Evolving by devouring from a young dragon

Looking at the dragon breath crystal with a large hole in it, Alduin narrowed his dragon eyes, a hint of coldness appearing on them.

He wasn't particularly surprised that this guy managed to escape.

After all, it is a fifth-tier magical beast; when pushed to the limit, it will always find a way.

but……

Auduin frowned slightly as he looked at the obvious teeth marks on the crystal.

So that's how they escaped...

Stopping thinking about it, Auduin twitched his nose slightly, catching a lingering bear odor in the air.

It seems this guy hasn't been gone long.

Alduin spread his enormous dragon wings and flew off following the scent.

Perfect timing, I can try out my newly evolved dragon claw.

This time, we won't let it escape...

……

Inside the Crimson Mountains, a dazzling purple vein emitted a soft glow in the dim environment.

"Crunch-crunch-"

Xiong San lay sprawled on a small amethyst hill, his round belly rising and falling with his breath.

Every now and then, he would raise his heavy paws, pluck off a fist-sized piece of ore, and stuff it directly into his mouth without even blinking.

The ore he consumed was magic crystal ore.

"This stuff tastes the best."

Xiong San stuffed magic crystals into his mouth while mumbling incoherently.

He recalled the nightmare he had experienced two months ago.

The purple stone that the dragon spat out completely enveloped him, leaving him powerless and unable to break free.

But none of that is the most important thing. The biggest problem is that I can't get anything to eat.

Thinking of this, he bit down hard on a huge magic crystal. The crystal then slid into his stomach like tofu as soon as it touched his mouth.

And this is also where his special talent lies.

Any ore that enters his mouth, no matter how hard, will become as soft as the entrails of a monster.

So, while trapped inside the crystal, he stuck out his tongue and kept licking it, eventually breaking open a hole and successfully escaping...

Unfortunately, although the stone was also purple, it wasn't sweet at all.

It also has a sour and bitter taste...

However, looking at the magic crystals around him, Xiong San regained his good mood and a silly smile appeared on his face.

The purple stones here could feed me for a month...

And this mountain range also has many purple stones; after we finish eating here, we can go find other ones.

Thinking this, Xiong San then resumed his delicious meal.

……

Auduin's enormous dragon wings swept across the sky without leaving a sound, and he soon arrived at a dark cave.

After confirming that the giant bear's presence was inside, he transformed into a black shadow and silently slipped inside.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, a purple light appeared before Alduin's eyes.

Deep inside the mine, the crunching sounds of chewing echoed incessantly. Alduin watched the giant bear devouring magic crystals, but did not act rashly.

Alduin watched the giant bear devour magic crystals as if they were water, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

One reason why magic crystals can become a universal currency is that they are extremely hard and rare.

Alduin's ability to quickly digest magic crystals is also due to his innate talent for devouring.

Is it the same type of talent as mine?

Alduin narrowed his eyes, his figure hidden in the darkness becoming even more profound.

Regarding his talent, after Alduin was born and learned that he possessed the talent to devour everything and evolve, the inherited memories of this aspect of his talent also surfaced in his mind.

In this world, some creatures can awaken talents that have nothing to do with race or bloodline. They are more like a gift from the heavens, an innate ability.

However, not every gifted being can discover what their talent is.

In Alduin's inherited memories, there were very few beings like himself who knew their talents from birth.

Auduin looked at Xiong San, a thoughtful look flashing in his eyes.

This giant bear's special ability is likely to devour ores to strengthen its own defenses.

He had practically flown all over the Crimson Mountains without finding any magic crystal mines, yet this giant bear had somehow found its way here...

This indicates that its talent also allows it to sense the location of mineral veins.

Before a magic crystal vein is mined, there are some special stones on its outer layer. These stones can be considered a protective shell for the magic crystal, which can isolate the magic fluctuations of the magic crystal.

This is also why magic crystal veins are so difficult to find and extremely rare.

Alduin had also devoured those protective shells when he was in the dragon's lair, but because there were too few of them, he had not yet evolved the ability to isolate magic.

At this moment, he was hidden in the darkness, watching the giant bear sprawled on its back, stuffing magic crystals into its mouth, a glint of light flashing in his golden dragon eyes.

Originally, he wanted to test the newly evolved claws on the bear and then seal it again with the dragon breath crystal, but now he has changed his mind.

It seems like we could make use of this giant bear's talent...

Auduin's figure emerged from the shadows and appeared before Xiong San.

Xiong San, who was feasting, also saw his figure. A hint of vigilance immediately appeared in his eyes, and then he quickened his eating.

Seeing this, Alduin shook his head and said speechlessly.

"Hey, giant bear, I'm not here to steal your food."

Upon hearing this, Xiong San paused, stopping his rapid stuffing of magic crystals into his mouth. His eyes darted around, and his tone carried a hint of wariness.

"real?"

"I don't have a penchant for eating stones," Auduin said with a disdainful expression.

I don't actually like eating stones; I only eat them for evolution, so it's not a fetish.

"So what are you doing here?"

Xiong San breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, but his expression remained wary.

"I've come here to make a deal with you."

"A transaction?" Xiong San looked puzzled, not understanding what this meant.

Alduin spat out a top-grade magic crystal and placed it in front of the giant bear.

"What you ate were just inferior magic crystals containing impurities, while this is the real, top-grade magic crystal without any impurities."

Alduin sneered inwardly. Magic crystal ore was already hard to come by, and top-quality magic crystal ore without any impurities was even harder to find.

He just had to bet that this stupid bear hadn't eaten any top-grade magic crystals before, and even if it had, he had other ways to deal with it.

After all, if bribery doesn't work, there's always coercion...

Sure enough, Xiong San was immediately drawn to the magic crystal on the ground that emitted an even deeper purple light.

This stuff tastes sweeter than anything I've had before...

After hesitating for a moment, Xiong San grabbed the top-grade magic crystal and stuffed it into his mouth...

"Then what do you want me to do?"

The giant bear reluctantly swallowed the top-grade magic crystal and opened its mouth in a silly manner.

Seeing that he had achieved his goal, Auduin smiled smugly and then said in a low voice, "It's very simple. You find a magic crystal mine, and I will give you this kind of top-grade magic crystal, but we will split the magic crystal mine you find 50/50."

Xiong San tilted his head, the sweet taste of the top-grade magic crystal still lingering in his mouth, and immediately nodded: "Deal."

After agreeing, he looked down at the ordinary magic crystal on the ground that he had previously regarded as a treasure, and a hint of disdain appeared in his round eyes.

There's no way around it; once you've tasted something better, you can't stomach something worse...

Auduin took in his reaction, a smug smile playing on his lips.

"My name is Xiong San."

The giant bear stretched out its paws and opened its mouth in a simple, honest voice.

Alduin glanced at him, but did not respond, and flew straight out of the cave.