This chapter has been proof-read by: jjsw123

-------------------

Today as usual I was preparing myself for my daily routine. The only difference was that I now had to sneak out of my room in my salamander appearance to avoid Irene. I don't know why she's so obsessed with me but it's getting annoying...

I had ended up using identify on her but what I saw was even more confusing.

??? (NPC)Race/Species:???Level:???Class:???Title:???

I couldn't even see her name... And instead of “N/A” it was literally “???”... Usually this happen when trying to identify something way too high level for yourself, but never as far as even hiding the name. As far as I could tell, she was only a little human girl.

I inquired about her parents but she stayed vague, saying her father was dead and her mother doing business not far away... Sound familiar? Yea, exactly the same type of excuse I am using myself. Since I don't like things I don't understand, I doubled my effort in avoiding her.

The 30 day time limit was finally almost over for the monster core quest. I had received a pretty good amount of cores but nothing higher level than the basilisk one I had received the first week

(+1) Dexterity

As I was waiting for customers, I was playing a game with little stones that I was throwing in the air and catching some left on the table before those in the air touched the ground. (Jacks) If I dropped one I needed to restart from the beginning.

I discovered that simple games like that could train my dexterity and speed. Playing card games could increase luck and yoga increased agility. I categorically refused to allocate my precious points in stats I didn't need, so the only way to increase these stats was by normal conventional training.

Today the people at the marketplace seemed restless... Groups of players were arguing loudly, some seemed angered for some reason. Curious, I sneaked near a group of them and listened in on their conversation.

I didn't really understand what they were saying but what I understood was that it was related to the last patch for the game... Wanting to know more I went on the forum and looked for topic on the last patch. I must admit, what I found angered me as well.

In the list of problems being fixed by the patch was something related to EXP attribution. Apparently some NPC were giving out easy repeatable missions in exchange for money. I guess that was to be expected when you give intelligence and free will to the NPC...

So what the patch will do is basically restrict the amount of EXP given to players and GM's would keep a close eye on repeatable quests. What this meant was that players would now level at a much slower pace, it also meant that my monster cores wouldn't give me as much EXP as I expected them to...

As usual, the players had to suffer because of some cheaters and the incompetence of the company running Alterlife2. Of course I had noticed that some players were levelling up way faster than I expected but it's the game developer's fault after all... Father would have definitely seen that coming before it happened...

Now I wonder if I should extend my quest for another month in order to get more cores. Anyway, today was an uneventful day once again... I went for my nocturnal hunt then into the hot spring once I was too tired to continue.

*Splash splash*

The water felt so good! As a cold blooded creature, I needed to keep my body warm by external means like the sun or in this case warm water. Soaking only a few minutes eliminated all the fatigue of the day. When I was satisfied and ready to sleep I got out, dressed myself and walked toward my room.

As I walked through the hallway I heard a familiar voice from the other side of a closed door.

“Sorry mom, he seems to be avoiding me... I couldn't get close or learn anything about him.” (Irene)

“Hmmm so he is even more careful and smarter as I expected... That privacy ring is getting in the way.” (Irene's Mother)

“Are you sure he is one of us?” (Irene)

“Probably not yet since he is gathering cores... But he definitely has the right smell.” (Irene's Mother)

“How can he be so smart if he still isn't one of us?” (Irene)

“*Fufufu* That's exactly why I’m so interes-....... Shhhhh*” (Irene's Mother)

“Uhh?” (Irene)

“Young man, don't you know it's very rude to eavesdrop on others.” (Irene's Mother)

I rapidly jumped back after realizing I had been caught. The door opened and glaring at me was a very tall and beautiful woman looking to be in her 30's. She had brown hair tied on top of her head, pink eyes and was wearing a long dress fit for nobility. She had a stern look and a little bit of a frown.

“I heard what you said... What the fuck do you want with me?” (Kneeko)

*Slap*

“Watch your language young man!” (Irene's Mother)

Da fuq?? That bitch!

*Slap*

“Stop glaring!” (Irene's Mother)

-1HP -1HP -1HP

“Uhh? I'm poisoned?” (Irene's Mother)

“Mother! Are you ok?” (Irene)

“It's nothing.” (Irene's Mother)

I was holding my hand on my sore cheek still totally in shock. [Identify]

??? (NPC)Race/Species:???Level:???Class:???Title:???

Argggg This is so fucking annoying!!!

“Who the f-... Who and what are you?” (Kneeko)

“I would like to ask you the same. Your little core hunt has brought death all over this region.” (Irene's Mother)

“Kneeko we are not your enemies. Be nice to mother, she came here to warn you.” (Irene)

“Warn me? Of what?” (Kneeko)

“Sighh... First of all let me introduce myself. My name is Anastaria, and we know you are a monster.” (Anastaria)

*Gulp*...

“Don't worry, like Irene said we are not enemies... But some seriously powerful monsters are looking for your head since your little quest cost the life of thousands of their brethren.” (Anastaria)

“I'll deal with it when they come for me.” (Kneeko)

[...]

“May I ask what species you are? You smell like a reptile, have the intelligence of a dragon and even their ability to transform into humanoids, but I doubt you are one. I never met a monster as puzzling as yourself.” (Anastaria)

Crap! I’m an open book to this woman... What the hell is she? Wait, their ability to transform into humanoids?! Could she be a dragon herself? Looking carefully at her eyes, she had vertically slit irises like a cat... Or even like, a dragon?

