Elijah slept for nearly three days. Not all at once, but in that time, he only roused himself to eat and meet nature’s call. Otherwise, he rested so completely that outsiders might have considered it a coma. At first, he dreamed of his experiences, with a heavy focus on draconic lore, but after a while, he just went blank. However, on the third day, he rose, entirely recovered from his ordeal.

  Stretching his stiff muscles, Elijah once again marveled at his increased power. In the past, it might’ve taken an entire month to fully recover, but now, it was a matter of days. In addition, he felt incredibly strong, and to the point where he wanted nothing more than to test things out.

  And that wasn’t even considering his dragon form, which was even stronger.

  He’d already checked, and to his surprise, that power wasn’t represented in his status. Rather, it functioned more like his body cultivation. As a dragon, one point of strength simply meant more than it did for a human. Couple that with his fourth-stage body cultivation, and he was much mightier than his status might suggest.

  Not that he was dissatisfied with his numbers. Far from it, in fact. Reaching four digits in every category – and without the aid of any of his buffs – was an incredible achievement, and one he suspected no one else on Earth would soon replicate. Maybe in one or two attributes, but not in all four.

  In that respect, the versatility of a Druid – and of his Primal Lord class – shone very bright indeed.

  As Elijah enjoyed another few meals, followed by multiple cups of coffee, a sense of deep satisfaction suffused him. Sure, he was worried about his planet. The threat of excisement still loomed, and larger than ever. Yet, for the first time since the clock had started ticking, he felt truly prepared to meet the challenge.

  After all, he was a dragon. The most powerful race in the multi-verse. If he couldn’t overcome the obstacle of excisement, then no one could.

  However, chasing that thought was the knowledge that dragons, for all their might, were not invulnerable. They’d been right there with everyone else, driven to insanity by the Worldseed. Moreover, he’d just seen the fate awaiting any dragon who forgot the all-important lesson of control.

  No – dragons were anything but infallible, and he needed to remember that going forward. A little pride was one thing, but letting it cross the line into hubris was something else altogether.

  He sighed, putting the latest meal container back into his Arcane Loop.

  That was the other detriment of firmly entrenching himself as a dragon. It didn’t matter if he remained in his human or draconic form, his appetite had increased by a significant degree. Just like before, he could go without if pushed to do so, but it would not be pleasant. And eventually, he’d pay the price of starvation.

  Thankfully, even if he’d made a big dent in his supplies, he still had a good deal of food left in his storage space. However, if he didn’t get back to civilization soon, he’d be forced to delve into the pemmican at the bottom of his Ghoul-Hide Satchel.

  Unfortunately, his self-inspection had yielded some bad news. The bracelet Hope had given him had all but disintegrated. Only a single gem remained, and the braided, hemp-like circlet had been charred into unrecognizability. It was held together by only a few blackened threads.

  But it had apparently done its job. Elijah didn’t know when it had activated, but he suspected it had happened as he’d delved into the planetary core. Or maybe as his body was unmade and reformed in the wake of his own core advancement. The fact was that there was no way to tell, but Elijah suspected he wouldn’t have survived without it.

  Or maybe that idea was only based on sentiment.

  Either way, he regretted the loss of the bracelet. Perhaps Hope wouldn’t be too disappointed, and she’d agree to make him another.

  Elijah didn’t bother dressing. Nor did he reapply his various buffs. Instead, he exited the tent and prepared to do some real testing. In the past, the best way to determine the efficacy of his core advancement was to look at the raw numbers regarding his buffs. Specifically regarding his various shapes. So, once he had a clear area outside his tent, he shifted into the Shape of the Master.

  Once he did, he checked his status. His jaw dropped at the numbers. One-twenty-six had been added to every attribute, which meant that going from the Drakyn to Lindwyrm stage had come with a multiplier of more than two. Following from that simple math was the conclusion that his abilities were now twice as powerful.

  Which was ridiculous, especially in the context of his other advancements. In truth, he’d have been happy with how much stronger he felt. With his new dragon form. But making his spells and abilities twice as powerful just felt like cheating.

  Truly, dragons had earned their position at the top.

  Over the next hour, Elijah tested his other shapes and buffs, and in doing so, he managed to calculate the benefit to a two-point-one modifier. That meant that even something like Wild Infusion gave him more than two-hundred points in strength, dexterity, and constitution. And Shape of Spores granted a truly staggering amount of attribute points.

  The influx very nearly robbed the whole status of context. But what he’d experienced at the end of the Broken Crown told a different story. Without his core advancing to the Lindwyrm stage, he’d have never survived. After seeing the real numbers behind his advancements, he knew that now better than ever.

  The real shocker was that it had affected his reaction speed as well. In the Shape of the Master, and with Lupine Reflexes and Heart of the Tempest active, it almost felt like he was watching a slideshow. But whether it was a feature of his advancement to the Lord stage of cultivation or his Garnet mind showing its worth, he quickly adjusted to the improvements.

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  Inspecting his body came with only a couple of surprises. He’d already noted his ability to summon wings, but closer study showed him that his scales – which were still arranged almost like tiger stripes across his torso and winding up his arms – were even more vibrant than before. They truly looked like they’d been carved from emeralds. In addition, his eyes had changed to match. Even in their resting state, they looked like true gems.

  Though Elijah saw enough of his old eyes that it didn’t quite reach into the uncanny valley. For whatever reason, he felt no small degree of relief at that. Like there was still some of his old identity left.

  Did he fear that the dragon was going to take over? Not really. It was as much a part of him as his human side. Yet, he felt that keeping that balance was important. Necessary, even, if only for context.

  Another hour of testing, and Elijah finally felt ready to move on. He had two major tasks to complete before he could return home, and he was eager to finish them off. So, without further ado, he dressed – lamenting that his equipment’s attribute bonuses counted for a lot less now, at least in comparison to his normal attributes – and packed his tent away. Once that was done, he left the Hollow Depths for the Painted Wastes.

