abnabooks Chapter 16: Can Take Off
Chapter 16: Can Take Off
"Shadowflame!" Daenerys cried out and stood up.
But Yingyan did not panic.
It thrashed about in the water, its black body standing out starkly against the clear river.
It seemed to have discovered something. Instead of immediately going ashore, it swam downstream for a while and then suddenly plunged its head into the bottom of a relatively calm river bend.
When it surfaced again, it had a fist-sized stone in its mouth, which shimmered with an unusual dark blue and silvery-white luster in the sunlight and was covered with honeycomb-like holes.
"What is that?" Daenerys asked curiously.
Will also frowned.
Shadowflame swam ashore, placed the wet rock in front of Will, then nudged it with his nose, staring at him with his dark gold vertical pupils, and making a urging growl in his throat.
Through the contract, Will could sense that Shadowflame had a strong desire for the stone, as if it contained something extremely beneficial to it.
Will picked up the stone.
It is quite heavy and has a hard, cool texture. The dark blue and silvery-white colors are not painted on, but are the natural texture of the stone itself. The honeycomb-like pores seem to still retain the moisture of the river water. If you smell it carefully, there is a very faint, strange smell that is similar to a mixture of metal and sulfur.
Before he could examine it closely, Yingyan eagerly leaned in, opened her mouth, and with a "snap," bit off a corner of the stone with her fine, sharp teeth!
The exceptionally hard stone crumbled like a biscuit under the dragon's teeth.
Shadowflame chewed and swallowed, then let out a satisfied gurgle, picked up the remaining stone, ran to the side, and slowly began to gnaw on it, as if savoring some supreme delicacy.
Will was stunned.
He had never seen Shadowflame show such interest in non-meat foods.
This stone...
Could it be some kind of mineral? Something that dragons need to grow?
He immediately asked Daenerys for help, and the two of them searched carefully along the river, especially in the gentle bends and places with sediments of a particular color on the bottom.
Sure enough, they found several more stones of different sizes and similar textures, with slight differences in color, some being dark red and others bluish-black, but all bearing that strange metallic luster and honeycomb structure.
Shadowflame accepted them all, treating these "stones" as an important supplementary meal, and nibbling on some every day.
As he ingested these special minerals, Will clearly felt that Shadowflame's aura became more solid, and the luster of its scales became deeper and harder. Especially its wings, the bones seemed stronger, the skin more elastic, and the airflow generated when it flapped became more powerful.
On the evening of the fifth day, the setting sun painted the valley in a golden-red hue.
Shadowflame stood on the edge of a steep cliff in the upper reaches of the valley, the highest point in the valley they had discovered in the past two days.
Below are rushing rivers and deep pools, and opposite are lush green mountains and forests.
It stood there quietly, its black body silhouetted sharply by the setting sun.
With its wings fully extended, the wingspan of over 1.6 meters trembled slightly in the wind, and the dark red veins on the membrane were clearly visible, like burning runes.
Instead of leaping down as usual, it took a deep breath, its chest bulging noticeably, its neck held high, and its dark gold vertical pupils locked onto the distant horizon, with a dark red spark burning fiercely in the center of its pupils.
Will and Daenerys stood on the riverbank below, holding their breath and looking up.
Suddenly, the shadow flames moved.
It didn't leap down, but took a step forward. The instant it stepped off the edge of the cliff, its strong, powerful black wings, for the first time, flapped downwards with an unprecedented, explosive rhythm and amplitude!
"call--!"
A dull, powerful whooshing sound rang out, and the dust and bits of grass on the edge of the cliff were swirled up by the turbulent airflow.
Despite its relatively small size, Shadow Flame's body did not fall under the force of this fan; instead, it gained a clear upward lift!
It did not stop; its wings continued to flap steadily, each flap precise and powerful, propelling its body upward and forward.
At first it was a bit awkward and shaky, but soon its posture became steady, like a black arrow released from a bow, climbing straight up towards the sky dyed red by the sunset!
Ten meters, twenty meters, fifty meters...
It flew higher and higher, escaping the shadow of the cliff and becoming fully bathed in the golden afterglow of the sunset.
