https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-441-Dragon-Oath-Mage-s-Ascension/13676858/
Chapter 442: Misha's Encounter
When the smoke cleared, the three Players had already completed their Ascension.
As the only ones bearing only the “Human Base Panel,” their transformation paled in comparison to Misha’s—whose awakening, as a “Child of the Elements,” had been nothing short of cataclysmic.
Xia Ye Qiu Yu, Art Is Explosion, and Ai Long Ru Feng each bore crimson-brown Dragon Horns erupting from their temples, their ear tips frayed into pointed, draconic flares. Their eyes had transformed into vertical pupils blazing with flickering Flame Light—radiating an unmistakable Dragon arrogance. The Pact seals that had once bound them dissolved into nothingness, only to reappear across their skin in the form of intricate, glowing runes. These magical sigils pulsed like living veins, weaving crimson-gold patterns over their flesh.
“Beautiful!”
“Look at the appearance—perfect!”
The two female Players couldn’t help but gasp in awe.
But Ai Long Ru Feng, standing slightly apart, wore a crestfallen expression. He muttered under his breath, voice barely audible—just for himself.
“Promised me a full Half-Dragon body… and this? A human version? What kind of joke is this?”
“Waaah… my Half-Dragon body…”
“How am I supposed to return to the Guild? They’ll laugh me to death! After all that effort, not even a dragon head!”
Yet Xia Ye Qiu Yu was the first to recover. Without hesitation, she dropped to one knee, her head bowed low before the Emperor now standing before her.
“Thank you, Your Majesty, for your boundless grace!”
“We shall be your most devoted followers, your most loyal Servants!”
“Your Strength is like the endless sea, your form like a mountain, your Wisdom like the stars above, and your Gratitude—like the sun’s warm embrace.”
“Yes…”
As a Professional Player, Xia Ye Qiu Yu knew exactly how to maximize her benefits. Especially now that she’d already aligned with a faction. Flattery and feigned loyalty? Always a winning strategy.
The other two Players quickly followed suit, mimicking her posture and words.
On the path of “Loyalty,” Players from the Information Era far outshone the Indigenous Inhabitants. According to Empire Official records, Players now made up nearly eighty percent of the Propaganda Department. Their results were so dominant that they were actively pushing the less imaginative, less bold Indigenous Inhabitants out of key positions.
Kai Xiusu gave a slight nod.
“Last Hope… you will not disappoint me. Do not waste this Strength.”
“Return now—to the Tower of Conflagration. Let the Empire’s Fire burn even brighter.”
With a flick of his hand, the air rippled like water, and the space around them warped. The Players vanished in a flash of light—teleported back to Barras Volcano.
But a desperate voice called out just as they were leaving.
“Your Majesty! Please—wait!”
Ai Long Ru Feng timidly raised his head, grinning with exaggerated reverence.
“Um… Great King Kai Xiusu… before we go… could we… just… glimpse your majestic form?”
“It would be my greatest Honor… my life’s dream…”
By the end, his voice cracked—tears welling in his eyes, sincerity dripping from every word.
“If only I could touch your tail… that would be perfect.”
He rubbed his hands together in silent anticipation, his mind already imagining the moment.
But Kai Xiusu showed no expression at all. With a single, sweeping motion of his hand, a torrent of golden-red fire spiraled around the Players, tearing open the fabric of space and blasting them all back to Barras Volcano.
Whoosh—
Even as they vanished, Ai Long Ru Feng stretched his hand through the rift, his voice breaking with sorrow.
“Your Majesty… just let me see you… just once!”
Noticing the Emperor’s icy demeanor, Misha stepped forward, bowing respectfully.
“Please, Your Majesty, calm yourself.”
“He may simply be too devout… lost his reason in his zeal.”
“I know.”
Kai Xiusu’s reply was brief.
But if one looked closely, a faint twitch danced at the corner of his lips—just barely visible. A hint of weary amusement.
Devotion? Please. As if he hadn’t read the forums.
