A Huge Thank You to My Realmkeepers!
I want to give a massive shoutout to Matthew Badtke, KnightZ, Airam Bachiller, James Fleming, LordKad, Dragonman97, Trevor Standifer and Cédric NGOUBY for joining my Patreon at the Realmkeeper tier!
Much love and appreciation,
***
"Come on, big-headed little fat dragon, let me teach you a lesson."
Big-headed little fat dragon? Kevin bared his teeth, and his anger began to rise.
They came to the ring in the center of the young dragon classroom—this was specially built for the young dragons. A large number of hardening, strengthening, and other spells had been engraved on the arena by the Dragon Vein Warlock, which was enough to prevent the power of low-level professionals from destroying it.
The two little green dragons were tens of meters apart, looking at each other warily.
Kevin felt a little stressed because of Aeolus's size.
And Aeolus also felt a little pressure because of the identity of his opponent. —Sister Eirlys told him that they are a special dragon species that have received the power of their father and have the potential to surpass ordinary dragons, but this potential needs time to be redeemed.
"The battle begins!" Sophia said.
One fat and one strong, the two little green dragons turned into two dark green afterimages and collided with each other. Apparently, their thoughts were surprisingly consistent.
—They both wanted to fight at close quarters.
Stab!
The dragon's claws continued to grasp the dark green dragon's body. The dark green dragon scales were broken one by one, and the dragon's blood flowed.
After several rounds of hand-to-hand fighting, neither side gained anything, and both sides suffered losses.
But—
"Haha, a dragon beast is a dragon beast. It's big, but its strength is only that much!" Kevin laughed wildly.
Although he was covered in blood and his condition was not much better than Aeolus's, his mood was high and excited.
"Haha, you and I were born at the same time, and you haven't defeated me yet. What are you excited about?!" Aeolus said disdainfully.
Kevin's face froze, and what the other party said seemed to make sense.
And logically, he was born a little earlier and is the eldest, while the other person is the fourth brother according to the order of birth.
Thinking of this, Kevin couldn't be proud anymore.
"Then I will knock you down!" Kevin roared, opened his dragon's mouth, and the strong poisonous gas condensed in his mouth, finally turning into a dark green solid smoke column that bombarded Aeolus on the opposite side.
This is the green dragon's breath—Poison Mist Dragon Breath.
Compared with other evil dragons, the visual destructive power caused by the green dragon's breath is the worst, even worse than that of the white dragon.
However, the green dragon's Poison Mist Dragon Breath focuses on poison. In terms of damage range and clearing ability, the green dragon's Poison Mist Dragon Breath is the strongest among the Chromatic dragons!
And if there is a protracted battle with the green dragon, it will be the most painful, because the opponent has to resist the increasingly dense poisonous mist around him. If a young green dragon awakens the poisonous field, the poisonous buff will be doubled.
Facing Kevin's Poison Mist Dragon Breath, Aeolus was not to be outdone. He opened his dragon's mouth and released his own Poison Mist Dragon Breath.
But it was clear that Aeolus's dragon breath was very light in color and not toxic enough. There was nothing to be done about it. Aeolus was a degraded dragon beast, so the dragon's breath and the dragon's power inherited from the bloodline had been severely weakened. —Although this weakening would change due to his strong dragon body, the gap between Aeolus and Kevin's dragon body was not big now.
The two dragon breaths clashed with each other. Aeolus's Poison Mist Dragon Breath persisted for a while but was washed away, and the remaining poisonous smoke rushed toward him instantly.
Coughing sounds resounded in the thick poisonous fog.
The green dragon has extremely high poison resistance, but Aeolus is a degraded dragon beast. Although his poison resistance is also very high, it is not as good as that of a true green dragon.
However, Kevin, who had the advantage, did not relax his vigilance. He stared closely at the poisonous mist. Although he looked down on dragon beasts, Kevin was still in awe of the power of the Dragon King.
This is a terrifying power that can make a witless drake regain its wisdom and master strong strength.
'What if I also mastered this power?' Kevin thought.
Even a dragon beast can transform to this extent. He is a real dragon, so how far could he grow?!
In the poisonous mist, a mad dragon rushed out, roaring and pouncing on Kevin.
Even Kevin, who had been wary of Aeolus, could not dodge this swift counterattack.
