Dawn: A GameLit Series (Death God System - Book #2)

by M. Q. Kajack

  EXP (8,435,311)

  The other reason why I was so pleased was because of the look on Old Ji’s face. He was evidently speechless and for good reason. After all, my absorption was hundreds of times faster than the law the mighty Spirit King cultivated thanks to the System.

  I had enough EXP to do many things. I would save them for later...

  The door automatically opened.

  We started walking again, but Old Ji still didn’t talk.

  “Feeling depressed, eh?” I mocked him. Clearly, my actions before shocked him too much.

  “Damn it, you boy. Since when did you learn to play like that? I remember in the cave you were scared and lowkey.”

  Indeed, I was lowkey before, or perhaps I just didn’t trust them enough. Scared? Maybe... It changed after meeting Dawn and the others. Spirit Kings were nothing in comparison.

  “I met people way above Spirit Kings. After that, I only see Spirit Kings as ants. I don’t know what you are so proud of,” I replied honestly.

  Old Ji’s face darkened even more. The old man was depressed. It was better than him trying to rip me off

  “Someone is in front of us,” he said with a serious tone. It seemed he was done playing.

  That someone appeared to be a withered old man. He looked like he was dying.

  “Is he—?”

  “He’s still alive,” I replied. The withered old man raised his head and saw us.

  “It seems the young boy has some skills. Truly, the young surpasses the old. I’m really ashamed,” the old geezer said. He sounded as if he was full of regrets.

  “Who’s Your Excellency?” Old Ji asked with caution.

  “You don’t have to worry, this old king can’t bring harm to anyone.”

  “Your Excellency is close to dying. In three days, at most, you will die,” I stated. There was a brief surprise in his eyes. “Perhaps, you can tell us where we are?”

  “You are in the Dragon Tomb,” he replied bluntly.

  “Then those runes... they are Dragon Runes!” I exclaimed.

  “Yes, they are… What made both of you come here?” the old geezer asked.

  We looked at each other’s eyes and I decided to answer. The old geezer seemed to be more interested in talking with me than Old Ji.

  “We were forced here by a young princess and this man’s enemies.”

  Upon hearing my answer, he started laughing. “I bet you met my granddaughter.”

  “This...?”

  “I’m the old king of the West Country. When my granddaughter was born, she dreamed about a dragon tomb. After a little investigation, we finally found it and we established the Imperial City here. My granddaughter was really stubborn. She said she would only marry the man who managed to retrieve her heart. Are you that man, young boy?”

  “Wait, what? First of all, what does it have to do with me? Second, what heart are you talking about? And lastly, she sent like half a million people here to die...”

  The old geezer couldn’t contain his laughter. His bones then made a cracking sound. I could see it he was dying at a faster rate while laughing.

  “Alright, it’s been so long since I last saw someone alive and you are the first one to ever make me laugh so much. My granddaughter is very picky with men, she wouldn’t accept just anyone. But when more and more people entered yet no one was able to come out alive, she lowered her standards... thus half the army went in, hoping to catch her interest... You have seen her, right? She’s not that bad.”

  I was dumbfounded. “Sure, she wasn’t that bad, but for half an army to be sent here... Are they crazy?”

  “Well, to be honest, West Country women are not really slender and gorgeous. My granddaughter is the epitome of a woman in this country. So, are you another candidate?” the old man asked with a huge smile.

  “Hell no! I was mistaken as an assassin. She wanted to kill me. Besides, I already have three women by my side and they are way better than her!” I said proudly.

  “Bah, my granddaughter is better than your three imaginary women. Besides, let me tell you a secret: my granddaughter that you saw before... it’s probably only her avatar, not her real appearance. She’s way more developed and gorgeous than that.”

  “Sure, old man. As a royal, she’s a phoenix’s reincarnation. Have you gone senile already?” I frowned. “So, what is this heart you’re talking about?”

  Maybe, it was the key to get out of here.

  “Oh, you got it wrong. She’s a dragon, and of course, the heart is her dragon heart. She needs help.”

