Translator: AnubisTL
As the first rays of dawn pierced the horizon, the golden-red morning light spilled lavishly across the vast, boundless earth, still cool with the night's dew.
At this break of dawn, Garos concluded his night-long tempering.
He slowly withdrew his stance, his chest heaving like a massive bellows, before exhaling a long, deep breath of searing heat that lingered in the air.
Then, he turned his head toward the young gold dragon on the other side.
After his brief respite, Alberto was now gritting his teeth, enduring the muscle-tearing ache and extreme mental exhaustion as he once again mimicked Garos's fluid yet powerful movements, beginning a new round of training.
His motions were slightly stiff and clumsy, but he showed no intention of stopping.
Such a fierce competitive streak? This is practically self-torture.
The red-iron dragon's gaze lingered on the young gold dragon's movements for a moment, a hint of surprise and amusement crossing his mind.
He paused, then said, "That's enough, Alberto. I understand your refusal to be bested."
"But even the sharpest blade needs to be returned to the forge for maintenance. Allowing yourself a moment to catch your breath, letting your weary body and strained spirit recover slightly, is not a sign of weakness. In fact, it can make future training even more efficient."
At those words, Young Gold Dragon Alberto's eyelids twitched violently.
Did he not want to rest?
No, he couldn't!
Alberto's golden tail trailed limply on the ground. Completely ignoring Garos's advice, he continued his high-intensity training, pushing his physical and mental limits to the absolute brink. Judging by his posture, he seemed determined not to stop until he collapsed on the ground in total exhaustion once again.
Garos stood in silence, taking in Alberto's abnormal reaction.
After a few seconds of quiet, he spoke slowly. "Alberto, it seems you've made a rather peculiar oath to yourself?"
The words were like a stone thrown into a deep pool, shattering the dam Alberto had desperately held up. The long-suppressed, suffocating burden and the heavy sense of frustration, with no outlet to be voiced, now surged forth like a broken levee. An overwhelming urge to confess nearly drove him to lose control.
He pressed his head against the ground, clumsily rolling his heavy body in an attempt to mimic Garos's neck exercises.
Meanwhile, in a numb and weary voice, he explained in fits and starts, "Yes... Garos... I let my blood boil over in the heat of the moment and swore... an oath... with... severe terms... and... dire consequences for breaking it."
"Oh?"
Garos's tone rose slightly, betraying a hint of curiosity. A glimmer of amusement danced in his eyes.
"What exactly was the oath?"
Tell me, so I can have a good laugh... Garos added silently in his mind.
According to the vast records in his ancient inherited memories, there were countless examples of Holy Dragons impulsively swearing bizarre oath, only to find themselves hopelessly entangled and utterly miserable.
Alberto's current state—a pathetic mess of his own making—was a perfect, living example.
Garos's curiosity was piqued. He wanted to know what kind of oath could drive a proud Gold Dragon to such desperation.
"Sigh..."
Alberto let out a long, heavy sigh, filled with regret and helplessness.
He lifted his eyelids, his golden pupils swirling with complex emotions as he glanced again and again at the red-iron dragon beside him. His lips trembled, words rising to his throat only to be forced back down.
He hesitated, then stopped, then hesitated again, his mind seemingly locked in a fierce internal struggle.
After seven or eight seconds of such repeated torment and turmoil.
Finally, under Garos's silent and encouraging gaze, Alberto finally lowered his last psychological defense.
"It's like this..."
He began to tell his story, his voice breaking as he struggled through the strenuous exercises.
Soon, listening to Alberto's words, a glint of understanding flashed in Garos's eyes, followed by a sudden realization.
"I see."
He nodded slightly, his tone tinged with surprise and interest. "So the content of this oath is actually related to me."
As it turned out, after encountering Garos and being defeated by him despite his superior level, Alberto simply could not accept the reality of being beaten by a juvenile dragon.
Driven by a crushing sense of defeat and wounded pride, Alberto had acted on impulse, swearing an oath to defeat Garos at all costs.
Until this oath was fulfilled—that is, until he had defeated Garos—he was bound to renounce all forms of entertainment and leisure, dedicating himself body and soul, without reservation, to the cultivation of his strength and the tempering of his will.
Worse still, the oath carried a dire penalty: should he ever break it, he would be reincarnated in his next life as the lowest-ranking white dragon.
"I can see," Garos said, his voice sounding deceptively sympathetic. "This oath is clearly causing you a great deal of misery."
He paused, then offered a proposal. "How about this? Challenge me to a new fight right now. I'll throw the match, letting you win. That would satisfy the terms of your oath, wouldn't it? Perhaps it would even break the spell."
But the gold dragon shook his head, his movements sluggish with exhaustion.
"No," he wheezed. "There's a crucial clause in my oath—until I become stronger than you, undeniably stronger."
"Uncontested—"
He emphasized those words, continuing, "—This means that any so-called victory achieved through the opponent's mercy, charity, holding back, or any form of opportunistic trickery is invalid. It would be a desecration of the oath."
"I must defeat you completely in a fair and open confrontation, with no outside interference or favoritism, relying solely on my absolute strength. Only then will it count."
Then you probably stand no chance, Garos assessed calmly.
His Adaptive Evolution Talent was, in essence, a long staircase leading to ultimate power. Theoretically, the later he progressed, the more his accumulated advantages would grow exponentially, eventually forming an insurmountable chasm.
Right now, in his juvenile stage, Alberto could not even defeat him.
As time passed and Garos broke through life's shackles and completed his adaptive evolution again and again, the gap between them would only widen. Victory would become increasingly unattainable for Alberto.
Still, for the moment, Garos felt the Gold Dragon's self-imposed constraints were a bit excessive. What exactly were the specific words of that oath that bound him so tightly?
Driven by intense curiosity, Garos demanded that the gold dragon recount the oath to him verbatim.
At this point, Alberto knew that further concealment was pointless and would only make his situation more awkward. With the resignation of someone who had nothing left to lose, he ceased his hesitation and calmly recited the words of the oath that bound him, phrase by phrase, to Garos.
(End of the Chapter)
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