Chapter three: Hatchingday
“Alright, we’re here.” I said and lowered myself to the ground to let Alex get off. He handed me the goggles back, and I gave them a quick rinse with water magic before storing them away in my pouch. We set off together towards the entrance. We’d still need to walk for a few minutes since the area was too crowded to land any closer.
“Why did you need to go to the Administration building, anyway?” I asked.
“I’m sending a letter back home to let them know where I am, and that I’m safe,” he said. “Though I’m not sure they care. What about you?”
“I’m sure your family is dying to know you arrived here safely.” He looked unconvinced, but at least I tried. “And I’m here to pick up my father, he works here in Administration. He’s off work early today to celebrate my hatchingday and Unlocking.”
“Oh, you’re turning eighteen today?”
“I am, yeah. I’m looking forward to unlocking the System. What’s it like?” I asked. I already knew he had unlocked his, as he had told me so earlier in the day.
“Happy hatchingday then. And it’s pretty damned amazing. That first free level you get… it’s hard to put into words. It’s like—actually it’s a lot like that flight just now. A full-body rush, and a feeling like you’re on top of the world and can do anything!”
I chuckled at his enthusiasm. “Glad to hear you enjoyed the ride so much. Most just feel nauseous afterwards.”
“I did, just a bit. But that’s a worthy trade in my opinion. What was I talking about, again? Right! The second level still has a bit of that rush, but it’s mostly gone by the third. That’s probably a good thing, I can’t imagine the things people would do to chase such a high.”
“I actually read some fiction that explored that idea,” I said with a grimace. “It was grim.”
“Really? What was the title? I might just pick it up from the Library later.”
I thought about it for a moment, trying to remember the title. “Ah, I think it was called ‘Chasing the level-high’, but I don’t remember the author. That’s a hyphen between ‘level’ and ‘high’, by the way. Just ask one of the librarians, they have Skills to help them find books.”
We continued talking about books while we worked our way through the crowd, which took longer than expected; it was busier than usual. A lot busier. When we were at the door, Alex and I split off, but not before we agreed to meet up again tomorrow for lunch and to visit the library.
Rather than waiting in one of the queues, I went through one of the staff-only doors. From there, I went up a dozen flights of stairs, through some maze-like corridors, and up another dozen flights of stairs. Some of the hallways were a bit of a tight squeeze, but I made it through nonetheless.
I was now near the top of the central domed roof, where dad’s office was. While it looked great from the outside, the domed roof made for some very awkward corridors with steeply sloped walls on one side, and flat ones on the other. The outer corridor was a ring that went all the way around and I remembered running around in circles up here, always just out of reach when playing tag.
I knocked on the door to my father’s office, and he welcomed me inside. He was sitting behind his desk, working away at a stack of paperwork while the rest hovered around him. Papers flew across the room, shooting from slits in the walls into folders, or onto the stacks on dad’s desk. Some were even writing themselves.
Dad looked up as I came in and smiled. “Felix! Come, come. Sit. Tell me about your day.”
“I’m not a dog.” I said, though I sat down anyway. Unlike my father’s side of the desk, this side had no chairs but only large pillow-like bean-bags for me to sit on. He made everyone else sit on them, too. He always loved telling me stories about the various kings’ and queens’ faces when he tells them to sit down. They always seemed to think that he’d change them back to normal chairs before they visited again. He never did.
“Really? You used love to pretend to be one, though,” he said with a smirk.
That’s true, I did. Honestly, I thought any kid would have done so too, had they been in my talons. I was about the right size and shape, bored, and wanted to fit in better.
I rolled my eyes. “I was eight, dad.”
“Ah, but it seems like it was just yesterday. But now you’re already almost eighteen! Time sure flies, doesn’t it? Now come, tell me about your day.”
And so I did. I told him about the sparring sessions this morning, about the tour and Conad’s awful behavior, and about Alex—my new friend. It was still strange to think I actually had a friend now. The last time I thought I had a friend was several years ago, now.
