A Dragon’s Curiosity

 

 

Slumping next to the fallen form of the dead [Six Legged Bane Lizard], Nisha admired its pure physical brutality and honoured the life that it had given.

As the stronger predator, the elf had prevailed and was going to use the nourishment of her fallen foe to reach for greater heights, the ultimate expression of the law of the jungle.

Given that it was going to support the girl’s future journey, it was not too much to pay a short moment of respect in exchange.

Touching the body, it flashed away and disappeared into the dragon’s [Inner World], joining the pile for rations.

Although Nisha still had enough third rank meat to feed herself and her wolf familiar, it was unfair to mention it in the same breath as fourth rank ingredients.

Whether it was fruit, meat or vegetables, anything beyond the first great divide in cultivation had great effects when used for meals.

Without a staple source of food, it was unlikely that the rich and noble in the Leandar kingdom could cultivate their warriors and magicians at their current pace.

Otherwise, most cultivators would spend from sunrise to sunset with nothing else but meditating and exercise to generate enough energy to sustain themselves.

Finished with the chunk of meat roasted with dragon flame, Little Lia got restless and stared at the blood pooling around the battle site.

No matter how well the lizard sealed off its wound, in the heat of combat it was inevitable that some of its blood escaped.

Blood was not quite as nourishing as the meat, but the wolf was not picky.

It was only now that the master brought Accalia into the next floors of the Dungeon, its diet consisted of second and third rank feed in the Dharnas’ stables as well as the occasional treat of higher level ingredients that the master sneaked out from the main house.

Noticing the sneaky interloper, the elf rolled her eyes at her familiar and gave the wolf a task to do.

“Go over there and retrieve the bundle tucked away at the bottom of the puddle. Be careful not to tear it.”

 

With a cheat like [Spirit Sight], Nisha never had to worry about missing hidden items.

Many adventurers boasted about the secret stashes they managed to find by sheer accident; some scouts even went out of their way to acquire skills specifically meant to spot valuables in order to fulfil their role better.

Hidden between the muck and grime at the bottom of the muddy puddle, a pack of wax cloth waited for an insightful Dungeon diver with an additional reward.

Many aspiring treasure hunters set out to discover how these items appeared inside the Dungeon and make a fortune by using the mechanism, but so far no one really managed to figure out why and how the loot got into the different rooms.

In the end, most treated the additional treasure as a welcome addition, yet did not question its appearance too deeply.

Little Lia quickly found the prize and dropped the bag into the master’s waiting hands.

From a quick peek inside the wax cloth, an assortment of metal ores of the fourth level was the reward from this fight.

Nisha was not too familiar with the different attributes of the metallic ores, so she would have to ask a smith to identify them for her to estimate their value.

As the loot was neither shiny nor interesting, Nisha chucked the entire bag on her item pile and quickly put them to the back of her mind.

It was time to hunt and fill the storage piles of her [Inner World] with fourth rank monsters.

Given that the dragon spent enough effort, it was entirely possible for the elf and her familiar to feast on delicious meat for every meal.

The meals at home were nice and tastefully arranged to look really artistic, whetting everyone’s appetite, but the portions just were not cutting it for the dragon.

Having an all-you-can-eat back up was for her own mental well being.

“Let’s go. You can eat your fill this time.”

Accalia wholeheartedly agreed with her owner’s sentiment.

Nothing trumped a good roast for dinner.

With a good gauge on her current maximum power, Nisha no longer restricted herself and pulled out one of her [Taurith Short Swords] and began using the [Imperial Swordplay].

Although the elf privately began to consider that swords were not her cup of tea, she still had spent quite some time practising the sword manual and achieved some progress with it.

With the cooperation of her familiar, [Midnight] turned the nimble girl into a shadow of death that reaped monster lives left and right.

Except for a scant few elemental lifeforms and meatless creatures, the two teamed up to scour the next rooms and whisked away a ton of prey.

It didn’t matter whether the opponents consisted of multiple parties or single powerful combatants, none of them were quite as difficult as the [Six Legged Bane Lizard], they stood no chance under the reaping blade and tearing wind coming for them.

Because the sixth floor was guarded by a powerful boss, few parties were around and the duo had free reign to go wild.

 

A little bit after noon, Nisha decided that they had stocked up enough for now and replaced her tattered leather armour with a new one from her space.

Due to her bones being stronger than iron and a skin not inferior to dragon scales in hardness, the garment suffered more than the wearer and it was nearly ruined at this point.

Bringing it for repair was unlikely to yield any results, the dragon was just too reckless in combat for leather, it was likely more suitable for her to wear full plate armour in the future.

Thankfully the elf did not have any particular preference when it came to her equipment and it was a matter of convenience that leather was easy to put on and she had plenty of them stored up as they inexplicably appeared from time to time in her bedroom.

Changing into one of her backups, the girl made herself presentable and used a relatively clear puddle to cleanse her face and arms from any visible blood stains.

It wasn’t the same as a good shower, but at least it would prevent any attention with the combined effect from her raven cloak.

Most of the attention would be on her familiar and it was not unusual to see wolf familiars around the Dungeon entrance.

It was time to leave and go home.

The way back up the stairs was infinitely easier than the descent.

Going from the fifth to the sixth floor was a gruelling battle with a high chance of death for underprepared parties against a menacing boss, whereas not a single soul was to be seen from the sixth to the fifth floor.

