It sounded impressive. There weren't many monsters capable of threatening a Glavenus's life, but that was all there was to it.
For an ordinary Glavenus, becoming the regional apex was already a tremendous achievement. But to Xingyan, that accomplishment meant nothing.
So what if he became the strongest Glavenus? So what if he became one of the top predators in the Great Sand Sea's ecosystem?
At the end of the day, he was still just an ordinary dragon.
Ordinary dragons had their limits. Xingyan had learned one thing during his short dragon life: the more he relied on brute physical strength, the more he realized that ordinary dragons had their limits. Unless he could surpass the ordinary.
The only thing that could let a dragon transcend the food chain was a unique and powerful ability. Storms, fire, miasma, viruses... Elder Dragons were mostly embodiments of nature. Setting aside their Ancient Dragon Power, there wasn't much difference between their physical strength and that of some large ordinary dragons.
At most, they were a little stronger and had a little more stamina. Without using their Ancient Dragon Power and relying only on physical strength, they would still lose to ordinary dragons in a prolonged battle. But in a short fight, some ordinary dragons could go toe-to-toe with an Elder Dragon—and even defeat one.
There were ordinary dragons whose combat strength could match that of a low-tier Elder Dragon, even when using special abilities.
Xingyan had confirmed this information through personal experience. Under these circumstances, no matter how many ordinary dragons he ate, he couldn't cross the divide between ordinary dragons and Elder Dragons.
After all, what he ate was still ordinary material. If evolution was like building a spaceship that could withstand anything, fight anything, and travel through the skies and across the earth, then scrap metal wouldn't do the job... Xingyan wasn't an ork, and he didn't have the power of belief.
To surpass ordinary dragons, he needed to eat higher-quality food: Elder Dragon flesh, Elder Dragon organs, and Elder Dragon gems.
And that was what troubled Xingyan. His stomach was still as powerful as ever; there was nothing he couldn't digest once he ate it. But his body had already reached its limit—the limit of a Glavenus.
If he continued to accumulate strength, he could still grow further. Someday, perhaps, he might be called a tempered Glavenus, but that growth would be painfully slow.
Xingyan had already figured out what special ability he'd gained after crossing into this world. By eating, he could selectively evolve traits possessed by his food. But evolving a new trait consumed a great deal of Life Energy. The more it changed his body, and the more powerful the trait, the more Life Energy it required.
Besides that, when his body still had plenty of room to grow, he could use food to reach his physical limits in the shortest possible time, provided he had enough Life Energy. To use an analogy, he'd just broken through to the Foundation Establishment stage, but could advance as quickly as possible to its peak and start preparing for the Golden Core stage.
In this world, that meant Xingyan had already reached the peak of ordinary dragonhood and was preparing to ascend to the Elder Dragon stage.
If he couldn't find a breakthrough in the direction of [strength] in the short term, Xingyan planned to work on [skill] instead.
Imagine two adults of similar size dueling with equally sharp swords. One only knew how to swing wildly using brute force, while the other had trained systematically and mastered techniques worthy of being called swordsmanship. The latter would inevitably win.
Xingyan was planning to shamelessly learn everything he could.
"Is everyone here? Then let's go over what we've each found."
Aboard the Star Ship—or, more precisely, at what had once been the ship's bow—the exploration team's leaders had gathered around a small table. Their group flag hung behind it.
"I'll start." The burly man, arms folded across his chest, studied the map on the table. "It was definitely a Kushala Daora. We recovered Kushala Daora scales from the nearby waters and the coast, but unfortunately, most of them had already turned into corroded dragon scales. They're unusable for now."
Kushala Daora scales were relatively easy to obtain as Elder Dragon materials, but they had to be specially treated. Otherwise, they turned into corroded dragon scales, which couldn't be forged into equipment or even kept in storage. Only after being mixed with Life Powder and Nutrients would they revive as Kushala Daora scales, once again shining silver-white.
