Pulling his thoughts back from his shock, Caesar re-examined the rune array on the altar.
He tried to analyze it with the System and found that this Seal was essentially a puzzle based on the mutual generation and restraint of elements.
Eighteen runes representing different attributes were interlocked. To unlock them, one had to touch the corresponding rune with elemental power that either countered or resisted it.
"A type effectiveness chart? Talk about a perfect match for my expertise."
Caesar split his Dragons Kiss into a grin and stepped forward.
On the altar, there were a total of eighteen runes representing different attributes.
First were the runes at the very front: 'Normal', 'Fighting', 'Psychic', and 'Ghost'.
Caesar raised his claw, condensing the power of Shadow Claw.
The Ghost attribute is immune to Normal and Fighting, while also countering Psychic and Ghost.
With one swipe, the four runes dimmed in response, and a corner of the chains unraveled.
Easy.
Next, he stomped his feet, mobilizing the ground element.
'Poison', 'Fire', 'Rock', 'Electric', and'Steel'—these five runes were also easily unlocked by him using ground-type Moves.
When it was the 'Dragon' rune's turn, he opened his mouth and sprayed a Dragon Breath onto it. dragon-type counters dragon-type; simple and direct.
As for the 'Water', 'Electric', and 'Grass' runes, they could also be solved with Dragon Breath because the dragon-type has resistance against them, which also triggers the Seal's release mechanism.
But when Caesar saw the 'Ice' rune, he hit a snag.
As a ground and dragon-type, he was four times weak to Ice, and he had no Moves that could resist or counter it.
"Tsk, this is a problem."
Just as Caesar was wondering if he should just tank the backlash and touch it anyway, Cecilia suddenly leaned in proudly from the side.
"Hmph hmph... Little Earth Dragon..."
"What?" Caesar asked irritably.
He watched as Cecilia took a deep breath, opened her Dragons Kiss, and actually chanted a short incantation in Dragon Language. Then, with a 'poof', she spat out a fist-sized Ember.
The Ember wobbled through the air and hit the 'Ice' rune, which instantly dissolved.
Caesar froze on the spot, his eyes bulging wide.
He snapped his head around and stared fixedly at Cecilia.
"You... when did you learn Fire Element Magic?"
"I just learned it a little while ago..."
"Why didn't you say so earlier?"
Cecilia shrank her neck back under his gaze and whispered defensively, "You didn't ask...!"
"You!" Caesar was so angry he almost sprayed a Dragon Breath right in her face.
Fine! This little thing was actually hiding a trump card!
Seeing that his expression wasn't right, Cecilia quickly spilled everything like beans from a bamboo tube.
It turned out that as a noble Silver Dragon, every time she slept, some basic elemental Spells would automatically awaken from her Bloodline Legacy.
Currently, she had already mastered Water Gun, Ember, and Thundershock.
Cecilia had originally intended to keep these as her hidden cards, never to be exposed unless absolutely necessary.
She knew Caesar all too well; once this wicked Little Earth Dragon knew she had this utility, her future days would definitely be squeezed dry, and she would be reduced to a total tool dragon.
After hearing this, Caesar almost laughed out of anger.
Good grief, she had Water, Fire, and Electric all covered... while he had been foolishly roasting mushrooms by himself, this little thing had just been watching the show from the sidelines!
Even though they were all very weak little Spells, they could be used to start fires, heat pots, and boil water!
Caesar took a deep breath, but forced a kind smile onto his dragon face.
"Oho, Lady Cecilia is so impressive? Why didn't you say so earlier?"
"Come, come, look here. There are still three runes—'ground', 'Flying', and 'Bug'. Your Spells should be able to handle them, right?"
While he coaxed her amiably, he was already making a heavy mental note against Cecilia in his little ledger.
—Just you wait; I'll settle the final score with you once we get out of here!
Looking at the Little Earth Dragon's scummy expression, Cecilia immediately felt that something was wrong.
Uh oh... He's going to settle the score!
She hung her head and listlessly spat out several Water Guns, Embers, and currents of electricity, unlocking the remaining runes one by one.
Now, only the last two runes remained on the altar—
'Fairy' and 'Dark'.
Looking at the pink 'Fairy' rune, Caesar directly raised his claw and slammed a Poison Jab onto it.
Poison counters Fairy, and the rune dissolved accordingly.
Only the final 'Dark' rune was left.
Caesar circled the altar and checked his skill list.
The ones that countered the Dark attribute were Fighting, Bug, and Fairy... and he didn't know a single one of them.
And the ones that could resist Dark attribute attacks were Fighting, Dark, and Fairy.
The Bite he had recently learned just happened to be Dark-type.
Then he could only use that.
Caesar sighed and walked to the edge of the altar.
He didn't know how many years it had been since this altar was last wiped; it was covered in accumulated dust.
The Little Earth Dragon opened his mouth and, aiming at the stone pillar carved with the Dark attribute rune, took an 'om-nom' Bite—
Bite!
Crack.
His teeth felt sore.
But this Move really worked. The Dark energy attached to his teeth poured into the stone pillar, and the black rune trembled violently before finally shattering with a 'pop', as if it were afraid.
This posture... Caesar let go and spat out a few mouthfuls of stone dust.
Looking back, Cecilia was covering her eyes with both claws, but the gaps between her fingers were wide open, her face showing an expression of "I can't bear to look."
"Laugh if you want to." Caesar rolled his eyes.
"Pfft... cough cough, no, this princess thinks your teeth are very strong." Cecilia was struggling hard to hold it in.
Laugh, go ahead and laugh. I'll record this debt for later.
Finally, with a soft 'click', the last rune also lost its light.
Hum—
As the rune array completely extinguished, the chains binding the Star Energy Spirit Doll turned into specks of light and dissipated.
The two little dragons looked at each other and simultaneously reached out their claws, cautiously touching the Star Energy Spirit Doll's clay-like body.
The moment they touched it, a pure and powerful Psychic wave suddenly erupted from within the Star Energy Spirit Doll!
This wave had no hint of aggression; instead, it was like a warm tide, instantly sweeping through Caesar and Cecilia's spirits, washing away the fatigue and bloodlust they had accumulated during the dream battles.
Caesar only felt his vision go dark, and his consciousness was instantly pulled away from this dream world... "Whew..."
Caesar snapped his eyes open and found himself still lying on the ground of the mental field, with Cecilia's plump, round tail still pillowed under his neck.
The little Silver Dragon also woke up at the same time and sat up with a look of dazed confusion.
They were back.
And in front of the two dragons, on the previously empty altar, that figure had already awakened.
She—or rather, it—was quietly floating in mid-air.
It was the exact same appearance as in the dream.
A white clay shell, a giant gear-like skirt, and the red Soul-Heart in its chest emitting a soft glow.
Those pink glass eyes were currently sizing up these two uninvited guests with an almost childlike curiosity.
In particular, it stared at Caesar, the blue one, for a long time.
Then, a surprised, low-pitched female voice rang out directly in the minds of the two little dragons:
[The current Dragon Clan... has actually... even stopped letting sharks off the hook—?]
"...?"
Caesar slowly typed out a question mark.
This ancient Divine Messenger has quite a sharp tongue.