"Crack, crack, crack..." A teeth-grinding series of sounds rang out as bones rearranged themselves.
The enormous corpse suddenly twitched, then staggered to its feet.
It looked completely different now.
Its scales, once red as fire, had turned a dull crimson, covered in clusters of corrupted crystal.
In the gaps where Su Li had blown away the scales and Crimson Corruption had eaten through them, clusters of ghostly blue Soul Fire burned like tattoos from hell.
The eyes, especially, had been corroded beyond recognition. Now they were two deep blue hollows, with two icy ghost flames flickering inside.
"Holy crap, that looks so cool!" Su Li couldn't help exclaiming.
This design was a hundred times more badass than the original, tacky red lizard! It was the perfect mount for a Death Knight!
[Congratulations! Mount acquired: Corrupted Dragon Lizard (can be stowed)] [Level: Lv20 (current cap; increases with player level)] [Attributes: Strength 90, Constitution 100, Agility 40] [Skills: Nether Dragon Breath, Brutal Charge, Steel Scales]
"Roar—" The Corrupted Dragon Lizard slowly lowered its fearsome head and obediently rubbed it against Su Li's leg bones, letting out a submissive growl from its throat.
"This level of intelligence..." Su Li was a little surprised.
"It seems way smarter than Pipi Finger, that idiot who can only make finger hearts, and Pipi Axe, that iron-headed fool who only knows how to chop things! No wonder it's a dragon!"
He reached out and touched the cold, hard scales on its head.
"Good. You've got plenty of spirit! From now on, your nickname is Pipi Dragon! As for your name... from now on, you're Tina Sanks. I don't care whether you were male or female before. You're evolving into a dragon girl from now on, got it?"
Pipi Dragon opened its mouth, though it was hard to tell whether it understood. Then it spat out a red crystal that radiated intense heat.
[Acquired: Flame Dragon Lizard's Crystal (rare material). Description: A crystal containing the innate power of the Wyrm Flame Dragon Lizard. Can be used to enhance weapons or add attributes.]
Su Li's eyes lit up. "That's right! After my Corrupted Iron Sword upgraded to Common quality, I still had one chance to add an attribute!"
"This thing is perfect!"
[Use [Flame Dragon Lizard's Crystal] to enhance [Corrupted Iron Sword]?]
"Yes!"
"Vmmm—!!!" A dazzling flash of light burst forth.
The iron sword in Su Li's hand underwent another transformation.
Golden lines like flowing magma appeared across its originally dark-red blade. The blade grew longer and sharper, and even seemed to radiate heat. A dragon head had appeared on the hilt.
[Enhancement successful! Corrupted Iron Sword (Common Lv30) → Revered Corrupted Dragon Sword (Fine Lv20)] [Base attributes increased: Attack +50, Armor Break +10, Magic Break +5]
"Armor Break +10?!" Su Li swung the new sword, feeling as if it had sliced through the air itself.
"Now we're talking! I can run a sword straight through the thick hide of one of those big Fingercreepers! Even if I run into another dragon lizard, this Armor Break will teach it what it means to be a dragon!"
A string of new notifications appeared.
[Weapon trait upgraded: Incantation: You can use incantation skills through this sword. While wielding it, the effects of Corruption, Dragon Feast, and Flame incantations are increased by 5%.] [Attached Incantation: Flame Breath: Consumes Spirit to sweep flames through a fan-shaped area in front of you with a sword swing. Faith requirement: 8] [Your original attributes have been upgraded due to the weapon's increased quality. Corrupted Enslavement's conversion rate has increased. When an enslaved unit self-destructs, its power increases significantly and it deals additional fire damage.] [Tip: As a Fine-quality weapon, you can also fuse one additional attribute into it using special materials!]
"Incantations?!" Su Li's heart burned with excitement. "I never thought I'd be able to cast incantations with a sword! From now on, I'm Prayer Lord!"
