Chapter 2: The Dragon Mother Teaching
Three months later, Livia could finally walk proficiently on four legs.
That guy, Carlos, was able to run and ram things three months ago. He started running wildly the second day after hatching, rammed a wall on the third day, and on the fourth day, he directly smashed a section of the nest wall, only stopping after the Dragon Mother pinned him to the ground with one claw for half an hour.
Sephira did nothing for these three months, focusing entirely on collecting:
Bones, stones, shiny ores, and even scales shed by the Dragon Mother—one day, the Dragon Mother flipped over in the lava and rubbed off a palm-sized scale. While she was sleeping, Sephira coiled it with her tail and dragged it back to her small nest for safekeeping.
Livia noticed that her dragon body grew incredibly fast.
In three months, she grew from the size of a kitten to as big as a local dog. Her scales changed from damp to hard, and her wings transformed from wrinkled messes into ones capable of flapping. She couldn't fly yet, but gliding for three meters was no problem.
The lair was still the same lair: a lava lake, giant rocks, a mountain of treasure, and various bones.
The Dragon Mother was still the same Dragon Mother: sprawled on the giant rock in the center of the lake, either sleeping or watching her young, occasionally opening her mouth to teach something.
Today's lesson was not about breathing fire.
"Second Lesson."
The Dragon Mother lifted her head from the lava. "The {Predator's Law}."
She swept her gaze over the three hatchlings, her eyes looking like she was watching three prey animals just learning to walk.
"Dragons are at the top of the food chain," the Dragon Mother's voice echoed. "But you are not."
Carlos immediately raised his head, putting on an air of being the most formidable.
The Dragon Mother said lightly, "You still don't even understand how to ram a wall yet."
Carlos instantly lowered his head and shut up.
The Dragon Mother continued:
"When encountering something stronger than yourself, run.
When encountering something weaker than yourself, kill.
When encountering large numbers, judge.
If you cannot judge, run.
If you cannot escape, fight desperately.
If you cannot win the desperate fight, die."
She paused:
"That is all."
Livia silently evaluated in her mind:
This teaching style is concise, hardcore, not wordy, and very Red Dragon.
The Dragon Mother stared at them. "Now, an exam."
She raised a claw and drew a line at the edge of the lair:
"Start from here, cross the edge of the lava lake, circle the giant rock once, and return. The last one gets no food tonight."
Carlos shot out first like a cannonball.
His four legs pounded the ground, scattering gravel, a few pieces hitting Livia directly in the face.
Sephira moved second, not rushing or competing, sticking close to the shadows of the rock wall, moving cautiously step by step.
Livia stood still, staring at the lava lake.
The lake surface was wide, and there was only a narrow stone path along the edge, barely wide enough for one hatchling. It was scorched red by the lava, with several sections directly submerged in the magma.
Carlos had already rushed onto the stone path, his claws smoking as they touched the scalding rock. The fellow ignored everything and sprinted all the way.
Sephira followed behind, stepping only where he had stepped.
Livia took a deep breath and charged.
The stone path was ten times hotter than it looked.
As soon as her claws touched it, the tips smoked. Her paws stung as if stepping on red-hot iron plates.
She gritted her teeth and ran wildly, with only one thought in her mind: tonight, she would absolutely not go hungry again!
Ahead, Carlos had reached the narrowest section—only half a claw wide, with boiling lava below. Sparks splashed up, burning black dots all over his back. He didn't even pause, jumping straight across.
Sephira stopped before the narrow path and turned to look at Livia.
Livia caught up, and the two stood side by side.
"You first," Sephira said.
Livia glanced at her, without wasting words, she backed up, accelerated, and leaped—
She flew up.
To be precise, she glided.
Her wings spread, catching the hot air, her body tracing an arc, directly crossing the narrow path and landing on the stone path on the other side.
Her landing was unstable; one front claw slipped, and half her body dangled out over the churning lava.
She dug her rear claws desperately into the rock, pulling herself back with brute force.
Sephira moved the instant Livia jumped.
She didn't jump; she climbed directly, digging her four claws into the rock fissures, pressing her body against the nearly vertical rock wall, bypassing the narrow path from above.
Livia stabilized herself and looked back at her.
