Mash’s head ached as he felt something bang against his skull. Somehow, he knew that it was the system trying to tell him something. He couldn’t check it considering where he was, but it would be that hard to get somewhere mostly safe. While his additional stats were disappearing quickly now that the fight was over, he still had enough to move. His wings beat once, and he moved. Everyone else probably thought he teleported with all of his speed. And he saw how his one movement had actually been enough to nearly kill some of the people who had been behind him. It certainly had kicked up enough snow to cause an entirely different kind of snowstorm.

He hovered in the air and watched his surroundings with his domain. It was entirely too large for him to understand everything within, but he noticed a few…people coming his way. At least one of them was a humanoid in appearance. He had some time now though and focused inward.

Name: The Chimera of the End and the Beginning

Stage: Hatchling

Level: 1 → 7

Health: 10010 / 10010

Energy: 8290 / 8290

Fortitude: 1001

Endurance: 529

Strength: 693

Agility: 729

Intelligence: 300

Wisdom: 200

Charisma: 200

Free Stats: 0

Skills: Hunger, Magic Layering, Begin Anew, Chimera, Magical Beginning, Chimeric Reconstruction, Path of Change, Domain of the End, Reconstructed Adaptable Monster Core, Body of the Beginning, Chimera’s Constitution, Mimic’s Avarice, Harbinger of Nothing, Devoured Soul Body, Mark of the End, Mark of the Beginning, The Aspect of Change, The Aspect of Freedom, Brand of Change and Freedom

Aspect Lord of Change Boon:

Manifestation of Change (One Time Use): Forcibly change a skill or an item.

Mash had no idea what to do with anything. He had finally gained some levels but didn’t get any free stats. Although, he did manage to get something. That thing was as mysterious as everything else, and he had no idea what to use it on. His skills were too important, and the thought of changing any of them was terrifying. As far as his items went, he hoped that the skill worked on his tattoos. If it did, what item would he even pick? He still didn’t know what the new staff did, and he had a few somewhat useless items now.

The healing necklace that had saved him long ago didn’t do anything for him anymore. His earrings weren’t particularly useful either. After ‘devouring’ his soul the item didn’t show him anything when he used it. Apparently, it still helped his mental focus and control a little according to Priscilla. He had outgrown those items at this point. Either could be a good option, but it could easily be a waste. If the power of the item didn’t change then the earrings would be the obvious choice, but it might be better to wait for a new item or skill.

Plus, he had other things to deal with. He turned and watched as a few somethings descended from the sky. Even though most of the boosts were gone, he still had some of the boosts from hunger even if his status hadn’t listed it. The creature in question broke through the clouds, and he stared at the dragon with a smile. It was something he had expected would happen eventually. At least he was strong enough to compete with them now.

The dragon cut through the clouds like a sword. It had white scales that were distinct. They were a shade of white that he couldn’t comprehend for a moment. It wasn’t because of their pristine cleanliness but, the color seemed thin somehow. He just stared for a moment, before waving at the being.

“Hi.”

Mash didn’t know exactly how to deal with this encounter. He had known what was coming, but his mind went blank upon seeing the being in person. The dragon was slender and muscular, like a salamander or snake. Its eyes were dark voids, and he realized that all he could see was the pupil. The creature had narrow eyes.

“How does a being like you know our language?”

He paused for a moment as he processed the voice. It was young and obviously female. Neither of which was obvious from their appearance.

“I have an item to talk with anyone. And are you going to attack me? I just want to get this out of the way now.”

The dragon’s eyes widened, and she rushed through her words.

“What? No! I would never attack a lesser being! I mean the humiliation of that alone! Not to mention the others. I guess you're not a lesser being anymore, but it would still be rude.”

The dragon was blabbering, in the same way, an excited child would. He considered that then tilted his head toward some of the other dragons.

“Are all of you kids?”

His question made the dragons in the distance shuffle. They were beyond the clouds by a good bit, but his domain was massive at the moment. No response came from them, but the white dragon in front of him reacted. Her eye narrowed and she bared her teeth at him like a cat.

“I’m not a kid! I’m older than you by a lot. You’re the kid.”

