Chapter 384 – The Memories of Ovakin

Four thousand years ago, Ovakain was born in the Great Swamp bordering the Hoth Mountains and Dili Plains. At that time, the Hoth Mountains were far less cold than they are now, and the swamp, abundant with trees and moisture, remained relatively warm. The only annoyance was the constant heavy mist formed by the excessive humidity.

As one of countless abandoned chromatic dragon eggs, Ovakain’s fate should have been to be eaten as ordinary food by some magical creature. After all, his parents appeared to be young dragons who hadn’t reached Legendary status, and the eggs they produced weren’t much more durable than those of ordinary animals.

But fortunately, this dusty dragon egg soaked in mud was recognized by a kind Half-Dragon Tribe priest.

The elderly Half-Dragon Tribe priest held no prejudice against chromatic dragons as embodiments of evil. Or rather, as an Old Priest belonging to what most people considered the “evil Half-Dragon Tribe,” he understood quite well the irrationality of racial bias. Even among demons, there could emerge “children of redemption” who yearned for goodness. Among evil half-dragons, there could be priests of good alignment like himself. So why couldn’t a black dragon become a great and benevolent being?

Holding this idea that most would consider incredibly naive, the Old Priest resolutely brought the dragon egg back to his tribe.

It was precisely because of this that the first face Ovakain saw upon hatching wasn’t the sinister grin of an evil black dragon, nor the hungry maw of a wild creature. What he saw was the Old Priest’s scaly yet kindly face. To this day, Ovakain still remembers the first words the Old Priest spoke to him:

“Little one, you shall be called Ovakain. You will be a good dragon.”

Indeed, the syllable “Ovakain” in the half-dragon language means “good dragon.”

Thus, little Ovakain began a childhood completely different from that of all other black dragons.

Before completing his Cage Escape, Ovakain was actually quite susceptible to the interference of the evil bloodline inherent in chromatic dragons. Combined with the natural mischievousness of dragon whelps, for at least a hundred years Ovakain frequently caused chaos throughout the Half-Dragon Tribe, much to the worry of the Old Priest who was trying hard to conceal the black dragon’s presence.

Fortunately, the Half-Dragon Tribe was located deep within the Swamp. The thick fog and lack of valuable magical materials in the swamp meant the area was rarely visited, which successfully helped conceal Ovakain’s existence. Thus, Ovakain spent almost his entire childhood within the Half-Dragon Tribe. Both the simple-minded half-dragons and the kind Old Priest treated Ovakain as true family, and Ovakain himself genuinely regarded this small Half-Dragon Tribe as his home.

Perhaps to calm the mischievous young black dragon, or perhaps genuinely considering training Ovakain to become a rare spellcaster, when the black dragon reached the young dragon stage, the Old Priest began teaching magic to Ovakain.Though it was called magic instruction, most of the time Ovakain was self-taught. The Old Priest himself was merely a Formal-Level shaman, and his understanding of magic remained largely theoretical. Such half-baked theories were clearly unsuitable for teaching.

Surprisingly, however, the Old Priest possessed an extensive collection of books on magic. No one knew what adventures he must have undertaken in his youth to acquire such a rich repository of knowledge. The books covered everything from magical fundamentals to advanced spellcasting. Thanks to these volumes, and under the Old Priest’s combination of threats and incentives, the impatient black dragon eventually became a spellcaster.

Truth be told, before his Cage Escape, Ovakain’s spellcasting abilities were quite mediocre. Tiamat’s offspring are inherently ill-suited to become mages—if nothing else, the temperamental black dragon could barely sit still for meditation. Had it not been for the Old Priest’s forceful methods, this black dragon would likely never have learned even a single spell.

Thus, Ovakain’s path to mastery remained rocky until he reached young dragonhood. He never saw this as a problem anyway, for in his eyes, the world was naturally peaceful and serene. He would wake daily to the “he-ha” sounds of half-dragons pounding boulders in training, use his still-unpracticed breath weapon to kill a few unfortunate birds, practice his clumsy flight in thick fog, and venture into thorn-filled Jungles searching for sweet-and-sour berries… Whenever he recalled those days, Ovakain would grow intoxicated by the memory of that carefree time.

But… in this cruel world, happiness is never meant to last forever!

Just when Ovakain genuinely believed such days would continue indefinitely… devastating news found the young dragon still rolling in thorns to “massage” his scales.

The Old Priest’s lifespan had reached its end!

As a Formal-Level shaman, the Old Priest’s maximum lifespan was only about a thousand years. Combined with hidden injuries from his youth, he finally met his end on his 876th birthday.

During his final moments, only Ovakain kept sorrowful vigil by the Old Priest’s bedside. The other half-dragons lacked the wisdom to comprehend death—even before the Old Priest had passed, those thoughtless half-dragons had already begun petitioning their ancestors to select a new priest.

But Ovakain was different. From beginning to end, the massive black dragon remained by the Old Priest’s side, until… the moment he dreaded most quietly arrived.

Millennia later, Ovakain still remembers the Old Priest’s final words to him:”Little one, death and birth are both inevitable for us, so do not fear or evade it. My life is nearing its end, but my dream shall be eternally carried forward by you… See those clansmen over there? Most are foolish in peacetime and frenzied in war, yet this is not their fault. Not everyone can successfully resist the evil bloodline—this curse grants us robust bodies while robbing us of our scarce wisdom. Because of this curse, we can never integrate into this world as intelligent beings…”

By this point, the Old Priest’s gaze had begun to dim, yet his lips still trembled faintly—he was unwilling to yield:

“I dreamed of allowing those cursed by the bloodline to live freely beneath the sunlight. But as a shaman, I could not conceive of a solution even unto death. Perhaps a mage might have a different perspective… Yet I am fated never to witness that day arrive…”

The Old Priest stared silently at the ceiling above him, his voice now utterly gone. But Ovakain firmly memorized the old man’s final lip movements:

“Perhaps it is selfish… but my dream… I entrust it to you, Ovakain.”

On that day, the person most important to Ovakain departed this world. And on that very day, Ovakain truly completed his Cage Escape, embarking on the path of a spellcaster. It was also on that day that a truly benevolent black dragon was born deep within the mist-shrouded swamp…

“Old man, your dream shall be inherited by me. How could I allow myself to turn to ashes like this?!”

Now, as his memories concluded, Ovakain’s consciousness erupted with a heaven-shaking roar from the depths of his soul:

“I am Ovakain Acidmaw, and I shall make all who dare invade my paradise pay the price!”

(End of Chapter)