Melinoe woke up. The sun was starting to dip by then. He rubbed his head.

Ow... did something hit me?

Melinoe looked around and couldn't find Magnus.

Oh no! Where's my master!

Unknown to Melinoe, Magnus already left him for the village. Melinoe started looking around for tracks. Unfortunately for Melinoe, Magnus's steps are light despite his weight. Magnus did not leave any tracks to follow. Magnus did not do it intentionally, it was simply in his best interest to not be followed by anyone.

My master has gone elsewhere! I must find him! Aha! The village!

Melinoe remembered that his master was interested in the peasants that were going back to their village.

Does my master want to eat them? If that's the case... why did he spare me?

A sudden inspiration enters Melinoe's self-centered head.

My master saw my talent! I knew it! Those stupid old men at the academy couldn't see talent if it slapped them in the face!

If Magnus knew what Melinoe was thinking, he would have simply left him to his fate.

I must find my master. This must be a test.

Magnus looked at the poor delusional sap that is Melinoe. He didn't consider him to be an idiot but he did think that Melinoe was unlucky.

Melinoe proudly strode towards the village. When he looked around, he immediately saw the collection of people near the village center.

As Melinoe approached the village center, some of the bandits that were ordered to keep a lookout for enemies informed their fellow bandits about Melinoe.

"Hey!"

Without any tact, the undergraduate mage called the attention of the bandit group.

The bandit group splits in half to reveal their leader, a muscular man with dirty blonde hair. He had an ax on his back and a shortsword on his right hip.

Melinoe seemed to scrunch his nose. His senses became sharper ever since his transformation.

"Oof, you guys fucking stink. Don't you barbarians know what a shower is?"

The comment at their stink seemed to gain the ire of many of the bandits.

"Who the hell are you, you skinny twig?"

The leader spat in Melinoe's direction, just a few inches away from his feet. Melinoe's brows scrunch from the leader's actions.

"Who are you to call me a twig! I am the ancient one's servant! You better apologize for this transgression or face my lord's wrath!"

The bandits looked at each other. The leader looked at Melinoe to see if he was serious or not.

"Hah! Men grab him. Ancient one! Idiot, there's no such thing here!"

Melinoe shakes his head in disappointment and he starts to summon the power of his magic only to find that his transformation has shaken his magical foundation. It means that he can't cast spells until he fixes his foundation.

Oh shit.

Melinoe's last thoughts were cursing before he was hit by a club on the face. He hit the ground fast.

Magnus watched in high definition as Melinoe was getting the shit kicked out of him. The villagers could do nothing but watch the bandit's cruelty. Magnus would have swooped in and killed the bandits but he wanted to watch the worshipper first. Melinoe wasn't anyone important anyway. At least, it was amusing to watch him.

"Gregory! We had an agreement! I want the payment now!"

Gregory stepped forward. He took out a pouch filled with many silver coins. The leader smiled and put out his hand. Gregory gave it to the leader.

"Thanks doing business with you... Now, I need another woman."

When the leader mentioned that he wanted another woman from the village, the villagers started to protest.

The sound of swords and weapons being unsheathed quickly shuts them up.

"That's more like it. Now, Gregory, you're the village head. You choose who to send to me or else, I just take everyone."

Gregory grits his teeth and he squeezes his hands into a fist. If he had claws he would have cut his hand already.

The leader walked away with his posse of bastards and misfits.

When the group is gone, the villagers approach Gregory and start asking him what to do.

"You won't take my wife right?"

"Gregory my child is good, you won't take her right?"

"My wife is sick please don't give her away!"

Many of the village's men started to beg for the important women in their lives but Gregory, who had other plans in mind, screamed at them.

"Shut up!"

The villagers quiet down.

"You think..."

Gregory controlled his anger.

"I will handle this. Everyone go home!"

The villagers have never seen Gregory so angry. For now, they listen and go home. It was Gregory alone. Melinoe was taken by the bandits. He was probably going to be their punching bag until they got bored.

Gregory went home and took his tools.

He was going to hunt.

Magnus was watching the whole time. Dragons can stay in one place for even a hundred years, a few hours wasn't a problem. He stood up and looked towards the forest path. He could wait for Gregory but it would be more useful to check on the bandits.

