Chapter 25: The Wizard’s Masterpiece - Star Dragon

Chapter 25: Chapter 25: The Wizard’s Masterpiece - Star Dragon

Chen Shang silently sensed it; the other party’s physique was already approaching Tier Three.

Was she seriously fucking seven years old?

He was completely speechless. He had trained for over a decade to become a Third Level Knight, then used Traits to upgrade to a Great Knight, and finally spent two months soaking in Dragon Blood Body Refinement, multiplying his physical fitness five or six times over. Yet despite all that, he still hadn’t touched the threshold of Tier One creatures.

Meanwhile, this seven-year-old little kid hadn’t done anything but lie around and sleep, and she had already reached Tier Three.

Comparing oneself to others was truly infuriating! Indignant, Chen Shang opened the system panel.

[Extractable Traits Detected]

[Target: Cobalt Dragon Guard (Tier Six) — Extractable Traits: Dragon’s Might (Blue), Metal Control (Blue), Scale Armor Enhancement (Blue), Eternal Guardian·Fragment (Orange)...]

Chen Shang scanned the row of high-level Traits and silently muttered a command to extract. Unsurprisingly, it failed.

He then turned his gaze back to the little girl.

[Target: Star Dragon (Tier Three) — Extractable Traits: Star Sensing (Blue), Dragon’s Might·Fragment (Blue), Celestial Resonance (Blue), Dragon Power (Green)...]

Star Dragon? It wasn’t among the common dragon species.

A thought crossed Chen Shang’s mind: this was highly likely not a naturally evolved dragon species. He remembered what Leia had said: some of the Dragon Race actively sought out Wizards for cooperation in order to break through their bloodline limits. The direct ancestors of the young dragon before him were very likely the masterpiece of a Great Wizard.

Writing the power of the stars into Dragon Blood—only Wizards could be so romantic.

Extract!

[Extraction successful. Acquired Trait: Dragon Power (Green)]

[Dragon Power (Green): The primal power endowed by the Dragon Race bloodline. Significantly increases muscle strength, bone density, and explosive power. Upgradeable.]

Not bad, another harvest! Chen Shang closed the panel. The Princess was still looking up at him, her golden vertical pupils sparkling.

"My name is Ithirandir. What’s yours?"

"Chen Shang. It’s written on the card."

The Princess read it out word by word, "Chen—Shang—What a tongue-twisting name." Then she wrinkled her nose. "And I don’t know how to read anyway!"

Ithirandir repeated Chen Shang’s name a few times. Her gaze then fell on Number Three, and she stared at it for a long time before reaching out to gently touch the Rune on its shoulder.

"This creature is so strange. It has two sets of power sources! How did you do that?"

Chen Shang was suddenly startled. Did this young dragon really possess such incredible Perception Power? She couldn’t even read a single word, yet she could actually detect the source of power on Number Three!

"It is one of the Creatively Born Creatures. The thing on its body is called a Rune, and I carved it on," Chen Shang briefly explained to her.

"A carved Rune? Is it difficult?" Ithirandir gently poked Number Three, her face full of curiosity.

"It’s not simple. I spent nearly half a year summarizing the Runes, and then took more than two months to engrave them."

"Can I learn it?"

Chen Shang fell silent for a moment. "This isn’t something that can be explained clearly in just a sentence or two."

Ithirandir’s mouth drooped a bit, but she didn’t throw a tantrum. "Then take your time explaining. How about I treat you to something to eat?" For a Giant Dragon to share food with someone probably signified a form of intimacy.

Chen Shang nodded and accepted the invitation. After all, she was the Princess here, and he needed to replenish his energy anyway.

Ithirandir cheered up immediately, grabbing his sleeve and pulling him outside. "Dragon City has a lot of delicious food! I know a place where the grilled fish is super tasty! There are also grilled mushrooms, honey bread..."

Honey bread? Was that right? Weren’t Giant Dragons supposed to be carnivores?

