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Experience for development Jobs has reached multiple breaking points.
[Star Idol]: Lv. 44 -> Lv. 45 | Reset accumulation finished | Prestige 12 Lv. 26
[Lightbearer]: Lv. 34 -> Lv. 40 | Reset accumulation finished | Prestige 8 Lv. 7
[Tyrant Hatchling]: Lv. 2 -> Lv. 38
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| Prestige requirement achieved! Job max level has increased. Experienced accumulation and reward quality increased.
[Star Idol] Max level -> 55
[Lightbearer] Max level -> 45 |
[/center] [/td][/tr] You may spend your prestige points when you are ready [/center] [/td][/tr]
[/center] [/td][/tr] Evolution Points: 21/50 [/center] [/td][/tr]
[/center] [/td][/tr] Experience has reached a breaking point. [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor] has risen from [Level 34] to [Level 35] [/center] [/td][/tr]
[/center] [/td][/tr] Attributes have increased due to level up [/center] [/td][/tr]
[/center] [/td][/tr] Acquired 800 skill points [/center] [/td][/tr]
[/center] [/td][/tr] Multiple proficiency requirements fulfilled. [Silence Lv. 3] [Accuracy Correction Lv. 10] [Probability Correction Lv. 9] [Enhanced Olfactory Sense Lv. 7] [Odorless Lv. 3] [Ice Resistance Lv. 3] gained [/center] [/td][/tr]
Morning!
Hmm? Yeah, morning. You woke up earlier than usual; remember to get as much sleep as you can afford, Vifi said with a small yawn, barely distinguishable from a sigh as she stared at the sky, inspecting the time of day. She just woke up but it didnt look like she was the least bit groggy.
Well, I know you dont cook, so I made sure we got something for breakfast. You dont mind another round of mammoth steak, right? I grinned mischievously as I presented the sizzling meat on my iron pan.
Vifi shrugged. Ill eat anything edible, as long as its not seafood. The chewing will keep us awake.
It was the morning after I decided to hang around in the wild to hunt and level up, enduring the biting cold in preparation for our trip to the glaciers. Vifi and I had decided to sleep outside with some earthen covers and a pretty large bonfire to keep ourselves warm, trying to test out the different survival methods Vifi had learned from the military on how to march through the cold.
They were pretty much small techniques on how to conserve body heat, how to keep watch during the night, distinguish when a blizzard would come, and so on. Frankly, our main goal for the night should have been to find and fortify a cavern somewhere, as warming up a small, confined cave would be easier than trying to keep ourselves warm out in the open.
However, we wouldnt be able to do this when we reached the north.
According to Mom, there were many mountain caverns, but most of them would be occupied by training dragonkin or hibernating ancients. It would be safer for us to avoid them and try to find locations where we could sleep without needing to interact with them. Naturally, due to my natural pheromones, it was inevitable that we would meet one or two curious dragonkin.
[Odorless] helped a lot to keep the number of curious dragonkins down, but having the bloodline of the only two living rank SS dragons on Kargryx? That made me pretty conspicuous. The older, stronger dragons with their heightened olfactory senses could probably smell me out purely due to a difference in skills. I would have to be transported while inside a subspace for them to not smell me out.
Then again, all this information might seem a bit confusing with how everything ended yesterday. I wanted to train and level up, all while practicing with [Providences Will], but I had obligations in Iceskale, so wasnt I there? Well, the fire stones Kahalameet promised me werent here yet for some reason.
When we opened the subspace, Tasianna informed me Mom had flown over to the mainland as per our agreement with the other empresses, but also to ask why my shipment hadnt been delivered yet. Most likely, Kahalameet was having trouble with Maustoovaka, as I did want a restraining order on him. He probably had to deal with the situation as per Eltharions demand.
So, there wasnt anything for me to do, as Uncle Kary said. Training was all I could, so why not use this time to make my first trip up north to see what the hype was about? Since Vifi had already gone there with the rest, she was also my guide for the day.
Want me to get something from the subspace? Vifi asked as she chowed down a mammoth steakour most abundant meat type since I hunted quite a few yesterday.
I looked around, staring at the orange-grassy landscape of this tundra and the abundant snow coats on the nearby hills. A coat.
Saori will have to sew you one, cause we dont have any for your dragon form.
I nodded. Some mana clothing is probably redundant at this point. Ill have to be in my dragon form most of the time to generate the heat needed for our party to stay warm. Im already wearing my armor, so unless Saori and Grimnir can think of a way to make fur armor, I think one large fur coat for my dragon form might be the way.
How do you stop from burning it, though? Vifi asked, but that was part of the problem solving. They might as well make a couple dozen if they couldnt think of a way.
Yeah, lets put all that stuff on R&D.
After Vifi returned from her subspace trip, she threw over some fragassa donuts for me to enjoy before we continued our trip.
I was traveling in my dragon form with [Providences Will] at hand, levitating alongside me; Vifi sat on my head, keeping watch on my head as I walked, flew, and climbed the different vistas. As Frozen Nest was large enough to count as a smaller continent, similar to Australia, our travel was quite slow as long as I didnt fly. Between the sheer landmass and difficult conditions, travel by foot might as well have been a crawl.
Yet, slowing things down did give me the chance to view the ecosystem better and also appreciate the sheer cold I was experiencing as we went further up north. Everybody wasnt exaggerating when they said Iceskale was the only dragonewt settlement on the entire island, as during this trip, wed never seen anything larger than a few houses next to each other, not even enough to count as a hamlet.
| [Humanize (Moderate)] inflicted on [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor] |
Oh, our relatives did mention our princess has been found! Welcome, Princess Hestia. If you wish, please enjoy the warmth of our hearth before you leave.
We have some goat and earth root stew ready, if you are hungry.
As I wanted to get to know the land, I did speak with these people whenever I saw their homes. Naturally, even if they were cut off from Iceskale, most of them knew enough to show me the respect I deserved as a princess, bowing and lowering their tails before they invited me inside.
Similar to what I had heard from Ryra when he talked about how wyverns and dragonewts acted inside Kargryx territoryas servants for their true dragon clanthese people were similarly isolated. Always nearby was the nest of a true dragon family they were related to, with a few wyverns flying around, acting as guards.
These people harvested and exploited the locale for resources, ranging from meat, alchemical ingredients, ores, and so many more depending on what was abundant. This would then be transported through wyvern caravans to Iceskale, where they would be processed and packaged inside the citys industries to add onto the clans wealth and influence.
While the older true dragonkin didnt have much interest in money, the younger ones and the dragonewts would always seek a better standing within Moms country. Contributing and spending money on ways to better themselves was their main motivation. After all, if you really wanted to level up on Miononbolax after reaching rank Awhether evolution-wise or adventurer rank-wisethe [Dungeon of Infinite Feasts] was still the best place to be.
Money earned you better potions, equipment, and connections for the dragonewt, who would then be able to better support the wyverns and true dragonkin, who werent as interested in all these trivial humanoid ways to become stronger. It was quite interesting how the three different major Kargryx races treated and handled Davi.
True dragonkin didnt put too much stock into money since their clans had large storages of wealth, but placed more importance on interesting or powerful items. On the other hand, wyverns mostly thought of money as a way to eat more delicious food or to enjoy themselves while they rested. Meanwhile, dragonewts were like most humanoid races when it came to dragons. There were some exceptions here and there, but that was the impression Ive gotten from my stay in this empire.
It is rare to see a human this far north into Iceskale. I would have thought it would be too cold for your race. As we entered the housepretty much every single one we visited todayhad the inhabitants stare at Vifi with wondrous eyes, as if they couldnt believe what they were seeing.
As she wasnt emotionally stimulated, Vifi looked completely like a human woman, right now, and considering how I havent seen a single human on Iceskale just yet, their reactions were pretty understandable. It was only annoying that we had to answer the same questions over and over again.
Shes one of my companions. A friend of mine that I made on Altrust. You can also consider her one of my guards, ahaha, I replied, probably for the umpteenth time.
And every single time, we would get the same answer. Most likely, it would be the same right now.
Oh, Altrust? But you still smell like a whelpOh, right! Your Highness, arent you supposed to be a year or two old? As you would expect from a child of Emperor Eltharion and Empress Melloxtressa; your potential must be as high as that of God Kargryxmor for you to go through an early Adulthood Pilgrimage as your age! The inhabitants bowed once again. Please, come in, Miss! A protector of Her Highness is a welcomed guest. Although you may be short-lived, please, give your all to allow her to grow up into a great successor to our lands!
