Even with his eyes open, everything is pitch-black. He had no idea where he was.

In fact, he can barely move at all, like something's wrapped around his body. It's some kind of material that's hard but has a little give to it.

He can just faintly hear some sounds from outside.

Have I been kidnapped?

What would anyone get out of kidnapping an average guy like him?

Regardless of how strange the situation is, he only needs to escape.

That's when he heard a loud CRACK.

When he pushed his weight against the thing covering him, it started to break.

All right, time to finish the job and get out of here!

Putting more power into it, he burst right through, scrabbling out headfirst.

Eh?

The view before my eyes is that of a dragon.

Wuuuuuh?! Whyyyyyyyy?!

Is that what the rustling was coming from?!

Instinctively, I shrink away. I bump into something, and I turn to look.

Hmm?

Is this…it? The thing I crawled out of earlier? Uh…why does it kind of look like a wall!? No, it doesn't merely look like that—it is one, isn't it?

I look down at myself more carefully. I can see what appear to be my legs.

…scaly legs.

Oooooookay, dooon't paaaaniiiiiic!

Th-this isn't what I think it is, right?! Is it, though?!

No! Unreal!

This can't be happening, right? Please, say it's not happening!

I glance down again. Scaly reptilian legs, just like those of a dragon, just smaller.

Concentrating, I try moving them. The appendages move accordingly.

Yep. I have to face the facts.

Apparently, I've been reincarnated as a dragon or something.

Unreal.

But right when I feel ready to break down, I hear some crunching noises. Disturbing ones, actually.

Hmm.

It won't do me any good to ignore reality. I slowly bring myself to take in the scene before me. There, the dragon is...eating another dragon?!

Aaaack! The hell?! No, no, no, no! This is bad, this is baaad!

Times like this call for running like hell.

Fighting? Not happening.

I'm a homebody. There's no way I could ever challenge something like a dragon. Ah. I just remembered that's what I am now.

Instead of wasting time thinking about stupid crap, I figure I'd better get a move on. But apparently it's a little too late for that. The ground is ominously rumbling beneath my feet. Now what?! The sounds and tremors are coming from behind. Turning around, I find myself looking up at an enormous, giant black dragon.

Seriously, though—why is it so huge?! This massive dragon has got to be dozens of times larger than me.

Well, I'll think about all this later on. For now, my only goal is to get out of here safely and try to survive!

I run away at full speed. Only when I'm so tired I can barely move do I finally calm down. Luckily, when I turn to check, I find that nobody chased after me.

Oof, I thought I was gonna die. It would've sucked to get killed after only being alive for a couple minutes.

Anyway…now that I've come to my senses a little, I have a lot to think about.

First of all, why did I die?

Actually, now that I think about it, I don't necessarily know for sure that my life ended at all.

It's not like I actually remember kicking the bucket, then reincarnating.

…I have no idea what caused it at all.

I guess it's possible that I'm alive, and my spirit is currently possessing a dragon, or something similar.

Like, maybe my original body is in a vegetative state, lying on a hospital bed right now.

Well.

It's not like there's any way for me to know for sure. How can I prove I'm not who I think I am, anyway?

I'll end up spouting incomprehensible nonsense like "I think therefore I am" and stuff.

Besides, the most likely conclusion from the evidence is the ridiculous idea that I'm in this situation, so I may as well throw common sense to the wind.

At any rate, better put all this aside for now.

In the spirit of "I think, therefore I am," I'm just going to assume that I am in fact myself until proven otherwise.

So apparently, I'm a dragon now. There's definitely no denying that anymore.

So if I'm a dragon, what was with that hulk I saw before?

Hmm.

Given the circumstances, maybe it really was the boss dragon or something?

If that dragon was one of my species, I wonder if that means I'll be that size, too, someday?

Thinking about it makes me feel a little sick.

Okay, forget that part. Let's get back on track.

Let's see. Really, there's one thing that I'm particularly hung up on.

Specifically, the fact that I'm a monster.

The whole "reincarnation" and/or "isekai" genre is popular, so I guess it isn't that alien an idea.

Getting reincarnated in the body of a dragon, I mean.

So the question is: Is this not Earth at all but a parallel world, where I've been reborn as a monster?

This isn't getting me anywhere. I don't have enough information to parse what's going on.

If this is a different world, what kind of world is it?

There's a mountain of things I want to know, but I have no way of finding out.

Ahh, if only this were a novel or something, I'd probably have an Appraisal skill that would help me figure it out…

Number of skill points currently in possession: 100. Number of skill points required to acquire skill [Appraisal LV 1]: 100. Acquire skill?

Whoa. What? …For real? A mechanical voice completely devoid of emotion suddenly echoed in my mind. That's surprising in more ways than one.

First, that I'm hearing voices at all.

Secondly, these "skills" exist here.

Obviously, there's no such skill system on Earth, and I've never heard any voices announcing things in my head before now.

So does that mean this isn't Earth? Probably, yeah.

I guess that gives my "I'm a monster" theory a lot more weight.

Being a monster in a parallel world seems like a recipe for death, but let's not think about that. Nope, nope, nope.

More importantly, it's really real. The Appraisal skill actually does exist! Whoo-hoo! Now we're talking! Finally this is starting to feel like a proper fantasy reincarnation story! Obviously, my answer is "YES!"

[Appraisal LV 1] acquired. Remaining skill points: 0.

Apparently, that used up all my skill points, but I decided not to worry about that for now.

Forget! About! That!

It's time to use my brand-spanking-new Appraisal skill to examine the crap out of my surroundings!

I pick a nearby rock at random, trying to think [Appraise] as I focus on it.

It worked! Information flows smoothly into my mind.

Rock.

…Hmm? Wait, what? That's all?

No, no, no.

That can't be right, can it? I probably just failed because it's my first time. Let me try again…

Rock.

…Huh? Is that seriously it?

No, no, no, no.

It must be that this stone doesn't have any valuable information because it's just an ordinary rock! This time, I decided to test my skill on a wall. Maybe that'll tell me something about the area I'm in. If I could get a little description or something similar, I'd definitely feel a lot better.

Wall.

…I'm not even going to say anything.

I should've considered the fact that the skill name, [Appraisal LV 1], went out of its way to mention its level.

For all intents and purposes, this seems to mean a level-1 skill won't provide me with any useful results.

Maybe raising the level will improve it, but I've used up all my skill points.

Argh! I can't believe I blew everything on a useless ability!

I don't know what other skills were available, but for all I know there might've been some that would've actually been useful at level 1!

No, I should look at it the other way. If this is what Appraisal is like at level 1, surely any other level-1 skill would've been just as ineffective. Yeah, let's go with that. Otherwise, I won't be able to live with myself.

Ugh. Unreal.

