Alban opened his eyes and slowly came to life as the heated hydraulic fluids began to flow.

All his vision was disturbed and it took him a few moments to realize that he was still alive.

He breathed in and felt all weird... heavy and light at the same time.

Everything seemed small to him and he saw the dragons prostrate before him.

He was scared but he couldn't take a step.

His body was trapped by a big magnet in the ground preventing him from doing anything else stupid.

Then he saw that his nose was out of place and wanted to touch it, but his hands were paws and claws.

He turned his head and saw that his body was a tangle of metal structures that looked like a dragon.

ARRRRRRRRRRRGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

he shouted...

"What have you done to me?"

The dragons, on their bellies, were shouting Alaban's forgiveness. Sorry...

Alban looked at himself and felt his senses increase tenfold, the pain also when he wanted to tear off a plate to see if he was locked in it...

Tiamat: "You are going to hurt yourself... This is your new body... You have been burned to death, that's all we could do...".

Alban: "You are sick... worse than monsters... In fact, it's in your head that it's wrong...

Look at me... am I armor, a plane or a dragon? A piece of junk..."

Blanche: "You're a helldrake... A metal dragon... All your flesh was lost and no care could work......

So I gave you a mechanical body."

Alban began to cry... Tears still streamed from his eyes...

Blanche and the others were sad for the poor man.

Alban: "Now I am an abomination..."

White: No...you must be proud of your body. You are eternal now and one day you will be able to magically transform yourself again when your monster core is of sufficient level."

Alban: "Because I have a monster heart now???"

The dragons remained silent, their heads bowed...

"I really want to slay you. But apart you, who else do I have left?"

Blanche: "We are your allies and you can take command of an army if you want..."

It's for Altus, in fact... In case Tania wants to turn against you."

Oriharukon: "Alban, we're going to teach you to live like a dragon..."

Alban: "I don't want your life... You're not even monsters, you're sick!"

He struggled but remained stuck to the ground.

Blanche: " We are letting you go but don't get killed by the Zergs and the soldiers. We would have at least wanted to teach you to fly without crashing, and to learn how to feed yourself."

Oriharukon: "You have a hud in your head that will tell you how to start. You just have to think "Hud"

Then the dragons released the magnet and a light hole appeared at the end of the corridor.

Tiamat: "The exit is on the other side of the light. We are nice... you arrive directly to the capital.

The heldrake rushed to the exit without asking for the rest, in case they changed their minds, and he found himself facing the castle of the prince-pontiff.

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He was lost, not knowing what to do.

He shouted and started screaming for help.

Soldiers in armor stormed in and he was surrounded.

Without any resistance, he was taken to Georges' dungeon.

No one had ever seen such a dragon. But his family pendant was now embedded in his body.

He recognized with his keen senses the steps of Andromedus as he walked down the stairs to the dungeon.

"Andromedus???? Andromedus?"

Without even having entered the room and not having seen him yet. He heard his name called for help.

Andromedus cried out, recognizing Alban's voice... "Yes, Alban, I'm on my way, but I'm busy right now... There's a strange dragon..."

Then Andromedus looked at the drake in chains, crying: "Adromedus, it's me, Alban....."

Andromedus: "Ah!!"

"Sick people! They're sick people! Look what they've done to me!... I'm a monster now.... Do something, I beg you..."

Andromedus approached the panicked heldrake and touched the metal, which seemed to be alive... He had never seen anything like it...

Then Alban exploded with grief and left his head on the ground...

"Finish me off... I beg you!"

Andromedus was fascinated by the wonder of technology and magic that lay before him...

He caressed Alban's cheek.

"I see you're still you...but do you have special desires?"

Meanwhile, he launched an alignment detection: "Loyal good..."

Alban: "No...not that I know of."

Andromedus: "I believe you... You're like a son to me, but please, take your death wish out of your head..."

Andromedus: "I believe you... You are alive... different, but alive...

You still have your 5 senses and you are not disabled...and you have all your head... It's worth living, isn't it?"

Then Alban told what he had discovered and the attitude of the dragons asking him for forgiveness.

Adromedus: "The dragons saved your life. They could have let you die to hide their secrets, but they had a good heart... No one in the world could have saved you. And they did.

Alban, furious: "You're going to defend them???, these monsters.???"

Andromedus: "That's not what I meant... but it was the only solution... a golem wouldn't work... Really, Alban... I'm sorry, but it was the only solution."

The sovereign had come down but hadn't missed a bit of conversation.

"Guards, take off his chains!"

ALban: "Sire... pardon..."

