<Sc'the>

The rest of the day passed by rather quickly, thanks to Pops inviting me into whatever underground meat business he was running and showing me around, even letting me operate one of the latches to open and close one of the pressure cookers. It wasn't actually filled with anything, but that didn't matter--I got to spend all day in a basement full of cooking meats.

I even got to eat a few of them because my tail, or claws 'accidentally' infected them...

He wasn't happy after that happened twice so I stopped and started to just 'ask' to have something--and by that I mean looking at him with the best puppy-eyes I could manage in hopes he had an actual heart--but after doing that a few times, getting what tasted like a large filet of fish and something that tasted like a spicy chicken, he stopped giving in.

"You're just as bad as Red was when she was younger..." I heard him mumble afterwards, and he continued the tour. I hadn't even noticed that several hours had gone by until he stood still and seemed to focus on something off to the side of his vision: Something that was there, yet not. I decided to take a glance at mine as he growled, "Where is that young lady? It shouldn't take this long to go to the guild and back." 

9:78am

It was still s strange seeing the minutes go past sixty instead of turning back to zero's as the start of a new hour, but I guess that was just another difference I would have to get used to in this new world. I thought back to when she'd left, it had been around 5:68 or so, and she was in a rush, but it shouldn't have taken close to five hours to go through the city and do whatever it was she had to do...right?

I knew that the city was huge, as by just going from the first wall's gates to the second taking several hours, or at least it had felt like it had been several hours...time was a little skewed towards feeling longer than it was for me: probably due to being smaller than a person's hip and being unable to actually rest; involuntarily too I might add. I liked sleeping, and I had plenty of time to do so in a world where hours and days take so much longer.

Stupid system. Stupid Voice.

I was starting to wonder if maybe it was a curse to be like this: like even if there wasn't any negative conditions to it, maybe there was some god or something that I had pissed off in-between dying and becoming a dragon?

I'd probably never know...

I followed Pops as he went back over to the secret stairs and he stopped at the bottom as the stairs lowered themselves from their hiding place as the floor. He stepped a bit off to the side of them and slid open a panel I would never had guessed was anything other than a part of the wall. He held his hand there for a moment, and then poked the four crystals lining the top of it in a pattern, and then putting in another pattern before turning to me and beckoning me forwards.

"When you're trustworthy I'll be using this to add you to the system and you'll be able to come down here anytime you want. It is something I designed to recognize mana signatures and open when it senses the desire for an allowed party to enter." He pressed a reddish grey crystal off to the side and closed the panel, "For now I want you to do nothing else other than focusing on keeping yourself hidden and out of trouble. Once things are looking to be in the clear, and that there are no signs of a Retrieval Party being sent out to look for you I'll show you more..."

It was saddening that I wouldn't be able to come here often, but it made sense that they didn't trust me entirely yet. Just bringing me here despite knowing nothing about me and only doing it on a whim that 'I had the same love for cooking as he did' was a huge risk that he didn't need to take. I was honored that he showed me this and despite the fact I wanted to sneak my way back in here, I also didn't want to intentionally anger a being supposedly at the edge of level two-hundred fifty and what I assumed was a cap for an entire other tier that I had yet to see. 

"Alright. Up you go." I intentionally dragged my feet and tail, slowly making my way to the first step and keeping myself visible the entire time. I reached the stair without a word being said and when I looked back at him he was smirking!

"I know what you're trying to do, and it won't work on me." He said pointing up, "I may be powerful, but I do have a heart, and times when I show it. Unfortunately for you, now is not one of those times, and I have a lot of work to do yet little one."

An odd mix of a whine-sigh left my throat and his demeanor cracked ever so slightly.

"I will not repeat myself," He said. I looked at the vast expanse of meats again and vowed to myself that I would do everything in my power to be allowed down here again, or even regularly. "And don't forget. I don't want Redline knowing about this yet. I expect you to keep this between the two of us until I bring her here myself."

I hummed my begrudged agreement and turned the corner to the last flight leading to the actual house. Sulking my way up that as well until reaching to top, where--not even at the top step--the floor closed underneath me and sealed off the path to meat heaven.

...I want my Noodles.

I stood there for a few moments to think about what I should do next: I couldn't really train anything anymore, and neither did I have anything to Torment or attack unless it meant leaving the property...And I couldn't do that either no thanks to the radar like pulsing of energy coming from the demon downstairs...not like I'd do that anyways unless I felt it was dangerous to stay. 

9:85am

Ugh. It wasn't even 10 am yet!

I was once again in the building's underground gym, a place that I could use now that no one was home and I basically had the building all to myself, but I didn't feel like moving all of the weights and--

Wait, was that the only way in and out of the meat-area? I hadn't seen another way out...

There was that strange formation near each section, but it wasn't glowing so I brushed it off as unimportant. I would probably learn about it at a later time when I was let down there again. I was going to be going down there again.

