Capítulo 64: Awakening

The old man swore while coughing up a lot of blood. In that last encounter, the old man had been forced to use one of his advanced spell named Nullify Presence.

This is a keepsake of his family who had always produced Darkness-attributed geniuses and also requires the use of Dark Element. This spell made it so the user could blend with the surroundings and erase his presence by covering his whole body with Dark mana. One downside was that this was only suitable in areas with no sunlight and since the place they were fighting is underground, it was a perfect spell for the old man to use. The other downside of the spell is its high mana cost, so he initially hesitated to use it since the more mana he expended, the more severe his injuries from the poison will be.

Right now, he sat cross-legged as he tried to stabilize his whole self while carefully getting rid of mana inside his body. He knew that the poison is incapable of spreading if it couldn't find mana to ravage, so the old man restrained all the mana inside his mana core and steadied himself to recuperate. Right now, he was fuming with anger and hate towards Zeke. If it weren't for Zeke, his injuries should've not been this serious and he would still have the strength to move forward to the next room. However, as it stands now, the old man not only lack combat prowess to proceed, but he also still has the Formless Poison invading his body from the inside. With both these things added, his hope of getting past the next room is almost nil. He swore incessantly in his mind as he decided to go back to the previous room. He had no choice but to retreat first and treat the poison inside his body, and since the current room had poison all over, he needed to have a resting place with no Formless Poison.

As the old man was walking past Zeke's corpse, he immediately felt a sense of danger in his heart. Instinctively, he looked towards Zeke's headless body. Seeing the body still lying there, clearly dead, the old man didn't know where the source of danger originates. He was still sensing the perimeter when he noticed a bright glow appear from his back. He turned around to defend himself, but it was too late. The javelin formed from light pierced through his stomach as another one appeared and impaled his throat. He didn't even know what happened as he clutched both the spears with each of his hands for a moment before falling down, becoming completely lifeless.

Just when the light dissipated, Zeke's head floated upwards and charged towards his bloody body at a fast speed. When it arrived, it attached himself back as Zeke's eyes suddenly opened.

[Consuming Back-up Life. Remaining Back-up Life: 1]

Zeke heard the vague monotone sound of the System as he lifted his upper body up while looking around the area before finally landing his sight on the old man's lifeless body.

'Thankfully, he's dead.'

Zeke heaved a sigh of relief. Even though his body was technically 'dead', his soul remained there, which made casting spells possible for him although the spell cast would be far weaker since the soul could only manipulate mana outside. Even then, since the old man focused on finding the source of danger, he hadn't had time to process the attack that materialized near him, making his defense weak and thus allowed the [Light Spear] to pierce his body.

Earlier, when Zeke got stabbed in his throat, he actually felt death looming around him. He couldn't move his whole body and his vision clearly saw his own body without a head. He noticed that his whole body was ethereal and intangible yet his headless physical body laid in front of him.It was a very bizarre and horrific sight for Zeke to see his own body without his own head. If it were the past Zeke from Earth, he would've already fainted on the spot just by the sight.

Also, Zeke's past memories and experiences in the past resurface in his mind like a movie highlight. From when he was born, to sparring with his father, to killing the slave traders, to fighting in the forest, Zeke watched all the scenes like it was a movie in the blink of an eye. He had experienced death and how death feels without completely dying himself, broadening his horizons as well as helped him reflect his life. With his whole life like a movie before him, Zeke realized what he did in the past, and in this way, he also thought of things that he could've done differently. All these happened in a single breath, and this greatly affected Zeke's mind. If his mind is like a cloudy sky before, right now it was like a clear blue sky, with a faint feeling of being infinite. His mind was now like a sky that was so clear and infinite that it looked like an abyss.

The experience of death significantly improved Zeke's mind and helped his soul achieve clarity and stillness. It also made Zeke's importance to life heavier. As someone who experienced death, he didn't want his family or his friends to ever experience it. It also strengthened his resolve to get stronger so he could provide people around him help. If earlier, he still had slight hesitations in killings, right now he had already steeled his mind. If someone threatened him or the people around him, he now wouldn't hesitate to dirty his hands.

Right now, Zeke focused on regaining his five senses and arrange his thoughts. Earlier, he had just felt death so the feeling of living again felt surreal for Zeke. He felt extremely grateful for the Back-up Life the System or Pandora gave him. If it weren't for that, then Zeke would've been dead now due to his hotheadedness.

