While the residents began contemplating this fascinating concept called 'artistic beauty,' Levi had already returned to the castle early, methodically gathering various items he might need for his upcoming journey.
Sword, pickaxe, and axe formed the familiar trio of essential tools, accompanied by food supplies, construction materials, plus some valuable trade goods, healing potions, golden apples for emergencies...
And the ultimate contingency measure: TNT explosives.
If Saruman had indeed turned to darkness prematurely, Levi didn't mind playing the role of a very destructive troublemaker.
With everything properly organized and secured, Levi enjoyed a restful night's sleep and woke feeling refreshed and energetic.
Then he encountered something that made him infinitely more energetic than any amount of rest could provide.
The lava pool used to incubate the mysterious dragon egg was finally showing signs of activity.
Early that morning, when Levi made his routine inspection of the carefully enclosed lava chamber, there was suddenly a sharp crack, and a small but distinct fissure appeared across the eggshell's surface.
This development startled Levi into immediately approaching for a much closer examination.
The brilliant light from the molten lava shone through the translucent eggshell, faintly illuminating the creature actively stirring and struggling inside its confined space.
Observing the determined shadow moving within, Levi felt a strong impulse to assist the hatching process, but logic reminded him that egg-laying creatures should be capable of breaking free from their shells independently. Successfully breaking through the shell demonstrated that its physical constitution was adequate, which would prove more beneficial for future survival in the harsh outside world.
This was something the dragon had to accomplish entirely on its own.
The shell-breaking process lasted a full day, and Levi simply remained beside the incubation site for the entire duration, watching with fascination.
Until the distinctive sound of eggshell fragments falling away finally rang out clearly.
Weak hissing sounds emerged from within the broken shell as a small, crystalline creature with two tiny wings crawled out with obvious effort, spread its delicate wing membranes wide, and struggled valiantly to open its eyes for the first time.
When it first used its brand-new eyes to receive visual information from the outside world, a dark figure stood directly before it, partially blocking some of the surrounding heat while making sounds it couldn't yet understand:
"Want some fish?"
[Young Fire Dragon 10/10]
The newborn was extraordinarily fragile and vulnerable. It staggered unsteadily toward Levi's feet, and after a moment of uncertain movement, plopped its entire small body onto Levi's boot, as if physical contact was necessary to feel truly secure.
After carefully adjusting its position for maximum comfort, the little creature began looking around with its head raised high, a pair of bright, curious eyes actively observing this strange new world.
A chamber enclosed by brilliant red lava and smooth black obsidian walls. This was its birth environment and everything it could currently perceive.
Levi looked down at this remarkable little creature, recalling relevant information stored in his mind.
In Middle-earth, "dragons" were traditionally evil creatures previously unknown to the world, created and bred by the Dark Lord Morgoth specifically for warfare. Influenced by corrupting dark forces, they were naturally greedy and cunning, possessing an innate talent for deception and manipulation. From the moment of birth, they were filled with malice toward the world and harbored extreme possessive desires for gold and various precious treasures.
For this very reason, their existence embodied 'evil' itself, fundamentally incompatible with order and goodness.
But this particular dragon...
Levi carefully picked up the fire dragon clinging trustingly to his boot and held it gently in his palm.
The little fire dragon curiously raised its head, studying the large face looming before it with obvious interest.
Those tiny eyes held absolutely no malice, only innocent curiosity and just the right amount of endearing confusion.
Unlike Smaug's fierce and menacingly sharp appearance, this little dragon appeared crystalline and translucent, with very gentle, almost ethereal colors decorating its body, completely lacking any trace of the evil and cruelty that a corrupted dragon should possess.
If it were truly one of those dragons created by Morgoth's dark influence, then upon seeing Levi, it wouldn't have docilely rested on his foot. Instead, it should have immediately pounced forward to try biting and devouring him.
Perhaps this was a dragon that had undergone some kind of purification process during its extended incubation.
Levi retrieved a cooked fish from his supplies and placed it near the dragon's mouth. The little creature instinctively sniffed the offering with obvious interest, then looked up at Levi with some bewilderment about what was expected.
Levi demonstrated by opening his mouth wide.
The dragon also learned to open its mouth in imitation.
