Ashen Dragon

Alger led the two to the entrance of the Giant's Mouth Cave. Singo elegantly landed astride his wyvern, while Mantou lagged behind.

"This is it. I will take you to meet the master."

They walked into the cavern, feeling the heat and noticing the scent of sulfur and floatstone all around, like an impending volcanic eruption.

Mantou shuddered: "Is there another trial waiting for us?"

Singo remained calm: "No, I guess this might be the residence of our faction leader—the Red Dragon. Did you notice the strange smell and unusual temperature?"

"According to the information I have, dragons can even alter their surrounding environment."

Mantou clicked his tongue in admiration: "If this becomes a boss, it'd definitely be a world boss, killing a whole lot of people."

Mantou had no idea that his guess was accurate.

They continued along the narrow rock tunnel.

Soon, the path ahead opened up, and the two saw the master of this place—the Red Dragon.

A massive sixteen-meter-long body with burly, knotted muscles covered in hard, dark red scales with a metallic sheen met their eyes.

Gold vertical pupils on the fierce, massive head exuded power, gleaming with a lava-like glow. The two swept-back, thick, bone-white horns on the head looked like a crown.

The Red Dragon lay in the center of the cave, its enormous mountainous body rising and falling with each breath. White smoke occasionally rose from its body, and just looking at it made one feel its heat, like a volcano about to erupt.

This was their first time seeing the true form of their faction leader.

Mantou couldn't help but exclaim: "Holy..."

After a long pause, with his limited vocabulary, he could only add, "So damn big!"

The two half-grown wyverns beside them were so intimidated by the powerful bloodline pressure that they crouched low to the warm ground, making gurgling sounds from deep within their throats, unmoved by Mantou's attempts to get them to lift their heads.

Seeing guests arrive, Cassius slowly stood up, his golden vertical pupils looking down at them from seven or eight meters high.

"We meet again, Starfallen."

"Are you—ready?"

Alger knelt on one knee, head bowed, and reported: "Master, they have completed the trials you set for them."

Cassius narrowed his eyes and lowered his head slightly: "Good, this is beyond my expectations."

As he spoke, the two almost felt the sulfur-tinged heat blowing against their faces. The sheer presence of the giant creature in front of them made them a bit anxious.

The Red Dragon continued, "The Red Scale Conquerors will be my sharp blades, and from now on, you will shed this weak, powerless human shell and become the most loyal claws and fangs of the Ashen Nest."

Mantou muttered under his breath: "What a pity for my handsome face, to be ruined like this."

Singo hissed quietly: "Do you want to lose favorability points? Just shut up if you don't."

Cassius paid them no mind and simply said:

"Alger, prepare to begin."

The Half-Dragon Knight stepped forward, reading the prepared oath aloud: "In the presence of the Lord of Ashes, the Great Red Dragon Cassius, do you swear loyalty, dedicating your life to being the faithful claws and fangs of the Ashen Nest, regardless of good or evil, right or wrong, using your flames to conquer everything for your master?"

"Do you swear to become Red Scale Conquerors?"

The task information on the panel refreshed.

[Do you accept the faction sub-occupation (Red Scale Conqueror)? If yes, please follow the ritual.]

[Note: Once you select the faction sub-occupation, you will be locked to the faction and cannot change it freely.]

A string of oaths appeared below the panel.

"I, Mantou (Singo), swear loyalty to my master Cassius Klaubow, Noricus, with unwavering devotion, to be the vanguard of the king, burning enemies to ashes, conquering all."

The two players knelt on one knee, speaking in unison.

"Very well, follow me."

Alger blindfolded them with crimson cloth and led them and their bipedal wyverns deeper into the cave, arriving at a hidden grotto.

"Bloodline Gift—"

"Semi-Dragon Form." Discover hidden stories at My Virtual Library Empire

Cassius silently chanted, and several drops of scalding dragon blood floated in the air, then merged into the bodies of the two players.

The dragon blood touched their fragile flesh, instantly making a sizzling sound, even emitting white smoke.

"Ah!"

The scalding blood entered his mouth, and Mantou couldn't help but scream in pain, frantically rolling on the ground.

"What the hell, even with the pain threshold set to 5%, it still hurts this much?"

"I need to turn off the pain!"

Singo also found his breathing quickening, his entire body turning red.

White steam burst from his pores, spreading all around.

Under their skin, the bones at their elbows, knees, and spine crazily extended, piercing through the skin and clothes, turning into sharp bone barbs.

Red scales grew at a visible speed, spreading all over their bodies, chest, arms, and even faces, tearing through the skin.

Their previously human-looking faces, created by scanning reality, were now altered by dragon-like bones and scales, showing only traces of their former selves, now resembling fierce dragon heads.

Though the pain system shut down in time, Mantou was still frightened. His panel kept updating information.

[Acquiring data…]

[You have obtained a special race template (Half-Red Dragon)]

[Note: This race template is permanent and will be used upon revival.]

[Your attributes have significantly increased, and you have gained natural armor, flame breath, and other half-red dragon abilities…]

Blindfolded and still undergoing transformation, Mantou watched the information refresh on the panel, feeling an exhilarating sensation. If he could control his body to speak, he would have shouted "Badass!"

Beside him, his bipedal wyvern, Noodle, was also transforming, screeching and struggling. Its red scales grew harder, its slender body stronger, and its frame larger.

In its flesh, new capillaries formed, and its blood emitted scorching elemental power.

Furthermore, an even more unknown transformation was unfolding…

[Data conversion in progress…]

[Data conversion complete!]

[Verifying parameters…]

[Parameters verified!]

[Detected bipedal wyvern "Noodle" as your special subclass mount. It will be considered part of the player's occupation system. Therefore, when the mount dies, you can revive it through an ancient magic circle, but it will require equivalent value items.]

"Mounts can be revived?"

"Damn!"

"This occupation—is invincible!"

Mantou, browsing the panel information in the darkness, couldn't help but marvel inwardly.