Chapter 1: The Extremely Annoyed Newborn

Crunch—

A strong sense of confinement pressed in from all sides. Instinctively, the uncomfortable creature stretched its body, resulting in a crisp cracking sound that caused the sleeping being to suddenly open its eyes.

The cold air licked its body, enveloping it in a chill that quickly cleared its muddled consciousness. Upon awakening, a strong wave of hunger surged, overwhelming its thoughts and will.

However, the overwhelming astonishment and shock from what it saw upon opening its eyes made it instinctively ignore the hunger that would drive most creatures mad.

Scattered across the dry, flat rocky ground were various items: pearls, corals, clamshells, gems, gold, gilded silver weapons and armor, and numerous unfamiliar objects radiating a brilliant aura.

The radiance of these obviously valuable treasures made the otherwise completely dark, empty cave as bright as daylight, leaving almost no shadows.

This light also allowed the newly freed creature to clearly see two towering, awe-inspiring, and majestic giants standing in the center of the cave.

The structure of these creatures, with four legs and two wings, clearly indicated their extraordinary nature. Their faces and the crested horns sweeping back from their eyes, marked by ridges and grooves, the smooth and flat bronze scales covering almost their entire bodies, and the wide wings folded along their spines—all these features revealed them to be beings that could never be born in a natural environment.

At this moment, these two immense and inherently improbable creatures bowed their heads, gazing at him with a kind, amiable, and joyful expression.

From the deep cyan vertical pupils, the newly freed creature, just awakened from an unknown duration of slumber, saw its own form—both unfamiliar and yet familiar.

It had the same four-legged, two-winged structure, with pale golden scales that showed a hint of bronze only at the edges, covering its entire body.

However, compared to the two perfectly proportioned, smoothly contoured giants before him, his own body appeared somewhat awkward and unbalanced.

Because his head was disproportionately large, almost taking up a third of his body, he looked like a hatchling dragon with a big head and a small body.

“Is this… me?”

Seeing his new form reflected in the eyes of the two giant beasts before him, the newly awakened creature fell into a state of bewildered confusion.

“Am I dreaming?”

Why am I in a place like this?  

Why have I become… a Bronze Dragon!?

The knowledge inherited from the depths of his bloodline surged through his newly awakened consciousness. This rather rough inheritance made his large head swell and even throb with pain, causing him to shake it involuntarily.

However, the pain made him realize that he was not in a dream. He had indeed lost everything he once had and transformed into a genuine metallic dragon!

“No, I am not…”

The newly born bronze hatchling gently shook his head. Under the expectant gaze of his bronze dragon parents, he uttered obscure and difficult words that made the spacious cave tremble slightly.

“I, I am…”

“Dyril Aurelian Nazdom!”

At the moment his true name was spoken, the wide cave shook, causing small gravel and stones to fall from the cave’s ceiling. In the distance, the roaring sound of ocean waves crashing against the sky echoed, like the thunderous celebration of the birth of another mighty dragon.

At the moment his true name was spoken, the wide cave trembled, and a few small stones and gravel fell from the cave’s ceiling. In the distance, the reverberating roar of ocean waves crashing against the sky could be heard, resembling the thunderous applause celebrating the birth of another mighty dragon.

“Dyril, my child.”

With loving and joyful eyes fixed upon the hatchling who had just uttered his true name, the slightly larger bronze dragon, now brimming with enthusiasm, tossed a piece of meat with bone and flesh that had long been prepared in front of the hatchling.

“You may feel an urgent need to sleep and recuperate now, but it’s better for you to have a meal first. Hunger during sleep can drive you mad.”

“Yes, father.”

Looking at the fresh meat before him, larger than his own body, the hatchling who had just gained his true name from his bloodline no longer looked at the two giant beasts with panic and fear, but with closeness and dependence.

The hunger after breaking out of the eggshell, coupled with the fatigue and exhaustion from inheriting the lineage and true name, intertwined within him.

Although Dyril felt like he could fall asleep right away, the intense hunger made him realize that if he slept now, he might starve to death in his dreams.

Thus, the weary and hungry hatchling turned his gaze to the fragments of eggshell beneath him, still sticky with transparent mucus—this was the first meal most dragons used to satisfy their hunger after birth.

However, Dyril merely glanced at the dragon egg fragments emitting a faint enticing aroma and passed them over. Instead, he focused directly on the fresh meat thrown by his dragon father, pouncing on it with all four claws, tearing into the fresh flesh, and swallowing it after a brief chew.

Satisfied, even feeling a burning anger, but now he was just a bronze dragon hatchling, not like those evil dragon hatchlings who had to worry all day about being abandoned by their parents or even being fed by non-dragon beings.

Regarding his diet and daily life after birth, as a bronze dragon hatchling, he didn’t need to worry about anything at all, leaving everything to his parents—bronze dragons were the most caring among all dragon species for their offspring, exemplary parents willing to sacrifice their lives at critical moments.

“Take your time eating, don’t rush.”

A gentle and delicate voice sounded, as another bronze dragon, slightly slender and graceful in appearance, with a long and powerful tail, lightly swept over and pushed a pile of shining ore, similar in color to gold, in front of him.

“Brass ore!”

With just one glance, Dyril recognized what the dragon mother had prepared for him. From then on, the shattered eggshells behind him held no allure for him whatsoever.

What kind of poor soul would consider their own eggshell as their first proper meal right after being born?

No dad, no mom?

Not even a decent meal to eat—pitiful!

An orphaned dragon!

Crunch! Crunch!

The sound of meticulous chewing echoed in what seemed like a completely enclosed cave, reverberating through the spacious cavern. With each bite of fresh meat and each bite of ore, the newborn hatchling visibly perked up at an astonishing rate.

The faintly shimmering golden scales gradually became brighter, and the drooping wings gradually straightened. After consuming less than half of the meat and brass ore prepared by his dragon parents, Dyril began to feel full and couldn’t eat anymore.

Once the hunger subsided, exhaustion swept over him like a tidal wave. The hatchling, mentally and physically worn out from the ordeal, simply closed his eyes and fell asleep.