The dragon that obscured the sky had silver-white scales clinging tightly to its flesh, exceptionally wide dragon wings, and a massive yet agile body as large as a mountain range. The White Dragon Mother in front of it was as small and delicate as a baby's figurine.
Lines of unevenly spaced black scales radiated across the ultra-giant dragon's body, like the rings of a tree.
They exuded a unique aura of mysterious antiquity.
The dragon phantom gave Garon a meaningful smile, then flicked its tail, transforming into a streak of white light that instantly shrank and completely merged into Garon's body.
At the same time, the magic crystal within Garon's body vanished as if it had experienced a long period of time in that brief instant.
The waves of magic power also completely integrated into Garon's body, increasing his foundation.
Simultaneously, a large amount of new knowledge appeared in Garon's mind, as natural as if he had always known it, just like the Dragon Inheritance.
The River of Time... Time-based abilities, Chronal Reversal... the future self lent time to the present self...
Garon stared blankly at the vanished dragon shadow, the cold wind that had begun to howl again, and the falling snowflakes and ice crystals. A realization suddenly dawned in his heart, and his mood had an emotional rollercoaster-like feeling.
So, I am a Variant Time Dragon in a white dragon's skin.
Or rather, a Pseudo-Time Dragon.
In the records of the Dragon Inheritance, not counting the numerous dragon beasts and subspecies, the most common true dragons in the Prime Material Plane, where Garon was located, were fifteen types.
Evil dragons, described with adjectives like selfish, tyrannical, chaotic, fierce, and cruel, also known as Chromatic Dragons, included five types: red dragon, blue dragon, green dragon, black dragon, and white dragon.
Noble and benevolent good dragons, respected by the righteous, also known as Metallic Dragons, ranked by strength, included five types: gold dragon, silver dragon, bronze dragon, brass dragon, and copper dragon. Among them, gold dragons and silver dragons were the most noble and powerful, generally gathering and dwelling in dragon lairs and dragon cities, while the other three mostly lived in sand seas, underwater, and yellow mountains, among other places.
In addition, there were five types of Gem Dragons that maintained neutrality between good and evil: amethyst dragon, crystal dragon, emerald dragon, sapphire dragon, and topaz dragon. These gem dragons were highly intelligent and had relatively gentle temperaments, generally disliking involvement in conflicts.
Red Dragon, Blue Dragon, Green Dragon, Black Dragon, White Dragon.
Gold Dragon, Silver Dragon, Bronze Dragon, Brass Dragon, Copper Dragon.
Amethyst Dragon, Crystal Dragon, Emerald Dragon, Sapphire Dragon, Topaz Dragon.
The above fifteen types were the most common true dragons.
Besides these, there were many other uncommon true dragons, such as axis dragons, celestial dragons, and cataclysm dragons.
These types of dragons, whose names alone suggested they were formidable characters, were even fewer in number and harder to find.
And finally, there were three special types of dragons, so rare that it was unimaginable. In the vast, infinite Prime Material Plane, separated by crystal walls, and even including planes outside the Prime Material Plane, it was unknown if their numbers exceeded the fingers on two hands.
Force Dragon, Rainbow Dragon, and the Time Dragon, capable of breathing time, devouring time, traveling through the past, present, and future, and ultimately becoming a temporal embodiment.
They were called Legendary Dragons.
Under natural reproduction, these dragons were born extremely powerful, possessing strength almost at the apex of the planes, below the gods, and were called legendary creatures.
However, because their numbers were extremely scarce, natural reproduction was a matter of chance, one in billions.
The most likely way they were born was through variant mutations.
Among the three legendary dragons, the Time Dragon was sometimes also referred to as the Chronos Dragon, Epoch Dragon, Eternal Dragon, and so on. It was also considered the rarest and most powerful of the legendary dragons.
Garon digested the newly acquired information in his mind, and using the reflection of the ice crystals on the wall, he re-examined the ring of black scales on his neck in detail.
This ring of black scales was no longer just a useless decorative color similar to a necklace in Garon's eyes. At this moment, it was filled with a different meaning.
The ring shape might signify the cyclical nature of all things, or perhaps it represented the ring of time, one of the classic symbols of time.
He was a Variant Time Dragon.
Unable to be born a legend, but because he was a variant dragon, his growth potential was extremely high, with an upper limit even higher than that of normal Time Dragons, and he also possessed the freezing frost power of a white dragon.
"No wonder my size is so much larger than Hill's. Even the red dragon, the head of the evil dragons, wasn't this big at birth."
Garon took a deep breath, his heart inevitably filled with excitement.
Although any adult dragon could be considered one of the apex predators in the food chain, this was on the premise of not being reckless and not provoking those even more terrifying existences.
Not to mention the lofty gods, existences such as legendary humans, demon lords, and devil archdukes all had the ability to slay dragons.
White dragons, being considered weak among dragons, should be even more cautious.
In this perilous world, less than one-tenth of white dragons survived to adulthood. There were too many examples of them dying in hunting accidents, due to dragon arrogance, or at the hands of human dragon slayers.
Even if they reached adulthood, they were far from reaching a level where they could dominate a region before living long enough.
But Time Dragons were completely different.
The difference between a Time Dragon and a white dragon was like the difference between an adult dragon and an ordinary human.
Adult Time Dragons had the qualifications to converse with the gods on equal footing.
"Variant Time Dragon... As long as I can grow up, perhaps, I can become a Dragon God, or even, become the Dragon God of Gods!"
"No, let the goal be even grander. With enough effort, become above the gods, the God Above Gods!"
Garon felt his body seemed much lighter, somewhat ethereal, as he indulged in fantasies of an infinite future.
Regardless of any creature, at the moment of its birth, the future held infinite possibilities. But with each choice, the path narrowed, and these possibilities slowly decreased, eventually returning to nothingness.
At this moment, Garon, who had just been born in the extreme northern ice field, also had infinite possibilities.
Next, it would all depend on his choices.
Slap!
Garon suddenly raised his hand and slapped himself. His first choice was to stabilize his mind, which was starting to drift.
"What's the point of floating? Staying low-key is the way to go!"
"No matter how strong the potential, you have to be able to survive first! Those gods who have lived for millions of years are not to be trifled with. One careless move and you might be turned into a plaything..."
Once the identity of a Time Dragon was exposed, there would definitely be many god-level existences eager to capture Garon.
He didn't want to be skinned and have his tendons pulled out to be crafted into a time-related artifact, or have his soul extracted and his body seized, or be enslaved and turned into a plaything, ridden beneath someone and unable to turn over.
Therefore, it was best to develop in silence.
Garon's dragon pupils flickered, and he quickly formulated a growth plan for himself.
The plan was simple: directly stay low-key in the extreme northern ice field until he reached adulthood at a hundred years old.
An adult Time Dragon would likely possess the great power of a normal Time Dragon, and might even be stronger due to his variant nature.
"Take one step at a time. First, set a small goal: live to adulthood."
Dragons reached adulthood at a hundred years old. It sounded like a long time, but with enough food and a safe environment, eating and sleeping, sleeping and eating, a hundred years would pass quickly.
The extreme northern ice field, due to its harsh and cold geographical environment, had another name: the Cold Desert.
As the name implied, it meant a cold desert, sparsely populated, with few species of creatures, only some creatures with cold resistance barely surviving.
However, for Garon, as long as he stayed low-key and didn't cause trouble, it was a good place to grow.
The only drawback was probably the scarcity of food resources.