"There is one more thing I must remind you of."
Ferrum paused for a moment, then suddenly changed the subject. "Over these past two months, you've been copying my training. You should have felt it too—the results those exercises produce in you are nowhere near as obvious as they are in me."
"So you can only work harder. Arrive earlier, rest later. When I arrive at dawn, you should already be here before daybreak. When I train until my body trembles and my limbs turn weak, you should train until you cannot even crawl."
In Tas stared straight at him.
"But even then, it will still be useless."
Ferrum's voice was cold and hard. "The valley legends say I defeated Hidorivi through training. That is true, of course, but it wasn't because I worked especially hard or endured especially much. Sleeping on sharpened wood, stabbing my mouth bloody with rocks—that's impossible. I'm not some mad dragon."
"The real reason was that this training suited my body. Heavy-Metal Dragons naturally concentrate their potential in their physical bodies, and I am exceptionally gifted—a rare Variant Species among Chrome Dragons. That was why I advanced by leaps and bounds and defeated Hidorivi."
He turned back to In Tas. "This training suits me, but it may not suit you. That Finger-Bone Rebound you mentioned—you might never be able to learn it, no matter what you do. Just as no matter how hard you train, the results may always remain meager. Given that, do you still want to learn?"
In Tas lowered his head. He stayed silent for a long time and never answered.
Ferrum looked at the patterns on the Thunderclap Dragon's scales and waited quietly as well, saying nothing.
"I still want to learn."
In Tas raised his head again, his eyes shining brightly. "The Nurturer said they would not teach us any methods of becoming stronger during the Dragon Hatchling stage. But if I don't become stronger, I'll keep getting bullied. I don't want to be bullied, but I can't find any other road... Right now, I can only see this one road. And right now, I can only keep walking this road to the very end."
"You can't find any other road?"
Ferrum fell silent for a moment. "Fine. Then all the remaining rock sheep are mine to eat, and from now on, I'll teach you Finger-Bone Rebound."
In Tas froze, apparently not expecting Ferrum to agree so readily.
Ferrum did not care about his stunned foolishness. He dragged the remaining rock sheep in front of himself, pinned them beneath his claws, and like the leader of a wolf pack, began to feast heartily. He bit even the rock sheep's bones to pieces and swallowed them whole.
"You said you've been observing me all along, but over these two months, I've also watched you for a long time. The more I watched, the more I realized that you're truly far behind me."
Ferrum chewed slowly. "But there is one thing in your body that I do not possess."
The Thunderclap Dragon stretched up his neck. "What?"
"Magic power."
Ferrum said, "Heavy-Metal Dragons awaken magic power very late, but Lesser Dragons are different. I can sense it—your magic power is gradually becoming active. Every time you reach the point of exertion in training, when you grit your teeth so hard they creak, arcs of electricity burst uncontrollably from your body. Have you noticed?"
"I have."
The Thunderclap Dragon hesitated and instinctively looked at his clawed toes. "But..."
"Since you know, and since you want to become stronger, have you never considered using it in battle?"
"No one has taught me how to use it. I don't know how to control it," the Thunderclap Dragon said.
"That's a little strange."
Ferrum tilted his head. "If no one teaches you, can't you explore it yourself? Or do you think all my training methods were taught by the Dragon Legacy, or that I was born knowing them?"
"Are you afraid of pain, afraid of getting hurt, or afraid you'll electrocute yourself to death?"
Ferrum spoke in one breath. "Don't think about making your strength as great as an Iron Dragon's or sharpening your claws like a Chrome Dragon's. Compared to us in those things, Lesser Dragons are not qualified. Neither Metallic Dragons nor Chromatic Dragons can do it."
"Rather than staring at me so closely, think more about how those electric arcs are triggered. If it's because your muscles exert force, then keep exerting force. If it's because of emotional anger, then stay angry."
"I'll teach you Finger-Bone Rebound."
He leaned forward slightly, his yellow-orange vertical pupils fixing on In Tas. "But think about this yourself too. If you draw out the magic power in your body, press those leaping arcs into your claws, then detonate them upon touching a target—would that kind of power be able to contend with a Heavy-Metal Dragon too?"
In Tas stood frozen. The image of lightning exploding from his clawed toes flashed over and over in his mind, sending his blood racing through his whole body.
The Thunderclap Dragon's scales trembled, faint crackling explosions sounding from them.
Ferrum withdrew his gaze.
In the world of True Dragons, who were born knowing, many things were simply taken for granted. For instance, although Moqi was lazy and playful, that was merely his nature. In daily life, he did not need anyone to teach him anything. Moqi had been born with a comprehensive understanding of the world and thought everything through clearly.
And dragons like Hidorivi, aside from the difference in size and strength, were no different from Great Dragons in any other respect.
But when it came to Lesser Dragons, it was an entirely different matter.
