I Received System to Become Dragonborn

The humanoid creature could only stare at Erend with a stunned expression. Despite his monstrous appearance with thick brown fur covering almost his entire body and even parts of his face, the expression of pure shock on his face still looked strangely human. Anyone who saw him would be able to recognize it immediately.

Erend smiled a little. The creature could not see it clearly because Erend’s face was still covered in blood, and the smile itself was so subtle that it was almost impossible to notice.

"How about that?" Erend said. "I think I can protect myself well enough in this forest."

The creature looked at Erend. Then he looked at the remains of the monster scattered across the forest floor. Then he looked back at Erend.

He was silent for several seconds before finally releasing another long sigh.

"I guess you can," he admitted. "I didn’t expect there to be a human with strength like yours. Has humanity developed some kind of new power from that liquid?"

Erend’s expression immediately became more serious. "You know about that liquid?"

"Yes." The creature nodded slowly. "That is the cause of the Apocalypse. But it is also a tremendous source of power and resources. In my time, I saw people use it to enhance their own bodies. Some of them became stronger. Others mutated or died. It was never something that could be used safely. Has humanity in this era finally learned how to control that power?"

"No." Erend shook his head. "They haven’t."

The creature looked at him with a hint of confusion.

Erend glanced toward the remains of the monster before looking back at him. "We should talk about this somewhere else."

The humanoid hesitated for a moment.

He seemed to consider whether bringing Erend into the place he was thinking was really a good idea. After everything he had witnessed, however, there was probably little reason to worry about Erend anymore.

The creature sighed again. "We can go to my home if you want."

"Of course. That’s a good idea," Erend replied with a small smile.

The two of them then began walking deeper into the forest.

The humanoid creature led Erend through the reddish soil and dense vegetation while carefully choosing their route. He moved along paths that he considered the safest and deliberately avoided several areas where monsters had built their nests or established their territories.

Erend followed behind him while observing the surroundings.

As they continued, Erend began thinking about the way people lived in this world.

Everyone seemed to live as though they were constantly walking along a thin line.

Humans and any other creatures could not just travel wherever they wanted. They needed to know which paths were safe, which areas belonged to certain creatures, and which territories they had to avoid at all costs. One wrong turn could take them into the territory of another monster, and once that happened they could easily face injury or death.

Even the creatures themselves seemed to follow similar rules. Every part of this world appeared to be divided into territories where survival depended on knowing exactly where one could and could not go.

"Living here really is miserable," Erend thought.

Once again, Erend felt grateful that he had been able to stop the Magic experiment in his own world.

If he had failed back then, his world might have ended up like Valthoria.

But right now, he has been able to guide humanity toward a safer path and help them understand Magic without allowing the research to spiral into a catastrophe.

Now, the Magic Assimilation Project in his world was progressing smoothly.

Humanity had managed to gain access to Magic without destroying itself in the process.

Erend silently hoped that Valthoria could eventually reach the same point.

After several more minutes of walking, the humanoid creature finally stopped.

"We’re here."

Erend looked around.

At first, he saw nothing that resembled a home. There was only another section of dense vegetation covering the side of a rocky mountain.

The creature walked toward the thick bushes and lifted them aside.

Behind them was a metal door.

Erend raised his eyebrows slightly.

The humanoid pushed the door open and motioned for Erend to enter.

Erend stepped through.

Once they were both inside, the creature carefully lowered the bushes back into place. He adjusted the vegetation until it covered the entrance almost exactly as it had before.

Then he closed the metal door.

The two of them continued deeper inside.

A dimly lit corridor stretched ahead of them, leading farther into the mountain. The walls were made of rough stone in some places and reinforced with old metal panels in others. Small sources of artificial light had been installed along the corridor, providing just enough illumination to see where they were going.

The deeper they went, the less toxic the air became.

Erend noticed the difference almost immediately.

The air inside was cleaner than outside, but it was still far from suitable for normal humans.

There were still traces of the strange pollutants lingering in the atmosphere and anyone without sufficient resistance would become sick after staying here for too long.

Eventually, the corridor opened into a much larger room.

Erend stopped and looked around.

The creature’s home was actually a massive natural cave hidden deep inside the mountain.

There were no windows anywhere. The only illumination came from several lamps and crude sources of artificial light that had been placed around the chamber.

Despite its rough appearance, the place was surprisingly organized.

Several metal racks stood against one side of the cave. Various weapons had been placed on them in an orderly manner. Some of them were simple metal blades while others looked like old weapons that had been repaired and modified repeatedly over the years.

There were also tools, spare pieces of metal, and various pieces of equipment arranged around the room.

The furniture was clearly scavenged from the outside world.

Several tables and chairs had been placed around the cave, each one showing obvious signs of age and repeated repair. Some pieces did not even seem to belong together but they had been arranged well enough to create a functional living space.

There were also several containers, boxes, and shelves filled with various supplies.

It was not luxurious by any means. But it was clearly a home.

The humanoid creature looked around the cave and smiled with visible pride.

"Welcome to my home," he said. "I’m pretty proud of this."

Erend nodded several times. "This is actually great. It’s safe, hidden, and large."

The creature seemed pleased by the compliment.

He walked toward one of the chairs and sat down before gesturing toward another seat.

"Please sit down."

Erend took the offered seat.

The two of them finally had a quiet place where they could talk.

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