Iron Dragon's Advancement Journey

　"Considering that many of the items found in the Dragon's Treasury come from beyond the heavens, does that mean that the Paladin class I'm currently in isn't the one I'm familiar with..." After thinking for a long time without any clue, Casalos had no choice but to give up exploring further.

　Since they're all enhancements anyway, and they can all help it progress further in the training dungeons, that's enough.

　The second loot in the room was a green, box-shaped holographic icon that looked like it was made of polymer material. It was also unlike anything he'd ever seen before. With the Paladin class as a reminder, Casalos prepared himself and, with curiosity, opened it, his beak twitching involuntarily.

　"So it's all about randomness, huh? Even the world from which the in-game rewards come is random..."

　The rewards in this room were truly bizarre. While the Paladin class was somewhat ambiguous, the art style was fairly consistent. The green crate contained a "Dragon-mounted Shoulder-fired Machine Gun Light Weapon Station" and a "Claw-held 12.7mm Aircraft Machine Gun," which was so abrupt that Casalos wondered if he had lost his mind.

　49. In advance

　"Dragon-mounted machine gun light weapon station: This weapon station adopts a detachable dragon-engineered multi-DOF stabilized gimbal back mount, which is compatible with the back structure of any medium to large-sized dragon (DND), providing high comfort and strong stability; it is equipped with a specially designed small-caliber rapid-fire weapon, which, when conditions permit, inflicts radiant damage or other enchantment effects on live ammunition; it is equipped with a universal dragon magic interface and the alteration spell's sturdiness effect, allowing direct use of dragon magic-shaped ammunition without worrying about ammunition resupply, and possessing extremely high firepower sustainability; the entire device is controlled by a mysterious intelligent fire control system, which is completely user-friendly, with rapid automatic response and high accuracy."

　—A gift from a bronze dragon paladin.

　"Claw-mounted 12.7mm aircraft machine gun: A modified lightweight aircraft machine gun, suitable for medium to large-sized dragon claw-mounted, rapid-fire direct-fire weapon systems. Its physical ammunition boasts excellent penetration, reliability, and destructive power, and also inflicts radiant damage. The drawback is limited ammunition; without the necessary interface and conversion spells, your current spellcasting ability and dragon mana reserves do not support the use of mana-shaped ammunition for this caliber rapid-fire weapon."

　—A gift from a bronze dragon paladin.

　"So you're going to use machine guns to wipe out the evil Bronze Dragon Paladins, huh?"

　The common description of the two loot items, along with their shared Radiant Damage attribute, conjured a bizarre image in Casalos's mind: a bronze dragon resembling a giant, golden-headed doll, carrying a light machine gun on its shoulder and heavy weapons in its claws.

Chapter 47

　Machine guns, spitting fire as they flew, mowed down the demons crawling out of the abyss, making them scream and cry for their mothers... This is definitely not the style of Faerûn!

　What the hell is this?

　Shaking his head to banish the beautiful images from his mind, Casalos chose a light weapon station suitable for sustained combat. A flash of golden light appeared, and a bunch of incongruous gadgets appeared on his back.

　Trying to move its wings, it found that the structure had almost no effect on its body movements. The description of "Dragon Machine Project" seemed to be true, and its sense of unease intensified—this thing was very likely designed according to the structure of D&D dragons, that is to say, it really was something used by dragons.

　But isn't this M249? Oh well, why worry about it? It's just an in-game item anyway… Casalos clicked his iron beak, giving up on investigating further, and chose to enter the specialty room from the two newly opened passages. The new room was filled with a group of sphinx obsidian constructs. Although their strength was significantly increased compared to the pterosaurs in the eighth room, they were still a piece of cake compared to the Witch's House, especially with the new raid artifact.

　It had barely emerged from the Gale Passage, and before it could even get a good look at the room, the fully automatic, intelligent small-caliber weapon opened fire. Within 15 seconds, it had drained Casalos of about two fully charged breaths, turning the forty or so Sphinxes that could probably reach CR5 or CR6 in Faerûn into sieves, without even getting a single hit.

　"This... is so awesome."

　Looking at the spoils that had "fallen" from the last corpse, Casalos couldn't help but sigh: Indeed, skill is the primary fighting force, regardless of magical skills or any other kind of skill.

