《The Dragon God's System》 Art, Maps, and Other Information Background Information N¨®ttormr was reincarnated into the world of Guthheimr. He was given the Ouroboros System by one of the System Lords. He was given this system because he possesses an affinity to twilight. N¨®ttormr has the Twilight bloodline. He inherited this bloodline from Nox. Twilight dragons are feathered dragons who are smaller and more agile than other dragons. However, although they are physically weaker than other dragons, they also possess impressive magical abilities that more than make up for their small stature. Twilight refers to the time when the sun has already set or is about to rise but can¡¯t be seen over the horizon. Technically, it also means a time of decline, such as the twilight of your life. Twilight dragons represent this aspect of nature. Everyone, and everything, descends into Twilight eventually. Even day and night eventually fade away with time. Twilight is the time when all things move closer to the end. Everything that ages or dies is within the power of the twilight dragon. Life is a dream, and twilight dragons are harbingers of death. However, at the same time, they also represent new life. Some souls will stay in the darkness forever, but others are allowed to be reborn. This too is part of the domain of a twilight dragon. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Nox was an ancient dragon god who was known as the Mother of Darkness. She gave birth to a brood of children who were personifications of primarily negative forces: Fate, Sleep, Death, Strife, and Pain. Each of these powerful twilight dragons were among the most powerful dragons in existence before they disappeared along with their mother. Chapter 1 - Reincarnated as a Kobold I died in my sleep. Even though memories of my previous life were hazy and faded as quickly as they emerged, I somehow knew that I had died in my sleep. What happened afterwards could have been a dream, or it could have been reality. All I knew was that it felt like I had drifted in a sea of darkness, completely alone. I couldn¡¯t tell how long I floated there. However, I did notice that my memories were becoming more ephemeral the longer I was within the void. The life I once knew had been slipping away, like grains of sand through my fingers. I couldn¡¯t even remember my name. It was at the tip of my tongue, but just out of reach. Yet, amidst the void''s oppressive darkness, I found a peculiar sense of peace. It started to feel like home. Before the last fragments of my former existence started to fade away completely, a new awareness began to stir within me. I didn¡¯t even realize at first that the darkness had changed. Yawning, I stretched my arms and legs, or at least I was going to do so until my arms and legs knocked onto something hard. I frowned. My mind went completely blank as I struggled to come to terms with what had happened. I was no longer trapped in the void. For some reason, it felt like the protective blanket that was keeping me warm had been ripped away. I slowly took stock of my situation. Judging by how my wings and tail were sliding along the curved surface underneath me, I was inside something spherical. Surprised, I mumbled, ¡°Tail? Wings?¡± I abruptly opened my eyes and muttered to myself, ¡°Since when did I have wings and a tail?¡± At least that was what I was trying to say. What I actually said was something like, ¡°Taa? Wees? Sans ven di I ab ings in a ail?¡± My voice was odd too. It was very high pitched, almost like a little dog yipping and yapping. ¡°Wow, this is embarrassing,¡± I mumbled as I tried to turn around to catch a look at my tail. The tail appeared reptilian, with a wide base that slowly tapered down. It was longer than my body was tall and had a row of spikey ridges that traveled down until it ended with what looked like a stinger. A layer of stiff downy feathers covered the entire tail. However, after touching the down, I discovered it wasn¡¯t soft like that of a baby bird, but rougher, almost rubbery. Quite curious about the rest of my new body, I pulled one of the wings for a closer examination. ¡°Interesting,¡± I said without thinking, not even noticing that I was speaking more clearly with each word. ¡°Too bad the wings don¡¯t look big enough to use for flight. They don¡¯t even look big enough to slow me down if I fell off a cliff. ¡°Okay, this is strange,¡° I continued to mutter to myself as I looked around, trying to form the words more clearly. I was pleased to discover that talking was becoming easier. What was even more strange was that I could see, even though it was completely dark. It appeared as if I was scrunched over inside a large egg. Considering that there was nothing inside the egg except for me, I was apparently ready to hatch. ¡°Let''s look at this logically. I have wings and a tail, and I¡¯m in an egg.¡± After a brief pause, I added, ¡°Now, wings and tail could indicate a dragon.¡± I paused for a moment to look at my body. ¡°However, I look like a humanoid dragon. That means I¡¯m not a pure dragon.¡± A hazy memory of half-dragons and dragonborn bubbled up from the back of my mind. Did dragonborn have tails and wings though? Wait¡­weren¡¯t there creatures called draconians that were born from dragon eggs in some of the novels I used to read? I couldn¡¯t remember much else except that there was a magic user in that story who happened to be my favorite character of all time. It was as if I was remembering a dream which rapidly faded away. Sighing, I forced myself back to the present. ¡°I wonder what my face looks like,¡± I said quietly. I didn¡¯t want to talk too loudly in case someone could hear me. After all, eggs were usually laid in bunches and not individually. I gingerly felt my face, amazed at feeling the lizard-like skin. I pushed up my lips, so to speak, and felt tiny sharp teeth. So, apparently I was not a vegetarian. Although after feeling around my teeth gingerly with my tongue, I did notice some of the back teeth were slightly wider. However, they definitely were not wide enough to be considered molars. After feeling around my face for a moment, I noticed that the tip of my nose dipped down somewhat and was slightly harder. It felt almost like a crocodile or lizard face that tapered into an eagle¡¯s beak. I then moved my hand to the back of my head and touched what felt like dozens of tiny broad short feathers that were growing from the back of my head. Still trying to figure things out, I moved my hands from the downy feathers on my head to my shoulders. However, the down was less prevalent on my arms and legs. ¡°Okay, now I know I can¡¯t be related to dragons since dragons don¡¯t have feathers, or whatever it is I have. Wait, didn¡¯t scientists determine that many dinosaurs had feathers? Could I be some type of humanoid dinosaur? After all, birds descended from dinosaurs. Actually, some mythical dragons had feathers now that I thought about it. Weren¡¯t they called amphipteres?¡± Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°What am I?¡± At that exact moment, a window appeared in my mind with a ding, almost causing me to pee into my shell. ¡°What the¡­?¡± I trailed off as I started reading. I stared at my information screen and tried to learn as much about my new situation. ¡°Okay, my name is N¨®ttormr,¡± I said after reading over the information once again. ¡°While it is kind of disappointing that I¡¯m a kobold, at least I¡¯m a special type of kobold, a high kobold. I wonder what the differences between a kobold and a high kobold entail. For some reason, the answer just bubbled up from the back of my mind. It was as if I had always known the information. It was just that I had forgotten about it until I tried to dredge up the memory from my past. While normal kobolds had a thin thread of a draconic bloodline in them, high kobolds possessed strong draconic bloodlines, which were further purified and strengthened by rituals. Then I remembered that there was actually a plant that high kobolds used in some of their rituals called Dragonroot. How it was prepared would determine the effects it would have. If mixed with other foods as an edible, it could be eaten before a battle and would reduce the effect of fear while increasing physical attributes. If used as incense, it would reduce stress and give off a sense of peacefulness. I frowned, wondering how I knew that piece of information before another thought bubbled up. I tried to dredge up more memories about the differences. ¡°Ah, I see. Regular kobolds have dog-like features, such as big ears and noses. They look more mammalian, with rat-like tails. Some of them even have pug-like faces. High kobolds, on the other hand, are definitely reptilian in appearance and don¡¯t have a dog-like appearance. In addition, high kobolds have access to ancestral memories which regular kobolds didn¡¯t possess.¡± Regular kobolds were inferior in almost every way. They were skittish and had chips on their shoulders. They were a lot like chihuahuas, scared and trembling, but unable to stop barking at anything that annoyed them. High kobolds, on the other hand, were dignified. Unlike their distant cousins, high kobolds were like a completely different race, such as dragonborn and lizardfolk. Pushing these thoughts to the side, I went back to the idea of ancestral memories and muttered to myself as I sorted my thoughts, ¡°The fact that high kobolds have access to ancestral memories must be how I know this information. Hmm, apparently, countless years ago, dragons created the high kobolds by infusing them with their blood in return for their loyalty through the ages. That is most likely the source of the ancestral memories. Interesting. ¡°So, dragons and high kobolds are born with the ability to access general knowledge which gradually unlocks as they grow older. They are born with some basic knowledge, but not much. Certainly not as much as I possess. Usually, they gradually gained these memories in the first years of their life. ¡°What a wonderful cheat,¡± I thought as I realized just how powerful unlocking ancestral memories could be. It would save me a lot of time. While it was an extremely practical ability, I was pretty sure that there had to be some way of abusing the skill. ¡°This ability might even explain why I still retain my mental attributes from my past life,¡± I said to myself, considering that possibility. ¡°It looks like most high kobolds can only access a basic level of knowledge. However, those who have awakened a draconic bloodline are gifted with superior abilities and knowledge. I probably wouldn¡¯t have remembered anything about my previous life if I hadn¡¯t awakened my bloodline.¡± Suddenly, I felt extremely lucky that I had been reborn as a high kobold. Pushing aside that thought, I concentrated on the information screen again. ¡°Anyway, what about the Nox Ancestry? I¡¯m pretty sure nox means night or darkness, maybe both. I think there was even a goddess of the night named Nox. I wonder if Nox might have been the name of the dragon that gave her blood to the kobolds when turning them into high kobolds.¡± I tried to see what other information I could ¡°remember¡± about high kobolds. I thought for a few moments as thoughts bubbled up from who knew where. ¡°Hmm, apparently, high kobolds can go through a series of rituals that can further refine their bloodlines. If they served their dragonlord well, they might be gifted with dragonblood which could be used as a catalyst in rituals to give high kobolds wings, increased size, magic abilities, and other draconic abilities. ¡°Of course, actually completing these rituals is rare. On the other hand, some of these abilities can be inherited, such as the wings. Go me,¡± I said, smirking as I shrugged my wings. While the wings weren¡¯t big, I still had them, which was an indication of status. ¡°Still, why couldn¡¯t I have been born as a dragon? Well, at least I do have the bloodline of a dragon. Maybe that will mean something,¡± I continued to mutter to myself as I mulled over the information I had learned. If there were dragons, there was magic. Maybe with magic, I could become a dragon. Unfortunately, I had zero magic power, at least for the moment. I really wanted to know how I died and the reason I was reincarnated in a fantasy world. I wasn¡¯t complaining though. In fact, I was actually glad. However, I did want to know where the system came from. I tried to search through my ancestral memories for the answer. However, it would appear that I was unique. None of the other high kobolds possessed a system, at least as far as I could determine. Chapter 2 - Learning About Myself Hopefully, it would give me another cheat besides the ancestral memories. Realizing I was getting distracted, I refocused my attention. Twilight was not just a time of day or night. It could also mean obscurity, uncertainty, or gloomy. The word itself can be broken down into two roots, twi-, meaning double or half, and light. Twilight is thus a second light or a half light. This was my second life, so that sort of applied. Anyway, a lot of people associate twilight with night. This would tie in with Nox ancestry. There was even a goddess of the night called Nyx. Realizing I was wasting time, I dismissed those thoughts and concentrated on my information sheet. My primary abilities were dexterity and intelligence. The only reason I knew what the DEX and INT stood for was because I had played a lot of roleplaying games when I was growing up. The information sheet I was looking at looked like those I might find in a Dungeons and Dragons game. My wisdom and charisma were okay. Of course, that was when comparing them to my strength and constitution. Darkvision wasn¡¯t hard to understand. That was probably why I could see even though I was in an egg. Ether breath confused me though. I¡¯d heard of fire, lightning, acid, and a few other types of dragon breath, but not ether breath. I decided to look on the bright side. At least I have dragon breath, although it did seem to be locked at the moment. What did locked even mean? What did I have to do to unlock the breath? The same could be asked about the quills and flight. Would I gain them automatically when I hatched? Did I need to conduct some ritual? Either way, the ether breath, quills, and flight needed to be put on the back burner, especially since they were locked anyway. The Draconic language I could understand, but the mining proficiency annoyed me for some reason. Just because I was born a kobold, I was considered proficient in using mining tools? That sounded quite¡­arbitrary. So, every single kobold was able to use mining tools effectively? I did suppose that was possible with the ancestral memories though. I frowned when I realized that while the information sheet had given me a lot of information, it had also left out a lot. Because of this, I tried to make some educated guesses from what I knew about biology. I really needed to know more about myself, especially since I was about to hatch. Since I was reptilian-like, I was probably cold-blooded. However, I was also in a cave. Caves generally had temperatures between fifty and seventy degrees. Since kobolds spent most of their time underground, I assumed they weren¡¯t getting much energy from the sun to become active. Also, I don¡¯t feel particularly lethargic right. That meant kobolds might not be endothermic or ectothermic. I trailed off in thought for a moment and then wondered if kobolds could be mesothermic. Mesothermic animals showed similarities to both warm-blooded and cold-blooded animals, but don¡¯t fit into either category. Great white sharks and tuna are two examples of mesothermic animals. As for dinosaurs, they were probably either heterothermic or gigantothermic. Heterothermic animals would heat up when active, but cool down when hibernating or sleeping, which I found more plausible. That might explain dragons too. They didn¡¯t need energy when they slept because they slowed down their metabolism. When they woke up, they gorged on food. Of course, dragons could regulate their body temperature just because of their immense size, much like dinosaurs, making them gigantothermic. Realizing that I had gotten off track yet again, I decided to come back to those thoughts later. I needed to focus on hatching. The lack of fluids in the eggshell was an indication that it was time. That might even be why I woke up. Maybe it was time for me to break out of this eggshell. Using the talon on one of my scaled fingers, I started tapping the eggshell to see if it was brittle. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. The eggshell was fairly thick, but I was certain that I could break it, despite my pitiably low strength score. Before breaking out, I decided to listen to what was going on outside of the egg. I couldn¡¯t hear anything at first, so I pressed my ear¡­I paused as I realized I didn¡¯t have ears any longer. Dismissing that train of that, I concentrated on trying to hear anything that might be happening outside the egg. ¡°Hmm, I guess it is time to get out of here,¡± I said to myself as I heard cracking sounds coming from outside the egg. Apparently, the other kobolds were emerging from their shells. With a resolute strike, I swung my fist at the eggshell. I distinctly heard a crack right before I howled in pain. ¡°Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch,¡± I squealed as I rocked inside the egg while holding my hand, which caused the egg to tip over, knocking me down so that I face-planted. ¡°I hope that was the eggshell and not my fingers,¡± I muttered as the pain started to fade away. Growling, I glanced at my hand before looking at where I had hit the egg. I was annoyed that I was so weak. I was tempted to try kicking the place I had hit, but I was afraid I would fall over again if I tried to kick that high. Sighing, I gingerly started picking away at the spot that was cracked. When the first piece of eggshell came off, I realized how hungry I was and plopped the eggshell into my mouth and started chewing without thinking. ¡°Crunchy,¡± I murmured, surprised by its tastiness. Quickly, I broke through the second layer of the shell. ¡°Odd. I didn¡¯t know shells had two layers. You learn something new every day. Wait, this is my first day, and I have already learned something new.¡± I continued to snack on the eggshell as I broke through. I wasn¡¯t eager to break all the way through though and took my time digesting the eggshell. Eventually, I could see the other eggs. Most of the eggs were about as far along as I was in eating the eggshells. I gave a silent sigh of relief. It would have been embarrassing if I was the only one eating the shell. I continued to look around as I continued eating, wondering if I would be able to eat it all. It appeared that there were almost a hundred eggs in the¡­cavern. Yes, I was in a cavern, quite a big cavern in fact. A few glowing balls of light provided just enough light to make an otherwise dark room dimly lit. I looked around but didn¡¯t see any adult kobolds. I almost laughed when I saw some of the newly hatched kobolds trying to walk toward the single entrance to the cave. They would take a step and then flop stagger to the side as if they were drunk. ¡°Yep. They are high kobolds after all,¡± I thought as I watched the other wyrmlings. Snickering, I stepped out of the remnants of the eggshell and promptly fell on my face as my foot caught on the edge of the shell remains. To add insult to injury, my tail ended up slapping me in the back of my head as if to say I was an idiot. It was a good thing the little horns on my head weren¡¯t sharp or they might have stabbed my tail. ¡°Oh my goodness,¡± I thought. ¡°How in the world do I have such high dexterity? Maybe that is the score I will have after I have gotten used to my body. Yes, that must be it. After all, it does take some getting used to doing things again after you haven¡¯t done them in a while.¡± That would also explain why the other kobold hatchlings were staggering around. I was so used to walking normally that I had forgotten I might need to make adjustments to my balance considering I had a tail and wings. I laid there a moment as I reflected on my new life, my right hand busily grabbing egg fragments and stuffing them into my mouth. Soon, I could feel my stomach stretching out as if I was pregnant. Still, I valiantly laid there filling my mouth with delicious egg fragments. Finally, I sat up after finishing off the eggshell pieces. Although I was tempted to mutter something about eating so much, I decided to shut up for once. I didn¡¯t want to stand out too much yet. I could imagine a bunch of baby kobolds pointing at me and shouting, ¡°Freak!¡± I knew they could understand Draconic to some degree, but how much could they speak it? Chapter 3 - My First Achievement It turned out that I was a freak, at least to some degree. For one thing, I didn¡¯t seem to be a shade of red like most of the other kobold wyrmlings. In fact, I had black scales, which would mean that I should have acid breath instead of ether breath. Oh well, it wasn¡¯t that important. After all, it wasn¡¯t as if I was reborn as a gnome. I shuddered just thinking about such an awful situation. I couldn¡¯t imagine a worse fate. I could make out what the newly hatched wyrmlings were speaking, sort of. ¡°More shells,¡± a dark red-scaled wyrmling said imploringly as it looked around. Its clawed hands were outstretched as if to ask for money. When he wasn¡¯t given anything, he stumbled toward the cave entrance, maybe looking for someone who would give him more food. ¡°Me hungry,¡± another dark red-scaled wyrmling said. After dragging himself back upright after falling down, he too made his way toward the entrance of the hatching room. ¡°Feed me!¡± This came from an angry-sounding wyrmling whose scales were a deep red that was almost black. ¡°Nice,¡± I thought to myself. ¡°The first kobold who is even close to having the same color scales as mine had to be a jerk. Way to make us look good.¡± Sighing, I watched the other newly hatched kobolds for a few minutes as they stumbled, tripped, and fell as they made their way out of the hatching room after they finished eating their shells. None of them had wings. ¡°Interesting,¡± I thought to myself. ¡°So I am special even here. As for the others, they aren¡¯t trying to steal each others¡¯ eggs to eat and seem friendly enough, except for that one guy. At least I think it is a guy. Still, I do have to admit that I am impressed. Kobolds who had just hatched were able to communicate with simple sentences.¡± Eventually, I grew bored watching the exodus of hatchlings leaving the room and joined them, bringing up the rear. I only fell one time on the trip to the entrance of the hatching room. Towards the end, I was getting better at keeping my balance, but that might have been because I wasn¡¯t fighting my tail and started to let my instincts take over. It was much easier to walk after that. As soon as I got closer to the cavern entrance, I saw some adult kobolds who were waiting with open arms to greet the newly hatched wyrmlings. They would pick one of the baby kobolds up and wait while the other adult kobolds picked up more wyrmlings. Similar scenes must have happened frequently by the way everyone was acting. For a moment, I waited to see if my parents would show up and pick me up. Then an ancestral memory bubbled up about kobold family life. Kobolds didn¡¯t mate for life. In fact, kobolds rarely even knew who their parents were since the eggs were placed altogether. After the wyrmlings hatched, they would be taken care of communally. Most of the adult kobolds were wearing a tunic and breeches. Most of the shirts were variations of red or orange, although black was also a color that was quite prevalent. Their scale colors ranged from bright red to dark red to brownish red. While there were a few kobolds who were so dark they were almost black, these kobolds were definitely in the minority. Feeling like making a grand entrance, I tried to stand up as straight as I could. While it might not be much, every man, or kobold, wants that extra inch. Perhaps because of the structure of my legs, standing like that was a little painful. Maybe it had something to do with my double-jointed knees. A few of the adults spotted me as I drew closer and started pointing, ¡°Wings! Wings! Yay! Einvaldskonungr has blessed us!¡± This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ACHIEVEMENT - STATUS UNLOCKED: TRIBE OF EINVALDSKONUNGR. By possessing wings, you have unlocked Status with the Tribe of Einvaldskonungr. You have gained the level three rank of Sk?rungr in this tribe. I paused after reading the notification. ¡°Dang,¡± I thought, ¡°that is a freaking long name, Einvaldskonungr. I¡¯m sure there isn¡¯t any overcompensation there, big name, small¡­mind.¡± A moment later, I regretted thinking that. I tended to be short on patience and understanding whenever I was feeling anxious. ¡°Hmm, Einvaldskonungr, wait,¡± I paused as I remembered something, then continued to organize the thoughts in my head, ¡°I know who he is. Isn¡¯t he supposed to be one of the gods of the kobolds, a giant red dragon? It¡¯s strange that I know that. Maybe common knowledge can be accessed, but only if it becomes relevant. ¡°Whatever,¡± I thought as I puffed up my chest proudly, suddenly remembering that kobolds with wings were considered to be blessed. That must be why I had a rank of three in the tribe. Of course, immediately after my pride swelled up, my foot caught on a small rock, causing me to fall face down once more. I hastily scrambled up and acted like nothing had happened as I moved toward the group of kobolds. Instead of picking me up like the others, they moved aside and motioned for me to proceed before them. ¡°Nice,¡± I thought, ¡°I¡¯m the blessed one but I¡¯m the only one that has to walk. Yep. Let¡¯s see the blessed one fall on his face again. I¡¯m starting to get the impression that kobolds have mixed feelings where kobolds with wings are concerned.¡± I struggled to follow them on my shorter, wobblier legs. I resisted the temptation to use my wings as a counterbalance since I was sure that with my luck, it would only make things worse. Thinking about the wings, I hoped that they weren¡¯t just ornamental and would actually allow me to fly someday. ACHIEVEMENT - STATUS UNLOCKED: TRIBE OF GROENNEITR. By possessing wings, you have unlocked Status with the Tribe of Groenneitr. You have gained the negative level three rank of Andskoti in this tribe. After the alert, I noticed that I had gained a negative status with a different tribe. Rolling my eyes, I shook my head and wondered how I had achieved that status. ¡°Great,¡± I thought. ¡°I haven¡¯t even done anything yet. Why is there so much hate already? With that amount of negative status, I had to be an enemy of their tribe. I managed to make enemies with an entire tribe the day I was born. Maybe it is because I am one of the blessed ones in my tribe. Still, how does that make me an enemy to another tribe of kobolds? How do they know I exist?¡± We soon reached an older-looking kobold wearing fancy clothes. In fact, he was wearing enough jewelry to make a nobleman blush in shame. While I had noticed many of the other kobolds with a few pieces of jewelry, it was nothing in comparison. ¡°Dang,¡± I thought to myself, ¡®he has some bling.¡° The most impressive thing about him, however, was the fact that he also had wings. Next to the winged kobold was a green-scaled kobold with a crest like a mohawk between his horns. This mohawk extended all the way down his back to the end of his tail. More importantly, he also had wings. He also wore quite a bit of jewelry. The kobold was obviously someone important, but there was a slight difference in how he dressed compared to how the other kobolds were dressed. His sleeves were short instead of long and his pants seemed to be made of leather instead of cloth. Perhaps a kobold from another area, a trader perhaps? Was he the reason for my negative status rank? I was fairly certain he was and wondered what he had against me. Both of the bling-wearing winged kobolds inspected the newly hatched wyrmlings. The reddish kobold seemed pleased, but the green kobold obviously wasn¡¯t. I wasn¡¯t sure how I was able to decipher their expressions, but I could. Most likely, it could be attributed to ancestral memories. All the other kobolds seemed excited, almost as if they had more hands to share the work to make it easier on them. Looking at the unhappy, green-scaled kobold, I could easily imagine him being a merchant who had come to a competitor¡¯s store and was dissatisfied because the competition was doing well. ¡°Dang,¡± I thought, ¡°he is definitely giving off some untrustworthy gnomish vibes.¡± A quote popped into my mind, ¡°Beware gnomish merchants, they tend to shortchange people.¡± For some reason, I knew that he and I would not get along together. I doubted he was a merchant since just seeing me created such a negative reaction from him. More than likely, he was a diplomat or spy and was scoping out the enemy. Had I just been reborn with the threat of a war looming on the horizon? I was starting to get an uneasy feeling about the future. Chapter 4 - Chaotic Evil I took a moment to look at the kobold who was having bad thoughts about me. I was fairly certain that this green-scaled kobold was the reason I had a negative rank in the Groenneitr Tribe. Of course, it wasn¡¯t personal. The dragon he served probably wanted to make a move on the kobold tribe I had been born into. Since red dragons were usually more powerful than green dragons, the green dragon was probably the same age or younger than Einvaldskonungr. Otherwise he would probably just have attacked and fought it out. However, that wasn¡¯t the case. The green dragon probably wanted to do something sneaky. They were known for being almost as untrustworthy as gnomes. I regretted thinking that the moment it popped into my mind. That was really rude to green dragons. Nothing could ever be as bad as a gnome. Since I was one of the paragons of this tribe, I was probably considered an enemy by the green kobold. I briefly wondered if I would lose my negative ranking if something unfortunate happened and the green-scaled kobold died. Speaking of which, I probably needed to make sure that nothing happened to me. Who knew if the green scaled kobold would target me to prevent future problems. The red scaled kobold had seen me at the same time as the others, and while there was a surprised look on his face, it was hard to tell if he was happy or disappointed. My first impression was that he probably would have smiled if I had red scales. I was pretty sure that he had a prejudice against my color. Despite this, he quickly hid his disappointment with a smile. I guess he was glad for my existence, despite whatever reservation he was having about the color of my scales. I did wonder how he might have reacted had I shown up with green scales. I hoped there was no negative stereotype I would have to deal with in the tribe for being black. After all, we were one big family, and being black didn¡¯t stop the green kobold from hating me at first sight. He had looked extremely displeased at first, which didn¡¯t surprise me. Then a calculating look crossed his face. I was a little worried that he would try to sow some type of discord between me and the others. He definitely had ulterior motives. I guessed he was more likely to be a spy posing as an ambassador or a merchant. I doubted my tribe was already at war. If that was the case, I doubt the visiting kobold would have been allowed into the city. Despite this, I guessed our tribes would be fighting each other soon. The reddish kobold walked forward and stopped in front of me, obviously waiting for me to approach him. I was a little offended since the other kobold hatchlings had been picked up. However, not only did he not pick me up, but he also expected me to come to him. What a gnomish move. The other kobolds all watched in silence, curious to see what was going to happen next. Apparently, wings were much more important than I had thought at first for some reason. Considering that I was the only one to have wings in this batch of hatchlings, it was definitely quite rare. It was probably because kobolds with wings were considered closer to dragons, but there had to be more to it than that. Then again, maybe that was all there was to it. Obviously, the only two other kobolds with wings were in leadership positions. Maybe that meant that any kobold with wings was groomed for leadership in addition to being dragon-blessed. Something wasn¡¯t adding up, however. ¡°Einvaldskonungr has blessed us with yet another winged-one,¡± he said as he looked down at me. Then he turned to address all the newly hatched kobolds who were being held by the older kobolds. ¡°Welcome to our family. I am Dr¨®ttinn, chieftain of our tribe. We are pleased that you can join us. When Einvaldskonungr wakes from his slumber, he will be happy to know just how many clutches of workers we have nurtured. Work hard so that we can gain favor with our god.¡± This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Numerous yips and yaps chorused in agreement, such as ¡°We will,¡± and ¡°We work.¡± A few of the hatchlings even managed, ¡°Long live Einvalds¡­,¡± before messing up on the dragon¡¯s name. Despite this, I was impressed. More than likely, Einvaldskonungr probably didn¡¯t care about the kobolds at all. They were nameless cogs in the machine works who brought the dragon gold and wealth. In fact, Dr¨®ttinn even acknowledged this fact when he called the newborn wyrmlings ¡°workers.¡± As for the dragon blessing them with another winged kobold, it had nothing to do with him, especially since he was asleep. The red dragon being asleep might also be why the tribe of green kobolds was skulking around. They probably knew the red dragon was asleep and were taking advantage of that fact. Was the green dragon planning to attack while Einvaldskonungr was sleeping? What exactly was the Groenneitr tribe planning? As for the red dragon, he was the big stick kobolds could use as a deterrent to intimidate others who might want to attack them. He was also the only way the kobolds could refine their blood. I was pretty sure that was the main reason the kobolds were willing to work so hard to provide wealth for the red dragon. Dr¨®ttinn looked back at me as if waiting to see what I would say. Not sure how to respond, I paused for a moment while I resisted the impulse to say something like, ¡°Me want food,¡± or to grab at the jeweled belt and say, ¡°Ohh, shinies.¡± After another moment of hesitation, I finally said, ¡°Long live Einvaldskonungr. May he reign eternally.¡± I immediately realized that was a mistake the moment after I said it. Every eye had already been on me, but now it was as if every single kobold was holding their breath. ¡°Maybe I should have gone with one of the first two choices after all,¡± I thought to myself. Figuring out it was probably too late already, I added out loud, ¡°I am eager to learn. Please teach me so that I can bring glory to his name.¡± The green kobold made a choking sound as his eyes widened and his jaw dropped, almost as if he had seen a dwarf walking out of a bar instead of walking into a bar. He actually held his hand to his mouth as if to stop himself from saying something. Silence followed, which was good for me since several notifications had popped up on a screen. ACHIEVEMENT - TITLE UNLOCKED: MENDACIOUS. Your first words to another creature were duplicitous, but also formal and literary. Because of this, Dolos, the God of Trickery, granted you his favor. ACHIEVEMENT - ALIGNMENT UNLOCKED: EVIL. By gaining recognition from one of the Gods of Darkness, you have unlocked the Evil alignment. You have gained 1 Evil Favor. ACHIEVEMENT - TITLE UNLOCKED: CHILD OF FOLLY. At¨¦, the Goddess of Mischief, Delusion, and Ruin, who leads gods and mortals to suffering through their rash and inconsiderate actions, believes you to be one of her descendants due to your impulsivity and ability to make foolish decisions. Because of this, At¨¦ has granted you her favor. ACHIEVEMENT - ALIGNMENT UNLOCKED: CHAOTIC. By gaining recognition from one of the Gods of Chaos, you have unlocked the Chaotic alignment. You have gained 1 Chaotic Favor. I stood there in silence reading the notifications as the kobolds stared at me in silence. I was stunned by what I had read while they were rendered speechless by what I had said. Slowly, my mind started to sort out the implications of the notifications. While I knew the reputation of kobolds among the other races was that kobolds were evil, apparently the gods were specifically recognizing me as being chaotic evil. What the frick? My mind was running faster than a gnome who had been asked to pay for his debts. How in the world had I become chaotic evil? Was I now an enemy of all the gods of light and goodness? And what in the world did Evil Favor and Chaotic Favor even mean? Could I trade them for something? Did a title give any specific benefit? Did I just get cursed? And why was a goddess considering me a fool? At that moment, the kobold in charge named Dr¨®ttinn broke the silence and said, ¡°Please take the newest members of our family to the Welcoming Cavern. Our newest winged brother will stay with me.¡± He then indicated that the green kobold should join the others as they left for their destination. While the green kobold seemed reluctant, he didn¡¯t object. However, that might be because he was still more befuddled than a gnome who was trying to understand a joke. Soon, I was left alone with the chieftain in the cavern. Chapter 5 - Talking to the Chieftain ¡°I am Dr¨®ttinn, the Chieftain of the Einvaldskonungr tribe,¡± the reddish kobold repeated, as if emphasizing that he was in charge, and not me. Then he stared at me for a moment before continuing. ¡°Judging from your ability to speak so eloquently, as well as your color, you are definitely different from the other hatchlings. While your coloration is rare, it is not exactly unknown. After all, we do have visitors from other tribes quite often.¡± I immediately figured out that one of my parents had probably been an ambassador or a trader, much like the green-skinned kobold visitor. Had it been my mother, she would probably have laid the egg when she returned to her tribe. That meant that the kobold who came from somewhere else was most likely my father. Then again, that was just an assumption. Dismissing such thoughts, I paid attention to what else he had to say. ¡°However,¡± the chieftain continued, ¡°you are also quite intelligent, too intelligent in fact. Most high kobolds are smarter than your average kobold, but not to the extreme of being able to speak so well immediately after hatching. It took me half a decade to achieve a similar level of v¨ªsindimuna.¡± Immediately after the chieftain said, ¡°v¨ªsindimuna,¡± a memory surfaced. I realized that I had achieved that state of being even before I hatched. V¨ªsindimuna was the state of remembering knowledge, which was basically ancestral or ancestral memories. Instead of getting stuck on the name, I concentrated on what else he had to say. ¡°I am impressed, but I hope you realize that, considering your coloration, Einvaldskonungr might suspect your loyalty. He might even consider your skill with v¨ªsindimuna to be a risk. After all, while I trust you since you were born into our family, our god might not.¡± I was starting to get the impression that the chieftain wasn¡¯t as trusting as he was trying to appear. Something about him was giving me the idea that he was starting to see me as a rival. I didn¡¯t have time to think about it though since he continued speaking. ¡°However, while Einvaldskonungr isn¡¯t known for being forgiving, or understanding, he is direct in his ways. I would advise you not to attract too much attention and he will probably not bother wasting his time thinking about you. Fortunately for you, he has recently fallen into liggja, the long slumber. This will give you time to grow and contribute to our family. This will allow you to prove your loyalty.¡± The chieftain continued, ¡°I am going to trust that you will not betray your brothers and sisters, but will instead use your abilities to strengthen our tribe. It usually takes five years for most hatchlings to mature. However, with you, I don¡¯t think that it will take that long. I will personally guide you. That means that you will not be attending training with the other hatchlings.¡± ¡°Now then, the first thing we will do is conduct the Ritual of Kunnasik. During this ritual, you will learn your name as well as your affinities. Normally, we wouldn¡¯t conduct this ritual so soon after hatching, but in your case, I think there is no reason not to proceed with the ritual.¡± I managed to repress the frown that was about to appear on my face. My concern was the reasoning behind delaying the ritual in the first place. Why did most newly hatched kobolds have to wait for five years? Why couldn¡¯t they immediately participate in the ritual in the same way that I was about to do so? Since I wasn¡¯t likely to get an answer to those questions, I suppressed my curiosity and worry and concentrated on what Dr¨®ttinn was saying. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°During the ritual, you will see visions after inhaling the sacred incense. During this time, you will learn more about yourself and your connection with our ancestors. A gift might even be bestowed upon you should you receive enlightenment. Now then, let us proceed. You can snack on this while we are walking,¡± he said as he handed me some type of dried meat that he had taken out of a pouch on his belt along with a few mushrooms. I gingerly accepted. After hesitating, I nibbled on the meat. Finding it surprisingly good, I blurted out, ¡°Kobold like.¡± I immediately felt embarrassed for having said that. Did that just come out of my mouth? I felt like my IQ had just dropped off a cliff into a deep, dark, bottomless pit. I felt like throwing myself into the first chasm I came across. This time, I couldn¡¯t stop the frown that covered my face. I was now certain that my mind was being affected in some way after becoming a kobold. It was as if I was acting how other kobolds would do so in my situation. Although it hadn¡¯t really registered the first time I thought about gnomes, after the next few incidents, I could tell something was wrong. Even though I had never met a gnome, I instinctually despised them. That sent chills down my spine. I hated the thought that the ancestral memories were, at the very least, affecting how I spoke. My fear was that the ancestral memories might influence me in other ways. For example, despite having doubts about the chieftain, I felt an urge to trust him completely. For some reason, Dr¨®ttinn seemed happy to hear my comment and see my apparent confusion. It was as if it had set him at ease. Perhaps he thought I was trying to take his advice and not act too smart. Well, I had definitely shot that image down. Right then and there, I decided that I had purposely done it just to set him at ease. Yep, it was an intentional ploy on my part to downplay the first impression I gave him. From now on, that would be my story, and I was going to stick to it. From what I knew of psychology, if someone says something often enough, they would even start to believe it. In fact, many politicians used this principle. They would lie so much that they, and their followers, would actually start to believe their lies. Before I thought about it too much, I switched mental gears. While I already knew my name, I was curious about what else I would learn. In fact, it probably wouldn¡¯t be a bad idea to downplay anything that I discovered. Standing out too much might cause trouble. Silently, I followed him, cursing him in my mind for making a newly hatched kobold walk around so much. ¡°Dang my short legs,¡± I thought, ¡°Here I am, a third his size, newly hatched, and he is making me walk. What a¡­,¡± I trailed off as I scurried to catch up to the chief. I was so tempted to drop down on all fours and try to walk like a dog. I meant a dragon. I would never walk like a lowly dog. I was descended from dragons. Still, the temptation was there since it might have been easier to walk like that. In fact, I was pretty sure that I could move even faster if I was on all fours. I resisted the temptation, however, and continued to walk upright while trying to concentrate on not falling over again. As we were leaving the room, I noticed a series of holes in the walls a foot higher than the chieftain¡¯s head. I wondered what they were, but didn¡¯t want to ask. As we passed through many corridors I saw many more of these holes as we headed down deeper into the cavern. I finally figured out what they might be used for when I saw tripwires and deadfalls. It was like one of those temples of doom where various traps were waiting for the unwary. There was plenty to see as we made our way. I quickly lost track of all the hatching rooms. I did feel a little nervous every time we went over certain bridges that looked like they were trapped to fall apart, though. Even my eyesight couldn¡¯t see the bottom of the pit underneath the bridge. Hmm, I was getting the impression that this place had more traps than an anime channel. What other pitfalls did I have to worry about? Chapter 6 - Inspirational Visions ¡°Well, the tribe definitely doesn¡¯t seem to be lacking for kobolds if they can make this many traps,¡± I thought as we walked. I had seen what seemed like thousands of eggs waiting to be hatched and thousands of young kobolds as we walked through the corridors and caves. I had to wonder how the kobold tribe was able to feed so many mouths. There was even an area filled with animals. Of course, none of them were what I would want to pet. There were huge weasels, oversized rats, massive bugs, and some creatures I didn¡¯t want to think about too much. I had never liked small spiders and bugs, much less big ones. The crystal clear lake of water we passed at one point did look inviting though. I resisted the impulse to say, ¡°Ohh, shiny water.¡± After that, I felt like beating my head against the rock walls nearby. Why in the world did I keep on getting the impulse to say stupid things? It was almost like I was on a first date with a gorgeous woman wearing cowboy boots. I also saw storage rooms, living quarters, and forges where weapons were being created. I paused when I saw a weapon being made, especially since it was not made out of metal. When Dr¨®ttinn saw that I had stopped, he looked to see what had attracted my attention. It was a large piece of obsidian that was being chipped down into a dagger. ¡°If you want some of the scraps, go ahead and grab a few pieces,¡± the chief said, gesturing for me to take some of the obsidian chips. Feeling sort of like I didn¡¯t have much of a choice, I stepped forward as the kobold smith took a step back. I carefully scooped up the biggest chunks of obsidian. For some reason, I was very leery about cutting my fingers on the sharp edges of the rocks, almost as if it had happened to me before. After I had picked up the pieces, we started down again. I could tell it was getting noticeably warmer. Speaking of doing thoughtless actions, while I was distracted looking around, I didn¡¯t even notice that I had started popping the obsidian stones into my mouth and swallowing them whole. My steps faltered when I realized what I had done. ¡°Oh, my goodness, this is going to hurt when it comes out,¡± I thought to myself. ¡°Hopefully this is normal, and I won¡¯t start bleeding out of my¡­¡± I involuntarily shivered at the thought. I considered making a joke about pooping, but I decided not to since poop jokes always stink. It was at that moment that I almost pooped myself when another window popped up. ¡°Hmm, it popping out almost made me poop,¡± I thought to myself. Taking a deep breath, I glanced at the window while trying not to step into one of the traps while I was distracted. EVOLUTIONARY MATERIALS INGESTED: OBSIDIAN. Do you wish to assimilate the obsidian in order to evolve your draconic bloodline? I blinked and still almost stepped into what looked like a glue trap. The only reason I figured out what it was was because of a large beetle that was struggling to escape the slime. I decided to wait on answering until I was in a safe space. I needed time to think about my options and what would be the best thing to do. After all, there was no telling if I would be able to undo the assimilation if it turned out to be a bad idea. I still hadn¡¯t even had time to consider the implications of being chaotic evil and having the favor of two gods. What did that exactly mean? Would I be able to trade the favor for something tangible? Or was it just a favorable impression with no actual reward? I had a lot to think about and after being named a Child of Folly. I figured that I should take a few minutes to think about things before I was given some new type of title that was even worse than the ones I already possessed. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Soon we reached our destination, a large open cavern that had what looked like a pool of water heated by a lava flow while I considered whether I should assimilate the obsidian. It was both warm and humid and the water seemed quite hot judging by the steam coming from the pool. In fact, the only way it could be that steamy and not evaporate was if there was a spring feeding the pool. The water in the pool was probably heated with geothermal energy, probably from magma vents or a volcano. ¡°I do hope he isn¡¯t planning on boiling me,¡± I thought, wondering if the experience was going to be anything like the Native American Indians going on a vision quest in a sweat lodge. I decided to continue holding off answering the question about assimilating the obsidian. There didn¡¯t seem to be any rush, so I might as well wait until after the ritual. Having more time to think was never a bad idea anyway. The chieftain moved toward a recess carved into a cave wall and took out a chest, though of course, not before disarming a trap. ¡°Really? Even here, in this supposedly safe space, there are traps,¡± I was flabbergasted as I tried to remember all the traps, I had seen on the way to reach the cave. I watched as he took out a small bottle before replacing the chest and reactivating the trap. He motioned for me to sit down, ¡°Please, take a seat.¡± He opened the bottle and poured the contents of the bottle into the steaming water. ¡°I¡¯ll leave you alone for now. I will be back once the vision mist has run its course.¡± With that, the chieftain quickly left. To me, this indicated that prolonged or repeated exposures might be unhealthy. If that wasn¡¯t the case, why would he seem to be avoiding the magic-infused steam? I nodded, and silently waited, glad I didn¡¯t have to jump into the boiling water. Perhaps the alchemical liquid was too strong to be taken orally, and had to be delivered transdermally using the boiling pool of water as a nebulizer. This would indicate that the potion affected the lungs and entered the bloodstream in that manner instead of being absorbed into the digestive tract. Nothing happened at first, but then I noticed a sweet scent starting to permeate the cave. Before long, my thoughts began to wander and visions of the world started flowing through my mind. I flew through the darkness, a black shadow covered in mystical symbols, breathing in the night, absorbing dreams, nightmares, and even the lifeforce of the living. I danced through the minds of those sleeping beneath my wings. When my shadow passed, the souls of the dead would follow me into the twilight. Soon the visions changed as a group of kobolds worked diligently in the darkness, mining gems and precious metals. Battles raged as enemies invaded their territory. The kobolds persevered and fought valiantly against the aggressive invaders who were bigger and stronger than them. Because of this, the kobolds laid traps. Despite their bravery, they faced repeated persecution, and enslavement attempts by the other races. Then a kobold god appeared among the people, causing the fortunes of the kobolds to begin to change for the better. He was a trusted companion to a dragon god and helped him out as well. Unfortunately, a gnome god did something sneaky and the kobold god was never seen again. Ever since then, the kobolds were often forced to depend on their greater kin, the dragons, whenever the other races pressured the kobolds too much. The kobolds only wished to be left alone to mine, but the other races wanted to enslave them because they were small and weak. They captured the kobolds and used them as slaves as many of the dragons slowly forgot about their pledge of protection. The visions changed, and he was dropped into the lives of many different kobolds who had lived and died long ago. No matter whether they used magic or swords, they lived, learned, and struggled to survive the dangerous depths against the various monsters and races that lived underground. Some even abandoned the caves and explored the surface world. Eventually, the visions started to fade. While it seemed as if I had only been daydreaming for a moment, it could have been hours. I actually felt like I had experienced months, or even years, while under the effects of the potion. As soon as I emerged from the visions completely, a new window popped up. Chapter 7 - Making Choices YOU HAVE RECEIVED INSPIRATION. The following training options are now available. While you will gain knowledge according to your choice, you will still need to practice these skills to obtain full mastery of the chosen option. All training options include the Common language. Choose one of the following training options for high kobolds. Acolyte Animal Trainer Commoner Inventor Leader Magic Apprentice Miner Outsider Scout Soldier ¡°Hmm,¡± I muttered to myself. ¡°I see a lot of thieves¡¯ tools. Does that mean that most kobolds are miners and thieves? Duh, of course they are. I knew that already, at least the mining that is. Apparently, stealing is also very important to kobolds, almost as important as mining.¡± I frowned, because that didn¡¯t seem correct. ¡°Wait, aren¡¯t thieves¡¯ tools also used to make traps? From all the traps I have seen, kobolds love making traps almost as a gnome loves money. That would definitely explain the thieves¡¯ tools. The question is, where are all the other options? ¡°What about other jobs, such as merchants? Is it because, like farmers, there aren¡¯t many of them in the tribe? Are the leaders the merchants? And why were there no entertainers? Having only ten options seemed a little limiting. I definitely would have preferred more possible choices. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°I guess the outsiders are considered the catch-all group. If you don¡¯t fit into one of the other categories, you are an outsider. Then again, they are obviously the most versatile of all the options. They get to make most of their own choices and aren¡¯t locked into one particular path.¡± I looked at the choices and quickly discarded a few of them. While I might not know exactly what I wanted, I could definitely eliminate some things that I had no interest in. For example, I had no desire to be a soldier, and scouts were just a type of soldier so they were out as well. Mining and dealing with animals also weren¡¯t something I would look forward to in the future. I had never been, and would never be, common, although the jack-of-all-trades did sound interesting. That eliminated half the choices, leaving acolyte, inventor, leader, magic apprentice, and outsider. I quickly discarded inventor and leader. Even though inventor sounded cool, inventing things usually took a lot of time and effort, and judging from the resources I would have available to me, I wasn¡¯t likely to be able to invent anything too wonderful. It didn¡¯t matter how many ideas I had from my previous world to borrow from, being able to successfully bring them to fruition in this world would probably be a daunting task. As for leader, the kobolds already had a leader, and I didn¡¯t know if I really wanted to be tied down to the tribe. I was in a new world and I would like the chance to explore it. Also, if there was a war, leaders were the ones most likely to be targeted for assassination. Still, inventor and leader didn¡¯t sound too bad. As for acolyte and apprentice magic apprentice, both seemed like they would be magic oriented, which sounded amazing. Acolytes were too religious for my tastes, though. Also, being chaotic evil, I highly suspected that none of the ¡°good¡± gods would want me as their acolyte. Also, I wasn¡¯t sure how much faith I should put into an evil god. Who knew what they would expect me to do as an acolyte? That ruled out acolyte as a choice. Anyway, why should I worship a god? I had no desire to serve a god. I would rather be a god. The magic apprentice and outsider seemed a little better than all the others. The outsider had the choice of taking the magic options, or at least I would assume so since it didn¡¯t seem to limit my feat choices, so it was in the running too. I quickly decided that I would choose one of those two. I continued looking at the choices and finally selected the outsider since I wasn¡¯t sure just how much magic was in the world. Also, I preferred to have my options open, and if I could choose what I wanted instead of having everything already determined for me, I would always prefer that option. While magic had always been a dream of mine, I somehow doubted there would be a lot of spellbooks or teachers who could guide me. I would have to depend on myself. Also, I remembered from stories I had read that magic worked differently in different worlds. For example, my original world didn¡¯t have magic, or at least not enough to be noticed. While there were dragons on this world, that didn¡¯t necessarily mean there was an abundance of magic. I would hate to find out that I was in a low-magic world. This didn¡¯t seem too likely, however, since many kobolds had the ability to cast at least one spell. In fact, it was quite surprising just how many of them could cast cantrips and spells. Since outsiders had a lot of choices, I would still be able to learn magic. In fact, I might even be able to learn other things in addition to magic. With a touch of hesitation, I clicked on the outsider training. Immediately, a plus button appeared next to each attribute. Here, I didn¡¯t even need to think for the +2, which I promptly placed into Intelligence. However, for the +1 to an ability score, I was torn. Finally, not liking the odd number and wanting to improve my low constitution, I added the point there. After that, a new list of choices appeared. Based on your inspiration, you can choose two of the following skill proficiencies. I waited a moment for the list to continue, but it didn¡¯t. Acrobatics, athletics, deception, investigation, persuasion, and sleight of hand didn¡¯t appear. There were probably some others that I didn¡¯t get to choose from as well. I could guess the reason why I was offered a few of those skills, but others I wasn¡¯t as sure about. Still, I was a little annoyed. I had thought I would get to choose from all the skill proficiencies, but instead my options were limited. After taking a few minutes to look at each of these choices, I eliminated religion and history. I also reluctantly gave up on survival and stealth. I wasn¡¯t planning on going out into the cold dark caverns on my own anytime soon. As for sneaking, that is what you do when you go toward danger. My plan was to head away from danger. That left arcana, insight, and perception. All three sounded very useful. However, since I was limited on the skill proficiencies I could choose from, I might also be limited in the magic I could learn. Learning arcana and then finding out that I can¡¯t use it would be terrible. That only left me to choose a feat. Unsurprisingly, a new screen popped up as soon as I made my choice. Based on your inspiration, you can choose one of the following feats. After looking at the available options, I had to resist the impulse to jump up and down while screaming. I was madder than a gnome merchant being asked for a refund. Where were my unlimited options to choose a feat from? Where was the chance to learn magic spells? Why was I an idiot who didn¡¯t choose magic apprentice when I had the chance? I almost wanted to cry. I was starting to have mixed feelings about the system. While it was being somewhat helpful, it definitely could have given me some more information. Sighing, I took a deep breath and tried to figure out which feat to choose. Chapter 8 - Choices, My Mortal Enemy I glared at the display, immediately displeased at the limited number of choices. In fact, there were exactly seven options to choose from once again. I tried clicking on each one to see if any additional information would be given, but nothing happened. ¡°Dang,¡± I said, ¡°I might have screwed up here. I really should have gone with the magic apprentice after all. It looks like an outsider isn¡¯t as wonderful as I had thought it would be at first. I can¡¯t believe I might have lost my chance to cast magic spells.¡± I started muttering curses and thinking that I might as well have been born a gnome after making such a stupid decision. Then I came to my senses and realized nothing could be worse than being a gnome. I also realized I was hating on gnomes again and started trying to figure out the feats instead. Toughness seemed obvious. It makes someone tougher. However, how much tougher was the question. Fade Away was the feat the scout had, which probably had something to do with sneaking around. Since I didn¡¯t have the sneak ability, I was slightly puzzled to see this option come up. Still, without stealth, sneaking would be quite difficult and so Fade Away was a ¡°no thank you.¡± Death-touched probably had something to do with the vision about breathing in the lifeforce of the living. That made it sound almost like a necromancer or an undead. Running the risk of turning into an undead, such as becoming a vampire, didn¡¯t appeal to me. While I might have roleplayed a few games as a vampire, there was no guarantee that I wouldn¡¯t be a zombie instead. It was bad enough I was considered chaotic evil. I was quite sure that if I chose Death-Touched, I would never escape the evil alignment. Exploring the world might be more difficult if everyone started running away screaming, ¡°The death-touched chaotic evil kobold is here. Run for your lives!¡± After dismissing that idea, I thought about the Eldritch Sigils. That actually sounded decent. I might be able to do some magic with it even if I couldn¡¯t be a real magic user. ¡°Hmm, from what I remember, eldritch powers were dark, mysterious, and scary. Often the power came from another world, much like me. Perhaps that is another reason I can access this feat. Not bad, definitely a strong contender.¡± Sandman seemed kind of obvious. While I did love the Sandman comics, I somehow doubted I would become the king of dreams. More likely, I would be able to put people to sleep and control their dreams. That sounded okay but even in my past life I could put people to sleep. I remember having students fall asleep during my lectures and my tests quite often. Still, while it was an okay choice, it didn¡¯t sound like the best option. Shadowborn probably had something to do with shadows, maybe moving from shadow to shadow or becoming a shadow. That actually sounded cool, but since I had already opted out of stealth, it wasn¡¯t the path I was destined to take. ¡°Sheesh, and it actually sounded pretty cool. Can I go back and restart my choices?¡± There was no response, not that I expected one. After a few hopeful moments waiting in silence, I finally moved on to the next feat. Survivor was almost as obvious as Toughness. I was sure it probably gave you a better chance to survive a fight. If there had been any more information, I might have appreciated the choice more. After all, he who runs away lives to fight another day. However, I actually had no desire to even be in a fight anyway the feat might really be about surviving in the wilderness. Without more information, it was a definite pass. Reluctantly, I waited a few more seconds to see if any other options would pop up. Nothing did, so I finally selected Eldritch Sigils. Hopefully, I could get some type of magic power out of it. The pop-up screen immediately disappeared as soon as I made my choice and the screen refreshed. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. Choose one of the following Eldritch Sigils. ¡°You have got to be joking! Really?¡± I could barely contain my frustration. If I had any hair, I would have been pulling it out. I walked over to the nearest wall, and started gently thumping my forehead against the stone. This only lasted a few seconds since it hurt. Also, I didn¡¯t want to participate in child abuse. Sure enough, nothing happened when I tried to see if there was any more information. Nothing. Just three options. ¡°You are killing me,¡± I muttered. ¡°I want all three.¡± Sighing, I finally decided to not choose the physical enhancement. While my kobold body was quite weak, I wasn¡¯t sure it would be worth a feat to boost it up, especially since I wasn¡¯t sure how much it would help. That left mental and supernatural. ¡°Dang, I really want magic powers but I love my mind. Ah, screw it. Let¡¯s go all in on the mind.¡± While I was unhappy about giving up on the supernatural enhancement option, my mental stats were already very high, and even a small boost might make a big difference. I felt an infusion of information bubble up from the depths of my mind, like some ancestral memory, much like how I could apparently speak Draconic. I was curious about what else I could select and checked to see how the information screen had updated. ¡°Interesting,¡± I muttered. ¡°When my constitution got bumped up, it also increased my health points. I also now have Mental Energy. That must be how I use the Eldritch Sigils. Speaking of which, all of those sound pretty strong. Mind alteration will definitely be very useful. Hmm, not bad. I can live with this. Yep, I knew exactly what I was doing all along.¡± Even though I had given up my beloved path of magic, I had always counted on my mind in my previous life. Since my mind was already strong, doubling down on it seemed the best bet. After seeing that I had traded a couple of cantrips and a spell for extremely useful mind powers, I was extremely pleased. I still wasn¡¯t sure what to do about the obsidian had popped up as an evolutionary path, whatever that meant. I was kind of confused about that since I would have imagined that the evolutionary path, I would follow would be that of the bloodline. Apparently, they were separate. I was tempted to accept, but I also thought I might want to wait and see if there were any other options. Just because I was named a Child of Folly didn¡¯t mean I had to act like one. Deciding to wait on that for a little longer, I clicked on the new addition to the information screen, a class option. A new screen popped up again. Choose one of the following classes: ¡°What the freak?¡± I angrily muttered as I looked at the screen for a few minutes. I wasn¡¯t sure whether to be deliriously happy or depressed and angry. I had eleven choices this time, and most of them were spellcasting classes too. However, I was annoyed because I had thought that the training would have to go along with the class choice. If I had known I could pick anything, I would probably have chosen something different. ¡°What is up with the descriptions now? Why weren¡¯t there any before now? Also, now I have access to sneak after I turned down the stealth skill? Are you kidding me?¡± I threw my hands up and started walking around in a circle, shaking my head, while looking up at the ceiling. I started wondering who in all the worlds had invented the system that was ¡°helping¡± me. ¡°Why couldn¡¯t it have given me all the options at the same time? It looks like I don¡¯t even get to choose some classes I would have expected to see, such as a barbarian or a monk. Wait, weren¡¯t bards a class too? Why don¡¯t I see them on my list of choices?¡± Chapter 9 - Choosing a Class Paladin, rogue, and ranger were out. I had already discarded the idea of working with animals. As for rogues, they knew little to no magic. As for paladin, I doubted I would be able to pick up a piece of armor, much less wear heavy armor. Even carrying a shield would be difficult. At least the ranger was a magic user, although not enough for my tastes. The fighter said nothing about magic, which dropped them to the bottom of the list. As for clerics, I definitely don''t want to serve some god. Despite a few choices I obviously didn¡¯t want, at least I had some choices that possessed magic. ¡°Thank you for that,¡± I muttered. Of course, I would be quite the odd spellcaster since I didn¡¯t choose arcana earlier. I tried to click on each class, but unsurprisingly, no additional information showed up. Although I kind of expected the results I would get, I was still annoyed. ¡°Stingy system. You could at least tell me more about the choices. I almost feel like I am making some of these choices blindly.¡± I was definitely feeling frustrated with the lack of additional information the system was withholding from me. It hadn¡¯t even bothered to explain the difference between training and classes. I didn¡¯t even see all the classes I would have expected to see. For some reason, not having the bard class annoyed me. Bards were spellcasters, and I loved to sing. While I was afraid that my voice would be just as bad in this life as it was in the previous, I still might have taken the chance. In fact, I had a vague memory of a toddler telling me, ¡°That will be enough of that,¡± when I started singing. In fact, I think my wife and kids used to turn up the volume on the television whenever I sang. ¡°Wait, that isn¡¯t right. Didn¡¯t my teenage son always encourage me to sing to my teenage daughter? Oh well, at least my son recognized my talent, even if all the others didn¡¯t recognize genius when they heard it.¡± While bard would have been amazing, I wasn¡¯t sure that I wanted to sing or play an instrument to use magic anyway. Then again, weren¡¯t bards originally poets and wordsmiths? William Shakespeare was called the Bard of Avon. In fact, Celtic bards were also storytellers. I used to love reading stories and even wrote a few. Bard would have definitely been worth considering if it was an option, but of course, it wasn¡¯t. After taking a moment to redirect my thinking and focus on the next choice, I thought about the druids, who were also missing from the list. Druids were able to shapeshift and do magic from what I could remember. That would have been really cool. Maybe I could have used those shapeshifting abilities to turn back into a human. Then again, I guess I don¡¯t really need druid to turn back into a human. Any spellcasting class would probably allow me to turn back into a human once I had learned the appropriate spells. Ritualist sounded like someone who needed rituals to cast magic. I could easily imagine being in a fight with an army of the green kobolds and having to politely ask, ¡°Please wait a few hours while I cast this spell. Don¡¯t worry, I am attuned to magic.¡± Who knew what that meant? I really didn¡¯t see any reason to choose them over any of the other classes. In fact, they were worse than the wizard and sorcerer. Because of this, I added ritualist to my list of declined classes. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Instead of only having one or two good choices, now I was overwhelmed with wonderful options. ¡°Feast or famine, flood or drought,¡± I muttered. ¡°Oh well, I shouldn¡¯t complain.¡± Still, it was hitting my Achilles heel. Making decisions was something I had struggled with in my previous life. Deciding to look at each one in turn, I started with the sorcerers. Innate spellcasting would free me from having to beg the gods for magic or having to study. For some reason, the idea of doing a lot of studying didn¡¯t appeal to me any longer. Having innate spells sounded nice, but it also sounded like I wouldn¡¯t have the same variety of spells as the other classes. That made me think about the arcanist. It was a little disappointing that arcanists have to study so much. Then again, they did sound like they had the widest variety of magic since they could cast any spell. That really appealed to me, despite the need to study. I had spent so much time in school in my previous life that the idea of studying annoyed me. However, arcanists were obviously more versatile than the others since I could cast any spell I studied. Being a wizard would give me the chance to decide what spells I wanted, but I might need a teacher and would definitely be limited to the spells I found in spellbooks. It would also require studying. If I was going to study, why not become an arcanist? Also, I somehow doubted that I would be able to find a lot of spellbooks, which would make learning new spells difficult. Then again, maybe I could be the next Sorcerer Supreme. Summarizing my thoughts, I marked off sorcerer and wizard. Arcanist was a maybe, however. Moving on, I thought about the other class that sounded like an arcanist. Shamans, at least from what I remembered, studied both arcane and divine magic. I was also fairly certain they dealt with spirits too. As for seeking divinity, that seemed exactly what I was looking for. So, shaman was in first place, followed by the arcanist. I had saved the eldritch mind class for last to think about. I had mixed feelings about it. While it did say mind in the name, which made it an attractive choice for me since I was so focused on intelligence, it didn¡¯t say what type of spells I would have. Could I only cast arcane spells? Would I be limited in the number of spells I could learn, similar to a sorcerer? Would the spells be themed, such as a pyromancer? Still, there were a lot of unanswered questions about it. Despite this, I finally decided that it was tied with shaman for second place, with arcanist having the lead. Each of the classes had some drawbacks. Still, this was a new world. Who knew what I would encounter? I needed a class that would allow me to thrive and not just survive. Finally, I decided that I should choose from the most versatile options. I had already missed the chance to learn arcana when I thought I couldn¡¯t learn magic spells. I decided right there and then that, in the future, if I ever discovered who designed the system, I would definitely give them a piece of my mind. I felt that I had struggled to make a lot of decisions in my past life. Not wanting to repeat past mistakes, I decided to trust myself and become an arcanist. Pointing dramatically to the empty air, I said, ¡°I choose you Pika-Eldritch Mind!¡± Immediately, the pop-up screen disappeared, and the old screen updated again. I blinked, frowned, and then looked up at the heavens as if asking why I did some of the things I did. ¡°I am an idiot. Why did I choose eldritch mind? I just did a complete 180¡ã turn and chose eldritch mind over arcanist and shaman. Why did I choose it? I didn¡¯t have enough information about it. Did becoming a kobold do something to my mind?¡± Chapter 10 - Updated Information Sheet ¡°Sheesh, maybe I am a Child of Folly,¡± I muttered in disgust. A new window had popped up as I was resisting the impulse to bang my head against the cave wall again because of my ADHD, impulse control issues, or whatever else was to blame for my choosing the eldritch mind class. Based on your class, choose two of the following skills. Acrobatics, Animal Handling, Arcana, Athletics, Deception, History, Insight, Intimidation, Investigation, Medicine, Nature, Perception, Performance, Persuasion, Religion, Sleight of Hand, Stealth, Survival ¡°Dang, are you trying to confuse me? You already said I had insight and perception. And you want me to choose three more, but those two are still options? Are you kidding me? What happens if I pick both options again? Is my choice wasted? Do they gain double proficiency?¡± I tried to see if the system would explain, but nothing happened. Annoyed, I decided not to risk it and chose three new skills instead. ¡°Screw you system for not giving me more information.¡± Sighing, I finally settled down and thought about my new set of choices. Acrobatics wasn¡¯t important, and neither was animal handling. Arcana was a maybe. Athletics was out. Deception was also out. I never really liked having to lie, and if I was going to be a god in this life, then I might as well be me. History seemed useless, as did intimidation. With that, I discarded two more options. Investigation actually didn¡¯t sound too bad, but I wasn¡¯t sure it was worth it. Medicine could be useful, but if I had magic, couldn¡¯t I use that instead? I skipped over nature since there wasn¡¯t a whole lot of nature in the caves, at least what I considered nature. Performance was probably useless since I wasn¡¯t an entertainer. Persuasion sounded like a good choice, however. Since I was going to be a leader among the kobolds, I probably needed to be able to persuade others into doing whatever I needed them to do. I almost clicked on persuasion, but decided to think about it some more. Religion was also something that I should probably take. I just couldn¡¯t make myself choose religion though. Sleight of hand seemed stupid if I was able to do real magic. As for stealth, hadn¡¯t I given up on a feat because I didn¡¯t have this skill? Now it appeared again? ¡°Freaking system¡­,¡± I trailed off mumbling to myself. That left survival, which again, wasn¡¯t something I was going to depend upon. I was a city kobold and was definitely not some loser loner in a cave without anyone else to help. Finally, I clicked on arcana since I hoped eldritch mind would allow me to cast spells of some sort. At the very least, knowing what spells my enemies were casting would be useful. In fact, it seemed like a must have choice in fact, especially considering I was in a magic world. I was stuck on the last choice, however. I finally chose stealth since I was still weak and might need to avoid danger in the future. After making my decision, I waited to see if there was going to be another prompt, but nothing happened. ¡°Curious, I would have thought there would be more, such as spells. I guess I do have to study a spellbook to get a spell. Either that or the spells are innate and I don¡¯t have a choice. Either way, my information screen must look different now.¡± Deciding to see what had changed, I checked it out again. There were actually a lot of additions to the screen, but I hadn¡¯t been given a choice in some of them. Were they random, or were they because of some unknown factor that the system wasn¡¯t willing to share with me? If I wasn¡¯t provided a chance to choose what spells to learn, wizard would have been better after all. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. It looked like I could now wield simple weapons but had no proficiency with armor, which was both good and bad. I wasn¡¯t sure what to think about the saving throws, but decided I would probably find out later. My health points had improved quite a lot as well. I also had magic points in addition to mental energy. Furrowing my brows, I stared at the ? in confusion. ¡°What did a registered trademark have to do with¡­?¡± I paused as I realized that it meant the spell was also a ritual. I could cast those types of spells as a ritual and not have to use magic points to cast them. ¡°Nice,¡± I thought. ¡°ancestral memory for the win.¡± Rituals could be useful, especially considering that I could cast these types of spells as often as I liked, although it might take a few minutes to cast the spells. What is up with my class features though? Death bringer? Soul collector? Based solely off my information screen, anyone would think I was as evil as a gnomish merchant. It didn¡¯t help that I have no idea what either one of these features did. Would it kill the system to provide some more information? ¡°Screw you system,¡± I muttered. ¡°Why can¡¯t you give me more information, or at least let me make more decisions? Ugh, stupid system.¡± I was tempted to grumble some more, but I decided to try to focus on the bright side. Then again, I shouldn¡¯t blame the system. Maybe the system was a gift from a god. I should be thankful that I was learning everything so quickly. I bet others couldn¡¯t learn as quickly. Of course, it might have something to do with having the twilight dragon bloodline. Hopefully, I would get a chance to choose what cantrips or spells I wanted to learn in the future. After all, how could I live in a magical world and not be able to decide my own fate? I wondered what was up with the information screen though. I could definitely use a few more hints. This was especially true with the obsidian evolution. For example, could I change myself based on what I ate? If I ate snow, could I gain the benefits of snow? Would I be able to breathe a cone of snow? Would I be able to endure cold temperatures? Would there be any drawbacks or changes because of it? Was that why white dragons who lived in snowy areas could breathe ice? Did they eat snow? Should I accept the obsidian evolutionary path? I was already black, so I wouldn¡¯t change color much if I ate the obsidian. Would my scales change to obsidian? While obsidian was extremely sharp, it was also brittle. With this thought in mind, I decided not to use the obsidian. I was sure that other choices would present themselves. I did have to wonder if gold dragons were gold because they ate gold. Maybe silver dragons ate silver. Is that why dragons have a hoard of gold, silver, gems, and so forth? No, that wasn''t right. Green dragons didn¡¯t hoard poison. Did they eat poison? Did black dragons eat acid? How would a red dragon eat fire? Or what about blue dragons and electricity? I had a lot of questions and the system wasn¡¯t giving me any answers. I suddenly muttered to myself as a thought came to mind. Could I eat energy and convert it into a draconic evolutionary path? Could I gain fire breath that way? Maybe obsidian dragons got sharp scales while fire dragons got fire breath. But then I would have two different types of breath. Could I have two types of dragon breath or would I lose the ether breath? Before too long, the sweet scent that I had gotten used to was gone. The vision mist must have cleared, meaning that the chieftain would return soon. I was actually a little disappointed. I still had not found a chance to try out any of my abilities since I hadn¡¯t been left alone for however long I was experiencing the visions. ¡°Whatever,¡± I muttered, and just accepted it. It wasn¡¯t like I could change it anyway. Taking a few seconds, I looked at my information screen again and smiled, quite pleased with myself. I looked at the skills and proficiencies I had now. It looked like I had a lot of abilities. Actually, I was feeling pretty good about my information screen. It definitely made me look overpowered. I felt like a god compared to my previous life. Raising my hands, I yelled loudly in a squeaky voice while staring at the ceiling, ¡°Bow down before N¨®ttormr, the reborn god of twilight!¡± Just as I was starting to laugh maniacally, I noticed that Dr¨®ttinn had returned and seen my performance. I probably should have expected him to come back as soon as the vision mist cleared but I was too focused on everything else. The chief cleared his throat, clearly trying to figure out what to say as he stared at me like a gnome who had actually told a funny joke. At that same moment, a ding chimed, and a new notification screen appeared. Chapter 11 - Title Upgraded ACHIEVEMENT - TITLE UPGRADED: CHILD OF FOLLY BECOMES CHILD OF AT¨¦. At¨¦ is now certain that you are her descendent. You have gained additional Chaotic Favor. If I wasn¡¯t already in a hole in the ground, I would probably have tried to dig one to hide inside. Then I realized that I actually could dig a hole inside a hole in the ground. After all, wasn¡¯t a cave just a big hole in the ground, and when you dig a hole in a cave you are digging a hole inside another hole. Thinking about this, I forgot about the embarrassment and pretended that the Dr¨®ttinn hadn¡¯t seen or heard anything. I turned toward him and tried to act nonchalantly as the chieftain walked closer to me. Dr¨®ttinn wasn¡¯t going to let things go that easily though. I discovered this when he walked to stand beside me and switched a bag he was holding into his other hand for some reason. Before I knew what happened, the back of my head was throbbing from the smack I received. I didn¡¯t see it coming at all and almost fell onto my face. Instead, I rubbed the back of my head where he had slapped me and gave him a stern warning glare. The chieftain ignored my glare and simply said, ¡°Keep your mouth shut, little brother. The gods don¡¯t appreciate it when you joke around like that.¡± Surprisingly, I managed to keep quiet. Instead, I blamed Dr¨®ttinn for what happened in my mind. Why did he have to come back at that moment? At least the chieftain hadn¡¯t hit me too hard. The pain had already faded away. Still, I pretended that it still hurt. Maybe that would make him hesitate before doing it again. The chieftain looked at me and asked, ¡°So, how do you feel?¡± For some reason, I got the feeling that he was worried something might have gone wrong with the Ritual of Kunnasik. ¡°Did you gain any inspiration,¡± he asked hesitantly, ¡°or receive visions of what path you should take?¡± I hesitated for a moment, unsure how much to say. I was about to answer when Dr¨®ttinn continued, ¡°If so, we can begin your training. If you are lucky, you should be able to complete the background training within a few months. Then you can start learning skills from a class.¡±. I stared at him, blinking. My mind was assaulted by the implications of what the chieftain had just said. I immediately forgave the system. Apparently, what I learned in minutes was what other kobolds would learn over the course of several years. I thought to myself, ¡°How do I tell him this? Should I tell him this?¡± He waited patiently as I thought, perhaps thinking that my mind was still cloudy from the effects of the vision mist. After a few more seconds of waiting, he added, ¡°Don¡¯t worry if you didn¡¯t get any insights. You can always choose what you want and we will help you achieve it. After all, that is what family is for.¡± I felt a surge of warmth and was actually touched by his concern. Finally, I decided to just admit it. Otherwise, I might be stuck learning stuff I already knew for a couple of years. ¡°Actually, I¡¯ve already received quite a bit of information about not only training but about my class as well.¡± The chieftain¡¯s jaw opened, and his eyes glazed over. He seemed about to say something, but then said nothing. A bit of saliva dripped from his mouth unnoticed. I could almost see the gears in his mind turning. One moment he believed me and the next he was doubting my sanity. I could tell there was a war going on inside his head. He even raised his hand as if to motion that he had something to share, but continued to stand there and stare at me instead. I watched in amusement as one eye, then the other, raised as he tried to absorb what I had said. Realizing that we might be standing there a while if I waited for him to say something, I added, ¡°I do still need to practice the skills, however. I feel that I need some time to fully master what I have learned. Is there somewhere away from everyone else that I can practice?¡± He nodded, but continued to just stand there, staring at me. Realizing that it might be a bit much to take in, I took the bag from his hand and looked inside. It appeared to be mushrooms, moss, and some type of cooked meat. At that moment I realized how hungry I was and eagerly started tearing into the food, barely chewing the food as I stuffed it into my mouth. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Of course, I made sure not to think too much about the type of meat I was eating. For all intents and purposes, it was beef. ¡°Yep, definitely not rat or bat,¡± I assured myself mentally. After a few seconds, Dr¨®ttinn visibly shook himself and stammered, ¡°Uh, yes, uh, I¡¯ll, uh, show you a place. I¡­¡± He trailed off, his mind obviously running faster than a gnome toward something shiny. He motioned for me to follow, and started taking me through the corridors once more. As we walked, the chieftain handed me a waterskin that had been hanging on his belt. I hadn¡¯t noticed it since I was concentrating on the food. Realizing that I was extremely thirsty, I gulped down the water as we walked. I smirked when I realized that the chieftain had been so flummoxed by what I had told him that he hadn¡¯t even asked about the actual training and class I had gained insight into. Of course, I wasn¡¯t really ready to share yet anyway. We walked through the labyrinthine network of underground tunnels that sprawled like a tangled web. The tunnels, meticulously crafted by the diminutive and industrious kobolds, were a testament to their expertise in subterranean building. The passages varied in size from cramped corridors to wide galleries. The walls were rough-hewn. Their surfaces were etched with scratch marks left by pickaxes, and occasionally adorned with crude symbols or pictographs that I didn¡¯t have time to closely inspect. Dimly lit by flickering torches or glowing crystals, the tunnels were filled with the scent of earth and minerals, giving them an earthy ambiance. Occasionally, I would hear the faint sounds of scurrying feet or hushed whispers echoing through the passages, serving as a reminder of the bustling kobold community that inhabited this hidden world. At least, I hoped the scurrying sounds were made by kobolds. After all, it wasn¡¯t as if a city of kobolds would allow any creatures that were even remotely dangerous to come near their city. We soon reached a large open-spaced cavern with a flat area in the middle of a cave. I could feel the dampness in the air from an underground creek that flowed through the cave. I was even able to spot spiders, insects, and lizards crawling around on the walls. It almost looked like an underground picnic area. I turned to look at the chieftain to see what he would say about the area. ¡°This is one of the designated safe spots that we use for training. We routinely go through the area and get rid of any of the truly dangerous creatures here,¡± he said, trying to reassure me. ¡°There are a few spiders and bugs that might pose a minimal threat, but none of their poisons are likely to be lethal. Most of them will probably only cause mild to moderate damage.¡± I was about to say something when I realized what he had left unsaid. He said they regularly got rid of the really dangerous creatures. The chieftain didn¡¯t say he got rid of all the dangerous animals, only the ¡°most¡± dangerous animals. Also, while it wasn¡¯t likely I would die from the poison, it was a possibility. Finally, most of the remaining creatures should only hurt me some, although a few might hurt me a lot. Somehow I didn¡¯t feel truly reassured by his words. ¡°Oh, one more thing,¡± the chieftain added. ¡°There is a bridge on the far side of the training cavern. It¡¯s quite trapped, and will pose a lot of danger should you try to cross it. I would avoid going near it if I were you. Hopefully no dangerous creatures should be able to cross it.¡± Blinking, I said nothing. I was too busy thinking about the fact that such a place was considered a safe spot. That truly disturbed me. If this was a safe spot, what would a dangerous spot be like? I mean, really? These small insects, spiders, and bugs could kill me? Just what type of world had I reincarnated into? As for how hazardous the bridge was, killing anything that tried to cross it, maybe it should be renamed Chuck Norris. I thought to myself, ¡°Quite trapped. Judging from all the traps I had already passed, what exactly did quite trapped mean? Just how many traps were on the bridge? I mean, kobolds were addicted to traps like gnomes are addicted to gold. Did that mean I am not a normal kobold? After all, I really didn¡¯t care about traps. Then again, there wasn¡¯t anyone like me in this world. Or was there?¡± I paused as that thought hit me. I had been reincarnated, or transmigrated, or whatever it was called since I wasn¡¯t sure if I had really died before becoming an egg. Perhaps it was both. Could others have been too? If so, would I ever meet them? In fact, how had I crossed over myself? I didn¡¯t remember dying. What happened to me? Chapter 12 - Weeping and Wailing I cocked an eye at him as I popped the last mushroom into my mouth. For some reason, I was starting to get a suspicion that the chieftain just might want to get rid of the outsider wyrmling who had shown uncanny intelligence. After all, the chieftain was taking a newly hatched kobold to a dangerous place and leaving me on my own. Was he feeling threatened by my massive brain? Was he feeling inferior? Smirking, I nodded to myself. That was probably the case. I mean, just look at my intelligence stat. How could someone not be intimidated by such a high attribute score? However, now wasn¡¯t the time to be thinking about such things. Judging from what he had said, the chieftain wasn¡¯t going to be sticking around either. I was actually having second thoughts about staying there myself. Maybe I could just practice by myself in some tiny little cave that could be called my new apartment. I was starting to feel more exposed than when I went out to my car in the middle of the night wearing only my bathrobe and accidentally locked myself out of the house. I ended up having to drive to a family member¡¯s house to get a key. They even had the audacity to ask if I was on drugs. Huffing, I snarled and looked for an outlet for my frustration. There had to be a rock or something I could throw around. Then again, that didn¡¯t work out well for me in my previous life either. I remember getting mad one day as a kid and deciding to throw a brick at one of those nets that baseball pitchers used to practice throwing. Instead of knocking the net over, it bounced the brick back at my head. Unfortunately, I had been too close to react in time before it knocked me out. ¡°Maybe I should just focus on the present,¡± I muttered as I looked around and thought about my situation. As for crossing the bridge, that definitely wasn¡¯t going to happen, at least me crossing it. As for other creatures, Dr¨®ttinn hadn¡¯t said anything about creatures that didn¡¯t need a bridge to cross, like spiders, lizards, and bats. Was the bridge trapped against bats flying over it? I mean, really? How paranoid and trap-happy did the kobolds have to be to trap a bridge against bats? Apparently, kobolds did have a different sense of what was considered safe compared to normal people. After taking a look around as if to make sure no lurking dangers were visible, the chieftain said, ¡°I¡¯ll send someone by later to make sure that you are still alive. That person will take you to a recovery room, or your resting room, depending on your situation. He will also answer any questions that you might have. I¡¯ll stop by to see you tomorrow morning.¡± With that, Dr¨®ttinn turned, but then paused before turning around again, ¡°Welcome to the family,¡± he said before turning back around and leaving me alone, a newly hatched kobold wyrmling who wasn¡¯t even a day old. I was tempted to make a joke about ¡°tough love¡± but I felt it would hit a little too close to home. I waved to his back, not even getting a chance to say, ¡°Thank you,¡± or ¡°What do you mean make sure I am still alive? And why was his first choice the recovery room?¡± I started to mutter to myself, ¡°I knew I should have played it stupid. I had to stand out. Nope, can¡¯t pretend to be like everyone else. Not me. No, I had to open my mouth again and again. Dang, maybe I should have been reincarnated as a centaur. Then I could be the centaur of attention. ¡°Wow, if they are that cavalier about the life of a winged kobold, kobolds without wings must have no value at all. Then again, maybe they are desensitized to loss of lives. From what I remember playing fantasy games online, kobolds were the trash mobs for low-level players. Well, this trash mob is going to become a god!¡± After standing there for a few minutes trying to figure out just how deep of a hole I was in, pun intended, I decided to make the best of it. I wanted to try out my powers, and might as well do it while I had the opportunity. ¡°I guess testing my telepathy is probably not possible here,¡± I muttered to myself, ¡°but I can easily try telekinesis.¡± With that, I looked for decent test material as I finished off the last piece of moss. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°Let¡¯s start with something that doesn¡¯t move, like a pebble.¡± Seeing a small stone, I concentrated on it and made a gesture with my hand as if picking it up. ¡°Hehehehe,¡± I started chuckling gleefully as the stone rose into the air. As soon as I lost concentration after laughing, the rock fell down immediately. ¡°Nice, let¡¯s try something bigger.¡± I looked around for something else to pick up. ¡°Speaking of big things,¡± I said, looking down with a smirk. Then I panicked and felt around. ¡°What the¡­¡± THE FOLLOWING FEW MINUTES OF MONOLOGUE WERE REDACTED DUE TO GRAPHIC AND INAPPROPRIATE CONTENT. THE SYSTEM APOLOGIZES FOR THE INTERRUPTION. After calming down, somewhat, I tried to come to terms with my situation. Nothing was certain, and even if it was, things could change. After all, I was in a magic world and anything was possible. I seemed to have memories about shapeshifters who could alter their appearance and even kobolds who could become dragons. Still, I could deal with whatever came my way. As I said in my previous life, ¡°I¡¯m da man! Or at least I was da man previously. Now I¡¯m a kobold who I sincerely hope has a wee-wee hiding inside me just waiting for the right time to come out. I guess you could say that I have reptile dysfunction. Ouch, that really sucked.¡± Then I broke down and cried that I might never get¡­ THE FOLLOWING FEW MINUTES OF MONOLOGUE WERE ALSO REDACTED DUE TO GRAPHIC AND INAPPROPRIATE CONTENT. THE SYSTEM APOLOGIZES FOR THIS INTERRUPTION AS WELL. ¡°Okay, calm down. Let¡¯s think things through. The pride and joy of alligators and crocodiles are actually located in their bodies and only comes out when they mate. Yeah, maybe that is the case in my situation. Of course, being a newborn, maybe it would be hard to get it to come out. Nope, no more jokes about it being hard and coming out. ¡°Actually, that reminds me of something,¡± I muttered as I tried to access the ancestral memories. ¡°Hmm, so baby kobolds don¡¯t have a gender at first and later assume one as they grow. In fact, if there aren¡¯t enough males or females, such as from the wrath of a genocidal dragon who was feeling hungry, kobolds can change gender. Uh, okay,¡± I said, blinking. Pushing such thoughts aside, I decided to deal with that later when I was a little older. After all, even if I didn¡¯t have a pride and joy at the moment, I would get one later. ¡°Yeah, there. Don¡¯t worry buddy. You and I will be together again soon.¡± I was finally able to concentrate on levitating the rocks again. I started with small pebbles and worked my way up to larger rocks. From what I gathered from ancestral memories, kobolds were small, between two to four feet tall. If that was the case, then I probably was on the shorter end, maybe around two feet tall. That would mean that I was about twenty pounds. Using that as a basis, the weight I could move around telekinetically was about half my weight, which would be about ten pounds. ¡°Nice,¡± I said. ¡°That is about half my body weight.¡± I tried to pick up the rock with just my kobold muscles and was surprised that I had no problem picking it up. As a human, picking up half my body weight would have been a struggle. Hmm, maybe kobolds are strong for their size. Judging by how easily I could pick the rock up, I estimated that I could probably pick up two to three times my body weight. ¡°Dang,¡± I said, impressed. ¡°Good things do come in small packages, despite what my ex-wife said.¡± Then I looked down again at my non-existent package and started crying again. THE FOLLOWING FEW MINUTES OF UNRESTRAINED WEEPING, WAILING, AND WHINING WERE REDACTED DUE TO THE SYSTEM¡¯S PITY FOR THE REINCARNATED KOBOLD, DESPITE HOW MUCH NOTTORMR HAS INSULTED THE SYSTEM. THIS IS BECAUSE OF THE FACT THAT THE SYSTEM IS IN NO WAY STUPID AND IS ACTUALLY UNDERSTANDING ENOUGH NOT TO TAKE THE ¡°SCREW YOU¡± COMMENTS PERSONALLY. BEING A CONSIDERATE SYSTEM WHO GAVE AS MUCH INFORMATION AS WAS NEEDED, THE SYSTEM AGAIN APOLOGIZES FOR THE REPEATED INTERRUPTIONS AS WELL AS THE OMISSION OF CERTAIN EVENTS. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ve tested out the telekinesis. There isn¡¯t anyone here that I can test my telepathy on, and the same goes for mind alteration. Let¡¯s try eldritch bolt next then.¡± I looked around for a designated victim. ¡°Hmm, the lizard will work I suppose,¡± I said after spotting a large lizard crouched on a rock. Taking a pitcher¡¯s stance, I reared back and made a throwing motion while yelling the words that appeared in my mind, ¡°Fj?lkyngi kn?ttr!¡± A ball of magical energy went streaking through the air to hit the lizard, knocking it back several feet. Hearing a ding, I raised an eye at a new pop-up. ACHIEVEMENT - TITLE UNLOCKED: NATURAL BORN KILLER. You are less than a day old and have already hunted down and killed another creature. You have gained additional Evil Favor. What? How is that fair? What about hunters? Are they evil? Where did this evil favor come from anyway? It doesn¡¯t appear to be from a specific god. Does the title actually do anything? Do my other titles have any impact? Can they be turned off and on? Do they have any benefits? Or, worse, do they have any disadvantages? Chapter 13 - Tenebrous Bat Familiar ¡°Interesting. Although, now I wonder why there wasn¡¯t a ¡®Baby¡¯s First Words¡¯ achievement,¡± I said to myself as I picked up the lizard. Without really thinking about it, I popped the lizard into my mouth like it was a snack, not even bothering to chew before swallowing. I immediately stopped and looked at my belly in horror. That was gross. Looking at the other spiders and beetles that had been hit by the bolt of magic along with the lizard, I absently picked them up and plopped them into my mouth as well, swallowing them without chewing. ¡°Dang, I could be on one of those shows where they have to eat disgusting things,¡± I thought, barely believing that I had eaten the bugs. That didn¡¯t stop me though. I probably needed to eat a lot since I was a newborn. As a human, I didn¡¯t even want to be in the same room as a bug. Touching a bug, much less eating one, was like kryptonite for me back then, similar to the ways an honest day¡¯s work was anathema to gnomes. I decided to try another one of my new abilities. Most of the spells seemed quite obvious, so I decided to hold off on those spells. The cantrips Guidance and Vicious Mockery I wasn¡¯t as sure about. After concentrating for a moment, I realized the Guidance cantrip increased my chances of being successful on actions I made. As for the other cantrip, it basically caused mental damage to an enemy. As for the features, I also had to concentrate on them as well. Deathbringer apparently healed me when I killed an enemy, although apparently the bugs didn¡¯t count. Soul Collector allowed me to use their death to gain spell points. As for Sorcery, it made it so that I didn¡¯t ¡°have¡± to use spell components, chant the spell, or use physical gestures when using magic. My thoughts were interrupted when my belly rumbled. It was displeased that I had not eaten anything for at least a few seconds. Frowning, I wondered how fast of a metabolism did kobolds possess. I ate my egg shell, some mushrooms, bugs, and other unnamed stuff, and I was still hungry. How in the world do kobolds feed their babies enough food? After all, they were miners, not farmers. Was I different than other kobold wyrmlings? Not really caring about the answer, I listened to my rumbly tummy and looked for a likely snack. ¡°Hmm, I wonder how you taste,¡± I muttered as I saw a crayfish. I wasn¡¯t sure since I had never eaten one, but I figured they were a lot like a lobster. ¡°So, I just need to avoid the claws and grab one, and then crack open the shell before sucking out the insides. Yeah, that sounds tasty. Raw insides¡­wait, I don¡¯t have to avoid the claws. I can kill it a distance with my eldritch bolt. I probably need to practice the cantrip anyway.¡± Taking a pitcher¡¯s stance once again, I reared back and made a throwing motion while yelling the words that appeared in my mind, ¡°Fj?lkyngi kn?ttr!¡± A ball of magical energy went streaking through the air to hit the crayfish, immediately sending it flying several feet. I blinked. Before, I hadn¡¯t noticed that the cantrip had a knockback effect. That could be useful. Of course, what might have also been useful was having it cook the crayfish like a fireball would instead of throwing it around. Oh well, beggars can¡¯t be choosers, I decided. With that, I went over and picked up the crayfish. I had planned on cracking it open but ended up just popping it into my mouth instead. After swallowing the shell and all, I looked for another crayfish, spider, bug, snake, or salamander. After a while, I had eaten just about everything in the cave. As I popped the last one into my mouth, another ding brought me out of my food frenzy. I hadn¡¯t even stopped when I was full. Instead, I was feeling quite stuffed. ACHIEVEMENT - TITLE UNLOCKED: HARBINGER OF DEATH. You are less than a day old and have already hunted down and killed numerous creatures to satisfy your hunger. You have gained additional Evil Favor. ¡°Oh, come on,¡± I shouted, annoyed once again. ¡°I ate everything I killed. Isn¡¯t that what hunters do? That isn¡¯t evil. How in the world is that bad?¡± I trailed off and decided I might as well be happy I didn¡¯t get stuck with a worse title. At least the ¡°Harbinger of Death¡± title sounded intimidating. In fact, it added a little flair to his information screen. Speaking of the information screen, I still hadn¡¯t tried out the mind alteration talent. I almost put that off until later as well until I had a brilliant idea, ¡°Actually, now that I think of it, I might not be able to use mind alteration on bugs and lizards.¡± Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. I decided to look for a likely candidate to use mind alteration on. I doubted I could do much with the minds of spiders, insects, and lizards. However, my eating spree had cleared out most of the creatures in the cave. Finally, I saw a few more appear from cracks and from dark recesses. Maybe I could use the mind alteration to make them think I am a friend, or better yet, their leader. Charming something to follow me like a pet might be cool. However, what would be the best choice? I took my time and started looking around for what I would charm. I was quite curious to see how long I could keep something charmed and what I could convince it to do. Soon, I noticed a large bat hanging by itself in a dark corner. Actually, it wasn¡¯t that large. It was just large when compared to my newly hatched wrymling size. ¡°And here I thought bats always hung around in groups,¡± smiling at the pun. ¡°Hanging around in groups, and that was a joke that I ¡®winged,¡¯¡± I thought, amused once more. ¡°I wonder what species of bat this could be. Could it be the mysterious acro-bat?¡± I started chuckling at my own jokes. It was too bad one of my choices hadn¡¯t been bard. I decided to quiet down since I didn¡¯t want to scare the bat away. Slowly, I calmed my mind and started to concentrate on the bat. Soon, I sensed some basic emotions from the bat, mostly satisfaction after a very filling meal. Although I didn¡¯t know exactly what to do, I suspected that I needed to form a connection between myself and the bat. Because of this, I placed an image of myself as a good friend into the mind of the bat. I sensed a slight resistance at first, but then it was as if a lock had clicked in place, and I could feel a connection to the bat. YOU HAVE FORMED A MENTAL CONNECTION TO A TENEBROUS BAT. Do you wish to use this connection to form a companion contract with the bat? ¡°Uhh, that was not what I was trying to do. Did I mess up when I tried to charm the bat? Either way, I was pretty sure a familiar was like a helper, and I could definitely use a helper. However, the system says a companion, not a familiar.¡± After thinking about the choice I had been given for a few seconds, I finally decided to create the companion contract. YOU HAVE FORMED A COMPANION CONTRACT WITH THE TENEBROUS BAT. Do you wish to allow the bat to feed on your blood to grant the N¨®ttormr bloodline to your companion? A plethora of information consolidated in my mind. Remembering my own information screen, I had Nox ancestry. When combined with the twilight dragon bloodline, that had to mean that at some point a twilight dragon named Nox had given her blood to a kobold. Since there were no other kobolds like me in the tribe, that meant that either my bloodline was recessive or it came from a visiting dignitary. I had kind of already figured that out, but I hadn¡¯t made the connection that I might be able to use my bloodline to do the same thing. Would the bat get an awakened bloodline as well? Maybe this also might mean that I could impart some of my abilities or traits to the tenebrous bat. Maybe it would get ether breath or maybe it would increase its intelligence. From the ancestral memories, I knew that there were rituals where kobolds could be blessed by the dragons. These kobolds would gain different powers, making them more like the dragons they worshiped. However, since the dragons had to use their own blood, they generally didn¡¯t do it that often. In fact, there was probably a limit to the number of times dragons could give those blessings. If I created a companion bond with this bat, I probably wouldn¡¯t be able to do it too many times, if I could do it again at all. However, considering the creatures available in the caverns, it wasn¡¯t as if I had too many choices. I was also confused about the difference between a companion and a familiar bond. From what I remembered, companions were living animals that had a will of their own, but could act like familiars in some ways. Familiars, on the other hand, were shaped by a magic spell, and even if they were killed, could be resummoned. It was entirely possible that forming this bond might be a once in a lifetime chance, and if it was passed up, would not repeat. I doubted that, but decided the bat would probably be a good choice anyway. After all, bats could navigate in the darkness. They could fly, which since I could fly, although not at the present time, would mean that I would need a flying companion if I didn¡¯t want to carry it around. Thinking about flying, I made a mental note to remember to test out my wings since I was in a large cave. I just had to remember not to do it anywhere near the Chuck Norris bridge. All I had to do was find a big rock to jump off of and see if my wings slowed down my descent so that I didn¡¯t hurt myself on the rocks below. ¡°On second thought, let¡¯s hold off on that until later,¡± suddenly remembering a similar incident in elementary school with an umbrella. That broken tailbone had not been fun. ¡°Now I think about things before I do something that I will regret later. I¡¯m sure that giving the bat my bloodline will turn into something I will regret later on.¡± Chapter 14 - My Familiars Information Sheet Finally, I went ahead and chose to give the bat my bloodline. As if sensing my intention, the bat flew down and landed on my shoulder, knocking me off balance. For the second time today, I fell face down onto the ground. Before I could even think about how I would give the bat my blood, it bit my shoulder and started drinking like a vampire. Although I wasn¡¯t sure if I needed to do so, I concentrated on condensing my bloodline into the blood she was drinking. I was half expecting an announcement about gaining more evil favor by enslaving another creature on the first day I was hatched. Because of this, I wasn¡¯t surprised by a notification appearing. What did surprise me was the contents of the notification. YOU HAVE TAKEN DAMAGE DUE TO BLOOD LOSS AND FALL DAMAGE. Your maximum number of health points has been temporarily reduced. After glancing at my information screen, I noticed that I had only lost two health points, but also that my maximum health point total had been reduced from six to five. I guessed that one of the points of damage was from when I fell on my face and the other was my new pet¡¯s attack. Dang, she was draining my blood almost as fast as my ex-wife¡¯s lawyer drained my bank account. Worried that I might need a heal later, I decided not to try using the Shape Magic feature to cast a healing spell. While I knew I was taking a risk since I was down to almost half my health points, I didn¡¯t really expect anything to happen anyway. I did hope that the blood loss wouldn¡¯t continue though and was ready to use it if my health dropped too low. Luckily, the bat soon finished drinking and started to get drowsy. Fearing that it would fall on top of me and crush my little body, I quickly gave it some space since I didn¡¯t want to be used as a pillow on the cold, hard, uncomfortable stone floor. I raised an eye when I noticed that the skin of the bat was rippling and that it was shivering. If I had to guess, I would assume it was evolving. Absently, I wondered how long it would need to evolve. I waited and watched, curious to see what was happening. I would have felt like a fool if I stood there holding the bat for hours and then found out the evolution would take days. Fortunately, it didn¡¯t take too long. After a few minutes, the bat shook itself awake and jumped into the air before flying in circles around me. ¡°Well, since you are being reborn from my blood, I guess I need to give you a name. Hmm, how about Alsvartr? That sounds like a good name for you.¡± I was curious about what effect my blood would have on it, as well as any information about it. I wished there was a way to look at its information the way I looked at my information. I almost had a heart attack as the system actually helped me out and showed me his information screen. ¡°Nice,¡± I said after reading over the statistics on my new familiar. I was especially interested in the abilities it had. In fact, I was a little annoyed. I felt a little insulted that my familiar could use magic almost as well as I could. I was tempted to send a letter of complaint to the system. Then again, I did have some advantages when comparing myself to my new companion. However, I didn¡¯t feel quite as godlike after seeing the bat¡¯s information screen. Although Alsvartr seemed to know a limited number of spells, it still seemed quite powerful. I wouldn¡¯t want to run into it in a dark alley or cave. ¡°My goodness, with such a creature here, I do wonder if the chieftain is trying to get rid of any possible future competition,¡± I said, although I didn¡¯t really believe it. He probably really thought the area as mostly safe. The only reason the bat could get in was most likely because of its ability, shadow form. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Speaking of powers, the sonic blast was probably from echolocation. The shadow control and shadow form probably came from being a tenebrous bat. After all, tenebrous did mean darkness. Alsvartr was surprisingly powerful, especially since it seemed to be a baby bat. ¡°This is weird,¡± I said to myself. ¡°I had flight listed as one of my gifts. However, the bat doesn¡¯t have that listed as a gift. However, I can see that he can fly. Why would flight be listed as a gift for me but not for the bat? Is it because my flight is an unnatural draconic gift? Maybe it is because my wings will not be big enough, or strong enough, to actually allow me to fly? I guess it doesn¡¯t matter too much though,¡± I said as I decided to think more about it later. It was younger than I expected. For a baby, it seemed quite large. I wondered how large it would get. Alsvartr just stared at me as if it had no idea what I was talking about. Then again, it probably didn¡¯t. I had Common and Draconic listed as languages, which it also possessed. I really doubted my familiar had them before, so it was probably gained when it became my companion. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right. That¡¯s why high kobolds are such a superior race. We rule!¡± I nodded to myself at this thought, feeling quite pleased. ¡°I taught him two languages. I¡¯m an amazing teacher. Hey, wait a second. Is it a guy?¡± I motioned for the bat to land near me. Fortunately, I remembered before I tried to get him to land on my arm like a falconer. Unfortunately, its intelligence was going to be a problem. Alsvartr instead flew away to hang upside down on an outcropping rock. Sighing, I sent a telepathic command telling it to land near me. This time Alsvartr actually listened. After looking closely between its legs, I realized that it was a she. ¡°Okay, that¡¯s good to know,¡± I told her. I was tempted to try changing her name, but I was pretty sure the system wouldn¡¯t allow me to do that. ¡°Oh well, I guess it isn¡¯t that important anyway.¡± Telepathically, I sent her my thoughts, ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you. My name is N¨®ttormr. I hope that you don¡¯t mind, but I will call you Alsvartr. Is that okay with you?¡± She responded with ¡°Yes?¡± Her thoughts seemed confused, but she definitely seemed to want to make me happy. Remembering the trapped bridge, I was curious how she entered this area. Was it really as easy as flying into the cave? I decided to ask, and sent her a telepathic message again, ¡°How did you get into this cave?¡± She responded with an image of her flying as if that answered everything. Wondering if it really was that simple, I asked about the traps, ¡°What about the traps? How did you avoid them?¡± After all, if she could make it into the cave, other creatures might be able to get past the traps too. She took a moment before responding, as if she didn¡¯t quite understand, and again showed me an image of her flying. ¡°Okay,¡± I muttered to myself. ¡°We are definitely having a failure to communicate.¡± I decided to try again and sent another telepathic question, ¡°How did you avoid getting hurt by the traps on the bridge?¡± Alsvartr responded with an image of her flying in the dark. I felt like beating my head against a wall for a moment. Then I had a moment of inspiration. Maybe she did fly through the traps but was in some type of darkened shadowy form. After all, wasn¡¯t one of her gifts called shadow form? ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll accept that as an answer,¡± I muttered to myself. For some reason, I wasn¡¯t exactly eager to try to ask her too many questions. It felt like I was trying to talk about algebra to a kindergartener. I sincerely hoped that she would get smarter as she grew older. I moved my arm up, curious to know if she would be wise enough to guess what I wanted. I smiled when she took off and flew around in circles a few times before finding a place to perch on the cave ceiling once more. ¡°Excellent,¡± I said to myself, pleased that although she might not be smart, she was able to sense what I wanted without me having to tell her. ¡°Now then, although I am not tired physically, I do feel a little fatigued mentally.¡± I decided to glance at my information screen and noticed that my mental energy had dropped from two to zero. ¡°Curious, I wonder why the mental alteration cost two points instead of one.¡± ¡°Speaking of tiredness, it looks like my new familiar is still a little sleepy despite her earlier activity,¡± I said as I noticed her going back to the spot where I first saw her. I was fairly certain that she was asleep the moment she started hanging upside down again. I was tempted to use telepathy to check and see if I could read her dreams. Finally, after two or three whole seconds, I gave in to the impulse and checked to see if I could sense anything from her dreams. Chapter 15 - Sacrificial Offering An image of Alsvartr hanging from the ceiling chomping on a large juicy bug appeared in my head. As soon as she finished the first bug, another bug would appear in her claw, which she quickly started chewing on as well. This scene repeated again and again for a minute before I grew bored. Despite the boringness of the dream, I had actually learned several important details. One of those was that I could see into the dreams of others using the telepathic gift. Another was that the time within her dream had not been faster than the time I experienced in the waking world. This meant that there was no time compression in her dreams. Sometimes when I would hit the snooze button, I would go back to my dreams. It would seem like a long dream occurred before I woke up a few minutes later. However, it looks like there is no time dilation effect. Maybe it is sort of like listening to your wife nagging you. It seems to go on and on forever, but actually only lasts your lifetime. ¡°Interesting,¡± I muttered to myself. ¡°Now then, what else was there? Oh yes, the Detect Magic ritual.¡± I figured that although I did have magic points, the points were only needed when I cast a spell, not a cantrip. However, the only spell I had to use spell points on was the Sleep spell. From my ancestral memories, I knew that I could cast the spells as rituals and it would not cost anything except the time to cast the spell. Although I was quite concerned about getting too close to the bridge, I edged closer to it so that I would be able to detect the magic, if there was any, that might be protecting the bridge against intruders. The steps to the ritual flowed into my mind as I reached a spot near the bridge. Sitting down, I looked at the bridge and began to regulate my breathing, almost as if I was meditating. I calmed my mind and thought about the spell. I slowly collected and directed the magical energy into the Detect Magic spell I had shaped in my mind. While I knew that I wouldn¡¯t normally need to use magical words or gestures, when casting detect magic as a ritual, I needed to speak them. In fact, I had to repeat the words again and again. I clearly spoke the magic incantation while I made the appropriate gestures with my hands again and again. I felt like Doctor Strange casting his first spell. I continued to repeat the words and gestures for ten minutes before I noticed a faint aura appear around the bridge. Staring at it a moment, I realized that there was some type of protective spell that conjured something if the spell trap was activated. ¡°Curious,¡± I said as I continued concentrating on the aura, trying to figure out more about it. From what I could guess, if someone crossed the bridge, something would happen. I was sorely tempted to throw a rock to see if that would activate the spell trap. I really wanted to know what would be conjured. Would it be some type of dangerous substance, such as acid? Would it be something more benign? Perhaps an entanglement or web spell? Maybe it would be an alarm that would sound if someone crossed the bridge. Whatever it was, I didn¡¯t want to risk it. Just as I was about to let my concentration lapse, I noticed something small half-buried in the dirt, radiating a weak aura in the dirt next to the bridge. What was strange was that I actually couldn¡¯t see it. All I could see was the aura. For a few seconds, my curiosity to figure out what the item was went to war with my apprehension of the bridge. It wasn¡¯t fear; it was just a healthy sense of respect. Finally, my need to know won the tug-of-war. Slowly, I eased forward and squatted down next to the item. Brushing away the dirt, I picked it up. ¡°Weird,¡± I muttered as I realized I had picked up an invisible ring. ¡°Nice, maybe I can turn invisible while wearing this ring.¡± Deciding to give it a try, I slipped the ring on my finger. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Nothing happened. Frowning, I asked the ring, ¡°Do I have to say a magic word? Do I have to drop blood on you to claim you?¡± Not getting a response, I tried to see if I could access any memories about magic items. Finally, a vague memory of that you had to attune to some magic items before you could use them emerged from the depths of my memories. Wondering if the Guidance cantrip would help, I said the words that came to mind without thinking, ¡°Fylgja v¨ªsa.¡± Magic surged within me, abruptly disturbing my concentration. However, I quickly realized that wasn¡¯t how the cantrip was supposed to be used. Realizing it was useless for this situation, I moved on to other ideas. I then sat down and started concentrating on attuning the invisible ring. I wasn¡¯t sure how long it would take, but I was willing to wait as long as I needed to attune the ring. I continued concentrating solely on the ring, wanting to make it mine so that I could sneak into places. After all, I had gained proficiency in stealth. After an hour of concentrating on the ring, nothing had changed, and I was annoyed. I had just wasted a lot of time. ¡°Come on now! Aren¡¯t transmigrators and reincarnators supposed to get the ability to identify everything? Why didn¡¯t I get that spell as well? Stupid ring. ¡°Wait a second. I do have that ritual. Maybe I can use that on the ring.