Its black scales reflected a dazzling light, and each flap of its outstretched wings drew a graceful arc, allowing it to soar lightly and steadily above the valley.
It is no longer just gliding or low-altitude flapping, but true, fully controlled flight!
It began to circle, turn, and even attempt a simple dive and pull-up, its movements fluid and natural, full of power and beauty.
Its excited and loud roar came from high in the sky, the sound piercing through the clouds and echoing in the valley, carrying the pride and freedom that the dragon was born with.
Will tilted his head back, his heart pounding with an indescribable emotion.
It is pride, excitement, and the awe of witnessing a miracle.
Shadowflame, his dragon, has finally spread his wings, which truly belong to the sky.
Daenerys gripped Will's arm tightly, her nails almost digging into his flesh.
Her purple eyes filled with tears, not of sadness, but of extreme joy and a kind of almost devout emotion.
"It flew up...it really flew up..." she murmured, her voice choked with emotion.
As if hearing their thoughts, the Shadow Flame in the air made a nimble circle, lowered its altitude, and swooped down towards their location.
It moved with incredible speed, whistling through the air, yet it gracefully lifted itself as it approached the river, its wings almost skimming the water's surface, leaving two white trails in its wake. Then it rose again, circled once above their heads, and finally landed slowly on the giant rock by the river where it usually resided.
It folded its wings, raised its head high, and looked at Will and Daenerys with its dark gold vertical pupils, which shone with unprecedented brilliance and confidence.
It opened its mouth, but instead of spewing flames, it let out a clear and long dragon roar, proclaiming its conquest of this sky.
Contract Dragon: Shadowflame.
Status: Growing baby dragon (breakthrough).
Satiety level: 85% (good).
Body length: approximately 0.8 meters.
Wingspan: Approximately 1.7 meters. Weight: Approximately 8.1 kilograms.
Growth stage: Young dragon stage.
Abilities: Flame Breath (Young Dragon level, power and control greatly increased), Dragon's Might, Enhanced Scales, Sharp Claws and Fangs, Flight (Mastered).
Intimacy level: 58/100.
Young dragon stage! They've mastered flight!
Will stepped forward, reached out, and gently stroked Shadowflame's neck, which was slightly warm from the intense flight.
The scales are hard and smooth, brimming with vibrant life force.
Yingyan squinted comfortably, making a low purring sound in her throat, and rubbed her head against his palm.
Daenerys also came over and carefully placed her hand on the edge of Shadowflame's outstretched wings, feeling the pulse and temperature of the strong bones beneath the tough skin.
Yingyan did not resist; instead, she flattened her wings slightly so that Yingyan could touch them more clearly.
The last rays of the setting sun sank into the mountain ridge, and the valley was shrouded in twilight.
But on the giant rock by the river, a person, a dragon, and a girl nestled together seemed to radiate a faint light.
……
Shadowflame's soaring flight, like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, stirred up ripples in Will's heart that were hard to calm down.
That freedom, that power, that awe-inspiring majesty that transcends the mundane—it was so direct and breathtaking.
It was no longer a fragile fledgling that he needed to protect and hide in his arms at all times, but a true overlord of the sky, even though it was still small in size.
But what follows is deeper reflection.
Shadowflame's growth is inseparable from energy.
Those unique riverbed stones, rich in special minerals, had an immediate effect, directly helping it break through the key to flight.
However, such "magical items" were clearly not commonplace. After leaving that strange river, Shadowflame's growth rate noticeably slowed.
Although the daily hunting keeps the body at a good level of satiety, the body length, wingspan and weight are still slowly increasing, and the scales, claws and teeth are becoming sharper and tougher, but the feeling of leaping forward by leaps and bounds has disappeared.
On the system interface, the growth progress bar for the young dragon changed from its initial rapid jumps to a slow and steady crawl.
This means that relying solely on conventional meat, Shadowflame's growth will be a long and resource-constrained process.
The very existence of Shadowflame is the greatest source of risk.
It can fly, which means it can explore more distant areas, but it also means it is easier to be discovered.
The Calon incident served as a wake-up call—human greed and scheming are far more deadly than the fangs of wild beasts.