Thousand-Faced Dragon

Chapter 103 Eat enough
"Another magical girl? Uh, Miss Purple Rose, your companion?"

Rean asked instinctively, but when he actually saw the purple rose, he was stunned.

Her icy pupils transformed into a snake shape, and an aura of indifference emanated from her petite body. Her small fists clenched so tightly they cracked.

For the first time since we met, she didn't smile.

Noticing Rean's gaze, she instantly smiled again.

"How about I take you back first? Just kidding. Purple Rose will handle everything. But you can consider it."

As she spoke, she waved her little fist, seemingly very confident.

However, Rean noticed her seriousness and even began to seriously consider the proposal.

A mature magical girl is no weaker than a legendary mage. Two legendary mages going to war? Rean really needs to consider the possibility of dying from an unknown area-of-effect attack.

At this point, Purple Rose was noticeably more serious, and her tourist mentality had completely vanished.

Then, she stepped on Shadow Dragon's head.

"Come on, tell me everything you know!" The little leather boots with flowers stomped one after another, seemingly acting coquettishly, but each stomp brought out a large amount of blood and flesh.

Too lazy to act, Purple Rose started interrogating him directly. Rean wasn't surprised; he never thought Purple Rose was a naive innocent.

Now, by closing the social distance and revealing some of their true personality, they actually seem more approachable.

Poor Shadow Dragon suffered the consequences.

As a native of the region, it can't hide anything when threatened by the iron fist of a violent magical girl.

As expected, the local city's ruler was indeed a follower of "The Mirror of the Vase," and there were her churches and sects within the city.

They found this unfortunate creature and forced it to fall into the Shadow Realm to become a Shadow Dragon. This happened about a decade or so ago.

It's hard to say whether this is a strengthening or a weakening. Black dragons aren't exactly known for their fighting prowess, but even if shadow dragons are considered true dragons, they are the weakest. Having lost the elemental power of nature and embraced the element of shadow, they have, in a sense, severed their foundation and dragonborn privileges.

This world has a long history, and too many lives, civilizations, and nations have fallen into the shadow plane, making it quite powerful. However, it has nothing to do with the little dragon in front of us, as it has lost its essence of commanding the elements.

The black dragon's elemental talents are actually quite diverse. It possesses some abilities related to water, acid, and plants, and can also master sorcery and shadow magic to a certain extent.

Therefore, most dragons, especially black dragons who are always targeted by the shadow pantheon (black dragons have a naturally weaker affinity for shadow), are most averse to this transformation, and once it actually happens...
"They wanted to kill me."

This shadow dragon is injured, with obvious claw marks.

The black dragon that injured him appeared to be at least a size larger.

And the ones it speaks of are naturally its original kind.
"Mingming, I was the one who led them before, as their elder."

No secrets can be kept from the "snake" witch, and the young Shadow Dragon, once he opened up, revealed many secrets.

Seeing the great dragon begging for mercy like a "wild dog," Rean's awe of the dragon race shattered completely.

Perhaps it is true, as Purple Rose said, that the difference between dragons is greater than the difference between humans.

Based on the information revealed, it cannot actually be considered a complete dragon.

"We were all born around that seal. But while inside that building, we were always in a daze, like mindless, instinctive beasts. That's why I was the first to leave."

It seems we need to reassess the danger level of that underground seal; it's even capable of mass-producing black dragons.

However, judging from the Shadow Dragon's statement, these mass-produced black dragons clearly have congenital deficiencies. True dragons' young dragons can gain rationality and self-awareness soon after birth (except for the shameful white dragons), while the little black dragon in front of us was still a wild beast when he was a teenager, and only gradually gained rationality and self-awareness when he was in his twenties.

He should be over forty years old by now, but Purple Rose says he looks only 20 at most, a young dragon that has just emerged from its nascent stage, and its growth rate is abnormal.

However, this reality is still too terrible.

If they were to hoard dozens of dragons underground, and then emerge into the beast tide when they reach adulthood, the entire Radiant City would likely be unable to withstand it.

After its great adventure outside, it used its power to awaken two blood relatives, forming a black dragon family of one big and two small.

It even plans to wait until it reaches adulthood decades later to breed its own offspring.

However, it was found by the Shadow Priests among the Dark Elves and ultimately became a pitiful Shadow Dragon.

Then, the two little black dragons naturally turned against each other. They were at roughly the same stage, but after transforming into shadow dragons, they became weaker. They almost killed the unlucky guy in a sneak attack.

While this is bad news for this guy, it's good news for Radiant City. If it really is the city of that Lady of Shadows, it's far better than the cities of other dark elves. It's not that we can negotiate with the city of this one god, but rather that we shouldn't even consider negotiating with the cities of other gods; let's just start fighting.

"As for the dark elves, I don't know. I only saw some orcs wearing one-eyed masks going to that city. There was also a magical girl with them; her antlers terrified me, and I dared not approach her."

One-eyed mask? It's that Beast Order again? They're old acquaintances of Rean's.

This is an unexpected yet logical development; perhaps they are the ones who most desire the revival of the beasts.

