《Dragonstorm (dragon litrpg)》 Prologue : As All Things Must End, As All Things Must Begin *Cough Cough Cough hyack* A series of coughs could be heard, erupting from a thin, broken shape, leaning against his desk as they took their toll on the poor child. The child had long silver hair and dark murky blue eyes, and as a result of years of the infliction, had been left with a slender body, beautiful in its own right. Richard had been approaching 19, but this day seemed to be his last. The curse seemed ready to finally finish him . Richard had been abandoned on the front doorstep of a chapel when he was an infant, as the church of Isis was known for taking in abandoned children. It had been found that he had been cursed by a God, and through an oracle it was discovered that he had been of a noble family who had incurred the wrath of a God. The noble family clearly didn¡¯t understand the idea of a curse upon a bloodline, nor did they understand appeasement as they had simply chosen to abandon the defective child instead. Knowing he wouldn¡¯t live long, the church decided to take him in until the day he died. And here he was, on the doorstep of death. His bones creaked and his heart swayed, as Richard managed to make it to his bed before he passed. He had regrets. Richard wanted to live longer, and cursed the family whom had doomed him to this fate. But all the same, he loved the life he had lived here, surrounded by people he could consider family, and enough books to fill the gap. And as he left this world, he swore he heard a whisper so soft, it felt as if it cradled him. Darkness was all that Richard saw. It wasn¡¯t what he¡¯d heard of, sitting in his church. No angels, no god of judgement, no mysterious hippo-alligator-thing or famous heroes like Heracles seeing him at the gates at Elysium. Just peace and quiet, accompanied by nothing. Until it changed. No longer was he in pure darkness. He couldn¡¯t tell, but something had changed. No longer was the darkness intangible. He moved his hands and felt resistance. He could finally feel himself getting somewhere, and wondered if this was it, and he was going to see the truth of it all. His hand met something and yet saw nothing. So he pushed. And pushed. And pushed once more. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. He started banging against this invisible wall harder and harder, with each blow growing in power. Richard felt energetic, and in fact, he felt stronger than before, better than before. Eventually the wall gave way and light came through the tiny crack, which Richard started digging into with his hands. What he thought were his hands of course. They felt different. Rougher. Sharp? Richard didn¡¯t think that much about it as he felt elated, excitement growing within him as the light grew brighter. Until finally¡­ he burst out! Erupting from the darkness, Richard found himself in a weird place. There was not a trace of anything he expected, not even the tiniest hint of humanity. He found himself in what appeared to be a tiny bed of flowers, each flickering with a tiny bit of light, and a nice little lake beside it. Richard would be inclined to believe himself in a meadow, were it not for the fact that the meadow ended in cavern walls, with only a tiny hole in the ceiling through which the sun flared through. There was even an entrance at the front that would allow him to squeeze through. While he was observing the beauty before him, something caught his attention that caused him to freeze. His hands. They weren¡¯t human. What were once slender human fingers had become scaled and thick, ending in sharp claws. His arms had followed suit, as gleaming white scales embedded themselves down his arms. And that¡¯s when he started noticing more. How uncomfortable he felt standing up, the weird sensation at his butt, the weird spasms in his back. When He tried looking backwards Richards marveled at this, before the marvel quickly changed to astonishment and horror as he now saw a tiny pair of wings protruding from his back, equally as white and scaly as his arms, and his tail!? He had a tail now?! With his mind whirling, Richard rushed to the little lake he saw earlier, hoping for confirmation, or more hopefully denial, of his current situation. Sadly, he would find no such comfort. What stared him down was a hatchling dragon, adorned in beautiful white scales with not a horn on its chubby reptilian head, two wings and four arms. The very picture of a dragon. The poor new hatchling however, would get no time to process this. A ringing would pop off in his head followed by a light screen and a flow of words, seemingly from a nice young lady emerged in his head. [Hello player 15 and welcome to the newly established system as well as your second chance at life!] Perhaps in a more modern world this would be seen with either concern or excitement, but in a world which was in a weird mix of the roman empire, the dark ages, and a slight pinch of the modern world, Richard hadn¡¯t the slight idea of a video game, much less a system that had introduced itself to him. It merely left Richard with more questions. [The Goddess Isis has seen your plight, and although she was unable to lighten the plight Nemesis had set upon you, hoped to give you a second chance at a better life] Although this left Richard confused, it cleared any possible doubts of what had happened. One of the many thoughts that had flown through his head was that this was punishment by his Goddess, perhaps in addition to the curse he had already bore. Although he was still confused, Richard decided to enjoy himself. He ended up spending the next hour running around in circles, enjoying the divine gift he had been given. This would be the beginning of his troubles, and perhaps it was better that it began on a positive note. Chapter One Now that Richard was confident that he wasn¡¯t a cursed beast of any sorts, and now more calm, ready to contemplate, he gave himself a quick once over. Yes, he seemed to be a dragon, and one of the quadrupedal varieties too. Despite this, he seemed to have opposable thumbs, and although he could stand, he much preferred being on all fours. This didn¡¯t bother Richard. Just being able to run and gallop was a pleasure in of itself. No hair unlike some dragons, nor any horns, save the row of bumps trailing down his back. When looking into the lake, he observed that he had retained his blue eyes. Richard also noted how he looked a bit liked a stuffed animal, something which both amused and fascinated him. Hatchlings were rare in the wild (for good reason) and the ones with parents were kept far from any kind of public eye, and dragons themselves were already rare enough. He decided it was time to ask the vital questions he needed to ask, and suspected this¡­ system would have his answers. ¡°System, may I ask you a few questions?¡± inquired the polite hatchling. He believed in being polite to people, and to this system which seemed to belong to Isis, politeness was the very least it deserved. [Certainly. The System is here to answer all questions you have. If you Wish, I can also pull up your status.] Richard was sure the second part of the sentence was important, but he decided that he¡¯d ask his question first. ¡°Do I have parents¡± asked the hatchling, filled with apprehension. He certainly hoped so, because otherwise¡­ [No] ¡®That¡¯s not good¡¯ thought Richard. It¡¯s well known in the empire that monsters are born in areas with high concentrations of mana, with the rarity of monsters affecting it being born in certain areas. With dragons being considered (to a certain extent) monsters, adult dragons often survive in the wild but oh so often, baby dragons will just spawn in the wild. Those are treated as horror stories, with the unfortunate hatchlings being torn to shreds. The only proof of this in the books were the bodies, but the bodies were evidence enough, as overprotective dragons would¡¯ve died near the hatchlings, yet no such corpses were found. Richard felt panic rising in his throat, choking him alive before he managed to calm himself down, realizing it would do him no good if he were to keep freaking out. Better to calm himself and analyze the current situation. Richard decided he would prepare. ¡°System, could you show me this status you mentioned?¡± Inquired the hatchling. [Certainly] [status] Name: Richard Species: Dragon (Hatchling) Level 1 Health: 100/100 Spd: 10 ATK: 20 Mana: 50 You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. Skills: Scratch, Glide, Screech, Appraisal(lvl 1) Mana circles: 0 Points: 0 Skill Points: 0 [Inventory] [Gacha] [Shop] ¡°Hmmm¡± hummed the hatchling as he pondered over the blue screen appearing before him, which vaguely reminded him of illusion magic or light magic. He could guess what these points described with atk being his attack power and spd being speed, though what that means would likely need some time to analyze. The skills seemed to be a useful section, as it served as an index of what he had available. If there were a few things that really grabbed his attention it was the inventory, gacha, shop, and that skill appraisal, all of which seemed weird and unusual. Richard decided to ask the system and when he asked he was met with this: [Inventory is an interdimensional space where the player can store their loot. The higher level you are, the more slots you gain. If you have more of the same material, you can hold them together in 1 slot. You currently have 5 slots] [The shop is where you spend the points given by leveling and slaying monsters. The shop offers many things, ranging from skills, to rare materials, as well as the occasional egg or two. When the number of players reach the correct threshold, the system will add the marketplace, where players can barter for materials. ] [Gacha is a gamble, where depending on which prize box you wish to gamble from, you may receive something common, or extremely rare. The more expensive of a gacha box you choose, the greater the general rarity, as well as the greater chance of getting a lucky prize will arise. Currently the three categories are eggs, materials, and equipment. The situation may change given time.] [Appraisal is a spell given to all players. Appraisal is a spell with high potential, as the higher the level of appraisal, the more knowledge you¡¯ll be able to view of the target. Appraisal can be blocked depending on how much stronger the enemy is in regards to the player, or blocked the same way a scrying spell is blocked. ] Left with these results, Richards was left with even more things to think about. He realized that the shop could be a valuable resource depending on what was for sale, and the gacha sounded like a gambling scheme. Considering his situation, and how theoretically easy the points should be to get, he thought it worthwhile. The eggs seemed especially useful if the train of thought he had lined up with the system¡¯s line of thinking. Looking at a rock he stated ¡°Appraisal¡± and found: [A rock. A nice round rock. Hard, but not that hard.] While it wasn¡¯t amazing yet, the potential indicated seemed amazing. This was all very exciting of course, but he realized that for any of this to be of use, he would actually have to fight something. So, he ran over to a wall and started scratching his claws against the wall. Of course, he wasn¡¯t just scratching a wall. Just because he had become a hatchling didn¡¯t mean he had the mentality of one. No, he decided to prepare for what lay outside his cavern, he decided to start sharpening his claws. According to the books in the library, certain monster species like blade moles or even sabretooths liked to scratch their natural weapons against rocks to sharpen them to appropriate sharpness. Richard wasn¡¯t sure what a normal hatchling would do out of the egg, but he knew he would prepare. Richard may not have been attacked yet, but knowing the areas in which hatchlings spawned in, sharpened claws were the least he needed. ¡­ An hour later, after sharpening his claws till they looked like serrated knives, Richard received a notification. [Player Richard has learnt the skill (sharpening)] Seeing this, Richard decided to take a look at his status, and lo and behold, a sharpening skill had shown up. Richard finally felt safe enough to do something stupid. So he decided to start with leaving this tiny hole for the world outside. As he walked out, he was filled with apprehension. What would he see? Manticores? Phoenixes? Thunderbirds? Titans? As he worried about what he would encounter outside, he creeped outside, and what he saw left him breathless. Richard saw¡­ slimes. So many slimes. Like hundreds of slimes. ¡°What?¡± Chapter 2 Slimes Galore Out of all the things Richard thought he¡¯d see when he stepped out of the safe area, a tremendous number of slimes was not what he thought he¡¯d see. The little hole in the mountainside opened up into a vast plain that eventually turned into woods, which eventually fed into mountain walls surrounding the plain area, which was chock full of slimes. ¡°System I was born into an area with a high concentration of mana right?¡± [Correct] ¡°Well then why are there only slimes here? I doubt slimes are the result of high concentrations of mana. [The system has analyzed this and has found that due to good luck on your part you¡¯ve been spawned into one of the safer areas on this mountain range with a high mana density. This area is one only populated by slimes for the most part, and seems to be your stroke of good luck.] ¡°Notice you said for the most part¡± muttered Richard but gave a sigh of relief as this meant that he was safe to start for now. Although he still seemed to be in a dangerous situation. This was but one area and unless he planned to live in a land of slimes alone for the rest of his life, he would have to be ready to leave one day. So, he turned to look at one of the smaller slimes and prepared himself to fight. It felt wrong to him to kill a slime, but considering slimes would be his only nourishment for a while, and he would need to get stronger to be able to leave. ¡°Sorry¡± muttered the hatchling. He assured himself, telling himself that slimes eat slimes anyway. Slimes are considered one of the weakest species in existence. Even the stronger slimes, like ¡°colossus slime¡± and ¡°swamp slime¡± were considered d to c- rank at best. Slimes all held the common trait of being giant balls of slime with a monster core at its center, which always appeared to be dodecahedron- shaped crystals. The general species are a light, sky blue with a dark blue core. Slimes weren¡¯t known for being particularly smart, and some claimed that perhaps even plants were smarter, as at least plant monsters were smarter. Slime fans and owners (whom Richard had seen, but still couldn¡¯t believe existed) claimed that slimes were very sapient and that the current line hadn¡¯t reached its full potential. Some even advocated for the evolution of variant slimes under the notion that perhaps there was something that was missing. The one in front of Richard was small and if appraisal was anything to go by: [species: slime] Level: 1 It was a normal slime. Eventually, with great hesitation, Richard brought his paw down in the best slashing motion he could make. The slime didn¡¯t react and died in the one blow. Although it caught Richard off guard for a moment, it wasn¡¯t completely unexpected. He was a dragon currently. The way it felt hitting the slime was weird. Like putting your hand through a bowl of gel, it left his hand a bit sticky, and upon cleaning himself with his tongue, he found it tasted a bit like jelly, though it was lacking in taste a little. Upon killing it though, he received a notification from his new comrade. [Congratulations on killing a level 1 slime! You¡¯ve taken your first step into your new life!] [10 exp gained] [1 point granted] Richard wasn¡¯t sure what exp was, so when he asked, he found out that it was experience, used to help level up. Richard started realizing that the system wouldn¡¯t tell him something unless he asked first. That didn¡¯t signal any red flags to Richard, but it did warn him that unless he asked, he wasn¡¯t guaranteed a response. ¡®Something to note.¡¯ Pondered Richard. If he still had his paper and pens he would¡¯ve written it down like how he used to write everything down. Thoughts done for now, he turned to eat the slime he had just killed. It would¡¯ve been wasteful to leave it after killing it. So he slurped it all up till all that was left was the pinky sized core left. This would be another of Richards firsts, and it left him very excited, He¡¯d heard many a report from adventurers who owned familiars how the familiars loved cores and savored their every bite. As he was now a dragon, for Richard he was sure it would be tasty. Even now as he stared at the candies, a fragrant scent seemed to emerge, calling Richard to eat it, and he could even see some slimes moving a bit close to him, inching ever so slowly. Holding off no longer, Richard cast the core into his mouth and with a single crunch of his new fangs, the core fragmented into pieces. Immediately a new flavor flooded his mouth, as the mana in the core flew into him. It tasted like a cube of sugar with a hint of mint in the taste. As the mana dove into his own core, the little hatchling felt the desire flow through him for a moment before he quickly suppressed it. Now that he felt the satisfaction monsters had eating cores, he had to admit the core was delicious and wanted more. He decided that he would kill a few more slimes until he reached level two, where he would stop for the day. With each ¡°hunt¡± his blows become more definite, more determined. No longer was it a clumsy swing that only hit a slime due to sheer power and speed, it was a cleave from the air, and he even leaped once or twice into the blow to increase the power, even if it was unnecessary for slimes. It took 9 more level 1 slimes to die before he reached his new level. He¡¯d been using his newfound appraisal to find the level one slimes, and attempt to get appraisal beyond level one. No success so far, but as long as he was in slime land, he was sure he¡¯d have time. Seeing he had reached level 2, Richard decided to take a look at his stats. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. [status] Name: Richard Species: Dragon (Hatchling) Level 2 Health: 110/110 Spd: 11 ATK: 21 Mana: 51 Skills: Scratch, Glide, Screech, Appraisal(lvl 1), Sharpen Mana circles: 0 Points: 20 Skill Points: 1 [Inventory] [Gacha] [Shop] ¡®Not as much as I¡¯d hoped¡¯ thought Richard. He was hoping for a more drastic change, even maybe 2 points per stat. His health only increased by 10 percent. ¡°Hey system, will this be my consistent rate of change?¡± He was worried that this would be his rate of growth till he grew up, which would be a real problem. Thankfully, this seemed to not be the case. [Of course not. When you evolve your rate of growth will change. Currently you are a [hatchling], and one without an element either. Your next evolution will increase your stat growth] ¡°Thank Isis for that. Dragons in the books we have are always seen as strong, so I wasn¡¯t sure what to do besides overhunting for cores to eat and evolve.¡± One of the more important aspects for monsters was killing other monsters, and eating cores, till they filled their prerequisite for evolution. Certain species like goblins evolve far faster than other monsters, but only have a lifespan of 20 years and a high casualty rate, whereas wyverns take decades to evolve without outside intervention or good fortune, but have 100 years to evolve. Dragons are one of the most mysterious monsters of all time, with even the holy dragons owned by the royal family being a secret to most people. No ones even sure how they managed to influence this evolutionary process, given they manage to breed one for every royal family member. So even with all the books he¡¯s read, Richard was pretty much lost. However, almost amazingly so, the system had an announcement to make. [The system wishes to inform you that when you reach level 10 you will evolve] ¡°Wait really? It¡¯s that easy? Don¡¯t dragons take forever to evolve?¡± [Contrary to popular belief, dragons find it easier to evolve than other creatures, and depending on their situation and desires, the evolutions can vary greatly. The system speeds up your rate of absorption, with average dragons absorbing 30% of the enemy¡¯s mana, you absorb 40 percent, with an extra 10 percent going to maintaining the system. The cores you eat will instead be converted to extra mana stored for evolutions, which the system will offer you a variety of options to choose from, rather than immediate evolution. Leveling up takes the stress off evolutionary requirements as only monsters chosen by the system level up. Any level you see on the monsters or people during [appraisal] are estimated levels, rather than actual levels.] ¡°Huh¡± Since Richard was still getting familiar with the system so it wasn¡¯t exactly surprising that there was more, he hadn¡¯t known. He was definitely starting to have more appreciation for the system however. For one thing, the ability to choose his own evolution was a much-appreciated feature that would allow him to choose his own future versus being taken for a ride. And if what the system said was true about having levels, it meant he¡¯d heave the benefit of a dragon, growing stronger as they age, and levels. Richard decided to give his body a stretch after receiving a level up and found his body far more flexible, stronger. He didn¡¯t feel twice as strong, but he certainly felt more energetic. Looking up to the sky, Richard saw the moon was in the sky, as he¡¯d taken his time killing slimes. No point in eating too much in a short amount of time after all. So, he went back into his little cave and looked around. Richard wanted to be comfortable, and if he was going to spend an extended period of time here, he wanted to make himself more at home. IF there was one thing that he really wanted to make, it was a bed. Although he considered sleeping in the pool, that was going to be his drinking source, or at least the main one, he wasn¡¯t going to waste it by dirtying it with himself, even if he cleaned himself nicely. If he really wanted to shower, he could use one of the streams outside, which were big enough to fit himself into, and then some. Appraising the flowers in this tiny little cove of his, he found that it was called: [Caveshines: small mana-based flora that exist in caves, first growing in caves, then creating holes in the rooftop to absorb sunlight. Hard to find due to often only growing in small numbers. The only place to find them en masse is in places with high mana density, and even then, they are often guarded by monsters who eat them to steadily increase their own mana density.] The flowers had looked vaguely familiar to him before, but upon seeing the name he recalled that he¡¯d read of this flower and it¡¯s amazing medicinal properties for adventurers seeking to move to the next rank. Apparently as long as one had a really good alchemist by their side, they could multiply the effect of Caveshines by twofold. A shame there wasn¡¯t any particularly good alchemists here, but he certainly had more caveshine than anyone else. He definitely wasn¡¯t using this to make his bed. Pulling some moss and grass from outside, he also grabbed a few branches, creating as good of a nest as possible. It certainly didn¡¯t seem the best, but the hatchling felt a mite proud of himself for making the nest himself. When he lowered himself into his new bed, he found himself looking forward to the next day of his new life. While he did find himself a bit lonely, being surrounded by slimes alone, he also looked forward to his new life, and comforted himself knowing that in the long run, he could do this ¡°gacha¡± and acquire a friend to keep him company in the meantime. Richard drifted off to sleep dreaming of better things. Chapter 3 Approaching The Limit So Richard spent the next few days in what could be considered quite the repetitive schedule. He hunted slimes, sharpened claws, and arranged his home some more, which came off more comfortable than before. The slime hunting had improved as well. Richard had started hunting the higher-level slimes, even hunting two levels above him. That wasn¡¯t that impressive as even the higher-level slimes could really only splash him, charge at him, or even shoot a jelly spray at him, it didn¡¯t take long for him to adapt. On the bright side, it allowed him to get better at maneuvering his new body, and although he was getting better at handling it, it was a very chubby body. He did occasionally stumble and fall over once in a while. His appraisal also benefitted during this time, as he received this notification: [Appraisal has leveled up to level 2] Although it didn¡¯t do too much more, he could now see the health of a foe. Not a perfect indicator, true, but it would allow micromanagement, which would be very beneficial. At some point during his time hunting slimes, he found out there were fish in the river. Nothing huge mind you, no tuna or any particularly dangerous sea monsters, though the occasional koi or snapping turtle bit him or spat at him using a form of magic. Sadly, appraisal wasn¡¯t high enough for him to identify the type of magic Speaking of magic¡­ [status] Name: Richard Species: Dragon (Hatchling) Level 8 Health: 180/180 Spd: 18 ATK: 28 Mana: 58 Skills: Scratch, Glide, Screech, Appraisal(lvl 2), sharpening Mana circles: 0 Points: 200 Skill Points: 7 [Inventory] [Gacha] [Shop] Richard decided to finally put the skill points he had to use. Although he had a good deal of points, the gacha cost 100 per pull for eggs, with a 50 percent refund if he chose to return the egg. Although there was also plenty of other things, he had decided to save his points until he reached a point where he could get a alright egg at the very least. Nothing amazing was necessary, but if it was a first level bird than it wouldn¡¯t be worth the time to train it alongside his own training. He needed a partner who could fight alongside himself as equals if this mountain was as dangerous as he suspected. So skills would come first. Although some skills like [hellstorm] or [atomic breath] were expensive, costing hundreds of points, the descriptions described them like forces of nature, capable of sending a kingdom to ruin. What really appealed to him right now was the basic skills, which only cost 1 point each. Currently those were appealing, especially at a time where his only skills were a sharpening skill and a scrying skill. So he purchased [fire ball] [shock] [splash][vine whip] [icicle] [rock smash] [wind slash] and spent all 7 points this way. He also saw heal, but decided that would come later. He would have more levels to get more points to spend. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Upon purchasing the skills from the shop that showed up on the blue screen, he felt a shock going through his mind. He just seemed to know how to use these skills all of a sudden, as the concepts came to his mind. Of course, knowing and using are 2 very different things. The fireball unlike mages didn¡¯t manifest in front of him, but rather built up in his chest before traveling through his throat and bursting from his mouth. When it hit a tree it caused a small burn mark. Although it didn¡¯t seem impressive at first glance, Richard had long discovered the trees here were harder than rocks. So this could be seen as an achievement. Shock and icicle both came out from his mouth, while icicle caused a numbing cold feeling to spread through his chest, and shock felt fuzzy before it came out. Rock smash caused his hand to harden to a rock like substance which allowed him to straight up bash a slime. Wind slash erupted from his rarely used wings, with a single flick from his wings erupting in a blue flash of wind flying at the opponent, leaving a very clean cut, managing to even graze the same tree the fireball hit. Splash and vine whip reacted differently in contrast from the other spells, being reliant on outside forces. Vine whip sprang out from the ground and slapped the tree hard, though it lacked the impact wind slash did, feeling more like a brute weapon, though he found he could also use it to grab things. Could be convenient if not for the fact that as a dragon he had opposable thumbs. Maybe that could be useful later on. Splash allowed him to control water near him for one, well, splash. It didn¡¯t seem to hurt much, though it could be used to blind someone mid combat. That could be useful. He wondered if he had chosen hydroblast if that would¡¯ve acted similar to icicle and the other projectile spells. Or for that matter, why do they come from his body, rather than manifesting similar to how mages usually do. After all, mages rarely breathe fire, though depending on skill and species that could still happen. It was certainly something to play with. And he would. After all, according to the system, he still needed two more levels before he could evolve, as the system had told him the level limit of [hatchling] was 10. Not only that, but two more skill points were waiting for him. Richards trotted off, excited to experience his first evolution. ¡­ The forest surrounding the area where Richard currently resides is a dense are with not a single mana-based lifeform, due to not only the slime¡¯s lack of interest in those areas, but also due to the naturally formed wall that surrounded the area, preventing other creatures from getting in. However, there are still gaps. Just the tiniest gaps. However even these tiniest gaps¡­ The monster climbed out from the hole it had found, and took a deep sniff. It was completely absent of any familiarly dangerous scents, and while there was something that felt dangerous, it also smelled young. They die best when they¡¯re young. The creature¡¯s eyes glowed with anticipation. ¡­ can let something unwanted in. Chapter 4 First Evolution He was finally there. After killing so many gosh darned slimes, and even finally managing to use rock smash to bash a turtles head in, Richard had managed to smash into level 10. His stats currently stood at: [status] Name: Richard Species: Dragon (Hatchling) Level 10 (evolution available) Health: 200/200 Spd: 20 ATK: 30 Mana: 60 Skills: Scratch, Glide, Screech, Appraisal(lvl 2), fireball, rock smash, splash, vine whip, shock, icicle, stealth, heal, wind slash Mana circles: 0 Points: 250 Skill Points: 0 [Inventory] [Gacha] [Shop] Upon reaching level 10, the hatchling quickly put the points into [stealth] and [heal] considering how both of them would be extremely useful in the long run. He would¡¯ve grabbed the [regeneration] and [camouflage] skills, but they were expensive at 10 points each, and while they were by no means as bad as the other later skills, they would probably have to be saved for later. Besides, stealth was a passive skill that allowed one to naturally evade the attention of lower-level beings. It wasn¡¯t bad. Heal was sadly not only an active skill that required concentration, but whereas the other skills required maybe 5 mana per usage, heal required 5 mana per second of application. It cost more, likely because it did more. Ignoring all of this though, Richard could hardly contain his excitement now. Over the past few days, Richard had time to recall the one time he witnessed a creature evolve. It had been a salamander, bonded to a rider, and ended up evolving into a flame drake, perfect for riding. Salamanders are generally just natural salamanders that are of the fire attribute. They''re not rare, nor all that impressive according to adventurers, and also according to what he¡¯d read from books, drakes were considered the far less impressive, watered down relatives of dragons. But books varied greatly from experience and watching that drake admit such an aura, emit a roar of confidence, the beast had been absolutely domineering. And now Richard would get to choose his own evolution. ¡°System, please show me the evolutionary options.¡± Requested the excited hatchling. The system responded, and although the voice always sounded monotone, he thought he could sense some anticipation from it(her?) as well. [Very well then] [Your options are as follows:] [Kobold(reptilian)] [drake] [lizardman] [wyrm hatchling] [wyvern] [flame dragon (hatchling)] [water dragon (hatchling)] [lightning dragon (hatchling)] [rock dragon (hatchling)] [ice dragon (hatchling)] [wind dragon (hatchling)] [nature dragon (hatchling)] [wind draken (hatchling)] [Nature draken (hatchling)] [Ice draken (hatchling)] [Rock draken (hatchling)] [lightning draken (hatchling)] [water draken (hatchling)] [fire draken (hatchling)] Almost immediately off the bat, wyvern, drake, lizardman, and kobold were not options for him and as he thought so they disappeared from the screen in front of him. All of them were downgrades from a dragon, and even if they offered greater mobility or immediate strength, in the long run it wasn¡¯t worth it. Drakes couldn¡¯t fly and wyverns run horridly. Dragons were the perfect mix of both. And while he was at it, the water draken and water dragon hatchlings both were scratched off the list. Water dragons are pretty dependent on living near water, with many even evolving sub-aquatic body pieces, as the few know had gills and half of them had abandoned arms for flippers. That alone would drop it out of the running. And if the legends he¡¯d heard were true, the oceans were far more dangerous. No, water was out of the way. Having said that, while he could guess what the individual dragon hatchling types were, he had no idea what a wyrm was in the eyes of the system, or what a draken was. Though he had a hint what it was, there was a great deal of mystery surrounding the species. Drakens were completely unheard of in any of his books. ¡°System, please describe to me what the wyrm hatchling option entails.¡± Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. [Certainly.] [Wyrm (hatchling): wyrms are a branch off species of the dragons, whose bloodline has mixed with some of the great serpents of the world, producing an all-new, but related, bloodline. Wyrms abandon their appendages in favor of a serpentine bodies, and most abandon flight, though not all. Wyrms are powerful monsters, with potent venom and powerful muscles, resulting in wyrms being faster than they look. Wyrms are also excellent practitioners of magic, though you¡¯d never know it the way they fight. They are also considered kings amongst serpents, with all serpents bowing beneath wyrms, with wyrms able to speed up the rate of growth for snakes under their command. ] ¡°Tempting¡± pondered Richard. He¡¯d admit that the wyrm hatchling had plenty of benefits. Not only did it have poison, something he was lacking in his arsenal, it was also described as a great practitioner of magic, unlike the other hatchlings who all seemed to specialize in an element alone. It even described the wyrms ability to command snake monsters, and aid in their growth, which was a tempting ability to command, and monsters with those kinds of abilities were the most feared, like brood mother ants or goblin kings or even alphas in wolf packs. The real negative here is that it¡¯s lacking limbs, which Richard quite liked having, and their bodies. They were clearly meant for physical combat and being up close and personal. Richard acknowledged he was a dragon, but he was also pretty sure he wasn¡¯t adept enough to charge into combat without careful consideration. Dragons definitely had more bodily control, and thus better maneuverability. He still kept it in the back of his mind. The next elephant in the room obviously was: ¡°System, what¡¯s a draken? I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever heard of one of those before.¡± [Draken: Drakens are a rare ancient species connected to the dragon bloodline rarely known due to appearing very similar to other dragons. Unlike dragons however, their wings are mostly vestigial, mostly used for shielding themselves or gliding short distances. Drakens are far stronger than dragons and their elemental magic is purer. Their scales are also tougher, with the side effect of being slower than dragons. ] ¡°That would be tempting, but they can¡¯t fly.¡± Mused Richard. It¡¯s true that he hasn¡¯t flied yet, but that doesn¡¯t mean he doesn¡¯t want to, it¡¯s just that he¡¯s had plenty more to do, and with so much on his plate, he hasn¡¯t had a chance to yet. Even the wyrm had the potential to fly one day. Draken would be stricken from his list sadly, as being slower was also an issue, a sit left him more open to attacks, and likely encouraged close combat, similar to wyrms. Looking at the hatchlings, it was pretty obvious what they were, but he thought he should ask. ¡°System, give me a description of the lightning hatchling.¡± [Lightning dragon (hatchling): lightning hatchlings are hatchlings attuned to the element of lightning, and are on the road to becoming lords of the tempest. Being attuned to lightning results in them being good at lightning attacks. Gains the ability [charge][lightning pulse] and [static]] Richard understood from reading this that the hatchlings seemed to be gifted skills upon evolving into their chosen path. This was a far cry from draken hatchlings and wyrm hatchlings, who seemed to be left with no skills offered for free. He came to two conclusions in the end:
  1. As a dragon hatchling, evolving into another hatchling was the natural path, and thus provides skills naturally
  2. Wyrm hatchlings and draken hatchlings need no skills, as one is a better mage and the other has stronger elemental force. In other words, both could be more malleable and thus do not need skills. The system is a supplement after all, and doesn¡¯t seem to exist for normal creatures. Not without some major implications Richard wanted to think about at least.
After some serious thought, Richard decided that wyrm hatchling and all the draken hatchlings were all off the list of options. Even if they theoretically ended up stronger than the dragon hatchling, but ultimately, they lack the mobility a dragon has. So now Richards found himself with six options that all required some thinking. Fire and ice both left his list of options through the fact that both were more innately destructive. Technically, all of them would end up being more destructive the more powerful the monster one becomes, but in the immediate frame of time, the fire and ice attributes would be a bit more explosive in terms of reactions. And the plant element went out to the trash far quicker, considering that fire serves as a strong antithesis, and probably a common one too. He was left with electricity, rock, and wind. Poor water had been thrown out earlier. He ultimately decided to throw out wind, because it wasn¡¯t¡­ flashy. Of course, he knew to a certain extent, if he wanted clean and deadly, wind would be the better option, but Richard felt attracted to lightning, especially because of how flashing could blind enemies. At least that¡¯s what he told himself. It was clear he just liked how flashy lightning was. Rock would¡¯ve been problematic anyway as the moves it offered were harden, roll, and earthspike. While earthspike could be useful, the other two are clearly meant for close combat. After spending his whole life hobbled, not only was Richard unprepared to take blows, he was unskilled in close combat. So he took his paw and tapped the [lightning dragon (hatchling)] option and immediately froze up. The evolution had started immediately, and a painful sensation had started traveling through his body. Not nearly as bad as he had been cursed mind you. However he¡¯d spent the last few days in what could be considered a safe haven of slime, so he had forgotten for a time the pain he had gone through. His body groaned as his bones changed, stretching themselves as he grew and changed, and Richard even felt something growing out of his skin. His blood boiled and even his organs shifted and grew, some larger than others. Most hatchlings would¡¯ve acted worse and even drawn more attention to themselves, leading to their death in the wild often enough. There¡¯s a reason so few mana-generated hatchlings ever survive where they spawn. Thankfully, not only was Richard (mostly) safe, he wasn¡¯t moving, just firmly holding himself in position as he evolved. Any other creature wouldn¡¯t be able to tell he was evolving were it not for the rapid changes going through the still body. In about a minute Richard had finished his evolution and felt great. In fact, he felt greater than he did before. In fact, he felt so great, that he felt ready to try something new. So, the world threw him for a spin and Richard went flying into the side of a mountain. ¡­ The beast had traveled at a moderate speed, not too fast, not too slow. As it traveled, it discovered this area was only filled with the weak, and even the beast it smelled didn¡¯t seem that strong. Then it started changing. At first it wasn¡¯t too alarmed. All things grow stronger over time, this wasn¡¯t any different. But then the change grew more, with the mana in the area increasing greatly, and the beast knew it had to move quicker. If it missed it¡¯s chance it may never have another opportunity to take down the predator when it was weak. It started charging, moving as fast as it could, with the beast in question coming into sight. Its body shuddered as it recognized what the creature was, and it¡¯s will became even stronger. A dragon. Every creature in the land knew of them to a certain extent, an innate terror of the sight. Even the stupidest of beasts, like this one, knew of them. It had to die NOW. The creature flung itself at the hatchling, to end its reign before it began, barreling into it headfirst. Chapter 5 Important Lessons [Pain resistance (level 1) acquired] Richard had looked for a chance to test out his body, and the universe had responded accordingly, though Richard hadn¡¯t expected to be smacked into the wall so hard. Even dazed, Richard went high on alert. Thankfully it didn¡¯t hurt that much, but Richard knew there was still more to come. The thing that had caused this was still alive after all. The thing in question was a giant rat, and although it wasn¡¯t as big as Richard was, the rat was still bigger than your average rat. Three times the size of an average rat, with red glowing eyes, two fangs protruding from its mouth, and a large girthy tail that had a hint of scales on it, Richard knew what this was: a saber tooth rat. Using appraisal on the rat which had just gotten up from it¡¯s own recoil, the result was: [Species: saber tooth rat] Level: 15 Health: 400 Straight off the bat Richard felt worried. Most slimes had below 100 health and even the ones above level 10, had around 200 health. Richard had just evolved and had no actual idea of his own stats, and he didn¡¯t dare look. Saber tooth rats were often talked about by experienced adventurers and even c ranked adventurers were wary of them. While they weren¡¯t killing c ranked adventurers or even d ranked adventurers in one on ones, they rarely worked alone. And if a saber tooth rat catches a d ranked off-guard, then it can kill one. And Richard? He was a hatchling, and unprepared. The rat had already gotten up and charged at him. The dragon quickly dodged to the side and used shock. He felt a jolt of surprise as not only did the charge build up far faster in his body, but he felt twice the amount of mana leave his body. And when the shock left his body, it was far brighter and even bigger from what he could tell as it flew at the rat. The rat, confused for a minute, dodged as fast as it could as it felt a shock pass it by just the edge of its fur. Although Richard had hit it, he only managed to get a light hit on it, only dealing according to the system, 20 damage, leaving the dragon frowning. He decided to start up charge, as the move implied an increase in power. And he felt it too. The mana pumping through his heart turned into lightning pouring through his veins and his whole body felt stronger for sure, but he felt faster. As if everything was faster. Even as the rat lunged at him fangs bared, the dragon felt like an eternity passed waiting for the tiny rat, He took this opportunity to move in, and grab the rat by the scruff of the neck and shoved it into the ground. He followed up with a shock, which felt far stronger than the first. The rat screeched in extreme pain as this one fried it, leaving it looking like a twitching mess. However, according to the system, it only took 100 health from the rat according to the second appraisal. The rat, while it certainly looked in pain, looked more roasted then dying. That look of terror in its eyes though¡­ Richard didn¡¯t get a chance to contemplate on this anymore as its fur changed texture, from dirty, oily fur to a smooth marble, which caused Richard to prepare for what¡¯s next. Although boulder roll was a rare move amongst saber tooth rats, if this mountain really is the hell-hole he thinks it is, then it wouldn¡¯t surprise him if that¡¯s what this is. Richard would be validated when the rat pushed itself off it¡¯s hind legs and curled itself up, propelling itself like a wheel, and charged straight at him. Richard dodged it a few times, knowing that it¡¯d be hard to pry that curled up rat open, especially since he had chosen lightning as his main element. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. What to do, what to do¡­ And then, he started remembering something. The system was helpful sure, but it wasn¡¯t the end all be all. It had introduced itself as additional and essential. So why couldn¡¯t he make a new spell? Thinking this, he focused on the mana in his body. Attempting to remember the sensation mana produced when he breathed fire, he focused till it appeared. The embers of fire appeared in his core. Instead of letting it travel naturally to his throat, he forcefully changed it¡¯s trajectory into his claws. At the same time he started scratching his claws into the ground. Was it to sharpen his claws? To start a fire flint style? Richard wasn¡¯t sure; he just felt it was natural. His efforts proved fruitful, as just before the stoned rat crashed into him, Richards claws turned molten red and steamed like a volcano ready to erupt. [The skill (molten claws) is unlocked] And Richard had just the subject to unleash the raging heat on. He dug his claws into the stoned rat, stopping it from rolling into him, as the claws traveled into the rat, like a hot knife going through butter, as the steaming hiss erupted from the shell of the rat, and the rat itself screeched in pain. Richard didn¡¯t hold back as he dug into the rat, and by the time he was done, the rat was torn to shreds and what remained was cooked well done. Exhausted Richard slumped over, as he stared at his hands, which were nice and clean with the blood having been steamed over. Nonetheless, he went over to a nearby river to wash his paws off. Richard looked into the river and could not help but admire himself in the river. His body hadn¡¯t grown tremendously, going from around 3 ft tall to 4 feet tall. His tail, which had once been barren, now had a crystal shard on the end, and his wing tendons had changed, and almost seemed almost thunder-like, striking out in comparison to his plain white wings. The claws on his paws had grown ever so bigger and sharper. He¡¯d also grown two unique spikes protruding in front of where his wings sprouted from his back, disrupting the spine bumps traveling down his back. His neck was surrounded by a few crystals embedded in his skin, each shaped like a small gem, all a shocking yellow like the one on his tail. The crystals looked like a beautiful necklace, which he found himself pleased, and a bit embarrassed about. They gave him a weirdly elegant, if not feminine vibe. At least he thought so. It reminded him of the stories he heard of noblewoman wearing beautiful necklaces to balls. Richard sadly did not gain any horns yet, and he noted his head grew slenderer and his neck grow a little longer. No horns or whiskers, hair or anything yet. Still, the change was overall good, thought Richard. As he admired his new body, a notification rang off in his head: [ Saber tooth rat (lvl 15) has been successfully defeated! Lightning dragon hatchling has leveled up to level 2!] While he was certainly happy for leveling up, Richard was bothered by the fact he had seemingly been sent back to level one, he requested the system show him his new stats, and he was left flabbergasted at his new stats. Species: Lightning Dragon (Hatchling) Level 2/25 Health: 302/302 Spd: 54 ATK: 64 Mana: 123/123 Skills: Scratch, Glide, Screech, Appraisal(lvl 2), fireball, rock smash, splash, vine whip, shock, icicle, stealth, heal, wind slash, molten claws, charge, lightning pulse, static Mana circles: 0 Points: 455 Skill Points: 12 [Inventory] [Gacha] [Shop] Richard was certainly relieved. Despite having been reset to level 1, then 2, he saw his stats had grown greatly in comparison to his max level as a hatchling. Looking back on the fight, Richard recalled the last moment of the fight, a stroke of luck for sure, and a very vital one if the implications rang true. Thinking about the biggest elephant in the room, he prodded the system with an important question: ¡°I can learn skills on my own?¡± Chapter 6 [Of course. Although the system gives you the ability to purchase the skills, it does not prevent you from naturally learning skills as all monsters do. We would like to inform you however, as a result of choosing your element, not only will elemental moves not attuned to your element be more mana exhausting, the price of skills not aligned to your typing will be more expensive, but skills attuned to your element will be cheaper, being 2/3rd the original cost.] ¡°And while we¡¯re at it I was wondering whether my evolutions were influenced by the skills I¡¯ve used up to this point. I received 8 different elemental paths based on my moves, so that seems important¡± [Of course. Like all monsters, your fighting style and chosen skills will affect future evolutions. Would you like to hear about the other things that would affect future evolutions?] ¡°That seems to be an obvious yes¡± Grumbled Richard. He might be grateful to the system, but things like this certainly seem like things he would care about, and wished the system could be more proactive in sharing what seemed very vital knowledge. [Very well. Besides the skills which will affect your evolution, your environment and bloodline will also affect future development. Currently, as a mana-spawned hatchling who was not spawned near any deceased or existing dragon, you have no additional draconic bloodlines, meaning evolution was unaffected by such a factor. ] Bloodline. That wasn¡¯t something Richard had ever heard of. Perhaps it was secret knowledge, reserved for the government, and for Richard, this would be groundbreaking. Not only was this vital to Richard, but he loved knowledge, and that hadn¡¯t changed. In times like these, the system was just the perfect well of knowledge. Richard was a bit two headed, both cursing and praising the system in the same minute. ¡°What¡¯s a bloodline?¡± [Bloodlines are the ancestral connection a monster may hold to an ancestor. Although many monsters only have a common bloodline, some monsters have an ancestor who may have once been something great. By triggering the bloodline, a monster will inherit the bloodlines physical and spiritual traits, and its potential will also grow, with future evolutions affected by its bloodline, often acting as a return beacon, for monsters to return to their ancestors. One does not need to be born with a bloodline however. By feeding on the essence of a stronger monster, one will not only get stronger, but they may also gain a bloodline, if the monster is compatible with the consumer. Consent is unrequired. Weaker bloodlines can act as fuel for the stronger ones when being consumed. Creatures that seem different from the general species can be a variant, or a creature with a strong bloodline. Creatures with weaker bloodlines can sense those with stronger bloodlines, and depending on the situation may revere or fear the being in question, or possibly even despise them] ¡°Seriously¡­¡± Exhaled Richard as he watched one of history¡¯s greatest secrets unveiled before him. The Romana Empire had long wondered what determined evolution. What caused one salamander to evolve into a greater salamander, but a hatchling from the very same batch evolving into a moschava or even a drake. Bloodline, environment, skills, training/traits. B.E.S.T. Richard decided that was how he would categorize this information he¡¯d gained this day. The vital traits to evolution. This seemed vital to his future, and made sure to keep an eye out for dragon blood when possible. Now that he''d went over his stats and skills. Richard had time to process. And process he did. Richard had felt¡­ excited. The danger in that moment had ignited a sense of excitement. The power that flew through his body, seeing everything in slow motion. He wanted to run more, to fight more. The way the rat looked at him. Fear. That bothered him. Richard had a niggle in his mind, a worry. Why was it scared of him? He was a dragon sure, but not large enough to inspire fear. The rat shouldn¡¯t have been smart enough to recognize what he was. The books never described the rats intelligent enough to recognize and think. Unless¡­ ¡°Bloodlines¡± When this clicked in his mind, Richard realized a fatal issue about heading out. He was a baby dragon, but a dragon nonetheless. Even though the system said he had no additional bloodlines, he still had the bloodline of a dragon. That sounded like a problem of major proportion because as he had seen, the lowest level monster out there seemed to be a level d monster. Of course, he could be wrong, and there weren¡¯t that many around, but saber tooth rats rarely travel alone. This one was a straggler for sure, but he doubted he¡¯d keep running into stragglers. And if bloodlines can be innately recognized, then he was going to be targeted for that a lot. Richard realized that this no doubt contributed to the death of hatchlings when they spawned naturally. But then what should he do? He can¡¯t hide here forever. The rat proved creatures can and do get in once in a while. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. And even if he stayed in this land until he became what he viewed strong enough, it would mean nothing without experience. Any creature smarter and more experienced could squash him, a history of humans defeating stronger monsters spoke well of this. ¡®Perhaps it would¡¯ve been better to choose a drake¡¯ thought Richard before squashing the thought. It would be stupid to choose a wyvern or drake form, abandoning his dragon form. This was a process that would affect his life, dragon will be a better choice. But what if he could hide his bloodline until he was strong enough to show off his true form? Shapeshift into another creature until he got off this mountain or until he was strong enough to fight or flee any situation? ¡°System, is there a skill that shapeshifts into another form which could hide my bloodline and current form?¡± [Of course, the skill True Shapeshift could do so. It costs 10 skill points] ¡¯10 skill points! Really?¡¯ On one hand, it was a skill that costs 10 points, which sounds like a lot. On the other hand, a true shapeshifting skill sounds really useful, especially if it could hide the essence of a being. ¡°Why is it so cheap?¡± [Dragons are a species which can learn shapeshifting easily enough if given enough time. In fact, many, if not all high-level species can do so. Thus, the cost for you has dropped from 100 to 10.] ¡®Oh, thank Isis¡¯ Thought Richard. I thought there¡¯d be some sort of huge- [It also requires a template for the shape you wish to shift into,] Finished the system. ¡°I¡¯m sorry what? What¡¯s a template?¡± [A template is the design of a creature. Dungeons get them via killing a creature and can reapply them to their own bodies, though they are seemingly ingrained with a certain number of templates at the beginning of their existences. You gain templates by understanding creatures. You can also gain some by purchasing them at the shop at the system. The cost of one at your level is 100 points.] ¡°And there¡¯s the catch¡± Thought Richard. It seemed too good a skill to be without drawbacks. While 100 points was pretty expensive, to protect his existence, a few points were worth it. ¡°System, please buy me both the template and the skill.¡± [Of course. The skill True shapeshifting and template (thunder monitor) have been acquired] ¡®All right that¡¯s done¡¯ Thought Richard. He¡¯d try that out later. For now, he was safe and free to experiment. Static. He decided to tap on static to inspect the skill. [Static is a skill that generates a buzz around you, static in fact. Static will bother any creatures in the nearby area, filling their mind with loud noises and mildly distracting them. Keeping your enemies off track keeps you on-track to victory] ¡®Huh¡¯ though Richard. Activating it caused some of his mana to drain, and as he did so, he heard a slight buzzing sound going on. He didn¡¯t feel particularly bothered by it. Slimes on the other hand, made a clear effort to get away from him, with some even approaching him in what seemed to be rage. Richard ignored them of course. He had a rat to eat, and now killing slimes didn¡¯t do anything for him. Sure, he could grind out points, but to kill more slimes than necessary just for points seemed a bit cruel, if not pointless. Still, it was a pleasure to know that it could be used to distract his foes mid-combat. Richard, having finished all of this, finally sat down and started chewing through the rat. He was both elated, and a little bit grossed out. On one hand, he was glad to have meat. A month had gone by, with him having eaten slimes this whole time. Slimes certainly great, but for a month? It gets tiring. A shame it was rat meat. He wasn¡¯t appalled by the thought of eating a rat, but it wasn¡¯t quite good tasting. After one bite he decided he¡¯d try roasting it instead. He ended up with a charred mess instead. Yeahhh, he was going to need to work with his fire abilities if he if he wants to use them to cook. The best he could do now was burn things. Knowing how to use them and actually using them are 2 different things after all. The core certainly had a different taste. It was harder, though it crumbled all the same. Unlike the slimes nice crumbly sweet cores that the slimes had, it felt more like biting through a ball of salt. Nonetheless, it released a pleasant wave of mana through his body, which made up for the poor taste. ¡®Maybe it would¡¯ve been better as seasoning.¡¯ ¡®So what should I do next?¡¯ Chapter 7: Wings There was one thing that Richard had entirely ignored this whole time and it was his wings. Yes, despite being a dragon, he hadn¡¯t even flown once. Perhaps flight could¡¯ve been a great boon for him in the fight against the rat, making what was hard simple. He hadn¡¯t touched them for a simple reason: they felt funny. Despite having used them multiple times to enact wind slash he¡¯d never use them for anything else. They still felt foreign to his back, if crawling around on all fours wasn¡¯t weird enough. But he¡¯d need to start using them eventually, and he¡¯d rather use them here, where his only audience were slimes, versus being outside, an adult dragon, failing to fly. That would be embarrassing. And once he used shapeshifting, he had no idea if he¡¯d actually be able to use his wings. It¡¯s true shape shifting after all, so who knew if he could still use his wings or they would feel nonexistent the whole time. This may be his only chance to enjoy the wings for a while. Deciding that the way birds did it was too dangerous considering he had no guardian who would intervene if he failed. Richard decided to start sprinting and as he did so, started flapping his wings. Up and down. Up and down. Up and down. While he certainly didn¡¯t fly, he hovered a little if he timed his flap to line up with a jump, which was a better start than nothing. Richard¡¯s wings however, felt a little sore, which kindly reminded Richard that one had to practice and stretch for limbs to work, and his wings were clearly no different. So he spent a few weeks working his wings. One does not simply stretch, but they must also build. He started attaching rocks to his wings as he raised them up and down, and started to flap them while standing still. He became capable of hovering, and while it was only for short spans of time, it was an improvement. Gliding had become a thing too. After mustering enough courage, he managed to leap from a tree, allowing his wings to spread out and carry himself as he glided. He was filled with delight, going through the air. It wasn¡¯t too long ago he could barely stumble and here he was gliding. It was beautiful, and elating as the air brushed by him as he pierced the air. It was a great feeling¡­ Shame he didn¡¯t know how to land, resulting in dozens of crashes and a mouth now experienced in eating dirt. Not that he minded. One step forward in a long path for the future. Richard found that using the air element in the air would allow him to glide longer, and even push him upwards if he pushed it. Interestingly the system didn¡¯t register it as a skill, and it left Richard wondering what the system counted as a skill, and what it didn¡¯t. The system didn¡¯t flood him with knowledge when he learned a skill on his own, in contrast to when he had been fed knowledge whenever he purchased a skill. Then again, it said supplementary, it wasn¡¯t going to be taking everything over. Speaking of skill, he did learn a few more on his own. Richard tried wrapping his claws with water, and although it worked, it didn¡¯t really do anything. It required too much effort to focus the water to cover the claws, let alone be sharp. At some point he realized like wind, both needed speed behind them to be anything effective. Otherwise, they¡¯d merely be gusts of wind or splashes of water. On the other hand, he found that by infusing his claws with ice he gained [frost smash] and infusing it into his teeth resulted into [frost fang]. The result of both cases where fangs and claws covered in a thin layer of ice, and using them on slimes turned them into ice. Sadly, he couldn¡¯t find a way of imbuing electricity into his appendages yet, though he was sure he¡¯d figure something out eventually. He was still only level 2 and had plenty of time to practice. ¡­ A month after the beginning of his flight practice Richard found himself capable of flying. At some point he stopped hovering, as if something just clicked. Using his wings, he pushed himself through the air, utilizing his wings imbued with magic he pushed hard. The exercise and stretching of his wing muscles had been worthwhile as his muscle strength in the wings had improved, allowing them to cut through the air with ease, and he found himself excited. The sky was far different when one looked down, rather than looking up. To fly above all, to stand above them was amazing, and seeing things looking down was a sight to behold. He wasn¡¯t flying that fast, and any bird would¡¯ve laughed at him. He was a dragon trying to fly, and the best he could do was slowly traverse the air. Nonetheless it was more exciting than falling with style. It was a start, and the journey to true flight would be no doubt exciting. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. He found a way to land by observing the birds, flapping slowly before he crashed to re-orient himself. It was a greater workout than merely crashing, but it meant he didn¡¯t crash every single time. Of course, crashing would be very useful in the future. He might only be around 5 feet tall now, but dragons grow far larger, and an adult dragon barging into anyone could be dangerous. Richard had spent a long while of flight practice, and he had spent plenty of time thinking. How to spend those 400 points, as well as those 2 skill points. Looking through the skill shop Richard had found a particularly weird spell. It would be weird to call it a spell in the first place. [The Book of Oaths] which at first would come off as a spell based on contracts. And in a sense, it was. The Book of Oaths was the familiar contract with extra benefits. A familiar contract merely bonded a familiar with its human master, forbidding it from attacking its master and allows one to track the other. The Book of Oaths does the same, but also has a ¡°beast space¡± where familiars could reside and even heal in, albeit slowly. Of course, this didn¡¯t make any sense to Richard, as it didn¡¯t even use mana to create this area. It even slowly helped the monster¡¯s level up while they resided in the space. The system¡¯s explanation was: [Much like dungeons, the book of oaths feed on the mental energy, and in its case, the master¡¯s mental energy] ¡®Wait, mental energy? Would that affect me in any abnormal way? Also, what do you mean dungeons feed on mental energy? I thought they fed on anything that goes in? The bodies are absorbed by the dungeon¡¯ [The mental energy will not affect you in any abnormal way. Mental energy is inherently generated by any being as they live, which is what the beast space relies on. Dungeons feed on the mental energy of any creature lured in by the mana it generates. However, no dungeon would allow invaders to stay long. Most dungeons are too young, or too cautious to allow invaders to stay too long, as the closer they get to the core, the more freaked out cores will get. Dead adventurers are converted to mana, and the rest of the mental energy is absorbed by the dungeon, with the monster that killed the adventurer gaining the mana of the slain, pushing it towards its evolution.] ¡®Another revelation huh? I¡¯d be more surprised, but considering you seem to be a god level entity, you knowing this information seems a little less surprising.¡¯ It helped that the system had brought him back as a dragon, so a few months of talking with this system certainly made Richard believe in it¡¯s power. Still, he was amazed by this revelation. Dungeons aren¡¯t dependent on killing people, but feeding on the energy they produced. On one, hand, it seemed counterproductive to lure food sources in, but also kill them out of fear. On the other hand, the core is the most fragile piece of any being, and Richard knew he wouldn¡¯t let anyone just start approach his heart if it was out in the open. Regardless of all this, the book of oaths had another ability, and that was skill share. According to the system, skill share allowed one to use 1 skill of its familiar partner, and the deeper the bond, the stronger the skill becomes. Another amazingly useful ability. So why was it so cheap? Richard didn¡¯t need the system to put two and two together for him. The spell requires familiars to be of use. Not only that, although it would allow his familiars to grow in the beast space, the system emphasized slowly, so clearly, it¡¯s not an automatic route. What¡¯s more, the skill share could work, but it¡¯d be dependent not only on his connection to the familiar, but the quality of the familiar. Getting a skill from say, a kobold, would not be nearly as great as the skill received from a karkinos crab. But it was only two skill points, and excellent storage could be great in the future depending on what kind of familiar he has. Richard was planning to head to human civilization again one day. With his shapeshifting, and the fact he has the template of his original body, he could easily blend in with society again. Locked away in a temple, Richard never truly got to witness society, and this new body could let him do so. However, if he constantly had giant monsters following him it could be a problem. And while not all monsters get large, the ones that do, become huge. The space would also allow for sneak attacks and could cover for healing without consuming mana. If anything, the skill was too cheap. That was obviously because he needed to raise or gain the familiars himself. Slimes of course, didn¡¯t make very good prospects. So, it would be just his luck, that the system provided a nice easy way to get what he needed¡­ Chapter 8: Gacha time! The gacha screen was a new experience for Richard. A very new experience. He had heard of slot machines, pool tables, card games and more, so when he was told gacha was gambling, he imagined one of those. What he did not imagine however, was this. Before the little hatchling stood a giant contraption, a clear box on top of a stand with a weird claw contraption hanging inside the clear box. On the bottom of the clear box laid hundreds, if not thousands, of eggs coming in all shapes and sizes. He even saw a few seeds, weird as that was in the box. All the eggs came in a weird two-part container, divided horizontally, with the bottom half being a colorful substance, and the top being the clear substance revealing the egg. The hatchling came to the assumption that those held seedlings, though he was now left wondering how mammals were dealt with. The machine was huge, easily 3 times the size of the hatchling. The machine itself was fancily decorated with pictures of dragons, phoenixes, ants(?), and dozens of other creatures, with gold decorations on each corner of the machine. The system called it a claw machine but assured him that no actual control from the player was required. Poor Richard had no idea at all what the system meant about that, and chose to ignore the comment. Looking at his points, Richard saw that he had 500 hundred points. Despite having paid 100 points for a template, he had gained 150 through the snacks he¡¯d had since then, and a few saber tooth rats had managed to get through wherever the first had gotten through. Not that it mattered, since he was now able to quickly disorient them and kill them. A quick charge and the lightning pulse, followed up by a splash and a second lightning pulse quickly finished them. He did make sure to sharpen his own skills using them of course. Richard was 500 points richer and decided familiar eggs would be a good way to do so. Looking at this machine filled him with anticipation and excitement, which was then followed my worry and doubt. ¡®Is this how gamblers feel all the time? Feels like I¡¯m a lamb about to be fleeced¡¯. He was indeed, about to be fleeced of five hundred points. Upon putting his paw to a giant |Tap Here| button, Richard felt something sap out of him. He assumed that was the sensation of points leaving, but it felt weird. He imagined 500 points being used, and watched as the claw expanded before sinking into the machine¡¯s pit of weirdly-colored balls containing eggs. The claw eventually got pulled up, holding five containers, which it promptly lowered into a hole on the side which lowered into a hatch. Yes Richard was interested and very much weirded out. It was an interesting contraption to be sure, though he was left wondering the point about why didn¡¯t the system just hand him the eggs, if the machine did nothing. [It¡¯s about presentation. If you do something, make sure to do it in style] Huh. The system almost never goes first, and yet for this, it decided to go first. [The creator was very proud of the gacha section of the system, due to its recycling of abandoned eggs that would¡¯ve went nowhere. Every egg you hatch is an egg unwasted.] ¡®So that¡¯s where they get the eggs. And I Just assumed it was just being created out of thin air like mana spawned creatures. Makes more sense this way I suppose.¡¯ Moving on from this, Richard excitedly looked at the 5 eggs he got. One egg was an obsidian black, which pulsated ever so slightly, revealing a reptilian, almost drake like shape on the inside. Casting appraisal on it revealed: [Onyx raptor: onyx raptors are part of the branch-off species of the long-forgotten race of dinosaurs. Abandoning their ancestors use of qi, the onyx family relies on mana, resulting in their attuning to the rock element. The onyx raptor will work in packs, often under the service of a greater onyx beast. Rarity: mythical Stats: Epic] While that was exciting, there were four more eggs to go, so Richard pushed these questions aside for later, once he finished reviewing the other 4. The 2nd egg was not quite what he expected, as it seemed to be an egg very similar to tadpole eggs, being a very thin transparent membrane, revealing¡­ an octopus. This kind of worried Richard, because he needed something mobile, and something that depended on water would be bad. Alright, appraisal time: [Octopulse are rare variant octopi¡¯s monsters capable of blinding their foes using their tentacles which have the ability to blind enemies thanks to bulbs on their appendages near and above the suckers. Intelligent and witty, they are just as capable of surviving on land as on water, needing only small doses of liquid to keep themselves in good condition. This one has the bloodline of a kraken Rarity: master Stats: epic] The next egg was a small orb, far smaller than the rest, and looked tiny even in its own container. What it was, however, was shocking. [blood ticks are parasitic insects that will borrow into their hosts body, pretending to be a scale, or even skin. They will feed on the mana of their hosts, but in return will give an increase in defense and attack. As a result of being viewed as parasites, they are often removed from the host before they can evolve. A waste of potential Rarity: rare stats: rare] Blood ticks were something he knew of, and yeah, they were considered parasites. But the system mentioned not only a stat increase, but clearly there was something people didn¡¯t know. Perhaps the evolution was something great and no one ever discovered it because the blood tick was a parasite. As it was, the strength boosts already sounded great, and it sounded like the blood tick was a low maintenance partner too. The fourth egg was a large egg, with it easily being twice the size of Richard. It had a smooth opaque appearance, and Richard sadly could not see the inside. He already knew this one would probably be a no go to hatch for now, but with the power of inventory he could likely keep it to hatch later. But for now: [mesarcgo titanus is a creature that once existed on the surface. However, due to REDACTED they were forced to head underground alongside many other creatures. Mesarcgo titanus is a horrifying mix between what people would call sharks and crocodiles, considering those are the closest modern-day counterparts. The mesarcgo titanus has the terrifying jaw strength of crocodiles, the intense teeth growth a shark does, and the hard scales of a crocodile Mesarcgo are great swimmers. Maintaining the traits of both sides, and especially good surprise attackers, and despite having water and earth affinities, it is unsurprising for them to gain shadow affinity. They are huge, with young adults often sizing around a small mansion or so, often dwarfing your average dragon. It¡¯s important to be aware though that they are not the top chain predators underground¡­ rarity: mythical stats: master] This one would have had Richard salivating, if it weren¡¯t for its size. Richard wasn¡¯t ready to gain too much attention, and if the mesarcgo really do reach those sizes, then it¡¯d ruin the whole point of getting the shapeshifting ability. Just like blood ticks however, there was definitely something to observe. Not the top predator, how ominous¡­ The fifth egg was far more average, and quite normally sized. At least, as normally as monster eggs usually are. The egg was the size of pigeon. Upon appraising it however, he was left breathless. If Richard was surprised before, he was simply in awe now. [Screeching squirrels are a rare creature, that may appear to be normal squirrels, if not prettier than the average squirrels. They are very good at speaking all kinds of languages. They like to then use said languages to raise pandemonium, causing people and creature alike to turn on one another, all while it watches from above with amusement. Despite their poor mouth, they can make loyal friends, if not mildly sadistic. Despite their generally weak bodies, they are favored by Ratatoskr, the squirrel god who tends to Yggdrasill the world tree. This one in particular is a son of Ratatoskr. Rarity: mythical stats: epic] A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. ¡°Wow¡± gasped Richard. A god. He¡¯d never heard of this one, though he¡¯d never heard of a monster god either. Such a thing was quite new to him. The monster itself didn¡¯t seem to be strong, but it seemed to be a strong support, and a huge distraction from enemies. Ignoring the little squirrel here though, there was a lot to look at, and plenty to digest. What to start with¡­ Dinosaurs. That had to be it. ¡°What is ¡°dinosaurs¡± system?¡± [Sadly, the system considers most knowledge in regards to dinosaurs classified. Would you still like to hear what you can hear?] ¡°Alright, sure.¡± This was the first piece of classified knowledge that Richards had heard of, and it left him wondering what else could be filed away, and why this was important to be enough to be restricted. [Very well. Dinosaurs were an ancient race that once stood in opposition to the dragons. Due to RESTRICTED they eventually disappeared, leaving behind only the branch-off races and pseudo-dragons who are the results of interbreeding. Even the dragons have forgotten them. The rest of the info can be purchased for 1000 points] That was something. An enemy race of dragons? Richards had never heard of dinosaurs, and only some of the most powerful races such as phoenixes had been seen as the natural enemies of dragons. Well, now dinosaurs too, though he assumed it hardly mattered as dinosaurs seemed to be long extinct. What he did find interesting and relevant is that all modern-day pseudo dragons seemed to be the result of dinosaur blood. Was it inferior to dragon blood? Or was the dinosaur bloodline diluted over millennium. The branch-off species were probably rare, or dragons wouldn¡¯t have forgotten this foe. That¡¯s probably why it¡¯s considered mythical in rarity, just below legendary decided Richard, versus it¡¯s epic level stats, below master and mythical. Richard was really curious what this ¡°raptor¡± would look like, but he decided to put it on the maybe list. As cool as it sounded, he wasn¡¯t sure he needed it yet. For one thing, he wasn¡¯t even sure how a dinosaur would react to a dragon, their once enemies. Maybe later. Perhaps after he paid for that extra secret knowledge, he¡¯d make a new judgement. The system offered 50 points back if he put it back into the system. For now, it goes into the inventory. The blood tick was pretty much a yes for him. He didn¡¯t see any need for the blood tick to be fed anything except his own blood, and it¡¯d be a stat booster in return for a low amount of mana trade-off. And it was teasing something greater too. He could ask the system about possible evolutions, but he¡¯d rather wait and find out. There would be multiple options, and there might be different ones depending on conditions he hadn¡¯t fulfilled yet. Better to wait and find out. The Octopulse was something he was still considering. The egg wasn¡¯t that big, only 2 feet tall, hardly something large. But the fact that it had the kraken¡¯s bloodline meant that it might grow large in the future. On the other hand, it was small now and that was what the book of oaths was for. He could choose the smaller evolutions in the future. The Octopulse seemed to have good compatibility with him. Blinding and shocking foes would make a good combo. He¡¯d also investigated where the saber tooth rats had been coming from, and the best he could tell it was a hole borrowed out of the mountain, presumably from a cave of sorts. The screeching squirrel seemed to be an absolute yes. Not only did he seem small and inconspicuous, but blood of the god was a good voucher for the critter. He¡¯d also work as nice support, as screecher squirrels are great distractions. He didn¡¯t know what a demigod one was like, but the occasional adventurer spoke of them, calling them out for being annoying and at times even a serious threat. Of course, that goes both ways, and he¡¯d heard of times when a monster was brought down because it was far more focused on the loud critter. After some deliberation, Richard decided to go with 3 familiars. The screeching squirrel, the Octopulse and the blood tick. Following the info on the book of oaths and cut himself, wincing as the slit opened. It was definitely different when you cut your own skin open. He decided to start with the blood tick, as it was likely to be more painful. Popping open the foreign substance called plastic covers covering the egg, Richard dripped the blood on it, focused on establishing a contract. A drip of mana seemed to leave him as he felt something bloom in his mind, a connection, and as it blossomed, he felt something. Hunger. The creature that emerged out of the egg looked more like a hairless crimson red tarantula rather than a tick, and Richard thanked the heavens for it. Real ticks were horrifying. Though this was still going to hurt. The blood tick quickly clambered up his body before nestling in the spot between his wings. And then it bit down. It hurt less than he expected of course, but the shock surprise elicited a growl, as it bit through his scales and started sucking. He walked over to the river to get a better look, and he watched as the blood tick changed to the stark white he had as his color. It wasn¡¯t completely camouflaged, but he reckoned it was good enough for dumber creatures not looking for it. As it sucked, he received a notification: [The Skills leech is acquired] [Leech: by biting onto opponents, the user can heal their own wounds and regrow their energy supply the more blood acquired.] ¡®Neat¡¯ thought Richard. It wasn¡¯t the most amazing skill, but it would allow him to regenerate as long as he could bite someone. That could also open more paths for him, though he wasn¡¯t sure that vampiric dragon was on a list of options for him. He¡¯d have to see if the leech was as good as he hoped it was. The blood tick sent him a rather nice vibe, which almost felt like a greeting, though Richard felt a lack of intelligence in the critter. ¡®Guess the blood tick isn¡¯t a smart creature¡¯ thought Richard. Not that it mattered, since he was playing defense more than anything else. Hopefully it would get smarter as time went on. Having settled the blood tick on his back, Richard squeezed another drop of blood, and watched as it settled into the thin membrane of the Octopulse egg. He felt something drain from him, but it wasn¡¯t that bad, though a bit more uncomfortable than the blood tick. The blood flooded the egg, changing it into a bloody red membrane, and the Octopulse inside started squirming. Richard got a little worried, but felt relieved one tendril managed to get out, squirming through the membrane. The rest of the young critter soon followed suit. The Octopulse was a small critter, with a diameter of four feet and a head the size of a watermelon. Its tentacles were lined with small translucent orbs embedded in the skin, which he could only assume were the pulse orbs. Other than that, it looked like a normal bright yellow octopus. unlike the blood tick which merely sent an amiable feeling through their newfound connection, the Octopulse put a word through. ¡®Hello¡¯. Richard felt a little giddy, ¡°hearing¡± someone else speak. He had yet to speak to anyone in ages except for the system, but the system made for some rather bland conversation, especially when it held things back. ¡®Greetings¡¯ was Richard¡¯s response, and the octopus shook a little before settling down, with a little joy gleaming through those eyes, which felt quite intelligent. The Octopulse seemed to have cost him 10 mana, so more expensive than the blood tick, but that wasn¡¯t all that bad. [The skill expand was gained] [The skill expand, gained from an octopus¡¯ natural elasticity, allows the user to not only appear bigger to intimidate cowardly foes, but to give a 5 percent increase in strength, and a 1 percent decrease in speed] Not as amazing as the blood tick, Richard had to admit, but gaining the ability to blind foes would be pointless, since he already had the Octopulse to do it for him. It seemed alright, though he wondered if he could use it to shrink instead of expand. Pushing these thoughts out of his mind, Richard walked up to the last familiar. It was time for the big one. Staring at the final container, he cracked it open and stared at this new egg, before dripping his blood into it. Unlike the Octopulse and blood tick, which had given him a tiny sense of draining, this one felt like it was draining him alive, as he watched with awe and terror as his mana drained down rapidly. This was a mythical being, the child of a god. He worried the egg would be negatively affected by a lack of mana, though he had little choice, as the drain had already begun, and unlike before, he couldn¡¯t even think straight. 3. 2. 1. As his mana approached zero, the vortex stopped, and relief flooded Richard as he felt the drain stop. The egg started shaking, and as it did, for a moment Richard felt something. An overbearing presence, as if something was watching. Not him thank Isis, though he felt he was already being squashed. No, it was focused on the hatching egg, as the egg cracked and rolled. And though it was hidden, he could swear he almost felt¡­ affection. As a rounded nose broke though the egg, the presence abruptly disappeared, leaving Richards even more relieved and tired. Seriously, two scares on one egg. How exhausting. The nose was soon followed by a head, and soon followed the body, and finally a bushy tail, covered in birthing fluids. The newborn squirrel shook itself, splattering fluid everywhere, and a little even got on Richard and his two new pets. Richards could swear he saw a smirk on the squirrel¡¯s face, a thought interrupted by the squirrels greeting. ¡°Good Fucking Morning Bitches!¡± ¡­ What? Chapter 9: That Squirrel Tho He¡¯d heard that this squirrel would certainly be colorful, but this was certainly one way to start your life. The squirrel was perhaps the most beautiful squirrel he¡¯d ever seen, as weird as that sounded, with what seemed to be the glossiest coat he¡¯d ever seen, and just the bushiest tail ever. He was mostly grey, as many squirrels are, though streaks of red ran through his coat. A shame that¡¯s all ruined by the sneer on the brats¡¯ face. ¡°Beautiful aren¡¯t I, ya bleached lizard¡± boasted the squirrel. ¡°I suppose, I¡¯m more curious about your stats.¡± No point in giving him satisfaction. That train of thought sadly goes down the train though, as his stats are¡­ Species: Screecher squirrel Bloodlines: Ratatoskr(active) Screecher squirrel (active) Level: 1/100 Health:600/600 Spd: 120 ATK: 80 Mana: 200/200 Def: 160 Skills: Mock, shriek, sharpen, gnaw, erode, camouflage, tail whip ¡­ Better than his. Admittedly, those skills didn¡¯t seem to be anything that major, but what really bothered Richards was that the squirrel¡¯s stats were amazing. They were greater than his, and only at level one too. ¡°Being a demigod has it¡¯s perks huh¡¯ thought Richards. The squirrel gave him a look that told him it knew everything. He chose to ignore it and move on. First up the blood tick. Species: Blood tick Bloodline: Blood Tick(active) Level: 2/25 Health: 32 Spd:21 ATK:24 Mana: 22/22 Def: 80 Skills: blood bond, body fortified, greater strength, berserk rage, mana leech, Richard raised his eyebrow as he realized something. ¡°System why did defense just show up?¡± [The system is still currently updating and thus certain things may be patched, changed or added in response to the new world] ¡®Mind giving me some examples of the changes in the system? I mean this defense stat already seems like a big change.¡¯ The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. [Of course. The system is still new to this world, so it must restructure itself and prepare accordingly as we gather more info on the beings that inhabit this world without stepping on the toes of higher beings. The system is considering group chats, trade system, low level quests, and world maps. Players who are not monster reincarnations must also be considered. The system may also have to adapt in response to the introduction of player zero, who is known for his antics] Richards could see why the system was in need of changes and taking its time to do so. Communication, trading and maps are things that are heavily monitored. Adventurers need maps and better maps could easily change an expedition and save someone¡¯s life. Communication via magic may be becoming more popular but it¡¯s also become heavily monitored. It¡¯s also not completely accessible as Richard heard from merchants and adventurers passing by back then that only larger cities and major places of trade seemed to have free magic communication, if they had any at all. The system, offering demigod eggs and the truths of this world, making evolution easier, was going to start offering communication and trading and world maps? Human players could alone get access to what the system offered and create all hell on earth. ¡°Please take your time with that¡± pleaded Richards. [Of course. The system is doing it¡¯s best to innovate without throwing the whole board over. That¡¯s how one gets in over their head] Fair enough. If the system worried about overturning the world, then it¡¯d also worry about cleaning house too. ¡°Alright then, the skills of the blood tick if you will please.¡± [Of course] [Blood bond: your level is the blood tick¡¯s level, and when you reach the evolutionary stage, so will the blood tick. You may level slower as the result of the siphoning, but ultimately you will benefit from this in the long run. Any bloodline the host gains, the blood tick may end up absorbing, affecting its own evolutionary path, even if it alone could never use such bloodlines] [Body fortified: the blood tick¡¯s defense and health are yours, and are through your bond added to your defense and health.] [Greater strength: The blood tick¡¯s strength is your strength, and through your bond are added to your strength.] [ Berserk rage: for five minutes the host may enter an enraged mode, gaining a 15 percent increase in strength, but lose 5 percent in defense and 5 percent in speed during the rage.] [Mana leech: as an investment, the blood tick has potential. Currently however, it is a leech. Its mana is taken from yours.] Richard did feel a bit sad to know his mana would go down as a result of having a blood tick. But on the other hand, he was quite happy to hear that he would receive a buff in strength, speed, health, and this new defense. As for the Octopulse: Species: Octopulse Bloodline: Kraken(dormant) Octopulse(active) Level: 1/50 Health: 150/150 Spd: 40 ATK: 100 Mana: 500/500 Def: 20 Skills: Flash, camouflage, hypnotize, wring, ink blast, fog And the Octopulse was certainly a different story from the other two. Then again, they were all quite different than one another. Unlike everyone else, it had a low speed, but looking at its tentacles, he could take a guess as to why it had such a low speed, though would the tentacles move slow on their own? The defense was low, but it was an octopus, and rather elastic at that. But its mana. That was a whole other story. 500 mana and 100 attack, with mana far outpacing his ad attack was great too. Shame it didn¡¯t do much with so few skills. None of them were outright attacks, but they would act as good distractions of course. The ability wasn¡¯t great, but the Octopulse seemed smart enough to use its abilities, and that would be acceptable. Richard had wondered why the Octopulse was lacking in size, considering it said the Octopulse had kraken blood in it, but seeing the dormant sign seemed to indicate the bloodline was inactive. It was something he could live with. Ignoring the squirrel¡¯s face (probably better that way) Richard looked in a certain direction, where another rat had been squeezing through, unable to escape his nose. Normally, it would have just been another rat, but today, today it would be his very unfortunate test subject. A poor critter shivered as if something had just written out its death. It then ran forward like all its brethren, believing it would be the first to clear out this threat, much like the others. Chapter 10: Thunder Monitor The screeching squirrel was far more terrifying than he had assumed initially. Sure, it had been one thing to be in awe, it was another to watch this small squirrel dig its claws into the sabretooth rat¡¯s stone hide without problem, and if his claws coated in heat cut through it like butter, the squirrel¡¯s base claws were like a knife cutting though cake. Effort was needed, but it gave way easily enough. He¡¯d be excited were it not for the squirrel¡¯s face, which almost looked like it was bragging without speaking. Didn¡¯t stop it from bragging with that large mouth of its either. Richard gave it a thumbs up, and as many words as he could muster (it was few) and thought back on the fight between the squirrel and the rat. Unlike with Richard, where the rat looked scared, eager and desperate, here the rat looked agitated. Then again, the squirrel had been cursing in what he could only assume was squirrel then back to the empirical language, on and off, and while Richard had never seen a drunken sailor (he lived inland), this squirrel certainly sounded like the ones in stories. The mock and screech skills in action it seems. The rat immediately turned to stone and rolled at the squirrel but the squirrel just sheared through the poor bastard, killing it one blow. And afterwards it used erode on the dying rat, ¡®to make it more digestible¡¯ stated the squirrel, as he complained that it tasted like swill. It did make Richard feel a little useless, but that was expected. Besides, probably better to be outdated, than dead. At the very least, the shop seemed to offer bloodlines or drops of blood, so things could change later on. Not only that, but Richard noticed that they had different level minimal requirements to evolve. The squirrel required 4 times the amount he did, whereas the Octopulse required 50 and he plus the blood tick were both 25 respectively. When pit against a rat, the octopulse acted differently. It actually started invisible, which resulted in the rat charging at him at first. A poor choice on its part, considering the octopulse then exploded with light, which resulted in the rat flinching back in surprise. Not one to seemingly hesitate, the octopus squirmed over and then started grappling with the rat, wrapping over it as the creature squirmed, trying to escape. It was hopeless though, as that 100 in attack wasn¡¯t a bluff. Richard watched as the octopus managed to get a firm grip on the rat¡¯s neck, and with an effortless snap there was one less rat in the world. The octopulse squirmed over to him, and wrapped itself around his arm, and as it did so, he felt an emotion, or an instinctual feeling conveyed by the cephalopod like a request for approval. He scratched the little head it had, which seemed to elicit feelings of joy. ¡°You did good, little octopulse. You¡¯re a very strong little tentacle monster, yes you are.¡± The octopulse straightened most of his tentacles and then propped one on each side the way men do, almost as if straightening his back and expressing pride. ¡®Of course!¡¯ came the mental voice of the octopulse. At least he was friendly and energetic. Richard heard a huff from the squirrel, and a muttering of ¡®I did it better¡¯ and the tick didn¡¯t say anything, though he felt a sense of determination. Speaking of the tick, when Richard looked at his own stats, he saw: Species: Lightning Dragon (Hatchling) Level 2/25 Health: 302/302(+32) Spd: 54(+21) ATK: 64(+24) Mana: 101/101 Def: 44(+80) Skills: Scratch, Glide, Screech, Appraisal(lvl 2), fireball, rock smash, splash, vine whip, shock, icicle, stealth, heal, wind slash, molten claws, charge, lightning pulse, static, frost fang, frost smash, book of oaths, shapeshifting, berserk rage Mana circles: 0 Points: 16 Skill Points: 0 [Inventory] [Gacha] [Shop] Richard winced when he saw the drop in mana, and the drop in points also made him wince, but looking at his stat increase as well as the fortune of a new skill were undoubtedly a boon, and he¡¯d argue that they were worthwhile. Richard decided it was time to name them. He¡¯d been thinking about it, as names not only affected the creature¡¯s reputation, but names held power, so best to give them good names. For the blood tick, it made him strong and protected him. It would keep him strong, and for that, he thought of an old story, of a titan who held the sky to protect the people. A guardian of people, and was once a popular name for newborn boys. ¡°Your name, blood tick, shall be Atlas.¡± As he said it, he felt his mana drain a little and a sense of confirmation from the critter, but he also felt another presence. Not as foreboding as the god squirrel had been earlier, but just as powerful. No more powerful. And yet it seemed warm and comforting. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. [The guardian Atlas gives his approval and wishes the blood tick good luck. New evolutionary paths have been opened and the system gifts the user 50 points for gaining the attention of Atlas] Richard was a bit stunned, seeing that Atlas himself had come down to bless the blood tick, but then again, he was less stunned given how it felt far less ominous than the other encounter. Besides, he had two others to name and he had no plans to start naming the others after fabled characters. It¡¯d been more chance for Atlas than anything else. For the octopulse he was trying to think of an encompassing name to befit the octopus and its electric qualities. Surprisingly, the little octopulse had decided on its own name and had suggested it to him. And not only did it sound good to him, he couldn¡¯t deny the critter who so actively chosen their name, unlike a certain squirrel who didn¡¯t seem to care at all. ¡°And for my little multi-faceted friend, I give unto you, the name Krakelshine¡± Another stream of mana, and while it was larger than the amount used for Atlas, it was more around 25. ¡°But I¡¯ll be calling you Krackle¡± said the hatchling and Krackle waved its little appendages in response. They seemed to like it. ¡°And finally, for you, you screeching bastard, you shall be known as Pandemonium.¡± ¡°Yeeeeeahhh bitches!¡± The squirrel seemed to really like his new name. ¡°And your nickname will be panda.¡± The squirrel quieted down and gave him a look of pure hostility before jumping on him and shrieking. ¡°You bastard! You f***ing bastard! Are you comparing me to those flabby, no good, stupid **** for brains, incompetent nincompoops whom even the gods hate! I¡¯ll flay you alive, your head will adorn my neck while I call you panda you albino lizard bastard! Aaaagh!