Chapter 157: The Fate of the Smoke Dragon

Seven months ago.

Liszt woke up from the darkness, understanding his situation and accepting the memories of his predecessor. He knew that the other person had been able to see smoke since they were very young. However, the smoke back then was very faint and unclear. It wasn't until he crossed over and merged with this body that he truly saw what the smoke consisted of—a task in the form of text. When he first saw the content, he was genuinely shocked. If this was considered a golden finger, why was the smoke forming snake script rather than Chinese characters? If it wasn't a golden finger, the language style and task content were familiar Earth-like styles. He could only convince himself that the golden finger existed before the transmigrator did, and then accept the existence of the smoke tasks, guessing that there must be some hidden hand or conspiracy behind them. However, this time, when Glanny introduced the five sacred dragons, one of which was a smoke dragon representing fate, it gave him a significant jolt.

"Perhaps my golden finger, this smoke task, isn't part of some conspiracy?" There were no signs indicating that the smoke task had any ulterior motives or was driving him towards a specific arrangement. From beginning to end, the smoke task simply issued simple small tasks. Then it rewarded things that already existed but were easily overlooked. This method of reward, upon closer thought, carried a strong sense of fate—whether you pass by or embrace something, it's all different trajectories of fate. Ordinary people cannot change their fate's trajectory, or rather, their fate's trajectory is unknown and chaotic. But with the smoke task, Liszt's fate trajectory gained an additional choice. Glanny continued to talk endlessly about magic-related matters. Liszt, however, drifted into his inner world, looking down at his body: "Representing fate... a cloud of smoke... Could it be that a smoke dragon resides within me? Because of the smoke dragon's influence, I can gain the right to choose my fate?"

Unlike Glanny's denial of the existence of sacred dragons, he believed in their absolute existence—the invisible dragon ate two cows right in front of him and left a spatial gem; it was undeniable. If invisible dragons exist, why couldn't smoke dragons exist? Fairy dragons, twilight dragons, emerald dragons—they must all exist. They might be extraordinary beyond imagination, but dragons and elves themselves are already incredible beings. No matter how incredible, so what? This is a world entirely different from Earth, a world filled with magical power.

His thoughts continued to wander. He tried to find traces of the smoke dragon's existence. "If a smoke dragon resides within me, it's not impossible, considering I often see smoke tasks. But this smoke only forms snake script and has never formed the shape of a dragon, nor has it communicated with me in any way... It's highly likely that I haven't obtained it but have merely been influenced by it." "Ordinary animals can be infected by dragons and become dragonkin. Although humans haven't produced dragonkin, it's possible that my predecessor was accidentally infected by a smoke dragon as a child, turning into a smokekin."

Thinking this way, he didn't know whether to feel fortunate or regretful. Fortunate because others rarely see dragons, yet he has encountered two dragons and received precious gifts from each—one granting him control over fate, the other a gem space. Regretful because these close encounters with the dragons didn't make him a dragon rider or earn their friendship.

"Liszt Baron."

"Liszt Baron!"

Glanny's shouts brought Liszt back from his reverie: "What?"

"I was introducing magic. Were you listening carefully?" Glanny was clearly unhappy. "Learning magic requires focus. The path to truth may be lonely and dull, but the joy of acquiring knowledge will enrich your soul!" "Sorry, I was just trying to understand magic, not learn it," Liszt said, suppressing his scattered thoughts and forcing a polite smile. "I didn't take a nap, so I'm a bit tired. How about we end today's lesson here and continue tomorrow? Thomas, please show Mr. Glanny around Flower Town."

"Yes, sir." Thomas extended his hand with perfect gentlemanly manners. "Mr. Glanny, this way."

Glanny glanced at Liszt with a look of disdain: "Truth is slipping away from you."

With that, he strode out of the castle.

...

After Glanny left, Liszt remained alone in the study, gazing out the window, deep in thought amidst the squawks of the peacock. Smoke dragon. Smoke task. Fate. Many thoughts flickered back and forth. The smoke in front of him twisted and changed, but the text remained constant: "Task: The commercial district of Flower Town is gradually thriving, but the Workshop Area has been idle for a long time. There aren't enough workshops to support the artisans, who should not waste their time chopping wood and farming. Please build three new workshops to increase the prosperity of the town. Reward: Breaking through the bottleneck in Aura."

No matter how hard he tried to focus and communicate with the "smoke dragon" behind the smoke, the snake script content remained unchanged. He couldn't communicate with the smoke dragon, whether it existed within him or not. He also couldn't alter the smoke task. The so-called right to choose fate was merely an additional option. It was like building a road in a scenic area; you can choose to build a straight path from the front gate to the back gate. The smoke task, however, suggests where the attractions are, allowing you to take a detour to include them. As for building a restroom or parking lot, sorry, there's no such function.

"So now, there are four possibilities for what's happening to me."

First, having intimate contact with a smoke dragon as a child, being influenced by the smoke dragon, becoming a smokekin, and gaining partial ability to choose fate.

Second, the Smoke Dragon might be sleeping soundly somewhere within its body, with the wisps of smoke it emits forming the Smoke Quest, which requires Liszt to steal a portion of its fate.

Third, the Smoke Dragon might just be a young dragon with very weak abilities, hiding and waiting to grow stronger.

Fourth, he might be overthinking it, and the Smoke Quest has nothing to do with the Smoke Dragon at all; it could simply be a benefit for the transmigrator.

Any of these four scenarios could be true, but there is too little information to determine which one is more likely. He tried hard to recall the memories from his predecessor's childhood, hoping to find a specific moment—a point where he had intimate contact with the Smoke Dragon.

There was a high possibility that he had indeed come into contact with the Smoke Dragon.

"From what I can remember, the predecessor didn't go to many places. Red Crab Island was one such place, and he only moved around the vicinity of Longtaro Castle. The rest of the time was spent on Coral Island, visiting various cities each year and staying in the castles and villas with the Earl during vacations."

It was a life without any significant events, typical of a second son in a noble family, always living a quiet and uneventful existence.

After half an hour, he gave up on recalling.

And he also abandoned his contemplation: "Well, since I'm here, I might as well make the best of it. If I am destined to meet the Smoke Dragon, we will eventually reveal ourselves to each other. I'll focus on doing what I should do, and let fate decide the rest... If it truly represents fate, I believe it's meant to be!"

He stretched lazily.

The thoughts about the Smoke Dragon were buried deep in his heart.