Draven woke up feeling refreshed. A week has passed since arriving in Ironforge. Everyone seems to have settled in nicely. Novice Village was now empty as everyone had moved into Ironforge. As much as Draven wanted to work on his levels he hadn't found the time to do so. He realized how important money was going to be so he focused on getting the economy in his town up and running while leveling up his professions. They were all at Iron level now and he even picked up a few new Professions that were not available in Novice Village. Such as Runecrafting and Artificer.
Runecrafting requires one to know the enchanting and a crafting profession. It allowed you to carve runes while in the crafting process of an item giving it special abilities or stat boosts much like enchanting however one could then further the boosts it received while being able to enchant the finished product further after the item was completed.
Artificer required one to be an engineer and allowed the creation of magical items one could increase the potency of magical items if one was a runecrafter as well however, enchantments did not work on magical artifacts.
With a working shower and shampoo Draven spent half an hour cleaning himself and thoroughly washing his hair. He stepped out of the shower feeling like a new man. In his closet, there were several outfits he could wear ranging from casual, formal, and even a regal black leather set of armor with golden embroidery after checking the gear he had to admit that compared to his scales this was all purely cosmetic but seeing he had nothing better to wear he put on the black leather set. The gear he could craft looked horrible and he had yet to craft anything that gave him any boosts that provided a noticeable increase in strength.
After looking in the mirror he was impressed at his appearance. He didn't look like a wild animal anymore and more like a sophisticated demon lord all he needed was a dope cape. Draven was on his way to walk out of the town hall when James called after him. I made breakfast don't head out before eating something! Hearing breakfast Draven's stomach started to growl and without further prodding he happily made his way to where he heard his father shout. Look at you all dressed up! Got a hot date with that Fox girl Jennifer? James said snickering as Draven slightly blushed. He had seen Jennifer with her party a few times but he has been far too busy lately to interact with her since the attack. "It was in the closet so I put it on. And no I plan to gather some stone to fix some of the buildings while exploring a cave guarded by fire elementals i want to see if there is a way inside the mountain."
Draven said not withholding any information. He hadn't made much progress with his skills since the attack as working on his professions took up a lot more time than anticipated. "You don't plan on going alone do you?" James said with a stern gaze. " I don't want to be a babysitter Dad I have a bunch of ways of escaping danger that I can't utilize in a group if I encounter something I can't handle. Draven replied quickly. "Still, take a group with you anyway even if you don't need them they need you and as the leader, you should do your part to lead others to get stronger instead of going on solo missions all the time." James lectured. In this week practically everyone formed a party with friends or those with similar interests. Crafters formed a group that focused on gathering raw materials and Orb Hunters formed diverse groups to level up in the wild. "Sharing some of the orbs you earn isn't going to slow down your progress much anyways seeing that you can earn it all back with a wave of your hand. That wind magic of yours is scary those attacks are practically invisible." James said. Proud of his achievement Draven explained, "The thinner the blade is the sharper it is but requires a lot more concentration to launch it with enough force to do damage." "That magic stuff sounds awesome I wish I could use it as well," James said with a smile. "Well, you should have your dragon breath so you should have an affinity with Fire magic at least," Draven replied.
"Do you mean that move you used to take down Craig? I can't do that." He said looking confused. Craig had woken up a few times this past week but had yet to say anything as he would quickly pass out again due to the pain of his injuries. Since other than to keep him alive Draven didn't want him to receive any healing magic it was his punishment for endlessly killing people. Draven kept him alive to get some information on where his novice village was but he wasn't in a hurry to go run over there yet. So he was more than happy to let Craig suffer from his wounds in the meantime.
Draven frowned after hearing that. "Why not? You are the same race as I am you should be able to do it too. Have you ever tried?" Draven asked. "Well, no who randomly tries to see if they can breathe fire?" James retorted. "Well then try it out in the new training grounds according to the map it should be behind the town hall." Draven brought his plate of scrambled eggs and bacon with him as he followed his father out back.
"Okay take a deep breath and hold it in then dump some mana into it and then roar it out." Draven couched."If I had any mana I wouldn't have trouble casting spells Draven," James said as he kept huffing air in and out trying to get it to work.
Draven scanned his Dad
James Morgan
Race: Human, Ancient Dragon
Level 10 Berserker
Health: 1500
Mana: 1100
"You have more than enough mana to cast it several times. And what do you mean trouble casting spells have you ever tried to cast one?" James stopped his breathing exercise to look at Draven. "Well if you put it like that no I haven't," James said a bit embarrassed. Being able to use magic hadn't even occurred to him as he chose the Berserker class he just assumed magic was not in the cards otherwise what was the point of being a mage?
