Tale of the Red Dragon Without Dragon’s Might
Chapter 114: Clichés

Chapter 114: Chapter 114: Clichés

Leon still cannot use Flame Breath, and the Samadhi True Fire, which can only be used as a trump card, is not suitable for use right now either. Therefore, he uses a lighter to start a fire. A nifty gadget made by Gnomes, it produces a tiny flame suitable for lighting candles, torches, or campfires.

Leon isn’t worried about Cecilia possibly tampering with his food. A mere young Green Dragon, specialized in poisoning, could not poison him to death; obtaining poison capable of killing a dragon is no simple matter. Moreover, he wouldn’t let her prepare the food since a Green Dragon’s specialty is indeed poison. One must show some respect.

While Leon busied himself with preparing the rabbit, Cecilia looked around observantly.

Leon turned his back to her without any reservation, showing no hint of suspicion towards her. Well, that’s normal since the identity she prepared is quite impressive. But it probably has more to do with her skin, being such a cute girl called "hero" and "brother," which man wouldn’t be bewildered?

A very ordinary wooden house paired with a vegetable garden; the house is well-built and the vegetables are planted nicely. It seems someone has quite the talent for building and gardening. Besides that, there was nothing special about it — no potential Magic Items, and at first glance, no Magic Traps either.

Lost in thought, Cecilia looked down at her leg, relieved that she had been ruthless in her act; otherwise, the scam would have failed if the wound had healed too soon. It looked like it had healed completely now, and the next test would be her acting skills.

"Why did brother come to live alone in the Primitive Forest?" Cecilia asked curiously.

"It’s to cultivate, to retreat into the deep forests and old mountains." Leon picked up a small knife and began gutting the rabbit.

"What kind of cultivation needs you to retreat into the deep forests and old mountains?" Cecilia questioned, "Are you a Druid, brother?"

She asked just for the sake of it, not really thinking that Leon was a Druid. The vegetables in the garden looked good, but that’s from a layperson’s perspective; for a Druid, they were far from excellent.

"Do I look like a Druid to you?" Leon responded, "Anyway, I love eating meat the most."

Cecilia didn’t have any doubts and said, "If not a Druid, then surely a Ranger... I saw you using a bow and arrow, helping to drive away a Worg."

She didn’t believe Leon was a Ranger either; what kind of Ranger is so poor with the bow that he can’t even hit a Worg, and shoots worse than a goblin?

"Not a Druid, nor a Ranger, I don’t really have a formal profession, but if I had to say, it would be Magician." While chatting leisurely, Leon finished preparing the rabbit, roasting it and giving a whole rabbit leg to the short-haired girl, "Girls have smaller appetites, you probably can’t eat too much."

"I could eat a whole deer in one bite," Cecilia glanced at Leon inadvertently.

"Then I could eat an entire cow in one bite," Leon laughed heartily, spreading his arms wide as if measuring a huge cow.

Primly tearing the rabbit meat and placing it in her mouth, Cecilia said nonchalantly, "No matter the profession, brother is definitely an adventurer."

After a moment’s thought, Leon realized he really wasn’t any typical dragon. When a dragon leaves its parents to find a nest, it often spends years locating a suitable one, then starts a farming life, first gathering underlings, then conquering surrounding lands. That was nothing like him who kept running around everywhere.

"One could say that," Leon couldn’t help but laugh, "an adventurer."

"Still a powerful adventurer," Cecilia affirmed, "Can brother tell me about your adventures? What’s the strongest monster you’ve encountered?"

"A Dragon, a newly matured Blue Dragon," Leon said, "that Blue Dragon was taller than this house, had Lightning Breath, flew super fast, and could burrow, suddenly popping out from beneath the sand to bite you. It lived under a cave beneath the Crystal Mountain, and every roar brought forth a host of monsters, such as Ankhegs and giant scorpions..."

"Sister, you’re so awesome, even a mature Blue Dragon wasn’t your match," Cecilia clapped, naturally not believing the person before her could defeat a mature Blue Dragon. Most likely he had encountered or even fought a mature Blue Dragon, but surviving till now was also an indication of a powerful adventurer.

"That’s not right," Leon suddenly shook his head, "The matured Blue Dragon wasn’t the strongest monster I’ve encountered. The strongest should be the Male-faced Sphinx. Luckily, a Brass Dragon held off the Male-faced Sphinx then... That Brass Dragon wasn’t a good creature either, actually wanting to kidnap us back to its nest to chat."

"Did it succeed?" Cecilia knew that the Brass Dragon, the weakest among Metal Dragons, would at least need to reach maturity to hold off the Male-faced Sphinx.

"We went with it willingly," Leon said with a smiling face, "Once we reached its nest, as it tried to do something bad and trap us, my companions and I immediately demonstrated our formidable strength, scaring the Brass Dragon into opening its treasury, allowing us to choose treasures, hoping we’d let bygones be bygones."

"What an interesting story," Cecilia put her hands together and brought them to her mouth, "What treasures did you take?"

