The Abyssal Trenches don't just smell like damp earth and old stone; they smell like processed death. It's a massive network of jagged canyons and subterranean tunnels that bleed pure mana. For the High Mages of Aethelgard, the Trenches are a gold mine—a place to harvest high-tier cores to fuel their luxury lives. For someone like me, a "Void-Touch" with zero mana, it's just a giant, hungry throat waiting to swallow you whole.
"Move it, bait," one of the Royal Guards barked, shoving me with the butt of his enchanted spear.
I stumbled, my boots slipping on the slick, glowing moss that coated the cave floor. My right hand was a mess of purple bruises and makeshift bandages from yesterday's "stepping stone" incident, but I gripped my father's rusted sword with my left. It was dead weight, but it was all I had.
Ahead of us, Prince Albert walked with effortless grace. He didn't need a torch; a sphere of soft, golden light hovered just above his shoulder, illuminating the path. He looked like a god walking through a tomb. Behind him followed a dozen elite apprentices and guards, all of them laughing and chatting like they were on a Sunday stroll.
"You know, Jayden," Albert said, not even bothering to look back at me. "The Tier 4 Mana-Beasts down here are particularly fond of the un-gifted. To them, you're like a blank canvas. They love to paint with your blood."
The apprentices snickered. Maria Valerene was there too, walking at the back of the noble group. She didn't laugh. She just watched me with those cold, distant eyes. I wondered if she felt sorry for me, or if she was just counting the minutes until I was gone.
We descended deeper. The air grew thick, vibrating with a low hum that made my teeth ache. That's the thing about being a Void-Touch—you can't use magic, but you can feel it pressing against you like a physical weight.
"Quiet," Albert suddenly signaled.
The tunnel opened up into a massive cathedral of stone. Giant crystals sprouted from the ceiling, pulsing with a rhythmic, violet light. In the center of the cavern sat a Shadow-Stalker—a Tier 4 Mana-Beast that looked like a cross between a panther and a nightmare, its fur shimmering with dark energy.
"There it is," Albert whispered, his eyes gleaming with greed. "A Shadow-Stalker core. That'll fund my next three months of research."
He turned to me, a sickeningly sweet smile on his face. "Jayden. Go be a hero. Walk into the center of the clearing and draw its attention. We'll strike once it's distracted by… well, by eating you."
"That wasn't the plan," I said, my voice echoing slightly. "The manual says we use decoy stones."
Albert stepped closer, his golden light flare-up, blinding me for a second. "I am the plan, Jayden. Now move, or I'll let my guards see if your other hand can handle a crush-spell."
I had no choice. I walked out into the open.
Every step felt like a mile. The Shadow-Stalker's head snapped up. Its eyes were twin pits of burning violet. It let out a low, guttural growl that vibrated in my very marrow. It didn't see a threat; it saw a snack.
The beast lunged.
"Now!" I yelled, diving to the side.
But the expected volley of fireballs and ice lances didn't come. Instead, I heard the sound of steel hitting stone. I looked back and saw Albert standing by the tunnel entrance, his hand raised. Not to cast an attack spell, but to trigger a structural collapse.
"What are you doing?" I screamed.
Albert didn't answer with words. He blew a mock kiss. With a flick of his wrist, a concentrated blast of mana hit the weakened ceiling of the tunnel.
CRACK.
The world exploded in a cloud of dust and falling boulders. The entrance we had just come through vanished behind a wall of tons of rock.
"A nameless dog deserves a nameless grave!" Albert's voice echoed through the last remaining gap before it, too, was sealed shut. "Rest in peace, Jayden. Your 'sacrifice' will be noted in the Academy records."
Then, silence. Total, suffocating darkness.
Except for the violet eyes.
The Shadow-Stalker was still there. It didn't care about the cave-in. It only cared that its meal was trapped. It circled me, its claws clicking on the stone like a ticking clock.
I scrambled backward, my back hitting the cold, unyielding rock of the cave-in. My mind raced. I was a Void-Touch. I had no spells. I had a broken hand and a rusted sword.
