Chapter 1
The stench of blood and vomit filled the previously white room, now only a trail of red liquid dripping down from the wall, forming a blood trail.
A river of blood covered the ground, leaving no space for the previously white floor to show, and a faint red bulb gave the room a sinister, ominous reddish glow.
It was a torture room.
In the middle of the room, a square-shaped, blood-stained fighting platform stood.
On the platform, a young boy was tied upside down with a rope connected to the ceiling.
Two youngsters, identical to each other, were hitting the boy with all kinds of skills. The punches seemed like they wouldn't stop any moment now.
The boys stood opposite each other, punching the boy tied like a punching bag. It looked like they were sharing hits, tossing the boy from one to the other with punches and kicks. The tied-up boy was bloody from head to toe, looking like a blood-covered creature. The only way to identify the boy as human was by his figure.
The punches continued until one of the boys transformed his hands into claws similar to beasts. The boy with the claws sank his sharp, elongated fingers into the tied-up bloody figure's chest and drew deep lines on it.
"Aghjhhhh!!" the boy screamed, but his scream was futile as the room was soundproof.
"Why don't you commit suicide?" The boy with the claws said while thrusting his claws deeper again, and another batch of screams ensued.
"You want to make us look like murderers, huh?" he said again and thrust his claws in once more.
"Aghhhhhh!!!"
The two twins continued their assault on the defenseless figure, and after some time, one of them spoke.
"Take it easy, Liam. We wouldn't want his death to be in our hands, at least not yet," Lewis said.
Although he would like to continue, they could not stand the consequences of their actions.
The bloodied boy glinted with hope. "At least today's section will be over."
"This motherfucker won't commit suicide. This is the only way we could encourage him to take a step forward," Liam said.
They have been doing this for years, but still, the boy won't take his life. Over the years, they have experimented with different types of torture on him. They did numerous tortures, like drowning him in water and shocking him with electric cords.
They sometimes took a step forward and did inhuman things to him, like chopping his hands off and healing them again over and over.
Since the warning from their mother, they have been doing this. According to their mother, this boy has more chances at the throne than any of them.
Then, mysteriously, the boy couldn't channel his dragon gene again. Since then, they tried all manner of torture on the boy, but it seemed like it was not working.
They initially thought he would have committed suicide years back. Nonetheless, he was still alive and kicking.
After a few more kicks, they finally stopped. Liam cut the rope holding the boy, and he fell hard, hitting the ground with his head.
"Lewis, let's get out of here," Liam said, and the Twins walked out of the room, leaving the bruised boy alone.
The boy slowly untied himself. He dragged his bruised body across the bloody ground.
His blood.
He slowly twisted the bloody doorknob, and he went out. He could feel a metallic sensation in his mouth, but the taste didn't seem strange to him anymore over the years, as it had become a sort of a familiar liquid taste in his mouth.
The boy slowly dragged himself across the lobby sluggishly, with the deep claw punctures all over his body.
The long hallway walls had multiple paintings of dragons, kings, and past generals that were lined up in a straight, orderly manner along the entire hallway.
He halted his steps at the entrance of a large double door plated with gold, and a golden dragon's eye could be seen carved in the middle of the door.
The door automatically opened, and he walked inside.
He walked into a hall that had hard, rough concrete floors, and multiple crystal-clear blue pools could be seen scattered all over the hall.
The blue pools gave the room a slightly bluish glow.
The bloodied boy gently stripped off his clothes and stepped into one of the pools. Immediately after he stepped in, the blue glow became stronger and denser.
A few minutes later, he walked out of the pool. His skin was rejuvenated, and there was no trace of any injuries on his body. He put on his clothes and left.
This has become his routine for years now.
When he got to his room, he lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling before he slowly closed his eyes and drifted off.
The following day, "Your Highness, it is time," said a middle-aged butler standing at the door of Ethan's room.
Shortly later, he followed the butler into a big hall. Today was a big day for the dragon princes since they were to be assigned a mission today.
Ethan is the fourth prince of the Draconian Empire. He stood at 6'2 with a lean build. His facial features were handsome and delicate.
He looked charming with his black hair that reached all the way to his waist, and coupled with his enchanting pair of gold eyes, he was simply handsome, but over the years, he started losing his charm due to the constant beating.
Although he fought back on numerous occasions, the outcome was the same with him getting trashed.
