Eisen stood in front of the Gold Dragon that just put him through that sudden test and waited for something else to happen. The ‘First test’ as it was called in the notifications was now over, but who could tell if the dragon would just start the ‘Second Test’ instantly afterward. And if it would be harder than the first one, Eisen wasn’t sure if he could survive it.

But to his luck, what the dragon did next wasn’t some kind of attack. Instead, it simply began to laugh.

“Good, good! So you did what I asked you to! You came a bit earlier than I expected, so I thought you didn’t reach the goal yet, but apparently everything went well after all!” It said in a deep voice that echoed through the hall they were currently in, and Eisen looked up at the Dragon and chuckled slightly.

“So you were that cat I saw in the Inn? Seems like you grew a little bit in those few weeks yourself!”

“You could see it that way, yes, but it’s rather different, dear Eisen…” The Dragon said and beared its teeth in a smile before steam started to rise from its body, completely enveloping it, before it completely disappeared in what seemed like an instant, as if a strong wind simply blew it away in all directions.

What Eisen could see then wasn’t the Dragon anymore, but instead the cat that he saw on his first day in the game.

“Oh? So you’re able to transform?” Eisen said with excitement in his eyes as he looked at the golden cat as it climbed onto one of the mountains of treasure to get on eye-level with him.

“Indeed I am. I had expected you to be more surprised, as others that I have met in the past were. But what else can I expect from someone that so easily passed my first test. And I do apologize for that. It was simply a way to test whether or not you followed what I asked you to. I thank you for that.” The Dragon in the form of a cat slightly bowed its head down, while a notification popped up in front of him.

[Quest Successful – A Mysterious Cat’s Request]

[Description] You found yourself in your dreamscape after being called there by an ancient being

whose identity you do not know. He requested for you to come to see him within a month after

developing your body. You don’t know what will happen if you don’t follow his request, but you

don’t want to find out either.

[Requirements] Get all of your base Attributes (STR, END, AGI, INT, WIS) to at least 100

[Reward] You are allowed to take the Ancient Gold Dragon’s second test

[Failure]

-[Not appearing by the end of the time limit] You will never be able to take any of the Ancient Dragon’s tests

-[Not passing the Ancient Gold Dragon’s test] You will not be allowed to take the Ancient Gold Dragon’s tests anymore

[Time Limit – 1 Month]

“Of course. How could I not do this for someone that literally visited me in my dream. Although, you seem to know my name, but what is yours?” Eisen asked and the Dragon in front of him seemed to chuckle lowly.

“Excuse my rudeness. My name is Aylrentyrth, but in the past, most Humans, Dwarves, or others of your races have taken to call me Ailren, as it seems easier to pronounce in a conversation.” The Dragon explained, and Eisen nodded.

“I see, then I hope you won’t mind if I do so as well, Ailren. Now, was the reason you called me here simply for that test?” Eisen asked, and Ailren shook his head, before he jumped from the pile of treasures and steam rose from his body and enveloped him and the space up to two meters above him, before instantly disappearing again, leaving in its stead a simple old man, wearing a somewhat decorated yellow robe. His hair was completely white and reached to beyond his shoulders, and his beard was quite long itself. His eyes were golden in color, and his ears were slightly pointed, albeit not like those of an Elf.

“Shall we take a seat and talk about it over tea?” Ailren asked and moved along one of the paths between the mountains of gold, gems and pearls and was followed by Eisen until they reached a small open spot with a golden table and two chairs in the middle. After Ailren sat down on one of the chairs and waved to the other for Eisen to sit on, the old man did as suggested and sat down at the table. He placed his backpack onto the ground and grabbed Caria from inside to make sure she was alright after the test, since especially that gas might have affected her as well.

But luckily, it seemed like she was completely alright, although a little bit scared and confused by the situation.

He placed her down on the table, and she leaned against his hand while trying to hide from Ailren.

“And who would that be?” The Ancient Dragon in Human asked with a smile while pouring Eisen some tea from a pot that was standing on the table.

