[Vol. 7] Chapter 176: The World of Ordinary People
Compared to her master, Xiao Guang was still a weakling, completely unthreatening. But in this far less powerful world, she was nearly unmatched.
Since birth, she had rarely encountered a true rival. The battle against the [God of Subversion and Paradox] had indeed been dangerous, but even then, Xiao Guang had known from the start that her far stronger master was right beside her, ready to step in at any moment.
So back then, she had never truly felt psychological pressure or fear. Her real concern had simply been figuring out how to trick that evil god into going all out. So she could seize more "food" for herself.
But this time was different.
Dropping from the peak of transcendent to the peak of legendary might seem like just a single tier difference, but in reality, it was a huge qualitative shift. Her speed, strength, and even her available magic power had been reduced to only 10-20% of what they used to be.
She was still stronger than her classmates and even their guardian teacher, Ismael, but she was no longer at the level where she could simply crush all enemies without effort.
In terms of magic reserves, in her sealed state she didn’t have as much as Lenka. In fact, if her entire team, trained under Violet’s intense guidance, were to fight her together, Xiao Guang wasn’t even sure she could win.
And that, perhaps, was part of Violet's plan.
Her master wanted to see Xiao Guang lead her team. Not just carry them with overwhelming power.
Instead of relying on brute force to "carry a bunch of freeloaders" to victory, Violet wanted her to experience what it meant to work together as friends and teammates.
She needed to learn coordination, strategy, and how to overcome adversity by working with others, even against opponents as strong or stronger than herself.
Violet had never said this out loud, but Xiao Guang could guess her intentions. And deep down, she was curious too.
She wanted to see, if she shared the burden with her team, if they fought together instead of relying only on her strength, could they achieve even greater success than she could alone?
So, despite knowing that she couldn’t hold off the [Magic-Devouring Ant Swarm] in a very long time, Xiao Guang had still chosen this plan, even against Ismael’s objections.
As long as Lenka and the others reached the entrance in time, she could always fly away to escape.
The success of this plan didn’t depend only on her. Her teammates’ actions mattered just as much.
This was the only way Xiao Guang could think of to win, without relying on luck or just waiting, since she couldn't wipe out the entire [Magic-Devouring Ant Swarm] on her own.
The key to victory wasn’t in her hands, but in how well her teammates performed.
...This felt really strange.
Even so, after holding on for so long, Xiao Guang was reaching her limit. To be honest, things were going worse than expected. She had overestimated how strong she still was in her current state.
The seal Violet placed on her was incredibly powerful. It didn’t just weaken her speed, strength, and magic. It suppressed everything, including her senses and even the very nature of her existence.
To put it simply, it felt more like a temporary "devolution" rather than just a power reduction.
For most living beings, Legendary-tier was already the highest they could ever hope to reach in their lifetime. But crossing into Transcendent meant undergoing a fundamental transformation as a species, it wasn’t just about getting stronger.
It changed lifespan, perception of the world, way of thinking, and even mental state.
Mortal -> Mythical -> Divine.
These were the three major shifts in existence.
When Xiao Guang casually called others "lower creatures", it wasn’t meant as an insult, it was simply a fact.
A Mythical-class being was born on a different level of existence. Their perspective and thought process were fundamentally different, making it almost impossible for them to understand mortals.
That’s why Xiao Guang always found it strange that her master, despite being at the very peak of existence, still liked to interact with ordinary people and even sympathized with them.
But now, she was starting to understand.
This devolution was something no ordinary sealing magic could achieve.
It was an absolute miracle, even rarer than directly ascending a mortal to Mythical-tier.
According to her master, it was possible only because of a special ability called [Reincarnation], one of her master’s unique laws of power.
And for the first time, Xiao Guang, who had always been naturally superior, finally experienced what it meant to be "a lower creature".
It was like a three-dimensional being suddenly being forced into a two-dimensional world.
Like an emperor, used to luxury, suddenly becoming an ordinary commoner.
At first, the feeling of being "weaker" was extremely uncomfortable. But she had to admit, it was a fresh and fascinating experience.
In fact, it even caused some kind of indescribable change deep within her dragon instincts.
Now that she couldn’t just rely on brute force to solve everything, she had no choice but to use her intelligence, to work with others who were just as weak as her, to survive as a team.
This… this was how the weak lived.
This was the survival strategy of so-called "lower creatures".
Just like these ants right in front of her.
“Zzzzz!!!”
A small, pale hand, shaped like a claw, swung out fiercely.
The dozens of [Magic-Devouring Ant Swarm] lunging toward her were instantly torn apart under the force of her dragon power, shattering into pieces.
It made a small gap in the black wave of ants. But to the endless swarm, it was no different from a tiny ripple in a crashing wave.
Immediately, even more ants surged forward, fearless and relentless, pouring in from all directions toward the young dragon girl!
“Hmph!”
The golden-haired girl stomped her bare foot hard against the ground.
The solid rock beneath her sank instantly, and the shockwave sent both dead and living ants flying into the air.
In the air, they were shattered further, breaking into countless fragments.
Physical attacks seemed to be far more effective than magic-based attacks against them.
The fallen ants’ bodies held tiny magic cores, but before they could even hit the ground, their swarming kin devoured them, leaving nothing behind for their enemy.
But even so, tiny, almost imperceptible to the naked eye, white specks of light emerged from the shattered corpses of the ants, drifting lightly towards the little dragon girl as if drawn to her, merging into her body.
Perhaps a single ant produced so little of this energy that it was almost undetectable.
But now, with so many gathered, Xiao Guang could clearly sense it, from the moment the lights appeared to the moment they merged with her.
“This is…”
Standing in the temporary gap within the tide of ants, the young dragon girl clenched her small fist in surprise.
She closed her eyes slightly, trying to focus on the strange sensation. But the relentless swarm gave her no time to think or understand.
The ants, drawn to her massive magical presence, rushed at her once more.
Xiao Guang had no choice but to open her eyes again, a slight frown forming on her face.
Even though this new discovery seemed to confirm something her master once told her, it didn’t change her current situation, her strength and magic were nearly depleted.
She wasn’t as strong as she appeared. In fact, she probably wouldn’t last much longer.
Should she… break the seal her master placed on her?