Breath

Although a dragon's breath was a physiological behavior, in essence it was more an innate magical ability. Within their physiology was something called a "Base Blood Vessel," an organ unique to dragonkind. It was an extraordinarily complex blood vessel, resembling some kind of rubber hose, with a muscular outer layer capable of pumping blood like a heart.

This outer layer allowed the Base Blood Vessel to rapidly contract and expand from one end to the other, driving blood into the upper stomach.

That was the source of a dragon's breath weapon.

Dragons relied on their hearts to produce the blood flow that granted them breath weapons and other abilities, while the Base Blood Vessel guided the energy-rich blood from the heart into the upper stomach of their gizzards.

Thus, the term "breath weapon," which humans had grown accustomed to, was actually a misnomer. Those flames, poisons, acids, and other substances were discharged from the upper stomach rather than the lungs.

More precisely, the energy flow was vomited, not exhaled.

Although Caesar possessed the same physiological structure as other black dragons, unfortunately, his heart could not generate elemental magic like a true dragon's. As a result, breath weapons had been out of the question for him.

Thus, the imposing dragon breath had become a sore spot in Caesar's heart.

But this sleep changed his physiology. Entirely new organs formed within Caesar's body. In the upper part of his throat, three sac-like organs capable of secreting special fluids appeared. Each sac chamber was connected to the organ by a tube and valve, and the three ducts ultimately converged into one, with its outlet roughly located at the roof of his mouth.

The accompanying muscle tissue allowed Caesar to freely control these newly formed organs—though only to spray out the liquid within the sacs. As some sort of protective measure, no matter what he did, he could not draw air into the sacs.

"Mm, strange feeling."

After awakening, Caesar clearly sensed the changes in his body. Unable to help himself, he scratched his throat. It itched, as if something were stuck inside.

When he opened his mouth, the itching intensified. Caesar clearly felt three "switches" in his throat cavity that he could control, while his body stirred restlessly.

Caesar controlled the muscle tissue inside him and gathered strength, deciding to test the implanted breath weapon. When he opened the valve of the first sac and contracted his muscles, a stream of viscous liquid immediately surged from his throat through the duct.

The next moment, the black dragon breathed fire.

The blazing flame flashed and vanished. Once Caesar came to his senses, he immediately shut the valve.

The seven-meter-long black dragon covered his mouth, hunched over, and turned his head to survey the surroundings like a thief. If others learned that a black dragon could breathe fire, they would probably be stunned beyond belief. Once word spread, he would immediately attract a crowd.

Fortunately, bound by the Divine Oath, the orcs had no fear that Caesar would fail to honor his promise. After leaving behind the clan's exact location, they hurried back to their tribe without stopping. The two young dragons had also departed long ago, and no one knew where they were now—this area was presently deserted.

"How can I breathe fire? This isn't scientific."

Caesar muttered to himself, then decided to try again. This time, he stared at the front of his snout and remained focused. His enhanced, keen nerves allowed him to discern the fleeting images:

After he opened his mouth, viscous liquid sprayed from within it. This unknown substance immediately ignited upon meeting the air, forming high-temperature flames.

To an outsider, it looked as though this black dragon were breathing fire.

Caesar directly burned a small patch of shrubbery to ashes. As he experimented, he found that under the control of his muscle tissue, he could freely regulate both the amount and form of the sprayed liquid. In other words, he could breathe jets of flame, fireballs, fan-shaped flames, and a whole series of fiery attacks.

"Urgh..."

Two minutes later, looking at the roaring blaze before him, Caesar burped. The sac muscles twitched several times, but no fresh liquid emerged.

In other words, the stored flammable liquid in the sacs could sustain his continuous fire-breathing for two minutes. This unknown liquid burned with extremely high efficiency and was quite viscous; some droplets would cling to a target's surface and continue burning.

Two minutes might not sound like much, but what dragon would continuously breathe during battle? Being able to maintain it for so long already left Caesar quite satisfied.

And he must not forget—his newly formed organs contained more than just this one sac.

He rested for a while. Once the muscle tissue connected to the sacs no longer felt sore and weak, he opened his mouth and activated the second valve.

This time, Caesar clearly felt a chill in his throat cavity. The alternating heat and cold made him sneeze, and a puff of white vapor burst forth.

The white gas dispersed with surprising speed. While Caesar was still baffled, he discovered that the scorched tree ahead, still burning with flames, had instantly frozen and become a gorgeous work of art.

Caesar immediately stepped closer and cautiously gripped the frozen charcoal with his claw. The object in his hand was so cold that even Caesar felt a faint pain in his right claw. With a gentle squeeze, the charcoal shattered amid a series of cracks, turning into countless shards of ice.

"Impressive."

He could not help clicking his tongue in admiration. Such temperature and freezing speed surpassed every refrigerant he knew of on Earth, its effect rivaling fantastical ice magic.

"Why does this feel familiar..."

Staring at the ice shards scattered across the ground, Caesar involuntarily pictured a gigantic black dragon facing a group of human adventurers, roaring "Absolute Freezing Breath" before huffing out a stream of air...

Stop!

Caesar vigorously shook his head, feeling a little embarrassed. Heaven knew where that shameful, chuunibyou-filled skill name had come from.

The liquid in the third sac did not surprise Caesar nearly as much, but it finally gave him a breath weapon he could reveal openly to the outside world. It was acid, capable of rapidly corroding anything it touched into nothing.

Caesar had once seen Garon and Blakeshia's powerful acid breath, so he could not help making a simple comparison. His acid seemed somewhat weaker than the young dragons' in strength, but it had an advantage in comparison: there was plenty of it. At the very least, no adolescent black dragon could continuously breathe strong acid for two minutes—doing so would make them vomit up their stomach fluid.

After becoming familiar with his breath weapons, Caesar was excited for a while, but then he realized the potential danger.

He was a cautious person—dragon. Although he did not know what principle allowed these newly formed organs to produce and store such highly dangerous liquids, he knew that the rest of his organs had not changed.

Therefore, if this vital organ were injured and ruptured, the liquid could very well leak and flow back into his body. If that happened, there was a high chance it would directly cause his death.

Caesar touched his neck. Fortunately, the new organs had grown in the upper throat, at the part of his neck shielded by his jaw. This area was already among those he focused on protecting, and besides, unless he deliberately raised his head, it would be difficult for ordinary combat to injure that location.

But it would be even safer if I had a big iron jaw. Caesar thought, rubbing the lower edge of his snout.