'That big demon should be the Greater Demon while that dried-up one should be Z?'

Zeke concluded, Based on the vast evil presence and its appearance, Zeke could infer that it should be the corpse of the Greater Demon that Z fought and killed. Meanwhile, the other corpse was too dried up to be recognized, but since Zeke received Z's blood essence earlier, this should be Z whose body lacked blood essence to even maintain the skin integrity. Also, Zeke felt a familiar presence from the corpse - one that he felt earlier from the bottle.

Zeke guessed that when Z died from extracting his own blood essence, his subordinates must've placed his corpse here with the Greater Demon, perhaps as proof of his meritorious act. Zeke felt admiration for Z's bravery and courage to even kill this Greater Demon who could even scare Zeke just with its aura alone. He knew that if it was him facing this Greater Demon, he'd definitely run as far away as possible without even a single thought of fighting. Of course, this thought wouldn't be applicable if Zeke is as strong as Z or perhaps stronger but for now, this was what Zeke believed.

While Zeke was examining both corpses, a blinding light suddenly flashed, making Zeke blink. When he opened his eyes, he saw a circular object currently floating in front of him. It was glowing with white light as it flickered continuously.

Zeke felt a certain attachment towards the object as he subconsciously reached for it. It was too late for him to realize his actions as when his palm landed on the glowing object, his vision became blurry while he immediately felt his soul leave his body.

A few seconds later, Zeke found himself standing in a full white place. The place he was in didn't have any sort of organisms and it was only filled with white everywhere. Zeke felt confused for a second before seeing the back of a middle-aged man just a few meters away from him.

"I never expected this. No, not at all!" Zeke heard an amicable and warm voice from the direction of the middle-aged man.

'Never expected this?'

The middle-aged man turned around and gazed at Zeke with his eyes that exuded a deep feeling. Although his gaze was to probe Zeke, it didn't contain any uncomfortable feeling. It was just probing due to curiosity about his 'inheritor'.

"I'm amazed you could reach my room and defeat the golem with just your own power. Tell me, how old are you?" The middle-aged man asked. When he sized up Zeke, he was shocked to see that based on his body alone, he could tell that Zeke was no older than 20, perhaps even younger than his estimate.

Zeke didn't feel the need to lie.

"Greetings to senior, I'm currently 9 years old, closely approaching 10."

The middle-aged man was shocked. The one who reached his inheritance was actually only 10! He struggled to imagine just how this young boy in front of him managed to defeat his subordinates as well as the formation he set. Even though he sensed that Zeke had the same bloodline as him, it was still a Tier 3 Golem after all. How could such a young child defeat such a golem?

"Just out of curiosity, how did you manage to reach my room, child?"

Zeke scratched his head.

"I defeated the skeletons and the golem, senior."

"How? Can you tell me what kind of power do you have to defeat my formation?"

Zeke didn't feel the need to reject the middle-aged man's curiosity-driven questions. He immediately radiated the aura and presence of a Tier 2 Magician. To further sate the man's curiosity, he even radiated and exuded the malevolent aura of the Mad Dragon, making his aura seem violent and aggressive.

After sensing the aura Zeke emitted, The middle-aged man couldn't help but be shocked by how strong this 10-year old is. Based on the intensity, he could tell that the boy reached Mid Tier 2 while he also sensed a hint of the Mad Dragon's innate aura. He became even more shocked by the fact that Zeke had a slightly purer bloodline than him as well as the fact that Zeke already awakened and can use the Mad Dragon's abilities.

Strictly speaking, although the middle-aged man had the faint feeling that Zeke had the same bloodline as him, he thought it was still a latent and untapped bloodline but now that he thought about it, he realized even he would find it hard to sense an untapped bloodline. Him sensing Zeke's could only mean that Zeke had already awakened it. This greatly shocked the middle-aged man.

"What a prodigy. In my time, the youngest Dragonborn who awakened was only around 12. You surpa.s.s it by almost 3 years. I must say, you're the one with the highest talent I've seen in my entire life." The middle-aged man stopped.

"Well, maybe not since I'm already dead but hey, this sliver of my soul still counts, right?" The man then laughed loudly. Even though Zeke felt shocked about the last part, he still didn't sense any negative emotion from the man. It was as if the man had long since accepted his current situation.

Still, it wouldn't hurt for Zeke to show a bit of worry.

"Sliver of your soul? What do you mean, senior?"

"You heard it. This body of mine isn't real and physical. It's only a manifestation of the sliver of my soul that I left inside my mana core."

Zeke was inwardly shocked about the man's explanation. He couldn't think of how painful it was to sever his soul while also fusing it inside his mana core. Thinking up to there, Zeke couldn't help but raise his brows.

"Mana Core?"

"Yes. Didn't you know? It was the one you touched outside. The you right now is only a soul projected inside my mana core. Welcome to my humble abode, child." The man smiled.

Zeke now realized that flash of light. It dawned on him that his consciousness, or his soul rather, got transported to that glowing white ball, which is apparently the man's mana core.

"May I ask for senior's name?"

The man's brows shot up as he looked at Zeke suspiciously.

"You made it to my tomb without even knowing me?"

"..... Mr. Z?" Zeke felt embarra.s.sed.

"And here I thought you didn't read my last letter." The man chuckled.

"I read the two letters, senior. I couldn't recognize you because-"

"My corpse is kind of dried up, yes?"

"Y-yes."

"Ah, I still remember the pain of Merak extracting my blood essence. It was h.e.l.l, you hear me? h.e.l.l." The man seemed to reminisce a bad memory as he even trembled for a bit before making a pained face. Just the thought of the pain made the man's face contort like he was experiencing the pain again.

