Chapter 282: Chapter 172: First Encounter and the Dragon Tide
Baron returned to Isabella’s side with a check for one hundred thousand, watching the professional Alchemist sent by Edinburgh open the mountain.
Isabella didn’t turn her head. From his angle, Baron could only see her coldly beautiful profile. "What were you doing with those two Dragon Guides?"
"Making money."
"Oh?" Isabella’s lips curled slightly. "How much did you make?"
"A hundred thousand," Baron said. "British Pounds, not US Dollars."
Isabella chuckled. "And here I thought it was a hundred thousand in Gold."
"If only."
Baron breathed a sigh of relief. He knew he was in the clear.
He had answered so candidly purely because he felt there was no way to hide his actions from Isabella. That being the case, it was better to be forthright. He figured that, given her pride, she wouldn’t press him for details.
He’d used this same trick back in his past life whenever his girlfriend wanted to check his phone.
They broke up later anyway.
All because of that damn face unlock.
The one in charge of the mountain-opening ceremony was not a Priest, but an Alchemy professor dispatched from the Edinburgh Wizard School: Frankenstein.
’The name of a monster.’
The man himself, however, was sturdily built. He looked to be about fifty, with graying temples that only accentuated his handsome face. He wore a bespoke suit and had an ancient Alchemy tome tucked under his arm, giving him the air of profound erudition. He looked just like the "handsome daddy" types Baron remembered from movies in his past life.
The eyes of many young female Trial Takers lit up when they saw the Alchemy professor from the Edinburgh Wizard School, clearly captivated by the handsome older man.
’Frankenstein...’ Baron thought. ’Aside from the novel, I feel like I’ve heard that name somewhere before, but I just can’t place it.’
At some point, Lucy sidled up to him and complained, "What’s the holdup? The third dragon roar already ended. It should be about time."
’Time...’
Baron’s heart skipped a beat. He finally remembered where he had heard that name.
’Isn’t this the fucking creator of Time Death Judgment that my cellmate Lawrence was talking about?’
As if noticing Baron’s gaze, Frankenstein gave him a slight nod. He then raised his Magic Staff and tapped the ancient tome in his hand, releasing a stream of runes that flew out like a swarm of colorful insects.
They swirled into circles, forming a bizarrely shaped great-hammer.
The great-hammer then smashed down on the two Barrier pillars at the valley’s entrance.
Smoke and dust billowed as the Barrier pillars shattered. The shield between them collapsed.
Baron was still marveling that this simple, brutish method was what they called "opening the mountain" when the hammer proceeded to smash several Bronze pillars in succession. The path into the canyons of the Dracul Mountain Range was now mostly clear.
Then someone shouted, "Begin!" The Trial Takers stirred into a frenzy, surging into the mountain range.
Baron, Isabella, and a handful of others, however, followed the crowd at an unhurried pace.
Baron was preoccupied with plotting his escape. The others, such as Roy Freya and the Jose Tune group, were simply brimming with confidence.
Roy was confident in his own strength, while Jose and the others were confident in their Dragon Guides.
"Master Jack, the guiding from here is in your hands," Isabella said suddenly after they had officially entered the Dracul Mountain Range.
Baron nodded, mentally switching to his "Escape King" persona to survey his surroundings...
He was surprised to find that he could sense the auras of many Dragon Species. Some were faint, others powerful, likely corresponding to their respective Tiers and ranks.
Just then, he saw the Dragon Guide for Tune and Jose give him a slight nod.
Baron’s eyes darted. He decided it was best to stick with the crowd for now—getting separated this early would be a problem. After giving Isabella a heads-up, they too headed toward the canyon.
Well, "headed" was a loose term. In reality, Isabella was flying, dragging him along by the back of his collar.
Baron had originally intended to run alongside Isabella, but he was afraid of exposing his true abilities. Or maybe his bad luck was just sticking to him. ’Damn it.’
He’d hesitated for a moment, his foot had slipped, and he’d nearly planted his face on the jagged rocks at his side.
If Isabella hadn’t intervened in time, Baron would have been forced to reveal his true abilities—after all, how could a mere Dragon Guide possess such nimble physical control?
Isabella sighed. "For a Dragon Guide, Master Jack, your physical constitution is rather weak."
Baron, dangling by his collar, remained silent. He watched as the other two Silver Dragon Guides zipped past, moving at a speed that didn’t lose out to their Demon Hunter employers in the slightest. He silently flashed them a peace sign.
When Isabella finally stopped, Baron felt like he’d been dropped into a crowded job fair. To borrow a phrase from a certain actress’s meme, his reaction was basically: "So. Many. People."
They were all the Trial Takers who had rushed off at the start.
Upon seeing Isabella and Baron arrive, they and their respective Dragon Guides turned. The sight of their various masks reflecting the sunlight reminded Baron of a field of sunflowers.
The Trial Takers’ faces showed reverence when they saw Isabella. But when the Dragon Guides saw Baron—the White Mask—the looks from beneath their own masks were a mixture of awe-filled scrutiny and outright doubt.
The awe-filled scrutiny came from the indecisive Black Iron Tiers; the doubt came from the Bronze Tiers, who were close to reaching Silver.
This continued until two "genuine" Silver Masks appeared from behind Baron. At that, the looks of doubt... only intensified.
’So you all see it but won’t say anything, huh? Afraid the two Silver Dragon Guides will make your lives difficult? You’re all terrible people.’
Baron, thinking of how he was the original instigator and what he was planning to do next, felt that compared to him, these people were practically saints.
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