The potential danger from the unknown immediately sent David into a stress response, countless related thoughts and ideas erupting in his furiously working brain like a reawakening volcano:
Could the automatic activation of my Sloth Authority be related to this thing before me?
Furthermore, what if something had taken advantage of his sleep to break into this temporary den with ill intentions?
It couldn't possibly be someone kindly delivering a meal, right?
As this thought emerged, the crimson figure who had once devoured three of his kin's Dragon Eggs in his presence reappeared in his mind, showing him a ghastly yet benevolent smile.
"Damn it!" David quickly banished this absurd idea.
If his Red Dragon Mother truly had come to this place, she would have probably flattened him into a pancake upon landing.
Feeling uneasy, his head throbbing from the incessant thoughts, David soon discovered more traces on the ground resembling 'wriggling' during his search. Immediately, something from the Dragon inheritance—a delicacy favored by both White Dragons and Frost Giants—came to mind:
"Snowfield Worms?" David murmured to himself. More precisely, it was the excretions of Snowfield Worms.
These creatures were similar to Volcano Worms and Swamp Worms, but due to their different living environments, they were much larger than Volcano Worms.
But this did not stop them from being a favorite of the Five-Colored Dragonlings.
For many unloved Five-Colored Dragonlings who could not obtain enough food from their mothers and whose own hunting abilities were insufficient, these fat and nutritious worms were practically the only delicacy within reach. For many, there was no other.
These worms, which lived near the Arctic Circle, were somewhat different.
Perhaps due to a slower metabolism and larger body size, their central ganglia—which possessed a slight capacity for thought—had also grown larger than those of other worms over a long period of evolution.
Normally, male worms, after fattening themselves, would seek out female worms for mating.
After mating, they would dutifully lie flat to become the candlelight dinner that accompanied the mating, subsequently turning into a nutritional meal for gestation, the postpartum convalescence, and even the first supplemental meal for the babies...
However, some 'brighter' male worms only wanted to mate without taking responsibility. They aimed to keep their plumpness for themselves, continuing to mate with the next female.
Such behavior, which undermined the 'market's' credibility, naturally incurred the dissatisfaction of female worms.
To ensure the propagation of the next generation, female worms slowly evolved a toxin that paralyzed their mates during mating, while the males' resistance to poison became increasingly high, eventually drawing human attention and becoming prime material for antidotes.
Some Snowfield Worms outright initiated domestic violence during their mating journey. To elude the pursuing female, the fleeing male would willingly shed this secretion, which was rich in protein and fat. This act was akin to severing an arm in desperation. In a way, it also served as payment for the mating service, thereby maintaining basic stability and order in the worm mating market.
This was also what sustained many White Hatchling Dragons. Unable to hunt for food, they had to subsist on drinking melted ice and licking snow all day, occasionally relying on their tails to catch fish.
Some scholars who studied dragons even believed that the existence of these Snowfield Worms indirectly ensured the survival of the White Dragon species.
Otherwise, given the worrisome strength and intelligence of White Dragons, along with the increasingly aggressive incursions and enslavement by Frost Giants, the White Dragon species might even have become the first to be expelled from among the Chromatic Dragons.
So, is it really that thing?
Once this tempting thought surfaced, all other chaotic ideas suddenly faded, leaving only this most plausible possibility in his mind.
David, who had initially started to become agitated, now grew excited, drool preemptively dripping from the corners of his mouth.
A taste won't kill a dragon.
Unable to resist the temptation, David reached out with the tip of his tail, scooped up a bit of the secretion, and placed it on his forked tongue to sample it carefully. He soon lifted his head, his eyes widening:
"DELICIOUS!!!" His brainstem trembled.
[Lust]
"Holy shit, it even tastes like vanilla ice cream? And why the hell did 'Sin of Lust' jump out all of a sudden?"
Since his transmigration, David had been primarily focused on survival. This seemed to be the first time he had the leisure to truly savor the flavor of food, and the experience left him utterly shocked.
He knew this was thanks to the changes in his dragon body's sense of taste after transmigration, allowing him not only to enjoy the smooth, delicate texture and sweet flavor but even to appreciate the fragrance of the fat.
Especially, the still-undissolved ice crystals in the mucus added another layer to the flavor, refreshing his spirit and leaving him craving more.
"Gratitude for the gifts from Mother Nature!"
Captivated by the delicious food, David couldn't care less about anything else. Like an Abyssinian Cat trying canned fish for the first time, he pounced on it and devoured it voraciously. He smeared it all over his face and head, licking the soaked sand thin for three feet around before finally lying back down with a satisfied smack of his lips.
With the replenishment from the 'Snowfield Worms meal,' David felt he didn't need to risk being discovered by Drow to go hunting anymore.
Hmm, I can sleep for a few more days... ZZZZZ...
Unaware that he had feasted on his sister's brand of chewed meat, David once again began snoring thunderously.
In his dreams, he tasted the delicacy again and looked forward to their next encounter.
[Authority: Sloth]
In the hot spring forest around him, all creatures once again fell into a lazy slumber, vying to lie down.
[Sloth]
[Sloth]
[Sloth]
A week later, when Tania, who ate as if she had been pregnant for three years, visited again, she indeed found that the 'food' she brought last time had been completely devoured by David. Noticing her once gaunt brother had obviously packed on some flesh, Tania initially flicked her tail happily.
Then, upon thinking of something, she suddenly became somewhat shy.
But recalling her brother's 'severe illness,' Tania immediately suppressed her emotions and, enduring both physical and emotional discomfort, continued her great undertaking of feeding him.
After leaving behind a spreading, mosaic-like puddle, she suddenly had an idea. Looking at her brother, who was curled up with his tail, she couldn't help herself. She reached out her tail, carefully let it linger on David's head for two seconds, then tapped it as lightly as a dragonfly skimming water.
SLAP!
But David, swatting at a mosquito in his sleep, flicked her tail away with his own.
Tania, her tail aching, felt both embarrassed and aggrieved:
He... how could he touch tails with me! Even if it was while he was asleep.
Because among Silver Dragon customs, that was something only a life partner they acknowledged could do!
Forget it, he didn't do it on purpose anyway.
Seeing David's endearing sleeping posture, Tania found she couldn't stay mad. This long-awaited first touch of intimacy also brought genuine contentment to Tania, the Silver Dragon.
She quietly forgave her 'uninformed' little brother in her heart.
"Alright, I should go back now. I can't let Mother find out."
"See you next week, my dear brother."
Shortly after Tania left, David caught the scent of the long-missed delicacy. His six limbs automatically lifted his body, and he began to creep into the shadows. Driven by [Gluttony], his mouth then devoured the 'sister-brand chewed meat' like an excavator.
[Gluttony]
[Lust]
This excessively brutal and greedy way of eating jerked David awake from his dream.
"BURP~~~~ Damn! What the heck did I just eat accidentally?"
Realizing that he had unwittingly devoured the Snowfield Worms he had been dreaming about, David immediately became as distressed as Zhu Bajie after swallowing a Ginseng Fruit whole.
Eh, it must not have digested yet.
David had barely had this thrilling thought when he jabbed his tail into the pit of his stomach and stirred forcefully, regurgitating the food. Then, with his tail still smoking, he squinted and began to enjoy it all over again.
[Lust]
Although the slush had melted and the mixture with his stomach acid made it a bit sour, David still felt satisfied.
Somehow, eating it always gave him an inexplicable sense of peace.
Even his mind, which had never been quiet since he had crossed over, found a moment of tranquility in the cool moisture, soothing the unspoken restlessness in his heart that stemmed from various insecurities.
This long-lost feeling... is truly wonderful.