Chapter 512 - Let Time Decide (3/3) (1/2)
Chapter 512: Let Time Decide (3/3)
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
That’s a good question. How should you repay me? Link wondered.
Hearing those words, Link immediately saw an opportunity presenting itself to him. He then chose his words carefully. “Actually, I’ve been having this idea.”
“What is it? Speak.” Gretel blinked innocently, her eyes twinkling as she smiled at him.
Link began explaining his idea of propagating Dragon Power and developing Dragon Warriors among the human race. Like Dragon Elder Pettalong, he had been thinking about it himself from the perspective of the dragon race.
When he was finished, the smile on Gretel’s face had waned a bit. Neither disagreeing nor agreeing with Link’s suggestion, she simply asked, “The cycle of life and death is an inevitable journey all mortals must take. Though they have survived countless catastrophes for generations, aren’t they still well off in general?”
The human race had occupied the more prosperous regions of the Firuman continent, and it had the greatest populations among all the other races. As he could find no fault in Gretel’s words, Link simply nodded in acknowledgement. However, he sensed that this time, he was not going to get what he wanted.
Gretel then said, “If mortal men were to receive an even greater power after being trained as Dragon Warriors, who knows what manner of catastrophe that might bring to the other races?”
Link was stunned upon hearing this. “I am a human being by birth, perhaps the most respected among my peers. The High Elves schemed still to assassinate me. The Dwarves too are wary of me, and who knows what the Beastmen and their king, whose strength knows no equal, might have in store for me? Every race has a powerful guardian protecting their own interests. Why should the human race be any different?”
One of Gretel’s main concerns had always been the balance of the dragon race. Link, however, was of a different opinion. He had always believed in being more powerful than the other. With enough power in one’s hand, the law of the survival of the fittest, indiscriminating and fair in its judgment, would naturally maintain balance and order among the races of the continent.
At this point, a distinct difference in opinion had surfaced between the two of them.
In truth, Link and Gretel never saw things the same way. It was only when Link had expressed his opinion that such a difference was finally brought to light.
Gretel tried to explain herself, “Link you don’t understand. Being stronger than everyone else isn’t always a good thing, even if you’re just trying to defend your own race. As an example, the dragon race had always lived in near secrecy in Dragon Valley. We never felt the need to interfere with the affairs of mortals, and as a result, trouble from the mortal world never came knocking on our doors. This is how we’ve managed to survive for thousands of years. The fact that the human race has thrived for so long is due to the balance that we have kept in that time. If you do anything to upset this balance, you’ll bring only destruction to your kind.”
“Only our actions will decide whether destruction will come to us, and as a member of the human race…”
“No, you are a duke of the dragon race!” Gretel raised her voice a little. She then spoke seriously, “Balance and our neutrality has been the dragons’ way of life for thousands of years. These two points have been tried and tested by time to be our true path.”
The atmosphere between them had become tenser. Link frowned. “What about the spatial crack? And the Void Tyrant?”
“Those were only temporary troubles. They will soon be resolved. Isn’t that why you’re here with the dragon race?”
At this point, Link sensed that they were not going anywhere with their conversation. Their opinions were just too different.
Gretel had hoped that Link would one day accept his duties as a Red Dragon Duke. But Link never intended to do such a thing. What he wanted was to build a prosperous human city, extend the humans’ influence and one day establish their hegemony over all of Firuman. As the humans inevitably took their place on the pinnacle of the realm, he would also be able to gather all the necessary resources and materials to further his research on magic.
It was a win-win situation for him and the human race in general.
As for the dragon race, Link found their insistence to adhere to their outdated ways stifling and oppressive. Such a mentality might suit the elderly, but it was certainly not something needed by someone like Link, who craved above all else progress and power.
There was no point in continuing the conversation. Both were Legendary masters, their wills hard as steel. They each had their own ideas about the world around them, and the only thing capable of convincing them otherwise was also the world itself. To them, words meant nothing.
Link finally said, “Your Highness, I take it that you don’t agree with me?”
Gretel’s face whitened somewhat. She tried to change his mind. “Link, the dragon race exists to protect the realm itself, and you’re already a Legendary master. The matters of the mortal realm should best be left for the mortals to decide among themselves.”
Link shot back, “Then why do the High Elves have their own Legendary master protecting them? Why do the High Elves have the World Tree? Why do they deserve to live on the Isle of Dawn in peace, while the rest of us get to burn in the fires of war? Are they simply better than the human race?”
“The High Elves live by the rules. Have you seen them overtly starting any war with the other races?”
Link shook his head. “Your Highness, times are changing. There are cracks appearing across the world, and the rise of Mana saturation shows no sign of stopping. We may be witnessing the birth of countless Legendary masters in the coming decades. In such times, we either adapt to them or perish. The dragon race would not be an exception to this rule!”
Right now, the Mana concentration all over the world was 50 percent higher than before. Level-9 masters had been popping up everywhere, and it would not be long before the whole world enters the Legendary realm.
At the same time, Link had seen the rise of talents in every race. Kanorse, Princess Annie, Herrera and Skinorse were among the pinnacles of human talent in this era. The Beastmen had the three warlords, while the Dwarves had the Mountain Sage and the King of the Mountains.
In the not so distant future, the appearance of even more Legendary masters would come to pass, as attested by the previous game world.
“No, the Legendary realm could not be so easily reached. You’re too optimistic about this. It’s not solely predicated on the realm’s Mana saturation.” Gretel shook her head in disbelief.
For more than 2000 years, she had seen far too many dragon masters being stuck at Level-9 Pinnacle for most of their lives, never knowing when they would be able to come out of the standstill they were in.
Past experience had informed her that the Legendary barrier was almost impenetrable. A genius capable of breaking through it would only come by once every few hundred, maybe even thousand, years. The large-scale proliferation of Legendary masters that Link had described was just impossible.
Link was unable to convince her to see his point. Thinking about it for a while, he said to her, “Your Highness, there’s no point in arguing about this any longer. I only wish to train a batch of Dragon Warriors among the human race. Why won’t you at least consider carrying out a test?”
Gretel fell silent for ten seconds. She finally shook her head. “No, I won’t agree to this! I’m the Red Dragon Queen, I’m responsible for the welfare of the dragon race! Dragon Power is the foundation of dragon civilization. I can’t just give it out like candy!”
At those words, the whole laboratory immediately fell into a deathly silence.
Link and Gretel were equally strong-willed, befitting their status as Legendary masters. Before, they were able to work together peaceably with each other, as they both shared a common goal. Their viewpoints were now so different that they were beyond all hope of reconciling with one another.