When I was done, dad had a pained expression on his face. “I’m sorry there are such asses in your group, it wasn’t my intention. I thought you might be able to relate with them. Just like you, most of those nobles were forced into positions of responsibility much earlier than is reasonable, after all.”
I blinked. “Huh, I hadn’t looked at it that way,” I said. “I don’t think it will happen, though I’ll try to keep an open mind.”
Dad nodded and smiled. “At least you met some good people as well. Alex sounds nice, and it’s good that you’ve finally made a friend. I know you don’t like to talk about it much, but I know you’ve been rather lonely.”
He sighed and sipped his tea.
“For what it’s worth, and I know we’ve talked about this before so I’ll keep it short, I am genuinely sorry for thrusting you into the spotlight like I did. It wasn’t fair.”
It wasn’t, but the alternative wouldn’t have been any better, and I told him as much.
“It would’ve happened either way, dad,” I said. “My appearance isn’t exactly subtle. I would not have been able to stay unnoticed for long. And making friends wouldn’t have been any easier, either. Don’t forget that those kids didn’t run from me because I was the son of the Headmaster, they ran away because they thought I was a monster.” I almost spat out the last word. I took a sip of dad’s tea to give myself a moment to collect myself. “At least this way, the adults were kept in line while they got used to me.”
“You’re not a monster.”
“I know,” I said and looked away. ”Doesn’t make it hurt any less.”
Sensing my unwillingness to talk about it, he changed the subject. “So, tomorrow you’re meeting up with Alex again, huh?”
I nodded. “Yeah. We’re meeting during lunch to talk about books. Apparently they didn’t have many in the village he came from, so he was thrilled to see the library. I promised to show him around and make a few suggestions.”
“Sounds fun. Well, let me just finish up this bit of work, and then we can go home. I’ll make your favorite, roasted molten canyon pig. Then, we can play games until it’s time.”
“Sounds great. I’ll just write in my notebook while I wait.”
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Felix’s notebook: notes on roasted molten canyon pig
A molten canyon pig is a type of pig that, surprisingly, lives in a canyon. Specifically, a canyon in the country of Esmus, in a World called The Molten Territory. As the name of World suggests, there’s a lot of fire and heat. Not many people permanently live there, but it’s a popular destination for hunting and learning more about fire magic.
The habitat of these pigs is filled with lava, and the pigs have, as a result, grown tough. It gives their meat a bit of chew that most would find inedible, but is just right for my jaws. Their environment also imbues them with a lot of fire magic, which makes them spicy.
Very few people can actually taste magic. It’s either something you’re born with, like me, or something you gain from a Skill, or something you get from very high Perception. And well, there’s very little reason to waste a Skill slot on such an obscure, and niche skill, so there’s not that many people that can taste magic.
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The roasted pig was great. Just the right amount of char, spice, and salt. Dad could be a great cook when he put his mind to it. An extra benefit of high Attributes, I supposed.
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“That was great, thanks dad,” I told him with a smile.
He put on a proud smile. “I’m glad you liked it. I hunted it down myself.”
I looked at him with surprise. “When did you have the chance to do that? Aren’t you really busy?”
“I went last weekend. And I am.”
“Oh, so that’s where you went!” Some things suddenly made a lot more sense. “I thought you had a date that evening, or something. This makes much more sense.”
He rolled his eyes. “You know I don’t do romance.”
I shrugged with my wings. “I did say it didn’t make much sense.”
We both laughed, and I sipped my drink. It was some sort of juice. A combination of apple and cherry, maybe? It was pretty good. I’d have to get some for myself when I moved into the dormitory.
“Speaking of busy, what’s up with that, by the way?” I asked. “It was so incredibly crowded at the Administration building today that I could barely make it to the building at all.”
“There’s been a surge of monster activity recently,” dad said with a grimace, “and it was decided to increase the reward on the notices in order to motivate more people to deal with it. We underestimated how many more hunters would come, however. Apparently it’s been even crazier down at the branch locations, but thankfully, I don’t have to deal with that.”