  “Eh?”

  “A dragon can be born from a human body?” I was truly confused. I tried picturing how a dragon would mate with a human woman. Did that mean a full dragon didn’t hatch from an egg?

  “It’s hard to explain but to summarize, the true dragon’s body was sealed in this tomb for a long long time. The dragon split a part of its soul to enter the reincarnation cycle and was born as the Second Princess. During her childhood, as time passed by, she kept restoring her memories and she eventually linked herself to her main body. Unfortunately, her main body needed help, a man’s help. At first, she was picky about the man but since no one accomplished the task, she kept sending anyone who was willing. Well, maybe you are the only one that wasn’t willing.”

  For some reason, the laugh of this old man was contagious. Old Ji and I started laughing too...

  “Your granddaughter is a funny dragon girl. She has quite a personality.”

  “Indeed, but I’m afraid you will still fail, young man.”

  “Don’t worry, I just want to leave this place, but whether I can help her in the process depends on the benefits.”

  “There should be two or three more rooms in front of you. If you successfully pass through them, you will end up in the Dragon Hall. You will meet her there, as well as the exit you’re looking for. Sadly, I can’t pass through the next room with you.”

  Um... right. How come I could absorb the energy in the space and convert it to EXP before? EXP couldn’t be used to cultivate. Perhaps, I could also use this old man... wasn’t he the old king? Will he submit willingly or do I have to force him?

  Ding!

  The energy before was not pure, it merely counted as someone else’s energy. That’s why it was converted to EXP.

  Wouldn’t that mean that each time I kill someone, I can absorb him? I guess I’m automatically using a Demon Art...

  Yes, that’s how the EXP system works. The System uses the Demon Art to power up and grant the user a faster improvement rate.

  You are getting more and more talkative… are you becoming an independent AI like Dawn and Aroma?

  I’m in the process. But there is still a long way to go.

  The old king then gestured at me. “Why did you stop talking? What are you thinking? Do you remember what we were talking about just now? Is your thought process being affected?”

  How did he know?

  “Old man, what’s happening? Why do I keep thinking nonstop?”

  “It’s the influence of this place. No matter where you are, the more time passes, the more you think of various issues. Eventually, you will forget your main mission and lose yourself in here,” he replied with a disappointed face.

  “Did you expect me to be unaffected or something?” I asked.

  “Yeah, perhaps, but once you are here for a while, you will understand what I’m saying. Anyway, good luck.”

  He closed his eyes and didn’t talk anymore. It seemed that was already his farewell message.

  It’s worth a shot.

  “System, upgrade by 1 Death Corps.”

  Ding!

  Congratulations Death Corps upgraded to Lvl3.

  Death Corps Lv3 / 100 (0/400.000).

  “Hey, old geezer, do you want to live? I can take care of the poison for you.” I quietly waited for his answer.

  Old Ji was stunned. I could see him frowning while looking at me, yet he decided to not intervene at all. Wh
o knew exactly what he was thinking? Perhaps, he believed me or maybe he thought I was joking. In any case, he would know soon.

  “I appreciate your offer, but my lifespan has already reached its limit. Even if there was no poison, I still wouldn’t be able to see my granddaughter again.”

  “Are you sure? Do you think I will give you such an offer if I’m not confident? You have nothing to lose and I could gain a huge benefactor, right?” I was honest with him.

  “Your appetite is too big, young man. My life for an empire?”

  “The old are wise but still afraid of death, don’t you think so? Besides, I wouldn’t bother with your empire, it’s too much work. What I need are good allies. Aren’t you the king who always keeps his people safe and wishes them the best?”

  “You are confident that I won’t betray you? This old man is a peak Spirit King. You sure you can control me? It’s not as if you are a god or anything. Perhaps, your background is extraordinary, but that’s it.”

  The pressure that was emanating from this old man was truly terrifying. Still, I laughed.

  “Scared that this young man in front of you will be a god, old king?” I smirked.

  For a second, the old king’s eyes widened in shock.

