Clearly, this is an underground palace.
Yet the ground here seems to be covered with countless golden bricks.
They shine with dazzling brilliance, reflecting thousands of candles, as if they also bathe the enormous skeletal structure in the middle in a layer of golden light.
The dragon's skeletal remains lie quietly, overshadowing the world.
The massive skeleton is like an ancient and majestic mountain range, each segment so thick that it would take several people to embrace it, seemingly capable of holding up the entire sky. Its imposing presence is hardly diminished by death. No one knows how many years it has been since it perished, yet the gigantic dragon head still rises high, even larger than the largest dragon of today.
The hollow eye sockets resemble deep black holes, as if still gazing at its past glory and splendor.
"Hogwarts actually has a dragon!"
The awe-inspiring scene unfolded before Ian's eyes, leaving his mouth open in an O shape. He immediately thought of the school's motto; could it be that the motto "Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus" actually has a basis?
Who would have thought that the little wizards guessed it correctly! Probably even the professors at Hogwarts are unaware of this. Otherwise, they wouldn't so confidently teach young wizards that there are no dragons at Hogwarts!
"This is more than just a dragon, compared to this, the Hungarian Tree Peak is no more than a chick." Ian couldn't help but marvel as he slowly approached closer.
In front of the dragon's skeleton, his individual size seemed like an ant, even climbing onto the dragon's toe bones was quite difficult. It's hard to imagine how enormous the dragon must have been when it was alive.
"Perhaps only when Ultraman arrives could it be matched?" This dragon skeleton, each bone is so thick and strong as if forged from the hardest metal. They interweave into a breathtaking skeletal structure, still showcasing the dragon's powerful might and strength, despite being dead for countless years.
"Clang, clang~"
Ian took out a hammer and struck the dragon bone, hearing a very solid sound. As an alchemist, it's reasonable for him to carry various peculiar tools with him.
"To make soup out of this thing, you'd probably need to directly use Fiery Fire?" Naturally, Ian is also a magic potion scholar, so such thoughts are also quite reasonable.
He truly was deeply shaken by the skeleton in the underground palace. Just the skeleton alone made him feel a suffocating sense of oppression. Who knows how powerful it was when alive.
Even today's dragon chicks have high magic resistance, thus one can imagine the dragon's magic resistance in front must be many times higher. Ian couldn't fathom how this dragon was defeated or perhaps subdued and placed in this underground palace afterward. He doubted whether the wizards' magic could break through this terrifying creature's defense?
"The founders of Hogwarts are really the founders...where did they find such a dragon?" Ian took out his "Bone Crushing and Ash Scattering Box" and placed it beside the dragon's toe bone.
This alchemy creation with sharp teeth immediately started to work.
However.
"Click~"
Just as Ian expected, the sharp teeth of the "Bone Crushing and Ash Scattering Box" directly broke, not only unable to bite the dragon's toe bone but also leaving no trace at all.
At least in terms of bone quality, the physical defense of the underground dragon was filled to the brim, as the damaged and scrapped "Bone Crushing and Ash Scattering Box" seemed to be ruthlessly mocked by the remains that had been dead for at least a thousand years.
"Maybe it's the result of magic modification or biological alchemy?" Ian continued to guess about the dragon's origins in his heart. After climbing down from the dragon's toe bone, he noticed a line of words glowing on the ground.
Each character is as big as a palm, actually quite conspicuous, but previously, Ian was obviously attracted by the mountain-like remains and didn't see it at first sight.
"The last of the Dragon Race will lie here in eternal sleep, and the era of the Dragon Race comes to a complete end."
Thanks to diligence, effort, and systematic assistance, Ian recognized the words written in Rune Language and also identified the elegant handwriting most likely from Lady Ravenclaw.
"The Dragon Era?"
Ian realized he might have uncovered a secret unrecorded in Magic History. He could almost feel the aura of that era from Ravenclaw's words.
Dragons soar the skies, reigning over the land. Their every breath can cause mountains and rivers to tremble, and their every roar can make all things shake.
"Hiss, why does this taste so bizarre!" Ian was somewhat relieved that Lady Ravenclaw mentioned the last of the Dragon Race had vanished, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to sleep tonight, constantly pondering whether there's a mix of half-bloods, Dragon Slayer School, Black King, White King, and a hodgepodge of backgrounds in the world.
"Anyway, such ancient secrets likely date back to before the Merlin Era." Ian gazed at the words on the ground, more and more convinced they represented Ravenclaw's handwriting style.
"I thought this was Slytherin's nine-tenths new personal chamber..." Ian was somewhat surprised by the ownership of the underground palace. He looked up around the surroundings and only then noticed that there were statues ten meters high in each of the four directions of the underground palace, blending almost seamlessly with the surrounding walls.
Each direction's statue has some subtle differences in detail, showcasing the appearance and posture of the four founders. The statues are etched with exquisite reliefs corresponding to the four houses at Hogwarts—Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Slytherin, and Ravenclaw.