I nodded, then stood up from the beanbag—the same kind as in dad’s office—and began to grab our plates. I ate with my talons, and my plate was always a lot messier than his as a result, so I had taken on the duty of cleaning the dishes when we ate together. I could do a lot with my talons, but handling cutlery comfortably wasn’t one of them. Dad stopped me from grabbing the plates, though.
“Here, let me do it. I’ll go grab dessert while I’m at it. If you thought the pig was good, just wait until you see this.”
He took the plates from me and took them into the kitchen. A few minutes later he returned with two bowls of… something, and a small flask. The contents of the bowls were round, white and speckled with tiny black dots. It looked cold. The flask was small. Really small. About the size of dad’s thumb, it was filled with a strange liquid that kept changing color, shifting through all the colors of the rainbow. There was a faint glow to it. I thought I knew what it might be.
“Is that… what I think it is?”
Dad nodded, putting a bowl down in front of me. “Yes, it’s vanilla ice cream! It’s a completely new invention. A chef was given the inspiration for it during a Path Advancement. I haven’t tasted it yet, but I hear it tastes divine.”
I shook my head. “No, no, not that. Though I am curious to try it out. I meant the flask. Is that a Potion of Head Start?”
The Potion of Head Start gave ten bonus points to each Attribute. It was a great boon to anyone, especially those interested in combat, and was incredibly difficult to make. Usually, only royalty and sometimes nobles got them.
“Almost, but no. This,” he said with a grin as he held the flask in front of me, “is a Superior Potion of Head Start. It gives fifteen bonus points for each Attribute!”
I looked at him skeptically. “Is there even such a potion?”
He looked back at me with a wide smirk. “There is now!”
I stood up, walked around the table, and enveloped him in my arms, wings, and tail, giving him a big dragon hug.
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The ice cream was great, almost as good as the pig was. Almost. It was very cold, had a mild flavor, and soothed the spice still burning in my maw. I wouldn’t want to eat it every day, but after a spicy dinner like that? It was perfect.
While we ate the actual dessert, dad told me about the potion. It was very similar to the original Potion of Head Start, but had more limitations. For example, you could only use this one before you got your first Path, rather than before the second. There were some other things as well, like slowed leveling for a while, but they weren’t that important. The benefit of fifteen free Path-less levels worth of Attributes outweighed any downsides by a landslide.
He told me how he started research on it almost a decade ago, and that he had kept it secret for the last two years since its completion. The scientists were not pleased by having to wait to publish their research, but didn’t have much choice as it was baked into their contracts. And you did not break any contracts with dad, it was bad business.
“So Felix, what Skills are you going to go for?” Sìnna Vuillio asked. “If you want to share, of course.”
After dinner, dad’s friends had come over. This of course meant a company of professors, some high-ranking members of the academy, and a farmer. They were the closest thing to family I had, and it made me feel all warm and fuzzy that they took time out of their busy schedules to visit. I knew for a fact at least some of them had been literal worlds away.
Everyone was huddled into small groups, talking quietly while we waited for the big moment. A quick glance at the clock told me it was 23:32, so it was still about half an hour away. I was seated with Sìnna in a corner, inside a little alcove at the window. I kneaded the pillow beneath me like a cat as I considered my answer.
“You’d find out anyway, so I might as well tell you now.” She chuckled at that. “The first Skill I’ll try to get will be [Basic Spell Book]. I don’t think I’ll have any trouble with that. After that? Probably [Basic Instinctive Knowledge] and [Basic Rune Magic]. I’ve decided to leave the last three slots open for now. I can always fill them later.”
“Oh? Good choices. You want to be a mage, then?”
I roll my eyes. “You know I do. You’re the one that taught me about magic.”
“Oh, yes, I remember. You were so adorable. One moment you were focussing so hard, and the next you were chasing butterflies! In hindsight, the park probably wasn’t the best place to teach you.”
I chuckled and shook my head. “I don’t think I could’ve sat still long enough for you to get me into a classroom.”
