Chapter 20: OP Traits And A Damned Loli

Chapter 20: Chapter 20: OP Traits And A Damned Loli

The System panel pulsed once.

Then, a loading bar appeared and began filling across the screen, jumping forward unevenly from left to right.

When the number finally hit one hundred percent, golden light shot out from the System and spread across the entire platform.

Michael raised an arm to shield his eyes. When the light finally cleared, he opened his eyes again.

A large pink treasure chest, rimmed in gold, had materialized directly in front of him.

Sparkles drifted from its surface in lazy spirals—cheap, flashy, and completely out of place, like something straight out of a low-budget hentai anime.

Michael blinked at it.

Then pointed at the chest. "What is that?"

[Your reward. Cool visual effect, right?]

Michael shut his eyes, pinched the bridge of his nose, and waved the System panel away. "Hey, I think it’s better if you go back to Silent Mode."

He glanced at it with cold, unblinking eyes. "Your voice and theatrics are starting to creep me out."

[...]

The interface dimmed, almost as if it were genuinely hurt by his words.

Michael paid it no mind.

He crouched in front of the chest, rubbed his palms together once, licked his lips, and flipped the lid open.

A clear voice soon rang out.

Ding!

[Item Rune acquired: Self-Sacrifice]

[Tier: SSS+]

[Description: A single-use rune capable of sacrificing one existing item, skill, or trait for a chance to obtain something of a higher grade. The greater the user’s desperation during the exchange, the higher the probability of an elevated result.]

Michael’s mouth fell open.

Before he could speak, a second chime cut him off.

Ding!

[You have obtained the Creator Dragon’s Heart.]

[Description: A dragon is incomplete without its heart. Integration will exponentially increase the purity of your dragon bloodline and allow true progression through dragon genes. Due to the unique nature of dragonkind, all other conventional advancement methods will be permanently sealed.]

A third tone followed immediately.

[You have acquired Draconic Inheritance: Versatile Fighter]

[Description: Grants chaos-grade talent across every form of weaponry and martial arts. Techniques are mastered at ten times the speed of ordinary geniuses. Unique weapons possess a high probability of synchronization. Combined with extreme comprehension, the user may even create or refine original techniques.]

The chest dissolved in a final burst of light, leaving Michael alone on the platform.

He lowered himself into a seated position, palms braced against the stone behind him, and let out a long breath. Three free spins plus a decade of lived experience had just rewritten his entire foundation. The numbers still felt unreal.

His gaze drifted back to the System. The final rating for the Decade Summary floated there in clean text.

[Peak — 4.7 stars]

Michael stared. "Hey, System, why is my score that high? Is it normal?"

[No, Host. It is actually extraordinary that you earned such a high score.]

[If I am to give a reason, I would say it is because although the System has accompanied you from the beginning, you have never treated it as a crutch or simply lazed around. You built a life outside of power. You formed genuine bonds that a low rank could never buy. You gave your family happiness without waiting for awakening or revenge. On pure effort and character, the rating would sit at a clean five stars.]

Michael exhaled and smiled, small and private. "I guess I did pretty well, didn’t I?"

[Well... you could have extracted far more resources from your side projects.]

He tilted his head and fixed the empty air with a flat look.

[Haha, it’s a joke, Host. Had you taken that path, you would have become nothing more than another chosen one. Though I feel it would be inappropriate to call someone as untalented as you a chosen one.]

Michael glared at the System, then sighed. "At least sugarcoat your words."

[Hahaha, you didn’t get my joke, so I thought I’d make a joke about your reality instead.]

Michael just stared hard at the interface.

Then it flickered.

And vanished.

He blinked.

Then his eyes suddenly lit up.

"Oh~ I can actually turn it off. Hahaha!"

He focused again, and the System appeared once more.

This time, it didn’t dare speak out of line. Instead, it gave its usual guidance.

