Ethan slammed down on the mountaintop, a demon corpse in each hand.
“Fucking morons,” Ethan grumbled. “I save their asses, and they attack me! Urgh. It took everything I had not to kill them all. Thank fuck for the nearby demonic hordes.”
He’d retreated from the battle after retaliating with his Eldritch Breath and dove onto the demons with abandon. He’d filled his belly with demons as his Regenerative Scales mutation worked on healing him.
Eldritch Digestive System, Regenerative Scales, Qi Conduction Veins, and Blood Filtration System—those were the mutations he’d bought over the last few weeks as he hunted down anything within range in the forest. The Regenerative Scales and the Blood Filtration worked to heal him, while the filtration part would also filter out impurities and toxins from his body. Qi Conduction Veins made Qi flow far better through his body, and the Digestive System improved his biomass yield.
Ethan chewed and swallowed as he grumbled and growled but eventually shook his head.
“Nothing to it,” he thought as he lay down. “I’m alive and well. They’re dead, and their cannon is gone. I win. Let’s focus on levels this time around. I’ve got a lot of biomass from all those demons.”
***
Alissa stomped into the old City Hall and marched to the leader’s office. She slammed the door open and stepped in, glaring at the blonde man sitting behind his desk.
“What the hell was that?!” she exclaimed.
“What?” the man looked at her with calm eyes.
“That cannon!” she shouted. “Why would your guy attack the dragon? It was helping us!”
“Our God has foretold that it will be our greatest enemy,” the man explained, his voice calm. “We acted before it could turn on us. Now, where is the corpse?”
“What?!” Alissa blinked and took a step back. “You- Wait, what do you mean, corpse?”
“Where is the dragon’s corpse?” he restated, meeting Alissa’s eyes.
“It’s not dead, idiot,” she said through gritted teeth. The infuriating man’s eyes widened. “Your cannon hit it, but it shrugged it off and destroyed it with a breath weapon. Oh, and your lieutenant is dead, too, along with his entire crew. So, well done. If it was foretold that the dragon would be our enemy, then you’ve just proven it true. You made it our enemy by attacking it, you dumb fucking bastard!”
Alissa turned on her heels and stormed out of the building. She kept walking until she reached the forest, where she slumped against a tree.
***
Name:
Ethan Marshall
Race:
Dragon
Type
Eldritch
Level:
17
Stage:
Lesser Core(Draconic)
Stats
Body:
Strength
50
Agility
50
Vitality
50
Mind:
Intelligence
40
Wisdom
40
Willpower
40
Spirit:
Essence
42
Harmony
40
Attunement
40
“That’s disgusting,” Ethan snickered as he finished allocating his stat points. “Hehe.”
He opened his eyes after his body stopped shifting. He’d grown larger once again, now standing almost ten meters tall at the shoulders.
“How big will I get?” Ethan wondered. “At some point, my size will become a disadvantage. Maybe there’s a way for me to alter my size. Perhaps I can get an upgrade to Shapechange?”
He shook his head and rose.
“I wonder how Laila’s doing,” Ethan thought as he focused his senses and channelled Qi into his horns. “Oh, wow.”
Stolen story; please report.
A blaze of radiant Qi flowed up the stairs from the chamber below. There was Fire Qi and something else that Ethan had only glimpsed in the mote that transferred to Laila during the cultivation session.
Ethan approached the stairs and looked down. The heat burned against his face, but his body ignored it. It felt like a pleasantly warm summer day.
Ethan activated Shapechange, and his body shifted and shrunk until he stood as a humanoid. He shook his limbs out and stepped down the stairs.
The heat was more noticeable in his humanoid form, but it still didn’t cause any bother.
When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he saw that the wall that hid the room had been blown apart, and sections of the main chamber were in shambles. Ethan peered around the corner but was almost blinded by the searing light emanating from Laila and the egg.
“Holy crap!” Ethan groaned as he blinked the stars from his eyes. “That’s bright!”
He retreated and walked back up the stairs rather than try his chances against the light again. He returned to his dragon form and settled down to wait.
“So,” Ethan thought after he’d settled. “Transforming into a humanoid form uses all the Qi in my dragon body, but most of it is returned when I transform back. In the meantime, my humanoid form slowly regenerates Qi. How does that work? Also, why does being in my humanoid form feel so stifling? It’s like I’m restrained, somehow. Urgh. I need to get used to it, eventually. Not being a gargantuan dragon will be helpful if I want to have more people around. Not to mention that the more comfortable I get in this form, the further I go from humanity. At least, that’s my fear.”
Ethan thought for a long time, ruminating on the various issues he’d be facing.
A few hours later, the blaze of Fire-Qi dissipated, and shortly after that, Laila walked up the stairs. She stopped and stared at Ethan for a few seconds before she shook her head, grumbling.
“Damn, you’re getting huge,” she smirked. Ethan snorted. “How’d it go?”
“I fought off an army of demons, saving the humans, then the humans attacked me with a cannon that fired concentrated balls of light or something,” Ethan growled. “That hurt. Took everything I had not tear them apart.”
“Oh,” Laila sighed. “That’s- Well, at least you managed to hold back, right?”
“Yeah,” Ethan nodded. “Although- Uh, well, I did use my breath weapon and wiped the cannon and the guys operating it out of existence.”
“Damn it,” she grumbled and shook her head. “Can’t say I blame you.”
“Enough about me,” Ethan growled. “What happened to you? You’re not all Fire-Qi anymore. What’s going on? Where’s the phoenix? I thought it was about to hatch from all that Qi.”
