Author's Note: This chapter has been rewritten! Note: There may be minor discrepancies on the status page between rewritten and old chapters.
Enjoy the chapter everyone! I'll continue to rewrite chapters as I publish new ones!
Life of a Zero Dragon
Chapter 3: Zero's Hatchling
Cora Rune stretched her preverbal reptilian legs, easing out the muscle cramps and tired limbs from laying for an extended period of time. It was only yesterday that she was sitting just before a laptop on Warcraft III awaiting Life of a Dragon Sequel's loading bar to complete, only to awaken on the game's start with a metaphysical body hanging in the void and a stereotypical divine voice asking her to choose an attribute to represent her path.
If Cora had not been an avid fan of the Roleplaying Game genre, she might have panicked to a degree. But, in the confusion, she had gone with the flow and selected Intelligence, favoring the mystical arts of increased mana regeneration and pool.
That was how prior human like herself hatched from an egg as a Chosen Dragon.
Humorously, that egg was about to be cooked as breakfast or at least attempted to be, by a large-gifted elven teenager and her bastion of orphaned children. Her inability to speak any human language painted her as an animal, even if a dragon, and promptly became the orphanage pet.
Those children were an excitable bunch, but their games helped keep her mind occupied and furthermore aided in discovering how her new body functioned and the Warcraft III mechanics subtly ever present. In one instance, they had trekked just a bit of ways from the safety of the household and came upon a dangerous circumstance.
It had been a low-level creep, a large spider that threatened to entangle and kill the children if perhaps Cora Rune hadn't finished it first, the subconsequential feeling of newfound experience points had indicated another possibility that transferred from the gameplay.
Leveling.
That had firmly established Cora Rune's desire to obtain greater power so that she may sweep aside the concerns that pressed her mind, the worries of not only her own safety but of that caretaker elf and her orphanage.
The Kayla Kingdom's ruling royalty, Aylmer, flicked through numerous pages concerning the Kayla Kingdom's current economic status. It was rather boring work and only the occasional comment from his sister, Abigail, kept him from throwing away the paper in a frustrated attempt to stave off it for a later time.
He glanced to the side at his younger sibling, now princess of a nation, a petite six-year-old girl with blonde hair tied into a ponytail. Abigail was garbed in a long dress befitting her newfound status, it was fortuitous that her appearance matched well with Aylmer's body model as to avoid potential political questions that might be directed his way.
"Big brother," Abigail spoke up, directing herself away from the dolls in her grasp. "Will you find us a way home?"
"Yes," He replied instantly, to avoid any doubt in her and also himself. "Trust me, I'll figure something out. This is a realm of magic after all! Maybe we'll discover something like in anime."
That wasn't particularly true, he knew that Life of a Dragon Sequel had been inspired solely by western mythology and legend. There was very little that could tie back to eastern references if barely anything at all. He also doubted that any force in the map was responsible for bringing them here in the first place, as such, it was likely something outside the game.
Marthan, the Caretaker and Advisor to the Royal Family, stepped into the throne room carrying a sizable book under his arm, a writing quill slotted into a leather container tied to his waist.
"My liege, the reports have come in." He spoke with reverence towards Aylmer.
"Read it out loud, Marthan." Aylmer ordered in a mix of formality and informal speech, this only experience with speaking in this manner was tied directly to his roleplaying skill. But, by fortune, it seems that his integration with the Hero Character Aylmer has granted him a pseudo-guidance in answering with particular sentence structure.
Marthan unraveled the book, "Before I start, my liege, all settlements reported large increases in land mass. It seems the moment you collapsed Kayla had undergone severe geological changes." He halted for a moment then continued. "Winterfall, our northernmost town, reports that this change might decrease the possibility of troll assaults and will allow room for growth. However, the mountain range dramatically scaled in size, numerous caverns appeared but the gold mine did remain relatively unhindered."
Aylmer recalled Winterfall, a minor town residing in the only Arctic region of the map, disregarding a tiny pocket elsewhere. It was the location where both player characters, Dragon Slayer and Dragon Catcher, met up after their starting zones, and also was nearby the Blue Dragon Nest location. It's out of the way placement also meant that it was the safest location from any rare Player Versus Player engagements.
"Continue," Aylmer motioned.
