Alexander the Dragon Chapter 2

Chapter 2 - Start from the campfire

The year was 1313 in the Age of Good and Evil, which was thirty years ago.

My father, Jaden Soulrun, died in a ‘truck’ accident in his old world and arrived in Uroboros with a new body and the System. Instead of being welcomed by helpful priests and given a structured introduction to the Realm of Myth and Magic, he landed in the middle of a pitched battle between an army of corrupted cultists and the desperate and roughed-up militia of the Advenire capital – Adventus City.

It was a rainy night. The darkness was thick except for the lone magic light protected by a barrier that could barely withstand a barrage of enemy attacks. Spells and counterspells zipped and burst in the air. Siege engines heaved powerful missiles that could threaten even those around Level 100. Arrows were in constant flight, nearly as plentiful as the falling rain. Men of arms, nonhumans from distant lands, rabid beasts, crazed monsters – they all hacked and clawed at each other, becoming butchers or the butchered.

The tales spoke of Jaden Soulrun defeating corrupted foot soldiers with no training or knowledge while still Level 1. These tales heralded him as a hero since the night he arrived.

What was the truth?

He hid in a muddy hole filled with blood and corpses and waited until the battle ended with a desperate victory by Adventus City. His first adventure wasn’t very heroic. It was cowardly and confusing. He’d even admitted to crying and soiling himself.

It was always hard to take his account of that night seriously. The tales said he was brave and heroic from the moment he appeared, and I preferred that rendition.

Even if his words were true, over the course of thirty years, he would make up for that first horrible night. He lived up to his legends plus more.

His conscription to the Adventus Militia ended when he helped push back the corrupted army to the River of Death and had them drowned or destroyed. Then his years with the Adventurer Guild touring around the Central Kingdoms, defeating man-eating dungeons and saving isolated villages from monster waves, elevated him to being a favorite name sung by many a bard.

In 1326, the current Advenire King, at the time, requested Jaden Soulrun to join the yearly campaign across the River of Death and into forsaken lands of the Corrupted West. Jaden Soulrun accepted. When he came back from the campaign, only he and the king returned alive. The campaign had gone terribly wrong, requiring sacrifices to bring the king back to Advenire.

Impressed by the Otherworlder, the king set aside generations of blood-related ascendance to the throne and elevated Jaden Soulrun to be heir of the position. It was hotly contested, which Jaden settled in a duel against the prince in 1328.

His victory earned him the crown. He also earned the right and wrong attention from some of the most powerful women of Uroboros. Princesses, queens, demigoddesses, and even villainesses.

The one known as the Blazing Tyrant and Calamity, Grand Archdragon Tiamat Hellbringer, rose from her many years of slumber in the Hells and returned to the mortal realm. She challenged Advenire’s new king for sport, aiming to crush him and take from the fragile kingdom ‘payment’ to stay on her good side.

To everyone’s surprise, Jaden Soulrun not only survived her challenges once. But he did so four times, keeping the Advenire’s treasury unmolested and turning away the most villainous dragon of three ages.

An impossible outcome nobody, not even the Heavens, could have predicted.

Especially not Tiamat, whose jewelry was made with skulls of Otherworlders she’d slain across the ages.

There was an account, a fable of sorts, that I doubted since it sounded unlikely. It was said she stopped wearing her favorite Otherworlder trophies in public because Jaden requested it, and she obliged.

It sounded highly unlikely because Tiamat was not kind. She was evil and barely tolerated. But she somehow got close to King Jaden. Or he got close to her. Of course, she soon showed him why that was a folly.

In 1330, Jaden Soulrun gained the one and only Adventurer King Class and his second Class, World Wonder, a powerful godsent one. He married a Freyheim Princess, the first Light Elf to be Queen of Advenire since the previous age. Marrying her blessed the lands across the kingdom with the promise of good weather and harvest for years to come. The kingdom was resurging with newfound strength and confidence, taking a stronger stance in the next campaigns against the Corrupted West. The people were happy and filled with hope. Everything seemed perfect … until I hatched from my egg that same year of 1330.

Tiamat paid the Advenire Kingdom a short visit and dropped me off at the royal castle with a note:

Our little piece of Heavens and Hells.

With Scorching Desire,

Your Hellbringer.