The two sides began to fight hand-to-hand again.
Dragon blood dripped, dragon scales shattered, and the injuries on both sides became more serious.
Kevin wanted to stay away from the mad Aeolus, trying to use the long-range Poison Mist Dragon Breath to aggravate the poison accumulated in Aeolus's body and finally defeat the opponent.
But Aeolus also learned to be smart. He bit Kevin tightly and refused to let him escape.
The power of the void transforms the body and soul. The soul cannot show its power now, but the body is beginning to show its strength.
During the continuous battle, the wounds on Aeolus's dragon body were slowly recovering and stopping the bleeding, and his endurance was extremely strong. After fighting for so long, he still maintained more than 90% of his strength and speed.
On the contrary, Kevin's wound recovery speed was worse than that of Aeolus, and in terms of endurance, his speed and strength were also continuously declining.
If this battle continued, the result...
At that moment, a water wall suddenly appeared and stood between the two little green dragons, stopping their fight.
It was Sophia who intervened, using the second-tier spell "Water Wall."
Because progress at the biological level is slow, and there is no effective way to speed it up, it all depends purely on what you eat and your body's aptitude and potential. But when it comes to learning spells, you can become stronger through your own efforts, although it is very limited.
But this did give Sophia more means, and her strength was slightly improved.
"That's enough. This battle will end in a draw," Sophia said calmly.
The invisible mage's hands grabbed the two little dragons from the ring and placed them on the ground.
The two Dragon Vein Warlocks, who were on standby at the door of the classroom, suddenly came to the side of the two little green dragons and released the hydrotherapy spells they had prepared long ago. —Every time the young dragon course starts, there will be two Dragon Vein Warlocks who have learned hydrotherapy on standby. This is the second level of protection.
After several second-tier hydrotherapy treatments, Kevin and Aeolus recovered more than half of their injuries. They looked at each other and grinned, still unconvinced.
"If we continue, I will definitely win!" Aeolus said, unconvinced.
"Hmph, you can't say that." Although Kevin felt guilty, he remained stubborn. He would not admit that he was inferior to a dragon beast.
"Keep fighting, and there's a high probability that both of you will die, and no dragon will win," Sophia said calmly. Seeing the two unconvinced little dragons and other little dragons looking over, she calmly explained:
"Aeolus has very strong endurance. If he continues to fight at the pace just now, there is a 90% chance that Kevin will be killed. However, Kevin continues to release poisonous mist in the ring, so when Kevin is killed, the injuries on Aeolus's body and the accumulating toxicity in his body will make the possibility of his death very high as well."
"Hmph, you heard her. You didn't win, you brainless guy." Kevin sneered.
"Sister Sophia is right. We'll end up with a tie this time."
To Kevin's and the other dragons' surprise, Aeolus nodded and accepted this fact without arguing or ridiculing.
This left Kevin dumbfounded and a little at a loss.
"Aeolus, you've done a great job." White Dragon Eirlys encouraged him from the side.
"Thank you, Sister Eirlys, I will continue to work hard." Aeolus smiled.
Kevin, Geller, Saith, and Yulia—the four little green dragons—saw this scene and wanted to say something, but in the end, they fell silent.
"You really need to keep working hard," Sophia added from the side. "Kevin is practicing the knight profession. Logically speaking, he can bring his own mount to participate in battle, so the battle between you this time was not fair."
With that said Sophia motioned for Aeolus to look at the four armored warriors standing in the corner of the classroom.
"The strength of the three of them has reached the fourth order, and you are only third order. Although you are stronger as a dragon, they also pose enough of a threat to you, especially in a two-against-one scenario."
"Knight profession? I heard from Sister Eirlys." Aeolus was surprised and glanced at Kevin, as well as the other little green dragons.
"But Sister Eirlys said this profession is of no use to us."
"It's not useless, just... less impressive," White Dragon Eirlys retorted, her voice tinged with irritation. "Those four only took up the title of Dragonborn Humans to fast-track their strength. Let's be honest—they need that knightly training because their growth is pitifully slow compared to ours. But we? We're cut from a different scale. We don't need such mundane paths to power. We grow stronger simply by devouring what's in front of us. The blood of the Dragon King himself flows through our veins—our Father's legacy. That alone makes us superior, far beyond the need for petty shortcuts."
