Strength and Speed (Please Follow, Please Vote)

"Sleeping on the job again? Get up and mine!"

Garos landed in front of the two Hatchling Dragons and lightly tapped their heads with his tail, waking them up.

They yawned.

The two Hatchling Dragons still felt they had not slept enough.

"My dear brother Garos, can you let us rest a little longer?"

they asked in weak voices.

When violence did not work, Evil Dragons remembered to play the family card.

"No."

Garos refused coldly and mercilessly. He had given them a chance before and had been willing to be a good dragon brother, but these two had rejected his goodwill, turned hostile, and provoked him.

They had chosen this road themselves.

They wanted a cold-hearted dragon brother, did they? Fine. Garos would grant their wish.

Hmph!

Red Dragon Sister snorted and reluctantly turned toward the mine tunnel.

As for Iron Dragon Brother—

after hearing Garos's refusal, the corner of his mouth still twisted upward, his expression proud and disdainful.

He looked very punchable.

If Garos had not known that his crooked mouth was not intentional, but rather the result of the collision that had left his mouth crooked and eyes askew, he would have already struck him.

Under Garos's gaze, Iron Dragon Brother shrank his head back. Then, maintaining his crooked-mouthed dragon pose, drool running from the corner of his mouth, he staggered into the mine tunnel after Red Dragon Sister.

Garos looked up at the fiery-clouded evening sky.

He withdrew his gaze and looked down at his right arm.

A small patch on the armor of his forearm was rock-gray and pale white. It was an injury left by the Petrification Ray; both his dragon scales and flesh had been petrified.

Crack! Crack!

Garos tore away the petrified dragon scales and flesh, leaving a small pit in his forearm.

Though the sensation was faint, Garos could still feel that the flesh there was somewhat unusual and undergoing a strange transformation.

Once new flesh and dragon scales grew back,

if he was struck by a Petrification Ray again, its effects would certainly be weakened.

As for complete immunity, that required extensive and repeated adaptation. Garos did not have the conditions for that yet.

The wound was not large and did not affect his movements. Beneath the fiery sunset, he began trying a new training method.

Huff!

He slowly exhaled.

The Hatchling Dragon beat his wings, flipped through the air, and ultimately supported his heavy body entirely on one foreclaw. Maintaining a one-armed handstand, he began rising and lowering himself.

Before long,

the Hatchling Dragon bent his tail to brace against the ground, supporting his body solely with the strength of his powerful tail as he trained its muscles.

Or he would tilt his head back and press it against the ground, rotating his body around his neck as the center.

One specialized training movement after another, movements not even found in Dragon Inheritance, were displayed by Garos.

He was strength training.

Besides strength training, there was also speed training.

After some time, Garos soared into the air and shot toward the heavens, flying into a night sky scattered with stars and hung with twin moons. Then he took a deep breath, stretched his dragon wings to their limit, and began beating them fiercely.

However—

the Hatchling Dragon, violently flapping his wings, did not rise. Instead, his body strangely began to sink slowly.

—A dragon's flight was actually a magical effect.

With a dragon's weight and body proportions, it was difficult to support its body in flight like a bird by relying solely on its wings.

In reality, when dragons flew, the magical energy in their blood flowed into their wings, creating an effect similar to a Levitation Spell. Only by combining that with Spell-like Ability and wing strength could they soar through the skies.

When other intelligent races dealt with dragons, spells that sealed off the sky were essential.

Their principle was to dispel the effect similar to a Levitation Spell.

Garos did not want to face a crusade in the future, only for his enemies to cast a sky-sealing spell and force him to land on the ground to be ganged up on and beaten.

He hoped to fly and soar through the sky using only his physical strength.

That way, he would have one fewer weakness, and his goal of living for a thousand years would be more attainable.

Because he had restrained his magical energy and lost the levitation effect,

his heavy dragon body continued falling.

Garos's wings were taut, and each beat stirred violent gusts of wind. Yet they still could not lift his body, only slow his descent enough for him to barely glide.

This method placed an enormous burden on Garos's dragon wings.

As they neared their limit, tearing pain continuously spread from his wings.

Especially the fleshy membranes where the wing membranes connected to his torso; every flap felt like being pierced by steel spikes.

There was no audience or encouragement for his difficult wingbeats beneath the night sky. The Hatchling Dragon clenched his teeth and endured the pain in silence, doing nothing but raising his wings again and again, seeking adaptation and evolution amid the tearing agony.

Time slowly passed.

Not until the twin moons sank below the horizon and the first ray of sunlight pierced the clouds

did Garos finally complete his series of training plans. He was so exhausted that even with a dragon's powerful body, he had reached the point of utter fatigue.

Waves of soreness came from all over his body, especially his wings, which he could barely feel at all, as though they had been torn off.

The Hatchling Dragon breathed heavily, like a bellows.

Yet despite the exhaustion and soreness, his gaze was exceptionally bright.

Because along with the aches across his body came faint waves of tingling numbness.

This was a sign of Adaptive Evolution. Every time he pushed himself to exhaustion, Garos's body became tougher and stronger, allowing him to endure longer and fly faster next time.

One day, he would truly soar through the heavens with nothing but his wings. Even a Magicless Domain would not be able to trap him.

Just as Garos was preparing to rest,

Red Dragon Sister and Iron Dragon Brother emerged from the mine tunnel, covered in dust, and saw Garos in poor condition.

They exchanged glances, and the two Hatchling Dragons approached Garos step by step with ill intent.

"My dear brother Garos, you seem very tired right now."

Red Dragon Sister asked.

Her words sounded concerned, but they were filled with malice.

"Ho ho, we'll definitely beat you this time."

Iron Dragon Brother gave two crooked-mouthed chuckles, letting out a villain-like laugh as he slowly stepped closer.

"Your hides itching again?"

Garos remained expressionless. His body, much taller and sturdier than theirs, stood firmly on the ground as his calm gaze swept across them.

At that glance, both Hatchling Dragons became uncertain and stopped in their tracks.

Garos had established too much authority. Though he looked to be in poor condition, they still did not dare act rashly.

"Now that I think about it, it seems it's been a while since I taught you two a lesson."

Garos took a step forward, his eyes gleaming with ferocity.

At that step, the two Hatchling Dragons instinctively backed away, their previous arrogance instantly deflating.

"Just kidding, just kidding."

"Dear brother, don't misunderstand."

The two Hatchling Dragons immediately gave in and kept backing away from Garos.

Garos snorted. This time, he magnanimously chose not to pursue the matter.

In truth, even if he had wanted to pursue it, he was not really capable of doing so.

His exploration beyond the Sinkhole Domain had made him realize the many dangers of the Wilderness. Stirred by those thoughts, he had trained too hard and nearly drained every last bit of his stamina. His body was extremely weak now; if they truly fought, he might be the one beaten instead.

Yet he showed no hint of weakness. Combined with the pressure he had built up before, he intimidated the two Hatchling Dragons.

They had lost their only chance to get revenge and beat Garos up.

I need to be more careful next time I train and save some stamina in case of emergencies.

With that thought, he casually found a large pit he had smashed out himself. Not minding it at all, he lay down directly in the open air, using his tail as a pillow. He folded his wings over his body and coiled up to rest.

In the days that followed, Garos's life was regular yet fulfilling.

Besides his daily training and driving the Hatchling Dragons to mine, he would occasionally leave the Sinkhole Domain to fight ferocious beasts and magical creatures in the surrounding Wilderness, honing his combat skills while searching for a suitable habitat in preparation for living independently in the future.

And so,

a year passed in the blink of an eye.