One thing his new body and form did well was regenerate. It only took a few sleep cycles before he had mostly returned to full health. David was able to talk to Red and Blue off and on as he rested. He found out that it only took around sixty to seventy “cycles” for their eggs to hatch. Once they hatched it would only take, what David can surmise, a few years for the hatchlings to reach maturity. Most kobolds never made it to old age, he wasn’t able to get an exact number but based on Blue’s account of their old elder he had to be in his late twenties or early thirties by David's years. Apparently the greatest hazard elders faced was upsetting their Masters… which wasn’t a pleasant scene to visualize.

Red was focused on expanding their cave home. David was happily informed Red’s class was Warrior. David probed a bit and learned that unlike him most races seemed to develop classes and they never went through growth phases. Red’s class was focused on physicality and as a result he already towered over blue and was able to shovel and dig nonstop.

David leant his muscles to the effort for a half a cycle. His claws and strength tore massive chunks of dirt and stone free. By the time the pair was done they had dug out five total chambers, and expanded David's own for his future growth. Red had shifted his efforts to reinforcing the walls and cleaning up as David decided to venture out once more.

David slowly and carefully worked on creating a mental map of the underground stream and the surrounding tunnels. The stream itself continued for another three thousand or so of his paces before disappearing downwards into a large pool of dark water. He happened across a wyrmling that was lurking near the pool digging its sharp teeth into an oddly shaped fish at its feet. David approached slowly and rumbled out the chirping bark of his tongue.

“Hello fellow kin” He cautiously threw out as his voice echoed through the dark and expansive cavern. The little wyrmling answered by instantly diving into the pool. The wyrmling’s tail and feet were both webbed as it disappeared into the water’s depth with a surprising speed and grace. David stood at the water edge dumb founded before claiming the half eaten fish left behind as his own. He did not receive a prompt for slaying it but the meat was fresh, and quite good. David stared at the pool for a long moment as he considered. The wyrmling had clearly picked up a trait involving water. Dragons were as adaptable as he thought and made a mental note before turning and beginning his trip back up the cavern.

He spent the rest of his day slowly mapping out the tunnels that weaved in and out of the massive cavern. He picked up the scent of a whole spectrum of creatures, some that caused his senses to tingle and others that made his mouth water. He tracked down and consumed three more Monitor Runners. He was surprised and thrilled when his prompt pinged him after the third one.

Monitor Runner slain and trait available.

Coiled Legs - Your legs become reinforced by coiled muscles. They store energy like springs and allow you to leap your full speed stat in a vertical or horizontal distance in a moment's notice. Your speed while walking is reduced by 3 but increased by 6 when running.

Coiled Legs trait available. Absorb Y/N?

Fascinating. David was happy for a number of reasons. First, he confirmed that traits appeared based on a chance or another factor he still wasn’t aware of? Second, the Coiled Legs lined up with roughly what he expected to find coming from the Monitor Runner. He could hopefully selectively target and farm traits down the road but of course it was never that easy. Third, he confirmed that traits seemed to follow a pattern. So far he found one trait that was purely focused on increasing one’s stats and two that are a hybrid stat increase alongside what he is going to call an ability.

He needed to test if he could pick up a trait after declining it. He also needed to make a decision. Coiled Legs was good upon first glance but if he wanted to be effective he needed to focus on what he already had. Simple math showed the difference in if he took advantage of Condensed Musculature or not. David ran the numbers quietly in his head. If he picked up 6 to 8 strength points his current trait would multiply those by one and a half making him monstrous combined with a potential strength ability that might scale off of strength too. He reluctantly declined Coiled Legs. The prompt closed in front of his eyes and he sighed. He hoped he hadn't made the wrong decision.

— Red —

Red had excavated their home with Masters aid. It was an honor to work alongside him and Red had not acquired any injuries in the end. Master seemed more restrained than most Masters he had learned about in his teachings. It was a small blessing for himself and his future children. He offered a small prayer of thanks to his Master.

After the Master had left to explore, Red used the opportunity to gather mushrooms and bugs. He had discovered little hard shelled critters underneath the rocks near the stream. They were small, crunchy and virtually tasteless but a good supplement of meat if Red could gather enough.

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He spent most of the rest of the cycle bringing back mushrooms and pockets full of shell bugs. He was making his way back with the fifth load of the day when his nostrils picked up the strong scent of sulfur. His eyes darted around and he took in the dark silhouette of a Wyrm in the distance. It had to be his Mas- wait. No. Master was far more muscular! No! Red dived out of the way as a ball of yellow and orange flame came rushing at him. It illuminated the cave and blinded Red for a terrifyingly long moment.

