"Finally safe... barely saved my skin."
Inside the cave, Simon let out a long sigh of relief.
The scene just now had been too dangerous, too intense.
Who could've thought that the Frost Dragon's speed would suddenly increase so dramatically?
If they had been even 0.1 seconds slower, both of them would've been done for.
Considering how harsh the death penalty in *Godfall* was, Simon definitely didn't want to start over.
"Don't celebrate too soon," Ethan pointed behind them. "That thing is still watching us. If it doesn't leave, we'll be trapped in here."
Hearing this, Simon turned to look and saw a giant eye staring at them unblinkingly.
"Oh my god, that thing is terrifying! Bro, you've got to come up with something."
"Don't rush."
Ethan waved his hand, signaling Simon to keep quiet.
He was curious why this beast was still after them.
The Frost Dragon was at least an epic-level creature, and compared to it, they were nothing more than ants.
Even if Simon's luck had dropped to -2, it still didn't make sense for the dragon to chase them so persistently.
Moreover, Ethan had a strange feeling that the Frost Dragon was specifically fixating on him.
"Is it just my imagination? Or is there something on me that's caught its attention?"
Ethan frowned and glanced down at himself.
Suddenly, he realized.
The most valuable thing on him was the Eternal Ember.
Could the Frost Dragon be after that?
With that thought, Ethan removed the Ember from around his neck and waved it in front of the dragon.
"Whooo..."
As Ethan made this motion, the Frost Dragon's gaze changed immediately.
Its eyes now reflected a sense of yearning and nostalgia.
It then slowly uttered several syllables.
"Great hero... Argoth!"
It wasn't speaking in the dragon's tongue but in the common language of Argoth,
so both Ethan and Simon could understand it.
"Holy crap, it can talk? This thing can talk? It's a monster!"
Simon panicked, yelling like a madman. He had thought the dragon was just a big lizard with wings.
"Shut up!"
Ethan glared at him.
This guy was definitely not right in the head, causing trouble at such a critical moment.
If it weren't for the Mirror Image skill, Ethan would've already killed him.
The Frost Dragon also glanced at Simon, its gaze carrying a trace of murderous intent.
Ethan turned his attention back to the dragon and asked,
"You want this?"
"Yes. It is... hope."
Ethan frowned. What hope? The dark times were long over; the Ember had lost its significance.
Other than being a top-tier item for fire mages, did it serve any other purpose?
Ethan couldn't quite figure it out, so he asked,
"This Ember was left by Argoth, but I can't give it to you. It belongs to the dwarf Kekero."
"No... it has become weak... It has lost its divinity... Gather them."
**Ding! You've triggered a quest: Redemption of the Frost Dragon!**
**Prerequisite Quest: The Eternal Flame**
**The Eternal Flame: Collect all the Eternal Embers, then find the Frost Dragon 'Seron' to receive the next quest.**
**Quest Rewards: Unknown**
**Quest Penalty: Unknown**
**Quest Duration: Unlimited**
**Do you accept?**
"Uh..."
Ethan froze, not expecting to trigger such a large-scale quest.
And it was a chain quest at that.
The main quest was *Redemption of the Frost Dragon*, but he needed to complete the prerequisite, *The Eternal Flame*, first.
From the description, Ethan could tell this was no simple task.
It involved the Frost Dragon clan and the legendary hero Argoth.
The difficulty would likely be at least epic, maybe even legendary or demi-god level.
Given his current strength, getting involved would be like an ant challenging an elephant—he wouldn't even know how he died.
But if he didn't accept, the Frost Dragon might not let him go.
After thinking it over, Ethan decided to take the quest.
The quest had no time limit, so he could always push it off.
Once he reached legendary status or advanced to demi-god, he could deal with it then.
With that in mind, Ethan looked at the Frost Dragon and nodded,
"I accept. I will gather the Eternal Embers, but I'll need time."