Marthan did, "Our mage-orientated city, Arcantis, reported that all magical defenses and enchantments are unaffected by the world's shift. But the Great River had undergone a substantial extension, creating a longer trading route between it and Desert City. They're working in solutions. Also, the Orangebark biome to the west has been completely displaced, in its stead is a new landscape
Arcantis could be described as the Kayla Kingdom's magical city, it held the Kayla Kingdom's starting building for spellcaster creation, but otherwise was rather vulnerable to siege attacks from the Empire. It did contain a few Arcane Towers, effective against Heroes, but not so much at units. Otherwise, the city did house a shop of spell scrolls and it's close proximity to the Farmer's Crossroad allows it to fortify the well-traveled roads with numerous magic users of priest, sorceress, and emissary.
But what caught the Kingdom Player's attention was Orangebark Biome's displacement or removal. This wasn't something done by the Map Maker, otherwise, it would not have been reported to exist. He wondered if it extended to the Red Forest, but hadn't heard anything concerning the home region of the Red Dragons. Regardless, without Orangebark, that area's piece of civilization known to players as the NPC-controlled Amberbark Town was missing altogether.
This wasn't taking into account the Old Ruins of Arana Kingdom's destroyed city, a hallmark of the Human-Dragon War's devastation and also the original Life of a Dragon's trading hub, the precursor to the current map.
"They can manage themselves for now," Aylmer stated. "Once they find a solution to the trade route, then they can focus on the biome's disappearance."
After all, trade between the two cities made their lifeblood, without it they would suffer in many ways that would lead to a cascade of problems. While the river trade still existed, the slower pace caused by the world's enlargement might affect them in the long-term.
He motioned for Marthan to finish.
"Finally, our southernmost settlement, Desert City, reports that the Great Kayla Desert had immensely broadened in scope where the prior mapping of the region is no longer accurate. The cliff face in which Desert City had built under has also moved a bit further but doesn't impede anything. They do express concerns over the trade route, but also remark that Moonshine Grove has been displaced with mundane but fertile green pastures."
Desert City, humanity's largest segment of civilization behind the Capital itself. Its centralized location in the map made it the main hub for player meeting and also the primary spot for any battles between the game's two nations. It also held numerous shops, selling a variety of items reaching an even higher tier, making them dangerously powerful and expensive even for Kingdom and Empire. It was also a fortress, in a way of speaking, that the city was immensely fortified and positioned to last through battles for long periods of time.
"The city-state of Amberbark vanished with Orangebark, as for Polarvale, it has remained silent. There have been no messengers from it either," Marthan finished, closing the book as he completed his duty.
Polarvale?
Aylmer racked his brain for what Marthan met by that name, it definitely implied a city, town, or village given the context. It clicked, however, that the Advisor implied the city located underneath the road linking the Capital and Winterfall. A location that only higher leveled players visited due to a single, sole reason.
"Curses," He said in a whisper.
"Pardon, my liege?" Marthan questioned, raising an eyebrow at the sudden remark.
"It is unfortunate, but the cityscape of Polarvale has been recently destroyed by demons," Aylmer said. "We'll require a sizable military force to deal with it
"So, Utheran's Followers have struck again, but have succeeded in decimating our civilization. May the Maker guide the souls of those killed and damn those responsible," Marthan replied in contempt.
The Maker? That was the primary worshipped deity of Kayla, if he recalled correctly.
"Yes, though another Hero would be helpful now, I assumed I'll have to go personally," Aylmer stated.
"I'll inform the peasants to construct a barracks in the Capital immediately. But, my liege, there is a Hero present in Arcantis, the Mercenary Sorceress."
That shocked Aylmer, what Marthan said implied the possibility of another Player besides himself within Kayla. This was fantastic news, and if he helped the Sorceress with the Kingdom's resources it would greatly reduce exterior problems with her Hero's abilities.
"Do you think?" Abigail said hopefully.
He shook his head, best not get his sister's hopes up on fixing this mess, "Marthan, send word to the Mercenary to join me at Capital immediately."
"Right away, my King."
Louise Françoise le Blanc de la Vallière had spent a significant portion of her early morning attempting to train Erisdar in avoiding potential bad habits. As her familiar was a hatchling, the baby dragon would be hard to handle and needed to be convinced not to do anything that would devalue Louise's reputation… Such as clawing and chewing decorative furnishing, doing his business indoors, and attempting to eat other noble's familiars.