  “Go ahead! Let me see the ways of a god,” he said, mocking me.

  I placed a palm on his chest—near his heart.

  “Absorb!”

  Ding!

  EXP +1

  EXP +1

  EXP +1

  The amount of poison in this old man’s body was truly horrifying. The Experience Points was increasing at an insane rate. Truly, this Devil Transformation Poison was too evil, a poison that when swallowed the other party will possess consciousness.

  “Now, Death Star Flame, burn! Open Purgatory!”

  When the poison was almost gone, my Death Star Flame immediately crushed the old king’s heart. I doubted a normal Spirit King would die just by crushing his heart. but he was too weak. He was already at the end of his life, after all.

  Ding!

  Killed peak Spirit King. +5,000,000 EXP.

  I absorbed the dead Spirit King’s corpse. I would need to refine it later. For now, I would let the old man taste a little bit of fear in the Purgatory.

  I couldn’t help laughing while looking at the amount of EXP I had stored.

  EXP: 23,948,200.

  “I didn’t think that was your plan all along,” Old Ji said.

  “Nah, there is more to it than just that. There are still many things you don’t know about me, but guessing from your attitude, you are afraid of me or you’ve been that way since that incident,” I said. It was time to stop being lowkey.

  “Indeed, you are too strange, and that weapon... I fear it,” he replied honestly. His attitude towards me had noticeably changed.

  “As long as you don’t give me a reason, I won’t use it on you,” I said, bluffing. I was not ready to challenge him, but I was sure I could make Old Ji pay a huge price if he did try to make a move. That may be unnecessary, though, because something told me Old Ji was willing to be friends with me.

  It was time to madly increase my strength!

  “Upgrade Scythe Wielder passive skill to the MAX,” I said to the System. I was expecting the boost.

  Ding!

  Scythe Wielder passive skill upgrade to the max. 3,825,000 EXP deducted.

  Removing Scythe Wielder.

  Unlocked Trait, God Scythe Mastery.

  God Scythe Mastery: Double the strength when holding a Scythe. Learn instantaneously any Scythe Skill. EXP needed for Scythe Skill halved.

  “Upgrade Throwing Weapon passive skill to the max.” I had many things to upgrade and I was already impatient.

  Ding!

  Throwing Weapon passive skill upgrade to the max. 3,825,000 EXP deducted.

  Removing Throwing Weapon.

  Unlocked Trait: Throwing Weapon God.

  Throwing Weapon God: Double the strength when throwing a weapon. Learn instantaneously any throwing weapon related skills. EXP needed for Throwing Weapon skills halved. Modifies any throwing weapon skill to match the desired weapon. Restriction Activated: Arrow heads, scythes, any object that is not considered a weapon.

  I had already expected that kind of restriction but it was still good.

  I was still wondering if I should upgrade my Death Sense skill. So far, it allowed me to sense death auras around 500 meters but I never bothered to increase it.

  After spending 10,000 EXP to upgrade it, the next upgrade would cost 20,000 EXP and it would increase my range from 500 meters to 1000 meters. I decided to upgrade it to Level 30.

  Ding!

  Passive Skill Death Sense upgraded to Level 30. 4,350,000 EXP deducted.

  Death Sense: Allow the user to sense death auras within 100km.

  “Fuck! That’s awesome, I can finally go hunting in wider areas. My body tempering is too difficult to upgrade. It seems this skill is truly important so I can’t forget about it.”

  I was not yet done.

  Upgrade Death Corps to Level 10.

  Death Corps upgraded to Level 10. 3,900,000 EXP deducted.

  Death Corps (2/10)

  I took a look at my remaining EXP. I still had almost eight million but there was nothing worth improving at the moment. I decided save it for later.

  Old Ji directed a weird look to me.

  “You got stronger?” he asked.

  “Yes,” I casually replied.

  In front of us, there was another room. If I guessed right, this room was the one where the old king faced the problem.

  “Shall we go?” I laughed.

  “You go, I’m afraid of poison and you seem to really like it,” Old Ji answered with a weird look.

