Chapter 143: I Raised a Tiger Cub! (1)

Louis, clad in his white coat, was walking with a book cradled in his arms. He paused momentarily, gazing off into the distance.

Hmm…

It had been quite some time since his forced journey at age 250. As Louis reminisced about those past events, a wistful look clouded his eyes.

Later, he discovered that the mysterious creature who attacked their deserted island was none other than the Monarch of the Abyss. This entity belonged to a species capable of controlling ancient marine monsters; during the War of Immortals, they had allied themselves with demonic forces attempting to conquer the world before being annihilated by the dragon race.

Just where did such a monster emerge from?

News of Louis and the twins’ unauthorized departure from Silver Flower Castle, along with their encounter with the Monarch of the Abyss, was reported to the castle authorities. The royal family investigated the reappearance of the Abyssal Monarch lineage but never found any further evidence of its existence. Thus, the incident involving the Monarch of the Abyss quietly faded into obscurity.

Instead, what turned Silver Flower Castle upside down was Louis shattering a postpartum care magic circle meant for dragons using sheer brute force.

How did he get inside there?!

What happened?!

He broke it?!

The postpartum care magic circle had been meticulously crafted by Silver Flower Castle’s experts. Initially designed so that no one could enter except for the mother dragon herself, even hatchlings were unable to penetrate it—yet somehow, one hatchling managed not only to breach the barrier but also to smash it completely.

As a result, Louis was summoned to Silver Flower Castle several times, where he had to demonstrate his space attribute Sacred Scripture multiple occasions.

The response was one of shock.

What is this?!

It completely defies conventional magic!

A Top Tier scripture?!

Ha ha, we’ve finally produced a genius among us dragons! This bodes well for our future!

Even the elder dragons were astonished by Louis’ new system of Demonic Scripture and Sacred Scripture, which he had created after analyzing the Hero King’s Forbidden Magic.

Seeing that such a young hatchling could accomplish what even most castle dragons struggled with, they took quite a liking to him.

Thanks to these repeated demonstrations—though not entirely voluntary—Louis returned home laden with gifts from the old men.

That was already over 210 years ago. Time flowed equally for everyone, including Louis. Now at 460 years old, he had grown quite a bit.

Of course, according to those around him, it seemed like only his body had grown while his face remained the same. Still, compared to how he used to look seven years old before, he now appeared more adolescent-like.

Roughly about fifteen human years old?

His height was just slightly less than 160 centimeters.

If he had developed properly, he should have looked at least eighteen by now, but somehow Louis’s growth rate was slower than other hatchlings’. His twin, who was merely one month younger, currently looked three or four years older than Louis, clearly indicating his delayed development.

Meanwhile, Louis grimaced at the thought of his twins.

“Damn those twins,” he muttered.

During their recent escape, Louis had been forced to endure constant companionship with them as they crossed half a continent together. He’d hoped that upon returning home, he would finally be free from their clutches.

But such hopes proved premature.

What… what did you just say?

I believe we’ll have to live with the twins for some time.

Why?!

Well…

As it turned out, delays in the succession of the twins’ father’s position meant Genelocer had decided to take custody of them after all the trouble caused by their escapade.

Sigh… I suppose there’s no choice.

Despite his reservations about sending off the emotionally attached yet naive twins without any guidance, Louis reluctantly agreed due to his affection towards them.

They were childhood friends after all.

Initially expecting it to last ten years, Louis thought he’d only have to endure four more since they had already been home for six.

But boy, was he wrong.

”…When will you go back to your house?”

“Daddy isn’t here!”

“We’ll leave when Daddy comes!”

The twins’ father remained a no-show, with absolutely no intention of returning anytime soon.

The silver lining was that thanks to Genelocer, Louis could escape the burden of single parenting.

And let’s not forget how thoroughly he’d plundered their family’s medicinal herb collection!

So began an endless saga of being hounded by the twins. It wasn’t until forty years later that their father finally returned.

Thinking back on those times… Louis gritted his teeth.

Each day was a torturous ordeal dealing with his twins at home. After they moved out, they still visited daily, but it was a hundredfold—no, a thousandfold more blissful than living under the same roof as them.

Louis hurried along, trying hard to erase those years of hardship from his mind. His destination lay beneath Genelocer’s lair: both Louis’s laboratory and the underground bunker he had been constructing for the past two hundred ten years.

Thump-thump.

He arrived at his destination via neatly constructed stairs. Despite being underground, the interior was bright inside. Various strange tools, blueprints, and books were scattered throughout the room. Louis put away the book he brought before turning toward one wall.

On that wall stood an enormous giant over thirty meters tall.

The colossal figure before him was a harmonious fusion of white and silver. Louis’s eyes gleamed with pride at the sight.

“Oh boy, my baby.” While constructing this underground bunker, Louis had made two resolutions: First, he would create his own teleportation device.

Every man’s dream!

He hadn’t solemnly vowed during the academic festival long ago while crouched over his crude prototype? He’d promised himself that one day, he’d bring every man’s fantasy to life. And now, this very “teleportation device” represented both the fulfillment of his personal ambition as well as the culmination of all his research into sacred scriptures.

Heh-heh.

After admiring his invention fondly for some time, Louis turned his attention to another massive cube resting nearby. This was none other than the second goal he’d set for himself—the creation of a safety mechanism.

With this, I should be safe during my second hibernation.

Louis was now 460 years old—the time for his second hibernation period was approaching soon. Although it would be shorter than his first one, “shorter” was a relative term; he’d still be asleep for about ten to fifteen years. That meant Louis would once again be vulnerable to danger without any means of protection.

I can’t let that happen twice.

