Dragon King: Throne of Demons and Gods
Chapter 73: Too Late For a Second Bite

Chapter 73: Too Late For a Second Bite

Bel’s eyes twitched.

"What do you mean it’s closed?"

Elysia smiled like someone who had already won a game he didn’t know he was playing.

"I mean exactly that. While you were sleeping, the guild called someone." She tapped her finger on her chin. "A mithril-ranked adventurer. One of the best in the kingdom."

Bel gritted his teeth.

"What?"

"No one could melt your ice, pretty impressive by the way." She shrugged. "But the guild couldn’t let it unchecked. So they called in someone who could. The only condition was to be stronger than you."

Bel’s fists clenched. He tried to keep his expression neutral, but his throat tightened.

"And... She... Succeeded?" he asked. "Even the ice on the boss?"

"Ah," Elysia said, smiling wider. "That’s the funny part. She didn’t even try. When she reached the boss room... She found out that the core wasn’t stuck at all. It was just there. Sitting out in the open, like a gem on a pillow. Just frozen. So she took it. And since the core left the dungeon, it naturally closed after a while."

Bel felt hollow. The core was gone, and with it, the white orb.

His tempting gift gone forever, just like that.

"You must be relieved," Elysia added, tilting her head. "She said your ice was too challenging to waste time on it when the problem was already solved. Instead of melting it, she complimented it. Even a mithril-ranked adventurer was impressed by your power. Quite the honor, right?"

Bel didn’t answer. His jaw was tight, his eyes cold. He turned away slightly, ready to leave.

"Leaving already?" she asked. "No thank you? No wow-you-saved-my-sacred-core? Your teammates said that we keep the core just for you, they must really like you."

Bel didn’t look back.

"I’m going to the guild."

But before he could step away, her voice cut through the air like a knife.

"Oh, by the way. One last thing."

He stopped.

"Were you alone in the dungeon?"

Silence fell.

A beat passed. Then another.

Bel stood still, his back to her. The question hovered like a threat. If he turned around now, there was a risk that he see here face, and between his frustration and the tone of her voice, this could be really dangerous.

His voice came out low.

"I was alone... until I passed out."

Elysia didn’t speak right away.

Then, slowly...

"Is that so? Funny. The adventurer who retrieved the core mentioned it looked like someone else had been there. But it’s impossible right?"

Bel raised his gaze to the sky.

"Maybe someone came before me," he said. "Died before I arrived."

"Maybe," Elysia echoed, stepping back with a casual shrug. "We never know, do we?"

He finally walked away.

She watched him go, arms crossing behind her back.

Then, softly.

"So... a Sacred died in a dungeon that easy to clear?"

Bel walked aimlessly through the crowded street, arms crossed and face twisted in annoyance.

His thoughts spun like a wheel stuck in mud. He had lost it. The white orb. The core of a Sacred.

And no matter how many times he went over it in his head, he couldn’t change that fact.

He kicked a pebble without looking.

"Stupid... stupid," he muttered. "I ate the forbidden fruit too fast. Why didn’t I just wait a second longer..."

He clenched his teeth.

"A Sacred’s core... They’re supposed to be at minimum as strong as a Demon Lord, right? That’s why the Hero fights the Demon King in the end. You don’t struggle to fight a minion. I lost something stronger than a Demon Lord..."

The more he thought about it, the more it burned. He tried to think of other things, the morning sun, the people around, the weather, anything... but his mind kept circling back.

"Maybe if I... maybe if I hadn’t been so hungry... Why did I even swallow so fast? I had all the time... This damn fruit..."

He stopped.

His eyes narrowed. His steps slowed down.

"... The fruit."

He blinked hard, his arms uncrossing.

"That fruit... That forbidden fruit... That I ate."

He stopped, looking at his hands like they might offer an answer.

"The gift that I needed... That I actually ate..."

He slowly looked up.

