Caesar had been living very comfortably lately.
After reaching Level 10, his various attributes soared, especially after activating the [Sand Veil] ability; the whole Dragon felt much more confident.
Although the activation method was a bit ridiculous, the result was good.
The activation of the "Sand Veil" ability made the little schemes in Caesar's heart active again.
The Way of Survival reaches Major Achievement, invincible under heaven!
As long as he could grind the proficiency of [Sand Tomb] and combine it with the [Sand Veil] ability to create a small Sandstorm environment, wouldn't he have a built-in "evasion buff"?
When the time comes, whether it's an elite monster or a mini-boss, if they can't hit him, it's all for naught.
A brand new tactical System was slowly taking shape in Caesar's mind.
As for the other hidden ability, [Rough Skin]... "Do I really have to go looking for a beating?"
The Gible shook his head, putting that thought aside for now.
The priority was still leveling up.
Going from LV10 to LV11 required a full 2400 experience points; he still had to slowly practice "fishing law enforcement."
Thinking this, Caesar dragged a half-dead Hard-shelled Earth Lizard he had just "fished" and walked leisurely toward his "Pokémon Center."
This thing's experience points weren't high, only 70 points, but it was thick-skinned and chewy.
Just as he was about to find a place to process the prey, a feeling of being watched made him stop.
"...?"
Caesar didn't look back.
Pretending not to notice, he continued dragging the prey, using the corner of his eye to scan a huge stalactite pillar nearby... behind the pillar, a silver round head poked out.
It was her!
Caesar's heart skipped a beat.
That elegant Little Silver Dragon he saw on the first day of his Shell Smash!
Ho, haven't seen her for two months, and she's become this pathetic?
She used to have a round head and was nearly a meter long, but now she looked... as thin as a black Dragon.
Those silver scales were dull and lifeless, and her slender limbs were like two chopsticks supporting her body, looking severely malnourished.
Caesar was amused.
Seeing her cautious, peeking behavior, she was clearly starving.
It made sense; a newborn True Dragon hatchling without a mother Dragon's care would be lucky just to be alive.
The Gible's dragons kiss curled into a very wicked arc... He deliberately pretended to be exhausted, his foot stumbling, and the heavy Hard-shelled Earth Lizard fell to the ground with a "thud."
The little thing circled the prey twice, seemingly worried about how to drag it away, then clumsily dug up some gravel and mud with his claws, haphazardly covering the Hard-shelled Earth Lizard's corpse, acting like a silly roe deer who just learned how to hide food.
After doing all this, he patted his claws and walked toward the opposite direction of his nest without looking back.
After walking about dozens of meters, Caesar found a hidden crevice in the rocks and squeezed his whole body in, leaving only a pair of eyes to stare intently at the "bait."
Sure enough.
Not long after he hid, that silver figure sneakily slipped out from behind the stone pillar.
Cecilia was about to go crazy with hunger.
Since Shell Smash, she hadn't had a single full meal.
As a noble Silver Dragon, she was born to have the protection of a mother Dragon, enjoy the most energy-rich flesh of magical beasts, and sleep in a warm nest to complete one growth transformation after another.
But she had nothing.
The bottom layer of the Dragon Lair was too dangerous for her. The aura emitted by those magical beasts terrified her, so she could only hide in the most remote corners, surviving by preying on some insects and small Rock Lizards.
But that little bit of food was nowhere near enough to satisfy the growth needs of a Silver Dragon.
She didn't even dare to undergo her first sleep like other Dragon Clans. She knew that once she fell asleep, she would likely become a meal for other predators.
She had been observing that strange Earth Dragon for a long time.
She had seen Earth Dragons; they were all stupid, filthy inferior species that would bite each other to death over some scraps.
But this one was different.
He was very clean, and his blue scales actually shone a bit in the dim light.
He looked silly and couldn't even walk steadily, yet he could always get food.
Now, that stupid Earth Dragon had finally left, even leaving behind a large piece of food!
Food!
Only this one thought remained in Cecilia's mind.
Hunger overwhelmed the pride originating from her Bloodline.
