"He's bluffing, right? He's got to be."
"He's always been an arrogant guy but until now he's always backed that arrogance up with strength. Don't tell me, that guy can also…"
"He'll die! That's a dragon god!" someone else shouted.
"… What if he's not joking?"
Miraculously, the dragon laughed, its laughter booming even louder than its roar from before.
--I have only seen one other human in my lifetime who challenged a dragon to a duel.
"Promethius, I assume?"
That's how he gained the White Dragon Lord's loyalty.
--He was blessed by the gods, while you are a nameless human. His fight against the demons almost resulted in the death of Arsnoria, a being far beyond even the Dragon Lords.
"I am far stronger than Promethius." He said without a change in expression.
Everyone's mouths gaped at the sheer stupidity of those words. Is this guy out of his mind, is probably what all of them were thinking.
But no, he was serious. Well, technically. If Promethius was compared to him without the Holy Sword, then Arnold would be a bit stronger since he mastered Aether and had obtained the body from his endgame self. He was literally at the peak of his life from the game—with no human equal currently.
Guinevere is way stronger than both of them if the Holy Sword was taken out of the hypothetical fight.
Of course, Arnold became much stronger now that he learned that—
He could cast magic all along and only needed an [Intelligence] stat.
Of course, this was only confirmed by the dragon that said that "Aether is the amalgamation of all energies", something he considered only a theory and not gospel. Arnold knew Tyr had been alive for longer than modern humans have been around so it's best to trust his words. Dragons are always truthful so it was not a lie.
Besides that, he wanted to know who this Progenitor really was. It was definitely not in the story so maybe it was a hidden boss or just a friendly entity that you can meet if you follow certain steps?
In any case, he can think about that after beating Tyr.
The class he chose was Bloodsworn, a derivation of the Wizard class. Since it's just a wizard class with a different origin, he could still go through an evolution to Supreme Sorcerer.
Bloodsworn is a magic class that uses the lifeforce in one's blood as a sacrifice to increase the potency of spells to outlandish heights depending on the sacrifice given.
Arnold is both a Transcendent and the strongest human in existence so his blood could allow him to utilize this class to its absolute limit.
It's a class that corrupted sorcerers would kill for. He didn't really need that boost in spell potency since he mainly fights close combat but it's a good class for ending fights quickly. Only when he becomes a Supreme Sorcerer, will he abandon his warrior style combat.
Since the class is of blood magic origin, it was the perfect class to combine with his Pure Martial Art.
And yes, he went to the Dragon God's Lair and obtained the [Sovereign of Blood].
--Oh? What will that toothpick do against me?
When Arnold summoned Luxtivin, Tyr remarked smugly. For a dragon as old as him, he definitely hasn't lost his false sense of superiority that his lineage grants him. Maybe no one thus far had posed a challenge to him.
"I don't need the sword for you." He stuck out one finger and in a quick motion, sliced his finger open, letting the blood drip freely. A small magic circle formed around it then instantly cleaned the blood up. "This sword is the only thing that can cut my skin so a dagger won't do."
--Humph. What are you planning on doing to defeat me, human? If you are serious about this fight, should we not move this fight elsewhere? While I despise your kind, our Mother made us swear to protect your lives as best we can.
"No, here is perfectly fine since this fight will end in one blow."
--Human, there is a limit to your arrogance that I will allow.
Arnold's golden eyes glowed and the same small magic circle from before appeared around his finger. He pointed that finger at Tyr:
Ten magic circles appeared in front of his finger, each soaked in a reddish glow, crackling with red lightning. A small beam appeared at the topmost magic circle that was mere inches away from the dragon's snout. Upon looking closer, one would be able to see a thin strand of his blood connecting itself to each of the magic circles like hair strands.
'It's a shame I can only use up until Fifth-Rank with this class.'
At the moment, Arnold's intelligence stat sat at 35 (academy graduates being at 21 on average) so he couldn't cast big spells beyond a certain rank. Regardless, this spell he casted is strong in its own right but definitely not enough to kill an ancient dragon.
That is, if he wasn't the one who casted this spell after obtaining the Bloodsworn class.
The dragon's head was still high, looking down at Arnold, underestimating the tiny ball of energy at the very end of his multiplied magic circles.
