Chapter 3: Immortal Dragon

Time left: 00:04:46

His first step into the cave was met with an unpleasant surprise. An invisible force slammed into him, sending him flying out of the cave. Luckily, he fell on the dead mammoth which reduced the impact. He was dazed for full three minutes.

His eyes fell on the watch the minute he awoke.

00:01:46

All his hope depended on the human inside the cave. The stone he had thrown earlier had met no resistance. Probably, a barrier magic meant to block cultivators. He hesitated but at last gritted his teeth and tried again. He stealthily put his left leg first. He put the other after making sure it was safe. Whatever got him before was a one time thing because he successfully sneaked into the cave.

00:00:59

He looked right and left to make sure he was alone before he moved forward. The inside was gloomy with lots of bone remnants and dirt but he still saw the human. It was a woman in her twenties, clad in a bloody robe with a thin, silvery collar around her neck.

He took three steps closer and stopped.

Nusi Kil'zanki, Human, Female, Deceased.

The silver collar emitted a faint glow.

Nestone collar, high quality

-5/sec life energy

30% longevity suppression

65% Spirit suppression

He could try removing the collar but she was already dead.

"She is...dead..." Edard gasped, collapsing on his knees. He couldn't believe his last chance was just gone.

00:00:59

Fifty-nine seconds would have made a difference if he had any target. Even if he kept running, it would be unlikely to meet anyone in time. If by some miracle he met someone, where would he start? It was too late, even Curse would not save him.

After deliberating for a few seconds he left. He couldn't even bury the poor woman, feeling sorry even though he would be following her in seconds.

He checked his time as he stood outside the cave.

00:00:59

Edard blinked twice. This was the exact time when he entered the cave, either the time had stopped or he had gained a few extra seconds. It might be his imagination. So he went back into the cave and checked it out. He entered at 00:00:50 and stayed there for a minute, eyes fixed on his watch.

He breathed heavily as he quickly ran out of the cave and checked the time again.

00:00:50

Time stopped inside the cave but as soon as he came out the cloak ticked again.

He went back into the cave to search for anything that might be responsible but there was nothing except the corpse and the bones littered on the ground. He looked for any other way out of the cave but there was none. He checked the individual bones on the ground but there was nothing special about them. He took each bone outside to see if they could stop the time but to no avail. It would likely be an effect of the cave but he still decided to check out the corpse.

He was a bit reluctant on experiment on the poor corpse but at last he carefully placed it on both hands and walked out of the cave. He stopped five meters away and checked out the timer.

00:00:32

He closed his eyes and waited nervously for three seconds. He wanted to wait for five seconds but he couldn't withstand his pounding heart.

00:00:32

"What?!?!" His jaw hung wide open as he observed the timer.

He ran several meters away from the cave, looking at the timer. Time remained static at thirty-two seconds. It was neither the cave nor the bones, it was the dead woman. Finding the corpse might be a coincidence but the corpse being there, carefully hidden, couldn't be a coincidence. Probably, the cave was a hide out of a necromancer or something. The safest thing would be to put the corpse back and leave but then he would die before taking three steps. He could wait inside the cave until he figured things out but the chances of the necromancer or whoever owned the corpse coming back was high. The only thing he could think of was to take the corpse and go. There would still be the danger of a tracking spell on the corpse but he had no choice, he would just keep going until he found a way to get longevity and then leave the corpse behind. Hopefully, he would be long gone before the owner got back.

It suddenly appeared to him he might be carrying a corpse for some time.

No, no..absolutely not. He shook his head but his hands gripped the corpse tighter.

After checking things out and making sure the timer was static he heaved a sigh of relief.

Fudge, so he is a Rafiyan after all.

A curious voice caught his attention behind a boulder.

You have learned Raven Tongue

Interracial Communication has reached level 4

Why was a raven spying on him? Probably, guarding the corpse on his back. Edard didn't look in the direction and pretended not to notice. He had already decided to take the corpse until he could figure out a way to get longevity. Because of Kalhari he had decided not to go back to the first cave. He picked a random direction and ran.

