Westminster Bank

Isabella took the note and looked at it. Besides a comment calling her devious, there was a bank account number:

[Wire the final payment to this account.]

............

Another morning arrived. To secure her leading position for a seat, Isabella headed in the direction indicated by the Dragon Spear, bringing her younger sister, Lucy, to officially begin their Dragon Hunting journey.

When they encountered other Trial Takers on the road, she no longer chose to rob them, probably figuring it was no longer necessary.

Over the next two days, the Trial Takers not only discovered that Beowulf’s elder daughter seemed to have washed her hands of her old ways, but they also heard news that Master Jack had apparently parted ways with her for some reason.

The reason, naturally, was that someone had run into Master Jack traveling alone on the road.

Quite a few Trial Takers took this opportunity to invite the master to travel with them. Some wealthy descendants of the Old Blood even offered exorbitant fees to hire him, but the master refused them all.

The reason he gave left the Dragon Guides speechless and the Trial Takers unable to argue: "I’ve earned enough."

Afterward, a major event occurred in the inner circle: Adam of the Van Helsing Family had successfully hunted a Third Generation Ice Scale Dragon, activating its guidance and securing a seat ahead of time.

It turned out that during the territorial battle between the Electric Dragon and the Ice Scale Dragon that day, Adam, who was at the center of the battlefield, had been swatted so deep into the ground by a casual swipe of the Electric Dragon’s claw that the fighting on the surface barely involved him.

Although the price was several broken bones, the rain clouds happened to disperse earlier than usual one night. Under the light of the full moon, the Old Blood unique to the Van Helsing Clan was successfully awakened. His previous injuries healed instantly, and he transformed into a Werewolf.

And because his Dragon Guide had chosen a location in front of the Ice Scale Dragon’s cave beforehand, Adam, in his Werewolf form, managed to single-handedly hunt the Third Generation Species, thanks to the short-term power boost from his Old Blood and the fact that the Ice Scale Dragon’s own injuries had not yet healed.

The sensation it caused was comparable to when the crowd of Trial Takers saw Isabella kill the Electric Dragon with a single spear thrust.

When news of this spread, it wasn’t just the other Trial Takers who were stunned; even Isabella was left dazed for a good while.

However, the Trial Takers’ attention soon shifted away from Adam, who had single-handedly hunted a Third Generation Species. Their focus quickly turned to the Dragon Descendants, who had begun to riot in small-scale skirmishes as the guidance from the Dragon Spears intensified.

Many Trial Takers died or went missing amidst these riots, and a strange atmosphere of fear, like a black, gauzy mist, gradually enveloped the heart of every Trial Taker.

Around this same time, on the other side of the inner circle, Baron was refusing invitations from all the Trial Takers he met on the road, including Roy Dewey Gold. As he had arranged with Jack, he sprinted eastward toward the mountain range.

The mountain path grew more rugged the farther east he went. Fortunately, Baron was a Law Enforcer, and with the enhancement of a Dragon Knight, scaling the mountain walls wasn’t difficult. He also deliberately controlled the overflow of his Red Dragon Aura to drive off any High Tier Dragon Descendants he might encounter.

He had figured out how to release the Red Dragon Aura while running and messing around with it last night. At the very least, he could now use it without activating his Golden Dragon Eye, although it seemed that releasing the aura at maximum power still required opening his Golden Eye.

’This must be the place.’

Following the map Jack had hand-drawn for him at the Dragon Gate, Baron stopped on a mountain path in the inner circle that seemed to have been trampled out by Giant Dragons.

At a certain point on the path, there was a US dollar sign—the symbol of Westminster Bank.

According to their agreed-upon time, Jack should have been here waiting for him. But Baron waited in the area for a while and saw nothing except a team of what appeared to be a Trial Taker and a Dragon Guide heading out for a Dragon Hunt.

Feeling that enough time had passed, Baron decided not to wait any longer and prepared to continue east to leave from the area where the Dragon Family was once located.

But just as he reached a certain spot, Baron suddenly saw the Dragon Guide and Trial Taker he had spotted earlier. They were in the middle of a Dragon Hunt.

On a whim, Baron hid in the shadows, intending to watch the pair’s Dragon Hunting process and learn how a Dragon Guide could lure a Giant Dragon, so as to be prepared for any possible future unexpected (unlucky) encounters.

But the result was somewhat disappointing for Baron. The problem wasn’t the Trial Taker, but the Dragon Guide.

The Dragon Guide’s technique for kiting the Dragon Descendant couldn’t be called professional; it was, frankly, abysmal.

