World of Warcraft: Arcane Dragon - CH2 [Beta reading.] (Patreon)

Chapter 2: Of Tail and Snow.

As I clumsily navigated through the dimly lit cavern, still adjusting to my draconic form. I couldn’t help but feel a bit overwhelmed. This body felt like someone trying to rap an opera, utterly ridiculous and bound to end in disaster. I was doing my best to strut around, trying to look like I had some control over this scaly, poodle sized lizard suit I found myself in. "Left foot, right foot, no tail, NO!" I muttered to myself.

You see, my dear friends, my tail, which I had yet to fully acknowledge as a part of me, seemed to have a mind of its own, flicking and swishing behind me with an unpredictable rhythm, the wiggly bastard had a wicked sense of humor, deciding to get between my legs with an almost cartoonish timing, looping around them, making me trip over myself in a graceless, flailing mess of blue scales and limbs. Which usually ended up with me face-first on the cold, hard cave floor.

"Great," I grumbled, spitting out a pebble. "Not only am I an overgrown insurance mascot, but I'm also one who can't even walk straight. Fantastic." My tail, seemingly pleased with its mischief, flicked smugly as I lay there, questioning my life choices.

Lying there on the cold, rocky floor, I couldn’t help but let out a half-laugh, half-groan as I pushed myself up, feeling the weight of each scale and the unfamiliar strength in my limbs. It was like learning to walk all over again, but this time with a tail thrown into the mix.

As I got back on my feet… or, well, claws… I gave my tail a stern look, as if it would somehow understand. “Okay, listen here, you overgrown lizard appendage, we need to work together if we're going to get out of this cave,” I lectured, fully aware of the absurdity of talking to my own tail. But to my surprise, it almost seemed to respond, swaying a bit more gently as if acknowledging my plea.

With a deep, somewhat shaky breath, I started to walk again, this time more cautiously. "Easy does it," I whispered to myself, gingerly placing one clawed foot in front of the other. My tail seemed to follow suit, moving more in sync with my steps. "There we go! Cooperation! That's what I'm talking about."

I can’t believe how low I have fallen. Here I was, a human turned dragon, giving pep talks to my tail in a cave in the middle of nowhere. I wonder if Azeroth has therapists.

Now, with my tail somewhat in check, I set off to explore. The cave, in all its stony glory, seemed like a naturally formed maze. "Left foot, right foot, and tail... behave," I muttered, each word punctuated by the clack of claw against rock.

As I stumbled through it, the cave’s walls seemed to dance in the dim light, creating an almost cozy atmosphere. "I've seen enough fantasy movies to know there should be glowing mushrooms or magical stones around here," I mused, half-expecting to turn a corner and find a hidden city.

As I continued to awkwardly make my, I couldn't help but grumble at my situation. With every turn, I just seemed to find another path instead of an exit.

"A map, a compass, a glowing fairy guide... anything would be helpful right about now," I sighed, half-joking, half-wishing for some magical assistance.

[Azeroth Helper… opening minimap…]

The sudden appearance of a minimap in my vision caught me off guard. "Fuck," I blurted out, staring at the small, semi-transparent display that hovered in the corner of my eye. The map outlined the cavern's twisting corridors, a glowing dot – presumably me – in the midst of it all. "Well, that's handy," I admitted, a bit of relief washing over me. "Thank you, Azeroth Helper, for finally being helpful.

It looked just like the minimap in WoW. Does that mean… I have a player interface?

….

Focus, you will check what you can do later.

—————————————————————-

Minimap at hand, I began to navigate the cavern with renewed sense of purpose. The map made it easier to avoid dead ends and backtrack when necessary. "Left here, right there... Ah, not another dead end!"

That being said, the minimap wasn’t like Google Maps so I would make mistakes from time to time, it was just harder to make them now.

As I moved along, I couldn't help but marvel at how this video game-like interface worked. "Gotta admit, being a dragon with a built-in GPS is pretty cool," I chuckled to myself, trying to keep the mood light.

I wonder if I can install more addons…

"A bit more this way... and that should lead me to... well, hopefully to an exit," I mused, following the minimap's guidance.

As I followed the path indicated by the minimap, navigating the winding passages with a bit more ease, a new notification from the Azeroth Helper flickered into view. This time, it was different – a quest prompt, bold and demanding attention.

[Quest: Identity Crisis - Choose a Name for Yourself!

Requirements: Name yourself.

Rewards: 100XP.]

"Huh, choose a name, huh?" I mused, pausing for a moment, remembering how my character sheet showed my name as a blank. I racked my brain, trying to recall my human name, but it was like grasping at smoke there, I just couldn’t remember.

"Well, if I can't remember the old one, I might as well pick something cool," I decided, a smirk forming on my scaly lips. "Let's see... something grand, powerful... Leviathan… Yeah, Leviathan! the mighty dragon. Has a nice ring to it."

I selected the option to confirm my choice on the Azeroth Helper interface.

[Name: Leviathan. Quest Completed!]

[+100 XP]

"Leviathan," I repeated, trying it out. I like it. Definitely beats having a human name. Bob the Dragon… huh now that I think about it, it would’ve been cool. I might change the name.

Wait… is that allowed?

[Yes.]

I chuckled at the thought of being called 'Bob the Dragon.' "Nah, Leviathan is way cooler," I reassured myself, shaking my head with amusement. "Let's stick with that, for now."

Now, with a name and a bit more experience under my belt, or where a belt would be if I wore one, I noticed another notification pop up.

[New Quest: Discover Your Surroundings!

Description: Find out where you are!

Reward: 100XP.]

Ah, the source of all dopamine, quests with zero to no rewards that push you to complete in the hopes of filling the void within ourselves.

Ahh, I missed this.

"Alright world, prepare to be explored!" I exclaimed, a newfound excitement bubbling within me. For I was no longer just a lost dragon in a cave! No, no, no, I was Leviathan, the explorer, the adventurer!

——————————————————————————

Snow, the world outside the cave was nothing but snow. And the notification I had discovered Northrend as well as completed my quest.

Yep.

The sight that had greeted me as I finally emerged from the cave was a vast expanse of white. Snow stretched as far as the eye could see, a blanket of frosty ball freezing terrain. "So much for the fiery landscape I was expecting," I joked to myself, a puff of white mist escaping my lips with each breath.

Surprisingly enough, the weather felt refreshing against my scaly skin, instead of… frostbite cold as it looked like.

I trudged forward, my claws sinking slightly into the powdery snow with each step. "Well, aren't I adorable?”

Well…

Now that I was out of the cave, I had but one question. Now what?