《Dragon Spirit》 Chapter 1: Developing Sentience It hungry. Little it there. It follow little it. Little it stops. Little it eats green it. It jumps little it. Little it squeals. Little it struggles. It bites down harder. Little it gets weaker. Little it stops struggling. It eats. Glass rock in little it. Glass rock food? Glass rock food! It grows bigger, stronger. It is hungry. It moves into the green its. It can feel the little its around It. It comes to edge of green its. An other it jumps on the little its! It quickly moves behind other it and bites its throat. Red water pours into Its mouth. Other it struggles. Other it claws It. Other it is stronger than It, but it has bitten the throat. It bites harder and waits for other it to die. Other it grows weaker and dies. It eats. Other it has bigger glass rock than little it! It eats glass rock from little it and other it. It feels ready to grow bigger, stronger, and smarter. It goes into hole under tall brown it. It covers hole with green its, curls up, and sleeps. It wakes up later on. It feels hungry again, but it stops and looks down at itself. It has thick skin and four legs. Its legs-end split into three forward claws and one backward claw. It is smaller than other it was. It knows that other it would have won if It had not surprised other it. It is not as strong, but It is smarter. It will not hunt in the open, it will watch instead. It climbs a big brown it to reach one of its arms. It lies on the big brown it and watches the its below. The little its eat green its. Green its eat¡­. Nothing? Green its must be the weakest. Other its eat little its, but not green its. Green its must not be food for other its. If green its are not food for other its, then they are not food for it. Then there is a big it. It hunts other its and eats little its. Big it is dangerous. It sees that big It is faster than Other its. It notices something. An other it ate an other it. The other it grew into a big it! So if It eats enough its, then it will grow into a Big It? It knows there is only one way to find out. It quickly jumps down and hides in the green its. It senses an other it passing by. It quickly leaps forward to bite other it¡¯s neck. But other it hears It coming and turns its head toward It! Other it looks different from It. Other it has fur covering it and is red. Other it doesn¡¯t have claws, but it has two horns! It quickly moves away from the horns. The two face off. It moves from side to side to test how fast other it is. Other it is slower, but other it charges! Other it moves its head downward and aims its horns at It. It quickly moves to the side and then uses its claws to tear into other its side. Other it squeals in pain. It quickly moves back. Other it is hurt but still a great danger to It. Other it snorts and closes slowly. It moves back carefully watching other it and sensing Its surroundings. It chose the spot for the ambush well and no other its are nearby, but it can¡¯t let it drag on for too long. Eventually an other it will come across them. Looking at other it, It quickly has an idea. It charges right at other it. Other it lowers its head to impale It with its horns, but It jumps over other Its horns at the last second, landing on other its back. It bites down on other it and rend other it¡¯s back. Other it slams It into a brown it. Other it turns and gores It with its horns. It screeches in agony as other its horns impale It. It focuses and bites down on other its neck. Slowly, other it dies allowing it to slide off other its horn. It feels the wounds are bad, but not fatal. It eats part of other it and then devours other its glass rock. It feels the need to sleep again. It returns to its burrow and sleeps after covering its tracks. He wakes up feeling stronger. Looking down at himself, he can see that he has grown. He stands slightly taller and his legs and neck are much thicker and he has grown a thick tail. His skin is showing signs of hardening and two horns sprout from the side of his head. Unlike the other its horns that pointed straight forward, his horns curve down and come to wicked points level with his jaw. If he crosses his eyes he can see small horns beginning to grow in a line down his nose and up his head. He immediately realizes weaknesses of his body. As his battle with other it shows, he is too slow to dodge all blows now. He needs thicker hide like the trees and rocks. He squirms out of the hole. And realizes that he needs to pick a new place to grow. He looks around, his head just peeking over the tall grass. He sees that he is in a large clearing by a lake. There is a forest to his back, but he can see much larger its fighting for supremacy there. He is looking for something with a strong coat¡­ By the beach he sees a group of its that have grown shells. They are very slow and only eat plants. He carefully makes his way over to a wayward one. He tries clawing it, but its shell is too hard and thick. The it has crawled inside of its shell, protecting itself completely. He is puzzled and doesn¡¯t know what to do until he sees a big it further down the beach flip the it and eat its insides. Quickly he mimics the action and gores the shelled it with his horns while viciously biting at its insides. Soon he has reached the glass core and devours it. He does not feel tired however. He realizes that the shelled it was to weak to count as a real kill. His eyes turn to the big it slowly making its way down the beach, killing shelled its as it goes. The big it has a shell like the shelled its, but unlike them, it has longer legs and a vicious hooked beak. It is too big to fight normally, but if he can get under it somehow¡­ He has an idea. He hides in the empty shell of the it he just ate and waits. Eventually, the big it comes over. He can sense it but also feels its steps draw closer and closer. Finally he feels it greedily flip the shell over leaving him behind. He throws his head up, biting and goring the big it in the throat. The big it bellows in agony. It pulls its head back inside its shell and stomps forward looking to crush him with its weight. He hops back, faster than it. Slowly he begins to circle looking for a weakness.He can see blood flowing from the big its neck, but the wound is clearly starting to heal. He needs to get under it. He charges at its limbs forcing it to go back into its shell. Then he tries to flip it over. Sadly it¡¯s too big for him. If he can¡¯t get over it, then he must go under! He quickly begins to dig under the big it, clawing at it whenever it tried to leave its shell. Eventually it decided to wait him out and stopped trying to leave. He worked tirelessly, digging a wide deep hole under half the big it. When the hole was finished, he quickly moved to the big its other side and flipped it off the edge it was lying on, letting gravity do the rest. The big it desperately reached its head out and tried to keep him away from its soft underbelly. He approaches it from its tail side and use his claws to rip open the big its soft underbelly. As the fight fades from the big its eyes he quickly burrows his snout in it looking for its core. When he finds it, he immediately devours it. He feels a slight need to sleep, but it¡¯s not as great as the other times. He concludes that he has to hunt more. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. He makes his way down the beach, killing the big shelled its and devouring their cores until he comes upon a bigger shelled it. It is many times larger than the big its, so he knew there was no way for him to hunt it. Yet. So he continues on. He sees no more big its and becomes cautious. He quickly moves into the grasses beside the beach and expands his sense to feel what was ahead of him. He feels a massive source of energy, but in a very small body. Curious, he carefully makes his way over to it. Ten feet away from it he stops observing it. Unlike all the other its he had seen before, this one only has two legs.it is about his height and made out of rocks. Its core is huge and on the outside forming a large part of his torso. It also had two not-legs. Whenever it raised one of these, rocks and dirt would move in the direction it pointed in. Currently it had killed a big it, and was now bashing its shell apart with stones . He feels a hunger for that its core. He quietly gets closer, and finally rushes forward, spearing it on his horns. But the rock it is tough and his core is hard to eat. The rock it swings a not-leg bashing him back and then begins focusing his stones on him. He doesn¡¯t have a shell like the big it so each blow is agonizing, but he keeps moving forward. The flow of stones intensifies and they get sharper, piercing into his skin. He knows that if he doesn¡¯t get through, he will die. One step at a time he weathers the crushing blows and finally reaches the rock it. With his final powers he bites down on the core devouring it and killing the rock it. Dragging himself to the big shelled it, he slumps down and digs a shallow groove for himself under it before falling into a deep sleep. He wakes up to pitch black he can feel himself but not his body. Confused, he wonders what happened Suddenly a blue window appears:
Congratulations you have the necessary requirements to evolve into a race! Please Choose your race.
Three beings appear. He looks carefully at the potential races. First is the Wyrm Burrower. It only has two front legs but they are much thicker, suitable for digging faster and springing forward suddenly as an ambush. It has a larger powerful jaw, and four hook like appendages attached to its neck. A window appears:
Wyrm Burrower: a relatively strong race of ambush predators. They live underground and jump up out of their burrows to grab prey. Low Intelligence, but a vast variety of evolution options. S class growth.
Then the second race is a bigger shelled it. Unlike the big shelled it and shelled it, it has thick ridges on its head and a slight aura of energy around it. A new window appears in front of it:
War Turtle: A large mystic member of the turtle race. Uses magic and its shell to defend itself. There are two evolution chains, and it has a high intelligence. S class growth.
Finally there was the third choice. It looked like a bigger, stronger him. Its horns were thicker and made of rocks, and its body was covered by thick greyish-brown plate-like scales. A row of bone spikes traveled down its neck splitting into three rows of stone spikes that travelled down its back. Its tail ended in two heavy bludgeoning spikes. Its underside was shielded by large seemingly impenetrable scales that were a rocky dark grey color. A final window appears:
Earth Dragon: A rare variant race of wingless Dragons. The earth dragons are heavily armored and well versed in earth magic. Unlike other dragons, there base evolutions does not have a breath weapon. To make up for this they have very high magic resistance. They have a varied evolution tree and full sentience. SS class growth
He immediately eliminates the War turtle. It is far too slow and cumbersome to effectively hunt anything. Ultimately he discounted the Burrower as well. Its low intelligence would hinder him greatly and ultimately, ambushing was just too risky. So he chose the dragon. After he chose, a window appeared:
Congratulations you are now an Earth Dragon (lvl 1)! You now have access to your stats. As an Earth Dragon you have gained two new racial passives. You have also gained (Basic Earth manipulation). Now awakening Sentience¡­
A piercing pain enters my head and I black out... Chapter 2: Dragon So.... I''m a dragon now. Not too shabby if I do say so myself. I mean, I could have ended up a human again. Again...? where did that come from....? Hmm, I can''t seem to remember. It must have been too shocking to have no mind except for instincts. maybe it''ll come back to me, maybe it won''t. What I need to do now is figure out what to do next.
Congratulations! You are now an Earth Dragon. A powerful, legendary race of wanderers your people seek knowledge and wisdom as well as power on their endless quest to evolve. As the second most magical true draconid race, your strengths are your massive constitution, resistance, strength, and Intelligence. However, you do have a major weakness in your lack of wings, moderate agility, and weak dexterity. You have a minor evolution every 100 levels. Your next major evolution will occur after 5 minor evolutions.
Well that is interesting. So the small changes I had must have been minor evolutions and this final choice was a major evolution. I suppose the number of levels and minor evolutions change with each race. But wait, if I just had my first evolution, does that mean I''m at the bottom of the food chain? Hmm that''s troubling... Anyways if I remember correctly, I Had gained some new skills and passives... "Stats?"
Stats table: Terrus
Strength: 25(+6)Agility: 15(+3)
Constitution: 30(+7)Resistance: 30 (+7)
Dexterity: 10(+1)Intelligence: 20(+6)
Stats info: Strength boosts your physical power. The more you have the stronger you are. Agility affects your movement speed and dodge skiils. Constitution makes you tougher against physical attacks, poisons, and gives you a purely larger health. Resistance increases your defence against elemental attacks, mental attacks, and soul attacks. Dexterity affects your fine control and the complexity of spells you can cast. Finally, Intelligence gives you more spirit power, boosts the speed your spells level up at, and improves your reaction time (Sentients only).
Skills
(Racial passive) Observe: Earth dragons can gleam hidden facts about objects and creatures around them.
(Racial passive) Dragon''s Blood (Earth): Like all Dragons, Earth dragons'' blood boosts there strength giving them a higher than normal growth rate for strength and intelligence. However, as a variant race, their blood also boosts their defenses and their rate of regeneration. All effects of dragon''s blood grow stronger with each evolution.
Earth manipulation (Basic) : This being can manipulate the Earth by using its spirit power. Can not be used against a higher level of earth manipulation.
Well that''s a lot of information. Hmm I''m strong and nearly indestructible against beings of my one level. well I hope so at least. I''ll need to hunt again to be sure of that. My magic should be very powerful, but I''ll have to keep it simple and brutish or else my low dexterity will really hurt me. After musing my new body over for some time, I stand up pushing the bigger shelled it off me. I can''t very well keep calling it that can I? I study it, not quite sure how observe will work.
Greater spirit Turtle lvl.5 (dead) core intact. Absorb Core? Yes/No
Well that''s convenient I think to myself as I say yes. The core turns into energy and flows straight into me. Interestingly enough, it only got me a quarter of a level. Observe also gave me a slight amount of progress. Hmm this will take a while. hmm, I wonder how much experience a war turtle will give me? Well I suppose there''s only one real way to find out isn''t there...? I quickly make my way down the lakeside, observing everything I can until I finally see the War Turtle. It''s turned away from me crushing some minor spirit turtles with its power. What a bully! Those can''t possibly give it experience. I quickly observe it.
War Turtle lvl 10 core intact
Hmm, I''m only level one, and while it is level ten, I don''t really feel any danger in attacking it. Worst comes to worst, I can just run away, It''s not like it can catch me. Anyways lets start this off with a bang. I reach out to the Earth with my mind. Connecting to the Earth was awe-inspiring. It was massive. Powerful and eternal. I could not get enough of it. I did have to focus on the task at hand though, so I narrowed my connection, and formed spikes of earth under the turtle. I took me about 5 seconds to harden them , but it wasn''t like the turtle was going anywhere. As soon as they were ready, I stabbed them upward, into the War turtle''s belly. I didn''t wait for the turtle to react, and instead immediately charged forward. The turtle reacted, floating off the ground on a cushion of wind and turning to face me. I could see that my spike had done some damage, but it wasn''t nearly enough to kill it. The turtle quickly launched streams of fire at me which I easily passed through. I was a dragon, how could such simple flames harm me? Seeing this it raised a field of earth spikes in front of me. This did make me take pause. However, it was not for long as I simply stomped my front leg. The power I infused in the stomp completely destroyed the field, but my momentum was broken. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. The turtle quickly capitalized on this and, drawing water from the lake, launched streams of ice at me. I raised a wall of earth to block them and continued to close in on the turtle. Fearfully watching me continue to approach, the turtle quickly raised another spike wall to hold me back. This time however, instead of shattering it, I jumped, using the Earth to launch me over the spikes and close in on the turtle. On the way here I had planned out different ways of killing the turtle. Since it was now floating, I couldn''t really use spikes to repeatedly impale it and let it bleed to death. I also was most definitely not a fan of bashing my skull against it to see which would crack first. Instead, I came up with a third plan. Quickly calling to the Earth, I enlarge my club tail massively with hardened rock and stone. Then right before slamming headfirst into the turtle, I sidestep and turn, smashing it straight into the turtles head. Leaving only mush. Well... that''s what I hoped would happen. Instead the turtle turned at the last second causing my blow to smash into its hard shell. Fortunately, it hit heavily and spread a framework of cracks along the turtle''s shell. bellowing in agony, the turtle unleashed a magical torrent. Streams of each element flew at me. It even somehow opened its beak and launched a beam of pure spiritual power. I really should learn how to do that... I blocked the heaviest attacks with walls of Earth and weathered the milder ones, waiting for the turtle to exhaust itself. The beam of was surprisingly effective, shattering the wall I built to stop it and piercing my scales leaving burns on the flesh underneath. Thanks to my dragon'', blood I was starting to heal, but it still hurt. Eventually, the turtle began to run out of energy. Anger and disbelief, turn to shock and acceptance, as I once more bash my tail against its shell, shattering it completely and killing the War Turtle. To my shock, once I absorbed its core, I grew immediately to level 6, causing my stats to skyrocket. but even better than that I got two notifications.
Congratulations! You have observed the skill ''Spirit Blast'' and devoured a core from a beast that could use that skill. You have gained the ability to condense your spirit power and blast it out in a beam. Higher levels of the skill increase efficiency, power, and give you the power to change the shape of the beam.
Congratulations! You have hunted and slain the strongest beast in the area "Spawning beach". Your dragon''s blood rages with the power of your foe! You have permanently gained 5 points of constitution, 5 points of resistance, and 8 points of intelligence. You have also permanently gained + 1 point per level of constitution and strength. Continue fighting and awaken your true power as a dragon!
Holy s***! That dragon''s Blood is crazy! So basically if I keep fighting strong foes, I will get stronger permanently? Well then where''s the next one? My eyes finally fall on the forest, and I mentally grin. Well, lets see if there''s any stronger foes in there... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hello There! thank you for reading my little tale! I just planned to pass on some info about the future of the series and etc here. So release times, are not really set. Whenever, I can write I will write, but I also have another book I''m working on. Whichever one has the most interest will obviously have priority. The book has some litrpg elements, but there won''t be any specific skills. For Example, Instead of yelling out " dragon claw" and then swiping with power, Terrus (as I creatively dubbed our protagonist) will manipulate his spirit force, pool it in his claws, and then strike to basically the same effect. (He may yell out one liners, but that''s his personal choice) The first arc will be about 20-50 chapters long. (These first two chapters are about 1/3 to 1/4 of the size I want an actual chapter to be btw) It will mainly be a p v e sort of thing. Fighting stronger and stronger foes as he grows more powerful and discovers dark secrets of the world. The second arc will be contact with humans. Probably some sort of academy arc. I''ve attached a poll to this chapter on how you all want the protagonist to be: A solitary guardian, steeped in mystery while occasionally deigning to converse with others or a pack member protecting his friends against all who dare attack them. This decision will majorly affect both the first and second arcs of the story so do think about it. I''ll get preliminary results here and do a final poll in chap 5. Any comments are welcome and in fact appreciated. Your faithful monkey slave with a typewriter.... ehem Author The Eldest Potato Chapter 3: The Outer Forest I quickly walk through the field separating the beach from the forest. Small spirit beasts are still hunting each other through the grass. Three big spirit beasts have ganged up and are butchering all of the smaller beasts, one at a time. I stop and watch for a second. Their latest victim is a small light sparrow. It¡¯s slowly gliding down from the canopy, too weak to truly fly. Desperately it makes one last lunge to get to¡­ sigh¡­ please don¡¯t tell me it just landed on my nose. It looks at me pleadingly.
A light sparrow is begging your assistance! In exchange for protecting it, it has offered to accompany you and help you in any way it can for the rest of its life! It is a very rare variant of the sparrow species. Its evolutions are unknown, as , within days of their birth, these variants are shoved out of their nest. Will you help it?
Hmm, alone in the world just like me aren¡¯t you little guy?I suppose it wouldn¡¯t hurt to help you out. You don¡¯t eat that much do you? After agreeing to help him, I feel a small telepathic connection form. I can¡¯t exactly feel his thoughts, but I can catch some general emotions. I try to think to him to get off my nose. He seems to get the gist and perches on my back, between my glorious spikes. Now that that¡¯s settled, let me deal with those dishonorable hunters¡­
Your actions have caught the attention of a goddess! As a reward for your righteousness and honor, Themis has improved your racial passive ¡°Observation¡± to ¡°Perceiving sight¡±. It holds all the benefits of observation while also helping discern truth from lie and break illusions.¡±
Well, that¡¯s just¡­. Wow! I¡¯m rewarded for my actions? Hmm, I suppose I¡¯ll have to see what these ¡°gods¡± can do at a later time. Right now, I suppose I¡¯m far too weak to even consider that¡­ Well standing around here isn¡¯t going to make me any stronger. Time to see what this forest is all about. As I approach the forest, I notice that the beasts that my younger self had seen. They had grown bigger then I remembered, some actually rivalled me in size. Observing them, I see that there are hundreds of different beasts battling. Their levels range from 10-45 with the average around me being about 15. Then I realize my problem: I don¡¯t know how strong I am. My stats could be legendary, or they could be common as dirt, in which case I had no business here. I decide to test myself. Staying to the edges of the forest, I look for any isolated creatures. Ideally, it should be something as strong as possible, but slow enough to escape from. Eventually, I come across a Wolf-spider. While a bit too fast for my purposes, but it would have to do.
Wolf spider Level 19 common Core intact Chaotic
That¡¯s new. It must be that upgrade to Observation that I was gifted. Well, it should be a fair fight, and I don¡¯t think a being of chaos is very favored by the goddess of justice, so I suppose that this is also a good chance to make a sacrifice to the gods. I grin sinisterly and roar a challenge at the wolf spider. Quickly turning around It howls and charges to meet me. I raise a barricade of earthen spikes in its path, but unlike the turtle, it simply jumps into the trees using its eight legs to rapidly cross the remaining distance to us. Immediately I form rock spears and launch them through the air at it. Only a few hit, biting deep into its abdomen, that ; however, is nowhere near enough to stop it. It jumps the last few meters between us and lands on my back. Using four of its legs, it stabilizes itself on my back over the spikes. With the other four, it starts to shred the scales on my sides. It is a piercing agonizing pain, but holding myself together I remember one of my past fights and throw myself towards the nearest tree, aiming to impale the spider on my spikes. Unfortunately, it foresaw this and jumped off my back at the last second. Taking advantage of its opportunity, it lunges at me quickly tries to bite open my guts. Luckily, my heavy scales there protect me long enough to stand up. I turn to it, taking this fight far more seriously now that my blood was slowly dripping onto the forest floor. I quickly swipe at it with my front leg. It jumps back and snorts at me. Taunting me. But that¡¯s okay, it was just a test after all. I continue to put up the pretense of a fight, while slowly building a cage of spikes underground. Continuing the fight, I slowly back the spider over my trap. Triumphantly, I quickly raise the walls and close them Completely squashing the bug! Or that¡¯s what would have happened if the arachnid didn¡¯t simply jump over the walls to land on my back again. Clawing at the grooves it had already formed, it caused me even more agonizing pain. Suddenly another idea comes to me. I run toward a tree again turning to slam the spider into it. Snorting in derision, it jumps off me again, ready to bite into me again. But this time around, I had planned for this already, Quickly planting my legs into the ground, I slam my spiked tail into its thorax. My brutal blow hit, completely crushing the connection three of its legs had to its body, causing the three limbs to fall limply onto the ground. The spider screeched in agony lurching backwards and reaching for a tree to climb. But now that I had felt its blood, I wasn¡¯t going to just let it escape. I pivot and pounce on it, carving its exoskeleton with my claws while ripping off its remaining legs with my powerful jaws. Looking at its pitiful remains, I decide to finish it off with a Spirit Blast. Opening my jaws, I gather my remaining energy into a sphere. Then, roaring triumphantly, I release a cone of energy in front of me. In hindsight, I realize it was a bit foolish to use fully half of my energy in one blast¡­ The blast flashed forward disintegrating everything in its path for 50 meters. Trees collapsed, crashing down to the forest floor, which was now slightly lower. My one blast had carved out a cone of death, starting from my jaws. Fortunately, the wolf-spider¡¯s core was still intact. Something I was quick to rectify, by devouring it completely of course. The power gained from this raised my level by 8 and the sparrow¡¯s level by 10 evolving it into a light sparrowhawk. It nearly doubled in size, and could now comfortably perch on my shoulder. I decide to return to the beach and analyze the fight I had just been in. Definitely nothing to do with licking my wounds or recovering the energy I had consumed. Definitely¡­¡­ Lying on the sand, I realized that I had grown about a foot in height. Quikly rushing over to the water I looked at my reflection in the water. I looked even more powerful and awe-inspiring. My horns had a small split about halfway along their length. The split grew a small forward-facing serration on each horn. My scales had grown thicker,harder, and more defined, while my muscles were far thicker. I could feel that I was far stronger in every aspect of the word. Interesting how a change in stats could affect me so much. Oh yeah, what were my stats again? S: 116 A: 54 C: 139 R:126 D:23 I: 106 Well they¡¯ve certainly grown haven¡¯t they? Well my agility was said to be average, so I suppose my other stats are terrifying aren¡¯t they? It does make sense. The wolf spider was probably invested in agility and dexterity with a bit of constitution as well, if I consider that exoskeleton. So one of my blows completely crushed it. Then my spirit blast just annihilated everything that remained. So I suppose that¡¯s a successful experiment then. But I suppose I have to see if I can duplicate the results, don¡¯t I? Impatiently, I waited for my force to recover fully. My spirit blast was my trump card, allowing me to be far more daring than I would normally act. When I was ready, I walked to the forest to pick my next prey. But before I could get there, I saw a bovine creature wander into the meadow with me. It was purple in color and had long streaks of jagged yellow down its sides.
