A question to the reader, do you want the constant upkeep on his stats being shown, or would you prefer them only to pop up when deemed more interesting? For the moment I've tried to keep you as aware of changes as possible, but ultimately I do not mind having to do more or less math whilst I'm writing.
I've already decided damage numbers outside of records and interesting moments will more or less be dismissed.
Also, the degeneracy begins in this chapter, I doubt it's the kind you expect.
Hour 3, 21 Hours Remain.
A veritable horde of undead ran after a brightly shining light, a red flame cutting through the dreary scape of the overrun city, occasionally they would pass the bisected form of their kin, but they marched on, undaunted.
Zachndr stood at the end of an alley, the bottleneck filled with corpses and frost, the bright light of Flametongue being the beacon which drew the masses, chest heaving not from exertion but from excitement, a wild spark in his eyes.
Producing a scroll from his inventory a swathe of black oil coated the floor and the front of the horde, with a swing of his blade the horde lit up like fireworks, a great hungry fire growing rapidly, the acrid taste of burning flesh filling his mouth as he took more and more haggard breaths.
"I am Zachary Alexander and you are naught but scraps for my table!" Screamed the Fighter as great sundering rips tore through the earth beneath his feet, great pillars of stone upending the landscape around him as wild growths seemingly birthed from the flames and corpses grew into an enormous bramble around him, rapidly spreading the flames skyward.
Whilst he could not speak his name on Rivelon lest the landscape suffer, within ID's it was fair game.
The effects were lessened as he was 'away from his true domain' but regardless the effects spoke for himself.
Dozens upon dozens of zombies in the immediate area were either crushed by the wild displacement of stone, burned by the spreading firestorm, or cut down by the man himself.
The onslaught of EXP kept racking up until it plateaued, his own level having outstripped the horde rapidly.
Fighter Level has reached 20.
For reaching Level 10 Fighter you have learned a skill.
[Active: Cleave: Upon use, your melee attack hits the nearest three targets within 5 metres of your initial target.]
For reaching level 20 Fighter you have learned a skill.
[Passive: Bloodbath: 1% of melee damage is returned to you as healing.]
As he lacked a way to actually regenerate health, that skill alone was an enormous boon, and he always appreciated Lifesteal.
All scrap items were sold, as apparently the Overseer possessed a 'Shop' feature, netting him a tidy sum of 1600 credits, not a great deal but considering that there were high-tier items worth millions, more than enough to sate him for that moment.
The surge of power that hit him as that enormous lump-sum of EXP hit him was better than any drug he could have ever taken. His muscles felt as hard as steel, and he'd never felt so healthy!
Zachndr (Alias)
Level 20
Class: Fighter 20/100
Race: Human+
HP: 1100 (1% HP5)
MP: 360
SP: 1050
Strength: 110
Stamina: 105
Dexterity: 25
Intellect: 36
Wisdom: 125
Charisma: 380
Luck: 20
For Reaching 50 Strength you have earned a Perk.
[Hard Body 1: Your muscles have begun to grow in density to frightening degrees, +2% Melee Weapon Damage.]
For Reaching 100 Strength you have earned a Perk.
[Iron Grip: Your grip strength exceeds that of even the most dedicated smiths, making it impossible to disarm you without magical means.]
For Reaching 50 Stamina you have earned a Perk.
[Tough Skin 1: Your very skin has begun to take on stone-like quality in terms of durability, +3% Armour Value.]
For Reaching 100 Stamina you have earned a Perk.
[Regeneration 1: Unlike most mortals, your healing rate is much quicker, not to the extent of truly absurd levels, but it would certainly make a medical professional confused. +1% Health Regen.]
For Reaching 100 Charisma you have earned a Perk.
[Party Leader: Unlocks the ability to invite others into your party, party size may not exceed four additional members at a time. These party members may gain EXP but if the level disparity is too vast, EXP gains suffer.]
For Reaching 150 Charisma you have earned a Perk.
[Friend to All: You've yet to meet a person who dislikes you, +10 reputation upon meeting upon meeting someone for the first time.]
For Reaching 300 Charisma you have earned a Perk.
[Raid Leader: Unlocks the ability to invite others into a Raid Party. Raid size cannot exceed 40, you may gain EXP whilst in a raid, only Raid Quests may be progressed whilst in a Raid.]
Truly marvelous, Zachndr had already planned to drag Tom, Dick and Harry from the Tower into Dungeons to force their growth so he didn't have to burn gold just to equip them better, whilst they made excellent gatherers, the pay off for their ability to not die was several thousand gold.
"Class Change to Dragon Knight!" A pulse of light traced over his form as he looked to his status.
Class Changed.
Fighter - Dragon Knight.
[Dragon Knight 1/100: As a champion of a Dragon you are able to take the steps to grow enormously powerful, but be weary, for no Dragon is immune to the wave of steel that is the Slayers. +2 Dex +2 Str +2 Int per level.]
[Passive: Mighty Leap: Dragon Knights are gifted with cat-like agility, your jump distance has been doubled, and you no longer take falling damage.]
[Passive: Dragonsight: You are able to see and speak with the spirits that linger in the world, they hold many secrets to the wise Knight who seeks their counsel.]
[Active: Mindread: At the cost of scaling EXP debt you are able to pierce the mind of anyone within your line of sight, unless they are supremely gifted in the Mind Arts or specifically know you can do this, there's no chance they will detect you.]
"Honestly I'm glad I didn't get any special attacks, would feel like a waste when all I need to do is speak and set the ID world against the monsters." Zachndr said, amused with himself.
"This though-" He spoke to himself further, gesturing to Mighty Leap, "This is bullshit. Larian you crazy bastards, not putting fall damage in your game? I will gladly reap the rewards!"
