Prologue

“Do you want to hear a story?” The mischievous voice of a young girl asked. “Well, boy, do I have a story for you.”

I wanted to grumble, but I couldn’t speak… Not yet.

“This, like most stories, is the story of a sna— man.” The owner of the voice corrected herself. “I traveled with this man for ten years, and during that time I saw him do things I never imagined possible… he explored the deepest valleys and climbed the highest peaks on five different worlds. He fought off invading armies and slayed monsters no other man could have in defense of the innocent. Commoners and kings alike stood in awe of his power, a few even worshiped him as a deity… But to me… He was just Torga: my adoptive father.

“However,” The voice turned harsh. “This man was also an idiot who routinely forgot to watch his back…” The girl sighed. “Nine months and sixteen days ago we were off world on the planet of Alabos: A planet two bridges from here. We found ourselves doing some mercenary work for the king of the small island country of Asta. An unknown monster was reportedly sneaking into the port city of Orsira and destroying the homes of its citizens. In return for finding and eliminating the monster, and ensuring the city would remain unmolested, the king would give us an item that would supposedly enhance Torga’s power.

So, we staked out the city one night and awaited the expected attack. As it turned out, the king was right. An attack did come a few days after we began our stakeout… But it was no monster that was attacking the city. Merely a group of humans dissatisfied with those in power and taking out their frustrations on the unsuspecting populace.

We engaged them—” The girl continued. “I prayed to Yggdrasil for the strength to help my father in the upcoming battle, and used a bit of my druidic magics: An enchantment on the stone beneath their feet that returned it to its natural state— That of loose soil. The rogues initially lost their balance and gave dad the opening he needed to ambush them. He magically enhanced his body before leaping into the air, his powerful legs carrying him thirty feet through the air, before landing in the center of the distracted group.

Dad’s hand whipped out and decapitated a large man in dull gray plate mail with an almost casual backhand. Before the large man’s head could touch the ground, dad’s fists blurred, and three more men were killed… That was as far as he got before the group reacted and began to fight back.

A fireball shot out of a robed man’s sleeve and narrowly missed dad’s back as he twisted around it. A large silver axe whipped through the air, causing dad to make a choice: Dodge or get his head torn off… dad opted to duck and step into the leather-clad man’s chest. Without a chance to dodge dad’s return strike, the man could only watch as dad’s fist slammed into his breastplate and sent him stumbling back.” The girl sighed. “I could tell from the lack of strength in the blow, dad’s body enhancement spell had worn off. Now was when the danger truly set in because without that enhancement spell, Dad’s body was nothing special to a group of heavily armed rogues.

I used magic to turn one of the surrounding walls into a hail of stone spikes that hit the enemy in the back— One lucky spike perforated the robed man’s back and tore a gaping hole through his chest, disrupting the spell he’d been about to cast and causing it to misfire. A wave of blue fire left his closed fist and sent everyone, Dad included, flying.

Dad rotated his smoldering body mid-air to land on his feet, the rogues weren’t so lucky. Those that survived the misfire ended up on the ground groaning in pain as loose soil and dust stuck to their fresh second and third-degree burns.

Dad brushed debris and soot from his white shirt and gave me one of those “I’m okay.” smiles. He walked over to one of the less injured men and grabbed him by the collar of his ruined shirt, as I headed over to join him. I could see the man’s mouth move, but couldn’t hear what he was saying… But dad could. Dad’s eyes widened, then his head whipped in my direction.

“Get away!” He yelled. He dropped the man’s collar and sprinted at me faster than I’d ever seen him move outside of combat… The next thing I knew I was laying on my back— the smell of burnt flesh surrounded me, soaking into my clothes and skin like dirty water.

“… Are you okay?”

My eyes snapped open at the sound of my dad’s voice. I found him crouched over me, half the skin and muscle on his legs and back had been melted away until only charred bones remained… But dad yet lived. Neither his face nor voice betrayed a hint of pain, but the fear in his voice was obvious to anyone that took the time to get to know him.

“I’m fine.” I told him. “Just shaken up a bit… How about you? That looks pretty bad.”

“Yeah,” He sighed. “It is. The asshole had a firebomb tucked away inside his belt… I don’t think I have enough magic power to regenerate this level of damage”

That’s what I’d been afraid of. You see, Dad’s body was essentially just a puppet formed from the remains of a corpse. Without returning to his original body every few months to absorb his own magic, or ‘fill up the tank’ as he so eloquently put it, his puppet body couldn’t heal itself… And we’d failed to make the trip back in time for his twice-yearly appointment.