Storm Bull lvl 24 rare chaotic Core Intact
It was cruelly stomping down on all the little beasts and devouring their cores. Hmm, what a perfect target, completely unaware of me and morally bankrupt! I pounce on it, ripping huge tears in its flank. I bite down ripping out a huge chunk of flesh. This was too easy! Of course that¡¯s when it used its power. It couldn¡¯t be called a storm bull for no reason now could it? The brute¡¯s skin electrified shocking me. Because of my high resistance and Earth affinity, It barely surprised me, but that was enough for the bull to rip out of my grasp. It ran and then wheeled, turning its broad horns on me. It began to charge, building up speed and a vast amount of energy around it. Hmm, an energy attack ehh? Well two can play at that game now can¡¯t they¡­ I grin maniacally and prepare a spirit blast with my full force. From seeing the effect of the last blast, I decide to aim it slightly above him and concentrate the field further. When the bull was barely 5 meters away, It lunged forward pushing all of its power into one attack just as I released my own blast. My blast splashed around it pushing it back away from me. Straining against the power, the bull actually began to push forward. 5 meters¡­. 4¡­.3¡­. 2¡­.1 and then it was nearly touching me when it finally collapsed. It had been a very close run. If my stats had been just a bit lower, I¡¯m not sure which one of us would have one there! As it stands, I¡¯ve used all my power to fight this bull to a standstill! Quickly, I crush its skull in my jaws to keep it from taking advantage of my temporary weakness. As I eat through it to find the core, I think back on how strong it had been. And this was just a small-fry! It was half the strength of some of the beasts I saw, and those probably weren¡¯t the strongest in the forest either! That rare tag probably had something to do with it, but still, I need to get stronger. Anyways, here¡¯s that core. I devour the core, and immediately level up nine times. The sparrowhawk leveled up eight times. Interestingly enough, it seems that the rate of leveling only increases after I evolve. It also probably doesn¡¯t hurt to have an SS growth rate, if I do say so myself. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.I lie down by the bull to rest. Turns out, consuming all my energy at once, is not a sound strategy if I want to continue to fight afterwards. As I¡¯m resting, my sparrow hawk launches itself off of me repeatedly, trying to fly. I do need to name him don¡¯t I? Let¡¯s see, his feathers are reddish-orange with golden streaks running down. Hmm, how about Lum? He screeches at me and pecks my head. I think that¡¯s a no. Okay then what about Albert? Screech! Bob? Screech!! Brighty? Screech!!! Ow ow stop pecking me in the eyelid! What about Sol? The sparrowhawk moves around, seemingly in deep thought. Eventually Sol screeches triumphantly into the air and then¡­. Sits on my head. (sigh) Why did I help this guy again? A while later, I climb to my feet. Fully rested, I ready myself for a grind. I only pick off weaker chaotic beasts from the sides of the huge battle royale. Over the course of a few days, I split my time between hunting and resting to steadily level up to level 47. I grew about three feet taller and even stronger. My stats had all grown insanely frankly: S: 354 A: 171 C: 411 R:364 D:57 I: 310 Sol had reached level 45, growing to about four feet tall and gaining more light golden feathers. As I grew higher in level, I had to hunt beasts in the chaotic battle as the ones weaker than me couldn¡¯t even give me any experience anymore. Now I was nearly master of the forest. All that was left was to hunt the strongest monster. I had seen it only once before, and it did look like it would probably put up quite a fight.
level 59 Three-tailed Shadow-Wolf Ultra Rare Chaos Core-Intact
It stayed in its own personal pit at the edge of the outer forest. I made my way there. All the other beasts ran away from me, remembering their kin. Soon, I arrive at the clearing. The wolf has pitch black fur and three tails. Its slobbering face is fixed in a snarl as it closes in on some¡­ Wait what are those things?
level 15 Human ¡°Adalyn¡± Princess Order
level 27 Human ¡°Jaydan¡± Guard Order
level 21 Human ¡°Bartan¡± Guard (Betrayer) Chaotic
Hmm, human¡­? That sounds familiar somehow¡­ Ehh thought for later, anyways, two of these humans have ¡°order¡± on their names. If chaotic is evil, then order would be good right? I suppose it doesn¡¯t matter I need that wolf¡¯s core anyways. Roaring a challenge, I charge forward towards the wolf. P.O.V. Adalyn I can¡¯t believe it! How could Bartan betray us all like this? Why did I follow him this far into the forest? If Jayden hadn¡¯t followed us, I would be dead by now. But it doesn¡¯t look like he will be able to save us either. ¡°Princess run! I¡¯ll hold it off!¡± Jayden yells to me as he braces himself. The wolf had cornered us in this pit and was slowly closing in. It seemed almost gleeful, even though, with its size we¡¯d barely be a snack for it. Behind me, in the corner, Bartan is mumbling to himself fearfully,¡± No! No! No! They said it would only kill the princess! It would spare me! It would¡­¡± What a worm of a man. I can¡¯t believe I actually fell for him. It¡¯s really too bad that now, in the last moments of my life, I finally realize¡­ A booming roar interrupts me as an honest-to-goddess Dragon slams into the wolf, dashing it into the pit¡¯s wall. Oh my goddess, did a dragon just save us? No wait, that wolf is still alive¡­ The wolf fades into shadows, appearing at the far end of the pit. The wolf slashes it claws in the air, launching tears of shadow at the dragon. The dragon seems to just snort. It stomps the ground, and a huge wall of earth rises in front of it. The tears crash into the wall, destroying it but losing their power completely. Next, the dragon attacked: launching spears of rock and raising spikes under the wolf. It promptly dodged these attacks by fading and reappearing in a different corner, but this time it was hit by a beam of pure light, burning it deeply. The beam came from a bird that was flying above the battle. It was shining too brightly for her to identify it. The wolf howled in agony and, covering itself with shadows, threw itself towards the dragon. It landed, and began to run around the dragon, scoring glancing blows on the dragon¡¯s scales. I walk over to Jayden and ask,¡± What is that dragon? It looks so strange, but can it win this fight?¡± The dragon was not at all like what she expected. It was wingless for one, but it was also so much¡­ thicker. Its scales were bigger and its body was far broader than what her lessons had taught her. ¡°Princess¡­ th...that¡¯s a legendary dragon variant. An Earth Dragon. It¡¯s far more powerful than a normal dragon and has a huge mana pool. It can only willingly bond to a human and is considered a class SSS beast.¡± Jayden answers with awe in his voice. ¡°So can it win?¡± I¡¯m a bit impatient. I mean, it¡¯s a rare lizard, but that doesn¡¯t matter if it becomes a dead lizard. ¡°If it was an adult, it would easily win, but by the size of its horns, I would say it¡¯s a juvenile. I give it about fifty-fifty odds.¡± Jayden eventually answers again. The wolf and dragon were locked together. The wolf had its jaws around the dragon¡¯s throat, but the dragon didn¡¯t seem too perturbed. It simply dashed its tail into the wolf repeatedly, crushing ribs and other bones. The wolf was forced to let go, but the dragon was bleeding heavily now. Both titans looked at each other, ready to end the deadlock. The wolf curls its three tails up to its mouth and begins to form a sphere of shadows and chaos. All the shadows in the area are pulled in, and take the shape of wailing forms in the sphere. The dragon condenses pure mana into a massive sphere. Two tyrannical auras are clashing and pushing against each other. Then both attacks are released. The dragon¡¯s sphere turns into a pure cone of energy, while the wolf launches the sphere as a wave of power. The two attacks meet in the center of the pit. Pushing back and forth, strain could be seen on the faces of both beasts. Slowly, the wave begins to win out, pushing closer and closer to the dragon. The exhausted dragon, uses his final scraps of energy and stamps the ground in defiance, but is overwhelmed by the wave of chaos. It floods over the dragon, ripping of scales and burning deep into its flesh. It put its body between us and the blast, shielding us but taking the full brunt of the attack. With the final vestiges of the wave¡¯s power, the dragon is pushed to its knees, where it lies panting. ¡°No! Please You have to get up!¡± I desperately scream at the dragon. Our lives were tied to its. An arm lands on my shoulder. ¡°Princess look at the wolf!¡± Jayden says ecstatically. Glancing at the wolf, I was surprised to see it dead: completely ripped to shreds by dozens of spikes from underground. That last stamp from the dragon hadn¡¯t been a futile act of defiance! It had won! P.O.V Terrus Well that was a painful fight! I¡¯m covered in wounds, and the entire front side of my body is missing scales and my neck was actually pierced by those fangs. My flanks were covered in grooves from the wolf¡¯s claws. I stand up and stumble over to the wolf¡¯s corpse. Just to be sure that I¡¯m not interrupted, I growl at the humans and motion towards the pit¡¯s entrance. They seemed to get my message, as they immediately stood up and scampered off. Strange little things really, but somehow familiar really¡­ I turn back to the business at hand, and devour the wolf and its core.
Congratulations you have defeated the strongest monster in the Outer Woods! Your dragon blood rages with your foes power! You have gained 25 agility, 15 Dexterity, and 30 intelligence. You have also gained +1 to Dexterity, Agility, Strength, and Constitution, while gaining + 2 to Intelligence and Resistance. Keep fighting and awaken your true potential!
Your actions have again caught the attention of the Goddess Themis. To thank you for defending one of her followers and removing a scourge from the forest, you have been granted the passive ability Aura of the Guardian.
Above all that, I leveled up a whopping 14 times. That¡¯s amazing! Now if only I wasn¡¯t so tired¡­ My vision begins to black out and I feel myself collapse to the ground. As my eyes close, I see Sol land on my snout to ¡°protect¡± me¡­ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Stats: Terrus Strength:466(+8) Agility:252 (+4) Constitution: 537 (+9) Resistance: 490 (+9) Dexterity : 100 (+2) Intelligence: 452 (+8) Whew here¡¯s chapter three! Chapter 4: The Inner Forest I jolt awake. Quickly rising, I look around, only to realize that my surroundings have completely changed. Where the pit had been a shadowy place, filled with the scent of blood, it was now an empty clearing, devoid of distinction. The clearing changes based on the boss apparently¡­ Interesting, I suppose. Looking down at myself, I can see that I haven¡¯t actually grown taller or changed majorly physically. Instead I could feel power condensing in me, swirling around my core. Hmm, maybe I¡¯m already beginning to prepare for my first evolution. I wonder what that¡¯ll be¡­ Shaking off, the pointless thoughts, I call to Sol through our bond. The window had said that the wolf was the boss of the outer forest, something that made me very excited about what was within the center. As I made my way deeper into the forest, I began to notice a change. The trees were far taller and thicker, blocking out nearly all of the light. The ground was completely devoid of life, and a thick miasma began to build in the air. Something is wrong with this place¡­ Why is it all so rotten?
You have received a request from Themis! This part of the forest was once vibrant and filled with the competition of life. Now it is barren, sucked dry by 5 beasts, the only ones who still live here. This is not the way of life or justice. Kill: Shadow-River Serpent lvl 74 Corrupted Stone Golem lvl. 95 Frozen Terror-Hawk lvl. 63 Maddened infernal Lvl. 86 Chaotic Ent: lvl 105 Reward: Become a Champion of Themis (Unlocks Dragon Lord Evolution Path) ¡°A crap-ton of experience. What you expected more? I¡¯m a minor goddess, not a miracle worker!¡± Penalties: ¡°Well besides the obvious death if you can¡¯t take these things on that is.¡± Complete loss of interest by Themis Loss of blessings given by Themis Do You Accept?
Well, that¡¯s quite a choice there, isn¡¯t it? I suppose it doesn¡¯t matter much, just more rewards for me more because of things I would do anyways! Mulling over where to find these creatures, I come to a very convenient crossroads. 5 paths branched out from this point, each leading to a different part of the forest. They were all representative of an element. The first path, led up a small mountain. Swift breezes could be felt flowing from it. The second led to a murky swamp ground. Faintly, from the distance, a river could be heard flowing. The third led to a blazing plain. Fires were raging between the trees, preventing any further insight into that area. The fourth led downward into a dark cave that gleamed with gemstones and hidden treasure. Finally, the fifth led into the center of the forest. It was blocked completely by a massive wall of roots. Taking the very obvious choice, I began to walk up the mountain. As I climbed, the air began to grow colder, and the winds grew sharper. But, fortunately my dragon blood allowed me to simply ignore the chill. Sol¡¯s inner light also protected him, keeping him safe from the freezing temperatures. After hours of climbing, we stood on the peak of the mountain. There was a circle of stones there, but before entering, I turned to look back at my world. It was beautiful. The treetops of the nearby forest gently rustled as gusts of wind passed through. The outer forest thrummed with life, from birds dancing between the canopies, to massive beasts like me fighting for survival below. Further away, I could see the rippling waves of the lake I was born by. The reflection of the midday sun glistened off of them, reminding me of how little time I had truly lived in this world. How young and small I was when compared to its vastness. Beyond the place of my birth, I could see a vast desert. Shifting sands, and vast storms changed the face of that new world before my very eyes. Stretching my eyes, I could see beyond even this, a towering mountain range, many times larger than my lone peak. Covered in snow, they were the limit of my world. Everywhere else, the land was devoured by an endless sea. And there, on that mountaintop, I watched the sun set for the first time. I had lived for a month or so already, but I had never taken the time to appreciate something as simple, yet beautiful as that. I had never realized that there was beauty in this world. I stayed there for a while, watching, trying to understand the world. I was¡­ happy. I felt like i had find myself. This was what life was truly like! To see the ground stretch beneath you, vast and unending! To feel the thrill of a grand battle! To protect those you love, and those you are bound to! To learn and conquer! That is life! I made a promise to myself that night. A promise to never forget that there were beautiful sights, even among the chaos and ruin. Digging a cave out with my Earth manipulation, I laid down and slept peacefully until morning. Morning, when I was very rudely awoken, by a terribly loud screeching noise. I hate being woken up on mornings. P.O.V : Sol Life with Terrus was always an adventure. Stubborn, foolish, but surprisingly kind-hearted for a dragon, he always manages to charge in head-first, literally sometimes, and then think about his actions. Fortunately for him, and me by extension, as an Earth Dragon that¡¯s usually the right course of action. Not many problems tend to stay around when a few tons worth of heavily armored dragon crashes into them! Yesterday was interesting though. After basically being given an invitation to go completely destroy a tough series of beasts, he stopped and simply looked out on the world. Maybe some sort of light finally went of in that head of his, that he wasn¡¯t the biggest and strongest thing out there. Maybe he would change his ways, and be far more careful about his actions. Nope. He dug a hole out, and without even checking his surroundings fell fast asleep in it. Right next to a Terrorhawk¡¯s nest. Sigh, he may have rescued me from certain death, but sometimes I wonder if he could have survived even a day longer on his own. Having never been able wake him, I resorted to keeping watch and hoping the hawk doesn¡¯t come back.Thankfully, it had been sleeping too. When dawn arrived, it screeched out its call, a sharp frozen crashing noise, across the heavens. Turning back to Terrus, I suddenly felt an enormous pressure fall on the area. Something of that kind could only be exerted by a completely ruthless monster! That¡¯s when I realize where it''s coming from, the still sleeping Terrus, who has now stood and is angrily making his way towards the hawk. The terrorhawk looked, for all intents and purposes, like a frozen phoenix with smaller wings and far larger legs. Slightly ungainly in flight, they focused on ground combat, a rare trait for birds. All of which was completely inconsequential to the sleepwalking dragon. Landing on his shoulder, i could make out random mumbling¡± ...a coffee¡­ F---ing overgrown rooster¡­ mraghms¡±. The terrorhawk screached another challenge, which was promptly met by a barrage of massive compressed boulders, each at least 30 meters around, crashing into it. Barely surviving, It blasted a beam of ice at Terrus. In response he roared, stomping both feet on the ground, and unleashing all of his power into the Earth. It rose up, taking the form of a dozen serpent-like dragons, and crashed into the bird obliterating it completely. The core was immediately devoured by Terrus and he promptly lie down and went to sleep. On the terrorhawks corpse. Sigh, well that¡¯s just¡­. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. P.O.V: Terrus I woke up in confusion. Apparently, I had somehow killed the first boss already. It leveled me up 8 times. Very strange really that I didn¡¯t remember anything about it though¡­
Congratulations! You have gained the title: So Not a Morning Person¡­. Whenever an enemy wakes you up, You go on a sleep-rampage until it is dead! Your stats quadruple during the rampage. ¡°Wow¡­ Remind me not to wake you up¡­ ever¡­¡±
Hmm, the ground was torn up and Sol was giving me frightened looks. Oh well¡­ it was that bird¡¯s fault for waking me up¡­ Whistling happily I make my way down the mountain towards the marsh. P.O.V. Themis Well, that was unexpected. My newest follower, or well more of helper, had been really interesting, but that was a bit terrifying. I suppose i¡¯m lucky that he is generally fair-minded. If he was chaotic, I¡¯d be doomed. That invasion is still coming¡­. Looks like I have no choice¡­ He has to be it. Quickly acting upon my decision, I use my power to shield him from the eyes of the other gods. All except Terra, his mother¡­ I hope she¡¯ll agree to help¡­ Sighing, I go to her palace, to tell her what I¡¯ve seen in the future¡­ P.O.V. Terrus Returning to the crossroads, I notice that the path to the river had opened. Walking down it, i could see the trees getting noticeably thicker and shorter. The ground grew less solid, and soon i was knee deep in murky water. The forest¡¯s miasma had grown noticeably thicker, and it was nearly impossible to see through. Finally, I reached a dark stagnant river. Looking for the serpent, I was surprised when its huge form burst out of the river. Nearly as large as I was, it grabbed my side and dragged me into the water before I could even resist. In the water, the snake was supreme coiling around me, and slowly constricting to force the breath out of me. I began to struggle for all I was worth, clawing the snake¡¯s sides and even trying to unleash a spirit blast at it. Something which unfortunately did not work too well as filthy water rushed into my throat. Slowly, the pressure builds. My scales begins to crack and my bones are bending slightly. The pain is agonizing, as my body seems ready to be bent in two. I open my eyes to try and see where I am in the river, but the polluted water burns them and blurs my vision. Blinded, and nearly out of breath I make one final effort and with every last fiber of my being, I reach out desperately¡­.. and touch the Earth. Power floods into me. I¡¯m back in my element and now it was the snakes turn to feel real pain. I raise a platform of earth out of the water. After quickly taking in what air I could, I wedge slabs of stone between my body and the snake¡¯s coils. Then i take minerals, and form grooved metallic spikes. This was the first time i had tried to control steel, but while it was slightly different, I could control it. Spinning the spikes, I drill them into the snake, causing it to hiss in pain and uncoil. It curls up on itself and raises its head high looking to intimidate me. While it doesn¡¯t work, I can see venom dripping of its fangs. I have to finish this quickly then. My resistance should save me from dying to that, but if I fall unconscious I¡¯ll probably get eaten. Calling to Sol, I charge forward bowing my head downwards to take any strikes on my horns. At the same time, Sol began to fly around the snake launching blinding beams of light at it. The haze dissipated most of the attacks¡¯ power but he still distracted the snake long enough for me to get close. Reinforcing my fangs and claws with metal I bite down on the snake¡¯s body and begin to shred it open with my claws. Fortunately for me, the river serpent¡¯s scales were softer than mine, and my reinforced attacks pierced them relatively easily. Suddenly, the snake turns into water. Flowing around me, it reappears with its jaws around my neck and bites down furiously. All its injuries seem to have healed, and it merely seems more energised. Once again I wedge it off of me. When it¡¯s not coiled around me, the snake is incredibly weak, but once it has me in its grasp, it is nearly impossible for me to escape. Also the water form seems to reset its injuries. Looks like I¡¯ll have to end this in one blow then! Charging forward to meet the snake again, I raise spikes from the ground scoring its underside, with a predatory look the snake once again dissolves into water, but this time I was ready, Enhancing my fangs with steel and jaws with spirit energy, my head is covered by an enlarged version of itself and I bite down onto the snake¡¯s head the moment it reforms, crushing it completely. While i devour it looking for its core, a window appears. [window] Congratulations! Your control over your spirit power has advanced! Now you can constantly consume a portion of your spirit power to form an Avatar of energy around you. This avatar, acts exactly as you do and will take the brunt of enemy attacks. [/window] Wow, that¡¯s really convenient! Yes please do make my defense stronger¡­ MWAHAHA No one will be able to stop me! Testing the Avatar, I was pleasantly surprised to see how large I grew. Nearly 30 ft at the shoulder, it made me half-again as tall as I naturally was. Crude runes flowed across the avatar¡¯s scales, making an interesting effect. I¡¯d also grown to level 78 which was quite a nice bonus. If I kept this up I¡¯d be able to evolve soon. I wonder what Themis will give me then¡­.? Wait? Didn¡¯t I get a potentially overpowered skill after I saved those puny humans?
¡°Yes, you did you idiot! Now go check your status! ¡°
Yes, your highness... Stats: Terrus lvl 78 Strength:602 Agility: 320 Constitution: 690 Resistance: 643 Dexterity: 130 Intelligence: 588 New Passive Ability: Aura of the Guardian. All of your friends and allies are protected by your presence! In combat, all friendly beings gain 25% of your defensive stats. Well, that¡¯ll be useful when I have more friends than a bird who ideally won¡¯t get hit and a goddess who has probably transcended stats or something like that¡­.
