In this world, there are no cultivation levels or realms like those found in fantasy novels—at least, not in De Ruo’s memories.
People seem to remember only particularly powerful individuals through word of mouth, such as the human hero, the leader of the northern ice plain’s Titan clan, or the super monster Hydra in a certain forest…
This world only remembers the strong—those who, through their actions, have left an indelible mark with their overwhelming power.
As for who is stronger among them, that’s hard to say. Only rarely do these monstrous beings clash, and each battle is nothing short of legendary.
Take, for example, the epic battle between the Seven-Star Hero and the Black Dragon King Tananoen.
The situation was straightforward: as a violent, bloodthirsty black dragon, Tananoen never ceased its slaughter and feasting. As it grew stronger, its threat to the world became so severe that it was dubbed a “living catastrophe.”
Then, the Seven-Star Hero, Estellaria, stepped forward to vanquish this disaster. That’s all there was to it.
De Ruo channeled his magic to catch a glimpse of his own appearance, curious to see what this brutal monster looked like in human form.
Actually, through his memories, he already knew the answer. When Tananoen used its human transformation magic, it became a rather beautiful, petite girl with pure black dragon bloodline traits: black hair, red eyes, and a pair of ancient-looking horns atop her head.
As for now?
It was the same, except the aura was different, and the left horn was broken.
Tananoen’s consciousness had dissipated, and the soul’s wounds had vanished with it. Now, De Ruo had taken over a body with an extremely pure black dragon bloodline.
In other words, after this rebirth, De Ruo had acquired one of the world’s top-tier talents, along with an incredibly high starting level.
He was currently on the outskirts of a forest, with the option to venture deeper or leave altogether.
After some thought, De Ruo decided to stay put for now.
Although he had naturally mastered the use of magic and adapted to his body’s structure and strength from the start, he still chose to remain in this relatively undisturbed and safe place to observe.
He needed to make some plans and mental preparations for what lay ahead.
Frequent failures and setbacks had taught De Ruo never to celebrate prematurely. He never got carried away with anything and always prepared for the worst.
He casually found a clean patch of grass and sat on a smooth, warm stone that felt like a natural bench.
The name Tananoen was definitely off the table, and De Ruo didn’t suit his new body either. He wanted a new name to symbolize a fresh start.
Let’s go with Aino—Aino Drabak.
As a black dragon, Aino needed to consume the flesh and blood of living beings. Other foods could be eaten but wouldn’t satisfy her hunger.
More importantly, they couldn’t fulfill the desire etched into a black dragon’s very bones.
As an incredibly powerful and temperamental black dragon, Tananoen had a particular hobby: constantly seeking out powerful magical beasts, defeating them, killing them, and then savoring their fresh flesh and blood the moment they died.
In its mind, the stronger the beast, the tastier its meat and the sweeter its blood. This wasn’t uncommon among aggressive, dangerous species, but Tananoen had a unique preference—it particularly enjoyed the taste of humans.
Humans were the most peculiar kind of magical beast. Compared to others, their natural bodies were extremely weak, yet through training and magical enhancement, they could quickly become extraordinarily powerful.
Tananoen had always favored the taste of humans, much like how some people have a sweet tooth or others prefer a vegetarian diet.
It just had a taste for that.
As for Aino, truthfully, she didn’t find it too hard to accept the idea of eating what used to be her own kind.
In her view, race didn’t define anything—as long as she had a clear conscience.
But harming humans was undoubtedly troublesome because, compared to other races, humans were more socially connected, and incidents involving them were more likely to spark investigations within their communities. Moreover, Aino merely “didn’t mind” eating humans; she wasn’t enthusiastic about it. If she could substitute with safer, more easily obtainable food, she naturally wouldn’t target humans.
She raised her hand and channeled her magic, conjuring a blazing flame out of thin air.
With a mere thought, a massive boulder shattered, leaving a deep crater in the ground.
It was like something out of a sci-fi movie from her previous life.
And this was just the remnants of Tananoen’s power. What kind of might did it possess in its prime?
—
Carter was an ordinary adventurer. Today, as usual, he entered the forest to hunt some magical beasts or gather some spiritual herbs to sell at the market for money.
Few people ventured into the forest as frequently as he did because, for adventurers, each trip meant risking their lives—it was all too easy to lose one’s life. Typically, adventurers traveled in groups, made thorough preparations, and aimed to complete enough tasks in one go to last them a month or two without needing to return.
But Carter was an oddity. He always went alone, usually entering the forest in the morning and returning the next afternoon, only to set out again the following day.
In the words of his peers, he was a “reckless weirdo.”
Of course, Carter wasn’t a madman who didn’t value his life. He had his reasons for acting this way. His wife, Molly, had contracted a strange illness. They had consulted countless doctors, churches, and even eccentric alchemists, but nothing worked.
In the end, they relied on expensive healing potions to barely sustain her life. This had long since drained their modest savings, forcing Carter to take on high-frequency jobs while constantly searching for clues to a cure.
The area he was in now was quite peripheral, with few powerful magical beasts. Given Carter’s strength, he usually only encountered danger deeper in the forest, so he walked with relative ease.
As he walked, Carter suddenly stopped, squinting his eyes to sense something. There was something off about the place ahead.
It seemed there was energy emanating from a spiritual herb, and it was of a high grade. To think that such a rare spiritual herb could appear in this outer region!
Carter quickly drew his short sword and followed the sensed aura to locate its source.
As a seasoned adventurer with over a decade of experience, Carter soon found the spiritual herb emitting the energy. It was a nearly mature Nine-Striped Manfruit, valuable enough to make adventurers fight tooth and nail for it.
“Looks like today’s my lucky day,” Carter muttered, taking a deep breath and tensing his muscles as he moved forward.
Such natural treasures could be sensed by adventurers, and naturally, by magical beasts and other races as well. For this spiritual fruit to have grown to maturity here without being noticed was impossible.
Therefore, in the vicinity, it was highly likely that…
“Stop.”
A clear female voice rang out, but no figure appeared to accompany it.
Hearing a human voice didn’t relax Carter; instead, it made his heart tighten.
Magical beasts had low intelligence and generally didn’t engage in trickery, making them straightforward to deal with.
Moreover, when guarding a spiritual herb, these beasts often just wanted to drive away intruders without pursuing or killing them. So, dealing with such beasts was actually less dangerous than usual.
Humans, on the other hand, were different. Their hearts were unpredictable.
And besides, it wasn’t only humans who could speak the human language.