“You... You're a dragon aren't you?” (Kneeko)

As I said this she backed away a bit with an incredulous expression on her face.

“*Fufufufufu* Truly astonishing deductive skills. The more I speak to you, the more I want you. ” (Anastaria)

“Want me?” (Kneeko) I suddenly felt chills down my spine.

“Answer this: What grows when it eats, but dies when it drinks?” (Anastaria)

“Fire...” (Kneeko)

“You can't keep this until you have given it.” (Anastaria)

“A promise...” (Kneeko)

“Heavy it is but reverse it's not?” (Anastaria)

“Ton...” (Kneeko)

[...]

“*Fufufufufu*! Amazing... Are you aiming to become a dragon?” (Anastaria)

“Of course... Dragons are the best of the best.” (Kneeko)

“You got that right! *hehehehe*” (Irene)

“Shut it Irene.” (Anastaria)

“Urgg.. Sorry mother.” (Irene) She quickly turned around and silently sat on her bed.

“Come in... We have a lot to talk about young Kneeko.” (Anastaria)

Totally overwhelmed, I entered the room and sat on the bed opposite to Irene. At this point I looked like a kid who's about to be scolded by his mother. Anastaria sat next to Irene on the other bed and stared at me.

“First, you must be wondering how we found you.” (Anastaria)

“Not really... I made a request to adventurers for reptile only monster cores... Many reptiles are dying all around here as we speak, so I’m not surprised to have attracted the attention of some powerful lizard monsters.” (Kneeko)

Anastaria then gave me a warm smile, almost as if she was proud of me.

“... Astonishing, Irene could learn a lot from you.” (Anastaria)

“Mommm!...” (Irene)

“Shut it!” (Anastaria)

“Bhuuuu!...” (Irene)

“That is correct. I sent my daughter to gather information on why so many wyverns were being killed in the region and she quickly found you. Sadly she's not as... quick witted as you, so she failed to find any interesting information about you.” (Anastaria)

At this point I thought Irene was going to cry so I butted in.

“With all due respect madam, I am quite careful and distrustful of other people. So it's wasn't really Irene's fault.” (Kneeko)

“After speaking to you for only 2 minutes, I tend to agree with that.” (Anastaria)

“So.. what do you dragons want with me?” (Kneeko)

“It's a complicated matter... If you keep ranking up and eventually become a dragon, you will only be able to become a wandering dragon.” (Anastaria)

“You mean a dragon without a family?!” (Kneeko)

“Precisely.” (Anastaria)

“Can't be helped, I wasn't born a dragon. I could only hope to one day become one.” (Kneeko)

“No one is born a dragon. The pure blooded are born as wyverns, then graduate into dragons later in life.” (Anastaria)

“I see... So... For a pure dragon like yourself, I must be some kind of bastard lizard aren't I?” (Kneeko)

“In normal cases yes... but dragons value strength and intelligence before everything else. Being as smart as you are despite not even being a dragon yet is unheard of.” (Anastaria)

“So... get to the point what is it that you want from me?” (Kneeko)

“Wandering dragons are the weakest of our race. We, pure blooded ones are unequalled in this world. Our only enemies are other pure blooded dragons. We are divided by families or clans if you prefer. Problem is, the clan Irene and I belong to has weakened with the ages.” (Anastaria)

“I understand... You want me to join your clan?!” (Kneeko)

“*Fufufufu* It is not as simple as that... After the death of my male companion (husband) Irene and I left the dragon territory to mourn and escape dragon politics. There is no way I could bring a “non-pure” dragon with us to the dragon lands.” (Anastaria)

Not understanding where she was going with this I simply tilted my head to the side.

“You will need to first become a dragon or at least a wyvern, so I am going to train you.” (Anastaria)

Hearing this I laughed a little to myself, looked around and made sure the room was big enough, then changed into my wyvern form.

“Would this do the trick?” (Kneeko)

“WOAAAaaaaaaa! Look mom!” (Irene)

Irene was now totally exited while Anastaria was totally floored by what I just showed her.

“Ok I seriously need to know what you are before going any further with anything... You just keep doing unbelievable stuff...” (Anastaria)

“My race doesn't matter since it has nothing to do with my ability to change form. What allows me to change appearance is a rare item.” (Kneeko)

“Kneeko!!!!” (Anastaria)

A bit surprised by her sudden seriousness I became flustered and answered like a robot.

“Uh? Yes?!” (Kneeko)

“Become my son.” (Anastaria)

+++

STATUS:

PROFILENAME:KneekoLEVEL:88GENDER:MaleMONEY:4486G 37S 22CRACE:Gardening Viper (Very rare)MONSTER RANK:LowHEALTH:2150STAMINA:600MANA:4190STRENGTH:635(M)INTELLIGENCE:404SPEED:18DEXTERITY:15(H)VITALITY:150 (+50)CHARM:40LUCK:16AGILITY:17RESISTANCE:125 (+50)(S)ENDURANCE:45SKILL POINTS:30FAME/INFAMY:-1670 (Mostly Evil)CLASS:-------------------TITLES:☑ King of the pond

☑ Toxic PowerhousePASSIVE SKILLS:Amphibious (E)

Obscuro Poison (B)

Poison Resistance (B)

Viper Neurotoxin (A)ACTIVE SKILLS:Gardener touch (B)

Poison Spit (D)

Sad puppy eyes (B)

Tail Whip (B)

TerrorEyes (B)

Vines Hell (D)

Viper Bite ©