¡°Yes actually I have, and you will too one day. Also, aww you think that I¡¯m your friend! That¡¯s so sweet of you! <3 : - D ¡°
Sigh, great just what I needed. A woman that can read my thoughts¡­.. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hey readers! Thanks for being patient with me. Here¡¯s the first part of the inner forest chapters! I¡¯ll be out of town for labor Day weekend so I¡¯m not quite sure when chapter 5 will come out, but I¡¯m gonna shoot for maybe monday evening. Chapter 5: Champion Making my way back to the crossroads, I wonder about the other bosses¡¯ power. I hadn''t really had the opportunity to test the first one, but frankly, that snake had almost killed me. On my way out of the swamp, I had even raised the Earth around me to keep from stepping in the now clearer water. I totally wasn''t afraid of the water¡­. It was just¡­ I wanted to keep my wounds dry so they would heal faster! Yeah that''s right¡­ Lying down in the clearing, I lied down to take in my surroundings again. Small sounds of wildlife could be heard from the paths I had already cleared and the miasma in the air had mostly disappeared. Gentle breezes came down from the mountain, naturally forming a barrier against the flames of the third path. Its barrier had diminished, and now the blazing heat could be felt coming from it. As a dragon, it didn''t really bother me, but Sol seemed uncomfortable even at this distance. It looks like I''ll have to leave him her for this fight. Seeming to know my string of thoughts, he gives me a worried look and pecks my forehead. Then he flies off towards the mountaintop. I think that was caring? I really wish he could talk¡­ it''s getting a bit lonely to just think to myself. After about half of the day had passed, I had worked the venom out of my system. My wounds quickly healed after that. Soon, I was ready to fight the third boss. Walking down its path, I watch the flames. At the outer reaches of this side of the forest, they are actually¡­. Beautiful. Oranges, yellows, and reds flaring up in harmony and nearly¡­ dancing. But as I went deeper and deeper, they began to change. Burning green and purple, they were angry, still predators. When I grew particularly close to a patch of flames, they would lash out. Trying to hurt me. This is not natural. Fire is part of this world, but this? This is madness! (No, this is¡­ wait sorry wrong book/movie. Please continue). 4th wall break repaired, foolish slave monke... author restrained. Continuing story¡­. Rage and horror bubbled up within me and I charged forward down the path. Eventually, I arrived at a large open field. Everything here had been already burned, and only a carpet of ashes remained as a memory of the forest¡¯s life. In the center of the field there was a large hominid statue. It''s limbs were thick and blocky, and it had metal armor on each of its joints. As I approached it to analyze it further, the statue seemed to glow. When I was barely two feet away from it, it exploded pelting me with sharp, superheated rocks. These were mainly reflected by my scales, but a few managed to scratch me. Standing in the statue¡¯s place, a tower of flame appeared. It was still wearing the same metallic armor that had been on the statue, but now it was filled in by angry green flames. Seeing me, it seemed to snort and launched a blast of flame at my head. The flame actually tickled a little, which was really a pleasant feeling. Smiling at the infernal, I taunt it a little saying, ¡° ooh that was nice! Please feed me more¡­.¡± Enraged, the infernal blasted me with its hottest blasts. These were a bit dangerous because if multiple ones hit the same group of scales, they would eventually overwhelm it, melting through to my flesh. However, this was easily avoided by just turning to allow a different side to take the attacks. Getting tired of this, I raised a field of spikes, which simply went through the flames, doing no damage whatsoever. Sigh, this will take a while. Constantly bashing each other with attacks, both of us refuse to stop. The infernal raises a sea of flames which I simply smother with earth. Unfortunately, when I try to smother it, the infernal just melts the Earth. It tries to launch meteors of flame at me, but I simply meet them with pillars of Earth or dodge them. Noticing that I''m approaching half of my strength, I change my target and begin to attack the armor while removing the Earth from underneath us as a plan b. If it''s armor could not break, I would bury us both and dig myself out. Fortunately, I managed to shatter its chest plate with a well placed pillar of metal. The infernal screeched and fell4 to the ground, it''s fires sputtering out and leaving only its core behind. Smirking at how easy the fight had been I walk over and open my mouth to devour the core, but suddenly it comes back to life! The core launches a beam of pure energy scorching my snout. Desperately turning away, I feel the beam dig into my side burning me down to my organs. With my final strength, I collapse the ground, burying me under tons of rock and earth, keeping myself safe from the score hinges beam. In the Earth¡¯s comforting embrace I sleep. After a few days, I dig myself out of the ground and devour the core. Still heavily injured, I stagger back to the crossroads and collapse to Sol¡¯s distress. P.O.V. Themis: I suppose maybe it wasn''t a good idea to send Terra¡¯s son into danger before asking her to help me. Currently, I was desperately flying around avoiding boulders and fists the size of mountains. ¡°Please Terra, I promise you I didn''t know that those things had gotten so dangerous! You have to¡­¡± I was cut off by an asteroid hurtling towards me. Fortunately I managed to jump out if it''s path at the last second, but it really had been to close. Terra¡¯s voice yelled out at me,¡± You put my baby in danger! He hasn''t even evolved yet and you try to do that? No! He''s my precious, sweet, little dragon! ¡° Terra you know what''s coming! Don''t tell me you haven''t seen it!¡± I yell back. The attacks abate and she appears. Formed of the very earth, her eyes sparkle with gemstones and her hair is formed from long strings of precious metals. Her dress if made out of fine grains of sand, constantly shifting around her body, but still accentuating her absolutely monstrous curves. How the heck is she that big and not just bent crooked anyways? She replies tearfully,¡± But why him? He''s not even a thousand years old yet! Send Amun, or Tritan! But he''s just a child!¡± ¡°Terra, I know your feelings for your adopted children are strong, but you know we can''t send someone down. It would weaken us too much and then we''d lose our fight. He is the one that has to rally the dragons and come to our aid. And you know as well as I that he has to do it on his own.¡± I reply, relieved that I wasn''t going to be crushed to a paste by an elder goddess today. After an awkward silence, she acknowledges me, with an¡± I know.¡± and then turns back and invites me to watch him with her. But suddenly, she stops and turns around. When I look at her inquiringly she asks,¡± wait don''t tell me you''re interested in my boy¡­¡± while squinting at me suspiciously. ¡°Nonononono, of course not!¡± I quickly answer. Placing her hands on her hips she angrily asks while lifting up a million spears of rock, ¡° And why not? Is he not good enough for you?!!? ¡° Oh this is gonna be one of those centuries¡­. P.O.V. Terrus Oww¡­. It''s been four days since I returned to the clearing and I''ve finally healed completely. Sol, being the mother duck that he is, fussed over me constantly, bringing food and water constantly, while seemingly chiding me for how pitiful I am without his help. Humph, I''d like to have seen him fight that infernal. Speaking of it, it had raised my level all the way to 90 which was a really nice jump for me. Unfortunately, I was really rather hungry. Anyways, the small cow sized animals he could drag here have barely been enough to sate my appetite, so I return to the outer forest and hunt down a suitable creature. While I was eating the great forest boar however, I felt something hit the scales of my flank. A pitiful trickle of mana spattered out as well. Turning my head, I see that a long golden arrow is sticking out of my side. Apparently, it had managed to somehow land where one scale met another and get stuck there. Lazily turning my head back, I ignore the pointy eared hominid that had shot me, only to get another arrow for my troubles. Well then, I suppose we¡¯ll have to do this the hard way¡­. P.O.V. Elm ¡°This task does not befit a Ranger of my status!¡± I complain to my brother in arms Oak. ¡° I know Elm. I know. Let''s just get it over with. The prince should have been able to kill that great forest boar by now. He does have an enchanted bow so it can''t have been too hard on his delicate fingers.¡± he replies mockingly. The two of us were Elven rangers. Scouts and hunters for the Elven King, we had passed into the spirit beasts¡¯ world so that the royal heir could complete his first hunt. At the age of 25. He hadn''t even killed a beast yet and the pompous fool had actually wanted to hunt down one of the five great beasts of the inner forest. Beings which not even the king¡¯s royal mage could handle. The arrogance of youth I suppose. Shaking of these slightly treasonous thoughts, we walk into the clearing where we had felt the bore die. We''d felt this through the small mark we had placed on it. When we enter the clearing, we see a dragon ripping the boar apart. ¡°Oak,¡± I whisper to him,¡± species and level.¡± Oak had memorized the basic characteristics of all known species of dragons for his mastery exam. I had chosen to study elementals instead, so we made a pretty good team. By carefully putting our knowledge of the species to use, we could use their markings gain information about them. Wide eyed, Oak replies,¡± It''s an earth dragon, a rare dragon variant and it¡¯s at least level 80. Its scales are nearly impenetrable and it has near complete control over the earth. We can by no means take it.¡± And of course that''s when the prince chose to shoot the dragon in the side. Wincing, we watched the dragon slowly turn to observe the arrow lodged in its scales. It was a full power shot from a master level enchanted bow and it still couldn''t scratch the dragon¡¯s hide. Fortunately, the dragon seemed to be one of the kinder ones. It only snorted in the prince¡¯s direction and turned back to its meat. Sighing in relief, we make our way towards the prince only to see that he''s notched a second arrow. ¡°No please don¡­¡­ you idiot!¡± I practically scream as the shot lands on the dragon''s side. Turning to the prince, the dragon slowly walked forward. ¡°what do we do?¡± oak asks me in a panicked voice. ¡°We hope that the dragon is kind and not merely lazy.¡± I replied as I walk into the clearing. ¡°Great Dragon, please forgive us. This foolish young one is on his first hunt and can not tell the prey from the hunter.¡± I yell out in draconic. Seeming to think on my words, oh thank the gods, the dragon begins to reply only to be cut off by another arrow from the prince. This one hit him in the lip, drawing out a drop of blood. Quickly before the dragon can move on dash over to the prince and slap him across the face. Taking his bow, I brake it across my knee. Turning back to the dragon I profusely apologize for the prince¡¯s continued idiocy. Behind me, said prince begins to yell at me,¡± How dare you woman? I am your prince! If you would have let me be, this beast would have fallen by now!¡± Meanwhile, Oak came over and clamped his hands over the prince¡¯s jaw tightly. Both of us waited anxiously for the dragons reply. Finally a deep rumbling voice responds,¡± You little ones have tried to harm me today. This is an offense, but it was not enacted by the two of you. You have spoken and acted honorably. Therefore, you two may go, but the littlest one should be left behind.¡± Well shit. Looking back at oak, I hear him whisper,¡± Don''t grovel or flatter. He wants justice and honor. If you play it right he''ll let us go without a fight.¡± ¡°Great one, surely you would not take the life of a gnat that drew your blood. His life is worth no more than that gnat¡¯s. Please, for your honor''s sake let him live.¡± The dragon bellowed,¡±Do not presume to teach me honor, elf! Your kind is the last to speak of that.¡± Ouch, but oak seemed encouraged so I continued. ¡° Please great one, he has not yet learned to hunt. Killing him now would be a waste. At least let him grow to be a challenge to you.¡± ¡° Your words hurt your cause little elf. If I had wanted to kill the little one, that would have convinced me to do it now, before his potential could be awoken. Fortunately for the both of you, I want to teach him a truth of this world.¡± Shocked, I gasp and breathe out,¡± you would truly teach him?¡± ¡° Let him come forth. If he can reach me, he shall be taught.¡± the dragon replies as we begin to feel a massive pressure fall on the area. Rushing over to the prince I urgently say to him,¡± Eliadel this dragon is strong enough to level our capital and sow the ground with our people¡¯s blood.¡± his eyes nearly pop out of his head and he immediately begins to pull out a knife. ¡°No your highness, no need to kill yourself. His ire has not been aroused. He has offered to teach you a truth of this world if you can pass through his pressure. Go quickly and if you can''t continue, stop and turn back okay?¡± Nodding determinedly, he pushes forward into the pressure. As he got closer and closer to the dragon, the pressure began to spike, until finally when he reached the dragon he fell onto his knees before it. The dragon slowly lowered its head and spoke. ¡°Today, you learn humility.¡± touching his snout to the prince¡¯s forehead, he teaches. ¡°Once you have truly understood its value, return to me. The mark will guide you.¡± and the dragon turns and walks away. P.O.V. Terrus Bwahahah that had been fun! They were so scared of me! Hmm, I wonder how I''d learned that knowledge transfer thing¡­ it seemed like a really old memory. Ehh, if it''s important I suppose it''ll come up. Anyways, let''s fight these last two beasts! Walking down into the golem¡¯s cave, I feel for the Earth, only to find that¡­ yeah I still have full control of it. Well that makes this easy! The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. The golem pops out of the ground, a huge monstrosity with multiple limbs, all made out of stone. With a few well placed hammers of metal and stone, It was very quickly reduced to rubble. Biting down on its core, I feel shadows pour into me. Shit it was called a corrupted golem wasn''t it. I need to stop this! Pouring my energy out, I begin to fight back against the darkness. Ugh why does every fight have to end with me almost dying due to stupidity?! Running out of the cave I burst into the sunlight, burning away the darkness. Well with a little help from a very annoyed bird that is. And finally, with level 99 I was standing before the entrance to the forest''s heart. Walking in with Sol, I am awed by the beautiful, and horrifying sight I see before me. A giant green heart is beating into the center of a massive hollow tree, hundreds of meters wide. It''s covered by red and purple veins and arteries that are pumping corruption into it. Everything around the heart is decayed, brown and sludgy. Between the heart and I, a massive Ent stands. Covered in the corrupted vessels, the ent¡¯s face is frozen in a rictus of agony. It''s limbs have stretched out to be spider thin, but they still look dangerously powerful. From its back, a third arm stretches out. It almost looks likes a scorpion''s tail and has a vicious venomous tip. Trusting my time honored strategy, I charge the ent. However, this would not be that easy. It dodges me, and raises spear-shaped roots to score my sides. Angrily I call upon the Earth to attack it with bludgeoning hammers, but it protects itself with shields made of wood. ¡°Sol distract it!¡± I yell out. Sol begin a to launch spheres of light towards the ent. It easily deflects them while still keeping its focus on me. Hmm, this is a tough guy indeed. Well let''s try this then. Once again I charge forward. Covering my with Iron, I prepare for the Ent to dodge my attack, only to be surprised as it instead catches me with two of its arms. Then it begins to spear downward with its third one. Fortunately, I manage to turn my head and take the blow on my horn, but it still carves a groove onto the bone. Wrenching out of the Ent¡¯s grasp, I turn and tried to slam my reinforced tail into it, only to be caught by massive roots that raised out of the ground. Backing up, I reevaluate the situation. Physical attacks probably won¡¯t work too well against this foe, but Sol¡¯s energy didn¡¯t really have an effect either. If I just start blasting out beams of spirit power, I¡¯ll tire out immediately, possibly before it dies, leaving me at its mercy. Hmm, lets try the avatar then. Forming and avatar with Earth-infused spirit energy, I roar at the ent. I¡¯m now larger than it, and far stronger than I had been when we clashed earlier. Leaping forward, I crush the Ent between my massive jaws. Well that was easy, oh wait. What¡¯s happening to the heart thing? The corrupted vessels around the heart shrunk to half their size, pumping vast flows of corruption into the heart. Beating madly, the heart pumped this corruption into the nearby massive trees. Massive titans hundreds of meters tall, these trees all began to move. While not humanoid like the ent, they began to bash downward with their branches. Meanwhile, another, taller, ent was growing from the corrupted heart. Hmm, well I suppose I have to survive until that ent forms don¡¯t I? Curling up, I release the avatar and form a hard shell of Rock and iron. I built it as thickly and strongly as I could, but I still felt the massive blows raining down. Soon, I had to reinforce it, and even expand it into a full sphere to protect me from dangerous sharp roots. Eventually i feel the attacks diminish and peek out of a hole i made in my sphere. Standing in front of the heart was an Ent Half again as tall as the first. It had four thick Elephant like legs and a huge hammer in its hands. On its head, it had a large helmet with four horns. This monstrosity proceeded to slam its hammer down on my shell, cracking it. Jumping out, I ran back away from it. This ent was much stronger than the previous one, but it didn¡¯t seem to have as much control over the roots. Raising some spikes of metal, i test its defenses. Completely ignoring them, it lets the spikes shatter against its hide. Well, shit. Galloping to me, it holds its hammer out to the side, ready to smash it against me. Dodging to the opposite side, I rake my claws down its flank. They barely cut into the flesh. Without its momentum, I probably would have done no damage. Turning to me, it swings its hammer again, but I manage to jump back, avoiding the blow completely. Rushing forward into the space created by its miss, I activate my avatar and jump on it back. Holding its arms with my front legs, I clampdown on its neck with my jaws, and rip its back apart with my back legs. Snorting in pain, the c-ent-aur tries to slam me into a nearby tree. Simply jumping down from its back, I keep crushing its neck. Slowly but surely, my jaws close as it bucks and throws me around. Finally after an agonizing ride, I rip its head from its shoulders. Tired out, I watch as the veins and arteries of corruption around the heart disintegrate forming one last ent. A massive monstrosity arises. A tangled mess of limbs branches and vines, it has no identifiable features. With every motion, it spews out corruption. Slowly it drags itself toward me. Covering nearly half of the clearing, the creature blocks any paths of escape, and I simply left watching it slowly get closer and closer. Crippling fear grips me, and I¡¯m frozen to the spot. A massive aura, many times greater than mine weighs down upon me, and the grotesque monster evokes every primal instinct I have to run. Suddenly three voices sound in my head.
¡°Oh my baby! Don¡¯t you worry, mommy will keep you safe from that disgusting thing!¡±
¡°All right big guy, I didn¡¯t know that this thing would be so strong. For a fair fight, Why don¡¯t I give you your reward a bit early?¡±
¡°You can do this Son. Do not fear the unknown for it merely tests you. The time of chaos has passed, and this¡­ This is your moment!
You have received the divine blessing of the Earth! All Earth-based powers will be vastly improved and you gain a nearly impenetrable shield. Note: This buff will only last for the duration of this battle.
Congratulations! You have become a Champion of Themis, goddess of Honor and Justice! + 20 % damage to chaotic units! You can now contact Themis directly!
Congratulations! You have been named The Son of Fire! All fire and energy based abilities are now vastly improved. Having been adopted by two Gods, new evolution paths have been opened for you! The path to divinity has now been opened!
HAHAHA! Now let''s fight for real! Activating my avatar again, I¡¯m surprised by its appearance. Instead of A huge shell of rock and energy, it was now made of magma and had a massive crown of horns protruding from its head. IT WAS AWESOME! HAHA! I drawback my head and gather a massive amount of energy. Sensing its incoming death, the monstrosity began to surge forwards, uprooting trees and plants from its path. But¡­. It was too late! Pushing my head forward I roar releasing all the energy that I had gathered in front of me. Six oriental dragons form, three of earth and three of fire. Flying forward, they circle around the main beam of energy and crash into the forest¡¯s corruption with a resounding boom. A blinding light forms, and fierce winds shred outwards. Overpressure waves blast out as well, ripping down many of the smaller trees. When the dust settled, all that was left behind was a large core, and the heart of the forest.
Congratulations, you have cleared the forest of corruption. Now you have to choose whether to eat the core or the heart itself! If you devour the core, you will gain far less strength, but if you chose to eat the heart, the entire forest will die. Choose wisely.
Well that¡¯s an easy choice. Walking over to the heart, I admire its beauty while munching down on the core. Once I was done I felt ready to finally evolve. Before I fell into the evolution sleep however, a notification appeared in front of me.
By choosing to save the forest and devour the core, you have gained an affinity. You are now a being of Creation! Unlike order that preserves, and chaos that destroys, you always seek to bring about new and beautiful things. Always seeking strength, you propel the cycle of life and death. Your opposite is Ruin.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- P.O.V Terrus: Evolution Again I wake up inside myself. This time, instead of a shadowy nothingness I see an endless sea of Rock. In front of me I once again have three choices. The first choice is a slim, agile dragon. It has long thin limbs and long leathery wings. Its horns face forwards, and it has a dangerous barb on its tail. Before my eyes it dissolves, blowing away like sand in the wind only to reform in a different position, ready to strike.
(Champion) Sand Dragon: A very rare hybrid dragon. It contains a mix of Air, Fire, and Earth. Agile and Cunning, it specializes in Agility, Dexterity, and Intelligence. While still maintaining the constitution and strength that characterize the dragons, it has weak Resistance. Very strong in Illusion magic, it gains the racial ability ¡°sandform¡±. SSS growth rate
Hmm, that¡¯s really interesting, but I don¡¯t think it''s for me. It requires too much on agility and dexterity. My fighting style is basically bash and rend them until they¡¯re dead! While that sandform would be nice, i don¡¯t think it quite makes up for the negatives. The second is a glass dragon. Made out of pure black glass, light reflects and bends around it. It is long and willowy, with very sharp crystalline edges. Its wings are made out of many paper thin sheets of glass that slide over each other.
(Champion) Obsidian Dragon. A very rare hybrid dragon. It is a mix of Fire and Earth. It specializes in Intelligence, Dexterity, and Resistance. While it has good Strength and Agility stats, its glaring weakness is its weak Constitution. Very Strong in Light, Shadow, Earth, and Fire magic. It has the racial ability ¡°Perfect Reflect¡±. SSS growth rate
Again, interesting but not for me. It¡¯s too much of a ¡®glass¡¯ cannon. If anything physical could get close to me, I would die almost instantly, and I am not in favor of that idea. And finally, the third looks perfect. Appearing Earthy like my current form, this dragon is blackened. Raging fires can be seen in the gaps between the rough, rocky scales. Unlike my current form, it has two broad wings jutting out from its back, and a tail that merely thins out. Its neck extends upwards and its head is crowned by multiple horns that jut backwards. Flames burst out behind these horns accentuating them.
(Champion) Magma Dragon. An ultra rare hybrid dragon. It is a mix of Earth and Fire. It specializes in Resistance, Strength, and Constitution, with very good Intelligence and a moderate amount of Dexterity. This dragon is only available to the creation affinity. It gains the racial passive ¡°Blazing Heart¡±. SSS growth rate.
Well that¡¯s perfect! It lets me keep most of my skills while giving me a big power boost. Also the extra dexterity will be nice. I¡¯m getting tired of just being able to make spikes and pillars with magic. I step into the magma dragon and watch my core change around me. The rock boils over, forming an endless lake of lava. Here and there, mountains of rock jut upward. Plates of lightweight rocks also float around my glorious lake. All-in-all a perfect place for a magma drake. However, instead of playing here, I wake up into my new body. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Whew, typed this all out on my phone. (Rip Thumbs) Just a few final notes. Finally I included a poll at the top about whether the stats should be kept. I did give myself a little leeway plot wise to allow it to be removed at any point. (See conversation with Themis at the end of Chapter 4) Chapter 6: I BELIEVE I CAN FLY!!! P.O.V. Themis: ¡°Haha look at my precious baby! Isn¡¯t it adorable how he dismantled that golem!?¡± Terra is still ecstatically watching Terrus defeat the bosses. ¡°Ye-es Terra, very¡­. Adorable¡± It¡¯s rather uncomfortable to watch a dragon dismantle an ancient creature, one that none other of his level could have even hoped to stand against, with ease, and have it called adorable. ¡°Well now he only has one left!¡± ¡°Just what I expected of my baby!¡± Terra exclaims and her dress turns into a long shirt with the words ¡® GO TERRUS!¡¯ emblazoned on it. I on the other hand awkwardly look around the realm of the Gods. Any god could pass by now, and while Terra might not care about what others think of her, the Younger Gods still had a strict social hierarchy. Being seen with her like this would be¡­ embarrassing really. And, lo and behold, right as Terrus begins his battle with the Ent, a god walks in. Thankfully, it is another elder god, Pyrus. He is a tall blazing man, thick and strong. His features are seemingly chiseled out of stone, but as he moves he leaves behind wild wisps of fire in his wake. On his back he carries his divine weapon, a massive two-handed battle axe. Terra doesn¡¯t even spare him a glance. Instead she continues hopping up and down to ¡°cheer on her boy¡±, while screaming encouragement. None of which he could hear of course. Sigh, Elder gods are so strange sometimes¡­ Pyrus coughs loudly, and what that doesn¡¯t draw her attention, he yells out,¡± Terra, Could I talk to you about something?¡± ¡°Yeah what¡¯s up?¡± terra distractedly asks while miming Terrus¡¯s attacks. ¡°I¡¯d like to adopt one of your boys,, his soul really resonates with my element.¡± Pyrus replies. ¡°Alright, if you have his permission, I¡¯d gladly let you be the secondary. Who is he anyway?¡± Terra turns to pyrus, her clothing changing back to a dress as she takes the conversation more seriously. ¡°He¡¯s a dragon known as Terrus. Strangely enough, I could only see him when he purged the Arthan forest of that corrupted child of mine¡­.?¡± He trails of giving a questioning look to Terra. One she merely returned with a shrug. ¡°All right, you¡¯re one of the better gods of Fire. I¡¯ll let you be the baby daddy!¡± turning to me she asks,¡± That¡¯s still what you young Gods say right?¡± ¡°Um, well it''s closer than last time. You¡¯re only 1,500 years outdated now. And in the wrong dimension, but better!¡± I try to sound positive as she looks slightly disheartened by my reply. Shaking it off, she turned to Pyrus and said,¡± Well come on! He¡¯s fighting a chaotic ent! Come watch!¡± As we turn back to the fight, we are greeted by a monstrosity. Tentacles, roots and chaos spew everywhere as the monster closes in on Terrus. ¡°Oh no my baby! I have to protect him! Hey that¡¯s my son you¡¯re trying to hurt there!¡± All three of us shout out and shower blessings on Terrus. Receiving them, he explodes with power rising up and activating his avatar form. He really doesn¡¯t know just what that can do does he? Hmm, I¡¯ll have to tell him someday. Shooting forth a beam of energies, he destroys the creature in one blast. ¡°HAHAHA, THAT''S MY BOY! ¡° Pyrus exclaims as he pounds me on the back. A light blow, it merely sent me flying two miles away instead of disintegrating me directly. When I arrive back at the two Elders i find them quarreling. ¡°NO! HE GETS THAT FROM ME! After all,¡±Pyrus concluded smugly,¡± everyone knows that fire is stronger than Earth!¡± Terra¡¯s eyes blaze with rage as a mountain range rises into existence, only to be crumbled and formed into projectiles. Which are immediately thrown towards Pyrus. Unfortunately, as with all huge weapons of mass Distraction, they were going to cause collateral damage, namely: me. ¡°Oh not again¡­¡± I grumble to myself as I desperately dodge the mountains. P.O.V. Terrus Unaware of the conflicts in the realm of the Gods, I spread my new wings and roar majestically at the heavens. Hearing an answering screech I look around until, to my surprise, I spot Sol. He Evolved too? With a wingspan almost equaling mine, Sol has grown massively. His feathers are long and come to sharpened blades. Immediately after discovering these features, I also learn of a new one. He can talk telepathically now. What do you think boss? Doing pretty well for myself aren¡¯t I? As he¡¯s gotten more intelligent, I¡¯ve been unable to see his levels, so this evolution is rather reassuring. I won¡¯t have to carry, a tiny, useless¡­ Hey! I was not useless! At least I can fly! He says ending with a smirk. Sure, Sure. Watch me learn how to fly way faster than you¡­ What race are you anyways? I¡¯m a (Champion) Light Roc. I have the Order affinity and am level 105. Ah right what level am I anyways? Terrus: (Champion) Magma dragon Level 125 Str: 1,375 (+15) Agility: 1,000 (+10) Constitution: 1,450 (+14) Resistance: 1,450 (+14) Dexterity: 500 (+8) Intelligence: 1350 (+ 14) Blazing Heart (Passive Trait) : Your body is a furnace and your heart is the bellows! Immune to all poisons, paralysis, and fear effects. Instead, when exposed to these your body temporarily grows in strength. Well, that is NICE! I don¡¯t have to worry about poisons or corruption anymore? Ha! Wait what¡¯s this.