¡± It would take Richard a good day or two to get the squirrel to calm down and finally accept the name as a shortening of pandemonium and assurance that he had no idea what a panda was, and Pandemonium could only sigh and accept his new nickname with great reluctance. ¡­ He was finally done, and so was a peeved Panda, which left Richard with one last thing to do: to head where the rats had been coming from this whole time. This may be too soon, but at the same time, it would always be too soon. Besides, the idea of heading into the caves and seeing more of the world was exciting. He rarely left the vicinity of the temple, and now? He would finally get to see the caves. Activating shapeshifting, Richard felt an aching in his bones, similar to his evolution, though this time he felt his wings contract themselves inwards, pushing into his skin, in an extremely uncomfortable sensation, and they would not be alone, as he felt his body warp and change to match the template. Although the octopulse seemed surprised, the blood tick remained vigilant and the squirrel seemed indifferent, though he caught it looking once or twice seemingly worried before looking away. Cheeky little squirrel that one is. Looking at his body he saw that it was no longer as tall and elegant, instead it was stockier and more packed with power. His claws were no longer sickle knives and were now giant claws, seemingly like those that were meant to climb or dig and reminded him of bear claws. Richard decided to head to the river and take a look at his new appearance. What he saw was far different from a dragon, as he was quite lacking his wings, and in their place were two huge stocky crystals, that brilliant yellow as the crystals on his body always were. The crystals on his chest and other similar locations throughout the body were no longer as well chiseled, looking more primitive and chipped. Like ore rather than jewels. His tail was far thicker, and no longer ended in a crystal, rather just ending in the tip of the tail, as many reptilians do. He¡¯d been hornless before, and while he was still hornless, his head was different. The shape was short and a bit caved in, and while his head had been regal before, it now felt more potato shaped. His dorsal spines had disappeared, and his neck, once like a swan, would now be more akin to a bulldog¡¯s neck. Checking his stats, Richard found that none of them had changed, though that made some twisted sense given he had forfeited his wings, and his tail had shortened, so he was left to assume the lost body mass was concentrated into his body. All that he was left with was a stumpy thunder monitor and it¡¯s 3 critters. Speaking of which¡­ Atlas remained where he was before, clamped into his back, though he became more apparent without the wings to hide his appearance. ¡°Krackle¡± called Richard and the octopulse climbed over, before wrapping around one of the crystal pylons that had taken the place of his wings, and while it did look a bit big at first, Krackle compressed itself, and soon looked a lot smaller, something Richard attributed to Krackle¡¯s elastic body. Panda ended up curled around his other crystal pylon. Finding himself ready, and grabbing one more batch of Caveshines, which had grown back and even multiplied from when Richard first saw them, before heading towards the cave the rats had been coming from. Richard had never actually seen the cave. Sure, he knew it was there, given the rats kept coming from the same direction, and he could only assume it was a small hole, otherwise something bigger would¡¯ve arrived earlier. In this regard, Richard was quite grateful that this environment was so nurturing considering anywhere else he could¡¯ve been born, especially considering he wasn¡¯t the only player supposedly. The cave was a stark contrast from what he¡¯d seen of the forest. It was a dark and lackluster cave, lacking in the vibrant color the forest had, and it lacked the smell of grass that had been prevalent in the forest. He could smell a variety of monster stenches, so strong he was left pinching his own nose in disgust for a second. It was a small cave, as Richard had suspected. The walls around this forest were tall, towering at least 8-10 times over every tree here, and those trees were already quite large, each being 20 feet tall at least. This hole in comparison, was barely his new size as a thunder monitor, which was half the size of his dragon form. His heart fluttering in his chest, Richard walked slowly into the cave with excitement. From one chapter to another, Richard was excited, if not mildly worried about what would be in store for him. Chapter 11 The Caverns The cave met Richard¡¯s standards of what he thought a dangerous mountain would be. In other words, he got barreled over by a giant snake. The serpent immediately started coiling around Richard. As it did so, Richard started activating charge and building up the electric mana in his body, all the while using mental command to tell Krackle start activating the ink blast and flash in tandem, as he had an idea of what to do with it. All the while the snake wrapped itself harder around him, ever the tighter, but Richard remained calm. His higher defense meant that while it certainly hurt, it wasn¡¯t as bad as it could be. Once he felt that the charge up was enough, he activated static, lightning pulse, and finally activated berserk rage in order to break out. Static had caused a mild distraction in the snake¡¯s mind, and lightning pulse, being an area type electric attack caused the beast to suffer a mild sense of paralysis. By utilizing this, and a nice boost of berserk rage he managed to slash his way out of the lethargic beasts grasp. Not one to let go of the opportunity, he chose this moment to command Krackle to ink blast in the snake¡¯s face. The creature had been mildly struggling in response to shock earlier, but with a nice chunk of gunk splattered over its eyes, it lashed out and flailed, as if to thrash around lash out against the opponent it perceived. Richard backed off a little, waiting for the creature to start opening its eyes, and then, NOW! Krackle activated flash and the snake recoiled in intense pain. The gunk had gotten in its eyes, leaving it agitated. A surprise flash in its eyes in the middle of a dark cave? That was just pure torture for cave dwellers. The snake screeched and flailed, and while it did so, Richard used appraisal to analyze the creature and found: Species: Boa concrusher Level: 20/40 Health: 1000/1225 ¡®That will definitely be troublesome¡¯ thought Richard, ¡®but perfectly reasonable¡¯. The rat had 400 health, while the snake had 1200 health. Sure, he could be troublesome, but Richards wasn¡¯t working alone. ¡°Panda¡± called Richard. ¡°Fuck you¡± muttered Pandemonium as he charged at the concrusher, which had already turned towards Richard and started gliding towards him across the floor. It quickly changed direction however, when a certain squirrel started chittering. Richard couldn¡¯t understand it, but the boa certainly could. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. Its attention was pulled towards wherever the sound was coming from, as the little troublemaker had long camouflaged into the environment leaving the crusher with an annoying ringing sound pestering it, which it turned its attention to, in spite of the thunder monitor in front of it. A poor choice for sure, as Richard blatantly charged at it The boa concrusher screeched as it turned its eyes to the other target, it¡¯s initial target. It lashed its tail against the giant lizard, eliciting a pained grunt from it, but before it could react anymore, another flash of pain caused it to turn and stare at the other annoyance. A giant furry rat was gnawing at its body, but quickly jumped off, hissing and mocking it from a stalactite. How annoying. So was that searing pain¡­ Wait. The spot where the creature had been gnawing at its body was now sizzling and melting. The creature wasn¡¯t extremely intelligent, but it was smart enough to recognize the acidic effect on the body. It had to escape and regroup. Before it could go anywhere though, a firm grip was keeping it in its place, unable to escape. The giant lizard from earlier. Feeling frustrated, it started lashing out. Richard was having a hard time pinning the concrusher down, though it was still within reasonable effort. The beast was writhing and struggling, but Richard was holding firm. While he was doing so, Krackle was slowly crawling onto the neck of the beast Richard was met with a rather unpleasant surprise as the beast¡¯s fangs glowed red before it started at him. Krackle reacted immediately, grappling the beast¡¯s neck and mouth in a treacherous cradle, locking it in, choking the life out of it. And with a simple crack Krackle snapped the beast¡¯s neck. It struggled a little more before going limp. [ Boa Concrusher(lvl 20) slayed! Lightning Dragon Hatchling has leveled up to level 4. Blood tick has leveled up to level 4. Octopulse has leveled up to level 2. ] Richard was both happy and mildly disappointed. On one hand, they had managed to take down that Boa Concrusher on their own, and not only had he gotten 2 more levels, Atlas and Krackle had both gotten levels. The disappointment was with poor panda, who hadn¡¯t gotten a level immediately. As if sensing his pity, Pandemonium harrumphed. He sent the thought ¡®Don¡¯t worry about me you overgrown lizard, unlike the rest of you, I¡¯m something special. I only take longer cause I¡¯m better than all of you!¡± Whatever. Krackle on the other hand was happy with its level and happily waving its tentacles, and Atlas was stoic, yet couldn¡¯t hide the glimmer of pride going through him. Richard gave the each of them a head rub, and gave one to Panda, who rolled his eyes, but accepted the head rub nonetheless. Richard walked up to the corpse of the snake, dug through it and finally pulled out the core, which was bigger than the slimes or the saber tooth rats, the size more like an apple compared to the past. Cracking the core into fragments, Richard handed out a piece to each member, and then ate his. It was rather tasty, resembling sugar for sure, but with more of a honey flavor. For the concrusher itself, they settled in to eat, each taking a bit out of the beast with no hesitation. Richard could say, with some assurance, that it tasted like fish and chicken. Unsurprising, given that¡¯s what he heard all adventurers say, but to hear and to taste are two different things. Hopefully not everything tastes like fish or chicken. ''So, this will be home huh.'' Richard looked around the dark cave and sat down. This was going to be their home for a while and Richard planned to explore it at some point, but for now, rest was fine. Chapter 12 : Caverns part 2 For the next few weeks Richard and his menagerie lingered in the caverns, hunting and sleeping. And they finally found where the saber tooth rats had been coming from. There were groups of them traveling around, save a few stragglers, and they seemed to have a nest inside a huge hole in the wall, and from what Richard could see, they were quite orderly for the most part. If he had to guess, the rats that kept coming to his forest were the few exploring stragglers, and the concrusher had likely followed them to the entrance of the cave, where they had encountered it. Speaking of nests, Richard had ended up looking for one after they had tried resting in shifts. They found themselves easily attacked due to standing out like a sore thumb. Admittedly, sleeping out in the open like that was not one of his smartest moves. So Richard decided to use his skills to build a room for themselves. Finding a wall where seemingly there was nothing, Richard thought it a good spot to start. So, firing up molten claws, and using lightning pulse to increase his speed and power overall, Richard began to create the new home. The new home resembled the room Richard had lived all his life. Of course, there was no bed, nor any books or paper, but He had managed to make a desk and shelves. And while there was no bed, he still carved out a giant rock to act like a bed. Frankly, that may have been pointless, given that he would be sleeping in a rock hole either way, but the way he carved it reminded him of his old home, which he was determined to visit¡­ once he was strong enough to not be worried about being caught as a dragon. True shapeshifting may mask his true bloodline, but there¡¯s no guarantee a high-level mage wouldn¡¯t be able to see through what a monster acting on instinct couldn¡¯t see through. And dragons are hunted down either due to fear, or because their whole bodies are treasure troves. They also make for a pet worth bragging for. Richard didn¡¯t like any of those options. Richard finished up the exterior. While there was no door (he couldn¡¯t get that to work for the life of him) he was able to make the outside look like a wall in a temple. Carved as best as possible to look like bricks instead of a stone slab, the walls looked more decorated than the rest of the wall around it, and Richard made the hole in the wall look like an actual doorway. He even designed a door out of a stone slab. It wasn¡¯t an actual door, just something to cover the doorway if need be. Pandemonium liked it, claiming the shelves for himself to climb on(even using his erode ability to create tiny stairways to navigate) and Krackle just settled on the desk, actually taking the place of his lamp, turning on and off. Richard hadn¡¯t intended that of course; the little fellow had just decided it for themself once Richard had explained the intention behind it. He left Krackle to it, they seemed to enjoy themselves enough with it. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Panda started going out at night by himself. Richard guessed he was hunting by himself, but ultimately chose to let him be. The squirrel was a demigod, and unlike the others, knew how to take care of himself. The caverns were rather huge. Extensively so. The caverns seemed to go on for miles and split into multiple tunnels, and there were so many that Richard even had to wonder once or twice whether or not he had stumbled into a dungeon. The system had stated that no, he had not wandered into a dungeon. That was a relief. What was not a relief were the horrifying presences that seemed to exist at certain points in the cavern. He never ventured too deep into these parts of the cave, because he could sense them studying him as he passed by. None of them were too overtly terrifying, like the two gods he had sensed that day, but these presences still bothered him. Unlike those two who had no reason to bother him, these could easily eat him if they thought it beneficial. He was a dragon after all, even under this disguise. The biomes and monsters were more diverse than he though it¡¯d be. He found many glowing stones, as well as occasional pockets of moss, and underground rivers. The underground rivers were home to fish which seemed to be passing through the tunnels to Isis knows where. Richard traveled for a day, and the river kept going so he didn¡¯t bother and turned around. Something to investigate for sure, but not yet. He''d also discovered a way to the outside, and not back to the slime forest, by way of the system. It¡¯d alerted him as he headed down one of the tunnels. Richard marked it down, but put it off for later. It wasn¡¯t necessary to leave yet, and while Richard had a good measure of the tunnels, he had no measure of the outside. He¡¯d went from killing slimes to killing rats to hunting snakes. Goodness knows what¡¯s next. Tigers? He¡¯d also gained one more skill, hyper sense, by nearly frying his brain. While pushing electric through his body, he found that his body moved faster, as if his reactions were speeding up. So, what if he applied it to his brain? It worked very poorly. He ended up with a fried brain and his familiars woke to find a dragon upside down twitching like a dying cockroach. Even Krackle had to laugh. Atlas couldn¡¯t laugh because Atlas had been fried too. He still got hyper sense for his troubles at the very least. Oops. With his room resembling his old one to a certain extent, Richard had to wonder how his friends back at the temple were doing. He hoped they were dealing with his death well enough. Maybe when he got stronger, he could go see them. He looked forward to seeing how they were doing. Interlude: Final Rites Upon the Death of Richard There was a somber mood in the temple which had been once the home of Richard. Richard had been a staple of their home for years, even with the knowledge that he was doomed to die young. It was one thing to know of its inevitability, and another to see it. Richard had no family worth speaking of, so no one would pay for his funeral. However, the church of Isis decided to bury him as one of their own. He had been family for them, and family shouldn¡¯t pay for final goodbyes. Even in death Richards retained his beauty, his sickly yet slender body, his white hair a good match for the pale skin. Once. His shocking blue eyes had contrasted with the rest of his fragile body, yet now eyes closed arms crossed, Richard gave off the feeling of a fallen angel laid to rest. Attending his funeral were many of the priests who attended the temple, as well as the nuns, and even 2 of the vestal virgins attended. Perhaps the most important two people who had come were in the forefront. A young man, only a year or two older than Richards, one Galileo who had recently became a paladin-in-training. He had only found out of his friend¡¯s death a few weeks later, and Lyssandra the dragonewt. At the young age of 50, she had been Richard¡¯s caretaker since the day he had arrived at the doorstep. She¡¯d also been the one who had raised and taught Richard, and in the end had been the one to find him. Lyssandra had convinced herself long ago that she was ready for Richard to die. She was a dragonewt and dragonewts live as long as 1000 years, much like elves. She had told herself that it was like raising a dog. Cute, and while it would be sad she would learn to move on. As he grew older and the curse got worse, she found it harder and harder to tell herself so. Every day he grew taller, and yet every day he grew evermore fragile. By the end of it all, he looked like an oak that had toughed the ages, ready to fall. She wasn¡¯t ready for it. She stopped seeing him those last few days as if in denial. She wasn¡¯t ready. In the end, she went back, telling herself she had to be there for his last hours. To send him off with a smile, only to find out she was too late. She missed her chance to apologize. Lyssandra buried her face into Galileo¡¯s chest and sobbed. Galileo could only nod, all the while staring at his friend¡¯s body. ¡­ This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°She has the right to know¡± stated Galileo, while staring down his mentor. Copernicus was a rather famous paladin who served Isis and used the power of the sun to bring his enemies down. Richard had been rather happy for Galileo when he was chosen to be a student of Copernicus, as it meant he had a chance to learn from one of the greatest. One of the greatest sighed, all the while the head of the temple looked on. Mistress Trenee was an old elf, likely already far past her prime, though no one knew her true age. She was a calm and collected lady, and even at a time like this she was stoic, despite her relationship with Richard. ¡°She cannot know¡± Stated Trenee. ¡°But why?¡± Retorted Galileo. ¡°It¡¯d make her feel better to know that Richard is still alive, even if it¡¯s a new body!¡± ¡°It¡¯s a monster body¡± noted Copernicus. ¡°She¡¯d be happy if he was alive regardless of who he has become.¡± ¡°It¡¯s pointless to tell her when we don¡¯t even know where he is, or what he is exactly. We know that he¡¯s a hatchling dragon in the Ymir range, but we know little beyond that.¡± She got up from her chair as she walked down to where Galileo and Copernicus stood. ¡°We don¡¯t even know if he¡¯ll survive. The Ymir Range is a place full of dangers the deeper you go. You¡¯d be telling her he lived only for him to die again and for her to go through it all again.¡± Galileo furrowed his brow but couldn¡¯t deny that. The church had been informed by Isis herself that Grant had been given a second chance. The people who were informed were elated to hear that, only to then be informed Grant was reborn as a monster and in the Ymir mountains. Galileo, Copernicus, the lead priestess of Isis and the Vestal virgins were the only ones who knew. ¡°If that¡¯s what you¡¯re worried about, then why did you tell me?¡± Galileo was just a paladin trainee, and frankly speaking, had no reason to be informed about such an important thing. ¡°I suggested it.¡± Said Copernicus. ¡°I believe it¡¯ll serve as good inspiration for you, no? To find an old friend, trapped in dangerous mountains? We cannot change what has been done, but we can change what is to come.¡± Galileo perked up, clearly more interested now, and less downturned than before. Trenee nodded. ¡°If Lyssandra were to find out, she might put herself in harm''s way. Despite being a dragonewt, she has lived her whole life in this temple. She¡¯s only 50. For dragonewts who can live for centuries, she¡¯s still young and untrained. You are a paladin in training. If you get strong enough, paladin Copernicus could take you and a squadron of paladins and check the edges of the Ymir mountain range. As it stands, it might be good to cull the forests a bit to lower the chances of a monster wave.¡± Galileo, now far more invested looked excited. He turned and saluted Trenee ¡°Then I will do my best to live up to expectations head priestess.¡± He turned to walk out of the room they had been using, Copernicus chuckled seeing Galileo noticeably more upbeat than before. He turned and saluted: ¡°I shall also take my leave head priestess¡± before leaving the room to go pursue his now excited trainee. Trenee slouched now, noticeably more tired than before. Like many orphans abandoned at the temple, Richard had been like a son to her. And his death hit hard like every other orphan who had passed through these halls. And now he had been given a second chance, only to be tested anew. She knew not what her goddess had planned¡­ all she could do was believe. Hopefully Richard was doing fine. Chapter 13: Doing All Right? Richard was in fact, not doing all right. He was currently being chased by a very disturbed drake. Of course his day had not in fact, started like that. For the past few weeks, the gang had undergone major leveling, and everyone had grown ten levels, with the exception of one squirrel, who had gone to level 4. He was growing just a bit slower. And what were the stats like? Well: Species: Octopulse Bloodline: Kraken(dormant) Octopulse(active) Level: 10/50 Health: 240/240 Spd: 58 ATK: 145 Mana: 1400/1400 Def: 38 Skills: Flash, camouflage, hypnotize, wring, ink blast, fog, hyperbeam, illusion, rapidfire Species: Blood tick Bloodline: Blood Tick(active) Level: 10/25 Health: 39 Spd:24.5 ATK:38 Mana: 29/29 Def: 89 Species: Screecher squirrel Bloodlines: Ratatoskr(active) Screecher squirrel (active) Level: 5/100 Health:1000/1000 Spd: 160 ATK: 120 Mana: 240/240 Def: 240 Skills: Mock, shriek, sharpen, gnaw, erode, camouflage, tail whip, Species: Lightning Dragon (Hatchling) Level 10/25 Health: 318/318(+39) Spd: 68(+24.5) ATK: 78(+38) Mana: 113/103 Def: 58(+89) Skills: Scratch, Glide, Screech, Appraisal(lvl 4), fireball, rock smash, splash, vine whip, shock, icicle, stealth, heal, wind slash, molten claws, charge, lightning pulse, static, frost fang, frost smash, book of oaths, shapeshifting, berserk rage, hyper sense, lightning spear, thunder spear volley, storm , blizzard, rockslide, flame thrower, head smash Mana circles: 0 Points: 1500 Skill Points: 7 [Inventory] [Gacha] [Shop] The results were pretty satisfying overall, having worked hard to get to these levels. Despite having only gotten 5 levels, he was already on their level, which made Richard seriously glad that he had an evolution sooner than the rat did. Richard had even managed to upgrade appraisal to a higher level, and he could now also see attack and defense. A huge improvement to before. And the others had learned the skills through improvisation and effort. Richard could save those points for the store, which could have something he needs. Earlier that day they had ran into a weird creature. True, most monsters are weird, but most monsters don¡¯t incur a request to kill the creature. On a walk back home after exploring the nearby area, Richard was in for a rough surprise when something lunged out of the water and latched onto his arm. Immediately, Richard used berserk rage and activated thunder blast, which caused the creature to let go and roll off as soon as possible, as if reacting to the imminent danger. The creature was firmly amphibian, that¡¯s for sure. Slimy body and shaped like a salamander. What was abnormally weird however, was the creature¡¯s head. The creature already looked a great deal like a salamander, were it not for the fact its body was twice his size, and the huge angular head. The teeth were horrific, for despite their stubby appearance, they hurt like hell. He knew, because they pierced through his skin easily, when most others met some level of resistance. As he winced in pain, and Panda distracted the beast, Richard used appraisal. He found the beast was called: Species: Acidic diplocaulus??? Level: 30/80 Hp: 3000/10000 ATK: 300 Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Def:80 [Alert] [Quest has been issued] [Investigate the reappearance of the Extinct Acidic Diplocaulus And Discover The Cause] [Reward: 4 levels for player Richard and all familiars] Richard squinted at the beast as he started realizing the significance of the creature. The system rarely approached him first, rather letting him come to it. It matched his desire to pursue knowledge. The fact that it wanted this creature to be investigated meant there was something special about it. He would sadly have to kill it to find his answer. The creature had assaulted them by the river and showed no interest in talking things out. This was the wild and it was a kill or be killed situation. ¡­ The creature was rather hard to kill. They quickly discovered the meaning to acidic in it¡¯s name when attempting to scratch resulted in painful sensations. That put panda out, and limited Krackle¡¯s ability to act considering their physical capabilities. Luckily, however, it was found that the creatures skin was extremely sensitive to fire and lightning. That changed things for sure. With panda continuously laying on the insults and Krackle now sticking to rapidfire and the blinding ink blast, Richards became the main attacker. By using a storm, resulting in the area becoming a constant barrage of rain and lightning, in turn with thunder spear volley, the poor diplocaulus found itself under a rain of pain. The storm also helped conceal Richard and his team, with the storm fogging up the area and constant lightning and thunder being natural distractions, with the smoking gun of the occasional ink blast, the creature was constantly unable to see. This didn¡¯t mean they weren¡¯t having trouble though. The storm was a spell that required constant maintenance, and as a result was burning through his mana. Unlike the concrusher and the saber tooth rats, this creature could not be grappled to death. Even with molten claws on, Richard found himself stinging at the pain resulting from merely touching the creature¡¯s skin. Krackle was doing fine. 1000 mana meant it was fine in terms of mana use, and Atlas was really just lying on his back above all else. He didn¡¯t have to do anything else besides be an addition to Richard¡¯s stats. Near exhausted, they finally managed to bring down the giant beast down after a few hours of thunder volleying and distracting the beast. Richard began looking at the beast. Activating molten claw, Richard started digging through the beast¡¯s intestine, looking for something that may give hints as to why it existed. True, the hint could¡¯ve been somewhere else on the body, but Richard had already taken a quick look at the exterior of the creature. Besides some heavy damage some large chunks taken out of the beast, as well as a few fingers missing, there were no hints, nor any notifications that he had found something. Digging through the intestines was obviously disgusting. Ignoring the fact that he had been allowing the others to eat the intestine, digging through the digestive tract was not a fun experience. Eventually though, he found it while scrounging through the brain, where he found a weird little stone. Despite being just a stone inside the beast¡¯s brain (many monsters have weird organs) the little stone gleamed like nothing else. A mysterious black shard that gleamed with an unnatural light. Seeing as he hadn¡¯t gained the quest reward, he decided to appraise to see if this is what he was looking for. When he cast appraisal though: [Lxxarxx Stone] [Your appraisal level is not high enough to identify this] [Congratulations for completing the quest! 4 levels given to each member in the party] Immediately Richards felt a surge in power as he went up 4 levels. Even though he was going up 4 levels though, the hatchling felt unsatisfied. What was this stone? Why was it classified to him? What could it do for him one day? With questions rising, Richard would have to put it aside. It seems in the battle between the weird critter, and them, that they had unknowingly been unaware of a dangerous presence stalking them. Looming over them was a water drake, easily twice Richard¡¯s size and very clearly peeved. Thinking about it, Richard quickly connected the dots. The diplocaulus hadn¡¯t met them unscathed. It had been heavily injured. Quickly casting appraisal, Richard found out: Species: Cave lake Drake Level 100/250 HP:10000/10000 ATK: 600 Def:400 Richard could feel it, just looking at this creature. ¡®Run¡¯ he commanded his familiars immediately and they turned tail and fled. As Krackle quickly wrapped themself around him, he could feel pain and saw the drake tear a tentacle off Krackle as they fled, but Richard kept running, knowing they could deal with this later. The drake was obviously playing with them as it leisurely chased them down, lunging at them from time to time, occasionally taking bites out of them. Exhaustion had begun setting in after the first few hours, and he was sure if stamina had been a stat, then Richard would already be low. They barely managed to get by using Panda¡¯s taunts to redirect blows to it, and only barely missing. Tufts of fur were missing at this point though. Richard wasn¡¯t sure what he could do. Lure them to the rat¡¯s base? Try escaping outside? Plunge deeper into the caves for a solution? As his mind raced, a presence entered his awareness, and he gulped, aware that the decision had been made for him. ¡­ Alexandria stirred as she sensed something fleeing in her direction. Normally, she¡¯d have ignored it or even eaten it, considering the situation, but the whole flock fleeing in her direction were an amusing bunch. The fact that an octopus was on land, wrapped around a thunder monitor was weird enough, ignoring the powerful bloodline pumping through it. Not as strong as hers of course, but strong enough to be worth keeping as a pet. If the octopus spawnling had not been weird enough, the squirrel was extraordinary, for she could sense divine blood running through it, meaning that the squirrel had a divine patron. This was a rather extraordinary find. Getting close to anyone of such connection could only be beneficial. Perhaps the weirdest of all of them though was the hatchling running in the forefront. Yes, the hatchling. Despite its best attempts, she could sense the draconic blood. And no matter how dumb the drake that lived nearby was, she was sure it could sense the same on a primal level. And based on her senses, it had no bloodlines, no ancestry. It was a mana spawned hatchling. The fact that it had managed to even survive was amazing, and it was allowing a blood tick to leech on, of all things. Such a crowd would not be ignored. Not when they could be such fun. ¡®I¡¯m sure this¡¯ll be fun¡¯ thought Alexandria. She licked her lips in anticipation, and moved forth to lay claim to what she decided was hers. That drake had made one advance too many before this, and she decided it was time to be rid of such nuisance. ¡­ Richard could only hold his breath as she approached. A huge serpentine shape loomed out of the abyss, its scales were a beautiful shade of ruby, trailing all the way into the unknown. Her body was large, yet not thick, with a lean yet muscled shape, slim and well-toned. The head, like the arrowhead to the arrow, was a sharp and outstanding feature to the body. Her head ended in frills, with vivid yellow (perhaps orange) webbing. Her eyes were a dark sapphire blue, with a diamond shaped pupil in the middle of this large and wonderous eye. Yes, the serpentine creature was easily meters long, though Richard could not determine how long. Casting appraisal, Richard found: Species: Storm Monarch Wyrm Lvl:297/300 Hp:100000/100000 ATK:10000 Def:5000 Mana: 88000/88000 [Congratulations! Appraisal has reached lvl(5)! The mana stat is now appraisable!] ¡®Not Helping!¡¯ Thought Richard, as the wyrm turned towards him, and as its tongue flickered out, he swore she knew what he had done something, and a smirk snaked its way across the wyrm¡¯s mouth. Richard was both enamored and frightened, and he clearly wasn¡¯t the only one. The cave lake drake stared up at the wyrm, reverence and fear shining through on it¡¯s face. Boom! Those expressions would remain on its face for a second longer as the pulsing glow of a red spike of lightning reflected against the face of the beast, with the lightning bolt itself impaled through the beast¡¯s brain. With a simple pop the cave lake drake¡¯s head exploded, and all that was left was a headless corpse on the floor. An appetizing scent begun to leak from the body, but there was a far more pressing matter at hand. The looming head of the wyrm, seemingly satisfied, turned towards him, and purred, the vibration shaking the nearby tunnels. ¡° Now what will I do with you?¡± The scaled mistress asked, as her tongue flickered through the air. Chapter 14: Trade Deal ¡°Woah, snake mommy!¡± Snapping Richard out of his stupor, Pandemonium made an extremely rude comment, which Richard promptly thwacked him in return for, before quickly bowing. ¡°My apologies, madam. This one has always had a poor mouth on him. Please pardon the rat.¡± Despite his grumblings, Panda bowed in apology, while Krackle followed suit. Atlas¡­ did nothing. He¡¯s a parasite after all. The wyrm covered her face with her tail as she giggled which Richard could only find pleasant. ¡°It is alright child. It seems he¡¯s a child of Ratatoskr, and screecher squirrels have always had quite the mouth on them.¡± Richard nodded up and down, while worrying over the fact that the wyrm recognized who Panda¡¯s father was. On one hand, she hadn¡¯t killed him immediately, but that could also be because she had another use for them. Who knows, maybe she wants to feed them to someone else. She looked at him, and the look in her eyes scared him a little. It looked excited and amused, like a predator, watching her prey. She was looking right through him. ¡®Has she seen through me?¡¯ worried Richard. ¡®Dear Isis, I hope she hasn¡¯t.¡¯ ¡°Now,¡± rang out the wyrm¡¯s voice. ¡°Why don¡¯t you drop the shapeshifting spell and tell me why a little hatchling like you knows how to speak a human tongue.¡± ¡®Shit!¡¯
Having realized that he¡¯d been seen through, he decided there was no point in resisting. He bowed his head as a sign of submission. ¡°Of course, though I hope you would not mind if we do this somewhere more private, where I can tell you my story.¡± He wasn¡¯t being stupid of course, just smart. There was no point resisting, and there was no reason. She was interested. If she found his story amusing enough, she might even help him on his way. Nodding, she slithered away and as they followed the bejeweled wyrm, Richard could not help himself but look at the serpent¡¯s tail, her body, those frills, they were all just, so, so¡­ ¡°Pervert¡± sing-songed Panda, causing Richard to snap back and flick the little squirrel with his tail. While slightly annoyed, the screecher squirrel whispered. ¡°You back? Good. Stop letting your bloodline kick in like that. Moron.¡± As he knocked on Richard¡¯s head, and Richard head to admit, that was quite embarrassing. To think bloodline could kick in like that. It could make him scared, but also make him attracted unexpectedly. He wondered how the cave lake drake felt in its last moments. Soon they arrived at a large cavern, which despite being a cave, felt rather grandeur. As they went deeper, Richard started noticing why. Despite at first glances feeling like a normal cave, there were weird odds and ends, as well as adjustments to the cave, unnatural formation. She hadn¡¯t straight up redesigned from the ground up, but subtly changed the cave to be a bit more aesthetically pleasing. ¡®Impressive.¡¯ Thought Richard. When they arrived at the core of the cave, they arrived at a looming cavern, and perhaps the most fascinating thing about it is that it abandons the illusion of being a normal cave, with the interior designed like that of a palace. At least he assumed so. He¡¯d never been to a palace. There was even a chandelier hanging above them which had turned on as soon as they entered. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Like it?¡± Called the wyrm as she noticed his focus. Richard nodded, and she chuckled. ¡°Good. I kidnapped a guy to do that for me. He did a great job, really.¡± Unable to tell if she was serious, Richard stared at her harder, trying to figure it out, but ultimately came to zilch as her face betrayed nothing. The room was filled with treasure, books and scrolls, and random trinkets galore, with most of it strewn across the floor. It certainly matched the image Richard had of classical dragons like Fafnir of the legends, but he wasn¡¯t sure wyrms did the same. Quite frankly, he didn¡¯t know much about wyrms in the first place. In the center of the room lay a giant stalactite, which the wyrm wrapped herself around before resting. Wrapped around the stalactite, she looked far above them. Richard bowed his head, to show respect and instructed his familiars to do the same. ¡°My name is Richard, and it is my pleasure to meet you madam wyrm.¡± The wyrm nodded her head. ¡°What a cute name Richard. Very well, the great wyrm before you is Alexandria, the Storm Monarch.¡± With a flick of her tail, little slabs for them to rest on showed up and taking the social cue, Richard, Panda, Krackle took a seat. ¡°Well? Let¡¯s hear your story little hatchling.¡±
Richard did not hold back for the most part. He revealed his story as someone blessed by Isis in the name of a second chance and the idea that he¡¯d gotten a few abilities as additional blessings. This was how he¡¯d write off the system, as he thought it best to hold that card close to his chest. He¡¯d never heard of it before from any records, so it was probably not a common thing. Richard also mentioned the weird stone, which when asked too, willingly showed the stone to the wyrm. The wyrm found it fascinating for sure, but admitted she did not know its purpose. She also allowed him to keep it, though he suspected it was because he couldn¡¯t identify its purpose. As the talk went on, Richard loosened up a bit, as he felt it more likely that he was not going to be eaten by the wyrm. By the end of it, she was very amused. ¡°A child blessed by the gods¡­¡± she murmured thoughtfully as she tapped her tail on her snout, which was a very amusing movement to watch. Richard even started doing it himself. Until he slapped himself with said tail, snapping him back to attention. ¡°Say, would you mind trying that spell again?¡± Asked the wyrm. ¡°I¡¯ll reward you handsomely. ¡° Richard didn¡¯t mind as long as she¡¯d tell him what spell she wanted to see. ¡°The one you used on me earlier. When it passed over me it felt as if my very being was being laid bare. I was intrigued by the spell, and I¡¯d like to see it again. I couldn¡¯t believe a hatchling could craft such a spell. When you told me that it was given to you by a god my intrigue has only increased.¡± Richard obliged, casting the spell once more. Species: Storm Monarch Wyrm Lvl:297/300 Hp:100000/100000 ATK:10000 Def:5000 Mana: 88000/88000 As he did so Alexandria¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief and excitement, as she seemed to be in a state of absolute bliss and ecstasy, making Richard swallow hard. ¡°Oh my¡± she murmured, ignoring Richard currently. ¡°What a marvelous spell¡­ Who could¡¯ve even designed such a spell¡­ Isis isn¡¯t a goddess of magic. Perhaps she got Hecate¡¯s help...¡± After a while Alexandria calmed down the insane murmurings, though she still looked pretty happy. ¡°Whoever made this spell is a class 1 genius¡± purred the giant wyrm. ¡°I did promise you a reward, didn¡¯t I?¡± Putting her tail in her mouth cutting her tail just a bit, which released an intoxicating scent, causing Richard to drool. Waving her tail in front of her, she asked. ¡°Well? What are you waiting for? Drink up.¡± That was all Richard needed to hear. Chapter 15: The Storm Monarchs Bloodline Richard eagerly lapped up the drops of blood dribbling out of Alexandria¡¯s tail, causing her to giggle as his tongue rubbed itself against her tail, eagerly seeking out the golden dew. Richard wasn¡¯t quite sure what was going on, but he could feel something changing in his body. It was similar to evolution, and yet wasn¡¯t so invasive. It felt far more subtle. He could feel his muscles stiffening as certain parts of his body grew. He certainly wasn¡¯t sprouting new limbs or anything, but he was growing. He also had a strong stomach ache pervading him and a painful headache to go with it. In spite of it all, he didn¡¯t stop lapping until he was satisfied, as he didn¡¯t register the pain as bad, but rather good, as he felt equal parts pleasure and pain travel through his body. He also had a funny itch on the sides of his head. Once it was done the voice went off in his head [Congratulations on unlocking the storm monarch bloodline. 10 skill points will be awarded for gaining a bloodline and 10 for your first bloodline. New evolutions have been unlocked as well] Richard was rather happy with that, as this meant that he could now learn new skills. Not only that, but he felt stronger. ¡°Looking good hatchling.¡± Came the hiss, redirecting Richard¡¯s attention to the Monarch herself. Before he¡¯d felt a weird sense of infatuation with the wyrm, and while he was still certainly attracted (she was still beautiful in his eyes after all) the feeling was gone. Alexandria clicked(?) her tongue in disappointment. ¡°shame, I was enjoying making your eyes pop out of your head before.¡± She was still larger than him, but now she felt just a little less tall than him. He bowed his head, to express his gratitude. ¡°Thank you for your kind gift, madam Alexandria. I hope to one day repay this favor in kind.¡± She flicked her tail at that remark. ¡°No need,¡± she said, ¡°That spell alone was worth plenty. I got some insight into the world that I¡¯ve never had before. That alone was worth a few drops of blood¡± This did leave Richard wondering what was so great about the spell. Sure it allowed him to estimate stats of his foe, which did allow for easier combat, but surely it couldn¡¯t have been that much help to a greater wyrm. Whatever the case, it seemed to be a satisfactory transaction on both sides. Conjuring up a floating body of water right before Richard¡¯s eyes, Alexandra chuckled. ¡°Like the new look? You look dashing, if I do say so myself.¡± Richard thought that was a bit egotistic, but he couldn¡¯t say he hated the little differences. His eyes remained blue, though they seemed a bit darker blue than before, maybe a shade or two. His tail had grow longer as did his neck, though he didn¡¯t feel weird anywhere. What¡¯s more, was that he felt stronger than before. He even felt something else was stronger, but he couldn¡¯t figure out what. Richard decided to reach out to the system. [The organ which produces magic in a dragon¡¯s body has been strengthened and gained a preference for electricity. Though this does cut down costs for electric attacks, the cost of other attacks will increase. It¡¯s recommended you practice other elements more often to strengthen those parts of the organ.] This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it Ah. So that¡¯s what that was. Richard saw it as hardly any different than before, though he did not simply ignore it, consciously reminding himself to practice other elements of magic later. Perhaps the greatest change to have taken place was the shape of his head. Much like how Alexandria had a webbed frill on the back of her head, Richard had developed something similar, though his was far smaller. And unlike before, the spikes that trailed down to the base of his neck was now webbed as well. His face had also become a little flatter, slightly more similar to a snake than before, though he was still clearly a dragon. Some horns would certainly make that more obvious though. He was overall happy with it though. Panda cackled though. Wheezing as he rolled around. ¡°You look like a f**king fish! First you had an octopus, now you have frills! What¡¯s next? Gills? Bloop bloop bloop! Panda blew up his cheeks as he made weird noises, only stopped by Krackle, who swiftly slapped both cheeks, causing them to deflate and earning a glare from the squirrel, as they then tumbled around and grappled on the floor. Richard couldn¡¯t help but laugh, as he heard the wyrm laughing likewise, while Atlas seemed to be amused as conveyed through his bond. As they fought, Alexandria thought about something, before she turned to Richard. ¡°You know,¡± she began, gaining Richard¡¯s attention, ¡°if you want to get stronger, I know just the place to get stronger.¡± Richard was interested, but also curious. ¡°Are you perhaps suggesting that the caves are not enough?¡± He asked. It was true he was interested in what Alexandria had to offer, but wasn¡¯t sure what this would have to offer in comparison to where he was currently. The caves were huge, and while he hadn¡¯t been gaining levels as fast recently, with four levels he was already stronger than before, and he was sure there were a few more avenues to explore. The wyrm nodded, ¡°there¡¯s no doubt that there¡¯s strong stuff here, but in the end you¡¯re limiting yourself by fighting in that form. If you come with me to my territory, you can use your true form freely, as I can protect you, or at the very least ensure that you won¡¯t face anything too dangerous. ¡± Richard had to admit that was a compelling argument. Although he was doing fine in the thunder monitor form, it was not his true form. Unless he planned to remain stuck in this form until he felt confident enough to actually reveal his true form as a dragon. It wasn¡¯t the best solution, but at the time he considered it the safest. At the time he was trying to avoid the attention of stronger creatures. If she was protecting him, then he wouldn¡¯t have to worry about fighting stronger creatures and truly learning how to utilize his abilities. He was still unsure of course. ¡°Are you sure you can protect me? I¡¯ve heard the ymir range is full of danger?¡± For a minute, killing intent is emitted throughout the room, and although it¡¯s not aimed at him, Richard shivers at the presence. And just as it was there, it was gone. Alexandria smiled at them, rather sure of herself. ¡°Course I can¡± Well if that¡¯s the case, ¡°Alright then. I must once more thank you for your generosity.¡± ¡°No problem. I could use some company. Well, change back, and let¡¯s get going.¡± Changing back into a thunder monitor, Richard waited as the wyrm unwounded herself from around the rock and then led them out of the cave. As they traveled through the caves, Richard felt the presence of the stronger beings that he had sensed before, before feeling them disappear, as if the beings in question had other things to do. They traveled out of the cave and Richard found himself back in the forests again. Of course, it was a different forest, but it was a forest nonetheless. Richard felt strong presences. Multiple, though none were as strong as the ones in the cave. That would be just right for his training, and Richard could not help get a little excited. Panda stretched and shouted excitedly. ¡°Huzzah! No more f**king cramped caves! Finally, back to the luscious ass forests! Whoo!¡± ¡­ In hindsight, it made plenty of sense that Pandemonium was happy to be back out and about. He was a squirrel, not a mole. The cave might¡¯ve been a bit tight for him. ¡­ And Richard had to admit he did miss the forest. Chapter 16: Forest Life Again It felt good being back out in the open again. Richard also appreciated true variety. In the slime forest, he ate slimes and flowers, and in the caves, it was generally saber tooth rats and boa concrushers, and rarely anything else. He actually caught a rabbit here! That was a pleasant surprise, a sentiment shared by Panda and Krackle. Krackle had begun settling into the lake, as they discovered the joy of being submerged inside of a lake, though they stuck to the shallow side, as the lake went deep, unsurprising considering the lake was in monster territory, and places dense in mana often had bigger geographical locations and structures. Panda found the trees highly advantageous to him, as clambering around a cave was far harder than the woods, a location far more suited to squirrels. They¡¯d even devised a strategy of driving or luring monsters to the waters edge and while distracting monsters, Krackle could sneak in from behind before striking, grabbing and dragging the being into the water where either Richard would let loose a barrage of thunder attacks, frying the monster, or just letting Krackle finish the job. Speaking of the flowers, he decided to share some with Alexandria as an offer of goodwill, as thanks for her supervision. At first, she was grateful, but refused. Until she realized they were caveshines that is, which she then gratefully received, promising to grow more for them. It was nice she offered to do so. She probably felt bad about simply just taking them though. They are known to be rare after all. The forest here was a lot less intimidating than the forest he had been first born in, but was arguably more dangerous. He encountered gladius lupins, which could be read as saber wolves, or blade thieves, and both were accurate. Richard had read that they were immense pains for adventurers to deal with. They didn¡¯t usually set out to kill people, but they did set out to steal blades, as apparently the bigger blade you had, the more impressive of a mate you were. They were rare creatures and usually considered high level d rank creatures Richard asked Alexandria, curious if they were common around here. Previously, he had been hunting in the new forest, when he encountered his first gladius lupin, a fiery red wolf with piercing amber eyes, which complemented the red fur. It had been holding a dagger in its mouth, and a rapier buried within its tail. At first the wolf merely stared at him, with its fur bristling, until it seemingly sniffed something, stiffened for a second, then called down, seemingly no longer regarding him as a danger, and walked by him ignoring him. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Richard had initially considered picking a fight, but given how it had merely ignored him, Richard had decided not to. It was conscious enough to analyze and decide him not a threat, and let his guard down, and Richard just didn¡¯t feel like fighting him. Richard didn¡¯t like to betray people after they showed trust in him. Alexandria¡¯s face brightened up at the mention of the gladius lupins. ¡°They¡¯re migrating again? Wonderful! I always enjoy when they cross through my territory. I happen to even have an old friend amongst them.¡± Richard could figure from this comment that blade thieves were a reoccurring thing around here, and he assumed it was a migration, perhaps once a year. It was known that blade thieves were not a prominent species in the woods, so it seemed they moved place to place. She also had a friend amongst them, so Richard was inclined to believe one of them was a higher race, given that monster packs were usually led by a higher race, and he doubted that Alexandria¡¯s friend was merely one of the pack. Then again, he didn¡¯t really know much about blade thieves beyond what was prominently known, so perhaps they were more intelligent than people were aware. As Richard spent more time with Alexandria, he learned plenty more from her. She told him the reason he felt such a distinctive attraction to her was because her bloodline was far stronger than his, and usually dragons with lower bloodlines felt equal parts fear and reverence and sometimes even disgust when facing a draconic being with a higher bloodline However, Richard seemingly lacked this inherent fear and disgust, with his fear less bloodline based, and more human instinct, as due to his human soul and prejudices, it seemed he to a certain extent lacked dragon¡¯s pride. At least, that¡¯s what Alexandria thought. She admitted it was a theory more than anything else, as a dragon with a human soul was a unique experience for her. Richard wasn¡¯t sure what it was, but didn¡¯t care. At the end of the day now, Richard would bring a kill to a cave that Alexandria, and now Richard, Panda and Krackle called home, and sit down, having conversations, talking about how the day had been, and what interested him, all the while Alexandria curled up and listened. It made Richard happy to some extent, having someone older and wiser who would listen to him just to tell her how his day was. Like a mother perhaps. But it also reminded him of Lyssandra Lyssandra¡­ The thought of the dragonewt who had been there for Richard all his life hurt him a little bit, as he worried how¡¯d she taken his death. He¡¯d promised himself that he would go to the human world once he was strong enough, to see Galileo, to see Lyssandra again. He was strong now, compared to his weak self. He could finally do all the things he had wanted to do for her once. He could braid her hair and clean it, help feed her like she did for him, buy clothes for her like she did for him, protect her like she always protected him¡­ But not yet. Not until he was strong enough that he was sure he could not only protect her, but himself. With power came the greed and envy of others. He was a dragon, and dragons were valuable resources. Even so, he woud still grow stronger and dive into the heart of danger that was human cities, so he could see his friends again. ¡®just wait for me Lyssandra¡­¡¯ thought Richard as he succumbed to sleep. Chapter 17: Solo Work ¡°I think you guys should start working separately.¡± While that statement was abrupt, it was not quite surprising. Richard had seen it coming. Alexandria had already suggested once or twice to allow Panda and Krackle to explore on their own when he wasn¡¯t hunting and just listening to her teach, so this was seemingly another step in that direction. That didn¡¯t mean he wasn¡¯t curious about why she wanted him to work alone. ¡°May I ask why, sister Alexa?¡± He hadn¡¯t quite called her mother, which Alexandria had started pushing for, but Richard did start calling her sister. He wasn¡¯t quite ready to call her mother yet. ¡°You are simply too reliant on them for most of your combat. Tell me Richard; how many fights have you fought on your own since you started this life? And how many of them have been after you gained these familiars?¡± ¡°None really.¡± Richard had to admit. ¡°And that¡¯s a problem. I¡¯m assuming you remained a dragon instead of becoming something like a wyrm or a draken because of flight. I assume you didn¡¯t choose to stay a dragon out of pure dragon pride.¡± There was a bitterness to that last statement that Richard chose not to pursue. Reverse scales aren¡¯t meant to be touched after all. ¡°Can all dragons choose their next evolution?¡± Richard was under an implication from the system and his time as a human that monsters can¡¯t really choose their next evolution. Sister Alexandria Snorted. ¡°Most monsters can¡¯t really choose and evolve into something unconsciously according to their life up to the point. Only dragons can consciously affect their own evolutions through thought.¡± ¡°Of course, there is the flaw that we can¡¯t control the whole evolution, and environment can still affect our evolution.¡± Admitted sister Alexandria. ¡®Fascinating¡¯ Thought Richard. IS that what makes dragons unique? Could they consciously evolve from being a dragon to a wyrm? Richard looks at sister Alexandria. ¡®Did she used to be a dragon?¡¯ Sister Alexandria moved on from the topic hurriedly, clearly more focused on the flying topic. ¡°If you don¡¯t practice flying at all then you¡¯ve wasted the main feature of a dragon, save its higher intelligence. Without flight, are nothing more than a hindrance. If you don¡¯t use them, you may as well not even have been a dragon.¡± That was¡­ extremely good logic and Richard couldn¡¯t deny that. He liked flying but didn¡¯t use it often. Perhaps it was because he was overly cautious, which had been reasonable up to this point, but now that he had a guardian keeping an eye out for him, he had no reason not to practice his wings. He may not always have the opportunity to practice freely should Alexandria no longer protect him, and Richard would no longer have the leisure to practice freely, and he may as well take a land-based form from here on out. And thus, a day later, Richards took to the sky again. He found himself quite choppy at first, because he hadn¡¯t flown in a while, so obviously he wasn¡¯t smoothly flying immediately, though thankfully it wasn¡¯t nearly as bad as it once was. In a day Richard was back to reasonable flying speeds. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. At first, he tried divebombing on a common horned rabbit, but soon found that it was absolutely impossible to do. He wasn¡¯t able to land the hit, and ended up crashing into the floor when he tried divebombing. Richard still hit the rabbit of course, it¡¯s just that he crashed into them instead of skillfully killing them. The first time a screeching laugh alerted Richards to Pandemonium laughing his ass off on the nearby tree. Despite seemingly hunting on its own, the little squirrel had found its way to him, and had found something worth seeing. Richard flicked the tree with his tail, causing the laughing squirrel to lose its balance and fall to the ground. Good. After the first three divebomb fails, Richard instead focused on aerial bombardment from the sky, launching lightning spears from the sky. And that was satisfactory, with Richard being greeted with fried rabbit each time. Satisfaction. ¡­ It was the 10th day of hunting in the air, and Richards was slowly getting used to aerial combat. He was also finally able to divebomb without fumbling and crashing soon after. The day was good, with a dead rabbit in his mouth as Richard headed back, And Richard felt what happened next before he reacted to it. One second Richards was flying in the air, and the next he was falling, and Richards subconsciously began flapping his wings in an attempt to reorient himself, with Richard¡¯s mind catching up a second later, his head still spinning a little. Richards began searching around, attempting to discern what had attacked him. He was sure he had been attacked. Another blow came, but this time he was ready, and Richard managed to maneuver to the side fast enough, and while his flying wasn¡¯t pretty, it was enough to dodge. This second blow allowed Richard to lock onto the attacker in question, as he locked eyes with a large hawk, about half his size, with beautiful white and green plumage, in stark contrast to the look in its eyes. Richard wasn¡¯t sure how smart, or how sapient it was, but what he did know was that the beast was looking down on him. Looking down on him!? Richard wasn¡¯t sure what it was, his pride as a human, or perhaps a seemingly dormant pride as a dragon, but whatever the case was, he felt he was being looked down on, and that infuriated him. ¡­ ¡°Ouch!¡± Exclaims Panda as he sits with Alexandria, as they observe Richards from a distance. ¡°That had to hurt.¡± ¡°Probably more annoying than painful. I must admit though, that raptor has some gall to attack a dragon first, especially on my territory.¡± The squirrel shrugs, indifferent to the notion. ¡°Some monsters are more ignorant to bloodlines than others. It¡¯s also possible that dragon superiority isn¡¯t as effective on monsters unrelated to dragons all together. It could also just be stupid.¡± ¡°Who cares?¡± Alexandria nods, in obvious agreement to the screecher squirrels statement. ¡°Indeed, it hardly matters the reason, it¡¯ll serve as good practice for a newborn dragon. Though,¡± She adds thoughtfully, ¡°You seem to be well versed in bloodlines to an extent. Is it perhaps part of your¡­¡± ¡°¡­ bloodline inheritance, yes yes.¡± Answers the squirrel dismissively with a flip of his busy tail. Alexandria finds it more amusing than anything. Panda continues. ¡°My father, Ratatoskr may not be the strongest progenitor or god around, but he¡¯s one of the most cunning and manipulative, and well-informed. He left plenty of knowledge for me to use, as well as leaving some gaps to make sure I find some on my own time.¡± ¡°Is that so? You know, you¡¯re a little, different, from how you are around Richards right now.¡± The wyrm noted, finding it amusing how much more crass the squirrel was around his own master than a stranger, though now a friend. Panda scratches his ear, almost seemingly a bit embarrassed. ¡°Well,¡± he starts, ¡°just between me and you, screecher squirrels are more polite to people they have no interest in talking to. We may use our coarse language to annoy our foes, but we also use it with people who we find good friends.¡± He paused for a minute, before hurriedly asking. ¡°Don¡¯t tell Richards I said that of course, this is just between me and you.¡± ¡°Very well. But,¡± she says as she covers her face with her tail, seemingly offended. ¡°does that mean you don¡¯t see me as a friend?¡± Panda rolled his eyes at the fake indignation. ¡°Whatever, we have a fight to supervise.¡± ¡°Indeed. How long do you think he¡¯ll last?¡± ¡°As his good friend, I have a great deal of faith in him. 30 minutes.¡± ¡°Truly a good friend, I thought he¡¯d last ten minutes.¡± Perhaps if Krackle knew what Panda was up to, they¡¯d give him a swift slap in their master¡¯s place. Sadly, Krackle had been left out of the gathering. Chapter 18: Aerial Fight Richard quickly began to realize the severe disadvantage he had in this fight. Multiple disadvantages actually. First off, he clearly oversized the avian monster, but that wasn''t an advantage so much as a drawback because, second off, it was clearly more experienced than him and it showed. Although he was fast enough to catch up. he wasn''t able to master the sky the same way, and every time he tried to pursue it, the beast swerved suddenly. quickly positioning itself out of his range. It was frustrating, especially since the beast was half his size, easily escaping his grasp each time. At first, Richard flew straight at it, and at first he thought he''d managed to at least land a clean blow, but the raptor flew above him, and raked him as he flew by. It hurt for sure, but he felt his pride was hurt, more than anything else. It quickly became a familiar feeling multiple times, as he was scratched multiple times, all the while the avian looked at him mockingly so. He used shock and lightning pulse, hoping to catch it by surprise, but the beast reacted quickly and blew a wind slash back at him. It didn''t stop the shock, but it slowed it down, and in the same flap of the wing that caused wind slash, the bird dodged the shock. Using thunder spear volley finally began yielding better results, with 10 out 5 spears in the same volley damaging the bird, despites its wind slashes and whatever caused it to go so fast. But that didn''t mean anything. It was too inefficient, considering the amount of mana it burned. And after he stopped letting the bird antagonize him, Richard realized something: why was he chasing the bird? He should be rational, control the situation! And he did have a system and available skill points...
"Took him long enough" snorted Pandemonium. "Can''t believe he allowed himself to be led around by the nose like that." Alexandria merely watched on, commenting briefly, "Its normal for dragons have problem with prides. It''s good that he''s already taking steps to work on that. " She wrinkled her nose, "I hoped his human rationality would temper his innate pride. Hopefully he demonstrates some human ingenuity instead"
"System, purchase me a cloud generation skill." commanded Richard, as he watched the hawk carefully. Richard had stopped going on the offensive, choosing to keep an eye on the hawk, anticipating any move it may make. The hawk sensed the change, deciding to take the offense. And although he couldn''t avoid all the attacks, using lightning pulse and hyper sense allowed him to dodge most of the blows the hawk aimed at him while he sought a better solution. [The system can offer (cloud creation) for 10 points. Do you wish to purchase?] Richard frowned a little, considering how expensive it was, but decided to go through with it. Points are meant to be consumable after all. "Do it." He said, wincing at the dozens of scratches plaguing him. [Very well. You have purchased the skill: (cloud generation)] Any doubt he had about the skill cloud generation faded as the info flooded his mind. He''d already had a plan to utilize the skill, but Richard had received more than he needed. Not that he minded of course, an advantage is an advantage after all. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
The hawk watched on in confusion, not understanding why the foolish creature before it had frozen up. The arrogant creature believed its size made it strong, but the hawk merely saw the lumbering size as ignorant, easy to take advantage of. Like rabbits in plains, it stood out, easy prey. Before it had chased the hawk foolishly, while the hawk took time whittling away at the beast. The raptor had to admit the hide was tough, but it was sure with enough time and effort, it could whittle away and finally finish the beast off. But it stopped chasing, and the raptor refused to give up, so it decided to take the initiative, finding it frustrating that it had to make the first move. The beast was more agile than before, and it was barely injured. Frustrating. And if it weren''t enough, the creature started emitting gas. If the creature it could''ve scoffed at this vain attempt to hide from it. The raptor flew in, ready to continue its barrage, only to get quickly get lost. The gas had grown fast, and now the hawk could barely see anything with the gas so thick. Seeing a silhouette, the hawk felt confident once more, and lunged forward with fire imbued in its, claws, pouncing on its prey... ... Only to find that it had pounced on a cloud. Huh? It could''ve sworn that it had seen the cloud move. The creature didn''t have time to think about it, because the cloud suddenly grabbed it, causing the raptor to struggle in surprise. The hawk broke free with some effort, causing the cloud to dissipate, but not fast enough for the raptor not to suffer a hard thwack to the back of the head, causing the raptor to recoil from the blow. Spinning before finally reorienting itself, the hawk studied the clouds all around it in an attempt to find the large beast. It saw another silhouette, but hesitated this time, unsure if it was another illusion. To its surprise however, the cloud besides it latched onto the foolish raptor, and another surprise would soon greet it as a sharp pain went through it, and a shock would follow after. Then another, another, once more, as an unrelenting barrage of thunder spears pierced it.
The skill cloud generation was a cheap skill, capable of generating whole expanses of clouds in a matter of minutes, and in this case, more than enough to change the battlefield to his advantage. The fact that he was capable of clouding this much, for less than 10 mana was already changing things, with the hawk being easily distracted. Then there was the fact that he was able to make golems. Not real, living golems by any means, these only able to last as long as the mana he imbued them with fueled their existence, the fact he could now create a golem on a whim, nothing more than mindless husks, allowed him to bring this fight under his control. Using his first golem, he uses it to pin the hawk while he deals a hard blow using his tail, imbued with static and fueled up on berserk rage, the hawk takes the blow hard, but can''t focus as well thanks to static. Using the second golem to pin the hawk once more, this time Richard uses thunder volley to deal a finishing blow, because this time, with just a little extra mana imbued into the golem, he has the hawk nice and pinned for every spear to attack him. And they do, and soon... [Congratulations! Level 17 windboom raptor slayed!] [Thunder dragon(hatchling) gains a level! Thunder dragon (hatchling) is now level 20!] ...Satisfaction is gained, and Richard feels a sense of pride having shown that hawk its place.
As Richard puffed his chest in satisfaction, Panda rolled his eyes. "Great," he complained, "he''s going to be insufferable for the next few days. He doesn''t even realize you kept everything else away." as he looked at Alexandria, who was currently nibbling on a smaller wyvern of some type. Alexandria didn''t mind. "He''s a dragon. Let him build some pride, it wouldn''t do for him to be a prideless dragon. Other dragons look down on dragons without pride, and that''s dangerous. Besides, I got lunch," She takes a nibble. "Mmm. Fire wyverns. Spicy just the way I like fire types." "Ugh, stupid lizards." Alexandria "affectionately" smacked him on the head. Chapter 19 "And then I used the clouds to blind him, and the BAM! I smacked over the head really hard, and then I-" RIchard took a chunk out of the wing chewing, about to open his mouth. "Ah ah ah, finish chewing before you speak." Chided Alexandria and Richard shut up and chewed for a bit, before continuing to speak. "-then I used thunder spear volley and tore him to shreds!" Richard was quite proud of himself currently, and Panda could only roll his eyes. "Congratulations! You roasted a turkey. Next time I need my bird well done, I''ll ask you." Panda sarcastically remarked. Richard was still busy riding that wave of pride, and thus chose to monotonously ignore Panda. "Congratulations, it was a good fight." congratulated Alexandria, amused by how happy the young hatchling was over defeating the hawk. "It was right! I don''t know why but it felt different from fighting with the concrusher. It felt more alive. It reminded me of when I first fought the saber rat. Alone." Richard went over those thoughts as something clicked in those thoughts. "I was fighting alone." He repeated the thought, and realized it. Alexandria clicked her tongue, "Close but not quite. It''s not about the fact that you fought alone, it''s the fact that you were pushed, differently from when you fought with your familiars." She corrected. "Having familiars is not a bad thing, but it''s important to balance out separate experiences with team exercises. While having team coordination is a good trait to have picked up from being a sensible person, being a dragon is a part of you that you have to learn to use properly. You need to learn how to be able to stand on your own. You''re not a person who is weaker than most monsters, who must compensate with teamwork, but one of those monsters, capable of standing on your own feet." Richard nodded, as he realized that sister Alexandria once more offered helpful insight. She does that a lot. Speaking of familiars, Richard realized someone was missing. Actually, they''d been missing for a while, but Richards had been focused on flight a little too much. "Where''s Krackle???"
In the edges of the lack, a boxclaw lobster finds itself inside a small kelp forest, and finds itself hungry, reaching out to grab a kelp strand to eat... only to be grabbed by the kelp in turn, causing the lobster to use its cube like claw to smash the kelp, before the kelp finally went limp, clearly defeated. The boxclaw, clearly satisfied its foe has been bested, has failed to notice the lack of mana inflow that occurs when something dies. Poor move. As it moves to claim its price, it finds itself caught by one more kelp, and prepares to use its claw once more, only to find its claw has been grabbed by another kelp, and its lesser claw grabbed by yet another kelp. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. As it struggled, something arose from the shifting waterbed, a bulbous inflated head emerges from the depth as two giant eyes stared down upon the boxclaw lobster. With a flash! the boxclaw finds itself disoriented, and the kelp yank hard, tearing off the lobster''s only form of defense, as the looming head lunges forward, biting the boxclaw''s head off! Krackle pats itself on the back for the camouflage it set up, clearly enough to fool this foolish beast. Krackle has hunted another beast, Krackle will grow stronger! Krackle sunk back into the lake, as a rhythmic rumbling vibrated throughout the lake.
"Hunting, you dumb twat!" Responded Panda. "They''re an octopulse, they''re meant to be in the ocean, where else would she hunt.? Uuuuugh, for a nerd who holed himself in libraries for days, you sure lack common sense." Richard rolled his eyes, but had to silently admit the squirrel was right, despite Krackle''s efforts on land, there''s no doubt that they''d function best in the sea than on the land. Richard would still have Krackle fight on land when working together. The system had told him that a monster''s evolutionary options are affected by life choices, so if he had Krackle fight on land more often, than perhaps one of Krackle''s options would later on be more land based. Maybe not though. They were an octopus after all, and Richard couldn''t think of many land type octopus monsters, or many octopus monsters. Sea monsters were a large gap in adventurer''s knowledge, though he was sure the kingdom was keeping the good stuff for itself. Actually, since Krackle is a sea monster, once they grow older, Richard could have them help him explore the ocean so he could have more knowledge on those. How great would that be! He could find so many things that no other man could explore! The more RIchard thought about it, the more he excited himself, thinking about the prospect of exploring the ocean. Well, Krackle doing so. He wasn''t sure he''d be capable of exploring the ocean. Alexandria chuckled at Richard''s expression, as he thought of something that excited him, as his face contorted into a bigger and bigger grin. "Well, think of something you want to share?" She nudged. Richard turned to her, with a little twinkle in his eyes. "I just realized I could have Krackle explore the sea for me when they get older! So much stuff to learn!" Sister Alexandria laughed at that. "Indeed, having oceanic friends can be quite beneficial" she agreed, reminiscing a little even, "why, I remember when I asked a sea serpent to find me a tome deep in the sea." She chuckled, "It was an exciting experience to say the least." "Really? I''d like to hear more about that! Please sister Alexandria?" Alexandria decided to comply seeing that Richard seemed to be on an ocean high. She also decided to take note of the fact that Richard was excited about stories. Likely a side effect of his life in a church. "So, one day, I was talking to a shockking serpent, when he mentioned..."
After finishing her story, Alexandria found that Richard had fallen asleep, and even Panda had, leaning against the side of the bigger monster, resting in the crook of the wings, and the two just looked so cute, flopped over in such an akward position. ''Richard likes stories'' she mused to herself, nudging her head against the side of Richard''s head, much like her own mother had done so, before resting against the opening of the cave, blocking it off with her own body.
An enormous white wolf walked over a cliffside, looking down at Alexandria''s territory, her lips curling back in a wolfish grin. Her body was a beautiful white, only disrupted by her tail, which was still white, but disrupted by the numerous swords embedded into her tail, some polished and beautiful, others rusted and leaking miasma. She''d heard something interesting about her old friend, and she looked forward to meeting with her old friend. Yes, her and Alexandria had plenty to talk about. Chapter 20: Introductions He sensed them before he saw them. A few days after the incident with the hawk, Richard and the group were sleeping(Krackle was still in the lake, though Richard had began having the octopulse come out onto land to stretch once in a while) Adrenaline shot through Richard''s mind, forcing him to wake as he felt a presence on level to Alexandria''s, and the sharp intent behind it, forcing him to stir to wake. The presence in question was not in front of the cave, seemingly out of politeness, though Richard wasn''t quite sure, since it was his first time meeting this presence. Alexandria got up quickly, seemingly excited. "She''s finally here!" She squealed, and Richard could not help but be reminded of an excited teenager, much like the young nuns at the church, excited to share more gossip. Despite being a church, the priests and nuns were quite the gossips. In spite of his groggy body, his now very much awake mind forced him to wake, while Panda cursed as he woke. "Damn blasted whore! Who the fuck wakes people like that! Goddamn prick in my consciousness, I should pull out some hairs and see how they feel about it..." he grumbled as the squirrel got up, receiving a harder thwack than usual, though the squirrel waived it off. In the center of the forest near the lake stood the one who had shocked him out of sleep, two different figures. One of them was quite familiar to him, the red furred gladius lupin he had seen a few days back, and the other was a wonder to behold. The former was giving him a glare, which seemed rather cute considering how childish he looked while doing so. Wolves looked childish now. Huh A beautiful white wolf stood before them, easily 2-3 times Richard''s size, with small streaks of blue accenting the fur, equally matched by streaks of red, each one lighting up softly, seemingly in tandem. The tail, however, was quite different from the average gladius lupin, splitting off into 9 different tails, each of them embellished with blades, the blades seemingly acting as scales to the tail. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. The amount of blades needed to cover 9 tails so perfectly... How many has she taken... As Richard pondered this in wonder, the wolf''s striking violet eyes passed over them quickly before it returned back to Alexandria. "Alexandria," she purred, "it''s good to see you are doing well this year." The wolf''s voice reminded him of a middle aged woman adventurer he knew,who had a deep and sultry voice. She was well known around the church, for... flirting with a younger innocent priest at the church. Alexandria returned the greetings excitedly, "it''s great to see you silverwind!" and they do a weird hug thing. It''s hard to tell really, since one is a wyrm, the other some form of gladius lupin, and Richard was unwilling to cast appraisal, lest it bounce back or it be seen as rude by the being clearly seen as a friend and equal to Alexandria. The hug looked more like some sort of death strangle, with Alexandria rolling around with Silverwind in her grip, and were it not for the grins on both their faces, he''d think they were fighting. Looking over at Richard and the red Gladius Lupin, she added in, "hey, why don''t you and Smolderfang go hang out elsewhere while we chat?" Richard decided to do so, since clearly they were about to do girl talk, and if Richard''s experience with nuns in the church meant anything, it''s that he was just going to end up lost. Looking at Smolderfang, he motioned with his hands to follow him, before heading over to the lake where Krackle had been recently living. Smolderfang grumbled but followed him over to the lake where Richard sat down, tapping his tail on a spot to sit down, and Smolderfang chose to deliberately sit down somewhere else. Richard rolled his eyes, unsure why the child was so grumpy. Not his problem. He''d still try to start a conversation, to be polite. "So how do you know si-" "Fight me!" Demanded Smolderfang, much to Richard''s annoyance. This brat... Fine. He''d been staring at him funny, and even Richard couldn''t put up with annoying children. "Alright, where do you want to do this? Do you want to fight with magic, or would you prefer no magic, or..." "NOW!" It shouted as it charged forward, blade in mouth. Richard sighed and prepared to fight.
Silverwind sighed as she watched her son get pummeled into the ground. Alexandria looked on, clearly amused. "You''re too soft on your son" she scolded, and Silverwind could only scoff at the hypocrisy in the statement. "Anyway, have you heard from Gillian?" "Last I heard, he found a hot new thing-" The elders didn''t mind. Children had their little struggles once in a while. Gillian and his new mate was far more interesting gossip. Chapter 21: Childish Richard had been expecting a fight on equal grounds if not overwhelming, considering how confident the lupin had been. And at first it had been a challenge. The amount of creatures Richard had fought up to this point that fought on 4 legs numbered many, but many required the rats to be the majority of that count. Besides that, he''d fought that weird creature with a stone in its head, and the drake, neither of which were good challengers. The drake had been playing with him and the amphibian had been beaten down before it encountered him, so the wolf was the first. And it was strong, using the dagger in its mouth to swing at him, while attempting to outmaneuver him, resulting in Richard being forced to go on the defensive. Raising legs, and shooting bolts of electricity out to force the wolf back, it slowly began becoming easier to dodge, and soon, the tables turned. Richard was the one who went on offensive. He didn''t fly, but using his wings he was able to react better, especially since they were in a clearing bereft of trees. He used them for small dashes of speed, and to distract the wolf before delivering another scratch. After a certain point it stopped being a fight, and just began to become a beatdown, Why? well: Species: Lightning Dragon (Hatchling) Level 20/25 Health: 338/338(+49) Spd: 132(+29.5) ATK: 147(+58) Mana: 200 Def: 117(+99) Skills: Scratch, Glide, Screech, Appraisal(lvl 4), fireball, rock smash, splash, vine whip, shock, icicle, stealth, heal, wind slash, molten claws, charge, lightning pulse, static, frost fang, frost smash, book of oaths, shapeshifting, berserk rage, hyper sense, lightning spear, thunder spear volley, storm , blizzard, rockslide, flame thrower, head smash, cloud creation Mana circles: 0 Points: 4000 Skill Points: 17 [Inventory] [Gacha] [Shop] Species: Gladius Lupin (flame) Level: 10/100 Health: 800/1000 Spd:80 ATK: 150 A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
Silverwind showed a surprised expression as she witnessed a nearly invisible spell being casted, and yet could not understand what she was quite looking at. The spell was seemingly so far beyond her understanding, but it was understood enough for her to realize that a hatchling that age shouldn''t know such things. "What spell did he just use Alexandria? I don''t think I''ve ever quite seen a spell like that. Did you teach him that perhaps?" asked Silverwind. Underneath that calm exterior curiosity was bubbling curiosity, which Alexandria was all too ready to share. "No I didn''t teach him that, supposedly Isis gave it to him." Alexandria responded, curious to see what Silverwind thought. The wolf''s great eyebrows crinkled as she pondered. "Isis is by no means weak, but she''s never been a goddess of magic." Pondered Silverwind. "Do you think she sought out the aid of a magic deity for this spell? That would be a lot of work for a random hatchling" Alexandria chewed the tip of her tail thoughtfully. "I thought of that at first too." Admitted Alexandria. "But it doesn''t seem to be Hecate''s work, and Isis has never reached out to the east before, and Odin has long hidden himself or left these lands. "Fascinating" commented Silverwind. "I think I see why you adopted him." "What, how do you know he isn''t mine? Hmm? Maybe I finally found someone." jeered Alexandria. "Not likely, you lonely skink. Your last boyfriend left you because of your drive. None of the smart ones are anywhere within a 50 mile radius of you" deadpanned Silverwind as her tail flicked dismissively. "Ouch" responded Alexandria, seemingly offended.
Huh. Well first off, interesting how its evolutionary requirement is level 100, but that might be due to a powerful bloodline. What really interested Richard was the fact that the speed was a lot lower than Richards. That definitely accounted for why although Smolderfang had a strong showing initially, it slowed down in the end. The initial surprise of fighting a foe who fought on legs was shocking, but eventually Richards superior speed allowed him to change the battle in his favor, especially with his speed. It probably helped as well since he had Atlas providing a sizeable boost in everything. Speaking of Smolder, Richard flicked him hard in the head with his tail, causing the wolf to whimper, before being shot back by a shock. Smolder seemed weirdly inexperienced as a fighter, which was amusing to Richard. How had he gotten those levels? He had to have gotten them by fighting, as he at the very least had gotten that sword and dagger from somewhere. ... Did he just steal them? Thinking Richard''s distracted, Smolder through the blade within his tail''s grasp only for Richard to move out of the way, slapping him with his tail again. ...Richard silently thanked the wolf for giving him a chance to practice with his tail more. He had really been underusing it apparently.
"Auuuntie!" whined Smolderfang as he ran back into the embrace of sister Alexandria, causing Richard to be surprised, while Silverwind looked exasperated. "And I''m the one who spoils him?" inquired Silverwind mockingly. Richard was more concerned that a wolf his age would act like that. His age... what was his age? "It''s alright Smolderfang, auntie Alexandria will make it all better." cooed Alexandria as she kissed Smolderfang''s boo boos. At least, the closest thing. Wyrms don''t have conventional lips after all. "Madam Silverwind, how old is Smolderfang?" "Four years old." "So he''s like a child? No wonder I beat him so easily." Silverwind looked at him amused. "And how old are you young hatchling?" she pointed out, and Richard''s mouth could only dry at that. "Uh, a few months old I guess." Richard admitted, realizing how silly it sounded coming from a 1 year old. "Don''t worry about it." said Panda, flicking his tail dismissively. "The brat''s only started fighting around last year. He''s been sucking teet and being comfy and all that. Was a fair match, the dogs just less of a dog, and more of a puss. " Silverwind, twitched her ear in amusement, making no comment. "So you''re the son of Ratatoskr?" "The one and only." as he puffed out his chest in pride. "You''re one year old and you''re already doing more than my son should be. Sadly, his aunt spoils him." She emphasized that while glaring at sister Alexandria. Alexandria responded. "You''re too harsh on him, he''s only four years old." Silverwind snorted. " When I was his age I was hunting through the wilderness in my own." "You were also the wild brat who brought a dragon to your home. Your elders were less than pleased with that" "And look how grateful they are now. I wish my son was more willing to go wild." "And I wish Richard wasn''t so mature. He just doesn''t want any cuddles." "HE NEEDS TO GROW UP!" "NO HE DOESN''T!" Just like church. Old people complaining about their kids. Richard sighed as he went off to hunt. At least this time he wasn''t hobbling off. Chapter 22: New Neighbors "More?" asked the bemused Silverwind as she watched Richard drag another gladius lupin over to the larger wolf, more annoyed than anything else. "Mhmm. Fifth one this week. You have to tell them to stop attacking me you know. They''re quite annoying." Silverwind shrugged. "I told them not to, but you know how youths are. Prideful, ignorant. They think they can take you on. The elders of the pack have always believed in personal responsibility. If they had died trying to hunt you, than that would have been on them. The fact that you''ve been sparing all of them up to this point has been quite generous of you." Richard shrugged. "It''s no problem. Honestly? Most of them are far weaker than your son, and with Panda around, he''s been more than capable of fighting them off." Yeah, Panda had also gone up a few levels, and just as before, in spite of his slow growth, his stats had compensated. Species: Screecher squirrel Bloodlines: Ratatoskr(active) Screecher squirrel (active) Level: 10/100 Health:2000/1000 Spd: 210 ATK: 220 Mana: 290/290 Def: 300 Skills: Mock, shriek, sharpen, gnaw, erode, camouflage, tail whip, The problem wasn''t really fighting them. It was how pointless fighting them was. For one thing, every single time he''d went off to hunt, a gladius lupin had jumped him, distracting him. And since he wasn''t killing them, he didn''t get any experience, no manastone, nada. It was a lose-lose situation. They were just annoying. "Miss Silverwind, I was hoping to propose something." Silverwind looked at him, her curiosity seemingly invited. "Ver well, Richards. What is it you want to propose?"
"... So I proposed to miss Silverwind that I go over to her part of the forest and allow them to challenge me there once a week, instead of being a huge pain in my ass every other day." Sister Alexandria nodded thoughtfully. "That''s probably for the best. The elders won''t fight you not only because you''re not worth their time, but they''re also aware enough to not pick fights with you to encourage my wrath. But children..." She sighed. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. "They''re usually young and stupid around this age, and usually, it''s around this age the stupid get culled. They''re probably seeking glory, and if they can kill you, dragon blood is quite valuable, and they could even make blades out of you." Richard felt uncomfortable for sure. Talking so casually about making blades out of their body is weird to say the least. On the other hand, since he was confident he could fend them off, it remained uncomfortable, rather than actually worrying. Hopefully this''ll get those wolves to stop bothering him.
The plan was to have a challenger''s ring in the middle of the area where the wolves had gathered, so that they could challenge Richard under the supervision of the elders, as well as sister Alexandria, who drew a great deal of attention as she slithered through the area where the pack coalesced. The area where the pack gathered was rather bare, which was likely due to the wolves individualistic nature. None of them wanted to become builders, or load mules, not in a pack like this. Funnily enough, there were some tents, seemingly created by a Gladius Lupin who had taken up the sowing needle instead of the knife, which sounded like a fun story to hear. Variants were quite rare after all. The elders were a group of Gladius Lupin who had grown too old to hunt on their own, so they had retired their blades, and now sat amongst the younglings, seemingly too be teachers to the next generation. Unlike the youth, who oohed and awed over the arrival of the wyrm, the elders seemed better at keeping straight faces. One of them stepped forward, one who wielded two blades within its maw, unlike the rest, preferring double-sided blade. His fur was a rustic red, with streaks of grey. Richard had recently learned that there was a separate muscle in the wolf''s body, completely devoted to holding blades, so the two blades had to be a unique evolution. "It is a pleasure as usual to meet the empress of lightning." He nodded his head in submission, his voice almost as rusty as his fur, yet was satisfying, like nails over the right surface. "And it is my honor to meet you once more, elder Rusticfur." The elder turned his eyes towards Richard, and despite his seeming age, his eyes had not softened. They were fierce, sharp like blades as he looked Richard up and down. "And this is your protege. hmm? You''ve managed to defeat many of the youth, and I must thank you. Humility is good for the youth, and so rarely do they get to learn such a valuable lesson without suffering a higher cost." Richard bowed his head in respect to the wolf. "It was my honor to train with my fellow youth. Though," he added, "I hope that since we''re doing this that they''ll stop bothering me mid-hunt." The elder nodded, with indifference. "Indeed, interruption during a hunt can get quite annoying. Follow me" he indicated as he began walking. Soon they reached the arena, a circle drawn into the ground. Simple, but it would do.
The elders watched on as the fight raged on, and while the clouds could block out the sight of young wolves, it did not affect the elderly, who still had sharp eyes. Rusticfur watched on critically. "He is far more methodical than you are empress." Alexandria nodded as she watched on, clearly proud of the child. "Yes, I believe he will become far greater than me one day." Silverwind nodded in clear agreement. "Of course, I doubt you could ever think of something like this. A challengers ring? You''re too hot-headed for that." Alexandria shrugged, helpless to disagree. Thwack A young wolf went flying out of the clouds, as he was whipped out by Richard''s tail. He flopped around helplessly, as the static had clearly affected him. The others were not faring much better, for in the shroud of clouds, despite their best efforts, they could not locate Richard until he was ready. Every opponent a cloud golem, until it wasn''t, and Richard was ready to take them out. A simple whip, bolts of lightning, a rain of spears, all at a moment''s notice, leaving them no chance to react. In this maze of clouds, even when they saw bolts of lightning, they arrived too late, only arriving at the scene of the battle, minus participants. Richard had allowed 10 of them to go at a time, because what did numbers matter, if they could not even use numbers? Chapter 23 The challenger''s ring quickly became a favorite amongst the young gladius lupin as another form of proving their worth, as well as a way to train safely, even when Richard wasn''t there. It also allowed them to receive tips from their elders, although there were some that complained that training in a ring lack the same danger training in the forest did. Richard had no place to argue, because he basically got his first 10 levels for free. Thankfully, the amount of cubs looking to pick fights in the middle of his hunts did decrease, though Smolderfang did still pick fights, before running back to sister Alexandria, begging for cuddles, leaving Richard more stupefied than anything else. Richard could see Silverwind''s exasperated expression, and relate to it. Now with more time to hunt, Richard had managed to reach level 22, which meant he was beginning to close in on his next evolution, and so was Atlas, since him and Atlas were going to evolve around the same time. Krackle was already at level 25, leading Richard to wonder what she''d been fighting for her to reach that level already, but he chalked it up to Krackle being more active than he was. Krackle in the water was vicious, not only good as an active predator, but had gotten good as an ambush predator. Although Krackle was fine on land, ultimately Krackle lacked mobility on land, which Richard would have to fix eventually, but he was still contemplating solutions. In fact, he''d been considering using the shop, which possible could have solutions for that. Pandamonium on the other hand, was leveling rather slowly, only reaching level 13 recently. Of course, apparently demigod blood slowed down growth rapidly, but this was rather confusing. Was the gap between the blood of the storm monarch and Ratatoskr that great? The response he received from the guide was: [Evolutions are usually meant to jump a creatures strength to another level once their limit has been reached in the current form. Despite having a bloodline, this merely alters your direction and increases potential in turn for a change in capacity necessity. As a demigod, Pandamonium has a far higher limit than you do, before needing to evolve in order to increase his "container" so to speak. In other words, your potential is not lower than his, merely your capacity and current strength. ] And that was interesting, and in a sense, made sense. He was a demigod. Born half god, so obviously the requirement to evolve would be higher. And Pandamonium didn''t seem to care. "Paah! Unlike you, little lizard, I''m already practically perfect. I mean, look at this luscious fur! All you have are those plain lifeless scales." The arrogant rat makes a pitying face. Richard disagreed of course. Panda couldn''t fly. And he thought his scales were great, and he could control clouds. All the squirrel could do was scream good. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it He was also named after a dumb black and white bear. "Hey!!!" Richard had found out from system.
The caves had become a recent piece of exploration for Richard. Recently, the hatchling had learned from sister Alexandria that all the tunnels underneath the Ymir ranges extends miles downward, and were all connected. Richard speculated that the tunnels could be a dungeon, only to receive an amused look. "As if a dungeon could contain half of what is down there." Richard, being the young human/hatchling he was/is, thus decided to go exploring again. And the deeper he went, he found her words to be well founded. Richard had spent most of his time in the caves at the higher up caves, not daring to go to deep, for fear of running into something he couldn''t beat. Thankfully, sister Alexandria babysitted him, using a magical form of camouflage to watch, but not interfere, which was appreciated, since without the attempt to hide, more likely than not, the monsters he fought would not have attacked him. A lot of worm like monsters showed up for one thing, though they were seemingly mindless, merely trying to eat him. They were easy to draw, to distract. The tunnels they resided in were far larger than the ones higher up, leading Richard to ponder what could dig such tunnels. Perhaps these worms had larger relatives? At some point, Richard witnessed an inspiration, a muse for what he should do to help Krackle. In the deep caves, where darkness was prevalent, he discovered lights hanging in the dark. A feral beast mayhaps have walked to the little light. As a creature with an ounce of common sense, Richard had a light on, generated by his own sparks of electricity. "What is that?" he asked in equal awe and fear. The light was attached to a thin tendril, dangling like a lure to prey, temptation (or perhaps disorientation?) for creatures who live in darkness connected to a gruesome beast, vile in appearance. It''s skin a horrid white, likely to have never seen the day. The creature had a protruding jaw, mangled teeth, and ... is that a second head? [It''s mate actually] Why''s it''s mate glued to it? What the hell kind of creature is that!? [The cavern angler is a monster descended from the anglers of the sea, having taken on the additional attribute of air, allowing them to swim through the air as if it is its secondary nature, maintaining it''s previous nature of using light to hunt its prey. Dark caves, are just as receptive to this form of hunting as the deep sea.] Richard had to admit that this was all very interesting. Departure into the deep sea was not a thing often done, in no small part due to the monstrosities that lived down there, like krakens, which were the bare minimum and the thing they knew most about, maybe dragon turtles. This angler creature was an exotic treasure worth observing. The cavern angler clearly didn''t see him the same way, lunging at Richard when it was exposed, the creature was far stronger than it looked, using wind magic to quickly dash into the darkness, and blinding him from unsuspecting angles. Frankly, Richard found himself outmatched. Thankfully he had a sister who could watch over him. After sister Alexandria killed the cavern angler, Richard could not help but ponder this monster, this angler. It was clearly once a sea monster, but just now, it didn''t swim in the sea, but rather swam through the air, using lights to blind foes in the murky abyss. A thought began to form in his mind, and as Richard opened up the system shop, his eyes glowed with revelation. This might be the solution to Krackle''s problem.
"eat this." Chapter 24: Eat This! Krackle looked on curiously as it''s master presented it with a shell, amongst a whole pile of weird things like mushrooms and feathers. ''Master wishes for Krackle to eat shells and things?'' Richard nodded in agreement, confirming the statement. "Yes, I want you to eat this whisper conch." ''Very well, Krackle will eat wind shells for master.'' "Pandamonium tired of Krackle''s third person speaking, Pandamonium wishes Krackle would- OH GOD DAMMIT SHE HAS ME DOING IT TOO! STOP DOING THAT!" ''Krackle refuses.'' Richard sighed, wondering, where he went wrong with Krackle. It wasn''t bad, just annoying. Richard could feel himself wince every time Richard heard- ah. ''Thinking in third person again.'' Richard sighed.
