Annan Came Into Some Money

The indigo dragon lay coiled atop a mountain of treasure, its powerful, beautiful body at rest. Its tough tail followed the slope of the hoard, while its strong claws sank into the golden coins. Fine scales covered its wedge-shaped head, lending it both majesty and beauty. Lightning crawled over its pale blue horns.

Buried within the mountain of treasure, magic items glimmered, lighting the dragon's lair as though the treasure itself gave off a clear glow.

For a moment, Annan couldn't tell whether the creature of fantasy or the mountain of treasure had left him more entranced.

"Little sorcerer who saw through my deceptive illusion, why have you and your companion entered my territory?"

The dragon bared sharp teeth nearly as tall as a man and spoke in a rough whisper that made the air tremble.

Annan struggled to stay calm. When he realized Wood wasn't beside him, he began thinking of a way to respond.

Once again, there was good news and bad news. The good news was that books described Blue Dragons as lawful. The bad news was that they were evil.

In plain terms, this was an evil creature that followed rules.

Being lawful had kept the Blue Dragon from melting the intruder in its treasury with a single breath. The mention of a companion made it willing to speak with Annan, and his status as a sorcerer made it relatively reasonable. But its evil nature could undo all of that.

"Honored Blue Dragon, my companion and I were looking for the Haunted Gold Mine's ore vein."

An unexpected advantage was that Annan's excitement at seeing a creature of fantasy had overcome the Dragon's intimidating presence—

Of course, that was also because Annan knew too little to grasp just how terrifying Dragons were.

"You barged into my living room and rummaged through my belongings?"

The Blue Dragon's low rumble sent dust drifting down from the cave ceiling.

The Haunted Gold Mine is your living room?

But Annan had no answer to that accusation. At over ten meters long, this Blue Dragon was clearly no hatchling. In bards' tales, slaying a dragon took a party led by a master-ranked adventurer and filled out with elite members, and even then they would pay a price.

Here and now, there was only one level-one Vampire.

"This is a misunderstanding..."

Annan stalled for time as he kept searching for a way to escape. Could he summon Wood again and slip through the rift the instant it appeared? He didn't have enough Magic Power.

At least the Blue Dragon didn't seem to want to kill him yet...

Just then, a battered skeleton approached carrying a battered plate with a battered piece of bread on it.

The Blue Dragon spoke again in a low voice. "You eat bread."

It was the sawdust bread Annan had eaten to stay alive when he first arrived in this world. An excess of sawdust had made the bread as hard as a stick while also granting it immortality.

"Thank you..."

Annan reached out, ready to accept the Blue Dragon's strange courtesy. Then it whispered again:

"I eat you."

Annan silently withdrew his hand.

"My companions are looking for me in the mine outside. They're... a master-ranked warrior and a Vampire Marquis." "Honored Blue Dragon, are you sure you want to make powerful enemies for no reason?"

The Blue Dragon lowered its eyelids lazily, seeming to mock Annan's feeble warning. "And they would team up with a little sorcerer like you?"

Just then, a series of clattering sounds came from deep in the mine. A ghost drifted in like a gauzy curtain, followed by a skeleton whose bones knocked together.

"What is it?"

The Blue Dragon turned its slit-pupiled eyes toward its subordinates.

The drifting ghost spoke in an ethereal voice. A warrior and a Vampire were outside, it said. The warrior casually swung a greatsword, and the mine collapsed all along its length. The Vampire turned into bats that filled the space like a tide.

Beside it, the skeleton stood with its jaw hanging open, staring blankly at its companion.

Annan wasn't sure whether to praise the ghost's way with words or marvel that Wood really was that powerful. And when had Mr. Fast arrived? More importantly... he recognized this ghost.

He didn't know why the ghost was helping him, but for now, it was best to pretend they had never met.

"Why haven't I felt any tremors..." The Blue Dragon's slit pupils narrowed slightly, focusing on Annan in surprise.

The ghost went on. There was also an Epic Mage casually waving his staff, shaping the rock and earth before him as easily as sand.

"Have you heard of the Sorcerer Protection Association?" Annan quietly straightened, trying to make his mysterious air as a sorcerer more pronounced. "This is a trial. They're my... guardians."

The Sorcerer Protection Association was known across many worlds. Even the Blue Dragon had heard of it.

But the dragon was too cunning to let Annan go on the strength of an unverified claim. "You entered my treasury and saw my true form. Only death can keep—"

"Do you like gold coins?"

Annan's sudden question made the Blue Dragon close its mouth.

The tip of the dragon's tail twitched where it rested on the treasure mountain, sending a spray of coins glinting into the air.

"Let me go, and you'll gain our friendship, along with treasure from us. Eat me, and you'll face retaliation from the guardians outside and the Sorcerer Protection Association." To drive the point home, Annan added, "They'll take the treasure you worked so hard to collect, too."

Clatter—

The Blue Dragon's claws dug into the pile of coins...

"But you might betray me..." the Blue Dragon whispered.

"I'm a sorcerer who keeps his word."

"I don't believe you..." The Blue Dragon slowly shook its head. Just as Annan thought his hopes were dashed, it added, "Unless you're willing to sign a contract."

"Of course." Annan struggled to keep the excitement and urgency out of his voice.

The Blue Dragon had the ghost search through the contracts. At the foot of the treasure mountain, it found a special sheet of parchment that smelled of sulfur.

"Watch out for devils..."

The Blue Dragon launched into a long, peculiar warning about the tricks devils put in contracts. They might write in the corners with invisible ink, for instance, or disguise Devil Script as decorative patterns.

Its advice could even help Annan avoid plenty of traps if he ever signed a contract with a devil. But the Blue Dragon went on for far too long.

Annan silently prayed that Wood wouldn't burst into the cave right then.

"So... you'll give me ten thousand gold coins, correct?" At last, the Blue Dragon finished its lecture and fixed its slit-pupiled gaze on Annan.

"I don't have that much money..."

"Nine thousand nine hundred?"

Annan sighed and kept up the lie. "The Sorcerer Protection Association doesn't believe in spoiling us unconditionally. They won't agree to that..."

After much haggling, the figure written into the contract was five Gold Narls—an amount Annan "could accept."

But he had to pay it every month.

The rest of the contract forbade the Blue Dragon from attacking Annan or his friends unprovoked, while Annan had to keep everything about the Blue Dragon secret.

With the contract concluded, Annan and the Blue Dragon both breathed a sigh of relief.

The Blue Dragon had avoided offending that notorious organization and would receive five gold coins every month. It wasn't much, but it was free money.

As for Annan, even if the Blue Dragon learned the truth now, he would no longer be in danger.

Once again, there was good news and bad news:

The good news was that his five-gold-coin debt wouldn't begin until next month.

The bad news was that next month was only three days away.