Short-lived Yikes, honestly, not really the adjective I would have liked to hear, but to these dragonewt, that probably was the reality of the situation. To them and dragons, humans didnt live long enough to be considered adults in Kargryxian culture.
Now Vifi, as a demonkin, had a longer lifespan than a normal human, but it was around that of a beastman with a better than normal bloodline. Something like the Artorian royal familys. Yet, it was a non-negotiable truth that Ellaine, Grimnir, Vifi, the students, and other friends Ive made in my adventure in this world would be gone long before my time came.
Well, memento mori, aside these little visits were usually pretty informative as our hosts were polite enough to inform us of their locale and to which dragon clan they belonged to. While the dragon clan thing wasnt as important, I did learn that the people living on the frontier rarely visited Iceskale, aside from one celebrationfor Uncle Alexs birthday. If they had a clan-related event, it would be close by, inside their dragon clans home roost.
Hearing about Uncle Alexs birthday, it did remind me how Mom vehemently denied celebrating her own. When I brought this up, the dragonewts confirmed the celebrations had stopped after Mom became a rank SS, and that was only cause she finally learned of how expensive they were once Eltharion proposed to her. Before that, she was naturally occupied with her training, to the point people were celebrating her birthday without her even being around.
We wanted to cheer her on as she rose to the height of rank SS! they stated. Maybe that was why Mom stopped these celebrations and it wasnt cause she was annoyed at her age like most women were.
Do you not have issues with monster spawnings or large herd migrations? I asked.
The further north you go, the more problematic it gets, yes. The wind gets stronger the closer you go to the glaciers, and even if a blizzard isnt happening in the area, the local monsters do become harder to defeat with conventional dragoon equipment, one of them said, identifying himself and his wife as dragoons. They were retired, but they could still handle themselves, apparently. They adapt better to the ice element so the wild monsters and us dragonkin mostly ignore each other, but it quickly becomes a problem if we wish to expand our operations or hunt. However, monsters rarely try to invade our territory intentionally.
With most creatures on Frozen Nest being aligned to ice, it did mean that most of them had high [Ice Resistance], which the inhabitants also specialized in. It''s just like how everything in Inferno Nest was practically immune to fire and where I was forced to use holy spells to even damage the fire dragons there.
Naturally, there was still physical damage and stuff like Moms true ice that could still kill highly resistant ice monsters, but it would be more troublesome. Even the mammoths Ive fought up until now for meat could use ice attacks, so it felt like a weapons race with who could gain more strength, higher ice-related skills, and so on through their evolutions and leveling.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.
If you are asking for information on how to defend yourself, then you should have no issue at all, Princess! The dragoons wife said with a wide, confident smile. As the daughter of both Emperor Eltharion and Empress Melloxtressa, your bloodline should be able to fully defeat anything that you encounter here. Rarely do any monster near the glaciers have [Fire Resistance] at all, so your black flames should be able to burn them while your silver dragon blood protects you from their attacks. Just be wary, your highness. A difference in strength is still dangerous, even with proper scale manipulation.
This is the sixth building. People really dont know much about me, at all.
Honestly, with how the dragons could fly to Iceskale and from it, I would have thought the people here would know more about me, at least, the fact that my flames were crimson and that I barely inherited anything from Moms side beyond my appearance. As in, the whole drama I had to face in the first month of my stay here with the ice dragons not accepting me as their real princess or how other dragons knew Eltharion didnt think of me as his daughter.
It felt weird talking with people ignorant of all that information and I wasnt sure how to react but to simply accept it. Although, Hikari did tell me that this might be how medieval royal families on Earth must feel whenever they went out to the farms to speak with people. They knew stuff enough to show respect, but it wasnt like they were up to date with everything.
I mean, at least, they knew that my egg was lost, that Mom and my clan were looking for me, most of Altrusts Loatryx were on the same boat, and that I finally came back! Thats about it, though.
After a lengthy talk, I decided it was time to leave when I noticed Id eaten two bowls of their stew. With a short nod, I smiled to show my gratitude. Thank you very much for your hospitality and your information. Frozen Nest is humongous and is quite daunting to explore, otherwise.
It certainly is, Princess Hestia! they stated as they bowed. In all honesty, even if you wish to familiarize yourself with our land, our suggestion is to not worry too much about it. Most of the land is managed by the dragon clans living in the nearby mountain ranges, and even Dragon Ruler Alextraxus only comes over when something is amiss. Everything you need to learn as an heir is inside Iceskale.
Dont you feel a bit excluded, though? I asked. You are our people as well.
No, that isnt what we meant by that, Your Highness. We are dragonewts; we might live longer than humans, but we all still have a shorter lifespan than you, especially for those with more diluted blood, the dragoon man explained. The former owner of this little outpost has already perished. None of us expect Empress Melloxtressa or Dragon Ruler Alextraxus to know or grieve for us when we die. We are simply happy enough to have served our clan and for the glory of Frozen Nest and the empire.
Our days on the battlefield are over, Your Highness. There is no need to revel in glory here, his wife added. We would have stayed in Loatryx and joined the local dragoon order if we had wanted to continue fighting, but this tranquil life isnt too bad. Herding the gheepers, making sure we keep the forest well; it is a good life with a great view every single day.
I cant argue about the good view part, hiehie I stared down before nodding to Vifi, only to return to the pair before we leftI have a question: if I were to invite you to a party or a musical concert of mine, would you be willing to come?
Would that be for your birthday celebration?
I shook my head, stating it would be like a planned party for the sake of fun. I also elaborated that it wouldnt be an order and that I wanted them to enjoy my singing, shocking them that I was a musician and that I liked singing like the people on Altrust, instead of the throat singing dragonkin liked. As such, I gave them a taste of it.
Is this not the day, are you feeling down? ?
Wanna smile so much, but cant lift up the frown ?
Is the world so bleak, all is going wrong ?
Like a raging stream, dragged through it all along ?
Do you ever want to break apart that wall? ?
But every try rings hollow, and all thats left is emptiness ?
But let me tell you this, you gotta raise your head ?
Cause there is more to life ?
As there will be a chance to shine ?
It will appear ?
So grab it tight! ?
Your great light of hope! ?
| [Music Resonation (Minor)] inflicted on [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor] |
I stopped and winked, grinning a bit when I saw the dragonewts mesmerized by my voice. Thats just the teaser!
Ahem! We apologize for that, the pair stuttered, forcing their swinging tails down to the ground.
No, no, thats okay! Im actually really happy you had such a reaction. Singing and entertaining people is a passion of mine, and its what I want to live for, if possible. Thats what I want my celebration to be, and if possible, I want as many people from Frozen Nest to hear it, even if it isnt exactly normal entertainment. Thats why I wanted to invite people, if youre interested, of course.
The two scratched their necks, clearly hesitating for obvious reasons. After some silence, the wife said, Right. Your Highness, you told us you visited other small hamlets like ours, correct? Is this the actual reason for your northern travels?
No, as I said, Im exploring and using it as a chance to level up. I just got the idea for the concert now.
In that case, you should already be familiar with how the frontier works and the distance between our individual homes and Iceskale. I nodded to her statement.
The time I needed to travel from Iceskale back home was enough for me to understand it must be a long trip for normal people. On foot, traveling through all the boreal forests, monster-infested areas, and large, long-winding mountains would be a nightmare. The sky was the best, but even then, normal wyverns and dragons needed time to rest during their flight.
All in all, traveling took quite a long time.
To us frontier people, we either have to travel with our true dragonkin relatives, take a wyvern caravan, or travel in a large caravan with others through the land. The first option is the safest, naturally, as normal monsters would rather not risk their lives against dragons and drakes, but this is rarely an option for us outside of the aforementioned celebrations. If we wanted to go to Iceskale normally, the latter two options are our only choices, she said. The skies in Frozen Nest are safe from random monsters due to the dragon supremacy over it, so we dont have to fear anything there, but the ground is a different story. True dragonkin are feared, lesser and us dragonewts arent. We are prey down here. An opportunistic ambusher can get us during the night when we have to rest, whether its the plains or inside a cave.
Wouldnt it be possible to land near a hamlet on the way?
Yes, that is always our intention, but what about blizzards? Strong winds? Monster infighting interrupting our travels? The local hamlets owner might have a dispute with one of our clans. Anything can happen during these travels, the husband answered. It is risky, which is why we would prefer traveling with our draconic relatives, if possible.
And those true dragonkin would rather not waste time in Iceskale when they can do something else. Or just sleep. Or be lazy. Got it
However, if it is for your birthday. Your first birthday event since your return, I believe we would be honored to come, Your Highness. Thank you.
