Evolving by devouring from a young dragon

"Advanced Sculpture".

Auduin's tone was flat.

Krieg put the mithril engraving needle back into his tool bag and said casually, "A trivial skill."

"A mere trick?" Alduin tapped the stone platform lightly with the tip of his tail. "Heh."

"You're very confident, but..." Alduin's tone shifted, "You have the right to be confident."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a powerful dragon's might swept towards the dwarf.

Krieg's hands, hanging by his sides, tightened slightly, but his back remained straight, his deep brown eyes calm and unwavering: "Rune is just a skill. No matter how strong the skill, it is just icing on the cake in the face of absolute power."

Alduin raised an eyebrow, and the invisible dragon's might receded quietly like a tide, causing the air inside the nest to suddenly freeze.

The fire spirit chick stirred restlessly between the dragon's horns, but still did not wake up.

"You're very smart." His voice wasn't loud, but it was meaningful. "You know what to say and what not to say."

Krieg paused for a moment, then spoke in a hoarse voice, "I'm just telling the truth."

"I'm not interested in your honest opinion." Alduin's massive dragon body leaned forward slightly, looking down at him.

"I don't like nonsense, and I don't like useless people. You have value, and I can give you value too."

He paused, then softened his tone: "Let's make a deal."

"What do you want?" Alduin cut straight to the point.

The strength has been proven, so it's time to discuss terms.

Krieg raised his head and looked calmly into Alduin's eyes.

“Three things,” Krieger said. “First, I need a studio. Not a cave, but a place where I can put all my tools, with a stable light source and a safe water supply. I need quiet, I need to be undisturbed.”

"Okay." Alduin nodded.

"Secondly, I need materials. Magic crystals, ores, magic-guiding ink, engraving needles, and so on. These things are expensive, and some are hard to find. You'll provide the materials for what you want me to engrave."

"no problem."

"Third..." Krieg's voice paused for a moment.

He looked down at his hands, stared at them for two seconds, and then continued.

"Third, I inscribe runes solely by my own skill. If you interfere with my technique, the deal is immediately void."

As soon as he finished speaking, he straightened his back even more, showing no sign of backing down even in the face of the dragon's oppressive aura.

A hint of surprise flashed in Auduin's dark golden eyes, which then turned into deep approval.

This dwarf wasn't arrogant; rather, he had an absolute desire to control his craft, and this desire for control is precisely the quality that top rune masters should possess.

"Deal." Alduin nodded.

"But I also have two conditions," Auduin said, changing the subject.

"First, from now on, you must stay here and are not allowed to leave."

Krieg nodded calmly and said without any surprise, "Okay, but you need to guarantee that my studio and materials will never be in short supply."

"Secondly, all the runes you inscribe must bear my dragon mark."

As soon as he finished speaking, the air inside the nest suddenly froze.

Krieg glanced down at his hands, which were covered in burn scars, and then looked up again, his back still straight: "Deal."

"Very good." Alduin flicked his tail tip. "The deal is done."

As soon as he finished speaking, Grimm, who had been kneeling to the side, visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

Alduin extended a forepaw from the obsidian platform and tapped the tip of the claw against the rock wall on the east side of the nest.

"There's a cave on the east side of the swamp. It's spacious and well-ventilated. Set it up as a workshop, make a list of materials, and give it to Blue, the stone giant by the entrance. He'll go get them for you."

Krieg glanced in the direction of the dragon's claw, then turned and limped off in that direction.

Grimm stood there, glancing at Krieg's retreating figure with his one eye, then at Alduin, unsure whether to follow or stay.

Auduin did not look at him.

"Grimm".

The old goblin's legs buckled, and he knelt again, crying out, "Here! Great dragon! Grimm is here!"

"You did a good job."

Grimm's single eye widened suddenly, his mouth opened and closed repeatedly, finally managing to squeeze out, "Thank...the great dragon!"

"From now on, whenever Krieg needs any materials, you'll be the one to gather information for him. You're better at this than Blue."

Grimm's single eye lit up.

He understood; this was a long-term job, which meant he was qualified to stay in the dragon's territory.

I understand! I'll definitely get it done!

"Go."

Grimm swallowed the rest of his words, bowed deeply, and hurried after Krieg.

The cave fell silent again.

Alduin's tail swayed gently as he stared at the old goblin's departing figure, lost in thought.

Adding the Dragon's Mark to the rune is like adding an extra layer of protection to the third loop, the activation loop.

Although it can be used as a regular rune, Alduin has the authority to disable the verification of the third loop, stop the rune's operation at any time, or even detonate it.

This is also the safest approach.

A year has flown by.

Alduin's dark golden vertical pupils swept over the stone giant in front of him.

These once fragile rock cubs are now covered with a layer of fine, spiderweb-like pale gold patterns, which are the "mineral affinity" and "rock hardening" runes personally engraved by Krieg.

After a year of nourishment from Alduin crystals, their bodies are no longer loose, their rock texture has become dense and hard, and their originally weak elemental cores have become much fuller.

Although it is still not even half the size of an adult stone giant, its growth rate is astonishing.

Alduin's sonic perception swept across the stone giant's entire body, discovering pale gold runes at its core. These runes were carved using the core and could grow alongside the stone giant along its veins.

Auduin's dark golden pupils swept across, and his sonic perception easily penetrated the stone skin, revealing the mineral veins gradually connecting within its body.

Runes are like a skeleton, supporting their growth; dragon seals are like shackles, locking away all possibilities of betrayal.

He nodded slightly, his tail tip brushing lightly:

"very nice."

With the help of the magic crystal, these stone giants are growing at an astonishing rate. Alduin estimates that they will all reach adulthood in less than a hundred years.

At that time, it will be able to become a true war behemoth.

During this time, Grimm also led other goblins to Alduin, which he used to develop a surrounding intelligence network and trading channels.

The Hengduan Mountains next to the sunken basin also have many tribes, which can be used to conduct trade.

Anyway, he has as many magic crystals as he wants, which he can exchange for rare resources.

For example, the symbiotic contract he signed with the Fire Spirit, because it was a high-level magic, required a lot of materials.

These materials were originally difficult to collect, but with the goblins, it became much easier.

Alduin gave Grimm a large amount of top-grade magic crystals to trade with different tribes, in exchange for rare items such as Crimson Sun Crystal, Earth Vein Fire Essence, and Ember Silver Powder. He even traded ancient fire-patterned sheepskin tanned from phoenix feathers with a reclusive elven merchant.

And now, we can finally begin.

Meanwhile, deep within the barren hills.

The enormous body of the Ig Serpent convulsed violently amidst the pile of bones, its dark scales peeling off in large areas to reveal charred and rotten flesh beneath.

Its left wing was torn apart, revealing the grayish-white underneath.