Amid the strange, fervor-laden silence, Cassius called out the final name.
"Jinya."
Instantly, every monster fell slack-jawed.
Not one among them had imagined that the final recipient of the "boon" would be a puny kobold.
Even Jinya stood dazed on the spot for a long moment, taking several seconds to comprehend what he had just heard.
A fawning grin spread across the kobold's grotesque face. With several of his kin serving as stepping stones, he clambered with great difficulty onto the boulder that rose several times his height.
"How is this possible?"
Watching the overwhelmed kobold, Duoluo breathed out gusts of hot air, gnashing his teeth so hard he looked ready to tear the creature limb from limb.
The bugbears under his command seethed with equal resentment. The veins bulged on their thick, muscular arms, which were stouter than the kobold's entire scrawny waist.
These monsters had grown up on Storm Heights, raised from childhood to worship strength above all else. Having such a frail kobold placed above them naturally filled them with bitter indignation.
Yet none dared challenge the red dragon's authority. They could only swallow their broken teeth and nurse their fury in silence.
In truth, Cassius did not care who received it.
After the previous boons, the immediate fighting strength of Cinder Nest was already formidable enough—at least making them a dominant force within the Anzeta Badlands.
Considering that the kobolds still had to mine gold, he naturally needed to give them something to look forward to.
Besides, kobolds were natural dragonkin.
These egg-laying creatures matured rapidly and, as dragon-like beings, could survive for over a century, digging up gold for their master across the lands. It was only due to their frail bodies that few ever lived to die of natural causes.
When they spent extended periods in the presence of dragons, they could even undergo unpredictable mutations.
Cassius simply intended to use this boon as a convenient experiment.
Even if it failed, the loss would be virtually nonexistent. A creature of merely challenge rating one-quarter—if this one died, hundreds more could be hatched in the coming year.
Under Cassius's control, the ritual began.
The blood flowed into the kobold's mouth.
Because the kobold was so short and scrawny, he consumed far less blood than the previous recipients.
"Awooo—"
The kobold let out stifled whimpers and growls.
As the scalding blood surged into his body, it seared his flesh and bone, causing a faint red glow to emanate from within him.
Every monster stared intently at the kobold like predators watching prey. Whether out of jealousy, indignation, or resentment, most of the minions secretly wished he would suffer until he died.
Then, a sudden transformation occurred.
The kobold threw back his head, letting loose frenzied, dog-like yelps. Thick saliva dripped from his gaping maw, releasing wisps of steam.
His body swelled violently as flesh proliferated, and massive lumps bulged from his back.
The kobold's frail frame greedily absorbed every shred of energy from the blood, thickening noticeably before their very eyes.
His height surged from less than a meter to nearly two meters.
Strange power surged from the depths of his bloodline.
With a ripping sound like tearing leather, the massive bulges burst through his skin.
A pair of brand-new, slime-slicked wings unfurled from the kobold's back!
"Roar—!"
The kobold leader awkwardly spread his wings.
His cries were no longer like the barking of a dog, but far closer to a dragon's roar.
"How is that possible?!"
"That's..."
"An urd! Tiamat above, that's an urd!"
"An urd created after birth!"
Several older, more knowledgeable kobolds in the tribe gasped in shock.
A small fraction of kobolds were born with leathery wings capable of flight, and they were known as urds.
An urd's wings were regarded as a gift from the Dragon Queen, Tiamat, yet for that very reason they drew the envy of narrow-minded, wingless kobolds, making it impossible for the two groups to live in harmony.
Yet here and now, a kobold had sprouted draconic wings later in life. This filled the other kobolds not only with envy, but with boundless yearning.
They could become urds as well!
Cassius watched the winged kobold with narrowed eyes—as a sorcerer himself, he had also sensed a ripple across the Weave.
Sure enough, when he examined the minion interface:
[Your minion, the kobold leader, has been affected by the Bloodline Boon and undergone an unpredictable mutation.]
The emergence of sorcerous talent was largely a matter of pure chance.
Some sorcerers could not even name the origin of their power, while others could vividly recall a strange catalyst in their lives:
The touch of a hag, water drunk from a mysterious magical spring, or the blessing of a celestial being bestowed upon a newborn—all could ignite the spark of sorcery.
Likewise, exposure to the elemental powers of the Inner Planes, the roiling chaotic magic of Limbo, or a glimpse into the inner workings of reality itself could serve as a catalyst for sorcerous power.
And drinking Boon Blood was without question a momentous catalyst.
[Your minion, the kobold leader, has awakened the overflowing draconic magic dormant within his ancestral bloodline through the Bloodline Boon.]
[The kobold leader has unlocked the class: Draconic Bloodline Sorcerer - Red Dragon. His innate magic originates from the power of dragons, mingled within his blood and passed down through ancestral lineage.]
What had merely been an experiment conducted on a whim had produced another spellcaster for Cinder Nest. Cassius felt pleasantly surprised.
"A kobold draconic bloodline sorcerer... interesting."
Cassius observed Jinya as the creature underwent his metamorphosis.
The winged kobold—or rather, the urd—panted heavily, steam venting continuously from the crevices between his scales.
Only after several breaths did he manage to quell the raging elemental energy within his body.
"Hah... hah... hah..."
His transformation complete, the kobold shook himself somewhat awkwardly, feeling the unfamiliar, potent strength within his frame and the spells that had suddenly surfaced in his mind.
Jinya looked up at the red dragon with eyes burning with fanatical devotion, genuine tears even welling at the corners of his eyes.
The humiliation of being enslaved by humans, the terror of being hunted by monsters, the decades of fleeing for his life day after day—all of it vanished like smoke in this moment.
At this instant, he truly revered the red dragon as a living demigod.
Yet the red dragon cared little for the kobold's loyalty—or rather, his fanaticism. What interested Cassius far more was what spell the kobold had awakened.
"Cast your spell," Cassius said with great interest.
Unlike the player interface's class progression, native sorcerers of this world could not choose their spells. It was the power of sorcery that chose them, bestowing innate magic upon them.
Consequently, most sorcerers only ever mastered one or two spells, wielding them as naturally as their own limbs.
"Yes... Great Master."
Following the heritage imprinted in his mind, Jinya channeled that unknown power within him without hesitation.
He slowly raised his hands, holding them with thumbs touching and claws spread wide, guiding the Weave to subtly coalesce the surrounding fire elemental energy.
*Boom!*
A cone of flame several feet long erupted from his palms.
*Burning Hands—a solid first-level spell, and quite fitting for a red dragon sorcerer,* Cassius appraised inwardly.
Chapter 42