Mash just shook his head at the childish response. The dragon really did sound like a petulant child. Was changing the world not enough to get the attention of the older ones? Really? That was both a frightening and disappointing thought. His people were so afraid of dragons, but it sounded like they never did anything important. Was it just an unfounded fear? He hoped not. Dragons had been one of the things he had wanted to meet. To match them with his own power.

His disappointment must have shown because the dragon got noticeably angrier. She hissed in a very snakelike way before speaking.

“Insult me again, and I will kill you.”

Mash could tell that he was still stronger than the dragon and would be for the remainder of the day if he had to guess. He said as much.

“Right now, I’m stronger than you and your friends. I’m more worried about your dad than you. You know that doesn’t matter. You’re still a dragon, and I got questions. The first of which is, why are you here?”

Her white scales actually turned a little pink, when he claimed that he was stronger than her. Anger painted her aura, and the other dragons descended to glare at him. There were three. One had orange scales, another was silver, and the final one was weirdly purple. He didn’t flinch at their arrival and just waited for a response. His disappointment was palpable as he looked at them. He had expected more dragons. Maybe he should’ve known better. They were just people like anyone else. Just because their race was strong didn’t mean anything. He sighed as the white dragon spoke.

“You are so arrogant! Are all things like you the same?”

She was furious but didn’t seem hostile. Angry yes, but not to the extent that she would actually attack him.

“Things like me. I’m just a hu… No, I guess I’m not, huh? I’m a special kind of chimera. And yes, literally every single being of my species is like me.”

Mash was about to say something stupid but paused and took a short breath. He shouldn’t let his disappointment ruin the meeting. There was no good reason to be mean to them.

“And sorry about being rude. We just have so many stories about dragons, so I was expecting something else. It’s my fault.”

He stopped and realized that what he said could be construed as rude too. In fact, it might even be more insulting than his previous idea.

“It is fine. I will forgive you since I am the older one here.”

She said it as a matter of fact. Did she not realize that saying something like that made her sound even more like a child? Clearly, she didn’t, and he decided not to say anything either. Just move on. He told himself that, as he repeated his earlier question.

“Well, if you’re not here to fight, why are you here?”

The dragons all paused, and the white drake at the front seemed to sway in embarrassment. Was swaying the dragon equivalent of shuffling their feet? Eventually, she replied.

“Uh, we were wondering what you were, and see if you could mate with our kind.”

Mash looked at the blushing drake and shook his head fervently.

“Nope, don’t think so.”

He said it in a rush. The words were a lie. He could turn into a dragon easily enough, not to mention they could probably change shape too. The stories claimed they could at least. Either way, he wasn’t interested in the dragons, not least because he felt a lot older than them. In reality, they were almost certainly older than him but that didn’t equate to maturity.

[You are likely older than you think. You aged rapidly under the aspect.]

Priscilla’s reminder startled him a little. Was there a way to check the age of his body? It could be interesting to find out how many birthdays he should be celebrating. Did he mature with it?

[No.]

[How would you know?]

He retorted to Priscilla’s comment slyly. The dragon cleared her throat and spoke again.

“That doesn’t matter though since you can talk! How did you become a greater being? And what did you do to get so strong so fast? I can kind of feel your power. Why are you getting weaker anyways?”

The very chatty dragon seemed more interested in asking questions than getting answers. He interrupted her, not willing to listen to her tirade.

“It’s a long story. A really long story. Every question you ask will probably have that answer. And what do you have that is giving you all that power?”

The dragon paused and looked at him quizzically, but Mash didn’t budge. He couldn’t sense a throne, or aspect, or anything on the dragon. She should have something seeing as her magic definitely rivaled his own. She shook her head.

“I cannot say, or should I say that it’s a long story.”

Mash winced at her acerbic tone but guessed it was fair. They were both probably being honest too.

“I would tell you but there are other people coming, and I can’t just sit here. Some of those coming will try to kill me.”

“Do you promise?”

The dragon replied quickly, but he didn’t understand what she meant.

“Promise?”

“Promise that you would tell me the truth.”

She sounded hopeful, and he hesitated. It wasn’t really a big secret or anything. There were several people that knew the truth at this point. He nodded slowly as he spoke.

“Sure. But I got stuff to do now.”

“Perfect, I will come with you.”

Her reply came quickly, and he realized he should’ve said something else. Should’ve just said he would never tell her. At least a dragon’s presence would probably scare off most enemies. It was a small benefit.