Page 42

In this feverish yet eerie silence, Cassius announced the final name.

“Gold-Fang.”

Instantly, all the creatures were dumbfounded.

No one expected that the final recipient of the “blessing” would be the feeble kobold.

Even Gold-Fang himself stood in shock for a moment, taking a few seconds to process.

His grotesque face quickly filled with an ingratiating smile, and with the combined help of several of his kin as stepping stones, he managed to clamber up the towering boulder.

“How is this possible?”

Dolo glared at the fawning kobold, his breath hot with rage, teeth grinding as he fought the urge to tear him to pieces.

His bear goblin subordinates clenched their jaws with fury, their muscular arms bulging with veins, thicker than the scrawny waist of the kobold.

Raised on Storm Heights, these creatures revered strength above all. Having a weak kobold elevated above them left them resentful and bitter.

However, they didn’t dare challenge the dragon’s authority, forcing them to swallow their indignation.

Cassius, for his part, wasn’t concerned about the choice.

After the previous blessings, Ember Nest’s combat power had already grown considerably, enough to be a dominant force across the Anzeta Wasteland.

Considering he needed the kobolds for gold-mining, he thought it fitting to give them a bit of hope.

Besides, kobolds were naturally dragon-aligned creatures.

These egg-laying beings matured quickly and, as “dragon-like creatures,” could live over a century, serving as tireless gold miners for their masters. However, due to their frail bodies, few survived to die of old age.

Over time, even their prolonged proximity to dragons could lead to unpredictable mutations.

With this blessing, Cassius also wanted to conduct an experiment.

If it failed, the loss was negligible—just a kobold with a challenge rating of a quarter. If he died, hundreds more would be born next year.

The ritual began under Cassius’s guidance.

Blood flowed into the kobold’s mouth.

Due to his small, weak frame, he consumed far less blood than the previous recipients.

“Awoo—”

The kobold let out a low, suppressed howl.

The scalding blood flowed through his body, scorching his flesh, a faint red glow emanating from within.

All the creatures watched the kobold with hungry eyes, some envious, others resentful, or unwilling. Most were silently hoping the kobold would succumb to the pain.

Suddenly, a drastic change occurred.

The kobold threw his head back, emitting a series of wild, dog-like barks, saliva thick and steaming from his open mouth.

His body swelled rapidly, and a massive hump formed on his back.

His frail body hungrily absorbed every ounce of energy in the blood, visibly bulking up.

His height rose from under a meter to nearly two.

Strange power surged from deep within his bloodline.

With a loud tearing sound, the massive hump ripped through his skin.

A new pair of slimy wings unfolded from the kobold’s back!

“Roar—”

The kobold leader clumsily spread his wings.

His voice had evolved from barking to something closer to a dragon’s roar.

“How is this possible!”

“This is…”

“It’s an urd, Tiamat above, that’s an urd!”

“A newly transformed urd!”

Some of the older, more knowledgeable kobolds let out cries of amazement.

A few kobolds were born with wings and could fly; these were known as urds.

The wings were considered a gift from the dragon queen Tiamat, and jealousy from wingless kobolds often prevented peaceful coexistence between them.

But now, with a kobold growing dragon wings, jealousy was accompanied by immense fervor.

They, too, could become urds!

Cassius observed the winged kobold, squinting slightly—his warlock senses detecting a faint disturbance in the Weave.

As expected, he checked the follower information panel closely.

[Your follower, Kobold Leader, has undergone an unpredictable mutation under the influence of the Bloodline Gift.]

Arcane talent often emerged by pure chance.

Some warlocks could not even pinpoint the source of their power, while others recalled strange encounters:

A hag’s touch, a mysterious enchanted spring, or a blessing from a celestial being might ignite the spark of arcane talent.

Exposure to the elemental forces of inner planes or chaotic magical power of the Sea of Chaos, or glimpsing the workings of reality itself, could all be catalysts for magic.

Drinking the blessing blood was undeniably such a “catalyst.”

[Your follower, Kobold Leader, has awakened the latent dragon magic within his ancestral bloodline through the blessing.]

[Kobold Leader has unlocked the class *Draconic Sorcerer - Red Dragon*, his innate magic deriving from dragon power, its essence woven into his blood and heritage.]

What began as a casual experiment had granted Ember Nest another spellcaster, to Cassius’s pleasant surprise.

“A kobold draconic sorcerer, interesting.”

Cassius watched as Gold-Fang completed his transformation.

The newly-winged kobold—or rather, urd—was gasping for breath, hot air venting from the gaps in his scales.

After a few breaths, he finally calmed the wild elemental energy within him.

“Huff, huff, huff…”

Adjusting to his new form, the transformed kobold felt the potent unfamiliar power within his body and the spells that suddenly surfaced in his mind.

Gold-Fang looked up at the red dragon, eyes burning with fanaticism, even shedding a few genuine tears of gratitude.

The humiliation of slavery, the terror of being hunted, the daily grind of survival—all faded away in that moment.

Now, he truly saw the dragon as a demigod incarnate.

But Cassius cared little for the kobold’s loyalty, or “fanaticism.” He was more interested in what kind of spell this kobold had awakened.

“Cast your spell.”

Cassius said with interest.

Unlike the class-based spell selection system players used, warlocks in this world did not choose their spells—rather, the magic chose them, bestowing them with innate spell abilities.

As a result, most warlocks only mastered one or two spells, wielding them with exceptional skill.

“Yes…great master.”

Gold-Fang unhesitatingly channeled the newfound power within him, following the inherited memory in his mind.

Slowly, he raised his arms, aligning his thumbs while spreading his other fingers, guiding a slight gathering of fire element energy from the Weave around him.

“Boom!”

A cone of flames, several feet long, erupted from his palms.

“Burning Hands, a fitting first-level spell for a red dragon warlock.”

Cassius evaluated privately.

Note: A bit of filler for now, but soon, we’ll continue the main story—players are set to arrive around Chapter 100.