(Adam)

This power flowing through the air… the power of my ancestors. They mourn for their descendants, who were slain unjustly when trying to live in peace.

If I only I was stronger, I could have the power I'd need to reclaim our sacred land. Instead, I must sneak my way through it, careful to not disturb the adventurers around or draw attention to myself.

It saddens me, having to do that. To find our Sacred Temple disgraced when I arrive boils the rage within me, and I must force myself to stay calm. I don't have the power to take on most of the adventurers disgracing our Sacred Temple. Most of them are more powerful than I am.

Even at night, they are here. That bothers me. Humans should leave what isn't theirs alone. Everyone should. This is a temple that is sacred to all of dragonkind. Should a full-fledged Dragon learn of their disgracing of it, there would be no survivors.

Voices whisper in the back of my mind, guiding me behind the Sacred Temple. The ancient runes glow faintly with the power of the Dragons who erected it with their magic. The Sacred Temple is meant to help my kind – those descended of Dragons, but not – to awaken their full draconic powers.

And yet, their goal will never have a chance again, now that the alliance has taken this land. Dwarves, Elves, and Humans, a nasty trinity.

Place your hand on the eisaria, the voices whisper in unison, ancient and powerful, yet soft and young.

I look for the eisaria, a grouping of swirls and glyphs that represent beginnings, and place my hand onto it. The markings begin to glow gold, and then in a swirl away from my hand, forming an opening large enough to fit me through.

Enter, the voices tell me. We will guide you to the Waking Hall.

It takes me almost an hour, to reach it while avoiding the Adventurers disgracing our Sacred Temples, but I reach the Waking Hall. This time, I don't need the voices to tell me to place my hand on the eisaria, though. As soon as they guided me to the wall, I knew what I had to do.

I am glad that it had a protection like the eisaria. What little knowledge I have of draconic runes tells me that, should anyone not of draconic blood attempt that, they would turn to ash, and in a most gruesome and painful burning that cannot be extinguished by mere mortals.

Draconic flames.

I enter the Waking Hall, the entrance sealing itself up behind me. Flames form in braziers floating against the walls of the massive chamber, easily large enough to fit an old Dragon within.

Several old Dragons, judging by the statues of them. There are three of them, one against each wall, save the one I walked through. Scattered throughout are various statues of others of draconic origins, including my own kind – half-dragon, half-human. I examine the statue. This one has more to their draconic nature than I do, with a tail and everything, scales on his neck and cheeks.

I look at the massive Dragon on the far wall, which sits, tall and proud, overlooking all within the room. It is a statue of the Final Dragon, our patron and father.

Adarum Haesun, a deep, powerful voice fills the air. You are among the last of your descendants left in the world, the Draconic Purge taking a heavy toll on your kind. Soon, only Dragons themselves will be left.

We have deemed you worthy of your full power, it continues. And you have no need to go through the Trial of Inheritance that all go through. You, and your allies, are the kinds of people we like. Stay that way, and never stray.

And so, young drake, accept your full power, without trial, and cleanse our sacred lands of the blight which has filled it. In addition to granting you your full power, we will also grant you temporary access to your Dragon Form. Once you have completed your task of cleansing our sacred land, you will lose access to it, until such a time as you awaken it on your own.

You will, however, retain your full powers, drakeling. Serve well, and live long. Good luck, and thank you. One day, you, Caleb, and Jamie, along with all those you ally with, will change the world. That is why Vaefar brought Jamie to this world. His possession of the Human Ultimate Skill from birth denotes him as a being who truly can make change happen. And he wants to change the way our kind are treated. Guard him well, drakeling.

The moment the voice says that last word, my body begins to fill with immense power, my draconic nature filling me. My body becomes heavier, my muscles, denser. And yet I retain my speed and reflexes, no doubt. The magic that fills me is powerful, a testament to the power of my full-blooded ancestors.

I'd heard the transformation, that the Awakening, was painful, and yet it wasn't.

Go forth, my son, the voice says. And use this power to make the changes you want to see. Assist Jamie in the same goal of creating a safe place for people of all Species, regardless of what it is. Create the nation – the empire – that will not discriminate on Species. Good luck, and enjoy.

I thank the Final Dragon, then examine my stats.

Name: Adam Species: Draconic Human Sex: Male Total Level: 1 Age: 18 Public Title: None Class: Squire 1 Health: 345/345 STR: 18 AGI: 13 INT: 14 VIT: 17 Mana: 435/435 END: 15 DEX: 12 WIS: 87 LCK: 9 Rating: Orange CON: 69 FLX: 13 PER: 18 LIF: 217

My stats themselves didn't go up by that much, just a few points each, save for three: LIF, CON, and WIS. My raw stats, however, means that each point is that much more powerful than the last. The fact that I skipped over Red and went straight to Orange from the boost only proves that my stats are powerful, combined with my raw stats.

