Translated by: SaltyTank
Edited By: crimsonwolf8439
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Chapter 15
Sylvia was currently in an extremely bad mood; her target, the Crimson Dragon, was nowhere to be found. Unless she could use fortune-telling abilities or legendary-class Prophecy Magic, it could be said that the proud Jade Dragoness had lost track of her prey.
"This goddamn fellow!"
Rendered powerless, all Sylvia could do was swear and curse to relieve her anger. While she could kill anything in her sights right now, it was simply not her habit to use magic randomly for petty reasons such as massacring nearby animals. There were always exceptions, though. Sylvia did not mind killing magic beasts or mutated predators, and they were good targets for venting out her displeasure.
That was how the Savage Wolverine met its fate. As soon as the wolverine sensed the intimidating dragon aura, it hid in its lair and had not come out ever since. From the strength of the aura, the wolverine could immediately tell that an adult dragon was approaching. It was an existence which rendered resistance futile. Along with other mutants such as Brutal Bears and Dire Wolves, these animals were referred as 'The Violent Beasts'. Despite their name, they were still intelligent beings who knew when not to pick a fight. However, perhaps applicable in any world, escaping from the problem was simply delaying the issue. The furious Jade Dragon dived straight down towards the Savage Wolverine, breathing poison onto the poor wolverine. Shrieks could be heard as the poisonous breath rapidly corroded its body, and it soon became a lump of gruesome-looking rotten meat. It was undoubtedly a painful way to die. The surrounding trees were also victims of the attack, as they withered instantly and leaves fell one after another. None of the scavenging animals nearby dared to eat such 'food', but the bugs did not seem to mind as they swarmed towards the remains of the ex-ruler who once controlled the territory.
With her anger now slightly dissipated, Sylvia decided to continue her search on a larger scale. It was rather troublesome to prepare for the trip, and was therefore a waste if she went back empty-handed. Sylvia had left her lair 2 days ago, and she could probably spare a few more days before her retarded subordinates would do something befitting of their intelligence. The ruthless army might really launch an offensive on the spirits if Sylvia did not make preparations before leaving. After a bit of consideration, she decided to search in only one direction, but she would conduct a detailed investigation instead of simply circling around in the skies.
It was only natural Claudius had no knowledge of Sylvia's actions. After undergoing changes in body structure, he finally entered the true state of 'hibernation' and experienced growth. Claudius gradually grew in size by consuming his storage of nutrients in the body, with his length now reaching 10 metres. If he could bring out his cheat screen right now, Claudius could see the continuous increases in attribute values. Constitution was already over 30 despite his young physical age, and he now had 27 Strength as well. The abnormal fellow also experienced increase in Dexterity, which was now 16. Contradicting common sense, Claudius gained speed and mobility as he grew larger, and did not even suffer from the attack precision debuff which was present for huge animals. As physical abilities were his forte, the values of Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma only rose slightly, with nothing groundbreaking like his Dexterity. Claudius front and hind claws developed significantly and were now at a whole new level of sharpness; unintentional movement in his sleep caused deep drains to appear on the surface of the hard reef. Although his head had once again grown larger, its growth was not as large as his body's. When compared to his previous body-to-head proportion, he was now much closer to that of normal Crimson Dragons. Furthermore, Claudius' chin sort of looked like a shovel, slightly extended out. Large fangs protruding from his mandible were now externally visible, and the sizes of the razor-sharp fangs in his mouth had reached the level of a T-Rex.
"Muuuuuu……Finally found you, pesky little fellow!" Sylvia knitted her eyebrows like a human as she drew a perfect arc with her green body, gliding towards a short volcano which Claudius was familiar with……
When Claudius awoke, 6 months had already passed. As nutrients stored before his sleep were used up during growth, Claudius was currently starving. Wanting to feast on random prey, he impatiently stood up and tried to leave the reef.
"What the hell? Aren't I growing up a bit too fast? I can't even get the hell out of here!" Claudius retorted as he failed to squeeze through the gap which he breezed through 6 months ago.
If the place remained as it was, it was certain that Claudius would not be able to reuse the cave as it would not fit his massive body. Before attempting to leave once again, Claudius noticed the change in the cave. For half a year, his Ring of Blaze had been constantly roasting ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) the reef walls while expanding to a radius of 1 meter. The uneven floor was in an even worse state, as Claudius had dug countless drains into the floor during his sleep. The Crimson Dragon could only sigh while praising his own masterpiece. Claudius begun to excavate the reef walls to expand the entrance; attempting to squeeze through was impossible. Normally, even a steel pickaxe would have difficulty mining the reef walls, but the walls felt like soil when he used the enhanced claws. Along with the falling pebbles, an enlarged gap of almost twice the original size came into view. Due to the change in the inner environment of the cave, the onshore wind produced a low pitch sound instead of irritating shrieks.
The young Crimson Dragon climbed his way up to the top of the reef, expanding his enormous wings while standing up. Before the storms reached his location, Claudius leapt and began his flight back inland. After the growth, he now had the power to rule a territory as the supreme ruler, unparalleled by all beings. Even if the Savage Wolverine had survived the ordeal, it would not have been a threat to Claudius. Crimson Dragons who had reached Claudius' growth level would usually search for a place and settle down in a permanent lair. After developing into their next stage, it would be time for their debut as a full-fledged evil dragon.
In the territory of the Brutal Bears and Savage Wolverine, goblins and gnomes were almost non-existent. Apart from a handful of intelligent creatures, most animals were just herbivores or beasts that roamed around in the grassland and forests. This prevented Claudius from gathering his subordinates such as gnolls and goblins, but it did not bother him too much. Perhaps due to the influence of the human mind, suddenly having a bunch of monsters serving him was a bit odd, and he needed time to adapt to the change. While it was a dragon's nature to treat precious metals as their beloved treasure, Claudius was simply uninterested in the so-called precious metals which had no practical use at all. The 10-metre-long dragon circled in the air with a smug look on his face, looking down on the vast territory which was now his. The family of Brutal Bears were long gone already. A few days before Claudius began his journey back, a group of spirits and Druids gave the Brutal Bears a 'friendly visit', successfully persuading them to become warriors of justice. Of course, the spirits also gained precious information regarding the Crimson Dragon from the bears. It seemed that it was a young one, and it did not appear dangerous as the young dragon remained peaceful during its stay in the area.
There wasn't much to do anyways, so Claudius thought he should just (ED: Netflix and) chill and eat. Eat, sleep, experience growth and stay alive until he became an adult dragon; this was his crude plan for the future. Claudius' temper and slyness deviated from the norm of Crimson Dragons, which was a species that resolved everything head on with violence. For example, Claudius knew that the spirit city in the forest had plenty of treasures and gold, but he would not risk his life just for a few gold coins. He couldn't use it as a dragon anyways, so there was no point in doing so.
After wandering around for a bit, Claudius headed towards his birthplace. Yet, a sense of discomfort struck him as the volcano looked a bit out of place.
"What's this? Isn't it strange?" Claudius muttered as he landed besides the lava lake.
Numerous volcanic worms were wiggling on the ground, drilling holes on the volcanic walls. They would then lay eggs in the holes for reproduction. Compared to his previous visits, there were way too many worms right now. As they grew to a certain stage, the worms would become food for Britannia, limiting their numbers.
"EHHHH??? Where did Britannia go?" Claudius roared loudly, howling his sister's name in the Dragon Language only to receive no response.
"The heck? She abandoned such a comfortable place?"
Only resounding silence remained in the volcanic crater.