[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-ember-dragon":3,"chapter-ember-dragon-ember-dragon-chapter-42":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Ember Dragon",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":20,"prevChapterSlug":21,"totalChapters":22,"novelImage":23},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":16,"volume":17,"translator":18,"content_hash":19},1161858,1504,"Chapter 42: Bloodline Gift (Part 5)","ember-dragon-chapter-42",42,"\u003Cp>In this feverish yet eerie silence, Cassius announced the final name.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Gold-Fang.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instantly, all the creatures were dumbfounded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No one expected that the final recipient of the “blessing” would be the feeble kobold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even Gold-Fang himself stood in shock for a moment, taking a few seconds to process.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His grotesque face quickly filled with an ingratiating smile, and with the combined help of several of his kin as stepping stones, he managed to clamber up the towering boulder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How is this possible?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dolo glared at the fawning kobold, his breath hot with rage, teeth grinding as he fought the urge to tear him to pieces.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His bear goblin subordinates clenched their jaws with fury, their muscular arms bulging with veins, thicker than the scrawny waist of the kobold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Raised on Storm Heights, these creatures revered strength above all. Having a weak kobold elevated above them left them resentful and bitter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, they didn’t dare challenge the dragon’s authority, forcing them to swallow their indignation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cassius, for his part, wasn’t concerned about the choice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the previous blessings, Ember Nest’s combat power had already grown considerably, enough to be a dominant force across the Anzeta Wasteland.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Considering he needed the kobolds for gold-mining, he thought it fitting to give them a bit of hope.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides, kobolds were naturally dragon-aligned creatures.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These egg-laying beings matured quickly and, as “dragon-like creatures,” could live over a century, serving as tireless gold miners for their masters. However, due to their frail bodies, few survived to die of old age.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Over time, even their prolonged proximity to dragons could lead to unpredictable mutations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With this blessing, Cassius also wanted to conduct an experiment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If it failed, the loss was negligible—just a kobold with a challenge rating of a quarter. If he died, hundreds more would be born next year.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ritual began under Cassius’s guidance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Blood flowed into the kobold’s mouth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Due to his small, weak frame, he consumed far less blood than the previous recipients.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Awoo—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The kobold let out a low, suppressed howl.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The scalding blood flowed through his body, scorching his flesh, a faint red glow emanating from within.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All the creatures watched the kobold with hungry eyes, some envious, others resentful, or unwilling. Most were silently hoping the kobold would succumb to the pain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly, a drastic change occurred.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The kobold threw his head back, emitting a series of wild, dog-like barks, saliva thick and steaming from his open mouth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His body swelled rapidly, and a massive hump formed on his back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His frail body hungrily absorbed every ounce of energy in the blood, visibly bulking up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His height rose from under a meter to nearly two.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Strange power surged from deep within his bloodline.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a loud tearing sound, the massive hump ripped through his skin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A new pair of slimy wings unfolded from the kobold’s back!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Roar—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The kobold leader clumsily spread his wings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His voice had evolved from barking to something closer to a dragon’s roar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How is this possible!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This is…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s an urd, Tiamat above, that’s an urd!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A newly transformed urd!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some of the older, more knowledgeable kobolds let out cries of amazement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A few kobolds were born with wings and could fly; these were known as urds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The wings were considered a gift from the dragon queen Tiamat, and jealousy from wingless kobolds often prevented peaceful coexistence between them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But now, with a kobold growing dragon wings, jealousy was accompanied by immense fervor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They, too, could become urds!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cassius observed the winged kobold, squinting slightly—his warlock senses detecting a faint disturbance in the Weave.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As expected, he checked the follower information panel closely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Your follower, Kobold Leader, has undergone an unpredictable mutation under the influence of the Bloodline Gift.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arcane talent often emerged by pure chance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some warlocks could not even pinpoint the source of their power, while others recalled strange encounters:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A hag’s touch, a mysterious enchanted spring, or a blessing from a celestial being might ignite the spark of arcane talent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Exposure to the elemental forces of inner planes or chaotic magical power of the Sea of Chaos, or glimpsing the workings of reality itself, could all be catalysts for magic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Drinking the blessing blood was undeniably such a “catalyst.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Your follower, Kobold Leader, has awakened the latent dragon magic within his ancestral bloodline through the blessing.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Kobold Leader has unlocked the class *Draconic Sorcerer - Red Dragon*, his innate magic deriving from dragon power, its essence woven into his blood and heritage.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What began as a casual experiment had granted Ember Nest another spellcaster, to Cassius’s pleasant surprise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A kobold draconic sorcerer, interesting.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cassius watched as Gold-Fang completed his transformation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The newly-winged kobold—or rather, urd—was gasping for breath, hot air venting from the gaps in his scales.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a few breaths, he finally calmed the wild elemental energy within him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Huff, huff, huff…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Adjusting to his new form, the transformed kobold felt the potent unfamiliar power within his body and the spells that suddenly surfaced in his mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gold-Fang looked up at the red dragon, eyes burning with fanaticism, even shedding a few genuine tears of gratitude.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The humiliation of slavery, the terror of being hunted, the daily grind of survival—all faded away in that moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, he truly saw the dragon as a demigod incarnate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Cassius cared little for the kobold’s loyalty, or “fanaticism.” He was more interested in what kind of spell this kobold had awakened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Cast your spell.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cassius said with interest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unlike the class-based spell selection system players used, warlocks in this world did not choose their spells—rather, the magic chose them, bestowing them with innate spell abilities.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As a result, most warlocks only mastered one or two spells, wielding them with exceptional skill.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes…great master.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gold-Fang unhesitatingly channeled the newfound power within him, following the inherited memory in his mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Slowly, he raised his arms, aligning his thumbs while spreading his other fingers, guiding a slight gathering of fire element energy from the Weave around him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Boom!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A cone of flames, several feet long, erupted from his palms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Burning Hands, a fitting first-level spell for a red dragon warlock.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cassius evaluated privately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>>\u003C\u002Fp>",1027,"2026-06-03T12:47:02.671Z","2026-06-03T12:47:06.781Z",1,"novelbin.me","55aa9c382a6fbe1bf481e05c01c53c8996911b35ec89b7190dc49ccd8a632b2c","ember-dragon-chapter-43","ember-dragon-chapter-41",603,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fember-dragon-cover.jpg"]