Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Despite his worries, Jose was powerless to change anything.
The only thing he could do was to understand more about the real-time situation so that he would not be at a loss when a crisis came.
He surveyed his surroundings, searching for a target that he could inquire about.
The Blue Dragon?
Forget it. Blue Dragons had bad tempers. It would be terrible if he got beaten up instead of getting any information.
The White Dragon?
Forget it. The White Dragon’s poor brain capacity probably could not even remember what he ate for the previous meal.
The Golden Dragon?
Strange, why was there a Golden Dragon here?
The Golden Dragons were from the good faction and were enemies with the evil faction’s Five-Colored Dragons. They should not have appeared here.
After thinking for a while, he remembered that this Golden Dragon was a slave captured by the Mistress of the Red Nest. It was bound by a contract and was a slave soldier. As it was collectively ostracized by the baby Five-Colored Dragons, it did not have much of a presence.
Jose thought about the possibility of asking the Golden Dragon for information. Although they were enemies, the Golden Dragons were kind by nature. At the very least, he did not have to worry about conflict.
He could give it a try. The Golden Dragon was lying in front of him.
“Hey! Friend in front! Don’t look at the others! I’m calling you!”
The Golden Dragon looked wary. “I don’t remember knowing you.”
Jose was stunned, it actually had a loli voice.
No, according to the age differences of the dragons, the young female Golden Dragons were lolis.
“I’m Francesco Trinidad Jose, one who stands out from everyone else. You know me now, don’t you? What’s your name?”
“Yaligos.”
The golden dragon loli’s voice was not exactly friendly. In fact, there was an undisguised wariness in it, but Jose knew he had successfully taken a step toward his goal.
After getting to know each other, the inquiry went smoothly. Through the Golden Dragon loli, Jose learned that the battle had advanced to the Red Nest.
He had a bad feeling.
“Damn it! Is Red Nest going to be doomed?!”
How could he avoid calamity if the entire nest was taken down? If the Mistress of the Red Nest lost while he was still heavily injured, the outcome would be obvious. He would either be killed, dismembered to have his body parts marked and sold on the market like a pig or dog, or be captured alive and reduced to being a mount or pet.
As a proud man who lived in the world, how could he allow others to ride on him?!
“But if a beautiful fairy-like lady requests a ride…”
Two days later.
“All of you, get up!” A wild roar exploded at the entrance of the cave, accompanied by the sound of whips cracking against the walls.
“You lazy bums! Get up and seize victory for Her Majesty!”
Jose looked up and saw a gnoll shrouded in dust. This gnoll was a different species from its kind in the wild. It was twice the size of an ordinary gnoll, and its brown fur with gray spots stood straight like steel needles.
The equipment on its body was not comparable to that of ordinary wild monsters. It held a long whip and a serrated saber in each of its hands. It was also wearing a set of iron-studded leather armor with fur edges. The leather armor was stained with the ominous dark-red color of dried blood.
It was a dragonkin, the Gnoll Overseer!
In times of war, the Overseer had the right to kill soldiers who avoided battle. The young dragons stood up reluctantly and left the cave one after another, leaving Jose in the corner.
Jose tried his best to tightly squeeze his body to reduce his presence. The Overseer not only had the right to kill soldiers who avoided battle, but it also had the right to kill soldiers who had lost their value. Whether it killed them or not depended on its mood.
But things did not go as planned: the Gnoll Overseer noticed the young dragon in the corner.
“Why aren’t you going out to fight?!”
The Gnoll Overseer growled and swung its leather whip until it whistled. It walked into the empty cave, its tall body blocking out the sunlight and its shadow enveloping the severely injured red dragon.
Seeing that he could not avoid it, Jose raised his head and said in a low voice, “I was injured in the battle for the Mistress. Also, I want you to mind your identity, servant of the dragons. This is the Red Nest!”
He was reminding the Gnoll Overseer of his identity as a Red Dragon, and the leader of the highest authority in the Red Nest was also a Red Dragon.
The ruthless red eyes of the Gnoll Overseer swept across the charred scales on Jose’s body. Its eyes flickered between brightness and darkness, but it unconsciously lowered the long whip in its hand.
