[Ding!]

[Draconic Soul Absorbed!]

[Dragon Summoning Available!]

"Hm?"

Adam noticed the notification go off when he absorbed the dragon's lingering soul.

"Are you okay?" Arlen asked.

"Yeah, let's just finish these cultists first." He replied while standing up.

Arlen just nodded as she repositioned herself gripping her sword tightly.

They both advanced towards the cultists and slaughtered all of them instantly, it didn't take long with both of them being at A rank.

"Well that was a let down." Arlen said while wiping the blood of her sword.

"Well they were weaker than expected," he muttered. "Probably just scouts, I'll go on ahead explain the situation to the guildmaster."

"Are you sure you'll be fine alone?" Arlen asked as she raised her brow.

Adam didn't say anything and just let his mana flow out, it was dense and pure.

Arlen was surprised at what she was seeing, she sensed the power of an A rank coming from his mana, but his mana far surpassed that.

"How did you—?"

"I awakened my bloodline." Adam told her.

He didn't plan on hiding his rank and bloodline, it would be a good excuse to why he shows dragon like features.

"Hm so you have both a bloodline and a physique, huh?" Arlen asked with a skeptical look.

"Yeah, but we'll talk about that later. There's a mission we have to finish.

Arlen just sighed and let out a small laugh. "Fine rookie, you really surprised me this time, but when this mission is done you have to spar with me!" She said while going back to Veyra's position.

A while later.

The forest has now returned to stillness, Adam and Arlen have already wiped out the whole scouting party.

But this stillness wasn't that of peace.

The whole thing seemed deliberate, controlled. This is the same type of silence appearing when predators are hiding and waiting for the right moment to strike.

Adam was scanning the terrain, feeling that it was heavy with mana.

It looked like someone was managing the growth of the corruption.

[Class Skill: Dragon Summoning]

Description: Absorb the souls of fallen dragons and summon their spiritual forms to aid you in battle. Able to gain a single ability from the draconic soul and 10% of it's overall power.

[Available Summons: 1]

"I should prepare." Adam said as he was looked at his system screen.

---

[Summons:]

Fire Dragon: Ignis

Affinity: Fire

Rank: S+

Description: A dragon that participated in the Demon War and died during a battle with the Archfiend of Ruin.

Abilities:

1. Primordial Pyro Core

Provides immunity to fire blow S rank. Fire that are around the dragon become unstable, weak and will obey its will.

2. Solarburst Breath

Creates a blazing sphere that expands before collapsing into a shockwave, superheats objects, weakness armor, melts mana shields and exhausts stamina.

3. Infernal Domain

The air dry. The power of fire attacks cast by others is halved, the dragon's are doubled.

...

---

"Nice, now I won't have to worry about fighting alone."

Adam looked over the terrain once again while moving and noticed something odd.

"Looks like their tightening their perimeter," he muttered. "Seems like they didn't expect a threat like me."

The Cultists weren't retreating, they were preparing.

And he would ready.

Inside the Cultist Burrow

The area was deep beneath the surface, deep beneath warped roots and layers of corrupted stone.

That's where the cultists gathered.

They were in a large carven that was pulsing with crimson light, it came from a mana pool that was at the center.

There were symbols of twisted serpeenats across the stone floor, they were shifting as if they were alive.

The surving cultists were kneeling before their leader:

He was a tall, pale man who was strapped in robes that seemed to swallow the light around him.

His spoke, his voice low and cold.

"Report."

A cultist who was trembling spoke first, sweat was trailing beneath his his hood.

"Our... our whole scouting team was killed."

"How?" the leader asked him, without even raising his voice.

"In an instant."

There were murmurs that filled the whole chamber, it wasn't from feat but of interest.

There was another cultist who stepped forward. He was holding a broke crystal shard, it was still faintly glowing with recorded sensory mana.

"This is from the last scout, who manages to survive long enough to transmit anything. It said only one thing..."

