Chapter 217: Dual Path

When Vlad was comprehending the meaning behind the symbols, he realised that he wasn’t just learning a new language.

He was learning the Origin Laws, the fundamental laws that governed the very existence of reality.

Using them, he could manipulate the nature of reality according to his will. Since he possessed an affinity for Umbra and Electro, he could only use the Origin Laws of Darkness and the Origin Laws of Lightning.

"I have only learned to speak alphabets..." Vlad murmured, his eyes still fixed on the scorched ground. "If I am able to form a word with them, or even a sentence, how far would my power grow?"

The thought alone sent a surge of dopamine through his body. He had merely grasped a drop from the vast ocean of Origin Laws. As his comprehension improve, he would be able to speak sentences in the Dragon Tongue.

He raised his arm again, his palm pointing at the broken floor.

"KHAROTH!" (Devour)

A dark, shadowy face emerged from the ground, its monstrous maw opening wide before sinking its teeth into the stone floor.

When it vanished, a massive bite-shaped depression remained, the stone floor gouged nearly a foot deep.

"This power is really overpowered," Vlad muttered, shaking his head in bewilderment. "Both the lightning and Devour attacks are as strong as my all-out attack with Sword Aura."

His brows furrowed slightly as he continued, "The mana consumption is no joke as well. Nearly half of my mana is drained with just two attacks."

He released a long sigh, having mixed feelings about his current predicament. "Never did I ever think I would become a mage."

He could cast spells now, so naturally, he would be considered a mage, even though his spells were a little different from the ones that humans used.

Now he realised why his body had strongly rejected him when he tried forming the mana heart, which would have set his path to knighthood in stone.

Humans followed one of two paths: form a ring around the heart to become a mage, or form a small mana heart next to the real heart to become a knight.

The former allowed awakeners to control their element in their surroundings as well as within their bodies, along with the ability to cast complex, high-level spells.

While the latter provided awakeners with the ability to wield Aura, with the drawback that they could use only the most basic spells.

However, Vlad followed neither path. He used his real heart to pump mana, turning it into a draconic heart. This method didn’t place a limiter of mage or knight upon him.

Using the Dragon Tongue, he might be able to cast even the most advanced and complex spells without even needing to form magic circles. The Dragon Tongue didn’t need his mana to be channelled from his body, as he directly interacted with the Origin Laws. Meanwhile, his meridians would allow him to wield mana normally like a knight. Albeit, his meridians were already destroyed.

"I can’t use the Dragon Tongue to wield Sword Aura," Vlad muttered, tightening his fists. "It requires continuous consumption of mana, like the flow of a river, while the Dragon Tongue releases mana in one sudden burst."

Vlad decided not to lose hope just yet. There were still two floors left to explore. They might contain a solution.

He drew a dark key from his storage ring. The number four was engraved on it. He reached the locked door on the opposite wall. After inserting and rotating the key clockwise, the sound of heavy gears moving echoed through the room. The double doors opened with deep groans, revealing the next room.

Rays of bright light entered through the gap between the doors, forcing Vlad to close his eyes. It was unexpectedly bright, painting his face in a golden glow.

When Vlad’s eyes finally adjusted to the light, he stepped inside, his eyes fixed on the pool of golden liquid in front of him.

This shimmering liquid was the very reason for the brightness of the room. The door closed behind him, and a system screen materialised before him.

Ding...

[You have entered the fourth floor of the Ascension Dungeon!

Awaken the Dragon Blood to pass the fourth floor.]

Vlad blinked twice. The Ascension Dungeon was going all out to turn him into a dragon. He had assumed that it would end with his dragon heart. But he had to already learned the Dragon Tongue, and the dungeon now wanted him to turn his blood draconic as well.

He didn’t care much about whether his blood was human or draconic, as long as he could regain his powers.

The only question was how he was supposed to awaken it. He did the most obvious thing that anyone would have done in his place.

He moved closer to the pond of golden liquid and dipped his hand in it. It was thicker than water and warm to the touch.

Wait, not warm. It was hot, extremely hot. Vlad immediately pulled his hand out and shook it aggressively.

"Is it a pool of lava?" he muttered, blowing on his hand, which had reddened from the heat. The idea of taking a bath in it didn’t seem sane anymore. He didn’t want to turn into a baked potato.

The other solution he could think of was drinking this liquid.

"..."

"Bath it is," he decided, giving brief thought to the two options he had come up with. The pool was far too large to merely drink.

The armor he wore turned into nanomachines and was absorbed into the ring on his finger. He took off his ragged gambeson and prepared himself to move into the pool.

"Nothing comes without a price," he muttered to himself. "If pain is what I need to pay to gain power, it’s a steal of a deal."

He took a deep breath and jumped into the liquid. It was unexpectedly deep. His body kept sinking, reaching several feet down.

The pressure was incredibly dense at the bottom. Vlad felt his bones being crushed from every direction, not to mention the intense burning sensation.

His eyes closed shut, his jaw tightened in pain. Fumes began rising from his body. His skin turned red, with numerous burn spots appearing across it.