Inside the mine tunnel.
Caesar sat down on a pile of rubble, panting heavily.
The energy from Terastalization came quickly and left just as fast.
As the crimson crystalline shell dissipated into a shower of light and the burning flame crown atop his head shattered, an unprecedented sense of weakness and fatigue instantly overwhelmed him.
His mana was completely drained.
His Mental Energy had also been over-exhausted from the invisible remote duel just now; Caesar's head felt like it was stuffed with mush, ringing incessantly.
"Did... did we win?"
Cecilia lay limp not far away, her chubby body sprawled on the ground, her two front claws still twitching uncontrollably.
Her silver vertical pupils were vacant and unfocused, and she muttered unconsciously, "Legendary... That was a Legendary pressure... What on earth were we just in a tug-of-war with?"
"Doesn't matter what it was; if it lost, it's a loser."
Caesar shook his heavy head and forced himself up, his gaze falling upon the [sharp claw] floating before him.
That cluster of ghostly blue soul fire had already dimmed, returning once more to silence.
Just as Caesar reached out to grab it, the bone claw suddenly moved, tapping him on the head three times with moderate force... before slowly drifting down.
Hey, this old fogey is actually copying Old Ancestor Bodhi to give me a hint?
Caesar grumbled internally and immediately brought up the System panel, his eyes locked onto the equipment slot.
He had risked his life this time; if no good loot dropped, he swore he would crawl through the network cable and bite that Red Dragon woman to death, wherever she was.
[Ding! The item "sharp claw (Viola's soul fire)" has completed its phased devouring.]
[Current Quality: Amethyst (Growth-type)]
[Current Status: Lethargic (5550/10000)]
[Effect 1 - Sharpness: Critical hit rate +1 when held.]
[Effect 2 - Ghost Affinity (New!): Ghost-type move effects increased by 30%.]
[Effect 3 - Greed (New!): When killing creatures with high intelligence or strong mana, the sharp claw will automatically absorb and store remnant Souls. Current storage limit (1/5). Releasing a stored Soul can instantly restore 20% of the holder's maximum mana or empower the next Ghost-type skill.]
[Description: It has tasted the flavor of a legend, becoming more greedy and dangerous. You kept your promise, and Viola is very satisfied, but you called him an old fogey, and Viola is very dissatisfied.]
Holy cow! The weapon has basically evolved!
Caesar automatically ignored the last sentence of the description.
Dissatisfied? If you're dissatisfied, why did you tap my head? Come out and face me if you've got the guts!
He began to study the two new attributes.
The first one, "Ghost Affinity," increases move effects by 30%.
This description is a bit strange. Why doesn't it just directly increase power?
With a thought, Caesar tried to mobilize the last near-nonexistent trace of mana in his body and made a claw-swiping motion toward the open space ahead.
[Shadow Claw]!
A pitch-black claw shadow appeared out of thin air, but this time, it didn't appear on Caesar's claw. Instead, it formed directly six meters away, clawing fiercely into the rock wall and leaving three scratches deeper than before.
I see.
Caesar understood.
This "effect increase" isn't just about power; it also includes aspects like casting range and skill form.
Although it only increased from five meters to six and a half, which isn't a qualitative change, as the saying goes, "an inch longer, an inch stronger." In certain critical moments, this meter and a half could be the difference between life and death.
Not bad.
Caesar was very satisfied.
Next, he looked at the second new attribute, "Greed."
This one is interesting. What does it mean that remnant Souls can be stored, and what's with the (1/5) already being stored?
Caesar focused his mind and sank his consciousness into the [sharp claw].
Inside the claw was a dark space, and in the center of that space floated a red, round thing.
It looked like a chibi bubble, entirely crimson with two tiny horns on its head. It had a stern little face, radiating an aura of "I'm very annoyed" and "don't mess with me."
Is this... a Soul fragment of that Legendary Red Dragon from just now? Did Viola forcibly snatch it away?
Caesar became interested and tried to poke that "dragon bubble" with his mind.
The dragon bubble wobbled after being poked, then suddenly turned its head, glaring fiercely at Caesar's consciousness with a pair of miniature dragon pupils.
Although it had no lethality, this "grumpy-cute" vibe was quite interesting.
Caesar's playful side emerged, and he tried to release this Soul projection into the real world.
With a thought, a fist-sized red light shadow emerged from the [sharp claw], condensing into the shape of that chibi dragon bubble in mid-air before landing on the ground with a "splat."
It bounced twice on the sandy ground, then shook its head, looking around with a dazed expression.
"Wha... what is this thing?!"
Cecilia, who was still questioning her life as a dragon, was instantly drawn to this suddenly appearing little thing.
