"In other words, the monster Hara saw in the Rotten Vale was indeed Boss Glavenus," the Commander summarized.
"Yeah. It hadn't appeared near the headquarters for such a long time, I thought it had been defeated by other monsters. Who could have guessed it ran all the way out there?" The Field Team Leader stroked his chin and said, "Do you remember when we found traces of Glavenus activity at the site where two Kushala Daoras had battled?"
"Are you saying... Boss Glavenus followed the Kushala Daora's tracks to the Rotten Vale?" Without realizing it, Hara had been influenced by the Field Team Leader and the others, and was now also referring to the monster as 'Boss Glavenus' quite naturally.
"Indeed. Now that you mention it... when I first encountered Boss Glavenus in the Rotten Vale, it did seem to be searching for something with a specific purpose," Hara muttered to herself, looking down. "Even though it noticed me observing it, it didn't attack. It was either gnawing on rocks in a fixed direction or wandering around inside the caves."
"If it was searching for traces of the Kushala Daora, then everything makes sense." Hara suddenly looked up, her eyes burning with intensity. "Especially during that last period, it stopped searching on its own and started following behind me—why? Did it think I could find the Kushala Daora?"
"That kind of behavior... well, if it's Boss Glavenus, it's really not that strange," the Field Team Leader said, stroking his chin again. "'Boss Glavenus' is just what the local Lynians call it, and we've simply adopted the name. In reality, the scholars have already classified and named Boss Glavenus."
"They have?" Hara asked curiously. "How is it classified?"
"The broad classification hasn't changed; it remains Order Saurischia, Suborder Theropoda, Superfamily Caudagladius (Blade-Tail). However, suspected to have undergone atavistic changes under survival pressure, its forelimbs have elongated, and wing structures—albeit unusable for flight—have appeared. Simultaneously, it possesses an extremely high degree of intelligence. Therefore, it has been temporarily designated as a Deviant of the Glavenus species. Its name is the Sage Mirrorblade."
The Commander gave a brief introduction.
"Sage Mirrorblade?" Hara frowned deeply. "If we're just talking about appearance and demonstrated intelligence, sure. But I witnessed it with my own eyes—it transformed from a monster with the structure of a Glavenus into that form you all saw. That absolutely cannot be explained by atavism."
"That is why it is only a temporary designation," the Tech Chief interjected. "After all, you are the only one who saw its appearance before and after the evolution."
"I will hand over my findings to the scholars," Hara said seriously. "The Chief is right. Rather than atavism, it would be better to call it evolution. that monster plundered a part of the Kushala Daora, absorbing the enemy's strengths—you all remember what I said at the very beginning, right?"
"...You discovered a brand new Elder Dragon species, potentially even a King of Elder Dragons?" The Commander raised an eyebrow.
"Exactly!" Hara grew more excited as she spoke. "I believe that the 'Boss Glavenus' you see is not a Glavenus at all! It is a completely new species of Elder Dragon! I suspect it doesn't even have a true, fixed body! Or rather, its form is indeterminate, capable of changing at any time by consuming other monsters!"
"Why do you say that?" The Commander asked, not rushing to deny it.
"It was too fast," Hara answered decisively. "In less than half an hour, right in front of me, its old shell and scales completely fell away, and new scales grew at a speed visible to the naked eye. That is absolutely not the speed of normal evolution or degeneration."
"Furthermore, the color of its original scales and shell was indigo-blue. But after eating that Kushala Daora, its newly grown scales turned a silver-gray, just like a Kushala's. On top of that, its forelimbs—their structure and toe joints—became extremely similar to a Kushala Daora's forelimbs."
"I even suspect that the Glavenus form we saw all those years ago wasn't that monster's initial form either. It might have devoured a young Glavenus right after hatching, or perhaps it parasitized a Glavenus egg directly, replacing the original Glavenus to be born."
Her train of thought became clearer and clearer. Under the light of the bonfire, Hara's eyes shone like a cat's.
"It's very logical, isn't it? Normally, a young Glavenus grows under the care of a female until it can hunt alone, a process that takes at least a year. But you all remember, don't you? The first time we saw that guy, it was hunting alone."
"Its true mother might have killed the adult female Glavenus, laid her egg inside the Glavenus clutch, and then left, leaving the hatchling to grow naturally."