At this point, I figure I might as well Appraise myself.

Small Dragon. Nameless.

Hmm? I knew it would say "Dragon," of course, but why "Nameless"?

I am a Dragon. As yet I have no name.

I mean, I had a name in my previous life, but I guess I don't anymore, since I'm a dragon now.

I better put aside my useless Appraisal skill for the time being. If anything, it's only increasing the number of mysteries.

Such as the skill points I used to gain the Appraisal skill. Presumably, I could acquire more skills by saving up more points. I have no idea how to go about acquiring any, though.

Between levels, skills, and skill points, this world feels very video game–esque.

I mean, that could be kinda fun, right?

Although I don't know if I can afford to have any fun at the moment.

Whatever. I'm getting hungry.

There's no point in hanging around the same place forever, so I'll just have to get a move on and see if I can find something to eat.

I thought I'd just walk around for a while, but this cave is too big!

This is all relative to my size, of course, but the ceiling is so high I can barely make anything out, and the width is just as absurd.

The random scattered rocks help give a little sense of variety, at least, but it still seems pretty darn spacious for a cave. Eventually, I find a path that branches off.

Climbing onto a fairly sizable rock, I try squinting down the path. There's something there…! From what I can tell, it's a bunch of monsterish creatures milling around.

Kobold Kobold Kobold Kobold Kobold Kobold Shadow Shadow Shadow Shadow Shadow Moth Moth Moth Moth Moth Moth Moth

Ouch! Was that a migraine?! My stupid Appraisal skill must've gone off on its own, because that sudden explosion of information made my head hurt.

I mean, they do seem kinda like moths if I look real hard, but earth didn't have moths that big. Shadows did not have large claws. Also the Kobolds, well they looked like dogs, just malnourished.

Am I supposed to pass through here? Yeah, right. I'm just a tiny newborn dragon. The difficulty level is way too high.

I stealthily crawl back down from the rock.

So…there are real monsters. This really isn't Earth.

Okay, now what?

Ahead of me is a gauntlet of monsters. Behind me is dragon hell. Is this for real? Am I in checkmate?

Okay, okay. Calm down, please.

I thought this kind of thing might happen, so I prepared an alternative strategy for just such an occasion.

Well, it actually isn't anything that fancy. I just happened to find a different path earlier. The smaller side road would have been easy to miss because it was right next to this huge one, an unassuming little hole in the wall. Nevertheless, it's about ten feet around, so I'll fit through without a problem.

On that note, I still need to look for food. Hopefully I'll find a way out of this cave, too.

With that decided, time to head out!

This triumphant departure on the next leg of my journey is going great, except that I immediately get lost.

Hoo, boy. Can I say it again? This cave is way too big! Seriously, what's with this huge labyrinth?

Why are there so many freaking paths branching off everywhere?

How many, you ask? I gave up counting after it went past ten.

I'm encountering more than my fair share of monsters, too. And since I immediately run away each time, I've completely lost track of where I came from.

Ugh…unreal.

If I want to get anywhere in this labyrinth, I'll seriously need a map. No way am I going to find an exit at this rate.

And then I discover something totally crazy.

There's footprints on the ground. Human footprints.

I can distinctly make out a couple sets of footprints. Which means people have passed through this place. In fact, this is proof that humans exist in this world at all. The big revelation is making me a little emotional.

But now I'm noticing something a little bit…no, more like reeeally alarming.

My body is so much larger than these footprints.

Judging by the size of whoever made these tracks, my own body must be at least three feet tall…

Nah, I'm sure it's just dwarf footprints.

That's got to be it! Ah-ha-ha!

…Can't believe this. Nope, nope.

Well…then again.

I started to suspect when I saw that giant dragon before, to be honest. No matter how I look at it, I'm unquestionably a monster. Thanks a lot!

Ugh, I've been trying to avoid it, but I finally have to face all the facts.

Being reborn as a dragon is shocking enough in itself.

This is messed up. So messed up that some people might despair and even end it all. I'm definitely not considering death myself, but this is still kind of a bummer. Well, no use sitting around and sulking, though.

Since this world is clearly different from my own, I don't know what kinds of dangers to expect. For one thing, there's no guarantee that there won't be more gigantic monsters like that dragon. And going by my own size, that thing must've been a hundred feet long…

Are humans even able to take down a creature like that? Probably not, right? If there are any boss monsters here, that giant dragon is definitely one of them.

So that makes me the offspring of a boss monster, then.

Sounds pretty bad, doesn't it?

Actually, doesn't that mean that if I run into people, they'll try to kill me?

Actually, chances are good that's exactly what'll happen.

Suddenly, I see something lying on the ground near the footprints.

What's that?

After a closer look, I recognize it as a Kobold.

Wow, what skillful dissection. This was probably the work of humans, huh?

I do not like where this is going!

If any humans find me, they're definitely gonna murder me!

Poof. The monster turned into black mist, leaving behind a crystal. Whaaaat?


I've given up on escaping from this dungeon. If I keep wandering around randomly, the only future I can imagine is some unexpected encounter leading to a dead end. Monster or human, everything is my enemy now. And I don't mean a frenemy or a rival or anything like that. I'm talking about the kind that puts your life in danger.

Besides, this place is frequented by humans. It'll be risky to use the exit even if I do manage to find it.

I mean, if anyone discovers me, they'll kill me. And there could be a human settlement right outside.

Which is why I made up my mind to live in this dungeon.

So anyway. If this is my new home, what do I need? Food, shelter, and clothing.

Well, I don't think that last one is necessary for a dragon. The temperature here is comfortable enough either way.

The problem is food and shelter.

Q. What is a dragon's main diet? A. Other monsters.

Oof… That's true, isn't it? That's what I'm gonna have to do to fill my belly.

Although, given my size, I don't think my potential prey is limited. I could probably eat other monsters, or… I don't want to think about this, but…human beings…

Really, the monsters back there started cannibalizing one another as soon as they were born, right? As far as I can tell, my particular species seems to regard all living beings as potential food.

In fact, in a cave like this, it's probably the only option. Which means if I want to eat, I'll have to take on some other monsters and chow down.

I'm gonna starve to death if I don't eat something, no matter how gross.

At present, I do have one thing that could potentially serve as a food source.

The stone of the kobold I found earlier. It was brimming with some sort of energy and it had not yet done anything harmful.

Honestly, suddenly having to eat a monster is pretty extreme.

Besides, even if I do take the plunge, that'll only be a temporary solution.

Considering that I'll be living in this dungeon from now on, I'll have to be able to procure food on a regular basis anyway.

But if I want to eat other monsters, that means I'll have to beat them first.

How am I supposed to just jump into combat?

A guy like me, who's only ever been good at games, won't stand a chance in a real fight.

