A win is a win

Queen of the Emerald Forest, slain. While it may not be the first time she has died, it is the first time she was challenged by a fellow creature of the forest. Hero after Hero had came and ended her reign, only for her to return a few hours later, ready for another beating. She would sometimes kill some of them, she could feel herself get stronger when she did. Never was she able to remain alive long enough to truly ascend pass her current level though. There were a few times she would nearly reach the eleventh level, only for one of those overleveled Heroes to come along and finish her off. Thus was the curse of being a Boss Monster, dropping some decent loot and experience would ensure that she would never be anything more than an item dispenser. When that frail little poison dragon came along, it was most definitely something unique. There had never been a time to your knowledge when the lesser beings of the forest would dare challenge those who reign, they were physically incapable. She exuded a commanding presence which ensured they remained obedient. Yet, there he stood, another tiny lizard next to him. She did not recognise the other one, perhaps that was how he could ignore her commanding aura. The "Lesser" Poison Dragon on the other hand, she had seen him every now and again, running about meekly and dying most of the time. Here he was, eager to challenge your authority, he would have to be taught a lesson...

...The BASTARD had just eaten her eye, how? How was he capable of exploiting her weaknesses much like those filthy Heroes before him? She blinked her remaining eye weakly as she leaned against the back of her lair. He had managed to push her this far, very well, he earned it. Assuming her true form, the foolish snake took on a more agile form, shedding the weights upon her and relying solely on speed. Perhaps that would have worked on any other beast of the forest, unfortunately for her, this one was smarter. If only she were smarter. She quickly gulped up the tiny lizard, it proved to be a small threat, barely even deserving of your attention. Sure it could disappear and by extension, potentially cast magic, but she doubted it could harm her that badly before she digested it. The number of small creatures went from two to one, and the remainder bolted for the exit. She had him on the ropes now as she gave chase, crystals spraying to little effect as the pest had shielded himself with a tree trunk. Who would even think of such things? As she passed the barrier between rooms, it suddenly struck her from below. The Lizard had braced himself and trapped her in place. If he thought this was going to save him, he was sorely mistake-

She felt herself bloat, a feeling she had never felt before. What was happening? The next thing she knew, she was spraying gallons of liquid all over. If this was any other situation, perhaps she would be happy to do so, especially when faced with a strong and healthy male. Strong and healthy male... She eyed the Lizard as it approached. They were both beasts of the Emerald Forest, perhaps she could plead for her life? "Please, spare me, I will serve you faithfully!" Was what she thought as she suddenly felt another emotion, one she rarely felt. She was unsure of what it was, could it have been arousal? Her thoughts were interrupted when he stood before her, a log in the air and ready to end her. She had been bested not by a foolish Hero with a knack for magic or a simpleton with a sword. No, she had been defeated by a superior male's cunning and strength, if this were any other situation, she may have been overwhelmed by her own desires. He would most definitely provide her with strong young... This desire and arousal she felt deep within her core was suddenly replaced by a sharp pain. He was killing her and all she could do was hope. Hope that he will return for some reason other than to hunt her down. And if he did return to hunt her, perhaps he could do so in another way? Those were her last conflicting thoughts as she laid still and suffered another loss, one not caused by a Hero. She lost to another beast of the Emerald Forest, one who was most definitely strong and healthy, one who was a male and virile.

The glowing golden light shrouded Slazar as you felt wind blow through you. Despite your wounds, the two of you stood proud as the creeping sensation of a second level up overtook you. The second one of the day! This Emerald Serpent would definitely make for an excellent experience farm for you. You could feel your muscles expand just slightly as your heart struggled to pump more blood to accomodate the new changes. Lazily, the young Kobold laid down against the wall and allowed for the wind to simply blow through him. Drool dripped out of your mouth as you could feel the poison build-up overflow from your frothing mouth. Finally, the tenth level, let the ascension begin! And so you waited, and waited, and waited. Yet nothing occurred! Another anticlimax, seriously? You glanced about in confusion until finally resting your eyes on the drowsy Slazar who had his arms outstretched and yawning. Would he know why you had this weird feeling about yourself? Approaching him, you opened both of your character sheets to show him your current level. It was weird, you just could not shake the feeling that something was suppose to occur right about now. It was almost instinct.

