Chapter 133 - 103 The Cost of Raising a Dragon_1

Chapter 133: Chapter 103 The Cost of Raising a Dragon_1Wave after wave of tickling sensations came from Gaven’s eyes, and he could clearly feel them being adjusted and transformed by the magic of the Dragon’s Sight Glasses as the synchronization progressed. S~eaʀᴄh the ηovelFire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The most obvious change was that his vision became incredibly acute; he could see higher, farther, and clearer, including the delicate patterns of Anna’s skin. The Dragon’s Sight Glasses also began to fade until they eventually became invisible. This was a special ability of some unique magic items, which could integrate into the user’s body. When Gaven chose to remove the glasses and end the synchronization, the Dragon’s Sight Glasses would reappear as a solid object. The most notable external change in Gaven was that his pupils looked somewhat like those of a giant dragon—double-layered, not just a single layer—adding an exotic allure to his appearance and hiding the emotions that occasionally betrayed themselves in his gaze even deeper. Unable to resist the curiosity, Gaven’s gaze turned towards the Maiden Priestess opposite him. After just a dozen seconds, Anna’s Magic Network data appeared before his eyes. Hit Points: 16 (Life Dice: 2D8+4) Size: Medium Attributes: Strength 12, Dexterity 14, Constitution 11, Intelligence 11, Perception 15, Charisma 15 Compared to Gaven’s abnormal attributes, Anna’s six-dimensional attributes were quite standard but stood out among her peers, especially her physical attributes, which still had significant room for growth. According to the training plan that Gaven had tailored for her, as long as she persisted for two to three years, she could reach at least 13 or even 14 points once she was fully grown. During her time with the Blackwell Tribe, she had also grown quite a bit, advancing one Professional Level. With the increase in Gnoll Priests she had trained and the expansion of the God of Suffering’s faith within the Blackwell Tribe, her upgrade speed would surely accelerate. Gaven’s direct stare made Anna somewhat uncomfortable, as if she were stripped of her clothes, her round face blushing and her small hands restless. How could Mr. Gaven look at people like that? Having observed the data, Gaven shifted his focus to the young dragon. Medium Dragonkin (Earth) Hit Points: 78 (Life Dice: 9d12+18) Size: Medium Attributes: Strength 14, Dexterity 10, Constitution 14, Intelligence 12, Perception 13, Charisma 13. "Spying on others’ privacy is a bad habit," the Young Red Copper Dragon said discontentedly. Giant dragons are more sensitive to magic perception, especially the ability of Dragon Vision, which she has intrinsically—this skill was developed by imitating the vision of giant dragons. "Sorry, I just acquired a new ability and was a bit too curious," Gaven said apologetically, though without much sincerity. "Please be mindful in the future. I’ll let it slide this time," said Aivensa, who was in a good mood after a substantial amount of wealth had recently been credited to her, and did not press the issue further with Gaven. "Let’s continue with our previous topic," Gaven turned to the young dragon and began to recount, "Dragon Vision is an unconventional magic, and very few human mages possess it. Such items are even rarer, often created by magicians associated with dragonkin and value rather high, usually exceeding fifty thousand gold coins. We’ll agree on fifty thousand, plus the previous two items, making a total of eighty-seven thousand. As per our seventy-thirty profit split, that totals sixty thousand and nine hundred for you. In the previous deal, I had included my nine hundred as well, so offsetting that, I owe you sixty thousand. Adding the annual salary of one hundred thousand for this year makes it a total of one hundred and sixty thousand gold coins, which I will pay off in twelve installments over the next year, each installment being thirteen thousand and five hundred, including interest and principal. No problems with that, right?" Keeping a giant dragon is costly, even a young one, with daily commissions running over three hundred gold coins. But the rewards are substantial; without Aivensa’s help, slaying a juvenile Red Dragon would have been a foolish fantasy, let alone acquiring three exceptionally useful magic items. The calculations Gaven had just made were without a doubt correct, basically matching the market value. The precondition is that someone would actually sell such practical equipment. Such high-level magic equipment is something many Transcendents level ten and above might only have one or two of, and for someone of Gaven’s current level, in his previous life, they were simply out of reach. Should there be multiple interested buyers, it could result in a price inflation of twenty to thirty percent, which would still be considered normal. "There are no issues with the account, let’s do it as you said," said the young dragon joyously. Three thousand gold coins had exhilarated Aivensa immensely, and she was still quite elated. Turning her head, she saw another large sum coming her way, and while it was on credit, she had the foresight to accept it. Her mind was quickly calculating. One hundred and sixty thousand gold coins—if paid all at once, she would only have the pleasure once, and the next time she got her hands on that much gold would be at least a year away. If she received monthly payments instead, though each individual pleasure would be diluted, it would extend to twelve occurrences, giving her something to look forward to every month. And now she was already looking forward to the next month’s commission payment. "What about the dragon’s nest establishment we were discussing? How have you considered that?" Gaven coaxed, "You’ve already surveyed the terrain of Eagle Cliff, typical easy-to-defend, hard-to-attack. With the Eagle Cliff Burrow underneath, you don’t have to worry about threats from the ground, and most importantly, it will be convenient for them to serve you. There will be carefully prepared food daily and an ample audience. In the future, you won’t need to enter the burrow; you can just sing atop Eagle Cliff." Without needing Gaven to continue persuading, the young dragon Aivensa was already tempted. To be more precise, she had already