The Innkeeper

Although nothing in particular was happening at the lowest level, and Lex was the only one moving about, a strange stillness enveloped the hall the moment he reached the forehead. The pressure of Dragons Might on Lex did not reduce, but at the same time felt as if it had lost its edge. 

Barley, the dwarf in the distance, held his breath as he tried to come to terms with what he was seeing. This was beyond anything he had expected. He thought Lex was going to go steal treasure, not blaspheme the dragon like this! The value of his recording just skyrocketed!

Lex slowed down only a bit as an instinctive hesitation filled him, but he overcame it momentarily as he approached the spot he had seen from a distance. In the center of the dragon's forehead, there was a single scale that was elevated above the rest. Unlike the rest of the scales, this one had unusual jagged edges, as if something was once attached to this scale but had been ripped out. All that remained now was a single scale higher than the rest.

Lex stepped on to the dragon and he, who was supposed to have lost lucidity under the effects of the treasure's spirit pull, spoke softly.

"Before lording your might and prestige over me, realize that you are the one sitting under my feet."

Even without a soul, the dragon seemed to have been stimulated by Lex's words and its Dragons Might erupted like a volcano! The inherent pride of a dragon could not be besmirched even in death!

Lex coughed out some blood and immediately shut his eyes, for he felt they were about to pop out of his skull. Tiny rips tore in his skin all over and he began to bleed profusely. A roar that could destroy planets rang inside Lex's mind and shook his very soul, yet Lex's expression did not change at all.

The matter of fact was that Lex really was affected by spirit pull, but his own indomitable will and pride clashed against the dragons. Right now, Lex was not acting consciously, but rather completely, according to his subconscious thoughts and feelings. He really did believe that dragons were not fit to show their might in front of him, at least dead ones.

As if nothing had happened at all, Lex sat cross-legged on the elevated scale and closed his eyes. It was as if he was finding a comfortable position within the gut wrenching, soul-crushing pressure bearing down on him.

A moment later, he began to cultivate once again. A whirlwind of heated spirit energy formed around Lex and began to be absorbed by his body. His aura, which had previously been undergoing a steady growth, exploded with a powerful hunger and began to devour the Dragons Might!

His cultivation technique was revolving at unprecedented speeds and began to immediately change Lex as he was nourished by the special spirit energy within this hall, as well as the unique spirit energy flooding into his body the scale beneath him!

Everything about Lex, at that moment, began to undergo an evolution. His cultivation, which had barely moved from the beginning of the Golden core realm, began to slowly inch upwards. His very position on the Cosmic Ascendance Spectrum began to elevate! His mind, body and soul were beginning to grow stronger rapidly, as if he was being nourished by the dragon itself!

The impurities in his body started to leak out of his body, no longer as fine black grains but in the form of steam! His hair started to take on a brownish tint similar to the dragon's scales underneath him. His skin, which had ripped all over, healed almost immediately, and then began to shed as if he was molting.

Even the Lotus tattoo on his back started to warm up, as if it too was absorbing some of the dragon's energy.

Barley, who was still recording, began to tremble as fear started to creep into his heart. His incredibly sharp senses had picked up on the fact that the Dragons Might affecting him had reduced almost imperceptibly. Yet such a thing was not a cause for celebration, for another, more intimidating aura took its place by the same measure that the Dragons Might reduced.

No matter what he thought of Lex earlier, right now his body was telling him to flee. If the man who dared to absorb a dragon's essence discovered that Barley had been recording him with sinister intentions, he would not be long for this world, especially in his weakened state.

After all, this was not something that had never been done before, albeit never in the method that Lex was using. It had to be known that the aura of a dragon would taint any who dared absorb their essence, and would become a permanent enemy of the dragons. This was no laughing matter, and no longer something the dwarf dared to be a part of.

He ended the recording and began to retreat while Lex was still busy. He had to leave this planet immediately!

While this was happening, the strain on Lex was slowly and steadily decreasing. This was a result of the decreasing Dragons Might, his increasing aura as well as his own increasing strength. In a few minutes, he already reached the middle of the Golden Core realm.

He also finally woke up and gained full lucidity, as well as all the memories of everything he did recently. He would have shuddered and considered himself lucky that he had not succumbed to the dragon's obsession, but at the moment he was feeling too euphoric to worry.

Although he had endless motivation and dedication when he started out on his endeavor, planning to do something and actually achieving it were two entirely different concepts. He… he had actually crossed the barrier between so many realms and managed to conquer this trial in his path. Given that the dragon was already dead, but even so the challenge had been difficult enough.

He felt an unprecedented thrill and excitement course through his veins. He felt like he was truly alive at this moment, and had achieved something legendary. At the same time he felt an overwhelming urge to go and complete other impossible tasks and test what his limits truly were.

A massive, genuine grin painted his face but even that was not enough to contain his joy. He began laughing freely and loudly, without caring to hold back at all. He was sitting atop a mighty dragon, something he would have not even dared to imagine before. Although he always had faith in his own ability, and preferred to get things himself over just being handed amazing gifts by the system, it was a good feeling to finally prove it.

Once he was done laughing, he quickly resumed his focus on cultivating. He could feel that he had improved too much too quickly, and that he was about to reach his limit. But until that happened, he wanted to get the most out of this chance.

He finally had time to inspect the changes taking place in his body and evaluate his growth. He noticed, for the first time, how his aura was directly competing with Dragons Might, and even slowly absorbing it! It was transcending the realm where it could only be felt, and entering the realm where he could directly influence the world itself with his aura.

He could feel that his aura would suppress, subdue and overwhelm his foes, while at the same time it would protect, reassure and to a certain degree, reinvigorate his allies. His aura could also protect him from various negative influences, such as minor curses, divination, fate manipulation, mind attacks as well as soul attacks.

But these last few aspects were still weak, and would require further strengthening of his aura to be effective in case of stronger opponents.

His eyes flashed open and the world itself seemed to feel the pressure of his gaze. It was as if, through his gaze, Lex could employ something similar to Dragons Might. After a moment's consideration, he decided to name this ability Domination.

His cultivation finally slowed down and his aura stopped growing. The Dragons Might in the hall could still oppress him greatly, but it was no longer to the point where Lex would collapse at the simplest carelessness.

Lex was not sure what treasure the mystery man referred to when he told Lex to come here, but he was more than satisfied with this opportunity. After all, now that he had cultivated on top of a dragon, he did not plan on cultivating anywhere else.

There was a flash of emotion in Lex's eyes as he summoned a single golden key and stared at it. It was time… to bring the ultimate fertilizer to the Inn. He used the dragon's scale to break the key, teleporting the living carcass of the dragon to the Inn, before he himself teleported away as well.

Although he had to loot, yes, he also had to make sure no one stole his fertilizer from him!