Altus: "My poor boy...I understand your distress but know that you are still my Alban...You are at home here, you always have been...".

Alban cried at the feet of his sovereign...

ALtus caressed the head of his chief of guard.

"You keep your post and we'll set up your quarters so that you'll feel at home as before"

Alban: "Thank you, Sire... You are a great sovereign..."

Meanwhile, In the Kingdom of Midas.

We entered with a group of ragged adventurers into the adventurers' guild.

The building was imposing with training rooms, internal and external courtyards.

One could hear the sword blows and the clamor of the adventurers drinking and laughing in the hall overlooking a counter.

Several races were gathered together. There were even drake men with imposing muscles. Bipedal, of course...

In fact, there was everything.

But, as we stank very badly, many of them made faces at us and we went to a corner, away from the crowd.

Others also stinking saw sitting down at our table.

"Goblin hunters, I can tell by the smell" said the character wrapped in a cape.

His stature was small. He looked like a child but we couldn't make out his face because of the shadow of his hood, but we could see it as if it were daylight.

She was a woman, and pretty too. She was joined by a child.

But at second glance, it was not a child, nor a dwarf... but a small man. Of the race of small men, a kind of hobbit, but thinner, less gruff and with shoes.

He wanted to seize by a trick passes our purse but he received a slap on the hand.

"Not many resist my trick. I am Roah, "locksmith" and trap detector..."

Me: "I understood your profession, Roah..."

"Astrid my name is Astrid...I travel with Roah... and I heal wounds and protect my companions..."

Me": Hello Astrid... You must be a priestess..."

The young girl blushes, I was right.

Astrid: "You are new here...?"

Me: "Yes, we come to register here, we come from the capital but as there is no guild in the kingdom of Altus, we come to register here.

Astrid : "But you smell like a goblin, and you are not registered yet?

"To sell our booty, you have to register first... here you go"

Astrid: "Yes, I understand."

Roah looked motivated and looked at Astrid, not daring to speak himself.

The girl said: "With all these events, goblins are no longer a priority for the dragon hunt...and nobody wants us as a team. But if you want I can sponsor you to sign up."

We got up and went to the counter when no one was around.

When we got there, we were handed a scroll on which we had to give our information like

class, profession, place of residence (house, hotel, inn, place of residence")

Then we received a card with our name and address.

Me: "Aren't we being tested?"

Clerk: "You start at row E like everyone else..."

There are posters sorted by increasing difficulty.

Take the ones that correspond to your level. Don't try the others. In case you survive, the reward will never exceed your rank.

We went back to our place, drinks and a normal meal on the table.

It was a big vegetable soup with bacon, peas and onions in it, an extra sausage could be asked for in it.

It was good and nourishing. A meal for an adventurer.

There was only the meal of the day. If we were not happy, there were inns for that.

But the prices being cheaper, the room was often full.

Then, my instincts went out and the western-style shutter slammed shut.

2 drago raptors of human size entered the guild.

Tania sniffed and found the smell extremely nauseating.

We were leaning on our elbows, hood down and listening.

Astrid: "Are you all right? Is there a problem?"

George said, no, no problem, but did you see the dragon???"

Tania was escorted by overarmed guards but it was more for the image, to avoid that an idiot gets hurt for nothing.

She looked in all directions and her gaze flew over us but nothing aroused her suspicion...

In fact no one or any of the dragons knew our ability to transform into humans but the ring I had did not emit magic and Georges mastered his mana.

His mana level wandered like the level of a good mage.

The situation made me laugh, as in any inn.

The tension disappeared and Tania asked her usual questions and distributed posters that were also posted at the missions.

Then a very strong man, a bodybuilder, arrived behind the counter and invited Tania and Marise to follow him through a back door. A mentat followed her, but stopped for a moment and looked in our direction then blew and left to join Tania upstairs.

Me: "Astrid, you know how to listen to what they are going to say to each other?"

Astrid: "It is impossible, they have a magic barrier anti noises.

Roah: "On the other hand, I have techniques...".

Tania :"---yes... we ...Zergians...

Reward----info---on dragons...

Sea dragons?? ah yes, It's special...Your sea routes are cut off...?

Yes, we'll fix that. Is it still the same??? We're going to try to catch it.

Ah, a human devourer...

What???? she cries when she eats humans??? Yes, capture.

There's a deadly price on her head?? Dantinne??

No... don't kill her, warn your adventurers... I pay the fee... No, I want her alive...

Something must have happened.

Then they changed places or a piece of furniture was pulled but the sound stopped transmitting so we could understand something.

Roah reported: "It's dangerous to get information here".