Angelina clearly recalled that when she ran out of the tunnel, it was just a seemingly ordinary, ice-cold, and dim stone path. But now, the path unveiled before her eyes was the complete opposite. Beautiful magical runes unfolded linearly, drafting mesmerizing patterns on the ceiling and ground like running water. A dark, serene aura pounced on their faces. At a glance, the tunnel was like a gorgeous and atmospheric palace corridor.
“It isn’t?
Rhode gazed at Angelina with knitted brows and turned around to size up the path that lit up with a white brilliance. Indeed, Angelina didn’t mention anything about the tunnel before. Even if escaping frantically, she couldn’t have missed this detail. And now…
“Are you sure?”
“This… Master, everything is exactly the same, at least before you opened the stone door… But now… I don’t know what is going on…”
Gazing at the mysterious tunnel once more, Angelina lacked the confidence she once had. Even though she trusted her memories, this reality was too conflicting, after all. She didn’t know which was true. But Rhode didn’t give it much thought. He narrowed his eyes at the transparent sword in his hand and shook his head. Then, he restored his expressionless face and strode ahead in large strides.
“Let’s go.”
Unlike the confused Angelina, Rhode seemed to realize something. It was clearly the same door and yet, the path behind was entirely different. This phenomenon also existed in the game of the Dragon Soul Continent. The map and location would turn out completely different from the main storyline according to the adventurers’ equipment level, mission completion rate, reputation, race, and other factors. An NPC protected by the party might turn out to be the final BOSS that another party was looking to slaughter. Due to that reason, when Angelina said the tunnel was different, Rhode considered the issue in this direction immediately.
Fortunately, even when the content behind the door was different, the dungeon map was still the same. Therefore, as long as one entered and spent some time searching for it, one would be able to find the target location. That was why Rhode headed off without any hesitation. Looking at this scene, Angelina couldn’t help but gape at him. She eventually didn’t say a word, but followed him on the path instead.
Dragon soul power.
The instant Rhode entered the door, he sharply detected the presence of dragon soul power. It flowed and fused with the veined patterns of the tunnel. Rhode couldn’t help but knit his brows. For some unknown reason, he instinctively felt like even though it was true dragon soul power, it was entirely different from Ion’s… How should he put it? It was as though when one compared an authentic and fake product. Even though the touch didn’t feel any different, an expert would recognize any difference between them immediately. Right now, this was what Rhode felt. This dragon soul power was apparently much purer and stronger than Ion’s.
What exactly is going on?
Rhode extended his arm and held onto the wall, sensing the flowing dragon soul power. The warm power undulated as though it were asleep. Not only that, but he also felt like the energy was powerful, ancient, and was even comparable to his Void power!
How strange… If the Dark Dragon possessed such powers, I shouldn’t have been able to overrun him in the game…
At this thought, Rhode couldn’t help but suspect. In the past, he thought that the Dragon Soul Continent was purely a game. But now, he believed that there were differences between reality and the game. But after learning the truth of the game, he knew that the situation definitely wasn’t as simple as he had imagined. Back then, the Void Dragon inherited less than one-tenth of the Void Dragon’s power and yet, it still managed to wipe out Rhode’s 100-man elite party. If Ion possessed such powers, Rhode couldn’t have possibly led players to annihilate him… Not only that, but for some reason, a hot topic that was once debated by players on the forum also cropped up in his mind.
Who is the strongest Creator Dragon?
This thread on the forums hadn’t died down ever since debates began. As players belonged to different camps, they were naturally interested in the topic. While the game was in the Light and Darkness version, there were hundreds of thousands of discussions centering around it and almost no players could convince one another. Only after Rhode led his party and trampled on the Dark Dragon did the discussion come to a conclusion.
No matter how powerful the Creator Dragons were, they couldn’t compete against players.
But was that the truth?
Rhode didn’t think so. As a matter of fact, even among the elites of Starlight, there also wasn’t any debate because after killing the Dark Dragon, people were bursting with confidence as they urged Rhode to lead them to wipe out the twin dragons. As soon as they did it, Starlight could dominate the Dragon Soul Continent!
Of course, Rhode dismissed their proposal directly. Even though defeating the Dark Dragon made many elite players feel invincible, the twin dragons were entirely different. In the end, the proposal wasn’t approved. Apart from the fact that everyone felt like it wasn’t reliable, the reason that ultimately made them not make this decision was that…
They didn’t think that they could defeat the twin dragons.
That’s right. They defeated the Dark Dragon and weren’t hesitant in facing the Void Dragon. But why weren’t they motivated to defeat the twin dragons?
As a matter of fact, in Rhode’s elite party, almost everyone agreed to never stir trouble with the twin dragons.
But what exactly was the reason?
Why were players willing to face the Void Dragon, but afraid to kill the twin dragons? Even if they couldn’t figure out the attack pattern of the twin dragons, wasn’t that the case for all online games? Searching for weaknesses in the BOSS’s attack patterns and defeating them thereafter was the fun of the game. Besides, it seemed like there were many other invincible BOSSes in the Dragon Soul Continent, even in hell and the abyss. But despite that, didn’t players defeat them all too?
As a matter of fact, Rhode knew the answer. The reason why they didn’t cause trouble for the twin dragons was that in their minds, they subconsciously believed that the twin dragons were stronger than the Void Dragon and Dark Dragon, so much so that even the lawless players didn’t dare to consider fighting against them. Besides, after Rhode awakened the power of the Void Dragon, he also felt odd.
Back then, they were known as the five Creator Dragons, and not ‘Void Dragon and her four subjects’. Besides, judging from the Creation Poem, the Void Dragon created space, while the other Creator Dragons also contributed to other aspects. Why was the Void Dragon much stronger than the other Creator Dragons?
Could it be that… the Dark Dragon’s current strength wasn’t all the power he should possess?!
At this thought, Rhode felt energized. If it were in the past, this thought definitely wouldn’t emerge in his mind. But after learning from Angelina that Ion used underhanded means to become the dragon soul heir, Rhode felt like his judgment might be correct, after all!
Because in the game, there were four Creator Dragons. Come to think of it, Lilian couldn’t retaliate because her dragon soul power was sealed. On the other hand, the reason why Ion was overrun was that he didn’t inherit all the dragon soul power. This was also why players were able to defeat him. The twin dragons were the only ones who fully inherited the rule power of their ancestors. Perhaps this was the reason why players didn’t stand a chance against them because the strength displayed by the twin dragons belonged to the true Creator Dragons!
In that case…
At this thought, Rhode pondered. If that was the truth, perhaps he didn’t even need to leave because wouldn’t everything be resolved after killing Ion here? What a joke. Ion was only a Dark Dragon with incomplete dragon soul power, while Rhode received 100 percent of the Void Dragon’s power. Why would he be afraid of taking on Ion?
…
But after a few moments, Rhode shook his head and dispelled the idea. It was better to be safe than sorry. Even though Ion didn’t receive 100 percent of power from the Dark Dragon, he was already contaminated by Chaos and gained the power of Chaos. In this situation, Ion’s power would definitely be further upgraded. One would be seeking death to initiate a battle against a BOSS with the power of Chaos within a land of Chaos. That was why Rhode merely considered the question and gave up decisively.
We’re better off saving Erin first.
At that moment, Mini Bubble Gum’s voice sounded once again, interrupting his thoughts.
“Leader, be careful! There’s something ahead!”
Swish! Swish! Swish!
The instant Mini Bubble Gum yelled, Rhode saw two shadowy figures shuttling out of the tunnel. Shortly after, razor-sharp blade air waves scattered, striking straight at him!
