I returned to the cave as the sun slowly lowered behind the forest canopy.

  The familiar darkness welcomed him.

  Compared to the unpredictable dangers outside, the cave felt peaceful. Safe.

  He walked toward the center of the cavern and stretched his wings carefully.

  The memory of the bone arrow piercing through one of them still lingered in his mind.

  Even if the wound had healed, the lesson remained.

  “I’m too slow.”

  His voice echoed softly against the stone walls.

  Slow reaction.

  Slow movement.

  Slow flight.

  Everything about his current body was… underdeveloped.

  Well, that was to be expected.

  After all—

  “I’m still just a hatchling.”

  Dragons and phoenixes both possessed incredibly long lifespans, and their growth followed a strict series of life stages.

  Seven stages, to be precise.

  Hatchling.

  Childhood.

  Adolescence.

  Youth.

  Adulthood.

  Elder.

  And finally… the Twilight stage.

  For dragons and phoenixes, the timeline was absurdly long compared to most creatures.

  Hatchling: 0 to 10 years.

  Childhood: 10 to 35 years.

  Adolescence: 35 to 100 years.

  Youth: 100 to 200 years.

  Adulthood: 200 to 50,000 years.

  Elder: 50,000 to 100,000 years.

  Twilight: 100,000 years and beyond.

  The more he thought about it, the more ridiculous it sounded.

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  “Ten years… just to leave the hatchling stage.”

  He sighed.

  Most legendary races—especially powerful ones—grew stronger as they aged.

  This included the three supreme races of the world.

  Dragons.

  Phoenixes.

  titans.

  And beings like himself.

  Because of that, the most terrifying creatures in existence were often Twilight beings.

  Creatures that had lived for over a hundred thousand years.

  They were walking catastrophes.

  Living disasters.

  But the Twilight stage also carried a strange contradiction.

  At that point in life, a creature could die at any moment.

  Their continued survival depended on countless factors.

  Their accumulated strength.

  Their mentality.

  Their elemental affinities.

  Their experiences in life.

  And sometimes…

  Pure luck.

  The draco-phoenix shook his head.

  “Thinking about that now is pointless.”

  He wasn't even close.

  Right now, he was at the very bottom of the system.

  The relationship between life stages and strength levels was well known among powerful races.

  Hatchling — Apprentice Rank (Level 1–5)

  Childhood — Expert Rank (Level 6–10)

  Adolescence — Master Rank (Level 11–15)

  Youth — Grandmaster Rank (Level 16–20)

  Adulthood — Legendary Rank (Level 21 and beyond)

  And right now?

  He was Level 1.

  The absolute starting point.

  Pathetic.

  The draco-phoenix stretched his wings again and walked toward the open space near the cave entrance.

  Complaining wouldn’t make him stronger.

  Training would.

  First, movement.

  He began running back and forth inside the cave, claws tapping against the stone floor. His body was small, but his muscles quickly began to warm up as he pushed himself harder.

  Faster.

  Sharper turns.

  Better balance.

  After several minutes, he shifted to the next exercise.

  Flight.

  Or rather…

  His attempt at flight.

  He crouched slightly, spread his wings, and jumped.

  For a brief moment, his body lifted into the air.

  Then gravity reminded him who was in charge.

  He landed awkwardly on the stone floor.

  “…That barely counts.”

  He tried again.

  And again.

  And again.

  Each attempt lasted only a few seconds.

  But slowly, very slowly, he started to feel the rhythm of his wings.

  Air resistance.

  Balance.

  Momentum.

  Even if he couldn't truly fly yet, gliding for short moments was already progress.

  After several attempts, he stopped and lay down on the cool stone floor.

  “…Still slow.”

  But what bothered him even more wasn’t his physical training.

  It was something else entirely.

  “I can't even learn a profession yet.”

  Among supreme legendary races, serious skill training usually began during the Childhood stage.

  Around ten years old.

  That was when individuals could begin studying professions.

  Blacksmiths.

  Alchemists.

  Enchanters.

  Runecrafters.

  Scholars.

  Even combat-oriented professions required a more developed body and mind.

  But right now?

  He was still a hatchling.

  Which meant…

  He had to wait.

  Ten years.

  The draco-phoenix groaned dramatically.

  “Ten years just to start learning something useful…”

  He rolled onto his side and stared at the cave ceiling.

  “…This growth system is a scam.”

  Still…

  Even if he couldn’t formally learn a profession yet—

  There were other things he could do.

  Move faster.

  Fly better.

  Become harder to kill.

  His eyes slowly sharpened with determination.

  If the world insisted on making him grow slowly…

  Then he would simply make every single day count.

  Because next time—

  If another bone arrow came flying toward him from the shadows—

  He intended to dodge it.