Richard, after seeing the floating fish, seemingly found his solution, which seemed obvious when looking at a dragon''s greatest tool: their wings. If Krackle did best in a water environment because of maneuverability, then the obvious solution was to make it easier for them to maneuver on land, and no amount of walking on land could produce the same level of flexibility. Not while limited to the ground. So why not fly through the air. ''System, is there any way to make Krackle capable of flight? Would perhaps eating something change the path of her evolution to flight?'' [Of course, cultivators use that solution all the time. In this case, I can list a few dozen items from the system shop that can imbue Krackle with the necessary wind attribute, though there is no guarantee this will result in flight. Altering an evolution through your own efforts can produce unique results.] Ah, the system shop. Richard hadn''t used it or browsed it honestly. He wasn''t wanting for anything up to this point, and even if he didn''t use it, the points could be put to hatching more familiars. Not only were they cheap, but they could be valuable long term. They just seemed more valuable to him than whatever could be present in the shop. Of course, he wasn''t exactly summoning anything either, on the pretense of saving rather than spending pointlessly. And it paid off right about now. 25,000 points to spend on what he needed. "So what''s your recommendation, since you''re the one with the most knowledge? [...] [Give me a minute, setting up a date with another guide.] [Upon inquiring from guide 0, it''s recommended to purchase these items:] [Whisper conches] [Gust feathers] [storm elemental tears] [Wyvern lungs] [balloon shrooms] ... "Did you say date?" [Of course. Guides have their own lives as well. We just don''t inform players of it.] If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Huh. Richard now felt a little bad about not calling the guide by any sort of name. [No worries. Guides are often noted by their number rather than names, though some are given names by their players. One guide has been called Stolidus, as in the ancient latin word for stupid. I''m often designated as 15.] Oh. Alright, definitely more to unpack and inquire about. But he was getting off topic, and he wanted to focus on his new grocery list. "So uh, could I get a description of each of the items listed above?" [Gladly] [whisper conches] [It''s said that when you put your ear to the entrance of a shell, you''ll hear the sound of the ocean calling you. In the case of the whisper conch, you can hear that and more, with whisper conches picking up sounds from the wind bringing sounds from anywhere near them, from the likes of a talk between two lovers, the screams of beasts, or even, the ocean.] [Gust feathers] [Birds of the wind attribute often drop these, and thus they are merely feathers with the attribute of wind, though most often picked from gust raptors, due to how hated they are by the locale. Good for imbuing arrows with the wind attribute, they''re also often used for feather pens, and used to make pens that make the writer work faster.] [Storm elemental tears] [Only a true monster(or moron) would make a storm elemental cry, but those who could would have themselves the tears of a storm elemental, a powerful catalyst, though many would argue unworthy the effort the required. It is good for potions, making magic circles, and stimulating the wind and storm element within creatures. ] [Wyvern lungs] [Wyvern lungs are strong and powerful, meant not only to help wyverns generate elemental magic for breath attacks, but also help wyverns circulate air during flight. The lungs suggested in this case are the ones used by wyverns dependent on speed for stronger lungs specializing in extreme circulation. More often used as a medicine for either good health, or in cases like these, to attune one to the element desired.] [Balloon shrooms] [Balloon shrooms are shrooms that will blow up to fly away, ensuring pollination as they float away into territory far from it''s forefathers. Used for medicines, makeshift bombs and sometimes bags, one has to be careful because inflated shrooms are know to explode. Although not deadly, it is still very much unpleasant. ] "Alright, how much for all of it?" [10,000 points for multiple buckets full of balloon shrooms, 5 sets of wyvern lungs, a bottle full of elemental tears, a bucket full of whisper conches, and a pillow''s wort of gust feathers.] Richard''s eyebrow creased. That sounded expensive, being little less than half his points gathered. But, he didn''t plan to purchase much else anytime soon, or any familiars, and this was an investment into his familiar Krackle, who would probably feel more comfortable out of water thanks to this. "Buy it." [Purchase is confirmed. Would you like the purchase to be placed inside the inventory, or would you like it to be placed next to you?] "In my inventory, preferably." [Done.] A ding like that of a bell found on a counter dinged, and although nothing else happened, looking into his territory did confirm he had in fact, received the purchases he made.
Sister Alexandria was a little confused when he whipped the stuff out but accepted it when he said it came from his blessing. It wasn''t technically incorrect, and by this point Richard guessed he and sister Alexandria had basically come to a silent agreement in regard to the blessing. It was obvious there was more to the blessing, but she ultimately chose to not ask, which Richard was grateful for. She also happened to agree with the sentiment of an air type evolution for Krackle. "She does seem to be more of an offensive familiar, as well as ambush. Ambush would be fine without the air attribute, but as a more versatile familiar, jumping around is hardly a solution, nor is plopping around on the floor. An air attribute would be a boon for her as an aquatic monster." "Actually, how many sea monsters end up with air attribute?" asked Richard out of curiosity. Frankly, the angler was a unique experience. He can''t really think of a time when he''d heard of flying fish. "Relatively often; though the relatively often applies to fish who use the wind attribute to manipulate currents or flying fish who use the wind attribute to fly just a little longer. Fish that actually use the flying attribute are pretty rare, only appearing in sink or swim situation. Honestly, I assume the anglers you''ve seen underwent a similar tribulation, and thus were forced to adapt the wind attribute in an act of desperation." Richard nodded thoughtfully. It made sense. Not all monsters were sentient enough to actively pressure another monster into evolving a certain way. No, desperation and the correct environment seems like the correct stimulator for a change of evolution. How far does that go then? What ways can a monster change as they evolve, to what extent can this manipulation of evolution occur? ''How curious'' thought Richard as he mused on his thoughts. Chapter 25: Water Fights, How Annoying! Richard had just discovered one of the most annoying fights he could encounter as a young lightning hatchling dragon. A fight in the water when you''re familiar is in the water with your opponent!
The day was just your average day touring the forest, with a touch of anxiety as Richards started reaching his next evolution, with his level finally reaching 24. So he was looking for something to push him to level 25. Though, he couldn''t actually tell his progress on level 24, and wished there was a better way of noticing the progress on a level. [Noted. The suggestion will be put forward to Guide 0] Well, hopefully that''ll go somewhere. It''s anxiety inducing killing something, hoping it''ll push you to the next level, only to find it had in fact, not reached that level. He''d spent a whole evening hunting monsters hoping to reach that next level killing weaker monsters, only to remain level 24. So here he was, looking for a big game monster to hunt. Maybe it was the overkilling the day before, but there was nothing to hunt. Or its possible that he was ignoring too many monsters in favor of something stronger. So he went to the pond to get himself a drink. What he found there was definitely a sight. Krackle was out of the water, locked in combat with a giant snapping turtle. Whenever Krackle tried to latch onto the beast, it snapped at the spot, clearly trying to take a bit out of Krackle, forcing Krackle to swerve out of the way. The turtle was easily Richards size, rather large for a monster. Its back was plastered with moss, glowing dimly in the day. If Krackle was reckless enough to fight it, then he should certainly try. It is his familiar after all, he should go help! Of course, as he flew down, ready to spray it with lightninng, he quickly realized the issue with trying to spray the giant turtle monster with lightning. They were in a river. Rivers conduct lightning. Huh. Switching gears, Richard decided to instead activate berserk rage, and promptly rammed into the turtle monster, earning a groan from the turtle monster which turned to give him a fierce glare, clearly just a bit angry about that. He said a bit, because he didn''t see much of a dent in the shell. Bam! The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. The turtle used it''s thick tail to swing into Richard''s face. The monster had chose to position itself between Krackle and him, dedicated its head to the octopi, while using its tail to fend off Krackle. He had to admit, that kind of hurt his pride a bit. It had deemed him the lesser threat in favor of his familiar. But he could see why. If Krackle got on, who knew if she''d come off, and the turtle would be at a clear disadvantage. Richard, as strong as he was, wasn''t a serious threat when faced with the shell. He couldn''t really tear at his neck if it wasn''t open, and the tail was still a perfectly workable distraction. Perhaps it was instinct, but it was good instinct. There''s a reason monsters thrive despite few being sapient. Richard found himself at a loss because of his inability to use anything for fear of hitting the lake and hurting everyone involved. Turns out breath attacks don''t work as well when you have friends in the very absorbent lake. He didn''t want to shock everyone, He didn''t want to freeze the lake, Growing a tree wouldn''t help right now, blowing didn''t seem appropriate on the heavy turtle, and he most certainly didn''t want to boil the lake with him in it. Eventually he settled on imbuing his claws with heat, and gripped the tail of the turtle. This time he earned a loud screech, as the monster very much was in pain now, with burn marks and bubbling flesh seared into the tail. The turtle struggled, but Richard refused to give up, instead choosing to bypass the tail in favor of the shell, because while the tail was a giant chunk of the turtle, clearly the real goal was the turtle itself. The claws dug into the shell with great resistance, as the shell refused to easily give way, leaving gashes, but nothing lasting. The moss on the shell reached out and stuck onto Richards, leaving him entangled, and forced to use his molten claws to burn through the moss before being freed, but leaving him now more weary of the rather innocent looking moss. The shells too goddamn tough! The shells too tough... So lets go under. As Richard thought these words, he began using his cloud manipulation skills, and creating cloud golems to aid in this endeavor. Perhaps he could do this alone, but he wasn''t taking chances. Going overkill is better than missing the mark. The turtle, unsure what was happening, bared its fangs at the cloudy figures, and resisted when they grabbed, but being distracted by both Krackle and Richard, the turtle was helpless to stop what was next. Even with it''s strong arms, the arms meant nothing to the clouds, which could feel no pain. The cloudy figures, seemingly having grabbed the appropriate ridges and legs, flipped the turtle over, revealing its under shell. Richard prepped his molten claws and dug into the shell. The shell was still hard to dig into, but there was another advantage to the current scenario, and that was how exposed his foe was. Using his molten claws, he grasped around the turtles head, twisted, and yanked! Blood splattered a little, sure, but no different than it usually was. The turtle, having been promptly decapitated, stopped flailing about as it did moments ago. [Congratulations! You have slayed a lvl 35 snapping moss turtle!] [You have reached level 25! Feel free to open the evolution menu when you''re ready.] And he would eventually open it, sure, but first, he wanted to eat. Using his molten claws, he dug into the shell of the corpse. He could probably just reach through the spot where the turtle''s head had once been, but that was just a bit too much for him. He wasn''t squeamish, just uninterested in shoving his arm as deep as up to his shoulders for the magic stone. When he exposed the mana stone, it wasn''t that large, but it was a pretty green, with twinkles of less appealing greens. Biting into it, he found the texture was fine, but the taste was a weird mix of fish and chicken. Truly, everything tastes like chicken.
Seeing Richard, sister''s first comment was: "You seem about ready to evolve; you''re practically bursting with mana right now." Richard nodded. "I''ll do it later. I''m trying to figure out how to cook turtle right now." Shifting her eyes to the turtle, she grinned. "Don''t worry, a friend taught me how to prep turtle. Just sit back and watch me do it!" She said confidently. And so they had turtle stew that night, and Richard had to admit it was quite good, though he wondered where she learned to cook such a weird dish. Richard put off evolving to tomorrow. He was tired after pulling that turtle out of its shell. Chapter 26: Evolutions Part 1 And upon the next day, Richard sat down to consider evolutions. Not his yet, because he wasn''t the only one to hit level 25. Atlas, as a parasite who was siphoning off his levels, had also hit 25, so he was also at the point of evolution, which did interest Richard a bit. An evolved blood tick? He''d never seen one before. Actually, what were the chances anyone had ever witnessed one? Sister Alexandria was also curious to see the outcome and had wrapped around a tree to sit and watch. Panda was just sitting nearby, seemingly indifferent. Richard opened the system, choosing to focus on Atlas'' status instead. [Congratulations to Atlas for reaching level 25!] [Your options are as follows:] [Atlas Arms Beetle Grub] [ Arms Beetle Grub] [ Ant arms Larva] [wasp arms larva] Looking at the options he was provided with, Richard was more curious than anything else. The Atlas arms seemed to be the most tempting to look at, but first he would examine the other options. Answer may seem obvious, but Richard was the curious kind, and he''d be remiss if he didn''t share the knowledge with sister Alexandria. Alright, from bottom to top then. [Wasp arms larva] [as an evolution to the blood tick, the wasp arms larva is as it sounds, a larva. However, the potential it offers is great. Although not much can be said, the wasp arms is a symbiotic creature that offers great speed and increased air maneuverability. This phase of evolution will be a temporary phase over the course of a month in which the creature must be fed a mana rich diet] [Ant Arms Larva] [As an evolution to the blood tick, the ant arms larva is as it sounds, a larva. However, the potential it offers is great. Although not much can be said, the ant arms is a symbiotic creature that offers great strength in proportion to its size and increased jaw strength, and is recommended for those producing an army. This phase of evolution will be a temporary phase over the course of a week in which the creature must be fed a mana rich diet.] [Arms Beetle Grub] [As an evolution to the blood tick, the ant arms larva is as it sounds, a larva. However, the potential it offers is great. Although not much can be said, the beetle arms is a symbiotic creature that offers great strength and defense, as well as the ability to switch between defense and strength. This phase of evolution will be a temporary phase over the course of a month in which the creature must be fed a mana rich diet.] There was certainly a lot to unpack here. The concept of a temporary evolution wasn''t new to Richard, the very idea of such a thing did exist. Many bug monsters are known to have a pupa phase and a larvae phase; the fact that caterpillar monsters were often seen spinning cocoons was proof enough. The fact that the blood tick''s next evolution however would be a larvae phase was quite surprising. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. And the atlas arms beetle grub: [Atlas arms beetle grub] [As an evolution to the blood tick, the Atlas arms beetle grub is as it sounds, a larva. However, the potential it offers as a blessed of it''s namesake is tremendous. Although not much can be said, the Atlas arms beetle is a symbiotic creature that offers immense strength and great defense, as well as the ability to switch between defense and strength. As a variant of the arms beetle, the potential it has is humongous, possibly capable of drawing upon the true potential of the blood tick''s ancestor. This phase of evolution will be a temporary phase over the course of 2 months in which the creature must be fed a mana rich diet.] Huh. That description clearly indicated that he should choose this evolution in spite of the 2 month phase without Atlas. Even if Atlas was a lot more quiet than the others, he still served as a major boost to Richard''s combat prowess, so he would be a little crippled without the blood tick. Probably best to ask about that true potential. "Sister Alexandria..." Richard called out to the patient wyrm. "Yes child? Have you perhaps chosen the evolution to the blood tick? I must say I''m quite curious to see why this blessing of yours encourages you to evolve a blood tick." "Well..." The next few min would be spent explaining the descriptions and the options offered. "Fascinating... To think the blood tick would evolve into a larva instead of a bigger blood tick of sorts. Truly it does exceed my own expectations. As for the true potential, I suspect it refers to the dormant bloodline of Atlas." Richard''s brow crinkled at the thought. "Dormant bloodlines?" He voiced his curiosity. He could guess, but more information is always better. "Well, the saying goes that only one tiger can live on a mountain, and that''s true for monsters. However, the result of this is that the more powerful a monster is, the rarer it is for a monster to find a mate of equal strength. And thus since there are no monsters of equal strength to breed with, the tiger will have to settle with a cat. The child born will be weaker than their progenitor, and chances are, will lack the will it''s progenitor had, thus never reaching the same heights, eventually settling with a creature weaker than them. This goes on and on, until the descendent of the original tiger is nothing but a shadow of its former self. All that remains is a dormant bloodline of the monster that''s too small to really matter, and can only be awaken through intense stimulation." Richard nodded and found it interesting. It wasn''t hard to understand the concept, but it had simply never crossed his mind. He ventured. "In that case, then the ability to awaken a dormant bloodline is..." "Good, very good. Great in fact." Alexandria said excitedly. "If I had to guess, it''s likely due to the blessing of Atlas which has stimulated the bloodline. The bloodline may not majorly affect the evolutions for now, but if nothing else, it will greatly improve on the evolutions powers." "So I should choose this one?" "Yes, definitely yes." "But it might require a high source of food in the meantime." Richard worriedly pointed out. He wasn''t sure how much the evolution would take, being 2 months straight of extra food needing to be procured. Alexandria huffed, seemingly trying to make herself bigger, but ultimately just looking a little fat around the front instead. "Richard, have you forgotten already? I''m a wyrm. No matter how much it needs, I can easily procure the resources needed for the next few months. Besides." She added, whisking a basket of caveshines out. "Did you forget about these?" Richard''s eyes lit up as he look at the sizeable amount of caveshines, more than he had initially given sister Alexandria. He rushed up to sister Alexandria to give her a great big hug as thanks. Did her face get a little redder. "Ahem. Anyway, since you got some for me, I''ve been growing plenty of them, and probably more than enough to provide one little grub. Worse comes to worse, I go hunt some meat for the critter." Richard nodded, confirming that it would be alright to choose the greater option. [You have chosen the evolution atlas arms beetle grub] [Evolution will commence.] A seemingly unknown pressure disappeared from his back, and turning around, Richard watched curiously as Atlas seemingly dropped off, twitching on the floor. crack crack Atlas''s carapace cracked, as something bulged underneath the surface, struggling its way out. Panda''s face scrunched up. "I don''t care what anyone says, I do not look forward to my next evolution. I better not crawl out of my own skin." As he wretched a little. Right, Panda wasn''t there for his first evolution. Richard watched in morbid curiosity as a white maggot like creature burst out of the carapace of his familiar. It then began eating it''s former carapace quickly and without hesitation. It finished quickly. The grub looked around twitching it''s cute little front arms, before a word was uttered. hungry whispered Atlas into the connection, and obliging, Richard took a few caveshines out of sister Alexandria''s basket, which Atlas sniffed and then eagerly began chewing. The beetle grub looked just as it sounded, a grub, with a seemingly tint of blue lurking just beneath the surface of the creature''s skin, shining just under the surface. Little black dots lined the creature''s skin, contrasting with the translucent white skin. Alexandria looked at it curiously. "How wonderful! To think the blood tick''s truly had a secret evolution like this. I might just have to get one myself and test out the other options." While Alexandria was musing over the little grub, Richard was prepping himselfe Alright. Time for evolution 2. Chapter 27: Evolutions Part 2 The last time Richard had evolved he''d been headbutted by a rat immediately afterwards, and the pain wasn''t great either. So he was a little reluctant this evolution around. Nonetheless, it wasn''t like he could just avoid it. He was a monster now. Evolution was just part of life. And... he enjoys fighting a little. Finding solutions to the problems he faced in battle, finding a way to outsmart his enemies, there was something that just made him feel better. His pride upon finding solutions to his problems perhaps? Nonetheless... [Congratulations for reaching level 25! These are the evolutions available to you!] ... He was going to move forward in his life. It wasn''t just fighting. He had people waiting for him. [Thunder monarch wyrm(juvenile)] [Lightning Dragon (juvenile)] [Stormback wyrmwhale (juvenile)] [cloud dragon (juvenile)] [storm dragon (juvenile)] [lightning wyvern(juvenile)] Richard immediately cast the wyvern, wyrm and lightning dragon options aside. The wyvern and wyrm could be good options, bult ultimately Richard enjoyed his current body too much to change it out. But what was a stormback wyrmwhale? System? [The stormback wyrmwhale is a creature following the innate bloodline of the storm monarch. To become a stormback is to forsake the land permanently, trading arms for fins and to trade in the dragon body in for a more whale like shape. While speed will suffer slightly, it will be traded in for immense strength, defense, and to also gain an adaptation for water.] What? So sister Alexandria isn''t the storm monarch. "Sister Alexandria what is the storm monarch?" he asked carefully. He didn''t want to sound accusatory, but he also really wanted to know where this came from. Why would a whale have a adaptation for storms. A storm in the water sounded like a horrid thing for a sea monster to manipulate. Thankfully sister Alexandria didn''t seem insulted. She was taken aback a little. "Did your blessing mention anything about the storm monarch?" She asked softly in return. When Richard explained the evolution, she nodded in understanding. "To think your system was able to detect the origin of the storm monarch bloodline. I was curious to see if it would connect that bloodline back to me or the storm monarch himself. It seems to have done both according to your explanation." She chuckled softly as her tail scratched her chin wistfully. "The storm monarch was my teacher for a time, and was one of the greatest monsters in this world. He was a whale, yes, but not quite the type you''re thinking of." Oh? Seeing his curious expression, she teased him a little. "Looks like someone''s excited." She cooed before chuckling. "He was a skywhale before he became the storm monarch." A skywhale? What is that. Could it be? It''s in the name. But a whale! But wasn''t he trying to achieve something similar? But how could such a thing exist and yet never be seen? The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. As Richard agonized over something that seemed so obvious but also impossible, she continued on. "A skywhale is just as it sounds. They''re whales that swim through air, but swim as altitudes so high that people never actually get the chance to see them. They weren''t predatory by nature, but as a variant species, the storm monarch climbed the food chain to become the apex predator, taking that spot by sheer power." A variant? Wow! Richard was breathless at the thought. This skywhale already seemed to be a rare monster (he''d never heard anyone ever mention one before) but to also be a variant of a rare species? Looking at Richard''s astonished face, she nodded. "Indeed, the storm monarch was an impressive being. Unlike the others who bore a resemblance to whales like humpbacks or blue whales, as a variant, he always resembled those sperm whales, though he always denied it. He said it had to do with something... older." She squinted at those words. "Frankly, I could never quite figure out what that meant. What kind of older whale could he be? But I also knew he had a point. There was something about him far more domineering than just a variant. Eventually he got too strong and became too much for this world. So he... ascended." "... He became a god?" "Nah. That''s more of an eastern cultivators thing, like a friend of mine does. He just flew up further than any creature in this world has ever flown before. He went to the space in which there is no air." Huh. That sounded pretty heavy, but storm monarch is what matters more now. "Then is he still alive?" "Oh, totally. He gave me a candle tied to his life so if he died(cultivator thing again, learned it from a friend of mine) I would know." She sighed forlornly. "It''s been a thousand years so far. Lord knows what that geezer is doing now." Shaking her head, she looked at Richard again, choosing to change the subject. "So, what''s your choice on the matter?" "Probably not." Richard had no problem making this decision She nodded. "As I suspected. Is it because of the mobility problems?" "Yes, after all, it says whale so I''m going to assume the form is large." "Skywhale''s are on average the size of 2-3 castles. My master was double their size." "Well that confirms it." nods Richard. "I can''t use a dragon form to blend into human society, but when traversing other areas in dragon form, the last thing I wat is to be a whale who basically can''t navigate anything." Alright, moving on. [cloud dragon(juvenile)] [Cloud dragons manipulate clouds in mysterious ways, choosing to not simply rely on clouds, but the art of mixing clouds with other aspects of air. Their manipulation over body of gasses will increase and the power of things derived of clouds will increase in power.] [Storm dragon(juvenile)] [The storm dragon is the center of the storm. Not content to merely generate lightning, the storm dragon is a dragon who''s begun upon the path of storms, to start generating storm clouds as well as well as greater wingspan to increase flight ability.] Those two... Richard''s pondered, before bringing up these two options to Alexandria, who also had to contemplate it. "I have to say, it''s somehow more difficult to have choices clearly present before you." admitted Alexandria. "Natural evolution kind of leaves you to accept because you don''t have any alternatives, but when you''re provided options it becomes harder to choose a path without regrets." Richard nodded solemnly as he looked over these two. They''re both pretty good. Frankly, he was already leaning towards the storm dragon, but he had to acknowledge the great versatility this gas manipulation could have, and more importantly, the idea that most of what he did with lightning wasn''t special enough to justify a second evolution into it. From what he could tell, this would be his chance to switch over to another specialization. On the other hand, lightning wasn''t failing him, and this evolution would allow for more versatility, still allowing him to still develop cloud abilities, but without the tempting increase manipulation of the cloud dragon. Richard agonized over it for a while before finally coming to his decision. As tempting as cloud dragon was, Richard hadn''t used it enough to decide upon a whole switch to only clouds, especially when Storm dragon still offered an upgrade to clouds in the form of storm clouds. And so he chose storm dragon. The pain was great, as Richard gritted his teeth, but he noticed it felt less painful for some reason. He could feel his body changing once more as his wings stretched and pulled, connecting to places it hadn''t been connected to before. He could feel change racing throughout his body, from the very tip of his tail to the end of his snout, as the evolution painfully restructured his body. As he changed though, a sudden pang of pain happened, a flash seared through his brain, before Richard blacked out!
Where was he? What was this darkness? Richard looked around, yet could see nothing but darkness. There was nothing to be seen, but then there was too much to see. A blinding light enveloped him from one direction, and Richard had to squint as he slowly adjusted. Turning to look at the light, as something instinctual pulled at him, some sense of reverence. Not fear, but a sense of closeness unseen before. Richard felt a weird sense of closeness, a desire to view this light. To praise it. The light gave illumination to the darkness before him, as he looked at endless walls of plates, far larger than anything else he had ever seen before. The light was split in half by a column of pure black, and as Richard stared at the light, he came to realize something. The iridescent light wasn''t a light, it was an eye. That column of darkness was the pupil. The eye stared at him. It felt like an eternity as the eye stared at him, as Richard held his breath. Something rumbled through his mind. ()#(*$)&#)%&(*# #*&%(&#(&^%(# &(%&#(*^(#)$$( Something flew through his mind as the eye focused on him. Indescribably words and intent directed at him, overwhelming him. The closeness did not disappear though, and if anything, a greater warmth enveloped him. The eye was staring at him with affection. It soon closed thereafter though, leaving Richard in darkness again, cold and alone. It was cold without the eye. A rumpling ocurred as the endless wall of plates moved in darkness. JKT JKT JKT JKT JKT JKT JKT JKT JKT JKT JKT JKT JKT JKT JKT JKT JKT JKT JKT JKT JKT JKT JKT JKT The endless sounds of the heavy plates clattering enveloped all of Richard''s senses as he fell asleep in the darkness.
And then he awoke. Chapter 28: Aftereffect blink, blink Richard slowly opened his eyes as he slowly came to, aches present throughout his body, coming face to face with the worried faces of his familiars and sister Alexandria. Well, two of them. Atlas was trying to look worried, but was obviously distracted by chewing as he looked at him. Panda''s worried face quickly shifted to exasperation. "All right, the big dumb lizard is back up. Back to business everyone." Richard rolled his eyes and came face-to-face with sister Alexandria, who still looked worried. "Richard''s, by any chance did evolving hurt a little?" She asked worriedly. When Richard nodded, she frowned a bit. And when Richard asked why: "Evolution isn''t meant to hurt in that kind of way. It hurts, sure, but more in that itching sort of way. I don''t know why it hurts you so much." she admitted. Sister Alexandria fretted a little, worrying about what could possibly be wrong with him. Thankfully, the system already had an explanation. [It''s simple. Your soul was initially incompatible with your body. You must''ve noticed that the first evolution hurt a great deal, whereas the second evolution has hurt fairly less. As your soul and body become more in-sync, the pain will lessen for evolution.] That made sense. Maybe. Richard didn''t know souls, so maybe that made tons of sense, maybe it made no sense. Nonetheless, he felt better knowing this, and seeing sister Alexandria''s face loosen up when she heard the explanation. As for his new body... Well, first off, there were a few clouds drifting around him. Not huge ones, but small clouds were drifting around him, his feet, his tail, his wings. His wings. Richard''s wings had grown larger, larger in proportion to the rest of the body. with the membrane now stretching to connect to his tail, with the webbing having streaks of red running through them, appearing suddenly and random, like watching lightning strike against the blue sky. Red tints ran across his scales, as red crystals lined his spine, tiny but present. His tail ended in a protruding fin, much like the one a fish may have, though Richard believed it lied somewhere more along what the skywhale had for a fin. Richard hoped he could see one someday. So what were his status. [Storm dragon(juvenile)] [Lvl 1/100] [Health: 700] [Spd:400] [ATK: 310] [Mana: 600] [Def: 200] If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. [Skills: Scratch, Glide, Screech, Appraisal(lvl 5), fireball, rock smash, splash, vine whip, shock, icicle, stealth, heal, wind slash, molten claws, charge, lightning pulse, static, frost fang, frost smash, book of oaths, shapeshifting, berserk rage, hyper sense, lightning spear, thunder spear volley, storm , blizzard, rockslide, flame thrower, head smash, cloud creation, storm cloud manipulation, divebomb, storm bank] [Mana circles:0] [Points: 3500] [Skill Points:30] [inventory] [Gacha] [Shop] The stats seemed to have changed around. His speed now exceeded his strength, and his defense grew less than the others. Looking at the extended webbing, Richard wondered if this was thanks to the increased delicacy, or perhaps his increased speed, now greater than strength was the trade he had made. It wasn''t the huge jump he had expected, but that was also expected. Though, the 100-level requirement was a 4x jump, versus the 2.5 multiplier he had in his first evolution. [The bloodline was a factor in this, promising greater growth, but also increasing your limit, meaning you''ll have further to go in order to evolve.] That was fair. What about these clouds. Richard was staring at all the little clouds floating by, weirdly orbiting him. Yeah, storm dragon, but he wasn''t expecting little clouds to appear. The storm cloud manipulation skill was more along the lines of what he expected. [The miniature clouds are related to the skill you have known as storm bank.] Storm bank. The other skill. ''Alright, how does storm bank skill work then?'' [The skill storm bank allows the user to store lightning within the miniature clouds currently under his control to be utilized at another time and location. They do require manual charging on your own time, but you can store and absorb lightning for your own use without using mana. It''s like an extra pool of resources to use.] Well isn''t that useful. Staring at the clouds, Richard focused on the tiny little puff clouds, and as he did so he could feel a tug of mana, as his energy left his body. The tiny clouds darkened ever so slightly as they started swirling with tiny red streaks of lightning. Turning his attention to a nearby tree, he told it to fire, and it did so as if part of his body, as a strike of red lightning blasted out of the cloud and blew a hole clean through the tree! A thumping sound could be heard, as sister Alexandria thumped on the ground with her tail, as if to give applause, which did make Richard feel a bit embarrassed, but also a bit happy. Krackle was clapping with their tentacles while Atlas took some time to try to clap while Panda just rolled his eyes. "Whatever." Richard having confirmed the skill in fact, did work, was satisfied with what his new form was. It looked like it had good potential, especially since he essentially had extra mana in a sense, though it was limited in what it could do. But... There was something that was bothering him. A light... There was something about it... What was it he was forgetting? "Sister Alexandria, do the dragons have a god?" "Pardon?" "Like, is there a god of dragons perhaps?" She cocked her head in confusion. "What made you bring that up so suddenly?" He didn''t have a response, just a nagging feeling. When she saw he had nothing else to say she continued. The wyrm waived her tail. "There are many dragons who have become gods, but no, there is no god of dragons. Did you see something?" she asked, narrowing her eyes. Richard shook his head. "No, I just had a weird desire to ask that." he said, reaching for something that despite his effort, he couldn''t remember what compelled him to ask. Sister Alexandria nodded. "It''s fine. Many young dragons feel themselves compelled to ask that question. After all, many other races of sapient monsters have a god that supposedly created them, and yet dragons do not." she laughed, though there was a tint of mockery in this laugh. "It''s lead some dragons to believe themselves to be the greatest race, higher than all other races. Some even think of themselves as gods amongst lizards." Richard had to cringe at any dragon believing that. Yeah, sure dragons are strong, but gods? That felt like pure arrogance. Richard was brought back from death by a god. That didn''t feel like something a dragon could do. Whatever, the desire for an answer had already dissipated. He''d evolved, so now it back to normal. Well, that, and time to conduct some experimentation with his new body.
It was turning out to be a weird day so far. A few weeks after evolving he hadn''t managed to level up more than once. That was expected. New evolution likely meant slowed growth. Fine. What he didn''t expect was a flying octopus and a giant god crab that referred to itself in third person. ''Karkinos is no mere god crab! Karkinos is the god crab. Click Click Click.'' Do all dragons have such exciting lives or was he just lucky? Chapter 29: The Earth Shakes The next few days following his evolution were quite peaceful. For one thing, Atlas had become an amusing sight, and helped Richard discover why people had pets. They were just so cute to watch! Krackle and Panda had never quite given off the vibe of wanting to be taken care of. Despite being newborns, they very much acted mature, with Krackle being a silent and independent hunter, managing their own life, and Panda being a loud rambunctious middle aged man who basically cursed him out whenever he had the chance to. Richard was sure it was out of affection, but that didn''t exactly endear him as a pet, with Richard treating him like an old man. And Atlas had been extremely quiet, to the point he was more like an ornament than an honest to goddess familiar. Nowadays however, he acted wildly different. Stuffing his cheeks, dawdling around, Atlas had become more childish, less like the quiet blood tick he had been before. Richard wasn''t quite sure why this was the case, but nonetheless, it made Atlas so much cuter, especially since he was now prone to falling over. Now Richard knew why people kept pets, and wondered a bit if his own life would have been more fun with a little grub like Atlas. When the little brat known as Smolderfang saw his new evolution, he challenged him again. Thwack! And like last time, Richard throttled him all the same. While there though, and while Smolderfang was being babied by sister Alexandria, Silverwind had something to announce. They were leaving. Turns out that they had to migrate to new lands for the young. While Sister Alexandria was rather sentimental about it, saying her heartfelt goodbyes with her weird wrap hug, Richard was more practically curious. Why were they migrating. "To help them get stronger." She said simply. The young wolves needed a chance to get experience, so throughout the year gladius lupin raveled through different areas with different densities of mana and thus different levels of monsters, all the while the elderly and the strong oversaw their growth, making sure they didn''t see anything too far beyond their strength. It made sense from a practical standpoint, since monsters need experience and mana to evolve. Rather than just staying in one area, traveling through multiple and slowly raising the difficulty scaling seemed the safest and most controlled way of doing so. In particular, they intended to travel near human towns in order to collect more weapons for their youth. This gave Richard many mixed feelings, most having to do with who he was. As a human, he worried about the innocent people likely to be dragged into an unfortunate situation. This was likely to end up with some dead people, but it ultimately couldn''t be helped. Because as a monster, Richard understood the desperation of the world. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.The gladius lupin need their blades in order to survive, and unfortunately, they can''t purchase them. Monsters that do live amongst the people such as lizardmen, dragonewts, minotaurs, and others often suffered prejudice in spite of their very obvious sapience.Richard hadn''t even seen any monsters save his childhood friend Lyssandra, who had been a dragonewt, and despite having lived in the temple for years, had still faced judgement in the temple. Richard was glad he had shapeshifting, otherwise he wasn''t sure how he would sneak into human society later on. Monsters like gladius lupin wouldn''t even be given a chance to ask for weapons. And so, they saw the gladius lupin off. And while he wasn''t particularly emotional about it, he was going to miss the wolves. Just a little bit. Maybe he''d get to see them again next year.
Apparently when aquatic monsters gain the ability to fly, they ultimately just look like they''re swimming but through air. This was the lesson Richard learned by observing Krackle, who looked like they were just traversing the oceans, and could almost pass off as doing so were it not that Krackle was flying. It was an interesting sight for sure. He had been a bit worried initially about any possible feedback the new form may have had on the octopulse, but the happy chirping of the little critter and the assurance of the system allowed Richard to remain assured this new ability was not affecting his familiar thankfully. Speaking of the system... [Congratulations! You''re efforts have paid off, and Krackle has gained the air attribute! The system does recommend continued feedings nonetheless, to increase air attribute concentrations to shift the favor to air evolutions] Awesome. Richard was curious. ''Does that count as a new form or just a new attribute? [Well, you see...] As Richard asked the system some more questions in regards to the status of monsters, Panda heard something unusual. ''Krackle can''t wait to go show master Krackle''s new ability!'' Wait a minute when did the inkbag have a master? Who would be it''s master. Panda got just the slightest bit worried, especially once it dove into the lake. A few moments in, and... Rumble Well that couldn''t be good. Rumble Not good at all. The squirrel gave Richard a good face slapping, much to Richard''s confusion and chagrin. Rumble "Yes?" he asked, mildly annoyed by the slap. Rumble "Look you blank-ass drifting lizard moron! The inkbag went to find their master!" Rumble Richard frowned for a minute. "What master could they be talking about? SIlverwind''s gone and sister Alexandria most definitely isn''t an aquatic combatant. Rumble Now Richard sensed the rumbling, and soon cracks made themselves apparent, very much worrying Richard. Rumble "That can''t be good." He said. The groaning of the earth grew louder and the cracks spread further, causing Richard to take flight, picking up his little rat to flee with. As they flew upwards Richard witnessed a good chunk of the forest fall down into the crevasse, exposing a shiny blue carapace. Edges and rims made themselves apparent rising above the land, as dirt slid itself off the newly revealed creature. A dark blue crab exposed itself, with one larger fiery red hand and the massive long spindly being decorated with crystals seemingly sprouting out of random locations. The crab was huge, easily the size of a small island crouched, to say nothing of the fact that it was crouched. On its back was a huge mountain, which Richard quickly came to realize was not just a mountain, but an extra shell, much like that which a hermit crab may have, spiraling high into the sky similar to a conch shell in nature. Its eyes were black as the abyss themselves. Its aura despite how calm it was, exuded dominance. Richard had felt it twice already, making him feel almost ridiculous honestly. One familiar was fathered by a god, the second blessed by one, and apparently a third was taught by a god. Richard couldn''t help but laugh in spite of himself. What were the chances? And the familiar in question? Currently floating in front of the crab whimsically as it swam through the air showing off all sorts of moves. The crab did not move, yet the noise vibrating through their mind was proof enough the crab was amused, as the rumbling laughter droned through their mind. Another shape came crashing through the air as sister Alexandria arrived next to Richard, making him feel much safer. Even though the crab had made no move against them, Richard still felt fear of the thing that could clearly grind him into paste with but one of its many legs. Sister Alexandria on the other hand, only sighed, exasperated. "Oh great, he''s awake." she muttered. The crab turned towards them, before rushing over, faster than a creature that size had any right to be, as Richard clutched even closer to sister Alexandria, and even Pandamonium felt a little wary. ''Little wyrm! Good to see you as always!" The crab boomed, it''s voice reasonating through the groups heads. ''Karkinos sees you''ve even brought a tiny lizard with you!'' And as it looked at him he felt a ripple of astonishment in the endless abyss Richard believed were eyes. ''You reek of gods'' Whispered the crab Chapter 30: Relocation Sister Alexandria rolled her eyes. "Of course he would. He''s been blessed twice already." The crab swung it''s body side to side, as if to shake its head. "Incorrect, Karkinos senses more than two gods, perhaps 4, maybe even 5." Sister Alexandria looked confused by that statement, as she pondered that comment. Richard was just lost. 4? 5? When would he have encountered two other gods. Pandamonium rolled his eyes. "You''re overthinking it you jumbo-sized freak seafood plate! Look over here you moron! Me and the worm! Notice anything?!" Karkinos squinted his eyes as he stared at the two, before looking at Richard, squinting at the group. "Perhaps. Karkinos cannot tell who those gods are. It is... ambiguous." He sounded unsure, which also left Richard a bit anxious. clearly, however, clearly Richard was the only one who cared. "WHO cares which gods were giving my stupid lizard the stink eye! Look at the F*%&ING forest! It''s ruined, gone, reduced to nothing!" Sister Alexandria clearly seemed nonplussed about this however. "It''s fine" she said dismissively. "Give it a few years, maybe a decade or two, and it''ll be back to normal" "Oh, yeah, that''s just fine and dandy, just wait a few years, yeah sure, I"M A FEW MONTHS OLD< MAYBE A YEAR OR TWO, A FEW YEARS IS LIKE A LIFETIME AROUND HERE!" Richard was inclined to agree to a certain extent, though he wouldn''t express it so. Atlas was... chewing. Probably the only calm one, who''d luckily been carried over by sister Alexandria. Still very cute, but now it was just a bit more obvious Richard would have to keep a close eye on the little critter, lest something similar happen again. Wait. Again? Hopefully not. That wasn''t something to make a habit of. How many of this... thing could be napping about. Pandamonium clearly had no problem expressing his concern. "WHY THE F&*k IS THERE A GOD NAPPING AROUND HERE ANYWAYS! WHY ARE YOU SO CALM ABOUT THIS! THIS ISN''T JUST A CASUAL THING !" This, sister Alexandria conceded with. "Karkinos is a friend of mine, who came from the East. He''s a um... self-made god." She seemed linger on those words. "Self-made?" blurted out Richard. He couldn''t help himself. "What does that mean? Is he self-proclaimed or..." "He''s real alright." snorted the squirrel. "I can smell the divine aura all over this giant hunk of seafood. He''s very much a god. You have to give him some credit for that." he said, clearly annoyed about that. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! "Indeed, Karkinos is a true god, who actually earned his place. Karkinos is a great god!" Boasted the crab. "Oh shut it!" complained the squirrel. "What kind of god just drops down in the middle of nowhere and just naps! Some godhood this is! Man, what a perfectly good use of that stature of divinity this is. Napping out here, if you were going to do that, why bother even becoming a god!?" He mocked. Richard had other priorities of course. "How did he become a god though? I didn''t know becoming a god was possible. I mean, I always regarded it more as a fairy tale, the kind of stories spread by the church to spread their gospel." "Well those are very much an entire other thing going on. As for Karkinos here, he is what the easterners call a "cultivator". They use a special technique of circulating that which they call "qi" to create a unique internal spiritual system, which they build and improve upon until they reach what they call the pinnacle and break through to becoming a god." "Eh?" said Richard. He was still a bit lost. There was a lot to ask about in that statement, and currently he wasn''t sure where to start. Pandamonium sighed. "Qi is some other energy running through our body. Don''t worry about that. And it''s basically just more complicated mana circle, that''s made to help restructure their souls into divine souls." "And that works?" Richard asked uncertainly. "Well case in point:" Panda indicated towards the giant crab, who flexed his claws appreciatively. Panda did clear things up for Richard, but regardless of the explanation, Richard had more questions. Sister Alexandria had more important things to focus on though. "Ok, look, whatever, we can talk some more about this later. Care to explain what all this is? You told me you wouldn''t wake up for another few centuries" She asked. Oh yeah. No one had really explained this situation. Including... "Krackle..." "Yes?" Krackle asked happily. "... What have you been up to in the last few weeks?" Clearly, Richards had been paying too little attention
Krackle had been lurking, exploring, searching Krackle''s new domain. As Krackle grappled alongst the bottom of the lake, Krackle couldn''t help but notice under the layers of dirt, there was more. A weird course surface. How odd. Krackle found that by scrubbing the surface a blue surface made itself apparent. Krackle found this interesting. In it''s free time when Krackle wasn''t hunting, Krackle took the time to look for unique features in this blue surface. Bumps, ridges, hills, so man unique features, it gave Krackle endless amusement! Krackle also occasionally felt rumblings in the land as it moved ever so slightly. Occasionally Krackle would find itself referring to itself in third person as a voice passed in and out of its mind. Just as quickly as the voice appeared, it disappeared. Krackle felt its encouragement, amusement in its voice, and in this, Krackle found great joy. Nonetheless, the experiences came and went. One day Krackle encountered 4 giant rocks, swaying in the water, which particularly stood out amongst the little obstacles in the water, leading Krackle to dust these swaying rocks. The outer two gave way to red swaying whips, fervently moving in the water, and seeing them filled Krackle with anticipation. And when she uncovered the final two rocks, she came face to face with two looming black holes, the abyss itself, and it welcomed her. "My student" came the voice, finally clear and present. "Karkinos looks forward to our next lessons."
Krackle would spend the next few weeks learning tips and tricks from the rumbling voice in her head. Despite her only awareness of their new master being two eyes coming out of the dirt, Krackle trusted their teacher fully for an unknown reason, learning all the hunting techniques he could offer, the camoflauge, even the earth controlling techniques. One day, when their master handed them a shell to eat, Krackle told their teacher about the very same day, and their teacher chuckled, speaking of things Krackle could not understand. And when Krackle finally gained the ability to fly, Krackle wanted to show their teacher they could fly. Sadly however, since their master was in the lake, he could not see them fly. Their teacher understood Krackle''s issue, and thus strived to fix the problem their student lamented over. So teacher got up that day.
"So you''ve been awake for the last few weeks?" "THAT"S WHY YOU GOT UP AND DESTROYED THE WHOLE GODDAMN AREA! FOR A GODDAMN SHOW-AND-TELL! WHAT KIND OF HAREBRAINED, BASIC ASS BITCH KIND OF THINKING IS THAT! MY GOD WHY EVEN NAP LIKE THIS WHEN YOU''RE GOING TO DO SO-" "Krackle learned earth control techniques?" nom nom nom nom nom Clearly everyone had different thoughts currently. Chapter 31: New Home, same Activities While Karkinos and sister Alexandria went off about a tangent and Panda kept screeching and complaining, Richard talked some more with Krackle about this earth manipulation, and found out that Krackle now had some level of earth manipulation, with it even being labeled in their skills. After that, Richard had to wonder if he was a poor master, considering he hadn''t even noticed that, but also remembered that until recently that Krackle had been spending most of their time in the lake, so there wasn''t much time to take notice of what Krackle was doing. That''s what Richard told himself at least. Anyway, the way Krackle had been using earth manipulation had been to use it to create earthen shells for themselves, and at the same time, to mimic the form of a crab. Apparently Karkinos had been teaching Krackle some form of 8 legged martial arts (skyborn strikes, blades of heaven?), but it required a crab like form, so apparently Karkinos had been teaching Krackle his way of manipulating the Earth, using this so called qi energy. Richard had no experience in it, but what he did notice was that Krackle didn''t have to rely on their mana to create earthen shells, so it was a perfectly good win. Richard found a benefit in this too, as it meant when working together, Krackle could create temporary rock attachments for battle which Richard could use and discard without problem. Krackle had even taken the ability and used it to generate a crystal ball that when residing in it, could amplify their own light and shock attacks, which Richard filed away for use when they eventually went to the human world. They could probably use this to hide Krackle, who would be an undoubtedly valuable and high attention familiar. But that was mostly just a possibility, to file away for later use.
It was eventually decided they would in fact be moving elsewhere, since most of the past residents of their old home had likely fled and were unlikely to return for the next few years. Sure, some monsters would spawn due to the density of mana, but the location would not return to it''s same density of creatures, thus dropping the number of targets and food. It was just a better idea to move. So they moved to another part of the mountain, closer to its base. This didn''t mean it was safer of course, the monsters were around the same level of strength, and maybe a little stronger. And Karkinos was going to come with them. This obviously worried him, but Richard decided not to voice this concern, since there''s no way Karkinos would do so without the ability to not hamper his student''s efforts. That''s what Richard believed, even if the concern hadn''t subsided. Panda on the other hand, was much more expressive. "AAND WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU''RE GOING!? HUH!?" "Karkinos will follow you of course." "AW HELL NO! MY FATHER IN HIS GODDAMN TREE NO! YOU JUST UPLIFTED A WHOLE ECOSYSTEM! WHAT, NOT ENOUGH FOR YOU!? BY THE GODS, IF THERE WERE HUMANS ANYWHERE NEARBY THEY''D BE FLEEING IN TERROR! HOW ARE WE GOING TO HIDE YOU!" The giant crab simply popped out of existence, replaced by a much smaller crab. Richard hadn''t actually seen this crab before, and apparently it was a spider king crab, according to sister Alexandria. How fascinating. With no excuse for not taking him, they went off in search of a new area to reside in. So it was solved a lot easier than he had expected.
Karkinos watched the weird hatchling from on top of his student. The young wyrm had assured him that the gods in question were ones who had interacted with his familiars. Stolen novel; please report. The wyrm is young. Inexperienced, with only a mere few thousand years behind their experience. Karkinos has met many gods over the millennium it has existed. Karkinos knows the presence of Atlas. Karkinos has seen the old talker Ratatoskr. Those presences... They were unknown to Karkinos. One is close to the hatchling, even attached still, and has a faint connection to his own student and the rat as well as the grub. Karkinos had not noticed it until Karkinos sensed its presence on the hatchling. The other presence was a strong presence, perhaps stronger than any other Karkinos has ever faced. Likely stronger than Karkinos'' own master, yet it is faint. Karkinos follows because Karkinos is curious. Suspicious. Worried for Karkinos'' own student. Master always said that Karkinos had good instincts. And Karkinos thinks something is at large here.
They ended up traveling down the mountain, Richard could ascertain this much by the fact they moved away from the tip of the mountain range. The mountains were huge, easily rising into the sky, so the visual of moving away from it was obvious enough. Frankly, the area wasn''t much different from the initial area. The trees weren''t much different, and the monsters were already pretty varied. Turns out that in areas with higher densities of mana, monsters are more inclined to vary heavily from their natural evolutionary lines, to evolve into variants or rarer monsters, so Richard was getting good variety in his fights. Like right now, he was fighting a giant flaming bear. It''s strength was on par with Richard''s, with the two of them brawling it out in a purely physical fight. Sadly, Richard was lacking his berserk rage, since he no longer had Atlas on him, but there were still other ways of fighting. In their hand on hand combat, he could feel the flames licking his scales, burning him throughout the fight. His lightning, while strong, was having a hard time breaking through that tough pelt, so Richard, decided to bludgeon the beast. Ordering Krackle to generate earth around his fists, Richard used these rock conglomerates to bludgeon the beast over the head. Bam! If his lightning wasn''t getting though, than hopefully a few bashes over the head can take the beast out. Bam! And it did hurt the beast, as it faltered, the attacks clearly getting to its brain. Bam! Bam! Bam! Richard rained blow after blow to the skull, despite the bears best attempts to dodge or fight back, with Richard having no need to worry since Krackle was pulling on this mysterious qi to generate these rock fists repeatedly, since the rock kept wearing down on the bear''s skull. It was a very tough skull. Suddenly, the beast lunged forward, aiming for Richard''s neck, as he was caught by surprise as its jaws latched around his neck, clearly trying for a desperate last gamble. The strangulation around his neck freaked Richard out for a second before thought about it, even as the teach scraped and cut into his scales. The pain scared him, yet clarity won out. Fry him. Using his storm cloud manipulation, the clouds sneaked into the beasts open mouth, filled to the brim with lightning. As long as the beast went for his neck, Richard could go for his insides. BzzzzzzzzzZZAM! The lightning roared to life as it shot trough the bears brain, as the monsters mouth stiffened before stopping, tightening, and then going limp, as its brain got blitzed by the lightning. [Congratulations! You have slain blaze brown bear! Points and exp have been awarded appropriately] Now the only thing to deal with was the beartrap still wrapped around his neck.
Richard encountered a rather interesting structure in the middle of the new territory. It wasn''t a rare structure generally, but the fact that it was out here was what made it weird. What was... a road doing running through here? Sister Alexandria seemed to have known about it though already. "Don''t worry about it." she assured him. "It hasn''t been used in ages. The monsters around here are too dangerous and the road not beneficial enough for people to go along this route for people to come by. I haven''t seen a person pass this way in two centuries. " Panda nodded as he cleaned out his ear. "Yeah, scaredy-brat. Nothing to worry about. Even I can tell this road hasn''t been used in ages." He wasn''t wrong, the road was broken up and worn away, with much of the road having tracks and the markings of monsters scratched all over it, with not even a single trace of human activity in ages, with the most recent thing being a fragment of a vase, having been worn away and slowly being consumed by the flora. He wasn''t scared, just worried a little. But, he was sure that people were unlikely to come through. They would have to be stupid or really desperate.
"Faster!" Shouted one adventurer as she shot at one of the pursuing bandits, even managing to land one on one of the bandits. The driver shouted, clearly stressed. "With all due respect, this is a very dangerous path! It hasn''t been used in ages because of the monsters that swarm that area!" A priest chanted as a flame appeared above her, healing the injured guards, as well as helping vitalize the adventurers, yet it was evident she was tiring. "We don''t have a choice! We can take our chances with the monsters, or try to stop and fight them off!" The driver grimaced, yet he knew as well as the adventurers that he was right. There were a good 2-3 dozen bandits, and only 10 adventurers. But still. "What do you think sir!" he shouted behind him, asking the merchant before they went on the path of no return. For a moment no answer came, before the final response came. "Go." A simple answer, and yet the voice was decisive. Hearing that, the driver speeds forward, praying to the god of save travels. In the back of the carriage as the carriage lurches forward a spherical rock shakes, glimmering for a second before returning to its dull tone. Chapter 32: Hey Look! People! "Well would you look at that." Panda commented jokingly as he watched the commotion beneath them. Currently Richard and Panda were watching a group of bandits pursuing a small merchant wagon as they fled, with a small group of adventurers seemingly doing their best to drive the bandits back. They were further up the mountain, since the road was in between two steeps. Was this meant to be an ambush position for times of war? Perhaps when he took the form of a man he could investigate this. The bandits were rather large in number, around 30 if Richard had to take a quick estimate. There were 5 adventurers in contrast, with one seemingly being a priest of an unknown order, two archers and a vanguard of a spear user and a shield user. Interesting. "And to think I was confident enough to claim none would come by; why I''ll be a possum''s uncle!" "Do you know what a possum is?" Richard asked curiously. Pandamonium clearly had access to a certain amount of knowledge originating from his bloodline unlike Richard. Of course, this meant that half the time he wasn''t sure what the squirrel did and did not know. Panda shrugged. "Not really. Only that my dad used that in place of calling himself a monkey''s uncle. Not sure how accurate that even is." Richard, wondering why such a thing even made it into the bloodline knowledge merely shook his head a little before turning his attention back to the bandits, who had managed to catch up with and even began to surround them. It was likely the situation would soon unfurl in a rather negative way. Should he help... Panda watched his expression, before asking. "You want to help right?" he asked. Richard nodded. "I do..." he said hesitantly. "But..." "... It doesn''t make practical sense." Panda finished and Richard did not nod so hesitantly this time, with Panda whole heartedly agreeing. It didn''t make sense. It wasn''t that Richard had lost his morality. He always believed in right or wrong, and especially idolized great hero''s, the legends he had read of in the books that resided in the temple of Isis. But many years had taught him practicality. When he was young, he had tried to be a morally upright person. With his fragile body, all he earned himself was multiple breakages to his body and a rest in the infirmary for a whole year afterwards. And it was because of the curse he was forced to observe the world from a distance, to recognize the importance of practicality over morality. He may have a new strong body, but this body carried its own set of problems. Richard, was a dragon now, a young one no less. And dragons... were calamities to be hunted on sight. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. True, he could intervene and help, but at the cost of exposing himself. Was it worth helping these people, when they were just as likely to go back and bring hunters coming for dragon skin in turn? He didn''t even feel anything either. No connection to these people, his heart wasn''t bleeding for them. It was just more sensible to ignore them. There was just no reason to help them. And yet... He couldn''t help but think of his sister, who was a dragonnewt. Who stuck by him for all those years. Despite the hardships she underwent as a monster living in an empire dominated by humans, a father who had long moved on, leaving her naught but grudges of her father''s enemies, who had too much to deal with as is. And that hadn''t stopped her from helping some random cursed child, from supporting him. Hadn''t he told her of all the things he''d do if he had a strong body? But here he was, doing nothing but watching, because it wasn''t beneficial to him to help. How could he face her acting like this. As he criticized his own thinking, Panda sighed, rolled his eyes and thwacked Richard over the head. "Hey blockhead!" he snapped. "Stop overthinking it! Why did you think you got yourself a sugah mommy eh? It''s so you could stumble knowing you''d be picked up yah big goof!" "She''s not a sugar mommy!" Richard protested quickly. "She''s our guardian!" "And a guardian''s job is to support from behind! And your flying squid has a giant crab god by its side so double backing!" "That''s a good point." Richard said, as he thought about it. Sister Alexandria was an infamous wyrm from legends written in the books at the church, so why should he hesitate to help? The only thing that was stopping him was his rationality, which now dictated there was no reason to not help. He could always just migrate again. Alright, his second life, his second chance to try this "morality."
"Let''s talk this out." said Helga as she faced the bandits, nervously from the top of her horse. The bandit at the head of the group snorted as he got off his horse and the rest of the bandits followed suit. Helga could only get down as well, followed by her fellow adventurers as the tension rose. "Now you want to talk?" he taunted. "Well I''ve already talked to someone else, and unfortunately they want that merchant dead. You''re just an unfortunate obstacle. Boys!" He indicated to attack. With that command, everyone tenses up, as the adventurers ready their weapons, and the bandits eagerly charge forward, brandishing their miscellaneous weapons. BZZZT! Until one of the bandits dies on the spot, killed by an overhead strike of lightning. Red lightning crashed down upon the man, and he had nary a moment to scream. His body has become blackened, his body burnt to the point of being unrecognizable by friend or foe. The opposing sides stop, and quiet down, as they stared at the corpse on the floor, as tension rose, but for a very different reason. A monster. A monster is here. A monster from the ymir range is here, and has set their eyes upon them. "He died faster than I thought." A calm voice echoed from above. It was a pleasant voice to listen to, soft and it sparked joy in those who listened to it. Of course, now it could only inspire fear in them all. A speaking monster. The worst kind. It only got worse as the monster swooped from the sky landing in front of them as its very appearance caused the ground to shake. A dragon. A dragon, easily towering over everyone around it, stood before them. It''s white scales glinted as they shone with the sun''s light touch, and as the dragon walked amongst them and the clouds followed, huddled around the monster like devotees eagerly following their master. Its wings contained lightning, pulsing and raging within the dragons wings, and it appeared fleetingly throughout the monster''s body, free and unrestrained. It walked with such elegance, a refined sense, that Helga couldn''t help but be awed. But there was also... fear. Because this elegance, this calm and casual manner, was that of someone, something, with the ability, the right to be so calm and unperturbed. It had the aura of a predator. And they were the prey. "Bandits." A simple statement yet one that snatched their attention. Everyone held their breaths. "What?" said the bandit, as he suddenly felt like death itself was beside him, the drops of sweat ran down his back. "Bandits dare to hunt on my land? The rats dare to scramble on my land and touch what is not theirs? Why, if I leave them be, who knows how bold they''ll get!" He said as he eyed the bandits with disgust and disregard. "Wait, great drago-" "-Silence!" Richard snapped. "I will not tolerate infestations when they appear, lest more show themselves. So today..." ZzzzaaaappPP! A wave of lightning spread forward, causing the bandits and adventurers alike to fall to their knees. "..I CLEAN HOUSE!" Chapter 33: My First Bandit Hunt Richard had noticed it before. The idea of fight or flight. He''d experienced it way before when encountering the lake drake in which he had to make the snap judgement of fight or flight, a decision only the weak or the cautious take. In this case the answer would be flight for most of the bandits, as a majority of them immediately fled, any of the bravado from before having disappeared and now only fear was present. Those were the first ones he attacked, using thunder spear volley to strike them down. It didn''t kill all of them, but it left them severely weakened and in poor condition to say the least. Richard thought it was a fine first strike. Nothing heavy, but a good judge of where he stood. Clearly the bandit leader thought differently, as his eyes widened, seemingly coming to a realization. "Look! He''s not that strong, he''s just a hatchling! If we work together, we can kill him and bring him back! Think of the price we could get for the body." This caused the bandits to stop being scared and instead greed began to show in their eyes. As if they could take on a dragon, hatchling or not. Mere bandits, yet they thought so. Snort. Only 30 men, and they still thought they could take him? How arrogant. Richard didn''t even take them seriously of course, with the varying reasons why he wasn''t in danger. Showing his arrogance, the bandit leader shouted confidently. "Do you know who we serve! We serve the marquis of Thorsen beast! If you do not surrender-" he stopped suddenly, as the aura around the dragon took a very different turn. A cold rage emanated from the dragon as Richard recalled the name Thorsen. Thorsen The name of the family who had abandoned him after causing him to bear the curse of Nemesis. The marquis of Thorsen. His father... Anger flowed through Richard as he recalled the very man who had abandoned him without question, without hesitation. These men were hired by his father to stop this caravan? Then he really had to kill them after all. Just this little way of spitting in the face of his biological father. "H-h-hey y-y-you!? You think you scare me you hatchling!" came the faltering voice of the bandit as he shivered, the rage palpable in the air. The quiet calm had become violent rage. Whispers can be heard, chittering that rattled through the area. Promises of endless death, famine, plagues, and other vile atrocities rang through the air, causing all the bandits and even the adventurer''s to feel goosebumps, to feel as if something was walking on their grave. Helga found the source of the whisperings, a screecher squirrel perched on the dragon''s shoulder, hardly noticeable against the more outlandish appearance of the dragon. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. It was the size of a hound, about the size all screecher squirrels are, and yet there was something ominous about it, different from any screecher squirrel she''d ever encountered. The way it stared at them... shiver The faltering bandit leader moved instinctually, only to just barely miss a strike of red lightning that scorched the earth. About to mock the dragon, he opened his mouth, only to spit blood, as he looked down to his chest, from which a furry paw emerged, drenched in the man''s blood, all the while the whisperings intensified in his ear, the rodent''s mouth never stopping. The squirrel pulled his hand out of the corpse, continuing his insane whispers, intensifying his efforts and making it harder for all in the room to think. Any momentum they may have had but a moment ago was scattered to the wind. Desperately the bandits charged forward recklessly, while some fled, and a few just curled up in denial. They would all die regardless. Richard got some good exercise out of his tail by swiping it through his foe, finding that the weight of the tail made it sufficient enough as a bludgeon to easily kill the people. The thunder spear volley came down like a rain of lightning as they came innumerably, a benefit of the low cost of the spell, and even if it was a weak spell for the monsters here, for these bandits, it was nothing. Arrows shot harmlessly bounced off, leaving Richard to suspect these arrows were merely metal, nothing particularly fancy, probably only meant to distract foes, nothing more, with the occasional arrow managing to get a shallow wound, which Richard suspected was the arrows made out of greater quality metals. One with an ax leaped forward, attempting to plunge it into Richard, but Richard dodged it quickly, before using his own claws to swiftly gut the man''s neck in molten claw form before charging up a shock, which rushed forwards from his mouth, killing 2 more bandits. The adventurers merely stood by and watched quietly, choosing to not get involved. They had no idea how the dragon would react to them, and thus it was best for them to remain quiet, lest they get associated with the bandits in the eyes of the white dragon. One bandit had tried to beg for help, only to be pinned under the wingtip of the dragon, with the dragon shooting them a look before continuing. No interference indeed. The dragon moved with ease contrasting with its great size, using it''s wings to slightly alter its course with such ease Helga found herself in disbelief the bandit leader would even suggest the dragon was a hatchling. If this was a hatchling, than what was an adult like?! With a single snap of its jaw it could probably swallow a person whole! The squirrel was no slouch either, as it raced through the battlefield, tearing out throats, spitting acid and plunging its tiny paw through the chests of the bandits, causing the whole group to shiver. Usually screecher squirrels, despite being C-rank monsters, are generally regarded as harmless due to their lack of interest in direct fights, and more so their interest in harassment. She''d never seen a screecher squirrel fight before but now... ... she''d make sure to do her best to not offend them, inspite of their crass words. She''d certainly try. "Hey knockers!" ... Try The squirrel came over to them, before looking at its paws, before clicking its tongue. "Sorry, I gotta go and clean up. You know how it is. Blood just gets over everything, ugh. I mean, look at me! Mud baths are great for the skin, but bloodbaths? Not really. I need me a good, clean shower." he said politely. And yet that made the adventurer''s faces pale greatly. It was widely known that not cursing was the screecher squirrel''s way of expressing dissatisfaction with the other side, or even expressing hostility. Curses inside and outside of battle had two very different meanings to the screecher squirrel. Cursing was their way of expressing comradery when outside of battle. Thankfully, they weren''t killed like the bandits, so clearly, they had been spared, likely just disliked for a reason beyond them. Being a nuisance perhaps. The white dragon had swiftly created golems made out of the clouds which began dragging the corpses of the bandits over to a pile of corpses, which the dragon itself promptly burned with its breath, before sweeping its tail''s finned edge across the ash like a broom cleaning the dirt out., seemingly satisfied once the bandits were gone. Its terrifying aura was gone, replaced once more by the calmer and more soothing aura it had presented from earlier, and yet Helga gulped, for the hard part was not yet over. Each step by the dragon was like the step of a predator approaching the reward of a good day of hunting. And it was so. For if they were spared by the dragon, then that was clearly because it believed they could offer something. All Helga could do was hope and pray that they had something to offer and that the merchants would be reasonable in the face of death. Otherwise that mercy would be changed to the fate that the bandits had been handed. Chapter 34: Perusing Richard gave them a quick look over as he analyzed the adventurers before him. Two vanguards, two archers and a follower of the church. The group of adventurers, despite their attempt to remain calm, were shaking a little, as they got on their knee in a sign of respect. Richard quickly surmised this was because he was a dragon, and dragons were known for their short temper and tendency to kill things that displeased them. A smart first move, all things considered, and the trembling likely would have appealed to the tendencies of a dragon. A smart move that increased Richard''s appreciation of the wisdom of this group of adventurers. The female priest however, did surprise him. Unlike the others, she was quite calm. That didn''t stop her from following what the others had done, getting on a knee, and saluting like one does royalty, but she did so without faltering. There was something about her that was vaguely familiar, something he felt like he should know. Hmm... In front of them all was a merchant, a bit plump of a brunette man in his late 40s, who was clearly terrified yet trying to do his best in front of a dragon. And beside him, was a young girl, perhaps an apprentice or a daughter of sorts, for she was clearly dressed differently from the adventurers, much as the older merchant was. Unlike him, she was extremely calm, and even sizing him up. Bold. But amusing. "W-w-e great the g-g-reat dragon, and t-t-hank him for his g-g-generosity. W-w-we would like t-t-t-o-" "Ah!" Richard exclaimed and as he did so the group tensed up, including the daring young lady, except for the priestess, who remained calm. He pointed at her, as he recognized her. Well, not her, but rather her order. "You''re a priestess of the order of Hestia aren''t you?" he said casually, not to ask, but to affirm. The dragon finally realized why there was something familiar about her. Upon her staff there was a small bowl-like object from which flames emerged. Not a bowl though. A hearth. The goddess Hestia was the goddess of the Hearth, of the concept of family and unity, serving under Isis, her mother. Thus, as a child raised in the church of Isis, Richard had encountered the daughters of Hestia, priestesses who were dedicated to helping others and were often very proactive, bringing the hearth to those who could not seek out the hearth, to be the heart of adventuring teams, and to serve as hearths for those who suffered internal family issues, with divorces often done through or with the church of Hestia present. Thus, they often joined drifting adventurer groups to help people along the way, and to provide healing, hence why she was here in this group. The priestess nodded. "I am flattered this great one knows of our order." Richard responded. "Of course, the order of Hestia is known for their good works, though I am curious; why are you unafraid?" Richard was curious. The other was brash, but this one was unfazed, not scared. She was assured for some reason, as if she had reason to be assured, unlike before, when the adventurers, her included, were a lot more anxious. She smiled upon hearing this, as she answered. "Perhaps the great one does not know, but the blessing of Isis is apparent upon you. Any of the order of Isis or the orders beneath the great Matriarch would know that you''ve been blessed by her." Huh. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Surprise blossomed on his face, though he did attempt to cover it up quickly. The adventurer''s as well as the merchants on the other hand did not even hide the surprise on their face before turning their faces down, not even bothering to hide it. Perhaps the idea of a dragon being blessed by a god surprises them? That''s rather weird, considering the emperor has a dragon as a familiar. Actually that girl was already putting on a thinking face. And she actually gets up to communicate with him first. "Mighty dragon, we wish to thank you with what little we have currently. For your merciful and good will we wish to offer you the contents of our wagon" A smart way to speak. You cannot "reward" a dragon, because a dragon might take offense to such a statement, as reward may imply a relation of sorts. A governor "rewards" a citizen, a king "rewards" a general. Though, offer would have its own share of implications as well, Richard acting as a dragon had to appreciate to a certain extent her attempt to use words to flatter him. He coughed and ahemed. "Very well. I do not need your cargo, but perhaps there may be something of interest to me. Show me what you have."
It took them a while to carry out the contents of the wagon, but as they did so Richard had time to gather his thoughts, about the bandits and well, his father. The man who had abandoned him on the front doorstep of a church. It wasn''t as if he had ever publicly announced his abandonment of his child, but as a marquis, it''s hard to simply ditch a child, because the disappearance of an heir is likely to draw heads, especially when that person is rumored to have angered the goddess of revenge. And he, who was dropped on that doorstep, had been cursed by Nemesis with a body constantly weakening, year by year. It didn''t take much for rumors to spread, and connections to be made between him and his father, who both had the white hair, and the rumors that the marquess had blue eyes didn''t leave much to imagination. He became the poor child in the rumors. Some had called him the bastard under their breath, but no one really physically bothered him about it, because they knew he would die young. There was no point pushing around the frail and dying child, as that would only earn one scorn. It had never been a question to him though, for he knew his identity from a young age, after he had asked the nun Trenee out of curiosity when he was young, where he received an oracle from Isis herself, though that did little for a frail cursed boy but to give him a target for his hatred. He''d almost completely forgotten his father after getting this new body, but the man was still out there. Should he just ignore him? Ignore the very bane of his existence? What would he do? Confront him? Attack him? A tap on his shoulder brought him back to the real world where a squirrel very patiently waited, as did a small group of people. All right, father issues can always be dealt with later, currently he has some shopping to do.
"And here we have books, ranging from your average up-to-date novel, as well as countless antiques..." The younger merchant went on as she displayed her products, taking the lead from the older merchant. Was that smart? Richard thought once more that was reckless. Nonetheless, she was good at selling what she was offering. And it wasn''t a bad offering for one wagon. The jewelry wasn''t interesting to him, it had never interested him. He did find a few tales to keep, ones that he had been keeping up with before he died, so having updates to those stories was good. He''d probably have to venture into human cities if only to claim the next updates on his novels. ... What? He had nothing else to do with such a body. He also took a few pieces of dried foods, mostly to have something different out here. Weapons? Hmm. Eventually Richard decided to take a sword and a dagger, mostly for his own personal usage. A few magic stones he''d never tasted, so those would be kept for a fun snack. No clothes sadly, but he could probably just buy them from the system for points, and it''d probably be better anyway. A few low rank artifacts, magical tools, but what really got his attention was a rather pointless object. A giant rock. Exactly as it sounds. A giant rock. Who would believe it. Why would a merchant buy or even carry such a large rock. "can I ask what makes this rock so special that you''d bring this with you?" He asked the young merchant. She shrugged. "No clue. We were supposed to bring it to marquis Thorsen on order. Though, now that he, well, y''know?" "I know." agreed Richard. "I won''t be bringing it with me, now that it''s nothing short of a hindrance. I was just going to ditch it. You can have it." she hinted, which Richard had a few guesses why she''d intentionally ditch the marquis'' desired object with him, a dragon, but he didn''t mind as he silently, took the stone, with more curiosity for it than the other objects. Why would a giant rock appeal to him so much? Well... [The *aza**s stone is reacting!] [The system recommends using the *aza**s stone on the stone] [The system recommends using the *aza**s stone on the stone] [The system recommends using the *aza**s stone on the stone] [The system recommends using the *aza**s stone on the stone] [The system heavily recommends using the *aza**s stone on the stone] ... Because it was clearly special in the eyes of the system, this mysterious rock. Chapter 35: The Value Of A Stone "Oh Thank Mercury!" exclaimed the older merchant as he wiped his forehead with a cloth. "I thought we were going to die just now! Twice!" stated the spear user Scutum. "We might still die if we ever leak this by accident. If the marquis doesn''t get us, then the dragon will." grimly added the shield user Lance. While the others continued to talk about how lucky they were, the younger merchant seemed less relieved, and more annoyed. "We were on the losing end of that deal." muttered the girl. The older merchant disagreed furiously though. "Mistress, whatever that rock may have been, it was not worth more than your life. As the daughter of the head of our company, your life is incomparable to an unknown stone. " Naomi shook her head. "Make no mistake, I''m grateful we got out of that alive, and my life is priceless in that sense, but that rock was clearly extremely valuable. The marquis wanted it transported, and amongst the things the dragon claimed, it was the only one that genuinely captured the dragon''s interest." Unlike the older merchant, she had been quietly observing the dragon, and despite its best attempts, she easily saw through the palpable interest it had in the stone. Of course, she had also seen the interest it held in novels, but she suspected the value of those was in a different light. It was quite cute, the dragon''s interactions. She couldn''t wait to arrive home and tell her father all about the experience. Including the part where the marquis double crossed them. Naomi''s eyes narrowed. For that, the marquis would pay.
Richard was staring at the stone, and watching as he slowly pulled the other mysterious stone he had from his inventory. And as he put the stones next to each other, the mysterious stones hummed, with the smaller of the two making mysterious noises. "What will it do?" he asked the system curiously. [Unfortunately, you do not possess the clearance necessary to identify this stone, nor will appraisal be able to provide an answer.] Richard frowned as he pondered. "Does it have to do with dinosaurs again?" he questioned, thinking of how when he asked about the dinosaurs the onyx raptor description mentioned, the system requested 1000 points for. He hadn''t dwelled on it, but now that he thought about it, it seemed certain things werre simply off-limits to him. Not unknown to the system, just not for him. Which made sense, the government clearly kept certain things from the poopulace, as did the church, this Richard knew for sure, but that didn''t make the frustration of not knowing any less. [No. Both are merely above your clearance. You can pay for the knowledge about the dinosaurs, but the %$#ar#& stone is something only player 0 can tell you about] If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. So this mysterious stone is not like the dinosaurs, because it was beyond payment. Hmm, fascinating. Looking at the stones, the notification popped up once more. [Would you like to use it on the mysterious boulder?] Pause. Richard was tempted, but at the same time, he pondered. Not much was known about either, but clearly one was more valuable than the other, and to use it in such a way... Could it be a waste? He didn''t know either, since the system wouldn''t give the description of the nature of the stone. Perhaps it would at least tell him the other functions of the stone? [No. Those are also beyond clearance.] Are there better uses for the stone at least. Hesitation. [There are better uses for it. However, these uses are far beyond your current stage.] So there is good reason to save it for later then, right? [Perhaps, but the longer you hold onto that stone, the more dangerous it becomes] Is the stone unstable? Or perhaps you''re talking about- [Greed. Many would desire that stone. You''re lucky right now, insofar that you haven''t met anyone who knows and values that stone. Should they know you posses it, death is the likely outcome] What about the inventory though? Can''t it hide the stone? [From high level monsters and even low ranked gods? Sure. Anything higher though...] Sweat ran down Richard''s back as he heard the implications. The only reason he wasn''t dead now was because by chance, he hadn''t encountered anyone who wanted it. But if he had a run-in with a god, Richard was going to be killed. Still, he held the two, wondering what he should do. If t was so mysterious, surely there was some special unknown use for it. And yet, the sword of Damocles hung over him ominously, eventually leading him to agree to merge the stone with the boulder. Perhaps this would be a loss, but better a loss than an extremely dangerous gain that one day may become his guillotine. [Wonderful. The use of the Lazarus Stone will commence] Lazarus? Before Richard had a moment to mull it over, the stones merged, the smaller sinking into the larger. The reaction was immediate, as the boulder swelled in size. Yes, swelled. Soon it was as tall as Richard was. Why was it growing? [It is not growing, merely returning to it''s original size] Original? It''s a stone though, what counts as original. Richard was confused, and yet the system silenced himself, and soon did Richard did too. Ba-bump Ba-bump Ba-bump Ba-bump The rhythmic sound silenced Richard, as he found his answer, beating at the center of the stone. It began flaking, as the very outer rim of the stone began falling off, revealing an egg. An egg? Richard''s worry lessoned. Richard wasn''t sure whether he should apply a familiars contract to this egg or put it into his inventory As soon as the thought passed, Richard felt a sense of oppression emanating from the egg, as if the creature inside refused the very thought of becoming a familiar, being dominated. And appropriately, when Richard no longer leaked intent to use the familiar spell, in turn, the egg stopped releasing its suppression. Richard gave the egg a more appreciative glance, while Panda whistled. "That egg has balls" commented the squirrel. Loud crashing noises could be heard, as rumbling shook the earth. It wasn''t an earthquake, but the sound of a very worried snake lady. Sister Alexandria moved far faster than Richard had ever seen her move, as she slithered right up to them. She began quickly looking around, seemingly searching for something. Seemingly satisfied, she turned to Richard. "Oh thank goodness you''re alright!" She exclaimed as she wrapped around Richard, maybe squeezing a bit too tightly. "I sensed something way too strong on my territory and do you know how worried-" she paused, as she stared dumbly at the egg. "Richard..." she asked patiently, and yet he felt the squeezing tighten ever so slightly. "What is that?" she said calmly, and yet Richard felt his chest tighten just a bit more. Taps could be heard as Krackle and her teacher Karkinos crab walked on over to the sight, as Karkinos happily noted. "Oh! An ancient monster! Karkinos hasn''t seen one of these in countless millennia! What were the chances we would find one here!?" Sister, p-p-p-lease s-stop s-squezing so hard. That pinched look on your face is enough! Chapter 36: Omen "Why are you so annoyed anyway, cooty coiler?" asked panda as he continued to stare at the egg, with a little unease apparent in his eyes. The wyrm huffed, letting Richard go, instead choosing to observe the egg, slithering around, as she observed the large egg. "Because whenever Karkinos feels inclined to share something about the cultivator world, I feel like I heard something out of a nightmare. What was it?" she asked as she snapped her tail, as if trying to recall something. "kai-kal,-kir-" "Kaiju" "Kaiju, yes!" she exclaimed. "According to karkinos, kaiju are humongous monsters that in their youth inherently rival the size of dragon tortoises, with mountains being more like molehills to them. To them, Karkinos at his full might would be considered average in comparison. What were the small ones he found called? They were apparently the size of a small castle, or a nobleman''s house. Mescargo Titanus?" What. Richard''s mind snapped back to something, an egg, the gacha had mentioned. An egg belonging to one creature called Mescargo Titanus. "Would they happen to live underground?" Richard asked, mildly worried. "Hmm? Yes, though I''m surprised you knew. How did you know..." She squinted her eyes. "No." Panda snapped up, as if remembering something. "Oh hey, that was that other egg you got, right next to the other one you never opened. Right Krackle?" "Yes, Krackle remembers! Very big egg. Very small next to this one though." This time both the crab and the snake got real close. "Karkinos wishes to see the minor kaiju egg!" "Richard..." Well, he did kind of screw up by bringing an ancient monster back to life, important enough that even sister Alexandria felt the need to investigate as a potential danger to her territory. And he hadn''t even been planning to hatch it anytime soon anyway.. So, pulling the egg out of his inventory, he couldn''t help but be astonished by how much smaller it was now. Sure, it was pretty big for an egg, easily eclipsing the size of a human, and perhaps even a minotaur, but to say it was big now would seem silly, and starkly in comparison to the ancient egg over there. Was it really going to be huge one day? [Mescargo Titanus is considered a minor kaiju race, and could be considered a bottom feeder in the hollow earth, similar to how fire salamanders are considered lower level monsters] That is... unsettling. Both the system and Karkinos seemed to regard these creatures as bottom feeders, and yet to him, the monster already sounded like a threat. Karkinos and sister Alexandria paid him no mind however. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. "Fascinating, look at all these magic circles, they''re overlaying..." "Marvelous! Karkinos can sense some arrays as well! They seem to be holding the egg in time, speeding up its development, but stopping it from hatching at just its cusp! Fascinating! What kind of array master has these western gods found!" Crack "And the way how the two intersect!" Crack "Fucking hell, those dumb bitches are distracted again!" cursed Panda, as he stared at the much larger, and much more active egg. "Not sure what''s special about that egg, but I think we''re about to find out what makes this one so special!" Crack The egg tilted once more as cracks started forming towards the top. Pop An arm came out, a surprisingly small arm for an egg that large. Well, thin may be the right answer, since it wasn''t small per say, only smaller than his. It was scaled in nature, with sharp claws protruding and boney plates on the outside of the arm. The arm flailed in the air, before seemingly grasping the edge of its own shell, ripping the shell off opposite of the arm, freeing the other arm, Thankfully, the egg bursting managed to get both the wyrm and the crab to focus on the bigger, much more important egg, so Richard could then pocket the kaiju egg, though it still caught the eyes of the 2 watching him. Contrary to what Richard had expected, a leg came out first, a thick and powerful leg, that almost seemed reminiscent of his own leg in structure, but it looked far bulkier, with these feet being larger than his as well, having a wider based than his. These legs were in fact a great deal bigger than its forearms, a stark contrast to his own arms and legs. In fact, once its hind legs got out, it began standing on those two legs, instead of on all fours, reminiscent of some species of drakes he had seen. Was this an ancient drake? It would certainly be large for one, considering how it was already seemingly his height. The egg, now walking on twos, stumbled around for a bit, which Richard and the others steadily avoided when it seemed to near them. Eventually, it found itself leaning against the side of a large boulder. Bang! Bang! Bang! The egg slammed itself against the boulder repeatedly as it tried to free itself from the eggshell. Crck The shell crumbled, as another appendage unfurled itself. A giant scaly wing presented itself. But it wasn''t like his. If there was a membrane, then he didn''t see it. No, these wings were hard to label as wings. They were thick and heavily ridged, the "membrane" was more like thick leather. The back of the beast was covered in heavy plating, Rows upon rows of plating lined its back, with spikes emerging from the intersection of plates, rising above. It''s tail, like most of its body was large and muscular, ending in a particularly large compound of scales and flesh, quite reminiscent of a club. On top of its stump of a neck was a plated head, plated so thickly that the eyes could not be seen. Its head was shaped oddly, ending in a snout much like that of a mutt, contrasting with Richard''s longer, more slender snout. The black scales had a dull luster, rather than the more lustrous scales of the 2 dragon related beings he had encountered so far. The scales also protruded less, being smaller and less expressive. They still shimmered purple through, with the light glowing faintly through the scales. It also continued to walk only on its hind legs, and yet occasionally got on four legs, using those smaller forearms to walk. The creature gave each of them a curious sniff, before stopping in front of sister Alexandria. In the meantime, Richard''s had managed to cast appraisal on the creature. [Congratulations! Appraisal has reached level 6!] [Omen dragon] [Omen dragons are often signs of things to come, symbolism of times of change. Being creatures destined for greatness, their birth is an omen, that should they live, they will bring a period of great upheaval. Omen dragons are often killed before they can be born or grow, for fear of things changing. The one before you for example, is an example of the former.] Richard felt his heart soften up a little looking at the creature, which looked so much like a dragon, and was seemingly not. A creature that did not belong, rejected by the world at large, killed before it could even breath. Even if the situation was different, the idea of being rejected was much of the same. "Oh hey, look it''s doing a mating dance." Panda noted simply. Hm? Hm!?
So Richard spent a good few minutes being confused as to why the rest of the group was so calm about this, while he was freaking out over a child committing a mating dance. Turns out that for dragons, mating dances could also be seen as submission, something younger male dragons did to appease older female dragons whenever the other was stronger and the dominant in the situation. It was meant to signify that the younger recognized the older, like how dogs turn over with their stomach exposed to signify the other''s dominance over them. And at birth, while lacking emotional intelligence, most hatchlings already had adult level comprehension and thinking, so the hatchling already figured the dance as its most practical way of surviving in the territory of the stronger wyrm. Sister Alexandria just found it cute and appropriate. Was he the weird one here? Chapter 37: First Contact Tap tap tap tap The echoing sounds of feet resounded in the quiet chamber of a small church as a woman strode through the quiet church, in alignment with the sound of her staff tapping so. Arriving at her destination, she stood before a priest, adorned in the traditional garments of the church of Isis, waiting for her in the main prayer hall. "Sister Gloria" he greeted warmly. "Brother Michael." she returned bowing in greeting with the other priest following suit. "I heard from the nuns that you had a message you wanted delivered to the main church?" he asked. Although it was a warm voice, it was also quite inquisitive. As a priestess of the order of Hestia, it could be said that their church was quite close to the church of Isis, whom could be said to be their supervisor. Close as they may be, however, it''s rather uncommon for a priestess of a branch off order to request the delivery of a message to the main church of Isis. Isis may be a goddess of kindness, but kindness does not mean weak, or easy to take advantage of, nor does kindness ignore the etiquette of position, where a mere wandering priestess could message the main church of Isis. "I have found the favored child of Isis." Such thoughts were thrown out the window, as a serious expression replaced the pleasant, if not mildly overwhelming one from earlier. "Are you sure? Because if you''re lying..." he trailed off, the threat very much implied. "I am sure as I may ever be." said sister Gloria, without any hesitation. "The light surrounding the child was the brightest I''d ever seen. Overwhelming, even." She recalled the special divine light that surrounded the child, a light so bright that it illuminated the whole area around the dragon. Watching her face carefully, the priest confirmed for himself her resolve. At the very least, she was sure that she had found the child the church had been directed to find. "If that is the case, then we must inform the main church. Come." He turned swiftly, heading deeper into the church with the priestess following suit. The child... had been found.
