Chapter 101: System update is being applied
At the veil of the world, Strax had been lost for some time. One moment he was beside his spirits, and the next he was falling into total darkness. He barely knew what was happening, but he was there, falling endlessly in his personal limbo.
"How long have I been here?" Strax questioned himself, bathed in the surrounding darkness. It seemed endless, yet he continued.
[< System update is being applied >]
[< Please be patient. Once the system is restructured, you will return to your world >]
"I forgot you're responding correctly now... I wonder what made you start functioning less ridiculously. I've read enough novels to know systems don't work like this," Strax said in the darkness, slowly calming down.
The System had always been problematic. It was vague about many things, and the missions were so confusing that Strax had to rely on his instincts to complete them. Every time [New Missions] appeared, and they didn't even show up correctly, it left him a bit annoyed.
I mean, Strax had always been moving forward, always advancing toward the future, letting problems resolve themselves and pressing on, but the rewards... Why were they so trivial? The points didn't make much difference, and the skills barely worked.
An example was Analysis.
Analysis constantly failed, or the System made him forget the skills... Jesus! Inventory! He hadn't used that ability even once!
It seemed these abilities didn't matter for his advancement, so what exactly was this System? Why did it seem so... dysfunctional? It wasn't an ordinary system; it always kept Strax limited... But why?
Even the name of the System was confusing and seemed jumbled, and yet, even after all this, it still seemed like something was missing.
Demonic Harem System of the Dragon God—why didn't that name even match what the System was?
"Demonic Dragon Physique... it's just a physique, which at least makes sense... I mean, I'm sure my mother couldn't have given me something like this. She wasn't physically strong or skilled enough to be a swordswoman, and my father... ah, that idiot... What did he do?
Or rather... what could have happened for me to have this physique... Only the System, huh? That's the most likely."
"What bothers me is the fact that just one physique makes two extremely old dragons feel like two young girls in love with a knight. It's not an ordinary physique..."
"Damn, stop being an idiot! My existence in this world is already out of the ordinary. My rebirth or transmigration, whatever, was already completely out of the ordinary. A stupid physique from the System is nothing! Being alive is already out of the ordinary!" Strax was arguing with himself.
This was common; he was already tired of overthinking all this. He just wanted to rest a bit, and so he did.
He put these various thoughts aside and closed his eyes, not that it changed anything, as he was already in complete darkness, but he tried to relax. The System was updating, so he had to wait anyway.
But as he sank into extreme relaxation, the darkness generated something in his chest, a sudden warmth enveloped him. Suddenly, he was transported to an old vision, a vivid vision, as if witnessing a memory projected before his eyes.
Two gigantic dragons, imposing and powerful, circled the dark sky laden with clouds and lightning. Their forms were majestic, cutting through the air, leaving trails of flames and thunder in their wake. One was a creature of blue scales and eyes as bright as the sun, exuding an aura of nobility and uncontestable power... But the other...
was a Black Dragon, with red eyes of fury and ferocity that seemed to dominate the fight.
As Strax watched from the ground, that Black Dragon looked directly at him, as if seeing him through the vision.
But it ignored him and continued to dance in the air against the other dragon. Their movements were fluid and precise, as if they were in a fight not only of strength but of something more... They began to charge and dodge each other, the battle growing more intense with bites, lunges, and colossal attacks.
The scene was mesmerizing and at the same time overwhelming. He stayed there watching the fierce battle between them for a few minutes until he heard something.
"That's enough." Strax couldn't identify the origin of this voice, but he felt a chill. A man was hovering in the sky.
He had a different aura, but it was undeniable—he was stronger, much stronger than those two dragons fighting. His hair was a deep red, like dancing flames in the wind. Just his hair seemed to emanate energy. His face was no different, his eyes penetrating, shifting between blood-red and amber, as if capturing the flames of the sun, yet they weren't bright.
On the contrary, his energy was almost demonic. He was truly serious watching that fight, but he exuded an air of concern.
His dark red mantle flowed around him like demonic wings. At his waist, a black katana was sheathed, a blade sculpted to represent him.
He was not ordinary; he seemed like a cultivator from the Wuxia novels Strax had seen.
The aura Strax felt… was familiar to the one he emitted. Somehow, it seemed… "Demonic Dragon…" he murmured, noting that the red aura was many times stronger than his own. In fact, there was no comparison, but he felt the similarity between them.
"Do not make me repeat myself." The man said again, and the two dragons instinctively flew away, sensing the danger.
The man in the sky looked at Strax, his eyes penetrating as if reading every secret in his soul. "You…" His voice was grave and authoritative, cutting through the silence that had settled after the dragons' battle had ceased. "Return home. This place is not for you yet; become stronger." He said, and Strax felt a wave of fear growing inside him.
He didn't know who this man was, but he was definitely seeing Strax there…
[< You have been forcibly disconnected from the memory, user disconnecting >]
Strax read the message as he continued to fall eternally into the limbo, feeling his body in motion as it began to change, as if something was being etched into his skin.
"What the hell is this?" He shouted into the limbo as he continued to feel something on his back, almost tearing at his torso. "Urgh!" He felt the pain, as if two swords had been thrust into his back and torn. Whatever was happening to him, it wasn't something that could be stopped or avoided.
At the height of the agony, a strange sensation came from the area that was hurting, and something emerged from his body as he continued to fall. Then, everything stopped...
"What?... this might be…" he whispered through clenched teeth, his words muffled by the pain and the unknown that consumed him.
"Agrth!" His nails seemed to be ripped off, his bones ached, and he fell to his knees wherever he was.
[< Demonic Dragon Physique has been Fully Awakened >]
[< The system will now restart, thank you for waiting. >]
While all this was happening within Strax, much was occurring around him, especially with his first wife, who had just awakened.
Beatrice had opened her eyes calmly, her body still sore, feeling the sting of the small cuts on her legs. The first scene she saw was Strax sleeping; he was still recovering from the fight with Darius, but of course, she didn't know about that. To her, it was her man, wounded and waiting for her, even after suffering so much.
She felt guilty for being by this man's side, who, despite his injuries, stayed with her.
What was really disturbing Beatrice was all that blood. What had happened? How long had she been kidnapped? She didn't know. In the midst of the entire torture, she had lost consciousness.
Her mind swirled with a tumult of confused emotions, almost all involving Strax and Monica. She remained silent for a long time, watching the man having some kind of dream. Something was happening to Strax, but she didn't call out to him, nor did she have the strength to do so yet. She couldn't move because her entire body burned with pain. Only her eyes could move, and they never left Strax.
At some point, Beatrice managed to hear some footsteps coming from the corridor and some female voices.
"Are you going to check on him?" Samira asked Monica, who was walking beside her. They stopped in front of the door. "I don't know, but I feel something is wrong." She commented, about to enter, placing her hand on the doorknob. "Hey, when this is all over and Beatrice wakes up… are you really going to tell her about you~~~"
The voices became distorted, and Beatrice couldn't hear them because, beside her… the man's body was slightly emitting a strange aura, and she wasn't the only one who noticed it…
"AAHHH!" A scream of pain came from Strax, and the door was quickly opened, "Dear!" Samira and Monica shouted.