The sapient beings of the Near Seas region were all eagerly anticipating the return of the Sea Storm Shark after it became a legend, only to watch it get thrashed by the King of the Near Seas.

Nowadays.

Due to Saga’s dazzling performance, they had a fanatical confidence in the ruler of the Near Seas.

And so, time continued to flow.

Another half a year quietly passed by.

Two and a half years had elapsed since Saga fell into slumber.

Meanwhile.

On a night without stars or moon, cloaked in darkness, the sea was shrouded by the night sky.

A thief, silent as a shadow, using spells like Invisibility, Breath Concealment, Traceless Steps, and Shadow Walking, skillfully avoided the hordes of monstrous guards on Starfall Island and approached the majestic and splendid Emperor Dragon Palace under the cover of night.

Finally, at an inconspicuous corner of the palace wall, the thief halted.

This was a female thief.

With cunning and lively eyes, she wore a black outfit that blended with the night, exuding an air of efficiency and agility, her lithe figure like that of a pantheress.

“The renowned King of the Near Seas, you must have many treasures here.”

“You’re so powerful, surely you don’t need them all. Why not bestow some upon me? I would be grateful.”

The female thief was drawn by the tales of the King of the Near Seas.

She was a thief of some renown on the Yar Continent, her real name unknown to all. After each heist, she would leave behind a black rose, her signature, and thus, she was simply known as Black Rose.

A year ago, on the Yar Continent.

During a nighttime banquet, the third prince of the Lionheart Kingdom led his distinguished guests to his treasure room to show off his collection, only to find it empty, save for a vivid black rose, still dewy with the morning’s touch.

Since then, the name Black Rose became well-known.

At that moment, Black Rose approached the wall of the Emperor Dragon Palace.

Her eyes glowed faintly, spotting the alarm runes flowing across the wall’s surface. She reached out, touching them in succession, halting their operation.

As a thief, Black Rose knew no offensive spells.

But she had a knack for disabling spells of alarm and protection.

Without some skill, she couldn’t have stolen treasures from the heavily guarded royal vaults.

Taking a deep breath, Black Rose’s focus intensified, her already invisible form becoming completely transparent.

Activating a Wall-Phasing ability, she stepped forward, merging into the wall, and vanished from sight.

Moving through the luxurious Emperor Dragon Palace, Black Rose silently bypassed the swarms of monstrous guards.

This ninth-tier thief’s combat prowess might not match that of Saga’s lieutenants, such as the high-ranking but not ninth-tier Psychic Guards. However, her specialty lay in stealth, allowing her to avoid combat and silently achieve her goals.

“According to the living habits of dragons, their sleeping chambers are often where their treasures are kept.”

Looking at the grand doors of the sleeping chamber, guarded by two high-ranking monsters and carved with exquisite dragon patterns, Black Rose’s brows twitched as she thought to herself.

She was no stranger to dragons, having stolen from True Dragon hoards before.

“My treasures, here I come!”

Muttering to herself, she suppressed her excitement and, holding her breath, phased through the wall without stirring even the slightest breeze.

Her heartbeat, breathing, and pulse all came to a temporary halt.

Black Rose, now like a nonexistent human, infiltrated the King of the Near Seas’ sleeping chamber.

As the hazy vision of the wall faded.

Black Rose emerged in a vast room supported by many pillars, with beautifully carved walls, spacious and bright, filled with the scent of treasure.

First.

A magnificent sight caught Black Rose’s eye, causing her to pause and gaze in wonder.

Countless gold and silver coins, precious gems of various hues, and magical artifacts glowing with elemental brilliance all floated in the space, rotating and bobbing leisurely. Threads of electricity danced between them, creating a star-filled cosmos within the room, a miniature universe of its own.

Then, Black Rose’s gaze sharpened as she saw the majestic dragon at the center of this ‘universe.’

It was a twenty-meter-long Golden Dragon.

