Chapter 266: The Dragon Heir and His Titles

[Rank Up Complete]

[Host will now be referred to as Dragon Heir]

An extreme amount of power surged through Aiden as the ranking up process completed.

Aiden steadied himself, breathing slowly as the surge began to settle. He was in genuine surprise.

“This amount of power…” he muttered. It wasn’t a qualitative change but why did it feel like one.

Then the system sent the usual screens that Aiden had come to expect with each rank up.

His General Dragon Skills had all received significant improvements across the board. The Dragon’s Bond skill had strengthened considerably as well, which meant both Laela and Arianna would experience a dramatic increase in the potency of their origin magic.

The strength of his Fire Magic and Authorities had also leveled up to Eternal Rank

The expansion of his Authority skill ranges was also a thing of genuine surprise. Where before he could affect targets anywhere on a planet, his reach now extended across the entire solar system.

But then, the most significant change to his authorities, were the Titles he had just received the notifications of getting.

The system had displayed this, Instead of listing new Authority skills like previous rank-ups had done:

[You have gained the title → Warden of Time]

[You have gained the title → The Manifold One]

[You have gained the title → Master of Desolation]

[You have gained the title → The Axis]

Each one was clearly related to one of his Authorities. Time. Replication. Destruction and Space. But what did they mean?

“What are these titles meant for?” Aiden asked aloud.

The system responded immediately:

[These titles are given to the host who has reached a level close to being an embodiment of these concepts]

[Every skill you have gained so far under the Authorities will now fall under these titles, and will operate on a more conceptual level]

Aiden’s eyes widened further as understanding began to dawn on him.

Before he could process it any further, something unexpected happened.

Images flooded into his mind. These scenes were so vivid it felt like he was there.

He saw Laela and Arianna sitting together in his room, speaking quietly with his time variant and Aeris.

Their expressions also looked troubled.

Aiden sighed heavily as the images of his worried wives He knew exactly what troubled them. It was the war in Eden, his absence, and the uncertainty of his safe return.

Normally, he wouldn’t receive information through the time variant at Ravens Grave, since time variants operated independently without a hive mind connection to the original.

However, his avatars stationed across dimensions shared a hive mind with both him and his time variants. This created a bridge, and information flowed from time variants to avatars, and from avatars back to Aiden himself.

Through this interconnected network, he remained informed despite the distance.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Then the images shifted. Now he saw other members of the guild scattered throughout the building in various positions.

Then a certain image flashed into view and this one made Aiden’s eyes go wide.

Kayden and Innis were in the training room. But they weren’t training.

Kayden had Innis pressed gently against the wall, one hand braced beside her head while the other cupped her cheek tenderly. Their lips were locked together in a deep, passionate kiss.

Aiden couldn’t help it, he laughed aloud.

“Finally,” he muttered with a grin spreading across his face. “Took him long enough.”

Aiden slowly began to understand what was going on. These images… they weren’t random visions.

They had pulled directly from his own thoughts based on who he was thinking about at that exact moment.

Even while he was in his Pocket Domain ranking up, some small part of his thoughts had naturally drifted toward wanting to return to his wives and the guild.

It was precisely because of that subconscious desire that those images, showing where they were and what they were doing at that very moment, had flashed vividly into his memory.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

But just to further test that this assumption was right, Aiden thought of Lysandra.

The moment her name crossed his mind, an image materialized with perfect clarity.

Lysandra sat alone within the Academy’s library, surrounded by stacks of books.

A translucent screen then appeared immediately before him:

[This is your power as The Axis]

[This title is of the Space Authority, and as The Axis, you are able to see the position of anything you desire]

[To see the position of whatever it is you want, all you need do is think of the person or object and they shall be found in whatever part of the universe]

Aiden’s eyes widened as understanding dawned fully.

“So it’s not just about seeing where they are,” he muttered. “It’s about knowing their exact position in space… anywhere in the universe.”

More understanding of these titles dawned on Aiden.

They basically granted him vast more control over the authorities he possessed than the streamlined skills.

Then closed his eyes for a second and let out a deep breath. When he opened them again, all those images disappeared.

He was bringing his newfound powers under control. There was still so much he wanted to check out, in fact, there was one particular aspect he couldn’t wait to get to, but he decided to wait until he was done ranking up and reviewing all the features that came with it first.

The system messages continued:

[The System specially rewards you with +5 Level Ups]

[Current Level: 6/20]

Aiden smiled as he looked at the notification confirming the system had made good on its promise.

His gaze lingered on the level display for a moment.

Six out of twenty.

“Don’t worry,” he said. “We’ll fix that soon.”

A few more screens appeared in rapid succession. Then finally, it was concluded. All that remained now was the special gift.

“Now what is this special gift I was awarded?” Aiden asked. In that instant, something materialized before him mid-air.

A key.

It floated there gently, rotating slowly so he could see every detail.

The key’s form was distinct, crafted from what looked like silver starlight given solid shape. It had runic patterns glowing faintly along its surface.

A new screen appeared:

[Key to the Architect → This key lets you reach the place where the architect of the system resides]

Aiden blinked twice in surprise.

“Okay…” he said slowly, staring at the key with genuine surprise. “I would have never seen this part coming.”

