Sable had kind of forgotten Aylin needed to eat.

And water, shelter, and the hundred other necessities of life, for that matter. It was horribly inconvenient. Granite, bless him, just stood there next to her hoard seeming supremely satisfied in his mission. There was a low-maintenance servant who knew how to do his job. She appreciated that.

Fortunately, she could provide the immediate necessities to the goblin girl. A fire, a short hunting trip for a deer, which Sable snacked on as well, and Aylin topping off her waterskin in a local stream, and the poor mortal was taken care of—at least for the short term.

For the remainder of the evening, Sable strategized, sometimes bringing Aylin into the loop to get her opinions. The plan that formed was the clearest way forward, in Sable’s eyes. She wouldn’t be ravaging cities and setting landscapes ablaze, but she still needed a way to defend herself. Needed to grow in strength. So how could she do that?

By being a domineering-but-secretly-benevolent dictator. The details to how she would pull that off remained murky, but she’d figure it out. And being a dictator of any sort was questionable to her sense of ethics, but maybe she could be an overall positive to the people of this world. By the sounds of it—and admittedly, she didn’t know much—things were rough out here. Monsters abound, constant warring between races, and so on. A powerful leader could be a good thing, objectively speaking. Though justifying tyranny in any manner was questionable.

The tricky part would be doing good while coming off as evil. Especially when she had such a high bar to clear. Dragons had a serious reputation. Even regular evil might not be enough to grow her notoriety.

She’d take things as they came. There was still so much missing information she was missing, anyway. Without knowing more about the world, it was pointless to plan for the big picture. She had small picture planning to do, first.

Figuring out magic, being the obvious. Then starting to level up, since her experience debuff had loosened. Fifty percent ought to be enough to start advancing with. Growing her hoard, on the other hand, could wait. She didn’t know how far it was to her ‘second tier’ of wealth, but she suspected it wouldn’t be nearly as simple as a few trips to the Ruins. Going from ‘nothing’ to ‘slightly more than nothing’ was easy. But full tiers, such as from ‘scant’ to whatever, would be much slower.

As for how to learn magic. Aylin’s clan didn’t have any spellcasters. From the sound of it, they were rare. The world was crammed with magic, but sapient races were the least able to control it. Mostly it was monsters and natural phenomena. Plenty mages did still exist, though. Especially, at a guess, if she went to a big city. But Aylin’s small home clan, a few hundred goblins strong, had zero. No one to learn from.

So, a monster, then?

Sable could find a monster with some sort of spellcasting abilities, defeat it, dominate it, then hope it could teach her. Seeing how monsters—in the way this world used the term—were generally not intelligent, that might be annoying. Having Granite teach her magic, even with his increased intelligence, might drive her insane. He wasn’t very good at explaining things, from the few times Sable had tried to drag information out of him.

So finding a real, sapient spellcaster might be the goal. Surely the northern clans had a few to pick from. Aylin had said people with classes were more common there.

It was frustrating, but she might have to hold out on magic for a bit longer.

They settled down for the night, Sable setting a fire blazing to keep Aylin warm. Sable and Granite didn’t need it, but it got cold at night, and letting her thrall-member freeze to death would obviously be neglectful. Sable hadn’t even noticed the biting temperature on the snow-covered peaks, so the chill of forest at night obviously didn’t register either. But to Aylin, it certainly was.

Sleep took her faster than expected. The chaotic day had taken a lot out of her.

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***

The morning sun and distant sound of birdsong woke her. She drifted to awareness distressed, dreams she couldn’t quite remember lingering in her psyche. She shook the lethargy off, blinking as she stirred awake to a bright morning sun.

Was she … outside?

She bolted awake, alarmed.

A sprawling lake surrounded her, with a thick treeline encircling a distant shore. To her side was a smoldered-down fire and a still-sleeping creature with green skin. Her other side, a pile of gems flanked by a hulking, animated pile of rocks.

She closed her eyes.

Right.

She’d almost thought she was late for class, waking up to such bright light. But nope. Dragon in a fantasy world. Past life as a human left behind.

