In most cases, optimization is a blessing. It strips away useless components, refines outdated structures, and ultimately unleashes a far greater explosion of power.
The sensation was incredibly refreshing. Before, my body felt as though it were carrying heavy weights from head to toe; every movement required a conscious effort. Now, that was gone. My body felt significantly lighter and more agile. Not only was my power output higher, but that persistent feeling of being weighed down had vanished entirely. However, my primary concern remained my fire-gas system.
The Dragon Jade was situated right in my chest, immediately adjacent to the heat-resistant air sacs used for compressing and generating the fire-gas. This placement did not give me a great sense of security.
I knew my own body best. From the day I first "hand-crafted" those heat-resistant air sacs, I had been prepared for them to explode. In fact, they had exploded many times during my various attempts at controlled evolution. Having such a glaring safety hazard right next to my most vital organ—the Dragon Jade—was, frankly, a bit nerve-wracking for a dragon.
If those air sacs blow during a fight and take the Dragon Jade with them, I'm going to end up as a very spectacular, very dead firework...
However, after some careful thought, I abandoned the idea of trying to manually relocate the Dragon Jade. If its birth had triggered a natural optimization of my physical form, then its current location likely served a specific purpose. It was better not to mess with it. Who knew what kind of complications a "DIY relocation" might cause?
Biological Analysis: The Sword-Tail and Thermal Output
I was filled with curiosity regarding the new changes. I meticulously inspected every inch of my body, starting with my high-powered sword-tail. Compared to before, the scales on the outer layer seemed harder and their overall toughness had increased.
Beyond that, there weren't many visible changes. I suspected the vibration frequency of the blade-scales had increased, but because the frequency was already so high, it just sounded like a piercing, high-pitched buzz to my ears. Without proper instrumentation, I couldn't verify the exact improvement.
My focus then shifted to the fire-gas system: the chest intake, the gas pipes, the diaphragm valves, the heat-resistant crystals, and the wing-bone jets. This was a matter of life and death, so I checked everything with clinical precision. Powerful strength always comes with risks. Operating a body that hasn't been "vetted" by natural selection is costly; as someone who "hand-swiped" his own organs into existence, I was essentially walking on a knife's edge.
The temperature of my flames had definitely risen—significantly. I dug through my past-life memories for fragments of trivia regarding flame temperatures:
Yellow Flames: Usually associated with carbon combustion (wood or coal). These are the "coolest," around 1,000°C.
Purple Flames: Often linked to metal combustion (like cobalt). These reach roughly 1,400°C.
Blue Flames: Associated with gas fuels (natural gas, propane, methane). These can exceed 1,700°C.
Note: When a Bazelgeuse evolves into a Seething Bazelgeuse, its glowing scales emit an eerie blue-purple light in its empowered state, falling right into this range.
White Flames: Usually involving metals like magnesium or aluminum. These easily reach over 2,300°C.
I detached one of my wing-bone jets and aimed it at the empty ground. I could clearly see a pure white flame erupting, with only a faint hint of blue at the edges. When I took a deep breath, concentrated my internal life energy, and gave it a full-power blast, even that hint of blue vanished. It became a pure, blinding white.
As I pushed harder, the white itself began to thin out, becoming almost transparent. The only thing visible was the violent distortion of the air.
Drip.
The sound of viscous liquid hitting the ground snapped me out of my trance. In the few seconds I had been daydreaming, the rock wall I was aiming at had been bored through, leaving a molten crater. Fresh lava was oozing from the hole.
Furthermore, when I looked for the melted "heat-resistant crystals" that usually sprayed out with the fire-gas, I found almost nothing. Only a tiny scattering of liquid particles remained on the wall, shimmering with a blue-gray luster.
Is it... complete combustion?
It made sense. Unlike previous iterations, the searing white heat was likely vaporizing the heat-resistant crystals entirely. It was like wood burning so efficiently that it leaves no smoke. Higher temperatures and more thrust are great, but the question was: Was it safe?
The most important part of the fire-gas system was the layer of heat-resistant crystals lining the inner walls of the air sacs. Without them, the system couldn't exist; it would just be a bomb waiting to go off. If those crystals were vaporizing too quickly, the fire would burn through the sacs in seconds.
I immediately focused my mind on the air sacs. To my surprise, the entire sac was now encased in a block of muscle interlaced with thick "vessels." This was clearly another gift from the Dragon Jade.
