Ch. 183.2 - Unveiling the Mystery and the Enigmatic Dragon Clan (2)
Mage AdamThis chapter is broken. Please report this on discord.
Notes
Another round of info dump... OK...
This chapter is broken. Please report this on discord.
Another round of info dump... OK...
The struggle raged on in the sky, a relentless scene of fading creatures and a diminishing sphere. But as Adam's eyes proceeded, he was met with a new scene: a variety of beings like dragons, wolves, giants, elves, and others climbing into the heavens and then disappearing. Shortly after, the sky closed up, and the significantly smaller sphere was gone.
This portion of the mural was highlighted by a vast blank space, marking its importance. Adam figured that the creatures shown must have sent their strongest to perform a sealing ceremony, shutting the dimensional tear and stopping the invasion. If he was right, the sphere probably represented the Dragon Plane's origin.
Then came another blank gap, followed by images of the land-dwellers launching their counterattacks. Their eyes were red with fury; in these scenes, Adam saw only reckless killing, with no regard for species or side. It looked like the attackers had mixed in with the locals, forcing them to attack anyone even slightly suspicious.
The population of each race shrank, bodies covered the ground, and the next part of the mural showed the Dragon Plane returning to peace. One image, in particular, caught Adam's eye. The beings that had soared into the sky were together again, performing a ceremony, after which all but the dragons scattered to the world's edges to prosper.
The mural's last image showed the wolf race and two other groups living in the snowy ice plain.
Adam thought hard after looking over the mural for a while. This mural was key; it almost cleared up all the questions he had since he arrived secretly. The exact details of "the oath" didn't matter much anymore. He guessed it probably involved the races spreading out to protect the world, staying alert for intruders, and trying not to start fights easily, among other duties.
It was obvious, even though the Dragon Plane had pushed back the attackers, some kind of link remained between the Planes, or maybe other Planes still wanted to invade. And that origin of the world, which kept getting smaller until it was finally saved with effort, might be why the Dragon Plane was now weak and its powerful beings so rare.
Otherwise, the werewolves, who were the lead force in the last war, wouldn't be down to just one struggling transcendent being. For the ordinary races of the Dragon Plane, their future seemed almost cut off.
"But what about the dragons?"
Adam clearly remembered his rebirth day when over two hundred mighty dragons landed on the Neltharion mountain range, and that was just the frost dragons---the other types of dragons were probably no less strong.
He thought back to the werewolf leader's words, first believing it was just the werewolves' love for their land, but now it seemed like they held a grudge against the dragons.
Why the werewolves felt this way about the dragons was a mystery to Adam, but he sensed the young werewolf might give him a good explanation.
Days later, in the City of Freedom, the devil and Kambi saw Adam return.
Floating five meters off the ground, Adam was encircled with delicate threads looped around his dragon horns, anchoring him to hundreds of ice blocks, creating a... an image too wild for the devil to fully imagine.
"Master, you've gotten bigger!" exclaimed the devil, then swiftly kicked and nudged a dozing beast beside him. "Hurry, help the master with his load!"
After cutting the threads, Adam told the devil to thaw and feed the werewolves as they entered the city. Then he asked, "Did anything happen in the city while I was away?"
"Nothing, master. It's been quiet," they responded.
Adam nodded and headed into the city. He needed to rest to absorb his new strength, to heal, and to regain his spent energy. The frost giants' and yetis' tribes would have to wait---he was fighting too much on his own.
The following day, Adam called for Kambi and asked, "Are you used to your new powers?"
With excitement, Kambi answered, "I've got full control now, Lord. The changes you made are perfect for fighting."
Adam led him to the huge coliseum built by the devil, then ordered the devil to bring a werewolf that had just woken up with only light wounds, and instructed, "Show me your skills."
Kambi eagerly nodded, his newfound strength igniting an itch to release it. But in the City of Freedom, everything was Adam's property; he wouldn't dare kill without permission. Now, with Adam's order, he could unleash his urge.
As the werewolf was released into the arena, he shouted insults and lunged at Adam. Kambi laughed and slammed his foot down. He partially shifted form, turning his foot into roots that broke through the earth. The coliseum floor cracked, and thorns and vines burst from the ground, growing swiftly, entangling, then crashing the werewolf to the floor.
Fighting back, the werewolf shifted shape, trying to rip through the vines, but ended up covered in bloody punctures.
These vines had learned to drink blood.
In agony and fury, the werewolf stopped attacking Adam and charged at Kambi instead. Kambi stayed cool, his body morphing into an ant, rooting himself firmly into the ground, repelling the werewolf's blows. Green life force flowed through the vines, enveloping the werewolf, which started to implode. He burst, splattering blood and shrinking in size.
Kambi had improved the parasitic seeds.
The scent of blood heightened Kambi's senses, and the summoned plants greedily sucked the werewolf dry.
After the kill, Kambi's plant-like form shivered. The vines the werewolf had cut crawled back to the roots and amazingly knit back together.
The devil, observing from the sidelines, couldn't help but marvel, "Master, what is he now, some kind of treant?"
Witnessing the enhancements to the forest elves, Adam's mind drifted back to Lina and her followers who had left earlier.
Kambi's newfound strengths were mostly boosts to what he could already do. Yet, one thing grabbed Adam's notice: Kambi could now feed on the blood of those he killed, refilling his own strength and briefly stealing their skills. This edge was massive in a fight between equals, almost cheating, making the forest elves' team fighting skills without equal.
Adam was shocked by the elves again; what he had once seen as just throwaway help when he first got to the Dragon Plane now seemed to have serious worth, more than he had planned for them.
Usually, after a plane war among the mages, loot got divided up: learning, energy, magic stuff were the main loot, but slaves were a big part too. Top-tier mages had armies of slaves, a key part of their power.
By top-tier mages, that meant fourth level and up, all the way to those who can travel between dimensions. The ones lower down rarely had slave troops. Explorer mages were the exception; what they gained from their missions could be swapped for control over a minor race in a plane.
"Do we have any updates on Lina?" Adam asked Kambi one day.
"She rallied her people after joining the Dragon Slayer Guild. But, Master, she's run into some trouble, it seems."