Instead, it was Dróttinn, who looked exasperated with my new actions, “Idiot. You’re lucky I didn’t send anyone else. If I did, all your brothers and sisters would know that you are touched in the head.” Dróttinn looked at me as if I were a kobold who worshiped a gnomish god.

Apparently, he had also failed a perception roll as well since it didn’t look like he had noticed the loot. Instead, his full attention had been focused on me trying to fart on a bug. I shrugged off the embarrassment and motioned toward the pile of loot, “We had some intruders. I hope you don’t mind that I dealt with them.” I then pointed toward the bottom of the pit. “I took this loot off their bodies,” I said, pointing to the loot.

I had left it all laying in a pile since I wasn’t sure what to do with it. It was just too heavy. Just the Bag of Holding weighed more than I did. While I could try tying it to my belt, I would probably tip over. That left the idea of tying it to my tail and dragging it along behind me. Finally, I decided to consider trading it for a lot of useless magic items from which I could extract their magic.

“What?” He hurried forward, his mood abruptly changing. He looked worried for a moment. After seeing the loot, his expression became confused. He then looked from the loot to me, and back. Finally, he tried to look around for any sign of the intruders.

Then he looked back at me, even more confused. He seemed almost as if he was asking himself instead of me, “Weren’t your wings smaller before?”

I smirked, “Yes, they were. However, you probably need to look at the bodies down there.” I pointed to where the adventurers had fallen.

Dróttinn looked at the loot quickly before moving to the edge of the pit and looking down. Of course, there was nothing to see since it was so far down. He then looked back at the loot before looking at me, only to look once more into the darkness, clearly confused.

After a final glance at me, my wings, and the loot, he flapped his wings and started gliding down into the darkness toward the bodies. I repressed a momentary twinge of annoyance that he could fly too. A few minutes later, he flew back up. After landing, he stared at me again silently.

Finally, he gathered his thoughts and said, “Good work wyrmling. You might have saved our tribe from disaster. I will spread the news and warn our brothers and sisters. Thank you for your valiant actions. Is there a reward that you would like in return for your heroics?”

I was about to reply when a window popped up, alerting me about another achievement.

ACHIEVEMENT - STATUS IMPROVED: TRIBE OF EIVALDSKONUNGR. Through your valiant actions and ability to fly like a dragon, your Status with the Tribe of Groenneitr has improved. You have gained the level four rank of Formathr in your tribe.

Smiling, I resisted the impulse to show my draconic breath. While it was certainly impressive, it might also bring up some concerns. As it was, I was also worried about the fact that I had feathers and a spiked tail as well. With everything that had happened, it didn’t look like he had really noticed yet.

“Of course, I spoke too soon,” I thought as Dróttinn abruptly paused and then slowly reached out to touch the feathers.

“A feathered black dragon…” he said, as if searching for a memory. “Feathered. Black. Twilight.” Abruptly, he let go of my feather and backed up. In fact, he backed up so fast that he fell down onto his tail. He stared at me in disbelief and fear.

“Niflregin,” he said, hastily bowing down to me.

Completely surprised by his actions, I moved toward him and helped him stand up, while at the same time trying to place the name to a memory. “Stand up Chieftain of the Einvaldskonungr Tribe.” I said, while at the same time finally placing the memory.

Niflregin was the title given to Nox when she was alive. It meant something like the Goddess of Night or the Ruler of Night. Very few stories existed, but one of them mentioned that she had feathers on her wings, making her unique among dragons. I wasn’t even sure how I knew it. It had to be an ancestral memory that was triggered by his calling me Nilfregin.

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“I am Nóttormr, the God of Twilight. Although I am not your god, I believe in the innate greatness of the people of this tribe. Because of this, I chose to be born into the tribe. Another reason is because we are facing a terrible threat. Danger is approaching and we must take precautions. If we don’t, we will have no future. Not only do we have to face the dangers of adventurers who have been told of our presence, but also the threat of other tribes. In fact, there will be more threats arriving soon.”

