"Before the universe became a playground for the five great powers, it was our duty to maintain balance and order. Our word was law, and our power was absolute. But times have changed, and we have weakened to the point where our descendants have begun settling in the planes just to have a chance of survival..."
- Words of an ancient Titan
In the region of the white dragon Albiria, four of her children were flying and wrestling with each other.
The area where they wrestled was in front of Albiria's new lair, which stood three hundred meters high. Since only the powerful guardians subdued by Albiria resided so close to the dragon's den, they had no concerns about safety.
Three of the siblings, who had grown up in twin eggs, were not strong enough to fight Tolp one-on-one. Tolp, with the power of a peak sixth rank, could easily fight against a group of aura warriors and mages of the same rank thanks to his raw strength as a dragon and Ülgen's training, and could escape if his life was in danger.
The other three were at the mid-stage of the sixth rank, so their fights with Tolp were usually two-on-one or three-on-one. Lindy, Pelet, and Folet were equal to Tolp in terms of technique, even if they were weaker in raw strength. This gave them the advantage in three-on-one situations.
Tolp was once again fighting three-on-one and was starting to get a bit bored. While he enjoyed fighting because it benefited his physical development, they had been fighting each other for so long that they were completely familiar with each other's moves.
"Pelet, the same move again!" Tolp said as he swung Folet away with his paw and then swung his tail hard to the right.
"Tch!" Pelet, who dodged the tail with an aerial flip, noticed a blast of ice breath coming at him before he could regain his balance.
Although white dragons had great resistance to cold and ice-based attacks, they were not completely immune, and this attack was powerful enough to temporarily eliminate Pelet.
"Pelet, dodge!" Lindy's timely counter-breath attack gave Pelet the opportunity to continue the fight.
Seeing his breath deflected, Tolp growled softly and charged at Lindy. The timing of his full-speed attack had improved compared to their previous fights, causing Lindy to be struck and thrown back dozens of meters, coughing up blood.
Feeling that the fight was moving beyond their usual patterns, Tolp couldn't help but get excited. However, his other two siblings were not going to let him celebrate. The breath attacks from Pelet above and Folet from the front were enough to momentarily stun their older brother, who was just a small stage higher than them.
"Pelet, now!" roared Folet, a wild dragon roar escaping him as he charged and brought the stunned Tolp down, and with Pelet, they began to pummel him.
While the two attacked the fallen Tolp, Lindy was getting back up from the snow. If a human sixth-rank warrior had taken that hit instead of her, they would have died or fallen into a coma.
Lindy froze the blood trickling from the corner of her mouth with a light breath of ice and broke it off, muttering angrily, "You crossed the line this time, Tolp." Then she spread her wings fully and launched herself high into the air. She was going to take her revenge with a fierce dive from above.
However, when she reached three hundred meters high, a familiar aura made her pause. Her eyes widened in shock as she looked toward the region's borders. There, a large young white dragon with an eighteen-meter wingspan was rapidly approaching their location.
"Big brother Ülgen is here..." She was about to shout to inform her siblings when she turned and saw her mother, now eighteen meters tall, watching Ülgen with sharp eyes.
"..." Ignoring Lindy, Albiria spread her wings wide and started flying towards her eldest son. The power of her wing beats was enough to make Lindy stumble.
As mother and son rapidly approached each other, a worried Lindy called out to her three siblings, who were staring at their mother in astonishment. "Ülgen is back!"
"Big brother is back?"
"He is..."
"Finally, we can go hunt stronger creatures!"
The three siblings had a brief conversation among themselves before flying up to join Lindy. The four of them then watched their mother and brother with curiosity. In the past, even when Ülgen went out and disappeared for months, Albiria didn't seem to care much. Moreover, as they grew older, Albiria spoke to them less and less, often ignoring them. But this time, something was different.
The two dragons flying at full speed stopped when they were just a hundred meters apart. Moreover, their stops were abrupt, not even needing to slow down. The four siblings were shocked by the control their mother and brother displayed.
"Mother, I am back." Ülgen began the conversation in a slightly respectful tone, his mind working like a machine as he wondered about his mother's reaction.
