The city we flew over was the first semblance of belonging I’d felt in a long time. Small houses clustered together, shops, and people bustling about their day-to-day lives.

One minute we’d been flying through the trees along a cliff face and then suddenly we were in a huge grotto. It was an underground cave partially flooded with water with sunlight filtering in from cracks in the walls, held together by vines and other plant growth. Full-size trees towered over the other plants, buildings, and people.

One side of the cave was half-flooded, while the other had a set of stone steppes carved into it above the water line where the city started and continued into part of the cavern wall.  In the wet, not quite flooded areas just outside the city were farms, and also high on the steppes were entire areas dug out and converted into blooming fields. Workers tended them, but from this high, I couldn’t see what exactly they were. Humanoid at the least.

As we neared I could see Elves, Orcs, and Gnomes on the different levels of stone steps. Even a Goblin! We were headed upward. Angeknight was directing me straight up, high in the rock where a single staircase was carved into the wall high above the main village. At the very top, it had a patio like a stone disk wedged into the plain stone wall, with a single door leading into a circular room with two leaf-sewn couches and a wooden desk.  The carpet was soft moss and two other closed doors led further in. Four glowing stalks sprouting from the ceiling provided a dull lime-green light to the entire place.

From this vantage, I could see almost the entire town. It was separated into three different types of architecture.

“Elves, Dwarves, and Gnomes,” Angeknight pointed out as I looked.

Can you read my mind? I asked in my mind. Silence. I was skeptical, though. The last Angeknight I’d met had psychic powers. 

Angeknight stopped suddenly and I ran into her. “Ahem, sorry,” she cleared her throat and motioned for me to sit down on one of the couches. 

“So first things first, in order to mind link it will be easier if you have your mark fixed,” she said, pausing and looking at me expectantly. “But before that, you must swear to not betray this place, nor break the deal we’ve set in place.” 

“I won't do that, I only want to kill the Dragons,” I replied. It was the truth. 

The Angeknight held out her pinky to make what I would have called a pinky promise in my world. I locked pinkies with the giant angel lady and a golden light engulfed both our wrists in the form of a lock and chain, then vanished as quickly.  

“What was that?” I pulled my hand away and examined my hand. No marks or anything weird was there.

“A pact. You just agreed to not betray us and not back out of the deal. If you break a pact, you are cursed and have your stats decreased, among other things.”

“I see. You could have told me that first, and I still would have agreed. A little transparency please and thank you.”

“Fair enough. This next part is the easy bit,” Angeknight looked at my dress and frowned. It was gross and shredded. With a touch it from her it mended itself and the soil vanished, but also changed to leave an oval-shaped hole revealing the shell around my belly button and surrounding area. 

At a touch, a glowing pink and black mark appeared in the space, with the center appearing directly on the shell. A heart with butterfly wings, wrapped in black ribbons. Angeknight was shifting the colors of the black ribbons to a shifting holographic rainbow. I felt a strange tingling and a humming like a muffled voice in the back of my head.

“Do you want the voice interface?” 

“Yes,” I replied, almost excited to have the other voice in my head back. 

“You will get the Element, traits, and skills you would have started with, and can now learn them via leveling up from now on. With this new mark, when you level up you will have a chance of learning a skill or trait from a pool that you’ve met the requirements for. This mark hijacks your mana system, giving you the opportunity to choose what skills and traits you learn.”

“From now on? I thought level 50 was the max unless you have an ability?” I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. The adjusting of the mark was making my stomach upset.

“You do, once I unlock it. Dragon Slayer is an ability you get once you slay a dragon and allows you to gain strength past level 50. This is because when you kill a dragon, you absorb part of its soul and in turn its strength. With your current mark, you are punished instead for fighting Dragons.” Angeknight stopped and looked at the mark, giving me a reprieve for a second while she explained further. “And when you kill a Dragon, the amount of power you absorb is so great it causes your skills and traits to fuse sometimes. Usually at least one. This mark will let you pick which of your skills get fused, but not for the one you’ve already slain.”

“OK, that’s weird but it kind of makes sense. What about abilities I could have gotten while my mark was turned off?”

