Mash stood close to the gate. It reminded him of the barred cell doors of the prison, thin bars no bigger than his palm making the entirety of the gate. Each was engraved with intricate runes, and previously none of them had managed to do anything to the metal. It would be a different situation now, Mash had access to power unlike what he could have managed before.
He decided to use his transformation skill again, however this time he embraced that small bit of dragon flesh that he had consumed. The transformation into Priscilla had strengthened him significantly, and he knew that Priscilla was not as powerful as a dragon. Even the smallest dragon would be far stronger than she was, and he was eager to embrace its power.
The transformation took longer now than it had earlier, his boots breaking from the growth of his feet. Mash had gotten used to wearing his wood as shoes, but they did nothing in resisting the claws that grew from his feet. His hands had also grown long claws, and scales formed all over his body as they had earlier. They were different now though, a deep shade of black rather than dark shades of another color. They were also significantly thicker, and he guessed that his body weight would have more than doubled from the scales alone. He even noticed other changes as his tongue grew longer and collided with now sharpened teeth.
While he had transformed to be more like Priscilla, he had felt huge changes to his magic control and comprehension. This was different, and his body felt significantly stronger. He didn’t feel much change to his magical control or comprehension, but he did feel like he could output more raw power. It seemed like his dragon form had improved him in terms of raw power, and nothing else. He felt stronger, faster, and even more confident. It was as if this form was making him feel powerful. After all, what could resist the power of a dragon? Mash shook his head dismissing the thought, realizing that either his earrings or Priscilla were helping him keep his thoughts grounded. Were all dragons arrogant? Could arrogance even be a physical condition?
Those were questions for later, as it seemed like many were. His list of questions without answers had seemed to only grow and hoped that the library would have some answers for him. If not, Ivarin seemed rather talkative the last time they spoke. Thinking about it, he believed that the elf would be more than a little excited to act the knowledgeable adventurer. The thoughts distracted Mash as he reached his hand out towards the gate.
Originally, Mash had planned on using his wooden creations or lightning to try and overpower the gate, but he felt like that was unnecessary. He could just overpower the gate; it was just a simple cage. Gripping the bar he closed his hand tightly, pulling it towards him. His arm seemed to thicken as he did this, the scales grinding against the metal. It looked like his arm was inflating as he pulled with impossible strength, that he figured would surpass someone whose class was dedicated to it. His arm began shaking from the exertion, and the gate seemed to shake as he expended his energy. The sound of growling escaped from his throat, and his teeth grated against one another as his eyes narrowed from the strain. Rather than forming his energy into lightning or wood, he just used it like a bludgeon smashing his energy against the mana inside the gate. Essentially, he was just bashing the mana in the gate till it broke.
Eventually, it did just that, and the bar he was holding bent as he pried it away from the rest of the gate. The single bar being ripped off seemed to be enough, as the rest of the gate seemed to lose all its magical properties. The magical enchantments on the metal had been destroyed, and the rest of the metal was ripped off like paper.
Name: Mash Stellumbra Class: Draconic Thunder-wood Imitation
Level: 60
Health: 2800 / 1600
Energy: 978 / 2400
Fortitude: 160
Endurance: 100
Strength: 107
Agility: 110
Intelligence: 140
Wisdom: 83
Charisma: 75
Free Stats: 5
Before returning to his human form, Mash checked his stats curious to see if the system would show the changes. It had not been shown him the changes to his stats but had shown him something else of interest. Two things stood out to him in fact. His health had gone up by eight hundred points, implying that he was much more durable while in that state. That made sense, but he was surprised to see it shown as being above his maximum. The other thing that had surprised him was the energy drain. He was able to watch as it continuously ticked down and knew that within a few minutes he would be out of energy.
Rushing back into his human form, he realized now what that transformation really did for him. He figured the physical improvements might even be better than his persist skill had been, but the energy drain was immense. Using that form outside of a fight was incredibly impractical. However, the power spoke for itself as they saw the remains of the gate. He had pried something open that he couldn’t even manage to damage with double his previous stats. Mash knew that it was not just physical power that let him do that, as the gate had become a lot weaker when he used his energy to break the enchantments, but it was still an impressive display.
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That much was obvious from the expression on his friends' faces. Mash was a little surprised to see that they had taken a few steps away from him but was grinning as they gaped at him like fishes. Mash saw that glint of jealousy in their eyes, and he couldn’t blame them. Even he was excited to see what their advancements would be. Mash knew that one hundred and two hundred advancements were considered the biggest, and he couldn’t imagine what his next advancement would do for him. Would he be able to become a real dragon? Thinking about that though, he doubted it. That would be far too powerful, though he couldn’t see what else the next advancement could do for him.
“Well, that was terrifying.”
Luke’s words cut Mash out of his thoughts, and he turned towards him. he thought about what he had done, and while it might be scary, it didn’t warrant the looks he was getting.
