At this time, Clarent happened to pass by an alchemy garden. While Sheera and Qiong Qi wickedly gobbled up anything they saw, Clarent noticed that there was a poison den within the herb garden for raising poisonous beasts.
Every now and then, these beasts would be milked by the various natives of this Treasury who had the requisite Tradeskill for such a matter. After that, Alchemists could use them in their concoctions.
As one could expect, not a single beast there was beneath Rank 3, with the highest being Rank 5. Luckily though, they were "tame" when within the resource zones due to the methods set down by the Refinement God.
As such, the people of the inner section were able to go about their business without fear, which was part of why they had no combat capability whatsoever. There just wasn't anything to put them on their toes.
Clarent didn't even peer into this den, so lost in his depression was he. He wasn't aware that now that Sheera was pregnant, Qiong Qi could no longer lay with her. However, after the terrible blows he had taken recently, how could he notice the world around him?
Deep in this den however, was a long black snake. It was around the size of a tree branch and lay in the king's area of the den, meaning that it was the strongest monster within.
Not only was it at Rank 5, but it also possessed a stifling aura that suppressed many other beasts within its Rank. This was a no-brainer, as this wasn't an ordinary serpent, but a wyrm!
A wyrm was a lesser dragonkin, one of a Dragon's earliest and lowest forms. From a snake, one would climb up to a wyrm, then a lindwyrm, to a wyvern, to a drake, and finally to a True Dragon.
It was above normal beasts with almost 5% of its blood being that of a diluted Dragons, showing that it was a descendant of a True Dragon way up in its ancestry. However, when one remembered that these resource zones were made in the old era were Dragons were up and about, it wasn't that big of a deal.
However, being a wyrm alone was not enough to become a king of beasts in a place like this. Which beast here didn't have a tyrannical ancestry from ancient races in the old era?
Well, the reason would be in this wyrm's form. It was long and sleek, with glossy silver scales that looked like they had been polished by a masterful hand. There were small green and yellow lines running through the scales like someone had carefully glued glitter to its skin.
Its underbelly was a light cream color, adding a light of purity to this wyrm's form. Its head was less like a snake's and more like a dragon's, with ridged contours and some jutting bones.
In fact, this was normal for wyrms. The only thing that differentiated them from snakes was their slight elemental affinity and their heads which were like that of a dragon.
This wyrm was currently lying in the center of the den, coiled around itself as it slept soundly. However, when the aura of Clarent covered the area, its eyes snapped open and displayed a thunderstruck light, as if the most absurd occurrence had just appeared before it.
Without haste, the wyrm rushed out to see what was going on and was greeted to the sight of Qiong Qi and Sheera unscrupulously gobbling good herbs up while Clarent walked along behind them.
The dragonling currently had a bent back like an elder and used a rickety walking stick to carry himself forward. His steps were feeble and worrying, his long gray beard and sparse grey hair making him seem wise.
He would occasionally stop and gaze at the bright sky, sighing as if he had seen the vicissitudes of life and longed to depart from this world to meet his loved ones on the other side.
However, the wyrm didn't pay attention to these theatrics. Instead, its whole body trembled as its bloodline roared with desire. For a wyrm - or any serpent species in this world - the bloodline of a True Dragon was like the fountain of youth to old men who feared death.
It was something that the word 'desire' alone could not justify. As such, whether Clarent was a decrepit old sage or a youth, it was still inevitably drawn towards him in hopes to raise its offspring's bloodline through mating.
Yes, as fortune would have it, this strangely unique wyrm was a female. She was the last of her kind in this treasury too, as her predecessors had bred themselves out of existence.
One should not forget, the chances of impregnation for species in Boundless - aside from humans - was abysmal, which was why humans - especially the players - had such an easy time with their s.e.x.u.a.l conquests.
Whether this mechanic was implemented to cement the lore or provide players with a chance to indulge in their dark s.e.x.u.a.l fantasies in order to increase immersion was up in the air.
Even Qiong Qi getting Sheera pregnant was not due to luck, but respectable compatibility and the fact that lions could mate almost 100 times in a single day. In just the past week or so, Sheera's s.e.x.u.a.l count had surpassed even the most prolific courtesans in human history.
It was likely that had one of their recent attempts not scored a hit, Sheera would have continued to be pressed under Qiong Qi, thereby deepening Clarent's depression as the loser of the group.
At this time, the wyrm rushed over to Clarent and gazed at him with longing eyes. Clarent saw this wyrm but simply snorted and looked away. Even if he was desperate, he still had standards, a filthy wyrm was the last thing he would mate with.
This was not just Clarent being narrow-minded, but due to the innate pride of the Dragon race. Dragons had low conception rates between each other, a way for the heavens to keep their unlimited power in check.