In Ferrum's eyes, the way In Tas spoke and acted made him plainly seem like a child who had not yet grown up. He knew too little, and his mind was still muddled. If no one taught or enlightened him, he could only rely on the drive in his heart to push himself onward.
The Thunderclap Dragon lowered his head, looked at his claws, then at the roots of his wings. A light he had never noticed before gradually flowed into those dim gray-white eyes.
"Then what about you, Ferrum?"
Only after a long while did In Tas speak again. "I don't want to be bullied, so I have to find every possible way to become stronger. But you're a Chrome Dragon, a Higher Species among Heavy-Metal Dragons from birth. You defeated Hidorivi and became second in the dragon flock. Even Iron Dragons have to step aside when they see you."
"But why do you still train so hard? Is there some reason you want to become stronger?"
This was what Ferrum had asked him earlier, yet now the Thunderclap Dragon returned the question to him word for word. It seemed this fellow was rather good at using his brain after all.
"Come."
Ferrum called out cheerfully and beckoned In Tas over to watch.
The Thunderclap Dragon obediently moved closer. The two Dragon Hatchlings crouched together beneath the sunlight.
The Chrome Dragon pressed his claw against the gravel. Starting from his spine, he drew upon an entire chain of force. The muscles in his claw-arm pumped like flowing water, while his clawed toes slowly dug into the stone, gripping it all tight and locking in place.
As he continuously increased the pressure with near-brutal force, Ferrum's finger bones erupted with sharp cracks. His originally gray-white keratinous claws gradually took on a dark-red metallic sheen.
Crack—
At last, the rock exploded with a boom, and countless shards of stone sprayed outward.
"Did you understand?" Ferrum asked.
"Is that the method of Finger-Bone Rebound?"
In Tas shook his head seriously. "I couldn't understand it."
"I wasn't showing you the result. I was showing you the sensation—the feeling of that strength flowing through your claw-arm, the feeling of using your will to control every strand of muscle and tendon."
Ferrum asked, "Can you feel that sensation?"
The Thunderclap Dragon still shook his head.
"Put it this way. Under the Nurturer's teaching and guidance, all Dragon Hatchlings know that the Lineage faces certain crises. But take Moqi as an example. That sense of crisis and urgency can only occasionally stir Moqi's emotions and make him pull himself together for a few days. To make Moqi maintain that motivation forever because of it is difficult in the end."
"The reason I can keep working hard is because I enjoy the feeling afterward."
The Thunderclap Dragon looked at Ferrum's face and discovered an expression he had never seen on him before.
"I enjoy the violent pounding of my heart after every time I give everything I have, the blood surging into my limbs, the harsh breathing, even the feeling of dizziness and blurred vision. Every time I experience those sensations, I clearly realize that my own life is so vividly alive."
"I can cultivate myself bitterly like a devout believer because I deeply love my own body. I love the pleasure of constantly mastering my body and developing it. You ask why I want to become stronger, but what I am obsessed with is becoming stronger itself—the blazing sensation, and the almost transcendent satisfaction it brings."
The Thunderclap Dragon stared at him blankly. Ferrum had just said he was not some mad dragon, yet as he said these words, he clearly carried an intensely fanatical air.
"Uh."
After saying all that, Ferrum seemed to realize that he had gotten a little carried away. At last, he composed himself, looking faintly embarrassed. "That's roughly what I mean."
In Tas nodded honestly. The words in his mind were not enough for him to understand what a "devout believer" was, nor did he know what "almost transcendent" meant. But when he heard Ferrum speak of enjoyment and satisfaction, and felt the emotion flowing through his words, he believed it was true.
So Ferrum simply liked becoming stronger.
"Then... what do you want to do after you become stronger? I see all the Heavy-Metal Dragons saying they want to become Dragon Gods."
The Thunderclap Dragon asked again. Dragon Hatchlings loved imagining the future, talking about their dreams, talking about what kind of dragons they would become someday.
"Actually, we do not particularly believe in gods."
Ferrum explained, "Everyone says they want to become Dragon Gods because the Heavy-Metal Dragon race needs a god—one who can sit upon the Supreme divine throne, grasp the authority of the Dragon God, and grant the race the ability to inherit and reproduce."
"But in truth, no one cares who the Dragon God is, nor do they care about the Dragon God's thoughts or whether he is good or evil. To me, such an existence does not seem very meaningful."
"My current goal is to become the strongest in Dragon Valley—to defeat Jelierion, to defeat... Ladon."
Ferrum smiled. "As for the future, I do not have many plans yet. I only want to live a little longer and see just how vast the world truly is."
"I see."
In Tas carefully committed it to memory. Then he brought bad news. "You're already the strongest Fringe Dragon now, so... those Nickel Dragons are treating you as their backer and using your name to do bad things."
"Nickel Dragons."
Ferrum pondered for a while. Moqi had actually told him about this a few days ago. "It really does need to be dealt with. Those fellows are truly sinister... They're damaging my image in the hearts of the female dragons."
Before you continue