Transcendent Resurgence: Regressing on an abandoned Earth

His goal was to become a humanoid monster that had poison immunity, but this…

‘I'm not sure which race I belong to,’

Zyrus waved his tail as he spun in circles.

He had become taller and with cyan-blue scales all over his body. In addition, he had a four feet tail which had a spike at its end.

However, these weren't the most prominent changes.

‘What’s up with my face?’

Zyrus ran his finger across his smooth cheeks. He felt a cold metallic sensation on his finger as he traced his jawline which had become quite large.

‘Am I a lizardman? It was my initial goal but something feels different,’

Zyrus wasn’t quite certain of this instinct but he was sure about one thing, He was at least five times stronger compared to before.

Unfortunately, he wasn't able to access his status screen, so there was no way to verify his exact stats and species.

“Anyone there?” his shout echoed in the cavern in front of him. It was eerie and dark, with nary a soul in sight.

‘A dungeon? I didn’t know there was one in the tutorial,’ Zyrus thought about possible scenarios as he paced around.

He had to adapt to his new body first. Fortunately, he was able to summon his spear thanks to the blood contract between them.

‘This tail is so annoying,’

Zyrus wasn’t able to keep his balance due to the change in the center of mass. In addition, he had to practice with his mana as well.

‘I’ve saved up a lot of SP, but I can’t use any in this damned place,’

He grumbled and worked out with his new form, unaware of the pair of eyes observing him.

…

The sun met the horizon when Zyrus was still practicing under the orange sky.

‘This should be enough,’ Zyrus plopped down and wiped the non-existent sweat on his forehead. He had created, or rather, regained the basic mana strengthening skill as well. Coupled with his scales and immense vitality, there weren’t many things that could threaten him in the tutorial.

He entered the cavern with his spear pointed in front of him. He was no longer worried about Lauren and Kyle thanks to Aurora, but it wasn’t good to spend much time in an unfamiliar area.

‘And there’s that creepy feeling,’

Zyrus walked while scanning the cave with his reptilian eyes. There were only boulders and moss as far as his eyes could see.

He had to walk for half an hour before the environment changed. In front of him was a stone stairway that led below the ground, guarded by a bronze golem.

‘Hmm, is this a dungeon or not?’ Zyrus looked around as he trudged ahead in a fighting stance. If it was a dungeon, the lack of traps made no sense.

He didn’t have the chance to think further as the golem had noticed him already. Bronze golems were far more difficult to deal with than stone golems. Not to mention its physical property restricted the Bloodspine spear’s ability.

‘It’s a counter against my new poison skill as well.’

He knew about his racial skill without the status. It was as if it had been a part of him since the beginning. Using poison breath was as easy as walking for him. He could finish the fight quickly by using the eye of annihilation, but he changed his mind in the end.

He was sure of one thing, Someone or something was looking at his every move, and the less he revealed the better.

‘Did they think that I’d be at a disadvantage without the system?’ Zyrus smirked and clashed his spear against the golem's palm.

*Scrrech*

Sparks flew in the empty cave as Zryus was pushed back a yard. However, considering that it was a head-on clash against the bronze golem which specialized in physical attacks, it was a favorable result for Zyrus.

‘Aurora talked about a helper earlier… they must know about my past life as well.’

*Clang*

Even without the system prompts, he knew that the golem was losing its HP with every clash.

They traded blows and took out one another’s HP, but one thing was different from the fight against the ogre, Zyrus was no longer a human.

His vitality wasn't something a random bronze golem could compare to.

‘I should have at least 2000 HP, so I’ll let whoever is watching believe that I’m saving my mana.’

*Thrust*

*Thunk*

He failed to pierce the golem's armor, but his goal was to hinder its movement anyway. He wanted to drag this fight for as long as possible.

Zyrus knew that whoever was observing him would have a superior feeling now. It was a natural response almost everyone in the higher positions had.

‘The more they look down on me, the better.’

For Zyrus, the final battle had already begun.

*Slash*

*Scrrech*

‘I’ll have a nice surprise waiting for you,’ Zyrus clashed again with a cold glint in his eyes.

Since the system couldn’t reach the area, that meant that the eyes and ears of the Eternals were covered as well.

And as Zyrus was certain that the person behind this so-called test wasn’t his enemy, he didn’t mind showing them the skill he had theorized a while back, a skill that used his source of origin.

Neither Aurora nor Nidraxis who was observing the fight knew about Zyrus’s source of origin. After all, if they did, this test would be meaningless.

Finally, after half an hour of arduous clash, Zyrus shattered the golem’s core at the cost of 500 HP.

“Hahaha.. how weak.” Zyrus laughed after kicking the golem and went down the stairs.

He was completely unguarded at this moment. At least, that’s what it looked like from the outside.

‘They must think that I’m arrogant and overconfident.’

Zyrus believed that whoever designed the test must want to assess his combat abilities. Just having strength wasn’t enough to win a battle, one needed acute judgment and a suitable temperament.

‘I’ve had enough failures for the day.’

He didn’t want to be controlled by anyone. Although they wanted a fight, Zyrus didn’t want to give them one.

After moving down a hundred steps, Zyrus saw a passageway that led him forward.

