[Creation Artifact Detected!! Looks like the person you met is lucky~]
"...The hell is a Creation Artifact? Wait, should I be talking like I do if the world here isn't as advanced as my old world...? When it comes to technology."
[Be yourself :3, But anyways, it's probably what you would consider the weakest Artifact, but it's mostly to speed up the growth of herbs by multiple years, if not even a hundred years, in a second! Which can be used to make pills. Which helps you grow stronger!]
"I see, I guess it could be good, but are there any more?"
[Yup, about Seven exist! And the lady you met has one, so go on and marry her!!!]
"Stop. You're not matchmaking me into a political marriage twelve hours after reincarnation." Caelus sighed. It was way too quick for him, and he wasn't ready for something like commitment when he was only nineteen.
"We're here... Caelus. Also, what are you looking at?" Tellus spoke, both of them still in the carriage.
"Nothing, I was just daydreaming." He blinked, noticing the carriage stop. He moved to get up, yet only then did he stop. A dull scraping sound followed, instinctively uncomfortable, like bone on stone.
"Well, this carriage is tiny, is it for your accommodation, Tellus?" Caelus spoke, exasperated by the system's behavior.
"What do you mean by that?" Her gaze snapped toward him, sharp reflex, like steel half-drawn.
"I mean, was the carriage made to accommodate your height?" He didn't seem to mind what he said, as he didn't find it insulting; it was just a standard question.
Finally stepping out, he looked at her, noticing how short she was, though not realizing how tall he was compared to others.
"You seem like you're... 170 centimeters at least."
Tellus didn't know whether to be confused or offended by being called that short.
[Caelus!, She's actually way taller than that, you're just tall, like 228, so you should keep that in mind!]
"Wait—I'm seven feet tall?" Caelus froze. The servants froze harder.
"I can't believe he's that tall. I knew dragons were big, but..." A Maid whispered to one of the butlers, staying still and covering her face to hide it without looking suspicious.
To which the butler only nodded, an older gentleman, he exuded an aura of strength, but it wasn't on the level of Tellus's.
[Oop, you need to reach the Foundation Realm because Tellus is two realms above you! At the Virtuoso realm-]
"Wait, so how did I damage her shield? It was made of Mana, wasn't it?" Caelus was confused about how he couldn't simply chalk that up to something like 'Dragon genetics' because that would be way too much, even for him.
[It's cause of being a Dragon and being at the Awakening realm, you could match an Awakening Realm person without any cultivation, so at the Awakening realm, you could match a Foundation Cultivator, which can hold off one of a higher realm for a small amount of time!]
"I- Okay, so what should I do now? I don't really know how to continue cultivating, because if it's just eating pills and meditating, I'm going to be bored."
[Don't worry! Also, first, I'll give you clothing, so just click on the screen. I'll show you when you're alone, and you'll receive clothing that fits you, along with a manual. And after that, I'll make you jump to Foundation since you have nothing to do in this realm.]
Caelus walked past the maids and butlers, reaching inside the home while following Tellus. From the corner of his eye, he noticed a shelf with glass and qi surrounding it, and then an object, one that was emitting some sort of energy, which resembled a pot.
Looking away, he finally reached the room she had assigned to him. Considering that even when Dragons were deemed heretical, he did not show signs of being violent, as it was said, which she was going to verify with the church, since they also claimed dragons were mindless beasts.
"You stay here, I'll go and come back with some food," Tellus spoke with no emotion. It was a matter of fact, and she didn't need to, and Caelus had simply nodded.
[Interface loaded! Totally original, not inspired by that anime about leveling alone at all.]
"Please stop talking." Caelus moved his hand, seeing the 'claim' button. Once he touched it, a pair of clothes appeared. Along with that, he placed the manual and two pills on the wooden table, then held the clothing, looked toward the room's entrance, and ensured the door was locked.
Done changing, he saw his clothing fit the location they were at. Considering it was a cultivation novel, he expected to see a lot of Chinese culture, so he anticipated seeing him in a loose hanfu-like robe, with a black inner layer and a white outer layer; its sleeves reached his hands and even covered his scales, giving the impression of gloves.
He noticed light purple patterns like stars and constellations across the white outer layer. He didn't know what the clothing was made of, but it was comfortable, so he didn't care. Noticing his tail fit through it, he moved around, still having space for it to breathe in its own way.
"Okay, I love this clothing... I'm gonna keep it forever." Caelus wasn't joking; it was comfortable to the point he wouldn't want to remove it, but he would still have to, to take a bath, though the realization dawned on him... This place may not have showerheads or bathtubs.
"Oh. No shoes." He wiggled his toes, scales, dark and sharp-edged.
[That's cause dragon feet are practically impenetrable, and also once you get used to the body, you'll be able to walk without looking down at all, adjusting to anything on the ground even when your eyes don't notice, even when it could. Also, I turned your biology into something toggleable, so like, you can turn on the other types of visions you have!]