Some scholars believed me to be the fifth challenge from Tiamat. The only one that went ‘undefeated,’ a curse upon the morale of the kingdom, the promise of good harvest, and what was supposed to be King Jaden’s perfect marriage. They were half right.

Thirteen years after all the events surrounding my birth, I find myself in a reflective and thankful mood in the summer of 1343. I was glad I carried the name Soulrun instead of Hellbringer.

Soulrun was a name filled with willpower that raced to challenge the impossible. Regardless of the consequences. Although I would prefer to have less humanity inside of me so I could grow out of being a puny and soft dragon.

Oh well.

I was fortunate enough to be sitting at a campsite with Adventurer King Jaden as he prepared us a hearty breakfast. Apparently, it was required for a party to have a meal before beginning an adventure if they were allotted the time. Sometimes drinks would be involved, but not always.

I was eager to begin the investigation of the corrupted treant, but I also wanted to do things like a true adventurer. I refused to act like a mere amateur.

The King insisted I sit and take a breather. I obliged and watched him turn a troll he had on the spit. All of which came from his bag of storage. The troll would be good for me to eat. Its natural healing properties would further heal my wound until it was a duller throb or, hopefully, a very distant memory.

The mid morning air of the Charmed Forest was mild in temperature. Fey-touched avians shrilled and cawed, flying above our heads while leaving sparkles of pixie dust that glittered in the sunlight. I found myself staring at fat clouds the shape of fortresses, losing myself to the wonder of the moment, before snapping myself out of it with a shake of my head and a sharpening of reason.

I was wasting time. There was so much I could learn!

The dryad wasn’t here. She’d gone off to her origin tree after a conversation with the King. Rocky was playing with the tip of my tail, which rounded bluntly at the tip and had no spikes. The soft feature served Rocky well, keeping her distracted.

“Is there nothing you wish to ask of me, King Jaden?” I prodded.

“King, huh? Okay, I’ll work with that,” he replied, smirking as he continued to turn the troll. “There’s no need for me to ask anything right away. At least for now. However, you’re a smart boy. What do you want to tell me? We’ll begin with that.”

There were too many things to start with but I focused on my profile being most vital. I was still new to it. For most thinking creatures of Uroboros, thirteen was the age any of us would receive access to our systems. This would mark us as adults even if the King insisted I was a child.

Exceptions were made for the more short lived sapients, such as goblins. Although, I didn’t think of them much as ‘thinkers.’

Nervously at first, but with growing confidence, I talked about what I found in my profile. Amid the surface information, only six features were available for expansion.

There was my Type, my Subtype, my only Title, my Traits, and my loathsome Skill. I went over the Title first, brushing past that quickly while checking for the King’s reaction. He gave nothing away, only nodding along. The pace slowed down as I revealed the others.

My Type: [Dragon (Rare) - This Rare Quality Type designates you as a member of the dragon family. Dragons are known for their high resistances, elemental breaths, strong mental fortitude, predatory perception, and other notable features beholden to natural and magical laws. Most would fear you. You gain +7 Free Points with every level up in Class and/or Subtype.]

My Subtype: [Halfborn - You are a halfborn fire dragon. There is a strong sense of humanity in your blood. You will be weaker compared to most dragons. But you will have all the applicable advantages of humans. You gain +1 Vitality, +1 Might, +1 Grace, +1 Willpower, +1 Free Point with every level up in Halfborn.]

My first Trait: [Half Dragon - This Trait acknowledges your dragon appearance even if you’re half of one. For most cases with dragons considered, you will effectively pass as a dragon while in dragon form. But other dragons who are true dragons will sense your humanity right away. They may be hostile toward you. At first.]

My second Trait: [Otherworlder Descendant - This Trait acknowledges you have the blood of an Otherworlder, a transplant from another world. You will naturally have the Scales weighed slightly in your favor. You will also understand innovative concepts easier than most, especially if they are based on ‘ideas’ that advances the quality of life for humanity and their friends.]

I hesitated with this last one. I wanted more of a reaction from King Jaden after going over the last four features I could expand in detail. But he said nothing and only kept nodding. In my hesitation, I had time to think about these details that kept hammering my identity into shape.

I was a Dragon Type. This granted me access to their amazing repertoire of dominating abilities that were involved with dragons. That excited me until I reviewed my Subtype, Halfborn, which was like taking a backhand to my face. Yes, it was good to have access to the abilities of a Dragon, but I had to keep in mind I would always be weaker than true blooded dragons.