"Uh, yes, yes, I made a mistake." Aeolus decisively admitted his mistake.
The conversation between the two of them shocked the four little green dragons beside them, and they looked stunned.
"Damn it, I also want to gain the power of the Dragon King!" Kevin and the other four little green dragons had this idea in their minds.
Sophia had made it clear that as long as they completed all the courses she had set, they could gain the power of the Dragon King.
The four little green dragons, who originally thought that studying the course was very hard and had even considered secretly escaping from Castle Black once they had enough strength, now had a change of heart.
Leave or not, after all, freedom is priceless.
But before leaving, they must gain the power of the Dragon King!
The four little green dragons looked at each other, and they all saw determination and an unwillingness to admit defeat in each other's eyes.
After this incident, although the four little green dragons still disliked Aeolus, there was no longer any contempt in their eyes.
It was a recognition of strength.
Aeolus successfully joined the young dragon preschool class, eating, living, and studying together with the four little green dragons.
---
At this time, a small group of swordsmen in light armor outside the former Rose Tribe was surveying everything around them.
"Captain Walker, this was a tribe of half-beasts a few years ago. But now, why are there so many forest trolls and evil creatures like goblins and kobolds?" a soldier asked while looking at the forest trolls in full swing.
"Not even a half-beast in sight means that the half-beast tribe was wiped out long ago, and the forest trolls have always had a habit of devouring the corpses of their opponents. These kobolds and goblins should be enslaved by the forest trolls," the much stronger swordsman, Captain Walker, guessed.
"What's our next move then?"
"Our orders are clear—we're to locate 'the thing' and assess the state of this side of the Dark Forest. We need to determine the sphere of influence held by the Consort of the Queen of Darkness. First priority: we head to the magic iron ore veins around here and assess the situation there!" Walker commanded, his tone firm and decisive, leaving no room for hesitation.
They were the most loyal fighters of the Voltan family, so they were sent to perform this special task.
When he left, His Excellency Turom had said that everything was based on the thing that might be found in these mineral veins.
More than a dozen people slowly disappeared into the jungle like ghosts.
---
A convoy loaded with ore rumbled into the heart of the Rose Tribe, narrowly missing Walker and his group as they passed by.
"Hurry up! This batch needs to be delivered on time!" shouted Vic, the goblin leader of the Green Skin Tribe. He surveyed the towering piles of ore with a sense of pride. To look at him now, no one would believe he had once been just a weak goblin—barely worth a second glance. Now, standing nearly two feet taller with sharp, distinguished features, dressed head-to-toe in finely crafted leather, Vic had transformed into a low 8th-order being. His power and appearance weren't the only things that had changed; his status had as well.
Now, he was the head of the Mining Association under the rule of the Dragon Nest, a critical figure in the Dark Forest's growing economy. Every mine discovered within the Dark Forest had to go through Vic's approval—whether it would be mined, how long it would operate, and where the minerals would be allocated. He controlled the full cycle of ore extraction, from identifying deposits to overseeing the transportation and final uses of the precious resources. Each mine, each mineral, and every shipment was meticulously documented under his watchful eye. And his influence didn't stop there. Vic held a prominent seat in the Dragon Nest's government, where his expertise made him indispensable to the realm's expansion efforts.
Once just another slave to the forest trolls—sometimes a meal—Vic had now risen far above most of them. They looked to him with respect, even awe, a reversal that seemed almost impossible a decade ago. But much had changed since he submitted to the great Black Dragon King.
This goblin had become a master of industry. The smelting of magic iron ore was no simple task. It required specialized furnaces built to withstand incredible heat and a precise mixture of rare plant powders that would allow the iron to be smelted to the highest magical standards. Vic's knowledge of the delicate balance between the ore and these enchanted components was unparalleled.
And he wasn't just proud of his rise—he felt invincible as if he'd reached the peak of his life. Every forest troll that had once looked down on him now deferred to his authority. He could sense it: his control over the mining operations was absolute, and his power continued to grow, just as His Majesty, the Great Black Dragon King, had intended.
He intended to conduct experiments here first and then present the smelted fine ore to the horde of His Majesty, the Great Black Dragon.
**
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