Supreme BeastTamer: I Can Copy and Upgrade Skills 10x!-Chapter 507: Before the Competition [2]

King Dracos sounded very nonchalant about the whole thing, and Nox didn't know whether to laugh or cry. It felt as if he was not that important and easily discardable.

However, he could easily tell that this was not the case. Rather, the king's personality was just eccentric.

Zara felt cold feet when she heard her father's words. She looked at him and asked anxiously, "Is there no other way, something that will be more... reassuring?"

"Unfortunately not. This is the only thing I can think of," King Dracos said.

"It's okay. All I have to do is not let the amulet fall off, right? I'll do that," Nox said confidently when he saw the conflicted and concerned expression on Zara's face.

At his words, she seemed to calm down, though a lingering unease still remained in her heart.

Some time later, Nox placed the amulet around his neck, and almost instantly, he felt a strange chill seeping into his bones. It wasn't uncomfortable, but it was definitely unnatural. His body heat—something he had never paid much attention to—was suddenly gone.

If vampires were a thing in this world, Nox would compare himself to one, feeling eerily similar.

Zara moved close to him again, and this time, she didn't feel even a semblance of heat emitting from his body.

"Better now," she declared. "Now, it should be difficult for even higher-ranked dragons to detect anything strange."

"It's done," King Dracos said, his expression serious but pleased at the same time. "You're officially registered under the name Kawl Frostpire—a distant relative of the royal bloodline. When they ask why you have scales, we can always say it's because your great-grandparent mixed with lower dragons."

Nox blinked. "You gave me a royal name?"

Dracos chuckled. "It was the easiest way to justify your sudden appearance in the competition. If anyone asks, you've been trained in seclusion."

Drake smirked. "Which, given your skills, isn't entirely unbelievable."

In fact, Drake felt that people would even believe Nox to be a bastard child of the king himself because of his impressive ice manipulation skill, which was already at the ultimate tier.

For one to achieve ultimate-tier skills naturally, they must consistently use the skill over and over again, gradually increasing proficiency.

Drake had taken over 20 years to increase his skill to the advanced rank, and to be frank, he didn't see himself progressing any further.

For Nox to achieve this at a young age, the people of both Frostpire and the other kingdoms would assume him to be a direct descendant of the royal family itself.

But the reason the king didn't go that route was because it would raise too many questions. By using the distant relative excuse, it would be much harder for others to dig into his past.

Even if they did, the king already had countermeasures in place.

Looking at himself in the mirror, he appeared significantly more handsome. Taking a quick glance, he noticed that his features were slightly similar to Dracos, Drake, and Zara.

It was clear the king had meticulously taken his time in the altering process, and it would be a lie for Nox to say he wasn't impressed.

"So, what now?"

The king gestured for them to follow him. "Now, we get you accustomed to dragon combat—at least the public version of it."

Nox followed the king down to a secluded training ground beneath the castle. Unlike the grand tournament stage above, this place was hidden beneath layers of thick ice, its cavernous walls reflecting an eerie blue glow. Pillars of frost jutted out from the ground at odd angles, creating a battlefield that favored those with mastery over ice manipulation.

"This is where young dragons train before their first real fights," Dracos explained. "Most of them start as early as their tenth year."

Nox glanced at Zara. "When did you start?"

She smirked. "Five."

Nox sighed. "Of course."

Dracos waved his hand, and the air around them shifted. The ground trembled slightly before multiple ice figures rose from the ground—shaped like dragons in various combat stances.

"These are training constructs," Dracos said. "They react to your movements and attacks. They won't kill you, but they will push you to your limits."

Nox flexed his fingers, feeling the latent ice energy swirling within him. It was still strange how naturally it flowed through his body now, as if he had always possessed this power.

"Your goal is simple," Dracos continued. "Fight like a dragon. No human tricks."

Nox frowned. "No human tricks?"

Zara leaned against a frozen pillar. "He means no fancy dodging, no last-second counterattacks, and definitely no relying on speed over power. Dragons fight with dominance. They don't evade—they endure. Though a few ice dragons, such as myself, choose elegance, the general populace prefers force."

Nox exhaled. "I see."

In other words, he needed to fight like a berserker, which wasn't entirely difficult—most times, Nox fought like this, defeating his opponents with sheer force.

The first construct lunged.

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Nox barely had time to react before the ice beast was upon him, its claws slashing toward his chest. He raised his arm instinctively, summoning a thick barrier of ice to absorb the impact. The attack connected, sending a sharp vibration through his arm, but the barrier held.

Before he could counterattack, another construct attacked from his blind spot. Instead of dodging, Nox turned, allowing the ice to harden around his shoulders like armor. The second strike hit, but instead of stumbling back, he held his ground.

"Damn it," Nox gritted his teeth. "This is dumb. I can't just be receiving hits when I can just dodge."

His eyes flashed. 'I'll just fight with both speed and savagery.'

Since there were elegant dragons, he didn't think he would stand out that much.

Nox grinned, and without hesitation, he thrust his hand forward. A jagged spike of ice shot out from the ground, impaling one of the constructs through the chest. Before it could reform, he clenched his fist, and the spike shattered, taking the construct with it.

The second one roared and swiped at him again. This time, Nox didn't block. Instead, he activated Frost Overlord.

Instantly, the temperature in the arena plummeted. A wave of frost exploded outward from his body, encasing the second construct in layers of thick ice. It tried to move, but the ice held firm. Nox stepped forward and delivered a single punch. The construct shattered into a thousand pieces.

Zara let out a low whistle. "Not bad."

Dracos smiled. "You're learning fast."

Days passed as Nox continued to train, adapting his combat style to appear more like a natural-born dragon. He stopped thinking so much about precise attacks and instead focused on overwhelming force. If an attack came his way, he met it head-on. If an enemy tried to escape, he crushed them with raw power.

Meanwhile, the day of the competition was drawing near, and the entire Dragon Realm was filled with excitement and anticipation.