Draven took a knee so far the pain from Ranking up was manageable. His skin under his scales became denser more akin to hide than the softer layer of tissue he had before. Suddenly his eyes, ears, and nose started to itch like crazy. For the moment he had gone Blind, deaf, and lost the ability to smell. It was the worst 5 minutes of his life. He couldn't orient himself at all it was a scary feeling. After the pain and itchyness subsided, he could see, hear, and smell again.
His senses received a big boost he could see an ant on the ground in perfect detail as if he was studying it under a microscope. looking out the window he could see a rock lizard climbing up the mountainside kilometers away as if he was standing right next to it. "I can get used to this," He said smiling to himself. Draven then spent the rest of the evening looking for some suitable gifts for his party at the Auction house for reaching Bronze rank. He also asked AL to make reservations at the nicest restaurant in the Inner Circle. Draven was sure they would all be booked the second they were built so he wanted to ensure he had a spot for his date with the girls. Satisfied with his purchases Draven hopped into bed to get some sleep.
James POV
James was currently tracking down the group that called themselves The Lost Ones. Apparently, Raymond was leading them and this irked James to no end. That guy has been causing nothing but problems since he met him and he had enough of his antics. Had he simply escaped and joined another village James would have let the matter go when he eventually rejoined them after taking over the town. But as he was now attacking large groups of Novices and had killed a few hundred with his poison gas, James saw no path of redemption. Raymond was going to die and so was anyone that was helping him.
James had found the location of where the novices were attacked as many of the corpses still littered the grounds half eaten by random monsters that prowled the area. James walked up to one of the hooded corpses that was still mostly intact and placed his hand on its head. Channeling his inner Necromancer with a large smile on his face he ordered the corpse. "Rise my minion." Dark magic swirled around the corpse before its eyes began to glow before standing up.
"Lead me to the Lost Ones Camp and Raymond the Alchemist." He commanded. With a slight grunt it obeyed, the corpse turned around and started to limp away creating a disgusting cracking sound with every step when it tried to walk with its broken leg. James then used a necromancy healing spell designed to heal his minions and shortly after the Zombie was now running at an acceptable pace. After running for a little more than an hour James could hear and smell smoke and people talking in the distance. He ordered his Zombie to stay put as James slowly entered the small clearing and scanned the self-made shelters looking for Raymond. It didn't take long until he discovered Raymond creating more poisonous gas in a hut towards the back side of the camp.
Smiling James came up with a fun idea to kill them all. He counted roughly 80ish people walking around and back on the path a few hundred lay dead. James got some distance away from the camp and flew back to his makeshift army. James then stretched his hands out and rose all of those who died that day until his army reached 324 members. James then called his Wyvern who always stayed close by when he was outside of town and mounted it.
"Go forth my army of the undead and kill everyone within the Lost One's Camp bring me the Alchemist alive, however." He commanded After having healed them all James relaxed on the back of his wyvern while keeping a distance but still following the horde. Once they returned to the camp his undead minions went to work and began attacking the Lost One's without mercy. The sheer number of them mindlessly charging forward without a second thought to their own safety got the job done fairly quickly.
After 20 minutes the tormented screams of people being ripped apart began to die down as a group of 5 zombies carried Raymond over to him. Raymond first saw the Wyvern and a look of shock and fear spread throughout his body. He then noticed someone sitting on top of it and after looking closely he realized it was James. "You did all this? How? Weren't you a Barbarian? He yelled frantically as all his plans of killing them faded away. What was left of his mind shattered completely nothing made sense anymore and he was about to die anyway.
"That's for me to know and for you to find out after your death," James said as he slid down from his wyvern. He then spread his wings and activated Draconic Aura. Raymond became so terrified he wet himself as a puddle of his fluids formed by his feet. "This scene is familiar isn't it?" James asked while slowly walking towards him claws extended. "But this time you can't hide behind the laws of Novice Village. "I'd ask if you had any last words but you are underserving of them after attacking and killing random Novices," James said. Raymond was about to speak to his defense but James didn't care to hear it and sliced his throat. The unspoken words of Raymond ended in gurgling sounds as he clutched his throat before collapsing to the ground dead.
