Chapter 542 Second Trial (II)  

It had been three days since Alex raided the tomb of Tragonth, and he had spent all his time searching high and low among all thirteen clans, trying to find some clue that could lead him to the right dragon tomb, but even after three days, there was nothing.

The closest Alex came to an answer was through the bloodline abilities of the dragons, but each ability could have been the reason for the fall of one of the dragons, leading him to butcher his brothers and sisters.

Alex could not even narrow down to the first seven dragons who died in the incident because the riddle clearly stated that the tragedy claimed all of them, and the seven to die were just the ones who died first.

The more he thought about the riddle, the further he felt he was from an answer, as every possible lead gave multiple answers. However, since he only had two chances remaining to raid a tomb, he could not test his theories unless he was certain.

Now, after three days, Alex was seated in a pub, taking a break from all the thinking since he was feeling exhausted at this point, but it seemed he had finally lucked out on a proper piece of information.

----------------

Alex sat in the corner of the pub, his eyes closed, head resting on the chair back. Around him, two dozen dragonkin ate and drank, indulging in their conversation, and while he was not paying attention, he was unconsciously listening to every single word.

"Don't drink too much ale, or you will begin to remember Maare, and the last time it happened, you nearly entered the state of blindness, and it required me to nearly kill you to bring you back to reality," A dark dragonkin said in a cold, detached tone to the golden dragonkin slumped on the pub counter.

"Rygin, let me drink, man. It was a one-time thing, and it will not happen again," The golden dragonkin replied, slamming his empty mug on the counter and asking for a refill.

"I understand that it's rare for someone who has recovered from the curse of blindness to enter it again, but it's not unheard of one to enter it again if one's feelings for the past are too strong," The dark dragonkin said, eyeing the server to not fill the mug back. Alex would have ignored the conversation since he had learned about all the curses that plagued the dragonkin clans, each worse than the last, and the curse of blindness was just a term they used to refer to the curses.

However, he quickly realized that the curse of blindness in any form was not linked to the past, as the closest it could be licked to was the violet dragonkin clan because of their ability to perfectly remember and recall everything to minute detail from the past week before it began to blur.

However, their curse was not losing to their past memories but rather losing their ability to remember everything so perfectly.

Above all else, the one who appeared to be suffering from this unknown curse was a golden dragonkin and not a violet dragonkin.

'This might be it,' Alex thought as he quickly got up and walked toward the two dragonkin.

"What is this curse of blindness you speak of?" Alex questioned, placing his hand atop the shoulder of the dark dragonkin.

"Do you not see that I am busy?" The dragonkin replied with a displeased look, pushing his hand away.

"Answer my question while I'm asking nicely," Alex said, letting loose his mana pressure while firmly gripping his shoulder.

The pub quickly silenced, as even the strongest dragonkin present was an early Sixth Rank, so feeling his pressure that could rival even those of an Elemental Ruler, they were quick to pay attention.

"What is this curse of blindness you speak of?" Alex asked again, seeing his clueless, agape look.

"I'll talk, I'll talk," The dragonkin said with a panic-stricken voice.

"It's an extremely rare bloodline curse that makes one attached to the past and blind to the present, experiencing dreaded memories again and again until their minds are consumed by the black rage."

"It's very rare and happens only to members of specific clans who have experienced traumatic events, like losing their loved ones or suffering betrayal, and they cannot make peace with that, constantly remembering those events, eventually falling into the state of blindness," The dragonkin said.

From the curious and surprised looks he saw many of the spectators make, Alex recognized that such intel was not common knowledge, explaining how he had not heard of it.

"Hey, you two. I know you, you two are Damir and Rygin, right?" A half-drunk spectator said before Alex could ask him to elaborate.

"Everyone, these two are conmen, so don't believe their lies. They are famous for deceiving drunk audiences, as while this dark kin keeps their attention, the golden one empties their pockets," A Dark dragonkin bellowed in anger, pointing a shaky finger at the duo. The expression of surprise and visible panic that momentarily painted the faces of the duo did not escape his eyes, and in a burst of disappointment and anger, Alex grabbed the dark kin by the neck.

"I-- I-- I--, Please don't kill me," The dark kin stuttered, his words breaking as fear gripped his mind.

"Let's take this outside," Alex said, catching the other by the back of his armor and dragging the duo out of the pub.

Alex knew that while this could all be a lie, it could very well be the clue he needed to get to the answer, and he was hoping for it to be the latter.

"How much truth is there to your words?" Alex questioned as he threw the duo into the empty alley beside the pub.

"It's just lies that I picked up from an old book written by an unknown dragonkin who fantasized about the story of the Dragon Ancestor and his thirteen children,"

"It's a story that takes inspiration from our ancestors, but it holds no truth," The dark kin said, but Alex cut him short.

"Give me the book," Alex said, his expression a mix of excitement and urgency.

-----------------

In a large chamber lined with towering pillars, each intricately carved with ancient runes, supporting an open domed ceiling. Moonlight streamed through the opening, illuminating the interior with a soft, silvery glow.

The ground in the open clearing was covered in a soft layer of white marble that gleamed under the moonlight, and at the moment, it was splattered with crimson blood, and a large White dragon could be seen lying lifeless atop it in a pool of its own blood.

"So he was the one," Alex thought, excitement welling up as he saw the dragon's body dissipate into mist, leaving behind the corner piece of a dark mask, a corner adorned with a longhorn.

The book had the answers Alex needed to find the correct tomb, as it told the story of a dragon who can see the past, and this ability of his was passed down to all his children, but unlike him, they held little to no control over it.

It was this ability that caused one of the drakes to enter black rage and cause the incident, and later, it claimed the lives of all thirteen of them.

While the book did not give a definitive answer, it had enough clues for Alex to piece together and reach a certain conclusion.

The book pointed to the five drakes who held the strongest gift of vision, but only three of them, the Black, Green, and White, were included among the initial seven to die, and because he had already raided the Black dragon tomb, he needed to raid the other two to advance.