Tale of the Red Dragon Without Dragon’s Might
Chapter 215 - 214: Traveling

Chapter 215: Chapter 214: Traveling

Leon’s trip this time wasn’t just to help Cecilia awaken her spiritual energy; after living on Volcanic Island for so many years, he occasionally wanted to venture out. Of course, returning wouldn’t be that simple, treating the Dark Territory—considered a perilous place by others—as a tourist destination.

"If you want to go back, then go ahead." Leon didn’t like making things difficult for others.

"Master, please don’t joke. Master was kind enough to accompany me to the Dark Territory; how could I abandon my master and leave first?" Cecilia looked resolute. "I am your maid; wherever you go, I go... If I’m not around, who will take care of you?"

"Do I really need your care?" Leon chuckled, noncommittal.

After extorting a sum of money and a heap of rare metals from the Gray Dwarf city, Leon quickly took Cecilia and left, lest the Gray Dwarves reacted violently. First, they visited the Myconid colony located deep within the Giant Mushroom Forest.

As rumored, the Myconids were indeed friendly, and their method of communication using telepathic spores with other races was truly fascinating.

"This Resonance Stone seems to make people feel despair." While munching on mushrooms, Leon suddenly remembered he hadn’t thoroughly checked the loot from the Mind Flayer colony. "This Resonance Stone seems more like it makes people feel confident and proud."

"This particular Resonance Stone can soothe one’s mood." Cecilia had been holding a Resonance Stone for quite some time, reluctant to let go. "Master, could you give me one?"

"If there are duplicate Resonance Stones, I might consider giving you one." Leon wasn’t stingy, but he wasn’t overly generous either.

"It’s a feeling—something you can only grasp, not describe." Cecilia said, "I might be able to awaken my spiritual energy using these Resonance Stones."

"Even if that’s the case, unless there’s a duplicate, I won’t give it to you. At most, I could lend it to you." Leon had his principles. "If you had come with me to the Mind Flayer colony, even if you were useless, I’d still have shared some loot with you. But since you didn’t go... the lazy don’t eat."

Cecilia pouted.

After staying in the Myconid colony for a day and sampling various mushrooms, it was about time to leave.

Flocks of Evil Crowmen roamed the Dark Territory, migrating back and forth like migratory birds. After consuming lichens, fungi, and insects as food, they moved to a new foraging area.

Dormant Mimics looked like fish, gliding through the darkness and shadows of the caves with their extended tails and fins, as if swimming on an ocean floor... Only, they merely looked like fish. According to Leon, their taste was wholly unlike fish—more like pork, with muscle fibers too tough, making them unpalatable.

Cave-dwelling monsters, resembling giant worms, liked to hide their soft, elastic bodies in areas frequented by creatures. They’d ambush unsuspecting prey from rock piles or nooks out of view. Leon thought they tasted like spicy jerky.

"Do you really not want to try the Elder Brain’s corpse?"

"Master, forgive me for refusing."

"Up until we left, the Gray Dwarves who consumed the Elder Brain’s corpse didn’t show any abnormalities, right?"

"I feel like they’ve already gone mad... Despite you sparing them, they want to follow us to the surface."

"That’s because they know they betrayed their city and gave us its secrets. Their fellow citizens won’t tolerate them anymore, so they have no choice but to leave."

"With the Resonance Stones you robbed from the Mind Flayer colony, I no longer need them to access spiritual energy."

"It’s impossible for us to take them with us. But if they’re truly capable and manage to traverse the Dark Territory to reach Watchtower Port, I wouldn’t mind taking them in."

Leon initially wanted to bring back the remnants of the Elder Brain’s corpse for Tassera to study, but it started rotting within days, and Cecilia still refused to eat it. Reluctantly, they had to dispose of it.

"I noticed some Heart-stealer tadpoles seem to be missing."

"Probably cannibalized each other."

"If we linger any longer in the Dark Territory, without food, will the remaining tadpoles keep devouring each other until only a few are left? Let’s explore for a couple more days before heading back."

If not for the rotting Elder Brain, Leon wouldn’t have remembered the jar of Heart-stealer tadpoles he had collected.

"That must be a Drow city."

"By the architectural style, it is a Drow city... Should we check it out?"

"We could take a look."

"Wanna loot it?"

"Don’t joke." Leon shot Tassera a glance. "The Drow are far more formidable than Gray Dwarves. Such a large Drow city must have many strong individuals... I have no plans to die yet."

"The master is afraid?"

"The Drow Matrons are very powerful, and the Drow Inquisitors and Spider Mages are no pushovers either..." Leon said, thinking about how the Drow Elves in this world seemed to worship the Spider Queen Rose. That deity wasn’t someone to trifle with—it was better to avoid unnecessary trouble.

