Hunger

The second four-event contest came around.

Without a doubt, Xiluo took first place again.

He retained first place overall by placing second in strength, first in Breath Weapon, third in spells, and first in speed.

Although he had taught [Lightning Flash] to the other blue dragons.

Xiluo still far surpassed them in proficiency and control.

Xiluo suspected that [Breath Enhancement] not only increased the power and range of his Breath Weapon, but even improved his control over lightning—an advantage the other blue dragons could not match.

Another point was that [Lightning Flash] could not be used for too long.

This intense stimulation of the body reached the cellular level and amounted to internal, self-inflicted damage.

Even ordinary blue dragons had to stop after seven or eight seconds.

They needed at least several hours of rest before they could use it again.

Xiluo was different. He could currently sustain the stimulation for around fifteen seconds, an advantage that came from his robust body.

Still, although the other blue dragons could not compare to Xiluo, they held an enormous advantage over the other dragons.

Even second place belonged to a blue dragon!

To Abel!

Gordon only came third.

This left the Red Dragon Whelp practically twisting his snout in fury.

From then on, he wore a sour expression every day, as though everyone owed him dozens or even hundreds of gold coins.

The Blue Dragon Wyrmlings, meanwhile, held their tails so high they nearly touched the sky and began looking down their snouts at the other dragons.

And so, another two months passed.

In the green woods.

A group of dragon hatchlings sat together.

Crunching sounds rang out without pause.

The Dragon Cubs were enjoying a delicious meal.

The wooden plates before them held fresh meat, dairy products, bones, and more, weighing at least a hundred pounds and looking quite plentiful.

A blue dragon hatchling noticeably larger than the others stuffed the last bone into his mouth, crunched it apart, and swallowed. Then he raised his head expressionlessly and looked at the other hatchlings beside him.

The Dragon Cubs shuddered under his gaze. They hurriedly guarded their food and looked warily at the larger blue hatchling:

"Xiluo! Sure, you taught us [Lightning Flash] and helped us get good rankings in the contest! But we traded other spells for it! We don't owe you anything!

"Stop looking over here! I'm not sharing my food with you!" A blue dragon hatchling shifted his rump backward a little, taking his food with him.

"Xiluo, you already get more food than we do, so stop setting your sights on ours! If you really have no other choice, go eat bark and chew grass!"

"Um... well... Xiluo, if you need it, I can share some of my food with you."

Among the hatchlings denouncing Xiluo, a different voice rang out.

Xiluo, who had grown ever larger and more muscular, turned his gaze toward it.

A little white dragon softly pushed a portion of meat from his plate in front of Xiluo.

"Thank you for the offer, Allen, but eat it yourself. You've been sharing your food with me these past few months. You haven't been getting enough to eat yourself, have you?"

Xiluo sighed and reached out a claw to stop the little white dragon.

"But... if you don't eat, you'll go hungry... As for me, I'm actually fine eating some bark and grass. Once I freeze it, it all tastes about the same," the little white dragon said softly.

"Look at you. You're almost as skinny as a black dragon... Eat it yourself. Be good! I'll find a way."

Xiluo still shook his head and refused.

Seeing how firm Xiluo was, the little white dragon beside him obediently did as he was told.

"Xiluo! You bastard! Could you stop using us for comparisons? What do you mean, as skinny as a black dragon?

"We're slender! Lean and bony! That's different from Allen starving until he's wasting away! Don't you know? Plenty of humans think being thin is beautiful!" a black dragon argued angrily, glaring at Xiluo.

Of course, glaring was all he dared to do. Actually fight Xiluo? He would not dare even if he were ten times braver!

Xiluo ignored the black dragon hatchling.

Instead, he gazed up at the sky, his eyes somewhat unfathomable.

This situation had begun roughly half a year ago.

Because of [Rapid Growth] and [Strength].

As his body grew rapidly, it also needed more nutrients.

Because of this, Xiluo had found his appetite growing larger and larger. Recently, he had even surpassed the Red Dragon Whelp to become the biggest eater among the hatchlings.

He consumed twice as much food as a normal blue dragon at every meal! He needed nearly three hundred pounds of food each time!

At first, before the food was divided evenly, he could rely on his formidable strength to forcibly snatch enough to meet his needs.

But this left the other hatchlings short of food and going hungry.

Afterward, the Dragon Cubs banded together to protest to Barbara, and the food was divided evenly.

That was when Xiluo's miserable days of hunger began.

It was not that he had never asked Barbara to distribute more food, but the hunting team was unwilling to provide any more.

Xiluo knew this was the consequence of offending Cato before!

That petty young green dragon had lost a full fifty gold coins because of him!

After discovering his enormous appetite, Cato had begun retaliating against him this way!!

Although the Dragon Mother knew, she would not concern herself with such trivial matters.

He could gnaw on more trees and eat more grass, but that would cause problems with his physical growth.

Trees and grass could not provide the nutrients from meat that dragons needed.

[Blue dragon hatchling]

Level: 4 (Elite)

Status: Good (Malnourished)

These were his current stats.

But a month ago, his stats had been:

[Strong blue dragon hatchling]

Level: 4 (Elite-+)

Status: Good

Now! The "Strong" prefix had disappeared, and so had the plus sign after "Elite"!

This was the consequence of constantly eating grass and gnawing on trees, leaving him malnourished! His powerful muscles were almost gone!

Although his [Strength] talent still existed, he needed more meat and appropriate exercise to recover what he had lost.

This couldn't go on!

I had to think of something.

Otherwise, hunger would seriously harm me!

Xiluo kept staring at the sky, sighing silently.

Not until the following day.

He thought of a solution!

So he went to Barbara.

He obtained a lump of iron from the young green dragon.

Taking the lump of iron with him, he then found Gordon, the dragon hatchling, and after a whispered conversation.

The two dragons disappeared from the other hatchlings' sight.

They did not reappear until several days later.

That day.

As usual, the lizardfolk brought the hatchlings their respective portions of food.

Just as all the hatchlings were about to enjoy the delicious meal.

Xiluo suddenly retched and spat out a glittering coin.

Under the sunlight, the coin reflected a captivating glow and color, instantly drawing every hatchling's gaze.

"Is... is that a gold coin? Heavens! Xiluo, where did you get a gold coin?"

"So beautiful! That sheen, that shine, it's absolutely gorgeous! Xiluo! Tell me where you got that gold coin! Tell me!"

The hatchlings immediately stopped eating and crowded around, their draconic eyes fixed on the gold coin, their faces full of longing.

(End of chapter)