¡± I was about to start the ritual when I realized that I would need some components to cast the spell. ¡°Of course I don¡¯t have what I need to cast the ritual. Unless¡­¡± I trailed off, muttering in disgust. I could cast Identify as a spell using spell points. With Sorcery, I wouldn¡¯t need the components. However, I was worried about wasting the spell points. I was tempted to throw the ring away, but changed my mind. Instead, I threw the ring into the back of my throat and swallowed before I thought too much about it. I used to overthink, or not think about, things in my last life. I might as well stay true to myself. If I could use obsidian as an evolutionary material, maybe I could also use magic items in the same way. EVOLUTIONARY MATERIALS INGESTED: INVISIBLE RING. Do you wish to assimilate the invisible ring to evolve your draconic bloodline or extract the magical energy? ¡°Fudge you! Oh my goodness. Really? Would it kill you to provide a little more information? I mean, come on. This raises so many questions. Does it evolve it completely? And if so, should I wait until I get a better magic item? Do I even really want to evolve? Twilight dragons sound kind of cool. Would I gain the bloodline of an invisible dragon? Would I gain the bloodline of a magic dragon? Would I need to change my name to Puff the Magic Dragon?¡± As for extracting the magical energy, I was pretty sure the magic extracted would not amount to much. All the ring apparently did was be invisible. It didn¡¯t even turn the wearer invisible. That might be why it was on the ground. Someone probably got sick of it and threw it away. Either that, or they simply dropped it and were unable to find it. I really wanted to increase my pitiful strength, or even get more health, but I also wanted to see what an evolved draconic bloodline would involve. Maybe I could then use the ether breath or even fly. I was annoyed that the system wasn¡¯t giving me additional information. I didn¡¯t even know if the system had a name? For example, is it the High Kobold System, the Draconic Transformation System, the Keep N¨®ttormr in the Dark System? Could I upgrade the system to get more information? Do I need to sacrifice something for answers? A ding sounded, and my eyes rolled back in my head like I was possessed by demons. ¡°Are you kidding me? I can¡¯t¡­¡± I trailed off as I looked at the pop-up window. SACRIFICIAL OFFERING DETECTED: INVISIBLE RING. Do you wish to sacrifice the invisible ring to increase the amount of information provided? I immediately clicked on the ¡°Yes¡± button. I might want both the reinforced physical attributes and the evolved draconic bloodline, but I was already exhausted trying to figure out all the new things being thrown at me. I needed more information, and sooner rather than later. After all, knowledge was power. Hearing a ding, I quickly looked at the information screen to see what new knowledge I had acquired by sacrificing the invisible ring. Chapter 16 -Testing My Abilities ¡°Nice,¡± I murmured to myself. ¡°I have already gained experience. I even know what the titles mean. Freaking awesome. I wonder how much information I would get if I made a lot of offerings. I might just have to try that out. Too bad I didn¡¯t know this before I made all the big decisions already though. Oh well, live and learn.¡± I was really pleased with what I was reading. In fact, it appeared that I was halfway to level two. It was a little strange that I gained so much experience. I tried killing another bug to see if my experience went up. Since it didn¡¯t, I could only guess that I received experience for the titles and maybe for gaining a familiar. ¡°Wait a second,¡± I muttered as soon as I noticed the Find Familiar spell had disappeared. Was it because I had a familiar now? Would I get it back if Alsvartr died or would it be gone forever? From what I remembered, familiars could be resummoned. However, with my familiar, it might be a once in a lifetime situation. So, no expendable scout. Luckily, I hadn¡¯t planned on using her in that manner anyway. Looking at my information did remind me that I hadn¡¯t tried out one of my cantrips. Judging by its name, Prestidigitation would enable me to do minor magical tricks. Unfortunately, I had no idea where to start. I probably needed to visualize what I wanted to accomplish. Hopefully, it would be like a magician making a card appear in his hand. ¡°Hey, Alsvartr,¡± I said, turning to my new familiar, ¡°What did the mime say when I showed him a magic trick?¡± I paused for a moment while she woke up just long enough to stare at me as if asking, ¡°What is wrong with you?¡± before ignoring me and going back to sleep. Seeing that she wasn¡¯t going to respond, I finished, ¡°She didn¡¯t say anything. She was speechless. Not sure what to create, I decided to create a tarot card. With a plan in place, I decided to give it a try. I imagined myself pulling in magical energy from around me and forming it into a tarot card. A card suddenly appeared in my hand. With a satisfied smirk, I looked down at it. After a moment, I frowned, since I realized I had left out a crucial element in creating the tarot card. Despite forgetting that I had not imagined which of the 78 cards in a tarot deck I wanted to create, it had worked. I was holding a tarot card. What annoyed me was the card that I was holding. ¡°Really? I didn¡¯t specify, so I got this card?¡± For some reason, I suspected the system was playing a joke on me. ¡°You better not be trying to tell me something,¡± I muttered threateningly as I looked at the Fool card. Actually, although I didn¡¯t want to admit it, the Fool card was appropriate. The Fool represented new beginnings, opportunities, and adventures, among other things. Since I was at the beginning of a new life with many adventures ahead of me, it fit the circumstances. As soon as I stopped concentrating, the card faded away into nothingness. I paused when I felt an emptiness in my stomach. Apparently, my stomach was a bottomless pit that could never be filled. Perhaps the only thing that could compare would be a gnome¡¯s avarice for gold. Pushing aside such an annoying thought, I concentrated on appeasing my hunger. There was no possible way every kobold wyrmling ate as much as myself. I considered the reasons why I needed more food as I looked around for something else to eat. After all, I didn¡¯t know when someone would be sent to get me. It was at that moment that I heard a soft voice call my name. I turned to see a red-scaled kobold standing behind me. ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Fylgja. Dr¨®ttinn asked to escort you to your room. Please follow me,¡± she said with a gentle smile, gesturing for me to join her. ¡°That¡¯s enough practice for today.¡± The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. I hesitated for a moment. For some reason, it sounded like she wasn¡¯t going to accept no as an answer. However, she also was trying to be polite. Realizing I was hungry and didn¡¯t really want to argue, I agreed, ¡°Okay. Thank you for coming to get me.¡± Fylgja waited patiently with a kind, almost motherly gaze. When I reached her, she gestured toward the entrance to the tunnels. ¡°You¡¯ve had a busy day today,¡± she said as we walked. ¡°It¡¯s important to practice, but it¡¯s also important to rest and take care of yourself.¡± She was about to say something more when my stomach rumbled, which echoed loudly in the empty tunnel. I ignored the sound and followed Fylgja through the tunnels. I was impressed. I had been navigationally challenged in my last life. However, there was no hesitation in Fylgja¡¯s steps. I wouldn¡¯t have been able to find my way to my room even if I had a map. By the time we reached my room, my legs were starting to ache. I was glad that I would have my own room. Most kobolds preferred to live in communal sleeping areas. However, I couldn¡¯t imagine sleeping in a dogpile of kobold bodies. My wife had forced me to share my bed with our dogs when I was alive. I had no intention of doing something similar in this life. It didn¡¯t take too long before we arrived at my room. Fylgja stepped to one side while I entered. ¡°I¡¯ll leave you to settle in,¡± she said. ¡°There¡¯s food on the table. Eat and rest. I¡¯ll be just outside if you need anything.¡± After saying that, Fylgja gave me one last reassuring smile before leaving. Showing remarkable self-control, I looked around the room instead of immediately attacking the food. It was lit by the glow of a firestone sitting on the floor in one corner of the room. Despite being a small room, it obviously wasn¡¯t meant for kobolds. It was a room for visitors, human-sized visitors. The bed was huge, and the chair and table were also clearly meant for normal sized humanoids. After seeing the large bookshelf, I wasn¡¯t sure what I wanted more. However, despite my love for books, the delicious smell of the food was irresistible. My stomach growled and demanded that I feed it before examining the bookshelves. I gave the books on the shelves one lingering look and then clambered up the chair before climbing onto the table. A bowl of soup and a plate of meat were waiting for me there. I could almost feel them beckoning to me. White mushrooms and some type of moss were on the plate with meat. A fragrant smell came from the steaming soup and meat. I didn¡¯t even think about what was in the soup or what animal the meat came from. I just gobbled it down since I was starving. I finished off the food, but it barely appeased my bottomless stomach. Although I was tempted to read some of the books, I decided that I could always do that later. What I was more interested in doing was discovering more about the world I had reincarnated into. However, I was also tired. Because of this, I decided to take a nap. I climbed up onto the bed and laid down, asleep the moment my head hit the pillow. It seemed like only moments passed before I woke up to more delicious smells. Smiling, I jumped off the bed. Oddly, it didn¡¯t seem as big as I remembered before falling asleep. However, with new food ready to be eaten, I didn¡¯t care. I quickly finished off the newly arrived food, ignoring my twinge of nervousness that I hadn¡¯t noticed when someone had brought the food into the room. After I finished eating, I decided to start exploring the world immediately. Once I stepped through the doorway, I noticed a new kobold standing just outside. Her dark red scales were almost blood colored. She turned to face me as I entered. She looked slightly older than Fylgja, but not by a lot. ¡°Ah, there you are,¡± she said with a gentle smile. ¡°I was wondering when you¡¯d wake up. My name is Forsj¨¢, and I¡¯ll also be looking after you while you get settled. The Chieftain assigned me to be your caregiver since you¡¯re still young and new to our ways.¡± I resisted the impulse to frown. Forsj¨¢¡¯s name was very similar to Fylgja¡¯s name, which made me worry about mixing up their names. ¡°Thanks for the food.¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome. I knew you¡¯d be hungry. If you need anything, please don¡¯t hesitate to tell me. It¡¯s my job to make sure that you¡¯re taken care of. Would you like me to show you around?¡± ¡°No. I¡¯ll be fine,¡± I said. ¡°Thanks for the offer though.¡± Forsj¨¢ glanced at me, as if weighing whether to say something or not. Finally, she shrugged wordlessly and entered the room. Then she hopped onto the table and started collecting the plates. While she did this, I left the room and chose a direction randomly before heading down the tunnel. At first, I was a little surprised she was letting me explore on my own. However, after thinking about it, I realized that Dr¨®ttinn had left me on my own as well. Obviously, helicopter parenting wasn¡¯t a thing in kobold society. Chapter 17 - Kobold Culture Worrying about others made me realize that I had forgotten about my familiar. That bothered me. I really should have checked on her the moment I woke up. Feeling a little guilty, I tried to sense her. A moment later, I realized that she was fine. In fact, she was busy snacking on different bugs near where we had met. Her hunting down food gave me some inspiration. I wondered if I could get my familiar to slay a few weak creatures and gain some experience. Pleased with this thought, I sent her a mental command to seek out and kill a few weak monsters to see if I could receive any experience from the creatures she killed. Smiling, I looked forward to the free experience that might be coming my way soon. While I was walking, I finally realized that I had forgotten about something else as well. I had been given two chances to start on an evolutionary path. Once was when I ate the obsidian. The second time was when I ate the invisible ring. Both times I ended up rejecting the evolutionary paths. However, maybe it was time to consider taking one. I did need to think about what the best evolutionary path would be though. Because of this, I wasn¡¯t in a hurry to decide anything. I would rather make sure I thoroughly remembered everything. While I was thinking, I also created a map in my mind as I wandered around. In fact, I was somewhat surprised by my ability to remember where I had been. In my previous life, I had gotten lost a lot. Perhaps not getting lost in a maze of caves was a kobold trait. One of the first things I noticed was that my room was on the outskirts of the city. The outer tunnels were actually much larger in size than I would have expected. It was almost as if they were made for human-sized visitors. As I approached the inner areas of the city, the tunnels became smaller in diameter. Adult kobolds would be able to pass through the tunnels easily. In fact, they were still wide enough for two kobolds to pass by each other. However, the height of the tunnels started growing smaller. Normal humanoid races would have to hunch over. In addition to that, there were some strategic choke points which would require most humanoid races to crawl. Even dwarves would have to crouch when going through those points. There were also a few spots where there were rope bridges that could only support the weight of one or two kobolds at a time. However, unlike the outer areas, the center areas were much less heavily trapped. I guessed it because a lot of kobolds passed through the tunnels frequently and they didn¡¯t want to risk unnecessary injuries. As I was thinking about this, I heard a waterfall in the distance. Since I didn¡¯t have anything better to do, I decided to check it out. Soon, I found a beautiful sight. In fact, I wasn¡¯t the only one who seemed to enjoy the sight. Numerous kobolds, both old and young, were relaxing in the water near the waterfall. Some of the younger kobolds were even having water splash fights. I paused, completely amazed at what I was seeing. Kobolds were being playful. They were having fun. I really hadn¡¯t expected to see the sight in front of me. In my imagination, I had expected kobolds to be slaving away in the mines in order to gather precious minerals to offer to their harsh draconic master. Then, after a long grueling day of labor, they would drag themselves back home to collapse. They would eat anything and everything, sentient or not. Every night before bedtime, the kobolds would tell horror stories about cruel adventurers who regularly invaded their city to slaughter them. I really hadn¡¯t explored the ancestral memories to find out more about kobold culture. Wondering what I might have missed, I watched the kobolds and connected what they were doing to the memories that surfaced. One of these was the fact that kobolds love taking baths. Then I realized why. At the furthest edge of the pool, I noticed something that almost sent me running back through the tunnels the way I had come. Even though I had darkvision, that didn¡¯t mean I could see as far as I could in sunlight. There was an apparent limit on the distance I could see. However, dim light from the bioluminescent fungi lining the walls gave the entire place an ethereal glow, casting long shadows that danced with every movement. It was these glowing fungi that allowed me to see what was happening on the far edges of the large pool. I wasn¡¯t even sure it could be considered a pool. It was more like an underground lake. The bathing pool, a huge natural hot spring, was filled with my fellow kobolds. Steam rose from the water¡¯s surface, curling in lazy spirals toward the ceiling. The kobolds were playing in the water, splashing each other, their laughter ringing through the air. It was a scene of pure joy, a moment of reprieve from the harsh realities of our world. However, what made me pause was the fact that the back part of the pool was definitely not PG rated. It wasn¡¯t even R rated. As I watched from the entrance, I noticed that not all the kobolds were simply enjoying the water. Some were pressed close together, their movements more intimate, their tails intertwining beneath the surface. Others were more playful, splashing water on their companions before pulling them into a warm embrace. Those who hadn''t found a partner yet were either cheerfully shouting encouragement to those who had or scanning the pool with hopeful eyes, looking for someone to ¡°wash their back.¡± The steamy atmosphere seemed oddly appropriate. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. My small claws clicked against the stone floor as I backed out of the room. Although I would have enjoyed a hot bath, I couldn¡¯t bring myself to stay. However, I did have trouble trying to push the thoughts of what I had seen out of my mind as I continued exploring the rest of the tunnels. While I was exploring, I tried to dredge up any more ancestral memories that might help me navigate the underground city. The more I read from the memories, the more I realized kobolds embodied the principle of work hard and play hard. In fact, they played a little too much sometimes, especially in the bedroom. As for the eggs that resulted in all the playing, the eggs were part of the community and had nothing to do with the actual parents. They were like a communal swinger society. That wasn¡¯t to say they didn¡¯t have marriages. Kobolds did get married. They just weren¡¯t faithful to each other. I wasn¡¯t sure how they were able to make it work, but they did. In fact, divorce was almost unheard of in kobold society. After walking for a while, I smelled something rank. Immediately, I realized I was near one of the animal pens. More than likely, it would be the dire weasels. Despite myself, I moved closer, feeling a need to at least look at the creatures. I was curious to see another animal that didn¡¯t exist in my world. Normal weasels were cousins to skunks. Like skunks, they could shoot out a thick, oily, yellowish fluid that reeked. Weasels were known as bloodthirsty mass murderers who needed to eat half their body weight every day. A small weasel could even take down animals that were ten times bigger than themselves by attacking the back of the creature''s neck and severing the animal¡¯s spinal cord. I couldn¡¯t imagine what a dire weasel would be like. As much as I was amazed that the kobolds were able to find enough food to feed everyone, I had to wonder how they had enough food to feed the dire weasels as well. Considering they were much larger, that would mean that each weasel would need a massive amount of meat to survive. Where did all that food come from? Unfortunately, the memory bubbled up from the depths of my mind, making me regret ever asking that question. I almost wanted to gag at the thought of what I had eaten earlier. While there were mosses, ferns, mushrooms, algae, and lichens that grew in the caves, there were other sources of food as well. For example, there were some worms and beetles that loved bat guano. These were supposedly very delicious when cooked in a soup. Resisting the impulse to gag, I tried to concentrate on something else, the dire weasels for example. The dire weasels were even bigger than I thought they would be. That also stank more. What was equally surprising was their handler, who looked like a cross between a weasel and a kobold. Blinking, I realized that he must be one of those rare individuals like winged kobolds who was the child of a wereweasel. Lycanthropy wasn¡¯t unknown in the kobold tribe. In fact, these individuals were actually respected since they could easily handle the dire weasels. These dire weasels were like the calvary of the kobold tribe. The smell was unbearable. Unwilling to stay anywhere near the smell, I left immediately. While I wanted to go wash off the scent, I was also unwilling to return to the bathing pool. I hoped that the smell would fade away. I would hate to have the stench linger with me. Speaking of scents, I was releasing a few scents of my own. Whatever I had eaten had given me gas. Abruptly, I stopped when I realized with just how much I had eaten, I actually hadn¡¯t needed to go to the bathroom until now. In fact, my belly was swollen, almost as if I was pregnant. Not wanting to relieve myself right there in the middle of a tunnel, I searched my ancestral memories for an answer. Where was the bathroom? I was newly hatched and obviously an extremely young wyrmling. Because of this, those few kobolds who passed by gave me strange looks. I was a definite anomaly. A wyrmling my age was never left alone without a caretaker. Also, I was a black kobold with wings. Needless to say, each kobold glazed at me curiously whenever they saw me before making the flapping motions. At first, I thought they were congratulating me for having wings. Either that, or they wanted me to flap my wings. Since I wasn¡¯t sure, I flapped my wings for each kobold who made the ¡°wings gesture.¡± Ancestral memories soon surfaced which explained the movement. It even had a name, vengr bifask. Basically, it was the way kobolds said both hello and goodbye. It was basically the kobold version of aloha but incorporating wing flaps to symbolize their connection to dragons. Finally, after starting to feel a lot of pressure, I caved in and stopped a passing kobold. Seeing a kobold coming my way, I decided to ask her for directions. Summoning my courage, I stepped forward. ¡°Excuse me,¡± I said, trying to keep my voice steady. ¡°I, uh... I¡¯m lost, and I¡¯m having a bit of trouble finding the bathroom. Could you help me?¡± The kobold nodded, even though she obviously found my situation strange. ¡°Of course! You¡¯re not far away.¡± She pointed a claw toward a nearby passage. ¡°Just head that way and take the second right. You¡¯ll pass by the storage rooms. After that, you¡¯ll find the pits. Do you need me to show you the way?¡± ¡°No thanks,¡± I said. ¡°I really appreciate the help.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mention it,¡± she said with a light chuckle. ¡°If you need any more help, just ask. It¡¯s better than getting lost, right?¡± She then made the ¡°wings gesture¡± before leaving. Chapter 18 - Exploring the City I stared at her departing back, wishing I had asked her name. However, it was already too late. With the kind kobold¡¯s directions fresh in my mind, I then set off down the passage she indicated. The rough stone underfoot was cool and slightly damp, a reminder that these tunnels ran deep beneath the earth. As I walked, I passed the storage rooms just as she¡¯d said. The pungent smell of dried meat and mushrooms filled the air, confirming I was on the right path. My stomach growled at the scent, which made me wonder again at my metabolism. I¡¯d have to find out how mealtimes worked too, but that could wait until later. I turned at the second right, the tunnel branching off into a darker, narrower passage. The air grew heavier, carrying a faint but unmistakable odor. I must have been getting close. The tunnel widened slightly, and soon I spotted a series of small alcoves carved into the stone walls, each one just large enough to accommodate a kobold. These were the bathroom pits, simple but functional, offering some privacy despite the cramped conditions. I hesitated for a moment, unsure of the etiquette here. In my previous life, things had been so different. But I pushed the thought aside, realizing that this was part of adapting to my new reality. The important thing was that I had found what I was looking for, and without any major mishaps. I slipped into one of the alcoves, grateful for the solitude, and let out a quiet sigh of relief. I was faintly surprised that there were toilet pits in the central area, but after thinking about it, I realized it made sense. After all, there was a lot more traffic and people living in the center areas. Having completed my business, I decided to start exploring again. However, I didn¡¯t see mines or mushroom farms in the central area. I also didn¡¯t see the animal and bug farms. I was even somewhat surprised to see that there were not any kilns, forges, or crafting stations in the center area. The center area mostly seemed to be full of newborn sleeping areas, adult communal sleeping areas, communal cafeterias, and specialized rooms. The specialized rooms were mostly for the kobold sorcerers, a dragon shrine, a throne room, and a merchant area. I was starting to wish I had asked the maid to escort me around. She could have explained some of the rooms to me as I passed. Instead, I had to dig through my ancestral memories for the answers. The merchant area actually intrigued me. I didn¡¯t expect to find it in the center of the city. After all, the tunnels were often too small to transport many things a merchant might want to sell. Also, how would they carry all their items at the same time? I quickly found out that there were three merchant areas. One was near the surface. One was in the bottom layer of the city near Chuck Norris Bridge. The last one was actually only used by kobolds. Foreign merchants weren¡¯t allowed there. Kobolds in the city sold trinkets, jewelry, and small items that other kobolds might want to buy or trade for. For example, one of the kobolds might have ¡°found¡± something while scavenging near one of the human cities. Or they might want to sell their old shovel once they bought a new one. Mostly, however, jewels were the most commonly traded items. My room was actually the furthest away from the surface and was actually not that far away from the lower merchant area. I suppose this was because the kobolds weren¡¯t as worried about invaders from deep underground as they were worried about invaders from the surface. I was a little confused by the fact that the tunnels there were wider and higher. However, I didn¡¯t really want to bother thinking about the reason. I was sure they wouldn¡¯t go through all the extra work unless there was a real reason for doing so. Also, I was getting tired. Because of this, I started to retrace my steps back through the winding tunnels. I felt more at ease now that I had a better sense of the layout of the city. It was like a gigantic multi-level maze. Despite my newfound confidence, I soon got lost. I sighed, quite disappointed in myself. At the next intersection, I started looking around. However, although I hated to admit it, I had no idea where I was. It was at this moment that a female kobold approached me. It was almost as if she had been waiting for me to need her. ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Tyja, one of your caregivers,¡± she said as she approached me. She had that same peaceful aura that my other two caregivers possessed. Unfortunately, she also looked very similar to the younger maid I had met, Fylgja. Now I was worried about confusing them as well. I hadn¡¯t seemed to have discovered the knack of noticing the details to tell similar looking kobolds apart. Tyja didn¡¯t seem to notice my momentary lapse into silence. She asked, ¡°Do you want me to take you back to your room?¡± ¡°Yes, please,¡± I said. ¡°Can you tell me about how I can make sure that I don¡¯t get lost again?¡± I hated admitting that I was lost, but they seemed to understand. Tyja smiled and started leading me through the tunnels. While we were walking, she pointed out different tunnels and directed my attention to various markings on the walls at each intersection. ¡°See those? Those are markings that indicate which rooms are not in those locations,¡± she said as she pointed at scratch marks. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. At first, I was confused, but then I realized the markings were false. They were meant to mislead invaders who might know the draconic language. They would see the ¡°treasure¡± markings and would rush in that direction. More than likely, it would instead be a room filled with traps. Still slightly confused, I asked, ¡°If that is where the rooms aren¡¯t, how do I know where they actually are?¡± ¡°Most wyrmlings stay with various attendants all day, every day. Their caretakers take them to morning contemplation where they contemplate their inner dragon and then take them back to the nursery. Most wyrmlings are able to memorize the path over time. However, for those few wyrmlings with short memories, we do have a few markings that hint at where the tunnels lead.¡± ¡°For example,¡± she said, pointing to faint, almost imperceptible markings on the floor near a tunnel junction, ¡°you can see here that the path on the left has the draconic word for ¡®hatchery¡¯ while the one on the right has the draconic word meaning ¡®forge.¡¯¡± The kobold city was unlike anything I had ever seen before. That included the computer games I used to play. Everywhere I looked, there was something new to learn, something fascinating to take in. It felt like I was inside a brand-new solo roleplaying game. ¡°Of course, we do have another method. A few members of our family have eyesight problems, which makes reading a little difficult. Because of this, we regularly bring special scents to mark the tunnels. Go ahead,¡± she said, motioning for me to take a whiff. Tentatively, I moved closer to the intersection and smelled each tunnel. Surprisingly, there was a difference. The tunnel leading to the hatchery smelled like some type of cooked meat. The tunnel leading to the forge smelled like spicy peppers and gave my nose a slight burning sensation. As for the direction we had come from, that tunnel smelled like pine trees. Tyja moved confidently through the labyrinthine tunnels of the underground kobold city, explaining the smells associated with the different locations. For example, the treasure room smelled had a metallic smell. The mushroom farms smelled like mushrooms, which was no surprise. The tunnels leading to the mines smelled like freshly turned earth. The tunnels leading to the weasels had a musky smell. Had I known, I could have found the wormfood areas where I could go to the bathroom by also following the smells. Just thinking about this made me realize there was a tunnel beneath where I had gone to the bathroom earlier. Carrier crawlers, worms, and other creepy-crawly creatures would wait eagerly in the tunnel below. As we ventured deeper into the city, the tunnels widened and intersected, revealing a complex network of interconnected passages. The air was thick with the scent of earth and the distant echoes of bustling kobold activity. Tyja deftly navigated the maze, relying on a combination of scent, instinct, and the subtle markings on the tunnel floors that only a trained kobold eye could decipher. The walls themselves were adorned with bioluminescent fungi, casting a soft glow that illuminated our path. The occasional drip of water echoed through the tunnels. Everywhere, there was evidence of the intricate traps set up by the kobolds to deter intruders. Tyja, however, skillfully avoided these pitfalls, having memorized their locations and trigger mechanisms. As we walked, we passed by chambers carved into the rock walls. In each tunnel, I noticed that artisans had crafted intricate sculptures and etched murals depicting scenes from the kobold tribe¡¯s history, usually emphasizing a great red dragon. I was tempted to study them, but I didn¡¯t really have enough time at that moment. We passed many small gatherings of kobolds who worked on various tasks. Some were carrying back precious gems and metals and others carried trapmaking and mining supplies. Tyja greeted them with a nod and a ¡°wings gesture¡± as we passed fellow tribesmen. At one point, Tyja offered to show me to the communal bathing pond so that I could wash up. However, after remembering what happened in the water, I politely declined. I definitely wasn¡¯t old enough, or curious enough, to see dozens of adult kobolds ¡°playing¡± in the pools. I soon discovered that Tyja was a bit less reserved than Kiva, although equally kind. She was also perceptive since she noticed that I was tired, and gently asked, ¡°Would you like me to carry you?¡± ¡°No thanks,¡± I said. After spending hours exploring the city, my legs ached with exhaustion. Despite that fact, I still wasn¡¯t willing to be carried back to my room like a little child. Instead, I followed her through the tunnels until they started to feel more familiar. It didn¡¯t take us too long to arrive back to my room. The moment she opened my door, the smell of food wafted through the air. The smell of roasted meat and herbs encouraged me not to think too much about the origin of the food. Tyja must have arranged for a meal to be ready when we returned. Tyja stopped just outside the door, giving me a gentle pat on the back. ¡°Here we are,¡± she said with a small smile. ¡°There¡¯s food waiting for you inside. Eat, and then get some rest. You deserve it.¡± I stepped inside and looked around. The room was as I¡¯d left it, but the table now held three steaming plates of food. Apparently, my insatiable stomach had inspired them to give me extra food. ¡°Thank you, Tyja,¡± I said to her with a smile. She nodded and smiled. ¡°I¡¯ll check on you later.¡± With that, she quietly closed the door. I climbed up onto the chair and then onto the table. There, I sat and began eating. I ate slowly, trying not to think about what I was eating. As long as I didn¡¯t think about it, I could enjoy whatever it was that I was eating. Once I finished, I set the plate aside and climbed down from the table before climbing onto the bed. I made a mental note to ask for smaller furniture when I woke up. However, at that moment, I didn¡¯t care. Warm food filled my belly. As I was falling asleep, a new thought occurred to me. If I was in one of the important guest quarters, that meant I was probably sleeping near the green kobold¡¯s ambassador. That made me wonder. If the ambassador was nearby, why had I not seen any guards? Were they that adept at stealth? Had I completely missed their presence? Did I need to worry about protecting myself? However, just as those thoughts drifted through my tired mind, I fell asleep. Chapter 19 - Reading a Kobolds Mind Yawning, I stretched out on the large bed. Unsurprisingly, I still loved sleeping, even after reincarnating. However, the stiffness and aches that had plagued my old body were a thing of the past. However, the peaceful feeling was short-lived as the memory of my last thoughts before falling asleep resurfaced. It brought with it a gnawing sense of unease. I had only seen the green kobold ambassador one time, but for some reason, he weighed heavily upon my mind. I suppose I could consider him my first mortal enemy. I was pretty sure that the chieftain suspected the ambassador¡¯s motives. However, I knew the green kobold wanted me dead after receiving a notification from the system. How the system knew, I had no idea. It made me suspect a god was involved. I sat up in bed, a chill ran down my spine. Even though a god was apparently on my side, I didn¡¯t like the feeling of being observed. If the system answered more of my questions, I might have been less worried. However, the system didn¡¯t even acknowledge my questions about who gave me the system or why that individual had given it to me. Speaking of questions, I decided it was time to get some answers for myself. The ambassador wasn¡¯t a diplomat here to foster peace between tribes. If he was, he wouldn¡¯t have seen me as a threat. What worried me was the feeling that he was planning something, something that could bring harm to our kobold tribe. That thought festered in my mind. I just couldn¡¯t shake the feeling of impending danger. I knew I had to do something to find out what the ambassador was planning before it was too late. My heart raced as an idea formed. However, it did make my stomach twist with both fear. I could use my telepathic powers to read his mind, or at least, the mind of someone close to him. My worry was that they might somehow find out what I was doing. I had never used it on another person before. Because of this, I decided to try reading the minds of one of my maids, I mean my caregivers. First though, I had to honor the hard work of my caregivers by enjoying a quick meal. After that, I quietly waited in my room for one of my caretakers to arrive and take away the empty plates. Soon enough, Forsj¨¢ entered, her red scales catching the light from the firestone in the corner. She brought in some snacks which she set down on the table with her usual gentle smile. ¡°Good morning. I brought you some snacks for later,¡± she said as she climbed on top of the chair. She placed some berries and honeyed roots next to the other plates which she then picked up. ¡°I thought you might enjoy something sweet today. Don¡¯t tell anyone though.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± I said. My heart pounded in my chest. This was the first time I was given food that didn¡¯t make me question their origins. She nodded and made to leave, but I quickly spoke up. ¡°Could you stay for a moment? I... I wanted to ask you something.¡± Forsj¨¢ turned back to me. ¡°Of course. What would you like to ask?¡± ¡°Can you tell me more about the ambassador from the Groenneitr tribe?¡± I needed to ask her about something so that she wouldn¡¯t leave. While she was answering, I focused on her, letting my mind reach out toward hers. I tried to be gentle, not wanting to intrude too harshly. The first thing I became aware of was a feeling of affection. It was the kind of care one might feel for a younger sibling or a hatchling. Then I caught a flicker of something more specific. I began to sense the thoughts that floated near the surface of her mind. Forsj¨¢ paused, as if to gather her thoughts. However, I could hear what she was thinking as she looked at me, ¡°She¡¯s such a strange little one, isn¡¯t she? So different from the others. It¡¯s not just her color and her wings. Even her intelligence is different from other wyrmlings. In fact, she doesn¡¯t even look like a newly hatched wyrmling any longer. It won¡¯t be too long before I can introduce her to¡­ ¡± I had started to snack on the root, quite pleased with the delicacies. However, I started choking on them the moment I heard her refer to me as a girl. She asked, ¡°Are you okay?¡± She was clearly worried. I nodded. ¡°I¡¯m fine. I just didn¡¯t expect it to be so delicious.¡± ¡°Oh, the poor thing. I can tell she didn¡¯t mean that. She must be trying to be nice. It looks like she can¡¯t handle sweet treats. I¡¯ll make sure no one brings her anything like these again. Now, why is she asking about the ambassador though? The person I want to introduce her to is F¨¢l¨¢tr. She might still be too young, but she is growing fast. Just look at that belly. It is already starting to grow. While F¨¢l¨¢tr might be as bright as a burnt out firestone, but he sure knows how to fill a belly in the bathing pools.¡± Out loud, she asked, ¡°Why do you want to know about the ambassador?¡± This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. I had just taken a bite of a berry which I choked again. My eyes watered a little. ¡°Something about him just doesn¡¯t feel right. I don¡¯t trust him. I¡¯m pretty sure that he¡¯s up to no good.¡± ¡°Ah, how terrible. She really can¡¯t handle anything sweet. From now on, I will bring the most bland and tasteless foods that I can find.¡± What she actually said was, ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about such things. The grown-ups can deal with the ambassador.¡± I just knew something terrible would happen if I tried to read another person¡¯s mind. I quickly brainstormed a way to salvage my sweet treats. Suddenly, I didn¡¯t care at all about the ambassador. ¡°Can you bring more of this next time?¡± I held one of the roots and started to take a bite out of it to show how much I loved its taste. ¡°She¡¯s so sweet. Hopefully, when she gets older, she¡¯ll be more attractive. Still, just having wings will allow her to find plenty of kobolds who will gladly wash her back.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± she said, genuinely finding it tragic that someone so sweet couldn¡¯t eat sweet foods. ¡°I¡¯ll have to see what I can do.¡± I had to close my eyes for a moment and take a deep breath before asking, ¡°Can one of our shamans or sorcerers read the ambassador¡¯s mind to find out what he is up to?¡± ¡°Unfortunately not,¡± Forsj¨¢ said, shaking her head. ¡°It¡¯s common practice for the senior members of trading and ambassadorial parties to use magic items or spells to prevent such a thing from happening. A spell called Shield Thoughts is a low level that almost any spellcaster can use. Whenever it detects magic trying to pry into the spellcaster¡¯s thoughts, it will automatically block any thoughts from getting through.¡± Seeing that I was raptly listening, and obviously cared about what she was teaching me, she continued, ¡°Of course, if we had a mind mage here, that would be different. Since mind mages use their mental energy to cast spells instead of spell points, they don¡¯t activate most magic defenses.¡± I frowned. Was eldritch mind a type of mind mage? A surge of anticipation coursed through me. Not only had I successfully used my telepathic powers to read a mind, but I would also be able to bypass any defenses the ambassador might have as well. Seeing I was distracted and was perhaps thinking of my next question, Forsj¨¢ waited in silence. However, her thoughts continued. ¡°Of course, there aren¡¯t many mind mages left, which is why no one really worries about them. Speaking of worries, Dr¨®ttinn must have been overreacting. She doesn¡¯t seem ¡®touched in the mind¡¯ at all. Well, not too much anyway.¡± After hearing her thoughts, I was rendered speechless. Obviously, the chieftain was concerned about my claiming to be the god of twilight. I was tempted to find him and read his mind, but then I had second thoughts. The more I listened to Forsj¨¢''s thoughts, the more embarrassing it became. Just as I was about to stop reading her mind, another of her thoughts reached me. ¡°I have to admit. He was right about how smart she is. She is already smarter than almost every kobold in the city. I guess that is a good thing since she wasn¡¯t blessed with good looks. Maybe I should encourage her to exercise more. I thought walking around the city would be enough to prevent her from becoming chubbier, but she is bigger today than she was yesterday.¡± I quickly withdrew, breaking the telepathic connection. My heart raced, and I struggled to keep my expression neutral, not wanting to betray what I had just done. Forsj¨¢ seemed unaware, her soft smile still in place as she waited for me to speak. ¡°I... I just wanted to thank you for everything,¡± I stammered, trying to cover my nervousness. ¡°You¡¯ve been very kind to me.¡± Forsj¨¢¡¯s smile widened, and she reached out to gently pat my arm. ¡°You¡¯re very welcome, little one. I¡¯m here to help you in any way I can. Don¡¯t hesitate to ask if you ever need anything. We can even go for a walk later. It looks like you could use the¡­fresh air.¡± I nodded, the heat in my face not entirely fading as I watched her start leaving the room. As soon as she reached the door, I let out a long breath I hadn¡¯t realized I was holding. It wasn¡¯t enough though. Since I was already near a wall, I walked up close to it. When I heard the door close, I started gently thumping my head against the wall. Testing my powers had been a success, but it had also shown me an unexpected danger. Apparently, I really didn¡¯t want to know what people around me were thinking. I hadn¡¯t expected to feel so exposed myself, and the experience left me with a lingering sense of guilt. I had invaded the thoughts of someone who genuinely cared for me. Unfortunately, at that moment, Forsj¨¢ opened the door. ¡°I forgot¡­,¡± she started to say something else when she saw what I was doing. ¡°Uh, nevermind,¡± she said before quickly closing the door again. At that moment, I was really glad that I couldn¡¯t read her thoughts. I heroically resisted the impulse to continue banging my head. Instead, I sighed and sat down before holding my head. Reading Forsj¨¢¡¯s mind had caused just as many issues as it resolved. I certainly hoped that I wouldn¡¯t be in the same boat when I tried to read the ambassador¡¯s mind later. After all, what could happen? Chapter 20 - Shadows of Conspiracy I knew I couldn¡¯t confront the ambassador or his men directly. At least I couldn¡¯t without drawing suspicion. Instead, I needed to watch and wait. I cracked open my door just enough that I could see anyone passing by. My intention was to wait until one of the ambassador¡¯s servants walked down the hallway. While I waited, I paced around my room. Any time I heard a sound in the hallway, I peeked through the opening to see if it was the ambassador or one of his men. Finally, just as I was about to explode with pent up energy, I heard a sound in the hallway. My heart pounded in my chest. When I peeked outside, I noticed that one of the ambassador¡¯s servants had left the ambassador¡¯s room. I held my breath and silently waited until he went past my room. His scales were a duller shade of green than the ambassador¡¯s. He had a sour expression on his face. This expression twisted into a scowl as he muttered under his breath. He definitely seemed upset. I knew this because his claws were tapping against the stone floor in irritation as he made his way down the corridor. Usually, kobolds only made those types of noises if they were in a hurry or if they were agitated in some way. After that, I opened my door and stealthily slipped out of my room. Once I stepped into the corridor outside, my heart raced with a mix of fear and anticipation. However, I forced myself to stay calm. This was too important to let nerves get the better of me. I had to be careful. I tried to blend into the shadows as best as I could as I trailed after the green kobold. My dark scales and small size actually helped me for once. I even kept my wings tucked close to my body. I couldn¡¯t afford to let the ambassador¡¯s servant slip away without reading his mind. I followed him, keeping a safe distance, my eyes locked on his back. The green kobold didn¡¯t seem to notice me. He was too lost in his own thoughts and didn¡¯t pay attention to his surroundings. He muttered to himself as he walked. I could hear the frustration in his voice. I edged closer, careful to remain silent as I focused my mind and tried reaching out to touch his thoughts. It was easier this time. The green kobold¡¯s mind was a whirlwind of emotions. I sensed anger, fear, and a frustration that seemed to be eating away at him. ¡°This is madness,¡± the green kobold thought. ¡°The ambassador is a fool if he thinks this will end well. And for what? To satisfy Groenneitr¡¯s greed? We¡¯re risking everything, endangering every kobold in the city, all for a dragon who would kill us just as easily as reward us.¡± I could feel the conflicting emotions racing through his mind. He was clearly torn and didn¡¯t like any of his options. He resented the ambassador. He also resented the plan that had been forced upon them. However, he also felt that it was his duty to follow orders. ¡°Groenneitr ordered this, but does he even care what happens to us? Spreading those rumors and tricking adventurers and mercenaries into attacking the red kobolds, it¡¯s reckless. They¡¯ll scatter the Einvaldskonungr tribe, and then what? Yes, we¡¯ll be able to raid their treasury, but we¡¯ll have to give everything to Groenneitr.¡± My blood ran cold as the full scope of the green dragon¡¯s plan came into focus. They had been spreading rumors. These lies were designed to provoke attacks on the red kobold tribe. The idea was sinister in its simplicity. Groenneitr wanted to weaken the tribe by turning outsiders against it. Then he would send the green kobold tribe to swoop in to pick up the pieces. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°The red dragon won¡¯t care though. Even if he doesn¡¯t attack us immediately, he definitely will at some point. I doubt Groenneitr will care. He might even try to shift the blame to us. We¡¯ll make an enemy out of another kobold tribe as well as anger a red dragon. But we have no choice. If we don¡¯t do as he says, we¡¯re dead anyway. Groenneitr doesn¡¯t tolerate failure.¡± A shiver ran through me as I processed what I was hearing. Groenneitr, the green dragon that the green kobolds served, was the true mastermind behind the plot. The ambassador and his men were merely pawns in a much larger game. Unfortunately, that put the entire red kobold tribe in grave danger. The green kobolds had spread lies about the red kobolds¡¯ wealth, drawing adventurers and mercenaries to attack, all in the hopes of weakening the tribe. What surprised me was that the green kobold that I was following didn¡¯t have any animosity toward the red kobold tribe. He was just caught between loyalty to his own tribe and his conscience. ¡°But why does it have to be this way?¡± The kobold¡¯s thoughts continued, tinged with a hopeless resignation. ¡°Why do we have to betray our own kind? I hate this. I hate what we¡¯ve become. But there¡¯s no way to stop this. Groenneitr would kill us all if we tried. ¡°At least the red dragon doesn¡¯t care about anything but offerings. He basically leaves his kobolds alone. I get the feeling our master doesn¡¯t even care about the red tribe¡¯s treasure. Invading is probably just the first step in one of his plans. I bet this is just part of a plan to get rid of the red dragon. ¡°As for the adventurers and the mercenaries that are one their way, I hope the red tribe makes the humans pay. I can¡¯t believe the Dragon Slayers managed to enter the tunnels before the mercenaries. While they are experienced adventures, they are as arrogant as their name suggests.¡± After reading his thoughts, I was actually starting to feel sorry for the green kobold. However, I couldn¡¯t afford to dwell on that. The more important realization was the imminent threat facing the red kobolds. Apparently, there were at least two different groups of humans on their way to the kobold city. The kobold ahead of me suddenly stopped, his claws tightening into fists as if trying to physically hold back his frustration. I quickly ducked behind a nearby corner, holding my breath. My heart pounded in my chest, but he didn¡¯t turn around. After a moment, he let out a huff and continued walking, his pace quicker now, as if he was eager to be away from this place. I waited until he was out of sight before exhaling, the tension in my body slowly easing. I had learned what I needed to know. Actually, I learned more than I had expected. However, the problem was how I was going to spread this knowledge. I had no way of knowing when the humans would arrive. It could already be happening, or it might not happen for days or weeks. I turned and hurried back to my room, my mind racing with the implications of what I had uncovered. I needed to find a way to warn the red kobold tribe, to prepare them for the danger that was closing in. But who would believe me? And even if they did, would it be enough to stop what was coming? Questions swirled in my mind as I entered my chamber. The plate of snacks that had been left earlier still sat on the table, but my appetite had vanished for the first time since I hatched. Despite this, I forced myself to take a few bites, knowing I would need my strength. I closed the door behind me and realized that this was only the beginning. The shadows of conspiracy were thickening, and I was standing right in the middle of it. I would have to move carefully, think quickly, and most of all, be ready for whatever the green kobolds, and Groenneitr, had in store. The survival of my new home depended on it. Chapter 21 - Ambushing Adventurers After gathering all the food and drink that I could carry, I made my way toward Chuck Norris Bridge. I was worried since I didn¡¯t know when the adventurers would arrive. I needed someone that I could trust, namely, Alsvartr. I could count on her to watch out for invaders without creating false alarms. If adventurers were going to come through the tunnels, they would have to cross the bridge. Because of this, I sent a mental command to my familiar to join me. Unfortunately, she was quite far away. I also had Alsvartr search for any signs of the adventurers who might have already made their way toward the city. My senses were on high alert, attuned to every sound and every movement around me. As I waited, I reached out with my mind, trying to sense Alsvartr¡¯s presence. She was still far off, but I could feel her drawing closer. Suddenly, a sound reached my ears. It was faint, but distinct. I froze. I tried to pinpoint the source. It wasn¡¯t the usual drip of water or the rustle of small creatures. The sound was something different, and obviously didn¡¯t belong. I strained my ears as my heart began to race. I crouched lower, pressing myself against a cool stone column. My black scales blended into the shadows, making me nearly invisible in the dim light. I couldn¡¯t afford to be seen, not yet. I needed to get more information before I made my next move. I wasn¡¯t sure whether I could fight them off or if I needed to run for my life while screaming for help. It was at that moment that I realized how smart I was to have chosen stealth as one of my skills. I also realized how stupid I was since I was about to confront seasoned adventurers. Despite this, I knew I had to do it. While I doubted it would help, I went ahead and cast the Guidance cantrip. I concentrated on my attempt at hiding in the shadows. I might have been wasting my time, but it was certainly worth trying. I knew whoever was approaching wasn¡¯t coming to make friends with the kobolds. ¡°At least I can count on Chuck Norris Bridge,¡± I thought. The deathtrap named a bridge was suddenly very comforting to me. I was sure there had to be an alarm spell that had been cast on the bridge that would warn the kobolds if someone tried to cross it. ¡°Please let it be something I can handle,¡± I thought as I remained hiding. Of course, the moment I had that thought, I saw numerous large shadows moving. Although I couldn¡¯t tell what race they were due to their distance away, I could tell they were much bigger than me. At the same time, I could sense Alsvartr drawing near, her presence growing stronger in my mind. She was close now, almost at the cave¡¯s entrance. I sent her a mental command to approach cautiously but to stay hidden until I knew more. A moment later, a shadow moved at the far end of the cave, near the entrance. I held my breath, watching intently as the figures began to emerge from the tunnel. I pressed myself even further into the shadows, my mind racing. If they found me, I would be at a severe disadvantage. I had some magic at my disposal, but I wasn¡¯t ready to take on a group of adventurers. My best chance was to remain hidden, to wait for Alsvartr to arrive and help me assess the situation. As if in answer to my thoughts, I felt a sudden rush of warmth in my mind, a familiar presence that filled me with confidence. Alsvartr had arrived. She was near, lurking in the shadows of the cave. She was invisible in the darkness. Even I couldn¡¯t see her in the darkness. A few seconds later, they moved closer and I realized it was a group of human adventurers. ¡°Oh fudge,¡± I thought. ¡°I¡¯ve played enough games to know that when adventurers show up, kobolds die. Come on. I¡¯m only a few days old and I might lose my life here. What did I do to deserve this?¡± Frowning, I cocked my head to the side and listened to see if they were going to say anything. Faint sounds of the approaching enemy became clearer. I could almost make out their form when they stopped just before reaching the bridge. Sighing, I resisted the impulse to shake my head as I hunkered down in the shadows hiding like a gnome from a debtor. I wasn¡¯t cowering in fear. Nope. I was strategically preparing for a time-honored tradition of surprise attack. Of course, I wasn¡¯t sure exactly how I would do that. Using Alsvartr¡¯s Sleep spell was certainly a possibility. I could then sneak in and kill them one by one without waking anyone up. If one of them did wake up, I could always run and hide. If that didn¡¯t work, I could always use Shape Magic to heal myself. At this thought, a new window popped up. SHAPE MAGIC. Do you wish to meditate for ten minutes to learn the Cure Wounds spell? I almost got up and yelled in outrage. Earlier, the system didn¡¯t mention any wait time when it asked about using Shape Magic to heal myself. That would have been a good thing to know earlier. I couldn¡¯t believe the stupid system hadn¡¯t told me before that I needed to meditate before being able to cast a spell. As for all my other spells, they weren¡¯t that helpful. My only means of attacking, other than my weak claws, teeth, and tail, were two cantrips and a sleep spell. One of the cantrips I hadn¡¯t even tried to use yet. Now I really had to count on Alsvartr. Our sleep spells were probably going to be my only chance of surviving. And from what I remembered, there were a lot of races, such as elves, that weren¡¯t affected by the spell. It would be really bad if every member of the adventuring party was an elf. ¡°Dang,¡± I thought, annoyed that even with darkvision, I couldn¡¯t see the invaders enough except to know they were humanoids, and not kobolds, at least judging by their size. Not sure what else to do, I watched as one of the figures moved slightly closer to the bridge. ¡°Finally, some luck,¡± I thought as I was able to make out that the humanoid figure that had stepped forward was a human. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. In fact, the young human was dressed in a well-worn black robe and was holding a staff. After a moment, he set the staff down and reached into a bag at his waist. A moment later, a small leather-bound book was withdrawn. That was when I realized what he was going to do. The man had to be a magic user and was going to cast a ritual. More than likely, it would probably be the Detect Magic spell. Realizing I could meditate while the magic user was casting the ritual, I stayed in hiding and started to meditate. While I wasn¡¯t sure what the best spell to choose would be, being able to heal myself seemed the best option at the moment. Fortunately, I finished around the same time as the magic user, which was a huge relief. Peeking at what was happening, I watched as the magic user motioned for one of the others to join him. He then proceeded to point out different parts of the bridge, as if saying what type of spell trap might be located on each part of the bridge. Considering I had done this myself, I doubted it was very helpful. The magic user probably wanted to show off how smart he was decided to pontificate. The other person was a grizzled older man with a short thin build wearing leather armor. With a short sword at his side and daggers strapped to his wrists, the man was obviously a rogue, and a veteran rogue at that. While I was tempted to use telepathy and ask them why they were here, deep down, I already knew the answer. They obviously weren¡¯t here for peaceful reasons. Otherwise, they would not have been sneaking around in the dark. They weren¡¯t even using torches. Either they had magic items that allowed them to see in the dark, or the magic user had cast a spell that enabled them to see. That actually worried me. From what I remembered from ancestral memories, Darkvision was a second level spell. That meant the caster had to be at least third level. Even if there were several magic users in the party, being able to provide Darkvision to all five individuals indicated they used all their magic on being able to see in the dark, which was highly unlikely, or the party level was much higher than third level. Although the magic user did appear young, probably in his thirties, that was definitely enough time to become powerful. Also, since there were only five of them, either they were a scouting party, or they were confident that they could deal with an army of kobolds. Neither option was particularly good for me. After a few minutes, the rogue took out a grappling hook from a backpack, covered the metal with a cloth bag, and started twirling the hook before tossing it toward my location. I almost peed myself thinking they had discovered me until I realized the adventurers didn¡¯t want to risk the bridge and were going to cross the chasm by using a rope. While they could have climbed down the chasm and then climb back up, that would have taken a long time. The rogue tugged the grappling hook until the prongs dug into the rock tightly. After giving it a few more tugs, he started tying off the other end of the rope to a column. Using the chance, I touched the rope to see how tightly it was wedged in and how durable the rope was. Unfortunately, with my weak strength, dislodging it would be difficult. As for cutting it, I suppose I could try my claws or my teeth, but they might take a while. Slowly, so as not to alert the rogue, I slowly started chewing on the rope, which actually proved to be quite unpleasant as well as painful. In fact, it was quite awkward. It looked like I was kissing a rock. Considering my pitiful strength, I wasn¡¯t doing much damage to the rope at first. Suddenly, the rope jerked as the rogue climbed onto it, his body hanging as she started to quickly shimmy across the gorge. Panicked, I bit more deeply, ignoring my bleeding gums or the scratches on my face. Finally, when the rogue was halfway across, I was able to bite through a strand, causing the rope to untwine and come apart under the weight of the rogue. I almost popped my head up when I heard a scream as the rogue plummeted into the darkness. A few seconds later, his screaming abruptly stopped. Unable to resist, I peeked over the edge of the rock to see what was happening. All five of the rogue''s companions had rushed to the edge of the gorge. They stared intently at the fallen rogue. Each of them had even given up on all pretense of stealth as they yelled, asking if he was okay. Realizing I had a wonderful opportunity, I decided to risk using my telekinetic gift to push them over the edge. They were already leaning over the edge looking down. It would be extremely easy to just tip them over. However, I was a little worried how I could hit them all at the same time. I figured I could hit two of them before they noticed. I might even be able to get an extra second or two by having Alsvartr do a flyby and cast the Sleep spell on anyone I missed. Nodding to myself, I relayed my plans to my familiar and telekinetically pulled the two who weren¡¯t wearing heavy armor toward me. Alsvartr targeted the magic user since I was worried, he might have a spell to save himself. That left a heavily armored older woman who was holding a shining holy symbol. The man with a bow and a young woman wearing leather armor didn¡¯t have a chance. Their balance was already off, and a simple telekinetic tug pulled them over the edge. Their screams lasted a few seconds before they too abruptly stopped. Alsvartr did her job. She hit the spellcaster in the back of the head, stunning him and knocking him over the edge. That left the woman, whose reaction was quite impressive. She spun around, but almost immediately fell as Alsvartr hit her with the Sleep spell she had already prepared. The woman lay there, sound asleep while I had Alsvartr roll her off the edge as well. Looking through her eyes, I commanded Alsvartr to fly down to check on their condition. Each of the fallen adventurers had fallen unconscious. One even died as I watched. As soon as he died, I felt a wave of healing warmth wash over me. It had to be from the Death Bringer class feature. I muttered, ¡°What an evil class,¡± I thought with a shudder, wondering what further levels in the class would give me. I sent a mental command for Alsvartr to finish them off with the Sonic Blast cantrip. Sure enough, after the second adventurer died, I regained the last health point I was missing. When a new pop-up appeared, I ordered Alsvartr to start going through the loot left over by the adventuring party. I was pretty sure something good would be in their backpacks. While I waited for Alsvartr to bring everything up, I satisfied my curiosity and looked at the new notifications. ACHIEVEMENT - TITLE UNLOCKED: SHADOW OF DEATH. You are less than a day old and have already ambushed sentient creatures whose intentions were unknown. You have gained additional Evil Favor. YOU HAVE COLLECTED FIVE SOUL FRAGMENTS. However, because of your low proficiency level, three of these soul fragments will not be able to be retained. Since you are currently at full health, the Cure Wounds spell cannot be cast using these soul fragments. THE SOUL FRAGMENTS ARE LOST. Curious about any experience I might have gained as well, I decided to pull up my information screen and see if it had changed. I was surprised to see that I had gained over a thousand experience. I was now sitting at 1276/300 experience. Something bothered me though. Chapter 22 - Leveling Up I had taken out an adventuring party. Considering the danger involved, I had expected to gain more experience points. After a moment of thinking about it though, I realized where the rest of the experience had gone. More than likely, the experience went to Alsvartr. After checking her information sheet, I discovered that I was correct. Still, half is better than nothing, and her getting stronger is also me getting stronger. I almost missed the fact that I had more health points than possible. After a moment, I realized they must be left over from the extra heals. Since I was healed by the first two deaths, the next three deaths each gave me one temporary health point. I did wonder how long they would last. YOU HAVE ENOUGH EXPERIENCE TO ADVANCE TO LEVEL TWO. Do you wish to advance to the second level of Eldritch Mind or advance to the first level in a new class? My first impulse was to go ahead and advance. Immediately after that, I had second thoughts. While there was definitely a lot of flexibility with the eldritch mind class, there were also some limitations. I was curious about my other options. There was no need to rule out another class without at least looking. More than likely, it would be the same options as before, and I had been very tempted to take the arcanist class. Maybe it was time to change. Having these thoughts, I looked at the class options. Choose one of the following classes: ¡°Oh wow. There are a lot of changes,¡± I thought, looking at the choices. Then, after a few seconds, I realized some of the classes were simply evil versions of the previous classes. The ranger had become a monster hunter. The sorcerer had become a draconic sorcerer, which although not evil, was interesting since that wasn¡¯t a choice previously. What had changed? Was it because I was being given more information now? If I had chosen sorcerer before, would I have automatically been a draconic sorcerer? One interesting thing I noticed was that paladin had been replaced by blackguard. Also, fighter had been replaced by skirmisher. As for arcanist, it looked like banshee had replaced that class. However, most of the other classes were the same. What was different was my circumstances. Apparently, even a day-old hatchling wasn¡¯t safe in this world. Because of this, I needed to ensure that I survived. With this in mind, I looked at the choices again. While pure spellcasters were often the most powerful, they were sometimes squishy to sneak attacks. I needed something that was powerful and had the ability to survive. I also didn¡¯t want to be tied down into something that would limit me. Considering that line of thought, ritualist definitely sounded like it needed to go. I could already cast a few rituals, and taking the time to complete the ritual wasn¡¯t guaranteed. I needed to be able to face assassins jumping from the darkness as well as high-powered magical enemies. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. I needed something that improved my defenses while still following the path of magic. While I almost felt like a monster hunter already, I also didn¡¯t want to entrust my life to anyone other than myself. The same could be said of dark clerics. Could I really trust an evil god with my life? Because of this, both of these classes were crossed off in my mind. Judging by how easily I had killed a team of seasoned veterans, a sneaky assassin was dangerous. Of course, they also didn¡¯t have much to rely on, such as magic. I could already tell that magic was essential to survival. Despite my apparent aptitude as a rogue, I wanted more. Because of this, I eliminated the rogue, and the skirmisher. While there might be a few ways I could learn some magic with these classes, I doubted either route would be what I wanted. I also rejected the blackguard. Since they were based on the paladin class, they were fighters. However, they had abandoned heavy armor and the gods on their own path to power, which was evident since they were unholy. That meant that they still retained at least some of their magic powers. Although that was nice, for now, I wanted to concentrate on the magic classes. That pretty much left banshee, draconic sorcerer, eldritch mind, unholy shaman, and wizard. Considering those choices, I wasn¡¯t actually sure which one to select. While I was pondering my choices, Alsvartr returned with the first set of loot. It was actually from the spellcaster. I decided to inspect them while Alsvartr went back for more. The staff was ¡­wooden. I actually had no clue, even with the help of the arcana skill. ¡°Okay, I guess the Identify spell is going to be a lifesaver,¡± I said to myself. Taking the next few minutes, I ignored Alsvartr as she brought up more and more items while I conducted the ritual. While I could probably have used my magic points, I wanted to save it for healing in case any more uninvited guests arrived. When I was done, I realized the staff was magical. In fact, it was a Staff of Sleeping with seven charges. ¡°Nice,¡± I said before realizing the staff was too big for me. Since I couldn¡¯t use it easily, I asked, ¡°Uhh, system, can I use this to evolve my draconic bloodline?¡± Not receiving a response, I tried rephrasing the question. ¡°I want to use this staff to evolve my draconic bloodline.¡± Immediately after I said that, it felt like fire ants started crawling all over my body. Not only were they crawling over my body, it felt like some were crawling around inside my belly, biting me. I immediately curled up in a ball as pain wracked my tiny little body. The pain intensified until I almost blacked out. Slowly, the pain subsided, followed by a new notice. ETHER BREATH UNLOCKED. The Staff of Sleep resonated with your ether breath, unlocking this draconic gift. Right then and there, I started doing a little happy dance. After a few minutes, I realized I might be able to unlock some of my other draconic gifts if there were any other magic items that resonated with my gifts. Remembering the other item my familiar had brought, I dropped the now ordinary non-magical staff and picked up the spellcaster¡¯s book. By this time, Alsvartr had already returned several times. Apparently, my writhing in agony on the floor didn¡¯t bother her in the slightest. Then again, maybe she knew it was for a good cause. Either way, it appeared I would have plenty of items to identify. Opening the book, I discovered it was an honest to goodness spellbook. It contained a variety of wizard spells and rituals. Deciding I might need it later, I set it aside for now. Afterall, wizard was one of the classes I was considering choosing. Quite happy with the loot so far, I grew increasingly disappointed after recasting the Identify spell a few times until I realized I was wasting my time. Instead of casting Identify, I could use Detect Magic to see if any of the items were magical. Then I could use the Identify spell. Feeling like an idiot, I started using that method, which proved to be much faster. Still, I mostly ended up with ordinary items. Nope, the boots were not Boots of Elvenkind. They were just stinking old boots that needed to have the soles fixed. Nope, the dagger wasn¡¯t a magic weapon. It was just an ordinary dagger. However, I didn¡¯t give up and looked at every item, just in case. Luckily, one of the bags Alsvartr brought up was filled with bread and berries. Of course, that didn¡¯t last long against my relentless hunger. Every so often, between casting the spells, one of the backpacks or bags would have more food stuffs. Soon, even the bottomless pit I called a stomach was full. It made me start to believe in miracles. Chapter 23 - Unlocking Abilities Another miracle occurred when I saw my familiar struggling to fly with a bag in her claws. Considering its size, I was surprised she was having so much trouble with it. In fact, just to be safe, I gave her a telekinetic assist by levitating some of its weight as she flew toward me. Once I bent down to pick the bag up, I was even more surprised. The thing weighed more than I did. In fact, it had to weigh more than Alsvartr. I cocked an eye at her, wondering how in the world she managed to get it aloft. It had to be magic. Then again, maybe the experience she gained during the fight was put to good use. Curious, I looked at her information screen. There was no way she would have been able to carry such a heavy bag was my first thought. Eagles could carry around half of their weight, which considering they could weigh up to fifteen pounds, meant they could carry about seven or eight pounds. Of course, eagles could exert themselves and carry something that weighed about as much as themselves. Still, the bag had to be at least twenty or twenty-five pounds. After carefully reading her information screen, I realized she must have used one of her new spells, the Enhance Ability spell. ¡°Dang, looking good,¡± I said to Alsvartr, quite pleased with how she had quickly gotten much more powerful. Of course, my familiar ignored me, and actually sniffed, as if displeased with doing all the work. Of course, that didn¡¯t stop me from noticing that she had been nibbling on the bodies, at least a little. Her mouth had blood on it each time she brought a new item up. Then again, maybe it was just from the fall damage. Wondering why the bag was so heavy, I opened it. Amazingly, it was a fabled Bag of Holding. Inside the bag there were supplies, equipment, items, and even a few weapons. I couldn¡¯t help but smile when I noticed an aura of magic around one of the items. I wasn¡¯t sure what I wanted to do about the bag itself. While it was an amazing item to possess, it actually weighed more than I weighed. Because of this, I was considering the unthinkable. Should I use it to evolve my draconic bloodline again? I dumped everything out of the bag and looked closely at the magic item. It looked like a lantern, but glowed under the Detect Magic spell. Hoping it was something nice, I quickly conducted the Identify ritual. I was a little disappointed with the result since the Spirit Lantern wasn¡¯t very useful. When the candle in the lantern was lit, spirits would be attracted to the light, and you could then ask the spirits a question with a yes or no answer. Since I didn¡¯t have a use for it, and I was curious about extracting magical energy, I said, ¡°I want to extract the magic from this lantern.¡± Almost immediately, the ants were back. Once more, I rolled around on the ground in pain, gritting my teeth. ¡°This better be worth it,¡± I groaned as the pain finally receded. However, after looking at my information screen, I wasn¡¯t sure how to react. Instead of four magic points, my maximum spell point total had increased to five. While this didn¡¯t seem like much, what was important was the fact that I might be able to do this repeatedly. That could add up to a lot over time. It would be expensive though. I probably could have sold the magic lantern for a lot of gold. Of course, that was if I could find someone to buy it. Wondering what else I would find, I glanced at all the loot. There were a pair of magic bracers with what looked like sharp nails decorating it. There was also a magic book and a feather. Looking at the feather, I guessed what it might be, and was extremely pleased that no one had been wearing it earlier. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. I decided to try evolving my draconic bloodline with the magic bracers and the feather. The bracers would probably resonate with the quills and the feather would probably resonate with the wings. Bracing myself, I said to the system, ¡°Use the bracers and feather to unlock my draconic bloodline.¡± A few minutes of screaming and crying later, I made a mental note to never try to unlock two draconic gifts at the same time again. The pain wasn¡¯t doubled but tripled. ¡±Yep, one at a time is the way to go. Then again, it¡¯s not like I have any locked draconic gifts remaining.¡° When the expected notification popped up, I threw back my head and started laughing like a maniac. The system was the best! FLIGHT UNLOCKED. The Feather of Falling resonated with Flight, unlocking this draconic gift. ETHER QUILLS UNLOCKED. The Bracers of Darts resonated with ether quills, unlocking this draconic gift. Curious, I wondered if unlocking the bloodline gifts had caused any physical changes. Taking a moment, I tried to look at my tail and wings to see if anything had happened. While my tail still had a wide base that tapered down to a point, there were three major changes. The first change was that the spikey-type row of ridges that went down the tail had grown into true spikes that looked thin and sharp. The second change was the long spike at the end of my tail. It was also longer and sharper. Now I could impale someone with it. The last change was that the layer of stiff down on it had grown into feathers, almost obscuring the tail in some areas. I was definitely starting to look more like a real dinosaur with feathers instead of an alligator. My wings had also changed. The vestigial were noticeably larger and the down that had previously covered them had changed into feathers as well. However, they didn¡¯t look soft. I gingerly touched them and was surprised to find them quite stiff. In fact, not only were they tough, but they were also sharp. I actually had to be careful I didn¡¯t cut myself with them. Flexing my wings, I slowly started to flap them back and forth like a bird or an angel. Slowly, my feet left the ground as I rose into the air. Curious, I decided to fly down and look at the bodies as an excuse to use my flying ability. By the time I had descended to the bodies, I noticed that I was already a little tired from flying. Maybe it was because I needed to build up my endurance, or maybe it was because supporting my weight with the wings was difficult. Either way, I was extremely happy. Actually, looking at the bodies didn¡¯t bother me as much as I had expected. Maybe it was because I had changed somehow after being reincarnated. The bloody bodies didn¡¯t affect me at all. In fact, I was indifferent, which surprised me. I had expected to feel a little squeamish. As expected, Alsvartr had done a good job on taking everything of value. There were only a few items on the bodies besides the clothing. Taking a few minutes, I cast the Detect Magic ritual again and looked at those items to see if there was anything worth taking. At the same time, I was lamenting the fact that I had to keep on casting the spell. I definitely needed some way to keep the Detect Magic spell permanent. Not seeing anything right away, I was almost ready to fly back up when I decided to take another look and flipped the bodies over. That was when I noticed a ring glowing on one of the rogue¡¯s fingers. After prying the ring off the rogue¡¯s finger, I flew back up to the ledge and looked for any other magic items before I cast the Identify spell again. I was so tired of recasting rituals one after another. Finally, I put the magic book, the magic ring, and a magic flute next to me. I had to just stare at the items, amazed that I was actually seeing such a sight. An actual magic book. A real magic ring and a magic flute. I could barely believe it. Not really caring at all about a magic flute, I decided to immediately just extract the magic from the flute. I wasn¡¯t in the mood to cast Identify for a flute I would never use. ¡°System, I want to extract the magic from the flute,¡± I said resolutely, bracing myself for the pain. I was surprised that the pain wasn¡¯t as bad as I remembered. Maybe it was because the last time I had extracted magic from two items and this time there was only one. Then again, I could just be getting used to the pain. Either way, the pain soon vanished. I was tempted to extract it from the ring as well, but then finally decided to go ahead and cast the Identify ritual. After all, it might be a really good ring. Deciding this, I started casting the ritual to discover what the ring actually was. Seeing that it was a Ring of Jumping, I was left with a dilemma. Chapter 24 - Aegis Libram Amazingly, it would allow me to cast the Jump spell at will. However, I also knew it required attunement. Was being able to cast the spell on myself even worth it when I could fly? Probably not. Reluctantly, I finally said, ¡°I want to extract the magic from the Ring of Jumping.¡± Almost immediately, those terrible annoying ants returned and crawled all over my skin, stinging me for a few minutes while the magic was extracted. After that, I set the item down and picked up the last item, a magic book. Sighing, I cast the Identify ritual one last time. After the ritual was completed, I realized how lucky I had gotten. It was called the Aegis Libram. It was a rare magical spellbook that contained several powerful spells. It also allowed any magic user to cast a few rituals that were restricted to certain classes. For example, several of the spells were cleric spells. Others were druid or wizard spells. Either way, the owner of the book would be able to cast the rituals as long as they were holding the book and had the ability to cast spells of that level. It was an amazing discovery, far too good to extract the magic from. The only drawback was that each of the spells took an extended period of time to cast, making them unusable in combat situations. Then again, the spells themselves were not meant for combat. They were meant for defending a location. Considering that another kobold tribe and human adventurers were encroaching on my tribe¡¯s territory, the spells would probably be useful. Of course, that was only if I could cast the spells. While I was able to decipher most of the spells in the spellbook after looking at it briefly, some of the pages twisted and became unreadable for some reason. Despite this, I was able to figure out that all of the spells were beyond my ability to cast. One of the rituals that was quite interesting was a Planar Mansion. It was a spell that created a dimensional, much like the Rope Trick spell. However, instead of creating a simple space that you could retreat to for a few hours, the Planar Mansion was much larger and contained unseen servants, food, furniture, and so much more. The only drawback was that it took an extremely long time to cast the ritual, and the Planar Mansion required a constant supply of spell points to maintain. I would definitely have to think about it later though, but for now, it was useless to me. In fact, it would be beyond my abilities for a long time considering it was a high-level spell. Since I had already dealt with all the magical items, I decided to look at the non-magical items that might be useful. Of course, a belt and dagger were good, even if they were too big for me. After looping it around my body three times, I was able to get it to fit. I didn¡¯t even bother to look at the coins since I doubted, I would be able to use them. In addition to that, I was able to hang a few pouches on the belt as well. I figured they would be good for food. Speaking of food, I was getting a little hungry again. Deciding to ignore the hunger for now though, I finished what I was doing. I lit a candle and opened the cleric¡¯s book to see what it was about. The cleric had been carrying it in her backpack. After studying it for a few minutes, I realized how they had been able to see in the dark. She was a cleric of night. She didn¡¯t worship a particular god, but instead gained power through attuning herself to the darkness of night. Because of this, she was able to give herself and her companions the power to see in magical and non-magical darkness. Realizing this, I decided to put clerics back on the list of possible classes. Before, I hadn¡¯t wanted to worship a god. Realizing I didn¡¯t really have to choose a god to worship, it didn¡¯t actually sound that bad after all. I was already naturally attuned to twilight, so perhaps I could be a twilight cleric. That would qualify as a dark cleric, right? Still, was that the best class I should learn? Which one would I need if the other tribe of kobolds invaded? Which class would be best if more adventurers arrived. In fact, it was a little coincidental that the adventurers had arrived at the same time as the ambassador from another kobold tribe. Was the other kobold tribe using adventurers to soften his tribe up before invading? As for which class would be the most useful, the class needed to be a class that learned magic spells. Otherwise, the Aegis Libram would be useless. Arcanist, which had morphed into Banshee, was a good choice since it dealt with dangerous magics. Cleric was obviously back on the table because of the healing and spells. Sorcerer, shaman, and wizard were also excellent options as well. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. However, there was no way I was going to be a ritualist. Just casting the rituals from earlier had burned me out on any chance of choosing that class. Only creatures like gnomes could enjoy such a mind-numbing class. This was because they didn¡¯t have much of a mind in the first place. Brain eaters would die of starvation if they were surrounded only by gnomes. After considering my options, I clicked on each choice to see if I could get more information. However, nothing showed up, which made me want to offer some more magic items to get more information. With this in mind, I wondered if I would be able to turn stopping the adventurers into a reward with a few magic items that no kobold wanted. Then I could get more information before making my choice. I nodded to myself, ¡°Yep, that is what I will do. It¡¯s not like I am going to lose the experience. I¡¯ll just wait until I have more information. However, I do need to test out my new abilities. My ether breath for one.¡± I was really curious to see what it would do. I spotted a few lizards and decided to eat them instead of the spiders. I breathed on them from a few feet away and they all immediately fell asleep. Smiling, I popped each one of them into my mouth. It helped that I had already eaten one. Another reason I didn¡¯t choose a bug was that I just didn¡¯t want to eat one, at least not yet. Then again, I was pretty hungry. Trying not to think about it too much, I decided to test how far I could breathe the ether gas. Curious, I started by breathing ether on a nearby lizard from six feet away. Then I strode over and picked up the lizard. This time, I didn¡¯t eat it immediately. Instead, I held it and waited until it started to show signs of waking up. ¡°So the ether breath kept him under for around a minute,¡± I muttered as it started to squirm. ¡°Let¡¯s increase the distance,¡± I muttered to myself as I tossed the lizard into my mouth and swallowed. After spotting another lizard, I made sure to stand about twelve feet away this time and tried breathing ether on it. Surprisingly, it worked, and not only the lizard but several nearby bugs and spiders also stopped moving. I raised a non-existent eyebrow. I actually hadn¡¯t expected the breath to work at that distance. In fact, I wasn¡¯t even sure I would be able to breathe out the ether again. I wondered how many times I would be able to do so before I ran out of gas. It seemed improbable that the gas would not dissipate after a foot or two, much less twelve feet. Also, I hadn¡¯t even exerted myself to breathe deeply. If I didn¡¯t have an ancestral memory that dragons could breathe fire even in an antimagic field, I would have said the only way the ether could reach the lizard was through magic. Also, it was quite unrealistic that I could breathe so much ether. Perhaps dragons had magical organs inside them that created the gasses. Quite possibly, when a dragon was in an antimagic field, the stored gasses in their body could still be used, but new gasses could not be created. Thus, the dragon would be able to breathe fire at least once or twice even in a magic field. That made sense to me. While considering those thoughts, I quickly picked up the lizard and swallowed it too. Then I looked hungrily at the knocked-out spiders and bugs that were nearby. Rolling my eyes, I decided to go ahead and eat them too. ¡°It¡¯s a good thing that I am not an old woman,¡± I said to myself. ¡°Actually, she swallowed a fly, so I would be fine. I looked around for another cluster of creatures. After a moment, I noticed a big group of bugs. I moved to stand around eighteen feet away this time and breathed out again. I continued doing so for several seconds until I couldn¡¯t breathe ether out any longer. However, nothing happened to the bugs that were the farthest away. After seeing the closest ones fall asleep, I hurried over and ate all of them as well. ¡°I wonder how long I will have to wait until I can breathe ether again,¡± I said to myself. Absently, I noted that my ether breath seemed to have a limit of around fifteen feet and dispersed in a conical shape. While I was busy munching, a weird thought surfaced in my mind. Curious, I decided to try it out. In my previous life, I had sometimes crop-dusted people when I was walking through a store. It wasn¡¯t as if it was my fault, though. Everyone would have to pass gas occasionally. ¡°I wonder, can I knock people out with my farts the same way I can knock them out with my ether breath?¡± Thinking about this, I crouched down above a bug and let loose. I had been eating so much that I needed to release some pressure anyway. Curious about the results, I looked down and saw the bug scurrying away. Apparently, ether farts weren¡¯t a real thing. ¡°Oh well,¡± I muttered, slightly disappointed. Unfortunately, I must have failed a perception roll while I was busy tooting on the bug. I didn¡¯t even know someone was there until I was smacked in the back of my head again. I toppled over, not having expected the blow. In fact, I was starting to panic. I thought I was being attacked. Chapter 25 - God of Twilight Instead, it was Dr¨®ttinn, who looked exasperated with my new actions, ¡°Idiot. You¡¯re lucky I didn¡¯t send anyone else. If I did, all your brothers and sisters would know that you are touched in the head.¡± Dr¨®ttinn looked at me as if I were a kobold who worshiped a gnomish god. Apparently, he had also failed a perception roll as well since it didn¡¯t look like he had noticed the loot. Instead, his full attention had been focused on me trying to fart on a bug. I shrugged off the embarrassment and motioned toward the pile of loot, ¡°We had some intruders. I hope you don¡¯t mind that I dealt with them.¡± I then pointed toward the bottom of the pit. ¡°I took this loot off their bodies,¡± I said, pointing to the loot. I had left it all laying in a pile since I wasn¡¯t sure what to do with it. It was just too heavy. Just the Bag of Holding weighed more than I did. While I could try tying it to my belt, I would probably tip over. That left the idea of tying it to my tail and dragging it along behind me. Finally, I decided to consider trading it for a lot of useless magic items from which I could extract their magic. ¡°What?¡± He hurried forward, his mood abruptly changing. He looked worried for a moment. After seeing the loot, his expression became confused. He then looked from the loot to me, and back. Finally, he tried to look around for any sign of the intruders. Then he looked back at me, even more confused. He seemed almost as if he was asking himself instead of me, ¡°Weren¡¯t your wings smaller before?¡± I smirked, ¡°Yes, they were. However, you probably need to look at the bodies down there.¡± I pointed to where the adventurers had fallen. Dr¨®ttinn looked at the loot quickly before moving to the edge of the pit and looking down. Of course, there was nothing to see since it was so far down. He then looked back at the loot before looking at me, only to look once more into the darkness, clearly confused. After a final glance at me, my wings, and the loot, he flapped his wings and started gliding down into the darkness toward the bodies. I repressed a momentary twinge of annoyance that he could fly too. A few minutes later, he flew back up. After landing, he stared at me again silently. Finally, he gathered his thoughts and said, ¡°Good work wyrmling. You might have saved our tribe from disaster. I will spread the news and warn our brothers and sisters. Thank you for your valiant actions. Is there a reward that you would like in return for your heroics?¡± I was about to reply when a window popped up, alerting me about another achievement. ACHIEVEMENT - STATUS IMPROVED: TRIBE OF EIVALDSKONUNGR. Through your valiant actions and ability to fly like a dragon, your Status with the Tribe of Groenneitr has improved. You have gained the level four rank of Formathr in your tribe. Smiling, I resisted the impulse to show my draconic breath. While it was certainly impressive, it might also bring up some concerns. As it was, I was also worried about the fact that I had feathers and a spiked tail as well. With everything that had happened, it didn¡¯t look like he had really noticed yet. ¡°Of course, I spoke too soon,¡± I thought as Dr¨®ttinn abruptly paused and then slowly reached out to touch the feathers. ¡°A feathered black dragon¡­¡± he said, as if searching for a memory. ¡°Feathered. Black. Twilight.¡± Abruptly, he let go of my feather and backed up. In fact, he backed up so fast that he fell down onto his tail. He stared at me in disbelief and fear. ¡°Niflregin,¡± he said, hastily bowing down to me. Completely surprised by his actions, I moved toward him and helped him stand up, while at the same time trying to place the name to a memory. ¡°Stand up Chieftain of the Einvaldskonungr Tribe.¡± I said, while at the same time finally placing the memory. Niflregin was the title given to Nox when she was alive. It meant something like the Goddess of Night or the Ruler of Night. Very few stories existed, but one of them mentioned that she had feathers on her wings, making her unique among dragons. I wasn¡¯t even sure how I knew it. It had to be an ancestral memory that was triggered by his calling me Nilfregin. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°I am N¨®ttormr, the God of Twilight. Although I am not your god, I believe in the innate greatness of the people of this tribe. Because of this, I chose to be born into the tribe. Another reason is because we are facing a terrible threat. Danger is approaching and we must take precautions. If we don¡¯t, we will have no future. Not only do we have to face the dangers of adventurers who have been told of our presence, but also the threat of other tribes. In fact, there will be more threats arriving soon.¡± I looked at Dr¨®ttinn, trying to see if he believed me while regretting the fact that I had not learned the deception skill. In this instance, it wasn¡¯t needed however. The chieftain had already believed I was a god¡¯s incarnation or avatar. I had only verified his thoughts. ¡°Unfortunately, while I have regained some of my abilities, such as my ability to fly as well as my draconic breath, I had to sacrifice a lot to be reborn into the tribe. Because of this, I will need our tribe''s assistance,¡± I said, not wanting him to think that I was all-powerful and could handle any problems that arose. Telling him that I was regaining my powers would stop him from thinking I was weak. He would have to be careful because he couldn¡¯t know just how much power I was hiding. Also, by revealing some weakness, he would feel more at ease in my presence. Because of our conversation, I wasn¡¯t surprised at all when another pop-up appeared. ACHIEVEMENT - STATUS IMPROVED: TRIBE OF EIVALDSKONUNGR. Because you are seen on a level almost equal to their dragon god, your Status with the Tribe of Groenneitr has improved. You have gained the level five rank of Gothi in your tribe. ¡°Interesting,¡± I thought. Gothi meant something along the lines of a religious leader. It had a similar status to that of the chief, but was also slightly apart from the tribe. Most often, a gothi was appointed when a newly hatched dragon was born. A few members of the tribe would pledge their allegiance to the young wyrmling and when that wyrmling was ready to leave the lair, these kobolds would follow behind to serve the dragon. Of course, in my case, it might be different. Because of my coloring, Einvaldskonungr would probably resent my appearance. In fact, I probably needed to leave before the dragon woke up. Of course, that might not be for years. Facing Dr¨®ttinn, I continued, ¡°As for rewards, I need none. However, I would appreciate any worthless magical trinkets our tribe has collected. Each item will enable me to regain a very small percentage of my power.¡± I motioned toward the Bag of Holding next to the loot I had left in a pile, ¡°As for this item, please send it to my room along with the magic items.¡± Nodding, Dr¨®ttinn agreed, ¡°Of course. I¡¯ll walk you back to your room. I¡¯ll send someone to gather all the items and bring them to your room. We will also prepare a sumptuous feast for you,¡± the chieftain said, starting to lead me back the way we came. Hurriedly, I picked up both spellbooks, the regular one that belonged to the wizard and the Aegis Libram. Both of them would be very useful if I went ahead and chose the wizard class. The second would be useful for any spellcaster. Before I left, I sent a mental command to Alsvartr to stay where she was for now. I would come back later to pick her up. On the way to the room, Dr¨®ttinn kept glancing at me. First, he would just peek, almost as if he was afraid of offending me. Then he started looking at me for longer and longer, clearly trying to organize his thoughts and feelings. By the time we reached the room, I could already tell that the earlier awe he had felt had faded away. Clearly, my trying to fart on a bug had diminished the impact of my ¡°divine¡± nature. Dr¨®ttinn motioned me inside. He didn¡¯t enter himself. ¡°I will find a few kobolds who will take care of your needs. As for your requests, I will start getting them ready.¡± He paused, as if he wanted to say something else. I could tell that he wanted me to act normal and not embarrass myself again. However, he finally decided against it. After nodding, he left me alone. I smiled, pleased with how things were turning out. Since I had been an avid reader in my last life, I was really curious about the books on the shelf. However, I was also quite tired. While I was waiting for the food to arrive, I jumped on top of the bed and sat down, trying to decide which class to switch into. I had actually narrowed it down in my mind while walking to the arcanist banshee, the dark cleric, or the wizard. Finally, I decided to go with the wizard. While the banshee sounded wonderful, wizards gained a big increase in their power at level two while the arcanists had to wait until level three. Since I currently had enough experience to level-up to the second level, that meant I could immediately benefit from the wizard features. ¡°System, I want to level-up twice in the wizard class.¡± Nothing immediately happened except that I fell asleep before the food arrived. While I was asleep, I started dreaming about a young boy who studied magic under a strict master. He grew into a young man who had just completed his studies at the magic academy where he was presented a choice. YOU HAVE RECEIVED INSPIRATION. The following training options are now available. While you will gain knowledge according to your choice, you will still need to practice these skills to obtain full mastery of the chosen option. Chapter 26 - Meeting the Red Dragon Choose one of the following schools of magic: Suddenly, I felt like I was back in my old body, sitting in front of a game where I had to decide how I would play my character. Many of my current choices seemed great, but a few of them stood out to me. Protecting myself was always a good idea so that was a definite possibility. Divination might also be good, but only if I received enough information about the future. Necromancy also sounded amazing. I might even be able to heal myself using its control over life. None of the schools of magic really stood out as better than the others. I could easily imagine benefits and drawbacks for each school. However, since I was going to pretend to be a god, I probably needed the ability to cast divine spells. In fact, that might open up healing spells which I might only get from being a necromancer. With this in mind, I didn¡¯t even consider any of the other options and directly chose the theurgist. Choose one of the following domains: I frowned when I saw the choices. I had really expected more choices. For example, what about the light domain? Or even the life domain. I had enough ancestral memories to know that there were many divine domains that were not on my list. Did it just give me the option of those domains for which I shared some type of affinity? While I was definitely tempted to choose the mind domain, I made a quick decision against that impulse. I was the god of twilight, so of course I had to choose the twilight domain. Abruptly after making that decision, a vision swept over me once again. Now I was a young drow mage who often visited the surface world. She traveled between the two worlds, using her abilities to make the journeys easier. She was fascinated by the dichotomy of light and darkness. The drow wizard explored the world, hiding in the darkness when necessary. Suddenly, in the middle of an adventure, she smelled something delicious. Sniffing, I opened my eyes and looked around, confused when I found myself in an underground cave in the body of a winged kobold. Wondering if I had actually learned any of those skills, I opened my information screen. The first thing I did was look around for the delicious smell. Since it was dark, I cast the Light cantrip on the bed so I would be able to see better. On the table was a bowl of soup, a plate of meat with undetermined origins, another plate of mushrooms, and some type of moss. The fragrant smell was coming from the soup and meat, both of which had been heated. Unfortunately, I was starting to regret casting the Light cantrip since it allowed me to see what I was eating. I actually didn¡¯t want to know what was in the soup or what animal the meat came from. However, that didn¡¯t stop me. I dug into the food. I was starving, and decided not to think about such things. Instead, I concentrated on the amazing metabolism of the kobold body. It certainly didn¡¯t seem normal. ¡°Interesting,¡± I muttered after taking a bite. By then, I was too busy eating to talk to myself. Still, I was pleased. Instead of having to learn one step at a time, when I had enough experience to level-up, I could gain the knowledge in my dreams. I was definitely happy with that situation. I had accomplished more in one day than what others would have to struggle for years to achieve. More and more, I was really starting to appreciate the system. I was amazed at my new abilities. However, I also knew that I needed to write down the spells and rituals in a spellbook before I forgot them. I was worried about losing the spells. In fact, I could already tell that the three new rituals would fade away from my memory the moment I fell asleep again. After finishing the food, I decided to take care of that problem. Remembering the bookcase, I looked to see if there was ink that I could use to inscribe the spells I had learned into the wizard¡¯s book I had looted. Luckily, there was some ink. Not wanting to waste a minute, I started writing down the rituals in my new spellbook. After I was done, I also wrote down how to cast the spells. I was a little worried that I would forget the wizard spells as soon as I cast them. I had just finished when a thought hit me. I hadn¡¯t noticed at the time, but compared to when he left me, Dr¨®ttinn didn¡¯t seem quite as tall as when he came to pick me up. It made me wonder if I might be growing much faster than the other kobold wyrmlings. While it might just have been my imagination, it could also have something to do with the system. Another thing that bothered me was the fact that even though my ¡°nap¡± had been short, I actually felt like I had taken a long rest. Perhaps it had something to do with leveling up. In fact, I was fairly certain that was the reason. Since I was awake and wasn¡¯t sleepy, I decided to examine the spells the wizard had already inscribed into his spellbook. Hopefully, it would have some useful spells. I was lucky. There actually were some good spells. Since I had the time, I decided to see if there were any changes I wanted to make to the spells I had memorized. Another stroke of luck was that the spellbook contained spells all the way up to fourth level spells. However, after looking through the book, I actually didn¡¯t see any that I wanted to change. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. Sighing, I was just reaching out to grab another snack when a knock abruptly disrupted my thoughts. I was surprised the person didn¡¯t enter immediately. Afterall, kobolds weren¡¯t known for their worries about privacy. However, my new status had obviously changed things. ¡°Come in,¡± I said. Dr¨®ttinn entered the room. Several other kobolds stayed outside, obviously not intending on entering my room. The chieftain appeared serious as he closed the door. He turned to look at me, and paused before saying, ¡°As a gothi of the tribe, you must meet Einvaldskonungr. Unfortunately, you must face him without me since I need to be here to deal with any unexpected surprises.¡± I cocked my head to the side. Dr¨®ttinn obviously felt that proclaiming myself to be the reborn god of twilight was less important than being a gothi of the tribe. While that didn¡¯t really surprise me, what did surprise me was that Einvaldskonungr was awake. Apparently, the chieftain had lied when he said the red dragon was resting in liggja, the long slumber. ¡°You need to meet the red dragon, Einvaldskonungr,¡± Dr¨®ttinn continued. ¡°He is aware that the green dragon, Groenneitr, is up to something.¡± The thought of meeting Einvaldskonungr filled me with both excitement and fear. The red dragon was a being of immense power, a force of nature that had ruled over these lands for centuries. To be summoned by him was no small matter. I wasn¡¯t sure how he would react to my claims to be a god. Dr¨®ttinn¡¯s expression softened slightly as he continued. ¡°I will remain here to watch over the city, but you must go. Einvaldskonungr''s message is clear. He wants to see you, and you must heed his call. It will take a day to reach the underground meeting place where he waits for you. Try not to anger him since he¡¯s probably already upset. Patience isn¡¯t one of his strongest traits.¡± Dr¨®ttinn stepped closer and placed one of his clawed hands on my shoulder, as if to offer a final assurance before I departed. ¡°Remember, you carry the hopes of our tribe with you,¡± he said. For a moment, he hesitated, as if he wanted to say more, but instead, he simply nodded, his expression softening into one of quiet resolve. With a last, lingering look, he bid me farewell before opening the door and leaving. Beyond the door, a group of kobolds in leather armor were waiting patiently for me. I frowned, annoyed once more. Why did it seem like I was always being left in the dark? I wasn¡¯t a mushroom. Did the kobolds who would go with me know the reason why? Would they stop at some point and send me ahead? Did they know I was going to meet the red dragon? I wasn¡¯t sure just how much I could share with them. Because of this, I was quite annoyed. I also realized that I was apparently leaving immediately. While I was sure that supplies were already prepared, I took a glance around the room to see if I needed to take anything. Not seeing much that I really needed, I took only the spellbooks and some snacks. As for my familiar, I sent her an order to scout for any other intruders. I wanted Alsvartr to let me know if something happened while I was gone. After that, I walked outside and set out with my small escort. Their expressions were serious as we descended deeper into the earth. Once we reached the edge of the city, we encountered a group of kobolds who were holding the reins to some dire weasels. Even before seeing them, I could smell them. I was a little concerned that what was meant to be a clandestine operation was being carried out using animals that screamed pay attention to me. As I climbed onto the back of my dire weasel, the smell hit me like a wall, a sharp, earthy odor that filled my nostrils and made my eyes water. But I pushed the discomfort aside, knowing the urgency of our mission. The weasels were fast and agile, perfectly suited for the narrow, twisting tunnels that lay ahead. These dire weasels scurried through the tunnels. Although riding them was nausea inducing, both from the smell and their gait, I had to admit that they were fast. Their sleek, muscular bodies moved with a predatory grace. As for their stench, it was just as aggressive. Their fur was slick with oil that exuded a pungent, musky scent. As we rode, the rhythmic thump of the weasels'' padded feet against the stone echoed through the caverns. The sound mingled with the distant drip of water and the occasional skitter of unseen creatures in the dark. The tunnel walls blurred past us. . Despite their smell, the dire weasels were incredibly responsive, their long bodies weaving effortlessly through the winding passages. The tunnels we traversed became more ancient looking the longer we traveled for some reason. There were no jagged edges anywhere. Everything had been smoothed away by the passage of time. The journey seemed to drag on. If it wasn¡¯t for the stench and gait of the dire weasels, I would have fallen asleep. The darkness of the underground seemed oppressive at first, but I gradually grew used to it. The occasional faint glow of the crystals embedded in some of the walls was the only visible proof that we were moving. My companions were silent. Their eyes constantly scanned the shadows for any sign of danger. The further we went, the more I felt a strange sense of calm settle over me. It was as if the darkness was welcoming me. It actually reminded me of the darkness I was within before being reborn. Despite the breaks we took every couple of hours, I was starting to ache from the journey. My butt and back were sore by the time we finally reached the entrance to the meeting place. Of course, I had known we were getting closer when the temperature started to rise. Being a red dragon, I was certain that Einvaldskonungr would choose an open lava vent or something similar as the meeting place. The tunnel opened up into a massive cavern with the ceiling lost in the darkness above. The underground cavern was illuminated by the glow of molten lava that coursed through a channel within the cave. The heat was intense enough to make breathing difficult. As for the air, it was thick with the scent of sulfur. Unlike the smooth walls from before, the walls of the cavern were jagged. Their rough surfaces glistened with the heat. Stalactites hung from the ceiling like fangs, dripping with molten rock that hissed as it met the flowing lava below. At the far end of the cavern, a massive stone platform jutted out over the largest lava flow. Its surface was smooth and polished, clearly created as a meeting place for visitors. What awaited us on the platform made everything else pale in comparison. Einvaldskonungr terrifying at a distance and even more terrifying the closer I approached. He was like a living god of fire and fury. His immense form filled the cavern. His scales were a deep, burnished crimson that seemed to pulse with the heat of the lava flowing below. Each scale was as large as a shield. His wings were folded tightly against his body. His eyes, twin orbs of molten gold, glowed with an ancient intelligence. The horns that curved back from his head and his teeth were both as white as polished bone. His very presence radiated heat. It caused the air around him to shimmer. My escort stopped a few paces behind me. They lowered their eyes in respect. They knew that from here on, I would be on my own. I took a deep breath, steeling myself for what was to come. My heart pounded in my chest. However, there was no turning back now. With a final glance at my companions, I stepped forward and approached the stone platform. The moment I did so, those giant glowing eyes locked onto mine. I could feel the weight of his gaze. I didn¡¯t let myself falter though. I had to prove myself. I was the god of twilight, and I had come to meet with the dragon who had summoned me. Chapter 27 - Mercenaries Arrive As I walked closer to the red dragon, I could feel the heat in the cave becoming more oppressive. Before I was ready, I found myself standing before Einvaldskonungr. His eyes narrowed as he looked at me. I couldn¡¯t tell where it was from irritation or curiosity. ¡°And who are you, little kobold, to stand before me?¡± His voice rumbled through the cavern. I could feel each word reverberating in my bones. I realized then that I should have kneeled, or at least bowed to the red dragon. Taking a deep breath, I forced myself to speak. ¡°I am not an ordinary kobold, great Einvaldskonungr. I am the reborn god of twilight. Although I am currently weak; my power will increase quickly.¡± Almost everything I said was true. The only exception was that I wasn¡¯t a god. Afterall, I had been reborn and I did have a godlike system. For a moment, there was silence. Then the dragon let out a sound that sounded like a mixture of a chuckle and a growl. His expression shifted from one of annoyance to amusement. ¡°A god of twilight, you say? And here I thought I¡¯d seen everything.¡± Although I could hear sarcasm in his voice, I had apparently amused the red dragon instead of angering him. I breathed a sigh of relief, which stuck in my throat when the dragon began to change shape without warning. The transformation was quickly completed as he shrank and changed forms. Before I could fully comprehend what was happening, the dragon was gone and a tall human was standing in front of me. Actually, I corrected myself, the man had long, pointed ears like an elf. However, his build resembled that of a human. He was much more muscular than what I envisioned an elf would look like. One thing that remained the same, however, was that his skin retained a slight reddish hue. Einvaldskonungr¡¯s leather armor was the same color the red dragon¡¯s scales had been. It fit him perfectly and accentuated his muscular build. The leather was a deep crimson in hue, was etched with intricate patterns resembling the scales of a dragon. I was curious if the armor was real or if it was made out of dragon scales. He then stepped forward and began to circle me slowly while I fought to maintain my composure. My mind raced with questions. Why hadn¡¯t he taken the form of a kobold? Did he consider kobolds to be inferior? The thought stung, but I kept it to myself. Now, if he had taken the form of a gnome, that would have been unforgivable. He snorted softly, and without warning, he reached out and smacked the back of my head. The blow was firm enough to sting but lacked any real ill intent. It reminded me of the chieftain when he hit the back of my head. The unexpected familiarity of the action caught me off guard. I blinked up at him, momentarily unsure of how to react. Einvaldskonungr grinned down at me. ¡°I suppose there¡¯s something to you after all,¡± he said. His tone was almost playful. ¡°I¡¯ve seen enough in my time to know that sometimes, the strangest of claims can hold a grain of truth. You might very well be the god of twilight. However, at the moment, your strength is almost nonexistent.¡± I nodded, trying to keep my voice steady. ¡°I¡¯ll grow stronger.¡± He waved a hand dismissively. My promise was of little consequence to him, it appeared. ¡°Perhaps you will,¡± he said, ¡°but I find myself intrigued. I will allow you to take some of the dissatisfied kobolds with you to form your own city. However, after establishing your own city, do not abandon your brothers. Also, when the city begins to thrive, send me a tribute as an offering of thanks.¡± Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. I bowed my head slightly in acknowledgment. ¡°I will not fail you. Although I am sure you are already aware, I have reason to believe that the green dragon, Groenneitr, is behind the recent attacks on our tribe. He has been spreading rumors to lure adventurers and mercenaries into attacking our city.¡± Einvaldskonungr¡¯s expression darkened slightly. ¡°I am well aware of Groenneitr¡¯s schemes,¡± he replied. His voice was now more serious. ¡°Although I hate to say it, he is a cunning foe. If you prove your worth to me, I will reward you with dragon essence.¡± I nodded, ¡°I will do everything in my power to protect our tribe.¡± He studied me for a moment longer, as if weighing the sincerity of my words. Then, after a final nod, he said, ¡°Go now, young Gothi and do not disappoint me.¡± With that, he turned away from me. His form had already begun shifting back into a red dragon again. I took a step back, and bowed low before retreating from the cavern. I knew enough from my ancestral memories to know the importance of dragon essence. It could be used by creatures to become more draconic in nature. Since I was already a high kobold, the essence might just be enough to transform me. Maybe I could become a pseudodragon, a half dragon, or a dragonborn. The journey back to the kobold city was almost dreamlike. I was exhausted by the time we returned. Although we did stop for breaks, we didn¡¯t stop long enough to sleep. However, because of this, we reached home much sooner than expected. I barely had enough energy left to climb up onto the bed before falling into a deep sleep. In my dreams, I imagined flying through the tunnels with Alsvartr as she hunted down small creatures to eat. When I woke up the next morning, I still reeked of the dire weasels. Their musky odor seemed to have seeped into my very scales. I wrinkled my nose in disgust, wondering how long it would take before the smell finally faded away. Because of this, I decided to spend some time outside the kobold city. I quickly ate the breakfast that had been left for me and tried to remember the location of the bathroom. However, for the life of me, I couldn¡¯t remember how to get there. With everything that had happened in the last few days, I had forgotten what I had been told about how to get there. I even tried to use the ancestral memories. The only thing that accomplished was that I learned the waste was usually collected for the worms and beetles, which completely disgusted me. Deciding that since I had to go, I might as well head back down to Chuck Norris Bridge. I could always fly to the other side of the bridge and feed the worms there. While I was there, I could also meet up with Alsvartr again. I hadn¡¯t taken her with me to see Einvaldskonungr because I wanted her to scout the area. That way she could alert me if the mercenaries arrived while I was gone. It didn¡¯t take me long to get there. Once I arrived, I almost didn¡¯t notice that I wasn¡¯t alone. However, I finally caught sight of a kobold hiding near the bridge. Apparently, she had been stationed there after the first incident. That actually made me feel better. It did mean that I needed to fly further away before I could do my business though. I waved to the kobold and flew to the other side. After that, I did what I had to do and was about to fly back when I paused. A thought hit me. I had been born into a new world. While I hadn¡¯t had much of a chance to visit everywhere in the cave, I was also curious to see what existed outside the kobold city. I did have to admit that I also wanted more experience. Even though I hadn¡¯t been in the world long, I had already discovered through ancestral memories that gaining experience through study and practice was an extremely slow process. The fastest way to become more powerful was to fight. Because of this, I was looking forward to my next near brush with death. Wait, did I just say I was looking forward to my next near death experience? Gnome brain! Frowning, I realized that Alsvartr was nowhere in sight. A little worried, I concentrated on her presence in the back of my mind. Slowly, I allowed my senses to merge with hers. My own senses were almost non-existent. I watched through her eyes as she glided through the darkness, her keen hearing catching the steps of a multitude of feet. She silently flew over toward the sounds until I saw dozens of human warriors. Those dozens were followed by dozens more. One reason I could tell was because they weren¡¯t trying to hide. Almost every soldier was carrying either a lantern or a torch. Chapter 28 - Attack is the Best Defense ¡°Not good,¡± I muttered, stunned by what I was witnessing. Hoping to find out what their ultimate goal was, I ordered Alsvartr to find a hiding spot in front of the approaching army. It needed to be a spot that she could retreat from, but also be close enough to overhear whatever might be said. Soon, she found a likely spot and changed into her shadow form. She completely blended into the darkness as if she was invisible. While I wasn¡¯t sure exactly what shadow form did, I knew it was much like invisibility, but with a touch of etherealness as well. Looking at the motley gear of the army, I realized it wasn¡¯t a real army. Instead, it was more like a large group of mercenaries. More than likely, they had all been hired, although for what, I wasn¡¯t sure. In all likelihood, it was probably either kobold extermination, slave traders, or looters. Most of the comments the mercenaries made were about not getting paid enough to be trudging in the dark. However, one of the better dressed mercenaries mentioned being required to kill every kobold as he passed by my hiding familiar. Listening through Alsvartr¡¯s ears, I overheard another soldier saying that there was supposed to be a lot of gold that was being stored for when the red dragon awakened. The mercenaries had even hired a team of advanced adventurers to scout the way for the group. If any problems occurred, the adventurers would be sure to deal with them. That was why they didn¡¯t have to worry about making noise. They were certain that the advance party of adventurers would slay everything in their way. Hearing enough, I realized how lucky I had gotten. I not only knew why they were coming, I also learned about the previous group as well. I quickly flew to the bridge and yelled across to the young female guard that a large group of mercenaries were approaching down the tunnels. Hurrying back, I yelled to the guard as I flew across the chasm, ¡°Mercenaries are coming. Mercenaries are coming to kill us!¡± My high-pitched squeaky voice echoed through the tunnels. ¡°I¡¯m guard Geyma,¡± a large female kobold said, puffing up her chest in pride. Although she looked intimidating, she also seemed a little slow. Okay, maybe a lot slow. She didn¡¯t even ask how I knew. It was as if she didn¡¯t know what to do. Another kobold materialized out of the darkness, almost giving me a heart attack. He gave Geyma a disgusted look. He didn¡¯t allow Geyma to say anything more before he asked, ¡°Where are the mercenaries?¡± Wanting to make sure they believed me, I said, ¡°I am N¨®ttormr. Tell Dr¨®ttinn that at least a hundred mercenaries are approaching. They are still far away, but I was able to see them through the eyes of my familiar.¡± The male kobold snorted, ¡°You can only share the sense of familiars for about a hundred feet. You must be lying or crazy. Considering your age, you must be a wyrmling who can¡¯t handle the v¨ªsindimuna.¡± ¡°Ahh, you poor thing,¡± Geyma said, looking at me with sympathetic eyes. ¡°It¡¯s okay. We¡¯ll get you help,¡± she said as she moved as if to pick me up. I was a little worried that if she tried to hug me she might crush me. She was one of the biggest kobolds I had ever seen. Annoyed, I telekinetically shoved her back before she could grab me, ¡°Don¡¯t question me. The adventurers I killed earlier must have been scouts for the mercenaries. Now go, alert everyone!¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. Both of the kobolds blinked at me, but didn¡¯t question me any longer. The male kobold, obviously a shadow rogue or something similar, immediately took out a whistle and began blowing on it loudly. Considering their abrupt change in attitude, I guessed they just then remembered that a newly hatched wyrmling had killed a party of adventurers. Having done my duty to alert the kobold city, I decided to scout out the enemy. I started flying back across the chasm. Then I headed down the tunnels toward Alsvartr. I also sent her a mental message telling her to come back to me. Along the way, I looked for any good places to lay an ambush. While I was looking for a suitable spot, I also wondered why my familiar had traveled so far away from where I left her. After seeing a spot where the tunnel passed through a massive cavern on a narrow ledge, I made a mental note about its location. Last time, I had knocked the adventurers off a ledge to win the battle. If I hadn¡¯t surprised them and used fall damage to kill them, I wouldn¡¯t have stood a chance against even one of those adventurers. They had been at least fifth or sixth level. If I could do something similar, I might stand a chance at slowing down the approaching mercenaries. I needed to give my fellow kobolds time to prepare. However, I wasn¡¯t ready to die so soon after hatching. Because of this, I had Alsvartr look for more spots while I ran back to get help. There was no way I was going to leave my fellow kobold brethren unaware of the advancing threat. Once I was there, I concentrated on Alsvartr again. While I hadn¡¯t thought about it before, the connection I had to my familiar was different from the typical familiar relationship. I wondered if it had something to do with the fact that she was an actual creature instead of a summoned familiar that could die and be resummoned. Perhaps just like there were disadvantages to having a living familiar, there were also advantages. Pausing a moment, I reconnected my sight to Alsvartr¡¯s and observed through her eyes. Although I wasn¡¯t sure, I somehow sensed that she had gotten much closer while I was warning the kobold city. The mercenaries were nowhere in sight, so she must have left them far behind. I almost didn¡¯t notice that the pathway dipped down and narrowed, while at the same time was covered by a knee-high pool of water that stretched for hundreds of feet. ¡°Hmm, I wonder,¡± I muttered, rubbing my chin. ¡°From what I remember, ether is extremely flammable and quickly spreads across water. If I fill the tunnel with my breath, I can then ignite the breath and affect a lot of mercenaries. However, I don¡¯t have a way to ignite the breath, much less do so safely.¡± After considering my options, I decided to meditate upon a Fire Bolt cantrip. Hopefully, I could use it while saving my magic points to cast the Sleep spell if needed. With this in mind, I quickly sat down and started preparing the Shape Magic feature. Once that was done, I hurried to the location Alsvartr had found. Seeing her, I smiled, quite glad I had made her my familiar. She had turned out to be extremely useful. I definitely needed to think of an appropriate reward for her later. Realizing I was getting distracted, I settled down and started breathing my ether breath into the tunnel. Since I didn¡¯t want to risk knocking myself out, I stayed uphill. Unfortunately, my ether breath wasn¡¯t endless. After breathing out a few times, I actually ran out of ether. Not willing to give up, I kept on trying. Luckily, after failing a few times, I was able to breath out more breath. Soon, I discovered that I could breathe the ether three to four times a minute. Since I had nothing to do besides breathing, I thought about this fact. Scientifically, breathing that much ether should be impossible. However, scientifically, dragons shouldn¡¯t be able to fly either. Therefore, just like flying, dragon breath had to be a mixture of science and magic. For example, damaging a dragon¡¯s wings would cause the dragon to fall out of the sky. I was thinking about this matter so much that Alsvartr had to remind me when she noticed the mercenaries finally arriving. Looking up, I noticed their approaching torches as they started to descend into the tunnel. Hopefully, they wouldn¡¯t recognize the smell. The ether had a sweet and mildly pungent smell. That was when I realized I had made a very serious mistake. Chapter 29 - Gaining Experience ¡°Oh no, I...¡± I didn¡¯t even bother finishing the thought as I ran for my life, urging Alsvartr to fly as quickly as she could away. Ether was heavier than air, and would sink to the ground. However, just like smoke rises in the air, smoke could also be swirled downward. The same was true for ether. The movement of the approaching mercenaries might cause the ether to rise up. At that time, the ether would be ignited by the fire from the torches. It was at that moment that a giant explosion rocked the tunnel. A blast of air knocked me flying, sending me into a nearby wall. I could tell I lost more than a few health points from the impact. ¡°Son of a gnome,¡± I muttered in pain, holding my side. Luckily, I had been able to run far enough away and made it to a curve in the tunnel to avoid most of the blast wave. My ears were ringing so badly I could barely hear the screams and shouts from the mercenaries. ¡°Dang,¡± I said, wanting to stomp my foot but worried the impact would hurt a lot. Why hadn¡¯t I thought about their torches? My plan had been to wait until most of the mercenaries were in the ether gas, perhaps even falling asleep. At that time, I would ignite the ether gas with a fire bolt. I had completely forgotten that the mercenaries were carrying torches that would cause the explosion prematurely. ¡°Still, I must have gotten at least a few of them, right? System, please show me the experience I gained,¡± I said, wanting to see if it would show up. I smiled when the information popped up, quite pleased that I could now see how much experience I had gained and how much each creature was worth. Experience Gained: Killed 9 Creatures: (7 x 50 xp) + (2 x 100 xp) = 550 xp While I was watching the screen, a few more of the low-level mercenaries died, adding to my experience. However, I was still annoyed. I must have gotten really lucky last time. Although I had slain more people than last time, I had gained a lot less experience. Either that, or I had been given some bonus experience for killing above my level. Another reason might be because my level had increased. While I knew that I should be happy, I wasn¡¯t for some reason. I had to resist the impulse to run to their dead bodies and beat them until more experience was given. It definitely made me appreciate how lucky I had been earlier. The last time I didn¡¯t have to do much at all and had gained a lot of experience. This time, I had planned ahead and killed almost twice as many adventurers and gotten a lot less for my efforts. Saying I was annoyed would be a vast understatement. I was also disgusted by the fact that while my ambush worked, I failed at ambushing the majority of the approaching enemies. The fact that I only received half the experience also annoyed me. Despite that, I had to admit that Alsvartr had helped me find the mercenaries as well as the ambush site. Because of this, I tried to ignore the pain of losing my precious experience. ¡°Now what do I do?¡± I was stumped. Going back to the bridge was probably the best option. However, curiosity was getting the better of me. After all, I was so close. All I had to do was peek around the bend in the tunnel to see what happened. Finally, unable to resist, I crept closer and looked. The fact that the screams and yelling had stopped sealed my decision. ¡°Interesting,¡± I muttered as I saw a few bodies whose clothing was still on fire. However, that was all I saw. The mercenaries had retreated back up the passageway. Apparently, they were regrouping and deciding what to do. ¡°No, I really shouldn¡¯t,¡± I muttered, trying to decide if I should try filling the area with more ether. Of course, I wouldn¡¯t while the flames were still burning though. Taking a moment, I cast the Prestidigitation cantrip and put out the fires. While I was thinking, I decided to heal myself before they came back. ¡°Heillm¨¦r,¡± I said, casting the spell. Even the temporary health points from my Deathbringer feature had disappeared when I hit the wall. In fact, I might have died if I didn¡¯t have those temporary health points. Almost immediately, a wave of healing warmth spread across my chest. Feeling a surge of invincibility, I decided to go ahead and start breathing more ether into the tunnel ahead of me. Hopefully the mercenaries would hesitate long enough or take long enough to regroup to give me time to fill the tunnel again. Luck didn¡¯t happen to be on my side. Before I was able to breathe out any ether at all, a single mercenary approached down the tunnel. Curious, I decided to use my eldritch mind powers to see what he was thinking. After a few seconds, I smirked when I realized the mercenaries thought they had run into a pocket of methane gas. While they were almost positive that the gas had burned off in the explosion, they were sending the scout ahead just in case. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. I watched as he reluctantly pulled out a torch and then took out a tinderbox. Holding his breath, he shivered and used the flint and steel to light the torch. Since the ether had already exploded, nothing happened. Breathing out in relief, the scout hurried back up the tunnel to rejoin his comrades. Not sure how much time I had, I started filling the tunnel with ether again. Fortunately, I was lucky this time. Apparently, the mercenaries were taking a short break to recuperate. This gave me more than enough time to fill the tunnel with ether once again. In fact, I filled it up so much that I had to keep backing up higher into the tunnel because the ether had started to reach me. Finally, I decided enough was enough. I knew that I might have gone overboard. In fact, I was a little worried that if the mercenaries came down with a torch again, I might not survive the blast. Because of this, I stopped breathing ether into the tunnel and started looking for the best hiding spot that would allow me to avoid an explosion but also see the mercenaries approaching. A few minutes after finding an outcropping, I heard movement in the tunnels again. A short time later, I saw a glow of light. However, this time the glow didn¡¯t flicker like a torch. It was strong and steady. Smiling, I realized they were nervous about more explosions and were using Light spells instead of torches. ¡°Oh my,¡± I muttered, ¡°you guys made a huge mistake.¡± The cantrip I had temporarily learned could be cast from over a hundred feet away. Combined with the huge area I had covered in ether, most of the mercenaries would be in the blast range. My only worry was that the ones at the front of the column might fall asleep from the ether, which might warn the rest about the danger. From what I knew, ether usually took a while to knock someone out. In fact, that was one of the reasons why chloroform ended up replacing ether. The lizards, spiders, and bugs I had used my ether breath on before had been small, which might account for why they had been affected immediately. Of course, there had to be more to it. How useless would a dragon breath weapon be if it took ten minutes of breathing to knock someone out? Puzzled, I decided I definitely needed to give the matter more time for consideration. After all, I needed to know how to utilize my breath weapon to have the most bang for the buck. Perhaps the ether I created was like a fire caused by a red dragon¡¯s flame. The flames would linger even after the breath had finished. Perhaps the initial breath would knock people out. However, ether didn¡¯t just immediately evaporate and fade away. More than likely, it would stick around, although without the initial immediate sleep effect. Nodding to myself, I decided that explanation was good enough for the moment. I could always refine my thoughts later. While I was thinking, the mercenaries had continued to advance down the tunnel. In fact, some of them had even started to climb out of the dungeon. Deciding it was time, I used the Fire Bolt cantrip to throw a ball of fire toward the group and then immediately hid behind the outcropping of rock. While I hadn¡¯t targeted anyone, I didn¡¯t have to. An extremely large explosion rocked the tunnels. In fact, I almost left a wet spot on the floor. I was certain that if I had been standing in the open, I would have died. I even thought I had caused an earthquake at first. While this wasn¡¯t true, the explosion was definitely frightening even though I was behind shelter. Surprisingly, there were actually a few mercenaries who managed to survive the explosion. Most of them were unconscious. The few who were still conscious were as badly wounded as the others, but were probably a slightly higher-level and so had more health points. Taking a moment to send a command to my familiar, I started bombarding every mercenary who survived with Fire Bolt and had Alsvartr use Sonic Blast on the survivors as well. I didn¡¯t want to give any of them a chance to wake up or heal. Turning to Alsvartr, I said as I threw another Fire Bolt at an almost dead mercenary, ¡°We must allow these brave warriors to join their friends in the realm of their gods. Yes, we are doing this to put them out of their misery. This isn¡¯t for the experience at all.¡± Alsvartr just ignored me, as if I was rambling in some foreign language, which was almost true. I decided to wait a moment, allowing those who lingered near death to die. A notification appeared, but I ignored it. I was more interested in the experience I had gained. ¡°Show me the experience I gained,¡± wanting to see just how much experience I had gained. I was certain that I would see a surge of experience that would prove I had taken care of the mercenaries, or at least that I had taken care of the majority of them. Experience Gained: Killed 78 Creatures: (36 x 25 xp) + (25 x 50 xp) + (14 x 100 xp) + (3 x 200 xp) = 4150 xp Seeing that the experience gained was split between Alsvartr and myself again, I had to sit down and put my hands on my face. Maybe a few years down the road, I would look back on what I did over the next few minutes and laugh. However, the little kobold throwing a temper tantrum in the tunnel while laying on his back, screaming profanities, and cursing the loss of the experience was something I would never share with anyone. I knew I was acting crazy but couldn¡¯t stop myself. Chapter 30 - Death Incarnate A few minutes later, after recovering my self control, I walked toward the dead and burning mercenaries. Sniffing, I realized they smelled really delicious. I was seriously tempted to try a bite. Still, I decided against that. While I was hungry, I wasn¡¯t ready to feast on a once sentient creature. Remembering that a notification had appeared just before I looked at the experience points, I decided to take a look at it. ACHIEVEMENT - TITLE UNLOCKED: DEATH INCARNATE. You are less than a day old and have already slain over a hundred sentient creatures. You have gained additional Evil Favor. I had to sigh after reading the notification. Although I didn¡¯t want to be considered evil, I was starting to wonder. The main reason why was because I really didn¡¯t feel much guilt after doing what I had done. I hoped it was only because the mercenaries were invading my city to kill my new family. However, I did wonder if the titles might have other effects, such as influencing my mind. Realizing there was nothing I could do about it, I pushed aside my guilt about not feeling guilty and concentrated on more concrete things. Namely, the loot. Curious about what I might find, I cast the Detect Magic spell. This time, I didn¡¯t cast it as a ritual since I was in a hurry. Whenever I saw something that glowed with magic, I set it aside until I had a small pile of magic items. Each new item I found brought a new surge of joy into my heart. Once I had collected everything, I sat on the pile of magic items before rolling around on top of them. Just like a dragon, I had my own hoard. Finally, I sighed and decided to stop wasting time and looked for an item to identify. The first items I decided to look at were from those who survived the blast and the one or two who were wearing more expensive armor. At first, I was going to ignore some magic boots since I knew they wouldn¡¯t fit, but then a memory bubbled up which made me realize many magic items would resize themselves to fit the owner. Deciding to test it out, I pulled on the boots without even bothering to cast Identify on them. ¡°Interesting,¡± I said as they shrank down to size. In fact, they actually changed their shape to match my kobold feet. ¡°Okay, I might as well Identify them.¡± While I hadn¡¯t planned on doing so if I couldn¡¯t wear them, I felt compelled to see what they were after discovering I could wear them. After all, there were a lot of items and only a limited number of magic points or time to cast the Identify ritual. ¡°Ohh, nice,¡± I muttered, caressing the lizard-scaled boots once I discovered they were Boots of the Firelands. Apparently, I would have resistance to fire damage and could survive in sweltering hot temperatures while wearing them. Just the damage mitigation would be worth an attunement slot. Of course, I was only wearing them now, and wasn¡¯t going to get any benefit until I spent an hour attuning the boots. ¡°Let¡¯s see what¡¯s next. Will it be the necklace or will it be the cloak? Ohh, difficult choice. Let¡¯s go with the necklace.¡± Since I was sure that I could wear it, I immediately cast the Identify spell on the necklace. I almost started drooling once I realized what I had gained. It was a Necklace of Adaptation. The necklace would allow me to breathe in any environment and double my chances of resisting harmful gases. Unfortunately, it also required that I attune the item. ¡°Gnome bones,¡± I muttered as I realized something. ¡°I can only attune three items. Most good magic items require attunement. I might have to give up on wearing a few of my new goodies.¡± Sighing, I decided to keep inspecting the other items before impulsively deciding attuning to any magic items. The cloak turned out to be equally as good as the other items. In fact, it might even have been better. It was a Cloak of Protection. Not only would it increase my armor class, but it would also improve my ability to save against spells and other dangers. Of course, it also required attunement. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Sighing, I moved on to the next magic item, a magic gem of some type with a rune on it. Wondering what it was, I cast the Identify spell. However, this time I was quite disappointed. It was a gem that could hold one first level spell. In addition, the spell could not be changed. Not only that, it was an almost completely useless spell, Illusionary Script. On top of that, the spell was a ritual. It definitely wasn¡¯t worth keeping. I didn¡¯t even bother any longer with it, but said, ¡°Extract the magic from this item.¡± The extra magic points would be much more useful to me than the item itself. Although I was worried the pain would be bad, it wasn¡¯t as painful as I remembered. Perhaps I was getting used to it, or perhaps my body was adjusting to what I was doing. After the pain subsided, I wondered how high I could raise my magic points. If I extracted magic from thousands of magic items, I would be an unstoppable magic user. The only limit I would face would be that I wouldn¡¯t be able to use that magic points on higher-level spells. The reason was because casting those spells was stressful to the mind and body, which created a limit on the number of times each spell above fifth level could be cast. Notwithstanding this limit, I would be able to outcast anyone with lower-level spells. Smiling at the dream, I eagerly picked up another magic item, a dagger. While I was tempted to use Identify on the magic item, I was already fairly certain that the dagger would just be a plain old +1 magic dagger with no spells. I had never heard of a powerful magical dagger. Now a sword I wouldn¡¯t hesitate to check. Still, right before extracting the magic, I sighed and reluctantly wasted the magic points to cast the Identify spell. Of course I was right. It was a plain +1 dagger. There was nothing special about it. Even though it had cost me a couple of magic points to cast the spell, I probably would have been more annoyed if I had wasted ten minutes casting a ritual to learn that information. ¡°Extract the magic from this dagger,¡± I said, bracing myself for the pain. While it could have been my imagination, extracting the magic actually hurt less than I expected. Was I really getting used to the pain or had the pain lessened? Did it hurt less because it was a low-level magic item? ¡°Well, it doesn¡¯t really matter. Let¡¯s do this,¡± I said as I picked up the next item. After casting Identify yet again, I discovered it was yet another useless item. After extracting the magic, I went to the next item and continued doing this with each item until the very last item, another ring. Since I had an abundance of magic items, I also decided to offer a few of the items as sacrificial offerings to the system. My hope was to get more information out of the system. As it was, I felt like I wasn¡¯t being given enough information to make the best decisions. By the time I reached the last item, I was eager to see my information screen. ¡°Finally, another useful item,¡± I said, excited to get something good after so many disappointing items. A Ring of Mind Shielding was actually useful. While wearing it, I would be immune to magic that allowed other creatures to read my thoughts, determine whether I was lying, know my alignment, or know my creature type. If I died, my soul could even seek shelter within the ring. ¡°Oh, fudge,¡± I muttered, realizing that there might now be a soul within the ring. In fact, when a soul was inside the ring, it could communicate with the person wearing the ring. Considering I had killed the previous owner, his soul might be lingering within the ring. Having an angry spirit screaming obscenities inside my head every minute I dared to wear the ring made it a lot less attractive to me. ¡°Wait, maybe I can gain the benefits of the ring by using it as an evolutionary material,¡± I murmured, not willing to let go of the thought of so many attractive benefits from a magic item. The thought of having someone read my mind really bothered me. ¡°I want to use this item as an evolutionary material,¡± I said as I swallowed the ring. At worst, I could poop it out the next day if I was wrong. However, as expected, I was correct. Of course, that wasn¡¯t a surprise as I smirked and ran a hand along my head. EVOLUTIONARY MATERIALS INGESTED: RING OF MIND SHIELDING. Do you wish to assimilate the ring in order to evolve the twilight dragon bloodline, create an additional dragon bloodline, or mutate the twilight bloodline? Chapter 31 - Evolution Complete It took a lot of willpower to resist the impulse to start running around in a circle screaming, ¡°Choices!¡± However, due to my iron resolve, I was able to ignore the impulse. Instead, I only released a few almost inaudible whimpering growls. Knowing that I really didn¡¯t have a choice, I thought about my options. I tried clicking on each option, but of course, no additional information appeared. ¡°Okay, evolving the twilight bloodline is a good choice. Since I have already said I am the reborn god of twilight, this is probably my best option. The question was how it would affect me. Would I get additional powers or an upgrade on my old powers? ¡°As for my next option, creating an additional bloodline also seems acceptable. I suppose I could consider it as a red dragon mating with a black dragon. The wyrmling born from these parents might then have both fire and acid breath attacks. While it might not completely go with my god of twilight image, it would still be a great choice. ¡°As for my last option, mutating the twilight bloodline, that doesn¡¯t sound ideal.¡± I paused as I considered why the idea bothered me. Was it because of the word mutate? As far as being ideal, my current breath weapon, ether breath, wasn¡¯t ideal. While it was true that I had accomplished a lot with the ability, I definitely would prefer something¡­different. While I could put people to sleep, it was very much a double-edged sword that could be turned against me. What if I was breathing out the ether and someone cast the Fire Bolt cantrip on me? Would my head explode as the fumes ignited within my mouth? In fact, I think I remember a movie where that happened. I certainly didn¡¯t need something that should be my best support be turned against me. I already had my ex-wife bite my head off multiple times. ¡°Hmm, when I grow stronger I¡¯m going to hunt down some trolls and get some payback.¡± Pushing aside such a wonderful daydream, I concentrated on my choices again. The more I thought about it, the more the second two options seemed just as ideal as the first option. In fact, I was somewhat surprised that an option to completely replace my bloodline wasn¡¯t an option. I supposed that had something to do with the fact that you have to play with the cards that you are dealt. Considering my choices, I would probably not gain any benefits related to the ring if I chose the first option. If I went with the second option and obtained an additional bloodline, it would more than likely be related to the magic ring¡¯s powers. Considering I already possessed an eldritch sigil, had a level of eldritch mind, and was creating a new bloodline on a ring that affected minds and souls, the new bloodline would probably have something to do with the mind or magic. In fact, I might even get the magic dragon bloodline. Another option might be to gain the eldritch dragon bloodline. As for the mind and soul, I had no idea what it would be called. Still, it definitely sounded useful. I could keep my current abilities and be the god of twilight, but also have additional powers. That could be considered a win-win. As for the last option, mutating the twilight dragon bloodline, I really wasn¡¯t sure where to go with that. Would it be some type of combination of the first two options? What exactly would that look like? ¡°I guess it doesn¡¯t really matter,¡± I said, having already decided not to choose the third option. Somehow I doubted I would be something as cool as an X-Man or a teenage mutant ninja turtle. Sitting down, I tried to think of the benefits and disadvantages of each choice. I wasn¡¯t sure which of the first two options to choose. However, I was certain that I would regret it if I chose the wrong one. Therefore, I really needed to consider before I decided. An unpleasant surprise might await me if I made the wrong decision. ¡°With each option, I am actually keeping the twilight dragon bloodline. The first double-downs on my current bloodline, most likely increasing the potency of each ability. So, my ether breath would become more powerful, I would assume. While this has been useful, it really isn¡¯t my ideal type of breath weapon.¡± Reluctantly, I decided against choosing that option and thought about the second choice. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°As for the additional bloodline, it would probably only give me an additional type of breath weapon, which would be nice. However, bloodlines are often the most powerful when they are pure. Mixing two bloodlines might cause problems down the road. ¡°That leaves me with the mutation. These can be overwhelmingly powerful or self-destructive. For example, in reality, osteoporosis, which makes bones more brittle, can be caused by a lipoprotein receptor mutation. However, a different mutation of this lipoprotein receptor could also give a person unbreakable bones. Considering there was such a case in real life, how much more powerful could a mutation be in a place filled with magic. I might actually become Professor X.¡± The first option was low risk and low reward. The second was moderate risk with a moderate reward. The final choice was high risk but with a high reward. Deciding to test my luck, I chose to mutate the bloodline. Hopefully, I would receive a pleasant surprise. Unfortunately, the first surprise was the fact that the pain from evolving was much worse than when I extracted magic from the magic items. The pain was so bad in fact that I was only able to resist it for a few seconds before thankfully passing out. When I woke up, I noticed a new notification. Although I was curious how long I had been unconscious, it must not have been too long since nothing had changed. Instead, I concentrated on the new notification. EVOLUTION COMPLETE: You have mutated the twilight bloodline. Draconic gifts have undergone a transformation. New draconic gifts have been acquired. When I heard that I had acquired new draconic gifts, I wanted to pump my fist in the air and shout with joy. ¡°Yes,¡± I exclaimed, ¡°I made the right choice. Now let¡¯s see what those new gifts are and how the old gifts change. Show me the draconic gifts from my information screen.¡± Draconic Gifts: Entropic Quills, Flight, Immunity(Mental Effects, Magical Aging), Twilight Breath, Wings ¡°Sweet,¡± I said after seeing the immunities. While the second one didn¡¯t seem that useful, the first seemed a little overpowered. Wanting to better understand the breath and quill changes, I tried asking for more details. ¡°Please give me more information about the twilight breath and entropic quills.¡± I wasn¡¯t really expecting to get any results, but I was pleasantly surprised when more details popped up. Everyone, and everything, descends into Twilight eventually. Even day and night eventually fade away with time. Twilight is the time when all things move closer to the end. Everything that ages or dies is within the power of the twilight dragon. Life is a dream, and twilight dragons are harbingers of death. However, at the same time, they also represent new life. Some souls will stay in the darkness forever, but others are allowed to be reborn. This too is part of the domain of a twilight dragon. A twilight dragon¡¯s breath affects living creatures with a level of exhaustion. The breath also creates an effect similar to the Nightmare spell that affects all sentient creatures. Because this is not a true sleep, even creatures such as elves, who cannot be put to sleep, are affected and are placed within a sleep-like state. When these creatures wake up, they receive psychic damage. Life and dreams are followed by death. Just as many attributes decline during the twilight years of a creature¡¯s life, the twilight dragon¡¯s entropic quills can temporarily reduce a random attribute of a creature as well as paralyze that creature if it doesn¡¯t make a saving throw based on that attribute. Non-living creatures are affected by the quills as even inanimate objects become more fragile as they get older. Just as life and dreams are part of the domain of twilight dragons, so too are entropy and death. ¡°Oh my gosh,¡± I whispered, amazed at what I had just read. I wasn¡¯t sure whether I was more astounded by the description of twilight dragons or by the fact that so much information had been given to me. Was it because I sacrificed several magic items? If that were true, why wasn¡¯t I given more information when I was offered the choices earlier? Still, I had to admit I was much more powerful after the mutation. However, I did have to wonder what would have happened if I had chosen the first option. How would things have been different? What would have changed? Realizing I would never know, I quickly dismissed those thoughts as I still had more choices to make. For example, I had enough experience to level-up again. What was I going to do? Was I going to stick with the twilight theurgist or go with a different class? Would I have the same choices as before or would they be different? Chapter 32 - Overpowered Abilities ¡°Please open the available class choices,¡± I said, wanting to see if there were any changes. However, there were none. Since there weren¡¯t any changes, I decided to stick with the twilight theurgist for the moment. I had gained a lot of spell points, which would allow me to cast more spells than most magic users. Also, the next wizard level would grant me the ability to cast second level spells. The last time I had leveled up, it hadn¡¯t taken long. While I wasn¡¯t sure if the dream had been minutes or hours, at most it had been an hour or two. More than likely, just a short rest or nap amount of time. Feeling that I might fall asleep again, I sat down and leaned back against the wall before saying, ¡°level-up the wizard twilight theurgist class.¡± Immediately, I felt drowsy. My eyelids became so heavy I couldn''t keep them open. Slowly, I drifted into the darkness. Soon, I was flying through the night beneath countless stars. I watched as I saw my enemy. A group of adventurers were invading my lair, wanting to steal my treasures. Enraged, I cast the Aid spell upon myself before casting the Invisibility spell. Then I swooped down upon my enemies. A chaotic battle ensued, which subtly changed over time until I was a human who was sneaking into a dragon¡¯s lair. Even before I saw the dragon I became a kobold who was bringing a black dragon gold and gems. The dragon seemed pleased and gave me a vial filled with her blood. Upon drinking it, I transformed once more. Waking up, I found myself in the tunnels sitting amid the corpses of my enemies. They had tried to invade my lair, and I had defended the tribe. Smiling, I stood up and checked my information screen to see if there had been any changes. ¡°Interesting,¡± I said as I noticed a few odd things about my information screen. The temporary health points were gone, but my magic points were full. Even my mental energy had recovered. ¡°Probably because I increased a level. Maybe everything gets reset at that point.¡± Not really caring, I then looked at the other information, much of it still unfamiliar to me. Since I had unlocked extra information by sacrificing a few magic items, I decided to see if I could learn more about each of the class features I had guessed at earlier. For example, I wasn¡¯t worried about the arcane recovery since I had learned that it allowed me to recover some spell points by resting for an hour. However, the ancestral memories didn¡¯t include the Death Bringer feature. ¡°Please tell me more about the Death Bringer class feature,¡± I told the system. DEATH BRINGER: When you kill a creature, you regain one hit point. If you use a spell to kill the creature, you regain a number of health points equal to the spell¡¯s level. If you are at full health, you gain temporary health points that last until your next short rest. You can only benefit from this feature once a turn. That was actually what I had guessed, but it was good to make sure I wasn¡¯t missing any information. I decided to look at the next class feature, ¡°Please tell me about the Eyes of Night.¡± EYES OF NIGHT: You can see in the darkest night. You have darkvision as far as you could normally see in daylight. You can see in dim light as if it were bright light and in darkness as if it were dim light. As an action, you can magically share the darkvision of this feature with willing creatures you can see within 10 feet of you, up to your intelligence modifier. This darkvision lasts for one hour. You can share this feature again by using spell points. ¡°Okay,¡± I said, ¡°I hadn¡¯t even given that feature any consideration at all. In fact, I hadn¡¯t noticed a difference in my vision either. Maybe that is because I already had darkvision. Since I am underground, I can¡¯t see beyond the tunnels¡¯ twists and turns anyway, so it wasn¡¯t noticeable.¡± Deciding to keep going, I asked, ¡°Please tell me about the Shape Magic feature.¡± SHAPE MAGIC: You are able to learn any spell from any spell list as long as you possess a spell slot for that level. To learn this spell, you need to meditate upon the spell for ten minutes. You will then have the spell memorized until your next short rest. During that time, you can use your magic points to cast the spell. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. That was about what I had already concluded, so there was no surprise in that. I was a little confused by the spell slot however. Taking a moment, I tried to summon a memory about spell slots from the kobold ancestral memories. A few seconds later, I realized that if someone had multiple classes, they might be limited in the higher-level spells they could learn. For example, a third level wizard could normally learn second level spells. However, a second level wizard with one cleric level would combine their spellcasting levels to determine the maximum spell level they could cast. However, they might not know any spells because of their lower class level. Therefore, the second level wizard with a level in cleric wouldn¡¯t know any second level spells. However, they would have a second level spell slot because they possessed three spellcaster levels. ¡°Dang! I almost messed up there.¡± I whispered. If I had taken more than a couple of levels in a non-spellcasting class, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to cast the most powerful spells. As it was, the Shape Magic feature would allow me to mitigate my class change at least a little. Worried I might have missed something else, I said, ¡°Please tell me about the Sorcery feature.¡± SORCERY: You can use your mind to form spells, rather than relying on words, gestures, and materials. If you choose to make any additional alterations to spells, such as careful casting, distant casting, extending time, heightening, quick casting, seeking, transmuted, or twinning, you will need to spend spell points to alter the spell casting. ¡°Wow,¡± I mouthed. I really had missed a lot of information. Sacrificing the additional magic items had been well worth the investment. I had no idea about the information. Wondering what else I needed to know, I asked about another class feature, ¡°Please tell me about the Soul Collector class feature.¡± SOUL COLLECTOR: When you kill a creature, you also can collect part of its soul. You can collect a number of soul remnants equal to your Charisma modifier. You can use these souls to create spell slots. Only spells that pertain to spirits can be cast in this manner. ¡°Oh, so that is what the soul fragments were used for. As for spirit spells, I don¡¯t know any. I guess that is where the Shape Magic would come in handy again. I really need to find a way to get more spells to add to the Aegis Libram. I was already intending for it to be my spellbook. After all, there were a lot of blank pages to add spells inside it. I just needed the spells themselves. I can¡¯t wait until I am able to learn the spells inside the spellbook.¡± I had learned a lot of information already and was almost done. The Twilight Aura was the last class feature I needed to learn about. ¡°Please tell me about the Twilight Aura, Twilight Breath, and Entropic Quills.¡± TWILIGHT AURA: You can create an aura of twilight to protect your allies and silence your enemies. As an action, you can create a sphere of twilight that is centered on you, has a 30-foot radius, and is filled with dim light. The sphere moves with you, and it lasts for 1 minute. Whenever a creature ends its turn in the sphere, you can cause one of the following effects: TWILIGHT BREATH: Your breath weapon carries with it the impending deterioration or death everything and everyone faces as time draws everything ever closer to oblivion. Creatures and objects affected by your breath will rapidly age. Mental skills might be forgotten and physical abilities might deteriorate. Even magic itself can be affected, causing spell failure or botches. All creatures will gain a level of exhaustion and permanently lose health points equal to your level in addition to a number of health points equal to your current health points. ENTROPIC QUILLS: Your feathers carry with them the impending deterioration or death everything and everyone faces as time draws everything ever closer to oblivion. Creatures and objects affected by your quills will age one year for each quill. All creatures will gain a level of exhaustion and permanently lose one health point. For each quill used, flying speed will be reduced by one percent until the feather regrows. I wanted to go to the nearest wall and bash my head against the stone. This ability was overpowered. It was simply amazing, and I hadn¡¯t been using it. ¡°Oh my gosh, this is why information is king. Knowledge is power.¡± Quickly, I looked at the rest of my information screen to see if I needed to ask any other questions. However, nothing else really stood out to me. Sighing, I quietly gave myself a pat on the back. ¡°Being a genius sure helps,¡± I said as I looked at my information screen, almost ready to burst into giggles at how powerful I had become in such a short time. What was even better was the fact that I would be able to increase my power as soon as I absorbed some of the useless magic items, I traded the bag of holding for when I returned to my room. It was almost like a dream. In fact, could it be a dream? Was my entire kobold existence a dream? Was I actually sleeping in my bed at home? Had I really reincarnated? My heart started to beat faster as I started to question reality. Then I thought about something Einstein had once said. What was it? Chapter 33 - My First Treasure Hoard I took a few seconds to adjust my thinking so that I could clearly remember. According to Einstein, ¡°Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.¡± In fact, physicists had theorized that the physical universe existed because we perceived it. It was a sort of mass hallucination that we used to make sense of the mathematical relationships of objects. For example, my father had a pink corvette for a few days. He thought it looked cool until someone told him it was actually not red like he thought. ¡°I really should not have asked him what matched before going to school,¡± I murmured to myself. ¡°Good thing I didn¡¯t inherit the color-blind gene.¡± That reminded me of my second wife. She could see a lot of color differences that were imperceptible to me. Then again, women, on average, could often see more hues and tints than men. Just like sight, smells were even more susceptible to interpretation. If I walked into a truly horrible smell, it would be almost like walking into a wall of air that I could not go through easily. This could also apply to creatures, theoretically. What if a creature was made out of various lighter-than-air gasses. A wall of water would be a solid wall to that creature while we could walk right through. Perhaps ghosts were creatures that actually existed but were made of some special type of substance. Probably not. They were more likely an existence from another plane of existence or spiritual energy that had yet to dissipate. Then again, I had never believed in ghosts, although they might exist in the new world I had entered. ¡°That would be interesting,¡± I muttered to myself. ¡°Anyway, back to illusionary reality.¡± I remembered that there was an experiment where electrons passed through two slits. If no one observed, each electron would act like they had gone through both slits and would land in one of four areas. However, if observed, the electron would only land in two areas. The particles of light acted as if they knew when they were being observed and changed what they would do if no one was watching. There was another theory that said that every particle was actually only one particle that was going back and forth in time and through multiple dimensions. That would mean that everyone was connected, which might also explain the double slit experiment. I wasn¡¯t sure that I believed that, however. I couldn¡¯t imagine acting the way I had seen other people act before no matter what circumstances I had been through. Of course, there was also Bostrom¡¯s theory. It theorized that the universe was a massive simulation. That was looking a little more believable to me after crossing over. I even had a ¡°game system¡± with levels and everything. Maybe there was a glitch, or someone really liked me in one game and decided to add me to another game. If that were true, then the gods in this world would not be real gods but might only be computer programs that ran the server that maintained the planet. Of course, the gods on this planet might actually be the ¡°real¡± people who were playing the ¡°game of fantasy world¡± where they were the gods. That would mean that everyone else, including myself, were artificial intelligences. If that was the case, maybe I could find a way to escape this reality and download my consciousness into a ¡°real¡± body. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it Shivering at the thought, I tried not to think about it and murmured, ¡°Let¡¯s think about something else. Things are getting too metaphysical. Let¡¯s stick with Descartes. ¡®I think, therefore I am.¡¯ Also, if I was an artificial intelligence, there might be dozens of me running around out there. I¡¯m sure reality would cease to exist if there were more than one of me.¡± Banishing those mind disturbing thoughts to the recesses of my brain, I concentrated on the present. For example, there was a small party of kobold scouts quickly approaching my position. Standing up, I waved to them as I started walking toward the kobolds. ¡°Please check their belongings for any orders, such as who told them to come here,¡± I told the kobolds. While I was hopeful, they would already think about looking for the documents I wanted to make certain. After all, I somehow doubted a group of mercenaries would be hired at the same time as the visiting kobold ambassador. Not really wanting to stick around, I flew up into the air and started toward Chuck Norris Bridge with Alsvartr flying behind me. This time I wasn¡¯t going to leave her. If the other kobolds had a problem with her being with me, they could deal with it. By the time I got close, I noticed Geyma in the distance and landed. Seeing me, she rushed up and looked at me as if looking for any injuries. Not seeing any, she said, ¡°Hurry, head home. While I know you discovered the approaching army, you need to head back and let us take care of it. We are going to lay some traps to slow them down.¡± ¡°No need,¡± I said with a smile. ¡°They are all already dead. I took care of them.¡± She was so surprised that she didn¡¯t even react when Alsvartr swooped down and landed next to me. I quickly put my hand on my familiar¡¯s head to let her know the tenebrous bat wasn¡¯t dangerous, at least not to her. After a moment, she looked ready to say something, but she ended up remaining silent. Finally, she asked, ¡°What? Wait? You took care of them?¡± She looked at me again, as if unsure she could trust her ears. She stared at me in confusion and clearly had no idea what to say. I watched for a moment, enjoying the fact that I had rendered her speechless. Still, I only enjoyed it for a moment before weariness started to settle in again. ¡°I¡¯m going to my room,¡± I said tiredly. Now that I was safely back in the city, it felt like I had been drained of all my energy. I was exhausted. Because of this, I trudged through the tunnels back to my room. When one of the ambassador¡¯s servants peeked out his door but quickly retreated and shut the door when I noticed him. I was so tired that I didn¡¯t even take notice of which caregiver was standing outside my door. I just nodded to her absently and entered my own room. My limbs felt heavy as I climbed onto the bed. It didn¡¯t even occur to me to fly instead. I fell asleep the moment my head hit the pillow. When I woke up the next morning, there was a pile of magic items and gold coins in the middle of the floor. I couldn¡¯t believe it. I quickly leaped off the bed. I was amazed by how many trinkets Dr¨®ttinn had brought me. ¡°Yippie¡± I yipped as I dove into the pile of treasures and started to make a magical item snow or sand angel. Of course, I ignored the bruises and scratches I received. Just being able to swim in treasures was worth such minor discomforts. Unfortunately, the novelty soon wore off and I reluctantly decided to get serious. That was the moment when I realized that I was going to have to cast the Identify spell again and again on each and every item. A small sob escaped my lips before I decided that was the price I was going to have to pay for power. Fortunately, my firm resolution wasn¡¯t needed. Whoever had brought the magic trinkets had also labeled the items with small tags. I felt a surge of affection for whichever kobold had made the labels. Rubbing my clawed hands together, I looked around to see which item I would examine first. Chapter 34 - Magic Evolution Curious, I picked up a pair of glasses. After reading the description, I quickly extracted the magical energy. There was no way I was going to find any use whatsoever with Glasses of Blindness, especially when they cause the wearer to become blind instead of curing blindness. The next item was just as bad. It was a ring of waterbreathing. While this would normally be amazing, the race restriction made it unusable. I somehow doubted this ring of waterbreathing would ever be worn by any member of the undead race. Therefore, I extracted the magic energy from it as well. Initially, the Ring of Attunement actually caused my heart to race for a moment. While wearing it, I would gain an additional attunement slot. However, that was its only function. My hopes were dashed when I realized it also required an attunement slot. I was just about to extract the magic from it as well when a thought occurred to me. What if I could absorb it or use it in some roundabout way? Because of this, I decided to put it to the side and think more about it later. ¡°Oh my goodness,¡± I muttered after reading the next item. ¡°Who made these items? Oh well, I guess it doesn¡¯t matter. They are all food for my growth.¡± With that, I resolutely extracted another item. Snorting, I murmured to myself, ¡°Lesser Invisibility Cloak. It makes you invisible to others if they aren¡¯t looking at you. So useful¡­not!¡± Each item made me more and more convinced that my fellow kobolds might be a little strange. Why in the world would you want to create a ¡°Swiftly Returning Arrow¡± that appears back in your quiver before it hits the enemy? Or for that matter, why keep a ¡°Harp of Invisibility?¡± While it did actually turn the person playing the instrument invisible, this only worked if the enemies could hear the harp playing. When I saw the ¡°Drums of Silence,¡± I couldn¡¯t resist the impulse to smack my forehead. Really? A drum that you could play but that would make no sounds. ¡°Hmm, actually, that actually has potential,¡± I thought as I started to think about the implications. Sighing, I placed it next to the ¡°Ring of Attunement.¡± I had to pause after reading one of the tags on one of the magic scrolls. It was a lesser scroll of removing blindness. However, the person who was blind had to be the person who read the words to activate the scroll. ¡°Okay, my fellow kobolds are strange for keeping these items, but what about the wizards who created these items? Were these failed experiments or jokes?¡± At one point, I realized some annoying gnome who thought he was funny must have pulled a fast one on one of my brethren. Three of the items were not magical at all. One was a ¡°Stone of Detect Invisibility.¡± When thrown, if it hits something, it means that there is something invisible there. Another was a ¡°Stone of Detect Illusion.¡± If the stone goes through something when thrown, it is an illusion. The ¡°Weather Detection Rock¡± was enough to make me groan. Apparently, you needed to put the rock outside. If it was wet, it was rainy. If it was hot, then it was sunny. Rolling my eyes, I briefly considered selling a few ¡°magic¡± items. For example, a helmet of protection that helps the wearer resist damage to their head. I could also create a ring of rest, where after sleeping for eight hours, you would feel like you have had a good rest. For some reason, a brief mental image of a young kobold tricking a gnome while telling horrible jokes to gain attention before selling his ¡°magic items.¡± The little bitty gnome would be amazed by the magic items, and even more by the jokes, ¡°What happens when a dark elf casts sleep on you? You get drow-sy. And speaking of sleepiness. If you are in need of a sleep aid, how about this ring of rest? Only three gold coins.¡± I could even imagine the gnome rubbing his grubby little hands together, determined to buy the magic item and then try selling it for a profit. Of course, like every black-hearted gnome, he would try to get the lowest price when he buys the ring and sell it for as much as he could. He¡¯d probably even steal the kobold¡¯s jokes, such as, ¡°Why does leather armor make you better at sneaking? It¡¯s made of hide. Speaking of armor, how about you take a look at this amazing piece of leather armor I recently acquired.¡± A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Scowling, I had to resist the impulse to look around for a gnome to sucker punch. Gnomes think they are hilarious when in fact they are just laughable. Fortunately, I hadn¡¯t been reincarnated as a gnome. Nodding at my good fortune, I went back to my magical trinkets, but not before making a joke of my own. ¡°Where should rangers keep their arrows? In a gnome¡¯s back.¡± Laughing, I happily started reading the next tag. Putting aside such thoughts, I focused on the remaining items. Slowly, I worked my way through the items. I ended up extracting the magic energy from most of the items. Only a few items remained next to me when new pop-ups appeared. ACHIEVEMENT - TITLE UNLOCKED: VORACIOUS. You are only a day old and have repeatedly demonstrated a voracious appetite, whether for food, possessions, or experience. Your stomach cannot be satiated. You have greedily sought out magic items. You have gained more experience in one day that others might gain in their life. However, these are not enough for you. Because of this, Gleypa, the Goddess of Desire, granted you her favor. You have gained additional Evil Favor. ¡°Really?¡± I sighed. All newborn kobolds ate a lot. That was one reason they were able to grow quickly. As for the experience and magic items, both were simply food to grow stronger. Despite this, Gleypa has apparently appreciated his actions. More than likely, her attention had been drawn to him by the fact that other dark gods had taken an interest in him. Perhaps she was giving him the title just to let him know she existed, sort of like saying, ¡°Pay attention to me.¡± As for having the attention of an evil goddess of desire, that definitely didn¡¯t sound good. More than likely, her desires probably weren¡¯t love-related. Instead, they were probably more like gluttony, lust, greed, and other similar desires. I was almost tempted to imagine what she looked like when I decided that was also not a good idea. Who knew if they could read my thoughts? Sighing, I took a deep breath and picked up one of the magic items I had earlier placed to the side. While I had planned to trade the Bag of Holding for more magic items, I decided to take a risk. If I had more strength, the Bag of Holding might have been worth keeping, but as it was, the bag was simply too heavy and awkward to carry around. Because of this, I chose to try evolving my draconic bloodline with the magic item. Bracing myself just in case my idea worked, I gave a command to the system to evolve my draconic bloodline, ¡°Assimilate the Bag of Holding.¡± I half-expected nothing to happen since all my draconic gifts had already been unlocked. Another reason was because I didn¡¯t specify if I wanted to evolve or mutate my draconic bloodline. Because of this, the sudden stabbing pain surprised me. Gritting my teeth, I struggled to retain consciousness. For some reason, the pain seemed to go on and on without stopping. After an unknown amount of time, the pain faded away, leaving my little body trembling. However, all the pain was worth it when the expected pop-up appeared. EVOLUTION COMPLETE. You have evolved the twilight bloodline. New draconic gifts have been acquired. I was sorely tempted to look at update information, but I resisted the impulse. The pain had been terrible and I had several magic items to go. In fact, I was really hesitant to go through that pain again. Just the idea of going through the pain again and again caused me to shiver. I had almost passed out as it was. Then again, maybe I should do all the remaining magic items at the same time. I even placed the Drums of Silence back into the larger pile. One more item shouldn¡¯t make a big difference. Go big or go home. I knew that what I was about to do would definitely knock me out. On the plus side, that would mean that I wouldn¡¯t be in pain for more than a few seconds. Moving all but three items that I wanted to keep, the boots, the Libram, and the wizard¡¯s spellbook, to a corner of the room, I then sat down with the remaining items in my lap. I almost missed a bag of coins when I moved the items. After a brief glance inside, I realized someone had collected all the coins from the people I killed earlier and placed them into one bag. I frowned at first before I realized that most of the copper and silver coins had been changed into gold coins. With these coins, I could start my dragon hoard. It took me a moment to get over the gold coins and look back at the magic items. Grimacing, I looked at them and said, ¡°It will make me stronger. It¡¯s only pain. No pain, no gain.¡± With that, I paused for a moment before gathering up enough courage to say, ¡°Assimilate the magic items.¡± A second later, I regretted my decision as pain rolled over me, sending me into darkness. Chapter 35 - Body of Twilight and Twilight Zone ¡°Shut up,¡± I muttered through a sore throat, irritated by the moans and groans of some obnoxious individual who wouldn¡¯t let me sleep. They sounded like they were dying. I fought through the piercing headache to open my eyes to find out who was being so dramatic. That was when I discovered that I was alone in my room and that I was the one making the sounds. ¡°Well, that¡¯s fine. After what I went through, I can make whatever sounds I want.¡± As it was, I was trying to focus my mind enough to read the new pop-up notifications. It took me a few minutes, but the headache finally started to fade away. Despite this, my body ached quite a lot. Finally, I recovered enough to glance at my information screen. I was pleased to see that my magic points had increased to fifty-five points. However, that wasn¡¯t what brought me the most joy. I now had something called a ¡°Twilight Dimension.¡± While I did want to groan at the system¡¯s choice of a name, I had to admit it was an amazing ability. While I was overjoyed with the large increase in my magic point pool, what excited me the most was what happened with the Bag of Holding. Looking back at the notifications, I realized that the Bag of Holding had transformed into a connection to the Astral Plane, giving me a small pocket dimension called the Twilight Zone. ¡°Wait. What? You must be kidding me? Now I¡¯m certain that either the System or the creator of the System has a weird sense of humor. Still, I have to admit. It is a nice power.¡± In addition, I had actually gained an additional attunement slot available due to the Ring of Attunement. I was very pleased, and this only increased the more I read. My magic points had obviously gone up, and surprising, so had my mental energy. Heightened Senses, Blindsight, and Lucky were kind of obvious. However, I definitely needed more information about Body of Twilight. Because of this, I clicked on it to see what else I could learn about it. BODY OF TWILIGHT: Shadows embrace your body, turning it partially incorporeal. Physical attacks have a 50% chance of passing through your body on a successful attack. In addition, your proficiency in Stealth is doubled when not in direct sunlight. ¡°Nice. I don¡¯t see anything about a time limit, but I¡¯m sure there is one. Otherwise, it would be too overpowered. I¡¯m probably limited in the number of times I can use it each day or limited by how long I can maintain the Body of Twilight. Either way, I¡¯m quite satisfied.¡± Thinking about the new additions to my information screen, I realized that more than half of the magic items I had used to evolve my draconic bloodline didn¡¯t seem to have any effect at all. I wondered if they combined to create particular effects. For example, the Belt of Darkness, the Bracers of Shadows, and the Cloak of Protection might have combined to create the Body of Twilight. That actually made sense since I chose those items that I thought would be the most likely to resonate with my Twilight Bloodline. Smiling, I laid back and enjoyed feeling like an overpowered protagonist. Whoever had given him the system was an avatar of awesomeness, a brilliant being, a cosmic caregiver, a divine deity, an exemplar of excellence, a fantastic father or marvelous mother, a god of generosity, a herald of happiness, an incarnation of incredibleness, a just¡­.ah judge? ¡°Bah, I probably need to start working on organizing my thoughts. I need to plan out what I want to do next.¡± Thinking about the future, I stood up and picked up the last remaining magic items that I hadn¡¯t chosen to extract magic from or use for evolving my draconic bloodline. The first one I picked up was the Aegis Libram which I quickly put within my pocket dimension. The remaining magic item was the Boots of the Firelands I was currently wearing. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. Deciding I should attune the boots while I had the opportunity, I sat down and started concentrating. Fire resistance was too important to neglect. In fact, I felt a little stupid for not having already attuned the boots. That should have been one of the first things I did after getting them. By the time I was done attuning the boots, my stomach was growling again. ¡°Oh my, how does the tribe feed so many hungry newborn kobolds?¡± Getting up, I looked around to see I had forgotten about any leftover food. Unfortunately, I found nothing. Realizing my stomach was getting louder with its demands, I decided to go get some food. It wasn¡¯t as if there was anything left for me to do in my room. I had already taken care of all the magic items. Fortunately, just as I was about to open the door and head outside, someone knocked on the door. ¡°Come in,¡± I said, wondering who was visiting me. Of course, the number of possible choices could be counted on the fingers of one of my hands. For some reason, I was relieved that it wasn''t Dr¨®ttinn or Geyma. Instead, it was someone new, an older female kobold with scales that had long since lost their luster. However, the bling she was wearing more than made up for the lackluster appearance of her scales. ¡°Dang,¡± I thought. ¡°She was wearing more jewelry than any of the other kobolds I had seen.¡± ¡°Greetings Gothi N¨®ttormr, I am Forsj¨¢. We have brought food for you,¡± she said. She then took a step back and made a beckoning motion. She did pause a moment and sniff, wrinkling her nose as if trying to figure out something. However, other than sharing a look with the other female kobolds who entered immediately after she did, she said nothing. These three female kobolds also wrinkled their noses and looked at me. I was about to ask why they were making faces when I smelled the food from the food that they were carrying into the room. These trays were placed on the large table. Of course, the table was too high so they had to lift the food plates above their heads to slide them onto the table. My mouth started drooling as soon as they walked in. I could barely take my eyes off the food. However, with a monumental effort, I tore my gaze away and smiled at the kobold females. ¡°Thank you very much. I was just about to leave to get some food. I appreciate your thoughtfulness,¡± I said, nodding to each of them in turn. ¡°If possible, could you bring a lot of nonperishable food so that if I get hungry, I can snack?¡± ¡°It would be our pleasure,¡± Forsj¨¢ said, smiling back at me. She gave me a brief bow and motioned for everyone to leave. As soon as the door closed, I pounced on the food like a gnome would pounce on a copper coin. Standing in the chair so that I could reach the food, I didn¡¯t even care that some of the food was trying to slowly crawl off the plate. That just meant that they were the first ones to meet my stomach. I silently chomped down on the food until it disappeared. The voracious title certainly fit me I had to admit. Giving a little burp after I was done, I sat back and instinctively tried to unbuckle my belt before I realized I wasn¡¯t wearing one. In fact, the only thing I was wearing was a pair of boots. The scaled boots were black and actually almost matched my own scales. While I was thinking about what to do next, the young females returned with more food. They placed several bags on the bed and started picking up the emptied plates. They also brought several pouches of water. At least, that is what I assumed was in the pouches. This was a pleasant surprise. I had expected them to bring another jug of water. Because of this, I could just carry the food and drink with me. In fact, I even had a belt I could use to carry them. The tag said it was a Weight Watching Belt. Apparently, you could tell if you were gaining weight or losing weight by observing how much of the belt was left after looping it through the ring. Needless to say, it wasn¡¯t actually magical. I really needed to find out who was curating the magic items and teach him the Detect Magic ritual. How in the world could someone who can¡¯t even cast a first level spell be in charge of magic items? Were magic users that rare? It actually raised some grave concerns for me. Chapter 36 - Dragon Personalities Speaking of grave concerns, I was also concerned about more adventurers showing up. While it was possible that the green kobolds from the Groenneitr Tribe might have nothing to do with their arrival, something told me that they were somehow related. Kobolds usually took after the dragons they served. Red dragons did whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted. They were straightforward. Of course, they didn¡¯t really care what other people thought about their actions. They were the biggest, strongest, and the quickest to anger out of all dragons if they didn¡¯t get their way. Considering they were among the most powerful types of dragons; this wasn¡¯t good for anyone near a red dragon. While all dragons were narcissistic, red dragons embodied this trait. They embodied arrogance and would fight to the death for their pride. They believed that those who couldn¡¯t protect what they had didn¡¯t deserve to have it. They were the barbarians of the dragon race, and just like barbarians, they could rage for days if they didn¡¯t get whatever they wanted or if someone dared to cross them. If I had chosen a color for them, I might have given them a Hulk green color instead of a fiery red color. Red kobolds were also straightforward in their ways. Give them shiny trinkets, wine, food, and females, and they would be happy for life. They didn¡¯t scheme and plot to obtain these things though. They also knew that they weren¡¯t strong enough to go out and take whatever they wanted like red dragons. This brought about the main difference between red dragons and red kobolds, which was that they worked hard, very hard. Red dragons wanted someone to work hard serving their needs, to give them food, wine, and gold, while they lazed around. Bon vivants would be an apt description of both red dragons and red kobolds. The dragons could get away with it because of their power. If I had to get technical, I might look at the Myers-Briggs personalities. Red kobolds were definitely extroverts who liked being around others. While some were sensors, most were intuitive. They often daydreamed about wild possibilities instead of concentrating on down-to-earth solutions to problems. Red kobolds were also feelers, who didn¡¯t always think about the consequences of their actions. They just did whatever they felt like they should do. As for making plans, that wasn¡¯t always possible since they lived at the whims of the red dragons. They were definitely perceivers who had to be aware of moods and be able to change plans at the drop of a hat. Green dragons were quite different, however. They weren¡¯t even close to as powerful as red dragons, but they were more cunning. While they weren¡¯t as smart as blue dragons, they had an innate affinity for manipulation and betrayal that red dragons wouldn¡¯t bother to learn. Also, they were just as proud and narcissistic as the red dragons. However, instead of being proud of their brawn, they were instead proud of their brains. I couldn¡¯t fault them for this. In my previous life, my brawn was minimal, but my brain was large. Even in middle school I was taking math classes at college. Unfortunately, my desire to daydream and be lazy far outweighed my desire to learn more. Sure, writing computer programs for fun was good when I was bored, but I had no desire to do one thing again and again. I easily got bored and often started new projects before finishing the old projects. Realizing I had gotten off track again, I tried to remember what I had been thinking about. ¡°Oh yeah, I remember now,¡± I said. ¡°I was thinking about green dragons.¡± Green dragons were the type who would pretend to be your friend and then stab you in the back as soon as it was beneficial to them. Most green dragons preferred to fight with borrowed hands. To do this, they would enslave different races to act as minions and cannon fodder for them. They loved to corrupt powerful or influential individuals whose power they could use to get what they wanted. They were highly adept at schemes and betrayal. This also applied to green kobolds. Just like green dragons, green kobolds also tried to use their minds more than their brawn. They were generally physically weaker than red kobolds but made up for this fact by having superior mental abilities. Red kobolds definitely weren¡¯t the sharpest knives in the drawer, as evidenced by the Weather Detection Rock and Stone of Detect Invisibility magic items. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. ¡°Hmm, maybe it was green kobolds who sold us those items instead of some greedy little gnome,¡± I mused. However, using I could certainly see the green kobolds spreading a rumor that my tribe had some type of treasure to lure adventurers into attacking us. Then, after we are weakened, they might swoop in and finish us off. The more I thought about this, the more I decided I might be on the right track. I could see them telling adventurers that since the red dragon is sleeping, it would be the perfect time to raid the weak kobold city for the gold they would be offering the dragon as soon as it woke up. In fact, that might be why the representative from the Groenneitr Tribe was in the city. Of course, there had to be more to it than that. Unless the green kobolds covered their tracks, when Einvaldskonungr woke up, he would be furious to find out that the gold his red kobolds had collected for him had been stolen. Therefore, they needed a scapegoat, or at the very least someone who was capable of injuring the red dragon enough so that Groenneitr could come in and finish him off afterwards. Sitting back, I absently started eating as my mind raced. Even if the Groenneitr ambassador hadn¡¯t heard about the adventurer¡¯s failed raid on the city by now, he soon would. If I was him, what would I do? First, I needed to factor in his thoughts about the adventurers. Considering that there actually hadn¡¯t been enough adventurers in the raiding party for a full-scale invasion where everything is burnt to the ground, that implied it was meant to be a surgical strike. They rush in, get what they want, and get out. If that was the case, this wouldn¡¯t directly benefit the Groenneitr Tribe. However, it would be like them to lay an ambush for the adventurers as soon as they escaped with the gold. They could easily have lured the adventurers into attacking us. Many of the adventurers would get injured in our traps before escaping with the gold. Then the adventurers, tired and injured, but having escaped with the gold would let their guard down after getting away would fall into a trap of the Groenneitr Tribe¡¯s making. ¡°Wait, there has to be more to it than that. Green kobolds love using poison. I¡¯m sure they would have poisoned the food to soften up the tribe if they knew the adventurers were coming. Perhaps that was their plan, but the ambassador didn¡¯t get the opportunity to poison my tribe¡¯s food supply. More than likely, the ambassador thought he could easily fool the gullible, stupid red kobolds, but had discovered we were smarter than he gave us credit for. ¡°Dang, why couldn¡¯t the ambassador have been from a tribe of blue kobolds?¡± That would have been much easier to deal with. Even though they were smarter and more powerful than green dragons, blue dragons had personalities that were more straightforward. Green dragons, although they would never admit it, depended on the lesser races to make up for their inability to match up to red and blue dragons. They simply couldn¡¯t compare. However, they did excel at using other races to their benefit. Red dragons tolerated kobolds just because they served them. Blue dragons were smart enough to know that they couldn¡¯t fight head on against red dragons but were also able to use their intelligence to make up for this fact. Green dragons, however, often had to rely on others to make up for their weaknesses. This was where they excelled. Red dragons didn¡¯t care about the lesser races. Blue dragons were too proud to associate with these races. However, green dragons often interacted with other races, mostly to the detriment of whichever race they used to achieve their plans. While I was a little hesitant to admit it, black kobolds had a worse reputation than green dragons. Black dragons were the most vicious and sadistic type of dragon. While if it came to a fight, black dragons might be able to beat a green dragon in a fight, most green dragons would have enough minions around to deal with the black dragon for them. The only dragon that was less impressive than a black dragon was a white dragon. Both of these types of dragons were seen as savages by the other dragons. Because of this, black kobolds tribes had small populations, and white kobolds were almost extinct. Of course, technically, I wasn¡¯t a black kobold. Black kobolds served black dragons. I would be considered a¡­I wasn¡¯t really sure now that I thought about it. ¡°Oh well, I need to concentrate on what to do next anyway,¡± I muttered, still feeling annoyed that I would be lumped in with black kobolds. ¡°I know, quite racist of me. At least I wasn¡¯t a white kobold. Anyway, what should I do next? Should I warn the cooks to be on the lookout for someone trying to poison the food? Should I ask for some scouts to search for possible ambush sites where the green kobold tribe might be hiding? Should I go back into the tunnels and grind some experience points so that I can level-up and become more powerful?¡± Chapter 37 - List of Concerns While I hoped that Dr¨®ttinn was smart enough to have taken the necessary precautions, I decided to make a list of my concerns, just in case. Moving to the bookshelf, I flew up to the top shelf and grabbed some paper, ink, and quills before sitting down on the table. I didn¡¯t really want to stand on the chair and write, so I might as well sit on top of the table instead. After pondering for a few minutes, I dipped the quill in ink and began writing out factors that might be influential in any upcoming conflicts. Sources of Concern I left out several ideas since I considered them long-term plans or are simply not feasible. For example, while some of the kobolds were capable fighters, most kobolds were trappers and miners. While the trappers would be useful, the traps were already in place, and therefore, trappers wouldn¡¯t be quite as useful. ¡°When I am in charge,¡± I said to no one in particular, ¡°I am definitely going to implement some type of combat training for all kobolds.¡± Looking down at the essentials for defending the kobold tribe¡¯s territory, I decided a few of things I had written down could be eliminated. Preparing backup supplies was probably not possible, at least not with the number of growing kobold newborns. If I had any indication of how much the average kobold wyrmling could eat, I was already amazed the tribe was able to scrounge enough food to satisfy all the hungry mouths. Stockpiling extra food was probably impossible, at least in the short term. The same could be said for other supplies, such as healing potions or weapons. Reinforcing defenses and limiting access could also be written off the list. As it was, there were already so many traps that it boggled my mind. Therefore, everything that could be done to reinforce defenses had most likely already been done. Preparing shelters and escape routes were also projects that had long since been accomplished. As for securing communication lines, I wasn¡¯t even sure how this could be done in a magical world. Therefore, I needed more information before I could make productive recommendations. In fact, preparing for casualties and creating contingency plans also had to already be in place. Even gnomes were smart enough to prepare for such things in a world where adventurers could attack at any minute. That really only left a few details that I should be really worried about, the safety and preservation of food and water sources, other resources, and scouting the perimeter. Had I not been lucky enough to encounter the adventurers, the kobold tribe might have been surprised, at least to some degree. Now that such a large party of enemies had arrived, I was certain that there must be some kobold scouts searching the perimeter of our territory. Essentially, the main thing we needed to focus on that might not already be done would be to guard the resources of the tribe. Nodding, I placed stars next to those two items. However, I also realized there really wasn¡¯t much that I could do. However, since I was a gothi of the tribe, I most likely had the authority to issue a few commands, or at the least, a few requests. ¡°Dang, I really should have asked for someone to stop by periodically, just in case I needed anything,¡± I said to myself as I picked up the piece of paper. I then crawled down off the table and went to the door. While I doubted anyone would be passing by, I could always wait a few minutes until someone did and get them to pass on my message. Once I opened the doorway, however, I was pleasantly surprised. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. One of the maids was sitting outside the door. Apparently, she had been asked to stay in case I needed something. Smiling, I held out the piece of paper I had written on, ¡°Can you give this to Dr¨®ttinn? I scribbled down some of my worries. Please let him know that I am sure he has already taken care of these issues, but for my peace of mind, I wanted to share them with him. I don¡¯t really trust the Groenneitr ambassador. Please let him know that the ambassador considers me an enemy.¡± Of course, the only reason I knew this was because of my information screen. How else would I be considered an enemy of his tribe? That was another reason I was certain that the ambassador and the intruders were somehow related. If I really thought it wouldn¡¯t cause more problems than it would solve, I would have considered taking him out of the picture. The maid bowed. ¡°As you wish,¡± she said, taking the piece of paper. Without another word, she turned around and hurried off to deliver the message. After she left, I realized something, ¡°Wait, there is something I can do,¡± I said, thinking about the Libram. It had several rituals that could be cast. Smiling, I returned to my room and climbed onto the bed with the Aegis Libram. Opening the book, I started reading it to see if there were any useful spells in it. A few minutes later, I sighed in disappointment. Even the lowest level rituals in the book were above my ability to cast. Shaking my head, I realized once again that I really needed to raise my level. Just looking at my information screen made me feel like an overpowered god, the fact that I couldn¡¯t cast even the lowest spells in the Aegis Libram dashed away any hubris that was starting to develop. However, on the positive side, after one more level, I would be able to cast the lowest level spells in the book. Although I wasn¡¯t sure how useful the two spells would be, Magic Circle and Glyph of Warding sounded impressive. Unfortunately, I was still a long way away from leveling up, especially when I had to split the experience with my familiar. Speaking of which, where was my familiar? I knew she was fine, but what had she been doing while I was busy? The last I had seen her was when I sent her off to kill a few low-level creatures to see if I would get experience. Curious, I looked at my experience points. Surprisingly, I realized that she had obviously killed several creatures since we parted ways. What she killed, I had no idea about, however. Still, I was very pleased with the results. Free experience was always appreciated. ¡°If she can find low-level monsters to fight, then I can as well,¡± I muttered to myself. ¡°All I need to do is find something that can actually hurt me. The bugs, spiders, and lizards were no threat, which might be why they weren¡¯t worth any experience. So, what I need to do is find some type of animal that is very numerous. The animal also has to be easy to kill. However, it does have to pose at least some threat. ¡°In fact, I probably need to slay as many low-level monsters as I can while I am at a low-level as well. After all, when I reached higher-levels, low-level monsters might not be worth any experience since they aren¡¯t much of a danger. Then again, if they were at all dangerous, maybe I would get experience for them. However, something about that doesn¡¯t seem correct. A powerful wizard could kill thousands of tiny-sized monsters if they are at a high enough level. Would they still get the same experience, or would it be reduced? I trailed off as I thought about it and made a mental list of all the creatures that might fit that list. Monster-sized scorpions and spiders did exist and would definitely be able to injure me. However, they might pose too large of a danger if I encountered them in a group. I needed something that wasn¡¯t potentially venomous. After a few minutes, I had discarded dozens of potential victims; I meant experience providers. Reluctantly, I finally settled on one that I needed to check with Alsvartr about. Bats were abundant in the area, small enough that I could easily kill, but also could theoretically inflict damage. While I would have preferred to kill rats or mice, bats would be easier to find in the caves. However, I wasn¡¯t sure how Alsvartr would feel about me hunting down his cousins. Would he be offended? Would he help me? Hesitantly, I reached out with my mind and tried to speak with her. I sent the image of both of us killing swarms of bats to see how she would feel about it. A few seconds later, I sensed her reply. Chapter 38 - Phylactery of Hyggiandi Apparently, I had worried for nothing. My familiar was more than willing to assist me in decimating the local bat population. Alsvartr obviously didn¡¯t consider bats to be related to her at all. First, however, I had to make sure we could even get experience from slaying bats. Because of this, I sent her a telepathic request to find a solitary bat to kill, just to see if it provided any experience for us. While I was waiting, I went flew back up to the bed, laid back, and started snacking on dried¡­beef. Yep, definitely dried beef. I kept that firmly in my mind while I gnawed on the tough meat. Also, the only reason it didn¡¯t taste like any dried meat I had ever eaten was because I was a kobold now and had different taste buds. Yes, that was the reason. The meat definitely wasn¡¯t some type or worm or¡­whatever. I sat there, munching away at the various dried foods until I started to become drowsy and fell asleep. A grumbling stomach woke me up the next day. Apparently, I had slept through my next visitors because there was fresh food on the table. A few of the edibles had even managed to escape to the floor. However, having been brought up not to waste food, I quickly grabbed the little guys and popped them into my mouth. I was so hungry that I didn¡¯t even care that I was eating off the floor. After I had eaten most of the food, I noticed a box placed at the edge of the table. On the box there was a note. Unlike the previous magic items that had been left for me, the note on this box wasn¡¯t just a quick description. Instead, it was a detailed letter about the contents of the box. Realizing that this was something special, I set aside the food for a moment and concentrated on the letter. Phylactery of Hyggiandi The more I read, the more my eyes widened. ¡°My goodness. Wait, isn¡¯t this too similar to the Ring of Mind Shielding? Well, there are a few differences. Let¡¯s see. First, you aren¡¯t going to be hostile to me, at least initially. Second, you like smart people, and I am very smart. ¡°While I could repeat what I did with the ring, that might not be the best idea. After all, having an ally who can answer my questions and teach me about the world would actually be ideal. The beneficial properties are nice as well. As for the other properties, I¡¯m not too worried about them.¡± I paused for a moment as I considered the one thing that might make me change my mind, the fact that the necklace is bossy nags. While that would normally be a hard pass for me, the threat of destroying the necklace might be enough to mitigate the nagging. The same was true if she decided to use her powers against me. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. Taking a deep breath, I opened the box and looked at the necklace. I blinked. Then I made a face. ¡°Okay. I am not sure how such a big necklace can still be so feminine. I mean, it does look expensive. Detailed and ornate were definitely apt descriptors of the necklace. Parts of it even looked like overlapping chains. However, I was a little surprised that it could look so feminine and still not have any large jewels embedded in it. I did have to admit that the black and gold metal went well with the colors of scales. In fact, the black sections almost blended in with the scales too well. With a touch of reluctance, I leaned forward and picked up the necklace. As soon as I placed it around my neck, an image of Mr. T flashed through my mind. Nothing happened. I sighed when I suddenly remembered the reason why. I hadn¡¯t attuned the item yet. Just like the boots needed attunement, so too did the necklace. I was about to say something about being an idiot when I gave myself a break. After all, I wasn¡¯t even a week old. As for the old me, what would he have thought about me if he could see me now? Taking a moment, I tried to imagine what my response would have been like. ¡°Wait, am I standing next to a bed, wearing nothing but boots and a chained necklace?¡± I raised my tiny fist and threatened the heavens, ¡°This is not what I envisioned when I dreamed about this in the past. I better not turn into a female when I grow older, or I am going to be¡­¡± THE FOLLOWING FEW MINUTES OF UNRESTRAINED WEEPING, WAILING, WHINING, AND THREATS WERE AGAIN REDACTED DUE TO THE SYSTEM¡¯S PITY FOR THE REINCARNATED KOBOLD. IT IS A TOTAL COINCIDENCE THAT THE PRESENT CIRCUMSTANCES ARE EERILY SIMILAR TO A RECURRING DREAM THE KOBOLD HAD IN THEIR PREVIOUS LIFE, ALTHOUGH WITH THE ROLES REVERSED AND WITH A DIFFERENT SPECIES. After I managed to calm down, I made a mental note to ask for some clothing, male clothing. ¡°Visualize, believe, and achieve,¡± I muttered angrily to myself. Sighing, I took a deep breath to center myself before starting the process of attuning the necklace. ¡°Oh my god! Not another kobold,¡± a woman¡¯s voice wailed in my mind. ¡°When will you small-minded little vermin learn? I¡¯m not an ¡®¡­oh, shiny!¡¯ or ¡®my precious.¡¯ I swear, even if you aren¡¯t stupid, I¡¯m sure that you¡¯re ignorant. I bet you¡¯re apathetic about learning about anything other than how to find shiny pebbles in the dirt or how to build a better mousetrap. Do you even know the difference between ignorance and apathy?¡± ¡°I don''t know, and I don''t care,¡± I snapped back, mentally responding to the voice. ¡°Now drop the attitude before I decide to destroy you like I did the last magic item I encountered with a spirit inside it.¡± I had to deal with one shrewish woman in my last life. I wasn¡¯t about to deal with another one in this life. A short silence was interrupted as Hyggiandi managed to overcome her disbelief that an uppity kobold had somehow managed to tell her the difference between the two words, whether it was intentional or not, ¡°You don¡¯t know what you are talking about. Do you not realize how rare magic items inhabited by a spirit are?¡± By the time she had reached this point, her words had lost their anger and had been replaced by curiosity, ¡°Maybe you¡¯re too young to realize. You seem pretty small. How old are you anyway?¡± I sat in silence for a moment when I realized everything that had already happened in such a short amount of time, ¡°I hatched a couple of days ago,¡± I said. Another silence set in, followed by a confused, ¡°Uh,¡± which was followed by more silence. ¡°You seem quite intelligent for such a kobold, much less such a young kobold,¡± she finally admitted reluctantly. ¡°Maybe we can work together after all.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± I said back. ¡°As you know, I am quite new to the world and have a lot of questions. Hopefully you can help me learn everything I need to know.¡± ¡°Excellent attitude,¡± Hyggiandi said approvingly. ¡°First, however, you need to pass my test. Let¡¯s see how you do.¡± I could hear the ill-concealed glee in her voice as she brought up the subject of testing. Really? Of course, I made sure she didn¡¯t hear that part of what I was thinking about. In my previous life, I was also a teacher, and I hated the number of tests that I had to give. Yeah, yeah, I know, tests are important. But come on, when I have to start taking tests when I am only a few days old was annoying. However, I said none of these things. I¡¯d learned long ago that while it was okay having some thoughts, sharing those same thoughts wasn¡¯t always the smartest idea. Instead, I said, ¡°That sounds wonderful. Let¡¯s begin.¡± Of course, I wasn¡¯t prepared for what came next. It was as if a computer had decided to dump every bit of its information into my head at the same time. Information about animal handling, arcana, history, insight, investigation, medicine, nature, perception, and survival poured into my mind in a flood of experiences. My last thought before darkness overwhelmed me was about how much I hated information dumps. Chapter 39 - Personality Problems I wasn¡¯t sure how old I was when I woke up and muttered out loud, ¡°Dang. How long was I unconscious?¡± Feeling dried snot on my nose, I rubbed it away and looked at it, mostly to make sure it wasn¡¯t blood. ¡°Gnome brains, it is blood.¡± The voice in my head responded to my question, ¡°You have been unconscious for one hour, fourteen minutes, and thirty-eight seconds.¡± ¡°So, I¡¯m still two days old then,¡± I groaned as I tried to ignore the throbbing pain of the worst headache I¡¯ve ever had in my short life. Remnant memories were still dancing through my mind. ¡°So,¡± I asked, ¡°did I pass the test?¡± ¡°You did wonderfully. In fact, you scored off the chart. I was able to insert a lot of information directly into your mind, much more than any of my other students. You should be familiar with this process since it is very similar to what I believe your people call v¨ªsindimuna.¡± ¡°Ahh, racial memory encoded into our genetic structure,¡± I muttered. That¡¯s not the same at all. The only similarity is the fact that the memories can be accessed. This is more like encoding memories directly onto neural tissues in the cerebral cortex.¡± ¡°What? Explain yourself.¡± Hyggiandi definitely didn¡¯t sound like she was making a request. No, it sounded like a demand. ¡°What are neural tissues and what is the cerebral cortex?¡± Just by the tone of her thoughts, I could tell that she was going to ask me again and again until I explained. She was like a cat sniffing catnip. I smiled, realizing that I had found another means of controlling her. I could share facts with her from my previous life. There was so much information that I could use to motivate her to be a help instead of a hindrance. Deciding to earn some goodwill, I shared some basic information about the brain structure. Fifteen minutes later, I was regretting my decision. I had to agree to tell her more about it later and instead brought her up to date on what was happening with the kobold tribe. After all, she might be useful. Because of this, I spent another few minutes explaining about my situation. ¡°Interesting, so there are some smart kobolds,¡± she said after listening to me. ¡°Of course, that is probably because of your draconic bloodline.¡± ¡°Hey, kobolds aren¡¯t stupid,¡± I said, a little offended for my race. ¡°There are many types of intelligence. Okay, perhaps kobolds aren¡¯t the best in linguistic intelligence. However, we more than make up for this in other areas of intelligence, for example, naturalistic intelligence.¡± I didn¡¯t say anything about interpersonal intelligence since kobolds seemed to focus more on the me side of things, such as ¡°me hungry¡± and ¡°me mad.¡± I also didn¡¯t want to get into a discussion about how many types of intelligence there were. After all, that was mostly a matter of opinion. ¡°Well, judging just based on my previous experiences with kobolds, I haven¡¯t been impressed. Then again, while there are a few smart humans, most of them are just as dumb as kobolds. In fact, almost all of the races except for a few subspecies of elves and dwarves seem just as bad as humans and kobolds. However, in general, out of all the common races, gnomes are the only species that seem to be a little smarter than the others.¡± THE FOLLOWING FEW MINUTES OF SCREAMING AND THREATS WERE REDACTED DUE TO THE GRAPHIC NATURE OF THE WORDS USED IN THE CHASTISEMENT OF HYGGIANDI. THE SYSTEM WAS IMPRESSED BY THE REINCARNATED KOBOLD¡¯S COMMAND OF COLORFUL VOCABULARY BUT DOES FEEL THEY ARE APPROPRIATE FOR DISSEMINATION. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Hyggiandi sobbed, her mental voice quivering with fear, ¡°I was wrong. Please don¡¯t melt me. Gnomes are the stupidest race that exists. If you ask me, with all my years of experience, what is the height of stupidity, I have to say that all you have to do to find that out is to measure the height of the nearest gnome. Gnomes are stupid and smelly.¡± Somewhat mollified now that Hyggiandi had realized her mistake, I stopped casting Eldritch Bolt at the necklace and picked her up from the corner where I had thrown her. Although I was still annoyed, I decided to let it go and muttered, ¡°You''re lucky I don¡¯t have Fire Bolt memorized or the fact that there isn¡¯t a fireplace in here,¡± as I placed her around my neck again. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. I was about to say something more when I heard a knock on the door. Without even thinking about it, I said, ¡°Enter.¡± Dr¨®ttinn walked into the room, followed by the same group of maids who had helped me earlier. ¡°Greetings Gothi N¨®ttormr,¡± Dr¨®ttinn said after bowing with the others bowing at the same time. ¡°I hope the Phylactery of Hyggiandi is to your liking. It was the only suitable offering we could give you in our treasury.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± I replied. ¡°I am sure that it will be useful.¡± I was also certain that there were better items in the treasury. However, I wasn¡¯t likely to get those magic items. After all, if you were a kobold, an adult dragon who is at their physical peak or a two-day old kobold who might be possessed by a god who admits to still being weak? Also, for red dragons, losing even one copper coin or the most worthless trinket could cause them to fly into a rage and hunt down and mercilessly destroy the supposed thief. The fact that I was given anything proved how much I was valued. Of course, I was certain that the red dragon Einvaldskonungr would never be told. After all, it hadn¡¯t been given to him yet. More than likely, Dr¨®ttinn was probably taking a risk by giving me the necklace. After all, dragons weren¡¯t known as being particularly generous creatures. In fact, I should probably be extremely grateful that they gave me anything near as nice as the necklace, much less the other magical trinkets, worthless as they were. While I hadn¡¯t checked on how my information screen had changed because of those magic items, I already could tell there would be a big difference. ¡°I wanted to assure you that there is no need to worry about the concerns you raised,¡± Dr¨®ttinn said. ¡°We have long since prepared for possible invasions. However, I have assigned additional scouts to watch our perimeter and have even sent a few brave members of the tribe to investigate areas beyond our borders.¡± The younger maids looked at the chieftain, apparently reassured by his words. Considering that a group of invaders had just been stopped, I could definitely understand their fear. The older maid, however, didn¡¯t look worried at all. More than likely, she had been through similar situations in the past. Then again, it could be that she had met Einvaldskonungr, the red dragon, and anything short of that couldn¡¯t be considered a real threat. ¡°Whether it is good news or bad news is debatable, but the ambassador from the Groenneitr Tribe cut his visit with us short. He said that he feared for the safety of his guards and left with his party. Although the timing is suspicious, there is nothing we can do but allow him to leave.¡± I was actually surprised by this. Dr¨®ttinn was proving himself to be wiser than I had given him credit for. Also, for some reason, I felt that the kobold chieftain was more than willing to get his hands dirty if it was to protect the tribe. This brought a smile to my lips since I approved such sentiments. ¡°I haven¡¯t heard back from the scouts yet,¡± Dr¨®ttinn said, ¡°but I¡¯m sure there are more threats on our border. With just the number of humans you encountered, there is no way they could have made it to the treasury. Of course, that is unless they were a tier two group,¡± he added, acknowledging that tier two opponents could probably do it. Tier One were local heroes, usually ranging from levels one to five. Tier two was regional heroes. Adventurers usually became Tier Three national heroes when they reached level eleven. Once they reached Tier Four at level 16, they were considered world class heroes. Of course, very few heroes advanced to Tier Three, much less Tier Four. After considering for a moment, I had to agree that the adventurers I had encountered were probably still at Tier One. Obviously, a few of them were close to reaching Tier Two, at least from what I could surmise. That was evident by how much damage they could take and how the types of magic items they possessed. low-level adventurers rarely had valuable magic items. However, just by practicing their craft, whether martial or magical, every adventurer could reach level two within a year¡¯s time. They could do this even if they only practiced in a school. That was evident by the fact that I had earned one experience point just by practicing my cantrips and spells for a few hours. Despite how quickly it was possible to get to level two and level three, each successive level was harder and harder to reach because the experience required scaled dramatically. This was one reason I was able to level so quickly. I had slain a large group of adventurers who were higher-level than myself. In fact, I probably received bonus experience because of that fact. I know it was selfish of me, but I kind of wanted more adventurers to arrive. Of course, I didn¡¯t want any kobolds harmed and tried to prevent that from happening. Whether I wanted it to happen or not, I was certain that more invaders would be arriving soon. At least, that would give me the opportunity to gain some more experience. I really wanted to level-up. In fact, I was already feeling addicted to it. I wondered how long I would have to wait until I leveled up again. Chapter 40 - Am I a Troublemaker? Realizing I had been quiet for too long, I hastily came up with something to talk about, ¡°Assuming there will be more invaders, where do you think they will come from?¡± In the back of my mind, there was a vague intention to go there and wait for the invaders. As I had long since realized, I would need a lot of experience points to level-up. Dr¨®ttinn thought about it for a few seconds and then said, ¡°While normally, I would doubt invaders would come the same route as they previously took, I suspect they might in this instance. While they could come ashore by ship, I don¡¯t think they will if the Groenneitr Tribe is involved. If it was just a local kingdom, maybe.¡± He then continued after another short pause, ¡°As it is, however, if the Groenneitr Tribe wants to take advantage of the situation, they will have a force of their own ready to ambush the injured adventurers should they manage to actually break through our traps to claim our gold. ¡°Because of this, I think in another week or two, another group of adventurers will arrive. They will probably think the ambush you created was one of our traps. In fact, they might even show up earlier than expected, perhaps hoping to pass through before we have a chance to set up the trap again.¡± I nodded. That made sense to me. In fact, I could easily have Alsvartr scout possible entry points near that area of the tribe¡¯s border. She would have a natural advantage to scouting that the kobold scouts could not compare to. After all, she could fly. Actually, it might not be a bad idea for me to go down and scout the area with her. I could easily ambush one or two adventurers at a time and then fly away before they could react. While I was tempted to ask for some fighter or rogue minions, I quickly rejected that thought. They would only be in my way unless they could fly. Also, I already had one minion draining my experience points. If others tagged along, they might take some of my precious experience points for themselves. No, they shall not take my precious points I vowed to myself. ¡°I¡¯m going to look around the tunnels myself,¡± I finally said. At the very least, even if I didn¡¯t find any invaders, I might be able to complete Operation Bat Massacre. Hopefully, I would have enough time to advance to the next level and get some cool spells. ¡°As you wish,¡± Dr¨®ttinn said, giving me a small bow. ¡°While we are preparing for more invaders, I will also seek out suitable volunteers to pledge their allegiance to you,¡± he continued. ¡°Before you go, I do want to give you something, just in case something similar happens again.¡± He stepped forward and handed me a ring which I slipped onto my finger. ¡°This is a Beacon Ring,¡± he said. You can send a short message to alert us of trouble. After that, it will act as a beacon so that we can send help to you.¡± Automatically, I responded with, ¡°Thank you.¡± I was actually surprised by this. While I was trying to sort through buried and jumbled memories, as well as the best way to use my new magic item, my visitors left. However, I was sure at least one of the maids would be waiting outside the door. I was too busy trying to figure out why I would need volunteers to pledge their allegiance to me. After a few moments, a memory bubbled up. ¡°Ahh,¡± I said, realizing what had happened. ¡°It is because I was considered gothi. Gothi was actually a step above the chieftain, but a step below the red dragon Einvaldskonungr. Usually, this status was reserved for the children of the dragon. All red dragons, once they are close to becoming a young adult, are driven away from their homes by their mothers. They would search for their own territory. Sometimes they would fight for this territory. Other times they would establish a home far away from others. Either way, until they became an adult, they were considered gothi by the kobolds. Since kobolds reproduce much faster than dragons, by the time the red dragon was pushed out of the nest, the local kobold population would be bursting at the seams. Therefore, the kobolds would separate themselves. The younger kobolds would be sent to accompany the young red dragon wherever they went. Once settled down, the kobolds would establish a new tribe at that location and begin serving their new god. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Most kobold chieftains would also use this opportunity to get rid of any potential troublemakers. The parent dragons rarely cared as long as the offerings stayed the same. This was actually how Einvaldskonungr had gained his first kobold followers. Since he was a male red dragon, while he might fly off to mate with a female red dragon, he would never actually live with her. Instead, he would return to his home. Because of this, over the years, the population of kobolds had grown dramatically. In fact, the number of kobolds was starting to reach the point where they couldn¡¯t sustain their own population. There were just too many kobolds for the resources in the area. Einvaldskonungr had actually proven to be one of those ¡°benevolent¡± rulers. He didn¡¯t care about his subjects, but didn¡¯t indiscriminately eat them just because he was feeling peckish. He didn¡¯t demand exorbitant tributes but instead slept most of the time. Because of this, the tribe of kobolds were very satisfied with their lives. In other tribes, if the dragon was especially harsh, some kobolds would be restless and no longer want to follow their dragon god. Because of this, once the level of discontent was enough, a kobold would claim the title of gothi and leave with the malcontents. ¡°Hmm, is he trying to get rid of all his troublemakers and malcontents by making me a gothi? I bet he is going to use me as an excuse to pawn off all his problems. I¡¯m sure that as soon as the threat of the invaders is gone, we¡¯ll be expected to leave as well.¡± I was a little offended by this at first. I really thought he had my best interest in mind. Was he really being that calculative? Was I too much a threat to his power? Was he worried how Einvaldskonungr would react to my presence? Could he actually be looking out for me? Was it actually in my best interest? The more I thought about it, the more pleasant it actually sounded. I could establish my own area and become a local overlord. Female kobolds wearing nothing but boots and chains could serve me grapes and bacon. Just the thought of this made me smile. Truly, that would be the good life. Of course, first we needed to deal with the invaders, I would also need to be powerful enough to defend whatever territory I claimed. I was certain that I would have to fight the original owners for that territory as well. If that was the case, I would need to do a lot of research. Wait, why would I need to do a lot of research? I had an intelligent artifact that could probably help out a lot. While she might have been cooped up in the kobold city for decades, the lay of the land was probably the same. She could probably tell me which areas I was most likely to find a place that could support the growth of a kobold tribe. Since kingdoms usually last for hundreds of years, the political landscape would probably be whatever she remembered as well. In fact, the more I thought about it, the happier I was to have received her. I was so glad I hadn¡¯t decided to do anything to her yet. Of course, that might change if she mentioned how smart gnomes were ever again. ¡°Hyggiandi,¡± I said, ¡°please start thinking about the best place that I can start a kobold city.¡± ¡°Yes, my lord,¡± she replied, her voice still quivering. ¡°Whatever you say your highness,¡± she rushed to appease me. ¡°I will start brainstorming now.¡± For some reason, I started to get the feeling that I might have gone a little too far in letting her know where she had gone wrong. Then again, maybe she was just being emotional. After all, it wasn¡¯t as if I was some arrogant, self-obsessed, rage-fueled red dragon with a temper and a short fuse. Nope, that wasn¡¯t me. Thoughts about how wonderful a ruler I would be started flashing through my mind. My subjects would live in peace and harmony with the land. Our neighbors would be fearful of me and wouldn¡¯t imagine invading my land. Every one of my minions would be well fed and wear nice clothes. Thinking of this, I made a mental note that I needed to figure out who made the best necklaces and sexiest boots for my future subjects. My offspring would grow up and rule the world while I would be worshiped as a god. ¡°Ahh, such a nice dream,¡± I said, dragging myself out of the daydream. Imaging a wonderful future was fun, but unless I actually did something to achieve that dream, that dream would never come true. For sexy boots and necklace chains, I needed to work hard. With a smile, I opened my door and stepped through, already planning on using the bodies of countless innocent bats as a steppingstone to a glorious future. Chapter 41 - Dróttinns Revenge The moment I stepped outside, Hyggiandi¡¯s voice echoed in my mind, ¡°Hey, genius. Aren¡¯t you forgetting something?¡¯ I stopped, confused, not sure what she was talking about. Perhaps because of this, she continued, ¡°Supplies. Do you know how long you will be gone? At the very least, take a water pouch with you.¡± ¡°Oh, good idea,¡± I replied. I immediately nodded to one of the maids and ducked back inside. While looking through the ¡°magic¡± items, I had found a few non-magical belts. I decided to wear the belts and tie the bags of dried food to them. After all, I was a growing ¡°boy¡± kobold and needed food to grow up all manly. Just to make sure I had enough, I used another belt to tie bandoliers around my chest full of more food. Unfortunately, I couldn¡¯t carry them all. I already felt as if I was carrying my weight in dried food and water. ¡°Uh, are you packing for an entire kobold expeditionary party?¡± Hyggiandi sounded confused, as if the thought of one tiny kobold needing that much food had to be a joke. ¡°Of course not,¡± I said. ¡°They can bring their own food. This is for me.¡± ¡°You do know that if you fall down, by the time you try to get up, you will have rocked yourself to sleep,¡± she said. ¡°I mean, seriously. You¡¯re not a Bag of Devouring.¡± I had a response, but unfortunately, it wasn¡¯t appropriate to our situation. It was that studies showed that men who point out a woman¡¯s weight don¡¯t live as long as the man who makes those comments. Since I was definitely not female, this really didn¡¯t apply in my situation. Instead, I stoically took it like a man and ignored her. Once I was ready, I stepped outside again and waddled my way toward Chuck Norris Bridge. With all the weight of the supplies, there was no way I was going to be able to fly. All in the interest of lightening the weight, I decided to nibble on some dried ¡°jerky¡± as I teetered through the tunnels. It actually took a lot longer than I expected. With my pitiful strength and low constitution, I felt like one of those role-playing computer games I used to play. I would have thousands of items stored on me, far exceeding the weight capacity, and move as slow as a snail. Frequent breaks were to lighten the load by eating the supplies and not because I was exhausted. Actually, snails didn¡¯t sound all that bad to me at the moment. They probably tasted better than whatever it was that I was eating. Shuddering, I made a vow to only eat the best foods once I take over the world. Of course, until then, I would do what I had to do. Eventually, I made it to Chuck Norris Bridge where I realized I had a problem. I couldn¡¯t fly across with all the weight. Sighing, I took off the supplies and started ferrying them across one by one before putting them back on. By then, Alsvartr had sent me a mental image of where I could find a colony of bats. She had even eaten a few and discovered that they did give experience points. Quite pleased, I hurried as fast as my overburdened body could move. Eventually, I reached her location and looked up at the colony of bats that were hanging on the ceiling ahead of me. Unfortunately for me, I knew I was getting closer before I could even see them. Unlike in my last life, my ability to smell was more than sufficient to detect the smell from the massive mounds of bat guano. While I knew it was a great plant fertilizer, I also knew that the guano could lead to some serious lung diseases. Because of this, I decided not to waste time and take care of them as quickly as possible. I wasn¡¯t sure whether I was lucky or unlucky, but the colony Alsvartr discovered was a small group of a giant bat species. Despite this, there were enough bats that I was seriously worried about attacking the group of bats. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. However, it was at this point that I realized I didn¡¯t have a plan on how to kill them. What I had thought about doing was something I really, really, really didn¡¯t want to do any longer. My plan had been to cast the Sleep spell and then sneak up and kill them one by one. However, since the bats are hanging from the ceiling, they would probably fall if they fell asleep with a spell. Even if they didn¡¯t, I would have to fly up and would lose the advantage of stealth. If they did fall, they would end up falling into the bat guano, which I had no desire to climb into to kill the bats. Not sure what to do, I just stood there, staring at them as I tried to formulate a plan. ¡°Really? You came all this way without a plan?¡± Hyggiandi¡¯s voice echoed with disappointment. ¡°And here I thought you would be smarter than the other kobolds. Are you planning on having a staring contest with the bats? No, I know. You are waiting for them to die of old age? Is that right?¡± The more she talked, the shriller and more nagging her voice became. Dang, instead of being a necklace, they should have forged her into a wedding ring. Only wives who were totally disappointed with their husbands could ooze such contempt and disappointment. Struggling to ignore her, I tried to come up with an alternative plan while she droned on. ¡°Did you come for the view or for the smell? Then again, you already have one bat. Are you planning on cheating on her, or are you going to invite her to join? Aren¡¯t you a little young for such ideas? Then again, maybe you just like to watch. That¡¯s really sick, you know. You should be ashamed. ¡°I can¡¯t believe I ever agreed to help you out. How do you live with yourself? Have you ever considered talking to someone about these types of issues? I hear there are some priests who specialize in dealing with people with your type of problem.¡± I didn¡¯t even realize that my teeth were grinding until I tried to figure out what was making such a noise. When I realized it was me, I couldn¡¯t help but scream inside my head, ¡°Shut up! I swear, one more word out of you and I will rip the magic right out of you just the way I did the other magic items.¡± The sudden silence was gratifying. Taking a deep breath, I was about to start planning my new attack strategy when she said, ¡°You wouldn¡¯t dare. How dare you threaten a female. What type of man are you? Then again, looking at you, I guess you aren''t a man. You have quite a large temper for a little¡­well, let¡¯s just say boy, although that is debatable. Are you mad because you can¡¯t¡­¡± My primal scream or rage and frustration abruptly cut her off, which also startled the bats who then flew away. Seeing them disappear into the distance, I started screaming and shouting even louder at Hyggiandi. THE FOLLOWING HOUR OF SCREAMING AND THREATS WERE REDACTED DUE TO THE GRAPHIC NATURE OF THE INSULTS AND INNUENDO. THE SYSTEM AGAIN APOLOGIZES FOR THE REPEATED CENSORSHIP OF CONTENT. After an hour of spirited verbal dialogue with Hyggiandi, we finally came to an agreement. I wouldn¡¯t threaten to destroy her as long as she shut up and let me think. Unfortunately, I somehow knew that she would not keep her part of the bargain. I was starting to understand why the note said that she nagged, a lot. She was actually starting to make me miss my ex-wife, the evil troll herself. At least she needed to take a breath between insults. Still shaking in the aftermath of emotions, I took one mournful look at the empty nest of the bat colony. A single tear of frustration rolled down my cheek. I had walked so far and carried so many supplies with no result. It wasn¡¯t like I needed the exercise. Heartbroken at the wasted effort, I dug into my supplies and ate away my disappointment. Luckily, Hyggiandi was wise enough not to say anything. If she said one more thing, I would go all Frodo on her and toss her into the nearest lava I could locate. Now I was certain that Dr¨®ttinn had something against me. First, he put me in a ¡°safe¡± place next to Chuck Norris Bridge. Then he gave me the necklace with Hyggiandi in it. There was no other explanation. The chieftain must hate me. Consoling myself with the thought of a necklace slowly submerging into lava and the myriads of possible ways I could get revenge on Dr¨®ttinn, I started walking back the way I had come. As for Alsvartr, I could almost swear that I could hear her eyes rolling in her head when I asked her to locate another bat colony. Despite this, she screeched once at me and then flew away. Chapter 42 - Avatar of Death By the time we reached the next colony of bats, I had already worked out a plan and learned a valuable lesson. I would never go into a situation without, not only a plan, but also a backup plan. Fortunately, the trip had been completed in complete silence and I was able to regain my composure. In fact, I was starting to regret some of the images that I sent to Hyggiandi when I was upset. Luckily, she was giving me the silent treatment. Hopefully, it would last for the rest of my life. A part of me was starting to think that I hadn¡¯t reincarnated, but was in a personalized hell. I finally decided on one of the indicators that I was definitely in hell and not reincarnated into a fantasy world. Of course, I would need to wait until I grew into a juvenile and was able to determine my gender. Since that was still a long time away, I pushed those thoughts aside and went over my plan. I really didn¡¯t want to hear Hyggiandi start complaining again. As with the previous adventurers, I would have to rely on my breath weapon. I found it oddly annoying that with all the magic I possessed, the best weapon for the situation was still my breath weapon. Still, I probably needed to practice with it anyway. The breath weapon was obviously obscenely overpowered. Now, instead of feeling like a stalker with ether breath, I felt like a god. About the only downside was the fact that I couldn¡¯t differentiate between enemies and allies. That meant that I couldn¡¯t use it carelessly, especially around innocents. While Alsvartr might not say much, I definitely didn¡¯t want anything to happen to her, despite the fact that she sucked up a lot of experience points. Actually, I had to take that back. I wasn¡¯t being fair to my familiar. Lately, she had actually been bringing in some experience points. She hadn¡¯t stopped killing bats and other creatures as she scouted around for me. In fact, although I hated to admit it, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to get any of the experience points I already gained if it hadn¡¯t been for her help. Together, we traveled deep within the sprawling network of underground caverns, where stalactites hung like jagged teeth and phosphorescent fungi cast an eerie glow. The air was thick with the scent of damp earth and the distant echoes of dripping water, a world away from the open skies I had once called home. For some reason, I was feeling poetic. I couldn¡¯t help it sometimes. When I was an angsty teenager I had written poetry, and even had some of the poems published in magazines. Of course, I only earned enough money to buy a couple of Happy Meals. Sometimes I wondered if I had still had it and would try to imitate the style I had written in so long ago. We soon reached our destination, and above me, small bats circled with predatory grace, their leathery wings slicing through the stale air of the cavern. The bats Alsvartr had found this time weren¡¯t giant bats, but after thinking about it, I was actually glad. My main attack, the twilight breath, might not be powerful enough to kill the giant bats outright. The crimson eyes of the small bats gleamed with hunger as they screeched, their voices bouncing off the cavern walls in a while I crouched behind a jutting rock formation. Although I knew that I didn¡¯t have to use hand movements, I traced sigils in the air anyway. The reason was because it made weaving together strands of arcane energy slightly easier. I smiled as the Zone of Death spell took form. It was an invisible sphere of necrotic force that stretched across the cavern floor, awaiting the unwary giant bats. Alsvartr fluttered nervously nearby, with fur as dark as night itself and eyes that gleamed with intelligence. With a flick of her wings and a soft chitter, she prepared herself. I wanted her to be ready to cast a Sleep spell should the need arise. Several bats, drawn by the faint disturbance we were causing, dipped through the darkness toward us. Their screeches of surprise turned to wails of agony as dark energy surged through them. With a twitch, they succumbed to the lethal magic and crashed to the rocky ground below. The remaining bats circled above, wary, but driven by their insatiable hunger. They hesitated when they sensed danger. However, the lure of fresh prey was too strong. They swooped lower. Their keen eyes searched for the source of their torment. I waited patiently, heart pounding in anticipation, still maintaining my concentration on the spell. I was glad that I hadn¡¯t needed to use my twilight breath on the first group of bats. When the next wave of bats drew closer, they also entered the Zone of Death and screamed in agony, further agitating the other small bats that were hanging above. Unlike the last time, many of the bats survived. Because of this, I took a deep breath and released my twilight breath attack. The bats screeched in terror and pain as the necrotic energy from the Zone of Death and my twilight breath engulfed them. I realized then that I should be thankful that the bats weren¡¯t immune to necrotic damage. If they were, I would have been in a lot of trouble. However, they weren¡¯t, so I was able to slay wave after wave of small bats, only occasionally needing my familiar¡¯s assistance. At those times, Alsvartr, as if sensing danger, would close in, darting through the chaotic scene. With a wave of its wings, it would cast the Sleep spell, targeting the bats that managed to survive the Zone of Death and my twilight breath attack. One by one, those bats succumbed to a deep, dreamless sleep from which they would never awaken. Of course, not all the bats chose to attack. Some decided to flee. They were the smart ones. As for those bats that tried to escape, Alsvartr would also try to cast the Sleep spell on them as well, but it was like trying to stop a leaking dam with a finger. