After the contract was completed, Leon released the Efreeti.
Seeing the Efreeti follow Leon out of the Dome Castle, the Salamanders were stunned, filled with worry even after Leon told them the Efreeti was now his servant.
Leon was still considerate, having gotten the Efreeti, he did not forget the Salamanders, and specifically instructed the Efreeti not to seek revenge on the Salamanders, otherwise, it would be a slap in his face, and any consequences would be on the Efreeti itself.
Tassera left, leaving Leon alone.
Leon had few relatives and no slaves plundered from anywhere, he did not need overseers, nor enforcers for the time being, his first task for the Efreeti was to transform the environment of Steam Lake, until every pond and lake of Steam Lake dried up, the boiling water that was just above the shin of an average person turned into molten lava, and Steam Lake became Molten Lava Lake.
"Now it’s up to you. If you do well, I might be able to cut down your service time," Leon was used to making enticing offers.
The Efreeti immediately began working.
Use without doubt, don’t use if in doubt...mainly because of the contract, Leon allowed the Efreeti free rein, not interfering, just observing.
The first step Leon observed the Efreeti taking in transforming Steam Lake was opening the teleportation gate to the Fire Element Plane, then occasionally Fire Elements would come through the teleportation gate to Steam Lake.
Probably because there were still many lakes in Steam Lake, though they were boiling water lakes, these Fire Elements seemed not quite happy, as observed from their actions, but the Efreeti would help them like it.
"Is there a volcano underneath Steam Lake?" Leon curiously asked, "Just activating that volcano would turn Steam Lake into Molten Lava Lake."
"There is no volcano, just a crack that leads to a place underground filled with magma," the Efreeti answered, "When I first came here, it was a hot spring lake."
Leon continued to follow the transformation of Steam Lake; at some point, the Steam Mephits, made of water and fire, appeared, these creatures leaving traces of hot water wherever they went, hissing out steam, Leon asked, "Where did these little creatures come from?"
"Why have you stopped working... hurry up, do you want to be whipped?" Despite the Salamanders now being subordinates of Leon, the Efreeti still treated them as slaves, but remained respectful towards Leon, "These little creatures are naturally formed due to the special environment of water and fire existing here at the same time."
"Do you need me to deal with all of them?" The Efreeti was brutally straightforward.
Steam Lake was too monotonous, having a few Steam Mephits as decoration wasn’t too bad, Leon casually said, "If they aren’t causing trouble, let them stay; it doesn’t matter if they are eliminated."
Although the Brass Dragon helped Leon transform the Dome Castle, Leon still didn’t spend much time there, spending most of his time in Oasis City, enjoying fine food and wine, occasionally visiting Tassera’s lair, borrowing books from the Blue Dragon, unfortunately still unable to understand those books about magic.
Every beginning and middle of the month, Leon would absorb Sun and Moon Essence, not making it known deliberately, nor concealing it purposely, then one day Tassera saw it.
It was one night, Leon had left Oasis City early, transformed into the Red Dragon, and found a mountaintop to sit on, waiting for the bright moon.
No longer the vulnerable baby dragon that anyone could bully, after being a teenage dragon who could defeat the Efreeti alone, Leon’s vigilance had lessened quite a bit, so much so, that only after absorbing the Moonlight and yawning getting ready to go back to sleep, did he turn his head and finally notice Tassera sitting on a rock watching him.
Tassera was not short-sighted, not hindering her, today, she wore glasses atop her straight nose, purely as an ornament, dressed in a long gown embellished with a blue gemstone on the chest, her bosom full, legs straight and slender, bathed in moonlight, she emanated an ethereal beauty.
"I noticed you were very focused, so I didn’t disturb you." Tassera slowly stood up after Leon saw her, "What were you just doing? I saw you inhaling moonlight into your body."
"Absorbing the essence of the sun and moon." Leon didn’t change the subject or hide anything, he was quite curious if the Blue Dragon could learn the Breathing and Exhaling Skill that he had mastered through the Golden Finger.
Tassera slightly furrowed her brows and said, "What do you mean by absorbing the essence of the sun and moon? That’s absorbing Magic Power, isn’t it?"
"You can understand it that way." Leon thought to himself, Magic Power, Mana, Spiritual Energy are essentially the same thing.
"How did you do it?" Tassera asked.
"You’re asking me... I don’t know how to explain it, just like with the Sword Control Technique." Leon could master the Breathing and Exhaling Skill thanks to the Golden Finger, almost instinctively, and there was no way to explain it, just like a person cannot explain why they can roll their tongue, they just can.
"Alright." Tassera sized up Leon, her eyesight was very sharp, "The reason why you, as a teenage dragon, have grown so big, and your scales are still similar to those of a baby dragon, often giving people the impression of a Fairy or Celestial Creature, is all because of this, right?"
"Probably." Leon responded noncommittally.
"Your body is really full of secrets," Tassera said, "I’m too curious about you, can’t you let me study it a bit?"
"Don’t say something that dangerous." Leon said.
Tassera chuckled and asked, "Can you call me the next time you’re absorbing the essence of the sun and moon? I want to watch."
After that, Tassera often watched Leon absorb the essence of the sun and moon, but she never figured out how, without any clue.
Nothing special happened and a year passed in the blink of an eye.
In that long time, the Efreeti’s transformation of the Steam Lake was nearly completed.
The Steam Lake had changed drastically; the originally steam-wreathed boiling water had turned into slowly flowing molten lava, occasionally bubbling and sparking, the air began to fill with the smell of sulfur and intense heat, Fire Elements were visible everywhere, and all Steam Mephits had turned into Magma Mephits, resembling a bit of the Molten Lava Lake.
Leon also couldn’t remember from when Tassera stopped coming to the Steam Lake... now it should be called Molten Lava Lake. The reason was simple, the Blue Dragon didn’t like such a hot environment.
The Brass Dragon, however, visited Leon often to chat, and frankly, chatting with the Brass Dragon once a month wasn’t bad.
As the days passed by, one sunny morning, Leon was flying in the sky over the desert when he suddenly spotted a group of camels, on a whim he caught one and brought it back to the Molten Lava Lake, killed it, and threw it into the molten lava, where it cooked instantly, and then he laid down beside the Molten Lava Lake eating the camel.
After finishing the camel, he prepared to take a nap, when unexpectedly he heard the familiar ding-dong sound, and Leon was stunned.
"Change of appearance—transform an area into an environment dragons like and is suitable for a lair."
"Advanced reward: Sleeve of the Universe."