Chapter 2: New Century (Epilogue)
To find a Sapphire.
(Player Name) (M) could only say that no one understands Sapphires better than a Blue Dragon.
The Blue Dragon’s appreciation and love for Sapphires were an elegance etched into their bones.
To find a Sapphire that could rival the Sea God’s Tear, one just had to go directly to Bryant.
The night was still long, and at Bryant’s full flying speed, reaching Black River City in two hours would be no problem.
The crucial point now was how to notify Bryant.
One method was to send a private message to the players still in Winter City, and another was to use a magic communication shell to ask for Connie’s help.
Since this mission was quite dangerous, if the other party became desperate, he might not be able to protect Connie. Therefore, he hadn’t brought Connie along, but she could be of use now.
…
…
At midnight, Bryant was sleeping in his “cave.” Drool trickled from the corner of his mouth as he smacked his lips twice before happily rolling over.
In his dream, he sat majestically in a palace paved with Sapphires. The little green dragon, who had followed the Red Dragon, was back by his side, attending to his every need.
“BOOM!!!”
Suddenly, a deafening explosion rang out.
Bryant watched as all his Sapphires shattered into pieces. Then, those fragments condensed and formed the appearance of a Red Dragon. The Red Dragon emerged from flames and, right before his eyes, pinned the little green dragon to the ground and bullied it.
“You are merely a Turtle Dragon without any dignity!”
The Red Dragon let out triumphant, maniacal laughter.
Seeing this, Bryant’s eyes widened in fury.
“No—!!!”
He roared, but his body couldn’t move.
He could only watch helplessly as his little green dragon went from resisting to gradually enjoying it, even actively reciprocating…
A severe sense of weightlessness washed over him, and he abruptly awoke from his nightmare.
He found himself still in his ordinary and somewhat dilapidated dragon’s lair, with a few Sapphires scattered sparsely on the ground, looking conspicuous against the pitch-black rocky floor.
“So it was just a dream…”
Bryant extended a dragon claw and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. He never wanted to experience such a bizarre nightmare again; the feeling of falling from the heavens to hell was simply maddening.
“No, this is not a dream.”
A woman’s voice emanated from outside his dragon’s lair.
Connie, holding a Flame Burst fireball, ambled in. She pointed at the scorched marks inside the lair and said, “As you can see, that last Flame Burst was mine~”
Seeing that it was Connie, Bryant felt a headache coming on.
He was currently most afraid of three people.
The first was the King of Winter.
Next was Nobody Does Human Things.
And finally, there was (Player Name) (M).
Those two Foreigners were truly relentless in scamming dragons!
Anything involving those two was bound to be trouble.
The first time, he was swindled out of his payment, and now he was even more in debt. Despite being a powerful adult Blue Dragon, he could only sleep in this cold and cramped dragon’s lair every day.
The second time, he was sent to support those Foreigners.
As soon as he arrived and started to feel smug, a Legendary expert appeared. Even worse, a Seraph emerged later.
And that guy’s attacks were truly indiscriminate. If he and Connie hadn’t run fast and immediately hid behind the King of Winter, his bone ash might have been scattered by now…
Later, Bryant concluded a fundamental truth.
If he wanted to live his dragon life peacefully, he should stay away from those Foreigners.
Of course, this also included the Foreigners’ wives.
Like Connie!
“Why are you so nervous?”
Connie found it amusing to see Bryant sit up and assume a defensive posture. She wondered what (Player Name) and his friends had done to make an adult Blue Dragon so fearful.
“It’s late at night, is there something you need? If not, I’ll go back to sleep…”
If it were in the past, Bryant would have torn apart any intruder who entered his dragon’s lair, let alone one who had just unleashed a powerful Flame Burst spell.
But now, he really didn’t dare to act rashly.
“Of course, I came to you because there’s something.”
Connie conveyed (Player Name) (M)’s request to Bryant in broad terms, not hiding the issue with the Orcs.
“No! Greedy humans, you can have gold coins, but you’re also coveting my few Sapphires!!!”
Bryant roared angrily.
“Is there no law?! Is there no justice?! Aren’t you bullying a dragon?!”
“Don’t get so agitated,” Connie soothed. “We’re just borrowing a Sapphire from you, and it will eventually return to your hands, because those Orcs will definitely be dealt with. Although you contributed a Sapphire, you’ll also get credit for completing this mission. When (Player Name) reports back, he can speak well of you to Your Majesty Winter… don’t you think?”
Bryant pondered this.
It did seem to make sense.
Those Foreigners were quite active in front of the King of Winter; they probably had a good relationship. If he could get spoken well of, even if his debts weren’t reduced, perhaps he could at least get a larger dragon’s lair…
His current lair was so small he had to sleep on his back, and he might hit stalactites on the ceiling if he tried to turn over.
Bryant was tempted.
He asked, “Then, when should I go?”
“Of course, it’s now~” Connie said matter-of-factly. “Speed is of the essence. If you go during the day, those Orcs will have awakened. If they recognize you as a Dragon, they might alert the enemy.”
Bryant glanced at the sky outside his lair.
The stars and moon were still asleep.
Yet, he had to get up and work for a group of humans.
What rotten luck!!
“Alright, I understand!”
Bryant reluctantly nodded. He took out his remaining eight Sapphires, carefully counted them, and finally tucked them into his scales.
These were his precious treasures.
His only possessions.
“Then, I wish you a safe journey.”
Connie yawned and waved. “Alright, I’ve delivered the message. I’m going back for my beauty sleep~”
Bryant: “…”
Even more rotten luck!!
He thought viciously.
When he became powerful in the future, he would definitely capture these Foreigners and make them clean his scales, wash his dragon claws, massage his shoulders, and hand over all the gold coins and treasures they obtained from their adventures!
After a pleasant bout of daydreaming.
Bryant felt his mood improve slightly.
He climbed out of his dragon’s lair, oriented himself, let out a “whoosh,” and soared into the air, gradually disappearing into the vast night.