There wasn’t much worth seeing in the Drow city. After a day of exploring, they felt it was enough. Leon couldn’t shake the constant feeling of being watched, and the covetous gazes from some of the female Drow were particularly unsettling. Making trouble seemed unwise.

After wandering for another two days without coming across a single Beholder or Purple Worm, Leon decided it was time to leave the Dark Territory.

"Do you remember the way back?"

"I don’t."

Leon wasn’t particularly directionally challenged, but in the chaotic maze of the Dark Territory, after days of wandering without a map, getting lost was inevitable.

There was no need to retrace their steps; as long as they reached the surface, they would be fine.

Simply finding an intelligent creature to inquire or intimidate, especially among surface-traded races like the Gray Dwarves or Drow, Leon and Cecilia easily found a route leading back to the surface.

Once back on the surface, there was no concern about getting lost.

A quick survey from ten thousand meters in the air would easily reveal the Lost Plateau, and finding Watchtower Port after that would be trivial.

Flapping his wings a couple of times, Leon returned to Volcanic Island in less than an hour. After giving Cecilia a Resonance Stone and lending her a few more, Leon didn’t rush to find Tassera. Instead, he had a good meal, rested for a day, and then headed to Tassera’s Mage Tower.

"What is this?"

"What kind of script is this... Is this Spirit Sucking Language?"

As expected, Tassera showed great interest in the items Leon looted from the Mind Flayer colony.

The magic items weren’t particularly noteworthy; it was the brain jars and Resonance Stones that caught her attention—especially the incomprehensible Spirit Sucking Language scripts that couldn’t be read without magical assistance.

Tassera was generous, offering Leon access to her decades-long collection of books. Leon, naturally, wouldn’t be stingy... Giving them away was out of the question, but he was willing to lend Tassera items for research—though with a few small conditions to be mentioned when the time felt right.

Leon’s visit to Tassera wasn’t merely to show off.

Having looted a large haul from the Mind Flayer colony, he needed Tassera’s expertise as a mage and shopkeeper to assess what was valuable and what wasn’t.

"The Heart-stealer tadpoles could be preserved as specimens—someone might find them interesting... You remember Betty, don’t you? That Female Gnome Mage from Crossroads City? She’d likely be interested in buying the tadpoles for research."

"These brain jars seem more valuable than the tadpoles."

"Resonance Stones are precious items. Good ones can sell for tens of thousands of Gold Coins, while even the lesser ones go for hundreds. You were so generous to that Green Dragon... I have some too, and they’re better than the ones you gave her. What did you even see in her?"

Based on Tassera’s valuation, Leon estimated the total loot from the Mind Flayer colony to be worth tens of thousands of Gold Coins—a substantial sum. Many hundred-year-old adult Red Dragons didn’t have hoards worth that much.

"Let’s keep one Heart-stealer tadpole specimen."

"Too bad the Elder Brain’s corpse was incomplete and rotted quickly; otherwise, it could’ve been preserved as a specimen... On second thought, maybe not worth it."

"The brain jars seem fairly useless."

"Moisturizing suits are designed solely for Mind Flayers; no other race would wear them."

"I wonder if the Despair Resonance Stone could complement my Furious Visage... Let’s keep the Resonance Stones for now."

Items deemed useless were sold off. Leon kept some potentially useful ones for himself. He was unwilling to part with any of the Resonance Stones and sold the remaining items as a batch to the Gold Shore Chamber of Commerce.

While selling them for slightly less, the convenience of not having to find individual buyers made it worthwhile. Some money was worth letting others earn.

Although Leon avoided seeking out buyers himself, he still contemplated alternatives beyond Gold Shore Chamber of Commerce for potential clients... The Empire wasn’t familiar territory, but the Talia Alliance had two prominent cities, Raffi and Miren. Lastly, Crossroads City was an excellent choice as well.

In summary, after returning from the Dark Territory, Leon resumed a peaceful life of good food, good drink, and restful sleep—living comfortably.

Leon was unaware that the treasures he looted from the Mind Flayer colony and sold to the Gold Shore Chamber of Commerce were largely consumed within the Talia Alliance, with only a small amount of oddities finding their way to Crossroads City.

Among the peculiar wizards known for their dark and bizarre research residing in Crossroads City, few showed interest in Mind Flayer artifacts. However, the Githzerai and Githyanki were exceptions.

At that moment, a Githyanki found his gaze drawn to a magical item clearly crafted by a Mind Flayer Arcanist, its design unmistakably reeking of Mind Flayer aesthetics.