Those last words kept me occupied as Vifi and I left the small hamlet. The idea of hosting my next concert worried me as a part of me understood the logistical challenge of gathering all the frontier people to Iceskale. After all, Ive only talked with the inhabitants of the inlandthe mountainous areaand I havent visited the ones on the coastline, or even those who lived underground, if any.
How was I supposed to bring these people to my concert? How was I supposed to entice the dragonkin to watch me sing?
Our birthday might be the only option, Hikari stated.
No, that will be like in a years time. It takes too long.
Considering the options, I turned to Vifi. Do you know when Alextraxuss birthday is?
AutumnMoon 2nd.
2nd? Hold on, does Kargryx celebrate Origdiviel?
Loatryx does, not the dragons. You heard it from those dragonewts, they do show some respect to Kargryxmor. However, from what Ive seen last AutumnMoon, people treated it more like a family outing holiday. Instead of fully thanking the gods, they give thanks to their clans and relatives. Speaking of which, BoleTaria celebrates it traditionally, but only to Marsven or the Edjurl Gods, depending on which church you believe in.
So to the dragonkin, Origdiviel Arashan is truly just like Thanksgiving.
However, that wasnt the issue I noticed here.
Moms birthday is on the 16th of AutumnSun, Uncle Alexs is on the 2nd of AutumnMoon, the God Thanking festival Origdiviel Arashan is celebrated on the 7th of the month, and then we had two Aurora birthdays for Vifi and Grimnir on the 18th and 24th, respectively. This is a long queue for celebrations! Not to mention all the presents I need to get!
The budget for my potential birthday was large enough to make Mom mad, so I could only imagine how high the number would go for the celebration of a former and current Dragon Ruler of Ice. Yet, Mom didnt want one and I couldnt really use Uncle Alexs birthday for my concert, right? Actually, it probably wouldnt matter since I would just be another part of the entertainment.
Ask him, still. If youre part of the arrangement, we could probably get a budget, or if you dont want to, Aurora should have the funds if we can turn a profit with it. But
But I want to do it for Mom.
Moms birthday, definitely. Cant have an authentic daughter-mother relationship without the daughter trying to throw a scuffed birthday party for the mother You know, considering Mom is away from Frozen Nest right now, maybe we should talk about it with the uncles and see what they think.
Sounds good! Lets do that.
Donut, Vifi called, interrupting my thoughts.
I sighed and nodded, turning my eyes to the skies. There, three dragons were circling over us like vultures, waiting and staring at us since we entered this hamlet. From their appearance, the three light-blue scaled dragonkin looked related with minimal differences in the way their carapace spikes and horns were formed.
I sniffed. Whelplings.
So, a bunch of toddlers. What about those still hiding near the cave? Vifi pointed at the ice-framed entrance on the side of the mountain, located directly in front of my recently visited dragonewt hamlet. Multiple glistening eyes were staring through the misty veil.
Cant tell. Too far up. I tilted my head before deciding to transform back into a dragon. [Lets go, were technically on their land. They can stare as much as they want.]
Once I took to the skies with Vifi, the young whelpling dragons dispersed at first, before turning back around. As I noticed they were trying to keep up with me, I activated my rocket boosters and left them in the dust as I blasted away, only able to hear a whimper as they growled at me to stop.
Honestly, that was just petty of me, but the day was coming to a close soon and I wanted to make sure the whelplings couldnt find me as Vifi and I found an unoccupied cave in a nearby valley. Well, I say found but it was more like we made it unoccupied as we turned every single felwing bat-monster inside into ashes so we could sleep there. Now it was occupied!
Although, it turned unoccupied the next morning again, obviously. Maybe I shouldnt have killed the bats but there was a high leveled rank C [Felwing Blizzard-Lord] inside and I just couldnt resist the experience Also, they tried to suck our blood, so, yeah.
In any case, our third day in the wild was mostly used for experience grinding purposes as the two of us managed to get lucky! A commotion woke us up in the early mornings where we found a territorial battle was happening between three groups; all rank Bs!
[Freezemane Mountain Lion]s, a [Dragon-Stone Ice Golem], and [Amber-Fang Wolly Wyvern]s could all be seen in the distance from our cave! A pride of six white-furred lions with majestic, blue-colored manes that could instantly freeze within a second to look like an armor of ice roared as they noticed two wholly wyverns with enlarged fangs like a sabertooth tiger fly around the corpse of a recently killed mammoth, all while a golem the size of a rank B dragon was slowly approaching them as the two former groups had unwittingly entered the golems territory.
Honestly, it was a beautiful sight that showed the primeval competition between three large predators, all vying for different objectives in this single area. The tension was like from a movie as the scent of blood was spread around the area, yet no other competitors rose to the challenge for this fresh motherlode of mammoth meat None did.
[That golem is level 36, Vifi! 36! The others are whatever, around 10 and 20, but 36!] I shouted after a quick appraisal.
On it! Pinpoint the core with your mana eyes and were off!
As I said, no other group came for the mammoth We were just here for the experience. The experience a level 36 could give me.
[Providences Will], come on, and bring the light! Omnictus! Banishment Beam!
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Experience for development Jobs has reached multiple breaking points.
[Star Idol]: Lv. 26 -> Lv. 54
[Lightbearer]: Lv. 7 -> Lv. 45 | Reset accumulation finished | Prestige 9 Lv. 2
[Tyrant Hatchling]: Lv. 38 -> Lv. 45 | Reset accumulation finished | Prestige 14 Lv. 26>
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| Evolution Points: 23/50 |
| Experience has reached a breaking point. [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor] has risen from [Level 35] to [Level 36] |
| Attributes have increased due to level up |
| Acquired 800 skill points |
Kraaaaaaagh! I let out a victory cry after I destroyed the golems mana core, now standing on its inanimate body. [Got it, lets]
They ran away, Vifi stated as the fleeing silhouettes of the lions and wyverns, both trying to hide away behind the mountains.
Well, more to come.
We left the mammoth body behind as I had too much mammoth meat in my storage anyway. Ecstatic from gaining a level, I suggested to Vifi that we should use this day to level up and she wholeheartedly agreed, as she was almost done with two of her Jobs.
Hearing that made me almost wish for a new Event Quest to happen just for her sake. As Vifi wasnt part of the expedition team that finished the Event Quest. As such, she was not eligible for the Quest rewards, which was the acquisition of a Unique Job. I mean, yeah, she was in my party during all of that, but we didnt even enter the event dungeon properly, and I hadnt sent Party Tasianna a join request even after we all escaped the dungeon.
As such, Vifi was still stuck as a normal Job user. She was taking it with stride, though.
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Experience for development Jobs has reached multiple breaking points.
[Star Idol]: Lv. 54 -> Lv. 55 | Reset accumulation finished | Prestige 14 Lv. 43
[Lightbearer]: Lv. 2 -> Lv. 45 | Reset accumulation finished | Prestige 11 Lv. 25
[Tyrant Hatchling]: Lv. 26 -> Lv. 45 | Reset accumulation finished | Prestige 15 Lv. 0
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Prestige requirement achieved! Job max level has increased. Experienced accumulation and reward quality increased.
[Lightbearer] Max level -> 50
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| You may spend your prestige points when you are ready |
| Evolution Points: 28/50 |
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Job evolution has begun for [Tyrant Hatchling]. Please, choose from the below option to continue leveling your development Job. Your choice of Job evolution will affect your unique Jobs future evolution and your choice of prestige awards
[Crimson Inferno Tyrant]
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| You have chosen [Crimson Inferno Tyrant]. [Tyrant Hatchling] will now evolve into [Crimson Inferno Tyrant], resetting your level and prestige level. Prestige Points: 5, retained. Max level -> 50. Evolution bonuses given: [Mana] [Strength] [Intelligence] [Vitality] [Wisdom]. Bloodline skill unlocked per the Seraphim Project: [Battle Frenzy Mastery Lv. 1] |
| Experience has reached a breaking point. [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor] has risen from [Level 36] to [Level 37] |
| Attributes have increased due to level up |
| Acquired 800 skill points |
With a healthy amount of grinding done, Vifi and I retired early for the day in an actually unoccupied cave as I had stuff to do with my unique Job. [Tyrant Hatchling] had reached its maximum level, allowing me to finally evolve it similar to my other development Jobs. However, unlike the others, something important appeared as my evolution bonus, and it gave me the perfect segue to ask Kramps for one of my divine Quest rewards.
The Seraphim Project. What was it?
Kramps?
Chapter 518: Where Do the Angels Fly?