"Of course I haven't forgotten. It defeated a monster far exceeding it in age and size," the Commander nodded. "That is an extremely rare situation among monsters. It was precisely because of the intelligence it displayed in that battle that we confirmed it was different."
"Exactly. Setting traps, hit-and-run tactics, and using its tail blade to bleed large monsters. Its tactics were simple but effective—even though Glavenus have the highest intelligence among Brute Wyverns, other Glavenus cannot achieve that level."
"In the past, we all thought it was a special case among Glavenus. But what if we look at it from another angle? What if it isn't a Glavenus?" Hara looked around the group and said in a low voice, "It is a unique Elder Dragon. Precisely because it is an Elder Dragon, it possesses wisdom far surpassing ordinary monsters."
"Of course, its physical strength is indeed a bit too weak compared to the Elder Dragons in our memory. Perhaps there are differences even among Elder Dragons? Some Elder Dragons might not be born extremely powerful but need time to grow, which is why they rely on camouflage to protect themselves."
At this point, Hara became less certain.
"According to my guess, the monster we are seeing now is just an image it pieced together using the flesh of other monsters. Hmm... A Glavenus might have been the first monster it devoured, which is why its basic shape is built on the Glavenus structure."
"Thinking about it this way, its external appearance isn't important to this monster. It devours the monsters it defeats and then seizes the parts that suit it from them—but there must be a core within its body that maintains its self-awareness. That would be its most important organ."
Hara's wild imagination and speculation could be said to be boundless, but it had to be said—her unrestrained and seemingly nonsensical hypothesis had, in a sense, correctly guessed Asterion's essence.
Perhaps because the humans of this world were still in a stage of exploring the outside world, they had a clear understanding of their own weakness. Coupled with the existence of various powerful and bizarrely capable Elder Dragons in this world, their capacity for acceptance was extremely high.
They dared to think, dared to guess, and dared to believe.
"A very good hypothesis," the Commander nodded. "Is there anything else?"
"Of course, there is the most important discovery." Hara's expression turned serious. "Although every monster's roar is different, monsters can communicate with each other—uh, they have their own cognitive thoughts, perhaps even a culture—do you understand what I mean?"
"What did you discover?" This time, even the Huntsman, who usually didn't care much about ecology, looked serious.
"I saw with my own eyes that before Boss Glavenus killed the Kushala Daora, he conversed with it through roars. And that Kushala Daora showed no intention of struggling; instead, it actively raised its head, as if allowing Boss Glavenus to kill it." Taking a deep breath, Hara revealed her greatest discovery from the Rotten Vale.
A discovery that overturned the knowledge of the Wycademy scholars.
This implied that among monsters—at least on the level of Elder Dragons—there was a common language or a shared cognition of things. Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to converse, nor would they know what the other was saying.
The act of actively letting the other party kill oneself proved even more that Elder Dragons possessed high-level intelligence beyond mere survival or predation.
In the past, a rumor had always circulated among Wycademy scholars and even hunters: that Elder Dragons possessed wisdom far surpassing humans, and could even transform into human shapes to walk within the Kingdom. However, this claim had never been substantiated.
And now, perhaps Hara's discovery filled this blank?
"To think such a thing exists..." The Tech Chief muttered, eyes wide, completely forgetting to chew his steak.
The secret Hara discovered undoubtedly broke through the hunters' past understanding of monsters.
"In that case, as the first discoverer, what is your view?" The Commander asked in a deep voice. "If Boss Glavenus really is an unknown Elder Dragon, how do you think we should make contact with it?"
"Just continue observing," Hara answered without hesitation, seemingly having thought about this question long ago. "Didn't you guys say it just now? Boss Glavenus doesn't seem willing to make contact with you. The envoys you sent to the Grimalkyne tribe after the Gluttony Festival were all chased out."
"Since it isn't willing to have much contact with humans, we can only continue to observe and wait for an opportunity... This is also a rare experience, isn't it? To witness the growth process of an Elder Dragon with one's own eyes, to perfect the Guild's understanding of Elder Dragons, and to confirm that they truly possess wisdom far exceeding that of humans."
"We are already very lucky compared to the scholars in the Old World. After all, the opportunity is right in front of our eyes, while they might not discover anything in a lifetime."