“They’re in there, you just don’t know what they are or how to use them.” She placed her hands on my stomach and looked me in the eyes.  “OK, Ready? ”

I blushed just a little. “Uh, yeah, I think.” Immediately there was a flood of automated voices layered over each other, catching up to my current progress and level. It was an exhilarating rush of power flooding into me, but also like something I’d been missing had finally been put into place.  

You have gained the Element: Light trait! You take half Light element damage!

You have learned the Radiant Bolt skill! You can focus Light into a concentrated projectile!

You have gained the Blessed Strikes! Whenever you hit with a Light-type attack, increase the damage by a portion of your Spirit!

You have gained the Angelic trait from One from All! (Angeknight) The light of your halo compels those within its light to speak the truth unless they can overcome your Spirit. 

You have gained the Dragonforce trait from One from All! (Dragon) Your base stats have been increased and you are immune to Dragonfire.

You have gained 4 levels! You are now level 55!

You have gained the Dragon Slayer trait! When you kill a Dragon, you absorb part of its soul and grow your power beyond normal limits. Slaying a Dragon will also result in Skill and Trait Fusions to occur!

Your Grippy and Size Queen traits have been fused to become Grip Queen! The bigger the creature, the more it will be attracted to you. Breeding time is halved and breeding with a partner at least twice your size results in one additional egg! 

Your Deep Shadows and Poison Blood skills have been fused to become Bleeding Shadows! When you bleed, your blood is transformed into a shadowy mist that pours from your body, obscuring the area in a magical darkness that hurts others that enter the mist!

You have learned the Lightforce Barrier skill! You can create a spherical barrier of light centered around yourself or another creature or object. 

You have gained the Hunter trait. When you deal damage to a creature, you can sense its location for one full day.

Your Harden and Shadow Tether have fused to become Shadow Limb! A tendril of malleable, yet solid shadow,  that can manipulate weapons and tools with greater precision and control. The limb can take on a basic whip-like shape or a copy of your arm!

You have gained the Ovipositor trait from One From All! (Aflashnid Queen) You can now breed with any species! You can store up to eight eggs with your current size and Body!

The notifications stopped. I was taking it all in, feeling raw strength course through my body. I felt suddenly very aware of my surroundings. Aware of my body, which had become a tad thicker and more defined. The gym girl body I’d always wanted, but at a cost, I wouldn’t pay again. And the halo. A simple golden ring of light floated above my head.  “Can I turn the light off?” 

“The range for Angelic can be set between one and 42 meters, dimming accordingly. To initiate, imagine the light becoming brighter or dimmer.”

So I did. Dim. Dimmer. DIMMER!  It was a dull, almost molten-looking gold that gave off just a couple of meters of light now. I sighed in relief.

“Adjusted?”

That was loud, I thought. My ears were ringing and my senses were out of whack. Heightened, I mean. I could hear children playing in the streets below, at least a hundred meters down. A small bug buzzed in the window. Angeknight’s voice was like a cannon in my ear. “Uh, no, that was really loud, just give me a minute.”

The effects slowly wore off and I blocked out and adjusted to most of the sounds around me. Like turning on the light when you first wake up in the morning. There was a new pressure at the base of my abdomen, just beneath the shell that covered my belly button. I wanted to look, but I didn’t want to just whip it out in front of Angeknight. It was kind of embarrassing. To me, at least. I kind of knew what an Ovipositor was, but not for a human. 

“Ready?” Angeknight asked. She was suddenly sitting on the couch next to me, reaching up to touch my face.

I was startled by the sudden movement and smacked her hand away in surprise. Now we both looked surprised. Then I saw a glint in her eye. A single golden line went down from top to bottom like a scanner. If it was possible, she looked even more surprised. “You have,” she was mouthing numbers in some sort of mathematical equation. “Yeah, you have maximum stats.”

“I do remember Draconis saying something like that when I was hatched or whatever, but it was all sixes then. What is it now?” I hadn’t looked yet, and I thought it would be rude to stop and check my stats mid-conversation.

“The Dragonforce trait you picked up gives you the same base stat range as a Dragon, based on the description. Two-hundred by my calculations, so a net increase of one-hundred and ninety-four per stat. 