He was once a genius and a proud prince who reached half-dragon rank 10 at the age of 15. However, his dragon gene was mysteriously sealed. Since then, as if it was planned, he had suffered and been bullied by his half-brothers.
Most of the time he fought and sometimes ended up hitting them with his dragon gene seal, but as time went on, they progressed further and reached higher ranks. And then, the beating he received also increased.
He was nicknamed the "Trash of the Dragon Royal Family" because he was weak, and coupled with the fact that he couldn't channel his dragon gene, he was condemned and subjected to all types of bullying and ridicule over the years.
He had come to accept his fate, but he was determined to live on and one day repay his brothers for their deeds.
Currently, he was walking to the dining room. The servants looked at him with disdain.
He could even hear some whispering about him, but yet, it was these people that sang his praise when he was a genius.
He had lost his respect and honor over the years. The constant ridicule no longer affected him, but still, he preferred not to hear it.
He soon reached a large double door with the familiar golden dragon's eyes embedded in the middle.
In a normal circumstance, the butler is supposed to open the door, but the latter just stood to the side with an arrogant look. Ethan was pretty used to it, so he pushed the door open by himself.
The dining hall was large and spacious, with a dining table of 100 seats. The palace custodian, Aldric, stood at the side of the largest seat, which belongs to the emperor, who has been absent in isolated training for years now, so it was nothing new to the princes or other members of the royal family.
Known to be a powerful individual, Aldric stood about 6'7" tall and was also rumored to be a colossal dragon.
The four princes sat around the table. The firstborn, Kane, sat close to the large seat, followed by the second, who were the twins, and lastly, Ethan.
The firstborn, Kane, with a smug expression on his face, spoke first, "Palace Custodian, can we start the meeting now?"
"OK," answered Aldric, "the mission is to infiltrate the dragon beast's forest and steal its egg. All means are applicable as long as you bring the egg back safely with you."
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This is my first novel, and I hope you like it. And please remember to add it to your library.
Chapter 2"What!? That's suicide!!" Lewis said, almost screaming. Everybody present in the hall thought the same. First of all, dragons are very protective of their offspring, and they wouldn't mind killing a few humans to protect their children.Kane kept his cool, but even he was having an inner dilemma as well. With a smug expression on his face, he said, "We can handle the mission, but I don't think a certain person can," Kane said, tilting his head towards Ethan with a smirk."Well, since he's a member of the royal family and our little brother, we would protect him."If an outsider hears this, they will think Kane is a loving and caring brother, but Ethan knew what he meant. He simply meant because no one will come to your aid, I'd kick your a$$ in the forest.After the mission briefing, they were led into a circular-looking airship, an airship that was empowered with beast crystals. It simply floats in the air, so it does not need many mechanisms.The Dragon Empire had amounted
Chapter 3"Now that the trash is dealt with, why don't we hunt some dragon eggs?" Kane said in a cheerful tone as they ventured deeper into the forest.Inside a gloomy cave...Ethan's eyelid slowly twitched slightly before it finally opened."Is this the afterlife?" he asked, but there was no answer, only his voice echoing in the empty cave. He checked himself and discovered that all his bruises were healed."So I am dead?"He sluggishly picked himself up from the ground before he strode deeper into the cave. The cave had skeleton parts scattered all over the ground, and anytime Ethan stepped on one, a squishing sound echoed in the cave, and the bone turned into dust.A fairly large spider web extended from the cave ceiling slowly before it finally landed on Ethan's head."Shit." Ethan jolted back as he violently ruffled his hair. The spider fell to the ground before it hastily crept on top of the bones and disappeared into the dark cave."It's just a spider, huh? I thought it was a s
Chapter 4: Immediately, Ethan woke up. His head throbbed as if someone had used a hammer on it.He slowly stood up from the altar-like platform."Where am I?" Ethan muttered to himself, and the next moment, his memories gradually flooded his empty brain."Was it a success?" Ethan wondered aloud as he checked his body, and he noticed how light and toned his body had become; it felt as though he had gone through an evolution.Ethan swept his gaze around the hall, trying to find the ancient dragon. After looking for some seconds, he called out, "Ancestor."There was no answer, so he called out once more."Ancestor."This time, a voice interrupted him, and it wasn't just any voice because it sounded in his head."I am inside you now," Rowena said aloud in his head."What? how?" A look of surprise crossed Ethan's face."It is my remaining consciousness; it would guide you on how to master your powers, and by the way, you now have a tattoo on your back," Rowena voiced out."Can you please
