Eisen stepped into the tunnel leading away from the mist-filled hall and looked at the automaton in front of him. He squatted down and carefully moved his hand through its fur while placing Caria back on his shoulder.
"I can't just go on with calling you Automaton all the time, huh? Then how about I name you? Let's see… The body I took as reference seemed to be a female wolf's… So how about Aulu? Pretty straightforward, right? A simple mixture of the latin words for gold and wolf… Since your fur really does make you seem as if you're made of gold." Eisen said calmly, still kind of shaken up because of that test just now.
"Aulu, follow me." He commanded, and it, or she, turned and began to follow Eisen as he walked through the tunnel.
Not long after this, Eisen entered the treasury again and made his way to the place where the golden table stood when he was talking to Ailren in his human form for the first time, and as expected, the Ancient Gold Dragon was sitting there, already pouring Eisen a cup of tea.
"Take a seat, Eisen." The Dragon said and waved Eisen toward the seat on the other side of the table. He nodded and did so, all the while quietly looking at Ailren with a deep frown. Noticing that Eisen wouldn't initiate the conversation, Ailren did instead.
"To begin, I am extraordinarily sorry for that test. This was somehow even more intense than even I expected it to be. I am sorry. That mist is a special one. It is supposed to scare away unwanted visitors most of the time, but it can also be used in such a way. The intention of that test was to find out if you would sacrifice your friend for money or fame. Of course I knew you wouldn't, but it still needed to be done." Ailren explained, and Eisen looked at him with a deep frown, before his face loosened up and he sighed.
"I understand. But now that I've passed this test, I hope none of the tests from other dragons I might take are this messed up." He muttered out and crossed his arms, while Caria noticed his upset state and decided to try and hug him to cheer her master up. With a soft smile, Eisen looked down at her and rubbed the top of her cap, before looking back at Ailren.
"Anyway, I'm not too angry about what just happened back there. It was horrible in the moment, but in retrospect, I understand what it was for. Of course, I am still angry, and I have a few questions, but I guess those can wait for later. So, what happens now that I've passed your tests?" The old man asked, and Ailren chuckled in response.
"Quite eager, I see? But I guess after the time you spent on these tests, you truly deserve this. Here, give me your hand." Ailren said and held his arm forward with his palm pointed upward, in response of which Eisen slowly moved his hand and grabbed Ailren's hesitantly.
"Now close your eyes. You might feel an uncomfortable heat, but bear with it please, and make sure not to open your eyes." The Gold Dragon explained and Eisen nodded, closing his eyes just like Ailren told him to.
Shortly afterward, he felt the heat that Ailren mentioned just now. It wasn't actually hot, it was just the kind of heat you might feel while sitting a bit too close in front of a campfire. It was somewhat uncomfortable, but definitely bearable.
This heat was starting to move through Eisen's body, starting from his hands where his skin touched Ailren's, and then moved toward Eisen's chest and then his head, until this heat infected his eyes, collecting there and becoming hotter and hotter.
But even though it became hotter, it wasn't like it really hurt, it was still just uncomfortable, so Eisen was able to bear it and keep his eyes closed. A whole minute later, Ailren let go of Eisen's hand, leading to the heat simply disappearing slowly over time.
"Alright, it's done. You can open your eyes now." The Ancient Gold Dragon announced, and Eisen nodded slowly before opening his eyes carefully.
For a moment, the whole world was blurry and lost all its color, before everything returned to normal slowly over the span of a few seconds, and directly afterward a notification popped up.
[Congratulations! You have been chosen as a champion by the Ancient Gold Dragon Aylrentyrth!]
[Champion Title unlocked!]
[Ancient Gold Dragon Aylrentyrth gave you his gift]
[A Part of your body has been changed]
[Truth Seeing Eyes skill learned]
[Truth Seeing Eyes absorbed Appraisal, bringing its proficiency to Rank 0, Level 25]
"Truth Seeing Eyes?" Eisen muttered out while reading through the different notifications, leaving Ailren to nod in response.
"Yes, it is my gift. Every Dragon possesses one to give their champions. Mine allows you to literally see the truth. It lets you see through lies, and every trick that one may use to fool you. You can find out what something truly is. It has some functions similar to the Appraisal Skill, that you also seem to possess already. Although, if you don't want others to know about this ability, you will have to hide your eyes while using it. Here, activate your eyes and take a look." Ailren explained while standing up and looking through nearby treasures until he found a small handmirror, which he then held in front of Eisen's face.
Eisen nodded and closed his eyes before concentrating on this new skill. It seemed like this black and white view he had before was the effect of the skill, so he tried to call upon that feeling once more.
When he felt a little bit of that same heat as before in his eyes again, Eisen opened them up and looked at his reflection in the mirror.
His usually grey eyes turned into a pure and bright golden color, with his pupils turned into slits instead of the regular circle. Incidentally, the gold of his eyes was the only color that he could see, while the rest of the world turned into a blurry black and white again.
"What's this? This is quite interesting…" Eisen muttered out in complete awe while looking at his reflection. But while he was doing so, he saw some kind of symbol, something like a small white circle, in the center of the mirror. It didn't seem to be reflected, and was apparently something that only existed in that exact instance. Eisen concentrated on that circle, and it began to twist and turn before slowly expanding to show a notification window. Usually those were light blue in color, but this one was simply completely white.
[Handcrafted Golden Mirror][Quality – High][Rank – 1]
"Oh? This is more than Appraisal usually tells me!" Eisen exclaimed in surprise, and Ailren chuckled lowly.