taken a liking to Eagle Cliff before she met Gaven. She would wander here when she had nothing else to do, on the one hand for the free song and dance sessions of the Harpies and the spectacle of their battles with the Eagle Cliff Burrow, and on the other hand, she was eyeing Eagle Cliff for herself. This kind of isolated cliffside terrain really suits the taste of Giant Dragons. But with the Harpies and a young Red Dragon as major obstacles in the past, a young dragon could only dream. Now, these two massive obstacles were suddenly removed, and she had accumulated her first hoard of treasure; indeed, it was time to start creating her own treasury. What really troubled Aivensa was that constructing a Dragon’s Nest costs money, a lot of money. She began her final struggle with Gaven, "Our previous negotiation for employment included the clause for food and accommodation." "That’s right, it did," Gaven began to reveal his merchant’s grin, "I can construct a Dragon’s Nest out of Eagle Cliff for you to live in for free, but I will own it, not you. As soon as our employment contract ends, or if I am in need, you must move out. If you agree to these conditions, I can start construction immediately." "No, that’s impossible," the Young Red Copper Dragon shook her head without hesitation, rejecting the offer. Not a single Giant Dragon could accept such terms. A Dragon’s Nest is a private palace; how could one just move out at whim? "Then let’s go with the second plan. We will come up with the architectural design, and you will have the final say. I will send people to build it, tailoring a unique Aivensa Dragon Nest just for you," Gaven began to aggressively promote his future Gnoll Construction Company, ready to have them undertake the first major project of constructing a young dragon’s nest. "Come, take a look at the preliminary design sketch; I’ve got it all drawn up." As Gaven spoke, he unfurled a large piece of parchment made from lambskin before the young dragon, "My plan is to build a castle that integrates with the very terrain of Eagle Cliff, a multi-dimensional Dragon’s Nest. Here, I plan to construct an aerial entrance with a protruding platform facing east. Standing here, you can enjoy the first rays of sunlight every day and take the opportunity to show off your singing prowess. Below Eagle Cliff, there will be a large square that will serve as the trading hub for the burrow, bustling with people coming and going. What do you think of this design?" "Good, good, good, this is a must-have, to be prioritized." The young dragon nodded repeatedly, finding the design very much to her liking. Although Red Copper Dragons, unlike Brass Dragons, are not particularly fond of sunbathing, basking in the morning sun and showcasing their singing is still a very picturesque activity. Most importantly, Gaven has thoughtfully considered the audience. Now savoring the taste of singing with a large audience, Aivensa found the thought of going back to singing to mountains and streams far too lonely. "Here, in the manner of humans, we will construct a castle fortification with a great hall that serves as a decoy treasury with a small amount of treasure and numerous traps to deal with uninvited thieves. The real treasury will be below, within the mountain of Eagle Cliff, accessible only by direct descent. The treasury will have an emergency exit that leads directly to the vertical shaft of the burrow, normally locked from the treasury side. I plan to create a three-dimensional storage system for the treasury, with the gold coins in the center and stone shelves for storage in all directions. The eastern side is for various gemstones, the western side for various magic equipment, the northern side for different artworks, and the southern side for an assortment of books. This is my initial concept; the specific items and arrangement will be decided according to your preferences." The heart of the Dragon’s Nest is always the treasury, which is of interest not only to the dragons themselves but also to other creatures. Security always takes precedence over practicality. Gaven not only thoroughly considered the security of the treasury but also its practical aspects. Aivensa, having never owned her own Dragon’s Nest, was utterly devoid of thinking capacity at this moment and could only nod in agreement, unable to conceive of a better design than what Gaven had presented. Sleeping on piles of gold coins each day and turning around to see all her collections was the greatest dream of all Giant Dragons. "If you think the design is fine, shouldn’t we talk about construction now?" Gaven’s foxy tail began to show, "Initially, I will specifically allocate a hundred Gnoll workers for the construction, each Gnoll’s wage is one Gold Coin per day, which amounts to three thousand Gold Coins a month, which will be deducted from your compensation. As the work progresses, we may increase the number of workers, and we will discuss the specifics later, ok?" Normally, Giant Dragons don’t need to spend money to command Gnolls. But this concept had not yet taken shape in the young dragon Aivensa. Mixing with Gaven in the future, she probably won’t ever develop the habit; slowly, the notion of hiring his Gnoll workers will become second nature. As expected, Aivensa didn’t think along those lines at all, only feeling heartache about the compensation not yet in hand; at the blink of an eye, she would be three thousand less each month, but thinking of the ten thousand or more remaining made the young dragon feel slightly better: "Alright then, let’s do it your way." Gaven was acutely aware that the greed of dragons was innate and difficult to change, even for those with a good alignment like Gold Dragons and Silver Dragons. Once it came to treasure, they often turned quite miserly. The same was notorious about the Red Copper Dragons. Once treasure entered a Giant Dragon’s hoard, it was exceedingly difficult to extract it out again. If the deal just made was based on real Gold and Silver, and Gaven had already put over thirteen thousand Gold Coins into the young dragon’s treasury, getting her to pay three thousand Gold Coins would be 99% likely to blow over—she wouldn’t want others to touch her three thousand Gold Coins. But if it was based on a number not yet in her hands, it would be much easier. This was basic knowledge when dealing with dragons.