Chapter 5"Why?" Ethan stared at the strange-looking mask. The mask was separated by black and red on each side. The mask had long horns protruding from the top and long, sharp fangs that extended out of its mouth. Its eyes looked like the eyes of a predator and a demon.T"his mask will be very useful to you. Just trust me. I know what I am doing," Rowena said."You know it better than I do, and it was yours before, anyway."Ethan shrugged and put the mask in his inventory.He passed through various weapons. He halted when he got to the end of the hall. He was awestruck by what he saw next: a contact lens."What the hell is this stuff doing here?" he furrowed his brows."These are the Demi-God's tier. It can evaluate your strengths and attributes. It can also help you use your abilities more easily with just a command. Let me say it is similar to those systems in fantasy novels." Rowena said enthusiastically."There is a downside to this. If it's worn, you won't be able to remove it,
Chapter 6[ User: Ethan Dracon ][ Race: Dragon ][ Rank: Half Dragon Lv1 10 ][ Skills: none ][ Strength: 5 ][ Agility: 5 ][ Stamina: 5 ][ Charm: 50 ][Shop] [Tutorial]“How can I level up?” Ethan asked.“By channeling your dragon gene, as I said before, it’s not a system that gives quests but keeps a tab of your attributes,” Rowena replied.“Wait, why are you the one answering me?” Ethan asked, confused.“I kind of fused with the system, so we are one now,” replied Rowena.“I hope he won’t be able to read my thoughts.” It would be so weird, Ethan thought.“OK, you were talking about channeling.”“Yes, each Draconian has a Dragon core within them. The larger the core, the stronger the dragon becomes. You are supposed to know this,” Rowena said.“I know. I just wanted more insight.” He exited the screen and entered the shop screen. Different kinds of things were listed there.[ Dragon healing pills » 20 points ][ Dragon channeling potions » 100 million points ]He could see some
Chapter 7Ethan had been secluded inside his room, practicing the basics. He could be seen throwing punch after punch in the air, followed by kicks.His movements had become a little swifter since he merged with the ancient dragon.He finally rested after training for two days.He came out of his room, walked past the familiar photo hallway, and stood on the balcony, watching the massive blue ocean.Despite the castle being on a volcano, the air was still fresh, and a sweet lavender scent filled the air.Thud, thud, thud.Ethan heard the sound of footsteps approaching him, accompanied by a deadly killing intent.He felt as if a person was about to stab him from behind, so he turned around. Liam stood there with his hands behind his back.“How did you survive?” Liam squinted his eyes.“Oh, I was saved by our ancestor,” Ethan flashed an annoying smile.“Don’t joke with me!” Liam’s chest heaved up and down. Then, he tried to hold Ethan’s neck, but the latter dodged quickly to the left, c
Chapter 8Currently, Ethan was walking past the huge hallway of the castle. On the walls, various red dragon sculptures could be seen. They were present in all of the hallways.Strange red beast crystals could be seen etched on the ceiling from which light brightened the castles.The hallway was filled with numerous servants, both male and female, in red silk attire with a huge dragon head on their chest.Ethan walked down the hallway, the servants by his side, with his head held high.Someone recently told him to never keep his head down, as that is a sign of weakness. Great men always keep their heads held high, regardless of the situation, and it gives them a confident appearance, at least according to Rowena."Look at him, acting all mighty." The servants mumbled to each other when they walked past him a few meters. But they forgot the dragons had sensitive hearing.Ethan saw Kane coming toward him with a large arrogant smile across his face. He made brief eye contact with him and
Chapter 9“Your mom would have been proud of you if she was here,” Aldric said while tapping on the metal seat by his side.They were currently seated in one of the spectator seat rows.“Well, she is not here, is she?” Ethan said, staring at the empty fighting platform.Aldric flashed a smile. “She was so fond of you, you know.”“That is what you always told me.”Aldric ignored his tone and said, “I know you might be thinking she doesn’t love you.”“She does?”“Yes, she does, and in fact, cherished you more than her own life.” Aldric shifted his gaze to Ethan’s face, who was still staring at the space in front of him.“Any time you get bullied, I feel my heart throbbing. My sister, your mother, sacrificed a lot for you. That is why you need to become powerful so that you can make her proud, and I see you are already making progress.” Aldric stood up and faced Ethan again.“Ethan, stay safe.” And with that, he walked away.Ethan still sat there, staring in the same direction. He needs