Vol 7. Chapter 30: Hell-Level Difficulty

"That's right, it's exactly what you think—Emerald Dragon’s Tear," Principal Wilson announced.

"This one is the academy’s newest specimen. It will still take... roughly four hundred more years before it’s fully formed."

At that, Leon’s eyes widened slightly. He lowered his voice and asked:

"What exactly is this thing? Why does it take that long to form?"

Though the other Dragon Kings were also aware of what an Emerald Dragon’s Tear was, Leon made sure to speak quietly enough that only Isha and Claudia could hear—so as not to draw unnecessary attention.

"The Emerald Dragon’s Tear is considered one of the most precious treasures in all of dragonkind," Isha said, nodding toward the dragon-head sculpture.

"See the dragon’s eyes and face? Notice anything different compared to a normal sculpture?"

Leon leaned down for a closer look.

After a brief observation, he indeed noticed a detail.

"From beneath the dragon’s eye, there’s a shallow groove that extends all the way down to the ‘forehead’ of the dragon’s head—kind of like the tear trough you’d see on a humanoid face."

And the translucent vessel below the sculpture, filled with glowing green liquid, had clearly collected that fluid along the path of that groove—dripping down from the dragon’s eye.

Isha shrugged with a look of satisfaction.

"Yup. Not bad, brother-in-law. Good eye."

But even having figured out the way it formed, Leon still didn’t understand why it was regarded as such a top-tier treasure among dragons.

"From the moment the first drop emerges from the dragon’s eye until it's fully formed takes at least two thousand years. That kind of time span far exceeds the lifespan of an ordinary dragon," Claudia explained slowly.

Leon raised a brow.

"If it’s just because it takes a long time to form, that still doesn’t seem enough to qualify as the top of the top among treasures, right?"

Given his understanding of those big scaly lizards, Leon knew dragons loved gold and shiny treasures by nature. But if this thing were loved solely because of its slow ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) formation, it wouldn’t align with their usual prideful, self-exalting nature.

"Of course, the rarity alone isn’t the only reason," Isha added. During those thousands of years, the Emerald Dragon’s Tear gradually accumulates vast amounts of life essence. This essence comes from the world’s mountains, rivers, creatures—everything. If enough of it is gathered, even a barren land can be revitalized. A lifeless environment can bloom with vitality once more. It’s a sacred power with no destructive force, no killing potential. Back in the days when dragonkind was plagued by constant civil wars, many lands were left devastated. It was the Emerald Dragon’s Tears that helped restore those precious resources. Even today, the Tears remain one of the most vital sacred treasures of each dragon lineage. If anything were to happen, they are the key to restoring their race."

After Isha’s explanation, Leon finally grasped just how precious and important these tears were.

And it all clicked.

No wonder, after the previous battles in the Silver Dragon Territory, Rosvisser was able to quickly rally the clans and restore the environment.

Or when Constantine’s territory was blown up by the Emerald Bomb and still managed to recover rapidly.

It had to have been the work of the Emerald Dragon’s Tear.

"Naturally, a sacred gem like this, with such power and portability, also serves as an extremely rare form of currency among dragons," Claudia added.

"A single Emerald Dragon’s Tear is worth about as much as an entire territory from a lesser dragon tribe."

She paused, then added with a smirk:

"Of course, if it’s someone like Constantine the war maniac, who conquers through brute force, there’s never any buying or selling to begin with."

Leon twitched the corner of his mouth. It seemed like everyone had started picking up his love for dry sarcasm.

After that little science lecture, one question remained.

"So... the third round of the test... it’s related to the Emerald Dragon’s Tear, isn’t it?"

"I don’t know exactly what Principal Wilson has in mind," Leon admitted. "But if I had to guess... Last night he said this round would assess our negotiation skills. Could he want us to trade the Tear for some other valuable resource?"

Claudia furrowed her brow and pondered for a moment before shaking her head.

"Unlikely. The Tear’s value is too high. Even we Sea Dragons only have about ten. If they were to be used in negotiations, no tribe would dare refuse. The challenge level of the test would drop drastically."

As she analyzed, something suddenly dawned on her.

"Wait. Don’t tell me... Wilson is going to make us..."

Before she could finish, Principal Wilson began to explain the third round.

"I trust that all of you are already familiar with the Emerald Dragon’s Tear and its significance, so I’ll skip the detailed exposition. For this third round, your task is... to acquire five Emerald Dragon’s Tears through negotiation with other tribes."

The room fell silent as stunned looks spread across every candidate’s face.

"How many?! Five?!"

The same Dragon King who had earlier criticized the evaluation rules slammed his palm down.

"Principal Wilson, forgive me, but maybe you’ve been in the academy too long. Do you still remember how valuable Emerald Dragon’s Tears are? Asking us to obtain five through negotiation is basically..."

"Robbery," another Dragon King said bluntly.

This time, even Isha and Claudia found themselves reluctantly agreeing.

The Emerald Dragon’s Tear was just too rare. Negotiating for one or two might be feasible...

But five?

That was practically an impossible mission.

"Please, everyone—let me finish explaining the rules," Principal Wilson said calmly. "You may choose whichever tribes you wish to negotiate with—one, two, or three. That’s entirely up to you. However, you may not choose your own tribe, nor any tribe belonging to the other five candidates."

"That means no easy routes. If we thought it’d be simpler, Wilson just bumped the difficulty up again."

And that still wasn’t the worst of it.

Wilson continued:

"Additionally, during your negotiations, you are strictly prohibited from revealing that this is part of the vice principal selection for Saint Heath Academy. I believe you all saw the confidentiality clause in your invitation letters. And this, of course, is also why I didn’t know that Isha and Claudia would be participating. Once the selection ends, the academy will return all Emerald Dragon’s Tears obtained during this round to their respective tribes. But you are likewise forbidden from disclosing this fact. And that concludes the rules for the third round. You have five days to complete your negotiations. If, in the end, you’re unable to acquire five Tears, the selection committee will base your score on how many you’ve managed to obtain. Time starts at noon today. If there are no further questions, go make your preparations. Give it your all."

With that, Wilson turned and left without another word.

In this moment, he was not the CP chairman of the Melkvey household, nor the grandfatherly old lecturer who loved telling stories.

He was the strict chief examiner. When it came to the vice principal position, the playful old man disappeared.

As soon as he left, Beren and the other Dragon Kings began to grumble again.

"Why do we still have to share the table with these people?"

Even Leon’s group couldn’t hide a trace of anxiety.

"Five Emerald Dragon’s Tears... and we can’t get them from our own tribes or the other candidates... That’s seriously extreme," Isha said quietly.

"And even though the Tears will be returned later, we’re not allowed to tell them that..." Claudia sighed. "That’s some hell-level negotiation right there."

Both women turned at the same time to look at Leon.

"Brother-in-law, this test is insanely hard. Don’t you have anything to complain about? That’s not like you."

Leon scratched his chin with one hand, furrowed his brow slightly, and after a brief pause, replied seriously:

"Actually... while you were all still complaining, I’d already decided who I’m going to negotiate with."