Dragon System: Red Dragon Legacy-Chapter 69: Fragment Of Creation

Lilian woke up the next morning feeling unbelievably refreshed.

It was the kind of satisfaction she had never experienced before—not once in her entire life.

As she turned slightly, her eyes landed on the other side of the bed.

Orion was lying there, fast asleep, his upper body completely exposed. The moment she saw him, memories of the previous night flooded her mind all at once.

Her face heated up instantly.

She hurriedly looked away.

But she couldn’t stay turned for long.

Almost against her will, her gaze drifted back to Orion’s bare chest, tracing the faint lines of his muscles. Her imagination began to run wild, filling her thoughts with all sorts of naughty images.

Just then—

Orion’s eyes fluttered open.

Lilian snapped her head away, but it was already too late. He had clearly noticed where she’d been looking.

"What were you doing?" Orion asked, a mischievous grin forming on his lips.

"N-Nothing!" Lilian replied quickly, forcing herself to calm down. "Anyway, I should go back to my room. I need to freshen up. We have the dungeon expedition today—don’t forget."

"Alright," Orion said lazily. Then he smirked.

"But why don’t we take a shower together? I mean, we already did way more than that, so why not?"

Lilian glared at him in response—then bolted out of the room.

Orion chuckled to himself, then got up and took a shower on his own. After getting ready, he headed downstairs.

After eating a light breakfast, Orion and Lilian left for the academy together.

When they reached the gate, Orion was about to head toward his class, but Lilian stopped him.

"Wait. We need to go to the headmistress’s office first. From there, we’ll head straight to the dungeon."

Orion sighed.

"But I wanted to greet Sofia before going," he grumbled.

At the mention of Sofia, Lilian’s mood instantly darkened.

"Why do you have to bring up Sofia when we’re together?" she pouted.

Orion let out a deep breath.

"Look, Lilian. You know I love you both. When you act like this, it really hurts—and stresses me out."

Lilian nodded. She understood his feelings, but even if she tried to tolerate Sofia, it wasn’t as if she could suddenly become friends with her. After all, they were both competing for the same person’s affection.

Soon, they arrived at the headmistress’s office.

All the hero candidates were already there.

All except Aguri.

’Guess I beat him up pretty thoroughly,’ Orion smirked.

"Lilian, Orion—come sit here," Miss Rachel said.

Headmistress Evelyn stood right behind her. When her eyes met Lilian’s, both of them quickly looked away.

Orion noticed the exchange.

’Did something happen between them?’ he wondered, deciding to ask Lilian later.

"Alright," Headmistress Evelyn began. "I believe you all know why we’ve gathered here."

She paused briefly.

"Before we begin the expedition, there’s something I must address. The Dungeon of Wisdom is the weakest among the seven dungeons created by the heroes. So if you think it will be easy—you’re not entirely wrong."

Everyone relaxed slightly.

"But," she continued, her tone sharpening, "as its name suggests, wisdom is required to clear it. If you lack intelligence, you will struggle."

Everyone gulped.

"What do you mean?" Josephine asked nervously. "Are there riddles or something?"

Evelyn smiled.

"You’ll find out once you’re inside. After all, the best way to learn is through experience, isn’t it?"

"Headmistress," Revo spoke up, "where are the teachers and adventurers who are supposed to guide us?"

"This time, you’ll only be going down to the twentieth floor," Evelyn replied. "You won’t need supervision. And since you lack real battle experience, we want you to explore the first few floors on your own."

Revo and Josephine exchanged glances.

They both understood—this was clearly about Aguri’s defeat.

Meanwhile, Orion simply smirked.

Lilian rolled her eyes at his expression.

"By the way, Headmistress," Orion asked, "where exactly is the dungeon?"

"Curious, are we?" Rachel spoke up instead of the headmistress, a grin on her face.

"The dungeon is located in the Duchy of Zandvoort, west of the kingdom. Trust me—you’re going to love that place."

"What?" Orion frowned. "Do we have to stay there until the expedition is finished?"

"Fu fu fu~" Rachel chuckled mischievously, as if she had been waiting for Orion’s question.

"Of course not. You’ll only stay until your first visit is complete. We’ll bring you back afterward."

’How? Teleportation?’ Orion wondered.

As if reading his mind, Evelyn spoke.

"We’ll be using teleportation."

She looked at Orion, likely assuming that, having spent most of his life in seclusion, he was unfamiliar with teleportation portals.