As such, many male Dragons would mate with other lifeforms to birth different spawn with their bloodline, which was why so many Draconic variation species existed in the lore of the world.
However, even if True Dragons were to mate, they would still pick their mates carefully. Like those from the Phoenix race, Angel race, or even the Sprite race. A mere snake would never cross their eyes.
When it came to serpentine species, a True Dragon would only begrudgingly mate with a Drake if the Drake had a good enough bloodline and some accomplishments, but even then, the Drake would have to offer up some treasures for the seed.
This was why Clarent was derisive about the origins of the body he currently occupied, which was that of a Drake. Its parent had been a Fire Dragon and a Sea Serpent, a disgusting combo in the eyes of any Dragon.
The silver wyrm was not discouraged by Clarent's ignoring her, as that was to be expected. A mere wyrm would normally never even have the guts to approach a True Dragon, but the wyrm had noticed that Clarent was only a Dragonling.
This was the best time to make a move, leave a good impression while the fellow was young and when he Ranked up, she could come and collect his seed for offspring.
However, how could the wyrm expect that instead of a naive youth, inside this body was an old monster from the old era, a Supreme Fire Dragon that even made it to the Divine Pantheon as a True God?
As such, when it tried to suck up to Clarent. The fellow just gave it a disdainful glance and shouted: "SCRAM!"
After that, he didn't even spend another millisecond thinking about its existence. To use a very crass and offensive example, it was like a world-renowned CEO and supreme bachelor being pestered by the local beauty of a small city in some backwater country.
The wyrm was definitely aesthetically pleasing in serpent terms with her glossy scales and the fine lines on them, as well as her creamy underbelly. She was far from ugly.
If we were to use Hikari as a scale - in her dragon form of course - and set Hikari as the pinnacle of Draconic beauty - which Draco and Clarent would agree with as it was a solid truth - the white dragoness would be a 10 while this wyrm would be a 6.
In essence, among lower serpents, she was a Goddess-tier beauty, but among higher serpents, she was nice to look at but not too dazzling.
Seeing Clarent's vehement disdain made the wyrm feel panicked. If she lost this chance, when would she ever be able to encounter another True Dragon?
One should remember though, Clarent's bloodline was that of a Divine Dragon, which was even higher than a True Dragon. This was why he was so arrogant towards this wyrm.
Seeing as there was no hope, the wyrm desperately used her last card, which was something she was not sure would work but had to try, otherwise she would regret it for the rest of her life.
The wyrm began to channel her small Draconic bloodline and allowed a wisp of its aura to waft towards Clarent. This was the best she could do, as trying to move even this much cost her a lot.
If Clarent turned away, her losses would not be small. However, if he could find an interest in her, her gains would not be calculable!
To the excitement of the wyrm, Clarent did pause. His back was to her, so she couldn't see his shocked and horrified expression, which was quickly hidden when he glanced back at her.
He simply stared at the wyrm intimidatingly, and the female snake remained still, with a demeanor that was as respectful as possible. Clarent snorted and spoke lazily: "Follow behind me silently. You will listen to my every command from now on."
The wyrm burst with excitement as she hurriedly slithered to Clarent's side. Despite her joy, she made sure to remain as prim and proper as possible, obeying Clarent's directives to the letter.
Clarent himself though, was currently slapping himself internally.
'Arrogant bastard, you have eyes but you failed to see! You were about to bypass such a rare and precious bloodline due to racial prejudice and pride? Has being around Draco not taught you anything?!'
'That fellow would f.u.c.k a tree if it looked good enough, why can't you play with a simple wyrm?! If she hadn't mustered the will to show her bloodline, would tears even be able to wash away your regret?'
Clarent berated himself endlessly, but he felt even more excitement than the wyrm did. Any serpentine species that came across her bloodline would be clueless and think it was something average, but a Divine Dragon from the previous era like him that had seen many things would definitely know.
In truth, he should have guessed it when he saw her pristine silver scales and creamy underbelly, but how could he have expected a mere wyrm to hold this level of bloodline, even with how diluted it was?
Still, Clarent knew of a few ways to raise her State of Being and bloodline purity with Draco's help, which was why he quickly brought her along. Right now, the most important task would be to tame her completely and enter a Dragobond with her, lest she decide to leave after she was pimped up.
After all, her status was leagues below Clarent, so far down that it was hard to see. However, if she was raised to the level of True Dragon, her status would be on par with - and slightly above - Clarent, who was a Divine Dragon!
Madness!
Just what kind of bloodline could this wyrm possess to turn the tables like this? It certainly couldn't be that of a White Dragon given the coloration of her scales and her current circ.u.mstances, so it was hard to believe that there was another Draconic lineage that could possess such value.