Chapter 175
After the battle, Draco decided it was best to let his familia rest for a while.
To his surprise, the fight had concluded much quicker than he had anticipated, leaving them with ample time before their scheduled city patrol duties.
While his familia took a moment to catch their breath, Draco wasted no time and began inspecting the Goliath's magic stone.
The massive stone was significantly larger than the one he had acquired from the green dragon.
He examined it closely, noting the difference in size and quality.
‘It’s a lot bigger, but the energy purity seems a bit lighter than the green dragon’s. Is it because the green dragon is found in deeper floors?’ he pondered, his mind racing with possibilities.
An idea crossed his mind: ‘I wonder if I should shave some of the magic stone to feed Vesta and Yara.’ he thought.
However, he quickly shook his head, dismissing the idea.
Draco was acutely aware of the risks involved in feeding his firebirds anything other than what they were accustomed to.
He had always been careful to provide them with magic stone shavings from monsters that were around their level.
The last thing he wanted was to jeopardize their health or development, especially after all the time and effort he had invested in raising them.
Despite feeling frustrated by their slow evolution, he reminded himself that this was a delicate process.
So far, he had managed to slightly increase the intensity of their flames.
The progress might have been minimal, but it was progress nonetheless.
He desperately wanted them to evolve into something remarkable without any unintended side effects.
Whenever he fed them magic stones from other monsters, he noticed that the energy in the core of his firebirds increased slightly beyond their previous maximum.
‘It’s taken two months just to see these minute changes,’ he thought, reflecting on the effort it had taken thus far.
‘But at least they’re happening.’ he mused.
Just then, a weird thought struck him: ‘Wait, am I creating a Xenos?’ he wondered, but quickly dismissed the notion.
Xenos were beings formed when a dungeon monster accumulated enough experiences to develop an ego over numerous lifetimes, a cycle of life and rebirth.
What he was doing was very different—he was just attempting to modify a living monster created by the dungeon, but he felt somewhat uneasy about the implications of his actions.
Suddenly, a voice called out to him, breaking the chain of his thoughts.
“Draco nii, Draco nii!” It was Dimitra, looking at him with concern.
“What?” he asked, turning to face her.
“Is something wrong? You just stood there staring at the magic stone, not moving for about five minutes,” she said, her brow furrowing with worry.
‘Five minutes?! I must have looked ridiculous,’ Draco thought, feeling a flush of embarrassment.
“Sorry, I was lost in thought. I didn’t notice the time,” he replied sheepishly.
“Oh, it’s great that you’re alright. Anyway, we’re ready to leave,” Dimitra said, visibly relieved.
Draco nodded and grabbed a large piece of plain cloth, carefully draping it over the Goliath’s magic stone until it was completely covered.
He hefted it onto his shoulders and turned to his familia.
“Let’s head home,” he announced, leading them out of the dungeon.
……………………………………………………..
Within an hour, they had reached the guild, sold the Goliath’s magic stone, and made their way back home.
Upon their arrival, their goddess, Bahamut, was somewhat taken aback to see them return so early.
Eager to share tales of their epic battle, the children quickly freshened up and began recounting every detail, their excitement infectious.
Bahamut set aside her book and listened patiently, her expressions shifting with each close call and exaggerated performance.
There was still some time until noon, the hour Draco had planned to start their patrol.
After they finished sharing their adventure, Bahamut praised them continuously for their bravery and skill.
And then came the pivotal moment: levelling up.
The levelling process was surprisingly quick and smooth, largely because each of them had already made their choices for their development abilities.
All of them had no choice but to select the ‘Abnormal Resistance’ development ability, a necessity for diving deeper into the dungeon.
Unlike Draco, they did not possess the various racial passives and special abilities bestowed upon him.
Once the level up was complete, the Bahamut familia boasted a total of seven level 3 adventurers.
This was a remarkable achievement for a new familia and showcased their strength after just over a year of hard work and dedication.
Draco himself was a level 4, making their familia a threatening new force.
In the era led by the Zeus and Hera familia, this level of strength would have been considered cannon fodder, but for the current day Orario, the Bahamut familia could already be considered a decent powerhouse.
He knew that news of their new levels would likely stir chaos, but he felt no concern over it.
With the upcoming activities of the Evilus organization, Draco was sure that Orario wouldn’t have the time to deal with them.
It was a troubling concern, but it inadvertently shifted attention away from the Bahamut familia.
‘With the rising tension, many people around are starting to move out of the city. It’s about time I start looking for land to purchase for cheap,’ Draco thought to himself, feeling a twinge of unease at the nature of his thoughts.
‘Ugh, why does this feel so wrong yet so right at the same time?” he mused, grappling with a minor sense of guilt.
Acquiring something he valued at a low cost wasn’t inherently bad, yet the circumstances under which he sought to do so mildly unsettled him.
He pushed the conflicting emotions aside and focused on reviewing the new status sheets of his familia members.
As he feared, three of them had not acquired any magic.
‘Ugh, that means I’ll need to expend all three grimoires,’ he observed, his draconic heart aching at the thought of parting with such valuable resources.
Creating the two additional grimoires had taken an immense amount of time and effort.
The grimoires were nearly duplicates of the first, and he had learned from his earlier mistakes by making careful reference notes.
It had taken him approximately four months to create the first grimoire, two months for the second, and about one and a half months for the third.
This wasn’t due to an increase in the proficiency of his mystery development ability; rather, it stemmed from the reduction of time spent in the dungeon and on patrols.
He had dedicated entire days solely to crafting the grimoires, shortening the process considerably.
While he had initially intended to create five, he found two to be his limit within that timeframe.
‘Still, it’s great that Nikolaos and Vasileios acquired magic. They certainly contributed a lot in the battle against the Goliath. But it hurts to give away these grimoires to the others,’ Draco thought, gritting his teeth in frustration.
Though they were family, the reality was that each grimoire cost a minimum of 100 million Valis.
He was about to squander a sum of over 300 million Valis to fulfill his desire for everyone in the familia to acquire magic.
The emotional struggle weighed heavily on him, yet he remained resolute.
Draco called Eleni, Dimitra, and Clair to him and reluctantly handed over the grimoires.
Each one that slipped from his grasp made his Draconic blood boil.
His instincts screamed at him for giving away such valuable treasures without compensation.
Yet a multitude of reasons allowed him to let go.
They were family, after all. He could always create more grimoires, though the materials were not exactly cheap.
Finally, he was genuinely interested in witnessing the results of his work. Originally, he had planned to test the grimoires on the Astraea familia first, but his priorities had shifted.
As he watched his familia members accept the grimoires with excitement and hope, he felt a flicker of satisfaction.
Perhaps this was the true essence of family—to support one another in pursuit of growth and strength.