And they weren’t wrong. He had always thought teleportation skills were unique—something only he possessed.

Orion looked at Lilian in surprise.

She simply stared back at him, as if to say, ’Why are you so shocked? You practically own teleportation.’

"Alright," Evelyn said. "I hope everyone is prepared. We’re heading out now."

"Wait—what about Aguri?" Revo asked. "Is it really wise to leave him behind?"

"He’ll need at least a week to recover," Evelyn replied calmly. "And we can’t postpone this expedition. Doing so would make our two S-rank adventurers unavailable for the next visit."

’Yeah, right, Orion thought. As if an academy this big would struggle with that.’

Still, he didn’t dwell on it and followed her outside.

They soon left the academy and headed toward the castle.

"Why are we going to the castle?" Orion asked.

"The teleportation portal is there," Lilian replied.

’Portal, huh...’ Orion mused smugly. ’Meanwhile, I can teleport anywhere I’ve already been just by thinking about it.’

Lilian caught his expression and rolled her eyes.

Soon, they arrived at a massive hall inside the palace.

A portal, similar to the one at the academy, stood at the center. Around it, nearly thirty robed mages chanted, pouring their mana into the formation.

"What are they doing?" Orion asked.

"They’re activating the portal and setting its destination," Lilian explained.

"Unlike you, they actually need preparation."

"You’re just a freak of nature," she added. If he weren’t her boyfriend, she might’ve attacked him out of jealousy.

Orion laughed.

"Don’t be jealous. What’s mine is yours anyway."

Lilian smiled at his words. She was about to hug him, but stopped when she noticed everyone staring.

Then the king entered.

His aura flooded the hall instantly.

Everyone—including Orion—knelt at once.

"All hail His Majesty, the King," they said in unison.

"Rise," the king commanded.

He looked over the hero candidates one by one.

"You are about to face your first major challenge without supervision," the king said.

"I pray to the Goddess for your success. The future of the world rests upon your shoulders."

Then his gaze lingered on Orion longer than necessary.

"You," he added, "have surprised me greatly. Keep this up, and you’ll become something extraordinary."

As the king turned to leave, his eyes briefly met the queen’s.

He scoffed—and looked away.

Orion caught the exchange.

’Oh? The situation in the palace is more complicated than I thought,’ he mused, an evil grin forming.

Lilian narrowed her eyes.

’What is he planning now...?’

The queen stepped forward.

"The portal is ready. Enter one by one."

They obeyed.

The moment they stepped through the portal, their eyes widened in awe.

Before them stretched a breathtaking mountain range—vast, colorful, and utterly majestic.

"Wow..." Josephine whispered. "This is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen."

"It really is," Lilian agreed.

"But we’re not here for sightseeing," Rachel said cheerfully.

"Once you finish your task, you can stay a few days if you like."

Revo frowned.

"Where exactly are we?"

"Fu fu~ Why don’t you look behind you?"

They turned—and froze.

They were inside a massive fortress carved into the mountain itself. Below them lay a sprawling city nestled in the valley.

"Welcome to Zandvoort," Rachel said proudly.

"One of the crown jewels of the kingdom."

Then she clapped her hands.

"Alright, enough sightseeing. See that mountain with no trees?"

Everyone nodded—it stood out like a sore thumb in an otherwise perfect scene.

"That’s where the dungeon is. And you can access it directly from this fortress."

Everyone wondered how it was possible—the mountain was so far from the fortress.

Then—

[New Mission Unlocked: Clear the Dungeon of Wisdom

Rewards:

The remaining half of the Starforged Skill’s Fragment

Information regarding Universal Skills]

’What? Really? My luck can’t be—’

He didn’t get to finish his thought before the system rang in his head again.

[A Fragment of Creation detected in the dungeon]

’A Fragment of Creation? Boy, it looks like I really hit the motherlode this time.’

Although Orion didn’t know exactly what it was, one didn’t need to be a genius to figure out from the name that it was some OP item. Orion was so happy he started grinning like an idiot, completely ignoring the people around him.

"Why are you grinning to yourself like a total psychopath, man?" Revo asked, looking at him with a mix of confusion and suspicion.

"Oh, it’s nothing. I just... thought of something funny," Orion tried to brush it off.

Lilian, however, wasn’t fooled. Her eyes narrowed—she knew something was up and fully intended to corner Orion about it later.

"Anyway, let’s get going, shall we?" Headmistress Evelyn spoke, and everyone followed her toward the dungeon.