'Why?' she wondered. 'Fear... or is there something they are hiding?'
Shiki shook her head slightly. That was a matter for later. What was clear was that this time, those titles would be hers.
She then shifted her attention to the fundamental system of this world.
To strengthen themselves, a Nagawira must increase their Blood Purity. This is achieved by gathering Essence, which can be obtained from hunting grounds or from the mysterious "neighbors" that arrive once a month. The higher the blood purity, the greater the boost to the body's core stats.
Blood purity is divided into four major stages:
Wyrm Stage: 1% to 25%
Amphithere or Lindworm Stage: 26% to 50%
Wyvern or Dreakon Stage: 51% to 75%
True Dragon Stage: 76% to 100%, The pinnacle, where a Nagawira is considered to have approached the form of their true dragon ancestors.
In the first stage, increasing purity requires only common Essence. However, once the 25% threshold is reached, common Essence is no longer enough. One requires Dragon Essence, a rare resource usually obtainable only from specific creatures or under special conditions.
And this was where Shiki held a massive advantage.
She was born with Dragon Eyes—meaning her body already contained Dragon Essence. In other words, she could bypass the first limit without having to hunt for that rare resource.
Upon entering the second stage, every Nagawira must choose an evolutionary path:
The Amphithere Path: Grants the ability to fly and enhances agility and intelligence. However, physical strength and endurance remain low. In her previous life, this type was known as "glass cannons"—fragile but lethal.
The Lindworm Path: Allows movement underground as if swimming, providing extraordinary physical strength and endurance. However, agility and intelligence are low—strong, but slow and rigid.
To break through the peak of this stage, three Dragon Essences are required. In the subsequent stage, the evolution continues: those on the Amphithere path evolve into Wyverns, while those on the Lindworm path develop into Dreakons.
At this level, Nagawira begin to master natural elements—Wind, Water, Earth, Fire, and Lightning—as if the elements were part of their own bodies. Ideally, one could master all five, but most can only control two or three due to the difficulty of training.
The evolutionary path also influences which elements are easiest to master. Wyverns are closer to Wind and Lightning. Dreakons are more aligned with Water and Earth. Fire is universal, yet remains difficult, usually serving as a third choice.
Shiki slowly closed the display.
The system was cruel. The paths were narrow. A small mistake could mean a lifelong dead end.
But to her... this was not a prison. This was a game board. And this time, she intended to dominate every square.
Shiki did not know for certain what power would emerge after breaking through the third stage of blood purity. What was clear was that the requirements were staggering—five Dragon Essences were needed just to open the door.
The fastest way to obtain them wasn't actually through exploring dungeons or what the guide called "Beautiful Recreation Parks," but by killing other Nagawira and seizing their Dragon Essence. However, in her previous life, by the time Shiki reached 75% blood purity, the Bride War had already begun. That conflict strictly forbade infighting among Nagawira, forcing her to rely on high-level dungeons—a much slower and riskier method.
Even so, Shiki knew one thing: a Nagawira's true strength is not determined solely by how high their blood purity is, but by how deeply they master the powers born from it.
There is an old proverb:
"One move practiced a thousand times is worth more than a thousand moves practiced once."
The same applied in the Procession Tower. A Nagawira who pursued a single element to perfection would be far more lethal than those who touched many elements superficially. This deep mastery could even trigger a new notification in their system display in the form of Abilities.
There are three primary ways to obtain Abilities:
First, Automatic Acquisition: Obtained upon breaking through certain blood purity limits.
Second, Self-Creation: Developing a technique until it is recognized by the System.
Third, Skill Books: Learning them through Training Manuals.
However, Skill Books were incredibly rare. Aside from immense luck, the most realistic way to get them was by conquering mid-to-high-level dungeons. Because of this, those who succeeded in creating their own abilities usually kept them secret, teaching them only to disciples or faction members they truly trusted.
Shiki's Secret-Revealing Eyes ability originated from the Dragon Essence—the Dragon Eyes embedded within her. This ability gave her perfect memory and the capacity to read facial expressions with extreme precision. However, if the Dragon Eyes were used to break the blood purity limit, the ability would evolve into the Supreme Heaven Eyes.
This ability granted her all-encompassing vision in every direction, high-level motion detection, the ability to pierce through disguises and illusions, and a drastic increase in reading emotions and intent through body language and aura.
In her previous life, the Supreme Heaven Eyes were one of the primary keys that brought her to the pinnacle of power. Therefore, abilities originating from Dragon Essence always held the highest value.
In terms of the difficulty of acquisition, the order was:
Self-Creation → Dragon Essence → Skill Books.
But when measured by potential power, it was the opposite:
Dragon Essence → Self-Creation → Skill Books.
Skill Books were hard to find, but for Nagawira who had entered the second stage of evolution, conquering mid-level dungeons was not impossible. With enough attempts, they were almost certain to find one or two—though the chance of getting a truly powerful ability remained slim.
Conversely, creating an ability oneself was far more difficult because the System only recognized abilities that were truly unique and had never been recorded before. However, if recognized, their power was usually extraordinary. One example was Magma Mastery, a rare ability that combined Earth and Fire into a lethal battlefield—a nightmare in warfare.
Meanwhile, abilities from Dragon Essence required no training. Once the Essence merged with the body, the owner immediately understood how to use it as if they were born with it. However, the type of ability obtained depended entirely on the Essence used. Dragon Eyes gave Shiki her Secret-Revealing Eyes, while Dragon Skin Essence would produce an ability like Steel Skin.
Fundamentally, Dragon Essence is an organ carrying the purest dragon genes remaining in a Nagawira's body. This was no secret to the veterans of the Procession Tower. They knew that the ancestors of the Nagawira were True Dragons. Even in various historical records of Ignisira, there was ample evidence linking modern Nagawira to those sovereign creatures of the sky.