Chapter 254: Draconic Domain (Patreon)

William Oh was voted the Tower’s most eligible bachelor, narrowly edging out incumbent Nephir Akul, riding the scaled vote to victory.

-          Jason Salazar

“‘Ancestor’ is a bit of a stretch. I’m more like…a great aunt?” Nora said, holding her massive paw out and chatting with Loth while Will worked on it. “I was in the same clutch as one of the ones who went further down The Tower. She was a bit…slow, if you know what I mean. All the ones who moved down were the runts of the litter. No offense.”

“None taken. Kobolds are, in general, not very bright.” Loth replied.

“That doesn’t seem to be a problem for you, little one.” Nora said, fawning over her tiny niece.

“Yet I can’t help but wonder what I could’ve been.” Loth said.

“Can you feel that?” Will asked, cutting into the flesh.

“I can’t feel anything. Please warn me before you start, I can’t handle the sight of blood, and I don’t want to accidentally look at it.” Nora said, keeping her eyes firmly fixed on Loth.

“So what were we talking about before that?” Nora asked.

“The migration.” Brianna prompted, kicking her legs from where she sat on the fallen tree suspended above the putrid cursed water.

“Oh right. Well, every thousand years or so there’s a migration that happens, where the Floors open up for a few years. Miasma leaks through, followed by monsters and occasionally young, handsome eligible bachelors from the 14th Floor.”

Nora crossed her claws.

“Humans view the end of a Coil as an apocalypse that resets civilization, but dragons think of it as a ‘migration’ and an opportunity to get a date.” Will said, shaking his head.

“They do?” Nora asked without looking at Will. “How odd. I suppose…I suppose they’re quite weak aren’t they? And they aren’t restricted from travelling between Floors outside the migration, so I guess they can meet new people whenever they want.”

“I want to point out that the ‘weak’ humans you’ve interacted with here on the 13th Floor are among the most powerful of their entire species.” Loth pointed out.

“Oh…I’m sorry.” Nora said.

“We’re used to it,” Will said.

“What’s the migration look like?” Brianna asked.

“Like…holes in the air. It’s as if all the Floors were actually in the same spot, separated by thin layers of fabric, but something rubbed up against that fabric, causing it to gradually grow weak and frayed…and holes open up in the air.

“And then they just close by themselves after a few years?” Will asked. “What fixes the holes?”

“I’unno,” Nora gave a most draconic shrug.

Will shrugged and kept working. Nora didn’t seem the type to pay attention to those details. The details she did pay attention to…

“So anyway, last migration, there was this young buck named Beold who was absolutely glittering with draconic masculinity, His neck was thick, he could crack a dimensional oyster with that jaw…and that chest…gods. But that slut of a sister of mine mislead me about where he’d be the night I was going to make my move. While I was waiting in the wrong place, that shallow whore was raising her tail! Straight to the sky!”

Nora made what he could only assume was a vulgar gesture with her free hand, thumb out, pinkie straight up. If one applied their imagination it sort of looked like a dragon with their tail raised.

Brianna covered her mouth, eyes wide.

Loth gasped. “No!”

“Yes! And last I heard those two had a clutch of over twenty! That bitch must’ve been as round as the slimy toad her face resembles. She got hers, though, because shortly after she absconded with Beold, his parents…”

Will shook his head and kept up his work, letting the gossip flow past him as he concentrated.

Draconic bone and scale were hard, and Will actually had to use serious pressure to cut through them, even with his Phantom Hand.

Will didn’t want to hack haphazardly at the pinkie, so instead he made a collar around the pinkie and was carefully working the blade back and forth around it, taking advantage of the blade’s polymorphic properties to tighten the circle as he went.

It was slow going, but it would make one clean cut rather than a butchered mess.

Pop!

The pinkie fell off and Will immediately stemmed the flow of blood before it could get Nora’s attention. The last thing he needed was a fainting dragon.

“Hmm? Did you get started?” Nora asked, deliberately not looking.

