"Are you sure that's the hunters' own wish?" Hara couldn't help but chime in. "I thought it was a request from a certain Princess.
I heard she won't even let a single tuft of Rajang fur go to waste."
"Shhh," the Admiral made a mock-serious shushing gesture. "Watch out for the Guild Knights."
Guild Knight jokes truly never went out of style.
"...Then it should be pure gold, right? An Elder Dragon probably has no need for gold plating. Is that gold an external substance covering its body, or is it a part of its biology, like with a Kushala Daora?" On the other side, the scholar representative was still muttering to himself with a fanatical expression. "We need further investigation. At the very least, we must understand its basic habits and power characteristics before we can even name it—"
"Ah, that dragon is called Kulve Taroth," the Admiral said, scratching his head. "Leaf said that Asterion refers to that dragon by that name."
"What?!!" Hearing this, the scholar representative immediately rushed in front of the Admiral, looking as if he wanted to tie the big man up then and there. "You actually saw Asterion in secret?! Why didn't you take us with you!!"
Everything related to Kulve Taroth was an object of curiosity for the scholars, but what they wanted to know even more was the transformation occurring within Asterion.
"Calm down, calm down," the Admiral said, quickly holding back the excited scholar with a dry laugh. "I didn't see the boss either; I just heard it from Leaf. For some reason, the Grimalkynes strictly forbid anyone from entering the underground cavern—not even their own tribesmen are allowed... I suspect the boss might have issued some kind of order."
"Even the Grimalkynes aren't allowed in?" Hara said with some surprise. "Is Asterion doing something vital?"
"Who knows?" the Admiral shrugged. "Don't forget, the boss is an Elder Dragon himself. Even though we've been old friends for so many years, I wouldn't dare say I truly understand him."
"Fair point," the scholar representative said with a hint of disappointment. "Well, regardless, based on the power Asterion has displayed so far, the title we gave him wasn't wrong."
"A fully matured Asterion flies like a comet. He no longer has the power-deficiency issues of his younger years. You can't even see his silhouette when he's in flight; by speed alone, he is truly worthy of the title of Elder Dragon," the scholar representative said with a look of awe.
"Imagine if he slammed into a target on the ground from the sky at that speed. Forget monsters—neither hunters nor the current defenses of Astera could possibly withstand it."
It was clear the scholars had already pondered this issue, as the representative didn't even pause while speaking.
"Even if Asterion remains completely non-hostile toward us, what if he happens to fly over Astera or a hunter squad in the field one day? What if an old scale happens to peel off and fall toward the ground at that exact moment? And what if that scale hits the base or a hunter at such high velocity—do you understand what that would mean?"
"It means the scale would be equivalent to a Wyvernblast?" the Admiral joked.
"Wrong," the scholar representative shook his head. "Have you seen meteorite craters? Those massive, circular deep pits?"
"Are you saying a single falling scale would cause an impact like a meteorite?" the Commander asked with a solemn face.
"Why do you think we call Asterion 'The Comet'?"
Answering with a rhetorical question that served as a chilling affirmation, a silence fell over the room.
"For ordinary life, any unintentional act of an Elder Dragon species can be a cataclysmic disaster," the scholar representative said meaningfully after a long silence. "And in the recent battle to cull the Velkhana, Asterion displayed the ability to release massive amounts of heat in a short time to melt the ice and snow of an entire region. What if he decided to release that power at will to terraform the environment into a shape he prefers?"
"I don't think he would," the Admiral, who had been silent, shook his head firmly. "The boss isn't that kind of dragon. If his mere existence changes the environment, that's one thing, but he wouldn't do it on purpose."
"You're that sure?" The scholar representative was stunned for a moment.
"Yeah, I'm sure," the Admiral nodded. "The boss isn't a dragon that cares much for luxury—I know what you're going to say, the 'Gluttony Festival,' right? The Grimalkynes even researched specific recipes for him."
The Admiral raised his hand, signaling the scholar to let him finish.
