Chapter 323 - Motives

Ryan furrowed his eyebrows when he heard that… a pirate was hunting dragons and causing problems for humans. As if that wasn't weird enough, that pirate died more than three hundred years ago… just what the hell was going on?

"Your expression is showing exactly the same shock we had when we saw that guy for the first time," Gustavo forced a smile. "Anyway, he appears now and then to attack our coast, so we have to stay alert, and unfortunately, he always disappears in the sea when he retreats, so we have never been able to finish him off when we had the chance."

"Is that so…" Ryan said.

Ryan was even more surprised than when he heard about the Chupacabras. Monsters were one thing, but humans from the past coming back to cause problems to other humans… that wasn't something he could understand.

"If you don't mind, I would like to ask you about the locations of the tier three dungeons you already found," Gustavo said. "You don't need to tell us about the people you met along the way. Just the location is fine. Eventually, we will head to those places and negotiate with the survivors in the area."

It looked like Femradiel didn't like it when she said that Gustavo and the others were some goody-two-shoes idiots. Then again… the dragons could be talking to each other to screw Ryan over. Since Ryan could stay the whole day imagining conspirations that might cause his death, he decided to stop.

Ryan told them the location of the dungeons. Lying would be a waste of time since they could read his mind, so Ryan focused on not thinking about the survivors around those dungeons. However, Gustavo and the others didn't look very excited about the classes they could find there.

"It will take considerable time to reach each of those dungeons," Gustavo said. "As expected, we won't be able to clear them anytime soon. Regardless, you have my thanks for sharing all those pieces of information with us, Ryan. While I cannot let you clear the dungeons alone, since it would be a waste, you can go and defeat the next boss along with the next group. You are going to help today's group, right, Bianca?"

"Yes," Bianca nodded.

"Then, can you please guide Ryan to the dungeon?" Gustavo asked.

"All right…" Bianca said and failed at holding back a sigh.

Ryan also felt like sighing. Of all people, he had to be guided by the redhead. Ryan couldn't help but still connect the red color to Mia at that point in time, and the first thing he recalls about her was cheating.

"Such a complicated life… things would be much simpler to humans if they had evolved to have multiple partners. If that were normal, you wouldn't have suffered so much."

It looked like Ryan had really reached the bottom of the hole… now. A dragon was trying to console him by using her weird common sense in a society where the strict rules, perhaps it would be normal to have multiple partners, but not anymore, given that human society was once based on logic and reason.

"You should hurry up and finish your business here," Bianca said once they left the headquarters. "While Gustavo welcomed you, we don't like strangers who might disrupt our peace."

"We? So, you can speak for the others?" Ryan asked.

"Don't play dumb, you know what I mean," Bianca said.

"Yeah, yeah," Ryan said. "I am not feeling like taking a sunbath around here. Once I get the classes, I will leave you guys alone."

While Gustavo was the typical charismatic and naive leader, it looked like some people close to him had to work in the shadows for things to work properly. Even though Bianca was rude, Ryan didn't feel bothered by it. If anything, he felt more comfortable around her than around Gustavo. Those goody-two-shoes types really tire him out…

"The dungeon we are going to clear spawns Giant Spiders," Bianca began her explanation. "All their attacks can poison you and decrease your speed. However, you don't have to worry since a team that always stays in the area and me will defeat the mobs and the boss. You will stay behind along with the others that didn't clear the dungeon and won't do anything to interfere. Is that clear?"

"Sure," Ryan showed a relaxed smile.

It wasn't Ryan's style to relax and let others do the heavy work, but if the other part was so eager to let him obtain a tier-three class for free, who was he to say no? although it was a pity that he wouldn't gain coins or loot, for the time being, he wasn't in a hurry to get them. 

"You sure are relaxed… Why aren't you interested in the guy they mentioned before. The dragon slayers were the creatures that I mentioned before, who are hunting me and other dragons."

"You harvest what you sow," Ryan shrugged with a hint of a smile on his face.

"I already told you, I didn't hunt any humans, and I am pretty sure I didn't come to this planet by my free will. Who would come to this place where we lost our strength alongside our memories?"

Now that Ryan thought about it… that indeed made sense. Perhaps the dragons came without knowing about such after effects, but given how knowledgeable they were, even with most of their memories missing, Ryan had a hard time believing in that. 

"I am not afraid of death, but at the very least, I want to know why I am on this planet. I don't want to go down without a fight either, but at this rate, that is what will happen. I need to recover my body and get stronger."

Ryan didn't say anything after hearing that, he already had his own problems, and he didn't have any reason to make Femradiel life easier. However, it was annoying that he could feel a bit affected by her words… after all, he could understand the feelings of losing things beyond your control.