"The system says you can learn to use magic like me however since you don't have a system or a magic-based class you have to actually learn it through studying however the dragon breath should be instinctual and getting angry while roaring should help," Draven advised.
The idea of being able to use magic put a smile on James' face he decided to look into finding some books on magic in his free time. You could buy a lot of interesting books on magic and other skills in the store terminals. But now he needed to get angry, he thought back on how Draven never cleaned his room, and no matter how much James cleaned it he would always find a random bowl or plate or a sock under the bed. Not to mention the tower of empty soda cans that would get taller with every day. Doesn't he know that would attract ants into the house?
"Fucking clean your ROOOOM!" James roared out a gigantic flame that covered the entire training area. James quickly closed his mouth as he scared himself with what he had just done. All the training dummies were burnt to a crisp and the entire area was charred black. Well, I guess I'll be repairing the training area as well Draven said laughing. James simply nodded as he took it all in he felt much more powerful than before he was wasting so much potential because he didn't even try to learn new things. He would experiment more from now on. "OH, Draven I'm serious take a group with you when you head out it will look bad if you always go out alone." He managed to say before Draven walked away. "FINE!" He yelled out "Anything else?" he asked rhetorically. "yeah make sure to always check under your bed for socks and keep a clean room." James replied with a devilish grin.
To that, Draven could feel multiple shivers running down his spine. "Yeah, I'll make sure to do that," he answered nervously. James nodded in approval "Okay you can go now." The old man got a lot scarier now that he could use Dragon Breath Draven shuddered at the thought of getting blasted with fire for not bringing his dirty plates down.
Well looks like I need to get a group to tag along with me. After a few hours, they will give up anyway and go back. He thought to himself. He decided to look for the group he had trained back in Novice Village they were a well-balanced party he might as well start there. Let's see Draven said as he flipped through the townspeople menu he was able to find Greg listed and place a marker on his location. So long as they were in the town Draven had the authority to see exactly where they were. He dashed over towards the north gate and saw Greg standing by himself on the bridge that went over the moat leading out of town. "Hey, Greg you looking to level up?" Greg turned around to see who was calling out to him in such a friendly manner and saw Draven standing there in a full suit of cool-looking leather armor.
"Uhmm yeah, actually the group decided we were going to try our luck killing some of the lizards that boarded the mountain path leading back to novice village." Draven nodded in approval. "smart there are some level 7s in that area that a group like yours shouldn't have any trouble with but there's a change of plans you guys are coming with me today for some power leveling. I also need loads of materials to repair the town. So that will be on the list as well." Draven said. "Hell Yeah!" Greg cheered. if they went out with Draven their levels were going to soar. Suddenly Greg was reminded of the girls.
"Listen Draven the Girls are completely c.." Greg was suddenly cut off mid-sentence. "What about the girls?" a voice spoke directly behind Greg as Celine allowed herself to be visible. Greg nearly bit his tongue due to the jump scare. "Here!" He yelled out with a burst of nervous laughter "The girls are here! well, at least one is ha.. Ha.. Ha." Draven was a bit confused over the situation but it seemed like they were just having some fun with each other. "Celine could you go invisible again I want to check something." He asked. "Sure thing she said while giving Draven a wink as she disappeared again." Draven looked real close and could barely see a very slight distortion of light around her but you really had to look to notice it. Mystic Eye could also find her but only if Draven was looking in her direction. He will need to figure out a spell to allow him to see things that are hidden. "That's a really good skill Celine I have to really focus to see where you are."
"You can actually see me! I tried with a lot of people before and no one was able to see anything at all no matter how hard they looked," she said shocked that it wasn't true invisibility like she had previously thought. "Really? that's interesting is it because I have dragon eyes?" Draven muttered to himself. "Or am I maybe seeing an outline of magic instead of a distortion of light? Sorry, I'm rambling." Draven said as he put those thoughts behind him. No need to apologize, It's good to see a guy use his brains for once." she said while giving Greg an annoyed look.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Greg said angrily shaking his finger at her. "It means that besides killing monsters and training the space between your ears is empty." She answered while sticking her tongue out. "Leveling up is a priority and you level up by killing monsters. Seems like a good thing to invest all your time into." Greg retorted. Draven decided to defuse the situation by changing the topic.
