The specimen-filled laboratory was silent. Light from the ceiling enveloped Ryan's figure, casting a twisted shadow across the gleaming steel floor. As he moved his arms, the dark shape writhed and danced along with him, as if performing a silent play.
At the center of the test platform, Ryan returned from the boundless sea of knowledge and looked at the modified spell before him. It was nearly complete; all that remained was to inscribe it in his Spellbook. He rubbed his stomach and realized he was ravenous.
He hadn't noticed while he'd been wholly absorbed in the system and the screen. Now that his mind had returned to reality, Ryan finally felt the emptiness in his belly. He turned to look at Jelona and the others keeping watch, and his face darkened.
The Dwarf and the barbarian were huddled together, their heads nearly touching as they stared intently at something in the Dwarf's hands. Ryan let out a quiet sigh at the two clueless fools, who seemed to have no idea what they were doing. Meanwhile, the Half-elf Ranger was diligently keeping watch over their surroundings.
Seeing Ryan come back to himself after studying with near-mad intensity, Jelona kindly stepped forward and offered an arm to support his exhausted frame. Ryan waved away her help. He was tired and hungry, but not so frail that he needed to lean against a broad chest.
Ryan took water and food from his planeswalker's space and immediately began wolfing them down without a care for appearances. The soft white bread was still warm from the oven. The starch, fragrant with malt, softened in his mouth and slid down his throat. Every so often, he took a bite of roast venison, rich with fat and black pepper. As he savored the meaty flavor blooming across his taste buds, Ryan had never been more grateful for the convenience of a plane where time could be brought to a halt.
A perfect larder, an essential tool for traveling, killing, and setting things on fire. Ryan marveled to himself. It was the determination of a deeply ingrained glutton to enjoy good food in any situation.
Ryan polished off the food in his hands in no time, drank some water to clear his palate, and let out a long breath. Feeling as though he'd come back to life, he opened the "system," visible only to him, and checked the time. Then he asked the Half-elf beside him, "How long has it been?"
Jelona glanced at Ryan's exhausted face with concern before replying, "More than ten hours. We tried to get you to eat something along the way, but you were so engrossed that we decided not to disturb you."
Ryan silently calculated the time. According to the "system," thirteen hours and forty-eight minutes had passed. No wonder even his robust body felt ravenous and exhausted.
The blond youth sheepishly rubbed the bridge of his nose. It was an old habit. In both his previous life and this one, whenever he came across something that interested him, he would lose himself in it and forget to eat or sleep. In the past, it had been a cup of tea, a cigarette, and a game that could last all day. Now, he read a spell aloud, practiced it by hand, and spent a year learning it.
Some said that time was measured by comparison. When you were with someone you loved, time slipped away like sand through your fingers, no matter how hard you tried to hold on. But when you waited for the last bus, watching the city lights while all alone, the years seemed endless, each minute crawling by at a snail's pace.
Ryan, a seasoned magic addict, figured his object of affection was probably those "adorable" spells. Learning, understanding, mastering, and wielding them—when he first held that wondrous, mysterious power in his hands, Ryan felt he had grasped the future.
"Jelona, what are those two doing?" Ryan's attention returned to the present. His curiosity was piqued by the brothers, who were tucked away in a corner, sneaking around yet utterly absorbed. You two look just like brothers sneaking a dirty joke under the desk during class. What on earth did they find that has them so captivated?
Jelona's mouth twitched at his question, and she shot an exasperated look at her embarrassing companions. To avoid giving Ryan a bad impression, she gave him a white lie. "The three of us take turns keeping watch. It's my turn now, so they're using their free time to look at a new artbook from the Drow."
As she spoke, the Half-elf Ranger's beautiful face openly showed her disgust. Ryan nodded quietly without comment, but inside, he was cheering.
I knew I couldn't be the only one who appreciated Drow artistry! The daring, the colors, the plot—their skill at drawing adult comics is the best! They call themselves second to none across the whole continent, and no one dares claim otherwise!
But sensing the Half-elf's undisguised distaste and the way she looked at him as if he were trash, Ryan concealed his guilt and changed the subject. "There's still time. I can finish the test after I rest a little. Sorry for the trouble, Jelona. Please keep watch."
The Half-elf Ranger flashed a bright, spirited smile and answered cheerfully, "No problem! Get some good rest, Ryan."
In the cold, gloomy steel laboratory, Ryan stood in the designated area after a short nap, feeling refreshed. He breathed out slowly, releasing the tension and unease in his heart. Under the three onlookers' eager yet worried gazes, he began reciting the spell incantation.
