Chapter 60: The Era of the Dragon

After enough scolding, Duke impatiently waved his large hand, "Let's eat first."

Having said that, he turned and walked down from the attic. A crow cawed sharply and followed suit.

Rayan watched their retreating figures, smiled relaxedly, and squeezed his fists again to reconfirm that this perfect bodily state wasn't a dream, before grabbing the black giant sword beside the bed and walking down the stairs into the kitchen.

The kitchen remained the same, steaming and moistening the eyes. Several expensive constant temperature magic boxes, used as tools for storing fresh meat, filled half of the kitchen. The flames on the stove were weakening, but the aroma of the meat in the big pot was becoming richer. Duke was scooping meat from the pot with a long spoon, while the crow hopped anxiously on the long table, occasionally casting a disdainful glance at Rayan.

The tableware was already set on the table, two round plates, and one large vegetable bowl. Duke placed the best meat into the vegetable bowl, and divided the rest into the other two plates.

The crow unceremoniously jumped in front of its plate, picked up a piece of meat, and started to eat voraciously.

Rayan didn't wait for Duke to speak and also started eating. After sleeping for three days and nights, he felt as if his stomach could fit an entire Dwarf Furnace Mountain. What surprised him was that, after eating half a bowl of meat, he still felt like he had just started.

The first time he ate so much meat, he had to force it down despite feeling full, but now it felt as easy as eating dessert.

The efficiency of his stomach's digestion was astonishing; food almost immediately transformed into energy as soon as it was ingested. This body didn't seem like his own, and Rayan couldn't help but frown and freeze in place.

"What's the matter? Can't eat anymore?" Duke asked with a stern face.

"No."

Rayan snapped back to reality, bowed his head, and continued to eat vigorously.

"This is First Rank deer meat from Stonerock Kingdom, it tastes good, doesn't it?" Duke asked proudly.

Rayan had been so focused on his body that he had missed the taste of the deer meat on his tongue. Surprised, he glanced at Duke, "First Rank deer meat? You mean this is meat from a First Rank Feral Beast?"

Most Feral Beast meat was inedible, like that of a fire lizard, which would probably result in becoming a stitched monster if eaten. Animals with less offensive power like deer, sheep, and cows were rarely able to become true Feral Beasts. If they were slightly stronger, they would be hunted by bounty hunters and become delicacies on the tables of the nobility. The chance of capturing a First Rank elk was extremely low, and First Rank deer meat was correspondingly very expensive.

"Of course, I've said I'd reconstruct your diet."

Duke casually picked up a wine bottle and filled Rayan's glass with blood-red wine. "To become—to become a qualified partner, you must first have a good physical foundation."

Rayan couldn't help but start calculating the cost of this breakfast. Not to mention how much the First Rank deer meat cost, just transporting it to Shadowcrest Ridge, full of bandit mercenaries, was definitely not something that could be done with two or three gold coins. The last time he had breakfast in the kitchen, Rayan calculated it cost a gold coin a day, and now, just a few days later, it had risen to ten gold coins a day.

Ten gold coins… He had never seen so much money in his life.

Rayan couldn't help but purse his lips. Fortunately, this mission had been very profitable, and selling some unnecessary items should fetch a good amount of money. However, he didn't want to ask exactly how much, because even selling an empty magic chest would basically cover the debts Duke had once mentioned—he didn't want to leave; he wanted to be trained. And what he owed Duke was not something that could be paid back with money.

Duke, however, was unabashed: "Alchemy really is a lucrative profession. These past few days, just by selling some less important stuff, I've earned this amount—"

He proudly held up a finger to Rayan.

"Oh."

Rayan glanced at it and then disinterestedly lowered his head to continue eating his meat.

"A thousand gold coins!"

Duke boasted loudly like a child eager to show off, "A whole thousand gold coins, do you know how heavy a thousand gold coins are?"

Rayan bowed his head and said softly, "Boss, are you trying to drive me away?"

"Drive you away?"

Duke was initially startled, then suddenly understood. A mercantile smile reappeared on his face, "You haven't paid off your debt, how could I drive you away?"

Knowing that Duke didn't intend to drive him away, Rayan's pupils brightened, but then dimmed again, "But you said those items sold for a thousand gold coins, and the money I owe you..."

Duke coldly smiled: "Kid, don't forget, when you do missions, you do them as a helper at the Ravenstorm Inn. Shouldn't you hand over a part of the mission rewards? Seventy-thirty, you get thirty, I get seventy, that's me taking care of you."

"That leaves three hundred then..."

"Do I not need money to carry you back? Don't new clothes cost money? Doesn't handling your items and building a storage room cost money? Doesn't that brat drinking ten glasses of my milk cost money? Doesn't that long-legged girl gathering intelligence cost money? Doesn't holding back the villagers from Dusk Village cost money?"