I should explore more of the forest. I must see if there are other dangerous creatures around my home.

Magnus followed the bandit group as they retreat to their base. Magnus' senses allowed him to almost have a perfect 360-degree vision. It also helped that his sensing abilities are so honed that he might as well be using magic.

While following the bandit's trail, he noticed that they followed a path towards the left. It was well hidden and they're probably the only ones who can find it. It's not too hard for Magnus. It's fortunate that Magnus isn't that big yet or else he would have a harder time sneaking.

Magnus continued to follow the path.

He hears the conversation of two bandits.

"So, Zack got that girl right?"

"Yeah."

"When do you think we'll get a taste of that village lass?"

"Pfft, probably never. Did you see Zack? He was so enamored, he hasn't even touched her yet. Wants to make her fall in love. What a bunch of bullshit."

Magnus was behind the two bandits yet they could not sense him.

So there was a captive.

Magnus seemed to have had some bad memories triggered. He couldn't remember the memory but he remembered the feeling. For a moment, he let some of his presence be felt and the bandits seemed to become fully still. Cold sweat dripped from their foreheads as all forms of levity disappeared.

When humans see snakes, they become afraid. It's an evolutionary fear of something humans know. But when humans encounter dragons, they become maddeningly terrified. It's the primordial fear of something that was there when humans first existed.

The bandits couldn't move. They knew something was behind them. They didn't know what it was but they couldn't move. Magnus was a breath away from these two bandits. He could easily open his mouth and bite their heads off but he stopped. Eventually, Magnus calmed down and he disappeared.

The bandits felt the fear go away and they looked behind them. When they saw nothing, they nervously laughed and started teasing each other. Magnus wasn't bothered letting them live. If Gregory was truly worthy of the blood of his kin, he'd finish the job.

Magnus continued onwards a bit annoyed being reminded by old painful memories.

The path became clearer as it was obvious that the bandits started cleaning the place. There were lit torches that lighted the area up. Magnus slowly crawled towards the bandit den. As he gets closer to the main base, more bandits appear. Magnus saw around 30+ bandits.

That is... not normal...

The amount of bandits in this area is not normal. Magnus knew this much. Bandits relied on numbers but unless they had a steady amount of money and food, command broke down quite easily. Not only are there a lot of bandits but they also seem disciplined.

An army? Is this a border?

Magnus tries to summon his old memories but it seems that his memories aren't reliable. At first, Magnus was supposed to see if these people would be a bother but it seems that things have become more dangerous.

I can't have a war here. I live here. And when did the alliance split into two human kingdoms!

Magnus sorely remembers, according to his fragmented memory, that there was a single human alliance. This was the alliance that defeated the dragons. When did humanity fragment into two kingdoms?

Hmmm, it does not matter.

Two kingdoms or not, Magnus would regain his power and resurrect the dragon race. He just needs time. Magnus seemed to get annoyed. The dragon's greatest weakness was the time it took to become strong.

It takes too long to grow into power.

It would have been fine if it took time to grow but the dragon race also had a hard time having offspring. A single death meant losing a large part of the population.

But... I'm here... And it is up to me now.

Magnus was about to contemplate more about his race's problem but he reached his destination. He was still hiding in the forest. He turns his head to the clearing. There were dozens of tents with more than 50 soldiers. They were all wearing armor. The bandits just came back and they're already changing their clothes and cleaning up. The "leader" puts the money away and reports to a higher-up.

Magnus turns his head towards the prisoners. He sees Melinoe's black and blue face there along with some other poor people. Magnus was supposed to ignore all of them until he finds a specific individual. He saw a young beautiful woman. Her red hair separated her from everyone there. She was beautiful but most of all she was unbroken.

Magnus sensed pure dragon blood in her. She was not a dragon but she was as close as one can get without being an actual dragon, a dragonborn. Originally, Magnus was going to scout this place first and then make a decision later but it seems he has no choice but to act now.

A dragonborn was too important to pass up. If Magnus does not save this girl and her potential is discovered by another organization or powerful entity, they could raise her to become an extremely powerful enemy. He could not risk that.

Before Magnus could start his plan, he felt movement in the forest.

It seems my worshipper is moving... and he finally has his first two kills.