What could this color mean? Elliot thought.
"As you can see, Kian is a dragon that can morph into a human," Isabelle said. "He said that a group of Adventurers found him wounded in the forest many years ago."
"A group of Adventurers?" Lance asked. "You mean there are more people that have the ability like– I mean, that can morph beasts into humans?"
Lance had to stop himself from telling on Elliot's secret. He knew Elliot had something to do with Hope's morphing, but it would be a bother if anyone else would know.
When his father would have this information, he was sure the king would take his friend away.
"I don't know anything about this… ability," Isabelle said. "I had never seen anything like it. I only found Kian 20 years ago in a forest."
Elliot spoke, "So, you have never seen the Adventurers?"
Isabelle shook her head, "I'm sorry, no. I only saw a dark gray-haired boy with a set of long curly locks. But the point is that Hope here can also shift into a dragon-like Kian at will. He can use his aura to produce Dragon Force. But you still need the blood."
"How much blood do I need for a Dragon Stone?" Elliot asked.
Isabelle calculated the amount in her mind, "About a barrel."
"Done," Elliot said. "And I can sell you Flame and Water Dragon Stones too."
"You cannot sell–"
"Then I'll trade you," Elliot insisted.
A smirk found its way into Isabelle's lips. "Ever since those weeks ago when you were not a very strong Adventurer, you have that look in your eyes. And now you're tenfold stronger and you still have that."
Elliot got flustered at what the woman said. He scratched his nape, feeling the blood rush in his cheeks. "I-I'm sorry–"
"Continue having that, Elliot," Isabelle cut off. "Even when you become the strongest and mightiest Adventurer of the land, please, continue that."
"You mean being pushy?" Lance snorted that earned him a glare from Isabelle. "Relax, ma'am. I know what you mean."
"Good," Isabelle said. "Now, I can trade you Metal, Flora, and Electric Dragon Stones for 2 Flame, and 2 Water Dragon Stones."
"Now that's just hustling," Lance crossed his arms.
"I'm a gem collector first," Isabelle grinned. "Anyway, consider the extra stone as payment for the information. I mean, you can provide those, right?"
Elliot searched his Inventory.
<< Water Dragon Emperor Blood >> X20
<< Flame Dragon Emperor Blood >> X60
The icon on the items in his Inventory slot displayed a bucket. A barrel is equal to 10 buckets, so he could produce 3 Water Dragon Stones and 6 Flame Dragon Stones. He remembered that Lance burned the Flame Dragon Emperor, making most of the blood evaporate.
"I'll trade you 1 Water Dragon Stone and 5 Flame Dragon Stones," Elliot said. "I couldn't provide 2 Water Dragon Stones because someone burned the dragon to crisp."
Lance snorted, "If you could chop its head off, you should've done it."
Eliot was about to argue when Isabelle cut him off, "Metal, Flora, Electric DS, the information, and 2 gems from my shop. That's the deal."
Elliot nodded, "Deal."
"Can I shift now?" Hope asked.
Isabelle snorted. "I forgot. You must be at Sacred tier to shift. At Level 50, you'll gain the 'Morph' skill."
Once again, Elliot was being reminded of Midnight. The guilt of not letting Midnight know was eating him. He also decided to talk to Lance when they go home. Maybe Lance can do something about the situation.
He was the prince, after all.
"That's still quite far," Lance said. "But I think we'll reach there in a week or two."
"Now, what do gems do you want?" Isabelle grinned.
–
'Ember Heart 1 absorbed.'
'Ember Heart 2 obtained.'
'+10% Flame affinity.'
"Thank you!" Connor wrapped Elliot in a hug.
"Greasy!" Elliot yelled. "Have you even taken a bath yet?"
Connor looked dazed, "No."
"You should," Elliot said. "Go."
Connor did a salute, "Yes, sir!"
He sluggishly left, tripping on his staff as he did. Connor made the whole guild erupt in laughter.
"That kid's adorable."
"He's weak but acts like one. Fitting."
"Don't you know? He's at Sacred."
"Impossible! He was only Rare a week ago!"
…
The laughter turned into hushed conversations.
"I'm questioning when they said women gossip more than men," Elliot remarked.
"Oh, get used to it," Ed said. "They're just talking about stuff but they won't actually meddle with other people's businesses."
"You really are old," Elliot commented.
Ed glared at him, "I'm only a few years older than you though."
Elliot looked around the guild house for Lance's return. When they left Isabelle's shop, Lance said he had to do something so Elliot was left with Hope.
"Sun," Elliot called, walking over to the bar. "Do you know where Lance went?"
"I'm sorry, no," Sun said. "You can try asking Midnight."