[Host, I would recommend fully syncing with your dragon bloodline so its effects can begin as soon as possible. Please also assimilate your new acquisitions and learn their functions before leaving the space.]

Michael’s voice came out tired. "Thanks for reminding me."

He looked up at it with a conflicted expression. "What about the attack on the house?"

[There is no need to worry. It has been resolved.]

Relief loosened the tension in his shoulders. He gave a short nod, almost to himself.

"Looks like I was worrying over nothing."

His expression went blank for a moment as the obvious fact settled in.

He almost laughed at how foolish he had been for worrying about her.

Who exactly had he even expected to harm her?

A freaking Rank 2 powerhouse.

.....xXx.....

Dust still hung in the air around the ruined ridge.

What had once been a solid mountain peak with a beautiful mansion atop it now carried deep scars—jagged holes punched clean through the stone, scorched trenches carved by clashing forces, debris, rubble, and broken rocks from what was once a building, along with shattered ledges that crumbled under their own weight.

A small figure who looked no older than a young teen knelt amid the debris, coughing hard enough to spray red across the cracked ground. She stood no taller than four-foot-seven. Black hair fell in twin pigtails that bounced with every ragged breath.

She wore layered silk robes in pale lavender and white, embroidered with tiny cloud patterns. The loose sleeves hung slightly past her hands, giving her small frame an almost delicate appearance. Hazel eyes glared upward through the strands of hair stuck to her forehead.

The woman standing above her, despite having a cold expression and an aura powerful enough to drive many to their knees, looked nothing like a warrior who had just demolished a mountain.

Ash-blonde hair stirred in the mountain wind. Violet irises looked down with an expression that mixed cold assessment, faint amusement, and lingering irritation. Seraphine’s face remained composed, almost elegant, yet the clothes she wore told a different story—a thin crop top strained across the full, heavy weight of her breasts, the fabric barely containing them. Her pink nipples were clearly outlined beneath the thin material. Below, short denim cut-offs hugged the thick curve of her hips, leaving the soft underside of her ass exposed whenever she shifted her weight.

Lucifera Harkness wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand and adopted an exaggerated pout as she pointed an accusing finger.

"Seraphine, you bitch! How could you hit me that hard?"

Seraphine’s chuckle carried no warmth. "You barged into my territory announcing your intention of stealing my guest, Luci. What did you expect?"

Lucifera pressed both palms to her cheeks and rocked from side to side in theatrical misery. "You still beat up your best girly over a man!"

Seraphine pinched the bridge of her nose and exhaled. "Lucifera. Stop. You are nearly two hundred years old."

The smaller woman folded her arms across a chest that offered almost nothing to fold and stuck out her lower lip.

"No. I won’t."

The pout vanished as quickly as it appeared, replaced by a sly grin. "Come on, besty. Just let me see the man."

Seraphine’s brows drew together. "The man?"

Lucifera vanished from her spot in a flicker of movement and reappeared directly behind Seraphine. Small hands shot forward, grabbing and squeezing the soft flesh of Seraphine’s breasts hard enough to make the full mounds spill between her fingers.

"The one who’s going to be groping these massive things every single day," Lucifera sang, her voice bright with mischief.

She raised one fingertip and flicked it sharply against Seraphine’s already stiff nipple.

Seraphine’s breath hitched, a short, involuntary whimper escaping her lips.

Lucifera’s eyes went wide. She immediately released the soft flesh and clapped both hands over her mouth.

"Wait! Why was that reaction so strong?"

She took a step back, staring at Seraphine’s flushed face and the way her thighs pressed together as though she were seeing her for the first time.

"No way, right? He’s already touched them?"

The deeper red spreading across Seraphine’s cheeks answered the question more clearly than words ever could.

Lucifera let out a high-pitched squeal of pure delight and bounced once on the balls of her feet.

"Oh my gosh~ I have to see him now!"

She smacked one small fist into her opposite palm with a sharp crack.

"Alright! Time to find where you’ve hidden this prince charming!"