Chapter 529 - Rank 3 Mounts

Draco and Eva left the Inner Universe and came out of the Anomaly Realm in the Aether Castle. After their one-week break to get some other thing done, it was about time they headed over to the location of the Tower of Babylon.

At this time, he went over to the area in which Qiong Qi and Clarent resided with their families. During the three and a half months since they returned from the Refinement God's Treasury, Nemea and Sphea, Qiong Qi's two daughters, had begun to wean themselves of Sheera's b.r.e.a.s.tmilk.

They had become a little bigger, also manifesting similar traits to their closer affiliation between their parents. Nemea was more like her father with the traits of a Divine Lion while Sphea was more like her mother with the traits of a Manticore.

Qiong Qi had been mating with Sheera since then, but they had yet to get another successful batch of cubs. After all, Qiong Qi had climbed to Rank 3 in tandem with Draco, so more of his power had been released.

Of course, as Draco's contracted mount, Sheera too had ascended when he went to Rank 2 and further to Rank 3.

｢Name: Sheera - Rank 2 -> 3 Manticore

MON Str: 70 -> 100

MON Dex: 60 -> 120

MON End: 50 -> 90

MON Int: 30

MON Cha: 30

MON Lck: 50

Abilities: Poison Sting, Fury Swipes, Green Fire Blast (New).

Traits: Flight, Petrification, Agility (New).｣

｢Poison Sting – Ability

Effect: Pierce an enemy with a scorpion stinger to poison them. This drains 1% HP per second.

Duration: 20 seconds -> 25 seconds

Cooldown: 8 minutes -> 6 minutes.｣

｢Fury Swipes – Ability

Effect: Slash out at enemies with condensed energy from the claw, dealing 40% -> 50% damage from a distance.

Cooldown: 5 seconds -> 4 seconds.｣

｢Green Fire Blast – Ability

Effect: Channel the poison element and the fire element existing within the user's body and emerge them, forming a ball of green fire that burns and dissolves targets on contact. This deals 30% fire and poison damage to a single target as well as draining 0.1% HP per second.

Duration: 10 seconds.

Cooldown: 3 minutes.｣

｢Flight – Trait

Effect: Can take to the air at will. A maximum of three -> four people can be safely carried when in the air.｣

｢Petrification – Trait

Effect: Any entity that is stung by the poison stinger will be turned to stone for a period of time dependent on their Endurance.｣

Effect: Possess a great amount of dexterity and speed, up to 2 times your base ability in both these fields.｣

Her increases weren't too crazy, but it could be seen that Sheila was mostly a status effect/damage over time monster rather than a melee, magical, or crowd control one. On any other player, her abilities would be so broken as to allow them to step out of mediocrity and onto the level of core members of Umbra.

Her stats had increased in various fields, with Dexterity being the highest this time compared to Strength which was her highest during Rank 2. Sheera had been excited when she saw that she acquired Green Fire Blast, which was the Manticore favored skill for long-range attacks.

Agility was also well looked upon because one thing cat-like species loved were flexibility and agility. Sheera was likely even better in this regard than Qiong Qi, who was more of a defensive/power-based lion rather than a mystic/agility-based lion like Sheera.

Of course, it was likely that Nemea and Sphea would inherit both of these characteristics, which was why Sheera had been interested in mating with Qiong Qi anyway.

Her size had also increased slightly, almost reaching Qiong Qi's level, and she was now able to carry up to four people on her back during her flight. Of course, since Draco and Eva themselves could fly, this became far less useful.

Then again, Sheila did come from a Legendary Rank scroll, so this much was to be expected. Nemea and Sphea were Sheera's kids, not Draco's contracted beasts, so he was unable to see their exact stats.

The same went for Qiong Qi, who, although being his mount on paper, was too far ahead of Draco for his 'master' to even glimpse any of the fellow's blasted skills or stats. After finding the shameless lion, he informed their family that they were to move into the Inner Universe and helped them facilitate this.

Sheera and her two daughters were cooperative, choosing a meadowland to be their home on the floating island in the void. Qiong Qi raised up a ruckus, demanding that he be given governor rights as well as a castle half the size of the island.

In response, Draco roared 'THIS. IS. MY. WORLD!' then kicked Qiong Qi off the edge of the island, plunging him into the abyss and starting the war between the Morningstar's 300 members against the legions who had been subdued by the Divine Lion!

Cough, of course, that was impossible. Rather, Qiong Qi howled like a little girl, his screams so loud that even the Eternal Tree shrunk its leaves in shame on his behalf.

After letting him fall over and over about 50 times, Draco grabbed him back onto the island, in which a frightened Qiong Qi quickly rolled on his belly and made cute meow sounds.

Utterly disgusted, Draco kicked him down and sent him for another 50 loops before letting the matter go.

After dealing with the Lion, he headed over to the area of the Dragons. Clarent was sunbathing here with Chrona, and the two seemed happy with their current life. Clarent's treatment of the former wyrm was much better now that she had evolved into a Drake.

That's right, with Draco and Hikari's help over the past 3 months, the shy wyrm was now a beautiful silvery-blue Drake that was about three sizes smaller than the Rank 3 Clarent.

｢Name: Clarent - Rank 3 A.d.u.l.t Dragon

MON Str: 150 -> 250

MON Dex: 150 -> 250

MON End: 150 -> 250

MON Int: 150 -> 250

MON Spr: 150 -> 250

MON Cha: 150 -> 250

MON Lck: 150 -> 250

Abilities: Fireball, Flamepillar, Immolation, Flame Explosion, Fire Claw, Sea of Flames, Magma Wave (New), Rain of Fire (New)

Traits: Divine Origin, Fire Immunity, Dragon's Fire, Boost, Fire Ward, Magical Resistance (New), Fire Affinity (New), Aether Production.｣

｢Fireball – Ability

Effect: Shoot a ball of fire at a target within 500 -> 5000 yards. This deals 45% -> 75% fire damage.

Cooldown: 2 seconds -> 0.5 seconds.｣

｢Flamepillar – Ability

Effect: Cause an eruption of fire at a certain location that engulfs an area of 15 -> 75 yards. This deals 125% -> 350% fire damage per second.

Duration: 15 seconds -> 45 seconds

Cooldown: 3 minutes -> 1 minute.｣

｢Immolation – Ability

Effect: Set a target within 75 -> 500 yards aflame from the inside out. This deals 200% -> 500% fire damage.

Duration: 7 seconds -> 12 seconds

Cooldown: 6 minutes -> 3.5 minutes.｣

｢Flame Explosion – Ability

Effect: Cause a huge explosion in an area of 20 -> 100 miles. This deals 200% -> 500% fire damage.

Cooldown: 15 minutes -> 10 minutes.｣

｢Fire Claw – Ability

Effect: Imbue the fire element into the user's claws, dealing 15% -> 60% fire damage with each swipe for the duration.

Duration: 1 minute -> 2 minutes

Cooldown: 3 minutes -> 2 minutes.｣

｢Sea of Flames – Ability

Effect: Spray a great amount of fire over an Area Zone, setting it alight. This deals 500% -> 1000% fire damage.

Duration: 5 minutes -> 10 minutes

Cooldown: 1 day -> 20 hours.｣

｢Magma Wave – Ability

Effect: Spawn a huge wave of flowing magma that covers an area of 500 yards. This deals 150% fire damage and disintegrates anything caught within the wave.

Cooldown: 30 minutes -> 25 minutes.｣

｢Rain of Fire – Ability

Effect: Call down a rain of fire over an area of 20 miles that pelts anything within with little balls of intense flame. This deals 1% fire damage per strike from a hailstone of fire.

Duration: 30 seconds

Cooldown: 20 minutes -> 15 minutes｣

｢Dragon's Fire – Trait

Effect: 200% -> 300% to all fire damage.｣

｢Fire Ward – Trait

Effect: A permanent aura of fire surrounds the user, blocking 20% -> 30% of all damage.｣

｢Magical Resistance – Trait

Effect: With the great magical acuity and favorability the Dragon race possesses with magic, the user has a permanent 15% resistance against all magical attacks.｣

｢Fire Affinity – Trait

Effect: As a pureblooded Fire Dragon, your affinity with the element of fire is the strongest among all races in the universe. As such, all cooldowns for fire-related skills and spells are reduced by 30%.｣

Clarent's improvement was, as usual, horrifying. He was a basic Fire Dragon rising the ranks right now even though his soul was Divine, but just look at this growth. Now, was it clear to all why Dragons had been hailed as the number 1 race?

However, when comparing Clarent to Hikari there was a huge gap. One could only wonder what the kind of growth top-tier Dragons like the Crystal, Light, Dark, Gold, Space, and Time Dragons would have if even a Fire Dragon had such increases.

From a Young Dragon to an A.d.u.l.t Dragon, his size had increased by at least twofold. Now, he finally looked like a dragon one would expect a heroic knight to fight against to save the damsel in distress.

