I'll Break His Legs!

Taking Halcrem's advice, Greyson decided to continue working hard at resonating with his dragon bloodline. Due to this task, he held off and canceled his earlier decision to seek out the merchant caravan right away. He decided to just keep staying in an inn until he has a better handle on his bloodline. After that conversation, he knew that life would become much more complicated if he only came as a human. Day after day, he continued working hard, but the progress was not easy. The scales barely covered his torso even after 2 weeks of practice. Greyson was slowly becoming more and more impatient with the progress since he had never been this slow in anything. Taking deep breaths, he tried to calm himself down after realizing that he was getting too impatient. All his earlier success was getting to his head and making him impatient for instant success. Lots of people took years to get to his level of power, he was sufficiently talented.

Maybe it was this underlying stress he had to rush himself that was preventing further success, but as he started to relax, Greyson realized that he was contacting his dragon bloodline a lot easier than before. Slightly unnerved by the inexplicable improvement, he sought out Halcrem for answers. Halcrem simply answered that he was thinking too deeply about it before. A lot of his contact with his beast bloodline was through more basic and instinctual feelings then complex thought processes. Feeling reassured after this news, Greyson renewed his trials but without thinking of the same pressure. One week went by and this time he saw major changes. Not only could his whole body transform, even his basic features also started to change. His height changed by a couple inches making him slightly taller than most almost 14-year-olds. His body grew firmer and his muscles more defined. His hair no longer took on the elf platinum silver but turned back to his original white. His eyes rested at a purple color most of the time which was different from his violet purple from the lightning element. It was a lighter lilac purple that was warmer than before. Even Zephyr showed the same changes as his scales turned white as well and he showed matching purple eyes.

Again, Greyson tried to see if Halcrem had any information about dragons and his friend's answer surprised him.

"Benefactor, if I'm not mistaken, then your father must hail from the royal bloodline of the Snow Dragon Clan. They are the number two clan after the Golden Dragon King clan. Though I say number two, in reality they are tied mostly. The biggest reason is because the Dragon Kings are born with bloodline superiority that allows them to put innate pressure on the rest of the dragon clan. However, the Snow Dragons are unique because they are born with more than one elemental talent whereas even Dragon Kings are born with talent only in the light element. Snow Dragons can specialize in ice element magic and can also use spatial magic which is extremely rare. They are usually betrothed to the Dragon King race every generation, so I can assume that your grandparent must have made an extremely controversial decision when your father was created." Listening to Halcrem, Greyson became very interested. While Sweetbow told him the basics, he could only identify the different races of magic beasts but he was not super privy to all the information. Plus, Sweetbow was definitely biased towards informing him only about the Elf Empire and bragging about bow amazing it was and how much he wished he could go back. Therefore, Greyson's world knowledge was slightly skewed. Greyson could not help but be disappointed when he heard that his original dragon ancestors could use spatial magic because that made him realize his bloodline must really be too weak. His sister, Eden, actually used spatial magic and ice magic as well. She told him that almost all his siblings except his second and sixth sister had those abilities. Making some easy inferences, he realized that the children who inherited only the dragon bloodline inherited the Snow Dragon's talent and the children who were born with the elf bloodline of his mother could use one or two of his mother's original four. Slightly upset thinking of his once again estranged sister, Greyson could not help but frown. The element information came up naturally in conversation when he asked what type of magician she was; however, he was not able to completely ask her about his mother and other siblings before the chaos of leaving occurred. Not only did he still not know his father's original dragon bloodline before this, but he also did not know the names of his family members. Since Eden just referred to them as first brother and fifth sister or mother and father, he never learned the actual names and features of his siblings. He was also starting to discover that maybe his issues before birth were due to the fact that he inherited both bloodlines. Learning some things from his sister, Greyson realized that all of his siblings only inherited one or the other.

Seeing Greyson's suddenly foul mood, Halcrem was surprised before wondering if he said anything incorrect.