I looked at Dróttinn, trying to see if he believed me while regretting the fact that I had not learned the deception skill. In this instance, it wasn’t needed however. The chieftain had already believed I was a god’s incarnation or avatar. I had only verified his thoughts.

“Unfortunately, while I have regained some of my abilities, such as my ability to fly as well as my draconic breath, I had to sacrifice a lot to be reborn into the tribe. Because of this, I will need our tribe's assistance,” I said, not wanting him to think that I was all-powerful and could handle any problems that arose.

Telling him that I was regaining my powers would stop him from thinking I was weak. He would have to be careful because he couldn’t know just how much power I was hiding. Also, by revealing some weakness, he would feel more at ease in my presence. Because of our conversation, I wasn’t surprised at all when another pop-up appeared.

ACHIEVEMENT - STATUS IMPROVED: TRIBE OF EIVALDSKONUNGR. Because you are seen on a level almost equal to their dragon god, your Status with the Tribe of Groenneitr has improved. You have gained the level five rank of Gothi in your tribe.

“Interesting,” I thought. Gothi meant something along the lines of a religious leader. It had a similar status to that of the chief, but was also slightly apart from the tribe. Most often, a gothi was appointed when a newly hatched dragon was born. A few members of the tribe would pledge their allegiance to the young wyrmling and when that wyrmling was ready to leave the lair, these kobolds would follow behind to serve the dragon.

Of course, in my case, it might be different. Because of my coloring, Einvaldskonungr would probably resent my appearance. In fact, I probably needed to leave before the dragon woke up. Of course, that might not be for years.

Facing Dróttinn, I continued, “As for rewards, I need none. However, I would appreciate any worthless magical trinkets our tribe has collected. Each item will enable me to regain a very small percentage of my power.” I motioned toward the Bag of Holding next to the loot I had left in a pile, “As for this item, please send it to my room along with the magic items.”

Nodding, Dróttinn agreed, “Of course. I’ll walk you back to your room. I’ll send someone to gather all the items and bring them to your room. We will also prepare a sumptuous feast for you,” the chieftain said, starting to lead me back the way we came.

Hurriedly, I picked up both spellbooks, the regular one that belonged to the wizard and the Aegis Libram. Both of them would be very useful if I went ahead and chose the wizard class. The second would be useful for any spellcaster. Before I left, I sent a mental command to Alsvartr to stay where she was for now. I would come back later to pick her up.

On the way to the room, Dróttinn kept glancing at me. First, he would just peek, almost as if he was afraid of offending me. Then he started looking at me for longer and longer, clearly trying to organize his thoughts and feelings. By the time we reached the room, I could already tell that the earlier awe he had felt had faded away. Clearly, my trying to fart on a bug had diminished the impact of my “divine” nature.

Dróttinn motioned me inside. He didn’t enter himself. “I will find a few kobolds who will take care of your needs. As for your requests, I will start getting them ready.” He paused, as if he wanted to say something else. I could tell that he wanted me to act normal and not embarrass myself again. However, he finally decided against it. After nodding, he left me alone.

I smiled, pleased with how things were turning out. Since I had been an avid reader in my last life, I was really curious about the books on the shelf. However, I was also quite tired. While I was waiting for the food to arrive, I jumped on top of the bed and sat down, trying to decide which class to switch into. I had actually narrowed it down in my mind while walking to the arcanist banshee, the dark cleric, or the wizard.

Finally, I decided to go with the wizard. While the banshee sounded wonderful, wizards gained a big increase in their power at level two while the arcanists had to wait until level three. Since I currently had enough experience to level-up to the second level, that meant I could immediately benefit from the wizard features.

“System, I want to level-up twice in the wizard class.” Nothing immediately happened except that I fell asleep before the food arrived. While I was asleep, I started dreaming about a young boy who studied magic under a strict master. He grew into a young man who had just completed his studies at the magic academy where he was presented a choice.

YOU HAVE RECEIVED INSPIRATION. The following training options are now available. While you will gain knowledge according to your choice, you will still need to practice these skills to obtain full mastery of the chosen option.