Arad approached the goblins, "How are you doing?"
The goblins bowed, and Hob rushed forward with a sweaty face, "Your lordship, we are glad to see you awake." Hob smiled, "We were cleaning and trying to make the place prettier as per Lady Aella's commands. We've also been training with the sword and bow under her command," He pointed toward the back where the young goblins were sharpening their blades.
"Where is she?" Arad asked, looking around and searching for Aella.
"She is outside," Hob replied, pointing forward, "Gob, come guide his Lordship to the exit,"
Gob dropped the blade he was sharpening and rushed forward, "Your lordship, I'm glad to see you with us again. Please follow me."
The two walked across the first layer until they reached the dungeon gate, "Lady Aella instructed us never to get out before getting direct permission from her since the workers are still working outside." Gob explained, and Arad patted his head, "Thanks, I will go see her,"
Arad pushed the door open and walked outside, finding himself in a dark cellar with crates stacked on each other.
^They seem to have at least finished the cellar,^ Arad thought, touching the walls as he approached the stairs, slowly going up. CRACK! He opened the trap door and got out in a tidy living room.
^I can sense multiple thoughts. One person is sitting on the roof. Five are in front of the house. Two are at the back, and lastly, one to the right.^ Arad looked around, and he could sense everyone. He walked toward the front door and opened it, seeing five workers installing fences around the garden.
One of the workers looked in Arad's direction, "Hoi! A strange man came out of the house," He said.
The other workers looked at Arad, and one recognized him, "That's Arad, the house owner. When did he arrive?" He stood and approached Arad, "How did you get here? I'm sure we set dogs guarding all around the house."
The workers have been seeing wolves and apes around the area, so they put dogs to guard. No one barked when Arad came in.
Arad smiled, "Sorry, I'm used to moving silently," Arad laughed it off.
"Silently?" The worker asked with a puzzled face.
"I'm an adventurer. I'm used to moving across the forest without alerting monsters. The dogs probably didn't spot me," Arad reasoned with himself being an adventurer.
The worker smiled, "That's a useful skill to have. I wish we all could walk across the forest without even dogs sniffing us out,"
"ARAD!" Aella shouted, jumping from the rooftop and landing behind Arad, "It's been a while,"
"Good morning, Aella," Arad replied.
"It's afternoon, man," The worker said with a puzzled face, "I'm going to work. Lady Aella should be able to set up to speed with everything,"
Aella looked at Arad with a smile, "Good morning. Did you sleep well?"
"Yeah," Arad smiled, puffing his arms. "As you can see, I should be a bit stronger,"
Aella looked at Arad's arms closely, squeezing them, "They got bigger," She mumbled, "You probably should hide them from Mira,"
Arad smiled, "Hide it?"
Aella looked at Arad with a smile, "You don't know her as much as I did in the past week," She poked Arad's chest, "No, wait," She then started thinking, "It might the reverse, you should show them to her."
Arad stared at Aella, confused, "What are you talking about?"
Aella shook her head, waving her hand, "Sorry, I was thinking in lines of she might do something like Merida, but then thought that she is better," She smiled, "She like muscles. For the last week. She didn't shut up asking about you," Aella giggled, "She almost went crazy when I told her you're out training,"
"ARAD! Is that you!" Arad felt the thoughts of the person at the side of the house move. She was Mira, "You returned," She rushed toward them with a smile and a saw in her hand.
"You've been working?" Arad said, looking at the saw in her hand and the hammer strapped to her waist.
"Yeah, I was just making a gate for the garden," Mira said, smiling. "This place is quite nice to work in. I might even move my shop here," She smiled.
Arad scratched his chin, "I doubt you would get a decent supply route here in the woods,"
Mira was looking at Arad, and she noticed his arms flex as he touched his chin, "Wait, can I see your arm?" She pointed at his upper arm.
SWOSH! Arad hid his arms behind his back, looking away, "What are you talking about?"
Mira stared at Arad's neck as he looked away, "What's up with the veins in your neck? And now that I looked closer, your shoulders are wider." She jumped toward him, touching his shoulder.
"Come on! No touching," Arad lifted his arm, and Aella caught Mira by the head.
"Care to tell me why you have four traps? And why is there one extending from your upper chest?" Mira caressed his shoulder.
Arad looked at Aella, wishing she could help him. ^I bet those are my wing muscles,^
Aella smiled, "I told you,"
Mira stared into Arad's eyes, "You are a draconic bloodline sorcerer. Does this mean you're going to develop wings?"
Arad thought to himself, ^She knows I'm a sorcerer. It would probably be best if she know I already have the half-dragon form. Yeah, it would be helpful if I could fly in public,^
Arad extended his wings, trying to get into his half-dragon. Only to realize he made a mistake at the last moment. BAM! His shirt exploded as his jet-black wings expanded beneath it, spanning over an eight meters wingspan.
Mira stared at him with a blank expression. Arad didn't have a six-pack. He had a twelve-pack as the muscles extend to his back and grasped into the muscles of his wings.
The muscles of his arms looked even stranger, twisting and twirling around his forearms to increase the power of his claw grip, and the muscles of his chest looked as if they were sculpted from jagged stones.
A dragon might look like a human from the outside, but even in the human or half-dragon form, their inside is that of a dragon. Otherwise, how could they exert their draconic might?
"Heh!" Mira giggled, looking at Aella, then fainted, causing the two to panic.