nThe 97th “Dragon Clan’s Cave” (part one)

n“Do you see that?” The old magician was standing behind Du Wei for who knows how long, but his tone was very bitter as he spoke: “I saw those things two hundred years ago, at this exact spot.”

n“You and Semel came here?” Du Wei bitterly asked: “two hundred years ago?”

n“Yes, in search of Aragon’s inheritance two hundred years ago. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the prophecy with me at the time. In the end, I couldn’t open Aragon’s treasure and had to go back empty handed.” The old magician whispered, “Two hundred years ago, I already saw those bones at the northern foot of the mountain.”

n“They are…… What?” Du Wei puts forward his question.

n“They are the legendary races exiled by God during the ancient periods. Originally, they lived alongside the human race on the Roland Continent, but later on, they betrayed god and was exiled to the north. Once they left the Roland Continent, these races traveled to the northern lands, passed the Holy Mountain, and continued onwards to the unknown lands past this point. No one really knows what lies beyond the Holy Mountain, but one thing is certain, that place is where the exiled races dwelled. As for the dragon clan, they are here to guard against those in the land of the exiled. Since ancient times, members of the exiled races will try to return, but none were able to make it past the Holy Mountain. If by the odd chance, one of these beings does make it past the Holy Mountain, they wouldn’t make it far….. Awaiting them afterwards is the terrifying snow storms of the ‘Forgotten Ice Field’, as well as the freezing cold, ice covered forest filled with magical beasts! Based on these obstacles, the exiled races can never return to the Roland Continent!”

nThe old magician spoke as he pointed towards the bottom of the mountain: “Those bones, all of them belonged to powerful individuals of the exiled races. By relying on their immense strength, these individuals tried to bypass the barriers set by God, but all of them failed. In the end, they were killed by the dragons stationed here on the Holy Mountain.”

nDu Wei’s eyes gleamed with wonder, “How do you know all of this?”

n“The dragon chieftain told me.” The old magician smiled: “I’ve been here once two hundred years ago…. The chieftain is a very complex being. Once you meet him, you will understand why.”

nOn the third day of their climb, the group finally reached the top of the mountain.

nOn top of the Holy Mountain was an enormous cave. From Du Wei’s perspective, this cave was just like a hive with seven to eight openings. From inside the cave, a faint dragon’s roar could be heard while a group of dragons flew over their heads like sentinels.

nThe sight and hearing of Dragon’s are far superior to other organisms. So on top of this flatly laid out ice field; they could clearly view any sudden movements as far as 10 miles away!

nThe gigantic black dragon and supposed sentinel leader has already been impatiently awaiting the group. With a low growl: “You’re too slow! The Chieftain is already waiting for you!”

nOnce finished, the dragon pointed one of his paws towards the biggest cave entrance: “Go! But don’t go anywhere you are not supposed to!”

nThe cave was very big, or it’s better to say it’s super big!

nSeeing such a scene seemed to have a strong impact on Du Wei. The metallic mountain of high purity seemed to be hollowed out and faint bursts of wind could be felt coming from the inside.

nUpon entering the cave, the insides weren’t even dark. On the contrary, there is even a ring of light!

nEven more surprising, the walls were embedded with all kinds of valuable treasures: gold, gemstones, and a variety of shiny objects reflecting a brilliant light!

nDu Wei thought this was strange, but the old magician ignored all of this and pulled against him tightly to lead the group further into the cave.

nAfter coming all the way to the deeper sections of the cave, what welcomed them was a huge iron gate with a cross shaped winch in the front and a chain dangling above the door! Although unsure of the chains use, it had an obvious faint black coloration to it.

nSoundly asleep next to the huge Iron Gate was an enormous black dragon lying on the ground. Each snore it made was comparable to a loud thunder strike and each puff of air it breathed out to create fierce blasts of wind in the air!

nCoughing once to clear his throat, the old magician shouted: “We, human friends, come looking to seek an audience with the dragon chieftain!”

nThe Dragon did not respond.

nThis time, the old magician’s cough was much louder: “Oh great dragon chieftain, this old human friend came to see you!”

nThe Dragon still did not respond.

nThe old magician was somewhat angry now. Despite being the same height as the dragon’s head, the old magician walked over in big strides and stood at the edge of the dragon’s mouth. Taking out his wand, he lightly pointed it at the dragon’s nose and spoke: “I haven’t seen you for two hundred years, yet a guy like you is still such a heavy sleeper?”

nWiggling his nose a bit, the dragon took in a deep breath of black smog and suddenly sneezed with its jaws wide open!