After a few minutes of sitting cross-legged, Zeke regained full control of his body. There was still a strange sensation in his neck, but on the outside, his skin didn't show any signs of getting ripped off. It recovered up to the point where even the slightest hint of Zeke getting beheaded could not be found.

Just as Zeke stood up, he suddenly felt intense pain in his stomach. Zeke felt like his stomach was getting ripped apart as he sat while examining his current condition. However, Zeke couldn't see anything unusual inside his body that could cause the current pain he's suffering.

Just as Zeke's thinking about this, the pain suddenly spread to his whole body. The pain in his whole body was getting unbearable as Zeke held the urge to scream.

*Congratulations, Zeke. The pain you're experiencing right now is the awakening of your dragon blood.*

The system's words shocked Zeke.

'Awakening? Then why so sudden? Haven't I been depressing it?'

*You died, Zeke. The suppression of your soul suddenly stopped, so the rampant dragon blood started working. Right now, the process is unstoppable as the dragon blood's now converting all your human blood into dragon blood. Congratulations, Zeke. You are now a bona fide Dragonborn.*

Hearing this, Zeke immediately got excited. The thought of becoming one a dragon or even a descendant of one excites Zeke up until now. Back then. when he chose the Dragon Continent as his starting point, although he wished to be born as a dragon, his only expectation was to meet one. Now, not only did he meet Dragonborn, but he is actually becoming one himself right now.

'System, would this mean I awakened my Flamehaven's bloodline now? I should, right? I mean, I should have awakened at least 70% of my dragon blood, right?'

*Quite far from it, Zeke.*

The system's reply baffled Zeke. Could it be he didn't reach 70%?

*By far, I mean your estimation is. Zeke, you have awakened 95% of your untapped Dragon Blood. Even I don't know what bloodline will you awaken, Zeke.*

Hearing the number shocked Zeke, but he hadn't had time to absorb it as he suddenly felt his whole body surge with power. All the muscles in his body as well as bones were being strengthened at a fast rate that Zeke could feel immense power flow through his body.

*Zeke, the dragon blood's restructuring your body. Right now, it is fortifying your physical body, making it as tyrannical as a Dragonborn's body. Although not as tough as a dragon's scale, your body would become thrice or even 5x stronger than humans. Your Strength, Agility, and Endurance are all slowly rising as your body gets tempered and tempered.*

After a few minutes, the hot sensation that Zeke felt while his body surged with power is currently dissipating as another huge change is happening inside his body. Zeke peered inside his body as he noticed his Perfect Mana Core is emitting a bright rainbow-colored light around it. It was so bright that Zeke wondered if the outside world could see his mana core now due to the intense brightness.

Zeke suddenly felt intense amount of power surging within his whole body. It was so strong that Zeke couldn't hold it in anymore as he roared loudly. It was loud enough to even cause the room he was in to violently shake, with cracks appearing on the walls of the room. Fortunately, it was sturdy and the cracks were only shallow and don't pose a threat to the structure's integrity.

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Outside the underground place Zeke was in, an earth-shattering roar could be heard. This roar was filled with noble and lofty aura as it reverberated and shook the heavens and earth. It was very loud that all the beasts in the surface of the whole jungle trembled slightly, including the strongest existences as well as the Baleful Earth Primate Warbeast that Zeke encountered earlier in his travels. When all these beasts heard the roar, a faint feeling of dread and fear slowly spread in their minds as they couldn't help but feel a sense of reverence and worship amidst their fear. Some of the weaker beasts couldn't hold on as they slumped and smashed on the ground, while others transformed into a human figure as they held the urge to kneel. The powerful ones managed to endure the emanating majestic pressure but the weaker ones couldn't as they kneeled absentmindedly.

As for the Baleful Earth Primate, it was near the underground place Zeke was in so it received a stronger pressure as it forcefully defended the suppression. Cracks appeared beneath the Giant Gorilla as it finally succumbed and knelt after a few seconds.

