Chapter 10: The Perils of Preparation and a Fiery Surprise

“In short, that day was incredibly important for Theresia.”

After the Old Patriarch thoroughly briefed Catherine on the specifics of the ‘rut’ period, Catherine, understanding the gravity, nodded in agreement and offered her thoughts.

“But rest assured, Old Patriarch! Theresia has been preparing for that day for an extremely long time. She will absolutely get through it safely! Besides, the event itself isn’t particularly dangerous.”

“Catherine, you are gravely mistaken!”

The Old Patriarch shook his head, declaring, “If only things were that simple. If she had chosen someone of our own kind, I would be a thousand times at ease; there would be no risk to her dragon life.”

“But you know the physical strength of humans. Let’s not even mention human lives for now. However, Theresia absolutely must be protected.”

Catherine paused, her silvery-white cowlick swaying slightly as she evidently failed to grasp his meaning.

The Old Patriarch sighed dramatically, looking up at the sky, then continued, “On that day, dragons must complete the full breeding ritual. While its original purpose is to help the dragon race procreate, if the ritual isn’t fully completed, or if the dragon in ‘rut’ isn’t fully satisfied, it will wound their very foundation.”

“The Dragon God probably never imagined a dragon would choose a human as the subject of their breeding ritual. After all, even with Dragon Knights, a dragon is still a dragon, and a human is still a human.”

“Hmph, how could they have taken a liking to each other? It’s not strange for humans to like each other, and dragons in human form are all handsome men and beautiful women. But a perfectly normal dragon…”

The Old Patriarch trailed off, his thoughts wandering. He simply couldn’t comprehend it. In the past, there had been human-dragon partnerships, but even with Dragon Knight pairings, the instances of humans and dragons truly being together were exceedingly rare.

The reason was simple: different species. Dragon aesthetics and human aesthetics differed greatly.

It took centuries of practice for a dragon to learn to transform into a human. During their daily lives, they mostly encountered their own kind in dragon form, so by the time they could transform, their aesthetic preferences were long established.

Just as humans who like fox spirits don’t fancy their beast form, the same applies to dragons. Humans, unlike fox spirits, cannot transform into dragon form.

The Old Patriarch recalled Theresia’s aesthetic tastes leaning towards humans from a very young age. He had noticed this phenomenon at the time but hadn’t paid it much mind, thinking it might be due to too much ‘human influence.’ So, he took a mere 10-year-old Theresia back to Dragon Island, not to completely isolate her from humans.

Yet, even when Theresia reached 100 years old, her aesthetic preferences had only ever so slightly shifted towards dragons.

‘Human-lovers are truly terrifying,’ he mused, referring to dragons who preferred humans.

Catherine finally understood the Old Patriarch’s words and began to frown deeply. As Theresia’s best friend, she certainly couldn’t stand by and watch Theresia face trouble!

Though her time with Theodore had been brief, he often provided her with delicious food. He was a good person, and she didn’t want any accidents to befall him, especially since there weren’t many people or dragons willing to feed her.

“Then, Old Patriarch, what do we need to do?”

Catherine clenched her small fists, exclaiming, “I absolutely won’t let anything happen to Theodore or Theresia!”

The Old Patriarch merely blinked.

‘He didn’t mention Theodore, did he?’ he thought.

‘Never mind. That kid still has a big role to play, and I intended to save him anyway,’ he concluded.

“Good! Such vigor! They are truly blessed to have a friend like you! Stepping forward without hesitation at a critical moment, the dragon race needs young dragons like you!”

The Old Patriarch could honestly say these were the most insincere words of his long dragon life.

If it were Theresia, she would have been furious, believing the Old Patriarch was mocking her. But Catherine, clearly not possessing such complex (or intelligent) thoughts, proudly puffed out her magnificent chest, as if genuinely believing the dragon race should emulate her.

“Theresia, after all, lacks experience. She’s only heard things secondhand, and the dragons she asked and the places she learned this knowledge from…”

The Old Patriarch’s mouth twitched slightly as he recalled Theresia’s treasured inheritance book. “Take me to the ritual site Theresia has prepared. I’ll help her oversee things and make preparations.”

Catherine hesitated, then said, “But Theresia told me under no circumstances to bring you there.”

