Although Logan inferred that Nergigante would not return to the lava cavern, out of caution, he still decided to summon the Azure Rathalos that resided outside the cavern, having the three Fire Wyverns take turns guarding him through the process of metamorphosis.
And so, a week passed.
Aki descended at the entrance of the lava cavern, flapping her wings. The softened basalt beneath her feet cracked slightly under her weight, releasing wisps of sulfurous white smoke that sizzled upward.
At this moment, the lava cavern was filled with vast amounts of bluish-violet calamity flames. The entire cave had been transformed into a sea of magma, with the thick, crimson molten rock constantly churning under the scorching of the calamity flames.
Fist-sized bioenergy crystals emerged from the churning magma one after another, only to be melted by the bluish-violet flames, transforming into energy that was absorbed by the blazing "giant egg" at the very center of the lava cavern.
At this moment, Logan had folded his wings—far broader than those of an ordinary Fire Wyvern—completely around himself, curling up like a hatchling yet to be born from its egg.
Brilliant bluish-violet flames enveloped him, rising and falling amid the magma, as if he were a massive flaming dragon egg.
On the illusory panel, the progress bar had already reached ninety-nine percent, advancing slowly toward the final point.
The Sunlight Trait had been fully activated, and the temperature of Logan's body surface had reached an unprecedented height. The basalt cave walls, long washed by magma, began to crystallize under this extreme heat.
Even standing at the cave entrance, the surging heat made Aki feel uncomfortable. The Flame Rathalos had already cursed and moved out of the cavern yesterday, spending an entire day lying atop the smooth yet somewhat fragile bioenergy crystals.
Gradually, an invisible aura of pressure began spreading outward from the center of the lava cavern.
Wherever it passed, the Dodogama, who had been greedily gnawing on bioenergy crystals, shuddered all over. Without even finishing the crystal still in its mouth, it frantically clawed at the ground with its forelimbs, burying itself entirely underground.
The Uragaan and the Lavasioth that had been locked in combat each broke away, quickly returning to their own nests.
The Tempered Glavenus and Tempered Ebony Odogaron, locked in a life-and-death struggle, instinctively set aside their grudges and fled downward.
Even the Bazelgeuse, which had noticed monsters fighting and was about to spread its wings to glide down from the basalt highlands, withdrew its wings again, cautiously stretching its head out and scanning its surroundings with those tiny, wary eyes.
In this special region of the New World, where Elder Dragons were most abundant, every ordinary monster possessed an exceptionally deep understanding of the might of Elder Dragons—reckless fools did not live long here.
As Logan's aura spread, the Elder's Recess suddenly fell into an eerie silence.
[Boom!]
A volcano suddenly erupted, releasing torrents of magma and bioenergy crystals that scattered across the scorching land along with rising plumes of smoke.
A bluish-violet fireball shot into the sky, adding a strange hue to the crimson heavens.
As the wings slowly spread open, a massive silver-white dragon nearly 30 meters in length, its tail spines like long halberds, gradually opened its eyes.
Beneath it, the pillar-like bioenergy crystals began to melt. Bluish-violet calamity flames flowed across the basalt, forming a vast sea of fire.
With the aura withdrawing, Logan slowly descended to the ground amid Aki's gaze of excitement.
He had never felt in such perfect condition.
That boundless, overflowing life force gave him the sensation of having achieved immortality. His entire body brimmed with inexhaustible vitality, and with every breath, it was as if he could sense the pulse of the world itself.
His perception extended along the Everstream where the magma flowed, reaching far into the distance.
This degree of harmony with nature—this feeling that he could command "authority" at will—was truly astonishing for a dragon.
Fortunately, perhaps because he had overused the Sunlight state earlier, Logan quickly readjusted his mindset.
With a thought, the Sunlight state deactivated, and the silver-white sun hanging over the Elder's Recess went dark.
Sensing the disappearance of the oppressive aura, the monsters began to move again. In this barren and brutal land, the struggle for survival never ceased for even a moment.
[Sunlight (True): The silver-white solar brilliance can emit endless light and heat—judgment or rebirth lies within a single thought.
While in Sunlight state, bioenergy rapidly converts into fire-elemental energy, allowing control over the surrounding temperature by regulating the fire-elemental energy in the air. Fire-attribute attacks are greatly enhanced, while water-elemental energy in the atmosphere is drastically reduced.]
