Chapter 362: The Generous Dragon

Now, who knows exactly what kind of selection process the primordial dragon used to decide who gets what and why?

Maybe he did some sort of coin toss or just shut his eyes and randomly picked from all the available beings back then.

If anything, Riley was just hoping their progenitor didn’t pick based on personality. Because if that were the case, the new immortal was rather certain he’d feel annoyed at having reliable ancestors.

Like during that time, couldn’t they have had someone who just wanted to laze around?

Seriously, a salted fish would have been better and far safer!

But in the end, it didn’t really matter how Riley felt about the great distribution. Because the primordial dragon really did allocate his gifts to everyone anyway.

Although calling them gifts might have been a little far off when one heir thought it was really more of a curse than a blessing.

Because maybe, just maybe, they could have been in a better position had they not received something as scandalous as the primordial dragon’s blood.

Uh-huh.

It took a while, but Riley finally managed to complain to his mate about his recent discoveries.

“See this?”

Riley lifted his hand and pointed at the ring Kael had given him.

“This isn’t just made from the ashes of the primordial dragon,” he said. “This was specifically made from the ashes of his heart. His core.”

So yes, the reason why the ring could store what felt like limitless mana was truly because the primordial dragon’s heart could do the same.

Kael watched quietly as his twig’s brow knitted together in frustration.

And for some reason, he couldn’t help but feel annoyed at the ring.

If he had known that the “best” ring around wouldn’t actually be the best one for Riley, then he would’ve simply chosen something else.

But as one could have it, the fully mated couple now shared a much deeper bond.

Because of that, Riley could immediately tell that Kael was deeply annoyed.

If he had only based it on the dragon lord’s facial expression, which barely changed, it would have been harder to notice. But with that feeling coursing through him, as well as the way Kael stared menacingly at the ring on Riley’s finger, it became painfully obvious.

So the concerned black dragon lifted his hand and gently pressed his palm against Kael’s cheek.

“It’s not your fault,” he said softly. “And while it’s rather annoying in terms of coincidence and principle, you’ve actually done us both a good favor in the grand scheme of things.”

The golden dragon raised a brow at that.

Riley noticed it immediately and nodded.

“Yeah. And it’s related to this.”

He reached up and pulled out the necklace that rested against his chest before holding it out so Kael could see it clearly.

The pendant was simple in design. It was made from dark steel, its surface polished to a muted shine, while several black diamonds were set into it with careful precision. It wasn’t flashy or ornate, but there was something unmistakably heavy about it.

Yeah, it screamed of heavy responsibility!

Gah!

“If the golden dragon clan, particularly the Dravaryns, got basically the heart and the ability to wield that amount of mana, which probably explains why you’re like that…”

Riley motioned his hand toward Kael.

Or more specifically, toward the dragon lord whose mana levels were too insane to properly comprehend.

“Then the black dragon clan, particularly the Iltherans, received his blood. And with it came a slew of knowledge-related abilities.”

Proficiency in anything runic, instinctive knowledge on how to make impossible things possible, as well as the ever-annoying likelihood of having clairvoyance.

There were really all sorts of things. But what currently mattered was how he was even able to relay this story, all because of that inheritance.

When everyone else seemed not to know about it, and when they could’ve all been caught off guard by what was actually happening, there he was, and his ancestors, who apparently prepared for this.

Riley lowered the pendant slightly as he continued explaining.

“However, instead of being set apart like the Dravaryns, who ended up on an entirely different level of raw power with an heirloom that’s basically an artifact, we—or at least my ancestors—received our gift differently.”

“We’re born with it. From it, actually.”

He then emphasized the necklace resting on his chest.

“And this heirloom over here, while containing the primordial dragon’s blood, isn’t actually anything more than a top-grade decoy.”

Riley grimaced.

“And unbeknownst to everyone else, apparently even to your direct ancestors, the Iltheran lineage was the actual gift. Each Iltheran offspring would carry the same blood. And provided we could pass on our inheritance, then it would keep on continuing.”

“So it wouldn’t be particularly surprising that the ring that could recognize something extremely familiar would be drawn toward me…”

Honestly, it sounded awfully sweet when explained like that.

That of all dragons who could be fated to be together, he ended up with the guy who wielded a similar gift.

And when they got engaged, it chose him without a shred of doubt.

Sweet enough for a cavity, really.

If that couldn’t be made into some hardcore plot, then that would be insane, right?

If only there had been just two gifts.

But unfortunately for all of them, including the inhabitants of Eryndra, starting from the single-celled organisms, all the way to them, the dragons—the primordial guy just so happened to be very generous.

So yes.

There was a third gift.

The primordial dragon’s talons.

A very sweet gift that had been left in the hands of the now annihilated white dragons.

Ah, but what exactly did that have to do with Riley in the first place?

Supposedly, nothing.

In fact, the gifts had been given to different clans to encourage some sort of checks and balances.

If everything had gone well, then there would have been absolutely no need for what Riley was about to tell Kael.

And there would be no need for the disgruntled newlywed to think about annoying things while in the middle of a honeymoon he figured they actually deserved.

But what the apparently nice and far too complacent dragons failed to understand was that there existed those who would never be satisfied with the status quo.

Maybe it was because the dragons had been born at the top and couldn’t possibly understand what it was like to be anywhere else in the food chain, but they definitely didn’t notice it soon enough.

At least soon enough to prevent everything else that would soon follow after that.

Because little did they know, when given the perfect opportunity, such beings who craved for something else would rise to take whatever they could get their hands on.

So, while the extremely ancient dragons tried to figure out what to do with the gifts they had received over the next countless years, a certain faction went out of their way to claim what had never been meant as a gift.

The last remnants of the primordial dragon.

The very same ones that everyone believed had been laid to rest in eternal peace.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep