Aiden’s transformation was spectacular, to say the least. His arms were shrouded in thick black scales, his fingers morphed into terrifying black claws. His face was still the same, however, his amber eyes were illuminating, which gave him a dangerous vibe. His back now had a pair of huge scaly wings protruding out of it. The end of the wings had terrifying, large black claws, similar to his hands. The whole wing was several times larger than Aiden itself, and the very end of the wings had borne a hole in the wooden board on the porch.

As the transformation finished a terrifying roar left Aiden’s mouth. The ground itself was shaking as if the thunderous voice that left Aiden’s mouth had brought fear to the very Earth itself!

By this time, both the young master and his 2 minions were lying on the ground, visibly shaking, unable to comprehend what was happening. Granny was fine, but she was also deep in thought as she was sizing up Aiden’s new attire.

‘So, he is a dragon after all. And from the looks of it, seems to be a genuine Ancient Dragon. To be able to transform at such an age… Incredible!’

The young master looked at the boy from the ground, still shaking.

“Just w-w-who are you? D-d-don’t do anything stupid! My family is very influential if I am hurt… M-my father will pay you back tenfold!” There was no trace of arrogance in his voice anymore, his new tone was similar to a mice squealing.

Looking back at his two minions, he regained a tiny bit of his composure and immediately ordered them.

“You two, get up, and kill this brat!”

The two looked at each other and gulped as a confirmation of the order given to them. They all felt the incredible aura that swept through the area just now. Whatever thing this child is, the power he possessed was much higher than anything they have ever felt. They are like ants trying to bully a lion. What a joke!

But sadly, there’s no option for them, their master’s command is absolute, they cannot defy it. They stood up, and while looking for their weapons that got thrown to the ground, they took a few deep breaths trying to regain their composure. At the very least they should put on a good show, and as soon as the Young Master escaped, they would follow behind. Hopefully, they will still be alive by that time…

“Move it you two! Kill HIM!” The young master shouted. This whole situation got out of hand too quickly. He was planning to score some easy money, and with luck remove one problem, while gaining a new slave in the process. It would have worked well if this unknown kid wouldn’t have shown up! Damn his existence! All the plans he made for today now in the dust. The only thing left is to escape. However, for that to work, he has to sacrifice these two mindless goons…

‘What a waste… And I was planning to use them later…’ He murmured to himself. He had plans on using these two later to gain ownership of the other shops in the district. His plan to use force to gain wealth and power in the city is now ruined!

‘Curse this child!’ he cursed. He was looking at his 2 guards, waiting for them to get in position so he could get out of this cursed place. The worst of all, he can’t even alert his father of today’s blunder.

The two guards with their swords in hand were now slowly closing on the boy. Granny, who was just silently watching the scene, put her hands in front of Aiden, to stop him from doing anything.

In a low voice, she whispered to him.

“Do not kill them Aiden. You should never take life, not unless there’s no other way. Every life is precious.” Then without waiting for a response from him, she looked at the two closing guards.

“You two should escape just like your Young Master did just now. Do not throw away your life meaninglessly.” She waited for the two to look back, only to see the rounded back of their master vanishing in the vegetation at the tree line where they came from. As they looked at each other, then to the elderly lady, she continued. “Your master has already left you here to face your demise. Instead of ending you, I will give you a bit of advice. Run. Turn back and escape. If you have some brain in your heads, then you should not return to the city, but go to the next one and restart your lives there.”

Looking at each other, then to the strange boy, and lastly, to the elderly woman, they nodded their heads while distraught was still visible in their eyes. They knew this would happen when their master gave them their command, but still knowing it, and experiencing it is different. They knew their lives meant nothing to him, but still… To leave them to die so he could escape at the first sign of trouble.. Why should they lay down their lives for such a pathetic person?

They nodded their heads to the woman, then throwing their weapons away, they turned around and escaped into the tree line in a different area then their young master ran off to.

Sighing out a breath of air in relief, Granny looked back at Aiden’s still ‘battle-ready’ state, and with her gentle voice, she spoke to him.

“Calm down Aiden. They are no threat. These two just followed their master’s orders, and the young master has already run off as well. We should be fine for now. After getting mad for her sake, you don’t want to frighten Lily, right?”

Her words struck deep into Aiden’s clouded mind. With the newfound clarity, he exhaled deeply, and his claws, and scales and wings slowly receded. The radiating light also receded from his eyes, and just his golden irises remained. As he returned to normal, he felt exhausted. Weariness spread through all his body, and suddenly, even standing still felt too tiresome. His vision darkened, and the last thing he saw was the wooden boards growing in size.

Grabbing the unconscious boy, Granny shouted towards the rounded windows, where a small blonde head could be seen peeking every now-and-then.

“Lily, help me open up the door, we have to put Aiden to rest!”

Immediately, tiny footsteps could be heard scurrying towards the entrance, and soon the door was sprung open as a distressed Lily was running towards them.

“Is brother okay? What happened? Did he scare off the bad guys?”

“He is okay, he just overexerted himself. You know, Aiden is strong, he just never used this much of the power sleeping within him. A little rest and he will be fine. You have to be strong for his sake, okay?” answered Granny.

Lily was almost crying listening to Granny, but hearing her last words, she shook her hand, and clenching her tiny fists, she replied with newfound determination.

“Yes! I have to be strong for my brother! Leave it to me, Granny, I will watch over him, so he can rest!”

Lightly laughing at her cute behavior, the two walked back inside the house, to lay the unconscious Aiden to rest…

—

In the forest, a disheveled looking, young man could be seen running towards the city of Highrove. His attire had tears and mud stains all over, as well as his face, providing picturesque detail of his ordeal.

Seeing the city walls in the distance, the Young Master finally slowed down, and took a moment of respite at the base of a tree. Looking back, his face turned into an ugly frown, as he cursed.

“Damn you brat! I will repay today’s humiliation! Mark my words, I promise you… You will regret this day!”

He then gripped the ends of his sleeves and cleaned up his face with it. He had to be presentable for his father when he returned to the city. While he shouldn’t involve his father in today’s blunder, he still had to keep up pretenses. Just because he failed today, that doesn’t mean he can give up on his ambitions. No. He waited too long.

“Father you were in power for too long. It is time for you to retire…” he smirked evilly to himself, as he stood up and slowly walked towards the city gates.

—

Meanwhile, as Aiden was resting in his bed, a series of new notifications was blinking in the system, trying to gain their masters attention. Suddenly a hand, made of pure golden light, dismissed these, and a gentle, soft female voice resounded in Aiden’s soul space.

[Let him rest for now. He can check these when he wakes up. Awakening to an innate ability taxed his body too much, he needs his rest. While he rests, the system also needs a little update.]

Then looking up towards the empty space, she called out.

[Commence the update!]