"But think back on the boss's tracks. From our first meeting over forty years ago until now, he has always been busy hunting various monsters. From ordinary Jyuratodus and Rathalos to the Elder Dragons of today, he has been constantly challenging powerful monsters with a plan and a purpose. He didn't even hesitate to leave the Glavenus Tribe for over a decade without returning."
"I've actually been wondering what the Glavenus boss is really after," the Admiral said with a puzzled expression. "His footsteps have never stopped. He hasn't lived a peaceful life like other Glavenus or other monsters, and he has never engaged in regular, routine hunting."
"It's the same this time, isn't it?" Hara added from the side. "He consumed the Velkhana and then hurried back to his nest to sleep. I saw that the Grimalkynes are quite worried about this, fearing Asterion will sleep for years like before, only to wake up and disappear again shortly after."
"It's understandable, especially since they were just hit by the cold snap," the Commander sighed. "In the eyes of the Grimalkynes, if the Glavenus boss had stayed with the tribe, the Velkhana couldn't have caused such a disaster. Any sign of trouble would have been snuffed out by him immediately... then so many Grimalkynes wouldn't have died in the freezing weather or the battle."
"They don't hold a grudge against Asterion, do they?" Hara asked seriously.
"Not at all," the Commander chuckled softly. "The Lynians are a very simple and pure race."
"That's good," Hara sighed in relief. "The very foundation of the Glavenus Tribe is Asterion. It's good they haven't done anything irrational."
The momentum, culture, habits, heritage, and gratitude built over decades were complex, to say the least.
"Roar!"
Just as Hara finished speaking, a large head popped up over the side of the ship. Mirrorblade let out a seemingly indignant roar. He had been lying here since entering Astera yesterday, acting as a participant in the meeting.
Without a Grimalkyne Shaman to translate, the hunters couldn't understand exactly what Mirrorblade was saying, but based on their conversation, they could guess his meaning.
"Are you trying to say... you will protect the Glavenus Tribe?" the Admiral asked tentatively.
"Roar!"
With a roar, Mirrorblade lifted his head proudly.
"Oh! You've got quite the spirit!" the Admiral praised. "So, young boss, how long do you plan to stay in Astera?"
With one thoughtless question, the Admiral completely deflated Mirrorblade. The entire dragon wilted, his head dropping back below the ship's railing, forcing the others to lean over the side to see him.
There was no answer.
"From the looks of it... he might be staying for quite a while," the Tech Chief said with a laugh.
"Hmm... well then, do you want to investigate the secrets of the Elder Dragon Crossing with us?" After thinking it over, the Admiral called out loudly again.
Mirrorblade looked up, his large dragon eyes filled with confusion.
"It's the secret of the Elder Dragon Crossing. You probably don't know it either, right?" the Admiral said with a grin. "If you're feeling lost and can't find anything you truly want to do, why not come along?"
"Exploring the secrets of nature is a form of self-tempering in itself. Perhaps in the process, you'll find the answers to the questions troubling you—what do you say?"
Looking at the bright smile on the Admiral's face and his outstretched hand, Mirrorblade thought for a moment. Finally, he lifted his head and touched the tip of his snout against the Admiral's fist.
Mirrorblade knew what the Elder Dragon Crossing was. He had learned a lot from the hunters, and he also knew how the scholars of the Research Commission classified his own father... as an Elder Dragon.
But he was not an Elder Dragon. Mirrorblade knew how the scholars defined him.
It was strange, and he felt a lingering sense of frustration.
The Elder Dragon Crossing... if those Elder Dragons were even older than his father... by exploring their secrets... could he find an answer for himself?
Mirrorblade wanted to try.
Unaware that his "good son" hadn't run off into the wilderness to grasp the true essence of being a dragon, but had instead turned around to hang out with hunters—intending to mimic them and explore the world through the perspective of a "Wyvernian"—Asterion was busy hatching an egg.
When he had driven Mirrorblade out of his territory, he had been very clear: he told Mirrorblade to think about what a dragon is, what gives him his current ecological status, and what it is that makes the Wyvernians respect him so much, and only then return.
Asterion felt he had made himself clear. If Mirrorblade still didn't get it, there was nothing more he could do.
