Chapter 126: Ripples of Fate, Forgotten Manual
[Vyraazeth City, Dragon Kingdom]
The night sky draped itself over the Dragon Kingdom like a shroud.
Darkness carried secrets—truths buried, lies hidden, and stories waiting to be unearthed.
In the outskirts of the capital, among rusting scraps and rotting wood, a lone man dug feverishly in a junkyard.
His movements were erratic yet purposeful, shifting from one spot to another as if chasing a memory.
The soil was scarred with countless pits.
He had been searching for hours.
His breath grew ragged, but his eyes burned with stubborn intent.
Then, under his boot, he felt it—a hollow thud.
He froze, crouched, and brushed the dirt away.
From beneath the earth, an old, tattered book revealed itself—its leather cover nearly worn to shreds.
His fingers trembled as he lifted it.
The faint, faded letters on the cover still carried weight, hidden carefully.
<Shadow Draconic Overlord Art>
His lips curled into a manic grin.
"Haha… hahahaha! Finally!" His laughter cracked the silence of the junkyard.
"At last, I've found it. From today on, no one will bind me. No shadow will cage me. This time, I'll reign supreme over the entire world!"
His face twisted with madness, his voice ringing with triumph as he clutched the forbidden art.
This was no ordinary manual. This was the long-lost art of the fallen Dragonstorm Duke family—whispered about, erased from history, and thought forever gone.
Yet here it was, in his hands.
[Gravion's POV]
My name is Gravion Thalrik.
To anyone else, I might look painfully average. A plain face. No remarkable talent. No special charm.
The sort of man you could pass in a crowd and forget a second later.
But hidden beneath this mask of normalcy is a truth no one would believe.
I… have returned in time.
Yes, it sounds like a story pulled from a novel, but I know it's real. The memories haunt me, sharper than any dream.
It began one night when searing pain flooded my head, and images I had never lived forced themselves into my mind.
At first, I thought it was madness. But then, I realised—those memories belonged to the future.
A future where the world fell into chaos.
Where mana descended, monsters invaded, and humanity burned.
I saw cities reduced to ash. Ninety percent of humankind died—some from failed awakenings, others ripped apart by beasts.
The system appeared, granting humans a way to fight back. Yet even with it, survival was fleeting.
And me? In that doomed life, I was nothing more than fodder.
A foot soldier, a guild pawn, a man fighting in the mud while others soared above like blazing stars.
I died betrayed. My so-called comrades stabbed me for the corpse loot of the Minotaur King.
On my last breath, the pendant my grandmother had given me cracked—shattering with a light that swallowed me whole.
The next moment, I woke in the past.
And with me came everything I remembered.
I swore I wouldn't waste this second chance.
Now, every step I take is part of a greater plan—one to gather opportunities, recruit the right allies, and ensure humanity doesn't fall again.
I still remember the rising stars of that apocalypse.
Names etched into history. Heroes who touched divinity, rivalling even higher beings from other worlds.
I remember the noble families who secured power from the start, families like the royals and dukes of the Dragon Kingdom, who became untouchable pillars in that era.
And I remember the five hidden beings—lurking across the five kingdoms—each one holding a key to survival.
But first, I needed opportunities. Tangible power.
The most crucial one was this: the Shadow Draconic Overlord Art.
In my memories, it had been discovered by a nameless worker in this very junkyard. From that day, his rise had been meteoric.
His body grew like a dragon's, his mana reservoirs became endless, and within six years, he reached the level of higher life forms.
He was still alive in my future when I fell. Untouchable. A monster in human flesh.
But now, thanks to weeks of searching and two days of bribes, I had claimed the manual before fate could place it in someone else's hands.
This was the cornerstone of my return.
And it was only the beginning.
Next on my list was not an artifact, but a person.
The one they called the Darkness King.
An orphan who stumbled into an inheritance far beyond this world's knowledge. With it, he awakened the rare element of Darkness—an element that devoured all others.
In my past life, he never became the saviour he could have been.
Broken by betrayal, he turned into a killer, slaughtering beast and man alike until even his name was feared as a curse.
But if I could find him early… if I could earn his trust…
He would become a pillar of strength, a force humanity could not afford to lose.
Yes. That was the plan.
But for now, I must focus on my growth. Strength is the foundation. Without it, everything else crumbles.
And tonight, with this ancient book in my hands, the first step has finally begun.
[POV's End]
....
"Who would've thought a book that looks so ordinary in a junkyard could be a treasure?"
Gravion slipped the tattered manual into his bag and moved toward the exit, face calm though his heartbeat raced.
At the gate, the guard lounged lazily in his chair. A mocking grin stretched across his lips as Gravion approached.
"So, kid," he asked in a playful tone, "did you dig up gold this time, or come back empty-handed again?"
Gravion forced a wry smile.
"Nope. Nothing again. Maybe you were right—I probably wasted my money."
