I'm really not a dragon.

"System, Asteria is a little female dragon, right?"

[Deep in thought: ...]

The system has seen all sorts of scenes—but this is one it has never seen before.

[Under Reconsideration: Astraea is revered as the goddess of invention among the dragons, a shrewd bronze ancient dragon. Ancient dragons have lost the ability and desire to reproduce. Although they still have the ability to create offspring, it is not a traditional reproductive ritual. Perhaps, this is just a joke.]

Answer: Yes.

Well, anyway, Suen made a profit. If the other party had been a male brass dragon, Suen would have accepted it for the sake of the two people's high moral approval.

What a terrifying day!

Suen lay on the damp, moldy bed and slowly closed her eyes.

Inside the dark rat trails

Big Tooth reluctantly opened his eyes.

bad,

Farming, hunting, and such things

No matter how I think about it, it seems impossible.

The rat's long, pointed skull is for squeezing into the cracks of its burrow, while its round, oily fur is for keeping it dry in the damp underground.

Stealing and stealing food are the survival strategies of mice.

How could it possibly farm and hunt?

Is this what the Dragon Lord meant by the mindset of the weak?

A fire ignited in Big Tooth's eyes; the Dragon Lord had praised him as a strongman!

In that case, he should solve the problem in a way that the strong do.

Big Tooth made a psionic call to the rat swarm, believing that everyone should stand together in times of crisis, and that this was the perfect moment to showcase the brilliance of the rats' nature.

A group of mice were baffled by this problem and tentatively offered a few suggestions.

Big Tooth actually found a seemingly feasible solution.

"Planting and hunting, the human kitchen always randomly refreshes with food, isn't that the perfect plantation?"

"Every time I steal food from the kitchen, I have to watch out for Hakimi and human slippers! Obtaining food in danger is like hunting grounds."

It seems that what everyone is saying makes some sense.

Big Tooth gradually came to understand everything.

After a long time,

Suen felt something tugging at her eyelids. She looked up and saw...

Big Tooth was looking at him with great interest.

"What's wrong, little one?"

"Squeak! I, Big Tooth, have mastered planting! And I've learned to hunt too! Squeak!"

How long has it been? Has that little guy, Daya, already learned to lie?

However, even if it's said to be completed verbally, the progress of the task cannot be faked.

Suen looked up and saw...

Farmland: 3/30

[Hunting Grounds: 2/20]

?

and many more,

How did you, a mouse, manage to cultivate farmland and open up hunting grounds?

Suen was fully awake.

He closed his eyes and could vaguely sense that a land flowing with honey and milk had appeared in the dragon's nest—a smoke-filled, bustling hunting ground and farmland.

Suen reopened her eyes, her expression somewhat strange.

"Hmm, is this really farmland and hunting grounds?"

I got out of bed and pushed open the door.

Soon after, Suen arrived near the "farmland" and "hunting grounds".

The cook was an elderly woman, holding a sleeping baby in her arms.

She stirred the broth.

Bright red carrots, soft and tender potatoes, sweet and fresh onions, and beef leg bones floated in the cooking pot.

One bug is a bug, but a bunch of bugs can work.

Well, although it seems like there are many problems, as long as it can run, that's fine.

Suen has given up on considering rationality.

The elderly woman chuckled when she saw Su En and beckoned him to come inside. "Little one, are you hungry?"

"I'm not hungry yet, thank you!" Su En frowned imperceptibly.

For a fleeting moment, a sticky, nauseating feeling welled up inside him. It was as if he had touched the bumpy back of a toad, or felt his body covered in slippery snails.

He didn't know if it was the sight of the old man or the strange taste of the food that caused it.

In short, he felt uncomfortable staying here.

No, that's not right, could it be...?

[Local Legend – Lady Withered Heart, Amelia.]

"Grandma, is your name Emily?"

The elderly woman covered her mouth and laughed.

"Hehe, I don't have such a nice name. Everyone prefers to call me Aunt Ethel! Emily is this little one's name. Sleepyhead, wake up."

The legendary, arrogant woman, Lady Amelia, was just an infant.

She opened her eyes, saw Su En's appearance, pouted, and burst into tears.

Sun and Aunt Ethel frantically tried to get the child to sleep.

