Ergo knew that something was wrong the moment he exited the other side of the portal. Looking down at his body, Ergo saw that instead of a majestic elder dragon, he had been reduced to the body of a child of his race. The size of a large dog, Ergo felt fear for the first time in as long as he could remember. Taking a hesitant step forward, Ergo tripped; falling forward onto his face. Growling, Ergo winced at the sound his growl emitted: a high-pitched whining noise that he knew would scare nothing. Groaning in frustration, Ergo pulled himself to his feet, scanning for threats.

All around him was destruction. Bodies dotted the stone hall, covered in burns from where his attempt to destroy the portal had instead flooded this room with flames. Seeing nothing, Ergo turned to retreat back through the gate when a bubble of blue energy surrounded him. Ergo panicked, attempting to use his fire breath to break his prison. Unfortunately, he produced only a small stream of flame; contained within the magical shield for several seconds until he ran out of mana.

Panting, Ergo swung his head from side to side; trying to find the source of his imprisonment. Finally, he saw the grinning form of Archmage Keller.

“Fascinating.” Keller whispered to himself, stroking his stubbled chin in thought as he strode cautiously up to his magical bubble.

“Perhaps the child wandered through after the parent dispatched our troops? I really must close the portal before the parents realize we have him.” With that, the archmage waved his hand at the portal; causing it to ripple. The ripples spread, the portal seeming to buck in protest, harder and harder. Ergo watched in despair as the path to his home shattered.

“Now, let’s get you to your new home.” Keller said in a fake soothing voice. Ergo snorted in disdain, not understanding the words but recognizing the intent behind Keller’s words. Keller used his control over the bubble to levitate Ergo with no visible effort, humming softly to himself as he began walking down a corridor; Ergo trailing behind helplessly.

As they walked, Ergo noticed something hovering just barely in his peripheral vision. Attempting to focus on it only caused it to expand; filling the majority of his vision with a transparent pane of blue text.

******************************

Skill: Imperial Language gained.

[email protected]%$^ gains a level in Imperial Language skill.

Error, unknown entity detected.

Processing…

Processing…

Error resolved, entity successfully integrated into system.

Greed added to perk list. Entity retains this perk.

Gluttony added to perk list. Entity retains this perk.

Magical Tunneling added to perk list. Entity retains this perk.

Dragon Territory added to perk list. Entity retains this perk.

Dragon Flame Nova added to perk list. Entity does not meet the requirements for this perk. Dragon Flame Nova will be reactivated when requirements are met.

Dragon added as a class for appropriate sentient beings.

Entity default class set to dragon.

New language detected. Eridean Draconic Language skill added to skill list.

Processing…

Processing…

Entity identity now fully processed.

Ergon Proudscale added to entity registry.

Entity race classified as sentient dragon variant.

Due to decree 45-B by the god Helest, Ergon receives sentient monster starter pack.

Telepathy skill learned.

Magical Manipulation skill learned.

Humanoid shift skill learned.

Due to being the local language, Imperial Language skill increased to facilitate communication.

Due to Gluttony, Ergon receives 1352 banked class levels from currently digesting objects in his stomach. Banked levels will go into effect the next time you prestige the relevant class.

******************************

Ergo blinked in surprise. Despite not actually being able to read the language, the box still managed to convey the full meaning to his brain. It was a strange sensation, but Ergo pushed that feeling aside as he absorbed the import what he had read.

“So how do I use these skills?” Ergo muttered. To his surprise, a new box opened in front of his eyes.

******************************

Welcome to Life Interface 5.2

This interface has been constructed by the heavenly coalition to facilitate the everyday life and survival of all inhabitants. From the lowest of worms to the highest of avatars, we hope that this system will provide a measure of balance to your everyday life. Remember that the heavenly coalition is not responsible for loss of life, limbs, or loved ones.

Options:

+Entity Profile

+Entity Stats

+Entity Skills

+Entity Class

+Entity Perks

+Entity Trophies

+Wiki

+FAQ

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Ergo instinctively knew that he could expand the various options, and out of curiosity he expanded the profile option. The rest of the window disappeared as it seemed to zoom in; only for a completely different box to appear in its place.

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Entity Profile

Name: Ergon Proudscale

Current Class: Dragon

Titles: none

Trophies: none

Holdings: none

******************************

Before Ergo could investigate further, his mana prison bumped into a wall; jolting him back into the situation at hand. Zooming out of the profile page, he inspected the main page for a moment. Due to the mysterious force that translated the words he was reading, Ergo knew that the FAQ page would be the most likely to answer his immediate questions. Looking through a list of possible questions, Ergo found what he was looking for, and zoomed into it.

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-How do I use skills?

While the requirements change from one to another, you’ll be happy to know skills are easy to use! First, you should know that some skills are passive skills. The best example of these are language skills, which are really just a numerical representation of how well you know the language. Then there are active skills. Simply focus your will on the skill you want to use with the intent of activating it, and watch the magic happen!