Warning, a Boss has appeared on this floor!
"Glorious!" Howled the man, feeling like a million dollars. Whilst the low-level zombies dropped nothing but grey items, surely he'd get something fancy off the boss!
Warning, due to rapid destruction of multiple trash mobs, a Boss has appeared on this floor!
"YEEEEEESSSSS!" Leaping into the air and Shapeshifting his Dragon form took to the skies.
It wasn't even disorentating, old memories not his own surfaced in Zachndr's mind, muscle memory quickly being committed.
A hulking sapphire dragon, bearing two pale white horns that curved forward akin to a bull, released a roar so loud it made the ground tremble, forelegs more akin to draconian arms each capped with ash coloured talons gave quick death to any lingering undead.
Roughly the size of a horse with a wingspan doubling that and then some, the young dragon's brilliant blue scales glimmered in the burning haze that it sped away from, spinning and spiraling in the air, bashing street signs with his horns.
All in good fun.
Idling in the air for a moment the young Dragon spotted the two bosses quite easily, gargantuan collusi made of hundreds of writhing corpses, were it not for Presence of Mind he'd have left and never looked back.
Instead he was just revolted.
Not revolted enough to avoid hitting them both with Observe, gaining quite a few levels in the skill for his trouble.
Undead Legion
Level 15 Elite
HP: 4880
MP: 360
SP: 20,000
Strength: 240
Stamina: 1000
Dexterity: 14
Intellect: 0
Wisdom: 0
Charisma: 0
Boss Music Unlocked: Playing Shadowbringers.
The familiar music seemed to slowly gain volume in the air around him, Zachndr's draconian maw stretched as his jaw full of serrated teeth gleaned like keen blades.
'Not unmanageable. Two of them does make it potentially more dangerous but given my own stats absolutely dwarfing them… wait, hang on.' He thought, before quickly looking at his own status.
Zachndr (Alias)
Level 20
Class: Dragon Knight 1/100
Race: True Dragon (Lesser)
HP: 5500
MP: 1800
SP: 5250
Strength: 110
Stamina: 105
Dexterity: 25
Intellect: 36
Wisdom: 125
Charisma: 380
Luck: 20
HP = Strength x 50
MP = Intellect x 50
SP = Stamina x 50
'Not as all consuming as I thought but I easily have them beat in health which makes this whole thing substantially more safe.' Darting low and flying down the open streets, occasionally swiping at stray undead that melted like butter in his claws.
[Dragon Claw(Weapon): Deals Str x 2 Slashing Damage.]
[Dragon Horns(Weapon): Deals Str x 2.5 Piercing Damage. This damage is considered magical for the sake of passing resistance.]
'They count as a weapon. I'm not responsible for this.' Activating Seal of Righteousness Zachndr felt the holy seal on the back of each of his fore-claws, given his ridiculous Cha stat, the man wearing the skin of a dragon allowed himself to fully relax to go back into indulging in violence.
Quest Received
[Legionbane]
Objective: Defeat the Undead Legion Boss that has spawned on this floor.
Bonus Objective: Defeat the Undead Legion Boss before it can summon reinforcements.
Reward: 4000 EXP, +2 Uncommon Item Crate, Undead Slayer Title.
Bonus Reward: 2000 EXP, +1 Rare Item Crate.
Like a bolt from a ballista he shot down the street with enough speed and force to shatter what little glass remained in the ruined city, rapidly coming up on the first Legion.
With a mighty heave the dragon released an icy blast that coated the Legion's left leg in a thin sheet of ice, as that ice solidified the dragon swept past and Cleaved the right leg off the colossus.
Critical Hit!
Maiming Hit!
1930 Damage!
A veritable blast of Holy energy exploded from his arm in his fly-by, tilting his wings and shooting directly up the dragon kept his turning circle tight, pulling right around to shear an enormous void into the chest of the rapidly dissolving titan of undead.
Pivoting his wings and folding them in the dragon quickly dropped below the haggard swing of the Legion, spinning like a corkscrew just as he was a few metres away from the ground his mighty wings fanned out with a great fwoof that sent a buffeting wind omnidirectionally.
With another heave of his scaled chest, Zachndr released another blast of cold. The whipping cyclone sheared even more bodies from the Legion's mass, a fine layer of ice forming over the giant undead that it quickly managed to shatter with minor movement.
That moment was all the man needed however, Zachndr swept down and gored the left 'knee' with his horns, the giant staggered and fell down onto the side of a small shop, completely crushing the building but taking some minor damage as it shed corpses onto the ground.
The pitiful creature was on death's door, and Zachndr was nothing if not thorough, bursting into movement once more with a mighty beat of his wings the dragon's horns burst with holy radiance, using his whole body as the bullet to rip the Legion asunder.
And Asunder it did!
Super Critical Hit!
Fatal Hit!
4780 Damage!
Overkill Damage: 2850!
Bonus Reward for Overkill: 1 Uncommon Item Crate.
EXP Banked until Quest Completion.
The Legion exploded into a mass of shadow thankfully, instead of gore. As that would likely have been an absolute nightmare to clean off, taking a moment to himself the man wearing a dragon's skin looked to his quest.
Quest Completed
[Legionbane]
Objective: Defeat the Undead Legion Boss that has spawned on this floor.
Bonus Objective: Defeat the Undead Legion Boss before it can summon reinforcements.
Reward: 4000 EXP, +2 Uncommon Item Crate, Undead Slayer Title.
Bonus Reward: 2000 EXP, +1 Rare Item Crate.
Dragon Knight has reached level 13.
Dragonform has reached rank 5.
[Active: Dragonform (Novice 5/10): Taking on the form of a lesser Creator Dragon alters your stat modifiers to x 55, costs 98% of maximum human form mana.]