Explorers that returned simply appeared on the stairs to the fourth floor, skipping an entire story in the Dungeon.

Many confused adventurers attempted to find a secret passage, hidden path or the likes to explain why the same number of stairs managed to cross twice the distance compared to the opposite direction, but so far nothing turned up and it was not unique to the Leandar kingdom Dungeon alone, so it was simply accredited as ‘Dungeon Weirdness’.

For those who graduated from the first five floors, the way back was quite simple as well.

Nisha contemplated helping a couple of young adventurers who appeared to struggle when she passed the third floor, but it was not to the point of a wipeout for their group yet.

She stopped long enough so that they could capture the wolf’s figure, and consequently discover her presence, yet not a single one of their members called out for help.

Whether it was out of determined stubbornness or misplaced pride, it was not up to the elf to decide when her intervention was necessary, she could get in trouble with the guild if she did end up helping out and the group complained.

Since they did not want her goodwill, Nisha picked up the pace and finally returned above ground after a morning of close quarter combat and a good streak of hunting for supplies.

 

Plenty of other teams entered the stairway or left for the different stores and artisans inside the [Adventurer’s Guild] building, streaming left and right of the master and her familiar as they recovered from their Dungeon Dive.

It was hard to estimate how many parties entered and left the place on any given day, not to mention the materials, loot and other things they brought inside and out of the Dungeon.

The many shops inside the [Adventurer’s Guild] building flourished and worked on the premise that a steady stream of customers and suppliers came to them, generating a revenue that was hard to ignore even for the highest social circle of nobility.

In theory, the Dungeon would never run out of resources, making it a bottomless gold mine.

Nisha did not have much to do with that, though.

Aside from hunting for food, she ignored most of the items that were left over.

Either they looked ugly or were not shiny, so the elf did not have much of an interest in the piles of bones, teeth, claws, leather and other items sourced from the monsters.

Vials and small pouches were interesting trinkets when she had spotted them for the first time, yet the novelty washed off with the flow of time.

It was a giant bother to get them identified at the respective shops, so she just hoarded it for now and decided to check them out later on, for sure!

Little Lia ignored her master while she was staring into thin air, the wolf did not have quite as many thoughts, especially when its belly was bloated like right now.

For every group of monsters the team of two took out, or whenever the familiar guessed that its master was not paying attention, the canine took a hearty bite out of the downed prey.

After being used to low grade feed for so long, any trip down the Dungeon was a great feast and the familiar had to make the best out of it, lest the low grade feed returned in the future.

The dragon did not mind giving her familiar those small benefits, a bite here and there was nothing in face of the sheer numbers they hunted to stock up for a while.

As long as the wolf could eat, she would let it do so.

Exiting the building around the Dungeon entrance, the elven girl judged that noon should have passed a short time ago, given the position of the sun.

She would only know for sure when the church bells rang the next time, but it did not really matter too much.

Considering the time they spent hunting, it was a bountiful return and put a smile on Nisha’s face.

 

With a skip in her step and a penchant for mischievousness, the young mistress chased her wolf familiar all the way back to the Dharnas estate.

Because she was already acquainted with most of the city guards around the gates, no one made it difficult for her, she was frequently seen going into the noble district and always spared a greeting or a wave for them, so the fool who dared to stop her would certainly learn the wrath of his colleagues.

Once she reached the estate, the wolf trotted towards the stables on its own initiative.

Well fed and tired from the exercise, it was time to sleep off a delicious meal.

Nisha, on the other hand, greeted the guard on duty and entered the main building.

Leather armour was functional and practical for hunting purposes, but not so much for everyday activities.

She shuddered at the thought of Galan’s ‘Etiquette’ lessons and quickened her steps.

Dresses were fun anyway! Why they were required for polite society and why she wasn’t allowed to wear a bow and quiver with one was not quite clear to the elf, but the butler was very convinced that he was right on the topic and allowed no discussion.

Dismissing her Manifestations and picking one of her favourite red dresses, one of the maids waited for her when the girl left her room.

“The master asks for your presence in his study, young lady.”

Moderately confused as Luthais rarely asked for her presence in his study, the elf made her way over to the heavy oak door.

Looking at the intricate carvings, she was quite taken with the artistry and effort that went into making them.

Of course, the subtle spell array woven into the art elements was especially glowing brightly in her [Spirit Sight], making the entire working look alive.

One day, the dragon hoped, she would be capable of crafting something similarly profound.

Rapping heavily on the frame to announce her presence, Nisha peeked inside after hearing a muffled reply.

Seeing that the Grand Marshal was working on a document, Nisha stood by the door obediently and waited for him to finish first.

Not too long afterwards, Luthais Dharnas put down the quill and checked the paper once over, then placed it on the pile on the side of the desk.

“You asked for me? Is something the matter?”

Generally, the head of the Dharnas house acted in a very hands off manner towards the younger generation, yet he was always informed and Nisha always had the feeling that Luthais knew exactly what happened to Henry and herself at all times.

As long as there were no problems and neither of them approached him for help, the Duke was content to let them find their own way.

“There is an upcoming court session in regards to the incident at the Royal Academy.

If you are free, you can accompany me to the palace the day after tomorrow.

Most likely, there will be more details available when the case is presented to the king.”