Dragon Raja: Lu Mingfei Returns from the Elden Ring

"The bug in the world has finally happened to you, brother! You are not a vengeful demon born of flames, but a king with a rebellious will. Your anger must be appeased with the blood of the gods!"

"I'm really looking forward to it, brother! How far can you go!"

Chapter 17 Security

"Abnormal laboratory temperature!"

Norma's emotionless, flat voice rang out as the high-frequency flashing red light on the terminal illuminated.

Manstein's expression was grave. He adjusted his thin, round, gold-rimmed glasses, leaned close to the display screen, and said in a trembling voice, "The temperature has reached 900 degrees!"

Schneider's face was covered by a black mask, and his iron-gray eyes showed shock. He couldn't help but tighten his grip on the small device with only one button in his hand, and his thumb pushed open the transparent protective cover of the button.

In fact, they had guessed that Lu Mingfei was a hybrid with a dangerous proportion of dragon blood, but they never thought that his Word of Power would be such a high-risk Word of Power.

If such power of words gets out of control...

"Blazing? Or the King's Flame?" Manstein's breathing quickened.

"The temperature has returned to normal."

In the tense atmosphere, Norma's voice rang out again, but it did nothing to change the terrible and unknown situation.

All eight high-speed cameras in the laboratory, which were aimed at Lu Mingfei from all directions, were damaged, and the transmitted images were just a dark, deathly darkness.

This only shows that he has stopped using his Word of Power, but his current state is completely unknown.

Schneider's finger had already pressed the button down a third of the way; with just a little more force, countless streams of poisonous gas and mercury vapor would erupt from the ring-shaped vent at the top of the laboratory, engulfing the living creatures inside.

“This laboratory is equipped with mercury vapor and toxic gas release pipelines to prevent leakage of experimental subjects,” Schneider said in a hoarse voice.

“Norma, can you restore the surveillance?” Manstein asked.

"The recording, speaker, and photography equipment were all damaged, presumably due to the sensors melting from the high temperature," Norma replied truthfully.

"Should we open the door and check?" Manstein turned to Schneider, the deadly switch held in the hand of this menacing man whose breathing sounded like a broken bellows.

Within the academy's grounds, the Vice Principal's Word of Power and Commandments enveloped everyone, preventing anyone from using Word of Power. However, the temperature that had just destroyed all internal and external connection devices in an instant was undoubtedly the power of a dragon.

“This is no ordinary accident. We initially prepared to deal with only dangerous hybrids, but now nobody knows what’s inside. We need to be ready to have Norma sound the alarm at any time,” Schneider said firmly.

"Gentlemen, please let me take over now." At this moment, Percy, who had been silent all along, spoke up.

The efficient secretary opened the silver briefcase, inside which was a silver M500 revolver and a cylindrical quartz glass sealed tube.

This is a handgun about the size of an adult male's forearm, introduced by the renowned handgun manufacturer Smith & Wesson in 2003. It fires .50 Magnum high-powered pistol cartridges, with astonishing destructive power. Inside the sealed tube is a slender bullet with a dark red tip and a flowing, blood-like sheen inside.

The eyes of both Kassel College professors were fixed on the bullet.

The Philosopher's Stone, the fifth element besides earth, water, wind, and fire, a pure spiritual element, the pinnacle of human alchemy, a weapon used to kill the next generation of species and even the first generation of species!

“Your preparations are truly thorough.” Manstein wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

He already sensed something was amiss; this wasn't as simple as the principal had said on the phone—"arranging a 3E exam for an outstanding young man." How exactly did the school board treat this Chinese boy? Was a dragon prince resurrected?

Schneider watched quietly as Percy loaded the Philosopher's Stone-tipped bullet into the large-caliber pistol, known as the "hand cannon," and prepared to press the button in his hand.

This setup is virtually foolproof; it can even handle a pure-blooded dragon inside without needing to sound the alarm, since there's hardly anyone on campus right now.

"Knock knock knock!" A knocking sound came from inside.