The Mistress of the Red Nest might not care about the life and death of a young dragon, but if she knew that her own kind had been killed at will, it was inevitable that she would feel upset about it. Thus, he turned and left.
“Phew…”
Jose breathed a sigh of relief.
“Wait! Get someone to send me a large amount of meat! I want an entire cow!” The victorious Red Dragon pushed his luck.
The Gnoll Overseer, who had reached the cave entrance, paused for a moment before leaving quickly.
Not long after, a small group of kobold servants carried a large amount of meat and placed it in front of Jose.
Jose ate and drank until he could not eat anymore. Then, he closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep. Sleeping would reduce the energy consumption of his body, allowing it to use more of the energy to heal his injuries.
After an unknown period of time, the groggy Jose regained consciousness. However, he was no longer in the cave, he was standing on a floating white marble square, with the edges of the flat surface being the boundary. Above his head was a brilliant galaxy, and beneath his feet was an endless void.
Where was this?
Did he transmigrate again?!
He raised his hand and saw a red dragon claw with sharp nails.
I didn’t transmigrate, but I’m fully healed. This is not reality, then this is… the space of my conscious mind, or maybe something beyond my comprehension.
He realized that this empty space was not ordinary. According to the common tropes of novels, it could be his golden finger1.
But what use did it have? How could it be used?
There were no operating guidelines, no beginner tutorials, and no system sprites in this godforsaken place. Everything was still uncertain and yet to be explored.
Jose flapped his wings and tried to fly, but found that he could not fly in this space. He walked to the edge of the square and looked down. The deep darkness almost seemed to devour his soul.
His intuition told him that something bad would happen if he jumped down. Of course, he had never intended to jump in the first place.
Rubbing his chin, he examined the white marble square beneath his feet.
Every brick in the luxurious square was identical. Even the gap between the bricks seemed to have been measured to precision.
There was nothing unusual at his feet, but what about above his head?
Jose looked up at the bright galaxy that was surrounded by a dazzling blue-purple color. It was incomparably beautiful. Even the pictures that he had altered with special filters in his previous life could not compare to it.
The stars in the galaxy were densely packed. They varied in size and brightness, but they did not look disorderly at all. It was as if they followed a certain pattern.
Jose’s gaze was unconsciously attracted by a special star. He felt that there was a strange connection between him and this star.
“Come here.”
After saying that, the star really fell. A meteor with a long trailing tail streaked across the galaxy and smashed towards the square.
The brightness was so overwhelming that he could not open his eyes. His brain was in a daze as he wondered, could it be that this golden finger was trying to murder its host?!
There was no earth-shattering explosion like he had imagined, not even a speck of dust was stirred. With a flash of bright light, a sculpture shrouded in resplendent starlight appeared in the middle of the square.
It took him a moment to collect himself.
“It made such a huge entrance. I thought it was trying to kill me.”
Jose could not help but quip in response to the situation while walking over to the statue.
The resplendent statue was about as tall as Jose. Above the square base, there was an Undying Bird that was bathed in flames and chirping at the sky. It was carved to perfection; the eyes in particular gave off a stubborn and unyielding feeling.
As he circled the statue, he noticed the words carved on the front of the base.
[Heart of the Undying Bird]: S
[Reincarnator]: One who is reborn in flames to live another life.
— Good luck, transmigrator.
“Oh, is this considered my transmigration gift?”
However, how should he use this gift?
He recalled a novel he had read in the past.
Honestly, these gold fingers were getting more and more perfunctory. The lousy creator did not even bother to give a product description. This was really something to complain about.
With that in mind, Jose touched the statue with his dragon claws.
Without any warning, the moment the tip of the claw touched the statue, threads of orange-red flames surged out of the body of the Undying Bird statue, enveloping him from his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears, before finally converging into his beating heart.
In reality, the sleeping Jose suddenly opened his eyes. His expression was one of pain as he clutched his chest. His heart felt like it was being roasted by fire.
Fortunately, the pain came and subsided just as quickly.
After the pain, Jose panted heavily; he felt his heart beating with strength.