He shuddered at the thought of that damned Coercive Force. It had spurred him to create the cube before him with unwavering determination: never again would he fall victim as he had before.

“Ahhhhh…” Stretching contentedly while surveying his handiwork over the past few centuries…

That’s when it happened.

“Loouuuis!” Fin burst through the door leading down from the basement.

“What is it?”

The creature perched on Louis’s shoulder and announced, “Miss Valentina is looking for you!”

Louis flinched at Fin’s words. He cautiously asked, “Could it be my mother… brought clothes over?”

“Yes!” replied Fin excitedly.

A look of apprehension crossed Louis’s face.

It had been three hundred years since he last saw his mother, Valentina, when she awakened from her slumber. Meanwhile, Genelocer left them to assume a position within the Silver Flower Castle, leaving Valentina in charge of raising Louis.

At that time, Louis hadn’t thought much about it. But as time passed, he realized just how different having a mother around was…

…I suppose I found it scary.

While he appreciated being cared for by his mother, she went too far—more so than even Genelocer did.

He couldn’t tell whether she felt joy seeing him after three centuries or regret not witnessing his growth during those years. To make up for lost time, Valentina constantly made demands on Louis.

The most notable example was her insistence on changing Louis’s clothes constantly.

Of course, one might wonder what could be so difficult about helping someone change their outfit a few times…

That’s not the issue—it’s far more than just ‘a few’ outfits!

If they were caught in this situation, he’d find himself repeatedly donning and discarding hundreds of garments.

A dragon’s scale is truly immense…

Why bother bringing along so many clothes that would go unused once trends changed?

Louis turned to Fin for information.

“Where did Mother head off to this time?”

“Probably somewhere in the northern part of the Fall Continent.”

“Oh god… Just my luck…”

As soon as Louis recalled the prevailing fashion trend up north—a style known as “Choll”—his face crumpled in disgust.

Having to endure swapping out hundreds upon hundreds of those confounded Cholls?

It was utterly horrifying.

Thanks to this revelation, Louis reached a swift conclusion.

“We’re leaving.”

“Huh?” Before Fin could finish voicing her confusion, both figures had vanished from sight.

Whoosh!

Louis and Fin reappeared in a forest near the Greenwood Mountains, having vanished from their underground laboratory. Despite evading hundreds of creatures during their escape, Louis hadn’t ventured far away. This was due to his imposed house arrest—a consequence of past runaway incidents that had prompted Genelocer to restrict his movements.

Initially, Louis wasn’t allowed outside his lair at all, but over time, he’d been permitted to roam as far as the Greenwoods.

My parents are just too protective, Louis thought ruefully.

To be honest, given Louis’s current abilities, it would take more than most adversaries to truly harm him. Yet in Genelocer’s eyes, his son still seemed like a young pup needing constant supervision.

“L-Louis-nim?! What do you plan to do?!”

Confused, Fin asked Louis after he had run away from his mother.

“Well, you just need to make sure Mother doesn’t catch you.”

“But Valentina will be disappointed…”

“I usually try my best to fulfill Mother’s requests, but… I simply don’t have the courage to wear that outfit.”

“Hmm…” Fin nodded understandingly at Louis’s predicament.

She also knew how many garments Valentina had been packing while humming happily.

If she catches him this time…he’ll really suffer…

So Fin decided to turn a blind eye for now.

Meanwhile, Louis looked around cheerfully as if seeking entertainment.

“All right then, what should we do next?” Although he’d stubbornly fled earlier, there was nothing specific on their agenda.

Just then, Fin pointed in a certain direction. “Oh! I heard they built a new village over there.”

“Oh? Really? Then let’s go check it out!”

As one might expect from the Green Mountains teeming with countless creatures, human settlements also existed within them. Exploring these villages was one of Louis’s small hobbies.

It’s been ages since I’ve done some people-watching! With that thought, Louis began strolling casually forward.

The lush greenery around him blurred as he moved swiftly through it. He ambled leisurely across mountain slopes infested with monsters, as if taking an evening stroll.

How long had he been walking like this?

“Aieeeeee!”

“Argh!”

Sharp screams pierced Louis’s ears. The sounds were so faint that an ordinary person wouldn’t have heard them at such a distance.

However, Louis’s keen senses picked up on this exchange, and his gaze turned towards the source.

“Humans?” Intrigued, he used space movement to swiftly travel in the direction of the screams.

Soon, Louis appeared high above the scene unfolding below. His brow furrowed slightly at what he beheld.

“Tsk! Did they fall to orcs?”

Before him lay a man and woman who seemed to be married, with a young girl caught between them. The male, presumably the husband, appeared already deceased, while the woman protecting the child was slumped over, bleeding profusely. Judging by the pool of blood spreading across the ground, it seemed unlikely either would survive.

Surrounding them stood four menacing orcs, brandishing rusted blades and axes.

Grrr.

Swish…

The orcs lunged forward, their weapons glinting ominously. Their target: the young girl still cradled in her mother’s arms.

Louis’s eyebrow twitched at the sight of these creatures intent on taking even a child’s life.

His figure plummeted from the sky.

Gasp!

Thud?

The orcs were bewildered by Louis suddenly appearing out of nowhere. As he observed them, Louis spoke up:

“You bastards, you shouldn’t touch children.”

With those words, Louis subtly released some of the energy he had been carefully concealing.

As soon as he did…

Gasp!

Aargh!

Feeling an ominous presence, the orcs trembled violently and let out shrill cries.

“Quiet down.” It was a short command, but it sufficed.

Cough!

Hack!

The orcs uttered their final breaths before collapsing onto the ground. They would never rise again.