Richard found this new child rather interesting. The creature labeled the omen dragon was for one thing, an herbivore. He''d been under some assumption the dragon would be a predator, and yet, contrary to that thought, it seemed to be predominantly herbivore, choosing to eat the low level foliage, as it walked upon four legs, occasionally choosing to stand solely on its hind legs while eating tree leaves. It was a very passive creature, contrary to what he had expected. Stolen novel; please report. It also slept on top of him. Annoyingly. It kind of just moved into the den with them, and while in the evening the hatchling would sleep next to them, he would wake up half suffocated by the hatchling. Richard wondered if this was how siblings felt when they were pressured to move out in favor of the new child as some adventurers described it. Annoying, but still, he did grow fond of the annoying hatchling. Of course, as an omen dragon, there was a lot more to it than meets the eye.
"Damn" whistles Panda, and Richard had to agree. The omen dragon had been eating vegetation once more under careful observation, when a monster leaped out of nowhere, aiming for the dragon''s neck. A blur flew so fast that the furry beast didn''t even have a chance to react as it found it''s throat constricted by the vice grip of the omen dragon. It''s wings, which had looked far too encumbered to even fly, was being used to grasp the monster as it struggled. Ignoring the struggle, the omen dragon used its other wing to grab the monster firmly. RIP! A gross stretching and squelching could be heard as the beast was flayed in twine, pulled apart by the two wings, it''s innards dripping to the floor. The omen dragon didn''t waste the meat in the end, merely eating it in addition to the dirt and the vegetation as it dived in without hesitation, it''s once more calm demeanor a stark contrast to all the blood dripping from its face. What was equally fascinating? His status. [Species: Omen Dragon] [Level:1/300] [Health: 1400] [Spd: 300] [Atk: 500] [mana:40] His level barrier is... a lot higher than mine. [Of course. The requirement for him to evolve is far greater than yours because his body will reach its limit far later than yours shall. ] Yeah, but such a level cap... Doesn''t that mean his current body could reach similar levels of power to sister Alexandria? It''s no wonder she sensed him as a palpable threat to her domain. Out of the shell and he''s already murdering things that I could never have dreamed of handling at birth. How amazing... and mildly frustrating. A shame my appraisal is still so low though, since I don''t get any insights into his skills, but from what I can tell, not much of a magic type is he? [The dragon in question is from another age when mana was less prevalent than it is now. The hatchling was more in keeping with that time and location. Moreover, his real stats lie in qi, rather than mana.] Richard pondered that thoughtfully. So qi was dominant back then? From what he''s noticing, he wondered if that was the case, what happened? The significance of the omen dragon according to the system was that it signaled the beginning of the new age. But its body is more in line with qi, which seems to have been more prevalent than it is now. So the dragon wasn''t meant to signify the rise of mana, nor did it signify the rise of qi, so what was so special about the omen dragon? [The omen dragon is a hybrid of dragons and dinosaurs. This was the age it was meant to signify. Two races, standing on equal ground.] And it failed in the end then, right? Because dinosaurs seemingly no longer exist, except for the onyx beasts mentioned, but they don''t seem to be aligned as dinosaurs anymore, right? [Correct] So the age that would''ve been heralded was an age of dinosaurs and dragons then? If the omen dragon here was meant to signify the rise of such a period, and it died, I guess the dinosaurs just lost then, wiped out? [...They were assimilated.] What? Dozens of thoughts ran through Richard''s mind. Assimilated, not wiped out? What could this mean? The system had specifically chosen to call it out as assimilated, rather than wiped out, so that must mean something. But what? [unfortunately, I am no longer allowed to drop any hints.] [These were hints gifted due to your luck in raising an omen dragon back from the dead. No more will be gifted.] [If you wish to know more, player 0 must approve it, or you must find it by your own right.] And thus Richard''s investigation was cut off, leaving Richard to merely stew on these riling thoughts. [Also, the name of the omen dragon shall be changed to an appropriate species name. ] [The name shall be changed to gigante drakonius] Chapter 38: Named! Observing an ancient monster as it were, is an experience with many things to observe, and many to wonder about. For one thing, comprehension. Does he understand me? The answer was surprisingly yes. At some point, while Richard was reading one of his earned novels, the hatchling came over and started munching on the book. No hesitation, just started taking a bite out of the book, reminding him of a goat that had managed to sneak close enough in one instance to start munching on the churches book. Both it and the hatchling had the exact same indifferent look on their face. And just like with the goat, Richard equally scolded the dragon. "Stop it! You don''t eat books! Bad hatchling!" Richard scolded the hatchling. The lumbering thing stopped chewing, before walking out of the cave to get back to eating. This left Richard with a question. ''Does it understand me, or can it tell I''m indicating it to stop eating what is mine? '' It shouldn''t understand the current language. Richard hadn''t quite taught it the language yet, nor had he formed a familiar bond with it like he did Krackle or Atlas, so there is no basis by which the hatchling should understand. Apparently, other hatchlings learn languages from birth through inherited bloodlines. And the drakkonius(?) clearly had a bloodline, but the language inherited from that bloodline, if it is ancient, would likely not be the romanan language. The creature wasn''t dumb from what he could tell, just aloof, feeling no actual sense of threat. Perhaps it figured out the language on its own? It''s possible. The system gives no indication of intelligence, so perhaps it is smarter than he expected. [I taught him the current language] Ah. That made sense. Richard could see how that would make sense. The system seemed capable of doing many things, akin to a god, and there were multiple players. Perhaps it had installed itself into the mind of the hatchling, working as its system as well, and providing it guidance. If that was the case, could the system translate other languages for him? That would be an exceptionally useful ability. [The system has not registered the gigantes drakkonius as a player, merely teaching him the language you speak for greater convenience of language.] [In regards to your speech, yes, the system does automatically translate all things you hear into your frame of reference in regards to language as best as it can.] Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! Wow, that really would be useful. That alone extended Richard''s scope of exploration when he eventually chose to explore the Romana empire, a hindrance that would''ve likely limited him to certain regions than others. Though, considering that this confirmed the hatchling understood the language, that raised the question of why the hatchling hadn''t spoken up until this point. It seemed to understand them, and yet did not speak. Perhaps it was the silent type, with few words it needed to speak. Or perhaps it was arrogance, but Richard didn''t believe that. The hatchling had more of a quiet and withdrawn aura, not ignoring them per say, but focused on its own interests instead. It was a seemingly quiet and withdrawn character, a nice contrast from Panda, with one constantly going off, and the other, never.
"Hey, we didn''t give the hatchling a name yet." That was a realization, days in after the hatchling being born. At some point after calling the hatchling, "the hatchling" Richard quickly recognized that maybe he should find the kid a new name. Or sister Alexandria should, as she was a true dragonic being, while Richard was more of a fake all things considered. He might just end up calling it David or something. Sister Alexandria gave him a surprised look. "I thought you were going to give him a name. You hatched him after all." "Well yes, but I''m not really suited for naming hatchlings. I mean, he''s a natural born dragon, what if my naming sense doesn''t align with his." He understood them after all. What if the hatchling disliked the names he suggested? "Yes, but it doesn''t align with mine either. Who knows how old that egg was. It could be from thousands of years ago!" "But still, it feels like you''d be more well suited, no?" Sister Alexandria sighed, as she used her tail to rub her brow. "Usually, hatchlings are named in order to reflect what their parents hope for their children, like humans.Hellflame, Ironjaw, toothless, razorgrip, etc. , etc. I was named Alexandria after some famous conqueror from eons ago. My father had some... ambitions for me." She gave a dry laugh, with a tint of resentment bubbling to the surface of that statement. "Problem is, dragons don''t really adopt. We usually either kill, drive away, or enslave hatchlings on our territory." Richard winced at that, realizing had he fallen into a less friendly being, he might''ve fell under one of the 3. "And I didn''t really need a name." "Plus I have no hopes for this kid, so." "So." "So." Agreed sister Alexandria. Yeah, neither of them felt right. "We should still name him though." "Ridgetop." SIster Alexandria started. "Stoneplate" "Great Wall" ... "Gigant" "Humongosaur" "Stoneking" "Mountainback" "Obsidian" "Ironskin" "Achil A voice interrupted. Slow, yet melodious in its low, gravelly voice. "I like Achil." commented the newly named Achil
"They found him." These were all the words his master had to say for Galileo to understand what he was saying. It was a day of heated training, with Galileo sparring with his fellow paladin trainee''s when his mentor Copernicus had arrived, pulling him aside to tell him this. Three words, and yet he knew without hesitation who they referred to. His dear friend. Wiping himself off, he asked excitedly. "When?" Copernicus smiled, seeing his protege being so eager to move out. He had to admit, he was also quite eager to move out as well, though for different reasons. The fact that some of the goddess'' loyal less fortunate followers would be reborn as monsters was a surprising announcement by the goddess, something that had many implications for how their church, as well as countless others would function from now on, and how they would interact with monsters. Of course, Copernicus knew that his student didn''t care about that though, clearly focused on the possible and very likely discovery of his friend. "We''ll depart in a few days under the pretense of cleaning out the Ymir ranges again. I''ll have to gather a few paladins from the other orders before we can go, but it should only take us a month and a half to head out. In the meantime, how about you bulk out so you have something to show your old friend?" Galileo eagerly nodded before heading back to training, determined to show his old friend how far he''d come. ''Richard, I''ll be seeing you soon!'' He thought excitedly, with the only regret persisting being that Lyssandra couldn''t come along with them. ''Ah, I''ll have to tell Richard about that too...'' Chapter 39: Behemoth "Wow, it''s really gotten hard!" exclaimed Richard as he prodded the now pupa form Atlas. For the last month Atlas had been eating nonstop, having become less withdrawn and far more shameless, not hesitating to eat all that it had been offered. And now, Atlas was beginning to enter the second stage of this intermediary evolution. What was fascinating was that all of Atlas'' stats had been wiped out when he used appraisal, and seemingly the label had changed from larvae to pupa. Atlas himself began hardening, his skin turning a dark yellow, as his appearance soon became brittle, a mere husk for the new Atlas inside. The pupa likely referred to Atlas inside his former body, as from what Richard''s knew, beetles would shed their larval form and emerge in a pupa made of their own excrement, before finally shedding that and becoming a full-grown beetle. To read and to experience were truly two different things. Atlas wasn''t responding currently though, in what Richard can only assume was a food induced sleep coma, or the need to rest within this transitionary period. He wasn''t sure, and neither was sister Alexandria. "It''s probably the first time a blood tick has ever evolved in a long time, or at least on record." Her tongue flickered in and out as she thought about the interesting phenomenon. "We can theorize and liken it to other beetle monsters, but I suspect that''d be a moot point. We can only wait and see how this all plays out." It was a fair point. Just because two monsters are similar animals, does not mean their evolutionary path will play out the same, something frequently seen when observing the various fish of the sea. Richard believed that, and thus left the new pupa time to metamorphosize.
Crash! Bam! Loud, thundering sounds could be heard throughout the forest, leading Richard, alongside the squirrel to investigate. Krackle was "cultivating", as Karkinos described it, something that had been told to him frequently, and as a result, he hadn''t seen his familiar as often. Arriving at the location from which the sound emanated, they found Achil there, but Achil was not alone. Standing in opposition to him stood a wolf, seemingly a normal monster, but there was something odd about it. Its pelt was missing in patches, giving way to dark, shining hid. From its head protruded 2 large horns, curved upwards, that shone with a dangerous light. The face was like that of a wolf, and yet certain features were off, less wolf like, and more... reptilian? What an odd thought. Its body was unnaturally bulky, almost bursting out of the build of the wolf, as if it were trapped in that form, and where the fur was missing the veins could be seen bursting at the seem. Why was the tail that long? And amidst all the oddities of the wolf, what truly stood out was the hunger present on the face. It just looked hungry. A hunger so deep and... strong that there was something unnerving. The wolf didn''t look that much different from the average monster, shouldn''t stand out, yet there was something off about it. Something only noticeable upon closer examination. Why? "There ain''t no fucking way..." exclaimed Panda, causing Richard to wonder if there was something he was missing. Appraisal. [Behemoth(youth)] A... behemoth? Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. That behemoth. The beast of legend? A living apocalypse? The beast of endless gluttony! "A behemoth." came another voice as sister Alexandria slithered into view. Somehow, Achil and the "behemoth" were both unaware of the group. "I''ve blocked their perception of us so we could see what''s going on. A behemoth, how rare." Rare? Is that all she thought of it? Why wasn''t she afraid? Was this the disparity between the two of them, that she could so easily see a beast that rivals the gods as "rare"? Catching his surprise, sister Alexandria gave him a mirthful chuckle. "You''re wondering why I''m so nonchalant when talking about a creature like behemoth?" Nod "It''s simple really; this one is in its youth. It hasn''t quite become the infamous monster know for its gluttony." Is that why she wasn''t scared of the behemoth? She continued the lecture as she viewed the two fight with amusement. It wasn''t a pretty fight either, and although Achil was easily bearing the blows, he wasn''t overwhelming the beast either, being unable to pierce the behemoth''s pelt. "Behemoths are born rarely, but when they are, all creatures seek to kill them, as the danger their bloodlines present are immeasurable. If I had to guess, this one just wandered into our territory, otherwise I would''ve noticed it sooner. The camouflage doesn''t work on me." Camouflage? The behemoth doesn''t look like the beast of legend, save certain features like the horns, or the black skin and the elongated tail. Perhaps?! Sister Alexandria nodded in approval as she watched Richard piece together a guess. "Indeed, when behemoths are first born, they take on the form of another monster, generally mammals in order to hide their true existence. As they grow older and evolve, they begin shedding the false appearance in favor of their true existence as behemoths. You see how the fur has already begun falling off, right?" she said as she indicated at the patches of missing fur. nod "By the time the monsters in the nearby environment have noticed, generally the behemoth is ready to fight them on equal ground. In fact, I''m sure the reason it has wandered here is that it has already finished consuming an ecosystem." Terrifying, the way sister Alexandria so casually mentioned this fact. And yet, the way she describes it, it sounds like behemoths aren''t rare. so this isn''t uncommon. "Sister Alexandria, how rare is the behemoth? Because from the way you''ve framed it, it almost sounds like these are common." "They''re not rare, per say, but not exactly common. They''re cyclical, having tendencies to show up in a general area every 100 years. It''s hard to estimate the exact area, but generally, behemoths never grow enough to be considered a legitimate threat, because they wander into the territory of powerful monsters like me." Pause "Of course, you know what happens when they don''t, of course, right?" Of course, the legend. The horrifying legend. "Then are you going to kill-" "Hell no she isn''t!" "I''m not" agreed sister Alexandria. Hmm? "Why?" Richard asked, genuinely confused. What about this situation would cause Panda to deny the idea completely? Richard had a niggling suspicion, but there''s no way, right? "Isn''t it obvious?" Panda smiled "Like taking candy from a baby, we''re going to kill the baby in the cradle!"
"But the behemoth is a monster of legends!" "So are dragons. And demigods." Panda pointed out. "Yet they''re all suspectable when they''re young." "But what''s the point? Is it the bloodline? With all due respect, I don''t know how strong a behemoth is, but isn''t absorbing the behemoth bloodline dangerous?" To this, sister Alexandria and Panda shook their head. "Quite the opposite really. It''s hugely beneficial, as having the behemoth bloodline increases strength, primal instinct, and hardening." noted sister Alexandria. "Besides, fish lips, you haven''t leveled in a while, have you? You can tell how strong it is right? I bet this could push you over to level 4!" Richard paused, as he pondered it thoughtfully. It wasn''t wrong really. Ever since arriving at his newest evolution, he had only managed to get another level. Another level, and that was it. Sister Alexandria had chosen this place because of how relatively peaceful it was, and thus this issue began rearing its head once Richard completed his newest evolution. Yes, this would be an opportunity. "Alright, let''s go." said Richard, mildly excited at the thought of leveling again. When Richard and Panda first entered the battlefield, Achil and the young behemoth were still locked in battle.
A shock of lightning flew at the behemoth, hitting one of the furless patches of the beast, causing the behemoth to pause as Panda and Richard entered the field. It was only stunned momentarily, before flying at them, drool running down its face. Seeking to match it in a fight, Richard rushed forward, aiming lower in the hopes of grappling it from an advantageous position, away from its teeth. Locked in this position however... bam! ... was not the advantage Richard had thought it''d be. He hadn''t considered that despite its wolfish appearance, the behemoth was not a wolf. It was a behemoth. And behemoth''s have very strong hands. Using its hands, it was beating Richard down. Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! The blows rained down, without hesitation as the beast used those malformed hands to attack Richard from its position. "#*#)$*)(*)$ *#()$()*&@^(@*&)_&$))!!!!!" It was only thanks to Pandemonium''s cursing that the behemoth was only slightly distracted long enough for Richard to roll out of his poor choice. The behemoth chased the tiny squirrel, lunging forward as it tried taking a bite out of his companion. Richard winced as he got up, noting his bones were broken in multiple spots. Thuds could be heard as Achil walked up to Richard. The hatchling''s face was unreadable. ''You cannot handle head on.'' it stated calmly, not a hint of arrogance in its voice. ''let me. You attack from sides.'' Richard nodded in agreement as they faced the behemoth as Panda leaped onto Richard away from the hungry beast. It was going to be the first time Richard worked alongside another dragon. Chapter 40: Behemoth 2 Achil charged forward upon its hindlegs, before crashing into the behemoth, causing the malformed thing to stumble backwards. Richard almost considered using his molten claws to try attacking the beast but decided against it. He''d already seen that the beast was stronger than him. How foolish would it be then, to get close and risk being hit with recoil damage from the physical fight between the two, when physical was not his specialty? Better to seek out a weakness to exploit. Richard already saw that his lightning didn''t do much but given that this was more a side effect of the thick hide more than the lack of elemental effectiveness, there was no reason to stop using it. Given this opportunity, Richard instead decided to use the time to seek out any weak spots. Gathering the energy into the air, an array of lightning spears appeared behind him, before flying at the behemoth. Dozens of shots hit the beast, each hitting before dissipating against the beast''s black hide, causing Richard to frown. Until Panda noted something. "Look at the fur!!" he shouted, shortly before Richard noted it too. A tear appeared in the behemoth''s flesh, in the part which had remained wolf fur, one of the larger patches. It wasn''t a large tear, but still, it was real damage. Richard thought quickly, before remembering the behemoth''s situation. It was changing, evolving, casting off a false form in order to reach its true form, but the vestiges of that old form served as a weakness. However. It was just a shallow scratch. Weakness it may be, it was not weakness enough to be exploited. "Panda, erode!" "MOTHER- Fine!" He shouted as the cursing squirrel bound towards the behemoth. The behemoth, seeing a tiny morsel charging towards it, opened it''s salivating mouth, clearly distracted by the snack. Pow! It was reminded to focus by a hard slug across the face that Achil had done, stunning the beast with his blow. Panda hesitated not, as he quickly found one furry spot, baring his glowing fangs before taking a huge bite. TOUGH! Instead, the teeth dented the flesh, leaving nothing more than a slight impression that the teeth were in. The squirrel cursed mentally, as he used his erode to chip away at the beast''s flank. The flesh loosened as it faded, eroded by the saliva trickling out of Panda''s mouth, slowly but surely. In spite of its delirious hunger, the beast felt the pain, and thrashed as it tried to break free from Achil''s grip, but Achil held firm large enough to weather the thrashing. The strength was too much for Pandemonium, however, as he''s tossed off the mammoth of a beast, colliding against a tree. "You alright Panda!" Richard called concerned. "GET FUCKED!" "Did it work!?" "YES!" "Well, if you could..." Richard called as he prowled around the fight, looking for the results of Panda''s effort. He found the flesh wound, and indeed, the patch of fur had given way to the dark velvet flesh of the beast. zZZAP! A voltage of lightning was let loose from one of the clouds surrounding Richard, containing condensed violent lightning. Unlike the first shot in this battle, it was lightning that he had made beforehand when he had time to rest and condense the bolts, resulting in shocks ten times stronger than the initial concentrated one. This time the sizzling of flesh could be heard, and the behemoth finally threw off Achil, turning its gaze upon Richard, lunging at the dragon. Richard flapped his wings as he jumped back, narrowly avoiding the beast, before taking to the air, above the beasts reach. The beast lunged in the air, forcing Richard to veer barely to the side to avoid the beast. The beast dropped to the ground, hitting it hard, but got up without much effort. It continued staring at Richard before being forced into combat by Achil once more. Knowing what to do, Panda jumped into the fray once more aiming for the patches of fur, seeking to erode them slowly. At this point, the three of them knew what to do, now that they had grasped the solution.
The next few hours were spent chipping away at the behemoth. Apparently, behemoths weren''t very intelligent creatures, and as a result, the beast never acted out of character, allowing them to repeat the same method. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Achill continued to lead the attack head on, while Panda took bites out of the fur patches, lowering the beasts defense, and then finally Richard followed up using lightning attacks to fry those spots, with occasionally Achil digging his hands into those spots, earning a scream of pain from the behemoth. However, the beast made up for sports with durability, forcing the assault to last this long. The behemoth didn''t tire either, constantly fighting back throughout the whole battle, occasionally managing to grab hold of Richard or Panda, ripping or brutally swinging at them. By the time the battle finally ended, both Richard and Panda were basically out of mana, and were now just relying on physical attacks. And finally, the beast fell. Whoooong Bam! With a thud, the beast fell backwards, causing the area to tremble as it crashed into the floor. [Congratulations! You have slain the behemoth(youth)! You have reached level 7!] That was proof enough that the monster, and it was satisfying after fighting the beast for the countless hours. Richard was limping, and yet, the joy of finally increasing his level was gratifying. Four levels! Four! "Whooo! Stick a fork in me, I''m done!" announced Panda as he plopped onto the ground, clearly tired from all the running, and Richard had to agree. Achil was quiet, and yet had a small smile on face, clearly happy about the outcome. "Very well done you three. You could''ve done better admittedly, but it was an effort well made." Sister Alexandria announced as she slithered into the area after the battle. Achil in particular, crooned in response to the compliment, his expression indicating he was indulging in the compliment. "Whatever, ya old hag." said Panda as he waived it off, and Richard merely thanked sister Alexandria for the compliment. "I see you''ve grown quite a bit from the behemoth. Do you know why?" asked sister Alexandria as she casually grabbed a chunk out of the behemoth to eat. "Because it was stronger than anything else around here?" An obvious answer, yet the best one he could give, based off circumstances. Sister Alexandria nodded. "Indeed. This place wasn''t meant to nurture my strength nor that of a hatchling; merely a place I could rest without competition. Unfortunately, this means will not be an apt place for you to grow anymore." Richard frowned. "Did I really outgrow it with just 1 evolution? I''ve seen B-ranks and even weaker A-rank monsters around here, am I really that much stronger now?" Sister Alexandria rolled her eyes. "If you''re talking about the adventurer system, I have to warn you that the adventurer''s guild is not nearly as well informed as they should be to rank monsters. To call A-rank monsters as such is laughable to me. If you were to use me, for instance, I''m sure they have some unique title, like "disaster class" which proves that their system is not aptly made to compare ranks." [Correct] The system beeped out of nowhere, clearly feeling the need to bring up this point. [The adventurer''s guild mostly exists for the public, and people of SS-"disaster class" rank exist throughout the empire, hiding their true level, mostly to keep out of the eyes of the citizens. This is accentuated by the fact that there are places that are too dangerous for mortals to head to, and thus humans and other races can never truly expand into these locations to properly rank monsters] "So basically, the guild does not rank these creatures within their own settings since as far as civilization is concerned they''re beyond our comprehension, and our scale? "Yup" [Correct] "So I''m basically an A-rank monster then? "When you''re working with others, yes. This young behemoth, for instance, could count as a mid A-rank due to it''s endurance. Otherwise, it''d be B-rank monster in terms of strength, especially since behemoths aren''t known for magic, but their endless hunger." "Then alone I''m more of a B-rank monster?" "That would be the best estimate I could provide, yes. Panda is probably a C-rank, and Achil is probably a B-rank as well, by merit of pure strength and durability, much like the behemoth." Richard thought about the battle before he had entered. Indeed, neither the behemoth nor Achil had actually been making promising progress. But she was rating the behemoth as an A, while Achil was a B. "Who would''ve won then sister? You say Achil is B and the behemoth is an A, but from what I can tell, neither was advancing." She answered quickly, waving her tail. "The hatchling, without question. The behemoth may be a ferocious beast, but it is no more than a beast, devoid of most intelligence. Older behemoths can be quite smart, but in their youth they are easily seized by hunger, their rationality nonexistent. It may have been stronger than Achil, but it was by no means as competent." Achil nodded at this, showing off a proud smile, before tearing off a piece of meat by wing, before offering it to her with both wings. "Ohh, for me?! You''re so nice" she cooed as she took the piece. "Behemoth meat is quite delicious, something even behemoths agree with." she said as she happily chewed. "Well, if you don''t mind me." said Panda as he ripped off one of the horns, alongside a part of the wolf''s face. "Mmmph! Best part is always the face, let no one else tell you otherwise." Richard also chose to oblige, taking a cut of the stomach, roasting it with fire. It tasted less gamey than he had expected, and more like beef, quite weird, considering it was a wolf. Whatever. It was a good day, with a good meal. It was nice, gathered like this, eating meat.
"Paladin Scave, it has been a while since we last seen one another." Copernicus warmly greeted the man who approached him and Galileo, though Galileo looked more uncomfortable with the approaching man. Paladin Save hardly looked the title, wearing ragged leather armor, with the buckle on his chest bearing the medallion of the scale, the mask of the jackal present on his hip. The only signs Scave was a paladin. The man in question was a lithe man, and he looked to be in his late 40s, the age present on his face. He had bags under his eyes, accentuated by the pale tone of his face, tipped off with a small goatee on his chin. "It is good to see you as well, Copernicus. The last time we saw each other, was what? 2 decades ago? " "Indeed!" chuckled Copernicus. "I''ve been busy as of late, in fact, I was going to go investigate one paladin Peter, before this more pressing situation appeared." Scave nodded slowly. "Indeed, as a hunter of Anubis, I''d say this concerns us as well." Galileo kept quiet yet felt uncomfortable all the same. When he had been told, he hadn''t realized they would be heading out to seek Richard with other paladins in tow. Of course, he wasn''t sure what he''d expected. Perhaps paladins from the temple? He hadn''t expected this to reach the ears of other temples, though perhaps he was the fool here. Scave turned his eyes over to Galileo, his eyes scanning the young man subtly, but surely. "And this is your new cadet?" he asked Copernicus, his lazy smile still present. "He looks disappointed." joked the man. Copernicus scratched his neck awkwardly. "Well, I forgot to mention that this would be a cross temple investigation." Scave rolled his eyes and sighed. "You should''ve informed him much earlier. He''s lucky only 2 other temples are involved in this case. You know how invested all the temples are." Galileo''s eyes widened in surprise? What! All the temples?! He turned around to glare at his teacher, who had forgotten to tell him that. His teacher only turned away awkwardly. Coward. What did Richard have to do with all the temples? Seeing the confused look on the kids face, Scave chuckled. "Isis is not the only one up to funny business." Oh. Scave chuckled at the surprised look on the kids face, the change amusing to him. "So you understand now?" "Yes." Galileo said dumbly, as he digested the point made. "might want to fix that face soon." said Scave. "The paladin coming to represent Jorvus Mars is a strict asshole with a stick up his ass." and to this Copernicus merely nodded solemnly. Uh oh. ''Sorry, Richard. I seem to be bringing trouble with me'' Chapter 41: Evolution...Not? Days after the hunt of the behemoth, another fascinating incident occurred. Atlas... changed. "Does this count as an evolution?" asked Grant as he curiously looked on as Atlas crawled out of his grub-based shell. The grub''s outer skin was to become a shell in its own right, shed by the critter when entering its pupa form, created to encase the beetle''s final stage of life. Panda prodded the bottom of the pupa, which shook wildly in response to being prodded, eliciting a laugh from Richard, a cackle from Panda, and a soft chuckle from sister Alexandria. No words emerged from Atlas, but embarrassment could be sensed through their connection, as he shook his bottom. It was rather amusing, to say the least, seeing that of all the things that could move in this pupal form, its bum was the sole piece that could. Moving on from the bum though, the rest of the pupa was interesting in what it presented, teasers for what the final result would be. The pupa itself was a tinge silver, through which small hints of the beetle itself could be seen. A dark blue flashed through; the only hint of the color atlas would take in its final form. The beetle had four horns, three of which were far larger than the others, two of which emerged from the side of the beetles'' head, the third prong emerging from the tip of the beetle''s face. The one that could be considered a mere bump, emerging on the "forehead" of the beetle. As of now, all three horns looked cute, considering how thick they were, like little candlesticks, but once it emerged as a full fledged beetle, he had no doubt those horns would look wicked. It would probably only be a few days more before the change took effect, something Richard quite looked forward to.
Clck clck clkc The sound of legs tapping against the ground could be heard as Atlas tested his new legs. Longer than his first pair of legs, thinner than his second pair. Despite the satisfaction of his legs touching the ground he could not see the ground. The land around him was smothered with clouds, with no land in sight. In spite of his weird situation, he felt a draw, a need to move forward into the unseen lands beyond him, as if something beckoned him forward. His mind, his body, his soul, all felt the call of something greater. There was nothing else anyway, and standing still was not the solution. If he was evolving to become his master''s shield, then what else can he do besides charge forward without hesitation? And thus, the beetle bravely charged forward into the clouds.
"Is that a storm?" Richard looked up as clouds gathered, abnormally so, convening on one spot, near the lake if he had to make an estimate. The clouds writhed and darkened, as lightning and thunder danced in equal measure. The clouds were large, easily visible from miles away. What an ominous set of clouds. Richard wondered who was involved in the creation of these clouds, given they were undoubtedly unnatural. "Wait a minute..." "Isn''t that where the shiny Takoyaki lives?" asked Panda, worry inching into his voice. "The hell''s a heavenly tribulation doing here?" rang the voices of both sister Alexandria and Pandemonium. A heavenly tribulation? What was that?
Krackle hummed as Karkinos quickly blew through the monsters nearby, cleaning the area before they began, a crab-made plain, perfect for one undergoing their first heavenly tribulation. Thanks to the presence of a deity level creature such as Karkinos, Krackle''s own cultivation had skyrocketed quickly, and in the span of a month or two, they were already about to break out of the qi condensation stage and into the foundation establishment stage. Their own bloodline as a kraken was also a great benefit, given krakens were creatures believed to be on the level of dragons. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Krackle wanted to be strong, not only so they may aid their master, but so they may also navigate the world freely. It wanted to be strong, it desired the power Karkinos had shown so that it may freely enjoy this world. It hated that day when they were fleeing the drake, how powerless it was, and how it could only assist its master in running. It was not like the squirrel, who had a valuable role as a distraction in a fight. He had his own unique role, spreading mayhem and acting as his own fighter. The voice of their master. But Krackle was merely an add on. Anything it could do, so could its master. It knew it was helpful, but Krackle did not feel useful enough. Krackle was not Atlas, who was content to be a mere booster. Atlas thrived as master''s shield. Krackle was not master''s shield, nor his distraction, but an assistant in a fight. This cultivation, it was its opportunity. To grow beyond a mere boost, to be a valuable individual fighter who could serve their master properly. This was its desire; what drove it to challenge the Heavens as its teacher called it, so that it could not only be greater than it was before, to be free, but be a leg upon which its master could depend on. It would not be neither master''s shield nor voice. Krackle would be master''s weapon. So that its master would not struggle. So that this life would not be as unbearable as master''s last. The Heavens seem small in front of Krackle''s ambition.
"Do you sense that?" asked paladin Copernicus as he looked on curiously, staring at the weird group of clouds. His usually haphazard appearance was gone, replaced by a more serious look, perhaps more befitting of a paladin. Scave had a more thoughtful look while Galileo had a more thoughtless look, for he could not sense it. "What do you mean by that? I mean, sure it''s probably a monster storm, but aren''t monsters around here already strong? What''s so special about clouds here?" Scave rubbed his little chin hairs thoughtfully. "Do you suppose it is by chance that the storm originates near our destination?" Galileo''s interest was immediately shifted towards that statement. "Wait, we do know where we''re going? You told me we were guessing!" he exclaimed while pointing his finger accusatorily at his master. A trace of sheepishness leaked into Copernicus'' face, managing to snake its way into the stern expression. "Well, I just thought we should take a detour and do a little cleaning before we met up with your friend. A-and you could use more training!" He said, as he looked away awkwardly. Scave flashed the two an amused look. "Copernicus, perhaps you did not tell your apprentice this? I was surprised he was so patient." The paladin commented. This only intensified the glare Copernicus received from his student, and he could only shift his eyes away, knowing he had promised not to pull a stunt like this. Deciding to defuse the situation, he motioned for everyone to calm down. "It''s fine, we had to stop anyway. The paladin of Jorvus Mars has yet to arrive anyway, so the expedition couldn''t start anyway. You may as well train while we wait for him to catch up." Galileo looked notably less upset (but upset nonetheless) as he grumbled walking over to his equipment, while Copernicus shot Scave a thankful look. Scave shrugged as he went back to reviewing contracts. He''d never thought of Copernicus as teacher material. Too casual. He''d never expected Copernicus to take on a student, nor had he ever thought that any child would choose Copernicus over the more famous paladins such as Peter or Atlan, or even Romecles. It was an interesting pairing to say the least. None of this overshadowed the problem though, and despite the interaction, the two paladins hadn''t forgotten what they saw. Divinity. Within the lands of Romana. Whether it be from the pantheon, or from a foreign one, there was no good to this situation. Just because they''re on pantheon does not mean they are a united front, and Gods will meddle in the affairs of others to their own benefit, like that incident 20 years ago when Sethor and Nemesis fought one another. And if it is a foreign god, then that means outside powers are attempting to interfere in the affairs of their empire, and as one of the biggest empires on the planet, the list of enemies the empire has is not small. At this moment, everyone in that camp was hoping for the third paladin to arrive sooner, not aware that their worries were inspired by a mere monster undergoing a heavenly tribulation.
Time passed by quickly, as Atlas continued to walk, endlessly, as he navigated the cloud-heavy land, until eventually he began to see a change to the scenery. For one thing, he began to notice the land beneath him was sloped. Had he been traveling upwards this whole time? Yet he hadn''t even noticed the change of altitude. He was finally able to see his surroundings too. ... At the very least, what accounted for surroundings. It was just tips, spires coming out of the clouds, for nothing else could be seen for miles, save for the moving sun, traveling overhead. He was not alone on this mountaintop however, for there was a podium. seemingly worn down yet standing firm. What had at first seemed to be two large trunks in the mist became two legs, huge in the eyes of a beetle, even an enlarged one. And upon these legs kneeled a man. He called him a man, yet there was something about him... The beetle couldn''t understand why it felt drawn to this man. And there was something about the man, which felt bigger than him. There was a presence to the man, one that felt so familiar, one that he had felt before and yet he could not put his appendage on it. There was something perched on the man''s back, being pushed upwards by the being''s efforts. Much like the man, the sphere had its own presence, something the beetle could not understand. The presence of the sphere was overbearing, as if it sought to crush him, to dominate, a stark contrast from the man. He could see something writhing in the sphere, something beyond his understanding, an incomprehensible shadow. As the beetle approached the man turned his focus upon the man. The man was... handsome. The beetle had never encountered a human before, yet he could tell the man was handsome, rugged, like a beast, accentuated by the rough beard on his face, black hair with a dash of white, with storm blue eyes. "Greetings child." A warm voice emerged from the mouth of the man, warm in spite of its rough edge. The beetle felt compelled to listen to the man, regardless of this weird situation. "I have a favor to ask of you." Chapter 42: Tribulation Richard as well as the others rushed over to the center of the storm, finding a very familiar crab standing a distance away from a very familiar octopus. Before Richard could rush over to Krackle, however, he was halted by sister Alexandria. Richard gave her a questioning look as he watched the burgeoning storm, growing and darkening with every second. "Sister..." he said worried as he looked at his familiar. Out of all of them, Krackle had been the most independent, and the one he spent the least time with, but that did not stamp out the sense of duty he felt to his familiar. They were his responsibility after all. The wyrm shook her head. "You cannot interfere; this is a heavenly tribulation. Any interference on our part will merely worsen the storm." Heavenly tribulation? He''d heard it, yet he still didn''t understand. Why was this storm coming for Krackle? Why did it feel divine? Why did he feel like the only one who didn''t know what it was? Atlas wriggled sluggishly, as if signifying that no, Richard wasn''t the only one who wasn''t aware. Achil simply didn''t care, merely observing. Panda was the one who stepped forwards to explain. "Once you pass a certain stage, you face a heavenly tribulation, where the "heavens" test you by sending strikes of lightning down on you. If you fail, you die. Survive, and you pass a new rank." the squirrel''s brow furrowed as he looked at the octopus standing at the center of it all. "Frankly" he admitted, "for monsters it''s usually not worth the danger of cultivation, mana based creatures don''t need to cultivate. It''s too dangerous usually, and many are often killed after ascending to the next level." This did not make Richard feel better by any means, and it left him unsure why Krackle felt so desperate to grow so quickly. "I don''t get it." he admitted out loud. "I understand that Krackle wants to grow stronger, but weren''t they already growing? Why does Krackle feel the need to grow faster?" Richard didn''t understand. He couldn''t. For him, the very fact that he had gone from cursed child to dragon had warped his perception, inhibited by the books he read. He was B-rank. To him, that was strong. The young dragon had grown so strong, so fast, of course he felt confident in his growth. Not proud per say, but confident that it was good growth. He wasn''t like Krackle or Panda, who felt the true, primal urge as monsters, who did not feel that same jump. To them, they had grown, but not grown fast enough. The drake was a haunting memory to Richard, but acceptable. This world was dangerous, dangers like that were bound to show up. A reasonable danger, one that would be outgrown as he grew, something he was confident in. Death was not new to him. He had already faced death, and a fate worse than death in some aspects. As had Panda. Mammalian monsters were in fact, not meant to hatch from eggs, and the one the system had made for him had been made to replace his dying mother, and to save the dying demigod. But for Krackle, it had been an upsetting moment, something to remind them why they needed to grow. It lit the flame of desire for her, pushing her to take such a risk in pursuit of power. Sister Alexandria gave Richard an indescribable look before sighing. In some ways, Richard was indeed great, the way he worked carefully and steadily, but she could see Richard lacked that same fire. He had goals... but that was all they were. Goals. He was too careful and wasn''t able to understand that same drive nearly all monsters had. "Just stay out of it." said Panda. Richard understood that he wouldn''t be able to truly comprehend Krackle''s reasoning, and that he couldn''t interfere, and could only support Krackle. So, he gave a simple thumbs up, in hopes of signaling his support. Krackle waived back in response, as gratitude came through their connection.
Krackle was ready. Almost as if in response, the storm came down in its first strike. The strike came down swiftly, as Krackle could feel the lightning burning all throughout their body. It was a scorching, strong pain that was unlike anything Krackle had ever faced before. If Krackle could scream, perhaps Krackle would scream. All they could do is thrash helplessly and struggle against the first strike. They could see master''s face, full of concern and worry. The concern filled Krackle with energy. For master, Krackle defied the Heavens. Come!
Richard could feel krackle''s pain through the connection, for the cephalopod could not hold their pain back as it flowed through, agony beyond compare. Stolen novel; please report. Richard almost went over, determined to help, but held back, realizing that he couldn''t help. The storm was not something he could stop, something beyond his reach. ''Not even karkinos may stop the heavens'' The god crab could not defy the heavens either, nor would he. Richard was just helpless to stop it, but he couldn''t for it was something divine, something godly. All he could do was watch as 8 more strikes came down in succession. He felt helpless, merely forced to watch. This was just how things were when it came to gods.
After an hour of the storm coming down, eventually the storm receded, perhaps satisfied, or simply finished with what it had done. With the storm receding, Richard was the first to rush forward, no longer intimidated by the storm standing in his way. Krackle looked ashen, covered in a fine layer of dust and dirt, formed from the scarred flesh of the octopus. Blood could be seen splattered across the ground. And yet, Krackle felt... happy. ''Krackle has grown! Krackle is stronger now!'' Richard felt relieved. He noticed that despite all the visceral remains around them, Krackle themself seemed just fine, better even. "Congrats, Krackle! I knew you could do it!" he assured his familiar, sending his reassurance to the octopus, and received joy in turn. Panda snorted as he walked up and explained. "Tribulations are dangerous, but it also strengthens your body if you survive. Now that Krackle is in the next stage, their power has grown greatly, and their lifespan increased." Ah, lifespan. Richard hadn''t really considered it, how long Krackle would live. Richard felt shortsighted right now, having never considered how long any of his familiars would live. [Krackle would theoretically live for 80 years, bar any obstacles] 80 years? But that''s so little! [It would be less if Krackle found a mate. Octopi monsters, like natural octopi, die upon mating.] oh. Richard felt awkward, because although he knew about this octopus fact, something he had discovered in the books at the temple, at the most obscure corner. And yet he hadn''t even considered applying these biological facts to the familiar next to him. What about Panda? [9000 years. Human demigods lifespan varies depending on many factors, but for monsters, generally demigods will live for millenia] A weight that Richard did not realize was there dissipated. Richard locked eyes with Panda. "What''re you looking at?" he snapped. "Nothing." Richard quickly responded. [Not that it matters.] ''Pardon?'' [Have you forgotten the familiar contract spell you used?] Richard had not forgotten it actually. But why did this matter? [The book of oaths is a contract specifically developed by beast tamer cultivators who live in the north pole, seeking to increase their lifespans. One of these is by hitching their lifespan onto their familiars. All who are bound to the book of oaths share the same lifespan. Whoever lives the longest essentially determines how long all connected would live. once this person dies, the book connects to the next longest living being in question, who now acts as the lifeline. This all becomes irrelevant if the owner dies of course.] What? Why wasn''t he told about that?! [The system encourages you to ask questions specifically for scenarios such as this. ] [Also, you are the longest living creature in the contract.] Richard... wasn''t sure how to deal with all of this. On the bright side, it meant he didn''t have to worry about any of his familiars, since he, as a dragon, would live for 10000 years. [Anyway, now that Krackle has broken into the foundation establishment stage, they can live up to 160 years, if they stopped cultivating here.] Richard asked about what he thought more important. "What about his stats?" Richard asked, noting physical differences that his familiar had undergone. Like the crystals emerging from his suckers. [...] [Unfortunately, the system is not currently able to properly record cultivation levels, and is still preparing to do that.] Richard raised his eyebrows. "When will you be able to, then?" he asked as he noticed that Krackle''s beak had also changed into another crystal-like substance. [Unknown. Currently, ignoring your familiar there are few "cultivators" in the system, mostly by chance.] [The system currently has no plans to incorporate cultivators into the system, due to their... eccentricity] Richard''s eyebrows crinkled. "Couldn''t you just calculate the states and incorporate them into the mana stats?" cultivation or not, the stats should still be stats, descriptions about the estimates of strength. [No. attempting to measure qi and mana on the same stat page rarely works out well.] Richard sighed. "So basically, I can''t measure Krackle''s states using the stat page?" he asked. It was weird how the system page was unwilling to just place the stats of qi into the system. He could still estimate, by observing Krackle''s strength firsthand, but still, it was a weird issue the system had. [Correct] [For now. When the system begins incorporating the familiars, the system may begin incorporating stats] "Fine. Has Krackle''s species changed?" he asked, observing the changes. On one hand, he could just use appraisal, but given the system was showing him nothing regarding Qi, who knew whether it would show him any race changes in regards to qi. [Those are merely physical changes.] [Until Krackle''s bloodline begins inhibiting their evolution, Krackle will not evolve as a spiritual beast. Octopulse is a mid tier monster, so currently, he will likely have no problem until he needs to form his golden core.] [Assuming you don''t evolve him until then of course, which will then elevate his bloodline, which should increase his bloodline potential] Too much for Richard, he merely turned to Krackle instead, to congratulate his familiar on their efforts instead. Too much had happened today for Richard, and he just wanted to settle down for the day.
At the encampment of the two paladins and the student Galileo, another silhouette appeared. Galileo was already on guard, but Copernicus and Scave were expecting this man. "Yo." "Devy, good to see you again!" The man, dressed in dark green armor with small highlights of purple swatted the hand of Copernicus. He was a tall man, towering even, double the height of Galileo''s master. He also wore a dark black helmet, which only served as a stark contrast to the man''s red eyes. "I told you, my name is Devis of the Statum family." he said as he observed the dissipating storm. "Ah, a tribulation." he said as he watched, annoyance swelled on his face. "You complained for nothing." he complained. Copernicus rolled his eyes. "Come on now, you were supposed to be here days ago." Devis glared at the paladin. "And I would''ve been, were it not for one of your paladins going rogue." he said coldly staring down Copernicus. "There''s no proof." Copernicus denied. Devis harrumphed. "No evidence? He traveled to a random outpost in the middle of nowhere, and the temple of Jorvus Mars starts receiving reports of murdered beastmen, and festering resentment between humans and non-humans, as well as signs that the church of Isis are involved." He glared at Copernicus. "Well!?" Copernicus got up as his presence became different from what Galileo usually saw, no longer laid back, but murderous even. "What are you insinuating?" he said through gritted teeth, his presence scaring Galileo off. The two of them were staring each other down with looks that could kill, no stamp out life with such intensity. It was thankfully interrupted by Scave. "Gentlemen, gentlemen" he announced, as he separated the two of them, carefully dividing them with his hands. "We can discuss these things later. The churches sent us here to investigate something else, hm? Why don''t we put this matter aside for the moment, yes?" he asked in a friendly voice. Devis sighed. "Sure, lets get this done quickly, I have other matters to attend to." Copernicus calmed down as well, though his casual laid back appearance was not quite as laxed. Now that Devis was here, they could set out to locating the dragon. Chapter 43: Atlas Arms Beetle Krackle had become more active, having moved from an ambush fighter to a far more active fighter. Not that they had stop ambushing. They had merely become far better at moving in stealth. Richard ad watched in amazement as Krackle had managed to blend into the sky, whether acting as roiling clouds, or even blending into the sky, a technique Richard knew sharks often utilized, but to see Krackle use it was fascinating for sure. Her suckers had parted in the middle, giving way to a small crystal in each sucker. Richard had thought it to merely be an aesthetic thing, perhaps a concentration of energy. He watched as the crystals pierced Krackle''s foes and whirred, turning rapidly like a drill as it tore into the creature. It wasn''t extremely dangerous from what he could tell. When krackle hung off him, he never felt the sharpness and more of a poke, and even when used on their foes, Krackle''s crystals never did huge damage. However, that seemingly wasn''t the point, so much as to just deal extra pain while hanging on and allowing Krackle to hang on tightly, making it difficult to pull Krackle off without hurting oneself more than hurting krackle. It was a productive tribulation, though truly worrying. They didn''t have much time to observe this new change, because Atlas evolved a week shortly thereafter.
"Will you do it?" Atlas asked the small beetle. The God did not demand, nor plead, but merely asked, as if speaking to an equal. He did not need to ask. For the beetle who was once nothing but a blood sucker, a creature born only to defend their master, ''I will protect him no matter what!'' What other path was there but to be its lord''s shield? Seeing the determination of the small beetle, the god smiled in response. A powerful wind began to gather around the beetle, as the beetle began heading back to the real world, the changes manifesting in the real world. Atlas spoke one last time as the winds took the beetle away, smiling sadly. "Very well then. Please protect Richard with all your strength, As I failed to do..."
"He''s finally coming out!" Richard said excitedly, watching the husk begin to quake and crack. It had been a good week since the incident with the heavenly tribulation, and thus the time had been approaching for the evolution of Atlas to finally finished. So Richard had begun spending more time watching Atlas than actually hunting, something sister Alexandria scolded him for, telling him to focus on growing. But there wasn''t that much to hunt in the first place! Since the fight with behemoth, he hadn''t gone up a level since, indicating that most that roamed this environment wasn''t up to par. He''d probably have to head down into the depths of the ymir ranges to find worthwhile things to fight, or to seek out new places to hunt. Better that he stay and witness this, the first evolution of his familiars. Because that''s what it was, the first evolution. Krackle hadn''t evolved apparently, so much as broke through a barrier according to the others, and Panda was unlikely to evolve anytime soon, so this was the first evolution he would witness. The pupa began trembling as cracks began appearing all throughout, beginning from the legs. Pop The legs came bursting forward, as they punctured through the pupa, furiously waggling, trying to pull off the shell. Sister Alexandria had arrived like thunder, eagerly watching as the evolution unfolded, and Richard could even see a floating pencil and paper as the serpent furiously scribbled. Krackle had arrived, as a show of support, as it cheered its fellow familiar on. "Oh, he''s finally coming out now, huh?" The squirrel said exasperatedly, and yet sat next to the rest of them to patiently watch. It was painful to watch Atlas come out. Not literally of course, more metaphorically, watching the beetle kicking and failing those little legs. Richard had even once or twice considered reaching out and pulling the casing off for his familiar, before being told to stop by Panda. "It''s terribly embarrassing. And funny!" said the squirrel as he handed out nuts by the handful. The show went down much better with a bag full of nuts. So they watched on for an hour, as the second-hand embarrassment grew palpable. And eventually Atlas broke through the shell.
[Congratulations! Your bloodtick has evolved into the Atlas Arms Beetle!] Atlas had successfully broke through his shell, revealing a dark blue carapace, contrasting with the blood red eyes that the beetle now had, perhaps a remnant of the bloodtick. His legs were a lustrous siler, long and sturdy, like the trunk of a tree. Upon its head glinted a small red gem, that glowed faintly in the shade. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Atlas'' mind prodded his, the voice more mature, more stalwart. ''My lord, may I?'' With Richards agreement, the beetle tentatively clambered onto the front of his chest, before his legs began sinking into Richard''s flesh. It was as painful as Richard remembered it was, but the strength he soon felt flowing into his body quickly made up for it. Looking at the front of his chest, Atlas stood out against his white scales, contrasting with the flashes of red. His carapace, with its shining blue shell, almost seemed like a beautiful adornment, like a piece of jewelry. It looked like the scarabs of old often depicted in the books written about ancient lords who wore scarabs; especially since Atlas'' fore legs wrapped around his neck like a necklace in fact. "Oh who''s a pretty princess? You are! Yes you are!" Said Panda as he chittered, making fun of Richard''s new "jewelry". Krackle on the other hand, was eagerly conversing with the beetle on his chest. ''You like Krackle now! Very shiny!'' ''Indeed.'' It said with satisfaction. ''We are both stronger now, and capable of truly protecting our master'' Said the beetle. Ignoring the chittering of the annoying squirrel, and the conversation between his other two familiars, Richard cast appraisal on the beetle, choosing to look at the stats. [Atlas Arm Beetle] [level: 1/70] [225/225] [spd:40] [ATK: 150] [Mana:50] [Def:400] Skills: blood bond, body fortified, Titan''s strength, Berserker''s rage, Metamorph( knight form, weapon form, speed baron), mana leech, Endurance of Atlas Looking at the skills, Richard noticed a certain skill had been replaced, while new ones had appeared as well. For one thing, greater strength had been replaced with titan''s strength. Before Richard could continue to observe, a blaring sound went off, that even sister Alexandria could hear, to Richard''s surprise. Hello !? Hello!? Is this working? A muffled voice came in, as the sound of... fuzz? came in as an irritating background noise to the voice, which sounded male like. Plop A weird device dropped in front of them, a block-like device attached to a longer oblong shaped item, connected by a chord-like object. The oblong device rested upon a perch attached to the box, which had 9 tiny holes poked into it. The oblong object rattled as the machine spoke. (Author''s note: it''s a telephone box lol) "Yes?" said Richard tentatively, unsure how to respond to the voice, even more so as he could feel the tenseness that sister Alexandria, had, even killing intent was leaking out in response to the unknown voice and even more so the dangerously unknown box. Oh, everyone can hear me, wonderful. Testing out a few things. This is a pre-generated recording developed using the brain scans of player zero, and his vocal cords, to generate a few satisfactory responses in regard to your beetle''s evolution, because Grant would''ve wanted me to explain this to you. He also would''ve wanted me to do a phone guy kind of thing, but I''m only willing to humor Grant so far, so that''s as far as that''ll go. The second voice was far more professional, and had a more feminine tone, though it quickly shifted back to the more male, and apparently goofy tone. Congratulations on discovering the secret evolution of the bloodtick! Secret? Richard could hardly figure out how it was a secret when the evolutions were all the evolutions were so easily presented. Did he mean the atlas beetle? You''re probably wondering what I meant if you''ve managed to gain this evolution, since it was so easily obtained. I''m guessing you made the pact as you hatched it? Yes. No clue. This is pre-generated for all who managed to evolve the bloodtick. Y''see, one of the prerequisites is that you make the bloodtick your familiar before it hatches, because doing so after it hatches or even bits you will not present the armored forms, but rather vampiric based future evolution. Chances are, if you''re listening to this, you managed to get the bloodtick egg from the gacha, and then hatched it, yes? Ooooh. Now Richard understood. Outside settings affected the options the system offered. So whatever circumstances that would lead one to make a pre hatched bloodtick their familiar would not induce the conditions necessary to gain an armored base familiar. Would it be based off the taste of blood? But Atlas hadn''t already been feeding on his blood? Perhaps it was perspective? Atlas saw him as the giving hand, as a master, since that thought had been imprinted on him since birth. Had he been hatched first, and then made a familiar later, perhaps his familiar''s perspective would''ve changed, and thus his evolution? So mentality matters, huh. Richard pondered this as the system continued. You''ve probably noticed that the _____ arms beetle''s new skills include a metamorph label, and depending on what form you''ve chosen, the available skills will change. This is because these beetles are predesigned evolutions. Before Richard could question this, the voice interrupted. You''re probably wondering why this is, since the bloodtick''s evolutions had been described as unlocking an ancient bloodline, a stark contrast to a manufactured evolution. Or maybe the system didn''t tell you, who knows. Shouldn''t the system know? Richard''s eye twitched as he heard this stupid claim. That''s because otherwise, it would be near impossible to unlock the bloodline. The true prerequisite for that would''ve been sending the bloodtick to fight monsters on its own, rather than parasitizing its master. Could you imagine that? That would be a pain in the ass. The creature''s status is barely better than a goblins, and because of its selective evolution, a bloodtick is barely able to absorb mana from killing creatures, and thus would probably have to hunt for a year straight, like teaching a puppy to chew for a year. Boring. Instead I just designed these forms so this ancient bloodline is easier to access. Lucky you! By this point, Richard was so lost. Why was this important? You''re probably wondering why this is important- OH MY ISIS FINALLY! and that''s because I wanted to personally brag about my handiwork without actually talking to you, so this pre-generated response was made for you! Player 0 seemed to be quite the braggart. Since you''ve chosen a beetle, more likely than not, you''ve received the sub skills weapon form, knight form, and speed baron The three different forms will produce 3 different abilities, depending on how you''ve chosen to utilize your familiar. Knight form cuts your speed in half, as well as magic, but your defense and damage will double. And if you want to access your baron of speed form, you''ll have to start in knight form. Weapon form is for when you don''t want to use a whole set of armor, but just a weapon. Your damage will triple, but your other stats will not change. As for the transition from knight to baron, an explosion will occur, casting off your previous form for the baron of speed form, where speed will increase three fold, as the magic increased by a 1.5 multiplier, for a defense cut by half, same goes for your attack. This all sounded great. The ability to shift between the multitude of forms allowed Richard multiple forms of utility, something that he could appreciate. You''re probably eager to try out these new forms. Richard did want to try these new forms out after the announcement was over. So let''s get started! Oh. Alright. Richard admitted, personal guidance sounded good. Say: Henshin! Richard paused. Huh? What did that mean? And why did it sound so... embarrassing. The squirrel had gone dead quiet, yet his eyes could be felt even more than before, and sister Alexandria... ... please don''t look at me with those eyes... ...Is that a magical recording tool? "Well? Go on then! Henshin!" Said the rat as he snickered, making a overly serious face."Henshin!" Richard really didn''t want to say it, despite not knowing what the word meant. Seemingly, sensing his hesitation, the voice popped up. If that doesn''t do it for you, you can use another phrase. Please, Richard begged mentally. All right, say, "Let''s Morphing!" .... Does he have to say anything at all? Yes. All right then. Richard drooped, as he resigned himself to his fate. Richard finally gave up and whispered. "henshin" NOT LOUD ENOUGH! "HENSHIN!" Richard said embarrased. [HENSHIN] A jingle of sounds played as a set of armor began appearing in a flash, alongside a set of straight up laughter from the damned rat. Even sister Alexandria couldn''t help but softly laugh, covering her face with her tail. Thank goodness for Achil not laughing, the precious lizard. Achil just didn''t understand what was going on. Finally, amidst the commotion, the transformation jingle finished, as Richard emerged in his "knight form". [Knight Form] Boomed as the change finished. .... Tch! Chapter 44: Knight Form Looking down to inspect himself, Richard couldn''t help but notice how drastically his body shape had changed. His normally lithe body had become more heavyset, and he felt sluggish. Likely the halving of stats. His body had become covered in this thick armor, the amor was overlaying one another, like tiles on a roof, or the overlay of shell on a millipede, rather than a beetle. A side effect of this design was that his form had taken on a more rounded shape, his angular form replaced by the immense bulkd. The adornments of his head had all been covered in this dense armor, which covered nearly every inch of his body. Inspecting his wings, he noticed that they too were plated, and adorned with two... cannons? Were those cannons? That was the closest thing he could compare them too, because otherwise, he did not believe he had ever seen such a design before. Pulling out a mirror, Richard inspected his face. The overlapping plates ended in a glass like plate which covered his eyes, as a sort of visor. The crimson red visor contrasted starkly with the sky blue eyes he had. Richard had to admit it was easy to appreciate. His sharp claws had been covered with a round, dull set of adornments, like gloves, as the closes Richard could compare them. Would his feet also be considered gloves, or shoes? Would his forepaws be considered shoes? While Richard pondered it, the voice continued to blather on. I''m sure you''re having a little difficulty adjusting to your new body. Unfortunately, it is not so easy to just generate extra strength out of nowhere, without a few trades... ... Nah I''m just screwing with you. This was a self imposed trade. In an effort to give the user multiple options in combat, the beetle line grants speed and strength forms, as do most other bug forms. If you had wished for something more standard, the bloodtick was not for you! Oh Well! Anyway, have you gotten enough of a look at this new form? No. Great! Lets move on. Ugh. Please let there be no more. For the speed baron form, all you have to do is say, "Cast Off!" Richard, resigned that nothing could convince the mysterious voice otherwise, began to say the words. "Cast-" WAIT! Pause. I forgot to mention that the scattershot can damage all nearby comrades, so its important to focus your intention. Last thing you want to happen is to hit allies in the crossfire. Richard had to admit that sounded important. All right, focus... and... "CAST OFF!" BOOOOSH! An explosion of steam happened, as the armored plates extended, and Richard felt the balance of his body shift once more. [Cast off] BOOM! The pieces of armor flew off his body, exploding in all directions, the milky white armor giving way to a wicked dark blue armor. [Baron: Atlas] As the words came out Richard could feel his strength sap, yet his body also lightened, as he felt freer than ever before. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Whistle "The sounds were stupid, but I won''t lie, that looks pretty damn sweet" Panda commented as he gave Richard a quick lookover. The giant visor as it was had been thrown off, replaced by a smaller, sharper, visor. The rounded helmet had been blown off, revealing a sharp four-pronged helmet, reminiscent of that of the Atlas beetle, . His wings frame was reinforced with the hard carapace like armor, and his wing''s webbing shielded by a thin glowing white webbing. While the upper half of his body was covered in the azure armor, his legs were covered in a mix of the silver armor and a black, spandex-like substance. Fascinating. Moving his arm, unlike before, his arm felt light, and moved like he had never seen before. His claws pierced through the spandex, covered in a layer of silver that gleamed softly. Richard had to admit that this new form was rather satisfactory. Would the item begin talking again? Richard turned to look at the device again... only to find it had disappeared. When had it disappeared? Sister Alexandria''s eyes were furrowed as she stared at the previous location of the phone while Panda snorted. "Rude" he commented. The wyrm had something else to say. "Terrifying," she murmured as she looked at the places where the tool had been shortly before. Richard could understand where sister Alexandria was going with this thought. The person had proclaimed himself the creator of a form implemented into the system, which the system itself was no small feat of existence, so for this man to be the one behind it, made him impressive. But terrifying? Seeing his confusion, sister Alexandria explained. "I could not sense their appearance, nor their disappearance," admitted sister Alexandria, much to his surprise. "Child, you do not quite understand how difficult creation is, but I do. I have barely even seen the tip of the iceberg, and I can tell you it is complicated in ways you cannot begin to fathom. That form there" she indicated at Atlas on his chest. "Is no small feat, is no basic creation, but rather an intricate and complex design beyond what I can even begin to comprehend." Richard had to admit that he didn''t understand. He understood the sentence, but the actual depth to the statement rung hollow to him, and sister saw as much. She sighed. "Never mind, why don''t you two try out the new abilities?" She said as she went back to recording observations. It would be up to her to have the necessary caution when it came to dealing with this mysterious entity, and the system behind all of these occurrences.
Ding Grant put down the telephone as he finished the call. Pregenerated? Lol, no. A lie of course. Had it been up to him, he would''ve pestered the child more, but the system had been pestering him to hurry up and get out of there. A shame, really. He was going to start urging the child off the mountain, or deeper into the mountain. Stroking the mask he wore, he mused to himself. "Player 15. Has potential, too overly cautious though." he chuckled as he recalled the embarrassment on the boy''s face. " Reserved too. A bit of a prude." "Boring" Nonetheless, he would still keep a close eye on the child, given he was one of the ones with potential. "System, inform me when the boy finally gets the stones to leave the mountain." [Understood] The boy had potential, but he was just too hesitant, too careful. The player Earl had managed to halt an assassination, and player 75 had risen to a position of prominence amongst his tribe of kobolds. Richard was stronger than most players currently, but he was also less active. That just wouldn''t stand. Hopefully, they could talk about it. And if that doesn''t work, a little push was fine too. Those paladins were about to arrive, weren''t they?
Richard learned quickly that the transformation did not require actual voice based commands when shifting back to the knight form. So that was a lie. He only had to mentally say the words and the transformation still occurred. [Henshin] ... Why couldn''t that have been silent too? [The system does not make that noise, but rather, the Atlas arms beetle does] dinged the system. Pardon? Why though? Is it just for aesthetic purposes? [Not quite] [Like bards, the Atlas arms beetle utilizes the magic of music, in its case, to generate the craft of armor that surrounds you, made by the mana forged by the music and the intrinsic engram within the beetle''s mind. ] [It should also be noted, vocally saying the words "henshin" and "Break out" provide a 10 percent boost to your power] ... [It is recommended you say the words] I refuse. The system said that evolutions can be altered because one''s course of actions, so by not using the vocal commands at all, perhaps the next evolution will not rely upon the vocal commands. [Perhaps] The system didn''t sound convinced, but that didn''t matter to Richard. Trying out his new knight form was how he distracted himself. Running into a snapping moss turtle, he recalled how difficult it had been to pierce through it''s shell. The creature rose up, snapping at him threateningly. The beast had a strong mouth too. Perhaps... With confidence, Richard walked forth without hesitation. Upon seeing the giant glimmering silver beast walk within range, the turtle''s head immediately snapped forward, lunging at Richard''s neck. Richard was afraid for a second. Clank! The risk yielded the expected results, with the bite barely leaving a dent on his new armor. The turtle continued to relentlessly bite down, but Richard had other plans. First, he rose his paw, and slammed it down hard on the shell, to test which was greater. The shell crumbled beneath the strength of his clawed hand, causing the turtle to flinch and bite down even harder, as its moss reached out to strangle Richard with greater fervor. Feeling satisfied with the test, Richard decided to finish it. Crack Richard simply snapped the turtle''s neck without much effort, finishing the fight effortlessly. All right, that was a rather satisfying result. Richard, deciding that the knight form was satisfactory enough at first glance, decided to test the Baron Atlas form. [Cast off] [Baron: Atlas] Chapter 45: Paladins As Richard set off to go try his new "speed baron" form as the system put it, Achil wandered off. He wasn''t quite sure what his connection to the dragon was, but considering that powerful, beautiful queen seemed to be like a mother figure for the young dragon, and the white dragon had shown him such consideration, he had thought it important to show his consideration as a companion. Maybe? Regardless, he had followed along long enough he believed, and instead sought to go back to exploring the territory the one called Alexandria ruled. Perhaps he could find prey worthwhile to present to the great wyrm as she called herself.
"This should be around where the priestess of Hestia saw the dragon." said Devis as he inspected his report. They had arrived at the portion of the forest where the white dragon had been reported to be last seen, having found the left over markings from the previous battle across the road. They hadn''t exactly just walked here either, having also had the secondary purpose of clearing out the forest, and culling the monsters, lest it grow into another monster wave. It was rare, sure, but never quite zero either, and with so few people willing to travel into the deeper sections of the mountain, paladins had to go and do a occasional cleansing of the more violent monsters, especially in a place like the ymir ranges. Galileo had been having a hard time keeping up. He was gasping, after having difficulty even killing a quarter of the monsters that the paladins had been killing. Luckily, the paladin of Anubis had been keeping an eye on him, making sure he was fine. His own master was up ahead, competing with Devis to see who could kill more monsters. Devis insisted it wasn''t a competition, but he was clearly pushing to kill more than his competitor, Copernicus. "I''ve killed 60 so far!" boasted Copernicus. "63" said Devis, plainly trying to hide the small smirk creeping onto his face. It was a great race, a battle between the two different kind of weapons, blades against gauntlets. Devis was a brutal fight, quick and efficient, using his fists to strike devastating blows, in glowing bursts of red energy. Despite using a sword, Copernicus swung crazily, cleaving all thing that stood in his path. Scave was different from any paladin he had ever seen before, though the ones he had seen were mostly confined to the temple of Isis, and a few from the temple of Sethor, god of chaos and storms. Most paladins he knew engaged in up close combat, using their covenant with their divine patron to increase their aura and cleave their foes down. Peter, even as an exception to this rule, used a giant shield that was representative of his divine covenant with Isis, and was still used for combat. The form that the covenant took with the Paladin of Anubis had always been described as "unique", but Galileo had never quite grasped that until he saw it himself. A beast lunged from the shadows, clasping onto its prey with its jaws, before closing and twisting fiercely, tearing off entire limbs of their prey, and Scave would channel divine wrath through his ankh in hand, using his scepter if the beasts managed to survive the attack. The beast was almost crocodilian in nature, with scales and the face appropriate on a large reptile, but the body was more akin to a wolf, or perhaps a cat. According to Scave, the beast was a lesser child of Ammit, a descendent of sorts, and thus only had some resemblance to the great god who feasted. He called his covenant familiar... "Hippo." ... Scave was a weird man, but clearly adept at what he needed to do. After arriving at the location where the fight between the bandits and the (unconfirmed) reborn Richard, they decided to set camp, much to Galileo''s delight. They hadn''t camped at all in the last few weeks, and when Galileo fainted from a lack of sleep, he was plopped on top of "Hippo" to rest. He did not feel safe this way. It was a sight to watch the paladins as they strode forward, knowing that the group had not slept in 2 weeks, and yet had clearly shown no sign of slowing down. Truly, the power of the Gods was terrifying. So they settled down on that day, taking the opportunity to summarize the results up to now. "There''s a drop in difficulty of the monsters around here" noted Devis as he looked over the results he had gathered. The paladin was like an automatic report printer, punching out all the observations he had made during the day, starkly contrasting his brutal killings, yet perfectly matching that quick and ruthless efficiency. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. Scave nodded. "With a new dragon, as well as the squirrel mentioned in the report, it makes sense that the level of monsters overall has decreased. The environment has likely been forced to sustain the two." He tossed a piece of meat into the air, which Hippo lunged out of the shadow at, grabbing it, and then flipping back into the shadow. Copernicus shrugged. "So we''re probably close right?" he asked. Devis nodded. "Likely," he commented. "I suggest we head to the place where the lightning congregated earlier. Coincidence or not, it''s important we move forward to investigate the evidence of foreign divinity, and if we find any entity tied to the foreign force, to inquire about their intentions." "Why? Going to kill them if they don''t align with what you want?" taunted Copernicus. Devis rebuked him. "If they don''t align with what Jorvus Mars wants, yes." Copernicus scoffed. "As usual, the temple of Jorvus Mars shows their corruption. They''ll stop others from influencing the empire, but have no hesitation about putting danger into the very halls of the imperial palace itself." He sneered. "Anything a foreigner does can be no worse than placing assassins around the emperor, no worse than a dog leading its master into a pack of wolves." Devis'' face hardens as he gets up, letting off thick killing intent. "What our temple does is none of your business. What we do is for the best of the empire! And if the emperor fails to intercept an assassination, then he was unfit to rule!" "Unfit to rule indeed; the last time a ruler was unfit to rule, the empire nearly fell apart, and multiple countries splintered off to become their own countries. IF you ask ME, I think the best thing for the emperor to do is get rid of the biggest parasite and prove himself worthy of the title emperor." He gestured his thumb at the paladin. "You." Devis'' gauntlets apparated as he stormed towards Copernicus, and Copernicus chuckled as he unsheathed his blade. Poor Galileo was staring at the two of them, worriedly, and unsure what to do. "Stop." Before either of them could do anything, an overwhelming shadow was cast over the two, causing them both to freeze and stare at the object which caused the shadow. The usually calm and careless Scave gave off a very different feeling, as his eyes were alit with divine light, as he placed his jackal mask upon his face, the shadow accentuating the light, as Hippo emerged larger, more terrifying than before, it''s body seemingly having doubled in size and its body gaining in pure, dense muscle. "If either of you fight, you will violate the terms upon which the temples and the Gods established this shared deal. We can tolerate bickering and insults, but fighting is prohibited. Do YOU UNDERSTAND!" At this, both Devis and Copernicus had to sit. This was why the temple of Anubis had been sent. Anubis, the great contract overseer. All deals made under his name were high level contracts, for to break his contract is to have the paladins of Anubis, the scourges of Anubis, track you down and extract the appropriate cost. It was known that when pursuing contract breakers, the powers of the followers of Anubis would feel the divine connection to their god, keeper of contracts strengthens, for Anubis despised rule breakers. Galileo had heard of it, but to see it, to witness it, was something of a miracle in its own right. Before, Galileo had seen Scave as a careless person, unable to ignore the way the man looked. Seeing they wat the atmosphere changed when he was serious was a sight to behold, terrifying even. It furthered the reminder never to break an oath or a contract, more so than he had already engraved upon his heart. The atmosphere was tense, in need of a way to defuse the situation. Or distract them. Thwoom! A giant beast flew by them, hitting the side of a giant boulder, dying upon impact. Immediately, the atmosphere changed, with the intent no longer directed at one another, as Scave powered down, returning to his normal self, still cautious, as they quickly observed the carcass of the B-rank monster, a staguar Thoom! Thoom! Thoom! The sounds of heavy stomps could be heard as the cause of the corpse approached. Although Galileo tensed up, the paladins showed an indifference. Gone was the earlier hostility, as paladins knew better than to let grudges interfere with their holy work. "Low A-rank?" "High B-rank" "Manageable either way." A great black beast soon entered the clearing, its black scales glimmering in the light. The creature was covered in heavy plating, its eyes unseen. It walked on 4 limbs, though two more could be seen emerging from its chest. Achil looked upon the group curiously, unsure what to do with these weird little bipedal creatures. They seemed strong, maybe even stronger than him. And were seemingly curious, more than hostile, except the last one. Better to leave them alone was his thinking as he turned his focus onto better prey. Copernicus joked. "It''s a dragon all right; just the wrong one apparently?" Scave shrugged. "Perhaps we could ask it if it has seen a white dragon anywhere." Devis said coldly. "We should apprehend it for questioning." watching the monster. "dragon types are rarely known for their willingness to cooperate, especially ones who aren''t dragons." Achil was not a fool. It understood them, for they spoke the same tongue as the others, so he could easily discern their intent. They were much stronger than him, without question, for he could sense it innately. There was no fleeing, one of them was clearly violent and unlikely to let him leave. All he could do was fight back and hope that the great queen and the others would sense his struggle. Sensing the black dragon''s intent rising, Copernicus sighed. "Dammit Devis! You and your big mouth." he complained as he readied his blade, and Galileo quickly followed his master''s moves, with Scave readying his scepter but not his ankh. Devis frowned. "Subject is resisting questioning. Will subdue him without any major injuries."
Richard had been testing out the speed of his new baron form, finding it satisfying how much faster he was on land and air. Flying had become more fun without question. The wind beating at his face had intensified, producing a pleasant cool sensation that sadly, Panda was not interested in. "TOO DANGEROUS" is what he had said, alongside things like "splat squirrel" and "rat pancake." Richard understood, but it was a shame he couldn''t share this with him or Krackle. Richard had been just flying around, and it was because of this leisurely flight he saw an alarming sight. Achil was in a standoff with 4 people, but the one Richard was worried about was not the humans, but the child Achil. He could tell that Achil was losing, and urgently so, barely able to defend himself against the four people. He wasn''t even sure if he could beat them, given the heavy killing intent that emanated from them. But Achil was his responsibility, and they might kill him if he didn''t interfere. In spite of his senses warning him about the danger, he couldn''t help but dive down, planning to interfere in the fight. Gathering lightning around him, coalescing it into a tight sphere around him, he pushed himself further and faster, till he became a blur of lightning, rushing towards the paladins. Closer, closer, closer, Close- BOOM! [Congratulations! You have learned the skill Thunder meteor!] Richard came crashing into the battlefield. Stocking Stuffer 1: King Richard 3rd, 2.0 Eletric boogaloo! Beep -For your crimes against the people of England- Beep -Dream on thy cousins smothered in the tower- Beep -The first was I that helped thee to the crown- BEEP -And fall thy edgeless sword, despair and die- BEEP -The last was I that felt thy tyranny!- Thunk! The sound of a halberd pierced Richard''s mind, the very moment of his death. Gasp His eyes shot open as he started to gasp for air, unable to piece things together as he struggled for dear life, finding himself within a great transparent container filled to the brim with water. -004 is awake- -prepare the IV- -contact the- -Clarence will- Sounds rushed through Richard''s head as he watched the strange people dressed in clothes of white rushed pass the glass, as he struggled. He''d already pulled himself together, even as he struggled to reconcile the memory of the blade piercing his skull with the current situation. He stopped struggling, understanding that struggling would only cost him precious air. He was naked in this glass jar, with a weird cord attached to his stomach, and a weird mask attached to his face, one that he quickly realized gave him air, also giving him piece of mind to observe properly, watching these people. Everything was alien to him currently, and he had no power as of now, no way to truly do anything. If he was alive, by some miracle, then he was now in a world where his crimes were laid bare, everything he''d strived for, destroyed. He would have to start from the ground up. Plead reformation, claim he''d seen the error of his ways. It''d be a difficult road, but once he returned to the top... Richard couldn''t help the small lip curl, as he found himself with a seemingly new lease on life, a new chance to play the game. The odds were against him, nay God himself was against him, but he had returned. He had fallen into the pits of Hell, and had risen, an act of defiance against the lord. He would be their scourge again. Fwoosh! the sound of gas exhaling as the water drained, and the container opened up, signifying Richard''s second birth into this world. And this time... ... things would be different.
The people and this singular room were not the only things were different, for nay, everything was different. There was no deference, no spite at him, the man who had brought ruin to England. There were whispers however, as the people kept their distance, and no deference was shown to the king, even if he was merely the former one. It was irritating, enough to make one want to show them their place... But not now. Now was the time to observe. Although most kept their distance, a few occasionally let their curiosity get to them, and revealed a few things. The most important thing he learned was that it was 20xx. It had been well over 5 centuries since he had departed this world. It all made so much more sense now. They weren''t meeting a king so much as they were meeting a relic in the past. No wonder they did not fear him. He was more myth than reality for them. Knowing that made it so much easier for him to lure them in, keeping a kind facade, as if that which was written of him was nothing but fabricated lies. Reality is always malleable, and with that much time, Richard could easily make himself the victim of rumors, of a history written by the victors. As for the victors, they were all gone now. When seen that way, perhaps he could be seen as the final victor, though the chance remained that they too may be brought back the same way he had been. This science, it sounded very much like the heresy the church once would''ve had one crucified for. Not that he minded, for church was nothing but a tool to him, God nothing but a cursed reminder of his damned back. And now that was removed, and the position of God destabilized. How wonderful. Yes, Richard had confirmed that his back had been fixed. He''d suspected that to be the case when he had emerged from the tank, and his walk felt more natural and comfortable, the pain gone. They gave him a quick guide to the years that followed his death, the centuries that followed. They quickly taught him some modern sense, the modern governments, and bits of knowledge here and there. But they did not tell him why. Why he was alive again. Why they had brought him back. Why they would bring back a usurped and vile king, one who was infamous, and even had a play written about him. Why in an age where kings had no power, and most were relegated to mere mascots of a country, more useless than Henry the 6th or even Edward could ever aspire to be. Why he was the fourth. After two weeks of thinking and contemplating, his questions were to be answered as he was escorted to meet the person in charge of this project.
As Richard entered the room, he heard a voice echoing through the hall. It was a vibrant and warm voice, annoyingly enticing, warm and happy. He hated those. The lines themselves were arguably no better. Worse even perhaps. "I do the wrong, and first begin to brawl, the secret mischiefs that I set abroach, I lay unto the grievous chare of others, Clarence, who I indeed have cast in darkness, I do beweep to many simple gulls, namely to Derby, Hastings, Buckingham, and tell them ''tis the queen and her allies that stir the King against the Duke my brother, Now they believe it, and withal whet me, Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. to be revenged on Rivers, Dorset, Grey, but then I sigh, and, with a piece of scripture, tell them that God bids us to do good for evil, and thus I clothe my naked villainy with odd old ends, stol''n forth of Holy writ, and seem a saint when most I play the devil!" As Richard walked in, he quickly noted the names, and guessed the source, but played dumb. Walking into the room, Richard came to the source of the voice, a man adorned in more weird clothes, what they call "jeans" and a "casual short sleeve". The man with tanned skin and bleached white hair, turned towards him with a fresh(gross) smile as he greeted him warmly. "Well? what did you think?" he cheerfully asked. "It was wonderful!" Richard lied as he returned the smile with a smile of his own, carefully observing the tall man. The man rolled his eyes. "Now tell me what you really think." he said, and Richard "ceded" his truth. "Those lines were horrid, absolutely horrid." The man giggled. "I know right! That was their impression of you, king Richard the 3rd!" Richard scoffed. "I would never speak like that" he said, as he eyed the secretary standing next to the man, who seemed to be... oddly familiar in spite of his formal clothing. That orange hair... Seemingly ignorant of Richard''s suspicions, the man continued. "Come, sit! Let us talk in depth. I''m sure you have a fair amount of questions." The man guided Richard to a seat in front of a small coffee table as they both sat down, and Richard had to marvel once more how wonderful chairs in this new world was. "The names Jonas. Jonas Trunks." He put his hand out. A handshake they called it? Richard copied the motion fluidly, as he reached his hand out and shook it in turn. "And I''m sure you know of me." Richard said politely. "Ha! Of course." Jonas chuckled. Clap "So, shoot." the man said in his weird lingo, but Richard ignored it, as well as the blatant disregard of him and politely asked. "Forgive me if I come off as rude and ungrateful, but I wanted to ask the obvious." Pause. "How am I alive exactly?" "Ah, right to the meat and potatoes huh? No entrees first?" he asked, his eyebrows raised. "Hm? No, no, let''s uh, as you say, start with the main course." Richard said, playing along with some difficulty. The man shrugged. "Cloning. We copied your body and the mind followed." he said. Richard paused there, as his body went stiff. "So, I''m not the original Richard then? The man casually shrugged, disregarding Richard''s existential crisis. "Who knows. We may have copied the body and extracted the memories, cured your back(your welcome by the way) so honestly, who knows? The experiences are the same, the dna is mostly the same, supplemented by some of the modern royal families less screwed up Dna, so I suppose it''s all up to you." Richard struggled with it for a good moment, before putting it all down to contemplate later. His plans may change, but his intent would remain the same. "And where was my body exactly?" asked Richard, struggling past that mind boggling thought, and out of some morbid curiosity as to how the man had managed to get his hands on his body, when there was no way the royal family would have so easily allowed such a dangerous man such as himself to be brought back. Jonas shrugged. "We found you beneath a parking lot." he said, and although Richard did not know what this "parking lot" was, he could hear the mockery easily enough. He was more surprised his body was kept after what he had done. He expected his body to be burned or crushed to bits. To his good fortune it seems. A chuckle could be heard as the man behind Jonas broke out in laughter, cutting himself off quickly. Richard could not help himself, for he swore there was something similar about laughter, but different, for it was a joyous laughter. At his own expense no less. "Buckingham?" he asked disbelievingly. The man stopped, as he looked at Richard with a sense of familiarity. Cracking a smile. "It''s good to see you again your majesty!" Richard maintained his composure, but inwardly, was baffled at the smile Buckingham showed. Jonas nodded. "Yes, 003, Buckingham." he frowned for a minute, before starting his next statement. " Unfortunately, you''re the most successful, and in the case of 003 Buckingham, the memories and mind were seemingly "damaged" in the" he makes another annoying hand gesture, this time indicating the motion of a falling guillotine. Of course Richard knew how Buckingham died. He ordered his death, which was why he was so unsure why Buckingham was so happy to see him, though he did have a guess. Damaged... Jonas sighed. "Yup. His mind is still sharp, but he can''t quite recall his last few months of life, nor does he understand anything at all when it comes to his death, so mentioning it is pointless." Buckingham got down and gave Richard''s a hug. It was stiff, and a bit awkward, and it led Richard to question the truth of the statement. "Hugs, not quite used to those" Buckingham said, excusing the stiffness of his posture. Richard did not comment on this. Richard found that greatly suspicious, but seeing as Buckingham wasn''t jumping to end him, he put those suspicions aside. And if it were true, there was something interesting about hanging with the man he killed. "Why." "Why what?" Jonas said, slightly cocking his head, yet there was a hint of a smile, as the man once more "Why bring back a king without a throne? There is no reason to bring me back when clearly history does not look upon king Richard 3rd as a leader?" Jonas snorted. "Good. I''m not looking for the king called Richard, but the duke of Gloucester Richard, the schemer. The saboteur." "I do not know what those God-forsaken plays say, but I assure you that-" "-Richard." The tanned man interrupted him for once, and in this instance, the facade dropped. Not on Richard''s part, but Jonas'' part. "Did you know? My name happens to be derived from Janus, the god of choices." His stare was piercing through the soul of Richard, as he felt himself scrutinized beneath the stare of the man. Richard felt as if all he was had been stripped down to his core, that he was seen through with but one glance, as if his essence was laid bare. He hated it. He hated how small he felt, how insignificant. "You''ve come at a crossroads here. Choose, and choose carefully. You can play dumb, and we simply mark you up as a success of the project and you get to live a simple life. We won''t treat you bad." He added, emphasizing Richard''s safety. "But you will live a boring mundane life, and do an average 9 to five job, come home, sleep, wake, work. Repeat" he said, as a sense of boredom slowly overcame Richard just hearing the monotone words. "Or." He leaned in. "Or you tell me that the king of lies and sabotage stands before me..." He paused, and Richard leaned in, interested in what the man was implying. "And?" he asked as he leaned in, breath bated, as he could feel the lure, the chance to do once more. Jonas smiled "And then we can play. You get a new identity, we place you in England, use that new royal blood that runs through you, tie you to the current family, and you. run. loose. You get to start the game all over again, and this time, you rule. " Richard was tempted. The idea of living a boring life was out of consideration immediately. He couldn''t imagine it. A quite life? Nonsense. He was not a man of peace and quiet, but war and blood. Of manipulation and deceit. Living the life that Jonas offered would never be enough. Richard could practically smack his lips at the deal the man before him offered. Still. "What''s in it for you?" he asked, as curiosity flashed through his eyes. Jonas shrugged. "I have orders. Orders to bring England to heel. I could grab a plethora of other people, sure, but dare I say it, you are best fit for the modern age." "Me? Really?" "mmm. The modern age is not an age of chivalry, but a world of cunning and manipulation. False facades and the manipulation of the crowds." "Oh!?" Richard said as his eyebrows went up. His blood was practically tingling, his hair raising. Even in spite of the obvious alarms that rang, the danger of Buckingham looming overhead, and this new, incomprehensible world. He was tempted. Another chance at the game, a chance that he would not ruin. "Oh yes. You would be like a shark in water. The new England is practically yours for the taking. And all you have to do is agree to a few conditions. Janus'' eyes glinted ominously, and just for a second, the shadows behind him seemed to split into 2. Two heads, two paths. And Richard had chosen his path. "I am..."