Congratulations you have killed the strongest monster in the Inner Forest and purified the Forest Heart. Your dragon blood rages with your foe¡¯s power! (Due to evolution, you can not gain stats. Instead you will receive a skill.) You have received the skill, Final Blaze! As you reach the end of your strength, your armor shatters and your inner self emerges as a being of pure magma and destruction with the ruin affinity! This ability will only trigger after your receive lethal damage. After the ability ends, you will fall unconscious. Can only be used once every two months.
Hmm, I must have a luck and fortune stat of over 9 thousand! This will keep me alive if I ever come up against something like the ent again. Smirking I tell Sol about my new abilities. Alight with jealousy, he hops off the ground a flies around my head to prove his superiority. Alright then, since I can¡¯t test either of these two, that challenge is accepted!. P.O.V. Sol ¡°You know, for a dragon, you really suck at flying.¡± I point out to Terrus as two days after the battle with the Ent, He is still closer to gliding with style than actual flight. He¡¯s fine with throwing himself of a mountain, but once he stops holding his wings still and begins to flap, that¡¯s when it all crashes and burns. Literally. Luckily, he seems to be making some progress. He managed to rise up a few feet into the air on his own power, something he is very proud of. Not wanting to spoil his moment, I stick to the ground continuing to offer wise advice. ¡°See Terrus? You can fly! Now let¡¯s try flying to that ledge again okay?¡± I ask reasonably. Nodding his head, he bounds off and ¡­ falls horribly off the mountain. Sigh¡­ and here I thought he was¡­ wait¡­ It can¡¯t be¡­ Oh my Gods he did it! He¡¯s flying! But, I suppose that means it¡¯s time then... P.O.V. Terrus: HAHAHA I told that snobby bird I could fly! I¡¯m rapidly swerving around the mountain, heading outwards to explore my world from above. Up until now, I had merely flapped my wings furiously and thought deeply about every movement I made. I hadn¡¯t realized that flight was, for lack of a better word, Instinct. I felt it within me as I fell each time yet I could never quite grasp it. Until now that is. As I fly over the forest, I feel free. The world stretched out before me is unchanged, as beautiful and vast as the day I first saw it from the mountain¡¯s top. Not too far above me, the clouds float onwards, driven by invisible, powerful winds that I could feel even from this height. On the ground, I was brutal and strong, but In the air, my body elongated to become very slim. My wings billowed outward, seemingly far larger than when they were folded up while my legs lifted up lying flat on my armored underside. Overall, I still looked freaking majestic, just in a different way. Circling back, I land jubilantly near Sol. ¡°See Sol! I told you I could fly!¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ That¡¯s great.¡± Sol replies half-heartedly. Hmm, I wonder what¡¯s bugging the bird-brain now? We can finally go exploring and he acts like this? ¡°Aren¡¯t you happy, With your great and marvelous teaching, I learned how to fly!¡± I try to not let too much sarcasm ooze into that encouragement, but I¡¯m not entirely sure how well it succeeded. ¡°No, it¡¯s not that.¡± He seems really conflicted. My smile deflates as I notice how serious he is. He looks off towards the sun and then sighs, turning back to me. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Terrus, I have to go. I would ask you to release me from my bond¡± he says simply and formally. That was unexpected. Why would he leave? Did I mistreat him or ignore him? I mean for crying out loud, we¡¯ve only just been able to talk. ¡°Why?¡± I ask, without a hint of emotion. It seems that dragons are good at that: a flat expressionless sound. ¡°Like you, I was adopted by the gods. My patron is calling me to the roost of my people and well¡­ I¡¯m afraid you¡¯re not invited on the Sacred Mountain.¡± He has the good grace to look embarrassed at least. It angers me slightly. We¡¯ve been together for nearly all of our lives and this sudden jittery goodbye is how he wants to end it? We¡¯ve been through thick and thin, well the thin was mostly on my part, but still. I thought we were closer than this. Then a thought struck me, he said his god had asked for him¡­
Yes, Lumen, Sol¡¯s god is at odds with both Terra and Pyrus. I¡¯m sorry Terrus but¡­
Ahh, so that¡¯s how it is. Looking at Sol, it seems that he has come to the same realization. Smiling sadly, I release his bond. Wrapping his wings around my neck, he thanks me, for everything and then leaps into the air, seamlessly riding the currents upward. Almost as an afterthought he turns back and screeches. Let us hope that when we next meet, we will both have grand stories and a peace to tell them in. Roaring back, I reply. Live well Sol. And know that you were my first friend Turning back to the mountain, I hollow out a cave with my earth manipulation. Collapsing the outside and raising it to volcanic temperatures, I lie down to sleep. Only then do I let a single tear fall, but I don¡¯t know... maybe it was just a shadow in the flames. Waking up before dawn, I fly to the mountain¡¯s peak. Sitting there, I watch the sun rise. Another beauty that I had so far ignored. Unlike the sunset, it feels warm and gentle. A soft caress not a dying murmur. Sighing softly, I close my eyes. The bird had been arrogant, he¡¯d been annoying sometimes, but he¡¯d been here.
We¡¯re still here Son. And Me too!
Grinning slightly, I realize they are right. As gods they are literally always with me. I suppose if we lose friends, then all we can do is hold on tight while we can. Heh, that was really deep. Opening my eyes, I grin at the sun and think out. Sol, when we see each other again, I better not have to rescue you! I want a real fight at the very least! Knowing I would see him again, I rise into the air and fly towards the desert. Feeling slightly peckish, I swoop down and devour a full giant forest boar. It¡¯s so convenient to hunt by dropping down on your prey from the skies! Drinking some water from the nearby, now clean, river, I decide I¡¯m ready to fly the one day flight to the mountains. That¡¯s a decision I come to regret over the next two weeks. The desert was misleadingly huge. Nearly 30 meters tall, I still couldn¡¯t see over the dunes¡¯ crests. Fortunately, the heat didn¡¯t really effect me too much, instead it was the sand that made the trip hellish. It crept in between my scales, and scraped against my wings causing them to slowly become raw as I flew for a day at a time. It seemed that my manipulation of earth wasn¡¯t real worth much against the relentless onslaught of sand. Fortunately, there weren¡¯t any beasts that dared attack me. Or rather, there weren¡¯t any beasts that considered me big enough for a snack. I¡¯m not quite sure which one of the two it was as some of the dunes seemed to shift when I passed by them. At night however, it was beautiful. The stars shone unimpeded and occasionally some of them would even fall burning from the sky. Unfortunately, it was cold. Freakishly cold. With my fire I was able to keep warm, but it was getting tiring to not eat or drink and still consume energy. Eventually, on the fourth day, I saw something beautiful. Something amazing. Something wet. AN OASIS! Diving downward, I land next to water and begin to guzzle it down. Funnily enough, my jaws make the water boil around them causing a cloud of steam to burst up. With my thirst sated, I observe my surroundings. What I hadn¡¯t noticed from the sky was that the oasis was actually the center of a primitive village. There were clumps of white mud bubble things that hominids like to live in. Surrounding a bonfire, many painted hominids were staring at me. They all looked similar to the second group I had met, with pointy ears and lithe builds. These ones however had far darker skin and longer teeth. A few even stretched out of their mouths. Analysing them, I saw that they all had the chaos affinity and were no stronger than level 30. Looking more closely, I see a second group. There are ten people in that group and they from three distinct races of hominids. Two of them I had seen, but the other one was new. They were short and had very long bushy fur sticking from the bottom of their face. Only two of them were of this species, but I took a liking to them. They had the Creation affinity like me and, unlike all the others, did not cower away from me.
Those are Dwarves Terrus. You probably like them cause they¡¯re also sons of earth and fire.
Hmm, that would make sense. Also I suppose that since we¡¯re technically related, I can¡¯t exactly leave them here now can I? The desert elves, as I later learned they were called, did taste a bit stringy. But, I was too hungry to really care about small details like that. After washing them off with another drink of water, I tear apart the bindings surrounding the hominids. The humans and forest elves took off: running and screaming away from me. Snorting, I look at the two remaining beings. Discussing between themselves, they occasionally throw a glance in my direction. Slightly bored, I lie down and yawn. Even after I had eaten all those elves my level only rose by one. Hmph, they didn¡¯t even taste very pleasant. Anyways, as the conversation in front of me seems to grow more intense, I wonder what the two are discussing. P.O.V. Eitri: ¡°Come on Brokk! This is our chance! If we convince this dragon to come along on a great trip¡­¡± I practically yell at my older brother. He¡¯s always been so practical and such a traditionalist. Luckily for us I¡¯m usually able to convince him to try out new things and it always turns out well! Maybe except for this time where we almost got eaten, and a few times ago when we almost drowned... ¡°Eitri please. That is a story. If we ask the dragon, he¡¯d probably just eat us as well! Think how his pride could be insulted!¡± Brokk replies. ¡°Well we have to say something! I mean, we haven¡¯t even introduced ourselves!¡± I yell back and we both freeze. We had been so engrossed in our argument we had ignored the dragon. Turning slightly, we notice that, much to our relief, it is not angry. Instead it seems very curious. Stepping forward, I introduce us both.¡± Oh mighty Dragon! My brother and I are humbled to be rescued by your greatness. Anything that is ours is yours for the taking!¡± It had been drilled into us from the first time we entered trader¡¯s school that if we ever met a dragon, we had to lower ourselves as much as we could and maybe, just maybe, we could survive. The dragon chuckles: a booming sound that almost knocks us over. Then it replies,¡± You hominids are amusing. Stand little ones and tell me what you would offer me.¡± Alright! This is my chance! Standing, I carefully plan out my words and reply,¡± Mighty Dragon, we are dwarves of the Rockhammer trading company. Every year, our company plans out a voyage across the grand plains on the other side of those mountains. On this trip, we bring a large cart of gold and firestones. I was hoping to offer to you a job guarding the gold and supplying fire to our mobile forges.¡± The dragon looks surprised, but after thinking for a while it replies,¡± I have heard what would benefit your clan little one, but not what would benefit me...¡± After making sure not to interrupt it, I reply to the dragon¡¯s statement,¡± Why great one, of course you would be paid in gold and metals! Your food would be provided except when you wish to hunt, and you would cross the plains. You also said that you find us unworthy hominids amusing. Well, this journey would take upwards of a year round -trip. Since we would not need your aid on the way back, you could allow us to entertain you for half a year. But a pittance of your great life, but still far more than many of your brethren ever spend amongst us.¡± Hoping desperately I had not overstepped and gotten us killed, I look up at the dragon for an answer. After mulling over the decision, the dragon replies,¡± very well little one, but I have one condition.¡± Ecstatic I ask,¡± Yes oh mighty one? What would that be?¡± ¡° Cut it out with all this formal nonsense. It just seems pointless to me. Call me Terrus instead.¡± the dragon answers, shattering nearly all of my preconceptions about their race. ¡°Oh thank goodness, I was running out of compliments for your magnificence.¡± I reply causing my brother to flinch with fear. ¡°Hahaha, I think the two of us will get along well¡­.?¡± the dragon replies asking for my name. ¡°Call me Eitri, your scaliness.¡± I answer him with a grin. Wait until father sees this¡­. He''ll shit bricks! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Here you go my faithful readers! Chapter 6! Chapter 7: A Dragon and his Dwarves P.O.V. Terrus: The Dwarves were a merry but hard working pair. Only fifteen minutes after being released from their bonds, they had refilled their stocks, gathered up their goods, and hitched their wagon to a group of camels. Interestingly enough, the wagon had two sets of wheels a thin-rimmed inner set and a very broad outer set. When I asked them about it, Eitri the brother who had opened up to me, replied: ¡°Oh those are for traveling in the desert. They spread out the wagon¡¯s weight and keep us from sinking up to our beards in sand.¡± Chuckling at the image that brought to mind, I merrily reply,¡± Well considering your height and the length of your beard that isn¡¯t exactly a great height now is it?¡± ¡°Hahaha! That¡¯s a bit of a low blow don¡¯t you think?¡± He banters back. What an interesting fellow. Less than one fifth of my height, barely level eighteen, and still joking along. Ha, if all dwarves are like this, then I¡¯ll be very entertained on a journey with them. Meanwhile the elder seems a little unsure of the situation. Judging by the way he flinches when I speak, he¡¯s probably still slightly afraid of me. Hmm, let¡¯s see if we can¡¯t fix that. As we set off on foot, I casually ask: ¡°So Brokk, why are you Dwarves out here in the desert? I did not see any cities on the peninsula to trade with, and you can¡¯t exactly say the climate agrees with you.¡±. Seeming slightly surprised by my question, he takes a moment to respond. ¡°Well your¡­ Terrus, We¡¯re actually just passing through the desert to reach the mountains. Our portal from the lower realm opens up right at the edge of that Beast Forest and so we regularly make this crossing.¡± He replies hesitantly. His explanation did confuse me slightly. ¡°Lower realm? What is that?¡± I ask while tilting my head slightly. The dwarves seem surprised that I don¡¯t know. Hmm, so it''s probably common knowledge. ¡°Uhh Terrus, you¡¯re pulling our leg right? Surely you know of the realms!¡± Eitri responds as confusion floods his features.. ¡°I apologize for my ignorance, but I evolved from the Beast Forest. This is my first trip out into the wide world and I still know little of my surroundings.¡± Hmm, a bit fluffy, but I need to regain my mystique after all ! I can¡¯t just look like a country bumpkin! ¡°Ha! No wonder you¡¯re such a weird dragon! You haven¡¯t even met another of your kin have you?¡±He responds, alight with realization. I wait for him to continue and after organizing his thoughts, he begins a thorough lesson on the worlds. ¡°Alright Terrus, I¡¯ll tell you the common knowledge of the world.¡± Pausing for a second, he hastily adds,¡± Remember that this is the tale from the perspective of the dwarves. Every race has a slightly different view on what has occurred. Now, this is the story of the creation of the worlds.¡± His voice is far more grave, and his recital almost seems ritualistic. I listen intently as he begins. ¡°Long ago, there was nothing. Nor land, Nor sea, Nor air, Nor fire. Nor Space, Nor Time had come about. Then came the Self. Almighty and All knowing, he was dissatisfied with his surroundings. First, he made fire to light his way and warm him. Next he made the Earth to walk upon and the seas to drink from. Lastly, he made the Air to feed the flames and protect Fire from Earth and Water. All these came from his essence so he grew tired and rested. None know on which day or how long he rested for Time had not come about yet. When He had recovered, he created space to keep his elements separate, and then walked upon his world. His footsteps dug into the ground, carving out the laves rivers and seas while raising up the mountains and hills. Once more he grew dissatisfied with his world, so he created the dragons and Dwarves from the earth and fire. Giving the dragon''s dominion of the sky, and the dwarves control of the land, he split the world equally between them. Working in harmony, they built vast palaces and Temples for the Self. This was the First age of Life. However, all too soon, the land had been covered, the skies had been tamed, the seas had been plundered, and the fire had been spent. Seeing this, the Self created Ruin, Time, and Chaos to rebuild the world in its original state. The world was shattered, and so began the first age of Death. Seeing the destruction around them, the dragons and dwarves pooled their powers together and Struck two pieces from the Self, Bringing into the World Creation and Order. Furious, the Self rained power down on the two firstborn races. Weakened, he did not manage to exterminate us, only decimate. Eventually, his wrath subsided and he retreated to the realm he had come from. Thus began the first Age of War. Order and Creation rallied the races and took command of the elements, building Gods to govern them. Each God feuded with the others and created races of their own. Ventus brought the Humans, eternal wanderers, into the world, Tritus created the graceful elves from his seas, Terra mothered the elementals, spirits of rock and stone, and Pyrus, not very talented with life, adopted the dragons and dwarves. Eventually, these main races split, with groups following each god. That is how you can see Water dragons and flying Dwarves today. But Ruin and chaos had not been idle. Corrupting the cores of many members of the races, they brought about their own people and continued the everlasting war. That is where we are today good dragon.¡± Eitri concludes with a flushed face. Continuing to walk in thoughtful silence, I The tale is interesting, but it is clearly incomplete. When where the beasts and plants formed? How did the cores come about? What is the lower realm? Why can Dragons like me evolve but the hominid races can¡¯t? Wait, can they? ¡°That is a grand tale,¡± I respectfully begin,¡± ,but it did not answer my question. What is the lower realm?¡± To my surprise, the reserved brother Brokk answers my question:¡± That¡¯s quite simple Terrus. The two sides split the world into three version. Lowest, there is the underrealm, source of all chaos. Above that, there is the lower realm. It is a vast untamed land, with just a few cities and villages built over its entirety. Finally, the highest realm we can reach is this one, the spirit realm. Here, spirits are reincarnated into cores and are born to a member of their new race or evolve naturally into that race. This evolution is what allows for the many subspecies, like Sea Elves and Lightning elementals. Like you for example! I assume you are a lava drake?¡± He ends with a questioning tone. Hmm, Themis what is a lava drake?
Hey! I¡¯m your Goddess not your personal dictionary! You¡¯re still too weak for me to do more than talk to you a couple of times a day, so you¡¯ll have to figure this stuff out on your own. Anyways, since I¡¯m talking to you, a lava drake is a common type of dragon. They have pretty decent physical stats, but a growth rate of only S, which is the base for dragons.
Hmph, I Way stronger than that thing! HAHA I¡¯m all powerful!
Of course, there is a bloodline of star dragons with an Enigma level growth rate. The rate is exponential by the way. You are SSS so you grow 100 times faster than a normal dragon. They grow 1,000 times faster than you. But don¡¯t worry, they only live in space
My shoulders immediately sag. Didn¡¯t you say you could only talk to me a couple of times a day? Did you really have to waste it like that?
Oh I wouldn¡¯t call it wasted. You¡¯re hilarious AND adorable when you¡¯re pouty! :D
Trying to regain my dignity, I try to recall all my epic moments while turning to Brokk to correct him. ¡°Actually Brokk, I am a Champion Magma Dragon.¡± Their reaction was unexpected. First confusion flitted across their faces, then a hint of realization, and finally open mouthed awe. Slightly embarrassed by the gaping looks they were giving me, I look around while they collect themselves. The sand is getting rougher and the dunes have been shrinking. Those mountains also seem a lot bigger. Hmm, they are actually huge aren¡¯t they? Anyways, judging by all this we should be out of here by tomorr¡­ My thoughts are interrupted by Eitri blurting out. ¡° My Gods! You¡¯re a Dragon Lord!¡± He still stares at me open-mouthed. Hmm, I wonder why that¡¯s so surprising to him. ¡°Not quite yet, but by my next evolution I should be. Why, Is that rare?¡± Please be rare. Please be rare, I need some ammunition for my next argument with Themis. Brokk sonrts out loud, and shakes his head. ¡°Is that rare? Is that rare he asks. Hahaha I¡¯ve met a dragon lord and lived to tell the tale.¡± This surprises me, why would it be so shocking to live after meeting a dragon lord? Eitri explains while his brother is still laughing in shock. ¡°Terrus, Dragon Lords are almost legendarily rare. Look, a community of dragons is called a Hold. There are a few hundred Holds spread out across the spirit realm. Outside of these holds, dragons live completely isolated. This isolation is the normal way of life for dragons. So why do some gather and form holds? Simple: it''s because of dragon lords.¡± This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. I digest this information. So my species of dragon forms the center of dragon society? Well that¡¯s nice I suppose but I don¡¯t understand why it''s such a big deal¡­ Eitri continues,¡± There is one dragon lord in each Hold. He either has a group of Dams or one queen to mate with. Now while dragons are normally very powerful beings, any who are sired by a lord receive a bonus to the racial ¡°dragon¡¯s blood¡° ability. The lord¡¯s mates also receive a bonus, ¡°Consort of the Dragon Lord¡±. These bonuses all growth in Strength as the lord does, so a Hold is very dependent on their lord. That¡¯s why my brother¡¯s so shocked you see. Dragon lords are far more prideful than normal dragons and remain in the center of their hold. They only leave to battle or for the occasional hunt. In both cases swarms of dragons patrol, making sure no harm befalls them.¡± The information shocks me. I had no idea that I was so powerful. It''s more than enough to rebuild my pride after being called ¡°adorable¡±. I wonder how my own Hold will be like in the future. I¡¯ll have to make sure to treat hominids better, it really disgusts me how fearful they were of my presence¡­ Once again my thoughts are derouted, this time however it was Brokk who asked me a question. ¡°So Terrus, not to be rude, but which God are you a champion of?¡± He asks the question rather hesitantly. It must be a taboo then. Hmm, let¡¯s have a bit of fun with this and hopefully fix that fear. Freezing in place, I turn to him and snarl. Spreading my wings and surrounding myself in a coat of flames, I boom out,¡± YOU DARE! YOUR IMPERTINENCE HAS GONE TOO FAR THIS TIME DWARF!¡± Their reaction is priceless. Both of them jump back and begin to desperately beg forgiveness. ¡°BWAHAHA You¡¯re both so easy!¡± I break down laughing. After peaking up to make sure it was just a prank, both of the spooked dwarves begin to chuckle with me. Growing serious quickly, I say to them: ¡° I apologize for the bad taste of the prank, but seriously, you two need to calm down. I¡¯ve noticed the hesitation and that fear proved it to me. I maybe be a terrifying 30 foot tall master of fire and Earth, but it''s perfectly okay to joke between friends. I do consider you two friends, so don¡¯t be afraid. Ask away.¡± I felt that showing them that I could joke around as well would get them to open up to me. Thankfully it seems to have worked as Brokk walks over to me and punches me in the foreleg. While it didn¡¯t really hurt, I felt it was slightly symbolic. ¡°Ouch.¡± I say and pull my leg up. Brokk smiles a wicked grin and says,¡± Alright Scaly, that¡¯s for scaring the shite out of us.¡± The grin falls from his face as he notices that his hand is bleeding. ¡°You dragon¡¯s are too strong! I can¡¯t even hit you without getting hurt!¡± he good naturedly continues as he walks back to the wagon to bandage his fist. That reminded me of my ability, Aura of the Guardian. Activating it and toggling the brothers, they jump in surprise as they see the buff. ¡°Aura of the Guardian from Terrus,¡± Eitri says aloud,¡± P..P...PLUS 366 CONSTITUTION AND RESISTANCE?¡± He looks at me, shocked. ¡°Yeah it''s one of my abilities. It grants my allies 25% of my defensive stats. It¡¯s nothing major, just 366 points. I thought it might help the two of you out a little.¡± Not paying to much attention to the conversation, I look around and comment: ¡°Hmm, it¡¯s getting dark isn¡¯t it? I suppose We should set up a camp or something right?¡± Still staring at me, Eitri is about to answer me, when he is suddenly interrupted by an echoing roar. Standing two dunes away from us, a reptilian beast is roaring at us. With Eight heads. It has a tan hide, and is about as tall as I am. Analysing it, I am impressed by the wealth of information I received.
