"Huh, why am I perfectly fine?"
In the vast and desolate library, a small silver dragon with shimmering scales and a slender body looked at the menacing book spirit in front of her. She moved her body a bit, confirming that nothing had happened to her, and then turned a puzzled gaze toward the curse spirit, Hei.
"What kind of curse did you cast on me?" The small silver dragon had a vigilant look on her face. She knew that many curses could have delayed effects or required specific conditions to activate.
Seeing the cautious expression of the small silver dragon, Hei, whose spell had failed due to the power left by Muria on its true form, became even more frustrated. It felt like it could barely maintain its form.
"Rest assured, I haven't placed any curse on you. I've been suppressed," Hei said with a grim expression, stating the truth. There was no point in lying; it was better to admit defeat now than to be humiliated later.
"You've been sealed." The small silver dragon was momentarily stunned by the curse spirit's response, then she smiled triumphantly. She patted her chest with a small paw, "I knew it! If you hadn't been dealt with, those ancient dragons would never have allowed a forbidden book like you into the library."
As she spoke, the small silver dragon's silver eyes darted around, eyeing the book spirit's true form—a black and gold-covered metallic book. The five draconic characters engraved on it, which had seemed unremarkable just moments ago, were now glowing, preventing the curse spirit from cursing her.
"Wait, when you cursed that spider earlier, it had no issues at all," the small silver dragon recalled the results of the book spirit's two curses and concluded, "You can't curse dragons. Once you try, the seal activates, right?"
Hei, feeling even more disheartened, didn't want to speak and didn't even want to acknowledge her. Under the gaze of the small silver dragon, the book spirit, whose upper body resembled that of a deep abyss demon, collapsed into a cloud of black mist and retreated into the book.
"Why aren't you talking?" Seeing that Hei ignored her, the small silver dragon became even more persistent. Now that she knew this thing couldn't harm her, she grew bolder.
Moreover, her curiosity had been piqued by the curse spirit. She was curious about which ancient dragon had inscribed the seal on this curse spirit—it seemed somewhat familiar!
As the small silver dragon continued her incessant chatter, the frustrated Hei tried to lift its true form with black mist and fly away. But just as it began to rise, a small silver claw reached out and pressed the book back down to the ground.
"Why are you in such a hurry to leave? You haven't answered my question yet," the small silver dragon said, her arrogance growing now that she knew the evil book couldn't hurt her. "Tell me, who left those five words on your cover?"
"Let me go! Do you know who I am?"
"I do. You're my prisoner now, my prey under my claw," the small silver dragon said matter-of-factly.
"I'll tell you, those five words on my book were left by your dean, Muria. I'm his book; I was ordered to guard this library. I'm the librarian here, and I manage all the books in this place."
Feeling bullied, Hei angrily revealed its origins.
"Oh!"
But to Hei's surprise, even after revealing its identity, the small silver dragon still appeared indifferent.
"Since you know my origins, why aren't you letting go? I'm telling you, as the librarian, your actions are equivalent to attacking me, which violates school rules."
"Don't try to scare me. I've memorized all the school rules, and there's no such rule," the silver dragon said, yawning. "And I've never heard of there being a librarian here—the ancient dragon professors never mentioned it."
"So, you think I'm lying?"
"Half-truths. It's probably true that you were sealed by Dean Muria, but being the librarian is likely a lie," the small silver dragon deduced, based on the information she had.
"What do you want to do with me?"
"Nothing much. I just want to take you back and have a look." The small silver dragon picked up the cursed book and looked around. Finding no other dragons, she secretly used a spell to shrink the book and then tucked it into a gap between her scales.
…
Time flies, and after three months of classes at the Dragon Academy, a report of victory was placed on Muria's desk. The Giant Legion had pacified the Dragon's Maw Peninsula, an area of thirty million square kilometers. They had traversed every inch of land on the peninsula and defeated every creature with strength above the gold level.