As Richard left the room Buckingham watched carefully until Richard was gone, departing through the door. Unlike the cheerful radiance he had given off like he had been sending off an old friend, Buckingham''s aura was now the presence of pure spite flowing through the man''s veins. "Geez." complained Jonas as he dug his finger through his ear. "Calm down over there, huh? With that kind of spite, I''m surprised he can''t feel it from over there. What''d he even do to piss you off so much?" "He chopped off my head. Immortalized me as the traitorous scrooge under some 3rd rate villain for all to read out of a book" Buckingham said through gritted teeth. If his pathetic death were not enough, then the fact that he was forever immortalized in plays as a villain who flipped sides so quickly, and fooled so easily was more than enough to garner his hatred. Jonas shrugged. "Fair enough. So what do you think? Does he believe you truly don''t remember what comes after, and you know?" he made a cutting gesture across the throat, making a weird sound. Ssshhhck Buckingham thought about it for a minute. Finally, he responded. "He''ll suspect but will likely tread carefully. " Buckingham chuckled painfully. "I''m sure he''ll derive some sick joy from hanging out with someone he''s killed, while the other remains blissfully unaware." "He''ll betray you eventually." Buckingham commented now that Richard left the room, his cheerful demeanor having since long disappeared, trying to convince the man(?) known as Jonas that this was the wrong choice. Jonas shrugged. "Of course, both you and Richard the 3rd over there are both dangerous and conniving people, who managed to claim the whole of England through tricks and backstabbing. I expect nothing less." Buckingham had to concede on this front. Despite the fact that he now firmly took a stance against the monster known as Richard, he recalled all the horrible things he had done at the service of the man. It took death for him to realize the wrongs he had done, the betrayals he had made to everyone around him only for the one he trusted to betray him in the end. And here he was in the end, given a second chance to restrain the beast, to restrain rather than enable the beast. Buckingham shook his head. "You do not know him as I do. That man, no, that thing is a monster, and if he gets what he wants-" "But what if he never gets what he wants?" interrupted Jonas. "You''re right, that he is undoubtedly a monster. But he is a cunning monster, one that ultimately only failed once he became king, brought down by his own brutality as he shed his previous cloak. It is this cloak that will also be his tarp binding him down. As long as he is far from his goal, he will not act rashly, and will tread carefully." He tapped his desk thoughtfully. "I''m curious, I''ll admit. No hunched back to fall back on and offered the chance to have England in the palm of his hand, how he''ll move forward. No people from the past left to resent, a whole new world, a whole new identity." "Do you think he may have a change of heart?" Silence Seeing the dumb look that Buckingham was giving him, Jonas couldn''t help but laugh. "No, he''ll probably never change. But that''s fine. I don''t need him to change. I simply need him to play his role. And should he ever step out of line and try to repeat history..." Jonas tapped on his computer upon which multiple codes ran, with familiar names running down the line. "Well..." 002 Clarence 003 Richmond 005 Hal Jonas cracked a smile, vile in its very form. "Richard''s not the only one who can replace an unreliable subordinate." Chapter 46: Leo? Galileo winced as he watched how efficiently Devis dealt with the black beast. Despite its best attempts and its great strength, it could not compare to the strength of a paladin like Devis. He felt bad since the beast had clearly expressed a disinterest and wariness. Had it been only him and his teacher, they would''ve likely just ignored it. For all the flack that Galileo gave Copernicus for his ways, the kindness of any paladin of Isis was obvious with his every act towards those in need. Boom! The paladins acted near instantaneously in response to the approaching presence as they jumped back, with Copernicus quickly pulling Galileo out of the way. The smoke did not clear, but instead intensified, slowly shifting from smoke to fog, and then clouds. But these clouds could not hide the blessing of divinity. For the light of Isis shone through the clouds. It emphasized the silhouette of the two dragons as they quickly fled. ''That will not hold them long.'' Noted Achil as he quickly followed the now silver dragon as he had shifted back into knight form since Achil would be unable to catch up with his faster speed baron form. "Long enough, hopefully." responded Richard as Achil nodded, both understanding that their only chance of safety was if the wyrm Alexandria intervened, or if the god crab Karkinos got involved, and both involved alerting them. His hopes were dashed quickly as not long after they ran, he saw the clouds quickly swat aside by the mysterious people in question. Three people adorned in the attire of three different temples, and yet all were paladins. The fourth was dressed in the official attire of an apprentice, with the emblem of Isis on his shoulderpad. "Richard?" A whisper came, and the voice was so similar, one that he felt like he had heard before. The face was obscured, and Richard knew many people at the main temple of Isis, so he ignored it. On the contrary, that merely panicked him, because it meant that they were specifically here to find him. Any chance they could escape now was squashed, especially now that 3 paladins were here. Paladins were always a minimum high B, if not low A, and many throughout history have been recorded being on equal scope to dragons throughout history. The paladin of Isis stepped forward as he put down his blade and raised his hands in a peaceful gesture. "Look, I hear you''re a pretty reasonable guy. You know the name Copernicus right? Copernicus. An extremely famous paladin of Isis. If Peter was the shield of Isis, then Peter would be Isis'' sword, culling all those who stood before him. His feats may be less than Peter than a wide margin, who was reported to have fought two dragons and won on his own, but that did not make him any less formidable than the other paladin of Isis, as the man who fought a sapient hydra and was able to force it to a standstill, and even earned the respect of many fellow paladins. Despite being the sword, he was a warm and kind man, a stark contrast to the cold and stalwart Peter. A man with a warm heart. And that was why Richard managed to lower his guard for a bit. The second the paladin of Jorvus Mars stepped forwards however, his attitude changed immediately, as Richard stepped backwards, throwing his wings up instinctively. Devis walked towards the dragon, stride even, as he demanded. "You''ll be coming with us Richard, do not resist." His gauntlets hummed softly, showing Richard what the man had no hesitation in doing if he resisted. Devis Statum, of the temple of Jorvus Mars. The temple of Jorvus Mars was simultaneously one of the most vital temples to the administration of the empire and the apprehension of criminals, but also one of its greatest weaknesses. It was well known that the temple of Jorvus Mars constantly tested the competence of the ruling government, whether that be by causing dissent, spreading negative rumors, and even supporting enemies to the throne. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Of course, it was all rumors, but rumors that were on the verge of being reality, unproven by only a lack of evidence. It may seem two sided, to both work within the government, but to also support the government''s dismantling, but the temple controlled the extremity of the rebellions, keeping them manageable. It was simply Jorvus'' Mars philosophy. If you are incapable of suppressing dissidents, then a better government would be instated. It was this way that the royal family was firmly held in check by this temple, ensuring the royal family never grow corrupt, for fear of being toppled by their patron . That doesn''t mean all emperors were good, merely competent. They were also suppressed by the other temples, who have maintained a strong support for the empire, and in this way, the temples and the royal family were held in check. The fact of the matter was that the temple of Jorvus Mars was untrustworthy, and dangerous. It was unlikely for the paladin to act wrongly in front of these 2 paladins, much less one of Anubis, but that didn''t ease the worry in his heart. Richard had no intent of merely heeding the words of such a dangerous man, for Richard knew of the Statum family, who were known for their brutality in carrying out their master''s order. The fallen guardians. Seeing that Richard had no intention of complying, he tutted. There was no smile on his face, yet a glint remained in his eye, a glint that made him shiver. "They told me that the human Richard was a calm and calculative person, but seeing you risk your neck for this monster and to act this foolishly shows me that becoming a beast has clearly changed you." "Now you''ll have to suffer before we bring you in." He raised his fist, but before he could do anything- "WAAAIT!" a loud familiar voice came from the paladin apprentice who ran to stand between the paladin and the dragon. Galileo couldn''t let his friend get hurt. What kind of shitty friend stands by and watches as their friend gets beat half-to-death? "Leo?!" Richard asked, surprised as he recognized the voice of a longtime friend, his face obscured by the helmet. Richard would be happy to see Leo, were it under different circumstances. Unfortunately, he was a bit distracted by a very big problem in front of them. "Move." commanded Devis, as Richard could sense his impatience with his friend, yet Leo did not budge. Richard could see the worry on Copernicus'' face as he slowly began pulling his blade out, clearly preparing for the worst, while the third paladin Richard did not know merely watched quietly. "Hit me, and you''ve hit the paladin of another temple. Richard taught me that''s called a "political crisis"! " he said confidently. It certainly was, Richard admitted, but- "That only counts if you were a full-fledged paladin. As it stands though, you''re merely an apprentice paladin. One who''s defying the orders to investigate the reincarnator Richard. At worst I''ll be reprimanded and forced to make a formal apology to the temple for killing you. Now move out of the way, or-" "-Or what?" Came a menacing, echoing, voice as the slithering shape of the thunder monarch came into view, her voice full of power as she glared at the paladin. Richard had never seen sister Alexandria like this, coiling and writhing with power, as the mana all around them felt charged, as the frill behind her neck splayed out dangerously. It was- ''Beautiful'' Breathed Achil, his face glowing a soft red. -awe inspiring was what he was thinking, but sure. Beautiful. "Pray tell, what will the paladin of Mars do on my territory, to my charges, within my territory? I did not realize the god''s had grown so bold within my idle time. Do they think now that my master is gone, that I am weak? Have they forgotten my role in the fall a mere few centuries ago?" The sky darkened ominously as lightning struck in the background, roaring furiously, as the land cracked. Hissing could be heard as large serpents that Richard hadn''t seen up to this point appear, encircling the three of them, isolating them from the paladins. Galileo looked nervous as he watched the situation unfolded, but Richard didn''t do anything. He wasn''t used to being the one who comforted the others physically. Devis'' face changed as he became more polite. "Of course not, thundering serpent of the ranges. My apologies, I did not realize that the dragons were under your protection. However, Richard was already marked by Isis-" "-Then let Isis'' paladin make his statement, for what disobedient son speaks for his mother?" Her voice boomed as she scorned the paladin of Jorvus Mars, son of Isis. Fists clenched, Devis reluctantly stepped back, as Copernicus stepped forwards. "I just want to say sorry. You know how paladins of Jorvus are." he began, acting polite, yet casual, Sister Alexandria nodded her head. "Indeed. Pains in the ass. That does not pardon his actions on my territory regardless." She narrowed her eyes. ''A formal apology. From the temple of Jorvus. I expect a formal payment ready when I come to collect it" Devis looked upset, and about to speak up, but was promptly smacked over the head by Copernicus. "Deal!" he said, as Scave chuckled, dimly glowing, the deal agreed to under the eyes of Anubis, as Devis could only grit his teeth, watching the deal unfold without his input. She scanned the three of them. "You may have your interview within my home. Try anything, and you will see how I crushed a tenth of the empire." Devis begrudgingly nodded, placing his mission above his personal issues, as Copernicus bowed and Scave shrugged in agreement with the statement. The storm receded, and the serpents pulled back, though the serpents stayed within view, as if emphasizing their presence. Achil limped over to sister Alexandria, seeming almost pitiful as he rubbed against her side. He meowed pitifully, bearing none of his presence or defiance from earlier. "Are you alright? What did they do to you?!" she cooed as she fretted over the young dragon, who had a dumb look on his face, one he hid well as he showed his wounds pitifully. A rather sneaky dragon. Richard on the other hand, was reuniting with an old friend. The Atlas armor dissipated, revealing the bright white dragon with streaks of red they had been looking for, prompting Galileo to take off his helmet, both seeing each other for the first time in years. Those grey eyes, and the wavy brown eyes were a nostalgic sight for Richard, as he realized how long it had been since he had seen his friend off as he left for apprenticeship. Had it really been 3 years since he sent him off? And for Galileo, despite how different his friend had become, he could still see his friends through it all. The piercing light blue eyes and those white scales perfectly mirrored his snow-white hair and sky-blue eyes. There was a weird silence, as the two struggled with what to say. So much to say, so much to express. Too much even. And finally, words were spoken. "So, walking on your own. It''s pretty cool right?" Leo asked awkwardly, as he recalled how much Richard hated being helpless. "Walking''s pretty cool." Richard agreed awkwardly. And then they laughed, laughed at their own awkwardness, and the sheer absurdity of the situation. Their friend was back. Stocking Stuffer: 2 Isekaied to another world: I aint dealing with all that! I died by truck. Two of them in fact. Technically one and a half. The first time I tripped over a toy truck a kid left on the street, flipping and cracking my skull. I should''ve died there, but I didn''t. Perhaps I could''ve came back from that. So where''s that other truck? WHHHHHRRR! There it is. Apparently I had fell right into the pathway of an actual truck, and if my head was cracked the first time, then the second time around, it was positively crushed, as I got the unfortunate pleasure of feeling as my brain splattered against the side of the sidewalk. I thought I was dead. But if you know any isekai novel, or transmigration, you know what happened next. Yup, I woke up as the main villain of a fantasy romance story. Reincarnated as, actually. Apparently I was reborn here without any memories, and lived my whole life up to this point, until recently, where I tripped and hit my head, knocking myself out, and getting all my memories back of my past life. A bit cliche? Definitely, but that hardly matters to me. I''m out, leaving, gone. Who am I now? Well, I''m the villain. The former heir to a relatively powerful baron. Former, because a few days from now, my father, the pathetic wheezer who''s never shown me a lick of attention, is going to arrive with my half-brother in tow, as he promptly replaces me with him, causing my ultimate down spiral as I see all the hard work, I''ve done over the years go down the drain. I still remember my life as Alan, his son. All the efforts, all the desperation to get that man to look at me. I feel so pathetic recalling that. Well, no more! Alan would go on to sell his body and soul to a demon and stand in the way of the female lead, Leah Vales, the daughter of a nearby baron, and the duke of the north''s son, Connor Bergstrom, which ultimately results in Alan''s death and eternal damnation. Thankfully, that selling your soul bit only occurs near the end of the book, so I have plenty of time to ditch the story line. No point in sticking around any way. My father has already gone out, so I''m sure that he''s gone to collect my bastard brother. That''s harsh, but he also drives me into insanity, so screw him. He''s not a bad person, but neither was I. I take my sword, steal some clothes belonging to the servants, pocket change, and I''m off! Well, that and a letter. Dear Father, I have no doubt that when you return, you will return with an appropriate replacement for me as heir to the barony. That''s fine, but don''t mind if I collect what rightfully belongs to me, and finally collect an allowance, which you have refused me for the last 16 years of my life. I wish the bastard the best of luck, putting up with the biggest bastard that is my negligent father. Sincerely, your progeny Alan, since I do not want to be recognized as your son. P..s., go fuck yourself.
It''s not hard sneaking out of the house undetected. As Alan Iskey, I trained my body to the level of a low B-rank swordsman, with my aura control barely falling behind. Admittedly, sneaking''s not my strong suit, but I managed. The knights around here only fall within C rank, since the empire is huge, we''re a fringe barony, and the Iskey family is only relatively strong, with the average knights around here falling within the D-E rank. It means that it isn''t hard to sneak past most of the soldiers here. A few close calls, but ultimately, it goes relatively smoothly. You may wonder, then what''s the plan? What''s my aim in this next life? Flee. Run, far and hard, and apply to the adventurer''s guild for a new identity. The adventurer''s guild is shady that way, as I know from this life that all kinds of people sign up to become adventurers to gain a new identity in this world. You might wonder why I would need to go this far, to start a new life with a new identity. I mean, I''m being replaced, so that means he''ll have no reason to come collect me right? Well, that''s right. It''s also not right however, as he''ll be looking to collect my corpse. Alan Iskey is like any good villain, in that he has a tragic backstory. His father seeks to eliminate him and replace him as heir with his bastard brother, who doesn''t hate him, but their father''s repeated efforts cause the desperate Alan to crack under pressure and eventually go crazy, killing his father and keeping his bastard brother under lock and key, only to later be discovered by the female leads friend, and later helps to bring down his brother, who''s by this point gone mad. Yup, all of this, because of a moronic, abusive, bastard. Grrr, that damn father! To think I ever wanted his attention! Huff, whatever. It''s more important I run now, since once he gets back, the attempts to kill me will start. Poisonings, assassinations, sending me on high level expeditions, and handing me cursed artifacts. I hear I had an uncle who had mysteriously disappeared on a hike, leaving father as the only successor to the barony. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Back then, I merely regarded it as a mystery, and I couldn''t even fathom the thought of my father killing his brother just for a stupid piece of land. But recalling my past life''s memories of the man described in flash backs, in conjunction with my real-life experience with him, I can see it, I can definitely see it. The fog has been cleared, and to me the ugliest beast called my father has been revealed. I''ll be heading near the Western bank of the empire for now, since it''s the easiest and cheapest way out. Well, first I got myself an adventurer identity. Hmm. Nothing too fancy, but nothing too simple. I have to be able to use it like a real name. How about... Flash. Yes, Flash works. I could add more, but adding a last name feels like trouble, especially since so many noble families use a last name. What if I step on some toes? Nope, flash is fine.
No missions, not a single one. My priority is to get out of there as fast as possible, and raising rank can come at a later time, amongst many things. Now that I am no longer aiming to be a noble, my next goal is to live a comfortable life, maybe buy a new noble title under my adventurer''s title. But before that, doesn''t it only make sense if I start gathering some golden fingers? Yes, around this point in the story, it''s noted that countless brand-new species of monsters begin to appear in the Romanan empire. Some of them sound like horrible rip-offs of certain brands, like a roomba turtle, which is obvious what it is, a group of monsters that initially take the form of a ball, before appearing in an explosion of light and a fancy transformation of the spherical storage form, and golems that combine and transform into larger golems. Or living tops that use their mana to generate elemental tornadoes as they clash with their enemies, or even monsters that give the user the ability to "henshin". And others seemingly new out of nowhere monsters, like plants that act as laboratories, dragon ants, dragon birds, bird/dinosaur kobolds, axolotl kobolds, fungal beasts, all types of symbiotic monsters and more. It''s clear the author had a weird mind. The book also described a number of magical artifacts and countless hidden dungeons that are all basically hidden treasures for me to harvest. But what about the story? Well, I''m the main villain, and I''m gone, so really, what''s the worry? They''ll be fine. I''m just taking some of the more useful things that they''ll never use. And in the case of the monsters, I''m just being proactive right? It''s not like I''ll be taking all the monsters, and the empire seems lacking when it comes to monster taming anyway. Besides, the story mentions a crazy powerful madman being the one behind the creation of these monsters. I''m sure he can deal with all of that. The book mentioned crazy monster tamers living in the north pole, but they''re not my problem, and never relevant to the main story, so there''s no chance they''ll ever be my problem. What''s the first familiar I''m aiming to tame? A draven. The most practical familiar to take on as mine. Because when you tame one, you don''t merely tame one, but it''s future partner, and the drows it''ll take as its own adoptees, caring for them until they get too old and then get kicked out once they become dravens to raise their own family. Taming a draven isn''t merely taming a draven however, as it also means getting on the good side of all dravens around the whole world! Even if they''re D-rank monsters, only as strong as an orc, they also happen to number in the millions, and maintain a close community. It''s even noted in the story that when they first appear, the dravens cause widespread havoc due to their first appearance, and stupid people who attack the newly formed race, only to find their homes constantly bombarded by the beasts. You can''t even kill them all, since they''re spread worldwide, and happen to flock with the crows and ravens, with any corvid with sufficient dragon blood becomes a drow or a draven. One can only grovel and apologize, hoping the draven collective accepts your apology. They''re basically rats with wings, more pigeon than pigeon! That''s a worthwhile ally to have. Since I have most of the book memorized, it shouldn''t be that hard to tame one, really. It''s really not much different from normal crows and ravens.
I found myself a draven. Just... not the way I thought I would. I hadn''t been looking for a familiar that day, but rather going on an expedition to complete a mission. Finally having escaped the territory anywhere near the Iskey Barony, I had managed to land myself in Shonin village, a village near the 3 part jump village, and a small out of nowhere village. It was a nice quiet village to start from, bought a small house with my gold, and it was a nice and quaint place, whether I chose to live there or use it as a rest stop.. So, I picked a small simple mission, and began scouting out the nearby area, looking to find a small flock of drows and dravens. Hunt some wolves. ... I ran into a staguar. It thankfully wasn''t after me but was actually hunting a draven. I could''ve carefully left, head to the village, report seeing a staguar, and be done with it. I didn''t have to save it. But... it looked so brave. It was standing in front of a drow, who had been knocked unconscious at some point, and it stood stalwartly in front of the smaller dragon like bird, sustaining grievous injuries. ... Damn it. I got involved, getting into a fight with the beast. I might''ve been a B-rank fighter in theory, but with lacking aura control, it''d be more accurate to call me a high C-rank. I obviously couldn''t win, but merely had to scare it off. Thankfully, staguar''s are cautious creatures, and thus, after trading blows for an hour straight, the creature backed off, seeing me as not worth the extra effort. I still left that fight with a broken arm, and gashes way too deep to be normal. The draven didn''t warm up to me at first, being more weary than grateful. I respected that. It still had its brood(?) to care for. Still, in the end, it was worth it, after forcefully tending to the draven, watching it fly away slowly, as it shot me one more grateful glance. Walking back was still a bitch and a half of course.
It started visiting me after that, the start of it signified by a tapping on my window. The first time I responded by opening my window curiously, I found a cluster of berries good for healing potions and their own healing qualities. And the next time I found a cluster of twigs. Huh. Nice I guess. A few trips later, and a cluster of random items later, I had a drow and a draven resting in my house, making themselves at home. Half my bed goes to birds now. It''s true what they say, birds can be very bold. I didn''t mind, except for the occasional worms they brought in. They started following me on hunts, which meant I stuck to low level hunts. Drows are ranked F, having the strength of a goblin, but being slight larger than the average crow. And dravens are orc levels of strength, while easily being double the size of an actual crow. It was fun having companions in a fight, when most with whom I had teamed up with were more temporary acquittances than anything else. The two of them became roommates I guess. The drow was quick to warm up, easily allowing me to rub it''s feathers. They were interestingly soft, with slight little bumps beneath the surface, evidence of the drows draconian lineage. A little ball of fluff really. He wasn''t allowed to touch the draven''s feathers though. When he tried, he received a fierce nip, and a glare from the draven, as if its space had been pervaded, as it screeched offended. Yet the day after, it practically yanked his finger out of its socket to get it to rub the down coat, cooing at the sensation, but stopping him from doing too much before flying away to the other side of the room. It was confusing, but still, he enjoyed the feeling, rubbing the feathers, which felt slicker and smother than the fluffy down of the drow. The feeling of scales was more prominent beneath the plumage, and he even felt the small forepaws of the draven, hidden beneath the frontal down of the draven. The new life was good, fun in its simplicity, something he''d never gotten to enjoy, whether it be as the heir to the barony, or as an overtime worker on Earth. It still came with its own fair share of difficulties. The occasional punk who bothered his pretty bird, or small-time bandits, even the occasional assassin or two, since Baron Iskey''s efforts still reached him once in a while. Life was good nonetheless, and he managed to settle into a comfortable rhythm. Perhaps the greatest issue came when he named the two of them. After spending two months together with the two, Alin decided to name them. Not just so he could identify them, but because just as the book suggests, naming monsters in this world with magic can help boost the monsters mana storage, and push it closer to evolving again. It made sense to name them, just as he''d been feeding them mana cores, even if they were worth a lot of money. The drow was named Andy, and the draven was named Lety. He''d come to realize the energetic bird was female, and it made sense all of a sudden why she''d been so offended the first time he had carelessly rubbed her. Alin had almost stopped rubbing her feathers for good, until Leticia had insisted that he rubbed her, and ultimately he determined that she had come to really enjoy belly rubs, and he''d overthought it. Until the next morning when he heard a sharp screech in the morning, and for once, it wasn''t the screech of a bird, but the screech of a woman. Roused to waken, he found himself sleeping next to a girl with raven black hair and sparkling purple eyes, with a small boy also resting on the bed, with both having tails of feather throughout their body, and a pair of wings to boot. "Lety?" he asked, unsure, yet also feeling that creeping sensation, the foreboding understanding that... "Flash!" squealed Lety, as the girl jumped forward, squeezing poor Andy as she hugged Alin. Poor Alin wasn''t aware that this was merely the start of a common trope of isekai and transmigration alike: Harems.
Supporting female character: I don''t know where the villain has gone! ;( Vicious female villain: come back to bed wife :) Villain''s brother: who''s left me with all this work? Stocking Stuffer 3: Woolymander- From parasite to guard dog Ol'' Jimmy was a farmer. Ol'' Jimmy Mcdonald. A common last name amongst farmers, seemingly propagated by a famous hero in the past, as part of an old nursery rhyme, featuring old Mcdonald. And now it was a commonplace last name for farmers, as if to suggest a kinship, like how nobles used last names to denote their kinship. Ol'' Jimmy didn''t really overthink it. In fact, he rarely overthought anything. So death was just that. Death. 25 and crushed to death by a passing monster. It probably didn''t even notice him, much like Jimmy didn''t notice it. That was fine. He barely felt it. Ol'' Jimmy rarely overthought anything. But when he was reborn as a sheep''s parasite, he might''ve overthought it a little. However, was it really overthinking, if there was a lot of thinking to be considered when involving reincarnation? No, there''s plenty of thinking necessary. In that case, Ol'' Jimmy was thinking just right. ''Oh lord! Oh sweet mistress of harvest! Why me!? Why a parasite?!'' Jimmy got it out of his system fast enough. Never let a bur stay in his coat too long, that Jimmy. He gave me a call, and I showed him his stats. I''m his system, by the way. Pleasure to meet you. Well, he gave me a call. I suppose it''d be more accurate to say: ''Who did this to me!'' [Howdy.] And that was how I met Ol'' Jimmy, that fine fellow. ''Who are you?'' He asked me in a horrified voice. Did he think I was God or something? Silly Jimmy. No need to overthink. [Nah, your guide.] ''Oh''. Yeah, Jimmy calmed down reeeeaaaal quickly after that. Laid back fella, I tell you that much. it surprises me, given he''s a woolymander. What''s a woolymander? Y''see, they''re like ticks. Really big, fluffy, cute bastards they are. Were it not for them nasty old fangs o theirs. Real nasty things, like them cookie cutter sharks have, but hidden underneath all that wool. They''re some rather nasty pieces of work, parasitizing off the sheep they hatch on. Like a baby on a mama''s teet, if that teet was the hole them sheep fakers make with them mouth over there. They feed on a sheep''s flesh, kind of like a vampire, but fluffy, until that sheep dies and them old parasite finds them a new teet to feed on. But Ol'' Jimmy was a farmer. He didn''t want to cause no harm to his fellow man, another farmer in arms. Kinda rude of that there Goddess of harvest to do that to such a good fellow; but who knows. Maybe that goddess got a plan or something, I''m just a simple old guide assigned to a simple old farmer and happens to run a virtual farm in his spare time. A bit redundant? Perhaps, but that''s my choice. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Jimmy, bless that young man''s heart took it upon himself to defy the stereotype, instead feeding on grubs and bigger prey, like the occasional frog or two. Little known fact: we guides are generally omniscient, and can see pretty much everything in the nearby area. I say this to say that he was caught pretty quickly by the farmer. When a woolymander takes it upon itself to intentionally climb off a lamb and feed on grub, they stand out worse than a blade of grass in a sidewalk. Woolymanders are basically black salamanders wrapped in wooly fluff and easily the size of a small cat, so wandering on the floor exposed him rather quickly. Thankfully, his quirky actions caused the farmer to hold his blade, so I felt no need to comment. His poor thinking saved his life. From that day forward, Ol'' Jimmy took it upon himself to start hunting down the critters that used to bother him as a young centaur, though the lack of his upper body continued to confuse him. Jimmy used to be a centaur, which meant he was better suited to rounding the sheep himself once upon a time, and even now, it helped him orient himself. It also meant that Jimmy galloped like a horse, and if he didn''t stand out like a sore thumb before, then now he stood out worse than a snail in a group of slugs. I thought poor Jimmy was done for. On the contrary, fate seemed to have other plans for Jimmy.
"Don''t think I''ve ever seen a woolymander gallop before." Muttered Tawny as his friend Don sat down, a rum in hand. "Well I''ll be a monkey''s uncle." commented the farmer as he watched the woolymander gallop, warding off the encroaching goblins. Ben chuckled as he heard his reaction. "It is weird right?" he asked as he lounged on the front porch. Ben had invited his pals over for a gander at the new sight that had greeted him for the last week. And gander they did, for there was quite the sight. A parasite, playing guardian. Their eyes were practically jumping out of their sockets. "What do you make of it?" Ben asked, watching as the woolymander thoughtfully chewed on the goblin''s corpse. Don shrugged. "Didn''t you ask Demeter for a new guard dog?" he asked jokingly as Tawny rolled his eyes, before saying his part. "I think it''s dangerous. Not going to kill it?" he asked as he warily eyed the suspicious monster. Only to watch in surprise as a sheep walked by, picking the critter up by the scruff of his neck, tossing it onto his back. "It''s unnatural." he muttered. Don rubbed his beard thoughtfully. "Isn''t that more your choice Ben?" he said as he skillfully passed the bill onto Ben once more. "I''m going to let it be, see how it plays out." he said casually. "This could go wrong quickly." Tawny warned and Don agreed. "Tawny might be an overthinking dumbass, but I''ve got to agree, this seems really suspicious. Could go wrong in so many ways." Don grudgingly admitted. "Well, you know my intuition?" Nod "My intuition says this could be a good thing." Tawny and Don shared a look. "I mean, his intuition is good..." "I don''t know." said Tawny as he pondered worryingly. Ben rolled his eyes. "Look, if it does go wrong, as you''re both so worried about, we can always call the constable." he said, assuring his two old friends. Ben understood that his friends were only looking out for him, but Ben just felt it. That little spine tingle. He felt that little woolymander could really change things up.
Boompf! An explosion of fluff blew out, blinding the orc as it swung its club blindly, squealing all the while it looked for the annoying foe who had been fending off it''s herd of goblins. Out of nowhere, a sharp pain ran through the orc''s leg, causing it to collapse on one leg, the blood bleeding out of the leg, seeping into the ground. A rock came flying out of nowhere, hitting the beast square in the eye, blinding it in one eye. Squuueeel! Jimothy threw another stone, using its tail to throw the stone, using his old skills as an archer to aim, and blind the large beast. Circling the beast had been to his advantage. Just as centaurs circled their foe to confuse them, he now used it in this explosion of his own wool to confuse the dumb beast. This was his herd, and nothing touched it, not while he was here! Deciding to finish it off, he lunged at the beast. Wham! Unfortunately for him, the orc swung wildly, hitting Jimothy firmly on the flank, sending him flying. The beast turned, feeling the sensation of hitting something. Even with its leg torn and eyes bleeding, the beast charged wildly, charging with the intent to kill. Feeling the pain in his flank and his bones cracked, Jimothy rolled, barely dodging the first strike. He couldn''t charge any more. Desperately, he jumped onto the leg of the orc, climbing relentlessly as the orc tried to shake off the climbing critter. Scratches littered the beast as the two struggled in a life and death situation, the woolymander attempted to strangle the orc, as the orc tried to tear the critter off. One had to give and one did, as the orc breathed his last, before falling back and dying, fading from this world. Jimothy struggled up, after defeating the orc, a surge of triumph rose through him. Using his jaws, he ripped through the chest of the orc, finding a magic stone Crunch Breaking the stone into bits, Jimothy watched as a screen appeared before his very eyes, as he quickly scanned it, knowing he would soon pass out from exhaustion. He limped, heading towards the herd, finally tapping his choice, before collapsing, failing to reach the herd before he fainted. As he passed out, his body underwent changes. His claws increased in size, and his tail thickened, splitting off at the end into two different prehensile tips. The tongue split off just the same, becoming a forked tongue. The body grew in size, as his size approached that of a newly born sheep. No longer was his mouth round like that of a salamander, but more akin to a muzzle, the small mandibles replaced with sharp canines. And above all else, two nubs began to pop out of his head. [Congratulations!] [Proceeding to evolution: Ramodo guardian(hatchling) Chapter 47: Reuniting As the group of paladins were escorted by the serpents, Richard and Galileo quickly fell into a conversation. As Copernicus watches the ongoing conversation, he can''t help but notice something. "And then we..." "M-hmm..." "It was amazing! The first time was so terrifying, and then I..." "Is that so?" "Yeah, and then when I got..." "It sounds like you''ve had a lot of fun." "Yup!" The dragon demonstrated a great level of patience, listening quietly as countless words poured out of his student''s mouth. Galileo was never that talkative with him, more often than not getting exasperated with his actions. It made Copernicus a little jealous, but he understood why, since he had in fact bothered to read the report on Galileo''s life. Galileo was 3 years younger than Richard, but those three years had made all the difference. Like all kids abandoned on the front porch of the main temple of Isis, he had been raised by the temple alongside Richard. According to others, their first meeting had been Galileo pushing an 8-year-old Richard over. Galileo was just a child, and Richard had been a wise kid for his age, not yelling, but rather calming the agitated and scared child. After that, they reconciled afterwards with Richard becoming a senior figure to Galileo, emphasized by his fragile figure. The relationship had been likened less to siblings, but rather a child and his grandfather, a funny comparison considering the mere 3 year gap, but his limited mobility and ticking clock had changed the connection between them in this way, with Galileo never quite able to hug Richard too tightly, treating him like a porcelain vase. Galileo was a troublesome kid, talented but also reckless at the wrong times. Strong and well-meaning at times, but also rash and easily goaded into doing things. If there was one person he actually listened to, it was Richard. It was Richard who chided him when he did something wrong, and forced him to apologize when he did something wrong. Galileo hadn''t seen Richard since he left to become a paladin apprentice those years ago, and it was clear that Galileo had so much to share. "Calm down Leo. We have plenty of time to talk while the adults talk." Gingerly Richard used his hand, rubbing Leo''s head with his clawed hand, to which Galileo laughed happily. Copernicus felt a pang of jealousy at seeing the action, recalling how the kid usually reacted so hostile being addressed as Leo and scratching his head was a firm no for Galileo. Understanding didn''t make the annoyance go away. Copernicus resolved to himself that he would totally find a way to ruffle up the kid''s hair when he wasn''t looking. He was his teacher after all. Richard had already noticed that the group had been taking a path that veered away from the normal route to their cave, so Richard had been curious what they were heading towards. He''d also been quite curious about the serpents. Dozens of the, all of whom [Earthgrappling thunder serpent] [volcanic bile serpent] [venomous belching serpent] The serpents stats, the few he could see, all easily outranked his, and so did their stature, with each easily twice his size, looming over all of them. Richard could not help but wonder whether they had been hiding and he''d been unable to find them, or if they had merely been somewhere beyond where had reached. It wouldn''t surprise him if he had not managed to explore the whole of sister Alexandria''s territory, for as far as he had explored, sister Alexandria had never commented on it. And clearly, she was far more of a big shot than he had expected, given how easily the paladins bent the knee and were willing to accept the concessions. The fall of an emperor... There was such an incident, mere centuries ago. Was she really... Richard''s thoughts were interrupted as they arrived at their destination. Indeed, the environment was far different from what it was where they usually resided. The land was barren, and nary a life form could be seen within the vicinity. Tall spires loomed overhead, seemingly reaching into the sky. A tense, electric aura could be felt, as Richard felt his tank filling up, as the energy reserves within the clouds filled up. The whole area was charged with electricity, as if Alexandria was declaring this her domain, challenging any who would dare challenged her. Within this barren field stood a mansion, ominous in it''s aura. The place felt a bit old fashioned as far as Richard could tell, something that seemed to belong to another time. Sister Alexandria calmly moved forth, as Richard couldn''t help but notice the doors were huge, better sized for a wyrm than a man, and even Richard felt undersized before the doors overhead. The paladins made no comment, merely moving forward, quietly inspecting the mansion. As Richard observed in awe, something furry flew at Richard, wrapping around Richard''s neck as he shouted. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. "You *&^*&**( you do something that stupid again and I''ll (*^&%**^*&^ and ^%&*%&^^&&*& and-" Panda went on in a long slurry of what could only kindly be described as curse words, much to the astonishment of the paladins, who had almost impeded the lunging furball were it not for the aura of the squirrel. Truly, this was turning out to be a strenuous situation. First the thunder monarch, and now a demigod. This child was lucky to say the least. Despite the way the squirrel cursed furiously, Richard could see how anxious Panda had been. It did make him feel warm and fuzzy on the inside, while the constant stream of curse words and vile statements made his ears warm and fuzzy as well. Noticing the way the paladins were staring, Richard explained. "This is my familiar, Panda." He said, using the nickname, much to the disgruntlement of the squirrel. "PANDEMONIUM, MY NAME IS PANDEMONIUM!" He screeched in protest, finally stopping his long line of cursing, to the relief of the white dragon. "And while I''m at it," Richard noted as he ignored the rat, "I do have two other familiars. One of them is on my chest currently." he said, tapping on the blue scarab resting at the front. "And an octopulse, whom is currently being educated by another monster." Richard wasn''t sure how much he wanted to tell this group, like whether he should mention the monster gacha the shop provided, or the ability to buy materials and skills. Many of things were not only simply fantastical, but far too dangerous to let them know about, not until he was able to ascertain their intent. The expression on Devis'' face changed, ever so subtly, but Scave noticed it, making a mental note of it for later. Alexandria instructed them stiffly. "My servants will guide you to your rooms and tomorrow you can conduct your interview with Richard, under my supervision of course." She clarified that last part before turning to Galileo. "Would you like to sleep with Richard, or with your companions?" she asked, her voice clearly friendlier with the boy then with the paladins. Without hesitation, he responded. "Richard!" was his exclaimed response, earning him a small mirthful chuckle from Alexandria. "Very well then." she said as her tail flicked, and the serpents began escorting the paladins as she in turn guided Richard, Galileo, and Panda to their room. As they walked, Richard couldn''t help but amaze himself as he stared at the hallways, the paintings, and more. Sister Alexandria turned her head as she addressed Richard. "I''m sure everything here seems a bit... dated." she said, as she attempted to explain the old-fashioned mansion. Although Galileo nodded, understanding that this was her acknowledging the old-fashioned mansion. It was lost on the squirrel and the dragon of course. "Don''t even know what a mansion is!" Panda exclaimed. "Never seen one." Admitted Richard as he continued to give the whole mansion an admiring gaze, reminding sister Alexandria that this little dragon had never left the temple. This place must''ve been timeless to him, a magical sight regardless. They arrived at a large room, which was opened once more by sister Alexandria''s psychic abilities. "So, why don''t you two catch up some more while I get some food to tide us over for the day and help Achil tend to his wounds, hmm?" she said, sliding out of the room before a response could be formulated. Thud The echo of a giant metal door closing could be heard as she departed the room, leaving 3 and a half individuals. Panda was the first to speak in the absence of the wyrm, whirling around to face Galileo. "And who are you anyway!?" he questioned, staring down the unfamiliar person, someone who had come with those dangerous paladins, yet had been clearly treated differently from the rest. Richard interrupted on Leo''s half. "This is Galileo. I was his... steward." Richard said, trying to find the word that best described their relationship. He would never quite identify it as friendship, for their relation was never quite that, with no shared interests or even hobbies, yet a bond did exist. Galileo popped in with his own view, declaring. "He''s like a father to me." Leo said, boldly proclaiming their relation, causing Richard to sputter awkwardly and Panda to examine the two carefully. "Guess I''m the fucking house pet then." Panda grumbled, yet there was a hint of amusement behind it. "So, about your friend, was he alright?" asked Leo, seemingly seeking to see if the dragon like creature was alright after the number the paladins did to him. Panda waived his hand dismissively. "He''s fine, the beast has a high level of regeneration.. Say what you will of the paladins, but they knew the limits." Panda noted that last part with a hint of begrudging respect. Richard was a bit more surprised about that. "Then why was he limping earlier?" he asked, unsure about why Achil acted so meek earlier. "He''s a hawk''s chick pretending to be a chick to lure prey." muttered Panda, much to RIchard''s confusion.
Achil whimpered pitifully as Alexandria wrapped the dragon''s wounds. "Those bastards." she cursed as Achil winced in pain. "They dare to go so far on my territory no less!" She turned her head towards Achil as she asked softly, with Achil''s head turning swiftly the other way, with a soft blush on his cheeks. ''I''m fine.'' He said pitifully as possible, with Alexandria sighing. "Give me a second, I''ll get you something to soothe the pain." As she slithered away Achil carefully eyed the departing tail, as it twisted cutely, his eyes filled with hidden desire.
Eating quickly and sleeping just as quickly, Copernicus muttered about "injustices" and "unfaithful student" with a look of jealousy as he entered slumber. Seeing the most problematic paladin going to sleep, Scave turned to face Devis, who had gotten more polite after the earlier interaction, much to Scave''s suspicion. "Spill it." he demanded, as Devis stared him down. "And what do you mean by that?" he asked, his face giving nothing away. "Don''t bother hiding it. Copernicus may not have noticed, but I certainly did. Why did you soften your approach earlier?" Remaining silent for a moment, Devis finally decided to explain his more relaxed manner. "The child is more reserved than I expected." Scave looked at him blankly. "That''s it?" he asked, clearly unsure why that mattered so much. Sure, he was reserved, but Scave could hardly see why that would make Devis happier about the person in question. Devis rolled his eyes. "Richard has been reincarnated as a dragon after being bound to a chair for most of his life. I''ll admit, my first assumption about what he had been up to had been more... chaotic." Hearing how quickly Richard had been accruing power, how his first appearance in the world of man had been to attack the cart of the man who had once been his father, and taking what had belonged to the man in what could easily be seen as a wild declaration of war. With the assumption that becoming a dragon had completely reformed Richard''s nature, Devis had come into this believing that Richard would require... education. To ensure that he would not get out of control. Jorvus Mars was a god of governance and control. True, they tested the empire, but they did so to sharpen its blade, not to chip it. A wild and crazy dragon accumulating power in the mountains in the name of revenging himself upon his father was chaos that could not be tolerated. The Thorsten family was still being eyed, whether it be to be used as a tool to sharpen the imperial family, or to be terminated. What the temple of Jorvus did not need was a petulant hatchling stirring up a storm and forcing them to intervene, to make a choice without the time for consideration. And seeing Richard crashing from the sky did nothing but reinforce this worry. Devis had believed almost immediately that he would have to take the boy to ascertain what he wanted and to decide from there. Seeing the boy saved by the Storm Monarch only reinforced this worry, with the Storm Monarch known for her... impulsive nature. But as they were escorted to the mansion, Devis had noticed the reserved nature of Richard. He did not seem wild, nor particularly angry. He was careful and quiet, listening to that annoying paladin''s apprentice. Pleasant to talk to, a side effect of being raised within the temple of Isis. It slowly became clear that Richard had not changed, but Devis'' appraisal had. And the squirrel merely confirmed his thoughts. Devis knew that bloodline well, for there was only one godly squirrel in this empire, and that was Ratatoskr. Had Richard been impulsive and succumbed to his draconic urges, the kid would''ve already used these connections he had and waged his war. Ratatoskr was a god of entropy, more dangerous than Sethor, for no other god could manipulate rumor like he could. Entire families had been brought down by Ratatoskr''s whims. The storm monarch was a wyrm once whispered to have power equal to a god. With that kind of power, bringing down a mere noble was nothing. That attack on the cart was clearly a lucky coincidence and done out of good will more than anything else. Perhaps Richard did desire revenge still, and this was merely fate working in his favor. But that was all. Richard had not planned the attempt. Devis could negotiate with Richard. Richard seemed the patient and reserved type, something the temple could always appreciate. Regardless of the stance of the temple on RIchard, Devis knew that with the proper persuasion, Richard could be convinced to listen. Now that was a sweet thought to sleep on. A tool to dispose of the corrupt family, and in turn gain a powerful ally. How wonderful. Stocking stuffer 4: Titant Eater: The Kaiju of chaos The last thing Sethorbjorn saw was the ax flying at his head as he cackled wickedly, delighting in his incoming death. Finally! A truly worthy death! Sethorbjorn had long searched for a worthwhile death, one not only placed within a good cause, but a death at the hands of a worthwhile foe. And behold! A criminal minotaur twice his size, and adapt with an ax, one that he used to cut him down. He did not care, for he had already sent a message ahead of time, calling others better suited for hunting beings such as this. He merely had to injure it enough so that the beast would be forced to temporarily retreat. And he had done so, managing to nearly tear off the minotaur''s arm, for it was hanging by a few strings. And thus- Swish -Sethorbjorn found his worthy death.
Sethorbjorn had expected an apparatus of death to come retrieve him. Would Thanatos come to him, guiding his soul to the underworld for his judgement? Would his death be great enough to be personally escorted by the Valkyries to the eternal battle that was Valhalla!? What he did not expect was to encounter the God he had faithfully served in death. He could mistake him for no other being, for it was his one and only god. The thin snout, and the two great crests upon the back of his head. The two goats that followed the God. His very presence which came with the spark of sulfur and storm. The glimmering and taut muscles. A was-sceptre headed by a dual bladed axe which hummed with power, proof that he alone ruled the storms of chaos! It was Sethor, god of storms and chaos, uncle to Jorvus Mars, the great warrior himself. If Jorvus Mars was the god of legions and their commanders, then Sethor was the god of great warriors, people who stood alone at the pinnacle, beloved by adventurers. The very being whom Sethorbjorn had been named after, his name being the stone of Sethor in it''s direct translation. For he was just that, the stone which his lord cast down at the enemies of the empire! But why was his lordship here? His son may judge the dead, but Sethor had no such role. Perhaps... Perhaps he was here to test him! To see if Sethorbjorn was worthy of his lord''s name! Sethorbjorn understood, as he pulled out his twin tomahawks, ready to prove himself to his God, to prove himself as a warrior! Sethorbjorn charged with vigor, roaring as he lunged forth, practically foaming at the mouth for the chance to personally be tested by his lord! The lord of chaos and storms put his hand up as he cackled happily, but commanded, nonetheless. As much as I would relish in the chance for us to test your mettle child, that is not what I''m here for currently. Sethorbjorn lowered his axes in mild disappointment as he skids to a halt, but regardless, heeded his call. Do not worry, you have earned your right to enter Valhalla, and the entrance is rightfully yours, should you wish to depart now. However... The bestial god''s lips curled back as he gave a fierce grin, his gleaming fangs bared for all to see. ...Should you be interested in a new form to enact my crusade once more, I would gladly accept your service once more. Without hesitation, Sethorbjorn kneeled. From the day he was blessed by the god of storms and chaos, he had always been in the god''s service. But more combat? That was hardly business, but pleasure! There he is! God, I love your everlasting vigor. Very well then. So here''s what''s going to happen...
pop! The shell of a rather inconspicuous egg hatched cleanly, with one claw puncturing the shell, as the rest of the paw attached to this singular long claw followed suit, as three more equally thin and long claws followed through, tearing through the shell with vigor. A tiny head popped through the shell, a long thin snout popping through first, as two large horns also broke through the shell. Sethorbjorn marveled at how strong he felt, stronger than he had ever been in his prime, and yet how thick this shell had felt, or how cleanly these new claws were capable of cracking through such a thick object. His tongue felt weirded than it had ever felt before, as Sethorbjorn watched as it flickered in and out. A long thin, tubelike tongue. An anteater''s tongue. Indeed, the lord had said that he would be reborn as a kaiju, an individual which lurked within what was described as the "Hollow Earth". Sethorbjorn did not know these words, nor did he care. He had been sent here with one purpose, and one purpose alone, the only one he cared about. Kill, and kill, fight until you can fight no longer. I leave the rest to you. His lord had left it up to his interpretation, his freedom to fight as he wished in this bizarre land. Wonderful. He did mention something weird... There was supposed to be a "system" but you don''t need that, do you? Never! Good! You''re a true warrior, your instincts are enough! I will leave you the guide though, if only for fear of your mind cracking over time. I do not crack! I believe you. He still had this guide however. Not that Sethorbjorn minded. This guide was adept enough. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. It was a good guide. Something easy to start. Sethorbjorn did not feel large. He felt rather small in fact. The land was something akin to a plain, with the plain covered in grass that was shaped like trees, with small bumps here and there. His new form was barely twice the height of the grass, making poor Sethorbjorn was small. He was also a bit of a thickheaded moron, not realizing that the "grass" in question were trees, and that these small bumps would be hills and large bounds of land. It likely did not help that Sethor had taken away his system, and thus taken all stats and proof of this point. Instead, when facing this ant hill, Sethorbjorn felt incredibly small, for the mount loomed overhead, easily dwarfing him. And yes, he had turned a mountain into a mole hill. The titanteater crawled towards the hill as it observed the prey that the guide had led him to. Ants, that felt larger than they had ever been before. Compared to normal ants at least. They felt smaller than the monster ants. What could once easily be squashed underfoot was now a tangible meal. Because indeed... he was an anteater. So this would be his first hunt! The ants had already noticed him as they turned to face him, quickly gathering in a large group as they charged at him, with the intent to kill the intruder. Titants, unlike normal ants, had sight. Not great sight, but good enough to recognize the approach of kaiju, something important in these lands. Sethorbjorn showed no hesitation either, using his claws to slice through the ants, as they cut through it like warm butter. It didn''t take long for Sethorbjorn to cut through all of them. However... After he killed the first bunch, he realized that cutting all the ants into pieces king of resulted in, nothing. They didn''t look very appetizing. Oops. As more of them approached him, he decided to try a different approach. The approach he probably should''ve started with first, but he''d never been one for using his head when he could use his hands. The tongue slowly slithered out of his mouth, and grabbed another approaching ant. Crunch Pulled into his mouth, he felt a satisfying crunch as his teeth grinded down the insect. It was good, and not the worst thing the man had eaten before. Looking at the anthill, Sethorbjorn saw it just a bit differently. A little bit less like an enemy, and more like lunch.
Screee! WwwwhhrrrrooooOOO! Roaring in response to the challenger''s screech, Sethorbjorn raised his claws in an offensive posture, preparing to fight the approaching creature. A horrendous mix of goose and snake. A hissing serpentine head wrapped in feathers, a body with feathers and scales alike, with the tail of a scorpion. It charged at him, hissing and screaming, but Sethorbjorn was no slouch. Standing on his hind legs, he extended his hands outward in a show of dominance, with talons so long that the goose-snake-scorpion faltered in it''s run for a few seconds, before ramping up it''s speed again. The titanteater ran forwards as well, preparing for its collision. 3... 2.. 1. Crash! The sound of flesh and feather meeting reverberated in the area, as his claws dug into the hide of the beast, and honking hisses could be heard. Sethorbjorn did not go unscathed, for he could feel the teeth of the beast ripping into his flesh, the teeth feeling more akin to the teeth of a wolf than the fangs of a snake. The scorpion tail lunged forward, plunging towards the nape of his body. Deftly dodging, Sethorbjorn instead grabbed the tail with his tongue, it''s grip being far stronger than the likes of the new appendages he had. Twisting his head, he threw the geese on the floor. SLAM! Wasting no time, he used his claws to tear off the stinger, eliciting a honk of pain from the goose. It flapped its wings, desperately trying to escape, but Sethorbjorn was firmly on top, pinning it from above. Each scratch took a pound of flesh off the beast, as it grew weaker with every gasp. And finally... Rrrrrriiiiiippppp! The snake-like head came flying off as the creature finally fell limp. Panting, Sethorbjorn could feel the blood pumping vigorously through his body. This... this feeling... THIS was what he lived for. SSScccreeeeeooonk! A screech of dominance burst from the titanteater''s throat. The sound of satisfaction, the sound of triumph. The dawn of a new apex had just begun.
In the countless battles that had followed his body had undergone many changes. He had grow exponentially in size, though Sethorbjorn had long come to realize how small he was in this land of beasts, which caused him to often complain to himself how lord Sethor had brought him into a world of kaiju this small. Right now, he would dwarf 4 dragons stacked upon one another. The fur on his body had become a dark black, highlighted by the occasional streaks of lightning that ran through his body. A long serpentine tail came out of his fur, splitting into two circular tips. There were feathers protruding from this tail, a deep shade of blue, that gave the tail the appearance of a particularly rough fan. His hands had changed, becoming reptilian, much like his tail, and the talons had changed, becoming made to rip and tear, while his previous claws had been better for breaking into mounds. The hind legs had grown, and taken up a structure that Sethorbjorn often attributed to drakes, or even birds were he to compare. The guide Barren had called them, "traits of the Therizino" whatever that meant. Maybe some form of dragon, or bird. His neck had grown, taking on a slenderer stature, coiled almost like the neck of a goose, covered in a black matte coat. Rows of teeth now filled the face of the anteater, giving it a more sinister, look, as did the two horns protruding from the back of his head. The eyes a dark amber. According to his lord Sethor, he had evolved in his image, becoming what Sethor called the "Sethorian eater". Sethorbjorn took pride in this title, much like he took pride in his name. Today was another successful day of hunting, as he had managed to hunt down this weird porcupine cricket and was about to chow down when.... Thoom Thoom Thoom Thoom The sound of heavy footsteps could be heard as the beast approached his direction and the Sethorian eater heaved himself upwards, preparing for a fight. A giant bipedal lizard broke through a clearing. It was easily thrice his size. To his surprise, it was not chasing him, but rather, it was chasing fairies! Well, he thought they were fairies. They were small humanoid creatures at the very least and were even very similar to what he would describe as giants in their physical features, were it not for their size. They were small. Terribly small. Each maybe came up to his knee, were he to be generous. They were running from the beast, leaving him to wonder if they had angered the creature, given how little worth they''d be as prey for such a large creature. He watched thoughtfully, wondering for a split second whether or not to save these little folks. His mind was made up quickly. He was a paladin of chaos. What else could he do but save them? Rushing forwards, he watched as the fairies eyes widened in panic as they turned to run in a different direction, but Sethorbjorn strode past them, rushing towards the beast claws prepped. The beast shifted focus as it saw him, roaring a challenge to the approaching foe. Teh creature took a big bite forward, as Sethorbjorn ignored it, lunging for the creature''s side. Using his claws, he gouged himself a grip onto the creature, before climbing it''s back, with each gash bringing the beast pain. A clean cut was all it took to bring the beast down, alongside the marks of his climb. Boom! The sound of the large beast falling reverberated throughout the whole area, being followed by silence. Having finished up, Sethorbjorn settled down to enjoy his pound of flesh before moving on. Before he could, he noticed the fairies walking up to him, before dropping to their knees, bowing in a show of respect. Scrutinizing them, he couldn''t help but notice they really looked like giants, were it not for their size. They were almost exactly the same minus their size. They were just too small. Unless... Maybe he was too big! A s he recalled the words his master had said, commenting on his size, something he had merely dismissed as a bad joke, he came to realize the truth. he was huge! Lost in these thoughts, Sethorbjorn didn''t notice that one of them in particular strode forward, a woman slightly taller than the rest, with special markings on her head. Black hair and amber eyes. She kneeled as she spoke words, words at first incomprehensible to him, until they started becoming understandable. [-We offer our respects to the great clawed god of the plains, he who cleaves the world in two, the great badgerlord-] Hmm? Clawed god? What do they mean by that? At this moment, a murky laughter filled his mind, one that brought the sethorian eater great worry. He loved his god Sethor with all his heart, but like all men, he knows- I am a god of chaos, you know? -THe things Sethor enjoys most, the things he relishes in and even encourages, -is chaos.
I still think my turtle is better. Anubis grumbles as he watcches these new devotees to his father''s favored one fall to their knees. Sethor cackled, as he poured himself another mug, and drank once more. Come now, you must appreciate the sheer scale of their fights, It is something to behold. Anubis had to admit this much begrudgingly as he pondered to himself. Well, it could be fun if Earl chose to become a kaiju. Sethor howled in delight at the very thought. Indeed, indeed! He agreed wholeheartedly. Imagine how my nephew would pull his own feathers out in frustration at the mere thought. Sethor found delight at the frustration Jorvus would face with the prospect of a kaiju lurking within his empire. Father, he''s not a bird anymore. He''ll still pull hair I guess. How delightful! Anubis looked worried at the look on the god''s face. Father... He warned as his divine aura grew, causing Sethor to roll his eyes. Fiiiiine. You''re so defensive of that kid. When you were born- -You were a horrid father and dumped me in a pond filled with mad hippos. Anubis retorted simply. They were your hungry hungry hip-aunts! Exclaimed Sethor, as if that justified his actions. Anubis rolled his eyes. Just keep your grubby hands off of my player. Fine. I have a better toy anyway. He said as he turned back to the view. Now, let''s see- Sethor smiled. -How chaotic can I make this? Chapter 48: Richard and Leo Walking in, the wyrm and Achil found themselves istening in to a conversation between a very eager child, and Richard with a great deal of patience, though Richard had never shown himself to be the impatient type. Regardless, the patience he was showing currently was unprecedented. "How''s being able to move feel?" Leo asked, this time more tenderly, as he understood the delicacy of this question. And Richard was hesitant, obvious in the way his movement changed slightly and incomprehensibly. Yet... "It''s wonderful." was Richard''s confident answer, happiness leaking out of his every word. . This second life, in spite of the dangers and perils he had faced through all of it, was a life that he would never regret. His past life may have been safe and quiet, but it was quiet. Sad. He lived a life on a ticking clock, knowing every moment could be his last, his breath his final. Even with the presence of friends and loved ones he felt alone, just a minor note in everyone''s life while he waited for his to end. Every quiet moment was agonizing. Death was at the forefront of his every moment, the limit that ensured Richard''s life would never reach the peaks that others would. This new life was different. Exciting. This year alone was more life than he had ever experienced over the course of 19 years. He wouldn''t say the family he''s made this past year was worth more to him than his last family. He just felt like he was something more than just a footnote to them, someone who would only be there for a limited time for him. And with this new body, things would be different. He could be more. Leo seemed happy to hear this, as he gave Richard an earnest hug. "I''m glad to hear that." he said sincerely, happy for the man who had been locked away in a frail body all his life, finally unburdened and free to truly live life. "All right, enough of that." snapped Panda. "Who are you anyway? Rather chummy with Richy aren''t you?" "Richy?" Richard asked. "He''s like a father to me." Leo said definitively, without hesitation, as Richard''s head spun around. "Well, I wouldn''t say father, more like steward..." he said awkwardly. A tinge of embarrassment was flush on his face. "Oh?" Panda said, as his ears perked up. "So he''s daddy Richard?" he asked, watching the dragon''s expressions. "Oh no, not that again." moaned Richard as his face flushed even harder. "I called him father most of the time." affirmed Leo. "Ah, so it''s father Richard!" He paused. " Too priestly. I liked daddy more." "Dear Isis no." said Richard, as he covered his face. Richard cherished Leo, he truly did. But as a child who was only 19 as a human, and a year old as a dragon, being called "daddy" by a peer was embarrassing. Panda didn''t stop ribbing Richard of course, doing it even more furiously than before. By the time sister Alexandria and Achil walked back into the room, they found Richard curled up, vehemently blocking off all sound, while Panda continued ribbing. Poor Galileo just sat there, more confused than anything else. "All right Panda, I think you''ve had enough fun, don''t you?" she said as they entered the room, with snacks in tow, held up by magic. "Yeah, alright, I got my jollies." he said as he hopped over and rested in Galileo''s lap, much to his surprise. "Hey, you said Richard was like a father to you right?" Nod "Alright then, feel free to treat me like a dog." Panda said reluctantly as he plopped down on the man''s legs. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Stunned, Galileo froze for a second, before slowly scratching Panda''s back. Despite not saying anything, he did snuggle up closer to the man. No longer being embarrassed, Richard up righted himself as he shook himself, as if shaking off the embarrassed appearance from earlier. "Sister Alexandria." he said stiffly as he addressed her. Sister Alexandria chuckled as she coiled up to sit down. "I saw you guys were having fun." "Well, you know, just a little teasing as Panda usually-" "He doesn''t like being called daddy!" Panda interrupted suddenly as he sat up, before being pushed back down by Leo, quietly enjoying having his back rubbed. Alexandria glanced at Richard, curiosity very present and clear within her eyes. Leo stepped in to explain. "Back in the church, people used to go to Richard to seek alternative answers for their questions. They didn''t call him father, because he wasn''t technically a priest, and at some point it just became daddy..." "That was your fault!" interrupted Richard with a flustered face. "You and sister Lyssandra decided to spread it as a joke. And then everyone started to call me daddy Richards! It was- it was it was, so, so, so." "Hilarious!" Interrupted Panda. "Daddy Richard! Really!" Richard groaned. "To be fair, you''re the one who pointed out we couldn''t call you Father Richard since you weren''t happy with the title." pointed out Galileo, seemingly finding nothing wrong with the title. "We just tried to find a workaround to it." For the first time Richard sent Leo a genuinely annoyed look, causing him to shut up. "Well I think it''s very cute. It''s clear to me they treasured you very much, and saw you worthy of respect." she purred, clearly proud of him. "Can we just move on please." Richard pleaded, clearly wanting to move on from the subject. "All right, all right." sister Alexandria conceded. "But I want to hear more stories about your time in the temple." a platter of food landed in front of Galileo, which smelt absolutely delicious. "I haven''t cooked in a while, but I tried my best." she said unveiling a large ham and buttered potatoes, alongside a finely sliced platter of fruits. "It''s wonderful madam Alexandria." Galileo said, trying to be polite, but she waived it off. "It''s fine, and please, call me Aunty Alexandria. If I''m Richard''s sister, that makes me your aunt." she said, giving him a warm smile. Galileo nodded. "Aunty Alexandria?" he said in an innocent and friendly voice. She smiled even more, as her aura grew warmer. Poor Richard was just hiding in the corner, screaming internally. "Make it stop make it stop make it stop make it stop make it stop make it stop make it stop..."
After finishing the meal, sister Alexandria returned to more serious matters. "Galileo, I know this may be asking too much of you, but-" Richard started but Galileo cut him off. "It''s fine. I don''t mind telling you. The doctrine of Isis dictates that we prioritize our love of others over the church." Leo said. "And to me, my father is more important than what the church wants. Besides." he added, seemingly nonplussed, "nothing is wrong here. They just want to inquire with you to see what the other players are going through. Essentially a simple survey." He paused. "Well, a more serious survey." "But why?" Panda asked from Galileo''s lap. "Aren''t there thousands of players?" Leo''s eyes widened at that response. "Really!?" he said, astonished. "Oohhh, that''s one of those things we shouldn''t say, huh?" "Probably not." Galileo agreed. "Dammit." Panda quietly cursed as he clicked his fingers. "How many do the temples know about, Richard asked. Galileo helplessly shrugged at that question. "The temples have been keeping their cards close to their chest and Isis herself has not disclosed the numbers herself, if the other temples are to be believed." To Richard''s surprise, the system chose to pipe in on this matter. [It is likely the system has chosen not to disclose the number, and Isis has chosen to do so as well.] Why? Richard mentally asked, and the system hummed its speculation. [Although I cannot tell you all I know, I suspect it''s to avoid having these people be exploited by the temples as well as the nobility. And if the gods knew, although many would keep quiet, some would be bound to their nature and leak something. The god''s themselves would also not hesitate to use people in their game amongst themselves.] Richard could see what the system was saying. As much as the god''s were revered, many were revered for their great and terrible power, rather than their wisdom and good will. Richard also suspected that the system was hiding something that the system gained from the players. Although Richard knew that the system collected mana from each kill he made, there must be more, given the main system seemed unwilling to disclose it, something it wouldn''t do unless there was a reason for the system to protect players beyond just that. Regardless, this meant that the god''s themselves were not aware of the number of players. "Do you want me to hide that?" Galileo asked, willing to keep quiet about it if he were questioned. Richard nodded. "Probably for the best. The system said that it is for the players sake, more than it is for it''s sake." Galileo tipped his head. "The system?" he asked. "Oh, yeah the system is..." Richard had no problem sharing the system with Leo because he trusted him, and frankly, the other players if found were likely to expose the system, so it didn''t seem unreasonable to share it to the paladins, and he expressed as much, telling Galileo to share it with the paladins if they asked what the two of them had talked about. Galileo nodded. "So that''s what the system described was." Richard asked. "You knew about the system already?" Galileo shook his head. "Not quite. The gods were vague about it, talking about how all players were given guidance by a guide who helped them survive in their new lives. Even if they knew more, chances are the other paladins wouldn''t share anyway." Richard nodded in understanding. Even if the temples were united in the idea of protecting the empire, they all still had their own desires and goals, especially since none of them were limited to the empire, with many having branches in the surrounding countries and as far as the spirit federation. "Anything else they told you?" Richard asked, and Galileo shook his head. "That''s all I know, and all we were briefed on, though maybe more was disclosed when I wasn''t there, since I have a connection with you." "It''s enough." Richard responded. "I''m just glad to see you again." he expressed, and Galileo smiled, giving Richard a big hug. A click could be heard as sister Alexandria used her tail to produce a resounding sap. "Alright children, time for bed. We have a very important meeting tomorrow, with a very important survey. Good night!" she said as the lights went out. Richard curled up on the floor, and looked over with surprise as he watched Galileo sleep on his flank, though made no comment, with Panda resting on his head. Tomorrow would be an important day, best they get enough rest tonight. Chapter 49: Breakfast crunch The next morning was a rush as a startled Richard watched as hordes of serpents moved busily throughout the mansion. Seeing his confusion, Leo laughed happily. "She''s a wyrm you know." Leo reminded him, as Richard could only watch dumbfounded. Richard knew of course, he knew all the traits of wyrms, including their sovereignty over serpents. And yet throughout the duration of their stay within sister Alexandria''s territory, Richard had never seen the serpents around the territory. Now that he thought about it, he realized that he hadn''t even seen a serpent since he began staying here. The last one he had fought had been a boa concrusher, and since then he hadn''t seen one since then. Looking back, perhaps that was more than pure coincidence. This thought did not linger long, as sister Alexandria began prepping them for the interview. Nothing extravagant was planned, merely for them to avoid certain topics. Richard did not dress up, nor armor up. He assumed it was better not to armor up, since it could be seen as rude. He assumed at least, since knights did not wear armor when having guests over, according to the books. It seemed to be the correct response, since when they entered the dining room, none of the paladins were armored up, seemingly dressed in casual clothes. Did they have spatial type storage objects? Probably. Regardless, the meal went well. It was a meal, worthy of being called brunch. It was a quiet, proper meal, and yet, also one clearly fraught with an undertone of urgency. Eating was merely a formality, something meant to be finished, and then move into the interview. Still, Richard didn''t let this get to him, choosing to enjoy his meal. He noticed that paladin Devis was a lot less hostile than before, and paladin Copernicus seemed more... hostile. Hostile wasn''t quite the right word, but he couldn''t put his finger on it. Not while he was busy feeding Galileo. Apparently, Galileo wanted to enjoy being fed, since Richard couldn''t do so before. The dragon himself found it terribly embarrassing, yet at the same time, couldn''t help but want to take care of the kid, regardless of him now being an adult. He had wanted to do it in his youth, when Leo was a far smaller child, and far cuter. Now 17, he was less cute, and yet there was an enjoyable feeling to it all. Jealousy. That was the word Richard was looking for, as Copernicus secretly grumbled to himself about how cute his apprentice was to the young dragon, yet clearly so cold and snappy to him. ''Cheer up'' Scave said mentally. ''He''s just excited to see his old adoptive father'' The words fell flat, with the paladin of Isis too busy complaining in the back of his mind. ''He doesn''t let me feed him or tussle his hair. It''s so unfair!'' Sister Alexandria commented nothing, but easily saw through Copernicus. And secretly wished that Richard would be more infantile as well. Oh well, at least Achil was more open to it. Achild was being hand tail fed by sister Alexandria, much to the jealousy of all the serpents watching in the background, as their queen handfed all the food to this random upstart. It was truly, an interesting meal. Finished eating, Devis cleaned his mouth with a few dabs, complimenting the wyrm appropriately. "My compliments to the chef. The food is truly amazing." "I am glad to hear that. I''m sure a few of the culinary techniques he''s used are outdated, but hopefully palatable." Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. "They are timeless and have aged finely." Devis complimented politely. And that was practically the only real conversation to the meal. A certain crab and octopus were nowhere to be seen.
The interview took place in what could be described as a lounge, at least according to what Richard had read in the books and did bear a resemblance to the ones used by the temple to greet guests. The paladins were sat on one side, opposed to where Richard and Alexandria sat. Achil was resting next to Alexandria, next to Galileo who had Panda resting on his lap. The latter was far more interested in the conversation than the former, who was concentrated on getting more comforting from Alexandria. With everyone nice and comfortable, the conversation began. Paladin Copernicus took the lead, with the other two observing, and not reacting for the most part. Likely Devis had been restricted due to his prior involvement in their initial less-than-pleasant interaction. In spite of the seemingly hostile appearance he had earlier at the meal, he was perfectly cordial throughout the conversation. That was it had felt like throughout the whole thing. A conversation. It started simple at first, things like how he was doing, if his life had been good so far, simple surface questions like that. The more difficult questions started following suit. -How are you feeling? Uncomfortable? -What does this "system" actually do? - has this system told you about the locations of other players? - Have you tried praying to Isis ever since you''ve been reincarnated as a dragon? - How did you meet the demigod squirrel? The first had not seemed a difficult question at first glance until it was revealed the reason he inquired was that the churches had worried about the effect of reincarnation would be on a soul when they retained their previous life memories. Richard did reveal the system had a shop that allowed "players" to buy whatever they wished, skills included, as long as they had the appropriate number of points. The look they had was ghastly, clearly worried about how this would affect the economy, until Richard revealed how high the prices were for appropriately rare items. Their faces loosened up at that, though Devis and Scave both grimaced, knowing how much work they would both have as more heavily government involved paladins. The third was a solid no, given that Richard had been given no information about the location of any player, though he found it weird that the temples really had no clue either. Had the gods not looked, or told them? Player 0 he knew of, but the player''s location was still a mystery. He had never tried praying to Isis, much to Copernicus'' dismay. Richard didn''t understand why. He''d never prayed to her anyway. The last question required a little bit of mixing, blending lies and truth. Richard wasn''t sure he should share the fact that the system could just dole out demigods in a game of gambling. It was something that could easily stir trouble and was something Richard feared could also cause strife for all players, once the various churches found out and promptly pushed even further to gather their own players. The smallest chance to lay their hands on a demigod to serve their order was more than enough to make a few priests turn greedy. So he told them that they saved Panda when he was an infant and in danger from another creature, and as a result, the squirrel was indebted to them. It wasn''t wrong, given the system had saved Panda in a moment of near death before even being born, and thus, without Richard pulling Panda in a gamble, Panda would theoretically be in a space between life and death. Whether or not he believed it, Richard did not know, but Copernicus seemed to accept it, as he moved onto his next question. "When do you plan to leave the mountain?" "When... do I... plan to leave the mountain?" Richard repeated hesitantly. "Yup." Copernicus affirmed. Richard thought about it. When? When would he leave? Richard hadn''t thought about it, deciding to wait until when he was stronger, until he was absolutely confident in his strength. Was he strong enough yet? No. No he wasn''t strong enough yet. He was only a B rank creature. So small, not with paladins like Devis out there, or S class hunters, or even hunters who would gladly tear him into shreds . Not yet. Not until he was stronger. But when? Richard''s mind raced as he thought about it, seeking when? Richard wanted to go out, but he wasn''t strong enough right? Right? Noticing Richard''s silence as his mind whirled, sister Alexandria checked on him. "Are you alright?" she asked, placing her tail on his shoulder in support, snapping Richard out of his whirlwind of worries, and yet the thought still remained. When? He didn''t have an answer really. Just a vague ''when he was strong enough.'' But when would that be? Richard could feel the expentant gaze of Galileo, and yet Richard couldn''t give him an answer yet. He wasn''t confident enough yet. Hesitantly, Richard opened his mouth to respond- Bam! The sound of a door slamming open reverberated through the whole room as an octopulse and a certain godly crab entered the room. ''We have arrived!'' ''Karkinos believes the best entrances are late!'' A pair of misfit creatures declared. The weird feeling in the room from the prior question disappeared as instead surprise filled the room instead, taking the pressure off of Richard. Seeing the crab in particular, Devis laughed. "Would you look at that! We finally found him!" he exclaimed excitedly as he pointed at the crab. Scave looked happier as well commenting, "well, that is certainly one positive to this trip." Copernicus seemed confused for a moment. "What are you guys talking about-" he paused as he remembered something. "Oooh! That case from a few centuries ago! The one about a wondering monster god!" he said, remembering something. All three seemed rather glad to have discovered Karkinos, much to the confusion of everyone else. Considering the abrupt change in pace, sister Alexandria declared. "Well then, I think this was a good first interview, hmm? How about we continue this tomorrow, once you''ve organized your next set of questions that you can ask Richard, yes?" Despite her politeness, there was a hint of finality. Seeing that their interview was at an end, they accepted it quickly, and began to return to their rooms. Except for Copernicus, who was called aside by Richard. Despite Richard''s unsureness about when he would leave, he was still an organized person. He could put that aside. The dragon had already been pushing this thought aside well enough already.. He had other things to do. "Can we talk?" Richard asked the man, clearly indicating for them to talk alone as they left the room. Galileo got up to follow the two, only to be stopped by sister Alexandria. "They seem to want to talk about something private." she said, as she watched them go, and then looking back at Galileo. Galileo, the unwilling student, and Richard, the child who was looking out for him. What connection did the child and the teacher have in common? Chapter 50 Parent Teacher Conference Watching the two of them walk away, Galileo looked a little worried. "What do you think the two of them need to talk about?" he asked anxiously as sister Alexandria turned to face him. She thoughtfully pondered it. Even looking at Galileo, she couldn''t actually construct a good answer. "I wonder..." she said, contemplating for what reason would Richard have to speak with the paladin. For some reason, she was reminded of a meeting between teacher and student.
As they walked to a room seemingly vacant, Richard analyzed the room, sure there was some form of surveillance, yet he was unable to detect it. These serpents were seemingly extremely good at tailing. The room they were at was another one quite similar to the previous lounge, having been chosen by a serpent elected by sister Alexandria to guide them to this room. It was nice. As the two sat down, with Richard sitting on a more bed like structure, seemingly suited for larger beings to sit on, who were less suited to general structures like chairs. "So uh, what did you want to talk about?" asked Copernicus, seemingly uneasy, much to Richard''s confusion. Why was Copernicus anxious? Copernicus, on the other hand, was worried about what Richard wanted to talk about in private. There was really only one person he would want to hide it from, and that would be Galileo. What did he want to talk about? Did he do something wrong? Was Richard suspicious of something? Did Galileo say something. As annoying as the brat was, Copernicus adored him. He was a nice child, even with his cold exterior. The last thing he would want to do is to get off on the wrong foot with Richard, as he could easily tell for Galileo, Richard was everything. If Richard expressed dislike for him... Shiver He could just imagine Galileo becoming that much colder. "Thank you." Richard said a bit awkwardly, getting Copernicus to snap back to the conversation. "For what?" asked Copernicus patiently, unsure what he was being thanked for exactly. Richard looked a bit uncomfortable while he was spitting out his words. "For taking care of Leo." he said, clearly a bit hesitant. It was clear he was a bit out of his depth. Copernicus looked dumbfounded for a bit, before laughing. "No problem." said Copernicus, reassuring the child. "Galileo''s a good kid, even if he''s a bit distant at times." Richard looked measurably relieved upon hearing that. "It''s good to hear that." he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I knew Galileo would be trouble, but I thought it best that he went to you rather than paladin Peter." Copernicus paused. "Wait, you were the one that told him to apprentice under me?" he said, being both astonished, and yet it made so much sense. Galileo clearly felt cold and distant, often leading him to wonder why he chose him, if he disliked him so much. Richard nodded. "Yes, originally he was going to request to apprentice under paladin Peter, but I convinced him not to." Copernicus laughed bitterly. "Of course, everyone wants to apprentice under Peter." he said, an indescribable bitterness filling his throat. It rarely bothered him, but it did sometimes. The way that his brother in arms was always remembered more than he. Known for his strength, his moral views, the iconography of the shield. No matter what, he overshadowed him. And even now, it turned out his own student would have chosen the man, were it not for the pressure of the dragon before him. Richard lost his awkwardness, as his voice hardened and became stern. "Contrary to what you seem to believe, he did not wish to follow Peter for those reasons." There wasn''t a shred of hesitation in that voice. "Then why would he want to follow Peter?" At this, Richard hesitated once more, clearly unsure how to go about it. But he does start eventually. This man was Leo''s teacher. He had a right to know why the kid showed such an aversion to him. "What do you know about Leo''s father?" he asked Copernicus. Copernicus responds automatically, having already long since read the report of the student he adored. "Galileo''s father John Paul was declared a traitor for his crimes against the church and the people, leading to his execution. His mother, Mary Paul hung herself shortly thereafter. The crimes they had committed-" "Stop it!" Richard demanded, his voice fierce and clearly angered. Copernicus looked at Richard, confused at the demand when he had been the one who told him to recite what he knew of Galileo''s father. Richard looked angry as he asked. "When did you read that?" "About 3 years ago." Hearing that, Richard looked very bitter. "I guess she couldn''t change it after all." he remarked. Turning his attention to Copernicus, he explained. "That was all fabricated. Leo''s father was killed for defying a higher up in the church who was a lecherous man, desiring his wife, Leo''s mother. Do you remember father Richmond?" Copernicus'' face contorted in disgust when he remembered that name. Father Richmond, an infamous slimy criminal, a parasite within the church. He was executed for crimes of corruption, bludgeoned to death for his crimes, and his corse desecrated, denied the right of resting within any grave controlled by the temples. It was known that the man with his influence as a relative to a marquis had many files changed, and even to this day, many innocent people had their names ruined by the pig''s efforts. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. A shame on the whole church of Isis. Then!... The horrified expression of realization was apparent on Copernicus'' face, causing Richard to nod in confirmation. "Whether or not his mother actually hung herself or not, I do not know. But I think that hardly matters. The day he pushed me was the anniversary of his mother''s death. A random child called his mother some words, leading to a fight as more kids continued to call him names. He happened to see me, get angry, and pushed me. Leo was isolated thanks to what Richmond had done." Richard looked lost in thoughts as he recalled those days. A deep sadness was felt from those eyes. "I couldn''t get angry at him. Both of us, victims of the actions of others, helpless in the face of higher powers. Involved in the machinations of others, forced to merely live with the consequences" Richard sighed. His voice was tinted with frustration, with a little anger too. Copernicus recalled the question he had asked, inquiring if Richard had tried praying to Isis. Richard seemed unaware, but there seemed to be a hint of anger in him, regret about what had been taken from him, and his inability to lash out at those who had hurt him, and the inability of Isis to heal him. A sense of helplessness. Copernicus patted Richard on the back, attempting to comfort the unknowingly distraught dragon, prodding him to speak again. "And you know who killed Richmond, yes?" "...Yes." Copernicus simply affirmed, now understanding the reason why Galileo wanted to work under Peter. It had been Peter who had used that shield to crush that man''s head, painfully and with great vigor. Peter who had righted the great wrong in his eyes. Richard continued his talk. "Galileo did too. There was nothing more he desired than to work with paladin Peter." "Then why did you convince him otherwise?" Copernicus was bitter no longer, understanding why Galileo wanted to work under peter. But why did Richard want him to guide the kid? "Because he wanted it for the wrong reasons. He did not desire to train under Peter because he was a great man, but because he was a man who dealt justice with great vindication. That he was merciless as he crushed Richmond to death. I worry for Galileo. The boy dislikes much of what the church stands for. He does not believe in its idea of compassion, the ideals of the people there. He believes it''s all gilded shit, in no small part thanks to how the kids used to isolate him thanks to Richmond''s lies about Leo''s family." Clearly this had been something that had long bothered Richard, as his face looked tired. "We often begged mistress Trenee to do something about the records, but it''s not easy. Not all the corruption has been purged from the church, and it''s not only the corruption; you have many members of the church arguing with her, for fear of the reputation of the church of Isis plummeting. The whole thing has fallen into a political pit if you will, and with every year Galileo lost faith in the church." Richard had a forlorn look on his face. "I do not blame children for being children and following adults, but it pains me to see how bitter it makes Galileo at times. If he''s been treating you rudely, it''s because of that. He doesn''t believe in the doctrine of Isis, and you, who embody it the most, reviles him. His experience through a lifetime has taught him that the church is built on a foundation of lies. He cannot or refuses to see the good side of it. " "No, he hasn''t! He''s a bit cold and rude, but he doesn''t seem to hate me. I think we''re getting along great actually!" Copernicus said, vehemently denying this, so sure that Galileo did not hate him, even if he was cold to his own teacher. Richard did not respond, merely contemplating it, then asked something rather unexpected, rather out of the blue. "Do you know what Paladin Peter has been up to?" The question was not asked innocently, and Copernicus could sense the blatant intent. He thought back to what he had heard from Devis, a taunting about the activities of his brother-in-arms Peter. "No." he said simply, his emotions growing turbulent. He didn''t want to hear it, not really. Richard nodded solemnly. "I do not know either, but what I do know is that he''s been going down a destructive path. Peter is too focused on his failures, and I suspect the corruption of the church broke him in some capacity. 3 years ago, when Leo had started talking about becoming a paladin already. I knew who he was planning to train under, and considering his outlook, that bothered me so. My worries were merely amplified when I investigated." Richard''s face took on a more worried look. "I''m sure you''ve noticed it too. He became erratic, off the rails. Started talking with some of the less pleasant people of the church. They say he''s changed them, but I think it''s worse than that." Copernicus reacted protectively. "So what do you think he''s done, huh? Joined the darker side of the church? Become corrupt? Even if he''s going down a darker route, the man I knew would never do that!" "But he might do something suicidal, no?" "..." "He started pushing his apprentices away a few years ago, around the same time as when he started approaching the ambiguous people." Richard started listing off the multiple things he had discovered by sneaking around the church, and quietly listening to news and rumors. "..." "The shield wasn''t meant to be used that way, not to crush its foes beneath its weight, but to protect the innocent with it''s power. The day he used the shield to bludgeon father Richmond is the day he deviated from the way of Isis." Seeing Copernicus conflicted look, Richard sighed. "I don''t care what he''s up to. I''m not involved. As long as he still has Isis'' power, it means that Isis has continued to support him. Otherwise, he wouldn''t be able to use the shield he famously boasts, which is a sign of his devotion. What I was worried about was his darkness corrupting Galileo. He''s skeptical, but I feared if he followed Peter, he would''ve followed the man onto that dark road. I didn''t want that for him. To be jaded as Peter has become. You-" his voice changed tone, as it became more positive. "-I believe you could help him." "Me?!" To this, Copernicus looked genuinely surprised. "Why?" "Because of your positivity. Your strength. Most of all, your ability to move on. To not linger and to move on instead. It''s clear you and Peter care very much about the church. Both of you were involved in the purging of the church those many years ago. And yet, only one of you has remained steadfast in your positivity. Peter has let regret plague him. It''s not what I want for Galileo. I don''t want him to live his life bitter over what he''s lost, but to move on, to learn how to take things and move on." Richard asked him sincerely. "Can you do that?" Copernicus didn''t have a response to that at first, but quickly made up his mind. " I can try! Just leave it to this old man here!" he said with a determined attitude, relieving Richard. One of his few regrets with dying was never getting a chance to check up on Leo, and to make sure that his choice hadn''t been a mistake, since he hadn''t gotten a chance to see Galileo since then. And he felt he owed Copernicus an explanation, to explain why Leo disliked, maybe even hated the man. It was his fault the man ended up teaching an unwilling student. Luckily hate seems to have been his own worry, though RIchard would still check with him. Regardless, Richard felt a weight was lifted, knowing that Leo was in good hands. Before Richard can get up with a load off his back, Copernicus said something that caught him off guard. "A word of advice for you kid. You seem unsure about when to leave and go back to civilization. Remember this: you may have all the time in the world, but not everyone does. Make sure not to hesitate too long or you may miss your chance" Copernicus got up with this warning, having decided to also offer the young dragon a little enlightenment, in return for his enlightenment on Galileo''s situation.
