As they fly the odd system notification keeps repeating in Cain's mind. The system has done many strange things before, but this is the first time it's openly insulted him.
'Oath Breaker, you know a number of things about the System and its creation, do you know why it would give a notification like that? Or what exactly the trickster God you mentioned did to it?' Cain thinks to the demons merged with him, knowing they can hear his thoughts and respond.
"We called him the Laughing God, not a Demon God, but something close to it. The humans considered him evil, but he wasn't really, he just viewed the entire world as a game. One big slice of entertainment to be shaped for his amusement." The Oath Breaker responds.
"You speak of him in the past tense, is this Laughing God dead then?"
"Not dead, just missing. After he changed the System spell to do more than just equip and Summon human Reinforcements, he disappeared so nobody could make him change it back. It's been centuries and none of the Gods have seen any sign of him, and they're all searching. Some to protect him, some to force him to alter the System. The Spider God for instance wants Reinforcements for her children. The system counts them as Elves, so all the transfers that get an Elven designation go to the Elven Forest Transfer Point."
"The message I got felt a lot like it was deliberately NOT giving me male, only female companions. Do you think that's something the Laughing God might have put into the system a a practical joke?" Cain mentally asks.
"Is not impossible, but that level of interaction sounds more like a direct intervention. The first part is normal of an answer from the system, on the rare occasion it gives one, but the dig about making your own friends is classic. I'll have to remember it in case there's a chance to use it at some point in the future."
"Do you think he could have merged with the System itself? That would explain why it plays evil practical jokes on people like Elmira, and why it seems to have a level of sentience." Cain suggests.
"It's not entirely impossible, and you're not the first to suggest it, but there's no way to verify if it's correct or not. The Human Gods tried ending the spell entirely but couldn't change it or stop it. Whatever he did is strong."
"I'll keep it in mind, because I'm pretty sure that System is actually enjoying messing with me."
"Can you blame it? Your responses are so great even I enjoy messing with you, and I usually only enjoy bloodshed and despair." The Demons joke.
It's only been a few hours, but already they can see the ocean on the horizon from this height, so they're getting close to their destination. Hopefully. Cain doesn't have any guarantee Danni actually knows where he's going, but they are flying north, and approaching the ocean, so even if they get the wrong city they'll still get to visit the beach.
Laura is thoroughly enjoying herself, loving to fly even more than most winged creatures do, and the speed of the Legendary Dragon is multiple times faster than her usual.
"One day I too will be this huge." She cheers, making Cain smile.
"Maybe? I've never seen an Opal Prismatic Dragon this size. In fact, the size your dragon form is at now is mostly mature for the species. They're often mistaken for juveniles of other species until they tear apart the one who underestimated them." Danni says and the little dragon gives him an evil look.
"I WILL be huge and magnificent." She repeats and the fashionista bows his head in agreement.
"If all else fails, I'll learn a spell to let you grow to whatever size you want." Cain calls over to her, unsure if she will hear him or if the conversation is entirely in his head and not being picked up by his ears. It's hard to tell sometimes when his summons are talking to each other.
"There, see the sails on the horizon and the port city? That should be Assah." Both copies of Danni say in unison, letting everyone know they're near their destination.
Soon after, the air starts to smell of the sea and they descend to a much lower altitude and slow down to take in the scenery. Assah isn't a big city, only a few thousand people, but there are a lot of trade caravans in the area, so it must serve a number of inland smaller villages. Cain didn't see any though, so he sends a thought to the Dragons for clarification.
'They build into the hills, the towns are mostly underground. Assah is only on the surface, because it's so close to the water.'
That makes sense, why bake in the sun when you can hide in the cool sand for steady temperatures all day round.
"Land there, south of the city. It looks life a proper landing pad for flying creatures." Cain points and Danni nods.
"Yes, that's a Dragon Weyr. A place for travelers with flying mounts and Dragon Lords to spend their nights." The Legendary Ice Dragon agrees. They might not be big enough for something as huge as him, but Cain will just merge with him anyhow, or maybe have him take human form, if he can get along with Laura.
As they approach they're greeted by a guard on a small fire Drake, smelling of Sulphur and Ash, even to Cain's less sensitive nose.
