novelraw Chapter 44: Strength More Real Than Epic
Chapter 44: Strength More Real Than Epic
As the sun rose and the moon set, five months quietly passed.
The Iron Fir Hills were shrouded in pale morning mist. Garoth buried his snout into the dew-covered fir needles, letting the cool droplets roll between his scales, washing away the residual heat from last night's training.
Five months earlier...
After the minor incident with the adventurers...
Garoth stored away the map and continued his routine as if nothing had happened - hunting powerful beasts, training his body and magic, with brief rests in between.
During this period, the Earth Spiders kept returning with loads of oil-rich soil.
Samantha refined this into black oil for Garoth to consume, fueling his energy and sharpening his focus, dramatically improving his training efficiency.
"Power! Power! Power!"
After taking a sip of the dwindling black oil reserves...
The freshly awakened Garoth instantly became alert, his eyes gleaming as he soared into the morning light. He hunted amidst refreshing breezes, battling savage beasts to hone his combat skills and reflexes.By noon...
Having hunted and completely devoured a level 8 wilderness monitor lizard...
Garoth began his flight training.
Under the golden sunlight, his wings shimmered with metallic coldness yet carried him effortlessly through the skies.
Without relying on magical energy, using only his wings.
Through relentless training, Garoth's wing joints had become twice as flexible as ordinary young dragons', with astonishing endurance that allowed him to fly for hours through desert storms without landing.
Today's challenge: dive braking.
Garoth flapped his wings, diving earthward before suddenly spreading them fully to halt just dozens of meters above ground.
The maneuver subjected his body to tremendous impact.
After repeated attempts, the membrane at the base of his right wing finally tore.
Garoth calmly licked away the seeping dragon blood.
Pain of this degree had long become routine.
When the sun set and twin moons rose...
Garoth returned to Iron Fir Hills for his most dangerous training - having Samantha breathe fire directly at him.
Red dragon flames were no ordinary fire.
Extremely hot, overwhelmingly powerful, carrying tremendous impact.
Even fire-resistant dragons would sustain serious injuries facing such breath attacks head-on.
Initially, Garoth would be blasted backward, scorched and aching all over. But now, thanks to further evolution of his buffer scales, things were different.
The young red-iron dragon bathed in roaring flames...
His buffer scales' branding-iron patterns deepened in the fire, slowly extending upward without shattering, instead absorbing both heat and impact.
Two seconds later...
BANG! A scale reached its limit and exploded violently.
Flaming fragments shot out like shrapnel, striking an iron fir tree with deafening force that blasted it in half mid-trunk.
These evolved scales...
Could now absorb not just impact but also heat before detonating.
Garoth renamed them - Explosive Scales.
Still incomplete, they currently only exploded when absorbing fire-based attacks. When Garoth struck them with pure force, they absorbed kinetic energy while gradually heating up.
Soon, he estimated...
They'd be able to convert kinetic energy into heat, or absorb his magical energy to release explosive power upon shattering.
Only then would their evolution be complete.
After exhausting Samantha...
Garoth had the Earth Rampage Bear attack him with earth-based skills until it collapsed from exhaustion too. Then he took flight again, heading to the barren mountain training ground.
There...
He used the Frost Silver Ring and Lightning Tail Ring to train ice and lightning resistance, pounded the earth to strengthen defenses and muscles, interspersed with breath weapon practice to intensify various dragon breaths.
Only at midnight did the day finally end.
And so Garoth's routine continued, day after day, night after night.
Under a starry sky that watched the vast land like countless eyes...
Garoth lay alone on a rocky outcrop, reflecting on his changes during this rare moment of rest.
About a year had passed since leaving his Iron Dragon Mother's territory.
At eight years old, Garoth now measured 7.2 meters long.
His body had grown denser and stronger - muscles, scales, and bone density far surpassing ordinary young dragons.
The branding-iron patterns on his explosive scales gradually extended toward his spine. When they fully connected, his scales' evolution would be complete.
Electric sensations under his tail scales intensified, like an invisible current network.
His wings, continuously treated with alchemical tools and daily training, had developed thinner traditional membranes overlaid with dense feather-like scales that sparked when flapped.
None of this happened overnight.
Each small improvement formed Garoth's unique growth trajectory.
The wilderness offered no legendary encounters - just daily accumulation where every shattered scale told of strength more real than epic.
This was the true source of Garoth's power.
Legendary alchemical tools paled in comparison to such determination.
His life level remained at 7, unchanged.
Initially puzzled by this lack of progress despite all transformations, Garoth soon understood.
Life levels were just references, incapable of measuring true strength. Below legendary, all remained mortal.
He estimated he could thoroughly dominate his year-younger self at the same level.
Moreover...
Garoth's evolution enhanced not his current level, but his potential.
Like a grown cat becoming a tiger cub.
Same size now, but vastly different futures.
No level increase made sense at just eight years old.
An eight-year-old level 7 dragon matched only Gold Dragons' standards.
Gold Dragons were universally acknowledged as the pinnacle of normal dragonkind - divinely favored beyond even Red Dragons' reach. An eight-year-old Red Dragon would typically reach only level 6, with weaker specimens stuck at 5.
"I wonder if I could defeat a Gold Dragon of equal level,"
Garoth mused, blinking at the starry sky before resuming his relentless training routine.
But just five days later...
A problem emerged - the black oil ran out.
For some reason, no Earth Spiders had returned for days, bringing no oil-rich soil for refining. Garoth had exhausted his remaining supply.
"Something's wrong."
"Were the oil-gathering spiders discovered?"
Pacing anxiously in dappled shadows, Garoth sensed impending danger.
Unexpected changes meant variables.
Variables meant threats.
The spiders' unusual disappearance made Garoth acutely aware of approaching peril.