"We can't return empty-handed after coming all this way."
"A forbidden place like this often hides good stuff. The more people are afraid to touch a place, the more valuable the treasure inside."
Such were adventurers—creatures who would completely disregard risk for the sake of profit.
Baron's eyes lit up immediately.
Garl remained silent for a moment. He didn't refute him, but simply stood up and said,
"Once everyone's rested, we move out. We'll follow the river toward that extinct volcano and get as close as we can."
"We'll set up camp before dark and explore tomorrow morning."
...
Garl: Third-Tier, Human, Warrior. Skills: Shield Counter, Horizontal Cleave, Ground Splitter, Warcry.
York: Second-Tier, Human, Rogue. Skills: Stealth, Backstab, Throwing Knives.
Cody: Second-Tier, Human, Archer. Skills: Rapid Fire, Eagle Eye, Charged Strike.
Misha: Second-Tier, Human, Mage. Skills: Fire Bullet, Ice Spike, Ice Blade.
Baron: First-Tier, Human, Ranger. Skills: Ancestral Treasure Appraisal, Noble Etiquette.
"A party of low-tier adventurers..." Hiding in the bushes along the distant riverbank, the red wyrmling narrowed his eyes. "What are they doing coming into this bushland?"
...
At noon two days ago, Kael had already awakened from his draconic slumber.
Once he regained consciousness, an extreme sense of hunger overwhelmed him. The prolonged sleep and bodily development had depleted nearly all the energy stored in Kael's body.
Moments later, a figure the size of a small red car rushed out of the cave. As he passed the entrance, Kael even scooped up a few handfuls of gravel with his claws and stuffed them into his dragon maw.
Only after he flew to the river and launched an extermination-level slaughter on the fish and shrimp along the riverbank did his near-rebellious dragon stomach finally quiet down.
"Wait a minute, I... I can fly?!" Kael unfurled the dragon wings behind him in disbelief.
His dragon wings, which had previously been tight and tender—only capable of small flaps and completely unable to achieve flight—now possessed a broad and tough skeletal structure. The muscles upon them seemed optimized and remodeled, bursting with strength.
Common knowledge from his draconic heritage was clearly imprinted in the dragon's mind.
A red dragon had to grow to the young dragon stage—typically when its rank reached Third-Tier—before its torso and dragon wings were considered fully developed enough to unlock the ability to fly.
As for Kael, he was currently only Second-Tier.
What he did not know was that during the nights he had been unaware of, stars in the night sky had shed faint starshine down. During his second period of slumber, it had quietly nourished and perfected the muscle structure of his dragon wings, forcing his flight ability to unlock a full tier early.
Kael carefully admired his dragon wings, flexed his dragon claws a few times, and then looked up at the sky. What a pity it was daytime right now.
Once he could fly, Kael relied on those dragon wings to inspect nearly the entire bushland. He even flew to the summit of the extinct volcano and took a look over the surrounding forest area.
Immediately after, Kael checked his dragon scales and tested his dragon breath.
The hardness of his dragon scales and the power of his dragon breath both surpassed those of same-tier red dragons recorded in his draconic heritage.
This was naturally thanks to the basalt—and, of course, a "tiny bit" of his talent.
His body length had also reached five meters, which was completely the size of a young red dragon.
However, no matter how excited he was, Kael would not be arrogant enough to explore the forest right now. He was a very cautious dragon and knew full well that when weak, laying low and growing stronger was the absolute truth.
In the evening, after playing around for the entire afternoon, Kael got to experience a feeling that had only existed in his imagination in his past life.
Later, he returned to the dragon nest.
Carlos and Nora were still fast asleep. Their breathing was steady, the skin beneath their scales rising and falling, occasionally twitching unconsciously. Their Second-Tier aura had already stabilized.
"Looks like they're about to wake up soon too." Kael did not wake the two little red dragons.
