Chapter 25

"Seventeenth place?"

Lai Ang saw his own ranking on the Black Stone Ranking.

However, this ranking list cannot truly show that Lai Ang's strength among the dragon clan could actually rank seventeenth.

After all, this is a battle achievements ranking.

The more dragons defeated, the stronger, the ranking naturally rises. This is a practical combat ranking, but it cannot exclude the possibility of lazy dragons mixing in.

Although the Emerald Academy has various policies to motivate the young dragons, not all young dragons are willing to put themselves through that.

However, the ranking still carries considerable weight.

Lai Ang also glanced at the rankings of Ai Di and the other two.

Ai Di ranked 100th.

Sai Jia ranked 78th.

Pana ranked 99th.

Seeing this ranking, Lai Ang couldn't help but glance at the white dragon hatchling spacing out.

Although they are also at the hatchling stage, they are already over three years old, their size is not much less than Sai Jia's, and they are close to reaching the second stage.

Logically, their ranking shouldn't be much worse than Sai Jia's.

"Too cowardly." Lai Ang shook his head.

But it also couldn't be bothered to spend energy changing Pana; becoming stronger is something one must motivate oneself with, otherwise external motivation will stop when the external thing is gone.

Just treat it as hiring an errand boy.

Let alone, from the dragon race's perspective, Pana actually looks quite to Lai Ang's taste; just looking at her is pleasing to the eye.

But don't misunderstand, this is not the reason Lai Ang would take the white dragon Pana as a follower.

At least not the main reason.

"Let's go, it's time to head back." Lai Ang said leisurely.

The three little dragons followed closely behind.

The hatchlings' life is actually quite mundane.

Even in the Emerald Academy, it's the same.

Each day is either sleeping to grow, or eating; besides that, it's "effort" studying.

Although cultivating spells and battle aura indeed can increase a dragon's strength and speed up their growth.

But for dragons that can grow to seventh or eighth stage just by eating and drinking, this effort means little to many dragons.

This is like a rich second-generation starting from scratch to start a business, working hard to earn ten million, then discovering that directly inheriting the family business would give them tens of millions to hundreds of millions in assets.

The boring time passed.

On the tenth day after the Dragon Fort Ranking Battle ended, the Emerald Academy sent over resources.

"Your Highness Lai Ang, this is your reward."

Still that elegant Dog-headed Person Maid, she brought two attendants to the Black Dragon Fort and met Lai Ang.

In the expectant gaze of the black hatchling, the Dog-headed Person Maid opened the reward placed on the silver tray.

The silver tray held two items.

On the left was a pale blue crystalline prism about the size of a thumb, with what seemed to be a viscous liquid flowing inside.

Lai Ang recognized it, a flash of joy in his dragon eyes: "Water magic core! And judging by the magical strength, it should be at least a fourth-tier magic core!"

"Your Highness, this is a magic core taken from the body of a sixth‑rank magic beast, the 'Water Arrow Giant Turtle'—it is a sixth‑rank magic core, you know." The dog‑headed maidservant covered her mouth and laughed.

Er, from the aesthetic viewpoint of the dragon race, this dog‑headed maidservant is indeed a beauty, moreover of the mature woman type—cough cough.

However, Lai Ang wasn't particularly interested in that; at this moment it was more interested in this sixth‑rank water‑system magic core.

A magic core is the essence condensed within a magic beast's body, and it has many uses.

The three most common uses are: first, to make a magic wand; second, to make a magic scroll; third, to have an alchemist refine it into various potions.

It can also be swallowed directly to increase one's strength (this is how most wild magic beasts do it, after all they have no other way). "However, with my current strength, swallowing this Water Arrow Giant Turtle magic core directly would be hard to digest." Lai Ang thought to himself.

After all, this is a sixth‑rank magic beast. Even an adult white dragon is only seventh rank.

Although the gap between sixth and seventh rank is huge, being the threshold of true experts, one still has to say that the Emerald Academy is truly generous.

"First keep it safe; even if I don't swallow it, keeping it nearby will speed up my growth. Later, when I have the ability, whether I swallow it directly, refine it into a potion, or craft it into magical equipment, all are possible." Lai Ang's thoughts flashed.

Lai Ang directly picked up the Water Arrow Giant Turtle's magic core and swallowed it into his belly—the dragon's stomach has multiple compartments; besides for digestion, it can also store things.

Many dragons like to place their most precious treasures inside their own bodies.

Not only is it safe, but it also grants the dragon greater empowerment.

After swallowing the magic core, Lai Ang felt that the water elemental energy gathering around him had increased somewhat; for a mere hatchling like him, the benefits would accumulate over time and be significant.

Lai Ang turned his gaze to another item on the silver tray—a gold‑colored metal token etched with a miniature magic circle, which appeared to be a magical device.

Sensing Lai Ang's doubt, the dog‑headed maidservant whispered an explanation,

"Your Highness Lai Ang, this metal token is called the 'Retainer Token'; as long as you hold it, you can select a student from the Emerald Academy to be your retainer."

The Dragon Fort Plains are merely a part of the Emerald Academy; in other areas of the academy, large numbers of monster elites are also cultivated.

Hyena‑folk, dog‑headed folk, lizard‑folk, snake‑folk, ogres, man‑eaters, fish‑folk, wolf‑dwarves, bull‑headed monsters, and so on—as long as they have some training value, the Emerald Academy will recruit them and make them students.

These monster students mainly have two possible paths.

First, after graduation they join the Emerald Dream, are assigned under the various great dragons, becoming junior officers; if they excel, their rank can rise steadily, and they may even be granted dragon blood by a powerful dragon and personally taken as a retainer.

Second, while studying cultivation at the Emerald Academy, they may be selected by the various princes of the Dragon Fort.

"Your Highness Lai Ang, I must remind you that the retainer token the academy has bestowed upon you is the highest‑grade gold retainer token; it allows you to freely choose any monster student in the academy as your retainer."

Saying this, the dog‑headed maidservant's voice paused slightly, taking on a hint of seriousness and earnestness: "Even if its talent is the strongest in the Emerald Academy."

"Alright, I understand." The black hatchling's dragon claw weighed the gold token, and in its dragon eyes a hint of interest appeared.

While raising small dragons, he also cultivated a large number of talented monsters—the Green Dragon Queen Ysera—no wonder she is queen.

Having only been at the Emerald Academy for less than half a year, Lai Ang had already felt how formidable the queen's methods were.

"Mother's decision to seek refuge in the Emerald Dream was perhaps the most correct choice."

To be a wild solitary dragon? — there is always the danger of being subdued.

Or gather a bunch of misshapen monster followers and become a lord dragon? — that also carries the danger of being subdued.

It would be better to simply seek refuge in a major power like the Emerald Dream.

Leaning against a big tree, it's nice to catch some cool breeze.

Everyone knows the Emerald Dream gathers a large number of evil-colored dragons and monsters, but who would dare come to the Emerald Dream to slay dragons?

For thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of years, any living being who dared to come here and provoke the Green Dragon Queen's dignity has likely already turned into fertilizer nourishing this land.

(End of chapter)