POV Vesuvius:
The dragon grinned, bright purple and golden light leaking out of his wide open mouth, reflecting in his shiny and sharp teeth.
His terrifying head covered in thick, rough-looking yet shiny armor, turned directly at the wyrm on the ground.
‘Did I really just find a volunteer to do magic research for me?’ Vesuvius was more than happy, knowing that researching magic was time-consuming.
“Your Draconic Highness, you have shown me the true potential of the draconic magic. We were blinded for too long, not daring to go out of the proven paths and explore the unknown. That space magic of humans that you have shown me… thank you, your Highness, now I know the path that I need to take.”
Vesuvius managed to keep his face straight, but internally he was in absolute shock and surprise. It was no exaggeration to say that it was rare to see anyone of the draconic species thank or admit that they were wrong.
‘The ancient wyrm is too old to change its ways, but this one is still relatively young and ready to explore different paths. I can use it and offload all the hard parts of magical research onto it.’
The wyrm kept blabbering, its voice turning less and less fearful, instead, it seeped with excitement unfitting the terrifying monster, “I saw what your Highness is trying to accomplish! I saw your ambition. There are a few of us, and there are lots of them. They are bound to advance their magic faster just through their sheer numbers. We have looked down on their magic for too long!”
Vesuvius was confused, but he didn’t let it be shown on his face, as he looked calm to anyone looking at him. But inside, he was confused, not understanding what the wyrm was even talking about, ‘What am I trying to accomplish… I just wanted to learn how to teleport and shrink…’
The wyrm continued, its voice filled with zeal, the pair of its large reptilian eyes igniting in golden brightly shining flames.
“Their bodies and magic power might be punny, but their magic knowledge is expansive. They have spells for everything, and their mages have versatility far beyond us. If we take their research, study it, and combine it with our draconic magic designed to withstand our immense power, the speed of improving our magic will soar through the clouds.”
Vesuvius’s confusion sizzled out as it turned into excitement, he already started to feel where the wyrm was heading, seeing the potential by himself, ‘There is definitely something in it. I have played LOMM for a long time, and I have seen so many schools of magic. Not only those from this world but also those that got here from dungeons. Between them, I saw powerful spells so unique and powerful that they were almost impossible to counter with anything, but a brute force.’
The wyrm’s voice was turning more and more unstable as it started to lose its rationality to the emotions burning through its whole body, “Yes, their spells might seem weak, but they are efficient and well-optimized, incorporating lots of smart tricks to compensate for their magical inferiority. If we combine this with our raw power and our own knowledge developed over the millenniums, we will be able to create a new, better school of draconic magic.”
The magic was arduous when creating new spells, often requiring dozens of tries and attempts and lots of research on correct combinations.
‘This all makes sense. It worked for the space magic, but it was all transformed to work with draconic mana by the system. To do it for other spells will require lots of research and failures. Something like that isn’t for me, who is busy with lots of other stuff.’
The dragon grinned at the wyrm, all of his aura retracting and the pressure on the wyrm vanishing, allowing its body to regain a portion of its strength.
“I found your zeal to be worthy! Go, study the magic of the other races, and help me create the new draconic magic. The magic that will expand our options and cement our superiority!” Vesuvius spoke, his voice sounding calm and cold as if it came from the bottom of a deep well.
“I will give you my blessing!” The dragon bit his tongue, and brightly glowing blood with traces of gold leaked out and formed a blob that floated in midair.
“Ascend and gain the power needed to succeed in your goal… no, in my goal!” The blob moved straight towards the wyrm, its battered body springing from the ground with renewed vigor.
The wyrm shot like a bullet, heading straight towards the descending blob of blood, with a wide open mouth and shining eyes. It was flapping its wings with a force and speed that didn’t fit its battered body with bent and scratched scales.
The next moment it reached the blood, the glow in its eyes becoming even brighter as its mouth, filled with sharp teeth, closed around the blob of blood.
A wave of magic exploded out, brightly glowing and pulsing throughout the whole wyrm’s body. Water, poison, and acid poured out, forming a massive pulsing sphere that looked like a giant cocoon.
‘It shouldn’t take too long. The difference between an adult and an ancient wyrm is like the difference between a cheap family car and a sports car.’
With contentment, the dragon turned towards the horizon, his city laying far beyond the tall mountain peaks, ‘This went all well. Not only I will make a fortune on my betting scam, but I will also gain someone to help me with my magic.’
POV The Potential Troublemakers:
A long line went all the way from the doors of the massive citadel with tall walls all the way to the end of the sprawling square paved in smooth and polished obsidian.
“Next!” A shout came from somewhere at the front of the line, and everyone took a step forward.
They waited a long time, yet almost no one looked angry or impatient. Instead, they all looked either excited or anxious.
“Damn casuals… why are you also participating? You should know that you can’t win. So, you should stop slowing down us, elite players!” A hairy player with his whole body covered in fur and bright orange eyes glared at the small group standing right in front of him.
The group was all decked out in unassuming, heavy armor. The armor was plain looking, made of dark, steel-like materials.
There were no visible glowing runes or any traces of enchantment, except for the very faint magic aura radiating out of the metal.
The captain clenched his armored gauntlets, the screeching of metal resonating through the square. He wanted to smack and beat that gorilla behind him.
He wanted to see him begging for forgiveness after he learned his status. He wanted to dispel the stupid concealment spell and awe the monkey with his high-end gear.
As if detecting his thoughts, his friends in glasses stared at him with cold eyes and the face of a teacher ready to scold his unruly student.
All of his anger immediately fizzled out, ‘Right… Not causing any commotion or bringing too much attention to us. The mission is more important.’
POV Ambassador von Neuman:
The old, wrinkly man sat in a comfortable chair. He was in a small yet, richly decorated office full of decorative crystals and furniture made of beautiful polished, black stone.
“Welcome, Ambassador von Neuman. It is a pleasure to welcome you here.” The ambassador looked straight at the weird, yet for some reason dangerously looking elf before him.
She looked small and fragile, like a doll that he could break with a single attack, but something about her aura was deeply unsettling.
“Pleasure is also on my side…” He pushed out his words, thanks to his long career of dealing with monsters.
He looked out of the large window, still shaken by the huge city built under the volcano, with every single building being large and built out of dark volcanic stone.
Something about the ever-present dark colors made him like it, ‘It is all soo… unified. It looks so orderly… no inhumanly is the right word.’
He looked back at the elf as he returned back to the topic, “The church of light is preparing for a crusade. We bo…”
The elf interrupted him with her calm and stoic voice, “No stop that, whatever proposition you have should wait until the tournament. Don’t put us off so easily, we have the power to defend ourselves.”𝑶𝔳𝗅xt.𝒸𝑶𝐌
He wasn’t even surprised by the arrogant words after hearing rumors of how terrifying the dragon truly was, ‘To think that the battle that I saw was only fraction of their true power…’
“Well… If that weren’t the case, I wouldn’t even be here.”
‘The stupid fanatics… everything would be alright without them. The region would be in peace with the borders with the undead wasteland secured.’
He wasn’t worried about his neighbors. Although, the dragons were known for their aggressiveness when defending their territory. However, on the other hand, they weren’t exactly keen on expanding and conquering.
‘Now, everything here will be dragged into the flames of war. The churches are too arrogant. Humanity is no longer so weak that we need to beg some gods who know where for protection. We should grab our fate into our own hands.’