Several times, not only did he fail to draw the aggro of the Dragon Descendant they were hunting, but he actually pulled other Dragon Descendants from nearby, disrupting the rhythm of the hunt and nearly getting the Trial Taker surrounded and besieged by multiple dragons.

If the Trial Taker hadn’t been somewhat skilled, and if the Dragon Descendant hadn’t been merely an injured Sixth Generation Species, it’s questionable whether he would have even survived, let alone completed the hunt.

But in the end, he still completed the Dragon Hunt and successfully cut off the Dragon Scale with a Scale-Stripping Saber.

Though he had sustained rather heavy injuries himself.

The Trial Taker could naturally see what Baron saw. After collapsing to the ground, he blamed and questioned his Dragon Guide’s recklessness and unprofessionalism as the guide came over to collect the Dragon Scale.

Perhaps wary that he would still need the man for future Dragon Hunts, the Trial Taker’s words were still relatively tactful.

The Dragon Guide readily agreed and promised it wouldn’t happen again.

Then, with extreme professionalism, he began performing operations like Bloodletting on the fallen dragon’s corpse. After finishing, he helped bandage the Trial Taker’s wounds.

Baron watched for a while longer before losing interest. He decided to continue with his original plan and head East.

But just as he turned to leave, he suddenly caught the Trial Taker’s cry of alarm. Looking back, he saw another Dragon Descendant burst onto the scene from the other side! Judging by its oppressive aura, it was another Sixth Generation Species!

The Trial Taker was clearly well aware of what would happen if he encountered a Dragon Descendant in his heavily injured state.

With his Spiritual Power depleted and his body covered in wounds, the Trial Taker shouted to his Dragon Guide, "Quick! Carry me and run!"

The Dragon Guide yelled back, "I’m coming!"

But his feet didn’t move.

Baron sensed something was wrong, but the Trial Taker didn’t notice. He could only watch as the Dragon Descendant reached him. While raising his Alchemy Weapon to defend against its attack, he continued to shout at the Dragon Guide, "Hurry up! Carry me and run!"

"Coming," the Dragon Guide shouted again, yet his feet remained motionless.

The Trial Taker, burning the last of his Spiritual Power and even his own Life Force to fight the Dragon Descendant, finally realized something was amiss, but it was too late. The Dragon Descendant whipped its tail, smashing it into the Trial Taker’s arms and slamming him violently into the ground. The Alchemy Weapon in his hands went flying.

"No... don’t..."

The Trial Taker coughed up a mouthful of blood. Seeing the Dragon Descendant crawl out of the deep pit and open its massive jaws toward him, he scrambled backward in a panic until his back hit a tree trunk, and he could go no further.

He yelled at the Dragon Guide, "Hurry! Aren’t you a Dragon Guide? Lure this thing away!"

"Coming."

This time, the Dragon Guide did indeed come, but unfortunately, it was too late. The Trial Taker had already been swallowed by the Dragon Descendant. Only the mangled upper half of his body was left dangling lifelessly from the creature’s mouth, reminiscent of a frog with a grasshopper in its jaws.

"Ah, couldn’t make it in time."

The Dragon Guide sighed helplessly, and upon seeing the Dragon Descendant turn its head to look at him, he shrugged and took a lighter from his pocket, flicking it on.

When the Sixth Generation Dragon Descendant saw the flame flickering from the lighter, it reacted as if it had come face-to-face with something terrifying. It immediately spat out the Trial Taker’s corpse and fled without a backward glance.

The Dragon Guide was not surprised by this. He used the flame from the lighter to set the Trial Taker’s corpse on fire. The flames didn’t die down until Baron could smell the scent of roasting flesh.

Then, the Dragon Guide repeated the process, scorching the corpse of the previously killed Dragon Descendant with the flame. Afterward, he used the Scale-Stripping Saber to cut open the Giant Dragon’s abdomen, stuffed the Trial Taker’s body inside, and stitched it up before leaving.

Baron sent his Little Flame Demon to follow the Dragon Guide, then emerged from the woods himself to inspect the corpse.

His gaze focused mainly on the scorch marks from the fire—’Those marks... they look a little familiar.’

————

Secret Notes of Baron Constantin (Original Body):

February 26, 1976 / Plains / Weather: Cloudy

Today I did a good deed, but also learned something terrible.

The good deed is that Uncle Conrad’s daughter, Windsor, wandered into the Lake Castle where the Silver Lion is imprisoned, and I rescued her.

The price was getting a harsh scolding from Uncle Field.

The terrible thing is that the butler told me my father is missing... or he might be dead.