Though the modified Dragon Skin Spell was still a third-circle spell, the difficulty of casting it had risen dramatically. Fortunately, Ryan had already delved into the fourth layer of magic. The spell was a little tricky to cast, but not difficult.
The blond Mage's clear, lilting voice rose and fell through the empty room as magic surged around him. As the spell proceeded successfully, an unexpected change appeared.
In an instant, the boy's body grew larger before their eyes. Spikes pierced through his robe from his shoulders, and dense red dragon scales appeared across his body. His muscles swelled with his enlarged frame, their smooth contours displaying the beauty of strength.
A fearsome monster appeared in the center of the laboratory. Sharp spikes and fine scales radiated a chilling menace. Though its murderous appearance held a wild sort of beauty, Jelona and the others panicked and readied all their weapons, aiming at the terrifying dragon-shaped creature in the room.
"Ryan?" the Half-elf asked hesitantly.
"I'm fine. Something unexpected just happened."
The Mage, who had been facing away from the others, turned around. His handsome face was more than half enclosed by a rugged mask, and several vicious spikes jutted out beside his cheeks to protect the front. Through the gaps, they could see that his expression was full of helplessness and surprise.
The normal Dragon Skin Spell only gave the caster a thin layer of dragon scales for protection. Along with defense, the scales' magic resistance improved the caster's resistance to spells. It did not change the caster's size at all, nor did it cause anything as dramatic as what had happened to Ryan.
Ryan hadn't expected that the Dragon Blood Potion he'd absorbed a few days ago would cause this bizarre situation. He had underestimated the power of an ancient Red Dragon. How could dragon blood, with its invasive nature, be so simple?
Although Ryan had processed the dragon blood to greatly reduce its violent properties and absorbed most of its energy through the potion, some of its inherited power had still lain dormant in his body.
When he cast the modified Dragon Skin Spell, modeled on the structure of a dragon, the Red Dragon bloodline within him reacted violently, like sodium dropped into water. It successfully awakened the power of his half-dragon transformation, which combined with the Dragon Skin Spell to produce a monster.
Ryan tried walking a few steps. The scales covering his whole body fit far better than expected and didn't impede his movements at all. The flame-red scales gently clinked against one another, making a clattering sound like blades and swords crossing.
Seeing the imposing, murderous version of Ryan before them, Jelona and the others relaxed once they learned his mind was unchanged. The Dwarf eyed his fearsome yet strikingly beautiful, metallic appearance and muttered about how cool it was, secretly envious.
"Beep. The heir has successfully cast the Dragon Skin Spell. An unexpected situation has occurred, but the central system's assessment confirms that it meets the requirements of the inheritance process. Congratulations on passing the theory test. Please prepare for the practical test." The Tower Spirit's prompt came at just the right moment, though its message left Ryan, still getting used to his scales, utterly confused.
"Wait, wasn't casting it enough? What the hell is this test?" Ryan demanded, voicing his protest.
The Tower Spirit completely ignored him. As soon as it finished speaking, the steel structure around them suddenly shifted. The cold walls caved inward, forming several openings, from which sharp crossbow bolts shot out and sealed off the space around Ryan.
"Holy shit!" Ryan blurted out in his native tongue. He tried to activate a spell shield to block the incoming bolts, but as a wave of magic rippled through the room, the spell shield on his body vanished.
"Shield dispelled? Damn you, you win!" The blond youth looked furious. With no other choice, he raised his left hand to block the crossbow bolts in front of him. But with a loud clang, the bolts, whistling through the air, struck Ryan's scales, sparked, and fell to the ground.
Jelona cried out when she saw the bolts flying toward him. But when she realized the scales were stopping every bolt aimed at Ryan, the clang of metal on metal rang through the room without pause. The Half-elf stared in stunned amazement.
After a volley of bolts, silence fell over the room. The Tower Spirit's voice broke through the shock and stillness in the air.
"Heir, congratulations. Your calculations were flawless, and your test result was one in ten thousand. The central system has certified your perfect score. You have earned a reward, and the gate to the next trial has opened for you."
"Fuck you and your mother! What kind of test starts firing crossbow bolts at you? And you won't even let me use a spell shield! Now I understand why Alexander said the apprentices from back then didn't want to remember the past. What kind of normal carbon-based life-form could come up with this?" Ryan, still pale with anger, emerged from among the broken arrowheads and wooden shafts, cursing with lingering fear.
Ryan had always believed in lying low until the future looked bright, and he never expected to get screwed in a place like this. No normal person would have anticipated what came next. Thank goodness the Dragon Skin Spell had mutated in combination with the dragon blood, making the combined effect far greater than the sum of its parts. Otherwise, Ryan figured he might have ended up with a few extra holes in him.
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