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! The fight seemed to take forever, but was actually taking barely any time at all. If I still needed time for my breath weapon to recharge, I would also cast Sleep. I wanted to reap a lot of experience points since I really needed to get more powerful as quickly as possible to survive in this magical world. As the last echoes of the bats'' cries faded into silence, I stood amidst the corpses of a countless number of bats, my chest heaving with exertion. I surveyed the aftermath of the battle with a mix of satisfaction and relief. Around me, the cave returned to its natural quiet, broken only by echoes of water dripping in the darkness. Fortunately, this time, everything had worked out as planned. In fact, things worked out even better than I had planned. I had totally forgotten about the Death Bringer class feature. I continuously received health points back with every bat I killed. What little damage they did to me was healed as quickly as it was inflicted. However, despite the success of my amazing plan, the vast majority of the bats were able to escape. There were just too many of them. In fact, by the time the last few bats managed to escape, I was actually feeling like an abusive adult who was beating up small children to steal their candy. The swarms of bats had no chance at all. Of course, I would have had to retreat not long after the fight started if it hadn¡¯t been for the Death Bringer feature. Also, when combined with the Soul Collector feature, I was able to cast the Sleep spell continuously due to the soul remnants I was collecting. After all, each time I used my breath weapon, I filled up enough soul remnants to cast the spell again. While none of the bats were a threat on their own, just the overwhelming numbers of bats made them deadly. If they had been able to hit me at the same time, Death Bringer wouldn¡¯t have been enough to save me. However, the recent increase in my armor class had turned out to be very useful. I could almost foresee where likely attacks would come from based on the bats¡¯ aerodynamics. I could anticipate their attacks based on physics. With such a high defense, and with Alsvartr backing me up, I was easily able to deal with the swarms of bats that tried to attack instead of fleeing. Between my breath weapon and Alsvartr¡¯s sleep spells, as well as my own Sleep spells, we decimated the local population of bats with no real danger. In fact, I had worried about Alsvartr, so I had made sure that she stood behind me. I didn¡¯t want her to be affected by my twilight breath. I also didn¡¯t want her to get ganged up on by the small bats either. I could barely contain my excitement as I tried to guess just how many experience points I had gained during the hour-long encounter. Of course, that short encounter depleted all mine and Alsvartr¡¯s spell points. I was just about to look at my information screen when a pop-up screen appeared. ACHIEVEMENT - TITLE UNLOCKED: AVATAR OF DEATH. For your own selfish desires, you have hunted down and killed numerous creatures to satisfy your thirst for power. You have gained additional Evil Favor. ¡°Oh come on. That isn¡¯t fair,¡± I said, stamping a foot, although half-heartedly since I was exhausted. ¡°How come I am judged for killing bats? Is it because they are normal bats and not monsters? Is it because I did it for the experience?¡± ¡°Actually, that is correct,¡± Hyggiandi said. ¡°Many of the gods feel that wantonly slaying normal animals that you aren¡¯t intending to eat is evil. Considering the countless number of bats you have slain, can you justify your actions as being moral and upright? You do know there are gods of nature and of hunting?¡± Hyggiandi didn¡¯t stop the lecture, but continued, ¡°Also, it is obvious you had no plan on using them to feed your kobold tribe.¡± ¡°Actually,¡± I interrupted, ¡°I did have a plan. I planned on using the Beacon Ring to alert the tribe so that they can send someone to come and get the food. While we are waiting for them, we can rest and recuperate our magic.¡± I was quite pleased with my explanation. Of course, I totally made up the story on the spot. I really hadn¡¯t considered the possibility of collecting the bats for food. However, considering the obvious need for food, I could be seen as being quite virtuous instead. Waiting a moment, I wondered if I would get another achievement. Maybe I would get one for going the extra mile and acquiring food for the tribe. Unfortunately, I¡¯m going the gods were fully aware that I was spewing nonsense and just wanted the experience. Obviously, I would never admit this to Hyggiandi though. After activating the Beacon ring and sending a message, I sat down and started nibbling away at my food. I had actually eaten a lot of the supplies on the way. I just hoped that the kobolds who were on their way here wouldn¡¯t step into the little presents I left behind. As for it being gross, crass, and unhygienic, Hyggiandi really shouldn¡¯t complain. I mean, what two day old hatching doesn¡¯t have accidents. At least I wasn¡¯t polluting the environment with dirty diapers. Since there was no time like the present, I decided to look at my information screen while I waited for my fellow kobold tribesmen to arrive. There was so much information on the screen that it took me a few seconds to see what had changed. Obviously, the experience had gone up. However, several other items stood out. I now had half a dozen extra skills. In addition, just as stated in the description of the necklace, Intelligence and Wisdom had both increased. What surprised me the most was that my Armor Class had improved dramatically. Remembering what the note had said about the necklace, I could infer that the increase in Armor Class was due to my being able to add my Intelligence attribute to it somehow. More than likely, each two points above the average baseline of ten would increase my Armor Class from now on. One of the things I was most pleased with was the spatial storage space. Having that was amazing. I couldn¡¯t help but smile. I really was on my way to becoming overpowered. Actually, I already was now that I thought about it. For some reason, I wanted to rub my hands together and cackle, ¡°Fear my wrath puny mortals! Bow down before a god!¡± Just thinking about it made me smile. Of course, my mood was ruined immediately by Hyggiandi. Chapter 43 - Weighing My Options ¡°You know, you really shouldn¡¯t smile like that,¡± Hyggiandi said. ¡°It¡¯s kind of creepy.¡± Her voice actually started me. I still wasn¡¯t used to her presence, especially when she spoke to me out of nowhere while I was distracted. I almost yelled at her not to scare me. The only reason I didn¡¯t was because I was certain that she would definitely do it again if she knew it annoyed me. I could already tell she loved to stir up trouble. Another reason was that what she said was eerily similar to something people had said about me in my previous life. I found it quite weird that she would say that. My ex-wife, my kids, and my students had all said the exact same thing. They seemed to think that I looked like a smiling skeleton, which was kind of hurtful. One woman even said she wouldn¡¯t date me because I didn¡¯t weigh enough. Apparently weighing a lot less than your date wasn¡¯t a desirable quality in a man. I took a moment to look at my stomach. While I did have to admit, I had a little bit of a pooch now, I was sure that it would go away as soon as I grew up into an adult ¡°male.¡± Yes, in fact, by then, I would have a twelve-pack set of abs. Although in my last life I might have been weak and slow, in this life, I would rule. Perhaps it was cowardice. Perhaps it was empathy. I might have been afraid of confrontations in the past. I even went out of my way not to offend others. I gave everyone too many options. I accepted insults without responding. Even now, their insults still lingered in my thoughts. Even the words of my little league baseball coach still stung even fifty years later. ¡°Boy, just lean into the ball and let it hit you. I doubt you¡¯re strong enough to hit the ball out of the infield. Bah, even if you hit a homerun, you¡¯d still get thrown out at first as slow as you are.¡± Whatever I was like in the past, I was determined to take a different path in this life. I still wasn¡¯t sure why people were always so rude to me. I mean, even my family said some messed up things. When I got older and pulled my head out of my books, several people in my family commented that I had developed a personality. One of them even implied that I had multiple personalities. I mean, okay, a few of them were my brothers and sisters. But why did my parents have to say the same thing? ¡°No respect,¡± I muttered. ¡°Not even from my necklace. Well, no more,¡± I kept mumbling to myself. It might be difficult. I might stumble and fall or forget my resolve. However, from now on, my will would be as firm as ... my abs when I became an adult kobold. I consoled myself with the promise that I would be powerful in this life. I will not be walked upon by anyone or anything, mortal or divine. All I had to do was level-up again and again until I reached the pinnacle of power. Of course, it wouldn¡¯t be easy picking the right path that would lead me to the top. I had to make the right choices. Unfortunately, making those choices would be difficult. I couldn¡¯t help but sigh when I realized what was about to happen. More choices. While normally I would love choices. However, making uninformed choices was just throwing dice. Maybe I would get lucky and maybe I wouldn¡¯t. I really needed a lot of information up front, especially if I wanted to achieve my dreams. That caused me to pause. I had a library of information ready to answer any of my questions now that I had the necklace. It was as if someone, somewhere, was taking pity on me and giving me a second chance. That idea put me back in a good mood. After all, I would have plenty of information to make the best choices for my next level. Finally, things were starting to go my way. With that thought, I said, ¡°Please show me the available class options.¡± Choose one of the following classes: Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! As expected, nothing had changed this time. However, I was just as torn about which class to choose as I was last time. I had figured out enough already that I would need two levels of wizard to cast higher-level spells. While I didn¡¯t have enough for two levels, I wasn¡¯t that far away. That made the choice of wizard very alluring. Courtesy of the recent influx of memories from the Phylactery of Hyggiandi, I also knew that most classes were frontloaded with powerful features. Wizards usually obtained their most powerful features at first, second, sixth, and tenth levels with a few more later on. That meant I really needed three more levels of wizard to get the most power. Just because of this fact, I was tempted to directly level-up to the next level of wizard. As for the other classes, I had learned a little more about banshee spellcasters. They were able to cast a variety of spells, some of which were religious and others that were nature related. This would definitely add some more versatility to my arsenal. Another benefit of that class was that they powered up very quickly. They gained powerful features at almost every level from first to sixth level. I definitely wanted to add levels in this class at some point. In fact, I already knew that I would choose at least a few levels of this class, although not necessarily right now. Of course, blackguard, monster hunter, ritualist, rogue assassin, and skirmisher were still off the table. Dark clerics still sounded acceptable. Even one level of cleric could add a lot of power. The same was true for sorcerers and theurgists. All three of the classes provided enormous benefits for very little investment. Because of this fact, I was tempted to take one level in each of these classes. Unfortunately, as for eldritch mind, the necklace actually had no knowledge of that class. However, something was telling me that with as much power as I had already gained from a single level of eldritch mind, additional levels would not benefit me nearly as much. Then again, perhaps I was overthinking things. Maybe the next level of eldritch mind would be just as brokenly over-powered as the first level. Gritting my teeth, I decided to reduce my list of choices. After taking a moment to reorganize my thoughts, I reluctantly eliminated cleric and sorcerer. While both classes provided some powerful features at the first two levels, I wasn¡¯t sure it was worth it at the moment. I already had wizard, which provided a larger pool of arcane spells to choose from. Therefore, sorcerers weren¡¯t as beneficial to me. As for clerics, that could actually be one of the better options. I wouldn¡¯t have to wait ten minutes to learn the Cure Wounds spell. Also, I would have access to more divine spells. However, despite this, I just didn¡¯t want to consider myself a cleric. While not all clerics worshiped a particular god, I still felt an aversion because a cleric was usually associated with a more powerful god. That was also one reason why banshee was still a possibility. After all, a banshee spellcaster was a jack-of-all-trades spellcaster. They could cast divine, arcane, and nature-oriented spells. However, strong features were scattered across the first six levels. However, there wasn¡¯t anything particularly overpowered at the first or second levels. Of course, if I chose the banshee class, the evil gods would definitely approve. As could probably be predicted by the name, banshees concentrated on the spirits of the dead. Their power touched mostly on arcane and divine spells, but they did know a few nature spells. The sixth level feature was especially interesting. However, the sixth level of banshee was comparable to the sixth level of wizard, at least for my chosen school. Both dealt with making the spellcaster more survivable on the battlefield. Banshees added a little damage while wizards added a little more defense for their allies. ¡°Choices,¡± I muttered, annoyed with myself for being such a fence sitter. I¡¯m sure if someone was waiting on me to make a decision, they would be getting annoyed with my flip flopping by now. Even I was annoyed. I needed to make a decision. ¡°Stop being a wuss,¡± I ordered myself. ¡°Be a man. Man up!¡± Of course I didn¡¯t say these things out loud. Hyggiandi might think I was going crazy because I was talking to myself. I could easily imagine her nagging me about seeing someone to work on that problem. ¡°Dang,¡± I muttered once again once I realized I was trying to find another way of putting off making a decision. If I continued to be so wishy-washy, I would never accomplish anything. With that, I made my choice. Chapter 44 - Class and Feat Choices Actually, I hadn¡¯t decided on a class yet. I was simply going to go ahead and just blurt out one of those three choices. I was sure that whatever option I chose would be the one I really wanted, even if I didn¡¯t know it myself. I was kind of curious, which one would I choose. ¡°Okay, System,¡± I thought, ¡°I would like to advance to the next wizard level.¡± Nothing immediately happened except that I fell asleep right there on the cold tunnel floors. My last thought before falling into darkness was that I should have waited until I was in bed. While I was asleep, I started dreaming about a young man who had studied magic for many years and was now progressing toward journeyman status. He traveled the world, perfecting his spellcasting abilities. He slew goblins and ran away from minotaurs. Countless low-level opponents fell at his feet as his reputation grew. Soon, he would master the magic he loved and step into the ranks of master wizards. Only another year or two of studying would allow him to become an experienced wizard. However, he needed to make a decision about his first class feat. During the last few years, he fought with other classes and learned a few tricks in that time. Now it was time to put what he had learned into practice. YOU HAVE RECEIVED INSPIRATION. The following feats are now available. While you will gain knowledge according to your choice, you will still need to practice these skills to obtain full mastery of the chosen option. Based on your inspiration, you can choose one of the following feats. Although I didn¡¯t know what I would choose beforehand, as soon as I made my choice, I realized why I had made that decision. First, I had always wanted to be a powerful spellcaster even before I reincarnated. Secondly, wizards were overpowered, which was another one of my goals. There were other reasons, but it mostly came down to the fact that I wanted to be a wizard. While eldritch mind, sorcerers, clerics, and banshees were powerful, the only reason I had considered them was for their power. However, everything I could get from them, I could also get from being a wizard. Because of this, I actually didn¡¯t regret my decision at all. Smiling, I focused on what class feat I should choose now. This time though, I couldn¡¯t go with my gut. I really needed to focus and choose the one that would bring the most benefits. Which one would make up for the fact that I hadn¡¯t chosen one of the other powerful classes? With these thoughts in mind, I looked at them one by one. Some of the choices were, again, immediately eliminated from consideration. I could have taken most of the feats the last time I was given the opportunity. Death-Touched, Fade Away, Sandman, Shadowborn, Survivor, and Toughness had appeared again. However, what was different was the fact that I could get more information about each feat this time. A few of the feats were actually a little different than what I had expected. Toughness, Fast Recovery, and Survivor were obvious. Fade Away was basically what I thought it was as well. However, a few of the other feats were nothing like I had expected. Two of the feats were eye-opening. I hadn¡¯t thought Sandman and Shadowborn would allow me to summon creatures. Of course, the summons would most likely only stay around for a limited amount of time. Still, both powers were nothing like what I had pictured in my mind. As for the other feats, Death-Touched definitely piqued my interest. I was curious what Undead Traits would be acquired. From what I knew, undead creatures didn¡¯t need to eat, drink, or breathe. They also didn¡¯t age. Each one of these benefits was very attractive. After all, just because I didn¡¯t need to eat didn¡¯t mean that I couldn¡¯t eat. Therefore, there wasn¡¯t really an obvious downside. Then again, the description didn¡¯t say beneficial undead traits. To me, that implied that I might also receive some of the negative traits as well. Would I be affected by holy water? Could clerics turn me? Of course, it wouldn''t be the first time someone tried to turn me. Several guys had tried to hit on me before I died. As for other possible negative traits, I could imagine several ones that could definitely hurt. Undead creatures couldn''t be healed normally. They could also be controlled by necromancers. Stolen story; please report. Because of the possible negative side effects, I reluctantly marked that off my list. It just wasn¡¯t worth the risk no matter how good the benefits sounded. Sighing, I shook my head in disappointment and looked at the other choices. Eldritch Sigils was the first feat I had taken. I had chosen the mental enhancements. That left either physical or supernatural enhancements. Since the physical enhancements were probably similar to the attribute increases or the other physical feats, I wasn¡¯t as keen on choosing that option. As for the supernatural enhancement, I really needed more information about it. It could be really amazing, but it could also be absolutely worthless. That left Heart of Magic and Attribute Enhancement. The only reason I would even consider Attribute Enhancement was because I could use it to increase my Intelligence even higher than it already was. However, was it really worth the investment? I loved my extremely large intelligence attribute, but the allure of passively regenerating magic points was very tempting. However, when compared to the chance of getting endless magic points, the choice was obvious. I did have one question about the feat though. What were the limits? For example, would I regenerate one point of magic every hour or every minute? The number of points gained from the feat could majorly impact its importance. Either way, I was barely able to resist choosing it immediately. While it was true that I had the Soul Collector feature, that only worked if I killed a lot of enemies. The Heart of Magic would enable me to cast more spells without having to slay any enemies. Finally, I couldn¡¯t help myself and decided to choose the Heart of Magic. While I had initially wanted to go all out on Intelligence, the Heart of Magic just sounded too cool to pass up. Maybe I would be proven wrong, but it was definitely worth the risk. ¡°System,¡± I said, once again only in my mind, ¡°I select two points of Attribute Enhancement for Intelligence.¡± I was really surprised by my decision. I really had planned on taking the Heart of Magic. However, something deep inside me just couldn¡¯t turn down the chance to get smarter. While I knew most of the other feats would be the better choice, I didn¡¯t really care in the end. I had been proud of my intelligence in the past life. In this life, I had wasted my intelligence. In this life, I wouldn¡¯t. With these thoughts, I decided to start searching for another bat colony. I had gained so much from such a short skirmish. Smiling, I opened up another pouch and started nibbling at another piece of ¡°beef¡± jerky. At the same time, I ordered her to finish off one of the bats she had captured and find more victims for us to harvest. However, after biting down and killing the bat she was holding in her claws, I didn¡¯t receive any experience. Confused, I asked her to hunt down another bat to see if my hypothesis was going to be proven correct. As I had thought about earlier, only creatures that could harm us award experience. More than likely, since I had just leveled up to the fifth level, low-level creatures that posed minimal threats were not able to provide experience any longer. Sighing, I took a moment to take a deep breath while I closed my eyes. Really? If I had known this would happen, I would have banked several levels before leveling-up. I could have waited and saved up enough experience instead of using it right away. Now I wouldn¡¯t be able to farm bats for experience. I really wanted to walk over to the nearest wall and bang my head against it. Instead, I tried to think about whether there were any other creatures I could hunt now that bats were useless to me. Then I had another thought, the giant bats. I could go back to where they were located and see if they provided experience. After all, the giant bats were much more dangerous than the small bats. Therefore, I should still be able to farm them for experience. Of course, I would have to be careful. Smiling once again, I had Alsvartr follow me back to where we had seen them. On our way to the giant bat lair, I realized that neither my familiar nor I had any spell points left. Because of this, I decided to call it a day. ¡°Tomorrow,¡± I silently vowed, ¡°we will visit the giant bats and gain enough experience to level up once again.¡± Just the idea made me happy. Thoughts of growing more powerful and bags of dried ¡°beef¡± kept me satisfied until my fellow kobolds arrived to start packing away the bats. Kobold babies will eat tonight. I found it much easier to travel on the way back to my room. Of course, this probably had something to do with the fact that I had eaten most of the food I had tied to the belts. Now, more than half of the bags were hanging empty. Taking a bite from a mushroom, I wondered how long it would actually be before the enemy attacked. I barely noticed anymore Hyggiandi¡¯s constant chatter about some obscure branch of nobility that had disappeared centuries ago. Apparently, she wasn¡¯t mad at me any longer and felt it was time I learned something. Chapter 45 - Another Bat Massacre The next day we returned to where we had found the giant bats. As expected, they had returned. Now that Alsvartr and I had a long rest, we were ready to fight. However, now that the battle was about to begin, I was starting to have second thoughts. The more I thought about the plan I had made, the more I was worried about killing the giant bats fast enough. The problem was that the giant bats had a lot more health points than the smaller bats. With the smaller bats, I was able to kill dozens of them with a single twilight breath attack. Since I was level five, my breath would do ten damage, five of which would be permanent due to the Avatar of Death title. Ten damage wasn¡¯t enough to kill a giant bat. They generally had twice that number of health points. While I had hoped to come up with a better plan by the time I arrived, I just couldn¡¯t come up with any good ideas. Absently, I stuffed a dried bug into my mouth, crunching away while my mind worked. Initially, the plan had been to use Shape Magic to learn an area of effect attack such as fireball. Then I would use twilight breath to attack the survivors. Unfortunately, the giant bats were not bunched up enough and there were stalactites in the way. Therefore, I needed another spell instead. I did have a couple of alternatives to Fireball, but I decided to try something else instead. I needed some type of spell that I could concentrate on for a while. This spell would also need to deal constant damage. I had several spells in mind for it, but I was curious to see what Hyggiandi would say. Interrupting her lecture on the mating practices of shadowcats, I asked, ¡°What spell would you recommend I use to lower the giant bats health by at least half so that my breath weapon will be able to finish them off?¡± I could almost hear her eyes rolling at being interrupted for such a ¡°stupid¡± question. ¡°Why are you asking me? Are you an idiot? Any area attack that lasts for a minute or two would be fine, such as Sleet Storm or Zone of Death. Now then, please don¡¯t interrupt me again. You need to know these things.¡± With that, she started droning on about how to tell the age of a shadowcat. Ignoring her, I nodded to myself. It looked like she and I had the same idea. I was leaning toward the Zone of Death. It lasted longer and dealt just as much damage with the same range. Sighing, I sat down and started meditating so that I could prepare the spell. After I memorized it, I had Alsvartr hang from the ceiling far behind me, ready to swoop in case of an emergency. Taking a deep breath, I cast Zone of Death and directed it at the giant bats hanging overhead. It was as if I stirred up a hornet¡¯s nest. They didn¡¯t immediately notice where I was hiding behind a stalagmite. Because of this, a few of the bats succumbed to damage before they even noticed me. Of course, I had to stop concentrating on the spell a moment later since all the giant bats had left the zone. I then cast it again on my location. Whether because of luck or great planning, the giant bats had to slow down so that they could swerve around the stalagmite to reach me, at which time they entered the new Zone of Death. I hadn¡¯t even been forced to use my twilight breath attack. Unfortunately, nothing good lasts forever. Before long, I was feeling the pressure and starting to second guess my choices in life. While I was raking in the experience points, I was also continuously getting injured. A high armor class and the Death Bringer feature were life savers. They kept me alive despite the repeated wounds. I suppose I also had to attribute some of my survival to my size. I was small enough that only a few of the bats could attack me at the same time. This enabled Death Bringer to heal me every time I was injured. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. The most annoying aspect of the fight was that it was difficult to maintain my concentration on the spell. I ended up having to cast the Zone of Death spell multiple times because I couldn¡¯t maintain concentration on the spell. I was being hit too many times and despite the damage being minimal, the sheer volume of attacks was enough to disrupt my spellcasting. After fifteen minutes, those bats who hadn¡¯t already fled finally fell at my feet. I immediately slumped down, exhausted by having to maintain high vigilance, concentrating on the spells, and dealing with the pain of my injuries. Despite the fact that I hadn¡¯t lost a lot of health points, I had been injured more times than I could count. Closing my eyes, I stuffed some ¡°beef¡± jerky into my mouth, reminding myself that despite it looking like a dried up worm. ¡°Wow,¡± I muttered out loud. ¡°That was intense. Although I wasn¡¯t in a lot of danger, things could definitely have gone another way. ¡°Yes,¡± Hyggiandi said, ¡°it could have gone in a different direction. You¡¯re an idiot. Can you imagine what would have happened to me if you died? I would have been in the stomach of a giant bat until he pooped me out into a pile of guano. Do you know the probability of someone locating me in a pile of bat guano in this cave?¡± Hyggiandi continued complaining, and even started explaining the statistics to me. However, I stopped listening and tuned her out. This time, instead of thousands of bats being killed, I had only managed to kill a couple hundred bats instead. I was quite curious to see how many experience points I would earn. I sent a mental request to the system, ¡°Show me the experience I gained,¡± wanting to see just how much experience I had gained. I wondered if I would get more or less experience than I received with the first batch of bats. Experience Gained: Killed 221 Creatures: 221 x 25 xp = 5525 xp After seeing the experience points, I had to smile, despite the fact that I only received a quarter as much experience. If I continued earning as much experience each day as I did today, I would be able to level-up within three days. While it certainly wasn¡¯t the explosive growth I experienced with the small bats, I was still very happy. The first set of bats was tailor made to level-up when combined with my overpowered class features and draconic breath. Smirking, I felt quite pleased with myself. With the right choice of class features, spells, and circumstances, leveling-up was actually quite easy and fast. If I continued doing this for a few more days, I would rapidly increase my level. In just one day, I was able to level up from fifth level to sixth level. If anyone else were to make such a claim, no one would believe them. Although the impulse was certainly there, I resisted and decided not to level-up to sixth level yet. I didn¡¯t want to risk losing out on experience points like I did with the small bats. Speaking of bats, I needed to activate the Beacon Ring so that my kobold minions knew where to find food for the hatchlings. While I waited, I started working my way through the bags of food I brought. There was definitely something wrong with my appetite, I finally decided. There was no way normal kobold hatchlings could eat as much food as I did. Was I also feeding the system? Did I have some type of special metabolism since I was a feathered dragon? Then again, I was also growing faster than normal kobold hatchlings too. In fact, now that I thought about it, I was growing too quickly in every way. My level was advancing quickly, far faster than was believable. While I hadn¡¯t realized earlier, I was also taller than I had been yesterday. Was it because I had the system? Why did I have the system? In fact, why was I reincarnated with memories from my past life? Was it because the system didn¡¯t believe that someone without memories of a previous life could handle the accelerated growth period? Was there a reason the system wanted me to grow up so quickly? Did the system have an agenda? As for the system, was it self-aware? Was it the boss or was there someone behind the system? What was the system? Did the system, or the entity behind the system, have an agenda, and what was it? I had a lot of questions. Was I the only person with a system? Were there other reincarnators on Guthheimr? I thought about these types of questions while I waited on the kobold tribe members to arrive. Chapter 46 - Time of Calamities The next morning, the first thing I did was compare my height to the previous day¡¯s height. One of the first things I did when I got home after slaying the giant bats was to make a mark on the wall. As expected, I was taller. In fact, I was noticeably taller. As I suspected, I was growing very quickly, much more quickly than the average kobold hatchling. The system was definitely accelerating my growth. This probably also explained my ravenous appetite. After all, a growing body needs a lot of energy. Speaking of growing bodies, my stomach was definitely not happy with me. It was gurgling, demanding to be fed. Almost reluctantly, I flew up to the table and started eating the cold food that had been left for me. Soon, the joy of a full belly washed away my concerns. It wasn¡¯t as if I could do anything about it anyway. Also, I had been given a second chance at life, so whatever happened was a bonus. If anyone deserved a second chance, it was me. I had been a good guy in my previous life. Despite this, I had lived a menial and depressing life. Well, I wasn¡¯t going to have such a life again. With renewed determination, I prepared myself for the day. Of course, this mostly involved strapping a lot of food bags all over my body. Then I sent a mental thought to Alsvartr asking her to meet me at Chuck Norris Bridge. From there, we would head back to the giant bat colony. While I had killed over two hundred bats yesterday, there were thousands of giant bats left. I tripped over my feet and landed face first on the floor when Alsvartr sent an answer, ¡°Yes daddy.¡± I wasn¡¯t even sure what to say. So many questions raced through my mind. Did the recent level-up give her more intelligence? Was she growing up at a faster rate as well? Was the system influencing her? Was it my bloodline? Sighing, I brushed myself off and stood up. ¡°Life is getting interesting,¡± I muttered to myself. ¡°It certainly is an interesting time. Now that so many gods have fallen, new gods are certain to rise up,¡± Hyggiandi said, starting to lecture once again. ¡°Curious,¡± I asked, ¡°which gods have fallen?¡± While I knew there were several gods, I didn¡¯t know how many there were. All I knew was that several of them had given me their favor. While I probably could have searched my memories for the information, I was too lazy to do so. I might as well let her tell me. She loved talking anyway. Hyggiandi seemed very pleased by the fact that I was actually paying attention to her lessons for once. ¡°Let¡¯s start with Othur, the god of creation. Of course, he wasn¡¯t the one who created our world, but he did take over that role once he and his pantheon overthrew the Primordial Gods. ¡°His counterpart was Sortna, the goddess of darkness, who also fell in the conflict between their two pantheons. Both of them desired to become true Overgods who no longer had to depend on the faith of their followers for power. However, the conflict between the two pantheons led to the destruction of both pantheons. ¡°Leknair, the goddess of life, Speki, the goddess of wisdom, Sannligr, the god of justice, and Lj¨®s, the goddess of light, all died from the Holy Pantheon. As for the Pantheon of Darkness, Garpr, the god of war, Kunnigr, the god of magic, and Lauss, the god of freedom, all died as well. Even the god of death, Banas¨¢r, fell. ¡°Even the neutral gods were drawn into their battles eventually, which led to the Time of Calamities. Lauss was able to convince a few of the unaligned gods into helping his side. Until then, neither side had an advantage. However, once the Holy Pantheon became aware of unaligned gods helping the Pantheon of Darkness, they became desperate. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°For decades, the gods fought each other tooth and nail. Their powers weakened, and their followers died. Even the followers of unaligned gods died, which lessened their power. This caused mutual destruction. Most of them gods in both pantheons were destroyed, leaving only a few of the unaligned gods remaining¡± Surprisingly, I was actually finding the lesson both informative and interesting. It certainly relieved my boredom and was better than studying the information myself. While I knew I could access all the information if I searched my memories, I viewed it as if I had a library of knowledge, but was too lazy to search for the book I needed and read it. For a second, I was actually tempted to start listening to her more often. Hyggiandi continued her lesson, unaware of my thoughts, ¡°These gods were not powerful to begin with. The gods who did survive were mostly weak, or indifferent, and didn¡¯t take part in the battles. This caused them to lose the respect of the people. The people were angry with the gods and refused to worship them because of how many people died during the Time of Calamities. ¡°The remaining gods and lesser gods created a few demigods, but didn¡¯t create any minor gods since that would weaken their power even more. They were having a hard time keeping believers after the death of the gods, much less the death of the greater gods. ¡°The lesser gods didn¡¯t have the wide appeal of the dead gods, and even though some of the gods attempted to assume the domains of those gods, they were never able to do so. The gods lost the faith of their people. The people didn¡¯t see much benefit from worshiping a god when they could still receive the blessings of unaffiliated clerics. I nodded to myself at this point. I had learned about this earlier. One of the reasons I hadn¡¯t wanted to become a cleric was because I didn¡¯t want to worship another god. It wasn¡¯t until I realized that there were generic clerics who were able to harness divine powers without the intervention of the gods. Of course, these clerics often lacked the powerful benefits praying to a particular god could provide. Realizing I was getting distracted I concentrated on listening to what she was saying as I crunched on a dried bug while walking down the tunnels toward Chuck Norris Bridge. ¡°The pureblood races became more insular and didn¡¯t venture out as much any longer. The hybrids used this from time to time to establish themselves. When they ventured into pureblooded towns, they competed for jobs with mongrels, and as such, had a conflict with them. ¡°Most of the followers of these gods were humans, elves, dwarves, and common races. They lost a lot during the Time of Calamities. The hybrid races were mostly unaligned and didn¡¯t take sides. They had been persecuted before. Afterward, they became much freer and spread rapidly. ¡°The hybrids were still looked down by the purebloods, and they in turn looked down on the mongrels. The pure races still had their powerful cities and started specializing in higher professions. The hybrids took over a lot of the manual professions, such as farming, hunting, and soldiers. ¡°The mongrels had to take what they could and were often marginalized. In fact, they were often outcasts once they served their purpose. They would be brought in for cheap labor with promises of food and a place to stay, but once the work was done, they would be cast out. The purebloods would try to turn the hybrids against the mongrels.¡± By this time, I had already lost interest. It was starting to feel like an info dump. Because of this, I stopped listening and went back to my own thoughts. So, apparently the goddess of night was gone and her godhood was up for grabs. Considering I was a twilight dragon, perhaps it was destiny for me to take over her divine domain. Wait. Why should I limit myself to being the god of darkness? I could also be the god of magic. Yes, that sounded even better. With these thoughts in mind, I shortly reached Chuck Norris Bridge and met up with Alsvartr again. I hadn¡¯t looked at her information screen in a couple of days and wanted to see what had changed. Obviously, something was since she was calling me ¡°daddy.¡± I mean, why call me that? Why not master? I know she was still very young, almost a baby. I also knew that tenebrous bats were mostly raised by their mothers. Could Alsvartr view me as her father because of this? Well, I suppose I could understand that. I had even given her my bloodline so I suppose, in a way, she was my child. Maybe I could be the god of magic and make her the god of darkness. That was appropriate since she was a creature of darkness. In fact, she even had several class and ancestral abilities that dealt with shadows. Maybe it was time to look at her closely. I had been paying too much attention to myself lately. After all, as a father, I needed to look after my baby and make sure she grows up to be a big, strong goddess. Pulling up her information screen, I wondered what type of surprises I would see. Chapter 47 - Alsvartrs Information Sheet I blinked when I saw the information displayed on the information screen. For one, Alsvartr was no longer considered a pup. Just two days ago, she had been considered a baby bat, which meant her evolutionary stage was at pup. Now it was showing her to be a juvenile. There was no way that was normal. In fact, looking at her, I had to admit that she was much bigger. The increased size might also be why her strength had increased by a point. None of the other attributes had increased except for intelligence, which had increased by two points. That might also explain her ability to communicate with me. Another thing I noticed was that she had some status in the tribe now. Apparently, someone had told the other kobolds that I had a familiar. Since I was so high ranking in the tribe, this afforded Alsvartr some status as well. Another pleasant surprise was that I had attunements available. That meant that I could let her wear magic items. For a second, I considered taking off my necklace and placing it on Alsvartr. She didn¡¯t have access to racial memories or memories from her past life. That meant that she could benefit more from the Phylactery of Hyggiandi than I would. My intelligence was already very high. While I would lose the benefits the necklace brought, they weren¡¯t essential for me. The only thing that stopped me was the Hyggiandi¡¯s reaction and the actual attunement process. I wasn¡¯t sure that she would be able to survive attuning the Phylactery of Hyggiandi. As for the nagging, well, that was the price she would have to pay for knowledge. As for how Hyggiandi, I was certain she would be offended. However, it wasn¡¯t as if I would have to listen to her nagging me. Children often had teachers they hated, and as a former teacher, I knew I taught some kids that I hated. In fact, there was this one little¡­ ¡°Nope, concentrate,¡± I said to myself, not wanting to ever think of that boy ever again. He was the one that caused me to retire. I would curse his parents for raising him to be so evil, but they had to live with him, so I guess they were already cursed. Despite this, I decided to curse them anyway, ¡°May you and your devil child be reborn as gnomes!¡± I couldn¡¯t think of any worse fate than that. In fact, I almost hesitated on wishing such a fate on anyone. However, after thinking about how he and his parents had made my life miserable, I decided it was appropriate. Anyway, if Hyggiandi did cause problems, I could always take her back. If she annoyed me too much, I could always use her to evolve or extract her magic. In fact, if she wasn¡¯t sentient, I probably would have already done so. However, despite her being annoying, I wasn¡¯t ready to kill someone because of that. Otherwise, I would have been in jail after the first day I started work as a teacher. However, I did have to admit that if I had to deal with that boy one more year, I might have been willing to risk jail to put him in his place. Forcing myself to concentrate on the information screen, I decided to think about giving my baby girl the necklace later. For now, I needed to figure out her powers. The racial features were obvious, but I wanted to learn about the class features. For example, what powers did they give her? ¡°Alsvartr,¡± I asked, ¡°can you explain your class powers?¡± I hated the thought of someday missing an opportunity because I didn¡¯t bother to ask. After all, how could I make the best plan if I don¡¯t have enough information? In fact, there is a quote that says you need to not only know your enemy, but you also need to know about yourself. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! ¡°Sure daddy,¡± she said, ¡°Death¡¯s Touch allows me to give or take away health points. I can take away others¡¯ health or give them some of my health.¡± I nodded at this, realizing that if she healed me, it would be at the cost of her own health. On the other hand, she could absorb the health of others to recover her health. That sounded like a nice power to have. Already pleased, I continued to listen to see what each of her other powers did. ¡°Shadow of Death allows me to merge into someone else¡¯s shadow. I can also use most of my powers while merged with their shadow. As for Shadow Shape, I can form a humanoid body made out of shadows. I can walk and interact with objects just like you,¡± she said proudly, although her voice had a tinge of disappointment when she continued. ¡°Unfortunately, the body I create doesn¡¯t have any distinguishing features yet. I am still working on that though,¡± she finished with a determined tone. ¡°That¡¯s amazing,¡± I said, interrupting Alsvartr before she could tell me about the rest of her powers. I could already guess what everything else did anyway. ¡°You have grown so powerful. Do you want a pretty necklace?¡± ¡°Oh, that sounds nice,¡± she said, obviously pleased with that idea. ¡°You better not give me to her,¡± a nagging voice suddenly screamed into my mind. She sounded really upset. In fact, she reacted as if she had woken up and found herself reborn as a gnome. ¡°Shut up Hyggiandi,¡± I cut her off before she could continue. ¡°My baby girl needs a good teacher, and from what I have seen, I couldn¡¯t ask for a better teacher than you. You know just about everything. While I could teach her, I simply don¡¯t have the time or energy to do so.¡¯ I continued on, not giving her a chance to speak, ¡°You might have noticed how quickly I am advancing in levels. When I become powerful enough, I¡¯ll create a body for you so that you aren¡¯t stuck in a ring.¡± I stopped there and gave her time to think about my offer. Finally, after a few seconds, Hyggiandi said nothing. Then, reluctantly, she said, ¡°You do seem to be growing unnaturally fast. Obviously, some divine entity is assisting you. You aren¡¯t smart enough to do it by yourself. However, with their help, you might be able to keep your promise.¡± Hyggiandi seemed reluctant to admit it, and obviously hated the idea of being paired up with someone whose intelligence was only a third of mine, but for a body of her own, was willing to deal with it. ¡°Fine,¡± she finally said. With that, I cut my attunement to the necklace as I took off the Phylactery of Hyggiandi. Gently, I placed it around Alsvartr¡¯s neck and told her, ¡°Before you attune to the necklace, I want you to cast False Life on yourself.¡± While I wasn¡¯t certain it would matter, I was a little worried about her getting injured. Most kobolds who attuned the necklace took damage. However, Alsvartr was almost as smart as a normal kobold. When combined with the fact that Hyggiandi was agreeing with this attunement, I really doubted anything bad would happen. Still, just the possibility bothered me more than I was willing to admit. As soon as I stopped my attunement to the necklace, pain jabbed through my mind. I grew dizzy and my thoughts became hazier. It was as if someone had hit me with a bat. I couldn¡¯t think clearly. In fact, I swayed and almost fell. Luckily, I had time to compose myself while Alsvartr started attuning the necklace. My mind was like a puzzle that had been assembled already when someone came and slammed their hand down on the table and knocked some of the pieces loose. I could already tell that I had lost most of the gains from attuning to Hyggiandi. Surprisingly, I still retained some of those abilities. Perhaps it was because the information was downloaded directly into my brain. While I might have lost the extra intelligence and wisdom, I had kept some of the knowledge. ¡°Nice,¡± I thought to myself. I had actually expected to lose everything. Hopefully, I wouldn¡¯t lose Alsvartr. Even if she took a lot of damage from attuning to Hyggiandi, I was certain that she had enough health points to survive the process. However, I was still worried. I watched as she continued to sit on the tunnel floor attuning to the necklace. Chapter 48 - Imminent Invasion Alsvartr did end up taking some damage. I could tell by the blood oozing out of her nose. At first, I regretted giving her the necklace. However, then I noticed that there wasn''t a lot of blood. Because of this, I guessed that she didn¡¯t lose more than a few health points. More than likely, this was because Hyggiandi was looking out for her. However, it did take longer than an hour. Alsvartr opened her eyes and sent a mental message, ¡°I¡¯m tired. Can I go take a nap?¡± ¡°Uh, sure. Of course,¡± I said. We could always go hunting bats when she woke up. Although I was slightly disappointed that I had to wait for my experience points, the fact that Alsvartr was okay more than made up for that. I watched as she pulled herself erect, flapped her wings, and flew off up to the ceiling where she found a good perching spot. Actually, why did I have to wait? I could go on my own. With that in mind, I set off. Although in my previous life I had been somewhat directionally impaired, I only got lost a few times before finding the giant bat colony. Just as I did the previous day, I used Shape Magic to learn the Zone of Death spell. Once that was done, I crouched down in the same spot as yesterday. Taking a deep breath, I cast the Zone of Death spell and started the slaughter. Everything went just as expected. Although I was continuously bitten, knocked down, and pummeled, I managed to slay every single giant bat that came near me. I even had to use my claws a few times while I waited until I could use my twilight breath attack again. After losing my concentration for who knows how many times, I decided then and there that I was going to take some type of feat that would allow me to keep my concentration. Of course, that depended on if it showed up as a choice. Otherwise, I was going to have to look for an item to help me instead. I almost lost my cool a few times when I cast Zone of Death only to have it immediately disrupted when I was bitten by one of the giant bats and lost my concentration. Even with my high armor class, I took a lot of damage. If I had clothes, they would have been turned into bloody rags within minutes of the bat massacre. I was exhausted by the time I finished off the last of the giant bats that prefer fight over flight. Well, that should teach them that running is sometimes the best option. While I had intended to just sit down and take a break, the cave floor looked so comfortable that I couldn¡¯t resist the impulse to lay down. The fight had taken a lot out of me. Then again, I was also certain that I had gained a lot of experience points. ¡°System, please show my experience points,¡± I said, staring up at the ceiling. Experience Gained: Killed 158 Creatures: 158 x 25 xp = 3950 xp Total Experience: 18,665/14,000 ¡°Ugh,¡± I groaned. After splitting the experience points with my familiar, I had gained less than two thousand experience points. ¡°It is probably because more bats chose fleeing over fighting. Yesterday I got rid of some of the most aggressive bats. Today I eliminated some more. However, if this continues, more and more bats will choose to flee as soon as I show up. At this rate it will take a week to level-up.¡± To say I was disappointed was an understatement. I knew that I should have been happy with the experience I was receiving. After all, I was certain that regular adventurers would be overjoyed with the amount of experience I gained in this one conflict. I would be a god of leveling to them. ¡°Now there is a thought. Maybe I can also be a god of adventurers, if there isn¡¯t already one that is.¡± I had no desire to fight an established god for their divinity. Sighing, I dragged myself upright and started heading back to my room. In the back of my mind, I was coming up with a plan. Maybe I could take a few shielded kobolds with me and blockade some of the cave exits so fewer giant bats are able to escape. After walking for a few minutes, I turned around, realizing I was more tired than I had thought. Apparently, large back to back battles were starting to frazzle my thinking. Once I got back to the cave entrance, I took out the Beacon Ring and contacted the tribe to let them know where to pick up the food. While I was tempted to take a nap while waiting for them, I was worried that something might sneak up on me while I was asleep. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. ¡°Oh, my goodness, there actually is a way that I can take a nap,¡± I said, pulling out a mushroom to chew on. I couldn¡¯t believe that I had forgotten about my spellcasting abilities. I was getting too focused on one or two spells. I was like one of those cliche wizards who only knew one spell, Fireball. If I wanted to take a nap, all I had to do was set up the Alarm ritual beforehand. Popping the rest of the mushroom into my mouth, I got down to work and cast the ritual. Afterwards, I enjoyed a well-deserved rest. It seemed like only minutes later when the alarm woke me up. I resisted the impulse to ignore the alarm and stood up. Even though I was fairly certain the individuals who had set off the alarm were kobolds, I¡¯d rather not attract attention and discover they were dark elves or some other threat. Fortunately, it was the kobold foraging party. The foragers were actually a branch of rogue scouts who specialized in locating food and bringing that food back to the tribe. Their skills in running far outclassed their actual combat abilities. However, their ability to sneak around was unparalleled, except perhaps for the assassins. I watched as the kobolds started collecting the bodies. Basically, each kobold was only able to carry one body. I hadn¡¯t watched them yesterday or the day before, so I had expected them to place the bodies in carts that would be drawn by wereweasels. However, the foraging party each carried a bat on their back. A few of the other kobolds scouted ahead and a few hung behind. I was actually impressed. That was some stamina. Admittedly, only I called them giant bats. Everyone else called them primal bats. The normal bats I had killed weighed about half a pound. These bats weighed as much as I did. True giant bats were several times my size. However, from my viewpoint, these bats were still giant. Then again, Alsvartr was getting bigger and might soon be just as big. Watching them lug those huge bats around started to give me an inferiority complex. I was exhausted just carrying around the bags of dried food. Was I really that weak? I mean, I knew I had a really low strength attribute, but I was starting to realize it now. I added a belt of giant strength to the list of needed magics. I needed something for strength and something to help me concentrate on my spells. Even if both those items required an attunement, that would leave me with one attunement left. Now all I needed to do was find those two types of items and figure out what I wanted to do with the last attunement. I trailed along with the group of foragers, completely happy in the middle of the group. Despite my location, none of the kobolds showed their usually talkative nature. We walked in total silence. At first, I had thought they were nervous to be in my presence. When I realized they were just being safe so as to not attract attention, I felt a little embarrassed. I was extremely glad I hadn¡¯t said anything earlier that would make me want to facepalm. I remembered doing things like that many times in my past life. For someone as smart as I was, and who had worked in the produce section of a grocery store as a teenager, I had really embarrassed myself when, at the age of fifty, one of my friends had to explain that pickles were just cucumbers that had gone through a jarring experience. I had to get him to explain the joke and argued that pickles were not cucumbers. Of course, I did a lot of stupid things. One of the stupidest was when I was working in the produce area at the supermarket. I had been a little overconfident. Okay, I was stupid. One day, when I was watering the vegetables, I noticed that a light switch wasn¡¯t working. I decided to fix it myself. However, I didn¡¯t know where the fuse box was, so I decided to just be careful. I don¡¯t know why I chose a completely metal knife instead of getting a screwdriver off the shelf. I opened up the light socket and discovered what a circuit was. It turned out the knife I had could melt. The fact that my life was full of such situations showed that there was a higher being watching over me. By the time we got back, I was exhausted again. Maybe for the third attunement I could get something that would increase my constitution. Hopefully, I would get them soon. Before I went back to my room though, I stopped by the feces drop room. For some reason, I had to go to the bathroom again. As soon as I dropped my liquid brown deposit into the hole, I scurried away from the stench as fast as I could. Maybe some of that stomach rumbling wasn¡¯t from being hungry but from having the runs. Whatever the case, I didn¡¯t have time to think about the reason since I was certain that our tribe would be invaded before too long. However, for now, I was too tired to think. After eating a hot meal someone brought me, I flew up to the bed and took another nap. During the nap, I dreamed about being a giant kobold who smashed invading armies of gnomes into the stone walls to create wall paintings. Chapter 49 - The Invasion Begins One of the maids woke me up with an urgent knocking on the door. When I opened the door, she staggered back while holding her hands over her mouth and nose. I was confused for a second, but any worries about her reaction were forgotten when I realized there could be only one reason why she would be banging on my door to wake me up. The invaders had arrived. In fact, they had arrived well before they were expected. Hopping down off the bed, I hurriedly strapped on a few food and water bags and headed out the door. I barely noticed that I had once again grown as I started shoveling dried ¡°beef¡± into my mouth. As soon as I stepped out the door, I turned to the maid and asked, ¡°What do we know so far about the invaders?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t know a lot yet,¡± she said, with her hands covering her nose and mouth while her eyes were obviously starting to water. Apparently, she was about to cry because she was afraid of what was going to happen. ¡°However, from what we have learned, some human soldiers are sending either slaves or peasants ahead of them to find, deactivate, or trip our traps.¡± That sounded evil. I knew people could be cruel, but using people as expendable cannon fodder proved to me that I needed to be the one in charge. Whatever kingdom was sending these soldiers would pay. Between mouthfuls of food, I asked, ¡°Do we know they are mercenaries or are they kingdom soldiers?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. I came to alert you as soon as we received this information,¡± she said, walking slowly beside me. Glancing at her, I could tell by her expression that she was worried and anxious to get to our destination. In fact, it was as if she was trying to stay as far ahead of me as possible. Of course, I knew it was just because she wanted to reach our destination faster. Because of this, I dropped all but one of the pouches of water and started flying behind her instead. Since I wasn¡¯t weighted down and was flying, we started to make good time as she led me through the tunnels. We soon reached a tunnel that started leading toward the surface. Even though we were passing through quickly, I tried to memorize the route we were taking. As far as I knew, there were only a few entrances to the kobold tribe¡¯s territory. One of them was Chuck Norris Bridge that led to various passages. Another tunnel led to the red dragon¡¯s chambers which were next to a lava pool. This had to be the last entrance to the kobold city. A lot of people would assume that with just three entrances, the kobold residents of the city would be safe, especially with the number of traps they liked to set. However, this wasn¡¯t quite correct. Earthquakes were common in the area. Old tunnels could collapse and new ones might be created. Also, there were other races that lived underground. Dark dwarves, dark elves, and even dark gnomes could be found. Each of these races, as well as many others, could dig new tunnels that might connect to the kobold tunnels. That was one reason why the outermost tunnels in the city were patrolled. More and more, I was certain the green kobolds had planned both attacks. Obviously, the Groenneitr Tribe was testing our defenses. Now that I thought about it, I figured out why the attacks didn¡¯t happen at the same time. For one thing, on the off hand that one of the groups succeeded in getting our treasures, the green kobolds most likely wanted to set up an ambush to steal all the plundered gold from the invaders on their way out. However, the Groenneitr Tribe probably didn¡¯t have enough members to make two ambush sites. Even our tribe might not feel safe splitting into two parties. After all, we kobolds were smart enough to ensure that we always have overwhelming numerical superiority. The Groenneitr Tribe probably staggered the attacks of their hired guns because they wanted to have overwhelming numbers when they ambushed the hired guns should they prove successful in looting our tribe¡¯s gold. Soon, I could hear angry shouts and screams of pain in the distance. The sounds echoed through the tunnels, growing louder as we drew closer. However, the noises stayed muffled and strange. It took me a moment to realize we had gone down a side tunnel instead of the main entrance. I figured this out when I noticed my fellow kobolds shooting arrows through arrow slits in the walls. The wall between tunnels was thick enough so that the invaders couldn¡¯t easily break them down. Nodding to myself, I realized that there were side tunnels on both sides of the main tunnel. Just like in this tunnel, kobolds were firing arrows through the arrow slits at the invaders, whittling away at their numbers. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. That was probably why there were only a few traps in the tunnel I had gone down. The main tunnel was the one that was heavily trapped. While invaders stumbled into those traps, the kobolds would ambush them from both sides. It was almost impossible to defend against the traps and ambushes unless the attacker was a high level spellcaster. Curious to see the invaders, I peeked through one of the arrow slits. Once I saw the intruders on the other side, I regretted my decision. They were obviously not there of their own accord. My maid had said that soldiers might be using slaves or peasants. I quickly decided that they weren¡¯t slaves. This was because slaves were expensive, and slaves who are in the prime of their life would be even more expensive. Had it been old men and women, I might have had different thoughts. However, there were a number of young men dying in the traps. They were poorly dressed, even more poorly dressed than a peasant. While it could have been peasants who had been kidnapped, I doubted it. Strong, young peasants provided food and taxes. Also, it would antagonize them, perhaps even prompting a revolt. This also explained why they didn¡¯t bring animals such as sheep, pigs, or cows. While these animals weren¡¯t expensive, they were the lifeblood of many peasants. Taking away their livestock would almost be as bad as taking their children. After all, these animals were the source of their food, milk, and wool. More than likely, these men, for they were mostly men, were prisoners. While they might have been incarcerated for petty crimes, using criminals as cannon fodder could be explained away in case anyone complained. As I watched, one of these men stepped onto a stone that cracked and crumbled under his foot. I winced when I saw the man¡¯s foot drop into a hole with poisonous spikes. Unlike all the other kobolds in the side tunnel, I only observed. Most of the rest of the kobolds were busy either shooting arrows or bringing arrows to the archers. The remaining kobolds were pulling ropes as soon as a ¡°spotter¡± told them one of the invaders was near a trap. Each time I moved to a different arrow slit, I noticed a different type of trap. I noticed log falls, blade traps, dart traps, and acid traps. I even saw kobolds bring gourds filled with scorpions and bees and throw them through some of the larger arrow slits. One time, I could even feel the heat through the tunnel walls when one of the kobolds threw a gourd of oil that had a flaming fuse through one of the arrow slits. I shuddered a little, suddenly looking at the kobolds around me with a little more respect. While I was a kobold myself, I had still retained a condescending attitude toward the kobold race. In every fantasy game I played, kobolds were the joke race. They were the monsters that beginner heroes would mow their way through as they gained experience. Because of this, I had looked at the other kobolds with an air of superiority, as if I was patronizing my baby sister. Instead, I saw tiny kobolds using their ingenuity and dedication to preparing traps becoming a force I wouldn¡¯t want to go up against. While I knew there were a lot of traps, I hadn¡¯t really ever thought about the effects of the traps. Over a dozen prisoners had died in the traps in just the few minutes since I had arrived. At the rate the traps were chipping away at the invaders, I knew that the soldiers would soon run out of prisoners. The traps were just too effective. In fact, before long, I predicted that when the last prisoner fell, the soldiers would start using spells such as Animated Dead or Summon Beast. I couldn¡¯t see them using trained soldiers except as a last resort. They were probably hoping that they could plow through the traps at the entrance and then invade the rest of the city. Unfortunately for them, this wasn¡¯t the case. Most cities had strong defensive walls with some traps. However, once you broke through the perimeter, you could do anything you wanted. This city was different. While there might not be as many traps in the inner city, they still existed. In fact, there were quite a lot of them. Obviously, whoever had fed them information not only wanted to weaken the human kingdom but weaken us as well. Otherwise, they would have warned the humans about the multitude of traps invaders would face. If the soldiers had expected the whole city to be trapped, they wouldn¡¯t have used the prisoners in the manner in which they did. I got the feeling that whoever was in charge of the soldiers was inexperienced. For some reason, the invaders failing at trying to get past the defending kobolds reminded me about the first time I tried to get intimate with my first girlfriend. That had been a total debacle. I still felt the impulse to cringe just thinking about that memory. Since I was already peering through one of the arrow slits with my head near the wall, I went ahead and thunked my forehead against the rock to distract me from such thoughts. I could still hear her words ringing in my mind, ¡°Is it in yet?¡± I felt so small after that. Well, at least in this life I could learn the Enlarge spell if my little kobold buddy disappointed me as much as I disappointed my girlfriend that night. However, despite all that, she did give me a cool nickname, the ¡°minuteman.¡± I didn¡¯t even know she knew about how amazing the minutemen were during the Revolutionary War. Chapter 50 - First Casualties As expected, minutes later, the last prisoner fell. Also, as expected, their corpses then began to stand up less than a minute later. I grimaced when I saw how many of the fallen prisoners were animated. The spell itself was a third level spell, which meant the caster had to be a magus, which was a fifth level wizard. Actually, I corrected myself, similar level priests could also cast the spell. Either there were at least a dozen spellcasters who knew the spell or there was a magic item being used. Considering the difficulty of even getting a few wizards or clerics of that level was difficult, I suspected someone was using a magic item instead. It was also possible that there was a mixture of the two, perhaps a few spellcasters with at least one or two items that animated the dead. In fact, I thought that was the most likely explanation. I doubted the soldiers would come without at least a handful of mid-level spellcasters. It didn¡¯t really matter too much. Whatever the source of the magic, the newly raised zombies would be much harder to deal with. They would be at least five to six times harder to kill. Now I was wishing I had considered choosing the shaman or cleric class. Both of them had class features that dealt with the undead or with spirits. Unfortunately, neither class was generally found on the front lines. In fact, none of the spellcasting classes were usually found on the front lines when it came to battles. Some of this was because these classes were rare. Another reason why was because each of these classes was treated differently by the kobolds. Sorcerers were synonymous with dragon bloodlines, and as such, were too sacred to risk losing. As for clerics, every kobold worshiped their dragon as a living god. In my tribe''s case, they worshiped Einvaldskonungr the Red Dragon. A cleric''s job was to connect the kobolds to their god. They spread the word of his greatness and how each kobold needed to do his or her very best to gather offerings to appease their god. Every morning, these clerics would lead services for the kobolds. After which, the kobolds would meditate on how lucky and privileged they were to be born a kobold. They then merrily went about their day, working hard to please their god. Should any accidents happen, the clerics would once again step in and heal the workers who were injured. Injuries and death from cave-ins were common among kobolds, especially with earthquakes being so common. While it was theoretically possible for kobolds to live a long life, this generally didn¡¯t happen. At six years old, kobolds were considered mature adults and had been working for at least a year or two. Generally this was in the mines or on the front lines fighting invaders or fighting for food. Because of these things, kobolds generally didn¡¯t live long lives. Perhaps because they understood that life was short, they didn¡¯t form great attachment to others, even to their spouses. Promiscuity was rampant. They lived each day to the fullest. However, what reassured kobolds the most was the fact they believed in reincarnation. I would have scoffed at this before, but now I wasn¡¯t sure. Every kobold tribe shared the belief that when they died, they would be reborn into the body of a newly hatched kobold wyrmling. There was no rest or afterlife for the kobolds. Kobolds were meant to work, at least after they turned six years old. Therefore, kobolds didn¡¯t mourn the loss of their fallen, but viewed it more as, ¡°What a lucky dog. Hellir just reincarnated. Now he doesn¡¯t have to work for another five years.¡± The only thing stopping kobolds from taking mass ¡°work breaks¡± was the fact that their god would be annoyed by their unnecessary deaths. After all, kobolds were meant to work. If their dragon god had to wait five years for them to start working again, he would not be happy. However, as for legitimate deaths, such as defending their tribe members, well, that was enough to earn them a five year vacation after they reincarnated. Needless to say, kobolds were fearless of death as long as they believed their death wasn¡¯t wasted. That was another reason that kobolds preferred pack tactics. Each kobold¡¯s death was one less worker, which meant less production of gold and gems that could be mined for their dragon god. Sighing, I watched as the zombies bull-dozed through the traps. Each zombie eventually fell, but it took a lot more effort than it did to take down the prisoners. Despite this, as I had noticed on the first day of my new life, kobolds loved traps. Even though the zombies ended up clearing most of the entrance tunnel, they weren¡¯t able to clear them all. That meant that the soldiers would have to risk their lives next. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Apparently, some of the soldiers were hesitant to move forward after the last zombie fell. I actually expected that one of the wizards would summon a beast, a monster, or an elemental to send down the entrance tunnel. However, nothing like that happened. Instead, there was only arguing. Finally, several heavily armored knights, with a shield on their back and a shield in each hand, cautiously moved forward. These walking tanks took the traps head on with a few priests saying healing words whenever they activated a trap. I almost felt like I was in an mmorpg. This strategy actually turned out to be fairly feasible. While the clerics did run through their spell points very quickly, the soldiers were able to advance without casualties. Of course, this offended the kobold¡¯s sense of righteousness. Enemies weren¡¯t allowed to walk through their traps and not die. How dare they? Because of this, the kobolds grew angrier and angrier. The only insult worse than ignoring a kobold¡¯s traps was comparing them to a gnome. Many of the kobolds put away their bows and grabbed long spears or polearms with hooks. They then jabbed the spears through the arrow slits. Sometimes they tried to hit ankles and trip the armored tanks. Other times they used the hooks on the polearms to move the shields enough for the other kobolds to attack. Unfortunately, neither the traps nor their attacks worked. Needless to say, the kobolds were not going to let such an insult go. Enraged, they decided to pull out all the stops and started using precious alchemical firebombs. By this time, many of the soldiers had already traveled deep down the entrance tunnel. Once all the bombs had been passed out, the kobolds released the oil traps and bombarded the shield man with alchemical fire. I could feel the heat even though I was in the side tunnel. That was despite the fact that I was wearing the Boots of the Firelands. As could be expected, a lot of soldiers were slain or injured. Because of all the deaths and injuries, the soldiers quickly pulled back and left the tunnel. I couldn¡¯t believe it. I really couldn¡¯t. I had been so worried for the kobolds, thinking they would be steamrolled by the soldiers. Instead, not a single kobold lost their life. While there were a few accidents, the kobolds emerged almost unscathed. I was amazed. It was also at this point that I realized I had been too busy watching the fight instead of participating in the fight. Feeling that I really hadn¡¯t contributed anything this time, I was a little embarrassed. The least I could have done was use my twilight breath attack. I could easily have used it against the zombies or shieldmen and saved some traps or alchemical fire. ¡°Oh my goodness, I totally forgot about the experience points,¡± I moaned. I could have earned experience points if I had helped them. Now my experience points were running away. Since I couldn¡¯t allow the soldiers to get away after attacking my tribe, I resolutely decided to chase down some of those experience points before they got too far away. I was pretty sure I could follow them, and then when it was nighttime, I could ambush those soldiers who were injured with my twilight breath and with the Zone of Death spell. I also made a mental note to memorize that spell once I leveled up so that I didn¡¯t have to keep wasting my Shape Magic to learn it. Getting the attention of one of the kobolds, I asked, ¡°Where is the fastest way to get to the surface without alerting the invaders?¡± Luckily, he knew the answer and quickly led me to the surface. While there were only a few ¡°real¡± entrances, there were also a few ¡°escape¡± and ¡°ambush¡± routes. The escape routes were almost uniformly narrow passages that led deeper underground or upwards toward the top of the mountain. The mountain escape routes often led to sheer cliffs which were well hidden behind camouflage. Rope ladders could be found near the exits which would only be used in the most dire of circumstances. I was led to one of the ambush routes. The ambush exit I was taken to was more of a small window ledge situated above the entrance to the tunnels leading to the kobold village. It too was inaccessible from the outside and was hidden from view. A human child or a small woman might be able to squeeze through the ambush window, but a normal sized adult would be too big to fit through the opening. As I crawled into the light for the first time since I hatched, I was almost blinded by the light. I guess I had long since gotten used to the darkness. While there were a few torches, lanterns, or bioluminescent plants, there was actually very little light in the underground city. Only a few areas were well lit. Most of the tunnels were not. Now that I was in the light, I actually felt a little sensitive to the sunlight. What was worse was that it was obviously not even noon yet. The soldiers had attacked at first light. Realizing this, I frowned since I would have to wait a long time if I still wanted to ambush them at night. I also couldn¡¯t fly around or they would see me. While I suppose that I could turn invisible and fly around, I worried they might hear me or even have some type of spell active that would alert them of my presence. Unsure what to do, I sat down to think about it. Chapter 51 - Reason for the Attacks While I could move around using the Invisibility spell, I would lose the effect if I attacked anyone. I briefly considered using the Zone of Death spell, but decided against it. When casting the spell, the caster had to designate a spot on which to center the spell. While I could target a large group of people, they could also run out of the affected area. While I might be able to slay a few of the weaker soldiers, the stronger soldiers would probably be able to escape. Another option was to target myself as the center of the spell. That would enable me to drag the Zone of Death around with me. Unfortunately, I would have to get close enough to affect them. I took a second to consider possible combinations. Hopefully I would be able to create a good combination, such as using a Web spell to trap enemies so that they couldn¡¯t escape in time. One of the best plans I thought of was using the Improved Invisibility or the Greater Invisibility spells in combination with the Zone of Death spell. Then I could fly over the heads of my enemies, and they wouldn¡¯t even know what happened. While the Improved Invisibility had a chance to be seen through, the Greater Invisibility spell did not. However, with both spells I would have to worry about my enemies using the Detect Invisibility spell once they realized I was there. My hope was that by then it would be too late for them to react. Instead of attacking immediately, I decided to instead use the Invisibility spell and see if I could collect any information about the attackers. It would be good to know who was attacking our village. Sun Tzu and Miyamoto Musashi both said that you should know your enemies. That sounded like good advice to me. After all, I would hate making an attack only to find out that there was an extremely strong enemy who could swat me like a fly waiting on the backlines. After taking a moment to gather up my courage to do something I knew was stupid, I noticed that the soldiers were making no move to move any further back. In fact, they looked like they were setting up a camp. I guess they had attacked as soon as they arrived, hoping for a quick victory. Once they discovered that wasn¡¯t going to happen, they must have decided to make a camp. That way they could take care of injured soldiers, make plans, and prepare for a long-term occupation. I was a little concerned about that fact. Why would they want to prepare to stay for a long time? While my tribe did have some treasure, such as gold and gems that had been mined, I doubted it was enough to pay for the loss in life that had already occurred on their side. Training soldiers wasn¡¯t cheap. Every fighter they lost was a resource that would take years to replace. A small group of warriors committed to a smash and grab attack I could understand. They could go in and get out quickly after grabbing the gold. However, this was more like an actual war. I could think of a few reasons they might take this action, but I didn¡¯t know which one was the real reason. Had the soldiers been given false information, such as an exaggerated amount of treasure was stored inside? Was it for access to the kobold mine itself? Maybe there was misinformation provided to them about the presence of precious metals? Did they believe the kobolds had a mithril mine? Were they attacking because they felt they needed to in order to protect their own territory? There were actually too many reasons I could imagine for them to invade. Who knew the real one. Maybe they were xenophobic and just wanted to kill the kobolds for being kobolds. Realizing I couldn¡¯t find out anything where I was, I finally cast the Invisibility spell and started flying toward the edge of the enemy soldiers. I noticed a small group of them near a large rock. I figured that would be a perfect spot to listen for any news. Not only was it nearing the edges of the enemy encampment, but I could sit on it and listen to what they were saying. It was out of their reach and would allow me to hide on top of it. Even if my invisibility was interrupted, I would still be able to use my stealth skills to stay there unobserved. Once I was in place, I listened attentively to whatever they had to say. ¡°I can¡¯t believe we are having this much trouble with a tribe of kobolds,¡± a young, bearded warrior with a shield on his back said. ¡°This is embarrassing.¡± He actually seemed offended that my tribe hadn¡¯t rolled over and played dead as soon as they arrived. A grizzled old archer with a white beard responded, ¡°What did you expect? While they might be physically smaller and weaker than us, that doesn¡¯t mean they are idiots. You should know kobolds are known for their traps. Once we get past the traps, however, things will be different.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± a middle-aged man in robes said, ¡°we¡¯ll roll right over them once we get past the traps. Think of them as rats who have made their home in a hole that happens to have some jewelry. We just stuck our hand into the hole and got bitten. All we have to do is get a shovel and dig our way in. Once that happens, the rats will scatter, and we can get what we want.¡± I was quite offended by this. I wasn¡¯t sure whether to be offended he was referring to our tribe as a group of rats or whether it was the implication that we were weak and cowardly. Either way, I decided that he was going to pay for his words. However, now wasn¡¯t the right time. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. The youngest of the three, the one with a shield asked, ¡°So do you think the kobolds really discovered goulou?¡± I could almost hear the annoyance from the older archer as he responded, ¡°It¡¯s gaulau you idiot. Did you even bother listening to the sergeant when he told you what we were searching for?¡¯ ¡°Hey, I¡¯d never heard of it before,¡± the young warrior said. He was the one who seemed offended now, ¡°Come on. You can¡¯t even pretend that you had ever heard of this mineral before either.¡± The man in gray robes declared proudly, as if he finally had something to brag about, ¡°I have. Gaulau is a magical mineral. It is a grayish powder. You can tell what it is because the tiny grains are constantly moving. It is almost as if it is impelled by some living force.¡± The man didn¡¯t even give them a chance to say anything. Obviously, he enjoyed being a know-it-all and was taking the chance to show off his knowledge. Ugh! I hated people who always thought they were smarter than everyone else around them. It was amazing how many stupid people I had encountered who thought they were smart. Just listening to his tone of voice made me want to go down there and slap him in the back of his head. I bet he was bullied a lot when he was younger. In fact, I was kind of hoping one of the other two would smack him around while I cheered them on. Unfortunately, the old archer was obviously too tired and was content to let the annoying man make fun of the youngest man. The man in robes, obviously a spellcaster, continued, ¡°With just a small amount of gaulau, a wizard is capable of powering magical golems and other mechanical wonders. Apparently, just a few grains of the powder would be enough to awaken awareness in a suit of metal armor. Even a single grain of gaulau would be enough to animate a scarecrow. ¡°There are even legends that describe floating castles being powered by this mineral. A sorceress named Glinda discovered the mineral over a hundred years ago. She even sent visions into the dreams of others promising great riches to anyone who could help her find it.¡± I frowned, wondering why that sounded so familiar to me. However, I pushed the thought aside as the robed wizard continued, ¡°However, she disappeared almost immediately afterwards. Some wizards believe that she had actually come to our plane in search of the mineral, and after she couldn¡¯t find it here, decided to travel to another plane.¡± The old archer finally interrupted, perhaps worried that the robed wizard would keep talking. ¡°Bah! Who cares about that? All that matters is that the kobolds might have discovered gaulau. If they did, it could be used to create an unstoppable army of animated armors. If the rumors are false, then at least we can take the treasures the kobold tribe does possess and seize control of their mine.¡± The young fighter puffed up his chest, trying to regain some of his dignity, ¡°Yeah! We don¡¯t need any stinking kobolds on our borders anyway. This is Konungd¨®mr. They will just end up spreading diseases and causing crime as soon as they cross the border. Those rabid dogs are violent criminals who need to be eradicated.¡± The man nodded after finishing, as if he had solved some major debate that had been going on for years. I couldn¡¯t help but roll my eyes. ¡°Oh, my goodness,¡± I couldn¡¯t help but mutter in my mind. What an idiot. I mean, I knew fighters focused a lot on the physical attributes but couldn¡¯t he have at least spent a single point to raise up one of his mental attributes. The guy was a living embodiment of all brawn and no brain stereotype. As for comparing my tribe to diseased criminals and rabid dogs, I had to resist the impulse to snap his little neck like a pretzel. Of course, with my current physical strength, I wasn¡¯t able to do so. However, the desire was certainly there. Okay, yes, a few of my roguish brethren did occasionally raid warehouses in search of shiny objects we could give to the red dragon Einvaldskonungr. However, most of us weren¡¯t diseased. The rabid dog reference was particularly offensive. Yes, I knew there were a few kobold tribes whose draconic bloodline had run thin. A few of these tribes did have a few canine traits and could theoretically be described as possessing dog-like features. However, such tribes were in the minority. Usually, these were the kobold tribes that were found in cities, far away from the influence of dragons who could reinforce kobold bloodline purity with regular dragon blood infusions. Once rewarded with these infusions, the kobolds would gain tremendous improvements and gain draconic traits. It goes without saying that a kobold male who gained the dragon¡¯s favor in such a way were incessantly sought after by the kobold females. The male kobolds dreamed of living the life of siring draconic gifted hatchlings while female kobolds dreamed of having a hatchling with draconic traits. Unfortunately, since the eggs were kept and raised communally, no one really knew who the parents of an individual hatchling were. Because of this, every kobold would think the hatchling with draconic features must be their offspring if they possessed or had been with a kobold who had draconic traits. This meant those hatchlings were loved and doted on by some of the kobolds. Unfortunately, the rest of the kobolds had a love-hate relationship with hatchlings that had draconic features. They loved that their tribe was blessed with another inheritor of the draconic bloodline. This made them feel much more special than their dog-like cousins in the city. However, they also were jealous because they knew they didn¡¯t have the same draconic traits. Needless to say, this sometimes caused some resentment. Speaking of resentment, I decided that the young fighter who was bad-mouthing kobolds needed to pay for his words. While I wasn¡¯t sure what I was going to do yet, I was determined to do something to make the young soldier regret what he said. I sat there, mostly ignoring what the group of soldiers were talking about. After all, I already knew why they were attacking my tribe. What I needed to do was come up with how I would make the man regret the day he was born a human instead of a kobold. Chapter 52 - Scouting the Enemy I wanted to give a little growl in frustration that I didn¡¯t know a spell to leave a tracking mark on the obnoxious young fighter. However, if I wanted to teach him a lesson, I would have to keep a close watch on him. Either that, or search for him later and hope to be lucky. ¡°Dang,¡± I thought, frustrated with the situation. There was no way to keep track of the man. The man certainly wasn¡¯t going to hang around in one place and it would be difficult to follow him until it was dark. ¡°This stinks more than a gnome¡¯s feet,¡± I mentally grumbled. ¡°Speaking of stinky, I¡¯ve been farting up a storm lately.¡± Worried that I might poop myself if I tooted too much, I decided to find somewhere to go to the bathroom again. ¡°Fine,¡± I reluctantly gave up the thought of staying, at least for the moment. ¡°I¡¯ll get you later,¡± I promised myself. With that, I flew to another rock outcropping where I could observe more happening but still remain hidden from view. Unfortunately, my prediction came true. While I was flying, my stomach growled. As soon as I tooted, brown liquid poop poured out of me and fell on everything I flew over. After reaching a new vantage point, I looked for something to wipe my bottom with and ended up just using some grass. After that, I munched away at my dried edibles as I tried to determine which areas were going to be the most vulnerable. While the soldiers hadn¡¯t finished setting up the encampment as yet, watching them finish might enable me to see something I could take advantage of. Unfortunately, the soldiers were doing a pretty good job of guarding the camp. They must have been trained to be wary of enemies that could sneak in or turn invisible. I had hoped that I would get the chance to poison the soldiers¡¯ food, but I never saw the chance. In fact, I noticed that a priest was stationed near the cooking and would occasionally cast a spell. Although I didn¡¯t know the spell since she was too far away to be heard, I could guess it was something along the lines of a Purify Food and Water spell or Detect Poison spell. Either way, it looked like that idea was doomed to fail. Each time I came up with a great idea, I noticed that the soldiers had already prepared contingencies for it. For example, I noticed that not only were guards stationed outside areas, such as a tent, but they were also stationed inside the tents as well. Therefore, I couldn¡¯t cut an opening and sneak into the tents without being noticed. I was really starting to get depressed by the fact that I wasn¡¯t able to come up with a way to make the soldiers pay for invading my tribe¡¯s home. I briefly considered setting something on fire, but I really didn¡¯t see any real benefits for it. Even low-level spellcasters were often able to cast cantrips or spells to stop fires. The only thing I would accomplish was letting them know that an enemy had infiltrated their camp. I would rather wait until I could do something that would have a real effect. I was starting to feel completely useless, except that I knew that wasn¡¯t possible since I wasn¡¯t a gnome. Since I didn¡¯t see anything, I could do immediately, I settled in and watched what was happening. Maybe I would get lucky and see something. It was worth a shot. After a while, I noticed something interesting. One of the tents had a lot more traffic than the other tents. If I wasn¡¯t mistaken, then that should be the command center. Considering the boss had to be there, I wasn¡¯t sure whether I should try to get closer to that tent or avoid it at all costs. However, considering that Alarm spells existed, I was certain that if I approached that area, I would be discovered. Because of this, I held back. Since the soldiers were setting up a camp, they were bound to stay the night. Once night arrived, I could always return to the area and cast the Zone of Death or the Fireball spell. If I was lucky, I might be able to take out one of the bigwigs. After all, they would need a moment to wake up after the spell hit. If I was using a damage over time spell like Zone of Death, the leader might take damage from the spell multiple times before he could react. However, that was still hours away. I was certain the soldiers wouldn¡¯t wait until the next day to do something. I needed to figure out what they planned on doing before nighttime. Were they going to attack again? Were they going to try breaking into the underground kobold city some other way? With these thoughts, I flew back toward the entrance tunnel to see what was happening there. When I arrived, I found a group of spellcasters using some type of cantrip or spell to dig away at the ground. Another group of men with pickaxes. After a moment, I realized they were using the Mold Earth cantrip to create a new tunnel. The cantrip allowed them to dig into dirt very quickly. The other group had to be waiting to come forward whenever the spellcasters encountered a rock they couldn¡¯t go around. I could barely repress laughter as I saw what they were doing. Obviously, the group of men had no idea what they were doing. Just assuming the bedrock was fairly deep, the amount of time it would take to excavate a tunnel would be considerable. I also didn¡¯t notice any support beams which would help keep the tunnel from collapsing. I could easily tell there wasn¡¯t a single miner within the group. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. As it was, they would be hitting rock almost immediately. At that point, the spellcasters would be useless since the Mold Earth cantrip couldn¡¯t affect large rocks. It was called Mold Earth, not Mold Rock, for a reason. It was easy to see that any tunnel they made would be more dangerous to their safety than it would be for the kobolds. Ignoring them, I flew to other areas trying to see what other ways the invading soldiers might be trying to bypass the trapped entrance tunnel. Mostly what I noticed was a lot of scouts searching for hidden entrances, much like the one I emerged from. While I was a little worried, they might find those entrances, I also knew that they would be heavily guarded and trapped as well. In fact, most of those entrances were narrow and would make it almost impossible for invaders to pass through, at least in large groups. I didn¡¯t see any way in which the invading soldiers were going to be able to bypass the trapped entrance tunnel. The question was how they were going to get through. Were they going to force their way through with heavy losses? Were they going to use a high-ranking wizard to create a portal or create a new passage? While the Mold Earth cantrip wasn¡¯t able to create a passage through bedrock, that didn¡¯t mean higher level spells couldn¡¯t create a tunnel through rocks. While I was a little worried about the prospect of a high-ranking wizard being with the invaders, I actually doubted that was the case. If such a wizard was present, the soldiers wouldn¡¯t have needed to use the criminals to test the traps in the tunnel. Fortunately, much of the danger in the tunnel wasn¡¯t from the traps but from the arrowslits. The kobolds could use them continuously to attack the invading soldiers. Another reason was because if there was a high-level wizard, the only thing our tribe could do was try to overwhelm the wizard with numbers and hope enough of us survived. That left direct assaults. I hadn¡¯t noticed any large groups of paladins, so heavily shielded tanks that could heal themselves weren¡¯t an option. Rogues wouldn¡¯t have time to locate and disarm traps while under attack from kobolds attacking through the arrowslits. Their best option was probably to rush through until they reached where the last criminal had fallen. At that point, the soldiers would start suffering numerous casualties. Of course, there was one other option. That was a slow, steady creep through the tunnel, blocking the arrowslits as they traveled down the tunnel. Of course, that would take a long time. Also, kobolds might be able to remove or burn away whatever the soldiers used to block the arrowslits. Still, that was probably the best option unless the person in charge didn¡¯t care about the lives of his soldiers. I was curious to see which option the person in charge would decide upon. Either way, I would probably find out soon. Considering the fact that the soldiers were setting up an encampment, I guessed that they were going the slower and safer method of going through the trapped tunnel entrance. Still, I could be wrong. I know it didn¡¯t happen that often, but it was a theoretical possibility. Since there were many hours of daylight left, I decided to head back inside and gather some supplies that might be useful later. A few bags of venomous spiders and scorpions could be released near the barracks. Poisons could be placed in the food supplies. Caltrops could be dropped near exits and entrances. If I set some fires in the middle of the night, hopefully when the soldiers came running out of their tents, they might step on the caltrops. With these thoughts in mind, I started creating a mental list of the items that would be useful. Once inside, I quickly sent some minions to get everything I wanted while I sat back and enjoyed the feeling of power and authority that a gothi of the Einvaldskonungr tribe possessed. Considering I was a lowly teacher in my past life, the only people I could lord my power over were my students. However, they never listened and rarely did what I told them to do. So, basically, I had no power whatsoever. In fact, I remember threatening a student with suspension one time and she was like, ¡°That sounds good. Me and my mother will watch Dr. Phil together.¡± I won¡¯t even get started on the grammar mistakes or the lack of concern by the parents. There were so many questions her statement raised for me. Now that I was actually listened to, I found the experience intoxicating. I was starting to understand my father and his love of sending his employees off to do various chores that he didn¡¯t want to do. ¡°Oh, my mother needs a jump start. Well, I¡¯m too busy at work. However, I¡¯m sure that I can find someone here who will do that job for me.¡± Being the boss had a lot of perks. That was yet another reason to become a god as quickly as possible. Seeing nothing better to do while I waited, and knowing I would have a long night, I decided to take a short nap. I woke up when my kobold minions returned with everything I had requested and basked in their desire to fulfill my every need. It was nothing like my first marriage, unless of course it was me fulfilling her every desire. ¡°Ugh, that just ruined my mood,¡± I said to myself, annoyed with myself for messing up my moment of glory. Still, I had to admit that my minions worked fast. They managed to bring everything I needed, including more food. Somehow, I managed to finish off a lot of the food while I was flying around. I was starting to get the feeling that I should have taken the feat with the undead traits. I was spending an ungodly amount of time eating these days. Although there was still some daylight left, I decided to set out already. That way I could get an early start to the night. The first thing I decided to do was get rid of the scorpions and spiders. After all, if I did them last, I might end up eating them as snacks instead of using them against the enemy soldiers. With this thought in mind, I cast the Invisibility spell on myself and started flying toward my first destination. Chapter 53 - Assassinating the Commander My first destination was the barracks. Once I had safely landed at the peak of the tent, I held onto the center pole and quietly waited to see if anyone had noticed my arrival. However, being considered a tiny creature came in handy. Once I saw that no one was looking, I quickly made a small incision on top of the tent and started dropping in some of the spiders. After that, I flew to the next tent and repeated the process, although I dropped scorpions into the next tent. Pretty soon, I ran out of venomous bugs to release and sighed, proud of myself for not eating my vermin army. After giving myself a pat on the back, I flew toward the supply wagons. While some of the wagons had been unloaded, most of the supplies were still on the wagons. I wasn¡¯t sure if it was laziness or a precaution in case they needed to move quickly. Either way, I was going to take advantage of the situation. With only a few guards present, dropping poison on the supplies wouldn¡¯t be too difficult. I wasn¡¯t even going to try to open the water barrels or bags of food. However, I could place poisonous powder on top of those items. A cleric might cast the Purify Food and Drink spell, but that was aimed at the food and water. I was targeting the outside so that those people that touched the bags of food or barrels of water would be affected. Hopefully, that would confuse the clerics. I also repeated this with the horses¡¯ hay and water troughs. That proved to be much easier. Although I hated doing that to an animal, I did it anyway. I did make one allowance for the horses though. The poisonous powder I used on their food wouldn¡¯t kill them, It would just make them too sick to work for a day or two. After that, I looked at my remaining spell points, I realized that I was burning through them very quickly since I had to keep on recasting the Invisibility spell again and again whenever I made a stop. Unlike the Improved Invisibility or Greater Invisibility spells, each time I interacted with something, such as opening a bag, cutting a hole, or anything else like that, I lost the protection of invisibility. Fortunately, I was skilled in stealth. Despite feeling that it was necessary, I wasn¡¯t happy with how. However, unlike other spellcasters, I was fortunate that I was able to extract magic from magic items and expand my pool of magic points. Luckily, I thought ahead and had the bag of caltrops open before casting the Invisibility spell again. I flew around and allowed the caltrops to fall near entrances of tents and places where a lot of people were walking. While the caltrops wouldn¡¯t seriously injure anyone, they would put the person out of commission until the wound healed. That meant that there was one less soldier to fight or a cleric would have to waste a spell or potion to cure the injured soldier. Either way, it was a win for me. By this time, I had started hearing the results of some of my actions. Occasional screams of pain or fear echoed through the encampment. A few screams of disgust were also thrown in, although I wasn¡¯t sure why. Although I was mostly being a nuisance, I was certain that I was annoying the soldiers. They had to start watching what they were doing after the first few people got stung or bitten by the venomous bugs or accidentally stepped on a caltrop. None of these directly screamed out ¡°enemy presence.¡± After all, the scorpions and spiders could be natural, and the caltrops could have been dropped by one of the soldiers. By this time, it was getting dark. Not wanting to attack immediately, I waited. Another reason I waited was because I had summoned Alsvartr to join me. I also wanted the soldiers to have a long enough time for at least some of them to start sleeping. While I was waiting, I took a moment to prepare the Zone of Death spell using Shape Spell. Once I was done, I waited a while longer, just in case. Considering that the commander of the soldiers was probably busy making decisions, I knew that he wouldn¡¯t go to sleep immediately. In fact, I kept watching until people stopped visiting his tent. What was kind of strange was the fact that he never left his tent. I did hear him order the guards stationed outside his tent to run an occasional errand or two, there was always at least one person on guard. Of course, there could be more inside the tent. If it was me, I would have one or two trusted soldiers as backup in case anything unexpected happened. Finally, no one had visited his tent in over an hour and Alsvartr had used her powers to quietly join me. She had brought several bats with her, which I hadn¡¯t even asked her to do. However, I was quite pleased with her forethought. While the bats wouldn¡¯t be a huge help, they could certainly distract the guards and the commander. I was tempted to move to a spot on top of his tent, but I was afraid a magical alarm might go off if I got that close, so I stayed where I was instead. While we were waiting, Alsvartr summoned a few shadow creatures using her powers. They quietly moved down the tent and started lurking unseen in the shadows. I knew I was being wildly ambitious to try assassinating the commander of the soldiers, but I wanted to give it a try. After all, I had the help of several strong spells and a powerful familiar. Even if I failed, I could always fly away. Stolen story; please report. My plan was to cast the Zone of Death spell on the tent. The commander would wake up as soon as he received the necrotic damage from the spell. He would need a moment to stand up and look around for any possible source of threat. When he didn¡¯t immediately see anyone attacking him, he would most likely conclude he was within an area of attack spell. Because of this, he would then run out of the tent. The guards would also be in range of the spell, so they would probably either react by looking for the spellcaster or run inside to protect their commander. Either way, at some point, the commander would emerge. I wanted to be ready to use my twilight breath on him as soon as he emerged from the tent. I knew he wouldn¡¯t stay in the tent long enough for the spell to take him out. I also doubted he would take the time to cut an exit in the tent. That meant he would come out of the tent through the entrance. I might even be able to get both guards as well, especially if they ran inside to check on the commander. Deciding I might as well do it now instead of waiting any longer, I ate the last mushroom in one of my pouches and cast the Zone of Death spell on the commander¡¯s tent. The Zone of Death didn¡¯t have any flashy effects that would alert people nearby. Because of this, I hoped that it wouldn¡¯t attract too much attention. This idea was demolished by the two guards who started shouting at the top of their lungs that they were under attack. Despite this, I was still happy since they ran into the tent and the Zone of Death instead of out of the spell. I had expected them to yell anyway since Alsvartr couldn¡¯t cast the Silence spell while still maintaining the shadow creature summons. I barely resisted the impulse to clap my hands when I heard the commander yelling at the men a few seconds later, followed immediately by a notification that I had received experience for killing two creatures. The commander came running out a second or two later, frantically looking around for who might be attacking him. Just like most of his soldiers, few of them ever bothered to look up for danger. That was when Alsvartr¡¯s summoned shadow creatures attacked the commander. Although I was tempted to cast the Sleep spell on him, I was worried it might not affect him and would be a waste. I also thought about continuing with my intention to attack him with my twilight breath. However, I changed my mind almost immediately since the attack would also affect the summoned shadow creatures. Another reason was because there was a limit on the number of times I could use my twilight breath attack. While I could tell that I had caused a lot of damage to the commander, I could also tell that he had a lot of fight left in him. He looked like he was getting over a bad sickness that had lasted for several days. Unfortunately, I doubted my twilight breath would be enough to finish him off. Because of this, I decided to attack him using the Eldritch Bolt cantrip. Fortunately, the Eldritch Bolt cantrip actually inflicted a large amount of damage. While it wasn¡¯t as much as the twilight dragon breath attack, it was still a significant amount of damage. This was in addition to the damage the summoned shadow creatures and bats were inflicting on the commander. It also helped that he didn¡¯t have time to put on his armor. Alsvartr also added to the damage by casting the Sonic Blast cantrip. The commander lasted only a few seconds before all our attacks were able to finish him off. I was really surprised by how quickly he succumbed to the joint attacks. Either we were massively overpowered, or the commander was much weaker than I expected. I immediately sent Alsvartr a mental command to start having her summoned shadow creatures cause as much pandemonium as possible while still remaining safe. While she was doing that, I flew through the tent opening and rummaged through the commander¡¯s belongings looking for anything valuable. To make it easier, I also cast the Detect Magic spell. I was mostly looking for documents and magic items. Hopefully, the documents would give me more information about the attackers and their plans. As for the magic items, that was a given. I needed my spoils of war. I didn¡¯t bother to see what was written on the documents and just shoved them into the empty mushroom bag. If anything of the items had an aura, I assumed they were magical and also stuffed them into the bag with the papers. I did this as quickly as I could since I was worried someone might rush into the tent. After rummaging through the tent for less than a minute, I cast the Invisibility spell on myself and flew out the tent entrance once more. I hadn¡¯t realized just how much pressure I was feeling until I flew into the darkness. Even though I knew I was within bow reach, the relief I was feeling was palatable. My heart was still thudding powerfully against my chest. For some reason, it felt more real than my previous battles. The first time I fought was against the scouting party. It felt almost like a dream and was over almost as soon as it started. The second time was more of me laying a trap which the enemy walked into. Then all I had to do was finish off the injured survivors. As for the bats, while they were difficult fights, those two battles were against animals. Those fights just didn¡¯t affect me as much as fighting humans. However, something was different about this fight. The rest of the fights weren¡¯t personal. This time I had sought out a single powerful individual who I wanted to assassinate. After a moment though, I dismissed those distracting thoughts and concentrated on what I needed to do. With this thought in mind, I flew in circles above the encampment and tried to decide what I could do to inflict the most harm on the invading army of soldiers. Chapter 54 - Stylish Robes Since it was dark, I wasn¡¯t too worried about being seen flying in the night sky. This was especially true since few of the soldiers were looking up. The soldiers were running around like ants whose nest had been disturbed. Even though Alsvartr summoned shadowed creatures, they were destroyed almost immediately. That didn¡¯t stop Alsvartr from swooping down and attacking people with the Sonic Blast cantrip though. Needless to say, her actions alone were enough to cause a lot of confusion. Feeling safe, I dropped the invisibility spell and started using the Prestidigitation cantrip to start small fires on top of the tents. While I was sure the enemy spellcasters would put out the fires very quickly, I hoped that at least a few of the fires would go out of control before the spellcasters could stop the fire from spreading. I didn¡¯t even bother attacking people. Instead, I tried to cause confusion. Despite this, I didn¡¯t get another achievement like I had been hoping for. After a few minutes, someone spotted me and fired an arrow before alerting the others that I was flying overhead. Because of this, I had Alsvartr fly back home. As for myself, I quickly followed myself. I wasn¡¯t interested in becoming a pin cushion. When I got back to where I had exited the tunnels, I waited. I wasn¡¯t sure if I wanted to go inside yet or if I wanted to let things calm down again before going back and raising more mayhem. Eventually, I decided to make them pay some more. However, first I wanted to see how deep the invading soldiers had been able to advance while I was outside. I was pleased to see that they hadn¡¯t gotten too far. The soldiers were able to block off every arrowslit and trap all the way up until the point where the zombies had been raised. I was a little worried that if the soldiers were willing to spend the time needed, they would eventually be able to reach the kobold city. It might take a while, but if the soldiers were determined enough, it could prove to be the end of the kobold city. Quite annoyed, I decided to see if the papers I had contained anything that might be useful. Curious, I popped a mushroom into my mouth and grabbed the first piece of paper. Unfortunately, every piece of paper turned out to be a waste of time. They included lists of supplies, reports about disciplinary actions, and complaints by various officers about a lack of needed resources. I had been hoping for a diary with the commander''s thoughts, maybe explaining who was behind the attacks. However, that didn¡¯t happen. The magic items were mostly useless. However, there were a couple of exceptions. I took a few minutes to cast the Identify spell and found that each one was a common magic item that was probably easy to obtain. One was a Scribe¡¯s Quill, which would write down anything you said. However, you needed to be attuned to the item for it to work. It also didn¡¯t provide the ink. Needless to say, I quickly extracted the magic from the quill. The next magic item was a Bottle of Water. I couldn¡¯t help but grin after seeing it. I had been lugging around several pouches of water continuously ever since I hatched so that I could drink while I ate my ¡°delicious¡± snacks. Just this one bottle could provide all the water I needed. It didn¡¯t even require an attunement. Quite pleased with my find, I immediately dumped all the water out of my water pouches and decided to use them for extra food instead. The next item was a Stylish Robe. It had no magical function except that it could change its appearance. It could even make itself appear to be a shirt and pants despite still being a single piece of fabric. More than likely, it was for lazy people who were too lazy to change their clothing. Then again, it could be for people who wanted to pretend to have enough money to buy extravagant clothing but didn¡¯t. While not cheap, the magical clothing was certainly less expensive than keeping a wardrobe filled with expensive clothing tailored for that particular individual. Personally, I never had the urge to have a large number of clothes. In fact, I could count the number of shirts and pants I had on my fingers. Some of my students would even comment on the fact that I always wore the same clothing. Of course, I would change clothes every day. However, my pants all looked the same and my shirts were the same except for a different color or pattern. I wasn¡¯t big into style. In fact, most of my clothes were threadbare. When I got married to my ex-wife, she had thrown out most of my shirts that I had been wearing for the last decade. Of course, with the way she went through money, I ended up being able to put all my clothes in one big suitcase, which actually proved useful when I left that troll. Dang, that tiny woman was an evil little troll. I would compare her to a gnome, but even gnomes weren¡¯t as evil and twisted as that nightmare. Wait, weren¡¯t trolls like hags? Maybe she had been a hag that used her witchly powers to influence my mind. That was the only explanation I could imagine that would explain how she was able to convince me to stay married to her. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Of course, it might have had something to do with the boots she wore that ended up with my kids: Financial Burden Number Two, Second Mortgage, and Bankruptcy. Ah, I shouldn¡¯t say that; I loved those kids. I had to admit though, they sure turned out strange. It had to be their mother¡¯s influence and all her mind games and lies. Ugh, I hated people who knew how to twist innocent people to their will with their mind games and mental manipulation. I would never ever try to do that to someone else. Realizing I had gotten sidetracked, I concentrated on the magic robe. I was a little torn. The Stylish Robe did seem useful. At the very least, I could start wearing more than boots and a belt to carry the pouches. On the other hand, it also required attunement. Since I only had one item attuned, I was definitely tempted to wear the item. However, it would take an hour to finish the attunement, so I stuffed it into one of the empty pouches to attune later. Unfortunately, I hadn¡¯t found any other magic items in the tent. There hadn¡¯t even been a treasure chest or table in the tent. In fact, the tent was mostly empty except for a few chairs, a small table, and a small bed. It wasn¡¯t anything like what I had expected a commander¡¯s tent to look like. Even the armor the commander hadn¡¯t had enough time to put on wasn¡¯t magical. The man had to be one of the poorest officers I had ever imagined. Then again, apparently, no one in the invading force had enough. I had seen several letters to the commander about a lack of essential supplies. Also, the commander himself had been a lot weaker than I expected as well. After thinking about it, I was certain that there was something suspicious about the invaders. This whole situation was starting to feel like an ambitious, but under qualified, underling had decided to take advantage of what he imagined would be a get rich quick scheme. I could easily imagine the scene. Some lackey of the green kobolds would wait until an incompetent bureaucrat was temporarily in charge. Then they would convince the idiot to stage an attack on the kobold city with visions of easy treasure. That also might explain why the soldiers were under-supplied and why the commander was so weak. Whatever the situation, I doubted the soldiers would leave immediately. While I would love for them to retreat now that the commander had died, I doubted they would. More than likely, the soldiers would stay as long as their supplies lasted. After all, they were already invading the kobold city, so they might as well continue. I¡¯m sure there had to be an ambitious, competent officer who would take advantage of the situation to replace the old incompetent leader. In fact, I might have ended up doing the invaders a favor by getting rid of their leader. That thought depressed me. I had wanted to do something useful but might have actually ended up making the situation worse. Realizing this, my decision to go back out and cause some more havoc was reinforced. Since I had found out that they were low on supplies, I could concentrate on that. Maybe I could make them leave sooner that way. However, I decided that I might as well attune the Stylish Robe before leaving. By the time I was done, the chaos and confusion in the enemy encampment would have started to die down. With that in mind, I started the boring process of attuning the magic robes. Once that was done, I concentrated for a moment and changed the appearance of the robes. Soon, I was wearing black pants and a black dress shirt. I wanted to add a trench coat as well, but apparently that was too much for the Stylish Robe. Despite the lack of a trench coat, I was definitely happy to be wearing something other than boots again. Satisfied with my appearance, I cast the Invisibility spell on myself again and started flying back toward the middle of the encampment. I was a little disappointed because I couldn¡¯t really notice that I had done any real damage after taking out the commander. Everything had quieted down in the last hour. It was almost as if I hadn¡¯t done anything. Curious, I flew to the commander¡¯s tent to see if anything had changed there. Nothing had changed except that no one was guarding the commander¡¯s tent any longer. There weren¡¯t even any soldiers standing guard outside the tent opening. I wondered who had replaced the commander. Realizing I could use my mental powers on someone and read their mind, I started looking for a likely volunteer for my experimentation. I was a little worried about the person noticing or resisting my mental probes, but I could always disappear into the dark if my experiment failed. Taking flight, I did a circle looking for a likely victim. I soon noticed a young teenage boy who wasn¡¯t old enough to be a soldier. At least I hoped he wasn¡¯t old enough to be a soldier. In fact, he barely looked old enough to be considered a teenager. Since he was present, however, I was pretty sure that he was someone¡¯s page or servant. Also, since he was young, he was probably a low-level minion. In fact, he might not even have gotten his first level in a class yet. Nodding to myself, I followed him as he moved through the encampment. He soon arrived at another tent that was guarded by a large group of soldiers. While I was tempted to repeat the same thing I did earlier, I finally decided against it, at least for the moment. I could always change my mind though. The boy stopped outside the large tent, obviously waiting for permission to enter into the tent. While he was waiting, I flew down to a nearby top of a tent and settled in. I also used my mental enhancement to establish a telepathic bond with him. I didn¡¯t want to use the Mind Alteration power, but instead just wanted to scan his thoughts as he spoke to the new commander, or whoever he was meeting. I was curious to see what they would talk about and what normal people actually thought about. Chapter 55 - Reading Thoughts I had always been curious about how other people thought. My family had always said I was strange and special. I would say my friends did as well, but I really didn¡¯t have any friends as an adult. I just couldn¡¯t relate or care enough to make friends. However, I had been curious to see the difference between how I thought and how others thought. Since I was about to experience it, I smiled as I watched the boy step through the tent flaps to meet with the new commander. ¡°I can¡¯t believe I have to report to this old relic,¡± the boy thought as he gazed up at Lord Gamall. ¡°At least he is better than Baronet Daufi. That man was so stupid. I¡¯m not surprised that even a kobold was able to assassinate him. Pathetic. I mean, how humiliating.¡± The boy¡¯s thoughts were interrupted as Lord Gamall cleared his throat, obviously waiting for the boy to report instead of letting his mind wander. The boy quickly said, ¡°Oh, sorry sir. I am still emotionally devastated by the loss of Baronet Daufi. He was such an inspiration to me.¡± Then the boy added a mental qualifier to that statement. ¡°Baronet Daufi was an inspiration because it made me realize that if such an incompetent idiot can command soldiers, then I should have no problem becoming a general in the future.¡± Of course he didn¡¯t say that aloud. Although the boy was certain that Lord Gamall would agree with him. I was slightly annoyed that I couldn¡¯t read both their minds at the same time. In fact, I actually couldn¡¯t see or hear the person the boy was talking to. The only way I knew that Lord Gamall had cleared his throat was because it registered on the boy¡¯s thoughts. It was sort of like listening to a stream of consciousness while someone was talking on the telephone. I had to infer sometimes what the other person was saying. It was quite annoying. I had no idea what Lord Gamall said next because his words apparently went in one ear and came out the other without leaving any impression. I rolled my eyes, having a flashback to when I was teaching. I would specifically say something, like do this or don¡¯t do that. Then the students would immediately do what I told them not to do. Then they would act surprised, as if they had no clue what I was talking about. I did hear the boy¡¯s thoughts though, ¡°Yeah, yeah. Hurry it up old man. I want to go to sleep. You¡¯re only saying these nice things about the idiot to be polite. You know that if his brother the marquis finds out you have been bad-mouthing him, he would be upset. Of course, the marquis also knows that Daufi was dumber than a kobold and greedier than a gnome.¡± My eyes widened when the boy thought that kobolds were stupid. While I could agree with his description of gnomes, calling kobolds dumb was crossing a line. Still, he did disparage gnomes, so I could consider things even for the moment. I went back to concentrating on his thoughts. The boy realized Lord Gamall had asked him something he needed to respond to. ¡°Yes my lord, I checked with officers, as you requested. They said that there was very little damage caused. While a few tents were damaged, they are being repaired as we speak. Also, none of the food or water was lost.¡± ¡°Not that we have a lot of supplies to begin with,¡± the boy thought derisively. ¡°Baronet Daufi really was a moron. Even I know that we should have brought more supplies than we did. I mean, what was the rush? Most of the experienced soldiers are with the marquis. Couldn¡¯t we have waited until they returned? I still can¡¯t believe he left his incompetent brother in charge of the castle while he was gone.