This made Arnold grin.
The next moment, the magic circles turned an even darker red, and more Aether was sucked out of Arnold.
It seems that despite having a moderately high Intelligence stat, he needs to work on his magic control and consumption so that he doesn't waste his Aether in battle.
'I forgot the Bloodsworn class is incredibly unbalanced and saps a lot of mana, more so than other classes even though its selling point is increasing the potency of spells without using multiplication techniques.'
He would be what players call a "Rookie Mage" who could barely control a spell properly despite being the one who was at the epitome of magic in the old days. How far the mighty have fallen. But he didn't sulk too much since his days as a Sorcerer was only just beginning.
Next stop? Head to the Deeper Ground relic tomb to obtain his old equipment to bypass all these restrictions.
Arnold muttered the following words in a quiet whisper:
"Fifth-Rank Magic – [Devastation Ray]."
A soundless rupture of space as the tiny beam hit the dragon's snout—and detonated.
A pillar of crimson annihilation erupted skyward, wider than a city wall, screaming through the dragon's body like a heavenly guillotine. Scales, bone, and its magic armor vaporized, the beam boring straight through its chest and beyond. Tyr didn't even get to roar. The explosion consumed his upper half, reducing the proud dragon king to a charred ruin falling from the sky.
But the spell didn't stop.
It tore through the stratosphere—blasted a vertical tunnel through the clouds, spiraled into the heavens, and continued until it dissolved up in space.
Arnold stood in the same spot, smoke curling from his shirt, one finger still raised, red lightning still cracking around him.
He exhaled.
Behind him, students of the academy stood frozen. Some had fallen to their knees. Others were shaking. None could speak.
A dragon that had once dwarfed mountains had been erased with a single attack.
Arnold examined his Aether levels. While there was no need to worry about his internal energy, he lost about 40% of his Aether in that single attack. As mentioned before, he needs to work on his magic control and consumption since this makes him an embarrassment in the magic field.
It also seems like his class only amplified the power of the spell but didn't help with balancing the spell itself.
It will take a while to get rid of these limitations but he achieved his end goal.
…Maybe he needs to study his new class more during his free time. The system should have some information for him to go through.
"Elizabeth. Revive him."
"Right away!" she didn't stand starstruck like the rest and hurriedly chanted a revival spell without hesitation.
Everyone else just… gawked. Arnold would've been disappointed if his power didn't receive this kind of reaction. He went through a lot to get this far, not just pour his time into the journey but experience actual death and several near-death experiences.
A purple light surrounded Tyr's body and instantly revived him. This stunned the audience even further.
--!?
The moment he came back, his head darted from side to side, unable to process what just happened. To him it probably felt like a light blow to the head that knocked him unconscious but in actuality, he died in an instant.
"Bind your soul to me, Tyr."
-Our battle did not commence—!
He tried to argue.
Another beam of destruction blasted Tyr's body off, but this time it was a small percentage of the power that was displayed earlier.
"– [Devastation Ray]."
Another beam tore the behemoth apart, its mind unable to keep up.
"Revive the lizard."
"Yes!"
--!?
"Bind your soul to me and give me the Draconic Halo, Tyr."
--Our battle—
"– [Devastation Ray]."
"Revive him."
The cycle continued for a few more times, the residents of the capital thinking some crazed magician was trying to attack the capital. But miraculously, the spells were only flying upward. The only things affected were the audience and the sky itself. There was a giant hole in the formation of clouds above.
What if that spell hit the empire? What could ordinary humans like them do?
◊
Tyrgavion's mind could not process what had happened so far. Every time he tries to speak, a flash appears then his vision darkens. This has never happened to him before in any of his previous fights nor even in his daily life serving the Taelith House.
What could it be?
The moment he snapped out of his consciousness, he cast a mind possession spell that shot his consciousness into a nearby flying dragon.
'Hm? I feel fine now that I took over this body—'
He could not even finish that thought before he witnessed a death ray of pure destruction blow off the entire top half of his body.
'….'
An indescribable feeling overcame his mind, the shock so powerful that he became petrified.
In a single attack…
With one spell…
Just one…
That was all it took for him to blown to cinders.
How?