Remember, we at the heavenly council are not responsible for what you or others actually do with your skills.

Halan, god of knowledge, would like to remind you to thank him for his generosity in providing this FAQ.

******************************

Ergo cocked his head at the unfamiliar names, and the obnoxious cheerfulness of the text. A moment later, he shook his head, refocusing.

“You. Meatbag. Send me home now before I hurt you.” Ergo said, using his new telepathy skill.

Archmage Keller nearly tripped in surprise before he continued his brisk walk. “Amazing. A sentient dragon. You shall make a wonderful research topic.”

“No, you will release me now. You cannot do this to me!” Ergo shouted.

Keller waved his hand dismissively. “I can do what I want. I’m not the one being restrained.”

“But-” Ergo began.

Keller’s sigh interrupted him. “Do you know what I am?”

“Food.” Ergo replied immediately.

Keller laughed as if Ergo had just told a wonderful joke. “No I am a human. Do you know what that means?”

Ergo cocked his head in confusion. “Is that the name of your species?”

“Yes. My point being that I am better than you. A monster could never understand, but humans are the true rulers of this world. We are your betters. Your masters. You will respect that or I will hurt you.” Keller said with casual intensity.

Ergo snorted. “I am a dragon. I bow to no one.”

Keller stopped walking, and glanced backward. With a slight squeezing motion of his hands, the bubble of mana contracted inward, painfully crushing Ergo. Ergo screamed, a high-pitched cry of agony as Keller watched dispassionately. After a few seconds, Keller released his hands; the bubble returning to its former size. Ergo made a quiet keening sound, mind reeling, as Keller resumed walking.

“So, you were saying?” Keller asked as if he were talking about the weather.

Ergo chose not to respond, and Keller seemed satisfied with this response as they continued traveling. Eventually, they arrived at a room that seemed to be Keller’s destination. The room was made of stone, and in the center was a large cage that seemed to be sized for a human.

“Now, you will stay in your cage until I am ready for our… experiments.” Keller told him. Without saying anything else, the man left the room.

The moment Keller stepped out the door, the bubble of mana that imprisoned Ergo disappeared. Ergo grunted as the sudden one-foot drop brought back the echoes of pain from his moment of torture. Pacing in a circle like a dog chasing his tail, Ergo examined his new prison. Not that there was much to see. With a sigh, Ergo flopped to the floor.

“This cage is mine.” Ergo announced verbally in his home language. He was heartened when his territorial awareness kicked in; highlighting the five by six by eight foot space in his senses. The simple act of claiming territory made him feel as though some small portion of his strength had returned.

Indeed, Ergo gained several inches of bulk as he rested. An hour later, Ergo felt as though he had recovered as fully as he could with his new body. Ergo was silently grateful for the large meal he had eaten before going through the portal as it had helped him recover from the damage inflicted by Keller’s crushing torture. Standing, he stretched the kinks out of his body before looking around him.

Confirming no one was nearby, Ergo activated his magical tunneling on the stone below his feet. It acted much more slowly than he was used to, but the mana cost was low. After ten seconds, Ergo finally broke through to the floor below. Landing with an undignified squawk, Ergo went still as he checked his surroundings. He was in a storeroom stacked with crates. Confirming that he was alone, Ergo continued tunneling.

He made it three floors before finally encountering another human. Falling through the latest hole, Ergo landed immediately next to a cook who was standing in front of a stove. Ergo and the cook both went completely still as their eyes met.

“Monster!” the cook yelled at the top of his lungs.

Hissing, Ergo leaped on the cook; biting through his neck, and shaking until he knew the cook was dead. Despite this, the damage was done. Loud footsteps sounded in the hall outside, and Ergo began tunneling again; attempting to speed up the process by pouring more mana into the skill. Ergo was halfway through to the next floor when a guard, blade drawn, tore through the doorway. Frightened, Ergo breathed out a puff of fire, and the guard jumped back to avoid the flame.

Luckily for Ergo, the guard jumped back into another guard who was just then running through the door. Both guards went down in a tangle, and this gave Ergo time to finish tunneling; falling through to the next floor. The dirt walls told Ergo he was now underground. This room also seemed to be s storeroom of some kind. Looking up, Ergo saw the two guards looking down through the hole he had formed. Hissing, he breathed a thin stream of fire at them, and the guards pulled back from the hole. Ergo grimaced as he realized how much mana his small puffs of flame were using compared to what was now available to him.

Picking a random direction, Ergo began tunneling through the loose dirt on the wall; collapsing the tunnel behind him periodically, and continuing for what felt like miles before his air supply began to run out. Shifting to tunneling upward, Ergo poked his head up through the ground as he reached daylight. The land around him seemed to be a pleasant-looking forest. Shifting back into the depths of his tunnel, Ergo curled up in the darkness. Exhausted, Ergo fell asleep within seconds.