¡± The boy¡¯s train of thoughts were again interrupted when he realized he was being asked something else, ¡°I was told that there was no coordination between the assassin and the kobolds inside the tunnels. They made no move to take advantage of the disarray of our forces to regain the tunnels they lost earlier.¡± ¡°See. That¡¯s why kobolds are the butt of so many jokes. I mean, come on. Which idiot in charge over there would not try to take advantage of the time immediately after the baronet¡¯s death to recapture the tunnel entrance? Really? Only a total imbecile would disrupt enemy forces by not taking advantage of that time to regain control of the tunnels they lost earlier.¡± I almost lost my mental connection to the little piece of gnome waste after he thought that, but I took a deep breath and concentrated on what the future fertilizer was saying to the old man. ¡°Yes sir. The sneaky little piece of garbage was a competent assassin, but obviously had no idea what he was doing. The officers said that if the assassin had even a few brain cells, he could easily have disrupted our operation during the confusion after Baronet Daufi¡¯s death.¡± If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. That stung a little. While it was true, maybe I should have let my fellow kobolds know that I was able to cause a disruption that they could take advantage of, I¡­ Okay, I had to admit, the little twirp had a point. I really should have let my tribe know what I was doing so they could take advantage of the situation. At the very least, they could have set more traps. ¡°Oh my gosh,¡± the boy thought in response to something Lord Gamall must have said. ¡°Really? The ignorant kobold didn¡¯t even bother to check the baronet¡¯s body? Oh my goodness. How stupid could he be?¡± I was really starting to hate the kid. I know that by the time I retired, I had gotten over any love of children that I might once have possessed, but this little child was starting to remind me why I retired in the first place. I grit my teeth together and flexed my claws, just imagining what I would do when I got my hands on him. Then I remembered he was a kid, and the fact that I had the ability to use Mind Alteration on him. I could force him to respect my authority! ¡°Yes sir,¡± the boy responded to something the old man said while thinking about how his cot was certainly not going to be as comfortable as his bed back in the castle and that he was hungry. Apparently, whatever Lord Gamall was saying wasn¡¯t too important since the boy started to daydream about the daughter of another knight who was a friend of his father. ¡°Dude! That¡¯s so inappropriate,¡± I thought, doing a quick mental retreat. The boy¡¯s thoughts had taken an unexpected direction that I wasn¡¯t ready to listen to. ¡°Wow! I mean, wow. Sheesh, I know I had thoughts like that when I was his age, but I thought I was different.¡± I sat there, blinking, trying to forget the thoughts that had flashed through the boy¡¯s mind. Was that even physically possible? I wanted to compare his thoughts to what I knew about human anatomy to see if it was even possible to do such a thing, but I quickly shook my head and wished I could scrub the image out of my mind. Then I regretted pulling out, I mean, pulling my thoughts out of his mind. I had lost my connection to the boy¡¯s thoughts and wasn¡¯t able to discover any new information. Therefore, I decided that in the future, if something like that happened again, I would listen to whatever depraved thoughts the person might have, no matter how unsavory they might be. I was very annoyed. They had insulted my attempts to sabotage the encampment, but hadn¡¯t given me any suggestions on how I could have done it better. Not having anything better to do, I flew toward where I remembered a supply tent was located. Once I reached there, I perched on top of a nearby tent and wondered if I should cast the Detect Magic spell to see if the area was alarmed. Finally, I decided not to worry about it. If it was alarmed, I wouldn¡¯t be able to do much and would have to flee. If it wasn¡¯t alarmed, I would be wasting my time. Because of this, I flew to the supply tent and cut a small hole in the top before peeking inside. Neither of the two guards noticed. After a minute, I flew inside and tried to open the barrel of water. I had to close my eyes and take a few deep breaths when I realized I was too weak to open the top of the barrel of water. That brought back an unpleasant thought. One of my few girlfriends had asked me to open a jar of pickles for her. However, I had been too weak to untwist the lid. I even tried to tap the jar lid open but only ended up breaking the jar and needing to go to the hospital for stitches. While I tried various barrels, I snacked on the food supplies the soldiers had brought. Most of it was hard bread or dried meat, but to me, they were amazing delicacies. I was actually eating real bacon and jerky instead of dried out worms and who knows what. It was also at this point I realized I wasn¡¯t strong enough to tip over the barrels of water and had nothing to poison them with. By the time I got one of the barrels open, I realized how badly I had to go to the bathroom. Not only did I need to pee, but I also needed to poop. Also, I was pretty sure that my poop would not be solid. Dang, but whatever I was eating was definitely not agreeing with my stomach. After doing a little dance for a minute while I thought, I finally just hopped up onto the barrel and did what I needed to do to relieve myself. I even smirked at the thought of someone eventually finding my floating offering in the now brown water. ¡°That will teach you to invade our territory,¡± I thought as I smiled at the image in my mind. I then stuffed as much of the real food as I could carry into my pocket dimension and my pouches, and left the worm food for the humans. I even stomped and did a little dance on the ¡°beef¡± jerky I tossed out of my bags. That was one thing I was going to change when I became the leader, better food. Once I had everything I could carry and had finished my dance, I decided to anoint the remaining food with my blessings. I actually had to drink from the Bottle of Water multiple times before I could anoint every piece of food that wasn¡¯t stuffed into my mouth. Anything I couldn¡¯t bless was thrown on the ground and danced upon. Realizing that I probably needed to hurry, I then flew back up to the top of the tent through the hole. After that, I immediately took off and headed back to the tunnels while wondering what I would do next. Chapter 56 - Draconic Features Halfway there, I changed my mind and went back to the tent. While I had destroyed a lot of the food, a cleric could cast the Purify Food and Drink spell to ward away diseases and poisons on the ones that weren¡¯t completely destroyed. Then again, I wasn¡¯t sure if they would even bother with some of the food items, such as the breads that I had stepped on. However, they might be that desperate. Since I still hadn¡¯t used the Mind Alteration power, I could at least try to cast it on the cleric that eventually came to purify the food and water. Although I might not succeed, it was worth trying. Because of this, I decided to wait until the cleric showed up. Unfortunately, I grew bored before too long. I tried to entertain myself but failed miserably. After an hour, I grew so bored that I decided to give up. While I was a little worried that I might fall asleep, I was more worried that I would do something stupid just to relieve my boredom. Disappointed in myself, I was about to start flying back when a breeze brought a horrible smell to my nose. I know in my last life, I didn¡¯t have much of a sense of smell, but I had to have a good nose this life because something was rank. I almost gagged. I started to look around for what might have caused it when I realized that the stench was coming from me. ¡°Fudge,¡± I muttered, disgusted with myself yet again. I suddenly realized why all the female kobolds had been making weird faces and holding their hands over their noses earlier. That was also probably why the female maid who woke me up kept on trying to run far ahead of me. I hadn¡¯t taken a bath in my entire life. Okay, yes, I was only a few days old, but I certainly had done a lot of things during that time. I had visited several caves filled with bat guano. I was in multiple fights. I had been around the animal pens and other stinky places. By now, I was certain that my room was contaminated beyond belief. In fact, I was worried that when I returned there, I would find out it reeked. I would definitely need to get the maids to thoroughly clean everything inside the room. Then again, maybe they cleaned it every time I left. I hadn¡¯t really paid attention to what the room looked like. As in my last life, I sometimes didn¡¯t bother to pay close attention to my environment. With that thought, I decided to start paying more attention to everything around me from now onwards. For now, however, I needed to get clean. I was ashamed to show my stinky face. While I wasn¡¯t ready to visit the community pools to get clean, I was willing to head to the seashore and take a quick dip in the water to clean off. I guess I must have gotten used to my smell little by little. However, I was a little embarrassed that my minions had said nothing about my stench. Shaking my head in disappointment, I started flying toward the coast. The coast in question was basically a series of cliffs that overlooked extremely steep rocky paths that led down to the water. While it was possible for soldiers to climb up the cliffs, it wouldn¡¯t be easy. This was made even more difficult by the fact that the edge of the water was filled with massive rocks. Waves would make even small rowboats crash, much less bigger ships. Because of this, invaders were not likely to arrive by water. However, once I arrived at the coast, I had a hard time choosing a spot to land on. I was worried that the waves would knock me up against the rocky cliff or take me underwater and drown me. Finally, I noticed a small island in the distance. One side of the island would break the waves while I could use the other side to rest on. After landing, I took off my magic robes and magic boots. After that, I washed away the smells that had accumulated over the last few days and felt much better. I even washed the bags and belts just to make sure that nothing smelled. Of course, this required moving around food from one bag to another whenever I cleaned them. While I was doing this, I noticed that the bags didn¡¯t seem as large as before. In fact, I had to loosen the belt because it was too tight. I hadn¡¯t really noticed before. Curious, I looked for any other changes that might be taking place in my body besides the increase in size. Although I hadn¡¯t noticed it before, now that I was actually inspecting my body, I noticed that my arms and hands were starting to grow larger. All of the other kobolds I had seen had larger legs when compared to their arms, similar to other humanoid races. However, my upper arms were getting thicker and more muscular, although still not as large as my thighs. Even my hands were growing larger. Despite my arms becoming larger, I didn¡¯t see as much change in my legs. Really, I didn¡¯t see any changes. While I had been able to easily walk on all fours before, now I felt that walking on all fours might be easier than walking upright. I wasn¡¯t sure how I felt about that. It was definitely giving me a more draconic appearance. Almost every high kobold already looked very similar to wingless dragons, but since I had wings, the similarities were more pronounced. This became even more prevalent as they grew older. If it weren¡¯t for my size, I might even be mistaken for a deformed dragon. Even the smallest dragon wyrmlings were much bigger than me, however. Because of that, I looked more like a deformed pseudodragon. They were only slightly larger than me in size. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Another change was my neck, which was definitely elongating. While not much, it was still enough to notice. In fact, every part of my skin had started to itch lately. Although I hadn¡¯t really thought about it too much, now I could see that my scales were starting to shed. The shedding was the most evident on my arms and neck, where I was growing the most. However, every part of my body had patches where the scales were starting to shed. Yet another change I noticed was that my feathers were harder, and sharper. In fact, I wasn¡¯t even sure that I could call them feathers. They were more like flat leather scales shaped like feathers. While the edges were flexible and finely serrated, they were also extremely sharp and durable. Instead of being a feather or a scale, they almost seemed to be a mixture of the two. Then again, feathers, scales, fingernails, claws, horns, and hair were all created by placodes that form in the top layer of the skin. When a signal was sent to a particular location in the skin to form a placode, these anatomical features were created. I thought about the rhinoceros. Their horns were actually made of the same stuff as hair and fingernails. One of the differences was the concentration in one place of a substance called keratin. This was a fibrous structural protein that could also be found in wool, feathers, hooves, claws and the outermost layers of skin. While both charcoal and diamonds are made of carbon, their structures are different. The same could be said to be true for my scales. They were very hard, much tougher than fingernails. However, they were also light. However, I suppose it was also sort of like an angel and their wings. A person would have wings but still wouldn¡¯t be able to fly because of their weight. Just like angels, dragons needed that certain supernatural magic to allow them to transcend physical limitations. That was probably why flying was locked for me at first. In fact, methane was a gas that was lighter than air, but also could be used in the production of flames. It was certainly possible that methane, or something similar, was naturally produced by many dragons which gave them innate buoyancy and access to combustible gasses, much like my previous ether breath. This might also explain breath attacks. Even bombardier beetles could store chemicals that when they interacted, created a scalding attack. Since I had a draconic bloodline, perhaps the magic was inherently found in the blood of a dragon I guessed. Then I amended that since I knew there were undead dragons with only a skeleton left that could still fly. Perhaps even though it said bloodline, the magic actually wasn¡¯t found in the blood. Perhaps it was more of a genetic or spiritual ¡°bloodline.¡± Still, I was also certain that dragons wouldn¡¯t have all the characteristics they did, such as wings, if it didn¡¯t help them in some ways. Perhaps they served as a base to hold the magic. For example, a dragon whose wings were damaged flew slower or might not even be able to fly. While it was true that a pterosaur could have a wingspan of more than thirty feet, they also had a different body structure. Dragons had a more feline or canine appearance. Pterosaurs also had interior bone struts, much like modern airplanes. This allowed them to have partially hollow bones. Although that wouldn¡¯t make a big difference, perhaps it did have some impact. So, I concluded, while most dragons had batlike wings covered in scales, my scales were just shaped a little differently to give them a more feathered appearance. They were still scales, just not in the normal scale shape, but either way they were responsible for channeling magic. This made me think of owls. Owls had feathers like other birds, but their feathers were shaped differently. Owls had specialized feathers with soft fringed edges. That helped them disrupt the flow of air across the wings and reduced their noise during flight. I smiled when an idea came to my mind, I might actually be able to fly more silently than a normal dragon. Unfortunately, despite the intriguing thoughts I was having, I couldn¡¯t escape one fact. The water was freezing. By the time I was done, I was shivering uncontrollably. I thought a lot of dragons could breathe underwater. Was Godzilla a dragon without wings? He breathed underwater. In fact, most regular black dragons had the ability to breathe underwater. Maybe I would unlock that ability later. At the moment, however, I was worried about freezing to death. Since there were a few bushes growing on the rocky island, I decided to warm myself up by starting a fire. Once I got the fire going with the Prestidigitation cantrip, I settled in as close to the fire as I could without getting burnt. That actually turned out to be much closer than I had thought, especially after I put on the Boots of the Firelands. Once I was dry, I also quickly put back on the Stylish Robe. I was starting to regret not having fire breath. While I could start a small fire with the cantrip, a big fire would have warmed me up faster. In fact, I could have even used it to burn down some of the tents in the enemy encampment. As it was, my cantrip just wasn¡¯t powerful enough. Because of this, I started rethinking my plan of learning the Zone of Death spell and instead learn the Fireball spell. After all, could I really consider myself a wizard if I didn¡¯t have the Fireball spell memorized? Since it was still a long time away from dawn, I decided to head back home. I was starting to get tired anyway. A growing boy needs his rest. Speaking of growing, I was hoping that since I was actually growing much faster than normal for a kobold hatchling, I would soon have evidence that proved I was a male kobold. As I was flying, I did consider possible reasons that I might be growing up so quickly. Finally, I settled on one theory. I had unlocked a lot of abilities from my feathered draconic bloodline, and this was causing some changes in my body. More than likely, my body was trying to create a balance between my kobold race and my draconic bloodline. Perhaps I needed a larger body to fully support the draconic changes. After all, I wasn¡¯t even as big as a pseudodragon, much less a real dragon. Perhaps that was the reason that I was starting to feel half-dragon and half-kobold. I wondered if I was actually going to turn into a dragon at some point. Chapter 57 - Plague Bringer Once I reached the safety of the escape tunnel, I walked down to inspect the trapped main entrance tunnel. As expected, the little gnome for a brain boy had been right. I really should have coordinated with the other kobolds so that they could retake the tunnel while I caused a distraction. Actually, that gave me an idea. I still had a lot of spell points left. I might as well use them. Stopping one of the nearby kobolds, I told him that I was going to push the invading soldiers back with a series of spells and that they should take the opportunity to reclaim the tunnel as soon as I started. I then headed to the arrowslit that the soldiers were currently trying to block off. After giving my fellow kobolds a few minutes to prepare, I nodded to a nearby kobold and cast the Zone of Death spell into the main entrance tunnel. While I couldn¡¯t actually see the tunnel, I knew where it was and was able to place the spell over that area. If the soldiers chose to stay in the area, they would slowly die. My plan was to continue doing this until the invading soldiers were forced back. I would hold each spell long enough for the other kobolds to unblock the arrowslits. While it didn¡¯t work on every arrowslit, it actually ended up being enough. Another group of kobolds headed toward the main entrance tunnel with the plan of waiting until the soldiers had been forced back. Then they would advance and unblock everything that couldn¡¯t be done from the side tunnels. It actually worked surprisingly well, at least until I ran out of spell points. Unfortunately, not a single soldier died. They all chose to retreat instead. Although we didn¡¯t force the soldiers all the way back out of the main entrance tunnel, we were able to push them much further back. This also gave the other kobolds time to reset traps and resupply. Quite pleased with myself, I decided to head back to my room and rest so that I could recover my spell points. Despite being directionally impaired in my previous life, I managed to make it back to my room after only a few wrong turns. It probably had something to do with being a kobold and being skilled in mining. One of the maids was standing outside my door. As soon as I started to get closer, she unconsciously put her hand over her nose. Once I was closer, she cocked her head to the side and slightly sniffed before nodding to herself and letting her hand drop. I was too embarrassed to say anything. While I might have proclaimed myself the god of twilight, she probably thought I was the god of bat guano. I gave her a timid smile and braced myself before opening the door. Holding my breath, I stepped inside. After shutting the door, I reluctantly took a shallow sniff. Then I took a deep breath. Apparently, despite the fact that our tribe was being invaded by soldiers, removing the stench from my room had been too urgent to ignore. Sighing, I walked over to one of the walls and lightly thumped my forehead against the wall. ¡°Idiot,¡± I muttered. ¡°How will people believe I am a god if I smell like a gnome who died in an outhouse two weeks ago? Idiot, idiot, idiot.¡± With each idiot, I thumped my head lightly against the stone wall. Finally, I stopped because it was starting to sting a little. Fortunately, new food was on the table. Unfortunately, it was more food of questionable origin. I took one look at the food on the table and thought about the hard bread in my bag that I had looted from the enemy camp. Sighing, I decided to go ahead and eat a little bit of each. While I would prefer eating the looted food, I also knew it wouldn¡¯t last too long with my voracious appetite. After I was done eating, I decided to rest. While normally I wouldn¡¯t be tired for several more hours, I guess the stress of growing on my wyrmling body or the stress of the invaders and what I did in their encampment had exhausted me. Another possible reason was the fact that I was low on spell points. I doubted it was true, but I couldn¡¯t rule out that possibility. Either way, I needed a nap. After all, my last nap had been interrupted. Or at least it had felt that way. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. Before I knew it, I woke up. I didn¡¯t even remember falling asleep. I didn¡¯t even take off the Stylish Robe before flying up to the bed. Hearing the gurgling of my stomach, I sighed and flew to the table which had been refilled with new food. ¡°This is getting old,¡± I muttered. ¡°Having undead characteristics, such as not needing to eat, is starting to look more attractive now.¡± After that, I shut up and started eating. Once I was done feeding my bottomless pit of a stomach, I looked around and sighed. I really missed fast food. While I wasn¡¯t happy that I didn¡¯t have a computer and the internet, at least I was usually too busy to notice. However, I had never eaten food that tasted so bad, even when I had moved into my first apartment. I smiled a little bit when a thought came to me. I used to have a deep fryer in which I would make french fries. However, I rarely changed the oil. It got so bad that there was a layer of black charcoal on the bottom of the deep fryer that was an inch or two deep. The french fries would disappear into the dark oil as soon as I dropped them in. Then I would have to brush off the black crumbs once I pulled them out. ¡°Once I am in charge somewhere, I am going to hire an amazing cook,¡± I said, making a promise for the future. As for leaving the kobold city, at some point I had made that decision. That was what normally happened with most gothi if the current tribal leader was still young and healthy. Also, I had no desire to serve the red dragon Einvaldskonungr. Instead, others would serve me. Realizing there was no reason to stay in the room, I restocked my food bags and was about to walk out of the room when a ding sounded and a new window appeared. ACHIEVEMENT - TITLE UNLOCKED: Plague Bringer. You have contracted the Bat Bane disease and intentionally spread this disease to over a hundred individuals. Because of this, Mein, the Goddess of Sickness, granted you her favor. I yelped, ¡°What the fudge?¡± I was astonished. When did I catch that disease? How long did I have it? How did I intentionally spread it to over a hundred people? It took a moment for me to process the new information. Could the actively trying to spread disease have something to do with the fact that I pooped into the water supply of the enemy soldiers? I was confused since I was certain that a cleric would cast the Purify Food and Drink spell on the supplies. I couldn¡¯t understand why they wouldn¡¯t cast the spell after all the damage I did to the supply tent. ¡°System, show me my current status,¡± I commanded, praying that I hadn¡¯t given the disease to my fellow kobolds. Current Status: Armor Class: 13, Health Points: 24/24 (Diseased - Bat Bane), Magic Points: 56/56, Mental Energy: 5/5, Soul Fragments: 3/3 ¡°System, please tell me more about the Bat Bane disease.¡± While I wasn¡¯t certain it would give me any information, I suspected it might since it was on my Status Window. I could even guess what one of the symptoms was going to be. Bat Bane: A bacterial disease acquired by contact or ingestion of fecal material from infected creatures. Symptoms often include diarrhea, vomiting, dehydration, and abdominal cramps. Other symptoms can include high fever and chills, headaches, difficulty breathing, and swollen lymph nodes. If left untreated, the disease can lead to more serious complications. Sighing, I shook my head. While I was tempted to save my Shape Magic feature for the Zone of Death spell, I wasn¡¯t ready to go to a kobold cleric and tell them I had contracted a disease when I wasn¡¯t even a week old. However, I was too embarrassed so I decided to use the Shape Magic feature to learn the Remove Disease spell. After meditating to learn the spell for ten minutes, I then went ahead and cast the spell on myself. I almost missed the fact that my armor class had gone down. I hadn¡¯t even noticed at first. After wearing the necklace, my intelligence modifier had been added to my armor class. However, now that I was no longer wearing the necklace, my armor class had dropped. Sighing, I shook my head in disappointment. I was starting to get the impression that none of the good gods were paying attention to me. Also, why were the dark gods always finding things I did so pleasing? I was a brave kobold, defending my home against invaders. I would have thought my heroics would have earned me at least one favor from a god of good. Am I really destined to be a force of evil? I certainly didn¡¯t feel evil. After all, what had I done so far to be given a Chaotic Evil alignment? Chapter 58 - Hyggiandis Revenge After thinking about what I had learned, I breathed a sigh of relief. More than likely, only the enemy soldiers had been affected by the Bat Bane disease. I wasn¡¯t sure whether I was lucky or unlucky. While a cleric probably did cast the spell on the food and water in the supply tent, I had released quite a lot of fecal matter throughout the enemy encampment. While I hadn¡¯t even realized I had caught a disease, I was glad that my enemy was sharing my pain. I only needed to cast the Remove Disease spell once. However, the enemy clerics would have to cast the Remove Disease or Lesser Restoration spell again and again. Even though it was only a second level spell, over a hundred enemy soldiers had been affected. That meant that most of the clerics would be using a lot of spell points to heal the soldiers, which was a definite win for our side. In fact, the invaders might not even have enough clerics to remove the bat bane disease from every soldier. Since I was planning on going to the side entrance tunnel again to check the progress of the invaders, I sent a mental command to Alsvartr to farm experience in the caves. She could also be on the lookout for anyone sneaking in while we are distracted. ¡°I¡¯ll do that, Notty,¡± Alsvartr sent a mental response back. I almost stumbled as I reached the door. I had to stop. Clearly, I must have misheard her. Just in case, I asked, ¡°Did you just call me Notty?¡± ¡°That is what Hyggiandi calls you,¡± she said. ¡°She calls you a naughty little kobold. She said that Notty is short for N¨®ttormr.¡± Taking a deep breath, I sighed, silently vowing to melt down that stupid necklace. I really shot myself in the foot by giving the phylactery to my familiar. I was hoping that Hyggiandi would teach Alsvartr everything she needed to know. Apparently though, the necklace was instead teaching my familiar things that she really didn¡¯t need to know. It was almost as if Hyggiandi resented me for some reason and was trying to get back at me. Alsvartr then asked, ¡°Do I have a nickname too? If not, can it be Boots? Hyggiandi says you have an abnormal affection for boots.¡± Sighing once more, I didn¡¯t answer immediately. Instead, I went to the stone wall and thumped my head against it. ¡°Why? Why? Why? How¡­does¡­she¡­know?¡± I muttered with each thump. I only stopped because I was worried that one of the maids might come in and see me thumping my head against the wall and start to wonder about my mental stability as well as my physical smells. Finally, I responded, ¡°No. I¡¯ll think of a better nickname for you. Don¡¯t worry.¡± I was tempted to say more, such as warning her to be careful when listening to Hyggiandi but I really didn¡¯t want to try to explain. I barely noticed the mental connection go silent as Alsvartr set off to start farming for experience. ¡°Yep, Dr¨®ttinn is definitely out to get me,¡± I muttered as I rubbed my forehead. ¡°It looks like he succeeded too.¡± I really needed a moment to collect myself after that, so I flew up to the top of the table and ate away my worries. Once my belly started to bulge too much, I finally quit eating and decided to head out once again. Since it was morning, I was tempted to attend the morning meditation services, but I really didn¡¯t feel like it. Instead, I directly flew to the side tunnel I had been in yesterday. While it was a little awkward to fly through the tunnels, it was actually easier than trying to hurry through the tunnels on foot. It helped that I was still a tiny kobold, although that was certain to change soon. In the next day or two, I might just grow to be a small kobold. Yeah for me. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Once I reached the side tunnel, I saw that the invading soldiers had started blocking off the arrowslits again. Despite this, they still hadn¡¯t been able to make up the ground they had lost the previous day. At one of the openings the soldiers were trying to block was a kobold that was pumping some type of gas into the main entrance tunnel. Although I was curious, I really didn¡¯t care enough to ask. Instead, I watched as the kobold defenders moved continuously through the side tunnel. Some brought more arrows. Others brought bags of spiders and scorpions. At one point I frowned, because it looked like one of my brethren who was waiting on new supplies started throwing his feces through the arrowslit. That was gross. Who would do such a thing? I mean, really? Actually, that gave me an idea. While I knew there were side tunnels on each side of the main entrance, I wondered if there was a tunnel above it. I could sit down on one of the holes and let them know what I thought about them. Dismissing the thought for now, I went back to the exit of the escape tunnel. I frowned when a thought hit me. I really shouldn¡¯t have wasted my Shape Magic feature on the Remove Disease spell. I should have saved it for the Zone of Death so that I would be able to push back the soldiers again. Shaking my head, I consoled myself with the thought that I could always do it the next day. After all, while the soldiers might have made some progress, and would make some more throughout the day, I could spam the Zone of Death spell the next day. If worse came to worst, I could always go back to sleep or go ahead and level up. Actually, there was something I could do that might help a little. I could use my twilight breath attack. While it might not make a huge difference, it would probably be more lethal than most of the other traps. Nodding at my good thinking, I went to an arrowslit that wasn¡¯t currently occupied and waited for a victim to appear on the other side. As soon as they tried to shove a shield over the arrowslit, I breathed the twilight breath onto the shield. While I would have preferred to attack the soldiers themselves, they were doing a good job of using shields to protect themselves. Once they had covered the arrowslits, they would then try to block off the openings with rocks, broken shield pieces, or wood. That might explain why the other kobolds were relying on less direct attacks, such as poisons and flammable oils. Unfortunately, it looked like there was a shortage of both of them. I was disgusted with the results of my breath attack. The shield cracked some and started to show some aging, but nothing else seemed to have happened. Annoyed, I tried another time before giving up on that idea. The soldiers were going slow enough to prevent most accidents from happening. Although the defending kobolds would occasionally get lucky, the invaders were slowly but surely making progress. Stepping back, I allowed another kobold to take my place while I thought about our situation. The enemy was low on supplies. However, that could change at any time. The enemy was low on cleric spells as well, although that would change after the clerics rested long enough to regain their spell points. At our current rate of expenditure, our side would run out of arrows, poisons, and flammable oils if the conflict was prolonged too long. The arrowslits were being covered and the traps were being disabled. If nothing changed, we would need to stage some frontal attacks down the tunnel long enough to push back the invading soldiers and unblock the arrowslits. However, considering how heavily armed the soldiers were and how weak our attacks were, this would be difficult. We also wouldn¡¯t be able to overwhelm the invaders with superior numbers in the narrow tunnel, which might also cause a great deal of casualties. Since that was the case, it might be best to wait until the invaders reached a choke point. That way we could lay an ambush with minimal injuries. I also wondered if our tribe was saving some of our more potent defensive abilities. For example, I knew that we had to have something that could cause an explosion and collapse the tunnel. In fact, I was kind of curious why it hadn¡¯t already been used. Was Dr¨®ttinn waiting until the situation was more desperate? Did we have a limited number of explosives? After all, if we collapsed the tunnel entrance, it would stop the invasion, at least for a while. Clearing out the rubble would take a long time. In fact, it might just make the entrance tunnel impassable. Was Dr¨®ttinn wanting the intruders to advance further? Did he plan on waiting until most of the soldiers were advancing through the tunnel and then planning on detonating the explosives? Maybe he was hoping to wipe them all out at the same time. Perhaps it was time for me to speak to him about the future. Chapter 59 - The Kobold City After reaching Dr¨®ttinn¡¯s room, I could tell that he was very busy based on the number of kobolds entering and exiting his room. Because of this, I thanked the maid for her help and let her know that I was going to stay for a while and that she didn¡¯t have to stay. Hearing this, she nodded and quickly left, most likely having a lot to do. However, before dismissing the maid, I asked for her name. I was kind of ashamed that I hadn¡¯t asked her that already. It turned out her name was Bj¨®na. There also didn¡¯t seem to be any type of line outside, so I stood there for a minute. I then noticed that every minute or so, kobolds would arrive and go without announcing themselves, so I entered as well. I really hadn¡¯t seen too many kobolds except for the kobolds who were fighting in the side entrance tunnel. I had to scratch my head after noticing something. While not every kobold that entered the room wore jewelry, most of them did. In fact, if the kobolds sold all the jewelry they were wearing, it would probably buy enough food to feed every kobold for years. I could only surmise that maybe there wasn¡¯t as much of a shortage of food as I had first imagined. I bet that if there was more food, the kobolds would just lay more eggs. Finally, I didn¡¯t see any point in watching any longer and stepped inside the room myself. Once inside, I used my stealth skills to move to the side and watch what was happening without being observed. I was starting to have second thoughts about being a chieftain of my own village. Instead, I needed to be the dragon and have a chieftain serve me. ¡°Chieftain, one hundred and thirteen eggs in chamber three are about to hatch. However, one of the eggs is failing to harden,¡± an old kobold said sadly. ¡°Keep an eye on that egg,¡± Dr¨®ttinn ordered. ¡°If it doesn¡¯t begin to harden by tomorrow, let me know. How are the other chambers doing?¡± ¡°They are doing well,¡± the old kobold answered. ¡°There are no instances of premature hardenings in the chambers.¡± ¡°Is there anything else I need to know?¡± Dr¨®ttinn looked at the old kobold, who shook her head. Seeing this, the chieftain made a shooing motion while he turned to address the next person. That was when he noticed me. ¡°Ah, welcome Gothi N¨®ttormr,¡± Dr¨®ttinn said, motioning for the others to step back while he spoke to me. ¡°Thank you, chieftain. I know that you are busy, but I wanted to volunteer my assistance should it be needed,¡± I said. While I had wanted to talk to him about my future, I really didn¡¯t want to talk about the future while surrounded by everyone. I could always talk to him after the invaders were driven off. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. ¡°I appreciate that,¡± the chieftain said. ¡°I will consider how best to use your talents. Did you have anything specific in mind?¡± I could tell that Dr¨®ttinn was feeling a little frazzled. While he was obviously extremely busy, I could also tell that he was also still trying to remain polite to me. ¡°Actually, yes. I was hoping that our tribe might have some spellbooks or scrolls that I could copy into my spellbook,¡± I replied. While I hadn¡¯t thought about doing so before, I definitely needed a way to expand my choices of spells. ¡°Now that I¡¯ve asked, I¡¯ll let you get back to work,¡± I said. ¡°I know that you are very busy.¡± ¡°I will always have time for you,¡± the chieftain said. ¡°I¡¯ll see what I can do and have someone bring any spellbooks we find to your room.¡± With that, he turned back to the others and was quickly lost in a new conversation. Fighting an impulse to frown, I instead plastered a smile on my face and turned around to leave. As I was stepping back into the hallway, I allowed the annoyance I was feeling to show on my face. While I could have been imagining things, it seemed like Dr¨®ttinn viewed me as one more challenge that he had to deal with. In fact, it was almost as if he wanted to keep me separate from the other kobolds since he was always sending things to my room. It was as if I was his dirty little secret that he kept stashed away in a room. I was starting to feel like a kept kobold. On the positive side, I was apparently less of an issue than the invaders though. Sighing, I stood in place for a moment while reflecting on my recent actions. I was pretty sure that I hadn¡¯t been as mercurial in my past life. Yes, I had trouble making decisions sometimes. However, I also didn¡¯t like change and stuck with whatever I was doing because doing something else would stress me out. I did have to admit that my hobbies could change and were often obsessive. For example, I would spend ten hours a day, every day for months, playing video games. Then I wouldn¡¯t play video games at all and would instead read fantasy books ten hours a day, every day for months. I also had to admit that if something wasn¡¯t interesting, I would lose interest quickly once I was bored. Because of this, there were numerous other hobbies or projects that I never finished because I got sidetracked on something else. Despite this, I rarely changed jobs. Lately though, my decisions seemed to be more whimsical or impulsive. While I could attribute this to a young kobold brain that is still in the process of developing, I also had to wonder if it could be because of the chaotic favor I had received. It seems like I was being much more capricious recently. I had to wonder if it was a kobold thing, a chaotic favor thing, a developing brain thing, or something else. If it was a chaotic favor thing, would that mean that I might start getting more and more evil because of my evil favor? Did the alignment even matter? Alsvartr didn¡¯t even have an alignment marked on her information sheet. Was assassinating someone and killing dozens of other humans evil? Or was it considered good since I did it to protect my fellow kobolds? Was I evil because killing them didn¡¯t bother me at all? Did it not bother me because I subconsciously felt like I was dreaming or in a game? Was it because of the fact that they were invading, and I was a kobold? Was it because I was considered chaotic evil in alignment? Wondering about these questions, I wandered through the kobold city, not really paying attention to where I was going as I tried to figure out if I was destined to become a villain. Chapter 60 - Six Steps to Success I ended up wandering aimlessly for a while, unsure what to do. I didn¡¯t really have a plan. Yes, I wanted to become a god, but even in my last life, I wanted to be a god. I also wanted to be a musician, a writer, a mad scientist, a handyman, and so many other things. That might also explain why I had been more of a jack-of-all-trades rather than a master at any one particular thing. I had been a talented amateur artist, but wasn¡¯t likely to succeed professionally. I even made thousands of dollars out of that hobby. I did the same with writing. While I didn¡¯t make thousands off my handyman skills, those skills did save me thousands when I had to remodel my house. I ended up doing an okay job at most things I tried. However, despite the different hobbies I tried, I was never able to find anything that could replace the tedious, mind-numbing jobs I had to do. One of those jobs had been teaching. It had destroyed my faith in humanity. Well, that and politics and bureaucracy. It felt like I was always surrounded by hypocritical idiots who thought they were smart, while everyone else was stupid. Also, there were businesses and their commercials. Oh, my goodness, the people who made the commercials obviously thought people were stupid. They blatantly manipulated the truth. I was so tired of humanity. Then again, maybe that was why I had reincarnated as something other than human. Still, in this life I actually had a chance at gaining real power. Yes, I could probably have achieved a lot more in my last life if I had applied myself from the beginning and was able to focus. However, I didn¡¯t. In this life I would. I would be a god among the kobolds. After all, if I couldn¡¯t accomplish something amazing with a system, with being a spellcaster, and with having a draconic bloodline, I might as well go ahead and reincarnate again. As I wandered around, I started making a mental list of what I wanted to accomplish.
  1. Become more draconic.
  2. Become a high level spellcaster.
  3. Be the leader of a kobold tribe.
  4. Make the tribe extremely powerful.
  5. Establish a kobold empire.
  6. Become a real god.
I finally settled on six steps. In fact, the first few were ones that I could easily achieve if I continued working on my second goal. Wizards were known for being powerhouses. Because of this, as long as I achieved my second goal, that guaranteed that I could achieve every one of my goals except maybe the last one. In fact, there were plenty of stories about spellcasters becoming gods, so I actually had some real hope there. Nodding to myself, I felt pleased with myself for making the list. However, that still didn¡¯t help me at the moment. I knew that if I just went to rest and waited for my Shape Magic feature to reset, it might become a habit. I couldn¡¯t use an excuse to wait to achieve my dreams. I had procrastinated enough in my last life. I had even wanted to buy that shirt that said, ¡°Procrastinators of the world unite, tomorrow.¡± However, I never did. Since I didn¡¯t want to continue putting things off, I impulsively headed toward the main tunnel. I couldn¡¯t do a lot in the side tunnels, but I was fairly certain I could survive a direct confrontation with the soldiers in the main entrance tunnel. After all, most of the soldiers in the main tunnel were probably at the lower levels. There was even the possibility that I might be able to take out many of them quickly with my twilight breath. Soon, I encountered a line of kobolds who were apparently stationed as a defensive line in case the invaders tried to blitzkrieg through the tunnels. While I might have zerged a lot in the games I played, I knew that wasn¡¯t likely to happen in a heavily trapped tunnel. I also appropriated various items, such as a few bags of poisoned caltrops and an antidote in case I poisoned myself. I also asked them to move forward enough to watch me so that they could take advantage of any openings I created. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. I was starting to curse myself in my mind since I had learned the Remove Disease spell instead of Lesser Restoration spell. I really needed to start thinking ahead of time and planning more. At least I knew the Shield of Faith and the Aid spell, which were better than nothing. I quickly cast them and quietly gave thanks to the other kobolds who were making up for my shortcomings by being prepared. They were even nice enough to give me some alchemical fire which was always in short supply. When I reached the main entrance tunnel, I started sneaking forward. I was a little worried a rogue might have slipped past the traps or might even be trying to disable the traps as a forward scout. Luckily, the soldiers still hadn¡¯t made it to where they had reached the first day. Picking up a large shield, I walked forward. I wanted to say that it was easy. However, the shield was very heavy and rarely made it more than an inch off the ground. In fact, most of the time I ended up just pushing it ahead of me. Fortunately, because of its size, I was able to hide completely behind it. Unfortunately, the first arrow to hit the shield almost knocked me over. ¡°Dang,¡± I muttered as a few more arrows hit the shield. Gritting my teeth, I took a deep breath and took a quick peek around the shield to see where the invading soldiers were in the tunnel ahead. I almost made a yellow 7puddle when I noticed how close I had been able to advance before they noticed me. A few soldiers holding large shields to their sides to block the arrowslits were in front. Behind them were others who were working at permanently closing the arrowslits that had been blocked and behind them were a few archers. The only thing keeping the soldiers from swarming me was the fact that they were probably still worried about traps and an ambush. In fact, one of the soldiers was saying something about that. ¡°Be careful guys. There is no way there is only one kobold. Even if they weren¡¯t cowards, there is no way any kobold would be stupid enough to advance on us all by himself. That means they want us to rush forward into an ambush or a trap.¡± Seeing that the archers were ready to shoot again, I hid behind the shield again while I quietly fumed that they were calling me stupid. Surprisingly, no arrows were shot at me. ¡°Fudge,¡± I said, realizing that they were going to wait until I stuck my head out from behind the shield to shoot at me. That also ruined my plans since I knew that as soon as I peeked my head out to fire off my twilight breath I would be shot at by the archers. I realized then that I should have given more thought to my plan. I thought quickly for an answer as I muttered to myself, ¡°For someone so smart, how do I keep doing so many stupid things?¡± Luckily, the alchemical fire was perfect for the situation. All I had to do was toss the bottles containing the alchemical fire around the shield. The sticky, adhesive fluid would ignite when exposed to air. Then when the soldiers were distracted trying to put out the fire, I could peek around the shield again and use my twilight breath. My plans almost failed when I tried to reach into one of the bags to reach the bottle of alchemical fire. When I took one of my hands off the shield, it was so heavy that it almost tipped over. Gritting my teeth, I used my puny muscles to rebalance the shield on the ground. Once I was successful, I followed through on my plan and threw the bottle. While the alchemical fire wasn¡¯t particularly damaging, it would have to be put out immediately since the damage could continue until the fire was put out. Screams immediately followed my throw. Apparently, all those years of playing sports worked out for me. Heart pounding, I stuck my head out, ready to retreat again if I noticed anyone looking at me. Luckily, almost everyone was distracted. One of the soldiers rushed forward with his shields but was immediately tripped by someone sticking a poisoned spear into his leg through an arrowslit. The others were busy trying to put out the alchemical fire. Realizing that was my chance, I breathed out an attack with my twilight breath. The screams of pain were suddenly silenced, although soldiers further down the hall started screaming in anger. Unexpectedly, the soldiers were even lower leveled than I had imagined. None of the soldiers in the range of my breath attack survived. To add insult to injury, their bodies continued to burn from the alchemical fire. While I was tempted to push forward and try the same thing again, I knew that wasn¡¯t a good idea. If the charging soldier hadn¡¯t been taken care of by a kobold using an unblocked arrowslit, I might have been in trouble. As it was, all of the arrowslits past the soldiers had been blocked. If I advanced too far, I would be without support and could easily be overrun. However, I couldn¡¯t really see an easy way to unblock the arrowslits. There were a lot of heavy rocks holding shields in place over the arrowslits. Sighing, I tried to figure out my next step. Should I press forward with my attacks or try to start unblocking the arrowslits? Chapter 61 - The Kobold Bible Frowning, I was quite annoyed with my size yet again. The rocks were way too heavy for me to move. As it was, just the shields were almost beyond my strength. Even the alchemical fire wouldn¡¯t have much effect since the soldiers had used rocks instead of wood. As for my telekinetic gift, I might be able to move a few of the lighter rocks, but some of them were definitely beyond my abilities. I would also have to concentrate on each rock, and it would take a while. The chances of the invading soldiers giving me time to remove the rocks was also very close to zero, so that wasn¡¯t really an option anyway. Actually, I could use my telekinetic gift to carry another alchemical fire bottle further down the tunnel. While the distance I could carry it wasn¡¯t much further than my throw, it was almost twice the distance. My little arms just didn¡¯t have the strength to throw it too far. Taking another bottle of alchemical fire out of a bag, I used my telekinetic gift to levitate it to the ceiling and slowly moved it along the ceiling until it was as far away as I could extend my gift. I was so startled that I lost my concentration on the bottle when another arrow hit the shield I was hiding behind. Fortunately, it dropped from the ceiling among the enemies. It bounced off one of them and fell to the floor to break. Unfortunately, I must not have hit too many of them since I only heard two people screaming in pain. It felt like my heart was trying to escape from my chest and run back down the tunnel to safety. However, despite a lot more fear than I would ever admit to anyone, I shoved the large shield I was hiding behind closer to the enemy. I soon reached the soldier who had been stabbed in the leg by the poisoned spear. By that time, he had finally stopped convulsing. Shivering, I stopped in front of him and threw another bottle of alchemical fire around the shield without looking. While I wasn¡¯t certain I would hit anyway, at the very least it could prove as a deterrence. Luckily, a couple more soldiers started screaming in pain. Unluckily for the first two soldiers, as soon as their fellow soldiers helped them put out the flames, they were hit with the new bottle of alchemical fire. Taking another chance, I took a quick peek around the shield I was holding and breathed another twilight breath attack on the soldiers. Apparently, this was enough to make the soldiers retreat. Having two waves of soldiers die to a single kobold hiding behind a shield was disconcerting. Of course, it could have been the screaming group of kobolds who were running toward the invading soldiers with more bottles of alchemical fire held in their hands. Being mostly untrained or newly recruited soldiers, their will to fight broke before the approaching group of kobolds reached me. They swept past me, bottles of alchemical fire flying at the backs of the soldiers. These soldiers bumped into the soldiers behind them, who fearing a mass attack, also started to run away as fast as they could. I stood there, watching in bewilderment, amazed once again at the ineptitude of the invading soldiers. Their commander had been weak, as were the soldiers themselves. It was starting to be obvious that the inexperienced commanding officer had brought an equally inexperienced group of soldiers. Seeing that the group of screaming kobolds were about to run past me, I resisted the urge to run forward screaming as well. I was unpleasantly surprised to discover that I felt the impulse to join the mob. Instead, I ran forward and cast the Sleep spell on the retreating soldiers. Each time I cast the Sleep spell, several soldiers would fall down. This scared the other soldiers even more when they noticed the kobolds ruthlessly stabbing the sleeping soldiers as they ran past them. I tried to conserve some spell points, so I also used twilight breath whenever I recharged enough energy. However, before too long, I ran out of spell points. Despite this, the enemy rout was well underway and no longer needed my assistance. Soon, the entire tunnel was cleared of the enemy soldiers. Since I had run out of spell points even though I had the Soul Collector class feature, I made a mental note to learn some new spells. Only spells that had something to do with spirits could be cast using the spell points from Soul Collector, which I currently didn¡¯t have any memorized. The one spell the feature worked with was the Zone of Death spell, which was considered a spirit spell. That also might explain why it did necrotic damage. I was really annoyed that I had spell points because of the feature but was unable to use them. I needed some type of spirit-based spell that I could spam on low health targets. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Seeing this, other kobolds flooded into the tunnel and started unblocking all the arrowslits and resetting the traps. I stood near the entrance watching as the soldiers started to reorganize outside. However, this process was not completed quickly. Of course, neither was what the kobolds were doing. Unblocking the arrowslits took time, as did repairing and resetting the traps. Still, I couldn¡¯t help but be proud to be a kobold when I compared the two sides. The humans were milling around in an unorganized fashion like sheep while waiting for someone to tell them what to do. They had even been herded out of the tunnels like a herd of sheep by a sheepdog. As for the kobolds, they were working quickly and efficiently. ¡°Yeah,¡± I muttered, ¡°the humans might be taller, but we showed them who was the boss.¡± I didn¡¯t even notice at first that there was a group of kobolds who were dragging the bodies of the soldiers deeper into the tunnels. At first, I thought they were going to loot the bodies, but then I realized that the kobolds apparently viewed everything about the soldiers as valuable. The weapons and armor could be used, melted, or sold. Gold could be collected to buy supplies. As for the bodies, I fervently hoped the kobolds were intending to feed the bodies to the wereweasels or the worms. The happy times didn¡¯t last long though. I soon noticed that an officer had arrived and started to organize the soldiers outside the tunnel entrance. Seeing that they might decide to push forward once again, I was getting ready to inform the other kobolds when a lookout gave a bark, I mean a yell, to alert the other kobolds. Dozens of kobold heads swiveled to the tunnel entrance. Then, without anyone saying a word, everyone started retreating back to safety in the depths of the tunnels. I was a little perplexed by the other kobolds. As soon as they saw the soldiers break formation and start running, they jumped on the enemy soldiers like a gnome on a copper coin. However, as soon as they noticed the humans might be ready to fight again soon, they started retreating. Still, something about the strategy seemed right. In the words of Oliver Goldsmith, ¡°He who fights and runs away may live to fight another day; but he who is battle slain can never rise to fight again.¡± While scurrying back with the other kobolds, I pondered this quote and decided to use it in the bible I would make for my followers. In fact, there were some other good quotes I could use as well. Sun Tzu had a lot of them I could borrow, and borrowing was certainly a kobold strength. In fact, one of them was especially apt, ¡°Great results can be achieved with small forces.¡± That seemed tailor made for kobolds. Once we had retreated back into the safety of the tunnels, a new line of defense was established. Since I had run out of spell points and was exhausted from the short battle, I decided to go back to my room. On the way, I decided that I really needed a pair of gloves or a belt that would give me a giant¡¯s strength. I could already tell that my arms were going to be sore the next day from trying to carry around that stupid shield. While walking back to my room, I tried to remember any quotes that I should add to my Kobold Bible. I had already added it to my list of things I needed to accomplish. I could impart my words of wisdom upon my kobold followers and lead them from obscurity to superiority. By the time I arrived back to my room, I was smiling. I was very pleased with how the day had turned out. While it was still early in the morning, I decided it was time to take a nap, but not before snacking on some mushrooms. I was tempted to start writing down quotes for my kobold bible, but I didn¡¯t want any of the maids to see what I had written before I was done. Although I could have written what I wanted into a spellbook or something similar, I didn¡¯t want to have to carry it around with me, at least not until I was stronger. As it was, I was struggling to carry around the bags of food that I needed to snack on. Because of this, I started organizing my thoughts only in my mind, at least until I was satisfied with how it looked. I was a little afraid that I would change my mind about something and then have to explain to any of the maids who might have seen what I had written. As for what I would include besides quotes, I needed to learn more about what life was like for other kobold tribes. In fact, I probably needed to see what life was like for the humans and other races as well. After all, I might want to expand my domain to include other races someday. Therefore, I didn¡¯t want to create something that would exclude other races. After I finished eating, I laid in bed while ideas raced through my mind about the utopia I would create. I could be the first kobold Jesus. Then again, scratch that. I had no desire to be a martyr. No, I would be more like Mohammad or one of the other prophets. Eventually, I fell asleep with dreams of church doctrine and dogma running through my head. Chapter 62 - Reading More Thoughts When I woke up from my nap, I glanced at my total number of spell points to see how many I had recovered. Sadly, the nap didn¡¯t give me more than a few spell points. Any recovery of spell points was good enough since I had mainly gone to sleep because the stress of battle had made me tired. I couldn¡¯t imagine fighting for hours upon hours day after day in a real war. Of course, it could have something to do with my age. I was tempted to go back to sleep, but my stomach complained so I struggled upright. I frowned at my belly and gave it a glare. ¡°All you do is complain,¡± I said. That undead feat was starting to look better and better. Still, I flew over to the table and started gobbling down the food. ¡°Hmm, goblins gobbling,¡± I said between bites of¡­something. It was probably better not to think about it. Instead, I tried to think of a joke about goblins that gobble. That didn¡¯t last long since I soon grew bored of that. Once I finished the food, I flew down to the floor and opened the door. Then I waved to the maid and started flying to the bathroom pits. Kobold toilets were a lot like medieval castle garderobes. I did my part for kobold society by feeding the worms, which was definitely not the dried jerky in my bag that I had been snacking on earlier. As soon as I left the bathroom pit, I took a deep breath, but then regretted it since I was still too close. Not wanting to linger there any longer, I started flying towards the side entrance tunnel to see what had happened over the last few hours while I was napping. Once I arrived, I noticed that the invading soldiers hadn¡¯t chosen to advance into the tunnels at all. Needless to say, the other kobolds had taken advantage of that time to undo every gain the soldiers had made previously. I was a little confused that the soldiers had given us the time to get ready. Were they that incompetent? If I hadn¡¯t known before, now I was sure that whoever was in charge of the expedition was an idiot. More than likely, someone in the top had suggested that they wait for reinforcements. Either that or someone who knew what they were doing. Seeing that we were safe, I checked on Alsvartr but discovered that she was sleeping. That didn¡¯t surprise me since she was a bat and preferred nighttime over the day. I was starting to feel like a bad pet owner. I barely saw or talked to my familiar at all. Then again, I did give her a ¡°companion,¡± although she might actually hold that against me. I certainly wasn¡¯t missing Hyggiandi though. Later, I would need to reward Alsvartr with something for taking one for the team. The hidden exit wasn¡¯t too far away, so I decided to use the Invisibility spell to see if I could gather any new information. While I really didn¡¯t expect to learn anything, I could be wrong. Either way, I didn¡¯t have a lot to do so I might as well try. As long as I didn¡¯t get caught, it couldn¡¯t hurt. After casting the spell, I started flying toward the commander¡¯s tent. However, immediately after landing on top of the tent, an alarm went off. Before the others could cast a spell to detect me, I took off once again and flew back the way I had come. With the alarm going off, some spellcaster was bound to look for me. After not finding me, I could imagine the spellcaster casting the Detect Invisibility spell. I even knew a spell to detect invisible enemies, the Faerie Fire spell. Realizing I wasn¡¯t likely to accomplish anything after all, I circled around the encampment looking for some way I could cause some trouble. A few minutes later, I noticed a few young men lounging around on a hill overlooking the coastline. Considering they were well dressed and surrounded by a group of soldiers, they must be important. More than likely, they were the children of some noble. Curious, I flew closer and found a spot close enough to overhear them talking. ¡°I can¡¯t believe how incompetent these peasants are,¡± one of the teenage nobles said. ¡°I know,¡± one of the other teenage boys said. ¡°They aren¡¯t even able to defeat kobolds. How are they able to call themselves soldiers?¡± ¡°Things would be different if we were in charge,¡± a third boy said. ¡°How much money do you think Baronet Daufi was paid by that fat merchant to launch this attack?¡± Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. ¡°Who knows? I feel sorry for Lord Gamall though,¡± the first boy said while shaking his head. He then picked up a rock and threw it into the distance. The third boy asked, ¡°Why is that? He was just following the baronet¡¯s orders.¡± ¡°Do you really think the baron will forgive the death of his younger brother? Mark my words, when he returns, Lord Gamall will have to explain why he is alive and Baronet Daufi isn¡¯t,¡± the second boy said. ¡°Yeah, I bet the merchant is going to leave before the baron arrives,¡± the third boy said. ¡°He has to be the reason why the Baronet Daufi would bring the dregs of the castle instead of waiting for the real soldiers to come back from the campaign.¡± One of the guards couldn¡¯t help but glance at the noble teenager before glancing away. Obviously, he wasn¡¯t happy with what the boys were saying but also wasn¡¯t willing to complain. Curious, I decided to use my telepathic gift to hear what the guard was thinking. The teenagers continued to talk, but the conversation turned to what they wanted for their birthday or which maiden in the castle looked the best. Since I didn¡¯t really care about such things, I concentrated on the guard who apparently was still annoyed and couldn¡¯t stop thinking about what they had said previously. ¡°They aren¡¯t dregs, you spoiled brats,¡± the soldier thought. ¡°They are new recruits who haven¡¯t finished training yet. If the baronet hadn¡¯t been greedy and overconfident, this could have been avoided. I can¡¯t believe I have to guard these brats. Now the castle is barely defended. ¡°I knew that obese merchant couldn¡¯t be trusted. The kids are right though, Knarrar will leave as soon as he hears about what happened to the baron¡¯s brother. As soon as the baron returns with the veteran soldiers and spellcasters, that merchant and the kobold tribe will pay. ¡°As for Lord Gamall, he¡¯ll be in the same boat with them. Unfortunately, we might be in that sinking boat. The man hasn¡¯t ever been in a battle and is now in charge of invading the kobold tribe. If he wasn¡¯t related to the baronet, he wouldn¡¯t be trusted to lead the way to the dining hall. ¡°And Baronet Daufi was even worse. I haven¡¯t seen him pick up a sword in years. He spent all his money years ago on wine and women. I even heard rumors that he doesn¡¯t have a single copper left to his name anymore. I have to wonder if the baron¡¯s enemies might have lured out most of the remaining soldiers with the intention of taking advantage of the situation in some way. ¡°I just hope the castle is still there when we return. In fact, we should forget this stupid invasion and go back to where we are supposed to be. We are supposed to be guarding the castle, not raiding a kobold village. What do these little rodents even have worth fighting for? ¡°As for the little turd that killed the baronet, he is going to get roasted alive once the baron returns. Even if the baron decides it isn¡¯t worth his time to invade their village, he¡¯ll send an assassin or a wizard after the kobold. Hopefully, the baron will come back early. I can¡¯t imagine how much damage Lord Gamall could cause now that he is in charge for the next month or two. ¡°By the gods, I''m hungry. These popinjays get to eat well while us soldiers are rationed food. I guess it¡¯s better than being a peasant though. I heard the harvests haven¡¯t been good lately.¡± After the guard started daydreaming about how the old cook was still looking good despite her age, I decided that was the perfect time to stop listening to his thoughts. While I was happy that he had referred to me as male, I was annoyed that he had called me a turd. What was more disconcerting was the fact that an assassin might start looking for me within the next month or two. What was also annoying was that both times I had read someone¡¯s mind, they had insulted me. After a moment, I dismissed it as a coincidence. Then I waited around for a few more minutes. However, nothing else was said that was worth listening to. I was tempted to take out the group, but then shook my head. While they were humans, and even worse, nobles, I didn¡¯t want to start killing kids even if I was technically a kid myself. Because of this, I started heading back to the tunnels while thinking about what I should do. I wasn¡¯t really worried about the assassins. In another month or two, I could probably raise my level high enough that I could take care of the assassins. However, I did find it annoying to have to be on guard for a shoe that might never drop. What worried me more was the fact that we had been fighting recruits that hadn¡¯t even been fully trained yet. When the real soldiers returned from wherever they were fighting, we might have to worry about a real invasion. Hopefully, they would choose not to invade or at least rested for a month or two before starting the invasion. While we had been able to fend off the low-level recruits and spellcasters, I could already tell that when the veterans returned with experienced spellcasters, our tribe would be in trouble. That meant that we might face an invasion within a month¡¯s time, or even sooner if the veterans returned early. I was worried. How would we survive? What could we do to prepare? Chapter 63 - Getting New Spellbooks I was tempted to take advantage of the almost defenseless castle, but then decided that wasn¡¯t the best idea. One reason was because someone else might already be planning to do that. Afterall, if I could come up with that idea after briefly overhearing a short conversation, someone who was more intimately knowledgeable of the situation would definitely be able to make a similar plan. In fact, the green kobold tribe might already have sent experienced rogues to loot the castle¡¯s treasury. While it was possible that they weren¡¯t behind the two raids, one by the mercenaries and one by the soldiers, I doubted it. The timing was just too coincidental. However, I couldn¡¯t say with complete certainty that someone else wasn¡¯t using the green kobold tribe as a pawn. There was just too much I didn¡¯t know about the new world in which I had found myself. My tribe wasn¡¯t likely to attack the castle since even if we succeeded, we wouldn¡¯t gain much out of it. No human kingdom would allow one of their castles to be taken over by a group of kobolds. The most we would get out of it would be the loot. In exchange, we would incur the wrath of a large kingdom who would spare nothing to eradicate our tribe. Since I was already worried about a baron and his men attacking, the thought of provoking an entire kingdom sounded especially stupid. However, my tribe could make the benefits outweigh the losses. If the baron was worried, he would lose more than he would gain, he might leave us alone. Then again, since someone had assassinated the baron¡¯s younger brother, he might not think rationally. In fact, assassinating the baronet might have been a terrible decision. Considering that I might have worsened the problem, I felt like I needed to do something to fix it. The problem was that I didn¡¯t really know what to do. I hated that feeling. Ever since I was reincarnated, it was as if I was always unsure what to do next. While I had plans, I didn¡¯t have a clue how to turn those plans into reality. Now that I thought about it, I guess I didn¡¯t really have a plan. I had a dream. Since I wouldn¡¯t be able to accomplish any of the goals on the list, I had made without becoming more powerful, that was probably the first step I needed to take. I had gained some experience from the recent fights, but not enough to get me to the next level. I also wasn¡¯t willing to level up yet with the experience I hadn¡¯t spent yet since I might lose access to the experience I called the giant bats. That left me with a dilemma. I needed a lot of experience, quickly. The problem was how I would get that experience. It looked like I didn¡¯t have to worry about the low-level soldiers as much anymore. The fact that they were mostly untrained recruits really soothed my mind. Now I could start hunting in the caverns again without fear that there wouldn¡¯t be a kobold city to return to when I get finished. I was tempted to start hunting immediately, but I also felt like that was a dumb idea without more spell points. Then I remembered that I could always stop by my room and see if the spell books had been dropped off yet. If they were available, I could search through them for any spells that might be useful in hunting the giant bats. In fact, I could see if there was a spell that would work with the Soul Collector class feature as well. I smiled, very happy with myself for having formulated a plan. With a definite plan of attack, I flew back to my room and quickly glanced inside. As soon as the door closed behind me, I did a happy dance. Not only had Dr¨®ttinn found a spellbook, but he also actually found three of them. In fact, there were also supplies that I hadn¡¯t even asked for. For example, there were additional inks and quills. There were also several bags filled with various spell components. I frowned, confused for a moment. I hadn¡¯t needed spell components to cast any of the spells I cast. One reason I was confused was because, now that I thought about it, the Sleep spell had a required component, which was sand. Was I able to cast the spell because I was always surrounded by dirt, rocks, and sand when I cast the spell? Getting out my spellbook, I looked at the spell description more closely. From the description, even rose petals or a cricket could be used to cast the spell. Those certainly hadn¡¯t been present when I cast the spell earlier. However, nowhere in the description did it say I had to have the components on my body. One unanswered question I had was about how far away those components could be away from the spellcaster. I had said the magic words and made the correct gestures almost without thinking. I was instinctive, as if I had practiced casting the spells for years. Was I exempt from needing the spell components? After thinking about the other spells I had cast, I realized some of them required components that I hadn¡¯t possessed. For example, the Shield of Faith spell required some type of holy text or holy water. The fact that I could cast the spells without these components definitely supported the assertion that I was able to cast the spells without needing ingredients. ¡°Wait, I¡¯m an idiot,¡± I said as I realized the reason why. I already knew the answer. I had the Sorcery class feature from Eldritch Mind which allowed me to shape magic without using words, gestures, or components. However, they did require me to focus and introduced more chances of failure. The more I relied on my mind to replace the gestures, words, or components, the more likely I was to fail. I smiled as I realized how overpowered I was and flew up to the table and sat down next to the books. ¡°Dang, you could have at least dusted off the spellbooks,¡± I muttered, although I wasn¡¯t really mad. It was probably because I was still annoyed with the chieftain, even though he was taking good care of me. Something about him was nagging at my subconscious, although I wasn¡¯t sure why. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. Every one of the spellbooks were extremely old with one exception. It was an empty spellbook wrapped in black leather, or at least I hoped it was leather. One cool thing about the spellbook was that it was intricately designed to mimic the appearance of dragon scales, giving it a majestic and otherworldly look. Even tiny blue and black jewels had been added to the spellbook. Together, they created a mesmerizing pattern that caught the light and hinted at the ancient magic contained within As for the other spellbooks, I could tell with just a cursory look that they were old. In fact, they looked hundreds of years old. I was actually a little worried the books would fall apart if I wasn¡¯t careful when I handled them. I wondered, ¡°Are wizards really that rare in the kobold tribe? I know sorcerers aren¡¯t uncommon due to our draconic bloodlines, but I would have thought there would be at least a few wizards in the tribe.¡± Apparently not, I finally concluded. Then again, maybe there were some wizards, but they had long ago copied the spells they needed. I was just being given the backup spellbooks. Either way, wizards were much rarer in the tribe than I had expected. I knew that the vast majority of the kobolds embraced dexterity-based classes, such as rogues. Even rangers and dexterity-based fighters were common. Shamans, clerics, and sorcerers were uncommon, but they did exist. A few others were probably rare, such as druids. There were probably a few other classes, such as bards and monks, although they hadn¡¯t been options, I could choose, that also fit in the rare category. Wizards, barbarians, and paladins were probably in the extremely rare category of classes, at least where kobolds in this tribe were concerned. With this in mind, I guess I should have been overwhelmed with joy to be given three different spellbooks. I gingerly opened the first spellbook and looked inside. After studying it for over half an hour, I finished getting a rough idea of the spells written down in the book. None of them were higher level spells, but there were numerous low level spells that I could copy into my spellbook. Not only were there a lot of spells, but there were also various cantrips that I could learn. Unfortunately, some of the spells I found weren¡¯t unique. For example, each spellbook contained the Detect Magic spell. Despite this, I realized that I had a lot of work ahead of me if I wanted to copy all the spells, I didn¡¯t already have in my spellbook. Since I didn¡¯t have a lot of spell points at the moment, now was the best time to copy them so I got started. Unfortunately, I then realized I had a problem. While it was possible for me to copy down the spells without needing most of the supplies and spell components, I would need to spend a lot of time learning the spells first before I could use them. Basically, it was like copying directions. I could copy them and have no idea what I was doing, or I could actually take the time to read and understand the directions. Then I would be able to use the spell. Actually, spells were a lot like apps or a computer program. I could download an app or program but have no idea how to use it because of a steep learning curve. Once I practiced with it, however, I could use the app or program without too much difficulty. If I knew enough, I might even be able to make changes with addons or with coding. However, wizards, like people, could generally only remember the intricacies of a limited number of spells, in other words, apps or programs. Just like how after not using a certain app or program for a long time, I might have to study the instructions again before using it again. The same was true for spells. Also, wizards could only memorize a certain number of spells before they would need to refresh their memory by looking at their spellbooks. While they might be able to cast a spell that they are familiar with that they hadn¡¯t fully memorized, the chances of failure were much higher. In fact, there might be a catastrophic accident if they misremembered. I certainly wouldn¡¯t want my doctor to say, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I learned how to do this surgery in college. I know that I am a general practitioner, but I am sure that I remember most of the details on how to reconnect the nerves in your hand. Just let me get my scalpel. Now, where is it?¡± Therefore, simply copying them into my own spellbook wouldn¡¯t help me until I actually learned the spells. However, even the most basic spell wasn¡¯t easy to remember. While I could use the Eldritch Mind Sorcery as a crutch to make it easier to learn the spells, that might backfire on me. Realizing I was going to have to actually study, I took a deep breath and spent the next two hours learning one single spell, the Shield spell. While I knew it wasn¡¯t a spirit spell, I hoped that if I learned it, I might eventually be able to convert it into a spirit shield someday. Maybe instead of creating an arcane barrier to act as a shield at a moment¡¯s notice, I could call upon a spirit to shield me instead. Although I doubted that was possible for me with my current skills, I was pretty sure that I would be able to in the future. Also, I just felt like it was a good idea to have the spell. Protecting my life came before everything else. After learning that one spell, I realized just how much work I had ahead of me. Each first level spell took at least two hours to learn and transcribe into my spellbook. Just the somatic hand gestures for the spell took up almost a full page in my spellbook. This was despite drawing the pictures as small as possible. As for the verbal components to the spell, it was difficult to write the words since they twisted in my mind each time I tried to understand them. Equally as difficult was trying to convert the hand gestures into muscle memory. I spent a long time just trying to contort my fingers into the appropriate positions. I was starting to feel like a gang member throwing up hand signs. ¡°I wonder if magic is like sign language,¡± I murmured. I was curious how the somatic and verbal components of a spell interacted. If I broke down the words and gestures from numerous magic spells in a systematic fashion, would I be able to create or alter spells? Absently, I popped a mushroom into my mouth as I started studying the different spells, making notes about their similarities and differences. Quickly, I lost myself, fascinated by my new obsession. Chapter 64 - Twilight Dragon For the next week, I spent the majority of my time in my room studying the spells in the spellbooks. A few scrolls were even brought to me while I studied during those days. I also conducted an experiment that turned out to make my Shape Magic feature even more overpowered. Since I wanted a spell involving spirits, I decided to learn the Spirit of Healing spell. After that, I copied down how to cast the spell into my spellbook. Then the next day I was able to relearn the spell by studying it. The only time I left the room was to go to the bathroom or to hunt giant bats and to bathe. There was no way I was going to embarrass myself again. While I could have stayed in my room and used a chamberpot, I just couldn¡¯t bring myself to use one, especially since it might smell up the room. As for the giant bats, Alsvartr would scout for likely targets and lead me there. Then I would unload my spell points on them. Then, once I was satisfied with the experience I gained, I would head back to my room to start studying spells again. I was able to learn dozens of first level spells and over a dozen second level spells. While I wanted to go ahead and learn some of the third level spells, I discovered that I just couldn¡¯t understand them. Sighing, I realized that I would need to use my stored experience to level up before I could figure out the third level spells. One disappointing thing I discovered was that there weren¡¯t any cleric spells in the spellbooks. While that should have been obvious, I was disappointed, nevertheless. I would have to count on cleric scrolls if I wanted to add a cleric spell to my spellbook. Still, I wasn¡¯t sorry for choosing to be a Twilight Theurge since that allowed me to cast both wizard and cleric spells. Even though there were still some first and second level spells that I hadn¡¯t transferred to my spellbook yet, I decided it was time to take a break. I had learned most of the ones I was really interested in. The spells I really wanted to learn were the third level spells. Some of those spells were surprisingly strong, such as the Fireball spell. I decided to bite the bullet and level up. While it might affect my ability to farm giant bats for experience, I was already storing two levels. Anyway, there was a big difference between the bats I had first fought and the giant bats. If worse went to worst, I could always find some other animal to hunt. ¡°System, I want to advance to the next level of wizard,¡± I said once I prepared a spot on the bed. I was worried that I might pass out again when the inspirational visions hit me. As always, I was correct. I didn¡¯t even notice when I fell back and started to dream, much like my first colonoscopy. In the dimly lit chamber of the ancient wizard''s tower, arcane symbols glowed faintly upon the stone walls as a cloaked figure bent over an ancient tome bound in blackened leather. The air crackled with an unsettling energy as the wizard delved into forbidden knowledge, seeking to master spells that danced on the edge of darkness itself. With each incantation whispered into the cold silence of the night, tendrils of shadowy essence coiled around the wizard''s outstretched hands. These were no ordinary spells; they were steeped in the mysteries of death and shadow, drawing power from realms beyond mortal comprehension. The wizard''s eyes, usually bright with curiosity, now gleamed with a mixture of awe and caution as the potent magic responded to their command. Through tireless study and a mind unyielding to fear, the wizard began to understand the intricate balance required to wield such formidable forces. Shadows deepened, stretching unnaturally across the room, and whispers of the departed echoed faintly in the air. Each mastered spell brought the wizard closer to a profound understanding of life''s fragility and the secrets whispered only by the darkness itself. Yet, with this newfound power came a solemn responsibility, for the line between mastery and being consumed by the very shadows they commanded was perilously thin. Those memories turned into other memories, one after another. At some point, the darkness parted, and I found myself once again in my room, laying down on my bed. Shivering, I tried to push the dreamlike memories to the back of my mind. For some reason, they disturbed me for some reason. Although they really hadn¡¯t seemed that bad, I was still unnerved. Maybe it was because I wasn¡¯t in charge of my own mind during the dreams. Shaking my head, I tried to distract myself as my mind cleared, ¡°System, please show me my information sheet.¡± ¡°Nice,¡± I said, pleased with what I saw. I even had enough experience points to level up one more time. Still, I held off and inspected the changes. There were so many of them. Even some unexpected changes were present, such as my strength increasing. I guessed that this was because I was now considered an adolescent, which might explain why I had grown stronger. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it After comparing myself to the humans I had encountered, I was able to estimate how big I had been when I was born. Like most unhatched kobold wyrmlings, I started life in a small egg with a soft flexible exterior. As I grew inside the egg and absorbed the nutrients in the egg, the egg gradually expanded in size to meet my growth. Once almost all of the nutrients were absorbed, the exterior of the egg would begin to harden. When I was born, I would guess that I weighed about four or five pounds and was about a foot tall. I was now about a foot and a half and weighed somewhere around eight to ten pounds, which meant that I was growing extremely quickly. If I cast the Enlarge spell on myself, I could shoot all the way up to three feet in height, although only for a minute. Then again, maybe I could use sorcery to maintain the spell for longer. Still, it wasn¡¯t quite quick enough for me. ¡°Well, at least I am maturing faster than other kobolds. However, despite being an adolescent, I was still considered tiny though, not that it mattered,¡± I growled, annoyed that I wasn¡¯t even big enough to be considered small. My annoyance was short lived after I looked at my health points and spell points. I actually gave a little shimmy of excitement when I noticed that I automatically learned three third level spells. I knew that most domains had spells that clerics automatically learned, so that might be one reason. Another reason might be because I had used Shape Magic to learn the Zone of Death spell almost every day for the last week. After I finished looking at my spell list, I was feeling like a god. While I knew I was still incredibly weak when compared to high level spellcasters. However, being able to cast third level spells was the indication of having reached mastery in magic. Of course, I still hadn¡¯t learned the Fireball spell, which almost every ¡°real¡± wizard learned. Despite this, I was considered a real magus. Arcane spellcasters, or at least wizards, generally started off as an aspirant, who was completely untrained in casting spells. Once they learned their first cantrip, they were considered a novice. When they learned multiple cantrips and were beginning to learn first level spells, they were called apprentices. After mastering at least one first level spell, they became initiates. A journeyman was a spellcaster who could cast second level spells. Now I was a magus, although I would be ridiculed if others knew I hadn¡¯t memorized the Fireball spell. Because of this, I decided to add that to my spellbook as soon as I could. However, for now I wanted to test out my new powers. I could also find out if my increased level affected how much experience I would get from the giant bats. I was actually starting to feel sorry for the bats. Also, I was a little worried they might move further away from the tribe. The first thing I wanted to try was seeing what I could accomplish with the Alter Self spell, although not before taking off my boots and magic robe. After that, the first thing I transformed into was a human baby. I was even able to fly around like a baby cherubim or a baby Cupid once I changed the wings¡¯ color to white and added longer feathers. I could also retract my wings altogether. I was a little annoyed that I couldn¡¯t maintain the Alter Self spell and the Enlarge spell at the same time though. I hoped that I would be able to change that with my next feat. After that, I decided to change into a dragon, although with feathered wings. In fact, I based it off one of the first visions I had when I gained inspiration. While I had been tempted to create normal dragon wings, I had grown attached to my feathers and wanted to see what I would look like as a real twilight dragon instead of a kobold with a twilight dragon bloodline. I actually didn¡¯t have to change too much. It could even be argued that I had transformed into a real dragon, but even the smallest newly hatched dragon wyrmlings were much bigger than myself. It was at this point that I was startled by a ding, followed immediately by a notification. YOU HAVE ASSUMED THE BLOODLINE FORM OF A TWILIGHT DRAGON. Do you wish to lock in this appearance as your base form and assume the racial traits of this extremely rare species of dragon? I blinked. Then I blinked again. ¡°Yes,¡± I finally said. I couldn¡¯t believe I was about to achieve one of my goals so easily. Someone, somewhere, had to be looking out for me. Maybe that was also why I had a system. However, who had given me the system and why were they helping me? Immediately after confirming my new base form, another notification popped up, which started me even more. I didn¡¯t even need the blood essence that Einvaldskonungr had offered as a reward. Although I had to admit, I was curious what would happen if I used the red dragon¡¯s blood essence. Would I gain fire breath? What exactly would happen? Either way, that was something to consider in the future. Not letting myself get distracted, I looked at the new notification. ACHIEVEMENT - DRACONIC EVOLUTION UNLOCKED: You are now considered a Variant Wyrmling due to your diminutive size. Gaining additional class levels will advance your draconic evolution. However, additional experience is needed for each class level increase. I immediately looked at my information sheet to see what changes had been made. There were only a couple of differences. The first change was that my race had changed from High Kobold to Feathered Dragon. Also, I was apparently considered a dragon now, despite my small size. I didn¡¯t take the time to look at any other changes because I was eager to use my saved experience points. I had already banked enough experience to level up again. While I hated the idea of having to spend more experience points to level up in the future, I was really glad that I had banked enough experience to level up again without having to pay the additional cost. Gritting my teeth, I decided to go ahead and level up. I wasn¡¯t even worried about hunting the giant bats any longer. What really excited me was the prospect of what I would gain by evolving to the next evolutionary stage. Would I get bigger? Would I get any new powers? ¡°System, please use my experience points to advance to the next level of wizard.¡± I passed out as I realized that I had forgotten to fly up to the top of the bed. Chapter 65 - A True Dragon In his tower of magic, an aging adept studied forbidden spells. The spellcaster was renowned for his mastery of dark magic. However, he searched for more powerful magics to sustain his life. This led him to study ancient tomes of forbidden magic. The adept summoned shades of death and made deals with shadowy spirits. He mastered many dark spells. However, he failed to find the secret of immortality. In fact, the dark powers he studied threatened to consume him instead. The adept was determined though. He was determined to achieve immortality. Other memories soon followed, but even they faded into darkness until finally I regained consciousness. I reminded myself that I really needed to think before I acted. However, for now I had better things to do, such as looking at the new notification that had popped up. ACHIEVEMENT - DRACONIC EVOLUTION ADVANCED: Although you are extremely small for a Twilight Dragon wyrmling, you have become a True Dragon. ACHIEVEMENT - DRACONIC SORCERY UNLOCKED: You have gained access to draconic sorcery and draconic abilities. Draconic racial memories will begin to unlock. I couldn¡¯t wait to look at my information sheet. After opening it, I quickly looked for any changes. One of the first things that I noticed was that I was no longer considered tiny. I was now a small creature. However, even without looking at my information sheet, I could have told that. If I tried to stand up, I was sure that I would be at least three feet tall. Curious about what would happen, I tried to change into my kobold form. Nothing happened though. Since I had successfully changed before by using the Alter Self spell, I tried that spell again. Almost immediately, I was able to shapechange back into a kobold. However, this time, my kobold body was as big as a kobold adult. Unlike before, I no longer needed to concentrate on keeping the kobold form. Apparently, I did need to use the Alter Self spell to change between the two forms though. Unlike before, however, I didn¡¯t need to concentrate. I just needed to use the Alter Self spell to make the change. I was tempted to change back into a dragon since I knew the kobolds revered dragons. I would definitely get more respect if I appeared as a dragon, even if I was the smallest dragon in the entire world. That was because even white dragons, which were the smallest species of true dragons, were much larger than me. In fact, when a white dragon wyrmling was born, they were twice as large as I presently was. Maybe I was feeling playful or just wanted to give Dr¨®ttinn a heart attack, but I had a vague idea of transforming in front of him just to see his reaction. Smiling at that thought, I looked at the other changes. While I had expected to gain an additional six health points, I actually gained a lot more than that. After studying the information sheet, I realized that I had a new addition to my classes. Now, dragon had been added as a class However, instead of a level, it was based on my evolution. Wondering if it would provide any additional information, I clicked on the Dragon next to my class. I smiled, very happy that the system was providing me with more information. I was also ecstatic when I noticed that if I leveled up to level twenty, I would become a dragon god. Although it might only be a title, and not an actual god, it was still amazing. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. My information sheet was starting to look ludicrous. The current number of spell points I possessed, the abilities, the gifts, the class features, all of it was simply unbelievable. Even my physical attributes had changed. My strength and constitution had exploded. My strength had doubled from seven to fourteen points. My constitution was just as high as my strength, which after thinking about it for a moment, probably explained the extra health points. Although I was extremely small, I packed a lot of power for my size. While any normal dragon wyrmling could probably wipe the floor with me, at least physically, I was definitely much more powerful in the magic department. Even though I should have been pleased by how powerful I was, something about being a physically weak dragon bothered me. I knew it shouldn¡¯t though. Afterall, I was much stronger than almost any other race. That wasn¡¯t even taking into account the fact that my armor class had increased by one. I had even gained immunity to necrotic damage. Although that didn¡¯t seem nearly as useful as fire immunity, I was still happy to have it. Pushing those negative thoughts aside, I tried to see if there were any other changes. ¡°Oh, nice. I must have gained a class feature when I reached the sixth level of wizard.¡± I clicked on it to see if there was any additional information. Twilight¡¯s Descent: Starting at 6th level, whenever you must make a saving throw, you gain a bonus to the saving throw equal to your highest mental attribute¡¯s modifier. In addition, enemies within a number of feet equal to your level must subtract your highest mental attribute¡¯s modifier from their attacks against you. ¡°Wow. Talk about an overpowered protagonist. If this were a novel, I would be wondering about the author living vicariously through the character he created.¡± Still, I wasn¡¯t about to complain about receiving yet another extremely powerful feature. Even better was the fact that it was a passive ability. I didn¡¯t even have to worry about using it. One thing I did have to worry about using, was what to do with my clothes. While they would still fit me in my kobold form, I wasn¡¯t sure how they would work with my dragon form. Would I have boots on my back legs? What would the robe look like on a dragon? Could I make it look like a belt or fingerless gloves? I would be mortified if I had to run around fully dressed in normal clothes while in dragon form. Despite everything that had changed, the most important change for me was a spell that I had learned when I leveled up. The spell was a first level spell named Dragonberry. With just a drop of blood, I could create up to ten dragonberries, they would appear in my hand and were infused with magic for twenty-four hours. Any creature could use an action to eat one of the dragonberries. Each dragonberry would restore one health point and would provide enough nourishment to sustain the creature for a day. I almost cried as I realized that I would never ever have to eat the dried ¡°beef¡± again. Between this spell and the Bottle of Water, I would never have to worry about food or drinks again. I didn¡¯t even really care about the healing properties of the dragonberries. Just the fact that I wouldn¡¯t have to carry around a lot of food made me feel like I had won the lottery. Wiping away a little moisture from my eyes, I hastily bit my finger and cast the spell. Seeing the dragonberries appear in my hand broke something inside me. I couldn¡¯t help myself as emotions washed over me. I was afraid to eat one of the dragonberries though. While it would be hard to taste worse than some of the things I had eaten, I was afraid they might actually taste terrible. However, even then, it would be worth it. I popped one of the berries into my mouth and swooned. Although it wasn¡¯t delicious, it did taste okay, which was a vast improvement. Not only was I not eating worms, bugs, and spiders, I didn¡¯t have to stuff myself all day long every day with that trash. Now, all I had to do was eat a few dragonberries instead. I couldn¡¯t help myself, but slowly had to start waltzing around the room with the remaining berries held gently in my hand. Speaking of dragonberries, I stopped when I realized that since I was as large as an adult kobold, I might have grown some dragonberries of my own. Chapter 66 - Listening to Nobles Hastily, I checked to find out if I was a boy or a girl. Unfortunately, since my race was now a dragon wyrmling, I was back to square one. I would have to wait for another draconic evolution or two before I could prove I was a male dragon. Just like it was hard to determine if an alligator was male or female, I was facing the same problem. Kobold and dragons had indoor plumbing until they developed. Of course, even if a kobold had been born a certain gender, kobolds could actually change gender based on population and environmental factors. Several species of fish or turtles would transform into females before hatching if the temperature was raised higher than normal. This was true for some other animals as well, such as the bearded dragon. In fact, some animals changed as part of their nature. For example, ribbon eels were born male but transformed into females as they grew older. Other animals were both male and female. Some animals changed for other reasons. Frogs, copperhead snakes, butterflies, and banana slugs also exhibited gender-changing abilities. This adaptation enhanced reproductive strategies, and allowed them to adjust to environmental conditions and scarcity of mates. There were even animals that didn¡¯t need another gender. Asian water dragons were a type of lizard that could reproduce without males. Sharks, some wasps, and crustaceans were a few other animals that could sometimes reproduce that way. In fact, it even had a name, parthenogenesis. Kobolds and dragons were the same in many ways. If no male was around, the female was still sometimes able to lay eggs. The system had said that I was extremely small for an extremely rare species of dragon. That meant that I would have to search far and wide to find another feathered dragon. As for twilight dragons, they would be even harder to locate. Of course, I had sort of expected this since feathered dragons weren¡¯t depicted much in fantasy literature. I frowned as a draconic racial memory bubbled up from the depths of my mind. After a moment, I realized why the draconic racial memories were emerging. It was because feathered dragons didn¡¯t have one gender but possessed racial traits of both genders. They could change their gender according to the other feather dragon¡¯s gender, or even lay eggs all by themselves. That was one reason why feathered dragons were still able to reproduce even though they were so rare. It took a moment for me to realize that the racial traits that feathered dragons¡¯ possessed were also traits that I now possessed. With this realization, I couldn¡¯t help myself and expressed my displeasure. THE FOLLOWING FEW MINUTES OF VEHEMENT LAMENTATIONS AND FURIOUS EPITHETS WERE REDACTED DUE TO GRAPHIC AND INAPPROPRIATE CONTENT. THE SYSTEM APOLOGIZES FOR THE INTERRUPTION. By the time I organized my thoughts and calmed down, I came to the realization that, ¡°I think, therefore I am.¡± I was a young male dragon who could change shape. Not only that, but I was also amazing enough that I could even change species, genders, and could even use spells to turn into inanimate objects. Afterall, wasn¡¯t that what the Polymorph spell was able to do? Whistling, I strutted out the door, having realized that since I could change myself into anything, I could also change anything about myself. For example, I would be able to ¡°grow¡± into a big boy in the future. Forsj¨¢, the oldest maid, was waiting outside. She glanced at me, clearly puzzled. Then she asked, ¡°Gothi?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s me,¡± I said, not bothering to explain my new appearance. In fact, I wasn¡¯t even sure how I would explain it to her even if I wanted to do so. ¡°I¡¯m going to go check out the entrance tunnel. Please don¡¯t bring any more food to my room. I should be fine without it,¡± I told her. ¡°Uh, okay,¡± she said, once again confused. I could easily guess what she was thinking. The amount of food that had disappeared into my stomach was enough to have fed dozens of other kobold wyrmlings. Not only had I grown up overnight, but I also had suddenly stopped wanting food. I was tempted to change into a dragon in front of her just to see if that would tip her over the edge. However, being a benevolent future despot, I pitied her and chose not to do so. Waving goodbye, I walked toward the side entrance tunnel. While I could have flown, now that I had grown bigger, the tunnels seemed much narrower. Either way, it didn¡¯t matter since it would take me about the same amount of time. Once I reached the tunnels, I looked to see how much progress the invaders had made while I was studying the spellbooks. Of course, the other kobolds were studying me. They were obviously as confused as the old maid. I ignored them though. After seeing the progress the invaders had made in the last week, it appeared that I could also ignore the presence of the soldiers for another week. They actually hadn¡¯t made much progress, which I had already expected. Wanting to find out more information, I decided to use the Invisibility spell once again to see if I could find out anything else. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. After flying around the enemy encampment, I noticed one change. There was now an extra tent where the young noble children had been talking earlier. Apparently, the sun must have been too harsh for them to gossip under the last time. I wasn¡¯t even surprised when I discovered all three boys sitting in chairs under the tent. Actually, it wasn¡¯t even a real tent since it didn¡¯t have any sides. It was more of a canopy instead. Getting closer, I listened to what they were saying. Each minute I sat there listening to them, I could feel my IQ dropping. Was my mind that vacuous when I was their age? It seemed like all they wanted to do was to have someone listen to them talk. The problem was that they didn¡¯t have anything important to say. When they did make statements about things, they were wrong half the time. For example, the best way to eat an egg was not to eat it raw. People could contract salmonellosis if that way. While it wasn¡¯t guaranteed, there was still a chance. Even if that wasn¡¯t true, that was like arguing that the best color was blue, when in fact it was black. Just because he thought the sky and ocean were a beautiful blue didn¡¯t make it the best color, even if it did match his shirt. I was tempted to drop the Invisibility spell and thump some sense into the boys. Realizing I wasn¡¯t likely to get any useful information out of the boys, I started reading one of the guard¡¯s minds. ¡°I don¡¯t know if I can survive one more day listening to these simple-minded fops,¡± the guard I had chosen thought. I almost started cheering. Not only did he share my opinion, but he even called them fops. I would have expected him to use dandy or effeminate to describe the boys since they spent an inordinate amount of time discussing different styles of clothing. Yes, I might have worn the Michael Jackson parachute pants, but I at least didn¡¯t discuss it with everyone else around me. Hoping that he would further castigate the popinjays. I wasn¡¯t disappointed. ¡°If they spent a tenth of the amount of time waving a sword around as they do flapping their mouths, they could be formidable warriors. Instead, I have to spend my time bodyguarding these morons. By the gods, I can¡¯t wait until the baron returns. Lord Gamall has no idea what he is doing. ¡°I guess I shouldn¡¯t be surprised since he was the baronet¡¯s yes man and did whatever he was told. If he had any sense at all, he would have talked the baronet out of this expedition. I can¡¯t believe I¡¯ll have to listen to his orders for at least another month, maybe more. ¡°At this point, I guess it doesn¡¯t really matter though. He can try explaining why he was invading a kobold village when the baron asks why his treasury room was looted. I bet it was that fat merchant Knarrar. He was the one that talked the baronet into attacking the kobolds. Now he¡¯s disappeared. Yep, nothing suspicious there. ¡°Lord Gamall is probably only staying here because he hopes to salvage something out of this bungled attack. If he can obtain that mineral or avenge Baronet Daufi¡¯s death, he might be able to survive. He has to do something to redirect Baron R¨¦ttr¡¯s wrath. While the baron might have been disappointed with his younger brother, they were related by blood. If others found out he didn¡¯t do something about his brother¡¯s death, he would become a laughingstock. ¡°Oh gods, are we back to talking about your leather boots again? Yes, they are expensive. Yes, they do look good. However, they are too thin. They offer almost no protection. Of course, you don¡¯t care about that. You didn¡¯t even bother to tell the others about the blisters they give you. Yeah, guards talk, especially about idiots. ¡°Maybe it wouldn¡¯t be a bad idea to nudge these imbeciles into showing off their bravery by charging down the tunnel to avenge the death of the baronet. I know that Hermathr was joking when he made the suggestion, but the consequences couldn¡¯t be much worse than having to listen to these boys every day for the next month or two. I might even ¡°accidently¡± help the kobolds. Afterall, anything can happen during the chaos of a battlefield.¡± ¡°Dang,¡± I thought. These guys seemed to hate the noble boys more than I did. I guess that was one more reason why kobolds were better than humans. Kobolds would never betray another member of their tribe. Considering the fact that the invaders had been trying to invade the kobold city for less than ten days, I wondered how the guards would feel about the boys after dealing with them for another month. Then again, they might have been dealing with them for years. While I know the guard was half-joking, the fact that the guards were fantasizing about murdering the noble kids was enough to tell me the general attitude most people probably had about the nobles. I continued to sit there invisibly listening to the guard¡¯s thoughts for several more minutes before growing bored. While I had dreamed about being able to read other people¡¯s thoughts and had even worried about other people reading my thoughts, actually being able to do so didn¡¯t turn out to be as wonderful as I had expected. Then again, I had mostly wanted to use the ability to read the thoughts of women to figure out why they avoided me like brain cells avoided gnomes. Okay, maybe that was an exaggeration. It wasn¡¯t that they avoided me. Instead, it was the fact that I was too scared to ask them out. I had no clue what I was doing. Somehow though, I still managed to get engaged three times and married twice. So, I guess I did a good enough job after all. Then again, I really couldn¡¯t use that as an indication of success. However, it did show that I wasn¡¯t hopeless. Speaking of spouses, now that I was in a new world, was I going to have kids of my own? Would they be born as kobolds or dragons? Would it depend on whether I got together with a kobold or a dragon? Speaking of kobolds, while I might be one, I really didn¡¯t like their way of parenting. Parents would spend a night together and the mother would lay an egg. Three months later an egg would hatch. Then the wyrmling would be raised communally by the tribe. As for how dragons raised their young, I had heard different stories. Some dragons were protective and raised the kids together. Other dragons abandoned their kids to promote survival of the fittest. That sort of limited my choices if I wanted to raise my kids the way I thought they should be raised. Then again, did I even want to have kids? I¡¯d already raised several kids in my last life. Growing bored with the noble boys and their guards, I flew away while I thought about if I wanted to have kids or not. Chapter 67 - Surprising Dróttinn By the time I reached the tunnels, I still hadn¡¯t made a decision. The only thing I could decide upon was the fact that whatever decision I made, I would probably change my mind. Maybe I really was chaotic. Still, I had to disagree with the evil alignment though. Then again, one person¡¯s hero was another person¡¯s villain. Since I still didn¡¯t need to worry about the invading soldiers, I sent a mental message to Alsvartr to meet me at Chuck Norris Bridge. I was a little worried about my feelings toward my familiar. I worried because I wasn¡¯t really emotionally attached to her. It was sort of like she was one of my family members. Although I cared about her, I didn¡¯t feel any need to be around her. As long as I knew she was alive and doing well, I was happy. That was enough for me. Apparently, she felt the same. Not once in the last week had she been the one to contact me first. In fact, I was starting to feel like a third wheel. Alsvartr and Hyggiandi were getting along wonderfully. Even though the necklace had despised every kobold that wore her, for some reason, she didn¡¯t seem to have a problem with my familiar. Every time I talked toAlsvartr, she seemed smarter. Well, maybe not smarter, but at least more knowledgeable. Hyggiandi was doing a great job as a teacher. That might even explain why the two of them were getting along so well. Unfortunately, Hyggiandi was teaching Alsvartr some bad habits. For one thing, despite Hyggiandi knowing a lot about kobolds, there was just some information that couldn¡¯t be found in books. Because of this, she would sometimes have Alsvartr peek at what was happening in the bathing pools. I almost choked on my food the first time she had Alsvartr ask me to explain in detail what was happening at the ¡°breeding grounds.¡± Almost every time we met, there would be a new inappropriate question. Predictably, as soon as I met Alsvartr at Chuck Norris Bridge, my familiar obviously paused to listen to something Hyggiandi was saying. Sighing, I rolled my eyes and prepared myself. A moment later, Alsvartr said, ¡°Hyggiandi says congratulations on getting bigger. She wants to know if you are an innie or an outie. What does that mean?¡± I had to close my eyes, once again realizing just how much Dr¨®ttinn must hate me for having given me the phylactery. At least I was smart enough to give the necklace to Alsvartr. Despite this, Hyggiandi was still able to torment me. I was about to say something when Alsvartr said something else. ¡°She also wants you to prove it if you are an outie,¡± Alsvartr said. For the next thirty minutes, we flew to the next giant bat colony while Alsvartr peppered me with questions that Hyggiandi was curious about. I, in turn, ignore her completely. Finally, I couldn¡¯t take it any longer. ¡°Don¡¯t ask me anything else that Hyggiandi wants to know about. It is none of her business how big it is or what it is shaped like. If she asks one more question, we¡¯re going to stop at one of the lava pools and make a deposit.¡± ¡°Hyggiandi wants to know why you are so hot and bothered,¡± Alsvartr said. ¡°She also wants to know how long it usually takes to make a deposit. Also, do you make large deposits or small deposits?¡± By the time we reached the giant bat colony, I needed an outlet for my frustration. The bat massacre that followed relieved some of my killing intent, but I couldn¡¯t bring myself to stick around and wait for the foraging party. I activated the Beacon Ring and placed it into a bag around Alsvartr¡¯s neck before flying away. I was finding it more and more difficult to be around my familiar every day. I was afraid that, pretty soon, I would stop seeing her completely. By the time I reached my room, I had settled down. However, I was rethinking teaming up with Alsvartr for the next few days. Instead of counting on her to find new giant bat colonies, I could always revisit previous colonies I had visited. The only thing that was good about my time with Alsvartr during this excursion was the fact that I could still gain a lot of experience from the giant bats. Of course, I wasn¡¯t likely to be able to team up with Alsvartr again in the foreseeable future anyway. Before fleeing from her questions, I asked her to check out any cave systems that Hyggiandi might know about. I wanted to have a backup cave complex that could be used as the basis of a new city. It could be considered an escape plan for my tribe, or if that wasn¡¯t needed, a new city that I could rule. Afterall, I was a dragon myself now and needed my own city filled with kobold worshipers. I half-expected Dr¨®ttinn to be waiting for me when I returned to my room. If he hadn¡¯t already been told, I was sure that he would soon find out that I had ¡°grown up.¡± Because of this, I was fairly certain that he would show up soon after. Since I was still a little irritated, I scattered all the gold and silver coins on my bed. Then I switched into my dragon form and curled up on top of them. For some reason, it settled my emotions. After that, I pulled the Aegis Libram spellbook out of my spatial storage space and started attuning the book. I hadn¡¯t done so before because the spells inside were above my ability to cast. However, now that I was a magus, I could start learning the spells inside the spellbook. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. Luckily, I was able to attune the Aegis Libram before Dr¨®ttinn arrived. While I hadn¡¯t been able to read all the spells that were previously in the spellbook, now I could at least read some of them. To say I was amazed was an understatement. The spellbook was much more powerful than I had realized. I had to wonder how a spellcasting mercenary was able to obtain the book. Luckily, the spellcaster didn¡¯t know what he had in his hands, or he would not have risked losing it. In fact, a small part of me wondered if the person who gave me the system intentionally slipped the spellbook into the loot. As for some of the pages that had been blurry before, I now realized that they were also ritual spells. However, unlike most ritual spells, as long as I was holding the Aegis Libram in my hand, I would be able to cast them. Of course, there were a lot of restrictions, but it was still amazing. The main restriction was that once I used a particular spell, although the spell would become permanent, it would also disappear from the spellbook. Most of these spells in the spellbook were used almost exclusively defensive spells. They included spells like Private Sanctum, Guards and Wards, Stone Guardians, Antipathy/Sympathy, and Dungeon Core. With the Aegis Libram, I could use these spells to build my own city. The Dungeon Core spell was the most interesting spell. It was actually the highest-level spell in the spellbook. From what I could see, I would be able to create an underground cave system. It would also create a control room where I could see everything happening in the ¡°dungeon¡± and cast spells through the dungeon core. Now I was feeling conflicted. I had just sent my familiar on a long journey to find a cave system for a new kobold city. After thinking about it for a minute, I decided that it was still a good idea. Afterall, having a backup option was rarely a bad idea. While I was basking in the glory of my discovery, Dr¨®ttinn knocked on the door before entering. He didn¡¯t even give me the chance to answer before striding in. This made his reaction to my draconic form even more satisfying. Dr¨®ttinn just stood there for a full minute before finally speaking. ¡°Uh, Gothi N¨®ttormr?¡± Clearly, the chieftain¡¯s small mind was still struggling to take in my magnificence. ¡°Yes? Oh, this form,¡± I said, as if I had forgotten my current appearance. ¡®Yes, I grew tired of the tiny body that I was trapped in, so I used some of my divine power to uncover a fraction of my true abilities.¡± Of course, I had no divine power. However, I wasn¡¯t going to tell him that. In fact, I even tried to make it sound as haughty as I could while still retaining my dignity. He needed to pay the price for giving me the Phylactery of Hyggiandi. I was forced to use my familiar as a sacrificial scapegoat to escape that evil necklace. Seeing that the chieftain was once again struck speechless, I smiled, and asked, ¡°I know that you are very busy. Did you need me for something?¡± Dr¨®ttinn shook his head, then blinked and said, ¡°I heard you had a growth spurt. Since I needed to speak to you anyway, I thought I should come by and see you.¡± ¡°So what did you need to speak to me about?¡± I really was curious and wasn¡¯t asking to be polite. I had no idea what he wanted. He might be coming back to say thank you for all the food I had brought in or he might be upset that I kept on doing whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. I could even see him telling me that since I was all grown up now, it was time for me to move out and leave the nest. ¡°For years, we have been preparing contingency plans in case the humans ever decided to attack our city. While normally we wouldn¡¯t worry too much about this since the humans fear Einvaldskonungr, the situation has changed recently. The humans must have discovered that Einvaldskonungr has entered liggja, the long slumber. Greed has clouded their minds. ¡°Obviously, they haven¡¯t considered the consequences of what would happen if they destroyed our city. Einvaldskonungr would take it as a direct insult to his dignity. As soon as he awakens, he would raze the nearest towns in retaliation. He might even go so far as to destroy one of their cities.¡± I nodded as I listened, completely agreeing with the chieftain. While the red dragon might care nothing about the lives of the kobolds, every red dragon had a volatile temper who took even the slightest of affronts as an assault on their pride. They were arrogant and easily angered. Then again, I would probably react the same as Einvaldskonungr. If I woke up and discovered that my minions had been killed and all the gold they were going to give me had been stolen, I would go on a rampage. Just the presence of the red dragon was usually a strong enough deterrent to stop the humans from invading the kobold city. Dr¨®ttinn continued, ¡°While it is possible that the humans will come to their senses, we need to start making preparations to insure that our tribe survives. I¡¯ve already sent out several small groups to various locations. They are preparing these places in case we need to retreat. As a Gothi, you will be in charge of the largest group which will leave our present borders and establish a new city.¡± Chapter 68 - Banished from the Kobold City So, he was kicking me out of the nest. Of course, I had expected it to happen sooner or later. Gothi could be separated into two categories. The first category was for dragon wyrmlings. When they grow old enough, the young dragons will be given a group of kobold minions. These minions would then follow the gothi when they were sent away to conquer their own territories. Needless to say, those kobolds were often young kobolds who were eager for challenges or who the chieftain wanted to get rid of, for whatever reason. The second category was when kobold tribes became too large. When this happened, those kobolds who were the most discontented would be sent off to a different location where they would start a new city. Unlike in the first circumstance, these kobolds would still owe their loyalty to the same dragon. Since I was technically a dragon, Dr¨®ttinn was viewing me almost the same as he would a young dragon. The main difference was that since I wasn¡¯t the offspring of Einvaldskonungr, I probably wouldn¡¯t receive the same amount of support. In fact, I would get a minimal amount of assistance. More than likely, I would be given the malcontents and incompetents. Despite the fact that I was soon going to be kicked out of the kobold city, I was actually quite pleased with what was happening. While I felt a connection to the tribe, Dr¨®ttinn had done a good job of keeping me separated from the rest of the tribe. Still, I had to admit that I felt a lot of affection for the tribe that had given birth to me. However, I also really wanted rule over a city filled with minions. Therefore, I wasn¡¯t offended by what the chieftain was saying at all. ¡®I understand,¡± I said. ¡°When will my group be leaving?