Healing System

Chapter 208 Trial of the Golden Dragon Sect (12)

The colors began morphing until, finally, the vivid surroundings once again appeared.

However, upon seeing the sight, his eyes widened.

Unlike the previous trial area, where he could see the entirety of the surroundings, this one was different.

All he could see were mountains—ones similar in shape to those he had seen when he first arrived in the Murim world.

And yet, there were also some irregularities, such as technological scrap metal scattered all around him.

It was a strange place he found himself in—mountains and trees, likely in a very deep part of some kind of forest.

However, normal logic did not apply to him, so with a flap of his wings, he flew upwards, glancing at the ground below.

Just as he thought, it was indeed massive—he couldn't see where the trees ended. The same went for the mountains—there was no end in sight.

'Is this another one of those real worlds you were talking about?' he questioned the system.

Looks like it, though the trial's contents are a bit strange. By "core," it most likely means either his essence or an actual mana core.

'Elaborate?'

One can split a small chunk of their mana core and save it for future use. Most don't do it because, once removed, it can't be put back together. As for their mana core, one has the chance to preserve themselves when they feel like they are about to die, the system patiently explained, pausing at the very end.

Noticing this pause and the way the question was answered, Michael couldn't help but ask, 'Why didn't you save your mana core then? If you're able to materialize yourself already, what stopped you from escaping your death?'

It's not that simple—the timing must be perfect, and certain preparations have to be made. I wasn't expecting to be killed that day… or any day, for that matter.

'Right… sorry,' Michael apologized before sweeping his gaze over the forest, trying to find anything off.

Yet there was nothing. It was just a simple forest—the only odd thing about it was its size. Experience new stories on empire

'Pick a direction,' Michael said, unsure of where to go.

Just go north. Seems like that's the direction you were pointed to when you first arrived anyway.

Understanding its logic, he decided to go for it—not like he'd lose out on anything by going in blind somewhere else.

Flying above the trees, he constantly scanned for irregularities. That was until he finally arrived before the mountain range.

Not expecting much, he crossed it. What met his eyes was an even wider landscape than he had seen just now—and once again, a forest.

But this time, there was actually some movement.

Taking a glance at the map, he noticed several hundred red dots circling one another—some even disappearing from time to time.

'A fight between monsters?' Michael mused before making his way over to them.

And he was right. There were indeed monsters fighting, yet their appearance made him a little distraught.

They looked like lizards, yet at the same time, they had features of dragons, such as scales and wide wings.

One thing came to mind as he saw that: wyverns. However, that seemed a little far-fetched.

Therefore, he resorted to asking the one person who likely knew about it—the system.

'So, are they some lizard people? Or a species of dragon?'

They are Drakes—newborns at that. Easy to kill since they're not strong, but once grown up, they could actually turn into dragons.

'Oh… Should I go help them then? Or what?' He glanced down toward them. One side had red-scaled Drakes, while the other had blue.

Both sides seemed to be fighting for their lives, shooting fire blasts out of their mouths while also clawing each other to death.

It was fairly gruesome, but not something Michael wasn't used to.

After just a few moments, he decided to let the fight play out.

From the looks of it, the red-scaled Drakes were winning by a landslide—nearly doubling the blue side's numbers.

But just as he thought that, one of the blue Drakes suddenly dashed forward, and with its sharp tail, cleaved a few red Drakes in half.

Before the others could even react, it followed up with a fireball from its mouth, incinerating the remaining ones as well.

'Damn… that was some firepower,' he whistled inwardly. Its power was around Tier 3, from what he could tell, yet with its skill, it was able to completely dominate the opponents.

Now that the fight had finished, it was time for him to go down.

He spread out his wings and soon descended, trying to look as imposing as possible. Yet they did not react to him in the slightest.

The only Drake who shot him a glance was the same one who had just killed everyone.

But knowing that his options were limited—and they were the only semblance of life so far—he decided to begin asking questions.

"Have you heard of the Golden Dragon?"

As soon as his words fell, every single Drake—including the skilled one—flinched, slowly turning their scaly heads toward him.

One of them stepped up and spoke. "What does the Black Dragon clan want with the Golden Dragons?"

Its tone contained a certain weariness that Michael did not bother correcting.

Whoever these Black Dragons were, they seemed to hold some major influence.

"Nothing much. I would just like to know where to find them, is all," Michael replied with an innocent smile, making the rest of the Drakes recoil in surprise.

They began whispering amongst themselves. By infusing mana into his ears, he was able to hear exactly what they were talking about.

"There is a great war coming…"

"The Black Dragons are back…"

'So it's some bullshit then,' he thought to himself, finding the situation quite amusing.

One good look at his strength, and they would figure out he was nothing but a fraud—but the wings seemed to be a pretty good deterrent.

'Now, how should I exploit them…?'