A large system screen rested before Max, burning with golden letters that slowly formed into words.

[Your mate Rosalia has been successfully impregnated. Preparing the embryo for dragon-level protection...]

His heart slammed against his ribs.

For a moment, something primal awakened in him, a raw feeling buried deeper than greed, lust, or ambition. He was going to become a father. The realization struck him harder than any enemy ever had. That responsibility felt like a mountain falling onto his shoulders, and yet, strangely, it did not feel heavy.

Instead, it made him happy.

Extremely so.

His lips parted slightly, but no words came out. For once, even Max did not know what to say. The chamber around him, the treasure, the blood, the danger, even Freya lying somewhere in the mist, all of it became distant for a single breath.

Then his heart beat hard once more.

This time, it was not because of happiness.

Max looked down at his pulsing palms. His veins swelled beneath his skin as if something alive was crawling through them, forcing its way through every inch of his body. A strange white glint spread over his flesh, faint at first, then brighter, colder, and more violent.

[Granting the user the Ice Dragon Bloodline {Ancestor Grade} as a reward for completing his quest.]

Another loud beat of his heart pulsed through the chamber, shaking the gold and gems around him. Coins rattled. Jewels trembled. The white mist twisted around his body as if it were being dragged toward him by force.

Frost spread across the ground with veins of purple light, branching like a spiderweb as it encased the floor, walls, and ceiling. The treasure beneath him froze in place, gold and gems glittering beneath a thin layer of ice.

[Preparing the body for the first transformation...]

[Upgrading the human bloodline to a quasi-Dragon-Human Bloodline while keeping the human bloodline dominant...]

His body convulsed as his muscles twisted violently beneath his skin, swelling and tightening as if invisible claws were tearing them apart and stitching them back together at the same time. His teeth clenched so hard his jaw almost cracked. A scorching agony spread across his back, burning through his spine before turning into a cold so deep it felt like his bones were being carved from the inside.

Then his back split, and two massive wing bones forced their way out from beneath his shoulder blades, tearing through flesh with a wet, brutal sound. Blood gushed from the openings, but before it could fall, it froze against his skin in dark red crystals. White leathery wings unfolded behind him, trembling at first, then spreading wider and wider until they cast a pale shadow over the frozen treasure.

Max gasped, his breath coming out as frost.

His lower back twisted next. The pain was sharp enough to make his vision flash white. His tailbone stretched, cracked, and reshaped, and then a massive white scaly tail shot out from his spine, slamming against the frozen ground with a heavy thud that sent cracks racing through the ice.

Before he could even recover, another wave of pain surged into his skull. Two large horns, white as snow and marked with pulsing purple runic patterns, began to push out from his head. The pressure was unbearable. It felt as if his skull was being split open by something ancient that had no patience for human weakness. The horns curved upward, sharp and majestic, while purple light flowed through the markings like living blood.

Snow-white scales spread across his body, devouring his human flesh inch by inch. They shimmered in the mist as if they had been created to blend into the frozen world around him. Every scale carried a faint purple glow beneath the surface, and with every beat of his heart, that glow pulsed outward, spreading frost deeper across the room.

His fingers stretched, the nails growing into sharp pale claws. His shoulders broadened as his spine straightened, every bone in his body creaking under the pressure of the transformation. His breath turned colder and colder, spilling from his mouth like white mist.

The pain was immense, almost enough to make him lose his mind, but beneath it, Max could feel power rushing through him, filling every part of his body with something ancient and terrifying.

It was not like stealing mana or devouring treasure. This time, the power was not something he took from the outside. It was growing from within him, twisting his blood, changing his flesh, and forcing his body to accept a bloodline that should have been impossible for a human to possess.

Freya felt the immense pressure pull her out of her unconscious state. Her eyes slowly opened, her body still aching from the impact. At first, she saw only the white mist, the frozen gold, and the purple light spreading across the floor like veins. Then her gaze lifted, and what she saw made her heart shiver in terror.

A pair of purple dragon eyes stared into the air before slowly falling on her.

She tried to move, but the pressure made her blood freeze. Her fingers twitched against the frozen ground, yet she could not even push herself up. The dragon instincts deep inside her screamed, forcing her body to stay low before the existence standing ahead of her.

"Ancestor..." she muttered, her voice trembling.

She did not understand how it was possible. How was an ancestor here? How were any of them still alive? The Ice Dragon Ancestors should have disappeared long ago, leaving only thinned bloodlines behind. But the pressure in front of her was not thin. It was not a trace, nor was it some weak inheritance passed down through generations.

It was real, and it was standing right in front of her. Only then did she notice his face. Even with the horns, scales, wings, and terrifying aura, those features still looked familiar.

"Max!?"

Her heart dropped.

She could smell that he had been human just moments ago. A dragon’s nose never lied when determining races. Human, dragon, elf, beast, blood always carried its own scent. But this made no sense. How had he suddenly transformed into one of them? And most importantly, how had he transformed into someone with the Ice Dragon lineage?

Freya’s lips trembled slightly as she stared at him, unable to hide the fear spreading across her face.

"Haaa..." Max exhaled sharply, frost spreading in all directions from his mouth. "So this is how it feels to be a dragon..."

He clenched his fists, feeling the raw power pulse through his muscles and veins like a living storm. Then he simply punched the air, sending a wave of compressed force above Freya’s head, making her squeal as it ripped through the mist behind her.

"I love it..." His purple dragon eyes shone with greed and excitement. "I need... more..."