In fact, I had a sneaking suspicion I gained less points from my Halfborn Subtype than I would’ve if I had a normal dragon subtype or class instead.

What was the point of having the applicable advantages of humans, anyway? This part confused me. It was vexing. I almost wanted it gone, but then I wouldn’t have King Jaden here, would I?

My first Trait, Half Dragon, gave me a sense of structure to my dilemma. Yes, I looked like a dragon. I had a reptilian head with curved horns and blunted spikes flowing down my neck to mid back. I had the wings, the claws, the tail, the scales. Anyone other than another dragon would treat me as a dragon.

The chances of me meeting other dragons weren’t high. There were few who lived in the Advenire Kingdom. They were mainly tolerated without being outright enemies of the crown and its people. All of them lived far from me, or so I’d been told. It would be best if I didn’t meet them.

The last Trait was an interesting one. I didn’t dream up any ideas from another world often. Every now and then I would have thoughts about making more gold to increase my hoard. Stealing from others seemed ineffective. A hassle. I wondered if I could convince others to give me their gold for … safekeeping? But then they would want their gold back. I would have to charge them, of course, for my safekeeping services.

I could probably use the gold to make more gold. Somehow. I wasn’t sure what this concept was called yet, but I might be onto something.

There were other ideas that could convince the lowly serfs of the kingdom to see me as needed. Then they would sacrifice a sheep or pig to me regularly. I could handle bandit issues and call it the meat tax, which would allow me to double dip in regard to feeding myself.

All in the name of dragon business.

“The troll’s ready, by the way,” King Jaden said.

“Oh!” I was snapped out of my thoughts. Flustered, I quickly went over my last profile feature I could expand, wincing as it came out.

My first Skill: [Shift Between (Supreme) - This Supreme Quality Skill enables you to shift between three forms. Your birth form as a dragon, a draconic form of Heavens and Hells, and a form for your humanity. Your stats will reflect the changes with notable weaknesses and strengths in each. Each shift takes six seconds to complete and requires a six second cooldown.]

“Ah, there it is,” the King said, which gave me little of his thoughts. He sounded approving.

I wasn’t sure if I favored that since any other skill could’ve enhanced my dragon qualities more. Or gave me something impressively offensive like an enhanced fire breath or metallic claws.

Skills were powerful abilities. Quicker than Spells. More dynamic than Arts. There could be a myriad number of them, and the System provided new skills or upgrades to prior skills every five levels. My next one was coming up at Level 5, which I was one level away from. Now that King Jaden heard it all, I wondered what he would say next.

He revealed a large knife and sliced off an arm from the well-cooked troll. For some reason, he scooped up dirt from the ground and shoveled up a hole. Then he placed the arm inside the hole before burying it.

“No Attributes?” He raised an eyebrow at me, completely ignoring the strange burial.

I growled in irritation, not at him, but at myself. I hadn’t exactly forgotten, but it was taboo to share what was commonly known as stats. This was King Jaden, however, so my reservations were unfounded and ridiculous. Who better than to share with while being mentored? Though, it would be painful to hear him call out my stats as pitiful for a dragon.

I pulled up the section with a thought and shared my stats, reading them off one by one.

Attributes:

Vit 83

End 45

Might 48

Grace 63

Will 80

Attune 40

Free 8

“Ah-ha.” The King nodded sagely to himself.

For a moment, I wondered if he was making noises and not truly paying attention. I stared at him, ignoring the tasty troll meat as the King recalled my little sister into his arms and provided her a bowl of instantly prepared oatmeal filled with berries, nuts, and such.

He also pulled out sausages for Rocky and stuck them on sticks to cook beside the fire. They wouldn’t take long and would be ready for when Rocky finished the oatmeal. The King even set aside a cup filled with milk for her, appearing more as a domesticated parent than the Adventurer King.

“Before I begin,” he said, watching over Rocky as she ate from his lap, “recite to me the significance of the six main stats.”

I scoffed. That was easy.

“Vitality for your life force and to heal any damages to your mortal existence in Uroboros.

“Endurance for stamina and physical toughness.

“Your Might enhances strength and the impact of your blows.

“Grace covers your dexterity, agility, and reaction.

“Willpower, which I favor most, provides for your magic power and adds to the sum of it.

“Then there is Attunement, which helps recover your magical energy and defend you from magic.”