　This room was the easiest and fastest to pass through during Casaloz's two trials in the Dragon Vaults, bar none.

　After circling around and admiring its masterpiece, it swished its tail and climbed onto the floor, only to discover that the training dungeon had undergone a new change, with the reward options now consisting of three instead of two.

　"Is this a change that occurs after clearing a certain number of rooms, or did I accidentally unlock some achievement?"

　The previous problems remained unresolved, and now another question has arisen. This new question is profoundly significant for exploring the Dragon's Treasury and cannot be ignored. Casalos adds it to his notes and continues his dungeon adventure…

　Above the stone pillar where the Kalik tribe was located, in a winding crevice of the Rift Dome, a shadow dissipated, revealing a long, ferocious dragon head that looked down at the dog-headed people working busily under the glow of the mushrooms.

　"It's been almost a day, and that dragon cub from the Atheros hasn't come out since it burrowed into the lava. Where did it go...? Did it sense my presence?" The dragon head cautiously surveyed the surroundings, then retreated into the shadows, muttering to itself, "That shouldn't be possible. It's just a fledgling; how could it sense my infiltration? I'll wait and see. Anyway, those gray dwarves will be here soon. I don't believe it will abandon its servant so easily. I've invested so much effort in helping these kobolds improve... Damn it, what if it really runs away? Green dragon gold is so hard to get..."

　A faint whisper drifted out, growing softer and fainter as the shadow disappeared into the crevice, until there was no sound at all.

　Meanwhile, at the top of a stone pillar directly north of the rift valley, a forty-five-man gray dwarf slave-hunting team, pulling a prison cart laden with their spoils, boarded a natural stone bridge connecting the pillars and entered a range where they could see directly into the mushroom thicket.

　The darkness impaired their senses, preventing the kobolds from noticing the unexpected approach of the threat and keeping the grey dwarf slave-hunting party from noticing the drastic change in the kobolds atop the stone pillars. But as they drew closer, everything would change.

　Beneath the lake, the excavation work of the Koto fishmen is nearing completion. Their supreme warrior and actual ruler, the exemplary priest Garu Jira, is about to break free, and the day of revenge is approaching.

　The gray dwarves were fast runners, and in less than two hours they reached the stone pillar near the mushroom bushes, which was their only way back to the city.

　The kobold sentries spotted them half an hour ago through the fluorescent vines. All the tribe members hurriedly covered the anomaly with camouflage netting, then tried to appear as normal as possible, rushing into the mine and clanging away at the ore while praying to the dragon that the gray dwarves would leave quickly.

　Their prayers had been answered, or perhaps it was simply because the grey dwarf slave-hunting team had made a fortune on their mission; they showed no interest in the small kobold tribe, and even when they discovered the stone bridge connecting the mushroom thicket had been broken, they made no attempt to investigate. Instead, they went straight down the half-section of the natural spiral passage near the stone pillar to the lake area, heading towards the next stone pillar, moving further and further away from the mushroom thicket.

　Kou Tao, the fishman, moved the last stone blocking the temple and released the exemplary priest who had been praying inside for nearly three months. The priest seemed to be shrouded in a faint "divine aura." The elite team, who had been resting for a long time, bowed to him and swam towards the stone pillar where the mushroom bush was located, just in time to pass by the gray dwarf slave-hunting team crossing the lake.

　50. What is the origin of the treasure vault?

　Take off!

　After Casalos acquired a new super-breath feat that enhanced its breath attack, it discovered that when its shoulder-mounted light weapon station uses Dragon Magic Shaped Ammo, the in-game dungeon rules treat it as its breath weapon. In other words, this thing enjoys all the bonuses applied to its breath weapon.

　The first piece of equipment you acquire upon entering, the Epic Dragon Armor Mask, further elevates its value. Its 15% global bonus to Dragon Breath is a high-priority buff, calculated multiplied by other buffs rather than added together. Moreover, this global bonus isn't just an increase in power; it includes a 15% increase to all attributes, such as reduced charge time, increased duration, faster recovery, lower mana consumption, and increased breath distance. Its effect on Dragon Breath itself isn't yet significant, as Casalos doesn't yet have the ability or conditions to consistently use Dragon Breath as a normal attack.

　But when this buff is applied to the weapon station, it takes off immediately!