The Little Silver Dragon could no longer hold back and rushed out.
She ran to the pile of loose soil and dug rapidly with her claws.
Food! As long as she ate this meal, she would have the strength to find a safer place!
Just as her claws were about to touch the scales of the Hard-shelled Earth Lizard, a grayish-yellow fan-shaped spray, mixed with gravel and dust, plastered her face like a high-pressure Water Gun!
"Pfft! Bah, bah, bah!"
Cecilia was instantly dazed by this sudden attack, her mouth and eyes full of sand; the intense stinging sensation made her let out a sharp hiss.
"Awoo?!"
She shook her head angrily, and before she could see who the attacker was, a dark blue shadow slammed into her with the sound of wind!
[Tackle]!
Caesar timed it perfectly, bursting from the shadows and slamming his hard skull into Cecilia's flank.
"Thud!"
A dull impact sounded, and Cecilia was knocked off balance by the force, her slender body rolling several times on the ground.
"Roar!"
Intense pain and a sense of humiliation drove Cecilia into a complete rage.
She was a True Dragon after all! To be ambushed by a stupid Earth Dragon!
She scrambled up, her silver vertical pupils locking onto Caesar nearby, letting out a youthful but fire-filled roar.
Caesar wasn't intimidated at all; instead, he took a step forward, grinned, and gave a provocative smile.
Come on, punk, what are you looking at?
What if I am looking at you!
The two Young Dragons confronted each other in the clearing, the atmosphere tense.
The next moment, the silver and blue little ones scuffled together!
Although Cecilia was malnourished, the foundation of a True Dragon was there.
Her body length was nearly a meter, making her almost a size larger than Caesar; theoretically, she should have been able to crush him.
But once they actually started fighting, she realized she was dead wrong.
This blue Earth Dragon was incredibly agile; every sidestep and every pounce was full of combat techniques, always managing to dodge her attacks with minimal cost.
While she, due to long-term hunger, had power but no stamina.
"...!"
After several pounces were dodged, Cecilia was already panting.
Caesar saw the opportunity and launched another offensive.
He didn't use [Tackle] to clash head-on again but instead mobilized that mysterious power within his body.
[Sand Tomb]!
Cecilia felt her feet soften; the ground seemed to turn into a swamp, and a huge suction force pulled her, trapping her limbs firmly so she couldn't move.
What is this? Magic?
How could an Earth Dragon use magic!
Cecilia was both shocked and angry, struggling desperately but sinking deeper.
Caesar saw his control skill succeed and felt greatly relieved. He was about to go up for the finishing blow, using his hard headbutt to crack this Little Silver Dragon's skull.
But at that moment, Cecilia, trapped in the quicksand, suddenly opened her mouth.
A cloud of invisible gas with a faint silver glow spewed from her mouth—
[Paralysis Breath]!
"Oh no!"
Caesar only had time to curse in his heart before being enveloped by the mist.
A strong sense of Paralysis instantly spread through his body; his body stiffened, his muscles completely out of control, and he fell straight to the ground.
"Holy crap! There's even a debuff!"
Caesar's heart sank.
He forgot that True Dragons were born with magic.
That was "Breath."
This thing is classified as "Dragon Magic"; Earth Dragons can do it too, but only after reaching adulthood.
He was used to close-quarters combat with various creatures and had overlooked this... This was not good.
Checking the System panel... sure enough, there was a [Paralysis] status.
—[Paralysis]: Speed is greatly reduced, with a 33% chance of being unable to move each turn.
Based on his mastery of [Sand Tomb] over the past few days, Caesar estimated: One turn = 10 seconds.
His remaining MP could probably extend the skill duration to 180 seconds.
A full 18 turns, surely he couldn't be paralyzed the whole time?
Turn 1!
[Gible's body is paralyzed, it's not easy to make a move]
[Gible's body is paralyzed, unable to act!]
Turn 2!
[Gible's body is paralyzed, unable to act!]
Turn 3!
[Gible's body is paralyzed, unable to (...)]
Turn 15!
[(Omitted...) Unable to act!]
—15 consecutive Paralysis procs!