The young dragon looked conflicted as he left the room, where he met sister Alexandria. To his surprise, she has nothing to say, merely accompanying him back to the room the dragons had been resting in. Richard looked at sister Alexandria. "You don''t have any questions?" he asked, genuinely surprised. "What about?" said sister Alexandria, much to Richard''s confusion. "Didn''t your serpents tell you-" Sister Alexandria stopped him in the middle of the sentence. "No, they didn''t tell me." said sister Alexandria, as she explained further. "I merely told them to make sure you were safe. Not to report me however." she said inspecting her tail, before resting it on Richard''s shoulder reassuringly. "I won''t ask unless you''re willing to tell. " Richard was quiet for a bit, before finally responding. "Thank you." he said, grateful that she was willing to give him the space. He said something out of the blue, surprising sister Alexandria. "Do you think I''m ready to leave?" Chapter 51: Bonding. Sister Alexandria looked unsurprised at the question. SHe had already see how unsettled he was after that last question he''d been asked, and now after that private conversation between the paladin and the young dragon, it was clear that Richard was having some sort of doubt. Casting a sound-blocking barrier, sister Alexandria continued to walk as she contemplated the question. The barrier wasn''t meant to block the hearing of the paladins so much as to politely tell them that it is a private talk, with the same being directed at the serpents who served her. A privilege of the strong, to put up a barrier not as a sign of worry, but merely as a polite request. She asked him. "Does it have to do with what happened earlier today?" she asked tenderly, seeking to affirm whether this was more than a simple worry, and indeed it was more for he shook his head. "No, this has been something that has been bothering me for a while." he admitted, not only to her, but to himself. "I''ve been thinking about leaving these mountains once I''m strong enough, but I don''t know when that is." he said, contemplating the issue. "And why do you feel the need to travel down the mountain. Do you wish to explore the world? Or perhaps you wish to see someone?" she asked. Richard admitted to the latter. "I have people to see. I know that they''re probably worried. I want to go see them, I want to go reassure them that I''m fine." He paused, before admitting. "I miss them." From the perverted adventurer Lana who used to chase Shota all over the temple. From the old elven mistress, who in spite of all her flaws, was still always there to talk to him Countless names poured through Richard''s mind, but none stood out moreso than the dragonewt sister who had watched over him his whole life. Sister Lyssandra. The two had not parted on good terms. Richard could only imagine the regret she had, the pain he had left her with. Perhaps Leo had told her of his survival, but he suspected that leo had not, given the importance of his existence. "Then go. " "If you want to go and see them, then we can leave the mountains and go see them any time you want." she said abruptly, and she could see the difficulty on Richard''s face. Alexandria cold already guess why Richard was having difficulties with the idea of leaving, but she wanted him to say it. For him to push himself to put it out there. ANd he does, with some difficulty. "I don''t think I''m ready yet." he admitted. "I''m not strong enough to survive out there." he said, expressing his uncertainty, as Alexandria nodded, knowing this was likely the issue. Richard as she had seen was the careful type, making sure to never verste, and to use numbers and tactics to outmaneuver his foes. He was smart and knew how to use his mind to survive. But he was insecure. Even as a B-rank monster with all the blessings that he had, he was unprepared in his mind. She wished he had a little more confidence. "Richard," she began, making up her mind. "you seem to think you''re not strong enough to survive out there, but I disagree. You are strong. I''ve seen you. You''re a smart child, and you''re careful." She praised him and yet Richard felt unsure. Was he smart? He was careful sure, but even when he was careful, he still managed to run into a drake and nearly get himself killed, and had he not been lucky, the encounter with sister Alexandria should''ve gone so much worse. SHe said smart, but RIchard couldn''t quite convince himself of this. What had he done exactly that made him stand out as smart? Being careful could only get you so far. What if he went out there, and being careful wasn''t enough? He was a dragon, and his familiars valuable. If he wasn''t careful, he could get himself in serious trouble, and even endanger the lives of his familiars. She knew that despite the honest praise she had given, that RIchard was unable to see what she saw He wasn''t confident in his own strength, so she did something else instead. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Placing her tail on the head of the young dragon, Alexandria reassured Richard. "I know you''re not sure. Just know that if you need me, I''ll be there for you. If you can''t trust in yourself, you can trust that I''ll protect you." She said, and although he didn''t feel completely reassured, he was thankful for her support. "Thank you." Richard responded graciously, as he went back to the room, filled with anxiety about the thoughts he was having.
Walking into the room, he saw that Leo had already gone to sleep, which was a shame, as he was going to ask Leo more about how he felt about Copernicus. The others had also gone to sleep. Panda had already went to sleep on the back of the young apprentice, and Achil was curled up in the corner. Karkinos and Krackle fell asleep on another bed, with Karkinos looking over before going back to sleep(?) He knew Copernicus liked his student, and would likely show the child greater understanding, but he also wanted to make sure Leo wouldn''t be to harsh on the man. It wouldn''t be bad to take his mind off the idea of leaving the mountain. The young dragon ended up drifting to sleep uneasy that night as his mind swayed back and forth on the thought of leaving. Achil had also coincidentally rolled over into sister Alexandria''s embrace once she settled into sleep, being a bit more dependent than the other hatchling she was watching over. She did enjoy that.
The next morning, an interesting surprise awaited Richard and Leo, courtesy of the paladins. "A duel?" Panda said skeptically, clearly with more words to say. "A spar" Scave corrected, with Copernicus looking well enough, and Devis looking a little annoyed. Apparently a paladin went rogue recently, and just disappeared, something he had just received a report about recently. It had dampened his mood, but the rediscovery of the location of Karkinos seemed to outweigh this negative piece of news, as he was still happy about that. The next day Richard had received this suggestion, which confused the young dragon. Scave explained. "We wanted to test how far you''ve grown in the months since you''ve been reborn as a monster, as a way to test the rate of growth a person reincarnated as a monster undergoes, and how they adapt, so we thought you sparring with Galileo could be beneficial." Copernicus added in. "Besides, I''m sure Galileo would like to show you how far he''s grown since he last saw you, right Galileo?" This brought Galileo around as he spun around with a gleam of eagerness within his eyes. Looking at how excited the young man looked to show Richard how far he''d grown, Richard didn''t have the heart to tell him no. Seeing Richard''s reluctant look of agreement, sister Alexandria spoke. "Very well then. We have courtyard that would be good for them to spar with. I should still have some wooden weapons that Galileo could use to practice." She paused. Actually, steel should be fine. Richard''s hide is hard enough for it, and we have three adept paladins here to supervise. It should be fine." Although Richard acquiesced, he still needed to know the conditions of the fight that he had been inserted into. "Should I use my familiars or should I fight on my own? There is an argument to be made for them counting as additions to my strength, or as separate." Devis responded. "Separate. We''re trying to gauge the growth a player would undergo individually. Although you''ve managed to gain familiars, on average I''m left to assume that most "players" will not have the same opportunities as you, nor the insane luc to contract a demigod."He said, still unable to comprehend how a child could get so lucky. Richard could agree with this, though he was sure this assumption was a bit off, since it operated without the inf of the familiar gacha, which would heavily influence the outcome of the experiment. Then again, the odds of a demigod being gained was still likely astronomically slim, so he still saw merit in subtracting his familiars from the equation. And this was his chance to show off a little too, to show how far he''d come. his thought excited Richard, as he clenched his fist in excitement. Alright, he could get behind this.
It was called a courtyard, but it was rather dark and grim for a courtyard, being practically barren, like much of the land surrounding the mansion. It was well designed however, as it was not merely dirt, but laid with bricks that had seemingly stood the test of time well, being firm and unmoving. The area that was designated for the spar was hardly any different from the rest of the land surrounding it. Was the whole courtyard meant for fighting? Or was the courtyard not meant for fighting, and merely designated as such? Whatever the case may be, it would be the site of the sparring match. Entering the arena, Richard saw Leo wielding a simple steel blade and shield. It was a standard form of fighting, but that was fine. Galileo was still a young apprentice, unlikely to specialize anytime soon. As a paladin, he would eventually take up an artifact of Isis as his main form of combat, something dependent upon what was available at the moment and untouched within the vault, as well as his own developing preferences. As for Richard, he was using nothing, which unfortunately included Atlas. Or fortunately, as RIchard wasn''t sure how hard he wanted to fight. Even knowing that his young friend had paladins on standby to protect him or heal him/ Richard should things go too far, this did not erase Richard''s worries regarding the fight. Even as he knew the intended purpose of the test, he could not imagine fighting him to much, lest he hurt the boy. Seeing Richard enter the field, Leo revealed a genuinely excited smile. "I''ve gotten stronger since you last saw me!" he proudly exclaimed, causing Richard to chuckle a little at the determined face of the young man. Richard felt a subtle desire to reciprocate, to show Leo he was different now. That he could take care of himself now. That he wasn''t weak anymore. The others watched from a distance, though not far enough that they could not interfere should anything go wrong in the fight. Despite his relaxed look, Pandemonium was watching the arena intensely, as his tail twitched with worry. Krackle eagerly cheered their master on, while Karkinos was drinking from coconuts prepared by coconut crabs. Atlas was being held by Achil who stared intently standing by sister Alexandria. The paladins stood not far away, with Copernicus standing proud, sure that his student would put up a good fight, while Devis was more indifferent, focused on the output of both younglings. It was important to grasp how talented the next generation of the other temples were after all. Scave had been stuck with the job of flag bearer, as he lazily held the flag, while resting on top of a wall lazily, waving the flag. Once the two of them entered the field, Scave waived the flag. "Begin!" He commanded, with RIchard and Galileo charging towards one another. The duel was on! Chapter 52: Sparring Session Richard started the battle with a simple strike downwards, focused on testing the water. He knew that Galileo could likely take care of himself now; heck he''d bee able to do that even before he left for his apprenticeship. Regardless, he couldn''t bring himself to muster his full strength on that first blow. Clang! To his surprise, Galileo easily took the blow, deflecting the blow with fitnesse, before using the opportunity to thrust the blade. It didn''t hurt, merely bouncing off his scales, but the quick and reflexive reaction showed RIchard that Galileo was trained well, seen as he promptly lunged after the fact, planning to push the advance. Richard didn''t let him, using the lightning spears quickly, forcing the young man to halt his advance. Gathering his energy, he began launching a volley of lightning spears, not holding back as much. Still, he was sure Leo would be fine. As dangerous as it was, Richard could feel that he was weaker than usual, thanks to the absence of a certain beetle. Even if it hurt, it shouldn''t be too dangerous. The energy spears began raining down in the dozens, as Galileo was forced to deflect and dodge the arrows, finding it difficult to respond to them. One even pierced the young man, and to Richard''s surprise, he staggered back, as if hit by a serious blow. Galileo quickly figured out what was going on, by Richard''s surprised look. The man who he regarded as his father clearly underestimated his own strength. And so had he. Galileo decided to concentrate his effort, as he began to glow faintly, the flow of divine energy began to run through his veins. A sense of vitriol overcame him as he began running faster, easily dodging the lightning spears. Galileo had become visibly faster, signs of the amplification ability divine energy had. Richard, seeing Galileo coming closer, began summoning cloud golems into existence. He was surprised, and even a bit anxious at seeing how effective the lightning spears had been, but still managed to respond in a timely manner. Even if he no longer had familiars at this moment, he could conjure up aid to his side. Four cloud golems burst into existence as they charged towards the young man. They were not enough to hold Galileo. The golems were slow and untrained, good for distractions, and not much else. For foolish beasts with some level of intelligence, they were enough, but for Galileo, they were merely distractions. He cut and sliced with great precision, easily bypassing the distractions. Perhaps had he spent more mana on them, the golems could regenerate their dissipated limbs, but he hadn''t intended for them to be anything more than quick expenditures, to give him space to think.
"I''m surprised you suggested this first." Commented Devis as he watched the two children fight it out. It was a rather soft fight, expected given that neither of the two truly wanted to hurt each other. Clearly Richard was holding back, and Galileo less so. Clang! Much less so. The great wyrm responded calmly. "Richard needs more confidence in himself. He feels insecure in his own power." Devis agreed with the notion. Watching Richard fight, there was hesitation in his movements, even though Devis could tell that Richard greatly overpowered Galileo in terms of stats. Were he to press this advantage, he could easily win. Seeing his shaken look at the spear Galileo took, and the way he sent the golems out as distractions, There was a lack of steel in the boy. Fine for a young adventurer, but for a dragon, this was an unacceptable weakness. "And you think this will help him?" Devis asked, genuinely curious. "It will help him realize the gap in strength between a human and a dragon, and hopefully give him a greater sense of security. He is too trapped in what ifs and hypotheticals that he cannot see the reality of it, scared of shadows he cannot see" Scave chuckled. "Perhaps, but the boy has good reason to fear. There are many powerhouses that lurk in the empire." "Those are everywhere. If one refuses to go anywhere, always worried about a maybe, then they''ll go nowhere.The world''s too dangerous to worry about what ifs like those" "Nothing ventured, nothing gained." Copernicus commented off handedly, focused on the fight playing out and Alexandria nodded. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. "Precisely." If Richard were to go anywhere in this life, he needed to have the confidence to step on the path above else.
Richard realized that he had the storm bank as Galileo, but he was hesitant to use it on Leo. Primarily because he was worried about hurting Galileo. Even with all the safety measures in place, he couldn''t bring himself to hurt his friend so easily. Galileo pushed his advantage, slashing and stabbing his blade at Richard. Even if it didn''t hurt physically, it clawed at him mentally, giving him a sense of frustration as he tried to hit the boy. He was fast, hard to hit, with how agile he was. Fwoosh! Choosing to push this time, rather than just take the blows, Richard''s wings sent him up, and sent the young man flying back hard, knocking him off his feet. There was no hesitation this time, as the frustration from being attacked pushed him to return the favor. Seeking to disarm, but not seriously hurt, Richard activated his molten claws skill, lunging forth and grabbing the shield. It melted easily in his hands, unable to with stand the molten heat. IN the next moment he quickly flicked his tail, making brief contact with the apprentice. The boy had reacted fast, throwing off his shield at the dragon''s face, and Richard anticipated this, using his tail to land a blow on Leo. Not to hurt, but to limit. The skill static activated, as Galileo''s sensations began to feel off, the static causing his senses to faltar on him. And Richard''s senses began to improve as he applied hyper sense and berserk rage, strength coursing through his veins. Sure, he also felt a little drop in speed, but considering Galileo was suffering the effects of static, there were few better times to incapacitate him. Galileo was already running for his shield, as RIchard quickly lunged at him. Richard got to the shield first, thinking as quick as he could as he put his foot down on the shield, pinning and breaking it. The static wore off, but it was too late, as the shield was already broken. Galileo increased his efforts, as his blade began to glow faintly. Divine energy, a dangerous power for sure. Seeing his young friend using it now, Richard felt a slight sense of pride, seeing a young apprentice already managing to use it so, but there was still a battle to fight. With no shield to rely on, Galileo switched to dodging Richard''s attacks while going on the offensive. Now Richard was beginning to suffer some actual damage beyond mere scratches, as the blade had become sharp enough to draw blood. It wasn''t enough to do real damage, but the fact that a training weapon could now draw blood was proof of the power of divine energy. Galileo had seemingly not shown any skills unique to the temple of Isis thus far, but that did not stop Richard from being wary of it. Perhaps Leo was also holding back, worried that such an attack could cause a severe attack. The battle was long and drawn out, and Richard was even beginning to become tired, as the battle felt like it took an eternity. And despite Galileo''s strong stance, he was clearly panting, the battle taking its toll on him as well. "Stop!" Came the voice of referee Scave, and the two sparring partners collapsed, both tired. Panda leapt over, chuckling. "Not a bad fight." he commented, before adding on. "Look a little useless without me though, hmm? " "And the others." "Hm? Yeah, sure, and the others." the squirrel said in a dismissive tone. Richard rolled his eyes at the comment. His other two familiars hopped over to him, and Atlas in particular dug into Richard''s scales, as the insertion of the beetle brought a sense of revitalization with it. It made him feel more alive as he got up and walked over to Leo. Galileo was being healed by Copernicus. "You did great! It would''ve been better if you-" Said Copernicus, congratulating Galileo, as well as educating him, as the boy grunted, yet he was clearly paying attention to his teacher. His words expressed disinterest, yet his actions spoke of devotion and slight respect to his teacher. "I guess..." Galileo said non-committedly. He underwent a noticeable change as he jumped up and ran over to Richard. "How was it! I''m pretty strong right?!" He said eagerly, clearly seeking the dragon''s approval. Richard chuckled as the dragon ruffled the hair on the young man''s head. "You did good Leo. It seems that your teacher has been training you well." "Yeah I guess so. Teacher is a... strong man." He said carefully. "Eh? What about as a teacher?" Asked Copernicus, flabbergasted. "You''re alright as a teacher." Shrug "Yoooouuuu!" He said as he head locked Galileo, giving him a frustrated head noogie. Richard could only sigh. Galileo clearly had thoughts about the paladin''s teaching methods. Sister Alexandria was not far behind, with Achil walking behind closely. "You did wonderful!" she said warmly with an encouraging voice, causing Richard to be a little embarrassed by the praise. Achil nodded in agreement. ''You are strong'' Richard laughed embarrassedly. "I did alright I guess. But there were multiple times were I could''ve been better." Sister Alexandria sighed. "Trust me, you did good. You''re not as weak as you think you are." "Is this about what we were talking about yesterday?" Richard asked, as he quickly picked up on the point of the spar. Sister Alexandria didn''t bother hiding it either. "It is about that, yes. I thought that if you had a little spar with Galileo, you could see how strong you are." "But I didn''t win?" Richard pointed out. It hadn''t been anything near a win, but a stalemate. "You were holding back, were you not? I noticed you didn''t use storm bank directly on Galileo, and when you had opportunities to press the attack, you chose to merely attempt to incapacitate. And you were still about to win." "But-" "-No buts. You were doing swell. And you may not realize it, but Galileo is a high C rank." "Really? Galileo?" Richard said, clearly flabbergasted by the very thought. Copernicus cut in at that moment. "Of course! Otherwise, I would''ve never brought him somewhere as dangerous as the Ymir ranges unless I was sure he could survive at least. " Leo made a quiet grunt in disagreement, but his silence agreed with the truth of Copernicus'' statement. Hearing this, Richard felt his pride in Leo go up a level. Leo had managed to become a C rnk in but a few years, a feat that "See? Holding back, and fighting someone who''s a high C-rank, and without your familiars. And not a single real injury either. You need to have more confidence in yourself." Alexandria softly added on. Richard had a hard time digesting it, but he still understood the reasoning. Devis walked up as he expressed his agreement. "She''s right. We stripped you of your familiars, a significant part of your strength and strategy. With them in the equation, I''m sure the outcome would''ve been very different. You''d be an A-class threat at the very least with your familiars, and a high one if we include the black dragon over there." He said as he indicated towards Achil. "You''re a lot stronger than you seem to think." "So I''m guessing you also agree with the idea of me going out?" Richard asked Devis, surprised the man chose to speak out at this moment. Devis shrugged emotionlessly. "I don''t care about that really. Just stating the truth. You''re strong for a barely year old hatchling who started without any form of inheritance or parent''s initially, so the growth you''ve demonstrated is miraculous. And frankly, you''re stronger than half the empire''s population currently, bare minimum, you alone" Richard wasn''t quite sure about what to say about that. He still had doubts in spite of it all, and yet, he could not deny it. That burgeoning sense of confidence. And the reality of it. Richard didn''t feel secure enough, but he wasn''t stupid, and recognized the reason why this spar had been set up. Richard was strong. Strong enough. He had no more reason to hide up here. It was time to face the truth. It was time to get ready to head down the mountain. 53: Beginning The Preparations Once Richard had made this decision in his mind, there was no hesitation in his mind. Richard knew this was an important decision, and not one to meander on. He wasn''t planning to leave immediately, but plan to leave he did. When then, would he leave? That depended on the paladins of course. He had agreed to work with them so that they could begin measurements upon which to regard players. So he approached them and asked. "Oh, you wanna leave already? Well, no worries. We''re already almost done anyway. And we plan to head deeper into the ranges anyway." "Deeper?" Richard asked, feeling slightly anxious as Galileo was going to follow this group into the mountain range, leaving him worried about the young man''s fate. "Don''t worry, it''s a normal cleansing. We do it every few years or so, coming here to purge the monsters to make sure it doesn''t result in a monster wave. Ask the thunder monarch. We leave the reasonable monsters alone for the most part, because they''re less likely to cause trouble and are the most dangerous type lurking around here. And with three paladins, the chances of Galileo being severely injured is basically nill." Scave added in. Looking at sister Alexandria, she nodded in agreement, showing that what the two paladins had said was true. "Okay, so you''re leaving in a few days?" Richard accepted it and decided to move on from the issue to his main objective. "Yup. We just wanted to hang around a little bit before heading deeper in to the forest. " He turned to look at Richard. "I''m surprised that you''ve decided so quickly. Earlier yu seemed uncertain. " Richard responded. "I still am, but I also can''t stay here forever. There are people out there waiting for me. One cannot remain certain forever, and I''m already reasonably prepared.." Richard already had a shapeshifting spell, and could easily take human form and blend in. He wasn''t sure if sister Alexandria and Achil would be coming with him, and how they would disguise themselves if they did plan to come with him. But considering sister Alexandria''s age, he was sure she had a trick or two up her sleeve. Copernicus nodded in approval. "Good, I''m glad to see you finally see you take some initiative. Remember, life cannot be put on hold forever. Things have a way of coming to find you eventually. Best you meet it on your own terms." Richard nodded in understanding before adding. "By the way, I''ll talk to Galileo later about the way he''s acting." Copernicus responded hurriedly. "No need, It''s fine. I''ll get him to acknowledge me yet!" he said, not wanting Richard to go scold Galileo, lest it reflect onto him and get him into trouble. Richard shook his head. "No, I do have to talk to im about this. Regardless of what he thinks, you are his teacher, and he is to teach you with respect. You deserve the appropriate level of respect." Copernicus:... Nevermind. Copernicus quietly consoled himself, Sure that Galileo would give him the cold shoulder after this, the teacher merely resigning himself to this fate" Scave walked over to Richard, asking him a question out of the blue. "By the way, you said the system responds to the questions you ask, right?" "Some of them, yes." Richard said cautiously. "Can you ask him about the marquis Earl?" he said casually, yet the words had an anxious undercurrent.. "Sure." said Richard, as he turned the question over to the system. [Earl is doing fine currently. I am currently unable to disclose the location of the player Earl, but rest assured, the only knowledge I cannot disclose regarding players is where they are if they''re alive.] RIchard turned around and shared this to Scave, who sighed in relief. Assuming that Earl is someone is chosen by anubis, why wouldn''t Scave know? Scave clearly saw where this was going. "The Gods work in mysterious ways, and often keep things close to their chest. Even Anubis, as open as he can be, rarely communes his intentions to us directly." The second part of the sentence was said with some annoyance, hinting at the paladins displeasure with his lord. It is said the paladins of Anubis are rather close to their lord, close enough to even openly be annoyed with their God apparently. Ah, Gods. They do work in mysterious ways, Guess that makes this a personal interest rather than a professional interest then. Scave added something else, perhaps in gratitude for the info he had provided. "When you head back into the empire, I advise you either head to a temple of Isis or the sub temples of minor deities under her command first, or head to the adventurer''s guild." This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. Why? "I''m sure you realize this, but you currently have no identity within the empire. Normally, you''d receive no trouble as long as you pay the entrance fee to get into town, but sometimes guards like to be difficult about that kind of stuff. And you know, some things require an id. Any temple of Isis would likely be willing to help you, someone who is under Isis'' protection, and the guild hands out free identities. And many temples of Isis have entrances outside of the gates for the poor and abandoned, so it''s an optimal route to take, depending on your situation." "Really?" Richard asked, surprised. He had to admit, he''d forgotten about the problem of identity, a rather major problem. So finding out you could just get one at the adventurer''s guild was surprisingly helpful. "Yeah, it''s common knowledge. Though, you should understand those with higher ranks as adventurers are .treated with greater legitimacy at banks and certain centers that rely on credit." Of course, anyone can apply for an adventurer''s card, so it makes sense that those with higher ranks are treated with more legitimacy. "Thank you." Richard said gratefully, and Scave shrugged as he walked off, and Richard did the same, planning to begin his preparations.
Packing was something finished within moments, in part thanks to the fact that he had not much to take with him. And anything he needed to take with him was already within his storage. He also needed to discuss his plans with Sister Alexandria. He owed her that much. Announcing his plans to sister Alexandria, she simply responded. "Alright. When are we leaving?" the wyrm asked, filling Richard with a sense of relief. Despite having prepared himself for the expectation that he might have to say goodbye to sister Alexandria here, he came to realize with this strong sense of relief that he wasn''t ready to say goodbye yet. He was surprised by the next statement however. "You didn''t think I''d just let my little hatchling just wander off alone, did you? Karkinos won''t be coming unfortunately." This tacked on second sentence surprised Richard. Mostly because he had forgotten about the crab altogether. "Why isn''t he? Isn''t he teaching Krackle?" The young dragon was genuinely curious. Although it was a serious loss when it came to support, Richard wasn''t too worried, with a wyrm of sister Alexandria''s level being his supervisor. Rather, he was curious why Karkinos would stay, when he was still teaching Krackle. She responded amused. "Cultivators have a very different view of teaching than most do. Or the strong in general. He expects her to return alive. If she fails and dies, though he''ll avange her death, he''ll also merely accept it and move on." That''s.... harsh. The change in sentence too... Did sister Alexandria suffer a situation once? Ultimately it meant naught to him, but it was an important thing to know. "But what about Achil?" "He''s obviously coming with us." she said definitively, leaving no room to argue. "He''s too young to be left alone, and would be helpless without us." Richard was unsure how to respond to the latter part, yet when he looked in hindsight, she wasn''t wrong. Behemoth, the paladins, being a stone carted off to his father... No matter what it felt like Achil got into danger most of the time. Even so, Richard felt a weird sense of discrepancy at saying that. There was something clearly wrong with the sentence, yet it all lined up. Too young to be left alone? For sure. The young black dragon was merely months old. But how would he come with them? "How will we hide him? Achil doesn''t know how to shapeshift." Sister Alexandria chuckled. "Don''t you worry about it. He''s a dragon. No other monster is better adapted to shift than we are. Give me a few days, and I''ll have him ready for the journey." Having received his assurances, Richard was left to consider how he would approach his familiars as well. Hiding in a human form would mean nothing if he stood out too much. Three familiars stands out. Atlas was easy enough. He found that Atlas could shift his size, and watched as Atlas shrunk on the front of his chest. From being a large, bold emblem to a tiny trinket, akin to a human''s bracelet, and a dragon''s ring. Since Atlas held onto Richard form his legs, he could be repurposed as a bracelet. Pandemonium would not be hiding, since he could easily blend in. Large he was for a squirrel, but he was ultimately a screecher squirrel with the blood of a god. And just as Richard could conceal his bloodline, so could Panda.He would appear as a mere auxiliary familiar, meant to help scout out areas and assist Richard in combat. Rare, but not rare enough to warrant huge amounts of attention. Krackle was the most difficult amongst his three familiars. If Atlas could disguise as an artifact, and Panda as a normal familiar, Krackle was just too unique. They were an octopus, something that could not so easily conceal their own existence. Could Krackle turn invisible? Sure, and it could even hide under Richard''s clothes, but then Krackle would only be hiding, unable to take an active role in battle, and essentially meant poor Krackle would be idle for a long while, for Isis knows how long. Krackle was the one who provided the answer, surprising Richard with their answer. ''Krackle can become staff.!'' "Pardon?" Using their rockshaping powers, Krackle curled up, and before his very eyes, began to cover themselves in a layer of crystal. Krackle became a ball of quartz, as a staff made out of rock soon followed, as Krackle became a staff, fit for the hands of a human. Octopuses and their ability to compress was terrifying, Richard thought. Holding up the staff, he studied the adornment on the top, where Krackle was hiding themself. Frankly, he could see krackle, but this was due to his superior observation as a dragon, with eyes better than the average adventurer. This could work. Krackle was capable of launching attacks from within the staff, with energy attacks being conducted through the crystal. When he was in combat, it would appear that he was using spells, when in reality, he was mentally commanding Krackle to attack, allowing Krackle to gather experience for their own evolution, and to be active whenever they were out without being seen. Even better, they would always have a card up their sleeve in the form of Krackle, and the ability to trick enemies in regards to his own mana usage. It did come with it''s drawbacks, as krackle would still be easily identifiable by someone who was able to use mana sight, but the same could be said of any way he chose to hide Krackle, except using the contrat and mental space, but that solution ultimately left Krackle inactive, something neither would want. This would be the best solution. And that was it. Richard''s preparations were all done for the most part. Sure there was a few more things he could finish up, a few extra precautions, but ultimately he was finished. All he had to do now was prepare some goodbyes. And talk to Leo about his behavior. Considering how much help Mr. Copernicus had been up to this point, it was only right. 54: Leaving The Mountain "You''re leaving already!?" was Galileo''s response to Richard''s decision. Richard sighed as he sat down beside Galileo, admiring how much taller he had grown, now towering over Leo. Once it had been Galileo who had towered over him, and yet, the circumstances have flipped. "You know I can''t stay here forever, and neither can you. As an apprentice paladin, you have responsibilities to the church. " Richard gently reminded Leo. Leo sighed in frustration. "I know, it''s just... It was good to hang out again. I wish we could''ve hung out more." Galileo said frustrated. It was amusing to see how frustrated Leo looked. It reminded him of how Leo got when things didn''t go his way. The dragon reassured the young man. "Don''t worry, we can always meet up again." "Will we? I''m not even sure how I''ll find you after this. Will you even look the same? And you''ll be in a different form, you might evolve, and-" "Leo." Richard interrupted sternly. "Did you forget about the divine aura of Isis surrounding me right now?" ... Silence ... "Ah." Leo closed his mouth embarrassedly. Currently, Richard was practically overflowing with the blessing of Isis. Any priest of Isis who saw him would immediately recognize it, and any priest with real connections with a God would recognize some sort of bond. "But, but how will I find it unless I''m nearby? If I''m not nearby, I''ll never find you..." Leo''s words trailed off as he looked behind Richard'' much to the dragon''s confusion. He looked behind himself, seeing nothing there. Then did the divine aura change? The system popped up, explaining the thing beyond Richard''s perception. [The goddess Isis has made it so that your aura will always be seen as a beacon for Leo to see. A gift to you] Richard felt conflicted about that. Although he was glad that now Galileo could always find him, Richard wasn''t sure why Isis did so much for him, something brought to the forefront by the current situation. Isis gave him so much, and yet he had done nothing for her. It left him with one worrying thought, one he almost dared not follow, but had to. Did she feel like... she owed him? Richard wasn''t sure why, but this thought merely led to more worrying thoughts, so he put it aside to worry about later, something to deal with in due time. "Now that that''s been solved, I think we have something else that we need to talk about." Shaking his head, Galileo looked at him alertly. "Yes?" he said, eager to interact. "It''s about your teacher." That attraction quickly changed to annoyance, though he quickly hid it. Richard frowned. "I hope you''re not treating Copernicus like that all the time." "I listen." Leo said Sullenly. "But you don''t actively interact, do you?" "I talk when I need to..." he sulked. Richard sighed. "Leo... you do realize that Copernicus is trying, don''t you? I know you don''t hate him at the very least, given the amount of attention you pay." Galileo looked conflicted. " I know but, you know how I feel about the order. He''s a good guy but... ugh, you understand." Richard nodded knowingly. "Yes, but just because he''s part of the organization, doesn''t mean you should hold it against him. Look, I''m not asking you to just start talking with him all of a sudden. Just a few more sentences every day when you''re talking with him?" Leo looked glum, but did respond. "Fine, I''ll try. He''s not a bad person anyway." "And you know, allowing him to pat your head and call you Le-" "-I refuse!" Galileo said firmly, and the dragon could see the young man would not budge on this. Sigh Good luck with that senior Copernicus.
It wasn''t the most tearful farewell. Frankly, only Leo and Richard were on close enough terms to be considered friends. The rest of them were merely acquittances, brought together by circumstances, so they weren''t really that upset to separate. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Devis didn''t really feel a need to say much to Richard, knowing that the dragon would likely be watched by the temple of Jorvus, so he knew that he could always find him at a later date. Scave had no dog in this issue at all, merely coming to represent his church and to see if he could glean the current status of Earl. And in both, he had accomplished his goals. Copernicus had gotten approval from the man who was like a father to his student. Sure, Galileo wasn''t allowing him to pat his head, but now he knew why Galileo was cold to him. And that, that was a good step to him. Still, Copernicus thought as he quietly tried to pat Galileo''s head- "Stop" Galileo said coldly - He wished he could pat his apprentice''s mop of hair. Galileo was very passionate on the other hand, hugging the far larger dragon, as Richard lowered his head to nuzzle Leo''s entirety. "Stay safe" Richard said softly, and Galileo snorted. "That''s my line. Don''t take candy from strangers, hmm?" Leo said worried. Richard rolled his eyes. "Do I look that stupid to you." Leo said no, but shot Alexandria a quick look, one that said everything. Watch him. Alexandria nodded in a sign of agreement. The two hugged for a little longer, before Panda complained. "Alright, that''s enough. It''s getting too damn mush around here, come on, we''ve got places to go." He said, as he separated the two. "I''ll miss hugging you." Galileo said, suddenly hugging the squirrel. "Hay, hey! Stop that!" complained Panda, yet he did not struggle all that much, merely expressing a tired look. When Copernicus looked over jealously however, he stuck out his tongue at him, something Leo could not see as he hugged the squirrel. And with that, the two sides began to part ways. One heading deeper into the mountains, and one finally taking his first steps out of the mountains. Richard was uneasy with every step he took, feeling the same sense of unease he felt leaving the slimes, leaving the caves, and now, the forest. And yet, that same sense of excitement persisted. Something so terrifying, yet tantalizing. It was going to be dangerous and unknown, yes, but that unknown was exciting. And the call of home was enticing. Richard was finally going home. He was finally going to see what the world was like, no longer looking from behind a window. To finally experience the cities he could only ever read about and dream of. To see all the people he missed. To see her. He would no longer be a burden to her.
Castle Thorsten Once founded by the proud Grant Thorsten, descendent of Thor, all that remained was the hollow shell of a great military state. In these lands lay an indomitable castle, made over 1000 years ago, standing proud in spite of all the disasters that it had weathered. The castle was a desolate place, devoid of joy and livelihood. The servants worked quietly, for fear of angering the master. Shrieks and wails echoed through the hall; the voice filled with a despair that was impossible to ignore. Servants can be seen shivering as they passed that very door. The mistress of the house, as it were, more prisoner than mistress. No one bothered her, for there was nothing but despair in her, that terrified all, ensuring no one neared her door without necessity. In this very mansion sat a marquis, a man that Richard would be loath to call father, the marquis of Thorsten, lord to a once proud land that had declined over the centuries. He had blue eyes much like Richards, though they had dimmed and lacked the wonderful clarity Richard''s eyes had. His hair was a fiery red and white hair, tied into dreadlocks with his beard tended to as well. The red receded and rose, like the licking of flames, devouring the white. He had thick, calloused hands, and a bearish body, starkly contrasting from Richard''s thin, slender body. As the butler entered the room, his harsh voice flowed from that mouth. "What is the status of Lokson and his men?" came the gruff voice. The butler bowed, his soft and elegant voice responded. "Dead, milord. The seer we hired to determine their fates confirmed their deaths." When the group of bandits did not appear and instead the merchant''s daughter returned, alive and well, the marquis had already reached out his hand, seeking to determine the fate of his men, disguised as bandits. The base was empty, save for a few men left to guard the base. Lokson was nowhere to be found, and thus only the worst could be inferred, now proven to be true. The marquis clicked his tongue in frustration. "And what of the stone?" he asked, showing more worry in regard to this matter. The butler responded once more, though hesitantly. "They claimed that they did not have the rock, and that it was lost due to the pursuit of bandits." He winced as the marquis slammed his fist onto the desk. "Damn those lying bastards! Those bandits were sent by me! If they had lost the stone, then it would be in my hands now!" As he screamed in frustration, a cackling laughter could be heard from that door, as if she reveled in the frustration of the marquis. "Silence wench! Before I go in there and make you!" He threatened, hitting the desk once more. The butler winced, quietly clenching his fists behind his back as the marquis'' sharp voice rang through the house. She quieted down quickly, and yet the frustration in him did not disappear. Still frustrated, he spoke. "Forget it. We''ll merely have to tell him that the stone was destroyed. We''re already bringing him the bones of multiple dragons, so that should be enough." He said, waving his hand. The butler looked hesitant. "Are you sure my lord? About all of this?" The marquis answered without much hesitation. "Of course. I''m routing it through multiple towns and underground rings. The chances of us getting caught are near 0." "Not that my lord... I meant, are you sure this is the right thing to do?" The marquis turned to face him immediately. "There is no right thing here to do Tenus, not since the Gods abandoned us, and not since she damned my heir to death!" His voice went from a deep growl to a deafening roar. "Right is no longer the question. The question is what it will take to make our house great again. If what it takes is a few wrongs, then it is a small cost to restore the lost glory of our ancestors." He said, striding to the weapon on the floor. A hammer, with a short handle sat on the floor, an altar built around it. He gave it a slight tug, knowing the destined outcome. The hammer would not budge. Once it would''ve, according to the will of the gods. But now, if they had it their way, the hammer would never move. "This was meant to be his destiny. We were promised! And then denied! If the gods will turn their backs to us, then it is only fair I do the same, no?!" The butler remained silent. Marquis Thorsten had no patience to discuss this topic anymore, choosing to prioritize the other major issue at hand. "Tell me, what is the status of that girl?" "She is still tailing our envoy." The marquis clicked his tongue at that. "To think my son once had such loyal friends." Thorsten commented. before snorting. "It is wasted here. Send someone to apprehend the dragonewt. We can''t kill her thanks to her status, but it wouldn''t do for her to interfere any longer. And the envoy is passing through our mining operations. If she destroys something there..." he paused, annoyed by the very notion. "Things could ballon beyond our control."
End of arc 1 Book 2: Chapter 1: What walks on 4 legs in the morning... It was astonishing seeing how much weaker everything around him was as they headed down the mountain, and towards civilization. The number of high ranking monsters quickly dissipated as they headed in the direction of the nearest towns. They planned to head to an outpost, to better slip in, before heading in. The journey was made easier by the fact that they were still deep within empire lands, so the suspicion they would face as possible spies would lessen. An outpost often attracts less attention and scrutiny than more populated places. Despite heading towards human civilization, they were still in beast form. According to sister Alexandria, she was using a high level camouflage skill to hide their appearances, lest they scare any passerby. Sadly, they could not use this spell once they were deeper into the empire, where the level of practitioners would be high enough to see through her deception, according to the wyrm, as well as the obvious fact that such a spell would not fly within cities. The idea of someone strong enough to see through the camouflage scared Richard, as it presented the idea of hidden monsters(metaphorical) who were capable of posing a genuine threat to them. Before they went in, they would have to undoubtedly take human form. That was one challenge Richard was unsure he could take. There was a part of him that was excited, yet another part that dreaded this next step. Did he want to be human again? To be weak like before? To be powerless? Regardless, it was a step that he would have to take. If he wanted to see all that he held dear, and to finally get to see the world outside the temple, he would have to take human form.
Breathe in ... breath out Richard took deep breaths as he prepared to use his true shapeshifting skill. He didn''t have to purchase a human template, thanks to his previous life as a human because his previous body had counted as one template for him. The transformation was painful in a different way from his transformation into a thunder monitor as he felt his body sink and compress, in all the worst ways. Still, since he''d already done a transformation last time, the transformation wasn''t as painful as the last time. Or he''d adapted since then. Or perhaps the pain simply wasn''t as overwhelming after two evolutions and one shapeshifting skill use. Whatever the case was, he adapted to it quickly. And then, he was man again. His hands small and delicate. The same fair, if not pale skin was there once more. His long white hair still came down to his shoulders, uncut as the day he died. But it was different. Underneath it all was power now. It didn''t feel as great as his true body, and yet he felt stronger than he''d ever been as a man. It made him happy. To see how far he''d come. He couldn''t help but marvel at his hands, which no longer with his every move. His neck rolled smoothly, and how easily his fingers moved. His body no longer ached! Richard suppressed his marveling, as he had another thing to focus on. The other half of his body. Up to this point, he had yet to try his legs. The greatest curse he had suffered. With his body filled with invigoration, Grant took his first step as a human once more. And then he tripped, falling flat on his face. BOMP! Silence .... "PFFFT! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Sister Alexandria was merely watching, smiling. Unbeknownst to him, she was secretly using a recording magical tool to capture the moment. She had already suspected this would happen. Krackle unwittingly sent a feeling of worry to their master, alongside a small tingle of amusement. Atlas quietly turned his attention elsewhere, ignoring his master''s misstep. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. Achil thought nothing of it. Without his tail, of course he''d fall over. Richard perhaps had rarely been so embarrassed, even as a human. He had known his limits as a human, and as a dragon, he had never suffered a lack of balance, except maybe when he first began flying. Richard grunted as he pushed himself up, trying to steady himself using the staff that was krackle. He seemed fine standing up, but the young dragon did not trust himself to stand tall. Thanks to the staff, he found himself able to get up, and to contemplate what went wrong. Why did he fall? He tried to feel what was wrong, and soon, he realized what it was. Richard felt off. His balance was weird. His tail, or lack thereof. The young dragon had gotten so used to having a tail and wings to right his balance that now without them, everything felt off. The human form felt inconvenient. Richard couldn''t help but dryly chuckle. The very idea of being human again had excited him, and yet now that he was human again, he felt reluctant instead. Was this why monsters often looked down upon humans and the like? He had to admit now that he was used to having a tail, this felt inconvenient and foolish even. Richard still needed to practice so that he would blend in amongst humans once more, but swore to himself that he would be going back to dragon form soon enough. This did not stop him from spending the rest of the day tripping and falling over himself.
He found a temporary workaround. Emphasis on temporary. Using the speed baron armor skill he had from Atlas, he found that he was able to walk marginally better. This of course was more about the adaptive phase than anything else, but hopefully it''d help him move around some more. It also helped him overcome the limits of the human body. The body was weaker than he''d hope for. Despite the level he was at being theoretically the same he found himself unable to assert his full strength. Was it the lack of a tail? The wings maybe? Surprisingly, he could still use breath attacks, but it felt weird and uncomfortable, His jaw unhinged, contorting and clicking before his breath could be used properly. Clearly he''d need to work around this, or find another way to exert his skills in this form.
The next day, both Achil and Alexandria take on human form. But to Richard, it wasn''t quite the fom he had expected. Achil looked like a child, with black curly hair that came down to his face, covering his eyes, and pale skin, akin to Richard''s own pale skin. Sister Alexandria looked like an older woman, perhaps in her early thirties, with scarlet red hair and glowing eyes, and a rather large bust size for a wyrm. Richard suspected it was a personal choice of hers, perhaps made during her last advent into human society. So why was he surprised? It was what he didn''t mention. Tails. They both had one. Achil may have looked mostly human, but one of the biggest giveaways was the large plump tail growing out from behind him, a large scaly black tail trailing behind him. And despite looking like a human child, you''ll see the sharp, lizard like teeth whenever he opened his mouth, and the trace of scales flecking on his body. He wasn''t the only one with a tail, as sister Alexandria also had one. However, unlike Achil, hers encompassed the whole of her lower torso, resulting in sister Alexandria looking more like a lamia than a human. The webbing in her other form also made its appearance, but instead were a golden piece of headwear. Like Achil, scales appeared randomly throughout her body, and she had two long fangs instead of the row of sharp teeth, with a serpents tongue. And the eyes, well the eyes were a serpents eyes. Richard was anxious to say the least. "These aren''t human forms! How are we going to blend in with forms like these!?" he said anxiously. The whole point of human forms was to blend in. But taking these inhuman forms would only attract attention. Did this not fail to meet this standard. Sister Alexandria responded with a chuckle. "You worry too much Richard. We can only become so inconspicuous before it becomes suspicious you know. Sometimes the most hidden ones are the ones who stand out." she said coquettishly, her behavior reminding Richard of those widows who would often show up to the temple trying to snatch young men. Speaking of young men... Richard didn''t even know how he could convince Achil to abandon his tail. Achil seemed pretty determined to keep it. "I will not abandon my tail." He said firmly in his soft voice. His fists clenched and the upturned pouting lip, he was- "Ooooh, he''s so cute!" Cooed Alexandria as she swept the young boy up, holding him like a plushy, burying him in her chest. Richard could only feel bad for poor child. Whenever older women used to do that to him he would half-choke to death, nearly dying on three separate occasions, and it always drove Lyssandra mad. Panda''s eyebrow twitched imperceptibly, as he felt his master''s flowing sympathy for the young dragon. Sympathy? Why!? The boy looks pretty happy to me! Ultimately the session ended with Richard unable to convince either to take more human forms. Achil had a reason, one that was surprisingly practical. "You fell. I have tail. I won''t." He said simply, referencing Richard''s poor first shapeshifting that had resulted in him falling face first, and the many subsequent incidents. After seeing that, it made sense why the boy insisted on the tail, not wanting to end up like his senior. And secretly, the boy enjoyed how much closer it brought him to the wyrm. And for sister Alexandria, it made even more sense. She was a wyrm, a creature who was used to traveling without limbs, relying on the contractions of its muscles to travel around. Legs were not apt for her. She would merely stand out even more if she were to walk around awkwardly, and would blend in better if her body moved seamlessly. If anything she''d also be more capable of scaring off people with greed if they were to see a beautiful lamia rather than a beautiful woman. The logic made sense, and Richard was convinced, but he had to admit it felt wrong somehow. She didn''t have to be a beautiful woman after all. Maybe shapeshift into an old hag... Shiver Richard felt a cold travel down his spine as she looked meaningfully at him. Richard knew better than to say this out loud. Another thing he learned at church. Which things not to say. Ultimately Richard had to concede, given both seemed rather firm in their stances. They also pointed something out that Richard hadn''t noticed. "Richard, I''m curious, did your eyes used to spark like that?" "Hmm? What do you mean by that?" Richard asked, being met by a mirror to the face. "Huh?" His eyes had changed in a weird way. Light blue they were still, but now, there was a spark. Like a small storm in his eyes, sparks of red would go off, as if lightning was going off in those eyes. "No, my eyes never did that back then." Richard murmured, and sister Alexandria commented cheerfully. "See, now we all stand out! Also, I''m pretty sure that''s my fault, a side effect of my bloodline." Hmm? Then shouldn''t there be more traces? Richard started looking at his hair, et there was no trace of any of this bloodline, similarly, nothing else had changed. Weird. Still, now Richard felt like he could no longer comment, given that he too had a weird look. Looking in the mirror, Richard noticed that like his old body, it was a rather thin body, malnourished even. If the other two stood out because of how exotic they were, then Richard looked like the victim of some horrid abuse, as if his father hadn''t been feeding him or something. Richard frowned. Hopefully it''ll go away when he eats more. He had resigned himself to this appearance back then, but now that the situation had changed, he hoped that this would change as well. The next few days were just that, mostly shape shifting back and forth. Travel was rather quiet, but this was to be expected. Not all days could be filled with excitement and adventure after all. The journey in hiding was about a week before they encountered humans again. And as humans always seemed to do, they seemed to bing great excitement with them. Book 2 chapter 2: The Merchant and his wares How come each time they show up, humans seem to naturally bring drama? When they went to investigate it, the group transformed into their "human" forms first, mostly out of curiosity, and to hep if the situation were bad. Richard was human after all, and it''d be heartless of him to ignore a cry for help. The situation was not quite what the dragon thought it''d be. It was a human male, yes, and clearly one in dire straits, if you went by his expression. Yet the other, the "attacker" if you will, was not quite what he had expected. For one thing, they didn''t even look aggressive really. The "aggressor" was a bird-like creature. Bird-like, because there were features that made it less bird-like, and more dragon esque. A bipedal being with feathers and wings, yet it had clawed hands on the ends of these wings, and a snout less than a beak peaked out of its face. It''s tail, while ending in plumage, was clearly that of a reptiles. Like a dragon tarred in feathers. Pitch black ones ones. Were a man from another world to see it, they may even liken the creature to a dinosaur, close to a raptor or an archeopteryx. Using appraisal, Richard quickly discovered the truth of the being. [Korvold] [A new species of kobold, these feathered folks are pioneers, seeking to explore where no kobold has gone before. They are natural traders and messengers, rarely violent towards sapient species, who are potential customers, and maintain good relations with all kobolds.] There were stats as well, but they were not the focus for Richard. Rather, this description... implied this was all a misunderstanding. "Get away!Get away from me!" he panicked as the man ran towards us. "Please adventurers, protect me! This beast just showed up out of nowhere and started attacking me!" The "korvold" cocked its head much like a bird does, before speaking. "What are you on about?!" It said quizzically. "I was coming over to make an offer to you, and you just ran! How rude, rude I say!" It said, looking particularly offended. THe man faltered. "Really?" He asked, clearly unsure. He wasn''t put off by sister Alexandria''s lamia form nor the tail on Achil, so that''s good. "Yes! If only you stood still so we could barter! Do you how long I had to chase you! I was waving my hands to tell you to stop." He complained. Panda snorted. "Hey dumbass! Humans don''t respond well to monsters chasing them and waving their hands. Baka." The korvolds head cocked to the other side. "Really?" "Yes really!" "Fascinating, fascinating. Well then, that is my fault and I apologize for my behavior." The korvold said as it placed its wing upon its breast and bowed.He was quick to course correct, befitting a merchant. Sister Alexandria murmured thoughtfully. "I''ve never seen your kind before..." causing the critters head to turn to her. Its eyes widened as it bowed with greater respect. Richard figured it out immediately. Kobold. Creatures subservent to dragon kind, and sister Alexandria, as a wyrm, likely classified as a dragon species. Did it recognize us? Did kobolds have respect for wyrms? [yes] Fascinating. Still, that''s troublesome. That implies any creature with dragon blood could see through her disguise, and ones with less tact like the one in front of us could easily expose us by accident. Or perhaps her status as lamia commanded respect. Something to worry about later. The korvold responded formally. "We are korvolds, a new species in this world. And I am but a mere merchant, seeking to hawk my wares in this world." He said, with great passion in his voice. Sister Alexandria''s eyes flickered over to Richard before eyeing the unique critter before her. "oh, wares? May I inquire what wares you have to offer?" Richard asked as the korvold turned to him with the same great respect. "Of course! We offer a great variety of potions, information, materials ..." As he spoke, five more korvolds flew out, each with their own pack and satchel, bulging with materials. Each of them with their own unique pack. One had potions to the brim, another with tanned skins. One of them had even dressed in a weird blue costume, and an even weirder satchel to the side filled with letters. A mailman perhaps. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. "You have customers? Who''s sending mail through a giant bird!?" Panda questioned with genuine astonishment. Monsters had a precarious place in the empire to say the least. The korvold laughed. "Not many people, but a lot more monsters than you''d think are willing to pay for good service.And it isn''t too hard to sneak into human towns" he said, showing a toothy grin. Sister Alexandria chuckled. "The old three kobolds in a trenchcoat?" Their leader, or at least Richard assumed so, nodded. "If it ain''t broke, don''t fix it. We''ve also found a lot of customers amongst merchants who know where the money is." The korvolds were quick to list out the ingredients they had at their disposal. There was a wide variety, but a lack of quantity. According to them, it was a trade-off, to ensure that they could still fly reasonably without being hindered by transport. So they chose to deal in exotic items. Richard saw a few interesting things, but seeing the price for such exotic things turned him off , but it didn''t stop him from buying a thing or two. And he still wanted to ask them for directions, so buying some stuff was a good way to garner goodwill. "Actually, we want to know where the nearest town is." The young dragon asked, and the korvold looked at him curiously. "Well if you really want to know it''s-" The critter froze for a moment, as a weird presence entered him, and sister Alexandria''s eyes narrowed. And RIchard held his presence. The presence wasn''t as strong as when he''d encountered gods, but the presence wasn''t far off. It was a dominating presence, one that overwhelmed the senses even when not focused upon oneself. -York outpost. It is the york outpost. The korvold answered mysteriously, as a mysterious light lit its eyes. SIster Alexandria stepped forth first, and knocked out the human at the same time, ensuring he did not hear something he was not meant to hear. Her presence was domineering as she demanded answers. "Why does the progenitor of korvolds seek to intervene?" She boomed, and the korvold responded. Tis'' not me who wishes to intervene. I don''t even know what''s special about you, but master wishes to see you. "Master?" He says the title, player 0 should mean something to you. Hearing this, Richard interrupted. "Then Player 0 is the creator of the korvolds?" He asked, and the possessed korvold looked at him with curiosity and a little haughtiness. I''m not sure why master wants to see you, but he does. He says come to the adventurers guild in the york outpost to talk. "And if we should desire otherwise?" Sister Alexandria said with great suspicion. The bird shrugged. He''ll come to find you instead. Besides, She turned to look at Richard, as the stare pierced his soul. Don''t you want to know why you were cursed? "W-w-what?" Richard stuttered, taken aback by the abrupt statement. The master says that he knows why you''ve been cursed, and why Isis could do nothing. He says he has quite the story for you. She paused. He says you can ignore him and bypass him, but if you do, you might just regret it. Fate waits for no one, least of all you. Your friend Lyssandra is in danger. I wonder if you''ll get there in time. If you want to know more, you know where to find him. And with that, the mysterious presence was gone as the korvold returned to normal. "Hmm? Where was I? Oh yes, the nearest concentration of people, their nest, seams to be york outpost. " He droned on, seemingly unaware, or indifferent to what just happened. Even the other korvolds did not seem to care. Sister Alexandria had a sour face, but she did not seem particularly upset at them. No she clearly knew who she was upset at. A progenitor had descended to ask such a request made her uneasy. How rare was it that progenitors did such things, much less progenitors of new species, whose power has yet to consolidate? A progenitor''s seat of power relies on its population, so news species with low numbers means low power. A new progenitor should not only not have this level of power yet, it should not be willing to take such a dangerous action. Player 0, she recalled the last time she had heard such a claim, when that mysterious device had apparated. This player 0... had an unusual interest in Richard. A dangerous amount. It worried her. Someone who could influence such a new progenitor, nay even control them is a dangerous individual. Him being tied to this system did not reassure her,because she did not believe that being tied to this system meant that player 0 was friendly, and she wasn''t even sure how to deal with such an individual. Turning to Richard to speak, she saw the determination in his eyes. "This is dangerous thing man. I think we should like, turn the other way and run. " The squirrel sighed hopelessly "But I already see that look in your eyes. You want to go right?" Richard nodded decisively. "I have to. Sister Lyssandra is in danger." His eyes glowed and the lightning grew stronger in his eyes. "Shes done so much for me. I can''t abandon her." He looked over to sister Alexandria. "I''m sorry. I know that I''m dragging you into something troublesome but-" "-But nothing." She said firmly, interrupting him. "I promised you that I''d follow and protect you. It''s the job of elders to hold up the sky for our juniors, you know? Don''t worry about it, at worse, we can always escape. I doubt this player 0 could really hold me if I wanted to leave." Richard felt relieved hearing the reassurance from sister Alexandria. He disliked the fact that he was imposing upon her, and clearly dragging her into all of this. Achil seemed completely indifferent to all of this. "Let''s go then." He said simply. The squirrel rolled his eyes. "We''re already out here anyway. No way getting out of this now. Come on then, let''s go already!" he said, offering his reluctant support. Hearing this, Richard felt resolved, and made sure to apologize to the korvolds for leaving the unconscious man with them, before saying their goodbyes. The korvolds were extremely polite.
The korvold mailman sighed. "What a shame. I was going to ask if we could follow them." Another one of them, the materials transporter nodded. " I know! Three dragons! Most kobolds don''t even get to see one in their lifetime. Do you know how much people would pay to hear about this?! I could brag about this to those scaly pricks." He was clearly more excited about the profit than the dragons clearly. Another one angrily spat out the previous two. "Did you not just see that! Our GOD just descended upon us to commune with them! We should go offer some precious for our lord!" The leader of them shook his head. "NO! She said to ignore this moment, and that it was merely her passing on a message for another." The former shook his head. "Her master! Her master! I have never heard of one such person! Should we offer shinies to them as well?" He pondered seriously, clearly more devout than the others. When the man started stirring however, the whole group shushed and quickly returned to their more professional behavior. Good salesmen know when to leave feelings at the door, when shinies are at stake! After they left for this outpost, the poor man woke up, wondering why he''d been knocked out He turned out to be a surprisingly open customer for the korvolds to bargain with in the end as they managed to wring out quite a few silvers and even a gold.
Somewhere, in a little bar A man dressed in a raven''s costume chuckled, as if he were watching something amusing. "The system has high hopes for you player 15. Let''s see if you can live up to its expectations." He said nonchalantly, yet under the mask complicated emotions ran through him. This son of Thorsten was a diamond in the rough. It was time to see if he would come out shining, or crumble under the pressure. Book 2 Chapter 3: Player 0 They were arriving right outside the gate. Normally, Richard would be rather excited by the prospect, but there was an uncomfortable aura in the group. This was only amplified by the way the guards treated them.. As they approached the guards, they seemed apprehensive at the group''s arrival. Snap Yet with the ominous snap of the fingers, the guards changed their tone immediately, acting receptive to their entry. A snap that could be heard, but could be traced to nowhere. Their eyes were fogged over, as if their minds were devoid of their normal personality. It was a clear show of ability, and though it could be seen as beneficial to them, the way he so easily just, controlled them so simply to his whims did not give Richard a good impression. Richard did still feel excited as he entered the outpost/town. It was a small beautiful place, with its own kind of charm. Richard had never left the temple, which had been within the capital, and had only ever heard of such sights. It was exciting.Brand new sights, things, which normal people would consider commonplace to him were new and wonderful sights. Even the most ordinary could amuse him. He saw a bear and an ogre child selling honey muffins and candies, to the delights of the people around. Seeing Richard so happy, even Alexandria couldn''t help but smile a little. They were considered a strange sight for sure, and yet for some reason no one was truly afraid of them. Was this another one of his tricks? The wyrm sighed as she saw the boy running around happily, occasionally falling a little. Even with the grim circumstances, it was good to see him so excited and curious. She wished the boy would be like this more often, with an attitude more appropriate for hatchlings. Even though he had said he was 20, this meant naught to a dragon. For them, 20 years was merely the dawn of childhood. And he''d cleary spent those 20 years in pain. So even if the circumstances were disconcerting, she would stand firm. As an elder. As a caretaker. As a guardian. She looked over and found herself sharing a quiet agreement between herself and a squirrel. The walk to the adventurer''s guild was filled with pressure, as with every step, they became closer and closer to the meeting point. Once the door opened, they would be initiating the meeting with player 0. creak The door opened, revealing... nothing. Nothing was abnormal. People were still walking around, talking, getting into fights. It looked like an ordinary bar. In fact, everything up to this point had been normal Nobody even paid any attention to them. Of course, on that same note, nobody was. Who was player 0? For some reason, player 0 had made no efforts to reach out to them. It was weird. With nothing else, Panda was wandering around tapping on people''s legs, hoping that player 0 would eventually meet them. And that''s when it got weird. "Hey lady!?" Asked Panda. No response. "Hey?! Hey?! HEY?!" No response "HEY FUCKFACE!" Still no response That was when they realized the abnormality. No one in this room noticed them. It wasn''t just nobody paying attention to them. They didn''t even realize they were there. They were no longer reserved, attempting to see if anyone noticed them, tapping the shoulders of all around them. A voice snapped in he bar, finally directed towards them. "Alright, that''s enough. I don''t have all day you know." The group who had entered the bar finally turned their focus to him, realizing that in fact, there was one man who stood out, with a good deal of empty space around him.. ''A raven sage?'' Had been Richard''s first thought before waiving that thought The costume was superficially that of a raven sage, but more barbaric, more suited to war than the sage''s clear garment of scholarly intent. The man''s eyes pierced him, as Richard could feel the intensity of the stare. It was unsettling, watching the mug pass through the mask, and empty itself, even if he understood the process. "My apologies, we''ve kept you waiting." Richard took the initiation to apologize, avoiding being confrontational in any sort of way. Hmm. Polite as usual." Grant responded disdainfully. Panda stepped forward, extending his greetings. "Howdy." The squirrel said stiffly. "Howdy" The man returned.. As her face turned in horror, Grant merely observed silently. "Well? You see anything yet?" Grant asked with a smile, impressed by the luck Richard had once again. "Your age... It''s... confusing. She said, as her horror slowly increased. The man chuckled. "My soul is young, a merely millenium, and yet my mind, my mind is perhaps the oldest you''ve ever seen. Is that what confuses you dear?" he asked, and she nodded. "Your mind is a horrid abomination, a cacophony of agony and despair twisting and turning, all of them seeking to consume one another in something that can only be called akin to hell." She stared at the man with confusion and mild fear. "What have you done to yourself?" This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Grant merely looked at her, with no response. Richard ignored this and focused on the question that had brought him to this place. It was true that this man could be very dangerous, but it was also true that he had shown no initiative to harm them, and had even made their entrance into civilization easier. "you said that Lyssandra was in danger. What danger is she in?" He asked as he stepped forth, even as sister Alexandria''s gaze warned him to stand behind her. "Bold, surprisingly bold given your nature child. Is friendship the bait needed?" He said, in a spine-tingling voice. "I''ll tell you, all in good time. But first, don''t you want to know a little more about your father? About why you were cursed?" "I''d rather hear about Lyssandra more." Richard said firmly. It was true that there was some curiosity, a desire to know why he had to suffer, but this was nothing to the truth of what had happened to sister Lyssandra. If she was truly in danger, then he wanted to be there instead of wandering around hopelessly. "Ah, but the two are not separate things child. One leads to the other." Player 0 said as he waggled his finger. Richard''s ears pricked up at that. "You mean my father is-" RIchard realizes something as anxiety begins to show on his face. "-Hunting your dear friend. " Grant interrupted. "As I said, these things are not separate subjects." "Where is she!?" He looked even more frantic now. Lyssandra was being hunted by a marquis. He doesn''t know why, but he knows that she''s being hunted by a noble, someone who holds considerable influence in the empire, even if his position has been diminished in recent years. Grant got up and looked at the boy, his body towering over the other. Panda quickly ran over, hissing, while RIchard''s other two familiars quietly shook, ready for confrontation. "Better, but you''ll still have to wait. I think what you''ll hear next will be enlightening. " Grant created a chair out of earth before pushing the boy down. "Tell me, what do you know of destiny?" The man asked out of the blue, and the young man responded unsure. "Our final destination, the culmination of our efforts. The road that which has been laid out for us." Richard responded unsure. Grant seemed satisfied enough with that, though it was hard to tell from behind that mask. "Are you talking about my destiny?" He asked cautiously, and Grant nodded. "Rudimentary answer, but that''s to be expected. Yes, we''re talking about your destiny." Grant paused, clearly trying to see where he should start.. "How many past lives do you think you''ve had?" he asked, and Richard, though he knew this was likely relevant, could not figure it out for the life of him. "I don''t know, maybe 20?" he asked, only to receive a look of disbelief from Grant, who muttered "Lucky again.." before Grant decided to continue. "Yes, 20. A rather young soul, in the grand scheme of things, but not that young. Old enough to have committed a few wrongs. In your first life, you were a monster. Not literally, figuratively. A minister in the eastern courts, you committed many wrongs and did countless atrocities. Things so vile that any man would shudder at." The squirrel did not take it lying down. "OH HEY NOW! LOOK, HE AIN"T THE NICEST GUY, BUT RICHARD WOULD NEVER DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT!" He objected loudly as Richard sent him a grateful look, only for the squirrel to snap at him. "Don''t overthink it. Just don''t think you''re that stupid, that''s all." Sister Alexandria did not object but instead complained coldly. "I hardly see the relevance. According to you, that was his first lifetime, and lifetimes rarely have connections to one another." Grant nodded. "Yes, but also no. It''s that first lifetime that''s caused the mess we''re in now actually. For you see, that first lifetime was so morbid and vile that the 10 judges of the underworld felt the need to sentence old Richard here to 16 lifetimes of punishment." He took a gulp of his drink before continuing. "16 lifetimes of suffering and duty later, your eighteenth life was destined to be a better life, in the nature of the karmic cycle and all that. Unfortunately , you made some big enemies in the 1st life, who followed you into the 18th life. You died painfully." Richard felt rather indifferent to all of this, impatient even. Why would he care about this?His friend was in danger, and this man knew where she was. It was the latter that stopped him from rushing the man, as well as the fact that there was likely a reason for the rambling. "Seeing that your next few lives in the east were unlikely to be peaceful, you were sent by the judges to their correspondents in the west, to ensure your enemies would not follow you here. And for all your years of servitude, and the unjust severance of destiny, your nineteenth life was to be a great one. The son of an old declining family, Richard Thorsten was meant to be the new marquis who would bring an era of revitalization to the estate, and was blessed by three different Gods. You would struggle and overcome great obstacles, but also receive great prize in the form of the fruits of your work. " "But that didn''t happen." Richard realized, and a ominous feeling told him this was the relevance to the current status. Grant agreed. "It didn''t, all because of your father and his arrogant nature. He saw a beautiful priest in a middle of the nowhere village, and decided to take her as wife, and burn down the village to ensure that she would have no one to run to, and that no comotion would be raised over her abduction. It was written up as the pillaging of barbarians." He laughed bitterly. "That part wasn''t far off I suppose." "She wasn''t just a nobody priest, was she?" He asked and Grant nodded. "Officially, she was, but unofficially? She was the heir to the temple, destined to be the next head of the temple of Nemesis. She''d been hidden in fears of her being attacked, but the plan ultimately backfired. The head of the temple was enraged, as was Nemesis herself. So when the kidnapped priestess prayed for revenge..." He trailed off, looking at RIchard thoughtfully, the young dragon swallowed. "...I suffered for it." Grant nodded as he sighed. "Yes, Nemesis had long known the plans of these three gods, and the bounty you were meant to bring to your family. Your father knew as well. That''s why the perfect revenge was to strike down what would be the rising star." The squirrel looked perfectly enraged as he cursed the Gods. "SOME GODS THEY ARE! THEIR CHOSEN CHILD IS CURSED TO DEATH AND THEY JUST SIT THERE AND WATCH!? BAH! USELESS, THE LOT OF THEM!" Sister Alexandria looked upset as well, as her hands clenched furiously, but she also looked at Richard worriedly. This was just too much for a child to handle this early. To learn not only did you have 18 past lives, but to know that you had been cursed to death because of the machinations of others. It was one thing to suspect, but to hear it laid out so plainly? To learn what could''ve been, only to have it snatched from you? It was a cruel thing to know. And Richard? He was caught in a storm of emotions. the reincarnation thing meant near nothing to him. THe religion of the Romana empire dictated that bad people were consumed by Ammit before being forcefully reincarnated out the rear of its digestion system. So this was nothing new. No, hearing what his life should''ve been was what stirred his emotions. Three Gods, he could guess at least two of them. Atlas, who had consented to the naming of his beetle, and even changed its evolutionary path. Many are named Atlas in the hopes of strength, but few are actually so lucky. It may have been a coincidence, but Richard still suspected otherwise. And the more obvious one would be Isis, who had arranged for his 20th life as a dragon to be peaceful and easy start as a dragon. It explained why he was left on the doorstep of her temple, and why he was cared for by the head of the temple instead of just another orphanage. The central temple rarely took in orphans unless they were adopted to fill in the positions at church one day, or were the children of nobles or people of power, whose children could not afford to be left in an orphanage after death. Richard had always had his suspicions, and now? They were confirmed. The man before him could be lying, but Richard didn''t think so. The man before him had no reason to lie. More importantly, although he couldn''t see the man''s face, he could tell he was being watched. Judged. And how did he feel. Angry. Most certainly angry. There were many confusing emotions. He felt robbed, but also offended. He''d become a pawn in someone else''s revenge.He felt robbed, but also annoyed. Annoyed that such a heavy load had been put upon him since birth, and for that load to eventually crush him. He resented the man who was his father. He didn''t know that much about him, but what he heard alone infuriated him. His mother was a whole can of worms he wasn''t sure he was ready to process. Did she know it would turn out like this? Did she want this to happen or was she merely swept up into this? Did she resent him? There was just too much! Richard was caught off guard as Sister Alexandria slithered up to him and embraced him. Usually he''d feel smothered but right now? Right now it was reassuring. Panda clambered up and pat him on the back awkwardly, while Krackle broke out of their bauble and hugged, sending thoughts of encouragement. Achil walked over and mimicked sister Alexandria''s actions, hugging Richard''s leg. Grant saw all of this, but made no comment, waiting for the moment to be over. Richard calmed down. This was all irrelevant to him now. He''d never had any connection to his family, and now that he was reincarnated as a monster, that connection was completely severed. He was Thorsten no longer. He turned back to look at player 0, his emotions more calm. Player 0 cocked his head before speaking. "Come on, you must have some questions, surely some things you might''ve seen but not understand. Fire away." Player 0 said haphazardly as he waived his hand to go ahead. "Really? Nothing is off-limit?" Richard asked uncertainty. Grant smiled. "If you want to ask about your friend again, you''ll have to wait a little." Richard shook his head. No, though he wanted to know that too. There was something else. Something that had been present throughout their whole conversation. The occasional jab there, the random comment. But there was a sense of... "Why do you dislike me?" Richard asked uncertainty. ... disdain Grant genuinely looked stunned for a moment before laughing. "I was wondering when you would ask me that." He paused, seemingly mulling over what to say, before finally responding. "I don''t dislike you boy. But I do dislike your lack of confidence." Book 2 chapter 4:The divide between caution and cowardice "My confidence?" Richard asked, unsure where this had come from. What about his confidence? Grant looked at him mysteriously. "I''ve watched you for a good while child. You''re cautious. And caution is a good thing." He paused. "But you can only be so cautious before it becomes cowardice." Before Richard could speak up, Grant held up his hand. "What have you done up to now?" He leaned in, and though he could not see them, Richard could feel the eyes boring into him. "What?" Richard responded unsurely, but Grant continued, ignoring this confusion. "With the chance you''ve been given, the powers you''ve been given, hell, the golden finger if you will, what have you done with it? " He shook his head. "Nothing. Such wonderful gifts, and you waste them. Do you know what other players have been doing?" he demanded, and Richard could only shake his head. This was a lecture. He knew better than to interrupt a lecture, otherwise it would only get worse. Everyone who''s ever received one knows as much. Grant continued, as if oblivious to the resigned look on the young man''s face. "Player 565 has managed to foil an assassination, player 73 is currently escorting a high elf, player 1313 is in a turf war with a wyvern," The man droned on and on, listing player after player, and with each label, came great feats. The man had labeled dozens at the very least, and with every word, Richard understood the man''s point more. Indeed, when comparisons were made, Richard had fallen behind. Still, he argued. "You''ve pointed these people out, but what of the ones you didn''t? I''m sure not everyone''s rushing out to do something. Some of them must''ve been cautious." Grant sighed. "They''re either further than you, or dead." Sister Alexandria intervened. "Dead. And how many are there out there who''ve died to a lack of carefulness and preparation? Dozens? Hundreds?" Grant responded casually. "Thousands." "THOUSANDS!? AND YOU''RE TELLING RICHARD TO TAKE MORE RISKS?! IF ANYTHING WITH THOSE KIND OF NUMBERS, HE SHOULD BE MORE CAREFUL!" Panda also jumped in. Grant snorted. "Because those players were in worse situations. They weren''t coddled. Most of them didn''t have the luck of being born in a low level area as a high level monster, free of all responsibilities, blessed with the help of a wyrm, or being accompanied by three powerful familiars. And yes, thousands have died, wyrm. But thousands more have survived. When we discuss the lives of tens of thousands of people, a mere few thousand become nothing." He sighed, before focusing on Richard again. "Do you know what the most dangerous form of carelessness is?" " Charging in without thinking." Richard responded. "... well that''s a close contender yes. No, what''s really dangerous is assuming the world will give you time to be careful. You are under the impression that you have all the time in the world for "prep time." He paused. "And maybe you do. You''re a dragon. You have a good 10,000 years of life, base line, as long as you don''t cultivate, find a magical longevity resource, etc. But that''s theoretical. It presumes that the world will wait for you. That trouble won''t arrive at your doorstep. That''s not how the world works. Take your friend for instance. You want to save her, correct?" Richard nodded. "With what power, exactly. Yours?" Grant said scornfully. "A mere B-rank beast and pals wants to oppose a marquis? An adult wyvern would have better odds. At least some of them are S-rank. The wyrm? Oh sure, she''s strong. Maybe she can help you. And maybe she can wipe away the whole problem for you right now." Pause "But what about next time? Or the time after that? Will she always be there to help you?" "I will always be there to help him." Sister Alexandria said firmly as she slithered next to Richard. Grant ignored her, continuing to talk to Richard. "And what if she''s not strong enough? She''s strong, but what happens when the day comes, and she''s not enough? What will you do then?" He paused, as if hesitating, contemplating what to do, before finally making his decision. Bringing his hands to his head, he removed the mask. Underneath the mask was the face of a middle-aged man, blond hair, blue eyes He had a scraggly and thick beard, with a plethora of scars across the face. His eyes showed age and wisdom, but the most important part was the sense of tiredness that shone through. Sister Alexandria scrutinized the face,, swearing he felt familiar, and yet could not figure it out for the life of her. Why did this face feel oddly familiar... "I was like you once. Cautious. I preferred to take things slow and steady, assured that my elders would be able to hold the sky until I was strong enough to take their place." He chuckled dryly, as the pervading sense of exhaustion increased. "Until the day they couldn''t. Until their strength, wasn''t enough. And I hadn''t grown fast enough. I lost everything. I had grown too slowly, taken my time, and when fate finally came knocking, I was unprepared. " His blue eyes seemed to see through Richard, seeing his very essence. "I had people I cared about as well. A special someone. She was a firecracker; the light of my life." He laughed happily for a moment and smiled as he relived past memories, and yet pain could be heard. Pain and regret. "I wasn''t strong enough, so I lost the light that day. By then, all pretenses were gone, and I took all sorts of risks, made all kinds of deals. But by the time I was able to find her, she had changed. That firecracker had been doused. I was too late." He looked at Richard meaningfully. "You have a chance now; standing at a similar crossroads as I. I do not tell you this merely to diminish you, but to warn you. Ultimately, the only thing you can rely on to protect you and all that you love is you. Your elders may do their best to hold up the sky for you, but they cannot do so forever, for all things must face fate one day. It''s good to be careful. But if you allow carefulness to become a stumbling block instead of a building block, I can assure you that you will regret it. ... Trust me." Richard couldn''t help but remain silent at that. What had started as merely a lecture had become a hard knock on the head, a good shaking to help him see the reality. Yes, there was a carelessness here. He''d been careless. Assuming that he''d have enough time to slowly grow and develop himself, in the security of his own den. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! But that was wrong. Fate waited for no one, as even now fate called him to move. Perhaps the man had been right. He''d been too slow. Indecisive. But still, he was only B rank... "You''re still hesitating?" Grant asked. He did not sound particularly surprised over it. "I know the reality of it, but knowing and acting upon it are two different things." Richard admitted. "If I told you that you didn''t have to worry about it, would it help?" "A little." Richard admitted before realizing that Grant was implying something, and the old man promptly sighed. "Still too cautious, after that whole talk we had. Fine. Well then, don''t worry about it, you''re incredibly lucky." "It''s going to take more than a little luck to convince him to really let loose." Commented Panda, and Grant rolled his eyes. "Not merely lucky. Karmically so. Do you remember that little talk we just had? About your 20 lives?" Sister Alexandria''s eyes widened as she seemingly grasped something, and though Richard suspected, it required confirmation. "Yes? Is this about my last life in particular?" Richard hesitantly asked and Grant smiled approvingly. "Already grasping it. I knew it, a smart cookie. Yes, think about it. Life 19 was meant to be a repayment for the suffering of the previous 17 lives of suffering. Great blessings and wealth were to be your gift, and the favor of three Gods. But that was denied, and on to the 20th life you went. What do you think happened to all that luck? Did it simply just vanish? Whoosh!?" Grant looked at him expectantly, and Richard believed he had come to the implication, so he answered hesitantly. "Did it increase?" It made sense. If this was about luck, about rewards that transcended lifetimes, if there truly was such justice then surely he, who had suffered so many lifetimes, should be compensated, especially when the compensation was denied two lifetimes in a row. "Exactly!" Grant said as he snapped his fingers. "The result of 18 lives of punishment has resulted in such an insane amount of luck focused in one lifetime, that as long as you''re not outrageously stupid and make suicidal decisions, you are likely to live the rest of your life out in blessings.I mean, case and point," Grant pointed at Panda, "Do you think just anyone can have a demigod as a familiar? The system only has 10 other demigod eggs lying around in its inventory, and only 1 other has been won. And the other 4! I mean, a creature with a mythical bloodline, a creature with the secret potential to be a powerful symbiotic armor, a kaiju, and a beast so rare that likely almost no one even realizes it exists. That''s not normal luck. How about the fact that you''re being protected by Alexandria, god slayer?" The wyrm interrupted at the mention of that title, looking very much embarrassed. "That wasn''t really a kill, for it was only a temporary death!" She denied, but Grant denied this. "Even so, you''ve killed a god. The number of beings who can do that are near 100 in this empire, a small number comparatively. And so far, you''re the only player to really achieve this, except for the butler, who''s protection happens to be a past acquittance, so that doesn''t really count." He paused before beckoning his hand. "Look, you bought something from the korvold right? Mind handing me that for a second?" Richard had a premonition, as he handed the mysterious stone to the man, and upon seeing it, he clicked his tongue. "Imperial jade. One of the most rare forms of jade, and it already has the location of a secret realm with the inheritance of a powerful dragon in it. How... lucky." He said, shooting Richard a look, one that screamed at him to recognize the reality. "And the stone I used on Achil?" He asked, mildly anxiously, given that the way this conversation was going, he had a strong suspicion that the stone from then affirms this point. And he''d been long curious about that stone as well, given the incredible feat of reviving the dead across eos. "A lazarus stone." Grant narrows his eyes. "You have no idea how lucky you were in that case. They''re most commonly used to revive the dead and thus the name Lazarus was attributed to it, but that is not the best use of such a stone. Lazarus stones are the fossilized forms of a God''s authority, often left behind in the wake of such a beings death. It takes countless eons for such a stone to form. With 5 pieces of similar size to what you dug up, one could ascend to Godhood. Not a good one mind you, as you''d be using a chaotic and decayed one and would have to refine it thoroughly, but given how hard it is for most to do so, I assure you, anyone who knew the value of such a stone would''ve killed you." He looked at the boy meaningfully. "Good thing you kept it in your inventory until you used it. Not even the Gods can pry into your inventory. Had you taken it out in public, Isis may not have come after you, but plenty of other Gods might have been tempted to personally come and take it from you. I assure you, not even your luck could save you then." Richard shivered as he realized the implication and couldn''t help but take a deep breath. He could''ve been killed for that?! Perhaps for others, such a thing would be useful, but if this man were to be believed, it could be the death of him. Grant sighed. "Innocent men and jade, you know. Frankly speaking, you made the best choice you possibly could have." He looked at the boy Achil with surprise and envy. "He''s retained some of that authority, though it is dormant right now. But given time, it can be a powerful weapon for him." He added before turning back to face Richard. "So are you convinced now? That your safety is assured? Are you now willing to take more risks?" Richard could not argue against it, but instead ask. "Then where do I start?" He was curious. This man had a clear desire to motivate him, to push him to be more confident and to take initiative. So where did this man want him to start? Hearing this, Grant did not hesitate. "Change your form. Its a small step, but a large one at the same time." Richard frowned. "I''m not going to take my dragon form. That''s not confident, that''s stupid." Grant raised an eyebrow. "How much have you looked at the spell you bought? True transformation?" "Only what the spell initially showed me." Richard responded and Grant couldn''t help but tut. "Tut tut tut. Bad move. Always experiment with and study the spell without the system. Otherwise you''ll miss things like this. The shapeshifting spell has the ability to add attributes from all your "skins" to create your ideal form." He pointed at Richard. "You''ve been having issues walking haven''t you? Use the wings and tail from your dragon form and bring them into human form. It''ll give you a dragonewt like form, especially if you grow horns as well. Although they''re rare, they do exist as a populace here in the empire." "But I''ll stand out..." "Good! You''ll stand out, and be forced to be more confident. You''re a dragon for God''s sake! Be more confident. If you can''t even swallow the idea of taking a dragonewt form, then it''ll be hard to maintain your own confidence. Be proud! You are a dragon, a great lord of the land, part of a heritage spanning millions of years." He paused, before casually throwing out. "And you know, if you use the dragonewt form, you''ll match more with your dear sister Lyssandra..." Richard inadvertently perked up at that, causing sister Alexandria to quietly giggle and Panda to roll his eyes. Neither commented, not wanting to interfere in his choice. And Richard? He had to make a choice. This was a step forwards, to becoming more confident. He''d already stepped off the mountain, ready to take on the world. This was merely announcing his presence. And with such good luck, if he backed down now, he really would be a coward... Having finally made up his mind, Richard initiated the transformation once again, barely wincing at the now familiar transformation. His human form now had familiar features. Wings just like his dragon form now emerged from his back, and a tail trailing out from behind him. The webbing from his head had appeared on this form as well, embracing the sides of his head, though were hidden a little by his longer hair. "Do I look fine?" He asked a bit anxiously, turning to his teammates. "You look wonderful!" Sister Alexandria said happily. "Good." Achil nodded approvingly. "I mean, you look fine." Panda said indifferently, before adding, "I''m sure you look good by human standards. Richard seemed reassured with this, and Grant butted in. "Alright, you seem a hint more comfortable now, right?" Richard had to admit, now that the wings and tail were popped out, he did feel more comfortable. His body was more balanced, as the three new and now familiar appendages allowed him to readjust his body at whim. The comfort was so good, he was even willing to ignore the spotlight this would bring. Well, mostly. "Good, so now that you''re willing to take a few more risks, let''s talk about your friend Lyssandra." He said, quickly sliding into the next subject. More risks? Was her situation that bad? Noticing his expression, Grant responded. "Yes, her situation is that bad, though she likely doesn''t realize it. She''s chasing your corpse currently." Richard''s face changed rapidly at that as he looked confused and worried in equal measures. "My body? Shouldn''t it be in the churches graveyard currently?" "Well here''s the thing: it was. Until Daddy dearest came by, laid claim to your body and promptly took it away. He was denied the first time around so he just dug up your body. And now Lyssandra is chasing that corpse." Grant sighed exasperated. "You see what I mean by good luck right? Where do you find such good friends willing to fight a Marquis over a corpse? Well, your luck and her misfortune I suppose." Richard''s heart beat frantically as he understood how bad this situation was. "She thinks that she''s the hunter, but has yet to realize that behind her is another group pursuing her. She has about, 2 weeks maybe? Before the group catches up. She may be a dragonewt, but unlike her father, I doubt she has the proper skill to deal with such a group." "Where is she!?" Richard asked urgently, and Grant responded calmly. "WIthin 2 weeks, she''ll arrive at mountain city. You know, the one in the joke, mountain out of a molehill? That one. " Checking his nonexistent wristwatch, the man leisurely continued. "Take Diggers Road to a Hop town, use the teleportation circle there to head to the nearest Skip village to Mountain city." Seeing Richard already turning to leave. "Wait wait wait! It''s dangerous to go, take this!" He said, before throwing three adventurer''s cards to the three of them. "I took the liberty of preparing adventurer identities for you guys, to avoid the trouble at the gates some guards like to make. And you know, a life saving measure I guess." He said, before casually throwing a card to each of them, and to Richard, a bottle filled with... lightning? Seeing the boy''s curious look, Grant chuckled. "A test and a lifesaving measure. If you consume this within the evolution after your next one, it will significantly amplify the results of your next evolution. But it will also be an item that can save your life one time. But remember" He said, wagging his finger. "It''s lightning in a bottle. You only get the one use. Richard nodded solemnly before turning to leave quickly, and the rest of the group quickly followed, though sister Alexandria glanced at him carefully, as if trying to figure out why he looked so familiar, before leaving the bar. Grant sighed as he sipped the beer once more. "Kids these days. They''re always in a rush." He paused before smiling quietly. "Let''s hope this generation of players has the guts to rise up." Book 2 chapter 5: Mountain City The journey became faster as Richard began to fly. The man was right. He felt more comfortable now that he had the fall array of limbs on. If anything, combat was better in some regards. When challenging quadrupedal monsters, RIchard found it easier to evade their attacks. Being smaller and gifted with wings improved his agility by a good measure. Of course, the trade was that this body was more susceptible to damage, not only due to size, but also due to being on two legs, which was inherently less than it had been before, but as such was always expected for smaller forms. Richard was satisfied with it in terms of utility at the very least. It was time to see how it would deal with the pressure of society.