I didn't gain any new Skills or Classes, except for Draconic Form, the form I'm in now. I have a pair of horns, a black, scaled tail, and scales on my neck and cheek, along with a couple on the back of my arms, almost like armor, but not quite. A pair of wings have sprouted from my back, black, and leathery.

Destroyed my shirt, but I can deal.

I bow to the Final Dragon, then turn and leave, the door opening on my way out. Once I leave the Sacred Temple, my body will shift into its full Dragon form, no doubt.

Instead of hiding, I walk through the halls, killing the intruders with the most calm look on my face they will ever face in a fight.

Not that they will ever fight again.

The rage boiling within me threatens to unleash itself, and when I come across a group of Adventurers, all of whom look particularly powerful, I inhale, then exhale flames.

New Skill! Dragon's Breath Active The power to exhale flames in a powerful breath, the burning flames of a Dragon's Breath are unmatched by nigh any other.

They burn to ash, their armor melted, even partially evaporating from the sheer heat.

That's at Level 1. Level 10 Dragon's Breath would be utterly devastating, should I ever reach it.

Once the temple has been cleared of the trash, I leave, facing the army that awaits me. An army that begins to look terrified once I leave the temple, my body growing, shifting, changing.

Though becoming a creature so vastly different from what I am should disorient me, being a Dragon feels natural, as if I always have been this way.

I exhale, my far more immense Mana Pool and far superior stats in this form meaning that there isn't an adventurer around who could harm me.

For several weeks, I burn through the land of my people, killing every intruder upon it. Many flee, but that is fine by me. I know that the transformation took longer than it normally does, which is likely the reason I felt no pain during it. Time doesn't matter much to me, now. I will live a thousand years.

Yes, some are fleeing, but the point is made. This is not a realm they can steal and survive through. They woke the wrath of our people, and I am here to deliver our rage upon them.

Eventually, I have managed to clear out the realm, but I can sense something powerful. A Demon of some sort, with a great amount of power. It takes me more than a month to finally track it down. It's near where Jamie, Caleb, and I split up.

As I soar over those forests for a few weeks, trying to pin it down directly, I spot a black-haired Elf walking. He's got a happy look on his face, an Eye Demon floating beside him. So he's a Warlock, huh? His status says his name's Leif.

He's seems innocent and pure, and even waves at me a few times. I wave back, and he gets excited.

Okay, so as a Dragon, I probably shouldn't wave to him, but I wanted to. For some reason, I feel no desire to harm him.

I follow him a bit, to make sure he makes it to where he's going okay. When he reaches a castle, I see it.

The Demon I've been sensing. It's like a more powerful version of Caleb.

I watch, waiting. If I attack, the Elf will be caught up in my flames.

The Elf mentions me to the Demon, who then looks like he's in a panic. He yells at the Elf to run to the Dungeons. Judging by how the castle has affected by ability to pin down such a powerful Demon's location, the dungeons will probably protect him from my power.

The castle itself has powerful magical reinforcements, and will likely withstand my flames, for a time.

The Demon looks at me, paling. Well, as much as something with skin that red can pale.

Then I attack. It doesn't last long against me, its magic barely enough to protect it a few moments against my powerful flames.

When it dies, I fly off, landing some distance away, feeling my transformation fade.

So the ancestors wanted me to kill it. Their voices stopped guiding me once I left our realm, so I wasn't sure, but the continued state, along with the sensing of that presence, made me think they wished it.

I sleep, but I don't know for how long. When I wake, the sun is high in the sky, and I am naked, my clothes destroyed by the transformation and left behind.

Standing, I look around and stretch. I'm back in my real form, so I look human, even if my status will reveal me to be something else. That doesn't matter, though…

A half-dragon at Orange is powerful. I'm a Draconic Human, which means that there are few that could handle me on their own. They'd need a powerful group of adventurers to take me on.

I can go to the nearest town and probably get some work down on my Skills in one of their Dungeons.

I transform to my Draconic form, then fly up into the sky, soaring through until I reach the gates to town, landing gently and drawing a lot of hateful stares and armed spells and weapons.

"Hi!" I greet the adventurers, catching a whiff of a familiar smell. "My clothes got destroyed, and I was needing to buy some more! Can I get into town to get some loot from the Dungeon so I can buy some new clothes? Oh, and a new coin pouch and sword, too, since I left those back home!"

