Chapter 161: Weeping Vivian
Having received Saruman’s promise, Soren felt much more at ease.
Since he guaranteed that the task would be completed by the end of the month, Soren decided to wait for a while. Before leaving, he couldn’t help but glance at those man-eating plants again. Whether it was just his illusion or not, he actually noticed that the plants moved mysteriously. These mutated plants were somewhat special, and he hoped Saruman’s research on them wouldn’t lead to any trouble.
The time was approaching evening.
Soren strolled around the camp before preparing to return and continue his study of “Mayoufu Meteor.”
This low-tier God-slaying spell was no joke. After days of analyzing the spell model, he still hadn’t made much progress. Within the spell model structure of “Mayoufu Meteor,” there were many quite complex spell nodes and spell circuits. If the spell model were likened to a circuit board, then other tier-three spells would be at the level of calculators, while Mayoufu Meteor was at the level of computers. This required an impressive memory and analytical ability; according to Soren’s estimates, mastering it was nearly as difficult as a tier-six spell.
The sea breeze blew in from the side.
Soren walked leisurely along the road and soon reached the west gate.
Just as he arrived, he noticed a somewhat panicked expression on the faces of the patrol guards, though it didn’t seem to be a serious matter.
“Y-your Excellency!…”
The captain of the guard responsible for training ran over as soon as he saw Soren and said, “Miss! … The young lady has… has taken a… a dragon for a walk over there!…”
A dragon?
Soren was taken aback upon hearing this and quickly hurried over in that direction.
Just as he rounded the main gate, he saw Vivian wearing a black princess dress, skipping along joyfully, with a somewhat proud expression on her face. Behind her was a bipedal wyvern the size of a hunting dog, which seemed to have just hatched a few days ago. At that moment, it was being led by a pink rope around its neck, and she was walking it like a dog. Though the newly hatched bipedal wyvern was not large, its eyes were filled with ferocity. Occasionally, when someone passed by, it would open its mouth and let out a low growl, raising its dragon wings as if to pounce.
Dragon creatures have a slow growth cycle. However, they gain combat power early on.
A baby dragon can fight right after finishing its egg. Purebred baby dragons are born with a challenge level of 1, capable of easily killing an untrained adult male. Within just three to five days, baby dragons develop tusks and claws, raising their challenge level to 2-3 and able to k*ll some freshly advanced professionists. Although the bipedal wyvern before him seemed to have just hatched, it could still easily take down one or two adults.
An untamed bipedal wyvern was full of ferocity. It could only be dragged forward passively by Vivian with the rope.
Though it dared to show aggression towards others, it appeared quite fearful when its gaze turned to the little girl. It seemed that it had faced some hardship with her after just hatching. Baby dragons do not consider the first person they see as their parents; the inherited memories of dragons are not a joke. Even if they look nothing alike and carry completely different scents, they can still tell. Raising such a sub-dragon species is much more dangerous than raising a wild wolf pup, so Soren was not very supportive of the little girl keeping one.
“Brother!”
Vivian quickly spotted Soren behind her and joyfully called out. Then she pulled the bipedal wyvern along with the rope and ran toward him.
The newly hatched bipedal wyvern couldn’t fly yet, and its running speed was not fast, so it could only be dragged forward.
“Look!”
Vivian, presenting it proudly, lifted the pink rope and gently kicked the bipedal wyvern with her little foot, pulling it in front of Soren. Happily, she said, “The dragon egg has hatched! Brother, look! It’s called Little Black! Doesn’t it look majestic?”
Little Black…
Soren’s mouth twitched at the name, but he steeled himself and nodded, saying, “It does look majestic!”
“Hehe!”
Vivian laughed joyfully upon hearing this, then raised her little hand and continued walking with the bipedal wyvern. She planned to take it for a walk so others could get to know it. The people here were quite violent; she didn’t want Little Black to go out to play and get killed by those fierce-looking guys. The little girl walked cheerfully, holding a rope, while the ferocious bipedal wyvern followed behind her. Occasionally, when others saw her, they couldn’t help but freeze in fear.
Tomorrow, everyone would probably know that the young lady had raised a dragon!
But it did indeed look majestic. Others walk dogs, and she walks a dragon. Seeing the little girl so happy, Soren could only shake his head and let her be.
During dinner time.