¡± ¡°It will be in two weeks,¡± Dr¨®ttinn said, apparently pleased by the fact that I wasn¡¯t complaining or arguing. ¡°Right now, I am gathering volunteers since your group will be creating a new city. We have several locations already selected for you to choose from. Here, let me show you their locations.¡± With that, the chieftain pulled out a map and started pointing out different sites I could choose from. I was very happy when he also started providing information about the disadvantages and advantages for each location. For the next hour, Dr¨®ttinn answered my questions and made suggestions of his own. By the end of the conversation, I found myself amazed at how quickly I was being kicked out of the city. After Dr¨®ttinn left my room, I sat down and tried to settle my mind by studying the third level spells in the spellbooks. While I could be wrong, I doubted that I would be allowed to take the three spell books with me. Because of this, I needed to transcribe the spells at the very least. Before I got started, I sent a mental command for Alsvartr to scout two of the caves that the chieftain had told me about. With Hyggiandi¡¯s input, I could choose the best site for my new city. Every once in a while, while I was transcribing the spells into my spellbook, I would glance at the Aegis Libram. More and more I was certain that the being who gave me the system was also responsible for sending me the spellbook. The timing was just too coincidental to ignore. Obviously, someone, or something, was looking out for me. However, I had no idea who or what that being was. Still, I wasn¡¯t going to complain since it was helping me. I guess I could narrow it down at least a little though. It had to be a god. While I couldn¡¯t be certain the god who gave me the system and the Aegis Libram was the same god that had reincarnated me into this world, I would bet all my gold on it. While it was possible that one of the gods whose favor I had gained could have given me the Aegis Libram, I just didn¡¯t feel like that was the case. From everything I knew, when people reincarnated as a baby, they generally lost their memories. I hadn¡¯t. While my memories were often foggy, I could remember many of them, even if it felt like they were the memories of someone else. Maybe that was why they faded almost as quickly as I remembered them. Although I suppose the god could have made a mistake, I doubted it. It almost felt like the god who had reincarnated me had a plan. Sighing, I continued to transcribe the spells. I wasn¡¯t trying to do anything other than copy them because I knew I had a lot to do. After I got settled into the new city, I could take some time to learn the spells. By just copying the spells instead of trying to learn them, I was able to save a lot of time. Despite only copying the spells, it still took me two days to transcribe all the spells into my spellbook. After that, I started planning out what my city would look like. Most of the time I was simply making plans in my mind while I wandered around the city. I was looking around it to gain inspiration. I made mental notes about things I liked, such as how the kobolds had created chokepoints at strategic locations. While it might interfere with wheeled traffic, it was also worth it for the improvement in safety. I could already tell that I needed to focus on defense. Traps which could be reset easily were obviously a must. It would also be great if I could incorporate natural resources, whether as building components or as defenses. Lava pools could be used for protection as well as a source of heat and energy. Even nearby animal colonies, such as with bats, could be used both for food and for protection. If invaders had to pass through an area guarded by bats, my city would have extra defenders who could be used as a food source. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. While I wanted to concentrate on survival, ensuring an adequate number of resources was also necessary. Obtaining those resources might be difficult though. Afterall, if the locations Dr¨®ttinn had shown me were ideal, another tribe of kobolds or dwarves would have already settled there. Since the sites were unpopulated, there probably weren¡¯t rich deposits of minerals or other desirable traits present. Of course, the minerals could just be undiscovered. However, while I would love to have a vast amount of natural resources, I really only needed enough to allow a city to survive. After becoming familiar with all the different areas in the city, I started sketching designs for possible city layouts. That wasn¡¯t the only thing I was doing though. I periodically checked on the main tunnel entrance. Despite being untrained recruits, the invading soldiers had made some significant progress through the tunnel. During this time, I had also noticed that the number of kobolds I would see as I walked around the city had diminished. The city had become almost a ghost town. At first, I had been worried that the green kobolds were going to ambush one of the kobold caravans as they transported eggs and newly hatched wyrmlings to safer locations. I was relieved when this didn¡¯t prove to be the case. I was really becoming confused about what the Groenneitr tribe was planning. Were they wanting us to move out of the city so they could move in? Were they too busy to take advantage of us while we moved our population to a safer location? From what I could tell, Dr¨®ttinn was planning on continuing to defend the city. At the same time though, he was also evacuating all the noncombatants to some of the nearby mines. After the soldiers left, they could always quietly move back into the city once everything settled down. That was if they still desired to do so. It actually made sense. While it was possible the humans might start a mining village where the kobold city was located, it wasn¡¯t likely. Not only did the humans not have enough manpower, but extracting the remaining minerals and ores was labor intensive. In addition, all of the easily accessible minerals and ores had long since been mined since the kobold city had existed for over a century. As it was, Dr¨®ttinn had already been lamenting the fact that mining had become much more difficult in recent years. Kobold miners had to travel for hours each day. In fact, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if the move wouldn¡¯t benefit the tribe in the long run. The kobolds would be closer to the mines and also still be close enough to serve their dragon god. In fact, I could easily imagine Dr¨®ttinn creating several small kobold villages instead of one big city. Whatever the circumstances, I was sure they would survive. Kobolds were nothing if not survivors. Speaking of survivors, another thing I had done over the last two weeks was meet with some of the kobolds who would be following me into exile. Most of them were lackluster. Obviously, Dr¨®ttinn wasn¡¯t giving me the best of the best. In fact, a few of the kobolds were rambunctious or belligerent. At least almost all of the kobolds were young. Surprisingly, each of the maids who had watched over my room decided to join me. The most important thing was that, with Hyggiandi¡¯s help, I had finally decided on a location for my city. It was actually located on an island with an inactive volcano at the edge of the Penningr Republic. The island was surrounded by steep cliffs and strong currents. Because of this, it wasn¡¯t easily accessed by sea. However, it was accessible through an underground cave system that was formed from old lava tunnels. There were several reasons why it was currently unoccupied. One reason was because the island was located on the border of two kingdoms who were currently at war and had been for decades. The other country was the one the kobold tribe was currently in, Konungd¨®mr Kingdom. In fact, that border was where Baron R¨¦ttr¡¯s veteran soldiers could be found. Needless to say, with two different armies fighting nearby, most races wouldn¡¯t feel safe. Another reason was because of the difficulty in getting to the island. Most races weren¡¯t interested in a small island that was only accessible through an underground tunnel. If the tunnel failed, the inhabitants might be trapped on the island. This meant that only races that preferred underground cities would be interested. The dwarves had withdrawn to their own cities for the most part. The drow and other underground races were even more secretive and preferred to be far away from human expansionism. That mostly left goblins and orcs. While Hyggiandi did indicate that a few goblins and orcs could be found in the vicinity, there weren''t a lot of them. The main reason was because both of those races sustained their population mostly through raiding. They preyed on weak villages that were lightly defended to survive. Every few years, the kingdoms would send soldiers across the border to test the other side. This had been going on for almost a hundred years. While there wasn¡¯t constant warfare, or even large-scale battles, both kingdoms had stationed a lot of soldiers to guard against the periodic invasions. Because of these frequent skirmishes, the orcs and goblins that used to live in the area had long since left. While it wasn¡¯t ideal, it was probably the best I was going to be able to find, especially since there was a time crunch. Tomorrow was the day when my minions and I would set out for the island. I was a little worried since we would have to travel overland a lot of the trip. While there were some underground passages, the passages didn¡¯t extend all the way. Although I hoped nothing would happen, I knew there was no way we were going to be that lucky. Chapter 69 - The Dungeon Core Spell When night fell the next day, my group escaped through an escape tunnel. Unfortunately, we didn¡¯t have a wagon to carry supplies and only a few of the scouts even had mounts. Luckily, Dr¨®ttinn had been kind enough to send three pregnant dire weasels. Of course, this made them much less useful as mounts. Nevertheless, they would be very important once we established a city. We also had a spider rider, which was a subclass of rangers. What baffled me was the fact that the rider was female. Personally, there was no way I was ever going to ride a spider. Still, who was I to judge? In addition to those four rangers, we had a worm wrangler, a swarm mother, a wereweasel, a wererat, and a werebat. That was an eye opener for me. I really didn¡¯t expect any were-creatures. Then again, Dr¨®ttinn did send me many of the kobolds that didn¡¯t fit into the tribe. I guess I shouldn''t have been surprised that I was sent a few rare kobolds who might have some type of stigma associated with them. I also had twenty fighters and rogues, although I had difficulty telling which was which. All of them were dexterity based, with many of them being female. I even had five shamans, which was unexpected. I hadn¡¯t expected so many. Then again, not a single cleric had joined us. There also wasn¡¯t a sorcerer. Besides that, we had sixty-five kobolds with professional classes. While twenty of them were professional miners, the other forty were divided into groups of five. These groups included mushroom farmers, broodmothers, leather workers, blacksmiths, alchemists, builders, foragers, crafters, and domestics. The domestics were my maids, who were also specialized in taking care of kobold wyrmlings. That was one reason they had been sent to watch over me. Needless to say, most of the kobolds were low leveled. Fortunately, every single one of us had the dash and hide abilities. While I would have preferred to cast the Invisibility spell, the shamans and I would have run out of spell points too quickly if we tried to cast the spell on everyone. That left us sneaking through the forest in the middle of the night. We descended from the hills and passed through the dense underbrush of the forest. We moved cautiously, our eyes keenly scanning our surroundings for any signs of danger. I was actually impressed. For some reason, I had expected that I would have to wrangle the kobolds like a cowboy would wrangle cattle. Instead, we traveled in a tight-knit pack, each member acutely aware of the importance of sticking together in the face of potential threats lurking in the shadows. The journey was tense though. It drained our mental reserves quickly due to the stressful situation. Snapping twigs and rustling leaves could signify anything from a harmless woodland creature to a lurking enemy. Whenever danger seemed imminent, I would raise a clawed hand and signal our group to halt. Often, we would huddle together silently as we held our breath until finding out it was something as harmless as a rabbit. Soon, I started to become less stressed, but this didn¡¯t change how much I was paying attention to our surroundings. What I was the more concerned about was when we reached the grasslands. Hopefully, the grass would be high enough that we could hide in them if we encountered anyone. Of course, the closer we got to the border, the more likely we were to encounter large groups of soldiers. To minimize our chances of encountering any dangers, I had us take wide detours around areas that were inhabited. Despite that, we still made good time. It helped that I spent a good portion of my spell points to create dragonberries. This replaced our need for food. The shamans also conjured water springs that the kobolds could use to fill up their water pouches. One of the few things that slowed us down was the fact that every single kobold carried backpacks that were as big as themselves. One of the blacksmiths was rich enough to afford a Bag of Holding. She was able to carry her anvil and tools inside it. However, most of the others had to carry all the tools of their trades. During the journey, I discovered that the other blacksmiths worked under her leadership. Needless to say, we had to leave behind a lot of the items that weren¡¯t quite as important. As for myself, I was carrying more than anyone, although this was only due to my draconic strength. I was carrying a variety of items, although a large portion of them were alchemical supplies and additional mining tools. I even packed my spatial storage area with similar items. Once dawn approached, I set up multiple Alarm spells. I even used Shape Magic to learn the Underground Shelter spell, which created an underground chamber we could hide in during the day. It was sort of like the Rope Trick and the Tiny Hut spells. That actually made the time when we were sleeping to be the safest time during the trip. While I couldn¡¯t guarantee our safety, I was going to do everything I could to minimize the dangers. I even had Alsvartr fly ahead of us to check for unexpected surprises. In fact, if I noticed a group of humans we couldn¡¯t avoid, I would cast the Underground Shelter spell early and hide until the humans were out of the area. Alsvartr would fly around outside and let me know when they were gone. After two weeks of traveling, we had actually made good progress and had reached our destination. Usually, dragons would consider everything within a day¡¯s travel of their nest as their territory. Dragons could fly about three times as fast as kobolds could walk. However, since we frequently hid and made wide detours to avoid danger, it took us twice as long as it should have to get to our destination. We also had to take a detour around the Necropolis. The Penningr Republic and the Konungd¨®mr Kingdom had been fighting each other for generations. Countless soldiers had been killed along their border. One of the reasons they fought was because of the Necropolis. It was an ancient city created out of bones of long extinct creatures and races. No one knew how long it had existed, but both nations wanted to occupy the Necropolis, despite the fact that the city was already occupied. However, the occupants of the city were necromantic wizards and clerics of death, who worshiped a dead god. They took no side, and allowed anyone to enter and study the ancient writings carved into the large bones throughout the city. Countless necromancers traveled to the Necropolis for millennia. While I wasn¡¯t worried about the inhabitants, we were trying to avoid everyone, just to be safe. Of course, one reason why they welcomed all visitors was because nothing was able to grow near the city. It was apparently under some type of curse. There were also apparently changelings and mongrels who lived within the city. Changelings were humans with a few traits of a different race. Half elves might be included in this group. As for mongrels, they were less fortunate. They generally had a motley assortment of physical features from different races. Unfortunately for them, this generally made them not very attractive. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Since the Necropolis didn¡¯t care whether someone was living or dead, mongrels and changelings were actually welcome. That was uncommon outside of the Desolate Lands. Of course, the rulers of the city viewed the living as disposable resources. Sadly, that was still preferable to how they were treated in the other nations. Either way, I didn¡¯t want to risk getting too near the city. This meant that five days of travel was barely enough time for us to leave Einvaldskonungr¡¯s territory. It took twice that long to finish the journey. Not once did I relax until we reached the tunnels that led to the cave complex where we would be making our city. I had to wonder if that certain god had a hand in making our way there succeed without encountering any real dangers. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of cautious travel, we arrived at the mouth of the tunnel that would lead us to the cave complex. The entrance loomed before us, a dark portal leading into the depths of the earth. I inspected the surroundings one last time, ensuring there were no immediate threats, before leading my group inside with a mixture of excitement and apprehension. As we trudged through the tunnel that led us under the seabed, I glanced through the Aegis Libram again. Then I would look at the diagrams and drawings I had made. I didn¡¯t want to screw up since I would only have one shot to get it right. If it was a normal ritual, I wouldn¡¯t worry. However, as soon as I conducted the ritual, the spell would disappear from the spellbook. I couldn¡¯t afford to mess up. Because of this, I looked for anything in the area that might mess up the spell. When we reached the central cave, I took a deep breath. I wasn¡¯t going to be any better prepared later than I would be at that moment, so I decided to go ahead and conduct the ritual. I asked the miners to use the Mold Rock spell to make the cave floor smooth. Once that was done, I ordered everyone to step back so that I had enough space to begin. Taking a deep breath, I started inscribing the magic circle into the cave floor. By the time I was done, I was starting to feel the pressure. I checked, and then rechecked, to make sure that I hadn¡¯t made any mistakes. After that, I carefully stepped into the middle of the magic circle and started reciting the Dungeon Core spell from the Aegis Libram. I could feel the magical energy swirling around me. The magic was so dense that it was starting to become overwhelming. By the time I finished chanting the spell, I was exhausted. Despite being tired, I concentrated on how I had envisioned the city would look like. I kept the designs I had drawn firmly in mind as the magic rippled out from the magic circle. A palpable surge of energy radiated outward, sinking into the earth beneath our feet. The ground trembled gently at first, as if awakening from a deep slumber, but then grew stronger, knocking us off our feet. Slowly, fissures formed along the edges of the circle, glowing with a soft, ethereal light. From these cracks, tendrils of magic seeped into the earth, weaving through the soil and stone like unseen threads. As the magic spread, it triggered a series of reactions deep underground. The cave walls began to resonate with the magic. They softened and shifted, reshaping themselves into sturdy foundations and walls. Crystals began to grow at the edges of the spell and were embedded in the rock faces which shimmered with a spectral glow, casting prismatic light across the emerging buildings. As the magic continued to weave its spell, tunnels and caverns gradually took shape, forming tunnels and passageways between the various rooms I had envisioned. The changes started on the edge of the spell¡¯s edge, about two hundred feet away from the magic circle. Then the changes slowly moved inward. The walls and tunnels somehow looked both natural and refined, blending the organic shapes of the underground world with that of ancient ruins. Water, drawn by the magic from the depths below, bubbled up to form warm gentle streams and shimmering hot pools, nourishing the city with life-giving essence while a lava flow could be seen in the distance. Mosses and fungi bloomed in response to the magic ritual, adding splashes of color to the subterranean landscape. The core of the underground city took shape with astonishing speed and precision, each element crafted with care by the intricate patterns of the Dungeon Core spell. When a wall was created, any kobold nearby would be magically pushed away. By the time the magic faded and the last echoes of the earth grinding against earth subsided, I was standing alone in a small room with a magic crystal ball hovering above the magic circle. It gleamed with an otherworldly beauty. Inside the crystal, I could see the entire underground city. I stared into the crystal, completely forgetting how exhausted I was, amazed by what had transpired. I had to admit, the god who gave me the Aegis Libram had outdone himself. I hadn¡¯t even used the other rituals in the spellbook yet. In fact, there were still a few spells that I still wasn¡¯t about to decipher yet. Every time I tried to read them, the words would squirm on the page and become indecipherable. Still, what the spellbook had already achieved was more than enough for me. I couldn¡¯t imagine what other spells could be more impressive. While the underground city was by no means finished, the core of the underground cave complex had been created. It was about an acre in size, but did have three levels. Additional tunnels and rooms would need to be added later. It would definitely be a huge job, but it was also something that I knew my industrious minions could complete. Admittedly, it would take a long time. Still, I did have to admit that I was a little disappointed. Despite the amazing changes created by the ritual, the dimensions of the spell were not as wide as I had hoped. Therefore, some of the rooms I had drawn were not created. Because of this, the builders and miners would have a lot of work to do. However, at least we had a starting point. As for the dungeon core, it apparently served as a way to monitor the city it had created. With a thought, I could focus on different rooms or on a particular kobold. While I still felt connected to my body, it was as if I was physically in the room. I could tell, even without trying, that I could cast a spell through the crystal core and affect any part of the city. Amazed, I concentrated on Geyma, one of the kobolds who had chosen to join me. She, with the others, was standing outside the dungeon core room. I watched her as she reached out to touch the wall that had grown between us. I sent her a telepathic message to have the other kobolds stay there since I was determined to push through my exhaustion and cast a few more rituals from the Aegis Libram. Over the next hour, I used the Aegis Libram to cast all the permanent defensive spells in the spellbook. Of course, that was only the spells that I could read. A few rituals were still indecipherable. I started with the Forbiddance spell, which blocked enemies from teleporting into the city. It also caused damage to devils and demons. I would have preferred to choose humans, but I wasn¡¯t given a choice. However, just being able to block high level spellcasters from teleporting into the city was worth the ten minutes it took me to cast the ritual. The next ritual I cast was the Guards and Wards spell. It filled the tunnels with a fog that would only affect invaders, making the tunnels heavily obscured. In addition, the unwelcome visitors would easily become confused. All of the doors in the warded area were magically locked, as if sealed by the Arcane Lock spell. In addition, I could hide the doors using the Minor Illusion spell. The ritual even created webs that only affected invaders. I could also add other spell effects as needed. While both of the rituals I had cast were useful, neither could compare to the third ritual I cast. It was called Stone Guardians and turned the earth itself against invaders. For example, tunnels would liquify and then harden again in order to trap unwelcome visitors. Any stone statues within the city could become temporarily possessed by earth elementals, who would animate the statues and attack invaders. Visions of giant stone dragon statues flashed through my mind. The next ritual I cast was the Antipathy spell. While it wasn¡¯t anything amazing, it would make it difficult for a large army of humans to invade the city. Whenever a human entered the city, they would be overwhelmed with fear and run away from the city. What I did find curious was the fact that this time the protection was against humans instead of demons and devils. Was the god who had been helping me trying to tell me something? I was worried that might be the case. Chapter 70 - Bloodline Bestowal Whether the god who was helping me was trying to tell me something didn¡¯t really matter. What mattered for the moment was that there was still a lot of work to do. After leaving the dungeon core room, I told everyone to get started. While I would love to have been able to tell them what to do, I really didn¡¯t have the slightest clue what to do. Instead of making a fool of myself, I just sent them off and let them do whatever they thought they needed to do. The only thing I did was empty my backpack and spatial storage space of any items that weren¡¯t mine, such as supplies I had carried. Then I tried to think of what I could do to look busy, or at least to look like I knew what I was doing. It wasn¡¯t as if I could tell the mushroom farmers anything they didn¡¯t already know. Each of the mushroom farmers had brought ¡°spawn,¡± which were spores or root-like mycelium stored in sawdust or grain. While mushrooms were among the least objectionable foods I had eaten as a kobold, I also knew that creating the mushroom farm from scratch would take a while. In fact, none of the normal food sources would be available in the near future. The worm farm would also take an extended amount of time to establish as well. Because of that, my group of kobolds would need to depend on my dragonberries and whatever the foragers could find. I wandered around and ¡°inspected¡± what the kobolds were doing, pretending to act as a supervisor. The blacksmiths had started creating a room near the lava flows using the Mold Rock spell. The broodmothers left in search of reptiles, bats, insects, spiders, and even fish that could be nurtured within the city. The miners split into small groups and started searching for mineral and ore deposits that they could mine. The various rangers, rogues, and fighters started patrolling the area and killing any monsters that could be considered a threat or a food source. Those kobolds who didn¡¯t have particular skills, such as the domestics, stayed busy by helping one of the other groups. Not a single kobold loafed around. Every kobold was doing their part. During the time I spent walking around and observing the other kobolds, I regained some energy. Since I didn¡¯t want to be considered lazy, I decided to go ahead and start casting the other rituals I knew that might prove useful. While they wouldn¡¯t be permanent, at least they would be useful in the short term. The ritual that I cast the most was one called a Glyph of Warding. It created a magic sigil that would explode when an intruder approached too closely. As for what triggered the glyphs, I set it to activate when anything that wasn¡¯t a kobold, a dire weasel, a giant spider, or a giant bat. I exempted those creatures since those were the animals that kobolds were the most likely to use. The only drawback was that if the sigils were set off, I would have to spend another hour recreating the glyph. Also, the spell couldn¡¯t differentiate between friendly and hostile creatures. Needless to say, I stayed busy since I wanted to prepare for any possible invaders. This pattern repeated day after day. The kobolds would wake up and bathe in the hot water pools. To avoid the promiscuous advances by female kobolds during this time, I tried staying in my dragon form most of the time. Unfortunately, this didn¡¯t seem to bother them though. Still, once I indicated I was there only to bathe, they quickly looked for other targets. After seeing this, I realized why creating a hatchery for kobold eggs had been one of the first rooms created by the kobold builders. After tiring themselves out ¡°bathing,¡± the next thing the kobolds would do was to meditate in order to get in touch with their inner dragon. To help with the meditation, dragonroot would be burned as an incense during that time. Each kobold would sit down and imagine how a dragon looked or acted while breathing in the calming smoke. Once the Time of Contemplating My Inner Dragon was complete, the kobolds would then try to incorporate any insights they received during their meditations. Some of the kobolds tried to emulate a draconic roar. Others would try to breathe fire. The leather workers would often use giant bat wings to create fake dragon wings. These kobolds would then run around the room flapping their wings while leaping into the air. Other kobolds would pretend to cast spells with their imaginary draconic magic. Other kobolds would spread copper coins on the ground and then take a nap on top of their dragon hoard. Each day, I found endless amusement watching their antics. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. After what I considered to be their playtime, I would cast the Dragonberry spell until every kobold was fed. Then they would get to work. Of course, even when they were working, they appeared to be having fun. One day, just because I was bored creating magical glyphs of warding, I followed the miners. I could only shake my head at how grown kobolds were dancing and singing through the tunnels like it was Friday night at the dance club and everyone was in a conga line. Although they did sing the highly inappropriate songs off key, they were definitely enthusiastic with their suggestive dance moves. If it wasn¡¯t for the x-rated lyrics, I could easily have imagined the kobold miners as being related to the seven dwarfs. Even when they were alone, a lot of the kobolds would sing and dance. It was as if they were living the dream. They had enough food and water, and they were also able to stay clean and ¡°bathe¡± in warm pools every day. The kobolds even seemed like they enjoyed working. No one complained and everyone seemed happy as they continued to work hard throughout the day. Then all the kobolds would return back to the pool to relax and release any extra pent-up energy. Afterwards, those kobolds who were skilled in telling stories would take turns entertaining the kobolds who were interested while the other kobolds would enjoy their free time. Most of that freetime involved talking about how they are going to work extremely hard so that they will become a winged kobold in their next life while they created nick-nacks and toys. It was during one of these storytimes that I heard a story that gave me an idea. The more I thought about it, the more I realized it might actually be possible. I had been able to give Alsvartr my bloodline, so after some consideration, I guessed that I might be able to imbue the kobolds with my blood. However, I didn¡¯t want to get their hopes up though. Because of this, I chose one of the kobolds to make the attempt with. After pulling Geyma to the side, I tested out my theory. I pricked my finger and willed my bloodline essence to collect in the bubble of blood. Then I placed my finger onto her tongue. As soon as I was able to wrestle my finger back, I realized Geyma had reacted almost the same as my bloodsucking familiar when Alsvartr first tasted my blood. Fortunately, she grew weaker as drowsiness overcame her. I still couldn¡¯t believe she was able to put up a fight for my finger considering my increased strength. A few moments later, she curled up into a ball on the floor. Worried, I watched as her scales started to ripple. The moan I heard was definitely not the one of pain I was expecting. In almost every cultivation serial novel that I read, when a creature absorbed a bloodline, it was painful. Apparently, that wasn¡¯t the case in this instance. After watching how she reacted, I decided that I definitely needed a different way to bestow my blessing upon the male members of the kobold tribe. The changes begin subtly at first but soon become unmistakable, marking her evolution into a more dragon-like form. Initially, her scales, which were once a vibrant red, begin to darken in random sections. It started to remind me of mahogany obsidian, with streaks of black and dark red colors. The scales also began to change shape, becoming more feather-shaped, but still retaining their thickness and durability. Along her spine, these feather-shaped scales grew into jagged ridges, much like an alligator tail but more distinct. At the end of her tail, one of the feathers grew thicker and more bladelike. While I didn¡¯t know if she could whip her tail and throw the bladed feather, I didn¡¯t doubt that she would be able to swing it like a sword. I just hoped that she wouldn¡¯t accidentally injure herself with it. Her body underwent other gradual changes as well. Her arms lengthened slightly and much more muscular. However, it wasn¡¯t like a weightlifter¡¯s body. Before, she had looked malnourished and scrawny. Now she looked more like a trained Olympic athlete in comparison, not bulky, just well defined. I could clearly see that she retained the agility and quickness typical of kobolds but had also gained the enhanced strength and resilience of dragons. Even her facial features shifted subtly, becoming more angular and pronounced. Her snout elongated slightly, revealing a set of sharper, more prominent teeth that can tear through flesh with ease. However, it also began to show a similarity to a hawk¡¯s beak with a downturn at the end of her snout that could be used to rip and tear into flesh more easily. Her eyes began to change color, becoming ice blue, almost seeming to glow. The short stubby horns and ridges on the back of her head became longer and sharper. However, neither of these details were as amazing as the bumps that were growing upon her back. Soon, vestigial wings began to grow upon her back. They were covered in feather-like scales much like when I had been hatched. Slowly, the growth of the wings began to slow down. By the time her wings stopped growing, they resembled my own wings when I was a newly hatched wyrmling. I doubted they would be large enough to give her the ability to fly, but she might just be able to glide with them. Once she gradually regained control of herself, she stood up and started inspecting herself. She quickly ran past kobolds who trailed along behind her. Curious, I also followed her to one of the pools of water where she gazed at her reflection. Needless to say, her new appearance caused a lot of uproar. Their screams of excitement and joy were deafening. Geyma excitedly told them what I had done. While at first, they had quieted down in order to listen to her, as soon as she finished her story, the cave echoed with their screams of delirious excitement. Immediately, all of the kobolds started approaching me. Well, not all. One of the kobolds was dragged toward the pools by Geyma. Chapter 71 - God of Kobolds At first, I was worried that the kobolds would stampede over and drain me of every bit of my blood. Instead, they slowly gathered around me in a semi-circle. I could tell how excited they were after they realized that they might be given the chance to ¡°Become One With Their Inner Dragon.¡± It started off with the shamans, but then spread quickly to every single kobold. Before I knew it, all of the kobolds were on their knees, bowing to me. Feeling like I needed to say something, I hastily improvised a speech, ¡°I¡¯m proud of each and every one of you, my children. You have chosen to follow me, and I shall not lead you astray.¡± A little bit of my Southern Baptist heritage started to sneak into my speech and gestures, much like a preacher giving a sermon. ¡°Trust in me, and I shall give you the opportunity to embrace the dragon that I know resides within each and every one of you. ¡°Yes, we shall endure many dark days and nights in the future. We will have to struggle against great odds and fierce foes. Our enemies will try to destroy our home, and thieves will try to steal our treasure hoards. However, we will survive. We will thrive. We will overcome every opponent and build a better tomorrow. ¡°We will begin by creating the greatest city in the world. Then we will form a nation whose existence is a beacon of hope and inspiration for every kobold and dragonborn. Other races will fear and respect our overwhelming might and listen to our words. ¡°Today marks a momentous occasion in our history, a turning point that will shape our future for generations to come. Each of you has been chosen for a great honor. It is one I believe you deserve. I will elevate you beyond your humble beginnings and forge a path to greatness for you. Over the next few days, you will be given the gift of my draconic blood. You will receive my bloodline and legacy that will allow your inner dragon to burst forth. ¡°As you undergo this transformation, remember that you will inherit the strength and resilience of dragons. Not only will you receive the gift of dragon blood, but you should also know that this blood comes not just from any dragon, but from a twilight dragon. Twilight dragons are the enigmatic guardians of dusk and dawn, whose very essence embodies the balance between light and darkness. We live in darkness but are a beacon of light in the lives of kobolds. ¡°We will be the culmination of their hopes and dreams. We will use our keen senses to pierce the shadows of oppression that shackle our brethren. We will illuminate the path ahead for the generations that come behind us. ¡°You already possess many fine qualities. These qualities include innovation and determination. They also include a feeling of community, a willingness to work, the desire to improve, the bravery to fight when needed, and the cunningness to plan ahead. ¡°When combined with my bloodline, you will thrive like no other race in the history of this world. These qualities that will guide us as we build our city and establish ourselves as a powerful nation beneath the earth. Imagine a city carved from the very bones of the earth, its architecture blending the natural beauty of our underground realm with the majestic designs of dragonkind. Streets lined with shimmering crystals, gardens of bioluminescent flora, and forges humming with the fires of innovation. All of this and more await us as we harness the magic within our veins. ¡°But our journey does not end with the construction of a magnificent city. No, my friends, that is just the beginning. With our newfound abilities and those qualities that we have always possessed, we will create a society where every kobold''s talents are cherished, and every voice is heard. We will establish trade routes that span the depths of the earth, forging alliances with neighboring clans and races to ensure our prosperity and security. ¡°Together, we will cultivate knowledge and wisdom, delving into ancient texts and arcane arts that will unlock the full potential of our dragon blood. Our scholars will unravel mysteries lost to time, our artisans will craft wonders that rival those of legends, and our warriors will defend our nation with courage and honor. But above all, we will foster a community bound by loyalty, respect, and a shared vision of a brighter future. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. ¡°Each of you, with your unique strengths and abilities, will contribute to our collective success. Together, we will build not just a city, but a home. It will be a sanctuary where every kobold can thrive and fulfill their dreams. So, my fellow kobolds, embrace this gift of dragon blood with pride and gratitude. Let it fuel your determination, ignite your passion, and inspire you to dream of the impossible. The future is ours to shape, and together, as one unified nation, we will rise to greatness and leave a legacy that will echo through the ages.¡± I was really starting to get a roll, and I could tell that my kobold minions were eating up everything I served. Many of them had already stood up and were jumping with joy again. Others were simply looking at me with wide eyes, amazed by every word that fell from my mouth. I could tell that they hungered desperately for what Geyma had gained. They would give their lives and their very souls to become a dragon among kobolds. I wanted to give it to them. They deserved it. From what I had seen, kobolds exemplified an ideal society. While I was definitely going to make a few changes, I would never change the soul of a kobold. In my last life, I had seen so many hypocrites, liars, and thieves. Everyone always seemed to care almost exclusively about themselves. Politicians lied, and the people were stupid enough to believe them. They promoted fear and distrust. The rich bought politicians and consolidated all the money into their own hands. Policies and policing was done for profit instead of protection. Laws were for thee, and not for me. Businesses were just as bad. In fact, according to the fourteenth amendment, corporations were even given rights normally associated only with people. It was called corporate personhood. Products were made to break so that consumers were forced to buy new ones. People were forced to work multiple jobs at low pay. However, because of this, they also worked as little as possible at work, often because they were paid so little. This led to no one doing what they were supposed to be doing. Then again, it could have been because they were treated as disposable resources who resented their situation. People were angry that they weren¡¯t given the life they had been promised. The kobolds were different. They embodied the work hard, play hard lifestyle. They often didn¡¯t have much, but they were happy. They treated each other like family, a big incestuous family, but a family nonetheless. There was so much to admire about kobolds. Perhaps the other kobolds recognized how much I admired them, because they responded enthusiastically to everything I was saying. ¡°For today, we begin a new chapter in our history. The first true draconic kobold has been born,¡± I said, motioning toward Geyma. ¡°Soon, many more will join her. The future of every draconic kobold will be one filled with promise, opportunity, and boundless potential. Let us seize this moment and embark on this journey together, united in our purpose and driven by our shared vision of a prosperous and powerful nation. We begin this journey here, in the Sanctuary, for this city is where each of you will become dragons among kobolds. ¡°Not only will this city be a place of refuge and safety for kobolds and other dragon-blooded races, but it will also be a holy place for our people. It shall be the home to the Church of Twilight. This city will serve as a sanctuary where all who carry dragon''s blood may gather, where they can seek wisdom. It will serve as a safe location where believers can commune with the forces of twilight. This city shall stand as a beacon of enlightenment, a testament to our commitment to balance, and a cornerstone of our burgeoning nation. ¡°Long live the Sanctuary! Long live the Church of Twilight! And long live the draconic kobolds!¡± By the end of the speech, I was running out of ideas of what to say, but I did mean every word that I said. I almost missed the system¡¯s notification amid the resounding roars of the high kobolds who would soon be transformed into a new race, the draconic kobolds. ACHIEVEMENT - TITLE UNLOCKED: GOD OF KOBOLDS. You have convinced a large group of kobolds to worship you as their god by creating a new race of kobolds. Because of this, you have unlocked the hidden ability to gain Faith Points. ACHIEVEMENT - FIRST BELIEVER. You have gained your first believer. This kobold now considers you a god after changing her race into that of a Draconic Kobold. Because of this, you have gained Faith Points. Chapter 72 - Conflict Between Two Dragons Since I was in the middle of giving a speech, I barely glanced at the system notifications. Instead, I called for my maids, ¡°Bj¨®na, Forsj¨¢, Duga, Tyja, and Fylgja, please come forward. You five have been helping me longer than anyone else here. Therefore, I would like to bestow my bloodline to you.¡± They eagerly stepped forward while the other kobolds looked on in anticipation. This time I was prepared to allow everyone to see what was happening. One by one, I repeated the process of giving them my bloodline. Whether they had better self-control, or were aware that they were being watched, none of them treated my finger like a popsicle. Instead, they swallowed the blood essence before immediately sitting down. I nodded as I watched them begin the transition from high kobold to draconic kobold. The other kobolds watched, mesmerized by what they were seeing. No one said anything, which made the moaning of the maids even more noticeable. After seeing how many of the male kobolds responded, I had to resist the impulse to smack them on the back of their heads. Soon, there were five more draconic kobolds. I continued giving my blood essence to another twenty kobolds. My plan was to transform twenty-five kobolds each day. When I gave Alsvartr my blood essence, my maximum health point total had dropped until after I had a long rest. Since I didn¡¯t have enough health points to change everyone at the same time, I had to space out the transformations over four days. After everyone I was going to transform that day had gone through the transformation, I tried to see if there were other changes. However, none of the kobolds showed any notable differences. I was a little disappointed. I had hoped that some of them would turn into draconic sorcerers or possess greater intelligence. Then again, I was probably asking for too much. The kobolds were already a little stronger and a little tougher. Every one of them also gained the ability to glide. They even had a weird blue fire breath attack. From what I could gather, since they had been red kobolds, they shared an affinity to fire like red dragons. For some reason, my bloodline had changed the fire breath that some red high kobolds possessed into blue fire breath. I wasn¡¯t sure how. I wasn¡¯t even sure how the blue fire was different from normal fire. Of course, there were a lot of things that would take a lot of time to figure out. One of the biggest questions I had was how much their children would inherit. I also wanted to know if there would be any change in the chances of those children gaining even more draconic gifts, such as flying instead of gliding. My dream was to see numerous flying draconic kobold sorcerers. Despite the physical changes, nothing else changed over the next few weeks. Well, that wasn¡¯t quite true. The kobolds seemed happier than was normal even for them. Also, they seemed a little more energetic while ¡°bathing¡± in the warm pools each morning. I guess the biggest change, besides an increase in the number of rooms in the city, was that one of those rooms was filled with forty kobold eggs. That meant, in two more months, we would have 140 kobolds in the city. Unfortunately, it would take five years for the kobolds to grow into productive members of the city. Actually, now that I thought about it, that might not be a good thing. In another few weeks there might be another batch of eggs. A few weeks later, yet another batch. This meant that within a year¡¯s time, almost 1000 kobold wyrmlings might have hatched. Considering the fact that there were only a few kobolds who could act as caregivers, I really needed to take some drastic action. I needed to decide to either halt egg laying, which, frankly, wasn¡¯t going to happen, or find new kobolds to act as caregivers. The problem was the question of where I could find those caregivers. To alleviate the situation, I decided to send Geyma and a few other kobolds back to Einvaldskonungr City. Once there, they could let Dr¨®ttinn know how much progress we had made in creating our city. She could also recruit any kobolds who would like to join us. Due to the fact that she had become a draconic kobold with wings and dragon breath, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if hundreds of kobolds volunteered. Of course, that brought another problem. Currently, I could feed about 400 kobolds with my magic by creating dragonberries. If we included food from other sources, we would be able to feed more. However, much like other newly created kobold cities, establishing a stable food supply would be difficult. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Unlike most newly created kobold cities though, we were doing much better. This was partially due to the dragonberries and partially due to the head start the Dungeon Core spell had provided. If that wasn¡¯t the case, my kobolds would have been malnourished, and thus much less likely to lay eggs. That would have meant that we didn¡¯t need too many caregivers. That might explain why only a few had been sent with me. After coming up with a possible solution to one problem, that being finding caregivers for the wyrmlings that were going to hatch within a couple of months, that left me with another problem. I needed to feed those wyrmlings. A lot of it would depend on how many kobolds chose to join us. Keeping everyone fed for three or four months shouldn¡¯t be a problem. Hopefully we would have other sources of food ready by then. A lot of it would depend on the broodmothers and mushroom farmers. In fact, every day I had sent Alsvartr out to use the Control Bats spell in the hope that it would help develop a local bat colony that could be used as a food source someday. If we were able to increase the population of bats, spiders, and worms, I would feel much more comfortable knowing that I could use my magic freely. On the downside was the fact that I wouldn¡¯t be able to use magic except to create enough food for our city to survive. One unexpected, but pleasant surprise, was the discovery of a salt pool that was fed by the sea. One of the inventive kobolds had even managed to design a way to trap some fish, which had already started to alleviate the food shortages. One of the scouts had also discovered a couple of bat colonies. Because of this, I wasn¡¯t too worried about the future. If worse went to worst, we could survive with those resources for a while. Even though we were able to solve most of the issues that rose over the next few months, a few problems remained. Geyma returned with almost three hundred more kobolds. While most of these kobolds were not caregivers, we still had enough to meet the needs of our forty new wyrmlings. As for the wyrmlings themselves, they were hatched as true draconic kobolds. In fact, several of them had large enough wings to one day support flight. I was even able to transform every single new arrival into a draconic kobold. Needless to say, my faith points increased dramatically. In fact, each day, more faith points were added to my information sheet. The problem was that I actually had no way to spend those faith points. Apparently, they were useless to me unless I had some type of spark of divinity. Although I might be viewed as a god to the kobolds, that didn¡¯t actually turn me into a god. By the time Baron R¨¦ttr returned with the veteran soldiers, almost everyone, and everything, had been transported away from the old city. From what I could gather, the kobolds took the city¡¯s loss in stride. Once a city grew too populous, it would often break into many smaller villages throughout the area. The only difference this time was that the main city had been abandoned. Of course, this made the day-to-day life of each kobold more difficult. All of the kobolds had to work harder until their villages became more established. Many of the kobold villages had to deal with malnutrition due to lack of established resources. The fact that we were taking in the excess population that those villages couldn¡¯t feed helped them survive the transition with no loss of life. Each day, a trickle of kobold settlers would arrive that would need my blood essence. The main problem I faced was the lack of experience points. While I had managed to gain some experience since we arrived at the cave where we built the city, it wasn¡¯t anywhere close enough for me to level up. My progress to the next level had slowed to a snail¡¯s pace. As for the bat colonies, I didn¡¯t want to risk exterminating them since we would need them as a food source. While I could gain some experience by farming bats, I had to be careful not to kill too many or drive them away. A few weeks later, a massive influx of refugees arrived at our city. Apparently, green kobolds from the Groenneitr Tribe had invaded several of the red kobold villages. Most of the Einvaldskonungr Tribe kobolds were able to successfully escape. This was only due to the fact that the green kobolds didn¡¯t seem to care about killing the red kobolds. All the green kobolds seemed concerned about were the minerals, ores, and other treasures that the red kobolds had managed to procure. By stealing Einvaldskonungr¡¯s offerings, Groenneitr had basically declared war on the red dragon. Even if the green kobold tribe had done it without the permission of Groenneitr, Einvaldskonungr wouldn¡¯t care. More than likely, Einvaldskonungr had probably already been awakened. Red dragons were notorious for their short tempers. If even a single coin of their hoard was touched, they would fly into uncontrollable rampages. Something about the whole situation bothered me. While I suspected that the green kobolds were up to something, I doubted they would want to start a war between the two dragons. From what I could gather, both of the dragons were about the same age. Because of this, Einvaldskonungr was much more likely to win. Unless, of course, there was a catch. Why would Groenneitr antagonize a stronger opponent? Green dragons were nothing if not planners. What they lacked in raw physical power, they made up with cunning and deception. That meant that if the green dragon was confident enough to instigate a fight, he was definitely planning something. Either he had a secret trump card, or someone else was trying to cause a conflict between the dragons for their own benefit. Whatever the reason, things were about to get interesting again. Chapter 73 - The Red Dragons Rage I wanted to go help the Einvaldskonungr Tribe, but I wasn¡¯t sure exactly what I could accomplish. The Groenneitr Tribe had planned well. First, they instigated the local humans to invade the red kobold city. Then they took advantage of the lack of defenders to loot the treasury of a baron. After that, the baron retaliated by driving the red kobolds from their home. Then the green kobolds launched an attack on the lightly defended villages the red kobolds were establishing. Although kobolds might be able to make traps, there was a limit of what they could do when they also had to worry about feeding every member of their tribe. Because of this, the new homes of the red kobolds were only lightly defended. These villages were an easy target for the green kobolds to loot. What concerned me was the reasoning behind their actions. While it was true that Einvaldskonungr would attack the baron¡¯s castle for what they did, the red dragon would also seek out the green dragon. One possible explanation was that the green dragon was trying to lure Einvaldskonungr out of his lair. Perhaps Groenneitr wanted to claim Einvaldskonungr¡¯s hoard while the red dragon was either attacking the human castle or looking for the green dragon¡¯s lair. However, that begged the question. What would that achieve in the long run? Unless Groenneitr was willing to flee with his loot, which might be difficult, Einvaldskonungr would eventually find him. While that could be the green dragon¡¯s plan, I doubted it. Also, dragons had various ways in which they could transport their gold. I doubted Einvaldskonungr would leave his gold behind. Both dragon territories were within the borders of the Konungd¨®mr Kingdom. However, some of Groenneitr¡¯s territory did overlap into its warring neighbor, the Penningr Republic. Of course, they weren¡¯t really a republic. The people really had no say in anything that happened. Instead, the Penningr Republic was ruled by a group of merchants. The only reason they were still at war with the Konungd¨®mr Kingdom was because they were able to use the conflict as a way to make money. It was even possible that Groenneitr had some type of connection to the Penningr Republic. Although green dragons loved using other people to attack their enemies, red dragons were much more direct. That meant that Einvaldskonungr wouldn¡¯t be telling the red kobolds to do anything except repair their villages so that they can start mining for precious minerals and gems. While they were busy rebuilding, the red dragon would be the one attacking. Because of all these factors, I really didn¡¯t know how to help the red kobolds. I couldn¡¯t even afford to leave the city at the moment. The dragonberries I created each day using my spell points was the main source of food. While the city could survive, our food resources would suffer drastically. The only thing I could do was offer a place of refuge for those who were displaced or who needed food. While considering what else I could do, I decided to send out scouts and messengers to every red kobold village and let them know I would accept any kobolds into my city. Actually, there was one more thing that I could do. Unlike most familiars, I could see through Alsvartr¡¯s eyes no matter how far away she was. While I rarely used the ability, it was still there. That meant that I could send Alsvartr out so that I could see what was happening with my own eyes. She was the ideal spy. Alsvartr could fly through the night, and during the days she could use the Invisibility spell. She could even turn into a shadow and move from one shadow to another. Before sending her out though, I decided to take one more look at her information sheet. After pulling it up, I was sure that she would be able to accomplish almost any spying mission and come back without being caught. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. A few days later, Alsvartr arrived at Einvaldskonungr''s lair. While the red dragon had proven that he knew a lot about what was happening, I half expected the red dragon not to know everything. The reason why was because red dragons were notorious for their tempers. It was entirely possob;e that the kobolds would wait until they could provide more news about who stole the red dragon¡¯s tribute. Most kobolds were smart enough to have a designated target, or at least have a large offering when waking up a dragon. Dragons were completely fine with killing the messenger of bad news, or even the person who dared to disturb their slumber. Because of this, I wasn¡¯t too worried about her arriving late. Afterall, few dragons were likely to just immediately jump up and leave all their gold and gems behind. Even a greedy gnome would be smart enough to lock a safe before leaving home. Casting the spells and gathering his hoard would take time. Also, dragons had kobold minions for many reasons. One of these reasons was because they were experts at leaving traps to guard a dragon¡¯s lair. In fact, Einvaldskonungr had probably already taken care of his hoard a long time ago. I bet that if I sent my familiar into the cave, she would find nothing. Then again, considering how old the red dragon was, Einvaldskonungr might have been able to take all of his hoard with him. There were many ways that dragons transported their hoards. One way dragons often transported their hoards was that dragons, much like birds, possessed pouches in their throats. In birds, the pouch was called a crop. A bird¡¯s crop was an expandable muscular pouch near the gullet or throat, which was used to store excess food for later digestion. The crops of some birds could also create crop milk. This crop milk was a secretion from the lining of the crop of parent birds that was regurgitated to young birds. Like birds and various other animals, dragons could store excess food that they could digest later. In dragons, each pouch was called a kyll. If emptied, though, I could also store objects. It was sort of like cheek pouches for chipmunks and hamsters. Being gluttons, dragons possessed several pouches so that they could store food for later consumption. While most dragons only used these pouches to store food, they could also store other items. However, storing sharp or bulky items was rarely done because it was very uncomfortable, and sometimes even painful. One last way dragons transported their hoards was with magic items or magic spells. Being innately magical, they would often learn spells such as Secret Chest. Magic items such as Bags of Holding were also popular. Many dragons would temporarily store multiple Bags of Holding in their kylls. Some dragons, mostly young dragons who hadn¡¯t learned a magic spell such as Secret Chest, or those who hadn¡¯t obtained a Bag of Holding, would sometimes temporarily store their gold and gems within their kylls. However, this wasn¡¯t always ideal since the gold was heavy. The weight would knock off their balance if they carried too much. It was also considered somewhat vulgar and uncivilized by older dragons. Despite there being several ways dragons could store their hoards, I doubted Einvaldskonungr would be able to carry everything with him. More than likely, he would store the most precious items with spells or with Bags of Holding. However, there was a limit to the number of Bag of Holding he was likely to own. Because of this, I was certain that at least some of his hoard would be left behind. After over a hundred years of receiving tribute from his tribe of kobold minions, he definitely had a lot of gold and gems. In fact, many dragons considered it a point of pride to have all the expensive ores mined by their kobold minions smelted into coins bearing their likeness. Some dragons would even brag when they obtained coins with another dragon¡¯s likeness. Of course, humans would often melt down the coins because if a dragon ever discovered someone who possessed their coins, they would hunt that person until the ends of the earth. Half a day later, I heard an enraged roar from Einvaldskonungr. The roaring continued for a few minutes before it settled down. Just the sound of his roar caused some of the rocks on a ledge to fall. Then silence reigned for a few hours. I was impressed. If I didn¡¯t know better, I would have been fooled by his acting. I was a little confused though. Were there green dragons or their allies around? I had Alsvartr fly around to see if anyone else was there, but she discovered nothing. Then again, with magic involved, who said the observed had to be close by. While I was considering this, a low, rumbling growl echoed from out of the subterranean chamber where he could be found, causing the pebbles at my familiar¡¯s feet to shake. I was a little excited. It was going to be my first time to see him in action, even if it was through the eyes of my familiar. Chapter 74 - Demigod of Death Einvaldskonungr unfurled his immense wings as he slowly emerged from the depths of his lair, his eyes blazing with anger. Smoke curled lazily from his nostrils, mingling with the heat haze that surrounded him. Each step sent tremors through the stone beneath his taloned feet. As the red dragon strode forward, his roar reverberated through the valley below, a proclamation to any who dared to challenge his sovereignty. With a beat of his wings, Einvaldskonungr launched himself into the sky, the fiery glow of his scales casting a crimson shadow over the land below. It was as if even the air was agitated by his presence. The air around the red dragon shimmered as his mere presence was enough to create a heat mirage. Through my familiar¡¯s senses, I could smell the odor of sulfur that accompanied the red dragon. Its beaked snout vented smoke continuously. Two large white horns curled backward on his head while smaller horns adorned his chin, cheeks, jaw, his nose, and in small rows above his brow. He had frills that grew around his ears that ran down his neck and spine, from just behind the head to the end of his tail. Einvaldskonungr was over a hundred feet in length with wings just as large. It could swallow me and not even notice. I almost peed myself even though I wasn¡¯t in his presence. As for Alsvartr, since she had provided me with such a glorious sight, I would never bring up the yellow puddle that grew below her feet in the future. My first intention had been to simply have Alsvartr wait and watch the red dragon¡¯s lair to see who would raid it. However, I shrugged and changed my mind. It really didn¡¯t matter who ended up coming to loot the dragon¡¯s lair. Instead, I told my familiar to start following Einvaldskonungr. Unfortunately, dragons were much faster than bats, so she slowly lost sight of the red dragon. Of course, that wasn¡¯t a big problem since I could already tell that the dragon was headed toward Baron R¨¦ttr¡¯s castle. Apparently, the red dragon intended on making the humans pay first. Afterall, if they hadn¡¯t scattered the kobold¡¯s minions, the green kobolds wouldn¡¯t have been able to take the kobolds¡¯ wealth. What made it even easier for my familiar to follow the red dragon was the devastation that marked his path. Einvaldskonungr stopped and destroyed every single small village he saw along his way to the baron¡¯s castle. By the time Alsvartr arrived, she was greeted by burning huts and wailing villagers. This continued until my familiar reached the castle. Before her lay the human city, now in ruins. Great plumes of smoke billowed skyward, mingling with the cries of the wounded and the dying. Rage, hotter than the flames that consumed the city, had clearly surged within the dragon''s heart. Humans, with their insatiable greed and hunger for conquest, had sent his minions fleeing. More importantly, they made it possible for his gold and gems to be stolen. With a deafening roar that split the heavens, Einvaldskonungr launched himself from the battlements into the air. His wings fanned the flames he had created. As soon as he saw another group of survivors rally together, he descended upon them. A hail of arrows and spears greeted him. Most of the weapons were too weak to inflict any harm, but a few managed to pierce his scales. What surprised me the most was that there were no spells being cast. Apparently, the spellcasters had fled or had already fallen. Flames erupted from the red dragon¡¯s jaws, engulfing the defenders in a searing inferno. Buildings crumbled under his claws while smoke choked the defenders. In the chaos of battle, amidst the flames and the cries of terror, Einvaldskonungr finally found himself face to face with a group of heavily armored knights who had dared to defy him. Their armor gleamed in the firelight as they rallied around one particular knight dressed in extravagant armor. The knights raised their weapons defiantly, but to the dragon, were nothing more than insignificant ants, unworthy of his mercy. Needless to say, they fell. To their credit, they did inflict several injuries upon Einvaldskonungr. Obviously, they had been armed with magic weapons. Unfortunately for them, it wasn¡¯t enough. I watched through my familiar¡¯s eyes as the red dragon finally calmed down and started peeling off the knights¡¯ armor before popping the bodies into his mouth. Soon, all of the dead bodies, still steaming from the heat, were devoured. While there were some survivors, the dragon just watched them. He apparently enjoyed watching them crawl among the flames with their bleeding skin burned black. Their wails of agony and screams of pain were mood music for his feast. I was amazed. I couldn¡¯t imagine just how much the red dragon could eat. Even horses were swallowed down. I was amazed that there were any animals anywhere near a dragon¡¯s lair. Then again, dragons usually only had to eat so much when they exerted themselves. At other times, they would sleep in their lairs, resting and conserving energy. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Soon, the red dragon grew annoyed with one particular injury. The roar he let out as he pulled a ballista bolt from his side almost made my familiar pee herself again. Then the red dragon launched himself into the air, his blood dripping onto the ground, burning whatever it fell upon. I was actually surprised by how badly the humans had been able to injure Einvaldskonungr. I made a mental note that whenever I destroyed a human village in the future, I would avoid the ballista. I really would have thought that the red dragon wouldn¡¯t leave any survivors. However, just because the red dragon was going to pass up on free experience didn¡¯t mean that I was going to do so. Maybe he wanted the tale of his rage and the destruction of the baron¡¯s city to spread. Then again, almost all of the survivors were heavily injured. Many of them would have died soon anyway. Even those that survived would be scarred or crippled for the rest of their life unless they were able to afford to pay a high-level cleric to heal their injuries. Of course, it could be that he just considered the humans to be ants who were no longer worth his time. Despite how the red dragon felt, I had other ideas. In the safety of my cave city, I rubbed my hands together as I saw how many soldiers were struggling to survive. Although I knew the soldiers hadn¡¯t been the ones who decided to invade my old tribe, I was still upset. In fact, I realized this was an opportunity for me. I quickly ordered my familiar to be kind to these poor misguided souls and put them out of their misery. I was almost afraid that we would not receive any experience since the soldiers posed almost no threat. However, for the next hour, my experience points started to accumulate quickly as Alsvartr finished off over dozens of knights, guards, and other soldiers. After the battlefield was cleared of survivors, I had her search the castle ruins in case any survivors were buried among the rubble. After the last survivor died, I heard the ding of a notification. ACHIEVEMENT - DEATH¡¯S HEIR. You have only been alive for a few months, but ever since you hatched, you have brought death to countless creatures. Your deeds have been acknowledged by deities of the Pantheon of Darkness. Because of this, you are seen as a potential candidate to inherit the Divine Spark of Death. ACHIEVEMENT - DEMIGOD. You possess Faith Points from fanatical believers who worship you as a god and have been acknowledged by deities from the Pantheon of Darkness. Because you have met the minimum threshold, the System has kindled the Divine Spark of Death within your soul. WARNING: You must fan the flames of the Divine Spark that has ignited in your soul by infusing a Divine Focus with Faith before creating a Divine Body. If you fail to nourish the Divine Spark with Faith, or fail to create a Divine Body, your soul will be consumed. Suddenly, my breath was taken away. It started with a throbbing headache. Then my chest tightened. My body started to ache. Even my bones felt sore. It was as if every bone in my body was under immense pressure. My scales started to crack before falling to the ground. New scales formed as overwhelming energy surged into my body. It was as if my body was holding back an ocean of energy. I could feel the divine spark of death surging through my veins like liquid fire. It felt like I was going to explode. Every muscle convulsed as pain coursed through me. I could feel my body struggling to contain the divine energy. The energy threatened to tear me apart. I only had a moment of clarity between screams. It was at one of these times that I sensed something happening to Alsvartr as well. I could only hope that she survived. Blue eldritch sigils started to glow all over my body. The shadows around me started to dance with newfound life. They whispered ancient secrets and unveiled truths darker than the abyss itself. Visions of past lives and forgotten realms flashed through my mind. Voices whispered to me in languages long extinct as memories flooded into my mind. I saw the fragile mortality of all living things. Mortals were fleeting and fragile, like petals caught in a storm. I saw babies being born. Then I watched them grow up before finally succumbing to age, disease, or violent death. I witnessed the ebb and flow of souls. My consciousness was dragged deeper into the hidden corners of existence where the veil between realms grew thin. I found myself in the land of death that was shrouded in eternal twilight. A desolate landscape of shattered rocks and swirling mists greeted my eyes. Barren plains stretched as far as I could see. The skeletal remains of ancient trees emphasized how desolate the landscape was. However, there was movement in the mists. Rivers of blackened water wandered on the edges of the land. Their surfaces hid dark secrets in their depths. In this realm, time seemed frozen. Even sound was swallowed by the oppressive stillness. In this landscape, a towering tree captivated my eyes. It also chilled my soul. A giant ash tree stood at the edge of my perception. However, it was larger than the tallest skyscraper I had ever seen. Its branches were adorned with dead brittle leaves that rustled mournfully in the faintest breeze. It was the first sound I had heard since arriving. I wondered if it was Yggdrasil. The thought sent a shiver down my spine. However, my attention was attracted by what was growing out of the tree. A single twig had managed to survive. It defied an unwelcoming world. Its tiny leaves had already begun to sprout. It was a vibrant green against a backdrop of desolation and despair. It whispered of hope and resilience. I realized that life would always struggle in the face of death. I understood the inevitability of death. However, I also knew that in every ending, a new beginning was possible. With a final surge of an exhausted will, I embraced the divine spark within. I shed the last vestiges of mortality as I ascended to become a demigod of twilight and death. Chapter 75 - Demigod Information Sheet Slowly, I came back to my senses. The first thing I did was check on Alsvartr. Fortunately, she seemed to be fine. In fact, apparently, I had been unconscious for a much longer time than my familiar. I knew this because she was flying back home. Since there was no immediate need for her in the city, I instead asked her to follow the path Einvaldskonungr had taken. Hopefully, since the red dragon was injured, she might be able to catch up with him this time. While she was doing that, I examined my body. Light blue sigils still adorned my wings and tail while golden sigils were glowing on my body and legs. Surprisingly, the sigils actually didn¡¯t detract from my handsomeness. In fact, the sigils somehow enhanced my attractiveness. I wouldn¡¯t have thought that was possible. What confused me was that I felt the glowing sigils were still full of potential power that were just waiting to be released. Hurriedly, I pulled up my information sheet. I don¡¯t know which bothered me more, the fact that the information was displayed completely differently or the fact that there were so many changes that I had to decipher. Hopefully, the system would give me more information about the new details. Although I was worried about the notification that told me that if I didn¡¯t create a divine body, I would die, there wasn¡¯t much I could do about it at the moment, Because of that, I focused on my information sheet. The first change was that I had access to the Death Domain as well as the Twilight Domain. One of the benefits of the Twilight Domain was that I learned extra spells. After glancing down at the spell list, I noticed a few additional spells related to death. Nodding to myself, I then went to the next detail. I had a few divine powers, which were pretty straight forward. The only question was the effectiveness of the abilities. How big and how much damage could the Death Aura give? As for Regeneration, just how much was regenerated, and how quickly? Both of those would be easy to test, so I would worry about them later. As for Body of Twilight, it had changed from a domain power to a divine power. Anyway, there really wasn¡¯t anything I could do about it at the moment anyway. Despite having a sword of Damocles hanging over my head, I had to smile at seeing my new attributes. I had known something was happening when my body was being reshaped. Apparently, both Strength and Constitution had improved yet again. While I was extremely happy with the physical changes already, when I saw my speed and health points, I couldn¡¯t suppress a squeal of delight. Now I truly felt superhuman. Not only was I a fast-growing protagonist, but I was even more overpowered than before. I had literally become a god, or at least a demigod. While I wasn¡¯t certain, I had a nagging suspicion that the system had something to do with my ascension to a new state of being. In fact, the system was being extra generous by letting me decide where to spend an attribute point. I didn¡¯t see it until I concentrated on the attributes. It was an invisible bonus point that could easily have been missed if I wasn¡¯t paying attention. While I was tempted to place it into intelligence, I instead put it into dexterity. I hated seeing the odd number among all the even attributes. Immediately after I spent the attribute point, a stinging pain started shooting through my body. Gritting my teeth, I endured the pain until it went away a few minutes later. Besides that, there really weren''t that many changes except for the resistances and immunities. After reading them, I realized just how different I had become. In just a few months, I had gone from an egg to a god. If I was a protagonist in one of those serialized novels that I used to read, I would have scoffed at such a rapid increase in the main character¡¯s strength. I would have taken that author aside and told him he was being an idiot. He needed to slow down with the character development. Making the main character too powerful too quickly wouldn''t be realistic. However, my life wasn¡¯t a novel, so I was more than happy to grow powerful after only a few months. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. There was one last thing on the information sheet that made me happy as well. After not leveling up for two months, I had finally gained enough experience to level up again. However, that meant it was also time to face my mortal enemy, decision making. I had to decide what class to level up in. It was too bad that I couldn¡¯t use the experience points to level up my divine rank. I even tried to level up my divine rank with the faith points, but nothing happened. Now that I was assured ninth level spells just because I was a dragon, I wasn¡¯t sure that I wanted to continue investing in the wizard class. Although I loved the variety of spells I could learn at the lower levels, I knew that at the higher levels there weren¡¯t nearly as many spells to choose from. While there were still a lot of them, I could probably use the Shape Magic feature and my draconic evolution to gain most of the spells I wanted to learn. Of course, I still had no desire for any of the marital classes. I wanted to stick with the full spellcasting classes to really abuse the huge amount of spell points I possessed. Also, if I chose a martial class, the Shape Magic feature would lose its impact. If I stayed as a wizard, I would be able to freely choose between fourth level spells, which was quite nice. However, that was about the only immediate benefit. The next real benefits, besides being able to cast higher level spells, would come at the tenth and eighteenth levels A level of cleric would open a lot of benefits, but so would some of the others. Since I was going to use the experience points to level up no matter what, I asked the system to display the available spellcasting classes to see if there were any changes since the last time I leveled up. Choose one of the following classes: Although I should have been pleased that I narrowed down my choices, I also noticed that the draconic sorcerer option was gone. I could only conclude that was because I was an actual dragon now and was getting magic already by evolving. Again, I eliminated ritualist immediately. As for the other spellcasting classes, the unholy theurgist seemed a lot like my current class, except cleric based instead of wizard based. Then again, it could be like a shaman. Either way, it also wasn¡¯t for me. That left me with four choices. Nodding, I congratulated myself for narrowing things down. I was actually very tempted to choose the dark cleric. I could be cleric of death since the old god of death was dead, and I had replaced him. In fact, that might be the ideal choice. However, I wasn¡¯t really sure how it would actually benefit me more than the other three classes. Banshee sounded like it was based on both sound and death. It also sounded as if it focused on foretelling the future since that was what a banshee did. Hearing a banshee scream at night was believed to foretell the death of a member of the family of the person who heard the spirit. That actually sounded like it would work well with my Soul Collector class feature. Although not directly powerful, it could provide strong support abilities. The only one left was eldritch mind. Since I already possessed one level in that class, I sort of knew what to expect. I did have to admit that several features of the class were extremely powerful. In fact, those class features were overpowered if I wanted to compare it to the other classes. The only downside was that its features were heavily stacked in the first level. I doubted I would get another strong ability until I reached at least level six in that class. I wasn¡¯t sure that I wanted to invest that many levels into eldritch mind. Reluctantly, I grimaced and decided to scratch banshee off the list. While it did deal with spirits and death, I could probably learn similar skills after my divine rank increased. The same was also true for a cleric of death, therefore I eliminated dark cleric as well. That left me with two choices, eldritch mind and twilight theurge wizard. Finally, after taking a deep breath, I made my decision. As soon as I made my selection, I muttered, ¡°Gnome cookies.¡± I remembered too late what happened every time I leveled up. Memories and visions quickly overcame me as I fell to the ground. Chapter 76 - Dogma, Doctrine, and Divine Focuses A middle-aged wizard who had studied dark magics his entire life finished preparing the Enlightenment ritual. Once everything was in place, he stood in the center of the magic circle and recited the spell. Suddenly, he found himself standing at the edge of a dense forest as the twilight cast long shadows through the trees. The air was thick with a sense of mystery and magic. As he explored deeper into the forest, he came across a clearing bathed in a gentle, ethereal light. In the center of the clearing, ancient runes glowed softly on the ground, pulsating with latent power. They emitted rays of light, radiating warmth and protection. However, beyond the clearing was a darker path, shrouded in mist and filled with eerie whispers. Here, the wizard sensed the presence of darker spells, potent with raw energy and unpredictable forces. Symbols of darkness flickered in the shadows, tempting him with their forbidden power. As the dream unfolded, the wizard grappled with the choice between the comforting light spells that offered clarity and benevolence, and the seductive dark spells that promised strength and dominance. Each path held its allure, but the wizard was torn by indecision. As he awakened from the vivid dream, the wizard realized that his path to mastery was not only in mastering spells of both light or darkness, but also in understanding the delicate balance between them, harnessing their energies to achieve his true potential. Slowly, I started stirring on the ground, realizing that I had a dream within a dream. I snorted, faintly amused because I was starting to believe the system might actually be sentient, much like Hyggiandi, although with a weird sense of humor. However, I had no proof to support that theory, so I decided to just be happy about the fact that I was now a seventh level wizard and was able to cast fourth level spells. What I was unhappy about was that I didn¡¯t know how to use all the faith I had gained. I also didn¡¯t know how to achieve a divine rank of one instead of my current zero. I definitely felt like a god among mortals, but I didn¡¯t have a few powers that every real god possessed. I couldn¡¯t hear prayers. I couldn¡¯t bestow spells upon my clerics. I didn¡¯t even have any clerics. More than likely, I wouldn¡¯t be able to advance to the next divine rank until I created a divine focus. Clerics needed a divine focus to cast their spells, so their divine focus would probably be similar to the divine focus that I would create. Actually, a lot of gods had something that focused their powers like that. Zeus had his lightning bolt. Poseidon had his trident. Even Christianity had a divine focus, the cross. Therefore, I probably needed something to represent me as a god. However, first, I would need to know what was important to my religion. Sighing, I sat up as I tried to imagine what else I lacked. One thing was a bible or some other type of holy text. While I wasn¡¯t certain every god possessed one, I was pretty sure having some type of dogma, doctrine, or tenant. In fact, I probably needed to have all three. Dogma was a set of essential beliefs, principles, or doctrines that are identified by an authority as absolutely true. Christians would say that Jesus was born. He died for their sins. He was then resurrected. If someone believed in him, they would go to heaven. If they didn¡¯t believe in Jesus, then that person would go to hell. Dogma could be considered the general beliefs of a religion. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. The Ten Commandments could serve as tenants of Christianity. Even the ¡°golden rule¡± could be considered a tenant. However, just like honoring your father and mother might be open to some interpretation, treating others as you would be treated could also be interpreted in different ways. However, in general, tenets could be considered the moral and philosophical rules that defined their religion, and all worshippers were expected to follow them. As for doctrine, that was like the teachings in the Bible. The church believed everything in them to be true, but Christians could interpret what was written quite differently. Priests might even place more importance on some aspects of the religious text in particular. Some passages might even be ignored or explained away. For example, Christians might place a lot of importance on the sanctity of marriage and of baptism. Doctrine determines what is considered important by the church, such as haircuts, what is eaten, or even if someone should be circumcised. I needed to create all three. However, first I needed to focus on the dogma. After that, I could then create the rest. I started rubbing my chin, almost as if I still had a beard as I tried to crystalize what my core beliefs should be. I didn¡¯t want to be just a god of death, but also one that promised a chance of life. Twilight actually went quite well with that, since twilight is both the end of the day and the beginning of the day. So, I needed something about death being a time of transition instead of something that only destroys. That would fit in well with reincarnation. However, I didn¡¯t want everyone to reincarnate the same no matter what. If someone was evil, they needed to pay some type of price before reincarnating and being given a second chance. As for those who were good, they needed some type of reward. Even though I might not be able to deliver on whatever these punishments and rewards might be, I at least needed to incorporate them into my dogma. Basically, I needed something like death was needed and that everyone would eventually die. However, don¡¯t worry, because death is just a transition into whatever comes next. Then I need to come up with some virtues that are related to death that almost everyone could agree with. I also wanted something that would deemphasize death as being evil. I didn¡¯t want to be pigeonholed into only getting along with the Pantheon of Darkness. I wanted to have some common ground with the Holy Pantheon. While I might still be seen as evil, maybe I could be viewed as a necessary evil. After brainstorming for an hour, I finally had an idea of what my church would be like. While I didn¡¯t have everything, I did have the basics from which I could start creating a Holy Book. Just as I was about to start writing my holy book, Alsvartr contacted me. Apparently, she had been able to catch up with Einvaldskonungr despite his head start. Another thing that she let me know was that he was also visibly upset. When she caught up with him, the red dragon was devouring a green kobold who was coming out of his lair. However, despite stopping one kobold, many others must have long since left because as soon as the red dragon entered his lair, he let out a deafening roar, filled with frustrated rage. Judging by his reaction, whatever part of his hoard that he had been forced to leave behind was gone. I was actually a little surprised that he immediately set off in search of Groenneitr, but I attributed it to the fact that he was a hothead who couldn¡¯t cool down his temper. If I was injured and needed to recuperate from a ballista wound, I would have chosen to wait until I healed. However, the red dragon was different. He set off immediately while my familiar trailed along behind him like a shadow. Chapter 77 - Types of Gods While Alsvartr followed the red dragon, I spent my time trying to organize all the information about gods in my head. From what I could gather, souls are not forever. After someone died, if they worshiped a god, they would go to that god¡¯s realm. Some gods would hoard the souls, allowing them to grow stronger by learning spells or practicing martial skills. I assumed it was for some ultimate battle in the future between good and evil. Other gods choose to have their believers fight and consume each other to become stronger. The weak fed the strong. Those who died were destroyed. Some gods even fed off their followers to become stronger. Of course, these types of gods were mostly demons and devils who had ascended to godhood. When someone died, their soul was usually drawn to the plane where the person''s deity resided. If someone didn¡¯t worship any particular god, they were often judged by a god of death. Even if a god of death didn¡¯t personally judge a soul, the person¡¯s soul was usually drawn to the plane that most exemplified their alignment. Once a soul was claimed by a god, they rarely wanted them to leave their domain. In the infernal realms, souls were tormented until all their soul energy was used up. Righteous souls might be sent to the Heavens, where they lived contentedly until their souls faded away. Mortals that cast Reincarnation, Raise Dead, and other similar spells often attracted the attention of the gods. Many of them resented the fact that a mortal had taken away a soul that belonged to them. They guarded souls like dragons guarded gold. However, despite how gods felt about losing souls, in most cases, before a soul completely dissipated, most gods would allow the souls within their realm to be reincarnated. They did this for several reasons. One reason was because the person¡¯s soul was rejuvenated when he or she reincarnated. Then, once the creature died again, the gods could harness the soul energy again. It was sort of like recharging a battery before using it again. Of course, mortals could make deals with gods. Souls were like money to gods. If the god was offered up a good enough deal, they were often more than willing to give something in return for a soul. When a mortal entered into an agreement with a god, they were tying their soul to a divine or infernal realm. This would tether their soul to a certain realm. It should go without saying that there was a limited amount of power a god could possess, at least until they became an overgod. Just like souls weakened over time, so too did the souls of gods. Gods could also suffer injuries. Perhaps they lost followers or were injured by other deities, but whatever the reason, they needed extra energy, no matter the source. In order to recover the energy, some of these deities absorbed the souls of the dead and made them ¡°one with god.¡± However, nothing was ever free. Deities who did this often paid a price. If a ¡°good¡± god devoured the souls of evil mortals, a sliver of that evil would contaminate their being. It was sort of like good gods might be considered cold water and evil gods as hot water. Once the amount of cold water decreased, a good god might need to refill their tank. The hot (evil) water would change the cold (good) water. The opposite was also true. Even though evil gods loved tormenting innocent souls, they would rarely absorb them. While this might stabilize a dying god, if they continued to collect random souls that were too dissimilar to their essence, the deity would eventually lose focus and become a detached god. They grew to become less in touch with reality and eventually faded away. Either that, or they became monstrous gods, much like the Lovecraftian gods. Gods needed beings who were similar to them to lessen the negative effects. A god of fire who continuously absorbed the elemental essences of ice might lose his connection to fire. However, if they consumed fire elemental essences, they might grow stronger. Because of this, sometimes when a god of good was weakened, his followers would offer their souls willingly to help their god recover. Of course, evil gods might consider the evil souls they have collected as backup batteries to be used when they are low in energy. I had learned most of this information from Hyggiandi and from being a twilight theurgist. Although I wasn¡¯t certain all the information was actually accurate, I suspected that most of it was true. However, I was more concerned about creating a godhead, not repairing an existing godhead. Because of this, I tried to concentrate on what I had learned about newly created gods. New gods usually were under the sway of a more powerful god. They were often allowed to use some of the domains of the god who granted them the divine spark. For example, the god of the sun might create subservient gods, such as the lesser god of fire and the lesser god of light. Of course, even gods could be killed and have their domains stolen. Neither of these really pertained to me though. I needed to concentrate on what differentiated gods and mortals. Sighing, I started trying to focus my thoughts by organizing my thoughts on paper. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. After looking over the list I had made, I realized that as soon as I had declared myself a god and gained believers, I had become a false god. At the moment, I was a quasi-god. To become a minor god, I needed to create a divine body. After that, I would need to create a divine realm if I wanted to become a lesser god. As for a true god, that probably involved combining a divine body and a divine realm. Then, if I died while outside my divine realm, I would be resurrected within my divine realm. Eventually, if I became a powerful enough god, I would become one with everything. Faith was the energy gods needed to move from one stage of existence to the next. Actually, there were a few things I probably should have added to the descriptions of the gods. If the divine body of a god was killed, the god would need its believers to revive. Even if the god was revived, their divine rank would fall. Most gods tied their longevity and power to ideas or concepts instead of a mortal body. In fact, they often personified those ideas or concepts. Perhaps I could use faith to condense a divine body that was composed of the essence of those ideas. Then, as long as those things existed, I, as a deity, would exist. For example, assume I became the god of lamplighters. Since that profession no longer existed, and if that was my only domain, I would start to fade away. Because of this, gods often tried to have core portfolios, such as fire or life. Since I was condensing my divinity around the concept of death, I wouldn¡¯t have to worry about having a weak foundation. Usually, gods don¡¯t like to share their domains since this would reduce the power available that they could draw on. They didn¡¯t want another god to siphon off the faith they needed to survive. However, the more common their domain, such as a god of death, the more they were more willing to share their domain. For example, I eventually might create a minor god of murder or a minor god of disease. Having a central or core domain created a vast reservoir of power to utilize. If I had more water than I could use, I would be more likely to share the water. After thinking about my situation, I realized how lucky I was. Other gods had to fight from scratch. They created their own unique or obscure domain so that they were less likely to offend a more powerful god. They were basically eating the leftover crumbs. Eventually, they might grow strong enough to fight for the more central domains. New gods were often like new businesses, They often didn''t survive for too long. Their market was either too small or the big businesses got upset about losing some of their profits. Then the established god would swoop in like Walmart to destroy the small guy. It would take a lot of finesse to straddle the line and start working their way up the divine ladder. However, since true gods merged their divine bodies and their divine realms, they weren¡¯t able to step back into the mortal realms. Because of this, they had to create avatars. However, because the gods were no longer tied to the mortal realms any longer, their powers of their avatars would be reduced when not in their own divine planes. This was also the way that many newer gods were born. To create an avatar, a god had to imbue that avatar with a portion of their divinity. If the Avatar was killed, the god would be able to reform in its realm. However, they would be unable to go back to the mortal realm for a long time. During that time, mortals could take the divine essence from the avatar and create a divine spark. They might even use that time to establish themselves as gods. Again, I was getting distracted though. I really needed to concentrate on one thing at a time. I needed to create a divine focus and a divine body. From what the system said, I needed to create some type of divine focus first. I would probably need to infuse all my faith points into a divine focus. Then I could concentrate on creating a divine body. What I wasn¡¯t sure about was what I needed to do to create a divine body. I at least had some clue about the divine focus. While I assumed that it was possible to make a divine focus out of a regular item, I also suspected that the more valuable or unique the object, the easier it would be to transform it into a divine focus. The divine focus probably needed to be very durable. I might even need to take it to a place surrounded by my divine domain when I infused it with faith. For example, if I was a god of fire, I might search for something extremely valuable, and durable, that was associated with fire. After that, I could take the item to a volcano. I was also extremely lucky that the Necropolis was nearby. It would be the perfect place to conduct any spell or ritual that concerned death. It was the promised land for necromancers. The only worry I had about going there was that I wasn¡¯t sure how the clerics of the dead god of death would react. They still worshiped Banas¨¢r and might not be happy to see someone else taking over his domain. Still, it was the best place for me to infuse faith points into a divine focus. While I would most likely need to use a ritual to accomplish this feat, it also sounded like something I could do, at least theoretically. However, how could I form a divine body? Did I need to use the divine focus like a wizard might use a magic staff? Also, exactly how long did I have to create a divine focus and a divine body? I would assume that the weaker a divine domain, the longer I could endure as a quasi-deity. However, the domain of death was a core domain, which meant that my time was probably limited. Since the system had warned what would happen if I didn¡¯t achieve both goals, I really needed to accomplish them as quickly as I could. Chapter 78 - Divine Focus and the Green Dragons Lair Currently, I only had two items that could be considered as an item I could use as a Divine Focus. One was the Phylactery of Hyggiandi. However, I quickly discarded that option. For one reason, I wasn¡¯t willing to risk destroying Hyggiandi¡¯s consciousness. The second reason was that I might be stuck with her consciousness forever inside my mind. I shuddered just imagining such a situation. The second option was actually the Aegis Libram. Obviously, it was an incredibly powerful magical item. However, every spell, at least among those that I could decipher, were spells that were defensive or supportive in nature. Such a magical item would be much more appropriate if I was trying to create a divine focus for a god who specialized in defense, protection, or something along those lines. It wasn¡¯t, in any way, related to death, although it was related to gods. Inside the spellbook there was a Ritual of Sacrifice in which even non-spellcasters could send offerings to a god¡¯s divine realm. Of course, there were a few caveats, such as needing a replica of the god¡¯s divine focus. It also took a long time to cast. While I would have loved to use the Aegis Libram, a necromancer¡¯s spellbook would be much more appropriate. Since that was the case, I could create a new spellbook that only had necromantic spells, or at least spells that dealt necrotic damage. I could even include a few conjuring spells if they summoned spirits of death or undead creatures. Unfortunately, such a spellbook wouldn¡¯t be very valuable unless I was able to include high level spells. Other than that, I wasn¡¯t sure what I could use as a focus. None of the religious symbols I had considered earlier were the best fit for a divine focus. Some of them were even impossible. While I was thinking, I started thinking about anything and everything around me that could work as a divine focus. Actually, could I use the dungeon core as a divine focus? Could I make a connection to death with it? After thinking about it for a few seconds, I realized it wasn¡¯t really an appropriate divine focus for the domain of death. While I could say that the dungeon core was a representative of the underworld, that still didn¡¯t really work. I suppose I could use it to create some form of Hades, but I knew there had to be something better I could use instead. Frowning, I tried to come up with another idea. I wanted it to be something associated with me but also something that ordinary people could possess. After a few more minutes, I started wondering if one of my dragonscale feathers would work. Not only could they represent me, but feathers could also represent those birds that were associated with death or the afterlife, such as owls, ravens, and crows. The feather could even symbolize the soul''s journey as it takes flight after death. One reason I liked the idea was because I was a feathered dragon. In general, dragon scales were expensive. Since feathered dragons were extremely rare, they would be even more expensive. They were also very durable. The more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea. Unfortunately, I still felt that tying the feather to the concept of death might be too much of a stretch. However, it was definitely worth considering. Despite my intention to move on to other objects, I just couldn¡¯t let go of the idea. I could even turn the feather into a writing quill which I could use to write a spellbook. I suppose I could make a symbol out of several elements. For example, I could have a dragonscale feather quill writing on top of a spellbook that had a skeletal hand on the cover. That would definitely give off a death domain vibe. The main problem with that idea was that I needed a divine focus, not several divine focuses. The dungeon core was okay, but didn¡¯t really symbolize death and had little to do with me personally. The same could also be said about the Aegis Libram. I wasn¡¯t even going to consider the Phylactery of Hyggiandi. That would be a fate worse than death. Finally, after considering it some more, I finally narrowed down my choices to the necromantic spellbook or the dragonscale feather. While thinking of these two items, I briefly considered tying the two together with a chain, which would physically combine two disparate items with a third item. Something about it just felt right though. I actually felt relieved that I had made a decision. Over the next two days, I pulled out the blank spellbook I had been given a few months ago and started copying down all the spells that were associated with death. Since I didn¡¯t have to worry about learning the spells, I was able to finish the book within that time. I closed the book after finishing the last spell and looked at it. I wanted to make sure that I wasn¡¯t being stupid by using the spellbook as part of the divine focus. Having been a kobold, and being a dragon, I could easily tell what type of gems were on the black spellbook. The gems were actually only slivers of gems actually. They were tiny shards of blue and black diamonds, sapphires, garnets, and tourmaline. The gems weren¡¯t meant to be a centerpiece but were used to give the impression the leather was actually full of shimmering dragon scales. Even though the gems were not large, just the number of shards and the quality of the work made the spellbook valuable. A kobold craftsman had been able to forge a tiny, but strong, silver chain that I could use to connect the book and my feather. I had even given the kobold one of my Entropic Quill feathers to use in creating a writing quill. Now that I was done with the spellbook, I could take it to him and get him to combine them together. However, before I could do so, Alsvartr sent me a message. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. I could tell she was exhausted. I guess I shouldn¡¯t be surprised. She had been following the red dragon for two days now. Since Einvaldskonungr was injured, he wasn¡¯t able to go at full speed which allowed Alsvartr to keep up with the red dragon. Luckily, the red dragon had also decided to rest before confronting the green dragon, Groenneitr. My familiar was letting me know that Einvaldskonungr had woken up and was headed toward Groenneitr¡¯s lair. Switching my senses to see what Alsvartr was seeing, I watched as she followed the red dragon like a shadow. Then she hid behind a boulder once she noticed that the red dragon had finally reached the green dragon¡¯s lair. The red dragon Einvaldskonungr¡¯s scales had been broken by the ballista bolt. The wound still looked painful. It looked like anger had sustained the red dragon from the time he left his lair until the time he reached the green dragon¡¯s lair. The green dragon¡¯s lair was located deep in the forests, or at least I assumed since the red dragon was flying high above a waterfall. Considering what I knew of green dragons, they often had their kobold minions dig caves behind them. Another fact that gave it away was the heavy fog that faintly smelled of poison. Einvaldskonungr bellowed for Groenneitr to come out, but there was no response. The red dragon apparently didn¡¯t take that well and appeared confused about what to do. His fire breath attack would have little effect if he tried shooting it through the water. As for flying through the water to enter the cave, if he did that, he might be falling into a trap. Suddenly, while the red dragon was trying to decide how he would vent his anger, multiple spells flew up at the dragon. From behind hidden alcoves, wizards from the Penningr Republic cast their attack spells. Their robed figures blended into the dense foliage of the forest. Their magic was precise, deliberate, and were designed for the single purpose of overwhelming and incapacitating the red dragon. Einvaldskonungr was hit by several of the spells and new wounds appeared on his body. The red dragon screamed in rage and started strafing the forest with fire, hoping to vent his anger upon them. While he was distracted, Groenneitr, never one to miss an opportunity, joined the fray. His green-scaled form flew out from behind the waterfall and unleashed a poisonous cloud of gas directly at the red dragon, further straining Einvaldskonungr¡¯s already compromised defenses. The wizards, with incantations upon their lips and eyes glowing with eldritch power, unleashed another barrage of spells as the green dragon attacked the distracted red dragon. Lightning crackled, searing through the air, while waves of frost assaulted Einvaldskonungr from all angles. The once-proud red dragon fell from the sky, creating a crater upon his impact. As he struggled to stand up, more spells fell upon him and the green dragon commanded the plants to trap the red dragon. Tangles of roots and vines attempted to immobilize Einvaldskonungr, but even injured, his strength easily shrugged off the plants. The red dragon leaped into the sky, ignoring the injuries inflicted by the human wizards. He mindlessly threw himself at the green dragon. The green dragon, even though it was not injured, was barely able to avoid the attack. He continuously retreated, avoiding almost all of the dragon¡¯s attacks. However, despite the distractions of the human wizards, and the fact that the red dragon was injured, Einvaldskonungr was still able to scorch the green scales black after one of his breath attacks. The green dragon was driven back, his roars of defiance fading into pained roars of retreat. However, the red dragon was slowing down, and obviously unable to continue the battle for much longer. The red dragon attempted a few more attacks but finally realized he was about to lose. Although it was an unbearable insult to his pride, Einvaldskonungr retreated, unwilling to fall to the hands of the green dragon and his human minions. I watched and was not at all surprised by what happened. The red dragon was stupid enough to attack without planning or preparing. He even attacked while already injured. Einvaldskonungr was lucky that he had managed to hurt the green dragon enough that he didn¡¯t want to risk additional injuries. By injuring the other dragon, he also was able to sooth his wounded pride. Even though the green dragon wasn¡¯t willing to give chase, the spellcasters were not willing to see their prey escape. They followed the red dragon and tried to finish him off. As soon as Groenneitr retreated back into his lair, Alsvartr followed behind the wizards who were using flying spells and magic items to follow the red dragon. In a final act of wrath, Einvaldskonungr briefly did flyby attacks of any human villages he passed to vent some of his frustration. Of course, he wasn¡¯t able to stay too long since that would give the human wizards time to catch up. That didn¡¯t mean that he escaped unscathed. Although the spellcasters were not able to finish him off, they did considerably worsen his injuries. I had to shake my head, not appreciating the fact that the dragon was killing innocent villagers. While I could have had my familiar finish them off, I didn¡¯t. The soldiers who had attacked the kobold city deserved it. However, the villagers he killed were just living their lives and had nothing to do with him. The red dragon, driven mad by pain and rage, released his fury upon the innocent villagers. Flames roared from his maw, engulfing homes and fields in a blazing inferno. The villages, once serene, now writhed under the dragon¡¯s ruthless assault. Villagers screamed and scattered, their desperate cries blending into the nightmarish cacophony of the dragon¡¯s rampage. From the start of the battle between dragons to the slaughter of the villagers was both awe-inspiring and horrific. The sheer raw power that a wounded dragon could unleash was scary. What was worse was the fact that the spellcasters didn¡¯t care. They made no attempt to help the people. Instead, they used the last of their spells to try to kill the red dragon. Fortunately, they failed, and Einvaldskonungr was able to retreat. I was worried about the red dragon. He had treated me well. Because of this, I decided that after completing the ritual, I would do something to help him. With his injuries, after reaching his lair, he wasn¡¯t likely to be going anywhere else anytime soon. In fact, I needed to complete the ritual quickly if I wanted to help the red dragon. There was a good chance that he would be attacked by Konungd¨®mr Kingdom soldiers in the near future for his attack on one of their castles. If the Groenneitr recovered faster than the red dragon, the green dragon might even show up. That was the reason why I asked Alsvartr to watch the red dragon¡¯s lair. Chapter 79 - Ritual of Apotheosis The next day, I started flying toward the Necropolis. I hated leaving the city since we still weren¡¯t self-sufficient. However, if I wanted to help Einvaldskonungr, I needed to act. The dragonberries I created everyday with my spell points were the main reason we had been able to make so much progress. However, dragonberries only lasted for twenty-four hours, which meant that after that time, the kobolds in the city would have to start eating our food reserves. Despite this worry, I knew that the Necropolis was the best place to go when I infused faith into the divine focus. Luckily, I was much faster after becoming a demigod. My speed had almost doubled when I gained a Divine Spark. Because of this, I was able to fly through the darkness extremely quickly. Even with my increased speed, though, it still took over half a day¡¯s travel to get there. The Necropolis was located in a valley between mountain ranges. On one side was the Penningr Republic while the Konungd¨®mr Kingdom was on the other. While the mountain ranges were not particularly large, they were impressive nonetheless. There was one strange thing about the area though. Nothing grew within a few miles of the Necropolis. It was as if the land itself was cursed. I was actually a little surprised that humans were able to live in the area. Then again, it was completely possible that the lifespan of its inhabitants would decrease the longer they stayed in the city. While I might have become a demigod, I still had a lot to learn. The ancient city was both beautiful and ugly. I didn¡¯t even know how that was possible. It was built entirely from the bones of forgotten creatures from long-dead civilizations. From a distance, its towering spires and sprawling cathedrals seemed to cast eerie shadows on the barren landscape. The city¡¯s architecture was strange. Intricately carved bone spires reached skyward like the skeletal fingers of some primordial giant. These towering structures looked like they had been formed from the fused bones of colossal beasts and ancient leviathans. The spires were adorned with delicate, bone-carved filigree. They depicted scenes of battles, rituals, and celestial conflicts. It was also filled with ancient writings that were carved into the larger bones. As I was flying closer, I could see that it was separated into three areas. There was a central area, the area I was flying toward. There was also a middle and an outer area. It appeared that the outer area was mostly abandoned. As for the middle area, it seemed to be much more lively. Then again, maybe that wasn¡¯t the word to use. I could actually see a lot of living people walking around even at night. However, there were also a lot of undead wandering around. If I had to guess, they appeared to be working to repair or guard the area. As for the inner area, that was obviously the place of power. I could sense several powerful magical auras which felt threatening coming from various places around the inner city. That was quite intimidating since I was a minor god and didn¡¯t want to make the owners of those auras mad. Luckily, they didn¡¯t seem to care about my approach at all. Since everywhere visitors looked, they would find bones, the Necropolis had gained another name, the City of Bones. I had expected to see black robed necromancers or black robed clerics of the death god. While they were definitely present, I actually saw more soldiers, merchants, and regular people that I would ever have imagined. Despite its grim appearance, the Necropolis was a city teeming with life, albeit not the life I had expected. Unsurprisingly, there were numerous undead creatures in the city. They included liches, revenants, skeletons, and just about every other type of undead. All of them moved unmolested through the streets. They didn¡¯t seem interested in attacking the living inhabitants of the city. If I had to guess, I would say they were all kept under strict control. Despite the abundance of undead creatures, the city was alive with a sense of purpose and ancient power. At the heart of the Necropolis stood a single great spire. It was an immense tower of bone that rose above all other structures in the city. This tower was both a symbol of the city¡¯s power and a functional center of necromantic magic. Its walls were covered in dark, arcane runes that glowed faintly with a malevolent light. The very air around it thrummed with the energy of dark rituals and ancient incantations. I landed in an area just under the peak of this spire in an area that reminded me of a lighthouse. I then gazed down at the entire city. It was laid out like a skeletal map, a reminder of the Necropolis¡¯s dominance over the surrounding land. I was glad that I had chosen this spot. At first, I wasn¡¯t sure whether I wanted to go to the deepest part of the Necropolis or somewhere else, such as the Cathedral of Death. This church was where many of the followers of Banas¨¢r congregated. There were also other places of worship, but none as grand. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. However, I had decided that I wanted to go to the highest point of the city, a place where I could look down upon everyone and everything, like a god. Because of this, I chose to create the divine focus there. Since I was in place, I pulled the necrotic spellbook out of my dimensional space. Before I had left, I had already asked the kobold craftsman to attach the altered dragonscale feather to the spellbook with a silver. I then held the book and started concentrating, trying to use my willpower to force the Faith Points into the divine focus I had made. A window popped up with a ding. I hurriedly looked at it, my heart beating with excitement and anticipation. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. AN ATTEMPT HAS BEEN MADE TO CREATE A DIVINE FOCUS. This attempt has failed because the spellbook was not anointed and was of low quality. I frowned after reading the notification, annoyed that I had wasted so much time and energy in creating the book. I had to resist the impulse to throw the spellbook to the ground far below. Instead, I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself. I could understand failing because of the spellbook¡¯s quality, but I had no idea on how to anoint the spellbook. Did I need holy or unholy water to sprinkle onto it? Not really sure what else to do, I tried again, but this time only using my feather instead. Hopefully, I would get more information about how to anoint the feather. AN ATTEMPT HAS BEEN MADE TO CREATE A DIVINE FOCUS. This attempt has failed because the writing quill was not anointed and was designed to work with a spellbook. I had to close my eyes after that. From what I could gather from that notification, I might have been able to use one of my entropic quills if I hadn¡¯t made alterations to the dragonscale feather. While I was tempted to remove another feather, I decided against that idea since I was pretty sure I would just get another rejection. Deciding I might as well try using the Aegis Libram, I pulled it out of my personal dimensional space. Setting it on top of the necromantic spellbook, I started to get ready to remove the chain from the necromantic spellbook and attach it to the Aegis Libram instead. That was when I noticed two things. The first was the fact that there was nowhere to attach the chain to on the Aegis Libram. The second was that the two spellbooks seemed to be merging together. I almost dropped both spellbooks as the Aegis Libram seemed to be sliding into the necromantic spellbook, as if it were seeking a hiding place. Either that, or the Aegis Libram considered the necromantic book a new piece of clothing it could wear. After a few seconds, only one book remained. While it had the black scaled appearance of the necromantic spellbook, as soon as I opened the book, I noticed that the interior was the Aegis Libram. There was another difference. More pages had been added and one of the spells that had been indecipherable before was slowly becoming legible as the ink squirmed and wiggled on the page. After a few seconds, I realized that it was a ritual, a high-level ritual. In fact, it was similar to the Dungeon Core spell that could only be used once. If it weren¡¯t for the Aegis Libram helping me cast the ritual, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to even dream of successfully completing the ritual. Just trying to figure out the major steps I needed to follow took over an hour. Finally, though, I managed to narrow down the purpose of the ritual and everything I needed to do to complete the ritual. It was a ritual of deification. I also broke the ritual down into steps to make it easier to understand. Ritual of Apotheosis: Elevating mortals to the divine After looking over the ritual, I realized it wasn¡¯t going to be as easy as I had hoped. I guess I really shouldn¡¯t have expected anything different. I wasn¡¯t some protagonist with a golden finger who would be given everything I ever dreamed of. In fact, I wasn¡¯t even sure I would survive the ritual even with divine assistance. At first, I had thought step two and step five would be difficult, but then I realized I was a demigod. Therefore, I could probably use my own blood. The scary parts were steps four, eight, nine, ten, and twelve. In each of those steps, I either had to survive or resist something terrible, such as insanity. As for gaining acceptance from the Planar Will, I had never even heard of a Planar Will before. How was I supposed to gain his approval? That was even assuming no one tried to sabotage me while I was conducting the ritual. I might even be too injured after the fourth step to continue with the ritual. Still, I had to try. If I didn¡¯t try, I would die. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon. With these thoughts in mind, I made a cut on my hand and began letting the blood fall onto the Aegis Libram and the Entropic Quill. Chapter 80 - Deification I wasn¡¯t exactly sure how much blood I should shed. This was especially true since I would need to write the magic sigils in my blood as well. However, I also didn¡¯t want to use too little. I continued letting the blood flow, slowly becoming more worried. Suddenly, the items glowed for just a moment and a notification appeared. ACHIEVEMENT: DIVINE FOCUS ANOINTED. You have anointed a Divine Focus with the blood of a deity. Do you wish to imbue the Divine Focus with Faith? I quickly wrapped a cloth around the wounded hand and said, ¡°Yes.