That evening.
Blue Dragon Bank, ground floor of the tower, inside the enormous banquet hall.
Charles sat with his legs together on a chair, looking a bit stiff. In the center of the room remained that giant round rosewood table, but tonight it was laden with a vast array of gourmet food: lamb, roast suckling pig, caviar, black truffles...and many other dishes whose names he didn't know but could tell at a glance were outrageously expensive, far out of reach for ordinary families.
Of course, the main meat was still various preparations of camel.
All this was mainly to cater to the appetite of the massive blue dragon seated opposite at the table.
Blue Dragon Prince Rahman was lying now on a massive golden woolen blanket across from him, a circle of pristine white napkins tucked under his chin, completely covering his thick draconic whiskers.
He continued to use the cantrip "Mage Hand," letting unseen forces do the work of his own claws, dipping the gourmet morsels in sauce and delivering them to his mouth.
"Mmm...this is cooked to perfection. Give the chef who prepared this roast camel a one hundred gold raise this month." After swallowing a piece of roast camel, Rahman let out a contented sigh, giving instructions to his secretary, then turned with a hint of confusion toward Charles. "Why have you stopped eating? Is none of this to your taste?"
Charles gave an awkward smile. "I'm...quite full."
To be precise, he was a little overstuffed.
After all, this was his second time meeting the blue dragon in person, and this time as the honored guest. Not to mention that he was now eighth-level, his Strength leagues beyond last time—so he'd lost his nervousness, and simply enjoyed gourmet dishes he'd scarcely savored even in his previous life.
With the help of tart red wine, he had unintentionally eaten until his stomach was taut.
Now he sat up straight, quietly practicing abdominal breathing to ease the pressure in his gut.
But to his surprise, when Rahman heard this, the dragon actually frowned slightly, as if dissatisfied.
"You don't have to be so formal with me, dear Charles," he said. "If you dislike something, or want something special, just say the word. I can have the chefs prepare it for you—it's no trouble at all."
Charles forced a bitter smile: "Prince Rahman, I genuinely cannot eat any more. Humans are simply like that—we eat little, and are small as well."
He glanced pleadingly at Rahman's sharply-dressed dragonborn secretary. At just the right moment, Rahman's own confused gaze landed on the secretary, who nodded with polite seriousness. "Indeed. Even among humans famous for their appetites, consuming so much food would leave anyone full."
Charles felt awkward, but this was preferable to being pressed to eat by the blue dragon.
"So that's it," Rahman nodded. "No wonder silver dragons like humans—they're cheaper to keep."
Charles: "…"
"Well then, let's get to business." Rahman dissolved Mage Hand, pausing his meal for now. "I already know about your heroic performance at the Rockseeker's Outpost. Despite such danger, you did remarkably well—it's impressive."
Charles quickly demurred, "I was simply lucky—hardly worth mentioning."
"Yet, even so, it's a shame so much could not be saved," Rahman continued, "And in those northwest mountains, even greater threats are brewing."
"Dear Charles, tell me: do you plan to answer the Open Lord's call and go there to purify evil?"
Charles fell silent, mind whirring as he tried to analyze Rahman's intentions, and to deduce what answer he wanted.
The only connection between himself and this blue dragon was money. With his company raking in profits, he was likely one of the few Charles-backed investments yielding fast, positive gains.
Plus, the special features of the houses he had built couldn't have escaped Rahman's notice; the potential for future, even bigger investment was obvious.
So, Rahman probably didn't want to see him risk his life and have an accident.
Throughout the conversation, Rahman had repeatedly emphasized "danger"—hinting that the mountains were too perilous, and that he shouldn't charge in rashly.
The answer expected was thus self-evident.
Charles gave a bitter smile and lightly shook his head: "That's an Abyssal Lord. I know my own limits—against such a being, I might not even land a blow."
Rahman's brow flickered. "But I heard on the battlefield you unleashed fierce energies, driving back foes. Do you really have such little confidence in yourself?"
Charles shook his head, "That was nothing but bullying ordinary mountain folk."
"An Abyssal Lord likely doesn't have such strong defenses."
"They're certainly tougher than mountain folk in animal hide armor, aren't they?"
"Well, true enough..." Rahman pondered a moment. Just as Charles thought he'd passed the test, the blue dragon suddenly spoke again: "But what if I give you a +3 battlemage's wand?"
"That would…" Charles began, then stopped, "Ah?"
Did I misunderstand?
He wants me to go into the mountains and fight demons?
Wait—why?
He couldn't understand, and as he looked up, the blue dragon went on, "If I'm not mistaken, there is a +3 battlemage's wand in my vault. If you need it, it's yours."
"Hm...and if I am mistaken, it's no big deal—I'll just purchase a new one." He mused aloud, his gaze unfocused, then fixed back on Charles. "With its help, you should feel confident about facing those demons, yes?"
Charles was dumbfounded, but before he could reply, Rahman hurried to clarify, "Of course, I'm not saying you must confront Montport directly. If you kill a few demons, that's still a contribution, isn't it?"
Charles was speechless, once again in awe of blue dragon extravagance.
A +3 battlemage's wand was an artifact boosting accuracy, penetration, and damage. In game terms...
He calculated. With such an item, his Eldritch Blast could increase in power by nearly half!
Its price was exorbitant—often two to thirty thousand gold for one, and now, with Laeral Silverhand issuing rewards, demand was so high it could fetch fifty thousand gold or more…
Simply gifting such an item, at such a crucial moment?
Tsk…
He had an inkling of what this blue dragon was up to.
Supporting him as a proxy for the blue dragon conglomerate.
It was characteristic of the game's mid-period—when the port was threatened by a calamity, Laeral Silverhand would intervene at great cost, yet her ensuing weakness would leave the city's aftermath in the hands of the local adventurers.
At that point, every major conglomerate would rush to back various gangs, adventuring parties, and mercenaries as their proxies, expanding their shadowy influence in the city, sometimes even escalating things to outright bloodshed...
Of course, the blue dragons would do the same. What he now faced was a blue dragon's overture.
Rahman had clearly noticed Charles's fighting prowess at the Rockseeker's Outpost—alongside his ability to make money—and was now set on investing in him, supporting him as a proxy!
So Charles gently nodded, accepting: "Of course, I would—well, is there anything else you would have me do?"
Technically, a veteran player would refuse in this sort of situation. Not just refuse, but fleece all the conglomerates for every benefit, repay no obligations, and—after leveling up, upgrading the monastery, maxing out every spell, feat, supernatural gift, equipment, reputation, and training—the ideal player would trigger the mid-game events and bash the major factions for a vast profit.
But could he do that?
He was only eighth level, with no feats, unfinished equipment, and not a single trained unit—he had no power to compete.
So, clearly… Taking the cautious route was the right choice.
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