"Ugh—"
A dry retch, extremely destructive to the atmosphere, broke the silence of the night.
Not long after discovering they had reached the surface and gained their freedom, one of the two Young Dragons... began to vomit.
"Does this [Teleport]... have side effects?"
Caesar shook his dizzy head.
His sonar spread out silently, taking in every movement within a hundred meters into his heart.
This was a dense forest, with tall trees blotting out the sky. Above was the deep night sky, dotted with stars.
Only after confirming there were no powerful creatures nearby did he truly breathe a sigh of relief.
Now... they were truly free.
The "End of the Tide" Senior Alice mentioned sounded terrifying, but that was a hundred years away.
A hundred years was enough for him and Cecilia to grow from Young Dragons into adolescent dragons; it wasn't something a tiny Garchomp like him needed to worry about yet.
"Ugh... I can't do it, my head is still so dizzy..."
In the nearby pile of fallen leaves, Cecilia's voice was weak, and her silver dragon body could barely stand steady.
"This Miss... will never, ever, Teleport again... ugh..."
"Go on, get away, don't puke on my tail!"
Caesar showed a look of disgust.
Just talking about this little thing made him angry; they hadn't settled their previous accounts yet.
He had worked himself to death, fighting for his life against the Bronze Dragon Viola in the dream, exploding with power and using cheats, only to end up with [Sleep] and [Bite].
In the end, she was the MVP, while he became the one who just tagged along for the win.
"Get up." Caesar walked over and kicked her butt with the tip of his claw, "Don't Sleep. This isn't Chengtian Temple; a Demonic Beast could snatch you away as a midnight snack at any time!"
"Don't touch me... dizzy..." Cecilia whimpered, trying hard to lift her head, but her neck went limp like a noodle, "By the way, what is Chengtian Temple?"
"The place where you spend the night."
Caesar replied irritably and began looking for a suitable place to spend the night in the woods.
Soon, he locked onto a towering tree that would take several people to encircle. The tree had a massive canopy with lush foliage and a platform in the middle wide enough to be a perfect natural shelter.
"We'll make do up there for the night. Get up."
"So this place is called Chengtian Temple?"
Cecilia looked surprised.
She was still a bit dizzy, but simple flight was no problem. The Little Silver Dragon wobbled as she flew up to a branch over ten meters high and found a comfortable spot to lie down.
Caesar wasn't nearly as elegant. Garchomp can't fly, which was a major drawback.
He spat, and Shadow Claws popped out from his two thick Dragon Claws like two ice axes, slamming fiercely into the bark. With a "crack, crack," wood chips flew as he used both hands and feet to climb up in an extremely wild manner.
The canopy layer was wide and the foliage lush, enough to block any view from the sky.
The moment Cecilia touched the branch, she immediately curled her body into a ball, her tail covering her head... The vast Legacy memories in the mental Secret Realm had not only overwhelmed her skill slots but also greatly exhausted her Mental Energy. She desperately needed Sleep to digest that knowledge.
In less than ten seconds, the sound of steady breathing could be heard.
Caesar looked at this silly dragon who fell asleep instantly and shook his head. He found a comfortable spot nearby to lie down, but he didn't go to Sleep immediately. Instead, with a thought, he opened his attribute panel.
A pale blue light screen expanded across his retina.
[True Name: Kapu-Lias Caesar (LV.29)]
[Attribute: Dragon/ground]
[HP: 77/77]
[Attack: 78]
[Defense: 70]
[Special Attack: 62]
[Special Defense: 62]
[Speed: 67]
[Experience: 30/12400]
Looking at that line of experience points, Caesar's originally good mood instantly plummeted by half.
Previously underground, fighting the Bronze Dragon and leeching off Viola's fight against the fungal beasts, his experience points had soared like a rocket, giving him the illusion that leveling up was easy.
Now back on the surface without a powerhouse to carry him, wanting to find LV.50 or LV.70 wild monsters to farm for experience was simply a pipe dream.
This is trouble.
Caesar frowned. Did he have to slowly grind like a normal monster through hunting and time? How long would that take?
One must know that the growth of the Dragon Clan is extremely slow. Most of them rely on long periods of Sleep to accumulate power, a phenomenon known as "Dragon's Slumber." Sleep for a while, grow a few years older, and the Rank automatically increases by 1—it was practically an official AFK hack.
Unfortunately, Earth Dragons were not among them.
The Bloodline of Earth Dragons was mixed and their upper limit extremely low; they usually could only grow at a snail's pace through eating and fighting.
"However..."
