Chapter 32: Curse (Please Follow, Please Vote)

The air around was cold, the ground coated with a layer of ice crystals.

Countless ice blades, still unfrozen, clustered tightly together like countless blooming flowers.

A shadow stepped forward from the darkness between nearby trees—obsidian-black dragon scales, crimson patterns, a rugged, muscular frame. It was Garos, returned to the scene of the crime.

He looked up toward the direction the Copper Dragon had departed, then at the ruined, battered mine shaft.

“Tsk, that Copper Dragon’s furious—but dragons treasure treasure like life itself; the fact it didn’t go mad already shows restraint. No wonder it’s a metal dragon—far more controlled than the chromatic ones.”

Garos clicked his tongue.

He pulled out an ice blade with his claw—the touch was icy, making his claw ache.

“This is power only a dragon older than adulthood could possess.”

“Ice-based… could one of its parents be a Silver Dragon? Likely so.”

Garos thought to himself.

Dragons do not deliberately choose mates of their own kind—pairs of the same dragon type are rare.

But due to the domineering nature of dragon bloodlines, compatibility is poor, making hybridization unlikely.

Thus, regardless of parental types, offspring almost always inherit only one parent’s bloodline; hybrids like Garos are uncommon.

Also worth noting:

Not all hybrids are strong or superior.

Garos inherited advantages from both Iron Dragon and Red Dragon bloodlines—he is a positive hybrid.

But some unlucky hybrids inherit the flaws of both parent types.

For example:

A Red Dragon and White Dragon offspring might be weak to both water and fire, frail as a White Dragon, yet reckless and explosive like a Red Dragon—a true case of “heart higher than heaven, fate thinner than paper.”

Garos rubbed his jaw’s keratin layer, gazing down at the abandoned mine.

“Faced with the Copper Dragon’s rage, the Insect King must be badly injured—should I seize the chance to subdue it?”

He shook his head, rejecting the idea.

The Insect King hides beneath the abandoned mine. Garos could descend there too, but the underground isn’t his domain, and simply killing the Insect King offers little benefit.

As for subduing it:

Garos’s method of subduing through mental resonance—essentially coercion and bribery, a transaction—lacks strong guarantees.

It would not work well on the Insect King.

Its life rank is extremely high; it might submit at first, but once recovered, betrayal is inevitable.

Soon after:

Under the cover of night, Garos returned to Iron Fir Hills and began counting his haul.

With a flick of his wings, gemstones and coins clattered down, gleaming beautifully under the moonlight.

These gems and coins were no ordinary objects—they contained magical energy, and consuming them aided dragon growth and development.

Gazing down at the glittering pile:

Garos instinctively felt a surge of desire and pleasure, along with a powerful urge to hoard and protect them, keeping them from all other creatures.

Treasure’s allure to dragons is etched into their bones—like a curse.

Garos refused to be influenced by it.

Excessive obsession with treasure is one of the leading causes of dragon death, rivaling death from arrogance.

Garos took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and kept breathing deeply to resist the inner craving.

His gaze gradually cleared.

When he was four, he’d accidentally dug up a magic gemstone—he’d wanted to shove it into his own ass crack to hide it, but sensed this emotion was abnormal, shouldn’t be allowed to grow, so he thought to eat it.

Yet the gemstone, when brought to his mouth, refused to go down.

It felt as if the gemstone weren’t a stone, but his very life essence.

Later, Garos hid the magic gemstone at the bottom of a lake, spending free time playing with it, battling his desire, honing his will.

Eventually, around age six:

After two years of discipline, Garos gritted his teeth and, as he’d wished, swallowed it whole.

For a young dragon:

This was an absolute feat.

Non-dragons cannot imagine the obsession dragons have for treasure—it’s a soul-deep tremor, an instinct buried in their bones.

Meanwhile:

Samantha, engraving alchemical runes on Mober, paused, her ears snapping upright.

“Ah, this exquisite, heavenly chime—where does it come from?”

She turned her head and instantly saw the pile of gems and coins at Garos’s feet—her breathing and heartbeat quickened, eyes gleaming.

Her claw accidentally swept in a wide arc, tearing a long gash across Mober’s body.

“Awwww—!” Mober shrieked in sudden pain.

Samantha didn’t seem to hear; her eyes locked, as if her soul had been stolen, stepping slowly toward Garos.

“My beloved, wealthy, great, glorious brother!”

Samantha abandoned all dignity as a Red Dragon, prostrating herself before Garos.

“Please, please, please!”

“Give me some treasure—I’ll do anything!”

Samantha felt as if ants were crawling over her entire being—from soul to flesh—compelling her to pay any price for treasure.

Garos looked at Samantha with pity.

Her behavior was the standard reaction of a young dragon seeing treasure.

She only refrained from attacking because she knew she couldn’t overpower him.

Even so, Samantha had to expend tremendous willpower to suppress the urge to snatch the treasure from Garos’s claws.

One common tactic among adventurer teams hunting dragons is to scatter vast quantities of gems and coins in dragon-inhabited areas, set traps nearby, and wait silently for dragons—exquisitely sensitive to such things—to arrive.

“No problem.”

Garos replied casually, leaving Samantha stunned.

After a pause, he added: “But only if your actions please me. If I’m satisfied, I might reward you with some treasure.”

Samantha’s eyes widened. She cheered: “What exactly should I do?”

Garos smiled: “I can’t be specific—you’ll have to figure it out yourself. Just make me happy.”

As the saying goes:

The Law is unknowable; its authority is unfathomable.

With no fixed standard, whether to reward or not depends entirely on Garos’s whim.

In short—he was dangling a carrot.

“Make Garos happy… sounds simple. He wants me to master alchemy quickly so I can assist him.”

After brief thought, Samantha found a way to please Garos.

“My beloved brother, I know what to do!”

With renewed determination, she turned and returned to her arduous alchemy practice, chasing the promised reward.

Having dismissed Samantha:

Garos picked up a gemstone, moved with sluggish hesitation toward his mouth, then shut his eyes, clenched his teeth, and crunched it down.

A surge of energy, several times stronger than an equal mass of black oil, rose from his belly.

The slight fatigue from training and battle vanished almost instantly.

Magic gemstones are rare, difficult to mine or mass-produce—far scarcer than black oil—and their benefits far exceed those of black oil, yet they are harder to obtain.

Magic gems are difficult to mass-produce or mine, rarer and more scarce than resources like black oil, and their enhancement effects are stronger, but they are much harder to obtain.

Garos pressed on, aiming to swallow a second.

But the gemstone, brought to his mouth, refused to enter.

Attempting to swallow two gems in succession made Garos feel as if his heart were being sliced open—every scale, every muscle resisted; it was simply unbearable to swallow.

“This instinct is still too strong. One gem per time is already my limit.”

Garos shook his head and set the gemstone down.

He now had five gems left: three ice-type white crystals, one fire-type ruby, one water-type sapphire, and roughly two hundred gold and silver coins.

With a flick of his wings, all gems and coins were stowed away.

Then, while his body still thrummed with abundant energy, Garos soared into the sky, carrying three alchemical items to test their strength and effects.

Alchemical items differ from magical ones:

They prioritize practicality—anyone who holds them can use them.

A commoner who acquires a powerful alchemical item can still challenge the extraordinary, as long as the item retains energy.

Unless it’s a very high-tier alchemical item, there is no concept of soul-binding.

Unless it is a highly advanced alchemical artifact, there is no such thing as a master-binding concept.

(End of Chapter)