For reaching 50 Dexterity you have earned a Perk.
[Footwork: Your feet move with the grace of a practiced dancer, you'll never find yourself upended by non-magical means.]
For reaching 50 Intellect you have earned a Perk.
[Mana Mastery 1: The seed of magic in all life has begun to flower in you. 1% MP5]
For reaching 500 Charisma you have earned a Perk.
[Words of Power+: With but a whisper from you, a kingdom could topple, armies could rally, or love could bloom. There is power in your voice, and it has been amplified by your Unseelie nature. Grants 3 T5 or lower Charisma based spells.]
Spells Gained
[Active: Divine Storm 1/10: A whirlwind of Holy energy surrounds the caster, dealing Cha x 2 Holy Damage to all enemies within 10 metres. Costs 1000 MP.]
[Active: Consecration 1/10: Release a wave of Holy fire from beneath your feet, dealing ½ Cha damage to all targets within 20 metres. Costs 500 MP. Only one Consecration may be active at a time.]
[Active: Summon Solder (Fae): Summons a single Unseelie Warrior Elf, this summon acts as an NPC and will follow your commands, lasts Cha x 10 Minutes. Costs 200 Mana per summon.]
A rumble sounded in his throat as he looked over his skills, sure he couldn't use them in human form but as a Dragon he had enough mana, sure it was a quick fix for the moment but it would make power leveling substantially easier.
And the call of power sung in his chest, a want more than anything it felt like a physical pull he could do nothing to resist himself, and he didn't want to try.
Soaring over low-set building Zachndr spotted the second Legion, his wings beating a heavy pattern as he mixed leaping across buildings or dashing down the street with his Sprint active, shooting his Dex up to 107.
Event Triggered!
[Legionsfall]
Objective: With the summoning of a second Legion boss on the floor comes calamity. The undead in the area are exponentially stronger and regenerate HP rapidly. The only way to stop this is to slay the Undead Legion Boss before the horde overwhelms you.
Bonus Objective: Kill 3 Rare Undead Variants.
Reward: 10,000 EXP, 2 x Rare Item Crate, 1 x Summon Ticket.
Bonus Objective Reward: 7500 EXP, 3 x Rare Weapon Crate, 1 x Gacha Token.
'Ah fuck-too many thoughts!' Bemoaned the blue drake, before the cooling sensation of his passive triggered, 'Dismiss the notification. Analyse the situation, there's undead everywhere that are now bulk as fuck. I need to do heavy hits and take them out before they can regen or I'm just wasting my time.'
A screech wailed from a nearby roof and suddenly he was beset by a zombie that clearly never skipped leg day, Zachndr bellowed a blast of frost at the Leaper and smashed it's frozen form with his closed 'fists'.
Utility Combo x.5 Damage!
The Leaper was turned into paste that was flashfried by the burst of Holy Light from its fists. He was using them like fists, they were fists. Claws be damned dragon hands made no sense.
'This is the problem with being a quadruped, it fucks with my head about terminology.' Zachndr Bemoaned.
Not one to be idle the Dragon took to the air, making sure to keep his head on a swivel for anymore Leapers, he wanted to be close enough that he could carpet bomb without much strife, if thinking smarter increased his damage to a point he could one-shot even a buffed zombie still, it made it all the more appealing to cull the horde whilst he was still freshly leveled, to keep his EXP gains consistent in order to avoid having to stop to heal.
'Alright dude, this is just AOE farming with mage but more steps, we've got this.' He took a moment to assure himself as a small horde of zombies began climbing up walls with reckless abandon to get even slightly closer to the flying dragon.
Continuing onto his thoughts of smarter not harder, in order to draw the horde he usedhis summoned Horse.
Which, whilst incredibly fucked up, also resulted in the chances of him being pinned by zombies and eaten alive, being dramatically lowered, which he was in favour of.
The summoned horse began to bolt down the street, as it was commanded, and rapidly gained the attention of the horde, roughly 12 yoked as fuck zombies with violently red, stretched skin barely holding in the demented muscle mass.
As the horse led them into a dead-end alley, Zachndr struck, swooping down and releasing a devastating wave of frigid ice, coating not only the ground beneath the feet of the zombies, but also the undead themselves.
With a heavy beat of his wings that caused a raucous boom to echo, splintering some of the ice. His speed increased dramatically for the horizontal dash through the alley, tucking his wings in, horns and claws burning brightly with Righteous energy.
Shredding through 12 meaty beings in roughly the time it takes for a fly's wing to beat, could be described as a transformative experience.
But the same could also be said for the part after that when one was then sent, at the same prodigious pace, through the horse they summoned and then perhaps one might like to note going through a building before tumbling to a stop a street over from where one initially 'took off'.
Bonus Objective Complete
'Then it counts as a good idea.' The blue drake thought simply, feeling a surge of power as he gained another level, the several chunks of house that were buried into his hide were less than ideal, the wounds rapidly closed and healed from the inside, pushing the rubble from his flash and onto the ground.
Level Up
HP/SP/MP Fully Restored.
Zachndr (Alias)
Level 34
Class:
Fighter 20/100
Dragon Knight 14/100
Race: Human+
HP: 1380(7590)
MP: 640(3520)
SP: 1050(5575)
Strength: 138
Stamina: 105
Dexterity: 53
Intellect: 64
Wisdom: 125
Charisma: 590
Luck: 20
'Time to break out some of the Paladin Spells then, I reckon.' Taking to the air with a leap the dragon climbed rapidly to get a better view, the Legion was a few blocks over smashing buildings aimlessly, like it wasn't active yet.
'Alright time to play the game as more than just a large blue bruiser.' Dumping 1000 Mana into summoning Fae Soldiers to his side Zachndr was pleased by their dark metal armour shaped perfectly and symmetrically around their bodies, fullhelms covering their faces but dark blue pointed ears were given freedom from confinement in the helmets.
