Chapter 526 - The Power of Wildfire Max struggled to comprehend how little of Bekat had survived the wildfire spell. If his core hadn’t been taken, would he have survived? Most likely. I’m not certain how much damage a dragon can sustain from within. It’s different than the outer area. Complete destruction of one's heart is impossible for most to recover from. The fact that you can survive having your head chopped off and be back up in less than half a minute was not something I had anticipated us willing to attempt. The cost was worth it, though. I’m not arguing that point; I'm just stating. It also begs the question of what happens if someone cuts off half your head. How would your brain handle that kind of damage? To think it would be just as before seems impossible yet there are creatures and beings on other worlds who can create an exact copy of themselves with the same memories and knowledge. How does that work? I mean, how would you know which one is the real one? Bob laughed and Max sighed, his mind trying to wrap his head around everything. Blinking, he looked at his dwarven friend. Glancing up where notifications usually appeared, he noticed some waiting to be read. Did you know about those? I did. It appears you have become so strong with that artifact, you didn’t even notice when the dragon died, and you gained those. That’s because I was distracted by my arm being just bones. When were you going to tell me? Laughter reverberated in his mind again. I figured you would notice it eventually. [ 100 Strength Consumed ] [ 100 Dexterity Consumed ] [ 100 Constitution Consumed ] [ 100 Intelligence Consumed ] [ 100 Wisdom Consumed ] [ 33 Skills Consumed ] [ 31 Skills Unable to Be Converted or Do not Match Entity Type ] [ Consume has Successfully Consumed a Skill ] [ Would you like to learn [ Illusionary Magic ]? ] [ Consume has Successfully Converted and Consumed a Skill ] [ Would you like to learn [ Wyrm’s Legacy ]? ] “You did gain stuff, didn’t you?” Fowl asked. “Yeah… I did,” Max replied. “I was so distracted by the fact I had no real left arm that I missed seeing the notifications or even feeling the usual cold chill.” “Dang. Is that good or bad?” Shrugging, Max wasn’t sure how to answer that one. “I’ll have to try and find out the next time it happens. Maybe that time I won’t be missing an arm.” Fowl gave him a gentle tap and winked. “For a moment, I had considered trying to chop your shoulder off and see if it would then start to grow. Everything else the team was trying didn’t work, so what did I have to lose?” Max shoved his friend and laughed. “Absolutely nothing. Only I would lose something, just my shoulder. So next time you can try that.” “Next time,” scoffed Fowl. “Now then, what did you get?” “Two skills. Illusionary Magic and Wyrm’s Legacy. I haven’t clicked yes yet, so I’m unsure what they do.” “Did you say illusionary magic?” Tanila asked. “From the dragon?” “Depends on how one uses it and the rank. A master illusionist is a dangerous foe. You’ll never see them coming, walk off a cliff, or find yourself traveling in the wrong direction and never know it. You’d probably be fine because of your sonar skill.” As the team gathered around, Max clicked yes on the first option. [ Illusionary Magic Acquired - Legendary ] His mouth dropped as he read the notification. “That can’t be good… or well bad,” Fowl said. [ Skill Description - Illusionary Magic ] Illusionary Magic - Legendary Skill: The user masters the art of creating illusions that can fool most creatures and beings. Illusions can cover up to five miles, transforming the landscape into anything the user desires. Those who are strong enough of mind may sense that the reality around them is not real and break free from it. Physical and magical pain may also free the individual from the illusion. The user may also leave an area under a permanent illusion, provided they supply enough mana to the spell daily. If the user is killed, all illusions will be immediately dispelled. Smiling, Max began to cast the spell for the first time. [ Illusionary Magic ] He made a clone of himself over himself, while stealthing. Fowl and the others were frowning as his illusion stood there, not saying a word. Moving behind his friend, Max grabbed the dwarf from behind and lifted him over his head. As his stealth broke, Max started laughing, his dwarven friend flailing above. “Gods, this is going to be awful,” Cordellia muttered. “Just what we need, giving Max more ways to play tricks on us.” Dismissing the illusion, Max set his friend down, dodging as their warrior took a few swipes at him. “So help me, I’m going to shove my foot so far up your arse when you’re not looking!” Fowl shouted. “You know I hate being picked up.” “Which is exactly why I did that,” Max replied. “Imagine the fun you and I can have at the Faction. The things we can do to Everett and Tom.” The scowl that had covered that hairy face vanished, replaced by an evil grin as the dwarf rubbed his hands together. “Oh… that will be fun.” If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it. Batrire groaned and rubbed her eyes. “Dear Ockrim, help me.” “So what about the second?” “One second,” Max replied. [ Wyrm’s Legacy Acquired - Common ] [ Skill Description - Wyrm’s Legacy ] Wyrm’s Legacy - Common Skill: The user has unlocked an ancient technique that allows them to transform temporarily into a dragon. Size and duration are limited by skill rank. The more dragons the user kills, the stronger this rank can grow. As the ability improves, other draconic abilities may be acquired. Dragons can sense this power and may react differently. The current size is limited to an eggling for up to fifteen minutes. The current Dragon type that may be duplicated is green. Cooldown is once every twenty-four hours. “Oh no, he’s smiling like that again,” Cordellia said. “Maaaaxxxx. Don’t do anything stupid,” Tanila informed him. “Trust me, this will be worth it.” Any idea how my equipment might impact this ability? Not a clue. I’m curious myself about how this works. Transformational