I was stunned. No wonder I felt different.“So? I would be a strong dragon?”

“You might be the strongest Dragon that isn’t a Dragon,” she said. “Even Tyrannus is a reincarnation, so it would be unlikely that he’s got maximum base stats. Dragon souls get weaker each time they are reincarnated.. I’ve never seen this skill, but it has translated a Dragon’s base strength into a number we can gauge. Since Dragons don’t have marks, I can’t use a scan skill on them.”

“So can they see their stats? Do they have skills and traits?”

“Well, they must. Unless you didn’t get that trait from a Dragon.”

“No, I definitely got it from a Dragon,” I said. I was still sour about the entire thing and it made me sound spiteful. “Anyway, you’ll see soon enough, right?”

“Right. Are you ready?”

“How does this work?”

“I place my hand upon your forehead and I will activate my skill to access your memories. Just focus on the moment you woke up in this world and I’ll do the rest.”

That was a mistake. Her eyes lit up with golden light and immediately she spasmed a little bit. Then a bit more. The third time she nearly fell off the couch but I caught her and she peed herself. Not a little, either.  I was panicking and the cherry on top was her health was dropping rapidly. Zero. Flatline. She stopped moving. I dropped her on the floor in a panic.

“I got this… I can fix this!” I reached into my bag and pulled out the revival juice I got from my escape from Draconis’s place. One drop. 

Gasp!

“You… What?” Angeknight was completely disoriented, but her health steadily rose on its own, one tick at a time. Then I realized that I could now see her health bar and her name: Orianna. 

“Are you okay? What happened?” I was standing over her holding the canister of revival fluid.

“It’s a lot more than I expected,” Angeknight said, sitting on the floor with her back up against the couch. “When I use my Memory Walk ability I experience the memory as if I were in your place,” she explained. She was pinching the bridge of her nose.

“Well that was a mistake, I thought you’d watch them like a movie or something,” I said. 

“I don’t know what a movie is, but, watching memories isn’t as informative as experiencing them. I also can’t do that. It was fine until the Giga Mecharex. I didn’t realize you’d had such a close encounter with that monster,” Angeknight said. She frowned when she talked about the Giga, sounding bitter.

“You’ve fought it, yeah?”

“I have, alongside my brother, who I see you’ve already met.”

“Wait. WAIT. That means that you,” I paused to think about the words that were coming out of my mouth.

“Yes, I experienced what you experienced with him and we can leave it at that for now. I need to rest before I finish the Memory Walk.” Angeknight rose to her feet and took a couple of hesitant steps.

“It took me a week to recover,” I said. “What do I do? When do I come back? I’m not interested in breaking the deal.” I walked to the window and looked out over the town. I hadn’t been around people in a long time.

“Take this to Mallie Silverleaf at the Melon Blossom Tavern and ask for the room. It’s on the lowest level of stone with many of the other shops and such.” She held out a golden ticket for me from her desk, leaning heavily upon it. She continued, “the upper levels are primarily residential. Come back tomorrow evening and we’ll go from there. And thanks.” 

For what? Getting you killed, fucking your brother, or creating a new Giga Mecharex? Those were my thoughts, but I kept them to myself. “Uh, yeah, no problem. See you tomorrow, then.”

I exited the disk-shaped living quarters and surveyed the town below with my new perception. I could see way beyond the detail of just the three different types of architecture, I could see it in detail. At the base level, close to the water-flooded farms were rustic dwellings of wood thatch, bound together with mud and fiber. The roofs were further insulated from water with huge leaves. Alongside these buildings were hide tents and campfires, with bone decor reigning supreme. 

The second district was pristine, with evenly placed buildings made of carved uniform planks of wood and placed in even symmetrical groups like apartment complexes. There were no outdoor fires in this area and the streets were paved with small flat stones with hanging lanterns on each street. There were clusters of shops selling fine clothing and wines.

The third area was harder to see. It was carved into the side of the stone cavern wall like Angeknight’s dwelling was. I could see doors and windows carved into the stone and the flickering of light in a few of them but nothing to tell me about what kind of people they were. 

