I wasn’t liking the idea of being a goblin anymore….

The goblin’s gleeful voice set my scales on edge. I twisted, the ropes biting into my scales as I thrashed, but my movements were awkward and uncoordinated. My dragon form might have been smaller than I anticipated, but it was still new and unfamiliar to me.

A putrid stench filled my nostrils as I was being dragged out of the water and along the damp sandy shore. A second goblin, who was slightly larger and more menacing looking than the first, eyed me with naked hunger in his beady eyes.

A command [Inspect] came through my mind with half effort, triggered by flaring questions of who these two were. I looked over to the one referred to as Grezzly:

[Tribal Goblin, Level: 9]

And then, to the smaller one:

[Tribal Goblin, Level: 6]

Compared to my laughable size, those dirty patchy goblins looked behemoth to me! Not only that, they were several levels higher, too.

My mind screamed, and my feet went at it again, faster this time. I was running through air —and with a sudden, harsh jerk, my body stopped. The net tightened, and I felt myself hoisted up. Suspended upside down, the goblin held me by my tail. It was then I realized just how small I was as I looked myself over, my curiosity triggering another [Inspect] command:

[Dracapod, Lvl: 1]

Dracapod: the most vulnerable state for a dragon is its infant state. All dragon life begins in water. A dragon is born isolated, where its dragon parents leave them to fend for their own. Once their egg hatches, they are vulnerable, so they must adapt quickly. At this stage, a dragon has a tadpole-like appearance, and is about the size of an adult chicken. Some evolution types are born with stubby arms and legs.

Usually at this stage, magical affinity is set, and evolution phenotype will correspond to the element inherited.

[Element Inherited: M.E (multi element)]

Fire

Frost

Earth

Air

Space

My eyes twitched at the realization of my feeble identity—white scales, stubby arms and legs that went nowhere, and the intimidating size of a feathery farm animal—I was cooked.

I squinted through the blast of salty sea air to see the one named Grezzly approach me, his grotesque features illuminated by the wavering glow of the campfire a few meters away.

He licked his lips and rubbed his belly, both of these rough-looking goblins drooling at the sight of me. “Kings indeed, Fos!” Grezzly said ecstatically. “A dragon. What a rare find! Dragon meat is a delicacy, seeing as they are a dying race.”

“On second thought, maybe we should sell it,” Fos suggested. “Like you said, these dragons are a dying race. Eating it would be a waste. We could sell it for well over a pound of gold! These creatures are versatile, and well worth their weight. Even though this one is pretty puny.”

Oh, the irony….

Grezzly mulled it over, his beady eyes flicking between me and Fos, with a calculating look on his face. “You might be onto something, here. Gold can buy us far more food than a single dragon can provide.”

“Yes, and this isn’t just any dragon,” Fos added, pointing a finger at my chubby belly. “Look at the pure white scales! It’s a Snow Dragon from the Northlands. We’ll get double the gold for such a rarity!”

“Being a white dragon doesn’t make it a Snow Dragon, Fos,” Grezzly said, rolling his eyes. “But it could be. We’ll need to travel to a dragon specialist to find out for sure.”

Excitement danced in Fos’ eyes as he nodded. “Aye, we’ll be rich! Let’s head to Yhole Valley and sell this catch for a clean profit!”

Suddenly, Grezzly’s face churned, and he sulked. “But I can’t trek another mile without food in my belly, Fos….”

The smile on Fos’ face faded. “What are you saying, Grezzly?”

“Yhole Valley is easily a day’s worth of travel on our wagon. The chances that we’d make it are slim, especially with how hungry we both are. Plus, this little dragon won’t serve us any purpose if we don’t make it there alive.”

“Grezzly, are you sure?”

“Look at us, Fos. We are mere skin and bones. Not to mention, that last fight took a lot out of us. The only thing that saved us was pure luck. We need to eat and regain our strength, otherwise we might as well deliver ourselves to the next pack of wolves we stumble upon.”

Fos studied Grezzly and then swallowed hard. His eyes darted back and forth between me and his companion before he nodded defeatedly. “Fine,” he rasped. “We’ll roast it quickly and eat.”

I didn’t know which was worse—being eaten by goblins, or sold in the dragon trade.

Then again, being sold didn’t always equate to being dead. Or dead for a second time, in my case.

As they walked me over to the open fire, its reflection blazing in my big eyes, my heart raced. To be reincarnated only to die a brutal death. Fate was cruel, I didn’t care what anyone said! I was ready to make a change for the better, to be someone, and to live a life I could be proud of. But here I was, about to become dinner for two ugly starving goblins.

“Get the skewer ready, Fos!” Grezzly called out, and suddenly, I felt a deep, primal fear creep over me. Along with that came primal fury.

I was a dragon, wasn’t I? Sure, I wasn’t what one might call imposing or intimidating. Not yet. But despite my stage in evolution, dragons had resources. And it was high time I started using mine.

