Epic of Ice Dragon: Reborn As An Ice Dragon With A System

Chapter 2235: Offerings From A Venerable

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Of course, the ones who enjoyed this castle and its luxurious rooms and service the most were the Earthlings. Chris, Lucia, and Jake were surprised at being given their own large rooms to stay in.

Comfortable, clean, and warm beds, new clothes, and the ability to go to the bathroom and take a warm shower astonished them.

They were quite surprised. They had originally thought this world was "medieval" or something, but it clearly had most of the same luxuries they had on Earth before their apocalypse.

The explanation was magic. Dwarves were also among the pioneers of Magitech, using Mana Cores from monsters to fuel special technology. Simple things, such as a toilet that flushes or a shower that produces warm water, were all made using magical materials.

Once the night arrived, before going to bed with my beautiful wives, I moved outside my room, leaping onto the castle’s rooftop, where I found Augustus waiting for me.

"You’re back," he said with a smirk. "How was the hospitality of my descendants?"

"Not bad. They gave us a feast and fed us until we were truly satiated, even taking into consideration we were mostly dragons," I said.

"I see. I’m glad. That means they can still express gratitude and other things," the venerable sighed in relief. "One of my major fears has always been that my descendants would become too different from me, that they would embrace narcissism and become self-centered hypocrites... but that doesn’t seem to be the case... entirely. Well, you had to reprimand them regarding that girl’s issue."

"Yeah, but Charlotte is already getting along with her family again, so I’m glad," I said. "Alright, now that you want to join us, how do we do this? Ah, right, you said you were going to give me an incentive?"

"I will," Augustus said, manifesting a small white cube in his hand. "This is a Storage Artifact. Check what’s inside."

I quickly caught the artifact and analyzed it first, making sure it wasn’t a trap or a bomb.

Thankfully, it wasn’t.

"Hey, stop being so distrustful of me. Did you really think I threw a bomb at you? Why would I ever do that on top of my family’s castle?" he sighed.

"Don’t blame me. You’re never too careful nowadays," I said. "Now let’s see... Hm?"

I looked inside the cube and found three incredible materials.

They were all Venerable-Rank Divine Treasures!

One was a giant purple crystal shaped like many spikes surrounding a red crystal shaped like a heart.

It was called "Heart of Darkness."

The second was a cube-shaped orange crystal with several pointy red crystal spikes around its entire body, blazing with flames and magma.

It was called "Furnace Brimstone."

Lastly, the third treasure was metal, a clump of green, gold, and silver-colored metal ore shaped like triangles, rectangles, and spheres growing out of gray stone.

It was called "Geometric Diamonds."

"I offer you these valuable Venerable-Rank Divine Treasures as the first incentive," he said with a proud smile. "Farmed directly from my Divine Realm, which, over the eons, has produced a vast amount of resources. You see, I’ve never been a good fighter, but I am an excellent Blacksmith, Carpenter, Crafter, and Alchemist. I value rare materials, and as some of the stories you’ve heard, I forged most of the Venerables’ weapons myself, although I always asked for a great price."

"I see, so you’re willing to give me this much and...?" I asked, feeling like I could squeeze more from him.

"Naturally, that’s just the beginning," he said. "Once I’m in, you and your faction will be able to request anything from me with a 50% discount! And I’ll also provide half of most of the needed materials, free of charge."

So he’s still asking for some payment in the end, but it sounds really reasonable.

Though, can’t he do it for free?

...

No, better like this. If we ask too much, he may get upset and think it’s not worth it anymore.

I don’t want him to resent us, after all, so I’d better act nicely and not try to take too much advantage of him.

After all, I also need to offer things myself. The alliance itself won’t be enough in the end.

A good relationship with mutual trust is only born when both factions benefit from it.

"Alright, but let me ask them first."

The two Venerables appeared by my left and right sides. They had already heard everything.

Andromeda also appeared behind me, watching from afar.

She seemed to want to have a word with him. Her presence surprised him, as she seemed to also be a kind of Venerable herself.

"Oh, are you part of Drake’s alliance? This is the first time I see you," he said.

"I am Andromeda, Drake’s... uh, wife," she said. She didn’t want to say she was my "system" for now. "Our power is deeply connected, and as you can see, I am technically at the Venerable level as well."

"I can tell..." the dwarf nodded. "Are there other Venerables you’re hiding, Drake?"

"Ah, yeah, there’s Surtr," I said. "He’s a fire dragon from Muspelheim. I haven’t asked him about this, but I am sure he would agree. He killed the Savage Sun Venerable."

"Ahhh, the fire dragon, yes. I’ve been keeping an eye on him back then. I know what happened. That barbarian is gone. I am glad. I never liked him," the dwarf nodded. "He would have never agreed to an alliance either. He was simply too chaotic."

"He truly was. But he was really strong, and he had a strange code of honor. Surtr was the one that ultimately slain him for good, and even inherited part of his powers, so in a way his strength is already with us," I said. "Alright, what do you girls think?"

"That’s fine. You’re getting some incentives, but what about us?" Belle asked.

"I believe we could also get something. Sharing that wouldn’t be enough," the Ice Queen said.

"Hey, you two! Don’t be so greedy!" I said. "Do you want to get on his bad side?! He has already offered more than enough..."

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