As the sun rose and the moon set, six years passed by quietly.
The rainy season in the Serel Wilderness had ended, and the usual heat had returned. The sunlight was like molten gold, pouring and splashing across the wilderness.
But even the most intense sunlight...
...could not break through the countless clouds of steam swirling within the Steam Rift.
This was a forbidden zone that most creatures disliked approaching.
Whoosh!
A Gale Giant Eagle swept across the sky, fast as a lightning bolt.
With a wingspan of ten meters, its feathers were pressed tight against its body to minimize air resistance. Surrounded by wind elemental energy, it moved at an incredible speed, appearing like a streak of green lightning as it crossed the sky.
The Gale Giant Eagle passed over the Steam Rift.
It noticed the rift below, hissing with steam. Having already hunted and eaten, it was full and content, and a playful thought suddenly crossed its mind.
The giant eagle flapped its wings and dove toward the Steam Rift.
It wove through the air above the rift with abandon, its green feathers cutting through the thick mist and leaving clear vacuum trails in its wake.
Sometimes it dove vertically, pulling up sharply just before touching the boiling rift, leaving the surrounding steam far behind.
Sometimes it banked sharply on its side, passing through the gaps between opposing pillars of steam, the scorching mist condensing into spiral cloud rings behind it.
Caught up in the excitement, the Gale Giant Eagle began to challenge the most dangerous part of the Steam Rift.
There were over a hundred high-pressure steam pillars erupting at random, a place where even the most agile swifts dared not venture.
Folding its wings into a shuttle shape, the wind elements formed sharp shockwaves at the tips of its feathers. Like a pair of scissors cutting through cloth, it displayed its skill by precisely weaving through every fatal gap in the steam maze, brushing past the erupting pillars.
Seconds later.
Just as the giant eagle completed its final barrel roll and prepared to soar back toward the clouds...
...a trembling presence suddenly surged from the depths of the rift.
Every feather on the giant eagle's body stood on end.
One second it was enjoying the thrill of speed; the next, its heart felt as though it had been seized by an invisible hand.
A predator beyond its comprehension had awakened.
The Steam Rift below began to boil. It wasn't a slow surge, but as if stirred by a giant beast's breath; all the steam pillars twisted and burst simultaneously, forming a sea of chaotic mist.
BOOM—!!!
The steam clouds were violently torn apart as a crimson figure shot into the sky at an almost absurd speed.
The Gale Giant Eagle couldn't even see what it was, catching only a series of afterimages and a shimmering trail behind it, like the wake of a comet.
The giant eagle instinctively flapped its wings to flee at full speed.
It unleashed its ultimate technique—Hurricane Ascent.
This was the escape skill it took the most pride in.
During a vertical ascent, the wind elements around its body would form a spiral, causing its speed to skyrocket. This move had once allowed it to escape from the claws of an adult dragon.
But this time, it heard a shrill whistle from behind.
Swoosh—!
The crimson shadow overtook it from behind, appearing directly above it while flying upside down.
For the first time, the giant eagle saw the predator's full form up close.
A Dragon! This was a Dragon!
It had a body of overlapping black dragon scales that made the sound of countless blades unsheathing as it cut through the air. Its wings were massive and exaggerated, and they weren't traditional leathery wings.
The wing membranes were covered in fine crimson scales, and the distribution of these scales was not smooth.
Six silver crystalline bones protruded from the wing membranes at the base, tips, and edges, spreading out in a radial pattern. From their ends sprayed thick, dark-red flows of flame that looked like both fire and steam, trailing long marks behind it.
Like the destructive tail of light dragged by a comet as it tears through the heavens.
It intentionally slowed down, the flame flows on its dragon wings dissipating as it flew parallel to the giant eagle.
This action terrified the giant eagle even more than a direct kill; the opponent seemed to be enjoying the hunt.
The Gale Giant Eagle let out a shrill cry.
It frantically activated its Demonic Energy, wrapping it around its wings to push its speed past the limit. It banked and turned nimbly in the air, trying to shake off the dragon that had targeted it.
The dragon didn't give chase immediately. Instead, it waited for a moment before unhurriedly flapping its wings.
Boom!
Dark-red flame flows surged behind its wings.
Its speed increased instantly, chasing down the Gale Giant Eagle. Its originally black dragon scales turned a glowing red from the friction with the air, looking like a crimson meteor streaking across the sky.
The giant eagle felt the danger approaching from behind.
But its speed was already at its limit; it could go no faster.
As the dragon's shadow flashed past, the giant eagle's vision suddenly spun as its head was separated from its body.
