Mages who reached certain ranks could never truly die. Once they crossed a particular threshold, they became part of the System’s continuity itself. The same was true for creatures with bloodlines beyond the Legendary rank.

Death was no longer the end for them.

Instead, they remained trapped within the flow of continuity, waiting endlessly for someone worthy enough to inherit their power. Only when a successor fully mastered their inheritance could they return to life once more.

The Sovereign Dragon had waited thousands of years for such a person.

And when he finally found someone carrying a trace of his bloodline, fate played a cruel joke on him.

The boy turned out to be one of the most talentless individuals in the universe.

Trapped inside the consciousness of Draven Ashborn, the Sovereign Dragon could only lament his terrible luck.

"You’ve swallowed nearly a thousand draconic territory cores and still only possess the mana capacity of a Grand Mage," the dragon’s voice said coldly. Disappointment dripped from every word.

Draven adjusted the dark cloak covering the ink-blue scales creeping across the left side of his face.

"I doubt there’s another Adept Mage with the mana capacity of a Grand Mage," he argued. "The Crown of Force should accept me now."

"Trash!" the Sovereign Dragon roared.

The voice shook Draven’s mind.

"You think just anyone can gain the acknowledgment of the Crown of Force? If you fail to show something truly extraordinary, the spell won’t even look at you! And an Adept with Grand Mage mana capacity is hardly impressive enough!"

Draven clenched his jaw.

It was true.

He had been born with a less-than-average mana capacity. He couldn’t even learn an Initiate spell.

If the Sovereign Dragon hadn’t chosen to bind with his soul, he would have spent his entire life running errands for other people.

That didn’t mean he had no pride. Even a stray dog had pride.

For years, he had endured endless insults from the dragon consciousness. Every failure, every setback, and every weakness had been mocked.

He was tired of it.

Worse, after consuming so many draconic territory cores and gradually transforming his bloodline, the arrogance and pride of dragons had begun to seep into his own personality.

He was already on the verge of snapping.

So when someone suddenly crashed into his shoulder, all the frustration he had buried inside finally exploded.

"Sorry," the man immediately said.

Draven didn’t care. He turned and glared at the stranger. "Where the fuck are you looking?" he shouted. Draconic mana surged through his body. The outline of a spell formation began to manifest behind him.

"Draconic Roar."

"Idiot! Stop!" the Sovereign Dragon shouted inside his mind.

Draven ignored him.

’He’s only an Adept,’ he thought coldly. ’I’m not going to kill him. I’ll just teach him a lesson.’

But the Sovereign Dragon wasn’t afraid for the stranger. He was afraid for Draven.

"You are dead, idiot."

Draven frowned.

"What do you mean..." He never finished. A wave of unbearable agony exploded inside his head.

"AAAGH!"

His vision spun violently. The world tilted.

Then everything went dark as he collapsed onto the ground.

*

* *

"Damn it. What’s wrong with that idiot? Who attacks someone over an accidental bump?"

Rhys patted his still-beating chest and looked down at the unconscious young man sprawled on the ground.

He genuinely hadn’t expected to run into a lunatic willing to start a fight over something so trivial. This world was dangerous in ways he still hadn’t fully adapted to.

He made a mental note to be more careful in crowded places from now on. Getting injured because of a random madman would be the dumbest way to die.

’Thanks, System,’ he thought silently.

If the System hadn’t automatically activated Mind Edge and Psychic Ripple, he would have been the one lying on the ground right now.

Rhys gave the unconscious man one last glance.

"Idiot," he muttered.

Then he turned around and walked away without another look.

*

* *

Idiot....

The word echoed endlessly inside Draven’s head.

He had regained consciousness almost immediately after that man used the spell. But he stayed on the ground with his eyes closed, not daring to move.

Just in case that lunatic attacked him again.

Around him, the street had become crowded. People had gathered to watch the spectacle. After all, they had all seen it.

A young man had angrily attacked a stranger. Then he got knocked unconscious in a single move.

"What happened?"

"I think the guy on the ground started it."

"Seriously? He lost that badly?"

"He didn’t even last a second."

"Perhaps he was practicing how to faint."

A few people burst into laughter. One old man stroked his beard and nodded wisely.

"Young people these days have weak foundations."

A woman nearby sighed. "What a handsome young man. Such a shame about his brain."

The crowd erupted into even louder laughter. Draven felt his face burning beneath the cloak.

He waited.

And waited.

Only after he was absolutely certain that man had left did he suddenly leap to his feet.

"AH!"

Several onlookers stumbled backward.

"He’s alive!"

"I knew it! He’s pretending!"

"Run! The crazy one woke up!"

Half the crowd scattered while the other half stared at him like he was some rare beast at a carnival.

Draven’s face turned darker than the scales covering his skin. Without saying a word, he turned around and started walking away as fast as possible.

"Idiot," the Sovereign Dragon spat.

Draven clenched his jaw.

"See? You are nothing more than a joke to some random mage on the street. And you think you can gain the recognition of the Crown of Force? A Legendary spell?"

"Stop it," Draven growled.

He tried to come up with an excuse. He failed. How could he defend himself?

He had launched a sneak attack. And he still lost.

"I underestimated him," he finally muttered.

The dragon snorted. "More like you overestimated yourself."

Draven’s fists trembled. "I’ll take revenge on him."

The Sovereign Dragon fell silent for a moment. Then he laughed. "Revenge? Fool, that man probably doesn’t even remember you exist."

The words hit harder than the spell. Draven gritted his teeth.

"Can you support me for once?"

"For what?" the dragon asked coldly. "For your grand plan of seeking revenge against an Adept Mage?"

Draven remained silent.

"Forget him," the Sovereign Dragon continued. "Go to the MSFRM Library and see whether the Crown of Force acknowledges you. If it doesn’t..."

The dragon paused.

"...then we return to conquering territories."

Draven’s expression darkened. He knew exactly what that meant.

More battles. More dragon cores. More disappointment. For a brief moment, Draven wanted to abandon everything.

The dragon scales. The endless battles. The constant insults. The impossible dream of mastering the Crown of Force.

He wanted to return to his old life. Back when he was just an errand boy worrying about tomorrow’s meal instead of risking his life every day.

But the thought disappeared as quickly as it came. Because he had already tasted power.

And once someone tasted power, how could they willingly return to being weak?

So what if he lost today? So what if some random mage on the street humiliated him?

Once he mastered the Crown of Force, everything would change. His strength would grow. His authority would grow.

And everyone who had looked down on him would regret it.

Draven tightened his fists and continued walking.

Minutes later, he finally arrived at the MSFRM Library. He took a deep breath and reached toward the spell structure. The process didn’t last long. The answer came almost immediately.

Failure.

Draven slowly lowered his hand.

To be honest, he wasn’t surprised. He had already expected this outcome. What truly stunned him was the reaction of the Sovereign Dragon.

"Impossible..."

For the first time since they had met, Draven heard fear in the dragon’s voice.

"How..." The ancient dragon’s voice trembled.

"How could someone else receive the acknowledgment of the Crown of Force?"

Draven’s eyes widened.

"What?"

The Sovereign Dragon remained silent for several seconds. Then he spoke again. This time, the arrogance was gone.

"The Crown of Force..."

"...has already chosen its master."

"Nooooooo!" Draven roared.

"What the fuck is that, idiot? You almost scared the old man!" The old librarian shouted back from the reception desk.