Bloodline Fusion
The dragon's screams grew weaker and weaker, its body began to go limp, and it collapsed to the ground, panting heavily, its golden eyes fixed on Tom, its pupils slowly dilating.
Tom quickly extinguished the Fiendfyre and acid rain; if the fire continued to burn, the dragon's flesh and hide would be ruined, and he needed to sell them for money.
Tom appeared to be unharmed, toying with the dragon, but in reality, it was all thanks to the power of Fiendfyre and Acid Rain.
With other spells, let alone burning through the wings, it's uncertain whether they could even break the dragon's scales.
Tom walked over, squatted down, and looked into its eyes. The dragon didn't struggle, nor did it breathe fire again. Its breathing became slower and lighter until finally, it stopped completely.
[First Trial - Dragon, Completion: 50%]
Fifty? Tom frowned. Half left.
He glanced at the dragon blood on the ground; it was dark red, thick, and steaming.
It is common knowledge that dragon blood is poisonous, but the "bathing in dragon blood" mentioned by the system does not mean taking a bath. It means letting the dragon blood permeate the body to complete the bloodline fusion before the poison takes effect.
If you can't survive, you die; if you do, you live.
He took off his robe, folded it neatly, and placed it on the stone beside him. Then he took a deep breath and lay down in the dragon's blood.
The blood was scalding hot, so hot that his entire body was tingling. The poison seeped into his pores and spread along his blood vessels toward his heart.
His heart was pounding faster and faster, as if it were about to burst out of his chest. He felt dizzy, nauseous, and weak in the limbs. His vision began to blur, and his ears started to ring.
Andros's voice echoed in his mind. "Hold on, this is how bloodline fusion works. Your body is rejecting the dragon blood, and the dragon blood is also transforming your body. Whoever wins, you become."
Tom felt his magic power going berserk, the power of the dragon blood desperately trying to penetrate his body, and the magic power and the power of the dragon blood clashed within him.
At first, they were evenly matched, and Tom was in excruciating pain. But gradually, the power of the dragon's blood was weakened.
With the blessing of the dragon markings, his magic grew stronger and stronger, and he began to frantically devour the most primal dragon power in the dragon blood.
Tom's magic surged wildly, and an almost tangible pressure spread outwards, cracking the ground and causing bones to pop and crack like popping beans.
In just a few seconds, his height increased to over 1.6 meters, and several faint dragon scale patterns flashed across his body before disappearing again.
The so-called bloodline fusion is not about making him grow dragon blood, but about turning all the advantages of the fire dragon into his own, and evolving towards a more perfect direction.
I don't know how much time passed, maybe a few minutes, maybe a few hours, but the restlessness in my body subsided, and everything returned to normal.
Tom opened his eyes and suddenly felt that the world was different; his eyesight had improved and his body was full of power.
The previously ethereal magic became tangible; one could clearly feel it flowing within their body, yet it remained elusive, exuding a mysterious aura.
The tree canopy intertwined overhead, and sunlight filtered through the gaps, illuminating his face.
He sat up and looked down at his body. His skin was still white, but it had a luster that was more pronounced than before, as if it were coated with a thin layer of light. The wounds had healed, and there wasn't even a scar.
[First Trial - Dragon, Completed. Rewards: Successful fusion of dragon bloodline. Enhanced life essence. Increased maximum magic power. Gained trait: Dragon's Might. Achievement Points: 100.]
Tom stood up, picked up the robe and put it on. The robe was too short, and the sleeves were pulled up above his wrists.
He looked down and realized he had grown taller, not just a little, but a lot. He used to be less than 1.5 meters tall, but now he was at least 1.6 meters tall.
He walked up to a rock, carved a mark on it with his wand, and then stood on it. The mark on the rock reached just above his head.
He smiled, noting that he was 1.6 meters tall, much taller than his peers.
"Andros, I've grown taller."
"I saw it."
"Dragon blood has this effect?"
"Dragon blood can strengthen the body; increasing height is just a side effect."
Tom stretched his body and felt much lighter than before. He waved his wand, and a beam of silver light shot out from the tip of the wand, striking a rock in the distance.
The stone exploded, scattering fragments everywhere; its power was more than twice that of before.
The remnants of dragon blood had congealed into thick scabs on his body. He used Aguamenti to summon a clear spring, washed himself clean, put his clothes back on, and began collecting valuable items from the fire dragon.
Most of the dragon's skin was burned and corroded, and it was also covered in the aura of Dark Magic, rendering it completely useless.
Tom could only cut these parts off and throw them away to avoid contaminating the other intact meat and ingredients.
He had already prepared special culture solutions for the Dragon Heartstring, liver, and other key parts, carefully soaked them, and packed them away.
Dragon blood, Dragon Hide, dragon horns, dragon teeth, dragon claws—each item was carefully packed in Undetectable Extension Charm pouch and labeled.
After packing up all the valuables, Tom didn't linger. He took the dragon's corpse and Apparition away from the valley.
Two days later, poachers finally found the place. Looking at the discarded Dragon Hide and flesh on the ground, they could only sigh and lament that someone had beaten them to it!
As for Tom, he was much faster on the way back. Before, his blind-vision Apparition only cover a maximum of 20 kilometers, but now it had doubled.
I teleported back to the Veela Tribe several times in a row without feeling dizzy; I was still full of energy.
Phoebe hadn't left her cabin since Tom left, and she was extremely anxious.
Just then, a "snap" sound of Apparition rang out, and she rushed over almost instantly, hugging Tom tightly, her voice trembling. "You're finally back! I thought you'd been eaten by a dragon!"
Tom was taken aback, not expecting Phoebe to be so worried about him. After realizing what was happening, he gently patted her back and laughed as he boasted.
"Can't you have a little faith in me? Not only am I back, but I also slew the fire dragon! I'm a true Champion!"
Phoebe released him and took a step back. Her eyes were red, but no tears fell. She looked at Tom several times, from top to bottom and from bottom to top.
"You've grown taller? You're taller than me now."
Tom glanced at the top of her head; he used to be shorter than her, but now he was half a head taller.
"It seems so."
Phoebe's lips curled slightly. "Come in. The clan leader is waiting for you."
Polana sat in the living room of the cabin, a pot of tea in front of her. The tea had gone cold, but she didn't drink it.
She saw Tom come in, stood up, her gaze lingered on him for a moment, and then she smiled. When she smiled, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes gathered together, like a chrysanthemum.
"I've lived all these years and seen many wizards, but I've never seen anyone like you. Eleven years old, all alone, killing a Hungarian Horntail." She picked up her teacup, noticed the tea was cold, and put it down again.