I, Valon, am frantically searching for my mother.

Ok?

The markup has increased?

Looking at the pale blue screen in front of him, where the number "3" had become clear after "Mom Mark," Wayne's feelings were extremely complicated.

He never expected that the mark he had been trying to change for several days without any change would suddenly increase at this moment!

For a moment, Wayne was caught off guard.

With mixed feelings, he stretched out his claws, intending only to gently push the stone away, but—

"Boom!"

The boulder that would normally require an ordinary young dragon to move with all its might was sent flying like a small pebble with his seemingly casual push. It flew through the air in an arc before crashing to the ground a few meters away with a "bang," kicking up a cloud of dust.

Wayne: "..."

The power of the ox talisman... is quite strong.

Almost at the same time the pale blue light screen appeared and power surged into his body, Wayne felt a tremendous change taking place within him.

An explosive, seemingly inexhaustible power, like awakened volcanic lava, instantly filled every corner of his body, every muscle fiber, and beneath every scale!

"Clatter...clatter..."

A series of dense, slight, tooth-grinding sounds of bone growth and muscle expansion emanated from his body.

Wayne's body began to grow taller and stronger at a speed visible to the naked eye!

His limbs became thicker and more powerful, and his claws seemed to gleam with a cold, metallic sheen. His torso was longer and more sturdy.

Its already larger size compared to other dragons of the same age, due to its upright posture, has increased dramatically since then!

In just a few breaths, Wayne's height increased to over six meters!

This has far exceeded the scope of "baby dragon" or even "juvenile green dragon", and is approaching the level of some precocious teenage dragons!

Coupled with his habitual upright posture, Wayne's shadow, cast as he stood there, almost enveloped the entire cave entrance, making him appear even more robust and imposing than the young red dragon Cody, who was known for his strong physique!

This is one of the functions of the Ox Talisman!

It not only provides an absolute increase in strength, but also greatly and temporarily alters the user's physique and muscle density, transforming them into the embodiment of power!

However, Wayne did not maintain this "Hulk" form for long.

On the one hand, compared to the over six-meter-tall, imposing behemoth, he still preferred his original, relatively normal form, which felt more agile and more in line with his low-key style.

On the other hand, there are also more practical reasons.

Daphne's dragon's lair is far too small. For Wayne, who is now over six meters tall, this cave is like a doghouse. If he were to crawl inside, he would probably tear the entire cave ceiling off.

With a slight thought, the explosive power that had surged into his limbs and bones slowly receded like a tide, and Wayne's body rapidly shrank and returned to its original size amidst a series of subtle "crackling" sounds.

Just as Wayne's body returned to normal and his mind was still reeling from the shock of gaining new power...

"Whoa!"

A small gasp came from inside the cave, followed by a muffled "plop".

Just as Wayne easily pushed the boulder aside, inside the cave, Daphne, who had heard the knocking, was also using her head and paws to push the door open from the inside, trying to pry it open.

However, Wayne was simply too strong.

What would require a young dragon's full strength to move is like a tiny toy in Wayne's hands.

Daphne never expected the dragon "knocking" on the door to be so strong, nor did she expect the door to disappear instantly.

As a result, when she pushed with all her might, she missed completely. Due to inertia, the dragon stumbled forward and crashed into the hole frame, then fell backward, landing hard on its bottom.

"Waaaaah..."

Daphne sat on the ground, seemingly stunned by the fall.

Her large, pale blue eyes quickly filled with tears. She raised her two front paws helplessly, clumsily wiping away her rolling tears, while making a pitiful whimper.

When Wayne pushed open the door, this was the scene that greeted him:

In a simple and shabby little cave, a white dragon cub, noticeably smaller than the other young dragons, with grayish-white scales and looking somewhat malnourished, was sitting on the ground, shedding tears as it haphazardly wiped its face with its claws.

They looked both pitiful and innocent, with a childlike sense of helplessness.

Looking at Daphne's appearance, Wayne recalled the clear "baby" he had just heard and the system notification, and also remembered that Daphne was now theoretically his mother. He couldn't help but feel a surge of emotions.

Countless questions, emotions, awkwardness, and even a strange pity welled up in my heart, but when the words reached my lips, only the most straightforward, and also the most perplexing, question remained:

"Daphne...you...you can talk?"

First of all, Wayne wants to emphasize that he has no discrimination or prejudice against the five-colored dragons.

Secondly, Wayne believes that all black dragons are extremely abnormal.

Finally, the green dragon is awesome!

Ahem, you see, after saying all that, Wayne hasn't questioned the White Dragon's intelligence in a single instance!

But no matter what, the fact that Daphne can speak is still very strange.

This isn't entirely due to stereotypes.

Rather, it's because if Daphne could really speak, why did she act like a dragon beast that couldn't communicate, only making "uh-uh-ah" and "hehe-hehe" noises to express her emotions with the most primitive sounds and body movements?

It was precisely because of Daphne's long-standing behavior of not communicating with language that Wayne naturally assumed that Daphne, like most other white dragon hatchlings, must have delayed intellectual development and had not yet learned, or was unable to learn, the complex language of dragons.

That's why Wayne was so surprised and even had his worldview shaken when he heard Daphne not only pronounce syllables clearly, but also form meaningful phrases like "baby" and "Mommy is here".

Is this still the White Dragon?

If every white dragon had the intelligence of Daphne, coupled with the terrifying birth rate of white dragons, the world would probably have been ruled by the five-colored dragons long ago.

Upon hearing Wayne's words, Daphne, who was sitting on the ground and shedding tears, suddenly stopped, as if she had just realized that Wayne was still in front of her.

She quickly and roughly wiped her tearful eyes clean with her claws, also removing some of the dust and grime from her face to reveal a small patch of relatively clean, pale scales.

Then, she did something that surprised Wayne even more.

Daphne struggled to get up from the ground, still a little unsteady, but tried her best to stand up straight.

Then, facing Wayne, she slowly, somewhat clumsily, yet with an indescribable solemnity and longing, extended her two front paws.

He made a hugging gesture.

Immediately afterwards, Wayne heard Daphne's voice again.

The white dragon mother spoke haltingly, in a tone that was still somewhat stuttering but exceptionally clear and earnest:

"...Don't...don't speak, okay?"

"Baby... Mom... Mom is... here..."