Chapter 189: Cthulhu
Chapter 189: Cthulhu
Adam turned to Sophia and asked, "Do you know any other Dragon Spells?"
Sophia nodded eagerly, believing that a powerful dragon like Adam could get a lot of food. This meant she wouldn't go hungry and could even eat a little more. She happily demonstrated all the Dragon Spells she knew.
After Adam learned all the spells, he rewarded Sophia with a lot of food and let her eat while he set up an analysis task in his mind.
He discovered that in all the Dragon Spells, the pronunciation of the Draconic language was the magic itself. Any syllable that could be pronounced and combined appropriately would elicit a response from the elements. This did not fit Adam's definition of magic. It seemed like a unique rule of the Dragon Plane. Dragons here might indeed be born noble, with their bloodline power serving as the best medium for casting spells.
Adam tried to cast some of his earlier energy-shaping spells using Draconic language. Although it was a bit hard, he succeeded with all of them.
After several experiments, Adam realized that the dragons' strength, besides their foundational bloodline, depended largely on imagination and control.
As long as dragons could imagine the magic they wanted to shape and had enough control to constrain the elements to combine according to their imagination, they could achieve their ideas under the rules of the Dragon Plane.
This seemed almost like a cheating code.
"Big dragon, did you build your lair here because you don't know how to fight? This place isn't good; the energy here doesn't obey. I know many better places, but I can't defeat their owners for now. Do you want to know where they are?" After her excitement faded, Sophia lost interest in Adam's magic and boredly landed on the ground to eat.
"Is this also what your inherited memories tell you?"
"Yeah, every time I wake up, I know a lot more things, like where to find good food or where to sleep more comfortably," Sophia said, listing off her knowledge.
"Is there nothing else? Like the oath and *u0026 amp;#?"
"What's the oath?" Sophia tilted her head in question, but she didn't wait for Adam's response and continued, "*u0026 amp;#? I know, you're talking about Cthulhu, right?"
Cthulhu was the pronunciation of Cthulhu in the Draconic language. Adam bent down and stared intently at her, "Tell me everything you know about Cthulhu."
Sophia shook her head: "I don't know much, just what Mother has told me long ago. She said that world was doomed a long time ago. Its creatures ruined their world and wanted to take over ours, but they failed. Mother also said they would never have a chance."
"Is that all you know? I have a lot more tasty food, and if you tell me more, I'll let you have as much as you want," Adam tempted.
Sophia looked at the food in her hands, already finding it delicious. She wondered what could taste even better. As she thought, she began to drool. "That's all I know. Why are you asking about this? Mother said dragons don't need to worry about so much. Just eating well and sleeping well is enough."
After realizing there were no more useful pieces of information from her, Adam took Sophia to another room in the lab, leaving her with enough food, and then returned to the lab alone.
There was a problem with the Dragon Slayer Guild's Refinement Art, and an even bigger problem with the advanced version practiced by all dragons. This left Adam somewhat undecided. Even if the Dragon Plane's origin was damaged, if he exposed himself, the origin could destroy a Level 1 mage without any issue.
Therefore, he needed a large number of test subjects to observe the abnormal reactions after practicing Refinement Art.
...
The establishment of a branch of the Dragon Slayer Guild in the City of Freedom didn't make much impact among adventurers, as the organization already had a low presence. It was named Dragon Slayer, but no one had heard of them actually killing a real dragon.
While some choose to join the organization, most preferred to remain as free adventurers, especially since the organization's intelligence protection was ineffective.
During this time, the number of tasks in the City of Freedom increased significantly. The city lord's tastes remained as odd as ever, expanding into even broader and more useless areas. This was good news for merchants and adventurers, particularly since the city lord remained very generous, offering rewards far exceeding the difficulty of the tasks. Their full enthusiasm couldn't even be dampened by the brutal blizzards of the ice fields.
"Bloodline Advancement Technique? What's this?" Adventurers in the trading and task halls were curious about the new item prominently displayed.
"It looks valuable. One Bloodline Advancement Technique requires a hundred ordinary trinkets in exchange."
They were all intrigued, discussing amongst themselves. Thanks to the devil's longstanding solid reputation and generous behavior, no one doubted the value of the Bloodline Advancement Technique.
"I have enough trinkets to exchange, but what is this exactly? Can bloodlines be advanced?" A merchant, who frequently traveled between the ice fields and the Racial Union Zone, hesitated. He had planned to buy a few Frost Giant slaves, which were very popular.
"Remember the reward for the dragon hunting task? The Bloodline Advancement Ceremony!"
"Is that true?! Can the City of Freedom really do it?"
Bloodline determined power, and the allure of the words "Bloodline Advancement" surpassed everything. In a world where strength was the key, a purer bloodline signified greater power. It was a cycle no one could escape.
So, when the first person, unable to contain their curiosity, exchanged for the advancement technique and joyously discovered its effectiveness, the desire for it began to burn like wildfire in everyone's heart.
...
On this day, Lina and the devil arrived at Adam's laboratory, where they saw Adam, whose body had grown even larger, and the little dragon.
"How has the spread of the Bloodline Advancement Technique been?" Adam asked the devil.
The devil hadn't seen Adam for a long time, fearing he would accidentally laugh and get killed by him. He kept a straight face and answered, "At first, they were afraid of being killed for sharing it privately. But after they realized there were no punishments from you, they started to trade it secretly. Now, most adventurers in the City of Freedom have learned it."
"Has anyone spread it to the Racial Union Zone?"
The devil replied, "Not yet. They are afraid the technique will be learned by outsiders and have signed a pact, forcing all practitioners to stay in the City of Freedom, or else they will be hunted by the others."
Seeing Adam's dissatisfaction, the devil quickly added, "Of course, your will is everything, master. I have already controlled a group of fools and taken the advancement technique out."
Adam listened, his thoughts deepening as he considered the implications of the technique's spread and the control he exerted over the City of Freedom and beyond."