Syra, who had been watching quietly from beside him this entire time, chuckled softly as she stepped closer.

“Frankly, I never used the key myself, so I can’t say what you should or should not expect.”

Aiden turned toward her. “You never got curious? Not even once?”

Syra shook her head with a small smile playing on her lips. “Nahhh…” she replied casually. “What were we going to even talk about?”

Aiden shook his head amusingly at that response, considering it for a moment longer before making his decision.

He reached out and took hold of the floating key gently in his hand, then with a thought, sent it directly into his Treasury of Artifacts for safekeeping

Talking to the architect would have to be left for another time.

Now that the system was done presenting everything related to his rank-up rewards, it was time for him to get into what he truly wanted to do next.

As Warden of Time, His power to accelerate time had evolved significantly, and not just in terms of affecting external targets or environments anymore either.

He could now directly accelerate the time it took for his own power to grow stronger naturally over time itself…

And with that ability focused inward upon himself specifically, he could indirectly force his body to level up rapidly without needing actual combat experience or quest completions alone anymore.

This was precisely the same method Cronyssia’s time variant had once used on him within that S-Ranked Dungeon where he and the guild had faced the Malgia back then.

And now? Now he possessed that same capability himself…

Aiden’s lips curved into a grin with this feeling of anticipation, but before he could act on that impulse—

Cronyssia materialized suddenly beside him.

Her translucent form hovered calmly as she spoke:”Slow down, Aiden.”

He turned toward her.

She continued before he could say anything:

“I can tell you intend to jump straight to Dragon King Rank with that ability… but it won’t work.”

She paused briefly before adding:

“Well… at least not for achieving the rank itself, but for gaining level-ups? It should work just fine.”

Aiden’s face fell instantly into disappointment. “Oh come on!” he exclaimed loudly while throwing both hands up into exasperation.

Cronyssia continued. “I mean… of course it is to be expected, you know?”

She gestured vaguely toward him as she explained further:

“The qualitative change you undergo when reaching Dragon King is unlike anything you’ve ever felt before.”

“You’re reaching an apex level of four dragons combined into one being… and that single rank alone makes up approximately thirty-five percent of your total potential power.”

Aiden froze mid-gesture, he was taken aback by that statement. “Wait—what?”

This meant that all those ranks attained so far, from Hatchling all the way up through Dragon Heir only accounted for sixty-five percent total.

Cronyssia then continued speaking again:

“I’m unsure if even I myself as the Dragon of Time could’ve forced that type of accelerated growth upon you either.”

Aiden exhaled slowly. “I see…”

For several a moment afterward, neither spoke. Then finally, Aiden straightened up fully once more and his earlier disappointment faded away.

“Alright then,” Aiden said. “If I can’t force myself straight into Dragon King yet, then I’ll do what I can do right now instead”

He raised both hands before himself, and activated his power of acceleration.

Time began bending inwardly upon Aiden, as he concentrated on accelerating his natural growth rate.

He could feel it working immediately.

It felt like a strange sensation of weeks passing by, and compressed into mere seconds, with his body adapting rapidly, his reserves enlarging and his strength solidifying.

Translucent screens began appearing rapidly one after another:

[+1 Level Up]

[+1 Level Up]

[+1 Level Up]

[+1 Level Up]

They continued flashing by faster, and faster

Aiden gritted his teeth slightly from sheer effort required maintaining such concentrated temporal acceleration focused inward like this without destabilizing himself.

It continued that way until finally..

[+1 Level Up]

[Current Level: 20/20]

[You Have Reached Max Level Of Dragon Heir Rank]

Aiden stood there breathing heavily as his body radiated power far greater than what he possessed mere moments ago.

He looked down at his hands slowly, clenching them into fists experimentally, feeling every ounce of newfound strength coursing through him now.

A grin spread across his face…

“Now we’re talking…”

Cronyssia said, “Well done. ”

Then, without hesitation, he pushed further still.

Cronyssia said nothing and only watched, knowing it would fail badly, but also knowing he had to see it for himself.

He closed his eyes once more, gathering energy again, this time attempting forcefully accelerate past level twenty, and break through directly into Dragon King Rank.

But immediately

[ERROR]

[RANK UP TO DRAGON KING CANNOT BE FORCED THROUGH TEMPORAL ACCELERATION]

[QUALITATIVE TRANSFORMATION REQUIRED EXCEEDS HOST’S CURRENT CAPABILITY TO SELF-INDUCE]

[ATTEMPT FAILED]

The notification flashed before him, and simultaneously a sharp pain lanced through his entire body causing him stumble backward slightly.

Cronyssia chuckled a bit. “I told you it wouldn’t work…”

Aiden laughed a wryly as he straightened up again. “Yeah… can’t blame me for trying though.”

Cronyssia smiled faintly:

“No… I suppose not…”

Aiden continued, “That’s alright anyway. Besides, I’m at a level where I can finally fight Lilith now, and win”

Then he stopped for a moment and added, “its just that this holy grail thing complicates things”

Cronyssia agreed. “Indeed”

Aiden continued, “but you know what? Maybe I can’t deal with Lilith directly just yet…”

Then he grinned deviously,

“But I’m definitely going rip those demons a new one.”​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep