"Cree!"

"Cree!"

The sounds of various birds squawking loudly echoed in Dorian's ears as he entered the seaside city, giving the guards a friendly smile.

The guards waved him forward, staring at him curiously.

Dorian smiled as he took a deep breath, looking at the bustling city.

Oceapal City. One of the largest dock cities on the continent, and, in actuality, a City-State in its own right. It controlled the land roughly 40 miles out from the city, a small nation. Despite its small stature, it was a popular, thronging trade area.

As the city on the westernmost point of the continent of Orba, and one of the largest cities on the coast, many passengers or travelers would stop in Oceapal on their way across the seas to Pashal.

Dorian needed to cross the more than 1,000 miles wide sea, and land on Pashal, making his way to a World Bridge in the north.

"Fresh fish pies! Get your fresh fish pies, right down the street at O'Mans Cookery!"

"Hunters welcome, mercenaries welcome, the Olden Inn is the place for you!"

"Weapon repairs are discounted for the next 2 days at Beywin's Smithery! Check it out now!"

"Dolmin's Wizarding Repository is now open! Spellbooks, magic artifacts, rare Magic Herbs, they have it all!"

Dorian ignored the stares of the guard as he stepped forward, listening to the cries of several young looking children standing near the entrance. They were all dressed in plain clothes, yelling out instructions or information about local deals. Their faces were grubby, but they held to their duties attentively.

The group of children all froze when Dorian looked at them, several of them stuttering into silence.

'Is my form too noticeable?' He thought, discontent.

–

-Grakon – Growth Stage: (3/5) Grakon Young Adult –

Growth Progress – 82,552/164,221 –

–

Dorian stood a solid 2 and quarter meters tall, lined with dark green scales. He wore a large, brown tunic, covering much of his lower body, while a lined, leather shirt covered his bulging chest. A large, iron sword was strapped to a brown belt he wore on his waist, courtesy of Bella and her team. His Spatial Pouch was attached to it, alongside a few other small, random pouches.

Unlike some legends of the mythical Minotaur, Dorian had two humanoid feet, not hooves. The feet were scaled, like much of the rest of his body, and ended in small claws. He had the face of a bull, however, with a strong snout and two sharp horns. A burly scaled minotaur.

After he evolved both his Sun Eagle and Black-Scaled Rage Dragon forms, Dorian had decided to start growing his Grakon form. The Expand Ability it had was too tempting for him to pass up.

According to Ausra, he would get the Ability once he reached the 4th Growth Stage of the Grakon, a stage that was still a bit away.

He shrugged at the price. It was always more expensive to grow brand new forms than to combine forms. It was too bad the forms he combined into usually had no combinations themselves from his stored bloodlines. His Sun Eagle and Black-Scaled Rage Dragon had no valid combinations with his current bloodlines or each other.

Growing a Lord Class bloodline was just as prohibitively expensive as he thought it would be. Still, it was a step he couldn't avoid.

"Pfft!" Dorian snorted, smiling as he confidently stepped past the entrance of the city. Beyond a few questions, he had no problems entering. The guards saw creatures of varying races here all the time, and unless one was a wanted criminal, they would stop few people. Oceapal's status as a traveling and trade city contributed to that attitude.

He had switched to his Grakon form after he parted ways with Bella and the transport team. The Grakon species was extinct, but it wasn't like there weren't other creatures or races with similar physiques, scaled or otherwise. What made them most unique was their Expand Ability.

Their vessels had landed a few miles out from the city, in a discreet location to respect the privacy of those traveling.

He smiled at the memory of them parting ways.

"We will miss you Dragon-Sama!"

"Thank you for teaching us Country Dancing: Three Step Style!"

"We will treasure it greatly!"

The cheers from the girls as they left, several of them on a magically contracted wagon due to their injuries, had been heartwarming. Bella had given him a small wave and a nod, her face a bit more reserved. Even the stern Wizard that was always by her side had smiled at Dorian.

He had only known them for a brief time, but all the ill will he had felt for the ridiculousness of Bella's luck had faded away.

How could he hate someone who liked to country dance, just like him?

"Remember! Spread the style to everyone you know! It has my blessing upon it!"

He did his best to encourage them. One could only improve with practice.

He began to walk down the front street, passing by the boys advertising various locations.

Oceapal City was similar to many other cities he had seen. It had grey paved stone roads, various stores and buildings lining each street, usually made of a mixture of wood, stone, and anything in between.

The air of the city was salty and tangy, the scent of the ocean strongly present. The city was primarily dominated by humans, as were most cities on Paxital. One could still find lizardmen, vampires, shades, and various other creatures, but humans made up more than 80% of the population.

'Alright. First, let's head to the docks.' According to Bella, the second step of her journey was to join or charter a ship across the tumultuous sea. Most transport companies could be found near the large docks of the city.

Despite the more than thousand miles long journey, it was entirely possible to cross over to Pashal without actually having to step too near the ocean. Many travelers would simply fly across the distance, aboard magical ships that soared through the sky.

Unlike Blizzaria, or various Exotic or Major Worlds, there was no real danger in flying high in the sky on the Lesser World of Paxital. The strongest creatures one was liable to find in the wild would stand at the Grandmaster Class at the worst, possibly a few rare Pseudo-Lord Class beasts. Those at the Lord Class or higher were extraordinarily rare to find in the wild.

Dorian moved through the streets with purpose. He drew a few odd glances, and most people would step out of his way when they saw him. His stature was large, and he carried himself with confidence.

His human form was compromised, at least to some degree. He'd decided to use his Grakon form for now, partly because he wanted to, but also partly because it was a new form that no one would recognize.

'Maybe I should've gone with the Titan, huh? Or something else?' He thought as he noticed how he intimidated people. While he wasn't drawing every eye, he wasn't exactly very subtle either.

He shrugged and continued to walk through the city.

After about ten minutes of walking, Dorian had passed through the eastern side of the city, and arrived in the western end, near the docks. The tang of salt on the air was fresh and powerful here, the rippling ocean just beyond sight.

Everything here seemed to be built out of wood, the houses, the stores, and any nearby buildings. The people moving by wore worn leather or linen outfits, usually grey, brown, or other drab colors.

Occasionally he'd see a rich or wealthy merchant or Wizard walk by.

'Hmm.' Dorian looked down one street, and then down another, a bit lost. The street to his left led down a long, winding path full of shops, while the one to his right seemed to lead closer to the docks. He could vaguely hear the cries of sea-faring birds in that direction.

As he was contemplating, Dorian's senses seemed to go on alert. His eyes were drawn to a small, tunic-clad boy. He couldn't have been older than 7 or 8, with a grubby face and dirty arms. He looked like a random street urchin, walking around aimlessly.

Dorian watched the urchin subtly.

'Huh…'

'Yep, he's coming towards me, and watching me.' Dorian mentally nodded, bemused.

The grubby eight-year-old was subtly making his way towards Dorian, and also sizing him up.

The street they were on was crowded. While Dorian was standing still, the many sailors, carpenters, blacksmiths, and various workers were not, all milling and moving about, the lifeblood of the city.

'But why are you picking me out, kid?'

He decided to stand still, and see what the kid wanted. He pretended to still be studying the streets.

A few moments passed. A small troupe of dancers walked by, performing some type of dance ritual as they moved down the streets. Dorian paused to look at them, giving them a silent nod of appreciation.

As he nodded, distracted, Dorian's acute senses picked up a slight sliver of energy rubbing against him. This energy was calm and peaceful, and didn't seem to have any direct negative effects.

It was like a small breeze washed over him, making him pause for a second.

In that second, he felt a pair of tiny hands latch onto one of his pouches.

Specifically, the Spatial Pouch that had the Golden Leaf in it.

"Hold on there, kiddo."

Dorian's right hand clamped onto the arm that was trying to steal his pouch, jerking it away. He turned to look down at the street urchin, a small smile on his face.

"What do you think you're doing?" His voice was calm.

"No-nothing! So-so-sorry sir! I tripped sl-slightly, and f-f-fell!" The boy's voice was full of fear and terror, though how much of that was real, Dorian couldn't tell. He squeaked out his response quietly despite his apparent horror, looking at Dorian with his tiny eyes.

"Ralph! What do you think you're doing? Don't bother this gentleman!" An older voice called out, one full of rebuke and concern.

A middle-aged human, with a balding pate of hair and placid brown eyes, hurriedly walked up next to Dorian, giving him a small bow.

"A million apologies, milord. Ralph, he has him some bad habits, I hope nothing happened. I will be sure to punish him doubly so, milord." The man scraped and bowed repeatedly, grabbing ahold of the boy's other arm.

Dorian watched this all with an amused expression on his face.

Though, because he was a Grakon, and didn't exactly have a humanoid face, it might be hard for the duo of thieves in front of him to tell.

"And what if I want to punish him myself?" Dorian kept his voice silky calm as he returned a response. He had no intention of hurting the boy, but he also didn't approve of their current actions. Stealing was wrong.

The middle-aged man's eyes hardened for a brief second. A moment later, however, he was all smiles.

"Of course, milord. If you wish to punish this worthless nephew of mine for his foolish actions, by all means. However, I'd like to gift you something as compensation, such that I hope will make up for his foolishness." The older man fished out a small, silver card, one he held up towards Dorian.

"This is an Invitation Card to the Blue Seal Casino, an elite, exclusive casino run by the Nightlord of Oceapal. A man of your stature clearly belongs at a place like this. I hope you will humbly accept this card, and let this transgression slide." The balding man bowed once again, his voice deferential.

"Oh?" Dorian took the card, examining it. It was smooth and lacquered, shining dimly in the early afternoon light. On the back, there were various instructions on how to reach the Blue Seal Casino.

'A casino, huh?' Dorian's eyes lit up.

'Even if I want to charter a ship or join a charter, it'll most likely take a day or two… My soul can twist Fate, right? Where else can I take advantage of that except at a place where Lady Luck rules supreme.' He smiled.

"Alright." He pocketed the card, and let go of the boy's arm, giving the older man a small nod.

"I'll accept this, and visit this casino." If it wasn't a real casino and was instead a trap… that would be fine too. He was a dragon, after all, and a strong one now. He had nothing to fear.

The middle-aged man's eyes flashed when he heard that, a cruel gleam of satisfaction appearing and then vanishing instantly as he bowed one last time, thanking Dorian profusely.

.. .. .. .. .. .. ..

WHOOSH

A figure blurred into existence, landing down softly in the middle of a grassy meadow. A network of trees spread out around the figure, a smooth forest only marred by the large crater that was present, just to the left of the figure.

The wreckage of a large wooden ship could be seen here, burnt and broken up, large pieces collapsed and torn apart. Several trees were collapsed under the wreckage, their wooden roots split and ripped up.

Leader knelt down as he tapped on one piece in particular, one of the ones that had been badly burned.

His body froze, his every cell going on high alert as he stared at the piece of wood. The demonic scales that he forced away resurfaced, the overwhelming Aura of Pride he held blasting outward, full of Kingly might.

"I sense… A fellow practitioner of the Seven Great?" His voice was full of disbelief,

"…Wrath?"

.

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