Sitting around a small campfire while enjoying some stew, I was translating everything Kramps was telling me to Vifi, keeping her informed just as Kramps wanted. Considering what he just told me, allowing her to hear about her ancestorsthe archdemonsseemed warranted to me, and even if it wasnt interesting to Vifi, I thought she should know about it, at least.
She hadnt chosen her Job evolution yet, so she might be antsy about choosing one soon.
Thats how it already works, I said.
While it was possible for artisans and day workers to gain experience without killing anything through Questsusually work-related requests, in this casethe amount they could get from them was enough to maybe bring them up to level 15 at a convenient pace. The point was that it was hard for the average person to become strong.
After all, the whole leveling and Job systems were balanced around the fact you could only become stronger if you fought and killed others. Being an adventurer, soldier, or any combat profession was the way to go.
Kramps continued.
Considering Grimnirs blessed benefits were mostly focused on his smithing and runesmithing abilities, I could see that being one of the reasons.
Ha, the first otherworldly ritual of its kind, and the gods are panicking to find a way to combat it? In a way, I cant help but feel proud of that. Hard conditions to fulfill, so it had to result in that much. You need a proper demonic connection to the Edjurl gods, after all, Vifi explained. Two have been enacted, as you know. The first was to summon those bratsaccidentally also Saoriby sacrificing the life of our previous prince of lust. The second used the prince of envys life. Wanna guess the requirement?
Considering you only listed those two, I presume you need a prince of sin for it?
Almost correct. You need pure demon blood. Do you remember the black-liquid potions my fellow soldiers and a few Edjurian sympathizers ingested to change their figures? The former gaining more strength with a skin change, while the latter usefully morphs into more grotesque forms? Thats the means the princes of sin use to make their blood as pure as possible for the rituals, she said. Only works with a prince of sin, though, and you need an unholy amount of mana to even begin the ritual! You need the princes heir to be ready to fully inherit their princes blood as well, so BoleTaria doesnt just lose one of their major fighters for years to concoct new blood for the process.
Im starting to get really curious about this. Do you mind bringing me up to speed with this? I asked. With Vifi fully on our side, I believed I was allowed to ask this now.
And I was right.
Sure. Princes of sins are created by injected pure demon blood into the vessel, which allows them to not only use their demonic powers at a higher degree of efficiency, but also allows them to access the archdemons sin abilities. Satan and Satanael for wrath demonkin, as a reminder. Vifi then pointed at her chest before pulling her gambeson down a bit to show a small scar. However, pure demon blood is deadly for your body, unless you train to accept it. Through the creation of sin crystals, sin heirs are created by putting one of them into our bodies and that allows us to adapt to the demon blood over time; but, as I said, that requires a lot of time. You need the sin heir to be ready, otherwise the process would fail without a doubt.
And you pried yours out to pay Ghorush to save your apprentice, right.
She nodded. The first, and only, batch of pure demon blood was made 600 years ago, and none have been synthesized ever since. I dont know how long it would take, but with the prince of envys dramatic self-offering, BoleTaria has effectively lost their prince of envy until Lord Sloth can create more blood. That means, they must extract the blood from the remains of Master Envy.
By Master Envy you mean the archdemon of envy, I replied, which she confirmed, prompting me to tilt my head. Then how did they create princes of lust? Kleas body was beaten up by Belzac until Aurena destroyed it all when she was imprisoned.
She fucked around. A lot, Vifi stated with the most deadpan expression ever, causing me to gasp awkwardly. Okay, maybe a bit too dramatic, but it isnt hard to think how it happened. The sin of lusts powers involve creating blood and flesh through demonic energy. Save up some of the bits of flesh from whenever Mistress Klea was fighting people and your descendants might be able to scavenge enough for some blood. The important part is that the pure blood was only made once for each sin. You just need enough and to ensure that your princes of sins dont just randomly die without choosing an heir. Easy, right?
< And not only did Aurora destroy all the sin heirs of envy, but you also pushed the prince of envy into self-destruction. Good work, granddaughter, you managed to effectively erase one sin heir for the years to come.>
Kramps praised, even sending me an image of him clapping. I knew he was trying to congratulate me for my partys achievement, but seeing that giant black dragon slow clap was a surreal sight. Almost like he was sarcastic although, he wasnt.
You certainly did a good job on that front, Grandpapa, I said, grimacing as I remembered everything Ive encountered on Kargryx in the one month Ive been here. In the last month alone!
Vifi, surprisingly, found the irony funny and burst in laughter, spilling some of her stew on the ground as her lightning horns appeared on her head. I really want you to say that again, just to mess with your grandfather in the sky. The big, bad tyrant really cant get mad at his little granddaughter with how youre just throwing those sarcastic remarks around! Ahahahaha!
As Vifi said, Kramps went completely silent. With the way she was messing with him, I honestly thought I had Neill or Asaka around with me. Hmm, this did make me wonder if Vifi was more used to dry humor or something, as hearing her ecstatic about a snarky remark felt a bit unusual for her.
I think I know how to break the stoicness of another party member, hiehie. Your horns are exposing you.
After Vifi finished her belly laugh, Kramps started speaking again,
About time.
I nodded, keeping quiet for now. His melancholic voice entering my head felt somber, sounding like he was actually making an effort to reflect on everything that happened after he became a god. That chest-tightening, fury-filled voice of his when he explained why he summoned me to this world had disappeared, making it easier for me to view him as that old man agonizing over his past mistakes.
I nodded. What did you speak to him about?
If you were to do this to my kid, then, yes, I would despise you to the end of times. Your relationship with both of them is terrible, and it was likely both would have rejected it, but you owed my mother and father the courtesy to ask them if they are willing to offer their unborn child as a vessel for my soul. Hear how fucked up that sounds? Yeah. I groaned, feeling a bit disgusted at what I just said. However, you did it and now you have to live with that mistake. My father despises me because of you, yet my mother is willing to look past it for my sake. I want to fix this and I need your help with this.
he said.
I couldnt disagree. With how much destruction Mom managed to wrought in Elyonda, Aureolis, and Inferno Nest, I wouldnt be surprised if Mom would be able to wipe out the empire or BoleTaria all by herself. That would be a big if, though, as Mom would never agree to it unless I died and I really didnt want to die just for something like this.
The Prince of Pride, for example.
Then, what is this [Battle Frenzy Mastery Lv. 1] supposed to be? I asked as I inspected this new Job skill I just got from evolving [Tyrant Hatchling].
| Battle Frenzy Mastery: A Job skill only acquirable for true dragonkin with a high purity of the God of Dragon and Oath, Kargryxmors, blood. Raises mental resistance while using [Battle Frenzy] at all stages. Raises stat increase by [Battle Frenzy Mastery Lv. X]*2, adding itself to the base stat increase of [Battle Frenzy (X stage)] |
[Crimson Inferno Tyrant] prestige points: 5
- Benefit Slot increase
- Job Skill: [Draconic Skill: Proficiency Lv. 1] [Spark Fire Dragon Lv. 1] [Tyrant of the Skies Lv. 1] [Tyrants Successor Lv. 1]
- Growth Boosts: [Health] [Mana] [Stamina]
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Job: Crimson Inferno Tyrant
Benefit Slots: [Job Crossover]
Level: 0/50
Prestige Level: 0
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Right now, as [Battle Frenzy Mastery] was a Job skill, I didnt have it active since I needed to buy another benefit slot. It wasnt a problem, of course, but having to get 50 levels for the Job to get another prestige point was pretty steep, especially since I had to buy a benefit slot per new skill. Leveling things up was a bit simpler.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.
Now that I think about it, I havent had a big review session for my Jobs in monthswell, over a year now, technically. That thought alone was enough for Hikari to update me on everything as I listened to Kramps.
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Unique Job: [Tyrant Diva] Evolution Points: 28/50
Development Job: [Star Idol] [Lightbearer] [Crimson Inferno Tyrant]
Unlocked Jobs: [Star Idol] [Wildfire] [Lightbearer] [Dragoon] [Crimson Inferno Tyrant]
Evolution Bonuses: [Tyrants Voice] [True Draconic Aura] [Saints Aura]
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Job: Star Idol
Benefit Slots: [Musical Crescendo] [Bardic Cadenza] [Heavenly Performance Act 1] [Musical Renaissance Diva Lv. 1] [Acoustic Power Lv. 4]
Level: 43/55
Prestige Level: 14
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Job: Wildfire
Benefit Slots: [Magic Skills: Proficiency Lv. 10] [Fire Element Lv. 2] [Arcane Skills: Proficiency Lv. 1]
Level: 0/25
Prestige Level: 0
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Job: Lightbearer
Benefit Slots: [Empty Slot]
Level: 25/50
Prestige Level: 11
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Nothing really happened to [Star Idol] since my last Job review session aside from it having gained some good amount of levels to spend on stuff. Aside from [Crimson Inferno Tyrant], the biggest other addition was [Fire Mage] evolving into [Wildfire] and creating a new development Job in [Lightbearer].
