At present, Holrewen only had a small village of a little over sixty people. Built along the river, Bratt had named it Paradise Village.
The village chief was Six-Finger Rudin, a genuine farmer who led the villagers to work at sunrise and rest at sunset every day, diligent to the core.
Each villager had been assigned several acres of farmland, and their enthusiasm was sky-high.
Those cultivated fields spread around the village. The seeds had only just sprouted, leaving the land mostly barren, but it carried the scent of hope.
Old Moss led the Kobolds in clearing wasteland. It was not stubborn or inflexible—small trees were cut down directly, while larger trees were animated with "Animate Trees" before being relocated to the riverside to reinforce the riverbanks.
Iris was extremely interested. Compared to White Stone Island, her interest in Holrewen was even greater. Though the place was smaller, its strategic value was on an entirely different level from White Stone Island.
Seeing the faint exhaustion between Anser's brows, she told him to go rest while she rode Nornoth around the island to explore.
Anser truly was tired. His mind had been stretched taut all night, his Magic Power drained dry, and he desperately needed rest.
This was also one of the drawbacks of Magic Power casting. Excessive consumption would leave the caster fatigued or even push them into a state of total exhaustion.
By comparison, spell slot casting was far more forgiving to the caster.
He returned alone to the top floor of the black tower, lay down on the bed, sank his consciousness into his mind, and pulled up his character sheet.
The experience pool had only just surpassed ten thousand. He was still far from leveling up, but it was enough to raise one multiclass to Level 5.
A Level 5 Paladin could gain "Extra Attack," commonly known as "double strike," bringing a qualitative leap in combat power.
At this stage, the Paladin had already developed their melee combat ability to a higher level. Empowered by supernatural strength, they could unleash consecutive attacks in a short period of time, causing their combat power to skyrocket.
However, Anser quickly discarded the thought. Advancing to a higher-tier class as soon as possible was still the true path forward—sixth-ring spells were far more tempting!
Within his mind, the silver twenty-sided die floated quietly in place. The ninth symbol had fully lit up, while the tenth symbol had illuminated a small corner.
'Not bad. This really was a major event.'
The greater the event and the broader its impact, the stronger the adventure feedback it generated. That was the core rule behind lighting up the die.
'What kind of surprise will this one bring?'
He touched the twenty-sided die with his consciousness. Fragments of memory surfaced in his mind one after another: the Dragonfly Ship, the battle for White Stone Island, the journey home, the Mind Flayer disaster…
Moments later, the memories dissipated, and the symbol transformed into a massive furnace, its base burning with leaping crimson flames.
Ding—
[You have gained the Adventure Trait: Arcane Bloodline]
[Arcane Bloodline]: Your innate magic is growing increasingly powerful. The immense arcane power fused with your bloodline is gradually forming a form of supernatural manifestation.
Starting from Level 9, every time you gain a class level, you may fuse specific spell effects into your bloodline, transforming them into permanent supernatural abilities.
Limited to innate magic only.
Of course, you may also choose to strengthen one of your existing supernatural abilities, making it even more powerful.
Note: When supernatural abilities manifest, your body will undergo adaptive changes.]
...
'Supernatural manifestation?' Anser carefully savored the term, and his eyes grew brighter and brighter.
Supernatural abilities differed from spells and spell-like abilities. They originated from a creature's innate essence.
A Dragonborn's breath weapon, a werewolf's transformation, a Tiefling's fiendish legacy, a Mind Flayer's psionics, a Fire Genie's flames, and even the most common darkvision—all of these counted as supernatural abilities.
Abilities learned or awakened later in life were generally classified as supernatural abilities as well, such as a Monk's ki.
Supernatural abilities consumed neither Magic Power nor spell slots, and they required no concentration. If they did not produce magical effects, they would not even be suppressed by an Antimagic Field.
'Turning Sorcerer spells into supernatural abilities!' Anser found this Adventure Trait incredibly interesting.
It was said that when Wizards became powerful enough, they could fuse certain spells into their bloodline and pass them down to future generations, granting them exceptional Sorcerer talent.
