There were still faint traces of blood on the hem of Aurelia's dress—and at the corner of her lips.
Her face was pale, her breathing so shallow it was barely there. She didn't look like a living person anymore—more like a porcelain doll someone had dropped: cracked, fragile, wrong.
Logan stared at her for a couple of seconds.
If this were Earth--
A girl like her would've been tucked safely in her family's arms, treated like something precious.One small stumble and everyone would be on her in a panic, checking for bruises.
But now, here she was. Curled up beside him—this so-called "dragon"—in a damp, lightless cave, hanging on by a thread.
"...Sigh."
The breath went out of him instinctively.
But what came out of his dragon throat was a low, guttural growl, heavy with frustration.
Logan didn't go to check his new abilities right away.
Instead, he turned his attention back to Aurelia and brought up her status panel.
The instant his eyes fell on the "Remaining Lifespan" section, his whole body froze.
One day.
She only had one day left.
"...Wait."
Logan blinked, stunned.
"I have been unconscious for more than a day?"
His eyes swept the cave.
The herbs lying all over the ground were still fresh, their edges damp with moisture. It still rained outside, and the sky had not lightened.
No matter how he looked at it, it didn't feel like a full day had passed.
So where had that time gone?
How had Aurelia gotten this weak, this fast?
He couldn't make sense of it.
His eyes fell to the crushed herbs in the ground and then back to the unconscious girl in his arms. Unease stirred, slow and cold, in the pit of his chest.
What if something happened while he was out - something he didn't know about?
No answers.
Which meant he had to rely on that thing he loved and hated at the same time.
The system.
Logan called up his system interface.
Sure enough there were a couple new entries in the skill tab.
[Basic Devour] and [Upgrade Points: 2000].
He skimmed through them very quickly.
And he already had a rough idea of what Basic Devour did. Useful, sure-but it was not going to fix this.
The real key was the upgrade points (2000 points).
There was no way he would be able to diagnose whatever was wrong with Aurelia on his own.
But maybe the system could.
Clinging to that last bit of hope, Logan opened the system shop.
The instant the interface loaded his expression went stiff.
There were not too many things in the store.
And most of them...
Looked like they were intended for a "girl."
Candy, cake, chocolate - rows of neatly placed sweets. There were even things for daily use, hair accessories, little trinkets.
The most pricey item was an absurdly elaborate Lolita-type dress.
Price: 10,000 upgrade points.
It made the princess dress Aurelia was wearing look plain by comparison.
Logan stared deadpan at it for two seconds.
"…I'd have to be insane to spend points on that."
He kept scrolling.
There were only three herbs available.
Willow Bark — already used, back at 100 upgrade points.
Healing Herb.
Bruise Balm.
All the basic items with names that told you exactly what they did.
None of them were going to be any help on this.
Logan narrowed his eyes.
Something was off.
This system shop...
Was it really meant for him?
Or had it always been more tailored to the Foxkin girl lying on the ground?
The thought gave him a chill down his spine.
Logan closed the system shop. No point wasting time.
If he was not able to heal her this way--
Then he'd just have to get another.
He opened the Evolution and Modification interface.
This time the layout finally looked . . . normal.
The choices were obviously divided into two major categories:
External Modifications
Internal Modifications
The first row under External Modifications provided a couple of simple upgrades:
Harden Claws, Iron Scales Reinforced Skeleton.
Prices ranged from a hundred to ten thousand upgrade points. There were even the option for minor cosmetic tweaks.
But Internal Modifications--
Logan just looked at it once and then realized that the list was absolutely insane.
Facial features, organs, muscles, blood vessels . . .
From the heart to the lungs, from the nervous system to the digestive tract - almost every part of the body was up for grabs.
There was even an option to modify the part responsible for… bowel movements.
At the very bottom of the list, there is one entry which almost caused Logan to forget to breathe.
Upgrading internal heart energy output to "Stellar-Class."
Cost: 10,000,000,000 upgrade points.
Logan looked at that line and stared for several seconds, swallowing hard. He didn't even have the guts to imagine what that would be like.
That wasn't something you put in to the "maybe useful someday" file.
