Ding! Congratulations! You have obtained: [Dragonblood Potion] x1, [Dragon Egg] x1.

  "Holy shit!"

  Lucian was so ecstatic he felt like he could fly.

  A dragon egg! That Treasure Map actually yielded a dragon egg!

  His hands shook with pure adrenaline as he checked his inventory. Sure enough, a dragon egg sat there in one of the slots. Lucian pulled it out and cradled it in his palms.

  It was as large as a human head and resembled a pitch-black, rounded stone. The surface wasn't smooth; it was jagged and textured like dragon scales. Fiery red veins pulsed across the shell, rhythmically dimming and glowing as if something inside were breathing.

  Lucian cast [Appraisal] on the egg, and its information materialized before his eyes.

  [Dragon Egg]

  Grade: Mythic Tier (Special Item)

  Description: Use [Dragon Taming] to domesticate. Success grants the dragon pet: [Black Dragon King · Doomwing] (Hatchling Form).

  Lucian’s jaw nearly hit the floor.

  This wasn’t just a dragon egg, and it certainly wasn't a Normal-tier one. What was incubating inside was the Black Dragon King · Doomwing!

  In this world, the Dragonflight represented the pinnacle of power and mystery. Humans knew very little about them. But the name alone made it clear—the rank of this dragon was off the charts, far beyond anything a Normal dragon could hope to match!

  At that moment, Lucian wanted to roar at the sky: Who said Dragon Tamer was the weakest Hidden Class?

  I have a dragon now, and it’s a Black Dragon King!

  Lucian took several deep breaths to steady his racing heart and began casting his only skill on the egg: [Dragon Taming].

  "Skill failed."

  "Skill failed."

  "Skill failed."

  "Skill succeeded!"

  On the fourth attempt, the skill finally took hold.

  A brilliant light erupted from Lucian’s chest, bathing the dragon egg. Lucian felt a sudden, visceral connection to the life within—a spiritual bond through the bloodline. It was a subtle but profound sensation. He knew that from now on, he and this soon-to-hatch dragon would be soul-linked, instinctively understanding each other's feelings and thoughts.

  The dragon egg flared with its own light, merging with the radiance from Lucian's body. The glare was so intense that Lucian had to squint, instinctively closing his eyes.

  A distinct crack followed by another crack echoed in his ears.

  With the successful domestication, the little creature inside was finally ready to enter the world.

  As the light faded, Lucian’s vision returned. He immediately looked down at the egg in his palms.

  The upper half of the shell had vanished. A tiny, adorable hatchling sat in the remaining bottom half, busily munching on the eggshell. Crunch, crunch. The shell was incredibly hard, yet the hatchling chewed through it as easily as if it were eating potato chips.

  Lucian studied the creature. It looked even more formidable than he had imagined. Like the eggshell, its body was covered in jagged scales that possessed a heavy, metallic and stony texture. Beneath the scales, a volcanic crimson glow ebbed and flowed with every breath. It looked like a miniature volcano primed to erupt at any second.

  Right now, it was small and endearing, huddled in its shell. Lucian suddenly felt a strange surge of "new father" pride.

  The little glutton had a massive appetite, quickly devouring every last scrap of the shell. It then unfurled its dark red leathery wings, stretching its tiny body. As its wingspan—now over a meter wide—opened, fiery runes ignited across the membrane. A wave of heat washed over Lucian’s face.

  Whoosh!

  The hatchling suddenly took flight, circling above Lucian’s head. Each beat of its wings stirred up gusts of hot air.

  Lucian noticed that—perhaps due to consuming the nutrient-rich shell—the dragon was visibly growing as it flew. It had started out the size of a cat, small enough to be held in one hand. In just ten seconds, its body swelled significantly. Its wingspan reached two meters, and its height reached about half the size of a man, resembling a massive eagle.

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  Of course, compared to adult dragons that were as large as mountain ranges, it was still tiny. It would likely need to level up before it truly possessed the terrifying majesty of a full-grown dragon.

  After its growth spurt, the dragon let out a sharp roar—Aieee!—and dove toward Lucian, pulling up in a sharp halt right in front of him.

  Through their mental link, Lucian knew exactly what it wanted. He held out his arm.

  The hatchling landed on his forearm, tucking its wings and clinging to him like a needy kitten. It rubbed its hot, scaly head against Lucian’s chest and neck, displaying intense affection.

  The dragon wasn't light, but Lucian’s Strength stat was high enough to support the weight without issue.

  Lucian couldn't help but smile at the dragon’s antics, reaching out to stroke its head. The hatchling leaned into the touch, nuzzling his hand repeatedly.

  Who would have thought the legendary Black Dragon King would be this clingy?

  Wait—what were its stats? Now that he had a dragon, were his other skills finally unlocked?

  Doomwing, the Black Dragon King, was now officially Lucian’s dragon pet. Lucian could view every detail about the tiny hatchling directly through his pet interface.

