["What are you doing?"]
"Can't you tell? I'm playing with fire."
Woman, stay away from me. You'll get burned.
Having spat out all the wax, Herbert was now holding his index finger in the flame, repeatedly testing how it felt to be burned.
He really couldn't feel any pain.
It was warm.
Had he really become immune to fire?
["You're right~ Elemental flames can no longer hurt you."]
["Of course, if a scorching ball of lava comes flying at you, I'd still suggest you dodge it properly. I'd rather not lose my ally so easily~"]
"Huh? Oh!"
Herbert pondered this, recognizing both the power and the limitations of this ability.
Its power went without saying.
Anyone could imagine what fire immunity could do. There were all sorts of tricks he could pull.
He was immune to flames and high temperatures, but that did nothing to reduce the explosive damage and impacts that heat could cause.
It was powerful, certainly, but its shortcomings were just as obvious.
If a rod formed entirely from flames struck him, he would emerge unscathed. It might even heal him a little.
But if a red-hot iron rod came stabbing at him, there would be a lot more to consider.
["Young man, cheer up a little! Don't be too greedy~"]
It was a very strange scene.
An Evil God who embodied wickedness and greed was actually advising a Holy Knight to quit while he was ahead.
["You should know that, aside from fire elementals, even among demons, only greater demons who have inherited primordial demon blood can become completely immune to fire."]
"I wasn't saying it wasn't enough."
Herbert pursed his lips, insisting that he really wasn't insatiably greedy.
Heaven be my witness, when had I ever been greedy?
"By the way, Nenasya, what did I get this time? A Dragon King's curse?"
After that merciless stomp, Herbert could hardly avoid suspecting that the one-eyed Dragon had cursed him.
Damn it, that kick was vicious!
This time, however, the Evil God gave him an entirely different answer: ["No, this wasn't a curse. It was a bloodline inheritance."]
["Unlike humans, Dragons don't leave behind writings or books. They merge their legacy into their bloodline, and as the next generation of Dragons grows, they naturally come to understand the knowledge within it."]
["Generation after generation, their legacy accumulates with time. As long as their bloodline is sufficiently pure, they will have mastered most of that knowledge by adulthood."]
Even though they no longer ruled the world, Dragons remained immensely powerful.
Under normal circumstances, an adult Dragon could reach Legendary strength!
Of course, such absurd talent came at a price.
Pureblood Dragons had a woefully low reproductive rate with their own kind. A Dragon couple might fail to produce a clutch of eggs even after hundreds of years.
Young Dragons also took millennia to grow, facing all kinds of dangers throughout that long span. They could easily die before reaching adulthood.
So, while Dragons were powerful, their pureblood population remained stuck at a middling level.
["And the inheritance you received is even more special."]
Nenasya said softly, ["Even among Dragons, only those whose bloodline is pure enough to awaken their ancestral traits qualify for this supreme inheritance-dragon king's blood."]
At this point, even Nenasya felt a little wistful, finding Herbert's ridiculous luck rather amusing.
How exactly had this brat gotten hold of these materials?
Shouldn't extracting something like this from a Magical Beast be incredibly difficult?
Yet Herbert had obtained two of them in just two short days.
Did that make any sense?
How on earth had he done it?
["Do you think the ability you gained this time is merely fire immunity? No, that's only what it looks like on the surface."]
["Your true ability is to draw power from flames!"]
["Not only can flames no longer burn your flesh, they will actually make your body stronger!"]
Even without Nenasya stressing the point, Herbert had already experienced it himself.
The sensation was faint, but he could feel the finger he was roasting growing stronger.
His body had become more powerful.
So I could really be myself in the fire now?
["Most importantly, this inheritance isn't a one-time thing. Your bloodline has now been acknowledged. Once you collect more Magical Beast materials from Dragons, you can receive another inheritance."]
["Tsk, I'm starting to wonder if you've secretly hooked up with the Goddess of Fortune!"]
Even the Evil God couldn't help marveling.
What a lucky brat.
Perhaps he really did have a blessing from that bitch, the Goddess of Fortune!
["...Hmph!"]
Nenasya suddenly grew wary, realizing that she absolutely could not let any more deities notice Herbert.
None of you are allowed to steal him from me!
Herbert tested the sensation a little longer before finally stopping his efforts to roast his flesh-the candle flame was simply too small!
"Find a way to start a big fire in the Monastery? No, that would be too conspicuous. People would notice."
"Or maybe I could work something out in the Foreign Races' Prison?"
After pondering for a while, Herbert recalled the Dragon King he had seen in the inheritance space.
"By the way, Nenasya, does the name 'Doom of Dragonkind, the Eternal Undying Flame, the Everlasting Night Before Dawn' mean anything to you?"
["Uh... three people?"]
"Obviously, it's one."
["Just kidding. Of course I remember him. So he was the one you saw in the inheritance space!"]
The surprise in Nenasya's voice made Herbert raise an eyebrow.
"Was he very powerful?"
["Very powerful~"]
Nenasya giggled. ["After all, he was one of those rare idiots who couldn't face reality but had enough strength to back it up."]
["A godslayer who defied the Gods with the body of a Saint, and even killed a true god."]
Herbert wasn't surprised by the Dragon King's achievements. After seeing that terrifying body, he could imagine how brutal those battles must have been.
"Then, right now, he's..."
["Dead! Dead without even a place to be buried~"]
["After slaying a god, he accumulated enough divinity and godhood to attempt ascension as the God of Dragons. In the end, however, one of his own kind betrayed him and brought three true gods to ambush him. He met a miserable end."]
["Incidentally, the one who stabbed him in the back was ultimately betrayed by those three true gods as well. They joined forces to kill the traitor."]
["Ever since then, the Dragons have had no new deity, and no Dragon has dared attempt ascension."]
Herbert blinked, a little bewildered.
He hadn't expected the terrifying being who had left such a brutal impression on him to have met such a tragic end.
This world was so dangerous!
["Don't worry~"]
As Herbert reflected on this, Nenasya's syrupy voice drifted to him, as though she were whispering right beside his ear:
["Once I break free of the seal, no one in this world will be able to hurt you~"]
"Heh, then I'm really looking forward to that day."
The next day.
"Herbert, come here. Let me bite... let me smell you!"
"Huh? What are you trying to do?"
Herbert eyed the hungry, red-haired Dragon in the cage warily and took half a step back.
Miss Evil God, can we negotiate?
Could you come protect me a little sooner?
These Magical Beast girls really looked terrifying...
They really seemed to be lusting after my body!
Before you continue