Each of these warriors held a longbow at their side, bulging quivers on their backs and two sleek longswords at their hips.
Each of them saluted as it spawned, "We're going to kill a giant undead, I want you stationed on the surrounding roofs, the only reason you shouldn't be shooting it is if you're being attacked by other undead, defend yourselves, then return to attacking the boss."
The commanding presence of the dragon was lost on the Fae Soldiers as they were ultimately mere conjurations, though they nodded with the severity of Terminators and dashed away to follow the orders given.
Zachndr flew up and looped around to pull as much momentum as he could before beginning his dive towards the Legion, the enormous cavalcade of corpses shambled and crashed about, seemingly unaware of the impending dragon attack.
Until he was within striking distance, at that moment, the giant's hand whipped around and smacked him out of the sky, right down into the streets, and the gathering horde below.
It all happened so fast that to the outside perspective, it was but a moment.
To the blue drake however, it passed in several arduous moments, the moment his descent began he twisted his body so that he may land on his feet, and felt his claws sink through the skulls of two unfortunate augmented zombies.
As he crashed into the ground, a mighty crater formed, and his legs quaked and buckled immediately from the sudden onset of inertia.
Then the horde descended.
Their gnashing teeth and pawing hands tore at the dragon's hide, a dulled pain reached his nerves giving credit to the Malleable Form trait but it did little to stifle the immediate onset of panic that hit his brain.
Rapidly it was dispelled but the lingering anxiety remained, quickly coming to a solution he screamed to the heavens, "Divine Storm!"
A cyclone of Holy Light bellowed up around him as the last syllable left his maw, following that came a shower of Holy Projections, hearty hammers and singing swords formed from the light, and flashed around in a brilliant display of power.
The zombies stood little to no chance of avoiding the assault, as Zachndr's MP plummeted to a worryingly low amount it shot back up again, the augmented zombies giving substantially more exp than their normal counterparts, and his own increased EXP gains with the Dragon Knight class working in tandem.
As the zombies around him were reduced to ashes he turned and bellowed a mighty torrent of frost directly at the chest of the Legion, who had made no further motion of violence, merely accepting the assault of winter, and the vertible hailstorm of arrows.
"Die, for I have commanded it!" Declared the Dragon, fully committing to character. The blue drake decided verticality would be his companion and decided to fight smarter, not harder.
'It's not lashing out at my soldiers, so that means whatever ability lets it fucking body-check me into the ground is something more like a melee-counter. Well it's shit to be you, my good man.' Thought the man in the driver's seat of the draconian body.
"I've not desire nor time to spend playing pretend with you, beast. I've a tower to conquer!" Holy light began to pool at his foreclaws, "Let radiance burn thy flesh, Judgement!"
Instead of a singular spectral hammer formed of light crushing into his foe, twelve did. Twelve mighty weapons forged of light crashed into the Legion, filling it's form with Light, as this Light burned the hundreds of held together corpses pretending to be a giant, so to did it seem to pour from within.
"Burn in glorious Light! Consecration!" Golden fire burned in a bright ring at the giant's feet, it's suffering wails growing to a crescendo as the fire quickly finished what the hammers had started.
[+5 Luck for Stumbling upon an unseen exploit.]
'Oh my holy fuck each claw and each horn counts as holding a single seal that is literally the most busted thing I've ever seen.' The sheer application of this in any other situation was boggling to the mind but it effectively meant that if he bore multiple weapons that he'd Sealed, he could just force a shit ton of Judgementat something until it died.
The Legion Exploded, and the quest completed, it was good to be alive.
Break
Hour 4, 20 Hours Remain
Having completely cleared the first floor of inhabitants, Zachndr had allowed himself the time to actually go through the various items he'd acquired, starting off with the Gacha token.
[Gacha Token EX-Legendary: A reality bending token that can provide and item to the user from a monolithic list of items, no items on this list are below Rare-T5 quality so as to not undersell the significance of this find.]
Worst case scenario he gets something so far beyond his current loadout that it wasn't even funny.
The token appeared in his hand, a small golden coin, marked on each side with a drama mask, one showing sadness, the other joy.
"At least this time I won't spend hundreds of dollars when I really shouldn't be…" Murmured the man as he cracked the token.
There was a small flash of light before an item appeared in his inventory.
[Twice Critical+ Epic-T1: A variant form of the Twice Critical Sacred Gear, capable of mutation beyond its imposed limits. For each charge expended the user doubles their Physical Stats for 10 Minutes. Charges 2/2. Regains 1 charge every 40 Minutes, current EXP 0/5000.]
'Oh holy shit yes.' Zachndr thought, green eyes gleaming brightly. "Not a huge fan of DXD as a show, but fuck if Sacred Gears aren't rad as hell."
A flash of red coated his right arm as the Sacred Gear appeared on his person, nearly identical to the one from the show aside from the cool blue colour of the 'scales' in place of the fiery red.
A thick gauntlet that rested over his gloved hand, rapidly consuming the metal armour beneath it to make room for itself, seemingly becoming a permanent fixture. It was weightless he noticed idly, something that he considered a boon to be sure.
Sacred Gear bound.
The pale green gem resting in the gauntlet flushed with light for a moment before dimming and going dormant.
"Well that's pretty fuckin' rad man." Zachndr crooned, turning to one of his Fae Soldiers, a good few dozen of them now surrounding the Dragon Knight.
"Next on the chopping block, let's use this Summoning Ticket." Opening his inventory Zachndr activated the ticket, the idea being simple enough for him to understand, it would bring someone to him from elsewhere.
Summoning Activated
A magical circle that looked vaguely familiar to the black haired man exploded into existence a few metres away from him and crackled with crimson lightning.