Zeke held the urge to laugh as he looked at the man's pained face.

"I have your blood essence, senior."

"Ah, yes. we'll get to that. First off, just to clarify, are you also one of Insane Dragon's descendants?"

Zeke was confused. Didn't he already exude his Mad Dragon's aura?

As if sensing Zeke's confusion, the middle-aged man continued.

"I vaguely sensed it earlier. I just wanted to hear it from you directly. That's all" The man shrugged then lightly laughed.

Zeke didn't know why but nevertheless, he nodded.

"Ah. To think the heavens would help me one last time." The man heaved a long sigh, gratefulness filling his tone.

It was truly a blessing for him to have someone with the same bloodline as him receive his inheritance. The man felt like the heavens were helping him achieve his final wishes.

"Young man, can you promise me one last thing before I disappear from this world?"

"As long as it is something I can do, senior. What is it?"

The man shook his head.

"I don't think you can, given your current state. I just want you to try it in the future when you have the chance."

"Alright, senior. As long as it is within my power."

"That's fine then. Can you promise me you'll take care of our kinsmen?"

Zeke was shocked by the sudden request. He felt that it was too simple of a request for such a generous inheritance. However, he vaguely understood the underlying meaning of that single sentence.

"Senior, I don't know anything about our kinsmen. I'd like to know who I'm dealing with first before promising." Zeke said in a serious tone.

He didn't know their kinsmen at all. Before he pledged, he wanted to know who they are first before accepting such a deal. Who knows if his kinsmen are all criminals? Wouldn't that mean he needed to protect and take care of bad people?

Realizing what Zeke meant, the middle-aged man didn't get displeased nor angry. Instead, he felt happy. If it was any other kid, he/she might've already agreed without hesitation when facing such a great inheritance. However, the boy in front of him was sensible enough to consider the consequences first than blindly accepting. It only showed Zeke's maturity and how he handles things, which earned the man's admiration. From then on, he knew entrusting his wish to Zeke would be a blessing considering the boy's cautiousness and maturity.

"Don't worry, I just want you to make the decision yourself when you meet them in the future." The man smiled.

All of a sudden, a piece of the middle-aged man's palm suddenly turned white before completely disintegrating. Zeke was stunned by this because the man didn't even show the slightest emotion when seeing that. He just glanced at it without saying anything and sighed, his tone full of sadness and reluctance but without a single hint of despair. Zeke knew the man had already accepted his death based on the fact that he didn't even feel any despair, just downright sadness.

"Looks like it's time already."

"Time for what, senior?"

"Nothing. I'm short on time now, so listen carefully."

"Across the room, there should be a hidden compartment. Just try to cop the middle part of the wall and it'll open up. There's another spatial ring in there that I hid that even my subordinates didn't know. Inside there, you can find most of my wealth and pills."

"Since you're also a descendant of the Insane Dragon, body enhancement is crucial for your growth. Our strength relies on physical power and brute force. Inside my spatial ring, you'll find a ton of body strengthening materials and pills. You can use as much as you can but please spare some for our kinsmen."

"I couldn't believe myself when I realized you're also the same as me. That means all my things are very suitable and beneficial for your growth. There's my corpse and that b.a.s.t.a.r.d demon's, while there's also this thing." The man pointed upwards, which prompted Zeke to look up. He couldn't see anything out of the pure white world, however.

"You won't see anything as we're inside it right now. I'm referring to my mana core. It's that white core that was used as the energy source of the formation. Although I don't know how long it's been since I'm dead, there should still be an abundant amount of mana left. All of these things happen to be beneficial to us Insane Dragon Descendants."

"It just so happens that you, my inheritor, is a descendant as well. You can absorb the energies left inside our bodies as well as the remnant mana inside my mana core. I'm sure it'll be beneficial to both your mana core as well as your body. It is my wish to get you stronger until you have the power to protect our kin in the future."

"Also, there are some rolled-up scrolls inside the ring that contained the elementary level of formations. It also includes this exact formation in this room. It might be useful for you in the future so I advise you to learn at least the basics of it." Even while speaking, the man was slowly evaporating starting from his feet up to his upper body. By now, only his chest up to his head were left.

"I've said all you need to know. It's up to you to decide whether to uphold our promise or not." The man said calmly, not minding his disintegrating self.

"Why did you separate your treasure? Wouldn't it be better if you just included that spatial ring inside the chest too?" Zeke couldn't help but be curious.

The man smiled. By now, only his head remained.

"I couldn't be at ease without knowing my inheritor's bearing. I eventually thought of severing this sliver of my soul and inserting it to my mana core so I could see my inheritor in the future. If you were a distrustful and evil fellow, I would've not hesitated and injured your soul right here while detonating the whole formation outside. Only when I know you're a trustworthy individual will I fully give you my inheritance." The man already had half of his face gone.

Before his whole body was gone, Zeke could hear a faint echo from the man's initial position.

"I hope you can do something about our kinsmen's current situation."

"Finally, I can now rest easy knowing my efforts as the vigilante 'Z' were not in vain. I hope someone takes up the mantle..." It got cut off at the end while Zeke lost vision again.

By the time he opened his eyes, he discovered he was back in the room his main body was in. He was currently gripping a small white orb that was now relatively dimmer than before.

Zeke felt a myriad of emotions after hearing the man he knew as 'Z'. The man himself didn't divulge too much personal information but rather stayed true to his persona. Even in the end, he called himself Z as if that was his true name. Zeke felt admiration for the man's conviction to stay true up until his last sliver of soul.