Su En looked at the baby's smiling face and the system notification that the challenge had been successfully completed.

One can't help but marvel at how advanced this matchmaking system is; it's full of little girls and babies, so he could easily take on ten of them.

"Thank you! My dear young man."

"You're welcome. The little one's parents must be very busy!"

Su En casually replied

"Oh." Aunt Ethel looked at Suen strangely, and drawled, "Oh, they have so much leisure time to enjoy all by themselves, so many secrets to whisper about. It's just a lot of trouble for this old woman to take care of the poor little thing."

Is this really so irresponsible?

Suen could picture Aunt Ethel's family situation and couldn't help but say with pity, "You've really had a hard time."

Aunt Ethel looked at him and suddenly asked curiously, "My sister, how is Audrey?"

"She also..."

Su En's smile froze.

He remained silent, gripping the Blood Skull Ritual Dagger, while his other hand drew the staff from his back.

"Who are you?" Su En asked in a deep voice.

He is now using someone else's face.

Moreover, how did she know about the relationship between Suen and Ms. Odelle?

"I'm Aunt Ethel!"

She smiled, and Su En could almost see a terrifying face hidden beneath her withered, sallow complexion, a smile that stretched from her lips to her ears as she looked at him.

The monster pulled a platinum perfume bottle from its sleeve and muttered:

"Alright, poor boy, I don't know what's gotten into you, you don't even recognize your kind Aunt Ethel anymore. Anyway, just give this to that little bitch Odelle."

Legendary item detected: Soul Incense (Hatred)

How many steps are needed to go from god to man? Deception, betrayal, hatred, despair... and finally, the blending of perfume, love.

The silvery-white perfume swayed in the bottle, reflecting wisps of morning light, vaguely resembling a young girl's long hair.

Suen's perfumery skills are very poor.

Even so, he could tell at a glance that this perfume was exquisitely crafted, with an elegant fragrance, and was definitely a top-tier perfume.

"Why didn't you deliver it to him yourself!"

"If I saw her face, I would tear her apart!" Aunt Ethel's face was filled with jealousy for a moment, twisting like a demon, but it returned to normal the next moment.

She said with a smile, "Besides, this can't be done without you."

Suen took the perfume with a look of doubt.

Aunt Ethel looked to be almost seventy, but the landlady wasn't that old; she was at most forty, no, at most thirty-five.

Despite such a large age difference, they still address each other as sisters.

Su En was suddenly stunned. The moment he took the perfume, a line of text appeared before his eyes.

[Influenced by the Mirror Maiden Ritual]

[Your charm has been penalized by 1 point]

[Attributes: Strength 12, Agility 12 (+1), Constitution 11, Perception 14 (-5), Intelligence 11, Charisma 18 (-9)]

Has your charm diminished?

Suen stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

He had previously wondered why his charm had diminished so much, simply thinking it might be a side effect of death.

"Ethel, there's something wrong with this perfume!"

"Oh?" Aunt Ethel looked puzzled. "Impossible. I've searched the Fairy Wasteland for so long, there can't be a problem."

Suen gripped the perfume bottle tightly, frowning. "It's harmful to me."

"Oh, it's probably because this perfume wasn't originally intended for you. But don't worry, its harm is only temporary."

Aunt Ethel chuckled like a mother hen.

Is that right?

Even so, Suen still felt that this perfume was particularly eerie.

"I will explain the whole story to Mrs. Odelle and let her judge for herself. If there are any problems, you won't get away with it!"

Suen accepted the perfume nonetheless.

"Losing your memory is certainly a headache, but don't worry, young girl, 'we' are always helping 'our sisters'."

Aunt Ethel's smile held a hint of greed.

Suen returned to her room.

He took out paper and pen to record the whole process of meeting Ethel. His memory was incomplete, like a notebook torn in half, with no memory of Ethel at all.

But his instincts still made him feel that the old woman was untrustworthy.

After finishing writing the letter, Suen sealed the perfume along with the letter and handed it to Da Ya.

Watching the sealed box disappear into the rat trail

A thought suddenly popped into Suen's mind: what if the proprietress and Aunt Ethel were still involved in the "perfume" deal?

So what role does he play in it?

Is there really no problem with the perfume?

