novelraw Chapter 58: Phantom Art Domain
Chapter 58: Phantom Art Domain
“Can you play with Vira?”
In response to the Faerie Dragon’s question, Garoth thought for a moment, neither refusing nor agreeing, and said, “Depends on my mood.”
No sooner had he spoken than he felt something strange on his tail.
Turning his head, he saw emerald green vines wrapped around the tip of his tail, tied into a bow-like shape, with pink sparkling dust shimmering on the surface—the light powder sprinkled by the Faerie Dragon.
Garoth flicked his tail.
The sharp, blade-like overlapping dragon scales on his tail instantly shredded the vines to pieces.
“Play later. For now, I need you to help me with something important.”
He said.
“Okay, okay. Let’s finish the important stuff quickly, then you can play with me.”
The Faerie Dragon nodded excitedly, then tilted her head and asked, “What’s the important stuff?”Garoth grinned.
“Come on, use your illusion technique on me.”
A strange request... truly a strange dragon. Its hobbies and interests were unfathomable and somewhat dangerous.
“Illusions come with a certain amount of mental damage. If it accumulates too much, it can harm the brain and turn you into an idiot. Aren’t you afraid?”
The Faerie Dragon asked curiously.
Mental damage is exactly what I want.
“Don’t ask so many questions. Start.”
Garoth took a deep breath, focusing his mind, preparing to face the Faerie Dragon’s illusion.
“Alright, alright. You asked for this yourself, so don’t get mad if you get hurt.” The Faerie Dragon added anxiously before using her strongest Phantom Sound Technique on Garoth.
The sound of flowing clear springs echoed, reaching Garoth’s ears.
The scene before his eyes began to spin, twist, and distort.
In the distance, the Rampage Bears’ fur disappeared, and their bodies shrank, turning into little dolls chasing and playing. Rocks and trees grew limbs and mouths, dancing and singing. The colors of the whole world became more vivid, like an oil painting.
This time, Garoth did not try to interrupt the illusion with physical attacks; instead, he let himself immerse in it.
Looking down at himself, Garoth was stunned to find his dragon scales had turned into flowers.
Bees and butterflies buzzed and fluttered around him, singing faint, indistinct ballads that made his head spin.
Garoth sat steadily on the ground, as firm as a rock.
He let the singing continue; the bizarre scenes before his eyes grew even stranger as he trained himself to adapt.
But before long,
The sounds and illusions abruptly stopped.
The surreal oil painting-like world vanished; the hallucination disappeared, and the world before his eyes returned to normal.
The sensation was like accidentally stepping into a strange, fantastical world. Garoth felt somewhat reluctant to leave it and looked at the Faerie Dragon, his gaze landing on her butterfly-like wings as he said, “I heard Faerie Dragon scale powder can enhance mental strength.”
The Faerie Dragon nodded and said, “Yes, it can.”
“Let me try.”
Garoth said.
Scale powder was a renewable resource on the Faerie Dragon’s body and wasn’t rare to her. Without hesitation, she flew above Garoth’s head and fluttered her butterfly-like wings.
Silver-gray light dust fell down in a shower.
Garoth opened his mouth and swallowed all of it.
In an instant,
His mind became highly sensitive; his excitement and focus surged. The colors of the world grew bright and vivid, as if bathed in warm tones.
Spiders weaving webs in rock crevices, insects crawling on treetops, dust particles in the air—
The rustling sound of wind blowing through leaves, the faint noise of his scales rubbing against each other, the crisp sound of dew drops hitting stones...
These little details that were usually ignored now became crystal clear in Garoth’s sight and hearing.
“This feeling is truly wonderful.”
Garoth’s eyes sparkled as he thought.
It was a different sensation from consuming black oil.
Black oil mainly excited his body, while this was a heightened sensitivity and excitement on the mental level.
Beyond perception, Garoth felt his thinking speed had also improved, making him seemingly smarter.
Then he pondered whether he should shift his focus toward mental and spiritual improvement or officially start learning magic.
After several seconds of deep thought, he answered negatively.
His wisdom told him that physical strength—body power—was more important.
Mentality, spirit, magic... The red iron dragon hybrid had no outstanding talent in these areas; it was difficult to improve and could not form combat power in the short term. It could not become his survival reliance in the wilderness.
It was better to try once he was strong enough; that would be more efficient.
“Vira, continue using your illusions on me.”
He turned to the Faerie Dragon and said.
Garoth didn’t plan to focus solely on mental improvement but would not ignore it entirely. Appropriate training was necessary.
Feeling mentally tired, the Faerie Dragon rubbed her head and used the Phantom Sound Technique again.
Because of the scale powder, Garoth’s mental sensitivity was enhanced, and the illusion’s effect on him increased.
The scenes before his eyes became bizarre and indescribable.
The shadows of stones stretched long,
Turning into twisted monsters.
A giant tree hung upside down with its roots planted in the sky; the trunk and the vast branches blocking the sky were all made of flesh and blood.
The songs in his ears turned into unintelligible whispers, like the low hissing of some creatures.
Garoth once again immersed himself in the surreal illusion domain.
During this time,
He vaguely saw claw-like branches hanging down from the bizarre world, reaching for him, but as if separated by a barrier between illusion and reality, they could not approach or touch him.
“Is this because the scale powder enhanced mental sensitivity?”
“The effect of this illusion is definitely beyond what the Faerie Dragon can normally produce.”
Garoth thought.
Time passed slowly.
Soon after, Garoth’s eyes gleamed as he looked at the Faerie Dragon and said, “Vira, you can go play now. Today’s mental training ends here.”
The Faerie Dragon drooped her wings and lay on a tree branch, lifting her eyelids weakly.
“No... no more playing. Vira needs to rest now. So tired.”
The Faerie Dragon was skilled with illusions, but her spirit was not limitless. She was exhausted now, mentally drained from Garoth’s exploitation, and just wanted to sleep and rest, too tired even to be interested in playing.
Garoth was still energetic.
The effect of the scale powder had faded.
The world in his eyes was no longer vivid, and his perception was not as strong as before, but compared to the beginning, it had still improved slightly.
“It really is a good thing.”
“Regular use of Faerie Dragon scale powder can greatly enhance my mental strength and perception even without specialized training.”
Garoth looked at the Faerie Dragon snoring soundly on the tree branch and felt like he had found a treasure this time.
Unfortunately,
There was no longer a source for obtaining black oil; he couldn’t get any black oil.
“If I consume black oil and scale powder at the same time, and both my body and mind become excited and active... what kind of feeling would that be?”
Garoth couldn’t help but wonder.
“If there were a source for black oil, I could buy some from the caravan.”
“But I can’t show myself, or I’ll attract trouble.”
After pacing and thinking for a moment, he flapped his wings and soared into the sky, ready to carefully investigate other creature territories around Needleleaf Valley.
When he chose this as his territory,
Garoth already knew there were many intelligent clans around Needleleaf Valley, neither too close nor too far, and there was also a branch road of the Thousand Serpent Traces.
These were all safety hazards.
But dangers lurked everywhere in the wilderness.
Compared to other places, Needleleaf Valley had richer resources, and such safety hazards were relatively few.
Moreover, if handled well, they could even be used to his advantage.
So after weighing all factors, Garoth chose this place as his territory.