Old Gold Tooth and Old Friend

Ruger no longer spared any attention for anything else. He stared only at the little blood pool. Quite some time had passed; Ruger had even eaten a meal during it, yet the old kobold still had not emerged. He was starting to suspect that Old Gold Tooth had drowned in the pool. The occasional bubble rising to the surface was the sole culprit stopping him from reaching in to fish the old man out.

In truth, the bubbles in the blood pool had been like this for quite a while now—barely alive, with one surfacing only after a long stretch of time.

He estimated inwardly that the interval since the last bubble seemed to be growing longer and longer.

Glug glug glug! The blood pool suddenly became violently agitated.

At last, a smile appeared on his face.

A change was good. And one this intense meant it was probably about to end.

He thought so, anticipation rising within him.

The dragon blood in the little pool slowly diminished amid its restless churning, as though Old Gold Tooth truly meant to drink it dry, just as they had joked before.

As the dragon blood receded, a curled-up figure gradually emerged. Only his side was visible, his legs tucked close and his hands held before him. He looked as peaceful as a sleeping child. Looking closely, the blood was not being drawn in through his mouth and nose; rather, his entire body seemed to be absorbing it by seepage.

Old Gold Tooth had grown taller!

That was the first thing Ruger could confirm. Then came the difference in his fur. Old Gold Tooth had already been shedding fur before, half bald as he was. Now he had even less fur. Just on the parts above the water, large patches that had once been fur had already been replaced by scales.

Old Gold Tooth also had something unusual about him: this was his second transformation into a dragonblood kobold, so he would still be affected by remnants of his previous transformation.

For instance, Old Gold Tooth's scales should logically have been close to that stupid dragon's dusky black. Yet among the scales already visible on his shoulders and arms, most were green tinged with black, while a small number of fine little scales were black with a green sheen—as though, if they ever grew larger, they too would turn out like that.

Ruger patted the trembling breeding pouch.

The little bug inside was already impatient beyond measure.

If Old Gold Tooth was fine, then it could be arranged next.

According to that diary, dragon blood was much the same throughout a dragon's body. If one wanted better-quality dragon blood than the original, the only path was for a wizard to purify it.

He actually wanted purified dragon blood more, but he would not force the matter.

According to the diary, that high-end stuff was a form of preservation closer to the source, stripping away unnecessary elements. For example, some test subjects would become lazy after draconic transformation, while others would become irascible.

A burst of blood splashed everywhere.

Old Gold Tooth finally woke and climbed out of the pool. Then he dropped to his knees and began vomiting, spewing out great quantities of blood. Whether it was his own or the dragon blood he had drunk earlier was impossible to tell. The dragon blood that had been reduced to less than half a pool rose considerably again from his vomiting.

Separating the blood pools beforehand had indeed been the right choice, Ruger thought.

"My lord, Old Gold Tooth has been reborn! Hehehehe—"

Old Gold Tooth came before Ruger and stretched his body, producing a series of crackling sounds. Every time he moved a body part, he had to laugh for a while. His original gold tooth had been pushed loose by a newly grown sharp tooth, and somehow ended up fitted over its tip like a ring.

Ruger had long since cast Stinking Skin Spell. The thing he least wanted to see had, as expected, not happened. After all, Old Gold Tooth counted as a clever fellow.

Old Gold Tooth was now about as tall as Big Silly Hum. Though he looked nowhere near as burly as Big Silly Hum or Bald Tooth, Ruger could sense explosive power hidden in those somewhat lean arms covered in dragon scales. He should be far stronger than Bald Tooth.

After all, this dragon blood was of no low grade, certified by the Aberrant Dragon Management Association, and its quantity was lavishly generous.

"Stand there and let me punch you," Ruger said.

Old Gold Tooth froze for a moment, seemingly remembering that he was no longer the same. He nodded, then stood straight with a chuckle.

Ruger had already secretly cast his spells, using Strength of the Savage Bull and Demon Skin Spell. The Demon Skin Spell was to protect his little fist; tearing it open would be beneath his dignity. Normally, he charged in swinging a club.

