Chapter 1 The Bloody Awakening

The screech of tires and the crushing weight of metal were the last things I remembered from my old life. A heavy truck had crossed the middle of the road. There was a blinding flash of light and then nothing but cold and empty darkness.

I truly thought I was dead. I was supposed to be dead.

So why did my entire body feel like it was burning in an open fire?

I gasped for air. My lungs felt tight and full of dry dust. The sharp smell of copper and burning wood filled my nose. It was the undeniable smell of fresh blood. I forced my heavy eyelids to open. The sky above me was not the familiar blue of a normal afternoon. It was a dark and angry purple covered in thick black smoke.

I tried to move my hand. A sharp spike of pain shot up my arm. I looked down and my breath hitched in my throat. This was not my hand. The skin was pale and covered in dirt, but that was not the strange part. Small patches of dark green scales grew along my forearms. They shimmered weakly in the dim light. I was wearing torn black clothing completely soaked in dark blood.

Where was I? What happened to the hospital I should have woken up in?

Before I could process the shock, the sound of heavy boots echoed nearby. Crunch. Crunch. Someone was walking over broken stone and shattered glass. I turned my head slowly. The pain in my neck was absolutely blinding.

Three men stepped into my line of sight. They wore heavy silver armor stained with crimson spots. They carried massive broadswords. The weapons dripped with fresh blood. The men looked down at me with cold and cruel smiles on their faces.

"Look at this," the tallest man said. He spat on the ground near my face. "The mighty Dragon King is still breathing. The poison should have stopped his heart an hour ago."

"Just cut his head off," the second man grunted loudly. He raised his sword. "The new ruler wants proof that the royal bloodline is completely wiped out. Let us finish the job and collect our gold."

Dragon King? Royal bloodline?

Panic exploded inside my chest. I had transmigrated. I had read about this happening in fantasy novels, but I never thought it could actually be real. I was in a magical world, trapped inside the dying body of a fallen king. And these men were here to murder me all over again.

I tried to push myself up from the ground. My arms gave out immediately. I collapsed back onto the cold stone. I was completely powerless and weak. Death was coming for me a second time, and I could not even throw a single punch to defend myself.

The tall man stepped forward and raised his blade high above his head. The steel gleamed brightly in the purple light.

"Goodbye, Your Majesty," he sneered with a nasty grin.

I squeezed my eyes shut. I waited for the fatal strike to end my second chance at life.

Ding.

A strange electronic chime rang directly inside my brain. The sound was sharp and very clear. It was completely out of place in this ruined magical wasteland.

Suddenly, a bright blue screen appeared right in front of my closed eyelids. I opened my eyes in total shock. The screen floated quietly in the air between me and the killer.

[System binding complete.]

[Host identified: Reincarnated Dragon King.]

[Current status: Fatal injuries detected. Death imminent in three minutes.]

The assassins did not seem to notice the glowing blue text at all. The tall man swung his heavy sword down toward my neck.

[Would the host like to activate the Survival Protocol? Warning: All System power requires an equal exchange of life force.]

[Accept: Yes or No?]

I did not have time to think about the consequences. I did not care about the strange warning. I just wanted to live.

"Yes!" I screamed out loud. "Accept!"

The blue screen shattered into a million tiny sparks of light. The sparks rushed directly into my chest. A sudden explosion of raw and terrifying power flooded my veins. The pain vanished instantly. The weakness disappeared completely.

I rolled away just as the massive sword smashed into the stone where my head had been resting. The tall assassin stared at me in pure shock. He could not believe a dying man had moved so fast.

I jumped to my feet. I felt a strange energy burning hot inside my palms. Without thinking, I thrust my hand forward. A massive wave of pure green fire erupted from my skin. The flames hit the three men with the brutal force of a speeding train.

They screamed loudly as the magical fire consumed them. In mere seconds, they were reduced to a pile of ash. Their heavy armor clattered to the broken ground, glowing red from the intense heat.

I stood there panting heavily. My chest heaved up and down. I looked at my hands in complete disbelief. I had just used real magic and survived?

Then, the familiar chime rang in my head once again. The blue screen reappeared floating in front of my face.

[Enemies defeated. One hundred Experience Points gained.]

[Level Up achieved. Current Level: Two.]

[Calculating System Cost.]

I smiled widely. Leveling up felt amazing and powerful. But my smile quickly faded as the text on the screen shifted to a bright and warning red color.

[Cost applied. Thirty days of lifespan deducted.]

[Remaining Lifespan: Eleven Months and Ten Days.]

My heart dropped into my stomach. The System had saved me, but the warning was entirely real. Every time I used this power to survive, I was literally killing myself.

Before I could even process this terrible curse, the ground beneath my feet began to shake violently. A deafening roar tore through the sky, shattering the remaining glass in the ruined courtyard. A massive shadow eclipsed the purple light above me.

I looked up, my blood running completely cold. A monstrous beast with thick leathery wings and glowing red eyes landed on the high castle wall. It was not a dragon. It was something much worse.

The blue screen flashed rapidly, turning a blinding crimson color.

[Warning. Supreme Threat detected.]

[Survival probability without System intervention: Zero percent.]

[Activating mandatory defense skill will cost: Six Months of Lifespan.]

The beast locked its glowing eyes onto me and opened its jagged jaws to strike. If I fought, my life would be cut in half. If I did nothing, I would be dead in seconds.