Duke slammed the table, "I'm a legitimate businessman! You're my helper, I'm not letting you go, and you're not going anywhere! Now, honestly finish the meat in your bowl, drink up the wine in your cup, and then roll into the hall to wipe the tables and chairs!"

"Wu ah!"

The crow also took the opportunity to let out a fierce caw at Rayan.

"Yes, boss."

Rayan now completely relaxed and continued to enjoy his breakfast.

"By the way, boss, I've had some questions since the last time at the graveyard."

"Ask away." Duke seemed in a good mood.

"This sword is very strange..."

Rayan handed the black giant sword beside him to Duke, briefly describing, "Even in the high temperatures of the Flame Cave, it maintained its original temperature."

"Really?"

Duke took the black giant sword, glanced at it, and immediately threw it into the stove behind him. The flames roared, completely engulfing the black giant sword in an instant.

Rayan's heart tightened, then relaxed, as he continued eating while waiting for the outcome.

After finishing his meal, Duke pushed the plate away, stood up, and quickly reached into the fire by the stove. His movements were incredibly fast; Rayan barely realized what he was about to do when Duke had already pulled the black giant sword out of the fire.

Sparks danced along with the black blade as Duke looked unfazed, as if he had just done something completely ordinary.

He twisted his wrist, and the black giant sword flowed smoothly in his hand, its clumsy body seemingly gaining a spirit of its own, becoming exceptionally agile.

Rayan was dumbfounded, mouth agape, temporarily forgetting to swallow the meat in his mouth. For some reason, he suddenly thought of Crimson Thorn, though Crimson Thorn's swordsmanship was far from Duke's, but he felt a certain indescribable similarity between the two.

Duke casually swung the black giant sword a few times, then inhaled sharply. "It is indeed very strange."

"The temperature of the sword hasn't changed at all, has it?"

"As long as the material is right, constant temperature isn't rare, but the strangest part is, a sword that's no different from junk, its balance..."

Duke frowned, swung the black giant sword twice more, and then concluded, "Is perfect."

"Perfect?"

Rayan felt the sword was quite heavy; initially, he even struggled to lift it and didn't find anything perfect about it.

Duke paused for a moment, then looked up at Rayan and said, "If I'm not mistaken, this should be a weapon forged by a Legendary swordsmith."

"A black giant sword is Legendary swords?"

Rayan leaped from his seat as if electrocuted, "Boss, you must be joking this time?"

Duke gave him a look, "Get excited over nothing, I only said it was forged by a legendary swordsmith, I didn't say the weapon is legendary. The better the sword, the lower the success rate of forging it, even legendary swordsmiths are not exceptions."

Rayan, disappointed, sat back down, chuckling self-deprecatingly at his own rash thoughts, "Yeah, if it really were Legendary swords, Crimson Thorn wouldn't have thrown it away, it seems it's just a ruined sword messed up by a legendary swordsmith."

"A ruined sword?"

Duke shook his head gently, not in a hurry to refute Rayan's view, but rather with a serious face like a teacher questioning a student, he asked, "Do you know how many legendary swordsmiths there have been in the history of Auroria Continent?"

Rayan thought for a moment, tentatively answered, "With a history of over three thousand years, there must be at least a dozen, right?"

"A dozen?"

Duke's mouth curved into a mocking arc, "You're overestimating history. In the history of Auroria Continent, there has been only one legendary swordsmith."

"Only one!?" Rayan could hardly believe his ears.

"About this swordsmith's legend, I'm afraid it starts from the era he lived in over three thousand years ago. At that time, Auroria Continent wasn't like it is now; humans didn't have dominion, the true masters of the continent were neither the God Race nor the demon race, and the Holy Light Sisterhood wasn't even a topic of discussion—"

He paused, speaking in a tone full of profound meaning, "The real masters were the dragon race. And that era, as we from the Balance Sect call it: The Era of the Dragon."

"The Era of the Dragon?"

Rayan frowned, "Why have I never heard of that era?"

"That's because the Holy Light Sisterhood deliberately blocked that part of history, those crazy women always insisted that humans were created by the God Race, if the truth that the children of the God Race were once slaves to the dragon race were made public, their credibility would be destroyed."

Duke laughed heartily, casually placing the black giant sword on the table, poured himself a full glass of wine, and took a big swig.

"But what does this have to do with the legendary swordsmith?"

Compared to the Holy Light Sisterhood, Rayan was obviously more concerned about the origin of the black giant sword.

Duke leisurely sipped his wine, "Because the end of the Era of the Dragon was inseparably linked to the six Legendary swords forged by this swordsmith. These six Legendary swords are: Light Sword,Storm Sword,Flame Sword,Frost Sword,Venom Sword and Thunder Sword…"