But I had something they didn't. I had spent years in the slums and the woods, learning the things mages ignored because they were too busy relying on their "gifts."
I reached into the small pouch at my belt. I pulled out a handful of Crushed Sun-Root and Bitter-Leaf—an herbal mixture I'd prepped for cleaning wounds. But in its raw, powdered form, it was a potent irritant.
The beast leaped.
I didn't swing the sword. I threw the powder.
The Shadow-Stalker roared in agony as the stinging dust coated its sensitive, mana-attuned eyes. It missed its mark, crashing into the rock wall beside me. It began clawing at its own face, disoriented and blinded.
I lunged forward, stabbing my father's sword into the gap between its neck plates.
Clang.
The rusted iron snapped like a toothpick. The blade broke off, leaving me holding nothing but a hilt.
The beast stopped thrashing. The irritation was fading, and its sheer mana-driven instinct was taking over. It turned its head toward me, a low, wet snarl escaping its throat. It didn't need eyes to find me now; it could smell my fear.
It pinned me.
One massive paw slammed into my chest, pinning me against the rubble. I felt my ribs—the ones Albert had already cracked—finally give way. Blood bubbled up in the back of my throat. The beast opened its maw, revealing rows of serrated teeth dripping with corrosive saliva.
This was it. The "bait" was finally being taken.
I'm sorry, Dad, I thought, closing my eyes. I couldn't even keep your sword in one piece.
The Shadow-Stalker's breath was hot on my face. Its jaws began to close around my neck.
Then, the world stopped.
Literally. The beast froze. The dust hanging in the air stayed perfectly still. The silence wasn't just quiet; it was absolute, like the universe had held its breath.
In the center of my vision, a single line of golden text flickered into existence. It wasn't the shimmering, shaky light of a mage's spell. It was solid. Ancient.
[Ancient Bloodline Detected: Progenitor Dragon.]
[Compatibility: 100%.]
[Condition Met: Near-Death state in a high-mana environment.]
My heart, which had been slowing down, gave a violent, painful thump. It felt like a piston firing in my chest.
[The Void is not an absence of power. It is a vessel.]
[Awakening the Dragon Sovereign System...]
A surge of heat erupted from my gut. It wasn't the burning pain of Albert's fire; it was a cold, predatory roar of energy that turned my blood into liquid lightning. I felt my shattered ribs knit together with a sickening crunch. I felt the bones in my crushed hand snap back into place, stronger than they had ever been.
The Shadow-Stalker sensed the change. It tried to back away, its violet eyes widening in genuine terror, but it was too late. My hand—my "broken" right hand—moved on its own. I grabbed the beast's throat.
My skin wasn't just skin anymore. Faint, obsidian-black scales shimmered beneath the surface.
[Initialization Complete.]
[First Skill Unlocked: Dragon's Pressure (Passive).]
The beast, a Tier 4 predator that could slaughter a dozen guards, began to whimper. It didn't just stop attacking; it tried to press its head into the dirt in a submissive bow. It was trembling so hard its teeth rattled.
I stood up, pushing the ton-heavy monster off me like it weighed nothing. I looked at the broken hilt of my father's sword on the ground.
A new screen floated in front of me:
[Mission Assigned: The First Meal.]
[Objective: Consume the Mana-Core of the Shadow-Stalker to stabilize the Bloodline.]
[Reward: Obsidian Dragon Body (Stage 1).]
I looked at the cave-in—the wall of rock Albert thought was my tomb. I could hear the faint, muffled sound of his laughter echoing from the other side as they walked away.
I didn't feel angry. I didn't feel sad. I just felt... hungry.
I reached for the beast.
"Albert," I whispered, my voice sounding like two grinding stones. "You really shouldn't have left me in the dark."
On the other side of the rocks, the golden light of the Prince's party was fading. They were heading home to a celebration. They had no idea that the "bait" had just become the apex predator.