In the Sky Pit, on an open area before a cliff wall, the ground was covered with pits of varying sizes and depths, their formations resembling impact craters from heavy falling objects. It was unclear where so many falling objects could have co from.
Boom!
With a spray of shattered stones, a six-ter-long juvenile dragon folded its wings and plumted freely from the sky, crashing heavily onto the ground and sending a ring of dust billowing outward.
"Pah!"
Garoth spat out the gravel in his mouth, shaking his head as he clambered unsteadily out of the impact crater.
His body, originally covered in dull silver-black iron scales that looked like cast tal, now had many areas replaced by layers of dark gray dragon scales. These new scales lacked the tallic luster, and the lava-like dark red patterns on their surfaces had disappeared.
The impact crater contained several shed dark gray scales.
Compared to before, Garoth's scales seed to have beco sowhat more fragile.
At first glance from a distance, Garoth now appeared neither fully black nor gray, and his overall aesthetic had slightly diminished.
However, Garoth showed no dissatisfaction. After turning to examine the crater he'd created, his gaze fell on the shed scales, and he even nodded with pleasure.
Twisting to inspect his own scales, he saw that beneath the shed dark gray scales wasn't bare skin, but rather another layer of black scales bearing dark red patterns with a dull silver sheen.
That's right - the dark gray scales covering Garoth's body were a newly grown additional layer, concentrated mainly on his back, chest, and limb joints.
—They were detachable buffer scales!
This scale layer could actively shed upon severe impact to absorb shock, while simultaneously generating counterforce during detachnt.
From the height Garoth had just fallen, previously he would have been left dazed and possibly injured. But this ti, beyond a slight jolt, he felt no internal discomfort or pain whatsoever.
The changes weren't limited to just these buffer scales.
The swept-back horns on Garoth's head had grown thicker and larger, with the tal exoskeleton covering their bases expanding significantly to provide greater stability.
The blade-like scales on his tail had beco more densely packed.
His muscles, bones, and internal organs - though hidden beneath his scales and invisible to the eye - had all grown stronger and more impact-resistant.
"I didn't expect this evolution to give a layer of buffer scales rather than continuing to enhance my scale hardness like before."
Garoth was actually sowhat surprised by this developnt.
While the underlying scales had also grown slightly tougher, the main evolutionary manifestation this ti had been this buffer scale layer.
"Gordon, Samantha, co hit ."
Garoth called out to the distance.
The two whelps flew eagerly from the mine tunnel to stand before Garoth.
Garoth must have finally knocked himself silly from all that falling! Even his scales have lost their luster!
Both thought excitedly, clearly itching for action.
"Co at with your full strength."
Garoth planted himself firmly on all fours, inviting the two whelps to charge him.
" first!"
The more hot-tempered Red Dragon Sister couldn't wait, beating her wings for acceleration as her heavy footsteps left deep imprints in the ground during her charge toward Garoth.
Ramming - this was a common tactic among whelps, allowing them to concentrate their full bodily strength into formidable impact.
Based on past experience, despite Garoth's greater size and strength, even he couldn't withstand a direct charge without being knocked back.
In the blink of an eye,
the excited Red Dragon Sister crashed into Garoth's sturdy chest.
Upon impact,
as nurous dark gray scales shattered and detached,
a trendous counterforce struck the unprepared whelp,
flipping her onto her back,
while Garoth didn't retreat a single step, rely swaying slightly.
"The impact kinetic energy was almost entirely absorbed by the buffer scales. What reached through them was negligible."
Garoth analyzed thoughtfully.
anwhile, Iron Dragon Brother had been equally eager,
but seeing how Red Dragon Sister had knocked out one of her own teeth while Garoth remained unmoved
was like having ice water poured over him on a hot day -
his fiery enthusiasm instantly cooled.
"Damn you, Garoth!"
Red Dragon Sister shook her head and charged at him again angrily.
Red dragons were far more volatile than iron dragons,
and failure only made her more frenzied.
She employed no other tactics,
just charging at Garoth again and again.
Scales flew everywhere from Garoth's body,
making him appear fragile,
yet each ti it was Red Dragon Sister who was sent flying,
while he stood firm as a sea cliff enduring wave after wave.
By the ti nearly all the buffer scales on Garoth's chest had shed,
revealing the cast-iron-like scales beneath,
Red Dragon Sister lay exhausted on the ground,
her body covered in self-inflicted injuries from the repeated countershocks.
"With my buffer scales intact, I can basically ignore this kind of damage."
Garoth evaluated internally.
He would have preferred direct evolution enhancing his scale hardness,
but unfortunately, Adaptive Evolution results weren't sothing he could perfectly control yet.
Each evolution was like opening a mystery box -
bringing unknown changes,
though always beneficial in so way.
The physical transformations often exceeded Garoth's expectations.
"Not much to look at, but highly effective."
Garoth had inherited the iron dragon's pragmatic nature.
The plain-looking dark gray buffer scales might lack visual appeal,
but their performance was undeniable,
leaving Garoth reasonably satisfied.
Besides, further evolutions would co,
perhaps eventually yielding a form that draconic aesthetics would consider exceptionally majestic and handso.
Simultaneously, Garoth reflected on this evolutionary developnt:
"The ergence of buffer scales this ti is likely because my recent training has been too one-dinsional, with excessive and intense mountain/ground impacts."
"I should reduce the frequency of such training and try more varied thods."
Thus he decided.
Still in the exploratory phase with his evolutionary abilities,
Garoth welcod all manner of experintation.
He planned to decrease his crashing training,
shifting focus to strength and speed exercises instead.
Suddenly -
Thud!
Turning, he saw Iron Dragon Brother
who had flown up only to crash down again,
landing spread-eagled before staggering back up, shaking his head.
"What are you doing?"
Garoth asked, puzzled.
"Garoth, I've discovered the secret to your strength - you must grow stronger by falling!"
Iron Dragon Brother declared with an air of wisdom, pride coloring his tone.
Hearing this, Red Dragon Sister looked thoughtful,
feeling intellectual superiority dawning.
"Yes, that must be it!"
She nodded agreent, telling Garoth:
"Just you wait, Garoth! I'll surpass you eventually!"
In the following days,
convinced they'd uncovered Garoth's secret,
the two whelps began emulating him during mining breaks,
attempting to "learn the superior techniques to overco the teacher."
The open area's surface beca thoroughly pounded and sunken.
After another week,
having fully adapted to his buffer scales,
Garoth flew up to the cliff summit,
feeling the wind flow over his scales
as he gazed into the wilderness beyond.
"Eventually I must leave the iron dragon mother's territory to survive alone."
"Endless reliance on protection isn't sustainable long-term."
"While I still have this safety net,
I should hone my combat skills and survival abilities."
"And if possible,
select a suitable territory in advance
for my future habitation."
The young dragon contemplated silently,
planning his future.
Seconds later,
Garoth spread his wings and soared skyward,
leaving the iron dragon mother's Sky Pit territory -
though not venturing too far,
just exploring the imdiate vicinity.
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