At this point, it had been three years since Muria arrived on this continent, and the giant's campaign had lasted two and a half years. During this time, the giants had shed blood and sweat and had even sacrificed nearly a hundred of their kin, finally bringing this land under the control of Synapse.
Yes, even in such a conquest with overwhelming superiority, there were still giants who fell in battle. There were too many unpredictable events on the battlefield. No one knew if a powerful beast was slumbering beneath their feet, which often led to giants being ambushed by suddenly awakened beasts. However, all beasts that harmed the giants were eventually killed.
"Next comes the distribution of military merits." Muria set aside the report that had lifted his spirits and took out a thick ledger. It recorded the achievements of every giant during the expansion.
This time, Muria was prepared to make a significant sacrifice. He needed to bestow a large number of weapons and equipment, granting these giants higher status and honor. Only in this way would they have greater motivation to fight for him.
If he relied solely on bloodline influence to gather giants around him, problems would eventually arise. If the giants realized that they could enjoy the same benefits from Muria's bloodline regardless of their accomplishments, none of them would be willing to fight for him. So, this was the time to be generous, not stingy.
After arranging the distribution of merits, Muria began enrolling the giants' offspring into the newly established Giant Academy. With this done, Muria wasted no time in gathering his staff to discuss the development of Dragon's Maw Peninsula.
Once again, Synapse's shortcomings became evident. He didn't have enough manpower to develop such vast lands. If properly developed, Dragon's Maw Peninsula could support tens of billions of humans. It was clear how difficult it would be for Muria, who ruled over less than two million creatures, to develop this land.
As a result, Muria's so-called development of Dragon's Maw Peninsula was limited to occupying key resource points and sending people to extract those resources for Synapse. As for the rest of the land, it remained out of reach.
However, Muria was already considering ways to address this situation. As someone who had been part of a nation that cherished its land, it was hard for him to see any of it go to waste. He wanted to cultivate something, even if it was just simple crops, fruits, or vegetables—anything but leaving it barren.
So Muria summoned his vassal, the dragon knight Bernard, who seemed to have a king's destiny.
"Your Majesty, what are your orders?" The once-arrogant dragon knight remained respectful even after breaking through to the legendary level because his breakthrough was primarily due to the blood Muria had granted him.
"Tell me, do you want to be a king or a grand duke?" Muria's question shocked the dragon knight, leaving him at a loss.
However, Bernard quickly recovered and immediately replied, "I want to be a king, but with my current strength and qualifications, I can only become a grand duke."
"Hmm." Muria nodded, satisfied with his subordinate's response. "Earlier, I promised you that your family would be noble for generations. You found a sapphire dragon, and now it's time for me to fulfill my promise. From today, Synapse will fully support you in founding a nation on Dragon's Maw Peninsula. The vast land is yours to use as you see fit."
"Thank you for your grace, Your Highness." Bernard was thrilled to hear this. He knew he was guaranteed to become a grand duke and that becoming a king was no longer just a dream.
The longer Bernard stayed in Synapse, the more he realized how terrifying Muria's true identity was. Previously, becoming a king had been just a fantasy, but now, because he was Muria's servant, that dream was within reach.
"By any means necessary, at any cost, use every method to rapidly expand your nation's population." As Bernard left Wind King's Castle, a dragonborn escorting him whispered in his ear. After saying this, the dragonborn returned without waiting for Bernard's reaction.
"By any means necessary?" Bernard turned back to look at the imposing Wind King's Castle, narrowed his eyes, and then walked away. He already knew what to do.
In founding a nation on the desolate Dragon's Maw Peninsula, where giant beasts roamed, Bernard was well aware of what was lacking. When Muria first mentioned allowing him to found a nation, his biggest concern was the population.
He knew that golden dragons had a moral code, so if he relied on legitimate methods, like recruiting refugees to increase the population, it would take years, if not decades, to gather enough people for a nation. But now, with no such constraints, he could act without hesitation.
In any place, population is the foundation of a nation's growth and development. Without it, everything else is just empty talk.
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