"What the hell..."
Caesar was completely dumbfounded.
He watched helplessly as he froze in place, while that Little Silver Dragon, also trapped by [Sand Tomb], only had 3 turns left to escape.
For a moment, the two little Dragons—one paralyzed, one bound—stared at each other, falling into a strange stalemate.
Turn 16!
Caesar finally felt his body could move and immediately pounced on the Little Silver Dragon—
Just then, an indescribable pressure suddenly crushed down from the sky!
"...?!"
That wasn't physical weight.
It was an absolute suppression originating from the level of life.
"...!"
Caesar's scales stood on end, his body froze uncontrollably, and even his breathing stopped.
His mind went blank, with only one thought.
Run!
But Paralysis triggered again, and he couldn't move.
A massive shadow cast down, enveloping the entire area.
Caesar struggled to move his eyes, looking at the sky through his paralyzed body—
It was another Dragon.
A real Dragon.
Its size was so massive that it blocked the faint light filtering from the top of the cave, its body covered in crimson scales like molten lava.
The air vibrated slightly, emitting terrifying fluctuations of magic power!
The young Red Dragon Fafnir was in a very bad mood.
He should have been sleeping in the lounge of the Dragon Academy, not coming to a filthy place like the bottom of the Dragon Lair.
It was all because he was being playful and accidentally knocked an unhatched Silver Dragon egg off the cliff in the hatchery.
Now, he and his companions had to find that unlucky egg before the Academy Elders found out.
"Damn it, I can't even stretch out in this ghost of a place..."
Fafnir circled in the air, searching irritably.
He noticed the two little things scuffling like insects on the ground.
"Hmm? Earth Dragon?"
Since Cecilia was stuck in the quicksand and covered in mud, looking all dusty, Fafnir didn't even notice she was a Silver Dragon.
He only saw that... dark blue Earth Dragon whose body was stiff, seemingly from his Dragon Might.
Heh, a lowly inferior species that can't even fly.
Seeing such a creature made Fafnir's mood even more irritable.
He let out a playful Dragon Roar and then casually opened his mouth.
A small cluster of sparks spat from his mouth—
That wasn't Dragon Breath, it wasn't even a proper attack.
It was like a human casually flicking away a cigarette butt.
The sparks landed not far from Caesar and Cecilia.
"Boom!"
A scorching airwave instantly exploded, sending the two immobilized Young Dragons flying!
Caesar felt as if he had been hit by a high-speed truck; his body flew uncontrollably and then slammed heavily against a rock.
A burnt smell wafted over.
Intense pain came from his back.
The effect of Paralysis was dispersed by the intense pain, and control of his body returned.
Caesar struggled to lift his head, just in time to see the Red Dragon turn in the air, preparing to leave.
Fafnir seemed to find his own actions amusing; before leaving, he specifically looked down to glance at the two "little insects" he had blown away.
—That look... was full of high-and-mighty contempt and undisguised disgust.
Then, he flapped his wings and flew away without looking back.
The huge shadow disappeared, and the terrifying Dragon Might dissipated.
Leaving only the ground in a mess from the airwave and the burning pain on Caesar's back.
Caesar lay on the ground, clenching his claws tightly, his nails making a piercing sound on the hard rock.
—Damn guy.
"I'll remember you, you roasted wing!"
Caesar raised a middle finger in his heart.
He etched the Red Dragon's appearance firmly into his mind, then propped up his body and stood up wobbling.
Just then.
"Hmm...?"
Caesar suddenly saw the silver figure nearby, also blown away.
The round-headed Little Silver Dragon curled on the ground, on the verge of death, clearly having fainted.
The silver scales on her body had also turned charred black, and her aura was extremely weak.
Caesar walked over step by step.
He looked at the unconscious Cecilia, and that bold thought that had been extinguished before bubbled up again.
And it was clearer and more tempting than ever.
Hehe... hehehe... Caesar's dragons kiss curled into a very wicked arc—
Time is tight.
The task is heavy.
Taking advantage of a Dragon's crisis, it seems like it's not impossible, awoo?