Fool's Gold? (II)

Zero fired up his fire breath as red and yellow sparks of fire erupted from his throat.

"Wait. Did you say Dragon?" The Leprechaun called out, completely surprised about what he heard. A fire licked the Leprechaun on his butt, making him squeal loudly like a pig. "Wait! Wait! Wait! I'll talk! Let me speak to the Dragon!"

Everyone stared toward Zero, confused, wondering what was going on. For a Leprechaun to ask for a personal audience with Zero was unheard of.

"Speak," Zero growled. Speaking was a bit difficult with a mouthful of the Leprechaun.

"Oh great dragon, please hear my humble plea." The Leprechaun's voice stuttered. We were once helpers to the great dragons in the ancient past, but now we are slaves to the evil Magician that lives deep in the Forgotten Forest. If you freed us, we would give everything back and even more. The evil Magician Mano already has your things by now. We are forbidden to give back things that we have stolen." The Leprechaun begged; he was already crying out in sadness.

The Quest to retrieve the Golden Eye has been updated.

Retrieve the map by freeing the Leprechauns from the evil Magician Mano. Without the map, it would be very difficult to find the location of the Maze of Geruem.

An ancient contract between the Drezo Regalia and the King has been brought back to life. The King has asked to bring back the Golden Eye in the Maze of Geruem located in the Electric Continent for the Drezo Regalia to truly own the building of Draconis Library.

Difficulty: C+

Reward: The 2nd half of the Certificate of Draconis Library + unknown treasures from the evil Magician.

Failure: The loss of Draconis Library

Zero was elated that he was given a more challenging mission. This meant that he could gain stronger and rare items or weapons, resulting in more gold. Especially considering it has become a chain quest that grew. One thing he liked about NPCs was that they usually never return their words like players. Once a task is given, there is always a reward at the end.

He spat the Leprechaun out of his mouth. "You won't return on your words, right little Leprechaun?" The fire was already forming deep in his throat as smoke came from his nose and mouth.

"I swear!" The Leprechaun crawled up towards Zero's feet and kissed it several times. Zero pranced around, trying to stop him from continuously kissing his feet. "We never go back on our words to the great dragons who have protected us in the past." His eyes sparkled like diamonds as he stared toward Zero. In the Leprechaun's eyes, Zero was already becoming god-like.

"What is your name?"

"Bob."

"Bob? What kind of- never mind. Okay, Bob. Show us the way to where we need to go."

Bob jumped up, elated, and motioned them to follow.

"Is this a good idea to blindly follow the thief that just pickpocketed us a moment ago?" Agnis whispered towards him. "And what was that weird relationship you both were having just a moment ago? The way it was speaking to you was weird."

Zero shrugged, not knowing what to say. Even he was curious about what the Drezo Regalia had with the Leprechauns.

"I don't care. I just want my money and items," grumbled Alan. His brows were furrowed and still in shock from his large loss of items.

They were led off the main road and deeply entered the Forgotten Forest. Alan and Jack were a bit worried that they would be unable to find their way out if they got lost. The fog got thicker, and it became even more difficult to see. Bob continually called out to the group to follow him for hours, guiding them towards their destination. Luckily for them, thanks to the immense luck that Leprechauns have, they were safely led away from monsters that roamed the Forgotten Forest.

Eventually, they came upon a small hidden village made from large mushroom-like huts. In each hut, small families of hobo-looking Leprechauns appeared. Their disheveled and thin faces, ragged clothes, and even their solemn demeanor brought a heavy feeling of gloom to the village. Their usual sparkling, cheerful selves were gone and were replaced by hopelessness.

You are the first to find the Leprechaun's hidden village.

+100 fame

+10 luck

This was the first time Zero had gotten such a message. He has so far not explored many places. Unfortunately, all his group also received the same message.

"Bob!" A female Leprechaun called out and ran towards him.

"Berry!" They embraced each other in a loving embrace.

"Are you alright?" Berry asked, bewildered and almost to the point of tears. She searched around him, looking for any scratches or cuts. But, instead, she found a bit of burnt-off clothes.

"I'm fine," Bob cooed towards his love. "I brought our salvation." He motioned towards Zero's group.

"Who?" Berry peeked over his shoulder and saw Zero in his dragon form that towered over his group. "It's a young dragon," she gasped, covering her mouth in a daze. Tears had begun to form underneath her eyes.

"A young dragon is here!" One of the Leprechauns shouted out in joy. Then, more and more hobo-looking Leprechaun's appeared and surrounded Zero's group. They all glanced in awe towards Zero, for it had been thousands of years since they saw a living dragon.

An elderly Leprechaun who looked haggard and beggar-looking stepped out with a cane in his hand. His heavy eyebrows covered most of his eyes, so it was difficult for Zero to tell if the elderly Leprechaun even had an eye.