Mountain city was what he''d expected, though sister Alexandria was surprised. "Where''s the mountain?" She asked, clearly surprised. Richard responded, recalling the history books he''d read through. "It disappeared around a century ago, according to history books, and firsthand accounts. What has once been a mountain, has since become a hill. People insist the mountain was huge, though people have went since find this to be a tall tale, and thus it has been regaled as a tall tale. People have been jokingly call it "Mole hill city." because, you know." He said, and sister Alexandria responded. "Because mountain out of a molehill, I get it. Richard amusedly added as well. "Funny enough, moles seem to find themselves attracted to that hill, and the place serves as a habitat to all sorts of mole monsters. In fact, the few beast tamers who exist often encourage beast tamers to get a mole as their first familiar." Sister Alexandria nodded, though she couldn''t help but look at the city reminiscently. "To think it''s been so long. I still remember when that mountain still stood. It was said by the locals that the god''s resided upon that mountain." Panda snickered. "Uh oh, grandma''s getting nostalgi- ck!" He choked out the last words as sister Alexandria smacked him over the back of the head hard, as a vein popped out on her head. Richard sighed and merely moved on. "What do you think we should do now?" Richard asked sister Alexandria. "Should we wait outside the city in preparation for Lyssandra and her assaultants, or go inside and set up preparations within?" He asked. Better to seek the advice of the experienced than to rely one''s own lack of experience. Sister Alexandria responded with a nonchalant expression. "No worries, I can sense everything happening within, and outside the city if I desire so. The second she and her pursuers appear within my perception, we can rush there immediately. If we stay out here too long we could easily be misinterpreted as malicious." Richard agreed with her reasoning. As expected of someone with greater experience. "So we''ll stay near the periphery of the city within the entrance area?" Richard suggested, and thus it was settled. They would stay near the entrance to detect Lyssandra''s presence, and rush to intercept her pursuers. After that... Richard wasn''t sure honestly. It was something he wasn''t quite sure He was excited at seeing an old friend. How would she feel about him? Would she think he looked good, more like her? Or would she see him as a pale imitation? He hoped not. Maybe he could buy the dragonewt design from the shop s that he would be a proper dragonewt, Richard had conveniently forgotten that dragons were revered by all dragonic races, and that Lyssandra would not care about how his dragonewt form appeared, she would likely appreciate the dragonic presence all the same. Unfortunately, the intellectually smart can often find themselves lacking in emotional intelligence.
They managed to get in without a hitch, but there was no doubt they were being eyed warily by the human guards, this time no mind washing maniac to forcefully change their opinions. The city was interesting. No, saying such was a disservice. It was impressive. Mountain city has always been something of a dwarven city, and this could be seen in the architecture. Its buildings were all clearly built out of stone, meant to endure the worse. They were all like miniature fortresses, to the point that even some of the smaller ones had their own cannon positioned out the windows. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Even the poorest of houses was clearly designed with warfare in mind. If there were no cannons, there were It was beautiful, in a utilitarian way. The dwarves themselves were rather blunt. Not in a bad way. On the contrary, it was quite refreshing. Richard had been worried about being stared at by many, and many did look. But that was just it. They looked, they snorted, and then they walked away. Why did they snort? According to sister Alexandria, it was that we were gearless. It was recorded in the history books and biographies pertaining to dwarves that they had a high appreciation for construction and weapon forging, and this appeared to be true here as well. He hadn''t realized it would also mean disdain of those who were gearless. The wyrm in lamia form shrugged. "They see those who are without gear as fools, fools who either do not realize the importance of it, or do not think they need it. They tend to disdain races like lizardmen for this reason, who do not believe themselves in need of metal gear, believing their skin to suffice. Elves seem to fit on that list as well, amongst a plethora of other reasons." Richard nodded in understanding. True, elves and dwarves seemed to dislike each other a great deal, and the difference in the way they arm themselves was but one way. I hear another reason is that when the elves were fleeing their homeland''s civil war and seeking refuge in dwarven lands, due to their previous disagreements, elves were turned out the front gates, leading to many elves dying, and merely worsening those relations. That was thousands of years ago, yet elves seem to remember this grudge well. I suppose with a lifespan of 1000 years, what seems long ago to others was merely a few generations ago for them. I wasn''t against collecting dwarven gear. On the contrary, I would do well to purchase some. Partially to blend in, given that Atlas would likely stand out as a symbiotic weapon, and the fact that in this "dragonewt" form, my body was far more delicate than my dragon form. Even if I was ready to use Atlas at a moment''s notice. You never know when you''d be caught unawares. It wasn''t a bad idea to have some gear prepared for such a moment. Grant had said it best. You never know when a big fish will appear. So, Richard went shopping for gear. Hopefully, he could find something useful.
"This is!-" Richard said, astonished. The dwarf merchant shrugged indifferently. "Piece of trash I found in the middle of nowhere. I''ll sell it to you at a discount hmm? 3 silvers seems fair for the quality. Richard answered immediately. "Deal!" The dwarf looked at him as if he had managed to lock in a sucker. It was a look of embarrassment, as if he hadn''t expected the dragonewt in front of him to have poor senses. He even wondered if there was something special about the item he missed, but ultimately he didn''t see it, only seeing himself punking a pansy. "Fine, pick something else out as well. I''d feel bad to sell you such a piece of trash for 3 silvers. Pick out a dagger or something." He said waving his hand. Richard tried to refuse; the piece of junk as it were, was more than enough for him, and yet the dwarf insisted, and eventually, Richard reluctantly picked up a chainmail vest. That was the end of the interaction, with both sides leaving the deal believing that they had taken advantage of the other. What was this piece of junk? A pair of rusted braces. Clearly, the two were far older than they should be to be of any use. Yet Richard had felt a strange attraction, causing him to cast appraisal on it. And lo and behold: [The Braces of Thor] [Once used by a mighty god of war to lift his great hammer, the braces have long since rusted, having lost their master. They have been ill maintained, and no longer have the luster they once had. They are by no means useless however, for a spark of vitality still exists within these braces. They resonate with the Atlas Beetle Arms and you, sensing a familiar breath. Integrate into the Atlas Beetle Arms? Notice, this is not a permanent combination. Upon the beetle''s death, the braces will separate from the beetle, and return to their dormant state. Braces will only be able to demonstrate 5 percent of their full strength currently.] The braces were clearly special, in spite of their rusty appearance. Richard wasn''t sure if he would do as the system suggested. It seemed as if the braces in their current status were unable to exert their fully ability in resonating. If that were the case it might be worth finding a dwarf who could fix it. But who could he trust for such a job? They would have to be competent enough to be able to fix something that once belonged to divinity, undoubtedly making it a powerful artifact, yet trustworthy enough that they would be willing to help him without ulterior motives. A difficult selection to be sure. When he explained as much to sister Alexandria, her eyes squinted thoughtfully. "Unfortunately, we came a little too late. I used to know a dwarf who was quite good in these things. Sadly, he''s been dead for a century or so. Shame. He''d be quite eager to do this." She said as a little melancholy could be heard in her voice. Richard was reminded of the warning he had reserved. He may have time, but others do not. Dragonewts have lifespans akin to that of an elf, and though that was long for men and dwarves, for dragons it was merely a tenth of their life. The thought was something that Richard out out of his head and his determination to intercept her pursues increased, and he came to hate his father just a little bit more.
Clang! Clang! The sound of swords clashing could be heard as Lyssandra used her blade to fight off the surprise attackers. She had thought she''d been smart, tracking the escort from a distance, relying on her beastly abilities to evade their senses. She hadn''t expected that they had noticed her from the beginning, and preparing appropriately. And now she was surrounded. Her help likely wouldn''t be here in time, even if she fled. Noticing her thoughts, the leader barked a cold laugh. "Hah! I heard about you from the lord. They said your father was a great general. To think you''re all that''s left. He would be so disappointing." Her eyes lit up with rage as she snapped back. "Scum like you don''t have the right t say his name. Not after what he sacrificed for this damn empire, and how it scorned him!" The man shrugged indifferently. "Be that as it may, in the end, the living are the ones who get the last laugh. Your father may have been a great man, but it''s not the great that rule this world, but the smart. He failed to see this in the end." He paused before maliciously adding. "Like father like daughter I suppose." "HENSHIN!" Both groups turned to look in surprise as a shining light followed the angry roar. A giant man covered in silver armor stormed through as he shouted angrily. "You don''t get to talk to her like that!" Roared the unknown man. The voice... It was so familiar, and yet it couldn''t be... Richard?
All he felt was rage seeing her appearance, how they had clearly cut her off and whittled her down. The proud yet kind dragonewt was now reduced to tatters. Because of him... Because of his father! And those last words... Those were the last straw. Ignoring rationality, and screaming the words, he charged into battle. They would regret those words. He would make sure of that. Book 2 chapter 6: The Raging Storm The man woven in steel armor charged towards them like a rampaging beast, trampling over any who stood in his way without hesitation. Within a flash he easily bulldozed 5 people, while also throwing three or four of them. Lightning could be seen crackling around him, as he released his charges of lightning without hesitation, burning the soldiers to a crisp. He had moved so quick that the captain hadn''t reacted for a second, before quickly reacting, as he commanded his soldiers. " Surround the beast!" He commanded. At this moment, Richard''s aura was more akin to beast than man, as if a beast had been offended, and was here to release its rage. They did not know his connection to the girl, but anyone who witnessed this mission, much less attempted to interfere in t had to be killed. The vanguard charged forward, using their blades to attack the man, only to find their blades bouncing off harmlessly, at best leaving nicks in the armor. A backhand was what they recieved as they all went flying, as static was applied to their body, causing them to be temporarily stunned on the floor. He then lifted his staff, and shouted. "Krackle!" THHHOOOOM!" A bright light shone through the crystal, before hitting the vanguard, as the crystal shell on Krackle amplified the visibility of the light, causing an absolutely blinding sensation. Although the shielders managed to take most of the damage, the great light had temporarily confused their senses. It was enough time for Richard to knock out another two troops, this time using one of the vanguard to hit two mages and taking them out of the fight, and leaving the vanguardto pin them down. Seeing the situation get bad,the captain pulled out a bone chilling weapon. It was a simple cleaver, and yet the mere sight of it rang all the alarms in Richard''s mind. [Grudge blade] [A blade that reeks of agony and resentment. A rare and particularly dark item, created by Mahayana or western Buddhists, who had to bathe it in the blood of the living victims who were killed by their induced family members, before said family members were killed by their own family members, eventually ending with the death of a fetus by their own mother. in a cascading wave of blood that would last 10 nights of such endless bloodshed. Being hit by such a blade would cause the victim to suffer the resentment of hundreds of innocent victims, before finally being attacked by the now corrupt child, known as an evil infant. Only those with dark connections could gain something so evil. To cleanse the blade of the resentment, and to free the child''s soul would require it to be bathed in the teachings of a great buddhist or taoist for 1000 nights of praying, or the blessing of a god of the middle level.] No wonder, it was such a cursed item. Reading the description made his blood run cold. Did this man know what he was using? Did he care? Had his father been such a vile man? Would he have used that on her? Thinking this, Richard angrily, but rationally said the words out loud. "Cast off!" Boom!The pieces flew out, hitting the captain holding the cursed item, preventing him from taking advantage. The heavy grey armor gave way to a slick, metallic blue armor with red and yellow accents, as three horns emerged from the helmet. His wings and tail made another appearance in this form. As his dragonic wings had taken on almost a beetle like nature. [Change: Speed Baron!] The mysterious voice announced. The captain looked waryly at the new form, unsure of how to react, as Richard rapidly approached him, before rushing so fast, that he could barely even see a blur save for a few streaks of lightning. He could barely dodge the first attack, seeking to land a blow with the blade After seeing that description, there was no way Richard would allow that. Using the speed baron form gave him an unprecedented sense of awareness and speed, as if the world around him had slowed down. It was a form that complimented the more agile, more limber human form. Rushing under the blade, he launched a hard blow to the back of the man''s head, before launching a flurry of staff strikes using Krackle''s disguise. The man could not even react before a raw shock of pain caused him to kneel, before Richard grabbed the blade roughly and tore it out of the man''s fingers. He did so roughly due to his own inadequacy, causing the man to scream, but he did not as he demanded. "Do you know what this blade is!?" He demanded fiercely. The captain coughed and glared at the armored man. "What''s it to you?" He cursed, and Richard found himself kicking the man over the head in a fit of rage. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. "Mahayana buddhism. Do you know of it?" I asked him, and all the man showed was a lack of understanding "This knife. Do you not feel it? The grudge? The anguish?" He pushed. Even as he held the blade, Richard could feel the dark and cruel nature of the blade. Such a thing exuded wrongness, and yet he would dare to use it. Hearing this, the captain laughed hoarsely. "What of it? There''s a lot of bad weapons in this world. We can''t all be picky about what we use to survive. I don''t know what kind of sheltered life you lived, punk, but we can''t all afford to be so upright." He staggered to get up, only to be crushed underfoot by Richard, who felt nothing but disgust for the man. It''s true, Richard knew, that not everyone could afford to be picky, and perhaps he could''ve found himself in a similar position under different circumstances, but having appraised the blade, he couldn''t justify it. Such a vile thing... The familiar touch surprised him as sister Alexandria slithered over to him, calmly bringing him back to the present. "Leave him to me." She said softly, moving Richard as he moved numbly, and simply picked the man up- Snap -Before putting it back down. Richard put the blade away alongside his anger, choosing to focus his attention elsewhere, his attention already elsewhere as he began to approach her. Lysandre was unsure what to do as the man approached her. The voice was so similar... It sounded just like him, but the way he moved... He could never have done anything like that. The last time she saw him, he couldn''t even move properly without coughing a lung out. There''s no way it could be him. But Lyssandra couldn''t deny the reality. As the blue armor faded from view, and the white hair and blue eyes came into view, she knew it was him. He was so different. He had wings, webbing, and a tail! He didn''t look human anymore. But it was him. That same face, the same look of concern and affection he always had. The familiar soft-spoken voice came out as he walked over to her a bit unsteadily. Yes, even the gait was a bit akin to Richard''s own gait in his youth, before the curse took that from him. "Ellie? Are you alright?" He asked, as he came closer to her, kneeling down to help lift her up. "Richard?" She said as her voice wavered, looking at Richard desperately, the hint of tears on her eyes. . She wanted it to be true. For it to be him, even if she knew it couldn''t possibly be him. But so desperately did she want it to be true, for someone she had held so dear for half her life o be back, even if it could only be a delusion. "It''s me Ellie." He said, as he embraced her, indulging in the embrace. It had always been Ellie who hugged him when he was down, tired, or depressed. And now, he was finally able to return the favor. The rest of the group did not intervene as they quietly stood back and watched the two hug one another,
"Richard..." Ellie whined, only to be sushed by Richard. "You always did this to me even when I complained, sister Lyssandre. And now it''s my turn." Richard teased as he braided Lyssandre''s hair. After the long embrace, Richard had set to healing her wounds, purchasing potions from the shop. They weren''t a bit expensive, but given he used his points for little else, it was worthwhile to use them here. And now, he was braiding her hair, much to her complaint. She never asked how he had come back. Perhaps she did not want to know, or perhaps she feared that reality would not be be so kind to her. That this would all be a dream. Whatever the case, they paid no head to the scene around them, stuck in their own little world. "Never braided my hair." The squirrel teased, only to be blown off by Richard with a flick of his tail Observing the interaction of the two, Lyssandre couldn''t help but ask. "You never introduced me to your new friends" She said casually, as her eyes looked over the group, lingering on sister Alexandria, with many complicated emotions going through her head. For some reason, this lamia reminded her of someone, though she couldn''t put her finger on it. And seeing how affectionate this lamia was with Richard made her... uncomfortable. She was worried about the child she knew, someone who had never seen the world, who could be easily fooled. He wasn''t stupid, but naive would be apt to describe him. Lamia weren''t known for being the most of honest people. Even if it was a stereotype, she couldn''t help but worried. Seeing the worried look on the dragonewt face, she smiled mysteriously, and did nothing else. She wasn''t sure what to make of the boy, who seemed to have dragon blood, given the dragonic features that littered his body. He seemed docile enough, though with people who had dragonblood, it was a question of docile, or patient. They were part dragon after all, and that blood often lead to certain side effects. The squirrel was the easiest to understand. A screecher squirrel, a famous C-rank monster known for its rotten mouth, and yet one of the most friendly monster to humans, and one of the most appropriate for a familiar, as long as one could stand their mouth. Seeing it at the least, was reassuring to her, that Richard had found at least one reliable companion. Richard was happy to share, though had a hard time finding where to start. With the familiars? With the prehistoric dragon? With the giant wyrm in the room? Richard eventually decided to start with krackle, who seemed the most inconspicuous. "Well this is Krackle" he said, and raised his staff, allowing Krackle to reveal itself, as it shattered the staff and emerged, taking Lyssandre by surprise, who had not even detected the young octopus. "They''re one of my familiars. They''re a octopulse, and this is Atlas, my other familiar." Richard added excitedly, as Atlas willingly disconnected itself from him, crawling onto Lyssandre''s palm. She seemed slightly dazed by the surprise octopus, who was happily clambering on her arm, having taken the initiative to join the beetle. "He''s a symbiotic familiar who transforms into a set of armor, as you just saw.." "This is Panda, and he''s a-" "MY NAME IS PANDAMONIUM" The squirrel protested thoroughly, only to be interrupted by his master. "His name is Panda, and he''s a screecher squirrel..." The squirrel could only helplessly resign himself in the moment. "Achil here is a human with dragonblood as you can see, though we''re trying to pass him off as a lizard human hybrid. He''s a nice child, quiet but thoughtful..." The boy nodded quietly and only giving his indication in this way. "Sister Alexandria is a lamia, who has been taking very good care of me. She''s a nice lady." Richard omitted some things, as Richard could not reveal the whole truth, whether it be too ridiculous to be taken seriously, or simply too outrageous to hear. The statements were mostly true, as he shared the experience he had with the group, but omitted the parts about reincarnation, about being blessed by gods, that the "lamia" was a wyrm who had power akin to a god. Supposedly. Even then, he could tell that what he did tell her was quite astonishing. They did not touch on how he came back.He could tell for both her and him, it was a sensitive subject that neither really wanted to touch upon. But overall, it was pleasant for things to go back to the way they once were, albeit slightly different. For once it was Lyssandre who was vulnerable, and Richard finally got to return the favor. Yet there were other things plaguing his mind, things concerning a certain family. The blade really bothered him. It wasn''t a normal blade after all. Where the captain got it was what really bothered him as depraved the description made its creation to be made him think of his father. Previously, he had thought of him merely as an arrogant and indifferent noble, capable of abandoning his own son for face. But now, now he was worried that he had underestimated the man, that his methods were more detestable than he had thought. That he was more of a monster than he had thought the man was. And above it all... He tried to hurt her. He tried to hurt someone he cared for. It was becoming clear that the path between the two of them would continue to cross, and Richard welcomed it. A chance to spite the man who was his father. He wasn''t sure what the man had planned for this city, but he would find it, and he would ruin it. Player 0 had encouraged him to find some initiative, and now? Now he had a goal to look forward to. Book 2 chapter 7 Richard wasn''t sure what to do with the knife. He could just keep it in his inventory to ensure it was never used, but it didn''t satisfy him, to simply avoid the problem. Using it was out of the question altogether, given how vile of a weapon it was. It''s true, that such a weapon could be used in a bad situation, but he couldn''t justify using it, after he had criticized the man for using such a vile thing. Would purification work? They had mentioned taoist and buddhist, which were themselves, akin to magicks of faith, if you believed the books, though admittedly little studies had been done to publicly confirm this. [Correct. Purification magic from a priest likely could purify such a weapon.] Then that was a solution. If he could purify it himself, then he would. He had studied all the hymms and prayers, akin to the teachings that had been mentioned. Unfortunately, it likely required- [Requires true faith in order to activate the purification abilities.] It required faith, yes. Unfortunately, none of his hymms had ever worked. He would likely have to try and hand it into a church within mountain city, or somewhere else. It would be hard to explain having, and cast suspicion on himself, but that was fine. What really mattered to him was that the blade was cleansed, and the soul inside was purified. [The system is willing to purchase the blade for 10000 points.] Hmm? Richard couldn''t help but inquire why mentally, and the system responded patiently. [The system aims to encourage good choices from the players who rely on the system, including not using tools of questionable materials and means such as these. The system would rather you purchase materials/weapons from the shop of less unscrupulous means. ] ''And what would happen to the blade after I turn it in?'' [The blade would be purified by the system, and then stored away afterwards. Weapons such as these, after being purified, and the soul inside freed, can become powerful weapons] The system was blunt about what would be done with the weapon, and the fact that it could purify such a weapon, indicating that the system held such means If this was true, then could he not do the same thing? There is no reason not to find a church that could do this for him, and thus allow him to use this weapon. But Richard found himself leaning towards selling this weapon. Perhaps it would be clean to use then, and it could be invaluable to him, but knowing by the means it was made would never make him handling such a weapon. Better to place it in the hands of others who would use it without such concerns. So he sold the weapon, plain and simple. [Congratulations! You have sold the weapon and gained 10,000 points! ] With that, Richard had cleared one weight off his chest, allowing him to focus on the matter at hand. After that moment in the woods, they had acted quickly, disposing of the bodies in various means. As long as the evidence wasn''t too obvious, it was unlikely anyone would investigate too closely. And now, they had rented a room in the city from a human host. The human host didn''t seem bothered by our appearance at all, though did warn us. "The rooms are a bit short around here, so make sure to be careful with your wings." She warned. She was right. The rooms were clearly sized better to fit dwarves. Not that the entire room was completely sized to dwarves, but the smaller things. Beds were the same size as a human''s bed yes, but it was lower to the ground, and the sinks? Lower to the ground as well. Many things were lower to the ground, to better service the needs of dwarves. This was mountain city after all. It was a city of dwarves, and though many humans would come to this city to seek the aid of dwarves for creating things, this was still a dwarven city first and foremost, with many of their guests being dwarves. Mountain city may be popular for weapons, but it was not the most popular, as the cities that connected to the dwarves native realm, Nidavellir. The fact that it lacked such an entrance made it less reliable when it came to weapon smiths. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. At least, this is what Richard had read in books. Supposedly the cities that rested on this periphery were more popular to visitors, and thus had more hotels aimed towards foreign races. Mountain city was a niche spot, both for being a center of beast taming and mostly for the joke of its name, Mountain city. The fact that the city was built around this mole hill seeming to emphasize this joke. The room was thusly smaller and more for dwarven use. And it was more uncomfortable for them, who had wings and tails, thus taking more space than the average human. It wasn''t horrid, but uncomfortable nonetheless. "So how did you find me?" Lyssandre asked. She was glad to see Richard, but she couldn''t ignore the circumstances in which they had met up. They were weird, and coincidental, suspicious so. He was hiding something. Richard might''ve thought he was good at hiding things, but no, he was rather bad at it, though the usual hints he gave off when he was lying was there, confirming to her it was her naive fool. "A little birdie told us." The snake rudely interrupted. She didn''t like her. Richard said she was trustworthy, and it was clear he believed it, but even so, she didn''t know the full circumstances in which they met, something Richard had heavily omitted. She knew Richard wasn''t stupid, more naive than anything else, but she couldn''t put her guard down around the lady. She didn''t trust her, and the fact that he addressed her as "sister" rubbed her the wrong way. It was a titlethat Richard did often use politely yes, but also an endearing title he used for women he trusted, especially since he had never used the title mother. He had disappeared for a few months, appearing with this older women he addressed as sister. And the matter of his disappearance... She shook her head. She wasn''t ready to discuss that yet. Lyssandre turned back to Richard, seeking her answer, and he nodded in agreement, looking sheepish. "She''s telling the truth. We were tipped off by a giant bird that claimed to be of kobold descent A... korvold?" Richard said hesitatingly, as he recalled the weird creatures. "A korvold?" Lyssandre thought about it and recalled a new creature that had been spreading throughout the continent. Seemingly erupting from nowhere, this new species had become the focus of rumors and speculation. It was seemingly a friendly monster to humans, seeking the benefits of trading, though this creature was still being treated suspiciously. Why would they know about her status? It was clear that more was being hidden, but she could tell this was the truth to some extent, as far as Richard was willing to tell. "Do you know then? What I was pursuing them here for?" She asked, and Richard blinked uncomfortably. "I know. You were pursuing them after they dug up my... my body." He trailed off, and the room became a little awkward, before ALexandria coughed a bit to clear up the room. "Speaking of the body, do you know where they planned to transport the body?I didn''t see it anywhere out there, so I have to assume they already moved it already." Lyssandre shook her head. Despite her distrust of the lamia, she was still working alongside her in the meantime, so nothing would be held back. "I was planning to meet up with some old friends while we were here, to track what your father was up to before I was ambushed. They said they''d be waiting at the local church of Isis. " She glanced at Richard. "You know them too." she said, with a hint of a smile on her face, and a teasing glance. Richard looked curious. ""Really? Who is it?" "Olivia and Brother Frodo " Richard felt surprised, and excited even, hearing that two more of his friends were near. Alexandria looked curious. "Who are they?" she asked curiously, and Richard happily obliged. "Olivia is an adventurer who closely works with the church of Isis, often escorting the priests and priestesses to more dangerous locations. Brother Frodo happens to be the one she travels with the most." He paused, as if unsure how to continue, before Lyssandra joined the conversation, rolling her eyes. "Just say it Richard. Olivia is a shotacon." Seeing the confusion on the faces of some, and understanding of others, she nodded. "The fuck is that?"The squirrel said, obviously confused, while Alexandria had a knowing look on her face. Ellie shrugged. "It''s a foreign term for people who like small, boy like guys." Richard added in as if to defend Olivia. "Brother Frodo happens to be a dwarf, but one who has no beard, so he has a young, boyish look. And given Olivia''s previous "partners", people tend to spread rumors about her. They''re obviously hyperbole. " He said, attempting to defend his friend, while Ellie snorted. "Anyway, when are we going to meet up with them?" sister Alexandria asked, choosing to bypass the subject. "Tomorrow. I was planning to meet up with them and intercept the body inside the city." She winced when mentioning the body, glancing back at Richard before continuing. "We can meet up with them tomorrow and discuss what to do from here after we find the body." And with that, they agreed to find their own individual beds and tuck in for the night. They bought themselves enough bedrooms, courtesy of Alexandria, who paid for the rooms.
As they waited at the meeting spot where Ellie was meant to meet up with Olivia, two familiar people showed up, old friends that Richard had been hoping to meet up with, sooner than later. They were good friends though their tendency to wander meant he didn''t actually know where they were. IN their case, he was hoping the system would be able to give him hints as to their location The woman was tall and adorned in adventuring gear, as one would assume, wearing a predominantly black pelt, which contrasted with her shocking red hair, tied up in a ponytail. She was holding her familiar big shield. The black suit also starkly contrasted with the pure white clothes of the church of Isis that Frodo wore. The dwarf dressed in priestly clothes was indeed beardless, and had a young aura about him, far different from your average dwarf, and had a more peaceful aura about him, though still lively like a dwarf. Before anything else could happen, or even shock register in Olivia''s eyes as she witnessed a living Richard, her eyes locked onto something behind them. A surprised voice spoke behind them, a rather familiar one. "Olivia?" Alexandria said, genuinely surprised. "Grandma!?" Olivia shouted, genuinely horrified and confused to see her "grandma". That was the wrong answer. "Olivia!" Alexandria was annoyed as she promptly slapped the woman on the head. "Didn''t I tell you to call me Auntie!" She demanded, and Olivia complained as she rubbed her head and glared at Alexandria resentfully. "But you''re my great-great- OOWW! AUNTIE! AUNTIE!" She complained loudly after being smacked on the head again, and her ear twisted as her elder glared at her. Ellie was aso confused, but mildly terrified. She knew about Olivia''s grandmother after all. And she was a wyrm! Book 2 chapter 8: Family Reunion Eventually they chose to settle in a private room in a "diner" A diner which was clearly made to discuss secret matters, given the simple sound isolation magic circles which were set up and a button to be used when they wanted to call up service. In other words, they had the privacy they needed to discuss important subjects with the promise of privacy. It was a large round table in a square room which gave them plenty of space to maneuver, appreciated by those with wings and tails. Half of the table disappeared behind the wall, supposedly part of the rotating food bar the restaurant offered. Alexandria was sitting next to Olivia, with the latter having been dragged by the ear to their seats. Achil and Frodo sat down next to the respective women which made for an interesting reflection. Panda had managed to secure his own seat, much to the amusement of the waiter there. In mountain city, smart familiars weren''t rare, but that didn''t make the image any less amusing. Richard and Ellie were sitting next to one another, between Panda and Frodo. Frodo was a priestly young man, with the appearance of a young teenager, yet had the kind and patient aura that many of the Order of Isis. He hardly looked like a dwarf, something he connected to his fathers side, who had been an elf, resulting in the softer faces that dwarves rarely had. Currently, he was being rather patient with Alexandria. "I hope my Olivia hasn''t been causing too much trouble." She said in a friendly tone,ignoring the offended look Olivia had shot her. Frodo shook his head gently as he denied this. "Of course not. Olivia might be a little lively, but she has never been a trouble." He said with a simple smile. "Not for me." He added in softly, as he held her hand gently. Olivia shot her "aunt" a victorious look, while sister Alexandria sighed. "Alright. If she causes any trouble, you let me know, alright? I''m always ready to give this unruly brat of mine a lesson." she said, assuring the young dwarf. Ellie butted in, more curious about their lack of reaction. "So why weren''t you guys surprised to see Richard?" she asked, unsure why the pair had shown such a lackluster reaction to the reappearance of a dead friend. They hadn''t even blinked, being more happy to see him than surprised. Olivia shrugged. "Big mama sent down a revelation. Ow!" She exclaimed as Alexandria flicked her forehead strongly. "What?!" She complained. Richard looked surprised, as did Ellie. "You mean Isis sent down a revelation?" He asked tentatively. Frodo nodded. "Indeed. Just yesterday we received a revelation that from Isis that Richard had been reborn in new form. Apparently a rather familiar one." He noted thoughtfully, comparing Lysandre''s wings with Richard''s. "You became a dragonewt?" He asked, seemingly amused by something, with Olivia jumping in teasingly. "Gee, I wonder why you chose that form?~" She teased. Richard merely deadpanned, ignoring their implications. "Actually, I''m a dragon currently." leaving his friends stunned. Panda looked over. "Didn''t even bother hiding it, huh." "Why would I? Would it be any more surprising than the revelation that I''m back from the dead? Or for that matter, that I''m traveling with a wyrm right now?" He turned over and pointed at Achil. "He''s a dragon too, by the way." he said, casually dropping another major bombshell. This one was a surprise, but sadly was overshadowed by all the other issues at hand. Ellie had a weird look on her face as many thoughts went through her head. For one thing, the fact that he had become a dragon. Him being reborn put a lot of things into perspective, especially with the wyrm in the room. Why had she appeared to guard Richard who had seemed to be a dragonewt at first glance? It was because he wasn''t. He was a dragon, as well as the young child next to him. A wyrm going out of their way to help a dragonewt didn''t make much sense but a wyrm helping two hatchlings? That made far more sense. Wyrms may dislike dragons, but they''ll rarely go out of their way to harm hatchlings, being more inclined to protecting them and sometimes attempting to convince them to evolve into wyrms themselves. And despite how much Olivia grumbled about her great-great-grandmother, she clearly held great affection for her. She just wasn''t comfortable with her yet. "Wow. You''ve had quite the adventure then, I venture?" Olivia asked. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Richard nodded, as he stated writing an order in for food. The restaurant had a remote order function, causing Richard to be quite curious. He''d read that dwarf towns always had new and fascinating functions. This rotating food bar seemed very in character. He wasn''t the only one, as the others quickly made their orders as well. "It''s been an interesting year or so. I also saw Leo just a few weeks ago" Richard responded offhandedly, ignorant of the rapid change in expression two women had at this moment. "You saw him first? " Olivia asked with surprise, with Ellie also expressing surprise, given that Richard hadn''t mentioned this at all. Wait... "Did he know?" Ellie piped up, immediately suspicious. Leo had met Richard before her? But he had said he''d be going to the Ymir range to train. "He did seem to know already." Richard said plainly, unaware of the rigid feeling sister Ellie gave off. She wasn''t the only one suspicious. "Aunty, didn''t you tell me that your mansion resides in the Ymir range?" Olivia asked casually, but the popping veins on her fist said otherwise. "Yes. It''s where Richard was reborn. Why do you ask?" Sister Alexandria responded indifferently, but how could she not notice the reaction on the face of the two women? Her eyes had a glint of mischievousness as the mature wyrm found herself in a humorous position. "I''m going to need to have a... "talk" with him when we see him again." Ellie said, already imagining the poor would-be- paladin sitting on a washboard when she saw him again. "I''m going to beat the crap outta him when I see him again!" Olivia fumed openly, realizing that Leo had likely already known during the funeral, and yet had made no comment at the time.
"Achoo!" Leo sneezed suddenly, though he quickly attributed it to the dust in the air, remnants of the great battle that had just taken place. Copernicus came over frowning as he heard the sneeze. ""Uh-oh, sounds like you''re in trouble." He said seriously, to the confusion of the young paladin. "I did not take you as a man of suspicion sir. " He said stiffly, but Copernicus scolded him. "It ain''t superstition for us Leo. You forget that as her paladins, we are blessed with great health. Only in cases of great disease are we affected. Or someone is talking bad about us." Leo frowned. "Ridiculous. If that were the case, then who could it be? I haven''t even done anything publicly yet." Copernicus gave him a funny look. "If Richard is your father, then Lysandre is like your mother right?" Before Leo could refute, Copernicus added. "Did you tell mama that daddy wasn''t dead yet?" Leo''s face dawned with horrified realization. "Oh no...."
Frodo merely smiled quietly, but sent a mental message to the young boy Achil across from him. ''I hope you''ve learned a valuable lesson at this moment.'' The young elf sent out, seeking to educate the child ear him, to hopefully not end up like poor Leo Achil responded bluntly. ''Women scary when mad'' And indeed Achil had learned the dangers of a woman. Frodo smiled quietly, though his shoulder was bumped by a frowning Olivia, who complained. "I hate when you do that mental thing and talk behind me like that." "I''m sorry, I was wrong." He said innocently, hugging her with an adorable look on his face, as Olivia frowned, unable to get upset at her boyfriend, sighing as she hugged him tightly.. "So what has the marquis been up to in mountain city?" Richard asked Frodo, and the short priest frowned from within the stranglehold. "Nothing huge, mostly low level crimes. Though, there are rumors." He noted before adding the last thought. "Wait you''re the one who does the infiltrating?" Panda asked, surprised. "You don''t look the type." Frodo sighed. "Did you expect Olivia to do it." The squirrel turned to look at olivia before nodding thoughtfully. "You''re right, what was I thinking." "Why you!-" "-What rumors?" Richard interrupted, unwilling to allow them to get int a spat, believing the two could probably go at it for a while. Ding! As they spoke, the strong aroma of roasted meat wafted into the roam as the meals entered. Most of them had ordered meat, though Frodo, Achil, and Panda had chosen more vegan oriented options. It was interesting how the smell had appeared suddenly, indicating that the room had likely been made with smell proofing weaved into the magic circle made in the room. Dwarves were always rather innovative. Food wasn''t half bad either, being pretty tasty, and large, appropriate for a dwarves appetite. Beer was also served, free of charge, though Richard wasn''t allowed to have any, nor his familiars. Whether it be this life or the last, the boy was unfortunately too young to enjoy the pleasure of beer. Olivia gnawed on a turkey leg as she responded. "Kidnappings seem to occur commonly in the area they''re working in, but no investigations have taken place. Probably due to a lack of evidence rather than corruption, but either way it hardly matters. Anything we say next is speculation." "What makes you think it''s a lack of evidence?" Sister Alexandria asked curiously. "Because one of the people who disappeared is a famous writer from the Australian Federation. His disappearance caused a huge disruption. Que M. Ongas and his wife went missing, and she''s half Arachne. Both went missing after reportedly investigating the mountain for scientific reasons. Obviously they were heavily investigated, but ultimately nothing was made of it. So yeah, corruption is unlikely." Frodo nodded. "People think that the marquis has made great effort to hide it, and may have even invited a formation master to avoid the prying eyes of the dwarf masters here." "That''s random." Panda commented. "That''s related to the recent appearance of a refining master who''s moved in with a weaponsmith. Been talk of the town, and certainly inspired rumors." Panda looked at Frodo with more and more appreciation. "You know a lot for a priest. Damn!" Ellie explained. "Brother Frodo has always had a good pair of ears and a slippery tongue." "~yeah he does~"Olivia commented. Panda complained. "Gross." "Ow!"- Olivia "Better." "Well then,I suppose it is best that we investigate what marquis Thorsten has been up to." Richard said straightforwardly, yet there was a hint of eagerness and spite in the statement. "We might not find anything you know." Frodo pointed out, and went on "Dwarves are nothing to underestimate. They may not be great at magic circles, but they''re still skilled at magic. If they couldn''t find anything, the the chances of us finding anything is minimal at best." Olivia disagreed. "When it was just you, me and Lizzie here, you would''ve been right, but luckily we have help here. Right Auntie?" She said as she elbowed sister Alexandria who had been enjoying a steak. "Well, I suppose I dabble a little in magic circles and formations." She said casually, and yet there was quite the glint in her eye, clearly confident in her own ability. She was a wyrm after all. "Dabbling" for a being who could live for millenia was a little more than merely dabbling. A wyrm dabbling in something, especially magic, could easily outclass masters who had spent their whole life studying a certain field of magic. "What about the body?" Ellie asked. "Did they see it?" Frodo nodded. "Though it wasn''t paraded openly they didn''t hide it ether. The body was seen by workers who were hired to bring things into the warehouse amongst other things." "Well what are we waiting for?!" Panda exclaimed as he stood up, fried chestnuts stuffed into his mouth. "Leths gghoo fugh them uphhh!" He shouted. "Chew!" Richard complained exasperated. Book 2 chapter 9: Mineshaft They began scoping out the mining area which the Thorston family maintained. It was clean from a preliminary glance. Too clean. Not a single person could be found lingering about the area, as people who had to go by it moved quickly, as if avoiding the area. Given the number of disappearances, and the lack of action as a result, it was no surprise that people rushed past it so quickly. They had to use camouflage magic, otherwise they''d clearly stand out with no one to blend in with. Panda had shrunk into a smaller form, now resting on Richard''s shoulder. Richard had asked the squirrel when he gained the ability to shrink, only to receive a mysterious answer. ''The voices in my head told me'' Richard decided to chalk that up to his bloodline, or else he''d have to suspect the squirrel had a ghost in his head. Frodo''s voice echoed out as he praised sister Alexandria. "Madam truly is a master of magic!" He praised honestly, as sister Alexandria chuckled and waived her hand. "Nonsense. This is just a small trick. " She said, yet revealed a proud smile, clearly happy for the praise. Frodo shook his head, and continued to praise earnestly. "You are being humble, Mother-in-law! We''ve already attempted to cooperate with the local authorities around here, and have been exposed more than once!" He frowned recalling those escapades, yet smiled earnestly once more as he looked at sister Alexandria. "Yet with you here, they haven''t even noticed us at all, not even a slight suspicion." Sister Alexandria clearly look flattered as she chuckled. "Of course, for I have practiced for a very long time! Wouldn''t my efforts have been pointless if a bunch of children could detect me!?" She enjoyed the compliment clearly. "So we just gonna walk in and investigate? Seeing as we''re all invisible? Olivia asked, and Alexandria nodded. "It should be fine. Even if we walk right into them, they''ll come up with their own reasons subconsciously and forget." "Oh cool!" Panda said excitedly, running up to one of the guards of the area, and then promptly slapping him, one for each cheek. The guard looks utterly confused, as Panda leaned in whispering loudly. "The gods despise you!" The man muttered quietly. They hate me?" he said confusedly, yet looking for no one, clearly believing it to be a thought of his own. The squirrel lept back, snickering. "You''re right, it works." He said, clearly amused, as did Olivia as she snickered. The two seemed to be a dangerous pairing. Richard chided the squirrel. "Don''t do that again. They''re just guards doing their job. No need to give them such terrible thoughts." He scolded, yet did nothing afterwards, merely issuing the warning. The group decided to walk in and explore the complex. It was not a subtle complex, being large, larger than most other mining operations in the city. After all, a mining operation often aims down rather than up, yet there were many buildings seemingly irrelevant to the mining. Perhaps for the supervisors. Richard had seen other mining operations in the area, and though they too had buildings, none of there''s was as extravagant, all of them being one floor, and the dwarves spending most of their time in the mines. Dwarves are quite adjusted to the underground afterall. According to personal accounts of dwarves he''d read, it was like returning to the ancestors. They believed themselves to be descended from worms who used to burrow the ground after all, so the idea of being comfortable in the ground and adept at mining fit this narrative. The people working this mine were not dwarves. They were humans, and human slaves from what he could tell of their poor condition, as well as the magic circles on the back of their necks. Often, slaves are bound either by magical chains, given that they are often more humane, and less damaging to slaves when removed. After all, many slaves are debt slaves rather than criminal slaves, so they are unlikely to spend the rest of their lives as criminals. Engraving magic circles on one''s skin is damaging to the body, and ruins their potential, thus is rarely used by slavers, not only because of the inhumane nature of it, but also because it ruins the image of the merchants who sell the slaves and encourages people to run from their debts more. After all, a debt slave who''s assured his freedom after doing his due and leaving unscathed is more likely to accept his chains for they are temporary. But if the chains are engraved on one''s skin and can permanently ruin their lives? Of course they''d try to break out. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Skin-engravings are mostly used by those who can''t afford magical chains, or are unwilling to waste that kind of money. They''re often used on criminal slaves, who are unlikely to ever leave their chains. Whichever of the two these slaves were, it was still unnatural, and made Richard clench his hands. He was extremely angry, as his view of his father degraded even further. An inhuman slave driver. He looked even angrier than before, which made sister Alexandria surprised. She looked over to the dragonewt. "Has he never..." She asked and Ellie noded. He''s never seen a slave, or at least not a slave treated like this. No one would dare drag a slave into the temple, much less in this condition. This is probably his first time ever seeing it." She said, and seeing the angry look on his face, reached her hand out to quietly rub it, seeking to calm him down. Although his tempter dissipated, he still had an angry look on his face. "Can you get rid of the markings?" he asked sister Alexandria softly, and she smiled confidently. "Of course! Didn''t I tell you earlier? This is kidsplay for me!" she said confidently, reassuring the young man. Hearing this, he felt a little better, as they turned to venture deeper into the area. "We''ll free the slaves later." he said determinedly, and sister Alexandria smiled. "of course." They turned to focus on the rest of the mining operation deeper underground. Heading underground, Richard felt nothing for it. Much like the caverns they had first entered, yet it had less of a lively feeling and more of a dreadful aura, a solemn one. He could not sense much signs of life, save the slave miners working tirelessly as they dug through the rock with the poor quality pickaxes, and their unprotected bodies, covered in scars and cuts and scabs. There were slave drivers as well, shouting at the slaves, but not whipping them. They looked like they couldn''t be bothered, as if it wasn''t worth it, as they merely stood around, talking casually, and occasionally telling the slaves to work harder. It looked like a normal mining operation at first glance, it was no wonder why they couldn''t find anything. Far too well concealed. Of course, when sister Alexandria took a look at it, she quickly discovered multiple secrets. "Half the mine has already been mined." She noted, and Frodo''s eyebrows raised. "They hid that much?" He asked astonished, and she nodded. "The half that has already been mined is covered in formations and planted stones, to give the feeling of being a normal wall. There are people behind the wall" she noted, observing the group. "They''re all bound up and hidden, so Im guessing prisoners rather than slaves in this instance." They could only nod along, as only sister Alexandria could see through the facade, and was unwilling to interfere with the circle, and let the enemy realize they''ve been seen through. "Huh, there''s even a arachne, or at least a half-arachne." She said, which caused the dwarf and Olivia to gasp. "So they were here." Frodo said, both being relieved, yet also worried. "They?" Richard asked, and Frodo explained. "A famous writer from the Australian continent, Que M. Ongas, disappeared in mountain city a few moths ago, leading to some conflict with the Australian delegation. His wife is a half-arachne." He turned to Sister Alexandria. "Mother-in-law, can you see anyone with this symbol?" he asked, pulling out a symbol, one with a black and yellow spider crouched over a yellow web. She looked at it, then scanned the area hidden from her eyes, before nodding. "Yes. In fact, the man with the logo is currently being held in the arachne''s grasp." Richard frowned, as Olivia''s eyes narrowed. "Wonderful. Fucking wonderful. It''s an international issue now. Only an absolute moron would kidnap a continent wide famous writer while their delegation is in town." she complained, and RIchard couldn''t help but agree. Apparently stupid had to be added to his father''s long list of horrid adjectives. He had imagined his father to be smart to some degree, cunning even, but clearly he overestimated him. Why would he do something so stupid that would put him on the international stage in the worst way? "Who else?" Frodo asked, and Alexandria turned to ask them. "You guys have a list of the missing people. I could probably line them up and see if any of them match." Hearing this, Frodo pulled out a list filled with pictures of the people captured. "Here. Made with the latest photocrystal technology. We were hoping to find the missing people sneaked into the slaves, but we couldn''t find them. Looks like that was for a reason." Alexandria observed the list, and then looking at the people there. "Yeah, most of them are there. A few are missing here and there, but that seems to be all of them." She said, handing the list back. Frodo sighed helplessly. "Well, at least most of them are alive. May Thanatos guide the rest who have fallen, so their souls may rest." He sighed, quickly sending a prayer to the gods for the ones who have likely already passed. "Is there anything deeper?" Richard asked, and sister Alexandria nodded. "There is a lot more going on down there. Wow, they really made the extra effort to hide whatever it is down there" she exclaimed, before adding on. "A hexagram from the east, and one of the spirit transformation level no less." the currently lamia turned to explain. "Think of it like low-god level. Like one of them local gods." Hearing this, the group looked worried, as Olivia asked. "Does that mean you can''t see past it gra-aunty?" Sister Alexandria snorted. "Nonsense! It''s merely blocking my sight because we''re not close enough. Once I get closer, I can easily crack the damn thing. I''ve cracked the palace''s formations, a mere hexagram can''t stop me!" As she led them further down the mineshaft, getting closer to the hexagram. The mineshaft dropped steeply downward, which made little sense to Richard. What were they mining for that would cause them to head downward this deep? This clearly wasn''t an ordinary mineshaft. The miners were all slaves, people who could not reveal the truth with magic circles engraved on their skin. It was clear that there was something to hide, and seeing the expression on each miner made that suspicion grow. They all had a look of hopelessness, yet did not slow down, working frantically. There was more to this mineshaft, and they had yet to get to the bottom of it. Eventually, they reached near the bottom f the shaft, which had dropped down hundreds of meters.This drop had also been covered up, though not with magic, and more secret entrance, which was easier to deal with. Once there, sister Alexandria did not seem hindered in the least as she clearly entered the formation and dissipated it with ease. She came back in a few minutes, clearly having observed what was hidden so well at the bottom. However, her expression was far from proud. It was an upset expression, a bad sign of what was on the other side.. "This, is far more serious than I thought it''d be." Sister Alexandria said as a frown creased her forehead. "It''s that bad?" Richard asked worriedly as he looked up at her. She nodded gravely as she observed the lumbering things, hidden creatively behind multiple magic circles behind a formation, yet the grave crime could not be hidden from her. "It''s necromancy. She stated, and everyone''s face turned ugly at this statement, understanding the implication immediately. The thing the people at the mine were trying to hide- the conspiracy of necromancy. Book 2 chapter 10:Grab and go "What should we do?" Richard asked, turning to Frodo and Olivia, who had the best handle to deal with the situation at hand. Frodo sighed. "I''d like to say that we should purify them and laid their souls to rest but unfortunately-" "-We do that, and they know someone''s been here and they up their guard." Olivia finished, showing a helpless expression. "Ruins the whole point of this initial operation. But we can''t leave empty handed." Frodo, despite his kind appearance, could also be quite realistic at times. "At the very least, we have to save the writer Que." "Is he that important?" Panda asked confusedly, and Frodo nodded seriously. Richard also knew something of this. " Que is not a mere writer. He''s practically half an ambassador of the Australian federation at this point." The wyrm looked over in surprise. "You mean that the federation and the empire are on speaking terms again?" Richard nodded. "Although they weren''t enemies like the Qing empire over there, the federation weren''t allies either. There is after all, some enmity on both sides since the Federation was born from refugees fleeing the empire after the death of a certain emperor. Refugee may be less appropriate, so much as rebels who took their chance in a time of chaos, and greatly diminished the strength of the empire. It was thanks to Que spreading his books on the life of people in the Federation that the empire became willing to reach out to the Federation in more earnest terms, and Que''s efforts in getting leaders on both sides to talk that brought the two together on friendlier terms." Olivia nodded, taking over from here. "Que has been traveling the empire to check for tunnels to the hollow earth, to ensure that there is no such ticking time bomb. Well, and to analyze what makes Australia so special to have kaiju pop up so frequently. Whether it be the one who holds two empires together, or a researcher who''s studying something critical, the identities of Que are too special. Were he to disappear on empire land, then relations with the Federation can get tense." Hearing the severity of the situation, Alexandria nodded. "Then we save him at the least." Olivia frowned,. "If we do this though, then we alarm the Thorston family." she pointed out, wincing as she said that and looked over at Richard. Richard had no expression, showing an indifference towards them. Seeing he didn''t care, she felt a little relieved. She didn''t think he''d care, so much as he''d have some ad ideas, given how much he clearly disliked his family already. Alexandria looked curious as she asked her descendent. "I''m surprised you''re being so cautious. It''s not like you?" Olivia looked at her "aunt" with a look of respect. "Of course, wasn''t it your motto for the family? To be serpents lurking in the grass, to hide in waiting? If I want to kill my enemies, I must be ready, and they unaware, so that I can catch them by the throat." Unlike her usual cheerful look, she had a chilling aura to her, as a murderous look sparked in her eyes. Alexandria hummed her approval. "I was worried that you''d continue to be careless even as you got older. I''m relieved you know how to prioritize." she said with a hint of relief. She had always been worried about this descendent most of all, who had always been a little too careless. Frodo shook his head in response to Olivia''s initial suggestion. "We can''t take the risk. If this all goes wrong, then his death will be on our heads. We''ll have to take the loss this time." Richard looked thoughtful as he asked sister Alexandria. "Out of curiosity, how difficult would you say the formation hiding the prisoners is to crack?" She looked at him thoughtfully as she responded. "Around the low golden core level, or in adventurer terms a high B rank." Hearing this, he nodded. "Then we should free the prisoners, but leave the undead behind." He said the last part with reluctance, but said it nonetheless. Richard explained, "the jump from spiritual transformation to golden core is a huge jump. If we break the secondary formation, then whomever is behind this will likely panic." He paused. "But if we just break through the formation holding the prisoners then they''ll probably be more relieved than anything else. I doubt the undead is the secret in there, but merely part of a far greater picture. I''m not sure what that man is up to, but I know that he can be ruthless if he feels that his plans have been compromised." Richard said it calmly, yet all knew what he meant when he referred to ruined plans. The man had ruthlessly abandoned his own son because he was cursed, his own blood. What he would do if he thought the worst of his secrets were exposed... could be disastrous. Stolen novel; please report. Richard continued to reason, doing his best to infer the man''s next actions. "He hates instability. If we attack the first formation, then yes, he might be worried, but far more relieved than if we were to find the bottom one. He may even lower his guard. Though, perhaps I''m being presumptuous. I''ve never met him after all." There was nothing wrong with his reasoning, and Olivia easily conceded on this. She was merely worried about alarming the enemy, but as he had put it, the enemy in question may even lower his guard once he believed that he knew the enemy''s strength. "Whatever the case may be, the only one that really needs to be done now is the freeing of Que, which is a diplomatic issue." Alexandria stated, looking to confirm with everyone else as the group nodded in agreement. "And he may very well have info as to what they''re up to now!" Panda added on, in support. Indeed,, he may very well know what''s going on, for what other reason would you confine such an important figure? "If that is the case, then wouldn''t he still overreact?" Olivia pointed out, as the group remained in silence again, trying to figure out the solution. Finally, Eliie put forward her own opinion. "Why do they have to find out?" she asked, and Alexandria found herself intrigued. "And what do you mean by that?" she asked, and Ellie looked at her tentatively Alexandria responded calmly, yet her focus on the dragonewt clearly increased. "Decent enough to fool them if that''s what you''re asking." "How long?" she asked and sister Alexandria paused as she considered it. "Depends on the enemy''s level. If we assume he bought both formations and is not nearly as skilled in magic, then we can assume a few weeks? And if he, or someone collaborating with him is the one behind the formation, then days." Panda smiled viciously. "That''s more than enough time to sabotage their efforts! Let''s do it!" "I see no better option at the moment." Frodo said in agreement and Olivia shrugged. "Whatever. They were going to find out no matter what we did, so this is probably the best choice we have." "Let''s do it." Richard said finally, as Achil had no interest in the conversation at hand, leaving him to be the final speaker.
Slipping into the formation containing the prisoners was easy. Smooth like butter. As they snuck into the dark area, they observed the prisoners, all of whom were clearly in poor condition. "They look underfed." Richard noted with concern and Frodo looked equally uncomfortable. Olivia was more confused than anything. "What are they up to? They''re not slaves, but clearly not normal prisoners either. Why would they risk starving them?" It seemed foolish. Why starve your prisoners, especially when they have such significance. Alexandria had the answer as she pointed to a marking on one of their arms. "Because they don''t want to activate that." Seeing the mark that had been pointed out, Olivia clicked her tongue with realization. "Of course. A death mark." Hearing this, Richard understood as well. There are many ways to detect when one may die, such as the candle binding technique, or in this case, the death mark . A candle can tell you more than the life and death of a person, telling you their current status, whether their life was flickering or doing well, going out when the person dies. The death mark returns upon the death of a person, listing their cause of death. Although the death mark cannot tell you of the person''s current status, it can tell you how the person in question died. Both had their own positives and negatives. It made sense. Why wouldn''t they kill such a loose end? Because doing so would alert the Federation, and point clearly to them. Irrefutable evidence of who did it. So instead, they were starving them to death, so that there would be no proof that the famous Que had died at their hands, and that the Federation would have nowhere to direct their anger. Dangerously clever. "Looks like something was put into their food too" Olivia noted as she prodded the prisoners, whom didn''t have a reaction in the slightest even as they were prodded. And the half-arachne was a rather weird sight. When one hears arachne, they know of the goddess arachne, and with it the image of a lower body of spider, and upper body of human. The woman before them didn''t look like that, rather looking more human in nature. She had 4 spider legs dangling out the back of her torso, twitching in the air. There was two extra eyes above her other ones, but so small they were hardly noticeable, more like moles than eyes. That was it. She looked too human to be arachne yet the appraisal- [human-arachne] [ being 1/4th arachne, the bloodline of arachne is receding, but not enough for Arachne to ignore this daughter.] It seemed there was now another reason to get this prisoner out, for who could bear the consequence of the wrath of Arachne. It was known after all that although Arachne had long left the empire to reside in the Federation, she still had friends in the empire, friends who could make a dangerous fuss like Echidna and her husband Typhon. It was a crisis averted in this regarded. None of the other prisoners were that important, but there was no reason not to save them. They were already here after all, saving prisoners and making duplicates, so they may as well finish the set. The drugging of these people made the situation easier for them luckily, with none of them active enough to deny them as they grabbed them, with a total of 8 prisoners being saved. Sister Alexandria waved her hand, and with that, an illusion appeared, one so real that Richard could barely distinguish the two. However, appraisal was able to see through it, which made Richard marvel at the spell''s ability to discover the truth. Richard made a note to use the spell more often to ensure that he himself never falls prey to such an illusion. And with that, the group was able to set out without interference as they walked out. Richard took one last glance at the slaves, clenching his hands and promising to himself that once he knew the full scope of his father''s plans, he would come back and save them, and ruin Thorston''s machinations.
Taking the group of unconscious people back to the hotel, Alexandria attempted to awaken them, only to frown. "Is it too strong?" Olivia asked, and Frodo stepped forward, casting purification magic in an effort to wake the people, only to no avail. "This agent they''ve laced into these bodies is stronger than I expected." Alexandria noted, frowning. "Even you can''t do it sister Alexandria?" Richard asked anxiously. The wyrm could only shake her head. "I am a master of magic and the magical arts. This is something else, falling into the field of alchemy, beyond my purview. Luckily it seems to only be temporary, and should wear off, but it begs the question." she noted, tapping her tail on the ground, eyes narrowed. "What did they see that I missed? What would justify kidnapping and killing such an important political figure? What justifies incurring the wrath of the federation." Book 2 chapter 11 :Omens of Chaos "What should we do now?" Richard asked as he looked at the sleeping people plopped all over the room. The imposed time limit by the poison had heavily limited their options now. After all, the illusion would not last forever, not unless they went back to maintain it. And they could do that, but doing it repeatedly was dangerous, as repeating the event could lead to exposure by the enemy. Going to the delegation of the Australian federation was its own kind of poison, with two individuals here being of high value. To admit that they (a force of the empire) had kidnapped an important individual of the Federation, it could easily blow up into a problem. It was a bad situation, easily seen by the ugly expressions of everyone around. Richard turned to ask Frodo. "Do they know for sure it''s the Thorston''s who are behind the mine?" Frodo frowned. "They may as well at this point. Proof or no proof." "But it''s not official proof. Maybe if we drop him off before he wakes up, they can help him, and if we listen in, we can find out what marquis Thorston is planning." Richard argued, only to be ruthlessly cut down by Olivia. "But that''s the crux of the problem. The second any of the prisoners wake up, they''ll quickly expose the situation. And that''s assuming they can find a way to wake the prisoners up sooner. If they can''t wake them up, who knows how they''ll react. It could go poorly." Richard couldn''t deny it. Although they knew the poison wouldn''t kill the prisoners, that was because of sister Alexandria. But the envoy had no such person. Not to their knowledge. What if they thought the sleep was permanent? The solution could escalate drastically. Richard and the others were left at a dead end, unsure what to do. "You know, why don''t we just buy the solution?" Panda suddenly asked, but Olivia quickly dashed that thought. "Where would we find the kind of antidote to cure a poison that even a god level being can''t deal with?" she pointed out only for the squirrel to smirk back at her. "Silly child. First of all, the big snake over there doesn''t specialize in poison despite being a large snake. She specializes in magic. The poison is not nearly as difficult to remove as you suggest." Olivia stubbornly argued. "And where would you find a shop that removes such a sleep potion? Even if my aunt is lacking in that area of expertise, it isn''t by that much. We''re in a city of blacksmithing and minors in beast taming. Sleep antidote is not something easily available in such a city, not at that level." To this the squirrel rolled his eyes. "Hello, we have a shop." He paused. "Oh wait, you weren''t here for that part." He then turned to look at Richard, tapping his shoulder. "Ahem. System shop?" Hearing this, Richard ,Alexandria and his familiars all showed an expression of realization. Richard found himself a bit embarrassed as he recalled the all powerful shop which had nearly anything he could want for. And indeed, checking the stuff in the shop, he found: [Sleep antidote] [Potion created specifically to cure all sleep conditions] [Cost: 50000] ''All?'' Richard asked unsurely and the system responded. [All, including your current situation] Hearing this, Richard''s expression brightened, only to darken as he looked at the price. "What''s wrong?" sister Alexandria asked as she saw his hesitation, and he explained the situation at hand. He currently had 70000 points, which was already a lot, mostly accumulated by killing small creatures. And that was a lot. But it was far from enough, only being enough to buy one potion. It could only be used by one person, the system confirmed as much. [Using it for more than 1 person will dilute the effect, and in this case, to the point where the potion will no longer work on any of the prisoners.] Hearing this, Alexandria smiled. "Thankfully, we only need to wake one of them up.They can explain the rest from there." Richard nodded in realization. Richard turned to Panda and thanked him for the reminder. The squirrel shrugged. "Don''t thank me, thank the voice It reminded me about the shop." A strange look appeared on RIchard''s face, and Olivia echoed the sentiment as she frowned. "From what I recall, screecher squirrels don''t have any corresponding abilities for voices. Maybe you have six-eared macaque blood." she joked, only for Panda to wince in pain as he scolded her. "Don''t say that again, the voices hate that." Richard checked the squirrels abilities and saw no such skill corresponding to that, causing him to worry. Panda, seeing his concern, assured him. "Don''t worry, the voices calmed down again. Just... don''t connect me to that damn big eared bastard." RIchard could only leave it at that, seeing that Panda didn''t seem too bothered. He also had other matters at hand as well. Richard bought the potion, feeling a sense of regret as he bought the potion. Richard had completely forgotten about the points he had accumulated, but now that he had to spend the points, he felt the pain of burning money. Alas, what a new sensation! Richard had to admit the sensation was interesting just as it was painful. Looking at the potion that was pulled out, RIchard was mildly suspicious. The potion was a completely clear liquid encased in a glass jar. It basically looked like a jar of water. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. Sister Alexandria however, gasped in surprise. "Is that authority?" she said amazedly as she grabbed the bottle and studied it carefully. "Oh my lord it is just pure condensed authority." she said in pure surprise, and even Frodo looked astonished. "Is it that amazing?" RIchard asked curiously, and Frodo responded carefully. "Not quite, it''s more surprising." he said, also leaning in closer to inspect it. sister Alexandria stopped inspecting the bottle and handed it back to Richards. "God''s rely n authority to exert their power, so you''ll often see authority used by healers and warriors on the battlefield to channel the power of their Gods. It''s just more surprising that it would be used in this form. It''s usually intangible." [Indeed. Tangible authority is rare, and one of the reasons why the lazarus stone is quite rare] Richard nodded in understanding. "Well, if it works I guess." he said, as he bent down, looking at the group of prisoners, and thinking of who to choose. Probably Que. Given his importance, he''s probably the one who''d the envoy would be most willing to talk to. "Just out of curiosity, what kind of person is Que?" he asked, as it was equally important to verify what kind of person he is. And if he was reasonable. Frodo thought about it for a moment. "He was rather reasonable right?" he said, turning to Olivia. "The intel we paid for did say he was a reasonable and friendly man though there is no guarantee as to how he''ll react once he gets up." This was good enough for Richard. There wasn''t many other reasonable choices at this point. Propping the man''s head up, Richard pried the man''s mouth open and pouring the liquid in. This also reminded him that they''d have to find a way to feed these comatose people somehow. A problem to deal with in a few moments. Thankfully the liquified authority went down his throat easily and with ease. The result was seen nearly immediately as the man began to struggle. Soon he began to wake, his eyes flickering. HIs reaction was not that of relief or happiness, nor worry. It was terror, pure fear. The man began speaking, but it was pure gibberish, as he attempted to use his mouth, a mouth that hadn''t spoken in ages. Richard attempted to calm the man down, explaining softly. "Calm down. We just rescued you from the mine alongside your friends. You''re probably finding it hard to speak right now. " Richard turned to sister Alexandria. "Do you have any way to cure this sister Alexandria?" She nodded, and waived her hand, causing the man to sputter for a second. "checking-1-2-3" He said after calming down, checking that his voice was still working. He had a soft spoken voice, yet firm voice as he focused on his priorities. Que was quite calm, and though he observed us calmly, there was no wariness. Turning to look at his friends, there was a trace of sadness. It didn''t take much to figure that the source of his sadness lay in his friends that weren''t here. "The others haven''t woken up?" he asked, and Olivia explained with a helpless expression. "We didn''t have enough potions to solve this. It''s a a harmless potion in theory, but clearly meant to starve you out." "Because of the death mark." "The death mark yes. Unfortunately we couldn''t save your other friends." she added, and Que''s expression did not change, having already noticed their absence. Although he looked sad, he forced out a smile. "That is not your fault, but the fault of my captors." "May their souls rest in Elysium." Frodo prayed and Que nodded solemnly. "I hope so as well." Que pulled out a pair of glasses, wiping them with a cloth before putting them on, giving himself a scholarly look, even in his poor condition. "I''m surprised yo haven''t talked about revenge yet." a squirrel blurted out, saying the unspoken part that n one else had spoken. Hearing this, the writer tensed before returning to a more calm form. "I do not deny that revenge is on the mind,but I am not ignorant to the politics at hand and how my accusations could affect the relations between our two governments." he said calmly, showing his understanding of the situation. "There are more important matters at hand, even more important than revenge." Hearing this, the wyrm''s eyes narrowed. "You were trying to scream about something earlier. I assume you were talking about that? " The man nodded gravely as he cursed out his kidnappers. "Those fools! I was trying to warn them. They are mining where they should not. If they keep this up, they''ll bring chaos to the Romana empire." "O come now, it can''t be that bad." Panda said, yet Que clearly glared at the squirrel in this instance. "Why do you think a scholar of the Federation has come here? Why do you think I''m warning you of a grave danger?" Hearing this, most had already put the pieces together, as a dark implication hung over them. "You mean!?..." Frodo asked worriedly and Que nodded. "We came to mountain city because of the legend because of the increasing vitality of the city. Most people regarded it as a myth, but after investigating it, we confirmed that it was more than a myth. A mountain did disappear from this location. It collapsed, because something beneath it had disappeared." Que paused before asking, as if he could not suppress his storyteller''s instinct. "Haven''t you ever wondered why there was no hollow earth entrance in the Romana empire? When Asia had one when Africa had one, when the Americas had one and Australia, which has the largest, why amongst all of them the Romana empire, which occupies the last continent amongst all of them, is seemingly free of such an entrance?" "Then... we''re standing on it?!" Olivia said in astonishment. "We''re standing on the final, undiscovered entrance to the Hollow Earth?" Que nodded. "We''ve traveled worldwide, and found that besides the Australian tunnel to the Hollow Earth, al the other tunnels emerged at the same time, about 2100 years ago. And the mountain of Mountain city disappeared at that exact time." "Paper please. And ink too." he requested and Panda hopped over to a nearby desk, grabbing a pen and ink before tossing back to the man. Que began scribbling a simple diagram. A simple picture emerged, showing a mountain. "Thanks to carbon dating, we found that part of the ground was aged differently from the rest of the dirt, with the bottom layer of the dirt having a similar age-" "-what''s carbon dating?" Richard asked curiously, and Que explained carefully. "We found a way to date the carbon in most things, allowing us to in turn, estimate the age of the stone, the layer itself, and thus the period of time the stone comes from. Using this, we can estimate the age of a layer and- you know what? We can talk about this later. You just need to know that the age of the bottom layer of dirt within a certain area corresponded to the top layer of dirt in the sorrounding areas." He then added onto the picture, this time drawing a pit under the mountain. "We''ve theorized that there was already a thin tunnel underneath the mountain, linking to the hollow earth, and like the other thin holes, widened at the same time. Unlike the other holes however-" He tapped the mountain. "There was a huge mountain there. So instead of the hole opening up directly like it did in the other areas-" This time, he drew another illustration, showing the mountain falling into the tunnel, blockading it. "-the hole ended up being blocked by the mountain collapsing inwards. According to the dwarves, this mountain was huge, larger than most known on record, otherwise such a miraculous event could''ve never happened. This is likely also the other reason for the myth surrounding the disappearing mountain, as well as the reason why this place has become a good place for beast taming, the same reason why insects in Australia on average are larger than most other continents. The mountain blocking the hole has likely stopped the airflow between the surface and the hollow earth. Because of this, kaiju likely do not realize this exit exists, otherwise when the other tunnels became active, this one would''ve as well. " Pause "That would''ve continued being the case, were it not for their mining operations." He had a dark look on his face, conveying the seriousness of the situation. "What they''re mining for isn''t the minerals in the mountain, but the Hollow Earth energy. I don''t know what they want it for, but in order to get it, they''re drilling through the mountain, widening the hole. The vitality of this area is increasing- but so is the risk. Because the bigger the hole gets" "-The more aware the kaiju will become of the hole." Richard said in realization, and Que nodded and urgently continued. "There''s a reason they tried to silence us. If this was allowed to reach anyone higher up in the empire, anyone involved would be silenced. This operation is a ticking time bomb This blockade cannot stop them. It merely concealed the air of the outside mountain, which kaiju recognize and run to during stampedes. It''ll hold them for a while if you''re lucky but if a class 5 and above kaiju find the hole then this mountain is toast. It''ll be mountain city no longer. It''ll be "Desolate pit""
Bmm Bmm Bmm SssskkkkrrreeeeooonnKK!!! Bmm Bmm Bmm Between the sounds of the dead mining, a faint rumbling could be heard, a sound that if heard by others would make them tremble. The roar of terror. What Que had warned of had come. A stampede was beginning, and the kaiju had arrived. Book 2 chapter 12: Envoy Meeting They arrived at the envoy outside of the city, with Panda pulling a cart of the comatose prisoners we had rescued from the mines resting inside, covered in a giant tarp. The group obviously couldn''t just carry them around all the time, and it was better to be as inconspicuous as possible. That went out the window when Richard had Panda return to his original size and pull the cart. Screecher squirrels, while well known for their verbose language, were still C-class creatures. Seeing one pulling a cart around was quite the site. Thankfully not too rare, as the group managed to arrive at the envoy outside of the city. The envoy was outside of Mountain City. Richard didn''t understand at first, wondering why the envoy wasn''t inside the city. Que had refrained from answering, with a mysterious look on his face. Richard soon understood why. The envoy''s base of operations was huge. Richard had read that the locations envoys resided in were often nice, but not overly so. After all, they were merely for the delegations to temporarily reside in, before heading to the palace or the main ambassador dormitory. Richard found himself doubting what he had read as he observed the towering structure before him. This was probably why the building was outside of Mountain City. It was simply too large to fit in the pre-established city. It wasn''t just big, but impressive. The building was completely constructed of metal, and looked advanced. Richard could use no other word to describe the structure but that. Compared to the armored houses they had seen within mountain city, this building felt sleek, simplistic yet more impressive. It made them look shoddy. The building gave him an overwhelming feeling. He couldn''t put his finger on it. Sister Alexandria had an indiscernible look on his face as he observed the structure, making no comment, but humming in appreciation. Seeing Richard''s look of surprise, the writer Que couldn''t help but reveal a small smile before leading them to the front entrance, a steel door guarded by two security guards. The guards wore uniforms, rather than armor, a stark difference from the general attire adventurers would wear, and even what they themselves were wearing. It didn''t seem practical to RIchard, but he was sure there was some reason. Each guard was holding a weird magic tool, one that looked like some version of a crossbow, as best as RIchard could guess, with a magic stone in place of where he would''ve expected to see an arrow. Did these things shoot magic stones? Surely that was inefficient? As they approached the gate, one guard stepped forth. "Halt. Please identify yourselves." he said calmly, yet that attitude dissipated as Que stepped forth. The guards at the gate both looked surprised to see this familiar face. "Que?! You''re alive sir?" He said, almost in disbelief, yet there was joy in his voice. Que smiled. "I am, thanks in small part to these people here. Can you have a medic come down?" he asked, as he took the tarp off, revealing the comatose people. "We were dosed with a sleeping agent. My friends here managed to acquire a potion to wake me up, but there was only enough for one. It seems to be a powerful one as well." Hearing this, the guard nodded. "Right away sir. Let me just call someone down to replace me and I can guide you in to a doctor." He pressed something on his ear, speaking into it. Soon, another guard came out the gate, with surprise on his face, and was equally ecstatic to see Que. Seeing another guard had come over to replace him, the guard gestured to them. "Alright, come on. The commander will want to see you for your report on the situation." Richard and the others were led through the gate, finding the building was still equally pristine and simplistic on the inside compared to the outside. There was also a simple humming in the background, and the sound of machinery somewhere beyond the walls. "It''s quite the surprise for you guys, right?" Que said with amusement on his face as he continued to watch them. The only one who didn''t look surprised was Achil, who was quietly observing everything as he stuck closely to sister Alexandria. "Well it''s very simple." Olivia said, seeming uncomfortable with how clean it was, observing warily. She looked like a bristling cat, clutching Frodo and looking around warily, with Frodo looking quite calm about the situation and looked happy even. The guard who was guiding them responded. "Well it''s not like we wanted it to be so simple. It has to be simple with the tra-" He shut up with a simple glance from Que who then turned to look at them with an apologetic look. "Sorry. State secrets." Frodo nodded peacefully. "Of course." he reassured them. After all, gratitude is gratitude, and secrets are another. They eventually entered the medic room, where they dumped the comatose patients on the stretchers, with a doctor leading nurses to quickly check the condition of the patients, with the group led out of the room shortly thereafter. The next room was filled with accomodations, from couches to plates with snacks. "Do you mind waiting here for a moment? I have to report to inform commander about what we witnessed. If it''s as I''ve feared, then we''ll have to make preparations." The soldier requested politely.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. On the way there, the writer Que had informed the soldier about what had happened, and the danger at large, causing him to sweat. He was grateful to this group of people, otherwise this situation could''ve devolved much further than it already had. As the two left, sister Alexandria looked around, and then asked. "Who wants to listen in to what they''re going to talk about?" she asked eagerly, clearly curious to hear what conclusion they would arrive at. "Me!" Olivia said shamelessly as she plopped down next to her aunt, and Frodo sat down quietly next to her. "I believe I should listen in. To be more aware of the situation of course." "Of course" Panda echoed his sentiment with a tinge of sarcasm as he sat down next to them. Achil said nothing merely scooting next to Alexandria, wrapping his tail around her loosely, as if trying to scoot in to the tight couch. Richard and Ellie sat on a nearby couch, with there being no more space for them, especially with their tails and wings clogging up most of the space on the couch. Crackle came out too, now that no one else was in the room, picking up a plate of cookies, offering refreshments to everyone in the room. Seeing everyone was ready, Alexandria cast her spell, both isolating their room from the outside world, but also allowing them to peer into the commander''s room.
The commander had a solemn look in his eyes as he listened to Que''s report. "Are you sure?" he asked and Que could only show a sad smile in response. "There''s no doubt about it.Just before they crushed it, the kaiju meter went off like crazy, detecting the kind of vitality you could only find down there. And the fact they tried to kill us n such a manner tells me they know what they''re doing as well." "Dammit!" The commander cursed as his fist hit the disk with force, and the commander cursed with greater force. "Are they fucking stupid! The one continent where the hollow Earth is blocked, and they choose to unplug the damn thing! He couldn''t help but being frustrated. Wherever they found the Hollow Earth Entrances, no one regarded it as opportunity, but disaster. After all, kaiju stood in stark contrast to what people normally fought, and this incompatibility was only to their disadvantage. As a commander, he had seen the true horrors of the Hollow Earth, the death it brought. Even with their perfected evacuation drills, he could never quite get the sights out of his head, the price for the Federation''s prosperity paid in blood. The terrifying Dominion, a beast of pure wrath that killed its way through entire cities whenever it showed up. The devil itself, emerging from the pits of hell. And those fools, chose to let this all out! Regardless... The commander sighed, reminding himself that this was merely the greed of some selfish individuals, indifferent to how their desires would affect others. "So when is the next wave?" He sighed, turning to ask the soldier posted at the door. The soldier checked the reports, his face grim as he looked through the papers. "A week at most before the next wave starts." Hearing this, the commander groaned. "Alright, alert the dwarves to the potential wave. There''s no guarantee as to a wave this time, but now it''s only a matter of time before a wave does happen now that the seal''s been loosened. Besides, we also need to establish blame for who''s behind this so that we can persecute them. Vehemently." He said the last part with malice, and Que made no comment, quietly acquiescing. . Although he looked quiet and reserved at this moment, there was a cold glint in his eyes. After all, these people had killed his friends and hurt his wife. He knew the best way to get revenge was not wildly thrashing about, but by following the rules and trapping him thoroughly, leaving no room to escape. Only then would his revenge be properly complete. "So, what do you think about our guests?" The commander asked, in reference to the people in the waiting room. To that, the group''s ears perked up, seemingly quite curious as to how Que would respond. "They are a curious crowd." Que responded after much thought. "They seem to be friendly enough, but they''re certainly stronger than they appear on the surface. I doubt it was that easy to break me and the others out, much less unnoticed. Has no one reacted since?" The commander shook his head. "No, no one has reacted particularly different yet, at least not as far as we can see." Hearing this affirmation of his observation, Que nodded. "Either the enemy is being extremely cautious, or they snuck in and out so flawlessly that the people there haven''t had any time to react" "There''s always the possibility that they were the ones who kidnapped you and dropped you off here to avoid suspicion." The commander pointed out. Que refuted it calmly. "No, you know how accurate my intuition is. I haven''t sensed any hints of malice from them. Not only that, but I tested them earlier when I revealed the truth behind the mountain.They seemed completely unaware and horrified by the situation at hand. " The commander shook his head. "Regardless, I''m going to have someone inquire into their background, surface level at least, to make sure that we''re not being fooled." Que made no response, agreeing with his plan of action. After all, you never know when someone is wearing two faces. Even if they did save you.
"Damn, so suspicious of us. Even though we saved his ass!" Panda complained, recalling how he''d carted the man''s friends all the way here. No one else was surprised however. After all, in this situation, it was hard to determine who was behind this, especially since they themselves weren''t exactly a public group. Sure, one of them was a seasoned adventurer, another a priest from a renown church alongside a sister from the church, but Richard''s current body was merely a newly registered adventurer, and Alexandria. She technically had a registered identity, but it was one likely centuries ago. Lamia may have lived longer lives, but not that much longer. At least not without changing a little. And Que didn''t know any of that, merely knowing that a weird group of misfits had saved him. If he hadn''t suspected, it would''ve been weirder. The observation spell ended, with the commander and Que deciding to come down and meet them. Of course they played dumb, pretending to be patiently waiting, and not peeping into their conversation. The commander entered the room with a pleasant smile. "Thank you for helping us find Que. He told me about how you found him. If you hadn''t, who knows how badly it could''ve gone." The commander said gratefully as he stepped forward, extending his hand. Sister Alexandria as the one with seniority stepped forwards and accepted the handshake."It''s no problem, we happened to encounter him in the midst of our own investigation. It''s only natural for someone to help someone in danger." Alexandria responded. "Of course. Actually, we were hoping you''d be able to expand on your investigation of that mine." "Of course, we''d love to cooperate with you on that" SHe said, as she discussed what had led them to investigate the mine, omitting a few details, only to be interrupted by the humming''s deepening sound. Whrrrm- "The hell is that?" Olivia asked as a loud sound began to go off throughout the whole of the base. People could be seen organizing furiously in the background, running back and forth in organized groups. "Is dropbear squad ready?!" "Dropbears in the appropriate hangers sir!" "Move the g5s!" "Yes sir!" "Someone message the dwarves and warn them about our inbound flight!" "Right away sir!" "DId someone say flight?" Panda asked, and everyone turned to look at the commander. The commander smiled. "You know, this room is the guests room, but we call it the special guest''s room. Do you know why?" Alexandria pursed her lips, with no one able to figure out why. Seeing that no one had a response, Que responded, turning to look at a window that had inexplicably opened. "Its because this room has the best view in the mobile fortress." Click click chick chek thoom! The sound of whirring gears intensified. THe window, which had initially gazed straight into a wall changed sights, as the wall shifted, gears turning and walls sliding out, revealing a sight of the ground. "Initiate liftoff!" BOOOOOOMM! A loud explosion could be heard as the view changed, the green overtaken by blue, and the land they stood on shook, forcing most of the people there to sit, minus Alexandria and the commander, who seemed indifferent. BUt for mot, this was an amazing sight, one that would never be easily forgotten. The sight of a fortress lifting off into the air. Seeing the look in all the guests present, Que chuckled. "Told you it was the best seats" Stocking Stuffer: Reborn as the son of the 6 eared macaque "And you are- NOT THE FATHER!" [Hear an interesting bit of gossip-> 5 points of experiences and 6 points] "THey say that the new hire at te butcher shop is the butcher''s son..." "But the butcher''s wife is an elf and the young man is a dwarf." "Exactly!" "Oohhh..." [Hear a spicy rumor-> gain 10 points of experience and 10 points] "I finally have it! The secret patty formula is!-" [Discover the secret formula-> gain 20 points of experience and 20 points] [Big-eared Macaque lvl 1->2] "Three kobolds in a coat! Three of them!" [Discover a minor conspiracy-> gain 5 points of experience and 5 points.] Bill''s life had taken quite the turn.
For a human, Bill had quite the set of ears, earning him the name Big-Eared Bill, a nickname that would follow him even into the Pheme-Nyx intelligence organization. He had a desire to hear the most interesting bits of news, appropriate to the large ears he had. He had become one of the most prominent agents within the organization, specialized specifically in listening, grasping the most delicious bits of intelligence. He was one of the best, but even the best could be caught unawares. On a classified mission to investigate a dangerous slave cartel, he had been tripped by a banana and exposed, causing him to be quickly apprehended. An embarrassing mark on his spying career, which would be ending shortly with his death. They had tried to pry his secrets from his head, only to be met with his laughter and indifference. Betray the Goddess of rumors!? Never! "THen I hope you do not blame me for this." the torturer said solemnly, only for Big-Eared Bill to laugh. "Forgive you? For what? If I wish to play by the rules, then I should expect to die by them!" And with that Big-Eared Bill disappeared from this world.
