The Heavenly Dragons were known as those who ruled beneath the heavens. The title was passed down from generation to generation in Tianlong and granted to seven people whose power was far above the rest of the territory. Each represented a fundamental aspect of natural order and magic, and, although they rarely left their positions, their presence kept Tianlong constantly protected. Unlike Sanos, where the most powerful individual usually disappeared for long periods and returned whenever he wished, the seven Heavenly Dragons remained distributed throughout the territory, ensuring its defense.
All of them were Eighth Circle mages and were among the ten strongest of that level on the entire continent. This made Tianlong an enormous power, since seven of the ten most powerful Eighth Circle mages were under its command. In addition to them, the territory also possessed the second strongest Ninth Circle mage on the continent, Empress Jiutian Huanghou.
And the guard standing before Enrico was the daughter of the seventh Heavenly Dragon.
"Jin Lianhua, daughter of Jin Guang."
"Don't call me by my name, boy..."
Lianhua narrowed her eyes. She was still trying to understand exactly what that boy intended to say and how it could possibly interest the empress. He really had the nerve to believe that he possessed something capable of awakening her interest.
'I should just kill him...'
"The Golden Dragon Elixir."
The thought disappeared instantly.
The Golden Dragon Elixir was one of the seven Heavenly Dragons' greatest goals. They were all searching for that elixir for their empress, as it could considerably increase Jiutian Huanghou's chances of reaching the Tenth Circle. It was a secret known only to the seven Dragons and the empress herself.
So how did that boy know?
Lianhua immediately brought her spear closer to Enrico's throat, her expression becoming even more serious.
"Don't play games with me, boy."
"I'm not playing games. I want to make a deal."
"Speak."
"First, I need to make sure you won't kill me afterward."
Enrico maintained a serious expression, although he clearly wanted that spear away from his throat. Lianhua, however, did not seem willing to trust him. Instead, she pressed the tip a little harder against his skin, making a small cut and drawing a drop of blood.
"I'm ordering you."
Her gaze was threatening.
"Then I guess you'll have to go without the elixi—"
The spear moved in an instant.
A portion of Enrico's golden hair was cut, and the wall behind him received a blow that opened a deep hole.
"You think I'm joking?"
"No. But I would say the best choice would be to lower your spear, because I can prove it."
"And how?"
Enrico pointed to a piece of paper he was holding and handed it to her.
Lianhua opened the paper, and there was only one sentence on it:
"When you leave the dungeon, you will know."
She squeezed the paper between her fingers and looked back at Enrico.
Then, before she could ask anything, Enrico took a step backward and stepped on a specific part of the floor.
A mechanism was activated.
His body disappeared before her eyes.
"What?!"
Lianhua immediately began searching for him, but Enrico had already been transported to another location.
He appeared in a room filled with objects that looked like Nartheis cores. Enrico immediately recognized the trap and did not waste time examining anything. He ran toward the wall at the back of the room and pressed a specific section of it.
The surface sank, and a passage opened on the other side.
Enrico quickly crossed through it, and as soon as he passed, the passage closed behind him.
"I did it. If I had taken any longer, I would have been expelled from the room and it would have changed location."
[There's a Nartheis here. Maybe you can fight it and get the next item.]
Enrico entered the next room and stopped.
In the center was a red metal sphere, secured on an altar. A glass panel on the front allowed him to see a body inside it, motionless and completely enclosed by the metal structure.
Enrico immediately recognized the object.
Red Torturer. He stared at the sphere for a few seconds.
"I don't plan on fighting that thing, even if I wanted to."
[Looks like we have a coward here. Let's wake him up.]
Enrico looked at the empty space in front of him, irritated by the system's comment. Then he noticed a small mechanism beside the sphere and pressed the button.
The structure began to close.
The red sphere slowly became smaller, compressing the body inside it. Small openings appeared at the bottom, and blood began to flow through them, falling directly onto the altar.
The blood touched the surface.
The altar was activated.
Enrico watched the process for a few seconds and then began removing his clothes. When he stood before the mirror beside the wall, his eyes immediately went to his back.
The Fire Cancer mark was there.
"I have to get stronger soon. The faster, the better."
Enrico noticed that his body was more athletic than before. Since he was alone, he approached the mirror and smiled at his own reflection, proud of the result of his training.
"I'm much better now. Hehe."
[What an idiot. Why are you smiling?]
Enrico froze for a moment.
That's right. He had forgotten about the killjoy who was always by his side.
"You really know how to ruin a moment."
He turned his attention back to the sphere and noticed that the blood had run out. The structure had now shrunk to approximately half the size of a hand and then shrank even further, becoming only slightly larger than half a finger. Enrico picked up the small sphere, observed it for a few seconds, and then climbed onto the altar.
"Are you going to perform a ritual now?"
Enrico did not answer. He simply put the small sphere in his mouth and swallowed it.
A powerful burning sensation immediately spread through his body.
"Ghh..."
He sat in the center of the altar and assumed a meditation position, controlling his breathing as he tried to endure the sensation. The remaining blood spread across the surface began to glow and, shortly afterward, slowly evaporated, being absorbed into Enrico's skin.
The burning sensation intensified.
His entire body seemed to be burning from the inside, but Enrico remained motionless. He clenched his teeth and continued breathing in a controlled manner until, five minutes later, the sensation finally began to disappear.
Enrico opened his eyes.
He looked at his own body and immediately stood up, making a small jump off the altar when he realized there was no blood left on him.
Then the system appeared before his eyes.
Name: Enrico Solcren Ferreira
Magic: Fire — Circle 1 — 17%
Mana Quantity: 153
Unique Ability: Elemental Clone
Soul: 65
Enrico's eyes widened, and he broke into a smile.
"It worked!"
The ghoul's blood ritual had not only improved the quality of his blood. It had also increased his mastery of fire magic, his mana quantity, and his soul. It was a much better result than he had expected.
"With this, my blood should already be above seventy percent of the people in the territory. And the next item, after I defeat the boss, will improve it even further, putting my blood among the five purest in the world."
[I would still like to know about that fourth artifact. I'm precisely at the part of the story where that villain obtains the first three.]
"You'll find out."
And, with the fourth artifact, his blood could become the purest of all generations.
The room began to change around Enrico. The structure gradually disappeared, and he was taken to another point in the dungeon. As soon as he returned to a safe location, he put his clothes back on and left.
When he reached the main area, he noticed that Takeshi had already left the boss room. Yumeha and Rina were about to leave to look for him, but Enrico raised his hand.
"I'm here."
Yumeha immediately looked over his body, checking whether he had any new injuries. Rina, on the other hand, looked around.
"Where is the guard who went with you?"
"She should be arriving."
A short while later, Lianhua appeared in the distance. Upon realizing that Enrico had not told the others about her true identity, she maintained a discreet posture and continued observing the boy carefully.
"Young master, you shouldn't leave like that."
"I'm sorry. It won't happen again."
Takeshi approached and handed Enrico a blood-red necklace.
"Here is the reward, young master."
Enrico received the necklace and quickly examined it before putting it away.
"Thank you."
With that, everyone left the dungeon. The guards carried the rewards found inside, as well as the cores of the Nartheis defeated during the exploration. Shortly after they left the entrance, the dungeon began to disappear, ending the exploration.