"I agree with Hara's point of view," the Field Team Leader said gravely. "If Boss Glavenus went to the Rotten Vale really to prey on the Kushala Daora, that means Elder Dragons are also on its menu. Sooner or later, it is bound to battle other Elder Dragons."
"Let's continue to observe. As long as Boss Glavenus's appearance changes again, it will mean Hara's guess is correct."
"Time will prove everything."
If he could hear the hunters' discussion, Asterion would inevitably be so shocked his jaw wouldn't close—these guys' imaginations were truly wild, and they actually guessed part of the truth. It was terrifying.
As expected of the Simian Wyvern species; even without draconic physical strength, their wisdom compensated for too much.
However, even if he knew, Asterion wouldn't take it to heart. After all, the current hunters didn't have the ability to do anything bad even if they wanted to.
There were so many strange and bizarre dragons in this world; it didn't lack one more unsolved mystery like him.
Asterion was busy working.
Without convenient things like a compass or a map, Asterion could only use Astera as a starting point. He groped along the steep stone walls protruding from the ground, trying to find the closest location between the Wildspire Waste and the Ancient Forest area before digging in.
Crunch crunch, crunch crunch.
Sharp dragon teeth sheared through hard rock, chewed, and swallowed—although not comparable to ore veins, stones also contained trace elements, so it barely counted as nutrition.
It was just that Asterion was a little worried. If he ate stones all day long like this, would his weight go even higher...? Sigh.
Dreams of flight, my dreams of flight.
Gnawing a path to the Ancient Forest was to make his life more comfortable; it didn't mean Asterion would spend all day soaking in rocks eating non-stop for this purpose.
He would also rest, and leisurely return to his nest. On the way back, he would casually hack a monster to death and drag it back to make Cat Rice for a treat.
He had lost count of how many times he felt fortunate for his decision to resolutely leave behind his easy life and venture into the Rotten Vale to evolve. It was precisely the powerful strength he gained after evolution that allowed Asterion to survive the famine following the locust plague with ease, saving him from becoming another monster's dung.
This made his conviction even firmer: strength was the foundation.
Dragging the carcass of the Rathian he had hacked to death into the nest, Asterion didn't spare it another glance. Naturally, the Grimalkynes would butcher the Rathian into shapes suitable for cooking. The Grimalkynes wouldn't disturb him before the feast was ready.
Hmm, but this time was a little different. Asterion had just laid down on the ground when the Old Shaman appeared in front of him, acting sneakily and leading a Grimalkyne.
"Boss meow! Something big happened again meow!"
Leaning right next to Asterion's ear, the Old Shaman lowered his voice and meowed.
Asterion: "..."
Why is it 'again'?
Where do so many big events come from?
"Roar?"
"It's really a big deal meow! Boss, look at him meow!" Hearing Asterion's nonchalant tone, the Old Shaman immediately got a bit anxious. He pulled out the Grimalkyne hiding behind his back and spoke.
"Roar?" (What is it?)
"He, he he—he's about to eat the tribe out of house and home meow!!"
"Meow didn't eat it all meow!! That was meow's own stuff meow!! Not other meows' meow!!"
Before the Old Shaman could finish, that Grimalkyne began to defend himself excitedly.
"It's me meow! Boss Glavenus meow! I'm Pot, meow! You rewarded meow a scale at the Gluttony Festival meow!!"
Meeting Asterion's curious gaze, this Grimalkyne spoke hurriedly.
"Roar roar roar! Roar roar!" (I remember you... just capable of eating, the tribe doesn't lack food.)
So far, Asterion had only given out one scale, so he remembered as soon as Pot mentioned it. The last sentence was directed at the Old Shaman—Asterion felt the Old Shaman was making a mountain out of a molehill.
With Asterion's predation frequency, the amount of food he brought back couldn't be finished even if the population of the Glavenus Tribe Grimalkynes tripled.
"That's not it meow!" The Old Shaman instantly got frantic. He slapped the back of Pot's head. "Say it yourself meow!! What exactly did you eat meow!!"
"Meow, meow—" Pot's black-furred face immediately tensed up. He hemmed and hawed for a long time, but finally, under the Old Shaman's stern glare, he whispered, "Meow ate the scale you gave meow..."
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