Evolving by devouring from a young dragon

The campfire burned out, leaving only a pile of red embers, with sparks occasionally popping and crackling.

Grimm tucked the oil paper package into his pocket, got up with his cane, and prepared to go back to the shed to sleep. But as soon as he took a step, he suddenly felt a heavy force under his feet, and the surrounding grass, trees, and pebbles on the ground all shook.

Grimm lost his balance, his cane slipped from his hand and slid far away, he swayed and fell to the ground, his face covered in dust.

"Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey—" He spat out ash as he got up, turned around, and froze.

Blue stood on the edge of the platform, his body radiating light.

The earthen-yellow rock pattern lit up from his chest, as if a lamp had been lit inside his body. The light spread along the pattern to his limbs, shoulders, arms, back, and legs, all of which were covered in light.

Blue's body began to swell.

His shoulders bulged outwards first, as if being inflated, and his arms visibly thickened. His fists, which were originally the size of a clay pot, swelled up to the size of a washbasin.

Layers of rock rose up on his chest, and new stone material kept flowing out of the gaps between the rocks, gradually filling and sealing them off.

He kept rising higher and higher, six meters, six and a half meters, all the way to seven meters, before finally stabilizing himself.

He lowered his head and stared at his palms. The yellowish-brown light flowed through his fingers, illuminating the surroundings clearly.

Grom had just crawled out of the tent, still clutching a half-eaten bone in his hand, when he looked up and saw Blue's state. The bone slipped from his hand and hit his foot without him even noticing, leaving him completely dumbfounded.

The orcs in the camp all ran out upon hearing the noise and gathered to watch.

The kobolds in the distant mine peeked out, hunching their necks as they secretly observed.

Grom swallowed hard, and after holding it in for a long time, he finally blurted out a curse:

"Holy crap... Blue, what did you do? What did you eat that caused this mutation?"

Alduin leaped directly from the platform, landing steadily in front of Blue.

Previously, the two were about eye to eye, but now he had to look up. The seven-meter-tall stone giant was much taller than him, creating a very oppressive atmosphere.

Blue lowered his head and looked at Alduin in front of him. His originally stiff, stone-like eyebrows and eyes now showed a clearer look, no longer the dull and simple-minded person he used to be.

"Boss."

Alduin silently rolled his eyes. Well, as soon as that voice came out, Blue was still that honest stone giant, unchanged in the slightest.

Then, he raised the dragon's head, his vertical pupils staring directly at the still-present earthy yellow light patterns around Blue, his tone flat:

"What happened?"

"There's a power surging within me." Blue raised his enormous hand, watching the halo of light flowing through it, his fingertips clenching and unclenching.

"I had this feeling when I first met Pan Shi Hui, but it was even more obvious just now. I've grown taller and stronger."

He paused, looking down at his thick arms and body covered in intricate rock patterns, his tone carrying a hint of solemnity he himself was unaware of:

"I also remembered something, something from a very, very long time ago."

He paused, looking again at his increasingly thick arms and the fine rock patterns covering his skin, his tone hesitant:

"I also remembered some things, things from a very, very long time ago."

Grom finally came to his senses, ignoring his still-aching foot, and rushed over, craning his neck and widening his eyes, his voice even louder:

"What are you thinking of? Blue, you're too strong now! Seven meters tall, you could probably smash a mountain with one punch!"

The surrounding orcs echoed his sentiments, their eyes filled with shock and admiration as they looked at Bru. The seven-meter-tall stone giant was a living wall, providing an extra layer of security for their territory.

The kobolds in the distance were so frightened that they shrank their necks and lay down at the mine entrance, not daring to move. They had originally dared to secretly watch the excitement, but now they were intimidated by Blue's aura and didn't even dare to breathe.

Grimm, leaning on his cane, approached shakily, craning his neck to look with difficulty at the towering Blue, his small eyes filled with astonishment and doubt:

"Blue, have you completely evolved? This strength, this size, it's more than twice as strong as before!"

Ignoring the astonishment of those around him, Blue kept his gaze fixed on Alduin and continued:

"I remembered a stone city, deep, deep underground, entirely built of stone, and inhabited by stone people as tall as me, or even taller than me..."

Auduin's vertical pupils narrowed slightly, and his dragon breath subtly subsided as he listened quietly to Bru's words, pondering in his heart.

Grom's eyes lit up, and he patted Blue's leg, shouting:

"The Stone Clan? Does that mean we can find even more helpers in the future? Who would dare to provoke our territory then!"

"No, they're different from me. They look very strange," Blue hesitated for a moment, scratched his head, and then said.

"That's strange?" Grom asked, puzzled. "Don't all stone giants look the same? Aren't they all made of stone?"

Blue scratched his head, unsure how to explain, and could only chuckle sheepishly.

Seeing this, Grom didn't ask any more questions, but just circled around Blue a few times, his eyes full of envy.

Auduin fell into deep thought. He had known about Bru's uniqueness for a long time, but the information was too limited to make a judgment. He could go and ask the bronze dragon instead.

However, we can wait until we have enough strength before building the underground stone city.

Grimm circled around Blue, poking Blue's shin with his cane... He used to be able to poke Blue's knee, but now he could only poke his shin.

"Bruce, you've grown taller! You've gone from six meters to seven meters, and you're as tall as the ore piles in the mine now."

Bru looked down at Grimm, the old goblin standing at his feet like a mouse.

He stretched out his huge hand, pinched Grimm by the back of his collar with two fingers, lifted him up, and gently set him aside.

"Don't block the way."

When Grimm was put down, his legs went weak and he almost fell. He barely managed to stand by holding onto his crutches, muttering, "His strength has increased too. Before, he could squeeze my whole hand, but now two fingers are enough..."

Seeing that Bru had left, the orcs dispersed and went back to their tents to sleep.

The goblins retreated back into the small shacks beside the mine. Grimm, leaning on his cane, walked away with a clattering sound, muttering, "Seven meters high, seven meters high."

Alduin's heart stirred, and his figure vanished from the spot, appearing in the dragon's nest the next moment.

Soon after, Blue returned.

The seven-meter-tall stone giant crouched down, blocking the entrance to the cave completely, preventing even the moonlight from getting in. The dragon's nest was plunged into darkness, with only the faint glow of the gold coins and the occasional flash of yellow light from Blue's chest remaining.

"Boss," Blue said, his voice muffled, "I have a strange feeling when I see those of our kind."

Alduin lay in the dragon's lair. Upon hearing this, he opened one of his vertical pupils, a faint golden light flashing within it, and said calmly, "Speak."

"Those stone giants looked so strange, but not in appearance, it was because..."

Blue scratched his head, unsure how to describe it, and after a long while, finally managed to utter a sentence.

"They look like, just living stones."

Auduin was speechless for a long time before closing his eyes and falling asleep. Seeing this, Bru returned to the cave entrance, sat down, and transformed into a huge small mountain.