At Rank 1, he was originally the size of a computer, big enough that he wasn't tiny, but small enough to still somewhat comfortably sit on Draco's shoulders if need be.

At Rank 2, he was about the size of a 4x4 luxury car. His body had become less chubby and sleeker, while his muscles began to show all over his body. His snout had become longer, while his ridges and spines had become longer and sharper. His wings had also become longer and firmer, allowing him to fly faster, longer, and easier.

Now at Rank 3, he was about the size of a house. Any human that stood before him would have to crane their necks to make eye contact with him. His body had become even spikier with two red horns appearing on either side of his forehead.

His teeth had become longer and sharper, his scales far firmer and glossy, while his wings now spread almost 20 meters on either side of his body.

Chrona had long laid their egg and just like Draco and Hikari they were waiting for it to hatch. Unfortunately, the gestation period was far longer for the duo, about 5 years. Draco and Hikari only got to take a shortcut because Draco's human genes had greatly reduced the duration.

Clarent was even lucky that Chrona had been a wyrm when she had conceived the egg, as it could have taken upwards of 20 years if both of them had been pureblooded Dragons.

Clarent didn't make a fuss like Qiong Qi upon entering the Inner Universe. He simply requested a Dragonperch for himself, Chrona, and their future brood. Then, he flew up there peacefully with his partner, settling down.

Draco however, narrowed his eyes.

Trying to act like a tamed husband and family man? Too naive! A hooligan would always remain a hooligan, no matter the day or age!

If Qiong Qi couldn't help but cause trouble, how would that bastard Clarent be able to hold back?

It didn't take long for Draco to be proven right, the moment Clarent had settled into the Dragonperch, he turned around and took a deep breath before bellowing for everyone to hear.

"Listen up! This Inner Universe is now the property of the Dragon Race! Everyone shall come here every day to make offerings to me for protection, solidarity, and good living! Refusal to do so will make your crotch smell, your eyes turn yellow and your teeth rot!"

Draco, and every else's face blanched at how cruel Clarent was. Just imagine if the fellow had the ability to make curses real, who could tolerate such a hefty punishment?

Immediately, Draco rushed over and beat Clarent off his Dragonperch, also sending him down into the void for 50 loops. Clarent howled in fear continually, not as pathetic as Qiong Qi, but still quite shamefully.

When Draco brought him back on dry land, the fellow quickly wore a traditional Japanese samurai's attire and knelt on his hind legs.

"SHOGUN! This unfaithful warrior will now commit seppuku to avail my crimes! Please don't send me down that void again!" Clarent cried out with a knife placed against his belly.

He roared valiantly as he pierced the knife into himself and fell over, his eyes slowly closing as the breath of life left him. Draco on the side only watched with a neutral expression.

Clarent popped open one eye slightly to see if his lay worked, but before he could even tell, Draco had kicked him down the void for another 50 loops. Once he came back, the fellow was shaking like he had been traumatized, making Draco burst into laughter as he pointed his index finger right at Clarent's snout.

His mocking laugh was so painful to hear that Clarent burst into tears and ran away crying.

After bullying Clarent, Draco turned to Eva who was in the midst of accommodating Luxia in her own Heavenly Palace. She created a Tree of Light where Luxia would be able to perch whenever she was on standby instead of being kept in her inventory.

It had to be said that Luxia had also changed once she hit Rank 3.

｢Name: Luxia - Rank 2 -> 3 Light Phoenix

MON Str: 100 -> 150

MON Dex: 100 -> 150

MON End: 100 -> 150

MON Int: 100 -> 150

MON Spr: 100 -> 150

MON Cha: 100 -> 150

MON Lck: 100 -> 150

Abilities: Light Blade, Wings of Light, Light Barrier, Afterimage, Light Beam (New), Light Bomb (New).

Traits: Streak, Self-Restore, Autonomy, Elementalize, Purify (New).｣

｢Light Blade – Ability

Effect: Send out a blade of Light Energy that deals 100% -> 150% Light Damage to one target.

Cooldown: 8 seconds -> 6 seconds.｣

｢Wings of Light – Ability

Effect: Coat one's wings with Light Energy and bombard an area with slashes of light. Deals 1% Light Damage with every hit.

Duration: 30 seconds -> 1 minute.

Cooldown: 30 seconds -> 1 second.｣

｢Light Barrier – Ability

Effect: Create a barrier made of the purest Light Energy that resists all physical and magical attacks and negates damage by 10% -> 20%.

Duration: 30 seconds -> 1 minute.

