The Dragon Scale of the Giant Dragon is thick and layered, deep iron-black in color, its surface covered in tiny serrated patterns, resembling the raw blank of forged metal, as if cast from steel and iron. At its joints, metallic protrusions serve as an external skeleton, and along its back lies a heavy shark-fin-like ridge of spines.
It simply sits quietly atop the high platform.
Its wings and limbs are not fully extended, its enormous form held in restraint.
Yet even so—
A suffocating, overwhelming pressure still assaults whoever draws near.
Just imagining the havoc and destruction wrought by such a Giant Dragon in anger is enough to make one's skin crawl with dread.
The Giant Dragon is gazing upon Galos with black-colored Dragon Eyes, identical to Galos's own.
She is Galos's mother—the Iron Dragon Lady Letitia.
"Mother."
The Young Dragon bows its head low, greeting the Giant Dragon on the high platform.
The Iron Dragon Lady is a thoroughly traditional Iron Dragon, distrustful of any Dragon God, Lawful Evil by nature, elevating efficiency and pragmatism above all else, upholding a strictly hierarchical way of life, and longing to build a world dominated by Dragons, ruled by Iron Dragons, with a strong sense of class consciousness.
In her eyes, even progeny cannot be allowed to overstep their bounds.
Her rules must be obeyed. Respect and reverence must be shown to her.
"Galos, my child, the crystallization of fiery flame and steel."
The Iron Dragon Lady lowers her eyes to Galos, speaking in a cold yet magnetic voice: "Six cycles of the moon are enough for a hatchling to shed its soft scales. Now, your Scale Armor is as hard as iron."
Her voice is like sandpaper scraping steel ingots, each syllable vibrating the metallic particles in the air into a humming resonance.
Galos nods, inwardly cursing his luck.
The Dragon Race divides its kind into many age groups.
For example, ages 1-5 are Hatchlings. During this period, Hatchlings enjoy their mother's protection—including food, shelter, safety, and so forth.
Afterwards, ages 6-12 are the Young Dragon stage.
The Evil Dragon's familial affection is notably thin; their interest in raising offspring is minimal.
When their progeny reach the Young Dragon stage, Evil Dragons often opt to expel them, forcing them out from their territory to live on their own.
Galos has an older Brother Long, who was driven out years ago, his fate now unknown.
As for himself, Galos has long expected this day to come—he just didn't think it would arrive so soon.
This Magical World is anything but safe; supernatural creatures abound beyond the Dragon Race, and Magic Power is not the exclusive domain of dragons. Furthermore, the Dragon Race is especially coveted—their bodies contain top-tier materials everywhere.
Adult dragons, at least, possess formidable Power with which to protect themselves.
But Young Dragons?
Compared to Humans, a Young Dragon is akin to a toddler just barely able to stand, wobbling as they walk; for a Young Dragon alone without protection, danger lurks everywhere. Survival is exceedingly difficult.
The offspring of Evil Dragons have an extremely high mortality rate before coming of age.
Exiling Young Dragon progeny to fend for themselves—Galos finds this patently unreasonable. No wonder the Dragon Race is steadily declining.
Moreover—
He reasons that it's precisely this harsh childhood of survival that forges so many Evil Dragons to become violent and savage once grown.
"When I was your age, my claws and fangs were not as sharp as yours."
The Iron Dragon Lady goes on: "Nor was my Scale Armor as tough as yours, but I had already left my mother's protection, and claimed a territory of my own."
At mention of her "territory," her gaze flickers, her tone faltering.
The so-called "territory"—was little more than a stinking drainage ditch.
The Iron Dragon Lady's face is cloaked in steel-like fine scales, thick-skinned and unflinching.
Her massive body leans back slightly. She says, "Galos, you should leave here now and begin a life that belongs to you."
"By dawn tomorrow, your Dragon Scale ought not be stained with the dust of this place any longer."
So it's true, she means to expel me.