After running at full speed for two minutes, he realized the raven was still tagging along. It was a completely black raven with one eye at the center of its face. A part of him still insisted on leaving the corpse behind but he knew it wasn't an option. No matter how dangerous taking the corpse was it couldn't compare to dying.

He ran increasingly faster, trying to outrun the raven. After an hour he couldn't pick the raven with Spiritual Sense. He had lost it but he still wouldn't let his guard down.

There was no water body in sight which made him realized either what he saw earlier was a mirage or the mountain range was monstrously large. Another realization that hit him was the corpse on his back, it was warm. It had been warm ever since he first touched it and it wasn't getting any colder. The woman had fresh skin but that could be explained by a recently deceased corpse. But it wasn't changing at all. The warmth of her chest was just like any woman. She might as well be breathing.

What bothered him the most was he couldn't go into any city or village carrying a corpse on his back. He debated for a long time before he decided to find a refuge in the surrounding mountains. He would quickly find a way to get longevity and leave the corpse behind before the owner came looking for it.

He headed toward the closest mountain. As he approached, he felt an itch on his wrist. The timer was ticking again...

Edard aborted that thought just in time to dodge three black claws. He rolled on the ground several times before he came to a stop, still clinging on to the corpse.

The attack had come from a black hound with horns.

Lionkin, level 5

Lion? How the hell is that a lion? Edard cursed inwardly. The lion had sneaked up on him despite having his Spiritual Sense up. He would be a corpse if not for the itch from the timer.

Edard was at level 1 and the lion was at level 5. The margin wasn't too big but he would be fighting and protecting the corpse on his back.

He jumped sideways to dodge another attack from the monstrous claws of the lion which left three holes on the mountain behind.

He punched the lion with his left hand and molten rocks hit the lion on the neck. It shook it off like it was nothing. The lava that killed the mammoth didn't even bruise the lion.

"Level 5, huh?" Edard dodged an aerial strike from the horns.

Meat, a talking meat. The lion sounded quite surprised.

"What?"

You have learned Lion Tongue

Interracial Communication has reached level 5

The lion roared and fought back frantically with all its claws and horns. Edard dodged three of the claws but even with his enhanced speed one claw pierced his left arm.

"Aaargh... " He screamed as blood poured out of the wound.

You have sustained a deep injury to the skin, muscles and bone of your arm.

-55 stamina

You have been poisoned

-1/sec stamina for twenty minutes

Before the lion disengaged, Edard had created a Dragon-essence dagger. He activated Crush, shining the violet glow on the lion. Gravity increased, making it heavier and slowing it down by 50%. Edard used his speed and the lion's confused state to stab the dagger into its chest.

Dragon-essence has stored a bio energy in the dragon dimension.

A five-inches wide hole appeared in the lion's chest. Blood spattered on Edard's face and robe as the lion dropped dead.

Edard tore his robe and tied his wounded arm. He searched for an appropriate cave and dragged the lion inside. He needed to know why the timer had reacted to the lion.

Even as he settled down, the timer itched again. It was followed by a loud explosion that shook the ground and sent dust into the cave. He heard monstrous footsteps approaching the cave. Another beast peeped through the entrance.

Gorilla, level 7

Edard put the corpse on his back and ran out of the cave.

The gorilla was two levels above the lion and also bigger. It had five horns stuck out of its forehead and a shoulder that was two-meters wide. Nothing like the gorilla he knew on Earth.

With the poison and his drained stamina he couldn't take it down. He remembered his psychomancy and a sudden idea appeared in his mind.

You have activated the skill Intimidation.

Psychomancy has reached level 1

+1 intelligence per level

+1 willpower per level

+1 free point per level

You have gained one slot for Acquired skills.