"Yes, I see." Her cold tone indicated that Albiria was not very pleased with this situation. "I also see that you've reached the 10th rank." The suspicion gleaming in her eyes was not a good sign.
His mother directly expressing her curiosity worked in Ülgen's favor. He began to calmly tell the story he had prepared. "While exploring the distant glaciers, I came across a very powerful magic stone. This magic stone, brimming with the ice element, attracted my attention with its energy waves just as it did many creatures. There were even weak humans!" He paused briefly to gauge his mother's expression, which seemed to be calmly listening.
"The battle for the magical stone turned into a chaotic war zone with hundreds of monsters and humans clashing. I followed my hunter instincts and hid, waiting for a moment I could take advantage of. Within days, I found my first opportunity, swallowed the magical stone, and started fighting off those who followed me as I tried to escape. The 10th rank creatures had worn each other out, and those who could still pursue me were at most 9th rank. As the days passed, one of the 10th rank creatures caught up to me, and I had to fight to the death. I was almost killed, but the intensity of the battle accelerated my absorption of the magical stone, and at the critical moment of the fight, I advanced to the 10th rank, allowing me to defeat my enemy."
"And then?" Albiria's eyes narrowed slightly.
"After winning, I ate my opponent and hid to recover for a while. Then I made my way back here." Ülgen finished his story, calmly standing as he looked into Albiria's narrowed eyes.
He had concocted a scenario of ruthlessness understandable by a white dragon, yet not too surprising. After all, encountering very powerful magical stones in the northern glaciers, though rare, wasn't impossible. Additionally, over the past fifteen years, he had made his mother realize that he was a relatively special white dragon. So, he had fabricated everything, taking into account what his mother might expect from him. It wasn't impossible for young dragons to fight 10th-rank opponents; what was impossible was winning. But he had bridged that power gap with the magical stone factor.
Of course, regardless of how plausible his story was, there was still a chance his mother would disregard it and cast him out. But Ülgen had plans for that scenario too.
"You are strong, Ülgen." His mother nodded. "However, having someone this powerful in my territory, aside from those who serve me, makes me uneasy." Albiria's aura slowly rose. "Fifteen is a bit young, but you are already capable of taking care of yourself."
"Mother, I had considered this." Ülgen nodded understandingly. "That's why I've decided to assist you during my stay in your territory."
His words made Albiria smirk disdainfully. "What can you do other than disrupt my authority?" She was not keen on keeping Ülgen in her territory. Moreover, her son had reached a power level at fifteen that she had only attained at forty. The difference in their talents irked her and made her biased against Ülgen.
"As your son, I have no intention of challenging your authority, mother." The young Fatih said, "On the contrary, I plan to direct the creatures serving you to expand your territory. Haven't a few ice giant tribes settled nearby recently? Plus, with the threat of the bronze dragon looming, the region is not as secure as it seems, is it?" He looked at Albiria.
Albiria was taken aback. How could her son think of all this? "It seems not just your strength but your intellect has also grown." was all she could say.
"It's all thanks to your strong genes, mother." Ülgen's slight flattery made the white dragoness puff out her chest. "And my siblings are stronger than average too. I can confidently say that with them by my side, the ice giants won't be a threat."
"Quite bold for a child." Albiria chuckled. "Very well, if within three years you can present me with the corpses of all members of a small ice giant tribe, I will allow you to stay here until you mature."
After appearing to hesitate, Ülgen clenched his teeth with determination. "I accept."
"Alright then, do not disturb me unless necessary." Albiria said, blowing a harmless dragon breath at Ülgen. "My breath will remain on you for three years. The creatures that serve me will obey you because of this. But remember, three years." She then returned to her lair to resume her dragon slumber.
Ülgen only started to move after being sure his mother had fallen asleep. Flying towards his shocked and frightened siblings, he had a triumphant look on his face. His mother thought she had given him an almost impossible task, but that was only true for an exceptional white dragon hatchling. He was a Fatih, and three years was enough time to accomplish many things in his plans, including his mother's given task.