"Land there and proceed to city security to check in, Dragon Lord." The flying guard greets them in an aggressive tone. Not the warmest welcome, but Dragons are dangerous, so maybe they're just being careful.
The looks they're getting as they land are a mix of awe and open hatred, with many flirtatious glances from a group of scantily clothed women who have gathered between the landing area and the city walls.
Misha doesn't like the look of them, they're definitely trouble in the way loose women always are for a relationship.
"Name, rank and number of possible Dragons and Drakes that could appear in the city, Dragon Lord." A hostile soldier welcomes them when they land.
"Duke Cain. Maximum combined Dragons and Drakes would be about 34, maybe?" Cain answers, unsure of exactly how many could possibly appear if he Summoned all Drakes, plus clones of Kone, with their copies of Su. Plus the Bonded Forces of Su and Laura.
"The guard's look is priceless. It's like you kicked him in the face and then shagged his sister." The Oath Breaker chuckles in Cain's mind.
The description isn't far off, the security force has exactly zero idea how to process that information.
"Uh, number of Dragons and Drakes currently in your party, noble Duke?" The guard finally gets out.
"Four Dragons, no Drakes at the moment." This seems to be bringing them back to reality, 4 is much more manageable than 34.
"Name, Quality and Age of the Dragons?" They're really taking the Dragon thing seriously.
'It's how Dragon Lords are ranked. Either they see a lot of them, or the city Lord is a Dragon Lord.'
"Su, age 47. Epic Quality." The Forest Dragon says helpfully, still in her tiny Nymph looking form.
"Laura, age 19. Epic Quality." The Opal Prismatic Dragon says proudly.
"Danni, age three thousand, two hundred and seventeen. Legendary Ice Dragon. And we're twins." Cain's mount says and the guard actually passes out.
Cain sees guards running for the city, so they're probably going to get a bigger welcoming committee for Danni. Or at least that's what he thinks, but within the minute they are already returning with a well dressed man accompanied by two large Dragons, so they might have gotten the city Lord or a nearby Captain who has Dragons.
The Darklight Host waits patiently for the next group to arrive, looking them over as they're approaching. The man with the Dragons looks more than a little intimidated, despite being higher level than Cain by quite a bit.
"Greetings Dragon Lord. I am Earl RhickJaymz, you are Duke Cain if my guards were correct? How rare, a Duke at such a low level, you must have transferred in as a Dragon Lord, correct?"
"Close, but I am actually a Puppet Master by Class. The Dragons are mostly my Summoned Companions." Cain says, as the Earl could easily find that information out by inspecting him with his interface. It's a pain to do, and takes a while to complete, but it will give you species, class and an estimated or accurate level for the one you inspected, depending on your relative levels.
"Anyone who can Summon or control Dragons is considered a Dragon Lord by the coastal alliance, not just the actual class. It helps with organizing relative power levels for unbalanced classes." One of the Dragons, a greater Black Dragon that accompanied the Earl explains, looking at Laura and Danni before noticing that Su is a Dragon as well and turning a curious gaze at her deep red companion.
"Legendary Ice, Epic Opal Prismatic, and an Epic Forest Dragon? If you weren't already in a Noble Class I'd feel offended to be shown up like that." The other Dragon, a male Greater Fire Dragon if Cain's guess is right laughs with a deep rumble and a snort of fire. Unlike fire Drakes, this fire doesn't smell of Sulphur and Ash, instead it smells like Dragon and Roast Meat. The Draconic equivalent of dog breath.
'Noble Class?' Cain asks the merged Oath Bringers, hoping for an answer.
'Certain Classes get titles or jobs in their progression. Kone is a Beast LORD' the Demon emphasizes.
So there is some sort of ranking system to just how broken a class has gotten. Thinking of it that way, his entire class is the systems version of a Pay to Win title that lets everyone know he's overpowered, if they can just recognize it.
"The Forest Dragon isn't mine. It belongs to the Beast Lord Kone." Cain informs the Fire Dragon, now that he knows the titles are important.
"Interesting. Tell me human, do you collect cute things the way I collect shiny things?"
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