My DragonicVampiric System

The anonymous warning remained in Drako’s mind the following morning. STOP SEARCHING FOR THE AZUNAKKII. Someone knew Adrian had been digging through deleted historical records. More disturbing was the fact that the warning had been sent directly to Drako. Whoever was watching them understood that Drako, Adrian, Mira, and Raizen were connected. Drako wanted answers, but he also understood something he hadn’t understood when he first awakened the System: running directly toward every mystery was a good way to get killed. He was Level 2. There were instructors at Astra Academy who could defeat him without trying, powerful families whose strongest members existed on an entirely different level, and unknown factions capable of hiding information about an ancient war. Drako needed strength before answers. He stood in front of his mirror and activated his partial transformation. His right eye became gold while his left became crimson. Scales slowly appeared across his shoulders and forearms. His canines sharpened, his muscles tightened, and dark crimson markings traveled across his chest. There was pain, but Drako remained calm. [Blood-Scaled Form activated.] [Transformation Control: 51%.] “Better.” He concentrated on his right arm. The scales disappeared while the rest of his transformed features remained. Then he brought them back. He returned his eyes to normal while keeping his claws. Then he reversed everything. [Partial Transformation proficiency increased.] Drako smiled. His body was becoming something he could control piece by piece. Eventually, he wouldn’t need to transform completely just to access one advantage. If he needed claws, he could create claws. If he needed scales, he could armor one section of his body. If he needed Vampiric eyes or Draconic strength, he could alter exactly what was necessary and return to normal afterward.

When Drako reached the courtyard, hundreds of students were gathered around the ranking screens. Adrian pushed through the crowd toward him. “They changed the schedule.” “What happened?” “The academy received more applicants than expected. The first preliminary qualifier starts today.” Drako looked at the screen. [INTER-ACADEMY TOURNAMENT PRELIMINARY QUALIFIER.] [Participants remaining after preliminary round: 128.] Mira and Raizen joined them. Mira crossed her arms. “You wanted to climb quickly. There’s your opportunity.” Drako smiled. “Perfect.” Kaien stood across the courtyard surrounded by students. His Rank 17 position had made him one of the favorites. When he saw Drako, he raised two fingers and pointed toward the tournament board. Drako understood the message. Reach me. The headmaster appeared on the platform. “The preliminary qualifier will test more than individual strength. All registered competitors will enter the academy’s artificial wilderness arena. Every participant receives three combat markers. You must finish with at least five to qualify.” Murmurs spread through the students. The headmaster continued. “Markers may be obtained by defeating another competitor or finding hidden objectives. Losing all your markers eliminates you. Alliances are permitted. Betrayal is permitted. Strategy is expected.” Adrian smiled. “Now this sounds fun.” Drako looked at him. “You’re participating?” Adrian showed three markers. “Of course.” Mira and Raizen revealed theirs as well.

The artificial wilderness arena was enormous. Forests, rivers, cliffs, abandoned structures, tunnels, and open fields had been created inside a massive controlled zone. Students were transported to random starting positions. Drako appeared alone beside a river. [Markers: 3.] [Required: 5.] [Time Limit: 6 hours.] A horn sounded. The qualifier began. Drako immediately activated Blood Sense. Heartbeats appeared throughout the forest, but he didn’t rush toward them. Dragon Sense followed, detecting faint energy signatures around hidden areas. Then Drako’s eyes changed. Dragon Blood Vision. Gold and crimson perception overlapped. He detected three students nearby and something else beneath the riverbank. “Hidden objective.” Drako moved toward it. A small metal container was buried beneath several rocks. Inside was one marker. [Markers: 4.] Drako smiled. “One more.” A voice came from behind him. “Thanks for finding that.” Drako turned. Three students stepped from the trees. One held a spear. Another carried two curved blades. The third had stone covering both fists. “Give us the markers,” the spear user said. Drako looked at them. “All three of you?” “That’s how alliances work.” Drako smiled. “I know. I was just making sure.”

The spear user attacked first. Drako’s Dragon Blood Vision detected energy flowing into the weapon before it extended unexpectedly. Drako moved his head aside as the spear stretched past him. The second student attacked from the left. Blood Step activated. Crimson energy flashed and Drako disappeared. He reappeared behind the stone-fisted student, but instead of attacking, he used Blood Step again. The three students turned in different directions. “Where is he?” Drako appeared above them, having jumped from a nearby rock. Dragon Scales covered his leg. He kicked the spear downward, knocking it from the first student’s hands. The blade user rushed him. Drako blocked one weapon with scales and avoided the second using Blood Sense. He struck her shoulder with controlled Dragon Strength. Her defensive shield activated, signaling defeat. One of her markers transferred automatically. [Markers: 5.] “Qualified already,” Drako said. The remaining two looked at each other. Drako could have left, but they attacked again. The stone-fisted student slammed the ground. A shockwave traveled toward Drako. He jumped, but the spear suddenly extended toward him. Dragon Scales covered his ribs just before impact. The weapon sent him crashing into a tree. “Okay,” Drako muttered. “That actually hurt.”