To her surprise, Erisdar displayed a keen intellect and understanding of her words. She could have sworn that the hatchling even nodded to her lessons in agreement, perhaps this was in due part to the summoning ritual and contract with her? As animals under familiar contract with their human masters gain an enhanced degree of intelligence, not to sentience, but seeing that Erisdar was a dragon… A mythical creature already possessing a higher intelligence than other animals… Erisdar likely benefited more.
In light of having missed breakfast, Louise had to settle with a tray of snacks to satisfy her gnawing hunger. The summoning ritual the prior day had been so taxing on her willpower reserves that her body felt sluggish and tired even after awakening. This was actually the first time she'd ever felt her willpower had been depleted to near emptiness.
Now, she had a free hand eating her snacks, while another was gloved and holding a flab of swine meat while sitting in the court. As it was the Day of Void, there were no lectures or classes and instead was dedicated to growing attachments between Master and Familiar. Normally a noble student wouldn't be responsible for feeding the familiars, that was a duty given to the commoner staff, but Louise had to take a hands-on approach for a reason.
Again, her familiar was a dragon, a hatchling at that.
Louise needed to establish to Erisdar that she was the young creature's Master. Though the hatching may view her as a surrogate mother at first that thought process would not last over the growing years.
Still…
He ate a lot!
The young mage had to stop her familiar from just taking the bucket of meat cuts for himself. She had to maintain control, otherwise, it would create a relationship that would hinder her in the future. Still, Louise hoped that Erisdar's appetite wouldn't be as ravenous in the future, otherwise she would need to purchase foodstuffs herself as the Academy wouldn't cover everything.
"You seem to have grinders in the back…" Louise noted, adding the possibility of vegetation and henceforth making Erisdar an omnivore. "Fortunate for you, Erisdar, I will care for you. In turn, when the time arrives, you will aid me in many duties."
A brief moment of confusion crossed the hatchling's face, taking only a few seconds away from the meal toward Louise Valliere. But after it passed; Erisdar continued to devour the current slab before him while the noble girl sighed audibly and reached for the last remaining cut in the bucket with a gloved hand.
She shouldn't try to pressure the hatchling too much yet. Not to mention, in all the books that the Academy library had in its disposal, none of which she had read before the Spring Summoning Ritual detailed the type of draconic creature her familiar was.
A sudden 'Slap!' sound of a hand hitting harshly against flesh nearby brought Louise out of her thoughts. She glanced quickly glanced to the origin, spotting the figure of a brash boy with a pretty face and blonde hair, laying on his rear against the ground due in part by two girls. She recognized this individual as the son of the militaristic noble.
Seeing that it was none of her business, however, Louise decided not to pay heed to the problem that was the boy, Guiche de Gramont. Instead, noticing that Erisdar finished the meal, placed down the last swine cut, tossed the bucket aside and promptly undressed the glove from her hand, putting it away as well for a servant to clean.
That was then something strange occurred.
Guiche had oddly waltz over to her location, Louise noticed this as he approached and she was curious as to his sudden shift in behavior. The two girls he had likely played romance with were also staring at him with confusion. Louise examined him, noticing his eyes looked somewhat gloss-over as if affected by some magical ailment.
"Louise… You dare insult those above your skill? I'll have to teach you a fine lesson in proper noble decorum…" His words didn't match his expression.
"Pardon, Gramont? Do you insinuate that I'm responsible for your actions? I was not even in the same vicinity, my attention was only on my familiar," Louise replied with a subtle glare, annoyed that this person would try and push his problem onto her.
"You're nearby presence is enough! It's a mockery towards real mages! Even commoners are better!" Guiche belated.
Louise faltered a bit, didn't he and other students enjoy mocking her already? Wouldn't they have been satisfied with calling her a Zero? Why couldn't he just leave her alone with that?
Was she so below the point in their eyes that her family name meant nothing more than a commoner's?
A growl escaped Erisdar's mouth, eyes darted between her and Guiche, hostility directed at the latter.
Did… Did her familiar react to her hidden thoughts and emotions?
That's right… She summoned Erisdar! A dragon! The hatchling was direct proof of her potential as a mage and noble!
"You best step back, Gramont, my dragon familiar is particularly ravenous and I don't know if Erisdar's Master might be able to stop the hatchling in time," She referred to herself in the third person to intimidate.
