Chapter Three: Construction of the Dragon's Lair

Sorinus found the construction options on the system panel. Opening it up, he was surprised by the list of items available.

Dragon Nest, Buildings, Altar, Decorations...

Unlocking them required gold coins, most of which were grayed out because Sorinus simply didn't have that much money. It was now clear to Sorinus why the beginner's package included one thousand gold coins. It was the startup capital for building the Pasture.

Finding the Fire Dragon Nest, he was relieved to see that the price wasn't too high, only requiring one hundred gold coins. Sorinus chose to purchase it.

In the next moment, he felt a powerful force descending from above. The grassy lawn nearby began to tremble. Soil churned, and hot magma surged forth. After a moment, a volcanic-like dragon's nest appeared before him, covering an area of several hundred square meters.

Approaching the dragon's nest, Sorinus felt a wave of scorching heat hitting his face, causing him to pause. Yet, Iya's eyes lit up instantly, and she quickly ran over, frolicking around the dragon's nest with great excitement.

The searing environment, unbearable to ordinary people, felt comfortable to Iya, a fire-type dragon. If Sorinus were a proficient magician, he would have sensed the abundant and active fire magic elements in this area.

"A small fire-type dragon nest: a paradise for fire dragons to grow, +1 growth point per day, with a maximum output limit of 500 gold coins per day."

This dragon's nest could be upgraded with more gold coins. Once it upgraded to a medium or even a large dragon's nest, a few magma pools might even turn into erupting volcanoes.

"Task completed. Congratulations, host, on gaining 5 experience points and 50 gold coins."

Another pile of coins fell, and Sorinus looked on contentedly.

After Iya played around her new home for a while, she returned to Sorinus's side. Sorinus carefully picked her up, treating her like a pet dog. Iya, just like a dog, stuck out her tongue and licked Sorinus's face, leaving him covered in warm saliva.

"Are you hungry?" Sorinus asked.

Iya vigorously nodded her head.

"I can't find anything to feed you right now. They say newly hatched dragons nibble on their eggshells. Let's use that to fill your stomach for now."

Sorinus walked with Iya to where her eggshell had cracked. The broken eggshells were still intact on the ground. Sorinus picked up a piece and handed it to Iya.

The little creature was indeed starving. It gnawed on the eggshell like it was a biscuit, finishing it off in a few bites. Sorinus fed Iya one piece of eggshell after another.

Seeing how happy Iya was, Sorinus couldn't help but wonder. He picked up a piece and tried to bite it himself. The result? It was too hard, Sorinus couldn't even break it.

Iya devoured all the eggshells, and Sorinus noticed her growth value increase by one point on her attribute panel.

Indeed, dragon eggshells were the most suitable food for newly hatched dragons.

With her belly full, Iya's eyelids gradually drooped, and her "yiyas" became quieter. Her chubby body curled up into a ball, indicating her tiredness.

Sorinus picked up Iya and carried her back to the dragon's nest. The scorching hot volcanic rock ground, which would burn through shoes for ordinary people, felt like a warm bed to Iya.

Watching Iya sleep soundly, Sorinus felt more like a dragon dad than a Pasture lord.

"Main quest issued..."

Sorinus's expression changed as another task came up.

"Plow a piece of farmland and plant Dragon Scale Fruits."

"Task reward: 5 experience points, 50 gold coins."

Sorinus found the small farm in the construction panel, just like before.

Mysterious power descended from the sky again, and a fertile field was cultivated.

"Dragon Scale Fruits..."

Sorinus searched for Dragon Scale Fruit seeds in the system store and was surprised to find that one seed cost a hundred gold coins.

It was a bit painful, but after seeing the properties of Dragon Scale Fruits, Sorinus felt it was worth it.

"Dragon Scale Fruits: one of the favorite fruits of dragons, possessing magical powers to help dragons grow faster. When consumed, a dragon's growth value increases by 10."

As long as Iya ate one, she would immediately advance to the next stage.

Without hesitation, Sorinus chose to exchange for five Dragon Scale Fruit seeds.

Then, he planted the seeds in the farmland. Thanks to the Pasture's effect, the time needed for Dragon Scale Fruits to grow from seed to maturity was only one day.

By now, Sorinus had accumulated fifteen experience points.

Before the Dragon Scale Fruits matured, the system did not issue any other tasks, so Sorinus chose to return.

In the blink of an eye, the scene before him reverted to his own room, and everything that had just happened felt like a dream. But Sorinus knew it wasn't.

He opened his right hand, and a gold coin appeared, shining brilliantly in the dim candlelight. Sorinus smiled faintly.

With the Pasture, he also had a massive portable space. This alone was enough to make ninety-nine percent of the magicians on the continent envious to death.

Sorinus flipped his hand, and the gold coin disappeared again, extremely convenient.

Then he chose to level up.

Instantly, countless magic elements crazily surged toward Sorinus, almost forming a small colorful vortex. Among them, the red dots representing fire elements accounted for the vast majority.

Sorinus guessed it might be related to Iya.

A coolness passed through his mind, and his brain seemed to work faster, everything becoming clearer and more transparent.

Sorinus knew this was due to the increase in his mental strength.

Mental strength was the foundation of a magician, the source of power. The stronger the mental strength, the more magic elements a magician could control.

On the system panel, Sorinus's strength had changed from "Magic Apprentice" to "Level One Apprentice Mage".

He was still an apprentice because although Sorinus's mental strength had reached the standard of a first-level mage, he didn't know any first-level magic yet.