And so I conclude that I should start by making a shelter.

So if this goes well, my food problem and my shelter problem will be solved all at once.

Carrying the stone, I seek out a good spot where people are unlikely to bother me. Dragging along the stone.

What? Why would I take it with me, you ask?

Insurance. Hopefully it won't come to that, but beggars can't be choosers.

Eventually, I come to a T-junction with no human footprints in sight, so I decide to set up there.

First, I'll have to produce some sort of building material. Rocks or something?

Now to make a home, for real this time!

Finished! I look over my work with satisfaction. A magnificent wall is set up across the cave passage, blocking the area off. The damaged wall even repaired itself. How did it do that? Did this place have an auto-repair feature or something?

However, instead of making a wall, I left a little hole just big enough for me to squeeze through.

Why? For an escape route, obviously.

I'm settling in at a three-way intersection, which is now hemmed in by my makeshift barriers.

But if I blocked it up completely, I wouldn't be able to get out.

It's possible, although I doubt it'll happen, that some fierce opponent might break through.

So I left a hole on purpose, so I can get away in case of an emergency.

Now I'm protected by stone in all three directions, plus, an emergency exit is in place.

Ahhh, there's no place like home.

All I need now is prey.

If I can pull that off, there's no reason I won't be able to hide out in this place for the rest of my life.

Awesome!

I did go to school, but other than that, I mostly lived my life on Earth as a recluse. Once I got home from work, I always just played games or surfed the net. Most of my dinners involved adding hot water and waiting three minutes or heating something up on the stove.

My lifestyle probably contributed to my awkwardness when it came to communicating with others.

Or it might've just been the personality I was born with, not how I was raised.

Although, I suppose believing it's okay to be a bad person is the first step toward becoming one…


I take a breath and let out a small plume of flame.

What am I doing, you ask?

Experimenting with my flames, of course.

From now on, this stuff is going to be my lifeline, so I figured testing out what it can do should be my first priority.

Adjusting the intensity was easy enough.

There'll definitely be other practical uses for it, too.

However, there is one problem that I can't ignore much longer—using that flame attack seems to have drained my energy.

In other words, I'm extremely hungry.

I've been wanting food for a long time, but now it feels like my life might be in danger.

Strangely, I'm not particularly thirsty, but the degree of hunger I'm experiencing is undeniably way worse than usual.

At this rate, I'll starve to death.

I won't even live to see the sunrise tomorrow. Although, I guess I wouldn't see that anyway, since I'm in a cave.

If I want to avoid that fate, I have to eat something… And all I have on hand is the thing I brought along as backup…

Should I eat that?

Well, my only other option at the moment is dying, so…

All right. Time to suck it up.

Eating a stone as my first meal after being born seems kinda weird, but I don't have much of a choice.

Okay, here goes.

Whoa, this is totally bland. But I force it down anyway.

I can't exactly afford to turn up my nose at it just because I don't like the taste.

This is enough to fill me with energy, so I don't have to worry about starvation for a while.

Whew. Thanks for the meal, I guess.

Condition satisfied. Acquired skills [Magic Absorption LV1]

Uh, what?

It's the same voice I heard back when I gained the Appraisal skill.

Let's just call this announcer the "Divine Voice" for now.

So what's up with this "skill" business?

Is this what I think it is? The kind of achievement reward you get after meeting certain conditions?

This is kind of a big deal, isn't it?

So, you can get a skill without using any points. Yeah, this is huge.

I'd assumed there was no way for me to acquire new skills with 0 skill points, so this discovery of other methods is pretty great.

So, my newly acquired skill is Mana Absorption.

Uh, excuse me, could I get an explanation, please? I can't use this if I don't know what effect it has.

Wait… By that logic, I won't be able to use Magic, either.

Wait, I'm a dragon, so I can't even say anything…

All I can produce is some kind of…growl? More like a teeth-grinding sound, really…

Well, even if I could talk, it's not like I know any spells, so I'm out of luck either way.

Just for fun, I try thinking [Mana Absorption] really hard.

…Yeah, nothing's happening.

I was excited about the chance to cast magic, but this sure nips that excitement in the bud.

Maybe it isn't possible to use magic skills right after getting them?

Is it just because I have no idea how, or do I have to study magic first or something?

I don't even know the basics. Maybe Mana Absorption isn't a spell at all?

I thought I'd struck gold getting these skills, but what's the point if I can't use them?

It doesn't change the fact that humans can easily kill me, then.

In other words, gaining the skills had exactly zero effect on my battle capabilities.

So it's ACTUALLY useless.

I see. No wonder the condition was so easy to meet. So the easier the skill is to acquire, the lower its effect, basically.

Still, it's good I learned about the existence of skills at all.

If I can score a bunch more, maybe I'll be able to efficiently build up some skills. Maybe I should try a few things to see if I can rack up a couple more.

Although I don't know what kinds of skills are out there…

And I don't have any tools or anything, so there's only so much I can do.

Composing myself, I bring my attention to the darkness of the cave. I sense something. Concentrating, the world seems to change. I see something that is orange and red with blue all around. It was kind of hard to see it clearly. Ah! Didn't reptiles have a sort of infrared vision to help them hunt? It must be an intrinsic skill that I have.

I approach with caution.

When I get close enough to see it clearly. I notice something colored eye wateringly green with one eye.

Frog Shooter

Okay. This actually is shaped like a frog.

It's around the same size as me and bright green with one eye, but at least it still resembles a frog.

This is the first time my Appraisal skill assessed a monster other than myself with an acceptable result.

People always say that frogs taste like chicken, so this should be easy enough to eat.

At the very least, it won't be nearly as bland as that stone.

If I have one complaint, though, it would be that the color of this frog pretty much screams "poisonous."

I mean, there's no way something this obnoxiously colored won't be toxic.

Besides, since I ate earlier, I'm not as hungry as I could be…

What should I do?

But, right as I'm taking it easy and mulling things over, the frog suddenly launches an attack!

That's right, it just spit it's tongue right at me!

Crap! Since my guard is totally down, I don't have any time to dodge, so all I can do is mentally curse as the fluid splatters all over me.

Ngyaaaaah?! Hey, what the—?! Ow, ow!

Poison? Is this poison?! Man, it really hurts where that stuff hit me!

Wha—?!

A second shot?! Wait, seriously?! Gyaah! It got me again!

Ow, hey! This isn't funny! Retreat, retreat!

I force my legs to move and somehow manage to get out of the frog's range.

Wow. That really hurt. Is that what it feels like to have acid dumped over you? I'm not melting, am I?

I'm worried, but of course I don't have a mirror, so it's not like I can check.

Damn. This is embarrassing.

My opponent is still a monster. I shouldn't have let my guard down.