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The two students rushed him together. Drako stood and partially transformed. Golden scales spread across both arms while crimson markings appeared around his neck. His right eye turned gold and his left crimson. He could feel his Blood-Scaled Form asking to spread farther, but he stopped it. He didn’t need everything. The stone fighter attacked. Drako saw the energy concentration around his fists through Dragon Blood Vision. He waited until the last second, activated Blood Step, and appeared beside him. Dragon Strength struck his unprotected ribs. His shield activated. Defeated. The spear user immediately jumped backward. Drako now had six markers. “You still want to continue?” Drako asked. The student looked at his two defeated allies and lowered his weapon. “No.” Drako nodded and left. He didn’t need to take everything from everyone he fought. His objective was qualification, not humiliation.

An hour later, Drako sensed familiar heartbeats. Mira appeared first, followed by Adrian. Adrian had five markers. Mira had seven. Drako stared at her. “Seven?” Mira smiled. “What?” “Remind me not to underestimate you.” Her expression became playful. “You already did.” Raizen emerged from the trees several minutes later with eight markers. Adrian looked offended. “Why does everyone have more than me?” Raizen shrugged. “Fight better.” “I use technology.” “Use it better.” Drako laughed. Their reunion didn’t last long. A massive explosion appeared in the distance. Phoenix flames rose above the trees. Drako immediately knew who it was. Kaien. “Someone found him.” Raizen looked toward the flames. “Or he found them.” Drako wanted to see the fight, but another energy signature caught his attention. Dragon Blood Vision detected something moving underground. It wasn’t a student. “Something’s beneath us.” Mira drew her blades. The ground exploded.

A large armored beast emerged. The academy announcement immediately activated. [BONUS OBJECTIVE.] [Defeat Training Beast: Level 5.] [Reward: 3 markers distributed among contributing participants.] Drako smiled. Adrian stared at him. “Don’t.” “Don’t what?” “Make that face. Every time you make that face, something attacks us.” The beast roared. Raizen drew his sword. Mira disappeared toward its flank. Adrian released three drones. Drako activated Dragon Blood Vision. The creature’s armor was thick, but energy flowed toward a bright core beneath its chest. “Weak point below the chest!” Raizen attacked first, drawing its attention. Mira struck the back of one leg. Adrian’s drones fired at its eyes. Drako used Blood Step, appeared beneath the creature, and activated Dragon Strength. His first punch cracked the armor but didn’t break through. The beast swung downward. Dragon Scales covered Drako’s back as the attack smashed him into the ground. Pain exploded through him. “Drako!” Mira shouted. “I’m good!” Drako rolled away. The beast charged Raizen. Drako saw an opportunity. Golden and crimson energy gathered around his fist. [Dragon Blood Strike available.] He hesitated. His technique was still only forty-six percent stable. But he didn’t need maximum power. “Control it.” Vampiric energy accelerated. Draconic energy strengthened. He reduced both instead of forcing more power into the attack. Blood Step flashed. Drako appeared beneath the creature. “Dragon Blood Strike!” BOOM! His fist shattered the damaged armor. Raizen’s sword immediately struck the exposed core. Mira followed with both blades. Adrian’s drones fired together. The core broke. The beast collapsed. [Bonus Objective Complete.] [Team contribution recognized.] Each received an additional marker.

Drako stood slowly. His shoulder hurt, but something was different. [Dragon Blood Strike Stability: 46% → 58%.] He smiled. Controlling the power had improved the technique more than simply making it stronger. The qualifier ended several hours later. All four friends passed. Kaien returned with twelve markers and a bored expression. Drako had nine. Kaien looked at his total. “Nine?” Drako shrugged. “I only needed five.” Kaien smiled. “Excuses.” Before Drako could answer, the tournament board activated. [128 QUALIFIERS CONFIRMED.] Then the next announcement appeared. [SECOND QUALIFIER: ONE-ON-ONE ELIMINATION.] Drako scanned the bracket until he found his name. His opponent was unfamiliar. Then Adrian suddenly grabbed his shoulder. “Drako.” “What?” Adrian pointed toward another section of the participant list. Beside one student’s name was a symbol: a silver sword split into six sections. Several instructors were already whispering. Drako didn’t recognize it, but Adrian did. “That’s the Veyrox Family symbol.” Drako looked toward the opposite side of the arena, where a young man stood quietly among the competitors. Drako didn’t know him yet, but this was the first sign that the world of the Great Families was beginning to enter his life. And somewhere beyond the academy, more eyes were starting to watch.

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