Garros landed on the wasteland at the edge of the Hemlock Hills, his claw tips pinching the silver frost ring. The ice crystal core embedded in the ring's face emitted a faint blue glow, and a ghostly chill could be felt even through his scales.
He focused his gaze for a closer look.
He noticed some dragon-scale-like patterns on the surface of the ring.
Moreover, it wasn't just the ring; the necklace and wing rings also bore these types of dragon engravings.
This meant there was a high probability they were all the work of a Dragon Clan Alchemist, and judging by the similar structure of the dragon engravings, they were likely forged by the same dragon.
"That Copper Dragon has a father or mother who is a master of Alchemy?"
"It must be nice to have a backer, unlike me, lonely and alone, only able to rely on myself."
Garros shook his head, then pressed the ring to the tip of his tongue, imitating the Copper Dragon's method of use.
Silver-white frost air whistled out from his mouth, and a half-meter-thick layer of ice quickly condensed on the rock wall thirty meters away.
He extended his front claw, cautiously touching the dense ice mist that had not yet dissipated.
As soon as his claw entered, frost patterns immediately crawled over the surface, and the chill continued to extend up his dragon arm along the claw, forming ice crystals on the surface of each dragon scale.
The chill seeped through the gaps in his scales, frostbiting Garros's skin and flesh, like countless ice needles piercing back and forth, bringing a sharp, intense pain.
It was as if he had fallen into an ice hole, both painful and numb.
"Just a light touch, and this kind of ice damage counters me so much."
Garros frowned.
There were four major categories of basic elemental energy.
Earth, Water, Wind, and Fire.
Ice elements, lightning elements, radiation elements, and so on, were all mutations based on these basic elements.
In other words, ice damage was a variant of water damage.
Because he hadn't had the conditions for targeted training before, Garros's resistance in this area was the typical weak resistance of a fire-type dragon; an ice attack landing on him could deal double counter damage.
"How much water a bucket can hold depends on its shortest plank."
"The existence of a short plank will seriously limit my development, leaving me with weaknesses that can easily be targeted."
"The category of ice damage is very broad; I need to adapt in advance."
Garros thought to himself.
Scalding hot dragon blood circulated rapidly within his body, and the dark red patterns on the Red-Iron Young Dragon's scales lit up with a lava-like luster, sizzling as they evaporated the attached frost into white steam.
Next.
Garros tested the flow-fire wing rings and the watchers necklace one by one.
The flow-fire wing rings could boost speed and coat the wings in a layer of fire to increase fire damage, while the watchers necklace was a purely defensive item that could withstand a full-strength blow from Garros.
"The wing rings are good; the effect is similar to the Tail Ring. Perhaps they can help me stimulate the Adaptive Evolution of my wings."
After using the Tail Ring multiple times, even without activating the lightning boost, Garros still felt his tail tingling, with occasional sensations like an electric current passing through.
He surmised.
The augmentation and strengthening effects brought by Alchemy items would gradually be 'remembered' by his body, which would then silently adapt and evolve in that direction.
It was just that because there were no concrete evolutionary results yet.
Garros couldn't be certain right now, but what he could be sure of was that these types of Alchemy items could definitely stimulate his body's Adaptive Evolution.
"The Tail Ring has a lightning attribute, and aside from my Electric-Fire Dragon Breath having a bit of lightning attribute, I have nothing else; the compatibility isn't high enough."
"I am fire-type myself. If my hypothesis is correct, these wing rings might allow me to complete the Adaptive Evolution of my wings first."
By the time he had figured out the specific effects and strength of the three Alchemy items, the night had grown deeper.
The twin moons hung high in the night sky, casting down pure, bright moonlight.
Garros put away the Alchemy items and walked toward the rock wall that was frozen with a thick layer of ice. He then extended his claw and struck it fiercely. Ice shards flew under his sharp claws, leaving several claw marks, but it did not shatter immediately.
"Hard enough, I like it."
Garros's eyes lit up.
The hardness of ordinary rocky mountains was gradually failing to keep up with his training intensity.
The attack power generated by this ring was very strong; the condensed ice layer was as hard as steel and emitted a freezing chill, which was perfect for the current Garros.
As for using the silver frost ring to attack himself directly.
That method would indeed be more efficient, but given its attack strength, it would cause Garros serious injury and put him in a dangerous position.
Currently, he had no elders to protect him, so he needed to consider the consequences before doing anything.
Next, Garros continuously crashed into or slapped the ice layer attached to the rock wall.
He was training the hardness of his scales and his muscle strength, while also slowly adapting to ice damage.
This was a gradual process that couldn't be achieved overnight, but as a long-lived Dragonkin, Garros had plenty of time, and he had always been very patient.
Each time his body was eroded by the chill.
It felt like countless ice needles were piercing inside him, which was extremely painful.
However, Garros had long grown accustomed to physical pain. He didn't feel bad about it; instead, he silently thought that this pain was the testimony of his gradual growth and evolution.
Thinking about it this way.
While feeling the pain, a slight sense of pleasure would also sprout in his heart. Pain and excitement intertwined, becoming the key for Garros to persevere tirelessly.
Under the bright moonlight.
The Red-Iron Young Dragon tempered his body alone, unobserved.
At the same time.
Under the moonlight of the same sky.
The Copper Dragon Deborah was crying as she flew toward the north of the Serel Wilderness.
The Serel Wilderness bordered the Permafrost Tundra to the north, so the further north one went, the more the temperature in the air would gradually drop.
Slowly.
As the sky brightened and the first light of dawn rose, Deborah reached the northern wilderness where the air temperature was normal and free of heat. She circled slightly in the sky, folded her wings, and dove down to land in a place surrounded by several mountain peaks.
The air here was neither cold nor hot.
The dense canopies of red maple trees formed a continuous stretch. When the wind blew, the lush branches and leaves swayed, looking like a sea of fire burning on the ground, a gorgeous and beautiful sight.
Deep within the Red Maple Forest, near a stream, there was a three-story small building.
It was made entirely of metal and decorated with some flowers and vines. The overall structure was very exquisite and beautiful.
A man and a woman, appearing to be human—the man handsome and the woman beautiful—were walking hand-in-hand along the stream. They were admiring flowers and playing in the water, smiling brightly. When they looked at each other, their eyes were full of tenderness, a deep affection that almost seemed to overflow.
Whoosh!
A gust of wild wind blew.
A young Copper Dragon, nearly ten meters long, circled in the sky, its shadow covering the two people.
But there was no fear on their faces; instead, they waved at the Copper Dragon.
"Dad! Mom! I was robbed! All the Alchemy items you gave me were stolen by a hateful Hybrid Dragon!"
The Copper Dragon Deborah landed in front of the two, let out a howl, and began to cry loudly.