Void Evolution System

There was a district in a kingdom called Arulion, a district in a city so large it could completely cover an entire planet.

That district was small. So small and so peripheral that barely anyone even knew it existed.

Here, people lived simple lives. They farmed when they wanted to farm, they shopped in markets and ate at stalls that their peers opened, and generally enjoyed their quaint and happy lives.

This kind of place was rare in Arulion. No matter how they were treated by their own kind, dragons were dragons, after all.

Most of them refused to do mundane things. They spent their entire lives striving towards power or knowledge with everything they had.

But, in every society, there would be outliers. The only people who were willing to live in the more rural parts of the megacity were those who had discarded that pointless chase.

They renounced their claim to power as they realized how the royal dragons truly thought of them. They lived simple lives because they could, knowing that their lifespans would allow them to enjoy peace for many, many years.

What was it like growing up in this kind of place?

Time was already different in the perception of a dragon, and due to their long lifespans, their growth periods were far longer than other beasts.

A usual dragon would take centuries to get through adolescence, and would take thousands before properly reaching adulthood.

August…

Well, he didn't quite have that time.

And with his intelligence, it would've been a waste if he had to wait decades or centuries for his body to match his mind.

By the time he gained his name, August had already started talking. By the time a year passed, he was fluent in English, Dragon Tongue, and the universal language.

Speaking English was, of course, a redundant skill to possess, but since August was his son, Damien figured it was only right to teach him his native language.

At two years old, August was not only walking and talking, he was capable of sensing mana. It was only to the smallest and most instinctive form of perception, but Damien often found August playing with mana like it was a toy, laughing happily at the sparkling blue energy floating in the air.

He had not been taught at all. Rather, Damien had been giving him the regular education a child should have, though August was learning at the level of a middle schooler already.

Nevertheless, with a child who was able to grow mentally and understand concepts faster than anyone his age humanly could, Damien felt it remiss to force him to grow slowly.

With Existence, bringing his body up to match his mind wasn't difficult at all. Still, Damien didn't push it too much.

August's knowledge grew by the day, but his mental state was still that of a child. If Damien increased his age based on his smartness, August would've already been 14 or 15, but he was not nearly there emotionally.

As such, though only two years had passed, August already looked five years old. He could run as he pleased without being inhibited, and his physique allowed him to play with mana without being burdened.

'He's a good kid.'

Damien smiled as he watched August play. They were on the mountain behind the district. It didn't have a name before, but ever since Damien started bringing August here, it had gained the name, "Green Green."

'I'm going to have to find some language where that sounds cool, because there's no way I'm letting any map call this place Green Green.'

Well, it was a name created by a five-year-old, so it was to be expected.

Damien had been bringing August here since he was old enough to walk.

August was incredibly interested in mana. He didn't talk to anyone but Damien much, but he was always finding ways to play with his mana and experiment.

Since he was an Azure Dragon, his ability to intuitively do wondrous things with the energy was great. The city was constraining. August couldn't do as he wanted when he was stuck in a place with so many people. The mountain was a perfect place for him.

August was a bit shy, but it wasn't because he was socially awkward.

'What's the best way to describe it…?'

Was it that he couldn't fit in with his peers? IDamien was always too strong for the majority but too weak for the minority. He never had enemies among his peers, but those stronger than him were far, far stronger than him.

Because of his rapid development, August was in a similar situation with his intelligence.

Though, he didn't seem to mind it. He was very vocal with Damien, and when the two of them were alone, he was an incredibly vibrant child.

Truly, with every day that passed, August made Damien more and more certain that his decision to provide the kid with a proper childhood was the right one.

"Dad, look!"

Damien's attention was grabbed by the call. When he looked over…

"Woah!" he exclaimed in admiration.

Damien…didn't quite know what he was looking at, but it could definitely be described as an expression of August's creativity. The mana was entangled and strangely patterned in a chaotic manner, but no matter how disorganized it looked, it was something that required a surprising amount of mana control to maintain.

"Good job, kiddo!"

Damien walked over and ruffled August's hair. He giggled, leaning into Damien as he continued toying with the mana.

'That time is approaching, huh…'

It was a bit bittersweet.

If August's control kept improving like this, Damien would 00:36

pretty much be forced to teach him so that he wouldn't harm If August's control kept improving like this, Damien would pretty much be forced to teach him so that he wouldn't harm himself. And when his ancestral memories eventually awakened…

Would he still be the same kid he was now?

'I guess this is the struggle of a parent.'

In the end, his job was to support his child and watch over him. Whatever he became, as long as he was happy and safe, it was fine, right?

Two years had passed, and another two years passed soon after. August continued to age, but only until he was eight years old.

Nothing much had changed. August's personality was consistent, and so was everything else. It was the product of the mundane place Damien had chosen to be their home.

Nevertheless, the passing of two more years meant that August's skill improved by leaps and bounds. Damien had taught him some basic control skills to keep him safe, but he'd managed to hold off on any real training.

Until now.

For human children, Damien believed that mana training should only begin in their teenage years. That was the same principle he followed before letting Xue'er start training.

However, dragons were inherently different, especially Holy Descendants.

Damien could sense it. August's ancestral memories would awaken soon.

Before August abruptly gained great power, Damien needed to make sure he had at least a comprehensive understanding of the basics and a true moral code.

There was really only one thing that still concerned him.

'For some reason…'

Despite the fact that years had passed…

'...he still hasn't transformed.'

August had never once tried to enter his dragon form.

It was almost like…

'...he refuses the idea of being a dragon at all.'