Tale of the Red Dragon Without Dragon’s Might
Chapter 240 - 239: The Elf’s Treasure Vault

Chapter 240: Chapter 239: The Elf’s Treasure Vault

It must be said, the elves of Danalan are quite generous. Their compensation was swift, without any procrastination or bargaining. A few days after the peace negotiations, Leon was invited to Danalan to officially sign the agreement. He’d been repeatedly expressing his desire to see Danalan’s magical item collection and do some shopping there, so this was the perfect opportunity to combine them.

Salovis didn’t receive any compensation and had no interest in the Elf City. She chose to stay behind on Volcanic Island to sleep.

Cecilia, on the other hand, was very interested in the Elf City and had her own portion of compensation to collect. As for Tassera, a Storage Dragon and a mage—who knew how much she was looking forward to exploring the elves’ library? The Green Dragon and Blue Dragon accompanied Leon to Danalan.

Eran and Hai’an had already been waiting outside Danalan City. Surprisingly, Vilanser was also there, reminding Leon and the others to shift into human form, as their Dragon Form would attract too much commotion.

"Let’s head to the treasure vault now," Hai’an suggested. As their guide, he was also a diplomat adept at dealing with other races.

Danalan’s treasure vault was hidden within a mountain. To access it, one had to open a Magic Door and proceed through a long hallway. Judging by the flickering Magic Light along the corridor, it was clear that magic traps were abundant. There were even fake doors intended to mislead thieves, and of course, Magic Statues were waiting inside.

They entered one of the vaults.

"What kind of arrows are these?" Leon immediately noticed the arrows displayed on a long table.

"I recall you wounded me with one of these arrows back then," Leon remarked, glancing at Eran, the Elf General who had been accompanying them.

Although Eran’s arrow had injured him, Leon didn’t hold a grudge. After all, they were serving their respective leaders—provided no one tried to provoke him.

Before Eran could respond, Tassera spoke up. "These should be Dragon Slaughter Arrows," she said.

Leon wasn’t particularly bothered by the fact that the elves’ treasure vault contained weapons specifically designed to target giant dragons. "What about the ones over there?" he asked, noting their similarity to Dragon Slaughter Arrows but with slight differences in design.

"Those are Green Dragon Slaughter Arrows," Tassera replied casually, glancing at Cecilia before adding, "Did they ever use Green Dragon Slaughter Arrows on you?"

"I’m flattered that I wasn’t important enough for them to bother using Green Dragon Slaughter Arrows," Cecilia muttered, pursing her lips.

Leon looked around but didn’t spot any Red Dragon Slaughter Arrows or Blue Dragon Slaughter Arrows. Red Dragons typically lived in rugged highlands, while Blue Dragons resided in deserts and coastal areas—rarely interacting with elves. But Green Dragons lived in forests, making them prime targets for the elves’ vigilance.

Leon casually picked up a spear, moved to an empty space, and awkwardly swung it around before quietly putting it down. Apart from swords—thanks to his proficiency with the Sword Control Technique—he had no skill with other weapons whatsoever.

Knowing Leon’s preference for swords, Cecilia quickly called out, "Master, there are swords here for you to try!"

Leon walked over to Cecilia and took a sword from the rack. Pressing his index and middle fingers together, he ran their tips along the blade. "A fine sword," he commented.

"That’s the Dancing Sky Sword, an extraordinarily rare Magic Sword," Hai’an explained. "You can throw this sword into the air, issue command words to control it, and then direct it to attack enemies near or far. It can strike about four times before automatically returning to your hand. If you’d like, Leon, it’s yours for just thirty thousand Gold Coins."

"Do you take me for a fool?" Leon narrowed his eyes at the golden-haired elf. "It’s a good sword, but not worth thirty thousand Gold Coins."

"I promise the price hasn’t been inflated—it’s the market value," Hai’an assured him. "In foreign markets, it might be cheaper, but if you bring this sword to the Empire and sell it to wealthy nobles, it could go for fifty thousand Gold Coins."

Leon, who already owned the Catastrophe Blade, wasn’t interested in other swords anyway. He put it down without further argument and picked up a pair of boots instead.

"The Friendly Step Boots. The soles of these boots can bend and move freely, as if an invisible sculptor were kneading warm clay. They allow the wearer to walk smoothly on difficult terrain as though it were flat ground," Hai’an said, raising one finger. "Only ten thousand Gold Coins."

"I’ve seen similar boots in Crossroads City—they definitely didn’t cost ten thousand Gold Coins," Leon replied. "I’m going to need an explanation."

"The boots Leon saw in Crossroads City were definitely not crafted by elves," Hai’an said proudly, puffing out his chest. "Magical equipment made by elves is always more expensive than ordinary magical equipment."

Leon hesitated but then fell silent, thinking of luxury goods. Bags of similar quality could vary in price by hundreds of times—some selling for a few tens or hundreds, others for tens or hundreds of thousands. People flock to the expensive ones; this was the power of branding, and he couldn’t argue with that logic.

One vault down, Leon hadn’t found anything he truly wanted. As they were leaving, he suddenly remembered to ask, "How much for the Dragon Slaughter Arrows we saw earlier?"

