Chapter 491: Chapter 491: Hatching the Dragon Egg (2)

"Let’s see what happens next."

He opened the bottle cap and poured the liquid back onto the surface of the egg.

Suddenly, the egg absorbed the liquid until there was nothing left. Unlike before, this time it vibrated violently, as if it were about to hatch.

"Oh!" Nolan’s eyes lit up. "Is it going to hatch now?"

He took two steps back and waited patiently.

In his entire life, he had never seen a dragon hatch. This would be a first.

Seconds ticked by, but the dragon inside the egg didn’t emerge at all.

Nolan frowned in confusion and approached, placing his left palm gently on the egg’s surface.

"So that’s how it is..." he murmured with a small nod. "The fetus inside isn’t fully formed yet. It’s still absorbing the liquid I gave it earlier."

He withdrew his hand and sighed deeply. At first, he had hoped to see the dragon hatch immediately, but it seemed it would take a little longer.

Even so, Nolan didn’t mind. The journey back to the Great Velmora Empire would take one to two months—longer than expected, since winter had arrived and the seas were now unstable.

They would undoubtedly face many obstacles along the way.

***

Seven days passed in the blink of an eye, and everything felt unbearably dull.

From the moment he woke up until he went to sleep, Nolan spent his time simply watching the sea.

Occasionally, he would chat with his sister about various things.

But for the past two days, she had been absorbed in gaining the insight needed to break through to the next level.

"It hasn’t even been four months since she reached Great Mage, and now she already has the insight to advance further. Sharon really is more talented than Jisha," he murmured softly as he lay on the bed.

On the path to power, talent alone was not enough.

There was another factor that geniuses often overlooked: hard work.

Believing themselves naturally gifted, they often neglected effort, assuming their strength would persist without continual practice.

This mindset was often the main reason geniuses remained stagnant for years.

They failed to see their own shortcomings and instead blamed their circumstances.

By contrast, those who dedicated themselves fully to their training could overcome obstacles far more easily. Sharon was a perfect example of this.

Meanwhile, Jisha seemed too pampered by Sylvia, and her power remained stagnant at the High Mage level—just as it had been when Nolan first met her at the Caltheron family home.

Ploop... ploop!

A vibrating sound came from his left. Nolan snapped out of his thoughts and turned to see the egg, silent all this time, now beginning to stir.

"Oh? Is it about to hatch?"

He hurriedly got off the bed and approached the egg.

The egg’s movements grew stronger with each passing second. Under Nolan’s eager gaze, fine cracks began to appear on the surface of the shell.

A tiny hand, no bigger than a baby’s, poked through the crack. Slowly, another followed, and soon the entire egg shattered into pieces.

Before him lay a white baby dragon, its body covered with strange red patterns.

’Is this... the baby dragon?’ Nolan murmured in awe. ’But it’s so small.’

He stepped closer, watching the baby dragon, its eyes still closed.

Its body was about the size of a human infant. Two small horns jutted from its head, and tiny spikes ran along its back.

It didn’t look fierce like the white dragon he had killed. Instead, it was irresistibly adorable.

Nolan crouched down, studying it in silence. Then, the little dragon slowly opened its eyes, revealing innocent, curious golden pupils.

"Moo~ Moo~" It let out a soft, gentle sound that melted Nolan’s heart.

The little dragon leapt toward him, clinging tightly to his chest.

"Moo~ Moo~" it called again, rubbing its head against Nolan’s neck.

Nolan realized the little dragon already considered him its parent.

He lifted it carefully, feeling the soft, fragile texture of its skin.

A smile spread across his face. "Welcome, little dragon. I’m Nolan. It’s nice to meet you."

The little dragon seemed to understand and gave an enthusiastic nod.

Nolan was thoroughly pleased. The dragon’s intelligence was far higher than he had expected.

"In that case, eat your shell until it’s gone. That will help you grow stronger."

Newborn dragons usually consumed their shells, as they contained nutrients essential for growth.

The little dragon didn’t resist. It wriggled free from Nolan’s arms and began nibbling at its shell.

While it ate, Nolan got up to make some coffee.

When he returned, the dragon was nowhere to be seen.

Surprised, he scanned the room and finally found it lying lazily on his bed.

’Pfft! This dragon has the same habits as me. Is this what they mean by pets and their owners sharing similarities?’ he thought with amusement.

He stepped closer, and as if sensing his presence, the little dragon immediately stirred and flapped its tiny wings.

Nolan caught it and held it gently.

"Are you still hungry?" he asked.

The little dragon nodded eagerly.

Nolan sat down on the bed and extended his index finger.

A drop of black liquid appeared at the tip—chaos fluid, a manifestation of his chaos power.

He wanted to see if the little dragon could absorb it. If it could, it would be unprecedented—perhaps even a record in world history.

Chaos power was highly corrosive and almost impossible for any living creature to tolerate, except for himself.

The little dragon stared curiously at the drop, sniffing it several times before finally licking Nolan’s finger.

Instantly, its eyes sparkled—but then its body began to glow with a strong black light.

Nolan was startled, yet he stayed calm, watching carefully. If anything went wrong, he was ready to intervene.

Seconds ticked by, and the light gradually faded.

"Nothing happened?" Nolan exclaimed in astonishment. "Could this dragon be resistant to my chaos power? If so... that’s incredible!"

A broad smile spread across his face. Now he had a clear direction for the dragon’s future—how to train it to become immensely strong, maybe even rival Arnold.

"Good job, little dragon!" Nolan praised, patting its head. "By the way, I haven’t given you a name yet. Should I?"

"Moo~ Moo~" The little dragon nodded enthusiastically.

Nolan stroked his chin, studying its tiny, adorable features.

Feeling his gaze, the little dragon tilted its head, giving him an irresistibly endearing look.

Then a name popped into his mind. He smiled and said, "Since I found you in the Eternal Snowfield, and you happen to be female, I’ll name you Eira—it means ’eternal snowstorm.’ Do you like it?"

The little dragon’s eyes sparkled like stars, and it nodded repeatedly, clearly delighted.

Nolan chuckled as he rubbed its soft belly, unaware that this moment marked the beginning of the legend of the most terrifying calamity dragon in the history of the world.