Interestingly enough, [Lightbearer] didnt inherit any of the Job skills from its predecessor, but maintained a similar base level cap as [Wildfire]. It was a bit annoying to start anew with the Job, but it wasnt like it was an issue in the grand scheme of things. The point of Development Jobs was that each level into them would change your Unique Jobs evolution choices.
I was planning on replacing [Lightbearer] with [Wildfire] eventually so my Job evolution could focus more on my holy flames and solar power skills. [Star Idol] and [Crimson Inferno Tyrant], though, were mainstays to me, as the Job skills could only be active while the Development Job was equipped to the Unique Job. Sadly, it only had three slots and I had no way to increase them.
[Job Crossover] from the latter was too important since I could level my Jobs in my dragon form, and I wouldnt give up on my music related skills under any circumstance. They were broken. Period.
While putting in some thoughts on what to acquire after my discussion with Kramps was over, the big dragon continued his explanation.
That point, uuurgh. Yeah, having to reach the final training stage will take a while.
So the gods want you to fight demons, Vifi suddenly stated, interrupting my thoughts. When I turned around, she was scratching her chin, looking at the ceiling as she continued. The archdemons will listen to the Edjurl gods, while the seraphims will be sent by the Origin Gods. Question then, isnt that completely redundant, though? Since the Origin Gods cant directly interfere with BoleTaria since were Peolyncians, but the demons invading our world arent. Cant they just zap them?
As I was listening to her, Kramps could hear everything and was conveying his answer to her through me.
Vifis eyes squinted. From the sound of it, demonkin are allowed access to the unique Job System. Why?
Understandable, Vifi replied before finishing her stew. After letting out a big sigh and thanking me for the food, she turned her eyes back to me. So, the idea here is that eliminating the problematic factors in BoleTaria will solve everything.
Then that is the perfect way to villainize a portion of the extremist demonkin, and turn those following God Marsven onto Peolyncias side. That might be the angle we need, Donut. Vifis eyes brightened up. If you want to make peace through your idol ways, this is the reason we needed to bring the followers of Aurena and the followers of Marsven together. A new enemy that neither side can allow to live.
While I was impressed at the conclusion of this, Vifis mouth curved into a large crescent grin, showing off her sharp fangs as she gleefully chuckled. How could we not have seen this? Haha, Lord Envy summoning that god and scarring the world might have even more ripple effects than we could have thought. As long as we can get rid of the racial tensions between humans and demonkin, we can use this as the reason to bring them together. Still, it wont be easy, thats for sure.
Yet, youre still laughing like youre enjoying this, I said, feeling a bit creeped out.
Cause this is what a Warbringer is supposed to do, Hestia! I was one of Lord Wraths heirs, his third-in-command, and that meant Ive learned how to conduct war. I might not have been the best at the strategic parts, nor do I have the experience compared to my siblings, but any military officer would cheer with all this juicy information to process! Vifi declared with an even more devilish smile. Even the difficulty to act on this information will make the payoff feel even better! Think about it, we have to stop three warsNo, four warsfor all of this to work out. The dragon civil war, the impending war between the Shakaie-Narn Alliance and Folschreck, Carminiate against Folschreck, and then Folschreck and BoleTaria. No biggie, right?
A headache, for sure.
Not if you actually make use of that Seraphim Project thing. The politics will be easy compared to having to fight against all the princes of sin, I tell you! Im just telling you this right now, Im not even sure if I can beat my fellow Warbringer, especially if they get unique Jobs in two years time. I dont have mine yet, but you got your head start. Sadly, you are stuck here on this continent and even after you make it back to Altrust, you will still have to deal with other stuff before we can launch a proper attack on BoleTaria.
Like I said, a headache,I''m scratching at my hair, feeling exhausted from all this informationOkay, I get it. The Seraphim Project introduction of a new Job System is to facilitate and accelerate the growth of humanoids in preparation of a possible second demon war. Thats why this update will also benefit artisans and crafters a ton for that future. Then what? Say a demon war doesnt happen, whats the reason for the update then?
Kramps huffed loudly.
The arrogance and confidence that statement exuded felt so like Kramps, unlike our more somber moment a moment ago.
Regardless of the main reason for the Seraphim Project, what this meant was that I should be aware that more benefits could be acquired to make my unique Job actually unique from others. Skills like [Battle Frenzy Mastery] would differentiate me from other blessed and people, and the various other skills I could acquire to customize my unique Job would make me special even when my siblings finally acquired their unique Jobs.
[Lightbearer] prestige points: 11
- Benefit Slot increase
- Job Skill: [Elemental Resistances: Proficiency Lv. 1] [Arcane Skills: Proficiency Lv. 1] [Magic Skills: Proficiency Lv. 1] [Light Element Lv. 1] [Sacred Equilibrium Lv. 1] [Demonsbane Lv. 1] [Darksbane Lv. 1]
- Growth Boosts: [Mana] [Intelligence] [Wisdom]
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| [Lightbearer] Prestige spent. [Light Element Lv. 1 [Sacred Healing Amp Lv. 1] [Demonsbane Lv. 1] [Darksbane Lv. 1] gained. 3 Prestige Points spent on Benefit Slots. 4 Prestige Points to [Sacred Equilibrium Lv. 1] -> [Sacred Equilibrium Lv. 5] gained |
As the discussion wound down, Vifi and I went back to our meal and spent the remaining time left in the evening planning our Job expenditure. Starting with [Lightbearer], I bought three slots so I could equip four of the skills I wanted, which were exclusive to the Job.
Since [Elemental Resistances: Proficiency Lv. 1], [Arcane Skills: Proficiency Lv. 1], and [Magic Skills: Proficiency Lv. 1] were shared with [Wildfire], and I had already bought two of them on that Job, I ignored them on [Lightbearer]. A bit of min-maxing the points as I could simply switch to [Wildfire] whenever I wanted to level up my pure magic skills, while leaving [Lightbearer] as a more combat-proficient Job, due to [Sacred Equilibrium Lv. 1], [Demonsbane Lv. 1], and [Darksbane Lv. 1].
| Sacred Equilibrium: This Job skill may be activated by spending mana to maintain it, with its overall mana cost reduced by the level of the skill. While active, reduce all holy-aligned attacks by 90% while increasing the potency of all healing sources by 10% * skill level. If the owner of this skill possess the [The Light] title, further amplify healing effects to allow sacred, or more potent, healing abilities to also slightly regenerate flesh as long as a healing spell is applied |
Biggest prize of this Job was this one skill here as a pure healing modifier, especially since [Miraculous Grace] should be viable as it was more potent than even [Major Heal]. The 90% flat attack reduction was incredibly debilitating, but in exchange, it would grant me a 100% healing boost at level ten. Worthy trade-off, since the skill also applied to self-healing.
Yes, self-healing. On the dragon with one of the most potent ways to heal herself. This skill was a no-brainer, which was why I spent my last four points to increase it to level 5.
[Demonsbane] and [Darksbane] were easy enough to understand. They increased my damage done to demonic and dark-aligned enemies, respectively.
Now to my two other equipped Jobs, I didnt spend anything on [Idol] since I needed to save ten points for the evolution of [Heavenly Performance Act 2]. [Crimson Inferno Tyrant]and this was an important choice now that I had gained [Job Crossover]had me befuddled about what to choose. While the skill hadnt introduced any new skills to buy, it still offered the same two Neill had warned me about when I first showed her them.
| Tyrant of the Skies: The embodiment of Kargryxmors legacy, constructed by the God of Dragons in accordance to his earlier years. A skill specialized in the solo battle prowess of the Kargryxmor spawn, increasing [Battle Frenzy] stat boost by 2% regardless of the stage. Increases 2% of all stats if the owner fights a monster of a higher rank or of the same rank but of a higher or similar level. These percentages increase by 2% per skill level. Will exclude [Tyrants Successor] |
| Tyrants Successor: The embodiment of Kargryxmors legacy, constructed by the God of Dragons in accordance with his rule as emperor. A skill specialized in leading others and ruling the land as an imperial royalty of Kargryx. While leading retainers or soldiers fully loyal to you, you increase their stats, experience, and proficiency gain by 1%. Increase stat gained by 5% through monster or Unique Job evolutions. Increases percentage by 1% per skill level. While battling any non-royal dragonkins, decrease their stats by 15%. Will exclude [Tyrant of the Skies] |
The first skill was a straight up monstrous skill that probably stacked with [Battle Frenzy Mastery]s own 20% stat increase during [Battle Frenzy] after it reached level 10. Essentially, with this skill, I would have a 60% stat increase as long as I fought somebody stronger, and this was applied with the base stat increase I would normally get from [Battle Frenzy].
