Recruiting

Excited to check his skills Draven made a short trip outside the town again and looked through his Skills tab in the shop.

Djinn 45 SP

- Dual casting – 200 SP -Magic Comprehension Bronze Tier - 500 SP - Mana Sense 80 SP - System Upgrade Bronze Tier - 600 SP - Mana Regen Bronze Tier - 450 SP

Ancient Dragon 528 SP

- Adolescent Dragon Wings – 600 SP

- Adolescent Dragon Muscle Tissue – 120 SP

- Adolescent Dragon Skeleton – 280 SP

- Adolescent Dragon Tendons – 120 SP

- Dragon Breath Organ – 500 SP

Raiju 8 SP

- Lightning Arms Iron Tier – 100 SP

- Lightning Legs Iron Tier – 100 SP

- Lightning Bolt – 40 SP - Lightning Arms Bronze Tier - 400 SP - Lightning Legs Bronze Tier - 400 SP - Infuse Lightning - 600 SP

Draven felt a bit depressed things were getting so expensive and he was falling behind on purchasing his skills. On top of that, he didn't even have enough SP for his precious wings. He was tempted to go back to the cave and clear out the Lizardmen Village. If that one unknown area didn't exist then he probably would but that was a risk he wasn't willing to take alone maybe after his party reaches level 15 he would think about it. Reluctantly Draven 520 SP to get the muscle, skeleton, and tendons upgraded. He figured he would receive a good boost in strength to make up for not being able to fly. He was plenty fast on his feet and he could also turn into pure lightning but after using it that one time he hasn't done so again. It was very difficult to control and the mana cost was outrageous. The last time he used it he had activated it for a few seconds and had traveled 40 kilometers and was out of mana. It was the first time he had passed out due to mana exhaustion. 

Draven hit accept and prepared himself for another round of pain. Dravens body fell to the ground and began to flail uncontrollably as his muscles began to spasm. He could feel the fibers tearing and repairing themselves over and over again growing thicker and stronger. His bones creaked as they became more durable. A burning sensation could be all around his muscles. The pain was manageable and after a couple hours, he regained control of his body. It was now dark outside and he was having difficulties moving his entire body was incredibly sore. Draven struggled to get into a seated position as he checked his stats. 

User Draven Morgan

Rank: Bronze

Race: Human, Djinn, Dragon, Raiju

Level 20

Class: Magus of War and Shadow

Stats:

Health 8400/8400 

Mana: 24500/24500

Strength: 1464 

Agility: 504 

Stamina: 420

Intellect: 35

Spirit: 40

Unallocated Stat Points: 200

Armor: 161

Draven was in shock most of his attributes had incrementally gone up but his strength was over twice as much as before the rank up. This was a huge increase in power. He could only hope to never have to fight against a real dragon after realizing how strong he was while being only 7% dragon. After calming down Draven managed to stand up with every passing minute it became easier to move his body. System why do i have to pay for the system upgrade when it was free last time?

<Beep! Excess energy during Rank advancement is no longer sufficient to upgrade the System. User will have utilize SP for all future upgrades of system.>

Draven was regretting giving those fire elemental XP Orbs to his party back at Blackrock Mountain. Feeling a bit better, he began to walk back to town and call it a night. After Draven arrived home he noticed that none of his party were back from ranking up yet and confirmed this after seeing they were still at the guild on the map. Shrugging he hopped into bed and passed out. 

The next day came and Draven woke up refreshed. The soreness was completely gone and so was the pain in his ribs. He could now fully appreciate the difference in strength he had when he clenched his fist. After a quick shower, Draven got dressed in some random outfit that was in his closet and made his way down to cook some breakfast. To his great surprise, the whole gang was awake and even made breakfast this time. Draven was actually kinda sad he didn't get to use any waterballs today. 

"This is a surprise," Draven said looking around. "Yeah we couldn't sleep anymore after ranking up so we ended up staying awake," Celine said while eating boar hamburger. Ross went out and got bread at the vendor so feel free to grab one Greg said while stuffing his face. "Don't mind if I do then" Draven was pretty happy to eat some bread. The Terminal could sell some vegetables, bread, and fruits. This is how we were able to get the seeds to plant our crops but the terminal only sold a limited amount every day so if you wanted something special you had to get up super early. So what do you think of our changes Ross asked eagerly. Draven took a glance at everyone and they all went through significant physical changes. 

Greg's entire frame got bulkier His fur was more widespread and started to creep up his neck. His hands were massive and he got noticeably taller. May had more vines growing around her that were covered in little flower buds and the closer the buds got to her face the more the flowers in that area opened up. Like a rose, thorns that looked like they were made of metal adorned the entirety of her vines. She could move them at will now and she even mentioned Her mana reserves were much greater as well. If she were to plant her vines into the ground and stay still she could draw mana from the ground to replenish herself or reduce the cost of her spells. 