-

The next day

There was still no news of the dwarves and the northern barbarians, and the newspapers still presented a picture of peace and prosperity.

As for Thorin Silver Shield, according to scattered information in the newspapers, the duke intends to convene an unprecedented parliamentary assembly, with an unimaginable number of attendees.

Su En vaguely sensed that something was amiss.

However, worrying won't help.

Suen made an exception and left the tavern today. It seemed a bit abnormal for an adventurer not to take risks. He still needed the disguise of "Misfortune."

The notice boards near the Grey Harbor docks were covered with a dense list of bounty missions.

From ghost stories to ruin exploration, from searching for a kitten to helping catch a cheater in a compromising situation.

There are even absurd missions like killing a bear goblin commander, who typically rules over several hundred goblins. Normally, an army would be needed to handle that.

Naturally, the bounty for killing the bear goblin leader was put on hold.

It seems to be because of the bad luck reputation.

Some adventurers saw him approach and quietly walked away.

Just as Suen was pondering which mission to take on.

A man in black gently bumped his shoulder.

Suen now had a ring on her hand, and the man in black disappeared into the crowd.

Suen stroked the ring.

At the center of the ring is a skull, and teardrop-shaped patterns rotate counterclockwise around the ring.

Sun returned to the tavern.

He examined the ring, a thought struck him, and he grasped the top, slowly rotating it until the ring split in two.

Azure smoke billowed from the crack, forming a psychedelic manuscript suspended in the air.

"The final moment is approaching. Tomorrow at midnight, coordinate with the rest of the Nightblades to assassinate the Flem Wonderful Shipping Company, the captain of the Mermaid, and the first, second, and third officers. Eliminate the remaining targets in order of priority. The Great Murderer is invincible!"

"Has it finally come?"

Su En sighed; whether he could infiltrate the murder trial would depend on tomorrow night.

Suen brought up the panel.

[The third stage of the Path of the Dragon Lord is complete]

You have acquired a random first-level spell: Burning Hand.

You have obtained the Dragon War Temple.

[Please choose to spend your wealth, equivalent to 1000 GB, to build the Dragon War Temple.]

Although it wasn't the first time he'd seen it, Suen still felt an inexplicable heartache, as the dragons' concept of wealth was that 1000 GB was equivalent to 1 Dragon Coins.

No wonder dragons love money so much; their expenses are truly enormous.

Suen tried handing over either the staff or the dagger, which would have met the conditions, but neither of the two Suen wanted to do so.

If all else fails, we'll just have to wait for the dwarf to return and borrow some from him.

As for the first-circle spell Burning Hand...

It's still the familiar six-pointed star, and the same delivery method squeezed out from the ground.

Suen opened the letter immediately.

Preface:

"Hey bro, it's me again. How's training going?"

"Even though we may be the only two among the dragons walking the path of supreme mages, I still firmly believe that one day, all mages will call us masters!"

"The potion is the Blazing Inferno Potion!"

"But I added a little something extra for bro, haha, I stole (crossed out) an eternally burning divine feather from Simon, the Seraphim servant of the Seven Hills of Paradise."

"Using this feather as a base for the potion will greatly enhance your nerve reflexes. If you are a metallic dragon other than a gold or brass dragon, this potion will also provide you with a slight fire resistance."

"Drinking this potion will greatly enhance your claw attack. In Mage's Wrath state, your backhand strikes will be legendary, and every strike you land will bring a burning sensation like lava..."

Brothers in our hearts!

Although we've never met, I can still feel the burning passion in this dragon's clumsy writing!

Suen thumped his chest, expressing his deepest respect for this wise and virtuous mentor who had guided him on his life's journey.

No need for further words, let's drink!

Glug!

Suen drank the potion in one gulp.

As expected of a potion with potent ingredients, Su En felt like he was about to burst into flames—no, he really was starting to burn.

Golden-red light burst forth from his pores, and flames simultaneously erupted from his facial features. These flames were not scorching, but rather brought him a gentle, soothing feeling, like a spring breeze.

Su En exhaled a breath of cold air, and the scorched floor beneath his feet froze inch by inch.

For some reason, after the flames burned, the room, which had initially smelled somewhat foul, began to smell of flowers.

Everything is ready.

We're just waiting for tomorrow night to arrive!