Tale of the Red Dragon Without Dragon’s Might
Chapter 167 - 166 Fate’s Arrangement

Chapter 167: Chapter 166 Fate’s Arrangement

The Impermanence Card is undoubtedly a divine artifact, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t bring disaster—the risks far outweigh the rewards.

In tabletop role-playing games, you can play with it casually. Even if it leads to ripping your character sheet, at worst a head rolls, leaving a scar as big as a bowl. Eighteen years later, you can rise again as a hero. Just create a new character and start fresh.

In a situation where there’s only one chance, unless you’re a gambling addict or at the end of your rope, few would willingly draw a card knowing how disastrous the Impermanence Card can be.

Leon had read a story about the Impermanence Card. In it, a monastery happened to acquire a set of the cards, but only decided to draw one when forced—when invaders besieged the monastery, desperate to turn the tide using its seemingly destiny-changing power.

At the end of the story, centuries later, a red dragon occupied the ruins of the monastery. It took the set of Impermanence Cards not for frequent use but as a collectible—something to stash away rather than obsessively draw from.

Unless someone could leave Leon with no other options—which, while unlikely, wasn’t impossible—he would never draw a card. That kind of gamble just wasn’t worth it.

Leon toyed with the idea of stealing the Impermanence Card as a personal "ace in the hole," but mostly, he wanted it as part of his collection. Much like wealthy individuals who buy antiques they won’t use to eat or drink from, he was willing to pay a fortune to collect such items. After all, he had bought figurines that he could only look at but never use.

"We’ve worked so hard to conquer this dungeon, and all we get is one chance to draw a card? Isn’t that being stingy?" The Impermanence Card was a divine artifact containing immense power. Leon couldn’t casually toss it into the small space within the Sleeve of the Universe. "Rewarding us with a full set of Impermanence Cards is the least they could do."

To have the final reward of the dungeon be the chance to draw a single card—Leon had reasons to believe the dungeon’s creator was someone who delighted in causing chaos.

To painstakingly amass treasures over so many years and bury them in a dungeon—that’s not something most people would do. But to grant people just one chance to draw a card, under the guise of altering destiny? Leon felt that could only be the work of someone who reveled in mischief.

No wonder Tassera had read about this dungeon in books. Perhaps someone was secretly fueling its fame.

"The power of the Impermanence Card is very strong, but it’s not inherently a good thing." The female-faced sphinx preferred to avoid using violence unless necessary—it helped that violence often wouldn’t achieve her aims anyway.

She continued, "This dungeon is guarded by potent sorcery; letting the Impermanence Card rest here is fine. But once taken outside, evil forces will detect it and attempt to seize it."

"What do you mean?" Leon had already tucked the Impermanence Card into his pocket.

"The Comet Pioneers are a secret organization with malicious goals. They believe the multiverse is an inherently flawed creation and hope for the destruction of all worlds and existing planes," the sphinx added after some thought. "Their Supreme Magic Emperor is obsessed with the Impermanence Card. If he learns of its presence, he wouldn’t hesitate to kill you both to claim it."

"Go on," Leon said, "Is there more?"

"When the Skull Card is drawn from the Impermanence Card, a Death Avatar will appear. This infamous set of cards has stolen many mortal souls in such a manner." The female-faced sphinx paced as she spoke. "These souls don’t pass peacefully—they are resurrected as malevolent undead creatures and bound to the card set itself."

The sphinx licked her lips and continued, "The Death Fear Punishers aim to destroy all copies of the Impermanence Card. They believe obliterating every set will end their cursed undead existence, allowing the victims of the Death Avatars to truly rest in peace. The Punishers are led by three Death Horror Monarchs, the strongest of whom surpass even the Demon Lords."

Leon nodded lightly.

"Even I would only dare to bring out the Impermanence Card within this dungeon," the sphinx gently coaxed. "Are you afraid now? Return the card to me, and this will all be over."

"Not afraid," Leon grinned. "Forget it—I’m never going to give it to you... My companion is a mage, and she can use her spells to ’hide’ the card and ensure it won’t be discovered by any Supreme Magic Emperor or Death Fear Punishers."

The sphinx’s expression finally shifted. She raised her paw and lightly tapped the ground, causing the door Leon and Tassera had entered through to shut abruptly.

"Return the Impermanence Card to me, or you’ll never leave," the sphinx thought grimly. Initially, she had hoped to quickly dismiss these two "people" with a trivial challenge, but as expected, it was far more complicated. There was no reason to trust greedy creatures like dragons.

"Female-faced sphinx, I know you’re strong, but you’re certainly not stronger than us," Leon said. "Open the door now, and we’ll leave immediately. Don’t force us to give you a beating."

Leon was usually amicable, willing to pay for what he wanted—unlike a typical red dragon who’d be miserly and resort to pillaging. However, when it came to things that intrigued him or items he desperately wanted, he didn’t mind resorting to some underhanded tactics—swindling, deceiving, or outright stealing.

Leon recalled his gaming days. He never walked the evil path, yet for a coveted piece of gear or a decorative outfit with no practical use, he didn’t mind playing the villain occasionally.

The Impermanence Card was worth being the bad guy for once. If he returned to Watchtower Port laden with refined gold and mithril but couldn’t find someone to forge him a set of armor, he wouldn’t hesitate to trek to the Lost Plateau, occupy a Fire Giant Fortress, and forcibly enslave those fire giants.

The sphinx fixed her gaze on Leon and Tassera. "I know who you are—a red dragon and a blue dragon. But I’m no ordinary female-faced sphinx, and this is my territory..."

"You’ve been properly conquering this dungeon, so I’ve given you proper challenges and rewards," the sphinx said, her eyes narrowing dangerously. "But if you harbor crooked intentions, don’t blame me for being merciless."

"I’d like to see how ’unordinary’ you really are," Leon said, cracking his neck as he prepared to shift into dragon form.

"Wait a moment," Tassera suddenly stopped Leon. "Let me handle this."

"I thought you usually disliked fighting," Leon tilted his head, eyeing the androgynous beauty.

"I don’t enjoy combat, but didn’t we just draw the Comet Card?" Tassera’s face flushed faintly. "Is this fate’s arrangement? Drawing the Comet Card just found me an enemy—the perfect opponent."

Tassera stepped forward to confront the sphinx. Fighting in human form would be challenging; switching to dragon form was inevitable. She declared, "Your opponent is me."