nROAR!!

nThis one giant ROAR nearly deafened Du Wei’s eardrum and under the intense hurricane like winds, the hat on top of the old magician’s head was sent flying into the air!

n“Who is it that woke me?!” The Dragon shook his head in annoyance and opened its big yellow eyes. Staring at the old magician, its eyes turned a few times before finally releasing some of the tension in its voice: “You, you are….”

n“I am a human being and your friend. I am here to seek an audience with the great dragon chieftain.”

nFinally, completely awake, the dragon stood up with its massive body and looked down at the insignificantly small person in front of it. Puffing out a cloud of gas from its nostrils, the dragon suddenly cried out: “I remember now! You came here the last time!”

n“Yes.” Carefully reorganizing his hair, the old magician continued speaking: “Honored guard, please open the door and allow us passage to meet your chieftain.”

n“I don’t like you.” The Dragon Roared: “I hate being woken up from my slumber!”

n“But I’m in a hurry.” The old magician shrugged: “Also, I have a contract with the dragons. So I have the right to seek an audience with your chieftain.”

n“Fine then….. According to tradition, you must first make it past me!” With that said, the dragon stood up with its wings spread open and a grin on its face.

nCan it be that we need to first start a fight?

nIf they must start a fight inside the cave, a magician is not suitable for fighting in an enclosed space. Already quietly standing behind the old magician, Hussein was ready at a moment’s notice. Out of everyone in the group, he was the strongest in close melee combat, so it is only natural that he is the first one to deal with this dragon.

nBut the old magician only turned his head to smile back at Hussein. Waving his hand, the old magician indicated with his hand movement that force was not necessary. Then, looking back at the dragon, he asked: “So, old rules?”

n“Yes! As long as you can use your wisdom to defeat me, I will open the door!” The dragon growled: “Those who win can pass, but those that lose must stay outside the door!”

nDu Wei was stunned. Both Du Wei and the old magician gave each other a glimpse at the same time: “You get it now? This is a fight of intellect! This individual dragon is the dragon chieftain’s leading dragon guard. Over seven hundred years ago, he was already the dragon clan’s number warrior! But instead of seeking power and strength, he is seeking wisdom……”

nTalking up to this point, the old magician suddenly blinked at Du Wei.

nSure enough, the Dragon immediately roared proudly at the statement: “Yes! I am already the dragon clan’s number one warrior! Now I want to pursue the title of being the dragon clan’s ‘number one wisest dragon’! State your question! Unless you beat me, don’t ever think of getting inside!”

nCompete with the Dragon…… On intellect?!

nDu Wei was stunned.

nThe old magician has already turned around and pulled Du Wei over. Pushing him a bit, the old magician smiled: “I know you are very smart, so you’re on your own now! The game is set by two wins out of three sets. As long as we beat him twice, we may enter…. Otherwise, don’t even think of getting inside.”

nDu Wei sighed: “So it must come to this?”

nThe dragon beats him to the punch. Holding up its massive head, the dragon roared with pride: “This is my rule!!”

n“Fine then.” Du Wei thought for a moment, then nodded.

nCompeting with a dragon on intellect….

nDragons are widely recognized as higher organisms and even more advanced than humanity, but humanity thought otherwise.

nThe Dragon race had a longer life span, higher intellect, and wielded powerful strength. With higher intellect and longer life span, dragons had more time to learn new things than a human does in a lifetime…. Theoretically speaking, all these points give dragons a better advantage over humans.

nBut, all of this is just a theory.

n“So, what are the rules in this competition?” Du Wei walked to the front of the dragon and smiled.

n“It’s easy, as long as the question you raised can stump me.” The Dragon proudly smiled: “But I need to remind you, do not underestimate my intelligence! I have fully mastered your so called human intelligence! Lord Chieftain has gone to the human world before and learned a lot of things about your human civilization. He taught me a lot! Human, don’t think of deceiving me with your human trickery!”

n“Any questions?” Du Wei blinked.

n“Any questions!” The Dragon nodded.

n“Okay.” Du Wei was smiling maliciously: “Then I’ll start the question.”

nGently coughing, Du Wei lightly laughed: “My topic is this, a very simple mathematical problem: Assuming, there is a row of houses. The first house had one person; the second had two people, the third had three people, and the fourth had four people….. Continuing like this, the next house would always have one more than the previous house! My problem is this, how many people in total are there after the one thousandth house?

n1 house = 1 Person

n2 houses = 2 Person

n3 house = 3 Person

n4 house = 4 Person

nCombining everything, how many in total is there by the 1000th house?

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