　With its rapid response, automatic lock-on, ultra-long range, precision strikes, and continuous firepower, Casalos encountered almost no significant resistance, clearing several rooms with a rapid, fiery barrage.

　Thus, its strategy for this round is basically established: focus on strengthening its breath weapon and expanding and restoring its dragon magic power, supplemented by selective enhancements to flight mobility and defense, and it can then easily advance.

　The sixteenth room was opened up, and a feat called "Heating" was chosen, which increases fire elemental affinity to accelerate the recovery of dragon magic. This grants an additional 4HD boost, adding another inherent feat. If they were outside, Casalos was confident he could hold his own against the green dragon couple for several rounds.

　Unfortunately, the rapid upgrades within the game cannot be taken out of the dungeon. The only benefit is that it allows Casalos to go further in the training dungeon and earn more gold for substantial upgrades.

　This time, the opened passage became a solitary portal, with no other option.

　"So we've finally passed a dungeon stage and are about to fight the boss... It seems the White Dragon really is a hidden challenge. I was really unlucky last time. I wonder what the boss is and whether I can beat it."

　With anticipation and a touch of trepidation, Casalos stepped into the portal.

　The clouds in her eyes swirled and accelerated, transforming into a spiral of starry sky. As the sky slowly flattened, Casalos arrived at a high platform suspended in the starry sky. A beautiful dragon, over a hundred meters long, with scales whose colors changed constantly, transforming into other colors every few minutes, lay there. It had two backward-curving horns and a small pair of cheek folds as decorations on its head. Its eyes emitted a strong silver light as it silently watched Casalos.

　Her body constantly emanated a powerful, visible magical light, illuminating the starry sky.

Chapter 48

　Brilliant.

　A colorful pentagram emblem with two elongated lower horns floats quietly above the dragon.

　"Uh, esteemed messenger of miracles, light of the true dragon's magic, Casaloz greets you."

　Upon seeing her, Casalos realized that it was not facing a BOSS, but a dragon god.

　Kressa, the goddess of magic for dragons, is said to have taught them how to use and master magic when Aio infused it into them. She is revered by all kinds of dragons for her role in the innovation and development of magic, regardless of their affiliation or position.

　Kressa ranks second only to Eor-Asgras and Zoquian the High among all the dragon gods worshipped by the true dragons—for some reason, these dragon gods are virtually unknown in Faerûn, and many dragons are unaware of their existence.

　"No need for formalities, young trial participant, hello. Strictly speaking, there isn't much difference between us. You don't need to regard me as a god; just treat me with the respect due to an elder. This is the rest area. You can ask me any questions you may have. As long as it's something I know and something you can currently access, I can answer you."

　Additionally, the resources you obtained in your previous trials—well, the ones you named silver coins—can be exchanged here for useful items: equipment, props, spells or spell-like items, enhancements, potions, etc. Following the principle of fair trade, the items appear randomly; how much useful stuff you get depends on your previous gains and your luck.

　Casalos clicked his iron beak, inwardly muttering, "So it really is a meat pigeon." Instead of immediately checking the product catalog, he prepared to ask something, but Kressa then explained.

　"It's fine if you think this is a roguelike game. The creators of this 'Trial Temple,' which you call the Dragon's Treasury, did indeed refer to roguelike games when setting up the internal trials. They believed that having different experiences each time would help maintain the enthusiasm of the trial participants, reduce the probability of them giving up halfway, and thus keep them going."

　"Ah, the Dragon Treasury wasn't created by you?" Casaroz exclaimed in surprise. When it saw Kressa again, it had taken it for granted that the Dragon Treasury was a creation of the Light of Miracles. Besides this magical dragon god, perhaps only the nine-faced dragon god Aio could create such a miracle.

　“Of course not, and it’s not His Highness Aio either. I’m just here to… well, part-time, that’s how it is. I’m just using an avatar here as a side job, and also to look after you juniors. Not only me, but if you have the chance, you might also see my other brothers and sisters. After all, this temple is only open to true dragons, and having some familiar figures around will make you feel more at ease.” Kressa lay lazily on a pile of sapphires, speaking softly.

　"It's not you, nor His Highness Aio, and it doesn't sound like any other Dragon God. Then who is it..."