She laughed. “No, definitely not. You’ve grown into a fine young man since then, you know.”
I would have blushed if I could. “Thanks.”
“I’m still a bit surprised you didn’t go for a more melee oriented Skill set. With your physique, you’d be an amazing fighter.”
“I’ve thought about it,” I said after a moment, “but from all the training dad put me through I’ve learned that fighting isn’t really for me. I enjoy it a lot, sure, but it isn’t all that interesting compared to magic. I’m not going to stop training anything soon though, and might even use one of the spare slots for a melee skill, but I’ll definitely be focusing on magic.”
She took a sip from her drink and nodded. “Makes sense. To be honest, I’ve never been that interested in fighting either. Just follow your actual interests, the System will take care of the rest. Just look at your father, who could’ve imagined someone making a combat Path out of an administrator Path. Worst case, you can always drop the Skills you don’t like and pick new ones.”
Sìnna and I talked for the remaining time, and I took the opportunity to ask her about how she chose her Skills. Turned out she started as a baker. I never would’ve guessed.
In the meantime, dad and Bob—the farmer—moved the dinner table aside to clear some space. Afterwards, they put down a large tub. One big enough to fit me comfortably and still have about half a meter of space on every side.
With about five minutes left until midnight, and thus only five minutes until I was eighteen years old, my father called everyone together.
“Come, come. Gather. It’s almost time.”
Everyone took a seat in one of the chairs around the tub, and I sat down inside the thing. The tub was there for all the waste products the first level produced. All the small blocks in the Mana pathways—though, I was told I don’t have any—the impurities in our cells, the small contaminants floating around the bloodstream, and the many other small things would be pushed out as the System enhanced and streamlined the body. The amount varied from species to species, but generally speaking, the more mass one had, the more sludge poured out from them. I was the size of a small horse, and at least twice as heavy, so that meant a large tub for me.
I turned to dad, who was standing on his chair, ready to give his speech.
“It is with great pride that I can claim Felix to be my son. He came to me as a mere egg, washed down the river by a storm and towards my camp. I was still young then, and didn’t know what a treasure I had in my possession. I took to trying to hatch the unknown egg in hopes of getting a pet, or maybe a tamable beast. After years of trying and failing, I finally succeeded in hatching the egg at this moment eighteen years ago. But instead of a pet, I got something much greater. Something I never expected I would get or want. I got a son.”
Dad gave everyone a moment to process his words, then continued.
“With your help, I raised him from a small hatchling, to a dragonling, and finally, to a dragon. I wish I could’ve been of more help in the times he felt sad, and I’m grateful to have been there the times he felt happy. Through ups and downs, but always with love—even when he made a mess of my office—he grew into a fine young man. I’m sure he’ll be great at whatever he decides to do, and I hope I’ll be there to experience it with him. But now, the first step. I love you, Felix.”
I didn’t like being the center of attention, but just this once, I thought I could make an exception. I wiped a tear from my eye and stepped out of the tub to envelop him in a big dragon hug. “Thanks dad. I love you too.”
Knowing it was almost time, I kept the hug short and hurried back into the tub. It was now only thirty seconds until the big moment, and I was suddenly very nervous. What would it be like? Would it hurt? Alex told me it felt great, but he’s not a dragon. For all I know, the sense of pleasure is something only humanoids get. And unlike them, my sample size was zero!
No, no. It’d be fine. It has never hurt anyone before, and you won’t be any different. Alex said it was just like flying, and you know the thrill of flying very well. Just take a deep breath and relax.
With only five seconds to go, my father started a countdown. “Five!”
I took a deep breath.
“Four!”
And I closed my eyes.
“Three!”
I imagined I was standing in a field of flowers.
“Two!”
There, I hunched down, ready to take off.
“One!”
My imaginary body, tight like a spring, released and soared into the sky.
“Zero!”
There was a moment of bated breath as everyone awaited the telltale glow of unlocking a System.
But nothing happened.