Looking at the two newly appeared skills, to put it politely, Caesar was so surprised his jaw dropped.
To put it crudely, he was grinning like an idiot.
[Dragon Tail (Dragon/Physical/Power 60): Attacks the target with a tail imbued with draconic power, dealing damage and causing a knockback effect based on the weight difference between the two parties.]
This skill description was slightly different from the original game, adding the detail about weight difference knockback. However, considering this was another world, it was understandable.
But the second skill left him somewhat puzzled.
[Dragon Claw (Dragon/Physical/Power 80): Slashes the opponent with sharp, giant claws to attack. Critical hit ratio +1 stage. If in 'Strong Style' stance, critical hit ratio +2 stages.]
In most pokémon games, Dragon Claw was just a plain and simple stable damage skill, without any critical hit modifiers at all.
This description... was the version from 'Legends: Arceus'!
Does this System even come with version updates?
With a thought, Caesar's muscles instantly tensed with power.
He raised his right claw and swung it violently at the Sub-dragon corpse in front of him!
[Dragon Claw] · Strong Style!
"Rip—!"
A sharp claw-wind swept past, and the tough Sub-dragon scales were torn open as easily as paper, leaving a deep claw mark that revealed the bone!
The force was so great and the momentum so heavy that it far surpassed any of his previous physical attacks.
Powerful!
So damn powerful!
Caesar tried swinging his claws several more times in succession.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
After a few strikes, that Frost Wyvern's massive body was actually torn into several pieces by him!
Cecilia, who was still feeling aggrieved on the side, was completely stunned by this scene.
Her round eyes went wide, her mouth slightly agape, completely forgetting her sadness from a moment ago.
This... what kind of power is this?
Having confirmed these unexpected gains, Caesar felt more and more that there was something fishy going on.
He had a suspicion that the two skills, [Dragon Claw] and [Dragon Tail], likely originated from that 'Dragon-type Factor Sustained Activity' trait.
As for why a Curse would come with a blessing...
While eating heartily, Caesar began to inspect his internal state.
Suddenly, he remembered something.
The item left behind by Dragapult's Dragon General, Viola—the [sharp claw].
Ever since Viola's remnant Soul moved into it, this item had been absorbing the Soul energy he obtained after killing enemies.
Back at Yan Yan Lake, killing that LV.40 Giant Crystal Crab King had granted 2000 Soul points in one go.
Although these three Frost Wyverns were only LV.31 to LV.33, they were still three Gold Rank dragons; combined, they should yield at least 1500 Soul points, right?
Caesar immediately focused his mind and checked his item bag.
[Held Item: sharp claw (Viola's Soulfire)]
[Item Description: A bone claw sealing the remnant Soul of the ancient Dragon General, Viola. It makes the user's attacks more likely to land critical hits (Critical Hit Ratio +1 stage). Can absorb Soul Power to strengthen itself; when enough energy is accumulated, Viola's remnant Soul can be awakened to fight for you.]
[Current Status: Dormant (2250/10000)]
Huh?
Caesar's movements stopped.
The Soul energy value hadn't changed at all. It was still 2250 points.
It didn't increase by even one point... how is that possible?
These were three Gold Rank creatures that just died, still fresh!
Could that old geezer Viola be a picky eater? Doesn't like frozen food?
No.
Caesar's gaze instantly darkened, and the scales on his body flared slightly.
As a veteran player, he was extremely sensitive to data.
The System had never made a mistake so far.
Since no Soul was absorbed, there were only two possibilities...
First, these three Sub-dragons weren't actually dead, or they were some kind of Advanced Clone.
But that was impossible.
The meat was already in his stomach, the experience points had been credited, and the texture and bloody smell were definitely the real deal.
That left only the second possibility—
Caesar snapped his head up, staring intently at the pitch-black rock layer at the top of the mine tunnel, as if trying to see through the thick stone to the sky outside.
At the moment these three Sub-dragons died...
Their Souls were intercepted by'someone else'.
Someone, or some kind of existence, had tampered with these Sub-dragons' Souls. Once they died, their Souls were instantly and forcibly recalled, leaving not even a scrap behind!
The only one capable of this was the master of these three Sub-dragons.
A certain being sitting high above the clouds, looking down upon all living things...
A True Dragon!!!
#
Meanwhile, in the Royal Capital of the Lordaeron Empire.
Inside a magnificent palace specially prepared for diplomatic envoys, a woman dressed in a luxurious red dress with a sultry figure leaned lazily against the balcony railing, looking down at the heavily guarded imperial palace below.
It was the Legendary Red Dragon, Ilena.
Beside her stood a tall, handsome, yet arrogant-looking young man, standing straight.
That was her student, the Red Dragon Fafnir.
Two days ago, Ilena had descended upon the Royal Capital with thunderous momentum, using a display of force that could be called a 'friendly exchange' to completely silence the guards of the Lordaeron Empire's palace. Subsequently, she had settled in quite comfortably in the capacity of a 'Peace Ambassador'.
This left the entire high command of the Lordaeron Empire sitting on pins and needles.
Just now, the one known as the wise ruler, Emperor Calvin, was gathering his trusted ministers in the royal study to urgently discuss how to deal with the 'Dragon Clan threat'.
As it turned out, the protagonist of their discussion—Ilena—walked right through the door and, under the watchful eyes of all the human high officials, listened in on half of the meeting.
It served as a small warning to His Majesty the Emperor.
Ilena didn't stay long, because halfway through the meeting, she suddenly felt a slight anomaly.
A certain link established at the Soul level... had broken.
The Red Dragon lady's hand holding the wine glass stopped mid-air, her crimson eyes narrowing slightly.
Dead?
All three died together?
How interesting.
As a Red Dragon, Ilena had always looked down upon all living beings equally. In her view, there was only a distinction between the strong and the weak in the world, and following the objective law of the jungle was only natural. But occasionally, she was also happy to give some lowly races a chance to climb up.
Sub-dragons were one of them.
She kept many Sub-dragon pets and wouldn't care if a few died. But these three Frost Wyverns were different; they were among the more talented of her many pets, and they had even proactively offered up their Soul imprints to gain greater power.
For such proactive 'good children', Ilena was never stingy with rewards.
But just now, those three Soul imprints had actually... all been extinguished in just a few minutes.