Sephira dropped down from the rock wall, landing steadily half a meter behind her.
The two exchanged a look and rushed forward simultaneously.
The finish line was right in front of them.
Carlos had already crossed the line and was panting heavily on the ground.
Sephira and Livia crossed the line almost simultaneously.
The Dragon Mother lay on the giant rock in the lake center and spoke calmly:
"Carlos is first.
Sephira is second,
Livia is third."
Livia lay on the ground, smoke rising from her feet, with only one word in her mind: Damn.
The Dragon Mother paused, delivering another blow:
"Tonight's meal is canceled. All of it."
The three hatchlings simultaneously looked up, faces full of shock.
The Dragon Mother narrowed her eyes:
"The exam isn't about who runs fastest; it's about who conserves energy."
She looked at Carlos: "After running this once, can you run a second time?"
Carlos was stunned.
She looked at Sephira: "Your climbing consumed three times the energy of running. Did you calculate that?"
Sephira fell silent.
She looked at Livia: "When you jumped, half your body dangled out. I have seen two dragons cooked by lava."
Livia lowered her head.
The Dragon Mother settled back down: "Think clearly before you move.
Next time, the last place won't just mean missing a meal."
After speaking, she closed her eyes.
The three little dragons lay by the edge of the nest, their stomachs rumbling loudly enough to disturb the peace.
Carlos stared blankly at the lava lake, Sephira inspected her scuffed scales, and Livia stared at her own claws.
He was surprised to find:
The Red Dragon's recovery ability was truly ridiculous.
The burns on her soles stopped hurting after a short while. Looking at her claws, the scales had already grown back, just slightly lighter in color.
"This body is a cheat configuration," he thought smugly.
A vibration suddenly came from deep within the lair.
It wasn't the Dragon Mother turning over; it was a vibration that was very distant, very heavy, and very slow, as if some huge thing was moving.
The Dragon Mother instantly opened her eyes.
Her vertical pupils contracted into thin slits, staring fixedly into the darkness deep within the lair.
The three hatchlings stared along with her.
The vibration stopped after more than ten seconds.
The Dragon Mother didn't move, continuing to stare.
After a while longer, she withdrew her gaze and closed her eyes to continue sleeping.
Livia's mind was flooded with questions:
What was that?
What is hidden deep inside the lair?
Why was the Dragon Mother so tense?
He didn't dare ask.
Sephira didn't ask either.
Carlos opened his mouth to ask, but Sephira pinned his mouth shut with one claw.
That night, everyone went hungry.
Livia was too hungry to sleep, staring blankly at the runes on the ceiling of the lair. The runes flickered under the lava light, looking almost alive.
He thought again about that tremor.
Deep in the lair, what exactly was there?
He turned over and saw Sephira counting her collection nearby:
Seven bones, thirteen pieces of ore, one dragon scale, two metal fragments.
In three months, she had amassed quite a respectable hoard.
Carlos was gnawing on a stone to grind his teeth, crushing it and spitting it out—essentially just bored.
Livia watched for a while, then suddenly remembered something:
It had been three months, and the Dragon Mother had never called any of them by name.
The names they called out on the day they hatched were their own choices.
The Dragon Mother had never uttered a single one.
He crept over and asked Sephira, "Did Mother ever call you by your name?"
Sephira's hand, which was counting bones, paused: "No."
"Did she call me?"
"No."
"Did she call him?" Livia pointed at Carlos.
Sephira calmly replied, "When he smashed the wall that time, Mother pinned him down and said one word: 'Idiot'."
Livia: "..."
Carlos looked up: "Well... that counts as calling me, right?"
Livia and Sephira fell silent simultaneously, ignoring him.
After a moment of quiet, Sephira suddenly lowered her voice, glancing toward the Dragon Mother:
"I heard Mother call other names."
Livia immediately perked up: "Who?"
"Once, when she was asleep, she mumbled... Esdrah. And another time, she called Karrak."
Livia silently noted: Esdrah, Karrak.
Sephira resumed counting her bones.
Carlos continued gnawing on stones.
Livia lay there, reasoning in his mind:
This lair must have housed other dragons before.
Then where are those dragons now?
He didn't need to ask.
Some answers were obvious just by guessing.