Chapter 378: Price of Dragon Scales

High above in the heavens, as the two men conversed, the tense atmosphere gradually softened, and Berola formally presented his demand—the dragon's scales.

At the same time, he offered a vow.

If Ronin were willing to yield the dragon's scales, he could have any request granted in return.

Though Berola specified it must be within his power, what could truly lie beyond the capabilities of such a Grand Archmage?

This promise, it could be said, carried immense weight!

Ronin could demand many things, such as high-tier magic, combat techniques, or a wealth of mana crystals, or even require the archmage to save his life several times in moments of peril.

He could even secure the man's allegiance and backing in the face of any great upheavals to come.

At this thought, Ronin patted the dragon's massive flank. "Carlos, what do you think?"

The dragon snorted in sheer displeasure, twin plumes of white mist erupting from its colossal nostrils.

To Berola, it seemed a clear manifestation of the beast's deep reluctance and mounting fury.

Yet within Ronin's mind, Carlos spoke with a touch of timidity: "Master, may I refuse?"

The last time, to let Elrond attempt the brewing of the Rage Elixir, the dragon had endured the pain of shedding some blood.

Even though it was but a small incision, and the bleeding had stopped before Elrond could even cast a healing spell, it had still grieved over the loss for a very long time.

Ronin chuckled softly, his voice echoing through their soulful bond: "Rest easy, I won't agree so easily. Even if we must give them, I'll make sure he compensates you handsomely."

Which meant they were still going to give them away.

Carlos let out a low, rumbling groan and threw Berola a vicious glare.

The killing intent flashing within its icy gaze caused even the Grand Archmage to feel a sudden prickle of cold steel.

"Does the dragon seem unwilling?"

Berola had done sporadic research on dragons and knew well how arrogant these creatures could be.

Had it not been for Ronin's binding reins, the beast would likely have bestowed a searing blast of dragon breath upon anyone who dared demand its scales.

"He is indeed unwilling,"

Ronin replied with a faint smile. "After all, tearing a scale from his flesh by brute force is a deeply painful ordeal, and one that wounds his spirit."

Berola furrowed his brow.

Ever since he had accidentally obtained the recipe for this secret potion, he had tried numerous substitute materials to replace dragon scales.

He had tried griffins and dragon-hawks, rumored to carry dragon blood, as well as high-tier crocodiles, giant pythons, and sea monsters with hardened scales, but the efficacy was always drastically compromised.

Dragon scales were an absolute necessity for him.

In the past, there was no choice because no dragon could be found; now that one stood before his very eyes, he had to find a way to acquire a few scales no matter what.

Yet he had no wish to resort to coercion.

The young man before him was, after all, the descendant of an old acquaintance, and he could not bring himself to shamelessly plunder from him.

As for committing murder for treasure, that simply did not align with Berola's character.

"It is said that dragons adore shining objects, and as you know of my territory, we have plenty of mana crystals if nothing else."

Berola said, "Help me persuade Lord Carlos. If he agrees, I am willing to purchase them at a price of three hundred fully-charged mana crystals per scale."

A fully-charged mana crystal, even calculated at a modest one hundred gold coins each, would mean thirty thousand gold coins for a single dragon scale.

This price was neither particularly low nor excessively high, but then, dragons were exceedingly rare.

"Three hundred seems a bit lacking, doesn't it?"

Hearing this, Berola knew there was a chance, silently noting that the young man before him was quite the money-lover.

"There are things you do not know. Though my territory possesses a vein of mana crystals, it is not something ordinary folk can mine; the annual yield is limited, and fully-charged crystals amount to barely three thousand a year at best."

He explained, "A portion of these crystals is consumed by my own work, another portion is sold to the outside world, and what remains is scarce indeed."

Enlightenment dawned upon Ronin, who had assumed that mana crystals were harvested in a fully-charged state right out of the earth.

It seemed it would be rather difficult to squeeze more crystals out of the man.

But what could not be paid in crystals could surely be compensated through other means.

"Tearing a scale directly from a living dragon is indeed troublesome, but perhaps you do not know, Archmage, that a dragon's scales shed naturally."

Ronin said, "As it happens, I have a few in my possession."

Carlos looked somewhat bewildered; when had it ever naturally shed its scales?

But upon careful reflection, it had indeed dropped over a hundred scales during its last breakthrough, which Ronin had gathered up with the intent of forging a suit of dragon-scale armor.

Berola's eyes kindled with light. "Do dragons molt as well?"

