Chapter 397: Chapter 397: Negotiations with Idiots
The drake’s expression froze, its mouth opening, closing, then opening again as though it were going to explain what Noah had "overlooked," only to co up with nothing.
The drake’s eyes shifted back from Amara, then to Noah, its mouth moving suspiciously fast as if it were replaying the entire conversation in its head to see where it had gone wrong.
Its internal dialogue didn’t escape Noah’s notice. It was then that Noah realized that the drake actually believed its own nonsense.
For a mont, he just stared, unsure whether to be irritated or impressed. It genuinely thought this was a fair deal.
Noah’s eyes reflected all of his emotions. It shifted through disbelief, exhaustion, and finally, sothing close to resignation. He couldn’t even be upset; he was convinced this drake had been dropped on its head as a hatchling.
He once believed that the drake was all alone in this forest, away from its kind, because from what he understood of dragons, they were very territorial. He thought the sa must be true for drakes since it spoke so highly of its dragon heritage.
But now, obviously the other drakes couldn’t put up with its "superior intellect."
Finally, the drake coughed, as if clearing its throat could sohow erase the last few seconds of humiliation.
"Well! Helping
is a reward in itself," it declared, voice puffed back up with a very noticeable embarrassnt that was attempted to be masked with pride. "But, of course, if you insist, I suppose I could offer sothing of value in return."
The drake’s gaze flicked away briefly, searching its mind for sothing, anything that might make its words sound convincing. "Perhaps...!" Its eyes shot up, rembering their discussion from the previous day.
"Information!," It shouted, as if the word itself was more fathomable than anything anyone could offer. "You value information, don’t you?" it reiterated quickly, leaning forward as if it had just outsmarted him.
Noah didn’t answer imdiately. His expression didn’t betray much, but the subtle flicker in his eye said enough. The drake wasn’t wrong. Information was valuable, more than most things Noah could get from others. Ever since the worlds had rged, he’d been planning ahead blindly.
Knowledge was power, and power was sothing Noah never turned away from.
Sensing the shift, the drake’s grin widened, confidence returning in waves. It began to mutter to itself, its massive claw tapping against the barren ground as it started calculating.
"Hmm... for a bucket’s worth of blood... maybe thr-no two questions," it whispered to itself. "Yes, two questions seem fair. Anything more, and how else would I be able to get more later?"
Noah didn’t hear its latter mutterings, but his head tilted when he heard the drake still ntioning the bucket. He valued information, but he wasn’t desperate for it.
"Not interested," Noah said flatly.
The drake froze, its eyes widened in shock. It blinked hard, making sure the voice was coming from Noah.
"....A bucket’s worth?"
"No." Noah still rejected without hesitation.
The drake’s jaw fell slack. It was barely getting anything and Noah still rejected it? "Wait! What do you an, no? Yo- You can’t reject a deal like this!"
"But I just did..." Noah replied with the sa dry tone that was driving the drake insane.
The drake’s mana instinctively surged, making the humans watching the "interesting" conversation realize that the drake was far more dangerous than its personality made it seem.
"Fine!" it growled. "Then half a bucket! That’s reasonable, isn’t it?"
"Still no." Noah responded without blinking. He didn’t care what the drake offered; as long as the word "bucket" was anywhere in the sentence, he would deny it.
But the quick rejection was causing the already desperate drake to nearly resort to begging as its expression twisted in disbelief. "Why not? My knowledge surpasses anything you’ll find in this forest. You’d be a fool not t-"
"I would be a fool, but you would also be a fool if you think that information is worth that much of my blood." Noah interrupted, and his words seed to hit ho. The drake didn’t quickly retort because it could still recall the sensation from just the sll of his blood. If its body reacted so strongly just from the sll, then Noah was indeed right to criticize its knowledge to be comparable.
The drake could only pause. It hesitated, searching for a rebuttal. It still believed that its knowledge was still worthwhile, but exactly what would be
worthwhile to Noah? It had no idea.
