Since Ruyue's matter had been settled due to a flash of unexpected insight on her part, Damien was able to put his full focus into his new environment.
He had already mentioned it countless times before, but it was truly perfect for him. Even the minute amount of dragon aura within this Worm sector felt like it was nourishing his bloodline.
If it had to be said, Damien knew he was probably the least well off out of all those here. His dragon bloodline was a mixture of what he got from the Wyvern in the First Dungeon and the Sea Dragon from the Cloud Sea. These were the only two instances where he was able to devour dragon bloodlines.
In any other person's body, these two different dragon bloodlines would be fighting each other within their body, but Damien was the possessor of the Void Physique. This mysterious physique that he still didn't have any information about tamed the two bloodlines within him and slowly merged them.
This newly merged dragon bloodline was the one he currently possessed. And due to the domineering nature of dragons, the bloodline had set itself apart from the rest and become his primary blood, of course, aside from his original human blood.
The problem was, no matter how domineering they were, they were still sharing space with the other bloodlines Damien possessed. An unknown wolf, spider, and even goblin bloodline were mashed together along with that of every other beast he had devoured.
If there was one thing he was grateful for, it was that after a certain point in time, his Void Physique seemed to have become picky about the bloodlines it integrated into his body.
Like this, the bloodlines of all those beasts from the massive battle he and Ruyue fought before, as well as of all the other beasts Damien devoured since entering the Cloud Plane, hadn't become a part of him.
He didn't pay it much attention at the time, but now he was truly grateful. From the beginning, he knew that the devour ability was mysterious. Its ability to optimize his evolution and growth, as well as choose the traits and parts of devoured beasts it integrated into him, was nigh-sentient.
But he knew it wasn't the case. Even if the physique always managed to elude his senses and never actually allowed him to figure out its true abilities, he was still intrinsically connected to it. It was a physique, after all, it was a part of his body.
He doubted whether any other physique was as weird as his own, seemingly existing as a part of him but also within a separate and mysterious space, but he didn't really care about that.
What made him happy was that his dragon bloodline wasn't any further tainted after he devoured the Sea Dragon, so continuous tempering through the ambient dragon aura as well as purification through battle should eventually be able to cleanse his blood.
'Though, it's a bit sad that I have to throw away some of these older bloodlines.'
The wolf bloodline was a connection he had to Zara, as well as the first bloodline he ever received. The goblin king bloodline symbolizes his triumph over his bestial instinct, allowing him to maintain his ego. Even that damn spider bloodline, no matter how much it disgusted him to carry the bloodline of those fiends, represented the conquering of his fear.
There were a myriad of bloodlines within him, most without value, but some held a sentimental value he couldn't bear to part with.
'But they won't completely disappear.'
The change in his cell structure and muscle arrangement in his legs that he got from the wolf would never leave.
The Absorption and Reflection trait he got from the Goblin King; although it had become useless already, would still represent his struggle at that time.
And his All-Seeing Eyes, which seemed almost as hard to develop as his Devour ability, would remain one of his most useful supportive abilities.
'That's right. I'm not abandoning those memories, but rebuilding them. Regardless of this useless sentimentality, strength is the most important thing in the world.'
Without strength, would he be able to hold those sentiments of his? Without strength, would he be able to live leisurely? The answer was a resounding no.
The strength he felt from his incomplete draconic transformation was incomparable. He felt that his physical strength had at least doubled and even his mana control had been heightened.
If it had to be described, he felt much more attuned with his body, allowing him to use it at its full power, unlike what he would do normally.
He craved the day when he would be able to feel such power while keeping his mind clear, and to do that, he needed to successfully train at the White Dragon Grotto.
As the flames of determination and fighting spirit blazed within his eyes, Damien arrived at one of the many dueling arenas on the first floor.
No matter how rowdy the area looked from the outside, there were still procedures to follow in order to fight. Otherwise, the place would just descend into pure chaos.
Damien headed over to one of the registration areas and gave his bronze medallion to the man at the desk.
"Damien Void. Just arrived. Worm Level."
"Hm?" The man had originally taken the medallion without much thought, but hearing that Damien had decided to fight on his very first day, a twinge of interest flashed across his eyes.
"Haha, another newbie, huh. It seems Senior Bai has really been collecting seedlings like crazy these days. Ah, right, you should be a 3rd class, right? Good, good."
The man kept mumbling to himself, occasionally asking Damien questions without giving him time to answer. A few minutes passed and the man handed Damien his medallion back.
"Alright; you've been registered without a hitch. Go ahead and watch the fights for now. When it's your turn, your medallion will vibrate to let you know. Newbie, remember not to underestimate your opponents in the arena. Everyone here is powerful. Alright, I've said enough. Good luck!"
Damien smiled at the man and walked into the arena. Inwardly, though, his mood became serious. 'Even the reception people are at 3rd class. What kind of level are those guys at the top?'
For around 3 hours, Damien sat silently in the rowdy atmosphere and watched the ongoing fights. They were blood-curdling and vicious, truly using death as entertainment. The fact that at the end of every battle, the loser was eaten by the winner was especially vulgar.
But Damien didn't mind much. Although cannibalism wasn't something he'd ever do, he didn't see a problem with others doing it. In the dungeon, there were plenty of races that cannibalized their own kind for strength. That was simply normal.
Finally, after a long wait, Damien felt the vibration of his medallion in his pocket. Without hesitation, he flashed onto the stage.
On the other end of the arena, a burly man with blood-red skin and eyes was staring back at him, bloodlust emanating from his body in waves.
"Oooh, this kid is actually a Worm!"
"Seriously? A Worm Level is actually so courageous?"
"Sadly, he got pit against this Borte guy. He isn't known as the Blood Dragon for nothing."
"But the newbie is still cut above the rest. Even in the face of Borte's bloodlust, he isn't cowering."
"True true."
In the arena, Damien paid no heed to the drivel of the audience and put his whole focus on his opponent. Unknowingly, he smirked.
"Kid, you dare show that kind of expression towards me?" Borte growled.
Damien smiled in response. "Against you, there's no need for me to cower."
"Fine then. I'll show you why newbies always fear the Blood Dragon." The bloodlust coming from Borte suddenly doubled.
Without giving them the opportunity for further banter, the light screens that separated them fell, signifying the start of the battle.
Borte stomped the ground and leaped forward, causing minute cracks in the surface. A massive double-sided axe emerged in his hand and he swung towards Damien's head violently.
"Ah, this newbie is done for."
"That Borte has a really short temper. It's the newbie's fault for being uninformed."
"Still, this is too much. If things continue like this, there won't be any newbie who makes it past the first battle."
From what the audience knew, there was no way someone who was just introduced to the environment of the White Drago Grotto would be able to contend with Borte. He was someone who had been fighting for years already.
Even if his lack of talent made it so he had stayed in the Snake level all these years, he still had leagues more experience than any fresh meat that just arrived.
And as the audience was thinking such thoughts…
Flash!
Boom!
"Devour."
Three distinct sounds presented themselves one after the other, instantly causing the formerly rowdy arena to go dead silent.