Ross beefed up as well but where Greg got wider Ross became more lean and added muscle. The horn-like teeth that protruded out of his mouth became longer and his intimidation factor overall skyrocketed as any face he made looked like he was upset with you. Rebecca's ears became a bit longer her skin looked like it was freshly lotioned her skin was glistening. She also had a growth spurt but instead of beefing up she became very toned her abs looked like she did nothing but situps for ten years straight. 

Celine got an Emo overhaul her skin was already pale white and her hair stayed as dark as the void but she now had multiple small red dots that formed a strange pattern on her forehead. Draven was shocked to find out those were extra eyes. They look like small rubies so it was actually pretty while also creepy. Her fangs grew longer and she discovered that she could now inject poison through them. The web she could shoot through her fingers was thicker and stronger than before. but the scary part of her was her hands she still had humanoid hands but instead of claws, every finger had turned into small blades at the tip. She could still grab things like before but she had to watch out not to accidentally stab someone with those things. 

Jennifer's fur became much whiter she grew an extra tail and with it could now also use illusion magic. Her eyes turned a shade of red and markings formed on her forehead in the shape of multiple red circles overlapping each other. In the center of her forehead were no markings as if on purpose to leave room for something later on. Her hair had gotten longer and she like everyone else underwent a growth spurt. She was physically much fitter than before but nothing to the extent of the others. 

To summarize his observations after staring intently at everyone for a few minutes he finally voiced his opinion. They all eagerly looked to see what he would say. "You all look nice," he said as he continued eating his boar burger. "Pfft cmon is that really all you have to say i mean look at my fingers what am I supposed to do with these?" Celine said while clicking the tips of her fingers together creating a metallic sound. "Well, you could save money on utensils," Draven said laughing a bit. "Says the guy covered in spikes what are you trying to join a punk rock band?" She fired back. Draven chuckled a bit he had to admit the spikes were a bit much but he had to rock it since it was a part of him now. Okay, you got me Draven said not wanting to prolong the conversation you all look a lot stronger and that's what I care about." He said. Draven then went on to explain what they were doing today and that they should be ready to leave shortly. He also had each of them wear some of the fancier clothes in their closets as he wanted to give the people in those novice villages that they were sophisticated and well taken care of here in our town. Half an hour later they were all dressed up in fancy leather armor and were ready to head out. 

James was already outside talking with the second party he had organized to speak with the other novice village. "Dad have them wear some nicer clothes we want them to know how much better it is with us I want to show us having a reputation of wealth and security. Nothing says we are thriving more than being clean, well-fed, and wearing nice clothes in the apocalypse." James nodded and sent them inside to get changed. "So you all stocked up and ready to go?" "Yep, I assume you have enough food on you for the travel?" James asked "Yeah no worries I have more than enough food. But we won't be traveling long enough to get hungry." Draven said snickering. "What do you mean?" James asked confused. "No, please! Not the flying brick again." Ross pleaded. "Stop crying your stronger now it should have a lesser impact on you now." Draven shot back at him. 

"What's the flying brick," James asked. Draven formed a much larger platform made of earth that had a seat for everyone. This time he made it look like the bottom half of a school bus so that everyone felt more secure in it. Draven had quite a bit more mana now so he wasn't worried about making the trip over there. Once he was done with the finishing touches the other party came out wearing their outfits and Draven hushed everyone inside. "I think I'll just fly myself," James said not wanting to get into the flying brick. "Suit yourself," Draven shrugged not caring either way. Once everyone was seated draven launched them into the sky and had them cruising through the air. The one-day walk turned into an hour-long flight.

Once they approached the first village the party James organized got out. "Ok here is a bunch of food it's obviously not enough for everyone so share it with the people with the most influence there and let them know that there is more than enough at Ironforge. Tell them our rules in clear terms and make a stand if anyone tries to force others to not come. Make it clear they are joining us and that it is necessary to do so if they want to survive. Once you have gathered everyone that wants to come you can head back with them to Ironforge. let them know that anyone who shows up later will have to pay a tax to enter and become a citizen this is a one-time deal and even help those who need it to reach level 5 to come with." They nodded in understanding and made their way toward the village. Okay let's head to the next one Draven said as he launched them back into the air and traveled west. This time it was only a 20-minute flight before Draven saw the Village in the distance. He didn't need to explain everything over again to his party and told them to make sure to bring more than the other group. "Yeah, yeah we got this," Greg said as he got off the flying brick and filled his bag with the food Draven gave them. "Alright, I'll see you guys in a few days don't slack off with leveling either," Draven said sternly before waiving them off. 

Draven let the flying brick crumble to dust as he allowed the wind to pick up his body and started flying at much faster speeds than before. This was also mana-intensive to do he was really jealous of his Dad's wings. It didn't take long until they passed the first village again and then reached the area that Draven named "The Dead Woods."