"Okay," Drayken replied with calmness in his tone. He had already expected the king's visit.
He stood up and went to the windows, peering at the five blood moons hanging in the sky:
"I just didn't expect that I would be invited in the nighttime?" he shrugged with nonchalance. "Is he going to silence me or something?"
There was a little alarm ringing in his heart; one had to be very attentive to their surroundings, otherwise they wouldn't even know when or how they died!
Especially since this place was this dangerous world, and he was a weakling even now.
If he was attacked, then he would definitely die right there and then—there was likely no way for him to survive if they chose to kill him, the only possibility of survival was if he could call back the clone.
"Oh, well." Shaking his distracting thoughts away from his head, Drayken walked towards the door and opened it. Immediately, a man in brightly shining armour appeared in front of him, with his left eye scarred—he looked rather fierce.
"I am the captain of the eagle guards, Conrad," Conrad introduced himself.
"...I see."
"Follow me." He scoffed and went away on his own.
"..." Drayken stood there for a moment with a grumble, and he quickly followed him.
Conrad's pace was fast and steady. Although it may have looked like he was walking, his speed was as fast as a car going 60 miles per hour, quickly speeding up without delay.
Drayken just shrugged and followed in his own pace.
Soon, he was led to a castle—large, towering, and adorned with gold and diamonds, exuding grandeur and majesty.
At the entrance stood two statues of a peculiar creature.
This creature had the head of a dragon and a long, slender tail, but its body was that of a human, holding two spears in its hands.
And mirroring their stance were the two guards positioned before the doors.
"Halt!" they commanded in unison, their expressions fierce.
Conrad took out an emblem from his back pocket and showed it to them, immediately prompting the guards to bow in place. The door quickly opened, letting them enter.
Drayken's eyes were glued to the statue. There was something strange about it that he just couldn't put his finger on. It felt as if it were alive and breathing instead of a non-living entity!
"Curious?" Conrad snarled.
"A little."
"It's not alive, but it is considered the power of the Dragon God."
"Dragon God?" Drayken felt strange at his heart.
"That's right, Dragon God," Conrad muttered with disdain. "How ignorant. If it weren't for your situation, you would have been executed just for not knowing about the Dragon God."
"So, are you going to tell me?"
The two walked down the hallway, and Drayken felt increasingly annoyed as he walked further.
"Dragon God is the God of our race, the supreme being who maintains and helps the survival of our entire race. They are the hope and prayers of countless dragons ever since we were born into this world."
"Hmm," Drayken froze on the spot, his curiosity piqued. "You mean that the Dragon God is the manifestation of the Dragons will?"
"That's correct."
Conrad spoke without pausing. "You can technically call them the will of the entire Dragon Race."
"Are there other Gods for other races as well?"
"Of course, humans have human gods."
"I heard there are other races. Don't they have a god?"
"No," Konrad shook his head. "Every other species are too weak to have gods. But there used to be gods, before the era of blood."
"Era of blood?"
"Those times were when every race fought for hegemony, and as you can see, who won in the end."
"I see."
A huge, gigantic door was suddenly opened, and Drayken looked at the darkness in front of him.
"Go on, enter." Conrad pushed him from behind and forced him to enter, then locked the door. "I hope you survive, interesting human."
Drayken was surrounded by darkness and was stunned for a moment.
"Isn't this the place where I will meet the king?" he was stunned in his heart. There was no sound, no light, and everything was filled with emptiness and nothing else.
It was like a void, devoid of everything and anything.
'This seems similar to the training I got before the tournament,' Drayken mumbled in his heart.
Actually, Dragon form was banned in the tournament, so their actual draconic power was not really shown. Otherwise, Drayken wouldn't even have been able to compete with Valen using his then Rank-1 Dragon strength.
Just as he was about to use his battle sense, a terrifying pressure descended upon him. The air became heavy, and Drayken found it difficult to even breathe!
His pupils widened as he looked in front of him. He could faintly feel the source…
The gazes of countless beings fixed upon him.
These stares radiated a coldness and authority that was both lofty and commanding.
Drayken felt a cold sweat trickle down his forehead. He lowered his head slightly.
"I greet the Dragon King."
Suddenly, the darkness dissipated, and the room was bathed in light.
Drayken's gaze swept across the luxurious space before him, his eyes drawn to a red-layered carpet of gold.
"You may raise your head," the regal voice of the Dragon King commanded, and Drayken obeyed.
Before him stood numerous thrones, each occupied by beings whose mere presence radiated a terrifying pressure. Eleanor was among them.
At the pinnacle of it all sat the Dragon King, his expression unreadable as he regarded Drayken.
"I have called you here to fulfil the promise I made in the tournament."
"What is it about, Dragon King?" Drayken asked curiously and boldly, despite feeling like the gazes on him seemed to have become slightly hostile.
"Haha, I have noticed that your bloodline has changed to a lightning one, but your base spell is Aura. This will restrict you, so I will allow you to learn Arts," the Dragon King spoke with a smile.
Before Drayken could speak further, a loud sound came from one of the thrones. A middle-aged man stood up.
"You cannot do this, Your Majesty."
"And tell me, Duke Igrish, why can I not?"
"Only the members who have royal blood running through their veins can learn Arts. This is one of the important factors that allows the royal family to maintain their status. But now, you will allow this creature, who didn't even have our bloodline from birth, to learn it?"
"Hmm, you are correct about that. It didn't seem appropriate for one to learn this knowledge without having our lineage." The Dragon King touched his chin in contemplation for a moment:
"What should we do? Hmm, what shall we do?"
Eleanor raised her hand with a smile on her face.
"Your Majesty, Drayken has been prophesied by the Dragon God himself to lead us. Wouldn't it be appropriate that the best Dragon man gets the best Dragon woman?"
"This is preposterous! We don't know whether this man is the one who will truly lead us. How could we allow our Dragon Princess to be married to him?" Duke Igrish roared in rage.