Getting dismissed from the kitchens to allow Pops to make sure everything was cooking correctly was probably one of the most saddening partings I've ever been through in this life--not counting Red making me get rid of my Noodles...I still needed to find a large pool of them and, oooh! Maybe I could make a giant pit or something and just put a bunch of them there!

...Though, I still needed a way to make sure I wouldn't kill all of them while playing around-- 

I shook my head vigorously. This wasn't something that I needed to be thinking about right now, though I did want to go after Redline and see what she was doing in the city. Though, I doubted I would get very far from the mansion without the demon catching and locking me in one of the possibly hundreds of rooms here: at least until he  let me out again...if that ever happened. 

I did not want to be trapped in a room bored out of my mind. No matter how big they were...nope!

I decided that now was probably one of the better times I could go down to that gym area and test out the limits to my Strength; after all there was sure to be some differences with dragons compared to most other species. Other than things that appeared through the use of Skills or genetics.

I also needed to find a way to train both my breath attacks: (Flame) and (Toxic Breath) were both still at a lower level than I imagined would be very effective against other people or things at higher levels...I just didn't have the heart to go about torturing the various bunnies and other critters around the property just for leveling...

I walked around for a while--ten minutes-- eventually finding myself on the roof looking at the sky, and the surrounding (gigantic) walls around the Human City-Kingdom they seemed to have going...I wondered if there was an academy or something for learning here like in most fantasy media. There was bound to be an Orphanage or something in the city for sure, maybe even multiple with how huge this place was. 

...And there was also probably a school in that inner ring area reserved for 'the best.' I hoped that I'd get the chance to go there: I've never had to deal with anything close to something like that, or even get a change to even see one back on Earth.

I looked at the sky for a moment: The Suns were still such a strange sight--even after seeing them a few times now--to think that this planet orbited two of them, while still being in a habitable zone too. I'd only really cared about the processes of how Stars worked, their actual place in space and why they were there wasn't all that interesting back in Astronomy class...I wondered if that was something they had here too, or if it was just something that was accepted and never explained, just another thing they would say "It's because of Magic" for? 

Hey, maybe dragons regularly went to space to absorb the energy of stars or something...they probably didn't get much here, being stuck on one planet. While being a huge planet and a similarly gigantic area of land: it was still only one giant piece sharing every resource in it with every species able to use such resources. And having to share magic resources on top of Physical ones was sure to be something that was hard to just live with...

I caught scent of Redline in the wind and looked towards where she went towards the city: I really, really wanted to go after her. To look at the city and see all of the other things there, but the looming threat of accidentally mass murdering everyone here, not knowing what I would be doing or where I would be going, kept that impulse in check. With one last look at the sky I looked at the clock again before heading back inside:

3:68PM

Ugh. Why did days take so long here? I still had around forty minutes till I got to go back to the kitchen to check on my meats! At least this was training my (Hunger Resistance) a little, so that was a decent trade-off in the short term...At the moment most of my Resistances weren't that high--other than (Fear) due to...recent events--and I had no idea how to train them other than just standing in fire, eating toxic stuff, or starving myself.

All of those were not very pleasing options...

On the way to the stairs I had to pass by the kitchens and I couldn't resist taking a peek. I aimed to slither over to the oven just for a quick peek, but there was a pulse of power that came from below, freezing me in my tracks. With every pulse it felt like gravity had increased it's pressure in the room by several times--I had to give up a few steps in due to how strong it had gotten just by getting close to the center island. With an involuntary whine, I turned around and went back to the hallway not even ten steps away. 

The pressure lifted as soon as I turned around--I stopped in the hallway, realizing something: The presence I felt bearing down on my only appeared when I was trying to sneak towards the oven, it disappeared when I aimed to leave...I think I've found something to do for the next thirty-six minutes.

------------------

I dedicated my time towards figuring out how far I could get into the room before having to turn around. I tested different angles and styles of approach: running straight in as fast as possible, with and without Skills use--even trying to use my wings using (Flight) for the extra boost. Every time I became encumbered by an overwhelming gravitational pressure that flattened me to the floor: every time I got that much closer towards my goal.

{Skill (Dash (Lv. 1)) Gained}
{Resistance (Aura Pressure (Lv. 1)) Gained}
...
{Levels Increased: Dash (Lv. 9), Aura Pressure Resistance(Lv. 14)

I got closer and closer to my goal of just touching the center island at the middle of the kitchen area...and the timer for the oven went off. The pressure I felt the entire time turned into regular pulses of energy and I swear there was a hint of amusement passed along as well. I slammed snout-first into the chairs and base of the island: Pieces and parts of chairs flying everywhere, leaving a decent sized dent in the wall of the island counter as I rammed into it at full speed.