As soon as Fos stripped the net off of my skin, I reacted. I curled myself inward and opened my tiny mouth, a row of short fangs aiming for his arm. I sunk them as deep and hard as my jaws could, Fos jumping with a sharp yelp. My attack prompted an update in my codex that read:

Innate Skill Discovered:

[Deadly Bite, Level 1]

Immediately, he dropped me, and I scurried like a baby alligator away from the hungry, hungry goblos.

“YOU SON OF A—” Fos cried behind me as I rushed to the bushes, hoping to find somewhere I could hide. I stepped on twigs and mossy dirt, my claws pitter pattering through soft earth. Scared, I didn’t look back, expecting them to be close behind judging by my foot speed. After all, I had two pairs of stubby legs, and it felt like I was doing more shuffling than running.

“GET THAT DRAGON, FOS!” Grezzly yelled, and Fos leaped into action. I could hear his steps on the terrain as he chased me, and I darted from one bush to another. My tiny heart thumped like a drum inside my chest. My mind raced as I navigated through the dense bushes and trees, desperately trying to put distance between myself and those filthy goblins.

Behind me, I could hear Fos cursing loudly as he tumbled over a tree root, and a clumsy Grezzly tripping right over him. Perfect, I had some time to finally think of a plan here. Except, in my attempt at looking over my shoulder to see how far those two were, I ran right into something cold and hard.

With a thump, I bounced and landed on my back. Slightly dazed, I shook my head and immediately rolled over to my feet. As soon as my vision stopped dancing, I saw what I’d bumped into, a metal cage with bars hoisted on the back of an unhooked wagon. Unfortunately, the cage wasn’t empty, and sitting inside of it was a battered man plastered with blood, sitting slouched over with his right eye gouged out.

“Huh, an infant dragon,” he breathed with a weak smirk, his baritone warm but gritty. “Well, that’s something you don’t see every day.”

My immediate reaction was to yelp! A squeak came out of me that made him straighten his back out curiously. Forget the random wagon with the two horses up front—my eyes were glued on the mystery man that looked like he was two seconds from keeling over.

He appeared relatively unfazed by his situation, or maybe he’d given up. After all, he was captured, most likely from those goblins back there. I subconsciously gave a command, and my codex scanned him:

[Human, Level: 31]

Wait, a human?

He had short messy dark hair, and appeared to be in his early 40’s. A rugged looking guy, too, with a short scraggly beard, angular nose, and what appeared to be tattoos up his arms. He was muscular, with tattered clothes clinging to his imposing physique, and he was wearing a battered leather jerkin.

His one good eye, startlingly hazel, regarded me with amusement and curiosity. But before I could respond or even think of what to do next, the sound of snapping twigs crept up behind me. My senses fired, and I bolted right into the cage through the gap of the bars!

I guess at that slim moment of panic, I chose the lesser of two evils—an injured human or two ravenous goblins. Surely, a one-eyed human prisoner posed less of a threat. As I scampered into the cage, the human tilted his head and looked at me as I tried to cower into a corner. Despite his obvious state of exhaustion, he had pretty good top-half movement as the two goblins approached us. I spun around in my corner, staring at the entrance, expecting to see those grotesque goblins with the key to open up the cage and snatch their dinner.

Instead, what happened next was something I didn’t expect. The human was quick, too quick for someone who appeared half-dead! He pivoted around and snatched me right up, then pointed me at those two goblins like I was some type of handgun.

“Ice them!” he ordered me quietly but harshly through his teeth, the command flooring me.

“As a dragon, you are born with a breath weapon, right? If you value your life, you’ll use it!”

Breath weapon, right… I, I’m a dragon… but, how do I use it?

“Channel that frost inside you, and attack. Attack, now!”

He squeezed me like a squeaky toy, and a less than intimidating squawk came out of me.

I was mortified beyond words, but I didn’t have the time to chide myself for my lack of courage. The goblins realized what I was about to do, and pivoted around to escape.

It was now or never.

From deep within me, something grumbled. Like a coffee maker beginning to bubble, it stirred up as I opened my mouth wide and let loose a blast of… fire?

That’s right, I was a multi elemental dragon….

A blast of wild heat had summoned itself from my belly, flowing forth in a huge flame sweep.

It ate through the bars and the goblins. The two goblins screeched as my flames hit them dead on. They were instantly scorched in place, their charred bodies collapsing onto the ground.

The stench of burnt goblin flesh filled the air. Their last shrieks echoed in my ears as the flames died down. For a moment there was silence, and all I could hear was my own panting. My surprise at the unexpected fire breath had left me momentarily stunned, until the guy turned me around to look at me. Although looking not nearly as stunned, he cocked his eyebrow up and said, “Well, that’s different.”

Innate Skill Discovered:

[Flame Breath, Level 1]

Another skill….

Quest 1 Complete

You’ve leveled up:

Level 5

New Skill Acquired:

[Cyclone Shield, Level 1]

(Wind: |AOE Effect| shield with burst effect)

-Free Points Accumulated: 20-

Well, I’ll be damned…