Chapter 222: Rescue Mission

[Requirement to enter the Floor of Inheritance: Reach Tempest Grade Resonance for both Electro and Umbra Elements!]

"Floor of Inheritance?" Vlad raised an eyebrow, his body returning to normal as he cancelled his transformation.

His feet staggered as a sudden wave of exhaustion struck his body like whiplash.

"O-oh damn," he gasped, sitting down. "The draconic transformation really took a lot out of me."

He had been fighting the puppets with his maximum Sword Aura, not to mention the back-to-back spells he had used, each one consuming a considerable amount of mana. He had even unleashed Finger of Annihilation, a move so powerful that it couldn’t even be unleashed with his previous D-Ranker mana reserves.

As if that wasn’t enough, he had activated Early-Stage Dragon Transformation at the end, pushing his body to its limits. He still had more than a quarter of his mana remaining, but the transformation had taken a heavy toll on his physical body. It was the same muscle soreness one would experience after suddenly hitting the gym following several months without exercise.

Well, he couldn’t be blamed. The stats provided by Dragon Transformation seemed too good to be true, and he wanted to experience them firsthand.

---

[Early-Stage Dragon Transformation]

[Description]

Once activated, the host’s body undergoes an early-stage draconic transformation, granting them the initial traits of a dragon.

Effects:

1. Physical Enhancement: All physical attributes are increased by 200%.

2. Talent Enhancement: Talent is temporarily increased by one Rank, allowing the host to cast spells beyond their current capabilities.

3. Spell Enhancement: Previously learned spells can be cast with greater efficiency, reduced energy consumption, and increased output.

Note:

1. Activating and maintaining the transformation consume a high amount of mana. The Host might feel physical strain once the transformation ends.

2. It is highly recommended to use this transformation only if the host absolutely trusts the witnesses or intends to leave no witnesses at all.

---

The moment Vlad read the details of this broken transformation, he wanted to try it. He knew it was overkill to use it against the puppets, but he wasn’t sure when he might get a proper chance to use it again.

After all, the second note in the description explicitly mentioned that he must not reveal that he possessed the abilities of a dragon to anyone else.

The system had never given him such warnings to hide his powers before. From his experience, the Legacy System, on the contrary, seemed to have been created by a proud being. He had even received the quest to slap a professor when he, a supposedly chosen successor, was disrespected during his admission to the academy.

And such a system was telling him to hide his transformed state. It could simply be advice so Vlad wouldn’t have to go through the trouble of explaining himself, or...the system might be afraid that Vlad would attract the attention of someone he couldn’t afford to handle.

Whatever it was, Vlad decided to heed the warning.

He had not even caught his breath when he received another pop-up message.

[The Host will be able to enter the Ascension Dungeon once they reach the requirement to enter the Floor of Inheritance.]

[Returning to the Overworld...]

---

"Vlad!!" Seraphina screamed, her eyes shooting open.

"Sera," a soft male voice came from her side.

Lucas sat at her bedside, holding Seraphina’s hand between both of his. She was lying on her bed in her dormitory.

"Father—"

Before she could finish her words, Lucas pulled her into his embrace.

"Thank goodness..." he murmured, his voice broken, his hand protectively moving around the back of her head. "You silly girl, do you have any idea how scared I was?"

It was the first time Seraphina had heard her father sound so afraid, and the second time she had seen him crying.

Her arms moved around Lucas’s neck as she closed her eyes, feeling the warm embrace of her father.

After a few seconds, her eyes suddenly widened as she remembered the last incident before she had fallen unconscious.

"Father, we must go to the Forest of Death," she declared, parting from him, her voice desperate. "Vlad is still fighting out there."

She grabbed Lucas by his coat and continued, "You must help him, father."

She got out of bed and looked around, finding her storage ring and wand on the table. She quickly put on the ring and placed her wand inside it.

"Hurry...hurry..." she muttered, moving toward the wardrobe, from which she took out her shoes.

"Calm down, Sera," Lucas called, following her.

"Father, you are underestimating the situation," she snapped. "Vlad is in real danger. He got severely injured while protecting me. He can’t hold on for lon—"

"It’s already been ten days since your fight with the necromancer," Lucas revealed, cutting her off mid-sentence.

His revelation left Seraphina completely frozen.

"Wh-what..."

Her knees buckled. She was about to hit the floor, but Lucas immediately grabbed her.

"Sera!"

"N-no, then what about Vlad?" Seraphina murmured, her lips trembling.

"Your team was found unconscious by a professor at the edge of the Forest of Death this morning," Lucas explained, his voice laced with concern for her. "The array used for teleportation was activated ten days ago."

Tears surged into Seraphina’s eyes, trickling down her cheeks. She quickly wiped them away before they could fall, her pink eyes looking at Lucas with hope.

"No, Vlad promised me that he would return," she blurted out. "He might be in need of our help. Father..."

Her grip tightened around Lucas’s coat as she demanded, "He is very precious to me. I can’t lose another person that I love. You will save him...right?"

Lucas’s eyes widened slightly. He took a deep breath, his voice turning calm as he whispered while patting her head, "I will."

---

"The Forest of Death is a dangerous place," Aldric explained in his usual firm tone. "The academy prohibits students from entering the Dark Continent until they have at least completed ten A-Ranked quests and reached the top ten in Arena Ranking. As per the academy rules, you don’t meet the criteria. As such, I can’t allow you to participate in this rescue mission."

"If that’s the case, I will just leave the academy," Chloe declared without hesitation. "Vlad was the reason I joined the academy."

The duo were standing in front of the table in the principal’s office. The plushie form of Lirien was sitting in her chair across the table.

Chloe’s words caused a frown to appear on Aldric’s face.

"Vlad will never die," she muttered, tightening her fists at her sides. "I will go look for him, and no one can stop me."

Aldric was about to speak when a voice came from the entrance of the office.

"Well said."

The voice belonged to Lucas as he entered the office. Seraphina walked beside him.

"I will be taking on this rescue mission with Miss Chloe and my daughter," Lucas announced, his tone final.

It was only then that the plushie form of Lirien finally shifted in her chair.

"Very well," she murmured, her voice sounding hollow. "Lucas, Seraphina, and Chloe will go rescue Vlad and investigate the monster farm."

Her form turned toward Aldric as she continued, "Inform the Lumberjack family about Vlad’s whereabouts."

’Wh-what happened to master?’ Lucas wondered inwardly with concern. ’She has never sounded so down before.’