Once the process to advance to Journeymen finished, the otherworlders readied themselves to head towards the hallway where they will find each other along with the lords. Once they stepped onto the hallway, they found each other easily enough.

It was as if time had frozen upon their arrival. Everyone became slack-jawed at their new appearance, but none more so than the otherworlders at themselves.

Zeke’s jaw hung open at Mikella’s new form. It wasn’t surprising to find out that she would be even more pretty after becoming a Journeyman. Val showed that sort of beauty herself, so he expected it. But this… this just blew his mind right out of the water.

His peripherals obviously picked up the incredible changes–her body size, the proportions, the clearly otherworldly beauty–but what he focused on the most were her face and eyes.

Her face became refined, as though any sort of blemish Zeke failed to recall vanished. Her skin practically glowed, her hair was immaculate, her nose, cheeks, and chin were structured to the point where they no longer contained any hint of imperfection.

But more than anything, her sharp yellow eyes, vibrant in color like fresh sunflowers, yet had black slits for pupils that cut through like a blade. It made his heart race unlike anything else he saw before.

She was… beautiful. There was no other way to describe her.

*****

She can slightly understand the desire to make them meet like this, but at the same time she wanted to smack the two love-lords for this. She didn’t even know what to say to this.

First off, Zeke became an elf, with the ears and everything. Not just an elf either, but a Soul Elf according to his race. It was the sort of magical elf one could find in a fantasy novel. The tattoos that were apparent on his skin, which were exposed thanks to his simple gray shirt and pants, were long gone, much to everyone’s dismay now that he has to apply them on himself again. There were swirls and such on his skin, definitely different from the tattoos, which were the hallmarks of a soul elf who was loved by the mana.

But that wasn’t what surprised her. She expected to change in a big way but still retained his humanity unlike her. What really surprised her was how his appearance changed. His body grew taller now, several inches taller than he already was, so he was already towering over her a little. More than that, his body still kept that lean and toned MMA fighter type, and even with all that… he just became more handsome.

In her mind, Zeke was the cute neighbor boy that would come by and look after the house if he had the time. You can’t help but admire him every once in a while. Now that neighbor boy grew up to be a dashing young man with a smile that just melts your heart.

It was the different sort of good looks from Cloud who had that striking lawyer sort of look. Zeke had the gentle doctor look going on, which honestly fit him really well.

And to make it even more awkward, Zeke was also staring at her… hard. The two were staring hard at each other for a solid minute, getting Mikella to flush in realization.

“Uhh…” She spoke softly, only just seeing the idiot lords smirking at them from afar. Val even had the gall to put a hand over her mouth as though she was witnessing something scandalous. “So… what do you think? Do I look weird?”

She didn’t know what else to say so she only asked what he thought of the change. He must be pretty damn shocked to see her scales and wings, proving that she was a Draconian.

However, he just kept staring at her, his now different colored eyes staring straight into hers. She only got more nervous.

“Zeke!” She called out, finally getting his attention. “Seriously, how do I look? Anything weird?”

“You…” Zeke seemed to understand what was going on, but he still had that awed look in his eyes. Did she look that bad? “I… wow, you’re gorgeous. I don’t even know what else to say.”

Mikella’s eyes just stared at him blankly. The words just seeped into her mind, repeating themselves over and over.

“W-W-Where did that come from?!” Mikella said, trying (and failing) to cover her face with her hair. “I was talking about my race!”

“Your race?” Zeke asked, as though that was the first he thought of it. “What about it? You don’t look any–Holy shit, you got wings.”

Zeke just said the last part like he should’ve realized it long ago, and now just starting to notice the scales and the literal wings behind her back. They weren’t even hiding behind her, they were still showing with all their splendor.

Did this boy seriously just ignore everything else and focused on her face? Not even at her improved body but at her face alone? She would’ve smacked the shit out of him if her face could just stop feeling so damn hot that it would fry an egg.

“Wow, you really became a dragon… or Draconian, right?” Zeke said, taking a double look at her now with new eyes. He still looked mesmerized. “Oh, uhh… you look great. Honestly, it kinda goes with it.”

“Seriously…?” Mikella let out a heavy breath, just now witnessing Cloud nodding his head in approval while Val silently clapped for Zeke’s words. “Well, thanks… you look good too.”

“Really?” Zeke asked, sounding dumbfounded. He looked at himself. “I didn’t change that much. Now I look like an athlete doing a larping session.”