"That was rather anticlimactic I thought he would have gained more strength out here surviving in the wild," James said to one of the zombies that was staring him down awaiting further orders. "All of you go ahead and dig your graves and climb in them. Afterward, you are released." James then looked at the first Zombie he had made. "You close all the graves afterward and then are released as well." His zombies went to work while James hopped on his wyvern to fly home. The Lost ones were not going to be a problem anymore so he didn't have to worry about the other group of Novices making their way to Ironforge.
Draven POV
Waking up Draven took a minute to stretch. He wasn't used to the thick skin under his scales it felt a bit weird. Looking in the closet he noticed he had a much bigger variety of clothes to wear since the upgrade to a bronze town. There was even a decent-looking suit he thought about wearing to his date later. Looking at the Map the reconstruction of the town was almost complete just a few more apartment buildings were on schedule to be completed within a few hours and that would be it.
After pinging his party members he saw that they were still in their pods in the Adventeruers guild. He was even able to see how long they still had left to go which was a new feature. according to the display they still had another 3 hours left so Draven would need to figure out what to do in the meantime. Looking in the mirror of his room he decided he was long overdue a haircut. Seeing James was home and downstairs already Draven went down to greet him.
"Hey, Dad you mind giving me a haircut like old times?" His dad used to give him haircuts when he was younger. He didn't see the need to pay someone to cut hair so he practiced with Draven until he eventually got good at it. James grabbed some of his own hair which was also incredibly long at this point. You're right let's cut our hair I could use one as well. James sat Draven outside near the training grounds on a chair he brought with him and started using his claws to cut Draven's hair. He went on to explain how he found and dealt with Raymond yesterday.
"Pfft... Draven couldn't help but laugh a bit. "Dad what's up with you and Death Magic you are way too into that. "When I was a kid there was a show where the main character was a necromancer and he raised the dead to level up and kill all his enemies. So I guess being able to do it myself brings the child out of me again. It's a lot of fun to act like that character, to be honest," he replied chuckling at his childishness. "Now stop laughing and hold still. Your girlfriend might not like you with a bald spot." James said smiling. Draven looked down getting a bit embarrassed. "About that..."
Draven then explained to his dad about the hidden dungeon they found and more importantly to Draven what happened with Celine and Jennifer. "Buahahaha!" It was James turn to laugh and he laughed as hard as he could. "So now you have two girlfriends and they are both ok with it?" He asked incredulously. "Not officially I plan on taking them on a dinner date later tonight," Draven replied getting nervous just thinking about it.
Looks like it only took you turning into a dragon amongst other things for you to become a playboy." James said with a dramatically sad look on his face. "What would your mother say if she found out her son became a degenerate?" Draven glared at his father. "C'mon Dad that's a low blow. And it wasn't like that. They both showed interest in me and I couldn't choose so I wanted to take them on a date separately to be able to choose. But the way I asked confused them and they thought I was taking them both out at the same time. After they didn't reject the idea I didn't correct them so here I am." Draven said recounting the incident. "James nodded his head in understanding. "Son no man would have corrected them in that situation. Don't screw it up and you might enter a realm most men can only fantasize about." James said giving his son a thumbs up.
But more importantly, these dungeons that drop items are very important. We need to complete one and see if they are repeatable or if it's a one-time thing." James said looking seriously as he trimmed more hair off the side. "I would assume it's a one-time thing since it's unrealistic to believe the creatures inside and their loot will simply respawn. But who knows what our captors are capable of? Draven said purposely not calling them the Ten'ok out in the open. Do you think your group can handle it or should I tag along? James asked. He was level 23 according to the terminal last he checked so he also wanted to get some more experience to hit the next rank. Draven thought about this for a minute he wanted him and his Dad to always be at the highest level with his group being 20 now they could possibly overtake him. But Draven also wanted to start building teamwork for when he couldn't just blast through the content anymore. "AL when you scanned the dungeon were you able to find out how many bosses were in there?"
If they went solo today they could leave the last couple of bosses for the next day and take his dad with them but showing up at the end kinda sucks as well. And who knows what level the bosses in the later rooms will be? It was safer to take James with. If it was possible to redo the dungeon then he and his party could do it again if they wanted.
