2026-05-29 17:47:09Alex stood frozen. His body trembled out of control, but he forced his legs to keep supporting his weight. Cold sweat flowed from his temples, passing his tightly clenched jaw.
"Damn it, move," Alex cursed inwardly, trying to dispel the panic paralyzing his nerves.
At the edge of the cave's darkness, the pair of red eyes moved. It wasn't one, but rather two pairs.
Ding!
[Adult Shadow Dragon]
[Rank: Elite]
[Status: Extremely Critically Injured]
"A dragon..." The whisper escaped through the gaps of Alex's lips.
In his original world, this creature was merely a fairy tale. But now, that massive form was reality right in front of him.
Slowly, the creature dragged its body out from the shadows. Its size was far larger than the black wolf that had almost claimed Alex's life the other day. The pitch-black scales coating its body appeared tattered. One of its wings was severely torn, drooping helplessly. Thick black blood kept dripping, wetting the cave floor.
Amidst the gripping horror, there was a fleeting, small flash of relief. The dragon had not attacked yet. At least for this exact second.
"Is it not attacking because it can't, or because it is watching me?" Alex pondered quickly.
Alex knew his limits. The system had already warned him that his winning probability did not even touch the one percent mark. Foolish bravery would only lead him to death.
As he kept gripping the hilt of his black sword, a small movement behind the adult dragon's body caught his attention. Another pair of red eyes—which was far smaller—peeked warily.
A dragon hatchling. Its size was probably only as big as a dog. Its fine scales had not formed perfectly yet. The small creature curled up near its mother's claws, staring at Alex with a combination of fear and hunger.
Alex fell silent. In the midst of this life-and-death situation, the memory of himself suddenly crossed his mind. Weak, discarded, and having no one.
"Why does its form have to be like this?" A bitter flashback spun in his head. "Just like the old me."
Ding!
[Special Scenario Detected. Evaluation of Advantages Initiated.]
[Choice 1: Retreat and Leave the Area.]
Reward: Instant safety guarantee (Survival Efficiency: 100%).
[Choice 2: Finish off the Dying Shadow Dragon.]
Reward: Large-Scale EXP Extraction & Rare Materials (Growth Efficiency: Short-Term).
[Choice 3: Exploit the Target's Condition.]
Reward: Unknown (Investment Efficiency: Long-Term).
Alex frowned. This was the first time the system did not provide an absolute recommendation with a red indicator or the safest path. All choices were left completely to his own logical calculations.
"This system usually always demands that I take instant profit. Why let loose now?" Alex weighed the options on his screen. "Option three... too risky, but 'long-term investment' sounds promising if I want to survive more than seven days."
He brushed aside his emotional ego and began to observe the adult dragon's condition more closely. Something was amiss. The wounds were too neat for a fight between monsters. His eyes narrowed when he saw the remnants of thick iron chains still wrapping around the dragon's hind leg. Then, a deep linear gash on the chest area. That was the mark of a man-made weapon.
Alex took one step forward slowly. His eyes caught a decorative object embedded between the dragon's scales. A broken spear.
Ding!
[Weapon Analysis: Armor-Piercing Magic-Coated Spear.]
Alex's gaze locked onto the engraving at the remaining base of the spear. The emblem of the same faction as the one on the leather bag earlier. The Royal Emblem.
"So they hunted this dragon too..." Alex muttered softly.
The warrant from King Theron crossed his mind again. 'Kill that trash child. Bring his body to me.' "If the king's hunters can make a dragon this strong critically injured, it means the position of this place is highly unsafe," Alex thought, feeling a new danger approaching. "If I stay here, I could end up slaughtered by them too."
Thud!
A heavy impact startled Alex. The adult dragon's massive body collapsed, spilling its remaining strength onto the cave's stone floor. The ground beneath Alex's feet felt like it shook.
The dragon hatchling behind it panicked instantly. The small creature let out a hoarse screech, using its small snout to push at its mother's head. Once, twice, there was no response. The adult dragon's breath grew increasingly thin, leaving disconnected puffs of warm vapor.
Alex observed the interaction without changing his position. His hand remained on the sword's hilt. Instead of feeling pity like a naive human, his brain spun rapidly, weighing the profit and loss.
He had just left a human soldier groaning for help without a shred of guilt. But facing this dragon hatchling, his pragmatic instinct saw something different.
"The man out there could lie and stab me in the back after I help him," Alex's cold logic began to dictate. "But this creature... animals do not know complex betrayal. In this crazy world, absolute loyalty is the most expensive commodity."
The dragon hatchling looked up. Its wet red eyes stared directly toward Alex. There was no aggression, only pure fear over losing the only protection it had.
Silence ruled the cave for a few moments, before being stained by a familiar mechanical voice.
Ding!
[Object Characteristics Analysis Complete.]
[Species: Shadow Dragon (Infant Phase).]
[Growth Value: S-Rank | Evolution Potential: Maximum.]
[Egoist Recommendation: The subject meets the absolute criteria as an Obedience Contract Beast.]
The muscles in Alex's body tensed up again. "Contract beast?"
"Absolute obedience?" The corner of Alex's lips twitched slightly. "System, you truly know what I need."
His gaze shifted to the dragon hatchling that was now curling up helplessly beside its mother's cooling body. For the first time, Alex realized that this system was not just guiding him to merely escape the seven-day target, but rather giving him the foundation to build his own strength from scratch.