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In the nearby Dragonsoar City, the roar could also be heard. It was filled the aura of supremacy and loftiness that struck the hearts of those who heard it. The commoners who heard it only felt shock and awe in their hearts, but the Dragonborns were different. Ever since their awakening, they had never felt reverence and worship from a roar. They knew that a roar signified the awakening of a Dragonborn, but it was not this loud and majestic. Normally, if the bloodline of the awakening Dragonborn inside the city is stronger than them, they will feel slight pressure and unease in their hearts, as if the dragon blood within them boiled with fighting spirit. But now, this feeling was absent as worship and reverence replaced it. This feeling was unlike the fighting spirit they felt every time a Dragonborn of a higher bloodline awakens. This was the feeling and pressure that a king exudes, something that only the strongest and the noblest could only do and not imitate. The source of the sound wasn't clear, but they knew it was close if not in the city due to the load reverberating sound.

"My god... I can't stop trembling. What's this?" A Dragonborn adventurer commented. His legs were currently trembling as his heart felt like it was gripped by an intangible force, slightly suffocating him.

"C-crazy... Is this an overlord?"

"Look! Even Senior Kray is slightly trembling! Just how powerful is this to have even a Noble Dragonborn like him fearful?!"

In one of the inns, a middle-aged man was sitting in the chair while listening to the loud roar and people's exclamations. He was feeling intense shock in the inside but he kept a deadpan expression outside. He couldn't help but look towards the sky. His eyes glowed and his iris and pulls changed, forming a black hexagon. When he looked at the sky again, he could see a faint aura spreading all over the city. He went out of the inn and traced the source of the aura and he found out it came from the forest.

"Such a noble aura.. Could it be..." The man muttered as he took out a cloak and ran off to a direction.

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In the middle part of the city, Esteban was in his study, currently reading a book. When he heard the roar, his hands trembled as his monocle fell down. He hurriedly stored the book away, went outside, and looked to the sky.

"Someone awakened... and it's not just a simple awakening.." He muttered.

"A 4th-Generation? No, it's too loud. 3rd? No, it's not as strong as this. Then is this a 2nd Generation Bloodline? My god! This is absurd! " Esteban exclaimed. A 2nd-Generation Bloodline is basically an ultra genius in the whole Dragon Continent, as it only appears once in a thousand years in the continent. Such a heaven-defying individual needs to be reported to the higher-ups so they could nurture that person.

Just when he was about to contact Charles, a sudden feeling of reverence surged in his heart. This heavily startled Esteban as this was the first time he felt such emotion on an awakening. He couldn't help but doubt his judgment. Is this really a 2nd Generation? Or perhaps this is one of the progenitor generations? Esteban couldn't tell exactly so he stopped thinking about it and went to contact Charles.

'*sigh* I hope Young Noble also awaken a high bloodline. With this, we might finally unite the Eastern Lands.'

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In a majestic palace several thousand kilometers away from Dragonsoar City, a graceful old man is busy tending to his plants in a garden-like place. All of a sudden, his ears perked up as he looked towards a direction. It was the direction of Dragonsoar City.

'It's here... It's finally here... my empire's going to be prosperous!' The old man muttered as he raised his hand and shot a small orb of mana towards a certain direction silently but swiftly.

After a few seconds, another old man suddenly appeared near the old man with a flash. If there was an onlooker, they'd definitely be confused as the old man looked like he appeared out of empty air.

The newly arrived old man kneeled while he looked with a gaze full of respect and worship.

"What does Your Majesty needs? This servant is here to do Your Majesty's bidding."

"No need for that. Did you hear it too?"

"Y-yes, Your Majesty. The roar isn't that of a normal 2nd Generation Bloodline. Perhaps..."

"Yes. That roar must've come from either a progenitor bloodline awakening or if it's not, then it's at least at the zenith of 2nd Generation. This is a great boon for our Empire. Go out and gather information as to whose children or descendant broke through today. We must know who is it!" The old man casually said while still tending his plants, however, the excitement in his voice was evident.

"Yes, your servant understands!" The figure was about to go leave but he was stopped by the old man.

"Don't make a ruckus about it. Deal with it silently. I don't want the heretics to know about this, you hear me? Although they must've heard it too, they definitely won't care about it so long as they don't see us move. Deal with this secretly." The old man said in a stern voice.

"Yes!" The other old man stood and left with a flash. The garden regained its serene atmosphere again.

"The heavens blessed this generation. With this, my empire should flourish and prosper!"