Manstein was taken aback. They had all imagined the guy inside to be a dangerous hybrid who had lost control in his spiritual vision, but they never expected that the seemingly crazed and bloodthirsty guy would come out not by kicking or tearing open the iron door, but by politely knocking on it.

"Knock, knock, knock!" The knocking was rhythmic, as if the person calling for the door was very patient and polite.

Schneider put away the button.

This made Manstein look at him with a puzzled expression. This ruthless executioner had always been decisive and ruthless, but now he had actually put down his sword?

They've gone mad, they've all gone mad.

Schneider's cloudy eyes were fixed on the iron gate, which was reinforced and locked by the hydraulic system. He was thinking of a student.

"Norma, open the door," Schneider said coldly.

Percy gripped the gun with both hands, aiming it directly at the head position calculated based on Lu Mingfei's height.

Manstein took a deep breath, feeling the hydraulically propelled iron gate open for an eternity. It seemed as if a storm of blood and gore was about to erupt from the slowly opening crack, engulfing everyone.

The corridor they were in was actually the laboratory's second line of defense, at the end of which was a heavy grenade launcher controlled by Norma, mounted on a state-of-the-art automatic targeting platform. After all, this was the biological bomb research lab of those lunatics in the Equipment Department, so strict security was necessary; the principal always approved very lenient funding for the Equipment Department's security facility construction.

Once the three of them are killed, they will be met with heavy firepower and alarms throughout the entire academy.

The door finally opened, and a calm-looking boy stood in the center of the doorway, holding a stack of answer sheets covered in drawings. His brows and eyes betrayed his weariness, but he did not activate his golden pupils. His eyes remained dark brown, clear and bright under the single-sided light of the corridor, showing no trace of violence or rage.

Schneider looked at Percy, the executive from the board of trustees, who held his gun raised for more than ten seconds before lowering it.

His actions were directed via a miniature camera hanging from his collar and an earpiece in his right ear, meaning that a high-ranking member of the board of trustees in charge of the matter acknowledged Kassel College's new "S" level of security.

Percy put away the equipment that was powerful enough to severely injure or even kill the first-generation creatures and silently left the corridor.

Has the storm really subsided just like that? Why does the Board of Directors value Lu Mingfei so much? Although "S"-level individuals are rare, they do exist. In fact, among the dragon-slaying leaders of each generation, there are several "S"-level geniuses with extraordinary talent.

Schneider was filled with doubt.

“Your Word of Power still needs to be tested.” He glanced at the pitch-black laboratory behind Lu Mingfei, his voice hoarse.

Unlike when he entered the examination room, this boy was not as bright-eyed and energetic as he had been. He seemed a little distracted, just like the boy from the same city who had finished his 3E exam.

Manstein put Lu Mingfei's exam paper into a sealed document bag, then took out an envelope and handed it to him. "This is your student ID. With this card, you will truly have 'S' level access."

Lu Mingfei took the thin envelope, his eyes lighting up.

He could finally go to the library.

Chapter 18 The Path to Godhood

"What? You don't have the power of words?" Fingel exclaimed, his mouth full of a large piece of pork knuckle, his eyes wide with surprise.

“That’s right. Professor Schneider took me to the underground laboratory to test the power of the Word of Power, but I couldn’t draw out the power of the Dragon Runes at all. No matter how much I concentrated on listening to the chanting of the Dragon Runes, I still couldn’t feel anything that resonated with my spirit.” There was a thick stack of books on Lu Mingfei’s table, including books such as “Dragon Genealogy”, “Dragons and Word of Power”, “The Key of Solomon”, “Dragon Bloodline Theory”, and “Dragon Genetics”.

In addition, there is an Old English dictionary and a Latin dictionary.

Two weeks have passed since the 3E exam. Lu Mingfei has spent almost all of this time in the library. Much of the knowledge is complex and obscure, and not easy to grasp. He can only scratch the surface, but he has still managed to establish a preliminary knowledge framework about the dragon race.