"Prayer Lord is the boss, for real! All day long, it's nothing but prayers, prayers, prayers. That's all there is to it. Don't you dare disagree! Why are you grinding monsters and leveling up every day? Trying to kill yourself? Quit messing around!"
"Too bad my Faith isn't high enough. Looks like I'll have to add some more. But Pipi Dragon can hold the line for now, so I'm not short on firepower."
"The important thing is this self-destruct upgrade—hehehe. From now on, my army of slimes will be real fire-red lips. Whoever they blow up will get pregnant."
After dealing with his weapon, Su Li didn't forget the most important thing.
He pulled the ancient-looking Dragon Stone from his bag. "This is the legendary artifact that can evolve a Wyrm into an Ancient Dragon!"
Su Li walked over to Pipi Dragon and raised the Dragon Stone.
[Wyrm mount Corrupted Dragon Lizard detected. Use Dragon Stone to evolve its bloodline?]
"Use it!" Su Li replied without hesitation.
"Whoosh!" The Dragon Stone turned into a streak of light and shot into Pipi Dragon's forehead.
The next second, a blinding white light erupted from Pipi Dragon, illuminating the entire cave.
Its enormous body was wrapped in a Light Cocoon, and through it, Su Li could vaguely see its bones changing violently.
[Evolution in progress... Estimated time: 10 minutes]
"Another ten minutes?" Su Li glanced at the Light Cocoon.
"Perfect. I'll raid this dragon's nest while I wait."
He turned and headed deeper into the cave.
Sure enough, even though it was only a Wyrm, it still had the instinctive greed written into its DNA.
In a nest of grass at the deepest part of the cave, Su Li found quite a few Gold Coins, Silver Coins, and even several uncut gemstones.
[Acquired: Gold Coins x50, Silver Coins x300...]
"Not bad, not bad. It's no dragon's hoard, but it still makes me a little rich." Su Li swept all the money into his bag.
"Too bad there's nowhere to spend it right now. Enhancing weapons takes ore, but my Corrupted Enslavement units are too dumb to mine, and I don't have time to become a miner myself..."
"Looks like I'll have to think about establishing a faction."
Su Li rubbed his chin bone. In his mind's eye, he saw himself seated on the White Bone Throne, with countless undead troops at his command, plundering the whole world.
"As the future King of the Undead, I'll need a faction. Ideally, I can recruit some useful workers, like cavemen or goblins."
As he was thinking, Su Li suddenly stopped.
His gaze passed over a mountain of animal bones and landed on a stone wall at the far end of the cave.
A row of ancient, glowing characters was carved into it!
"Wait, is that a Dragon Language Wall?!" Su Li exclaimed, hurrying forward.
"Could this Flame Dragon Lizard really not have been an ordinary little lizard? Did it mutate into a Wyrm after living for a long time in a place with a Dragon Language Wall and being exposed to its energy?"
Pushing his scattered thoughts aside, Su Li solemnly walked up to the Dragon Language Wall.
"Come on! Let's see what this one has in store!"
"Vmmm—!!!" The familiar surge of energy swept over him again.
The runes on the wall seemed to come alive, turning into streams of energy that rushed into Su Li's body.
"Gah..." Agonizing pain once again struck deep into his soul.
This time, the vision was even more horrific.
The sky was torn apart, and everlasting flames burned across the land.
Dragons filled the sky, slaughtering one another! Black dragons spewed destructive flames, white dragons summoned blizzards, and golden dragons ripped through space...
It was a civil war from the age of myths. Dragon blood drenched the earth, and countless mountains collapsed.
At last, the vision froze on the final, furious roar of an Ancient Dragon engulfed in crimson flames.
The vision vanished. Su Li shook his head, feeling a little dizzy.
"Tch, this game's way of introducing the lore is so uncomfortable. Every time, it feels like I've got a concussion."
But when he saw the system notification, his dizziness vanished instantly.
[Congratulations! You have comprehended Power Language...]
Before you continue