I inhaled, ignited, and fired, feeling the changes within. The heat-resistant crystals on the inner walls were being secreted and replenished at a perfectly stable rate. Their thickness remained constant. Moreover, the muscle layer surrounding the sac was pulsing like a second heart, and the "vessels" were pumping something into the sac.
Wait—those weren't blood vessels.
I looked at the blue-gray liquid particles on the wall. The color matched the fluid flowing through those "vessels" perfectly. It was liquid mineral secretions being injected directly into the air sac.
The composition of the crystals had changed. They were no longer just a protective barrier; they were acting as an accelerant. They were making the fire burn more ferociously, providing even more incredible thrust.
The Deep Trek
Realizing this, I couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement. If I weren't currently stuck in a cramped underground tunnel, I would have taken off immediately to see just how fast and how long I could fly.
But I had to endure until I reached the surface.
Right now, I felt like a kid with a shiny new toy, full of energy and ready to burst into the sky. Unfortunately, I was still stuck playing "find the exit" in the Geothermal Corridor. It was an endless maze, and aside from the infinite supply of "Monster Hunter Meals" and life energy, there wasn't much to do.
"Roar roar roar~ (Braised Agnaktor my favorite)"
"..."
"Roar roar (But your mama says there isn't enough for the whole family~)"
Bored out of my mind, I had caught an Agnaktor, decapitated and skinned it, and was now "hot-potting" the dark red meat strips in a pool of lava. Once the meat was coated in molten rock, I set it aside to cool. These lava-crusted snacks were rich in nutrients and had a great, multi-layered crunch—the perfect trail mix for a growing dragon.
Before long, I was back on the move, trotting through one geothermal cavity after another, hum-singing nonsense songs with a mouthful of meat. When you're a lone dragon, you don't need to maintain a "majestic" image. There were no Grimalkynes around to see their "mighty Glavenus leader" acting like a total goofball.
I was even doing a little wobbly skip-step, splashing through the lava as I went. I turned past irregular, glowing red rocks, dodging unstable ground and dripping magma. Even when a glob of lava landed on my back, I didn't care. It was just a little "dust" to me.
That carefree mental state lasted exactly until I rounded a corner in the corridor and slammed face-first into a massive monster.
The Mother Goddess
It wasn't that I found it—it found me.
Like someone pulling back a curtain, a section of the rock wall simply melted away, and the creature stepped through without warning. I had heard some rumbling earlier, but I'd assumed it was just the usual geothermal activity.
Who would have thought it was a dragon literally melting its way through the mountain to make a shortcut?!
For both me and the monster, this meeting was entirely sudden. I froze, immediately recognizing the creature before me.
Kulve Taroth. The Mother Goddess of Gold.
Wait, where the hell am I?!
The happy humming stopped. My skip-step turned into a rigid stance. The dried meat in my mouth fell into the dirt. I was having a total meltdown. Why was Kulve Taroth here? Better yet, how had I wandered into her territory?
The Caverns of El Dorado (the Golden Realm) weren't supposed to be anywhere near the Everstream path I was taking to reach the Elder's Recess!
I was lost. Completely and utterly lost. I knew I might lose my way, but I didn't think I'd end up this far off course. The Caverns of El Dorado weren't just a volcanic zone; they were a unique ecosystem created specifically by Kulve Taroth's presence.
This place was filled with unique environmental life: Gold Calappa, Copper Calappa, Goldscale Bats, and even the incredibly rare Tsuchinoko. There were even Gajalaka living here! It was absurd.
Kulve Taroth was exactly the kind of Elder Dragon I aspired to be—one who didn't adapt to the environment, but forced the environment to adapt to her. She was the center of her own world. If she left, she'd just create a new Golden Realm elsewhere.
It made sense now. I had wondered what kind of dragon could be so arrogant as to plow through the Geothermal Corridor like it was its own backyard. If it was Kulve Taroth, the "Architect of the Everstream," then it wasn't strange at all.
But what did that make me? An intruder who had broken into her house and eaten all her "pets"?
I subconsciously chewed a bit of the meat left in my mouth, wondering how to greet her. The good news was that Kulve Taroth was known for being relatively temperate. She likely wouldn't start a fight immediately... as long as I didn't strike first.
But I had absolutely no desire to fight a dragon that literally lived and breathed in the geothermal depths. Unlike the game, I had a feeling that in a real fight down here, I'd be the one getting "hunted."
"Roar?" (Hello?)
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