"My companion, who is a Mage, took an antique for research, and I took an Empty Magic Oil Lamp," Leon ate half the rabbit, dancing with excitement, "You absolutely wouldn’t guess the use of that Empty Magic Oil Lamp later on."

"What use?" Cecilia leaned forward, showing a listening gesture, then tucked her short hair behind her ear, "Brother, no cliffhangers please."

"We used that Empty Magic Oil Lamp to capture an Efreeti," Leon shook his head and swayed, "My companion and I, and that Brass Dragon too, worked together to defeat an Efreeti, forcing it to use its Praying Skill, wishing to escape to a safe place, and then it ended up in the Empty Magic Oil Lamp."

"I demanded the Efreeti to be my slave, otherwise I wouldn’t set it free," Leon continued, "Now that Efreeti is my servant, bound to serve me for thirty years."

"Where is that Efreeti now?" Cecilia blinked her large eyes.

"I’ve kept it at home as a guard," Leon said, "to prevent sneaky thieves from slipping into my house and stealing things."

Cecilia didn’t act sweet and innocent. She looked at Leon with suspicion and said, "Brother, you must be a bard, otherwise why are you so good at telling stories."

"This isn’t just a story, I assure you it’s true. I defeated an adult Blue Dragon and even have an Efreeti as my servant." Leon said earnestly, "I also went to the Dark Territory and defeated a giant Magma Land Shark. It took a lot of time, but I didn’t get hurt and even brought home a young Magma Land Shark as a pet."

"What does that expression mean?" Leon raised his hand and said, "I swear, everything I said is true, otherwise... let a dragon eat me."

"Then I believe you, brother." Cecilia wrinkled her nose.

After Leon finished eating the rabbit, he said, "Let’s stop talking, you should rest well. I’m going to practice."

"Don’t go." Cecilia grabbed Leon’s hand, "I want to hear more stories from brother."

"Practice first." Leon pushed away the short-haired girl’s hand, damn woman don’t disturb my practice, "Next time, I’ll tell you about encountering a Vampire and defeating it."

Leon ignored Cecilia after saying this, quickly tidied up his things, and focused on his practice.

Cecilia rested her cheek on her hand watching Leon practice, thinking he would practice swordsmanship, boxing, or perhaps archery, but he ended up just sitting under a big tree doing nothing, which looked absolutely absurd.

Leon practiced until noon.

"Can brother tell me about the Vampire now?" Cecilia asked impatiently.

"Is your leg feeling better?" Leon nibbled on a fruit, "If it’s better, we should hurry on our way."

"Is brother trying to send me away again?" the short-haired girl said with a grievance.

"It’s not that I want to send you away." Leon took a deep breath, "The tree wants to be still but the wind keeps blowing; something big might happen in this Primitive Forest soon, and it’s too dangerous for you to stay."

Leon shared the recent events he encountered.

"Brother, don’t frighten me." Cecilia hugged her shoulders, scared.

"I’m not trying to scare you, I’m absolutely serious." Leon said, "There’s definitely a conspiracy behind this."

"What kind of conspiracy?" Cecilia tilted her head slightly.

"I don’t know what exactly," Leon said, "but I do know that some monster must be manipulating the Meenlocks and shapeshifters."

"How can you be sure it’s a monster?" Cecilia hugged her knees, "Could it be several monsters?"

Leon’s eyes brightened, saying, "What do you think? Do you suspect any monster?"

"Let me think... Green Dragon?" said Cecilia, "Green Dragons like to live in the Primitive Forest, and they are the most cunning and rebellious of all true Dragons, liking to engage in dark schemes and tricks."

"That makes sense," Leon said, "Anything else?"

"Green Hag," said Cecilia, "Green Hags also like to dwell in forests, right?"

"Hags are symbols of evil and cruelty, malevolent creatures who prefer not to battle straightforwardly but rather manipulate from behind the scenes and spread terror." Leon nodded, "Continue, any more?"

"Evil Ghost," said Cecilia, "Have you heard of Evil Ghosts? They look like demonized Ogres and because of their innate spellcasting abilities, they’re also called Ogre Mages. If there’s a benefit, they will serve someone, always seeking more magic and willing to collaborate with evil Mages or Hags."

Leon nodded approvingly and said, "I’ve heard of Evil Ghosts, they are sinister-minded, liking to use magic to hide their identity and get close to their targets, gaining their trust while pretending to be loggers, travelers, or villagers from neighboring villages, stealthily consuming humans."

"Any more?" Leon continued.

"No more," Cecilia shook her head, "That’s all I can think of for now."

"Such evil creatures, I better not see them." Leon left Cecilia behind mainly to see what tricks she would play while also finding an opportunity to probe her thoughts, utterly unexpected that she would cooperate so well, "If I see them, I must kill them all."

"Brother, are you that confident? Defeating three monsters alone?" Cecilia chuckled.

"I’ve defeated a mature Blue Dragon and even have an Efreeti as a servant..." Leon demonstrated a series of punches in place, "I’m just afraid they won’t show up and I’ll have no opportunity to strike."

"They will definitely appear," Cecilia said with a smile that wasn’t a smile, "Brother’s wish will surely be fulfilled."