I'm not sure how much time had passed since I 'ate' my mother, the Storm Dragon Veredia. I'm sure that at the very least a day or two had passed at this point, maybe more. Who knows.
One thing I do know is that I hadn't encountered any other creature since then. I'd travelled quite a ways, gobbling up all the ores and herbs I could get my hands on. However the lack of lifeform in this place was starting to annoy me, it made me that much eager to just leave this place and explore the forest outside of it.
Of course, as the old saying goes, 'be careful what you wish for', cause as luck would have it I did come across another monster within the cave…
…and it was definitely not the friendly type.
"What the hell?!" I shouted in alarm as I actually leapt back a bit to put some space between me and the large serpentine monster that appeared in front of me.
《Notice: The creature is known as a Black Serpent. Its known for its potent poisonous abilities. Caution is advised. 》
'Thanks for the heads up [Great Sage]!' I mentally shouted as I turned back to the creature. Now that I had a minute to get over the initial shock of encountering a monster, I realized this Serpent wasn't anywhere near as scary as Veredia had been, meaning I had no reason to fear it 'Okay then, time to test out that skill I learnt recently!'
As someone who was once a soldier, running with my tail between my legs was not an option. And so I charged forward and used my momentum to leap over the Black Serpent as it charged towards me. I stretched my wings and flapped them, catching my self in mid air.
"Looks like all that flying practice came in handy." I muttered to myself. I was still a far cry from a perfect flyer, but that was more due to the confined space of the cave than my inability. I shifted my focus back to the Serpent and focused on my recently acquired skill, " [Water Claw]!" I shouted as I swung my left claw releasing three arched blades of water towards my foe.
[Water Claw] was a skill that I'd learnt whilst trying out various things. It was eventually combined with the skills [Water Movement] and [Water Propulsion] to form a new skill, the [Extra Skill: Water Manipulation].
The blades of water cut through the monster like knives through butter, and with its body split into four parts its death was quick.
"To be honest I expected a bit more of a challenge." Though I shouldn't really be surprised, I am a dragon after all. Compared to that a mere snake was child's play. Guess I just got cautious due to the warning that [Great Sage] gave earlier on. "Oh well.." with that I turned away and began to walk away from the downed beast, that is until a thought came to mind.
'Wait a minute, didn't [Great Sage] say I could copy the skills and appearances of monsters I devoured with [Predator]?' I wondered, I then turned back towards the Black Serpent with a somewhat hesitant look. I wasn't really into eating snake food, but if it was anything like devouring the herbs, plants and Veredia, then there shouldn't be any taste associated with the process. Something that I was thankful for, "Okay then, in my tummy you go! [Predator]!!" I watched the remains of the serpent get sucked up by my skill, and I was grateful for the fact that there was no taste with this skill but the sensation alone as it's long serpentine body was sucked up was enough to make my skin crawl!! Still it was done.
《Analysis Complete. Skills [Sense Heat Source] and [Poisonous Breath] have been acquired. You can now mimic the Black Serpent. Additionally, magicule reserves have increased by 0.49% and physical capabilities have increased by 0.63%. 》
Sweet!! As expected I gained new skills from devouring the serpent. So did that mean aside from the [Fire Breath] skill that I could also breath out poison too? That would be awesome to try out soon, though I should probably try out the fire breathing skill first. [Sense Heat Source] definitely sounded like it would come in handy when scouting the area, I'd make sure to put it to good use alongside [Magic Sense].
Still though, that last bit about my magicule reserves and physical capabilities was not something I'd been expecting, it definitely hadn't been part of the skills [Great Sage] had mentioned before. Still, the increase was so small that I don't feel any different than I had a few hours ago.
"Hey [Great Sage, since when did [Predator] increase my power rather than just getting new skills?" I asked my ever trustful skill.
