"Since black oil can be eaten..."
"Then energy Ores of higher quality than black oil should, barring any accidents, provide me with even more abundant energy."
"The problem is, these things are strategic resources. A small amount of black oil doesn't matter; if you're lucky, you can find a deposit yourself, and some Alchemists refine it themselves. However, large black oil deposits and other energy mineral deposits are tightly controlled by the major powers."
Garros fell into deep thought.
Setting aside other things for now.
The human Empire [Holden] and the elven Empire [Nausir] are still quietly competing and having constant frictions over the division of resources from a super-large black oil deposit.
If it weren't for their sheer size—meaning that once a war starts, the consequences would be unpredictable and they would likely perish together—
They wouldn't just be competing in the shadows now.
"There are oil fields in the Serel Wilderness too, but they all have armies stationed there for extraction."
"I'll think about it later. I definitely can't provoke them now, or it would be seeking death. Besides, the energy I currently need for evolution isn't that much; hunting monsters and Vicious Beasts can satisfy it."
Garros thought silently to himself.
He looked down at the black oil on his claws.
He extended his sensitive tongue to lick it clean, then picked up the Alchemy Engine and poured the remaining black oil directly into his mouth.
A refreshing and spicy kick rushed straight to the crown of his head.
After drinking the little bit of black oil left in the Alchemy Engine in one go,
Garros felt as if a raging fire was burning in his stomach, and his spirit became extremely excited.
Whoosh!
He spread his dragon wings and soared into the sky, enveloped by whistling winds. He flew at high speed in the upper air, opening his mouth to repeatedly spit out bursts of Flame Dragon Breath. The dark red patterns on his scales became like flowing, glowing lava.
The constantly spreading and surging flames
Dyed the clouds in the sky a crimson color, as if they had been set on fire.
Half an hour later, Garros folded his wings and landed on a rock slab. The feeling of a fierce fire burning in his belly was gone, and he felt like he hadn't had enough.
Because in this short half-hour,
Garros could clearly feel that his training results exceeded more than a week under normal conditions, especially in terms of the intensity and duration of his Dragon Breath.
Moreover, he didn't feel much fatigue yet.
"Truly good stuff."
He picked up the Alchemy Engine and tipped it upside down again.
Finally, only a single drop of black oil remained, which fell onto Garros's palm.
He originally intended to eat it directly.
But on second thought, Garros looked at Samantha.
"The Legacy says this thing isn't food, but it clearly gives me a great kick when I eat it. Could the Legacy be wrong?"
The dragon heritage isn't necessarily absolutely correct; the information inside might be outdated, or there might be omissions and errors.
"Let Samantha have a taste."
Garros woke Samantha up and, under her suspicious gaze, said, "The energy contained in black oil is very abundant. I just ate a lot, you should try some too."
"Really? My Legacy never said this thing was edible."
Samantha was skeptical.
She extended her warm tongue and licked the drop of black oil from Garros's palm.
And then.
Pah!
Pah, pah, pah!
Before even swallowing it, Samantha's eyelids twitched, and she spat the black oil onto the ground several times.
"This thing is edible? It's completely unswallowable!"
She wiped her tongue, not wanting even a trace of black oil to remain.
"It seems there's nothing wrong with the Legacy; the problem is me."
Garros was speechless.
"This engine is for you. It will help you learn Alchemy Spells."
He threw the Alchemy Engine to Samantha.
black oil has different qualities; the black oil Garros just ate was of the lowest grade.
Alchemy can further refine and purify ordinary black oil, and it can also refine monster bodies into ordinary black oil; these are very basic parts of Alchemy.
Once Samantha mastered it, it would be time for her to repay him.
Garros didn't keep idle Dragons here.
And this wouldn't take too long. After all, the learning talent of Dragonkin is actually excellent, and the initial entry into Alchemy is not a difficult matter.
Samantha took the Alchemy Engine, looked at it curiously for a few moments, then curled her tail around it, closed her eyes slightly, and continued to dig into and learn the knowledge from her Legacy.
Glancing at Samantha, who was immersed in her Legacy knowledge,
Garros suddenly wondered how his other Iron Dragon Brother, Gordon, was doing.
Gordon's arrogance and conceit were slightly lighter than Samantha's, but his brain wasn't as sharp. He had always been a bit slow; surviving alone would likely be very difficult for him.
Shaking his head, Garros didn't think more about it.
He had already given him a chance; what choice he made was his own business.
If Gordon also came to seek refuge like Samantha, was willing to follow orders, and stopped being willful and causing trouble, Garros could accept his following and let him, like Samantha, learn a type of Spell that could assist him and be beneficial to him.
But what Garros didn't know was
Gordon wouldn't be coming here.
If one were to look down from high in the sky, one could see a main road that wound through almost the entire Serel Wilderness. Its branch roads were like a dense spider web or bifurcating branches, extending in many different directions, like a network across the wilderness.
And this network was named—the Thousand Snake Scars.
Essentially, it was the collective name for the many roads responsible for the movement of caravans and the transport of minerals in the Serel Wilderness.
The main road of the Thousand Snake Scars led directly to the territory of the Losern Federation in the south. The road was very wide, paved with a layer of substance similar to asphalt, stretching endlessly under the sun.
With a series of slight tremors from the ground,
Wheels made of metal on the inside and covered with a rubbery substance on the outside rolled over the road.
A total of ten enormous Alchemy-crafted creations, similar to freight trucks and nearly fifteen meters long, went whistling past.
On one of the trucks sat an open-air steel cage.
Every steel bar was as thick as an adult's arm and was carved with dense Alchemy Rune.
Inside the cage was the Iron Dragon Hatchling, Gordon.
He bit down on the cage.
Amidst the tooth-grating sound of metal clashing, sparks flew.
Gordon's dragon teeth throbbed with pain, yet he only managed to bite out a few shallow marks, completely unable to break through this cage.
After leaving the Iron Dragon Mother's territory, he had wanted to start by robbing caravans and head south to achieve great things.
As it turned out, as soon as he showed his face, he was instantly captured by powerful caravan guards. After being passed around, he was eventually bought by this current large caravan.
"Stop biting. You won't bite it open even if all your teeth break. This cage has been reinforced with Alchemy; even a Young Dragon could be trapped in it."
Said a human warrior standing outside the cage, wearing heavy armor.
"Damned humans, what do you want to do to a great True Dragon!"
Gordon roared, baring his teeth.
The warrior clicked his tongue and said, "Don't have such a big reaction. We won't skin you, nor will we dismantle your bones and scales. On the contrary, we will dress you up beautifully and let you go enjoy a wonderful life."
"What?"
Gordon didn't believe him, his eyes full of wariness.
"The beloved little princess of the Losern Kingdom wants a Dragonkin playmate as a birthday gift. The kingdom issued a formal reward notice, and you, lucky little Iron Dragon, are the gift we will present to the little princess."
Hearing this, Gordon's eyes widened.
He never expected that he would go to the south he wanted to visit in this manner.