Chapter 520: Alphox’s Evolution

"You guys did it!" Emilia exclaimed, jumping toward Leon and Celeste before hugging them both. "You actually did it!"

"Yeah," Leon replied with a nod, still catching his breath after the battle. "Good job, Celeste. Without your intervention, I wouldn’t have been able to land that final strike."

"Hehe~" Celeste giggled, her cheeks flushing as she looked at him. "You can thank Pyra too!"

"Kyu~!"

The little phoenix chirped happily, flapping her wings as though she understood that she deserved some credit for their victory.

However, the moment Leon heard Alphox’s name mentioned, his expression changed, and he quickly rushed toward the spot where the baby dragon had fallen.

Without Alphox’s intervention, Leon would have died much earlier in the battle.

The little dragon had attacked Nier’s soul at the last possible moment, catching the Lord of Souls off guard and creating the opening Celeste needed to unleash her [Darkness Embers].

That attack had weakened Nier enough for Leon to land the decisive blow with the [Soulsworn Hammer].

If Alphox had not helped him, the outcome might have been very different.

"You alright?" Leon asked as he knelt beside the unconscious dragon.

Before he could examine him properly, a familiar notification appeared in front of his eyes.

Ding!

[The "Primordial Dragon of Chaos, Alphox" has reached Level 10.]

"Holy shit!" Leon exclaimed, his eyes widening as he read the panel.

"What happened?" Emilia asked, quickly approaching him with Celeste and Violet following behind.

All three looked toward Alphox, who remained motionless on the ground.

They could not understand why Leon had suddenly become so excited.

However, before Leon could explain, Alphox’s body suddenly began to glow.

A faint light spread across his scales, growing brighter with every passing moment until it became difficult to see his actual appearance.

His body trembled slightly as an unfamiliar energy gathered around him, and the atmosphere within the throne hall changed as his power began to rise.

"Evolution!" Celeste exclaimed, immediately recognizing what was happening. "Alphox is evolving!"

She had already witnessed Pyra undergo the same process, so she understood what the light meant.

Reaching the required level had allowed Alphox to advance to his next stage, and his body was now changing to accommodate his increased power.

"He’s growing stronger?" Emilia asked, watching the light grow brighter.

Leon did not answer immediately, keeping his attention fixed on the little dragon as the transformation continued.

Alphox had originally been about the size of a medium-sized dog, with a relatively small body that made him look somewhat more adorable than threatening.

Even with his unusual appearance and the power he had demonstrated during the battle, he had still looked like a young creature that had barely begun to grow.

That was about to change.

His body began expanding beneath the brilliant light, growing steadily larger as his bones and muscles developed.

The scales covering his body thickened, becoming more pronounced as dark and crimson colors spread across them in a striking pattern.

His limbs grew longer and stronger, while his claws sharpened into formidable weapons.

His head changed as well, becoming larger and more imposing, with his white fangs growing longer until they gleamed whenever the light passed over them.

The two multicolored horns on his head grew thicker and curved farther upward, radiating elemental energy that caused faint distortions in the air around them.

His wings underwent the most noticeable transformation.

Previously, Alphox had possessed one dark wing resembling the void and one crimson wing that matched the fur covering his body.

Now, both wings had grown considerably larger, their edges becoming sharper and their structures more defined.

The dark wing seemed to absorb the surrounding light, while the crimson one radiated a faint glow that made it look as though it contained a fire burning beneath its surface.

His brilliant irises shone with an intensity that made him appear far more intelligent and dangerous than before, while the energy surrounding his body gradually settled into a steady aura.

As the light faded completely, everyone could finally see the result of his evolution.

Ding!

["Primordial Dragon of Chaos" has evolved to Tier-2.]

Alphox had grown tremendously, reaching approximately one meter in height.

He was no longer the tiny hatchling Leon had first hatched.

Although Alphox was still small compared to the enormous dragons that existed throughout the Eternal Realm, his new appearance made it easy to imagine just how terrifying he might become as he continued to evolve.

Leon stared at him for several seconds, unable to hide his surprise.

