Chapter 103 - Material Shortage

Material Shortage
“Thank you. …So what’s the price and how long will it take?”
I thought I would ask for the price before he started, just in case—but Gaiger looked at me with a troubled expression.
“…Sorry, but it might take years to make it.”
Years?
Even I could not wait that long.
“Does monster armor always take so much time?”
“No, no it’s not about time, but the materials.”
“…You don’t have materials?”
“Aye. …This was made from the most expensive materials in the market, gemstones from a ‘Lesser Fire Dragon’…but it wasn’t enough for these guys.”
So saying, Master Gaiger showed me the clear, red stones.
Apparently, you needed these stones to make monster armor.
“…So, you need materials that aren’t on the market?”
“Aye. There is a dragon that is above Lesser Fire Dragons that are called Blue Lesser Fire Dragons. Gemstones from them should be enough to make stronger armor.”
I see. A stronger dragon…
I had fought a lot of monsters up until now, but not this one he was talking about.
“And you’re saying it would take years to acquire that?”
“Aye. They are hard to find and even harder to kill. …Of course, if I had it now, I could start right away. I could complete it in 3 days.”
…Acquiring materials, huh.
If I could get them on the side while I was on a guild quest, it might not be a bad idea.
“Are there any of these Blue Lesser Fire Dragons around this town?”
“Aye. …Can you see that volcanic mountain over there?”
Master Gaiger said as he pointed to a mountain in the distance.
“I see it.”
“There are lots of Lesser Fire Dragons on that mountain. But rarely, you can find a Blue Lesser Fire Dragon among them.”
So I had to find one Blue Lesser Fire Dragon in a crowd of Lesser Fire Dragons.
It sounded really annoying…
I doubted the slimes’ detection abilities could tell the dragons apart. So I would have to see them with my own eyes.
“Isn’t there a place where only Blue Lesser Fire Dragons live?”
“No. …Well, you should probably just hunt Lesser Fire Dragons and consider yourself lucky if you encounter one. …Though it would be rather unlucky for most Adventurers.”
“Unlucky to encounter one… Are they that strong?”
“Aye, very strong. And they have a nasty temper. Whenever a strong party dies while hunting Lesser Fire Dragons, it’s usually because some Blue Lesser Fire Dragon appeared.”

That’s horrifying…
I could attack it from far away and then escape if it looks too dangerous.
Or I could also just use Hellfire of Death from a distance and burn it to death.
…But I wasn’t sure if the gemstones would survive that.
I thought about this as I continued to question the owner.
“By the way, since they are called Lesser Fire Dragons…does that mean there are normal Fire Dragons?”
The word lesser seemed to suggest inferior.
…So maybe there was a real Fire Dragon that was much stronger.
And so I asked…
“There are, but I’ve never heard of a Fire Dragon’s gemstone being used for armor. After all, no one has ever killed on.”
…Fire Dragons must be very strong then…
I suppose I would have to give up killing one and go for these Blue Lesser Fire Dragons instead.
And with that decision made, I left the store.
“I’m going to go and look for these dragons then.”
“Aye. I’ll wait here with no expectations! …But if you do kill any normal Lesser Fire Dragons, bring their gemstones back! I’ll pay you a better price than the guild will!”
So he would also buy gemstones from Lesser Fire Dragons.
In that case, I might have to overhunt.