However, the second skill was incredibly strong with how my [Hestias Retainer] Ive spread to my friends and companions, including Neill herself. Not to mention, a 15% decrease in a dragons stat as long as they werent part of my family? What I would have given to have this when I was trapped in Inferno Nest, man
Yet, it was also the skill Neill had vehemently warned me from getting, due to the political issues it would cause for the succession crisis. While Kahalameet and Wendriosa were smart and nice enough to forgive me for it, other dragonslike Maustoovakawould only see [Tyrants Successor] as my first step into taking the crown.
Back then, when I talked about it with Neill, I wasnt fully onboard with her reasoning, but after a month staying here, I couldnt help but agree more. I could not agitate the fire dragons nor could I feed into the holy dragons ambition for me Yet, the skill was so good!
That was the conundrum! Which was why I decided to play it safe and simply invest into two benefit slots to future-proof myselfone for [Battle Frenzy Mastery] and the other for when I wanted to make the choiceand leaving one point up. As such, I spent two points to increase my skill level.
| [Crimson Inferno Tyrant] Prestige spent. 2 Prestige Points spent on Benefit Slots. 2 Prestige Points to [Battle Frenzy Mastery Lv. 1] -> [Battle Frenzy Mastery Lv. 3] gained |
With that, I was done for the day, as Vifi had already gone to sleep after she finished her Job review earlier. With her asleep, I stayed up for my shift on watch until I could sleep and that was how we spent the evening, until I could finally ask her about her Job in the morning. I also asked Tasianna on an update through the subspace, but it looked like nothing had come.
Lord Siegragxus mentioned that he would pick you up once word came for your delivery. Lord Karydrinos has been quite impatient, even threatening to personally go into Inferno Nest to forcibly grab the stones for you, aha. Lord Alextraxus had a terrible time yesterday, my lady, Tasianna reported. Also, Lord Siegragxus had told me to tell you that you are allowed to scout the glaciers, but to not enter them. The dragons training there havent been contacted in years, so it is likely some of them do not know that you are the empresss daughter.
Since Im a fire dragon, right. They wouldnt believe me before they try to kill me. I nodded before Vifi and I continued our travels.
It took us two more days until we finally made it. The glacial north where Tasianna and I would seek a method to become one with the sheer cold of Frozen Nest.
Chapter 519: The Blizzard of the Glacial Wastes.
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Experience for development Jobs has reached multiple breaking points.
[Star Idol]: Lv. 43 -> Lv. 55 | Reset accumulation finished | Prestige 16 Lv. 36
[Lightbearer]: Lv. 25 -> Lv. 50 | Reset accumulation finished | Prestige 14 Lv. 9
[Crimson Inferno Tyrant]: Lv. 0 -> Lv. 50 | Reset accumulation finished | Prestige 1 Lv. 47
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Prestige requirement achieved! Job max level has increased. Experienced accumulation and reward quality increased.
[Star Idol] Max level -> 65
[Lightbearer] Max level -> 55
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| You may spend your prestige points when you are ready |
| Evolution Points: 34/50 |
| Youve removed [Job Crossover] from [Crimson Inferno Tyrant] |
| Experience has reached a breaking point. [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor] has risen from [Level 37] to [Level 38] |
| Attributes have increased due to level up |
| Acquired 800 skill points |
| Multiple proficiency requirements fulfilled. [Tyrants Voice Lv. 2] [Scale-Manipulation Lv. 7] gained |
Aquamarine, turquoise, azurite, lapis lazuli sapphire
Luxury, rarity, and beautygemstones, although simple minerals and rock, were a staple of civilization due to their value as crafting materials and the way they would dazzle before your eyes. Admittedly, I did love their shine, and luckily, so did Mom. She even made a ruby necklace made entirely from my shed scales, always wearing it whenever she was in her dragonewt form.
Pretty, beautiful, and stunning sights and items were something anybody could understand, so it shouldnt come as a surprise that people would pay extraordinary amounts of money to buy a well-polished gemstone.
Then, what about a gem-crested mountain? Well, our mountain homes diamond-like ice coat would like a say in that, as it brought the meaning of maximalism to its very peak Hiehie. While the diamonds were actually just Moms ice, whether they should be considered fakes or not depended on the onlookers, and I sure wouldnt have expected them to be if I wasnt informed of it.
And yet, despite living inside that very mountain, I was still astounded by the sight of the northern glaciers!
Ice, so clear and pure that you just wanted to carve some of it out for a nice cold drink, could be seen on a nearby flowing river, surprising me that it still could move despite the chilling, unforgiving cold. Mana eyes told me it was brimming with mana, far more than its surroundings, like a lake going against the stream, fighting it off to continue living.
Around those riverbeds, you could start seeing the line between the rest of Frozen Nest and the start of the frozen wasteland, as the grey-brown dirt underneath the tundra snow disappeared completely once we approached the aforementioned river. It was replaced by a thick layer of aquamarine soil.
Blue soil! It was as if I had just entered an alien world, or as if somebody had thrown a bunch of chemicals on it. Regardless of the real reason for this discoloration, it did make it look like I was walking on a wealth of small, sparkling gemstones, and this wasnt even mentioning the sun reflecting off the ice mountains in the distance that gave this place the glacier name.
This scouting mission had finally reached its destination.
However, with it came the fact I was absolutely freezing now. My draconic barrier was getting pummeled by the strong snowy winds, stealing away both my mana and body warmth, and I couldnt help but shiver while practicing that body regulating technique the fire and ice wyverns taught me. Yet, it wasnt helping that much.
My mood sank as I believed I had reached my temperature limit; I looked down at my chest, covered up by rhytilic armor, to where my core would normally lie. My solar core hadnt made much progress in regrowing, so it was impossible for me to currently use it to produce enough warmth to ward off these piercing winds. If the weather got much worse, getting frostbite might be an actual issue.
This is as far as we came last time, Vifi said from on my back, reminding me she, Tasianna, and the twins had already made their own trip here. Each step freezes, right?
[I cant even melt the snow,] I said as I lowered my head, looking at the crunching snow underneath me, completely fine despite me stepping on it. The icy flakes havent melted from my body temperature alone and were sticking on my scales like sand.
It didnt even melt when I rubbed it against my legs, leaving me befuddled at the lack of moisture. It must be like dry ice, or at least something similar to it, but the snow in this region was most likely further empowered by the natural ice elemental mana, giving it this unusual feeling to it. It felt too unnatural to me, and I guessed my body still didnt feel 100% comfortable here.
Well, that or the fact I was scared it would hail at any moment now. The sky had some black clouds in the distance, so I wasnt confident it would stay like this for too long.
It should melt when it comes into contact with my flames, but that would garner attention. Nothing to do here anymore but to go back home.
A ton of elementals over there. Vifi pointed to the west where a small valley could be seen.
As I flew up to see what was going on, I noticed there was a deep crevasse where the aforementioned river was flowering through. In addition, floating cyan-colored gas bundles were flying around with a spiky ice casing protecting over half of themselves.
They reminded me of Kiiro, the onnikai leader during the Davison accident, after he was purified by Zephira and turned into an elemental. These beings were most likely just like thatlesser ice elementals. I knew they were lesser since larger variants of them were around to compare, but unlike these lesser cousins, the normal and greater elementals were covered in large suits of ice armor, with the greaters assuming the form of various monsters Ive seen on my tripdragons, wyverns, lions, and so on.
They were golems, essentially, except that, unlike regular golems, these elementals were bundles of pure mana with the ability to back it up. Essentially, if I were to fight them now, it would be like fighting multiple lesser and more skilled Tasiannas, and they also didnt have the debilitating weakness of having a mana corebreak it and no matter how strong the golem, it would fall. An elemental could just absorb the surrounding mana to stay healthyyou had to fully drain their mana to kill them.
So, seeing the lesser bundles of mana and the large, humanoid golem beings dance and celebrate together, while the greater elementals simply lounged around, was a wonderful sight of peace. Elementals might be intelligent, but faefolk were still faefolk, and their natural disposition was more whimsical compared to the many threats around here At least, that was what I presumed and I had no intention of trying anything with my solar core down.
