New Rewards

After sharing dinner with his companions, Jose cleaned up the traces of footprints left by the two dragons, then found a stone to block the cave entrance. He lay down on the ground before the exit and took off the spoils strapped to his back.

The distribution of spoils had been rushed earlier, so now that he had time, he naturally needed to count them carefully.

Dragon Claw picked up the most conspicuous staff among the spoils—conspicuous not for its length or outward appearance, but for the density of magical energy radiating from it.

Dragons were magical creatures, able to sense the magical energy emanating from objects. The mana radiating from this staff stood out like a firefly in the pitch-black night.

He stroked the staff's smooth, fine-grained shaft, consulting the appraisal knowledge from Dragon Heritage: "Hmm, the main body is made of Fire-vein Wood, with micro-engraving techniques used to carve the patterns, then Mithril is infused into the grooves to reduce mana conduction loss—this is elven craftsmanship."

Following the sleek, polished shaft up to the ruby at the staff's top, he found the gem was as large as a goose egg. Even without considering the magic arrays inscribed inside, the material alone was already worth a fortune.

In the darkness, the red dragon's eyes suddenly snapped open, a glint of surprise flickering in his pupils. He discovered that the magic arrays within the staff were not just one or two, but five—two large and three small. The three smaller ones formed an equilateral triangle as the foundation, with the two larger ones stacked on top.

The three relatively simple arrays were all Intermediate Magic—Fireball, with a cooldown of one day. The two more intricate arrays were High-Level Magic: Explosive Fireball and Meteoric Fire Rain, each with a cooldown of three days.

"Good stuff! This staff is definitely worthy of an auction!"

"Huh," he noticed a tiny line of text at the connection between the staff and the gem, written in Elvish: This staff is specially gifted to my beloved friend, Vanker Lulunce—Alinas.

Jose had no idea who Vanker Lulunce was, but the name Alinas thundered in his ears. He was a renowned half-elf alchemy master on Tydanore over the past three hundred years, with so many outstanding works that even Dragon Heritage recorded his deeds.

Of course, having one's works coveted by the Five-Colored Evil Dragons was hardly a good thing.

"No idea where this Mage got the staff from... whatever, it's Jose's now."

"Let's give it a name. Since its first owner was named Lulunce, I'll call it the Staff of Lulunce (Staff of Stupidity), hehehe."

After maliciously naming the staff, he put it away and continued counting the remaining spoils.

The rest of the spoils were far inferior: an animal-hide inner armor that warded off arrows, a gold earring inscribed with Cleanse, a cross necklace with Minor Heal, and finally a few dozen gold coins.

Four magical items, one mysterious diamond, and a small handful of gold coins—that was all Jose had to his name.

He pillowed his head on his entire fortune, pondering his future plans.

No matter what, he never wanted to experience that feeling of helplessness when facing the Mage again. He had to grow strong and take control of his own destiny.

As for after he was safe and secure...

A good life was the eternal aspiration of all intelligent beings, and Jose was no exception. But now that he had transmigrated into a dragon, living a normal life was out of the question. It would be better to follow the Red Nest Matriarch's example and build his own faction, recruit underlings, and claim a mountain as his territory. Whether he became a scourge or a savior would be his choice.

He shook his head, driving the unrealistic fantasies out of his mind.

Before reaching adulthood, ruling as a king was nothing but a fantasy, and even adulthood was just a ticket to enter the continent's conflicts.

On Tydanore, an adult dragon was at the top of the food chain, but far from invincible. Not to mention the human coalition that had defeated even an Ancient Dragon like the Red Nest Matriarch, there were also many powerful races among Extraordinary Beasts that could go toe-to-toe with adult dragons in a fair fight.

Deep in the mysterious Underdark, and in the unfathomable depths of the sea unknown to the world, there were even freakish races that surpassed dragons.

"Stay low, get rich, play it safe, and develop quietly without showing off."

With one sentence setting the overall tone for his future actions, Jose began planning his immediate moves.

The forest was simply unsuitable for him. Red dragons were much larger than other dragons of the same age, and the dense canopy would hinder takeoff. He also worried about being cornered in his cave like a tiger.

Thus, finding a new habitat was a must.

According to the survival strategy for young dragons in Dragon Heritage, the best habitats for an immature red dragon were either abandoned mine shafts with multiple exits or steep cliffs. The former were remote and easy to hide in, while the latter maximized the red dragon's flight advantage and blocked most enemies that couldn't fly.

Of course, the Karakoram Mountains were now crawling with adventurers scavenging for loot, so the move would have to wait until the dust settled.

At night, only the breathing of the two dragons echoed in the dark cave.

In a daze, Jose once again arrived at Starry River Square. The square looked no different from when he had left, with the Phoenix Heart statue still standing tall.

He hurried toward the Phoenix Heart statue. Ever since obtaining the Phoenix Heart, he had been longing to return to this mysterious space and study the Phoenix Heart sculpture more closely. Now, he had finally gotten his wish.

He circled the Phoenix Heart sculpture once. The statue was the same as before, except it had lost the dazzling starlight it had when he first saw it.

After studying it for a while, he found nothing new. It seemed this reborn Phoenix Heart statue was merely a milestone and witness to his transmigration.

He looked up at the starry sky and, sure enough, spotted another unique star. He understood that he could only come to Starry River Square when a new reward was born.

"I wonder if all these stars fell, could they beat a Greater Deity?"

Gazing at the countless stars, Jose let his imagination run wild, then softly uttered, "Come."

A brilliant meteor fell, and moments later, a new statue appeared beside the Phoenix Heart statue.

Its base was also square, and the sculpture on top was abstractly artistic. From the front, it looked like a rectangular block; from the side, it was narrow at the top and bottom, bulging in the middle, with a pale gold color, shimmering like the treasure effects from Journey to the West.

Jose stared at the abstract sculpture, feeling a wave of opulence wash over him.

High-class and classy!

"But what the hell is this?"

With doubt, he glanced at the inscription on the base and couldn't help but cover his face.

"God damn Jin Ke La!"

[Jin Ke La]: F

[Survivor]:

What doesn't kill me only makes me stronger.

—America, God's dog.

Jose was at a loss for words.

But thanks to the straightforward name, a little thought made the reward's purpose clear—it should increase potential or accelerate growth speed, but not take effect immediately, instead gradually manifesting over time.

Comparing the introductions of the two statues, he confirmed his earlier idea: both [Phoenix Heart] and [Jin Ke La] were reward names.

The treasure grades were arranged in the order F, E, D, C, B, A, S, though he wasn't sure if there were SS and SSS above that.

He touched the statue, and specks of golden light surged out from within, burrowing into every part of his body.

In the real world, inside a dim cave, the resting red dragon felt an itch all over, as if tens of thousands of ants were crawling on its skin.

Before long, the discomfort faded, replaced by a warm, soothing sensation throughout its body.

The red dragon let out a long breath and went back to sleep.