"Ancient Relics and Divine Blessings, huh... I don’t think that’s available here... and you call them Elder Beasts?" Shane muttered as he could only try to find replacements that would work well against the Elder Beasts or Dragons.

"Yes... They’re just creatures with a higher purity of dragon blood. They can be a mantis, a snake, or even a lizard... If they have a certain level of purity in their dragon blood, they’re considered Elders..." Caesar explained.

"I see... But aside from specific relics and blessings, how are you specifically fighting them? Is there no other way?" 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Caesar smiled as he slowly recalled the past...

"You asked how we fought them? Of course, it wasn’t brute force alone. Against dragonoids, we had to rely on talents and skills that could pierce their defenses. Since ordinary blades and arrows were useless, many of those with Piercing Skill users are needed."

Seeing that Shane was listening like a child, he continued.

"The price of the Piercing Skill Potion at that time was really high... All the alchemists who could make such Skill Potions were highly sought after. Ahh... I remember our Spirit Knights had this technique called Soul Lance, which could bypass physical armor and strike directly at their essence. Without that, we would have been slaughtered. Unfortunately, we barely had Spirit Knights now... The Soul Lance skill recipe is also lost."

Shane listened intently as he knew that this information would be needed. Still, it was indeed a pity that the Soul Lance’s recipe was already gone.

A skill that could ignore armor was just too OP.

Caesar continued, "At that time, we had a battalion of mages specialized in elemental counters. Since fire was almost useless, we prefer lightning. Such spells disrupted their nervous systems. Heh... Do you want me to continue? You have to pay a fair price."

"I will pay!" Shane said as he showed a pouch of Spirit Stones...

"Oh! Not bad... So where were we?"

"About how the mages fight..." Shane asked.

"Right... Well, we previously had a Vice-Commander with Dragonbane Aura Talent, which weakened draconic creatures within a radius, and someone with Wyrmshatter Strike, a Survivor Skill that allowed a mage or even a warrior to channel spirit energy into a single devastating blow. Those were the turning points in our battles. Without them, we would have been overwhelmed. Well, they didn’t get transported here with us so..."

Shane gently nodded.

He wanted to know a few more things. He wanted to hear something from him...

"And the dragons themselves?" He asked.

Caesar chuckled and explained...

"That’s where things changed. We have only fought four true dragons so far. They weren’t even full adults... young adults, about twenty meters wingspan. But even then, they were devastating. Each had a specific elemental type. One breathed frost that froze entire mountains. Another exhaled poison mist that lasted for days. A third wielded lightning... and the fourth... had fire enough to melt enchanted steel."

’Are you serious? Is it possible that we’re going to face these creatures as well?’ Shane was kind of speechless right now.

It seemed that he had underestimated these Dragons. They have to ensure that they have weapons or relics that would really work against them, or they’d be in trouble.

"And how did you survive those encounters?"

Caesar paused for a moment to recall what had happened before he answered...

"We didn’t always survive... Many lives were lost in every battle, but we learned. Aside from what I mentioned before about their weak points... their eyes, their wings, and the joints of their scales, spirit cannons blinded them, mana cannons pinned them down... Once grounded, they were more vulnerable. There’s really no trick to this... You just have to be strong and well-equipped."

"And there’s something else. Dragons communicate through telepathy. Aside from speaking with you, they invade your mind, and give temptations. They pretend to be kind, to offer peace. But it’s a lie. They crave humans with high spirit energy. They feed on it. Anyone who listens too closely ends up consumed. Never trust them..."

Shane frowned...

"So there’s no chance of alliance, huh..."

To be honest, since Raze has a Dragon, he was thinking that it might be possible to capture them or even make them their mount. However, if they were purely evil to the point that they only wanted to eat humans, then there was no chance he’d let that happen.

Caesar shook his head firmly. "None. Many of us tried before but dragons will never befriend humans. They see us as prey, tools, or fuel. Nothing more."

Without a doubt, this was valuable information, and Shane was willing to give a decent reward because of it.