Red was taught early on that the Masters were their kin’s ultimate guide to become something more in the world but they were also their enemy if it wasn’t -their- Master. The ball of fire crashed against the cavern wall, causing a cascade of sparks and flame to fan out inside the cave. Red let loose a battle cry as he pulled free a large sharpened stone for each of his hands from his pouches. His Warrior class flared alive as his muscles bulged underneath his small red scales. His arm sprung forward as he activated his Throw skill causing the stone in his right hand to fly forward with an intensity that wouldn’t be possible normally. The sharped stone impacted the enemy Wyrm with a satisfying crack as the stone shattered a thick scale in its shoulder and embedded itself surprisingly deep.

The enemy let loose a vicious and wounded roar before it leaned back then launched itself forward to cover the entire distance between Red and itself. Red was stunned by the sudden leap and was unable to bring bare his other stone before the Wyrm buried its thick, sharp teeth into his side. Red was treated like a rag doll as he was thrashed around and slammed into the ground over and over. He was thrown aside and rolled before coming to a stop on his back. Red coughed blood as he peered down to see his side torn asunder. As his eye sight grew clouded and dark he swore in his mind… he didn’t even get the chance to see his offspring hatch.

— David “Onyx” —

As he entered the central cavern holding the stream he heard the uncanny cry of an injured beast. His head perked and his senses began to tingle heavily as his instincts were telling me to avoid it but… he quickly realized the roar was coming from the direction of his home. He began to bolt as he charged forward with feet thundering heavily against the stone floor. As he dashed across the stream and came upon his home he saw the dark silhouette of a kobold go flying through the air and then shortly thereafter a Wyrm standing menacingly over the bleeding kobold.

NO! David’s vision went red with rage as he saw the blood pooling around the kobold’s body. His feet didn’t stop and instead they picked up speed. The other Wyrm leered over the kobold, its mouth wide in what David only registered as a grin. It was so focused on its prey that it didn’t even sense the barreling pitch black form of David coming straight at him.

David closed his mouth around the smaller Wyrm’s tail and bit as hard as he could muster. With a snarl and a jerk he picked up and thrashed the Wyrm through the air with impressive strength. He felt his trait’s boon work as his bite grew harder and harder. At the peak of David’s thrashing arc his jaw crushed and tore the tail clean off. The enemy Wyrm flew a few feet before slamming into the ground with a satisfying crunch.

David let the tail fall from his mouth as he lumbered towards the other Wyrm. He could see clearly the white and blue hue of its hide now and the look of pure fear in its eyes. As he approached, the Wyrm let loose with his affinity and a respectable blast of fire crashed into the front of David’s chest. His scales and flesh burned as the suddenly bright light blinded his senses for a precious second. He leaped forward, half blinded, and was met with only the ground. He snarled and thrashed around as his senses cleared and saw the enemy Wyrm nowhere in sight. He could only pick up the strong smell of sulfur and blood leading away from his location into one of the distant exit tunnels.

As his rage cleared David dashed back to the kobold to find that it was Red. His heart dropped as he could only smell blood and the fading life in the poor kobold’s chest. No… No… NO! David began to plead and panic. He couldn’t lose Red so early on. He needed him. Blue needed him. His eggs needed him! He cradled the small bloody form of the kobold awkwardly in his forelimbs letting loose a cry. His chest ached and his heart pounded hard as he felt so hopeless… His prompt pinged him suddenly.

New Affinity Unlocked.

Affinity Selection Available. Select one permanent affinity.

Fire Affinity

Cold Affinity

Life Affinity

He almost dismissed the prompt before his eyes caught on the new blinking option. Life…? What did that mean? His eyes shifted to the fading, twitching kobold and he made his decision in that instant.

Affinity Selection Confirmed: Life.

David “Onyx” Manning - Otherworlder Species: Wyrm

Str: 18

Int: 12

Speed: 10

Toughness: 10

Affinity: Life (1/1 Charges) Healing Breath (Fog) - 1 Charge Cost

Traits: 1/3 Condensed Musculature

As his prompt disappeared, after he confirmed his choice, he felt a warm, comforting sensation tingle in his chest. By instinct or reflex his mouth spread and a soft, warm white fog erupted from his mouth. His burned chest slowly began to heal, granting him instant relief. David was stunned as his mind registered what was happening. He quickly peered down at the kobold and found the fog fusing with its wounds. Red’s wounds slowly pieced themselves together, and his chest began to rise and fall rapidly. Red gasped loudly as his eyes shot open. His little hands groped where his wounds used to be in shock before his eyes went wide staring up at his Master.

“Master. Saved.. me.” Red murmured out before he began to chant some sort of prayer. David’s heart sang out happily as life returned to the kobold. He had just gained the ability to heal? He resummoned and then glanced at his prompt and saw that the Life affinity had dropped to 0/1 Charges. It appeared he could only use it once before it ran out. He helped Red to his feet before walking over to claim the enemy Wyrm’s tail as his own. He dipped his head to Red as the pair returned to their home as quickly as possible. It was an unusual affinity but he had no regrets…