Chapter 33: When Supplements Hit Too Hard

Chapter 33: When Supplements Hit Too Hard


Garion leaned forward in his seat, arms crossed over his chest,


The huge screen above shifted again, and there she was, Dahlia, moving through the forest.


She was still wearing her oversized robes, but her movements still drew attention.


She didn’t waste any time on flashy strikes or long-winded techniques.


She went straight for the jade token each time and crushed it in instang, forcing her opponents to teleport out.


"Good, that’s what you need. Just go for the win condition, not the show."


Around him, murmurs rose among the spectators.


"Her movements are too rough."


"She’s strong, but that’s not elegance. That’s just brute force."


"No grace at all. She looks more like a wild brawler than a sect-trained disciple."


Garion only rolled his eyes.


Grace doesn’t win fights. Only efficiency and timing help win the fight.


He flexed his fingers, imagining how she locked joints and snapped tokens.


"That’s my girl."


Still, he narrowed his eyes at the screen.


Dahlia’s attack had become sharper than usual, but there was something else.


Wild and prideful.


Her teeth clenched tighter, her eyes burned hotter, her shoulders trembled as if holding back more than just strength.


"That’s not like her at all. What the hell happened?"


Then a familiar screen appeared.


[Notification: Disciple Dahlia’s mana has begun to adopt Dragon Trait.]


[Temporary side effects: heightened aggression, wild temperament, and rising pride. Cannot accept defeat easily.]


Garion blinked. "Dragon Trait?"


He rubbed his chin, thinking back.


He had given her every supplement made from the Dragon Tooth Flower.


He had forced her to drink them daily, and as the system made it, every dose hit harder than it should have.


Garion soon leaned back, chuckling to himself.


"No wonder... I crammed a week’s worth of dragon-type supplements into her veins. Of course, it’s changing her."


On the screen, Dahlia lunged at a boy twice her size, but she managed to dodge, and with one hand, she took his token and snapped it.


The boy vanished, but Dahlia didn’t stop.


She punched the tree beside her, exploding it, before she finaly finally exhaled and steadied her breath.


Garion grinned wider.


"She’s going wild like a beast... and proud like a dragon. Not bad at all."


The elders in higher seats shook their heads.


"Her form is... unrefined."


"Like a savage beast clawing at prey"


"Such a lack of discipline. No real master would train her this way."


Garion only smirked as he muttered to himself quietly.


"No real master, huh? Then tell me, why is she still standing when your elegant disciples are already eating dirt?"


But no one answered him, as he just said it silently.


He then turned his attention back to teh screen and noticed how Dahlia’s stance had shifted. It was lower and tigher, coiled like she was ready to spring.


Her punches weren’t just hard anymore. They carried a wild instinct, like claws striking prey.


He could only shake his head, half proud and half excited.


"As expected from my first disciple. With your evolving mana, you’ll grow into something else... and everyone here will have no idea what hit them."


The announcer’s voice boomed in the arena, cutting over the audience’s chatter.


"Competitors continue to be eliminated! Already hundreds have been forced out within the first hour!"


The screen showed names and numbers flashing, but Garion ignored them.


His focus was only on Dahlia, her movements, her wild eyes, and the dragon-like energy she gave off with every move.


He smirked again, muttering to himself.


"This will be interesting."


---


Eighteen hours had passed since the treasure realm was opened.


From the thousands who had entered, only about a hundred competitors remained.


And among those still inside the realm was Dahlia.


She crouched on a thick branch, breathing hard, her robe torn in several places.


Her fists were sore, her arms heavy, yet her eyes burned in excitement.


She had hunted both beasts and competitors, and she was enjoying every second of it.


That’s why she was quite terrified now, not knowing what had happened to her.


"Why am I like this? I was never this battle-hungry before, never this eager to crush others."


The truth was gnawing at her.


She had taken down cultivators she once would have avoided and even laughed loudly once.


Yeah, she laughed loudly while crushing a jade token right in front of a boy she had defeated.


"No... this isn’t me. I’m supposed to be calm and careful. But why does it feel so good to fight? Why don’t I want to stop?"


Inside her, a wild heat churned. Pride and rage swirled together like a storm, whispering something to her.


Keep going. Don’t stop. You’re stronger than them. You can’t lose.


Hearing that, she quickly slapped her own cheeks until it was red.


She closed her eyes, forcing her breath into rhythm. She kept inhaling and exhaling, just like Garion taught her.


"Discipline, form and control. I won’t let these stupid voices control me."


Minutes crawled by, and finally, the wild heat inside her dulled, caged but not gone.


The hunder still lingered, but for now she was the one holding the reins.


Dahlia lifted her head and looked at her jade token.


She had no idea how many points she had racked up, but she had hunted nonstop for hours.


Surely, it was enough for her to rank in the top thirty-two to go to the next stage.


"Okay, I have already enough points, and if I keep going, I might lose myself."


She dropped from the branch and leaned against a tree trunk, resting.


"Let’s just stop now and rest. With my points, I should be able to pass to the next stage."


But even as she calmed, the faintest whisper still lingered in her mind.


Stronger. Higher. Never lose.


She clenched her fist again, then forced it open. Soon, a small smile appeared.


"Not this time. I’ll win in my own way."


For the first time since she arrived here, she chose to rest in silence.