Sand Hydra: lvl 115 Unnamed Common Beast Racial abilities: Acid spew, Infinite Heads are Better Than One.
This hydra doesn¡¯t seem too strong, but it should be a good test of my strength. Turning to Eitri, I ask one question: ¡°Is it edible?¡± ¡°Yes it should be. Watch out though, its heads regrow if you slice them off and it can spit out a stream of acid.¡± He looks concerned as he says this. I imagine a beast like this would be his death if he encountered it alone. Well good thing he has a Friendly Neighborhood Dragon Lord around! I launch myself into the air, flying towards the Hydra. Hissing viciously, it spouts out acid. I ignore it and merely wreath myself in flames, evaporating most of the acid before it even hit me. What little did hit me couldn''t even eat away at my scales. Diving down, I land and reply with a stream of fire breath. Why didn¡¯t I just launch fireballs at it? Because I¡¯m a dragon and what dragon doesn¡¯t breath out streams of fire? Plus, it just looks far more majestic. Unfortunately, the hydra doesn¡¯t seem to be hurt too badly by my flames. Instead of burning away to a crisp, it dashes forward and uses four of its heads to clamp down on my front legs and wings. Holding these limbs in place, it uses its other four to bite at my neck and underside viciously. Fortunately, I had retained the thick plating from my previous evolution, so I calmly prepared my energy for a Spirit Blast. Opening my jaws wide, I¡¯m surprised to see that my blast is drawing in streams of sand and fire. Launching it forward, I hit the hydra head on, dissolving more than half of it. Desperately staggering, it tries to dive into the sands, but I catch it and burn its exposed insides to ash. Not so fireproof on the inside huh? Devouring its core, I¡¯m surprised to see that I don¡¯t even get any experience.
It¡¯s not going to be as easy to evolve anymore Terrus. You have to pull in energy of the elements you¡¯re attuned to. That core¡¯s energy, while it is within you, is far too little to boost your own. You need much more power to grow in levels now.
Wait, what do you mean i have to pull in energy from the elements?
Levels 100-200 take far more energy to level up. You woke up at level 125 only because of the crazy amount of pure energy Terra, Pyrus, and I pumped into you as a reward for purifying the forest. That won¡¯t happen again, so it''s more efficient to absorb the energy around you. This naturally happens at all times, but it works faster in your natural element. So if you want to get stronger very quickly, get to a volcano!
I ponder this as I drag the hydra¡¯s remains back to the dwarves. When I pay attention closely, I can feel energy flow into me. The dwarves seem overjoyed to get it. They say something about getting stronger when they eat it, but I wasn¡¯t really paying attention. Instead I lie down and focus on the two streams of energy that enter me. The larger stream is brown so it''s probably from the earth. It comes from the sand and bedrock far below me. The second is red and, strangely, comes from all around me and the dwarves¡¯ bonfire. Hmm, it must draw from the ambient heat then. Intrigued, I try to draw more power through them.
Congratulations! You have discovered Meditation! With a small amount of focus, you can draw in far more power from your surroundings.
Your new ability Meditation has reacted with your Dragon¡¯s Blood! It has advanced to Draconic Meditation! Now, a small fragment of you has formed to constantly meditate!
And you get a freebie! And you get a freebie! And YOU get a freebie! HAHA this is too easy! Actually, I notice that while the rate of absorption has been doubled, It¡¯s still very slow. Dismayed, I realize that, at this rate, if I don¡¯t get to a volcano, it¡¯ll take me centuries to evolve! With those thoughts running through my mind, I close my eyes and go to sleep. Author Q+A I have some free time today so I decided to post this Q+A! Here is where I''ll try to answer any questions you guys have about the story. Feel free to ask questions as comments down below, I''ll try to watch this post daily for the next week or so. Alright so firstly, I won''t give him a human or Dwarven form for now. For the next ten or more chapters, he''ll live among the dwarves as he goes on a road trip really. After that he...(spoilers censored here) But anyways, the first book is really his life as a dragon and a romp from a majorly OP protagonist''s Point of View. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Anyways question away! B.T.W:: My answers will be replies to comments so check below P.S. Next chap should be either late tomorrow or Monday. Chapter 8: Rams, Dwarves, and Drakes oh my! Waking up to the smell of sizzling meat, I am pleasantly surprised to find that the dwarves prepared a hydra leg for me to eat as well! While I munch down, I notice something about the dwarves. They¡¯ve both grown a few inches taller and I can now sense their magic more clearly. Curiosity overwhelming politeness, I ask them about their change. Eitri beams at me and replies,¡± Well it¡¯s thanks to you Terrus! You gave us a dragon¡¯s meat!¡± I snort.¡± That thing? I¡¯d hardly call it a true dragon! More of an appetizer really!¡± Unfortunately, at this point I notice that I actually despise the taste of hydra. Watching bemusedly as I try to burn the taste from my tongue, Eitri continues. ¡°Well of course It¡¯s not a real dragon like yourself, but it¡¯s still a member of the dragon family. Because of that, it¡¯s meat is highly prized for the energy contained within. It helps us humanoids break through to our next evolution.¡± When I give him a quizzical look he sighs and launches into an explanation. ¡°You see, unlike you dragons and other beast races, humanoids gain power slowly and evolve with painstaking difficulty. This is because there are far more of us. We use our numbers and ingenuity instead of pure strength, understand?¡± After I nod in affirmation he continues. ¡°So that hydra meet you gave us last night? It gave us enough energy to break through our evolution! Brokk and I are now¡­.¡± he pauses dramatically¡± Giant Dwarves!¡± he seems very enthusiastic about it. I however merely look down at him and then at a point several feet above his head and reply. ¡°Well I can understand the dwarf half, but I do believe the giant bit is a misnomer¡­¡± Brokk enters the conversation replying mellowly,¡± Well Terrus when we¡¯re only 4 feet tall, a few inches does make a GIANT difference.¡± The two share a laugh over this. I wonder why. It really wasn¡¯t that funny of a jest. Oh well, I¡¯ll just chalk it up to hominids being strange I suppose. ¡°Anyways, come on Terrus! If we hurry, We¡¯ll reach Handelssted by midday!¡±Eitri exclaims. A look of longing flits across his face as he looks towards the mountains. Hmm, I really don¡¯t know these two all that well do I? I wonder what he¡¯s longing for. After a few hours of small talk as we walk, I breach the topic,¡± So what are your families like? Should I expect the pitter-patter of tiny bearded feet?¡± Eitri snorts out loud and looks at me with a glint in his eye,¡± Terrus you wound me!¡± He says as he feigns taking a fatal blow. Brokk on the other hand, merely rolls his eyes at his brother''s theatrics. Eitri continues as he stands with one leg on the driver¡¯s bench,¡± I am a hunter! Fierce and untamed! While my prey may sometimes run, it knows in its heart that I will inevitably catch it if I try.¡± Nodding sagely, I ask Brokk,¡± So, how many times has he been rejected?¡± Chuckling, Brokk replies,¡± None of Course! He¡¯d have to be noticed first!¡± the two of us burst into roaring laughter while Eitri turns red and mutters meek defenses. When Brokk and I finally pull ourselves together, I notice how the ground has become far firmer. Looking ahead, I can see plants beginning to rise from the ground. From the sparse forest comes a surprising sight: Dwarven cavalry. Mounted on Level 40 Big-Horned Mountain Rams, the dwarves wore heavy polished armor, covered in runes and held two long lances. I¡¯m sure they looked rather intimidating to a humanoid. Trotting forward, they halt five-hundred feet from us. Yelling into a horn, their leader speaks to us. ¡°Halt!¡± His voice is rather nasal, in just the pitch I find particularly annoying. Continuing he speaks,¡± In the name of Grand General of the Dwarven Armies, Protector of the Dwarven people, Champion of the Flame, Lover of the Earth, Chosen of Justice, and Singer of Earth Arton Bloodhammer I command you to surrender the drake¡¯s collar to me, Captain Slerin Bloodhammer!¡± looking expectantly at Eitri and Brokk. Having ignored his first two insults, I am immediately infuriated by the third and fourth. Now friends confusing me with a lesser dragon is excusable. They¡¯re both traders and were well-intentioned but now this dwarf was calling me a drake and suggesting I was what, a pet? Turning to Eitri I say,¡¯ I counted six insults there Eitri. Did I miss any?¡± My voice is cold and my body is beginning to emit heat. ¡° I only counted five Terrus. What was the sixth?¡± Eitri replied quietly, trying not to arouse my ire any further. ¡°His voice.¡± I reply as I leap forward landing before the Dwarf. Releasing the fire and fury I had held In, I use my spirit power to blanket the area, applying pressure to all the dwarves.Looking him straight in his indignant eyes, I cut him off before he can speak. ¡°You have insulted me five times this day, dwarf. You barred my passage, you dared command me, you irritated me with your petulant voice, you wasted my time with your relatives titles, you dared to insinuate that I was enslaved or even bonded, and finally,¡± I pause here and focus my power on the now-trembling Captain,¡± you did not address me correctly. You see,¡± I continue with a dark grin,¡± the correct way to begin a conversation with a true dragon is flattery. Actually, I believe I could add two insults to that. You also made me waste even more of my time educating you, and you still haven¡¯t kneeled and begged for forgiveness.¡± I practically snarl the last part as i watch his eyes widen with realization of his blunder. A drake was a weaker form of dragon. Strong and intelligent, but manageable and ultimately, controllable. A true dragon however was far more powerful than that. A prideful race we often held onto grudges for life. Which is rather dangerous when one considers that we do not age. Hmm, it really is a good thing I had the brothers educate me on my race in every spare moment of our trip. Every member of the fifty dwarf patrol practically jumped off of their steed to grovel before me, the captain being the first one to do so. With his head between his hands he pleads. ¡°Oh great and benevolent dragon! How foolish was I to not see your greatness! Please forgive us my lord, logically one could not expect us too..¡± Interrupting him, I say,¡± That¡¯s eight insults. How could you possibly know of my expectations? You are very presumptuous, are you sure you are not trying to bring about a grudge?¡± Immediately, his lieutenant, a female dwarf covers the captain''s mouth. Speaking clearly and concisely, she tries to de-escalate the situation. ¡°Great one, the captain is foolish and has received his position because of his family, not his merit or wisdom. Please, lord our lives are yours to do with as you please, but we beg of you to leave our families out of this.¡± Hmm, rather eloquent, quick-thinking, and not at all a suck-up, I think I¡¯ll get along with her just fine. Disdainfully I reply,¡± Hmph, very well. Although your lives have been mine since the moment I set eyes on you, I shall accept this deal. In addition, as a gesture of goodwill, I will let you all live, on the condition that I never see any of you again. That is, except the Lieutenant. She will stay here. I find myself in need of a higher ranked guide than the ones I had picked up.¡± Applying more pressure I remind them,¡± Do not forget this. My memory is far greater than that of you dwarves, and trust me, you will not get a third chance.¡± Ending with a hint of disinterest, I wave them off with a claw,¡± Now go, I give you a minute to make yourselves unseen.¡± Watching the dwarves scamper off gave me great pleasure. Kicking up a cloud of dust with their departure, soon I was left only with the lieutenant and the brothers. As soon as I look at Eitri and Brokk however, the three of us break down laughing, leaving one very confused dwarf standing beside us. ¡°HAHAHA Terrus you terrified those pompous buggers! If I didn¡¯t know you I woulda ran too!¡± Eitri is nearly crying with laughter. Somehow, I manage to say through my chuckles,¡± Now come on gentlemen, you¡¯re spoiling my impression on the Lieutenant!¡± ¡°Um¡­ Yes actually. Great one are you ¡­ alright?¡± She asks, confusion dotting her features. ¡°Please, call me Terrus. All thatnonsense only happened because he truly pissed me off.¡± pausing for a moment, I add,¡± And because I was rather bored. Usually I¡¯m very lax on propriety. Especially so with my friends.¡± I reply with a slight wink. The gesture is unfamiliar, but I¡¯d seen Brokk do it many times when making a joke. The lieutenant stands there, mouth open, gaping at me. What? Why is it so surprising that I¡¯m not actually a doombringer or megalomaniac? Hominids are so strange sometimes¡­ P.O.V. Ruby This has to be a dream. I had too much to drink last night and this is all just a dream. I met a dragon and didn¡¯t get eaten. Said Dragon then decided to take me on as a guide, and now he¡¯s winked at me. A dragon, a member of the stuffiest, most vain, most powerful race under the heavens just winked at me. One of the two traders comes up to me and gently pats me on the back. ¡°There, there miss. It¡¯s okay. He is perhaps the strangest dragon you will ever meet and perhaps the only one any of us will have the privilege to befriend.¡± He gives me a gentle smile, as if that would help me reconcile the dragon in front of me with literally everything I was taught. Meanwhile, the drag¡­. Terrus tilts his head, as if he remembered something. ¡°Oh right, I should probably shield you as well shouldn¡¯t I?¡± Suddenly, I feel my stats rise massively. Looking at my listing I nearly faint. Stats: Dwarven Lieutenant Ruby lvl 58 Str: 104 Agi: 87 Con: 101 (+366) Res: 90 (+366) Dex: 88 Int: 92 Congratulations! You have gained the Title: DragonFriend (Champion)! A Champion Dragon has counted you as a friend! All dragons will see this. Most Dragons will be far friendlier to you now. You now can ask for audience at any of the dragon holds! [/window] At this point I just shut down. My stats have more than quadrupled in defense and Resistance and I now hold an advanced version of one of the most coveted titles in the world. And Gods above this dragon is a champion. ¡°Ahh, there we go! Now you should be able to keep standing in a stiff breeze! I swear, you hominids are so fragile.¡± The dragon complains out loud while beginning to walk forward. Numbly, I mount my ram and follow him. Looking over to the traders, I ask them: ¡°Why is he here in Handelssted?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you too. My name¡¯s Eitri and that¡¯s my older brother Brokk!¡± the younger of the two trader¡¯s replies. I feel a flash of irritation, but calm myself. I am intruding on them after all. ¡°I am Ruby. Now if you please¡­?¡± Chuckling slightly, he replies,¡± Well young lass, You see we offered him a job with the Great Caravan. He¡¯s come here to negotiate payment for his services.¡± You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. That stunned me. These two traders managed to convince a dragon to work for them? No, he would probably be working with them wouldn¡¯t he? Terrus may be weird for a dragon, but no being that powerful would lower himself to a worker¡¯s position. As I begin to ask them more, the dragon himself interrupts me. ¡° Oh right! Is it customary for me to bring anything?¡± He asks ¡°Hmm, not necessarily. You could however go grab a boar or a pike for the feast they¡¯re going to inevitably throw in your honor.¡± Eitri replies casually. ¡°Hmm, that sounds like a great idea! I am feeling a bit hungry! You three go ahead, I¡¯ll scrounge something up!¡± Terrus replies enthusiastically as he blasts off the ground. P.O.V. Terrus: Landing a few feet away from the dwarves, I drop the Dragonscaled Boar. While not too difficult to hunt, the thing had been so heavy! I suppose I hadn¡¯t ever tried to carry something a quarter of my size in flight with me. Fortunately, the boar¡¯s core had gotten me very near to my next level. Judging by the amount left, I should level up this night. While the dwarves goggled at the size of my kill, I look at the blank stone wall in front of us. Looking closely, I could see flows of magic flowing through what, on second inspection, turned out to be a massive gate. ¡°Well that¡¯s convenient,¡± I say aloud as I force magic into the spots where the flows aligned, forming a lock. Unlocking it with my power, I force the doors open. Walking through the gap, I gasp seeing paradise. MAGMA EVERYWHERE! The dwarven city is in a massive cavern, spanning nearly the entire mountain. Flows of magma poured into the cavern from adjacent mountains and pooled at the bottom of the cave about five hundred feet below. The city itself was on an Island held aloft by 4 pillars, shaped in the form of massive dwarves. Connecting the city to the gate I entered through, A massive bridge made from Grey stone stands. Every hundred feet there is a statue of a dwarven King. They progressively grow taller until the last pair, which reaches fifty feet tall and stands equal in height to the walls surrounding the city. Impressively enough, most of the city can still be seen, even above those massive walls. At the foot of each bridge¡¯s support, a stone statue of a drake seems to be climbing up. Hmm, these dwarves are, really, good craftsmen! If those statues weren¡¯t standing perfectly still, I¡¯d have thought they were living! Strangely enough, one of the suppports is missing a drake. After taking all this is, I look down around me. Then I notice the trembling guards formed up in front of me. Holding long pikes, they really seem to be having a bad day. Taking pity on them, I boom,¡± Do not fear dwarves, for you will not die by my claw or breath today. I have been offered a deal, and I have come to negotiate terms.¡± Looking down at them, I continue,¡± So? What are you waiting for? Take me to your leader!¡± Hmm, I wonder why that phrase seemed so funny... A tall dwarf walks up. Unlike the rest of his race, he stands nearly 6 feet tall. Wearing golden armor, and two massive longswords on his hips, he is actually slightly impressive. He bows slightly to me, and introduces hismself. ¡°Greetings great Dragon! I am Arton Bloodhammer, Grand General of the Dwarven Armies¡­¡± ¡°Protector of the Dwarven people, Champion of the Flame, Lover and Singer of the Earth, and Chosen of Justice I presume?¡± I bemusedly finish his introduction for him. After meeting his relation, I had been dreading to meet the dwarf, but he actually seems rather acceptable. Eyes nearly gleaming, he manages to whisper,¡± My name has spread to the dragon lands?¡± Almost sorry to burst his bubble, I reply,¡± No actually, I heard it for the first time but an hour ago, when I was insulted nine times by one of your relatives. Sledrin or Slebber, if I remember correctly. The foll actually thought I was a collared drake! Hah! The nerve of him!¡± A hint of confusion crosses his features, quickly replaced by burning anger. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t have happened to be Slerin great one?¡± ¡°Yes actually, that sounds about right. He had a few hundred mounted dwarves with him. I did tell him that if I saw any member of his company again, that we would have rather¡­ fatal meeting.¡± Subtly, I ready myself to fight the guards. I don¡¯t know just how strong the relationship between these two is, and I would rather not risk being caught unawares. ¡°Damn the fool and his greed. I should have known that one day he¡¯d be the death of us all.¡± Furiously, he mashes his fist into his gauntlet. Seeming to remember my presence, he hastily explains,¡± Slerin is a cousin of mine. Not close enough to be Family, but close enough to be kin if you understand. When I see him¡­ I¡¯ll rip his head off this time!¡± He unconsciously grips his blade¡¯s pommels. ¡°Wait, did he not pass by here already?¡± I ask confused. He¡¯d had hours for a head start. Surely he¡¯d have gotten here by now. ¡°No, I did not see him pass. Why do you ask?¡± Arton inquires, stirring up dread within me. At barely a whisper, I answer his question with one of my own. ¡°Since when have there been drake statues curled around the bridge¡¯s supports?¡± Realization dawns on him as the vibrations begin to run through the bridge. To his credit, he reacts quickly , drawing both longswords and instantly commanding his troops to form up around him. I merely push my dwarves outside keeping myself between and the climbing drakes while asking Themis a very important question. Themis? How much can I ask the dwarves for in exchange for slaughtering these drakes?
Seriously? There¡¯s an entire city of innocents at risk and that¡¯s what you think of?
Not really the time for an argument Themis! I¡¯m going to help them anyways, but a reward would really speed my growth up.
Hmm, okay then. A fair deal would have you ask for 100,000 lava rubies. That¡¯s enough to get you to your next evolution in about half a year. However, since you¡¯re a dragon, they¡¯ll probably expect a request around 500,000 lava rubies. I¡¯d suggest you compromise and ask for 100,000 and a storage tatoo to keep them in
A storage tatoo? [It¡¯s a runic mark made by only the most skilled of runemages. It¡¯ll cost about 100,000 rubies so you can say you¡¯re being very generous to them. Anyways, shouldn¡¯t you be saving Arton? He does hold my favor. [/window] Yes, Yes I¡¯ll get right to it. While I was conversing with Themis, the three drakes had surrounded the band of dwarves. Cackling gleefully on the back of the tallest drake sat the dwarf... Slebin? Sedrin? Serib? Seriously couldn¡¯t his name have been something more memorable? Almost offhandedly, I ask Arton,¡± You know Arton¡­ Since that Slebirn has already irritateted me and I¡¯m feeling VEERY generous. I could be persuaded to help you out for say 100,000 lava rubies and perhaps a nice rune to keep them in. What do you say?¡± ¡°Yes! Please! That¡¯s a very generous deal great one, and we would gladly accept!¡± he replies, relief evident in his voice. Had he seriously thought I would sit a battle like this out? Leaping forward, I activate my avatar and roar furiously. Standing over the dwarven Guards, I stare down to the drakes from my now towering height. Spreading my wings, I ignore a notification and push massive waves of pressure down onto the drakes. Snarling mindlessly, the nearest drake claws at me. Ignoring the blow, I let it glance off my avatar¡¯s skin while I use my forelegg to pound it¡¯s head into the ground. Using my reinforced jaws, I snap down on its neck, killing it near instantly. There really is quite a difference between the two of us. Now staring fearfully at me, the remaining two drakes lash out with spirit force. Leaning into their combined power, I prepare my own breath attack. I had lacked many distractions In the four days I spent alone in the desert. Being the hardworking, very bored, dragon that I am, I had used that time to experiment with my powers, and discovered quite a few interesting things. For example, Did you know, that If I agitate the earth element in my breath long enough, I can spew magma? Doing so now, I coat the drakes in my sticky flames! Only to realize that A: they are Lava drakes and B: that naturally Lava drakes are immune to magma, leaving me standing there awkwardly as two confused drakes, a group of guards, and an entire Dwarven city stared at my embarrassment. Think think think! There has to be some way to make this look¡­ AHA! Smiling brilliantly, I harden the magma back into rock and reinforce it with thick metal bands. Then casually walking over to them, I rip off the collars that had bound them. Instantly I hear two voices in my head. Both yelling thanks to me at the same time, I yell back at them to calm down and speak one at a time. ¡°We¡¯re sorry Great Lord! We did not wish to battle you, a champion, but that damned Dwarf forced us into it. If you would free us, we would gladly serve you with our lives for your mercy.
Two drakes have placed themselves, at you command! What would you do with their lives?