A cornered rat bites back. Even a frog caught by a snake won't just roll over and let itself be eaten.

Man, that hurt, but it doesn't seem like I'm gonna die, at least. The poison mostly just hit my left side and my back.

A little bit must have gotten into my left eye, too, since part of my field of vision is black now.

But I have bigger issues to worry about at the moment. The pain isn't going away.

Proficiency has reached the required level. Acquired skill [Acid Resistance LV 1].

What?

Inexplicably, the pain is now abating. Is it that easy to earn skills without spending skill points?

Huh?

Wait, what's up with the points I spent to get Appraisal, then?

…Better not think about that too deeply.

Anyway, I'm now the proud owner of an acid-resisting skill. Presumably, this is the result of taking a hit from that frog's attack. Oh, but… It didn't happen right afterward, so there must have been other conditions.

It said something about proficiency, so maybe the prolonged acid damage is what did it?

Well, I can think about that later.

Thanks to my new resistance, the ache has mostly died down. In its place, rage toward that frog is bubbling up inside me.

That stupid amphibian thought it could pick a fight with me when it was nothing more than a snack?! Unforgivable!

I've made up my mind. I don't care whether it's poisonous or not. I'm gonna eat it if it's the last thing I do!

With that decided, it's time to charge!

As long as I don't let my guard down, this thing is nothing more than pathetic prey!

The frog spits venom at me three times. Hmph, now that I know it's coming, dodging is no problem at all!

I avoid the missiles brilliantly, then attack directly.

Eat my ultimate technique! Chomp! Bite down!

Bwa-ha-ha! You think this is just an ordinary bite?! My fangs are strong!

Just like when I produced flame before, this information somehow comes to me naturally.

Ha! Suffer and die!

But just as I'm thinking that— Splat! Another shot of poison at point-blank range.

Guhh?! Ow, ow, OW! Even with resistance, it still hurts!

And now I've even let go!

Proficiency has reached the required level. Acquired skill [Poison Resistance LV 1].

Oh, so that's how it works. Wait, now's not the time for that!

Fool me once, shame on me. Fool me three times, I'm gonna kill you!

Stupid frog! Now I'll never forgive you! Not that I had any intention of doing that in the first place, but still! No mercy!

Letting my anger take its course, I bite down a second time. The frog starts writhing in agony.

Bwa-ha-ha! That's right, suffer! Now that I'm getting into this, I give it a few more chomps for good measure.

The frog struggles for a little while longer, but its movements gradually weaken, and eventually it runs out of strength.

Whew. I finally beat it. Considering how much I struggled with my first prey, my future is looking grim. But still, I did it! Sweet!

Might as well chow down! Munch, munch, munch. Schlurp, schlurp. Mmm…bitter. Ow.

Is the bitterness poison? And the pain is probably acid, I guess? Well, thanks to my resistances, it isn't too much for me to bear. It isn't exactly delicious, though.

Proficiency has reached the required level. Skill [Acid Resistance LV 1] has become [Acid Resistance LV 2].

Poof. Magic crystal. It made no sense, none. When the monsters died, they turned into blackish dust and left behind a magic crystal.

Well, the taste may not be to my liking, but the skill increase certainly is.

Besides, this is a special occasion: my first victory.

This level of creature, at least, won't be able to escape.

Plus, now I know that I can sense prey with my thermal vision.

That information makes the whole ordeal worth it.

Thanks a bunch, frog!

I'm still holding a grudge over the acid-spitting thing, though.


Zzz. Yaaawn… Ahhh, I slept well. Almost too much, enough to make me sluggish.

Being able to sleep safely is a wonderful thing. The lazy life is the best. Thank goodness for my little home.

Since I ate the stone and that frog earlier, I don't feel too hungry.

Maybe dragons can store food longer than humans?

As I wake up with an assortment of idle thoughts on my mind, I see the red orange glow of prey.

I'm not particularly famished, but it's probably still a good idea to eat whenever I can.

After all, if I miss this opportunity, who knows when I'll get my next chance.

So, what've I got now?

Huh?!

A h-human?!

He's wearing the kind of clothes you'd expect on an adventurer in a fantasy world.

Maybe that occupation really exists here.

Wh-what should I do?

Wait, this guy's all bloody. Is he okay?

Ah, he noticed me. He looks panicked.

Seriously, what am I supposed to do here?

Ah, he took something out.

Wha—?! It's burning?!

The man throws the item he'd produced to the ground, and it starts spouting a crazy inferno.

What the hell is he doing?!

The fire is spreading thanks to a strange kind of oil. The flames make it even harder to see through my heat vision. Black smoke fills the air.

Nevertheless, the man musters the last of his strength to dash away.

Now it's just me.


A whole day has passed.

My home is quite peaceful.

I decided to use the time to consider something that has been bothering me.

Namely, skills.

Of course, there's the question of what exactly these skills are, but that tangent won't yield an answer, so I'm not going to bother.

More importantly, I want to think about the abilities I currently have and the ones I might be able to gain in the future.

From what I can tell, I've acquired four thus far: [Appraisal LV 1], [Acid Resistance LV 2], [Poison Resistance LV 1], and [Mana Absorption LV 1].

I also got ahold of Appraisal by spending skill points. Those points are another mystery.

However, I decided not to worry about them for the time being.

Frankly, since I have 0 skill points and no idea how to go about procuring more, there isn't much point in worrying about that at the moment.

Anyway, unlike Appraisal, I obtained Mana Absorption by eating that stone.

After that, I tried a bunch of other stuff, but I didn't end up with any new skills.

Without knowing what skills are available or what I need to do to get them, it'll probably be tough to gain skills deliberately.

For now, I'll just count myself lucky when I do get one.

At any rate, although I got some skills through experience or skill points, the way I stumbled upon Acid Resistance was totally different.

I think I got that one because I was hit with an attack and took acid damage.

So as long as I can handle the pain of the process, I bet I can acquire more resistance.

For instance, if a fire attack lands on me, will I obtain Fire Resistance?

In terms of self-defense, the more resistances I have, the better.

So from now on, should I always take the first hit from an enemy as long as it won't kill me?

Hmm… Nah. I don't want to get hurt, and there's no guarantee I'll even obtain any resistance skills.

There's no need to put myself in unnecessary danger, at the very least. Yeah, it's not just because I don't want to deal with pain for any length of time.

When I got hit with the frog's attack, I not only received Acid Resistance, I received Poison Resistance.

Even so, though, what kind of system doesn't tell you what skills you have in the first place?

Wait, doesn't that mean I have other skills I don't know about yet?

That would probably make sense, huh? So what kind of skills do I have?

I wish I could check, but I don't have a way to do that.

Maybe if my Appraisal skill level goes up, I'll be able to see it?