Caelus simply listened along, turning to the table. He grabbed the pill, its light orange color and clean, perfectly round shape. Since he trusted the system, he swallowed it without a second thought. From that, he felt an influx of energy, and more notifications appeared.
[Awakening Stage One has reached Awakening Stage Ten! Eat the next one and you'll be Foundation, though you'll need to leave the home to do the tribulation, even if it's weak.]
Staring at the other pill, he held it, a light purple color, somewhat imperfect, leaving the room, he noticed the guards sitting there lax, with one even drinking from a small glass cup, he didn't mind it, this felt normal, but he felt better knowing they weren't just mindless husks and did what they liked.
Noticing a room seeping Mana, he walked over and knocked first. Not out of fear, just habit. Civilization hadn't left him yet, dragon body or not. The guards on the chairs turned, confused, but since no one answered or told him to leave, he opened it.
In the center of the room was a stone floor in a spiral pattern, with the roof open, presumably to let tribulation strike, but also serving as a barrier to protect the one cultivating.
[Oh yeah, also if you fail to go up a realm, your soul, or more to be clear, primordial soul gets damaged! Luckily, I got something for you after you succeed now!]
"Bad omen, just saying I'll succeed before it happens, but alright..." Caelus walked over, sitting at the center, eating the light purple pill. Tribulation began forming; the clouds grew darker and circled around him, reminding him of a lightning rod.
[80% chance of succeeding this tribulation, letting you go to Foundation! With the pill, it's 100% Though if you fail, you have to wait about eight hours!]
Caelus moved his hand holding the pill and swallowed it. He wasn't taking chances, even if he had an eighty percent chance.
As soon as the thunder struck, a slight tingle, another hit, and it grew stronger, as if it drained his Mana, a third strike. It grew a bit stronger, repeating this until the sixth strike. It took a few seconds to form, and from that, he took more damage. His Mana was almost drained, as if it were getting hit along with him.
The Seventh strike and it had depleted all his Mana, hurting his body, the feeling of his muscles tearing was evident, for then the eighth strike, his body began absorbing it, the force cracking the floor, only for the floor to regenerate, the final strike, a heavy amount of damage as he coughed up his own blood, his body stronger, noticing the system screen show what his core looked like now.
A sphere, though not perfectly circular, droplets like water and waves separated from the whole core, something which would only solidify at the stage right after.
Getting up, he looked at his own body, which was now much stronger than before. He took a calm breath, and his Mana replenished itself, forming a larger pool within his body, holding about fifteen times the amount that the Awakening stage had held. This was only the first stage, so it was easier to pass, even with tribulation; albeit he did rush it, so he may need to slow down later.
[Okay! You now receive your Creation Artifact in exchange for approximately seventy percent of your physical treasury. Is that acceptable?]
Caelus blinked, hearing the system, though he didn't mind. "Sure, go ahead." It took him a second as something began falling from the sky; he moved his hand up and grasped it by its handle. It looked like what was a vase.
[Creation Artifact Unlocked - The Vase of Zurvan!]
"Wait- What, there is absolutely no way that those gods overlap here." Caelus was left confused.
[Where do you think the gods people think of in your world come from~]
"...I see. That's one way to prove it, but I can also see why different types of Gods existed then." Shaking his head, he rationalized it as maybe just them experimenting in other worlds.
[You got a literal god-tier Artifact on your first day. I'm starting to think you're the problem.]
"Isn't that literally the same with every main character who goes to another world, though I doubt I'm the main character since I'm not so loud... right?"
[Anyways, the vase basically works like you need to make a pill first and then shove it inside the vase so it spits out one that is above the legendary rank. I recommend not using the high-grade or legendary-grade pills for it, though it takes less energy.]
"I see... I'll not use it for right now, could you store it or something?"
[Sure! - Initiating...]
At a moment's notice, the vase disappeared, as another screen popped up, showing an inventory of about 10 slots where he could fit things inside.
[What you thought it'd be large or infinite, don't joke around like that.]
Caelus sighed, though it felt somewhat better since it would feel like way too much cheating if he were given infinite space; he might've even been able to throw Tellus in there.
Tellus, opening the door, looked at Caelus, who was still standing there, and at Foundation Establishment.
"Wait, dragons cultivate!?" Tellus's voice became louder, confused. "I thought cultivation was only for those considered holy, while you're called demonic..." Tellus even then didn't think the church was lying. "Maybe you're just a redeemed Dragon; there's no way they could lie."
"...Is she serious?"
[Dead serious.]
"Makes sense, I've met worse." Caelus sighed, not deadpan but having a slight chuckle, knowing Tellus meant no harm.
"Well, no, I've never met any church. So I'm not redeemed as you say. Surely you don't believe that the church can't lie, right?"
"Well, no, they're servants of the Lord, Elohi-"
Caelus interrupted. "...And are the servants infallible?"
"..." Tellus remained silent, being unable to process what Caelus had just said.