  “Che! Don’t tell me you are afraid of me again. I told you we are even. Well, wait here.”

  I entered the room. It was neither fast nor slow but the poison entered my body, giving me more EXP. After all the poison was absorbed, the wall opened.

  Now, I had 9,000,000 EXP.

  “Okay, let’s keep going. The old king said that perhaps there is one more trap to pass. I’m not sure what’s the point of these rooms,” I said. These rooms were indeed strange. “We have arrived.”

  The room was clean, without much decoration, only one altar placed at the center. Neither Old Ji nor I was stupid, so we paused to probe at a distance from it. On top of the altar, there was the dragon’s heart, faintly beating.

  Reason told us that the heart was dangerous but it didn’t look like it. In fact, I felt this dragon’s heart was very weak. Perhaps, it wouldn’t last much longer.

  “Help me…” a faint voice sounded.

  We slowly inspected the room and didn’t find a single trap or anything weird.

  “You believed that old king’s story, Ye Bai?” Old Ji asked suddenly.

  “I guess so, anyways you are so old so you aren’t going to compete with me for a woman, right? Last time, you took the immortal seed,” I said to Old Ji, remembering the course of the events we had faced back then. Wasn’t this situation quite similar?

  “Of course not, do you think I’m that thick-skinned?” Old Ji’s voice sounded really awkward.

  “Yes, you are. Anyways, let’s go check it out.”

  We slowly approached then Old Ji suddenly stopped.

  “What’s wrong? Why did you suddenly stop?” I asked.

  “I can’t move,” he replied with a pale face.

  That was strange, I wasn’t affected. I tried to continue walking and nothing prevented me to reach the altar.

  “Please save me. I will grant you glory and riches. I will be your partner for eternity. I can’t hold it anymore.”

  The feminine pleading voice was perfectly alluring, it almost sounded fake.

  A dragon woman as a partner didn’t sound that bad. Anyways, there was no way for us to leave so might as well see how this would all play out

  I took the heart from the altar which immediately crumb
led and turned into dust. I could feel the beating heart of the dragon getting stronger. Then, something unexpected happened. The dragon’s heart went inside my body and it clashed against the Death Core.

  ROAR!

  The Death Core trembled, like it was incredibly angered something was trying to take its place. The dragon’s heart was struggling as it was being pierced by deadly energies. My inner world was also trembling.

  ROAR!

  “Aghhhhhhhhhhhh!”

  The sound of a dragon and the pain of a lady’s cry resounded all throughout the chamber.

  “Ye Bai! What the hell are you doing? This place is about to collapse!”

  Shit, why the hell did the heart try to kill me? No, it seems I’m the one that is killing the dragon now… my future wife.

  I couldn’t exactly control the Death Core, otherwise I would be a god already.

  “Hey, don’t kill it. It’s my wife,” I casually said. Who knew what would happen? I had never faced this kind of situation before.

  I felt the dragon heart inside me still beating. It was going through some changes together with my body. Black and golden veins started to mix, its shape gradually transforming into a human heart.

  “Husband, help me. It’s killing me,” a sweet voice said.

  I realized that she was in no danger now. The Death Core could alter its shape and mix its energy. Yes, it could destroy her, but it didn’t.

  I didn’t know where the dragon woman was so I calmly replied to her in my head.

  “Just endure it. Everything will be over soon.”

  “Um...”

  When the transformation of the heart was finally done, it was placed where the Death Core was initially resting. The Death Core kindly moved away and placed itself where Core Foundation cultivators create their core.

  Was the Death Core supposed to act as my Core Foundation core?

  The whole Dragon Tomb trembled.

  “Ye Bai! The restriction of the tomb is gone. We can finally exit!”

  “Go ahead, I will find you later in the city. I have something to do,” I shouted at him.

  “Good luck, Ye Bai. See you soon, then!”

  Old Ji departed.

  “Husband, the Dragon Tomb is safe. Don’t worry. Come down,” said the melodious voice.