Extending his index finger as though wiping away dust blown into his eyes, the Provisions Manager quietly brushed the tears from the corners of his eyes.
Solemnly, he put away the photograph in his hands. Though he felt certain that the Chameleos mother and child had already departed, he still spoke softly.
"Thank you, old friend. Thank you for coming to see me off."
"Gwaa~"
A faint, almost inaudible sound drifted past his ear. The Provisions Manager's pupils contracted sharply as he turned around—but behind him, there was only a breeze stirring fallen leaves.
Turning back with dimmed eyes, he suddenly felt someone tug gently at his sleeve.
When he looked, it was the cat sitting beside him.
Just as he was about to ask what was wrong, he saw that between him and the cat, a single scale—purple with traces of yellow markings—had quietly fallen there.
A faint scent of mandrake medicine wafted from the scale.
The Provisions Manager picked it up, and just as emotion began to well in his heart, he noticed that beneath the scale lay a palm-sized metal lock. Its exterior remained intact, but the internal mechanism had been destroyed, leaving it slightly tattered.
Yet when the Provisions Manager saw this lock, the tears in his eyes could no longer be held back.
It was the gift he had once given to the little Chameleos.
The large scale belonged to the Chameleos; the lock belonged to the young one. Together, they were the mother and child's acknowledgment of him—and their farewell gift, left especially for him.
"Thank you, thank you! I… I'll treasure them well~"
A man nearly fifty years old now sat clutching those two small items tightly, sobbing quietly to himself.
Beside him, the cat had opened a thick book. Hidden by its pages, it secretly caressed the silver-white scale tucked within its own robe—a scale that still carried faint warmth.
'The Fire Wyvern boss will protect me, meow!!'
The cat declared firmly in its heart. The enduring warmth from that scale had eased much of its fear toward the unknown world ahead.
As the sun rose higher and the wind shifted, the liaison ship raised its sails. With the help of the wind, it set off toward the horizon—amid the gazes of all the members of the Research Commission standing upon the cliff.
"Thank you all for your dedication through these years!!"
The Commander shouted loudly, and at his side, everyone who heard his voice joined together in a resounding cry—calling out in unison to bid farewell to their friends aboard the departing ship.
From the high platform, a scribe swiftly recorded the scene. Farewells were always tinged with sorrow—but for the members of the First and Second Fleets, they also felt genuine happiness for their companions who, for various reasons, had to depart.
Pioneering was an arduous and perilous undertaking. Though some companions left for different reasons, others now rested eternally upon this very land.
Every pioneer was a hero!
The farewell ceremony ended quickly, and the sadness of parting lingered only briefly. With the heavy workload of expeditions, those remaining had no extra energy to dwell in emotion; soon, Astera was bustling once more.
"Commander, Commander! Great news!"
A dust-covered hunter came rushing in, riding a Jagras at full speed.
Carlos, having just managed to calm himself, hurriedly went forward to meet him.
Normally, riding a Jagras at high speed within the base was strictly prohibited. Yet this veteran hunter of the Second Fleet, despite knowing the rule, had still chosen to come this way—proving that the message he carried must be truly important.
As the Commander unfolded the parchment and read its contents, his usually stern expression visibly softened, a rare joy overflowing across his face.
...
A few days earlier, at the Ancient Tree Ecological Research Base—
The scholars there were visibly elated; a joyous atmosphere filled the entire facility.
The Wyverian Alchemy Granny carefully put away the manuscript in her hands, afraid even a trace of damage might occur.
After countless days and nights of relentless study by so many scholars, they had at last deciphered the alchemical principles behind that ancient Dragonator.
For humans, the greatest obstacle in studying ancient large-scale strategic weapons such as the Dragonator had always been the alchemical framework engraved within the mechanism—not its material composition.
Alchemy itself was a discipline demanding deep biological knowledge and keen energy sensitivity—fields beyond human capability. Even among Wyverian scholars, only a rare few with exceptional talent could truly master it.
And now, under the leadership of the Alchemy Granny, the ancient Dragonator brought by the Ahtal-Ka had finally had its alchemical structure successfully decoded and replicated, using several unique materials found in the New World.
Although there remained a long way to go before applying it to the creation of imitation weapons, the most difficult and crucial part had already been overcome. What lay ahead was merely a matter of time and materials for verification.
In addition, the scholars had also deduced from the internal serial markings of the Dragonator that the site where it had been unearthed must have been a defensive fortress—or at the very least, a complex of fortification-like structures.
This speculation made the group of passionate scholars' blood surge with excitement; they were eager to set out at once to conduct corresponding archaeological work.
Although the Research Commission had now opened the transport route between Astera and the Ancient Tree—and even used it as a base to expand outward and carry out large-scale investigation activities—
Compared to the vast expanse of the Ancient Forest, the area currently explored by the Commission was merely a small portion. And this was achieved only because, with the Chameleos present near the base, the Commission did not need to overly concern itself with Astera's defensive strength.
Therefore, for everyone in the Research Commission, any discovery that could enhance their overall defensive capability, even by a little, was enough to fill the entire team with excitement.
All the more so—this was the Dragonator!
A weapon specially designed by humankind to counter Elder Dragons! Merely possessing such a device could greatly reduce the threat posed to Astera by Elder Dragons.
If they could further decipher the other defensive mechanisms within that ruin, wouldn't Astera's level of safety be elevated to an entirely new stage?
Just as the scholars were noisily discussing and the Admiral and the Third Fleet Master were doing their best to calm them down, a Wyverian girl appeared beneath the Ancient Tree.
With unease and fear, she looked up through the forest canopy toward the upper layers of the Ancient Tree, where countless menacing Fire Wyverns were constantly circling among the branches. For a moment, she even felt like retreating; even though she could sense the joy radiating from the gemstone in her backpack, she still dared not go up.
The main reason was that these mutated Fire Wyverns, compared to ordinary ones, appeared far more ferocious—just looking at them gave a strong impression of aggression.
Moreover, the abnormal temperature surrounding the Ancient Tree made the Wyverian girl uncertain whether these Fire Wyverns might have developed other mutations—perhaps even abilities that could see through her disguise.
She had come to deliver something according to "fate," not to throw her life away.
As she hesitated in the forest, torn by her own fear, she remained unaware that several pairs of eyes had already locked onto her—and were quietly closing in from all directions.
The Wyverian girl, torn by inner conflict to the point of madness, felt her legs nearly going numb. Tightening her grip on her clothes, she decided to withdraw for now and return after she had mentally prepared herself.
But just as she moved, one of her long, pointed ears twitched slightly. Having lived for decades as a scout and resource gatherer for her tribe in this monster-filled New World, the Wyverian girl instantly sensed that something was off.
Both hands reached behind her. When she drew them out from beneath her camouflaged cloak, a small silver-white shield and an ornate single-handed sword half a meter long appeared in her grasp. A faint frost condensed over the shield's surface and along the blade's edge.
Icegale—top-tier weapons forged using materials from Velkhana, the Ice Elder Dragon, combined with high-purity crystal.
Yet unlike the standard weapons currently forged by the Research Commission, the hilt of the sword and the shield each bore two luminous gemstones, softly pulsing with light—artifacts seemingly created through an ancient form of alchemy.
Though the Wyverian girl's shield and sword were both beautifully crafted, the reflected gleam along the blade revealed that their owner maintained them with utmost care.
However, along the ridged carvings of the shield, the worn-down and broken corners still told of the weapons' long, long years of service.
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