Everyone Can Be a Dragon! (6200)

"Wasn't this essentially the same as how the 'Master of the Labyrinth' in the South Sea Grand Labyrinth was really just a janitor and a scapegoat administrator?"

The first thing Ian thought of was the Master of the Labyrinth position he had tossed to Sha Sha, followed by the realization: This is hilarious. So it really was like that.

He had suspected it at the time. The seemingly wondrous restrictions within Terra's many labyrinths were likely nothing more than fairly ordinary rules and regulations from the Pre-Epoch Civilization—some labyrinth restrictions that seemed almost like supernatural urban legends might simply have been as commonplace as a Dustless Laboratory carrying out high-temperature sterilization after a room got dirty.

Terra's powerful inheritors and great families could understand some of it, but ordinary adventurers could never comprehend it. They had summed up countless lessons through blood and tears, yet they could never compare to nobles who possessed inherited knowledge.

A true teaching needed only one sentence... that had always been an unshakeable truth.

At the Xenobiology Research Institute, Dragonblood could come and go freely, likely because dragons had been studied here back then. There might even have been many related experiments conducted with the cooperation of True Dragons.

In that case, as friendly collaborators, True Dragons themselves naturally possessed authorization. And the results of those experiments—the half-human, half-dragon Dragonbloods—would certainly have needed authorization too. Thus, Dragonblood had become part of the identification credentials.

But now...

Suppressing the urge to laugh, Ian thought, This is a trap after all, isn't it?

To be honest, given Ian's morals, his first thought had been to exploit this restriction to create a trap that would capture rare talents possessing Dragonblood.

If he were the Pioneer Echo, he would definitely use the ruin to lay traps, using its various defense systems to harvest the essence of those with Dragonblood and those on the Ascension Path—after all, those with Dragonblood surely advanced quickly on the Ascension Path. They counted as geniuses, and the inheritance of bloodline forms upon them was a "result" that even the Pioneer, as its founder, could never have imagined.

With Echo's power, absorbing these results would surely lead to extraordinary accomplishments.

Just like now, when representatives of the younger generation of geniuses from Terra's major factions had all gathered here. If the Pioneer Echo swept them all up in one net...

"The Dark Gold Dragon."

Ian gained some insight. So that's how it is.

The Dark Gold Dragon, a powerful entity lurking within the Xenobiology Research Institute, had now nearly reached the complete Fifth Energy Level... but it was still missing certain critical things.

Perhaps materials. Perhaps information. Perhaps its calculations had not yet concluded. But in any case, along the path of the Spirit Calamity, without Ian's interference, the Dark Gold Dragon had already reached a level considered powerful even among the Fifth Energy Level—and it also possessed the ability of "light transformation."

Previously, Ian had not thought much of it. After all, who knew which bloodlines possessed the ability of light transformation? But now it seemed... this power most likely originated from the Sertal Empire's imperial family!

Aina Sertal, son of the First Prince and the Empire's eldest imperial grandson. This young imperial member, slightly older than Ian, was among the Empire's expedition team this time.

Along the path of the Spirit Calamity, Ian believed that Isengard's cousin would definitely be captured by the Dark Gold Dragon for bloodline analysis.

And perhaps it was not just that...

"The First Prince Carlos's fate of being grievously wounded and left on the brink of death... definitely wasn't false."

Ian narrowed his eyes, feeling that he was gradually linking together many clues. "If First Prince Carlos entered the ruins to save his son, only to be ambushed and grievously wounded to the point of near death... that makes even more sense."

"After all, for researching the Sun God Bird bloodline, a Fourth Energy Level would surely be more useful than a Second Energy Level."

Piecing together and analyzing useful information was a prophet's compulsory course.

Ian was also certain that Yafda, the chairman of Canaanmore, must have some great secret. He might even have been cooperating with the Dark Gold Dragon... after all, with his spacetime abilities, crossing authorization barriers to communicate with it would not be difficult. And that signal he had asked Ian to release...