《Answer: Due to your evolution from an Arch Dragon to an Elemental Dragon the unique skill [Predator] gained a new sub skill thus resulting in its evolution into the unique skill [Apex Predator]. 》
"Oh??" That was interesting to know. So apparently my evolution led to some of my skills evolving as well. Would have appreciated the heads up before, but I certainly cant complain now, "And what does this new sub-skill do?"
《Answer: The skill [Assimilation] allows the user to integrate the strength of targets they devour into their own body, increasing their physical abilities and magicule reserves. 》
"That was more straight forward than I thought." Despite saying that I could already see the many ways that this skill would help me. While devouring creatures of the same species would not help me much in terms of new skills and transformations, it would still result in an increase in physical strength and magicule reserves.
A useful as the skill was, I didn't want to just rely on that kind of power grinding. If I grew in that manner alone then I'd never actually grow as an individual. So I'd only pursue monsters for skills, not for an increase in power. If I happened to come across a strong foe, then that was awesome too.
~~~
After my encounter with the black serpent I kept on moving deeper and deeper into the cave. I managed to come across four other types of monsters as I made my way up. They were easy to deal with, and provided the perfect opportunity to test out the various skills that I had, not to mention acquiring the skills that these monsters had.
From the Armorsaurous I got the [Body Armour], from the Evil Centipede I got the [Paralysis Breath] skill, from the Black Spider I got the [Sticky Thread] and [Steel Thread] skills and last from the Giant Bat I got the [Ultrasonic Wave] skills. The skills from the black spider were even merged to form [Extra Skill: Sticky-Steel Thread].
Within what I could only assume were a few days, it was hard to tell down here, I reached what I could only assume was the mouth of the cave, which was made apparent by the large metal doors that were blocking the way out.
Using [Magic Sense] I was glad to see that the gate was not protected by any magical properties or anything, meaning it should be relatively easy to bust open.
However before I could put my plan into action, the large double doors of the cave slowly began to open, and shadowy figures came into view. Making a quick choice I hid my small draconic form behind a boulder as the doors finally split wide open, the shadowy figures from before finally coming into view
'Humans?!' I was surprised to see a group of three people standing by the entrance to the cave that my mother had been sealed in.
From what she had told me, this cave was within a forest of monsters, meaning these people had to be adventures or explorers. The fact that the guys were carrying swords and the girl carried what looked like a magical staff supported that theory. Having used [Magic Sense] I could tell that the girl had the most magic reserves of the three of them, but even then they were nothing compared to my own.
"Man that door was tough to open!" The brown haired man groaned as he and the rest of the party peered around, probably to make sure they were not caught unaware by any monsters.
"That's to be expected though, this place has been closed up for over three hundred years. Though why the guild master thought to send a group of B-rank explorer to explore the cave of the Storm Dragon is beyond even me." The other guy said, this was had mid length blond hair.
'Wait, did that guy say guild master?!' I mentally screamed as I thought about the possibilities. That meant they were guilds in this world then!! That just sounds so cool!!
"All the more reason for us to keep our guards up." The last member, and only girl, spoke up. The staff in her hand suddenly illuminated the dark cave prompting me to better hide myself to avoid being detected. "The amount of magicules in this place is quite high even up here, so there are bound to be a few monsters the deeper we go."
"Right, well if that's the case then you should come closer so I can activate my [stealth art]." The brown haired guy said immediately catching my attention.
The other two moved closer to him, till they all stood side by side. It wasn't until then the brown haired guy smashed his right fist into his right palm. I felt a shift in the surrounding magicules as the three humans began to become translucent until they became entirely invisible to the naked eye. Though I could still 'see' them clearly thanks to [Keen Sense] and [Magic Sense]. Meaning this skill was only useful for hiding their body heat and visibility.
'Still though, imagine all peeping one could do with a technique like that.' I thought with no small amount of envy. If I was ever given the opportunity to meet this group of adventurers then I'm totally gonna get that guy to teach me that skill!!
However for now I was better off avoiding humans. I was a monster now, and I had to accept the fact that if humans saw me it may just result in my early demise. I mean I had a human form sure, but they were two problems with presenting myself to them in that form.
