Dragon Blood and Dragon Blood

Ruger ran faster and faster, climbed up, filled in the earthen pit, and left the valley.

He did not know what rank of wizard would come looking for the wingless drake, nor when or how they would arrive, much less whether they had a good or bad temperament. It was better to make himself scarce. After all, one thing was certain: anyone who came would absolutely be stronger than he was now.

On the metal plaque's marked containment rankings for wingless drakes, this Aberrant Dragon—which was explicitly noted as a target that was no weaker than pure-blooded dragonkind, and even stronger than most pure-blooded dragons of the same generation—had nearly fallen into the very lowest tier, rated only as a containment target in the second-lowest rank. It showed the upper limits of dragonkind's strength, and it also showed the strength of the Aberrant Dragon Management Association.

It was a peculiar kind of containment that required no guards. Each time it escaped, it either encountered someone law-abiding who took the dragon blood and reported it, someone greedy who simply struck from the shadows, or no one at all, dying slowly in its sleep without ever being disturbed. An ordinarily stubborn, cowardly little dragon would surely behave after being caught twice.

He recalled Gray Longneck Saint Lord's mockery of Bald Tooth. When the great snake heard that a Kobold King had emerged from the Red Horn Tribe and had even declared that he would deal with wizards, the serpent—covered in old and fresh wounds alike—could not stop itself from throwing back its head and laughing. That great snake must have known a great deal and possessed some understanding of wizards; it had surely spent no short amount of time beside a certain wizard.

Looking at the dragon blood that was about to occupy half of the Abyss Bedroom, Ruger's feet moved even faster.

The secret art mark he had left behind would also make its first foray into the true world of wizards.

He strode swiftly onward. With the aid of two spells, he felt for the first time that running could be this exhilarating, as if it soothed the mind. Light as a swallow yet steady and powerful, every burst forward was a pleasure. The rock walls and stone blocks along the way became footholds for him to race across and borrow force from. Though he was still no match for Baangte, he was already more than satisfied.

He went straight to Old Gold Tooth's dwelling.

Aisijin and Big Silly Hum were both absent. Only the old kobold remained, quietly and carefully examining his glowing bean-sprout-like growths.

Looking at the things that were about to take his life, the old kobold seemed quite pleased instead. From time to time, he would sigh in admiration or mutter a few words to himself.

Ruger came to his side and looked at the old kobold.

"You're here. There's no need to busy yourself. You don't belong here, and there's even less reason for you to do dangerous things for an old kobold like me, one who can only tell stories. And tell Aisijin this: she isn't as clever as she thinks. Don't let her waste her strength running around everywhere. She only listens to you. The thing that came out of your hand last time—that was a spell, wasn't it? Just focus on your own affairs..."

Old Gold Tooth spoke slowly without even turning his head.

Ruger thought for a moment, opened the door to the Abyss Bedroom, and went inside to make a small pit of water separately. He then used frozen earth to simply block the dragon blood's seepage. In truth, most of the ground within the space had already been soaked through with dragon blood. This split it into three portions: the large pool he had originally built, the temporary small pool, and the blood left to flow as it pleased. The blood in the large pool was the cleanest.

Ruger stepped back out through the spatial door and saw Old Gold Tooth staring this way in such shock that his mouth would not close.

"Today, I'll show you something else you've never seen before."

As he spoke, he grabbed Old Gold Tooth and pulled him over, while doing his utmost to avoid touching the glowing filaments that resembled long bean sprouts.

The moment he touched Old Gold Tooth, he also quietly left behind a secret art mark. This was to prevent something from happening to the old kobold—such as turning into some mindless monster and running off—so that he would be easier to find.

"I knew you were different. You don't belong here. I guessed you were a powerful spellcaster, even stronger than those pointy-ears..."

The old kobold poured out one exclamation after another upon being pulled into the wondrous space, as though his eyes were not enough. His head kept turning up, down, left, and right.

When Old Gold Tooth saw the dragon blood, his voice abruptly cut off.

"Come. Today is a good day for bathing."

Ruger supported Old Gold Tooth, who could barely walk anymore, and dragged him over to the temporary little pool.

"This, this is—" Old Gold Tooth looked at the dragon blood in the pool and felt that peculiar, oppressive aura.

Ruger, meanwhile, took the opportunity to examine the light filaments on his body. After entering this place, those filaments had clearly become less active, but under the probing of spiritual power, they did not feel as though they were about to wither either.

"Yes. It's exactly what you think. All of this is yours. Bathe in it, or drink it dry if that's what you want—I have no objections. I'd even be delighted to see that; it would be an even more striking sight."

With a thought, Ruger closed the spatial door not far behind him.

The Abyss Bedroom became a completely sealed space.

He released his supporting hand.

Old Gold Tooth's body swayed, and he came back to himself. The old kobold looked at Ruger, then at the pool of dragon blood. In disbelief, he bent down, lay against the edge of the pool, stretched out his head, and cautiously took a shallow sip.

Ruger had not expected that action, but he merely stood quietly at the side and watched.

He did not urge him on.

Old Gold Tooth's wide grin and incredulous expression never changed, except that joy and excitement steadily brewed ever stronger within them. No matter how his emotions shifted, they could not pierce through that deeply rooted core in a kobold's heart—not even in an intelligent old kobold.

By the look of it, the Kobold King of the Red Horn Tribe really was a very peculiar kobold, Ruger thought.

After nearly insane antics of kowtowing and bowing in worship, Old Gold Tooth drank until his face was covered in blood, then finally stepped into the dragon blood pool.

In fact, the old kobold's changes had begun the moment he swallowed that first mouthful of dragon blood, just as shown by the unusually steady steps he took when he finally entered the blood pool, as if he had returned to his youth.

The old kobold was not much larger than Ruger, and the temporary blood pool had been made according to that size. Old Gold Tooth lay inside it, his entire kobold body sinking into the dragon blood. The not-so-deep pool swallowed his figure in the blink of an eye, leaving only gurgling bubbles on the surface.

Ruger waited with peace of mind. The light filaments growing on the old kobold's body seemed to flourish even more after he drank the dragon blood.

So Old Gold Tooth was a very unusual case.

Ruger simply began sorting through the storage bag that had been set aside because of his busyness, and had also been saved as a surprise all this time.

Food, books and research notes on the Fireball Spell, some clothes... His hand paused. He had actually found a diary. This was something he dearly liked, and it was a diary written by someone he had killed, which gave it a flavor all its own.

He could not be bothered to inventory the rest. Nor was this the time to organize and categorize everything. He directly took out the diary and began flipping through it.

This was a diary that had only begun during the writer's middle apprenticeship stage.

He casually flipped open a couple of pages. The first sentence he saw made Ruger freeze.

—Day of Silence. I am irritable. The road that has long stood still is about to open, yet that cunning false dragon with Red Dragon bloodline deceived me—deceived a wizard apprentice destined for greatness. It has now been confirmed that the so-called dragon heart blood is merely a fabrication from those third-rate storybooks. It has no special properties whatsoever.