Chapter 449: Recommendation
Day two of the Dragon Exploration.
On the eastern edge of the mountain range, meltwater flows gently. It’s a slow stream, almost stagnant. The grass here is a pale white, abundant and thriving.
Here, I encountered a dragon the size of a horse, covered in scales reminiscent of a Velociraptor.
They seem to live in packs of five or six on average. Maybe up to fifteen at most? I often see them hunting in groups. They don’t fly.
When I used [Appraisal], it identified them as dragons, but they look more like dinosaurs! Dinosaurs are cool, but that’s not quite right. By the way, there was a ground spirit resembling a Velociraptor (tentative). It looked cool, but it wasn’t what I was after.
Since it was getting cold, I tried to have a layer of air created around me by the spirits, but I couldn’t make such a complex request… So here I am, covered in some kind of transparent, bouncy material.
I’ve achieved my goal and it’s warm, which is nice, but when I walk, I bounce before my feet even touch the ground. Plus, the wind makes it easy to be blown away, so I had them make it heavier. It’s a shame that with this bouncy gear, I can’t use the Ex-Staff effectively.
I climbed the steep mountains that stretch north to south. The rocky peaks are white with snow and ice at the top, while the exposed rock is a bluish-gray, and the midsection is covered in a dull green. Perhaps due to the cold and strong winds, the trees grow low to the ground, making them look like grass from a distance.
They spread out sideways rather than upwards, with long, slender leaves like pines carpeting the mountainside. They barely reach my shins, which is quite strange. As I absentmindedly brushed aside a branch, I locked eyes with a white bird.
I’m sorry.
I gently returned the branch. After a brief pause, there was a rustling sound as the bird scurried away beneath the branches. I didn’t mean any harm, I’m sorry.
Other creatures included something like a weasel and a rabbit with short ears. Occasionally, a giant bird would circle above. Just when I thought I heard a rumble like thunder, a mound of snow, resembling ice, collapsed with a loud crash.
That wasn’t a mountain after all. As I watched in awe, I locked eyes with a dragon. Wait, this is not good!!!
It might be easy to take it down… but I’m the intruder here! Well, I have been intruding and taking down demon beasts in the Demon Forest and elsewhere, but still!
I hurriedly fled. This was the winged dragon I had been searching for, but encountering it so close was unexpected. Using [Exploration] would have made everything clear and less fun, so I hadn’t used it.
I dashed past the snow chunks I had kicked down, and fortunately, I was faster and more agile, slipping into a crevice in the rocks just in time. I could sense the dragon peering in, but I cheated with [Teleportation] and moved to a safer spot where I could see the whole area.
Thanks to this bouncy something, I was odorless and had masked my presence. As long as I didn’t make noise or was seen, I should be fine. I hid in the shadow of a sharp rock and observed the dragon clinging to the crack.
It was a picture-perfect dragon. Its scales were a hard, orange hue that seemed out of place in the snowy mountains, with a long neck, tail, sharp claws, and large wings.
I wondered how such a massive creature could fly with those wings, but it seemed to be accompanied by a wind spirit. It looked like the surrounding wind spirits were assisting it too?
Aside from the fact that dragons don’t attack humans in human territory, was there a promise between the dragons and the wind spirits, or is it just their nature?
And if a spirit is attached, wouldn’t other spirits keep their distance? Is it rare for surrounding spirits to take on a dragon form? No, but my notebook also takes the form of a butler, so maybe it’s possible if they try hard enough?
As I pondered, the dragon I was watching suddenly froze, moving its head. Then, it let out a low roar before gliding down toward the base of the mountain. It didn’t flap its wings, moving at an incredible speed.
In the direction it flew, there was the first dragon without wings I had spotted—no, a demon beast. It looked like a monster showdown was about to begin. Dragons can turn into demon beasts too? Thinking calmly, bears and humans can do it, so why not?
So, would they take down their demonized kin? Or perhaps, even if they weren’t demonized, would they be prey or something…?
The ecology of dragons is a mystery. I should have done some research at the library before coming. But I originally came to search for a dragon-type spirit.
The battle between the dragons was a shocking clash. They lay side by side, both with their jaws locked onto each other’s throats. Black ‘Fragments’ scattered from the demon beast dragon, while the orange dragon with wings lost its wind spirit.
And here I was, eagerly using [Storage]. After all, my [Appraisal] said that steak was recommended!
I wondered what materials I could make from this? When I used [Appraisal], I was shocked to see the label. Dragon steak isn’t just a fantasy! Well, a world with spirits is definitely fantasy enough. Yeah.
I plan to dissect and compare them in a safe place.