"Benefactor, do not worry. The dragon clan are extremely proud and would never purposefully chase you down or give you trouble. Most likely they did not do much to your father, either, other than the usual disrespect. If he was really from the Snow Dragon clan, then if his parent was high ranked enough then he would still get better treatment than normal full-blooded dragons." Misunderstanding what Greyson was upset about, Halcrem quickly spotted a problem and comforted Greyson. Broken out of his thoughts, Greyson could not help but feel speechless. When did he say he felt concerned about his father's grievances? He has never even met the man, it was not like he about to hold any grudges for him.

"Hahaha, no, I'm not thinking about that. I was just thinking what a shame it was that my bloodline was so weak that I did not inherit the spatial element talent of the Snow Dragons."

"Gosh, if anyone else heard your complaints would they not just be angered to death. You, with your seven elements, quibbling about not having another. Please." Hearing such a familiar voice dripping with sarcasm, Greyson's expression could not help but light up immediately. Turning around to his bed, he saw familiar blue and green eyes looking back at him.

"LU! You're awake!"

"Nonsense! Even if I was dead, I would still rise up hearing such ridiculous complaints!" Rolling his eyes, Lucius made his usual scathing remarks. Grinding his teeth slightly, Greyson's smile could not help but crack. Calm down, calm down. Just be magnanimous this time, he just woke up after all. After meditating this in his head, Greyson continued to smile and reigned in the urge to slap this stupid cat.

"Well, how do you feel?"

"Hmph! I'm not like some people who took months to heal and wake up. Of course, I woke up new and improved. I even rose a level and am now equal to a magister level stage two magician."

"Hey, you can't say stuff like that! You only woke up early this time because I fed you a special herb. It probably helped with your cultivation, too! Plus, last time you stayed asleep longer than me if I remember correctly." Finally, not able to keep his good mood, Greyson suddenly had the desire to just knock this ungrateful cat out again.

"That was because I was saving our lives, unlike a certain useless person who fainted from getting injured by the enemy before the fight even really started. By the way, do you have any more of that herb, it's some real good stuff." Lucius continued on in a shameless matter with his thick-skin. Greyson felt his blood pressure rise in anger as his head started to ache. More herbs?! Such a priceless thing, why don't you go and find some yourself?!

"Wait, Benefactor, did he just say seven elements?" Completely ignoring the later conversation, Halcrem was still stuck on the first thing that Lucius mentioned. He had yet to really witness Greyson use all of his elements, so he was shocked to suddenly hear of the amount. Taking another look at Greyson, He suddenly realized that he was still underestimating this young genius magician. Maybe it was the two powerful bloodlines that he had?

"Hm? Who is this oversized oaf?" Lucius glanced over in confusion. "A Beastman? You look related to the Sun Lions..."

"Oh right, I forgot. Lucius, this is Halcrem Armand, also known as Hal. Hal, this is Lucius, also known as Lu. He is my equal contract magic beast, he is like my older brother. Halcrem is a Beastman who I saved from slavery and will help lead us around the Beast Empire." Greyson quickly coughed awkwardly before introducing the two. Hearing their nicknames, both Halcrem and Lucius could feel their lips twitching. Such terrible naming sense... Looking at each other, they sensed this quick connection as if finding a fellow sufferer.

"Nice to meet you, I am Lucius."

"Ah yes, nice to meet you, too. I am Halcrem Armand. You were correct earlier, I do hail from the Sun Lion tribe."

Watching as the large man stuck out his humongous hand and the small paw that met with it, Greyson couldn't help but giggle a little at the scene. Such an interesting juxtaposition...

"Well, now that introductions are done, I should tell you both that we will be heading out soon. I can already disguise myself as a Beastman easily and blend in with the rest. Lucius is already a magic beast so there shouldn't be any issue! I want to leave as quickly as possible. We have already spent a lot more time than I originally planned in this city." Feeling that the time was ripe, Greyson quickly announced his thoughts to the group, who quickly agreed. Halcrem quickly wanted to go home and leave the human empire territory, while Lucius did not care either way. His whole goal was to travel around in the first place and he would definitely feel a lot more at home in the Beast Empire then he would elsewhere. At least in the Beast Empire, there were no people who wished to capture and control him. Although there were rivalries and constant fighting between tribes it was more to keep a competitive edge, the magic beasts were still a very cohesive group that never hunted other beasts for their talents. Slave positions were mostly reserved for the Beastman since the magic beasts looked down on other races.