He coughed slightly, as if realizing the phrasing was somewhat discourteous, and immediately rephrased his question: "How many pieces do you have?"

Ronin possessed one hundred and thirty-six scales.

He needed to reserve one hundred and eight of them to forge the dragon-scale armor, leaving twenty-eight that could be sold.

Yet he also needed to keep a small reserve, lest Elrond require dragon scales as materials in the future.

"About twenty scales,"

Ronin stated bluntly. "If Lord Berola requires them, you may purchase fifteen of them for five hundred thousand gold coins, and the remainder for fifteen hundred mana crystals."

The reason he specified five hundred thousand gold coins was primarily to meet the requirements of the final tier of the 'Roaring Wealth' achievement.

If he could complete this achievement, he could break through to the Silver Moon rank, and even Rhaegar could ascend to the Radiant Sun.

Seeing Ronin's assent, Berola's mood brightened dramatically.

Twenty dragon scales were more than enough for his trial and error.

Once the magic potion was successfully refined, he might step ever closer to the realm of legends.

Yet a moment later, a new difficulty arose.

Whether it was gold coins or mana crystals, the reserves of the Silva family did not seem to hold quite so much liquidity.

It was like asking a wealthy magnate to produce five hundred million in cold cash at a moment's notice.

"Five hundred thousand gold coins I can amass within a few months,"

Berola said after a moment's deliberation. "But fifteen hundred mana crystals are hard to come by. On one hand, my inventory is insufficient; on the other, my own magical research consumes a great deal. Could we perhaps substitute that portion with something else?"

"Of course, but I would like to see what you have to offer first."

Ronin had not forgotten the true purpose of his journey to the Crystal City.

Magic spells, combat arts, water from the Spring of Magical Spirits, Starlight Grass—these were all things he desired to acquire.

"Hahaha, then let us not linger forever in the sky. Come, let us proceed to the Crystal Keep."

To ensure Ronin would not remain on edge, he offered a reassuring word:

"I shall send word ahead to announce your arrival to the Crystal City and have Franz await you, so you need not worry that I harbor any treacherous designs against you."

With such an announcement made public, any hostile move against Ronin would be akin to slapping his own face.

Though Berola cared little for worldly vanities, the Silva family was, after all, the master of these lands, and appearances had to be maintained.

Watching the other speed away, Ronin relaxed.

This encounter with Berola had been purely by chance, yet the outcome was favorable.

Especially the fifty thousand gold coins—he'd thought he'd have to wait for trade to pick up to earn them all at once, but the dragon scales in his storage ring had proven useful.

"Let's go, we'll follow him."

Karllos howled as it flapped its wings; this time, no dragon scales were plucked from it, and it was in high spirits.

Crystal Castle.

After Berola returned, she immediately summoned Franz.

At Berola's age, familial bonds with younger generations had grown somewhat distant.

Franz, however, was doing well with his talent, so he could meet with Berola a few times and receive her guidance.

Other great-granddaughters, and even younger descendants, could only see Berola once a year during annual celebrations or major holidays.

"Great-grandfather!"

Franz bowed respectfully, not daring to be careless. "What do you need, Great-grandfather?"

Berola smiled warmly. "Do you know Ronin?"

Um...

Franz was taken aback by the question.

He paused, then nodded.

"I met Ronin at the capital's martial tournament last year. He was the champion."

Berola nodded. "How old is this Ronin?"

"About eighteen or nineteen, I think?"

At this, Berola gasped in shock. "Only eighteen or nineteen?"

He had assumed Ronin was at least in his twenties.

"What's wrong?"

Franz was puzzled. Why was his great-grandfather so shocked by Ronin's age?

The next words from Berola left him reeling.

"An eighteen or nineteen-year-old Meteor Knight and Grand Mage? Ronin has the makings of an Emperor!"

The Emperor he referred to was the founder of the Orland Empire, who had conquered and unified the entire continent.

"Impossible!"

Franz's eyes widened. "At the tournament, he was only a Silver Knight!"

"Oh?"

Berola looked surprised but quickly deduced that Ronin must have been hiding his true strength.

He pondered briefly. "Don't speak of Ronin's strength to anyone else. He'll be arriving at Crystal Castle soon; you'll receive him on my behalf."

Franz's head was spinning.

At twenty-three, achieving Bronze Knight and Grand Mage status through dual cultivation was no small feat, and considered extraordinary by others.

But could Ronin, at eighteen or nineteen, really be a dual-class Level 7?

"No, I need to ask him properly later!" (End of Chapter)