Red Dragon Monster Hunter Template

Chapter 73 Intermediate Monster Template

With a wingspan more than twice its body length, Thor was able to glide effortlessly over long distances in the air by taking advantage of updrafts.

Flying eastward, towering glaciers were left far behind. The biting wind and icy snow gradually receded, and the surrounding environment returned to a dry and hot desert.

The area of ​​this wilderness was so vast that, while deliberately conserving his energy, Thor was able to maintain a flight speed of over 60 kilometers per hour.

He flew and stopped along the way, but more than ten days passed, and the ground beneath his feet kept changing between deserts, grasslands and hills, but he could never escape the realm of wilderness.

After feeling that he was completely away from the territory of the blue dragon Stormfang, Thor landed on a desolate hill.

The mountain beneath our feet is entirely composed of hard rock, some bluish-black, others yellowish-brown. While not entirely barren, it is sparsely covered with shrubs and moss.

The scarcity of vegetation makes it impossible to support herbivores, and consequently, no carnivores will come to visit.

Thor intends to make this his final resting place.

Just in case, he circled the low hill several times to check the surrounding area, confirming that there were no intelligent beings or ferocious animals within a radius of tens of kilometers.

With basic safety secured, Thor chose a secluded corner on the mountainside, had the earth elemental coat his claws with a hazy yellow light, and then began to dig vigorously into the mountainside.

With each strike of the claws, the hard rock would become as loose as sand under the influence of earth elemental magic energy, and a large chunk would be easily pried off.

A mine shaft with a diameter of about three meters was quickly formed and gradually extended deeper into the mountain.

Time slipped by little by little, and several months passed in the blink of an eye.

With the combined power of his magic and superhuman physique, Thor's digging speed was comparable to that of a small tunnel boring machine. He had now reached the center of the low hill, then turned downwards and continued digging deeper underground.

He continued digging for dozens of meters before finally stopping and began to gradually expand the surrounding space, intending to carve out a cave large enough for him to live in.

This was the place he had prepared for himself to sleep. When the time came, he would only need to seal the entrance with rocks, and even if that old guy Stormfang came looking for him, he might not be able to find his trace.

Having completed these preparations, Saul turned his attention to the giant spinning wheel in his mind.

The unknown undead creature was surprisingly resilient. Just when Thor thought it had been completely drained, a notification would pop up indicating that new essence had been added, making it seem like an inexhaustible spring.

However, it is not an infinite entity. After months of continuous exploitation, it has finally reached its limit.

It's been over a week since the last time we received a notification about an increase in essence, and it seems there won't be any further changes.

Thor glanced at the essence balance below the wheel and found it had reached over 1300 points. This generous soul had provided him with a full 1000 points of mental essence.

Now that everything was ready, there was no time to lose. He immediately concentrated his mental energy and pressed hard on the fourth wheel on the outside.

A full thousand points of spiritual essence instantly transformed into a miniature galaxy, crashing headlong into the giant turntable. The neon-like light flickered erratically, finally settling on a small square with a simple line drawing of bluish-gray rocks.

"Congratulations on obtaining the [Rock Dragon Monster Template]. Do you wish to withdraw immediately? Yes/No."

The notification that appeared below his line of sight made Thor's eyes light up, and a huge surge of joy welled up in his heart. He could hardly believe that he could be so lucky.

…………

The Rock Dragon is a flying dragon-type monster that is about 15 meters long and mainly feeds on various ores.

They dissolve the minerals they ingest using digestive juices and special thermophilic bacteria within their bodies, then secrete the solution out through their body fluid glands, layering it around their bodies to make them look like a giant rock.

The high temperatures and toxic gases generated during this process are stored in the body and expelled through breath and numerous heat dissipation pores as a means of defense.

This doesn't seem to be a particularly powerful monster. Compared to the Rock Thief Dragon, a lower-level monster template, it doesn't seem to be much stronger.

However, the Rock Dragon is actually the juvenile form of another monster—the Armored Dragon—and possesses a signature breath attack called the Heat Ray.

Unlike large-scale flame waves or explosive fireballs, they can concentrate all the heat into a single point, shooting out like a laser, easily piercing through gold and travertine.

Since the Rock Dragon is the juvenile form of the Armored Dragon, if I inherit all of its abilities, will I also inherit its growth potential? Can I ultimately obtain the abilities of a high-level monster template at the price of a mid-level monster template?

Thor suppressed the excitement welling up inside him, eager to confirm his guess.

He emerged from the underground hole he had dug himself, hovering in mid-air as he began searching for prey.

In the past few months, his challenge level has increased to level 10, making him a strong figure in this wilderness.

Not long after, Thor discovered a group of woolly elephants strolling leisurely on the grassland far from the low mountains.

These behemoths, nearly 4 meters tall and weighing about 10 tons, were utterly powerless against Thor, who was nearly 7 meters long.

Using the force of his descent, he slammed one of them to the ground with a single dive, unleashing scorching dragon flames at its enormous head. The battle ended almost instantly.

Then, he began to eat voraciously. The unique physical structure of dragons allows them to consume far more food than their own body weight at once, converting it into a high-energy substance stored in their bodies.

Only when he could no longer eat did he return to the underground cave and use the excavated rocks to almost completely block the area within several dozen meters of the cave entrance, leaving only a small crack for ventilation.

Back in the underground cavern, Thor didn't rush to load the Rock Dragon monster template. Instead, he focused his attention on the outermost rotating disc. The essence balance below was rapidly decreasing, and shimmering crystals were appearing in the air.

Dragon Crystal, Earth Crystal, and Shining Dragon Stone represent the life force from the planet and ancient dragons, pure earth energy, and the elements of fire and earth, respectively.

With several hundred crystals of various colors, plus the precious metals extorted from the dwarves, there should be more than enough to satisfy my need for this slumber.

Thor laid these things out in the center of the cave, then lay down on them, feeling the energy surging from below, and swished his tail contentedly.

Everything is ready now, except for the final push.

As he mentally selected "withdraw," a massive spirit instantly appeared in the air, crashing towards him with overwhelming force, like a boulder falling from a mountain peak.