Sting-Tail Lion

After hunting in the abandoned mine and discovering the Rock-Crushing Worm swarm.

Garos did not immediately return to the Sinkhole Territory under Iron Dragon Mother's protection. Instead, he continued circling above the clouds, gazing down at the boundless Wilderness below. He searched for monsters and savage beasts to hone his combat skills while observing territories suitable for him to inhabit and claim in the future.

This was worth mentioning.

Monsters were simply magical creatures. As a dragonkin, Garos himself counted as one of the highest-tier monsters. Savage beasts, meanwhile, were ferocious animals that had evolved and mutated.

Most monsters possessed innate abilities similar to spells and were generally quite intelligent. Savage beasts relied mainly on their powerful physical attributes and had low intelligence.

Over the greater part of the day.

Aside from the Rock-Crushing Worms at the beginning, Garos hunted a total of five targets.

Petrified Lizard, Fire-Breath Crocodile, Red-Eyed Giant Rhino, Dread-Claw Owlbear, and Giant Pincer Rock Crab.

Two monsters and three savage beasts.

Because of the environment of the Ser Wilderness, most creatures here were earth- and fire-aligned.

Including the Rock-Crushing Worms, the six hunting battles gave Garos a clearer understanding of his own capabilities.

He was now a Level 7 lifeform.

When facing the Level 6 Dread-Claw Owlbear, Garos relied on the naturally powerful physique of a dragonkin, further strengthened through his daily training, and killed it with a single charge.

When he fought the Level 7 monster Fire-Breath Crocodile, the high-temperature flames it spat struck him directly. Yet thanks to the fire resistance Garos had inherited from his Red Dragon and Iron Dragon bloodlines, they left only slight scorch marks on his scales. His own Flame Dragon Breath, meanwhile, directly turned the Fire-Breath Crocodile into charcoal.

Other monsters or savage beasts of the same level were no match for Garos either.

Even the thick-skinned Red-Eyed Giant Rhino was practically half-dead after Garos accelerated into a plunging collision from high above.

For now, Great Wilderness Dragon Fall was Garos's strongest offensive technique aside from Dragon Breath.

For other Hatchling Dragons, such a self-sacrificing attack method was highly dangerous. Poor control could leave them severely injured from the impact. But Garos trained against mountains and earth every day and had even evolved a layer of Buffer Scales, so he had long since mastered it.

Low-level and same-level opponents were all quite weak.

Only the Level 8 monster, the Petrified Lizard, which was higher level than Garos, caused him a slight injury.

Its Petrification Ray struck Garos, turning a small patch of dragon scales on his forearm, along with a layer of flesh beneath them, into stone. But that was the entirety of the Petrified Lizard's damage to him.

He estimated that.

Although he was only Level 7, he should not fear even Level 9 monsters or savage beasts.

Ordinary dragonkin could also fight above their level, and the physique Garos had developed through Adaptive Evolution stood among the finest even within dragonkind.

However, Garos did not possess the excessive arrogance and conceit common among other dragonkin.

Unless it was necessary or there was sufficient benefit to drive him, he would not rashly deal with creatures far above his own level.

With a dragonkin's innate gifts and Adaptive Evolution, he could steadily grow stronger through cautious development.

There was no need to put himself in danger because of momentary arrogance and conceit.

The arrogance and conceit left over from the ancient era when dragons ruled all things had caused countless dragonkin to perish before they could mature.

Back to the matter at hand.

Besides the savage beasts and monsters he hunted.

Garos also discovered several suitable habitats.

The good news was that these habitats either had fertile soil and lush vegetation, clear lakes teeming with birds and beasts, or perilous terrain that was easy to defend and difficult to attack.

The bad news was that, like the abandoned mine occupied by the Rock-Crushing Worm swarm, all of them already had owners.

Numerous creatures lived and settled in this Wilderness, while suitable habitats were scarce and in high demand. Nearly all of them had already been occupied by powerful creatures.

The territory Garos coveted most lay against mountains and beside water, with beautiful scenery and abundant food resources.

Unfortunately, it was occupied by a group of Sting-Tail Lions.

The average Life Level of an adult Sting-Tail Lion was Level 5.

In a one-on-one, knightly duel, Garos could have given them both claws and still won.

But that group of Sting-Tail Lions was quite numerous. From his aerial count, there were roughly thirty of them. Not only did they have both a male and female leader, but they were exceptionally large, and their appearances differed from ordinary Sting-Tail Lions as though they had undergone some minor mutation.

After memorizing the locations of several territories he favored.

Garos thought that perhaps, by the time he left Iron Dragon Mother's protection, he would be strong enough to replace their current rulers.

When the sun was about to sink into the embrace of the distant mountains and layers of fiery sunset clouds dyed the sky.

The Hatchling Dragon ended this expedition, swept through the sky beneath the setting sun, and returned to the Sinkhole Territory.

Since he had theoretically reached the age at which he should have been driven out, Garos still lived in the Sinkhole Territory but no longer shared a Dragon Lair with Iron Dragon Mother.

He simply settled beside the cliff where he trained every day.

The moment he returned.

He saw Red Dragon Sister and Iron Dragon Brother lazily basking in the lingering glow of sunset. They lay belly-up outside the mine tunnel, half-closing their eyes as their tails swayed and flicked behind them, looking utterly content.

The two dragons were lazy and carefree by nature and lacked Garos's self-discipline.

At first, they thought they had discovered the secret behind Garos's strength. So in their spare time, they imitated Garos by crashing into mountains and earth, full of enthusiasm and fighting spirit.

For the first few days, that was indeed the case.

The two dragons were brimming with enthusiasm. Whenever they had time, they trained against mountains and earth instead of wandering around aimlessly or lying down to sleep as they had before.

But as time passed, their true natures proved difficult to change, and their enthusiasm began to fade.

Not long ago.

When Red Dragon Sister was supposed to train by crashing into mountains as she had the previous few times, she hesitated. She thought work and rest should be balanced, so she ought to take a nap and restore her energy before starting. Thus, she went to sleep.

When she woke up, it was already somewhat late. The slightly chilly night breeze made Red Dragon Sister feel uncomfortable.

She figured that training in poor condition would definitely be ineffective, so she decided to wait until daytime.

When daytime came, with dawn just rising and the air at its freshest, Red Dragon Sister felt that such wonderful air deserved to be enjoyed by soaring through the sky and savoring the thrill of flying high above the earth. Once again, she cast training out of her mind.

After several times like that.

She stopped thinking about training altogether.

Iron Dragon Brother, on the other hand, was different from Red Dragon Sister and had not gone through her train of thought.

--Once, he flew too high and failed to adjust his angle properly while training against the earth. His dragon face made intimate contact with the ground, and the impact was so hard that his mouth and eyes were still crooked, leaving him with a dazed, ridiculous look.

After that incident, Iron Dragon Brother gave up as well.

In truth, although they could not achieve the same striking, visibly apparent evolutionary adaptation as Garos, if they persisted in tempering their bodies through impacts against mountains and earth, their scales would become harder to some degree, and their bodies would become tougher as well.

Even while being forced by Garos to mine.

After a month, their claws and teeth had become noticeably sharper than before, and their muscular strength had increased somewhat.

Ordinary dragonkin actually possessed evolutionary abilities far beyond those of other creatures; they simply were not as obvious or efficient as Garos's.