Chapter 103: Eaten Full

"Another magical girl? Uh, Miss Violet Rose, your companion?"

Li En asked instinctively, but when he actually saw Violet Rose, he froze.

Her cold eyes transformed into serpentine shapes; a chilling aura spilled from her tiny frame, her small fists clenched with a crunching sound.

For the first time since they met, she had no smile.

Noticing Li En's gaze, she instantly smiled again.

"How about I send you back first? Just kidding. Violet Rose will handle everything. But you might want to consider it."

As she spoke, she waved her tiny fist, as if utterly confident.

But Li En sensed her seriousness—and seriously considered the proposal.

A mature magical girl is no weaker than a legendary mage; two legendary mages fighting? Li En definitely had to weigh the risk of dying to an unknown AoE.

At this point, Violet Rose was clearly serious now, no longer in tourist mode.

Then she stomped straight onto the Shadow Dragon's head.

"Come on, spill everything you know!" Her flower-decorated leather boot kicked again and again—seeming playful, yet each strike sent gouts of flesh and blood flying.

Violet Rose, done pretending, began interrogating outright; Li En wasn't surprised—he'd never thought she was a delicate flower.

Now that she was closing the social distance and revealing part of her true self, she seemed even more approachable.

And the poor Shadow Dragon suffered for it.

As a native of this region, under the iron fist threat of a violent magical girl, it couldn't hide a thing.

As expected, the true ruler of this city was indeed a follower of the "Shadow Bottle Mirror Maiden"; there was a church and sect dedicated to her within the city.

They had targeted this unlucky creature, forcing it to fall into the Shadow Realm and become a Shadow Dragon—this happened about ten years ago.

It was hard to say whether this was an enhancement or a weakening; Black Dragon kind weren't particularly warlike anyway, but even if you counted the Shadow Dragon as a true dragon, it was the weakest—having lost its natural elemental powers, embracing shadow elements meant severing its very roots and draconic privileges.

This world, due to its long history, had seen too many lives, civilizations, and nations fall into the Shadow Plane, making it immensely powerful—but none of that mattered to this little dragon; it had lost its innate command over elements.

Black Dragons' elemental affinities were inherently diverse; they possessed partial water, acid, and plant-related abilities, and could somewhat master sorcery and shadow magic.

Hence, most dragons—especially Black Dragons, always targeted by the Shadow Pantheon (since Black Dragons naturally had weak shadow affinity)—hated this transformation intensely; once it truly happened,

"They… wanted to kill me."

This Shadow Dragon bore wounds—clearly dragon claw marks.

The Black Dragon that injured it was at least a full size larger.

And "they," as it referred to them, were naturally its own kin.

"I used to be the elder, leading them."

Before the Witch of the Serpent, no secrets could be hidden; the young Shadow Dragon, once opened up, revealed many secrets.

Watching this giant dragon beg like a stray dog, Li En's reverence for dragonkind shattered completely.

Perhaps, as Violet Rose said, the gap between dragons was greater than that between humans.

From what it revealed, it couldn't even be called a true dragon.

"We were all born around that seal. But while inside that structure, we were always dazed—like mindless, instinct-driven beasts without reason or self. So I was the first to leave."

He had to reassess the danger level of that underground seal—apparently, they could mass-produce Black Dragons.

But according to this Shadow Dragon, these mass-produced Black Dragons clearly suffered from inherent deficiencies; true dragon hatchlings gained reason and self-awareness shortly after birth (except the embarrassing White Dragons), yet this little black one remained a beast until its teens, only gradually gaining reason and self in its twenties.

His theoretical age was over forty, but Violet Rose said he looked no older than twenty—barely out of the hatchling stage—and his growth rate was abnormal.

Yet this reality was still terrifying.

If they'd truly hoarded dozens of dragons underground, and they burst forth during a beast surge in their adult forms, Huicheng City wouldn't survive.

After venturing outside, it used its own power to awaken two blood relatives, forming a Black Dragon family: one adult and two younglings.

It even planned to wait until adulthood, decades later, to bear its own offspring.

But then, shadow priests among the dark elves found it—and it became this pitiful Shadow Dragon.

The two young Black Dragons naturally turned on it; all were at similar stages, and after becoming Shadow Dragons, they'd all weakened. In a surprise attack, they nearly killed this unlucky one.

Though terrible for the creature, this was good news for Huicheng City; if the city truly belonged to that Shadow Lady, it was far better than other dark elf deities. Not because this deity's city could be negotiated with—but because the others? Forget negotiation. Just fight outright.

"As for the dark elves, I don't know—I only saw some orcish figures with single-eyed masks going to that city. One magical girl accompanied them; her antlers terrified me—I dared not approach."

Single-eyed masks? Again, that Beast Cult? That was Li En's old acquaintance.