**Ding! Congratulations on accepting the quest: *The Eternal Flame* (Prerequisite Quest).**
The Frost Dragon seemed satisfied with this response, its eyes softening.
It exhaled gently, and a skill book slowly floated toward Ethan.
Seeing this, Ethan quickly reached out and caught it, glancing at its contents.
**Out of Thin Air: You can create and manipulate fire at will.**
**Casting Requirement: Requires an Ember**
**Cooldown: None**
**Learning Requirement: Agility 15, Spirit 15**
"It's *Out of Thin Air*! This is a huge win!"
There were many types of fire magic: basic spells like *Fireball* and *Flame Snake*,
or more advanced spells like a mage's *Arcane Fire* or a warlock's *Hellfire*.
However, all of these required high intelligence stats to learn.
But Ethan was a magician, who primarily focused on Agility and Spirit, not Intelligence.
*Out of Thin Air* was perfect for him.
Ethan checked his stats.
**Basic Attributes: Strength 10, Agility 14, Constitution 10, Spirit 14, Intelligence 9**
"I just need one more level to learn it."
Ethan smiled, storing the skill book away. Then he looked at the Frost Dragon and said,
"Thank you for this gift. I will keep my promise."
The Frost Dragon nodded gently.
"What about me? Don't I get something too?"
Suddenly, Simon spoke up, seeing that the dragon had given Ethan a skill book. He wanted some loot as well.
"Whooo..."
The Frost Dragon shot Simon a look, exhaling a blast of icy breath, then turned and flew away.
"Man, so stingy."
Simon pouted, feeling like he'd been treated unfairly.
Ethan, watching this, couldn't help but shake his head.
This guy was treating the Frost Dragon like a regular monster, but it was an epic-level creature with intelligence.
Yet Simon still dared to call it stingy. The kid's got guts!
"Good luck, buddy."
Ethan patted Simon on the shoulder.
This guy had offended the Frost Dragon, so his days ahead were likely going to be rough.
The Frost Dragon lived in *The Northlands*, and so did the Eskimo Hunters.
There was nowhere for him to run.
"Alright, now that we're safe, let's get going."
"Right away, big bro. You just sit back and relax."
With the crisis averted, Simon became all smiles again.
He took control of the sled, guiding it out of the cave.
Then, they resumed their original route.
Ethan sat at the back of the sled and glanced up at the cliffside.
Sure enough, a massive dark silhouette was still silently watching them.
Ethan waved toward it.
"Roar!"
The Frost Dragon let out a roar, flapped its wings, and soared higher into the mountains.
"Yikes! That scared the hell out of me. Why hasn't it left yet?"
Simon jumped in fright at the roar.
"It's gone now."
Ethan replied nonchalantly.
"That giant lizard is terrifying. Once I'm high enough level, I'm going to catch it and make it my mount."
Simon said, filled with ambition. Compared to the Frost Dragon, his pet snow ferret was trash.
"You want to capture it? You'll need to be at least demi-god level."
Ethan wasn't trying to discourage him. Dragons were already incredibly gifted, and the Frost Dragon was a rare variant.
Legend had it that they only submitted to the Dark Dragon God and didn't even acknowledge other gods.
"What's to be afraid of? It's just a demi-god. A man's gotta have dreams, and mine is to become a dragon rider."
"You're a hunter."
"Then I'll be a dragon hunter!"
**Thud!**
Just as Simon finished speaking, a marble-sized ice ball fell from the sky, hitting him square on the head.
"Ow! Who did that?"
Simon cried out, clutching his head and looking around in confusion.
**Thud!**
Another ice ball came down, followed by a third, a fourth, and a fifth, all raining down in a neat line.
Their target? Only Simon.
"Oh god, no!"
Simon looked utterly defeated.
Even a fool could figure out what was happening by now.
His face twisted as he cried out to the sky,
"Mighty Dragon Lord, I was just joking! Please spare my life!"