"Oh fuck." He murmured, his Soldiers forming ranks around him, idly he was pleased that each time the skilled leveled up their timers reset, the longer he could keep them out the more he could snowball EXP for himself and them.
A card appeared within the circle, as large as a man was tall, and spun repeatedly before turning to face the summoner, to Zachndr.
"Rider…" There was a moment of trepidation in his voice, a truly degenerate flash of hope burst in his chest, a grin on his lips as that sanguine sensation spread through him. "Should I be so fortunate?"
The card burned with golden flames, as the Dragon Knight leant forward, "That's a good sign…!"
As the card burned fully the particles flashed back together forming a body, a familiar body.
Shaggy peach-pink hair done into a masterful braid with black bows tied at either side of the head, form fitting armour that seemed more filled out than his mind recalled, a black tunic that doubled as a skirt revealing the stocking-hose combination, a white longsword sheathed at their hip.
"YEEEEESSSS!" Howled the Dragon, heart singing with sin, a galeforce laughter leaving his heaving chest as he beheld the person before him, his arms spread as he praised the very universe itself, "BEST BOY LET'S GO!"
"Yahoo!" Bellowed the smaller male, locking eyes with Zachndr, "I am Astolfo of the Rider Class, it's a pleasure to meet you Master!"
Lifting up his left hand at the searing sensation Zachndr removed his left glove and showed the back of his hand, a trio of bright red marks joining together to form an open 'eye'.
"I am…" Before his tongue could slip Zachndr realised his immediate mistake, grass rapidly growing from the cracked and cragged cement of the modern cityscape, taking a breath and pushing it away from his mind he spoke once more, "I am Zachndr, Dragon Knight. It was I who summoned you Rider, and I am indeed, beyond happy to see you."
The sincerity in his voice was real, if not his motivation for it was slightly corrupt.
He dare not admit that his eyes danced around the more-or-less exposed thighs of Rider, the effeminate figure, unbidden a growl left his grinning lips.
Rider matched the grin, a flicker of mischief in the Servant's eyes, "My Master seems to have a dirty mind indeed, should this simple servant watch himself?"
Confirmation acquired.
Operation Trap-Master, is a go!
Despite the sheer level of horny currently burning his soul, Zachndr reeled back, "You'll have to forgive me, Rider. I'm but a man of flesh and blood, and can grow overzealous when… gifted with a vision such as yourself."
'It's just like playing DnD, roleplay works in so many ways. What a fool, to waste such talents in my life.' Whatever lament that lay in his heart was crushed at the snicker of Rider.
Rider stuck out his chest, hands on his generous hips as he grinned smugly, "I am aren't I?" He said, shamelessly.
"Oh we're going to get along exceptionally well." Zachndr said, snickering into his blue gauntlet, "Before we continue though, Rider. I know your identity, would you prefer I call you by your name, or by your title?"
"I know all about you, Master." Astolfo said with a wolfish-grin, "There's no grail to be had but I'm here regardless. Your patron gave me the necessary information, I suppose you really are lucky to have me, aren't you?"
Without waiting for a response Astolfo approached the other armoured male, until they were merely a foot apart, the height difference forcing Rider to crane his neck.
"I'm not some cheap tumble in the hay, regardless of the degeneracy you've seen images of me take part in." Swore the Hippogriff Rider, looking oddly resolute while he eyed up the taller male.
"My attraction to you has no bearing on our professional relationship, Asoltfo." Zachndr admitted easily, "And whilst yes, to some extent this is a tawdry desire of mine, I'll not push anything on you. I'm aware that you're an autonomous person. Not some tool for… pleasure."
"You stuttered!" Astolfo crowed, delighted beyond words, "You're so shy!"
Zachndr rolled his neck and broke the eye-contact first, an easy smile forming on his face, "I'm interested in who I'm interested in, though before I died I have never been with a… guy."
"You did it again!" Astolfo almost jumped up and down, seemingly finding this fact hilarious, "Poor Master, star struck and filled with dirty feelings, this Knight will keep you safe from yourself." There was a spark in the pink eyes of Rider that did not go unnoticed by the taller man.
"You're enjoying this." Zach admitted, crossing his arms. Though the bubbly feeling in his stomach remained, "Look I'll drop the character alright, I'm serious though, I've never had anything below the belt with anyone of… your caliber."
"I'm a man, Master." Astolfo said easily, hands behind his back as he teetered back and forth on his heels, "It's perfectly acceptable to address me as such, I may appear as a fair maiden but this is admittedly the point."
Zachndr's posture slackened somewhat as he leant on his right leg, hip somewhat cocked, "It's not just that though, whilst the novelty is there it's not the only reason I've always had a draw to you."
"Pervert." Rider teased.
"Oh completely." Agreed the Dragon Knight, "Hand on heart absolutely degenerate."
"I think I'll enjoy serving you, Master." Cooed the Knight, drawing a grin from the future King of Winter.
"I'll make fuckin' certain you will." The black haired man offered his hand, Astolfo took it easily, "Like I said, I'm beyond happy to have you at my side, Astolfo. And I look forward to the bright future that lay ahead of us, regardless of what path it may take."
"Back in character already, Master? It's okay, you wear it well enough. This Knight swears himself into your service until such a day that you see fit to release me." Taking a Knee the Knight continued holding the hand of the taller man, looking up at green eyes with shimmering pink.
There was a moment before Zachndr spoke again, "Real talk? I think my heart just skipped a beat."
Astolfo smiled with the brightness of a sun, "You're precious, Master."
