Buffer Scales (Please Vote and Follow)

In the Ring-Shaped Sinkhole, on an open patch before a cliff face, the ground was filled with pits of varying sizes and depths, their shapes resembling marks left by heavy objects falling and smashing into the earth.

It was just unclear where so many things had come from to strike the ground.

Boom!

Amid a spray of shattered stones, the Hatchling Dragon, around six meters long, tucked in his wings and fell freely from the sky, slamming brutally into the ground and kicking up a ring of spreading dust.

"Pah!"

Garos spat out the gravel in his mouth and shakily crawled out of the crater.

The black iron scales covering his body, which had originally borne a silvery matte sheen as though cast from steel, now had many patches transformed into dark gray scales. Their texture no longer resembled metal, and the lava-like dark red patterns on their surfaces had vanished as well.

Several dark gray dragon scales had fallen into the crater from his landing.

Compared to before, Garos's scales seemed to have become somewhat more fragile.

And from a distance, at first glance—

Garos was now neither properly black nor gray, and his looks had declined a little too.

However—

Garos showed no dissatisfaction. After turning to inspect the crater he had made, his gaze fell upon the shed scales, and he even nodded in satisfaction.

He then turned and examined his own scales.

Beneath the spots where the dark gray scales had fallen away was not skin, but a layer of black scales marked with dark red patterns and a silvery matte sheen.

That was right. The dark gray scales on Garos's body were an extra layer that had newly grown in, mainly concentrated along his back, chest, and limb joints.

—They were all detachable Buffer Scales!

When this layer of scales suffered a fierce impact, it could actively shed itself to absorb the force. The instant it detached, it would also generate a recoil.

From the height Garos had fallen just now, his former self would have been left dizzy for a while and injured by the fall. This time, aside from a slight jolt, he felt no discomfort or pain within his body.

The changes were not limited to this layer of Buffer Scales.

The pair of swept-back dragon horns atop Garos's head had grown thicker and larger, while the metallic exoskeleton covering their roots had expanded considerably, making them more stable.

The blade-like scales on his tail had become denser.

The muscles, bones, organs, and everything else hidden beneath his scales had grown stronger and become better able to withstand impacts.

"I didn't expect this evolution to give me a layer of Buffer Scales instead of continuing to improve the strength of my dragon scales like before."

Garos was actually rather surprised by the layer of Buffer Scales that had grown on his body.

The sturdiness of the scales beneath them had improved as well, but not by much. This evolution's changes to his scales were mainly reflected in the layer of Buffer Scales.

"Gordon, Samantha, come over here and hit me."

Garos called out toward the distance.

The two Hatchling Dragons flew out of the mine with eager expressions and arrived before Garos.

Garos had finally fallen stupid! Even his scales had lost their shine from all that falling.

Both of them thought so, looking ready to give it a try.

"Come on. Charge at me with all your strength."

Garos planted all four limbs firmly on the ground and signaled for the two Hatchling Dragons to ram him.

"I'll go first!"

The more hot-tempered Red Dragon Sister could not wait any longer. She beat her wings to accelerate, her heavy footsteps stamping one print after another into the ground as she charged straight at Garos.

Charging—this was a commonly used tactic among Hatchling Dragons. It could unleash the power of their entire bodies and was quite formidable.

Based on past experience, although Garos was stronger and larger, he still could not hold his ground when struck head-on and would be knocked back.

In the blink of an eye—

The excited Red Dragon Sister rushed before Garos and slammed directly into him.

The moment she struck Garos's sturdy chest—

As dark gray scales shattered and fell away one after another, a tremendous recoil struck the unprepared Red Dragon Sister, throwing her onto the ground. Garos did not retreat even a single step, merely swaying slightly.

"The Buffer Scales absorbed nearly all the charging momentum. The amount that passed through them and reached me was negligible."

Garos pondered.

On the other side, Iron Dragon Brother had been eager to try as well. But after seeing Red Dragon Sister knock out one of her own teeth while Garos remained utterly unmoved, it was as if a bucket of ice water had been thrown over him on a scorching day. The blazing heat in his heart instantly cooled.

"Damn you, Garos!"

Red Dragon Sister shook her head and charged at him again in irritation. Red Dragons were far more violent than Iron Dragons; failure only made Red Dragon Sister more frenzied.

She used no other moves, simply charging into Garos again and again.

Dragon scales flew chaotically from Garos's body, making him appear terribly fragile, but every time, it was Red Dragon Sister who was sent flying away. He stood firm like a reef in the sea enduring the pounding of waves.

Only when the Buffer Scales on Garos's chest had almost completely fallen away, revealing the scales beneath that looked like forged steel and iron—

Red Dragon Sister was already exhausted and sprawled limply on the ground, her body covered in injuries caused by the recoil of her own charges.

"Before the Buffer Scales fall off, I can basically ignore this kind of damage."

Garos weighed it in his heart.

He preferred evolution that directly improved the hardness of his scales. Unfortunately, the results of Adaptive Evolution were not something he could perfectly control yet. Every evolution was like opening a blind box, bringing unknown changes. While his evolution would certainly develop in a positive direction, the alterations to his physique and form often exceeded Garos's expectations.

"Though they don't look like much, the effect is quite good."

Garos had inherited the pragmatic nature of Iron Dragons.

The dark gray Buffer Scales were unremarkable in appearance, but their effects were indeed excellent. Garos was fairly satisfied.

Besides, he would continue to evolve and change. Perhaps one day, he would evolve a form that was particularly mighty and handsome by dragon standards.

At the same time, Garos was also reflecting on this Adaptive Evolution.

"This time, I directly evolved Buffer Scales. It is most likely because my recent training methods have been too one-dimensional, with too many intense collisions against mountains and the ground."

"Next, I should try reducing the frequency of this kind of training and experiment more with other methods."

That was what he thought.

Garos was still in the exploratory stage regarding his evolutionary talent and did not begrudge trying various experiments and comparisons. He planned to reduce how often he rammed mountains and the ground, shifting his focus toward strength and speed training.

Suddenly—

He heard a thump.

Turning around, he saw Iron Dragon Brother. He had flown into the air and fallen back down, landing sprawled on all fours before shakily climbing up again.

"What are you doing?"

Garos asked in confusion.

"Garos, I've already discovered the secret behind your strength. It must be that throwing yourself down makes you stronger."

Iron Dragon Brother's eyes gleamed with wisdom as he spoke to Garos in a smug, proud tone.

Upon hearing him, Red Dragon Sister fell into thought, feeling as if her intelligence was about to seize the high ground.

"Yes, that must be it."

She nodded in agreement and said to Garos, "Just wait, Garos. Sooner or later, I'll surpass you!"

Over the following days, the two Hatchling Dragons believed they had discovered the secret behind Garos's strength. During breaks from mining, they began to imitate him, trying to learn Garos's methods and surpass him.

The surface of this clearing was smashed into collapse, sinking down by an entire layer.

Another week passed.

After fully adapting to the Buffer Scales on his body, Garos flew to the top of the cliff. He felt the wind sweep across his scales while narrowing his eyes and gazing into the distant Wilderness.

Sooner or later, I will leave Iron Dragon Mother's territory and survive on my own.

Seeking shelter blindly is not a long-term solution.

While I still have somewhere to fall back on, I should hone my combat techniques and survival skills. If possible, I should choose a suitable territory in advance for my future habitation.

The Hatchling Dragon silently planned for the future.

A few seconds later, Garos spread his wings and soared into the sky, leaving the bounds of Iron Dragon Mother's Sinkhole Territory. He did not fly too far, merely staying active in the surrounding area.