“About to,” Will said, applying the regrowth potion.

A new pinkie sprouted from the wound. Quickly at first, then gradually slowing down as it achieved its previous size.

Sourdough

262 Charges remaining.

Waste not.

Next Will cleaned the blood and wrapped the base of the pinkie claw in cloth.

“Okay, done,” Will said.

“Wh-done!?” Nora demanded, gawking at will standing there with the massive clawed finger thrown over his shoulder.

She closed her eyes and raised her left hand, peeking through one eye first before opening both to study her new finger.

“I don’t even see a seam.” She said, flexing her hand.

“It would be the height of impropriety to leave a scar on a lady.” Will said with a bow.

“Mr. Oh, you charmer.” Nora said, waving him off. “If you were a dragon Mr. Oh, I might be tempted.”

“Alas, I am not.” Will replied.  “Is there any weakness in the finger?”

“Now that you mention it…yes, it feels a bit weak…” She poked it. “And soft.”

“The weakness will go away. The magic restores the bone, but it does take some time to rebuild the muscle and accommodate the new nerves. The scales will harden over time. They’re still completely fresh.”

“You sound like a professional.” Nora said.

“I’ve gotten my hand cut off enough times that this is kind of routine now.” Will said. “If it starts aching, make sure to give it plenty of exercise and stimulation. Stretches and strengthening exercises.”

“Will do.” Nora said.

“Now, about payment.” Nora said. “I have a list of materials that would be wonderful to waterproof my lair. Living in a swamp probably wasn’t the…best decision I ever made. But if I can use these to expand my den and get it nice and dry, the next eligible bachelor that comes by, BAM! I’ll pop out of my lair, grab him by his muscly neck and drag him back inside.”

Will scanned the materials and the quantities. It wasn’t out of the question, but it was a bit expensive and the freight doors would be a drain on his Influence.

It’d be cheaper to…I wonder.

“Would you be interested in travelling instead?” Will asked, glancing up at Nora.

“Wha?”

“I was listening to your complaints about finding a suitable man, and it seems like the biggest reason is you can’t move around like you want.

I’m a Lord. I might be able to buy you a Door to move between Floors ahead of the migration. Also, I know some Lords on this Floor and the 14th Floor. I can speak to them and arrange a credit for you to move back and forth between the two Floors. To a certain limit.”

“I appreciate the offer, but the next migration is due soon. All I need do at this point is wait a couple more years and-“

“You could get ahead of your sister.” Will said.

Nora’s eyes narrowed as she peered down at Will.

“How many trips?” She asked.

“Ten.”

“A hundred.”

“Thirty.”

Nora squirmed in place for a moment, seemingly on the fence.

“Tell you what, brag about our deal to the other dragons, and I’ll get you the whole hundred.” Will said aloud while doing some simple math.

Purchasing a Door from another Lord on credit will require me to pay them more than the cost of the trip for them to make a profit.

One hundred trips at fourteen Influence apiece, fourteen hundred Influence. Double the price since I’m paying Rotwitch and Carrie to do it, that comes to about two thousand eight hundred. A decent chunk of change, but I bet I can haggle the price down by pointing out the opportunity to establish a rapport with the local dragons.

And Nora will be happy to brag and get one over on her sister, I predict.

“Deal!” Nora said.

Called it.

“Bree, can you let Rotwitch and Carrie know?”

Brianna nodded.

As a test, Will bought Nora a Door to the 14th Floor, which seemed to work, but Nora wanted to get used to her new finger and organize her lair for company before she accepted it.

She intended to bring a boy home, apparently.

“If the Door doesn’t work for any reason, send me a message through the Rotwitch,” Will said. “I’ve still got your list of materials on me.” He tapped his breast pocket.

I should send what I can. Couldn’t hurt to buy an ally on this Floor.

They said their goodbyes and tromped back through the swamp to Rotwitch’s Stronghold, stopping to rest halfway there. When they paused and found places to rest, Will took the dragon claw off his shoulder and held it out.