  Thankfully, his internal clock remained consistent, so when he exited the cave, he did so under the light of the pheromone-driven aurora. But to his surprise, he found that it was far less pervasive than it had been before he’d conquered the Broken Crown. That, coupled with the decreased density of ambient ethera, was evidence of his efforts in the Primal Realm.

  As he shifted into the Shape of the Scourge and took on Guise of the Stalker, he took off. His newfound strength and dexterity served him in good stead, but the most impactful change came from the increased power of Soul of the Wild. It spread further than ever, affording him an even clearer picture than before his recent improvements. That gave him the ability to detect the drachnid-infested ravines as well as any other potential enemies.

  Because of that, he made incredible time, covering hundreds of miles before the sun ever rose. He’d hoped to reach the cliff leading to the dunes above, but the distance was too great. With the sun rising over the horizon, Elijah did not retreat into the Hollow Depths. Instead, he wanted to test some things out.

  The most important was Guise of the Stalker, and he was very pleased with the results of his test. Its predecessor – Guise of the Unseen – had been incapable of concealing him amidst the blanket of wasp pheromones that gave the Painted Wastes their name. However, Guise of the Stalker was more than up to the task of allowing him to travel entirely undetected.

  That was a huge relief, considering that, before that ability’s evolution, he’d been forced to rely on his Mantle of Authority. That restriction had pushed him into a nocturnal pattern that was no longer necessary.

  In the Shape of the Scourge, he continued to sprint across the flat terrain, reaching truly terrifying speeds. It wasn’t specifically meant for travel, but with his increased attributes and more powerful body, the form of the scourgedrake could do the job. It did make him wonder just how fast the Shape of the Sky was now, though.

  In any case, he reached the cliff after only one more day, and he climbed it without issue. Not wanting to be slowed by the dunes, Elijah threw himself into the air and took to the skies. His flight form definitely lived up to its purpose, and even his coasting speed – which he could maintain for days – now rivaled his previous top velocity.

  In short, he could cover a lot of ground, and very quickly. So, it was only a couple of days before he found evidence of Seattle’s efforts. And he was more than a little disappointed with their progress. Their camp was less than a thousand miles from the Circle of Lost Seas.

  More than seven months, and that was as far as they had gotten?

  Only a mile away, he landed in a shower of sand, then shifted into his human form before making his approach. Drones buzzed all around, meaning that they’d obviously already seen him, so he didn’t bother concealing his presence. Instead, he simply waved when he came into sight of their sentries.

  The two closest aimed their weapons in his direction, but Elijah didn’t take offense. The desert was a dangerous place, after all. They had every right to defend their camp. Even as he approached, a tiny surge of ethera surrounded one as she spoke.

  Elijah reached them a second later, saying, “I always thought you had to put your finger to your ear.”

  “What?” asked the woman – clearly, the senior among the pair.

  “You know, like they did in the movies. You’re supposed to touch your ear when you’re talking through an earpiece,” he explained, mimicking the move he’d seen in a hundred spy films. He shrugged. “Maybe that was just creative license. Kind of like how Professor X always touched his temple when he wanted to use his mind control powers. I mean, that’s obviously not necessary. It wasn’t like he needed that touch to activate his abilities. But I guess it looked more cinematic.”

  “What are you talking about?” asked the incredulous woman.

  “The X-Men,” her partner said. “You know, Wolverine and everything.”

  Elijah rolled his emerald eyes. “There’s so much more to the X-Men than Wolverine,” he muttered. “I mean, Cyclops alone is a more interesting character, and that’s not even considering –”

  “I always thought Cyclops kind of sucked.”

  “Blasphemy!” Elijah declared with a grin. He’d never been a huge comic book guy, but Alyssa had been. Given her personality, it really wasn’t a surprise that she’d latched onto a comic centered on a bunch of outcasts and misfits as they struggled for acceptance from the wider world.

  In any case, he’d always followed his sister’s lead, so he had spent a fair few winter nights curled up by the fire and reading her comics. Later, he’d lost touch with that world, but the memories remained.

  The other guard just looked back and forth at them, almost like she’d seen an alien species. She clearly wasn’t a comic book fan.

  Thankfully – for her, at least – another man approached only a moment later. He wasn’t the captain Elijah had met what felt like a lifetime ago, but he clearly held some position of authority. He’d also managed to amass a degree of power, though Elijah found it difficult to gauge his level. Probably because he’d always used his own strength to provide context, and with all the changes he’d recently experienced, he hadn’t had the chance to adjust his comparison.

  Not that it mattered for what Elijah had planned.

  “Just the man I wanted to see,” Elijah said.

  “You know me?” he asked, his heavy brow scrunched in confusion.

  “Not at all,” was Elijah’s cheerful response. “But I need someone in charge, and you seem like that kind of guy.” He glanced at the sentries. “No offense.”

  “What do you want?”

  “You know who I am?” Elijah asked.

  “I do.”

  “Then you can probably guess what I’ve been up to the last few months,” Elijah guessed.

  “The Primal Realm,” the man said. “You conquered it?”

  “I did,” Elijah confirmed. Not that he really needed to. Anyone could tell that the density of the ambient ethera had already dropped significantly, and it was still decreasing by the day. The only explanation was that the Primal Realm had been conquered. “And that’s what I want to talk about. Can I come in?”

  The man frowned. Or maybe that was just his resting expression. Then, he nodded and said, “Fine. Come in. You cause trouble, and…well, don’t cause trouble.”

  “Would never dream of it, cap’n.”

  “I’m not a captain.”

  Elijah shrugged as he stepped forward. “Close enough.”

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