But his heart throbbed with triumph. The guard had no idea what he held.
For two days, Gravion had paid fifty Dracins each day—a hundred in total—for access to this dump. To the guard, he was just another fool.
If the man knew what Gravion had unearthed, he'd spit blood on the spot.
The <Shadow Draconic Overlord Art>. A legacy worth more than kingdoms.
'Laugh all you want,' Gravion thought coldly, nodding politely as he passed. 'But one day, you'll regret letting me walk out with this.'
The guard sneered at his back.
"Idiots like him show up every month, hoping to dig up treasure from the ruins of that fallen duke's estate. At least their stupidity lines my pocket."
He stretched, then leaned back in his chair, ready to doze off.
Meanwhile, Gravion quickened his pace. His hand pressed against his chest where the manual was hidden beneath his clothes.
The treasure in his grasp was dangerous enough to upend the kingdom if discovered.
'Now that I've secured this art, the next step is connections. If I want to stand among the prodigies of noble clans and guilds, I need a path into their world. That means…'
His eyes lit up.
'Noctis Arcanum University.'
The academy where heirs of the great families and future legends gathered. In his past life, he hadn't even dared to raise his head before them. This time, he would walk beside them.
'If I succeed, my plans will leap forward by years. Noctis Arcanum… here I come.'
He grinned to himself as passing pedestrians shot him odd looks.
Gravion ignored them, striding confidently to his cramped one-room apartment.
The apartment was barely fit for one man. A creaky bed, a battered desk, walls stained with age. Yet Gravion felt more alive stepping inside than ever before.
"Let's get started before it's too late."
He collapsed onto the bed, muscles aching from days of digging.
For a moment, he allowed himself to breathe, then reached for his phone—a device he hadn't checked in days.
What he saw froze him.
[Breaking News: Beast Cavern discovered beneath Lumina City.]
His eyes widened as he scrolled.
The Martial Artist Association had uncovered a massive underground nest beneath the city—over five hundred unknown beasts suspected to have dwelled there.
The cavern had been exposed when a building collapsed by chance, revealing the hidden entrance.
Investigators confirmed traces of beast activity. Yet strangely, no corpses, no bones, no blood. The caverns were blocked in every direction but the collapsed entrance.
The discovery baffled officials. The beasts hadn't escaped. And yet, they weren't there.
Even more shocking—within the cavern walls was a massive crack, the aftermath of a sword strike so powerful it could only have been made by at least a Rank 3 Martial Artist.
Speculation spread. Perhaps a hidden expert had slain the beasts to protect the city, then disappeared without a word. But no such warrior had been reported nearby.
Too many questions remained.
Where had the corpses gone? Why was there no blood? And who was the mysterious swordsman?
Gravion sat up abruptly, his chest tightening.
"What… No, this isn't right. That cavern wasn't supposed to appear for months."
In this life, it was supposed to be his stepping stone—his chance to earn wealth, battle experience, and early power. But now, it was already gone.
"Did my return change this? The butterfly effect… no, it can't be." He clenched his fists, sweat dampening his palms.
"It's only been a few days. Could my presence really shift time itself?"
He sank back onto the bed, heart pounding.
"But… maybe even small ripples can alter fate. Maybe this really is because of me."
For a moment, despair clouded him. That opportunity had been worth thousands of beast corpses.
In the past, over a thousand monsters had been culled there. Now? He could only assume the number had dropped by hundreds.
But after a deep breath, he forced his thoughts to settle.
"No… It's useless to cling to what's gone. I'll look ahead, not back."
He reached into his bag and pulled out the manual.
Opening its worn pages, he traced the lines of ancient script, feeling his heartbeat steady. The detail, the precision—this was a true masterpiece.
Gravion crossed his legs on the floor and closed his eyes, steadying his breathing.
Mana. That was the next step.
In his past life, he had awakened only when the System granted him power.
He had never tried to sense mana before. But this time, he knew better.
'What if there's nothing here? What if mana hasn't arrived yet?'
He shook his head, forcing the doubt aside.
'No. I can't afford hesitation. Focus.'
Minutes passed. Then hours. Sweat trickled down his face. His body ached. But slowly—so faintly he almost missed it—something stirred.
A thread of energy brushed against his consciousness.
His eyes flew open. His lips curled upward.
Mana.
It was here.
But before he could celebrate, the air before him rippled. Space itself flickered, faint at first, then again.
Gravion's breath caught.
The flicker sharpened into light. And then, a transparent panel shimmered into existence before his eyes.
He stared in stunned silence. His hands trembled. He knew this sight.
The System.
A lock symbol hovered in the center, with glowing text beneath.
[Requirement: To unlock the System, fulfil the basic mana functions within the host body. A massive reward awaits the Pioneer of this world.]
Gravion's lips split into a wide grin. His chest heaved with laughter he could barely contain.
"With this… no one can block my rise. Not this time. Not ever."
-To Be Continued-
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