KA-DON! Arad stood there, fire gushing from his mouth as he stared at the burned goblins. “You there, are alright?” The fighter approached him with a worried face.

From Arad’s clothes, it was clear he wasn’t an adventurer. He was but a commoner. Having him join in a battle like this must be exhausting.

KA! The flames faded, and Arad glared at the fighter with an eldritch crimson flare bursting in his eyes.

“I’m fine. What about you?” Arad asked.

The fighter stepped back, his instincts screaming that Arad was dangerous. “As expected from a sorcerer, you’re bursting with power.” The fighter laughed. The wizard approached them, “Do you fire draconic bloodline? Or are you an elemental?”

[We’re going with a draconic bloodline.]

Arad smiled, “Yes, I do have a draconic bloodline.”

The rogue smiled, approaching Arad, “This is the first time I saw one, a human with the might of dragons in his blood.”

The cleric approached Arad, [Mending] she fixed a tear in his clothes. “Most sorcerers become arrogant. Please don’t end like that,” she said with a smile.

“Especially those of red dragons. I heard stories about them being too arrogant to live.” The fighter said with a worried face.

When legends, fairy tales, and fables speak of dragons without specifying a color. When they tell of kingdoms laid waste, virtuous maidens sacrificed, and valiant heroes sent home as charred corpses. Chances are that they speak of the mighty red dragons.

All dragons are predators, but reds are the most voracious, consuming far more than they require.

All dragons are greedy, but reds are avaricious beyond any point of reason. Because they fully believe that all wealth belongs to those strong enough to take it and that no wealth is ever enough.

All dragons are prideful, but reds are narcissistic and see everyone below them. And to their credit, they have the strength to back their claims.

[You’re a void dragon. We don’t have a color assigned to us. But we’re not as trouble-making as reds.]

“Worry not. I don’t have my ancestors’ behavior.” Arad smiled, standing tall with his chest pushed out.

“That doesn’t seem to be the case from your stance.” The fighter giggled. “By the way, the name is Nigel Strongarm. A fighter.” 𝐞𝗻𝐨𝘃𝗹.𝐜𝐨𝗺

“Tristana Sorrowful, you can call me Tris.” The wizard took a step forward.

“Lisa Hoperise. I’m a cleric serving Lathander. This one behind me is Chester Sarak, a slippery rogue.” The cleric pointed behind her.

“Hey, don’t go introducing me like that.” The rogue growled.

“Arad Orion, a sorsorer. Do you mind leading me to the nearest city?” Arad smiled, staring at the fighter in the eyes.

[Don’t lose eye contact. Out of the four of them, he is the easiest to persuade.]

“Of course, we can’t leave you here alone.”

“A sorcerer getting lost? I have never heard of such a thing.” The wizard scratched her head.

Arad approached her, “I learned of my power when I was lost.”

She shook her head, “No, I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just that sorcerers are known to be good trackers.” On top of the magical abilities, sorcerers usually get sharper senses depending on their bloodline.

In this world, there is a saying that goes like this. [You would prefer a god chase your life than a dragon. Those monsters don’t stop, wreaking havoc wherever they fly.]

“The closest city is Alina, not a big one, but it has a guild at least,” Nigel said with a smile.

“You’re right. I can’t believe it only has a merchant’s guild and an adventurer’s guild.” Tristana added, “We would appreciate an alchemy guild, at least.” She added.

“We’re wasting time. Come here.” Chester dragged Nigel with him toward the goblins. “Here, get to work.” Giving him a small knife.

“What are you doing?” Arad asked.

Lisa approached him with a smile, “Getting kill proof. For goblins, we take their ears. The guild pays up based on that.”

Tristana stretched her arms, “We are also required to burn the corpses and bury them. We don’t want them to raise as undead.” She stared at Arad, “You’re quite good with fire, care to help us burn them?”

[She is right. We better burn them.]

“Of course, I like burning things,” Arad replied, igniting a flame at the tip of his finger.

Tristana approached him, “By the way, how is your MP doing?” She stared into his eyes, “We don’t need to carry you to the city.”

[Using magic consume MP. You lose consciousness at 0 MP. But don’t worry, the magic you used doesn’t consume MP, at least for now.]

“I’m fine. I didn’t lose MP.”

“Really? I understand Firebolt, but that burst you did must have consumed at least a bit. To me, it looked like first-tier magic.” Tristana looked surprised, quickly taking a small book from her pocket and reading through it.

[Spells are divided into ten tiers, from 0 to 10. Tier 0 spells don’t consume MP, but they are weak. [Firebolt] is a 0-tier spell. It only needs the latent magic in the air to function.]

“I don’t know any spells. That flame is a form of my innate power. It doesn’t consume MP.” Arad replied, “Can you teach me some spells?”

“Hold up? That is your innate power?” Tristana walked back, surprised.

Lisa approached them, “We would have liked to teach you, but we can’t. Spells get passed through tomes. You have to buy and use one to learn a spell.”

“How much does one tome costs?”

Tristana started thinking, “I haven’t bought one in a while, but 0-tier tomes go for about 40 silver coins.”

[1 platinum coin=100 gold coins ]

[1 gold coin=100 silver coins]

[1 Siver coin=100 copper coins]

Arad scratched his head, “40 silver coins? You said the guild pays you for the goblins. How much?”

Tristana shook her head, “Not much. Five copper coins per kill. The shaman there is worth ten.” She pointed toward the pile of corpses. Chester and Nigel seem to have collected all the ears.

“Tris, come burn them,” Nigel shouted with a smile.

“I’m coming,” she replied and then looked at Arad, “Want to help?”

Arad smiled, KA-DON! Flames burst from his hand. “Let’s burn them.”

After burning all the corpses and burying them, the five slowly walked toward the city.

As they approached the city gate, the guard from the battlements shouted at them. “Nigel, how did the training go? And who’s the new guy with you?”

“It was exciting. We almost got killed by goblins. The guy here named Arad helped us slay the monsters.” Nigel shouted with a smile.

“He helped you guys? Better let him in, then go to the guild and get some rest.”

The guard walked away, disappearing for a few seconds. CRACKLE! The massive iron gate slowly lifted, throwing dust everywhere.

As they walked inside, Arad approached Nigel. “Who was that?”

“That’s my father. He’s a gate guard.” Nigel smiled, “He looks cheerful, but he gets angry quickly, don’t test his patience.”

Arad nodded as they approached the guild. The massive brick building seemed larger than all the nearby buildings. “Welcome to hell,” Chester said, kicking the door open.