Armaros wondered as to what the goal of this trial was, normally the dragon should've attacked them the moment it had appeared, or should've pressed it advantage the moment it had slapped her aside. Even if it is a dragon that was created by the power of this chamber, it shouldn't just be standing there and not attacking the intruders, or the attacker in the case of Fanah.
If this was a test, then it is a bizarre one since it is unlike what is usually seen in such things. The conjured dragon is just standing in its position, not moving or anything and just observing the two of them, it had ample time and opportunities to attack them, and yet it remained in its place and just looked at them, and this confused them.
Fanah was now strong enough to stand on her own as she looked at the dragon cautiously. She didn't try to attack it, knowing that it would be a foolish to do that after what it had done in retaliation, and she also doesn't have the permission of her master to do so. She decided to stand beside him and keep her eyes on the dragon, in case it decides to start an offensive.
Armaros looked at the dragon and keenly observed it's demeanor, it's eyes were on them, and it's body was taut and prepared to react in case of an attack, however it didn't seem to have any intention of attacking them, despite being in the perfect position to do so.
'This is certainly strange. Why isn't it attacking us?' Armaros thought to himself as he just looked at the dragon.
He walked towards his previous position a bit in front of the entrance with Fanah following him, and the dragon kept it's watch over them, and yet despite being ready to get attacked by it, the dragon did nothing and just observed them.
'I can't get a read on this thing. It serves a purpose, to protect the crystal, but it's not attacking us as well, only reacting. Why make such a thing if it's not going to be proactive in protecting what it's made to protect.' Armaros thought to himself in confusion.
He knew that Fanah wanted to attack it, as per her teachings from the Church and her beliefs, but he was not going to allow her to do something reckless and perhaps useless, and was glad that she isn't trying to attack the dragon after the first attempt.
He wanted to observe it, perhaps the dragon will attack after a certain amount of time has passed, perhaps its analysing them and will only attack after its completed, however unlikely it was for it to use that method to fight against them.
"Don't attack the dragon or give it any indication that you will do that. Instead just stay here, and only dodge if it attacks." Armaros said to her as he wanted her to know exactly what he wanted her to do.
"Of course." Fanah said to him with a nod.
And so she continued to observe the dragon alongside her master and they kept at it for a few minutes. He created some fireballs, and other attacks in his palms, but never attacked them, wondering if the dragon would attack him if he did that.
Yet it had not. It just observed him, and let him cycle through different types of attacks without any sort retaliation. It only served to further confuse him, and then he had an idea, a dangerous idea but an idea nonetheless.
Dragons are known to not favour the Gods and are known to be actively against them, which is why the religious organisations hate dragons, as they spur and fight the Gods that they worship. And dragons are also known to be quite hateful towards the divine and those who follow it. And though this dragon is an imitation, the fact that it is most likely created by a dragon itself could mean that it would hold the same dislikes and hate of the species.
And so with some caution, he called on the divine spear that he got from the temple, and made sure that the scabbard wasn't acting up due to its absence. The spear appeared in motes of golden light and solidified in his left hand, the weapon gleaming and covered in a layer of divinity as it glinted in the room.
Fanah's eyes widened when he did that, as she hadn't expected him to pull that out in front of a dragon of all things. And so she became laser focused on the dragon, and like her master expected it to attack at the appearance of the weapon.
The dragon growled at them, but even with the presence of a genuine divine weapon, it didn't do anything and just stared at them. This disturbed them, as they didn't know what else to try to check the authenticity of the dragon, so to speak.
"Okay, now this is getting ridiculous. What kind of thing created this?" Armaros said in confusion as he looked at the dragon.
He made his spear disappear back into his body as he looked at the dragon and wondered as it what to do. He had done the tests to see how it responds to their presence and actions, and yet it did nothing and just kept on watching them, not initiating anything, even though it probably has enough power to defeat and kill both of them, especially due to the power it had in hurting Fanah so much.
"This is confusing. That dragon is not doing anything despite what you have shown. There should have at least been some kind of reaction to what you had done." Fanah said in worry and confusion as she looked at the dragon.
