explained why, very rarely, people like Ylva could be born among our tribe of muscular warriors.
Was he referring to "Sylph," the woman I met in my dreams during the fight with the Lich?
Hm, he did say he was her first and strongest guardian. Perhaps as a goddess she had such servants.
He also called himself the Fire Spirit King, yet he was clearly a dragon—which made the whole thing even stranger.
A dragon that was also a spirit… I didn't recall any being like that in the game's lore so far.
"Hmm! This is delicious!"
I pushed the thoughts aside and savored the moment, biting into a juicy hydra meat skewer. Ylva had purified the poison, and Ivar had seasoned it with Sunlight Pear juice and rock salt he carried.
The flavor was tangy and rich, like beef, yet with subtle fruity notes from the juices and meat itself. A truly unique taste.
"Let me help. Let's cook more."
I grilled giant mushrooms, more Myconid Queen flesh, and we prepared Sunlight Pear Jam, pouring the piping-hot preserve over the meat and mushrooms.
Combined with Spirit Root Sap Juice, made by mixing water with the incredibly sweet sap extracted from the roots, it became an unforgettable meal.
We ate until we were stuffed. Once finished, we agreed to sleep through the rest of the day and set out early tomorrow to finally return home.
I cuddled up with Fenrir, then pulled out the scroll and opened it while everyone else slept.
FLASH!
Runes flowed from the scroll into my body, imprinting themselves on my skin before fusing with me and vanishing.
The scroll revealed its text, explaining the skill I had gained.
[You have learned the Skill: [Spiritual Projection – Tier 2: Level 1/10]!]
"Hm?!"
I was surprised. It was a rare and powerful skill—and already Tier 2. Silver scrolls typically granted Tier 2 to 3 skills, while golden ones offered Tier 3 to 5 and were far rarer.
"Spiritual Projection… what does it do?" I checked the brief explanation provided by the scroll.
-----
[Spiritual Projection – Tier 2]
Allows the use of Spiritual Energy to project it into the world, enabling Spiritual Spells.
Spiritual Senses can be activated to perceive the unseen.
Spiritual Embodiment lets your spirit take form and interact with the physical world.
Spiritual Soul allows the soul to nourish itself by absorbing spiritual crystals, stones, and hearts, growing stronger.
Spirit Magic imbues your Spirit into Elemental Spells, granting them "Life" and greatly enhancing their power.
-----
"Nice—so it's a Spell Skill! Four spells, actually. This is way too good. I already had Embodiment limited to my War Spirit Energy," I muttered, rubbing my chin as I read. "The rest are excellent… Spiritual Soul seems especially promising. Maybe with this I can nourish my soul beyond just consuming souls for points."
Afterward, I checked for notifications about my new bloodline—and sure enough, they appeared.
Ding!
[You have successfully assimilated one minor bloodline.]
[You have obtained the [Forest Snake Bloodline – Tier 1 (F Rank)]!]
[Your [Forest Snake Bloodline – Tier 1 (F Rank)] has reacted with your Innate, Dormant Bloodline.]
[The [Forest Snake Bloodline – Tier 1 (F Rank)] has merged with a Fragment of your Innate and Dormant Bloodline, evolving into the [Horned Fire Snake Bloodline – Tier 1: Rank 1 (C Rank)]!]
"Horned Fire Snake? So it's not a full dragon bloodline yet…"
That dragon had said I wasn't ready, but this might be the first step toward that goal.
And he mentioned a Dragon Heart?!
That was an extremely late-game item, something I remember never getting despite farming dragon bosses for ages. The drop rate had been absurdly low, so I gave up. But now… if I could awaken my very own Dragon Heart… everything would change.
For the moment, it seemed the bloodline reacted to reptile monsters I captured. By eating their meat, drinking their blood, and absorbing their cores, I should be able to raise its Rank until I could increase its Tier.
If that was truly possible, I wasn't about to miss out on a free dragon bloodline.
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Author's Note:
Hello and thank you for reading so far! I am the author PancakesWitch and wanted to say that this is a novel I'm writing with a lot of love. I will publish 5 chapters a week, or sometimes 4.
There will always be an additional chapter on Patreon though, and you can also join it right now to get +22 Advanced Chapters for only $10! The number will keep increasing every week as well!
https://www.patreon.com/pancakeswitch