"Then a duel it shall be!" Guiche suddenly exclaimed and brought out his hand, he flicked out rose petals with force rather than grace, hinting at a disparity to his previously known personality.
"This is not a duel, it's an outright assault!" Louise exclaimed as she noted the petals twist into the ground and bright forth brass feminine golems, Valkyrie. In response, the pink-haired girl hastily reached for her own magical focus but didn't have the time before the golem's spear thrust at her.
Suddenly, Erisdar tackled the material creation, saving Louise from danger...
Saito Hiraga was not knowledgeable about the other apparent magic-school students, but he didn't need to meet them all to recognize the blond boy's sudden shift in action. He had played so many video games that it was a staple to have some upstart bully or similar character to fill in as a tutorial. Sure, it wasn't exactly a tutorial, and he was doing it for another reason outside that, but Gramont's personality fitted the bill.
Still, he knew bullying when he saw it.
He didn't fault the pre-teen girl, Louise Valliere, for this whole other-worldly transfer and subsequent transformation. She was just a child, and a bullied one at that from her older peers, the girl tried to hide it but he just knew… He felt… That it was but a ruse.
A mask.
Besides, she fed him. It was raw, but his new draconic body had new taste buds and digestion anyway so it wouldn't matter. She was caring for and teaching him and that was plenty of positive points in his book.
So, despite the fact there was this annoying headache about protecting his 'Master', he attacked the newly summoned Valkyrie without hesitation.
Saito was scared to fight, but that fear was quickly swept aside with an inner burning flame... Was this courage? Or some other emotion?
His claws embedded themselves into brass, paws grasping firmly on the golem's appendages as jaws opened and bite into the presumed neck region. Despite appearing as bone, Saito's teeth crunched through metal like flesh.
It crumbled beneath him, he spat out the destroyed earth in his mouth and his attention was drawn to the additional golems forming before him and Louise. His companion had her wand ready, but her stance and slight shivering informed him that the young girl wouldn't be of any help at the moment.
If this Gramont character hoped to best him with these paltry summoned units, then the boy clearly didn't understand what it was like to face a custom Warcraft III Hero dragon.
Or, as in accordance to the map's lore, a Chosen Dragon.
Still, Saito knew he had to be cautious. He was only Level 1, the weakest state that all Hero characters began at. He knew that in terms of the map's mechanics, he had access to the bonus costless ability for choosing an Attribute as a Chosen Dragon. This ability when by the rather comical name 'Fast, Very Fast'.
It did exactly as its title stated, which provided a boost in movement and attack speeds for twenty seconds.
He also was aware that he should have an additional Hero Ability. For a non-elemental hatchling, he has the choice between three separate spells that weren't his bonus, two passive and one active. The active ability didn't have much use in a battle like this, so he wished that his first ability was either of the passives.
"Erisdar!" Louise shouted, bringing Saito out of his thoughts.
A Valkyrie charged at him, its long spear swung with intent to harm. Saito's eyes widened and he nearly panicked, but the sensation was pushed aside as instinct took over. His body moved and the weapon touched only air, the attack had missed entirely. The dragon hatchling could barely comprehend what occurred, but his movements continued like an automatic response as claws dug into the golem's frame and tore it apart.
He didn't question it, his body came back to his control and Saito pushed the momentum. The third golem still persists, it could attack shortly and his current opponent wasn't finished just yet. He bashed his body into the Valkyrie in front of him, quickly bending to crunch down on its neck, but it hit him from the side and knocked him a bit away.
Hastily, the Player got on his four paws, his wings outstretched and Saito relinquished his human doubts to the draconic instincts that guided his moments. He may be a hatchling but in Life of a Dragon Sequel, the character model hovered in the air with the beat of its wings from the very start. With that logic, that knowledge, Saito Hiraga knew could do the same.
And such, the first Chosen Dragon took flight, it was only a meter above the ground, but it provided a crucial advantage. Unsurprisingly, Louise Valliere had a shocked expression on her face due to that, but Saito kept his attention focused on his enemies. The blond noble brat swished his wand, directing both Valkyries to attack Saito, which charged recklessly at him.
His mind brought forth his bonus ability, with but a thought, he felt the active beneficial effects of 'Fast, Very Fast' course through his body. He felt lighter, the flap of his wings quickened with effortless haste, and he directed his movements forward at the golems. He flew to them with increased speed, they hadn't the chance to attack first before Saito was upon them.