Appraisal…level? Proficiency?

Hey, wait, maybe I could raise that skill level, then?

Proficiency basically just means how familiar you are with a thing, right?

So if Appraisal ranks up based on proficiency like the Resistance-type skills, won't it increase if I just use it a whole bunch?

Since I got it with skill points, I assumed I'd only be able to raise its level with more points, but maybe not.

I start Appraising everything in sight.

A ton of useless information, like Wall and Floor, flows into my brain.

Oof, that's kind of unpleasant. Like getting drunk on too much data.

Proficiency has reached the required level. Skill [Appraisal LV 1] has become [Appraisal LV 2].

Worth it! Woooo! It only went up one level, but I feel like I've taken a huge step forward! With some anticipation, I try Appraising myself.

Small Lesser Infant Dragon Nameless

Ooh! Now there's something that looks like a species name, too!

I still didn't get much information, yet this is still a substantial improvement.

At the same time, though, why "small" and "lesser"? That makes me sound inferior…

Okay, now my excitement about increasing Appraisal's skill level is dying down a bit. I wasn't expecting much to begin with, but it didn't occur to me that I might be such a small-fry… But that's more or less what I was in my previous life anyway, so I guess it isn't a big deal.

More important, I have to keep Appraising and raising my skill level!

I do some level grinding on Appraisal.

…It won't go up.

I keep Appraising the wall over and over, but my skill level doesn't rise one bit.

By the way, the result of that analysis was Dungeon Wall. Not exactly helpful.

That isn't such a big deal, but why isn't my level going up?

Hmm.

The most likely explanation is probably that your proficiency only increases the first time you Appraise something. Otherwise, it'd be too easy to level it up, huh?

Just to be sure, I Appraise every nook and cranny of my home. But the skill level doesn't rise.

Which means that if I want to cultivate my Appraisal, I'll have to leave my house and use it on other things. Thinking back, I did Appraise a whole bunch of monsters when the skill was still level 1.

That might be what got me most of the way to level 2.

Outside, though… Ugh. Now that I have this safe, comfortable house, why would I bother going out?

If I want to live in peace, my best bet is to stay a shut-in.

But if I want to raise my skill level, I need to go outside.

There are pros and cons to both sides, but the danger of going outside is a pretty massive downside for sure.

Okay. That settles it.

I'm staying inside.

I see an orange glow. It's a special occasion: my second catch. Perfect timing! I was just getting a bit hungry.

I skip a little as I head toward my prey.

…It's kind of surreal for a dragon to skip, even for me.

Last time, I let down my guard and took a surprise attack to the face, so this time I approach with caution.

Frog Shooter

It's another frog. You again! Why, dammit?! There are tons of other monsters in this dungeon, right?! What are the odds of seeing the same kind of monster twice in a row?!

Ha…ha…

Whoops, I got a little carried away there. Really, though…

Splat! Noooooooo!

While I'm preoccupied with a one-man comedy act in my head, the frog aims a spit attack right at me. Never in both of my lives have I been so shocked! I'm such an idiot!

Ah… Okay.

The pain brings me partially to my senses. This time, my resistance doesn't level up. Must not have enough proficiency yet. Well, whatever.

I bite down on it from above. Chomp!

The first frog didn't die after one bite, so this one probably has some resistance, too.

Still, if I bite it once, that should weaken it significantly.

I quickly bring the frog into my house, then go back and immediately rebuild my home.

Last time, I left the makeshift wall as it was and ate my prey right on the spot. But thinking about it afterward, I realized I left myself totally defenseless in the meantime.

If other monsters or even humans had arrived right at that moment, I would've been under attack without a defense.

So this time, I'll restrict the frog's movement first, repair my home, then finish it off and eat it once I'm fully prepared.

When I return to the frog, I see it wriggling around, despite having broken legs.

Hmm.

I guess one bite didn't have that much effect.

Chomp! I bite it again.

The first time, I'd beaten the frog by biting it over and over, but that probably wasn't necessary. All I need to do is sink my teeth into it.

Proficiency has reached the required level. Skill [ Strong Fang LV 1] has become [Strong Fang LV 2].

Oh! I totally leveled up a skill! This is the first I've heard of this one.

At the same moment my skill levels up, the struggling frog gives one last spasm and stops moving. Poof, magic crystal. It's so sudden that I'm a little startled.

Oh, but that probably meant that leveling up my skill increased the damage of my fangs. Nice!

Experience has reached the required level. Individual Small Lesser Infant Dragon has increased from LV 1 to LV 2.

Hmm? Hmmm? Ah, my body feels strange! Huh?! What's going on?! My skin's peeling off?!

Molting? Am I molting?!

All basic attributes have increased.

Skill proficiency level-up bonus acquired.

Proficiency has reached the required level. Skill [Poison Resistance LV 2] has become [Poison Resistance LV 3].

Proficiency has reached the required level. Skill [Flame Breath LV 2] has become [Flame Breath LV 3].

Proficiency has reached the required level. Skill [Mana Absorbtion LV 1] has become [Mana Absorbtion LV 2].

Skill points acquired.

Wh-whaat?! W-wait a second!

Did I just get a whole bunch of important information at once?!

Say it again! One more time, please!

The Divine Voice (temp.) remains silent, ignoring my wishes.

Oh man. Seriously…?

No, no.

I have to calm down and remember. Did it say I leveled up? It did, didn't it?

Argh, I was so distracted by the sudden molting that I didn't catch everything!

No, wait, there's no way I'd just randomly start molting for no reason, right?

Maybe my body renewed itself because I leveled up?

At any rate, the old skin is still stuck to me, so I peel it off. I do have scales, yes, but only on my limbs and tail. Wow, a few areas, like on my back, are pretty messed up. That was where the frog's acid got me. I wasn't able to see it until now, but it looks like a pretty bad wound.

Hmm?

Speaking of which, the part of my vision that was busted is all back to normal!

Ooh! So if you level up, you make a full physical recovery and everything? Very fancy!

Okay.

So this is definitely a level-up. My body feels kind of light and refreshed, too.

It probably happened because I beat that frog and gained experience points, right?

Now, let's see if I can remember it one at a time.

I think the first thing it said was that my level went up. The molting started right after that, and while I was freaking out, I think the Divine Voice (temp.) spouted off a whole bunch of other stuff.

Let me see… Skills? That's right—wasn't there something about skill levels going up?

And it was more than one, right? Did three go up at the same time? Why?

Right, I think there was something else before the bit about skills.

Uh… "Skill proficiency level-up bonus," maybe? That's it! It did say that!

In other words, when I leveled up just now, bonus points were added to my skill proficiencies!

So that's why multiple skill levels went up at once.

Well, that's handy information.