"Not just corroded scales. There were also rusted scales from a Rusty Steel Dragon, and they're completely unusable as materials," the Technical Class Captain added. "What's strange is that we didn't find many Kushala Daora scales inland. All the ones turned in so far were dredged up from the sea."
"The hunters we sent out redrew the map. Several mountains that had been used as landmarks were destroyed. A lake has appeared in the stony area bordering the swamp, but it's expected to disappear completely in less than two months. There's no water source to replenish it," the scholars' representative added.
"Then we can draw a conclusion. The extremely destructive storm from six months ago was caused by a battle between a Kushala Daora and a Rusty Steel Dragon. They fought from the skies above the sea near the shore all the way inland to the Great Sand Sea, causing severe damage to its ecosystem."
The Commander summarized the findings with a grave expression.
Don't laugh. Seriously, don't laugh. The hunters didn't have Xingyan's clear perspective, and there was no way they could have sent anyone out to explore during a storm of that magnitude. That would have been sending them to their deaths.
Under the circumstances, the investigation had progressed slowly. It was perfectly normal that it had taken six months just to figure out roughly what had happened.
To be honest, that devastating storm had badly damaged the hunters' base, whether through the torrential rain, the gale-force winds, or the waves driven ashore by tornadoes.
There was no need to mention how many supplies had been soaked. Some of the buildings they had finished constructing had been swept away entirely. Between rescuing the injured and rebuilding after the disaster, the hunters had been busy for the past six months. On top of that, they had to send out teams to investigate the cause of the sudden catastrophe.
They had to at least figure out whether such disasters were normal in the New World or an abnormal occurrence. That was part of the Research Commission's purpose.
"Yes... that's an Elder Dragon," the scholars' representative said somberly. "During our investigation, we found the bodies of many creatures. They all died in that storm."
"The one good thing is that we don't have to worry about the corpses spreading disease. The Great Sand Sea's residents did a good job of dealing with them," Yano said with a shrug.
Those that liked fresh meat could eat it right away, while the scavengers would get their share sooner or later. After that, all sorts of microorganisms would break down what remained. For creatures living in a resource-poor region like the Great Sand Sea, surviving the disaster meant they could fill their bellies afterward.
"Haha, a feast, huh?" The Technical Class Captain burst out laughing. "It really was a stroke of luck for them."
"But there's something we can't explain," the scholars' representative said, pushing up his glasses with a puzzled look. "The places where the Kushala Daora and Rusty Steel Dragon fought seem to have been destroyed, too. Not by rain or any other natural force. Something deliberately wrecked them. We found a lot of bite marks at the scene, in everything from soil to rock."
"So there's an unknown monster out there?" the Commander asked gravely. "One that eats the scales and flesh shed when Elder Dragons fight."
"Uh, perhaps it isn't unknown?" The scholars' representative looked even more confused. "Normally, ordinary monsters shouldn't appear in an area where Elder Dragons have fought. The Elder Dragons' presence, the shock waves from their battle... ordinary monsters would instinctively flee the area for their own safety."
"But we found Glavenus tracks in the areas where the Kushala Daora and Rusty Steel Dragon fought," Yano added. "They weren't old tracks left from its previous activities. They appeared in newly formed areas, after the Kushala Daora's power had destroyed them."
"...Are you saying that a Glavenus joined the fight between the Kushala Daora and Rusty Steel Dragon?" the Commander asked gravely.
It wasn't strange that he would ask. The idea was astounding. Ordinary monsters could indeed challenge Elder Dragons, and there were ordinary monsters capable of defeating or driving them off.
But for an ordinary monster to attack two Kushala Daora at once... And for that monster to be a Glavenus, which was exceptionally intelligent even among ordinary monsters? That kind of suicidal behavior was hard to understand.
"We did find signs of Glavenus slashes at the scene," Yano replied succinctly. "But strangely, we also found no shed Glavenus scales or slag, and no traces of fire breath."