That was something from another Universe altogether.
He hurriedly averted his eyes and forced his concentration back to the present.
Right now, the strongest he could get - that wasn't the biggest problem -
It was "that he had not the faintest clue as to what was wrong with Aurelia."
With no known cause there was no way to treat it.
What he needed wasn't power. It was information.
Logan began going through the list of modifications, looking for anything that could have anything to do with "perception" and "diagnosis."
To be honest, he was not expecting much.
This was a dragon evolution system after all.
Boosting claws, toughening scales, enhancing breath attacks-that was the usual fare.
Who the hell will install "doctor skills" in a black dragon?
Sure enough he scrolled and scrolled and got no results.
Just as he was about to give up and find another solution, his eyes fell on a small entry which was easily overlooked.
[(Ocular Modification: Incorporate Insight (Rudimentary))]
Cost: 1,000 upgrade points.
Upgrade Intermediate Insight. 5000 Upgrade Points.
[Insight (Basic): Grants rough awareness of objects and conditions.]
Logan's gaze sharpened.
This--
Might actually help.
It probably wouldn't provide him with a complete diagnosis but at the very least, it would prevent him from flying blind.
He hesitated a moment, but then made up his mind.
System, Buy Ocular Modification: Insight (Basic)."
[(Ding! Purchase successful.
1,000 upgrade points deducted.
Modification will start right away.
Warning: The process can be highly painful. Please do not try to gouge out your own eyes.)]
Logan: "...?"
The next second--
Agony exploded behind his eyes without warning.
It was not only pain - it felt like something was stabbing and stirring deep inside his eyeballs.
Burning, swelling, itching—all at once. His claws twitched with the urge to rake his own face.
And now he knew what exactly that system warning meant.
--He really, really wanted to rip his eyes out.
Thankfully, torment was swift and gone as quickly.
Any longer and he might've actually done something irreversible.
Logan shook his head, dragon tears streaming in an uncontrolled fashion down his face.
On reflex, he looked down at the ground.
A line of text appeared in his vision:
[Ordinary sandstone floor, stained with dragon feces.]
"..."
Logan's dragon face froze.
"Am I going nuts, or how filthy was this dragon before I woke up?"
He instantly moved away from that spot putting some distance between himself and the mess. Then he looked down on his own body.
[(A dumbass black dragon.)]
Logan's eye twitched hard.
For a moment, he seriously considered--
Should he just dig these eyes out now and be done with it?
But then it hit him: The reason [(Insight)] was showing this kind of commentary probably had something to do with what he'd just been thinking.
After all, he had just called himself a dumbass dragon in his head.
With that in mind, he forced himself to control his emotions and allowed his eyes to wander to the other side of the cave--
To the unconscious little Foxkin girl.
The information was updated instantly.
[(Beastkin Elf * Foxkin)]
[(Talent: Top-tier)]
[(Status: Critical)]
[(Cold sweats|Chills|Anemia)]
[(Ulceration on thigh)]
[(Cough that does not go away|Stomach spasms)]
[(Heart failure|Inflammation of the lung)]
[(Ankle sprain|Minor abrasions.
The list of conditions filled up his whole field of vision.
Logan just stared, stunned.
In that moment he realized - it was a miracle that she was even still alive.
[(Insight (Basic))] didn't give him the diagnosis No treatment plan either.
It just laid out each and every symptom, cold and clinical.
But that was enough.
Logan breathed a deep breath and focused on the pieces of Willow Bark that were still on the ground.
[(Willow Bark: Cures fever, alleviates pain)]
Just as he'd hoped.
[(Insight)] was able to vaguely identify the effects of items.
Which meant that even if he didn't know necessarily what disease Aurelia had, he could still see a match between symptoms and herbs--
And stabilize her for now at the very least.
It was a high-risk move.
Honestly it was a gamble with her life.
But at this point there were no better options.
Logan quickly wrapped the bearskin back around Aurelia ensuring that she was protected from the cold.
Then, without hesitation, he turned—
And charged back into the rain soaked forest.
This time around he was in decent shape.
Aside from the hunger that claws for his sanity.