Her dragons maw immediately formed an "O" shape.
How could there be such a... such a cute creature?
Although it emitted a Red Dragon aura that made her instinctively uncomfortable, its miniature, huffing, and somewhat dorky appearance was simply... simply a perfect match for her aesthetic!
The dragon bubble was clearly just a memory projection with little intelligence; it rolled around on the ground, following its instincts to dig at the mud with its short claws, seemingly filled with curiosity about this new world.
Cecilia stared blankly, a hundred "whys" circling in her head.
Where did this despicable Earth dragon get this from?
What breed of dragon is this?
Why is it so small?
What does it eat?
Cecilia carefully approached and reached out her claw, also wanting to poke the dragon bubble.
The dragon bubble seemed to sense something and immediately turned into a streak of red light, "whooshing" back into the [sharp claw] in Caesar's hand.
"Don't touch my spoils of war." Caesar shoved her aside.
This thing was a "health potion" that could restore mana or empower skills at a critical moment; he couldn't let this idiot break it.
However, he got bored after watching it for a while. This thing was ultimately just a thoughtless memory projection, so with a thought, he tried to flatten it into 2D and pinned it directly to the corner of the System panel.
A grumpy-cute red dragon bubble thus became Caesar's desktop pet, rolling around on the screen from time to time.
Perfect.
Thinking about that Legendary Red Dragon, wherever she was, probably exploding with rage right now... Caesar couldn't help but hum a little tune.
"That's what you get for trying to steal my experience packs! Serves you right!"
The Garchomp snorted triumphantly twice, but then felt a wave of lingering fear.
The struggle on the Soul level just now was truly perilous.
If it weren't for the new trait [Dragon Might: Rebel I] granting immunity to the opponent's Dragon Might suppression, plus that old fogey Viola's outburst at the critical moment, he might have been the one turned into a "bubble" desktop pet—
The methods of a Legendary powerhouse were indeed beyond his current ability to fathom.
However, as the saying goes, "respect your opponent tactically, but despise them strategically."
Fear or no fear, what needs to be done must be done.
Caesar decided to continue with his previous task.
"Hey, stop playing dead."
In a great mood, he flicked the tip of his tail at Cecilia, who was still staring blankly at the air.
"Get up and work; these three chunks of meat haven't been dealt with yet."
After all, he had already made an enemy of a Legendary Red Dragon. God knows if she would track him down through the network; this place was no longer safe, and he had to finish eating and get out of here quickly.
Cecilia jerked and sprang up from the ground.
She looked at the messy Sub-dragon corpses on the ground, then at the bone claw in Caesar's hand that radiated an ominous aura, and swallowed hard.
"Earth dragon, did you just... tear apart the Soul of that Legendary Great Dragon?"
"Just tore off some skin."
Caesar walked nonchalantly to the corpse of the medium-sized Frost Wyvern (Will), his newly acquired [Dragon Claw] popping out to skillfully slice through the hard ice armor on the Sub-dragon's chest.
"What, are you scared?" He glanced sideways at Cecilia. "You also contributed back there in front of that 'Legend.' Thinking of washing your hands of it now?"
Hearing this, Cecilia's pale round face instantly flushed red, and that tsundere streak engraved in her bloodline flared up again.
"Scared? This young lady is a noble Silver Dragon! A future magic Genius! A mere... a mere Legendary Red Dragon is nothing!"
Cecilia talked big, but her two uncontrollably trembling hind legs betrayed her.
However, at the thought that she had actually participated in a confrontation of such a level and even "won," an inexplicable, massive sense of vanity made her puff out her chest.
She was a dragon who had arm-wrestled with a Legendary Great Dragon!
"Humph, consider yourself lucky this time. With this young lady's precious mana support, you would have been sucked dry by the opponent long ago!"
Cecilia grumbled as she stood on tiptoe with her claws in disgust, avoiding the blood on the ground to huddle close to Caesar.
She watched as Caesar prepared to start eating again and couldn't help but ask, "Are you... still going to eat this?"
"Of course."
Cecilia: "..."
Caesar didn't bother with the little loli's ellipsis.
Although a large portion of the Soul energy had been snatched away, the flesh and blood energy contained within the corpse remained.
This was the meat of three Gold Rank dragons; it was highly nourishing!
Waste is shameful!
Enduring his physical weakness and mental exhaustion, he opened his dragons maw once more and began a new round of devouring.
With the two new skills [Dragon Claw] and [Dragon Tail] as a foundation, combined with the experience accumulated from previous devouring, he felt an inexplicable confidence.
This time, he would definitely reach Level 33!
As long as the light of leveling up shone, this bit of weakness would be swept away!
Go, go, go!