Dragonstorm (dragon litrpg)

"I'm sorry, you have to be the most scaleless, and hairless pangolin I've ever seen." Panda deadpanned.

"You've only ever seen the one pangolin." Richard retorted and Panda snorted, looking away as stubborn as usual.

"Yeah, and it is the most non pangolin pangolin I've ever seen."

The easterner nodded. "Indeed, I do not appear to have pangolin blood at first glance. I did, however, inherit some of their skills." he explained, exposing his arms.

His arms began to glow softly, as golden scales appeared on his arms. Sister Alexandria actually paid more attention to the matter at this moment.

"I can consume gold type materials and use them to condense a golden set of armor, as part of my bloodline inheritance. Not only that, but my aptitude with metal is a result of my pangolin ancestry, making me suitable for weapon refinement." He said, yet this actually caused Richard to be confused.

If that was the case, then how did he end up being driven here? Surely the talent in weapon refining would've made him a valued person? How could he end up here?

Seeing his confusion, the refiner could only sadly explain.

"The current world of cultivation is resistant to demons and monsters. Even those who are half demon are implicated.

When I was first accepted as a disciple within our sect, I had hidden my roots. I even managed to survive amongst them for 200 years, becoming a talented golden core ancestor, and even being considered a seed for the spirit transformation.

But in a moment of life and death, I revealed my bloodline skills to protect a group of fellow disciples.

I was driven out by my sect. I was lucky they did not kill me. My master, bless his heart, already knew, and contact informants of the Romana empire to safely escort me out to mountain city.." he said, smiling bitterly.

Hearing this, Lysandre did not comment, but her expression softened.

She understood after all, how being part monster could result in harsh treatment.

Alexandria sighed. "Alas, it is a shame. I remember back in the old days, when demons in the east were considered of equal standing as humans.

How quickly things can change in just a few centuries."

Qin Heng did not seem to find this strange. Qin Heng himself was over 100 years old after all. Even if you weren't a cultivator, the higher the realm, the greater the vitality.

Demigods and elves could live for a millennia. Such comments were not unfounded.

Qin Heng smiled softly and explained to Lysandre. "I did not mean to offend you miss Lysandre. I too, understand the pain we non-humans can face. I was merely lucky that I was only half demon. "

"I am curious though, as to why you feel so willing to share this with us. " Sister Alexandria asked softly, yet there was an edge to it.

After all, the east had a saying for this: when you spill this much, you're either a fool or a thief. And to be able to make weapons of high caliber, a fool you are not.

If that's the case, then what does he get by sharing such personal info?

It's possible he's the emotional type or free and easy, but no matter how free and easy you are, no one likes talking about pain.

Qin Heng seems to have expected this as he explained. "I must admit that this may be out of the blue for you. But can assure you, what I propose next has no negative impact on your group.

On the contrary. It may be of some help."

He paused before explaining further. "I want to establish a group. When I first saw you here, I felt that we were of the same kind. The minority in society. Non humans, although less persecuted here, are still judged unkindly."

True.

"Naturally, one of the reasons is power. The humans outnumber all non-humans in the empire by a large margin. Dwarves only account for a tenth of the population, the elves a meager 5 percent. And monsters? Those of us who aren't bipedal aren't even considered individuals. The dragons in captivity can account for this, amongst other monster races, despite their spirituality. "

The wyrm interrupted at this moment, pointing out a key problem. "If you're suggesting all monsters are treated with the rights of citizen ship, then that's not possible. Part of the empire's own economy and development is based on the hunting of monsters." She said, pointing out one of the key reasons monsters could never truly be treated as citizens.

They were worth their weight in gold. If dragons were treated as citizens, then it would become that much harder to hunt them for their scales and flesh.

The same applies for all monsters. It's no wonder why the empire is less kind with monsters. To start granting rights would be to deny a key avenue of income.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

"Of course not. I'm merely suggesting that non-humans who wish to be treated as citizens, they should be.

There was a time in the previous dynasty. In the tang dynasty, in the age of Taoism, that demons were treated according to how they acted with humans. Those who were friendly were treated as friends, and those who were evil were treated as demons.

If humans can be judged according to their own acts, then why not nonhumans?" He presented it calmly, yet sister Alexandria was quick to refute it.

"Yes, I know. I remember those ages. But you've omitted something. They were not treated as friends.

They were treated as gods. Mountain gods, sea gods, all sorts. But the divide existed. They were not on the same level as mortal men.

And that's a dangerous thing to repeat." Alexandria the wyrm stated calmly, yet there was caution in her voice.

Qin Heng however, ignored it and continued. "That is how all practitioners were treated in the day. I merely want to use the system of using actions to judge a monster's nature here.

Besides, how can you call that a problem when your empire does similar? The anubians, the daughters of Amit, Horus Griffins and countless other monsters who are considered "Divine species" are treated with greater grace than other monsters, treated as demigods in their own right."