"Interesting. No wonder I encountered danger whether or not I used the Silver Chip. Only by using the Silver Chip carefully could I find a sliver of survival."

The corners of Ian's lips rose as he smiled. This feeling of danger was especially interesting to him.

Sometimes, knowing there was danger was of no use at all. There were always resources, always information, that could only be obtained by passing through danger... and at such times, fear and hesitation were useless.

Ian could only, and would only, find it interesting. That was his nature.

"This time, I won't need the Silver Chip."

With that thought, Ian passed through the inspection platform. His Dragonblood met the standard; it was no weaker than Anfa's prosthetic body, and was even stronger.

After all, he possessed a genuine Ancient Dragon Core. In this regard, Ian was a true inheritor of Dragonblood.

There was naturally no need to mention Sheo. Like Anfa, she possessed a rather high concentration of Dragonblood even within her prosthetic body, though she had yet to develop or cultivate it and relied primarily on her dragon soul in battle.

As for Isengard...

The green light flashed, and he passed as well.

"The Light-Eater Dragon is a dragon too?"

Ian was shocked. He had originally thought Isengard would use some other Dragonblood artifact as a pass, which was the method many expedition members had prepared. Some small nations' teams had no intention of exploring deeper anyway and merely meant to go through the motions; Ian had assumed Isengard would be doing the same.

But who could have known that the Light-Eater Dragon was also a dragon?

"Huh?"

The blond youth was bewildered. Having passed authorization, he looked at his hand, then at Ian, his large green eyes filled with confusion. "If the Light-Eater Dragon isn't a dragon, then why is it called a dragon?"

"Exactly."

Even Sheo nodded. "Most things called dragons possess some characteristics and bloodline of True Dragons. Names aren't given carelessly!"

Ian was initially rather confused, but he quickly understood why. He sighed. "Just how many bizarre Dragonblood creatures did the Pre-Epoch Civilization create?"

Perhaps experimental subjects had escaped due to the Calamity of Falling Skies, and perhaps Dragonblood had spread because it was indeed superior... but the Pre-Epoch Civilization had absolutely coveted the power of True Dragons. Who knew how many kinds of dragon creatures they had created!

If even the Light-Eater Dragon counted as a dragon, then perhaps all Terra humans collectively possessed some portion of True Dragon bloodline. Everyone was a descendant of dragons. That might not actually be false, given that the True Dragon bloodline was also the most widespread Fifth Energy Level inheritance.

If not for how difficult it was to refine bloodline purity—even Hilliard found it difficult—and the fact that becoming a True Dragon required killing a True Dragon, it would probably have been the easiest way to attain the Fifth Energy Level.

In short, everyone could be a dragon!

Beneath the Waterlogged Plains lay the second layer, Dusk Sanctuary.

After stepping out of the elevator, Ian looked around and discovered that this place was less a labyrinth than an extremely dense urban cluster. Fairly spacious streets formed one grid after another, and within those grids stood all sorts of warehouses, functional facilities, and residences. The not particularly clear roads crisscrossed each other. Though some buildings had already collapsed into ruins and blocked the way, an Ascendant could easily cross them with their strength.

The light here was not as bright as it had been on the first layer, the Waterlogged Plains. Instead, it resembled evening, with the entire area cast in the golden hues of sunset and dusk. This was probably because the Waterlogged Plains had been an area for farming and grazing, while this layer was where the Sanctuary's residents truly lived, so the lighting had been adjusted.

But that did not make sense either... according to the design, although this place was somewhat cramped and oppressive, the residential buildings were surely more comfortable than those villages on the Waterlogged Plains. Ian's gaze swept across the densely packed rooms lining both sides of the roads, and he could not help feeling deeply puzzled.

—Why had the Sanctuary residents of a thousand years ago left this place and settled in the Waterlogged Plains?

The answer was simple.

Because there were "monsters."

"Wow, Anfa, don't you think this place kind of resembles the World Tree Capital?"