Looking at the trembling dragon head in front of him, Rean felt increasingly uneasy.

It was his first time seeing a real dragon, and he was quite disappointed.

The shadowy body was indeed enormous, with muscles and dragon claws as expected, and its skull-like head exuded treachery and cunning.

But something felt off to him; he wondered what it was.
“A fake dragon. Ha, a completely uncunning and stupid fake dragon.” And Kuku gave an answer.

"You mean"

“They have no heritage! No dragon heritage! They are just fakes!” Now Rean understood.

Dragons are rare “born with knowledge”; they can pass on memories, knowledge, and abilities through their bloodline. Many dragon vein sorcerers can obtain memories and power from their bloodline.

This includes not only magic and combat skills, but also the culture and history of dragons. The colors of dragons often indicate their style of doing things, which is also because this kind of "early education" is widespread and effective.

It is said that the cubs of white dragons are always accompanied by wild beasts because there is a problem with the dragon lineage of their branch.

"A real black dragon! Even as a shadow dragon, it's still incredibly cunning! Extremely cunning!"

"It actually told the truth! How could a dragon be so honest! Even when all hope is lost, it will risk its life to set a death trap for you and mislead you!"

"That's so stupid, so stupid! It's shameful, a disgrace!"

Kuku, who is also a dragon descendant, also looks down on the evil dragon in front of him.

The black dragon is a typical evil dragon, not just the kind of traditional evil dragon that kills your whole family under the pretext of "I'm just having some fun".

In many stories, they are the perpetrators who, after transforming, infiltrate the adventure party, stir up conflict, and cause the adventurers to fight each other to death.

The guy in front of me looks foolish and imposing, but he's just a dragon in disguise.

It probably can't even make good use of its own innate abilities. Without tactics or strategy, it naturally won't embark on its own path of evolution, and its physical growth is even substandard.

That's all I know.

The dragon was still panting heavily. Rean covered his face, unable to bear to look.

Is that someone's husky? It's incredibly stupid. Rean already knows what's going to happen next.
"Paji!"

When I opened my eyes again, sure enough, the dragon's brains were scattered all over the ground.

You idiot, do you even know how valuable you are? Just because someone says they won't kill you doesn't mean they really won't!

“Uh, I’m worried about that underground ruin. If I can control it and eliminate these dangerous creatures, it’s the same as saving ordinary people.” Purple Rose, who acted too quickly, hesitated for a moment and came up with a reason.

Perhaps, he was worried that Rean would think he was cruel or untrustworthy.

"Mmm-hmm." Rean believed it.

"Good material! Good material!" Kuku suddenly jumped out, breaking the silence.

Although it lacks the inheritance of dragons, this body is a true dragon, so it can naturally be used as material.

Seeing Kuku collecting materials, Purple Rose was not surprised at all. She simply walked over with a smile, greeted him, and took the initiative to help him identify and divide the materials.

Before long, she realized that the little creature in front of her was no ordinary magical pet, but probably the great alchemist behind Rean.

But considering the materials used in the Dragon Plate, it seems there's no need to worry too much about it.

Even if Rean doesn't want to use them, others can use these shadow-based materials. If Talia can digest them, she can gain a significant boost.

"what?"

Rean saw a shadowy, illusory figure take flight from the corpse. It resembled a dragon, but looked very small.

[Evolution material detected: Inferior juvenile Shadow Dragon Soul (diamond). May it be extracted?]

Rean indeed couldn't absorb it, but the Heroic Soul Encyclopedia could. Back then, it had devoured that inferior dragon soul of the Volcanic Howl. This was a real dragon, no matter what!
"absorb."

At that moment, the dragon soul vanished without a trace.

Strength, physique, and spirit are all enhanced.

[Gain magical release (shadow).]

Uh, they gained so many abilities after eating a fake dragon, this one is way too weak.

Since I don't have the power of shadow, this ability is basically useless.

But after seeing the details, Rean was instantly satisfied.

[Biotype Level: Primal Stone, Status: Strength 10, Physique 11, Agility 6, Spirit 10 (22)]

Strength, physique, and spirit all increased by 2 points! Strength alone is equivalent to equipping an extra Ogre Glove!

This comprehensive upgrade is quite terrifying; even considering the relatively low base score, it represents an overwhelming improvement in attributes.

The spirit stat has increased, but the upper limit hasn't, because this increase is negligible for Kuku's Heroic Spirit buff.

However, the most precious qualitative change is that equipment that enhances inner spiritual power is extremely rare and expensive, and its effects are extremely poor.

Rean reached out his hand, and he could even feel that perceiving the elements had become much easier.

It seems there are some hidden, fundamental improvements that have not been recorded.

This boost to his spiritual attributes didn't seem like a temporary blessing from a heroic spirit possession. Rean even felt that constructing and analyzing magic models became much easier.

But he felt an even greater "hunger"—dragon souls alone were not enough; he might need more "materials."

His gaze turned north, where the "delicious food" he needed seemed to be.

(End of this chapter)