So without hesitation, he reached into his inventory and pulled out twenty mana crystals.

He placed them on the table.

"This is for the information you’ve already given."

Caesar’s eyes lit up, clearly impressed. "Generous. You’re not cheap, I’ll give you that."

But Shane wasn’t finished. He reached into his inventory and withdrew a nice set of armor and weapons.

It was the Ice King Set, dropped by the Ice Zombie King. He laid it out piece by piece... It had the frost‑etched helm, the chilling blade, the armor that radiated cold, and boots...

"This is only a four-piece set. There’s no fifth item... Anyway, this should be good enough for that information, right? If you lied, I’ll know about it later and I’ll take it back, ok?"

"Hahah! That’s fine by me... A full Zombie King Set. You’re generous!"

Shane nodded.

He had ways of multiplying loot, and when he knew that a Zombie King or Lord was about to drop a set, he could ensure the rewards were greatly increased.

Now, he presented one of those sets, the Ice King Set, as his offering, making it clear that in return he expected everything Caesar knew about dragons.

Caesar didn’t hesitate. He reached out, touching the armor reverently, then looked Shane in the eye. "This is awesome... Thank you, my friend! Of course, since you’re so kind. I’ll tell you more..."

"Ahh? More?" Shane asked in surprise. Being generous really had its own benefits.

"Of course... We fought four young adult dragons, right? Well... Their attacks weren’t just physical... they carried mana corruption. That mana corruption is something that you have to be wary about."

"Mana Corruption, huh..." Shane muttered as he immediately found a way to deal with this issue.

***

As soon as Shane left Caesar behind, he regrouped with the others.

After a brief discussion, they decided to rent an inn for the night.

Some of their companions returned to their ships, Excellence and Providence, preferring the familiarity of their own quarters. Others, however, stayed with Shane, choosing to rest in the inn and remain close to him.

Before retiring, Shane informed them clearly...

"I’ll be doing something important tonight. Don’t disturb me while I sleep." His tone left no room for argument.

Once inside his room, he set up a barrier, ensuring no one could intrude.

With that precaution in place, he activated his Survivor Talent, the Fairy Realm’s Survivor...

In an instant, he dissipated, and he entered the pocket dimension he had cultivated.

As expected, the realm was bright and sunny, a stark contrast to the night outside.

The air was fresh, filled with the scent of blooming spirit grass and mana-rich soil.

Of course, Axis was absent, busy tending to the World Trees outside, but other fairies were already at work here.

They fluttered around the central World Tree...

Crops lined the fields, ponds could be seen with mana crystals, and small animals played freely under the fairies’ watchful eyes.

The mana crystals here were still abundant, especially the blue ones, which remained chunky and pure compared to the dwindling supply outside.

Since Shane had harvested them just last week, there wasn’t much to collect yet. He waved at the fairies and the animals, offering them food from his inventory.

"Don’t be greedy... There’s enough for everyone..."

Just like that, they danced happily in respons...

But Shane had no time to linger. He turned toward the forest.

The path was lined with herbs, fruits, and spirit grass, all valuable resources, but he ignored them for now.

His destination was deeper... It was the cave!

The cave was unlike any other place in the Fairy Realm.

Inside, the walls glowed faintly, not with the usual blue mana crystals, but with red ones!

Without a doubt, it was the corrupted mana.

Shane’s eyes focused as he stepped inside.

This wasn’t a random anomaly. He already suspected that a Fairy King or Queen or some high noble Fairy with deep grudges had perished here long ago...

Of course, it was also possible that it was just a Demon Spirit corrupting the crystals.

Anyway, whatever it was, he guessed that their essence corrupted the mana into something darker.

He crouched down, examining one of the crystals.

"It’s getting stronger, huh..." Shane muttered.

Unlike the pure blue ones outside, these radiated a chaotic energy.

Dangerous, yes, but also potent.

He thought of the dragons Caesar had described.... creatures that wielded frost, poison, lightning, and fire, each attack infused with mana corruption.

Perhaps these corrupted crystals could serve as a countermeasure...

"But how do I use this?"