There was a pause.

"...'Heir.'"

In an instant the cultists shifted, their breaths were caught. Their hands tightened on the staves, their eyes gleaming beneath the hoods.

Heir only meant one thing for them:

The Primordial Dragon's Bloodline has awakened.

But before any of them could spiral into a frenzy, the leader slammed his staff on the stone, there was a sharp crack that echoed through the whole chamber.

"SILENCE!"

The whole room froze.

"We shouldn't relay this to the other sects," he said sharply. "We won't notify the sect guild Liaison. And we certainly won't tell that arrogant and annoying boy Cedric.

One of the cultists said while stuttering.

"B-but he—"

"He has no authority over the cult," he snapped. "He only controls the minor guilds, and his puppets, this is isn't near his reach."

More of them whispered, if they didn't inform the prince, and if the higher cult sects aren't told as well.

That means all this information belonged to them.

This was a treasure, a weapon. Dragons are powerful beings that can threaten the balance, that much is understandable.

But the Primordial Dragon's heir awakening meant absolute power to control the world, this was far beyond their original mission, an unexpected gold mine.

The leader the smiled, with a thin predatory curve.

"We're keeping this a secret. Begin the second stage of the ritual plan."

The were candles around them that flared as the dark mana rushed upward.

"Make sure the containment array is ready, not for the guild members."

There was a long silence.

"But for the boy."

Guild Outpost

Far away from the shrine, this was the Guild's temporarih base that stood in the midst of the high trees.

It was reinforced by barrier pillars that were placed on the ground using runic symbols.

The whole camp was tense.

Commander Darian the one in charge of this outpost, was inside the command tent.

He was standing over a cluttered table, there were maps marked with black inks trails, it showed the corruptions movement using real-time data.

His lieutenants started reporting one by one.

"Sir, another squad has gone silent near section C-7."

"The beasts activity is abnormal."

"The mana density is now triple the expected level in the past hour."

"We also detected a brief spike... but we still don't know what caused it."

Darian rubbed his temples.

"And what kind of spike?"

The mage reader then explained:

"This wasn't monster emission. Or any collapse. It was ancient like something old finally awoke."

"And did you receive any contacts from the Guildmasters side?" He asked.

"Not yet sir."

Darian nodded.

"Keep monitoring. Notify me if anything happens."

The whole guild was on high alert, this was a mission given under royal authority. The Astral Blades guild held absolute authority in this case.

"If their near the source of the corruption... they'll send a signal."

Little did he know, Adam wasn't planning on sending one.

A few moments later

The Cultists started slipping through the forest, but they weren't marching blindly like before.

They changed their whole formation:

There was a three person triangular scouting units, there was no speaking, only using mana airpods to communicate.

Their scanning patterns were designed only to tract one target, Adam.

The cultist captained started whispering through the airpod:

"Everyone remember the orders. Don't engage, don't attact him unless his capture is guaranteed. Track him, pressure him, and then guide him towards the containment site."

The whole unit scattered throughout the forest, their steps didn't leave a trace of pressure on the ground.

They moved on the belief that their movements were unseen, their believed their target didn't know.

But they were wrong.

High up in the streets, Adam was observing the cultists below quietly.

He noticed that their formation was professional, efficient, silent.

It wasn't random.

They were looking for something or someone.

"They must be looking for me, they must've gotten information on what happened at the shrine."

He recognized this immediately, he studied those counter tracking formations in professor Veyra's classes.

And this one in particular, was meant to subtly moved a target to one point.

A trap.

Adam silently dropped to the ground, he was using the rustle of the distant branches as cover.

"It seems they want me to walk into their trap." He said with a grin, his eyes narrowed.

Instead of trying to avoid, he marched straight to it. But in his own terms, he was angling through the blind spots between the scouting groups.

He was the predator in this case, and they were his prey.

None of them would realize this until it was far too late.

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