Chapter 344: A Fruitful Harvest
Chapter 344: A Fruitful Harvest
The chaotic battle in the sky raged on into the next day with no signs of abating.
Usually, when facing other magical creatures, a fire dragon would end the fight with a burst of dragon flame, its primary method of attack.
However, this ability was less effective against other fire dragons.
They inherently possessed a high resistance to dragon flame.
Unless there was a significant power gap, a blast of dragon flame would only leave a sizable scorch mark on its target.
Without their primary means of attack, the battle between two sturdy and resilient fire dragons devolved into a test of endurance and combat instincts.
The Swedish Short-Snout dragon from before fell short in this regard and was among the first to be eliminated.
Despite the seemingly harmless nips and bites exchanged by the fire dragons in the sky, any intruder daring to venture into their midst would be instantly torn to shreds.
Not just any wizard, but even the hardiest of beasts would struggle to last more than a couple of seconds.
As dawn broke, Newt was struggling to stay awake, his body swaying as he stood.
Though he used to travel tirelessly with his case in his younger days, often going days without sleep, that was decades ago.
For a man approaching his hundredth year, staying up all night was a challenge. Newt had already downed two bottles of Wake-Up Potion just to make it this far.
As Newt reached for a third bottle, Kyle was quicker, snatching the potion from his hand.
While the Wake-Up Potion was effective, it wasn't meant to be consumed like water.
Moreover, the potion only forced one to be alert artificially, and the more one drank, the worse the side effects would be once it wore off.
"Who knows when this will end. Why don't you get some rest? I can handle things from here," Kyle suggested, pocketing the potion bottle. "Just leave it to me."
"Alright..." Newt hesitated after glancing at the sky before ultimately accepting Kyle's suggestion.
He was truly at his limit.
"Though we're in a relatively safe spot, be careful. If there's any danger, get away from here immediately... I recall you have a Disguise Ring," Newt added, offering Kyle a final word of advice before opening his case.
Within the case was a small bed, perfect for a temporary rest.
Once Newt had retreated inside, Kyle picked up the case and continued observing the aerial battle.
...
It was bound to be a tedious process.
When noon of the second day arrived, Newt woke up, and it was Kyle's turn to rest.
From night to day, and back to night again...
It wasn't until the early hours of the third day that the chaotic battle finally began to settle.
Not because it had ended, but because the fire dragons could no longer fly. They wobbled in the sky like they were drunk, and the once grand bursts of dragon flame had diminished to tiny flickers. A temporary ceasefire was called.
Once the Hungarian Tree Bees had also calmed down, Newt and Kyle returned to their previous campsite.
Soon after, the others started trickling back as well.
Most of them looked exhausted, and without a word, they headed straight to sleep.
The Fire Dragon Reserve had prepared tents as temporary accommodations for everyone, located next to the dining area.
Intrigued, Kyle stepped into the tent marked with the name "Newt Scamander."
Inside was a relatively spacious three-bedroom setup, complete with a bathroom and a kitchen. Though the furniture looked a bit dated, everything was spotlessly clean and free of any musty odors.
Having taken turns resting, Kyle didn't feel sleepy at the moment. He sat down at the table to take stock of their harvest over the past few days.
First, he sorted through a large bundle of fire dragon teeth and scales, their quality varying from pristine to severely damaged. With no time to spare, Kyle hastily piled the miscellaneous assortment into a corner.
He then retrieved a deep red bottle and placed it heavily on the table.
Within, was a stash of dragon blood amounting to about a pint.
In Diagon Alley, a mere pitiful amount of dragon blood would cost twelve galleons.
Kyle's collection could fill nearly thirty such bottles.
Three days... or more accurately, two days, amounted to three hundred and sixty galleons. That was one hundred and eighty galleons a day.
Even if he and Newt split it, they'd each get ninety galleons... and that wasn't including the other miscellaneous items they'd gathered. Their earnings for the day far exceeded Mr. Weasley's monthly salary.
"Oh... is that all dragon blood?"
Newt, who had just entered the tent, immediately noticed the bottle on the table.
"Yes," Kyle nodded, then frowned. "But there are at least three different types of dragon blood here. I'm not sure if that will be a problem."
"As long as there's no blood from a Peruvian Vipertooth, it should be fine," Newt said. "Their blood is poisonous."
"That's a relief," Kyle exhaled.
He specifically remembered the distinctively green-colored blood of the Peruvian Vipertooth, which also had a particularly pungent odor. It would be easily noticeable if mixed with the other blood.
"Oh, right," Newt said, pointing outside the tent. "I just saw Rolanda Hooch buying some of these things, and her prices are quite fair. If you need to, you can go to her."
Rolanda Hooch, the professor from Beauxbatons?
Kyle thought about it but decided against it.
He didn't urgently need galleons, and these ingredients could be useful for his own alchemy and potion-making endeavors. They were excellent materials, and most importantly, they were guaranteed to be 100% authentic, without any worry of them being mixed with other questionable substances.
Kyle picked up another bottle and divided the dragon blood, handing half of it to Newt.
Newt accepted it with a smile, not refusing the offer.
After dilution, dragon blood could be used to make health supplements for other magical creatures. Adding just a little bit could instantly enhance the quality of the supplement.
In shops, this would be the difference between a regular and a premium product.
For Newt, with his case full of magical creatures, dragon blood was an essential necessity.
However, he didn't take any of the other items, leaving them all to Kyle.
It took Kyle over half an hour to sort through and set aside the severely damaged items. Later that evening, he packaged and sold them to Professor Rolanda Hooch of Beauxbatons.
A large bag, weighed and sold for thirty galleons. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing.
In fact, he had initially assumed that Professor Hooch wouldn't be interested in such inferior goods, but to his surprise, she accepted everything related to dragons without discrimination.
"You being from Hogwarts might not know this..."
Professor Hooch handed Kyle thirty galleons as she explained, "...but at Beauxbatons, we have alchemy classes. For beginners, there's no need for high-quality materials at all. These are more than sufficient."
She also informed Kyle that if he had any defective items in the future, he could sell them to her at the same price—weighed and sold by quantity, no matter how much he had.
Kyle nodded in agreement.
He now wondered if Snape sourced the ingredients for their Potions class at Hogwarts by weight from somewhere similar.
...
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