It cost only 10 life energy and it would last for 2 seconds. He put the extra point in resistance which was his biggest weakness. Psychomancy was the only Class that gave him an extra slot for an Acquired skill.

All his attributes had raised by at least one, the changes to his body weren't much but because it was his first time he was startled. Suddenly, he could jump several inches higher, he could think faster, his skin had become fairer and his bones tougher. He had a feeling he could take twice as damage as his previous self and came out with minor bruises. His strength had also increased, if he was to test it on a punch bag the difference would definitely show.

He closed his eyes and focused on the gorilla.

You have learned Gorilla Tongue.

Interracial communication has reached level 6

As soon as the screens popped up, he felt the gorilla focusing on him. It knew it could now communicate with him.

I will eat you alive, Rafiyan? The gorilla blurted.

Rafiyan? Edard mused. The raven had mentioned the same thing. A problem for another time.

"I want you to guard this cave, beastkin." Edard said. He would stay for one-hour at most but with the fear of the corpse owner it was better to have a guard.

How dare you?

The gorilla jumped and attacked him. He created a Dragon-essence dagger and activated Crush. The violet glow fell on the gorilla. Gravity increased and its body became heavier, slowing all its movement by half.

Edard approached the gorilla, armed with Dragon-essense dagger.

After taking three steps he stopped. He activated Intimidation and exerted all his power on the gorilla.

"KNEEL!"

The gorilla shuddered but it stood its ground.

"KNEEL!!" He repeated, focusing on subduing the gorilla.

The gorilla withstood the force again but it took its toll. It calmed down and took two steps back.

"KNEEL!!!"

Its eyes went blank for the next five seconds and when it regained consciousness it kneeled down, unwillingly.

I obey.

Edard laughed excitedly. He had attempted taming his cat back on Earth, several times. He had never succeeded. But he succeeded today with the help of Intimidation.

He pointed the gorilla with a finger. "Stay here and guard this place until I told you otherwise." He took his corpse and went inside.

You have invented a new Taming skill.

You have gained the title Creator of Skills

+20 free attribute points

A veteran will analyze the skill for the possibility of allowing it into the Skill Ocean. Beware, you will be ask for a matching name.

He looked at the wound in his arm and assigned fourteen points to resistance. The rest of the attributes got two each.

You have reached a branch in resistance, choose any of the following specializations:

Skin Tempering? Y/N?

Muscle Tempering? Y/N?

Bone Tempering? Y/N?

Interesting.

If he was asked to choose between hardening his skin, muscle or bones he would prefer the skin. If the skin was intact the muscles would be safe. If the muscles were safe the organs and bones would be safe. He could still be crushed to death even with an intact skin but at least that wan't as common as penetrating injuries. He remembered Kalhari as well. For the Curse to activate you needed the blood of the target and skin tempering sounded like the best idea.

You have chosen to specialize in Skin Tempering.

Increase the natural well-being, toughness, resilience and healing ability of your skin through pain and suffering. The more injured you are the harder your skin becomes.

He felt a little bit safer as he went into the cave, clutching the corpse. The cave was larger than the two previous caves and it was relatively clean, with a few misplaced body parts.

There were so many things he needed but the most important was survival. How to survive? For now he needed to find a way to get longevity and leave the corpse behind. The corpse was the only thing that seemed to have an effect on longevity. The lion and the gorilla might have a connection but he wasn't sure. The timer had only reacted once. He checked out the lion but found nothing special. He even dissected it, checking the chest for any crystal like in the myths he'd read.

He called the gorilla inside. "How do I get longevity?"

Eh? Longevity? By...killing.

"Shit, HOW?" Edard snapped through gritted teeth. He had decided long ago on Earth to stop asking animals about such things. They knew nothing out of their survival instinct.

....by...killing.

"Maybe I should kill you and find out."

The gorilla looked painfully distressed as it tried to explain.

...by killing...!

"Get the hell out."