“Thanks for watching my Stronghold, and for the help with the worm. I believe this should make us square,” Will said, offering the dragonflesh to Loth.

“I believe it does.” Loth said, holding the dragon finger over her head.

With a flash of light, The Tower consumed the sacrifice.

Loth couldn’t seem to contain her grin, brandishing her sawblade teeth in a truly evil smile. “Yes, this will do nicely.”

Ominous chuckles began leaking out of Loth.

Awww.

There were no other kobolds around, so Will took a chance and patted her head.

Loth was too preoccupied reading the description of the changes in her Class to notice. All up in her own little world.

Qualitative upgrade to Trap Savant detected!

Trap Savant becomes Draconic Domain.

Abilities of Trap Savant are retained and bundled in with Draconic Domain.

Qualitative Upgrade increases Upgrade Slots from 2 to 9.

Draconic Domain: Sacrifice a full-blood dragon to enhance the body and grant the user a domain which allows them to take special actions and exert control over the area around themselves.

Passive: Terrain around the user will gradually become more advantageous to the user and disadvantageous to others. Draws environmental effects from other Abilities in the user’s Class. May use some at will.

Do you wish to sacrifice Nora, Black Dragon to Trap Savant?

Yes.

Trap Savant has received a Qualitative Upgrade, becoming Draconic Domain. Review the description for changes.

Draconic domain*:

You are a trap savant. Your understanding of trap systems and how to implement them is supplemented by the System and the wisdom of your ancestors. Traps you set ignore a fraction of Resistance.

Draconic blood flows through your veins.

Terrain around you will gradually change to become more advantageous for you. Draws environmental effects from the user’s Class. May use some Abilities at will within range of the Domain.

Trap savant was always a degraded version of draconic domain. An instinctive urge to secure our homes and exert control over our environment.

Loth could feel Draconic Domain snap into place, like a soap bubble had sprung up around her, creating a tiny pressure in her inner ear. A minute, almost negligible change in their surroundings.

The effect was glacially slow. The Ability was meant to support a den-dwelling creature that rarely moved from its home, gradually building up influence over her surroundings. A natural defense mechanism for the slothful dragons who spent most of their time sleeping.

Loth could feel it tapping into Master of the Vivarium and nudging the surrounding life to fall in line, building defenses around them in line with the original Trap Savant.

The range…about a foot per point of Focus.

Nearly a hundred yards in every direction, the local insect population was beginning to dig fortifications and prepare for war.

Not terrible, but not quite the range I wanted.

“Is that Attrition Sacrifice still being offered?” Loth asked, her heart hammering in her chest.

She’d been waiting her entire life to break through the harsh limitations of her mediocre Sacrifices. Seven extra upgrade slots for Trap Savant, the passive effects improved and an upgrade to her body. Phenomenal.

“Of course, but this time you’ll owe me a favor.” Will said, pulling the Sacrifice out of his Dimensional Storage and offered it to her.

“Deal.” Loth said, doing everything she could not to show her shaking hands as she took it from him.

Attrition upgrade for Draconic Domain:

Draconic Domain’s radius is greatly improved. Minions within the radius are buffed.

Do you wish to sacrifice Attrition to Draconic Domain?

Yes.

Draconic Domain has been upgraded. Read the description for details.

Draconic domain**:

You are a trap savant. Your understanding of trap systems and how to implement them is supplemented by the System and the wisdom of your ancestors. Traps you set ignore a fraction of Resistance.

Draconic blood flows through your veins.

Terrain in a large radius around you will gradually change to become more advantageous for you. Draws environmental effects from the user’s Class. May use some Abilities at will within range of the Domain. Minions inside the radius are empowered.

Loth felt an evil chuckle bubbling out of her, just as she was beginning to feel a bit sleepy.

Her vision went dark, and the last thing she felt was a hand holding her out of the muck.