“Yeah,” Laila scratched her neck, and Ethan finally noticed her auburn hair had become redder and had streaks of gold in it. “You know how I said it was dying? Yeah, the method you explained helped, but not enough. The phoenix somehow sensed my intent to save it and decided to join with me. I’ve taken on some of the phoenix’s essence and being, and in time, I may be able to resurrect it.”
“I see,” Ethan smirked. “You’ve trod on the path of the monster as well.”
“Heh,” Laila shook her head. “Sort of. I don’t get it, though. I didn’t fully transform, and I can still cultivate normally. What’s different about you?”
“Well,” Ethan shifted and groaned. “I didn’t get a choice. It was forced upon me. I’m lucky to retain even a part of my ego. The cultivation thing-I’m not sure. I think it has something to do with my eldritch affinity. Maybe there are restrictions? I mean, I am powerful. More powerful than I have a right to be, so there’s bound to be downsides or restrictions, right?”
“Right,” Laila nodded absentmindedly. “I guess.”
“So,” Ethan said as he rose into a sitting position. “What’d you get? What changes and stuff?”
“Oh,” Laila smiled as she stood straight. “My fire Qi got an upgrade and became far more potent and pure, but I also got some divine fire, which I can actually use to heal.”
“Nice,” Ethan smiled. “That’s good. So, let me guess; you’ll get the chance to take on more aspects of the phoenix and gain more divine abilities?”
“Yeah,” Laila nodded. “Pretty much.”
“That’s good,” Ethan nodded. “That’ll give you time to process any changes to your mentality, bit by bit rather than all at once. You sh-”
Ethan stopped mid-sentence, and his head snapped toward the stairs leading up the mountain.
“Someone’s coming,” he warned and got to his feet. Laila responded by drawing her sword from a storage ring Ethan had missed. “You got a-”
“Yeah,” Laila nodded, her face grim. “Stole it when I left the Celestial Heart. Focus!”
“Right,” Ethan nodded and returned his gaze to the stairs.
***
Alissa climbed the long staircase and finally reached the peak. Her attention was on the view as she climbed, so she was taken aback when she looked toward the centre of the peak and saw the dragon.
“Holy crap!” her eyes widened, and she froze mid-stride. “That thing is huge! Is it bigger than the last time? How is that possible?”
It took her several seconds to notice the woman standing beside the dragon and another few seconds to recognise her.
“That’s Laila!” she recalled her name. “So, this is where she ran off to. Why, though?”
A deep rumble broke her from her thoughts.
“What do you want?” the dragon asked, glaring at Alissa. She felt a chill run down her spine, and her knees wobbled slightly. Still, she powered on and walked closer.
“I’ve come to beg forgiveness,” she said as she bowed her head after she’d approached.
“Forgiveness?” the dragon sneered down at her.
“Yes,” Alissa nodded. “And aid. Please, help us fight the Invaders.”
“Help you?” the dragon growled, and Laila snorted from the side. “I did help you, and you attacked me! Why would I give a damn about you after that?”
“B—” Alissa began talking but couldn’t think of a single reason why this dragon should go out of its way to help after what they had done. “I don’t know. All I know is that we’re losing. For some reason, the Invaders focus all their attention on us, and we can’t hold.”
“I’d wager that’s due to your overlords,” the dragon said. The rhythmic rumble from its chest sounded like a snicker. “Maybe nobody likes mind control.”
“Mind-control?” Alissa frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Oh, come on!” Laila exclaimed from the side. “You expect us to believe you don’t know about it? Every group you met with joined you within minutes. No arguing, no negotiations. They simply gave all their stuff to you and followed like sheep. I was broken from the control and ran away.”
“What?” Alissa’s eyes widened, but certain things began making sense to her. “But, n- That’s not right. Who would do that?”
“An otherworldly faction that seeks control over our planet and people?” the dragon grumbled. “It’s a perfect coup. They get control without risking a single one of their own people.”
Alissa stood frozen for a while, blinking.
“So,” the dragon said. “Understanding our suspicions, you may see why we’re reluctant to help you.”
“No,” Alissa said as she raised her hands, palms out. “Wait. If what you’re saying is true, then it’s the leadership that works the mind-control. There are innocent people there. They don’t deserve this!”
“Huh,” Laila raised an eyebrow. “You’ve changed, Lieutenant Ali.”
“Don’t call me that,” Alissa frowned and dropped her hands. “Let’s say my worldview has been shaken recently.”
“Something to do with your brother, perhaps?” Laila smirked. “How he reacted to your, uhm, invitation to join?”
“Yeah,” Alissa sighed. “That’s part of it. How didn’t I see it? Now that you’ve mentioned the mind control, I can’t help but see it everywhere.”
“Uh-huh,” Laila shook her head.
“I mean it!” Alissa gritted her teeth. “Please, at least help me stop this.”
“Wh-” Laila began, but she was interrupted by the dragon.
“We’ll help,” it said suddenly.
“What?!” Laila stared at the dragon, bewildered.
“I just got a quest,” the dragon smiled. It was terrifying. “Two, actually. One to fight the local Invaders and liberate the humans from the alien oppressors.”
They stood in silence for a while before the dragon nodded.
“Alright,” it said. “Here’s what we do. Laila and Alissa, you head to the Celestial Heart and see about breaking the mind-control somehow. Don’t take any chances, though. Meanwhile, I’ll handle the Invaders.”
“Wait,” Alissa frowned, reeling. “You trust me now?”
“Let’s call it a chance at redemption,” the dragon smirked as its body started shifting and squirming. Alissa’s stomach turned at the sight. Her eyes widened as she saw the dragon’s humanoid form and familiar face. “You do want to redeem yourself, right, sis?”