At this moment, Sheo wandered around excitedly. She had never visited any Pre-Epoch ruin before, so naturally she was curious about these strangely shaped ancient structures. In particular, every building in Dusk Sanctuary was enormous, like pillars stretching from floor to ceiling. At a glance, they truly had something in common with the hive city of the World Tree Capital—a design capable of fitting the greatest population into the smallest volume.

But just as Sheo was preparing to climb atop a ruin and follow the collapsed concrete slabs into one of the residential buildings to examine its internal design, Ian suddenly turned his head and raised a hand, unleashing a blast of steam.

Just as he had once blown away the Elf team led by Yijiena with a single strike, this cannonball-like beam of high-temperature steam sent a dark shadow that suddenly leaped from the room flying. Anfa reacted immediately as well. The sword at her waist instantly rose into the air and landed in her hand. Then, with a flash of her figure, the Elf girl appeared at the shadow's side.

Buzz—metal gave a faint hum. Before the dark shadow even hit the ground, it had already become a pile of minced flesh. Only then did Sheo blink and realize what had happened. "Whoa!"

"What kind of monster is that?"

Even after being attacked, she was not afraid in the slightest. The red-haired dragon girl jumped down from the ruins and approached the monster's corpse with Ian and the others, her face full of curiosity. "My psychic warning didn't trigger at all. Does this monster have anti-psychic coating?"

"It does."

Ian did not blame Sheo for her carelessness, because even if he had not acted, she would not have died. The dragon girl had several layers of psychic accessories protecting her. Still, it was best not to waste them if possible.

At this moment, he carefully examined the Magic Beast before him, then looked up and met Anfa's gaze as she did the same. The two nodded together. "A mechanical chimera beast."

The Magic Beast Ian had blasted away and Anfa had cut to pieces was no ordinary Magic Beast. It was a "semi-mechanized Magic Beast" with a steel exoskeleton and a biological core. It should have been some kind of centipede-like insect Magic Beast, and the damaged room was precisely its nest. After sensing that Sheo's body was the weakest among everyone present, it had immediately launched an attack.

"But something's wrong."

Unlike Sheo, who had already crouched down with great interest and begun rummaging through the demon insect's flesh, Isengard frowned slightly. "There are too many suspicious points—we have three Second Energy Levels, and we haven't concealed our presence or strength. Even a demon insect couldn't be stupid enough to ambush us."

"Second, had the Pre-Epoch Civilization already invented mechanical chimera beasts? No, they definitely invented them, but hadn't this technology already been eliminated and completely replaced by metal-based lifeforms...?"

"Mm, Ethan, you're right, but there's another suspicious point."

Ian stroked his chin, his gaze filled with doubt. "This mechanical framework... is very new."

"I can believe that the Pre-Epoch Civilization created semi-mechanized Magic Beasts to guard their homes. I can also believe that semi-mechanized Magic Beasts went out of control, drove the humans from the Sanctuary, and forced them to build villages and towns on the first layer."

"But..."

As he spoke, Ian raised a hand and picked up a piece of the severed Magic Beast's corpse. He carefully examined the inscription circuits upon it, then shook his head. "I don't believe that the Pre-Epoch Civilization was using anti-psychic coating and concealment circuits developed only in the past few years."

He tossed down the insect flesh, then looked around at everyone present and stated with certainty, "The insect might be old, but the mechanical structure is definitely new."

"Indeed. This is abnormal. This place is a safe zone. Our advance team has already driven away most dangerous creatures... and that includes demon insects. These mechanized demon insects should not exist here. They only appeared in the last week or two!"

Anfa felt uneasy. Although this semi-mechanical centipede was not strong at all, only barely reaching the First Energy Level even when its mechanical defense was included—and without anti-psychic coating, it could not even have ambushed Sheo—its very existence meant that the ruins had changed. "I didn't linger on the second layer during my last visit, nor did I encounter enemies on the third layer, so I'm not sure... but if the Xenobiology Research Institute still has the ability to create mechanical Magic Beasts like this..."