The first was that I would be butt naked, while the reason may seem minor it was a matter of personal pride, I wasn't going to throw my fourteen year old naked body in front of a group of strangers. They would be more freaked out than I would be embarrassed.
The second reason was more practical. It would look suspicious to anyone if they saw a baby dragon, or even a fourteen year old child, inside the cave where the Storm Dragon had been sealed. If they didn't attack me on sight then they would most likely report this to their superiors once they got home, making me a bigger target.
'No, interaction isn't the best course of action.' I decided as I watched them start to walk into the cave with my [Magic Sense, 'But still, maybe they can provide me with information.' One of the things that had stuck with me in my time during the military and police was the value of information.
They were probably the only humans I was going to encounter for a while, so it was best I learnt as much about the human society of this world from them, and perhaps see what it was the humans were looking into in my mothers cave.
'Looks like I'm tailing them.' I said with a sigh as I began to follow after the party of three, making sure to keep my distance.
~~~
Tailing these three idiots turned out to be far less entertaining than I actually thought it would be, perhaps it was because I'd already beaten every monster in here on the way up. As a result I didn't get to learn anything in the way of their skills and abilities.
Though, to their credit, they still remained aware of their surroundings the entire time they were down here. The staff wielding girl was the most surprising of the group, she kept turning her head in my direction every once in a while, and even came close to spotting me two or three times!! It was almost as if she could sense my presence, but if that was the case then why hasn't she discovered me yet?
Maybe these guys are just dumb?
Either way, they spent about two days or so exploring the cave. They made it all the way down to where Veredia had been sealed before making their way back out. I'm ashamed to admit the journey was made that much shorter due to their better sense of direction. But I'm glad the trip had been made short, listening to them talk and squabble had gotten old real fast. Still though I did learn some stuff.
The first thing being the three adventurers were from a nation called Blumund, it was apparently a small nation that bordered the Great Forest of Jura. As my mother had expected, the disappearance of her aura had prompted most of the guilds to come and investigate the cause of the phenomenon.
I was honestly worried about what the humans would do once they realized that the forest was no longer under the protection of the Storm Dragon. But I guess that's why I was here, to watch over the place until I could free her from the [Unlimited Imprisonment]. Still, I didn't possess anywhere near the amount of power Veredia had, so I'd have to go about protecting this place differently. I'd find an answer to that as time went on though.
"Finally!!" The female member of the party, apparently called Eren, said as she ran out the cave and basked in the sunlight. Letting out a sigh as its warmth touched her skin once more.
I don't want to admit it but in that moment I envied her. I hadn't had the chance to enjoy sunlight, or proper fresh air, since coming to this world. Having only been exposed to the damp darkness of the cave. I couldn't wait for these guys to get further away from the cave so I could finally step out myself!
"Come on Eren." The one called Keval, the supposed leader of the group, said as he trailed behind her, "We have to report this to the guild master as soon as possible."
"Yeah, I get the feeling that he'll want to know about this as soon as possible." Gido, the brown haired shady looking guy, nodded in agreement. He then turned back to the direction of the cave, "I still can't believe the Storm Dragon is actually gone though. That's bound to cause some major waves in the other nations." He said with a frown before joining Keval in walking away from the cave. Eren however remained standing as she glanced at the cave entrance nervously.
"I'm just glad to be out of that cave. I can't help but feel that something was watching us the whole time we were in there." She said nervously before shaking her head and running to catch up with her partners, I couldn't help but chuckle at that.
With my enhanced hearing I could hear the three of them went further and further away. I waited until I could no longer hear them before making my way out of the cave.
"Sweet sunlight!!" I shouted as I jumped into the light, and allowed my draconic scales to bask in its warmth. Not a second later I took a deep breath of air, "And the air!! Oh, the fresh air." I couldn't help but sigh blissfully as clear air filled my lungs for the first time since entering this world.