Caesar's gaze fell on the new skill in his skill bar—
[Sleep (| Psychic |)]
This was one of the rewards Alice had given him. The System description stated clearly: creatures with True Dragon Bloodline can enter the "Dragon's Slumber" state through this skill.
Although he currently had shark-like skin, he had at least fused with a trace of True Dragon Bloodline.
"Then let's try and see just how great this so-called 'AFK leveling' really is."
Caesar adjusted into a comfortable position, closed his eyes, and activated the [Sleep] Move in his mind.
A strange warm current instantly enveloped his whole body; it was Psychic energy soothing his active nerves. The sounds of the wind and insects around him quickly faded away, and his consciousness felt as if it were sinking into a warm, deep sea.
Darkness.
Boundless darkness.
But the next second, a mechanical voice pierced the silence—
[Detected host entering deep Sleep. True Dragon Bloodline activated... Connecting to Legacy memories...]
[⊹ Connection successful!]
[Tip: You have arrived at the Special Legacy Space through 'Dragon's Slumber'.]
Caesar's consciousness jolted, and the darkness before him instantly receded, replaced by a strange, pure white space with no visible boundaries.
Immediately after, rows of blue data streams expanded before him, forming a massive virtual screen.
[Legacy Space Description: In this space, you will challenge otherworldly beings of the same Rank (LV.29) in a 'tower climbing' format according to the Pokédex order.]
[✲ Rules Description:]
[1. Challenge Mode: 1V1 Single Battle.]
[2. Before the challenge begins, both sides may choose four skills from those they have mastered as battle Moves and may carry one item.]
[3. No penalty for battle failure, consciousness will be forcibly ejected; battle victory grants experience points, physical growth, and a small chance to drop items/Move Tutor blueprints.]
[Please select your operation mode:]
[A. Auto Battle (Managed)]
[B. Manual Battle (Immersive)]
Caesar stared blankly at the description before him, his heart beginning to pound uncontrollably.
Tower climbing?
Pokédex?
Skill machines?
As long as he won, there was experience to be had, and no penalty for losing?
"Is there even a choice?" Caesar cracked his dragon neck, making a series of pops, "Manual operation, of course!"
[⊹ Mode selected: Manual Battle.]
[✲ Matching opponent for the first floor... ✲]
Following the prompt, the pure white space began to change; the ground rose to form a standard battle platform.
At the other end of the platform, light converged, and the silhouette of a creature slowly emerged.
It was a four-legged creature, shaped somewhat like a toad, with blue-green skin dotted with dark green patterns. Its eyes were bright red, and it had two small, ear-like protrusions on its head.
The most prominent feature was the massive, garlic-like green bulb on its back.
Looking at this familiar yet strange figure, Caesar's breath hitched for a moment.
[⊹ Opponent confirmed: NO.001 Bulbasaur.]
"..."
It really is... Caesar's expression became somewhat odd.
Bulbasaur.
The Grass-type Starter of the Kanto Region, forever NO.001 in the Pokédex.
He never expected that his first "pokémon battle" in this world would be against this heavyweight veteran.
It felt a bit beneath him, yet it was full of a sense of ceremony.
"Fine, you it is." Caesar split his dragon kiss, revealing sharp teeth, "Although I never chose you in my past life, today, let me see the strength of the first-generation Starter."
[Please select your battle skills and held item.]
The System prompt sounded again.
Caesar immediately began to calculate.
Bulbasaur is Grass + poison-type, weak to Flying, Fire, Psychic, and Ice.
Meanwhile, he was ground and Dragon type; his STAB Moves would deal normal damage.
In his skill pool, [Dragon Breath] was his only long-range special attack, so he'd take that.
[Quicksand Abyss]—this Move had miraculous effects in real combat, as it could trap opponents; take that.
[Heavy Stomp], a STAB physical output Move that could also change the terrain; a must-take.
"The last one..."
Caesar hesitated for a moment, his gaze wavering between [Poison Jab] and [Shadow Claw]. Considering coverage, both were about the same for the first fight, but the latter was at least a mid-to-close range Move and had a high critical hit rate.
He'd go with [Shadow Claw].
[✲ Configuration complete... ✲]
[Please select a held item.]
There was no choice here.
The only item he could use was that bone spike left by Viola.
[⊹ Item selected: sharp claw (Viola's soul fire).]
Everything was ready.
The Bulbasaur opposite him also adjusted its posture, the seed on its back shaking slightly, its bright red eyes staring intently at Caesar, filled with Battle Intent.
Caesar took a deep breath, his body crouching slightly as he assumed a hunting stance.
Here it comes!
[✲ Battle countdown... ✲]
[3...]
[2...]
[1.]
[⊹ BATTLE START! ⊹]