I Received System to Become Dragonborn

The five soldiers looked at Caelion with confused expressions. None of them understood what their governor intended to do. From their perspective, allowing himself to remain alone with four unidentified intruders whose Magic could not even be classified was nothing short of reckless.

For a brief moment, several of them wanted to object. They opened their mouths, ready to argue against his decision, but the words never came.

They met Caelion’s unwavering gaze instead. It was a look they had seen many times before. Calm, firm, and unshakable gaze. Whenever their governor wore that expression, it meant his decision had already been made. Nothing anyone said would change his mind.

Then they remembered who stood before them.

Caelion Ardent was not a governor who had inherited his position through noble blood or political influence. He had earned every step of his reputation through his own strength, intelligence, and talent. He was a man who had overcome countless battles and political struggles long before reaching his current position. Arguing with someone like him rarely accomplished anything.

More importantly, none of them truly believed he needed protection.

"I understand, my lord," the lieutenant finally said. He was the same officer who had tried to protest moments earlier before Caelion silenced him.

Caelion gave him a small nod. "Thank you, Lieutenant."

The lieutenant saluted before turning toward the other soldiers. "Move out."

The four other soldiers obeyed immediately. Their armored footsteps echoed through the prison corridor before gradually fading into the distance. A few moments later, the prison block fell completely silent.

Only Caelion and the four prisoners remained.

For several long seconds, no one spoke.

Caelion slowly swept his gaze across Erend, Eccar, Aesa, and Sylven one by one. His sharp eyes seemed to pierce straight through them.

Then, without saying a word, he quietly activated his Magic.

Invisible waves of Magic spread throughout the prison cell.

Erend immediately noticed it.

"So he’s examining us..." he thought.

The other three sensed it as well. The Magic carefully flowed around their bodies, probing their Magic energy, their physical structure, and even the faint traces of power hidden beneath the surface.

None of the Dragonborn resisted. They simply stood still and allowed the inspection to continue. They had nothing to hide anymore and they had discussed this earlier.

Nearly a minute passed before Caelion finally withdrew his Magic. His expression remained composed, but inwardly, his heart sank.

"This is even worse than I imagined..."

His examination had confirmed what the Detection Array could not. These four, were not human.

On the outside, they appeared almost identical to ordinary people. Their bodies, faces, and mannerisms all resembled humans closely enough that most would never notice the difference.

But beneath that disguise, everything was different. Their life force, their Magic energy, even the structure of their existence itself was something he had never seen before.

But something that was more alarming still was the sheer density of the Magic flowing through their bodies. It was overwhelming.

Caelion had spent decades measuring the strength of powerful mages and elite warriors across Elyndor. He had fought monsters that were capable of destroying entire islands and stood against legendary masters whose names were remembered throughout history.

None of them compared to what he saw right now.

If these four truly wished to destroy Skyhold Bastion, they could probably do so with frightening ease.

That realization answered another question that had been bothering him. They had allowed themselves to be captured.

The prison’s Magic restraints were completely meaningless against beings of this level. If they wanted to escape, they could have broken free the moment the cell door closed.

Instead, they remained here voluntarily. Most likely because they genuinely wanted to earn his trust and demonstrate that they meant no harm.

Caelion slowly exhaled. So he thinks that negotiation truly was the wiser path.

"I believe you when you say you don’t intend any harm," he finally said.

Inside the cell, the four Dragonborn exchanged glances once more.

Eccar smiled first.

"So it seems you are right," he said while looking at Erend.

Erend chuckled softly.

"I did." Then he looked back at Caelion. "So... what happens now?"

"I can’t simply release travelers from another world without learning more about them," Caelion replied honestly. "I’ll ask you several questions first. After that... perhaps I’ll be able to help you find what you’re searching for."

A grin spread across Erend’s face. "We’d appreciate that."

Caelion’s expression remained as stern as ever. Helping them was simply the better choice.

Making enemies of beings this powerful would accomplish nothing except inviting disaster upon his people.

Wisdom sometimes meant acknowledging the difference in strength between yourself and someone else. Pride, on the other hand, often led only to needless deaths.

If he refused to cooperate, Caelion was certain the four strangers would eventually free themselves by force. His soldiers would naturally attempt to stop them. And they would die.

He would not allow that to happen. Negotiation was, without question, the best decision available to him right now.

After a brief silence, Caelion asked his first question.

"Where do you come from?"

Erend rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Well... that’s a little difficult to answer. We each come from different worlds," Erend said.

Caelion merely nodded. He intended to gather as much information as possible while this opportunity lasted.

"Then tell me," he continued, "what exactly are you searching for?"

Erend met his gaze. "Do you know anything about the... uhh... Sky Tyrant?"

The moment those words left Erend’s mouth, Caelion’s composure cracked for the first time. His eyes widened. Even his breathing stopped for a brief moment.

Shock spread across his face as he stared silently at the young man before him.

"Sky... Sky Tyrant, you say?" Caelion stammered.

Erend noticed the change in Caelion’s expression and immediately became certain that the Sky Tyrant was not a favorable topic among the people of this world, to say the least. This was not going to be easy. Erend and the others had already expected as much.

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