Tale of the Red Dragon Without Dragon’s Might
Chapter 278 - 274: Start of Work

Chapter 278: Chapter 274: Start of Work

Leon had always hated trouble—not because he was afraid of it or couldn’t handle it. Complaints aside, once he took a deep breath, he could dive right into the work without hesitation.

Sometimes, people unintentionally become the very thing they dislike.

Leon remembered his days as a corporate pawn, a mere worker. The thing he hated most back then was being given a new task before finishing the current one.

Now, as a leader, he seemed no different—completely insensitive to his subordinates’ plight. He had just tasked Cecilia with cultivating new talents but turned around to summon her back, assigning another task: buy every type of potion-crafting material on the market and deliver it to him.

Of course, Cecilia was Leon’s subordinate but also undeniably a leader herself. She was a high-ranking official of Watchtower Port, ruler of the surrounding wild forests, and had thousands of individuals or monsters under her command. She rarely needed to handle matters directly.

However, when the task came from Leon, she still had to step in personally. Handing over responsibilities to her subordinates was fine until they messed up—then it would reflect poorly.

For now, the issue of potion-crafting materials was settled, paving the way for the matter of the alchemy furnace.

Leon sketched the blueprint himself, spending half a day to finish it, then handed it to the salamanders with instructions to use the finest forging materials available.

Most of the potion-crafting materials would need to be entrusted to the Gold Shore Chamber of Commerce, or procured from the Talia Alliance or Crossroads City.

The Githyanki pirates rampaging through the planes didn’t need further explanation—they certainly had rare potion materials from the Material Plane.

Regardless of the purchase source, delivering the potion-crafting materials to Leon would require some time.

Under these circumstances, even though Watchtower Port lacked alchemists, finding potion materials on the market wasn’t impossible—especially in Elf City Danalan, which boasted a generous supply of dozens to hundreds of varieties. By the next day, they had already been delivered to Leon.

To use these materials, it was crucial to thoroughly assess their effects in advance—achievable via observation, smelling, touching, or even tasting.

The night orchid could be gathered in the wild. Three portions of night orchid could be used to create night orchid solution, a dark-hued liquid.

Rift Valley Crystal Salt could be used for refining Tiger Subduing Elixirs.

Dragon Egg Mushroom Ash was a key ingredient for refining cooling powder. It could pair with Wanderer’s Snack Salt or Artemisia Powder—or even tree bark salt. The only issue was that cooling powder’s function was to enhance flame resistance, which was redundant for a red dragon like Leon, who possessed flame immunity.

Divine Mist Powder could increase a user’s lightning resistance, offering some utility. A mix of copper shavings and any suspension liquid would suffice. However, lightning-resistance elixirs weren’t hard to buy on the market, so crafting such items felt like a waste of effort.

Watchtower Port neighbored the Lost Plateau, where rare potion-crafting materials from the region could occasionally be bought.

Leon stumbled upon a finger—a cloud giant’s finger—with blood stains congealed into a strange spiral pattern, resembling a bizarre replica of cumulus clouds. He couldn’t resist picking it up. The reason was simple: a single cloud giant finger could be used to craft Heavenly Immortal Pills that enhanced physical strength.

The finger’s high price wasn’t the problem—a million gold coins were hardly difficult to spend—but its rarity made it nearly impossible to purchase.

Leon immediately thought of Mankus, a cloud giant. Poor and destitute in the past, Mankus had regained wealth through his trade dealings with Watchtower Port, adorning himself in silks and satins again. He suddenly felt a chill, planning to hire two fire giant or frost giant bodyguards—that was a separate matter.

Leon couldn’t abandon friends and business partners just for a few cloud giant fingers. Besides, the vast Lost Plateau certainly housed numerous cloud giant families...

After a brief moment of contemplation, Leon dismissed the terrible idea.

Occasional conflicts with cloud giants and accidental killings weren’t an issue, but intentionally hunting them would enrage all cloud giants. Could he really afford to provoke the cloud giant army? The Godspawn of Manuo, the Titans—colossal giants over twenty meters tall—weren’t adversaries he could handle right now.

Since cloud giant fingers could create Heavenly Immortal Pills, Leon suddenly remembered that dragons have historically been used by skilled magic craftsmen for crafting magical items. For instance, dragon scales could be fashioned into armor, claws and teeth into weapons—dragon blood unquestionably had potential.

Looking at his own arm, Leon couldn’t bear to harm himself. He called over the tiefling maid to summon Fiora, the bronze dragon. Currently residing on Volcanic Island in her seaside lair, she was easy to locate.

Fiora arrived promptly.

Leon skipped any preamble, stating, "One hundred gold coins for a vial of blood—deal or not?"

"What do you mean?" Fiora blinked in confusion.

"I need a vial of dragon blood for experimentation. I’m interested in your agriculture. Payment’s one hundred gold coins. Simple as that." Leon didn’t give Fiora much time to consider, starting a countdown, "Ten, nine, eight..."

"What kind of experiment are you conducting with my blood?" Fiora asked.

Leon didn’t respond—he only kept counting.

Even as a bronze dragon, a dragon couldn’t resist gold coins.

Unlike evil dragons, who could acquire wealth through robbery, extortion, and deceit, benevolent metal dragons often lacked such avenues. As a result, Fiora’s savings were meager. Every time she tried salvaging treasures from sunken ships, the sahuagin had already plundered them.

It was just a vial of blood—not a big deal. Most importantly, the countdown was nearing its end. Fiora gritted her teeth and said, "Two hundred gold coins."

"Deal." Leon wasn’t one to haggle.

Fiora regretted asking for too little, but her word was her bond.

Leon acquired Fiora’s blood—a vial of bronze dragon blood. After extensive research, he confirmed that dragon blood could indeed be used for refining Heavenly Immortal Pills.

The salamanders dared not slack off when carrying out Leon’s carefully drawn schematics. Though clueless about what they were making, they worked overtime to complete the alchemy furnace Leon had requested within three days.

Eager to try crafting, Leon began experimenting. Simple Human Elixirs like cooling powder and antitoxin were easy to refine. Life-saving Pills weren’t difficult to craft either, though his current materials were inadequate for producing premium-grade Life-saving Pills. He had to admit alchemy was more intricate than it seemed.

Successfully crafting Human Elixirs boosted Leon’s confidence. However, cloud giant fingers and dragon blood alone weren’t enough. He eagerly awaited additional potion-crafting materials delivered by the Gold Shore Chamber of Commerce from the Talia Alliance, Crossroads City, and the Githyanki, hoping to eventually refine the Heavenly Immortal Pill.