SWOOSH!

He reappeared ten meters away beside a weapon rack. Coal Ball pounced on the empty air where he had just been standing. Furious, it did a somersault in mid-air and landed gracefully. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

The man and the dragon—or rather, the man and the cat—stared each other down.

The game was on.

Coal Ball vanished again. This time, it didn’t pounce directly at Raylo. Instead, it anticipated his next move, appearing at a spot where it thought he might teleport.

However, Raylo was even more cunning. He didn’t choose a spot on the ground, instead teleporting directly onto the head of a training dummy.

Looking down at Coal Ball, who had once again pounced on empty air, Raylo even had the gall to give it a taunting raise of his eyebrows.

"Guga!"

Coal Ball hopped up and down in frustration. This time, it had learned its lesson. Its small body began a series of rapid, erratic, short-range teleports across the training grounds, becoming a blur of black afterimages in an attempt to throw off Raylo’s predictions.

’A little interesting.’

Raylo chuckled and joined the spatial game.

One moment, a figure would appear atop an archery target; the next, he would land on the edge of the well on the far side. A black shadow followed close behind, always missing by a hair’s breadth.

They were no longer confined to the ground; the castle’s towering curtain walls became their new playground.

SWOOSH!

Raylo’s figure appeared on a crenellation of the wall, a sheer drop of dozens of meters beneath his feet. The strong wind whipped his robes, making them snap and flutter.

He had just found his footing when Coal Ball appeared beside him, opening its little mouth to bite his pant leg.

Laughing, Raylo teleported again, reappearing on the spire of a watchtower on another section of the wall.

Coal Ball, relentless, transformed into a streak of black light and gave chase.

From the ground below, one could only see two blurry shadows against the massive silhouette of the castle, flickering in and out of existence like phantoms, too fast for the eye to follow.

Occasionally, a patrolling guard would look up and catch a glimpse, assume their eyes were playing tricks on them, and rub them vigorously, only to find the shadows had vanished.

This game of cat and mouse lasted for several minutes, and Raylo gradually began to feel the strain.

Each use of Space Travel drained the Magic Power from his body like an invisible vortex.

It was effortless at first, but as time wore on, the rate at which he consumed Magic Power far outstripped his body’s ability to recover it.

His breathing grew heavy, and fine beads of sweat dotted his forehead.

He glanced down. The little fellow was still brimming with energy, as if it possessed an infinite supply.

’As expected of a Space Dragon. Innate talent is really on another level. My own half-baked skills just can’t compare.’

With a single thought, he mustered the last dregs of Magic Power in his body.

HUM!

Space warped. It was his longest-distance Teleportation yet.

When he opened his eyes again, he was next to Moonlight.

Raylo plopped onto the grass, panting for breath.

"AWOO!"

Coal Ball arrived a moment later, hurtling toward him in a gust of wind, ready to pounce on Raylo’s face and scratch it to ribbons.

However, when it was still half a meter from Raylo, it seemed to hit an invisible wall and stopped dead in its tracks.

At some point, Moonlight had opened its pale golden, slitted eyes and merely glanced at Coal Ball.

Coal Ball deflated instantly. The menacing Little Overlord of a moment ago immediately transformed into a docile kitten.

It let out a couple of ingratiating purrs, cautiously sidled closer, and rubbed its little head against Moonlight’s neck.

Moonlight lazily lifted its tail and flicked Coal Ball with the tip—not too hard, not too soft—as "punishment" for its earlier rowdiness.

Raylo leaned his head to the side, watching the two little creatures—one black, one white—and couldn’t help but laugh.

’In the end, the game ended with me having to run and hide behind the big guy. How pathetic.’

He rested for a long while before he felt a trickle of Magic Power flowing through his body again.

Since forming a contract with Coal Ball, he could clearly sense the Space Magic Power within its body growing stronger by the day. There were occasional surges of restlessness—a sign that the Young Dragon was about to undergo its first growth spurt.

When Coal Ball, currently a black cat under the effects of the Transformation Technique, entered its Growth Stage, it would reveal its true form as a Space Dragon, just as Moonlight once had.

As its contract partner, Raylo had to stay by its side to ensure everything went smoothly.

Of course, he was also incredibly curious about Coal Ball’s true form as a Space Dragon and had to see it with his own eyes.

Because of this, he had temporarily put many other matters on hold.

He thought of the letter Lillian had sent a messenger with two days prior.

The letter, written in an elegant, gilded script, was an invitation to the Amber Territory for a banquet in honor of her mother, Lady Anna.

In the end, he had sent a reply declining the invitation.

He couldn’t leave Black Stone Castle during the critical period of Coal Ball’s impending breakthrough.

He reached out and stroked the fluffy head of Coal Ball, who was still frolicking with Moonlight.

Coal Ball squinted in comfort, letting out a string of contented purrs.

"Hurry up and grow bigger,"

Raylo said softly.

The days of waiting always seemed to stretch on endlessly.

Two days later, in the castle courtyard, Raylo was leafing through a tome about the ancient Dragon Race.

Coal Ball was curled up by his leg, fast asleep. Its small, black body rose and fell gently with each breath, and the Space Magic Power within grew increasingly active, like a seed about to sprout.

Just then, Personal Guard Captain Ed strode over, followed by Carl.

"My Lord, Master Barnaby sent Carl to deliver something," Ed said.

Raylo closed his book and sat up straight.

Carl stepped forward, bowed respectfully, and placed a wooden crate on the adjacent table.

"Lord Raylo, this is the second batch of Earth Dragon Bloodline Potions my master asked me to deliver. There are thirty bottles in total."

He opened the crate, revealing rows of neatly arranged Crystal Bottles.

The liquid inside resembled molten lava, refracting a peculiar sheen in the sunlight.

Even through the stoppers, one could feel the wild and primal Power contained within.

The Earth Dragon Bloodline Potion.

Raylo nodded in satisfaction.

Black Stone Territory was now raising over twenty adult Earth Dragons. With a plentiful food supply, their robust bodies could provide some Essence Blood for creating Potions without causing them any lasting harm.

It was a sustainable, beneficial cycle.

Raylo signaled for Ed to take the crate, then asked,

"Carl, did Master Barnaby brew these Bloodline Potions?"

Carl replied,

"My Lord, I’ve mastered the method for creating this kind of Low Tier Potion, so I can now brew them independently. Master Barnaby is currently researching how to create the Tier Four Flying Dragon Bloodline Potion and is no longer focused on these."

Raylo nodded and offered Carl a few words of encouragement.

’This young man, Carl, already has a solid foundation. Now that he’s studying Alchemy under Master Barnaby, he’ll surely become a pillar of Black Stone Territory in the future.’

"Send Master Barnaby my regards."

"Yes, My Lord."