This is a damned custom—just because you were caught in the rain, doesn't mean you have to tear up everyone else's umbrella, Dragon Lady!
Hearing the Iron Dragon Lady's words, Galos feels a chill within.
At that moment, two barely-restrained chuckles sound from behind.
The Red Dragon Sister and the recently arrived Iron Dragon Brother—two five-year-old hatchlings—look at Galos with gloating expressions, swishing their tails in delight.
Thanks to Evil Dragon nature, the two constantly provoke Galos and end up beaten by him time and again.
They would love nothing more than to see Galos cast out.
"Those two idiots—do they not realize that a year from now, they'll be in my place?"
Galos shakes his head slightly, unwilling to waste breath on fools.
The two hatchlings care only for the moment, not the future.
Raising his drooping head, Galos looks toward the Iron Dragon Lady, saying, "Mother, I wish to remain in your territory a while longer. I'm not ready yet."
The Iron Dragon Lady unfolds half a wing, its shadow swallowing half the nest in darkness.
She vetoes him, swift and absolute: "No."
Galos had anticipated this outcome today. He sighs and says, "I originally meant to trade treasure for food and protection, but since mother's mind is made up, I'll let it be."
As he finishes speaking, Galos shakes his head, turning to leave.
Treasure?
The Iron Dragon Lady's pupils abruptly contract into vertical slits.
"My dear Galos, wait!"
No Dragon Race can resist treasure.
Galos knows this deeply—treasure is the weak spot of nearly all dragons, and the Iron Dragon Lady is no exception.
She may be stiff and traditional, believing that a six-year-old Young Dragon should live independently, but exceptions exist. As a true pragmatist, if Galos can bring her treasure, she doesn't mind keeping him around.
Her harsh expression softens markedly.
The Iron Dragon Lady becomes amiable, asking, "Where did you get treasure—and how much are you willing to trade for food and protection?"
Galos sits upright, limbs together, craning his neck to look up at the massive Iron Dragon, answering unhurriedly, "I possess keen senses for minerals, especially precious metal ores—I can perceive them quite clearly."
"I can promise you at least three chunks of precious metal ore over ten pounds each, every month."
"In return, you must provide me shelter and the usual high-quality blood food."
The blood food offered by the Iron Dragon Lady is all high-level demon creatures, which Galos can't obtain alone at his current state.
And Galos is in great need of high-quality blood food; his Adaptive Evolution Talent isn't conjured from thin air—he needs sufficient energy during his evolution.
Upon hearing Galos's words, the Iron Dragon Lady nods slightly.
Reasonable.
Iron Dragons possess a talent for sensitivity to metal ores, though this rarely appears in Young Dragons.
"You're willing to mine?"
The Dragon Race is innately proud—mining is the work of Followers and slaves; dragons themselves typically disdain doing it personally.
Speaking of treasure, the Iron Dragon Lady adopts a penny-pinching face, saying, "If you wish to deploy my Followers to mine for you, there'll be an additional charge, the amount depending on the level of the Followers you wish to use."
Level refers to biological ranking.
This is the most straightforward reference to strength among individuals. For example, Galos's biological level is currently 7, which is on par with Golden Dragons of the same age, or superior to the average Golden Dragon.
As for Red Dragons or Iron Dragons, they are generally weaker than Golden Dragons at the same age in normal circumstances.
Among the Five-Colored Dragons, take White Dragons—the average biological level at age six is only about level 3.
"No need, I have two Mine Slaves under my command; with my personal supervision, their mining efficiency will be high enough."
Galos rejects the Iron Dragon Lady's offer.
Two Mine Slaves? Red Dragon Sister and Iron Dragon Brother gaze in surprise.
"When did Galos get two Mine Slaves?"
Red Dragon Sister lowers her voice, asking Iron Dragon Brother.
"I don't know either,"
Iron Dragon Brother shakes his head, his eyes clear.
The two hatchlings look at each other, racking their brains, but fail to figure out where Galos could have procured two Mine Slaves.