Richard eagerly lapped up the drops of blood dribbling out of Alexandria’s tail, causing her to giggle as his tongue rubbed itself against her tail, eagerly seeking out the golden dew.

Richard wasn’t quite sure what was going on, but he could feel something changing in his body. It was similar to evolution, and yet wasn’t so invasive. It felt far more subtle. He could feel his muscles stiffening as certain parts of his body grew. He certainly wasn’t sprouting new limbs or anything, but he was growing. He also had a strong stomach ache pervading him and a painful headache to go with it.

In spite of it all, he didn’t stop lapping until he was satisfied, as he didn’t register the pain as bad, but rather good, as he felt equal parts pleasure and pain travel through his body. He also had a funny itch on the sides of his head. Once it was done the voice went off in his head

[Congratulations on unlocking the storm monarch bloodline. 10 skill points will be awarded for gaining a bloodline and 10 for your first bloodline. New evolutions have been unlocked as well]

Richard was rather happy with that, as this meant that he could now learn new skills. Not only that, but he felt stronger.

“Looking good hatchling.” Came the hiss, redirecting Richard’s attention to the Monarch herself.

Before he’d felt a weird sense of infatuation with the wyrm, and while he was still certainly attracted (she was still beautiful in his eyes after all) the feeling was gone. Alexandria clicked(?) her tongue in disappointment. “shame, I was enjoying making your eyes pop out of your head before.”

She was still larger than him, but now she felt just a little less tall than him. He bowed his head, to express his gratitude. “Thank you for your kind gift, madam Alexandria. I hope to one day repay this favor in kind.”

She flicked her tail at that remark. “No need,” she said, “That spell alone was worth plenty. I got some insight into the world that I’ve never had before. That alone was worth a few drops of blood”

This did leave Richard wondering what was so great about the spell. Sure it allowed him to estimate stats of his foe, which did allow for easier combat, but surely it couldn’t have been that much help to a greater wyrm. Whatever the case, it seemed to be a satisfactory transaction on both sides.

Conjuring up a floating body of water right before Richard’s eyes, Alexandra chuckled. “Like the new look? You look dashing, if I do say so myself.”

Richard thought that was a bit egotistic, but he couldn’t say he hated the little differences.

His eyes remained blue, though they seemed a bit darker blue than before, maybe a shade or two. His tail had grow longer as did his neck, though he didn’t feel weird anywhere. What’s more, was that he felt stronger than before. He even felt something else was stronger, but he couldn’t figure out what. Richard decided to reach out to the system.

[The organ which produces magic in a dragon’s body has been strengthened and gained a preference for electricity. Though this does cut down costs for electric attacks, the cost of other attacks will increase. It’s recommended you practice other elements more often to strengthen those parts of the organ.]

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Ah. So that’s what that was. Richard saw it as hardly any different than before, though he did not simply ignore it, consciously reminding himself to practice other elements of magic later.

Perhaps the greatest change to have taken place was the shape of his head. Much like how Alexandria had a webbed frill on the back of her head, Richard had developed something similar, though his was far smaller. And unlike before, the spikes that trailed down to the base of his neck was now webbed as well. His face had also become a little flatter, slightly more similar to a snake than before, though he was still clearly a dragon. Some horns would certainly make that more obvious though.

He was overall happy with it though.

Panda cackled though. Wheezing as he rolled around.

“You look like a f**king fish! First you had an octopus, now you have frills! What’s next? Gills? Bloop bloop bloop!

Panda blew up his cheeks as he made weird noises, only stopped by Krackle, who swiftly slapped both cheeks, causing them to deflate and earning a glare from the squirrel, as they then tumbled around and grappled on the floor.

Richard couldn’t help but laugh, as he heard the wyrm laughing likewise, while Atlas seemed to be amused as conveyed through his bond.

As they fought, Alexandria thought about something, before she turned to Richard.

“You know,” she began, gaining Richard’s attention, “if you want to get stronger, I know just the place to get stronger.”

Richard was interested, but also curious. “Are you perhaps suggesting that the caves are not enough?” He asked. It was true he was interested in what Alexandria had to offer, but wasn’t sure what this would have to offer in comparison to where he was currently. The caves were huge, and while he hadn’t been gaining levels as fast recently, with four levels he was already stronger than before, and he was sure there were a few more avenues to explore.

The wyrm nodded, “there’s no doubt that there’s strong stuff here, but in the end you’re limiting yourself by fighting in that form. If you come with me to my territory, you can use your true form freely, as I can protect you, or at the very least ensure that you won’t face anything too dangerous. ”

Richard had to admit that was a compelling argument. Although he was doing fine in the thunder monitor form, it was not his true form. Unless he planned to remain stuck in this form until he felt confident enough to actually reveal his true form as a dragon.

It wasn’t the best solution, but at the time he considered it the safest. At the time he was trying to avoid the attention of stronger creatures. If she was protecting him, then he wouldn’t have to worry about fighting stronger creatures and truly learning how to utilize his abilities.

He was still unsure of course. “Are you sure you can protect me? I’ve heard the ymir range is full of danger?”

For a minute, killing intent is emitted throughout the room, and although it’s not aimed at him, Richard shivers at the presence. And just as it was there, it was gone. Alexandria smiled at them, rather sure of herself. “Course I can”

Well if that’s the case, “Alright then. I must once more thank you for your generosity.”

“No problem. I could use some company. Well, change back, and let’s get going.”

Changing back into a thunder monitor, Richard waited as the wyrm unwounded herself from around the rock and then led them out of the cave. As they traveled through the caves, Richard felt the presence of the stronger beings that he had sensed before, before feeling them disappear, as if the beings in question had other things to do.

They traveled out of the cave and Richard found himself back in the forests again. Of course, it was a different forest, but it was a forest nonetheless. Richard felt strong presences. Multiple, though none were as strong as the ones in the cave. That would be just right for his training, and Richard could not help get a little excited.

Panda stretched and shouted excitedly.

“Huzzah! No more f**king cramped caves! Finally, back to the luscious ass forests! Whoo!”

… In hindsight, it made plenty of sense that Pandemonium was happy to be back out and about. He was a squirrel, not a mole. The cave might’ve been a bit tight for him.

… And Richard had to admit he did miss the forest.