Gray and Nora both froze for a moment, then Gray gave an awkward smile:
"How could that be? That craftsman has an excellent reputation throughout the Great Labyrinth City, and he must have sold at least eighty, if not a hundred, of these prosthetic bodies. If they were fake, someone would definitely have noticed."
Seraphina raised an eyebrow:
"Were those buyers also dragons?"
Gray broke out in a cold sweat:
"Uh, no, that's not it."
"Do you think I, as a dragon, wouldn't recognize dragon scales?"
No, no...
Gray stammered as he spoke:
"But, but please take a look at the results first..."
Let's see the results first?
To Seraphina, these words sounded like a deceived old man telling an expert:
"Don't look at the 'microwave oven only' label yet, look at the glaze first!"
Seraphina shook her head and said:
"What others think is none of my business. Besides, the fact that the dragon scales are fake doesn't mean the craftsman was deceiving you. He himself might have been deceived as well."
As she spoke, the dragon girl placed her seemingly delicate fingers next to the fragment of dragon scale.
With just a little force, she pried off the dragon scale fragment that fit perfectly into the groove below.
Brownish-yellow, amber-like fragments drifted between her fingers. Seraphina chuckled and said:
"Watch closely."
She applied slight pressure with her fingers, and a crisp Shattered sound quickly rang out from the surface of the scales.
Gray looked closely but did not see any cracks on the surface of the dragon scales.
He frowned and asked:
"You crushed the dragon scales?"
"They even call this thing dragon scales?"
Seraphina levitated the scale in the air, pointing to the shimmering patterns on its surface, and said:
"This is just a common flaky brownish-yellow ore, with a Psionic Energy Circuit engraved on it. What I just crushed was that Psionic Energy Circuit."
"The so-called attack imbued with the power of the Amber Dragon doesn't actually come from the Amber Dragon, but rather from the effect of this Psionic Energy Circuit —it can slightly slow down enemies that are hit."
As she spoke, Seraphina pressed the "scales" that had lost their circuitry back into the grooves on the surface of the robotic arm. Then, she picked up the robotic arm and swung it forward gently, her fist, still bearing the scales, striking Gray's body.
The expected feeling of being forcibly slowed down didn't materialize, and only then did Gray believe that Seraphina really wasn't lying to him!
But it was precisely because of this that Gray became increasingly confused.
The mechanical arm was made by a craftsman who was very famous in the Great Labyrinth City. His shop was so popular because it could produce weapons inlaid with scales, and it had even reached the level of a half-century-old shop.
If the craftsman himself knew that the scales were fake, then he certainly wouldn't have given the mechanical arm to me, unless he was certain that no one in the world could see through its secrets.
While it's true that the one who saw through the mystery wasn't human, such a thought is far too arrogant. Moreover, the Graycast Corridor is a force based on a mechanical system, and the number of people in the entire Graycast Corridor who can use Psionic Energy is estimated to be no more than a thousand. Furthermore, the vast majority of them should be those who major in mechanics and minor in Psionic Energy.
Scarcity drives up value. While it's possible to get these people to help inscribe Psionic Energy Circuit, the price would definitely be prohibitive.
In contrast, the Northern Eternal Domain is home to a group of Psionic Energy users.
Therefore, it's reasonable to assume that the craftsman was unaware that the scales were fake, unless he was a spy sent by the Eternal Domain to steal the secrets of the Great Labyrinth City and bring them back to this enemy force...
Gray's thoughts became increasingly chaotic, and he began to connect the counterfeit and shoddy goods with the walking 500,000.
Just then, Seraphina suddenly said:
"Just in case you've never seen real dragon scales..."
Gray's eyes lit up. The dragon girl in front of him was being so generous; could it be that she was going to give him a scale from a Red Dragon?
Even if they don't give it to me, just taking a peek is enough to broaden my horizons.
Unexpectedly, Seraphina pointed to a nearby Soul Returner who was chatting with someone and said:
He has dragon scales on his body.
Gray followed the direction the dragon girl was pointing and quickly spotted [ the Lion Hidden in the Eyes ] talking to someone.
He nodded sheepishly in agreement.
"You're right, Dragonborn do indeed have dragon scales..."
No, that's not what I meant.
Seraphina continued:
"I know he's Dragonborn, but Dragonborn scales aren't true dragon scales. He has real dragon scales on his body, on the hand on the side of his neck."
The hand on the side of the neck?
Gray looked at [ the Lion Hidden in the Eyes ], knowing that the man had successfully installed a third hand for him in the Great Labyrinth City, and that it was located on the right side of his neck.
Does that hand have dragon scales?
Thinking about it carefully, it does seem like this really happened. What kind of dragon scales were they?
While he was frantically thinking, Seraphina had already begun her direct appeal:
"Hey, you over there, you clan member, come here for a second."
[ Lion Hidden in the Eyes ] felt a voice ringing in his ears and mind at the same time. He looked in the direction of Gray's mobile fortress and confirmed that it was Seraphina, who had been hiding, calling him.
Although I don't know what happened, it's always good to be able to increase my trust level with important NPCs.
[ With Lion Hidden in the Eyes ], prepared to be captured and forced into hard labor, he strode over to Gray's moving fortress:
"Boss, is there any reason you summoned me?"
Seraphina reorganized the Dragonborn Village on Ed's advice, so now the Dragonborn address Seraphina as "boss" rather than "master."
As a Dragonborn among the Soul Returner, [ Lion Hidden in the Eyes ] naturally changed his form of address to fit in. After all, it would be too absurd for him to call an NPC "master," so calling him "boss" would be more appropriate.
"Hmm, extend your robotic arm over here so I can take a look."
Seraphina nodded, her gaze fixed on the mechanical arm that Lion Hidden in the Eyes.
The overall design of this robotic arm is very similar to the Amber Dragon robotic arm, which has been proven to be a fake. The only difference is the design of the dragon scale grooves on the back of the hand, which is different due to the different shapes of the scale fragments.
[ Lion Hidden in the Eyes ] Without hesitation, Seraphina extended her mechanical hand. Using the same trick as before, she easily pried the scale off the back of the mechanical hand.
She held the tiny dragon scale fragment between her thumb and forefinger and brought it to her eyes. Only then did everyone realize that the dragon scale was actually a slightly translucent green, and they could even see Seraphina's eyes through the scale.
The dragon girl held a scale in her right hand and swept it through the air, leaving a semi-transparent green trail.