...What was I doing again? I looked around for a moment: weights, training dummies, track...Oh right, that's what I wanted to do!

I checked my status again to see how it has changed so far.

Name: Sc'the---- ????????? ?????????
Species: (Young) Invisible Reaper Dragon
Condition: Irritated, Mischievous
(Class A Monster)
Estimated Rank: S-
Job: (Assassin/Reaper Class) Dragon
Personal Level: 1/50
Health: 4000/4000
Constitution: 200
Strength: 400
Magic: ?????
Dexterity: 200
Mana: --/--
Stamina: --/--
Free Points:92

Skills: Flame (Lv. 1), Toxic Slash (Lv. 33), Tail Smash (Lv. 29), Bite (Lv. 2), Flight (Lv. 1), Toxic Breath (Lv. 3), Hindrance (Lv. 3), Stealth (Lv. 9), Patient Hunter (Lv. 22), Steal (Lv. 5), Tracking (Lv. 4), Paralyzing Touch (Lv. 8), Dash (Lv. 9)

Special Skills: Void Storage (Lv. --), Invisibility (Passive/Activated), Fear Aura (Lv. 2 (Passive)), Spy (Lv. 4), Reap (Lv. 2), Soul Devour (Lv. 3).

Resistances: Toxin (Lv. 2), Hunger (Lv. 3), Physical (Lv. 2), Magic (Lv. 2), Fire (Lv. 9), Fear (Lv. 23), Aura Pressure (Lv. 14), Heat (Lv. 15).

Titles: Hunter, Thief, Observational, Destroyer, Reincarnated (Hidden), Powerful One (Hidden), Curious Soul, Good Natured, Judge & Executioner, Merciless, Reaper of Souls, Reckless, Clumsy.

Huh, so things did level up in the background without the Voice announcing them every time...or maybe it just did that to get a kick out of messing with me specifically...

Another thing I would probably never know the answer to--I looked at the Strength and Stamina stats and weighed them against what I saw Redline doing here earlier during her training. With all of her stuff she was close to a hundred levels on me in every stat area, so if I did the same things she did would I feel like I was doing better too?

Oh, I almost forgot about (Dash)! I now had another Skill that I could use without needing another party, and I could use it anywhere doing anything too...but first to do all of the things that she did:

First, the run. I went outside, the pulses were a bit quicker when I was outside, but they seemed to lessen some when a passed my mark in the ground, going around the entire house like Red did, ten times. I had no idea whether she was using her Skill or not for this so I guess for now I wouldn't...

Second was lifting the weights in the gym area...that was extremely boring; I may have had infinite amount of stamina but there were still limits as to how much weight I could pull, and what kinds of things I could do to even lift the weights in the first place without them either sliding off the bar or feeling awkward while doing so.

Third, and last, was fighting against the dummies...how did she go about doing that again? She went over here and--aha! I pressed one of the crystals in the wall before to room into the wall and the dummies seemed to go into a defensive stance.
There were three sets of the same crystals...

...so I pushed each and every one of them. 

The dummy went through a multitude of stances and movements, some of which I couldn't follow, to get to the desired setting. I tried twisting one of the crystals and it actually worked, but as soon as I did so I put it back to the original orientation.

I did not want my tail handed to me by an inanimate object...

The first thing the dummy did was lunge at me--on this setting--as soon as I stepped in to the area. I just had to move to the side a little and I used (Dash) and (Tail Smash) together to strike back at the creature: its chest caved in entirely and the thing was blasted to the opposite end of the area, where it lay unmoving and another dummy stood up and took it's place. Standing there waiting, and as soon as I took a step back to change the setting to be a little higher, the thing rushed me!

It ended up like the first one, but without legs and a half-caved in head as I stepped out of the area. I turned the crystal a little, to the second colored black notch on it, and then stepped back into the area.

This continued for a while. Eventually I got tired of straight up destroying them all in one hit, even it doing so gave me a level for (Bite), (Toxic Slash), and (Tail Smash). Finally pushing past that barrier there seemed to be every ten levels and getting it to level 30. I was at notch 4 for each section now, and they were much harder to destroy now, but I still refrained from using my (Flame) or (Toxic Breath) for now until I knew I was clear and able to use them inside without problems...

Three hours later I stopped. As much fun as I was having, I didn't want to burn that experience up and ruin it for future events, so I stopped and looked for something to do.

Yes. I was still as full of energy and not tired as I was last night...

I hope you enjoyed and I'll have another out soon.

Patreon Plug: https://www.patreon.com/Cr1mson_Fangs

Patreon Support: Nicolae, sselraef, ShadowOfShadow, EstenLyrics
(If you want a Patreon Shout out please consider joining The Eyes of Amber, in order to gloat about them to the world!)