The dragon held the giant eagle's body in one claw and folded its wings to land on the ground. Residual heat from the high-speed flight still steamed from the gaps in its scales, and its wings looked like peerless lethal weapons drawn from their sheaths.
This dragon was Garros, who had finished his dragon sleep.
"The flame trails of the wings are like a comet streaking across the sky."
"I'll call you Wings of the Heavenly Comet."
Garros shook his brand-new dragon wings and nodded with satisfaction.
In his past life, he had played a game called Monster Hunter. Now that he thought about it, many dragon traits from it were worth referencing. His previous naming of the Explosive Scales and his design for the dragon wings were both influenced by inspiration from that game.
"The only downside is that the consumption is too high."
"I'm using Demonic Energy as fuel. Every burst of speed causes a massive drain."
"Once I become a Martial Dragon, the Dragon Qi formed by combining Demonic Energy and life energy will be tougher and more abundant. Perhaps it can better sustain the energy consumption."
Garros thought to himself.
The dragon sleep and evolution had left Garros starving to the extreme. He feasted first, quickly eating the Gale Giant Eagle he had just hunted, before he had the leisure to re-examine his changes.
First of all.
His life rank had jumped directly from Rank 7 to Rank 9.
This was a life rank that only a young Gold Dragon could possess, yet Garros was currently fourteen years old, still two years away from his Young Dragon stage.
In terms of size.
His total length from head to tail reached twelve meters, which was also equivalent to the size of a Young Dragon. Moreover, length was secondary; Garros was much stronger than a Red Dragon. The muscles beneath his scales were powerful and robust. If another twelve-meter-long Young Dragon stood next to him, they would look like a twig in comparison.
When fully extended, his dragon wings reached a span of twenty-six meters, more than double his body length.
Garros's appearance had also changed slightly.
Aside from the change in form and the addition of the silver crystalline bones and jet-propulsion structure on his wings, which went without saying...
...the spines on his face had become more numerous and dense. His mouth featured the savage protruding fangs of a Red Dragon, and the keratin around his upper and lower jaws had a steel-like texture. The base of his dragon horns was encased in shovel-shaped metallic bone, winding backward in a majestic growth like a crown.
The characteristics of both the Iron Dragon and the Red Dragon remained prominent on his body.
Besides the Explosive Scales on his back, dense spines had grown along his spine, extending all the way to the tip of his tail.
His dragon tail had become thicker and longer, covered in dense scales that could slightly tilt up to reveal razor-sharp edges. A strike against an enemy would result in dense, lacerating wounds as if from a thousand cuts.
Beyond these external manifestations.
Garros had also awakened two Spell-like Abilities.
Flame Claw—from the Red Dragon Bloodline.
Body Hardening—from the Iron Dragon Bloodline.
Whether for an Iron Dragon or a Red Dragon, these were Spell-like Abilities that normally only awakened during the Young Dragon stage.
Both the Red and Iron Dragon types specialized in close combat. The two Spell-like Abilities Garros awakened from his Bloodline still functioned to enhance his melee capabilities.
However, in terms of long-range options...
...as an exceptional hybrid, Garros had three types of Dragon Breath, as well as Explosive Scales that could be used for bombing.
This was currently enough for him.
Furthermore, all dragons were natural sorcerers. As they aged, they would eventually awaken more Spell-like Abilities. The abilities of a Young Dragon were just the beginning, and Garros wasn't even a Young Dragon yet.
As for magic that relied on knowledge rather than Bloodline...
...it was usually only after reaching adulthood, when physical growth slowed down, that dragons would begin to explore and learn it. This was because before then, a dragon's awakened Spell-like Abilities and their constantly growing bodies were much more practical than magic.
Garros flicked his tail.
Within the muscles beneath his scales, there was a faint sensation like an electric current passing through, but it was very weak and indistinct.
"This aspect didn't evolve successfully."
"This evolution was mainly concentrated on the wings."
Garros thought as he felt the faint electric sensation in his body.
The hunger had not yet dissipated.
His stomach was growling, so he stopped examining himself and took to the air to hunt in the surrounding area. After a full day of hunting and multiple meals, his hunger was finally appeased.
It was now night.
The twin moons hung high in the night sky, casting down their clear light.
"Coniferous Valley, Crescent Moon Valley, and Crying Cliff... I wonder what has changed in these six years."
"I'll go back and check the situation first."
Garros finished eating his last elephant-like prey. He stopped hunting and flapped his wings toward Coniferous Valley.