Mikella giggled, trying to contain herself. Despite their changes, it didn’t seem like they really changed on the inside. That… and she was glad that he wasn’t put off by the scales and wings. Apparently even if she had a major change, he only focused on the good points.

“Nice job, Zeke,” Cloud finally stepped up, slapping Zeke on the back. “You did well in your duty as a man.”

“Wha…?” Zeke asked, again dumbfounded. “What’d I say?”

“That she looks good.”

“Isn’t that obvious? Just look at her! I know you got Val, but just look at her! She’s gorgeous! Now I gotta work overtime fighting off the guys from wherever we’re going next!”

Cloud just continued to laugh at Zeke’s supposed problem for the future while Mikella tried her best to not give Val anymore ammunition to embarrass her as she tried to crawl her flushing face down to herself like a turtle.

“Certainly, I was just going to ask Zeke to be on a lookout for men wanting Mikella for themselves,” Val said with a teasing smile. “Perhaps Zeke should just take her for himself to avoid the trouble?”

“You think that alone would stop the guys from going after her?” Zeke asked as though it was a valid counterpoint. Val actually took it seriously with a considering face.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

“Good point…”

“Alright, that’s enough!” Mikella shouted, swinging her hands down at them. “I’m done! I’m gonna find Clara!”

“Wait! Let me come with you!”

“You stay right back, you slick bastard!”

“What’d I say?!”

Mikella just kept screaming at him while Zeke followed her. All the while, Cloud and Val just continued on staring at them with amused looks.

…..

“Wow! Wow!”

Clara kept screaming while looking at the two with eyes that seem to glitter like stars. She kept staring right up at Mikella and Zeke, all while running and spinning around them like a news helicopter trying to get coverage.

“You two look so cool!” Clara commented. “Bobo, you got pointy ears! Sissy, you got huge titties!”

Zeke’s cheeks went bright red in response to her unashamed answer, but Mikella glowed with pride, even sticking out her chest in response.

“And you got wings…! Can I touch them? Pretty please?!”

“Alright, but don’t touch them too hard. You might cut yourself.”

Mikella warned. The scales on her body and wings were pretty tough, and she even experimented a little at their sharpness. They were like knives stuck to her body. Yet Clara touched them at all sorts of angles, nearly scaring Mikella before realizing that Clara wasn’t getting hurt at all.

Somehow, it was like the scales just became normal rather than sharpened, realizing that they can hurt others only if she wished to. That would make sense–how else would Draconians care for their young? Then again, she never heard of Draconians before, let alone a Soul Elf of all things.

Brucey, the little lazy bat, just slept on the coffee table when Clara went all crazy jumping about. Still, Mikella couldn’t find it in her heart to annoy the cute little bastard, so all of them sat on the sofa, with Mikella standing on the side to avoid the sofa. It was going to be pretty annoying from getting used to these. She even had to rip the dress she was wearing to let her wings breath.

They talked about what sort of choices they had before picking their eventual races. She was just as shocked to hear that Zeke only had one option available–elves, and every single variant on top of that. It didn’t take him long to find the special variant that really meshed well with his path.

On the other hand, Zeke was mortified to hear that she only got beastkin races. At least, that’s what she wished he would react with–instead, he just laughed and said that even the system didn’t think of her being fae-material.

That got him a slap from her wings. She made sure not to cut him, but to send a message.

Zeke was ready to spend his resting day studying up on the races they picked up. There were plenty of choices, so it was impossible to completely study every single one, and unfortunately the races they chose were the ones they didn’t study up much on. While Mikella planned on what to do next, Zoan showed up, looking over at the two with her usual impassive stare.

“Congratulations you two,” She spoke, her silvery hair swerving left and right as she stared at both Zeke and Mikella. “You picked excellent choices.”

Mikella wanted to scoff at that. What other choice did they have but to push themselves? Still, she didn’t want to get into it after just breaking through, and quite frankly, Zeke had a point about not picking a fight with an angel that was just doing her job.

So if she wasn’t going to be cool and offer more information regarding their supposed ‘incoming trials’, then she might as well start asking some real questions.

“Zoan, you know about these races? I know there were different types of elves, but I never heard of a Soul Elf. Also, what about the Draconians?”

“An excellent question to ask,” Zoan nodded, surprising Mikella at how agreeable she was. She sat over at the other side, with Clara running over and sitting right next to Zoan at the opposite sofa with a smile on her face.

