The peak where the Red Dragon resided was now shrouded day and night in steaming hot winds. Accompanied by the sweltering heat of summer, the air here seemed distorted, and one could only vaguely see a dancing lake of magma amidst the heat.
Even the young dragons were unwilling to approach this peak. Although the powerful bodies of dragons would not be harmed, they all disliked such a hot and sweltering environment.
However, the elemental storms and hot winds shrouding the peak today seemed to have dissipated quite a bit, and the visibility was much higher than in previous days.
Amidst the dense steam, Kalon's body could be vaguely seen soaking in the scorching, corrosive magma.
This corrosive magma could not corrode the Red Dragon's hard scales, even though he soaked in the magma lake all day long.
Even as a hatchling, the scales on the Red Dragon's body were enough to withstand the slashes of ordinary iron tools, let alone now that he had grown into a young dragon.
The protection and toughness of his scales had been greatly enhanced, and his adaptability and resistance to fire elements had reached a terrifying level.
This magma didn't even make the Red Dragon's skin feel hot; moreover, it washed the scales on his body very clean, flushing out even the crevices that were difficult for the Red Dragon to clean himself.
However, as Kalon soaked in this magma pool for longer and longer, the magma that had been drained of heat by the Red Dragon's body gradually solidified onto him.
Like the wild boars in the forest that liked to wallow in mud pits, his body began to be covered in a thin layer of solidified magma stone.
At some point, the heat that was enough to obscure vision had dissipated, and peace returned to the mountain top.
Immersed in the strong scent of sulfur, the Red Dragon comfortably opened his eyes, and his massive body floated up from the magma lake.
Kalon felt a slight stiffness in his body. Looking down, he saw that many parts of his body were encased in a layer of semi-solidified stone.
In particular, the color of the solidified magma was a strange dark red, which triggered some unpleasant memories for him.
Tsk. Kalon surged the mana within his body, shaking off the solidified magma on his wings, and then flapped his wings like a swan taking flight from the water's surface, flying onto the shore of the magma lake.
"No wonder those dragons can sleep for decades once they find a lair they like; this feeling is just too comfortable."
Like a bird shaking its feathers, Kalon shook the outer layer of magma off his body, and these dark red surfaces turned into fine fragments of stone that fell to the ground.
Feeling that the slight restriction on his body's surface had vanished, Kalon then folded his wings and moved his body around on the mountain top.
After catching up on sleep and being nourished by ample mana during this period, Kalon's body had grown a bit more, reaching a length of thirteen meters.
To be honest, Kalon quite liked the feeling of being able to grow just by lying down and sleeping. Unfortunately, Kalon knew that the power gained simply by relying on natural growth through sleep was not enough to establish a foothold in this dangerous world.
Even young adult dragons or even adult Chromatic Dragons could be slain for various reasons, let alone Kalon, who was still only a young dragon.
Moreover, his conversation with the mage had instilled a sense of urgency to become stronger. However, after the last lesson, the Red Dragon and the other young dragons all knew the importance of developing cautiously.
Fortunately, after talking with the mage Lapers, he had a rough idea of the main direction he should take in the future.
Kalon's increasingly massive body sat down, looking like another small red mountain towering on the peak.
He began to retrieve knowledge about magic through his Sub-brain. Lines of information flowed through his eyes, and spell models specifically adapted for Kalon himself, analyzed and simulated by the Sub-brain, began to take shape.
The radiance of mana began to surge on Kalon's red claws. An Acid Splash formed under Kalon's will and then flew toward the ground, striking a shallow mark on the scorched earth and making a slight sizzling sound as it corroded the soil.
This was the effect of the magic cantrip, Acid Splash.
Magic radiance continued to surge in Kalon's hands, and four lanterns appeared around him, emitting a hazy light. This was Dancing Lights.
Another illusory sound echoed around him, with a volume equivalent to five or six ordinary people. This was Ghost Sound.
However, because Kalon's magic resistance was so exceptional, this cantrip acting upon himself had no effect; it was just something Kalon determined based on the magical common sense taught to him by the mage Lapers.
Then Kalon continued to try several other cantrips, including Arcane Mark, which was not much different from a dragon's innate spell Locate Object, and the favorite spell of low-level mages, Mage Hand.