This includes the ancient dominance of the dragon race, the supreme dragon emperor, the first generation of dragons directly procreated and empowered by the dragon emperor, Nidhogg creating another white king of equal status, the white king's rebellion, the white king being reduced to ashes by Nidhogg, the rebellion of humans and the four kings, the death of the dragon emperor, the end of the dragon era, and the development of human civilization to the present day.

If Lu Mingfei were to offer his assessment, this is somewhat similar to the situation in the Borderlands after Marika shattered the Elden Ring—demigods with divine bloodlines wielding their respective powers and causing war, a grand family drama of the gods. The biggest difference is that Earth's mortals successfully occupied the era after the dragons' slumber, while the Borderlands, amidst endless war and despair, await the prophesied Faded One to save the world.

"Words of power are the most important weapon for dragons and hybrids. Without words of power, it's like being crippled. How did you manage to maintain your 'S' rank?" Fingel's tone was filled with cynicism. "It's all a conspiracy. And you still say you're not the principal's illegitimate son?"

"It doesn't matter, I'm much more powerful than many Word Spirits." Lu Mingfei also knew a lot about Word Spirits, including the most basic Word Spirit sequence list.

Many of the spells mentioned above appear to be the effects of magic or prayer. They correspond to different elemental powers depending on the series, with most belonging to the four major systems of bronze and fire, earth and mountains, ocean and water, and sky and wind. A small number of effects and elemental powers are difficult to classify.

For Lu Mingfei, magic and prayer are merely means, no different from combat skills and weapons. Having them is ideal, but not having them is not a cause for disappointment. Right now, he still wields an alchemical sword like the Crimson Sky; when he embarked on his journey at the border, all he had was a large wooden stick he'd picked up from a pile of corpses.

“That’s true.” Fingel took a vicious bite of the pork knuckle.

Ever since that night he confessed his "A" level strength to Lu Mingfei, Lu Mingfei had been dragging him to the actual combat arena for sparring every few days. He had never seen Lu Mingfei's fighting techniques before; those bizarre moves were varied and unpredictable—some were powerful and domineering, others were agile and ruthless, making them impossible to defend against, and some even seemed to be missing certain movements. Moreover, Lu Mingfei himself was as sharp as a silent, invisible ghost in terms of combat rhythm, distance, and anticipation of enemy and ally situations; it took effort just to touch him, let alone attack him.

Fingel is usually the one who gets beaten up.

In return, Lu Mingfei promised to treat him to dinner for a semester.

Almost all the cafeteria staff were on summer vacation, only offering German-style braised pork knuckle to those on duty and some students staying on campus. Therefore, Lu Mingfei knew very little about the true upper limit of the cafeteria's set meals. Fingel secretly decided that the harder he got beaten up now, the more he would eat when school started.

By combining the knowledge from the book with his experience with Fingel, Lu Mingfei roughly understood the strength level of the hybrids. It was a highly aggressive power system, but the user was very fragile; a single ordinary bullet could deal with most low-level hybrids.

He estimated that, given his current state, without relying on the power of words, it would be quite difficult to defeat those powerful enemies from the former border region, as the margin for error was too low.

However, he recently discovered several books deep within the library that couldn't be borrowed. These books vaguely mentioned humanity stealing the authority of the gods and the "path to godhood" for hybrids. Lu Mingfei read books with a purpose. He would only glance at the complex and eye-straining blueprints in books like those on alchemical mechanical principles, but he would carefully examine the information related to "power."

It seems that some information has been deliberately erased, especially "The Path to Godhood". It is only mentioned once in one volume, without any explanation, and it does not appear a second time in other books. It is like an isolated island in the vast ocean of a library, with only four words showing above the water. It is hard not to imagine what its huge underwater base looks like.

He tried asking Angers, but Angers simply replied that it wasn't the right time for him to know.

Besides the dormitory, library, training ground, and equipment department laboratory, his most frequent place was the principal's office.