Astolfo Lv 1
Race: Servant(Rider)
HP:2500
MP: 1375
SP: 3750
Strength: 100
Stamina: 150
Dexterity: 200
Intelligence: 55
Wisdom: 125
Charisma: 250
HP = Str x 25
MP = Int x 25
SP = Stam x 25
'Good fucking god he's already so much stronger than me and probably will be for a while, at least stat-wise, my own skills whilst pretty niche are more varied in application that his.' Zachndr thought as he Observed the Trap Knight.
"It's not a gryphon, but for the moment I've got a horse you can ride." The Dragon Knight said as he summoned his Mongol Warhorse, the creature as docile as it was the first time he summoned it, "You're to listen to him, you understand?"
The horse wasn't really a horse, as it came from a not-real tutorial but still it was conscious enough to take commands.
"Ooh, very nice, Master." Admitted Astolfo, climbing up on the horse with the precision of a master, which made sense all things considered.
"Now, I didn't really expect my summoning means to bring a Servant, so you'll get to enjoy a bit of immediate downtime as I sort through the rest of this crap."
"Sort away, Master. I'll be over here, admiring the view." From atop the horse Astolfo's gaze bared down at the Dragon's.
'Well it's not everyday someone is this forthcoming with compliments.' Zachndr thought, to be admired was to be desired, and he greatly enjoyed being desired.
"Admire away." Zachndr said easily as he opened the 3 Rare Weapon Crates.
[Dragonbane Rare-T1: A katana forged by the Blades of Akavir, exceptional at defeating foes with any [Dragon] traits. Deals 150 + Dex on hit, and 500 + Dex to draconic foes.]
[Widow's Wail Rare-T1: A valyrian steel sword forged from the melted down greatsword of House Stark, Ice. This sword was 'used' by King Joffrey Baratheon before his untimely death. Deals 200 + Str damage on hit. [Unbreakable]
[Runed Soulblade Rare-T3: A tool of death forged by an initiate Death Knight upon the completion of their first Runeforging. This blade devours the souls of those it slays and grows in power as it does so. Deals 175 + Str + Soul Count Damage. Current Souls 0. Requires 100 Str to wield with two hands.]
"Rename Rune Soulblade as Harvester." Zachndr spoke to the skies, as he did the display flickered for a moment before Harvester was given its new name.
Equipping Harvester he placed Flametongue and his shield back into his inventory. The runeblade was five feet in length and about eight inches from edge to edge, said edges were jagged almost like a christmas tree, the dark blue metal had a red brand at the base of the fuller much like a burning eye that seemed to stare at Astolfo from it's wielders back.
Zachndr held out Dragonbane to Astolfo, "Here, you're Dex easily dwarfs my own, and in the event that you encounter a hostile dragon, you'll have an ace in the hole."
The katana was wrapped in black leather with a brass, coiled serpent acting as the guard, with a smooth black sheath.
Astolfo looked at the offered blade with wide eyes for a moment, "Oh uh, thank you Master."
Caught flat footed the pink haired male took the sword from the slim fingers of his Master, for a moment their fingers touched but neither made a comment about it, Astolfo affixed the sword to the opposite side of his other.
"Until the day comes that you tire of me, Astolfo I'll always keep you equipped and safe." Swore the Dragon, his slit pupils seeming to be black corridors that Astolfo felt himself being pulled into.
Just as soon as he began to fall however, his cruel master turned away from him. Astolfo shook his head and grumped quietly as his Master opened more stupid boxes.
"I'll just pop the rest in one go." Zachndr mumbled to no one.
[Fencers Foil: Uncommon-T1: A simple rapier used for tournaments, the blade has a beaded cap at the head to prevent accidental piercing.]
[Large Quiver: Uncommon-T1: A vacuous leather quiver made from a bear's hide, can house up to 300 arrows.]
[Comfortable Sneakers: Uncommon-T1: A modern innovation of simple magic, a pair of black and white sneakers enchanted to always be perfectly comfortable, regardless of the terrain you walk on.]
[Saronite Chestplate: Rare-T2: A heavy chest piece forged of Saronite, the blood of Yogg Saron. Offers supreme protection from physical damage and minor protection from frost. +250 Armour +50 Frost Resist. Requires 150 Str to wear without penalty.]
[Gravestone Scepter: Rare-T1: A wand infused with shadow magic that is coveted by those of the darker persuasion of magical might. Deals 100 + Int Shadow Damage, costs 15 Mana per bolt. Increases Int and Wisdom by 10 when equipped.]
[Dancing Blade: Rare-T1: An enchanted longsword created by a Bard that simply didn't want to put down her instrument, that acts independently of its wielder. Responds to verbal and mental commands. Deals 50 + Charisma Damage per hit.]
Crossing his arms for a moment Zachndr looked at his character screen, two hands taken up by his Harvester but reality and game mechanics didn't ever particularly agree with one another.
Taking out his Gravestone Scepter he slid the wand onto his belt, feeling it affix itself to his soul as he did so, the simple white rod with a shining opal resting at its tip glowed for a moment before dimming.
"I refuse to adhere to rules." Zachndr stated simply as he pulled the Dancing Blade from his inventory and set the sheath on his hip, the sword leapt from the sheath and paraded about him for a moment before coming to a rest, hilt facing skyward.
Activating his Seal of Righteousness a few times he buffed each weapon that could be considered his before equipping his Saronite Chestplate.
The difference was astronomical, the second he put the black and blue armour on and it wrapped around his chest he felt it's weight more keenly than any other in his life, almost buckling his legs before he caught himself.
"I've not done any kind of training beyond basic shit in my old life, but even I know that wearing heavy shit will make you stronger." Growled out the Dragon Knight.
"Ooh, Master, you're so brash!" Taunted the frenchmen, snickering into his glove daintily.
Veins bulging on his neck and muscles straining, Zachndr snorted, "Bite your ass, Astolfo."