An ordinary mage's Mage Hand could probably only move objects weighing five pounds, but in Kalon's claws,even a simple spell like Mage Hand could move objects weighing over a hundred pounds.
And it was flexible enough to fly up and down and move around according to Kalon's will, rather than just simply supporting weight.
This was not only due to the dragon's excellent magical talent but also the result of Kalon's Sub-brain tailoring the spells for the Red Dragon based on individual differences.
The Sub-brain deduced a more suitable way for Kalon to cast spells and a mana circulation route by collecting notes and insights left by mages who had used this spell.
With enough knowledge for reference, the Sub-brain calculated and analyzed, fine-tuning the spell models for these cantrips. Based on Kalon's experimental results, the effect was unexpectedly satisfactory to the dragon.
Furthermore, through these spell tests, Kalon concluded that the mana and mental energy consumed by these cantrips were no burden at all; he could cast these low-level cantrips almost indefinitely.
As long as his mana was sufficient to supply the consumption of these cantrips, but the consumption of mana by these cantrips was far from matching the speed at which a dragon naturally absorbed mana.
However, these cantrips weren't very useful for a dragon nowadays, though he found Mage Hand wuite interesting.
But then a doubt arose in Kalon's mind. When he used the magical knowledge Lapers taught him to cast magic cantrips, he didn't feel himself touching the legendary magic Weave.
One must know that although Kalon had only cast low-level cantrips, it was different from a dragon's innate spellcasting. A dragon's own spellcasting was more similar to a sorcerer's, so not touching The Weave was quite normal.
But no matter how low-level a spell was, it still needed to touch Raw Magic. According to some of Kalon's knowledge from his previous life, one had to lock onto Raw Magic through The Weaveto reach it.
Kalon recalled the concept of The Weave based on the memories his Sub-brain retrieved from the depths of his mind.
Almost everywhere in the worlds of the multiverse was filled with magic. Everything, including every stone, every stream, every living creature, and even the air itself, contained untapped potential energy.
This potential energy was the raw material of creation, belonging to Raw Magic.
Mortals could not use this energy directly but could instead use a woven structure of magical energy as a bridge connecting the caster's consciousness with the raw magical material. This bridge was called The Weave by spellcasters.
Without The Weave, Raw Magic would be difficult for a spellcaster's consciousness to lock onto, making it unreachable.
However, during Kalon's process of casting magic, he did not feel this bridge that served as an intermediary for casters; he seemed to be able to directly touch that raw mana.
Kalon wondered if it was because the spells he cast were too low-level to clearly sense the existence of The Weave, so he surged the mana in his hand, intending to release a slightly higher-level spell.
Under Kalon's will, a ball of blazing fire condensed mana, emitting rolling heat as it took shape between his claws, and was then thrown by Kalon, crashing into a rock under his guidance.
Bang! The fireball spun and crashed into the rock, then exploded, blasting several cracks into the newly formed, fragile rock.
This was Flaming Sphere, a proper spell, no longer a low-level magic.
But he still didn't sense the existence of The Weave. Kalon raised his claw and scratched his chin, lost in thought, wondering if there was a problem with the magical knowledge Lapers gave him or if there was a problem with himself.
The magical knowledge Lapers had taught him seemed a bit too comprehensive, which made the mage highly suspicious.
But thinking about how his body was already filled with mana mixed with Heartforce, he found it somewhat difficult to be certain. However, this concerned his secrets, so he couldn't possibly ask the mage.
Perhaps, there's something wrong with this world, Kalon thought, his sharp claws unconsciously scraping sparks off his hard scales.
But Kalon quickly pushed this question to the back of his mind. Although he was actively engaging with this magical knowledge, his initial goal was simply to enhance his own strength.
After his conversation with the mage Lapers, his attitude toward magical knowledge was now one of observing a true corner of the world from a mage's perspective to gain more knowledge about the real world.
The paths of dragons and mages were different. Although the two converged in the general direction, that didn't mean Kalon had to become a dragon mage.
Compared to magic, dragons preferred to destroy enemies using their bodies, claws, and fangs, as well as their dragon breath, which was naturally more powerful than many spells.
Kalon was also influenced by this notion, especially since he was a Red Dragon who advocated for physical violence.
