Chapter 17: Third-circle Spell and Dragon Vein Relatives

After advancing to Sixth-level Sorcerer, Naimi Xisi feels the biggest change is a deeper understanding of Spellcraft and Divination spells.

Space-Time, Summoning, Causality. As the race most favored by the Magic Net among True Dragons, the mysteries hidden in its bloodline, like its magical power, continuously surface as it grows.

Even the Mage profession, which had never advanced, successfully rose to Sixth-level under the flood of Spellcraft and Divination knowledge.

Third-circle Spell is the stage when a Spellcaster first steps out; those Spellcasters who can only serve as support in an adventuring party all coincidentally master spells that differ vastly from Second-circle Spell both in power and mechanism at this stage.

The Conjuration line has obtained more powerful summons, the Evocation line has initially mastered a large‑area destructive weapon (the Fireball with a twenty‑meter blast radius), and the Necromancy line has gained its core spell—Animate Dead, among others.

Similarly, the Divination line, long ignored by Naimi Xisi, finally achieved some distinct progress.

As for Divination, beginners often have a vague notion, thinking it is merely fortune‑telling of the future, prediction of the environment, which belongs to a temporal application.

But that is not comprehensive.

Divination can not only foretell; it can also possess Combat Power. A powerful Divination Mage can, like a follower of the Goddess of Luck or the Goddess of Misfortune, freely manipulate his own or others' fate, and the highest‑tier Divination Mages can even unleash conceptual attacks by leveraging Causality.

Now that the Divination line has reached Third-circle Spell, it begins to show some of these abilities; for example, Reversal of Fortune is a prime example. This spell can, under certain conditions, reverse the caster's spell mishap—simply put, if a simulation of the future shows the spell missing the target, the spell automatically adjusts its trajectory to guarantee a hit.

Only a Mage who has mastered Third-circle Spell truly deserves the title of Mage; this statement is not without reason.

Naimi Xisi satisfiedly retracts his small panel. Since being born in Frelen, he has survived cautiously, hiding in the dark corners of ruins; now, having grown into a young dragon, he finally feels a faint sense of safety.

This sense of safety does not come solely from his formidable strength.

Juan Ce Long looks at his Dependents; excluding the two hundred plus assorted Monster foot soldiers, as the young dragon king he is, the liberation of Mind Gem control slots has allowed him to command over two hundred Gnolls now.

Moreover, Ogel, Tie Xiu, and Danoli have all received Juan Ce Long's dragonblood! Their power has risen dramatically, and each has gained varying levels of Dragon Pulse Sorcerer rank. The current Ogel has formally entered the Seventh-level Warrior tier, with the added boost of Second-level Dragon Pulse Sorcerer; Tie Xiu and Danoli have respectively advanced to Sixth-level and Eighth-level Warrior. Perhaps due to higher charisma, Tie Xiu has even reached Fourth-level Dragon Pulse Sorcerer.

This is the power of dragonblood, and the reason many creatures on the continent covet Young Dragons! Because they are not only weak in strength, the effect of dragonblood is not much less than that of an adult Great Dragon. Unfortunately, each time dragonblood must be infused into Dependents it requires an enormous amount, so people often call the process Bathing in Dragonblood, literally enough milliliters of blood to bathe in! This also causes Naimi Xisi to feel dizzy after each bloodletting, especially after granting Danoli dragonblood, when he felt half his body emptied.

Otherwise, he would turn the entire Gnoll Legion into Dragon Vein Relatives! "Master, we hunted a Manticore today." Danoli said in a guttural tone, his body smeared with purple fresh blood, and his horns bearing some unknown flesh.

Naimi Xisi's eyes brightened; looking over, it indeed was a dead Manticore.

Manticores generally possess Seventh-level Warrior strength, can also unleash toxic attacks and some innate spells, making them extremely powerful and a relatively rare monster in the Underdark.

They are also a favorite of the young dragon! A Manticore's body contains abundant toxins, making its flesh taste spicy with a hint of sweetness; compared to the bland flesh of other beasts, Naimi Xisi fell deeply in love with it after his first taste.

"Very good, excellent, keep it up, Danoli; soon your first child will qualify for Bathing in Dragonblood!" Naimi Xisi promised big things but did not intend to carry it out; he didn't want to get dizzy again. Danoli cheerfully mooed, and though he is clumsy, he is a very good father to his child, which is practically a freak in the Underdark.

Securing the master's reward for his child has been Danoli's focus this year, but each time he returns a hunted Manticore, the master says the same, leaving him unsure when his own merit will be sufficient.

Yet the Minotaur has never doubted Naimi Xisi's honesty; this is a natural trait of Dragon Vein Relatives—they become increasingly loyal to the source of the bloodline and can survive only by heavily relying on the environment where a True Dragon exists.

Even Dragon Vein Relatives, when facing the source Great Dragon, suffer natural suppression; their power can be said to be less than one percent.

Danoli cheers himself internally: "Come on, Danoli, you can do it~ go tomorrow and bring another Manticore back for the master."

Peng Peng clings to Naimi Xisi's tail, disdainfully glancing at the Monster on the ground; Hu Meng's clever mind knows its place—having dragonblood or not, without dragonblood I am still the boss's top confidant!

Only such big‑hearted fools would risk their lives for a bit of dragonblood; what does the master call that again? Oh right, a motivational effect.

Tie Xiu steps forward, first giving Danoli a disdainful glance, then respectfully says, "Master, Klanjatin has returned; his performance this month seems poor."

The scheming Gnoll set a trap for his comrade, knowing exactly what his master cares about most.

Sure enough, Naimi Xisi frowned upon hearing that.

The trade of Cold Iron Weapons with Goblin City started well; in the first two years, it brought Naimi Xisi several thousand gold coins each month, and his dragon bed, once covered with gold coins, would even spill a layer onto the floor.

But in the past year, the volume of Cold Iron Weapon trades has declined further, with only just over a thousand gold coins returned last month, and now it has dropped again.

Klanjatin mutters inwardly, "That damned wild dog is truly scheming; I'll soon strip his hide to make a cotton coat!" The Gray Dwarf, seeing Juan Ce Long's yellow vertical pupils fixed on him, seems to await his explanation; he gathers his thoughts and stammers, "Master, the trade volume this month has indeed dropped again."

Seeing Naimi Xisi's displeased expression, he hurriedly explains, "But that's because the market in Bricolekt City has been poor lately; I don't know why, the number of creatures traded in the city has dwindled over the past months. If that Goblin Tribe weren't also buying from us, I'd have no one to sell to."

Naimi Xisi ponders after listening; he is not an unreasonable superior, and he sees Klanjatin's effort. Had he not wished to avoid losing dragonblood, Klanjatin and Lin Lian would already have been blessed by him.

Mind Power confirms his words are true; Bricolekt's recent situation is indeed desolate, and the city has even begun martial law.

Juan Ce Long decides to go himself to see the situation; he has not forgotten his other purpose in contacting Goblin City—exploring Psychic Ability.

Now that he has sufficient strength, he can go without any lingering worries.

(End of Chapter)