Level up!
Kobold Cleric (Divine Domain: Fertility)
Level 6->Level 7
Melee Attack 10->11
Ranged Attack 8->9
Heavy Armour 10
Speed 6->7
Weakness: Ice, Radiant
Special Abilities:
Pack Tactics - Attacking an enemy together with an ally gives you advantage.
Darkvision - You can see in the dark up to 60 feet of you as shades of gray.
Draconic Legacy (Red Dragon) - You have a natural affinity for magic and have access to a unique spell at birth (Invisibility).
Channel Divinity (Turn Undead) - Present a holy object to turn an Undead away from you, causing them to run away.
Channel Divinity (Greater Libido) - Present a holy object to temporarily increase the sex drive of a creature of your choice.
Cantrips: Spare the Dying, Mending, Light.
Spells: Invisibility, Bless, Cure Wounds, Create or Destroy Water, Detect Magic, Purify Food and Drink, Hold Person, Silence, Revivify, Create Food and Water.

Level up!
Lesser Poison Dragon
Level 9->Level 10 (Ascension Available!)
Melee Attack 30->35
Ranged Attack 13->15
Natural Armor 10->11
Speed 8->9
Weakness: Earth
Special Abilities:
Poison Bite - Each bite deals Melee Attack damage and poisons enemies for 10 Poison Damage/Per second.
Poison Veil - Immune to poison.
Draconic Awe - Melee attacks targeting you have a 10% chance of failure.
Lesser Hoard - 1 random, permanent item from each defeated enemy is placed at your spawn point. Can be looted only upon your defeat.

Bringing up your character sheet, you showed it to Slazar, pointing at the words "Level 9->Level 10". He blinked a few times before squinting his eyes to get a better look. His eyes skimmed through the rest of your sheet before giving his own a once-over, nodding as he did so. Looking up back towards you, he rubbed his chin before rereading the part you were pointing it. His horns perked up slightly as he did so, a grin starting to form on his face. Suddenly, he leapt off of the wall he was leaning against and started to cheer, he arms flailing about as he cried out in joy. What was he doing?

"Master Dragon! Master Dragon! Finally! You won't be so pathetic anymore! The Mistress will definitely accept you! You may finally ascend to a level beyond your current lesser designation, you could become a true dragon!" Slazar excitedly explained as he spun around in a little ritualistic dance. Wow okay, he did not have to say it in that way. However, his words does scratch this itch that you have been feeling since you first levelled up. You took a look at your character sheet and saw the words "(Ascension Available!)" next to your level. Was this what he meant? You have heard of Tamers evolving or promoting their tamed creatures to even greater heights. Was this something similar? Although, let it be known that you did not have a tamer and simply got here with your own strength. Could you ascend to the next tier in your path to becoming a truly Grand Dragon? What would the next tier even be? Your mind raced as you imagined yourself finally gliding against the clouds before swooping down and laying waste to a village that failed to pay tribute. Your maw would unhinge and release vile acid upon their homes as you sweeped it all into oblivion in a stringle twitch of your tail. Perhaps you could capture a princess or two to truly strike fear into the kingdoms of this continent.

Eagerly, you tapped on the "(Ascension Available!)" next to your level to reveal another sheet with a bunch of branching paths. Glancing about, you realised that there were many potential Ascension Paths you could take, each with even more branching paths of their own. It seemed like you were locked into a single evolution path as of now unless you decided to "respec" which would cost... Something? It did not really state anything with those question marks. You were pretty low on the tiering and while you were not all the way at the bottom, you were still pathetically placed. From an "Egg" at Level Zero to a "Wyrmling" or "Hatchling" at Level One to Five, the two words being interchangeable it seems. After hitting that Level Five benchmark, you seemed to have became a "Lesser" Poison Dragon. Huh, that was weird, you do not remember doing that, maybe your memory was foggy due to being so young? Also of note was that the "Wyrmling" evolution branches out into either the "Traditional Dragon" path or the "Lesser Dragon" path. A "Traditional Dragon" path was what most Heroes would think of when someone says dragon, something reminiscent of a reptile with four limbs and wings. A "Lesser Dragon" path consisted of creatures that one may consider false dragons, beasts that look almost like a true dragon or is somehow related to one despite looking completely different.

