Chương 71: A Warehouse of Materials?

The water in the valley went still. Until moments ago, small ripples along the bank had been making the firelight dance. Now they lay low, as though a hand had pressed them flat. Even the sound of water receded. It sounded less like water running between rocks and more like something enormous holding its breath. Riphiel could barely breathe. The saber-toothed tiger crouched low, moving only the tip of its tail. Valkyrie retreated toward Kichan's sleeve with the scale shield raised, but did not run.

Dust hid behind Kichan's shoulder with the last fish skewer still in its mouth. Kichan glanced at Dust, then looked back at the stranger.

"Yours? Did you cook it?" The stranger slowly tilted their head.

"Everything in this valley belongs to me." Golden light spread through the worn grain of the wake-up rod in Kichan's hand. Riphiel swallowed a small breath. A hazy light opened behind Kichan. It was not as large or clear as the form everyone had seen in the capital, but an aura shaped like golden wings unfolded in the air behind his back.

"Pay for the fish first." The stranger's expression changed for the first time. They no longer looked at the fish skewer or Dust. Their gaze traveled between the golden wings behind Kichan and the wake-up rod.

"Wait." Their eyes passed over the wing-shaped aura, then the gold around the rod, and finally came to rest on Valkyrie. Valkyrie trembled like a leaf above the water, small spear still in hand. Riphiel spoke in a voice that was almost inaudible.

"Kichan, you have to stop—" Kichan did not listen.

"Pay up if you don't want a beating. Otherwise, take one hit." The stranger spoke in a low voice.

"I am Argaon, master of this valley." Kichan was already past the point of reason. Master of the valley, Argaon, or whatever else he was—none of it registered.

"So what?" Riphiel covered her face with both hands. Argaon was silent for a moment. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Then he laughed.

"What an interesting human." At his laughter, the valley water withdrew. The stones along the bank trembled. The cliffs in the darkness rumbled as if taking one vast breath. The stranger's body blurred. Wet clothes, bare feet, bright eyes—everything scattered like mist. A gigantic shadow stood in his place. It was a dragon. He was large enough to fill the space between the cliffs on either side of the valley.

Water-blue and silver light ran across his black scales, and his horns swept backward like the roots of an ancient tree. His eyes were deeper than the valley water at night. Each breath sent mist rolling across the ground. The saber-toothed tiger flattened itself completely. Riphiel lost her voice. Valkyrie pressed closer to Kichan's sleeve, but still did not run. From behind Kichan's shoulder, Dust stared at the dragon's scales. One leg twitched slowly. Kichan stared for a long while too. Huge.

The individual scales caught his eye first. Then the horns. The teeth too. And the blood went without saying. Kichan smiled. Riphiel saw that smile and went blank. Kichan adjusted his grip on the wake-up rod.

"Dust. Look at all the materials you like. He's a whole warehouse, isn't he?" Argaon's eyes narrowed slightly.

"What did you say?"

"Scales, horns, teeth, blood. I could use all of it." Riphiel's voice came out as something close to a scream.

"You must not say things like that!"

"Why not?"

"He is a dragon!"

"So you're saying he's top-grade material?" Riphiel was struck speechless. Kichan was already charging.

"I have to collect the price of my fish first." The gold around the wake-up rod deepened. The faint wings behind him spread wide for an instant, then shuddered. Argaon's eyes followed the light. Even then, he did not dodge. His blue eyes merely tracked Kichan's movement. A dragon's scales were thick and hard. Mana flowed beneath them. An ordinary weapon would have slipped aside or shattered before it ever landed. As when Kichan had read the Lohonchi manuscript, the scale's solid structure entered his senses.

For an instant, he saw where the layers overlapped, where they left gaps, and where force circulated through them. Kichan struck the weakest point he could see. Boom. The entire valley rang. Something shifted deep in Argaon's blue eyes. The gold around the wake-up rod was touching the current of mana beneath the scale. The wing-shaped aura behind Kichan pulsed to the same rhythm. It hurt. Not enough to kill him, and the scale had not cracked. But it had unquestionably hurt.

It was a kind of impact Argaon had not felt in a very long time. Kichan's wrist rang too. Pain needled through his palm. The gold on the wake-up rod flickered once. Kichan gritted his teeth. He could bluff, but dragon scales really were nothing like ordinary material. Hiding the pain, Kichan rested the wake-up rod on his shoulder.

"That's hard. The material looks even better now." Argaon took his first step back. His blue eyes narrowed. Beside the saber-toothed tiger, Riphiel muttered tearfully.

"This journey has already gone far too far, and it is only the first day." Argaon laughed low. This time, something older than the sound of water resonated beneath it.

"You are the first human to look at me and see material." Kichan kept the wake-up rod on his shoulder. The golden wings behind him still trembled faintly.

"Then you'd better get used to it." Blue light kindled between Argaon's scales. The valley water slowly began to rise. Riphiel spoke quietly.

"You really must dodge this one." Kichan kept his eyes on Argaon.

"I just have to hit him before he hits me."