LEVEL: 10 XP: 6,674 (10,000)

HEALTH: 160 ESSENCE: 160

AGILITY: 30 MANA: 31

STRENGTH: 32 FOCUS: 31

Five levels in nine days. Peacock gritted his teeth. XP gain in M and M had proved agonizingly slow, and each new level only slowed it down further. Peacock supposed all the work made each character’s ‘life’ have more meaning. But it was infuriating when all he wanted to do was get strong enough to take out Zenith Flight. Even more infuriating, the growth of his abilities had stalled as well. Each capped at ten levels higher than his current combat level. He’d had the notion to pump up his stealth and alchemy skills, then poison all the dragons. Looked like that would not happen.

“How come you don’t have a hoard?” Ferret’s high-pitched voice cut through his internal grumbling.

Peacock closed the offensive character screen. His teammate lounged against a vaguely chair-shaped mound of boulders covered in thick furs.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean a hoard. You’re a dragon, right? Where’s your pile of jewels and magical artifacts?”

Peacock snorted. “I’m a level ten juvenile dragon, in case you’ve forgotten.” He hadn’t even considered a hoard, but he didn’t want to clue Ferret in on being a new Rebirth by saying so. If he knew, Ferret could say whatever he wanted and he wouldn’t know better.

Ferret bounced up and waved his hands in excitement. “Exactly! Level 10, and not a coin to your name. I mean, all these mob parts are great, but they don’t give you any bonuses.”

“Bonuses?” Peacock flinched as soon as the word left his mouth. Here he was trying to keep his status as a new Rebirth secret, and he all but told Ferret he didn’t know how dragons worked.

“Yeeesss… bonuses.” Ferret narrowed his eyes.

Shit. Good going, Peacock. Way to blow your cover.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

Ferret stared at him for a second more, then shrugged and grinned. “Dragons get great stat growth, but so do Monoceros. The big divider between the two, what makes dragons the true top-tier class, is their hoards.”

Peacock watched as Ferret paced across the cave floor, waggling his finger. Did he realize Peacock was a new Rebirth, or did he just think Peacock hadn’t learned about dragons yet? Either way, could he trust him to tell the truth?

“Coins, magic items, equipment, gems, jewelry. Every piece in a dragon’s collection means a boost to their stats. Bigger collections, bigger boosts.”

Peacock tried to relax and pay attention. If Ferret wanted to harm or hold him back, wouldn’t he have done it by now? His distrust faded some but remained lurking in the back of his mind. “Okay. But, if mob drops don’t help, how am I supposed to make a hoard?”

A mental image of flying through a medieval village, fire-breath cascading down into panicking peasants filled his head. Peacock shook the ridiculous thought away. He didn’t even have wings, and certainly wasn’t planning on attacking whatever massive city stood behind the arrow-filled walls to the east.

Ferret was grinning ear to ear. “Thought you’d never ask, dear dragon! I am a master at relieving others of their excess material possessions, or at least as much of a master as any level fifteen Smallfolk can be.”

“So, stealing.”

“Relieving. Trust me. I only take a portion, and most of my targets barely notice. If someone doesn’t have much, I don’t take any.”

“Like Robin Hood of the jungle? Which would make me who, exactly?”

Ferret furrowed his brow. “My… uh… partner?”

Peacock raised an eye ridge. “Right. So, oh master, seeing as how I’ve not min-maxed as a thief, are you going to get me a hoard?”

Ferret howled with laughter until both of their faces went red and Peacock’s temper flared.

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing, nothing!” Ferret shielded his face from Peacock as he stifled more laughter. “Thief rule number one—finders, keepers! If I pinch it, it’s mine!”

“What’s your point?” Peacock growled.

“I’m going to teach you, obviously. I mean, I’ve never seen a dragon thief, but maybe that’s a good thing. They’re so good, no one sees them.”

“Or they’re so big, everyone does.”

“Nonsense! You’re super good at hiding for such a low-level, let’s get that straight, and with me as your teacher, you’re destined for greatness!” Ferret struck a superhero pose, both hands on his hips.

The idea of a pickpocketing dragon still felt bizarre to Peacock. He wasn’t near fully grown yet, and he was already big enough for Ferret to ride, not that he’d ever let him. Not to mention being a dragon made it hard to blend in with a crowd. Still, the look on Ferret’s face told Peacock he wasn’t getting away without an attempt.

Peacock sighed. “Fine. The world’s first dragon thief reporting for duty.”

Ferret grinned wider than Peacock had seen yet. “I’ve just the target, young apprentice.”