Levi took out another cooked fish, gnawed at it deliberately, and swallowed the meat with exaggerated motions.
Now the little dragon understood the concept completely, immediately biting forward and nibbling bit by bit at the cooked fish placed before it.
When the nutritious fish meat entered its belly and that fundamental desire of life was satisfied, the little fire dragon experienced for the first time the intense pleasure known as satiation. Such an intoxicating sensation for any dragon, regardless of their nature.
Watching the heartily eating little dragon, Levi curiously retrieved a gold ingot and placed it directly beside the creature.
However, the dragon didn't even spare it a glance, focusing entirely on the delicious fish meat before it.
Only after finishing the entire fish, when its tiny belly had visibly swollen considerably, did it release a small burp and spare time to investigate the gold ingot.
But after simply sniffing at the precious metal for a moment, it lost interest completely and continued looking up at Levi expectantly.
They stared at each other in this manner for several long moments.
Oh no.
Levi's heart sank with dawning realization.
It was learning everything from him through imitation.
Starting to raise a dragon before even beginning to raise children. How was this arrangement acceptable?
Levi pulled out another gold ingot and took a deliberate bite. The little fire dragon mimicked his action exactly.
A moment later, that tiny dragon head truly displayed an expression of obvious pain and displeasure.
From that moment forward, gold became thoroughly detested by the creature.
This dragon was something entirely unique. Whatever he did, it would replicate without any hesitation or independent judgment.
Putting away the gold completely, Levi retrieved two fresh cabbages, picked up one of them, and began crunching away with obvious enjoyment.
The little dragon approached the other cabbage with interest, sniffed it carefully, hesitated for just a brief moment, and then also began gnawing with determination.
A moment later, the entire cabbage had been completely devoured.
Confirmed. It really would learn anything from him through observation, and the beneficial point was that it wasn't picky about food in the slightest.
At the incubation site, Levi began implementing some basic behavioral education and training.
As the moon set and the sun rose, when time progressed to the next day's noon, he finally emerged from the obsidian-enclosed incubation chamber, carefully carrying the fire dragon in one hand.
The fire dragon witnessed the sun, grassland, and other people for the first time in its young life. This amazing sight filled it with wonder, and it couldn't help but spread its wings wide and call out twice with joy.
These two tender, melodic calls immediately attracted the attention of several people working nearby.
No matter when or where, at Roadside Fort, the first thing people noticed was always their lord himself, then other details around him.
So the immediate reaction of those nearby was to offer respectful greetings.
"Lord, good day to you."
After delivering this customary greeting, the person suddenly noticed the unusual creature Levi was holding carefully in his hand.
"Dragon... evil dragon!"
The resident's startled shout obviously frightened the little creature. Its neck, which had been curiously stretched forward to observe the world, immediately retracted defensively, and its body also curled up protectively.
However, the residents reacted even more dramatically than the little dragon. Almost the instant they clearly saw the young fire dragon, they all jumped backward a full step in perfect unison. If that dragon weren't securely in their lord's protective hands, someone would probably have already grabbed weapons and assumed defensive positions.
"No need to panic or fear."
Levi gently stroked the dragon's head with reassuring motions and addressed the concerned residents:
"This is a rather gentle dragon I'm raising personally. Unlike the corrupted evil dragons of the north, it possesses a pure nature and completely lacks those traditional evil habits."
"It has absolutely no interest in treasure hoarding and doesn't eat people. Actually, it demonstrates a clear preference for eating cooked fish and fresh vegetables."
As he spoke these words, Levi picked a green leaf from a nearby field and offered it to the little creature in his hand.
The little dragon was very cooperative, crunching away at the vegetation with obvious contentment.
A... vegetarian dragon?
The residents opened their mouths wide with astonishment, looking at each other in complete speechlessness.
The dragons described in ancient poems and legendary tales were all evil and immensely powerful, devouring people without leaving bones behind, capable of burning down entire cities with casual breath attacks, and creating devastating hurricanes that could overturn carriages with a single wing flap.
For thousands of years, evil dragons had maintained this terrifying image in popular consciousness, though the vast majority of people had never actually encountered one in person.
Seeing one directly now proved quite eye-opening and challenged every assumption they'd held.
After all, who could have possibly imagined there were dragons in this world that genuinely loved eating cabbage?