And at the end, wasn't there something about skill points?

So I guess you get more of those by leveling up, then.

In summary, when I level up, I completely recover health. I think my stats go up, too. Plus, I get skill points.

I can probably test out how much I earned later.

And the most important part is that I received a skill proficiency bonus.

I don't know exactly how many points that entails, but since it raised three skills at once, I bet it was a ton.

So leveling up might be a good way to enhance skills effectively.

Levels, huh…

Since skills exist, I kinda figured levels would, too, but still.

I've been trying not to think about it too much, but boy, this world sure is gamelike.

I was afraid that if I took that view, I might start acting as if I'm just playing a game, but I guess it's too late for that. I have to admit, though—I'm already getting a little excited.

I can't help it if I have the soul of a gamer, all right?

For now, my current goal is to survive. If I want to survive, I'm gonna have to become stronger.

I don't want to get killed by a monster, human, or whatever else.

It seems that humans do come this far out from time to time.

Now, my dragon body is decently agile.

I can jump almost seven feet in the air, and I can climb walls, too.

Before I made my house, I encountered other monsters while I was wandering around outside, but I was speedy enough to avoid them without a problem.

Well, doesn't that mean you're actually a pretty powerful monster, you ask? That's what I thought, too.

But clearly, I was wrong.

My flames and fangs are essential to me—no, to all dragons.

Using this strategy, I took out my third frog unharmed, and when I finished eating, the Divine Voice (temp.) rang out again.

Proficiency has reached the required level. Skill [Poison Resistance LV 3] has become [Poison Resistance LV 4].

Judging from what the Divine Voice (temp.) said, it must've added a level-1 skill's worth of proficiency to what I already have.

Well, if my skills get stronger, then so will I, probably.

Condition satisfied. Acquired Title [Foul Feeder].

Acquired skills [Poison Resistance LV 1] as a result of Title [Foul Feeder].

Skill [Poison Resistance LV 1] has been integrated into [Poison Resistance LV 4].

Proficiency has reached the required level. Skill [Poison Resistance LV 4] has become [Poison Resistance LV 5].

What's up with this "title" business?

Is this what I think it is? The kind of achievement reward you get after meeting certain conditions?

Ugh…

If someone sees that, they're gonna judge me so hard.

Although, seeing as I'm a monster and all, they're bound to dislike me whether or not they can see my title.

But, aside from the unfortunate wording, this is kind of a big deal, isn't it?

So if you get a title, you can get a skill without using any points. Yeah, this is huge.

Still, I can't help it if my food is foul!

There's nothing here for me to eat here but monsters!

Well, I guess complaining to the Divine Voice (temp.) won't do me any good.

Proficiency has reached the required level. Skill [Flame Breath LV 5] has become [Flame Breath LV 6].

After a while of playing with fi…ahem, I mean, practicing with my flames very studiously, my skill level rose.

Since I now know that my flame breath is a skill, I've been trying all kinds of things with it to earn more proficiency.

Raising the skill level might improve things like the intensity of the flames. Well, I didn't care for the taste of monsters, yet it seemed that those stones contained the energy I needed somehow.

Compared to when I first made it, my home has changed a lot over the course of a few days.

For one thing, I've got more walls.

For a while, I just put one wall over each of the three passages of the intersection, but now I have several more set up along the passageways. About halfway up, since I didn't want to block off the area completely, just cause a delay for more time to plan.

My thinking was that a single wall might be easy to break through.

With this many walls, it'll take some time for anything to get to the center.

Now my home is even safer than before.

That alone wasn't enough to raise my skill level, so I decided to practice with my flame breath. My skill level rose by one.

Of course, naturally producing all that flame ended up making me hungry.

As a result, my Strong Fang skill went up to level 4, and my Poison Resistance skill rose to level 5.

So far, I've defeated three War Shadows, one Purple Moth, and one Needle Rabbit. In addition, there were two more of the now-familiar frogs.

Is this dungeon a frog-breeding ground?

I've defeated quite a few monsters now, but I still have yet to see any other humans.

War Shadows are humanoid shadows with three claws like knives and long arms. Three of them attacked me at once, which totally freaked me out.

But all three of them were slowed down by my walls, so it was no sweat.

The Purple Moth was basically a moth that had purple wings and had a poison powder attack.

The biggest pain in the butt was that Needle Rabbit.

It looked just like a rabbit, but true to its name, it had a horn on its head. Along with a charging attack that tried to skewer me.

Oh, right, like I was saying: I leveled up. Three times, to be exact. Now I'm level 5.

As far as I know, I have the following skills: [Strong Fang LV 4] [Flame Breath LV 6] [Appraisal LV 2] [Mana Absorption LV 2] [Poison Resistance LV 5] [Acid Resistance LV 2].

I've gone up three whole levels, but my skills haven't changed much.

Guess the level-up proficiency bonus isn't as big as I thought.

It doesn't seem like I gained too many skill points with each level, either.

I got all excited when the Divine Voice (temp.) said I had more skill points, but I can't figure out how to obtain any new skills with them.

I try imagining all manner of skills that might exist, but I can't do anything.

When the skill I thought of doesn't exist, the Divine Voice (temp.) won't say a damn thing, and when it does…

Insufficient skill points.

…is all it'll say.

The rules for skills are more complicated than I first assumed.

Another day lazily spent. Ah, I love my little home…

My meals deliver themselves to me without any effort on my part, and the house is totally secure, so I can snooze to my heart's content despite being in the middle of a dangerous dungeon.

I'm taking it easy as I go about my daily flame-making routine. Ah, this is the life.

In the beginning, I was concerned that I might be unbearably bored with so little to do, but clearly I worried for nothing. I certainly have a lot of free time without the Internet or games, but it isn't so bad.

Perhaps my standards for happiness are just lower than the norm. To be honest, as long as I get to live, that's good enough for me. This present life, with guaranteed food and shelter, is enough to make me content.

So much so that I figure I could probably just spend the rest of my life right here like this.

Although I don't know how long dragons live.

And while that sounds nice in theory, I know a time will probably come someday when I'll have to leave this home.

Some unforeseen situations, a change in the environment, the arrival of enemies able to bust through my stone walls…

More humans, or a really strong monster, or—something.

I don't know when, but I'm certain the time will come eventually.

Everything changes, sooner or later.

So, I figure it's probably best to prepare for whenever that time might come.

Yeah, I said all that, but this is way too soon! I'm not ready!

The reason for my panic? One of the entrances to my home is going up in smoke before my very eyes.

I had been just starting to doze off when the fire suddenly broke out.

Slowly, inevitably, the home that I made for myself is sinking into a sea of flames.

But where did this fire even come from?

It doesn't take long to find the answer—a human. There's a man standing among the flames. He's holding a torch in one hand.