Chen Shang was dragged away in complete bewilderment. The female guard and Sorin quickly followed.

As the sky gradually darkened, the shops on both sides of the streets in Dragon City hung up some kind of glowing Crystal Stone. The various colored lights illuminated the entire street, making it look like a flowing river.

There were even more creatures on the street than during the day, and all kinds of shops could be seen. Chen Shang even spotted a few foot bath shops run by Nagas... He had to admit, that was incredibly ahead of its time.

Ithirandir pulled Chen Shang through the crowd, weaving in and out until she finally stopped in front of a grilled fish stall. She stood on her tiptoes to peek at the stove.

"Mister, grill two silver cods! Add extra spices!"

The stall owner was a Gray Elf. His movements were incredibly agile as he immediately scooped two fish out of a bucket, skillfully prepared them, skewered them on iron skewers, and set them over the charcoal fire to roast.

Fish oil dripped onto the charcoal with a loud SIZZLE, and the savory aroma drifted far away.

Ithirandir squatted by the stove, her nose twitching eagerly. Seeing how familiar she was with the process, she had probably snuck out to play quite often.

Once the fish were done, the owner wrapped them in banana leaves and handed them over. Ithirandir took one and couldn’t wait to take a bite, her eyes narrowing into contented slits.

"So good!"

She handed the other one to Chen Shang. "Try it!"

Chen Shang took it and took a bite. It was tender, fragrant, and packed with abundant energy.

"What do you Wizards usually eat?" Ithirandir asked as she ate.

"We eat everything. I generally eat synthetic food."

"Synthetic? What’s that?"

"It’s food created directly from energy. The taste is mediocre, but it’s nutritious."

Ithirandir wrinkled her nose. "Why would you eat something with no flavor?"

Chen Shang smiled. "It’s convenient and saves time." Having experienced over a decade as a wandering Knight and then a few years of a decadent lifestyle, he now especially cherished every opportunity for cultivation.

They visited a few more shops. Ithirandir bought candied fruits, grilled mushrooms, honey bread, and a few skewers of oddly shaped things, which were probably some kind of bugs.

Chen Shang tasted the honey bread and found it to be genuinely good; it seemed to be produced by some kind of Extraordinary bees. The two chatted as they ate, with Ithirandir doing most of the asking.

"How big is the Wizard World?"

"Very big. There are many worlds."

"How many is ’many worlds’?"

"Too many to count, and they’re still expanding right now. Even I’m not entirely sure."

"Do the people of so many worlds all listen to you Wizards?"

"They don’t listen to the Wizards; they listen to the rules. The Pan-Wizard Alliance established a set of rules, and everyone follows them."

"What rules?"

"Many. For example, you can’t casually slaughter intelligent races, you have to use Wizard Coins for trade, and if there’s a dispute, you seek arbitration."

Ithirandir tilted her head and thought for a moment. "What if someone doesn’t follow them?"

"There will be punishments."

"Who punishes them?"

"The Wizards."

She blinked. "Wizards are so amazing."

Chen Shang didn’t respond. The impressiveness of Wizards didn’t simply lie in their power, but more so in their wisdom. However, it was hard to explain these concepts clearly to a young dragon.

Over the next few days, the two wandered through quite a few places in Dragon City. Chen Shang witnessed many fantastical species and also took the opportunity to collect several new Traits.

Before parting ways, Chen Shang manipulated metal to forge two sets of Mechanical Armor, [Ben Bo’Erba]. He gave one set to Sorin and the other to Ithirandir.

"My strength has increased a bit, and my aura is also concealed!" Ithirandir was extremely satisfied after putting on the Mechanical Armor. Clearly, [Ben Bo’Erba] also provided some amplification for her.

"It’s just average," Sorin said concisely. [Ben Bo’Erba] was of little use to him.

After agreeing with Ithirandir to communicate across planes via the Wizard Celestial Net in the future, Chen Shang took Number Three and successfully returned to the Starfall Half-Plane.