  One look at the screen, even with all his mental preparation, left Lucian nearly petrified. As expected of a member of the world’s ultimate race, these attributes were nothing short of god-tier.

  Black Dragon King · Doomwing (Hatchling Form)

  Level: 1

  Gender: Female

  Strength: 342

  Agility: 267

  Spirit: 359

  Endurance: 373

  Skills:

  Black Dragon Scale (Passive, LV1): The naturally hardened skin of the Black Dragonflight. When any elemental or attribute-based attack strikes the scales, its power is reduced by 50%.

  Black Dragon Bloodline (Passive, MAX LV): The blood of the Black Dragonflight possesses an innate immunity to negative effects. All debuffs are negated.

  Black Dragon Physique (Passive, LV1): A physique born for slaughter. Self-healing and stamina recovery are increased by 500%.

  Magma Breath (Active, LV1): Continuously breathes fire in a forward cone, damaging enemies while simultaneously healing the caster.

  Jaw Strike (Active, LV1): Lunges forward a short distance, slamming into the enemy with a reinforced dragon jaw. Causes a stun effect.

  Strong. This was beyond strong—it was monstrous!

  This was a mere Level 1 dragon, yet every core attribute except Agility was already over three hundred, rapidly closing in on four hundred.

  What did that actually mean? A normal human at Level 1 usually had core attributes hovering around three or four points. Even someone like Lucian, who was Level 10 and possessed exceptional growth stats, didn't have attributes that even matched the "leftover" digits of the Black Dragon King’s stats.

  No wonder the Dragonflight was so legendary. This kind of innate talent wasn't something humanity could ever hope to rival. It wasn't just about being in the same tier; a dragon could likely steamroll human experts even with a twenty-level disadvantage.

  It wasn't just the attributes that were broken; the hatchling's skills were pure tyranny. Her three passives allowed her to shrug off half of all incoming damage, ignore every single debuff in the game, and out-heal or out-last her peers by five times. This was the raw, terrifying power of the Dragonflight.

  Furthermore, the hatchling possessed two active skills—one magical and one physical. Though he hadn't tested their raw output yet, one look at her attributes told him everything he needed to know. Once those skills were unleashed, they would undoubtedly crush any enemy in her path.

  Lucian was now a firm believer: Dragon Tamer was the absolute strongest hidden class available to humanity, bar none. Those so-called "three strongest hidden classes" were a joke in comparison. No matter how powerful a hidden class was, how could it possibly compete with a creature like this? There was no world where they could win.

  With this hatchling by his side, Lucian knew he could effectively walk through this world unchallenged.

  Of course, there were his own attributes to consider as well. A Dragon Tamer only truly came into their own after acquiring a dragon. Lucian was eager to see what surprises the system had in store for him as the first Dragon Tamer in history to actually own a dragon.

  While stroking the hatchling—who was busy nuzzling him affectionately—Lucian opened his own status screen. Once again, the information displayed left him reeling.

  Name: Lucian

  Level: 10

  Class: Dragon Tamer (1st Class Advancement)

  Strength: 55

  Agility: 53

  Spirit: 60

  Endurance: 60

  Pet: Black Dragon King · Doomwing (Hatchling Form)

  Equipment: None

  Skills:

  Dragon Taming (Active, LV1): Allows the user to tame members of the Dragonflight, turning them into pets. (Note: Only effective against the Dragonflight).

  Blood Link (Passive, LV1): Your blood merges with that of your dragon. You gain 1/10th of your dragon's total attributes.

  Dragon Claw (Active, LV1): Channels the dragon pet's ancestral power, transforming the user's arm into a dragon claw for an attack. Damage scales with the dragon's attributes.

  Dragon’s Inspiration (Active, LV1): Inspires both the user and the dragon, increasing all core attributes and combat power by 30%.

  Dragon Tooth Strike (Active, LV1): Channels dragon energy to deliver a devastating, singular blow.

  Just as Lucian had suspected, successfully taming the hatchling had unlocked his entire skill set. The passive skill, Blood Link, was the greatest surprise of all. Gaining ten percent of his dragon's attributes had effectively tripled his own power.

  That sudden surge of strength he felt after the taming process wasn't an illusion. It was the raw power of the hatchling flooding back into him, bolstering his own body.

  Lucian's attributes were now five to six times higher than those of an average human. In terms of raw combat power, he could effortlessly crush anyone else even without using his skills.

  As for his other three skills, they were equally impressive. One allowed for partial dragonification to gain superior combat prowess. Another was a team buff; a 30% increase was far superior to a Cleric's "Enhanced Holy Light," and when applied to the dragon's already gargantuan stats, the result would be terrifying.

  The final skill was a pure offensive strike. With his current sky-high attributes, Lucian was confident that even if he didn't rely on the hatchling and fought personally, he could still wipe the floor with any combat-awakened individual of the same level.