While the dragon lords had their meeting, Vaan continued to train in the land of fire, raising his fire affinity, defense, and strength.

Thanks to the Fire Dragon Physique, he no longer needed to dual-practice with fire-attribute witches for their mana; he just needed a suitable fiery environment like the land of fire.

Ding!

<Your body has successfully absorbed the fire-attribute mana in the magma>

<Your strength has improved by 2 points>

<Your defense has improved by 1 point>

<Your fire affinity has improved by 1%>

..

Two hours passed within the blink of an eye, but Vaan showed no sign of reaching his limits despite barely holding on for an hour prior to absorbing the Fire Dragon God's blood essence.

At the same time, Jergag watched over him without a hint of boredom; only increasing astonishment could be found on his face.

The elderly dragon wasn't blind.

He could see the significant change from before and after Vaan absorbed the Fire Dragon God's blood essence into his body.

A single drop of blood essence was generally far too little to produce any significant result.

However, it was clear to him that Vaan's body could absorb the fire-attribute mana in the magma and turn it into his strength.

Even though Vaan's body was still getting burned by magma, it was no longer as bad as before. Thus, his regeneration had little work to do.

'The Fire Dragon Physique. Vaan had perfect compatibility with Lord Dragon God's blood essence! He absorbed its full potency and acquired the Fire Dragon Physique!' Jergag concluded with wide eyes.

Even though the truth was before him, the elderly dragon still found it had to believe, as seen by the disbelief in his eyes.

'How is that possible? A human is perfectly compatible with Lord Dragon God's blood essence.. Even the nine dragon lords with the highest strength in the tribe don't have such compatibility..' Jergag recalled with shock.

'A single drop of blood essence granted such overwhelming benefits.. If Vaan also absorbs the blood essence rewards from the first and second stages of the trial, then..' Jergag thought.

The elderly dragon couldn't imagine it, but he was strangely very excited by the prospect; it had his blood boiling with anticipation.

He felt like Lord Dragon God had chosen the inheritor of his legacy.

'Alas, Vaan is human. Not every dragon will agree if he tries to take Lord Dragon God's inheritance from them; they wouldn't allow it. However, they can't do anything if Vaan obtains the inheritance before they discover his potential,' Jergag mused.

In other words, his best course of action was to keep silent and let Vaan continue to grow.

Although the elderly dragon also felt a little disappointed that the person with perfect compatibility wasn't a dragon, he could still accept it.

After all, if the Fire Dragon God's inheritance wasn't meant for them, they couldn't have it even if they wanted it.

No dragon had been able to come close to overcoming all of the Trial by Fire's stages.

Now that someone with the potential to succeed appeared, they shouldn't stop the person but encourage him.

Nevertheless, while Jergag's imagination was running wild, Vaan remained oblivious to the matter. He was completely focused on his training.

Ding!

<Your body has successfully absorbed the fire-attribute mana in the magma>

<Your strength has improved by 2 points>

<Your defense has improved by 1 point>

<Your fire affinity has improved by 1%>

..

As Vaan's body kept improving, another three hours passed before he finally decided to take a break from his training.

Blackthorn wasn't built in one day.

'Stats!' Vaan willed.

Ding!

=====

?Physical Attributes?

[387 → 453 Defense (↑66)] [Mid-level Rank 3 → High-level Rank 3] [250 Aura Power] [19 → 22 Dragon Force (↑3)] [Total Defense: 656 → 725 (Low-level Rank 4)]

[230 → 351 Strength (↑121)] [High-level Rank 2 → Mid-level Rank 3] [250 Aura Power] [23 → 35 Dragon Force (↑12)] [Total Strength: 503 → 636 (High-level Rank 3 → Low-level Rank 4)]

[217 Speed] [High-level Rank 2] [250 Aura Power] [Total Speed: 467 (High-level Rank 3)]

=====

?Lycan State?

[Total Defense: 725 → 951 (↑226) (Low-level Rank 4 → High-level Rank 4)]

[Total Strength: 636 → 811 (↑175) (Low-level Rank 4 → Mid-level Rank 4)]

[Total Speed: 467 → 575 (↑108) (High-level Rank 3 → Low-level Rank 4)]

=====

?Elemental Affinity?

[Earth: 53%]historical

[Wind: 13%]

[Lightning: 12%]

[Light: 5%]

[Wood: 25%]

[Fire: 13% → 21% (↑8)]

=====

Vaan's lips twitched when he glanced at his improvement.

Without a doubt, he had improved significantly within a short time. Even so, it wasn't a rate of improvement that anyone else could copy either.

Unless the person also had the system and Peak-rank regeneration like him, their body would likely break down from the rapid changes.

Possessing two Divine-rank bloodlines truly separated him from the mass.

'I've finally become somewhat powerful now,' Vaan reflected.

Although he was still no match for Rank 5 beings, he could stand his ground against High-level Rank 4 beings.

After all, if he entered Lycan Transformation and further enhanced his defense with the blessings of the earth, his defense points would exceed four digits.

His defense was simply too high.

The High Witches in the Black Rose Kingdom could no longer hurt him—if the information regarding their strength was still accurate, that is.

"Done?" Jergag asked.

Vaan nodded.

"You're full of surprises, you know that?" Jergag commented before adding, "I assume the amount of improvement you've gained from a simple bath in the magma sea isn't small. It's hard to imagine how much you would gain from the Trial by Fire."

"Even I didn't expect my improvement to be so swift and smooth, Senior Jergag." Vaan casually replied, "It feels a little surreal, almost like something bad is bound to happen soon."

"Don't be such an alarmist, Vaan. Your talent is simply too shocking. Furthermore, this land of fire was blessed by Lord Dragon God's divine body, so your improvement is somewhat expected but still shocking nonetheless," Jergag stated.

Seeing the elderly dragon didn't take his words too seriously, Vaan simply smiled in response.

Nevertheless, he was still bothered by the nagging feeling in his heart.