Drakmalorie began telling their tale. They were originally from a star system several galaxies away from Teldin. Their homeworld was a place of constant conflict as even clutchmates killed each other in their overwhelming hunger as their parents customarily abandoned their clutches in the wild. This hunger was all-consuming until they achieved awareness, about two years after hatching. She went on to explain.
“Arkmanthus and I were both the sole survivors of our respective clutches and found each other at the time of the awakening to awareness.” He grunted in agreement, and she continued. “We formed a bond in those first days of awareness, hunting together until we found our first city. We were so young and knew nothing about, well, anything. It was there that we were taught the harsh lessons of strength and power.”
Arkmanthus spoke up. “I was taken in by the warrior sect due to my unusual size. As I grew, my body adapted to withstanding the constant bullying of the older children. My scales grew thicker and denser until, after years of being taught how to fight by losing fight after fight, that I finally learned that not only could I take whatever blows they landed on me, but even their claws and fangs were not able to get through my scales.”
“When I finally successfully struck out at the leader of the group that harassed me daily and tore his belly open, things changed for me. I was taken aside by one of the elders of the warrior sect and taught how to fight beyond what my instincts taught me. For ten years I studied under his claws, and I learned countless ways to kill.”
Drakmalorie took over. “My tale from the city is similar in some ways, but very different in others. Unlike Arkmanthus, I was tested when we arrived at the city and was found to have some talent with magic. Because of that, the sect of mages took me in. Their method of teaching magic is strangely similar to how they teach warriors. It is a brutal regimen that subjected me to countless forms of magic to see what resistances I had naturally formed, what ones I could develop, and ultimately, what magics I could employ.”
She paused, gathering her thoughts. “I was the first of us to ‘graduate’. I was given my title of Mage Assassin and sent with the subjugation forces to another world. There, I found that our forces were rather efficient at their jobs. The world fell to the assault forces in a matter of weeks after every major city was obliterated. Then the task fell to the subjugation forces to bring the populace into the proper slave configurations. Any who resisted were killed as brutally and publicly as possible. It took six months to fully subjugate that first planet.”
“As time went by, I got better at rooting out resistance and killing their leaders in the dark. All they would find in the mornings would be the mutilated bodies with detailed explanations of how they died, silently, and in excruciating pain. Just like I had been trained to do.”
Arkmanthus took over. “I, too, was ultimately assigned to the subjugation forces. They felt my size would intimidate the local populace. They were, of course, right about that. All the brutality that I was taught and even subjected to came out when I made planetfall. I did things that I care not to recall. But that is where I finally ran into Drakmalorie again.”
“I nearly did not recognize her when I first saw her in her mage’s garb. She had an aura of death about her.”
“And he was still dripping with the green blood of the populace. But I still knew him on sight even after all that time. I could feel our connection flare to life again. It was then that I could see he recognized me. It took nearly a year of maneuvering through the egos of our leaders and the bureaucracy of it all, but we managed to get assigned to the same unit.”
He nodded along as she continued. “By then we had become disillusioned about the great conquest. It turned out to be a way for those at the top to spread their clutches further and further from the homeworld. It was of no benefit to our race beyond that. The peoples we enslaved were ultimately food for the hatchlings so that they would not consume each other. These hatchlings all grew up weak, never having had to fight for survival. It was a slow path towards our entire world’s and likely our race’s demise. None seemed to be able to see it as I and Arkmanthus did, though. So, we planned our escape.”
He picked back up. “Leaving was easy. Killed a scout ship crew and took the ship. No one knew until we were far away.”
“And we became bounty hunters to support ourselves. We’ve had to keep clear of the Draco Collective, but it’s a big cosmos and they are not going to come looking for us at this point.”
“That is quite the tale. I don’t see how that would incline me to have you join me though and now you are, what? Seeking refuge here? Looking to build your family? What is it that you are truly looking for here?”
“We are looking for a place to raise our family where we can teach the survivors of our clutches the true way of the dragonians, not the soft ways of our nobility.”
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“And what happens when your children gain an appetite for human flesh or the flesh of other sentients on this planet?”
“That will not be a problem.” Drakmalorie responded.
“Not a problem because they will completely consume their prey?” Duke asked.
“No, not a problem because we will teach them what they can and what they cannot do. Your children grow up just the same. They are inherently selfish but can be taught to follow rules and the consequences of choice. Can they not?”
“That’s not a bad point, but how would the two of you survive here? It’s not like cosmic bounties come to this planet on the regular.”