Scholars believed that all beings of Uroboros could exist without the System. Dragons certainly could. The System had not always been here. But ever since the Age of Games, the System became integrated with the natural laws and magical laws. In many cases, the System was the most important aspect of living in Uroboros since having Attributes by themselves improved so many aspects that dictated your power over others.

I figured the King wanted me to recite this common knowledge as a benchmark test. He hadn’t been there when I read the books or sat through the nervous mumblings of the occasional tutor sent to meet me. I would’ve been upset if it was anyone else who assumed I lacked the knowledge of the basics.

“So, from what I can gather,” the King said while chewing on a piece of troll meat, “you’re loading Free Points into your Willpower. Not a bad choice. However, you have two-thirds the strength of a normal dragon. You might want to transfer points into Attunement pronto and keep up with it periodically.”

I became very still. Almost like a rock. My initial reaction was to shout in surprise. How does he know the exact math to which I’m disadvantaged?

He’d said it so casually, too. Like it was common knowledge to know the Attributes of dragons.

Instead of replying, I finally paid the meal my full attention. I latched onto it with my teeth and seized the main body between my forepaws. From here, I shook my head and ripped away a chunk with some bones.

I was surprised by the seasoning. The meal was savory. I looked back at the King, wondering how much experience he had cooking troll for it to taste very good.

I quickly sensed its medical application taking effect. My throbbing wound became less of a concern as I ate. Meanwhile, the King spoke on further.

“Yeah, if I were you, I wouldn’t go out my way to challenge another dragon as you are. Even if you’re the same level. You don’t know how to use your human side effectively.” He swallowed the meat he was working on and seemed satisfied with watching either me or Rocky eat. The sausage was nearly done. “But once you do figure that part out, you can probably fight two dragons at once. Maybe three if you get crazy savvy.”

“Impossible,” I muttered before I stopped myself. Chunks of meat fell free. I snapped my jaws shut and said no more.

Where was my decorum? I had spent so much time alone I’d become awkward company.

The King merely chuckled.

“You don’t believe me. That’s okay. I like to put my money where my mouth is.” He gave me a wide grin. “You have more than enough Willpower right now. You should dump the Free Points into Attunement. We’re going to burn through your magic for a while to get you a System-supported Spell, so the recovery part will be good. And you’ll need more magic resistance just in case.”

“I understand the magic recovery,” I replied. “I don’t see why you emphasize magic resistance. Even if I’m … two-thirds … the dragon, I’m still highly resistant compared to most other creatures.”

The King shook his head at me. “You’re thinking like a dragon. Granted, you are. But you’re more than just that, too. Think about the worst case scenario. What would you do if faced with something scary but you can’t run away?”

I took another bite of my meal and considered the question. It was an easy one. If running wasn’t an option, I would want to fight and seize any advantage I could. I supposed surrendering was an option, but the worst case scenario would have me killed for the lack of trying to win.

“I would strike with everything I have,” I said.

“Your enemies will strike with everything they have if they have some sense. Especially humans. So with that in mind, consider this: what do people have stocked up? From the farmer who was once an adventurer’s son to the baron with the filled up vault in his castle?”

The answer was easy.

Arcane heirlooms.

Magical artifacts.

Powerful treasures and weapons from ages past with System enhancements.

The reason why humans, dwarves, and elves persist with kingdoms under their own rule and not Tiamat’s or her brood was because of those items. Dragons couldn’t use magical items. Their very nature of being highly resistant to magic was a double-edged sword in that regard. Since I had two-thirds the power of a dragon, I was more vulnerable to the magic sword pulled from the stone. Or the secret scroll containing an epic spell meant for slaying dragons. The King was making a strong case that I needed to shore up my defenses.

Something novel turned inside of my head regarding the nature of magical items and dragons. A realization struck me like a blow to my mind.

“Could I use magical artifacts?” I asked quietly.

“You have the advantages of humans, don’t you?” the King asked in return.

Indeed, I did.

This was troubling news. I couldn’t fathom asking another question because I had to reassess my prior biases.

I also felt cynical.

Even with those advantages, Grand Archdragon Tiamat was the death of many a hero of ages past. They all had a wealth of powerful artifacts she now owned in her collection.