Elliot looked at Midnight who was busy serving drinks. "Err, he seems busy. I'll just go look around. Thanks!"
"You're welcome."
Elliot walked to the dorms to look for Lance when he heard people talking from afar. His senses were many times sharper, making it easier for him to hear voices even from a distance.
"Please, sire, the king wants you home," a man said. There were 2 men in front of Lance, both were wearing a Royal Officer uniform.
"How many times do I have to tell you, I won't go back," Lance said. "If father can't understand that then that's not my fault. I am born to become an Adventure, not a king."
"But sire, you are his only heir," the Officer argued. "You know that the next heir won't come from your family."
Lance sighed, "And?"
"Your bloodline, sire…" the Officer trailed off. "Your children and their children will never retake the throne."
"We won't," Lance said. "My future children won't."
"Sire, how can you be so sure?"
"Love is complicated," Lance smirked. "I will never marry."
Lance leaped to the roof, leaving the guards shocked. They wanted to run after the prince, but they couldn't. Lance was already gone when they got to the roof.
Elliot could only shake his head after seeing his friend's mischievous acts. Lance was always rebellious when it comes to his royal duties. He was sure enough to reject the throne.
"I'll tell him tomorrow," Elliot said and got to his room.
He flopped on his bed and scrolled through the Manual. He sat up after realizing that he could craft the Dragon Emperor Set he once saw.
<< Dragon Emperor Top >>
Recipe:
Dragon Emperor Scales
Dragon Emperor (Human Form) Hair
Dragon Emperor Heartstring
He was about to craft when a message popped up.
'Dragon Emperor Set is available at Legendary tier.'
"Giving me hope and then crushing it not long after," Elliot sighed. "That's the Manual I know."
He shook his head and decided to look at his stats. It had been a long time since he watched his stats that it felt like he was dreaming.
<< APRIL >>
Level 56
Class: Creator
Subclass: Lord of Creation
Occupation: None
< Stats >
Strength: 82,500
Speed: 87,750
Magic: 85,000
Defense: 75,750
< Creator Status >
Crafting: Level 3
Cooking: Level 4
Forge: Level 2
Brew: Level 3
He was staring at his stats, still remembering how weak he was only less than 2 months ago. Everything was very different from back then.
Elliot could barely defeat a stag back then and now, he was slaying dragons.
"Could you see me, mom?" he asked, looking at the stars. "I think I made it."
"I don't think you did."
Elliot jumped in the air after hearing Lance's voice. The taller boy slid from under his bed, turning around and grinning. "You're still far."
"What are you doing here?" Elliot asked.
Lance shrugged, sitting on the floor and resting his head on Elliot's bed. "I just want some privacy."
"You could've just gotten inside your room."
"Then the Officers would see me, wouldn't they?" Lance rolled his eyes. "You even lurked in the dark. You're still far, Elliot. Let me tell you."
"I'm at Sacred," Elliot said. "Only a handful of Adventurers reach Sacred."
"If you could at least reach Legendary, then you can say you're almost there," Lance said. "Then you'll have to reach Breakthrough, go through it, and then Godly."
"How many XPs do I need after Breakthrough though?" Elliot asked.
"Err, from Level 91 to 99 about a million each. Then from 99 to 100, that's 5 million."
"I need 14 million?!" Elliot scoffed. "You make it sound so easy."
"You have your cheat system," Lance quirked his brow. "You'll get there even faster than I did I reckon."
Elliot deadpanned, "Whatever. Still, a million XP. That's… impossible."
"No, it ain't," Lance said. "Emperor dragons provide you hundreds of thousands of XP, right? But that's not enough. Dragons are what's known as the dead end. They're too powerful but brings in too little XP. If you really want tons of XP, dungeons are where it's at."
"You didn't solo dungeons, right?" Elliot asked.
Lance vigorously shook his head, "I could never. Frederick, Luck, and Midnight were with me. Sun was nothing but a baby back then, only about 13, so he couldn't come with us. And I'm not talking about returning dungeons like the Fire Lizard Dungeon. I'm talking about old dungeons. Those with beasts that had already created their communities."
"You really are old," Elliot snorted. "But seriously, we need to grind levels."
"Why do levels matter?" Lance asked, leaning in. "Why does it matter to you?"
"My mother passed away doing her best to help me become a strong Adventurer," Elliot said. "If I don't become strong, her efforts would all be in vain."
Lance chuckled, "Good answer."
Lance stood and ruffled Elliot's hair. "Let's go on a dungeon tomorrow. I know a place."
Elliot nodded. "Okay."
When Lance left his room, Elliot could only facepalm. "I forgot to tell him about Midnight."