Countless stars twinkle, beneath the night sky as dark as velvet.
The Red Iron Young Dragon stands tall atop a rugged cliff, turning back to gaze, its eyes sweeping inch by inch over the entirety of the Celestial Pit Territory.
Especially below this cliff, where the land is pockmarked with uneven pits of varying depths, almost all of Galos's memories from his young dragon days are carried here.
"From now on, there's no going back. I'll have to depend entirely on myself."
Galos glanced at the two moons in the sky, and at the magic satellites mingling among the real stars, hard to distinguish, a faint heaviness in his mood.
The level of magic on Bernardo Planet—especially the alchemy for creating magical constructs—is astoundingly high.
The countless demons and fierce beasts of the wild are secondary; kingdoms formed by intelligent creatures are the true danger.
"Arrogance, conceit, greed."
"These are the easiest traits of the Dragon Race to result in a young dragon's demise. I must always be vigilant—never careless."
A young dragon leaving its nest faces only two outcomes—become a new calamity, or become fodder for the wasteland.
Galos certainly doesn't want to become fodder, but neither is he interested in becoming a calamity; his goal is simple.
—To survive. As long as possible.
You can only truly appreciate the value of life after dying once. Galos cherishes this span of dragonhood, so once he understood the dangers of this world, he trained and strengthened himself relentlessly.
"Hahaha, I'm going to establish my own dynasty! I'll have countless creatures bow beneath my wings, groveling at my feet!"
Samantha shouted into the night, carried by the wind, breaking Galos's train of thought.
This six-year-old young dragon's scales are blazing red, burning like fire beneath the night, vibrant and brimming with lively energy.
But such a scale color is actually unfit for survival.
Too conspicuous.
Galos, cloaked in a layer of dark gray buffer scales, almost melts into the darkness, making it much easier to hide and lurk.
As for Brother Gordon, the Iron Dragon Brother.
His black dragon scales are better, but because their surface gleams with hints of silver, they're still somewhat attention-grabbing.
Plus, Iron Dragon Brother boasts even more than Red Dragon Sister.
"I want to build a kingdom ruled by the Dragon Race, and then rule over all dragons myself."
He steps on a protruding rock, head held high, proclaiming his ambitions to the world.
Galos is composed—never the loud type.
Looking at the two young dragons, the Red Iron Young Dragon ponders briefly, then says, "Samantha, Gordon, follow me for survival."
Having two young dragons to command, banding together for warmth, is better for survival.
Galos also holds a sense of awe toward the perilous wilds. After a year of exploration, he understands the specifics of the surroundings far better now.
With him taking the lead, their chances of living are much higher.
Their following Galos is actually a win-win.
Unfortunately, the two young dragons don't see it that way.
"No!"
Red Dragon Sister snorts fire from her nostrils, scoffing. "I'm destined to stand atop the world as a Red Dragon, the leader of the Five-Colored Evil Dragon! I can rule the wilds myself, no need to follow you."
Iron Dragon Brother shakes his head, too.
"I'm heading south to the rich lands. I've heard that the humans there have gemstones embedded in their teeth."
At the mention of gemstone teeth, he doesn't hide his greedy longing.
Upon hearing this, Galos says nothing more, only shaking his head lightly.
Just like when the two little dragons first hatched, he gave them a choice again, and they responded in their own way.
Fate and dragonhood are forged through one decision after another.
Galos won't force the two young dragons to follow him. If their hearts aren't in it, forcing them would only invite trouble, given their personalities.
Still, he offers them one more chance.
Looking at the two young dragons, Galos speaks calmly, "If you change your current foolish mindset and wish to seek my protection, head northwest—about ninety kilometers from here to the hills."
"Those hills have dense iron fir forests; easy to spot."
"If I'm still in the hills and woodlands, I may take you in—provided you're prepared to be slave and servant, obeying my orders unconditionally."
With that, Galos no longer lingers. His gaze leaves the Celestial Pit Territory and he flies toward the hills where he once tamed the Earth Bear.