How is something like this possible?
He recalled sparring with Freya York several times in the past since the two of them were allies and he supported her Hero Party. It took at least Tenth-Rank spells to injure him greatly. Not just because he had good magic defense but also due to the blessing the Dragon God gave all her children upon their birth.
Did the spell just bypass this blessing somehow and not use bruteforce? Arnold didn't seem to be doing anything out of the ordinary, only firing his spell continuously while looking bored.
'Curses!' Tyr roared from the depths of his soul just before being sucked back into his body.
The moment he got his consciousness back, he roared again, this time directing the full might of his killing intent that could kill a human from just aftershock, directly at Arnold.
However…
Arnold merely stood there, cold eyes observing the dragon as if it was just looking at a fellow human.
"—Bind your soul to me, Tyrgavion."
Even though dragons had no equivalent to humans getting goosebumps, his entire body shivered from head to toe.
This tiny ant was… It was on a level he couldn't hope to reach.
How has he remained hidden this long? Was he merely bored and wanted to show off today? No, from the investigations the Taelith Family conducted, Arnold was the type to show off his power. It was pride in his own talent and hard work, something Tyrgavion believed was only natural.
There is no difference between a powerful man who chooses to help others with his incredible power but never boast and a powerful man who boasts about his strength he obtained through hard work and dedication.
What he shown thus far wasn't arrogance in the slightest, just pride.
This pride was completely absent in Plesiduxius, who Tyrgavion looked up to as a young dragon. He was always stoic, quiet and calculating, even when living among humans in his human form. If he did end up using his powers, it was when humans were in danger.
Arnold awaited Tyr's answer.
There was one thing that the two of them had in common—
Their ambition was bottomless.
A change appeared in Arnold—his pupils twisted in a spiral, the golden color slowly changed to crimson. A black pattern formed in those eyes, and golden dots connected to them, forming a strange combination.
The Draconic Halo is a visual technique exclusive only to dragonkin humans while only the Dragon Lords can use it in their humanoid forms.
Its abilities include:
1. It allows one to read and disrupt magic spells even without knowing what the spells were, meaning that even spells that rely on one's ignorance to work effectively, will be useless against those that possess these eyes.
2. Wielders of this eye can control lifeforce, allowing them to extract and use an enemy's lifeforce as a temporary energy source.
3. When fully awakened, the Draconic Halo allows limited precognition — glimpses of incoming spells or fatal attacks right before they happen.
4. Upon sucking out an opponent's soul, a user can temporarily use the person's "Foundation" to use all their techniques temporarily and become an exact copy of them but this comes at a huge cost. This cost involves going blind in both eyes, never again able to see light. The soul itself is like a weakness to these eyes and there is no cure.
5. Grants absolute anti-magic in a limited radius so mages who know of this eye know to keep their distance.
6. Can issue mental commands to dragons or hybrids within line of sight.
7. Successors to Dragon Lords can apparently live forever so long as they do not resort to using the fourth ability.
8. Lastly, the most powerful users of this eye are said to be capable of controlling every living being, including the Dragon Lords, in a hypnosis that can only be undone through death or the user's will. Eye contact is necessary to activate this.
Since Tyrgavion isn't the only Ancient Dragon alive, there are other Draconic Halo users who tamed these dragons and formed a bond bound through their souls. Of course, they aren't able to use all the aforementioned abilities. Only Tyr's previous master, who stood on equal grounds with Promethius and the founder of the Murim Martial Alliance during the war, could harness all eight abilities. There may be more but this hasn't been proven yet.
Perhaps the successor to the Black Dragon Lord could fully unlock its hidden abilities if there are any.
Looking into those dark crimson eyes, Tyr realized then that his soul has surrendered to this human willingly even though he had no power left to do it himself.
He could finally attain his wits and think for himself, not letting his pride as the strongest species speak for him.
The hundreds of dragons in the sky watched on in stunned silence as the biggest one of them all lowered its head, its wings standing vertically above its body—a sign of subservience to dragonkind.
But they did not question that action, for they witnessed the reincarnation of the strongest Dragon Lord.
Arnold is—as the prophecy foretold—the King of the Dragons…
Those eyes that could see "everything" was enough proof of that.