Since things had come to this, it was time to hatch the egg. Spitting lava had been phased out because the temperature was too low. Following Kulve Taroth's requirements, Asterion began roasting the dragon egg with "fire energy," alternating with Kulve Taroth's own heat waves.
It was quite interesting. Asterion noticed that after being roasted by fire energy for a long time, the egg's surface was no longer just a golden hue; instead, it had turned dull and dark. It appeared to be covered by a layer of melted, heat-resistant crystals, looking somewhat gray and hazy.
Uh, hopefully, this won't affect the hatching of the hatchling.
The reproduction process of every Elder Dragon was different. Taking Kulve Taroth as an example, her eggs wouldn't hatch as quickly as a Glavenus egg; the young dragon needed to absorb enough heat while inside.
Combined with Kulve Taroth's long lifespan and a life devoid of much existential dread, the process was even slower.
Asterion didn't neglect his own business either. When he wasn't needed to hatch the egg, he would lie quietly on the ground and absorb Dragonvein energy.
Time held little meaning for an Elder Dragon. Asterion only knew that in the blink of an eye, the Bio-energy crystals in his nest had multiplied rapidly, to the point of covering almost the entire cavern.
Looking around, everything in his sight was dyed in a quiet, ethereal blue glow. The Bio-energy crystals were self-luminous; the light wasn't piercing, yet it caused new crystals to gradually form on the surface of anything they touched.
The changes in the Dragonvein Corridor outside the nest were even more dramatic. To ensure his energy could permeate the entire New World, Asterion had exerted a massive effort years ago to shape Bio-energy crystals within the corridor.
By now, the ghostly blue light almost overwhelmed the radiance emitted by the ceaselessly flowing lava within the corridor. Like a slow breath, the golden-red light of the lava could only be seen when the blue crystals dimmed.
This section of the Dragonvein Corridor, from the surrounding rock walls to the stalactites overhead, was covered in a thick layer of Bio-energy crystals. Though thick, they weren't uniform; they had distinct layers, appearing like blooming stone flowers.
The hexagonal crystals varied in length and thickness, interlocking and growing irregularly along the jagged surface of the walls. Where they touched, they pressed against each other; the more fragile ones would shatter and fall to the ground, or simply drop into the river of magma to be swept away to parts unknown.
They might have even melted directly back into the Dragonvein.
Every time he saw the changes outside his nest, Asterion felt like an old farmer tending his crops. The overgrown Bio-energy crystals were his vegetable patch, a scene of thriving prosperity.
The Grimalkynes were not permitted to enter the new underground nest, so they naturally didn't know about the changes in the Dragonvein Corridor. They could only notice that more and more places in their own living environment were being dyed with a hint of ethereal blue.
Leaves, turf, moss, flowers, and even fruit.
At first, it was just many blue leaves appearing among the massive canopy of the Great Tree. The Grimalkynes and the scholars stationed there studied this change with wonder.
Soon after, the same blue appeared on the moss clinging to the bark of the Great Tree. The blue moss emitted a faint glow even at night, and many playful Grimalkynes collected it to make beautiful lanterns.
But before they knew it, the Grimalkynes were shocked to find that many common things in their lives now had these blue versions. It wasn't limited to the Great Tree; it appeared throughout the entire range of the Glavenus Tribe's territory. Even a few newly sprouted blades of grass were no longer green, but blue.
There were even blue insects. Like the most common fireflies, they formed a bright patch of blue light among the bushes near the ground at night, as beautiful as bioluminescent jellyfish in the sea.
This was precisely the point of distress for the scholars of the Elder Dragon Research Commission stationed with the Glavenus Tribe. They captured these blue-glowing insects, but upon dissection, they found that these insects didn't have light-producing organs like fireflies at all.
They were identical to their non-glowing kin in terms of body structure and internal organs—what was glowing was their bodies themselves, their very body fluids!
Why!
The scholars worriedly reached a conclusion: the reason these blue plants and insects glowed was that they were contaminated by some form of intense energy. It wasn't them glowing, but the energy existing within their bodies.
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