He knew exactly what kind of people lurked in those 【Dragon Fanatics Association】 home forums—fanatics so obsessed they’d risk losing their Life Force just to touch his tail.
He wasn’t taking that chance.
If such a scene ever actually happened… and ended up on the forum… his carefully cultivated image as a mysterious, powerful Faction Leader would crumble in an instant.
Once the Players were gone, Kai Xiusu shimmered with a cascade of arcane radiance. His body surged outward, expanding in a wave of power—until he stood once more in his true form: a colossal, awe-inspiring Red Dragon.
In human form, Kai Xiusu had always struggled to suppress his overwhelming Aura. But now, as a True Dragon, the restraint vanished. The sheer scale of his presence filled the chamber with palpable dread.
“Human form… is such a suffocating burden.” He stretched his massive frame, unfurling wings wide as the heavens themselves. A deep sigh escaped his maw. “This… this is freedom.”
For over a decade, Kai Xiusu had lived as a Red Dragon in the Alerzage World. He’d grown utterly accustomed to this form. It was the human shape that felt alien—restricted, unnatural.
“Your Majesty.”
Misha gazed upward at the Red Dragon coiled atop the altar, her expression pure reverence.
Kai Xiusu, recalling Misha’s trial in the Elemental Plane, asked casually:
“Misha… did you encounter the Sultan of the City of Brass?”
The City of Brass—the most renowned city in the Elemental Plane of Fire—was the most likely destination for travelers from the Prime Material Plane. It was home to powerful Fire Giants, many of whom considered it their homeland and capital. Even distant colonies swore fealty to the great Sultan, who ruled from his blazing palace.
“I’m sorry, Your Majesty.” Misha shook her head slowly.
After a pause, she continued, her voice tightening.
“The Fire Giants there… they’re arrogant beyond measure.”
“We first took shelter in a city ruled by a Fire Titan Noble—what they call a ‘Malik’—and asked for directions to the City of Brass.”
“But he looked down on me with contempt, calling me a ‘half-breed with human blood.’ And worse…”
Her voice surged with fury. Her eyes flared with Flame Light once more, and her crimson hair whipped like a storm around her.
“He insulted the Ashen Empire… and you, Your Majesty.”
“Oh?” Kai Xiusu’s expression brightened—curious, intrigued.
“And what exactly did he say?”
“He said… he said…”
Misha hesitated, then clenched her jaw.
“He said you’re a mindless beast—no match for a Fire Giant. And worse… he claimed your Empire is doomed to fall.”
A cold silence fell.
Then, with a flick of her hand, Misha withdrew a ring from her chest—golden, pulsing with inner fire.
“This is what I brought back. From the hand of that insolent Noble.”
The Ring of the Fire Titan Noble—rare-grade gear, glowing with the essence of fire.
Kai Xiusu accepted it without a word.
Misha bowed her head, voice heavy with regret.
“Since then… I’ve been hunted. Fire Dwarves, Fire Giants, Flame Serpent Lizards… even a Fire Elemental Elder was sent after me. But by your Strength, I survived. I defeated them all.”
She looked up, her eyes filled with sorrow.
“I’m sorry, Your Majesty. I failed you. I didn’t complete your quest… and now, I’ve brought enemies upon the Empire.”
“But… anyone who hears such words… anyone loyal to the Empire… would feel the same fury.”
Kai Xiusu’s expression remained unreadable—yet there was something strange in his gaze.
No wonder she’d risen so fast. After all, she was a former Boss from a past life.
A bold, fearless soul—storming into a noble’s banquet, cutting off a finger in a fit of rage, then annihilating the entire army sent to punish her.
Now that was the kind of protagonist arc.
The Red Dragon exhaled a breath thick with sulfur, his wings flaring slightly as he stretched. His golden vertical pupils glowed faintly in the dim light.
“Feels like it’s been ages since I last moved.”
He chuckled low in his throat.
“Hmm… time to pay a visit to the Elemental Plane of Fire.”
(End of Chapter)
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