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
CHAPTER 84 — The Real Law of the Battlefield
"Master... if you wouldn't mind providing a bit of physical assistance, I would be very grateful," Darius said finally, lowering his combat ego."From the very beginning, I never said I would help you out of every single one of your logistical problems," Aldric replied coldly without changing his standing position."..."Darius stared at his master's back with a blank expression laden with frustration. Nero almost burst into gleeful laughter, but the little dragon quickly suppressed his voice when dozens of low growling sounds began to echo back and forth from all corners of the mining crater.Grrrkkk...Greeek...One after another, the silhouettes of spiked boars began to step out from the darkness of the mining tunnels, crowding the floor area of the crater. Darius turned his head slowly. The thin smile that had briefly crossed his face earlier had now vanished completely without a trace. Dozens of spiked boars had now filled nearly half of the total functional area of the mining cr
CHAPTER 83 — The Silent Intervention Line
The result was zero; the monster's corpse only shifted a few centimeters, triggering an extraordinary throb of pain across his cracked ribs. On the other side, the spiked boar in front of him began to scratch the surface of the ground rhythmically using its sharp front hooves.Darius froze in place. 'This is bad, it has locked onto its path.'"Darius! Do something quickly!" Nero screamed from atop the boulder."I know, Nero!" Darius shot back across his mental frequency."It’s going to charge forward!""I can see its muscle movements too!" Darius shouted, the veins in his neck bulging.Darius pushed with all his might once more against the Rock Bear's corpse atop his legs. The muscles of both his arms trembled violently, flushing red under a weight pressure that was far too forced. However, his physical system had reached its absolute breaking point. There was no more stamina that could be squeezed out from within his human body.The spiked boar lowered its head position, aiming its p
CHAPTER 82 — Threat from the Ancient Tunnel
Greeek... Kraaak!The cracks on the ground’s surface spread further, weaving a labyrinth of destruction across the floor of the ancient mining crater. Darius, still pinned beneath a massive portion of the Rock Bear’s body, could only stare straight ahead with bated breath. From within the darkness of the collapsed mining tunnels surrounding the crater, pair after pair of glowing red eyes began to manifest continuously.One. Five. Ten. The numbers kept increasing, far exceeding the limits of his logical tolerance.Darius even stopped trying to count when the first figure finally stepped out completely, piercing the thin border mist. A giant boar, standing nearly two meters tall, stomped heavily beneath the dim light of dawn. Its body was wrapped in a thick, coarsely textured layer of black skin, while dozens of gray bone spikes grew protruding irregularly all along its spine down to the base of its tail. A pair of sharply curved tusks extended from its lower jaw, gleaming constantly wi
CHAPTER 81 — Escalation of the Forbidden Forest Trial
Darius lowered his center of gravity once more, adopting his final combat stance with the remnants of his pure muscle strength. The gaze of his eyes turned incredibly sharp and cold, reflecting the ripples of maturity of a true fighter. "And as long as the existence of this monster before me still breathes and possesses the instinct to kill... then my position in this place... cannot yet be tactically categorized as safe."Far above on the branch of the tall tree, Aldric slowly straightened his torso from his leaning position. For the first time since this extreme battle simulation was held since this morning, his arms unclasped from the folds in front of his black cloak's chest.The movement was made not because he intended to leap down and intervene in the match to save his servant's life from the final frenzy phase of the bear. Rather, it was because he wanted to see with a clearer degree of accuracy from the heights; to see with his own pair of eyes what kind of execution decision
CHAPTER 80 — The Tendon-Severing Slash
The Rock Bear roared loudly one last time, releasing all the remaining supply of earth mana within its core, then lunged forward carrying a massive wave of destructive pressure. Darius stamped his foot as well, running to meet the storm without any intention of pulling back his steps or evading to a safe perimeter.The two silhouettes sped fast, cutting the distance separating them within seconds. Exactly one meter before the fatal frontal collision could occur, Darius dropped his entire body structure low to the ground, rolling tactically through the gap beneath the sweep of the monster's front leg.Slash!The tip of the bear’s sharp claw still managed to tear the remaining skin on his back, splashing fresh red fluid into the air. However, Darius refused to lose his combat momentum. While spinning his body on the muddy ground, he raised his greatsword with a two-handed grip reinforced by all the remnants of his energy circulation, then slashed the iron blade with all his might toward
CHAPTER 79 — The Former Slave's Free Choice
The Rock Bear was now precisely a few meters in front of his position, ready to launch a fatal stomp. Darius tried hard to force his leg muscles up, but his motor system failed to support the weight of his armor, causing him to crash heavily back to the ground."Ugh!""Darius! Enough! Don’t force your body anymore!" Nero shouted, his tone filled with genuine panic across the mental frequency."Shut up... don’t interrupt my thoughts, Nero..." Darius hissed hoarsely.He tried once more with the entirety of his remaining mental will. This time, he drove the tip of his greatsword into the dirt, using it as an external support staff to drag his torso upright. His entire physical structure shook violently like a leaf caught in a storm, but he managed to stand tall once again.The bear growled low, glaring sharply at its prey that refused to fall."I... I cannot die in a cursed place like this yet," Darius said with faltering breath, his eyes locking straight onto his opponent's yellow pupil
You may also like
The Ultimate Talent Adam Spencer
ShadowKatake36.0K viewsChanging Life With Instant Wealth System
Dee Hwang 23.1K viewsThe Legendary System
Universeleap21.1K viewsMy Sniper System
kuhaku_sora24.6K viewsThe End of the World has Come
visk 45 viewsThe Gravity-Well Cripple: Sovereign of the Absolute Anchor
Tee Inara 240 viewsOmniX System: Return of the Scorned Son-in-law
Heavenly zaint356 viewsThe Debt Vision
Anjali126 views