Coiled on the ground with its tail wrapped around its body, its diamond-like golden scales shimmered brilliantly, reflecting the light of coins and gems into a dazzling spectacle. Above its head were three pairs of majestic, crown-like horns. Even with its eyes closed and motionless, it exuded a unique aura of dignity. At the same time, the Dragon Might radiating from it was enough to terrify Black Rose.

“Is this the legendary King of the Near Seas?”

“More majestic and beautiful than the records in the light crystals, its coiled posture is like that of a big cat. Hmm, or rather, a cat’s posture similar to that of a dragon.”

“And it seems to have grown quite a bit.”

Black Rose silently pondered.

Saga’s battle footage had been recorded by Casters on the battlefield and circulated widely, including his sweeping victory over the eight-nation alliance and his subsequent legendary battle against Duke Tsunami.

Since light magic could falsify images.

Outside the Near Seas, those who had not witnessed Saga’s battles firsthand and did not understand his might scoffed at his achievements, disbelieving his strength.

Black Rose was initially skeptical too.

She believed the King of the Near Seas was undoubtedly powerful; otherwise, he couldn’t have unified the Near Seas nations. However, she thought the tales were likely exaggerated. Sweeping an eight-nation alliance before becoming a legend? Contending with a legendary being? These were too hard to believe.

But at this moment, Black Rose felt an inexplicable belief.

Simply because the Golden Dragon before her made her tremble inside.

And this was just the insignificant aura it exuded while asleep.

“Its life stage… doesn’t seem legendary. It should be ninth-tier, the same as me, but why is it so terrifying? It’s as if we’re not even on the same level.”

Black Rose complained inwardly:

“The disparity in this world, even though we’re the same tier, why is the gap so huge?”

What was she doing at ninth-tier?

Engaging in petty thefts, gaining some notoriety but not worth much attention, and not even sure if she could defeat a combat-ready eighth-tier being head-on.

But the King of the Near Seas, also at ninth-tier, was already renowned and at the height of his power.

“However, I have my ways of being remembered.”

Black Rose’s gaze shifted, finally settling on a golden crown hovering above the Golden Dragon.

Her discerning eyes immediately locked onto Saga’s proof of his championship as a young dragon, coveting the golden crown, which, like the other treasures, was revolving around Saga’s body.

Immediately, Black Rose moved with a burst of energy, avoiding the surrounding treasures and flew towards the golden crown.

Unseen by her, the Golden Dragon’s tightly shut eyes quietly opened, casting a barely perceptible glance at Black Rose.

Suddenly, a sense of unease grew within her.

Black Rose’s heart tensed as she looked towards the King of the Near Seas.

The colossal and majestic dragon remained coiled in place, peacefully asleep, its eyes shut tight, seemingly oblivious to the outside world.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Black Rose continued to reach for the golden crown.

After securing the crown, larger than half her body, Black Rose admired its exquisite craftsmanship and the magical dragon patterns on it, her eyes shining with delight.

“Such a fine piece, definitely worth a fortune.”

Her gaze shifted as Black Rose searched for other star-like floating objects.

Suddenly, her body stiffened, and cold sweat beaded on her forehead as if she had plummeted into an abyss.

For, without warning.

The conspicuous body of the King of the Near Seas that had been at the center of the chamber was nowhere to be seen, as if it had always been empty.

The vast palace was utterly silent.

Eerie, deathly still, you could hear a pin drop.

The sound of gold and silver coins rained down beautifully.

But Black Rose had no time to appreciate it.

Amidst the extraordinary beauty, her face was pale, her body trembling.

Behind her came a deep and scorching breath, the dragon’s exhalation engulfing her, and a low voice reached directly into her mind.

“Human, is hide and seek fun?”

Turning stiffly, Black Rose’s vision was filled with golden scales.

The Golden Dragon’s head, larger than her entire body, was inches away, its gaze calm, quietly watching her, its breath hot on her face.

Black Rose trembled inside but managed a weak smile, showing a submissive stance, and said:

“Mighty King of the Near Seas, hear my explanation.”