The Old Patriarch spread his hands, lounging indolently in his armchair. “Then I can’t help Theresia. You tell me, which is more important: their lives, or your credibility? A White Dragon destined for extraordinary feats must understand how to make choices!”

His eyes, bright with intensity, fixed on Catherine. “Come on, Catherine! It’s time to witness your magnanimity! Is it personal honor, or the lives of your companions? Choose one!”

Catherine took a deep breath, a surge of hot blood coursing through her dragon body. For a moment, she couldn’t even maintain her human form, transforming from a white-furred loli with a cowlick into a tall, beautiful White Dragon.

Her dragon claws clenched, and she spoke with a strong sense of responsibility, “Old Patriarch, I’ll lead the way. Follow me!”

“Excellent! Excellent!”

The Old Patriarch also transformed into a massive golden dragon, easily twice Catherine’s size. His dragon eyes, filled with encouragement and approval, declared, “Let’s go! To save Theodore and Theresia!”

“Alright, let’s go!”

****

“Achoo!”

On the way to the appraisal institute, Theresia sneezed loudly. She looked around suspiciously, muttering, “Did someone just talk bad about me?”

“How do you deduce that?” Theodore grumbled, speechless, then gazed at the colossal tree enveloped in a kaleidoscope of magical halos.

The Elven Capital, Avasilon.

While various types and distributions of elves were scattered across the Sophia Continent, whenever the Elven Capital was mentioned, 99% of people would immediately think of Avasilon.

As a global metropolis entirely crafted by elves, its exterior was a gigantic tree piercing the sky. Its vast, towering trunk and lush green leaves were clearly visible from several kilometers away.

While maintaining the immense vitality of the giant tree, the elves hollowed out its trunk, dividing it into nearly a hundred layers. They meticulously arranged architectural complexes and layouts for each layer, categorized by purpose and type.

This city itself was a colossal work of art, attracting countless tourists to spend money there every year.

As the place with the highest magic popularity, Avasilon’s strict requirement for settlement was a sufficiently high level of magical proficiency.

Every industry related to magic could be found here, all of them top-tier on the continent, with every product offering excellent value.

Theresia’s decision to come here to appraise the items the Old Patriarch brought was indeed a good choice.

Due to being enveloped by a powerful magical barrier, teleportation was forbidden in the Elven Capital, except for a few specific areas.

Even those designated areas only allowed exit, not entry.

Therefore, Theresia could only teleport to a nearby location and then walk in.

As Theodore admired the scenery of the Elven Capital, he inquired, “I remember the Old Patriarch brought you a great many materials. Is three days a bit tight?”

Theresia replied triumphantly, “Hmph, if I were unprepared, it would indeed be tight. But fifty years ago, I already paid a hefty price to book the hundred-person appraisal package at Avasilon’s largest appraisal institute.”

“Forget three days, one day is enough! Perhaps when we arrive, we’ll already hear that one-third of the appraisal is complete.”

Theodore frowned, asking, “You left everything there and came back yourself? Aren’t you worried?!”

It wasn’t that Theodore doubted Avasilon’s reputation; given Theresia’s cautious nature, she would undoubtedly have chosen a reputable institution. The problem was, according to Theresia, the Old Patriarch’s batch of materials had been collected by him for over 70 years. The preciousness of some of those materials was unimaginable.

Coupled with the critical importance of the matter a few days later, Theodore’s heart certainly wasn’t so carefree as to leave so many materials in a place he couldn’t personally supervise.

“Relax, aren’t you confident in my handling of things? That’s the Elven Capital’s largest appraisal institution, the authority of Avasilon, with impenetrable security and a ten-thousand-year-old reputation.”

Theresia exuded confidence, declaring with certainty, “If my materials somehow get into trouble there, I’ll go back and put a dragon saddle on myself!”

As if to respond to Theresia’s words, Avasilon’s largest appraisal institute—the one renowned for its impenetrable security and its centuries-old reputation—performed an artful explosion right before Theresia’s very eyes.

Theodore used his aura to shield himself and Theresia, preventing them from being blown away by the blast wave.

As for why Theresia needed protection…

Ever since the explosion, Theresia had transformed into a grayish-white statue, appearing utterly lifeless.

Theodore just wanted to know: did Theresia’s words from earlier still count?