You may have completely shafted yourself in regards to potential power growth as for some odd reason, you went down the "Lesser Dragon" Evolution Path. While the "Lesser Dragon" path provided you with more immediate firepower, there was an exponential growth in strength if you had gone down the "Traditional Dragon" Ascension Path. A "Traditional Dragon" would continue to grow in strength as it aged. The current path you walk still has its merits of course, you could already produce offspring because of it, unlike the other path where you would have to wait until you were an "Young Adult". Aside from that, "Lesser Dragons" tend to rely on gimmicks and tricks that help to differentiate them from a "Traditional Dragon's" all-rounder toolkit. Of course everyone knows that scheming little tricks only get you so far, at the end of the day, strength has decided everything in your battles. Scrolling frantically through your Ascension Path, you skimmed through to ascertain what your final form would be. You sighed as anything beyond your current potential evolutions were blanked out and had no data that you could read through. Were you going to be stuck as an inferior dragon all your life? Some of the further evolutions branched out even more into quite an odd beast, many with weird appendages. Fortunately, you noticed that some of the later evolutions converged down the road, some even linked with the "Traditional Dragon" Ascension Path, so there could still be hope for you.

Well, what is done is already done, you were not going to risk a "respec" to see if you could succeed with the other Ascension Paths. Let us look forward and use the cards that were already dealt, what did the "Lesser Dragon" provide you? Well, to start things off, you noticed that the "Traditional Dragon" path had only two different body types. The base form of four limbs and a certain number of wings, or a really long body with four limbs and no wings at all. The "Lesser Dragon" path on the other hand gave you all sorts of potential body types, each with their own benefits and downsides. Take the "Wyvern" for example, the forelimbs and wings merge while the tail would extend, sharp venomous barbs surrounding it at the tip. Another funky looking one was the "Lindwurm", a long body much like that of a snake along with two forelimbs. Something similar to that was the "Wyrm" which had no limbs at all, opting to locomote like a snake would. Wow! This was all really lame! You eyed Slazar who was still spinning around in joy, well at least someone was happy about this. There was still the option to opt for a more conventional body type with two wings and four limbs, although it seems like yours would be more slender, weaker and flexible than a conventional True Dragon. A by-product of a "Lesser Dragon" attempting to imitate a "Traditional Dragon".

Sighing, you decided to close the sheet for now. You did not have to decide right now, besides, it would be dangerous to stay here for an extended period of time. Some of the enemies may have respawned by now and it would be wise to leave before it becomes too troublesome. Stumbling forward, you pulled on Slazar and placed him onto your back before making your way to the cave entrance. The rest of the way there was mostly uneventful. Oddly enough, the Emerald Golems that had already returned did not engage in combat with either of you. You could also feel Slazar clawing away at some of your scales, what was that fool doing? While you felt pretty indestructible right about now, scale pulling still felt painful, especially in your current weakened state. You turned your head back and huffed at the Kobold, receiving a startled look from him as he hid something behind his back. Squinting your eyes, you motioned for him to show what it was that he was so keen on keeping to himself. It took abit of pressuring but he proceeded to show you one of your green scales. To your shock, it was slightly coated in the green crystals that littered the caves. Would you look at that? Slazar hazards a guess that perhaps eating the Emerald Serpent's eye and besting her in combat has given you a portion of her power. Not sure to what extent but it seems like the Emerald Golems recognise it enough to leave you alone.

The moonlight barely broke through the canopy into the cave. Your two stumbling forms made their way out of the cave as the cold wind of the night blew through the cave behind you, an odd sound came from that. The walk back to your lair was quiet, Slazar had asked some questions as to why you had not already ascended, however you refrained from giving an answer. Not like you could even if you wanted it. As you got closer, you took in the scenery around your Lair, the horses were standing completely still nearby while the lone tree in the middle swayed slightly in the night wind. Letting Slazar down, he waddled forward to busy himself with some chores, guess he shall be sleeping late. You yawn as you make your way towards your captive woman, might as well make a check on her progress. Nearing the slumbering form, you are surprised to see that she was actually still awake, a bored expression upon her face. Right, it must be mind-numbing to sit about all day, shall we fix that? Laying your head down on her lap forces her to jolt back in fear, however she is unable to resist as you take in the soft feel of her thighs and the oddly hypnotic scent. She has not gotten the chance to doll herself up with perfume, was this flowery scent coming from her because of her Half Nymph heritage? Your eyes are heavy with lethargy as you drifted off to sleep on your bed of flowers, you could decide on your Ascension tomorrow.

