Chapter 53: Chapter 53: The Show

More than a day passed since the ambush in the valley, and the dragon covered in smoke walked through the snow-covered valley, his head close to the ground. Loud sniffs were coming from him as he kept circling around. Wooden pols and other human-made items were occasionally seen sticking out of the snow, together with lots of tracks heading out of the valley.

Suddenly the dragon's eyes widened as he sniffed. He opened his mouth and released a small puff of hot air, melting the snow under him.

A body coved in partially melted runes armour appeared with a small wyvern-skin pouch hanging from the belt.

'Nice, another good catch!' the dragon grinned and summoned a glowing blue magical hand, carefully untying and grabbing the pouch. He brought it to his snout and sniffed, 'At least 30 gold. Nice catch!'

Yes, Vesuvius, the proud dragon, was walking through the avalanche site, sniffing and searching for valuables like an avalanche dog.

The dragon looked at the darkened sky, 'It is almost time. I should return! Later I will send minions to loot equipment.'. He spread his wings and lept into the air, vanishing on the horizon.

Later the same day:

Two players were kneeling on the hard volcanic stone. In front of them stood a black bowl on the stone pedestal. Everything was dark except for the slight red glow coming out of the pedestal. One of them had a out of place punk haircut on his head, and the second wore bright red robes. Figures in the masks and robes stood all around, with three figures in the brass masks standing right on the sides of the bowl. Their surrounding was quiet except for the ragged breathing of the player in red.

The massive dragon covered in the dark smoke stood right behind the bowl.

Then he opened his mouth, his voice echoing in the dark and mostly empty chamber, "You two showed the greatest dedication out of my new minions, so I decided to bestow on your gift of the blood. Gift of eternal life and power."

After a few days of observing the players, he determined two that were ready to enter his inner circle. He also decided to organise this weird ceremony to encourage other players more, as every player liked stylish ceremonies and shows inflating their egos.

His draconic eyes fell upon one of the players, his magical eyes piercing through him. 'The player with the weird haircut is giving me a good feeling. He was also that one that rallied players to fight for me.' then his gaze moved towards the second one in the red robes, 'He might be a weirdo, but that is what makes him trustworthy. I also like his fervour.'

Then finally, his gaze swept through the players standing around the walls, 'There are only seven of them, but there is no help. They are players; they can't always be online.' He secretly sneered at them, 'They probably think that it is only wyrm blood in the pedestal as I never said what it really contains.'

Wyrm blood was valuable, but it wasn't even close to the value of a true dragon's blood. The difference was like between gold and antimatter. They both were valuable, but there was still a significant difference between them.

He finally released a mission to the two players that he had prepared beforehand.

// New faction mission activated:

Objective: Drink the blood from the pedestal.

Reward: The Blood of ???; Brass Dragon Mask; New faction rank: Member of the inner circle

"Now you can drink! Grow stronger and be reborn."

The player in the red literary threw himself at the pedestal, sticking his whole face into it, gulping its content like insane. Seein' it, the other player also jumped forward and started to drink.

The dragon finally looked toward the players in iron masks standing around the walls, "Now leave and wait for your friends to join the feast!" His tone was loud and threatening. The players immediately rushed out; some of them wanted to linger next to the room to know what would follow. However, the dragon threw them a deadly look, sending shivers through their bodies. They quickly ran out, too. They were curious but didn't want to risk breaking the rules and getting sanctioned.

In the meantime, two players that drank the blood started to change. Their eyes became draconic, their skin paler and long horns grew out of their heads.

"You are a true dragon?" suddenly, one of them spoke. It was the punk guy. His gaze immediately fell upon the dragon as if trying to penetrate the thick smoke.

The player in red immediately summoned a fireball in his hand. It was bigger and brighter than ever before. His draconic pupils immediately dilated, and a huge grin grew on his face. Then a sphere of magma formed in his second hand, his eyes becoming even more dilated.

"Hahaha, this is it. This is a fire I desired. You the dragon, I will gladly burn any of your enemies... even these that are not your enemies." the player started to laugh like a maniac. The four other players in the room slowly backed away from him as if he had contagious sickness.

Vesuvius sprung his ears, trying to discern if anyone was trying to eavesdrop. After a few moments, when he was sure, he spoke, his cold voice excited the players, "Yes, I am... I am the chosen of the dragon god. I will bring a new era of dragons onto this world, and you shall rise together with me!"

The punk guy, as a hardcore roleplayer, immediately bowed smile growing on his face as he realised that he found a hidden world-affecting questline, "Your draconic highness, I will fully support you! I will be your weapon."

An orange light leaked through the smoke as the dragon grinned, "In that case, prepare! Tomorrow will be our last and final ambush on the hunters. They will regret their impudence of trespassing on my territory... no, on our territory." Vesuvius secretly gritted his teeth after spitting out such nonsense, 'It is only mine as dragons can't ever share.'