"My size..."
Caesar's face lit up with immense excitement as he gazed at his reflection in the molten lava.
The transformation brought about by this period of slumber was colossal; he had grown from twelve to eighteen meters in one fell swoop, crossing the threshold of the super-sized dragon category.
In terms of size,
Dragons between eighteen and thirty meters were considered super-sized.
Caesar studied the changes in his form within the lava, where his once modest pair of serpentine horns now grew thicker and sharper, extending back from the Red Dragon's helm in a manner reminiscent of a regal Crown of Dragons. Not only had his body length reached eighteen meters, but his wingspan also unfolded to twenty-eight meters, nearly enveloping the entire magma pool and explaining the feeling of constriction in his current environment...
This was a monumental growth in stature.
For a typical Red Dragon to achieve this size, they would need to age through the youthful stages for a while, possibly reaching super-sized status only after seventy or eighty years.
Dragons of other colors.
Would need to reach a mature age of over a hundred years, and White Dragons, even longer, attaining super-sized status only in their robust two-hundred-plus years.
Adult dragons,
Usually attain the prowess of superior beings, with their noble bloodlines rendering them even more formidable.
Caesar was not yet thirty.
To reach super-sized status in his adolescence was nothing short of miraculous; it was an accomplishment often reserved for those exceptional mutants amidst the grand dragon lineage.
"Is this due to the ten percent of the mutation effect?"
Caesar pondered. Ten years of growth wasn't enough to bring him into maturity, clearly indicating the second reward from the system - a ten percent positive mutation effect.
Presently,
From the outside, he retained most of the Red Dragon's characteristics, but to creatures unfamiliar with dragonkind, he could easily be mistaken for the noble Metallic Dragons or even a Gold Dragon, since his scales had shifted from the fiery red of Red Dragons to a golden hue.
Especially his pupils,
Which had evolved from ruby red to a pure golden color, forming a set of golden eyes—a trait belonging to Gold Dragons.
Yet,
Caesar keenly felt an alternative source powering these changes, unassociated with Gold Dragons, named...
Eternal Blazesun!
Around Caesar, the elemental power of fire was exuberantly alive, celebrating as if in reverence to the birth of the great Sovereign of Flame.
He sensed an elevated command over the elemental fire, with casting speeds significantly increased, and once-complex fifth-circle spells now understood with ease, with even sixth-circle magic becoming trivial to comprehend.
For the normally aloof elemental fire,
The talented human casters might be likened to beloved children, while the Red Dragons at the pinnacle of the draconic five stand incomparably paternal. To Caesar's current form, the elemental fire subtly elevated its favor, treating him tenderly as an adored patriarch.
In affinity with fire.
Even legendary Red Dragons could scarcely boast greater strength than him.
And yet, this affinity was merely an ancillary gain.
Indeed.
Just an ancillary gain.
Caesar flared his mighty wings and soon soared to the skies above, reveling in the powers of the Eternal Blazesun—this ceaseless, warming energy that seemed to eternally fortify his body and subtly augment his magic and vigor. Under the sun's vigil, he was akin to a dragon with an ever-turning engine, an exquisite sensation of unbridled freedom.
This period of repose had progressed him from the fourth to the fifth rank.
A common fifth-rank Red Dragon might now effortlessly vanquish a sixth-rank magical creature by sheer brute strength, expectantly overpowering even upper-tier adversaries of lower ranks.
At equal ranks, dragons perpetually wear the crown of dominance.
For instance, a human at the pinnacle ninth-rank seeking to conquer a seventh-rank dragon is a formidable task, and to slay one, an almost mythical feat, given a high-rank dragon's resilience and defense—an acclaim beyond human imagination.
Hence,
The widely acclaimed dragon slayer, for the most part, happens upon a dragon in its fledgling or even younger state by chance in the wilderness, thus serendipitously completing their draconic baptism.
But,
Caesar was different.
Endowed with his newly mutated strength, as long as the sun's rays bathed him, drawing ceaselessly from the power of the Eternal Blazesun, he could recover even if not killed by a single deathblow, possibly even enough to overpower freshly matured high-ranking dragons, and potentially... to triumph!
Such was the might of the Red Dragon's blood, mutated to grant him considerable advantage even among his draconic peers.
And why was he so confident?
Caesar clenched his right dragon fist, imbuing it with countless golden motes shimmering into existence around him, his arm dazzling gold as his dragon head reared back, mustering strength along the spine before suddenly unleashing it all, hammering forth the tempestuous force in an instant.
Boom!
A terrifying surge of golden energy shot towards a lake in the Karl Mountains with such ferocity that tons of water vaporized, fish that had been swimming contentedly were inundated and annihilated en masse...
It was the lair of a clump of Aquatic Blast Apes,
Primarily beings of the second and third tier, with their leader, the Ape King, standing as a formidable fourth-rank magical entity. Debilitated by the disaster-like force, they couldn't even muster resistance.
The resplendent lake evaporated utterly.
An ascending mushroom cloud followed, piercing with glare and searing heat, leaving behind only an incandescently empty vacancy.
This colossal disturbance,
Sent all nearby magical beasts and large fauna fleeing in dread, having never witnessed such dreadful force, not even in natural calamities.
"Should I call it the Fist of Eternal Blazesun? Or perhaps the Nuclear Dragon Fist? This power is beyond my expectations," Caesar gasped, dazed.
The spectacle,
Bore remarkable resemblance to a nuclear detonation from his previous world's memories.
However, after this Dragon Fist, his body swiftly succumbed to hunger; mobilizing the sun's energy did not drain his magic, it seemed merely to deplete his physical stamina.
The rumblings of an empty stomach were not pleasant.
Caesar's draconic belly let out a roar reminiscent of a mechanical engine as it quickly consumed most of his super-sized dragon's vigour, clearly indicating that this awakened talent was no trifling gift.