That stung Mikella a little. She was getting used to Clara being fond of Zoan, but she wished that she would just realize how dangerous she actually was. Granted, she was absolutely adorable like Clara, but she definitely wasn’t Clara. At least, that’s what Mikella kept thinking to herself as she stared at the twin-like pretend sisters as Zoan continued.

“First, Draconians. They are a nomadic race, those who traveled the skies and lived in various parts of the vast continent for hundreds of years. Despite their close connection to dragons, they don’t actually live anywhere near the dragons. If anything, they ensure that they always stay away from the dragons if possible.”

“That’s… weird,” Zeke answered. “Why stay that far away?”

“Dragons are known to be prideful and territorial. Draconians are only just slightly less so. They have enough common sense to realize that living near dragons would reinforce their need to conquer their lands. As they are dragons, the Draconians knew a losing battle when they saw one. There would always be some ne'er-do-wells who believe they can turn the tide… but none have survived to last throughout history.”

“So, in other words, they don’t get along with each other, and one knows when to stay out of their way,” Mikella said, raising a brow. “Kinda cowardly if you ask me.”

“Just don’t start fighting dragons anytime soon,” Zoan protested. “You’re still only Level 60.”

Mikella pursed her lips in agreement, nodding slightly. But that won’t stay the same for long in her opinion.

“They are strong, wise, and know various types of magic. Due to their influence, they also try to stay away from other known civilizations. Though if anyone were to fight their tribes or clans to try and get them into their service, their homes would become the Draconians’ new nest before they eventually leave as well.”

“So… you’re saying–”

“They killed everyone, including the children, to prove a point,” Zoan interrupted Zeke’s answer, but nobody questioned her. “That’s how powerful they are.”

“Is Sissy gonna be like that?” Clara asked, her brows furrowing. Zoan only shook her head.

“Journeymen who have sub-races don’t take the internal qualities that make up the race itself. Only their appearance and abilities. If that were the case, nobody would pick the races that were deemed too troublesome to deal with. That wasn’t what the system intended.”

Mikella widened at that, and she noticed Zeke’s keen interest as well. That was the first time Zoan revealed something inherent about the system, the very interface they were using daily since their first day in the tower.

“As for Soul Elves, they are even rarer. While the Draconians are numerous and travel around, Soul Elves would live in the most isolated places. They live long lives and barely conceive, but some believe that they conceive by gathering all the mana in their vicinity and give birth through that.”

“Through the mana?” Zeke asked incredulously. “I know it’s possible, but just straight from mana itself?”

“Precisely,” Zoan nodded. An extremely rare smirk showing on her face. “I always found Soul Elves to be true pioneers of magical theory and structure. Some say they were the ones who first discovered the aspects that make up the many attunements other people use today.”

“Whoa…” Zeke whistled.

“Wow, that’s just like Bobo! It’s the perfect thing for him,” Clara giggled, which got Zeke to chuckle awkwardly at the praise, his cheeks reddening slightly.

“So he picked a super smart race while I got a race filled with cowardly murderers. Yeah, that sounds about right,” Mikella said bitterly. She wasn’t super serious, but she did feel a bit disappointed about hearing how the Draconians were.

“Sissy, that’s why you’re not good enough to be a fairy or elf. You’re too brutal,” Clara said with a teasing grin.

“Oh, you little–”

She jumped towards Clara, getting her to scream as she ran from Mikella’s chase. It was good practice to run around in the living room and avoid hitting anything with her wings.

She thought she might have to apologize to the lords for any cuts or broken things, but her high Dexterity made it almost impossible. She had a bit of an issue, but eventually she gained enough control to move her wings–even use them to her advantage as she easily caught Clara by the arms, hugged her tight with one arm, and spun her middle knuckle straight at the side of her head.

“Oww! Oww!”

“Say you're sorry! Then the pain will stop!” Mikella growled, actually letting a real growl out which surprised her a little.

“Ahh! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”

“Mikky, you’re not exactly helping how much you’re just like a Draconian right now,” Zeke chuckled, smiling at the two’s antics.

Mikella just glared hard at him and then let Clara go, leaving her to run even farther away from her. Zeke’s eyes only widened in realization.

“Perhaps you’re the one not deserving of the ‘super smart race’, Zeke.”

Zoan commented, watching impassively at the two new Journeymen currently at odds, with the Draconian girl winning by a mile.