"Your kind isn't welcome here," a particularly powerful adventurer says, his sword sharp and gleaming.

"Stand down!" An authoritative voice calls, and people hesitate, but then tighten their grips. "Anyone who attacks a friend of mine will be subject to my wrath, and let's not forget who it was who saved the Warlock who was imprisoned, during the Hellish Crusade two months ago."

I turn to face Jamie, dressed in all-black and dark greys that are nearly black. He has a sword strapped across his back and a knife on his hip, a black coin pouch on his belt. He doesn't look much different than he did however long ago it was we parted ways.

Has his stats remained that in-tune with each other? His Vitality must have shot up as well. Just how much damage has he taken? The raw power I'm sensing in him is enough to make me feel afraid, and that doesn't happen often.

Factoring my new power, this instinct that he could dish out serious damage to me is somewhat frightening.

"Hello, Adam," Jamie smiles at me. "Good to see you're back. That was you who just flew in? Grats on awakening your powers! Come on, I've got an apartment in town."

"His kind can't-"

The Adventurer finds himself slammed to the ground, Jamie moving at a rate far faster than what I could have achieved, before the change. I saw him move, though. I think he might be a little bit faster than me, now.

"Listen here," Jamie growls into the guy's face. "Adam is a valuable friend of mine, and so, he's going to be entering town. He will be treated with all the respect of 'normal' people, because I can assure you, the Draconic Human standing there? He can kill all of you with far more ease than I can, and you know just how easily I can kill you."

He says I could do it more easily than he could, yet this instinct still tells me he's the superior.

Jamie releases the adventurer, then looks at me, then past me.

"Hey, Caleb," Jamie says. "Looks like you both decided to come here. How did your Species change?"

I look at Caleb, who looks the same as ever, except his status now names him several Levels higher, and a different Species.

I'm not sure if I should be happy he's more powerful, or terrified of what it means. Is he the same person he was before?

"I evolved," Caleb answers. "I heard you were having lots of adventures, and wanted to come have them, too. I still want to explore the world!"

"That's fine," Jamie grins at him. "I've been hanging around this town since we parted ways eight months ago, getting stronger."

"Your VIT's at least gone up," Caleb says, and Jamie laughs.

"Yeah, it has," he says. "So has my rating."

"I heard you made it to Orange," Caleb nods.

"I'm Green," Jamie smiles. "Hit it last week."

"You were orange two months ago!"

"Yeah," Jamie flashes his teeth in a full-on grin. "Since you're returning, I assume you've discovered something?"

"Yeah," Caleb nods. "Somewhere private we can talk?"

"Sure," Jamie says. "We can head to my apartment."

"Their kind isn't allowed in town!" Someone yells.

I look in their direction, only to find their head severed from their shoulders. Standing behind them is a black-haired boy around eighteen, with emerald-green eyes and a devilish smile on his lips.

"My, my," he says. "Have we forgotten who's in charge?"

"Hey, Max," Jamie says casually. "Thought you went home?"

"I did," Max winks at Jamie. "Had a bit of fun, got some good sex in, then figured I'd come back and try and see if you'd do it with me again"

Someone smacks his forehead behind me, and I'm pretty sure it's Jamie, judging by the groan.

Did he seriously pick up a Demigod for his harem while we were gone?

"Oh, shit," someone says. "Jamie and Max are here."

"What is going on here?" Someone yells, and a massive warrior steps forward, a huge sword strapped across his back. He's at least seven feet tall, and when he sees Caleb and me, his face twists in anger. "You-"

"Yo," Jamie says, and the warrior looks at him. "They're my friends."

"And mine!" Max pipes up, and the warrior looks at him.

"I thought you went back to whatever Divine Realm you came from?"

"Back temporarily," Max shrugs. "Wanted to see if Jamie would fuck me one last time before I can't come back for a long while. Ain't no cock like the forbidden cock, you know."

Forbidden cock? It sounds like he's saying Jamie both fucked him, but refuses to fuck him. That confuses me.

Sounds like Jamie just smacked himself again.

"They're friends of yours?" The warrior asks.

"Yeah," Jamie answers. "I can guarantee that neither will cause problems, only respond to those who do."

"You saying they're going in is enough," the warrior nods, and I realize something about him.

This is a Chosen. He has a faint aura of divinity about him. A god has Chosen him as their Hero. Which god, though? And what are his Hero Skills? His level of power says he could, potentially, take us on, with the right Blessing.

And yet he seems to almost defer to Jamie and Max, the way he looks at them and just accepted that we could come in.

Just what has he done while we were separated?