Translator: AnubisTL
"You're holding back too much. Use your magical energy and keep going," Garos encouraged.
Seeing that Garos wasn't angry and fueled by his constant encouragement, the Earthstorm Bears gradually unleashed their full power, increasing their strength and reinforcing their bodies with magical energy.
Initially, they had feared injuring Garos and provoking his wrath. But they soon realized their worries were unfounded.
One Earthstorm Bear, its claw encased in thick rock, swung with a ferocious wind, striking Garos's dragon scales with a resounding thud!
As a few shattered scales scattered, Garos didn't even flinch. Several crimson-black dragon scales flickered beneath the explosive scales.
Simultaneously, the Earthstorm Bear felt a massive, explosive counter-force slam into its body, staggering it backward several steps. Razor-sharp scale fragments tore through its rocky armor, embedding themselves in its flesh.
Earthstorm Bears were naturally fierce and warlike. The rare opportunity to attack without restraint, with a dragon as their sparring partner, was too precious to waste.
They saw Garos's demands as a blessing, a chance to hone their skills. Each bear rubbed its paws together, brimming with excitement.
Ignoring the pain in its arm, the Earthstorm Bear strode toward Garos again, raising its claw for another strike.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The dull thuds echoed incessantly through Needleleaf Valley.
In addition to the recoil and lacerations, the Earthstorm Bears felt Garos's dragon scales growing increasingly hot. The crimson markings already present on the scales gradually spread along his spine.
A few minutes later...
Boom—Crack!
When a bear claw struck Garos, the exploding scales shattered against the Earthstorm Bear. With a deafening roar, they erupted into a fiery blast and a powerful shockwave, sending the unprepared bear flying backward, its flesh torn and bleeding.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
All the Earthstorm Bears were hurled away by the explosions. Garos's outer layer of explosive scales glowed crimson, radiating heat so intense it warped the surrounding air.
"They can explode without fire attribute attacks now," Garos observed.
"This layer of explosive scales can absorb kinetic energy and convert it into heat, reducing the impact damage I take while delivering lethal counterattacks."
Garos flicked his tail in satisfaction.
His gaze swept over the cowering Earthstorm Bears, their fur charred and falling off from the explosions. "I didn't tell you to stop," he urged. "Keep attacking me. Don't forget your quasi-spell skills—use them too."
His words jolted the Earthstorm Bears back into action.
Surrounding Garos, the Earthstorm Bears began using quasi-spell skills. With a casual swipe of their claws, they conjured massive, solid boulders that hurtled toward him, only to be shattered into dust by his explosive scales.
Remembering Garos's command to injure him by any means necessary, one Earthstorm Bear stomped its foot. Sharp earth spikes erupted from the ground at treacherous angles, aiming for Garos's lower abdomen and reproductive cavity.
Sensing the danger instinctively, Garos shifted his stance, raised his foot, and crushed the spikes inch by inch with a downward stomp.
Although a layer of scales protected his reproductive cavity, these scales were far less durable than those on his chest or back. Moreover, attacks with concussive or penetrating effects could still inflict damage despite the armor.
This is a weak point I've overlooked before, Garos thought, resolving to train his little dragon specifically to defend against such vulnerabilities.
As time slowly passed, night gradually fell.
One by one, the Earthstorm Bears collapsed onto the ground like limp mud, their bodies covered in blast wounds and their faces etched with utter despair. Initially, they had believed Garos's order to attack him was a form of encouragement, filling them with excitement.
Now, that excitement had been completely replaced by exhaustion.
Yet amidst their fatigue, they also felt a profound shock and genuine awe.
Garos allowed the Earthstorm Bears to attack him, enduring countless blows without losing his vigor, while they were nearly exhausted.
His gaze swept over the bears, and Garos nodded in satisfaction. "Rest well," he said. "We'll resume in a few days when you've recovered."
With their growing numbers, the Earthstorm Bears provided an even more effective workout than before.
Self-training methods like "Sun Mountain, Sun Earth" were too crude to target every part of his body.
Unlike other dragons, Garos didn't acquire familiars to wage wars or satisfy his innate desire to dominate and enslave other creatures. His primary purpose was to refine his training, enhance his strength, and become even more formidable.
Garos firmly believed that in a world teeming with extraordinary life, personal power was the only true measure of worth. Wealth, beauty, and authority were merely byproducts of one's own strength.
Garos's perversions are becoming increasingly twisted, Samantha thought silently, subtly backing away from him, fearing she might become his next target.
She didn't realize that Garos's immense power stemmed from this very "perversion."
To her, Garos simply seemed deranged—enjoying being beaten while remaining unscathed, leaving his attackers half-dead from exhaustion.
Garos didn't let Samantha continue assisting with his training.
Under the cover of night, Garos soared into the air and landed at the edge of Needleleaf Valley. He chose a spot devoid of other creatures and approached a prominent rock pillar.
After a moment's contemplation, Garos straightened his posture, arched his back, and slammed into the pillar with tremendous force. With a resounding crack, the rock pillar snapped in half. Garos felt a sharp jolt of discomfort, a faint, lingering ache.
The scales covering the outer layer of his reproductive cavity weren't explosive scales, lacking the ability to absorb kinetic energy.
The little dragon's body was inherently fragile, and even with the scales' protection, the impact inevitably took its toll.
"This is clearly a major weakness," Garos thought grimly. "It's far too vulnerable. I can't afford to ignore it."
He took a deep breath, steeling his resolve.
Knowing his actions might appear strange, he scanned his surroundings to ensure no other creatures were present before commencing his true training: Sun Tree, Sun Mountain, Sun Earth. Gritting his teeth against the pain, he began slamming into the ground with relentless force, each impact echoing through the night.
This extraordinary display of willpower and determination had no audience.
Only the twin moons in the night sky, like a pair of watchful eyes, silently observed the scene unfolding below.
Meanwhile...
The Barang Black Oilfield, territory guarded by the third heavy cavalry regiment of the Blackrock Principality.
The dwarf alchemist, Groni, picked up a fragment of scale, its surface a uniform dark gray with faint crimson edges, and carried it to his alchemy workshop.
"I'll forge a tracker from this to trace the young dragon's trail," he thought, focusing his mind on the scale.
"Melt it into a liquid matrix, extract its essence, activate its properties, and shape it through alchemy," he muttered, reciting the fundamental steps of alchemy.
At a stone table cluttered with tools, the dwarf sorcerer conjured runes in mid-air, which landed on the crucible and burst into flames. He placed the scale inside, beginning the first stage of the smelting process.
To his surprise, the metallic-textured scale didn't melt under the intense heat. Instead, it gradually turned a searing crimson, growing increasingly luminous.
"Does it react uniquely to fire?"
"Could the dragon scale's properties have been altered due to its hybrid nature?"
Having never witnessed or heard of such a phenomenon, the dwarf sorcerer mused that this might be a groundbreaking discovery, worthy of an alchemical treatise that could elevate his status among alchemists.
Excited, he leaned closer, widening his eyes to observe the scale's transformation while intensifying the flames.
(End of the Chapter)
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