"Of course it is. After all, appraisal is a very, very basic skill. The Truth Seeing eyes are quite high tier."
"Then I thank you, Ailren! This will probably be pretty useful, especially when I rank the skill up… if it can already tell me this much at Rank 0, then I wonder what it can do at rank 4 or 5, or even at rank 10!"
"Haha, I'm happy you like these eyes, then. I myself find them to be quite useful. Now, shall we continue our talk?" The Ancient Gold Dragon suggested, and Eisen nodded before closing his eyes again, concentrating on removing the heat he was feeling in his eyes.
Soon enough they cooled down, and Eisen opened his eyes again. He was still holding the mirror in front of his face, so he was able to immediately see that his golden eyes turned grey again and his pupils returned to their regular shape as well. Of course, the world around him regained its color as well.
Now that his new skill has been disabled, Eisen looked at Ailren to continue the conversation.
"So, what I'm wondering now is quite simple. What does it mean that I'm now a Champion?"
Ailren smiled, since he obviously expected such a question. "It is quite simple, really. If it were to come to an actual confrontation between the two draconic factions, we would need you to help us somehow. In your case, it would be through providing us with whatever non-combat support you can, meaning through creating tools or weapons. But being a champion also has its perks. You will be able to more easily meet with other metallic dragons, and metallic dragon halflings will also support you in any way they can. There are other small benefits here and there, but those are really the most important ones." The ancient gold dragon explained, and Eisen nodded while scratching his beard in thought.
A few seconds later, he asked his next question. "And where can I meet other metallic dragons? Since I'm a champion already, I might as well become a true one, right? And since I don't really have any real goals for traveling around so far, those might be some good places to go."
"Ah, I can tell you a few places to look. It's been a while since I've socialized with others of my kind, so I am not completely sure where they might be, but I can at least somehow hint you toward places. First, my friend Bolremgar, a Bronze Dragon. The last time I've met him, he told me about wanting to go to a coastal town that seemed to be centered largely around magic. Then there is Zortadyr, a Steel Dragon. I've heard a rumor that he helped build up a town in a desert somewhere. He would probably be the hardest to find, at least with the information I can give you. We aren't on best terms. Marcear the Silver Dragoness might be the closest one to us right now. She was keen on creating her lair on the tallest of all mountains, which can be found here in the dwarven country. It is quite a hard climb though, so it may still take longer than simply traveling to another country along the roads. And at last, there is Cracton, the Copper Dragon. He may be the most annoying out of all of us… Quite a jokester, to be honest. Anyway, he was always someone that appreciated the natural trickery that forests provided, whatever that means, and I've heard he was somewhere around the beastlands, the country of Beastpeople. There are a lot of Jungles there, so that would be a good place to start looking." Ailren lengthily explained while Eisen was carefully making mental notes that he would remember to write down as soon as he logged out the next time.
"Alright, I'll go to all those places, then. Thanks for the information. So, if every dragon has a gift to give out, does that mean if I go visit them, they will give me abilities as well?"
"As long as you pass their tests, yes. They will get harder the more you are approved by different dragons, so I wouldn't take it too lightly."
"Don't worry, I won't do that. So, Ailren, I have an important question for you. The figure of that woman you made appear inside of the mist… who was that?" Eisen asked with a calm voice, looking Ailren straight in the eyes.
The Ancient Gold Dragon frowned softly. "That woman? Oh, right, she was mentioning something about 'all the women you want' during the test, huh..? I guess it would be easier to simply show you. I'm not actually the one controlling that mist. It's an entity on its own, her name is Kirisho. She is usually dormant, but every once in a while, I wake her up for special occasions." Ailren explained while standing up and walking back toward the tunnel leading to the front of the cave.
Slightly confused, Eisen followed Ailren and commanded Aulu to do so as well. Soon, they once more found themselves at the room that they just left.
"She's usually not supposed to show herself, but I guess she couldn't resist it this time around. It's been a while since she really had the chance to be around another person." With a soft smile, Ailren stepped a few meters into the mist and began to address the mist itself.
"Kirisho, you're still awake, am I right? How about I formally introduce you to my guest?" The Gold Dragon asked, and soon enough it seemed as if a woman's soft chuckle came from within the mist.
"I would love that, Aylrentyrth." The woman laughed out softly and the whole mist began to move around, twisting in a circle until it all came together a few steps in front of Ailren. After a few seconds, some of the mist that was collected in that one spot simply disappeared, and a woman was left in its center.
She was wearing a robe, similar to a yukata, seemingly made mostly of white mist with a few areas filled out with black smoke. She was the woman that Eisen sw during the test. It was probably the stressful situation, or the words 'all the women that are needed to please you' simply made him think of his wife, Hanako, but while thinking back on Kirisho's figure, he thought to have seen his wife.
But now that he could actually have a good look at her, it was more than clear that it wasn't his wife. Sure, she had a few features similar to his wife when both of them were still young, but those similarities seemed to be just coincidences. On top of that, while Kirisho may have a few japanese features, she seemed to be have western ones as well. Maybe they looked similar to each other in a way that distant cousins might, but if you looked at both of them next to each other, it was obvious that they didn't really look alike at all, although both of them are extremely beautiful.
With a loud sigh, Eisen shook those toughts away and stepped forward toward the woman of mist Kirisho, holding out his hand to greet her.
"Nice to meet you, Kirisho. My name is Eisen."