Dragon's Awakening: The Duke's Son Is Changing The Plot
Chapter 209 - 208 - [SYSTEM NOTIFICATIONS: 153 Unread.]

Chapter 209: Chapter 208 - [SYSTEM NOTIFICATIONS: 153 Unread.]

The air inside the moss-lit cave carried a rare, lazy peace—if you ignored the occasional beast screaming as it got mulched by a vibration pulse, a dagger, or in one case, Graye’s flying elbow drop.

Raven sat atop a mossy boulder near the back, still gloriously bare-chested like the world’s most reluctant fantasy heartthrob.

Siris clung to him like a barnacle in love, her head resting on his shoulder, breathing evenly.

Clara was off braiding Selena’s hair with surprising skill, while Graye attempted push-ups in full armor to "get swole."

It was the kind of calm that only came once in a hundred chaotic encounters.

Raven knew that meant it was the perfect time to open the system interface.

He willed for it, and it opened.

The air shimmered faintly around him, invisible to others.

In the corners of his vision, familiar blue text boxes popped into existence like long-lost emails from a very passive-aggressive boss.

[SYSTEM NOTIFICATIONS: 153 Unread.]

’...Ah crap,’ Raven muttered mentally.

Omni, who had wrapped himself as a tribal tattoo along Raven’s arm and pulsed with subtle warmth, immediately piped up in his usual friendly neighborhood gangster tone.

"Ay yo, my boy just opened the inbox like it’s Black Friday. You ready for the plot dump, or should I get the popcorn?"

Raven sighed and mentally swiped past the first flood.

[+10,000 Plot Points for changing Major Character Arc.]

[+4,000 Plot Points for successfully killing a demon general.]

[+5,000 Plot Points for successfully killing a demon general.]

[+100 Plot Points for preventing a powerful entity’s descent.]

There were many other such notifications.

He received plot points for every change he made in the plot, so even making his group fight the demons gave him pluses, as that was helping them grow.

So, instead of looking at all of them, he decided to move on to the next batch of notifications.

’Let’s skip the drama. Show me the trade channel updates.’

[TRADE FUNCTION – AUCTION HOUSE NOTIFICATION]

[Your item: Prism Thread Veil, has been SOLD.]

[For a detailed report, click here.]

[The free trial of the Divine Trade Auction is now over.]

[Charges would be applied for the next item to be auctioned.]

[Special Effect: 50% return activated.]

[Calculating refund...]

[200,000 Plot Points had been refunded.]

Raven stared at the notifications for a while before he nodded. "At least I got 200,000 plot points."

Then, he opened the detailed report of the auction to see how much he got for the item.

[Final Bid: 500,000 Plot Points.]

Raven stared again, his eyes wide.

’...What?’

He had expected to incur losses.

He had expected that the item he had bought for 300,000 would give him around that, but what? He got 200,000 more?

This was out of his expectations.

"We’re rich, baby!" Omni howled in his head, pure hype in his tone. "You packin’ so much divinity now, you could actually throw hands with some minor gods!"

Raven didn’t comment on that; he merely smiled.

But then, Omni paused, as if confused by something.

"Man, hold up," he said, voice all puzzled. "If my math’s right—and it always is when money’s involved—if that thing sold for 500k, shouldn’t you be gettin’ like 250k back? It’s supposed to refund fifty percent, yeah?"

Raven remained calm as he replied. ’No. The refund depends on the true value of the item, which, as Windy had said, was 400k.’

Yes, the reason Raven got a 200k refund was because the true value of the item was 400k.

Omni hadn’t noticed it before, but now even he realized that he had ignored the fact that Raven had received a 200k refund instead of a 150k.

"Man, fuck it," the sword huffed. "We stackin’ coins, and that’s all that matters."

Raven nodded, turning to look at his plot points again.

[Plot Points: 1,156,094.]

’YEAH!’ Raven almost jumped up straight if not for Siris clinging to him.

His reaction wasn’t exaggerated as he had finally crossed one million plot points.

But no matter how much he waited, no congratulatory notification arrived.

There was no notification about him obtaining something because he crossed the one million mark.

"Man, that’s disappointing," Omni said flatly. "I really thought you were about to pull somethin’ OP again."

Raven shook his head, not bothered much as he was happy about the increase in his plot points.

For now, that was enough.

Finally, he decided to look at the remaining notifications.

They were all in the trade channel, so he opened it.

[New Chat Request: ’LoliQueen_xx_soulreaper’ wants to message you.]

Raven froze.

"...Nope."

Omni: "Oh, hell no. That name’s got red flags, black flags, and probably several unpaid taxes."