Richard was unsure how to comment on that.

It's true that the "Respect" that Qin Heng was bringing up was dangerous, because the respect was moreso worship. Yet as he pointed out, the current monsters whom were tied to gods were already holding these positions of faith. From a practical standpoint, how was it any different?

But sister Alexandria was alive at that time. She would have a greater in depth understanding of that situation, as well as the problems. Qin Heng and Richard could only reference history books and stories of yore. which were nothing to first hand experience.

"Well, I certainly can't argue with that." sister Alexandria said, relaxing her posture and returning to a polite indifference. It's clear she is simply no longer willing to talk about the matter at length.

"So what are you proposing then?" Richard asked politely, and Qin Heng simply handed him a magic tool, which was square like in nature.

When he activated it to investigate, the thing emitted a blue screen, in which lines of texts could be seen, not unlike what the system provided.

[That's because it is similar to what the system does. It seems to be a derivative of the system's text function.] The system spoke up suddenly, mentioning a text function previously unheard of.

'The system has a text function? Why haven't I seen it?'

[System guide 0 is currently unsure whether to implement it or not for all players. Currently, the only way to unlock it is to come into contact with other players.]

Following this train of thought, Richard concluded that Qin Heng here must've been in contact with other players. While he was curious, he chose not to mention this.

But now he knew the purpose of this magical tool. To set up a communication network between non-humans.

"This is a communication tool I made recently, to foster communication between non-humans across the empire, no longer limited by distance. It's not really a group per say, more like a loose group of likeminded people." He said, handing another to Ellie.

She took it curiously, examining the ongoing discussion.

"You want to use this to unite non-humans?" Richard asked, admitting that this could facilitate a more united front. After all, non-humans suffer from often being isolated in society, a problem that could be solved by the chat tool. Allowing them to connect and participate in this group, forming a sense of identity, would help them bond and feel like part of something bigger.

Not only that, but they can help one another either by offering important info about certain areas, or to find locales in certain areas to help one another when originally they would have to enter a territory blindly.

It could be of great help to them as well.

Richard wasn't quite sure what he planned to do after the issue of kaiju waves but it'd be good to have friends wherever he goes next.

He was no longer human, and having likeminded friends would be useful.

And honestly, he was also quite excited by this tool as well.

"You should know the trouble this could stir up." Richard warned, as he could tell this item could have a huge impact. Nonhumans as a minority are currently unable to influence the empire at large. But this tool could change that.

If he knew that, then surely the nobles did as well? Once they find out, surely they wouldn't allow such a thing which could cause trouble in their territories continue.

"Don't worry about that. I've found a few supporters who are willing to push this initiative forward." Qin Heng reassured, choosing not to reveal these supporters, and Richard asked no more. They were barely acquittances currently, people that he had introduced to this gathering, so of course he wouldn't reveal the situation at large.

Qin Heng left on good terms, having found out about the blood tick evolutionary system, and they left the discussion with their own benefits, having been promised the fixing of such powerful gauntlets.

Once the two left, Sister Alexandria closed the door, before asking Richard for the tool.

Richard had no problem doing so, deciding it best to leave it in the hands of the mage of the group.

She looked at it curiously, humming in amazement.

"Whoever is behind this is certainly a big fish. To set up this requires a magic stone or monster core of the SS rank minimum to maintain connection between multiple magical tools spread over the entire magical empire and that's stretched thin.

Probably 3 or four. There's also a self destruct sequence."

Richard was shocked at first, but then he quickly understood why. To destroy evidence. If someone tried to turn it into the government, or if was caught with it in hand, a automated or manually controlled self-destruction sequence would minimize its impact in the minds of the nobles.

As if to affirm this point, she continued. "It's not a strong bomb, just barely enough to destroy the device, and maybe burn the hand of whoever has it in hand. It's honestly a pretty nifty piece of work. I wonder where they got the idea of this tool." she wondered.

Richard stepped forth at this moment, explaining what the system told him.

Hearing this, sister Alexandria was deep in thought for a moment.

Lyssandre was actually playing with hers, communicating with some of the other members.

They didn't use their real names, hiding behind their own chosen usernames, another layer of security to ensure they weren't exposed by other members.

There were some more normal names, like "The scholar" or "Moon shines over sea" and more ridiculous names like "Ladies man 217"

Richard had to admit it was quite interesting and eventually chose to put in his own username.

A simple name of "Thunderscale" sufficed, hinting at his nature, yet revealing nothing important.

Ellie had chosen "shinyscale;)4545" for some reason, even fitting a weird face into it, copying the efforts of some of the other users.

It was a silly name in stark contrast to her more serious demeanor.

Ultimately, sister Alexandria merely disarmed the detonation and cast a few spells of protection before handing it to the two of them.

A simple warning of "do not reveal any important info" and the two were left to their new devices.

A few days passed by before the horn went off, signifying the arrival of the second wave.