I Have a Task Log

"Actually, the Lady Golden Dragon unleashed her dragon breath on that Black Dragon, setting the forest on fire. Then the Black Dragon fled, and the Lady Golden Dragon chased after it to continue the fight."

"That’s a boring way to tell it, Pointy-tail," Kase said.

Dorn chimed in from the side, "We promised to give young Colin a good show."

"Mr. Colin is hurt. He’s not feeling well, you know."

Orelia blinked and continued, "Then the Pegasus Knight came back on his Pegasus. We had him fly us down into the rift for a look, but all we saw was a huge patch of mushrooms. Did you see us, Mr. Colin?"

Colin silently shook his head.

’Looks like Ale and I really did fall into some strange place. No wonder Kase and the others never came down, no matter how long we waited.’

’It’s a good thing we started walking out. If we’d kept waiting in there, we probably would have starved.’

"After that, we decided to follow the rift southwest and try to circle in from the edge of the chasm."

Dorn glanced at Kase and added, "To be honest, it was a stupid plan. The Pegasus Knight had already taken the villagers back to safety. We should have stayed put and waited for reinforcements, but young Kase and Orelia were in a huge rush.

"So we just bit the bullet and went for it. We didn’t expect to run into a pack of Kobolds along the way. We weren’t looking for trouble, but they just kept chasing us, so we had to make a temporary retreat."

"So you accidentally saved Ale and me. We were just sneaking our way out of that Kobold nest," Colin said.

Kase spoke up. "After we took care of that pack of Kobolds, a magical message came through. It was Edwin. He said he was coming to help, so we waited right there. Soon enough, he showed up riding a Griffin.

"He said he had a device that could track your location, so we followed it all the way here. When we reached the outskirts of the village, Edwin said he’d run into some trouble and took off. Then, right outside the village, we ran into another pack of Kobolds."

"We all just froze," Dorn cut in. "Then I rummaged through my pack and found a Signal Flare. I figured I’d fire it off and see if we could get some backup."

"So you guys were the ones who fired that silver Signal Flare?" Colin asked, surprised.

Kase scratched the back of his head. "Yeah. Wasn’t that the thing the Totem Warrior gave us? We figured we’d fire it to get Edwin to come help, but he never came back."

"I remember he was facing off against a massive thundercloud. You can’t blame him for that," Colin said, defending the Paladin.

Kase said, "Hey, I’m not blaming him."

"Luckily, we found a small cave in the forest. We hid inside and fought for our lives, barely making it out alive," Dorn interjected, still shaken. "Those little lizards were completely insane."

Colin remarked with a sigh, "Sounds like a tough time for everyone. You managed to tie up a portion of the Dragon Worship Cult’s forces."

"A *lot* of their forces," Dorn corrected. "I hate to say it, but they nearly beat the shit out of us."

"If you hate to say it, then don’t. That’s disgusting," Ale said.

Dorn crossed his arms. "Hmph. Elf Princess."

Colin used the moment to ask his second question. "Speaking of which, what ended up happening to the dragon’s body?"

"Those Elves already handled it for us. It was quite a sight. Four Half-Elf Rangers helped us gut that White Dragon. A shame you missed it."

"Sounds like a certain Dwarf is still salty about the funeral procession," Colin teased.

"Fine," Dorn said. "Do you want to go see? Most of the parts have been coated in Antiseptic Oil, so they should be fine."

"Colin is very tired," Ale said, standing beside him.

"Actually, I just woke up..." Colin murmured.

Hearing this, Ale turned, grabbed his two crutches, and brought them over. "Fine. If you want to go, you can go."

Colin took the crutches and slowly pushed himself up. The Half-Elf immediately came to his side, supporting his arm.

"I don’t really need this much help anymore..." Colin said, a bit embarrassed.

"Oh."

Ale acknowledged him, but her small hands didn’t loosen their grip in the slightest.

Colin sighed. "Alright, just lead the way."

The group left the cabin and went to the house where Kase and the others were staying. Inside, a huge assortment of dragon materials was laid out.

The most striking piece was the Dragon Head, which now had a small crack on its crown.

The dragon head had long lost its once-imperious air. All that remained were milky white eyes and a vacant expression.

The moment he saw the Dragon Head, Colin suddenly felt a sliver of the same peace he’d experienced in the final moments of the battle.

’I’ve already defeated this monster. There’s nothing left to fear from it.’

Colin shifted his gaze.

Besides the Dragon Head, parts like claws, wings, bones, blood, horns, and teeth were all laid out carefully on the ground. These were the parts that were easily identifiable at a glance.

"What’s that? The heart?" Colin asked, pointing to an organ on the table.

The object did look very much like a heart. It was primarily muscle, covered in a network of fine veins, with several thick, severed arteries attached. However, it seemed a bit flatter than a real heart.

Dorn said, "That’s the basal vessel. It’s the organ dragons use for their breath attack."

"What’s it used for?"

"You can use it to create a device that mimics a dragon’s breath weapon. We call it the ’Wrath of the Giant Dragon.’"

’Dragon breath?’

Having just been on the receiving end of a nasty dragon breath attack, Colin couldn’t help but feel a flicker of interest at the idea.

He asked eagerly, "Can you make one?"

"Of course," Dorn said proudly. "You know how it is. We Dwarves of the Northern Lands have a long tradition of hunting Dragon Species. Nobody knows how to craft gear from dragon materials better than we do."

Ale muttered from the side, "Uncivilized Barbarians."

"What’s that nonsense?" Dorn frowned. "You’re wearing deerskin boots yourself, and now you’re calling *us* Barbarians?"

"Civilized beings don’t make clothes or equipment from the body parts of sapient creatures."

Then Ale added, "But you can use these materials. I won’t be angry or mind."

Hearing that, Colin breathed a small sigh of relief.

’He really didn’t want any strange moral hang-ups developing within the team. After all, when you hunt a dragon, the most valuable loot, aside from its hoard, is the body itself.’

Colin asked, "So, what exactly can we make with all this?"