First things first, I opened my status to look at my stats. 

 

Valerie Species Metahuman Level 55  Vitality 2895 Body 1664  Mind 270  Magic 398  Spirit 424  Luck 284

 

I stood there and blinked in surprise. I know Angeknight had said it was a boost, but I hadn’t imagined all that entailed.

The stat boost from the Dragonforce trait had in turn made Sheer Force an even greater force to be reckoned with. I wanted nothing more than to test out my new strength, and a few other things, but I didn’t want to make a commotion or get in trouble. Wait until I had more privacy, something I’d had infinite amounts of until now. 

I dropped down right into the center of town a little harder than I would have liked. I cracked the stone tiles I landed on, to the gasps and surprise of the people around me. “Whoops.”

From above I hadn’t realized how tall everyone really was. The Elves were all nearly 2 meters tall, rivaling the Orcs in height but not in overall size. The Gnomes on the other hand only came up to just above my kneecaps.

“Destruction of public property! I think not!” 

I turned to the booming voice of a fully armored Orc standing behind me. Sir Orrick, level 34.  “Sorry,” I gestured to the ground and the broken tiles. 

“I haven’t seen you around here before. This is your only warning, from I, Sir Orrick, peacekeeper of
Arcadia.” He was loud and spoke with extreme confidence.

“Yeah, my bad. Won't happen again,” I said. “Probably. Anyway, uh, can you tell me where the Melon Blossom Tavern is?” 

“Ah, of course! Just follow me, madam,” and he turned to lead me down the stone-paved road. 

Madam? Gross. “You can call me Valerie,” I said.

On either side, there were different shops bustling with people. The city was absolutely massive now that I was on ground level. Everything towered above me. Just layer upon layer of buildings. They’d definitely had plenty of time to expand, I thought.

“Sir Orrick, how many people live here?”

“Good question. I’ve never counted myself,” he paused and put a finger to his bottom lip, “but the Chief always boasts the Orcs are five thousand strong in his speeches.”

We made small talk on the walk, which was mostly me asking him question after question about the city. I learned a few things. The Orcs and the Elves don’t see eye to eye, and the Gnomes mostly stick to themselves in their caves, many of which are too small to enter. The city was run by a council with members from each of the three major races, a Dwarf, and an Angeknight. There were a few other pockets of races in town, but their populations were small in comparison and were primarily represented by Orianna, the Angeknight. 

The currency in town, of which I had none, were gemstones like the skill crystals I’d taken from Draconis. They were highly valued for crafting, but also because of their appearance. Sir Orrick showed me a few and they literally looked like dice! Just a bunch of polyhedra that ranged in size from coin-sized to baseball-sized, but could be as large as my head.

The building he led me to was a two-story building of neither Elven nor Orc design. The stones weren’t like anything else in the grotto, a dull swirling blue hand-cut into perfect building blocks. It had a steel roof unlike the buildings around it and stood like a fortress. 

“Here we are,” Sir Orrick gestured to the building. 

“Why does it look so different than the other buildings?” 

“It was built by the Dwarves,” Sir Orrick replied. “But now it belongs to Mallie Silverleaf.” He was standing there politely, waiting to field any other questions.

“Thanks for the help, Orrick.”

“You’re welcome, new citizen Valerie. Just remember to stay out of trouble!” 

And with that, Sir Orrick strode off into the streets of waning light. Two elves pushed past me and a wave of warmth poured over me from the opening door. The smell of freshly baked bread and real food made my stomach clench up and gurgle. How long had it been since I’d smelled anything remotely like a home-cooked meal?

I strode into the establishment, forgetting about Sir Orrick and taking in the wonderful smell with all of my being. Amazing, but even more so was the room within. The inside was a lot bigger than the outside. There had to have been at least thirty or forty tables, a full bar, and a gambling area that wrapped around the outer edges of the room. In the very center, growing out of the floor, was a gigantic tree that I’d seen before. It was a Melonberry Tree and had fed me on more than one occasion because it was one of the foods I recognized as safe to eat. 

“Welcome to the Melon Blossom, how may we help you today?”