However, the point where Kalon differed from other dragons of his kind was that he believed the power of magic was also an extremely effective and powerful means.
Whether in destroying enemies or in other aspects, he was very willing to accept magical knowledge. Even though the process of learning magic was quite tedious, Kalon still took pleasure in it.
"But in what way can I learn more about the true side of the world?" Kalon recalled the mage's words: the more one understands the true side of the world and the more comprehensive one's unique understanding of the world is, the more powerful one will be on the path ahead.
Memories echoed in Kalon's heart, and clusters of flames surged in his eyes as he activated his Ultimate Perception.
Within his vertical pupils, which looked like surging red magma, the surrounding world took on a different appearance.
The trajectories of elemental flow were clearly visible to him: the yellow of earth, the cyan of wind, the blue of water, the red of fire, and the green of life—all sorts of pure yet mixed elements.
Within the range of his Ultimate Perception field, the tangled traces of various elements were as clear as the lines on his palm.
As an owner of affinity talents for the relevant elements, dragons could control and command these flowing elements through their will and spirit.
Without resistance from these elements, these controllers could use them to exert terrifyingly great power in the real world.
Currently, Kalon possessed the talent to control flames, earth, and metal; he could touch these elements and use them to create boundless power in the real world.
More importantly, this visual perception was equivalent to giving Kalon a way to observe the true side of the world from another perspective; his perception was closer to True Seeing.
In this field of True Seeing from Ultimate Perception, he could see through darkness created by both magical and non-magical means, as well as invisible creatures and objects, and could detect visual illusions.
If invisibility were achieved through low to mid-tier spells, it would be fully exposed in Kalon's True Seeing, unless the concealment spell reached master level or the creature possessed a special talent.
Just like Raven's innate invisibility as a Magic pixie ; although Kalon couldn't directly see through the invisible Pixie yet, some traces and patterns could still be discovered.
If this ability were further enhanced, he could even see through shapechangers or the true forms of those using magic to Polymorph.
True forms hidden by Polymorph spells would also be seen through by Kalon, especially those Metal Dragons who particularly loved using Polymorph.
And Silver Dragons, those dragons who didn't follow the rules of engagement; they especially loved using Polymorph to take on the appearance of elves or humans to travel the world.
Some dragons were particularly keen on adventuring with companions of other races, then transforming into dragons to save the team in times of danger—essentially showing off.
Afterward, even if there were no bards in the party, these dragons would take the initiative to tell poets who loved to sing stories, letting the story of them becoming a partner of justice spread.
Dragons, naturally fond of vanity, were just that shameless and thick-skinned; this was how the good reputation of many Metal Dragons spread.
If the Chromatic Dragons weren't so chaotic evil, perhaps they could also use such methods to turn their reputation around.
But then again, according to what Kalon knew, how many creatures in the world were naturally endowed with various special perceptions?
For example, Blindsight, Darkvision, Tremorsense, etc. These special perceptions should also be able to touch upon the true side of the world in some way.
"It seems I need to establish a relatively objective observation model for the real world and gain a comprehensive understanding of the world's knowledge to better construct my own unique understanding of the world's reality."
Kalon lay on the ground; after soaking in magma for a long time, he now exceptionally enjoyed the feeling of the breeze blowing. He propped his claw against his cheek, which was covered in spikes.
"Or perhaps understanding the world isn't limited to the physical aspect; thoughts or even philosophy could help me construct a unique understanding of the world."
"But even with a physical worldview, it can be divided into the macro world and the micro world. If I continue to go deeper, it would be impossible to fully master this knowledge even in a lifetime."
The Red Dragon's long tail began to flick around out of boredom. Under the Red Dragon's great strength, even an ordinary tail flick seemed exceptionally intimidating, and his powerful tail smashed the rocks formed by the dried and solidified overflowing magma into pieces.
"And there are other ways of looking at the world, such as the six elements—Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, Space, and Consciousness—or the Five Elements and Five common senses . How should I summarize and transform these into my own understanding?" The claw supporting the Red Dragon's chin scratched his head uncontrollably.
The scene that had occurred many times with the Blue Dragon Dos was now being repeated with the Red Dragon. Kalon began to feel a sense of remorse like a failing student, and a realization of what he should have done in the past rose in his mind.