"Glavenus..." The Leader murmured thoughtfully. "Come to think of it, haven't we gone quite a while without seeing that fellow?"
Everyone knew who the Leader meant. There was only one Glavenus familiar to the hunters of the entire Great Sand Sea.
"It has been a long time since we last saw it," the Sword Master suddenly said. "The last time was six months ago. I was hunting a Mudfish Dragon, and that strange Glavenus was watching from far away without coming any closer."
"So it really could have been that one?" The Technical Class Captain stroked his beard and sighed. "I hope it's still alive."
After all, it was a familiar dragon—and a monster that had been unusually friendly toward hunters.
"It should still be alive, right?" The scholars' representative scratched his head. "Kushala Daora isn't a carnivorous Elder Dragon. We didn't find a Glavenus corpse—or any pieces of one. No shed scales or flesh, either... I have absolutely no idea what happened!! It's so frustrating! And so exciting! Is this what the New World is like?! There are just too many mysteries left unsolved!!"
As he spoke, the scholars' representative suddenly lost control of his emotions and slammed both hands down on the table. So far, they could hardly claim to have made any progress with their investigation, and it was putting him under a great deal of pressure.
A map lay on the table around which they had gathered. The section they had drawn so far looked long and narrow, almost like an island, but it was actually their rough map of the Great Sand Sea. Red circles marked the locations where the Kushala Daora had left traces.
"Well, that's part of nature's charm," the Leader said with a hearty laugh, patting the scholar on the shoulder to comfort him. "Aren't we here to explore these mysteries? Having more mysteries than we can solve should be a good thing."
"Don't let the Guild hear you say that," the Commander said with a grimace. "They want to solve the mystery of the Elder Dragon Crossing as quickly as possible. The thought of having endless mysteries to explore is a little terrifying."
"Hey, watch what you say. You don't want the Guild Knights on your tail," Yano joked. "The Guild can't help it. The Elder Dragon Crossing happens every ten years and wreaks devastating havoc on the kingdoms and villages along its path. It's a good thing to figure out what causes it as soon as possible."
Of course, hunters had their jokes about the Guild. The higher their rank, the more likely they were to make them.
Compared with how they'd be forty years later, these younger hunters were pretty... carefree, both in the way they spoke and in how they acted. They were brimming with youthful energy.
After all, there weren't any juniors around. They all knew each other well, so there was no need to maintain the dignity of their senior positions.
"Speaking of those two Kushala Daora that fought... could they have been the one we tracked when we set out?" Once everyone had finished laughing, the Commander stroked his chin. "It came from the Old World, so it was an outsider to the Kushala Daora in the New World. Instinctively defending their territory, they fought one another."
"That's possible," Yano said with a nod. "But didn't that Kushala Daora enter the miasma valley? The ones that fought in the storm were a Kushala Daora and a Rusty Steel Dragon... Anyway, I'm afraid I won't be able to stay at the base for the next little while, Commander."
"You're leaving?" the Commander asked.
"Yeah. Thanks to the equipment the Technical Class Captain helped make, I can try exploring that miasma valley now. I hope I can find traces of the Kushala Daora." Yano took a gas mask from his waist and held it up with a smile. "At least then we'll be able to confirm a few things."
"If that's the case, go ahead. Just remember to come back regularly," the Commander said with a nod. "If the Kushala Daora we tracked wasn't one of the two that fought that day, then we've got a problem."
It would mean that at least three Kushala Daora were roaming the Great Sand Sea. That was a bit too many.
"Oh? Then I—"
"Denied!"
The Leader's eyes had only just lit up. Before he could get three words out, the Commander glared at him and shot him down.
"Why?!" The Leader's eyes went wide. "Yano gets to go!"
"Who do you think is the Leader? Do your job!" The Commander could hardly resist kicking his friend in the rear. "Until the base has been rebuilt, you're not going anywhere!"
"The base—nooo!!"
The Leader, born wild and free, had fallen!
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