For a moment, there was no response, then the system answered.
[Yes, Host is correct, you should not be able to do so. But no, the Dragon was not equivalent to Lord rank Awakened, due to the Dragon species' overwhelming racial advantage, the Red Dragon would be roughly equal to that of a Highlord rank Awakened at minimum or even higher.]
[However, the Red Dragon that attacked the Host was different.]
The system did not continue its explanation, while Kale was simply terrified. He could not fathom how strong a Highlord rank human should be. But that would be even more nonsensical, so he asked once more, 'Different? How do you mean?'
[All Dragons are technically born as Tyrant rank Beasts. But it does not mean that they are truly worthy of that power.]
The voice further clarified,
[The System was able to measure that the Red Dragon killed by the Host was not older than 2 weeks at most, from the moment of its birth.]
[In human sense, it is akin to handing over a Sniper Rifle to a two-hour-old newborn.]
Then the mechanical voice paused for a moment, as if to let the shock of what it revealed slowly settle properly on Kale's mind, shaking him to the core, and then the program further added to its analogy, as if to mock him.
[Even if the said weapon is extremely dangerous, a mere two-hour-old infant does not truly have the capacity to use a real Sniper in any possible manner.]
Kale's expression turned sour. He did not like the slightest bit about the way the system compared the Dragon to a child to make it easier for him to understand.
'There is no way a two-week-old Dragon should be that large?' he asked.
[Host is correct. The System has judged that the Dragon was forcefully brought to its half-matured state.]
[But in the end, the result remains the same; it does not matter if you give a newborn child a metal gun, a sniper, a machine gun, or even a tank. A baby would not know how to use it.]
[Higher rank beings are dangerous not because of their destructive might, but because of their uncontested fine control over the surrounding world and energy.]
Kale gritted his teeth, 'Okay, okay, fine. I understand. I get it, what I did was nothing, it's all thanks to the system. I was pretty much useless.'
[Host is indeed painfully pathetic.]
However, unlike what the system expected, Kale's expression suddenly turned broken; not a day goes by that he does not remember the voice of Selene and Darius. Perhaps the one he misses most was his annoying little sister, Iria; not a night goes by that her death doesn't flash by in his nightmares.
How she cried for him, in unfathomable pain, being melted alive. He didn't forget it, he didn't forget it one bit, not a single moment that he breathed, despite having it all turned out as okay through regression. All the hatred of his, all of it, remained.
Even though they were all back, he had to leave them all behind, the villagers who all loved him so much. He had to abandon it all. Humans realize how precious something is only when they taste the loss of it.
Kale was the same. He longed to be with them so badly. For the day when he would be strong enough. That day, when no winged lizard, no matter how powerful, could ever come to harm him and the people he cared for.
Eventually, his pained expression vanished, replaced by a ruthless and solemn look, as he asked another question that had been bugging him from the start,
'System, the regression, why did the World Dragon or this so-called World Will, not stop it? This act should be some sort of severe violation of the worldly laws, right?'
When he was met with the deathly silence, he realized the system was not going to give him the answer, just like the countless other questions he had posed to this thing about the origin of it, or its purpose, and why it had chosen him as the host.
But to his surprise, a response actually came, in the form of a glitching text window flickering in his vision.
***
Quest Window =
Quest has been updated.
Quest(Mandatory): Find a method to circumvent the World Dragon's Curse and become an Apprentice Tamer before your life force runs out.
Time Limit: 40 Days, 4 Hours, 36 Minutes, 27 seconds…. 26 seconds…. 25 seconds….
~~
Rewards:
[1] Gene Lab Unlock
[2] System Update
[3] Additional System Functionalities (Depending on how Host completes the Quest)
[4] The host's last addressed question will be answered.
~~
Penalty For Failure:Death.
***
As Kale read through the panel, a shock appeared in his eyes when he looked at the 4th reward option, which was slightly highlighted.
He had noticed, quite a few times, that the System was constantly pushing him to complete this quest, almost as if it knew the task was indeed possible.
Maybe even how to do so.
A provoking thought flashed through his mind, but he did not dare admit it, but put it at the back of his head. In the end, there was no use thinking of these things, looking at the ticking clock that signaled his Doomsday.
His eyes sharpened and focused as he thought of all he had to accomplish and the promises he had made in his heart. The resolution within Kale became even stronger, burning just as bright as his hidden desire for revenge against the Invincible Dragon Race.
He wasted not a second more, diving back into devouring all the necessary knowledge with an expressionless look, the hood covering his face.
Which, of course, pissed off more of the candidates repeatedly, when they requested the Librarian to do something about him, they got a scolding instead.
This ended up giving Kale an infamous nickname by all the enraged participants, a name that would follow him for a long time, "Flipper Freak."
***
Five days later -
The day of the test had finally arrived. There were multiple testing sections, and the area he was designated to had more than 100 Artificer Candidates.
As he looked around, he saw that everyone was filled with nervousness; of course, he also saw a few rare faces who were quite calm, or even arrogant. As if they knew that they would pass without a hitch. No one bothered to pay any attention to him.
There was a 5-foot-tall stone platform on the other side from where he was standing, and on top of it was a long table with three wooden chairs.
Whispering chatters filled the place, as there was no representative of the Association present to monitor them all at the moment.
Kale thought about the things he had done over the past five days. Well, actually, he just did one thing day and night, nothing but devouring knowledge like he was the sin of Gluttony itself.
As a result, almost 30% of all the books in that ginormous library were read by him and stored in his memory panel.
Available for him to review at a moment's thought.
Though this was not really a knowledge-based test, but more so something practical-based, an evaluation of how every Artificer performs certain basic-level tasks of Toolcraft, Pillcraft, and Fleshcraft professions, respectively.
At least there, he would not suffer from a lack of knowledge. Kale could only hope that he would be able to do it right.
Suddenly, three figures came out of a wall beside the stone platform. But their appearance caused a bit of a commotion among the candidates.