"I need to go prepare some food." Over the past year, Carlos and Nora's hunting skills had indeed improved, but he still couldn't feel at ease letting these two little guys hunt on their own.
"Before going out, let's turn on the cheat first." Saying so, Kael began to sort through his special talents to see what he needed most at this stage.
Accelerated Growth, Physical Enhancement, and Concealment were all talents that improved himself.
When facing danger, one shouldn't just enhance oneself; one should also discern the enemy.
"Got it." Kael suddenly figured it out.
"I need a talent that can discern information about others."
Just as he finished thinking this, a cool sensation washed over his dragon eyes, as if they had just been washed clean.
Kael hurriedly checked his special talents, and indeed, one more had appeared.
Eyes of Starshine: Insights into the basic information of a creature before you, such as true tier, class, and race. Can pierce concealment and enhance vision. When used on creatures of excessively high tiers, there is a risk of being detected. Can be freely controlled.
Conveniently, there were two test subjects right in the nest. Kael couldn't wait to try it out.
Carlos: Second-Tier, Red Dragon. Skills: Dragon Breath. Talents: Low-Tier Magic Resistance, Low-Tier Physical Resistance, Darkvision, Low-Tier Strength Enhancement...
Nora: Second-Tier, Red Dragon. Skills: Dragon Breath. Talents: Low-Tier Magic Resistance, Low-Tier Physical Resistance, Darkvision, Low-Tier Elemental Affinity...
Not bad. With information on opponents to formulate appropriate plans, the win rate would increase significantly.
Next, relying on his new talent, Concealment, and his flying ability, Kael accumulated enough food in the dragon nest for those two guys to eat.
Until dusk the next day, Kael, who wanted to go to the river to catch some seafood, discovered the human adventurer party before him.
Hiding in the bushes, he looked back along the direction they had come from. The leaves and branches at the edge of the bushland showed signs of being pushed aside, and there were scattered bloodstains on the ground.
"Did they run here to seek refuge?" Kael slowly rubbed his jaw with his dragon claw.
"These guys didn't draw some magical beast over here, did they?" Looking at the adventurers who had just been resting, he thought, "That's not right either."
The adventurer party walked along the small river, stopping and starting, resting twice along the way.
Kael overheard their conversation. Most of it was the tall, skinny rogue complaining, and occasionally, the young noble spoke, his voice anxious and tense.
"...The extinct volcano is in that direction. We'll follow the river..."
"The extinct volcano!"
Kael's eyes darkened. He stared at the backs of the group, his gaze gradually turning cold.
They were heading to the extinct volcano.
The cave halfway up the extinct volcano was the dragon nest. Deepest inside the dragon nest, Mother Dragon Seria was currently in slumber.
Carlos and Nora were also sleeping inside the cave. Before he went out this morning, those two guys were still in the final stages of waking.
Could it be that these humans were heading straight for the dragon nest?
Kael was in no hurry to strike. He lurked in the dark and listened for a moment longer.
The young noble mentioned things like "treasure," "cave," and "family map."
"Damn it, these guys really are coming for the dragon nest."
"Treasure?" Kael's darkened dragon face couldn't help sneering.
If there were any treasure in this place, Mother Dragon would have scavenged it clean long ago.
What Kael couldn't possibly have imagined was that perhaps this treasure actually belonged to Mother Dragon Seria herself? However, that would have been back when Mother Dragon was a juvenile dragon.
This group of guys was destined for a wasted trip.
But the problem was, they would walk right into the dragon nest.
Thinking this, Kael's intent to kill grew stronger and stronger.
Mother Dragon was in slumber; she absolutely could not be disturbed.
He recalled the miserable fates recorded in his draconic heritage of those who dared to disturb a mother's sleep.
If Mother Dragon happened to be in a bad mood and vented her wrath on them young dragons...
Kael had already thought of his own epitaph: "Failed to guard the nest, deserves to die!"
Rate on N.U.
