Black Dream

The recurring dreams made Caesar sense that something was wrong. He realized this was no ordinary dream—there was no reason for him to arrive in the same place for days on end, remain fully conscious, and still remember the scenes from the "dream" the next day.

Yet the Black Dream that had accompanied him ever since he had transmigrated into a dragon was so bizarre that it left him utterly bewildered. There was neither a guide nor anything like a beginner's tutorial here. If there had been some kind of user review system, Caesar would definitely have given it a bad rating and filed a complaint.

But in reality, he could only combine it with his experiences after transmigrating and explore this pitch-black place through guesswork. Every time, however, his probing ended in nothingness.

Fortunately, this time was different.

There were no lamps or torches around him, yet light from an unknown source illuminated the Black Dream, like the sword of dawn dispersing thick fog.

A gigantic display cabinet appeared before him.

Even by draconic standards of vision, the wall cabinet that had appeared from nowhere was unimaginably huge. Its height was unknown, its end invisible at a glance, its top vanishing into the uppermost darkness of the Black Dream.

Caesar lightly dragged a hooked claw across its finish. The cabinet was meticulously constructed, its surface heavy and smooth, made of some unknown material. It rang with a crisp metallic tremor when it met his claw.

When he raised his eyes and stared, he discovered that it contained row after row of...

Trophies?

They were arranged neatly within the display windows, reflecting all kinds of luster beneath the light. Through the transparent glass, Caesar saw that although they were identical in shape, their colors and materials differed.

Bronze, black jade, red gold, white diamond... He did not doubt the authenticity of those costly materials in the slightest. That dazzling radiance could not be imitated. They lay quietly in the cabinet like treasures of a prosperous age.

Caesar swept his gaze over them. A dragon's fine vision was astonishing, allowing him to clearly make out the tiny words engraved on the front of each trophy's base—

"Nuclear Fusion Power Reactor."

"Exoskeletal Bio-Armor."

"Field Generator."

"Neutron Star-Form Life Reshaping."

Next, Caesar gave it a try and discovered that although the transparent glass separating him from the trophies looked fragile enough to shatter, it was in fact incomparably sturdy, as solid as a rock.

His claws collided with the cabinet with a tremendous crash, and the powerful recoil left his muscles and bones aching. Such real pain made him unable to help doubting whether he was truly in a dream.

He could not break it. At least, not with his current abilities.

Before he could continue studying it, however, the indestructible glass of the first display case to Caesar's right vanished without a sound. A trophy suddenly shot out from within and floated before him, startling him.

He took two steps back and stared at the trophy, which was as tall as an ordinary human. Then he looked at the individual display compartment, which clearly only reached his lower leg, unable to fathom just how much space it contained.

The trophy rapidly expanded after leaving the display compartment. Its shape was no different from the trophies commonly seen on Earth, but its surface was mirror-smooth and felt unbelievably good to the touch. Carved into the front of its base were words as sharply etched as if by blade and chisel—

"Type I Dragon-Body Genetic Enhancer"

Caesar stared at those words for a long time. The bronze cup, a symbol of reward, had left the cabinet and come before him. Did that mean he had received a "reward"?

But what had earned him this reward, and why had it never appeared before?

If this truly was a reward, why had he received what looked like the lowest-grade bronze cup? How could he obtain the higher-grade jade and white diamond trophies?

Caesar narrowed his eyes and carefully examined the bronze object in his claws. After guessing that it might be a reward, he did not feel the ecstatic joy he had imagined. Instead, he scrutinized it cautiously, pondering what had brought about this reward.

Soon, he made another discovery.

The bronze base seemed to sense his gaze. Under Caesar's watch, lines of extremely neat text slowly emerged, arranged like computer-generated lettering.

Predator

You have begun adapting to life in the new world and have now taken your first step.

—Anything is possible. Have a pleasant journey.

Caesar stared at those words for a long while, then fell into thought. Terms like "Predator" and "first step" gave him quite a bit of inspiration, making him realize there was a clue.

Only after several dozen seconds did Caesar open his eyes again, light glimmering in his vertical pupils. "So that's how it is."

He understood. Before falling asleep, he had hunted a wild tiger alone. At the time, hunger had been unbearable, and considering his future development, he had no choice but to take the risk of entering the forest.

That had been Caesar's first true hunt.

After he fell asleep, the display cabinet towering into the heavens appeared for the first time, and this bronze trophy descended before him.

"Still, these things... Hmm, this really feels like the style is a little off."

Caesar's gaze wandered between the bronze cup and the other prizes in the cabinet. Logically speaking, if these were really rewards, shouldn't they have been things like magic or divine artifacts from another world?

The Black Dream remained silent. No one answered.

The trophy shone like a mirror, its surface reflecting his image. Yet Caesar keenly noticed that although his reflected posture had not changed, his body had undergone an enormous transformation.

In the bronze cup's reflection, the scales and skin across his entire body had become transparent. Caesar moved closer to see more clearly, and the cup seemed to understand his intention as the image gradually magnified.

The reflection became even more transparent. Caesar could even see his own beating heart within it.

"Bang!"

The human-height bronze cup suddenly exploded into countless tiny specks of light, which gradually covered his body. There were especially many around his head and heart, the light specks rushing to plunge into them.