"I think it's safer if you come with us. Just hang back and let my party kill the trash mobs along the way they need the practice." Draven said. James nodded, "That works for me. Also, your haircut is all done. I think I outdid myself this time." James said proudly. Draven stood up and created a water mirror. He was bare-chested so as not to get any hair under his clothes. And he had to admit he looked really good maybe he had a shot at dating two beauties like Celine and Jennifer.
[Image here]
"Oh good! Keep that mirror up so I can cut mine as well." James said as he started to cut his own hair. It took about twice as long but he ended up doing a good job with himself as well.
[Image here]
After they were both done Draven let the Water mirror fall over their head's and bodies to wash away any residual hair before putting their shirts back on. They then chatted away for a few hours and ate breakfast. Once Dravens timer went off that his party was done ranking up he and James made their way to the guild. They waited outside the guild was pretty empty at this point of the day as everyone else had already left to level up or were currently in guard training led by Frank and his officers. It didn't take long for his party to exit the hall they were all very excited with their new appearances.
Both Draven and James were shocked their changes were huge. it was like they became more mature and were now in their prime. Looking at Jennifer and Celine, Draven couldn't help from getting red in the face if he thought they were gorgeous before then they were out of this world now. Celine and Jennifer also had a deep blush on their faces when they saw Draven with his new haircut. He looked completely different less wild and even more handsome. "Wow, Draven I love the haircut it suits you," Celine said staring at him with glee. Boys how about I give you a haircut as well you two look like you lived in a cave all your lives. Both May and Rebecca violently nodded in agreement. James then got to work and started trimming them up.
Greg had gotten so big when he sat down James could still comfortably cut his hair without having to bend over. Ross had bulked up as well but didn't get anywhere near as big as Greg. Draven had thought Celine's extra eyes on her head disappeared but when he looked closer it turned out they all had lids that seamlessly connected with the skin on her head allowing her to close them. Her body matured a lot as well Draven had a hard time looking away from her and when he did he found himself staring at Jennifer the same way. Besides her fingers and overly pale skin, she seemed pretty normal again.
[Celine Image here]
Jennifer was now sporting 3 tails and had learned a new magic with her newest tail. But she cutely said it was a secret and he would see soon enough. Her body also matured and her bust grew right along with it. "You both look stunning."
[Jennifer Image here]
Draven looked over to May and Rebecca. May's hair was the same color as her vines and when the two intertwined it was difficult to tell where her vines ended and her hair began. Around her throat were black markings that had root-like patterns. He was sure they had some function he would ask her later.
[May Image here]
Rebecca was a wood elf so she didn't have many out-of-the-ordinary physical traits to speak of other than her elongated ears. But none of that detracted from her natural beauty.
[Rebecca Image here]
James had finished cutting the guys hair and their appearance was much easier on the eye now. Greg still shirtless from the haircut was as burly and muscular as can be. That guy was an absolute machine now.
[Greg Image here]
Ross was as red as ever and his new white hair gave him a mischievous look. His face also seemed much older than before perhaps this was due to his class.
[Ross Image here]
Alright now that everyone has reached Bronze rank I have gifts" Draven said as he pulled out a bunch of items out of his inventory. Draven threw the large shield he got from the boss to Greg along with a new sword. Ross got a new greatsword. but after seeing how small the regular sword was in Greg's hands they decided to trade. Greg could easily with the greatsword with one hand. And Ross knew his fighting strategy had changed he was still a front-line fighter but no longer the crazy berserker. His class allowed him to be more calculative now.
May received a spell focus necklace seeing that she would transform often to fight. a staff would get constantly lost. Rebecca got a new bow made of wyvern tendons he actually got a deal on that as he supplied new tendons to the supplier for a discount. Jennifer got a staff with her illusions and ability to be invisible she was more than safe enough to cast larger spells that a staff could provide. Wands were used for quick spells and had a lower increase in magical output. Celine got a pair of Daggers that had a cool function that allowed you to store poison in them. All of these items were the cheapest he could find but at their level still made a huge impact.
Everyone cheered as they received their items and were very happy. Celine and Jennifer both came up to him and pecked him on his cheeks. James thoroughly impressed gave him a thumbs-up from the sidelines. Okay let these these new items out and see how much you all have improved from ranking up. Off to the Dungeon!