"D-Dragon?" the dwarf yelled as he fell to the ground, too scared to look Arthur in the face.
People in the demon continent knew the dragons existed but rarely saw one. The dragons were like legends, so when the Dragon Priests went there to speak about the Cult of the Dragon, none of the dwarves believed in it.
But now, the dwarf was seeing a dragon in person, which changed things entirely.
"I-I thought you dragons were just myths, and those Dragon Priests were crazy…."
Arthur's sudden appearance caused an uproar in the dwarven fortress, and it did not take long for the dwarven king to appear with some guards.
They froze when they set their eyes on Arthur, an immense black-scaled dragon. It was hard to imagine such a creature was real.
"I suppose you are the dwarven king?" Arthur said with a majestic voice.
"You know our language?" the dwarven king said.
The stories described the dragons as intelligent and wise beings, but no one met them to know whether those claims were valid. But now, the dwarven king was sure it was true.
"Of course I do. Can I come in so we can chat?"
It took some time for the king to realize what was happening, but then he said, "yes, yes, please, come in. My fortress is your fortress."
Arthur changed back to his human form — no way he would find a way to enter the fortress with his gigantic body — and then he followed the king to the insides of the fortress.
Everyone inside gazed at him, and the word about a dragon knocking on their door flew fast, and there was not a single dwarf in that fortress who did not know about Arthur.
"Is he a dragon? He does not look that mighty!"
"Shut up. I saw his true form from the window. He is as big as this mountain."
"As big as the mountain? No way this is true."
"I am telling you. Look, the king saw the dragon and acknowledged him, so who are we not to believe it?"
The tiny long-bearded men and the small strong women whispered to each other, gossiping about Arthur. Only some saw Arthur's appearance, but all heard the roars that shook the entire fortress.
And when they saw Arthur walking around with their king, they knew Arthur was the real deal and a real dragon! A being from the legends!
The king showed them the fortress, which had been built inside the mountain, and was the home to the dwarves. They spent their time mining and forging the most extraordinary items on the whole continent.
What impressed Arthur was how well-designed the fortress was, being safe and an excellent place to live, and not feeling stuck inside a cave. They used magic to lighten up the area and some magical barriers so that the sun could enter the mountains and the fortress and make their crops grow.
"This is a meeting room. I am sorry for not preparing some food and drinks beforehand. I hope lord dragon can wait," the king said.
They did not know Arthur would show up, so it was understandable.
"No problem. Let's sit and talk first," Arthur said.
All of them went inside the meeting room, and the conversation started.
"Your 'Dragon Priests' came a few days ago, and they spoke about 'Cult of the Dragon.' We all thought it was some joke, as no one had seen a dragon before, but their claims were real."
Arthur was staring at the king — a dwarf with a long black beard and an axe on his back — and said, "tell me, king. Would you like to reach rank three? Rank-four? Or more, up until rank- six?"
"I-Well, everyone wants that, but beyond rank four? Rank four is the limit of this continent! No one surpassed it since, well, the Demon Emperor, but he is long gone."
"Didn't my Dragon Priests tell you about my special meditation technique? With it, you can help me restore my past power, and you can also reach greater heights. Tell me, king, do you know about the strange vampire movements?"
"Yes, I do. It seems these suckers plan on taking control over the continent, and we will be doomed if that happens."
"Correct. But don't you agree it would be better for the dragons to take control instead of the vampires? We are righteous creatures, and we ruled over the world before."
The king stayed silent, pondering what Arthur had just said. It was true. Between the vampires and the dragons, everyone would side with the dragons.
The dragons seemed a better choice than the current leaders of the continent, who were only looking for war, and did not have the authority to unite all the races under one ruler.
"Could you take control of the continent? I can sense you have yet to reach rank four," the king said.
"Yes, I can, but with your help. Each new Dragon Priest means more power to me and more power to you. That is why I am on a mission to gather followers, revive the once mighty Cult of the Dragon from ancient times, and reclaim our glory. You and all the dwarves here can be a part of it. We dragons accept any race, but you have to have faith and have the goal to unite the continent. So stop the wars and the conflicts, and turn this place into a better one for everyone."
The way Arthur spoke like they would become part of something greater — they would — made them believe in it.
After pondering, the king listened to every word and diligently said, "I will join the cult and spread the word to all the other dwarves."
Arthur's power increased significantly, and he got a fortress as followers. That was the beginning of his master plan to turn into a rank-four mage while also gathering an army to fight the opposition.
~~~~
"I am sorry for the other day, Arthur. I had some important things to attend to," Tessa said after seeing Arthur leave his room and head to his training.
"No problem. Hey, did you see the guard asking around about strange things happening in the castle? What was that about?"
It was just a test to see how Tessa would react, and even though she did her best to look normal, Arthur, being someone experienced, knew she became uncomfortable with the question for a few seconds and then returned to her usual self.
"I did, yes. The guard also asked me, and I had no idea what he was referring to. Do you?"
Now it was Tessa who was testing Arthur, but different from her, he was someone who could hide his feelings like a true master.
"Don't know either. Anyway, I will head to my training and do my best to impress you, father. Who knows, maybe I can get a better position in the future."
"I am sure you will. Do you want to finish the tour another day?"
"Okay. Bye-bye, Tessa."
Arthur left the indoor area of the castle and went outside to an open field where the soldiers trained. It was night, but he could see everything clearly — one of the perks of being a vampire.
It was his first training day, and the army was divided into rankings. Arthur was a new family member; thus, he would train with the low-ranked soldiers, who were vampires ranging from the first circle to the fourth.
Arthur had meditated for three hours and had already surpassed all of them. Would his genius talent turn into a problem, or would it open his path to higher positions?
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