Beneath the Red Dragon

However, as the Dragon Horn ascended, and Karon, clad in scale armor, stepped into the portal, the magic eye on the golem’s forehead lit up. A white light projected from the magic eye, seeking to scan Karon’s body.

”That’s no way to treat a guest, big guy,”

A slightly mocking expression appeared on Karon’s thorn-covered cheek. A layer of light emerged around his body, blocking the golem’s projected force from entering. Although his current body was only about three and a half meters tall, he paid no heed to the seemingly mightier golem.

”You’re not a descendant of the Ancient Magic Kings, you’re a Dragon Descendant? You cannot enter, even the Giant Dragon is merely a specimen in the mage’s laboratory. Lowly Dragon Descendants are not fit to step into the domain of the Ancient Mage.”

The enormous golem emitted a somewhat rigid voice, yet it indeed possessed its own soul and intelligence, and it began to discriminate against Karon.

”He is our companion, a trustworthy ally. Do not harm our comrade, loyal golem guardian,” Mage Lapus, who had already stepped into the portal, actively spoke.

The towering golem nodded slightly and said, ”Very well, as a descendant of the Magic Kings, you possess certain privileges. It’s up to you.”

Despite these words, the colossal golem did not cease its scanning of Karon, evidently indicating Lapus’s privileges were not sufficient to dispel the prejudice of this intelligent soul.

Lapus nodded slightly to express thanks to the golem and then said to Karon, ”Come in, Karon. This is part of our agreement. Now it’s time to reap the rewards.”

Karon stepped into the portal. Although it seemed he hadn’t addressed any particular mage’s issue on this exploratory journey, it couldn’t be considered so.

He had undertaken shared risks with the mages, so he deserved his own reward as well.

However, after entering the portal and passing by the large golem, Karon suddenly turned his head, offering the golem a slight smile. A peculiar gleam flickered in Karon’s crimson pupils.

The towering golem, as if witnessing a common man encountering a ghost, recoiled several large steps back. A faint power lingered at its soul core, resembling a predator waiting for prey to fall into its web.

The golem sensed the deadly threat emanating from its soul core, akin to the Damocles sword hanging overhead that could fall at any moment.

In its somewhat rigid voice, a trace of unease and disbelief could surprisingly be heard, as it loudly exclaimed, ”What is this power? Low...Dragon Descendant!”

”Shh,” Karon gently raised his finger, making a hush gesture, and said calmly, ”Mind your manners, big guy. This is the power that teaches your prejudiced soul respect,”

”Oh, by the way, big guy, if you could own property, I suggest you pay the tuition fee for this lesson. Perhaps, if I’m in a good mood, I might teach you more about the common sense of being human! Oh, wait, you can’t even be called a human!”

Of course, Karon hadn’t lost his mind. Appropriately showcasing his power was also a means to earn respect.

Moreover, although it appeared the power comparison between Karon and the golem was utterly disproportionate, unfortunately, the real world is not a simple power contest.

There’s no true victory of the weak over the strong in the world; the difference is only whether it’s due to partial strength overcoming weakness or overall strength achieving victory over the weak. Even in countless worlds and countless histories, those instances where the weak prevail over the strong follow this principle.

Karon, overall, might be at a disadvantage, but his localized advantage was sufficient to secure an absolute advantage, which was why he remained fearlessly confident.

Karon set aside this small friction, traversing the path opened by the golem.

The shining elemental crystals covered the entire ground. Karon, drawn by the dragon nature within him, even felt compelled to sweep away all these crystals.

Several mages couldn’t resist throwing themselves onto the ground covered with elemental crystals, blissfully rolling over them, evidencing how hard it was to resist such enormous wealth.

The Squinting Mage Hughes chose to head towards those tall towers, the power source of the entire plane’s core. It seemed Hughes was highly interested in this aspect.

Only Lapus and Karon proceeded directly toward the great central hall, the repository of the Ancient Mages’ tomes, possibly the supreme palace of magical knowledge.

This hall appeared like an ordinary stone chamber, a space carved out of an enormous stone block by the ancient mages.

The exterior of the hall was also engraved with numerous intricate magic runes. Based on his own knowledge, Karon recognized less than ten percent of the rune knowledge, most of which were regarding suppression, stabilization, and preservation functions.

Karon didn’t get distracted by this hall, instead, he followed the white-haired Mage Lapus with a pilgrimage-like manner. He watched as Lapus placed his badge into the portal recess, unlocking the seemingly ordinary portal.

Then they both stepped through the portal, one after the other.

Inside the entire hall space, aside from neatly arranged crystal cabinets and an ordinary sculpture, there was nothing else. Yet Karon discovered that even his own gaze was subject to influence, capable of deceiving himself.

Since the interior space, observed from the outside, even allowed one to see the surrounding walls, yet once inside, the actual space was magnitudes larger.