Chapter 534 - 534: Dragon Spawn

In the kingdom of Vermillion, everyone was still recovering from the massive wave of divine energy that they had all felt.

The king of Vermillion was seated on his throne and staring at the council that had been gathered in only a matter of seconds. They, along with powerful mages, old and young, warriors of all levels as well, included everyone that could be of some sort of asset to the kingdom right now.

"Do you know what could have caused this? Does anyone know?" the king demanded.

One of the mages stepped forward, tall and old, with long white hair and beard, and cloaked in a black and purple robe.

"It happened when that mysterious tower rose up. We were able to see it. It unleashed a massive wave of this energy that has made even the air hard to breathe."

"It's called divine energy," a younger mage stated. "The elves have had access to divine energy for a long time via the World Tree that once existed. I have felt it before, and I am sure that this is the same thing," the mage explained.

Everyone in the throne room fell into thought when they heard about divine energy.

The king slammed his fist into the armrest of the chair and stared ahead with burning anger in his eyes.

"I have a feeling that Silva Terron has a hand in this," he said while grinding his teeth. "The former king fell for his crazy actions and failed. I do not have the same plans to fail.

If we discover that the dragon has returned, we must find a way to capture or destroy the dragon this time," he declared immediately.

"Your Highness, I don't feel that's a good idea, considering that he alone stopped the demon race, putting a stop to all the evil atrocities that they committed.

Silva Terron is by no means weak enough for him to be captured or killed. I fear if we went against him, we would be the ones to suffer." One of the advisors spoke to the king. He carried himself with the air of a man who knew deep things.

The king frowned when he heard that. He hated the fact that they needed to be cautious around Silva. The fact that Silva was born and brought up in this kingdom made it even worse.

"Tch, then what do we do?" he asked.

"This divine energy might be a blessing. We must learn to harness it and use it before others do. Mana has been the greatest source of energy that has been used all this time, but now, if we can manage to start channeling divine energy, we can grow even greater," the advisor said. His words were sweet to the ear and made everyone excited.

The prospect of power was something they all enjoyed, and they wanted more of it. Now that they could get more, they wanted it for sure. But as they were locked in their minds celebrating, a chibi dragon appeared.

Every eye in the throne room was on it.

The chibi dragon floated in the middle of the hall. It was black and small, about the size of a house cat, with a big round head, wide shining eyes, and tiny wings that flapped lazily to keep it in the air. It looked like a toy someone had left behind.

Nobody understood what it was or how it had gotten in.

"What is that?" a mage whispered.

"How did it pass the guards?" another asked.

The dragon tilted its head, as if listening to them. Then it opened its small mouth and spoke in a sweet, bright voice.

"The awakening process is beginning!"

The moment it said that, something shimmered in front of every person in the hall. Pale blue screens flickered to life in the air, one for each of them, showing their names and a few lines of basic information. The mages stared at theirs. The knights stepped back, their eyes wide. Even the advisors, who had been quietly confident a moment ago, went pale.

"What is happening?" the old mage muttered.

The king did not look at his screen. His eyes were fixed on the dragon, and his mind was working fast. The screens had appeared when it did. It was the cause.

"Grab it!" he ordered.

A knight rushed forward with his hand stretched out. He made it one meter from the dragon before flames erupted around him. They swallowed him whole, and he did not even have time to scream. When the fire faded, there was only a pile of ashes on the floor, with a blackened skull resting on top.

Everyone froze.

"I hold power as allowed by the Trial Master himself," the dragon chirped, tilting its head the other way. "The trials are about to begin, and each of you must conduct yourselves accordingly. If anyone dares to step out of line, you will fail the trial immediately and be killed!"

It smiled while it said it. That made it worse.

Nobody made any reckless moves after that. A few knights took a step backward. The mages kept their hands at their sides, and the room went so quiet that the soft sound of the dragon's wings could be heard.

The king rose slowly from his throne.

"Who are you?" he demanded. "What are you?"

The dragon twitched its head, and its big eyes blinked.

"I am a dragon spawn! A messenger of the Trial Master! This world is now in the trial phase, and everyone must fight and earn their survival!"

As it spoke, the screens in front of them changed.

New text appeared, line by line. It announced that in certain locations, abyss rifts would open and unleash abyss monsters. The aim was to gather points. Each monster killed was worth ten points, and whoever destroyed a rift would receive a thousand. A minimum of one hundred points was required to pass the first stage.

"Because this castle contains so many high-level participants," the dragon added brightly, "three rifts will open inside it at the same time! Good luck, everyone!"

It flapped its tiny wings, waved one stubby claw, and vanished before anyone could say a word.

The hall stayed silent.

The air felt thick and heavy, and no one knew where to look. The king stood with his fists clenched. The advisors stared at the empty space where the dragon had been. A few of the mages were whispering, their voices shaking.

They could not stay tense for long.

A rift ripped open in the middle of the throne room.

It tore through the air with a sound like cloth being split, dark and jagged, edged with violet light. Something moved inside it. Then the abyss monsters began to pour out.

They had four arms each, long and stretched, and their bodies were twisted like something pulled apart and put back together wrong. Their mouths were full of teeth that looked like serrated blades. They came in every shape and size, crawling and leaping out of the rift, eager to consume and eager to kill.