Relying on the familiar bloodline scent left behind by his so-called mother, Cassius wound his way through the deep, twisting cavern until he finally arrived before a stone door.
The door was massive, exuding an aura of palpable danger.
This was the red dragon's secret hoard.
It was her private domain, the seat of her boundless greed—a place every creature in all of Anzetta hungered for, yet none could ever find.
The young red dragon carefully reached out a claw and shoved the heavy stone door open, then immediately beat his wings to leap into the air.
*Boom!*
In an instant, a torrent of magma surged outward.
It roared like a frenzied beast, radiating terrifying heat as if intent on swallowing every living thing whole.
This was the greedy red dragon's harshest punishment for any creature daring to covet her treasure—to reduce them to slag in molten rock, melting their bodies until not even bones remained.
Even though he had reacted in advance, the magma flooding the entire entryway still swept over Cassius.
Fortunately, the same bloodline flowed through his veins, giving him an innate affinity for fire and heat.
His scales were thin and his skin tender, far from allowing him to leisurely bathe in magma like an adult red dragon. Still, to him the molten rock was merely uncomfortably hot water, posing no threat to his life.
"Hup!"
Using his wings like oars, the young red dragon flapped with all his might, paddling deeper into the hoard through a dark tunnel.
The passage suddenly opened up—
Gold. Rolling hills of gold.
At the slightest disturbance, the coins flowed like a sluggish river, spilling onto the stone floor with crisp clatters.
And buried within those golden mounds were items shimmering with magical auras.
Cassius felt his breath quicken, and he could not help puffing out a plume of hot steam, his orange vertical pupils reflecting the glittering metal.
The deep-seated greed inherent to the red dragon bloodline urged him to stay. A voice seemed to whisper in his mind:
*Take this gold. Take these treasures—they are all mine.*
*Boom!*
A tremendous crash shook the cavern.
It was the roar of the red dragon and the furious shouts of the paladin.
The sound snapped Cassius out of his intoxicating greed.
Right—he had very little time.
The red dragon was locked in battle with the paladin, and she was clearly losing.
Once his nominal mother fell, the Oath of Vengeance paladin's next target in her crusade against evil would undoubtedly be him, a "young fiend."
Carrying away the entire mountain of gold was out of the question.
No wonder the red dragon had drawn the eye of a quasi-legendary paladin. With this much gold, there had to be several million coins here.
She had likely plundered the centuries-old royal treasury of some kingdom in one fell swoop; otherwise, even an ancient dragon's hoard would never be so absurdly vast.
He also finally understood why a heat-loving red dragon had settled in the frigid Great Anzetta Waste—she had fled here with her stolen loot.
"Magic items. I only need magic items that can boost my chances of survival."
Cassius quickly regained his wits. Suppressing his greed, he dug through the gold, inspecting the glowing magical artifacts within.
"Ring of Blades, reduces slashing damage."
"Amulet of the Soul, allows *Speak with Dead* once per day."
"Amulet of Spell Immunity, negates damage once from a spell below the sixth circle. A god-tier early-game item. Taken."
The young dragon swallowed the finely engraved mithril amulet in a single gulp.
Red dragons were natural spellcasters, and their bodies were living reservoirs and conduits of magical energy. Any magic item could be safely stored inside them and remain active.
Rumor had it that certain ancient dragons suffering from arcane addiction even carved magical runes onto every single scale, treating their own bodies as living scrolls to cast from at will.
"Heart of Magma, deals bonus fire damage. Good stuff."
"Staff of the Scorcher, casts *Scorching Ray* three times. Mine."
...
In mere dozens of seconds, the young dragon had swallowed more than ten magic items, though that was about all the truly valuable ones. Most of the rest were flashy court trinkets—expensive, but of little practical use.
It was clear that this adult red dragon favored raw gold far more than magic.
The sounds of combat outside grew fiercer, but the dragon's roars were noticeably weakening.
She could not hold out much longer.
"Time to go."
The young dragon stepped toward the exit, yet as if under a charm spell, he kept glancing back at the mountain of gold.
The greed rooted deep within his blood stirred a fierce urge to devour every last coin. The craving was intoxicating, nearly impossible to resist.
Unfortunately, the magic items had already filled his stomach to near bursting.
"Just one bite. Just one."
Cassius stretched his jaws wide and gulped down a massive mouthful of gold. Stray coins cascaded from the corners of his mouth like a glittering waterfall.
He had expected a hard, metallic sensation, but in a maw filled with sulfur and scorching heat, the coins melted like rich, cloying sweets, oddly soft and chewy.
The translucent panel surfaced before his eyes once more.
[Achievement: Gold Eater]
[As an evil dragon, you are not content with merely hoarding gold in your cavern; you dare to fuse it into your insatiable flesh. Your greed draws marvel even from the gods.]
[When you possess sufficient strength, the world shall be swallowed by your bottomless desire.]
[Passive Trait Acquired:]
[Metallic Scales Level 4 (4,250/5,000)]
[AC +2, Constitution +1]
[When you devour a certain quantity of precious metals, their elements bond to your body's surface and the depths of your heart. Your scales take on a corresponding metallic sheen, substantially enhancing your armor class and constitution.]
[(Note: Yohn Carpalius was once among the greediest dragons in the multiverse, even daring to covet the vaults of the gods. In the end, his wish was granted—he was turned into a colossal golden statue, drifting eternally through the astral void.)]
*Clatter...*
The young dragon felt the coins rapidly melt within his belly, flowing outward to his skin. Under the glow of the flames, his bright crimson scales took on the faint, opulent luster of pure gold.
Nourished by the metallic elements, his draconic heart pounded with newfound vigor, pumping hotter, stronger blood through every vein.
"Whew—"
Cassius exhaled a plume of hot air, feeling remarkably revitalized.
Attribute increases on the status panel were not merely linear; they scaled exponentially. Each level brought roughly a 1.2-fold boost, representing an enormous enhancement to his physique.
"Good stuff. A shame I can't take all the gold with me."
Cassius had not anticipated that a momentary burst of greed would yield such an unexpected reward. But with the battle outside nearing its end, he would have no chance of escape if he lingered any longer.
Allowing dragon blood to overpower his judgment at such a life-and-death crossroads would reduce him to nothing more than the stereotypical muscle-brained beast.
"Time to split."
Red dragons were notoriously proud and arrogant; it would never cross their minds to abandon their hoard and flee their lair.
Fortunately, his nominal mother was not entirely blind to reality—she had at least left a narrow back passage for her hatchlings to escape.
With a belly round and bloated, the young red dragon scurried out of the hoard, half-flying and half-running toward the tunnel on the opposite side of the lair.
This passage led to the southern slope of Cloud Peak, below which lay the vast Pokhara Forest. Once he reached it, the sky would be open for him to fly and the wilds broad enough to roam.
An adult red dragon would be far too massive and loud to conceal, but the towering spruces and birches would easily hide a wyrmling, giving him plenty of cover to live and hunt.
"Trouble's up, time to bolt."
Cassius looked toward the exit just ahead and leaped forward.
Chapter 2