Raven stared at it for a moment longer before swiping it into the same emotional void he sent Graye’s kiss request earlier.

Then came another, far more cursed notification.

[10 messages from: Grandpa_Hot_Pot]

Before Raven could even open the chat, Omni screamed.

Omni: "NOPE. I AM STILL TRAUMATIZED. DO NOT OPEN IT. SHE MIGHT CALL US TO MEET HER AGAIN. I DON’T WANNA GO!"

Raven almost laughed as he heard how terrified Omni sounded, but he couldn’t stop his body from jerking slightly, and it was felt by Siris.

She stirred beside him. "Are you okay? You’re making a really concerned face."

"Just... indigestion."

Siris smiled and snuggled closer. "Do you want a kiss to help it?"

Omni made a strangled noise. "She tryna heal your stomach with affection. We’re all gonna die."

Ignoring both of them, Raven focused back on the system.

Slowly, he opened Arietta, a.k.a. Grandpa_Hot_Pot’s messages.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Grandpa_Hot_Pot:

Raven!! I’m back! How are you?

Why didn’t you come online today?

Are you secretly talking to another goddess?

I hope not because, you know, I don’t like it.

Also, good news: I got a new ID.

I sent a request to you. Accept it when you are online.

Why are you still not online?

Raven? Did something happen?

I’m really getting worried now...

Ah! You’re online!!!

Raven! Where have you been?! What happened?

Why didn’t you text me at all?!

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The last two messages arrived right after Raven opened the chat, and looking at the messages, Raven realized that he might have worried her without even realizing it.

So, he quickly replied.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Raven:

I’m sorry, Arietta, but things were hectic here.

I can explain it all to you, but before that, I wanted to ask if the time delay of your divine room could be increased?

Like, can it be turned into a 1:16 ratio?

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Arietta seemed confused by his messages at first since there was no response for a while before the reply came.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Grandpa_Hot_Pot:

Well, yes. I can make it possible, but why are you suddenly asking that?

Wait—! Are you going to come to me?!

Are we going to meet again?!

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Seeing how her tone changed from confused to excited, Raven chuckled out loud, making Siris caress his stomach as she thought it was indigestion again.

Raven deadpanned but didn’t say anything. Instead, he focused on Arietta.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Raven:

Yes, well, I was thinking of coming to you, but...

You wouldn’t mind if I asked for a few more things, right?

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Raven didn’t clarify anything, as he wanted a yes from her first.

He let her be happy about his yes and added vague, doubtful words.

It was as if he was expecting her to say yes, but he was scared that she might say no.

This was the best way to make her say yes—Raven knew that.

The next second, as expected, Arietta’s reply arrived.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Grandpa_Hot_Pot:

Say the name, Raven. For you, I can do anything.

Well, almost anything, as I would never agree to a goddess harem. Never.

Also, if you were about to ask for permission to talk to another goddess, then I assure you, I won’t be happy.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Arietta was literally threatening him, but Raven grinned because he achieved what he wanted to.

Now, his final preparations were done.

...........................

What he or anyone else in the world didn’t know about was something that was happening deep in the Ashen Expanse.

Deep in the heart of the Ashen Expanse—where the corrupted mana turned the air into a haze of dread and decay—something stirred.

Massive shapes loomed among twisted black trees, their bodies hunched and pulsing with rot.

Twelve monstrous beasts, each the size of a fortress, gathered in a perfect circle around a pit that oozed not lava, but something worse—raw corruption—thick, black, and whispering.

It wasn’t just a meeting.

It was a summoning.

A wolf-like creature with antlers made of bone and eyes like bleeding moons spoke first, its voice a chorus of hisses.

"Two to three months. That’s when Father wakes."

A serpent crowned with fungal horns slithered around the rim, its scales leaking whispers.

"Once father is awake, we can claim the world as ours."

A hulking, four-legged abomination covered in twitching hands snarled,

"We will devour every human. No one will be spared. I suggest we start our march now."

But a taller beast—a winged thing with a ribcage that opened and closed like a maw—raised its claw.

"No. We wait. If Father rises incomplete, we burn with him. We must feed the pit."

The pit gurgled in response.

One by one, they nodded. These were not mindless, corrupted beasts.

These were the First Brood.

The heralds of their father.

The Black Dragon.

Without saying anything, all of them cut off some of their body parts, feeding them to the pit as if it were their only duty.

They didn’t care about the pain as they didn’t feel it.

To them, this much was easy to deal with because they knew that only by doing this could they awaken their father.

Their years of waiting would be answered in a few more months.

Raven wasn’t even aware of this.

He didn’t even realize how high the difficulty was raised because of the third use of Plot Armor.