MWAHAHA MY DRAGON ARMY HAS ITS FIRST RECRUITS! Well, it would if I could take care of them. Hmm, I wonder¡­ ¡° I accept you into my service. Infernum and Tectonis shall be your names. Now as your first task, I order you to go forth and grow stronger. I overwhelmed you far too easily and when I need you I will call for your return. Stay together, for there is strength in numbers and Above all stay away from hominids and other dragons.¡± Releasing them from the rock, I watch them fly away together. I hope they survive at least. They seemed like a decent sort. Turning back to the dwarves, I welcome their astonished gazes and ask innocently,¡± Now I do believe we talked about some form of compensation? 100 Followers! WHOAH! There''s a hundred people reading my story consistently? And they like it too?! Thank you all so much for this! it really means a lot to me that there''s people out here who enjoy my imagination and love of Badass, O.P. Dragons! Just for you all, I''ll stay up as long as I can tonight and tomorrow to write out Chapter Nine as well! I''ll even get you all boxes of imaginary cookies! (Gluten free chocolate chip cookies) Besides the cookies and chapter coming out about 22 hours from now, I thought I''d compile the Q+A plus general information on the races and world as it is known up until this point. So here it is! Known World: Split into three realms: Underrealm, Lower Realm, and Spirit Realm. (Think of each realm as the same planet, but a different dimension. So slight differences, but overall very similar) Under Realm: Realm of Ruin Affinity. Demons, Orcs, and Undead live in this realm. Lower Realm: Home of Order and Chaos Affinities. Humans, Elves, Elementals, and many weak Spirit Beasts live here. Spirit (Upper) Realm: Home of Creation Affinity. Strong Spirit Beasts and Dwarves live here. Note: The races and affinities listed here are by no means restricted to those realms. The realms have been connected for eons, so intermingling has occurred. (That''s why there are Chaotic and Order affinity Spirit Beasts in the Spirit Realm.) Also, the races here are not the only races. They are merely the most populous. Spirit Beasts: A very peculiar race, they originate from the strong energies of the world. Evolving rapidly and growing to be very strong, depending of course on their exact race, they would quickly overwhelm the other races, if not for their killing of each other for power. Dragons are the Strongest known Species of Spirit Beast. Note: Spirit Beasts can breed with members of their own species, giving a tiny portion of their power to form an infant core. Dwarves: A hardworking race of Traders and Crafters. They evolve slowly for a humanoid race and are not very numerous, but their technological advantage and powerful weapons keep them safe from harm. Elves: An agile and flighty race of Scouts and Mages. Disposition, Evolution, and advantages differ between the subspecies. Be patient with elves, for they act on their own time. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. Humans: And adaptable and populous race. Humans can fit any role or affinity and evolve on drastically different paths from one another. Judge each human individually for as a race one can never tell. Elementals: ??? Demons: ??? Orcs: ??? Undead: ??? Gods: There are 4 pantheons of Gods: one for each major affinity. Each pantheon has power only over it''s affinity''s realm. Gods effect each race differently, from merely blessing dwarves, to adopting and granting affinities to Dragons and other Strong Spirit Beasts. Affinities: There are Four Affinities: Creation, Chaos, Order, Ruin Creation: Beings with this affinity create. They improve themselves and the world and constantly seek out new wonders. They want the world to keep building and never end. Order: Beings with this affinity preserve. They, above all else, want the world to remain the same. Unchanging. Chaos: Beings with this affinity unbalance. They range from curious and inquisitive to unhinged and sick. They want to bring change to the world. Ruin: Beings with this affinity destroy. They are fiercely protective, and destroy everything that stands in their way. They want the world to return to nothingness so that the cycle can begin anew. Note: None of the affinities are good or evil. Order can brutally kill activists and stifle progress. Creation can build massive monstrosities like the Undead. Chaos can lead to improvement in life and health or wipe nations off the map of the world. Ruin can devour souls and dissolve worlds, but it can also recycle the material of creation: a necessary part of the World''s cycle of mana. Also, Beings of each affinity don''t'' necessarily despise and kill each other on site. this only occurs in The Final Wars. No, Terrus will not get a Human Body or Bond to A human for some time. He will eventually become a (spoiler). There will be a romance. And yes, he will get a massive Dragon Army and Dragon Queen. :D Did I miss anything? Plz comment down below and I''ll edit it in! :D Chapter 9: 99 barrels of beer on the walls... Once the treacherous¡­ Slebin?( No Slerin! Yeah that¡¯s right! ) Slerin had been vanquished, the dwarves began to party. And boy, was it a party. The dwarves pulled out barrels upon barrels of beer and mead. Dozens of boars were hunted, spiced, and roasted in the time of an evening. Massive long tables were set out in all of the city¡¯s plazas and the common dwarves were invited out to feast as well. Bards sung bawdy songs, dwarves drank until they were roaring drunk, and a dragon tried to dance. In my defense, I had already had 20 full barrels of booze before the ...ehm entertainment was started. One particularly grizzled dwarf had challenged me to a little competition. We had just adjourned after 20 barrels to use the restroom when a large group of dwarves lined up and began a bouncy jig. Seeming to think that it was a good idea for me to join them, of course my drunk self did. Stomping downward, I left cracks in the main street and caused many dwarves to flee, or fly, away from me. The rest of the night was a blur, but I do remember drinking around 14 more barrels with the old dwarf after that, getting so drunk that I actually fell off the Island into the pool of magma. And that¡¯s where I woke up this morning, peacefully asleep at the bottom of a lake of magma. On the plus side, I wasn¡¯t having any trouble breathing and It felt very nice. On a more negative note, a familiar goddess was mocking me.
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAA!!! You were SOOOO drunk! Good thing you dragons can¡¯t get hangovers, or you¡¯ld be out for a week!
Shaking myself awake, I mutter back to her, ¡°Ugh, I didn¡¯t embarrass myself too badly did I?¡±
Uhmm, let¡¯s see. You described all you great conquests, danced fiercely, and utterly terrified the dwarves with how much drink you could hold. Besides that? You flirted shamelessly with a statue of the goddess of Chastity and left a dragon shaped hole in the city wall.
Relieved, I stretch out and reply,¡± Hmm, I expected worse! At least my image can be salvaged from that.¡± After I¡¯d gotten myself together, I checked all the notifications I had received last night.
Congratulations! You have used your champion powers and cowed three adult drakes with your roar! You have gained the ability, Champion¡¯s Roar! Now, your roar is chock full of your aura and power. Announce your presence at the start of each fight, and strike fear into the hearts of your foes!
Congratulations! Your new ability, Champion¡¯s Roar, reacted with your old ability, Aura of the guardian. They have fused to form Presence of the Champion! When entering battle with you, your allies all gain 15% of your stats to all of their stats. Also, your foes lose 5% of their stats If they are lower in level than you. If your foes are weak enough, they may be rooted in fear.
Congratulations! You have earned the Title Dragon Commander! (Unlike the Dragon Lord secondary race, this title does not cause evolutionary changes.) This title was earned by accepting a voluntary life pledge from a draconic being! Your blood has been strengthened, boosting your stats by 10% and raising your growth rate by one order. You now have an SSSS growth rate.
Congratulations! By impressing him in a drinking competition, you have gained the blessings of the dwarven God of Alcohol and Smithing! You have gained a massive boost to your Dexterity and Dexterity growth rate! (+250, and +6 respectively) Comment: BWAHHAAA! Ya Bloody lizard! Ya almost beat me at me own competition! Since yer already so bloomin¡¯ spectacular at one of me specialties, I thought I¡¯d give ya this teeny gift to try me other. Note: The good of Alcohol is a Chaotic god. Accepting this gift will cause you to gain a chaotic secondary affinity. Accept his gift?
Uhh, Themis? You¡¯re from the Pantheon of Order. Are you okay with this?
Hmm, yes actually. I don¡¯t particularly care about that stuff and Chaos would be a very good affinity to balance out your creation. It¡¯ll also make you perhaps the finest arcane smith in existence! You will have to give up the 20% benefit against chaos though. Instead you would gain a 10% boost against lawbreakers of any affinity. Sound good?
Glad that she approved, I accepted the power and felt my aura grow far more structured with my growth in Dexterity. All the brute power at my disposal began to flow in chaotic currents around me. Mesmerized, I watched my aura flow until I noticed I have one last notification left.
You have been cursed by the goddess of chastity for the massive embarrassment you caused her! Any female being you ¡°Sleep¡± with will be impregnated 100% of the time! Comment: Hmph, now you will either give up on your lust for carnal pleasure or become a very, VERY busy father!
¡­ ¡­. ¡­.. ¡­¡­
Terrus? Uh, Terrus are you okay?
IT¡¯S NOT FAIR!!!! UUGGGHHHHH! CURSE YOU!!!!! ¡­. Looks like these are gonna be some very dry years indeed, Richard. Sorry big buddy but I¡¯m just not ready for fatherhood yet! After most definitely not crying pitifully for my ruined plans of life in a dragon hold, I pull myself together. Looks like I¡¯ll just have to get myself a mate who wants a brood of children¡­
Actually, you¡¯d struggle to find a mate who doesn¡¯t want exactly that. Any Dragon Queen would be beside herself to be constantly with child. They, by the way, are the female version of Dragon Lords. While Lords like you are Powerful Guardians and Conquerors, they birth all the dragons that live in your hold and pretty much rule it too.
But wait, wasn¡¯t I supposed to rule the hold and Victoriously massive armies of dragons? Also, aren¡¯t they kinda inconvenienced by that constant flow of hatchlings?
Hahaha! You¡¯re adorable when you think like that! Nope, she rules the hold. What you do Is just play with your toys and look suitably menacing when she needs you to. Maybe if you get a really nice mate, she might let you pretend like you¡¯re in charge and she¡¯s not actually dictating your every move. Also, no they¡¯re not inconvenienced by it in the slightest. Unlike hominids, she only has to form a magic core and egg for whichever species you want. To do that, she has a pocket dimension in which all her eggs grow. When they¡¯re ready, she merely gives birth to them.
Hmph! I¡¯m sure she¡¯s exaggerating here. How could I, an all-powerful Dragon Lord ever be wrapped around some mere female¡¯s claw like that? It would be absurd! P.O.V. Years in the future: Two Dragons lie together In a specially prepared chamber. Bonding together, the female, A beautiful, sinuous Queen playfully nibbles on the massive male¡¯s crest. In a melodious voice, she teases him,¡± Oh My! The mighty all powerful Dragon Lord! Proud, and uncontrolled by any mere female!¡± Her bright eyes gaze into his, full of warmth and love. In response, the male mumbles out a few unintelligible words, blushing furiously the entire time. ¡°Hmmm,¡± she sighs gently and joyfully and leans back into him to continue the bonding. P.O.V. Present: This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it Swimming up to the surface, of the magma, I notice my growth in level. As I had expected, overnight I had gained a level hitting 127. Surprisingly enough, my night in the magma had brought me past 60% of the way to the next level, a nice little bonus. Breaching the surface, I quickly fly up to asses the damage I had caused. Fortunately, I had only made a hole my size and not fully collapsed the wall, towers and all. Landing in a courtyard near the wall, I very gingerly step around the snoring dwarves. While I observe the chaotic aftermath of the party, a small dwarf in livery runs up to me. Bashfully tapping on my scales, he delivers a message from the city council. ¡°Ehm, Ser dragon? The city council said that they be coming to speak to ya about the deal?¡± Hmm, his accent was a bit thick, but I¡¯d made out most of that. Thanking him for his help, I send him on his way and sit down to await the city council. Fortunately, last night¡¯s party had not been a complete waste of time. I had gained a mass of information on the dwarf race, and a little insight into their minds as well. They were a generally peaceful people, building and trading for most of their long lives. Throughout the party, many dwarves had asked me to breathe breath on their handywork. Much to Themis¡¯s amusement, I¡¯d accepted each and every request. It cost me nothing, and they left positively beaming. Besides their natural jovial personality, they also had a very intriguing government. The dwarves of each city were ruled by a council of the most accomplished members of each discipline. All-in-all there were 6 Council leaders, for the 6 major trades, and gods know how many smaller members. I hope only those elders are coming to visit me. We¡¯d probably need a bigger courtyard to fit all the others in! Luckily, only the Elders and Arton had come. Walking primly across the cobblestones, they formed an Island of order among a sea of dwarves who were either unconscious, or truly wishing they were. After learning and promptly forgetting their ridiculously long and complicated names, we got to business. ¡°Great Dragon, We thank you for Saving our city from those drakes. However, in light of the recent¡­ events regarding our city wall, we feel it might be fair to renegotiate slightly,¡± The chief elder that I¡¯d affectionately dubbed ¡°Beardy Elder #1¡± began. ¡°Hmm, I¡¯m wonder why you would ever think that. Perhaps I should merely enforce the transaction as it was agreed to by your own general here.¡± I reply and grin menacingly. Small flames began to flicker around the group of us. ¡°Why surely a great and honorable dragon like yourself wouldn¡¯t lower himself to robbery?¡±Beardy Elder #2 replies innocently. Drat, they must have recognized me as a good dragon. Hmph, and I even worked so hard to be menacing¡­
You really have a soft spot for these dwarves don¡¯t you?
Thinking back over the past week, I bemusedly agree,¡± Yeah¡­ There are some annoying ones, but they¡¯ve certainly made a better impression on me than the other two hominid races I¡¯d met so far. And they certainly make a good brew!¡±
I don¡¯t even.. I can¡¯t¡­ (Sigh) Oh who am I kidding, of course that¡¯s what you¡¯d care about. I swear you males are all the same¡­
Grinning inwardly at her flustered response, I turn a steely gaze to the dwarves,¡± Hmm, how about I merely repair the wall, and for 150,000 lava rubies and the Rune of course, I¡¯ll join that great caravan of your¡¯s. I¡¯d protect your interests there and even help the blacksmiths out once in awhile.¡± After conversing amongst themselves for a few moments, they reply. ¡°Well Great Dragon, we had Enchantments running through the entire wall. With the broken Piece, You would have to rebuild the entire wall. How about this deal, You would rebuild the entire city wall and join the caravan, and we ,in exchange, will give you 150,000 lava rubies, a storage rune, and name you DwarfFriend. Your name would be carved into our Halls of Memory and all dwarves would recognize you as one of our race on sight.¡± Long-Beard Elder replies. After mulling it over, I make one last condition. ¡°Very well, but I will only stay with the caravan for Half a year. After that, I will leave with directions towards the nearest hold that has a volcano.¡± ¡°Spectacular! Now we must merely seal the deal!¡± Portly elder says ¡°Seal the deal? How exactly would that occur?¡± I question. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s a dwarven tradition. Any official deals must occur in a Dwarven fashion. Simply speaking, we drink to it!¡± Beardy Elder #3 replies joyfully. My eyes narrowing predatorily, I say ,¡± Well then. Why didn¡¯t you say that earlier¡­.¡± After a few rounds of mead, the clocks strike noon. Assuming that most of the city would be awake by now, I exit the tavern and make my way to the city center. Sitting there, I stretch out my soul force to feel the Earth and Rock that were the bones of the city. These dwarves, were honorable and fair. They deserved to be protected by my best work. Having no experience with construction, I spent fifteen minutes analyzing the old walls. They were heavily built, with blocks of many different stones forming layers that made the wall hard, but slightly flexible. As for Enchantments, There was a shield that could be lifted to protect the city itself from magic and siege weaponry, a few enhancements to protect the walls from extreme temperatures, and finally a hardness enchantment to make them difficult to break through. After planning out my Creation, I demolish the old walls with a burst of power and launch into the air, to have an aerial view. First I Build two massive stone gatehouses. From the ground up they are one block of hardened stone, nearly dragonproof in strength. At the four corners of the gatehouses, I built crenellated round towers. With multiple stories, they could hold siege weapons on top and crossbowmen in the middle. From there, I rose up 4 thick stone towers, equidistantly spaced around the edge of the Island. They had a two tiered top, with an upper level that could hold two siege platforms, and a much broader level one story below that for archers and mages. Running out of material from the previous wall, I pull magma from the pool below and from a fifty foot wall. Made from the same material as the tower, It is incredibly hard and dense. However it is still not enough. I smooth its outer edge perfectly and make it bulge outwards to make it more difficult to climb. Then, I raise the top of the outer edge and curve it back, forming a concave shield over the top of the wall. All this takes about half an hour to build, and It leaves me at only about half Strength. Pushing myself, I gather my energy for the most difficult part: the enchantments. Pouring 90% of my remaining spirit power into the spell, I rebuild the same enhancements, only much stronger. And then, with my last vestiges of energy, I glide down to the noticeably shallower pool of lava and fall asleep. P.O.V. Dwarven Hall of Memories (Records of The First Meeting With Terrus) ¡°The Dragon? Ha! ¡®e woulda¡¯ made a fine dwarf! Honorable, and ¡®e drank properly: Just like there was no tomorrow! I missed the lightshow the next day, but the night I spent with ¡®im was a memorable one. ¡®E was drinking with an elder, One I hadn¡¯t seen before, but ¡®e still found time to talk to all of us and bless the works of all the smiths and carpenters who came to ¡®im. ¡®E fought for us, drank with us, and fixed our wall too! I¡¯d call ¡®im a brother any day!¡± ¡° The Dragon was awe-inspiring. A true force of Nature. Defeating three drakes by himself, keeping up with the God of Alcohol in a drinking contest, and accidently breaking our walls were all grand acts of his. Ultimately; however, his most magnificent action was to fix our wall. Rising gloriously into the skies, his power spilled over us. That day, I understood. I saw why dragons are respected and honored. I watched, frozen, as towers of Densium, the rarest form of stone, rose from the rubble of our walls. The lake of fire itself rose to his call, climbing to become a massive wall. Impenetrable, Indomitable, Invincible. ¡° ¡°He¡¯ll do.¡± -Unknown Dwarf. Grizzled countenance and constantly drinking Whew, Here¡¯s chapter 9! Next chapter is the beginning of the trade trip! Expect it Sunday. Chapter 10: Setting Off! HA! I did a great job on these walls! After waking up, yet again, in a pit of magma, I flew myself up to observe my handiwork. Nodding proudly at my work, I suddenly realize that I had no idea whatsoever where that dwarven caravan with my friends was, and also where my rubies were! Winging my way over the city, I am met with massive cheering. Every dwarf that saw me seemed to call my name and point me out in the sky. Roaring majestically in response, I look down at them. Hmm, I already have loyal subjects?! MWAHAHA my Army grows in numbers!
You do know that they¡¯re only cheering you on for those walls right? In a couple of weeks you¡¯ll be nothing more than a local legend to them¡­
Nursing my pride back to health from the grievous injuries it sustained, I finally spot the brother¡¯s signatures in an inn. Landing in front of the building, I chuckle at its brand new decorations. Walls of blackened stone separate its courtyard from the street while the building itself has a tile tile of me flying forming its facade. A sign held by a stone dragon¡¯s head above the gates reads,¡± The Dragon¡¯s Retreat¡±. Meanwhile, a few blocks down the street, rubble can be seen of white walls and a grand sign reading,¡± The Prancing Pony.¡± The Dragon¡¯s retreat eh? These dwarves sure work quickly! Noticing two awed urchins, sprawled on the ground nearby, I boom out,¡± You boys! Yes, you there. I have a task for you. Go inside and fetch out Eitri and Brokk, two acquaintances of mine.¡± Hurriedly nodding, the scurry to the inn. I sit down to wait. Realizing that I have nothing to reward the two with, I ask Themis. Hmm, Themis hominids like to play with gold right?
You know you¡¯re the strangest Dragon I have ever met right? Yes they like gold, but would you ever give away part of your horde to two urchins?
Focusing energy into my claws, I call up a lump of gold from the ground. Analysing its energy and composition, I learn its properties. Turning to my other front claw, I take a rock and fuse its particles together, condensing it further and further until it begins to turn metallic. Finally, it reaches that golden sheen and I merely add energy to keep it stable in that form. It form a small nugget about the size of a dwarf¡¯s fist. While looking it over for any faults, I¡¯m interrupted by Eitri and Brokk. ¡°How¡­ How did you¡­ How¡­¡± The two brothers and the urchins stood there staring and the new gold and twitching like broken records. ¡°Hmm, this? I made it as a reward for those two. Not quite sure how much its worth, but I can always make more of the stuff.¡± Splitting the lump of gold in half I give it to the kids and send them off. Strangely enough, they just numbly at the nuggets in their hand. Eitri runs over and tries to shake my foreleg, His eyes wild. ¡°How did you turn stone into Gold!!¡± He practically screams at me. Surprised by how deeply this affected him, I try to explain,¡± I just fused the stone with itself, making it one heavier element. I kept fusing it together until I got Gold. Simple really if one has Creation affinity and can control Fire and Earth.¡± When my explanation seems to have no effect, I continue on. ¡°Anyways, I was looking for you two. Do you know where the caravan is and where the council put my rubies?¡± seeming to shake himself out of a trance, Brokk replies. ¡° Ahh, yes actually. The caravan is outside the Northern Entrance of the Mountain. The rubies are already stored in a mark, and are with the caravan master. ¡°Great! Well then, what are we waiting for? Let¡¯s go!¡± Brokk sighs slightly, and smiles sadly. Looking up at me, he answers: ¡°Well, Terrus, I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t go on this trip. I have to take care of the family and the inn now that my father is ill.¡± Shocked by this revelation, I reply,¡± That saddens me, but I see you have your duty. We¡¯ll always stay friends, and I¡¯ll make sure to come back to visit someday.¡± Patting him on the shoulder with a claw, I look to Eitri. ¡°What? Yeah of course I¡¯m coming! Do you think I¡¯d miss a grand caravan with a dragon for that old fart? Ha! He¡¯s still got a few decades before he kicks the bucket. Just let me grab my pack!¡± Rushing Inside for a few moments, he comes back out with a small bag strapped to his back and dressed in travel clothes. Hugging his brother goodbye, he sets off walking towards the gates. Looking down at him bemusedly, I ask,¡± And just what are you doing Eitri?¡± ¡°Err, walking to the caravan?¡± Chuckling I look down at him and reply,¡± Walking is boring and way too slow. I want to see this caravan too! Come on!¡± Reaching down, I pluck him up in my front claw. Nodding to Brokk, who was waving and chortling at his helpless brother, I launch myself into the air. It¡¯s surprisingly difficult to not crush a hominid as you fly. Even more so when you try to land. After crossing the bridge with the screaming Eitri, I circle above the gate trying to find a way to set him down safely. Eventually, I merely make my way as low as I can and drop him. ¡°Ooph! You¡¯ve killed me ya great big lizard!¡± Landing beside him, I reply goodnaturedly,¡± Ha! Please, I didn¡¯t know you dwarves were too fragile to handle a tiny 10 foot drop! Come on, we have a caravan to join!¡± As Eitri gathers himself, I nod to the guards and push the doors open with ease. Looking back at Handelsstadt, I beam with pride. The new walls stand tall and imposing, with massive towers and gates. The dwarves are already at work building a statue on top of each gatehouse. I¡¯ve certainly left it better than how I found it! Happily, I turn and strut out of the mountain to see the caravan. When the dwarves had said the grand caravan, I had expected something hominid sized. A few dozen wagons, a couple hundred guards, and a bunch of traders. Large but nothing to write home about. Instead, it surprised me completely. While there were a few small wagons tied to horses, the majority of the vehicles were massive eight-wheeled metallic trailers, absolutely filled with crates of goods. They were pulled by hulking tusked creatures that were nearly twice my size. Intermingled with the wagons were tall wooden towers. Covered in ballista, strange tubes and catapults, they made an imposing sight as they moved along on their own. Eitri must have sensed my awe as he launched into a description of the whole thing. ¡°Impressive isn¡¯t it? A caravan this size is only sent out once every fifty years or so. Around two thousand of us dwarves and of course one dragon are going. It¡¯s basically a small moving city. Those towers are the defenses and living quarters for us. That last trailer over there? It holds our forges, so that we can make parts and weapons. Those 20 hold cargo. Everything from dwarven steel to beast cores to weapons and tools. That one in the middle? That¡¯s the treasury. We keep our profit there and any rare treasures we acquire on the way. You¡¯ll be living in there except when you go out to fly or stretch.¡± As he points out each specific part of the caravan, we walk by the wagons to reach the front tower, the place where he said the caravan master could be found. The trailers tower over me, half again as tall as the behemoths. Dwarves rush between them making last minute pre Hmm, I underestimated the dwarves. Alone, they are weak and can never match me. But together? They can perform feats greater than even I, a dragon, could dream of. Finally reaching the front, I hear a booming dwarven voice. ¡°And where in the bloomin blazes is that dragon! I¡¯m the f------ caravan master not ¡®is nanny! Go find ¡®im and ask the bastard respectfully, remember respectfully ya good-fer-nothing numbskulls, to drag ¡®is arse over ¡®ere so we can get this damned circus on the road!¡± ¡°Yes sir!¡± a few voices call out enthusiastically. Rounding the corner, Eitri and I see the caravan master. He is short, even for a dwarf , and has a long plaited white beard. Wearing a tunic and pants, he is directing the frantic efforts of a group of dwarves. Gasping and yelling out in delight, Eitri runs to him and hugs the old dwarf. ¡°Grandpappy!¡± ¡°Put me down ya rascal! Ya little scallywag, if ya don¡¯t put me down I¡¯ll bend ya over mah knee and spank ya like the whippersnapper ya are!¡± Beaming, Eitri set his grandfather down and turns back to me. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°Terrus! This is my grandfather Dalrin! Dalrin, this is Terrus my friend and the ¡°bastard¡± that¡¯ll be guarding your coin!¡± Eitri finishes off with a grin as his grandfather gasps and swallows deeply upon noticing me. ¡°Err, yer scaliness, please forgive and old dwarf fer¡­.¡± Chuckling, deeply I interrupt him,¡± All is forgiven. I¡¯m not too snobbish to turn a deaf ear when I know no harm was meant. Your grandsons do you great credit, and I am certain it will be a pleasant voyage.¡± Visibly relaxing he replies,¡± Whew, thank ya. Fer a second there I thought I was retiring permanently if ya know what I mean. Anyways, we need ya on the treasury wagon so we can get going. We¡¯re already a day behind schedule, and I ain¡¯t getting any younger.¡± ¡°Haha, that is true, very true! I suppose I shall go to the wagon and learn my duties. Ahh, wait a second, before I forget, where are the lava rubies and the storage rune?¡± ¡°They¡¯ll be waitin fer ya in the treasury. Ya know, with all the other money and jewels¡­¡± ¡°Ohoho, careful there Balrin I might just get a little hungry.¡± ¡°Meh, have at me! I¡¯ll give ya indigestion!¡± Laughing openly, I shake my head at the elder¡¯s antics and take off. Finding the treasury was easy enough considering I could see the magic signature of all the gold. Landing near the trailer¡¯s entrance, I am quickly greeted by a few young dwarves. ¡°Greetings, Lord Dragon! We¡¯ll be your attendants for the duration of the trip! If you please, we do need to hurry as we are the last trailer that isn¡¯t ready¡­¡± ¡°Ahh yes, lead on little ones.¡± Following the three excited dwarves up the ramp, I enter the treasury. It is rather impressive. A sea of shiny, glittering, gold beckoning to me. And It¡¯s all mine! Mine! MINE! Haha just kidding. While I do feel a connection to the gold, it¡¯s really not that overwhelming.
