Chapter 4: Level 10 Small Water Ball Technique

Life in the Dragon Nest was dull.

Ai Di and Sai Jia, the two hatchling dragons, spent most of their time sleeping; when they occasionally woke, it was because they felt hungry and needed to eat.

As for this, the three hatchling dragons need not worry.

Although Dragon Mother Xi Er Wa Na Si's each sleep was not short, each time she woke and went out hunting, she would capture enough prey in one go for the three hatchling dragons to grow.

Those prey, placed in the swamp inside the Dragon Nest, could greatly preserve their pre‑death energy and nutrition.

Unlike Ai Di and Sai Jia, Lai Ang, besides eating and sleeping, would each day hone his mental power by watching the idle slot.

In this dull, boring daily routine, the three hatchling dragons' size and strength grew day by day.

In the blink of an eye, three months passed.

Inside the dark, damp Dragon Nest.

A black dragon hatchling over two meters long from head to tail woke from sleep, stretched its body, and let out a comfortable dragon roar.

"Panel." Lai Ang's thoughts shifted, and the information recorded in the idle slot instantly flowed into its mind.

【Zero Ring Trick·Small Water Ball Technique】

【Level: 10】

Three months passed, and the originally level‑1 Small Water Ball Technique rose to level 10 in the idle slot. With each level increase, corresponding theory and knowledge surged into Lai Ang's mind, as if it had undergone countless repetitions of practice in some other dimension.

"After reaching level 10, it can no longer be upgraded." Lai Ang noticed the change on the panel; the experience column after the level had disappeared.

It seems level 10 may be the limit the idle slot can raise to.

It could also be the limit of the Small Water Ball Technique, after all the spell knowledge involved in Zero Ring Trick is not particularly profound.

'Small Water Ball Technique!'

Lai Ang silently chanted the Dragon Language Incantation, and moments later a delicate azure water ball condensed into view before it.

The fist‑sized water ball looked harmless, but—

The next moment, under Lai Ang's control, the small water ball vanished.

Almost instantly, a booming sound came from the hard rock‑cave wall several dozen meters away, accompanied by a large spray of flying debris.

What appeared before Lai Ang was a basin‑sized, nearly circular pit.

"Compared to the original level‑0 Small Water Ball Technique, its power is at least several times greater." Lai Ang looked at the spell's destructive force and felt very satisfied.

The Zero Ring Trick·Small Water Ball Technique, now raised to level 10 via the idle slot, could perhaps rival the weakest first‑ring offensive spell in power.

Moreover, the change is not only in power; casting speed has also increased.

Although it still isn't instantaneous, it is close—it can be used in less than a second.

Furthermore, what shocked Lai Ang most was that the mental power consumed by the level‑10 Small Water Ball Technique is the same as that consumed by the level‑0 version! Power increased severalfold, casting speed dropped from over ten seconds initially to under a second now, and with mental‑power consumption unchanged, the idle slot's enhancement of the technique is essentially a structural optimization.

Just like graphite and diamond, although both are made of carbon, their hardness differs vastly.

And the key distinguishing their strength is the optimized arrangement of their structure.

"Time to eat."

Snapping out of his reverie, feeling his hollow stomach, Lai Ang walked toward the swamp where food was stored.

Soon, an elliptical swamp tens of meters in diameter appeared in Lai Ang's sight.

Lai Ang also noticed that, at the swamp's edge, his second brother Ai Di and third brother Sai Jia, the two hatchling dragons, were greedily tearing at a wild ox carcass just dragged from the swamp mire.

This was also the largest prey the three hatchling dragons had ever eaten since birth.

Lai Ang guessed that there should be a herd of wild oxen near the Dragon Nest, numbering not a few, at least in the hundreds.

That herd of wild oxen was probably being raised by their mother as a fixed hunting stock. "Wild oxen are second‑rank beasts; if I am careful enough, I should be able to hunt them," Lai Ang thought to himself.

A newly born black dragon hatchling, by rank, is merely a first‑rank magical creature.

Even after growing for about half a year, it remains first‑rank.

In a head‑on clash, Lai Ang could certainly not beat this thick‑skinned, three‑to‑four‑meter‑long, several‑ton behemoth whose strength could shake a tank.

But don't forget Lai Ang's mastery of the level‑10 Small Water Ball Technique.

The number of rings in a spell corresponds to rank. Zero‑ring tricks correspond to no rank—roughly ordinary humans or wild beasts untouched by elemental nourishment.

One‑ring spells correspond to first‑rank beings.

Two‑ring spells correspond to second‑rank beings, and so on; nine‑ring spells correspond to ninth‑rank beings.

The Small Water Ball Technique Lai Ang now releases, in power, barely reaches the threshold of a first‑ring offensive spell, fully capable of inflicting respectable damage on first‑rank beings.

If it strikes a weak point or enjoys elemental advantage, a one‑hit kill is quite normal.

Although second‑rank wild oxen are thick‑skinned, they would certainly be injured by an attack of this level.

And with Lai Ang's present amount of mental power, he can easily unleash eight or nine Small Water Ball Techniques in a short time.

Having gauged his current combat strength, Lai Ang walked toward the two hatchling dragons in good spirits.

Ai Di and Sai Jia had long noticed their elder brother from afar; they stopped tearing at the wild ox carcass and silently withdrew.

Lai Ang approached and began eating without hesitation.

Dragons have dragon rules.

As the eldest, it is natural to enjoy privileges.

If Lai Ang refused this privilege and practiced egalitarianism, the two hatchling dragons might instead think him incapable, possibly sparking another struggle of the inferior over the superior.

Lai Ang happily devoured the meat, while Ai Di and Sai Jia could only stare wistfully, drooling all over the ground.

Although there was still food in the swamp, once a whole prey carcass is destroyed, its energy and nutrition quickly drain away.

Moreover, the Dragon Mother's each sleep lasts anywhere from ten days to half a month, or even longer.

Therefore, to avoid hunger, the three hatchling dragons follow a plan to jointly consume one prey together.

Finish one, then move on to the next.

After swallowing roughly a few hundred jin of flesh and feeling full, Lai Ang finally stopped.

It glanced at the two little dragons nearby that were somewhat restless.

Ai Di's size was about the same as Lai Ang's, after all, the two dragons were born only seven days apart.

But Sai Jia nearby attracted considerable attention from the dragons.

With a body length approaching three meters, muscles faintly bulging beneath its scales, it was noticeably larger than Lai Ang and Ai Di.

It seemed as if Sai Jia were their elder brother, yet the larger Sai Jia obediently stood beside Ai Di, not daring to disturb Lai Ang's leisurely meal.

Obviously, although Sai Jia was bigger in size, Lai Ang was still stronger in terms of raw power.

A few dozen days ago, due to the arrogance brought by its size advantage, Sai Jia again challenged Lai Ang, but there was no doubt that Lai Ang, who had mastered the Level 7 Small Water Ball Technique at the time, easily defeated him.

A single Level 7 Small Water Ball Technique strike broke Sai Jia's dragon claw, and its tough, magic-resistant dragon scales shattered over a large area, exposing flesh and blood.

If not for the giant dragon's extraordinarily strong regenerative ability, Sai Jia would likely have become crippled; otherwise, as he appears unharmed upon close inspection now, the injured dragon claw and scales would still be somewhat tender, having only just regenerated.

(End of chapter)