CHAPTER 45: “A DRAGON’S DEFEAT”

Just then, a quest completion ding sounded in the [Thought System]. Ai didn’t look or even notice, his gaze was very much preoccupied with the skeletal remains of the dragon in front of him. 

The skeleton was very much intact from the giant dragon head to the long arrangement of its tailbones. Its entire form was curled into itself, as if the creature was just sleeping. The bones, the bits of sunlight, the cavern, it all made for a very picturesque scene that was both beautiful and sad.

How long had this dragon been dead? Dragon bones were quite durable against erosion and decay so it would be difficult to tell just by looking at them.

Morion looked less surprised that Ai. In fact, his expression gave off the impression that he had long suspected something like this. Pocketing the shining stone back into his inventory, he took one step down then reached out his hand towards Ai, who took the hand with his eyes still on the skeleton.

As unexpected as it was, the giant skeleton was a sight that could never ever exist in real life. As such, he was quite wowed by it. Morion slowly helped him down the slope and as they got closer, the skeleton grew bigger and bigger and Ai felt tinier and tinier.

Up close, the dragon’s looming height was amazing. He felt as though he was staring at a two or even three story building. Ai gently ran his hand against the bone, feeling the smooth texture and the bits of cracks underneath his fingertips.

“What do we do now?” Ai wondered out loud. “Was there something we needed to do? Did someone beat us to it?”

“Unlikely. The quest wouldn’t be completed if someone else had killed it, and I don’t think players have the ability to turn a living dragon into mere bones.”

Morion then pulled out an item from his inventory. It was tiny, as big as a fingernail. It looked like a purple crystal. He then with all his strength, threw the crystal upwards where it kept going until it reached just above the skeleton’s height. The tiny crystal glowed and began casting light onto the entirety of the skeleton bones.

“It’s called an [Appraisal Crystal]. Expensive but good for information.” Morion explained in response to Ai’s curious expression.

After a few moments of scanning the skeleton, the crystal stopped shining its light then dropped onto the ground. After retrieving the appraiser tool, Morion placed the tool in his palm then allowed the information to be displayed to both of them.

Crystal Appraiser Result:

Skeletal remains that seemed to belong to a member of the Valley Dragon kin. The skeleton has been around for an unspecified amount of time but has yet to rot or decay due to the sturdy nature of dragon bones. The bones in the skeleton structure are complete. Cannot be used for any crafting due to how long it has been left untouched.

Ai saw nothing out of ordinary with the information. He wasn’t knowledgeable of the dragon lore of [World Symphony] thus he really didn’t know how valuable the information presented was. 

Morion however looked perplexed. 

His eyes scanned the results a few more times and each time, his brows would furrow even more.

“Valley Dragons…” Morion took back the crystal and then looked back at the bones. “They’re a type of dragon residing in the outskirts of the dragon region. Strictly omnivorous and peaceful. Though their interactions with other races are at a minimum, they’re known for being non aggressive and...a non fire breathing dragon.”

“Then it’s impossible for this dragon to be the one that burnt down the village. Could there be another dragon, do you think?”

At that possibility, Morion also shook his head. “I’ve also been thinking about it. This region...it’s much too low in altitude and too dense in forestry. Dragons prefer high and rocky mountains. Even this skeleton, it's rare for it to be here. It wouldn’t even fit through the only entrance.”

“Do you think this dragon simply died here a long time ago, then the cave formed after that?”

Morion shrugged. “It’s a possibility. One thing's for sure, though. The village was not destroyed by a dragon.”

***

“Do you think Tirto will turn into, like, a mini boss or something?” Ai laughingly joked as they made their way back into the village.

Morion chuckled at the mention of the RPG cliche. 

Though they laughed about it, they needed to prepare for the worst case scenario. It was a joke, but it could also be fully true that Tirto might transform into a giant creature that they needed to battle as a mini boss of the area.

“Are you prepared for a fight?”

Ai winced internally and then looked at his own levels. A pitiful level 17. 15 from reading the Book of Language then an extra 2 levels from just doing quests. He’d been so proud of reaching it too. He really needed to find a Keygiver or really anyone with the ability to transform his scrolls again since it seemed to give the most levels. Perhaps he could even use this chance to visit Avra back at Pymule.

For now, to Morion’s question, Ai just shook his head.

“The Mediator class is an uphill battle.” Morion commented. His tone was warm and encouraging, rather than condescending like most players seemed to feel towards the class. “You were meant for it and you seem to be doing great already.”

Meant for it…

Just as he thought about those words for a bit in his mind, his steps faltered when he neared the village. 

Was that...chattering? Of people?

Morion picked up on the sounds as well and with one hand on the hilt of his sword, gestured for Ai to create some distance between them so they could cover more ground. Following this, he sent Athens to observe from the sky for the time being.

The two peeked from between the shrubbery. What they saw had them frozen in place. 

In the village, there were...people. Actual people mingling around, laughing and talking with each other as if the place hadn’t been a ghost village just earlier. Men, women, children, all present and acting happily. All the people were similarly dressed to Tirto, they all seemed to wear beautifully patterned cloth, be it a skirt or just slung across one shoulder, it was most likely a culture. Still, the beautiful material they had didn’t take away from the fact that the people were supposed to be dead.

They didn’t seem to be malicious or aggressive, but Morion looked incredibly wary. Though Ai understood his wariness, he believed that this was just another result of them completing their quest. A result they needed to face head on so they could maybe figure out what was happening in this village.

Ai gave Morion a look then left their hiding spot without waiting for the other player. As soon as he got up and came into view, all the villagers stopped what they were doing. The chattering turned into silence as the people quickly turned their heads to look at the elf.

Ai gulped but didn’t back down. He managed to grab hold of Morion’s hand and tugged him along, heading towards Tirto’s house.

The people’s blank gazes continued to follow them unrelentingly. Though Ai felt kind sorry for putting Morion through this kind of thing, knowing how much he didn’t like creepy settings, they were really not going to achieve anything just by hiding and waiting around.

When they managed to arrive at Tirto’s house, the old man was prepared and was waiting at his front door. He gave a big grin when he saw the two of them walking towards him.

The old man opened his arms wide and gave a hearty laugh.

“You did it, you did it!” He exclaimed, so jolly that it sent shivers down Ai’s spine. “You defeated the dragon! Look at how you freed the people!”

Ai didn’t want to look at those blank gazes again that followed them wherever they went. Even now, at quite a distance, he still felt the villagers’ stare burning a hole through his head. 

Shaking the feeling off temporarily, Ai cleared his throat.

“Yes,” Ai said, trying not to sound too shaky and suspicious. “The dragon in the caverns is no more.”

The old man laughed once again. He laughed and laughed and laughed until tears started to pool on the corner of his eyes. That laughter made Ai uncomfortable because as the old man continued without stopping, the laughter gradually turned to sounds of crying.

After he was finished, he wiped the corner of his eyes then spoke again.

“Please, travelers, what reward do you desire?”

It was then that Ai and Morion gave each other a look. This was something that they both have discussed as they made their way back to the village. They agreed that something was off with the village and the entire quest chain. There had to be something more that they needed to do to achieve the best ending for all of this.

Ai gazed at the man’s eyes then spoke as firmly as he could. 

“For our reward...let us explore your house.”