This moment is the best time to guide it onto the true path of the Giant Dragon.
"Buzz..."
As Gauss softly uttered the syllable.
He did not recite overly complex dragon language but chanted the simplest and most basic syllable, symbolizing "fire," "heat," and "gather" in dragon language.
The reason for choosing this was naturally to minimize Hephaestus’s learning difficulty.
He and Hephaestus’s thoughts resonated together slowly, along with the powerful dragon language.
Hephaestus’s body trembled slightly.
Understood, yet seemingly didn’t understand.
But it indeed felt some change around, making its blood slightly warm.
"Roar~~"
It attempted to repeat it, but clearly, its pronunciation was far from Gauss’s.
Seeing its failure, Gauss was not disappointed, even though the pronunciation was extremely simple for him.
He was well-prepared mentally.
Dragon Beasts can’t master dragon language, nor can they release magic autonomously. This is partly due to losing heritage and lack of mentorship, but there are certainly objective difficulties.
Without talent, repeat it.
Gauss also took this as an opportunity to practice dragon language.
Time passed quietly.
Gauss swallowed, feeling his throat dry as if it were about to catch fire.
"Woohoo—"
He exhaled deeply, rubbing his cheeks.
He’s unsure how much Hephaestus has progressed, but his own gains are significant.
Now it’s much easier to summon natural flames, with a sense of readiness.
Even if he lost all magic power now, he could still control some supernatural abilities through the power of dragon language.
Moreover, he vaguely felt that practicing dragon language to summon flames was silently enhancing his affinity with various fire elements.
This should greatly benefit his future use of various fire tricks and spells.
So... he’s made such progress as a teacher, what about his student Hephaestus?
He turned his gaze to the weary Hephaestus in front of him.
It had failed countless times, yet seemed to lack a certain feeling.
Gauss smiled.
The path from 0 to 1 is much longer than it appears.
Gauss trained with Hephaestus numerous times until the sun quietly set.
When retrieving the water bottle for another drink, Gauss was ready to call off the day’s training after finishing the last few sips.
Suddenly, he felt a wave of heat in front of him.
Then a cluster of flames formed before Hephaestus and rushed toward him.
"?"
Did it succeed?
Gauss was taken aback.
But his actions were swift, waving his arm to disperse the incoming flames with a protective shield.
"Hephaestus! Are you rebelling?"
Gauss laughed, shaking his hand.
Hephaestus coughed a few times, turning its head aside.
He suspected the dragon beast did it intentionally to retaliate, but he had no evidence.
"Don’t let it happen again."
Gauss knocked on its head.
At least it completed a dragon language pronunciation and correctly summoned a natural flame, achieving a qualitative breakthrough.
Since it’s a joyous occasion, he didn’t mind Hephaestus’s possible intent to embarrass him.
"So, isn’t this possible?"
He patted its head vigorously, laughing aloud.
Gauss was prepared for days, weeks, or even longer of teaching, yet he didn’t expect Hephaestus to learn it on the first day.
This guy, could it truly be a genius among dragon beasts?
"Hephaestus, you’re great! You’re smarter than I anticipated! You might be the smartest dragon beast in this world!"
Although this isn’t true magic, it has taken a crucial step. The beginning is difficult, but he believes that Hephaestus, who has taken the first step, will soon gradually master more abilities.
He is going to play the role of a teacher, cultivating the first dragon beast to master casting abilities!
Hephaestus turned its head away, deliberately avoiding Gauss’s gaze, but from its occasional furtive glances at him, it was clear it was quite happy to finally master a simple dragon language syllable.
In its peripheral vision, it saw Gauss laughing heartily, and through some mysterious mental connection, sensed the joy Gauss was conveying.
This man was genuinely proud of it.
He’s the one who named it, encouraged and reprimanded it, patiently taught it dragon language...
For a while, the dragon beast hung its head, sinking into an inexplicable emotion.
It seems...
It seems... this kind of life isn’t so bad.
True desperation is seeing no direction to strive for, or no matter how hard you try, receiving no feedback. Facts prove that if there’s visible progress, even lazy dragons will have the thought of change.
The past life of eating after sleeping, sleeping after eating, though comfortable, left it feeling uneasy after lying around for too long.
True dragons are indeed the apex creatures of this world, but that’s the adult true dragon.
And it was just a wild dragon beast abandoned by the Dragon Mother, dwelling in an underground mine, and still immature, naturally lacking much confidence.
Recently, after being defeated head-on by this human and its strength sealed, it fell into depression, shrouded in humiliation, as if the end had come.
During those days, it lay in its biological pouch, lacking the desire to move or eat.
It’s a dragon, such a proud creature.
Thankfully, when the human who defeated it appeared again, he did not humiliate it excessively.
Although he was strong-willed, his actions seemed to be beneficial to it.
Dragon Beast Hephaestus wasn’t smart, but it could roughly discern between good and bad.
This is why, even if Gauss asked it to do things it didn’t want to do, it would obediently comply.
At this moment, in the glow of the sunset, its peripheral vision caught that dazzlingly bright smile.
The young dragon beast Hephaestus inexplicably sensed on him a long-yearned-for missing emotion.
Recognition, encouragement, pride, joy...
This emotion couldn’t be compared to worship mixed with fear and dread.
It’s like the unattainable love of the Dragon Mother it always yearned for.
Gauss’s figure gradually blurred.
In its hazy vision, he truly seemed like a gentle giant dragon gently placing its claw on its head.
Something intangible in Hephaestus’s heart was quietly melting.
The awkward emotions that had lingered in its mind finally eased.
It truly is the most special dragon beast in the world.
"Come, try again." Gauss, excited, reminded Hephaestus to seize the chance to remember the feeling of dragon language.
Hephaestus tried again several times upon hearing.
Under Gauss’s watch, soon a mysterious resonating sound emerged from its throat.
"Fire!"
In Gauss’s ears, it was dragon language that still sounded immature and unfamiliar, like a child babbling.
As the sound pressed out.
A small, more stably-condensed orange-red fireball appeared in front of Gauss out of thin air.
After hovering for a moment, it fell to the ground.
It succeeded!
Then Hephaestus excitedly repeated it several more times.
Some failed, some succeeded, but the success rate was visibly rising.
After confirming it had mastered it, Gauss halted its practice.
"That’s enough now."
He forcefully rubbed Hephaestus’s big head.
Not far away, other teammates who had unknowingly stopped their respective practices also directed their gaze here, equally surprised and joyous.
This is truly remarkable!
They were well aware of the significance of Dragon Beast Hephaestus mastering its first dragon language.
But for some reason, although it’s an event that could cause a huge sensation when told, it wasn’t as shocking as imagined.
Thinking about it, perhaps this is Gauss’s magic power.
Miracles always happen around him.