“Ah, this is Caria. She’s a Myconid that I tamed. I hope you don’t mind that I brought her.” Eisen explained, and Ailren smiled in response while looking at Caria.

“Don’t worry about it. I wouldn’t have wanted you to simply bring another person with you without my approval, but I can’t say anything against a tamed creature. After all, taming is a sort of soul connection. I’m surprised, though. Myconids are supposed to be hard to tame. How did it come to this?” Ailren asked curiously, and Eisen began to explain.

“That’s quite simple, really. A friend of mine found an Egg on a journey, and then we coincidentally met while I was out to get stronger. I made him a new weapon, and in return he gave me the egg that he found, which only yesterday hatched. And the result of that is Caria here.”

“Aha, that’s quite interesting, then. But even then, a Myconid would be hard to tame. I guess that just shows that she felt you were kind. But now, shall we get to my reasons for calling you here?”

“I am pretty curious, yeah.” Eisen chuckled lowly and took a sip from the tea that Ailren gave him. In response, he smiled lightly.

“Then I won’t let you wait. First, what do you know about Dragons? I noticed that you seemed to have lost your experience when we met for the first time, so you probably don’t know too much about this world and its history, am I wrong?”

“No, you’re right. I really don’t know much. I heard a few small stories here and there, for example about how the Dwarven Country came to be, or smaller legends about different things. But no, I don’t know anything about Dragons, sorry.” Eisen explained.

The Dragon nodded in response, as if having expected such an answer. “Alright, then I’ll explain to you the basics. There are two main factions of us pure Dragons. The chromatic dragons, and the metallic dragons. The chromatic dragons are usually evil, although they are still somewhat split amongst them. Some just enjoy death and destruction, while others still follow their own wicked rules. There are five main colors to them, Black, Red, Blue, Green and White. Us metallic dragons are usually good, although some are still more chaotic than others. I myself try to keep to a certain set of rules. And there are five metals that we keep to. Gold, Bronze, Steel, Silver and Copper. Of course there are still other dragon types, but those usually aren’t pure blooded.”

“I see, that’s quite interesting. And I do have to say, your scales do really have a cunning similarity to gold.” Eisen chuckled lowly.

“Thank you. I take quite some pride in them. Anyway, there are two deities that share control over the faith of dragonkind. Evil Dragons worship Kotam the Dragon Queen, while Good Dragons worship Trygan the Crystal Dragon King. You could say that these two factions are waging war against each other. And for that, we Dragons choose ‘Champions’, so to say. Strong warriors, or skilled craftsmen, either is fine considering that in a war, both can be seen as equally important. A Warrior won’t be able to show their true worth without a weapon of their level, and it doesn’t matter how many weapons a craftsman makes without anyone to wield them. You were chosen as one of those Champions. When you inspected me, I did the same in return and saw that peculiar title you have, ‘Original of the Mechanical Arts’. It seems to be a completely unique, unknown title, so I was sure you would end up useful.”

“Then thank you for choosing me for such an important role. But without that title, you wouldn’t have chosen me? Then how are others chosen as a Champion?”

“That is not completely right. I chose you as a champion without you showing your true worth, since through it I knew that you would be useful either way. But even without such a title, if one of us ancient Dragons takes a liking to you, you can be chosen as a champion by any of them.” Ailren explained while holding his tea cup in both of his hands, every once in a while taking sips from it.

The Dragon smiled and continued. “But even then, I can’t just make you a champion without knowing you are truly worth it. That’s why us Dragons test potential champions. Usually, as a starter we give them an ‘unspoken test’, something to test their character. We give them a goal that might seem hard to reach. In your case, it was to get your stats from their lowest possible state over their first big hurdle. That way we can see if the potential champion will give up in the face of hardships. And then, just now, I gave you the first real test. It was simply to truly test the condition of your stats, and how you got used to them. I used my fearful presence to test the strength of your mind, presented through your intelligence and wisdom stats. Then, I shot my Fire Breath at you, to test your agility. And at last, I used my Petrifying Breath on you to test your strength and endurance.”

