Arcurus was now sitting under a tree. He had walked in random directions for a while before finally giving up and settling down.
It wasn't like he was just going to stumble across a city. First, he needed to filter and settle the flood of information in his head—what he had become, what he would do next, and why any of this had happened.
'I really need to think properly before I go crazy.'
Leaning back against the trunk, he looked up at the sky, letting the memories and sensations of the bloodline sift through his thoughts.
The Divine Law had said the world's rules mostly matched the the power system and early stages of his academy arc. If that was true, then the world-building here wasn't exactly as he had imagined—it was close, but not under his control. Which meant his plans needed to change.
He grabbed a stick and started scribbling lines into the dirt.
"Alright. Let's analyze this properly. I cursed the universe. The universe dragged me in. Later, I find out it wasn't some grand destiny but just a random damn lottery. Then I get merged with arguably the strongest bloodline, only to be tossed into a world that supposedly existed even before I imagined it. Huh~ that's a lot."
He went silent for a few moments, staring at the marks in the dirt, before giving a short nod.
"Fine. So, I've got the world, I've got the bloodline. What now then? Hmm~, Right now, I don't even know where I am. Best guess, I'm near the academy city, or at least close. And about the bloodline…"
He tapped the stick against the ground. It's like a cheat. He could feel the power already, the arrogance creeping in his heart. And this is it suppressed, diluted down to common grade. Even then, it's still primordial.
If the grading system of bloodlines was the same as he remembered, then this world ranked them in eight tiers—Common at the bottom, Primordial at the very top.
The Oblivion Dragon bloodline was primordial. And even among primordial, it stood at the peak. The sheer destructive potential of it sent chills through his veins.
Another thing became clear: Arcurus wasn't human anymore. Not in body, not in heart, not in soul. He was a dragon. A full-fledged one. He could transform at will, shift into a form that once belonged to an extinct race the universe itself had feared.
A few moments ago, he had been nothing more than an ordinary, pitiful human writer. Now, he was the progenitor of a bloodline that had once shaken the balance of creation.
'Life really is full of wonders isn't...'
Arcurus leaned back against the tree, tapping his chin in thought.
"Alright. I've got the bloodline part down. Now I need to think of a way to actually get stronger."
He rubbed his jaw, then bent forward to scribble into the dirt again.
"First… the power system here. I don't know exactly how much of it resembles what I wrote, so I can't trust the rank structures I had in mind. Forget that for now. Focus on how the power-ups work."
He paused, dragging the stick in slow circles as he thought.
"People in this world can cultivate power on their own. Or… they can advance in another way. Like leveling up—but without a system window. But I think both way is feasible since a cultivator can cultivateand use that path as well to get stronger. But I don't know if that is true..."
Arcurus frowned. His thoughts were scrambling, racing in loops as helplessness dug in. He had no idea where to start.
'Fuck! This feeling of getting no lead is so similar to when I can't find any idea to write. Damn it! Its too similar. But I must think of something. Right now, I don't have any techniques, which I don't think I will need because magical beasts don't use cultivation techniques right? I hope so that is the case.'
Arcurus thought.
He had no cultivation technique, no foundation. If growing stronger was the only path forward, then that left him with one option: the other path he had once sketched in his novel.
"What did I call it again?"
He tapped the dirt with the stick.
"Whatever. I'll call it Spirit Leveling."
The memory was faint, but enough to reconstruct.
"If I remember correctly… Spirit Leveling works like leveling up, but without numbers or a screen. When I kill a monster, part of its soul is refined into spirit energy and stored in my sea of consciousness.
When that energy reaches a certain quota, I can enhance aspects of myself directly like body, mind, soul. It's like spending stat points… except completely manual. Grounded... I think. Like gaining enough experience to level up and gaining one stat points. Yep. That makes no sense at all."
He nodded slowly, repeating the thought to steady himself. But even with that logic, uncertainty pressed in. He needed to know even if it made no sense to him.
'... Damn the uncertainty is killing me.If I don't test this now, I'll drive myself insane wondering.'
Arcurus pushed himself to his feet and took a deep breath. His hands trembled slightly as he focused inward—toward the pulse that had been coiling in his blood since the Divine Law's decree.
Dragon form.
His body rippled. Skin stretched, cracked, and tore away to reveal glowing scales beneath. His limbs elongated, bones reshaping, muscles twisting in unnatural rhythm. Within moments, the man was gone, replaced by a three-meter-tall, ten-meter-long dragon.
An western dragon stood in his place, long, with four powerful limbs and scales like shifting fragments of the cosmos,multicolored, rippling like liquid starlight over water. Ten meters from head to tail, his body coiled and uncoiled with impossible grace. His neck stretched long and regal, his teeth glinted like blades, his claws dug into the ground with effortless strength.
Black Horns crowned his head. His eyes, his eyes were a perfect mix of crimson, blue, green and gold. Even with his dangerous aura and form, his eyes were too captivating to look away from.
In that moment, Arcurus felt both Majestic and Terrifying.
*ROOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAARRRRRR!!!~*
Arcurus raised his head, jaws parting, and unleashed a roar that shook the forest. Birds scattered in terror. Small animals fled underground. Even the monsters hidden deep in the brush froze, then bolted as instinct screamed at them to get away.
For the first time since arriving, the world recognized him not as a lost human—but as a dragon.
'I'm really not a human anymore aren't I? It feels so surreal... but even if this is a dream I must move on. I don't know why right now but I must if I don't want to die.'
Arcurus marvelled his new looks as he was a dragon fanatic as well. He always dreamed of becoming a dragon and maybe he became one, he had it easy to accept the changes and move on without breaking from the sheer intensity of the revelation.