"Before losing consciousness... Before something... happened."

For the first time since waking up in the infirmary, Bel realized that he might have lost half of his rewards, he still won half of them.

He checked his fingers, then started patting his chest, looking for any different feeling.

"I feel... good. Too good."

He frowned. That was the problem. He always felt good. He needed proof. Something solid to see any change.

And he knew exactly the perfect tool to do it.

A flash of blue shimmered before his eyes, and his eyes widened.

————————————

[Draconic Evolution System]

————————————

Select Interface:

[1] Stats

[2] Skills

[3] Storage

[4] Refinement

[5] Shop

————————————

[1. STATS]

[Level: 45]

[Race: Dragon]

[Title: Demonic Lindworm]

[Class: Demon General]

[HP: 5,700 / 5,700]

[MP: 6,120 / 6,120]

[Stamina: 4,998 / 5,000]

[EXP: 7,240 / 98,500]

[Unallocated Stat Points: 0]

————————————

Primary Attributes

Strength: 320

Toughness: 315

Agility: 305

Endurance: 275

Intelligence: 310

Wisdom: 350

Pressure: 85

Luck: 1

————————————

Draconic Core: 75%

————————————

Secondary Attributes

- Final Wyrm

- Lindworm’s Legacy

- Pressure: Lindworm Class

- Aura Suppression: Maxed

- Draconic Regeneration: Intermediate

- Elemental Affinity: Fire, Ice (Maxed)

————————————

[2. SKILLS]

Abyssal Flame

Eternal Ice

Elemental Convergence [Stage 1]

Reflex (Passive)

Poison Mastery

Critical Chances (Passive)

Lesser Demon Slayer

Beast Slayer

Reptilian Slayer

Piercing Strike

————————————

[3. STORAGE]

[Inventory Slots: 1/100]

————————————

[4. REFINEMENT]

Fuse Skills

Upgrade Traits

Synthesize Weapon

————————————

[5. SHOP]

————————————

Bel didn’t move.

He just stood there in the middle of the street, arms limp at his sides, staring at the glowing blue screen floating in front of his face.

The system had changed. Everything had changed.

And he couldn’t breathe...

People passed by him, shooting odd glances at the strange boy who seemed frozen mid-thought. A few muttered, some laughed, others shook their head and kept walking.

To them, he looked like a weirdo staring at air.

But little did they know.

To Bel, it was as if the world had ended and a new one was born.

A new system, new stats, new skills, new elements.

His legs gave in. He stumbled forward and leaned on his knees, gasping for air.

His heart pounded.

"A gift you need."

Vezalia’s words echoed in his skull like a bell struck over and over.

"A gift you need."

Again. And again. A spiral.

"A gift you need."

"A gift you need."

"A gift you need."

"A gift you need."

His fingers twitched, his mind screamed.

He wanted to shout, to laugh, to cry all at once. But his voice cracked. All that came out was a dry, confused sound.

His mouth curled into a shaky, disbelieving smile.

He grabbed the sides of his head.

"No way," he whispered.

He looked again.

The system hadn’t disappeared. It was still there.

The stats. The power. The evolution.

It was real.

This wasn’t a dream.

He wasn’t imagining it... The world had taken the light orb, it was painful, so it had to be reality!

"What... what is this? What is even happening now?"

His mind reeled. He had only eaten the forbidden fruit, just one.

And with that, this system...

It was completely different.

A tug on his sleeve broke him out of the trance.

Bel blinked and looked down.

A little kid, barely older than five, was staring up at him with wide, concerned eyes.

"Hm? Are you okay?"

Bel stared at the kid.

Then slowly, with trembling lips and burning eyes, he replied.

"No. I... I feel like I’m going to explode."

The kid blinked.

"... Cool. Dad said it would be good if you could be crazy away with girls like you."

Bel observed him for a moment then looked away, his smile widening.

"Good idea... And tell your father to go hang himself."