“In the short run, we will help you deal with the hunters that come here. In the long run, we will ride your coattails. We both see that you are far greater than anyone has given you credit for, and your deeds will not end here.” She paused with a quick glance at the Overmind, she seemed to consider a question but fell silent as if she feared to ask the question.
“It was wise of you not to broach that subject, but yes, he is my entrant.” The Overmind let the subject drop with that despite Duke’s annoyed questioning glance.
Duke gave the Overmind a further look before returning to the pair of dragonians. “I am not one to lightly accept allies or to lightly turn allies away. Perhaps we shall stand together against the next wave of idiots and see where things go from there.”
“That is acceptable.” Arkmanthus replied. “I will go see how many remain outside, but I suspect they are all gone now, and we will have to wait for the next wave.”
“If that is the case, feel free to stay at the Inn. I am sure we have a room suitable for you.”
The enormous dragonian didn’t waste any time getting to the door and stepping outside. He returned in under a minute. “They have all gone, as expected.”
“Then we have some time to ourselves. Why don’t you two get settled down in a room while I take care of other business. When I return, we can head out and see who wants to try their luck later.”
The pair took the dismissal for what it was and allowed Travis to lead them to a room of their own. They were shocked to see it built for their size and it even had rough granite formations to scratch their scales on.
“Did he plan for us? How is this possible?”
“I know not, mate, but if this is how far he sees ahead, joining his cause will be the smartest thing we have ever done.”
While they were getting settled, the Overmind focused back on Duke. “Killing the hunters has helped you grow a bit, has it not?”
“Yes, it has although I haven’t checked my latest gains yet.”
“Good. Don’t hesitate to wipe out as many as you can in these early days. The monsters have yet to come for you and you need to be ready for them.”
“Monsters?”
“Yes, those who have been sitting at the peak of Tier Four for centuries have incredible power for their Tier.”
“How do they keep from Tiering up to Tier Five?”
The Overmind laughed. “You don’t know how unique you are. Many races and Classes have requirements to reach beyond Tier Four that are both difficult to find and obtain. There are even Classes that are restricted to Tier Two or even Tier One. Humans are one of a very few races that have such a high inherent Tier restriction, so they are usually only limited by their Class. Not that it matters for you.”
“It doesn’t matter to me? Because I’m not human anymore?”
“Exactly. You are a Dungeon Born Dungeon Emperor. You will not face any restrictions before Tier Eleven. There is always a restriction at Tier Eleven, but I am confident that you will survive it. Beyond that, there are no race or Class restrictions for you. As it is now, you have the harder mortal Tiers still to get through so let us not be premature.”
“What makes them harder besides more levels to get through?”
“That is just it. You have to pass level 250 in Tier Five to reach Tier Six. Your experience gains are going to slow down significantly as you out-level everyone else. Once you reach…let’s say level 200. How much experience will you get for defeating a peak Tier Four foe?”
“I never calculated how that worked.”
“The system gets complex at the upper levels, so I’m not surprised about that. It would be around 200 experience.”
“That’s not much.”
“No, it’s not. Now consider how much experience you need to go from level 200 to level 201. It’s 201,000 experience, so you will have to defeat over a thousand peak Tier Four foes to even reach level 201. It will only get harder to get all the way to level 251 and Tier Five.”
“That sounds like a dangerous slog.”
“It can be. At the upper levels of the higher Tiers, achievements that grant experience are what you will need to truly advance. Know of anywhere you can get easy achievements?”
Duke thought about it. I’ve gotten some for kingdom stuff and defeating enemy armies but that won’t happen much. Where else have I gotten achievement bonuses? The answer struck him like a bolt from the blue and he blurted it out. “First clear bonuses from dungeons!”
The Overmind grinned. “Exactly. Especially solo first clears.”
“My Class is broken.” Duke grinned.
“I wouldn’t say that. I would say that it is exceptionally well-crafted and built with a great deal of thought and care. Now, I must be on my way again. And get sleeping beauty here to put more points in Psyche. This is embarrassing. In fact, have her take this.” A potion appeared on the table.
Duke reached for it but was stopped by a gesture from the Overmind. “You cannot touch it. That would be a violation of the rules. She, however, can drink it with impunity. Now, it is my turn to depart. Check your gains and keep growing. Time is passing rather quickly.” With that, The Overmind was gone.
Aurelia woke up, lifting her head from the pillow with a confused look upon her face. Before she could say anything, Duke cut in. “You passed out in the presence of the Overmind. Drink this and you’ll feel better.” Duke gestured to the potion, and she downed it without a second thought. She immediately passed out again.
“Well, shit.” Duke brought her back to the Lake Front Dungeon Inn and placed her in bed before checking on his gains.