Hogg, in the Dragon Language, means "King."
Hogg looked at Richard, her mind flooded with chaotic memories.
These memories, etched into her bloodline, were supposed to be gradually absorbed as she grew.
But under the sudden and terrifying pressure, her survival instincts forced these memories, which should have emerged in an orderly fashion, to rush into her brain all at once, urging her to find a suitable escape plan.
However, the brain of a young dragon, still underdeveloped, couldn't withstand such an impact.
Under the onslaught of these massive memories, Hogg lay on the ground like a dead fish, her eyes vacant, her expression blank, and even drool dripping from the corner of her mouth.
"What's wrong with this young dragon? I just scared her with a bit of pressure, and now she looks completely broken."
Richard stared at Hogg in disbelief. After delivering his harsh words, he had expected the dragon to roar or retort.
But no matter how long he waited, the young dragon didn't move, her expression still as if she were broken.
This left him utterly confused.
This young dragon, a descendant of the Dragon King, had immense potential. But if she were to become mentally impaired, her potential would be greatly diminished.
Ulysses landed beside the young dragon, a glint of light flashing in his eyes.
"There's nothing wrong," Ulysses said, equally puzzled. "This young dragon is fully developed, her brain is intact, and her soul is complete. She shouldn't be like this... Oh! Wait, do dragons have inherited memories?"
Richard nodded: "Indeed they do, and quite a lot of them."
"That explains it," Ulysses flew onto Richard's shoulder. "This young dragon must have had a stress reaction to your scare, prematurely activating her inherited memories."
Hearing this, Richard understood Hogg's condition.
"It seems she'll be out for a while. But this is a good opportunity for me to prepare something."
Three hours later, Hogg's young brain finally processed all those memories.
As she groggily lifted her head, she found herself tied to a stone table. Surrounding the table were many strange-looking metal instruments.
And the human who had triggered her bloodline memories stood not far away, seemingly concocting some kind of potion.
"Richard, the young dragon is awake."
The sudden voice from behind made Hogg shiver.
As a dragon, even a young one, her sensory abilities far surpassed those of ordinary creatures.
Yet, she had never detected the presence of the owner of this voice behind her.
"She's awake? I was just about to prepare some Magic Potion to help her. Guess it's not needed now."
Hogg watched as the human approached her. On this human, she could clearly sense the aura of Dragon Blood, and his eyes were a pair of golden Dragon Eyes.
But why couldn't she dominate this human?
"Dragon, I can see you've developed the ability to think. I now give you two choices: either sign this Fate Contract and become my magic pet, or be turned into a specimen, just like that one over there."
As he spoke, Hogg felt her head being forcibly turned to the right, where in her field of vision, another young dragon, about her size, was tied to a stone table just like her.
"What is this human planning to do?"
As he watched the human gradually approach the young dragon, a sudden sense of fear sprouted in Hog's heart.
This fear quickly spread like vines, engulfing her entire being.
Although she had inherited many memories from her bloodline, she was, in essence, just a child who had been born three hours ago.
The fear of the unknown trapped her like a spider's web.
Hog saw the human take the metal tool she had noticed upon waking and bring it beside the young dragon. Then, she watched as the human used a small knife, no larger than a thumb, to slice open the young dragon's abdomen.
A roar of unbearable pain instantly pierced Hog's ears and burrowed deep into her heart.
She didn't want to see this!
But what she saw was not up to her.
Her body struggled incessantly, but her head was held firmly in place by an unseen force, forcing her to watch as the human skillfully extracted the young dragon's organs and sorted them into jars filled with a transparent liquid.
Throughout this process, the young dragon's agonized cries continued to reach her ears, and the fear weighed on her heart like a mountain.
"Stop making me watch!! I'll sign! I'll sign!"
"Oh ho, agreeing so quickly?"
Richard looked at Hog with some surprise, then stopped what he was doing.
"Ulysses, give her the contract."
Hog saw a contract appear before her, and on it, she felt a terrifying pressure.
"Where am I? Where's the dragon nest? Where's Dragon Mountain? Where are my kin, whose wings could blot out the sky?"
Hog's heart cried out in helplessness, the cruel reality making it hard for her to breathe.
"Little one, are you going to sign or not?"
Ulysses' voice snapped Hog out of her thoughts. She looked at the contract and, trembling, used her mental energy to leave her mark on it.
"Good, good. My efforts weren't wasted."
Richard happily took the contract and signed his name on it.
The contract then vanished, and an invisible bridge connected Richard and Hog.
Richard stepped forward and released Hog's restraints, asking with enthusiasm, "Little one, what's your name? I've heard that the offspring of dragon kings are born with names."
"...Hog. Hog Yil."