Unlike before his evolution, the Sunlight Trait could now be freely activated or deactivated at Logan's will, and it even allowed him to draw upon the omnipresent bioenergy in the air to convert it into fire-elemental energy, thereby amplifying himself.
Moreover, with the complete activation of the Sunlight Trait, Logan's Mind's Eye Trait had also received a significant enhancement. Just as Kushala Daora could sense living beings through the airflow within the wind fields, Logan could now perceive entities within the Sunlight's range through the distribution of fire-elemental energy.
After his complete metamorphosis and the soaring leap of his vitality, every aspect of his body's parameters had improved to varying degrees.
Only at this moment did Logan's heart finally gain a true sense of stability.
With his current vitality, as long as he didn't act recklessly—picking fights to the death with other creatures, provoking those legendary forbidden monsters, or going mad enough to destroy the ecosystem and invite the siege of multiple Elder Dragons—it would genuinely be difficult for him to die even if he wanted to.
At this point, Logan finally understood why the Elder Dragons lived so freely and willfully, why even their mere migrations could cause catastrophic destruction.
Compared to ordinary monsters, Elder Dragons were truly the darlings of the world. As long as their transgressions did not reach an unforgivable level, and as long as they contributed even a little toward stabilizing the ecosystem, they naturally gained a small measure of privilege—of willful indulgence granted by authority itself.
And now, Logan had become one of them!
However, after his successful evolution, there was one thing that made Logan feel rather uncomfortable.
Power breeds arrogance, and authority brings confusion.
The absolute disparity in ecological niche now created in Logan a deep sense of separation whenever he looked at Aki and the others.
That's right—even Aki, whose metamorphosis had reached over sixty percent, now appeared faintly distant in Logan's eyes.
He was clearly certain in his heart that he still loved this mate of his.
Yet his body's instincts carried a sense of rejection. On an instinctive level, in Logan's perception, Aki gave him the same feeling as those ordinary Rathians—she not only failed to stir his desire, but even evoked a detached indifference, as though unworthy of notice.
The clash between instinct and inner feeling made Logan suddenly irritable.
"Roar?"
Aki, too, looked at Logan in confusion. Though apart from her tail there was little visible change in her appearance, in Aki's eyes, he had nonetheless become a figure far beyond her reach.
In front of Logan, she felt an intense inferiority.
Physiologically, she instinctively sensed that she could no longer bear offspring for him—like a lower creature facing one of a higher order.
That sensation was painful for Aki. Staring at Logan as he descended to the ground and met her gaze with those calm, ice-blue eyes, this was the first time Aki did not approach him for affection.
Unlike Aki, the Flame Rathalos and the Azure Rathalos had nothing but frenzy in their eyes—pure, unrestrained frenzy!
Under the influence of the Symbiosis Trait, they had long since formed an intense connection with Logan, who now stood at the top of the pyramid. As Logan stepped into a higher ecological niche, the emotions they displayed toward him were only worship and reverence!
This was both the result of the monsters' instinctive, deep-rooted belief that the strong must be revered, and their pride in being able to become members of his group.
Amid such fervent emotions, they failed to notice the strangeness between Logan and Aki at this moment.
Logan looked at Aki, enduring the instinctive discomfort, and walked toward her with heavy steps.
Seeing Aki subconsciously avert her gaze and slightly shrink back, he lowered his head and gently rubbed the top of her head.
The familiar scent, mixed with the sulfuric odor, entered Aki's nostrils. Under that scent, she gradually calmed down, let out a low growl, and nudged Logan's neck. Then, under his astonished gaze, she took a step back, looked at him with resolute eyes, spread her wings wide, and let out a roar filled with confidence.
The Flame Rathalos and the others were somewhat puzzled, but Logan knew exactly what that roar from Aki meant.
Yes—this was the Aki he knew!
The strong wyvern who had once led her young siblings to survive in the Wildspire Waste after their mother disappeared.
At only five years old, she had dared to bring a hatchling back to the nest and raise it herself.
In every battle of the Fire Wyvern group, she had always charged at the very front—the Queen of the Land!
Now, the problem between Logan and Aki was nothing more than an illusion caused by the difference in their ecological niches. With the reinforcement of the Symbiosis Trait, and Aki's own extremely rare talent—one that could be called the gift of a darling of the world—this small ecological gap was nothing significant.
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