What¡­ How¡­ Why¡­ I give up. You don¡¯t even feel any need to kill them all and take this for yourself? You are the strangest dragon¡­
I can always make more of it, and It¡¯s not like it is useful to me. If I killed them all and took it: 1 I couldn¡¯t carry it all, and 2 I would never have dwarves willingly join my massive army to end all armies. My horde that blots out the sun and makes the very¡­.
Oh boy, he¡¯s a monologuer¡­
No¡­ I most definitely do not monologue! That¡¯s just ridiculous! Shaking my head, and turning back to my attendants, I ask,¡± Alright, so I just need to guard this money? Easily done, if I do get my rubies¡­¡± Quickly running off, one fetches a steel plate with a rune etched into it. ¡°All you have to do lord, is focus your intent into it. It¡¯ll bond to you and store amounts of objects depending on your power. Considering you¡¯re a dragon sir, you shouldn¡¯t have any trouble with it.¡± Bonding with the rune, I dive into the piles of gold checking my stats, Having grown to level 128, i was very Happy with myself as I laid out amongst the riches. Terrus Lvl 128 Magma Dragon (Champion) Str: 1561 Agi: 1132 Con: 1640 Res: 1640 Dex: 832 Int: 1530 The day passed as dwarves rushed around the caravan. They pretty much left me alone, boring me greatly. As afternoon arrived, I had an inspired idea. Since, There¡¯s no thieves around in the middle of the plains, I suppose I could go help the blacksmiths! After confirming my absence for a few hours, I walk among the moving trailers until I reach the smithy. Smoke is bellowing up into the air from the open top trailer and constant ringing can be heard as the dwarves inside are hard at work. Flying up, I see that the trailer is split, having forges on two sides and a broad twenty foot open corridor in the middle. Landing at the very back of the trailer, I observe the smiths, fascinated. A few hundred of them are hard at work in the massive trailer. Pounding the metal constantly, they shape it, giving it purpose and meaning. One tall, grey-bearded dwarf in particular caught my attention. He was Shaping an axe. With each blow, he infused magic and pure will force into the the metal. The axe started out a small block of steel on a handle of metal. Slowly, he beat down flattening and shaping it. Meanwhile, runes began to slowly form on the axe, pure magic taking shape itself in the weapon. Then using magic and physical power, he ground the still red-hot axe tip down. Then taking a new piece of metal, he fused the head with the new piece, and began the process anew. Slowly but surely, he could no longer add any enchanted steel to the axe head and dunked it in an inscribed barrel of water. Then he handed it off to his apprentices, a work of art in my eyes.
Uhh, Terrus? Are you okay?
It¡¯s beautiful¡­ Themis can I do it? How do I shrink myself to hold a hammer?! I want to create something too!
Are you sure you¡¯re a dragon?! Ugh, it must be that creation affinity of yours. Anyways, you could take a human form, but considering you¡¯re a dragon (Champion) you could take a drakonid form. I¡¯ve been meaning to tell you this, but that avatar magic of yours? If instead of projecting your energy, you focus it inwards, you can change your body¡¯s shape.
I will not turn into a hominid! All oily and weak! What¡¯s this drakonid though?
It¡¯s a rare dragon hybrid. It stands on two legs and has arms like a hominid. They still have wings and you¡¯ll gain a few benefits, while you¡¯re at it.
Alright, Let¡¯s do this! Focusing my energy inwards, I use my avatar ability on my own body. Gently morphing, my body takes new shape, shrinking down to a mere 10 feet tall.
Congratulations! You have taken a new form: Magma Drakonid (Champion) form. While in this form, your strength, constitution, and resistance have been reduced by 50% while your agility and intelligence have increased by 25% and your dexterity has doubled. Staying in this form consumes you power. At your current level of power, you can remain in this form 120 minutes. If you evolve, this form will evolve with you. Since you are a champion, you can hold three forms at a time. Currently you can enter your True form, Avatar Form, and Drakonid form.
I look¡­ just as badass. My scales have closed in, forming what looks like a massive set of plate armor. My dragon head, remaining unchanged, only shrunk leaving me with grand horns. My wings attached to my back against the spikes that go down my spine. My tail also shrunk and whips back and forth behind me. Walking upon to the elderly Dwarf I gave him a simple command,¡± Teach me.¡± ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Whew, sorry for the delay. I had quite the writer¡¯s block on the details of this chapter. Anyways, I¡¯m already starting on chapter eleven which should be out Monday. In case I haven¡¯t made my position on this clear enough, nope he will not get a human form. That¡¯s just weak! A drakonid form on the other hand? That has its uses¡­ :D These three pictures, by the way, are where I drew inspiration for Terrus¡¯s form from. Credits go to their artist as I am most definitely nowhere near this skilled. Also, they are not exactly what he looks like they are what inspired me to think of him. This is his original form as an Earth Dragon. This is the inspiration for his current true form, the magma dragon. Note: His front legs are thicker and longer. His scales are bigger and black with red. He only has two sets of horns on his head and the spikes running down his back are larger and split in two rows. Finally, massive plated scales run down his abdomen, covering him in armor. And this is the inspiration for his drakonid form. Note: he does not have the crown and majestic circle of runes. He only has the top set of wings and his scales form armor, not the bone armor that is in the picture. Also, his wings are dragon like, not thin and spindly like those in the picture. Cover for the book! Hello to all my wonderful readers! Our ranks are growing! 208 of us in Terrus''s grand army! But alas! We have no banner to rally to! We have no symbol for our love of dragons! We need a cover for our tale! I am but a humble wordsmith, and this task is to great for one such as I. If any of you have the time and dedication to draw or find a cover for this Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.tale, I would choose my five favorites and form a poll to allow the people to decide our Standard! For the Glorious Dragon Army (and imaginary cookies too)! -The Eldest Potato Chapter 11: An Apprentice Smith! MWAHAHA! Surprise! Chapter number 11 is here! ¡°And Good day to you too young dragon!¡± the elderly dwarf snorts and turns back to his work. That surprised me. Usually hominids have one of two responses to me. A: Nearly die of fear and B: Nearly die of fear. Looking the dwarf over once more, I smile, greatly impressed. Even though he is tall for a dwarf at five foot nine, I still tower over him. My scales are jet black and my raw power leaks out causing an aura of pressure. Yet even through all that, he held strong earning my respect. ¡°I apologize for my rashness Master of your Craft. I was merely excited to create and learn your art.¡± Bemusedly, while hammering away, he asks me,¡± And why should I teach you?¡± ¡°Out of the goodness of your heart?¡± Laughing aloud, he turns to face me, crossing his burly arms over his chest. Unlike the other dwarves, his beard is closely trimmed forming a sharp lining to his jaw and face. His heavy brows and thick stocky stature are the only reminders of his race. ¡°Assuming this goodness of my heart, why should I train you and not any of the numerous dwarves who come to me, begging, pleading, and offering me treasures daily?¡± Looking at his challenging gaze, I know this is his test. My response here determines whether I learn that beauty or not. Stopping, I think for a few minutes. Surprisingly, his gaze softens, and he looks slightly impressed. Finally, I finish my self meditation and sit before him to look him in the eyes. ¡°I am a fighter. I have gotten this far with tooth and scale. My earliest memories blazed by, coated in the blood of my foes and missed memories. So far, I¡¯ve rushed through my short life and although I haven¡¯t known it, I¡¯ve been looking for something to slow me down. I do want to grow strong! I want to be mighty and overbearing, but most of all, I want to be remembered for the beautiful things I leave behind. Building the walls was my first attempt to do that. Arcane smithing would be my second, if you will take me as your apprentice. I¡¯ll admit, there is no reason for you to take me over the other dwarves. None whatsoever, but I must still ask.¡± Out of breath, I bow my head to him. He is without a doubt, the only dwarf that will be honored in this way by me. Placing his hand on my shoulder, he speaks,¡± I¡¯ve lived for two thousand years, and still I¡¯d never thought I would see the day when a dragon bowed his head to any being weaker than him. I will take you as my apprentice, Strange Dragon.¡± Looking back up at him, I smirk,¡± The name¡¯s Terrus old man. And yes, I¡¯ve been called that many times.¡± Smacking me into the ground, he grumpily retorts,¡± Hmph, Lesson one: Respect your Elders!¡± ¡°Yes, Sir Old man!¡± Sighing and covering his face with his left hand he sighs and mumbles,¡± Ah right, and I was wondering why I haven¡¯t taken an apprentice for a thousand years¡­¡± Meanwhile, he smacked me out of the carriage with a one handed swing of his forge hammer. Landing back by his anvil a few moments later, I open my mouth to speak, only to get smacked again. ¡°Hey what was that I didn¡¯t even call you old!¡± ¡°Preventive measures! Anyways, come here, it¡¯s time for your second lesson.¡± Excited, I run back over to him. Sitting on his anvil is a block of metal. Looking at its magic, I see nothing special about it, merely steel. ¡°What is this on my anvil?¡± He looks at me, testing. ¡°Right now? That is a block of steel.¡± I respond with the simplest response I could find. ¡°Good. You won¡¯t believe how many will try to give me a two hour long explanation of what this is. In arcane smithing, the simplest answer is often the correct one. Any extra fluff or nonsense will usually add nothing to your weapon. It¡¯ll just take up your time and even waste the weapon¡¯s potential. What is the purpose of a weapon by the way?¡± ¡°It depends on the weapon.¡± Bemused he looks at me,¡±Correct! Each weapon has its purpose, heavy weapons shatter armor and bones, light weapons move quickly to bypass defenses, there¡¯s a weapon for each type of combat just like there¡¯s a tool for every job. You have to keep that fact in mind when making one.¡± Looking me up and down, he continues,¡± You for example need a giant war hammer or axe. With about a ton¡¯s weight of metal added to your blows in this form, you could shatter any defense. Meanwhile, your scales can simply shrug off blows from any comparable opponent.¡± Returning to his point, he continues,¡°Anyways, the first step is to find the client¡¯s need. If that client wants, fluff give them fluff, but if they want a weapon, make them a weapon! Second, you pick a material, as a magma dragon with creation affinity you should have no problem procuring these correct?¡± Surprised by his knowledge of me, I merely nod in affirmation. ¡°Good. Then you plan out exactly what you will make, or if you are making a masterwork, you start hammering immediately. A masterwork by the way, is the very pinnacle of your skill. It¡¯ll take you weeks, months, or even years to finish one, but the result will resonate with you perfectly. It springs forth from your very soul, so it is unique to you. You will only make one in your entire life. On a normal job however, you plan out every move before you make it. Once you start to act, you do not stop. Every blow will add power to the metal, if you leave that power uncompleted, it could explode outwards ruining your smithy and potentially killing you. Understood?¡± Nodding once more, I store the information away. ¡°Good, then let''s get to work. The first thing you¡¯ll make is your hammer. I¡¯ll let you borrow mine for this and this alone alright?¡± ¡°Gramps, I only have two hours in this form. Will I be finished by then?¡± Looking closely at me, he replies,¡± With that much spirit power in you? You should be done in ten minutes. Now come on, let¡¯s get to it.¡± After giving me a quick guide on how to hold the hammer and hit the metal, he sits down a few feet away, leaving me alone with the forge. First I plan it out. I¡¯m overwhelmingly strong so I need it to be resistant to my strength. I¡¯m much taller than a dwarf so I¡¯ll need to make it my size. Also, I think I can improve its magic conductivity too while I¡¯m at it. After planning out my needs, I crush the steel in my claws, it¡¯s too weak for my purposes. Drawing power from the Earth, I pull up a stream of metal and fuse it together to form the strongest mineral I can make. I think I¡¯ll call it Dragonsteel. Shaping it into a block, I set to work. First I heat it. The old man¡¯s forge is too cool for this, so I use my strongest flames. Once It is glowing white, I begin to hammer it into shape. It had taken me awhile to understand why this was necessary when I could naturally make it take any form I wanted to. If I used my power, it would be quicker, but It would take power far beyond mine to instantly create a useable weapon that wouldn¡¯t shatter. Hammering it adds power over time, giving a weapon meaning and energy slowly. Any flaws could be spotted and corrected as it began to turn into exactly what I wanted. I made my hammer large. The head was nearly as thick as my leg. I wouldn¡¯t be making any light weapons anyways, so the precision offered by a smaller hammer was negligible. Also, I could also make another, smaller hammer if I wanted fine details. Then, as I¡¯d gotten its size down, I began to push magic into the hammer. Blow by blow, runes began to form on the sides. Shaping the flows to take the shape of a roaring dragon¡¯s head, with the jaw pointing towards the face, I add an artistic touch. While fluff is unnecessary, I felt that this would make the hammer my own. Meanwhile, Inside the hammer, I arrange its particles in one direction to form tubes that better transmit my power into the metal. After a few finishing touches, I was done, and completely exhausted too. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. The hammer looked like it belonged to me. Nearly four feet long from head to pommel, it stood nearly as tall as a short dwarf. The handle had taken on a scaled pattern, and the roaring dragon head on the hammer¡¯s head finished out the imposing look. Standing up, the old man comes over and gently lifts it from the anvil. Feeling it, he nods in approval and looks over to me. ¡°Terrus, if I saw something like this made by any other smith, I¡¯d call it a masterwork. But considering you¡¯re not an ordinary smith, I¡¯ll settle for extraordinary quality. It¡¯s very well made and It suits you. Wield It wisely. Now, It¡¯s been nearly two hours. Come back here when you can stay in your drakonid form again. Returning to my true form, I store the hammer in my rune and nod my thanks to the old man. Launching into the air, I wing my way over to the treasury. Completely out of energy from forging my hammer and staying in my Drakonid form so long, I settle down on my glorious piles of gold to sleep and recover¡­ only to be interrupted by a Goddess.
Hey Terrus, you know, you might want to start absorbing those lava rubies. You may have a 4S growth rate, but if you don¡¯t use those it''ll still take you decades to evolve. Also, it looks like I have a job for you in this caravan!
How exactly do I absorb the rubies? Also, what is this about a job? I don¡¯t remember ever agreeing to work for you¡­.
Oh it¡¯s simple! They¡¯re practically cores. Just eat about a thousand every day. You¡¯ll level up once every two days which is a good rate to grow at. It gives your body enough time to assimilate that power and not give you an imbalance of energy. ANd about that job, You¡¯re my champion. Until you evolve you have to act as my hand in the world. Now, there are two dwarves having a blood feud out in the front tower. Go bring down the law.
Ugh, do I at least get a minimum wage for this? Also, I¡¯m barely half a year old. Isn¡¯t this child labor? Complaints notwithstanding, I quickly wolf down a thousand of the rubies. As I slowly digest them, power flows through me, giving me enough energy to fly over to the front tower, which has now stopped. Eitri is holding two armed dwarves apart. As I land, the dwarves, who had been cursing each other viciously, interrupt their tirades to stare up at me. Looking up at me with relief and gratitude, Eitri hollers,¡± Hey Terrus! It¡¯s good to see you my friend! Could you by any chance help us out here?¡± ¡°Of course! As a champion of Justice, my eyes can see through any lie. This should be resolved quickly.¡± Surprisingly enough, neither dwarf seems afraid, both convinced of their correctness. A crowd of dwarves has surrounded us, waiting to hear the story. ¡°Speak one at a time. I shall hear both of your stories, and name the liar.¡± The one on the right, a blond haired, thinner dwarf gathers himself and speaks first. ¡°My Lord Dragon, I am from a family of Merchants. Every day, I work hard in the market to run our business as my only sister, a gentle girl, stays home. She is often ill, and I lack the heart to set her to work. We¡¯re well off enough that we don¡¯t need her to do so anyways. A few days back, I came back to find her crying with her bed and clothes in disarray. When I asked her what had happened, She¡¯d told me that this dwarf, a digger of all things, had forced himself upon her and fled with the caravan!I came all this way to find him and avenge my sister!¡± Hmm, he is telling the truth, or what he believes fervently is the truth. Let¡¯s see what the other one has to say though. ¡°And you, what is your side of this?¡± The second dwarf, a simple looking burly fellow speaks up,¡± Me lord, I be a simple Digger. I ain¡¯t be ashamed of it. Every day I works in dem mines from Dawn to Dusk. On meh way back, I pass by this gentledwarf¡¯s house. I sees his sister in the window, and she is a beauty ser. But I never forced myself upon ¡®er! She be too far above me and besides, I be a married dwarf wit me own Tykes to take care of at home! I didn¡¯t run away to this here caravan, I was hired to dig the trenches and foundations for when we stop by a city!¡± Hmm, well that¡¯s awkward. ¡°Both of you speak the truth. Merchant, your sister did have her clothes in disarray and tell you she had been raped, and you digger, you did not rape her. Merchant did she point out this dwarf specifically?¡± ¡°Yes Lord. She even gave me a pictur¡­¡± He trails of as he begins to realize the direction my logic is going in. ¡°Did you by any chance, notify your employees that you would be going on a yearlong voyage?¡± ¡°No¡­¡± the stunned dwarf replies. ¡°Then go quickly and take back your business. Go on, fly you fool!¡± As the dwarf hurries to return to his home, I look back to Eitri. ¡°Any other conflicts?¡± ¡°Uhh, yes actually you see there¡¯s this¡­.¡± I ended up spending the afternoon judging disputes between the dwarves. Fortunately, I relocated my court to my trailer halfway through the event. So while, the numerous dwarves were squabbling in front of me, I got to play with my treasures! It was surprisingly comforting to let gold flow off of me. Also, it helped me look suitably majestic and intimidating. Now if only I had a princess or two¡­. Eventually, the flow of dwarves slowed to a trickle and I postponed the rest of the cases for tomorrow. Feeling slightly hungry, I fly up and around the convoy, moving out in widening circles to spot prey. Eventually, I spot a pack of felines. Analyzing them, I learn their identity.
Windwalker Lion Lvl 101
Hmm, there¡¯s eight of them. Should be enough for a snack. Landing before them, I roar out a challenge. Quickly, they disperse surrounding me in a shifting pattern. As soon as I look in one direction, I get clawed from behind. Fortunately, my scales take the brunt of the attacks. To counter their greater speed, I raise a massive dome of stone over us. Slowly I begin to close it in, bringing them closer and closer to my reach. Seeing the danger, the lions roar in unison and jump me. Sharpening their claws with blades of wind, they tear into my sides. Unfortunately for their plan, I can now reach them. Smashing my side against a wall, I crush the two slowest lions. The rest begin to claw and bite even more furiously. However, their fighting styles can not face mine under these conditions. If they had managed to stay out of my reach, and darted in, they could have won in a few hours. Now? I¡¯m in my element. Raising my body¡¯s temperature, I force them off of me. After that, the battle was simply a clean up, Using my fire breath and a few well timed spikes of Earth, I finish off three more lions. Then closing in, I rend the other three apart using my claws and fangs. Devouring them, I am again disappointed by how little I grow in power. Looks like I¡¯m going to stay this way for a while. Once I finish, I launch myself in the air and return to my hoard of gold to slowly fall asleep. Chapter 12: Arrival in Aleran The days quickly pass as the voyage wears on. While learning to work metals from the old master is engaging, I can only do so for around two hours daily, leaving me to search the caravan for other hobbies. For the first few days I count all of my¡­ er the dwarves¡¯ gold. Unfortunately, unlike what Themis continues to hammer into my head about dragons, I am not permanently captivated by my hoard. And once I quickly grow bored of the gold itself, I take to walking around the caravan, setting up an impromptu court wherever I feel the need to lie down. Surprisingly enough, this actually grew to be entertaining. I always found it absolutely hilarious that hominids would attempt to lie and hide the truth from not only a dragon, but a champion of Justice itself. The tales they told were also quite amusing. My personal favorite was when a dwarf was caught cheating on 4 different wives and excused himself by saying he was a priest of the goddess of Lust, something which I rather quickly disproved. After my second day judging, Eitri caught up to me. ¡°Hello there, your Honor!¡± He bellows out as he meanders over. Sidling up to me, he whispers,¡± So how much are you charging these poor idiots?¡¯ ¡°Wait, I can charge them?¡±
Again, are you sure you¡¯re a dragon? I thought I¡¯d practically have to physically stop you from taking all of these dwarves¡¯ gold¡­.
