I Received System to Become Dragonborn

Chapter 1460: Asking For Something

Archmage Velrion suddenly descended into the garden. Gentle currents of Magic surrounded his body as they supported him effortlessly in the air. He landed with smooth precision, the graceful movement making it obvious that aerial Magic was something he had mastered through countless years of practice.

As soon as his feet touched the ground, Velrion offered Erend a polite smile before giving a slight bow.

"I’m sorry if I’m disturbing you, Lord Erend," Velrion said respectfully.

Erend immediately felt a little uncomfortable. He grimaced slightly before looking at the Archmage.

"Uh... you don’t have to be like that, Archmage," Erend said. "Just call me Erend."

He already knew this was coming.

Sooner or later, once he, Eccar, Aesa, and Sylven had recovered, they would be surrounded by gratitude and endless praise for what they had done.

But they were never heroes in their own eyes.

They were simply ordinary people who had happened to receive extraordinary power. They had only done what they believed was right. Because of that, being treated with such reverence always felt awkward.

Velrion looked at him thoughtfully for several moments before smiling again.

"If that is your wish... Erend," he finally replied. "May I sit beside you?"

"Sure."

Velrion walked over and quietly sat on the bench beside him.

Erend knew the Archmage had not come all the way here simply to admire the garden. There was clearly a reason for the visit.

Still, he decided not to ask.

Silence settled between them for several minutes.

The gentle breeze drifted through the garden, making the flowers, grass, and leaves sway softly beneath the morning sunlight. The fragrance of blooming flowers filled the air, and for the first time in what felt like forever, Erend experienced a rare sense of peace.

Finally, Velrion broke the silence. "I don’t know how I can ever repay the debt the four of you have given us."

Erend smiled faintly. "It isn’t a problem. Don’t burden yourself with it."

"But it still is," Velrion replied as he turned toward Erend.

Throughout his life, the Archmage had dealt with countless champions, nobles, generals, and officials. Almost every one of them expected something in return for their service. Every favor eventually became a negotiation. Every act of heroism carried a price.

But these four Dragonborn were different.

Despite possessing power beyond anything he had ever imagined, none of them had asked for wealth, authority, or recognition.

They had simply come to help, freely. Without expecting anything in return. Such people were incredibly rare.

More importantly, they had faced enemies capable of destroying entire worlds.

Velrion still did not know what had happened inside that unknown dimension where they fought Nyssara. But seeing the condition in which the four Dragonborn had returned told him everything he needed to know.

If beings as powerful as they had suffered such devastating injuries, then whatever they had faced must have been beyond the abilities of even the Five Archmages.

"Actually..." Erend suddenly said as an idea crossed his mind.

Velrion immediately looked at him. "Yes?"

"This is confidential," Erend said seriously. "Very confidential."

Velrion’s expression became equally serious. "I give you my word. Your secret will remain with me."

Erend nodded.

"I want to ask something. Does this world have any records about powers born from overwhelming rage? Powers that grant immense strength but also carry the potential to destroy everything?"

Velrion fell silent. He searched through the countless books and records he had studied throughout his long life. After a while, he slowly nodded.

"I believe we do. There are records of cultivators who were consumed by overwhelming rage, Spirit Summoners corrupted by malevolent spirits, and several other cases involving destructive emotional power."

Erend’s eyes brightened slightly. "I think that’s exactly what I need."

Neither of them wasted any more time. They immediately left the garden and headed toward the Grand Library.

—

The library was enormous.

Towering bookshelves stretched endlessly into the distance, each filled with thousands upon thousands of ancient books and manuscripts. The farthest sections disappeared into darkness where many of the magical lamps had yet to be lit, giving the immense hall the feeling of an endless sea of knowledge.

Velrion confidently led Erend through several rows of shelves before entering one of the oldest sections of the library.

There, he began searching carefully. His fingers moved across worn book spines while his eyes scanned faded titles written in several ancient languages. After several minutes, he finally stopped before a weathered shelf near the back of the section.

"I believe..." He carefully pulled out a thick, dust-covered tome bound in dark brown leather. The edges of its pages had yellowed with age, and faded golden letters were barely visible across its cracked cover. "I think this is where we should begin."

Velrion gently brushed away the layer of dust before turning toward Erend. He gently opened its pages.

"This is one of the oldest records preserved by Leonora," Velrion explained as he slowly turned the pages. "It isn’t a history book in the traditional sense. Most of its contents were written by scholars, healers, and Spirit researchers who documented unusual cases throughout different eras."

He stopped at one section filled with faded sketches of strange symbols and handwritten notes.

"The book mainly discusses people who acquired extraordinary power by allowing powerful emotions to dominate them. Rage is the most frequently recorded emotion, but there are also cases involving hatred, grief, obsession, and vengeance.

"Most of these powers did not originate from the individuals themselves. They came from external influences, such as malevolent spirits, cursed artifacts, forbidden cultivation techniques, or corrupted forms of Magic. Those powers greatly increased their strength, but they gradually consumed the user’s mind in return."

He carefully turned another page.

"There are also several records describing individuals who resisted that corruption instead of surrendering to it. They didn’t destroy the power or reject it outright. Instead, they learned to coexist with it and gradually bent it to their own will. Unfortunately, those accounts are incomplete. Some of them end abruptly because the writers lost track of the subjects, while others read more like legends than verified history. But even legends often contain fragments of truth. This may be the best place to start."

Erend nodded. "Yes. Let’s start with this."

—