Fate: A Dragon's Journey

Haruki breezed through the floors. Skeletons, wraiths, and even bigger wraiths tried futile attempts to stop him. The floors became more spacious and enemies became more abundant. That gave him space to maneuver. The slaughter continued until he arrived at the end of the 5th floor. The passage opened up into a wide room. What awaited him in the room was a giant black wraith with claws bigger than Haruki. Its evil aura sent a chill down Medea's spine.

"Haruki-sama, be careful."

Haruki just grinned in response. The numerous fights with wraiths had made him more sensitive to wraiths. He could estimate their strength with their aura alone! This one was nearly four times stronger than the wraith he fought on the 3rd floor.

'Weird. I should have received a skill for this.'

"Unawakened authorities don't count as skills," Arch answered. "Dragon eyes are also special."

The screech that emerged from the wraith forced Haruki to delay this conversation for a later time. The wraith fluttered down and swiped its massive claws. The strength behind the claw exceeded E-Rank. If Haruki hadn't become stronger from the first floor, he might have chosen to evade. But current Haruki simply raised his spear and held his ground.

It was just the start of the battle. The clash between the wraith and the unawakened dragon shook the place. Medea held her breath every time Haruki demonstrated his spear techniques. There was no crudity in his movements, every step and every thrust displayed an elegance she only saw in the veterans. The wraith couldn't keep up with his speed and got skewered from every side. He wasn't only utilizing the reinforcement for harming the wraith's spiritual body, and mostly used his muscle strength to keep this a fair fight.

'Tough battles bring more glory.'

Haruki crushed the wraith's claws first. The wraith began to lose control, spreading even more of its evil aura. Haruki leaped into the air, breaking every past record he had, and swung his spear wrapped in a violet aura. His innate strength combined with his momentum blasted the wraith into the wall. Its hands vanished, and it lost its final anchor in the physical world. The wraith's body fell as though it was a weightless feather and drifted into specks of violet.

Despite the fierce collision, not one scratch could be seen on those gloomy walls.

'The walls here are freaking strong.'

[Task completed. Well done!]

[1 X Mid-Rank Gacha Coupon rewarded.]

[Awakening progress: 2.9%]

'Not even two percent in five floors.'

Then again, the enemies he faced were too weak.

'Let's check my status.'

[Haruki Hayashi]

Species: Dragon [Current awakening progress 2.90%]

Age: 17

Gender: Male

Height, Weight: 182cm/75kg

Alignment: Chaotic Neutral

[Parameters]

Strength: 21 (D)

Endurance: 23 (D)

Agility: 20 (D)

Magical energy: 54 (A)

Luck: 10 (E)

[Authorities]

Dragon Heart

...

[Skills]

Sojutsu [C]

Info: Acquired from your great practice with a spear.

Effect: Increases damage with spear-type weapons.

Bujutsu [C]

Info: Acquired from immense proficiency in Bujutsu arts.

Effect: Increases damage with physical attacks.

Some of his skill received a minor upgrade, but his stats received a massive boost. Haruki saw his clock close to 1 AM.

'Not bad for a couple of hours.'

Haruki grabbed the marble left behind by the wraith.

[Life Essence (High-Rank)]

Info: The crystallization of magical energy.

Haruki tossed it in his pocket. He had 12 Low-Rank and 1 Mid-Rank Gacha coupons. Frankly, he expected nothing out of them. The trap weapon had already slapped him with disappointment. He didn't need more of that in his life.

"Haruki-sama, are we returning?"

"Yup."

'Arch.'

The key reappeared in his hands. He once again opened an imaginary door. Medea kept her eyes peeled, trying to decipher the mysteries behind the key. Alas, she couldn't find anything even when the gate fully converged before them.

'It doesn't have any mysteries.'

It should have been impossible. Creating a spatial rift required the great use of mysteries exceeding magecraft.

True Magic.

Haruki extended a hand, which she grabbed, and walked inside the whirlpool. As he appeared back in his room, the door behind him vanished without a trace.

The crimson key vanished from his hand. "Kaa-san."

The first thing he did was call out his mother.

"Yes, Haru," she said. "Do you need something?"

He half expected her to act like the gate to a weird dimension never opened in his room.

"I'm going to sleep. Give me a goodnight kiss."

"Awww." Haruki felt a soft wind touch his cheeks. "There. I did. Please dream about your kind mother."

"..."

She was a strange mother, but he loved her nonetheless.

"My master!" Semi's bubbly voice interrupted him. "Where were you? I was trying to contact you."

"I was in a dungeon."

"Oh. You took Medea to the dungeon." He could imagine her evil smile on the other side. "Wise decision to humble her pride. My master, you're so… overbearing."

He couldn't disagree with her. He knew he could be overbearing at times, a skill that was needed to keep the corporate slaves aka his employees in check. It was still nothing compared to the time he used to be a young master.

"Let's sleep."

Haruki took off his shirt and pulled out a pair of shorts from his wardrobe.

Medea stared at the bed still stained with their fluids; it reminded her of everything that happened here. Frankly, she wouldn't mind sleeping on it, but she wanted Haruki to have proper rest after grueling battles.

"Haruki-sama, please wait."

She went ahead and changed the bedsheets. Haruki watched her work with an amused smile on his face. Seeing her diligence made him fuzzy sometimes.

I have too many things to do tomorrow.'

Training with Emiya, torturing Shinji, taking Medusa as an ally, purging the heap of worms Zouken, freeing Sakura from worm crests as well as Zouken's last hope attached to her heart. Lastly, retaking the Ryuudou Temple, where he had high chances of running into Illyasviel's trap.

"Another tiring day," Arch said. "Don't crumble under the weight."

'A kiss from Kaa-san is enough to keep me going for years.'

"...Good for you."