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[A marvelous display of skill and power! Especially your use and manipulation of magic.] King Brakkh'zhaarn bellowed while pounding on his dais. [With what I have seen today, you have set a high bar for what a Broken Scale trial should look like. The more the young ones see what a strong mortal can really do, the higher and harder they will push themselves. I have half a mind to send some of my bloodline's wyrmlings to you for their trial when their time comes.] he said with a rumbling chuckle.
To which I could only mentally reply 'HELL NO!'. But then, my brain did what brains do, and the memory of the treasure chest I got as a reward for Thryz's trial flashed in my mind. And following that, there was this small voice in my head that I could not ignore that said to me, 'Think about all the money.'
Thanks, brain, you make an excellent point. From what I have seen, dragons are fucking loaded.
(Brain: *Thumbs up*)
But then again, I am from an up-and-coming noble house, and I just scored big time in betting. What need do I have for so much more money?
(Brain: More money never hurt nobody.)
Yeah, I could always use more - wait a minute, are you trying to trick me, brain? That was a double negative.
(Brain: …)
I'm on to you, brain. I don't know why, but I am keeping my eye on you. Too much money can bring all sorts of trouble. Unknown long-lost realities, financial advisors, lawyers, investment brokers, scammers, charities, politicians, and most despised of all, the tax man.
(Brain: You can be paid in favors; you can't put a price on a favor from a powerful wyrm.)
You… you make a good point, brain… Wait! Why the hell am I talking to myself? Did all that bleeding from my face holes mean something really bad? Do I have a fucking aneurysm?
I mentally cast a diagnosis spell, and true enough, I had a brain bleed. It is a wonder that talking to myself was the worst of it before I caught on. I cast a minor healing spell to heal the burst blood vessel, but I do not trust myself to drain the blood that is sloshing around in my brain case. I will need Professor Sageira to help drain it later and give me a proper checkup.
But minor brain damage aside, my hallucination does make a good point. From what I can see from the audience in the stands, they all seem to be adult wyrms and were throwing gold ingots around in bets like I spend copper coins on snacks. I highly doubt I could pay them to do anything, and even if I could, it would cost me a fortune. But from what I know of wyrm culture in general from Professor Sageira, they are generally a highly honorable society, and honoring favors is a matter of personal and family honor.
But all that is besides the point. I think I have been spacing out for a few seconds. I bowed to King Brakkh'zhaarn and replied, [I would be honored assisting any young in their trials. I can be contacted through my mentor, Sgaer'khathz Vruul'draggashk.]
Brakkh'zhaarn rumbles out another chuckle. [Excellent, most excellent. Especially how you used that last spell to extinguish [Inferno], in one spell, you took advantage of the barrier to create a void, extinguishing the flames and defeating your opponent in one stroke. If only more wyrmlings used their heads in fights a bit more these days instead of just relying on their scales, claws, and flames to bring them victory.]
He then reared up his long neck and said in a voice that resounded through the colosseum. [Today, we have witnessed history. One who is not of the scale has bested an adult wyrm in not only a show of might, but even at our own magic. And seeing that he has offered his services to strengthen our young in future trials, it is only fitting that I bestow a title upon you and all who come after you.]
He then stepped down from his dais and walked toward me. When he was standing before me, he told me to disrobe and expose my chest. I was not sure what was going on, but I was not about to argue with a dragon king that I was in punching distance of.
After I was bare-chested, Brakkh'zhaarn lifted his right arm, used a claw to nick the relatively lightly protected joint of his left arm to draw out a ping-pong ball-sized globule of blood that floated an inch from the claw that drew it.
[By the authority invested in me as Dragon King, I, Brakkh'zhaarn Vrothkhaal, dub thee, Luke Ironcrest, Vrauhl'draakth, first of his kind, and welcome him and those who come after him as kin.] Brakkh'zhaarn said as he pressed the globule of blood above where my heart was.
I felt the globule of blood bubble on my skin, and then I felt my heart skip a beat as I felt my heart… itching? Can a heat even itch? But before I knew it, the blood absorbed into my skin, leaving behind the mark of a blood red dragon coiled in a circle.
The mark soon faded, revealing normal skin, and Brakkh'zhaarn retracted his claw before saying [Be welcome, kin Vrauhl'draakth.] and raising his head to roar to the heavens while breathing fire, and the rest of the wyrms followed suit with their own breath attacks.
Not wanting to feel left out, I joined in on the roar while using instinctive fire magic to breathe my own jet of fire. While doing so, I messaged Professor Sageira, {What just happened?}
She gave me a mental shrug, {I am just as surprised as you are that this happened. I was just expecting that you would be accepted as a special exception, not be accepted as kin by the dragon king. This smells like a political move, but either way, congratulations, you are the first of the Vrauhl'draakth bloodline.}
Man… fuck this shit, can a man not escape political bullshit in the world of dragons? {Can we please go home?} I whine despite knowing the answer was a big fat NO. There was still shit to do before I could go home to my loving family and soft bed.