magic is strong and it was the only skill I could convert. This also means that Rakonath should acquire the ability at some point, according to Aerthen. Taking a few steps back, Max stored all his equipment, trading out his gear for a simple robe. “Okay, now, I have no idea what’s going to happen, but don’t do anything stupid like attack me.” Eyebrows furled and a few frowned as he winked and activated the ability. He felt his body begin to change. Wings were growing from his back as he bent over, and claws and talons were growing from his hands and feet. There wasn’t any pain, yet the sensation was awkward, feeling his skin turn hard and scaly. Tanila’s tone carried the concern she must be feeling as she kept blinking. “It’s me,” Max said, surprised by how his voice sounded. “He even sounds like a dragon,” Fowl said. “It has that gruff tone.” “Come and touch me,” Max said as he bent his neck, gazing over his new body. The green scales were glistening as Bekat’s had. Each one looked vibrant and healthy. A tail moved as he thought about it, and it took some effort for Max to move his wings how he wanted them to. It’s a lot harder than I expected to do this. I’m assuming I could fly using this form. You know what assume spells. Perhaps Rakonath could teach you. You can reset this ability? Right? Bob said nothing and then a sense of frustration came through their bond. No. It is different than the others. Similar to how I learned I can’t decrease the cooldown on Wildfire. A hand came near his neck and Max turned, almost knocking Tanila over. “Sorry, I… don’t know how to use this body.” Nodding, she reached out and put her hand against his scales, causing a sensation of bliss to flood his mind. “Would you… scratch me?” Max asked. “Eww!” Cordellia cried out. “Please don’t ever say that again.” Fowl and Batrire both nodded in agreement. Laughing, Tanila began scratching, and a trill came from inside. Please tell her to stop that! “You… have to stop… please…” Each word was hard to say through the pleasure he felt, and Max saw Tanila’s cheeks turn red. “Uh… did you like… You know,” Fowl asked. “I swear if this is how Rakonath feels when I scratch his scales, I’m never doing that again,” Cordellia said with a shudder. “I feel dirty over here, and I didn’t do a thing.” When you and her make love as you call it, I can easily block that out, yet at that moment, it didn’t just flow through you. It somehow… radiated through my entire being. I do not like how that felt at all. Cordellia said it best. Laughing, Max thrum louder when he realized he made the same sound as his dragon. “Gods, this went south fast,” their healer stated. Canceling the ability, Max stood up, feeling a slight breeze blowing, and seeing his friends turning away. Immediately, he equipped his gear, glad to have tried this with a simple robe, even though it didn’t survive the transformation. “Oh look, a chest,” Cordellia said as they all looked away. “Thank Ockrim!” exclaimed Fowl. “Let’s go see what the rest of us get.” As the other three walked away, Tanila was grinning, grabbing his hand. “Was it really that different?” “Yes! Bob asked me to tell you to stop. Even he could feel it.” Her face returned to the red apple color as she stepped back. “Okay, well, that just ended my offering to try that with you again.” Sighing, he moved and pulled her close. “It’s okay. He overlooks the other stuff.” “What’s this?” Fowl asked, holding up the pointy piece of crystal. “Just five of these in the chest? Where’s the loot? The potions? The gear?!” “It’s the tower,” Batrire replied, storing hers. “Perhaps the next time we see Chromie he’ll tell us what they are.” Blowing a raspberry, their warrior pouted. “So we want to head home and try the next floor tomorrow?” “Do you need a day for cooldowns?” Tanila asked. “Yeah. Just one skill though. We can try tomorrow afternoon if that works.” “Fine by me,” Fowl stated. “I need to go drown my sorrows at what I just experienced.” “And I need to take a bath and wash away what I heard,” Cordellia added. Rakonath’s voice thundered in his head the moment they appeared outside the tower. Hold up! Don’t yell, what do you mean? Come to the Faction grounds immediately! A little panic began to set in, and Max motioned to everyone. “Quick, touch me, we need to get back to the faction.” At first, he got a few glances from his friends, but seeing his face, they did as he asked and Max transported them to the spot he knew his dragon was waiting. The oversized dragon shook as soon as they arrived, almost vibrating with energy. “Rakonath what is wrong?!” Max asked, moving toward his dragon. “What did you do? How did you do it?!” “Do what? I’m lost. All I did was…” his voice trailed off and Max cocked his head, studying his friend. “What happened while I was in the tower?” “My skill! I got my transforming skill! Look!” The silver dragon stopped moving, his body beginning to shimmer and glow. Seconds passed as he shrank; a moment later, the silver dragon rose from his kneeling position, revealing his humanoid form. “Uh…” Max started, his voice lost at what was before him. “Those are the biggest pair–” Cordellia said. “Ladies! Avert your eyes!” Fowl shouted, spinning on all three women who were not turning away. “Who knew Rakonath was so… big?” Cordellia whispered, causing the other two to laugh. “What are they talking about?” Rakonath asked, glancing down at his body. “I’m barely taller than you, Max.” Clearing his throat, Max summoned a blanket and handed it to his dragon. “So… your uh… manhood… or dragonhood is showing. It’s why we wear clothes?” “This?” Rakonath asked as he reached down and grabbed it. “It’s not that big right now. I mean, I know it will get a lot bigger.” Max was so shocked that he couldn’t react, and the sound of their archer fainting and hitting the ground made them turn. “Gods, I’m going drinking… I can’t handle today,” Fowl muttered, walking toward the Faction house. “Looks like I’m going to have to train a dragon,” Max muttered. “Step one, what to wear, and step two, not talking like that.”