Edard sighed helplessly. He had thirty-two seconds to live and still didn't know how to get longevity. The only thing giving him comfort was his skills. He converted life energy into a small ball of Dragon-essence on his palm and then changed its shape to a dagger. It took two seconds. He stabbed the wall, creating a one-meter space at the centre of the boulder.

Dragon-essence has stored Earth element in the dragon dimension.

When he stabbed the lion it had created an opening few inches wide but now a meter. Probably, a factor of difference in resistance between the lion and the boulder.

He fired lava from his fist. Unlike the two seconds needed to convert life energy to Dragon-essense it required a split second. Dragon-essence was a short-range skill but lava could be both short-range and long-range.

Crush was a long-range skill and would activate instantly just like Intimidation. Only that Intimidation was better for a stealth.

Each skill would upgrade with leveling up its Class. But leveling up required longevity which he didn't have.

Acquired Skills were much easier to level since they needed no longevity. Just experience. Interracial Communication was already at level six with many languages added. Status-key was not something he could level by intense training. So he decided to train Spiritual Sense.

He closed his eyes and took the view of the surroundings, 30-meters in all directions. The Spiritual Sense was different, it gave him a visual of anything in range. He could see through the walls of the cave and even things underground, like they were in front of him. He closed his eyes and counted the wild animals lurking around the mountain. The more he used it the more he became conversant with it and the more it leveled up. Using it with closed eyes also provided more experience than using it with open eyes.

He opened his eyes.

Spirutual Sense has reached level 3

Spirutual Sense has reached level 4

Spirutual Sense has reached level 5

He turned to the cultivation manual, it was the only thing he hadn't tested.

Activate Immortal Dragon, Y/N?

Manual

He checked out the manual first.

Cultivation involves the following steps:

Step 1: Meditation: Hold your breath for fifteen to twenty seconds and then breath for a second to calm your internal energy. You will sense the surrounding nature energy.

Step 2: Absorb the nature energy

Step 3: Condense the energy you absorbed into your longevity.

It was pretty straight forward. The first step involved holding his breath which was his specialty. He held his breath for twenty seconds and breathed for a second. He repeated the process, not sure he would succeed. Five-minutes later, he received a notification.

New skill gained: Meditation

Ability to calm your internal energy and sense the energy around you.

+100% life energy and stamina regeneration.

Activate skill?

You have one slot remaining. Choose wisely.

Edard clinched his teeth, he only had one slot remaining. Besides its effects on cultivation it also doubled regeneration of both life energy and stamina. It would essentially doubled his battle prowess. But if he chose it then no matter what skill appeared again he would have no chance. What he didn't know was whether it was compulsory for cultivation or not. What happened next settled his dilemma.

Assessing destinations in range....

One-hundred destinations have a higher nature energy concentration than the others.

•Blackfly {a property of Deniz empire}

•Luffy {a property of Báyir empire}

•Blinder {unconquered dungeon}

•Archies {Unconquered dungeon}

•Yucas {Demonic dungeon}

•Ilinoiz {a property of Báyir empire}

•Dentista {Micronomad empire}

•Menta {a property of Djinn empire}

•Mulberry {unbowed}

•Farre {unbowed}

•Hilhooz {unbowed}

•Genger {Demonic dungeon}

•Dragonshell {Dragon Order}.....

Despite not activating Meditation, he could now see it. Countless glowing pillars that shot into the sky at different places. Apparently, the Immortal Dragon had its own way of detecting nature energy.

At the end of the list he saw an option.

Drain nature energy from the detected destinations? Y/N?

He hit yes and waited.

Suddenly, a golden light surrounded him. He was confused because he didn't know what it meant. Amid his confusion, the golden light entered his body passively. It moved directly and condensed itself into his longevity. The second and third steps done.

You have cultivated enough nature energy for 2 years (17280 hours)

Dungeons depleted: 100

You have 00:00:32 to activate!!

The destinations he had emptied were dungeons.

