Chapter 653: Ownership of the Fruit

"Brother, you and Leo are done training already?" Acheronides, lost in thought, noticed Liszt returning early and asked curiously.

Liszt smiled reservedly, "No training—I actually succeeded in riding the dragon and became a true Dragon Knight!" He'd meant to punctuate the news with booming laughter to express his excitement but restrained himself, delivering it with an air of calm.

"Ah!"

Acheronides exclaimed, her face filled with delight. "Brother succeeded in taming the dragon! That’s wonderful! Brother is a true Dragon Knight, on top of the world!"

"Keep it low-key, keep it low-key. Leo is still young, and Dragon Knight training is still trial-and-error. For now, we must remain discreet," Liszt waved his hand.

Then he asked earnestly, "Acheronides, now that I’ve tamed the dragon and become a true Dragon Knight, it’s time to split from the Tulip family. What do you think would be the best surname for me? Typically, Dragon Knight families adopt the name of their dragon. The Sapphire Duchy, for example, took ‘Sapphire’ as their surname."

Acheronides tilted her head and thought for a moment. "How about ‘Flame’?"

"‘Flame’ sounds cheap—not fit for a Dragon Knight."

"‘Blaze’?"

"Still not grand enough. How about ‘Inferno’? What do you think?" Liszt voiced his idea but quickly dismissed it. "Though ‘Inferno’ has the grandeur, it doesn’t quite fit as a surname—it’s more of a verb."

In this world, surnames were primarily nouns.

Sapphire, Tulip, Golden Wheat, Cyclamen, Eagle Sword, Black Knight—all were surnames based on nouns, or more precisely, on gems, plants, or objects.

Considering that Liszt had bestowed the surname "Dawnbreak" upon his blood servants, adopting "Inferno" wouldn’t be too strange. However, he decided to follow tradition and choose a noun as his surname, one that would be passed down through his Dragon Knight lineage.

"Magma? Volcano? Burning? Scorching?"

After racking his brain, he circled back to "Blaze," which Acheronides had suggested earlier. "‘Blaze’ it is—for now. After all, news of the Dragon Knight must remain low-key. We can finalize the surname when the official splitting occurs."

Thus, Liszt Blaze made his decision.

He then pulled two juice glasses from his gem storage, handing one to Acheronides and keeping the other for himself. "Acheronides, celebrate with me."

"Mhm."

"A toast! To taming my dragon, and to your early advancement to Archmage!"

After finishing the juice, they briefly discussed the experience of riding the dragon, with Acheronides helping him identify any gaps. It became clear that a Dragon Knight’s bond demanded a battle of wills. Only once they synced perfectly could the knight and the dragon share breath and fate.

As for the conditions triggering the battle of wills with the dragon, aside from mounting the Dragon Tooth Platform, it likely required mastering high-tier mana.

The remaining details needed time for him to reflect upon.

So, after putting away the glasses, Acheronides dove back into studying the Magic Web, while Liszt sat on a reef, mulling over his dragon-taming quest. "No Milon Mind Fruit? Who knows how long it’d have taken to dissolve Leo’s hostility, gain its recognition, mount the Dragon Tooth Platform, and engage in the battle of wills."

The outcome of the battle of wills would have been uncertain as well.

"The battle of wills is too difficult. I still have two Milon Mind Fruits, meaning I have two more chances to ride dragons—one for the invisible dragon and one for the smoke dragon?" Liszt considered. The invisible dragon was weird but a game-changer.

The worth of a spatial gem far surpassed any other gemstone—it blurred the line between sacred and gem dragon. Moreover, it had a good relationship with Liszt, so he’d basically already bagged it.

"As for the smoke dragon... I’m still not sure if it even exists. Was it fate’s power infecting me, or did its posthumous power attach itself to me, using me to claw its way back? If it’s the former, am I Parris’s black dragon spirit 2.0?"

It didn’t seem so.

White dragon spirits were ghostly, requiring death for transformation, while black dragon spirits were always one step from crumbling.

Even with fate’s power in him, there was no sign of erosion. He could still cultivate mana and ride dragons without hindrance. "Perhaps the smoke dragon seeks to revive using my power. Once it revives, given how long we’ve coexisted, I’d probably skip the Milon Mind Fruit."

Moreover, the Milon Mind Fruit is guided by the power of fate, so there's no reason for the Smoke Dragon to sabotage itself.

"Let's set aside the Smoke Dragon for now—it's still unclear whether it's trying to revive... So, which dragon should I use this third Milon Mind Fruit on? Ah, right, I need to contract a dragon to gain the title of Lord of Dragon Domain, and it should be a young dragon... If I can find a fairy dragon representing life and contract it directly, wouldn't immortality be within grasp?"

Fairy dragons must exist.

Since the Invisible Dragon and the Smoke Dragon exist, it can't be absent—it's just that discovering it would be incredibly difficult. But with the aid of fate's power, it might be possible to find one.

"So, I'll save this third Milon Mind Fruit for the fairy dragon. If I encounter other dragons along the way, I'll attempt to ride them using my own strength. Not all dragons require the Milon Mind Fruit for riding—otherwise, every kingdom would mass-plant mind fruit trees and let their descendants ride dragons at will!"

He recalled that Fire Dragons are of the evil dragon type, proud, cruel, and wicked, which is why the mental duel demands overcoming their wicked nature.

For gem dragons or metal dragons, the mental duel might take a different form—perhaps just a mutual understanding and bonding. The dragon likely uses the mental duel to test compatibility with the most suitable knight.

"Hah!"

Having allocated the Milon Mind Fruits, Liszt exhaled deeply and dove into the ocean for a refreshing swim, washing away the stench that was torture. His body had undergone a strengthening process when he reached peak high-level mana, purging lots of impurities.

"Bwooo~"

Rainbow Whale Rosi approached, ready to carry Liszt.

But he gave its back a pat, signaling it to go play on its own. He intended to dive underwater himself to test the limits of his newfound physical prowess.

With his mana perfected and having successfully ridden a dragon, his strength had grown exponentially—yet his physique was still far from matching a dragon's. Perhaps one day, he could freely shift between human and dragon form like a dragon, rendering physical durability irrelevant.

After some underwater swordplay and exertion, he successfully gauged his enhanced physique.

The improvement was over twofold—attacks from an ordinary sky knight would likely only cause minor injuries, unable to harm his vital organs. However, a strike from a sword saint could still deal severe damage. His current physique was roughly equivalent to common steel; without channeling mana, a casual punch could likely kill a low-level magical beast.

"Rosi, take me diving—let's see how deep I can go now!"

"Bwooo~!"