He must have used that and oil to set my home ablaze.

Damn.

I can't see too well through the flames, but I can spot several more people behind the man.

This fire was no accident. Obviously, they're on a mission.

Which would mean that they're also aware of the monster inside—in other words, me.

If I stay here, I'll be killed by the humans.

Fortunately, the fire and smoke hasn't reached me yet, and if I flee through the emergency exit on the other side, I should be able to escape. Hey, I'm not exactly fireproof!

I take one last look around inside my dwelling.

Since my reincarnation, I've spent most of my time here.

I worked so hard to make this home.

I'd made many discoveries here, too, and the results had brought joy, sorrow, and everything in between.

This place had kept me safe all this time.

In fact, I might've even become more attached to it than I was to my room in my previous life.

That's how powerful the time I spent here has been.

I start running away from the fire.

Once I pass through, I'll never be able to come back here again.

Once I pass through, I won't be safe anywhere.

Nonetheless, I push through without hesitation.

I feel an overwhelming urge to look back as I leave, but I resist.

All I can think about now is running away as far as I can.

And so, I've been driven out of my home for good.


Tromp, tromp. My legs are getting heavy.

Part of it is exhaustion from sprinting at full speed for so long, but my shock is the biggest factor.

I lost my beloved home.

Turning into a dragon and having to eat magic rocks hadn't perturbed my steely heart one bit, but now there's a little hole right in the center.

Ah… I knew a time might come when I would be forced to leave my house, but now that it's a reality, I'm totally in shock.

I had assumed I still had more time, which only made things worse.

At the very least, I'd hoped to stay in that home until I became at least level 10.

Waaah…waaaah…waaaaaah!

All right, that's enough whining. Time to move on.

First, I have to decide what to do next. There are three options:

1. Construct my next home in a different location.

2. Keep wandering aimlessly around this dungeon.

3. Try to find the dungeon exit.

That's all that comes to mind.

From a safety perspective, option 1 is my favorite. However, I feel it may be wise to resist.

Having a home is wonderful.

On top of satisfying my needs for food and shelter, it gives me a life where I barely have to move at all. I would go so far as to say it's an ideal paradise.

However, if I keep resting on my laurels, I'll probably end up a totally hopeless basket case.

Both mentally and physically.

If the only hunting I do is from the safety of my own home, I'll turn into a deadbeat with no ability to deal with any emergencies that might arise.

The current situation is proof enough of that.

At this rate, if I encounter any opponents who can break through my defenses, my only option is to run away.

That's no good. Not if I'm going to get this depressed every time I have to leave my home behind.

More than anything, I feel the ashes of my demolished home smoldering inside me.

No way. I'm not going to let myself keep running away like this. That's right: I'm frustrated.

I'm all broken up that my previous house was destroyed, and I couldn't do anything about it. It's maddening that a part of me accepted fleeing as the natural course of action.

At the time, my only thought was to drop everything and run.

But what do I get now that I've actually done so?

Nothing but this horrible shame and regret!

How could I run away again?

There's no way I'll be able to live with myself.

I'm not just upset because my home was convenient. It was such an important place to me.

This might be clichéd, but it was a place where I belonged.

I didn't have anywhere like that in my past life. I liked playing games, but in the end, that was a world of fiction. I existed out of sheer defiance, or at least that's what I told myself.

I created my home by myself, for myself.

It was a place just for me, where I didn't have to worry what anyone else thought. And now it's been taken from me. It's like my very self has been stolen away. If I surrender now, I'll never recover my pride and dignity.

"Happy just being alive"?

Ha! That was just my idiotic, peace-loving self talking.

If I have to live without pride, I may as well be dead.

I realize that all too clearly now.

My home is gone. My pride has been injured.

I have to get stronger so that I'll never disgrace myself like this again.

And if I want to do that, I can't just hide away in a new home where I can hunt safely.

I have to build more experience through actual combat.

Which means I should either wander around the dungeon randomly or aim for the exit.

Although, to be honest, there isn't a huge difference either way.

I have no idea where the exit might be. So really, aimless meandering is my only option.

I don't know much about this dungeon to begin with. Even though I was born and raised here, I don't even know its name.

I have no idea how big it is or how difficult. I don't even know the general makeup of the terrain.

Basically, I'm clueless.

Hmm? I feel like this isn't the first time I've worried about all the stuff I don't know…

Ah! That's right, this happened when I got the Appraisal skill, too! I totally forgot I had that.

I wasn't able to level it up anymore in my home, but now that I'm out and about, I should be able to.

Since it might be a bit more useful if I raise its skill level, I decide to go on Appraising things.

Well, here goes nothing.

Labyrinth Wall Labyrinth Floor Labyrinth Ceiling

Useless as ever, I see.

Ah, but with each step I take, I get more Appraisal results, so my proficiency must be accumulating.

Oof, all that information flowing into my brain at once is kind of discomfiting.

I'll have to suffer with it for a while until I get used to it, I guess…

Proficiency has reached the required level. Skill [Appraisal LV 2] has become [Appraisal LV 3].

And right away, my skill levels up.

It hasn't even been that long since I started Appraising.

So is it this easy to raise skill levels when you're not holing up at home? I'm not sure how to feel about that.

Well, all's well that ends with a rank-up.

Now, what new information will skill level 3 bring? I waste no time in analyzing myself.

Small Lesser Infant Dragon LV 5 Nameless

Hey, it shows my level now. Yippee. Sigh… Well, gotta take what I can get, I suppose.

Seriously, though, how high does the level even have to be for this skill to actually be useful? Ugh.

Still, I have to wonder… How strong is my race, "Small Lesser Infant Dragon," compared to the other monsters in this dungeon?

This idle thought leads to an unexpected response.

Small Lesser Infant Dragon: Newly hatched offspring of a Dragon.

Wh…what?

Wait, did I just Appraise the species name in my results? Double Appraisal?

Ooh. Seems like I discovered a pretty important trick!

Well then, in the spirit of investigation, I decided to try Appraising one more time.

Dragon: A dragon-type monster species.

It works! Is this crazy or what?!

So when you Appraise something and get a word you don't know in the result, you can Appraise that further.

Wow!

The explanations are still pretty short and scarce on information, but once I raise the skill level some more, this could be insanely useful!

I might be able to get a whole chain of info just from Appraising one thing.

Hot damn! Sorry for calling you useless, Mr. Appraisal!

I'll definitely work hard to raise your skill level from now on!

I wander about the labyrinth, looking for monsters that could make suitable opponents.

Found one.

Frog Shooter LV 3

Farther down the passageway I'm hiding in, I see the outline of my sworn enemy: the frog.

Since I have the chance, I decided to Appraise more-detailed information about it.