He lunged forward and drove a fist into the reborn Old Gold Tooth's stomach, where small patches of scales likewise covered his chest and abdomen.

The punch landed squarely on the densest cluster of scales.

Old Gold Tooth bared his teeth and staggered back several steps before steadying himself.

Then the two kobolds, one large and one small, both looked toward Old Gold Tooth's belly. In the area from his chest down to his navel, more than a dozen filaments of light were poking out through the gaps between his scales, slowly twisting and turning like tentacles. Some stretched farther and farther, as though feeling out their surroundings. Others had already found a target; they only extended a short distance before stopping, soothing the spot that had been struck, seemingly trying to reduce the swelling on Old Gold Tooth's belly.

"Why are these things still here? It's over, it's over! My dream of Old Gold Tooth being reborn cannot be realized after all..."

Old Gold Tooth began pacing in place.

"Didn't you like them quite a lot? You can keep the light for company. The dragon blood I found for you is very powerful; you should be able to stay together for a long time."

As Ruger spoke, he opened a spatial gate and stepped out. Old Gold Tooth paused in surprise, then followed him out.

Next came the observation period. Hopefully everything would go smoothly, Ruger thought.

Not long after the two emerged, they saw Aisijin and Big Silly Hum.

Aisijin naturally wore an anxious expression.

That had been expected long ago.

What was interesting was Big Silly Hum. He stood to one side, brimming with nervousness; every detail of his expression and bearing revealed tension and fear.

"Old Gold Tooth?" Aisijin stepped forward and circled him, looking him over from every angle.

Only when she noticed the filaments of light on Old Gold Tooth's abdomen, just about to retract completely, as well as the gold ring fitted over the sharp tooth he revealed with a chuckle, did she dare believe her own eyes.

"Hehe! I, Old Gold Tooth, am alive again, and I can live for a long time. I'm not lying to you this time. And if you want to become smarter, do what I did too. When I came out, there was still half a pool of that treasure left..."

Old Gold Tooth clearly believed that the pure dragon blood farther inside the Abyss Bedroom was not to be touched carelessly.

The joy rising from Aisijin's heart was deeply infectious. Her ugly little face seemed capable of far richer expressions than those of the other kobolds, and she and Old Gold Tooth chatted excitedly.

Ruger walked up to Big Silly Hum.

Without needing to speak, Big Silly Hum began gesturing, using both hands and feet as he struggled to explain. Since eating that black fruit, he had become much smarter than before, but speaking was still difficult for him, especially when he was anxious.

Ruger listened for a moment, then chose to give up.

"A group of black, pointy-eared ones... has been prowling nearby lately. Many kobolds who went out hunting were captured. Just like the dark elf slave-catching party Old Gold Tooth mentioned—they've discovered this place." Aisijin's voice rose at the right moment from behind him.

"Where's Bald Tooth?"

Ruger was not particularly tense.

"A Red Horn Tribe kobold came, as tall as Bald Tooth, and wanted to take him away. He refused and was injured. Those pointy ears drove off that big kobold, then found the Holy Lord's cave entrance and blocked Bald Tooth inside," Aisijin said anxiously.

The moment Ruger saw her expression, he guessed that she had wanted to tell him about this as soon as she saw him earlier, but had forgotten in her happiness for Old Gold Tooth.

"Mining."

Old Gold Tooth said with certainty.

"The only use those pointy-eared elves have for capturing kobolds is mining. Only large tribes have the strength to trade with them; remote little tribes are always their targets for enslavement. It has always been this way. Those pointy ears are often at war and have a great demand for all kinds of ores. Their various city-states are extremely complicated. Only the human Cavern Domain is somewhere they don't dare approach..."

But Ruger did not take it too much to heart. Before leaving the bedroom space, he had already decided to see Half-Man once more, then begin preparing for the journey into the abyss.

"I'll leave this slave-catching party to you," he said.

"No problem. I, Old Gold Tooth, haven't seen these old friends in quite some time either. Leave it to me—I know the strength of these pointy-eared slave-catching parties."

Old Gold Tooth flexed his enlarged, claw-like palms.

Ruger had already chosen a passage entrance, turned, and walked away.