20: Chapter 20 Leaving 20: Chapter 20 Leaving Not until he was far from the Dragon Nest at the mountain peak could Leon figure out why the Mother Dragon had suddenly exiled him.
Yes, he had thought about leaving on his own before, so he could think, “I can leave, but you can’t drive away.” Being expelled really felt uncomfortable.
With a big gulp, he realized he hadn’t eaten for quite a while.
Turning his grief into appetite, Leon tucked in his wings and dove vertically into the river like a cannonball, snagging several big fish in one breath, gorging and feasting…
Ever since he had mastered the immobilization spell, catching fish had been no challenge at all.
Having eaten his fill, Leon felt a bit more spirited, now worried about the future.
Although expelled from the Mother Dragon’s territory, Leon wasn’t too concerned.
Being weak is relative to an adult dragon; most adventurers and beasts really couldn’t bother him.
Neither lions, tigers, nor brown bears had a higher Challenge Level than a baby dragon, and even Griffins were no match for him.
However, he had to be cautious around Two-legged Flying Dragons; he couldn’t win a head-on fight and escaping by flight would also be difficult.
Despite being so powerful from a young age, baby Red Dragons rarely grew up without incident.
Aside from their whole body being treasure, coveted by too many, their arrogant and headstrong nature was also to bla.
They had brains but failed to use them, controlled by emotions despite knowing the danger – not realizing their plight until facing death was a serious issue.
Compared to a normal baby dragon, Leon, with the Golden Finger, was much stronger and also far more cautious, which should increase his survival rate by at least eighty to ninety percent.
Since the Mother Dragon had given him a one-day deadline to leave, he didn’t need to rush.
According to the burly n the Mother Dragon had captured, many adventurers had already entered her territory.
His bright crimson scales were too conspicuous; roaming around in broad daylight would too easily lead to encountering those adventurers.
Who knows if he might run into an enemy he couldn’t handle.
So it would be best to take advantage of the night, using the darkness as cover to leave the Mother Dragon’s territory…
Besides Humans, many races including Tieflings, Elves, and Dwarfs possessed Dark Vision, seeing dim light as bright light and darkness as dim light.
So relying solely on the cover of night wasn’t safe.
Leon’s gaze suddenly fell upon the glistening river surface, ruffled by a gentle breeze.
Water routes, of course, take the water routes.
Using the river at night to leave would ensure that no one could find him.
The river was only about ten ters wide with an average depth of a few ters, unlikely to harbor any powerful creatures.
The giant crocodile turtle was the local boss, so there wasn’t much threat from dangerous enemies.
Now there was only one last issue: where would be a good place to build his nest.
Leon looked around, thinking the nesting site must be far from towns and villages.
Indeed, while adventurers were inevitable, it was best to avoid them as much as possible.
Although he wasn’t a normal baby Red Dragon, the immobilization spell and Sword Control Technique could increase his Challenge Level by a level or two, he still wasn’t invincible, so the nesting site should be free from powerful enemies like Trolls, Bulettes, Chiras, or Hydras.
The most important thing was resources.
Sufficient sources of food, be it animals or fish, were essential to fill his stomach.
From information obtained through Edwin, the Black Ridge Mountains stretched north to a country called Belun, built on a Frozen Soil Wilderness…
He’d never consider the Frozen Soil Wilderness; he disliked the cold, and just from the na, it wouldn’t likely have any resources.
No need for extre survival asures.
Heading west would lead to the Gobi Desert, which didn’t seem like a suitable place to live.
Thinking it over, Leon’s head began to hurt; he decided to sleep on it first.
Once awake, it was already nightti, and Leon no longer pondered.
Thinking too much wasn’t as good as acting—he decided to take it step by step, figure it out as he went along.
He took his sword—with the Sword Control Technique as the foundation and his main attack thod, the sword was absolutely indispensable—and leapt vigorously out of the nest, plunging into the river.
After swimming upstream against the current for several dozen ters, he decisively turned around and drifted downstream.
Most of the ti he swam subrged, occasionally surfacing to breathe in so air and take in the scenery.
That place was…
where he once collected snails.
How nostalgic, it’s been so long since he last slurped on those snails.
He hadn’t realized before how deep the water was here, probably more than ten ters, yet oddly devoid of fish.
Wow, that’s where he had found the sword he was holding.
He really searched for a long ti back then, almost ready to give up.
This place looked pretty good, but it must still be within Mother Dragon’s territory, so he couldn’t stay.
How long had he been swimming?
At least half an hour, surely.
His current downstream lazy swimming speed was barely twenty kiloters per hour, at most he had covered ten kiloters.
He found a crab and crunched down on it.
He didn’t know how long he had swum, definitely several hours, one could tell by the position of the moon.
Originally the water was several ters deep, now less than a ter, Leon could no longer swim and had to crawl in the water.
Leon looked back and was surprised to see that he could still spot the mountain where Mother Dragon’s Dragon Nest was located.
On second thought, it made sense.
Red Dragons liked to build nests on high mountains, and the location Mother Dragon chose for the Dragon Nest was without a doubt the highest peak nearby, naturally visible from a distance.
Leon suddenly thought of Mother Dragon and Dragon Sister, feeling sowhat concerned.
Mother Dragon hadn’t really taken care of him much, even forced a million gold coin debt on him, recently snatched away his trophies, and today brutally kicked him out, but he had to admit that she did provide him shelter, fulfilling the minimal responsibilities of a mother.
That was being a mother, indeed.
Dragon Sister’s personality was quite terrible, only ever annoying him, but to so extent, she had t his social needs.
Thinking back now, those days of eating, sleeping, and fighting with his sister were actually quite entertaining.
Thinking so much now was useless, he wondered when they would all see each other again.
“Goodbye.”
Leon pursed his lips, perked up his spirit, glanced at the increasingly shallow river, turned to climb onto the bank, and ran towards the distance, seemingly towards a patch of woods.
First, check out that forest, if it’s suitable, he would stay; if not, he’d move on, and see.
Leon stepped over the bushes, climbed up the slope, spread his wings for a low flight, forgetting the gloom of being expelled by Mother Dragon and, to so extent, the sadness of leaving ho.
His heart filled with satisfaction as he rushed toward a new life, nearly missing the familiar ding-dong sound.
“The path ahead is uncertain—leaving your progenitor’s territory, from now on you’re on your own.”
“High-level reward: Mastery of Spell Capacity.”
Ignoring those useless warning ssages.
“High-level reward: Samadhi True Fire.”
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