"So when are the rest supposed to arrive?" He asked. "Pfft they were supposed to be here 20 minutes ago but they are always late to anything." Greg responded, "I bet they are going to feel really dumb when they find out you were waiting on them." Greg said as he started to smile as he anticipated the looks on their faces. Draven chuckled "It seems you guys are good friends that is something to cherish in this world." Draven said a bit jealously. "But since you guys like to play pranks on each other maybe I'll play along," he said as he sunk into Celine's Shadow. he had to actively focus on not draining her energy, but it was fun to play around a bit. Draven was focused on looking towards the road waiting for the rest to show up which was fortunate for Celine as she acted like a child by stomping on her shadow. She was trying to figure out how the skill worked but to no avail it just looked like her regular shadow.
After a few more minutes passed Ross and the rest of them Showed up. "Sorry." Ross said to Greg "I had to round the girls up seeing they'd rather sleep than get stronger." Ross annoyingly announced. "I bet Draven is already out there killing everything in sight while you guys are snoring the day away. If I want to catch up I'll need to work harder," he said. "Oh please like you could catch up with him." Rebecca teased. "You bet I can! It just requires putting in the work," Ross said determinedly. "Well said Ross even the lowest class player can grind his way to the top," Draven said as he allowed his head to poke out of Rosses Shadow he had moved over once his shadow merged with Celine's. This made it appear as if his head was stuck inside the stone bridge.
"Ahhh Draven's head is on the bridge! May Heal him now!" Jennifer screamed out. "What am I supposed to heal he is just a head there is nothing left to heal!" She screamed in panic. Draven decided the joke went on long enough and completely emerged from the shadow. "Im alright see everything is still attached." he smiled with a small chuckle their reactions were great. He could see why Celine had so much fun with them. Jennifer and May breathed in a sigh of relief, they nearly had a heart attack while Rebecca was stunned to see him all cleaned up and wearing stylish armor. Celine and Greg were nearly dying of laughter. "Serves you guys right for being so late" Greg called out. "Draven you have to teach me how to just make a part of my body appear. This is gold!" She said while holding your stomach as she continued laughing.
Draven thought about it for a moment well I'd have to understand how your ability works first. Do you require mana to use it? he asked Celine quickly nodded several times. "Don't you dare teach her something like that! I'll have nightmares forever if she learns how to do that." Jennifer yelled out to Draven "Alright alright" Draven said holding his hands up "I'm not sure if I could anyways. "I like the new look said Rebecca as she walked over to Draven to admire his appearance. You have to show me what store you bought it from later maybe there's something in my size. She said genuinely impressed at his attire. "Actually this was in the closet of the Mayor's office I just helped myself to it. Most armor I have found doesn't help me much as my scales provide a lot more defense so this is just for show. But I am hoping to find a good drop or maybe craft myself something later that might be useful." Draven said honestly.
Rebecca's eyes sparkled are there maybe any dresses in the Town hall? She asked. Draven shrugged "im not sure I haven't checked; I mean it is possible there could be some. If you want, I can take you over later to see if we can find something for you." Draven replied. He obviously couldn't care less about a dress so if it made her happy, he would gladly hand over whatever was in there. "Don't forget me and me and me" the other girls called out waving their arms like crazy. Ross walked over to Greg. I think he just dug his own grave while trying to be nice." Ross whispered. Greg nodded "That he did he fell right into their trap…" Sooo not that I mind seeing you all dressed up and stylish but why are you here? Jennifer asked. "Right sorry I was going to ask all of you if wanted to join me while I went out to level up and explore a mountain cave. Of course, I'll make sure you guys get enough orbs to make it worth your time as well. My dad thought it would be a good idea to start taking groups with me instead of going solo. Also, if you guys have any questions while we are out there you can feel free to ask. So are you guys in?"
For some reason Draven felt a bit nervous he knew Greg wanted to come but he wasn't sure if the rest of the group was going to reject him or not. He hadn't realized until now how much he missed interacting with people his own age. "Yay, let's go Draven's going to carry us!" Jennifer cried out. Draven flicked her forehead "Not carry just help you achieve more than you would have today while also doing what I need to do. You are still going to have to put in effort." Draven told her in clear words. "Okay that's good too," she said smiling while also rubbing her forehead. Awesome then we are heading south-west towards the mountain I saw a cave with a few fire elementals I am hoping to find a way into the mountain. Draven said as he gave the rundown of his plan.