Alaric froze.
Every muscle in his body tensed as the baby dragon looked his way.
He spun toward the crevice, only to find Alice squeezing her way through the narrow passage.
Alice had barely gotten her head out when she froze.
A moving shadow too different to be a human loomed in the cave.
"Oh fuck."
Her eyes widened as she let out a sharp gasp before immediately retreating back through the crevice.
By the time she had pulled herself back, Alaric’s eyes had settled on the chains restraining the dragon.
Did she fail to notice the chains? Or was it because the dragon remained so still when she looked inside that she never realized it was restrained?
Alaric only found the time to think because Alice had blocked his escape route, else he would’ve long run away without allotting a thought to the surroundings he had seen.
His racing heartbeat gradually settled.
Those chains...
He was almost certain the material was Grock, an extremely rare ore. Once infused with mana, it suppressed the flow of mana within nearby living beings.
However, because its effect only persisted while being supplied with mana, it had to be continuously powered through mana crystals or other nonliving sources when used to imprison living beings.
Only the Royal Family possessed a Grock mine, and even then, the ore was reserved for imprisoning only the most dangerous individuals.
If Alaric could notice the ore at first glance, there was no need to mention Alice.
Therefore his wandering thoughts had only been in the direction of Alice not noticing the chains rather than her not realising what the chains were made up of.
He had no need to be afraid of the baby dragon, at least not as much as before. Without mana, even a dragon had very little means to harm others while being bound.
Just then, system messages appeared in his mind.
[Detected a Genius]
[Connecting to the Genius]
[Issuing a Quest]
[Quest: Regain your freedom and leave the cavern (second genius)]
[Reward: Mana compression pearl]
Oh well well well, what have I found here?
Alaric glanced at the dragon, who turned out to be a genius capable of fulfilling the system’s requirements.
"Can you talk?" Alaric asked, folding his hands.
This was his first time seeing a mythical creature such as a dragon, so his awe still bled through his voice and his expression despite him doing his best to appear indifferent.
His question wasn’t stupid.
A dragon had made a single but significant appearance in volume 1 of Tales of Golden Era, so he knew their characteristics. They could talk.
The baby dragon simply kept looking at him, not giving a reply.
It was approximately as big as a sedan, but Alaric had already overcome the fear of huge animals when he witnessed the death of that serpent and the corpse of that bear.
Seeing that the baby dragon hadn’t replied, he continued.
"Who bound you here? Do you wish to be free?"
This is supposed to be my mana crystal deposit!
Even without the quest, I would have had to find a way to get rid of whatever suspicious activities are going on here and also this baby dragon.
The baby dragon suddenly bared its fangs, pulling the chains taut, scaring Alaric into retreating half a step.
"Calm down! Calm down! I am not the one who bound you here. Why would I offer to free you otherwise?"
Is this dragon stupid?
The baby dragon’s body was covered in matte black scales that seemed to absorb the light around them, making its molten golden eyes stand out all the more.
Four limbs, folded leathery wings, curved obsidian horns, and a thick tail made it look exactly like the western dragons from Earth’s fantasy tales.
The dragon visibly calmed down after hearing Alaric. When it opened its mouth, what came out was a young man’s voice with a rather low pitch.
"I don’t know the identities of those who trapped me here. Those boulders open up once a week, then people come in to get my blood."
Blood? Is that why he simply looked at me when I asked if it could talk?
After all, why would it answer to someone who is here just to take its blood?
Alaric narrowed his eyes. The boulders in the cave the dragon was talking about were at the opposite side from the narrow crevice he had entered from.
Before he could think further, the dragon continued.
"Beyond those boulders is the space where they live and work. If you aren’t with them, I recommend leaving before they spot you."
Alaric didn’t move. Instead, he fell deep into thought.
He couldn’t recall any plotline involving a captive dragon or its blood.
Coupled that with Alice’s reaction, he knew that this matter was already beyond the scope of the future both of them knew.
He was pretty sure that the butterfly effect of his actions shouldn’t have reached the mana crystal deposit so soon.
This situation revolving around the baby dragon bound here was simply what must’ve originally taken place.
By the time Evan found this place, everything must’ve been moved out, with traces erased, leaving only the mana crystal deposit.
He felt a headache coming.
I thought I would find an unoccupied mana crystal deposit, who knew such trouble would crop up?
He asked the dragon.
"Do you have any idea when they will come to take your blood?"
"Three days from now."
Alaric glanced at the chains once again.
Cutting Grock would be very difficult, and any attempt would produce a lot of noise, making it risky.
Fortunately, Grock had one well known weakness.
Heat.
He looked at the dragon once again, contemplating different ideas.
After a minute of silence, he settled on the plan that would benefit him the most.
"You wish for freedom, yes?"
The dragon nodded its head once, its eyes locked onto Alaric, who continued.
"Before I start my plan to rescue you, I want to know one thing. Are you willing to take a blood oath to not harm me?"
The dragon gave a deep look to Alaric. "As long as you take the same oath."
Alaric let out a sigh of relief at the dragon’s response.
According to Tales of Golden Era, a dragon’s talent in the magic power system was at the peak of all creatures.
Divine Contract Scroll worked on the principles of the magic power system, therefore Alaric didn’t want to risk using it with a dragon which might very well have the capability to interfere with it.
Hence he resorted to blood oath, which was a level higher than the Divine Contract Scroll and existed outside the framework of magic entirely.
Before he could put his plan into motion, his communication tool vibrated.
When he looked at the message, his gaze darkened.