Thats the landmark Tasianna told us to use whenever we returned here, as she had personally spoken with one of the wandering elementals and spirits to get some information about the area, Vifi reported on Tasiannas use of her faemancer abilities. Essentially, the river is like a mana expulsion system, managed by the many ice elementals and those water faeuhh, nymphs or something. And by expulsion, I mean a way for the world to regulate and redistribute the mana, so no area is too contaminated by it.
[Ah, you mean monster spawnings, right? Or creating dungeons to contain it,] I replied as I got the gist of the idea, making me also think of plants that extracted mana from the ground like macula plants.
The second is a product of the Divine System, so it isnt natural, per se. Monster spawnings have been a part of our world like a law, and in this age, it is the precursor of a dungeon creation, if the locals cant quell the monsters born from this method,Vifi then pointed at the river once again, before turning her finger towards the beach and ocean to the westFrozen Nest has an additional method, and this is only for the glaciers since the concentration of ice-aligned mana is so dense here, the snow wont melt even in contact to fire. The further north you go, the more this place becomes a glacier as it floats above the water, shaking and tilting from the rhythm of the beasts splashing under the ocean depths. Only connected to the rest of the Nest through that very freezing mana creating all the ice.
Essentially, the highest point of this glacier was where all the mana would flow towards as the concentration rises, similar to a water bottle becoming more full until it overflows at the mouth. It was there where greater ice elementals would congregate to absorb this mana and become stronger, hoping to eventually reach the heights of an ice elemental emperor.
Through this process, the ice peak would start melting, since the mana maintaining its form was being drained from it, eventually turning into the water this river was composed of. Some of the purest of mana water could be found at the start of this river, and as it flowed down the glaciers and through the many winding paths, tunnels, and cliffs of this land, it would continue absorbing mana as it always did until it finally entered the ocean, expelling the excess mana it absorbed into the sea, allowing all the life to flourish within it.
At the same time, the glaciers would continue absorbing water- and wind-aligned mana to create more of the dense ice it needed to continue existing, creating this rhythmic circulation of energy. This also explained why this river wasnt freezing, as the concentration of mana within probably couldnt be compared to the peak of this mountain I was seeing in the distance.
The towering spire at the very north-eastern edge, tilted slightly down like the Leaning Tower of Pisa, making it almost look like the bow of a ship as it pointed into the ocean. Now, due to the geography, depending on how large the world of Peolynca actually was, this spire might as well be pointing at the homeland of the demonkin, BoleTaria. Sadly, I havent found a globe yet to confirm this; Ive only seen the simple sheet map.
South, its blocked by that terrible Twin-Elemental Lake, and the north is too cold for anybody to reliably sail through. Even if there are paths to sail from BoleTaria to Miononbolax, you have to go around all these threats to reach us I guess that is one way for me to go there, if I ever train my [Ice Resistance] high enough.
I giggled. [You say youre not the best student, but you remembered all of that from Tasiannas little faemancer report? She did tell you that faefolk sometimes would just lie to her for the joke of it, right?]
Well, some of the information was. I blame those damn things for how we got ourselves into that blizzard! Brr! Vifi shivered, recoiling back. Worry not, the rest of the information we got was confirmed by the dragonewts. The library also had a ton of books on the topic, so I gave you the gist of it, so you didnt have to read it which I got from Tasianna, so I didnt have to read that 80000 page book, or whatever its page count was.
I could already imagine it Vifi eating a donut while watching Tasianna being studious. My fairy companion lived in a library to read books during her over 80 years of living in her home village, so I really couldnt dispute the idea of her reading an 80000 page book, even if I knew this was just an exaggeration.
[So thats how you got into that blizzard during your experience hunt,] I said, remembering that topic when I got my one year coma catch-up. [Though, I dont see any younglings around here, as you called it.]
Of course, not! Donut, this place is where adult dragons come to train! Those who came back from their pilgrimage and want to evolve to rank S after reaching rank A from hunting elsewhere. You can find ancient dragons here, as well! No way would you find some random rank B or C here! she scolded me, urging me to rethink my statement. No, the blizzard came when we were in the process of trying to escape this place, all because that ice elemental misled us. We couldnt find a cave in time when we got away from the glaciers, which was when those dragons and wyverns tried to ambush us. Those young dragons we saw a few days ago might as well have been one of them, for all I cared.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
Vifi sighed after I apologized to her for lacking some common sense. Hearing her calm down, she continued, Dangerous places like these only attract the strong. Those ice elements I spoke about? Well, their dreams of becoming semi-gods as elemental emperors will never come true, as the beings living on this glacier see them as sacks of experience. At the end of the day, they might be powerful ice mages, but most creatures here would be adapted to all the ice mana. Dragons can easily cull them through brute strength and their innate resistances.
I nodded before I flew back to the ground, where I noticed Vifi still staring at the peak in the distance, now completely hidden behind a mountain range. [You seem to like it.]
Natural beauty. Natures way to create this incredible loop that has existed for centuries Something I would never see in BoleTaria. Vifi shook her head as a frown formed on her face. All you see are unfarmable lands, cold cities, and mana polluted areas that make you sick just from looking at them. The Twin-Elemental Lake, for example, is just an abomination between the explosion of a dungeon core and the might of Plesia sending a message to us mortals. Seeing this freezing place makes me happy Im gone from those streets
[ Something similar to when you first ate a donut?]
Weird way to compare stuff. To me, it just makes you aware that there has been a kernel of truth in what my government has been saying, and that is that the world outside our borders is more beautiful than the land were born on. Thats were prisoners, in a way. She shrugged. And it feels good to be free from all that stuff.
[Well, then lets make sure we can share this happiness with other demonkin.]
Yeah, hopefully, Donut. Vifi paused, prompting me to look back in the direction of thespire.
[So, I guess that is what Tasianna is aiming for, right? The same method these ice elementals are supposedly getting stronger with?]
More or less. Weve got no idea how exactly, but the Empress did state it should be possible since shes a fae. How you will pull it off is another question, so all we can do when our expedition begins is to take anything that looks good and stuff it into your storage. Let your mother do the thinking, or, better yet, get your grandfather to elaborate more on those relics your grandparents left behind.
[Grandmothers crown,] Hikari suddenly spoke up, surprising Vifi and me.
Woah, I thought you two had a rule set up for that.
[For who can control our body, not on who can use telepathy. Frankly, I dont think its good for either of us if we gatekept the other from speaking when one of us was controlling the body,] I said. [Sorry, should the one not controlling our body make it clearer?]
I can hear the difference in your accent, with how similar you sound like Tasianna, Donutthat need to articulate every word as clearly and properly as possible. Hikari has that nasalness to her, Vifi stated, causing the both of us to feel slightly insecure.
Regardless, the point was that Kramps still hadnt fully elaborated on what his wifes crown had to do with my continued growth. Apparently, it would help me regulate my core better, but how exactly was that supposed to work? Furthermore, what about the other treasures from my maternal grandparents?
This conversation prompted Kramps to finally speak up.
One problem Ive had with my solar core that only showed itself during the climactic battle of the Griffonpeak siege was the fact it could break if I placed too much strain on it. Similar to my scales, it would become stronger the more it broke and regenerated, but it was still a slow process regrowing it, like now. Once broken, I had to wait before I could use my solar energy again.
Kramps had the idea I could equip the crown around my core to have it regulate it, or have Grimnir dissemble it into its individual scales to create a way to maybe spur my next evolution choices. All these ideas also applied to the items Moms parents had left behind before their ascension with Kramps, all to hopefully help my growth into a rank A.
Coincidentally, both items were also somewhere inside the glaciers here; Kramps said he could only give me the Divine Quest once the time was right.
Uhm, okay?
Tell me something is ominous without telling me its ominous. My goodness, Kramps! Youre doing this on purpose!
Yeah, I know Got it, got it. Ill just prepare myself then for when the time comes.
Then, lets head back home. Probably better to hunt some mammoths around home than here when its freezing like hell here. [Providences Will] will probably enjoy it as well.
With our return agreed on, I turned away from the glaciers and began flapping my wings to gain some momentum, only for Vifi to suddenly point to my right. Looking over, I saw five ice elementals fly towards all, before they swarmed around Vifi like a bunch of floating fireflies, all while ignoring me.
[Do you recognize them?]
You think I would remember the appearance of some fae that I met a few months ago? Vifi stated, nervously avoiding them by moving back and forth on my back, causing the elementals to suddenly stop moving, or dancing.
[Aww, Vifi, we cant understand fae but they can understand us, so dont say such things out loud. You hurt their feelings!]
