by Aaron Smith
Eventually, I had rose from my sleeping position and decided that it was time to find something edible to eat. Of course, pizza or ice-cream was definitely out of the question, so at that moment, I decided to hunt for my meals, even though I had never succeeded at hunting anything in my life, not even cockroaches. I could recall how the brownish bugs seemed to taunt me every time I had failed to smack them with an open toed slipper.
Yet, as a Dragon, hunting came almost as easily as breathing.
I could identify animal tracks and droppings with a relative amount of ease, however, my problem came from the fact that my giant form was not suited to racing adeptly through forests, as that was not exactly a staple feature of a powerful and mighty dragon.
I did not know whether to consider it sheer luck, that a grazing herd had come out of the forests to the open river in order to drink water.
You have found Wild Deer!
A hexagonal floating screen appeared in my vision, and I disregarded it, instead focusing on how in the world I was supposed to approach. Wait, wasn’t I supposed to be able to breathe fire?
I charged my lungs, clearing my throat as I gave an experimental few huffs.
New Skill Tree Unlocked:
Stream Skills
Stream Skills are those skills under the Blaze Breather class that enable you to fire off continuous, streaming amounts of fire, which deals continuous Damage Per Second (DPS) can deal heavy amounts of Damage Over Time (DoT). These however, drain your MP at rapid rates.
Gained Skill:
Red Wisp Lv. 1!
Deals 20 DPS. Consumes 10 MP per second.
New Skill Tree Unlocked:
Blast Skills
Blast Skills are skills under the Blaze Breather class that enable you to fire off brief, blasts of fire with detonative strength and concussive force rather than continuous streams. These however, require a brief recharge time before they can be used again.
Gained Skill:
CinderBreath Lv 1!
Deals 10 – 100 Damage, Costs 20 MP. Requires 10 Second Cooldown Time.
So it seemed that I might be a giant, fearful dragon, but I was not immediately an all-powerful being. That was somewhat annoying, but I supposed it could not be helped. My skills could be leveled up so it seemed, and I could make them stronger eventually, because I had no delusions in my mind that it was going to take me a while to find the “All-Sage” guy.
So for now, I turned my attention back to the deer, before feeling the slight warmth build up in my mouth, which was not uncomfortable, but felt as though I had shoved in several extra-strong mints inside.
You exhale with CinderBreath!
It was a work of art witnessing as the brief fury of flames, like a swarm of angry red bees, launch forward and struck the deer. I was expecting squealing and fleeing, but definitely did not expect the flames to hit home wonderfully, and explode.
You dealt 62 Damage!
You have slayed Wild Deer!
You have gained Deer Meat x 1, Deer Fur x 1
You have gained 1 EXP!
I let out a small whistle, shivering at the sound of a my own voice whistling, before moving over to the deer, and grinning down as I noticed the meat was very well fried, almost seemed arranged in a manner that was appetizing.
Could I eat rudimentarily roasted meat?
My mind said no, but my growling stomach and draconian physiology said yes, and I had no idea when I had already started drooling, and I descended down with my mouth and swallowed it whole, savoring the delicious taste and crunchy bone that was almost like biscuits.
So to dragons, deer tasted like medium rare steak. That was infinitely interesting to know.
But only one measly experience point was gotten from killing that deer? What in the world did I need to kill in order to hit the thousand points just to move up to Level 2?
“Timothy!”
My attention turned back to the sprite, with purple hair, whose name I still did not possess on my tongue.
“Sprite girl. You came back.”
“Of course I came back! I’m your personal sprite! And I have a name!”
I blinked at that. “You never told me your name.”
She stomped her foot into the air and puffed up her cheeks. “I did! I told you my name is Ting! It was the first thing I said when we met!”
Had she done that? Oh, I could vaguely recall hearing her say that, but her name had skipped my mind on the accounts of the shock and disbelief that had been running through it at the time.
“Never mind that – where did you go?”
“To the nearby village! It’s a small town not too far from here, we can fly there and ask around for how to get to Astra.”
My expression at that moment would have looked either absolutely comical, or downright terrifying on a dragon.
“Oh wonderful, I’ll just descend down from the clouds, light up their ovens and campfires with my fiery breath, give them a fanged grin, and have them sit on my laps as they chat it up with Timothy the giant black dragon.”
“Yes! Would that not be fun?”
I sighed. Of course, Ting still did not understand sarcasm.
“Ting, I am a dragon. Do you see mice lathering themselves up with milk and giving bedroom eyes to the cat?”
She seemed to pause in contemplation, before her lips formed into a large ‘o’.
Still, a part of me wondered if it was the same town that had been so eager to lynch me when I had first woken up, a half-man, half-wyvern thing. I would be paying that town a very entertaining visit in the future and I’d like to see what they would think about me now.
“How about we just ask some travelers? I saw a group riding horses down on the road, and some other nice fellows hiding behind cliffs and trees to protect the group!”
I turned my entire form to the sprite, noticing how small she was in my vision to the point that even my claws were larger than her.
“Did you say they were hiding behind cliffs and trees? What were they wearing?”
