Chapter 55: Substantial Gains

Garon's towering dragon head lowered, his breath close enough to make Amos's heart nearly stop as it hit the boy's face. Lilith, delicate and pitiable, simply fainted outright, falling crisply to the ground.

Garon regarded the two humans without the pity or sympathy often felt by his kind, nor did he bear any prejudice or disgust.

He viewed them with the same indifference he had towards other creatures.

At his inception, he was somewhat like a human cloaked in dragon skin, occasionally recalling his human existence, which made his emotions fluctuate. However, as time passed, he became purer in his dragon nature.

Garon was aware of this transformation and had never resisted it.

Human or dragon, he was himself.

While Garon was lost in thought, Amos racked his brain, desperately searching for a way to keep himself and his sister alive.

After several tense seconds, Amos grasped at what seemed like a lifeline, urgently proposing, "Respected true dragon, I wish to make a trade with you."

Garon's gaze shifted slightly, his voice calm, "Everything you have is already my spoils of war. What could you possibly offer me in trade?"

Amos, remembering the whispered words of an old mage just before his death, his face fell, but he rallied and said, "This space ring—it contains my grandfather's spell research journal and many valuable magical materials."

He extended his finger, showing off a delicately glowing ring.

Garon glanced at the space ring and said, "Though it is on you, it already belongs to me."

Amos shook his head, removed the ring, and handed it to Garon, saying, "The space ring requires a specific incantation to open. Forcing it open will destroy everything inside."

Garon took the ring and observed it carefully. He attempted an unlocking spell, but it was ineffective.

Indeed, it was secured with an arcane lock from a high-ranking mage, beyond Garon's ability to open.

He looked at Amos, silent.

Fearing that Garon might decide to kill them, Amos hurriedly said, "I just want to live with my sister. I earnestly request that you accept this ring, swear by the Dragon God not to kill us, and let us go. I will immediately tell you the incantation."

"My sister and I will also swear to the Light God that we will never seek revenge against you, neither directly nor indirectly."

The boy's expression was anxious, his words solemn, as he awaited Garon's response.

Garon inspected their other magical items and found no other storage artifacts.

After stripping them of their magical items, Garon slowly said, "Tell me the incantation, and I will let you go."

Before Amos could feel any relief, Garon paused, then said indifferently, "But do you think a single incantation and a ring are enough to make a true dragon swear by the gods?"

Amos's face tightened, struggling for words under the shadow of Garon's wings.

"What do you want?" Amos asked.

Garon's gaze was neutral, his tone inscrutable, "You can choose to trust the promise of a true dragon."

"Then, swear by the Light God."

Amos's expression shifted uncertainly, glancing at his unconscious sister. Under Garon's steady gaze, he finally bowed his head and said, "Sir true dragon, I trust your promise."

He disclosed the incantation to Garon.

Garon, using the incantation, extended his mental energy to the space ring. He immediately sensed a space tens of meters cubed filled with spellcasting materials, similar-looking staves, robes, scattered magical gems, a large quantity of gold coins, and several thick notebooks.

Garon's eyes brightened.

He had only recently looted the treasure of the white dragon lady, and now he had acquired even greater wealth, which had literally landed in his lap, making him jubilantly content.

Meanwhile, Amos, with his heart in his throat, watched Garon anxiously, knowing this moment could determine his and his sister's fate.

Garon, feeling good about the situation, finally said slowly, "Swear."

He was not a five-colored evil dragon. His personality was similar to that of a true Time Dragon—neutral, focused on his own interests rather than senseless slaughter and destruction.

Amos was momentarily stunned, then his face brightened with ecstatic relief.

After swearing, the unconscious Lilith was awakened, still dazed and confused as she swore to the gods.

In the land of Noa, swearing in the name of existing gods carried severe repercussions if broken, attracting divine scrutiny and curses.

"Roy, take them out of my territory," Garon commanded.

The ice spirit of the far north approached the children, picking them up and carrying them away as Garon had instructed.

Afterward, Garon returned

 to the Ice Cliff Dragon Lair with his loot.

Dropping the mammoth he had frozen but not yet eaten as a reward for Ugga Bonebreaker, he went back to the lair.

In the Ice Cliff Dragon Lair, Garon's eyes shone as he examined the space ring.

This bright white ring, crafted to fit a human finger and smaller than Garon's dragon scales, was beyond his size to wear.

Seconds later, he uttered an incantation, his thoughts focused on the space ring.

The space then rippled, and a multitude of items fell out, quickly forming a small mound.

The most numerous were magical materials Garon did not recognize—some plants, biological tissues, rune-engraved stones, all well-preserved.

However, what interested Garon most were the magical gems, gold coins embossed with the Tulip emblem, and the thick notebooks.

He poured the magical gems and gold coins onto his icy crystal bed, pleased to find they barely covered it, though only in a thin layer.

Garon took a deep breath of the cold air.

The enriched elemental energy was very comfortable, seemingly speeding up his blood flow.

Then, he lay on his uneven treasure bed, storing the pile of unsorted magical materials back into the space ring, and placed the ring at the corner of his bed.

The notebooks lay beside him. Carefully picking up the first one, Garon began to read.

This notebook contained the high-ranking old mage's insights into the school of Energy Sculpting, particularly various Fireball spells, which occupied a significant portion of the records; other spells were mentioned only briefly.

"In the world of spells, there's Fireball and then there's everything else."

This phrase revealed an unusual obsession with Fireball spells, intriguing Garon even more as he read on.

Time ticked by as Garon absorbed the contents of the notebook, deepening his understanding of the school of Energy Sculpting, especially the Fireball spells, memorizing many basic runes and incantations.

Setting aside the first notebook, he moved to the second, then the third. His expression was solemn and serious, mixed with the pleasure of acquiring more knowledge.

After three days of relentless study, Garon exhaled slowly, closing the last of the sixteen notebooks, still somewhat longing for more.

Eleven of these were the old mage's lifetime of spell insights, his understanding of the Energy Sculpting school from which Garon benefited greatly.

But what delighted him more were the other five.

These five notebooks, if known, would surely provoke battles among the mages of the Energy Sculpting school on the continent of Noa.

They recorded numerous high-level Fireball spell variants, seventh circle and above, including three different types of ninth circle Fireball spells. The densely packed, complex mystical runes on the spell models were dizzying to behold.

"The value of these notes exceeds all other items combined."

Garon had memorized the content, but still carefully stored all the notebooks.

Then, he closed his eyes slightly, using his mental energy as a pen, concentrated his thoughts, and slowly traced out a spell model in his mind that resembled a burning fireball.