[Why would I care about some fae? Instead of worrying about these things, get moving and fly already. Ive had enough of dealing with these flies.]
[Party pooper,] I said before I took flight, only to suddenly feel a strong icy gust sway me to the side. I groaned, gasping for air as I felt the chill steal my body warmth, forcing myself to let some fire out of my mouth to heat up my throat and body. [Wha!]
Y-you have to be kidding me, what? Vifi voiced my surprise when we saw the dark clouds from before speeding up, covering the sky above us as hail suddenly started to drop. A strong gale was incoming! Second time is not a coincidence! Donut, find a cave, now! Weve got a blizzard incoming!
The cold was enough of a warning for me. My instincts were urging me to find shelter even before Vifi finished her sentences, scanning the area for any nearby mountains or a cave; however, we were on an open plain right now, and it only took seconds before my entire vision was shrouded in a storm of snow.
I had no choice now, I just had to fly as quickly as I could to the nearest mountain to escape. My scale-dust burst in action as I snapped my claws and gnashed my fangs, creating a cloak of flames to ward off the cold. The heat melted the skin of ice slowly forming on my scales and carapace, but was unable to completely thaw away the frightening cold, merely delaying the embrace of the storm.
My rocket boosters activated from the surging flames, blasting me forward until it seemed like the sun had vanished, replaced by darkness from the engulfing clouds. My blurred, obstructed vision could only see the grass right below me, as grains of snow and the descending hail of ice cubes made it impossible for me to see what was what further on ahead.
The gust only worsened, slowing me down to steal my warmth, and destabilizing my flight as I couldnt stop myself from shivering nonstop. I immediately took out my flame catalyst to activate its [Flame Furnace Aura] skill, creating a barrier around me to warm me up as I started playing [Dragon Fire].
Buffs up, Hikari!
| [Music Resonation (Minor)] [Various Spell Buffs] inflicted on [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor] |
In my purgatory, I make the devil cry ?
In hellfire ?
All you hear are his screams, begging to be released ?
Its music ?
[Dragon Fire]s lyrics did not warm me up, as its effect could only activate when somebody had [Music Resonation], and only if the water or ice attack came from a spell or ability. This blizzard was natures wrath and unless nature was casting this through a spell, I couldnt warm myself up with this song. However, that wasnt necessary, as I was relying on the periodic flame meteor coming down at me.
[Vifi, sorry, but I need to target you as a enemy!] I warned her as I couldnt designate myself as an enemy for the sake of [Idol]s spell songs. Knowing this, Vifi did not complain, merely adapting to it by dodging along my back as I basked in joy as large flame meteors struck me.
Ahhh, a fire shower, yes!
Relishing in this reprieve for a moment, I let out another burst of flames from my mouth before I
Incoming!
[Foresight] activated, warning me of an incoming projectile. Casting [Wind Blast] against the storm as I gnashed my fangs together to cause a spark explosion, I launched myself past an icicle spear as it used the slipstream of the storm to accelerate its trajectory. In the next moment, as I was stabilizing myself, a signal suddenly appeared on my Detection Sensor] with a speed similar to the spear.
Using the same evasive maneuver, I dodged out of the way as something large crashed right in front of me. Snapping my eyes up, I only saw a glimpse of the beings frame, towering over me as if it was an adult rank A dragon. Its form was hidden behind the storm and darkness, only for blue flames to suddenly burst into existence around the beings silhouette, causing me to take a step back.
A feral cry with a gurgling aftersound erupted from the beasts mouth as a mane of fire shot out from its neck fur, pushing the storm around us back before the monster lowered its head. Its two black eyes gazed at me with fury.
Two large canines rattled as the monster growled slowly, shaking the velvet-fur covering its nose, brows, and mustache-like appendage. Muscles so thick they could crush my head shivered in anticipation for a fight, while the blue flames on its manes surrounded the beasts fist like gloves. With white fur protecting most of its body, the elemental looked pretty bare and dull if you ignored the aquamarine-dazzling ice armor covering its torso and posterior. The mere sight was enough to remind me of the gem-like earth around the glaciers.
A mandrill. I recognized the ape monster.
Furthermore, small and large elementals started to show themselves from hiding on the back of the monster, dancing around as it spread their mana around them, creating a giant ice spear for the mandril to pick up like a weapon.
Gruuulaaaaayyyy! it shouted before it jumped up, arching its back as it was ready to slam the spear and its fist into the ground.
[Get ready, Donut!] Vifi shouted before she jumped off my back to slam her hands together, turning herself into a magnet to repel both the ape and me away from her.
Using [Air Walk], Vifi used her voltaic lightning to dash away from the conflict, further pushing me away due to how her magnetism worked. However, it only lasted for a moment before her movements ceased.
She snapped her head down, clicking her tongue as the concentration of ice mana around us was disturbing her lightning run. Since her legwork relied on mana-magnetism inside her demonic mana to create her iconic movement-style, it essentially was unusable when everything around her was mana molded by spells and abilities, unlike the natural mana in the environment that hasnt been tainted.
That meant, this blizzard wasnt natural. It was being created by somebody. As Vifi said before we started our escape, this storm wasnt some coincidence. We were being hunted, and the perpetrator, or rather perpetrators, were obvious.
Gruyyyaaaa! With a primal roar, an icicle spear nearly crushed Vifi with its size if she hadnt dodged. The ape then shouted once again before it landed a double hammerfist into the ground, causing the ground to erupt in a deluge of snow.
The ape roared as the elementals on its back danced, before it stood up on its hind legs, throwing its arms into the sky in rage as ice gathered around its fist, creating an ice hammer befitting its titanic size. With blue flames surging around its head, the mandrill shook its mustache crest in intimidation.
Slamming the hammer on the ground, the ape was using it like an anchor to stop itself from being blown away from Vifi. It did not want to give up on us.
... Fucker, you think youre the only one who can do that trick? Agitated, Vifi conjured up a lightning spear with her prosthesis. Haha, if you think you can scare us away, then better luck next time!
Dammit, her wrath side is taking over!
Vifis demonic features were on full display, meaning her emotional states were all at 15%. Her battle-hungry, daredevil side was rearing its head at the wrong time, making her drunk with rage by the apes declaration of war. As she hadnt inverted or canceled her magnetism, I was still being repelled by her. I had to rely on [Battle Frenzy] if I wanted to get her out of this.
Voltaic Red!
Sadly, I was a step behind our speedster.
Thunderspeed Roar!
Similarly, the ape couldnt react in time as Vifi threw her thunderspear at it, piercing right through the beasts ice hammer to drill right into the monster. A thunderous clap shook the entire tundra, silencing the blizzard for a moment as it was blown away from around the battlefield.
Hope grew in my mind as I had thought Vifi had once again handled a threat without a single trouble, only for my eyes to widen in a shock followed by Vifis own surprise. The dust was blown away as a new, stronger blizzard took the place of the last.
The mandril still stood unwaveringly before us. Only a scorched patch of fur proved Vifis attack hit, but no wound was showing. The monster had fully tanked one of Vifis strongest attacks.
Shit, Hikari!
I sent that description to Vifi.
Retreat!
[Run away!] I pulled out [Providences Will] and tethered it to me with some corrosive slime. [Omnictus!]
Hikari and I used our combined 18 multi-casts to our advantage to cast 18 [Omnictus] at random intervals to create an escape. Since the ape was somehow resistant to fire and lightning, it meant only my holy spells could seriously hurt the monster. Sure, [Providences Will] was draining my mana like crazy, but its strength was no joke as the ape quickly realized it when it got hit by the first blast of holy energy.
It did not pursue us any further once we made it out of the center of the blizzard and hid in a nearby cave to wait out the rest of the storm. With a victorious cry that pierced even through the sound of the blizzard, the elemental mocked us as Vifi and I could only grind our teeth for two different reasons.
Its laughing! Vifis face looked like it was ready to pop a vein.
[Not ready yet for that storm ] I admitted as I was hugging myself, trying to stop myself from shivering as I saw some of my scales cracking from being frozen solid. My toes and tail had lost all feeling in them until I finally warmed up again.
Yet, the blizzard didnt subside even when night came, and its merciless cold kept sapping my strength. I couldnt unfurl my wings to fly and my flames were just enough to keep me from losing any more scales from frostbite.
Although fueled by her anger to stay awake, even Vifis body had slowed down as the cave barely stopped the cold from outside. We were shivering without rest and I wholeheartedly wished Tasianna or the twins were here to help us warm up like they did during my [Ice Resistance] training.
In the end, we had no choice. We had to call for help from Iceskale for dragon support.
Survival is winning but this feels like a complete defeat.