Upon hearing Scáthach's words, Arthur's heart skipped a beat. He cast a furtive glance at her and noticed that her head was slightly lowered, her reddened eyes fixed on a specific spot.
That was exactly where Nessa was hiding.
As expected, they were discovered.
I have to say, she truly lives up to her reputation.
Arthur was wondering whether he should cover her when he saw that Nessa had already lifted the blankets. She was lying on the bed, looking at her mother.
"When did you find out, Mom?"
"I sensed your presence the moment I entered," Scáthach said, casting a glance at Ness. "What are you doing sneaking into a boy's room so late at night?"
"And what about you, Mom? Why are you going to Arthur's room so late?" Nessa shot back.
Arthur looked around, wanting to speak, but a wave of pressure washed over him, leaving him momentarily at a loss for words.
Right now, the best thing is to pretend to be dead…
"I have a certain interest in the stories my apprentice tells me, so I set aside time every day to listen to them," Scáthach replied calmly after meeting Arthur's eyes for a brief moment.
Hearing that, Arthur looked at Scáthach in disbelief.
How strange… I thought Master would get angry because Nessa climbed into my bed late at night, but I didn't expect her to answer Nessa's question so seriously.
Nessa really deserves to be called Scáthach's most beloved daughter.
"So Mom came to listen to a story," Nessa said with a smile. "Actually, I came for the same reason. I wanted to hear Arthur tell a story."
"It's already very late. Go back and rest," Scáthach said calmly.
"Alright." Nessa nodded, got off the bed, turned around, winked at Arthur, and her eyes revealed a crafty look.
Arthur could only nod helplessly.
The master truly dotes on her daughter. Anyone else would probably have been scolded, or even subjected to extra nighttime training, but Nessa was an exception.
She possessed outstanding talent and intelligence, which made her popular among everyone in the Land of Shadows—including Scáthach herself.
After mother and daughter left, Arthur closed the door, and his taut nerves slowly relaxed. He then picked up the magic cauldron Cú Chulainn had given him.
To be honest, it didn't look like a cauldron at all; it looked more like a skull. More importantly, three of the four sides of this "skull" had carvings that closely resembled human faces, making it especially sinister at night.
It looked like the kind of item you would see in a black magic ritual.
However, the effect of this magic cauldron was truly remarkable. If you poured water into it, activated its effect, and then drank it, a strange power would flow through your body—a clear yet subtle sensation of strengthening.
After drinking the water as usual, Arthur lay down on the soft bed, replaying what had just happened, and soon fell into a deep sleep.
The next morning, Arthur was secretly taken out of the Land of Shadows by Nessa at daybreak.
According to the girl, as she had said the night before, in order to improve Arthur's physical abilities, she would take him to the Forest of Ordeals to steal something.
---xXx---
In the dense forest.
A massive shadow frequently loomed across the sky, and Arthur walked carefully over the leaf-covered ground.
He had to be cautious, as the ground beneath the leaves was almost entirely slippery mud, and he could easily slip and fall. Moreover, there were all kinds of creatures he needed to guard against.
"Nessa, can we go back? This place gives me the creeps." After walking for a while, Arthur finally couldn't hold it in and asked.
"No. I already promised to give you a big gift. If we turn back now, I won't be able to keep my promise."
"Then I'll go back by myself," Arthur said.
"You're really going to leave me alone in this desolate forest and go back first?" Nessa looked at Arthur with pleading eyes. Her face showed such fragility that it made her even more pitiful, making it impossible for anyone to abandon her.
"I just hope Master doesn't find out about this," Arthur sighed. Although he agreed to help Nessa, his expression was one of complete helplessness.
He still couldn't bring himself to ignore Nessa. Although she was stronger and two years older than him, she liked to act like a child. Most of the time, Arthur treated her like a younger sister.
"Besides, suddenly suggesting we steal a dragon's blood is insanity. This isn't something that's easy to do—"
"Shhh!" Nessa suddenly raised her index finger to her lips, signaling Arthur to be quiet, and pointed toward the large tree beside him.
The two hid behind the massive tree, and at that moment, a loud rumble suddenly came from the forest floor.
Boom!
Boom!
A gigantic creature walked through the forest, making the trees tremble and shedding countless leaves with every step.
It was an adult giant elephant. Well, calling it a giant elephant wasn't entirely accurate, since it had a pair of strange horns on its head. Moreover, it was several times larger than a normal elephant. Giant creatures like this were not uncommon in the forest and were actually quite numerous.
"Let's go, now's the time." After the giant elephant left, Nessa grabbed Arthur and, with the help of runes, leaped onto the massive tree and ran along the branches toward their destination.
"This dragon's nest is enormous!"
When Arthur and Nessa arrived at the dragon's nest and saw the scene before them, he was deeply shocked.
The dragon's nest was built atop an ancient tree and was nearly half the size of a castle. Moreover, it was made of dark, smooth wood, jet black in color. If you tapped it lightly, you could even hear a metallic sound. Anyone unfamiliar with the material might think it was made of steel.
"Nessa, have you found the blood?"
Arthur stood in front of the dragon's nest, looking into the distance, fearing that the black dragon might return. Dragons are creatures whose intelligence rivals—or even surpasses—that of humans. If they discovered that two humans had invaded their nest to steal their blood, they would be so enraged that they would spew fire and turn them to ashes.
"Found it." Nessa peeked out from behind him, her face slightly smudged with dirt, but her smile was radiant. She raised a small vial and waved it in front of Arthur.
The golden liquid inside the bottle looked exceptionally beautiful.
A dragon's essential blood is not ordinary blood, but the blood that flows from the reverse scale, representing the very essence of the draconic race. If it weren't for the fact that a black dragon had been seen flying over the castle yesterday with a wound on its reverse scale, Nessa would never have suggested stealing the black dragon's essential blood.
"Then let's hurry and get out of here. It would be terrible if that black dragon came back," Arthur said anxiously, urging Nessa to leave the dragon's nest as quickly as possible.
---
(End of the chapter)