Despite Leone doing his best to remain serious, the scene before him simply made it impossible. Then again, how heartless must one be to not smile at something this endearing?

The monsters he had summoned could not disobey him and, in turn, couldn’t hurt his people. In other words, the Dragonmaw Tyrant had no choice but to endure as the plaything of the Aslan Tribe’s children.

At the moment, the kids were all hanging onto its body like koalas, to which the monster that could terrorize a river could only weep crocodile tears.

As for the Frillcrest Lizard, making it a mount was hard.

Why? Because instead of running on four legs, its default running action forced it to stand up and run on its hind legs.

No rider would mount such a beast unless they had that oddly specific hobby.

"So things like this could happen too, huh?" Leone muttered.

"Yes, they can," Daedalus commented. "Mutations without recipes are random, so results may vary even if you use the same materials. Of course, there’s an exception—you could use the bare minimum amount of Dragon Blood, just like what we did with the squirrels with the Werewolf Blood."

For the squirrels, Daedalus had only used two drops of blood each. That was more than enough to allow them to become Weresquirrels without mutating into another race.

"Then what should we do with this Frillcrest Lizard?" Leone asked.

"It’s still capable of combat. Plus, it’s a bona fide Rank 4 Monster," Daedalus stated. "Let’s just keep it as a guard for the plantation, then. As for the Dragonmaw Tyrant... Well, it will be the kids’ playmate."

After hearing the grimoire’s words, the Dragonmaw Tyrant started crying for real.

It was a mighty beast! A very powerful monster that could move unhindered even against monsters of the same rank.

And yet, it was reduced to a mere plaything.

"Daedalus is just joking." Leone lightly patted the head of the crying crocodile. "Play with the kids for today. Don’t worry, I will assign you a mission for tomorrow. I want you to follow this river until its end, then you report what you see."

After hearing its Master say that it had a mission, the Dragonmaw Tyrant finally calmed down and decided to endure being a kids’ playground for one more day.

With that, only one question remained.

"Should we try to gamble for new mutations?" Leone asked.

He had already checked the price needed to purchase the Rank 5 Dragonmaw Tyrant from the Arcane Shop.

The price?

A whopping 100,000 BP.

Rank 5 Monsters were very pricey. Mutated with draconic blood, the Dragonmaw Tyrant counted as a special breed.

Sure, it was a strong monster, but Leone had no intention of using his BP to purchase it from the Arcane Shop.

Meanwhile, the Frillcrest Lizard cost 30,000 BP. It might be cheaper but still a unique beast on its own. However, Leone didn’t need it right now.

"You have nothing to lose, and a lot to gain," Daedalus replied. "Though, I do have to admit that the Giant Water Lizard combination was not something I expected."

The grimoire thought that combining the Giant Water Lizard with the Dragon Blood would increase the chances of creating a Water Drake.

But the Frillcrest Lizard made Leone hesitant to use the same combination.

"Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained!" Leone said, as if to convince himself. "High risk, high reward! Let’s do this!"

"Good." Daedalus nodded. "Beast Synthesis, activate!"

As soon as Leone made up his mind, Daedalus combined the Dragon Blood with ten Giant Crocodiles and ten Giant Water Lizards.

Soon, the monsters transformed into cocoons, prompting Leone to order the Frillcrest Lizard and a few warriors to guard them.

Leone also announced that they would host a victory party tomorrow, and that the Wheel of Fortune would once again make its appearance.

Unsurprisingly, this declaration was met with cheering from the children, who were very eager to try their luck in winning a special mount, just like Runa.

A few hours later...

Leone, Aria, Yuni, Vlad, and Tianna ate together for lunch.

Perhaps feeling lonely, Elias decided to join them. Anyway, they were having lunch at the villas meant for special guests.

"Leone, thank you very much!" Vlad said with a big smile on his face. "I can’t believe Rappy is now a Drake!"

The Raptor Leone had gifted the teenage boy was also added to the monsters that would receive Dragon Blood.