Frog Shooter: A frog-type monster that lives inside the Dungeon.

Hmm? Wait just a second. There was a very important-sounding key phrase in that description.

Dungeon: The largest labyrinth in the world.

This isn't how I expected to find out my location. Really though, calling it the dungeon?

Wait, so this is the world's largest labyrinth? It must be huge, then. While I'm at it, I Appraise the word world

Lower World: The mortal plane populated by monsters, humans and demi-humans.

Demi-humans? Like elves and dwarves?!

Yeah, this is definitely a fantasy world. Yet, why was it called the Lower World?

In any case, I've gotten so wrapped up in Appraising that I almost forgot about the frog.

Its back is turned toward me. So it hasn't noticed me yet.

Maybe I should launch a surprise attack? …Too late, now it's spotted me. Dammit!

Hissss!

Maybe I can intimidate it.

Splut!

Huh?!

Hey, what's the big idea?! You're not supposed to just spit at me right off the bat!

I mean, that almost hit me!

Splut! Splut! Splut!

Don't spit a bunch of times in a rowww!

Hey, wait, huh?! I thought I dodged all of 'em! Owww!

Thanks to Poison Resistance, it isn't nearly as bad as that first time, but it still hurts! Knock it off!

Splut! Splut! Splut!

Cut it out already! Blech! It got me again!

Crap, at this rate I'm gonna get my ass handed to me!

Splut! Splut! Splut!

I'm not gonna keep falling for the same attack over and over, buddy! It's obvious by now that you can only fire three of those at a time! I'm gonna evade your spit attacks!

I lunge at the frog with my claws at the ready!

Crap, it dodged like I figured it would—wait, it just jumped! It's trying to hit me with its tongue!

Smack! Owww!

There must've been acid on that tongue, too—the spot where it touched me is burning!

Ohhh, geez. This is a serious injury.

If I have an HP gauge, I'm probably getting into the red by now.

One more hit, and I'll be in serious trouble.

Luckily, that isn't going to happen. The winner has already been decided.

Because I was aiming for where the frog was about to land.

The trick is simple.

I did so by carefully controlling the speed and angle of my claw attack to send it leaping in the right direction.

I wasn't expecting it to counterattack in midair, but…

…as soon as it lands, the frog gets slammed by my tail.

Then I finish it off with my jaws!

Within moments, the frog draws its last breath.

Proficiency has reached the required level. Skill [Acid Resistance LV 2] has become [Acid Resistance LV 3].

Another skill level went up.

That should make my next frog battle a little easier.

Honestly, if I didn't already have the Acid Resistance skill, the damage I took might've been too much for me to survive.

Yikes, that was close. My body is in a sorry state now.

Two spit attacks and one smack from that tongue were enough to put me on the verge of death.

The tongue attack was especially bad. The area where it touched me is concave now.

I wasn't even underprepared this time.

I had kind of figured that if a dragon fought another monster head-on, the chances of the dragon winning would probably be high. I mean, dragons are pretty much a mainstay of any fantasy series.

Still, I think somewhere in the back of my mind was the naive confidence that it would work out somehow or other.

To be honest, it was a lot harder than I thought.

My first real battle was a decidedly narrow victory.

Anyway, with this major injury, I can't move very well anymore.

I have to make a simple home here and focus on nursing my wounds for now.

The "simple home" is really just a basic little nest.

Ugh. Every time I move, a wave of severe pain streaks through my body.

Proficiency has reached the required level. Acquired skill [Pain Resistance LV 1].

Oh? A new skill? Sure enough, the pain has subsided a little.

It still really freaking hurts, though.

But either way, this is definitely a good skill to have.

As long as I keep surviving, the skill level will probably go up naturally, so that will be a big help.

Whew. Finally, my temporary home is finished. Now I can catch my breath.

If another monster attacks me right now, I'll be toast.

Oh well. Since I worked so hard to bring this prey down, I might as well eat it.

Yep. Experiencing my first real battle made me realize it all over again.

I'm soooooo weak!

I don't think it's just me; I get the feeling that small lesser infant dragons aren't that powerful as a species overall.

Well, I guess it is a "lesser" species, after all. It stands to reason that I'd have low attack power and brittle defense. My speed seems decent, at least, but it still wasn't enough to dodge that spit attack barrage the first few times.

So stats-wise, I can't even outpace a frog.

The only reason I've been able to beat monsters without a problem so far is that I had the advantage of speed. Now I really understand how much I've been depending on my home.

Anyway, this has made one thing clear: I'm not cut out for taking attacks head on. Not in this stage of dragon biology in this world at least.

In that case, frogs might be a troublesome opponent for me.

After all, they seemed to favor a "fixed turret" strategy where they stay in one place and attack from a distance.

They don't move without a reason, so they won't be likely to jump into a trap on their own.

"Imagination is a weapon, those who lack it are first to die." Thanks for the reminder, Goblin Slayer.

Sigh.

Now I know my weak points—or rather, I've realized that I have nothing but weak points.

But I can't just give up.

If all I want to do is keep surviving, I could just make a new home.

But that isn't good enough.

Since I've decided I want to live with pride, I can't depend on that strategy.

"The moment you make the decision to do something and act on it, you win." Today sure was heavy on the Goblin Slayer quotes.

For now, though, I need to rest.

How long is this injury going to take to heal? In fact, will it even heal on its own at all?

Well, whatever. Today has been exhausting. I'm well overdue for some sleep to hopefully recover a bit.

So, on that note, good night.


Zzz. Hmm? Oh man, it feels like I fainted.

In fact, I'm pretty sure that's exactly what happened.

Ugh, my body still hurts. I guess a wound that bad isn't gonna heal in one night.

I'm getting really worried about whether this is going to heal after all.

New heat source. Hmm?

Killer Ant LV 4

Picture a giant ant with large jaws. What should I do now?

Oh crap, our eyes met.

Ugh, fine then! Clearly I have no choice.

Time to kill it with fire. The ant is incinerated in the inferno.

Experience has reached the required level. Individual Small Lesser Infant Dragon has increased from LV 5 to LV 6.

Oh? Whoa! What timing!

All basic attributes have increased.

Skill proficiency level-up bonus acquired.

Proficiency has reached the required level. Skill [Strong Fang LV 4] has become [Strong Fang LV 5].

Skill points acquired.

Okay, okay. The fact that one of my skills leveled up is pretty sweet.

But that isn't even the best part!

I'm molting.

Yes, it's one of the benefits of leveling up: full recovery via molting!

I wasn't sure whether the giant dent in my body would heal, but it's been restored perfectly.

Yahoo! Thanks a lot, Killer Ant!

So, without even trying, I've succeeded in fully healing my wounds.

Now I'm ready for another go at exploring the labyrinth!