“What was?”
Clearly missing the point, Mash asked him to elaborate.
“I don’t know how to explain it, but it was like something pressed down on us. It was like your…”
Luke trailed off, seemingly unable to find the right words.
“Presence?”
Mash had an idea of what he meant and offered his suggestion. Luke only shook his head though, letting Mash know that he was wrong.
“No, it was more physical than that. Like staring down an enormous being and knowing that it wouldn’t even notice your existence. So more like your uh, girth?”
Despite Jill sprouting a grin as she finished her statement, Mash felt little amusement in her words. He did wonder what it must feel like though and considered how weaker monsters would react if even his friends felt frightened.
“Well, Mash time to go smash some cells.”
Rolling his eyes, he moved towards the first cell. Originally, Jill might have been needed to get people out, but they knew it would be faster for Mash to do it. It looked like he would be testing to see if his hunt skill would still function like persist. As he approached the first cell, the people inside moved to the back, knowing that he was going to destroy the cell. Mash guessed that several people had seen his display with the sealing gate and were being very wary of him now.
Turning into his dragon form, he gripped two of the cell bars with his hands. His arms bulked up like before, and he felt his energy pour into the cell bars. They took a lot less power to pry apart, and Mash started moving from cell to cell. He was a lot faster now and managed to break almost fifty cell doors before collapsing. Disappointingly, his hunt skill hadn’t activated, and he knew that it would not be as versatile as persist. The skill had become narrower, and while it would make him stronger in real combat, it was weaker in other situations.
However, he didn’t pass out, and only slumped down against the wall. The metal felt cool against his back as he returned to his human-like form. He didn’t think of his normal form as being human, as his body seemed impossible for normal humans to achieve. It was unnatural like the beautiful auction people but in a very different direction. At least, it was less horrific than his old form. He started using inhuman hibernation, recovering his energy so that he could continue. Jill had started getting people too, as they realized it would take a while if they left it solely to Mash.
Mash’s meditation was interrupted, as a girl approached him. Mash recognized her as the girl who was in the cell with Julia, the first of the transformed that he had killed. She had been terrified of him after she realized what he was doing. Not knowing how to react, Mash only stared at her awkwardly as she approached. When she got close, she gave him a small smile, before speaking.
“Thank you.”
That was all she said. That singular action had been like a light that he desperately needed, and he looked towards. Before, he had ignored her, but now it was different. She looked to be several years older him but had a youthful face. Long red-brown hair poured down her face in an unkempt way. She had tried to tuck it behind her ears, but it wasn’t working and constantly fell over her face. Even though her cheeks were sullen from starvation, it was clear that she was beautiful, and Mash couldn’t help but be grateful to her. Those two words had been something he needed, even if he didn’t know it.
“Wait, what’s your name?”
“It’s Ashley.”
She only turned slightly to give him her name but never stopped walking towards the gate. The trapped people had been congregating there, waiting for Mash and his friends to finish. They probably wanted them to escort the group out, and Mash understood why. They were probably scared to leave on their own, unsure of what could be waiting for them on the other side. Once he finished recovering his energy, he continued freeing people. Even with his dragon form active, several people had mustered the courage to thank him, and each one broke down the terror from before.
By the time he finished freeing everyone, Mash was feeling a lot better. Not ready to return to the group though, Mash started recovering his energy again. Breaking the rest of the cells open had drained him. It didn’t take long to recover only a few minutes, and he returned to the others. They were already ready to go but had waited for Mash anyways. Stepping through the dungeon entrance, Mash was a bit surprised at what he saw.
His brother was alone, sitting in front of the entrance with his weapon drawn. The blade was in the ground, while he sat atop a throne of ice. Looking around Mash realized that the building was destroyed. The image his brother cut was striking. A man riddled with small injuries, sitting upon a throne of ice, surrounded by a frozen world. Mash didn’t understand what was happening, the air was thick frost, and each of his breaths was visible. Even without his mana sense, Mash could tell that his brother had advanced his class as well.
The power the radiated off his brother was unfathomable, and his mana seemed endless to Mash. The blade he was carrying seemed much more complete now, viscous-looking spikes creating teeth along the side of the blade. Instantly Mash noticed the problem, it would be far too cold for the prisoners, and they would probably be hurt from the temperature. Mash was pretty sure the only reason he was fine was his new constitution.
Arthur turned his head up to meet Mash, and two pairs of inhuman eyes met one another. His brother’s eyes were very different now, and they had become a shining coin of silver and blue. Reminding Mash of a gemstone trapped within a silver coin, the gaze had frozen Mash in place. The feeling passed as his brother rose and grabbed Mash in a hug, leaving the sword stuck in the ground behind him. The gesture startled Mash, but he didn’t hesitate in reciprocating it. They just stood like that for a few seconds, ignoring everything around them.