POV BoobaFet:
Waves of heat were swooping through the courtyard, one figure after another flaring up in flames like human torches.
The long line of black-robed players was quickly getting shorter and shorter as they, one by one, drank the glowing red blood from the chalice.
“Here is your medal of honour for serving his Majesty.” The kobold guarding the chalice was shouting as he gave another metallic badge.
In the meantime, in a separate courtyard, a smaller group of players stood, facing the tall knight in black with massive draconic wings on his back that were burning in bright neon-red fires, emitting a vile aura of curses and despair.
Booba stood between them, together with his two friends, the guy with the bow, the siblings from the guild, the pyromaniac and a few more players that he knew only from the sighting.
The waves of magic and the shouts from the neighbouring reached all the way to him.
The knight ignored it and continued speaking, in a monotone tone, as if he had just memorised it at the last moment, “You have served his majesty for a long time, so from now on. You will officially join the ranks of his wyvern knights.”
The knight pointed at another chalice of blood, radiating an even more terrifying aura than the blood they had drank before, the air around it shivering from the heat and dark clouds spinning about it. The chalice was getting so hot that it was glowing in orange light.
“This is the higher grade of his majesty’s blood, the blood containing the full power of a volcano! Now drink, new knights!”
The players didn’t rush forward. Instead, they orderly formed a line, knowing that the dragon liked his minions to be orderly while still remembering the people that got filtered out.
The first player, a young man with a spear fastened on his back and long horns growing out of his head, Booba himself, slowly approached the chalice, his reptilian eyes brightly shining with excitement at the upcoming powerup.
‘Volcano spear technique? That sounds good. Each stab carries the explosive force of a volcano.’
He glanced at the boiling red liquid and took a sip. His eyes immediately dilated, and a shockwave passed through the courtyards, accompanied by rising clouds of smoke.
His whole body exploded in fire, lightning, water, wind, steam, and acidic mist, all of it rotating around his body.
The elements are getting sucked into him. His horns were growing longer and longer while becoming more glossy and smoother.
Ding!
//
Your bloodline density is increased.
All your stats increased.
The effects of your racial abilities are empowered.
You gained access to more elements.
//
Booba just stared at the knight before him, his eyes almost popping out of their sockets, and dark smoke was rising from under his black mantle and robes as he saw his attributes grow with each moment.
It was like watching spinning numbers when refuelling at a gas station.
He felt his muscles bulge, immense energy flowing through his veins. His mouth and stomach felt like he had drunk a bottle of pure alcohol.
Finally, the energy subsided, and the knight nodded at him, pulling out a long, decorated blade on lowering its blades at Booba’s shoulder.
Booba slightly flinched, the knight’s blade feeling hot and heavy even with his resistance. Still, he couldn’t take his eyes off the beautiful sword. Its blade was black with a mysterious reddish and goldish glint.
Runes glowed along its whole length, small gems glowing in the eyes of the dragon-shaped guard.
The weakening feeling of curses passed through his chainmail armour and skin, seeping deep into his bones.
“I, the grandmaster of the knight orders of Draconic and Wyvern knights, hereby declare you as a new wyvern knight. Fulfil your duty well, and you will ascend to the rank of a draconic knight!”
‘Haha, I am a knight now! I bet that such a title comes with authority. Maybe I can even order the kingdom’s soldiers to some degree.’ For some reason, he couldn’t stop grinning when he thought about going to noobie villages to flex his new title, power, and authority.
‘I would bet that these noobs will explode in envy!’
He had a high rank within the faction even before, but now it was different as he had a rank that gave him real authority to flex even against NPCs and players outside of his faction, not just his fellow faction members.
“From now on, this blade is yours.” The knight flipped the sword, pointing the handle at the surprised player.
Booba quickly woke out of his shock and grabbed the sword by its handle, his eyes shining when he saw it.
Ding!
//
Analyze result:
Name: Wyvern Knight Sword
Category: Magical Vesuvian Sword
Grade: A
Item level: 50𝒪𝔳xt.𝐜𝓞𝕞
Lore: A sword forged deep within the forges of the Vesuvian kingdom, using rare alloys that were bathed in the drop of the blood of the Vesuvian king during the forging, giving it supernatural powers.