"Yeah." Armaros thought to himself as he looked at the dragon.
'Is it due to a hidden condition for this trial? Or, am I looking at this the wrong way?' Armaros thought to himself as he looked at the dragon.
He recalled what the dragon had done ever since it appeared. It observed them, retalited when it was attacked, didn't follow the attack and let him heal Fanah, and then continued observing. Even the act of preparing and creating attacks was not enough to make it attack him, and even when he summoned his Divine Weapon, something that should have made the dragon at least hostile in some form, and yet it had not reacted in any manner.
It was borderline docile, not attacking, not threatening, just standing there, as if it had no intention of attacking them at all.
'Wait, could it be... the clause for this trial...' Armaros thought to himself as his widened a bit as he came to an idea.
"Fanah, what do you think we should do in this situation?" Armaros asked her as he wanted to get a varied opinion.
"I think we should make a plan of attack, we are fortunate that the dragon will not attack on its own, we can use it to our advantage. It's docile nature will be it's undoing." Fanah said to him with conviction as his eyes narrowed.
'So she is still thinking about destroying it.' Armaros thought to himself as he looked at the beast.
"And out of curiosity, what do you think the church, knightly order, people and other races will do if they were in our position?" Armaros asked her as she blinked in confusion at the unexpected question.
"Master?" Fanah asked him in surprise at his unorthodox question, especially in such a situation.
"Just tell me what you think." Armaros said to her as he wanted to hear her opinion due to her experience with the outside world.
"Well, they would think much the same. The dragons are the enemies of the Gods, and as such they are the enemies of the rest of us as well. While the other races don't have the same goals as us, they also do not like the dragons and would've worked on a plan to destroy it and take the treasure." Fanah said to him truthfully, though also confused at the question itself.
Armaros just hummed at that as he regarded her answer, as he thought about what he knew about the world.
'What she has said is true. Despite the existence of the others races, and the tension and hate that is between them, Dragons as a species are still seen as a larger threat, due to them denying their Gods and opposing them, garnering the hate and anger of them all.' Armaros thought to himself as he looked at the dragon.
Before the great war that had given rise to the Heroes and their clans, the dragons were a very powerful species, which would fight against the various species and their gods, never bowing down to them and fighting against them with their overwhelming power. Their strongest members were the only beings who could fight against the Gods and be a threat to them.
However, that dominance was shattered millenia ago, and there is no idea as to what it was, there was no record of it, at least to his knowledge. The dragons as a species also experienced a great decline in their numbers, and now they are regarded as legendary beasts to find and kill by the general people, their former dominance is something that has been erased from the minds of the people, as in their eyes they are just powerful, intelligent, legendary beasts to kill.
'So, why would a species which dominated and stood against the entire world itself on their own create a trial where the dragon isn't attacking the intruders and actively working to protect the treasure? And acting docile unless attacked... Unless the trial isn't about power of the defeat of the construct itself.' Armaros thought to himself as he looked at the dragon and had an epiphany.
The people of this world would never think about trying to befriend a dragon, as to them they are beasts to hunt and attain treasures and fame from. Such a thought wouldn't even come to their mind due to the hate and animosity shown by them, and perhaps that is why he is able to think in such a different manner, as he is not from their world to begin with, and has a different worldview than them.
'This is risky, but if it works, then we won't have to fight it.' Armaros thought to himself as he thought of a course of action.
"Fanah, whatever I do from this point on, unless I call you to attack, you won't do anything." Armaros said to her which caused her to look at him in alarm.
'What? Why would he...' Fanah thought to herself in confusion at that.
She didn't know what his plan was, but it wasn't like she could actually oppose him. And upto now, he has shown himself to be pretty competent despite his young age, and so she decided to see what he plans to do.
"...Okay master." Fanah said to him with a nod.
Armaros nodded at that as he looked at the massive dragon which would be able to swallow him in a single bite, and gulped a bit as he hoped that his idea would be right.