Eitri also appears stunned by the revelation that I hadn¡¯t even thought about charging gold. After a moment however, his face splits wide in a malicious grin as he looks almost hungrily at the waiting dwarves. ¡°Ohoho, well then Terrus, Let¡¯s see what we can do about that¡­¡± Rubbing his hands together, he calls together a few assistant and sets to work on the crowd. Uhh Themis, I think I¡¯ve just created a monster¡­. Quickly organizing my pseudo court into a practically royal affair held in the treasury, Eitri begins to charge every case brought before me one gold. Gleefully taking taking the coins, he rushes me through the day, and a small part of the night. After, closing the gates to the treasury, the two of us split the gold between ourselves and settle down to talk. ¡°Ahh I feel much better now.¡± Eitri had a chair brought over to sit on and was now smoking a pipe as he contently held his money pouch close. ¡°Haha I would certainly think so my greedy friend! You practically bled a few of those fellows dry!¡± In my stage of money counting, I had asked Themis what each coin was worth.
Do you not know any thing of the world you live in? Wait, don¡¯t answer that¡­ (Sigh) look, the lowest coin is the copper bit. For perspective, 10 copper bits are enough to feed a family of three for about a week in most cities. Next is the silver tarn worth roughly 100 copper. After that is the gold Phoenix worth 100 silver. Finally, there is the onyx dragon worth around 1,000 phoenixs. Don¡¯t get too big a head over that, you dragons named and invented currency so naturally you placed yourselves at the very top of it.
¡°Why I am offended Terrus! I am an honorable business dwarf! I would never fleece the poor people seeking justice! It¡¯s just that as a big dragon, you need a lot of food!¡± Snorting aloud, I shake my head at my friend¡¯s antics. Settling down on a patch of floor empty of gold, I pull out my daily portion of lava rubies and begin to devour them. As I do so, Eitri continues to talk while looking off into the distance. ¡°You know,¡± he continues in a more somber tone,¡± tomorrow we reach Aleran. It¡¯s a mixed city so they¡¯ll be elves, dwarves, humans, and even a few beastmen living in those walls. You¡¯ll have to be careful at night when you guard the gold.¡± Pausing from my meal for a moment I ask,¡± At Night? What do I do in the day?¡± ¡°Well , you are free to do as you please in the day, we dwarves can hold away any would be thieves while we¡¯re awake. But, Terrus, be careful. The last caravan passing through here was attacked on the first night and lost nearly all of its treasury. They barely managed to hire new guards and make enough profit off their goods to continue the trip. After that, for some reason, the city suddenly found enough funding to build itself a brand new palace and walls! The bastards didn¡¯t even try to hide it! ¡± ¡°Ha, my friend, a few mere thieves will hardly trouble me, sponsored by the city or not! I¡¯ve been waiting for some action anyways!¡± Shaking his head and chuckling, Eitri turns back to his pipe and the two of us settle down in companionable silence until he finally retires. Flying up on top of my trailer, I sit and watch the stars. Themis has said that there are Dragons up there. Can we really become that strong? Have I made it this far on my own strength or for a lack of challenges? As the moons lazily make their way across the sky, I shelve my questions and turn away from the vastness of the cosmos, making my way back inside the trailer to sleep as well. Waking up the next morning, I stretch out and launch myself into the air circling around the caravan, I look for an appropriate breakfast. Fortunately, I quickly spot an adequate target.
Armored Flesh Golem Lvl 140
Hmm, what a strange thing to be wandering around the palins like this. Reaching thirty feet tall, the flesh golem stands on two legs and is covered in metallic armor. Shambling slowly towards the caravan, it drags an obscenely huge sword behind it. Hmm? What¡¯s that on its shoulder?
Shade Grand Necromancer Lvl 127 LAWBREAKER, Child Slayer, Dragon¡¯s greed
Aha, and that explains the golem! Hmm it must be undead then. How unfortunate. It looks like I¡¯ll have to grab myself a quick snack after dealing with these two¡­ Rising higher into the air, I peak and rapidly dive down towards the golem. Having reached level 135 last night after devouring the rubies, I felt more than able to handle them. Righting myself at the last second, I crash down upon the golem¡¯s head, ripping through his armor and digging deeply into his undead body. Biting down upon its head, I am filled with disgust and immediately regret my decision. It tastes rancid! Well I suppose it is an undead, but seriously! These things need improvement to satisfy a dragon¡¯s palette! Can I apply a complaint to the god of the dead...
You do realize that having a minion be disgusting is probably a bonus to the necromancer? If it tasted well you¡¯d have another weapon at your disposal. By the way, speaking of weapons, Shouldn¡¯t you be dodging that one?
Having been distracted by the awful taste and stench affecting my senses, I had failed to notice the golem stumble back and Clumsily swing its greatsword at me. Fortunately, its awkward swing was far too slow and I merely leaped backwards to avoid it. From my new distance, I am surprised to feel a burning pain in my right shoulder. Much to my horror, I can see scales beginning to wither away and dissolve under some spell from the necromancer. Fortunately, I have a very effective universal response. Breathing a massive jet of fire forward, I disrupt the necromancer as he rushes to create a barrier that saps away the fire¡¯s energy. Taking advantage of his distraction, I stomp the ground, manipulating the Earth. Sinking the Earth below one of the Golem¡¯s legs I make it clumsily lose its balance. At the same time, I rush its fall along by bashing its other side with a few strategically thrown boulders. While they are not enough to actually break its armor, they add momentum, tipping the creature. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. After its crashing collapse, I leap forward grabbing the stunned necromancer in my jaws and toss him up. As he flips around, I aim my fire closely and burn him to ashes. Bullseye.
Seriously Terrus, you¡¯re talking to yourself. Is there any need to use one-liners?
Ignoring Themis¡¯s foolish comment, I turn back to the flesh golem only to see it fall apart before my very eyes. Carefully, I use my fire to burn away the remaining traces of necromancy, and then raised the Earth up to cover the battlefield. It had been a quick furious battle, too bad it had done absolutely nothing to sate my hunger. Taking the golem¡¯s cumbersome blade and placing it into storage, I rise up into the air and fly to a herd of plains rainbison. Picking off two elderly bison, I eat quickly and make my way back to the caravan in time to see Aleran rise above the horizon. It was very different from the dwarven city. It¡¯s walls were built from a solid tan stone that blended in to the sea of golden wheat that surrounded the city. Unlike the dwarven defenses which had been purely built for functionality, these sacrificed practicality for beauty. Tall curving spires formed the upper portion of the towers, and the walls were not crenellated. The inner walls were decorated with mosaics, colorful scenes depicting traders and warriors. Meanwhile, the main gate had no doors, just a drawbridge spanning the moat that surrounded the city and a thin portcullis. The city interior also differed. Whereas the dwarven city had been filled to the brim with buildings and small plazas, here large bazaars and parks dominated the space and the houses that did exist were large and lavishly decorated. As the caravan made its approach, a group of riders came out to meet us. Completely uninterested in the situation, I landed far behind the caravan and quickly bounded over to the blacksmith¡¯s trailer. Climbing In, I took my drakonid form and walked over to my master smith. ¡°Hey old man! How are you this morning?¡±Shaking his head slightly, the old dwarf grunts and backhands me. Hmm, is it just me or is this dent in the wall starting to get deeper everytime I greet him? ¡°If I¡¯ve told you once, I¡¯ve told you a thousand times! Don¡¯t call me old! I¡¯m your master not your grandad!¡± After pulling myself out of the crevice I had formed, I race back over to the smith and detail my exploits of the day. Listening carefully, he nods his head a few times. While continuing to work on a sword, he speaks openly with a hint of approval. ¡° Ha! That sounds like it was Neroth, a Grand Necromancer of the Plaguelands in the realm of Ruin. An opponent worthy of dying in such a manner. Did you by any chance keep the golem¡¯s sword?¡± ¡°Hmm, the sword? Yeah I did grab it and put it in my storage. Why?¡± Finishing the sword with a few expert blows, the old master lays it down of to the side of his forge and pulls up a chair. Taking a deep breath, he launches into a lengthy lecture. ¡°Alright boy, considering that you¡¯re an Arcane Smith¡¯s apprentice, I suppose you should learn a little about the nature of magic shouldn¡¯t you? Magic is the base form of energy. If it loses energy, it solidifies forming the air, the water, and the earth. If it gains energy, it becomes fire, life, and death. Now I am oversimplifying things by not including higher elements such as time and space or specific elements such as dark and lightning, but you can understand my meaning. Also, realize that this has nothing to do with the Gods, who are embodiments of each element or an ideal, or the affinities which are far too complicated for an apprentice like you to understand. This is merely the nature of magic. Now, think about it. If you take six pieces of steel that each contain an amount of one of the basic elements and meld them together¡­¡± He pauses, looking at me expectantly. Thinking back over his explanation, I come to a tentative conclusion. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t they just cancel each other out and disappear?¡± ¡°Correct, that¡¯s what would happen if multiple elements normally met within a sword. However, if an arcane smith like myself takes control of the reaction, we can hold the pure arcane energy in the physical realm and bind it to the blade. Now, why is this useful? Simple: for all intents and purposes, it gives the weapon¡¯s wielder a second core. Whenever they need more power, they can merely draw arcane energy directly out of their blade and change it into whichever element they know how to shape: fire, earth, light, space, anything whatsoever really. Additionally, the weapon becomes even more useful as you hold onto it because you can keep adding energy to it from cores or relics.¡± Changing slightly in tone, he begins to dampen my excitement. ¡°Now, there is a limit to how much power you can add to the blade. Materials and the time and skill used in its creation all matter greatly. Even the greater smith on all three planes couldn¡¯t make a copper blade hold as much power as an orichalcum blade forged by a novice. But of course, if said smith could also use orichalcum, his blade would hold at least a thousand times more power than the novice¡¯s. Understand?¡± ¡°Yes Sir! Haha! You¡¯re gonna teach me how to make a weapon like that aren¡¯t you sir?¡± Looking at me with a quizzical tilt to his head the old master replies,¡± No of course not! Today you have to sweep the forge. It is Lerday afterall.¡± After watching my face fall completely, he bemusedly replies and booms out,¡± HA! Idiot apprentice! Of course I¡¯ll teach you how to make an arcane weapon! One day you may even make yourself a soul weapon, but that''s far from today! Come on let¡¯s get to it! After only a moment of sulky indifference, I give in and rush over to the old dwarf¡¯s side ready to learn more about my chosen craft¡­ P.O.V. 12 hours later (nightime) Outside the dwarven camp Valn (Human) ¡°Alright lads! Let¡¯s move!¡± The mercenary leader struggled to get his ragged men into order. I had argued greatly against using mercenaries, pointing out that the gold was barely guarded by a few dwarves and a large drake. This attack had been planned for nearly a decade and was going perfectly thus far. Originally, the dwarves had been expected to hire the same guards. Guards that had been in Aleran¡¯s pocket the entire time. Of course, when they made the decision to hire a drake, the king had been slightly apprehensive. Fortunately, with a band of drake-slayers-for-hire in the city, the plan had been able to continue without any major interruption. Checking my blade carefully one last time, I also look back out over my men. As captain of the guard, I was the one who would actually lead the force that entered the treasury with the drake slayers, a rugged group of 8 with 12 kills under their belt. Worrying about the fact that this would be their thirteenth kill, I chuckle bemusedly at myself. This would be their easiest kill by far! This time they even had a hundred armed men backing them up. Giving the order to move forward, I kick my horse into action and charge into the dwarven camp. The camp is already buzzing like a kicked anthill as the silent nives, a rather ironic name for such a group of mercenaries, engage the dwarves. Ignoring the individual battles, my force thunders through making its way to the treasury while dashing both friend and foe out of the way. When we reach the bottom of the ramp leading into the treasury, my men and the drake-slayers dismount. The slayers move to the front. Three members of their group are mages, capable of working together to disperse any dragon¡¯s flame. Then there are three warriors that have blessed armor and blades. Capable of cutting through a drake¡¯s hide, they would get in close and keep its attention while the mages and two archers peppered its weak spots with spells and arrows while also targeting its inner throat whenever it roars. Stupid creatures these drakes. Taking nine of my best men, I go up behind the slayers leaving 90 troops behind to handle any heroic dwarfs. Upon reaching the top of the ramp, the warriors and mages brace, preparing for the inevitable onslaught. Surprisingly no attack came. Pushing into the entryway of the treasury, we are surprised to see eerie shadows cast across the massive piles of gold and treasure from the moonlight filtering through the entrance. The floor was covered in dirt and loose stones Looking inquisitively at the leader of the slayers, one of the three mages I quirk an eyebrow. Answering my unspoken question, he replies,¡± Aye, there¡¯s something in here. Something strong. All this gold is interfering with my senses though so I can¡¯t quite tell what¡¯s inside.¡± Lighting a fire in his hand he leads us forward into the massive trailer. Amplifying his voice, he booms out into the silent room,¡± Show your face you scaly fiend! Know that this day, another one of you foul drakes dies by our hand! Fear us for we have come for your head!¡± Originally sounding strong and confident, the declaration weakens in the face of the resounding silence it is met with. Slowly, the echoes die out and only the disturbing silence remains. A small wind begins to whisper its way around the room as an unsettling pressure falls upon everyone in the group. A deep rumbling voice booms from the darkness. ¡°(Chuckle) A band of drake-slayers? And what¡¯s this? Ten Alerani soldiers? I should enjoy this¡­¡± Suddenly, the doors slam shut, closed by pillars of earth that rose from the dirt that coated the floor. Shocked by being suddenly trapped, I am left to listen to the voice as it bemusedly continues. ¡°You see, I think you humans believe I am something which I am not. I admit, you are correct in that, if I were a drake, in the face of your group I would just take up a place on your trophy wall. But, you see, I¡¯m not exactly a drake myself.¡± Suddenly, the mage¡¯s fire winks out, plunging the room into pitch darkness. Stunned and now terrified, I nearly fall to my knees as two lights appear thirty feet above the floor and the voice concludes. ¡°Let¡¯s see what you drake slayers can do against a true dragon¡­¡± Rapidly, a band of fire wraps around the walls of the trailer lighting up one of any reasonable man¡¯s greatest fears: an angry Champion Dragon. Chapter 13: The Battle for the Treausry BWAHAHAHAHA! Their Faces, though! Letting my mirth fade away rapidly, I analyze my opponents. Of the eighteen of them, there are none with levels higher than 60 among the guards while the slayers average around level 100. Strong for humans, but considering their visible power, they shouldn¡¯t stand a chance against me. Tilting my head upwards to keep an untimely arrow or spell from entering my throat, I roar a challenge and swipe forward with my front claws. Putting a little magic into the swipe, my claws trace lines of fire into the air that further expand the range of my attack. Surprisingly enough, the drake slayers managed to pull themselves together and disperse attacking me from different angles and dodging out of the way of my swipe. The guards however, were nowhere near as skilled. Instead of dodging my blow, they raised shields and tried to stop it. Quite a futile gesture as my flame enhanced claws bashed through them ripping tears into the nearest and launching the rest flying into the thick metallic walls of the trailer. With them taken care of for a moment, I rapidly turn my head from side to side to take stock of the situation. Having spread dirt and rock all over the trailer floor, I can for spikes, walls, and boulders to attack them. Meanwhile, I of course have my fire which is very effective in this enclosed space. Finally, I can blast any particularly resistant foes with pure aura, something I have not done since I left the forest of my birth.Finishing taking stock of the situation, I whip out with my tail, shattering an archer¡¯s shin and slamming him into a wall. Grunting with pain, he bellows out. ¡°Watch it! He¡¯s as fast as a lightning drake and so much strong-- ah!¡± I cut him off with a spike of earth, and rumble,¡±That¡¯s one down drake-slayers! Let¡¯s see how long it takes me to kill the other seven¡­¡± Lunging forward, I claw one of the warriors who stood out in the open. Strangely enough, he manages to catch the blow on his shield. Hmm, how could he¡­? Aha! Those runes on his shield form a magic barrier. Hmm, they seem to be glowing brightly. Let¡¯s see what happens if I use a little more power. Pouring spirit power into my claws, I press downward on him as the runes grow brighter and brighter. Unfortunately, right as they collapse, my head rocks to the side, leaving my slightly dazed as a massive bolt of power blasted into it. Snarling I turn to see the three mages chanting together desperately to prepare a second bolt. Standing in front of them is another warrior and the second archer. The warrior I had pinned to the ground yells out: ¡°No you Idiots! Get away from each other! Run! Leave me!¡± Hmm, he seems to be the commander of the group. I suppose it¡¯s only fitting that he die last. The mages had placed a thick shield of power in front of them to protect themselves from my fire. Snorting derisively, I open my jaws wide a build up a massive amount of aura. The archer fires a mana infused bolt, trying to pierce the back of my throat while the warrior knelt down raising his shield in front of him. Pitiful attempts. The arrow, which had actually been made out of metal, melts away in the storm of spirit power and splatters harmlessly against my mouth. Contrary to the ridiculous common belief, dragons are fire and heatproof on the inside as well, so the molten state of the metal made no difference. Then the mages fired their bolt, a respectable attack. It is purple in color and I can feel the combined power of the three nested within it. As their desperate eyes follow the attack, I release my own aura beam. Launching forward, the pure white beam meets the bolt, and after a moment''s hesitation, continues onward burning away the mages¡¯ shield and all 5 humans who stood behind it. Unfortunately, I had been slightly overzealous with my power as the beam kept going, blasting through the wall and continuing onward until it gradually dispersed. Only about a half a mile away, and of course after it had passed through the cities walls and hit the, now empty, markets. Whoops¡­
¡­.. (Sigh) Terrus? Could you please refrain from using that beam anywhere near civilization? Luckily enough you only hit the external market and the walls, but if you had hit a crowded slum with that?
Yeah I think that might be a good idea. I just didn¡¯t think it would be THAT strong. I mean, I¡¯m only level 147. Those three mages were all around level 100, and their attacks were so weak. Why is that?
That¡¯s because you¡¯re a Champion Dragon with an SSSS growth rate. Right now you¡¯re gaining about 14 points per level in each of your stats. These stats are just a measure of how strong you are in each specific area, so actually your body is growing about 14 points stronger in each of these areas every time you level. Humans on the other hand? The strongest and best bred human in the world can, at best, have plus 5 in one stat. Even then, all his others would be pitifully weak to balance it out. Usually, they have about +1 to +2 per stat with one of their stats being +3. On the flip side, for every dragon, there are over a thousand humans. So ultimately the races reach a balance of power.
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. Pondering this, I turn to see the last warrior yelling and charging me furiously. Lunging forward, he brings his axe down on my scales with all his strength, and I watch amused as it bounces off my side. Continuing to kick and hack away at my side with pure anger, I ready a blast of fire to end his life. Before I let loose however, The leader, still pinned under my front leg yells out. ¡°Wait! Please, noble dragon! I beg of you! Spare his life for he is my only son. He only came to day because our third warrior had a fever. He doesn¡¯t yet have a beard and has a long life ahead of him. With my death, his mother will need him all the more to keep her safe and fed. Please, just dragon, it is my only wish.¡± The warrior pleads with me, moving me despite of the contempt I had felt for them. ¡°You have given me reason to stay my hand, but I do not enjoy leaving foes alive. I will give you a choice: Swear to the goddess of justice and honour that the two of you will never take any draconic creature¡¯s life again, and I will allow the both of you to leave here alive. Do not do so, and the two of you will perish.¡± Unsurprisingly, the elder warrior immediately swore the oath, and after some calming and coaxing, his son did as well. Allowing the two of them to leave, I exit the trailer to enter the battlefield that used to be the dwarven camp. Seeing a large group of guardsmen guarding the entrance to the trailer, I blast out a cone of flames and burn them to ashes. Then, roaring a challenge, I enter the fray. Immediately, my champion¡¯s aura takes effect as all the dwarves rally, cheering and rushing forward to meet the raiders. Spearheading the charge, I break through them and leave nothing but corpses in my wake. In a few more minutes, they routed and the dwarves pushed them back to the edge of the camp. With the raid defeated, the dwarves turn to the task of counting the dead as I take to skies and look for Eitri. Spotting him, I land near the main tower and slowly close in on the circle of dwarves that had formed. In its center, knelt Eitri, cradling his grandfather in his arms. The old dwarf was still in his bedclothes and his normally braided beard hung loose and tattered over his unmoving chest. Many injuries covered his body, clear signs of how he died. Likewise, the 30 slain city guards in the area also gave a very open clue. Tearfully, Eitri looks up and spots me. Standing up and tearfully holding Balrin¡¯s body he yells to me,¡± Terrus! Look what they did to my grandfather! They butchered him in his sleep! Please Terrus,¡± his eyes darken greatly as his sorrow turns to burning anger,¡± BURN THEM ALL.¡± Also saddened by Balrin¡¯s death, I manage to keep my composure. ¡°Eitri, there are many innocents in that city. Many who had nothing to do with this. I deal out justice, not revenge. I will however, make the ones responsible pay for this. That you can trust me on.¡± Lunging into the air, I look out over the city and roar angrily to wake the people who live there. As many of the citizens crowd in the streets, I bellow: ¡°Today, your leaders betrayed the dwarven caravan, a caravan I was hired to protect. For their betrayal today, they will lose many precious things. First, The walls!¡± I manipulate the rock in the walls and pull down all the painted pieces and precious gems. Burying them deep below the city, I pull apart the remaining stones, letting the tall walls and towers sink into the earth. ¡°And then, the keep!¡± (Writer¡¯s note: A keep is the central building in a castle or fortified city. That is where the nobles live) raising massive jaws of stone from the ground, I form a rough dragon¡¯s head that closes around the citadel and plunges it down into the bowels of the earth, leaving behind a flat ground. Deciding to make sure the humans of this city remembered, I land on the newly flattened ground and raise a densinium statue of Balrin, the now dead caravan master, along with a plaque with a short eulogy written in three languages. ¡°Here is remembered Balrin, grandfather of Eitri and Brokk, master of the grand caravan. Slain by treachery, he stands here over the grave of his betrayers, the rulers of Aleran. See this and remember: justice will always come.¡± Leaping into the air, I snort. It had been the work of half an hour to bring a city of humans to its knees. It did completely exhaust my power reserves, but still: that was hardly a challenge.
That¡¯s because this is a tiny city-state at the edge of humanity¡¯s sphere of influence. There are no dragon holds or major beasts in this area, so there is little reason for them to build up defenses. Anyways¡­ Thank you, Terrus. I was afraid you would lose sight of what we stand for and merely burn the city down. It¡¯s good to see that I didn¡¯t give my blessing to someone who didn¡¯t deserve it.
I know Themis. I did struggle but, many of those humans are innocent. It would hardly be justice for anyone if I burned the city to ashes. I would just cause more hatred and anger and leave more foes behind. Ultimately, once I stopped to think about it, it wasn¡¯t really much of a choice.
(Gasp) A male thinking? Quick let me tell the greater Gods for it must be a miracle!
Chuckling and shaking my head I don¡¯t dignify Themis with a response to that rather obvious attempt to lighten my mood. As, I land at the dwarven encampment, I see a tall wooden monument built in the center of the camp. Sniffing it lightly, I immediately realize what it is. A pyre. Backing away from the dwarves performing a ceremony around the pyre, I return to my treasury and clamber up on top of the trailer to look at the stars once more. Lost in my own thoughts, I wonder aloud to Themis. Themis? What happened to my parents? Terra and Pyrus? Where are they?
They¡¯re always watching over you Terrus. Remember when I told you that I¡¯m limited in how much I can talk to you? They¡¯re an order of magnitude more powerful than I am so of course they can speak to you even less often. That is unless you want your brain to be fried by divine power. As you get stronger, they¡¯ll be able to talk to you more and so will I! In fact, I¡¯ll even be able to show myself so you can see me in all my divine glory!
Reassured, I grin and slowly fall asleep.