"Never again," Zero groaned.
Merlin agreed and Mii belched. The aftermath of that mass BBQ party was simply a disaster to clean after. Not only were their enemies inedible, the Queen Shadow Ant decided to cover them in acid showers. Nobody was affected when Merlin threw up an arcane shield that acted like an umbrella. However, the smell was unbearable and even Zero gave up absorbing anything. They just wanted to get out of the dungeon.
"Let's grab the loot chest and return back to Endow Hill," Mii suggested. Nobody protested.
"I want a bath when I get back," Merlin groaned as his shoes squelched against the acid ruined cave ground. Zero nodded. Bath sounded good.
The loot chest was hidden behind the huge Shadow Ant Queen's carcass and Merlin almost missed it.
"It's locked," Zero frowned. The wooden check looked like it would fall apart any moment but it had some strong magic enchantments holding it together. Zero was disappointed but Merlin pointed a finger at the lock.
A zap of light later, the check was unlocked. Zero quickly opened it and blinked in surprise at the item inside. For such a huge chest, it looked almost empty. Zero was slightly disappointed to know that there was only a single seed at the bottom of that huge chest. Merlin didn't say anything about the 'reward' but told Zero to keep it safe. Zero listened to the advice and kept it in his sling bag.
The moment he kept the seed away, Sleepy Cave decided to throw its rude cave plunderers out without consideration. It was bitter at losing so many resources trying to take down the duo. Without much energy and forced to go into hibernation, Sleepy Cave added this party to the blacklist. It was one to take from others but never one to be taken advantage of.
Once back at Endow Hill's surface, Merlin and Zero raced to the river. Mii disappeared back into the lamp while the duo rinsed the filth away.
In the lamp, the egg moved a lot and the strawcherry assistant laid her ear against the shell. She listened to the restless creature and sang a lullaby, trying to coax it back to sleep.
"Soon, little one. Not now. Go to sleep."
With a wave of her hand, the rumbling egg quietened down again. She needed to talk to Truen about the 'rock'. Merlin might know what was inside the egg but not how to deal with it. In fact, Endow Hill might undergo a huge transformation should the little one decides to hatch. Mii had a plan but she needed to run it through with Truen and Zero first. After all, the egg belonged to Zero.
The elf was still recuperating from his injury and exhaustion when Mii appeared. Hua Tuo was busy fixing the watermill so that gave them some privacy to talk.
"It's good to see you up again," Mii smiled before headbutting Truen's cheek. "Don't you dare do something so stupid again!"
The elf grinned. "Thanks for worrying."
Mii huffed. "For the record, I'm not worried about you or anything. I just don't want Zero to lose his guardian so quickly. Speaking of which, there is something I need to discuss with you. Remember that 'rock' in the lamp?"
Truen nodded. How could he forget about the special 'rock' that could hatch into a catastrophe?
"I was wondering what we should do about it too. It's too dangerous to leave it in the lamp."
The strawcherry fairy nodded. "Merlin wanted to let it hatch on Endow Hill but it might not be a good idea. Endow Hill's current landscape will become a memory if we let it hatch normally."
"Is it that bad?"
Mii sighed. "Dragons can get that cranky."
Truen didn't react. He'd guessed as much that it wouldn't be an ordinary mystical beast. "What do we do now?"
"Get Zero to form a contract with it. If it becomes a summon, we can hide it away and it cannot pose a threat externally."
Truen thought about it. "How will he form a contract? Also, I don't know anything about training familiars, much less Zero. What if he ends up spoiling his dragon?"
Mii grinned. "This is when you come in. You're like a parent to Zero so if you raise Zero right, he'll raise the dragon right. Besides, I don't think Zero is capable of spoiling his dragon. Dragons are rather wise creatures. They can have weird personalities but they're nothing like human offspring."
"I see. How much longer do we have before it hatches?"
"I'll estimate another two more days. The little one is restless."
Truen closed his eyes. "I understand. I'll talk to Zero tonight. Hopefully Merlin can help with the familiar contract too."
"I'll be counting on you then, partner."
"Same to you, partner. Thanks for watching over Zero in the dungeon earlier. I hope he had fun."
Mii chuckled. "I saved some videos you can watch once you're recovered fully. Don't forget to talk to Zero about it!"
Truen nodded and Mii vanished, finally depleting all her energy for the day.