“What do you want me to do?” I asked, trying my best to keep my emotions in check. No sense in letting him see me cry now, was there?

“Lena and Fenris were supposed to meet us here in a few days anyway—” Dad’s body suddenly collapsed to the side. I managed to get my legs under his head in time to cushion his fall and prevent his head from hitting the stone floor, which he thanked me for… He wouldn’t have felt the pain from smacking his face on the ground even if his body hadn’t been burnt to a crisp, but it was the thought that counted.

“Thanks… Anyway, make sure you find them, and stick with them until it’s time, okay?”

I nodded.

His right arm slowly came up and rubbed my hair… “Good girl…” The hand fell listlessly to the ground, and my father wasn’t with me anymore.”

*Ding*

Your evolution is complete!

My eyes flared, muscles tensed, and a massive crack appeared in the egg-shaped dome surrounding me.

*Ding*, *Ding*

Because of your fusion with the dragon, you have lost your “Store/Release” energy ability and the jewel on your forehead has been turned into Mana for your use.

Because of your fusion with the dragon, you have gained the skill “Energy Breath”

Energy Breath

Like the dragons of old, your very breath can topple mountains. You can fire pure magical energy from your mouth.

Because of your fusion with the dragon, you have unlocked one of his traits.

Magic Eater

With every breath you take, you passively consume the ambient magic in the air.

*Warning!* Due to the Gluttonous trait, this trait can prove fatal to those around you.

I twisted my body and the “egg” split in twain, causing fresh air to flood into my nostrils for the first time in a decade. A pleasant fruity smell entered my nostrils as the dome dissolved into mist, revealing a young woman that looked to be around eighteen or nineteen-years old standing on the highest branch of an obscenely tall tree. However, even that only brought her to the tip of my nose now that I was no longer curled into a ball.

By the young woman’s side was a pair of slightly older women: One had fair skin and short red hair, the other had ebony skin and waist-length black hair. The two were standing at Ayla’s back and were having a hushed conversation between the two of them.

I recognized both, but another pop-up appeared before I could greet them.

Name

Torga

Race

Gluttonous Elemental Serpentine Dragon

Classification

Tier 7

Skills

Minor Stealth, Heat detection, Superior Gluttony, Supreme Durability up, Supreme Strength up, Superior Growth, Minor Mental Resistance up, Greater Petrifying Gaze, Greater Acid Venom, Detect concealment, Energy Breath, Superior Elemental Resistance, Fly, Puppet Maker, Body Possession, Magic Enhancement, Elemental Manipulation

Traits

Gluttonous +5, Growth +10, Strong Willed, Venomous, Aquatic, Winged, Immunity to mind control, Magic Manipulator, Magic Eater

“It’s about time, old man!” Ayla yelled “Do you have any idea how long I’ve been waiting in this boring ass forest?”

“Language.” I replied instantly. She knew how I felt about her using that kind of language at her age.

“Oh, piss off with your ‘language’ crap.” She grumbled. She folded her arms across her chest and began tapping her foot.

I could barely hear what she was saying, being that my ears, or whatever passed for ears in this new form, were over forty feet away from her. I directed mana towards amplifying my hearing until I could hear faint giggling from the pair behind her. She shot them a dirty look, which only intensified the giggling. Glad to see their relationship hasn’t changed. I lifted my body out of my giant, egg-shaped prison and shook myself. My scales were stiff, my eyes burned from the light of the sun hanging overhead, and I was hungrier than I’d ever been… But I was finally free.

“Hey, Ayla?”

“What?” She snapped.

“Were you serious about some dumbasses worshiping me as a god?”

“Yeah…” She snorted. “As a goddamned dragon attack.”

*Ding*

Survive for 100 years

Magical Hydra

Consume 5 different dragon breeds, at least one of which must be 1,000 years old.

Legendary Dragon

Consume a Mana Storm & 600 Naga

Draconic Naga

Consume a spark of divinity

???

I sighed at the pop-up. You just had to say dragon, didn’t you? As if being a giant snake wasn’t bad enough, now I’ve got this crap to deal with too. And what the hell is a spark of divinity? The pop-up saw fit to ignore my question… Alright, whatever, and what happens if I pass them up?

If you pass up the Magical Hydra evolution, you will get

Supreme Regeneration

If you pass up the Legendary Dragon evolution, you will get

Shapeshifting

If you pass up the Draconic Naga evolution, you will get

Supreme Mana Control

If you pass up the ??? evolution, you will get

???

It just couldn’t be simple, could it?