Edard thought things were over but the golden colored energy didn't stop. It felt great at first, but it became excessive. Pummeling on his heart and lungs, making his breathing faster. His eyes suddenly turned red like a devil's, his hair stood on end. Edard felt the urge to stop it, but he didn't know how. It was his first time.

As if his situation wasn't bad enough, his body started to itch. At first it wasn't much but then any area he scratched would turn into a bruise. The bruises became increasingly itchy. Edard couldn't resist scratching, he looked for a rough stone and he used it to scratch his body. But then the bruises turned into reddish scales and the itching became unbearable. He started bleeding from the scales. Edard could no longer bear the itch and he started stabbing himself with the stone, hoping it would lessen. But it didn't, it only made the bleeding worse. Eventually he gave up and fell to the ground unconscious, coughing a mouthful of blood in the process.

He woke up an hour later, looking at his body for the scales. To his surprise, there were no scales, no bruises and no bleeding. The amount of blood he had lost should have painted the ground red but it was no longer there. A new screen caught his attention.

A dungeon you have depleted with the name Dragonshell belongs to the ancient order of dragons, it's energy reacted with your draconic heritage and activated a racial transformation.

Dragonelf Transformation: 3%

+100% affinity to dragon magic

+1% resistance to dragon curse

NB: other demonic physical characteristics may appear spontaneously.

A dungeon you have depleted is a Reservoir dungeon with 1,000+ slaves.

Claim slaves? Y/N?

Leave them stranded in space? Y/N?

Kill them? Y/N?

Return them to the slavers? Y/N?

Other dungeons have been dragged to the nearest dungeon entrance, 501 miles east of your current location.

Edard fell silent for a while as he thought about it. The Immortal Dragon cultivation manual was more mysterious than he had imagined. Even though, he didn't know the normal but cultivating energy for 17280 hours in a blink and even triggering a transformation shouldn't be normal. He had somehow pulled a Reservoir dungeon and he could even free some slaves. The other dungeons were pulled into the nearest dungeon entrance.

Slavery!? That's bulshit. Leaving the slaves to the slavers was definitely not an option, killing them was even worse. He couldn't just leave them stranded in space as well; it would be the same as killing them. The only option left was to claim them and then free them.

You have branded 1,081 slaves to your soul. The slaves will be kept in the Reservoir for as long as you want. Their collars respond to your will and can be activated by a mental command.

Things in the Reservoir will age five times less than in the outside.

Brand the Reservoir dungeon to your soul? Y/N?

He hit yes.

He felt a splitting headache as something akin to a drawing of a rose appeared on his forehead. It glowed for a minute before it disappeared.

You can access the Reservoir through the rune on your forehead for 100 life energy.

Time is different in the Reservoir: every five-minutes is equivalent to a minute outside.

Rune? The rose on his forehead was a rune. He still wasn't sure what he was doing but he thought about accessing the rune. The rune glowed again and he was pulled into the Reservoir dungeon.

Welcome to the Reservoir.

You can access the reservoir only when you have 100% life energy and stamina.

The reservoir is a one-way dungeon: you can take things out but you can't store anything back.

Cost of taking things out: 200

He found himself in the middle of a forest. Pine trees were arranged in rows, with each row having one-hundred trees. The forest was otherwise empty. He walked to the edge of the forest where he saw a building.

It looked like a prison at first sight. It was fenced with an ancient-looking wall. The gates were open and he saw a guard standing at the entrance.

Warden Golem, rank??

Loyalty: Edard

Job: keep the prisoners in their cells. They can have one access to toilets every month. One meal a day.

Change job? Y/N?

"Huh... " It suddenly struck him that he had left the corpse behind. His cloak was ticking again.

00:00:04! What the fuck!!!

Do you want to go out of the reservoir? Y/N?

He hit yes and the scenery around him disappeared. He returned to the cave and looked for the corpse. When he found it he hugged it so tight one of its bones snapped.