(Twenty-two days to the next Blood Moon)

All alone again, trapped within the prison of your mind, your surroundings were familiar. You felt like yourself, albeit weaker and smaller, much like you were a few days ago. Was this a past memory of your inferior self? Walking forward, it was the dead of night as you approached the Emerald River. Taking in a deep breath to percieve your surroundings, you were met with the faint scent of flowers. You surveyed the area for the source before deciding it was safe enough to drink as you failed to find anything of note, lowering your head and lapping away at the mostly clean water before you. The flowery scent still lingered. The cold water down your throat was odd, almost felt like when a character sheet would fill in as you learned more about something. As you took in the wealth of knowledge from the wellspring of understanding, your mind began to fill itself with new information. It was a strange feeling, almost like as if you had already known what the information being fed to you was, yet not remembering any of it beforehand. The flowery scent still lingered. Once you were done quenching your thirst for knowledge from the river, you took a step back and closed your eyes. The flowery scent still lingered. In the void, you could see it, the great potential before you.

Growth Choice:

1: Imitation Dragon - So you decided to become a "Lesser Dragon" because you thought the sudden growth in strength was sweet huh? What a shock it was when you found that you were still the same size as a Wyrmling. Then you realised that if you had just followed through with the standard path, you would inevitably outmatch even the strongest of the "Lesser Dragons" as a "Young Adult"? Well never fear! You still have the blood of a dragon coursing through your veins, which means that there is always still more room for growth. Now while no longer considered a "True" Dragon, you will still be able to reap the benefits of one, albeit to a lesser extent. You shall assume a form similar to that of a "Traditional Dragon" as your wings will grow in size to allow for flight. Blasts of your breath weapon may now be shot at targets from a range instead of having to run up and bite them. Much like the classic dragon, you gain greater boosts from a level up, although not as much as a True Dragon. Do be warned, your body size is going to remain the same as before, nothing the ascension can do about that. You will just have to get bigger by levelling up. Given enough time, who knows? Maybe you will tap into your latent draconic bloodline and become a True Dragon.

(That was weird, wa- was the paragraph explaining your Growth Choice directly addressing you in this casual a manner? Also how could it possibly know that you were apprehensive due to picking this path? Why was it mocking you? Why did you not grow in size? You felt like an Ascension for a dragon should have always resulted in a growth in size but apparently not)

Ascension Potential: Can become a True Dragon given enough time. Has an easier time becoming a "Faerie" than a True Dragon. Can become a "Dragonnel" to serve as a powerful mount for Heroes. Can become a "Pseudodragon" to serve as a familiar to powerful magic users. Making pacts with devils may result in a "Hellfire Wyrm" after prolonged exposure. (More unknown options available)

(Hold on, information overload, you could still become a True Dragon and eventually, potentially, a Grand Ancient Dragon. So that was good. But what was all this nonsense with Faeries and Devils? Also there were more unknown options available that you just could not access no matter how hard you try)

2: Imitation Lung Dragon - So you wanted to become a Lung Dragon but did not realise that they were actually True Dragons despite not having wings? Wondered whether the "Drake" evolution could branch into the "Traditional Dragon" path's Lung Dragon later down the road? Yes, it does by the way. Do not fret, for you still have a chance at pretending to be a real Lung Dragon! You lose your wings, instead relying on the air magicks of old to lift your body off of the ground. Much like the real deal, you will have great manoeuvrability in the air as the lack of wings lets you twist and turn your body in ways that a typical dragon cannot. Of course, that also means that your top speed will be lower than that of both "Traditional Dragons", a faker could never measure up to them stat wise. Although, "Lesser Dragons" never relied on fighting fair anyways. You gain access to a ranged breath attack of your element along with the improved boosts from a level up, similar to that of True Dragons. Your body will elongate as your tail stretches out to really make you look like a snake with legs. As with many other "Lesser Dragons", your size will still remain the same despite your ascension, you have to get bigger by levelling up silly. With enough strength, you may be able to tap into your latent draconic bloodline and ascend to True Dragon status.