There was a circular hall in front of him, and in the middle of it, he saw the one in charge of this dungeon.

“For a dragon, You’re living in quite a shabby place huh?”

“You disappoint me with your performance, Zyrus Wymar.” The dragon spoke in an emotionless tone.

Zyrus observed the floating dragon with a wary gaze. Its red scales emitted an ominous glow under the light of braziers.

“Is that so?” Zyrus retorted as he matched his gaze with the golden eyes of the dragon.

As a newborn monster, he felt the suppression from a higher ranked species, but his will was strong enough to endure it.

“You’re not bad, but that’s all there is to it, not bad.” The dragon unfurled its majestic wings and hovered above. Just the wind generated from a flap was enough to push Zyrus back.

Zyrus acted as if he was infuriated, but on the inside, he was channeling all his mana towards his spear.

“As the core’s owner, you’ll need more than little tricks to control the sanctuary.”

“What?” Zyrus was surprised as he heard that. This time, it was genuine.

“Humph! Did you think that I, a mighty dragon, wouldn’t notice your silly trick?”

‘He mustn’t be the brightest of dragons...’ Zyrus was speechless as he looked at the boasting dragon. He was clearly surprised by the latter part. He could guess that the so-called core was the cube he had, but he couldn't figure out what it had to do with controlling the sanctuary.

“You weren't supposed to win from the beginning. I am the blood dragon, Nidraxis.”

“Never heard of you.” Zyrus yelled in a defiant tone even as he was shivering due to his body's instincts.

“Still trying to provoke me? Listen, you conceited human. This was a test, a test to assess your combat abilities, got it? Your sharp tongue serves no purpose here.”

‘Well, looking at your flaring nostrils, it sure as hell did.’

Zyrus feigned indifference and spoke back to the dragon,

“What do you want then? Didn’t I defeat the golem?”

“You held back your mana, you think I don’t know who you are?”

“That’s called being smart, something a lizard like you wouldn’t get.”

“You’re one to talk.”

‘Fuck! He got me this time.’ Zyrus almost choked due to embarrassment. Along with the combat skills, he had to upgrade his trash-talking skills after the race change.

“Fight me human! And prove that you’re worthy of having my fang.” Nidraxis spoke as he dived down towards Zyrus.

He was barely able to block the claw's shadow with his spear and even then, he was flung against the wall.

*Spat*

Zyrus once again stood his ground after spitting out blood.

“Still not using your mana? Fine then.” The dragon roared and at that moment, Zyrus felt the mana around him tremble.

After looking at the dragon's bulging throat, Zyrus gripped the Bloodspine spear and charged forward. He activated the eye of annihilation which was enhanced by his racial characteristics.

‘So that’s how it is.’

Zyrus looked at the red threads that connected every scale of the dragon, and finally, he saw the source of that energy.

He ran headfirst towards the pillar of blood-red light. He knew that he was being stubborn; he just had to pass the test to get the S rank talent and a new class.

However, he didn’t want to fight with a losing mindset. He wanted to control his own fate, no matter how futile it may be. If he couldn't keep his pride in a fight where his life wasn't at risk, what right did he have to challenge the Eternals?

He could choose to lay low and slowly gather his strength, but could he conquer the sanctuary with such a mindset? He wasn't a fool who would fight against someone who was way beyond his league. However, as long as there was a tiniest chance of victory, he wouldn't cower from a fight.

Nidraxis was stumped as he looked at Zyrus who took his breadth head on.

‘What is that brat thinking?’

Zyrus laughed manically even while his scales were being melted.

“Don’t be so stubborn, I’m not your enemy. Why are you risking your life to fight me? Besides, can you even harm me with your puny amount of mana?”

“Hahaha…Your overconfidence will be your undoing.” Zyrus spoke in a condescending tone and glared at the dragon. Even though he only had 20% of his HP left, Even though he was only able to make one strike, it didn’t matter.

He had won the moment Nidraxis let him get close.

“Preposterous, Do you think I don't know about your skill? Even though I'm just a clone, I'm the clone of an IMMORTAL,” The Dragon roared at Zyrus who was still charging at him with a scornful gaze. It was truly infuriated this time.

“No, You’re not.” Zyrus jumped while staring at the dragon’s golden eye, stabbing his spear towards the fang.

Nidraxis swiped his claws to attack Zyrus, but alas, it was too late.

A black dot appeared on the tip of the spear, shattering the very fabric of space around it.

“H-How?” The dragon spoke as he started to disintegrate into a red fog. Never in his eternal life was he this perplexed.

*Huff* Huff*

“Although I’m not your match, it’s a different case for a drop of your blood.”

“Hahahaha… You got me this time! Excellent! With your source of origin, you are more than worthy to inherit the core.” The dragon was truly happy as he looked at Zyrus.

“Let’s fight for real next time,” Zyrus spoke while leaning on his spear. He was completely spent after that one attack.

“Sure thing, so don’t die before that,” Nidraxis waved his claw before vanishing, and a scroll appeared in front of Zyrus who was on the brink of collapse.

A complete silence descended on the cave after Zyrus fainted on the ground. A shining white fang and a black scroll lay in front of him, waiting to be claimed by their master.