Dragon Necromancer: Starting With First Dragon Bloodline-Chapter 61: Harvest

Noa found a mine.

Elemental essence glowed behind the walls, casting a dull light through the cracks.

"You mean there is something beyond these cracks?" Thalia questioned, approaching the wall to inspect it closely.

Her senses were quiet.

She couldn’t really verify Noa’s claim. Yet she didn’t doubt him, believing in his judgment blindly.

The same thing couldn’t be said about the other girls.

"There is no way you could have spotted the elemental vein in this darkness," Liz declared in surprise. She didn’t just doubt Noa’s observation, but she was uncertain whether it was possible in the first place.

Lily’s face showed a similar reaction.

Still, she controlled her expression and closed her mouth.

Instead of blatantly accusing Noa of lying, she glanced at her friend and tried to calm her down.

"I think his words make sense. He has done some incredible things so far. Let’s trust him this time, okay?"

She spoke softly.

It was apparent that she wanted to look good in front of Thalia and Noa.

Unfortunately for her, he ignored their conversation and searched for a way into the mine. Nor did Thalia entertain them. She, too, brushed her fingers against the wall, sending her frozen mana particles inside.

Noa did the same thing.

He controlled pure mana fragments and silently guided shadows to discover something worthwhile.

At first, it was a slow process.

But with Thalia by his side, Noa felt invincible and began expanding the gap.

Only a minute later, the small crack changed into a wide entrance everyone could easily squeeze through.

"We did it," he said, taking the first step on a pitch-black path.

Beyond the wall was another corridor, and even though it was tight, Noa felt he was getting closer to something.

The lights also flickered more frequently.

His only fear was that more insects would appear out of nowhere and overwhelm him before he could resist. That’s why his steps became faster.

He followed his instincts born from his Dragon Gaze ability.

It shifted his eye color, made his eyelids glow, and enhanced his perception.

Others didn’t lag behind either—especially Thalia, as she also observed the surrounding world just as attentively as he did.

Soon, Noa found the thing he was looking for.

The narrow corridor opened into a small cavern, green light flickering ahead.

To his surprise, the system said nothing. Still, his lips curled into a smile. "Found it," he muttered, observing how stones glowed in a steady flow.

"It’s poison element, right?" Thalia asked, grinning.

Noa nodded.

He studied the vein of green light from afar, keeping a distance despite having a low resistance to it.

Just risking instantly without considering the danger wasn’t his style.

Like a true mage, he preferred being prepared for threats and acting accordingly. With that in mind, he stepped closer... gradually.

Also, he glanced at Liz and caught the quick gleam on her face.

It was greed mixed with a silent recognition she tried her best to hide.

Seeing this, Noa didn’t comment.

He noted it in silence and went on with his business. Putting his sleeve over his nose, he mumbled as his eyes squinted in discomfort. "It stinks."

A bitter odor hung in the air.

Thalia tried to safeguard it, but scent wasn’t something her snow shield could block. At least she didn’t have to cough like Lily did and could stand beside Noa.

He, however, was done with his experiments.

The subtle pressure the stones gave off wasn’t enough to affect him.

Thanks to the Dragon’s Constitution and its evolution, the poisonous miasma in the cavern didn’t bother him.

Thalia’s body was weaker than his.

And despite not being able to block the foul stench, her snow was great for absorbing toxins. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

As a result, both her skin and lungs were protected.

Noa crouched beside the glowing wall. She mimicked his every action.

He tested it with his hands and, after touching it softly, the stone broke free from the wall easily under his grip.

The small, crystallized stone was carrying an elemental essence inside.

It contained nearly as much mana as the wind and fire vials he had found earlier. But upon separating it from the vein, the stone’s glow dimmed noticeably.

"It won’t leak as much poison once harvested," he confirmed.

Then he slipped it into his backpack and watched as Thalia joined in without hesitation.

Snow wrapped her fingers like a glove. Thanks to her magical control, she handled the essence safely and began harvesting them at a quick pace.

The other two girls watched from afar.

They had no means of protection, and Thalia didn’t shield them either, taking care of her mana reserve.

Speaking of mana, Noa was surprised by how well she was handling it.

He was in an advantageous environment, allowing Ashe to harvest shadows faster to give him even more mana.

Thalia didn’t have the same luxury.

She had been using her reserve this entire time, while her recovery should have been fairly slow.

Despite that, she seemed fine.

Noa couldn’t exactly explain her condition, but blamed it on Luna and her high-ranking status.

Bit by bit, the two of them worked in sync. The glow of the mine dimmed with every harvest, but the change was barely noticeable, allowing Noa to fill his bag completely.

’What about its rank?’ he thought after slipping the last essence into his pack.

Noa wanted to compare the new stones from the mine with the earlier ones from the chest.

His perception didn’t disappoint this time either.

With a single thought, Noa recognized small patterns in them and found similarities between them. ’Sure enough,’ he muttered inwardly. ’There is no way I would get so lucky.’

The poison elemental shards he and Thalia collected were only tier 1 rank.

Their worth was minimal.

What’s worse, poison wasn’t a rare element at all, which brought its price down even further.

Still, it was a treasure nonetheless. Exchanging them for credits to acquire better equipment, spell books, or various resources for the ritual was a common practice.

Now he had quite a sizeable sum, enough to plan his and Thalia’s advancement.

The girl also knew that.

That’s why her smile brightened momentarily.

She was eyeing Noa with her usual loving expression, as if she would sacrifice the world for him.

Though Noa had amazing perception and could see how much she cared for him, he remained unaware of the depth of her feelings.

"That’s enough," he said, glancing at the hidden tunnel that went straight to another chamber.