Noah took its silence to continue. "So because I can’t trust the value of what you have to offer, the sa way you aren’t able to trust the worth of my blood. Here’s my offer."
The drake’s eyes sharpened, its curiosity piqued despite itself.
"The sa amount of blood I give my creatures," Noah said, lifting a hand slightly. "For one simple question."
.
The drake’s eyes narrowed. It seed like a good deal, too good of a deal. Then it looked over to Noah’s creatures. Its instincts told it that their potential was higher than its own. The way they utilized their mana was diocre at best. Yet, they were stronger than the average beast in this forest.
It was sure that their potential had everything to do with Noah’s blood. And if the blood Noah was offering was enough to raise them to such levels, then what would it do for him?
"...Fine," it said at last, puffing out its chest as if it were the one doing Noah a favor. "So ask your question, then, let’s see if it is worth my ti." It spoke as if it was in control, yet the loud thumping of its tail gave away its excitent.
It was ready; it could practically taste the blood already. But as it anticipated for Noah to ask his question, it noticed Noah was still giving him the sa deadpanned stare as before, judging him.
"What is it this ti? Are you going back on your word?" It felt its temper rising.
With the taste of hope falling before it, the drake roared.
Its breathing quickened, it felt as if it was being played with once again.
It was only when it saw Noah point in the direction of a woman that its
anger faltered.
"How about you deal with her first?"
Amara froze when she suddenly found herself being the center of attention of two powerful creatures.
The drake looked at her, really looked at her. It was as if he was trying to recall who she was.
"Oh...right. Her."
For all its confidence monts ago, there was now a hint of embarrassnt in its tone, though it tried to mask it behind a growl. "I nearly forgot you existed, little human."
The ground vibrated as it shifted its weight, its tail flicked against the wall of its cave in irritation. "Well? Out with it then. What do you want?"
The words ca out sharper than intended, like it was scolding her for wasting its ti.
Amara flinched, she found herself struggling to swallow her saliva. All morning she had waited to speak, rehearsing what she would say, but now the drake’s irritation made her fumble.
"I..." Her voice wavered. "I ca to ask for—"
The drake exhaled, loud enough to interrupt her. "Spit it out. I don’t have all day."
That wasn’t true, of course. It had nothing but ti. But impatience was easier to display than the awkward realization that it had just forgotten the very excuse it used to bargain for Noah’s blood.
Noah’s expression didn’t change, though his tone carried a trace of dry amusent when he spoke.
"Funny," he said, "for soone so eager to ’help,’ you seem remarkably uninterested in what that help even was."
The drake’s head snapped toward him, pride prickling. "I am interested! I was... rely letting her gather her thoughts."
Amara looked between the two, unsure if she should continue or stay silent.
The drake gave her a dismissive snort. "Well? Speak before I change my mind and you can just beco my breakfast."
The threat should’ve made Amara’s nerves even worse, but the consequences of not getting the information she needed were enough to make her brave forward.
"We... we have no idea where we are," her voice still trembled. But steadily she was finding her voice. "We don’t wish to intrude more than we have, but we also don’t know where to go... which direction should we go if we want to find others like us? If possible, a settlent where we can be safe?"
For a brief mont, the drake blinked, seemingly underwheld. "That’s it?" It scoffed. "You dragged
out here for sothing that simple?"
Noah, however, didn’t feel the sa.
She wasn’t wrong to ask that. In fact, it was sothing he would’ve liked to know as well. If he wanted to avoid humans, he at least needed to know where they were.
"Well?" Noah pressed the drake who still hadn’t answered.
What Noah didn’t know was that the drake wanted to answer, but it had just realized a flaw in its information. The forest had changed too. But as it thought to itself, it ca to a conclusion that it was only the size of the forest that changed, not the initial direction everything was.
It lifted its snout, pointing east. "That way," it grumbled, then added. "I can’t tell you how long it’ll take. But I suggest you don’t go directly in that direction, unless you enjoy eting trolls."
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