"Benefactor, maybe you could try to search out for your father's family in the dragon territory! They could maybe have ways to boost your bloodline. I don't know how well they will receive you, but seeing that you have such high talent, they might not treat you that badly. My young master also treats me with respect since I have more talent than normal Beastmen of our tribe."

Find his father's family? Unlikely, but he might do it on a whim. He only hoped that his father was alive and did not disappoint him later, he could not help but always fantasize about a powerful man who was courageous and upright...

...

*ACHOO!*

"Oh? My dear wife were you thinking of me just now? I can feel it all the way from here." A seemingly frivolous voice spoke out. The man owning the voice was a tall, broad-shouldered and good-looking man with grey hair similar to Eden's with streaks of a beautiful white. He had playful purple eyes and a mischievous smirk pasted on his face. He looked lovingly across the room to a beautiful elf woman. She had classic platinum silver hair and light grey eyes. She kept a stern, no-nonsense expression on her face as she looked at the man with disdain.

"Of course not." Not even sparing another word, she treated every word she uttered like gold. Crestfallen, the man could not help but bemoan his cold wife's attitude.

"I miss my darling children~! They would all look up to me with such cute faces of admiration, especially my Eden she was such a cute girl who only knew how to act all adorable with daddy. All my wife does is look down on me~." Faking a sob, the man suddenly started to complain.

"..."

"Darling, when will you think you will be able to heal the both of us. I can feel the rage grow within me day by day. Just thinking of all the days, I missed with our children, we don't even know if all of them are alive... Years have gone by, my Eden is already almost 19-years-old! Even little seventh... he was just born when he left! We didn't even have a chance to name him!" Just like the flip of a coin, the playful expression suddenly turned bloodthirsty with noticeable distress in his face. He clenched his fists till they turned white before slamming it down into the stone table next to him. Immediately turning to rubble, he finally took a breath before calming himself down. Even the calm woman's face dropped and with a cold glint flashing in her eyes.

"Soon. We will have our vengeance. We will also find our children. All of them!" The moment she spoke of her children, the woman's face softened as warmth suffused her eyes. Thinking of her youngest child, her heart ached as tears rolled down her cheek. Completely horrified, the man appeared before her in an instant and wiped away her tears.

"Don't worry, my dear. Nothing will happen to them. Whose children do you think they are? Of course, they will be powerful and awesomely talented like us!" Resuming his previous light-hearted joking attitude, the man quickly cheered up his wife, who chuckled after seeing such a stupidly doting and proud look on his face.

"They obviously take after their mother if they are talented." She spoke again. As if cold water had just splashed all over him, her husband's face looked aggrieved.

"My wife, can't you encourage your husband, at all? What will the kids think if they saw? The boys and even my Alice always looked down on me because of you. No! This time I will make sure that our seventh doesn't turn out like them! He will be a daddy's boy for sure! Who said sons all have to be mama's boys?! My cute Eden and Rosalie will love me for sure, too! Hmph, you can just keep the older ones, the younger ones will be mine."

"Biased parents are no good. Our youngest is already almost fourteen, as well. You have probably missed your chance." Shooting him a cold look, the woman said no more after this.

"..." Looking like he wanted to cry, the man just drooped his shoulders before sitting down and meditating as well. However, before long, he burst out with energy again.

"Wait! If my Eden is almost 19, she must be drop-dead gorgeous by now. Do you think boys are hitting on her?! I'll kill them all! Oh, oh, my Alice and Rosalie, too. Oh, what to do? Even our seventh must be so handsome, I mean look at my face. Girls are probably already throwing themselves at him. Darling, do you think we already have grandchildren. Oh my god! Just look at us, how could we already be grandparents?! My goddess you don't look a day over 20, even I look so young and handsome still. If that Aiden got some girl pregnant and made me a grandfather without permission, I'll break his legs the next time I see him!" Almost snarling, the woman could hear the literal growl in her husband's shouting. Rolling her eyes, she no longer paid any attention to the idiot. She felt her IQ was lowering after only having him as company for these long years...

...

Many many miles away...

A young man could not help but shiver. He felt as if someone just walked over his grave... how ominous...