“I am no thief, just someone who heard of your deeds, admiring your power, eager to bask in your glory. But since you do not see outsiders, I had no choice but to sneak into your Dragon Palace.”

The majestic dragon narrowed its eyes, silently staring at Black Rose, not making a sound.

The atmosphere grew tense.

Under the immense psychological pressure, Black Rose, sweating profusely, confessed under the dragon’s silent gaze:

“Great King of the Near Seas, I was wrong.”

“I should not have coveted your wealth, nor infiltrated your palace. Please be merciful and spare me. I’ve stolen many treasures, which I can offer in exchange for my life. Just let me go, and they’re all yours.”

Black Rose had intended to use her words to lower the King’s guard and then attempt to escape.

However, her instincts told her it was best not to try.

Otherwise, she would die.

In the face of an offended dragon, trading treasures for life was the best solution under these circumstances.

“Not enough.”

The dragon spoke.

“Surrender your free will, become my servant, serve me, and offer all your treasures to me, and I may spare your life.”

Black Rose’s heart was in turmoil; Saga had easily learned of her background and past through the Mind Warlock’s methods.

Indeed, she had many treasures, all stolen from various places.

However, compared to those treasures, this adept thief herself was of greater value, able to bring Saga even more good things.

If not for Saga’s Force Field perception and most other sensory abilities being utterly different, it would have been difficult to detect the thief’s intrusion.

“Choose, life or death, it’s up to you.”

Saga said.

Trying to steal a few things, she ended up risking herself.

Black Rose couldn’t help but feel dejected, but ultimately, she made the sensible choice.

She removed the veil that covered her face, revealing only her eyes, her fair and beautiful face exposed to the air, and said, “Noble King of the Near Seas, I pledge my loyalty to you.”

After imprinting the psychic servitude, Saga set the thief free, calmly saying:

“Go, use your skills, and bring me more wealth.”

Afterward, because of one wrong decision, Black Rose left the Emperor Dragon Palace, having lost her treasures and herself, continuing her life of thievery, only no longer for herself.

The only consolation was that she stole for the thrill of the process, and the outcome was reluctantly acceptable.

“A small, unexpected gain.”

No longer focusing on Black Rose, Saga turned his attention to himself.

The two and a half years of slumber had increased Saga’s size to twenty meters, making him indistinguishable from an average adult dragon, and in terms of strength, he completely overpowered a normal adult dragon.

“Now I am twenty years old, with five more years until I reach adolescence.”

After just a few short years of entering high-tier, the twenty-year-old young dragon Saga had reached the ninth tier.

His original goal was to ascend to legend during his youth.

“I could reach legend within five years if I only pursued breaking through.”

“But that would be somewhat counterproductive.”

Saga shook his head, deciding to let nature take its course.

Abandoning the most fundamental accumulation in pursuit of rapid advancement would mean losing the confidence to sweep through his peers once he reached legend, putting the cart before the horse.

For Saga, becoming a legend was not a difficult hurdle.

He didn’t need to rush. Steady progress was the way to go, waiting for things to fall into place.

“I wonder if I, at ninth-tier, could rely solely on my power to successfully challenge a legend and win.”

Saga flicked his tail, lost in thought.

When he faced Duke Tsunami, he was barely into the eighth tier, and without using the Golden Halo Body Shield, he managed to inflict a minor injury on the second-tier legendary Duke.

Stimulated by successive fierce battles, Saga’s growth accelerated rapidly during his slumber.

He reached the ninth tier a year and a half ago, and the following year was spent consolidating his strength. Now he was not just a newcomer to the ninth tier.

Moreover, the span of Saga’s power at each tier was drastically different from that of ordinary beings. After reaching the ninth tier, Saga’s attributes, including the most basic strength, speed, reaction, and the intensity of his Power Essence, the strength of his mental will, and his mastery of basic force skills, all improved significantly, a comprehensive enhancement.

“If my opponent is just a creature that has stepped into legend, a first-tier legendary being, perhaps I could win against a higher tier.”

Saga thought.