The Giant-Dwarf halfling nodded in understanding while leaning back in his chair. If it was like that, then he was curious what the other tests would be like. “So after I pass all of your tests, I’ll officially be one of your champions?”

“Yes, you will be. At least you will be partially so. To be a true champion, you have to be accepted by five different ancient dragons, each of a yet different metal. So once you become my champion, to truly be accepted as a champion that can fight or support our faction, you have to be accepted by Ancient Steel, Bronze, Copper and Silver Dragons. What their tests are depends on them, but they should at least be somewhat in your area of expertise. But for now, we should continue my tests.”

“Alright. I was actually wondering what those tests are, Ailren.” Eisen explained after finishing his cup of tea, and Ailren stood up and waved at Eisen to follow him. He picked Caria up and placed her on his shoulder, before standing up and running after the Ancient Dragon.

They reached the wall which had a door big enough for Eisen to pass through, but not a Dragon in its regular size, and Ailren turned to Eisen and began to talk. “My first test was one that tested your raw physical and mental capabilities. The second test I will give to you will be one that will test your skill. Of course, it’s not about looking at your pure skill ranks and levels, but about what you can actually do. Since you are based around crafting, that’s what you will be doing. What you make is up to you, and I will supply you with whatever material you need, as long as it is within my realm of possibility. However, be aware that I am expecting something that fully displays all areas of your expertise. For example, a simple sword will not be enough. Try to impress me.” Ailren said while opening the door, revealing a room in which Eisen could find a multitude of things.

Different worktables with a number of different tools and materials, as well as everything a fully functional smithy needed, meaning an anvil, forge, and even a smeltery.

“Work hard, you have as much time as you need. Hours, days, weeks, it doesn’t matter. As long as you are working, that is. There is another room for you to sleep further in the back, and I will bring you food and something to drink whenever you need it.”

[New Quest – Ancient Gold Dragon’s second test]

[Description] After passing the Ancient Gold Dragon Aylrentyrth’s first test, you now have to take his second test. For that, he asked you to make something great to impress him. As long as you work diligently and do not abuse his hospitality, there is no time limit.

[Reward] You will be allowed to take the Ancient Gold Dragon’s third test

[Failure] You will never be allowed to take another Ancient Gold Dragon’s test

[Time Limit – None]

———-

[Eisen]

[Race – Giant-Dwarf Halfling][Occupation – Omni Craftsmaster][Level – 71]

[HP – 1821][MP – 1821]

[STR – 101][END – 101][AGI – 101][INT – 100][WIS – 101][CHA – 10]

[Titles]

-[Casanova]

-[Original of the Mechanical Arts]

-[Limitbreaker V]

[Skills]

-[A Dwarf’s Hands][Rank – 2][Level – 28]

-[A Giant’s Strength][Rank – 2][Level – 28]

-[Alchemy][Rank – 2][Level – 18]

-[Appraisal][Rank – 1][Level – 7]

-[Blacksmithing][Rank – 1][Level – 61]

-[Cooking][Rank – 0][Level – 68]

-[Crafting Space][Rank – 0][Level – 51]

-[Drawing][Rank – 1][Level – 6]

-[Enchanting][Rank – 1][Level – 41]

-[Flame of the Earth Magic][Rank – 1][Level – 51]

-[Golemancy][Rank – 0][Level – 1]

-[Leatherworking][Rank – 2][Level – 4]

-[Lockpicking][Rank – 0][Level – 1]

-[Mana Copy][Rank – 1][Level – 4]

-[Mana Double][Rank – 2][Level – 46]

-[Mana Manipulation][Rank – 2][Level – 32]

-[Swordsmanship][Rank – 2][Level – 74]

-[Tailoring][Rank – 2][Level – 6]

-[Taming][Rank – 0][Level – 11]

-[Tool Connection][Rank – 1][Level – 10]

-[Woodworking][Rank – 0][Level – 49]