Defeating the World with the Power of One Dragon!

Chapter 5: Evolution

The scorching sun hung high in the sky, its vicious rays pouring down like molten gold, baking the entire wilderness until it sizzled.

Ground temperatures kept rising, creating visible heat waves that distorted the air, making distant mountains flicker like mirages in the shimmering haze.

On days like this, most creatures avoided the blistering heat by staying inactive.

But the dragons living around the Sky Pit were exceptions.

As fire-aligned dragons, such extreme heat only made them more energetic and excitable than usual.

Over a month had passed since Garoth's negotiation with the Iron Dragon Mother.

Being at the age of rapid growth and diligently training himself, Garoth's body had subtly expanded further during this period. His steel-forged scales concealed coiled muscle fibers beneath that tensed like steel cables whenever he moved, ready to unleash tremendous power at any moment.

"Break's over! Back to mining!"

Near the mountain wall, Garoth flicked his tail, sending two rocks bouncing off the heads of the Iron Dragon Brother and Red Dragon Sister.

The two hatchlings raised their heads indignantly, protesting with righteous fury: "We only rested for an hour! This is abuse, Garoth! Mother's kobold servants get two-hour breaks for the same mining shifts!" The Iron Dragon Mother did indeed have minions - an entire kobold clan dedicated to mining for her.

Hearing this, Garoth's tail sparked against the ground as he stalked toward the hatchlings.

"Do you know why you always lose to me? Why I keep pinning you down? Why I can torment and humiliate you over and over?" he asked, looking down at them.

The hatchlings exchanged confused glances.

"Because you lack ambition!" Garoth loomed over them, his shadow enveloping the pair. "You're noble true dragons with draconic blood flowing through your veins! Yet you compare yourselves to kobolds?"

He shook his head with pity and disappointment.

"Pathetic failures who can't even outperform kobolds - what a disgrace to your draconic heritage," he sneered contemptuously.

"That's bullshit! Kobolds aren't fit to lick my scales!" the Red Dragon Sister roared furiously.

"Absolute nonsense! I'm a hundred times stronger than any kobold!" the Iron Dragon Brother bellowed equally enraged.

Garoth's expression softened slightly as he grinned. "Words are cheap. Prove it to me. Show me your determination. Demonstrate the power and resilience befitting true dragons."

"Hmph! Don't underestimate us!" Snorting defiantly, the hatchlings immediately scrambled back into the mining tunnel they'd excavated, digging with renewed vigor, determined to prove their superiority over kobolds and earn Garoth's respect.

Reverse psychology - the ultimate weapon against dragons.

Proud and arrogant by nature, dragons couldn't resist rising to such challenges.

Watching the hatchlings disappear into the tunnel, Garoth murmured, "If only the Iron Dragon Mother were this easy to manipulate."

As dragons aged and gained experience, they learned to control their instincts better. Mature dragons like the Iron Dragon Mother were far more intelligent than hatchlings.

These two, however, remained gullible as fools - for now.

Garoth couldn't imagine how these playful, incompetent hatchlings would survive the dangerous world outside if they were normally expelled by their mother in another year as young dragons.

Suddenly, a powerful gust of wind swept through.

Garoth looked up to see the Iron Dragon Mother's massive silhouette soaring across the sky, her forty-meter wingspan casting an immense shadow. The ground trembled as loose stones vibrated from her passing.

Something dark plummeted from above, impacting the earth with earthquake-like force. The landing crater spiderwebbed with cracks as dust exploded outward.

Batting away the dust, Garoth examined the fallen object - a massive armored bison weighing dozens of tons, its layered muscles covered in natural armor plating and crowned by enormous battering horns.

This was a Level 10+ magical beast - precisely the high-quality prey Garoth needed.

True to their agreement, the Iron Dragon Mother periodically provided him with such premium hunting. This was exclusively for Garoth - while the hatchlings endured his mining demands, they weren't actual slaves and received regular meals back at the Dragon Nest.

The Iron Dragon Mother, ever cold yet scrupulously fair, fulfilled her responsibilities without favoritism. Having delivered the prey, she immediately returned to her lair without lingering.

"Time to eat."

Garoth took a deep breath and began tearing into the bison's carcass. Even with his metal-crushing jaws strengthened by chewing ores, he needed multiple attempts to pierce through the beast's natural armor plating.

The fresh meat, as tough and chewy as if taken from a living beast, sent waves of warmth through Garoth's body with each swallow, flooding him with nourishing energy.

After consuming nearly a quarter of the bison, a tingling sensation suddenly erupted throughout Garoth's body, pulsing like tidal currents.

"This feeling again," Garoth thought excitedly.

Despite his draconic furnace-like stomach, he'd begun feeling full after the massive meal. Yet as the tingling spread, his satiation faded, replaced by ravenous hunger.

The hatchling inhaled deeply, jaws stretching wide to reveal rows of gleaming teeth.

Chomp!

After minimal chewing, the meat dissolved instantly in his stomach, transforming into warm energy that flowed through his limbs alongside the tingling waves, concentrating particularly in his most exercised areas - the scales constantly grinding against earth, the horns battering mountains, the tail smashing rocks, plus the muscles, bones and organs enduring constant impacts.

No visible changes manifested yet, but the electric tingling persisted relentlessly.

"Evolution isn't instantaneous," Garoth realized. "It's a sudden leap forward after accumulating sufficient adaptation and energy reserves. Based on my recent conditioning, the corresponding enhancements will emerge soon."

Over the years, he'd theorized about his unique adaptation ability. All creatures possessed evolutionary potential, but normally requiring millennia of gradual change. Garoth's gift compressed this timeline dramatically.

Crucially, his adaptation ability itself kept growing stronger.

"Perhaps someday I'll achieve instant adaptation - maybe even direct my evolution consciously," he mused.

With renewed vigor, Garoth astonishingly devoured the entire multi-ton bison. The tingling sensation intensified dramatically.

Seizing the momentum, he resumed his brutal training under the blazing sun - a cycle of pain and exhilaration.