Leon was lost in thought as he lay by the river and fell asleep. He slept until dusk, awoke hungry, and continued turning over stones in the river to find crabs and suck on snails. By the time his belly was full, the moon had already risen.
Night fell, and the bright moon hung in the sky, its silver light spilling over the silent riverbank. Leon had thought he would be blind with his eyes open, but to his surprise, he could see just as well as during the day.
*Thinking about how a cat's pupils dilate to let more light in the dark, a Dragon's pupils dilate to emit the Original Energy that flows in the blood of such creatures.* Magic, with its subtle permeation, granted Dragons Dark Vision, enabling them to see even in complete darkness.
*But didn't he not know magic?* It was possible that he just didn't know how to actively use magic, but it didn't hinder his passive use of it.
*There were too many things he couldn't understand, and Leon had no interest in delving deeper into these questions as they only gave him a headache.*
He thought about the Breathing and Exhaling Skill he had learned at noon. He looked around and found a large rock to climb. He raised his head to look at the moon... The moon in this world was different from what he remembered, but he couldn't quite say how.
The baby dragon bathed in the moonlight and slowly began to breathe, absorbing the moonlight and gathering Moonlight Essence.
With the moonlight and his breathing, a nearly imperceptible cold current gradually appeared within him, a cold stream that made him forget about the passage of time...
Just the right amount and no more; thirty cycles of Moonlight Essence were enough. Before he knew it, he had finished. While gathering Moonlight Essence wasn't tiring, foraging earlier was exhausting; feeling overly tired, he practically collapsed in place and fell asleep. By the time he discovered what had happened, the sky was turning a pale white.
Leon watched the sunrise, instantly woke up, and prepared to gather the sun essence. Just as he took a deep breath, he realized and stopped.
Yesterday allowed him to absorb moonlight, to gather Moonlight Essence, but today he couldn't possibly gather the sun essence. According to the lunar calendar, gathering Moonlight Essence should usually occur on the day before and after the fifteenth of each month. Gathering the sun essence was done from the first to the fifth day of every month. If you missed these days, the Sun would tilt, the moon would wane, and essence would be insufficient, making it unsuitable for gathering.
Unable to gather the sun essence, Leon felt genuinely perplexed for a moment, but soon his empty stomach forced him to jump into the river.
As usual, he flipped stones in the river to find crabs and suck on snails. Even though the river had an abundance of aquatic life, it still took Leon quite some time to fill his stomach.
Having eaten his fill, Leon remembered to check his body's condition. Last night, he gathered Moonlight Essence, but today his body seemed unchanged... No, that wasn't right. There was much less delay; if he were in this current body's state yesterday, he definitely wouldn't have slipped off the cliff.
Instead of attributing his diminished delay to the Sun and Moon Essence, it seemed more plausible that the day's growth and activity had helped him gradually adapt to his new body. After all, absorbing Sun and Moon Essence wouldn't have such an immediate effect; it required accumulation and patience, much like how leveling up needs a vast amount of experience points.
Leon suppressed his impatience, thinking he should do something now.
Return to the Dragon Nest, and search for the Mother Dragon?
Or hone his sharp teeth and claws?
With his Golden Finger, as long as he worked hard, he could certainly become a powerful existence in this world, perhaps even become Divine, and then... *In his past life, he had pushed himself so hard to stay in the big city that he'd ended up abruptly dying; does he really need to work that hard in this life?*
Perhaps he didn't have to be Divine. Not staying in the big city was also fine. Returning to his small seventh-tier hometown to lie low was also a way of life. When he was striving in the big city, his classmates were living in the small city, buying houses, cars, and getting married and starting families. While they might not have lived grandly, their lives were enjoyable.
Thinking of this, Leon wrinkled his nose and found a spot to lie down, resting his chin on his folded forelimbs. He closed his eyes and woke up in the afternoon, leisurely getting up.
Foraging, foraging, foraging—without the care of the Mother Dragon, he had to work hard for every meal. When the moon rose, Leon started collecting the Moonlight Essence again.