Cooldown: 5 minutes -> 4 minutes.｣

｢Afterimage – Ability

Effect: Instantaneously move in a single direction so quickly that an afterimage is left behind where you once stood to receive damage on your behalf.

Cooldown: 10 minutes -> 8 minutes.｣

｢Light Beam – Ability

Effect: Concentrate Light Energy into a beam and fire it out, striking a single target and lacerating them. This deals 120% -> 180% Light damage.

Cooldown: 5 minutes -> 4 minutes.｣

｢Light Bomb – Ability

Effect: Focus a great amount of Light Energy into a circular-shaped bomb that can be flung out to strike all targets within a range of 1 mile, which is the explosion radius. This deals 500% -> 1000% Light damage.

Cooldown: 30 minutes -> 25 minutes.｣

｢Self-Restore – Trait

Effect: Absorb Light Energy to restore HP by 2% -> 3% per minute.｣

｢Elementalize – Trait

Effect: The user is able to fully transform their body into an elemental form relating to their greatest affinity. In this case, the Light Phoenix can become an existence of purest Light.｣

｢Purify – Trait

Effect: Due to the deluge of Light Energy radiated by the user, all darkness-related or evil-aligned beings automatically find themselves becoming cleansed of their nature.｣

Luxia's size hadn't increased much, but her beauty was far more potent. Her feathers trailed behind her, flapping as glowing as she flew and the ambient Light Energy that coursed around her formed an aura that made her look holy.

Eva was hugging Luxia's neck tightly while the two cuddled each other lovingly. Draco smiled at this, for he knew that in the previous timeline, Eva did not have any pets nor did she like them, especially after she had degraded into Riveting Night.

As such, Luxia was her first and it was obvious that Eva loved her Light Phoenix just as much as her Light Phoenix loved her.

Seeing the bond between the two, Draco had to think about his own situation. Weren't there some fellows like Essence Stalker who he had never interacted with in the previous timeline?

He had already delayed the Unique Quest for a bit and it was not like it would run anywhere, so why not spend some time with their friends beforehand?

Draco could gather his boys, Rambunctious, Essence, Fitter, and Armonia to go and cause trouble in town while Eva could throw a party or something with her girls Sublime, Keira, Lucia, and Hera who had been the Three Pinnacles of Darkrow.

It would be far more fun and interesting, also very good for them. Draco didn't need to say this to Eva as he had already conveyed the idea to her through their connection, so Eva let go of Luxia's neck and kissed the Light Phoenix one last time.

She then teleported beside Draco using her Spacetime Regulation and nodded her head with a smile.

"That is a great idea."

The White-Haired Duo then left the Inner Universe and entered the Aether Castle once more, where most of the core members had moved into per Draco's instructions. While their manors out there were great, they were nothing compared to a single suite in the Aether Castle, so many lived here while keeping their mistresses at home.

It was easy for Draco to lure his targets out, as they too were kinda bored at this time. Essence who was normally training repeatedly had reached a bottleneck, so he was resting, while RamB.u.t.t was currently painting a booty so grand that even the best h.e.n.t.a.i artists would kneel.

Armonia had long gotten rid of Qiong Qi and was seriously researching everything about Tradeskills in one of the libraries. Draco had even given him access to some Divine equipment Norma had created in passing.

Fitter was in the process of laying the pipe down on Slim Fatty, so Draco decided to come later. He also called over Tunder who was still out in the world exploring and discovering new things.

Eva had an easier time gathering her girls. Sublime was in the office working, and hearing that she could cause trouble with Eva again made her burst into tears. Eva actually felt bad, like she had really been bullying the poor evil lolitician.

She then gathered her three former best friends, Keira who had been training, Hera who had been helping Sublime with paperwork, and Lucia who had been receiving some 'meat' from Silent Walker.

Amused, Eva also called over Jada and Jade who had been out clearing dungeons, and then finally called Rina who had been fl.i.c.k.i.n.g the bean to a picture of Draco.

Soon, the two groups set out to have their fun.

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Author's Note: I'm sure you've all noticed the fluctuating release schedule of Guild Wars in recent days. It became worse after I got sick a while back too.

Well, the reason is because writing 5k words a day isn't easy for me in particular. It not even just the quality, but the fact that it's spread across two different stories.

It seriously throws me on a loop, especially when one of them became intense while the other is still building up, or when one requires technical details like levels, stats, and skills and the other is focused on dialogue and the like.

Because I have to do this every day, it's like writing two different exams on the same day, separate by mere hours of each other... every single day.

I'll try my best to maintain a schedule, but somedays, I just end up behind my computer, just unsure of what to do next and which to write first.