"If I could, why would I ever leave my own room?" Rebuked the pink haired man with another round of snickers.
Zach, the true personality, barked out a gale of laughter that rapidly turned from external huffs to internal honks. To some, perhaps it appears to be an attack of some kind, a noise that a human does not make, a novelty.
Asoltfo thought it was the funniest noise he'd ever heard a man make bounding into a fit of laughter of his own, the noise stirring something in the dragon's heart.
Mouth wide open and stretched into a wide grin, eyes half closing and twinkling as the look of pure joy sent another wave of mirth through Astolfo.
The two men laughed and laughed until Zachndr had to physically stop himself as he was getting outrageously lightheaded from sheer outpouring of dopamine, laying with his back on the ground, arms spread wide.
"Phew… oh god dude, I needed that so much." Chuckled Zachndr, chest heaving as he panted.
"Oh Master, I've never heard something so marvelous." Gushed Astolfo in a way only the french could, "You sounded like a goose that was being accosted, it was delightful!"
"Not the first time I've heard that." Zachndr admitted, hair splayed wildly on the road as he made himself comfortable, "Gooseman was a common name, The Goose, HaHa Man, Court Jester."
Astolfo was pulled up at that, "Court Jester?"
"Oh my friend Chris, he's much like myself in the way that he puts on a character when talking to people to make it easier for himself. Oh fuck… I just realised that." Zachndr said, blinking widley, "Holy shit Presence of Mind is like my stoner revelations."
"Ah yes, your green friend." Astolfo commented, leaning down off the saddle slightly, with a little frown on his face.
Zach grinned at the frowning man, "It's the path to enlightenment my dear."
"Oh don't be cute!" Snapped the Frenchman.
"I'll stop when you stop, you're the one that's out here double cheeked up on a thursday afternoon. The view is quite something." It was either the comment itself, which is possible depending on who you ask, the sheer difference in their Charisma stats, Zachndr's own Social Grace skill, or a combination of the three.
But Astolfo blushed.
'And that my man, is what we call a fucking win.' That moment, Zachndr's brain burned into his memory, the redness of the cheeks, the sparkle of the eyes, the beautiful smile.
Ah, such bliss.
'To give that feeling to another person, that's why we do it lads. Fuck he's gorgeous.' Nowhere near the gayest thing he'd ever thought, but definitely the most sincere.
If they ticked his boxes, they were fair game, anyone.
It definitely opened his world to a lot of things, but alas dying after living a mediocre life he didn't get to really take his budding interest in any meaningful direction.
So for our Dragon Knight, it was a supremely good day to be alive.
Break
Hour 6, 18 Hours Remaining
Floor 2, Ancient Forest
Zachndr and Astolfo stood back to back, the Dragon Knight huffing and heaving as the heavy chestplate weighed him down though the strength gains had been paying off, from bonuses earned he'd earned an extra 30 or so.
A couple of hours of work and sure, and he was able to move at full mobility again, the EXP spike coming to the 2nd floor had been astronomical in contrast to the 1st.
Between them, and his Dancing Sword, Zachndr was in no true danger even if the forest had mobs substantially more powerful than the meagre zombies.
Most were around level 30, which was an enormous jump from the first which was a 1-20 Dungeon, but all the magical animals, and dryads fell under the Harvester, the hungry blade was greedy for souls and sure whilst the creatures in the ID's were just that, creatures, they satisfied the requirement.
Souls Collected: 68
It did however require him to be the one to deliver the killing blow and he could only be in so many places at once, so whilst his summons gathered him EXP he was gathering souls.
Even Triggered.
[Rage of the Sylvan]
Objective: Survive the onslaught of Wyld Magicked fauna, slay the Dryad Mother before you are overwhelmed.
Bonus Objective: Survive 10 Minutes
Bonus Objective: Survive 20 Minutes
Bonus Objective: Survive 30 Minutes.
Rewards to be disclosed.
Slightly odd but nevertheless not overtly complex.
Bears broke from the thick woods and made a B-line for the Dragon Knight, and so he commanded his troops. "10 form up with me, the rest I want a constant firing line at anything from the woods."
Wordlessly the Soldiers acquiesced, the original 6 from his tussle with the Legion had managed to have their timers reset constantly due to the onslaught of grinding.
Spamming Strike with every attack had made him devastating to behold, with the Fae Soldiers at his side and Astolfo running lance charges at their flanks, tearing the stupid animals apart.
Each fatal hit grew more powerful, the bears fell to their combined assault easily enough, Dryads slinking from the trees and casting either healing spells or summoning bugs to deal with the invaders.
A tree branch whipped out like a snake and grabbed Astolfo by the ankle, throwing him directly at the line of swords and into the way of the arrow barrage.
"Cease Fire!" Ordered the Dragon Knight as he leapt into the air and snatched the pink haired man before he could be injured, as Zachndr landed he was immediately beset by a storm of claws and teeth, attempting to rip as his flesh.
"Astolfo, board-clear!" Zachndr ordered, running to be beneath Rider and catching his feet, before pushing him off behind him, Astolfo keeping his momentum with practiced ease.
There was some technicality that it classified as a moment where his Riding skill came into play, temporarily using Zachndr as a 'mount' for the acrobatic display.
"Fear not, Master!" Astolfo exclaimed, producing a black horn from somewhere on his person, and leaping from the arms of his Master and behind the line of Unseelie Soldiers.
Zachndr began hacking his way through the wave of beasts that tried to tear him apart, his armour doing a half-decent job at absorbing damage, though it was clear it wasn't something that would work forever.
The Fae Soldiers rushed in and began to expand the melee into an outright battlefield.
Astolfo grinned as he held the horn out, "Now stay still you silly monsters! La Black Luna!" An enormous horn easily as large as the Rider himself exploded into existence, coiled around Astolfo, who merely snickered and he blew.
