Evolving by devouring from a young dragon

Krieg's workshop was in a cave not far from Dragon's Nest. It was originally a stone chamber for storing miscellaneous items, but the dwarves converted it into a residence and a workshop for rune forging.

Rows of wooden racks were nailed to the cave walls, filled with bottles and jars containing magic crystal powder, rune ink, and solidification agents, as well as neatly stacked rune stone slabs and various carving knives. The air was filled with the mixed smell of magic crystal powder and various metals.

Bru lay on the ground, his body longer than the stone platform, his legs dangling on the ground. Krieg stood beside him, his feet resting on two stones, holding a fist-sized dark red crystal in his hand.

That was the lava crystal of the Salamander King, which Alduin found in the lair after killing the Salamander King and had been leaving it to gather dust in the treasure pile.

This morning, Auduin had Grimm turn it out and deliver it to the dwarf Krieg.

"Lord Long said to use this to carve runes for you."

Krieg held the lava crystal up to Blue's eyes. "The embers contained within have a natural restraint on necromancy. Once it's engraved, death energy won't be able to seep into your core so easily."

Blue glanced at the crystal, then at his grayish-white right arm.

"Where should I carve it?"

"Chest, near the core." Krieg took a thin, long engraving needle from his tool bag, its tip gleaming with blue light.

Blue hesitated for a moment before asking, "Does it hurt?"

Krieg glanced at him, then slowly walked forward, placing his hand on his body to sense something as he said, "Don't worry, this isn't some high-level magic rune. It's just a common fire purification rune, a very basic spell."

"This is also one of the most common methods to deal with necromancy, and it can help you completely purify the necromancy that has seeped into your body."

Hearing this, Blue breathed a sigh of relief, slowly closed his eyes, and turned completely into a stone, and the magical fluctuations around him also became calm.

Krieg did not hesitate.

He fixed the lava crystal to the edge of the crack in Blue's chest, pressed the mithril needle against the crystal's surface, and a wisp of deep blue magic flowed from his fingertip.

"What a pity..."

He shook his head, sighed softly, but the engraving needle in his hand did not stop for a moment, and he began to engrave.

The sigh wasn't directed at Bru, but rather at the pity that this excellent lava crystal could have been used for something far greater—forging high-level fire-attribute weapons or as material for high-level magic runes—but now it could only be used to carve a very ordinary low-level purification rune, and even that was on the stone giant.

Stone giants rely on stone elemental magic and cannot activate any fire magic. Carving a fire rune will not have any real effect. Once the ember magic in the lava crystal is exhausted, the rune will lose its function.

Even if it's just to remove necromancy, this is a waste of resources.

Despite the regret, Krieg did not slack off in the slightest, and instead used the core engraving method that he had been studying for a long time.

Firstly, Bru's stone body is too thick and rough, and the runes carved on the ordinary surface are easily peeled off with the stone skin, causing the magic power to be lost very quickly, so it cannot achieve a lasting purification effect at all.

The core inscription can directly anchor low-level runes to the stone elemental core of Bru, allowing the ember power of the lava crystal to continuously and stably penetrate into every crevice of the stone, maximizing the purification of necromantic magic and preventing the runes from quickly becoming ineffective.

Secondly, for the past few months, he has been repeatedly practicing the core inscription method with the top-quality magic crystals provided by Alduin, but he has been suffering from a lack of practical opportunities. This time, he can take advantage of the dragon's command to use the technique here, which will not only complete the mission but also hone his skills.

……

While Krieg was focused on inscribing runes in the cave, Alduin lay curled up on a mountain of treasure on an obsidian table deep within the dragon's lair, his dark golden vertical pupils half-closed, emanating a faint dragon's might.

With that perfect lava crystal, the necromantic magic on Blue should be removed soon.

Liches are creatures that are not only extremely intelligent and nearly immortal, but also proficient in necromancy and mind magic, making them extremely difficult to deal with.

Others may be completely unaware of their methods, but Alduin, who inherited the dragon's legacy from his bloodline, had long ago recorded the details of the liches, including their bizarre ability to share the vision and perception of the infected through necromantic branding.

Alduin frowned slightly as he recalled the skull lich's silent words and eerie gaze before its death.

"A lich..." Alduin murmured softly, his tone flat and devoid of any emotion.

Deep in the distant forest, a hooded figure suddenly stopped.

He raised his head slightly, as if sensing something across an endless distance, his hoarse voice carrying a hint of amusement:

"Hehe, as expected of a dragon, it even knows such methods perfectly... This is getting more and more interesting."

Inside the cave, Krieg finished packing up his tools and took one last look at the runes on Bru's chest; the crimson patterns glowed faintly and shimmered on the stone skin.

Krieg raised an eyebrow, leaned closer, and placed his hand on Blue's chest, feeling the flow of magic from the runes.

"What's wrong?" Blue opened one eye and looked at Krieg's expression.

"It's nothing." Krieg withdrew his hand and shook his head. "The runes are engraved very well, even better than I expected. At this rate, it should recover in half a month, not two or three months."

Blue paused for a moment, then looked down at the rune on his chest. A warm, dark red light flickered within it, and the stiffness in his arm was slowly fading.

"That's amazing," Blue exclaimed sincerely.

Krieg didn't reply. He carefully examined the runes again, making sure each line was complete, clear, and without any deviation before nodding in satisfaction.

"Alright." He stepped back, slung his tool bag over his shoulder, and said, "The runes have stabilized. Now we just need to wait for them to take effect. Don't use any magic, so as not to interfere with the runes' operation."

"understood."

Blue responded and lay back down, staring blankly at the rocks on the cave ceiling. The warmth in his chest spread from his core to his whole body, like soaking in warm water, so comfortable that he felt sleepy.

Krieg glanced at him, then turned and walked towards the cave entrance, leaving the area.

Shortly after he left, a chilling aura silently emerged from the cave entrance and disappeared into some direction.

Deep within the dragon's lair, Alduin sat on an obsidian platform, his eyes half-closed, digesting his recent meal. A fire spirit chick curled up between his dragon horns, emitting soft snores.

Suddenly, as if sensing something, he opened his dark golden dragon eyes, revealing a cold glint in them, his voice deep and majestic.

"Who is it?!"

Meanwhile, the hooded figure in the distance, with pale gray mist swirling around his fingertips, had a slight upturn at the corners of his mouth and spoke in a mocking tone:

"Let me see your strength, you little black dragon that can breathe fire."