　"This is information you can't know right now. All you need to know is that this temple offers you an infinite range of possibilities, perhaps even surpassing us old folks, surpassing Prince Aio."

　"Maybe." Casalos wasn't arrogant enough to think it could surpass the Dragon God; it was still just a fledgling dragon. "In that case, the trial participants you mentioned shouldn't be just me, right?"

　“Ha, very good. Proud but not arrogant, and sharp enough. It’s hard for dragons to do that, especially young ones. You’re a good young dragon, and I have high hopes for you.” Kressa chuckled twice, then continued, “That’s right, only a possibility. Although it has increased the allure of the trials for dragons as much as possible, each trial has no end, and the only way to end it is through death. No matter how much power you gain, you can’t see any hope. In the cycle of experiencing death again and again, all that’s left is self-abandonment and despair. That’s too simplistic.”

　51. BOSS Battle

　It's obvious that it was the creator of the Dragon's Treasury, but the Light of Miracles, Kress, was unwilling to elaborate, and Casalos naturally couldn't find out any more information about him.

　“You’re the first, but you might not be the last,” Kressa concluded.

　"Hmm, it might not be the last one, what does that mean?" Casalos asked, somewhat puzzled.

　Kressa smiled across her scaly dragon face: "You'll have to figure that out for yourself. I trust you won't let me down."

　"So, you should be able to answer that question for me, right?"

　"There's not much of a reason for this. You can think of it as pure luck, or you can think of it as the guidance of fate, or you can even see it as a kind of duty. It all depends on every decision you make."

　“I understand…” Casalos pondered for a moment, roughly grasping the meaning of the Miracle Light. Although he didn’t know why Kressa had suddenly turned into a bronze dragon, her riddle wasn’t a prank. Connecting it with the abstract information provided by the Dragon Treasury, many answers were actually already foreshadowed.

　The dragons of Faerûn must have greatly disappointed the dragon gods—except for a few malicious ones.

　Kressa could only answer a very limited number of questions for Casalos. What Casalos needed to know most—the various uses and specific functions of the Dragon's Treasury—it already knew all too well; it was just that the abstract nature of the information required it to uncover it through exploration. As for the information Casalos shouldn't know, Kressa wouldn't tell it much more.

　Even Kressa herself didn't know everything.

　Just as she herself said, she only occasionally came here as a part-time job... Casalos always felt that the word "part-time job" was a bit strange, but he couldn't quite put his finger on why.

　Shaking its big head, it activated the "Shop" function. Holographic icons representing various forms of loot that it had seen before rose on the platform in front of Kressa. Casalos touched them with his consciousness and learned how to operate them.

　Unlike loot, each item in the shop has only one option, but if you don't like it, you can pay gold and silver coins to refresh it.

　however……

　"This is really expensive!"

　Casalos glanced at his remaining 437 silver coins, then at the items and refreshed prices, and couldn't help but complain.

　A common feat costs 200 silver coins, a first-level spell ability costs 400. A dragon wing band that increases flight speed by 20 (quality +1) costs 300... All items have a uniform price of 100 for the first refresh—there is no second refresh. The abstract information already indicates that the second refresh can only be activated after certain conditions are met.

　Of course, Casalos can also be refreshed using gold, which costs 15. But that's absolutely out of the question. Gold is meant for real upgrades; only a fool would waste it on the in-game shop.

　"Where is it expensive? It's always been this price..." The Dragon God's aura faded at the mention of money: "I'll give you a friendly reminder. You're about to face a very powerful enemy for your current stage. Silver coins are only effective within the game. If you don't use them to convert into actual strength now, you'll just have to wait for this trial to end and have them completely wiped out."

　Casalos realized what was strange about it. A part-time job must be for the purpose of receiving payment. So what kind of payment would a top-tier, powerful dragon god be taking on a part-time job for?

　The answer seems to be these silver coins that can only be used within the game. What exactly are these things that even the Dragon God covets?

　"Whatever this is, it's useless to you anyway, and you can't take any of it with you. For you, the only use for silver coins is to buy goods from me for in-game upgrades... Well, that's not entirely accurate. Besides our safe shop, you might encounter other guys in other rooms who are also eyeing the silver coins in your paws, but could you exchange them for..."