¡± I was so excited that I had momentarily forgotten what would happen next. I could feel the faith pouring out of me and into the spellbook and feather. When I first received the faith points, I hadn¡¯t felt anything. However, that changed. Each point of faith did enter into the divine focus, but then it was fed back into me, painfully. It was like a giant circuit. The faith points flowed out of me and into the divine focus, subtly changing it, purifying the spellbook and the feather. Then the faith points would return to me, or at least some of them. The faith points that trickled into my mind were chaotic and unstable. I had to concentrate in order to keep the chaotic faith points from injuring my mind. After I gained control of the faith points, I could then repeat the process. I knew without being told that I would need to repeat this process again and again until the spellbook and feather were consecrated. I wasn¡¯t sure how long the process took since I lost track of time. I wasn¡¯t even aware that blood had started to ooze out of my nose and ears. Maintaining control of the chaotic faith points grew harder and harder. I almost collapsed as I finally felt a connection form with my divine focus. Through it, I could sense many things. I could feel magic swirling around me. I could see it in every object. I could hear whispers of ancient magic in the depths of my mind. While it was terrifying, it was also exhilarating. It also provided another benefit. I discovered that I could detect magic at will with just a thought. After getting over the amazement, I forced myself to stay focused. There was a lot left to do. After unwinding the cloth from around my hand, I squeezed out some blood and began to inscribe the magic sigils with it. I placed the spellbook and feather into the center, to focus the divine spell. By the time I was done creating the magic circle, I was starting to feel woozy from the loss of blood. However, my efforts had an effect. My immediate surroundings had become bathed in an eerie glow that was emitted from the magic sigils. The air crackled with raw, untamed energy. I then rebandaged my hand again and took a few minutes to rest. The first test involved surviving the transformation from demigod to god. That was one reason why every god gained the divine regeneration feat. Without it, anyone attempting to conduct the ritual would die a miserable death. Of course, even demigods were not immune to pain. The next parts were the most dangerous. I would have to pass five tests, most of which would be fatal if I failed. After mentally preparing myself, I began the Ritual of Apotheosis. Standing in the center of the magic circle, I held my divine focus and started chanting the incantation. With each incantation spoken, my flesh seemed to stretch and contort as if being pulled by unseen hands. Veins of incandescent light coursed beneath my skin, revealing glimpses of the celestial essence flowing through my body. I had to force each word of the ritual through gritted teeth as pain threatened to drive me into the darkness. The pain was a constant, searing fire that shot through me, each wave of agony more intense than the last. My muscles twisted and expanded, their fibers elongating and intertwining in intricate patterns that resembled constellations. My skin turned luminescent, glowing with divinity, iridescent with shifting hues of silver and blue. The transformation was an excruciating process, a trial that tested the very limits of my endurance. My screams echoed through the night as I struggled to endure the divine metamorphosis. Although I couldn¡¯t understand her words through the pain, I could feel Alsvartr in the back of my mind, urging me to hang on. My blood boiled as all the mortal aspects were burned away, leaving only the divine. If not for my regeneration feat, I would have died long ago. I could feel myself continually losing health points, but also continually regaining them almost as quickly. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. A feeling of relief surged through me as I realized that I had survived the painful transformation. A torrent of celestial energy suddenly surged through me as my new form stabilized. I could feel an increase in all my attributes. However, I didn''t have time to celebrate since my new divine senses were now becoming unbearably painful. I realized that I could see and hear farther. I even developed some type of tremorsense. It was strange. I felt like an old, blind, deaf man who suddenly discovered he could see and hear like he was a child again. However, the changes weren¡¯t without a price. My nerves screamed in the agony. In fact, the pain was almost unbearable. It was much like when I had transformed from a mortal to a demigod. My senses were overwhelmed with a deluge of sensory input. The world was a kaleidoscope of colors and energies. Each color vibrated with an intensity that both dazzled and disoriented me. The whispers of cosmic secrets brushed against my consciousness. Their murmurs mingled with the hum of distant stars and the pulse of celestial realms. This new awareness, though wondrous, was a disorienting storm of sensation. It threatened to drown my mind in its complexity. I struggled to maintain focus. I grappled with the overwhelming flood of divine knowledge. Surprisingly, it was one of my other divine senses that allowed me to maintain my sense of sanity. I could feel my kobold believers. Many of them were sending prayers of thanks. They were grateful for having been blessed with the draconic kobold transformation. Other kobolds prayed that members of the opposite gender would look their way while taking a morning ¡°bath.¡± Some prayers made me smile while others made me shake my head in amusement. All of these prayers helped me maintain my focus and not be washed away by my new godly senses. As I grew used to my new celestial senses, I became aware of an ominous presence lurking at the periphery of existence. This presence seemed like a vast, terrible nameless void that hovered on the edges of reality and dreams. Its essence was a pulsating, ravenous darkness that seemed to whisper seductively to my mind. It had no place in the natural order of existence. It was an aberration of reality. It had rejected reality, and it wanted me to join it in the darkness. The voice of oblivion was a deep, resonant murmur that promised liberation through destruction. It urged me to succumb to the inevitable entropy that awaited all things. It promised me the power to destroy everything. Yet, amidst the swirling chaos of divine sensations, I somehow found the resolve to resist. I fought against the pull of oblivion. I summoned every ounce of my divine will to resist the seductive promise of annihilation. The void''s whispers clawed at the edges of my mind. However, I endured. Eventually, I was able to isolate its influence behind a wall of willpower, faith, and divinity. After enduring through these experiences, I started to feel a connection to the domain of death. Death. I was even connected with the undead. My understanding of death began to change. I realized it was not merely about the cessation of life. Despite sometimes being a cruel and unpredictable force, death was also a necessary evil. Death was both a final release and a necessary transition. It was a force that could be both merciless and merciful. It wove through the tapestry of life, serving as a harbinger of endings and a catalyst for new beginnings. I witnessed how death, in its chaotic nature, could be a tool of justice or a harbinger of destruction. This revelation brought with it a sobering realization. Death was an essential part of the cosmic cycle. However, its manifestations were not inherently good or evil. I embraced my role and decided to wield my powers with wisdom and compassion. After embracing my divine domain, I started to feel a sense of dread, as if something totally anathema to myself was approaching. Although I didn¡¯t know the face of my mortal enemy, I could sense it drawing nearer. I realized that I had survived and was now facing the Test of Anathema. It was a symbolic test that reflected the things that were fundamentally opposed to my nature and domain. I had assumed that life would be the opposite of death. However, I was wrong. Life and death were like two sides of a coin. One could not exist without the other. Instead, the force that approached me was one of eternal, timeless nothingness. Because nothing grew, nothing died. Because nothing changed, nothing was born. The power that death feared was that of oblivion, where nothing exists, not life, not death, and not even time. It was an absence of everything. It was the power to erase something as if they never existed and never would exist. I shivered, realizing that such powers did exist, although they had been pushed outside borders of existence by some ancient existence, perhaps even the Planar Existence mentioned in the ritual. Knowing that there was something out there on the edges of existence, I vowed that I would fight it tooth and nail should it ever try to invade my world. While I might have reincarnated into the world, I was a part of the world of Guthheimr. It had given me a second chance, and I wasn¡¯t about to let that chance be taken away from me. Suddenly, I felt a warm approval wash over me, as if my determination to fight the eternal void had pleased some powerful being. Slowly, I started regaining awareness of the world. That was when I heard a ding with a new notification. ACHIEVEMENT - MINOR GOD. Congratulations. You have ascended to become the weakest god in the world of Guthheimr. ACHIEVEMENT - PANTHEON. Congratulations. You have joined the Pantheon of the System Lords. Chapter 81 - Minor Gods and Faith After looking at the notification, I realized that I had survived the Ritual of Apotheosis. I had also apparently joined the System Lord Pantheon. More than likely, I was in that pantheon because of the system which I had been given. It was probably created by one of the gods in the pantheon. Hopefully, I would find out more about the pantheon soon. Either way, I was a god. I couldn¡¯t resist doing a little jig, which was quite interesting considering I was dancing in my draconic form. Wondering what changes had occurred, I asked the system to display my information sheet. One of the first things I noticed was that I had some attributes to spend, which I immediately spent. I threw every point into my Intelligence. While I was annoyed that there was an uneven number, I was quite pleased to see that every one of my other attributes had been raised to the normal maximum a mortal could possess. My intelligence, however, was far beyond what morals could possess, even after gaining possession of an artifact or special magic item. As for all the powers I possessed, I couldn¡¯t imagine how I was considered the weakest god in the world. Even though I was ecstatic that I was a god, I was also offended that every single god in the world was more powerful than me. My disappointment didn¡¯t last long when I considered that I was also probably the youngest creature to ever become a god, at least one that wasn¡¯t born as a god. I was amazed by the new abilities. I now had a divine body that didn¡¯t need to eat, drink, sleep, or breath. I could even charm or frighten people with my divine presence. While those were amazing, another power was even more spectacular. It was the domain sense. If there was a large amount of death in an area, I could sense it now. I could see and hear everything that happened around the site where there was death. Unfortunately, it was sort of like hearing a lot of conversations in a crowded stadium at the same time. The closer or louder the conversation, the better I could sense it. The same was true for the domain sense. Unfortunately, it didn¡¯t work quite as well as twilight. What I picked up from that domain was creatures who were slowly dying. Weirdly, I could also sense distant locations that were experiencing twilight at those times. It was a strange combination. Of course, most of the time it was just background noise until I decided to pay attention. As for the immunities and resistances, they were the cherry on top of the ice cream. If someone didn¡¯t have a magic weapon, they could attack me forever and I would never get injured. Of course, I doubted that was completely true. A ballista was a nonmagical weapon, but I was pretty sure that it could injure me. My spells had also changed. The biggest change was that I could cast my domain spells as often as I desired. I could also allow my clerics to learn those spells. I could even allow them to learn cleric features based off of my domains. It was incredible. All of these factors combined with my increased health points made me feel like a powerhouse among gods, even if I was the weakest god in existence. Another change was a deeper understanding of faith and believers. Since gods depended on believers for faith, as a lesser deity, I gained a greater understanding of how they affected each other. For example, even though my information sheet said that I had 471 believers, I also knew that those believers could be separated into categories. I decided to test this theory. Sure enough, after clicking on the believers, I was given more information. After looking at my current faith points and remembering how many I possessed before, I realized that the ascension had used up 100,000 faith points. Despite using so many faith points, I still had almost that many faith points still left. However, after thinking about it for a moment, I had to chuckle and once again thank my lucky stars that I had been born a kobold. Every single one of my kobold followers was at least a devout believer. The only exception were the seven kobolds who must have arrived at Sanctuary while I was gone. As for faith points, they could be used in a lot of ways. Gods used faith like currency. Faith could even be used to supplement magic spells or even use faith points instead of magic points. Faith to make changes in their divine domain. There were just as many ways to use faith as there were ways to spend gold. Despite the many ways faith could be used, three methods of using faith were the most important. The first was that faith could be used to upgrade a god¡¯s divine rank. It was the fuel used to make the changes. If I gained enough faith, I could use that faith to advance to a rank two god. The second main usage of faith was empowering the god¡¯s clerics with power. Unlike wizards who memorized their spells or sorcerers whose magic was part of their bloodline, clerics gained power through faith. It was true that clerics could gain the ability to cast divine spells without needing to worship a specific god. However, most theologians agreed that this ability was still granted to the cleric by a divine being. For example, maybe a greater god or an overgod, who no longer needed worshippers, gave them the ability. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Often, the cleric might not even know they are calling upon a divine being. They might just think they are calling upon the power of nature.Instead, they would be calling upon a greater god who had actually merged with their domain. When a cleric needed to ¡°memorize¡± a spell, the gods would provide the faith their followers had provided to learn the magic spell. The more clerics a god possessed, the more faith points the god would need to use to answer the cleric¡¯s prayers. Each time a cleric used one of the cleric class features, their god would have to spend faith points. The third way was the afterlife that many gods promised to their followers. If they promised a heaven for their followers, they had to use faith points. The more followers that were in that heaven, the less ¡°miracles¡± the god would be able to produce on the material plane. Most gods had thousands of believers with superficial or passing faith. They might have some faithful followers, but probably only had a few devout believers. One reason for this was because the better a person¡¯s life, the less likely they were to need a god. However, kobolds spent their entire lives serving their dragon masters. They toiled away long hours every day to dig up precious gems and ores to offer to their god. This automatically made the kobolds devout believers. Because of the kobolds, I had been able to gather enough faith in just a couple of months that other gods would need years, or even decades, to accumulate. After ascending to become a minor god, I realized several ways that I could use faith points. One way to use them was to bestow additional spells or powers. Another was to bestow my favor, much like I had gained from several of the Pantheon of Darkness. Of course, the stronger the favor or blessing, the more faith points it would cost. In fact, most gods were reluctant to bestow their favors upon mortals. Faith points were valuable and could be used in many ways. Also, the god¡¯s faith points would be used every time the person used the favor. Although I hadn¡¯t really given it much thought, I realized that was the reason why I had lost several of the favors that had been bestowed upon me by the gods. I hadn¡¯t really cared at the time because the benefits of the titles rarely helped me. Once I became a demigod, the gods must not have wanted to use their faith to support another god. What actually interested me was the reason why I was allowed to keep the other divine favors. Who exactly bestowed those titles upon me? Was it the system? Was it the Planar Will? I didn¡¯t like the feeling of not knowing. After thinking about it for a few seconds, I sighed and dismissed useless questions to the back of my mind. All gods had a domain of power that defined their role as a god. Mine were the God of Death and the God of Twilight. I could only assume that I had there had been no God of Twilight before and that when I ascended to become a god, my twilight bloodline had allowed me to create a new domain, or at least one that wasn¡¯t already claimed. I had also somehow become a god of kobolds. I was confused by the fact that I had become a god of kobolds for several reasons. One reason was because kobolds already had a god. Although it was true that he hadn¡¯t been heard from in years. Another reason was that kobolds viewed dragons as gods. Was my becoming a god of the kobolds going to cause a problem for me where dragons were concerned? Also, why didn¡¯t I have a domain for kobolds? I had a domain for my other two titles. Maybe I needed to gain more kobold followers or wait until I could claim that domain. Maybe there was a limit on the number of domains a god could possess at each divine level. Either way, I needed to think of a way to increase the number of my followers, especially among kobolds. Aftering discovering just how amazing kobolds were as believers, I definitely needed to invest in improving the God of Kobolds title. Being able to convert kobolds into draconic kobolds would be my biggest advantage. With my improved pool of health points, I could easily convert hundreds of kobolds every week. However, even though I was now technically a god, I didn¡¯t have a divine domain. Therefore, if I died, I would probably stay dead. While it is possible that some of my believers might eventually manage to resurrect me, I doubted it would be anytime soon. This was especially true since I didn¡¯t have a single cleric among their ranks as yet. In fact, that was probably one of the first things I needed to do when I returned to Sanctuary. After that, I needed to think of a way to gain followers among the other races. While it was true that I could gain an amazing amount of faith just from the kobolds, one reason I was able to do this was because these followers were in my city. If I tried to gain followers among the other kobold tribes who had a dragon as their god, I wouldn¡¯t gain nearly as much faith. I also needed to find a way to use not only kobolds, but the other races as well, to increase my power as a god somehow. What I needed the most was believers, faith points, and souls. Because of this, I needed to give potential followers something that would prove beneficial to both of us in the long term, even if it cost me a lot in the short term. However, I also needed to be careful not to cross any lines that would make me the enemy of another god. One of the first gifts I had considered giving my followers was a contingent Death Ward spell since it wouldn¡¯t cost much to give them such a favor. In the future, the next time they ¡°died,¡± they would instead only be critically injured instead. However, if someone was saved from certain death, but left with only a sliver of their life, more than likely, they wouldn¡¯t live long anyway. The believer would probably die again almost immediately. Whatever killed them the first time would just end up killing them again. As for this gift, it was even more useless to the clerics and necromancers who were likely to believe in the god of death. Many of them would be able to cast the spell upon themselves once they grew strong enough. They might even possess a magic item that would have the same results. I started searching my memories trying to find something I could use. Considering all the fantasy books, the comic books, light novels, manga, and anime I had watched or read, I should be able to come up with something. Finally, I remembered a certain serialized novel I had read. Considering who my followers would be, I realized there was one certain serialized novel that I read that would work, although with a few modifications. Chapter 82 - Dragon Gods System Being in the Necropolis, and being a god of death, reminded me of necromancers, especially liches, who consumed souls for sustenance and power. As could be expected, this was something few gods could tolerate since it was taking away a soul that might have gone to them. However, they didn¡¯t stop the practice completely since many followers of evil gods would use this method to nourish not only themselves but their gods. It was the typical trope of sacrificing a million lives to awaken a dead god. Because the gods of good didn¡¯t want to lose a saint¡¯s soul to an evil god, in the long-forgotten past, the gods who were associated with goodness made a deal with the evil gods. They worked together to prevent souls from being completely consumed unless that person¡¯s soul was within a god¡¯s domain. From that point in time onwards, when a person was sacrificed to a god, or when a lich devoured a person¡¯s soul, a portion of that person¡¯s soul would survive. Despite this, few good gods were happy with the situation. While they could condemn the practice, it was common practice, even among the gods of light. Paladins would often slay demons with sacrificial swords. The ¡°purified¡± demon would die, but some of their energy would be absorbed by the paladin¡¯s deity. Because of this, nothing was usually done as long as enough of the soul survived. The more that remained of a person¡¯s soul after being sacrificed or devoured, the less likely the gods were willing to do something about the offense. What I needed to do was to find a way to utilize this loophole for my benefit. Perhaps I could give them an ability that drained a soul¡¯s energy. However, the ability would also need to send some of that power to me. A comparison might be giving an unemployed taxi driver a new car which they could then use to earn money. The only caveat was that the taxi driver then had to give me a percentage of their profit they made while using the vehicle. Of course, I didn¡¯t want the taxi driver to use my car to run over a lot of innocent people either. That was my main concern. If I gave the spellcasters such a gift or favor, I was worried that they might abuse the power they were given. Even police officers, who were supposed to uphold the law, would sometimes cross to the line, knowing that other officers would back the blue. Politicians and judges would accept bribes while corporate CEOs would use their power to unfairly crush their competition and take advantage of their customers. Although not everyone abused the power that they were given, many people wouldn¡¯t hesitate to do so if it benefited them enough. What I was worried about was a few bad apples ruining it for me. I couldn¡¯t risk becoming an enemy of every god in Guthheimr. Fortunately, I already possessed two powers that could be used in that way that I could use as a template for the divine gift. Both of them were Eldritch Mind class features. Deathbringer allowed me to regain health points when I killed someone with a spell. The other was Soul Collector, which allowed me to collect small soul pieces of anyone that I killed and then use the power within those soul fragments to cast a spell. Still, neither one was exactly what I was looking for. Although such powers were very strong, they only gave temporary benefits. I wanted to create something that could improve over time. The believers would be motivated to become more powerful. However, I also needed to make sure that they didn¡¯t grow too quickly or too slowly. It was sort of like playing a game. If it took forever to level up, the believers would lose interest. However, if they progressed too fast, that could create a host of other problems. I could easily see the other gods being offended if they lost too many followers to me. Therefore, instead of turning them into my believers, I needed to find some way to provide benefits that believers of any god could use. If the believers of other gods were benefiting, and the gods did not use their believers, they were much less likely to take offense and do something that I might regret. I wondered if I could introduce some new type of system into the world, where I could skim some of the faith off as payment for creating it. Maybe I could give everyone a mini system that allowed them to direct their own direction of growth. Then I wouldn¡¯t be limited to only those believers who normally would worship a god of death. I frowned as I tried to imagine the possibilities. My ideas had already stretched far beyond my original intention. Now I was considering if I could allow users of my system to purchase things which I had stored in my domain. In fact, I could even allow users of my system to level up by contributing magic items and potions. That would open up more users for me since I wouldn¡¯t have to focus only on adventurers. One of the biggest difficulties would be paying for my system¡¯s upkeep and providing powers through my system. At first, I had planned to siphon off some of the soul energy from creatures that my believer killed. They would advance normally. The only difference would be that I would get soul fragments from everyone. Then I would use those soul fragments to grant the believers powers, gifts, or some other benefit. Actually, I could still use that idea. I wasn¡¯t sure if I should incorporate something like a prestige class that increased the experience for advancement, much like my dragon bloodline. Maybe I could modify my bloodline to give various benefits. For instance, kobolds would become draconic kobolds. Humans and other races, however, could choose something else. Of course, figuring out how to allow users of my system to level up would be difficult. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. Then again, I did have a cheat. I could just use faith. Faith points could actually create real miracles. It was sort of like my class feature, Shape Magic. If I were powerful enough, I could even use it to cast the Wish spell. However, since I still had a long way to go before that happened, I would have to start with low level abilities that people would go crazy over. Then I could slowly add features as I grew more powerful, sort of like a system update or upgrade. Suddenly, an idea came to me. I was able to form a familiar bond with Alsvartr. Now that I was a god, could I form some type of bond with mortals in order to create a system? Initially, it had been my system that had asked if I wanted to form a companion contract with my familiar. Perhaps there were other contracts I could create. I could then offer mortals a chance to form a contract and receive the Dragon God¡¯s System. The users would have to pay a tithe of soul fragments to the system in order to advance, just as I had earlier envisioned. Things like this had actually been done already, although a little differently. Demons made pacts with anyone willing to pay the price. In fact, I could be the being that was providing power to a warlock. All their magic was because they made such a pact. However, I didn¡¯t want to limit myself to only those people who were willing to become a warlock through my bloodline. Instead, I would make it more of a prestige class that could be added to any other class. All that would be required was that the person gain additional experience to level up. I could start with everyone having to ingest a ¡°magic potion¡± that had a drop of blood. Either that, or they could conduct a magic ritual that would activate the system. To keep the system active, the user would need to provide one faith point every day. After the system was active, the users could then conduct ritual sacrifices in order to purchase something from the system. I could also have it so that when they killed a creature, they would split the experience with me. In addition, since I was ¡°part¡± of the kill, I could use Soul Collector to obtain a soul fragment. I could also use the experience to level up my class level, much like how I could get experience points when Alsvartr slew a creature. Of course, I couldn¡¯t call it faith points. While it might be fine for people to worship multiple gods, I didn¡¯t want to risk offending other gods until I became stronger. Instead, I could call it something innocuous. Instead of the Death God System, I could call it the Dragon God System. In fact, I probably shouldn¡¯t call it a system. As for the faith points, I could convert faith points to something else, such as Draconic Points. I paused there, suddenly realizing I might have made a mistake. Could I still convert kobolds into draconic kobolds? Afterall, I was a god now. Then again, I was a demigod before and that was fine. The twilight bloodline was still listed on my information sheet as well. I would probably just need to refine, dilute, or filter out the divine blood. In my last life, I would often become obsessed with my projects. Sometimes I would be obsessed for hours. Other times I would be obsessed for weeks. However, sometimes I could become obsessed for months or years. I soon found myself lost in the thrill of a new obsession. I didn¡¯t know how long it had taken for my transformation. As for my designing a new system, that actually didn¡¯t take as long as others might think. I was a god with an intelligence high enough to make Sherlock Holmes blush in shame. My thoughts raced as I made comparisons between the prices of magic items, how much it would cost to do something with faith points, and how much I should charge in dragon points to ensure that I make a small profit. Finally, I took a deep breath as I finished deciding upon the prices. Of course, this would only be the pricing for the Dragon God System 1.0. I would definitely have to make changes in the future. Draconic Gifts (bought with draconic points - dp) Find Familiar (Pseudodragon) 5 dp Spell-Like Abilities Transformation (1000 dp each) Ways to Earn Draconic Points Chapter 83 - Creating the Dragons Gods System Of course, I would be making updates to the system later. For example, I could add in those items that had been sacrificially offered to me. I could even call it the Item Shop, or something similar. I planned to allow non-combative users to create magic potions or even donate gold to purchase dragon points. In fact, one of the spells from the Aegis Libram would be perfect for this. It was a ritual in which even non-spellcasters could use it to sacrifice something as an offering to a god. However, I would need to overcome one problem with the ritual. My first thought was to use the Planar Mansion ritual from the Aegis Libram. However, I still hadn¡¯t achieved a high enough spellcasting level to cast the ritual. I also wasn¡¯t sure that it would count as my divine realm. The spell would send the offerings to the god¡¯s divine realm. I didn¡¯t have a divine realm yet, unless I counted the Twilight Zone. That started me thinking. Could I use faith points to expand my personal dimensional space? Curious, I started infusing the Twilight Zone with faith points. I had to resist the urge to squeal in joy when I noticed that my idea worked. Then I had to wince when I realized just how many faith points it was taking to expand my personal dimensional space. While the Twilight Zone was increasing in size, I also made two other discoveries. Maintaining the size of my divine realm required faith points as well. The bigger the size, the more faith points it would require to maintain its size. Another discovery that I made was that I could choose to greatly increase the size of my divine realm if I chose to do so, but that this would also exponentially increase the cost of maintaining the divine realm. Needless to say, I chose the first option. I would rather expand the size of the divine realm slowly so that the maintenance cost later would be reduced. Unfortunately, I could already tell that the faith point cost in creating and maintaining a divine realm was staggering. I shook my head, took a deep breath, sighed in disappointment, and continued to send waves of faith into increasing the size of my divine realm. Once I decided it was large enough to start accepting offerings, I stopped. Afterall, I still needed a lot of faith points to set up the Dragon God System. After I was satisfied with the size of my divine realm, I pricked my finger with one of my teeth. I then used telekinesis to make the tiny ball of blood hover in front of me while I inserted faith points into it. After that, I created additional balls of blood, each one carrying my twilight bloodline. After that, I began to infuse them with the power of faith. Faith points were the power of the divine and could create miracles. It was really only limited by a few restrictions. The more powerful the effect, the more faith points the effect would need. Also, whatever the god wanted to achieve by using faith points needed to align with the god who was using the faith points. While a fire god could use faith points to create an ice storm, it would require many more faith points than it would for almost any other god. As for an ice goddess, she would be able to create the effect with fewer faith points. I started to get concerned with the number of faith points I was burning through to create the Dragon God System. My faith points were rapidly decreasing. The only consolation I had was that I only needed to create the system one time. After that, I could easily insert it into my blood with only minimal cost. However, I soon began to worry that I would run out of faith points before the system was created. Fortunately, that didn¡¯t happen, though I did drop dangerously low on faith points. Finally, I breathed a sigh of relief after I finished the system. Then I closed my eyes and shook my head. Even though I had tried to keep it simple, there was a big problem. While it was true that I was a god, and that my intelligence was off the charts, if I wanted to maintain the system, I would have to spend a lot of my energy listening to the users. Listening to prayers was a lot like listening to a group of people who were whispering around me. While I could focus my attention on one or two people, I couldn¡¯t listen to everyone at the same time. Of course, as my divine rank increased, I would be able to listen to more prayers at the same time. Obviously, there was one certain way mortals could make sure their voice stood out among prayers, and that was by following a ritual or making an offering. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Now I felt like throwing a tantrum. While I had known I was trying something new, and that there might be some problems, I had hoped that everything would turn out alright. As it was, the system had a major flaw. I would eventually have to ¡°answer the prayers¡± of a lot of users. However, until I had a large number of people using the system, it actually wouldn¡¯t negatively affect me too much. However, even as a god, there were only so many users I would be able to pay attention to at any moment. That was when a ding appeared, along with a popup window. YOU HAVE CREATED A PLATFORM CAPABLE OF FORMING A MENTAL CONNECTION WITH MORTALS. My first impulse was to start cursing my system. Of course I didn¡¯t want to use my intelligence points. Would a beautiful girl want to be uglier? Then I paused, took a deep breath, and started weighing the pros and cons of the suggestion. The first option said that I could ¡°utilize¡± intelligence points. I wouldn¡¯t be sacrificing them. Therefore, the intelligence points would still be there. I just wouldn¡¯t be able to access them unless I temporarily shut down the system for an upgrade or some similar excuse. Unfortunately, I would have to start using more and more intelligence points as the number of mortals using the system increased. I could easily imagine myself at some point as a god who sat drooling on my throne while all my thoughts were spent mindlessly meeting the needs of the system. Just the thought of that sent shivers down my spine to the end of my tail. While, initially, it didn¡¯t sound too bad, it could also cost me a lot in the future. Of course, I seemed to be gaining attribute points by leveling up my class and my divine level. I could always spend those points on Intelligence. As for the other option, I would actually permanently lose at least one intelligence attribute point. That hurt a lot. In effect, I would be giving myself a lobotomy. Just the idea made me want to run away screaming. From what I knew about intelligence, I would definitely have to use more than one intelligence point for the first option. With only one point of intelligence, a person would be incapable of reasoning. That person would be worse than an animal, since most animals could be trained. Many animals could even be trained to respond to words. Most animals had at least a minimum of three for their intelligence, although some had higher intelligence attributes. However, I really only needed to spend enough intelligence attribute points to ensure that a simple routine was followed. The system would only need to be able to follow a few simple directions. It needed to be able to use the Identify spell on magic items, although even that wasn¡¯t really necessary. Afterall, magic items would mostly likely only rarely be offered. I could take care of that. That left appraising the value of offerings. Just following a basic list of how much most items cost would allow the system to provide the correct number of draconic points to the user. Then the system could allow the user to follow a simple flow chart to spend the points they were given. I could also tell the system to add individual quests as needed. If necessary, I could just heavily invest faith points to increase its capabilities. Neither choice appealed to me. However, trying to do everything myself just wasn¡¯t an option. Reluctantly, I chose the second option. I limited the sacrifice to one intelligence attribute point and then planned to use faith points to make up for the difference. Until the sentient system was smart enough, I could even help it out. It almost felt like I was creating a child. Actually, was I creating the first artificial intelligence in Guthheimr? Or was I already using artificial intelligence? Was I following in the steps of another god who had given me a system? Had that god given the system to other people as well? Did that mean there might be other people who had reincarnated from my old world? Any other questions were driven away as a piercing pain stabbed through my mind, ripping away at my intelligence. Chapter 84 - First User of the Dragon Gods System The pain soon faded away as my senses returned. However, despite possessing divine senses, I had managed to get wrapped up so much in my transformation and the creation of the Dragon God¡¯s System that I didn¡¯t pay attention to my surroundings. I suddenly realized that below the towering spire, a group of black robed men and women had congregated around the base of the building. Not only that, but there were also skeletons, ghouls, wights, wraiths, specters, shadows, mummies, ghosts, and liches. More continued to arrive as I gazed down upon them. The undead creatures would approach, and then once they were close enough, they would stop and kneel down and kowtow in my direction. Even some of the black robed individuals had dropped to one knee. Although I doubted they had seen me, I was sure that I had created some type of disturbance when I ascended to become a god. I might even have caused one when I created the system. Either that, or they sensed something. Realizing they could tell that a God of Death had been born, I decided to fly down and see how they would react to me being a small black dragon. Before doing this though, I placed the newly created bloodline balls of blood into my divine realm. Even before I landed, I was able to tell how they felt with my divine senses. Predictably, the undead creatures showed the least emotions. It was more like an ingrained reaction in most of the undead. The only ones who showed a little more emotion were the liches, although there were only a few of them. The biggest reactions were from the black robed men and women. Most of them were struck by an overwhelming sense of both dread and reverence. Before them was a god whose presence exuded an aura of profound connection to death. For the clerics and necromancers who had spent much of their life studying the dark arts and the mysteries of the afterlife, they had unexpectedly met a new god of death. While they still respected Banas¨¢r, they also had to acknowledge that I was the new god of death. They were caught between the urge to prostrate themselves in reverence and the instinct to retreat in the face of divine power. Every cleric and necromancer remained motionless, their breaths hitching in their throats as I flew down. As soon as my claws touched the ground, one of the black robed men, who was obviously a leader among the humans, spoke while his head was still bowed down. ¡°Greetings Great God of Death. Let me be the first to congratulate you on your ascension.¡± Not wanting to make a mistake, I infused faith points into my telepathic ability. While I could have tried using telepathy to read his thoughts without boosting it with faith points, I was also afraid it would fail since the black robed man seemed powerful. ¡°This is our chance,¡± the man thought. ¡°We have to gain the favor of the new death god.¡± Seeing that the man obviously wanted to get on my good side, I decided to make it easy for him. Afterall, I needed new believers. In fact, I also needed clerics. While I had to admit that I was enjoying the feeling of power and respect, I also didn¡¯t feel comfortable yet with such a display. Therefore, I said ¡°Do not kneel before me. Instead, stand tall in the face of death. A simple bow is more than sufficient to show your sincerity.¡± ¡°A fine sentiment,¡± the black robed man thought as he stood up. Everyone else also stood up, following his lead. Even the undead began to stand tall. ¡°Thank you for your kindness. How may I address you with the respect that you are due?¡± ¡°I hope none of the others ruin this moment by mentioning how tiny the god is for a dragon,¡± the man¡¯s thoughts continued. ¡°I am N¨®ttormr, the God of Death and Twilight¡± I replied politely, trying not to be annoyed by the man¡¯s thoughts about my size. Afterall, at least he didn¡¯t want to offend me. ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of a God of Twilight,¡± the man thought before actually saying, ¡°Let me be the first to congratulate you on your ascension to the divine, Lord N¨®ttormr.¡± Then he continued with his thought, ¡°I hope he gives me his favor.¡± I almost started laughing at the man¡¯s greed. Although I wasn¡¯t sure whether he was a cleric or a necromancer, the man obviously wanted to benefit from my power before he even did anything for me. Still, I was actually tempted to give it to him. This was especially true since I had just finished creating the Dragon God¡¯s System. Even if the black robed men and women didn¡¯t become my believers, they might spread the word about my divine birth. ¡°Thank you,¡± I said. ¡°In honor of this occasion, I will bestow upon each of you a chance to reshape your destiny, just as I have reshaped mine.¡± After saying that, I realized I had a problem. The undead probably didn¡¯t have blood, except for the vampires at least. Even the liches probably didn¡¯t have blood. Taking a moment, I withdrew a bloodline ball of blood from my divine realm and started creating new ones inside my divine realm with some of my remaining faith points. Creating these Bloodline Contracts, which I instantly dubbed them, only took a few seconds of time. After I was done, I held out one of the Bloodline Contracts to the man. ¡°I will allow you to be the first to accept one of the Bloodline Contracts. With this, you can gain the powers of a dragon.¡± The black robed man looked at me. Then he looked at the bead of blood before looking at me once again. Reluctantly, almost as if he was forcing himself, he reached out to take the Bloodline Contract. ¡°Thank you Lord N¨®ttormr,¡± he said, although his voice cracked somewhat. At first, I was quite pleased. However, after hearing what he was thinking, I barely resisted the urge to smash him. ¡°Yeah, thanks for giving me something that might kill me,¡± the man thought as he looked down at the bead of blood that he held in his hand. ¡°You¡¯re a freaking god of death! This will probably kill me. Am I going to rot away a slow lingering death? Hopefully, I¡¯ll die in a fiery blaze of glory.¡± The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. At this point, the man turned around and looked at the other black robed men and women who surrounded him, his eyes begging for someone to save him. ¡°Come on guys, give me a plausible reason to say no to this miniature god.¡± However, no one said anything. Instead, they waited expectantly, deeply curious to see what would happen to the man. ¡°Fine you ungrateful dogs, I¡¯ll remember this,¡± he thought as he finally swallowed the Bloodline Contract. ¡°If I survive that is.¡± I also watched, curious to see how he would react. I already knew what he would immediately see. Although I could have verified it by telepathically listening to him as he mentally read the words, I didn¡¯t have to since I could see the popup screen in his mind. After all, the system was connected to me, which meant that if I wanted to, I knew everything about it as long as I paid attention to it. Imagine unlocking the powers of a dragon. By accepting this contract, you gain the chance to transcend mortal limitations and gain divine powers. Envision yourself casting arcane spells, soaring through the skies, or possessing other draconic abilities. Embrace this opportunity to become a legend. Protect those you love. Reshape your destiny! The path to greatness awaits. Are you willing to seize this opportunity? YES or NO I watched as the crowd looked at the man, clearly interested in finding out if he would survive. Apparently, death gods weren¡¯t known for their generosity and were more inclined toward killing they met. As for the man, I could clearly hear his thoughts. ¡°What? Uh, so I can become more powerful by accepting the contract? What happens if I choose no? Will I die? What happens if I choose yes? Will I turn into a dragon? Will I transform into a dragonborn? Will I become a bloodline sorcerer? What does seizing this opportunity entail? Really? Couldn¡¯t you give me some more information? How am I supposed to make a choice if this is all that I am told? I¡¯m not a mushroom that needs to be kept in the dark. Then again, I guess you can¡¯t expect much from a newborn god. I mean, look at his size. He¡¯s not even big enough to be considered a runt among dragons. I¡¯ve seen dragon poop bigger than him. I hope he can¡¯t read my thoughts.¡± With that, he looked at me. However, that didn¡¯t stop him from continuing to be dissatisfied with the system for not providing more information. The more he thought, the more I got annoyed. I had just made the system. Cut me some slack. Sheesh, as for my size, screw you. I continued to get annoyed. Perhaps, sensing something, the man hurriedly selected yes. I nodded, satisfied, hoping the man would learn to respect my system instead of insulting it. Finally, after accepting the contract, information about how to obtain draconic points and how they could be used were shown to him. It also imprinted the Ritual of Sacrifice into his mind so that he could make offerings to me in the future. I was starting to regret using telepathy to read his mind since his disrespect continued. However, realizing that maybe I should have added more information, I started making changes in the system to include additional popup windows that would provide more information. I didn¡¯t even make him waste any magic items to upgrade the system. I just did it myself. That was how it should be done. The black robed man continued thinking as he looked through the information screens, ¡°Is he trying to make me a believer? How does this have anything to do with being a god of death? Death isn¡¯t even mentioned here. Is it all about draconic powers? Does this stupid dragon even know that it is a god of death? I mean, I felt the aura of death from halfway across the city. However, it instead offers me draconic powers. I¡¯m a necromancer. I¡¯m not a dragon blooded sorcerer. ¡°Wait, I don¡¯t even have to pray to him if I don¡¯t want to? I just need to make offerings or kill people? Okay, I admit, this isn¡¯t too bad. Hmm, let¡¯s give it a try. I have a Broom of Flying. The auctioning cost of such a flying broom often starts between one hundred to five hundred gold pieces, but will usually end up costing about 1500 gold pieces. If I combine that with ten potions of health, that should be enough to get what I need.¡± All this raced through the man¡¯s mind as everyone waited, including myself. I was starting to get annoyed, but I struggled not to show it. At least the man was going to choose wings as his first power. Draconic transformations like that actually didn¡¯t even require too many faith points. I just needed to invest a little blood essence, which I could recover after taking a long rest. To save time, I used faith points to create the Ritual of Sacrifice sigil on the ground. If I had to wait for the man to do it, it would have taken him a while. I had neither the patience or the time to wait around for him. Also, I needed to strike while the iron was hot. If it took too long for the man to show off his power, the other men and women might not decide to accept the Bloodline Contract. After thanking me, the man took the items he had chosen out of a Bag of Holding and placed them on the proper spot. Then he started chanting. A minute later, the items disappeared as if they had never been there. There wasn¡¯t even a flash of light. The items were just gone. Then the man nodded, as if pleased to see something. Of course, I wasn¡¯t as pleased when I heard his thoughts, ¡°Stingy system. Those items were worth two thousand gold, but you only gave me a thousand draconic points. I¡¯m your first customer. Couldn¡¯t you have given me a discount? What about some type of welcoming bag? I am basically paying for everything. How is this a gift? This is more like a trading center. Well, at least I can get rid of some junk I don¡¯t use any longer.¡± I was also quite annoyed about the fact that I was giving the necromancer the gift of flight with draconic wings, while all I was getting in return was a magic item that was almost useless to me. Then again, if the magic items were too worthless, I could always extract the magic from them. However, I became much more pleased when a pair of draconic wings suddenly tore through the back of his robes and began flapping, raising him up into the air. After a few seconds though, he landed and tested to see if he could make the wings retract. Fortunately, when I designed the wings, I made sure that they were temporary, much like the Alter Self spell. Users could activate their bloodline to make the wings grow. The stronger their constitution, the longer they could maintain the change. However, even the unhealthiest person would still be able to sustain the wings for over an hour. They didn¡¯t even require concentration. Needless to say, the necromancer¡¯s display of power prompted every eye to switch toward me. They no longer looked at me like I was the god of death. Instead, they looked at me like I was the god of gold. Suddenly, I felt like I was surrounded by an enormous group of greedy gnomes where I was a glittering gold coin. I barely repressed the urge to shudder. Gods shouldn¡¯t fear mortals, right? Chapter 85 - Changes at Home After the necromancer thanked me and retreated, I summoned more Bloodline Contracts from my divine realm and levitated them toward the people. Every single one of them took the bead of dragon blood, although not everyone swallowed the blood at that time. In fact, the majority of the people disappeared almost as quickly as they received the Bloodline Contacts. The undead, including the liches, waited until the living men and women disappeared into the darkness. Then the undead moved forward. By this time, I had summoned forth the Soul Contracts, a variant of the Bloodline Contracts. While they cost more faith points to create, they accomplished most of the same things. However, instead of using blood as the medium, it used souls. I also altered many of the powers available to the undead as well. For example, if they wanted wings, the wings created were ghostly. Surprisingly, handing out the contracts didn¡¯t take as long as I had expected. In fact, I had sort of expected the mortals to hang around. As for the undead, I hadn¡¯t even considered creating a contract for them until I saw how they were so respectful. However, I guess they were happy with their ¡°gift¡± and didn¡¯t want to overstay their welcome. I felt a little like I had just spent a lot of money taking someone on a date, where they ordered expensive items, and then said thank you for the meal before leaving me to pay the bill. Despite the bad aftertaste the experience was leaving in my mouth, I felt that things turned out okay. Still, I needed to go home since I had a lot to do. One of the first things I needed to do on the way home was design another contract system for kobolds. Their contract needed to be a little different. I also needed to create my holy text, design vestments, and create rules for my priests. Of course, there were a lot of other things that demanded my attention. I was fairly certain that Einvaldskonungr the red dragon would be attacked soon. I also wanted to see how the systems that I had created were working. If they did well, I could formulate a plan to roll out the contracts en masse. If the contracts didn¡¯t work, I would need to make changes. I was also pretty sure that I was forgetting something, although I couldn¡¯t remember what it was. I probably forgot something during the lobotomy. Then again, I might just have too many things on my mind. I had always been forgetful, which was weird since being smart usually implied a good memory. As I was flying out of the city, I started to realize something. Within the city, I hadn¡¯t been able to make any changes to the physical environment. After leaving, however, I discovered that I could, at least to some extent. Although it would take effort, I could change everything within about a hundred feet of myself. The reason I couldn¡¯t do that in the Necropolis was probably because of its unique existence. By the time I arrived home, it was just past dawn so most of the kobolds had already fallen asleep. Not wanting to disturb them, silently and invisibly flew to my room, which also happened to be the Dungeon Core. That was when I decided that I would use my make some changes in the Dungeon Core room. One advantage minor and lesser gods had over true gods was their ability to walk across Guthheimr with their divine bodies. This applied to my current situation because gods could control the space around them to an extent. I could walk anywhere in the world and make changes. Of course, as with the Necropolis, there were limitations. However, true gods were not free to travel freely through the world. True gods had merged their divine body and their divine realm. Because of this, they were bound outside of the world. Some theologians even theorized that minor gods and lesser gods were actually just more powerful demigods. However, that didn¡¯t mean that true gods couldn¡¯t visit the material planes. Many true gods created avatars which they could send. The reason they needed these avatars was because the material planes would be damaged if a god tried to force their way into Guthheimr. However, avatars didn¡¯t have the same ability to make changes in the environment. As for bringing their divine body to the material plane, that was like trying to fit an adult into a baby¡¯s clothes. Although it could be done, the clothes would be ruined. Therefore, since I hadn¡¯t rejected Guthheimr and merged with my divine realm yet, I could still make changes in my environment. Since that was the case, I was going to take advantage of that fact. Unfortunately, being the weakest god in the world also meant that I didn¡¯t have the magical ability to change anything. Because of this, I needed to use faith points. Once again, I realized just how important faith points were to gods. Speaking of gods, why hadn¡¯t any of the other gods visited me? I was half-expecting one of the good gods to come charging in with his paladins and slay the evil god of death while he was still weak. I could only assume that there was some type of treaty or at least the fear that the dark gods were protecting me. What really puzzled me was the fact that none of the gods from the System Lord pantheon had visited me. In fact, they hadn¡¯t even sent a message. Either way, it didn¡¯t matter. All that mattered was that they were leaving me alone. While I started reshaping Sanctuary with faith points, I also started organizing in my mind what I wanted to include in my holy book. Being a little lazy, I stole a lot of ideas from various religious books. By the time I finished college, which took almost ten years and gained me three different degrees, I had taken classes on just about everything. Some classes were about different religions. There was even a class about meditation. I also took classes with future military officers after getting a lot of attention from military recruiters. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! With my new improved memory, I was able to steal words and ideas from the teachings of many great men as well as many evil men. Since I was the god of death, I did have to include a lot about how to face death and live life, but I didn¡¯t limit myself to those self-help subjects. It was true though that all of those psychology and religious classes helped me a lot with this area. However, I also included practical things, such as war and politics. I stole from Sun Tzu, Friedrich Nietzsche, Miyamoto Musashi, Niccol¨° Machiavelli, Thucydides, Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, John Stuart Mill, Basil H. Liddell Hart, and Carl von Clausewitz. Unfortunately, I had to cut a lot of information and only used the parts that suited my needs. Unlike other holy texts that concentrated on morals and history, my holy text was aimed at how people should live their lives and how they should face their death. Of course, to make it sound mysterious and holy, I also included a lot of paradoxes. Since I already started creating my tenants and doctrine, all I needed to do was fill in the blanks. In fact, I separated my holy text into two sections, the Book of Life and the Book of Death. The Book of Life talked about how to live your life and included politics, psychology, business, and ethics. The Book of Death was focused on how to wage war or how to survive as a noncombatant. It started with the military tactics a commander should learn as well as the nitty-gritty details on how to set traps and escape detection that every recruit should learn. By the time the sun set, I had finished making alterations to my room. I had greatly expanded the Dungeon Core room so that when I grew into a large dragon, I would still have plenty of space. After that, I started writing down everything I had been thinking about while remodeling the center of my city. Unfortunately, I ended up writing a lot and had to actually split the holy book into two volumes. One pleasant surprise was that I no longer had to sleep. I could gain the benefits of a full night¡¯s rest while doing light activities. Because I didn¡¯t have to sleep, I was able to write for over a week straight without sleeping. Of course, I wasn¡¯t online writing the holy text but also refining my idea for the Bloodline Contracts. I actually created two different versions. The first few days, I created contracts meant for other kobold tribes. Since I wasn¡¯t going to be around them, I needed some way in which the kobolds could pass on the Bloodline Contract to their offspring. At the rate that kobolds procreated, my blood essence would never be enough to keep up with the demand. Because of this, I created a transformation option. The transformation was just as dramatic as changing a kobold into a dragonborn. There were a lot of differences though. While I wanted to create even more changes, I was limited on what I could do, even with faith points. The transformation basically gave the kobold my bloodline, with a few extra perks. The kobold would no longer be regular kobolds but would become Twilight Kobolds. The main benefit was that just like ancestral memories could be passed down in High Kobolds, the Blood Contract could be passed down in Twilight Kobolds. In addition, since my divine blood was draconic, the Twilight Kobolds would gain a more draconic appearance and grow wings. As for the other powers, they would have to use the contract to gain those powers. To differentiate it from the other contracts, I called it the Twilight Contract. After that, I started on the version of the Bloodline Contract I would use with the High Kobolds who had already accepted my bloodline essence. Since they were already very similar to dragons in many ways, I was actually able to go beyond what I could accomplish with the regular kobolds. When I finished writing the book and creating the contracts, I used magic to duplicate the holy texts. I then gathered the kobolds and declared that day as a holy day before offering them a modified version of the Bloodline Contract. I called the new contract the Dragon God¡¯s Pact. By using the system, the kobolds could further refine their bloodlines. Since I was technically considered a twilight dragon, I discovered that I could also convert draconic kobolds into a variant twilight dragon as well. Of course, it also took a considerable amount of my blood essence to achieve the result. Because of this, I set the cost very high. It would take kobolds years to earn enough to become a twilight dragon. I was certain that the kobolds wouldn¡¯t care about the high cost at all. Even if they were going to be small dragons, they were going to be real dragons. I didn¡¯t even have to give the kobolds a blood bead since they already carried my blood within them, or at least most of them. A few of the newer arrivals did need the bloodline beads. As for the others, all I had to do was activate the system with the blood they had already consumed. Needless to say, when the kobolds discovered that they were being given the chance to become real dragons in the future, they went wild. Almost every single kobold became a zealot. I was giving them the keys to their dreams. As for the few kobolds who had not become zealots, I wasn¡¯t too surprised. Recently, their lives had already become very fulfilling. It was already like they were in heaven. To have one more thing added was just too much for them to comprehend. After handing out my new holy texts, I decided it was time to spread the word to other kobold tribes. First, I would concentrate on those kobolds who didn¡¯t have a dragon god. Most of these kobolds could be found under human cities. Kings would often enslave kobolds and force them to dig out sewers and mines. Eventually, some of them would escape. Some of them would still be enslaved. I needed to find both groups around the biggest cities near me and ¡°recruit¡± some more believers. With this in mind, I left my minions as they got deliriously drunk with wine from who knows where. I even allowed them to break out the best foods to have a feast. Just before things escalated into a wild free-for-all in the warm waters, I escaped and made my way toward the nearest city, Skattgj?ld, which happened to be Viscount Landskyld. Baron R¨¦ttr had been his vassal. As such, he also happened to be the one who would most likely take revenge on Einvaldskonungr since the red dragon had destroyed the baron¡¯s castle. Chapter 86 - Divine Rank and Faith While I was flying to Skattgj?ld, I took the opportunity to see how the Dragon God System was working. Surprisingly, more than a few of the clerics and necromancers from the Necropolis had used magic items as sacrificial offerings. Unsurprisingly, those magic items had been mostly those types of magic items that I had no particular interest in possessing. What pleased me the most was that a few of them had become passing followers. What didn¡¯t please me was the fact that I actually had to stop what I was doing over the last few days to Identify and appraise a few of those magic items for the Dragon God System. Even though I had spent a lot of faith points in raising its intelligence, I still had to help a lot. Hopefully, that would change after I was able to increase its intelligence after I gathered enough faith points. As expected, most of the draconic points that they ¡°earned¡± this way were used to purchase draconic features like darkvision and wings. However, what surprised me the most was the fact that the Find Familiar - Pseudodragon ritual turned out to be the most purchased item in the system. In fact, a vast majority of the people used their draconic points to make that purchase. This confused me. From what I knew about pseudodragons, they would act a lot like a cat. Pseudodragons would often be haughty and vain. They would even mistreat the wizard. However, they were still showered with love. When modifying the Find Familiar spell, I had taken this into account and given them similar habits in addition to their abilities. I guess I shouldn¡¯t have been surprised that these pseudodragons were so popular. Because they were so popular, I decided to find a way to double down on the familiars. For one, I would create an upgraded ritual that could create additional pseudodragon familiars. Generally, it was impossible for wizards to have more than one familiar. Also, I could create some type of special blood bead that could be fed to the pseudodragon to increase its power. One thing that didn¡¯t surprise me was that every single kobold had also purchased a pseudodragon familiar as soon as they were finished frolicking in the warm pools. Unfortunately, it didn¡¯t seem like I was earning a lot of faith points from the clerics and necromancers even though they were using the system. While it was true, I was earning more than enough to make the Dragon God¡¯s System successful, I wasn¡¯t seeing a large increase in experience points yet. Most of the sacrificial offerings were gold or magic items that weren¡¯t needed any longer. The biggest earnings I had were actually from the kobolds, who because the system gave them a way in which they could become a dragon, created zealot believers. This dramatically increased the number of faith points they provided to me. As for the experience, only a few individuals had started testing out this feature of the system. Still, I held out hopes that more people would start to focus on this option. I definitely needed experience. Being the weakest god was actually kind of unsettling. I was always worried that some god would show up at any moment. The biggest surprise was the undead who had been given the system. Almost none of the ghosts or skeletons chose to use the Soul Contracts. The liches did choose to use the system, but since there were only a few of them, they didn¡¯t make much of a difference. Annoyed, I tried to figure out where I had gone wrong. From what I could gather, the undead in the Necropolis were not antagonistic toward the living inhabitants of the city. Most of them had either developed sentience or recovered some of their memories. However, it was like they were stuck in time. They simply walked through the city as if they were guarding it. Perhaps they actually had patrolled the city when they were alive. I needed to think of something that would motivate the undead. As it was, they saw no need to change since they had survived there for countless centuries. I started trying to imagine what they would want. Finally, I decided to use some of the new faith points my kobold zealots had generously given to me to add a few other choices. One of them was Memory Retrieval, which would allow the undead to remember some of their memories. Also, I modified the Find Familiar spell to include the changes I had made for the living as well as a change for the undead. The undead version would allow the undead to inhabit the familiar bodies the ritual created. I then created a more powerful version so that after the undead become hooked on walking around as a cat, bird, or whatever familiar form they had chosen, they would be able to create a humanoid form. I then updated all three systems, the undead system, the kobold system, and the regular system. Since I still had a while left before, I reached the human city, I decided to think about what to do about my divine realm. First, I needed to think about how they were similar as well as how they were different. Hopefully, that would allow me to figure out a way to turn my imitation divine realm into a real divine realm. The biggest difference was that I didn¡¯t control the inside of the realm. The other difference was that I couldn¡¯t enter the realm whenever I wanted. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. I had already used faith points to increase the size. Did it have to meet a certain minimum size? Even if one of the dark gods showed up, I doubted they would be able to help me either. I suspected that I was becoming a god through a backdoor that the system had created. So, maybe I needed to go through the system. Just on the off chance the system would answer, I asked, ¡°System, how many faith points are needed to upgrade my personal dimensional space into a real divine realm?¡± As expected, there was no response. Then another thought occurred to me. I had already updated my system by sacrificing magic items. Because of that, I was able to view more information. Maybe I just needed to update my system again. Since I had already been given some new magic items that I didn¡¯t care much about, I decided to use them as sacrificial offerings to the system so that it could upgrade. I pulled them out of my dimensional space and said, ¡°I would like to sacrifice these magic items to upgrade the system.¡± Just as the offering of the necromancer had disappeared, so too did my magic items. The only difference was that I didn¡¯t need to use a magic ritual. I hoped that the magic items would be enough to make a substantial difference. I had certainly sacrificed enough magic items. Soon, I heard a ding when a screen popped up. ACHIEVEMENT - SYSTEM UPGRADE. You have successfully upgraded the Ouroboros System. Additional options and more information are now available. After I saw that, I wanted to do a fist pump. Finally, I had more information. As for the name of the system, it actually meant a lot. The ouroboros was a mythical snake, serpent, or dragon that was depicted as devouring its own tail. Scholars often interpreted the image as a symbol for eternal cyclic renewal. In other words, it was a dragon that represented the cycle of life, death, and rebirth. The shedding of the dragon¡¯s skin symbolized the transmigration of souls. Before I got distracted, I asked, ¡°How do I upgrade my personal dimensional space into a real divine realm?¡± DIVINE REALM UPGRADE. Use faith points to increase the size of the realm to 10,000 ft3. I was amazed. I was so simple. It was much easier than I had expected. I had thought I would need to make it much bigger and would have to conduct some exotic ritual. Instead, it was only twice the size of a Planar Mansion. It was like creating a room that was eleven feet high, thirty feet across, and thirty feet wide. Still, the cubic footage did add up quickly. While I didn¡¯t have enough faith points at the moment, I wouldn¡¯t take too long to gather them. Since I couldn¡¯t do much about it for the moment, I asked another question, ¡°Ouroboros, if I increase my divine realm to this size, will I become a lesser god?¡± LESSER GOD UPGRADE. Before advancing to lesser gods, minor gods need to advance from the 1st Rank to the 5th Rank. This can be done by using faith points to advance to the next divine rank. I nodded, having expected that. ¡°How many faith points do I need to spend to increase my divine rank each time? Also, what are some of the additional benefits I will get for reaching each divine rank?¡± After looking at the information for a moment, I realized that I wasn¡¯t a normal god. One example of this was the fact that gods couldn¡¯t bestow spells upon their priests above certain levels, which was limited by their divine rank. I hadn¡¯t even known that, but had created a workaround. Instead of teaching clerics spells, which they could then cast, I actually cast the spells myself, which allowed the restriction to be bypassed. However, no matter how smart I might be, I wouldn¡¯t be able to wiggle my way out of paying a lot of faith points to upgrade my divine rank later on. I was actually surprised by how few faith points were needed to advance to the next divine rank in the beginning. As for the last ranks, it was going to be a nightmare trying to save up enough faith points to advance my divine rank. Because of that fact, I decided to visit a few more races after I finished with the kobolds. The lizardfolk might be a good source of believers. While I was thinking about who to give my system to, I suddenly had the urge to ask, ¡°Ouroboros, what is the Ouroboros System and why was it given to me?¡± OUROBOROS SYSTEM. The Ouroboros System was created by XXXXXX. You were among a group of surviving souls who were selected for reincarnation after the destruction of your original plane of existence. Each reincarnated soul was given an individualized system to assist them in adapting to their new life. I said nothing as I continued toward the city while trying to absorb everything that I had just learned. From what I could surmise, the being who created the Ouroboros System was in possession of at least some of the souls from my world. The question was, ¡°What happened to the souls of my family?¡± While my memories were unclear sometimes, almost as if they belonged to another person, I still knew that they were my own. I also still felt a deep connection to my family. ACHIEVEMENT: FIRST GOD. As the first reincarnator to ascend to godhood and learn about the existence of XXXXXX, you will be given access to the surviving souls of your family and friends when you become a True God. All additional information about the system will only be accessible at that time. Again, I silently flew through the quiet night, grappling with the implications of what had happened. Which souls survived the destruction of my world? Why wasn¡¯t I more disturbed by what I had learned? I still didn¡¯t even know how I had died. Everything about my previous life was foggy, with only brief moments of clarity. Was my emotional detachment something intentionally done by the creator of the Ouroboros System or was it from something like the ¡°fog of war?¡± Could it have been caused by damage to my soul during the destruction of my entire plane of existence? As for the souls I would receive in the future, which souls survived? Also, who were the other souls that had reincarnated? Who created the system? Why did that god create the system? Why was I chosen? Chapter 87 - Looking for New Kobolds I was a little annoyed that the system was blocking a lot of information, such as the name of its creator and why I was chosen. However, there was nothing I could do about it. All the questions I had would have to wait. For example, why was I reincarnated with my memories? The god who created the system had to have an agenda. Luckily, that agenda was benefiting me a lot so I really shouldn¡¯t complain. Since that was the case, I pushed aside my questions and worries. When I was young, I had a lot of problems dealing with anxiety. I worried about everything. However, as the decades passed, I started not to care. Eventually I became one of those grumpy old men who complained about everything and could ignore almost anything. What I couldn¡¯t ignore was my need for information, experience, and faith points. Because of this, I tried asking the Ouroboros System questions that might help me accomplish this. I started peppering the system with questions, ¡°Which family members¡¯ souls survived?¡± After I didn¡¯t get an answer, I tried a few more questions. ¡°Why did some souls survive? What was the criteria for choosing me? What else can you do? Do you offer any quests? Do you have an item shop? What happens if I upgrade the system again?¡± However, the system acted as if it couldn¡¯t hear me. I was starting to feel like I was married again. However, I didn¡¯t give up, ¡°How did I die? Why did I get this particular system instead of some other system? How many people reincarnated? What is the name of the god who made the system? Was he a god from my world? Is the god a he or a she? How did my world end?¡± Again, even though I waited a few seconds to give the system a chance to respond, I received only silence. The system completely ignored my questions. I felt like the system had put its fingers into its ears and was humming loudly so that it wouldn¡¯t hear me. Dang, I hadn¡¯t felt so ignored since all those times I suggested to my wife that we should retire to our bedroom. I definitely wasn¡¯t feeling the love. Well, I guess it was a good thing I only needed to love myself. Speaking of loving myself, since I could lay eggs, even though I was definitely NOT a female, once I was given the souls of my family members, I could give birth to them. Wait, did that mean I could become my father¡¯s mother and father? Okay, that sounded like some Jerry Springer stuff. That inspired me to more questions, ¡°Why was I given the twilight bloodline? Why was I not born a red kobold? Why wasn¡¯t I born as a human?¡± I continued asking questions, hoping that one of them would be answered. ATTENTION: SYSTEM ERROR. The system will be temporarily unavailable due to unforeseen circumstances. You will not be able to interact with the system for an indeterminate amount of time. Okay, I was definitely feeling like I was married again. For some reason, I felt the same as I did in high school when I had all those pimples. The Ouroboros System was obviously female. Only women had ever ignored me this much. In fact, I wondered if the god who had reincarnated me was actually a goddess. Did that mean the goddess was interested in me? Wait, could the system be her wedding gift to me? I guess if she was cute enough, I¡¯d be okay with that. Was she waiting for me to become a god so that she could jump my bones? Did she want to make baby dragon gods with me? Did she have a thing for dragons instead of unicorns? Afterall, dragons were very manly when compared to unicorns. How long had she been watching over me? I bet she admired me for my mind. After all, I was a genius. In fact, I even took math classes at the local college instead of at my middle school. How someone as smart as myself ended up being an English teacher really amazed me. Where had I gone wrong in life? Was there some other god who was jealous that I was getting all of her attention? Did that god curse me? A curse would certainly explain my first wife. I shuddered. ¡°Gnome bones,¡± I muttered. What could I have possibly done to deserve such a curse? I bet the god was jealous of my looks and intelligence as well as the fact that the goddess he had a crush on loved me. I mean, what other explanation could there be? For the next few hours, every time I tried to access the system, I continued to receive ¡°system error¡± messages. Finally, I stopped even trying. By that time, I saw the city ahead of me. Even though it was still dark, I decided to cast the Invisibility spell. Then I continued flying closer while I inspected the city¡¯s appearance since it was my first time to see an intact human city in the new world. Actually, that was wrong. It was my first time seeing a human city. Afterall, the Baron¡¯s R¨¦ttr¡¯s castle wasn¡¯t a city. Instead, it was a castle with a city nearby. I hadn¡¯t even asked Alsvartr to see if Einvaldskonungr had destroyed the city. However, I was pretty sure that the red dragon wouldn¡¯t didn¡¯t let it survive. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. As I flew over the city walls, I felt a little nostalgia. I had dreamed about living in fantasy worlds often when I grew up. I wanted to be some great wizard who later became a god. Now I was a wizard who had become a god. It was like a dream come true. Part of me even wondered if what I was experiencing was even real. Perhaps that was setting the mood for my observations. Even if it was a dream, I was going to enjoy every minute of the experience. If it was real, that was even better. I gazed down at the city, which was cloaked in a serene, almost otherworldly tranquility. The moon, a silver sentinel in the night sky, cast a pale light over the stone buildings, giving them an ethereal glow. Stars twinkled like distant jewels, their light reflecting off the gently flowing canals that weaved through the city. The air was cool and crisp, carrying the faint scent of night-blooming flowers and the distant, earthy aroma of the surrounding forests. The city streets were mostly silent, save for the occasional sounds of animals. I didn¡¯t even hear the clanking of the night watchmen as they made their rounds, their lanterns casting small, warm circles of light that flickered with each step. In the stillness, the gentle lapping of water against the canal banks can be heard, accompanied by the faint rustle of leaves as a mild breeze whispered through the trees and gardens. A few early risers, cloaked in shadows, began their day in hushed tones. While there were a few people moving in the darkness, the main activity came from some barracks located near a castle in the center of the city. I flew closer, still amazed that there was no alarm sounding. I guess I had expected too much. I really would have thought that the city would have more protections. Then again, setting up multiple layers of protection on such a large scale wasn¡¯t something easily done. Afterall, the spell Guards and Wards was a spell that only guarded a fifty square foot area. Not only was its size restrictive, but it was also a high-level spell. Many other spells were the same. There was one main exception that I could think of was the Forbiddance spell. It was a ritual that could create a zone that damaged unwanted visitors. For example, the moment I crossed the wall, I would start receiving damage and the damage would continue until I left. I really had expected something like that. However, after thinking about it, I could understand why Viscount Landskyld hadn¡¯t used such a spell to protect the city of Skattgj?ld. The ritual did cover a lot more territory, but still didn¡¯t even cover half a square mile. Also, each time the ritual was cast the viscount would need to use over a thousand gold in materials. Yet another downside of the spell was that it only worked against a single type of creature. For example, dragons. However, which ruler was going to spend thousands of golds every day. He would probably go broke almost immediately. While it was possible that such a spell could have helped prevent the destruction of Baron¡¯s R¨¦ttr¡¯s castle, I doubted that Einvaldskonungr gave him the time to cast the spell. More than likely, I doubted that the baron even had a wizard who was high enough in level to cast the spell living in the castle at the time.Powerful spellcasters weren¡¯t likely to be at the beck and call of a mere baron when they could instead make lots of gold in other ways. It did appear that the viscount had spent a lot of gold on soldiers though. I could see a lot more activity than I would normally expect before dawn. If I had to guess, I would say that they were preparing for an exhibition. That was another reason I had chosen to come to Skattgj?ld. I had kind of expected something would happen soon. If a viscount allowed a baron¡¯s death to go unavenged, he would lose status. Also, considering that dragons were known for their hoards of gold, gems, and magical items, even small adventuring parties would feel tempted to attack a wounded dragon. Therefore, I knew someone would make the attempt. In fact, I actually suspected that multiple attempts would be made in the near future. However, I wasn¡¯t in the city for them. I was in the city for the kobolds. Because of this, I sought out entrances to the sewers or drainage systems. If I was going to find them anywhere in the city, I would most likely find them there. Under the cover of the predawn darkness and invisibility, I finally found what I hoped would be the best entrance. I paused, glancing around to ensure the streets were still empty, then moved swiftly, slipping into a narrow alleyway that ran parallel to the outer wall. Reaching a small, concealed entrance partially hidden by creeping ivy and shadows, I carefully unlatched a rusted iron grate. With a soft creak, the iron grate lifted, revealing a dark, narrow tunnel leading into the city''s underbelly. While I hadn¡¯t been too worried, I wanted to be extra careful. The reason why was because as soon as I interacted with the iron grate by trying to move it, the Invisibility spell wore off. Despite my first thought of going ahead as I was, I cast the Invisibility spell once again. It wasn¡¯t as if I was lacking in spell points. Nimble and silent, I descended into the tunnel, the faint scent of damp earth and mildew growing stronger with each step. The tunnel led to the labyrinthine sewers beneath the city. It was a maze of aged passages that echoed with the distant trickle of water and the occasional drip from the moss-covered ceiling. After glancing at the murky water that flowed sluggishly through the central channel, I gave a thankful prayer for having been born with wings. I moved stealthily through the tunnels as the air grew thicker and more pungent as I ventured deeper. It was actually starting to remind me of the cave system in which I had been born. I paused when I reached an intersection, listening intently. A faint, high pitched nasally yapping in the draconic language echoed through the tunnels. Chapter 88 - Giving the Kobolds the Draconic System Smiling, I followed the sound. I flew closer, taking care to avoid my wings brushing up against the walls, especially since they had narrowed the deeper, I ventured. Rounding a bend, I landed when I spotted a group of kobolds who had gathered. The diminutive reptilian beings busied themselves with various tasks, some sorting through scavenged items while others sharpened their rudimentary weapons. I actually felt sorry for them once I saw they had no clothes on, except for rugged belts, and that their weapons were obviously made without the benefit of an experienced blacksmith. In fact, the only metal weapon was a sword that had seen better days and had been discarded or lost long ago. The other weapons consisted of a wooden stick, a sling, and a couple of bone daggers. The kobolds were thin, even for kobold standards. It was evident that they weren¡¯t getting enough food. This was also apparent despite the fact that the kobolds were obviously regular kobolds and not high kobolds. These kobolds had dog-like features, such as big ears and noses, at least for the most part. A couple of the kobolds had pug-like faces instead of a cross between the snout of a dog and a lizard. However, all of them looked more mammalian than reptilian. Even their tails were rat-like. I did have to admit that they did have the typical high-pitched, nasal, hissing voice that high kobolds possessed. However, these kobolds seemed to have a speech impediment or accent that drew out ¡°S¡± sounds. They also spoke a little more quickly, as if they were restraining their energy. Since I didn¡¯t really care what they were talking about and was there only to accomplish my task, I dropped the invisibility and moved forward. I half expected the kobolds to bolt away in fear. Kobolds, especially when surprised, were often skittish. Running away from an enemy when possible was often the safest option. However, once the kobolds saw my draconic form, they immediately dropped down on their hands and feet and started kowtowing toward me. Each kobold seemed to be eager to overtalk the kobolds next to them with praises about how wonderful my scales looked, or how privileged they were to be in my presence. In fact, even though there were only a half dozen of them, the echoes of their praises echoed through the tunnels and made them seem much louder. Instead of waiting, since I doubted, they would stop anytime soon, I interrupted them. ¡°I have a great opportunity for your tribe. Please take me to the chieftain or the head shaman.¡± Unlike high kobolds, normal kobolds had two main types of leaders, the chieftains, who was often the strongest kobold, and the head shaman, who was the strongest spellcaster. Their responses included, ¡°Of courssse,¡± and ¡°Yessss, gloriousss dragon lord.¡± I didn¡¯t even try to understand them since they all seemed to want to talk. That was when the kobold with the sword hissed at the other kobolds, who immediately became quiet. ¡°Thisss way please, oh great one.¡± After dealing with the high kobolds, I was a little disappointed at first. I was even starting to regret my decision. However, since I was there, I was going to follow through. Afterall, not only would they benefit from what was about to happen, but so would I. Soon, other kobolds noticed us as we delved deeper into the tunnels. Each time another group of kobolds saw us, they started trailing behind, their whispering voices expressing their appreciation of just about every part of me. After one particularly ugly mugged face whispered a little too loudly about how he would like to make dragon babies with me, I tuned out everything they were saying. I did glance at the one who said that long enough to see him get mobbed by the nearby kobolds. He squealed, ¡°What did I sssay?¡± After that, all I heard were the shouts of ¡°idiot,¡± and ¡°gnome brained fool.¡± By the time we reached the tribe¡¯s center and were standing in front of a kobold that was noticeably larger than the other kobolds. Despite his larger size, I could tell that was also malnourished. Another kobold holding a staff with a skull on top of it stood next to the chieftain. I was quite impressed by the sheer number of kobolds that lived under the human city. I really hadn¡¯t imagined how many kobolds could survive. Apparently, the population of kobolds was vastly different from what I expected. It looked like the number of escaped or free kobolds exceeded the number of enslaved kobolds by a lot. ¡°Greetings my dragonkin,¡± I said to all the kobolds. With this, whimpers of joy and disbelief could be heard as every kobold dropped to a knee. Every head bowed, although not before I noticed tears forming in their eyes. I then continued, ¡°I am pleased to see you. I know that you were born in the darkness, far below the earth, and have been relegated to the bottom of the food chain in this city. However, despite being relegated to scratching out a bleak existence, you have endured and survived. All of this was done while having to fear being skewered by a passing adventurer who wants what is yours or enslaved by others who will work you to death.¡± I could tell that my words were resonating with them. Many of them looked up at me and nodded before bowing their heads once more. Seeing that I was reaching them, I continued, ¡°I have come to offer you a gift. With this gift, you can embrace your inner dragon and unlock the power and prestige of a dragon. I offer this gift freely because I wanted to acknowledge my mortal brethren and allow them a chance to thrive instead of surviving.¡± This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Every kobold eye was upon me. Although I heard sniffles and whimpers, no one said anything as the kobolds listened to me. I then summoned a blood bead and held it out toward the chieftain. ¡°As the chieftain to this tribe, I will offer this gift to you first as well as the chance of purchasing one of the gifts of transformation for free.¡± Visibility swallowing his nervous excitement and fear, the chieftain stepped forward and took the Twilight Contract from me. Then I turned to the chief shaman and summoned another Twilight Contract. In addition to that, I also summoned a copy of the Book of Life and a copy of the Book of Death. ¡°As a spiritual leader of the tribe, I have gifts for you as well. You too, can choose one of the Gifts of Transformation. As for these books, they are my holy text.¡± I then handed him the Twilight Contract and my holy texts. As soon as the shaman took the books and contract, I pulled another bead of blood out of my divine realm before offering it to another kobold. None of the kobolds rushed forward or caused a fuss. If it had been humans, I would have feared a stampede. However, these were kobolds, who knew how to act. While creating my holy texts, I had taken enough time each day to create the Twilight Contacts. However, I couldn¡¯t create too many each day since I had to sacrifice my blood essence and needed a day to recuperate. Because of this, I completely exhausted all of the Twilight Contracts I had saved before all the kobolds received one. Realizing that there were more kobolds than I had expected, I spoke again, ¡°I have traveled far, and would like to create more of these gifts so that every kobold can share this gift. I will return to this spot after I rest and give the rest of the tribe the gift. Do you have somewhere that I may rest while doing so?¡± At that point, I could tell that the kobolds would do anything I asked. Of course, this had been true ever since the two leaders of their tribe used the Twilight Contract and suddenly grew wings and exhaled blue flames. Even their scales had changed color to a deep, dark red, almost black appearance. While I had known wings were a symbol of status, they weren¡¯t actually as useful underground. I had forgotten just how important wings were to kobolds. Apparently, breathing flames was almost as important. It was something dragons were known for doing. While I wasn¡¯t sure how useful the dragonbreath would be, I could certainly understand their decision. It wasn¡¯t the usefulness that mattered. It was the prestige the fire breathing gave the two leaders that mattered instead. Afterall, everyone was getting wings and they needed something that marked them as being even more draconic than the other kobolds. As for not everyone getting a Bloodline Contact immediately, there was some understandable disappointment. Those kobolds who had been given the contracts were ecstatic while those who hadn¡¯t looked dejected. However, despite being sad, they were still hopeful. After hearing that I would create more so that they could have one made them more than willing to do whatever I needed. I was quickly ushered down the tunnels into the kobold tribe¡¯s holy room, the place where they meditated on becoming one with their draconic heritage. One reason I could tell was by all the carvings that completely covered the room from top to bottom. They were even carved into the stone floor. Since I still needed to rest before creating more Twilight Contracts, I thought I might as well use my spell points to create dragonberries with the Dragonberry spell. Unfortunately, I ran out of spell points before I was even halfway done. Not wanting to only give the dragonberries to some of the kobolds, I created the rest using faith points. I didn¡¯t doubt that the kobolds I was giving the dragonberries to would soon provide me many more faith points than I was going to lose. By the time I was finished, a great procession of kobolds, led by the shaman, approached me. The kobolds around the shaman were carrying woven baskets filled with ¡°food¡± and bags upon bags of coins. While he tried to offer them to me, I politely declined and told him to save the food for the tribe. As for the coins, they could be used through the system I had given them. After that, I told him to give the dragonberries I had created to each member of the tribe. Even though they weren¡¯t high kobolds, or even draconic kobolds, I still felt a connection to them. They embodied a lot of amazing qualities, and I wanted to make sure they were given a chance to overcome the limitations that life had currently placed upon them. The kobolds retreated in confusion. Apparently, my refusing the coins was out of character for a dragon. However, I didn¡¯t care. They probably needed the coins more than I did at the moment. In fact, I would end up getting the coins anyway since they would probably use them to buy things through the Dragon God System. After they left, I decided to rest. There wasn¡¯t a whole lot left to do and I needed to sleep anyway to restore my spell points. Before that, however, I started to think about visiting every kobold tribe that wasn¡¯t ruled by a dragon. I also wondered what I should do about those kobold tribes that were already ruled by a dragon. Should I offer them some type of contract? Would that start a fight with those dragons? I was pretty sure no dragon would appreciate me ¡°luring away¡± their minions. I also wondered about how I could allow kobolds who lived far away from me to gain access to the contracts. Because of these thoughts, it took me a little while to fall asleep, even with my new nightly habit. Right before sleep, I would pull up my faith point information sheet and stare at it, slowly watching as the faith points gradually grew. It was very soothing to see the faith points slowly increase as I slowly started drifting off to sleep. While I knew that I really didn¡¯t have to sleep, as a dragon, I still enjoyed sleeping, although I wasn¡¯t sure why. Something about it was just soothing to me. Unless I really had something important that I needed to do, I would still go to sleep every day. Before I could figure out the reason why, my eyes closed, and I fell asleep. Chapter 89 - Bloodline Contracts and Kobold Eggs When I woke up, it was daylight with several hours left before nightfall. Since I had a nice long rest, I went ahead and created more dragonberries. Although I was planning on leaving as soon as night fell, I also wanted to leave the kobolds with a full stomach, even if it cost me all my spell points. I wasn¡¯t too worried since I would always have the option of using faith points instead if an emergency occurred. Since I was awake, I left the room. Despite being the meditation, or holy room, the kobold hadn¡¯t tried to enter when they went to bed. That was even if they went to bed. I was sure that a lot of them were probably excited and were brainstorming the quickest ways to earn draconic points so that they could buy the draconic transformations. Not wanting to worry about handing out the dragonberries later, I left them on one side of the room. I knew that when the kobolds arrived for their meditation, they would discover the dragonberries and pass them out. After that, I started creating more Twilight Contracts. By that time, it was almost dark. I probably should have made fewer of the contracts since I used a significant portion of my blood essence, which also reduced my health points. I would have to wait until I rested again to get those health points back. However, I was certain that I could fly home undisturbed the same as I had arrived. The moment I stepped outside the room, one of the two kobolds who was guarding the entrance immediately ran off to inform the kobold tribe leaders about my waking up. The other quickly offered to lead me wherever I wanted to go, so I told him to start leading me toward the spot where I had provided most of the kobolds with the contract previously. We soon reached the spot. By that time, the kobolds who hadn¡¯t received the contracts had already formed a line, patiently waiting for me to arrive. Shaking my head, I smiled and started handing out the contracts. Fortunately, this time I managed to provide every kobold who didn¡¯t already have one a Twilight Contract. After that, the chieftain and shaman both asked me to stay. I was about to decline when I had a sudden idea. While I wasn¡¯t sure if it would work or not, it was worth trying. Even if it meant staying in the city for a couple of days, I hoped it would save me a headache in the long run. The kobold eggs were the problem. After I left, they would hatch, without the system. Although I could leave some Twilight Contracts, that would mean staying a few extra days to create more contracts. I was curious if I could give the unhatched wyrmlings¡¯ my bloodline so that they would be given the system automatically. When I asked to be taken to the hatching rooms, the kobolds didn¡¯t hesitate even for a second. Once I was standing in the middle of a room full of eggs, I looked around, thinking about the best way to solve the problem. Unlike high kobolds, regular kobolds were actually cold blooded, which meant they didn¡¯t create their own heat. I hadn¡¯t really noticed before, probably because I didn¡¯t care, but I had also seen more fires located where large groups of kobolds gathered. This was true for the hatching rooms too. Like most underground caves, the average temperature inside was between 48 to 54 degrees Fahrenheit. Like many creatures that laid eggs, warmth was often necessary to hatch eggs. While I could go wait until after I rested again and infuse the eggs with my blood essence, that wouldn¡¯t be much better than just creating the Twilight Contracts and leaving them behind to be used later. Instead, I wondered if I could create some type of blood essence mist that would permeate into the eggs. My goal was to conserve my blood essence. To do this, I would make a few changes while unhatched wyrmings were growing inside the eggs. Theoretically, it should be possible. Afterall, in my world, scientists had long ago started bringing extinct animals back into existence. It started in 2003 when an ibex, a type of wild goat, was recreated through genetic engineering. For decades, scientists experimented by making genetic changes within egg cells. If they could do that with science, I should be able to do something with faith points and my bloodline. If I could make genetic changes before the kobold wyrmlings hatched, I should be able to conserve my blood essence. The closer they were to already being completely formed, the more it would cost. By the time they were ready to hatch, they would probably cost as much as a young wyrmling. Of course, even then, since they hadn¡¯t matured yet, I should still be able to use less blood essence to make the changes. While I thought about everything I had planned already, and my plans for the future, I curled up into a ball and sank into thought. I spent hours lying there, thinking about alternative ways that I could achieve my goals. I also tried to think about different scenarios to see if I was forgetting anything else. Since I needed to affect a lot of eggs at the same time, I would need to aerosolize the blood essence into particles fine enough that they could permeate through the protective membrane of the egg sac. I could even assist the absorption of the vaporized blood essence by using faith points. This wasn¡¯t a big issue since most bird eggs were covered with thousands of tiny pores. These pores allowed air and moisture to pass through its pores. Because of that, I wasn¡¯t too worried about transforming the kobold wyrmlings inside the eggs. Instead, I worried about the red dragon. While I really wasn¡¯t emotionally attached to Einvaldskonungr, I felt a grudging urge to help him. Afterall, from what I could tell, he rarely bothered the kobold tribe since they were excellent providers of wealth for him. Sighing, I finally decided I really did feel compelled to do something about it. Luckily, the soldiers had left at dawn and would need a couple of days to reach the red dragon¡¯s lair. If I stayed still and rested again, I would have time to make changes to the kobold eggs and then catch up to the Viscount Landskyld¡¯s soldiers. After making the decision, I actually felt relieved. Just to make sure, I sent a mental message to Alsvartr asking her to slow the soldiers down. While I waited for my bloodline essence to recover, I watched in fascination as the faith points from my new devout believers. Actually, many of the kobolds were actually pious believers already. The chieftain and the shaman had turned into zealots. I was very pleased with the results and would definitely visit other kobolds. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. I frowned after thinking about that. I really needed to think of a way that I could spread the Twilight Contracts without having to visit the kobold tribes myself. There was no way that I would have enough time to visit them all. Even if I did, it would take forever. No, I needed a different delivery method. I thought about the problem, but still hadn¡¯t come up with a solution before I regained my bloodline essence. I then made changes to the hatching chamber I was in as well as the others. Then I quietly left the underground tunnels and started flying through the night sky after the viscount¡¯s soldiers. Alsvartr encountered the soldiers while I was flying. Ever since I became a minor god, I had discovered that I could focus on individual believers. However, I could only concentrate on one other place at the same time. Splitting my senses was much harder than I had expected. As for my familiar, she did a great job. I watched as she harassed the soldiers, making it impossible for them to rest. She used the Greater Invisibility spell and combined that with the Sonic Blast cantrip. The soldiers never knew where the attacks were coming from. Because of this, they were panicking. It was odd, how a single invisible enemy who was attacking with a cantrip was able to unnerve trained soldiers so much. I did have to admit, Hyggiandi was teaching her well. She didn¡¯t keep attacking. Alsvartr allowed the soldiers time to calm down. Then, after the soldiers felt safe again, she would unless a much more powerful spell, such as the Cloudkill. While she wasn¡¯t able to cast the spell too often, one advantage of the spell was that it lasted a long time. Alsvartr really had become a powerful ally. In fact, because I had to pay additional experience points to level up, she was actually one level higher than me. Being a powerful spellcaster who specialized in darkness and shadows attacking at night made her a fearsome opponent. I even started to wonder if she really needed me. Of course, I knew that she did. Afterall, she didn¡¯t have my abnormal amount of spell points. She continued to torment them until dawn. After that, I told her to retreat to somewhere safe and rest. I wanted to give her a chance to recover her spell points before the big fight. Of course, that was if there was even going to be a big fight. By the time I caught up with the soldiers, it was late in the day. I had long since used the Invisibility spell to ensure that they wouldn¡¯t notice me. Another reason was because the soldiers were close to Einvaldskonungr¡¯s lair. The soldiers made no move to rest though. Instead, they started advancing forward, apparently planning on attacking the red dragon before nightfall. I was surprised since the way forward was growing more mountainous. Like most red dragons, Einvaldskonungr preferred that his domain possess a high perch, which meant the red dragon¡¯s lair was on, or under, a mountain peak. In fact, to most male red dragons, the higher the peak, the better the location. This was because they believed that their domain encompassed all that they could see. The further they could see from their mountain top, the more satisfied they felt. It was a mark of status. If dragons existed in my previous world, only the most powerful red dragons would have attempted to claim Mount Everest as their territory. The reason was because on a clear day, they would be able to see over two hundred miles into the distance. The smaller the mountain, the shorter distance the dragon could see. This meant those peaks weren¡¯t as valued by the red dragons. If I had to compare it to something, I would compare it to the size of a diamond in an engagement ring. The size of a male red dragon¡¯s peak was very important. Of course, this mostly applied to red dragons. Other dragons had their own preferences. As for the red dragons, they would often bask in the sun at the top of the peak and gaze down upon their domain, content in the knowledge that they owned everything that they could see. Just like rich humans loved their penthouses in the big cities, red dragons loved their views. Even female red dragons preferred a big peak. While red dragons primarily focused on the view, they also had other preferences. They liked living in, or near, volcanoes, hot geysers, or other areas of geothermal activity. Red dragons drew comfort when they were surrounded by intense heat. What humans might consider dangerous gasses might be seen as a comfortable and relaxing sauna. Unfortunately for weak young dragons, they didn¡¯t always get what they wanted. Many of these red dragons had to settle for other locations. Many of these dragons dwelled within dungeons where they could sleep in a lair that possessed some type of heat source. Most red dragons also liked to live in large caverns or cave systems that reached deep underground and received geothermal activity. Of course, such caverns weren¡¯t always available. That was probably why kobolds became one of the red dragon¡¯s favorite minions. In fact, while it was true that most dragons had kobolds who served them, some dragons preferred other races. The reason why kobolds were the most popular subservient race was because of their ability to fawn over the dragons, their ability to create the ideal lair, and their ability to gather natural resources for the dragon. Despite being the ideal servants for dragons, kobolds often had to live separately. One reason for this was because dragons didn¡¯t like others hanging around them while they slept. Also, the kobolds would eventually need to move to other locations to uncover new natural resources to offer the dragon. The last factor was that just being near a powerful dragon was dangerous. That was because dragons were connected to nature, and their mere presence over a long period of time would start to change the environment. For example, Einvaldskonungr hadn¡¯t been too powerful as a young dragon. Because of this, he hadn''t been able to claim the best lands. However, over time, he modified the land to suit his wishes. One of the ways he did this was through the kobolds. Long ago, he had ordered them to create a huge underground cavern. Because the mountain peak wasn¡¯t high enough, he had the kobolds start depositing the excavated rocks on top of the mountain to make it taller. He even had the kobolds create passages for lava to flow through so that he could bask in the geothermal energy. Not only was this comfortable to him, but he was also about to use the geothermal energy to grow more powerful faster than he would otherwise be able to improve. This went on for decades. By the time he grew older, just his presence was enough to change the land. In the beginning, he was able to absorb some of the geothermal energy. Once Einvaldskonungr grew older and more powerful, his presence started creating changes in the environment. That was one reason why there were frequent small earthquakes in his territory. Even toxic gasses, geysers of magma, heated pools, or elemental openings to the Plane of Fire were sometimes created. I hung back, watching them, trying to decide what I wanted to do. While I could immediately attack the soldiers, that wasn¡¯t an ideal solution. I could easily imagine Einvaldskonungr emerging from his lair after hearing the conflict and deciding that I was an unwelcome visitor, despite the fact that I was fighting the soldiers. I wasn¡¯t sure that the red dragon would even need my help. However, I was about to find out. Chapter 90 - The Red Dragons Battle I was pretty sure that the red dragon was already aware of the presence of the soldiers. He was probably sitting on top of his peak watching them approach. Because of this, I decided to wait. My idea was to only do something if he fell into a predicament and needed assistance. Therefore, I invisibly trailed along behind them. As we approached within a few miles of the lair, I noticed that the land had become much more rocky and barren. There were a few streams, but I could smell the stink of sulfur wafting up from them with the breeze. It was actually a little depressing to look at. The green dragon¡¯s lair, with its waterfall, was much more impressive. Then again, I hadn¡¯t seen the interior of either lair. Things could be drastically different inside. I wasn¡¯t too worried about Einvaldskonungr seeing me. That was at least until I was a lot closer. However, I was worried about him smelling me. Because of this, I made sure that I was downwind of him. While I might have been worrying for no reason, I still wanted to play it safe. Now that I was a dragon, any goodwill he might have had towards me could have changed. Once the humans were close enough, Einvaldskonungr leapt into the air and began to circle high above the battlefield. His scales shimmered like molten rubies, reflecting the dying light of the sun. Below him, a contingent of soldiers and wizards from the Konungd¨®mr Kingdom prepared themselves for the confrontation of their lives. Their armor clinked and clattered, and the air buzzed with the incantations of wizards summoning spells. Standing resolute at the forefront of the army was Viscount Landskyld of Skattgj?ld, a tall and imposing figure whose steely gaze remained fixed on the dragon above. Clad in gleaming armor, he raised his sword high, signaling the attack. ¡°For the honor of Konungd¨®mr! For Baron R¨¦ttr!¡± he shouted, his voice carrying across the field. Einvaldskonungr roared, a deafening sound that shook the very earth. The soldiers below flinched at the power of his voice, but they held their ground, determined to avenge the attack on Baron R¨¦ttr¡¯s castle. As the first volley of arrows shot into the sky, Einvaldskonungr deftly maneuvered through them, the shafts breaking harmlessly against his hardened scales. With a powerful beat of his wings, he swooped down, unleashing a torrent of flames upon the soldiers. The fiery breath scorched the earth, and the cries of those caught in its path echoed through the air. The wizards retaliated, casting lightning and icy spells aimed at the dragon''s wings. Bolts of magical energy streaked towards Einvaldskonungr, but the red dragon shrugged off the attacks. Undeterred, he roared again before sending another breath of fire upon the enemy below. Viscount Landskyld yelled and gestured with his sword, trying to rally his men. ¡°Hold the line! Keep firing!¡± Around him, knights on horseback stared at the dragon, their lances aimed at his underbelly. However, they were useless since Einvaldskonungr was flying too high above their heads. I couldn¡¯t resist snickering at seeing how pitiful the soldiers were faring against the red dragon. Without a ballista bolt, the soldiers were actually having very little impact on the red dragon. While it was true that the archers and spellcasters were slowly whittling away at Einvaldskonungr¡¯s health points, the red dragon didn¡¯t seem concerned at all. Einvaldskonungr banked sharply to the side, avoiding some of the ranged attacks after breathing fire. His eyes blazed with fury as he faced the attackers before flying upwards. Then, moments later, with a ferocious snarl, the red dragon dove toward the ground again, unleashing another breath attack. This time, however, the attacks from the archers and spellcasters was enough to injure his wings. Without hesitating, the red dragon landed among the largest group of soldiers who weren¡¯t armored knights. The force of the impact shook the battlefield. He faced Viscount Landskyld directly, the viscount¡¯s resolve unyielding even in the face of such power. ¡°You dare challenge me?¡± Einvaldskonungr¡¯s voice rumbled like an earthquake, reverberating across the field. ¡°I do,¡± Viscount Landskyld replied, steeling himself. ¡°For Baron R¨¦ttr and our people.¡± Einvaldskonungr unleashed another stream of fire, but the viscount raised his shield, deflecting the flames. Around him, the remaining wizards cast protective wards, shielding the soldiers from the dragon¡¯s fiery wrath. Seeing their resistance, the red dragon charged toward the clerics and spellcasters, ignoring everyone else. I nodded to myself, silently applauding his choice. The knights had been forced to dismount earlier due to the fiery breath attacks. Now they were finding it difficult to move quickly across the battlefield in their heavy armor. As for the archers, while they were annoying, the true threat was the spellcasters. As for the clerics, it was better to get rid of them earlier to ensure that they didn¡¯t give injured soldiers the chance to be healed. The viscount was undeterred, however, and again tried to rally his troops once more. ¡°Archers, ready your bows! Wizards, focus your spells! Bring him down!¡± Arrows rained down on Einvaldskonungr, their tips enchanted to pierce even the toughest of scales. The dragon twitched in pain, but it didn¡¯t stop him from steamrolling over a couple of spellcasters. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Einvaldskonungr was far from defeated. Since there were no large pockets of spellcasters, the red dragon started picking off anyone nearby one by one, his claws tearing through armor like paper. The battlefield was a blur of chaos and destruction, fire and steel clashing in a deadly dance. However, that didn¡¯t stop the red dragon from seeking out the clerics and spellcasters. As the battle raged on, the sun started to dip toward the horizon, painting the sky a deep crimson. I found that a little poetic since the red dragon was turning the mountain red with blood. Of course, a lot of his blood was now flowing as well. Einvaldskonungr¡¯s scales seemed to glow in the fires that he had set with his draconic breath attacks. The soldiers of Konungd¨®mr fought valiantly, but it was clear they were no match for the fury of Einvaldskonungr. In a final, desperate push, Viscount Landskyld charged forward, his sword aimed at the heart of the dragon. I could almost imagine Einvaldskonungr¡¯s thoughts as the red dragon met the viscount¡¯s eyes with a contemptuous gaze. I couldn¡¯t believe the immensity of the human¡¯s stupidity. Not only had he decided to attack the red dragon, but he also participated in the attack. I watched as the red dragon gave a mighty leap, easily evading the viscount¡¯s attempt to strike a blow. Despite being injured, Einvaldskonungr was still much faster. He caught the viscount in midair, and pinned him to the ground with a talon. The red dragon didn¡¯t even bother to say anything. He just breathed a stream of fire directly into the face of the viscount who was held in his grasp. Needless to say, the viscount didn¡¯t survive the experience. As for the others, the forces of Konungd¨®mr were fleeing as fast as they could. I expected the red dragon to follow after the soldiers, but he didn¡¯t. Instead, he sat on the battlefield and began peeling the dead soldiers out of their armor like a human would peel a banana. Then he popped the bodies into his mouth. As for myself, I watched from a distance, trying to decide what to do. I had no intention of acting against the red dragon. Not only was he much bigger, he was also much stronger. I wasn¡¯t stupid enough to think that just because I was a minor god, I would stand a chance against Einvaldskonungr. God could die, and I wasn¡¯t ready to die. What I was trying to decide was whether I wanted to do something to the soldiers who were escaping. Did I want to track them down while they were running away? I could easily finish them off so that no survivors would return to Skattgj?ld. Even if I chose not to do the deed myself, I could always have Alsvartr do it for me. Finally, I sent a mental command to my familiar, asking her to take care of the soldiers for me. Afterall, there was no need to get my hands dirty. In fact, I was actually feeling a little embarrassed. I had wasted my time. The red dragon had easily defeated the soldiers from the Konungd¨®mr Kingdom. Although the red dragon had taken some more damage, I doubted he would be attacked anytime soon. Not thinking of any other reason to stick around, I started heading back home. On the way, I continued to think about what had happened and what might happen in the future. While I was sure that the king would probably be upset, and might even send more soldiers, I doubted it would be any time soon. In fact, the king might be more upset with the deceased viscount than he was with the dragon. Afterall, the Konungd¨®mr Kingdom was currently at war with the Penningr Republic. He probably resented the fact that the viscount had wasted soldiers who could have defended against their true enemy. As for Groenneitr, green dragons weren¡¯t known for attacking themselves. Instead, they would send their minions. Because of this, I was pretty sure that the red dragon would have time to recover, at least to some degree. I was slowly starting to decide that the green dragon and the Penningr Republic were working together. I bet they were trying to cause internal conflicts to weaken the Konungd¨®mr Kingdom. I would put money on the fact that they were the ones who had instigated the attack on the kobolds. They probably anticipated the red dragon¡¯s anger when his minions were killed. In fact, once Einvaldskonungr recovered, I fully expected the red dragon to end up attacking another castle in the kingdom in retaliation for the failed attack that just occurred. The more I thought about it, the more I decided that Groenneitr was the mastermind behind the whole conspiracy. Green dragons used others for their benefit. They rarely did anything that didn¡¯t benefit them. Becoming an enemy with a red dragon for the benefit of a country wasn¡¯t in their nature. If I had to guess, I would say that after Einvaldskonungr and the Konungd¨®mr Kingdom weakened themselves enough by attacking each other, Groenneitr and the Penningr Republic would swoop in and finish them both off. Of course, it wouldn¡¯t affect me too much no matter what happened. The kobolds I had lived with at first would either stay independent or start worshiping the green dragon. While it wasn¡¯t common for dragons to have kobold minions who were of a different chromatic color, it wasn¡¯t unheard of. Therefore, I wasn¡¯t too worried. I just needed to make sure that by the time that happened, I would be powerful enough so that Groenneitr wouldn¡¯t try the same thing with me. That meant that I needed more followers. Because of this, I altered my course. While I had visited one human city, there were several other nearby cities. Baron Alys, Marquis Kirkja, and Earl T¨®fton were all close enough for me to visit. When I visited Skattgj?ld, I had learned a lot about the neighboring cities. Each one kept enough kobold slaves to be worth visiting. And just like in Skattgj?ld, there was probably also a group of kobolds who had managed to escape. Since Earl T¨®fton¡¯s city was the closest, I decided to start with them before visiting the other nearby cities. I also started concentrating on how I could spread my influence without actually having to visit distant cities. While I suppose I could visit each city on the continent in person, I had no desire to do so. The question was how I was going to accomplish that. While I was thinking about it, experience points from Alsvartr started to slowly accumulate once more. Chapter 91 - Return to Sanctuary These experience points continued as I flew southwest toward T¨®fton City. I found it odd that the Konungd¨®mr Kingdom named some of their cities directly after whoever was in command. Others, like Viscount Landskyld, were apparently too lazy to change the city¡¯s name. Then again, Landskyld could have had a reason why he didn¡¯t change the city of Skattgj?ld¡¯s name. As I flew, I marveled at how something that I had once dreamed of now seemed monotonous. In my previous life, I remembered that teleportation and telekinesis, which I would use to fly, were two of the powers I dreamed of having. Now that I could fly, it wasn¡¯t as exciting as I had expected. More and more though, I was starting to think teleportation might be the better choice. In fact, it might even be the answer to my current dilemma. If I was able to either teleport myself or some of my followers to distant cities, it would save me a lot of time. Of course, that left me with a problem. I still needed to create the Twilight Contracts. Then again, maybe I didn¡¯t need to do that. I had already created a Ritual of Sacrifice. I could always make it so that when someone completed the ritual, they could exchange for the Twilight Contract. Then the problem would be that I would need to spread knowledge about how to cast the ritual instead of spreading the actual bloodline contracts. I could get around this by offering a quest for those who had already obtained the Twilight Contracts. They could be the ones who went to other places to spread the knowledge of the ritual. Realizing I might have solved the problem, I couldn¡¯t help but smile. It actually sounded feasible. Deciding that I might as well give it a try, I found a nice spot to land well away from everything else. While I might have been able to make the changes while gliding, I actually still felt a little nervous that I would make a mistake since flying was new to me. After landing, I pulled up the Dragon God Contract System to make the changes. Hmm, that isn¡¯t the best acronym. I need to come up with something better, I thought. I frowned when I had to decide how many Draconic Points I would offer, and what those Draconic Points would be for. Would it include how far they had to travel or just the fact that they shared the ritual with another person. Finally, I decided to go with teaching the ritual to another person. However, I knew how people thought. I could easily imagine people gaming the system by teaching the ritual to a bunch of kids or people who might never use the system. Because of this, I decided that when the person they taught the ritual to used the system to make a purchase for the first few times, the teacher would get a kickback of the Draconic Points that were spent. Nodding at my genius, I smiled, quite pleased with myself. As the final adjustments to the Dragon God Contract System were made, I stretched my wings and launched myself back into the air, deciding not to visit the city after all. Instead, I was going to head home. The problem of spreading the system might have been solved, and I really didn¡¯t want to visit some unknown city anyway. I also knew it would still take time to see how effective my changes were. For now though, I was glad that I didn¡¯t have to keep on flying around and could just go home. Anyways, I needed to go back home and start making more Twilight Contracts. While I was at it, I could also make some Soul Contracts for the undead. It wasn¡¯t like I had to rush from one city to the next anyway. Now that I was a dragon, I had centuries to do whatever I felt like doing. In my previous life, I had been a homebody. I didn¡¯t even want to leave the house to get food. I suppose, even back then, I was a little like a dragon. I just didn¡¯t have a hoard, unless you counted the thousands of science fiction and fantasy novels that I had bought and read over the years. I had also been just as lazy as a dragon too. No, don¡¯t disparage dragons, I reminded myself. Dragons are innately superior. Any talk of them being lazy is just jealousy. The journey back was quicker than I expected. What truly caught my attention, though, was the activity. Sanctuary was alive in a way that it hadn''t been when I had left. I spotted a group of winged kobolds practicing aerial maneuvers. Some of the kobolds were even flying closely together, as if supporting an injured brother or sister from plummeting to their deaths after simulating an aerial attack. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. My heart swelled with pride at the sight. They had taken to the skies as I had, their movements coordinated and graceful, though still rough around the edges. Once I got closer though, I realized that several of the winged kobolds weren¡¯t coordinating their movements or roleplaying saving each other. They had taken their bathing pool activities into the sky. Seeing this, I felt like facepalming. Really, I thought. Oh my me¡­that is not what I want to see. ¡°And no, I¡¯m not jealous,¡± I muttered to myself. Still, I guess I shouldn¡¯t complain, I thought, deciding that my followers were just acting according to their nature. Not wanting to get mobbed by my throngs of admiring believers, I cast the Invisibility spell on myself and made my way inside. Soon, I found myself in the dungeon core room. Nothing had changed, which I found reassuring. Since I was home, I decided to clear out my divine realm. While there hadn¡¯t been a lot of divine offerings in return for Draconic Points while I was away, I had accumulated some gold pieces. As for the food, as soon as it was offered, I had been eating them. While I knew I didn¡¯t need to eat any longer, I didn¡¯t want the food to go to waste and I needed the storage space. As for magic items, they had mostly been useless junk which I had extracted the magic from to increase my magic point pool. After that was done, I decided that I needed a permanent solution to that problem as well. If my Draconic Dragon System became popular, then I would need to either expand my divine realm or make it so that the offerings were automatically shunted to my lair instead. From what I could gather, I needed to use Faith Points to increase the realm size. Unfortunately, the bigger the realm size, the more Faith Points I would need to maintain the realm. At the moment, I received almost 3000 Faith Points every day. Unfortunately, a lot of those points were being used to maintain the Dragon God¡¯s System. Yeah, that sounds better than the Dragon God Contract System, I thought. It took a lot of points to create the Twilight Contracts as well. Because of this, I was a little hesitant about spending a lot of Faith Points to upgrade the divine realm. Technically, if I had enough believers, I could already qualify as a lesser god. Unfortunately, I didn¡¯t have enough followers to make that jump yet. I was pretty sure that I was close to advancing to become a rank 2 minor god though. That was also one reason I was trying to spread the system. I needed more believers. Once I had enough believers, I could worry about expanding my divine realm. For now, I decided to create a permanent portal to connect the dungeon core room with my tiny divine realm. My goal was to streamline the process of the sacrificed items and gold being dumped into my dungeon core room instead of needing me to take out the items periodically. Actually, now that I thought about it, I decided that wasn¡¯t the best idea. Who knew what stupid items the people might try to send me. I could even see some tricky, sneaky, backstabbing human sending a bomb as an offering? Yep, I definitely need to make the connection somewhere other than where I sleep, I decided. However, it also needed to be someplace that could be guarded. It should also have a holy feeling since it was connected to my believers. That meant a church. In fact, a church had already been created by some of the builders. They had felt that I needed something to denote my status as a god. Of course, I could hardly refuse my subject¡¯s request. Sighing, I realized I was going to have to interact with my followers again. For some reason, while I loved them, they also tried my patience. It actually brought back memories of when I was working with a group of kindergarten students. They were adorable. They were almost like little puppies who were always yapping and barking for attention, surrounding me and pestering me with question after question. Reluctantly, I called out to Geyma, who I had noticed was guarding the entrance tunnel to the dungeon core room. She came rushing towards me like a red and black speckled Dalmation and leapt onto me, wrapping both her arms and her wings around me. I was confused at first. When did her wings get so big? Did I forget something? Shaking my head, I shoved such thoughts aside as I tried to extricate myself from her embrace. Somehow, I didn¡¯t think this was how a believer was supposed to approach their god. Wait, what was she doing? Oh, fudge no, I thought, quickly realizing what was about to happen. Chapter 92 - The Ancient Mines It took me a couple of minutes, but I was finally able to extricate myself from her exuberant welcome back. I resisted the impulse to wipe away some nonexistent perspiration from my forehead. While I might have been sweating mentally, my new physical body didn¡¯t seem to possess that ability. I straightened myself, doing my best to appear composed and dignified despite Geyma¡¯s overzealous greeting. Her wings fluttered as she stepped back, her eyes bright with adoration. "Welcome home, my lord!" she exclaimed, practically vibrating with excitement. ¡°Yes, yes, Geyma. Thank you for the...enthusiastic welcome,¡± I said. ¡°Tell me, how are things progressing here in my absence?¡± Her expression shifted instantly to one of seriousness, her chest puffing out with pride. That caused me to frown since female kobolds didn¡¯t have ¡°chests¡± since they didn¡¯t nurse their young. ¡°Sanctuary thrives under your divine guidance! Our brothers and sisters have been training harder than ever, as you¡¯ve seen.¡± Everything is improving each day. Our builders have completed several key projects, including the expansion of the main hall and the consecration of your temple." The mention of the temple piqued my interest. ¡°The temple is finished, you say. I¡¯d like to see it.¡± ¡°Of course, my lord!¡± Geyma said, bowing deeply before scampering ahead to lead the way. I followed her through the tunnels, noting the subtle but significant improvements made since my departure. Someone had started carving the history of the city into the tunnel walls already. I noticed that eggs, a kobold wyrmling, and a dragon were recurring themes. I also spotted several kobolds diligently working on tasks that ranged from polishing floors to laying traps. This made me want to sigh again, but I knew I shouldn¡¯t complain. I had already seen how useful the traps were after being run out of one kobold city already. I just hoped that they didn¡¯t go too far overboard. I would hate to die within my own city to the traps one of my followers might have placed while I was distracted. The temple stood near the heart of Sanctuary, its entrance flanked by two massive statues of dragons, their eyes set with gleaming gemstones that seemed to radiate power. I did raise an eye at the ¡°two¡± dragon statues. One I could understand. Maybe one was supposed to be the red dragon Einvaldskonungr and the other might have been myself. Pushing aside such thoughts, I continued onwards. Before I walked by, though, I did have to admit that they created the statues unnaturally fast. The only explanation I could think of was that they must have used spells to make the statues, such as Shape Stone, or some similar spell. As I stepped inside, I noticed that the high-vaulted ceiling was being chiseled away by a number of stone carvers. The altar at the center of the temple was a slab of polished obsidian, its surface inlaid with veins of silver and gold forming the shape of a dragon. Surrounding the altar were offerings, gold coins, rare gems, and other treasures gleaming under the warm light of enchanted sconces. I had to forcibly stop myself from rushing forward to look at the gleaming treasures. I wanted to shout something like, ¡°Oh, shinees!¡± I did have to admit, I was impressed. Not bad. They¡¯ve outdone themselves, I thought, genuinely impressed. Geyma watched me expectantly. ¡°Do you approve, my lord?¡± I nodded. ¡°It¡¯s suitable. This temple will serve as the nexus for our faith and my connection to my followers. Speaking of which¡­¡± I gestured to the altar. ¡°I will be establishing a portal here to streamline offerings. Ensure it is guarded at all times.¡± Her eyes widened with awe. ¡°A portal to your divine realm? Truly, your power knows no bounds, my lord!¡± I refrained from commenting, amazed by the flattering ability my kobold followers possessed. It was almost as if they were born to be obsequious flatterers, devoted subordinates, and fawning followers. Then again, considering I was their god, such beliefs were appropriate. Realizing I was getting distracted, I instead focused on the task at hand. I walked around for a few minutes while I looked around for the best place to place the enchantment. Finally, I decided to just go ahead and make it on the altar itself. With a thought, I started using Faith Points and started creating a permanent portal which would deposit any sacrifices into the church. Unfortunately, since I didn¡¯t actually know the spell and wanted it to be permanent, it cost enough Faith Points to make me wince. It was done. The portal shimmered for a second but then disappeared. I was a little disappointed. Then again, I did use a few Faith Points as possible. If I had wanted something flashy, I would have needed to spend more points to do it.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°There,¡± I said, stepping back to admire my work. ¡°Offerings will now be transported directly from my divine realm to here. Please ensure that someone comes to pick up the food. This food should be distributed among as needed. As for the rest of the items, have someone start sorting through the offerings and separate them into magical, non-magical, and coins.¡± Geyma nodded fervently. ¡°Of course, my lord. I will personally find someone to oversee its protection.¡± "Good," I said, turning to leave. "Now, what of the other projects? Have the scouts returned from their expeditions?" Even though I had been helping the city out with dragonberries, I wanted the city to be self-sufficient. That was one reason why we had kobolds working on different projects, such as creating bat colonies which could be harvested for food, worm and mushroom farms, and so forth. I had long since discovered the importance of scouts. If I hadn¡¯t encountered the mercenaries, the city might have suffered some casualties. Another reason scouts were important, besides locating threats, was to find opportunities, such as additional sources of food. Hopefully, they had found something useful while I was gone. Geyma hesitated. ¡°Not all, my lord. Those who ventured southeast reported strange activity.¡± I waited for her to continue, but she didn¡¯t. Finally, I said, ¡°And¡­?¡± ¡°Oh, sorry my lord,¡± she said, clearly embarrassed. ¡°They said there were some undead creatures and signs of activity. We suspect a lich or a necromancer has claimed some of the caves leading to the Ancient Mines.¡± ¡°Undead? Necromancers?¡± I asked, my voice low as I processed the implications. I wondered if this might be an opportunity for me. After all, I was the god of death. Then again, away from the Necropolis, necromancy wasn¡¯t exactly common. I wondered, Why would a necromancer be in the Ancient Mines? In fact, what are the Ancient Mines? Not wanting to show how little I knew, I said, ¡°Tell me more about what you know of the Ancient Mines.¡± Not noticing, Geyma was eager to please, ¡°The Ancient Mines are a labyrinth of tunnels and caverns carved into the northern base of the eastern mountains long before the rise of modern kingdoms. They are connected to a vast network of shafts delving deep into the earth to harvest rare minerals and precious gemstones.¡± She then looked at me, as if to ask if that was enough. I made a motion with my hand for her to continue, which she happily did. I guessed talking about ancient passages, precious metals, and such stories were the bread and butter for kobold dreams. Geyma said, ¡°Stories told of veins of mithril, and enchanted crystals buried in the deepest recesses, remnants of the mountain¡¯s ancient magic. Those same tales warned of something else, an ominous presence that had driven the dwarves to abandon the mines centuries ago. Some said it was a curse brought about by greed. Others whispered that they had awakened an ancient evil.¡± She leaned closer to me, a little too close in fact, but I said nothing as she continued, ¡°What truly lay within the mines varied depending on who told the tale. Adventurers who braved the upper levels often spoke of normal occurrences, such as glowing fungi. However, deeper within, the air grew heavy with a strange, metallic tang, and the stone walls sometimes shimmered faintly as though the very rock pulsed with latent magic. There were even rumors that faint echoes could be heard in those depths, though no source was ever found. Some said it was as if the whispers seemed to come from the stone itself.¡± She paused at that point, and looked at me, as if expecting me to say something. Unsure what to say, I finally muttered solemnly, ¡°Interesting. Please tell me more.¡± At this point, Geyma smiled, obviously pleased with the attention she was receiving. She quickly continued, ¡°Recently, there are rumors that ancient machinery left behind by the dwarves are still being used by someone, or something. They might even be possessed by ghosts.¡± ¡°When did these recent rumors begin?¡± I asked, curious. ¡°Around the time when you hatched. Not too long ago.¡± Geyma paused her, as if surprised that such a short amount of time had passed since I had hatched. ¡°Why did you suspect necromancers or a lich?¡± I was confused how she had made such a connection. For a second, I wondered if I might have missed something. ¡°Did the scouts see them directly or just signs of their presence?¡± I asked. "Both, my lord," Geyma replied. "They reported that the machines were working as if. ¡°Some even say that the machines are working by themselves, as if they have come alive. Since this is impossible, it means that they are obviously being possessed by or moved by unseen ghosts.¡± I frowned. ¡°How far are the mines from here?¡± I asked, my tail flicking with annoyance. ¡°Three days'' journey for the scouts on foot,¡± Geyma said. Left unsaid was the fact that the area was inaccessible by air. The only way to get there was by traveling underground. If it had been closer, I would have flown there immediately. I nodded, pacing a few steps as I thought it over. The Ancient Mines had been abandoned long before my rebirth, but their reputation was well-known. Stories spoke of cursed veins of metal and remnants of ancient battles fought between the dwarves and the dark elves. If a necromancer had chosen it as their lair, it wasn¡¯t by accident. ¡°And the other scouts?¡± I asked, trying to gauge how far my resources were spread. ¡°One team returned with news of fertile land to the northeast, my lord,¡± she said. "They believe it could be cultivated for worms and mushroom usage. Another team is overdue, though¡ªthose who traveled south toward Hedeby." ¡°Overdue how long?¡± While I wasn¡¯t worried yet, I wasn¡¯t going to let something happen to my kobold followers. I didn¡¯t have enough to lose any of them. ¡°Two days, my lord,¡± she said, her expression grim. ¡°We¡¯ve sent a pair of messengers to investigate, but they¡¯ve yet to return.¡± My wings shifted restlessly, a clear sign of my unease. Between the missing scouts and the activity in the Ancient Mines to the southeast, there were too many potential threats brewing. I needed more information, and soon. ¡°Create a team of our strongest kobolds and go find the missing scouts. As for the Ancient Mines, don¡¯t worry about that yet.¡± I wanted to think more about the mine. While I could be reading into things, it was entirely possible that someone else had reincarnated at the same time I did and was setting up shop in the ancient mines. Then again, it could be something completely separate. Geyma bowed deeply. ¡°As you command, my lord.¡± She quickly disappeared from my sight, carrying out my orders. However, I didn¡¯t really notice. Once she was gone, I sank into thought. Chapter 93 - Becoming a Lesser God Although part of me wanted to go explore the Ancient Mines, I realized even if my suspicions were true and the cause of the disturbances was another reincarnator, they weren¡¯t a god yet, since I had become the first one to become one of the first deities in the System Lord pantheon. Because of this, I decided I had enough on my plate at the moment. Then another thought bubbled up. It was that I had only partially kept my promise to Einvaldskonungr. I had taken offered sanctuary and assistance to those kobolds who needed help, but I hadn¡¯t sent him any tributes. For a moment, I considered my options. Technically, I did imply that I would send the red dragon a tribute. I hadn¡¯t actually agreed to send more than that, though. While I was still weak as a dragon, I was still a god, even if it was a minor god. Since I wanted people to trust me, I probably needed to keep my word. Also, the red dragon had helped me, so he deserved it. Sighing, I realized that I would have to give up some of my precious items. The question was, which items? I didn¡¯t really have a lot. Although there were a few magic items, none of them were precious. Most of the items were those that kobolds had traded with me in return for draconic points which they could use to buy something they wanted from my system. Because of this, the items were ones which weren¡¯t especially valuable or useful. As for gold and gems, I could send those, but I wasn¡¯t sure how much I should send as tribute. At the minimum, I would need to send thousands of gold or an equal amount of gems. Then again, I thought, I am a god. I could offer him my blessing to offset some of the tribute. I nodded, very pleased with my thinking. Still, I need to at least take some token offerings. With that thought in mind, I started collecting shiny gems instead of gold. While gold was amazing, I didn¡¯t want to transport a lot of gold. I would rather send an equal amount of gems. By the time I was done collecting all the gems that were valuable, I realized that I actually had more of them than I had realized. I paused after that, suddenly realizing something. Things had been happening so fast that I hadn¡¯t thought about my situation. I had been getting caught up on minor details instead of looking at the big picture. In my previous life, I used to get laser focused on particular projects and sometimes missed important issues. Slowly, I took a deep breath and realized, I am an idiot. Not just an idiot, but a gnomish idiot. Okay, maybe not that bad, I thought, changing my mind. But really? I knew the benefits and cost of leveling up as a deity. Why had I not bothered leveling up? My kobold followers are providing me plenty of Faith Points. With this in mind, I mentally prepared myself. System, I thought. I want to use Faith Points to level up my divine rank. Part of me wondered if the system was going to ignore me or not. Something was telling me, though, that it would respond to this request. A moment later, I smiled, although that quickly turned into a grimace. It was all I could do not to scream as waves of divine energy crashed into my body, altering it once again. I quickly realized that the divine energy was not going to stop charging through my veins until I used the energy somehow. I clenched my teeth and sent some of the power into my body to reinforce my physical attributes. However, I used the majority of the divine energy to expand my mind. I wasn¡¯t sure how long the process took, but when the pain finally diminished and I could see again, I read the latest notifications. ATTENTION: DIVINE RANK INCREASED. Faith Points have been used to increase your divine rank from rank one to rank six. You have gained the following benefits: ACHIEVEMENT: LESSER GOD. You are the first reincarnator to ascend to lesser godhood. Congratulations. After seeing my new powers, I couldn¡¯t help but feel a little pride. Although I only had a few hundred Faith Points left, I had received a lot for the 93,500 Faith Points I had spent. Almost immediately, I sighed. I had been able to level up five times with less than 100,000 Faith Points. However, that was exactly how many points I would have to spend if I wanted to increase my divine rank again. After that, it was even worse. Obviously, the lower ranks of divinity were easy to acquire. If I wanted to become a True God and get the souls of my family, I would need over four million Faith Points. I sighed, realizing just how far I had left to go. Still, going from a minor god to a lesser god had really improved my abilities, by a lot. In fact, several of the abilities would be extremely useful. I did have to admit that I felt a little sad that I hadn¡¯t been able to decide what powers I would get though. Hurriedly, I opened up Avatar Creation, believing it might allow me to send avatars of myself around the world. Avatar Creation: An avatar is like a second self for a deity, enabling the deity to exist in multiple places simultaneously. It is an extension of the deity, sharing all its senses and knowledge with the original. A deity can create as many avatars as their divine rank allows. However, making or replacing a destroyed avatar takes one year and must be done within the deity¡¯s own realm. An avatar has, at maximum, only half the physical strength and abilities of the deity it represents. The stronger the avatar, the more Faith Points are needed.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. At first, I was ecstatic, until I realized it would take a year to create an avatar. Still, while it did require Faith Points, I could gradually pay those points over time. Still, I didn¡¯t even have enough points to get an avatar started at the moment. Reluctantly, I went to the next power that looked amazing. Alter Reality: This allows a deity to reshape the world using Faith Points. This ability allows the deity to make changes to reality itself, but the scope of the change determines the cost in Faith Points. This is similar to Miracles, but more powerful. The larger or more complex the alteration, the more points are required. By spending Faith Points, the deity can bend the laws of nature, create or destroy objects, or even rewrite events. The extent of these changes is limited only by the deity¡¯s imagination, their Faith Point reserves, and their divine rank. I frowned since I was getting a little annoyed. Miracles were basically spending Faith Points to accomplish something, such as the permanent spell connecting my divine realm with the altar in the church. I wasn¡¯t really sure how Alter Reality was any different. I was able to create things like the System and change reality already. So how are they different? I wondered. Finally, I silently questioned the system, System, how are Miracles and Alter Reality different? Miracles: Alter Reality: Summary: After reading that, I felt a little smug again. Apparently, without even realizing it, I had somehow gamed the system. I managed to do stuff that should have been the domain of Alter Reality with Miracles instead. After a few seconds of gloating, I decided to set aside some time later to think about the power. At the moment, it was useless to me since I didn¡¯t have any Faith Points to spend. Once I had enough points, then I could practice using my new power. Still, what about Illusionary Reality then? I wondered. Illusionary Reality: It is a divine power that allows a deity to create illusions so convincing they can temporarily take on the qualities of reality itself. By spending Faith Points, the deity can manifest visions, objects, or entire environments that interact with the physical world as though they were real. The complexity and scope of the illusion determine the Faith Point cost. Simple illusions require minimal effort, while large or intricate ones demand more. These illusions can deceive senses, alter perceptions, or even cause temporary physical effects, such as an illusionary bridge that can support weight. However, the effects are not permanent and fade when the illusion is dispelled or the Faith Points sustaining it are depleted. I wasn¡¯t sure how to feel about that power since I already possessed Miracle and Alter Reality. In fact, it almost seemed redundant. Then again, it was illusionary. That meant that it was probably cheaper than the other two powers. Although it had some niche uses, I was somewhat disappointed in the power. As for the attribute increases, my physical attributes had gone up by two points each, while my mental attributes had gone up by five each. Not only that, but my health points had increased dramatically once again. In fact, after the divine rank increase, I was willing to bet that I could stand toe to toe with each of the dragons now. However, I wasn¡¯t going to do that yet. I still wasn¡¯t a True God, and if I died, I would stay dead. It wasn¡¯t until a lesser god merged with their divine realm that they became truly immortal. At the moment, I couldn¡¯t resurrect myself like a True God could. Because of this fact, I made a quick decision to start limiting my expenditure of Faith Points so that I could save up enough to increase my divine rank again. Until then though, I still had plenty to do, such as checking out my other new powers. Control Shadows and Control Undead were obvious. I wasn¡¯t sure about Life and Death Decisions though. Curious, I clicked on it for more information. Life and Death Decisions: It is a divine power that grants the deity absolute control over the boundary between life and death. By spending Faith Points, the deity can either end a being¡¯s life or restore life to the dead. The cost depends on the target''s strength, with more powerful beings requiring greater Faith Points to kill, and on the duration of death, with those long deceased being more costly to resurrect. This power respects the natural order of death, meaning the deity must overcome significant resistance for powerful souls or those who have passed into other realms. While the act of taking life is immediate and irreversible, bringing someone back requires that their body, spirit, or essence be intact enough to support their return. The use of this power is limited only by the deity¡¯s Faith Point reserves, divine rank, and the unique circumstances of the individual¡¯s death. Okay, now I am annoyed, I thought. I could already kill someone with my spells. I could even resurrect them. In fact, Miracles would be able to do both of these things. It almost felt like I had bought a box of crayons, but each crayon in the box was a shade of red. It felt like I was being cheated out of my rewards. Finally, I sighed, and thought. I guess I should be happy. I doubt that any other god has had such an easy ascension or increase in power. Obviously, whoever created the System Lord pantheon was extremely powerful. In fact, who was the leader of the pantheon. When would I meet him or her? How long would it be before there were other members of the pantheon? In fact, were there others who I didn¡¯t know about already? Chapter 94 - Thinking Like a God System, can I contact the leader of the System Lord pantheon? I asked. I half expected to be ignored, but I was pleasantly surprised when the system answered. ATTENTION: REPEATED ANSWER. All additional information will only be accessible when you become a True God. I sighed, annoyed with myself for actually thinking that the System was going to respond. For some reason, either the System or the System¡¯s creator wanted me to become a true god before it would tell me anything. Perhaps it wanted me to prove myself. Of course, there were a lot of things I needed to do, such as find the missing scouts. Wait, I thought. I¡¯m a god. They are my followers. It should be easy to find them. I wanted to hit my head against the nearest wall. Although I had noticed that being a kobold had affected my thinking to some degree, I hadn¡¯t really considered the fact that my old ways of thinking were limiting me. I needed to think like a god, not a human, a kobold, or a dragon. It was a little embarrassing that I hadn¡¯t thought of it sooner. I¡¯d gotten so used to doing things like a mortal that I kept forgetting I didn¡¯t have to anymore. Being a kobold-turned-dragon-turned-god was still something I was getting used to. Closing my eyes, I focused on my divine senses. It was like reaching out into the world, except I wasn¡¯t using my body. Instead, I let my awareness expand, searching for the scouts. It didn¡¯t take long to find them. I sighed in relief when I discovered that they were fine. Not only that, but they also seemed to be having the time of their life. More than likely, Barda would be laying an egg when she made it back to the city. They were just further away than I had expected. Apparently, they had been delayed because they were inspecting a cave that looked promising. Exhaling slowly, I felt the tension leave my shoulders. At least they weren¡¯t in danger. Still, I made a note to remind them to report in if they ever ran late again. Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes and concentrated on my divine senses again, this time on Geyma. Once I found her, I sent a mental command to her, Don¡¯t worry about the scouts. They are fine. Go ahead and check out the Ancient Mines. Just be careful. Retreat immediately if you sense even the slightest hint of danger. Yes my lord, Geyma replied. He truly is divine, she thought. Strong, wise, powerful... I chuckled as I heard her thoughts. Geyma¡¯s awe at my abilities was clear enough. Still, the corner of my mouth twitched. At least I knew she respected me, although maybe a little too much after hearing her next thoughts. It would be an honor to carry his children. Little gods born of his might and my devotion. After that, she started thinking about how¡­ I broke the connection so fast it left my mind reeling, my eyes snapping open as if I¡¯d been caught doing something I shouldn¡¯t. Heat rose to my cheeks, and I rubbed the back of my neck, unsure whether to laugh or groan. I hadn¡¯t anticipated that particular reaction. Then again, I probably should have though. I was starting to wonder about telepathy and how gods view their followers. So far, almost every time I read someone¡¯s thoughts, I would regret it somehow. While Geyma¡¯s loyalty was admirable, I needed to be more careful when listening to her thoughts. Some things were better left unknown. I did wonder if I would ever get used to it.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! Still, I decided to go ahead and check with the other kobolds in the city. I needed to start acting like a god. If there was one thing I was sure of, it was that gods were supposed to help their followers and listen to their prayers. Usually, mortals sent prayers through rituals and offerings. That was the traditional way, and it ensured the god would hear them. When I created the Dragon God¡¯s System, I built it to answer some of their prayers or at least give them a way to get some of the things they wanted. But gods could still hear the thoughts of their followers if they wanted to. They just had to take the time to concentrate on it. Curious, I decided to try. I closed my eyes again and focused on the connection I had to the kobolds in the city. It wasn¡¯t hard to feel them. My followers¡¯ loyalty was like a steady flame that continuously fed me Faith Points. They were my people, and they trusted me completely. Although I was a little worried, I would regret it, I tried to sense some of their thoughts instead of their general emotions. The first ones were simple, like the steady hum of a worker concentrating on shaping stone for a building. He wanted to make sure that future generations would remember the day when kobolds were given the opportunity to become god-like dragons. Then he started wondering if Azula would be willing to wash his back after work. I could only shake my head and resist the temptation to chuckle. Kobolds really were simple creatures who were easy to please. Give them work, food, and ¡°friendship,¡± and they were happy. The next kobold¡¯s thoughts were much the same. I then shifted my focus to another. This one was daydreaming, their imagination filled with visions of soaring over the city, flames spewing from their mouths as female kobolds cheered at the scene. It was humbling and a little overwhelming. Their faith in me wasn¡¯t just strong. It was absolute. They didn¡¯t just follow me because I was powerful. They believed in me with their whole hearts. The fact that I had given them the chance to become real dragons was a dream come true. I pulled back, letting my connection with them fade. In fact, just in the time that I had been hopping from one kobold¡¯s mind to another, I had gained some Faith Points. With this in mind, I decided to write off one more thing I needed to do. I needed to keep my word and give the red dragon his tribute. While I might have become a god, that didn¡¯t mean I shouldn¡¯t keep my word, even if I was considered a chaotic evil god. And what is up with that? I asked myself. Who decided that I was chaotic evil? Was it the Planar Will? Was it the creator of the god who created the system? Pushing such thoughts aside, I turned invisible. Then I flew through the city, being careful so that I didn''t bump into anyone. Everywhere, kobolds worked hard, and the city was taking shape. They didn¡¯t see me, of course, since I was invisible, not wanting to distract them. I let my thoughts wander as I looked around the city, just absorbing the ambiance while trying to think about what I needed to do differently. Afterall, if I was able to easily solve one problem just by adjusting how I thought, maybe I could solve other problems in the same way. Thinking like a god was harder than I had expected though. My instincts kept pulling me back to my old habits of thinking. My kobold instincts craved community, work, and... uh, other stuff. My dragon instincts demanded I encourage my kobolds to do other stuff so that I would have enough followers to create the most amazing dragon hoard in the world. As for my human instincts, they were actually the hardest to change. What did it mean to think like a god? I wasn''t sure. While I thought about it, I continued my flight, heading toward the western edge of the city. I was headed toward the red dragon¡¯s lair. The tribute was ready, and it was time to deliver it. For some reason, it bothered me enough that I felt like I had to do it. Keeping my word mattered, even if I was a chaotic god. Before long, I had left the city behind and was on my way. Luckily, being a lesser god, I was able to fly even faster than before. Still, it did take a while to reach Einvaldskonungr¡¯s lair. Even with the considerable distance involved though, I was still no nearer to my goal of thinking like a god than when I had left the city. It was as if I had a blind spot. I knew that I was missing something, but I had no idea what it was. I just felt that I was really close to coming to some type of realization. However, all that I could come up with was that fact that I was thinking too narrowly. I also knew that it was probably something obvious. In fact, I would probably feel like an idiot after realizing it too. The question was, What was I missing? Chapter 95 - Meeting the Red Dragon Again The wind rushed past me, carrying the faint scent of pine and snow. The landscape below shifted from rolling hills to jagged peaks. My wings beat steadily as I tried to push away the nagging belief that the gems I had brought wouldn¡¯t be enough of an offering. I would need to offer something more, such as a blessing. However, I didn¡¯t know what type of blessing to give the red dragon. Everything I could think of wouldn¡¯t be very useful to him. One or two additional damage would be useless. Einvaldskonungr¡¯s physical attributes were already high, so anything I added would be redundant. I felt like I was trying to decide what to buy for someone who had everything. The red dragon was proud. Since I didn¡¯t know what he would want or need, I decided to let him choose what type of blessing I would offer him. As I neared the mouth of his cavern, the air grew warmer. The ground below was scorched, the blackened trees reminding me of the recent battle that had taken place there. I descended slowly, keeping my wings outstretched to control my landing. Before I could say anything, I heard a deep, rumbling voice called out from the shadows of the cave, ¡°N¨®ttormr, you¡¯ve arrived. I hope you brought the tribute I asked for.¡± I was a little surprised that he recognized me. Then again, I probably shouldn¡¯t have been. Afterall, he did have kobolds who reported news to him. The fact that I had become a dragon was something he was bound to have heard. What I was curious to find out was if he had discovered that I had become a god. Even if the red dragon knew, there was no way he could know that I had become a lesser god. The red dragon emerged and eyed me for a moment. Then he met my gaze with a twisted grin. For some reason, something about the look he gave me filled me with suspicion. Trying to shrug off the feeling, I said, ¡°I keep my promises,¡± as I brought the gems and jewels that I had collected out of my divine realm where I had stored them. A group of red kobolds hurried out of the shadows and quickly gathered the gems. I blinked, somewhat annoyed that I hadn¡¯t noticed the kobolds. I made a mental note to be more perceptive in the future. Just because I was a god didn¡¯t mean I was invulnerable. Briefly, I wondered if I might not have noticed them because I didn¡¯t see them as a threat. Einvaldskonungr watched as the kobolds scurried back into the cavern with the jewels. He seemed amused for some reason. ¡°A fine offering. I accept.¡± He stepped back, his tail twitching, thumping against the ground. ¡°But you didn¡¯t fly all this way just to bring me gems. What else do you have for me, young god?¡± I hesitated but then continued. ¡°I¡¯ve come to offer you a blessing. As a token of our alliance.¡± Einvaldskonungr¡¯s eyes narrowed, his grin widening. ¡°A blessing, you say? How generous. But there is something else I desire more.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± I asked, keeping my voice steady. ¡°The Ritual of Apotheosis,¡± he said, his voice reverberating even without being in a cavern. ¡°The ritual you used to ascend to godhood. It has been lost for centuries, but I know you have it. Share it with me, and I will serve as your subordinate god.¡± The request caught me off guard. I stared at him, trying to gauge his sincerity. ¡°You want to become my subordinate?¡± ¡°If it means gaining godhood, yes,¡± he said, his tone calm but firm. ¡°But don¡¯t mistake my willingness for submission. I would serve you because it would benefit us both. The world is changing, N¨®ttormr. Gods and dragons must adapt or be left behind.¡± I considered his words. Becoming a god had changed me in ways I was still trying to understand. Sharing the ritual with Einvaldskonungr would make him powerful, perhaps too powerful. But his loyalty could be invaluable. ¡°I¡¯ll think about it,¡± I said finally. I was a little worried that he would turn against me as soon as he became a god. The only reason I didn¡¯t feel threatened at the moment was because being a god allowed me to bridge the physical differences. If he were a god too, despite being a lesser god, the red dragon would probably be able to overpower me. Now, if I had a lot of Faith points, it might be different. Unfortunately, I hadn¡¯t had a chance to accumulate a lot of them after upgrading from a minor god. Einvaldskonungr chuckled. ¡°Fair enough. Now, let¡¯s talk about the green dragon. Groenneitr.¡± My tail twitched. ¡°What about him?¡± ¡°His kobolds attacked mine. Many of my treasures now lie in his hoard. We fought, but humans aided him. I had to retreat.¡± His voice grew harsher, his eyes narrowing. ¡°The Penningr Republic supports him. They¡¯re trying to undermine me. But I have allies too.¡±Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. ¡°Who?¡± I asked. ¡°The ruler of the Konungd¨®mr Kingdom,¡± he said with a toothy grin. ¡°He asked me to deal with two traitors in his court, Baron R¨¦ttr and Viscount Landskyld. They were secretly supporting the Republic. I destroyed them at his request.¡± The revelation surprised me. ¡°You¡¯ve been working with humans?¡± Einvaldskonungr¡¯s grin widened. ¡°Sometimes, alliances are necessary. Even with mortals. The king and I have a mutually beneficial arrangement. Besides, it¡¯s entertaining to watch them squabble while I gain more power.¡± I couldn¡¯t help but give a nervous chuckle. ¡°You¡¯ve been busy.¡± ¡°Always,¡± he said, his tone becoming more serious. ¡°There is a lot of chaos in the world. If you don¡¯t continuously strive to move forward, you will fall behind.¡± He paused for a moment here before continuing, ¡°Kobolds live by a simple yet profound philosophy, work hard and play harder. They believe that toiling away is the foundation of their survival, a necessity to stay ahead in a world that often dismisses their kind.¡± I nodded, curious to see where he was going with what he was saying. I also wanted to compare it to what I had discovered in my short time as a kobold. Another reason I paid attention was because I was technically a god of the kobolds, or at least the ones in my city. Because of this, I listened to every word intently as the red dragon continued. ¡°Every stone they carve, every trap they build, and every gem they unearth is a testament to their resilience and determination,¡± Einvaldskonungr said solemnly. ¡°Yet, they also understand that life must be savored. Toiling endlessly without joy would render existence hollow, a grim cycle of drudgery. Because of this, kobolds celebrate fiercely, reveling in games, songs, and feasts with their tribe.¡± The more he spoke, the higher my respect for the red dragon increased. I hated to admit it, but I had previously viewed the humans, the kobolds, and the dragons two-dimensionally. I viewed them very stereotypically, even when there was evidence that I shouldn¡¯t be doing so, such as when Einvaldskonungr was supposedly sleeping, but actually wasn¡¯t. I hadn¡¯t ever really thought about the implications. Even when he didn¡¯t take a healing potion before attacking the green dragon. It was as if there were games within games that I was only now starting to become aware of. Realizing I was getting distracted, I went back to paying attention to the red dragon¡¯s words. ¡°For them, balance is key. The hard work they endure ensures their future, and hard play makes the effort worthwhile. Life is not merely to survive, but to thrive. Without moments of joy, why bother living at all?¡± The red dragon¡¯s piercing gaze settled on me as his deep, rumbling voice questioned my beliefs. ¡°Do you think we dragons are lazy, little one? That we spend our days lounging atop our hoards, doing nothing but preening and sleeping?¡± I hesitated, unsure how to respond. ¡°N-no, of course not,¡± I said, although that was actually close to the truth. Then again, I was technically a dragon, and I had done very little sleeping or lazing around. He cut you off with a snort of smoke. ¡°Lies. You do think that. Many creatures believe this, but you shouldn¡¯t. Let me enlighten you.¡± He shifted, his colossal form casting shifting shadows along the walls. ¡°When we sleep, it is not idleness. It is an investment. Each slumber strengthens us, allowing our power to grow, our minds to sharpen. And when we are awake, we are far from still.¡± The dragon¡¯s voice grew sharper, filled with pride. ¡°We shape our lairs, making them fortresses of wonder and terror. We bend the world itself to our will. Every stone, every enchantment serves a purpose. And yet, even the mightiest dragon knows that power cannot thrive in isolation. That is where kobolds come into play.¡± His gaze fell on me, his lips curling into what might have been a smile, or a warning. ¡°Kobolds. Tireless, clever, indispensable. They carve my traps, expand my hoard, and handle tasks in order to assist us. In doing so, they magnify my power, just as I magnify theirs by granting them my bloodline.¡± I swallowed, overwhelmed by his intensity but unwilling to look away. I had given my bloodline to my kobold followers as well. They were indispensable to me, and because of this, I too rewarded them. I got the feeling that the words Einvaldskonungr were saying were especially important to listen to. ¡°Understand this, we dragons are proud, but we are not fools. Strength lies not just in claws and breath but in the ability to lead, to inspire to command. Every moment of our existence must serve a purpose. To waste even a single second is to squander power.¡± His eyes flared with molten fire. ¡°And no true dragon would ever allow that.¡± The weight of his words hung in the air, ¡°I will remember.¡± ¡°See that you do,¡± he rumbled. ¡°You are a dragon and bestow the bloodline of dragons upon others. Do not forget what that means.¡± This confused me for a moment. He made it sound like bestowing the draconic bloodline was super important for some reason. Perhaps sensing this, the red dragon sighed and said, ¡°I see that I need to explain more. I suppose this can be expected since you are not the typical dragon.¡± The immense red dragon paused, then slowly changed into the human/elf appearance that he had taken the last time we had met in person. He looked like a human but with the long, pointed ears of an elf. Of course, that was if I ignored that his skin retained a slight reddish hue. Einvaldskonungr¡¯s leather armor was the same color the red dragon¡¯s scales had been. It fit him perfectly and accentuated his muscular build. The leather was a deep crimson in hue, was etched with intricate patterns resembling the scales of a dragon. His voice rumbled, low and resonant, as if the earth itself were speaking. ¡°Do you know why I have allowed the kobolds to share my bloodline or why I take this form, little god?¡± I shook my head while trying to ignore the slight. Afterall, it was true. I was a little god. Still, it was kind of rude. However, I didn¡¯t have time to think about it before the red dragon continued. Chapter 96 – The Gift of Godhood ¡°It¡¯s not charity,¡± he said. ¡°It¡¯s necessary. Dragons are dying out. We were once mighty and numerous, but now we are only a shadow of what we were. Each age makes the skies quieter. We can¡¯t stay idle. That¡¯s why I share my blood. It¡¯s why I create children through other races. Kobolds, humans, elves. It doesn¡¯t matter.¡± I tilted my head, listening carefully. His voice softened as he continued, ¡°But even that isn¡¯t enough. Dragons must rise again. That¡¯s why we find others with dragon blood, even if it¡¯s from rivals. We give them the gift of our bloodlines. From those unions, true dragons can be born. When that happens, they¡¯ll become our mates, ensuring our survival.¡± ¡°But¡­ wouldn¡¯t¡­?¡± I started, then stopped. My thoughts were spinning. The dragon chuckled, a low, rumbling laugh. He seemed amused by my confusion. ¡°No dragon will kill another. Not now. To do so would betray our entire species. We fight and drive each other away from our lands, but we don¡¯t kill. Even the proudest among us knows that every dragon is needed to survive and procreate. When we fight over treasures or land, it¡¯s not just for power. It¡¯s to show the world that we¡¯re still here.¡± His eyes blazed with determination. I frowned, confused, and asked myself. How could anyone forget that dragons existed? That seemed impossible. Einvaldskonungr paused and looked at me closely. ¡°Remember this, little one. Your wings, your strength, your existence, these are part of that legacy. You carry the future of our kind. Don¡¯t let it fade.¡± He laughed again, the sound booming despite his humanoid form. ¡°You¡¯ve changed, N¨®ttormr. You¡¯re not the kobold I sent to build a city. You¡¯re a god. But more importantly, you¡¯re a dragon.¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± I said dryly. ¡°I think.¡± Did he really just say being a god mattered less than being a dragon? The dragon¡¯s gaze sharpened. ¡°You¡¯re both a dragon and a god now, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± I replied, folding my wings tight against my back. It was obvious, so why ask? His growl was deep and even, neither approval nor disapproval. ¡°Which do you think matters more?¡± I hesitated. ¡°I¡¯d say being a god gives me the power to shape reality, to command faith, and to influence destiny.¡± A puff of smoke escaped his nose as he scoffed. I was surprised he could do that in humanoid form. Could I use my breath weapon like that too? ¡°Spoken like a gnome distracted by a shiny coin,¡± he said. ¡°Let me tell you something. Gods are fleeting. Their power depends on mortals¡¯ faith. They rise and fall. While gods are powerful, they have limits.¡± He leaned closer. ¡°Dragons endure. We are not tied to the beliefs of lesser beings. Our power and majesty have existed since the dawn of the world.¡± I wanted to argue but didn¡¯t. It was clear he believed this fully, and anything I said wouldn¡¯t change his mind. ¡°Don¡¯t misunderstand me,¡± he said, his tone softening. ¡°I don¡¯t dismiss your godhood. It may be the key to saving our kind. With divine power, we can strengthen our bloodlines and expand our influence. We can create new dragons. But being a god is a tool. Being a dragon is your essence. That must endure.¡± His words made me think. I understood why he wanted to become a god. Like me, he could spread his bloodline more widely. Some kobolds were already close to becoming true dragons. If this kept up, the other types of dragons might vanish while only black twilight dragons remained. ¡°Dragons are already gods to kobolds and others who worship us,¡± he said. ¡°Our bloodline is their salvation, their path to greatness. Through us, they evolve, becoming more like us with each generation. Your duty as a dragon-god is not to seek glory but to protect and strengthen our race. That is your legacy.¡± I nodded. His words weighed on me. ¡°I understand. My godhood serves my dragonhood, not the other way around.¡± I hadn¡¯t thought much about my situation, but he made sense. I was the god of kobolds. It was time I took that seriously. A slow, approving rumble came from him. ¡°Good. Remember this. Faith may fade, but the fire of our kind must never die.¡± His body shifted back to his dragon form, wings spreading wide. ¡°You should visit more often. We¡¯re allies now, aren¡¯t we?¡± ¡°We are,¡± I said, though his earlier request stayed in my mind. The Ritual of Apotheosis was a dangerous gift. For now, I kept my thoughts to myself. ¡°I¡¯ve decided to give you the ritual.¡± Einvaldskonungr¡¯s eyes lit up with satisfaction. ¡°So, the young god sees reason. Wise.¡± ¡°Maybe,¡± I replied. ¡°But how will this help you? The ritual isn¡¯t enough. You need a divine spark to complete it.¡± His tail flicked as he chuckled. ¡°Do you really think I¡¯d ask for the ritual without being ready?¡± He leaned forward, his massive head lowering to my level. ¡°I¡¯ve had a divine spark in my possession for decades.¡±If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. That surprised me. ¡°Why haven¡¯t you used it?¡± ¡°Because rushing into godhood is foolish. Only an idiot would absorb a divine spark without the ritual,¡± he said, amused. ¡°The spark is dangerous. Without the ritual to stabilize it, it could destroy even me. Now, with the ritual, I can ascend.¡± I narrowed my eyes. ¡°What kind of spark?¡± I tried to ignore the annoyance I was feeling since I had accepted a divine spark without the ritual. In essence, he had been calling me an idiot. ¡°The spark of fire,¡± he said, grinning. ¡°A fitting choice, don¡¯t you think?¡± I nodded slowly. A red dragon with the spark of fire would become far more powerful. Fire was already his domain. As a god, he¡¯d rival even the elder gods. ¡°You¡¯ve planned this for a long time,¡± I said. I wanted to ask how he got the spark but held back. If he wanted to share, he would. ¡°Naturally,¡± he said. ¡°Patience is key with something this big.¡± Giving him the ritual would tie him to me. Even as a god, he¡¯d owe his ascension to my help. Still, I hesitated. ¡°Do you understand the responsibilities of godhood?¡± Actually, I doubted gods had any real responsibilities except to answer prayers and help their followers. I was just trying to sound wise. What I was actually wondering about was whether the red dragon would be joining the System Lords¡¯ pantheon or if we¡¯d be creating a new pantheon of dragons. ¡°Of course,¡± he said seriously. ¡°Power is survival. With godhood, I will be able to ensure the rise of dragons.¡± I sighed, not really sure that I was doing the right thing. ¡°Very well. I¡¯ll give you the ritual.¡± He inclined his head, ¡°Thank you. This will change everything.¡± I raised my hand, transferring the ritual¡¯s knowledge to him with my Faith Points. When it was done, he closed his eyes, absorbing the information. ¡°It¡¯s done,¡± I said. ¡°The rest is up to you.¡± More than likely, he would start bathing in lava and cast the ritual there. I started thinking about what would happen when Einvaldskonungr then reminded me of something that I had forgotten. He said, "This ritual is a powerful temptation. You must realize that others will covet this power. They will come to find you. It might be best to gain some allies in preparation for this." I frowned, not having considered that. If it was true that the ritual had been lost, anyone with a spark of divinity would be looking for me. Considering someone had to be powerful to obtain the spark, that meant a lot of powerful beings would be searching for me as soon as they heard that I had ascended to godhood. "Do you think other dragons should have the ritual?" I asked. The red dragon answered, "I do. But not without conditions. If we are to share this gift, it must be with purpose. Concessions must be made, particularly by Groenneitr." His tone hardened as he said the green dragon''s name. He was definitely not happy with the green dragon. Then again, I couldn¡¯t blame him. After all, the green kobolds had caused a lot of problems for the red kobolds lately. I tilted my head, curiosity flickering. "I assume this is because of his recent actions?" After everything I had learned, I wasn¡¯t sure if there was another motive behind his words. Einvaldskonungr let out a low growl. "Groenneitr is cunning, and his ambition is limited only by his imagination. Giving him the ritual without binding him to an agreement would be foolish." I frowned, considering his words. "And the others? What about Bl¨¢rdynja? Silfrigl¨®a? Gullhyrndr? Banis¨¢mreitr? Skjallgargan¨ªss?" The only reason I knew of these names was because of a map that I had seen when choosing the location for my city. One reason I was saying them was to make the red dragon think I knew at least a little. He nodded, his expression thoughtful. "Bl¨¢rdynja, the Blue, is shrewd but wise enough to see the benefits of such an agreement. She would see the logic in an alliance. Silfrigl¨®a and Gullhyrndr would join as well. The silver and gold have always sought to preserve our kind. They understand the stakes." He paused, "But Banis¨¢mreitr, I am hesitant about. He is treacherous. I trust him as far as I can throw him. Despite my strength, that isn¡¯t very far. Skjallgargan¨ªss is unpredictable. She is a brute, driven by instinct more than reason." I tried not to appear surprised. I didn¡¯t know the genders of the dragons, just their names. As for Skjallgargan¨ªss, I had assumed the black dragon was a male. It was also odd that she was considered a brute. "So, you¡¯d trust some of them, but not all? Is there a way to compel their loyalty?¡± "Those who wish to partake in this power must swear an oath, a binding agreement that ensures their loyalty to the draconic cause. While its effects will be minimal after they ascend to godhood, it should retain at least some impact." "And what kind of concessions are you expecting from Groenneitr and the others?" Einvaldskonungr¡¯s tail lashed, the movement slow and deliberate. "Groenneitr must repay me for what he has done. Bl¨¢rdynja has nothing that we need, but Silfrigl¨®a and Gullhyrndr must share their wisdom freely, rather than hoarding it. Banis¨¢mreitr must be watched closely though. The same can be said for Skjallgargan¨ªss, although for different reasons." He hesitated, then growled. I couldn¡¯t help but smirk. "You¡¯re asking a lot." "They will if they understand what¡¯s at stake." His voice was firm, unyielding. "Our kind has been fragmented for too long. Divided, we are weak. Together, as gods, we would be unstoppable." I tilted my head, skepticism creeping in. "And what of the other dragons? The ones you don¡¯t know about? Surely there are more out there. Do they get a say in this?" Einvaldskonungr¡¯s eyes narrowed. "They will come forward in time. If they prove themselves worthy, they too may join. But the ritual cannot be given freely. It must be earned." "Earned how?" I pressed. The conversation was making me feel odd. I was definitely feeling more like a subordinate than a boss. "By demonstrating loyalty to our cause. By contributing to the survival of our kind. By abiding by the agreements, we set. Those who refuse or oppose us will be left to their own fate." His gaze burned into me. "This is not a matter of charity, N¨®ttormr. It is survival. The weak and selfish have no place in the world we seek to build. I mulled over his words. "You¡¯re asking for a lot of trust," I said. However, I did have to admit that I was looking forward to what he was proposing. It did raise some questions for me, such as could I belong to two pantheons? Would I have to share some of my divinity with some of the dragons? How would I be able to ensure that I was the boss and that I didn¡¯t get replaced? Chapter 97 - Another Draconic System My thoughts were interrupted by Einvaldskonungr as he let out a rumbling chuckle. "Trust is not given freely, little one. It is forged through fire and trial. And if any of them betray that trust..." His claws scraped against the ground, leaving deep gouges. "I will deal with them personally. Hopefully, a magic oath will be enough. However, I wouldn¡¯t count on it. There are many ways around such things." I sighed, "It¡¯s a dangerous game you¡¯re proposing. Also, how many of them are likely to have a divine spark?" "All games are dangerous when dragons play them," he said, his tone sharp with certainty. "But if we play it right, we will win. And when we do, the skies will thunder once more with the wings of dragons. As for the divine spark, I suspect that they either have one in their possession or know where one is located." I nodded slowly. "Alright. Let¡¯s see if the others are willing to play by our rules." Einvaldskonungr¡¯s lips curled into a toothy grin. "Oh, they will, N¨®ttormr. They will. I suggest you visit at least two of them instead of me, though. First, I would go to Silver City and meet Silfrigl¨®a, the Silver Dragon. Then, head south to Golden City and meet Gullhyrndr, the Gold Dragon. Both are reasonable and won¡¯t make things overly difficult for you. I tilted my head, curious. ¡°Why Silfrigl¨®a first?¡± Einvaldskonungr leaned forward slightly, his fiery scales gleaming in the dim light. ¡°She is the most sociable of all the dragons I know. She enjoys meeting others and values peace. She does not rule with fear but with kindness. The people there love her for it. Although she is a good dragon, her trust in others can be a weakness. However, that should work in your favor.¡± I thought for a moment, then asked, ¡°Has she always been that way?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Einvaldskonungr said with a small smile. ¡°Even when we were younger, Silfrigl¨®a always sought to minimize the fights between us. One time Bl¨¢rdynja and Skjallgargan¨ªss argued over who controlled the Frozen Ruins. Silfrigl¨®a stepped in and found a way for them to share the territory. Neither was happy, but they accepted it. That is her gift. She can turn chaos into order.¡± I nodded. ¡°And after I meet her?¡± ¡°After Silver City, travel south to Golden City,¡± Einvaldskonungr said. His tone grew deeper. ¡°There you will meet Gullhyrndr. Like Silfrigl¨®a, he is a good dragon. He rules fairly and cares for his people. His city shines with wealth and prosperity. Yet, he is more cautious than Silfrigl¨®a. He values fairness, but he does not trust easily. You will need to be patient with him.¡± ¡°What should I know about him?¡± I asked. Einvaldskonungr¡¯s gaze softened, as if he was remembering something. ¡°Gullhyrndr has always been the wise one among us. When we were younger, he often spoke of balance and justice. Once, when Banis¨¢mreitr, the Black Dragon, argued with Gullhyrnd about a dungeon located between their lands, he did not fight. Instead, he invited Banis¨¢mreitr to speak. They made an agreement that lasted to this day. That is the kind of dragon Gullhyrndr is. He prefers words over claws, but he will not hesitate to defend what is his.¡± I took in his words, thinking about the two dragons. ¡°What should I say to them?¡± ¡°While they probably already know, you should tell them that you are willing to share with them the knowledge of the ritual,¡± Einvaldskonungr said firmly. ¡°Explain how it can elevate us all. Tell them it is not just for me, or for you, but for all dragons and our kin." I frowned, ¡°And if they refuse?¡± Einvaldskonungr¡¯s eyes blazed brighter. ¡°They may hesitate. They may question. That is their nature. But remind them of what is at stake. Their power is great, but no dragon stands alone. They know this, even if they do not admit it. The ritual is our chance to secure our place in this world. They must see that.¡± I nodded, then hesitated. ¡°Why not summon all the dragons to one place? Wouldn¡¯t it be easier to speak to them all at once?¡± Einvaldskonungr laughed, ¡°It would be easier, yes, but not wiser. Old rivalries still burn, even among the most reasonable of us. If I were to call them all here, they might see it as a threat. No, it is better this way. Go to them. Speak to them on their own terms. Show them that we seek alliance, not dominance.¡±This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll leave for Silver City first, then head to Golden City. I¡¯ll make them listen.¡± Einvaldskonungr¡¯s expression softened. ¡°Good. And remember, while Silfrigl¨®a and Gullhyrndr are good dragons, they are still dragons. Their pride runs deep. Approach them with respect, but do not forget your own strength.¡± As I turned to leave, Einvaldskonungr¡¯s voice stopped me. ¡°Wait, N¨®ttormr. There is one more thing we need to talk about before you go.¡± I turned back to face him, nervous about what he had obviously waited to tell me about. ¡°What would that be?¡± The red dragon¡¯s voice became serious. ¡°I heard about the draconic system you created. Your system has strengthened many kobolds and created fanatical followers. They now carry the twilight bloodline, which has created a problem.¡± I frowned. ¡°What kind of problem would that be?¡± Einvaldskonungr answered, ¡°The other dragons will see this as a threat. When their kobolds notice what you have done, they may want the same power. They might even leave their masters and seek you out, desiring the twilight bloodline so that they too can become a dragon.¡± I hesitated. ¡°You think the other dragons will see this as my fault?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± he said. I could hear in his voice how serious he was. I had suspected it might become a problem, but I hadn''t really had the time to worry about it. Apparently, it was something I needed to take care of soon. The red dragon then continued, ¡°Stealing their kobold followers is an insult most dragons cannot tolerate. In fact, even I am not happy that many of my kobolds now follow you." After hearing that, I definitely felt some pressure. Even though the kobold I had given the system to were refugees or survivors of attacks, they had been Einvaldskonungr¡¯s followers. Technically, I had stolen them. I was lucky that the red dragon wasn''t making a big deal about it. Einvaldskonungr continued speaking, unaware of my thoughts. "Others will see you as the one who took their kobolds¡¯ loyalty away. It could lead to conflict, even war. We cannot let that happen.¡± ¡°What do you want me to do?¡± I asked. Einvaldskonungr¡¯s eyes narrowed as he studied me. ¡°I want you to think of a system for the dragons themselves so that they can empower their own kobolds. However, instead of the twilight bloodline, their kobolds should inherit the bloodline of their dragon master.¡± I tilted my head, considering his words. ¡°So, each dragon would give their kobolds a part of their own bloodline? A silver dragon¡¯s kobolds would gain a silver bloodline, a gold dragon¡¯s kobolds would gain a gold bloodline, and so on?¡± ¡°Exactly,¡± Einvaldskonungr said with a nod. ¡°This way, each dragon can control their kobolds and strengthen their bond. It will also stop them from seeing the twilight bloodline as the only path to power.¡± ¡°But won¡¯t that make the dragons stronger too?¡± I asked cautiously. ¡°Yes,¡± he said simply. ¡°But that is the point. If they feel stronger and more secure, they will have no reason to see us as enemies. It will unite us instead of dividing us. That is what we need.¡± I thought about it for a moment. ¡°It could work but creating a system like this will take time. I¡¯ll need to study their bloodlines. I¡¯ll also need to find a way to make it balanced. Otherwise, some dragons might feel cheated if their kobolds don¡¯t grow as strong as others.¡± Einvaldskonungr nodded again. ¡°This will not be easy, but I hope that you can do it. You have already proven yourself by creating the twilight system. This is the next step. Otherwise, I fear that the dragons might turn on you.¡± I hesitated. From his tone, I was a little worried that he would be one of the ones who might also choose to turn on me. I tried to ignore this feeling and asked, ¡°And if the other dragons refuse? What if they see this as a trap or a way for you to control them?¡± ¡°If they know that you can steal their followers, but are willing to empower them instead, they should listen to reason. Dragons are proud creatures, but they are also practical. If they see the value in it, they will accept it.¡± I nodded slowly. ¡°I¡¯ll think about it. I¡¯ll do my best to come up with something they will agree to.¡± The red dragon leaned back, his wings folding behind him. ¡°Good. If you succeed, it will mean a new age for our kind. One where dragons stand united, not divided.¡± ¡°I understand,¡± I said. ¡°I won¡¯t let you down.¡± Einvaldskonungr tried to reassure me, ¡°I know you won¡¯t. Now go.¡± With that, I nodded and turned around. Then I spread my wings before leaping into the sky. I had a lot to think about. Namely, how was I going to create yet another draconic system? This time, one which the other dragons could control. While I was doing this, I realized that Einvaldskonungr had completely dominated the conversation we just had. Everything he wanted, he got. I was like a little puppet that he controlled. I grimaced, quite annoyed and disappointed with myself. Because of this, I tried to think of where I had lost control. I knew the red dragon had centuries of experience, but I hadn¡¯t realized just how much advantage they gave him. That made me worry about what I would face with the other dragons. I was really starting to get the feeling I was about to walk into a disaster of my own making. Chapter 98 - Meeting the Silver Dragon
The wind whistled past my ears as I soared through the sky. Instead of feeling breathtaking, flying had actually turned into a chore instead. It reminded me of when I started driving. At first, I would be happy to go anywhere to do anything for my parents as long as I was allowed to drive. Driving lost its luster before too long, though. I felt the same way about flying now. It was just something I had to do. Below me, the land stretched out like a patchwork quilt of green forests, rolling hills, and winding rivers. I didn''t even notice since my thoughts kept replaying my conversation with Einvaldskonungr. His words had been impossible to argue against. Every point he made had drawn me further into his plan, and by the time I left, I had agreed to everything. Did I even make a single demand of my own? I wondered, frustrated. It was hard to tell if I had been outmaneuvered because Einvaldskonungr was so experienced or if I was just too gullible. I wanted to believe it was the former. After all, he was a red dragon who had lived for centuries. Either way, it was embarrassing to be played like a piano so expertly. A nagging thought wouldn¡¯t leave my mind. Maybe I had been too suggestible or too eager to please. I sighed and adjusted my wings to catch an updraft, rising higher into the sky. Am I really cut out to be a god? I wondered. It wasn¡¯t just the red dragon I had to worry about. Soon, I¡¯d be meeting Silfrigl¨®a in Silver City. From what Einvaldskonungr said, she was sociable and kind, a benevolent ruler who valued fairness and wisdom. But I couldn¡¯t afford to let my guard down, even with her. Soon, I was lost in thought. I wasn''t sure how to approach the problem of allowing the dragons to use their own bloodline essence into the draconic contracts. The only way I could think of was to give the other dragons a system that allowed them to convert their own bloodline. Since Silver City was quite a distance away, I had plenty of time to think of a solution. I didn''t want to create a system that gave away all the benefits of the system. I wasn''t going to do the work and get no pay, especially since the only thing they would do was provide the bloodline essence. I would have to give up something, though, since I would basically be stealing their followers otherwise. Finally, I decided I needed to franchise the dragon god''s system. I would give each dragon a system where they have to create all the draconic contracts with their bloodline essence. Of course, I would take a percentage of the profit, whether Faith Points, offerings, or experience points. If the dragon didn''t have enough bloodline essence, I could provide it, for the appropriate rewards. It took a while to create the frameworks of the modified system. I had to decide how to split the costs and benefits. After dealing with the red dragon, I was worried about being taken advantage of so I made sure that I wasn''t shortchanging myself. Part of me was worried that Silfrigl¨®a wouldn¡¯t agree. I grimaced when I realized I had started to doubt myself as dealing with Einvaldskonungr. Calm down, I thought. She¡¯s supposed to be reasonable. Just stick to the facts. Explain the plan and let her decide. But even as I said it, doubt crept in. What if my inexperience showed again? What if I let her dominate the conversation, just like Einvaldskonungr had? I let out a growl at the thought, very irritated with myself. Eventually, I spotted a glimmer of silver in the distance. I wanted to roll my eyes when I saw this. Silver City really was taking their name too literally. What can I expect when I get to Golden City? I wondered.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. A faint smile tugged at my lips despite my worries. Even from this far away, I could see the gleam of sunlight reflecting off its towers. The sight was enough to distract me, at least for a moment. Time to focus, I thought, No more second-guessing. I have a job to do. As I flew closer to the shining city, I asked myself, If I can¡¯t handle Silfrigl¨®a, what chance do I have with the others? The streets were busy with people, but from this height, they looked tiny, like ants moving through a maze. I kept flying in circles over the northern part of the city, scanning for any sign of the silver dragon. I really should have thought about how to find her before I arrived, I thought. So where is she? I didn¡¯t know how to approach her. The city was huge, and I couldn¡¯t just land in the middle of it and start asking questions. That didn¡¯t seem like the smartest idea. Then again, I could have used a magic spell to turn into a human before entering the city and asking questions. For some reason though, the idea didn''t appeal to me. I kept circling, hoping that she would notice me. Dang, why do I feel like I am in high school again trying to catch a cheerleader¡¯s eye? I wondered. My wings were starting to ache from staying in the air so long. Below, I noticed a few people pointing up at me. Some stopped what they were doing and stared, shading their eyes with their hands. I tensed, worried they might attack me, but nothing happened. They just stood there, watching me. At least they¡¯re not shooting arrows, I thought, glad that at least one thing was going my way. I was starting to worry. However, that was when I saw her. A giant silver dragon descended from the clouds. Her scales were shining like a mirror. Her wings moved slowly and gracefully, each beat of them strong and sure. She was much bigger than me, and her presence felt overwhelming. Although she didn''t give off the same physical intimidation factor that the red dragon did, there was still something about her that screamed for everyone not to annoy her. Not wanting to try talking in mid-air, I circled down toward a clearing where I landed. Luckily, I didn''t embarrass myself by botching it. As for Silfrigl¨®a, she flew closer and landed a short distance away, her glowing silver eyes locking onto mine. Her voice, smooth and calm, reached me easily. ¡°You¡¯ve been flying in circles for a while,¡± she said. ¡°Are you lost, or just unsure of what to do?¡± I hesitated, then bowed my head respectfully. ¡°I¡¯m looking for Silfrigl¨®a, the ruler of Silver City. I¡¯m guessing you¡¯re her?¡± Her lips curled in what looked like a small smile. ¡°You guessed correctly. I am Silfrigl¨®a. And you must be N¨®ttormr. I have heard rumors about you.¡± I was actually a little surprised by this. With the exception of that one time in the Necropolis, I had actually kept a pretty low profile. Since I had rarely interacted with others, more than likely, she had probably heard about me from the necromancers or priests in the City of Bones. ¡°Yes,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ve come to speak with you about something important.¡± She tilted her head slightly, studying me with a sharp, thoughtful gaze. ¡°Very well,¡± she said. ¡°Follow me. We¡¯ll talk somewhere more private.¡± She then leapt into the sky and began flying toward the city. I hurried to follow, glad to see that she didn''t seem to hold any ill-will toward me. As we flew, I couldn¡¯t help but feel small next to her. She was everything a dragon should be, strong, graceful, and commanding. I idly wondered if she was single. Then my worries about the meeting I was about to have pushed those thoughts aside. I wondered if the meeting would go the way Einvaldskonungr thought it would or if I was about to get in over my head again. Silfrigl¨®a led the way, gliding effortlessly toward the heart of Silver City. I followed, my smaller form dwarfed by her size and presence. Dang, even though I''m a god, I''m starting to get an inferiority complex. Every other dragon is so much bigger than I am, I grumbled silently. In the center of the city, a grand building came into view. It was a large church. In fact, it was actually a cathedral made of gleaming white stone. Its high spires reached toward the sky. The roof was decorated with silver accents that sparkled like stars. I had to admit that it was extremely beautiful. Silfrigl¨®a began her descent, and I followed her lead. As we landed, the people around us quieted down. A group of priests in silver-trimmed robes waited at the church¡¯s entrance. They immediately dropped to their knees, bowing their heads deeply in respect. I had to frown at this. Was she the head priest or was it because she was the ruler of the city? Who exactly was I trying to convince?
Chapter 99 – Convincing the Silver Dragon After landing, her massive form began to shimmer. Scales melted into smooth skin, claws became delicate hands, and her towering dragon body shrank into the shape of a young human woman. She had silver hair that fell in soft waves. Her dress was elegant, and unsurprisingly, was silver. I stared for a moment, impressed. I was annoyed that I wasn''t old enough to innately change form like an adult dragon. All dragons could take on a humanoid form once they reached a certain age. However, I had to use magic, at least for the moment. With a deep breath, I activated my magic and used some Faith Points to start my own transformation. A familiar sensation washed over me as I used a spell to assume my old kobold form. While it wasn''t a huge change, it did make going through human doorways easier. Then again, even though I would never admit it, I probably could have squeezed through the doorways in my dragon body. When the transformation was complete, I glanced down at my clawed hands and tail, feeling oddly comfortable. But a thought nagged at me. Why had I chosen my kobold form? Why not my old human one? It would have been just as easy. Did I not care about becoming human any longer? If so, why? I definitely need to take some time to think about this, I thought. More and more, I was certain that my physical form was affecting my thoughts. I shook these thoughts away as Silfrigl¨®a turned to me. ¡°Come,¡± she said, motioning toward the church. The priests rose and opened the doors for her, bowing low once again as we passed. Inside, the church was quiet and cool. Sunlight streamed through stained glass windows, casting colorful patterns on the stone floor. Silver ornaments adorned the walls and altars, and the faint scent of incense lingered in the air. Silfrigl¨®a led me down the main aisle, her steps graceful and light. She stopped at a side room, gesturing for me to enter. ¡°This will be private enough,¡± she said. I stepped inside, the room cozy and warmly lit. A round table stood in the center with a pair of chairs on either side. Silfrigl¨®a took a seat, her movements as composed in human form as they had been in her dragon form. I hesitated before sitting across from her, still trying to push aside my unease. Silfrigl¨®a had a quiet confidence about her, and I couldn¡¯t tell if that would make her easier or harder to talk to than Einvaldskonungr. Either way, I had to try. With that in mind, I climbed into the chair across from her. ¡°So,¡± she said, folding her hands on the table, her glowing eyes fixed on me. ¡°Tell me why you¡¯ve come.¡± The conversation had stretched on for almost an hour. Silfrigl¨®a had asked quite a number of questions. I could tell that she was looking for some ulterior motive or catch. Despite the fact that she listened carefully and had asked many questions, I still couldn¡¯t tell what she was thinking. However, she didn¡¯t seem averse to what I was suggesting. By the time I was done explaining, I was exhausted. I just hoped that I had convinced her. The room was quiet for several minutes as she considered what I had told her. Her glowing silver eyes watched me with an unreadable expression, almost as if she was trying to weigh my soul. Eventually, she leaned back slightly, her fingers tapping the table. After that, she asked even more questions about the ritual of apotheosis and its consequences. Finally, she summed up what I was offering and wanted, ¡°So, you¡¯re offering me a way to become a real god, but in return, you want me to follow you.¡± ¡°Yes, your people already revere you. After becoming a god using the ritual, the system can give you greater control over your bloodline. You could grant draconic contracts to those who follow you. This would make you stronger and give your people even more reason to worship you.¡±Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. From what I had gathered, she was already worshiped as a god in Silver City. Not only was she the political leader, but she was also the religious leader. She had even managed to find a divine spark, the spark of Speki, the goddess of wisdom. Because of this, I thought my last argument would hold a lot of weight. I nodded. ¡°Yes,¡± I said. ¡°And in return for your loyalty, you gain the power you need to bestow your bloodline to countless followers. Think about the possibilities.¡± I was starting to feel like I was a suspect in a crime being questioned by the police. Silfrigl¨®a lapsed into silence for another minute, her gaze sharp and thoughtful. ¡°You realize what you¡¯re asking, don¡¯t you?¡± she said finally. ¡°Dragons are proud, independent creatures. Asking us to unite, even under something as neutral as a system, is like asking the winds to blow in one direction.¡± ¡°I know,¡± I said. ¡°But I also know it¡¯s possible. The system isn¡¯t about trying to control you. It¡¯s about giving you the tools to lead your people more effectively. It¡¯s about survival, for all of us.¡± ¡°And what about your own control? This isn¡¯t just about empowering dragons, is it? There¡¯s something you want in return.¡± I nodded, deciding honesty was best. ¡°I want unity. The dragons are scattered and divided. That makes us weak. If we¡¯re going to survive, we need to work together under a shared system. I¡¯m not asking you to serve me with blind obedience. I¡¯m asking you to join something bigger. To help create a future where dragons don¡¯t have to fight each other to stay strong.¡± She studied me carefully, as though weighing every word I had spoken over the past hour. ¡°And what about your alignment?¡± she asked at last. ¡°You¡¯re chaotic evil. That alone is enough to make me question your intentions. How do I know this isn¡¯t some elaborate scheme?¡± ¡°Alignment can¡¯t be trusted,¡± I reassured her. ¡°A lawful good tyrant might harshly punish those under his rule. If you did trust alignment so much, would you really believe that a chaotic evil being would come up with some elaborate plot like this?¡± She nodded at this, apparently not too worried about my alignment. I was actually surprised by this, but I wasn¡¯t going to complain since it benefited me. ¡°Look at what I¡¯ve done so far. I¡¯ve created a system that empowers kobolds instead of exploiting them. I¡¯ve come to you openly, offering you power instead of trying to take it for myself. Does that seem like the actions of a creature bent on chaos and destruction?¡± Her expression softened, but only slightly. ¡°No,¡± she said. ¡°It doesn¡¯t. That¡¯s part of why I¡¯m even considering this. You¡¯re unpredictable, yes, but not malicious. That¡¯s... unusual.¡± I smiled. I was actually getting the impression that she was going to agree. The whole thing was proving to be a lot less troublesome than I had expected. Because of this, I was definitely willing to wait. I didn¡¯t want to try rushing her and cause her to jump the wrong way. Finally, she folded her hands on the table and gave me a long, measured look. ¡°I¡¯ll agree,¡± she said. ¡°But I have one condition. I will not obey any command that violates my ethics. Wisdom and justice are central to who I am. If you ask me to do something I believe is wrong, I will refuse.¡± I nodded without hesitation. ¡°That¡¯s more than fair,¡± I said. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want you to betray your values.¡± Of course, I wasn¡¯t going to be so willing to make concessions with the green, black, or white dragons. They were notoriously evil. In fact, I needed to make the oath even more binding, if possible. ¡°Then I¡¯ll swear the oath,¡± she said. She acted like she was making a great sacrifice. She rose to her feet, lifting her hands as a soft, silvery light filled the room. Her voice was steady and clear as she spoke ancient words of binding, pledging her loyalty not to me personally, but to the system I was building and the ideals it represented. It was an idea I had come up with on the trip to the city. When she finished, the light faded, and she lowered her hands. ¡°It¡¯s done,¡± she said simply. I let out a breath I hadn¡¯t realized I was holding. ¡°Then I¡¯ll teach you the ritual.¡± She smiled faintly, her silver eyes gleaming with a mix of determination and curiosity. ¡°Good,¡± she said. ¡°Let¡¯s begin.¡± Fortunately, this didn¡¯t take too long. I just had to use a little magic and Faith Points to create a scroll for her to use. After that, we smiled, exchanged a few words, and went our own ways. Even someone as oblivious as I could tell that she was eager to begin the ritual. Because of this, I was soon on my way to meet the gold dragon. Chapter 100 - A Golden Agreement As I approached the gold dragon¡¯s city, I felt curious about why both dragons chose to make their homes on islands surrounded by land. While it was true, Silver City was located in the middle of a lake fed by a river and Golden City was an island inside a bay, it did seem oddly similar. I had to wonder if there was a reason for it. Both lands were dotted with farms and villages, but I could tell even from a distance that the docks were incomparable. Still, both people seemed to be equally prosperous and peaceful. It was a stark contrast to the rough, dangerous lands near Einvaldskonungr¡¯s mountain. I glanced ahead, expecting to be forced to fly in circles once again. However, something else caught my attention. A golden figure rose from the forest far ahead of me. It was enormous, and as it drew closer, sunlight reflected off its scales. The figure soared with grace and speed. I knew instantly that this was the gold dragon. I slowed my wings and hovered in place, unsure what to expect. It didn¡¯t take long for him to close the distance. The gold dragon was larger than Einvaldskonungr and Silfrigl¨®a, with brilliant golden scales that shimmered like polished metal. His presence was overwhelming, like the weight of the sun pressing down on me. I almost forgot to flap my wings. ¡°You¡¯re smaller than I expected,¡± the gold dragon said. His voice was deep and powerful, rumbling through the air like distant thunder. I swallowed hard and dipped my head in respect. ¡°I wasn¡¯t expecting to meet you so soon, sir. I¡¯m here to speak with you about something important.¡± I was a little embarrassed that I had said sir since I was a god, but Gullhyrndr was just too intimidating. He hovered for a moment, his golden eyes narrowing. ¡°I know who you are. I¡¯ve heard whispers about the black dragon with the twilight bloodline.¡± His tone made it clear he wasn¡¯t impressed. ¡°I¡¯m not here to cause trouble,¡± I said quickly. ¡°I only want to talk.¡± The gold dragon snorted, releasing a puff of smoke. ¡°Talk?¡± he echoed, his tone doubtful. ¡°You sound sincere, but I¡¯ve dealt with your kind before. There¡¯s another black dragon not far from here who¡¯s caused enough trouble for a hundred lifetimes. You¡¯ll forgive me if I don¡¯t trust you.¡± ¡°I understand,¡± I said, keeping my voice steady. ¡°I¡¯m not like him. I¡¯m trying to build something better.¡± For a long moment, he simply stared at me. Finally, he nodded toward the forest below. ¡°Come,¡± he said. ¡°We will talk on the ground. I won¡¯t allow you into my city, but I will hear you out.¡± I followed him as he descended, once again feeling like a teeny, tiny ant in front of an anteater. We landed in a wide clearing surrounded by tall trees. The ground shook slightly as the gold dragon touched down, folding his enormous wings behind him. I landed carefully, my claws pressing into the soft earth. Once on the ground, he turned to face me fully. ¡°You came a long way to find me. Speak.¡± I took a deep breath and met his gaze. ¡°I¡¯ve created something called the Dragon God¡¯s System,¡± I began. ¡°It allows dragons to use their bloodline essence to empower their followers. Through this, you can bind others to you and make them stronger while strengthening your rule. I came to offer you this system.¡± The gold dragon tilted his head slightly, his expression unreadable. ¡°And what is the price?¡± ¡°Unity,¡± I said simply. ¡°The dragons are scattered and divided. We¡¯re weaker because of it. This system gives us the chance to unite while keeping our independence. You would have control over your people. You would just have to agree to follow my rules. He huffed, a faint stream of golden smoke curling from his nostrils. ¡°You want dragons to serve you?¡± ¡°Not serve,¡± I corrected. ¡°Lead. I¡¯m not here to take your power. I¡¯m here to give you tools to protect it.¡± The gold dragon stared at me for what felt like forever. His golden eyes were piercing, as if they could see straight through me. Although I didn¡¯t want to admit it, I was starting to feel like a snake oil salesman. I could almost hear the disbelief in the gold dragon¡¯s silence.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. Finally, he said, ¡°Why would I trust you? You¡¯re chaotic evil. I can feel it. Yet here you are, offering something that seems... reasonable. Explain that. What are these rules that you speak of?¡± I cleared my throat, trying to sound confident as I laid out what the other two dragons had agreed to. ¡°First, the dragons won¡¯t attack each other. No fighting between you, your followers, or your territories. This alliance can¡¯t work if dragons start burning each other¡¯s cities to the ground.¡± Gullhyrndr gave me a sharp look, but I kept going. ¡°Second, if someone attacks one of you, the others will come to help. We stand together against any real threats. But,¡± I held up a claw, ¡°there¡¯s a catch. If a dragon gets attacked because they started something, such as a certain black dragon stealing something or breaking a deal, then they¡¯re on their own.¡± The gold dragon raised an eyebrow. ¡°So, if a dragon picks a fight, they take the consequences.¡± ¡°Exactly,¡± I said, nodding. ¡°It keeps things fair. If a dragon breaks trust, the others don¡¯t have to clean up their mess. It¡¯ll stop anyone from using the alliance as an excuse to act like a tyrant.¡± Gullhyrndr¡¯s expression softened a little, but he didn¡¯t say anything. I took that as a good sign and pushed forward. I then continued with some of the other rules, such as forbidding actions that will harm or destroy the reputation of the entire pantheon of dragons. I had no intention of allowing one bad apple to spoil the whole bunch. Now, this didn¡¯t mean that the dragon¡¯s couldn¡¯t do things they normally did. They just couldn¡¯t drag down the others with them. It took a while, but the gold dragon actually nodded a few times. However, he obviously still didn¡¯t trust me completely. ¡°And what about new dragons or those who don¡¯t join this¡­ alliance of yours?¡± ¡°Fair question,¡± I said. ¡°Any dragon who wants to join can, but they have to follow the same rules. No special treatment. If they refuse, that is fine. They¡¯ll just have to live without the alliance¡¯s protection. But if they threaten or attack the dragons in the alliance, they¡¯ll have all of us to deal with.¡± Gullhyrndr nodded slowly, thinking it over. I could tell he liked the sound of it, even if he didn¡¯t trust me fully yet. The idea that he would be able to rein in some of the actions from the ¡°evil¡± dragons because of the deal was obviously more important to him than strengthening his followers. I did find that odd, but didn¡¯t really care enough to say anything. ¡°And who enforces these rules?¡± He finally asked, ¡°You?¡± I quickly answered ¡°Not me alone. If there¡¯s a problem, the dragons in the alliance will come together to decide what to do. It¡¯s about balance. No one dragon should have all the power. Not even me.¡± I didn¡¯t even mention that I wanted him to follow my rules yet. While the silver dragon might be willing to listen to me as long as it didn¡¯t break her moral beliefs, I wasn¡¯t about to ask the gold dragon that, at least initially. For a moment, the clearing was silent except for the wind rustling through the trees. Finally, Gullhyrndr let out a low hum, almost approving. ¡°Those rules sound fair, twilight dragon. If they are followed, it might just work.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t change our nature,¡± I said. ¡°but we can choose how we act. So far, my actions speak for themselves. I¡¯ve created something that empowers others instead of destroying them. That¡¯s not the work of someone bent on chaos and ruin. As for the black dragon and anyone else, if they are not able to reign in their nature in order to follow the rules, they won¡¯t be allowed to join us.¡± He narrowed his eyes. ¡°Perhaps. But I still have my doubts.¡± The gold dragon was silent for a long time. Then he said, ¡°I hold the divine spark of Sannligr, the god of justice. I am already worshipped here as both a leader and protector. I will not bow to anyone. However, if I do join, it would only be because I believe it is in the best interest of everyone, including those who are not dragons.¡± ¡°And I am not asking you to bow before anyway,¡± I said carefully. ¡°One of the reasons I came to you and Silfrigl¨®a before the other dragons was because I wanted us to have a solid foundation on which we can build something greater. You would still rule your people, and you would have more power to protect them.¡± He considered this, his golden eyes searching mine. ¡°If I agree, it will be on my terms,¡± he said firmly. ¡°I will not follow any command that goes against justice or my principles. That is my condition.¡± ¡°I can accept that,¡± I said. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t ask you to betray your values.¡± The gold dragon nodded slowly. ¡°Then I will swear an oath to you. I will give this system a chance. If you betray me or my people, there will be consequences.¡± ¡°Understood,¡± I said. He stepped forward, towering over me as he spoke the words of his oath. His voice carried power, echoing through the clearing like rolling thunder. By the time he finished, I could feel the weight of his words settle in the air. ¡°It is done,¡± he said. Of course, I obviously knew that. And I also knew enough not to point that out to him. I let out a quiet breath and nodded. ¡°Thank you. I¡¯ll teach you the ritual now.¡± He tilted his head, the faintest hint of a smile on his massive face. ¡°Do not thank me yet, little dragon. Prove to me that this is worth it.¡± ¡°I will,¡± I said, handing over another scroll I had created earlier with the Ritual of Apotheosis on it. I was still amazed that I was able to get the strongest dragons on the continent to agree so easily. I guess becoming a god is extremely attractive even for such powerful beings. The gold dragon stepped back, his massive wings unfurling as he prepared to leave. I waited for him to say something more, but he just leapt into the sky and flew toward his city. I stood there awkwardly for a few seconds before waving a clawed hand in goodbye. Then I sighed because I knew now that I had dealt with the reasonable dragons, it was time to seek out the ¡°other¡± dragons who would probably attack me on sight. Chapter 101 - The Black Dragon I flew west toward Scaleborn Ruins and Scalya. From what I knew, his lair was southwest of those two landmarks. Fortunately, the distance I would need to travel wasn¡¯t that far. As I flew low over the swamps, I started noticing the thick, humid air more. The ground below me was a tangled mess of twisted trees, murky water, and thick reeds. The deeper I went, the more the stench of rot and decay filled my nostrils. I tried not to gag, but it wasn¡¯t easy. This is what I get for dealing with a black dragon, I thought. Swamps, muck, and enough stink to knock out a troll. The sun was low in the sky, casting long shadows over the wetlands. I¡¯d been on edge since I left the gold dragon, expecting an attack at any moment. The black dragons were infamous for their cruelty, and if Banis¨¢mreitr didn¡¯t like me showing up unannounced, I could end up as nothing more than a stain in his lair. I shook the thought away. Get it together, N¨®ttormr, I thought. You¡¯ve dealt with a silver dragon and a gold dragon. You can handle this. Still, my nerves weren¡¯t cooperating. My claws itched with the urge to turn back, but I knew I couldn¡¯t. I had to make this work. As I flew closer to where I thought his lair might be, a massive shadow rose from the trees. My heart jumped into my throat as the dragon¡¯s dark form soared into view. His scales gleamed like wet obsidian. I hated to admit it, but I was intimidated. It was his head that unnerved me the most, though. He had bull-like horns and a head that looked a lot like a skull. ¡°Who dares enter my domain?¡± he growled. Something about his tone reinforced my uneasy feeling. It was almost as if he wasn''t upset but was glad instead. It was as if he was puffing up his chest to show off. I tried not to show any fear. ¡°I am N¨®ttormr,¡± I said. ¡°I mean no harm. I wanted to speak with you about something that could benefit both of us.¡± Banis¨¢mreitr stared at me for a moment before snorting. A plume of acrid smoke curled up from his nostrils. ¡°Interesting. A malformed little wyrmling, and a female one at that, has come to visit the great Banis¨¢mreitr.¡± I froze. Female? I wanted to start screaming and shouting that I wasn''t a female, but I quickly swallowed the urge to correct him. If I said the wrong thing, it might just set him off. If that happened, I wasn¡¯t sure I¡¯d survive the experience. Although I was a god, I wasn''t immortal. I could still die, at least until I merged with my divine realm. Also, what was with the insult? Deformed? My horns were different, and I had feathered wings, but since I was almost completely black, he must have thought I was a black dragon. Apparently, he had never heard of a twilight dragon and had assumed I was a mutated black dragon. I pushed such thoughts aside as the black dragon continued, ¡°You¡¯re bold to come here alone, little lady. Did you want to see what a real black dragon looks like?¡± ¡°I''m not an ordinary dragon,¡± I said, ignoring his smug tone. ¡°I¡¯ve come to offer you the chance to become more powerful.¡± Banis¨¢mreitr laughed derisively, ¡°You''re going to help me become more powerful?" This obviously amused the black dragon. He laughed for almost a minute before saying, "This should be amusing. Very well, speak. But don¡¯t waste my time.¡± I swallowed hard and nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve already met with Silfrigl¨®a the silver dragon, Gullhyrndr the gold dragon, and Einvaldskonungr the red dragon. All have agreed to join me in creating a pantheon, a union of dragon gods." Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. I was a little worried about this part. I wasn''t sure that the black dragon had been able to obtain a divine spark. However, even if he hadn''t, I was sure that I could figure something out. Because of this, I continued. "Together, we can grow stronger. I¡¯ve come to extend the same offer to you.¡± His grin widened, and he circled me slowly, his massive wings stirring the swampy air. ¡°You? A wyrmling, barely out of your egg, leading a pantheon? And you expect me to follow? You don''t look like a god to me.¡± "Appearances can be deceiving," I said. "I actually am a god." To prove my point, I use Alter Reality on a tree to start making it grow before his eyes. The black dragon looked at me, then at the tree. Then he turned back to me and said suspiciously, "Let''s assume I believe you. What is in it for me?" "I have created a system where dragons can grow stronger by creating draconic contracts to spread their influence. The others have already seen the value in it. I wouldn¡¯t have come here if I didn¡¯t believe you could, too.¡± Banis¨¢mreitr studied me for a second as. ¡°What¡¯s the catch?¡± It was obvious that he didn''t trust me at all. ¡°No catch,¡± I said quickly. ¡°But there are rules. No attacking other dragons or their followers. No starting wars among ourselves. We stand together against outside threats, but we don¡¯t defend dragons who provoke fights without cause. It¡¯s about unity, not chaos.¡± His expression darkened slightly. ¡°Unity? From a black dragon? You do realize our kind doesn¡¯t play well with others, little god.¡± I held my ground. ¡°You¡¯re not just any black dragon. You¡¯re Banis¨¢mreitr, a force to be reckoned with. This is your chance to shape the future of dragons. To be part of something bigger than yourself.¡± He tilted his head, seeming to consider my words. ¡°And what do I get in return for following you?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll keep your autonomy,¡± I said. ¡°I don¡¯t want to control you. This is about cooperation, not servitude. And you¡¯ll gain access to the same power the silver and gold dragons now have. Power that can enhance your abilities, your bloodline, and your standing among dragons. In fact, if you obtain a divine spark, I can even give you the Ritual of Apotheosis.¡± Banis¨¢mreitr chuckled again, though this time it sounded more amused than mocking. ¡°You¡¯re an interesting one, little dragonette. I¡¯ve never seen a dragon quite like you. Feathered wings, those strange markings... Tell me, what are you?¡± For a moment, I hesitated. Do I tell him the truth? Or keep up the act? Finally, I said, ¡°I¡¯m a dragon trying to make a difference. That¡¯s all you need to know.¡± He stared at me for what felt like an eternity, then nodded slowly. ¡°Very well. I¡¯ll hear you out. But if this turns out to be a waste of my time, I¡¯ll make sure you regret it.¡± I nodded, relief washing over me. ¡°Thank you. You won¡¯t regret this, I promise.¡± I did worry that I would regret it though. He folded his massive wings and settled onto the ground, motioning for me to follow. We landed in a clearing surrounded by twisted trees and murky pools. The air was thick with the scent of decay, but I tried not to let it distract me. We talked for what felt like hours. Banis¨¢mreitr questioned everything, from my motives and the system to the rules I had proposed. He bargained, of course, but not as hard as I¡¯d expected. It became clear that he was trying to impress me, though I was afraid that I already knew the reason why. His assumption that I was a young female dragon was probably part of it, but I didn¡¯t dare bring it up. In the end, he agreed to the same terms as the silver and gold dragons. ¡°You have my word,¡± he finally said. ¡°I will follow your lead, for now. But don¡¯t mistake this for submission, little one. I¡¯m watching you.¡± I nodded, hiding my exhaustion behind a forced smile. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t expect anything less.¡± With that, he began the oath. Once he was done, I did as I had promised and gave him the ritual. Although I was a little curious how he obtained Garpr''s divine spark, I actually didn''t care enough to ask. As I took to the sky again, leaving the swamp behind, I couldn¡¯t help but feel a mix of relief and unease. So far, things had gone unexpectedly well. However, there were still two dragons that I knew about. I actually felt the blue dragon Bl¨¢rdynja would probably react similarly as to how the others had acted. However, the other one wasn''t known for her reasoning skills. Because of this, I felt like I was a bug who was waiting for the other shoe to drop. That was one reason why I was going to save her for last. By chance, Skjallgargan¨ªss the White Dragon was also the one who was farthest away. I shivered, and not from imaging how cold it would be there. Chapter 102 - Bargaining with the Blue Dragon
I was a little annoyed that I had to travel so far to reach each of the dragons. I even had to backtrack and fly past the silver and gold dragons'' cities again. At the moment, though, I was flying over the mountains that separated the main continent and the Desolate Lands. It was mostly made up of deserts and coastlands. However, I definitely wasn''t feeling the heat of the desert yet. Then again, it was because I was flying high enough that the air was thin and cold. It was a stark contrast to the humid swamps I''d left behind. My wings caught an updraft, carrying me above the snow-capped summits. This time, I had to travel quite a distance. Fortunately, I hadn¡¯t needed to travel to the western part of the continent. As far as I knew, there were no dragons that lived there. Somehow, I doubted that. More than likely, the dragon was just hiding. If I had to guess, it was probably a younger dragon that wasn¡¯t confident enough to expose itself yet. Thinking about the different dragons, I couldn''t help but reflect on how different each dragon''s domain had been. I was struck by yet another dramatic change in scenery that was present on the continent. I was very confused why there were not more dragons considering how large the continent was. Soon, I flew over the mountains and noticed a desert stretched out below me. I was a little confused why the blue dragon chose to make her home in such an unforgiving place. My thoughts drifted to what I knew about Bl¨¢rdynja, which was nothing. All I knew was that they were known for their cunning and their love of manipulation. They also weren''t as openly aggressive as their red or white cousins. This did make me wonder, Since blue dragons were supposed to be manipulative, why did she choose to make her lair in such an uninhabited land? The heat rising from the desert created visible distortions in the air, making the horizon waver like a mirage. I scanned the ground carefully, looking for any sign of the blue dragon''s lair. Unlike the last few times, this time I didn''t waste time circling aimlessly. I doubted that I would see her unless she decided that she wanted to be seen. A glint of movement caught my eye. Something massive shifted below the sand. I slowed my flight, hovering cautiously as the surface of the desert began to ripple. Then, with an explosion of sand, Bl¨¢rdynja burst out of the sand and into the sky. She was slightly smaller than the other dragons, but not by much. Needless to say, she was massive when compared to me. "Well, well," she said as she flew up to hover in front of me. "If it isn''t the twilight god himself. I wondered when you would come to visit me." I blinked in surprise. Not only did she know who I was, but she had been expecting me. "You''ve heard of me?" I hadn''t expected that since she was living in such a remote location. I had to ask myself, Who had told her? How did she find out? She laughed, "Of course. News travels fast when someone starts convincing dragons to swear allegiance to them. Especially when that someone is as... special as yourself." At least she hadn''t assumed I am female, I thought with relief. "Then you also probably already know why I''m here," I said. She motioned for me to land on the sand below while she did the same. However, this didn''t stop her from speaking as she descended to the ground. "You want me to join your little pantheon and swear an oath like the others." The way she said it made me feel like I was talking to someone who wanted something from me but was going to make me pay for it. Because of this, I was on guard. "Yes," I admitted. "But there is more to it than that. I''m also offering you the chance to become a god."The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. "And what makes you think I want that?" I met her gaze steadily, tempted not to even respond to such a stupid question. "Because you''re smart enough to see the big picture. The world is changing. Dragons can''t survive alone. Unity gives us strength, and the system I created gives us what we need to thrive instead of survive." "Interesting," she said, although she didn''t sound like she thought it was interesting at all. "And what of the rules that come with this unity? I''ve heard something about that as well." I explained the conditions, which were the same ones I''d laid out for the others. No attacking fellow dragons or their followers, standing together against outside threats, facing consequences for breaking trust. As I spoke, I could see her analyzing every word, weighing every possibility. "Your rules seem reasonable," she said finally. "Almost too reasonable. What''s the catch?" "No catch," I said. "Just the understanding that we''re stronger together than apart. You keep your independence, your territory, your followers. You just gain the power to do more with what you already have." Bl¨¢rdynja considered this for a long moment. settled Her tail curled around her feet like a lounging cat. "Tell me more about this system of yours," she said. "How exactly does it work?" I explained everything that I thought she needed to know. Afterall, I wasn''t going to explain about my own system. I did tell her all about the draconic contracts, the bloodline essence, and the potential for godhood, though. She listened intently, only occasionally interrupting with sharp questions that showed she understood the implications better than any of the others had. I resisted the impulse to frown, since I had assumed either the silver or gold dragon would have been the shrewdest one. "Clever," she said when I finished. "Very clever indeed. You''re not just building a pantheon. You''re creating an entirely new power structure. One that benefits everyone involved, while still maintaining control at the top." I nodded, impressed by her insight. "That''s exactly what I''m doing. And I want you to be part of it." She smiled, showing rows of gleaming teeth. "You know what I find most interesting about all this? You''re not trying to deceive anyone. You''re being completely honest about your intentions, which is either incredibly brave or incredibly foolish." "Sometimes honesty is the best strategy," I said. "Indeed," she agreed. "Very well, twilight god. I accept your offer, with the same conditions as the others. I will follow your rules and join your pantheon, but I retain my right to act according to my own judgment." The oath-taking was almost anticlimactic after our discussion. Bl¨¢rdynja spoke the words, although her voice had more dramatic flair than the others had shown. When it was done, I handed her the scroll containing the Ritual of Apotheosis. "Welcome to our pantheon," I said. "Do you mind if I ask which divine spark you have obtained?" There was no doubt in my mind that she had one in her possession. If the other dragons could obtain a divine spark, the blue dragon definitely could as well. As for the white dragon, I sincerely doubted that she would possess one. I just didn¡¯t know what to do about that. Offering her the Ritual of Apotheosis wouldn¡¯t be very useful without it. Because of this, I needed to think about how to solve that problem. She tucked the scroll away with a knowing smile. "Thank you. Since you will find out soon enough either way, I might as well tell you. The divine spark I possess is that of Lauss, the god of freedom." This time, I failed at hiding my surprise. However, she didn''t mention it. Instead, she said, "And N¨®ttormr?" She caught my eye as I prepared to leave. "Don''t worry too much about Skjallgargan¨ªss. The white dragon may be aggressive, but even she can be reasoned with, if you approach her correctly that is." "And what would that correct way be?" I asked curiously. "Take food and diamonds. She''ll agree to anything after that." I snorted, amused. Apparently, good food and diamonds were always desired by females. At least the blue dragon had been smart enough to see the benefits I was bringing and didn''t demand anything from me. Maybe I should stop and get some flowers too, I thought. I nodded, though her words did ease a little of my anxiety about facing the white dragon. Apparently, she might not be as difficult to deal with as I had imagined. Despite this, I was still worried about the fact that she might not have a divine spark. This made me wonder if I could discover any other divine sparks and give them to Geyma or Alsvartr. That made me wonder if Alsvartr could even become a god. The Ouroboros System had given me the divine spark of death. However, why did I also become the god of twilight? Was it because of my bloodline? Could I get other divine sparks from the system? I had a lot to think about as I started making my way north.
Chapter 103 - Courting the White Dragon The journey north would be long, and I wasn''t stupid enough to face the white dragon empty-handed. Bl¨¢rdynja''s advice echoed in my thoughts as I flew back to Sanctuary. Food and diamonds were easy to obtain. I was more than willing to give them to the white dragon if it would placate her. The irony wasn''t lost on me. She was the only one that I had to make an offering to. The others were smart enough to realize the benefits of what I was offering. Although it was possible that she would as well, I wasn''t willing to take that risk. As I approached my city, I thought about each of the dragons that I''d met. Each of them was different. Einvaldskonungr''s raw strength was intimidating. Silfrigl¨®a''s wisdom impressed me. Gullhyrndr''s sense of justice made even me feel nervous about doing something wrong. Banis¨¢mreitr was cunning enough to make me cautious. As for Bl¨¢rdynja''s insight, it was equally impressive. Yet here I am, preparing gifts like a nervous suitor for the supposedly least sophisticated among them, I thought. Landing in Sanctuary, I wasted no time before traveling invisibly through the city. The city had grown since I''d last visited, its buildings a testament to the industrious nature of my kobold followers. Kobolds really were the perfect race, with the exception of dragons, that was, I thought. I had been really lucky to have been reborn as a kobold I gathered the finest cuts of meat from the storehouse and used Faith Points to preserve them at the perfect temperature. The scent alone was mouthwatering, and I found myself hoping Skjallgargan¨ªss appreciated good food. I also picked up the few flowers that had been sacrificed and preserved them as well. Next came the diamonds. I''d received many as sacrifices to the draconic system while I was out meeting each of the dragons. It felt weird that the least powerful dragon was receiving a gift while the others didn''t get anything from me. I couldn''t help but wonder if this said more about me or about her. Maybe having an intimidating reputation is as powerful as being intimidating in reality. I doubted that, though. After leaving, I made one final stop. Along my travels, I''d seen patches of wildflowers growing nearby. I quickly flew there and gathered the most beautiful blooms. Then I used Faith Points to preserve them. That way they would stay fresh even in the bitter cold of the north. The whole situation was ridiculous. Here I was, the god of death and twilight, and I was stuck gathering flowers and preparing a feast for a female dragon. Was this what godhood was about? Taking flight once more, I flew northward. Soon, the air started to grow progressively colder. The landscape below also changed gradually, with green giving way to brown, Soon, everything was white. Snow-covered peaks rose in the distance, marking the beginning of her territory. Icehold lay somewhere ahead, a frozen fortress in a land of eternal winter. From what I knew, her lair was located almost due west of the city. My thoughts eventually turned to my own divine spark, the divine spark of death that was given to me by the Ouroboros System. Did it make me the god of twilight as well? If so, how? Was it because of my bloodline, or was there something more to it? Could I somehow help Skjallgargan¨ªss find a divine spark? These questions nagged at me as I soared through the increasingly bitter wind. I''d brought everything Bl¨¢rdynja suggested, yet I couldn''t shake the feeling that this meeting would be different from the others. The white dragon might be the least sophisticated, but that could make her the most dangerous. Sometimes the simple approach is the deadliest. From all the stories I had ever heard about white dragons, they were little more than beasts. The bitter wind howled around me as I approached Icehold, its frozen spires rising like crystalline daggers against the steel-gray sky. It looked nice for a fortress. I had actually expected something much less intimidating. Realizing I was close to my destination, I adjusted my course. Skjallgargan¨ªss spotted me before I saw her. Her white scales helped her camouflage herself extremely effectively. She erupted from a snowbank, scales gleaming like fresh frost in the wan northern light. My heart jumped, but not from fear. Her expression wasn''t threatening. If anything, she looked... curious. I''d prepared myself for aggression, for territorial posturing, and perhaps even for combat. What I hadn''t prepared for was enthusiastic hospitality. She actually looked eager to see me. It was as if she was a bored teenager. Then again, judging by her size, which was smaller than the other dragons, she might just be an adolescent dragon.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Just to be on the safe side, I flew down toward her and said, "I have brought some gifts for you," as I landed. "You brought me things?!" she exclaimed, her voice carrying clearly despite the howling wind. I nodded, and summoned the food first since it was one of the items the blue dragon had mentioned that I should bring. Her nostrils flared as soon as she caught the scent of the preserved meat, followed immediately by the flowers and diamonds. "Oh, that smells divine," she said. I could already see drool forming at the edges of her mouth. She licked her lips and then said, "And are those... flowers and diamonds? She leaped forward and started staring at each one, clearly thinking about which she wanted the most. Finally, she chomped down on the food while examining the flowers. She mumbled something like, "So good," as she ate. I wasn''t sure which item was good, but I wasn''t about to complain if she was happy. Caught off guard by her friendly tone. "Yes," I said. "I thought you might appreciate them." "Oh, how thoughtful!" Then her form began to change. At first, I wasn''t sure about her race, but then I guessed she was turning into an ice elf, a young elf at that. She looked like she might still be a teenager. She then picked up the items and placed them into a Bag of Holding before gesturing toward a nearby ice cave. "Come in, come in! It''s much too windy out here for proper conversation." As I followed her into the cave, I couldn''t help but marvel at how wrong my preconceptions had been. The white dragon, supposedly the most aggressive and least sophisticated of her kind, was practically bouncing with excitement over a few simple gifts. The cave''s interior was surprisingly comfortable, with smooth ice walls that somehow trapped heat rather than reflecting cold. Skjallgargan¨ªss settled onto a pile of furs. "I know why you''re here," she said as she took out the items once again and laid them on the furs. "You''re the twilight god who''s been uniting the dragons. But first, oh, such a large diamond?" I sighed as she lost her train of thought . "Yes," I said, still adjusting to her directness. "I thought you might like them." "Like them? I love them!" She carefully picked up one of the larger stones, clearly admiring it. "You know, most visitors just try to kill me or run away screaming. It''s so refreshing to meet someone with manners." She didn''t spend too long on the diamonds though. Instead, she started digging into the food, making appreciative sounds that seemed almost inappropriate. Considering the low-cut dress she was wearing, I was starting to think about how smart I was to bring such a lovely dragon gifts on first meeting her. Dragging my thoughts away from her flawless white skin, I cleared my throat and tried to redirect her attention to the reason I had visited. I quickly explained why I had come. She listened while demolishing a particularly large steak, occasionally nodding. It was obvious that she wasn''t really listening, but I continued on, just in case I was wrong. "Oh, that''s perfect!" she exclaimed when I finished. "I''ve actually been hoping for something like this. You see, I have a divine spark already." I blinked in surprise. "You do?" She nodded enthusiastically, licking meat juice from her fingers. "I got it from an ice elemental. Poor thing thought it could become a god but didn''t know how. When it felt threatened by me, it tried to absorb the spark." She sounded offended that someone might find her threatening. Didn''t work out well for it." She shrugged. "I''ve been keeping the spark safe, waiting for the right moment. I knew I needed something else before I could use it properly." The simplicity of her explanation was refreshing after the complex negotiations with the other dragons. "So you''re interested in joining the pantheon?" "Of course!" She beamed. "It''s lonely up here, you know. And you''re obviously not like others who visit. They just attack me. It gets so boring here." She tilted her head, studying me. "You''re quite young, aren''t you? Still growing?" "Yes," I admitted, wondering where this was going. "Well, if you turn out to be male when you''re grown, we should definitely consider having eggs together." She said this with the same casual directness she''d shown about everything else. "Our offspring would be extraordinary, don''t you think?" I nearly choked, completely unprepared for this turn in the conversation. "That''s... very kind of you to offer," I managed, trying to maintain my composure. "Perhaps we should focus on the pantheon for now?" "Oh, of course!" she agreed cheerfully. "Should I swear the oath now? And then you''ll give me that ritual you used to become a god?" I nodded, still slightly dazed by how easy this was turning out to be. As Skjallgargan¨ªss spoke the words of the oath, her voice clear and strong, I couldn''t help but reflect on how wrong I''d been about her. She might not be subtle or sophisticated, but her straightforward nature was its own kind of wisdom. When I handed her the scroll containing the Ritual of Apotheosis, she clutched it carefully, as though it were more precious than all the diamonds I''d brought, which it actually was. "Thank you," she said, and for the first time, her voice was completely serious. "I won''t let you down." As I prepared to leave, she called after me, "Visit again sometime! Bring more of those wonderful steaks!" Then, with a playful glint in her eye, "And let me know when you''re fully grown!" Flying away from her lair, I found myself chuckling. Of all the dragons I''d met, Skjallgargan¨ªss had been the most surprising. That was when I realized that I hadn''t made any immediate plans of what to do