Was it really true that dragons couldn’t use artifacts? Or was it harder to make artifacts for dragons that were usable? Because if it was more the latter than the former, dragons were the one creatures in Uroboros who could overcome that issue if they spent the gold.

If they’re willing to spend gold at all.

Ugh.

Surely, if they saw an advantage in becoming more powerful, they would seize it, wouldn’t they? What was the point of sitting on mountains of gold when a small fraction of it could raise your power?

I knew the answer to these questions. It was inside of me. To be a dragon was to hoard zealously. It was beyond just personality. It was part of myth and magic, nearly immutable as the natural laws. Perhaps the magical laws were even more perverse: those laws existed in beliefs given popularity and persistence throughout the ages. There was power in the magical laws. There was weakness, too. Dragons had to hoard for good and bad because their magic was founded on that belief.

But I could be an exception. If only a slight one.

With a growl, I finished off my troll meal. I didn’t understand why I was aggravated, but I was.

My inner turmoil nearly blinded me to the return of the dryad. I paused to acknowledge her as the creature in the Level 40s nervously sidled up to our camp.

She looked different now. More solid. With bark-like armor fashioned into a battle dress of sorts. The King was handing Rocky a sausage now while directing the dryad to the spot where he buried the troll arm.

They spoke in the magical tree language, and the dryad brightened. She sat down and turned her feet into roots that dug down into the upturned dirt.

“Random adventurer fact number whatever: you can feed dryads anything you can eat as long as you bury it. Like feeding a plant nutrition. They aren’t above meat, fruits, or whatever is edible.”

The King chuckled at my obvious lack of awareness of this random adventurer fact.

I was pretty sure most people wouldn’t have known that either. Looking at the pleased expression on the dryad’s face, I suppose this information would be helpful if there was ever a day I needed to befriend dryads quickly. For whatever reason.

“She won’t take long to eat. So how about you show me that human form of yours? And the Heavens and Hells one. Sounds awesome. Then we can go over your first spell with your human form. You’ve been working on that, right? Wizardry stuff. It’ll be easier as a human.”

I licked off my meal’s juices from my front paws and gathered my thoughts before answering. “Can I make a request?”

“Sure.”

“Can we work on my spell first? I … wish to do it as a dragon.”

The King sighed, which would’ve made me wince if I hadn’t braced myself. “You’re still hung up on being half human? It’s an advantage, boy! Just embrace it!”

“Later. In due time. I’m close to getting Lightning Pulse right as a dragon. I just need some pointers.” I forced myself to give him a draconic smile, the corners of my mouth tucking upward. “Besides, it’ll look impressive coming from my dragon form. I’ll be ahead of any other dragon my age.”

“Because of your humanity,” the King snarked.

The same issue dragons had with using magical artifacts made learning spells difficult. Their highly resistant nature made it harder to formulate and cast spells learned from grimoires or naturally from the realm.

Though, this would usually get circumvented with time. Grand Archdragon Tiamat was an accomplished sorceress herself.

She shouldn’t be used for comparisons, however. She’d been around for three ages, and I suspected the spells she garnered came naturally. Without the rigors of study. Serious wizards studied, swapped around prepared Spells, and gathered their power with effort rather than waiting on it. The advanced ones even had personalized spellbooks they wielded openly.

“You want to learn things the hard way, huh?” the King asked, sighing.

“Yes.”

“Prideful brat. Fine. I like your moxie, anyway.” He settled Rocky on his shoulder and made the campfire disappear. Then he used a Spell that made his eyes glow bluish and looked intensely at me. “Start casting. Cancel each cast before release. I’ll look for your efficiency and comment from there.”

I nodded, backing up until I was a safe distance away. I made sure to dump my Free Points into Attunement and tried to concentrate.

“Magic, magic, magic!” Rocky clapped from the King’s shoulder.

I tried to ignore her, but I was honestly as excited as her. This was the first time I had an expert watch me cast. Which was very necessary since I hadn’t completed a successful Lightning Pulse yet. The grimoire for it was still in my cave but I had studied it so thoroughly the magic symbols were still imprinted in my mind.

I wanted to succeed here, especially in my dragon form. It would feel like cheating if I used my human form. This was especially important because my Skill progression would most likely be an unusual one compared to other dragons.

There weren’t any Dragon Halfborns noted in recorded history. I could be the first to be written about in the history books, so I might as well put forth my best effort.

It would be nice to be known as the first Dragon Wizard.