Effects: Amplifies effects of skills, magic, and techniques using the sword as a medium by 25%; Can radiate a weak draconic aura, paralysing enemies in fear; Its blade is super durable and sharp. The attacks inflict random curses on a hit; Deal additional volcano elemental damage.
//
‘Such a shame that I am not a swordsman…’ Still, his heart pounded in his chest as if it wanted to jump out of his throat, seeing that he got a rare A-grade item.
Ignoring him, the knight continued, his voice resounding through the courtyard, “From now on, you are a knight of his majesty. Later, you can visit the armoury to get your armour and one weapon of your choice.”
Ding!
//
You gained a title: [Wyvern Knight]
Conditions: Be a wyvern knight of the Vesuvian Kingdom.
Effects: +25% to the effects of the wyvern knight equipment; Grants the skill: Advanced Swormanship (LV 1); 25% increased speed of learning swordsmanship skill; 10% increased speed of learning melee fighting skill; +10% affinity with your mount.
//
Immediately, knowledge of swordsmanship filled Booba’s mind. Feints, tricks, stances, and everything else flowed into his brain like water into a bottle. His muscles slightly itched as he gained a muscle memory as if he had trained for years.
‘I will still stick with my spear though, but having a sword as a secondary weapon is not bad. Especially as a free bonus.’
He wanted to swing the terrifying sword in his hand already, but then he looked behind. There was still a small line of players urging him to move.
“What did you get?”
“Come on, move. I also want my reward!”
POV ???:
A young woman sat in her chair, staring into a book in her hands. She looked as unassuming as possible with plain brown hair, an average face, and glasses. She occasionally glanced behind her reception desk towards a sprawling, deserted hall.
The hall was large, with a polished granite floor and a high ceiling supported by granite pillars.
Pulsing wisps swirled under the ceiling, their natural fluorescence illuminating the whole hall.
She quietly sighed, remembering how busy the hall was before the war and the following occupation.
Suddenly the entrance doors widely opened, and the woman hastily stowed away her book as she jumped on her feet, “Welcome to the Mage Associa…”
Her words and smile froze when she spotted a tall monster in black enchanted plate armour, a horned helmet and a red cape flowing down its back standing at the entrance.
She stirred her emotions, keeping a professional smile on her lips as the monster slowly approached her, its steps echoing through the large empty space.
“I am commander Thrax from the Vesuvian army, and I am here to put out an official international contract notice in the name of the Vesuvian Kingdom.”
The monster placed a single sheet of paper with an unknown seal carrying an image of a dragon on the desk before her, its golden eyes drilling into her.
The receptionist glanced at it, keeping her cool and not giving out her surprise, ‘Huh, why would a dragon want to hire a space-attributed archmage?! And what the hell is with that payment and requirements?! Also, why is the king paying in diamonds and body parts?!’
POV Vesuvius:
The dragon hovered high above the former royal capital, his golden eyes scanning through the streets and the vast castle complex on the cliff.
For the first time, he finally felt free and without pressure, ‘My position is secure, and the plans to recover my kingdoms are already moving. Now, I can finally get the title of the dragon lord.’
Vesuvius flapped his wings, the electrical spark passing through his wings, audibly crackling and rumbling with each flap of his wings, releasing a blue electrical spark under them.
It was the power of his evolved fly ability. Vesuvius quickly opened its description, ensuring he didn’t miss any detail.
Ding!
//
Thunder-wings (LV 12):
Description: The ability of a dragon who grew to enjoy the feeling of flying through a storm, the feeling of winds and rain crashing against their face, and the feeling of lightning striking their bodies.
Uses electrical discharges and mana to increase the lifting force of the wings.
Allows a dragon to fly higher, faster, and with less mana and stamina expenditure during storms.
//
‘Out of all options, this one fits best. I can create a storm whenever I need it with my domain. But most importantly, it gives an element attribute to my main movement skill.
‘Maybe in the future, it will evolve more in that way, giving me something like travelling through lightning.’
The generic evolutions like the increased speed of flapping, the efficiency of flying or the increased lifting force of his wings felt useless to him.
‘I don’t need any of it. With my powers, I can fly faster without even using my wings. So I will rather take something weird in the hope of getting something potentially interesting in the future.’