Moreover, [Arcane Bloodline] went a step further, directly transforming a Sorcerer's innate magic into the body's supernatural abilities. It carried the implication of perfecting one's own talent and creating an entirely new species.
'If I have children in the future, just how powerful will their talents become?' Anser found it difficult not to let his imagination run wild.
Many gods loved spreading their bloodlines everywhere, using their descendants to descend into the world or reincarnate when necessary.
'Though I wonder if there are hidden limitations. There's no way every spell can become a supernatural ability, right?'
He tapped the furnace symbol on the die, and a list quietly appeared before him. The number of entries was surprisingly small.
After a quick look through it, he immediately understood.
Spells like Fireball, Banishment, Bigby's Hand, Teleportation Circle, and Wall of Force were absent from the list. Only certain spell effects such as Jump, Longstrider, Dragon's Breath, Alter Self, and Fly could be integrated into the bloodline.
Most of them were status or enhancement-type spells. After all, supernatural abilities were extensions of bodily functions. Directly creating spell effects would mostly fall under the category of spell-like abilities instead.
The supernatural effect of Jump optimized the structure of the legs, greatly enhancing jumping ability.
Dragon's Breath functioned somewhat like a breath weapon, granting magical breath attacks through specialized biological sacs inside the body.
Shatter became a sonic screech, Fear transformed into a terrifying commanding presence, and Fly could manifest as a pair of wings.
'The spells I picked don't seem especially compatible.' Anser pondered.
He could already cast these spells himself. Turning them into supernatural abilities merely shortened casting time, saved Magic Power, and offered a considerable improvement, but it still was not dazzling enough.
The truly ideal choices were sixth-ring spells like True Seeing and Investiture of Flame, or seventh-ring spells like Etherealness. Transforming status enhancements such as Truesight, fire immunity, and ethereal walking into permanent effects would make them overwhelmingly powerful, one stronger than the next.
If used to strengthen existing supernatural abilities, the choices became even fewer: Cold Breath, Fire Breath, Telepathy, Draconic Physique II, Darkvision, and only a handful of others.
'I'm Level 10 right now, so I can choose two.'
After thinking for a long time, he decided on Fly while leaving the second slot empty for now.
As "I Am Truly a Dragon" continued to strengthen, he would likely gain the ability to transform into a true dragon in the future. But true dragon power would never be wasted—his flight ability would only become stronger, and even an Antimagic Field would no longer make him fall from the sky.
...
[Wings of the Firmament]: Your innate Fly spell has fused into your body. After supernatural manifestation, you gain a pair of sky-soaring wings.
You may choose to manifest wings either in your normal form or in dragon transformation form. Available options include feathered wings, bat wings, dragon wings, insect wings, bone wings...
You will gain true freedom of flight.
Base flight speed is equivalent to the Fly spell. Flight continuously consumes stamina.
...
'Dragon wings, obviously.'
Anser could already transform into a half-dragon form with a dragon head, dragon claws, and a dragon tail. Growing dragon wings ahead of time was still within acceptable limits.
Supernatural abilities were certainly excellent, but he did not want to end up becoming something bizarre either.
As his will confirmed the choice, his body suddenly began heating up, especially around his shoulders and back. It itched, tingled, and ached with swelling soreness, making him want to scratch uncontrollably.
He transformed into his half-dragon form. Two slits tore open across the back of the Robe of Stars, and a pair of dragon wings covered in fine scales slowly unfurled, gleaming with metallic silver tinged with gold.
A long while later, the dragon wings fully spread open. Their wingspan exceeded four meters—broad yet light, sharp in design, and overwhelmingly imposing.
Anser stood up and felt as though he had grown two extra arms. Turning his head to look, he saw that the dragon wings indeed possessed retractable three-fingered hooked claws. Their appearance was savage, larger than his own hands, more than capable of piercing straight through someone's shoulder blades.
When he folded the wings, the broad appendages collapsed inward, resembling an oversized cloak draped behind him.
'My close-combat ability is stronger now, though it slightly affects movement.'
He transformed back into human form once more. The dragon claws, dragon head, and dragon wings gradually vanished one after another, though the process was slightly slower than before.
'Nice, nice. This absolutely reeks of dominance!'
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