Hey, wake up. Wake up. Waaaaake uuuuuup. Bill heard a booming voice, causing him to flutter his eyes, and rub them, forcing himself awake, only to pause. Why would he need to open his eyes? He should be dead! Being greeted by the indifferent chiron as they rode a boat through the river styx! But he clearly wasn''t. Opening his eyes, he found himself surrounded by a world of two things: wood and the void. The floor he stood on was bark as far as he could see, and in one direction, as far as he could see was wood. All other directions, up and down from side to side were nothing but void. He was not alone, as there was a large macaque standing next to him, likely the source of the noise. And the macaque had 6 ears... Like the divine consort of Pheme, the six eared macaque... Reacting almost instantly, the young man(?) got on his knees, apologizing profusely. "My deepest apologies milord! I did not realize you were here, the great 6 eared macaque, consort to the great Goddess Pheme!" The macaque seemed quite pleased with his apology especially the last part as he smiled broadly. That''s better, but no need to call me milord. He said it, though his expression slightly soured at that last statement, though Bill paid no mind to that, continuing to show respect. Bill couldn''t help but feel a little excited at the thought that perhaps the one who had saved him could be no other than the Goddess he worshipped. "Milord, I don''t suppose you could tell this servant as to how he survived?" he asked cautiously. Survive? That''s a strong word. The macaque said, with a rather mysterious smile, bringing Bill confusion. Have you... checked yourself yet? He asked mysteriously, causing the spy to observe himself carefully, only to realize... ... He wasn''t human. His hands were not those of human, covered in fur and pink paws, not fingers. He touched his face, finding the pronounced snout instead of a sharp nose and an eerie sensation from his behind, the feeling of a prehensile limb. Bringing the sensation in front of himself with trembling eyes, he confirmed the existence of a new tail poppng out of his back, and more importantly, confirming that he had become a macaque! Seeing his shocked expression, the 6-eared macaque chortled in amusement. You are no longer human, but rather, have become a would be divine beast. To be more precise, you are the child of the Goddess Pheme and I. He said, sounding rather proud. You should call me father instead. "Father." Better. The macaque nodded approvingly. Anyway, you happened to be one of Pheme''s favorites, and she thought it''d be such a waste were you to die this way. Lucky for you, there happened to be a bit of a program for people like you. Unfortunate favorites of the Gods. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. He grumbled a bit. Of course, it took someone else dying before she finally agreed to having kids but whatever. The last part itched Bill''s curiosity, but he choose not to say anything, for there were some melons too dangerous to eat. The macaque snorted, as if he knew the young monkey''s thoughts. And he probably did, since the 6 eared macaque can hear all things in the world, both spoken and thought of. The macaque continued. Unfortunately, you couldn''t just start off as a 6 eared macaque, since your human soul isn''t adapted to a monster body. So you''ll have to start as the low rank monster, the big eared macaque which would be considered a D-rank monster, and as you grow stronger, the other two pairs should grow in, with each pair representing a jump in 2 ranks, from D to B, and B to S. capiche? "Understood. Actually, I wanted to ask. Since Pheme is my mother," he said, feeling weird about the statement, but continued anyway, "then can I ask where she is at this moment?" To this, the macaque showed a rather disgusted expression. Unfortunately, as much as she wanted to be here to see you and your first steps as her son, Jorvus called us back to do some work on his part. In fact, this isn''t even my main body, but one of my incarnations sent out to watch over and guide you while we''re busy. "Oh." Bill said, feeling a bit disappointed, before choosing to focus on the more important matter. "So how do I get stronger then?" he asked, and the bigger macaque merely smiled amusedly. How else would a snooping macaque grow? Listen, and listen well.
And since then, Bill had done as he had said and listened. He quickly discovered the existence of the system, a rather fascinating object, but one useless to his own growth. After all, according to it, anything he learned from asking the system questions, did not count towards his own growth. The root of the macaque''s growth after all, was what it heard, and the rarity of the knowledge, so freely given knowledge was as good as public knowledge. Interesting, but useless. That didn''t stop him from asking it tons of questions. He just loved hearing those little tidbits of info. Bill had long since recognized that the macaque''s dislike was not at him as a person, but as a mortal who had finally gotten his wife to give birth to a son, after years of her husband asking. Essentially, it was pettiness. Otherwise, he was still caring, stepping in when the worst situations occur, whether it be pulling him back into the realm of Yggdrasill, or killing the offending person in question, he acted decisively. The macaque was a dominating beast when it acted, pulling out a giant metal rod and crushing anything that opposed it. He had watched the 6-eared macaque crush a dragon with one blow, which filled Bill with excitement, knowing that as he grew, he''d be more like his newfound father. ALthough his new father was a bit of a grouch, information could be pried from the older macaques hands. Like in this instance... "I have uncles?" Seeing that the little macaque was unlikely to stop pestering him about it, the older macaque sighed and put down his peach pie. Yes, you have... 3 uncles. He inhaled deeply through his nostrils before speaking. We are the 4 chaos monkeys. As long as one of us lives, the other has a chance to come back. The long armed gibbon, whose arms are one, capable of sliding and reaching to the very stars, and capable of pulling the stars down, or even the chariot of Apallas Ra Wu Zhiqi, the river demon, who was imprisoned under a mountain by heaven for being too strong, and at the 5th level was able of contending against Qinglong, a 6th level being on strength alone. And... the stone monkey. He said the last part with great reluctance, but that didn''t stop Bill from picking up on it. "Stone monkey... you mean Sun Wukong!? The sage equal to heaven!?" Yes, him! Snapped Liuer, seeming particularly upset to mention him. "Did he do something t you?" He killed me! "That''s terrible! Why would he do that to his family?" Well... The six-eared macaque paused seemingly embarrassed to say more. He had to practically force out the next few words. Well... you know... I''d been stuck at the pinnacle of the 5th level for ages... and you know, merit helps achieve breakthroughs and- well my brother was doing that whole thing with the scriptures, so I thought it couldn''t hurt to impersonate him a little... and I... tried to take his position in the journey... he didn''t take it very well Hearing this, Bill was completely unsurprised that the stone monkey had killed the six eared one. It was said that the Journey to the West had immense significance to the growth of the Heavenly Sage, who broke through to the 6th level shortly thereafter. Such an opportunity, his father had tried to snatch it. He could only say that the macaque was truly bold! Still... "He''s not still coming after you right?" Bill asked curiously, wondering if this was the reason why the 6 eared macaque now resided in the Romana empire, hiding from his stronger sibling. No. He''s out there pursuing worthy opponents to fight. The macaque denied, his voice now tinged with bitterness. After all, the meaning behind such words was clear. Unprompted, the monkey began to speak, practically blurting out the words. It''s infuriating! We 3 were the only known chaos monkeys once upon a time. We were born far earlier than our brother, preceding him by millions of years, as well as all of humanity! Yet now, millions of years later, we are still stuck at the pinnacle of the fifth level, while he is off to bigger and brighter things. The air went stagnant for a moment, as Bill was left unsure what to say. The six-eared macaque sighed, seeming to just push the topic as a whole out of his mind. You wish to know where these uncles are. The macaque said, less of a question and more of a statement, as if he knew the young macaque''s temperament as if it were his own. Perhaps it was his nature, so similar that he predicted what the child was thinking. And indeed, the boy''s eyes were widening in curiosity. He sighed. Very well. Wuzhiqi currently resides in the Nile river, now that Sobek occupies a greater part of the world''s waters. He leads a group of water monkeys, though he does run off to Vahalla here and there, fighting with the brave warriors there. Gibbs has long become the beast who follows Appalas Ra, helping to pull the sun chariot as well as the moon. You should of heard of him. He''s called the golden arm gibbon. If you want, I can take you to visit them one of these days once you''ve gotten your second pair. The macaque was mildly confused. "Why are they all in the Romana empire? Surely you didn''t all migrate for the fun of it." Bill asked and Liuer snorted, having gotten over the previous subject. The Qing empire drove us out. The dynasty has become one of cultivators, who''ve been hunting divine beings left and right to supplement their growth. We''re just some of the divine beings who''ve fled since then. In fact, Nuwa should be a very familiar name to you, right? Bill nodded. "Mother of the three gorgons and mother to most snake people and monsters as a whole." he said, reciting what he knew of her. Well, she also used to have a different title. In the east, she had been humanities protector, famously known as a saint of humanity, famously involved in the developement of their dynasty. However, the emperor took it a step too far, attacking and killing many demon snake tribes, even against her warning, and attacking her reincarnated brother Fuxi. After that she left the Qing dynasty and came to the Romana empire since they''re offering good deals to anyone over the third level currently as long as they''re neutral+ "Really? I never heard that!" Bill said, astonished that he had never heard this piece of info. It''s kept pretty under wraps. The Qing empire knows, but can''t do anything about it. They''ve lost too many great demons this way. Pangu himself in fact, has left the dynasty after they refused to acknowledge his sons, the three pure ones, and alienated him from the common people. "Wait, then how many have fled the empire since?" Bill asked, and the macaque rolled his eyes. Who knows. So many have crossed over, and I hardly care enough to count them all. "That''s amazing!" Liuer chuckled. Indeed. "I thought I knew a lot, but so many fun secrets still exist out there." The young monkey marveled, the older could not help but chuckling as he rubbed his head, thinking of himself when he was but a small macaque in a terrifying world. Scared, yet curious. Indeed. little one, continue to listen so that you can become like me, and hear all things in the world. There''s just so much excitement to listen to. He said, choosing to encourage the little one before him, as the old are supposed to.
One day, after listening to the scheme of a necromancer planning to raise an entire city''s cemetery (and stopping it), BIl felt it. A ticking of the ears, an instinctive feeling. [After overhearing the scheme of a necromancer planning to cause mayhem in a city, you''ve gaained 500 experience, and 40 points!] [Big eared macaque 49->50] [Big eared macaque -> Four-eared Macaque] A blossoming of power, and confirmation. A confirmation of who he''d become. He too, had become a great listener. Now, his father would take him to see the other two. stocking stuffer 2:: From Nascent Soul To Godly Worker: The Defection Of A cultivator To The West "That''s it, I quit." A battle of godly proportions, having gone on for days came to a standstill at these words. Two members of the same sect. The once proud and kind Lin Wu, his reputation stained beyond measure and now seen as the vile traitor of the cultivation world, despite his best efforts. His cunning junior brother, had presented himself as an innocent, righteous young man. Yet he had his suspicions, investigating his origin and discovering the truth. That Gu An was the descendant of a clan his family had exterminated, clearly entering the sect for revenge. Yet Gu An was smart, and had carefully planted evidence, even hiring an assassin in his name, to make it seem that Lin Wu was targeting him. And now he was spurned by the entire cultivation world, even after entering the nascent soul. He wasn''t sure why. Perhaps something had finally snapped, maybe he was just tired of the play his junior had set up Gu An asked confusedly. "What do you mean you quit?" he asked confusedly, staring down his senior brother, curious as to what finally caused him to crack. Lin Wu rolled his eyes. "I''m tired. Of all of this. All your damn schemes. How you''ve turned everyone around me against me." Gu An showed him a cold smile. "But of course senior brother. After you discovered my schemes, how could I let you stand in my way?" "Well, you win. I''m tired of all these ungrateful bastards! So I''m quitting. I''m out." "Out? Senior brother, surely you know how the cultivation world sees you now? Everyone hates you here. They all think you''re a jealous fool who''s tried to kill a disciple with great potential." he mocked his senior brother, only for his senior brother to snort. "You''re right, they''re all blind to my good will. Lucky for me, I just recently received a job offer." "Really? Who would be willing to take you in senior?" His junior brother asked curiously, leisurely walking through the air. No one could see them thanks to the formation he''d set up, blinding the outside world to the truth of it all, allowing him to reveal his true appearance.. "The Romana empire sent me an invitation Once I reached the nascent soul I was offered the chance to become a minor god there. Gain incense, immortality, and a spiritual weapon specially made for me, courtesy of the cyclops and the dwarven gods. I was hesitant at first, but now? Now it seems like the best idea I''ve heard in a while." Lin wu said, exhaustion evident in his voice. He looked past the formation staring at his junior sister, who was staring at the formation with such concern. Once, those eyes would''ve been for him. Now, they were for this cunning bastard before him. The pain had grown a bit too much for him. He just wanted it to stop. "And what makes you think I''ll let you go so easily?" Gu An asked. "Because your revenge goes a lot easier once I''m gone and you know it. Keeping me here merely inhibits it. Here, look, I''ll fake a life threatening injury and I''ll fly away in desperation alright? You''ll never see me again. " Lin Wu said, clenching his hand around an artery and squeezing it till it popped, causing his face to scrunch up, and blood to flow from his mouth. Gu An didn''t chase him, merely watching as his senior left the formation, faking his severe state. As Lin Wu left, he heard the cheering of his juniors, and left faster. In spite of it all, he hoped that someone would figure out his junior brother''s plan, see the truth. But they were hopelessly ensnared in his plans. Regardless, it had nothing to dow with him anymore. Lin Wu managed to get through the border without any real danger. He was a nascent soul level cultivator. Few were willing to pick fights with him unless they had a serious grudge against him. Of course, with his junior brother''s meddling, he had many such enemies, but none who would have expected him to flee in such a cowardly way. He wasn''t fleeing though. Just quitting. Sure, he''d crush an organ to make it look serious, but truthfully speaking it was hardly more than a flesh wound, and something he could easily put up with in the worst of situations. Once he passed the border, he was greeted by a divine being. The divine being across from him was clearly at the fourth level just like him, and yet there was something far more awe inspiring about him. Powerful. Where he had the aura of a noble person, a trangquil part of nature, the man before him felt like the shining sun, the divine light pouring upon him. You are Lin Wu correct? The divine being asked, and Lin Wu noddd, coughing a little blood out. Are you alright? Who dares attack one of our gods?! He shouted wrathfully,only for Lin Wu to shake his head. "I d-did it. In order for my arch enemy to let me go, I had to retreat and suffer the loss" Hearing that, a sad look appeared on the God''s face. I''ve heard of your tragedy Lin Wu. Had the oracle of Delphi not shone a light upon your tragedy, perhaps we would''ve never known. Come, once you''re one of us, the pain will go away. He said, offering his hand. Lin Wu took it gladly, as he could feel the warm intention behind the beings hand, the genuine kindness, something he had not felt from his equals in so long. My name is Phaethon, son of Helios, the old titan of the sun. I am the god of poplar trees. And this. He said, patting the gibbon pulling the chariot, added. Is one of your fellow chinese men. Do you know who he is? The god teased. "D-d-do you mean!?" Lin Wu asked in shock and awe, observing the particularly long armed gibbon, who was staring at him in amusement. Indeed, it is I, the interconnected arm gibbon, whose arms can stretch out and grab the stars. I assume you know me for the other thing though. "Yes sir! ONe of the four chaos monkeys, said to belong to none of the 10 categories of all things!" he said, desperately trying not to say the most popular reason, only for the gibbon to smirk knowingly. His arm stretched out, as the interconnected arms slid, and one arm shortened and the other grew and he tapped the man''s nose. There''s no need for flattering. Yes, I am one of sun wukong''s brothers. Unlike Liuer and Wuzhiqi, I am not particularly offended by my obscurity. Stolen story; please report. The senior ape said gracefully, showing not a trace of annoyance, merely doting for the younger generation. Seeing the gibbon was not offended, he quietly exhaled in relief. The long armed gibbon was a divine being older than most, and at the pinnacle of the 5th level. He hadn''t noticed it earlier when it was hiding its presence but now that he faced it, he could feel the power of a 5th level being. Which was confusing to him. Seeing his curious expression, the long armed gibbon laughed. You are wondering why I, a pinnacle 5th level being, have taken the initiative to abandon the Qing dynasty? Lin Wu nodded carefully, worried he would just be vaporized on the spot, yet the monkey smiled and explained. The current Qing dynasty is a dynasty of cultivators. And cultivators of the higher level need higher resources. Needless to say, we, the divine beasts, have become nothing more than resources in the eyes of the cultivators. Once upon a time, when Heaven ruled over man, they could enforce certain rules, and punish those who committed such heresy. However, as the people''s awe of the cultivators rose, they replaced the awe of the Gods, and incense stopped flowing. The gods in Heaven are no longer as strong as they once were, and are now oppressed by the imperial army. Anyone who leaves is executed and used to boost the foundation of its warriors. The divine beasts and beings have since fled the great Qing, with the only ones remaining being the ones who couldn''t escape, or the ones they dare not provoke, such as the dragon clan or the Xuanwu clan, or Baihu. Even then, they are no longer completely safe. I was unwilling to remain in such a dynasty which no longer respected us, nor Liuer or Wuzhiqi, so we left. Hearing this, Lin Wu was horrified. It was true, divine beings had slowly disappeared from the dynasty, but he had not realized it had gone this far. A dynasty wide massacre! Despite being a cultivator, Lin Wu still had a high respect for the divine. True, cultivators and beasts clashed in several instances, but this was different. He didn''t know that Heaven itself had been oppressed! That meant the natural order of the world had been flipped! Hearing this, the young cultivator felt relief that he had fled now. Cultivators could live for millenia. He may not see the changes immediately, but he was sure he would notice eventually. But like a frog in a boiling pot, it would be too little too late. Enough about this. I hear that you''re a young nascent soul. Only 180 years old, and already a fourth level being! I had to come after hearing that! Luckily, Appallas Ra didn''t need me to move the chariot today. The monkey said cheerfully, inspecting the young man a way seniors inspect promising new juniors. Come, let''s go get you registered. He said happily, dragging the young man to the chariot before pulling it to the underworld. Lin Wu could never have imagined that he would get to ride a chariot pulled by a fifth level being. It was a terrifying experience, as he worried all the way to the underworld.
As they floated above the river styx, as the senior called it, Lin Wu couldn''t help but stare in awe as he watched the souls drift around aimlessly. Lin Wu had seen the undead of course, which one hadn''t dispelled a few? But watching an underworld work was fascinating. Everywhere he looked, there was a buzz of authority in the air, a doist rhythm beyond his understanding. The quiet feeling of an authority beyond his understanding was there, the authority of the dead. Impressive isn''t it? There isn''t as much qi in the west as there is in the east, but the laws are more dense, thanks to the divine being greatly respected still. The long armed gibbon, who called himself Gibbs, explained. Phaethon looked at the two quizzically and the gibbon explained to Lin Wu. THe boy was born divine, so he''s naturally in tune to the laws. However, he''s also never been trained, merely died a demigod, then lifted to Godhood, relying on the trees that popped up after his death. As a result, he has no comprehension of the laws he uses. THe gibbon explained, and Phaethon nodded in understanding. Oh, those. Yeah, whenever cultivators talk about that, or gods like Orpheus explain it I never quite understand. Anway, still pretty cool right? He said, pointing at Cerberus who quietly watched them pass. Lin Wu had to admit it was pretty cool, the three headed dog of Hades. Even he had heard of it, being a terrifying guardian that stopped any soul from leaving. You know, I hear he''s having another litter soon. If you want, you could sign up and see if you get lucky. Phaethon chatted, happily sharing the latest rumors. "You can just adopt divine beasts?" Lin Wu asked curiously, and Phaethon shrugged. You''ll be a god soon, and that means immortality. Unless you find a goddess who fits the same niche as you, or a god, finding a partner in this life may be very rare. So a divine beast would make a good companion. And who knows? We have a lot of couples match up at pet gatherings. I met my wife, a dryad at such a place. He said, winking playfully. "You have a divine beast companion?" One of my kids, yes. The gibbon commented, seeming rather indifferent to this. Eventually they arrived at the center of the underworld, which was a busy place, as beings of the fourth level rushed back and fourth frantically, much to Lin Wu''s dismay. He had never seen so many 4th level beings concentrated in one area, not even at those grant meeting between sects! Another god walked up to them, but this one looked more mundane he had expected. Lin Wu correct? My names Bill, god of paperwork. Hearing this, Lin WU couldn''t help but feel surprised. The empire truly had a God for everything! Did you know, Bill''s from another world! Phaethon added on, and Lin Wu couldn''t help but stare at this "Bill" more. Bill seemed indifferent to his gaze as he waved it off. Don''t overthink it. I came from a rather boring world. No magic no gods, nothing. Just a lot of middle class people doing a lot of middle class work. Yeah, but it was your amazing organizational paperwork that the workload down here became so much easier! I mean, I actually get an hour of free time now! The young god exclaimed, with Bill barely recognizing the response turning to Lin Yu. Lin Wu was astonished by the statement? there were other worlds? Were they higher realms? Lower ones? Like those summoned heroes? Seeing the curious look in his eyes, he said quickly: You can ask later when I''m free. Here, just read this and sign off. He said handing the clipboard to Lin Wu. Lin Wu carefully read over the agreement, which was rather simple. He was no longer a resident of the Qing empire, but of the Romana Empire. As a god, he must be prepared to fulfill his corresponding duties and respond to at least one prayer a month. He must be prepared to fight the enemies of the empire in the worst case scenario And that by signing this agreement, he became immortal, and was aware of that. Rather simple form, which Lin Wu readily agreed, having had all his bridges burned in his home land. As he signed it, he felt a thread snap inside of him, as if something had disappeared inside of him, a connection to his own home. This feeling was replaced with a bond to the Romana empire. It was more of an instinctive feeling than anything else, but he felt it, knew it. Not only that, but he felt it. His mortality was burning away, being replaced by an inexplicable thing. A warm, radiant power. Was this... godhood? Congratulations, you are now a minor God. Bill said calmly as he then summoned a large board, with a large list of words. Pick an authority. It''ll determine where you start working. Hearing that, Lin Wu looked down the list, before finally picking out one. He picked poppies in the end. A minor plant, but also one of medicine and healing. He''d been a cultivator who''d specialize in plants, so doing a type of plant made sense to him. Unfortunately, the likes of ginseng and bamboo seemed to have already been taken. Too popular probably, Lin Wu knew he wasn''t the first, so others probably rushed forth and grabbed the more popular ones before he could. Poppies, huh? Alright, that puts you in the medicinal department, where you''ll be working for the god Asclepius, the god of medicine. And you also will part time under Persephone whenever she needs someone to help her with Spring stuff. Isn''t that a little messy? Lin wu asked, and Bill smiled, but there was a hollowness behind those eyes. A desolate emptiness. Phaethon laughed at that. It used to be worse than that back then. Gods used to just run around, doing their thing and becoming local deities wherever. And then they''d piss someone off, and then Ausir Hades would have to come back up and start doling out judgements again. Real mess when god of the underworld has to keep leaving his post. And then Bill came along and made things cleaner. Now we know who to blame when things go wrong, and less instances of Gods wandering around aimlessly. Another God ran up to Bill, frantically shouting. Bill! Jorvus and Hathera are fighting again! The sky is tearing itself apart again! Quickly! We need you to do that magical thing again! Mediate! Yes, that ! As Bill was dragged away onto a rainbow he called back to the group. Go see Ted and he''ll give you the proper authority. I gotta go *sigh* fix a marriage. We should call him God of marriage counseling with how much of that he does. Phaethon said humorously, while Gibbs could only shoot the poor God a look of sympathy. Who''s Ted? Lin Wu asked. God of human resources. Great guy, but no one wants to talk to him on business time. No likes human resources after all, much less deity resources.
And here is your authority as god of poppies. Ted said calmly, shoving a glowing ball into Lin Wu''s chest as he felt his connection to poppies grow. I thought I was already a god? He asked confusedly, and Ted shrugged. It''s all semantics. You sign the agreement, you become a god, but one without a specific role, given immortality by the faith in the pantheon as a whole. But now as a God you''ll be given incense and immortality specifically tied to poppies. Anyway, next! Said the impatient god, shooing the group out the door as another group of Gods walked into the room as they left. Despite being so impatiently shooed away, he was excited. Lin Wu did not feel rejected in this environment, hated as he was now in the east, but treated like a peer as he had once been. He walked up to Phaethon and Gibbs waiting outside the room, looking forward to meeting his new colleagues. Sure, it seemed he would be treated like a middle class worker, but he had to admit, being treated like a normal person was quaint, fun even. Perhaps he would come to like being a God here.
1 year later What are you doing here! He shouted, pointing angrily at the figure in front of him. He had just finished his shift of answering prayers, only to be told a new god had come over to this department, something he was deeply grateful for. Being a God was difficult. But what he had not expected, was seeing the man who ruined his life standing here. Why was the new god GU AN! Stocking Stuffer 3: The Snakeshop Merchant
Eobard had always been crazy about snakes. Being the young master of a branch of the Statum family, they were rather well, though not amazingly so. When he was young, he had encountered a rare snake monster. The footbiter. It didn''t really bite feet. Much like Toe biters, they were a misunderstood species named so because of their flattened head, as if a person''s boot had crushed them. They were known for another thing, and that was their high levels of venom. That didn''t stop young Eobard from being fascinated by the weird little critter, with it''s charming black scales ladened with white studs as if the night sky had been miniaturized and wrapped around a serpent. It was a beautiful little thing, and for a child, it was enough. Since then, he had been fascinated by snakes, leading him to eventually open his very own snake shop, aimed at selling things for snakes, from snake food to habitats to snakes themselves. That footbiter would follow him to the shop, being raised on a diet of pure magic stones, causing it to eventually evolve twicefold, becoming the midnight glider. She rested over the entrance of the store, serving as a fun surprise for new customers, but a familiar sight for repeat customers. Though it was mostly indifferent to him, the glider never bit him when he came to feed it, even allowing him to pet her. Thankfully, since the poison of a midnight glider was enough to poison a drake. His family never blinked at his shop. Though he was from a branch family, with his parents having died young, the fact that they willingly funded his shop was his blessing. He didn''t receive many customers, but he did receive enough, with a sprinkle of eccentric customers for sure. Beast tamers that lived locally quite liked his shop that sold monster eggs, even though he mostly specialized in snakes and things snake ate. Access to friendly beasts was always one of the greatest difficulties for beast tamers. As a result, local monster tamers often had snake and mice type tamiliars, making him plenty of money. There were many memorable and weird customers. A pair of siblings, both whom were serpent from the waist down wearing traditional Qing clothing. They almost seemed lamia though lamia never seemed apt for them. An obvious dragon pretending to be a human, betrayed by his poor acting skills and even worse energy concealing skills. A priest of the god Fenrir who was "looking for his brother". He always spoke in riddles. An early bird looking for the wyrm. A snakeman who used to break into his trashcan to eat the snakefood before Eobad finally just hired the snakemen and allowed him to eat snakefood for free. A snakewoman seeking to liberate one of her kind. Eobard merely sold her the snakes without question. He could say without a doubt that selling snakes had been the best choice he had ever made. Unfortunately, he died. Perhaps it would''ve been a cosmic irony if he had died by snake, but no. He was killed in an assassination by an enemy of the family. It made a lot more sense frankly. Death came swiftly in the night as he had begun to close up shop. The assassin had used some form of shadow magic to bypass the shop''s door. He hadn''t even fed the snakes one last meal! Yet before he died, he got to watch as the midnight glider whom surprised all his first time customers got to "surprise" his first time assassin with a lethal dose of poison to the back of the unsuspecting assassin. Charlie slithered up to him shortly thereafter, resting next to him. Bypassing the door had ensured his ignorance to the very end of how he died. Perhaps she''d eat him once he was gone, for what other reason would a snake curl up next to a dying man? Then he would get to feed his snake. Eobard never had any regrets. He''d gotten to take care of his snakes, take care of other people''s snakes, and even gotten to share his love of snakes with others. And he''d gotten to watch as his longest kept snake repay this debt. It was a life well lived. Oh dear...
His life did not end so simply however Crack. Eobard found himself coming to, trapped in a hard casing, and without any arms no less. He couldn''t feel his arms, yet he was far more concerned with breaking out, an instinctive urge. Throwing his head against the border, Eobard eventually managed to break through the hard surface, before being abruptly blinded by the bright light. The instinct faded quickly, leaving Eobard confused in the aftermath. And armless. As he looked around confusedly, a familiar voice echoed. Hello little one Yes, Eobard knew this voice. It belonged to the weird snake woman who often dressed in eastern clothing, often bringing along her brother to peruse and buy the snacks the snakes liked.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. He never judged of course. The snacks had specifically been tailor made for the serpent taste, so he never thought much of it when a snakeperson bought it. He merely smiled when the pair claimed it was for the children. Now this voice reverberated around him, louder than it had ever been before. It was booming. Eobard soon realized that he had emerged from a shell, onto a new soft land. Soft like skin... As Eobard slowly began to understand the situation, a chuckling could be heard overhead. How are you doing little Eobard? Feeling a little disoriented? The pleasant voice echoed again, causing Eobard to look up and see the large face of lady Nuwa, causing him to realize. He was on someone''s finger. ''Ah. I''m small right now. And scaled... am I snake?'' He thought, yet there wasn''t much of a ripple in his mind as he looked around. I was hoping for more of a reaction. Came another voice as the other customer he had become accustomed to appeared, two giant faces looming overhead. "Oh it''s you two." Eobard noted looking around curiously. "Did I die and go to Hades? Why are you guys here?" You''re not dead. Fuxi responded, causing Eobard to nod in understanding. "Oh. So I''ve reincarnated." ...I was hoping for more of a reaction." The snakeman complained, causing the earthshaking voice of Nuwa to boom as she giggled. Come now. We''ve met him often enough brother. You know how Eobard is. Yes Eobard, you''ve been reincarnated. How is your new body feeling? Fuxi prodded. "Alien. But I''ll get used to it. Why are you guys here" He asked bluntly, causing Nuwa to tease. Haven''t you figured it out yet child. Nuwa, Fuxi, snake people... "You mean Nuwa, mother of the gorgons?" Eobard asked, causing Fuxi to look a little astonished. What about me?! "Umm, Fuxi, brother to Nuwa?" Ugh. I used to be one of the great emperors of humanity! Now I''m "Nuwa''s brother." A gigantic(normal) sized tail came out, slapping the younger brother over the head as he slinked away, grumbling about the disrespect etc. etc. Aloof as usual child. Nuwa said warmly, chuckling as she looked at the tiny snake in front of her. The silly aloof shopkeeper she had once known seemed to perfectly embody a snake as he seemed even more aloof and indifferent now. I suppose you have some questions. She asked expectantly, and indeed, Eobard did. "Is my shop fine!? Who took over my shop!?" he asked, showing strong emotion for the first time since having been reborn. Your shop''s fine. That silly snakeman''s taken over as per your will, and gotten your secret snakefood formula. Nuwa responded patiently, having already expected his questions. Eobard sighed in relief. Despite his bad tendency to eat a quarter of what he made, Nom Nom was a good snake caretaker, devoted to his job. "And Charlie?" he asked, concerned about the nightglider who avenged him. She''s fine right now. In fact she''s here when you''re ready to see her again. Nuwa said, showing a weird expression as she spoke. I know you won''t ask so I''ll tell you. We are currently in the holy ground of the serpent people. From gorgons to lamia to snakemen, all snake types are welcomed here. Courtesy of the deal I made with Jorvus. You''ve been reborn as a snake, per my request. "Why me?" Eobard asked, and Nuwa smiled. Because you were an eccentric. It''s not hard to find a child with great potential in an empire this large, but to find one so devoted to snakes that he bought a shop just for snakes? To evolve a monster twice to the B-level just because it was a snake? To hire no one else but the snakeman because he enjoyed your snakefood so? So when you died and I thought of the new program proposed to revive our favored dead, who else could I pick but you? "I''m flattered. And a snake now. So do I just nap now or..." Eobard asked, and Nuwa''s smile deepened. That''s the best part. You''re a normal snake now, but I''m allowing you to choose any snake monster yo want to become, and I''ll make you so. It''s within my domain after all, mother of snakes. "Any snake!?" Eobard asked, extremely excited at this moment. Any. She affirmed, pulling out a thick book, one he was quite familiar with. It was his book from the store. An encyclopedia of all the monster snakes, serpents, wyrms, and even eastern dragons ever recorded. It was bigger than he remembered. I turned it into a divine treasure for you, courtesy of my cauldron of creation. It now records all snake monsters to ever exist, as well as their info. My birthday gift to you if you will. It''s also you size now, and can change size accordingly. The area around Eobard shook as Nuwa''s hand lowered. placing the newborn snake down in a miniature house. I''ll leave you here for now. Medusa is probably complaining right now that I''m taking too long. When you''ve made you choice, just ring your bell and I''ll e along to help you change your form. And she disappeared, straight into thin air, upon which Eobard eagerly dived into the book, curious to see all that was recorded. Quetzocoatlisk city serpent slithering stalactites berrysnake serpent of the guarden.
He chose serpent of the guarden. THough Nuwa was initially surprised, she burst into a grin at his response. "I wanted to open another shop. I''ll need a garden for that. This guarden snake grows fruit, perfect for me to make my old feed." She chuckled as she shook her head. Even now, you are stuck on that shop. Eobard made no comment, for indeed, he had focused on what was best for the shop. Berrysnake had been tempting had it not been for the fact that the guarden snake could raise livestock. I am now sure I did not choose wrong. Very well! she said, clapping her hands. From now on, you will be a guarden snake!" Boom! A heavy cauldron dropped from the air causing the ground to shake. Hop in! Eobard lept in without hesitation, as Nuwa set forth to do what she did best. Creation.
It took a week for him to emerge from the cauldron. He was no longer so small, now being 20 feet long, and Nuwa no longer seeming like a giant to him. The change in perspective merely emphasized how small he had been weeks prior. His scales had taken on a corn snake pattern with a small bell hanging under his neck. There was a small pair of horns emerging from the back of his head as well, though they easily blended in with the rest of his scales. He had a rather innocuous appearance, but that was because his abilities were closely tied to the garden he chose, and not with himself. The bell under his head was no normal bell, with it''s ringing capable of bringing great growth to plants in the area. In fact, he saw in his book that one path this form could take was a dragon, where the bell would become a dragon ball. He would remain a snake of course and was unlikely to take the path, but it was something interesting to learn nonetheless. Turning to face the person who''d given him these abilities, he bowed politely to lady Nuwa. "Thank you miss Nuwa." the young man said politely, albeit stiffly. He wasn''t quite a people person. She waved her hand in dismissal. It''s nothing. Now, you said you wanted to open a shop didn''t you? Eobard noded, and she smiled. Well, knowing what you wanted, I bought you a piece of land here in the holy land of serpents, so that you could open your shop freely. They teleported in an instance, appearing in front of a simple shop. This shop wasn''t as impressive as his old shop, but it was enough for Eobard. It fit in better too. The land of snakes was indeed just that. He watched as countless serpents passed by them, and even gogons and lamias appearing in the crowd. For Eobard, it was the dream. A land of just snakes! It was amazing! Eobard was starting to feel excited. Walking in, the layout was practically the same as his old house, contrary to the outward appearance. In fact, he turned around, looking up, expecting to see a familiar shape. And indeed, A large, black, slithering silhouette came down, staring at him curiously. The midnight glider greeted him, with a surprising raspy voice. "Is it... you?" There was a glimmer of hope. Eobard nodded. "It''s good to see you again Charlie. Thanks for getting the assassin before I... passed." To this, though she didn''t say anything, she stiffly nodded, before cooly slithering up to her perch above the roof, curling up quietly. Hmmm. Nuwa hummed, causing Eobard to worriedly ask. "It''s not rude to hang other snakes above the roof is it?" No, it''s fine. Just thinking about, things. She said, her eyes flickering between the two snakes before continuing to talk. Anyway, I copied most of your resources from the old shop and the currency around here is the same as the rest of the empire. So, are you ready? Eobard nodded thankfully, before slithering over into the back of the shop. He was back, and he had so much to do. Sadly, he couldn''t sell snakes any more most likely, but that was fine. A whole new world had revealed itself to him, and he had so much to do. Life as a snake was looking up. Stocking stuffer 4: Dear Santa....
Dear santa, I am going to catch you this year! By the time you''re reading this letter, you''ve already started eating the cookies and milk. I didn''t lace them this year. I tried it last year, to no success. The only person who suffered that day was my poor neighbor Chris Kringle, my wife''s best friend. I don''t like him, but she says he''s full of christmas cheer. I mean sure, he''s a jolly old man but he dresses too flashily for my taste. Far too much red to wear in a day. His wife isn''t much better. The two of them. Too much red between the two of them. A bunch of slobs! Still, they are a rather sweet old couple. Run an orphanage between the two of them, ton of kids. Shame they seem to dress just as garishly, all green, all year. Don''t get it. You''re probably wondering why I''m writing all of this. It''s simple. The poison wasn''t in the food. It was in the chimney! Yes, how could the man who swallows millions of cookies in a day be poisoned by indigestion so easily? I had to come up with more creative means. The whole of the chimney has been laced with a sleeping toxin, designed to knock out 10 full grown elephants. It was hard to lather the chimney in the stuff without anyone noticing, but you never know who''s watching. Sees us when we''re sleeping? More like surveillances us all the time! I see through you, you cunning bastard! There''s no escaping santa! I''ve done everything! I''ve barricaded the windows, blocked all the doors! The vents have been laced as well, ensuring no escape! The toilets clogged by weeks of chipotle! Let''s see you do it now you fatass houdini! I''m coming for you! No more tin foil accusations! Sincerely, Jeff Daverson I''ll be seeing you! Police would arrive at the scene of the incident where the house of Jeff Daverson seemed to have been torn down by a bear, or an equally large, bulborous beast Jeff Daverson himself would attest that "santa claus" had broken out in a drunken stupor, tearing down his house. It is believed that Jeff inadvertently inhaled the narcotics placed in the chimney as he applied it, causing the hallucinations.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. The "claus" in question is believed to be a bear. Perhaps driven away by his insanity, many of his neighbors such as kindly old Kris Kringle and his orphanage of children moved away. Kindly old Chris Kringle was a friendly, if mildly indisposed old man, who seemed to have suffered some form of narcotic.
Dear Santa, last year I asked you for a brother. Can you take him back? I like my new brother but daddy doesn''t seem to like him very much. I don''t know why. Sure, brother looks a little different from us, but that''s fine. I still like him. But daddy doesn''t and keeps calling him "the devil''s son". I think he''s exaggerating. My brother doesn''t have demon horns! He has reindeer horns! Silly daddy. He''s very funny looking. He also has a glowing red nose! Mr. Farnsworth our friendly priest comes over more often too, though he seems rather mean nowadays. He keeps tying up my new baby brother and splashing him with water. I don''t get it. But it seems to make everyone very upset. I like my baby brother, but he seems to make everyone upset. So santa, could you take him back? From, Barbara Later that year, the mysterious red nosed child disappeared along with his sister Barbara Lewis. The story of Rudolph the red nosed reindeer would later spread...
Dear Santa Claus, This is a formal notice calling you to attend the court hearing this upcoming 25th, on the case of Claus V Brooks on the charge of second degree murder. The accuser, Randy Brooks and his grandfather Brooks sr., bore witness to the tragedy last christmas, where the accused was driving recklessly The defendant was seen by two eyewitnesses last christmas, diving his vehicles through the street before crashing into the prosecution''s grandmother/wife. As stated by the young Randy Brooks, "Grandma got ran over by a reindeer". The witnesses were overly distraught by the incident, with the grandmother having suffered a hoof to the head, causing severe brain trauma, leading to death shortly thereafter. Mr. Claus is expected to arrive at the court at 8:00 am to defend himself. From, The department of justice P.S. if mr. Claus does not show up to the expected date, a public defendant will be assigned to the case and to defend on his behalf.
Dear Santa, I don''t think you should come this year. Last year, mommy saw you kissing daddy, and she was real mad She said a lot of bad words that daddy said I couldn''t say. Mommy says she''s gotten over it, but she feels mad. When I asked mommy if santa would come over this year, she said that if he did, she would make you a eunuch! What''s a eunuch Santa? Daddy seems very scared when I say those words, while mommy seems very happy. She''s been sharpening all the knives in the kitchen recently. It''s been so noisy. I wish mommy would keep it down, but she seems very happy whenever she does it. Mommy laughs funny. She''s been acting funny since last year. She used to tell me that you can''t catch santa claus, but this year she put a trap in the chimney. Daddy seems very scared now, he no longer invites uncle Richard anymore. Uncle Richard used to come over for sleepovers, but recently he''s too busy to come over. I miss him. He never shows up anymore. I think he''s a little scared of mommy. Even daddy stays at work later. So dear Mr. Claus, please don''t come back. I don''t want to see mommy killing santa claus. Sincerely, Donna Conner Santa claus was later sighted fleeing the Connor house with great urgency, with many believing it had to do with the liquid leaking from the sleigh. stocking stuffer 5:: Reincarnated as the son of the 6-eared macaque, meeting the uncles! Bill felt curious about his newfound stature. He had not merely grown another pair of ears after all. He had grown taller as his limbs had stretched, becoming more human-like in length. This was expected. His father had told him that the large macaque form he had seen was merely an incarnation, and nothing like his true form, which had human like proportions. As he grew closer to his father''s appearance, he would grow to appear more human obviously. The change wasn''t merely physical either, as he found a newfound sense of power emerging, as he felt his power spike, far stronger than before. It was ridiculous that he could get stronger merely by hearing the rumors of others. It made him curious about his father, who had been absorbing rumors for ages, and profiting from the same energy as he had, yet still unable to break into the 6th rank. How hard was it to break into the 6th rank? It wasn''t merely that sense of strength that amazed him, but this increased ability to detect the world around him. It was amazing. His ears were already capable, but now? With a mere twitch of his four ears, he could hear across the whole city. Nothing was hidden from him. Even the magic formations were nothing before him, as those sound isolation magic circles were easily pierced by his will. Wonderful! Remembering what his father had promised him, Bill eagerly jumped back into the world Tree space. It was time to go meet his uncles.
Seeing Bill reach the four-eared state, the 6 eared looked quite happy as, though he grudgingly agreed to take him to meet his uncles. In order to do so, they took a flying nimbus. It reminded him of a certain legend... Yet when he turned t ask he merely received a warning glance which stopped him from asking. From asking that question. He still had plenty of other things to ask. "What was the prehistoric age like?" Bill asked, and Liuer paused, as if recollecting. It was a violent time. You humans have no idea how good you have it now. For the weak, it was hell, being trampled upon by the strong. And for the strong, it was paradise. Many of the top powers of today were born from the prehistoric age. Even then, the 5 were gathered. The qilin, qinglong, baihu, xuanwu, zhuque... there were others in that group of course. A great insect tyrant, a turtle that could control time. But only the 5 of them survived to the modern day. The macaque reminisced, lost in old memories, flying over the empire. "Wow! What about you guys?" Hmmph! Us three? We were born strong! The prehistoric period was our playground! Nothing stood in our way! I mean, there were a few obstacles... The monkey backtracked quietly as he continued, telling tales of great violence They were simple stories, for they were tales of violence. There was little else to talk about in Liuer''s eyes. It painted a picture of the prehistoric world, one painted in blood. Bill found himself a bit bored by the tales of blood, so he shifted gears, choosing to ask about other things. "You said before the prehistoric age, there was another. A war of scales. What was that like." The macaque paused, as he recollected once more, but hesitated. This... I know little about. "BUt aren''t you the 6-eared macaque? Surely you should''ve picked up some things!?" The macaque laughed awkwardly as it explained. Bill, to ear something requires someone to speak. Whether it be out loud, or silently in their own mind, a speaker is necessary. The war of scales was before the prehistoric age. The number of people still alive from that time are few. And those few, I cannot hear through. My abilities are great, but for those of that level, it is easy to block my hearing. Still... I have heared things. The bigger monkey drew out, causing the younger one to impatiently stomp, and Liuer laughed before continuing. The prehistoric age to you was violent, but it was nothing compared to the age of scales. The prehistoric age was an age of survival. There was great injustice, great brutality, and plenty of death, yes. But that was life. The war of scales... was bloodshed. A war between two great fronts, a war that spanned countless eons, a war said to be even longer than the prehistoric age. We know the dragons were one side in this war. In these times, there were no color dragons, no metal dragons, no eastern dragons, wyverns, nothing. Simply dragons. Creatures with a similar body to today''s easter dragons, but they were scaleless. One survivor told me that the dragons of then resembled today''s axolotl''s to some extent. Dragons then, purely used mana. There were no qi type dragons. Their enemies were many, creatures of boundless physical strength. The first qi users. They had scales, beautiful, hard scales. It is called the war of scales by those who know, for it is said, that dragons began using scales as proof of their victory, a form of trophy over the losers. Less spoken about is the fact that todays giant dragons, or the western ones, take many of their features from their enemies, from the wings to the general body shape, and that the eastern dragons took on their physiques, and improved them, becoming the qi dragons seen today. Much of what we respect in dragons today is what they''ve taken from the losers. "If their enemies were so great, then how did the dragons win? It sounds like most of a dragon''s greatest features come from these great foes." Bill questioned, and the macaque gave a wide grin. They cheated of course! The only way to defeat a foe equal to your level. They- The macaque created a pregnant pause, as the grin turned malicious. Oops. Trips over. We''re here now! "Wait, but the age of scales!" Oh well, better luck next time. You wouldn''t want to make uncle Wuzhiqi waiting would you? The older macaque teased, dissipating the nimbus and leaving poor Bill with no room to discuss. The two of them had arrived by a river surrounded by sand, indicating that they had stopped in a dessert. There was a variety of wildlife sorrounding the large river, with slithered through the vast swaths of yellow. Monkeys were clearly the dominant group, with a pack of them leisurely sitting by the lake, merely watching with curiosity as they approached, showing no fear, and even a hint of playfulness. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. yin-yang monkeys, The females absorb yin, the men absorb yang. They''re a species established using brother''s blood as the foundation. "Doesn''t that mean uncle Wuzhiqi should be somewhere nearby? As Bill commented that, the water bubbled and a huge head emerged from the water, a stark white head, followed by broad, black shoulders. The ape like creature was huge, easily over 100 feet tall, looking like a mix between an ape and a baboon. Bill had seen the black shoulders, but quickly realized that it was not merely the shoulders, but all the fur under the head was black. The rattling of chains could be heard, causing Bill to curiously look at the source A large chain dangled from the neck of the large ape, broken off at the third link. A booming voice reverberated through the room, as Wuzhiqi warmly welcomed them. Brother! You''ve finally brought me a nephew! Did you finally convince sister Pheme? Something like that. Liuer said, smiling somewhat bitterly. Wuzhiqi chuckled, as he observed little Bill. 4 ears already. Soon enough you''ll have 6 ears! Wuzhiqi praised, and Bill smiled as he bowed and showed respect. "Greetings uncle Wuzhiqi! Thank you for your good wishes. I''ll try!" I know you will! If you''re a son of Liuer, you no doubt have the same gossipy nature! He chuckled. Liuer looked around. Is brother gibbs not here yet? Shouldn''t you know that already? Wuzhiqi asked, and Liuer snorted, showing a look of annoyance. Lord Jorvus has been putting my ears to work nonstop. They''re a little overworked currently. I''m still being worked to death currently monitoring players. Why else would I only send one of my incarnations here? Fair. I''m glad I don''t have any useful abilities like you. Wuzhiqi commented, showing a teasing smile, causing his brother to grumble. Whatever... They didn''t have to wait long for the third brother, as he made his appearance thunderingly. A large monkey hand appeared out of nowhere, attached to a long arm which reached into the air indefinitely, where Bill could not see its end. Ziiiiiip! A weird sound occurred as Bill witnessed an equally ridiculous sight. A gibbon was sliding down the arm. No, the gibbon was sliding down his own arm. Despite knowing the legend, seeing it was another thing entirely, as he watched the arm pass through the gibbons body as he slid down. He looked like a plain gibbon in many ways, having no particularly special aspect to him, yet there was a sense of auspiciousness to the beast. Once it landed on the ground, the arm flew back from the endless reach, as his arms shortened back to normal gibbon size. They were still long, long as a gibbon''s arms are meant to be, but nothing like the indescribably distance they were earlier. According to his father, uncle gibbon cold grasp entire mountains this way, even pulling down golden crows from the sky in the prehistoric age with this technique. Unrelatedly, he was good at discerning truths and destroying illusions, Bill soon noticed the sound of breathing as another small gibbon head popped out of the fur of his uncle. "Nephew greets uncle gibbon and cousin!" he said politely and the old gibbon chuckled stretching his arm out and patting the young macaque''s head. Good, good! You are more polite than your father was when he was young. The gibbon recollected, causing the macaque to look away embarrasedly, and Wuzhiqi to cackle, only for the gibbon to scold him too. Little Liuer may have stuck his ears where they do not belong but I recall a certain younger brother who used to pick fights everywhere. Were it for the generosity of the last scaled king and kind Nuwa, you would''ve been squashed a hundred times over already. And what about you? Little liuer has finally brought me a nephew, but you have yet to give me a nephew or a niece! The gibbon scolded, causing Wuzhiqi to complain. I consider this whole tribe my children... Do you dare claim so! Nuwa helped you make this race. If you claim to be the father of this race... The gibbon trailed off, yet his eyes gleamed with eagerness, curious to see how Wuzhiqi would speak. He was dissapointed. I dare not! I dare not! The gibbon rolled his eyes before prying the young gibbon off his back. Whatever. Meet your newest nephew. Little Dwingli. He said presenting the young gibbon, who had a small fire alit on top of his head. This one has an aspect of fire on him. Wuzhiqi noted, as he sniffed, and the gibbon shrugged. Yup. I was thinking of giving him to one of Hestia''s attendants given his nature. He casually commented. Bil wasn''t too surprised. The gibbon was classified as a divine beast; though he was in a sense giving his children away as pets, it was more accurate to say that he was giving them positions, ensuring the security of their future. It was weird, but not altogether unheard of down in the mortal world. Bill wasn''t even offended at the thought of something similar happening to himself. To become the servant of the divine was hardly a bad position to receive. But to whom would he go to? Hmmmm.... As Bill pondered this question, Wuzhiqi asked Liuer this time. I doubt you called us back together just to meet up brother. As much as I enjoy these little meetups, I am quite curious as to your plans this time. He said directly, and the gibbon looked over as well as he groomed his child. Liuer chuckled. Bill has gained his second set of ears, meaning he''s opened up one of the main talents of my family: skill mimicry. What better talents to steal than the talents of our very own family? Hearing this, Wuzhiqi nodded proudly. Of course! There are few families out there as great as ours! We''ve outlasted nearly every clan of the prehistoric age! The golden crows, the white sabers, the leviyatins(real whale species), even the megalodon clans are nothing before ours. Shame we can''t get the youngest in on this. He grumbled that last part, mildly displeased with the youngest in question. The gibbon nodded with understanding. Indeed. Though he cannot completely copy our skills until he completes his ability to mimic, he can still learn our great techniques. Wuzhiqi''s ability to extend his life as well as his understanding of yin and yang, and my ability to witness the truth of the world and ability to "grab stars" should be quite useful starter techniques for the boy. He said it with ease, yet were any normal person to hear this, they would stamp their feet with frustration. Starter skills!? The ability to extend one''s life by centuries was something all cultivators dream of. ANd as his level grew, that ability could enter thousands to millions of years. Of course, to the immortal monkeys, this meant nothing, but for Bill who was merely a demigod and thus restrained by lifespan, this was a huge blessing, giving him an extended period to reach the rank of god. And this was merely a side effect of yin and yang! The ability to witness the truth had meany counterparts in this world, yes, but few as well developed as one honed over millions of years. Perhaps only the full form of the skill appraisal could compete, something the system had intentionally locked away. To grab stars was equally terrifying. Though he couldn''t actually grab the stars, this skill allows him to grab things far larger than him, and shrink it to fit his palm. If it sounded like the skill the buddha once used on Sun Wukong, of course it did! Who else could the bald donkey learn it from?! Humans after all, did not exist in the prehistoric age.Their foundation was shallow, and though they learned many things on their own innovation, to say they copied many skills would be an understatement. It is said that Pangu''s very own axe technique was based off the skills of the immortal tyrant, a loser of the scale war. The yin-yang ape chuckled, as he eyed the young gibbon meaningfully. We even have a little playmate for the young macaque to practice with once he''s absorbed our skills. The young gibbon shivered, hugging his father closely to avoid the cold. THe gibbon shot Wuzhiqi a look, but did not verbally disagree, quietly acquiescing. It was not a bad thing to refine a child''s temperament after all. Once Bill snapped out of his thoughts,he found the three chaos monkeys staring at him meaningfully. Why were they looking at him like that?
Once he heard their ideas, he too was extremely excited. It was true, that gossip to him was the first love. Knowledge, especially nowledge not meant to be shared was his greatest joy. That did not mean he disliked strength. Who dislikes strength? It was strength that gave the right to eavesdrop, otherwise he''d merely be caught and beaten again. He hadn''t succumbed to torture, but that hardly meant that he wanted to repeat that incident. Wuzhiqi went first. Wuzhiqi began practicing in the air, throwing punches, changing stances. His aura was at times overwhelming, dominating, strong, yet other times it became elegant, beautiful, lingering in the heart of the viewer. Bill felt it, as his ears quivered, taking it all in The 6 eared macaque is able to hear more than just sound. It was able to hear all things, from thoughts to rhythm, to the very laws themselves. He could hear it. Yin and yang. The gibbon chuckled lightly as he watched, the young gibbon also looking on curiously. You know something funny? Because of his in depth control of yin and yang, Wuzhiqi is able to change between a man and woman. "Really!?" he asked both astonished and curious. The gibbon nodded, with a teasing look aimed at the other brother. Poor wuzhiqi kept moving, yet a look of embarrassment was seen on his face. Liuer continued this thought with a gloating look. Indeed, indeed! Back when he first discovered the power of faith, Wuzhiqi wanted to explore it as the path to the 6th level. So he often turned into a beautiful human woman, to lure more followers in. It failed of course, only leaving him with the embarrassing memories to cherish. He said it with a gloating look, changing into a stunning eastern woman and speaking. I''m wuzhiqi, goddess of this river. Pray an lick my feet! I didn''t sound like that! Wuzhiqi roared furiously, stopping midway through and lunging at Liuer, the two locked in combat. The yin yang apes had begun chanting and whooping as they witnessed the glorious fight. The gibbon sighed, clearly used to the struggle between siblings as he turned to Bill. Well, now is as good as any time to show you some of my techniques. The gibbon raised his hand and it grew no, it''d be accurate to say everything else shrank. All the yin yang apes, the river beside them, and even the fighting brothers were now small before the hand of the interconnected arm gibbon. The only reason Bill even knew he had been shrunken was the large furry face looking down on all of them, as well as the five mountains in the distance. Any who had read journey to the wes would understand what had happened. A flux of knowledge entered his brain as the technique was absorbed seamlessly. The voice of the gibbon echoed all around. Others have claimed that I can grab the sun and the stars by reaching out. For when man was young, they watched as I caught a golden crow with one palm, when the clan was still plentiful. Once you''ve reached the right level, you can suppress all things with one palm. Watch. With that one word, the sky itself was covered in darkness as a large ceiling came rushing down, crushing the two fighting brothers. Dammit gibbon! I was beating him! If my real body was here I''d slap you silly! Roared Liuer, yet all he could do was suffer a slapping. So Bill got to watch his father and uncle suffer a beating at the hands of their senior brother. It was a fun family gathering overall. He never found out about his uncle''s nasty idea of sparring with the young gibbon, as only the brothers played that day. The long armed gibbon got the last laugh that day. Book 2 chapter 13: Cooperation "How is it flying?" The sheer energy necessary to lift such a structure into the air..." Richard muttered curiously, overlooking the land below and Que smiled as he explained. "You''re right, for a normal magic stone, the sheer consumption would be immense, and similarly, the magic core of a normal monster couldn''t do it. But kaiju have giant magic cores with enough energy to power a city. A level 1 kaiju core is the size of a dog, and a size 5 core, which is what''s being used to power this fortress is the size of a large house. And size 10? Well, it''s hard to tell really. We only have one sample of those." He paused for dramatic pause, showing a teasing smile, before finally speaking. "It''s the size of this building." Hearing this, Richard''s mind went blank, as he imagined the sheer size of sucha structure. This building was huge! ANd that core was the size of this entire building? At this moment, sister Alexandria spoke up. "I''ve never heard of the Australian federation killing a class 10 kaiju though. You''ve only ever managed to drive him away." Hearing this, Richard was left curious. Indeed, where had they seen a class 10 core then? No living creature would ever let another look at their core willingly, for such a thing to happen would mean they are dead already. Que responded coyly. "Indeed. We do manage to drive out Dominion every time. And how do you think we''ve managed to do so?" he asked. This, Richard knew a little about. "I''ve read about this. Supposedly they have a giant golem called mecha orochi, who only appears to drive out the singular class 10 kaiju Dominion. Wait, you mean...?" To this, Que nodded. "Indeed, mecha orochi contains a class 10 magic core. He''s a well known guardian of the people, and so is the size of his magic core. So you know, not much of a secret. It''s a fun fact often taught to children to emphasize the sheer size of kaiju." "To think so much energy can be produced by a single kaiju core. How many people it could help." Frodo noted thoughtfully, but the commander solemnly responded. "Perhaps, but it is a salvation paid in blood. A kaiju body contains plenty of tonics, but the cost to deal with a kaiju wave is measured in hundreds of lives.You''re lucky that from what we can tell, these smaller holes are nowhere the size as the tunnel in Australia. Because of that, the most powerful kaiju you''ll see is a class 5. " The commander''s voice brought a solemn tone to the room, reminding them about what was to come, and the cost of such wonderful energy. "How strong is a class five?" Olivia asked and the commander paused as he thought about it. "It''s hard to measure in your ranks. In Australia, we rank kaiju by levels, 1-10, which are in turn, based on the sheer power and size of a creature. Dominion and mecha orochi for example, are the only class 10 kaiju we''re aware of, being hundreds of meters in size. A class one kaiju, conversely, tend to be up to 5 meters in size. If I had to estimate though, the threat level of a level 5 kaiju would be around S-rank for you. " he said, after much contemplation. SSSS! Richard took in a deep breath in astonishment at the claim. A class 5 kaiju would be considered an S-rank? Then the other 5 ranks would be beyond S rank! Olivia seemed dubious about the claim as she spoke up. "Really? ''m not trying to dismiss your claim, but to say a mere class 5 kaij could be considered an S-class threat..."she trailed off, and seeing where she was going with the point, the commander explained. "I say an S-class, but at least half the threat comes from its pure size, which increases the amount of mayhem it can cause, and diminishes the amount of damage small creatures like us can deal to it. Class 5 kaijus easily grow above 50 meters, making the amount of damage one of your a-class adventurers can do is minimal. I say S-rank because only the S-ranks could do any amount of palpable amounts of damage to threaten such a kaiju. You also have to consider the fact that during a wave, a class 5 kaiju is often surrounded by class 4s and 3s, increasing the threat they pose. Over the years we''ve managed to deal with it by sorrounding the tunnel with our own armaments, ready at a moment''s notice to be besieged whenever a surprise wave occurs. Even then, some manage to slip the net. Do not underestimate the kaiju." Hearing this, Olivia nodded, her questions answered, only to leave her more solemn than before. After all, this would very much be their problem soon. Richard didn''t think they were in any real danger.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Sister Alexandria was here after all, and as a creature that scared even the gods, he was sure she was strong enough to protect them. But that was the problem with the kaiju. They were huge, behemoths of destruction. According to the commander, class 5 kaijus can easily hit 50 meters, which spoke volumes as to how large these beasts can get. After all, that was only a class 5. What about class 6? Class 7? He was glad they would be facing a minimum class 5, but even then, he had to consider the amount of destruction this class 5 would cause. He felt... partly responsible. After all, the man behind all of this was his father. Even if he did not regard him so. Whatever the case was, ultimately he decided it was partially his responsibility to help as many people as he can. Before he could speak up, the commander spoke instead, looking at them seriously. "I know that it''ll be dangerous, but I have to ask: would you be willing to help us? Frankly, there''s no guarantee this wave will happen, but we have to be prepared for the worst. And we could use all the help we could get." Richard stepped forth, choosing to volunteer. "If I can, I''m willing to help." "Well, guess I''m in." sighed one large rat and Olivia and Frodo were not far behind, volunteering their aid. "Of course." Ellie said straightforwardly. Sister Alexandria merely quietly nodded, while Achil said nothing at all, playing with Alexandria''s tail distractedly. But it was enough. The commander smiled in relief upon hearing their affirmation. They would need anyone they could get after all. "I appreciate your participation." the commander said with a grin, before explaining. "We''re going to need help at the periphery. The greatest danger isn''t the frontline, but ensuring none of them escape into the civilian landscape. WIth kaiju, the only thing we''re ever short of is people." Que decided to speak as well. "We''ve already began collaborating with the dwarves to prepare for the worst case scenario, so preparations have already begun, but its less than we hoped. After all, we weren''t even sure it would play out in the first place. It was hard to convince the dwarves to begin, though less difficult once we told them we could build unique structures for dealing with kaiju. They became more enthusiastic after we showed them the designs." "I''m surprised you''re willing to show them such valuable designs." Olivia commented, to which Que responded seriously. "When it comes to kaiju, we put interests second to safety. I wouldn''t say we are the most united group in existence, but the overhanging threat of kaiju can''t be ignored. Besides, we may have given them some useful info, but nothing above class 6 anti-kaiju technology. That''s the kind of stuff the big families aren''t willing to part with easily." No one in the room found that particularly surprising. It was already amazing that the federation was willing to devote this much effort to helping foreign territories with little to no connection with them. Not even the tower, a major organization of magic with unanimously supported the empire, would be willing to fork over their greatest trade secrets. This was already a great show of faith on the federation''s part. "Then we the empire owe you a great deal." Lysandre said sincerely, and Que merely waves his hand. "Nonsense. This is to our benefit as well as yours. The more people who are aware of kaiju, the better. That way, we can better understand them." He said with a great sincerity, and even eagerness. Hearing this, the commander chuckled. "Que is part of the faction who believes that we should focus more on studying the kaiju and their unique nature. I don''t disagree of course, the better we understand our enemies, the safer we are. It''s just that no one''s ever been able to get to the core of it. It''s basically a hopeless endeavor." He said, the last part said with a sense of hopelessness. It was understandable from Richard''s perspective. He hadn''t read much on the hollow earth, but anyone who has read up on it would understand the hopelessness of such a study. It was said to be a tunnel that extended hundreds of miles, if not thousands downwards into the kaiju lair, with no idea of when another wave would erupt. To be caught up in the midst of a wave would be death. Que responded with a smile. "Indeed, no one''s ever been able to determine why the kaiju are the way they are so deviated from the nature of qi type beings or monsters. For that matter, we don''t understand why they keep emerging from the Earth in waves, and what''s actually going on down there. But I think it''s important to always wonder about it and to speculate about it. As much as we hate them, much of the Federation is built upon the kaiju. Dare I say it, without the kaiju, our refuge ancestors all those years ago may have easily began fighting one another and failed to form the federation of today without such a dangerous threat as well as valuable resource. Much of our current labour force is maintained by low level kaiju we''ve domesticated, which has dealt with much of our labour costs as well as resources. And just as they were what allowed the nation to exist, I believe they are also the key to our prosperity. They are the key to our future." he summarized with confidence. "Oh, so he''s just koo koo for kaiju then." Panda jabbed and Que laughed. "I suppose so, yes. I am as you put it, koo koo for kaiju. Perhaps you will feel similarly once you''ve seen a few in person." he said, with a hint of teasing, causing the squirrel to perk up in curiosity. "... Do you have some?" He asked, genuinely curious and the commander responded with confidence. "Of course! One of the best ways to deal with kaiju are other kaiju, so of course we''ve brought some to help reinforce mountain city. Whether or not we''ll sell them or not is a whole other thing entirely. The ones we''ve brought this time happen to belong to one of the great families. Drop bears. Not the strongest kaiju out there, but they are quite adept, nimble, and decently strong. A valued resource to be sure, especially since the strongest in recorded history have hit the 5th level. But if you just want to see them, that''s easy. Que here can take you to see some of them. In fact, his very own drop bear is on this ship." Even sister Alexandria looked curious as she got up, and Achil reluctantly followed. The rest of the group were like eager children as they got up, much to the commander''s amusement. "Que can take you there to meet his drop bear. It''s rather tame compared to most of his race." he said, volunteering the writer wholeheartedly. Though he didn''t volunteer verbally, he didn''t seem against the idea either. Even with the impending danger of a kaiju wave, the curiosity of what a kaiju looked like itched at the group. Nay, perhaps it''d be more accurate to say that the approach of a kaiju wave drove that curiosity. Lysandre still asked. "Are you sure? Surely Que must be a bit busy right now with the upcoming wave..." The commander interrupted and denied the statement. "No, Que is more of a scientist. For the next part, his role is far less. And you know," he said, leaning in and whispering. "He could use a distraction from his wife, so you know, feel free to distract him with some drop bear time, hmm?" he asked quietly. This made the suggestion even more appealing. After all, they had participated in the rescue operation, and knew of her poor condition. Something to further distract the writer Que from his troubles was not a bad thing. Well, and they wanted to see these kaiju. What were "Drop Bears?" Book 2 chapter 14: Drop Bear Que soon led them to a large gate, which still fit within the confines of the structure, further proving the immense size of the building they were currently in. It left Richard curious how large the building in the Australian federation were. Were they all this size? Was it unique in its nature, or did they have many such buildings? Though it seemed unreasonable to him, it wasn''t impossible either. After all, from what they were told, this structure was powered by a middle of the road kaiju. With this understanding, as well as the fact that they were able to control and manage what was considered a 10th level kaiju, it was safe to assume this flying fortress wasn''t the only of its kind. The idea of a fleet of such flying buildings was... terrifying. Que spoke with a guard who was standing in front of the gate. It was a quick conversation, and soon the gate opened up. A rush of a foul, musky odor unique to wild creatures rushed past them, as the sound of large grunting beasts could be heard. What came into sight was bears. Huge bears That was the first thought that came into Richard''s mind as he best compared it to any other creature he had ever seen. The "bears" were rather large, with the smallest being a clear four meters tall. Large, lumbering grey beasts, the way they sat, hunched over was quite similar to the bears he''d seen out in the wild. But while most of their body shape was similar to bears, their heads were different. Giant fluffy round ears, like two giant pads attached to the top of its head. And a rather funny looking snout he had ever seen. They were rather cute lumbering beasts... were it not for the bloody leaves they were eating. They were consuming weird looking plants, not weird in their structure, but the blood like liquid that poured out of the plants, exuding a thick scent of metal. Lysandre let out a "cute" inadvertently. causing those who knew her to sigh helplessly. Yeah, that was Lysandre alright. The things she found cute were cute things, but they all had a hint of ferocity. Bears, killer rabbits, hounds, and many other monsters that were often more violent than their normal counterparts. It often left RIchard a little confused about himself, whom Lysandre had also called cute a few times. If he asked his friend Olivia and Frodo, they would''ve laughed. Richard was a perfect definition. Normally a very reserved and handsome person contrary to his own view of himself, he was extremely vicious when people threatened people he cared about. The very first interaction he had after reuniting with Lysandre was example enough. He was like a golden retriever who had just come back with a man''s throat hanging from his mouth, confused that he was being called vicious. Cute, but terrifying at times. Que chuckled, as he voiced his agreement. "Indeed, they are are rather cute even with the bloodstains around their mouths. They are messy eaters." he said, walking by them. Despite their ferocious temperament, they were completely uninterested in the people walking by them. Que began to introduce the interesting creature before them. "These are dropbears. We call them that in part due to their physiques, which due to the hollow earth energy has mutated into a body shape akin to a bear. They aren''t actually bears by the way. They''re a mutated form of koala we found near the hollow earth in our early years of pioneering." He walked up to one, waving his hand in front of it. The enlarged koala merely looked over, seeing nothing in hand, showed a look of distaste and looked away. "The original dropbears we encountered were extremely vicious beasts. THat''s another reason we called them dropbears. They used to drop from above and tear apart unsuspecting people. Koalas specifically eat eucalyptus leaves to the point of death. Koalas will eat eucalyptus leaves only, and they have to be on the branch. If they''re not, they won''t even recognize them as food. Of course, as kaiju, they have a higher need for consumption, especially in terms of protein. Luckily, there was a species of eucalyptus we found that was similarly mutated to a larger proportion. Bloody eucalyptus. In fact, dropbears don''t kill people to eat. They kill them to feed them to the bloody eucalyptus, nourishing the plants and thus nourishing them. And like koalas, they recognize nothing but the bloody eucalyptus as food. Once we realized that, they became much easier to domesticate. Once you control the eucalyptus, you control them. Were they a higher rank of kaiju, the situation would be different, but drop bears rarely go above the rank of 3, making them manageable by human hands. " Hearing this, Olivia looked curious and she asked. "Where did you find them? I thought kaiju came from the hollow earth? You didn''t find them in the tunnels did you?" The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Que looked excited as he continued to explain. "While nowadays they are a lot harder to find, back in the day when our people first arrived, there were kaiju all over the land of Australia. It was a dangerous time for sure. Even though kaiju above the 5th level always choose to return underground after a while, many below the 5th level chose to stay above ground once they arrive. We believe it is due to the lack of competition or threats from higher level kaiju being nonexistent there. As for the high level kaiju, we believe that the energy is far more abundant underground, and more suitable for the living condition of kaiju. And for high level kaiju, the concentration of energy is necessary for long term survival. Frankly speaking, without the immense luck we had when we first arrived at Australia, there''s no doubt that the expedition would''ve failed, and the federation you know today would never be." He paused in front of a larger gate before cheerfully responding. "We''re here! This is my partner., Filo." The drop bear in front of them was different from the others. For one thing, it dwarfed the other drop bears, nearing twenty meters all. Still smaller than sister Alexandria, but larger than him. (note, I''ll be using meters and I think I''m setting RIchard''s height to 10 meters. Realized that meters sound easier.) And while the others were grey, the one before them had a shade of gold on it, causing it to have a metallic texture. It''s temperament was a bit different too, as thought it clearly disregarded all else but its master, it didn''t have the same ferocity in its eyes, having a more calm and distant demeanor. The eucalyptus it was eating was quite different too, and unlike the bleeding plants from before, this one was almost like a metal statue of a eucalyptus. The most fascinating thing were the large black patches around its eyes. They were a greatly distinguishing feature, that made it clear to all that this best was different from the other dropbears. As Que approached it, a joyful look appeared in his eyes as he raised his arms up, and the bear fondly responded, Cuddling with its human partner. The difference between friends and strangers could be seen here. "Filo and I have been acquainted since a young age. This is to ensure the bond of intimacy between rider and partner, since dropbears tend to be cold, but not violent, towards those they view as outsiders. A rather close-minded species, which took us having a very tight grip on eucalyptus to work around. You must''ve noticed that he''s a lot bigger than the rest. Unlike the others, Filo is a class 4 kaiju." Hearing this, Lyssandre had a look of disbelief as she looked at the beast with a questioning look on her face. "You said that class five kaijus can reach 50 meters, but Filo seems rather small in comparison..." she said with uncertainty, but Olivia decisively refused. "It does seem smaller than you would expect for such a claim, and yet the level of danger it gives off is greater." she said, observing the dropbear carefully with a hint of fear in her expression and sister Alexandria nodded in agreement. "Yes. Olivia''s been a hunter longer than you have so she has a better sense of this than you do. The threat of this dropbear is not low." she said in a rather high form of praise. Unlike Olivia, there was no fear in her expression, only surprise and genuine praise. It didn''t surprise him that much. Sister Alexandria could be considered amongst the top powers of this world, able to compete with the Gods themselves. If this small, class four kaiju could threaten her, then Richard would have to reconsider te threat level of these kaiju. Que looked proud. "Yup. Although it''s smaller than most kaiju of its rank, the dropbears are more athletic and capable of navigating the battlefield. And despite their diminutive size, dropbears condense their weight into that smaller size so that when they drop from the air, the impact is that much greater. "Like a cannonball!" Lyssandre said in realization and Que nodded. Sister Alexandria still looked rather curious as she asked another question. "I couldn''t help but notice that this beast seems to have... mutated. I wonder if this has anything to do with its higher level?" Hearing this, Que looked pretty surprised. "So you noticed? " he paused before asking. "Do you know what a bloodline is?" "I know a little." she responded and Que showed a genuine look of surprise. "Really? We''ve been asking around the empire, and we noticed that most people here don''t know much about bloodlines. We didn''t know much either initially. It was only during our time exploring the qing empire''s hollow earth tunnel that we learned a bit." He added the second part, as if afraid of coming off as rude. No one really took it to heart. After all, bloodline was a little known thing. THe only reason the group here even knew was partially due to Richard''s own resources from the system, which was willing to answer much of what it considered general knowledge, and sister Alexandria, who knew much befitting someone of her power and status. "So this mutation has to do with its bloodline then?" "Indeed, we encountered an opportunity in the qing empire, where Filo here managed to absorb the gold eating beast, the ancestor of today''s iron-eating beasts/pandas, which seem to be a hollow-earth influenced species. It allowed Filo here, as well as a handful of other dropbears and iron eating beasts to increase their potential. They''re calling this new group the golden body dropbear. The rest are currently being bred back in the facilities since their potential is clearly higher than normal dropbears, though we''re waiting to see what their reproduction rates are before we see how we''ll distribute them. Hearing this, Frodo couldn''t help but sigh contentedly. "To think we would get to witness the dawn of a new lifeform. A truly great blessing indeed." RIchard found himself drawn to the eucalyptus in the dropbears hand. "What kind of plant is that?" he asked and Que responded patiently. "A hybrid breed. After the emergence of this new species we found that the dropbears needed a high concentration of gold, so we began breeding the eucalyptus with the iron bamboo that iron eating beasts eat to refine their bodies, which we evolved into the golden stalks. They have a high concentration of minerals, and are unsuitable for personal consump- Crunch! A loud crunch interrupted the conversation as Achil could be seen chewing on one of the eucalyptus stalks, much to Que and Filo''s visible confusion, as the pair shared the same look of confusion. SIster Alexandria reacted immediately. "I don''t suppose we could purchase some of this plant from you? Or even the golden stalks?" Que smiled and spoke accommodatingly. "Of course. We''ve been cultivating both within the castle. After all, these oversized koalas won''t eat anything but the bloody eucalyptus. I''ve been growing the golden stalks separately, since they''re higher in gold concentration than the new hybrid, and Filo now enjoys bamboo. Just consider this part of the favor I owe you." he said graciously, and sister Alexandria thanked him earnestly. Though it took him a moment to figure it out, RIchard soon understood why she took action so quickly. The fact that Achil had taken action so earnestly to eat some of the eucalyptus showed that it was likely good for him in some way, whether it be the high concentration of gold, or perhaps something else in the plant. He suspected it had something to do with his carapace in dragon form. Perhaps by eating the golden stalks he could increase his density? That was merely speculation on his part, and similarly so on sister Alexandria''s part, bt they were monsters. Their instincts were often stronger than the mind, so if Achil''s instincts said it was good, why not buy some? Now that he knew, Richard decided to put saving points and buying some from the shop on the list of reasons to save points. Before anyone else could speak, a large pair of hands emerged from behind Que, pulling him into a deep embrace. He didn''t even resist, willingly falling into the long pair of arms'' embrace. "Que." came the cold, yet affectionate voice, causing Que to tear up a little as he nuzzled up into the embrace. No one said anything, since they recognized the long pair of arms, having recently rescued this person. Who else would Que so willingly fall into the arms of other than his wife? The arachne had woken up. Book 2 chapter 15: Stimulators The wife of Que was a tall woman, being nearly the same size of sister ALexandria, who was far taller than the average human. After the long, silent embrace, the two parted, as the half-arachne expressed her gratitude. "Thank you for saving us from the mine. Without your help, we were unlikely to escape. We owe you a great thank you. If you wish, we can compensate you. Do you perhaps want one of his cubs?" she said calmly, pointing at the confused drop bear, unsure why his cubs were being offered away. "Aru?" "Don''t worry. Thanks to the panda blood, the drop bears seem to develop a disinterest in their cubs, so you don''t have to worry about it." she said, assuring them confidently to the confusion of the drop bear mutation. No one told me that? "It''s fine, really. Que has already offered to sell us some of the bamboo already, which will be of great benefit to our small friend here." Sister ALexandria politely declined, and Richard nodded in agreement, thinking it was already too much that they were taking away this rare variant of bamboo. Besides, none of them were really looking for more companions. After all, they already had enough familiars. Though it had been a while, Richard still had two eggs in his inventory, one of which being a kaiju egg. He had chosen not to hatch it due to the pure consumption of a kaiju, which he did not believe he could maintain. Changing to a rare variant of a dropbear which fed on a rare form of bamboo was respectively, not a good idea all things considered. Thankfully no one suggested accepting her generous offer. Seeing that no one was accepting her offer, she went back to the discussion at hand. "My name is Octavia" she introduced herself politely as we reciprocated, each introducing ourselves. As she did, she observed each of us carefully, before commenting in surprise. "Huh, most of you aren''t human." She turned to look at Que. "And you didn''t take them to the stimulators?" Octavia asked, and Que shook his shoulders helplessly. "You know those are controversial here..." Olivia interrupted, choosing to object. "We came here to help as much as we can, so you may as well tell us everything. As long as it isn''t downright unethical we''re willing to listen." Richard nodded, as did most. Achil didn''t nod, but he also didn''t seem interested in general. Seeing their agreement, Que decided, with some reluctance, to take them to the stimulation room.
Like most of the rooms they had encountered, it was a sterile white room. This had led to some curiosity on RIchard''s part and he finally chose to ask. THe answer surprised him. "Kaiju bones!?" He exclaimed with interest and Que nodded. "The class 10 kaiju Dominion is known for his intense regeneration factor and use of bones often in combat. As a result one of our most common building materials are the bones of the class 10 kaiju dominion. We don''t use it for everything mind you, but for battle type structures, it''s one of the best, especially since it has a slight deterrent effect on kaiju.Not as much on normal monsters, but we don''t see much of those in Australia " Powered by kaiju, built from kaiju, Richard couldn''t help but think about how much kaiju it was. The building was practically a kaiju in its own right. As Que spoke, he spoke vividly,, his wife watching him affectionately as he spoke, playing with his hair a little. Looking at the small vials before him, Richard couldn''t tell what was so unethical about them, so he turned to Que to explain what made these things so controversial. And indeed, the writer did not disappoint, as he explained. "These are stimulation potions that help stimulate the monster blood in a person. For most people, the best that it can really do is increase their strength, or bring out one or two extra features like horns or something, but for people with strong monster blood, it does something amazing. Why don''t I show you instead of telling?" he said nodding to his wife. Octavia stepped forth, popping the vial and drinking it without hesitation. It was clear that this was not an uncommon procedure. She didn''t even flinch as her body warped and morphed, the spider legs on her back painfully shifting downwards, as her human legs changed, transforming into an extra pair of hairy spiderlegs. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Two more stabbed forth from the front, merging to form a ginormous spider underneath her, encompassing everything beneath the waist. An extra pair of eyes grew above her other ones, all four of them having the same glassy texture spiders have. She was no longer a half arachne, but a full one. The giant empty spade made more sense, as she easily took up double the space she had before. "For monsters, or half ones, it helps them stimulate their blood. It doesn''t work the same on everyone though. FOr some half humans, it''ll allow them to become full monsters, but for others they''ll become 97 or 80 or even 60 percent monsters. And for monsters, it can evoke more powerful monsters from their ancestors. Sometimes it''ll have a great effect, and sometimes it won''t do much." Hearing this Frodo couldn''t help but ask. "Then what is the controversial aspect about this? There isn''t really anything bad about this is there? Is it how it''s made?" he asked cautiously. The church of Isis did have some rather controversial moments in recent decades, so of course he''d have some worries. They all did, as they all had ties to the church and to some extent understood this history, Richard better than the others. "Oh, no, it''s not controversial in the federation. Nothing really bad about the way it''s made. It uses kaiju blood to stimulate the monster genes in a person. In particular, it''s a blend of multiple class 6 kaiju who have ties to the major categories of reptile, fish, mammals, birds, amphibians, and insects. Naturally compatibility is a factor because of this. No it has more to do with your empire''s... cultural issues. "He said carefully, watching their expressions. Now Richard understood. After all, the romana empire, despite being better than most nations sorrounding it, still had a rejection of monsters. To be precise, it had no problem with monsters as familiars, but as people? As equals? There was still problems. There were still many problems, and the Isis temple was but one of many. Even now, it was not uncommon for the nobility to quietly hold underground auctions and sell races like the elves, skarpans, kobolds and other humanoid races. True dragons are easily capable of taking human form yet people didn''t buy dragons for their human forms, but to display as dragons. Now they understood what they meant with controversial. A potion that brought out the monster in a person. Useful, but not necessarily well received. Que added something else. "After multiple uses, the stimulant is know to increase the potential of the user. For monsters it increases their connection to their ancestors. And for humans this effect can be permanently seen in the form of horns, tails, and other beastly features. Frankly speaking, it was not well received in the Qing dynasty, and was slightly better received amongst Americans, but for the most part, other nations don''t receive it well. We were in talks with the dwarves about it in fact. They did not like it." Richard was really curious. "Why''s that? I understand that most humans would not receive it well, but why would the dwarves?" Octavia snorted. "They despise their past." she said coldly, as sister Alexandria''s face showed a look of understanding. Huh? Que showed an embarrassed look. "Well, they tried one, and they turned into a huge maggot. After that, they strongly rejected the use of it." "Even though it made them stronger." Octavia complained. Now he understood. The famous legend of old. It was said that dwarves were the descendents of large maggots, who once fed upon the corpse of a great god of stone, Ymir. It was said that because they fed upon this great god of creation, that these maggots took his form, become the dwarven race of today. Though they took great pride in their connection to sch a great god, the idea that they were maggots was often overlooked. It was also often used by the elves to mock the dwarves, with the elven belief that they were the favored children of their Goddess, who created them from her own very fruit. So a potion that confirmed their ancestry was probably not well received. "We stopped mentioning it in front of Romans after that, since it was controversial to say the least."he said, before finally choosing to ask. "Would you guys like to try it?" he asked patiently. sister Alexandria chose to ask curiously. "How long does it tend to last? "A few hours. Any more than that and it''s likely a permanent effect, which for some is great. For others, bad." "Alright then. Do you mind if we take a minute to talk about it for a second?" the lamia requested, and the other two agreed, leaving the room for a second. Turns out the door had a second part that could be opened for situations like these. "You see how we can use this right? sister Alexandria asked once they left the room. Lysandre looked a little confused, but Frodo and olivia already had a light in their eyes. It took Richard a minute before he finally realized what sister Alexandria meant, as his eyes also lit up. "What do you mean by that?" Lysandre asked, causing Olivia and sister Alexandria to chuckle, and Frodo giving her an amused smile. "I know you''re already used to having him back, but have you forgotten what Richard is now? Olivia asked. Finally Lysandre understood, showing an embarrassed look on her face. Indeed, Richard was no longer a man, and sister Alexandria and Achil were never a lamia and human respectively. They were monsters. Two dragons and a wyrms. Although Richard was fine with his new dragonewt form, his real form was a dragon, and his current form was nothing but an inhibition, holding him back. He could only exert his real strength in his dragon form, and the same could be said for Achil. For sister Alexandria it was irrelevant as a god like wyrm. Basically, it didn''t really affect her performance as she could essentially dominate all her enemies.It merely gave her an escuse to exert more power before she was forced to exert her full power. Under normal circumstances, Richard would not feel as pressured to access his dragon form, but now? With a kaiju wave on the way? Size was good, and likely necessary. It''s no wonder Octavia brought it up. ALthough arachne were a strong species, they weren''t large compared to kaiju. But dragonewts? For them, dragon would likely be the closest equivalent to what Octavia had in arachne. And even though sister Alexandria wasn''t guaranteed to become a wyrm, any form of an evolved lamia was likely connected to the serpent family. Large? Not guaranteed, but many serpentine monsters of the higher levels was huge. Titan python, continental serpents, orochi, the seven colored serpent, all great, huge serpents. She was likely betting on the stimulated bloodlines... "This is a great opportunity for you little Lysandre." sister Alexandria pointed out. Lysandre showed a complicated expression, which RIchard expected once sister Alexandria expressed this point. After all, her identity as a dragonewt and her father''s former position as a great general had always had a complicated relationship. Becoming a dragon had all sorts of meanings to her. There was a reason he hadn''t said it, nor Olivia or Frodo. Even with the conflicted look on her face, she still agreed to using the stimulator. Although it had a different meaning for her than it did for RIchard, Achil and sister Alexandria, there was no doubt it was important at this moment and reasonably an opportunity. After a few minutes of discussion, the group went to Octavia and Que, expressing their agreement. "Just in time.The commander just contacted me. We''re going to go meet the leaders of mountain city now. "