"Hmm?" Upon hearing the inquiry, the Golden Dragon narrowed her eyes slightly. She saw a disheveled old man with white hair standing at the entrance, looking sorrowful.
"Did you set up this massive maze?" The Golden Dragon glanced at the unkempt old man before her. Although she sensed that he only had the strength of a Gold-level being, she didn't underestimate him. She vaguely recalled seeing this old man when she was younger. At that time, he seemed to have had a good conversation with the then-legendary Deimos.
"Yes, this worthless maze is my doing," Mason, the old man, responded more gloomily after hearing the Golden Dragon's question.
"It's not that bad. I took quite a long time to break through," the Golden Dragon offered some consolation when she noticed the old man's apparent self-abandonment.
"How did you find this place? I've already blocked all traces," Mason asked, still unwilling to accept the situation.
"I'm Muria's mother!" The Golden Dragon replied matter-of-factly.
"You're that brat's mother?" Mason, the Grand Mage, suddenly understood. He looked around, a thoughtful expression replacing his sorrowful one, easing his previous distress.
"So, it was the blood connection that led you here. I thought the maze hadn't worked as it should. I'll need to make some improvements. Next time, even with a blood connection, it'll be impossible to find this place."
After understanding the reason, the Grand Mage Mason scratched his head, then with a flick of his robe, he disappeared without causing even the slightest spatial fluctuation.
Once the Grand Mage had vanished, a group of metallic dragons, who had been eager to speak with the Golden Dragon, immediately approached with friendly expressions.
"Atris, you're finally here. You really need to take care of your son," an ancient silver dragon complained as soon as it reached the Golden Dragon.
"What did my son do wrong that you want me to scold him for?" The Golden Dragon looked puzzled. "As far as I know, you were all specially invited by my son to teach at the dragon academy he built, weren't you?"
"Yes, but do you know how your son invited us?" The ancient silver dragon's eyes reddened at the mention of Muria's invitation.
They were all quite old, just wanting to sleep peacefully at home. When this younger dragon came looking for help, they turned him down, simply because they didn't want to be bothered. But who would've thought this muscle-bound youngster would resort to force?
The group of ancient dragons surrounded the Golden Dragon, each recounting how Muria had forcibly invited them to be teachers, their words full of resentment.
After listening to the complaints of these ancient dragons, who had all suffered under Muria's fists, the Golden Dragon nodded and asked a question, "Do you think my son's dragon academy has had a significant impact on the entire dragon race? And is that impact positive or negative?"
The ancient dragons exchanged glances. Setting aside the forceful invitation methods, Muria's establishment of the dragon academy, though motivated by personal interests, was undoubtedly beneficial for the development of the dragon race and had a significant positive impact.
"The establishment of the dragon academy, with its inclusive teaching policy, benefits every dragon. Haven't you all enrolled your offspring in this school? If so, what do you have to complain about? If you must complain, blame yourselves for rejecting the initial request. You could have easily helped strengthen the dragon race, a deed that would have brought long-lasting benefits. Wasn't a few punches a fair price?"
Despite being on familiar terms with many of these dragons, the Golden Dragon firmly sided with her son, sternly reprimanding the ancient dragons, leaving them embarrassed and making excuses to leave.
After watching the departing dragons, the Golden Dragon turned to the little maid, Mia, who was standing behind her. "Did you take note of those ancient dragons who complained about Muria?"
"Huh?" Mia took a step back in panic, looking slightly uneasy. After all, this was her first mistress, who had truly changed her fate. "I…"
"You didn't take note? That's rather irresponsible! Those who badmouth Muria should be properly remembered." The Golden Dragon frowned slightly in dissatisfaction. "Alright, let me list them for you. Make sure to write down the names of all those ancient dragons who complained to me, and report them to Muria when he returns."
"Oh, oh…" Seeing the Golden Dragon's demeanor, Mia quickly took out a small notebook and jotted down the names of the metallic ancient dragons.
"All noted?" The Golden Dragon glanced at the little maid, who was furiously scribbling in her notebook.
"Yes." Mia nodded vigorously.
"Hmph, how dare they complain about my son. They all need a good beating." The Golden Dragon snorted. If it weren't for her concern about maintaining her ladylike image, she might have been tempted to deal with them herself.
"I've already memorized them; there's no need to write them down," the little maid mumbled to herself. There was no way she'd forget anyone who badmouthed her young master.
After giving instructions to Muria's personal maid, the Golden Dragon nodded in satisfaction and then looked at the enormous dragon whale lying in the swimming pool beneath her, staring at her with a shocked expression.
"Take a good look and remember my appearance and aura. I'm your master's mother, not an enemy. This is my home. You listen to my son, and my son listens to me, so you should listen to me too, got it?"
The dragon whale queen, somewhat dazed, nodded, causing a large splash. She thought what the Golden Dragon said made sense. Since she was Muria's mother, following her orders shouldn't be an issue.
"What's going on here?" After confusing the dragon whale, Atris squinted her eyes as she examined the enormous swimming pool before her. Everything here seemed out of place compared to the other islands of Synaps. While other islands were covered with various structures, this one had only a little soil around the edges to retain water, with the center completely hollowed out. Through the clear water, the sharp-eyed Golden Dragon could see buildings at the bottom designed solely for leisure.
"What's your relationship with my son?" The Golden Dragon's gaze became subtle as she studied the giant dragon whale with scales before her. As a dragon, she could naturally tell that this enormous dragon whale was female. This situation made the Golden Dragon start to wonder. After all, this dragon whale's treatment seemed a bit too preferential.
"No special relationship!" The dragon whale queen transformed into a tall and fit tidal giant. "Muria raised me, so I help him guard the house!"
"Hmm?" The Golden Dragon snorted lightly, clearly unsatisfied with the dragon whale queen's answer. She glanced around, finally noticing something amiss. "Where's Muria? Why hasn't he come to see me?"
"Atris, it's said that the Titans allocated a medium-sized world to Muria, and he's gone there to take possession."
"You mean to say that Muria has already advanced to the Fourth Tier of Legend?"
"Yes."
"This kid's advancing a bit too fast! At this rate, he'll catch up to Ansel and me in no time. This speed is worrying!"
Hearing this news, the Golden Dragon rubbed her head in frustration. "It's all those two old geezers' fault for feeding him so many good things."
"This big salted fish… I'll have to ask Muria personally what's going on. He's already arranged a marriage with the Seraphim girl, so what's with raising a big fish?"
The Golden Dragon muttered to herself and then looked at Mia. "Take me on a tour of the Synaps my son built. After that, I'll go find him."
"Alright!"
And so, Mia, the head maid who could handle anything in Synaps, personally led a young blonde woman on a leisurely tour of the place…
…
"A floating city? Where did Muria get that?"
"Atris, those were brought over from the Boundless Heaven by Muria's fiancée, Mikaela."
"Brought over from the Boundless Heaven." Upon hearing this, the Golden Dragon's gaze toward the thirteen floating cities in the sky became much more restrained. "So that Seraphim girl is quite considerate. In that case, I won't interfere with her."
…
"What on earth are these?" When the Golden Dragon followed the energy pulses and arrived at the central island, she was shocked by the research facility that provided more than sixty percent of the energy for the entire Synaps. Inside, she was startled by the densely packed crystal pillars covered in runes.
The closest one to her held a six-armed Naga with Soul Intent-level power, sealed within a pale blue crystal column, unable to move. Drawing on her vast knowledge, the Golden Dragon quickly understood the purpose of the runes on the crystal pillars. They were designed to sustain the creatures' lives while continuously extracting their high-level energy.
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