(This was news to you, those freaky looking long tube snake things that floated through the air without wings were apparently "True" Dragons. Very minute differences between this and the other kind of "True" Dragons, judging from the walls of text. At most, one is faster while the other is more evasive, perhaps the Ascension Potential is where the difference is at? Let us see)

Ascension Potential: Can become a True Dragon given enough time. Can become an "Air Dragon" after fully mastering the Air Magicks. Can become a "Moon Dragon" or "Sun Dragon" depending on dragon's choices. Has an easier time becoming a "Guardian Dragon" for certain gods or people. (More unknown options available)

(Right, this kind of evolution seems to focus more on the mystical elements of Dragons. Again, you could not click to see the other unknown options available. The "Moon Dragon" evolution seemed to click quite oddly with you, perhaps it reminded you of Charon and the very painful full moons of his)

3: Wyvern - Your wings had very little use, time to fix that. The forelimbs and wings will merge to provide you a streamlined body better suited for flight. Of course, the caveat being that you lose your two front arms permanently. There will be many ways for you to make do without them of course, whether it be magic or some other clever device. Your tail will extend to greater lengths along with the formation of barbs at the tip which can be used to sting or launch barbs at targets to poison them. This body shape provides excellent speed while in the air, and while not the best, it is pretty good for what you will want to accomplish. While not immediately receiving your ranged breath attack, you will get it later on down the path. Wyverns are usually smaller than other kinds of dragons and will rely on stealth to deal with any opponent in their way. Be warned, you will have a harder time in actual open combat, so **** your higher stealth stats and go for an assassin playstyle!

(The text here was shorter, guess "Wyverns" were pretty simple and self-explanatory. You were not sure how you felt about losing your arms though, they proved pretty useful many times. Although, that long tail with venomous barbs will pair well with your poison capabilities, you will even get a proper poison breath with enough levels)

The flowery scent still lingered.

Ascension Potential: Can go all in on stealth and magic by becoming a "Cockatrice" with its **** stare. (More unknown options available)

(Only one option available, that you knew of, seems like your knowledge was lacking for this evolution. Although, this "Cockatrice" could kill with just a clean line of sight? Perhaps there is something here that you could exploit)

4: Drake - Your limbs had been doing most of the work anyways, might as well make them the main appeal of your body. The two withered wings on your back will shrink and either fall off or fuse into your body, the only evidence of its existence being the potential vestigial bone or two. Your limbs on the other hand will grow and reinforce itself with muscle and callouses from the **** stress of Ascension. While you will not gain a flying speed, your normal land speed has been increased dramatically, on par with that of a horse. Your size will vary depending on the circumstances, however most "Drakes" are usually smaller than the average dragon. Nothing wrong with that, in fact most drakes can outmatch a dragon in size through levelling up and ascending into evolutions such as the "Dragon Turtle" which roam the seas. Whether you gain a breath weapon is also up to circumstance by the way, so this evolution is liable to many outside factors that could affect you either positively or negatively. For example, if you already had an element attached to your previous form, more likely than not, you will have a breath weapon as this "Drake" evolution. This Evolution can be played in many different ways with many potential strategies, from stealth takedowns to hit and run tactics. There will always be an evolution for your playstyle should you pick this little fella.

(If you had to provide a comparison for this Ascension, it would be similar to that of a Hero's "Fighter" class. A very diverse class with many potential skill sets and niches. It could go for a more general build as a jack of all trades, mostly even stats throughout. Or you could specialise into a more specific build. There seems to be many potential Ascensions that will accomodate the way you fight as well)

Ascension Potential: Can channel the power of the Beast by becoming a "Hydra" with its multiple heads. Can become a "Kirin" that serves as a Guardian. Can become a "Dragon Turtle" if experienced enough with the waters. Can become an "Elemental Drake" immediately if the previous form already had an elemental affinity, otherwise follow the set route for the path. Can become a "Greater Drake" given enough time. Can be come "Felldrake" if blessed by a God. (Due to the large amount of potenial Ascensions, this paragraph has been shortened to include the most popular evolutions) (More unknown options available)

(Wow, there were alot of potential Ascensions, so much so that they had to limit the ones they could show you. There was this itch to click on the potential Ascensions to see more of the classes but you wisely decided against it, that would be way too much reading. Glancing about the data, you realised the potential builds of this class was unmatched, from the powerful "Kirin" to the more experimental "Greater Drake", you could do anything! Although something of note that slightly rubbed you the wrong way was the mention of the "Beast"... Where have you heard that before...? Anyways, you could risk it all as a "Drake" by trying your hand at "min-maxing", as the Heroes would call it)