"Young Dragon. You don't know how much joy you have brought us to see you alive once again. We had thought the last of your kind had diminished since the Dark Ages of the Demon King's reign. In our times of prosperity, we have worked hand-in-hand as personal butlers with the dragons in proliferating our wealth in our gold. Your race has given us sanctuary and protection because of what we are. In the past, we were hunted down to the brink of extinction until your kind had saved us, and in return, we had shared our gold, luck, and skills."

"Did he just say gold?" Agnis, Alan, and Jack spoke in unison. They glanced back and forth between the elderly Leprechaun and Zero.

Zero suddenly thought of possibly having the contract renewed between the Leprechauns and the Dragons. This would settle a part of the Quest and possibly gain something new. His mind raced with the future endeavors he could do with the Leprechauns. He was already thinking about using the Leprechauns to boost attraction to the Draconis Library to bring in a huge amount of Revenue.

"Please help us and set us free from the evil clutches of the Magician. He has taken our magic, enslaved us for greed, and even warped the land of the Forgotten Forest. This Forest was not like this before."

The Quest to retrieve the Golden Eye has been updated.

Retrieve the map by freeing the Leprechauns from the evil Magician Mano. Without the map, it would be very difficult to find the location of the Maze of Geruem.

An ancient contract between the Drezo Regalia and the King has been brought back to life. The King has asked to bring back the Golden Eye in the Maze of Geruem located in the Electric Continent for the Drezo Regalia to truly own the building of Draconis Library.

Difficulty: C+

Reward: The 2nd half of the Certificate of Draconis Library + unknown treasures from the evil Magician.

Failure: The loss of Draconis Library

Side Quest: Free the Leprechauns from the evil clutches of the Magician Mano

"The forest was not like this before?" Jack cut in. This was the first time hearing such history about the Forgotten Forest. "How was it in the past?"

"Because you are a friend to the young dragon, I will tell you," the elderly Leprechaun stated in a slightly disgruntled tone. They did not have deep trust in dwarves. "This Forest was once known to harbor many legendary creatures that humans rarely saw. It was filled with an abundance of life. However, since the arrival of the evil Magician Mano, the Forest has shifted into a more dark and sinister place. Dark creatures have begun to prowl around day and night. Heavy fog has appeared from the dark depths of the Magician's castle and encompasses the whole Forest like a plague." He sighed a heavy sigh that seemed to suck his life out.

"Do not worry, Elder. I'll do my best to set your people free." Zero said with a kind tone as he lowered his head towards the Elder's face reassuring him that he won't return his words.

"Thank you, young Dragon. Thank you." The Elder let out a huge sigh relieving him of a burden.

"But how are we supposed to find this castle? We don't know where it's even located." Zero asked. He did not want to wander endlessly in the Forgotten Forest for days.

"Do not worry. We can take you through our secret passage that even the evil Magician Mano doesn't know about. Bob. Show them the way."

"Yes, elder," Bob said. "It is my pleasure to serve the young Dragon once more. Please come this way."

Zero's group followed closely behind Bob. The crowd dispersed back into their huts and became a ghost town. Bob pushed aside a hidden passageway that was densely covered by foliage. Without a discerning eye, it would've been impossible to locate the secret passageway that Bob and the other Leprechauns use.

"You know I can't fit in that small hole." Zero peeked in the five-foot size entrance. His Dragon's body could not fit inside such hole. Everyone else could bend over and squeeze their way through, but Zero could not without converting back into his human form. He did not have the luxury to switch out and back into his Origin form without waiting for the cool-down time to be over. He was far away from the floating Draconis Library, so even then, he could not revert back and forth.

"Don't worry, sir dragon. We, the Leprechauns, have served your kind for ages and have special magic that can revert you to your kit days. It will not be as strong, so there are some side effects to the length of time you can stay in your kit form. If that is okay with you, I would like to share my little magic."

"Please. Go on ahead." Zero waited for Bob to cast a spell.

With a language he did not understand, green magic spread underneath him as vines sprung toward him. The vines wrapped around him like a mummy and shrunk him back to his kit form. He was now the size of a small fox.

The reverse magic duration of time is equivalent to Bob's magic. When the duration of Bob's magic is over, Zero will revert back to his full form. The time limit is 15 minutes. All stats are cut in half.

"Heck." Zero held his breath from shock. His origin form stats were cut sharply in half. He was now the equivalent of a level 75. The monsters around the dungeons were above level 120; during the next 15 minutes, the fight between him and the monsters could be a huge problem. His human form was a lot stronger than the form he was in now, but he did not dare to revert back to his human form. There were only 15 minutes that he had to hold out before he was back in his full power.

"I am sorry. Right now, my magic is not enough to keep all your powers converted into your kit form. Until I have them back, there will be a heavy handicap for you." Bob was ashamed of what he had done to Zero.

"It's fine." Zero replied. He knew he had to survive until the magic was over.