Ding—Congratulations, Host. You have obtained: Dragonblood Elixir ×1, Dragon Egg ×1.
For a heartbeat, Jason thought his chest might burst from the pounding of his heart.
A dragon egg!
This God-tier Treasure Map had actually unearthed a Dragon Egg from the dust of ages!
Hands trembling, he pulled it from his system inventory—
It was the size of an adult's head, its entire surface pitch black, as if it had been seared by hellfire into a perfect, round boulder.
The shell wasn't smooth. It was covered in jagged, scale-like ridges, each etched with dark crimson veins that pulsed faintly, as though flames were breathing beneath the surface.
Jason drew in a sharp breath and cast [Appraisal]—
Dragon Egg (Mythic · Special Item)
Description: Can be bonded using [Dragon Taming]. Upon successful contract, will hatch into the Black Dragon King — Deathwing (Hatchling Form).
The moment he read the description, Jason wondered if he was dreaming.
Not just any dragon egg… but one that carried the legendary bloodline of the Black Dragon King!
In this world, dragons were the embodiment of the ancient and the catastrophic—myth given flesh, disaster given wings.
Human knowledge of dragons was scant, but even the name Deathwing was enough to send a chill through the soul. It was a title of nobility and terror, a being far beyond any ordinary wyrm.
Jason almost wanted to throw his head back and shout to the heavens:
Who says Dragon Tamers are the weakest hidden class?
Now I have a dragon—no, I have the Black Dragon King!
Suppressing the tidal wave of elation in his chest, he reached out and cast the only class skill he possessed—[Dragon Taming]—toward the egg.
Skill failed.
Skill failed.
Skill failed.
Skill… successful!
On the fourth attempt, the power of the contract roared into existence.
A blinding radiance burst from Jason's chest, dazzling as the noonday sun, pouring over the dragon egg in a flood of light.
He could feel it—an unshakable bond forming between himself and the slumbering presence within the egg.
It was a link of blood and soul, a contract that allowed them to sense each other's emotions and share each other's will.
In response, the egg flared with the same brilliance, its glow intertwining with the light from his chest until they merged into a single torrent.
Then came the sound—
Crack… crack…
The light slowly faded, and when Jason opened his eyes, the sight before him stole his breath.
The top half of the eggshell had shattered, revealing a hatchling curled inside, crunching noisily on fragments of its own shell.
That impossibly hard shell crumbled between its teeth as if it were nothing more than brittle biscuit.
Its form was even more majestic than Jason had imagined—its entire body was clad in jagged, dark-metallic scales, each gap between them glowing with molten crimson light that flared and dimmed with every breath, like a volcano on the verge of eruption.
When it swallowed the last shard of its shell, a pair of dark-red wings slowly unfurled. Fire-veined patterns spread across the wing membranes, radiating waves of heat.
Whoosh—
With a single beat of its wings, it lifted into the air, circling over Jason's head, the gusts from its flight laced with scorching heat.
In scarcely more than ten seconds—perhaps having absorbed all the essence within its eggshell—the hatchling's size swelled dramatically.
From something no bigger than a cat, it grew to a wingspan of over two meters, its height reaching Jason's chest, like a steel-feathered eagle brought to life.
Compared to the legendary adult dragons said to blot out the sky, it was still small—but the raw majesty in its bloodline was enough to set Jason's heart pounding.
Rooaaar!
It loosed its first cry—high-pitched yet resonant—before diving toward him and halting sharply in midair.
Jason, sensing its intent through the bond, lifted his arm without hesitation.
The hatchling landed firmly on his arm, folding its wings as its hot, solid head nuzzled affectionately against his chest and the side of his neck.
It had a decent weight to it, but for Jason—with his impressive Strength attribute—it was hardly a burden.
Looking down at the proud young form of the Black Dragon King acting so clingy in his arms, Jason couldn't help but smile. He reached up and gently stroked the scales on its head.
The hatchling rumbled in a low, throaty purr, as if answering his affection.
Who would have thought that the legendary Deathwing could be this… affectionate?
Wait… what about its stats?
With a dragon of my own, does this mean my class skills will finally unlock?