Into the Ruins

A bird with sparse, curled feathers flew over his head, letting out a strange cry.

There was also a vulture with conspicuous patches of gray scales. Its reddish eyes stared fixedly at Redd, as though he were an uninvited guest who had intruded on its territory.

Redd widened his eyes and looked around in terror. This place was practically a horror theme park!

A strong smell of sulfur filled the surroundings, making anyone who smelled it cough uncontrollably.

His body trembled slightly of its own accord, and a chill shot up his spine.

Just as Redd bent over coughing, a crisp "ding" suddenly sounded in his mind, as though some mechanical device had been triggered.

Immediately afterward, a sweet, slightly mechanical girl's voice rang out: "Fire-aspected magical energy detected. System absorbing... Quest complete. Distributing rewards.

"Reward distribution complete. Stage two: hatching quest unlocked. Reward: access to all system functions."

Before Redd could react, a Dragon Egg small enough to hold in one hand suddenly appeared out of thin air in front of him!

The Dragon Egg was a mysterious dark red all over, covered in strange patterns, as though it contained endless power.

Almost instinctively, Redd reached out with both hands to catch the Dragon Egg.

Yet the moment he actually held the Dragon Egg, his brain seemed to crash, completely losing the ability to think.

His very first thought was actually: King Ghidorah hatched from an egg too...

The thought sent a shudder through him, as though he had been struck by lightning.

Then, as though driven by something, he hurled the Dragon Egg in his hands hard at the ground without hesitation!

Thud! The Dragon Egg struck the ground with a dull sound, kicking up a cloud of dark red dust.

Uncontrollable anger surged in Redd's heart, and he swore at the empty air:

"System, get out here! I promise I won't beat you to death! I heard you talking just now, so hurry up and come out!"

His voice echoed through the empty surroundings, filled with anger and resentment.

For the past three days, he had struggled through this wilderness, enduring countless hardships and difficulties, and the system's reward for him was just a Dragon Egg?

How could he possibly accept that!

Just as Redd continued cursing the system, a "ding" suddenly sounded in his mind. Immediately afterward, the pet panel unexpectedly unlocked!

Redd took a closer look and saw that it displayed: Pet—King Ghidorah, hatching progress: 1%. Not only that, there was also a shared pet ability—Dragon King’s Aura.

At the sight, a wave of wild joy filled Redd's heart. He hurriedly opened his personal panel to investigate.

Sure enough, he found an additional ability on his personal panel: Dragon King’s Aura.

He eagerly opened the detailed description, which read: "Share the aura of your pet, King Ghidorah. Its strength depends on King Ghidorah's strength. Can be freely controlled."

Filled with curiosity about this new ability, Redd tried sensing it with his mind, but found that he felt nothing in particular.

Yet when he turned his attention to the creatures around him, he discovered to his surprise that those creatures, which had still been moving moments before,

were now frozen completely in place as though under an immobilization spell, not even daring to tremble.

It turned out that these creatures were trembling in fear from the Dragon King’s Aura emanating from Redd, unable to move at all!

Only then did Redd realize just how powerful this Dragon King’s Aura was.

Finally, Redd closed his personal panel and thought to himself, With this ability, I suppose it's acceptable.

Redd gathered himself and picked up the Dragon Egg he had just smashed onto the ground.

Only now did he have time to examine King Ghidorah's egg carefully.

It was not large and could be held in one hand. It even felt a little warm in his palm.

It was oval in shape, its surface covered in golden scales. It looked extremely magnificent, with a flashy gold feel to it.

Holding it in his hand, Redd tapped it and listened, then shook it. The sound was crisp and clear. Redd could not help saying, "It's a good egg."

Just then, his stomach suddenly growled.

Because of the system, he had actually forgotten his hunger.

He rubbed his stomach. It looked like he needed to find something to eat. Looking at the egg in his hand, he thought, King Ghidorah's egg-would eating it be especially nourishing?

In the end, he shook his head and dismissed the thought.

This was his capital for being able to go without eating beef in the future. He could not just eat it like this.

He quickly tucked the egg inside his clothes. Although his robe was somewhat tattered, that was still better than carrying it in his hand all the time. Even if it fell out, it would not break.

Redd had intended to find some wild grass or tree bark to fill his stomach, but after walking for a while, he had not seen so much as a blade of grass.

Everything around him was barren, with nothing but exposed rock and sandy soil.

Redd could not help growing anxious. At this rate, he would starve to death before completing the so-called quest.

Just then, he suddenly spotted a small cave a short distance ahead.

Delighted, he hurried over. A large stone blocked the cave entrance. Redd pushed it aside with all his strength, but the cave was pitch-black inside, and he could see nothing.

He reached inside and felt around. It felt somewhat damp. Suddenly, his hand touched something soft, frightening him into quickly pulling it back.

Steadying himself, Redd reached inside again. This time, he grabbed the thing.

When he pulled it out and looked, it turned out to be a fat lizard.

Overjoyed, Redd threw caution aside, stuffed the lizard straight into his mouth, and began chewing it in big mouthfuls.

Although it tasted somewhat rank and foul, to Redd, it was nothing short of a heavenly delicacy.

After eating the lizard, Redd felt that some of his strength had returned.

He continued forward, hoping to find what the quest required.

Before he had gone far, he saw an enormous stone door ahead. Some oddly shaped patterns were carved into it, looking like some kind of ancient writing.

A thought stirred in Redd's mind. Could this be some sort of treasure?

He walked up to the stone door and examined it carefully for a while, discovering a recess in it that looked as though it was meant to hold something.

After some thought, Redd took King Ghidorah's egg out of his clothes and placed it in the recess.

With a click, the stone door slowly opened, and a bright beam of light shone inside.

Redd eagerly walked in, passed through a long tunnel, and discovered that he was actually standing atop an enormous mountain range.

A vast expanse stretched before his eyes. In the distance stood the rolling Red Fire Peak, while nearby lay a lush forest of dead trees.

This was what truly deserved to be called Valyria. Redd could not help shouting, feeling as though he had been reborn.

He looked back at the stone door behind him, his heart filled with gratitude.

He had never expected King Ghidorah's egg to serve as the key to opening the stone door.

It seemed his luck really was quite good.

Redd smiled and shook his head, then strode forward, beginning his new adventure.