The dragon player tackled the already weakened Valkyrie he attacked before, deciding against using his jaws for this, he paws dug into the metal and clenched, claws shredding brass. Still holding the material creation, Saito used the force of his wings to fly back, tearing off a significant chunk of the golem enough to render it useless.
That's another one down, last one to go.
He felt the weight of a spear press down on him, brief pain shocked his nerves, but the endurance of a Warcraft III Hero prevailed against the pain. His tail grabbed hold of the spear's shaft and he brought it and the Valkyrie down, allowing him the opportunity to aim his jaws and bite through the neck of the golem, destroying it.
A bright flash of golden light enveloped his body for a few short seconds before disappearing. He knew the sound and sight of this phenenomon, the signifying display that marked the increase in Level for a Hero, as well as the feeling of increased power.
In short, Saito Hiraga had become Level 2.
Saito released a breath of relief, his eyes looked to the blond boy, who appeared to have recovered his senses. His gaze no longer held the strange, glossed overexpression from beforehand. The dragon landed back on the ground, resting his wings, and walked back to Louise's side.
That earlier instinct from before, the moment he evaded the Valkyrie's attack, not the more recent one. That was something he knew had activated passively, it was one of his Hero Abilities.
Hatchling Instinct.
In its tooltip description within the game, it provided a certain chance that the Hero character would evade an attack or deal a critical strike for increased damage. Since it was a passive ability, the player wouldn't be able to activate it themselves manually, leaving it up to pure luck that it would proc on an attack.
Since that was the case, it made sense why he didn't have bodily control for a moment and that he instantly knew how to evade the coming strike.
Also… He had leveled up.
That meant quite many things, in that not only was the game's abilities functioning, but also the basic game mechanics had carried over and applied to his character. He had gained 'Experiance Points' for killing the Valkyries, which spoke that killing other hostile entities to his person will give provide more EXP to lead to another increased level.
For now, he felt this minor pinging in the back of his head, likely indicating that he had a 'Point' to spend in learning or enhancing a Hero Ability.
He mentally responded to choose 'Blink', a short-distance self-teleportation spell and the non-elemental dragon's only active spell. Saito would test it and the use of his mana, magical energy, at a later time.
At Louise's side, Saito snarled and growled at Gramont. The coward of an Earth-aligned mage collapsed on his rear in fear at the rather powerful young dragon.
"I surrender! Louise, I'm sorry! I didn't know what happened! Honestly!"
The pink-haired petite girl expression had shifted from her prior stunned emotion to a smug, confident one. "You should have known that a familiar defends its master, Guiche!" She exclaimed. "But you have attacked me, I don't feel so lenient as to forgive this declaration against the Valliere House!"
Guiche's eyes seemed to shrink as his face paled, his pride dissipated into nothingness as he adjusted himself into a submission bow. "I owe you a great apology than what I gave! Please allow me to serve in some manner as to push this incident aside!"
Louise Valliere crossed her arms, her face scrunched in apparent thought. "Very well, you shall hold a debt to me, Guiche de Gramont," She answered. "Now, be gone from my sight. Least my familiar decides to continue his previous meal with you."
Guiche, understandably, got up on his feet and scurried off. Whatever bystanders that were watching had decided to copy his motions, walking away from the now intimidating figure of an explosively tempered noble.
Despite what occurred, however, Saito noticed that Louise had a joyful smile.
"Thanks, Erisdar," She said. "I knew that you were everything I wanted when summoned!
Sure, Saito appreciates the compliment, but… He's still hungry.
Current Status:
Chosen Dragon Player 1: Saito Hiraga - Alive - Hatchling (Agility) Level 2
Chosen Dragon Player 2: Unknown
Chosen Dragon Player 3: Unknown
Chosen Dragon Player 4: Unknown
Chosen Dragon Player 5: Cora Rune - Alive- Hatchling (Intelligence) Level 2
Dragon Slayer Player 6: Celdrahil - Alive - Slayer Level 3
Dragon Catcher Player 7: Rosina - Alive- Catcher Level 2
The Kayla Kingdom Player 8: Aylmer and Abigail - Alive - King Level 1, Princess Level [Error]
The Lakor (Fel) Empire Player 9: Unknown
Mercenary Player 10: Unknown - Alive - Sorceress Level 1
Observer Map Maker: Map Maker - Alive - The World Editor