"Mm-hmm, if I can't buy a house, I won't buy one, and if I can't afford marriage, I won't marry. Abandon pointless struggles, stay away from overtime, promotions, and working oneself to death for money. To lie flat is to not chase after career and fame and not fight for so-called advancement and success, but instead to choose to enjoy things you love in life—pleasures, entertainment, and time with family and friends. But not to become a 'sanhe,' the term they use for those who give up everything."
Having no Dragon Inheritance and no guidance from the Mother Dragon, he at least needed to have something.
In the following time, besides filling his belly and collecting the sun essence, Leon spent the remaining time either sleeping or occasionally honing his skills, striving to adapt to his new body.
Unwittingly, several days had passed. Leon had completely adapted to the new body, able to run and bite freely. Since catching crabs and sucking on snails alone couldn't satisfy his hunger, he even learned to catch fish.
Of course, catching fish was primarily about using cunning. He would quietly swim up to the fish that were motionless in the water at night and suddenly bite them. He managed to catch fish as large as an adult's calf.
As the days passed, swimming became something he learned due to daily fish-catching, discovering a strategy of tightly folding his wings against his sides, kicking his legs back to create a streamlined shape, then moving his body side to side with sinuous lizard-like motions—his tail thrashed furiously to provide propulsion.
Once he learned to swim, he could catch fish even in the bright daylight, although it was still more challenging than at night.
Additionally, with his body functions activating and his mind improving, he learned to set traps. For instance, he would lie submerged at the bottom of the river, mouth open, releasing crushed meat he had prepared beforehand. When fish ate the meat pieces, he would suddenly close his mouth. This trick was inspired by the alligator snapping turtle.
After half a month of collecting Moonlight Essence, Leon realized he could gather the sun essence. Without meticulously marking the dates, he only noted that the sun's rays at dawn that day were particularly full, prompting him to decisively face the sunlight and gather the sun essence. Gentle inhalations gathered the sun's essence into his mouth, after which he held his breath, slowly swallowed, and led it to his dantian by will, repeating the process seven times. Afterward, he meditated quietly for half an hour.
A month passed by just like that. Leon, who used to be the size of a large cat—a cheetah or lynx-level size—had certainly grown much larger than before. Although when he stretched his neck, tail, and spread his wings, he seemed sizable, now he was about the size of a cheetah.
Without another baby dragon of the same age for comparison, Leon didn't know how he measured up physically with the opportunity to absorb the Sun and Moon Essence regularly, but his self-assessment was quite favorable. He had gained a lot of weight, especially strength, and his scales shone brightly, glistening like gemstones in the sunlight.
The clear blue sky was vast and cloudless, emanating an irresistible heat. Grasses growing in the cracks between the river rocks couldn't withstand the scorching sun, their leaves curling into thin strips.
Lying lazily and drowsily on a large rock that day, Leon suddenly spotted a familiar figure flying across the sky... Wasn't that his old mother?
Among birds, the eagle's vision was the most praised. Under normal circumstances, its visual range reached 36 kilometers. Besides having a broad view, the eagle's eyesight was exceptionally sharp, allowing it to accurately identify objects from great heights, making "Eagle Eye" a term often used to describe keen perception.
Why should Dragon's vision not surpass the eagle's; it would only be better. Surely the Mother Dragon saw him, but she showed no signs of descending. He pursed his lips without much care. Ever since he learned to catch fish, his life had been quite pleasant.
"Now you ignore me, but in the future, you won't be able to match me." Leon muttered and then remembered something.
The Red Dragon in its baby dragon stage displayed smooth, bright red scales, making it easily noticeable by predators and Hunters. Perhaps he had always been under the protection of the Mother Dragon. Her simplest action would be to drive away other large predators, as the Master of the Mountains, the Red Dragon wouldn't allow enemies in her territory, invisibly safeguarding his safety.
Leon acknowledged the Mother Dragon's kindness and didn't mind repaying it in the future when the opportunity arose. At the same time, he finally remembered that he had always lacked a lair.