"Then the environment within the labyrinth is surely far more dangerous than we imagined!" Her expression was solemn.

"We'll deal with whatever comes."

Ian's expression did not change, and he did not continue speculating. He gestured for everyone to move on. "If nothing unexpected happens, the other expedition teams have probably encountered such monsters too... interesting. Semi-mechanical Magic Beasts that conceal themselves and ambush like this—if they were a little stronger, they would clearly be capable of injuring Second Energy Levels. Yet it used such weak demon insects to attack us. It seems more like a test and a warning."

Ian's words sent Anfa into thought. He continued leisurely, "It seems this ruin is selecting not merely for Dragonblood... it also wants powerful mental strength and sharp reactions. Interesting. What exactly is it selecting?"

—That anti-psychic coating was expensive yet not especially effective. It was selecting someone who could detect all kinds of monsters and traps out of thin air even without psychic power... the answer was self-evident. It could only be the Silver Chip.

The plan to select its target had begun from the most minute details... even Ian had to admire the thoroughness of the one behind it. But the one behind it had miscalculated one thing.

That was that Ian was still a prophet. Even without the Silver Chip, he could detect all manner of abnormalities.

"Selecting... what?"

The group followed Ian onward. Anfa was still pondering, while Isengard had also begun using the Light-Eater Dragon's powerful life-sensing abilities to search for possibly concealed monsters nearby.

As for Sheo, she remained unconcerned. But this time, anyone with psychic vision would have been able to see a vague dragon shadow emerging behind the lovely-faced girl, covering the surrounding area and conducting a wide-range search.

No traps or Magic Beasts could ambush Ian's party once they became serious, and this second layer, "Dusk Sanctuary," was indeed full of killing intent, packed with traps and vicious beasts.

Some were ancient Pre-Epoch Civilization landmines, perhaps laid back then to deal with experimental Magic Beasts that had gone out of control. Who knew why they could still function more than a thousand years later? Their shelf life alone was mythically impressive, while their power was as terrifying as alchemical artillery shells.

But before these landmines could explode before Ian, their control cores were all destroyed by powerful magnetic fields.

Some were various mechanized insect Magic Beasts. These Magic Beasts hid in the shadows of rooms and amid ruins, and once someone approached, they would attack fiercely regardless of the difference in strength.

But those Magic Beasts could not even pass Anfa's sword. Isengard alone could manipulate streams of fire and roast them all into chunks of iron-plated insect flesh.

The ruins' buildings were arranged in a grid, enormous and extraordinarily complex. The many damaged and collapsed structures had turned the place into an artificial labyrinth. The once-solid stone ground was riddled with cracks and pits that had to be crossed carefully. No one knew which of those seemingly identical buildings contained wealth worth excavating and which concealed terrifying Magic Beasts and traps.

Yet under Ian's guidance, the group strolled through the ruins as if taking a leisurely walk through a park. Every so often, they even found relatively intact Pre-Epoch Civilization machinery, such as miniaturized air conditioners, crystal discs that were probably discarded storage devices, and some mysterious things Ian could not identify for the moment without the Silver Chip.

It was not that Ian was incapable. Rather, no one could tell what these palm-sized "compression capsules" would become after decompression... he could guess that these heavy yet inconspicuous compressed devices were some sort of simple infrastructure equipment that could help people in shelters survive outside, but their specific functions would have to be determined after decompression.

"This compression technology is truly worth learning. Unfortunately, it should be an entire chain of technology. Even if I analyze it with the Silver Chip later, I'll only obtain the finished products. The earlier processing and compression procedures will still need to be slowly reverse-engineered and restored."

After putting away these palm-sized compressed objects that each weighed nearly a ton, and leaving Emberlamp House's beacons in place, Ian and the others continued onward. Later, Emberlamp House's logistics personnel would transport these "spoils" back to the first layer, then back to the camp near Half-Moon Lake.