“Well, most of them were wearing rags and hoods – I do not know why though, when the travelling people with horses had these shiny armor and swords and there was this beautiful golden carriage moving with them –”
I resisted the urge to smack my claws into my face.
Main Quest Updated!
The World of Asperia – Part 1
Main Objective:
Find out more information about your surroundings!
Secondary Objective:
Watch or Prevent the Bandit’s Ambush
Rewards: Map of Asperia, (Secret Reward), (Secret Reward) + 100 EXP, +100 Fame/Infamy
Alright. So it was time to meet with the humans of the world. I flapped my wings, and gave them a mighty heave, getting ready to take to the skies.
Skill Unlocked: Flight
As a Dragon, you have the abilities of Flight, however, this is directly linked to just how powerful you truly are.
At Level 1, you can fly for 1 hour a day, before requiring your wings to rest.
At Level 2, you can fly for 2 hours a day.
At Level 3, you can fly for 3 hours a day.
On and on this goes until you reach Level 24, in which you can fly for a full day without requiring the need to rest your wings, and it remains so until Level 30, in which there is no restriction on how much you can fly.
Your starting and cruising flight speed is 50 MPH, and this is increased by 1MPH every 10 Levels for a total maximum of 200MPH. Lightning Lickers however, can go above this for a maximum of 300MPH.
My jaw unhinged. There were dragons here that could fly as fast as 300 Miles per hour? That was faster than the golden eagles and the peregrine falcons, so how in the world had humans not yet been hunted to extinction if that was possible? A small part of me was regretting not choosing the Lightning Licker class upon seeing the sheer speed that those dragons were capable of.
Except, it was a slow process, and only moved up every 10 Lev
els, meaning that if they were that fast, then they were ludicrously strong as well.
“Timothy? What does it say?”
I grinned as I turned to Ting.
“It says climb on my back cause I can show you the world.”
There was no denying the exhilaration that took hold of me as I went from zero to fifty in two seconds, soaring through the skies, and letting out an excited roar as the wind rushed in my face, and I ascended from the earth to the heavens.
“I CAN FLY! HELL YEAH!”
Soaring through the air, I flipped, turned, spun and glided, pumping out my claw-hand in front of me like I was goddamned Superman, and proceeded to fly like a superhero straight out of a comic book.
Gods, the feeling was inexplicable. The ineffability of the rushing winds and unlimited freedom to maneuver in all three dimensions was magnificent. It was as though I had found true love in the boundless limitations of the sky. I did the breaststroke through a set of fluffy clouds, and slapped a pigeon out of the sky with my claw, my fangs baring into a smile as I saw the notification for a single experience point.
Realizing that I had only one hour for the entire day to do this, I decided that I definitely had to gain more experience and level up, if only for the sole reason of being able to be with my true love, the open, boundless sky.
“Timothy!”
My gaze turned to the sprite, that had somehow managed to stay on my shoulder the entire time, though her face looked horrendously green.
“If you throw up on me, I will eat you.”
That seemed to settle her down as she returned to her normal color. Though, she did vanish out of existence in a brilliant purple spark. Maybe sprites couldn’t survive high altitudes? Sighing, I turned my gaze back down to the ground below.
The ground below me was a mesh of green, with several large forests and trees, but I could however make the sight of the village that Ting had been talking about, a small establishment that seemed to be filled with huts made from thatch roofs, or a few measly bricks with plain zinc housing. My draconic eyes could see them despite how high and how far away I was in the sky, it did not take me long at all to take note of the people, grudging along on the way and I could tell from the dull colored rags and grimy looking appearances that they were poor and impoverished.
My gaze turned elsewhere, to a road leading out to the village, in which I could spot the bandits, hidden horrendously amongst the tree-line and cliffs, and awaiting a small brigade of merchants accompanied by a garrison of soldiers riding on horses. The guards moving alongside the horses did not look at all like people that you wanted to be attacking, clad in heavy ornate armors and wielding brilliant, heavy broadswords, it seemed like a fool’s errand to oppose them.
Yet, the bandits seemed to be willing to do so either way. I lowered my descent, moving above the clouds still, but was now close enough to make out the starts of the skirmish, witnessing as the bandits had lunged with arrows and crossbows, and the garrison immediately went on to the defenses, their shields rose up in will to protect.
Main Quest Updated!
The World of Asperia – Part 1
Main Objective:
Find out more information about your surroundings!
Secondary Objective:
Make your choice in the Bandit’s Ambush!
Select a Choice of Action
Devour the Bandits, helping the Traders and Garrison
Devour the Garrison and Traders, helping the Bandits
Devour them both and take the treasure and goods for yourself
Do nothing, sit back, and watch
Oh, how I loved multiple choice.
I knew that the final option was not an option, as I needed to get information, but the remaining three seemed to somehow believe that I would want to eat the humans. Well, I was a dragon, my heartbeat and breaths and everything else about me was draconic physiology, yet, my mind was still, predominantly that of a human. I couldn’t just eat another human being because I was no longer one. Or could I?
I shook my head. I’d cross that bridge when I got there, for now, I needed to decide whether or not I was helping the Bandits, the Garrison, or taking them both out – neutrality was always the best policy. Of course, then they’d just gang up against me, so I couldn’t do that, I had to help one or the other.