Vivian returned with the bipedal wyvern.
The newly hatched bipedal wyvern had a large appetite; if enough food was available, it could gain three to five pounds daily. In about six months, this bipedal wyvern could reach around 1000 pounds. The one responsible for feeding it was the cat girl dressed in a small maid outfit. She was holding a large wooden bucket filled with fresh fish caught from the harbor. The little cat girl seemed quite playful as she tossed a fish here and there, making the bipedal wyvern stretch its neck to catch them.
A foot-long fresh fish was swallowed in one bite.
In just one or two days after hatching, this bipedal wyvern could eat a whole bucket of fresh fish.
Occasionally, the little cat girl would greedily pick up a fish and smell it, seeming to enjoy the scent of fish, but she glanced around and ultimately didn’t dare to put it in her mouth.
Because if she ate it raw, Vivian would teach her a lesson when she returned.
She was a bit afraid of Vivian.
Especially when she wore that black princess dress; it always made the little cat girl feel a mix of excitement and fear.
A quiet day passed like this.
After night fell, Soren began analyzing the spell model of “Mayoufu Meteor.” Perhaps due to the accumulation of several days prior, his progress had slightly accelerated.
A magic lamp illuminated the spacious room, making it feel as bright as a hundred-watt light bulb.
These were alchemical tools brought by Gloria, while some were made by Wizard Saruman. With two proper wizards around, Soren began to enjoy some futuristic conveniences. Often, the world of wizards felt like something out of a science fiction fantasy. Soren still believed that golem puppets were not too different from high-intelligence robots. In some fields, golem puppets even outperformed robots.
Entering a research state, Soren lost track of time.
He himself didn’t know how long it had been. By the time he snapped back to reality from his spell research, the sky had already turned completely dark.
Step, step, step.
A faint sound of footsteps approached from a distance and then stopped in front of Soren’s door.
“Vivian?”
Soren tilted his ear to listen for a moment, then set down his goose-feather pen and gathered the large stack of white papers. As his strength increased, his perception and listening abilities had become sharper. The likelihood of other wanderers ambushing Soren was quite low, and he was now more sensitive in daily life than ever before.
He stood up and gently opened the door, only to see the little girl standing there.
Vivian was wearing a pure white nightgown and pink cotton slippers. Her beautiful big eyes seemed a bit watery, as if she had just woken up and looked a little dazed.
“Brother!” The little girl stretched out her small hands and jumped into Soren’s arms, tears rolling down her pretty eyes.
Soren quickly lifted the little girl and kissed her forehead, gently stroking her back as he spoke softly, “What’s wrong? Why are you crying all of a sudden?”
Vivian buried her little head in Soren’s arms, gently nudging like a little kitten, then quietly said, “Brother! … I dreamt of Hess…”
Hess.
That loyal old dog.
Soren’s face revealed a rare hint of sadness and nostalgia upon hearing this. He gently hugged the little girl and kissed her cheek, softening his tone, “Don’t cry… Hess is buried in the cemetery; it will find peace in the realm of the underworld…”
Perhaps because she had raised a new pet, the little girl remembered the old dog that had grown up with her.
Soren was a person inclined towards coldness.
Few could earn his respect, and many things that others couldn’t achieve, that old dog managed to do.
It was a loyal old dog.
Soren could still vividly recall its haggard but determined presence guarding the little girl. Unfortunately, it passed away without ever having a full meal, peacefully lying in a corner.
Because Soren had come back.
And its task was complete.
The belief that the old dog, already frail and hungry, held on until Soren woke up, then it laid down its burden and left quietly in sleep.
Soren buried it in the cemetery because it deserved that.
“Brother…”
Vivian seemed to feel much better under Soren’s gentle touch. She lifted her small head to look at him and whispered, “Vivian has become so powerful now. Can she bring Hess back to life?”
“I miss him so much!”
Silence.
Soren fell silent. He stroked the little girl’s long hair, kissed her forehead, and didn’t answer that question.
Vivian seemed to understand something and curled up into Soren’s embrace, looking somewhat despondent.
“Hess…”
The little girl’s voice was choked with emotion as she murmured, “Is he really dead? Will he never come back…?”
“Wuu, wuu, wuu!…”
………………
(PS: That’s it for today. This volume is estimated to be completed within ten chapters.) (To be continued ~^~)