For Leone, Vlad was like the little brother he never had. The teenager was very kind, caring, polite, and most of all, idolized him. How could Leone possibly not give him a gift that would keep him safe?

"You’re welcome," Leone replied. "Just make sure to take good care of Rappy."

"Yes, I will!" Vlad promised.

Elias sighed at the sight, inevitably envious of the teenage boy’s relationship with Leone.

After all, the young chieftain was very generous with his friends. Truth be told, Elias wished he could also form that kind of relationship with the young chieftain.

Then again, he also understood that it wouldn’t be that easy to gain Leone’s trust. After what happened between the Aslan Tribe and the Grimhowl Tribe, the former’s trust in them was at its lowest.

However, Elias had vastly underestimated Leone’s mindset.

"Elias, do you also wish to have a Drake?" Leone asked.

"Of course!" Elias answered without hesitation.

"Are you sure you want a Drake?" Leone smiled. "A flying mount is also good, you know? Do you have a fear of heights?"

"I... I don’t know," Elias admitted.

"Then let’s put it to the test." At those words, Leone made a beckoning gesture to one of the Pteranodons circling Grimjaw Mountain.

To everyone’s amazement, the Pteranodon gently landed on the balcony and lowered its body to allow someone to mount its back.

"Make sure to strap the seatbelt on so you won’t fall off its back," Leone said as he helped Elias secure himself on the back of the Pteranodon. "I’ll order it to fly low for now, so that you can get used to it."

"L-Leone, can I try it too?" Vlad asked.

Immediately, Rappy, the Drake, looked at its Master as if he was some kind of traitor!

Leone chuckled internally before beckoning ‌another Pteranodon to come down. And just like what he did to Elias, he helped the excited teenage boy climb on the Pteranodon’s back.

Rappy whined, but Leone just patted its head.

"It’s fine, Rappy," Leone calmed the Drake down. "You’re still Vlad’s favorite."

Having been assured that it wouldn’t be abandoned by its Master, Rappy finally settled down.

"Now go!" Leone ordered the two Pteranodons.

Without another word, the two flapped their wings and flew down the mountain. Within seconds, they flew past the ramparts and descended as close to the ground as possible without endangering themselves.

Elias and Vlad were surprised at the start, but when they realized that they wouldn’t fall off the monster’s back, they started to gain a bit of confidence.

As if understanding that their riders had overcome their first hurdle, the Pteranodons moved up a few dozen meters off the ground.

"Hahaha!" Vlad laughed. "I’m flying! Wooooooooooooo!"

Elias was infected by the teenage boy’s excitement as he too cheered, urging his Pteranodon to fly a little higher.

The Pteranodons obeyed as they flew a little higher, flying over the forest and giving their riders a scenic view of the surroundings.

At first, Elias truly wished to have a Drake. But now he changed his mind. The freedom and liberation he felt while flying in the sky gave him a rush that he had never felt before.

Seeing that her brother was enjoying his first flying experience, Tianna thanked Leone with a smile.

"Do you also want to ride one?" Leone asked. "I can give you a Pteranodon as well."

"Can I have a dragon instead?" Tianna smiled sweetly.

The corner of Leone’s lips twitched after hearing the young lady’s reply.

"I don’t have any dragons," Leone answered. "But if I do get one, I’ll give it to you."

Tianna had saved Jason, after all. If giving Tianna a dragon was enough to pay her back, then he would gladly do it.

For him, the lives of his vassals were priceless.

Daedalus told him that Tianna might have sacrificed something to pull Jason away from the jaws of death.

Although this was a mere speculation for now, the grimoire believed this to be true.

"Thank you," Tianna replied.

After a bit more small talk, Leone told Tianna that they would be having a victory party tomorrow.

The young man had also decided to give Tianna a chance to spin the Wheel of Fortune.

He had a feeling that she might be able to win a prize. After all, she was an Oracle especially chosen by the Earth Mother.