After the misunderstanding was cleared, Gale and Maiev returned to their usual selves, spending every day together. All the Kaldorei could see that they were in love.
However, good times didn't last. A group of disheveled Kaldorei overseers ran over to complain to Gale.
"Mage Gale, you must control your Dragon. This isn't the first time it has disrupted our excavation work."
In the western mountains of Dalaran, a gold mine was discovered while excavating for stone. Yue Nu immediately mobilized a group of captured Trolls to mine the gold nearby.
The mining company already had successful experience. The Mages immediately manufactured some large machinery, and soon a large amount of ore was extracted from the gold mine.
However, good times didn't last. Gale returned to Dalaran, spending his days intimately with Maiev, neglecting the Proto-Dragon. As a result, this troublesome fellow somehow discovered the excavation site and was immediately attracted by the glittering gold nuggets.
The Kaldorei overseers all knew it, so they weren't on guard. The Proto-Dragon caught them off guard, directly trampling more than a dozen Troll slaves to death, destroying excavation equipment, and occupying the mine.
The overseers tried to approach and persuade it, but they were teased by it. Fortunately, it remembered Gale's warning and didn't dare to kill, but it still mischievously burned the overseers' clothes and hair.
The previous times, the Proto-Dragon would grab the gold nuggets and fly away. The overseers, out of respect for Gale, didn't say much.
But Yue Nu ordered the construction of a magic furnace at the mine to directly smelt the gold ore into gold ingots. This was bad; the Proto-Dragon grabbed the gold and wouldn't leave, and it even drove the Troll slaves to continue mining and smelting gold ingots. The overseers wanted to reclaim the gold ingots, but how could they be a match for the Proto-Dragon?
If the gold ingots couldn't be transported to Dalaran on schedule, Yue Nu would not spare them. With no other option, they could only disturb Gale and accuse the Proto-Dragon of its misdeeds.
Gale was a bit embarrassed; this was indeed his oversight.
Maiev was also a little shy. If Gale hadn't been with her, he wouldn't have been so indulgent with the Proto-Dragon.
"Let's go take a look together! Don't let it affect their work."
Gale nodded, "We'll go to the mine first, and you all can follow."
With that, the two disappeared directly in front of everyone. The overseers watched the two continuously blinking into the distance, filled with envy.
"Being a Mage is great!"
The two blinked all the way to the mine. From a distance, they saw the Proto-Dragon swaggering in the mine pit. Although it couldn't speak, it constantly cast spells to urge the Troll slaves.
The Troll slaves were exhausted, but they didn't dare to stop, otherwise the Proto-Dragon would eat them.
Gale only forbade him from eating Kaldorei, not Trolls.
"Enough!"
Gale blinked to the edge of the mine pit and shouted coldly.
The Proto-Dragon shivered subconsciously when it heard Gale's voice. Slowly turning its head, it saw Gale staring at it and couldn't help but show an embarrassed expression. After staying in Gale's Tower for a while, its intelligence seemed to have increased, becoming more and more human-like.
"What are you doing?"
The Proto-Dragon lifted its claw, revealing the gold ingots beneath it. Its body shape had also changed; its short forelimbs had actually developed a second time, becoming much longer and thicker.
This was clearly the work of the Well of Eternity's water, subtly transforming the Proto-Dragon's body, making it resemble a Guardian Dragon.
"Are these yours?"
The Proto-Dragon's expression changed, and it immediately put down its claw, covering the gold ingots. Although its eyes showed fear of Gale, there was a stubbornness in protecting its property.
Maiev couldn't help but smile when she saw its appearance, "Aren't you afraid Gale will punish you?"
The Proto-Dragon nodded.
"If you're afraid, why are you still protecting those gold ingots?"
The Proto-Dragon plunged its head into the mine pit, determined to defend its "wealth" to the death.
Gale frowned. He didn't remember the Dragons of Azeroth also liking to collect wealth. Guardian Dragons were no different from intelligent beings, and even knew how to restrain themselves better than intelligent beings. Could it be that Proto-Dragons were more wild, and thus liked gold coins?
Maiev asked it, "How about you take out some gold ingots for the overseers to hand in, and keep the rest?"
The Proto-Dragon looked up, its eyes darted, and it grabbed a gold ingot from the mine pit and threw it out.
Maiev was amused by it, "You really are a greedy fellow."
The Proto-Dragon squeezed out an awkward yet polite smile, but with its ugly big head, no matter how good its smile was, it was still ugly.
Gale had no mind to bargain with it and directly wove a large net with Arcane Energy, hoisting the Proto-Dragon up.
The Proto-Dragon roared, not wanting to leave the gold ingots. It opened its mouth to spray Dragon Breath. But what greeted it were Gale's murderous eyes, and it instantly sobered up, quickly closing its mouth and swallowing the Dragon Breath back.
"Cough, cough, cough—"
The Proto-Dragon coughed violently a few times, and thick black smoke still billowed when its mouth closed.
It seemed to have thought it through; compared to the gold ingots, its life was more important.
"Hmph!"
Gale snorted disdainfully and threw the Proto-Dragon onto a nearby mountain. The Proto-Dragon, freed from its restraints, immediately jumped to Gale's side, pressing its head against his feet, indicating submission.
It performed such a humiliating act without any psychological burden. From its fawning over Lu'anna, it was evident that this was a shameless Dragon with no bottom line.
Countless years of living in the wild had taught it the secret to survival.
Gale was both annoyed and amused, "Let's just call you Smaug. Is gold really that good?"
The Proto-Dragon nodded slightly, its eyes filled with anticipation.
Maiev was speechless. It was her first time seeing such a greedy Dragon. Although, this was the only Dragon she had ever seen.
Gale kicked it, then pulled Maiev onto the Dragon's back. He gave the reins a gentle shake, riding the Proto-Dragon back to Dalaran.
The Troll slaves collapsed to the ground. There were no overseers at the mine at this time, but they no longer had the strength to escape. Their bodies and minds had been ravaged by the Proto-Dragon, and their spirits had become hazy. If it weren't for the will to survive supporting them, they would have collapsed long ago.
In this state, they only knew they were saved and didn't clearly hear what Gale and Maiev said, only remembering the name Smaug.
From then on, the terrifying legend of Smaug spread throughout the mine. Then the Kaldorei overseers relayed this matter back to Dalaran.
After that, whenever the Kaldorei saw the Proto-Dragon, they would call him "Greedy Smaug." The Proto-Dragon, far from being ashamed, took pride in it.
Gale was so angry that he directly gave it the name Smaug. If you want to be Smaug, then be it. He just didn't know if it had the capability of Smaug; that one occupied a Dwarf city and was the culprit behind the Battle of Five Armies.
Regardless of good or evil, just Smaug's strength alone was incomparable to the Proto-Dragon.
The Proto-Dragon didn't care at all; it was very satisfied with the name Smaug. Even the little fellow Aeon had a name, and it was countless times stronger than Aeon, so it certainly deserved a name too.
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