The loot looked decently good, and considering the fact that it belonged to the Traders in the first place, they’d be far less willing to offer some out in exchange for help they did not truly need, and those soldiers struck me as the all-too honorable type that would want to valiantly slay the dragon. The bandits on the other hand, would be more than happy to part with their wealth, considering the fact that their odds of this raid succeeding seemed low due to how poor their equipment and armor was, and because they had nothing to begin with.
Experience told me that if a child had nothing, and was given half a loaf of bread, he’d be absolutely ecstatic. However, if a child had a full loaf, and had to offer half of it out to someone, he would not be pleased.
You have chosen Option B – Devour the Garrison and the Traders
I dove down, an absolutely manic smirk on my face as I streamlined my body to increase the speed of my decent. Max speed or no, gravity was still gravity, and I became a speeding black blur that got closer and closer to the location of the Traders and well-armored guards before I crashed into the ground with my feet as a meteor sent from heaven, ready to deliver divine judgment.
Dust momentarily clouded my form and I could tell that the fighting had come to a heavy-handed stop, as numerous pairs of eyes all turned to me, mystified, terrorized, as I bared my fangs and let out a massive bellowing roar.
“I. AM. TIMOTHY!”
Chapter 3
“D-D-DRAGON!”
Seeing the fear and trepidation run through numerous pairs of eyes was perhaps the highlight of my day. I let out a heavy flap of my wings that sent a majority of the bandit force soaring back, taking them clear out of the way of the fight. Hopefully, they’d get the message that I was on their side and would not try anything stupid like attacking me. With that feat suitably completed, I did not hesitate to begin my assault.
You have encountered (10) Startled Horses Lv. 1
You have encountered (7) Terrified Merchants Lv. 1
You have encountered (9) Rookie Knights Lv. 10
You have encountered (3) Apprentice Knights Lv. 19
You have encountered (1) Adept Knight Lv. 30
I rose my eyebrow as I did a head count. So despite all their fancy armor, most of these knights here were actually low-leveled trainees? There was only about one real threat, and the rest were just used to cover-up.
Airborne Strike! +100% to Intimidation!
You have the Initiative!
You have afflicted the Status Effect [Petrified] on all enemies!
They were literally frozen in fear, and I had to keep myself from losing it and barking out into a series of laughs as that would ruin the effect. Then again, I could not blame them. I would have pissed my pants if a dragon shot through the skies like a bullet and slammed down in front of me.
Ensuring that they could not flee was my first priority, and I swooped in, jaws wide open, fangs the size and sharpness of guillotines and made short work of the first horses I could find.
You devoured the Startled Horses!
Unlike the deer, which I had already previously roasted somewhat with my flames, the horses were not done so, yet, somehow, as my fangs sunk into their necks and tore off their heads, and as I bit and gobbled up their bodies, it felt as though I had bit into a heavy, meaty sandwich, with nice buns on top, and thick, juicy bacon in the middle, extremely juicy in the manner that should not have been legally allowed.
So, deer tasted like medium-rare steak, and horses tasted like bacon sandwiches. This was a rather enlightening affair.
You have defeated (8) Startled Horses!
You have gained 8EXP!
“C-
c-c-charge! A-a-attack the d-d-dragon!”
I let out a brief amused smirk as I realized that the knights seemed to be snapping out of their reverie, and the Rookies had all put on faux-brave faces as they warily came charging.
Still, I wondered what the difference in strength was between a Level 10 Rookie Knight, and a Level 1 Blaze Breather Dragon.
You exhale with CinderBreath!
Critical Hit! You deal 99 Damage!
Apparently, the difference was vast. The man I had targeted failed horrendously to move out of the way of my fiery attack, which stunned him and exploded, sending his charred body soaring through the air.
You have defeated (1) Rookie Knight!
You gain 10EXP!
Just 10EXP? Really? That meant I’d have to kill at least one hundred Rookie Knights just to move from Level 1 to Level 2?
I growled. Hopefully the other targets would be much more rewarding. Oh, it seemed at the same time, my growl sounded so intimidating, the rest of the Rookie Knights looked just about ready to turn tail and flee.
“Rally yourselves men! We must slay the beast!”
I rolled my eyes, looking over to the man who had spoken that I could identify as the strongest knight present, the Adept Knight who was at Level 30. Taking him out would be the fastest way to completely shatter their moral, and I believed I had just the way to do it.
You have swiped a Terrified Merchant in your claw!
You can either eat, burn, or throw the object!
I would have laughed at the manner in which the merchant was referred to as an object, and even more so as I was certain to hold him carefully, crush him in my giant clawed hand before reeling my hand back, and sending him forward, aiming towards the strongest knight.
You have used a Ranged Weapon!
The Merchant barreled through the air at breakneck speeds before slamming directly into the shield and breastplate of the Adept Knight. The somewhat satisfying sound of bone slamming into metal and cracking against it, echoed like symphonies into my ears.
You dealt 104 Damage to Adept Knight!
You dealt 234 Damage to Terrified Merchant!
You have defeated (1) Terrified Merchant!
You have gained 5EXP!