This was unexpected yet logical—perhaps they were the ones most eager for the beasts' revival.

Looking at the trembling dragon head before him, Li En felt something was off.

It was his first time seeing a real dragon—and he was strangely disappointed.

Its shadowy body was indeed massive, its muscles and claws fitting expectations; its skull, shaped like a skeleton, radiated cunning and malice.

But something still felt wrong. What exactly was this?

"Fake dragon. Hah. A stupid, utterly un-cunning fake dragon." Ku Ku offered an answer.

"You mean—"

"They have no heritage! No Dragon Heritage! Just impostors!"

Now Li En understood.

Dragons are rare "born-knowers"; they inherit memories, knowledge, and abilities through bloodline. Many dragon-blooded sorcerers gain ancestral memories and power.

This includes spells, combat techniques, and even dragon culture and history. A dragon's color often reflects its behavior—precisely because this "early education" is widespread and effective.

It's said White Dragon hatchlings always appear as beasts because their dragon heritage is broken.

"True Black Dragons! Even turned into Shadow Dragons, they'd be cunning! Extremely cunning!"

"How could it honestly confess? How could a wicked dragon be so honest? Even with no hope left, it would use its life to set a death trap, mislead you!"

"Too stupid. Too stupid. Embarrassing. Embarrassing for dragons!"

Even Ku Ku, another dragon-blooded being, looked down on this wicked dragon.

Black Dragons are classic wicked dragons—not just the kind that kill your whole family "just for fun."

In many tales, they infiltrate adventuring parties in disguise, stoke internal conflict until the adventurers kill each other.

But this creature? Foolish, seemingly majestic—yet only wearing a dragon's skin.

It probably couldn't even use its own innate abilities well, lacked tactics or strategy, never began its own evolution path, and failed even at physical growth.

"That's all I know…"

The dragon was still gasping heavily; Li En covered his face, unable to watch.

Whose Husky is this? So stupid. Li En already knew what would happen next.

"Splat!"

When he opened his eyes again, the dragon's brain matter was splattered across the ground.

You idiot, don't you know how valuable you are? Someone says they won't kill you, and you just believe them?!

"Uh… I was worried that underground ruin might still control it. Eliminating these dangerous creatures is also saving ordinary people." Violet Rose hesitated, offering an excuse.

Perhaps she feared Li En thought her cruel or untrustworthy.

"Mm-hmm." Li En pretended to believe her.

"Great material! Great material!" Suddenly, Ku Ku burst out, breaking the silence.

Though lacking Dragon Heritage, the body was 100% true dragon—perfect as material.

Watching Ku Ku gather materials, Violet Rose wasn't surprised at all; she simply smiled and walked closer, greeted him, and volunteered to help identify and cut the materials.

In just a few sentences, she confirmed this little creature wasn't an ordinary pet—it was almost certainly Li En's behind-the-scenes alchemist.

But considering the dragon material, it didn't matter much.

Li En didn't need to use it; others could use these shadow materials. If Talia could absorb them, she could surge ahead dramatically.

"Huh?"

Li En saw a phantom black shadow rise from the corpse—its form resembled a dragon, but looked tiny.

【Detected evolution material: Inferior juvenile Shadow Dragon soul (Diamond). Absorb?】

Li En couldn't absorb it himself—but the Heroic Soul Codex could. It had devoured the inferior dragon soul of the Volcanic Howl before; this was a true dragon!

"Absorb."

In that instant, the dragon soul vanished without a trace.

【Power increased. Physique increased. Spirit increased.】

【Acquired Magic Emission (Shadow).】

Hmm, last time eating a fake dragon gave me so many abilities—this feels too weak.

I don't even have shadow power—this ability is basically useless.

But after checking the details, Li En instantly felt satisfied.

【Creature Level: Raw Stone. Status: Power 10, Physique 11, Agility 6, Spirit 10 (22).】

Power, Physique, and Spirit each increased by 2 points! Just the Power boost alone equaled equipping a Troll Gauntlet!

This comprehensive boost was terrifying—even if the base was low, it was a crushing-level enhancement.

Spirit increased, but its cap didn't rise, since this minor boost was negligible for Ku Ku's Heroic Soul enhancement.

Yet reality was the most precious transformation: equipment that enhances internal spiritual power is extremely rare, expensive, and ineffective.

Li En extended his hand—he could even feel perceiving elements had become easier.

There seemed to be additional invisible, essential improvements not recorded.

This spiritual boost didn't feel like temporary Heroic Soul attachment; Li En even felt constructing and analyzing mana models had become easier.

But he felt a deeper "hunger"—a dragon soul alone wasn't enough. Perhaps he needed more "materials."

His gaze turned northward—there, it seemed, lay the "delicacy" he needed.

(End of chapter)