The headmaster's office, not far from Valhalla, is an unassuming two-story building surrounded by trees. From the outside, it looks as shabby as a garage, but the inside is a completely different story. The entire room is essentially a bookshelf. The first and second floors are connected, with a huge skylight in the central courtyard, inlaid with frosted glass, covered with leaves from last autumn that haven't been swept away.

The walls are covered with oil paintings and bookshelves that reach the ceiling, filled with sets of hardcover books and rubbings of ancient books. The stairs and platforms attached to the bookshelves are of varying heights, making it easy for people to climb up and down in this huge bookshelf room.

After learning that Angers had lived for over a hundred years, Lu Mingfei frequently visited, raising many questions he encountered while reading books. He felt that Angers was like a highly advanced artificial intelligence, able to generate a wealth of knowledge simply by inputting vague keywords, much more useful than Finger's computer. Sometimes, he could even hear vivid historical stories that only the elderly could tell.

Not only that, Angers also knew about his parents, the dazzling other side of the simple little researcher and housewife: the proud "S" class prodigy and the "S" class beauty who was the dream lover of half of the dragon-slaying elites of Kassel College.

These are all things that Lu Mingfei would write down and organize in his notes when he returned to his dormitory.

Summer vacation is almost over, and two months have passed in the blink of an eye.

That afternoon, the sun was shining warmly. Across the large desk, Lu Mingfei poured himself a cup of Ceylon tea and calmly sipped it.

“Headmaster, there’s an alchemy manual that mentions that hybrids can be seen as having two spirits within their bodies, one human and one dragon, representing the strength of the two bloodlines respectively.”

Chapter 19 Blood Explosion

“You’ve actually come to this point,” Angers put down his teacup, crossed his hands on the table, and slowly began to speak, “Do you remember the path to godhood you mentioned before?”

Lu Mingfei pricked up his ears, not wanting to miss any details.

"In the minds of hybrids, two spirits, one human and one dragon, coexist. In the conflict between these two personalities, the human personality usually prevails because of the higher proportion of human traits. The hidden dragon personality, however, is completely different. Dragons are a race that believes in power, and their personalities also have a violent and ferocious side. Compared to the dragon personality, even a tyrant among humans is like a docile lamb. The Bronze Pillar of the Ice Sea records that after suppressing the White King's rebellion, the Black King Nidhogg skinned and devoured his own kind. I don't know if that's an exaggeration, but dragons are indeed a violent race."

Angers paused, looking at Lu Mingfei, who was deep in thought and silent. Such a secret is not something all mixed-race people can accept upon first hearing it. To suddenly learn that one is born with multiple personality disorder due to genetic issues is sometimes more unsettling than learning that dragons exist.

But Lu Mingfei just pondered.

During this time, he had actually learned about the dirty and bloody history of the birth of hybrids: humans and dragons were forcibly mated until the offspring were stable. This information was crucial, as it showed that in the culture of hybrids, the relationship between humans and dragons was not simply that of warrior and evil dragon, but also that of servant and master, thief and god.

The Path to Godhood...

"Could it be that the genes of hybrids are unstable?" he wondered. But the students and teachers at Kassel College, including himself, did indeed have dragon blood flowing through their veins, and they hadn't seen any cases of them going berserk or developing genetic diseases. In fact, according to the data, hybrids have a genetic advantage over ordinary people; they not only have outstanding appearances but are also often healthier.

Angers smiled. "Mingfei, you have a very sharp mind."

He continued, "Dragon genes are far stronger than human genes. Although they are reptiles, they represent the ultimate state of reptilian evolution. Their genes are fierce and highly aggressive, and they can even devour or modify the gene sequences of other races. The genes of hybrids are indeed unstable, and the direction of change is always from humans to dragons, an irreversible transformation."

Lu Mingfei still remembered the biology knowledge from high school, so he could understand it now.

Angers continued his explanation, "After repeated modifications to the dragon genes, the hybrids will eventually become very close to purebloods, with the human portion being absorbed and the dragon portion becoming increasingly more awakened..."

"Is this what it means to become a god?" Lu Mingfei connected the information before and after.