A hollow sound echoed from within the instrument as magic gathered and exploded outward, brushing past the allied soldiers and his Master, Astolfo watched with glee as it all but erased the monsters in the area.
The trees twisted and bent into one another as bright green magic began to pour of the soil beneath their feet, being sucked into the roots as the trees rapidly formed a semi-human form, though colossal in size.
"Scatter, I want constant damage on this thing! Astolfo, mount up! We're going into the skies!" Directed the Dragon Knight as he sunk all his saved mana to transform into his Dragon Shape.
"Hippogriff!" Called Astolfo, summoning his Noble Phantasm, the crystallisation of his personal legend as one a Paladin of Charlemagne, the mighty hippogriff appeared taking its master into the air without hesitation.
"Fool Dryad! I am the Dragon! Your control of nature is nothing to me, I am Zachary Alexander, the True Dragon!" Thundered the mighty blue drake, rising into the air with a ferocious beat of his wings.
Great rips and tears appeared in the earth, the tectonic plates rupturing, great plumes of lava showering the ground in molten horror, an enormous storm began to gather, great bolts of lightning scraping the landscape, sundering forming mountains.
Hail began to fall as the dragon breathed in and released a cataclysm of frost against the Dryad.
Astolfo shielded himself from the hail as best he could, "I had no idea Master had another name…" Murmured the Servant.
'Look at him.' Astolfo mused, 'Power personified, even his name causes a cataclysm! How could he think I'd be able to help!?'
The dragon was easily the size of his phantasmal beast, and the storm of ice he released by breathing was incredible to behold, 'Master really is an entity onto his own.'
"Astolfo, circle around, we'll pincer it and rip it apart!" Called out his Master, Astolfo rapidly guided his mount around, summoning his lance to his side.
Whatever doubt was plaguing the pink haired man was halted when his Master called, somehow with just that Astolfo's focus shifted entirely.
There was a burst of light from the other side of the enormous dryad, who was barely managing a response as the very earth it drew from was rebelling so violently, giant blooms of foreign flowers sprouting from its body.
Astolfo reared around and his hippogriff shot forward like a cannonball, the sudden burst of speed pulling a grin onto the Paladin's face, he lived for moments like this, the adventure and the chaos of it all!
The long roads he'd traveled in life, the stories he'd made, that was what Astolfo lived for. His own grievances of being the weakest of Charlemange's Knights stung at him and probably would forever, but his new Master had somehow found a way to make his Spirit Origin grow in power, it was almost like he was alive all over again!
A second chance at life, a second chance to experience so many things again!
From what information the Overseer had given Astolfo, his Master was of the same mind, having died as well and yet given a second life to lead. This made the transition from the Throne of Heroes to life so much more worthwhile, a kindred spirit.
As Astolfo's lance pierced the dryad the sound barrier had been well and truly broken, the force of not only the Knight but also the Dragon on opposite sides tore the Boss apart.
Event Cleared!
Zachndr flew back to the ground, the quakes and tumultuous upheaval had subsided, the storm clearing and giving way to bright sunshine.
The Dragon shifted back into a man and looked around, pausing for a moment as he observed the landscape, "Considering the way the Patriarch played it up, I don't think it's as strong in the ID's…"
Revealing his true name should be much more devastating for much longer, given how the Patriarch never even dared to ponder on its own name.
Astolfo swung back down and landed his mount, sliding out of the saddle easily, his lance vanishing into golden particles, "That was amazing Master! How'd you do that? How long have you been able to transform!? Were you hiding it from me so I wouldn't ask to ride on your back?"
Zachndr's green eyes sparkled with delight as he beheld the Knight, a flush of red covering his cheeks at the wave of praise and interest, his Charisma stat made him many things, but being able to take a sincere compliment wasn't one of them.
So he put on one of his many masks for the moment, just for now.
Placing his hands on his hips the Dragon Knight puffed out his chest, "Well I am quite incredible, thank you for noticing!"
Relaxing his body into a more casual stance seemed to amuse the Knight, "Oh no Master please, posture more I was admiring the view."
Snickering into his hand Astolfo allowed himself a small moment of mirth at the slightly shocked expression the taller man was making.
"Uh well, right." Zachndr coughed into his hand, "Maybe later I feel a little silly now."
Astolfo inserted himself into the Dragon Knight's personal space, poking his stomach, "Now now, Master, no need to be shy, be proud of yourself! This armour is doing wonders for your muscles."
'The sheer amount of gay panic I'm experiencing right now is paralyzing.' Zachndr thought, his stomach filled with butterflies, 'Come on man you're not some wallflower! Put yourself into it!'
"I'm pretty surprised to be honest, but I suppose given the right motivation people can accomplish pretty amazing things."
Astolfo grinned widely at the man, "That's the spirit! Now, tell me-tell me-tell me!"
"So I've been able to transform since I came to Rivelon from the Astral Sea." Zachndr explained, happy to run away from the feelings he was experiencing, "I basically got to pick a background for coming into the world beforehand…uh how much do you know about my whole situation?"
"I know everything before you died, and your connection to the Overseer, my knowledge stopped before you came to wherever we are now." Astolfo informed, leaning forward slightly as he spoke, a cheshire grin on his face.
"Hmm. Somewhat troubling." Zachndr admitted, having a supreme disadvantage with his own lack of intimate knowledge of Astolfo's own background, "So I picked a background that gave me the skill, and spent pretty much my entire time on the first floor in that form, before I summoned you. I didn't really keep it from you so much as I wanted to not get too used to relying on it. As for riding on my back, sure, you can."
Rider grinned, and there was a moment where Zachndr was unsure if he said the wisest thing.
End
Hopefully you enjoyed it, and the surprise.