This exploration continued for quite some time. Although everyone knew Ian was a prophet, and that it was normal for him to discover things others could not... when they actually saw it, they still found it utterly astonishing.

"It's truly hard to imagine that these 'safe zones,' which have already been explored so many times, could still contain so many undiscovered Pre-Epoch Civilization artifacts..."

Anfa truly found it unbelievable. Sometimes, finding something did not mean understanding it. Ian clearly did not merely foresee the existence of these objects; he could also know their exact uses. "This is practically the union of prophecy and True Sight..."

"True Sight?"

Upon hearing this, Ian could not help becoming curious. "I've heard someone mention the name of this psychic ability before, but it was very mysterious. I never heard about it again afterward. What exactly is it, to be almost comparable to prophecy?"

"True Sight is the most powerful observation-type psychic ability."

Before Anfa could speak, Isengard explained, "It can see through concealment, invisibility, suppressed presence, optical camouflage, and incorporeal forms. It can also see Origin Matter psychic energy and Void Realm fluctuations at the same time. Beyond that, when there are projectiles, a True Sight user can see every trajectory they might take. And if they encounter unfamiliar Ascendants or Magic Beasts, a True Sight user can see their strength and know the gap between their own strength and that of the other party."

"Not only that, it can also see all traps and treasures, just like you can now, Ian. In short, someone with True Sight possesses 'true vision.' With just a pair of eyes, they can see nearly every danger and opportunity in this world... except fate."

At this point, the blond youth smiled at Ian, his expression resolute. "So it's still inferior to your prophecy, Ian. After all, seeing through the future is the truly powerful psychic ability."

"Really?"

But Ian froze instead, because from Isengard's description, he felt an inexplicably familiar sensation toward this so-called True Sight...

Because Precognitive Vision did indeed possess part of True Sight's abilities! As for the other abilities, the Silver Chip possessed them all as well!

The two combined were precisely the ability Ian had relied on as his right arm throughout his journey—the ability to see through every future danger and opportunity!

Perhaps... this truly was a kind of True Sight?

Furthermore, Ian keenly noticed that True Sight somewhat resembled a form of data-based vision.

In particular, its ability to see through projectiles and assess enemy strength gave him the feeling of an "assisted combat system."

On Earth in his previous life, before the Unification War, the military had already begun equipping troops with such systems. Paired with combat AI, they could instantly turn an ordinary person into a battle-hardened super soldier, capable of seeing through every piece of information on the battlefield... and True Sight was even stronger and more comprehensive than that system.

Such a psychic ability actually existed? It was stranger than prophecy, because prophecy was, at its core, merely the special ability of sensing the True Aether current flowing through spacetime and receiving the information contained within it.

But True Sight felt even more deliberately designed...

"Perhaps the Silver Chip's abilities are a collection of numerous extremely rare psychic abilities? And perhaps such special abilities can be 'designed,' or even 'created,' by certain existences..."

Ian's expression remained unchanged, but inwardly he was shaken. With the strength of the Star Gods, this isn't impossible... but if They are already so powerful, why would They design these abilities?

Ian's sudden silence did not surprise his friends. They had long grown accustomed to him suddenly sinking into thought like this. After a while, once Ian had figured it out, he would return to normal.

But this time, before the white-haired youth could reach an answer or end his thoughts himself—

A huge fluctuation of Origin Matter interrupted the silence.

"Oh?"

Ian raised his head. Sensing the violent Origin Matter fluctuations, he looked north with curiosity. "Someone's fighting?"

His eyes widened as watery halos flowed within them. Ian was suddenly interested. "A familiar fluctuation—let me see... one of them has the Sun God Bird bloodline. It's the eldest imperial grandson of our Sertal Empire..."

Then his tone rose slightly, clearly carrying surprise and excitement. "And the other one is actually from the Azure Heaven Royal Court?"

"Haha, the imperial descendants of two great powers are already fighting?"

Tomorrow's update will probably also be before eight in the evening! It'll take a while longer before it can return to eight!