"Hmm, a good name."
Richard nodded. The name meant "natural-born ruler" in the dragon tongue.
"Then I'll call you Hog."
Having settled on Hog's name, Richard turned back to the dissection table to tidy up.
"What are you going to do?"
Hog looked at the hollowed-out young dragon on the table, her head nearly fainting as the scenes she had just witnessed flashed through her mind. The piercing screams echoed in her ears once more.
Richard turned to her with a mysterious smile. "Of course, I'm going to recycle it."
With that, Hog saw Richard... peel off the dragon's skin? Her eyes widened in shock. There was something wrong with the young dragon's skin!
Even as a corpse, the young dragon's skin shouldn't come off as easily as peeling a banana.
Then, she saw that beneath the dragon's skin was a mass of Living Flesh.
"This isn't a dragon! What is this, a mimic insect?"
Richard glanced back at her with a smug smile and said, "It's nothing, just a prop I made to scare you. I didn't even get to use all my tricks before you couldn't handle it."
Not a single word, sentence, or content is present in the 69 Book Bar!
This is the far north, not the Tower of Truth. How could something like a dragon hatchling be so easily obtained?
Moreover, even if it were possible, Richard wouldn't spend money to buy one.
Having studied so much about dragons, if he couldn't even make a dragon model, it would be an embarrassment to Jolod.
A student of the Synthetic Beast Master, unable to make a teaching model using Living Flesh? If word got out, Richard would be so ashamed he'd want to find a block of tofu to crash into.
"A prop? Fake?" Hogg looked at Richard in disbelief. "That roar couldn't have been fake!"
"Roar?"
Richard sneered and let out a pitiful dragon roar. As a Wizard with enhanced physical abilities, mimicking sounds was a piece of cake.
"Is this what you're talking about?"
Hogg stared at Richard, finally realizing she had been deceived.
"You... you... you liar!" Hogg shouted, on the verge of a breakdown.
As a hatchling just three hours old, Richard had given her a profound lesson in the deceitfulness of humans.
How could someone do such a thing? Using a prop to scare a hatchling just three hours old.
It was despicable! But now it was too late for her to regret.
She had already signed that contract, and from now on, she would live as Richard's magic pet for the rest of her life.
"Hogg, come with me."
Just as Hogg was wallowing in self-pity, she suddenly heard Richard's command.
She looked up and saw Richard, who had packed up his props, open a Mystic Realm Rift.
Hogg recognized the Mystic Realm Rift. Her inherited memories told her this was a rare thing, something only a few Dragon Kings could possess.
"Hurry up, you'll probably be living here for the next while."
Hogg flew toward the rift in humiliation, comforting herself as she went:
"It seems this human isn't of low status. At least life won't be too bad in the future. He's a strong one... What is this place!"
Upon entering the Secret Realm, Hogg was immediately stunned by the sight before her.
This was nothing like what her inherited memories had described!
Whose Secret Realm had such a variety of terrains? And what was that thing in the center of the world? A Mushroom? "World Mushroom, I leave this little one in your care. Try to make her grow as fast as possible during this time."
Hearing Richard's words, Hogg was momentarily stunned.
She remembered the World Tree from her memories, but what was this World Mushroom? The next moment, she found out exactly what the World Mushroom was.
A massive Mycelium tentacle emerged from the ground, transforming into a humanoid figure. From this Mycelium tentacle, Hogg clearly felt a pressure that only a Dragon King could possess.
She panicked inwardly, "What exactly is this human's identity?"
"Yes, Master."
The Mycelium avatar of the World Mushroom bowed slightly to Richard, then flicked a strand of Mycelium to pull Hogg to its side.
Caught by such a World Master, Hogg's body stiffened like a stone.
"Don't be afraid," the voice of the World Mushroom suddenly rang in Hog's ears. "Although you smell quite delicious, both of us are subordinates of our master, so I won't eat you."
Hog stiffly replied, "Haha, is that so?"
She suddenly felt that the human didn't seem so bad after all.
...
After leaving the Secret Realm, Richard stretched lazily, a smile on his lips as he approached the experiment table, ready to continue his research.
Suddenly, a crisp ringing sound interrupted him.
Ding-ding-ding...
It was the doorbell of the laboratory.
Inside the Wizard Tower, there were only him and Ellie. At this hour, the only person who could be ringing the doorbell was Ellie.
Richard turned toward the door and with a casual wave, it opened. Sure enough, Ellie was standing outside.
"Ellie, what's the matter?" Richard asked, somewhat puzzled.
Ellie's eyes sparkled with excitement as she said with a smile:
"I figured out that Yuris Black Crystal you mentioned!"
(End of Chapter)