5: Amphitere - Now hold on, why did you decide to remove all of your limbs? Your limbs no longer exist, whether they fell off or were absorbed back into your being, no one is really sure. Your ground mobility is completely stunted as you rely solely on flight to move around. Which is not the worst thing honestly, the lack of limbs has made you one of the fastest travelling dragons due to your superior aerodynamics. You will lack a breath weapon for now, unlocking it at the later levels. What you do have is the tremendous speed and dive bombing techniques similar to that of the many predator birds of the world. While not the smallest of dragons, you will be slightly smaller than most dragons on average.

(Well this one just makes it so you will have to use your mouth for everything! What use would the flying speed be if you could not even pick up a helpless maiden from her village safely? Although, going all in on speed could be interesting)

Ascension Potential: Can become a "Quetzalcoatl" that serves as a guardian. (More unknown options available)

(That was it? Such a hefty price tag for this evolution and the only thing provided for the Ascension Potential was just a single "quetzalcoatl"? Really? This better be the single most insane transformation or you would be pissed)

6: Lindwurm - Now hold on, why did you decide to keep just the arms? Your rear legs and wings **** into nothingess, leaving you with just your arms. To say you look like an odd snake with two legs weirdly placed would be an understatement. You lower body and tail can be swung around like a lethal whip or mace, bludgeoning everything in its path as your remaining limbs grip the ground. The lower body mass lets you fling yourself around as you move about, providing you with pretty decent land speed. Your maw is modified, much like the other evolutions, allowing you use of your breath weapon. The claws of your hands lets you dig at great speeds, slithering throughout the dirt and sand as you gain a dig speed. The size that you will be able to grow to is pretty average for a dragon, something similar to an adult True Dragon.

(Alright so you get to keep your two strongest assets besides your dick, but you lose the ability to fly. Or rather, you do not gain the ability to fly as you could not fly beforehand. Which would be fine if you did not lose your rear legs for some reason. Perhaps there is some merit to this? You did get a long tail, who knows)

Ascension Potential: Can become the evolved forms of the "Wyvern", "Drake" and "Wyrm" later down the line. Can grow even more limbs along the body by becoming a "Salamander" which decreases tail length in exchange. Can assume the "Royal" form if ascended to some form of nobility. (More unknown options available)

(Seems like whoever made this evolution path was quite the indecisive person, probably conflicted in choosing between those three Ascension Paths. Guess this was a more all-rounder class, although the "Royal" Lindwurm Evolution did catch your interest)

The flowery scent still lingered.

7: Wyrm - It must have truly taken alot of strength from within yourself to swallow your pride, give up your dignity and decide to give away everything that made you a dragon. Every single limb including your wings are gone, leaving you with a form similar to that of a snake or a worm. Yeah you never achieved the dream of flight and are unable to pick anything up, but your new body lets you do anything a snake could such as slithering and burrowing. Your breath weapon can be used immediately upon your ascension and your tail can be modified to serve multiple different purposes. Unlike all the other evolutions, you will gain an immediate increase in size once you ascend and can continue to grow larger as you level up. The increase in size is gained by molting your skin and your size will be able to rival and even surpass most True Dragons.

(Why would you ever even consider this at all? It seems to go all in on stats and size, complete and utter brute strength. You were smarter than that, right? Well, strength rivalling that of True Dragons is quite enticing)

Ascension Potential: Can become a "Quetzalcoatl" that serves as a guardian. Being near the ocean allows for "Sea Serpent" evolution. (More unknown options available)

("Quetzalcoatl" again? What would the difference be for a "Quetzalcoatl" from a "Wyrm", "Lindwurm" and the "Amphitere"? There was also the "Sea Serpent" which while interesting, would trap you to the ocean and beaches. You could make this work if you really wanted to, but is it worth it? Well, that was for you to decide)

You pondered for a while in the dark void of your mind within your mind, whatever you pick will be what you will go with for quite a long time, lest you try a "respec". Finally, after what felt like a good ten minutes, you made your decision. The flowery scent still lingered. Opening your eyes, you were faced to faced with your new reflection.