"Green Dragon Slaughter Arrows are relatively cheap; Dragon Slaughter Arrows are more expensive. If we were to sell them, a single arrow would cost thousands of Gold Coins. It doesn’t cost us as much to make them," Hai’an said. "But since they’re one-time-use items, we rarely use them. Without a doubt, Leon, you’re too powerful for us to afford to use them on you."

"I understand why you insisted on peace negotiations... warfare is just burning money," Leon shrugged. "Seeing your vault, I think ten thousand Gold Coins is too little."

"We agreed on that amount," Vilanser interjected. "You can’t go back on your word."

"I’m just regretting—not renegotiating," Leon quipped. Even carrying ten thousand Gold Coins, Leon still felt miserably poor. But one individual wasn’t supposed to compete in wealth with an entire city.

Moving on to another vault, this one was filled with peculiar treasures.

Under the Heavenly Eye Technique, dozens to hundreds of these items emitted Magic Light simultaneously, creating a dazzling display. So many magic traps were in place that Leon squinted instinctively.

Leon walked past a rack of talismans, displayed in individual velvet boxes. They ranged from ones made of Beast Teeth to metal, to others adorned with pearls and gemstones of various colors. Unfortunately, none had labels explaining their names or functions.

Leon selected one talisman and picked it up.

"Leon, what sharp eyes you have!" Hai’an praised. "That’s a rare treasure—the Plane Talisman. By wearing it, you can name a location in a plane you’re familiar with, and—if lucky—you can cast Otherworldly Transmission and arrive there. If unlucky, you might be transported to a random plane at a random location."

"The price?" Leon asked, intrigued. He lacked teleportation methods and found this appealing.

"This is the highlight treasure of this vault. Twenty thousand Gold Coins," Hai’an said, flattering him again. "I’ve heard that Red Dragons have unparalleled discernment among all True Dragons, and their hordes are legendary for their ability to discern the value of treasures at a glance. Truly, seeing you in person is more impressive than mere hearsay."

"Flattery won’t work on me," Leon said, negotiating. "Ten thousand Gold Coins—no more."

"If we’d never agreed to peace negotiations, none of this would be necessary now," Leon said, lightly threatening.

"Leon, please don’t joke," Hai’an replied. "If Danalan faced foreign invaders, we’d whisk away every valuable item immediately, leaving nothing behind."

"If I want to take them now, you wouldn’t be able to stop me," Leon said. He wasn’t strictly lawful—more lawful than not—but he hated being cheated. If someone tried to sell him something as overpriced as plain water for hundreds, he’d flip a table even back on Earth. Still, the Plane Talisman wasn’t plain water; for him, it had strategic value.

Hai’an sighed and said, "If Leon genuinely wants it, ten thousand Gold Coins is acceptable."

"That means you now owe me ninety thousand Gold Coins... wait a second," Leon motioned to Tassera, calling her over. He didn’t entirely trust Hai’an but trusted Tassera more. As both his partner and spouse—and recently someone he hadn’t Dual Cultivated with—she’d give an impartial opinion. "Tassera, take a look at this. Is it worth ten thousand Gold Coins?"

Tassera, who had been inspecting other shelves, turned around at his call and walked over to him.

"This is the Plane Talisman?" Tassera examined it briefly. "Ten thousand Gold Coins is absolutely reasonable."

"What about twenty thousand?" Leon asked out of curiosity.

"That’s the standard price," Tassera replied.

"Alright then—I’ll take it for ten thousand Gold Coins," Leon said, pocketing the Plane Talisman.

"Are we done here?" Tassera asked. "If so, I’m leaving."

"Go ahead," Leon said. "I’ll call if I need you."

The True Vision Gem could grant its user True Vision.

The Fireball Necklace was hung with six beads, each capable of casting one Fireball Technique.

The Shield Brooch granted force field damage resistance and immunity to the Magic Missile spell.

...

...

In addition to the Plane Talisman, Leon purchased an anti-detection talisman. While wearing it, magic from the prophecy school could not detect or target him, nor could it be used to track him via any Magic Detector.

Tassera, however, pointed out that if the caster of the prophecy magic was powerful enough, ordinary-grade anti-detection talismans wouldn’t hold up.

The Dimension Shackles were classified as rare items and could self-adjust to fit creatures ranging from small to large. They restrained disabled creatures and prevented them from engaging in Otherworldly Transmission, any form of teleportation, or travel between planes—but couldn’t stop them from passing through a Magic Door connecting to another plane.

"Why are you grinning like that, Master?" Cecilia noticed Leon smiling at the Dimension Shackles in a way that seemed slightly inappropriate.

"It’s nothing..." Leon replied, laughing because the Dimension Shackles reminded him of handcuffs.

There wasn’t an Underwater Breathing Pearl available, but there was a Dead Man’s Gold Coin. Holding it in one’s mouth negated the need for breathing, though it inflicted continuous Dark Erosion damage.

The elves’ treasure vault was truly overflowing with riches. If Leon didn’t exercise strong willpower and limit his spending to items with significant benefits, ten thousand Gold Coins wouldn’t have been enough—he might have ended up owing them. And as things stood, he couldn’t afford that; he was, at the moment, genuinely quite broke.