{Title (Clumsy) Gained}

What?! Voice, you better take that back!
I am not clumsy and you know that I couldn't stop that!

{Title (Clumsy) Retained}

Grrrr...

The notification continued to haunt my vision, I growled loudly in frustration and tore a few of the surviving chairs apart for the next few moments: Stupid Voice and it's annoying, persistent taunting. Cursed demon for making me run into the counter like that. Damn...

My thoughts froze as I realized what I had thought: I'd just insulted Pops for something that he didn't cause--sure his power facilitated the reason why it happened, but I was the one not paying attention to the time, how long there was left till the oven was done. I looked at the destruction around me in horror: I was going to be scaled alive! He was going to tear off my claws and use them to pay for more chairs! 

I was rooted in my spot as the devil himself walked into the room, he glanced over at the destruction, at me shivering in fear at the middle of it, and he just looked away..."Come on, your meat is done. Don't you want to see the outcome of all that effort?"

He wasn't mad? I just destroyed so much furniture in a rage, due to something that I'd caused and he didn't even care?! I let the usual part of myself become visible and slowly peeked over the counter at him as he pulled the meat from the oven. He looked at my visible head and raised a brow.

"What are you doing? Get over here and pay attention." He  spoke firmly and I quickly jumped up on the counter doing my absolute best to pay attention to what he was saying. "Normally I would be cutting this apart into portions, to eat one or two at a time and then sticking those back in for a few more minutes. But, seeing that you are practically making a puddle on the counter, I'll step back and let you have at it." He did so, and I didn't waste a moment. 

I tore into the carcass and within a few minutes it was gone to the last quarter, a portion I left for him since he'd helped show me how to make such a delight. I couldn't really quite place the experience to anything other than what it was: Eating an entire pig-related creature covered in seasonings and spices, a mix between Cayenne peppers and brown sugar or honey. It absolutely blew my mind and I barely resisted straight up eating the last part whilst licking my chops. I immediately brought out two more on the other counter near the sink, not caring about using my (Void Storage) so openly here.

He looked at the two other carcasses with a chuckle of amusement, and touched the ravaged one with a finger: disintegrating it on the spot, disappearing the ash left-over. Getting those two out kinda upset the balance the planet of meats in my space had, but after a bit of reordering, it restructured itself back into a planet of meat. Although slightly smaller than it was before: I was going to have to find another place and clean it out like the previous to replenish my supply...

"You are certainly a Youngling huh?" He chuckled, a smile plastered on his face, "I haven't seen someone eat like that in a while...brought up quite a few welcoming memories." He tapped the meats with a finger each, causing them to disappear as he grabbed the last portion of the other I had left for him earlier. I immediately got defensive and started looking everywhere for where he might have disappeared them to: I didn't see them in the oven, and I didn't see a trash anywhere...he didn't take them for himself did he?

I turned to him with an angry pout and he laughed again, motioning for me to come with him. As he ate his portion of the carcass, a thin trail of ash spread behind him for a moment before disappearing as well. I followed him to the stairs, but he past the gym, another level down. I didn't know something like this was even here when I was 'looking around' as Redline trained.

The floor seemed to quietly hiss for a second before dipping down into the floor, transforming into another section of stairs. I looked at it curiously for a moment as he continued down without a care as to what had happened, around the bend and to the bottom level: The heavenly smell of countless varieties of smoking meats wafted up from below and I hurriedly followed after him. The Stairs turned back into the floor as soon as I stepped off the last step, but I was too busy looking around in amazement:

The entire place was full of racks upon racks of possibly hundreds of different meat varieties. All of them were on spokes and rotating around what looked like floating blocks of flaming gemstones, like an industrial meat-cooking plant, but more...magical. 

"This is a sacred area for me,something that I covet personally. It is my passion, and probably the main reason I haven't gone around trying to destroy the world." The last part was said quietly, enough that I almost didn't hear it in the heat and mass mechanical engineering of the room.

The smells were unreal: so many meats, so many different varieties, all cooking and mixing scents in a strangely wondrous manner.

I was amazed he was able to create something so vast and expansive under his house, why was something so amazing hidden?

