Reincarnated as a blue dragon, he collided head-on with a wizarding civilization.

For the first time, the gray-robed wizard's gaze truly and evaluatively fell upon Una.

His gaze, like a cold probe, swept from the top of her head covered with fine, dark gray scales, across her shoulders that were slightly hunched in by habit, past her slender frame that was considered small for a dragon-human, and finally settled on her lowered eyelids and her forelimbs, with white knuckles, tightly gripping the Thunderwood.

A dragon-human, not of pure blood, showed no trace of the magical fluctuations characteristic of wizards; his posture was timid, and his eyes darted away.

In his experience, this usually means weakness, isolation, and being easily manipulated.

He forced a smile.

But the smile was forced; the muscles around his eyes and mouth twitched unnaturally, as if being pulled by something.

"Little girl,"

His voice was softer than when he spoke to the stall owner, but the softness seemed deliberate.

"I'll pay you 1.5 times your asking price. This piece of wood is very important to me."

Una's fingers gripped the Leitong wood in her arms even tighter.

The wood was hard and cold, and its silvery-white grain reflected a faint but firm luster in the sunlight filtering through the cracks in the alley.

She kept her head down, not even daring to look at the gray-robed wizard who had spoken, and simply shook her head slightly.

"...Not for sale."

The sound was very soft, but very clear.

The person stared at her lowered head and tense shoulders for a full two seconds.

The repeated setbacks and rejections led him to give up on further persuasion efforts.

Especially after being rejected by this dragon girl in front of him, who seemed like a pushover no matter how you looked at it.

Under this unexpected blow, the stiff smile that the gray-robed wizard had barely maintained on his face vanished like the tide.

There was no expected outburst of anger, no further threats, not even a trace of superfluous expression.

His gaze underwent a qualitative change in an instant.

It was no longer the impatience or annoyance directed at the stall owner, but something deeper and colder.

It was as if a floodgate to emotions had been completely shut, leaving only pure calculation, or... something else, behind it.

It was indescribable, yet it instinctively sent a chill down one's spine.

He slowly released his hand, which had been firmly pressing against the edge of the Leitong wood, and even took a small step back to create some distance.

"……good."

The gray-robed wizard responded.

The voice was very calm.

It was abnormally calm.

After saying that, he turned and left.

His pace was neither fast nor slow, and his boots made a dull thud on the stone pavement.

His grey apprentice robe silhouette quickly blended into the dim light and shadow of the alleyway, disappearing completely around the corner of the narrow lane.

Only when the footsteps were completely out of earshot did Una's tense shoulders relax almost imperceptibly.

She quietly took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled, as if she had been holding her breath the whole time.

The strength in her arms around Lei Tongmu loosened slightly.

She held the timber more securely, preparing to get up and leave this place of trouble.

"This guest."

The stall owner's calm voice came from behind.

Una paused, then turned around.

The stall owner remained seated behind the tattered, dirty cloth mat, his pale gray eyes calmly watching her from the shadow of his hood.

His tone remained unchanged, but his words instantly stiffened Una's body, which had just relaxed.

Please be more careful in the future.

He said, his gaze seemingly passing over Una, glancing at the alleyway where the man had disappeared.

"This is Blackwood Market, it has its own rules, and he wouldn't dare to act recklessly here. But once he's outside this barrier, things might be different."

He paused, then added,

"That person has been deeply affected by the mutation of the swamp lizard, which has seeped into his bloodline. If this is not resolved, his path to becoming a wizard will basically come to an end."

Therefore, he most likely... won't give up easily.

Una held the Leitong wood, standing still, her fingers unconsciously tightening again, the cold wood pressing against her chest.

She opened her mouth, but her throat felt dry, and in the end, she didn't say anything.

She didn't know what to say, so she simply bowed to the stall owner.

It bowed deeply, its dark gray scales gleaming matte in the sunlight.

Then, she straightened up, stopped for a moment, turned around and walked quickly back the way she came, almost running towards the exit of the narrow alley.

She lost interest in shopping.

She sold the potions she had brought with her through the same channels as before.

He was a regular customer; his transactions were always fair, requiring little persuasion.

She did go, and the transaction was quick. The other party checked the goods, paid in silver coins, just like always.

But throughout the process, Una seemed distracted.

Her gaze uncontrollably swept frequently across the crowded people behind her, scanning every possible shadowy corner, her vertical pupils filled with vigilance and unease.

No one followed.

At least, with her eyesight and senses, she did not detect any obvious signs of being followed.

------

Una practically ran as she burst through the archway of the market, which was shrouded in a pale blue halo.

Her steps were much more hurried than when she came, and Lei Tongmu was held tightly in her arms.

The heavy wood pressed against her chest, causing a clear, dull pain. The silvery-white patterns on its surface reflected dazzling spots of light under the sudden, intense sunlight after passing through the barrier.

But she was completely unaware of it, and just kept her head down and walked quickly, her vertical pupils scanning her surroundings warily, her shoulders hunched inward unnaturally, and her whole person was like a frightened bird.

In the distance, under the withered, crooked tree, Motu keenly sensed something amiss and immediately stood up.

He saw Una, and he also saw her unusual posture, the stiffness and urgency caused by excessive tension.

It looked just like a small woodland animal that had just narrowly escaped from the clutches of a predator, still shaken but too afraid to linger.

Una almost bumped into Motu.

Before she could catch her breath, she hurriedly stuffed the Lei Tongmu she was holding tightly in her arms, along with the small cloth bag containing the remaining gold coins, into Mo Tu's hands.

Her hands trembled slightly, and the metal coins clinked together in her palm, making a soft, disorderly tinkling sound.

"You got it? Why the rush? Did something happen?"

Motu took the heavy piece of paulownia wood and casually turned it over to examine it.

The silvery-white natural crackle pattern is clear and smooth, the wood is hard and heavy to the touch, and the more than one hundred fine annual rings on the cross-section are undeniable.

Over a century old, of excellent quality.

This is exactly what we need.

Una's lips moved a few times, as if she wanted to say something.

But in the end, he said nothing, only nodded very slightly, his gaze still lowered, not daring to meet Motu's eyes.

Motu carefully put the Leitong wood into the animal skin bag, preparing to embark on the return journey with her—

call!

A gray shadow shot towards the market entrance with a whooshing sound!

That speed far exceeded that of an ordinary person running; it was a short-distance sprint achieved through a burst of magical power!

Each time the figure touched the ground with its toes, it would dart forward more than ten meters like an arrow released from a bow, leaving a series of evenly spaced indentations of varying depths on the gravel ground.

The gray shadow stopped abruptly a few meters in front of them, landing steadily and blocking their path.

"Let me introduce myself, Matthew Anderson, a mid-level wizarding apprentice."

The gray-robed wizard looked at the dragon and the human before him and said this.