She stood, stretched her wings and legs, then got to things. No point in stewing over it. Moving forward was easier.

[Wake up.]

Her goblin companion twitched, then shot awake and scrambled to her feet, disoriented. Sable had been wondering whether or not she could send mental messages when the target was sleeping. Yes, apparently.

Aylin adjusted to her situation quickly. She blinked around, confused, her hair a bit of a mess, before turning to Sable.

Then, she stiffened. Not at seeing Sable, at remembering her circumstances, but something else. Her mouth fell open, and she full-on gaped at Sable.

[What?]

“I got a class,” she said, sounding baffled. “Why? I didn’t do anything.”

Huh.

So Aylin’s suspicions were justified—being in Sable’s thrall did increase the likelihood for that happening. Good for her, Sable guessed? It was obviously something she’d wanted. Plus, it made her more valuable to Sable. Would the same be happening to Granite? Or did he already have a class, being a golem monster?

Strangely, the woman girl seemed more mad than excited.

“I would’ve figured I’d need to at least prove myself,” she fumed. “I just get one? Like that? It’s so … unfair!”

Sable listened to the rant, amused. She supposed a life-long aspiration simply dropping into your lap wasn’t very fulfilling. Without having felt like she’d earned it, Aylin was as disappointed as she was pleased by the event.

Though, still pleased. That showed on her face. Just warring with other emotions. It was clear she couldn’t decide how to feel about it.

[What is it? The class.]

“Dragonsworn Champion,” Aylin replied. “It says … my first skill empowers me when I’m carrying out your orders.”

That, too, Aylin clearly wasn’t fully happy about. Sable sympathized. The class wasn’t autonomous; it was, like Aylin herself, linked to Sable. Bound to her in another manner, now, not just Sable’s [Dominate]. Would Aylin’s class become useless if Sable dismissed her? Since she would no longer be issuing the woman commands. And by the name of the class, it sounded like she’d receive further skills that revolved around Sable—who she was the ‘champion’ of.

“Better than being classless, I guess,” Aylin eventually said. She shrugged. “The skill says ‘notably increases all stats’ when I’m acting according to your will. Sounds good. Odds were that I’d never get a class, much less one that seems like it’ll be strong.”

[If I instruct you to do as you please,] Sable said curiously, [would the skill always apply?]

Aylin thought about that, then shrugged. “We’d have to test it. I’d figure I’d have to be working on something that helps you or your goals in some way.”

[And if I instruct you to venture out and level up? So I have a more competent champion?] That would be ‘working toward’ Sable’s goals. Would the skill always be active, in that case?

“I … don’t know. Like I said, have to test it. It’d be nice, don’t get me wrong.”

[But you don’t think it will.]

“I’d think it’d have to be more direct. Could use it the same effective way, though. Order me to go clear out a dungeon and bring back loot for the hoard. Gives me the boost, but works toward your real goal of me getting stronger? I feel like both intent and phrasing matter.” She frowned. “Dunno why, but I’m pretty sure of that. Skill didn’t say it, but it feels right.”

Sable had experienced the same thing. Her skills and class came with a set of instincts that sometimes guided her. Not always. [Arcane Specialty: Frostfire], to name the obvious one that eluded her—that came with a frustrating lack of intuition.

[I intended to hunt alone, but perhaps we’ll do so together. We both have advancement to be working toward.] She glanced Granite’s way. [And him? Does he have a class?]

Aylin frowned at that. “Monsters are monsters. His species is his class, I guess. It’s the same thing?” She didn’t sound wholly certain, but for now, Sable took it for the truth.

[Well,] Sable said. [Regardless, let’s get going. Those maps you stole included a dungeon entrance. I’ll admit to some curiosity, and if I want to get stronger before tackling the northern tribes, where better to begin?]

Especially because it seemed like she might physically outgrow cramped corridors rather quickly. Dungeoneering was something she wouldn’t be able to do in the interim period between when she was too big to fit in tight spaces, and when she received a half-dragon form.

Dungeons. What would they be like?

More than that, what skills would she get for level two? She found herself surprisingly excited to find out.