First Legendary Dragon: Starting With The Limitless System

The ground beneath their feet trembled, trees creaked in distress, and the air itself seemed to freeze.

The kidnappers staggered, their expressions stricken with terror. Instinctively, their eyes turned towards the source, their courage faltering in the face of this unfathomable presence.

Lucan's own body froze momentarily, eyes widening slightly in shock and recognition. His heartbeat quickened in disbelief.

He knew this presence—recognized the underlying mana signature as distinctly Orion's—but its magnitude was now far beyond anything he thought possible.

"That… that's the Young Master's mana," Lucan whispered softly, shock bleeding into uncertainty. "No… that can't be right…"

One of the enemies turned frantically, panic evident in his voice. "What the hell was that?! Who the fuck is releasing that kind of Draconic pressure?! Is it a True Dragon?!"

Lucan's icy composure returned instantly, his eyes sharpening, and a ruthless determination surged through him.

That momentary distraction, that chink in their armor—was exactly what he needed.

In a single, blindingly fast motion, Lucan darted forward again, sword slicing decisively. Another enemy screamed as his arm separated from his body in a spray of blood.

Lucan's expression never changed, emotionless and cold as he finished the man with a merciless thrust through the chest, before making quick work of the other two lower-level foes.

The remaining Tier Nine cultivator, heavily injured and drenched in sweat and fear, stumbled backward. Lucan's gaze turned slowly toward him, his voice chillingly calm. "Not staying for your friends?"

The man, eyes wide with terror, quickly drew a one-time-use spatial talisman from his robes, slamming it desperately against his chest.

A bright flash enveloped him, and he vanished moments before Lucan's blade pierced through empty air.

Lucan stood in silence for a few seconds, chest heaving as the adrenaline gradually faded. Frustration flickered briefly across his bloodied face.

"One escaped…" he muttered softly, blade still humming softly with deadly intent. "Well fuck it. I need to hurry back toward Young Master."

He sheathed his sword swiftly, the motion sharp and precise. His heartbeat was rapid, his muscles aching deeply from exertion and accumulated injuries.

Yet he ignored the pain, turning immediately toward the source of that overwhelming Dragon's Might—toward Orion.

Lucan sprinted through the ravaged forest, his boots crushing scorched leaves and splintered wood beneath him.

Each breath rattled painfully in his chest, and the deep gash in his side burned like molten steel. Blood seeped from numerous wounds, soaking into his torn uniform, but adrenaline masked his pain as urgency propelled him forward.

The forest around him had become a nightmarish scene—a landscape brutally reshaped by battle, littered with bodies, shattered weapons, and scorched earth.

Smoke drifted among the shadows, and embers danced briefly before extinguishing, a somber aftermath of violence. Lucan's blade, though sheathed, still pulsed faintly with the killing intent that lingered after his desperate fight.

His mind raced as fast as his body, eyes narrowed sharply in concern and disbelief. "What was that aura?" Lucan muttered under his breath, weaving agilely around the debris of fallen trees.

The sheer, suffocating pressure of that Dragon's Might echoed vividly in his memory—vast, primal, and impossibly fierce. It had been Orion's mana signature, he knew without a doubt, yet it was magnified to an intensity Lucan could scarcely fathom.

His heart clenched in dread. "Did something happen to the Young Master?"

Ahead, through the thinning veil of smoke, faint shapes became discernible—the broken outline of the carriage, the figures of Magi, Rina, and Fiora, silhouetted beneath pale moonlight.

His eyes widened sharply, sensing urgency in their posture, tension thickening the air around them.

As he burst from the treeline into the clearing, Lucan staggered slightly, breath hitching at the startling sight before him.

Orion lay motionless, cradled tenderly in Fiora's lap, his body now a vivid display of draconic features.

Majestic red and purple scales gleamed in the moonlight, horns spiraled proudly from his forehead, and his aura—though faded from battle—was unmistakably powerful and draconic.

Lucan stared, momentarily frozen in shock, eyes wide with disbelief. He didn't even know about the secret of the Human Emperor bloodline that Orion had shared with Selene and Eldric, much less about him being a Dragon.

And nothing had prepared him for this sheer, overwhelming display of draconic power. It wasn't simply the transformation itself; it was the impossible feat Orion had clearly achieved—a cultivation leap, a devastating evolution, and the eradication of an opponent far beyond his own level.

Magi noticed Lucan first, turning swiftly, eyes wide. "Lucan!" he called out, relief evident despite the lingering tension.

Rina turned sharply, visibly shaken, her blue eyes swollen and red-rimmed from tears. "Sir Lucan…! Orion—he's alive, but he's not waking up!"

Lucan approached rapidly, stumbling slightly as fatigue gripped him. His gaze moved quickly over Orion's altered form, then shifted to Fiora, still holding Orion protectively, her own draconic form shivering from exhaustion and worry.

"Fiora," Lucan's voice was sharp, urgent, gripping her attention immediately. "What exactly happened here?"

Fiora's eyes lifted slowly to meet his gaze, filled with lingering fear and confusion. "The enemy… he was too strong… Young Master fought desperately and then…" She hesitated, voice choking slightly, "he suddenly started evolving, but he refused to stop fighting. It was terrifyingly intense. He nearly broke himself apart, but he kept pushing."

Lucan exhaled sharply, fists clenched tightly at his side, his jaw rigid with frustration and worry. "Foolish brat…" he murmured quietly, looking at Orion's battered body.

Fiora lowered her gaze again, voice barely audible. "He used everything… a potion, treasures, even a very powerful sword. He… he completely annihilated that enemy. I've never seen anything like it."

Lucan's eyes narrowed grimly at the mention of a powerful sword. He knew well the cost of wielding a powerful treasure far beyond one's level, especially during such a volatile moment of evolution.

"So that was the cause of that overwhelming Dragon's Might," he murmured, understanding the magnitude of Orion's reckless sacrifice.

Magi stepped closer cautiously, his usually lighthearted voice subdued and respectful. "Lucan… do you know what's going on with Orion? Is this evolution… normal?"

Lucan's expression darkened, his tone turning colder and more serious. "No, nothing about this is normal. Draconians don't evolve like this. They grow slowly over decades. This… this is something else entirely. For Orion to evolve… it's unheard of. And even more crazy is that he continued to fight while undergoing evolution. The internal strain could permanently damage his foundation."

Rina's tear-filled eyes shot upward, panic rekindling in her expression. "Then… then what should we do, Lucan? Can we help him?"

Lucan hesitated for a moment, carefully considering Orion's condition. He knelt slowly, examining Orion's draconic features closely.

Carefully, he placed a finger on Orion's pulse, feeling the reassuring, powerful beat. It was slow yet strong—a testament to the astonishing resilience Orion possessed.

He shook his head faintly, exhaling a long sigh. "He's in deep hibernation," Lucan finally said. "This is the body's way of trying its best to stabilize after such traumatic evolution. I don't know how his con—"

His head snapped up, eyes narrowing.

Something was coming. Fast.

BOOM!!

The ground beside them exploded with force, a shockwave blasting outward as fire and wind roared in every direction. The soil cracked, debris launched into the air, and a flaming meteor trail scorched the sky above.

From the fading blaze stepped a figure—Selene.

Her long coat fluttered like wings behind her, flames flickering at her boots as her presence surged outward, a tidal wave of restrained fury. The air itself bent under her arrival as her furious gaze swept over the battlefield.