Chapter 49

　"Whether it's good or not, I'm not so sure. So, what do you think, want to buy it?"

　"Of course... I'll buy it!"

　Without much hesitation, Casalos gritted his teeth, chose the wing collar that could increase his flight speed and provide extra protection for his wing arms, as well as a minor global status recovery potion costing 120, then bid farewell to Kressa and resolutely stepped into the newly opened portal.

　The vortex still overwhelmed his consciousness. The brilliant starry sky transformed back into clouds and then unfolded again in the spiral. When his consciousness recovered, he returned to the floating city area shrouded in thick clouds.

　A giant, taller than Casalos with his tail straightened, stood in the center of the square. He had handsome features, wore a magnificent Greek-style robe, and was adorned with exquisite jewelry and ornaments. His bare chest and abdomen revealed milky white skin and blue spots, and his brass-colored hair fluttered in the wind.

　Cloud Giant!

　As Casalos saw the cloud giant, the alert cloud giant also spotted it and, like other monsters in the dungeon, charged towards it without any intention of negotiation.

　As it ran, the cloud giant assumed a throwing stance, and a boulder appeared in its palm from who-knows-where, ready to be hurled once it was within attack range.

　Even faster than the Cloud Giant was the small-caliber weapon station carried on Casalos's back.

　Even though they were still far from the cloud giant's throwing range, the small-caliber machine gun used by the weapon station rattled and spat out tongues of fire, carrying dragon breath bullets wrapped in golden light that swept towards the cloud giant like long whips.

　However, it was all in vain. The relentless, unstoppable fireballs struck the Cloud Giant's skin and magnificent robes, creating bursts of flame, but at most only inflicting minor scratches on the Cloud Giant.

　The power is too weak. Even with dragon breath and the noble radiance of paladins, the M249 is still just a small 5.56mm pipe. It's okay for fighting ordinary monsters, but it's too much of a stretch for cloud giants.

　If Casalos had chosen the 12.7mm aircraft machine gun in the previous boss room, it might still be useful now. But whether it could safely reach the first boss room is another matter, since it has never used that thing before, and unlike the weapon station, it's not fully automated and its ammunition is limited.

　Left with no other option, Casalos flapped its wings and accelerated, trying to maintain a safe distance before figuring out a solution. It didn't want to be constantly hit by the cloud giant's stones, which had a power level of over 35.

　After chasing for two steps and finding that he still couldn't close the distance, the cloud giant casually threw away the stone in his hand, waved his hands and made a spellcasting gesture. The thick clouds surrounding the square rolled in and surged inward, submerging the entire square and completely blocking Casalos's vision.

　"Damn, it even has environmental skills."

　52. Saw

　Not only was their view obstructed, but the sound of the cloud giant's footsteps also disappeared—this enormous humanoid thing had floated up!

　The swirling clouds were filled with the smell of actinomycete metabolites, and the surging wind stirred up the entire room's odors into a chaotic mess, successfully blocking Casalos's sense of smell. It was essentially pulled into a harsh environment where its situational awareness was completely obscured, giving the Cloud Giant a home-field advantage.

　Casalos dared not stop; instead, he accelerated rapidly and began to perform erratic left and right rolls.

　The next moment, a dark shadow burst out of the clouds around it with a whoosh, brushed past its original flight path, and disappeared back into the clouds.

　As expected, the cloud giant maintained its senses even within the clouds. The boulders it hurled were like cannonballs; Casalos couldn't even make out their shapes. It could be inferred that a direct hit would essentially end the trial.

　It turned sideways, climbed sharply, and then plunged down to accelerate. Its stamina was rapidly depleting, yet it dared not relax for a moment, forced to continue in this manner until the clouds dispersed. It also had to calculate the boundaries of the room, lest it crash into it and emerge from the opposite corner—this room also had a tower-like structure, with an inverted mountain peak below the floating stone platform. If it misjudged its location in such low visibility, a crash could easily occur, resulting in a truly inexplicable death.

　Therefore, Casaloz could only fly within areas where there was a general impression of the terrain, which was very restrictive.

　Another rock shot through the air, almost grazing its tail, but thankfully it still missed.

　Without any tracking capabilities, hitting a 3D maneuvering aircraft requires a lot of luck.

　Luck became the deciding factor in this battle.