"I am known around the Kingdom as 'Poppa, The Incinerator,'" He motioned to the floating cubed gemstones and warned, "These have all been personally enchanted by me, they contain enough raw power to turn this entire mansion into a crater several times over. As you can see, there are many of them in one place: Not the safest, I know, and the Captain of the Guard would try to cut off my horns if she ever found out, but what can I say; I'm doing what I love, and no one is any the wiser as to what's happening, nor the danger in the middle of this great city..."

I looked at him curiously. If this wasn't something that that scary lady wouldn't approve of then why was he doing it.

"I know what you're thinking: if Cinder did find out about this she would likely be angry at me for hiding it from her, and Red would probably try to flay me alive, but nothing else would arise from it otherwise. Seeing you have the same passion towards meat and cooking that I do I figured it should be fine to show you a little more about what goes on around here: Here as in the inner workings of the city, and in turn, the entire Empire as a whole. There as just as many things that the public doesn't know about, and it is best to keep it that way." He looked down at me with a dangerous glint in his eyes, "You wouldn't think of telling anyone about this right?"

I shook my head side to side as quickly as possible, stepping away from him a little. I wanted so bad to just grab one of the meats from off the skewers and devour it then and there, but I would likely be caught and he'd probably drag me out for doing so...I didn't want to be barred from such a wonderful place, so I stayed on my best behavior as he explained what each thing was.  Why each thing had to be prepared a certain way.

"This is only one of my many locations around the city. I lead warehouses of meat-processing plants around the Kingdom of Forge and oversee almost all of the total distribution across the Empire. And with me being the closest to the Palace, I'm their main contributor for their daily feasts. This entire place is emptied out and restocked with fresh meats at least twice a day and since the Palace doesn't exactly handle the more exotic of meats, I just take a commission from them and they supply me with the funds and preparation instructions, as well as how everything is to be presented, but usually the chefs handle that part...thankfully.

"I have around ten different varieties here at the moment, it's actually pretty rare that I get something super exotic in like Kraken or Drake meat...Oh, and don't worry, you won't ever be killed for a feast. If there were any Dragon meat found being sold anywhere, especially underground, I'm sure that the Dragon Empire would come down on us in full force. Completely wiping us from existence on this world." He lead me past the giant sections of Rotisseries, into another area where there were sections of giant Pressurized Tanks powered by what looked like Magic Runes, into another area where there was only a single row about ten long, boxy structures.

"This is where such meat would be prepared, and it's truly unfortunate that I haven't gotten anything special as of yet to put these to use with. The rotisseries are for creatures like Cackling Chickens, Coronary Roes, and Exploding Loo's; those are all creatures in the bird family...feathered beings." I continued to look at him like I was oblivious as to what that was, it wasn't that untrue anyways, many of those creatures I've never heard of before...

He sighed and pointed to another section at the distance, a bit away from the strangely names chickens and on the other side of the giant Pressure Cooking things, at an area I wouldn't have seen with how this place seemed to be planned: The first room we walk into was the poultry rotisseries that spanned from the area we first entered to the pressure cookers. He'd taken me along the Pressure cookers to show me these boxes for the more expensive stuff, completely bypassing the red meats...Those were behind the Pressure Cookers and on the other side of the entire area with what looked like giant ovens set in rows with latching doors on their sides instead of the front.

"I put your meat into the VIP section of those giant ovens, the normal ones cook at a speed twice as fast as the one in the kitchen, and the VIP ones cook thrice as fast, so your Hog-Hound Carcasses should be done in around...ten minutes." I didn't wait for him to show me the different types of meats here and just bolted in that direction. Passing through all of the ovens--though admiring the scents they wove through the air on my way to the back--to find him standing at a set on the end looking at me with a smirk, seemingly nodding to himself. 

{Skill Level Increased: Heat Resistance (Lv. 24)}

Oh don't ruin the moment Voice. I ignored you earlier on purpose,,,Trying to ruin my mood about being blasted with such a comfortable blaze of heat as soon as I entered the room...

This was where I was going to be spending all of my time from now on.

Dragons

Alright then. This event just came up out of nowhere and I decided to just go with it and see what happened from there...I'm actually pretty happy with how it turned out because now I don't need to do something cliche like having a Human (or Dwarven) Blacksmith come in so early and I made myself a change to take a different direction in training a few different things in his skills list...

Though the assassin theme that I love will still play a major part in his character since he is literally perfect for the position. 

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