Desire and Reason

Moonlight flowed like water over the Iron Fir Hills, and Garos's scales gleamed with a cold metallic sheen in the night.

He put away the map and looked into the distance.

Samantha was still bent over repairing her Alchemy Workshop, the clanging of her tools especially clear in the silent Wilderness.

Garos's tail lightly tapped the ground, but his thoughts had already drifted to that abandoned mine—the nest of the Rock-Crushing Worms, the location of Malnes Dungeon, and the likely burial site of a Legendary Realm Alchemy item.

The flames of greed burned in his chest, urging him to set off at once and claim the treasure for himself.

At the same time, reason whispered: if he barged in rashly, he might pay a terrible price—perhaps even with his life.

Feeling the struggle within himself, Garos took more than a dozen deep breaths before reason gradually gained the upper hand, slowly suppressing the greed, arrogance, conceit, and other emotions rooted in Dragonkin instincts.

This involved a Legendary Realm Alchemy item.

Those emotions had surged to unprecedented heights just now.

Greed made him want to obtain the Legendary Realm Alchemy item at any cost.

Arrogance and conceit made him feel certain he would succeed, ignoring the risks.

Fortunately, ever since he had become Dragonkin—ever since he had first felt such emotions—Garos had realized that if he did not restrain them and force them to submit to his reason, they would eventually destroy him. Thus, he often fought against them.

Even now, he still could not completely rid himself of their influence.

But neither would he be entirely driven by them.

Huff. Garos slowly exhaled, and clarity returned to his gaze.

"These inherent flaws that come with inherited memories are like floods and savage beasts. They really are terrifying."

No matter what other dragons were like, Garos did not want his reason influenced by such emotions.

Though he was a naturally gifted Hybrid Dragon with an evolutionary talent, he was still far from being qualified to act with reckless, contemptuous abandon.

"If I were one of those Legendary Dragons from the tales, perhaps I would not need to consider so much. I could simply embrace my nature. Their arrogance and confidence would be only natural."

Garos thought to himself.

"But Legendary Dragons are elusive and rare. The vast majority of Dragonkin are like me, or even inferior to me. The negative effects of these emotions far outweigh their benefits."

"Why not remove them? The gods worshipped by the Dragon Race truly exist. They should be capable of doing something like that."

Garos silently pondered.

An excessive obsession with treasure, like a curse. Irrational arrogance and self-importance. In Garos's view, these were obvious invisible shackles placed upon Dragonkin.

Even without any special talents.

Even among the weakest White Dragons.

Garos felt that as long as one could break free from these invisible shackles, with the Dragonkin's innate physique and gifts, one would surely soar to heights ordinary Dragonkin could never hope to reach.

If these inherent flaws were removed.

The gradually declining Dragon Race would surely develop again in short order. Restoring the glorious splendor of ancient times would not be impossible.

But why not?

Were the deities of the Dragon Race incapable of it?

Or were they unwilling?

Garos could not make sense of it. He shook his head, stopped dwelling on the matter, and focused on the issue at hand.

He turned to the Red Dragonet and asked, "Samantha, what do you think a Legendary Realm Alchemy item would be like?"

Samantha stopped hammering the stone slab and turned to face Garos.

She tilted her head and thought for a while, excitement gleaming in her eyes.

"It must be something that can make the entire Wilderness tremble! Like a gigantic cannon that spews lava and shatters the earth? Or a mechanical core that can summon storms?"

Garos gave a low laugh. "Perhaps."

Samantha had also heard the Rogue's account back then. Unable to contain herself, she said, "My dear brother, do you want to explore the dungeon? Take me with you! We'll definitely get the treasure inside, then dominate the Wilderness!"

"When that happens, you can become the supreme Dragon King of the Ser Wilderness, and I'll be the Red Dragon Queen, beneath one dragon and above all things!"

"The two of us will rule the Ser Wilderness together. Our future will be infinitely bright, and our dragon lives will flourish!"

Supreme Dragon King, Red Dragon Queen. How embarrassingly juvenile.

And she had not considered the risks at all.

Garos glanced at the excited Red Dragonet, who wanted to explore the dungeon immediately, and said, "Stop dreaming. Instead of wasting time fantasizing, you should study Alchemy more."

"My dear brother, if you don't want to go, then give me the map and let me go!"

Samantha said expectantly.

Garos remained expressionless. "Go do what you're supposed to do. This isn't something you should be thinking about."

Samantha wanted to say more, but the moment she met Garos's calm, unfathomable eyes, she felt an itch crawling over her body.

Not a real itch, but a certain "premonition."

It had happened too many times.

Samantha could more or less sense the signs that Garos wanted to beat her up.

His expression, his eyes, his tone—every one of them was sending Samantha danger signals.

Samantha turned around resentfully and did not mention the matter again.

Meanwhile.

Garos suppressed his greed, arrogance, and other emotions, using reason to think and weigh the gains against the losses.

"Malnes Dungeon may lie beneath the abandoned mine occupied by the Rock-Crushing Worm swarm, and it may contain a Legendary Realm Alchemy item."

"The Worm King was injured by a Copper Dragon not long ago and has yet to recover. Ordinary Rock-Crushing Worms pose no threat to me."

"But the abandoned mine is not large. It may merely contain an entrance to the dungeon. Who knows whether there are creatures below that are higher-ranking and more formidable than the Worm King?"

"Besides, the dungeon was destroyed a thousand years ago. Even if that Alchemy item truly exists, there is no way to know whether it remains intact or can still be used."

"There are too many uncertainties. The risks far outweigh the rewards."

After considering it over and over, Garos temporarily set aside the idea of exploring the dungeon.

At the end of the day, it was only a Legendary Realm Alchemy item. For a Dragonkin destined to reach the Legendary Realm, obtaining it would merely make the early stages easier, rather than provide something vital and indispensable.

Taking an unnecessary risk for something that might not truly exist, might not be useful, and was not essential.

A Hatchling Dragon blinded by greed and arrogance would do that.

But Garos chose to refuse.

As long as he advanced steadily and evolved step by step, he would only grow stronger. There was no need to take risks.

It was not worth it.

However, he had not completely given up.

If he could obtain a Legendary Realm Alchemy item before reaching level 20, it would still be greatly beneficial to him.

"Once I grow strong enough to defeat the Worm King, I'll subdue and enslave it. Then I'll use it and its Rock-Crushing Worm swarm to explore this dungeon."

Garos made his final decision.