Unexpected Windfall

"Alchemy spells?"

Samantha snorted a disdainful spark from her nostrils.

"Isn't that just weak nonsense involving bottles and jars? A true Red Dragon should conquer the world with her claws and flames."

She said.

Among all dragonkin, Red Dragons were nearly the most devoted to strength. They also took great pride in their bloodline and status, and most enjoyed defeating opponents with innate weapons such as their claws, fangs, and Dragon Breath.

Hearing Garos suggest that she learn Alchemy spells,

Samantha's scornful reaction was perfectly normal.

After all, learning required interest above all else; coercion was useless. Garos smiled faintly and patiently coaxed her. "Do you know how many gold coins an Alchemist in the Lothern Federation can earn in a year?"

As he spoke, he raked his claws across the Alchemy Engine.

The clinking metal sounded like gold coins colliding.

Samantha's pupils widened slightly. Interested now, she asked, "How much?"

Garos said solemnly, "Even the worst Alchemists can earn enough money to pile into a small mountain."

At that, Samantha's tail began to swish unconsciously. She was clearly tempted.

".Really? You aren't lying to me, are you?"

She said.

Garos nodded, his tone grave.

"Alchemists can even make gold coins themselves. As long as you study diligently and attain profound mastery of Alchemy, you'll be rich enough to buy an Empire. Adult dragons like the Iron Dragon Mother? You could hire hundreds or thousands of them at once to serve you, making them sing your greatness day and night."

"Besides wealth, Alchemy spells can also make you stronger. Don't forget the Giant-Arm Miner that sent you fleeing in such a miserable state. Once you master Alchemy spells and use them to continuously strengthen and temper your claws, fangs, and scales, I believe that with your talent, one day you'll be able to tear the Holy Flame Arbiter apart with your bare claws, making countless Evil Dragons cheer for you and crawl reverently at your feet."

The scene described in those words

struck Samantha right where she liked it.

Just imagining it made her heart race, an electric thrill running from her head to the tip of her tail.

Her chest rose and fell, her breathing quickened, and longing filled her eyes.

Yet she still had her concerns. Hesitating, she said in distress, "But learning spells sounds so troublesome."

Red Dragons were not stupid. As the most powerful magical creatures, their magical talent and comprehension surpassed that of the vast majority of Spellcasters. They were merely lazy and disliked exerting themselves mentally.

As a standard pure-blooded Red Dragon,

Samantha also disliked thinking and studying.

Garos asked leisurely, "Which do you think is more troublesome: learning knowledge, or being hunted down by inferior creatures using alchemical tools?"

His question struck straight at the heart of the matter, leaving Samantha silent.

Being hunted by creatures as weak and inferior as Goblins was a tremendous humiliation to Samantha.

"Only a thousand temperings can forge indestructible scales."

"Samantha, if you lack the resolve to face trouble—even torment—then stop dreaming of standing at the pinnacle of all things and ruling the world, because it is destined never to happen."

Garos finished with the provocation Red Dragons found hardest to resist.

Sure enough, after hearing Garos's words, the hesitation and concern on Samantha's face vanished at once, replaced by determination and ambition.

"Garos, my dear brother."

"I'll let you know that I, Samantha, have my own resolve!"

"I'm going to start studying Alchemy right now!" she declared, her voice ringing with conviction.

After speaking, Samantha leaned against a towering Iron Fir and coiled up in its shadow.

She closed her eyes slightly but did not sleep. Instead, she focused intently and began digging through the Alchemy knowledge within the Dragon Inheritance, voluntarily studying it.

It was a dull and tedious process.

Few dragonkin would excavate and study the knowledge within the Dragon Inheritance on their own during the Hatchling Stage.

In truth, with the Dragon Inheritance serving as such a treasure trove, even the weakest White Dragon could achieve something if it cast aside arrogance and laziness and was willing to diligently study its various magical knowledge with unwavering focus.

If Samantha could persist,

then although she would still be unable to compare with Garos, surpassing ordinary Red Dragons in growth speed would be a certainty.

At the same time,

Garos placed the Alchemy Engine in a depression in a rock and prepared to begin his daily training. Just as he raised his claw, he noticed some black, viscous liquid smeared across his dragon claws.

"What is this?"

At first, he did not know what it was.

But the moment curiosity arose in his heart, the Dragon Inheritance was naturally triggered, and the relevant information surfaced in his mind.

It had to be said that although the Dragon Inheritance had caused dragonkin to pass down such flaws as arrogance and conceit from generation to generation, its existence was also one of the important reasons dragonkin could stand among the apex creatures.

Its contents were vast and boundless, like a library that had accumulated knowledge and information over thousands upon thousands of years.

Whenever it was needed, it always responded in time.

"Black Oil flowing out of the Alchemy Engine."

Garos sniffed it lightly and caught a pungent odor, like the engine oil he remembered, but with an intense spicy bite.

"Black Oil, a basic energy source formed from the bodies of magical creatures over long years of sedimentation, with abundant reserves on Bernardo Planet. Hmm, it's somewhat like an upgraded version of petroleum."

Garos fell into thought.

"There should be quite a lot of energy in it."

"The inheritance says it isn't food, but it feels strangely appealing."

After a brief consideration,

Garos raised the claw stained with Black Oil to his mouth, extended his tongue, and gave it a light lick.

It was like licking mustard.

The sharp spiciness rushed straight into his nasal cavity.

As Garos swallowed it, he felt as though a small flame had ignited in his stomach. His entire body jolted awake, and he threw back his head, opened his mouth, and involuntarily spat out a pillar of fire.

"Now that's... got some kick!"

Garos stared at the Black Oil on his claw, delight appearing on his face.

The energy contained in this stuff rivaled the High Rank magical creature flesh he had eaten before.

His Adaptive Evolution did not create things from nothing; it required a great deal of energy to sustain the process.

Garos still remembered his first Adaptive Evolution.

Because he had not replenished enough energy, he had indeed evolved, but it had relied entirely on his body's own reserves. For the next several months, he had been so skinny that he was practically skin and bones, as though a succubus had drained him dry.

Only after stuffing himself like a starving ghost did he gradually recover.

Garos had originally been somewhat worried about the future.

Once he became stronger and evolution required immense amounts of energy, relying on hunting ferocious beasts and magical creatures alone would mean eating an unknown amount at a time just to accumulate enough. The process would be extremely troublesome.

This unexpected discovery let him know where his best source of energy lay.