"Damn it, Galos! You're too full of yourself, completely looking down on us!"
"Just wait, someday we'll prove you wrong!"
"Even if we die—eaten by fierce beast demons—we won't beg you for help!"
Under the moonlight, the Dark Gold Tail Ring glows with a layer of pure radiance. Behind Galos, the calls of Brother Long and Dragon Sister echo, but the wild winds soon swallow their clamor.
Two weeks later, Iron Pine Hills.
This area isn't large, and resources are limited—not an ideal habitat, but Galos doesn't have a better place for now and settles here temporarily.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The Earth Bear's palms are wrapped in heavy, hard rock, pounding repeatedly against the dragon before it.
Galos endures the Earth Bear's heavy blows, body shuddering, buffer scales flying off, finally revealing black scales with red markings—then beginning to crack and cave in.
But just as the black-red scale armor starts to split, caving in slightly—
The Earth Bear stops.
"Get up, keep going."
Galos lifts his eyelids, annoyed. "I'm not satisfied."
The Earth Bear had just knocked off a layer of buffer scales—now was time for true honing of his body.
"Awo, your scale armor is harder than steel—I just can't hit any harder!"
The bear howls, flopping onto the ground, panting heavily.
Its thick bear arms can barely lift, and the rocks wrapping its paws have been shattered by the buffer scales, exposing cracked, bleeding bear paws.
Galos remains unsatisfied.
Though basically just impacts, compared to violently slamming into mountains and earth, this kind of training has felt more refined lately, and the tempering effect is good.
Beyond letting the Earth Bear strike him with its paws—
He also has it attack him with magic-like skills, honing his corresponding resistances.
The process is, of course, unpleasant—pain is unavoidable.
The Earth Bear is a Level 8 demon; taking its blows head-on, Galos cannot emerge unscathed.
But perhaps after so much similar training, Galos has developed extreme pain tolerance. Not only that, he feels excited even amid pain, knowing it means evolution; he's adapting.
"Quickly absorb earth energy and rest; we'll continue soon."
Galos permits the bear to rest a bit.
The Earth Bear looks woeful.
When it first submitted to Galos, it figured perhaps Galos was capricious, liked beating his followers to vent—luckily, with its thick skin and tough flesh, as long as it didn't get killed, it could recover given time.
But what it didn't expect—
Galos is just the opposite. With his peculiar hobby, he lets the bear beat him instead.
Earth Bear was enthusiastic at first.
But soon discovered this is not a good gig.
Every time it's exhausted, barely alive, Galos still isn't satisfied. Thankfully, the bear's recovery is strong, so it can barely cope.
No, if this keeps up, my life level is going to drop.
The Earth Bear ponders desperately while resting.
Suddenly, a lightbulb goes off. It calls out to Galos, who is grinding iron fir with his dragon tail.
"Dragon Lord!"
Dragon Lord—this is one of the common titles by which followers address members of the Dragon Race, akin to master or owner.
Just through rubbing, the hard iron fir is gouged deep by the sharp scales on the dragon tail, as if chopped by knives and axes.
Galos leaves the poor iron fir behind and turns to look at the Earth Bear.
The Earth Bear scratches its head, a shrewd grin on its honest face.
"Heh, surely you'd like to have more Earth Bears as followers."
Under Galos's gaze, it recounts its story.
Turns out—
Violent Bear Möbel once came from a small bear tribe.
Its father was also the tribe leader—the Bear Leader. Besides him, there were several she-bears and some undeveloped bear cubs.
The Earth Bear's habits are, in ways, much like a lion pride.
Males dominate, stronger than females, and can't tolerate other adult males within their territory—will drive soon-to-be-adult sons out.
"You mean, take me to conquer your tribe?"
Galos asks.
"Exactly! As long as you kill my father, I guarantee—the rest, the she-bears and cubs, will all submit to you."
Möbel nods vigorously, patting his chest in promise.
How filial—Galos muses to himself.