Tassera carried it for a full three years and six months, finally giving birth to a dragon egg through gritted teeth.
It was an oval dragon egg, lying quietly in the center of the sandpit, with a diameter nearly as long as an adult’s arm, the length being twice its diameter. The eggshell had a hard stone-like texture, covered with lightning patterns that shimmered with a strange luster.
"Is there more, is there more? Only one? Shouldn’t there normally be a clutch? A clutch of two to five eggs. Mother gave birth to two eggs at once, hatching me and my brother," Salovis peeked out from behind Leon, speaking without a filter, "Did you eat the other eggs?"
Tassera narrowed her eyes dangerously, staring dead at Salovis. If she wasn’t already accustomed to that brainless behavior, she wouldn’t mind unleashing a plasma breath, and said, "Just one, I only nurtured one dragon egg, concentration is essence."
"I heard that while nurturing this dragon egg, you had to eat a magic item every few days... no wonder this dragon egg looks full of magic power," Salovis, as if discovering a new world, looked at Leon, "Brother! If you use this dragon egg for alchemy, maybe just one would be enough to make an Immortal Pill."
Tassera took a couple of deep breaths, suppressing the urge to act, merely flinging her tail to encircle the dragon egg, wrapping it within the barricade formed by her body and tail.
Leon couldn’t hold back, couldn’t bear to listen anymore, and slapped Salovis on the head with a paw, saying, "You fool, can’t you think before speaking? If you can’t speak, shut up."
"Ow... if you keep hitting, my brain will really get damaged," Salovis protested, shaking her head in grievance, "By then, I really won’t be able to speak."
Even for dragons, laying eggs is not an easy task... Anyway, Tassera looked exceedingly fatigued, her dragon tail weakly hanging on the ground, even her breathing trembling with exhaustion.
"That’s about enough. Take a look and that’s it. Everyone out, leave... let Tassera rest well," Leon started shooing people away. Once everyone left, he lightly lay down beside Tassera, looking at the dragon egg with an inexplicable sense of kinship.
"Its size looks like a Red Dragon egg, but the eggshell looks more like a Blue Dragon egg," Leon said, "Do you think it will hatch into a Red Dragon or a Blue Dragon?"
"Isn’t it possible that it’s an oversized Blue Dragon egg?" Tassera proudly raised her head, "You are the father, I am the mother, the egg was nurtured by me, so it must be a Blue Dragon, just with some Red Dragon features on a Blue Dragon base."
"Now you don’t understand," Leon snorted, "It depends on whose genes are stronger between us. If my genes are dominant, it’s a Red Dragon; otherwise, it’s a Blue Dragon."
"Blue Dragon, it must be a Blue Dragon!" Tassera insisted stubbornly, pausing before adding, "A Red Dragon is possible too, but only if it resembles you, not your mother and sister."
"They aren’t that bad..." Leon couldn’t help but retort.
Tassera gave a cold smile, protecting the dragon egg even more tightly with her tail.
Anglistra and Salovis, as Red Dragons, are undeniably strong, other than that really lack any ability, Leon opened his mouth, swallowing back his words, and changed the topic, "Do you think it will hatch into a boy or a girl?"
"Do you prefer a boy or a girl?" Tassera retorted.
"I don’t care," Leon shook his head, "This isn’t something I can decide."
"Pointy egg for a girl, round egg for a boy," Tassera touched the eggshell with her nose, "It should be a girl, right?"
"Pointy egg for a girl, round egg for a boy... where did that folklore come from?" Leon couldn’t help but laugh, "One pregnancy dulls you for three years, it feels like you’ve gotten dumber after getting pregnant, no longer the smart Blue Dragon I knew."
"Hmm..." Tassera yawned, indeed feeling her energy falling behind recently.
Leon restrained his smile, saying, "For the dragon egg to hatch, it needs appropriate hatching conditions, the basic requirements depend on the type of dragon."
"Red Dragon eggs must be placed in an open flame, anyway, the temperature shouldn’t be low, whereas Blue Dragon eggs hatch under alternating high and low temperatures, like the extreme temperature differences in the desert day and night," Leon continued, "How do you plan to place this dragon egg?"
"I plan to put it in my Mage Tower, where magic power is concentrated," Tassera said, "Read to it every day, Sachiat’s Code."
"I can barely understand placing it where magic power is concentrated," Leon tilted his head, looking at the dragon egg, "What’s the point of reading to it?"
"It’s called prenatal education," Tassera said.
Leon hesitated, remained silent for a long time, and said, "You’re giving birth to a dragon, not a human, dragons inherit considerable practical knowledge from their parents, deeply buried in their memory, recalled when needed. Is prenatal education necessary?"
Leon wanted to say more, but Tassera started to clamor, saying, "Just listen to me, okay? Can you listen to me? One, you haven’t inherited practical knowledge from your parents, and two, you aren’t as fond of reading and researching as I am. You don’t understand anything, so why do you always question me?"
Leon was momentarily speechless, worried, and said, "I just want to remind you, this is your dragon egg."
"I know. More than anyone, I care about it," Tassera took off the Karsus Crown from her head and placed it on the dragon egg.
Leon knew he couldn’t outtalk Tassera, and had to call in external aid, summoning Tassera’s parents from Crossroads City.
With Tassera laying the dragon egg, the security level on the Volcanic Island was raised several notches.
The security level wouldn’t make a difference, because Tassera not only placed the dragon egg in her Mage Tower, but even guarded it every day, after all, she has always been a homebody, staying inside and seldom leaving the Mage Tower.
Leon didn’t know how to hatch eggs, all he could do was provide whatever Tassera required, often going to the Mage Tower, pressing his ear against the dragon egg to listen and listen, though unable to discern much, he just had to listen.
"I’ve thought it through, once it hatches... I will personally teach magic, then have Fiora teach combat, Fiora holds a warrior professional level," Tassera, with nothing better to do, planned for their future child’s future.
In contrast, Leon’s requirements were not high, as long as his child was healthy and happy.
It took over three years for Tassera just to nurture the dragon egg, so Leon was prepared for the egg to take more than ten years to hatch. But who knew, the dragon egg’s incubation period was considerably short, not even as long as its time in Tassera’s belly, ready to break out in less than three years.
Leon was genuinely worried, hoping that egg wouldn’t hatch into some monster.