’He grew this much from just one evolution? Just how big will he be when he evolves again?’

His future appearance might be completely different from what Leon could imagine.

"If I had to guess, he’d probably be larger than me in my dragon form," Violet remarked as she examined Alphox carefully. "If he’s truly the [Primordial Dragon of Chaos], then he’ll surely become the strongest dragon among all, even compared to the dragons from my world."

Leon turned toward her.

Violet came from [Ember], an Eternal-Level world that housed countless dragon-like creatures, including dragons, wyverns, drakes, and many other species.

She had grown up in a world where powerful dragon creatures were common, so her judgment carried weight.

"You’re saying he’ll become stronger than the dragons in [Ember]?" Emilia asked, glancing between Violet and Alphox.

"That’s what I believe," Violet answered. "But I can’t say for certain how strong he’ll become. The [Primordial Dragon of Chaos] is a special existence, and I doubt there are any creatures like him, even in my world."

She paused briefly before continuing.

"[Ember] is only one of the three Eternal-Level worlds connected to Eternal Ascension. The other two are [Fated Star] and [Valheim], although I don’t know much about either of them."

"I’ve already met some people from [Fated Star]," Leon replied, remembering Titan, Tiara, and Ralph from the Divine Temples. "Perhaps we’ll meet them again in the [Eternal Battlefield]."

"People from [Fated Star] aren’t your friends," Violet warned him immediately, a hint of panic appearing in her eyes. "Much like the people in my own world, they seek strength above everything else, but they’re far more malicious and violent about it. You need to be careful around them."

Leon smiled at her warning, "I’ve already fought one of them."

"When did that even happen?" Emilia asked, looking at him in surprise. "Wasn’t I with you almost all the time?"

"In the [Advanced Divine Temple]," Leon explained. "You were inside your advancement task when they tried to attack me."

"That temple allows violence," Violet muttered, understanding the situation. "It makes sense."

Leon nodded slightly before asking another question, "But what about [Valheim]? Do you know anything about them?"

"Not much," Violet admitted, shaking her head. "I only know the name of their race. They’re called the Godkins."

"Godkins, huh?" Leon repeated, committing the name to memory. "Alright, thanks."

With that conversation finished, Leon turned his attention back to Alphox, who was still unconscious.

He reached down and attempted to lift the young dragon, only to discover that Alphox was much heavier than he had expected.

"Damn, he’s heavy!"

Leon adjusted his grip and finally managed to lift him properly.

Curious about the changes brought by the evolution, Leon opened his status panel.

---

[Primordial Dragon of Chaos (Young Dragon)]

[Name: Alphox]

[Master: Celestial]

[Loyalty: 100%]

[Level: 1 (Tier-2)]

[Rank: Divine]

[Skills: Claw Swing, Draconic Roar, Shadow Step, Aura Pulse, Scale Defense.]

---

"Hm."

Leon examined the panel carefully, noticing that Alphox’s level had returned to one after his evolution.

His rank remained Divine, but his stage had changed, and he had gone from being a Hatchling to a Young Dragon.

More importantly, Alphox had gained a new skill called [Scale Defense].

Leon did not know its exact effects yet, but considering that it had appeared after the evolution, he expected it to improve the dragon’s ability to withstand attacks.

’Not bad.’

Alphox had already demonstrated that he could attack an enemy’s soul and harm even beings with over 30 million combat power.

With his new body and additional skill, the little dragon would likely become an even more valuable companion.

"We should head to [Higher Domain #3] soon!" Celeste advised, looking excited as she glanced at Alphox. "That way, you can give him a [Pet Consumption Crystal], and he’ll be able to grow even stronger!"

"Hm..."

Leon had considered doing the same thing, especially now that Alphox had reached Tier-2.

Giving him a [Pet Consumption Crystal] could help him grow faster, and after seeing how much he had changed during this evolution, Leon was curious about how much stronger he could become.

However, for some reason, he had a bad feeling about rushing into it.

He could not explain the source of that feeling, but it was there.

"Let’s focus on getting out of here first," he said. "We can decide what to do after we’ve left the tower."