I took a moment to actually appreciate the small things in life, I never realized how much I would miss these small things. Still though, I couldn't stand around here all day. Wouldn't look good if someone spotted a dragon at the cave Sealed Caves entrance just after the Storm Dragon had vanished. I wanted to avoid revealing that Veredia was my mother for as long as possible, preferably until I managed to release her. Wouldn't want her enemies coming after me for revenge or in an attempt to snuff out what they viewed as a threat.
With that in mind I stretched my wings, flapping them a few times to get a feeling of the air and wind around me.
'This is going to be different from when I was flying around in the cave.' I thought. There was definitely going to be a lot more space, and possibly other flying creatures too. The cave had been confined in all directions, and as a result I couldn't really practice any maneuvers or test how fast I could fly. Doing so in open air was something I'd been looking forward to for a while now.
"Alright then, here goes nothing!!" I shouted, hyping myself up as I took to the skies with a mighty flap of my wings, leaving behind a shockwave that dispersed in all directions.
I kept going higher and higher until I was soaring in the sky!! The land below me stretched on and on until I could see no further!! The rush of the wind against my scales as I went faster and faster was exhilarating!! I'd never felt a rush quite like this one before, it was amazing!! Is this how all creatures of the sky felt when they flew?! If so then it was no wonder why people always sought to achieve the same!!
Looking down towards the forest I activated the skills [Keen Sense] and [Dragon Eye].
'Woah…' I couldn't help but be amazed, even as I soared high in the sky I could now see the several creatures that called this forest home from a birds eye view, and with the help of [Great Sage] I was able to ifentfy all of them.
Looking up at the sea of clear white clouds above me I couldn't help but smirk. With another heavy flap of my wings I ascended upwards. I flew through the clouds and leveled myself just above them. Tilting my body to the right, my left wing was half way submerged into the clouds, cutting through like a knife.
I couldn't help the child like fascination I had as I felt the soft fluffy clouds on the wing.
'This…this is pretty amazing.' The sense of freedom I felt in that moment was unlike anything I've ever felt before, both in this life and the last.
I wished it could last forever.
~~~
It wasn't until another hour, maybe two, had passed that I finally descended from the heavenly skies and came back to the ground. My landing was a bit rough though, probably from a lack of experience, but I'm sure I'd get better with time. Right now I had a more pressing concern.
Grrrrruuuuuurrrr
《Alert: Hunger levels are high, hunting for food is highly recommended! 》
And that concern was the growling noise of my empty dragon belly. I'd been so caught up in the hype of flying and exploring this new world that I had forgotten I hadn't really eaten anything since getting in this world.
'Then again it's not like there was anything I could eat inside the cave.' I didn't think snakes, spiders or any of the other creatures within the cave were edible enough to eat raw or cooked. Out here though, the menu was wider in variety. There was also something else that came to mind when it came to hunting some game, 'Hey [Great Sage, do you think you could possibly make some basic clothing for me if I provided the materials?' I desperately wanted to get a feel of this world in my human form, but I wasn't going to be walking around the forest in my birthday. That just wasn't my style!!
《Answer: Yes, that is within my abilities. Necessary materials for clothing can be separated using [Isolation].》
'Sweet!! Then let's go ahead and do that, but leave the meat for me!!' I said excitedly as moved forward, using [Magic Sense] to search for prey.
…..
Finding prey was not as easy as I'd lead myself to believe. For some reason the monsters and other creatures in the area kept fleeing whenever I got within a certain range of them. They weren't even within my line of sight or anything, but rather I'd just sense them suddenly making a run for it in the opposite direction…it was rather annoying.
'What gives? How can these monsters tell I'm coming even from such a distance.' I pondered to myself. The hunger was really starting to kill me here, and I had a feeling that would become literal if I didn't make a plan. I still wasn't sure about how my new biology worked, and then there was how this world functioned in general, so I didn't want to find out what the long term consequences of hunger were.
《Answer: Though I cannot confirm this without conclusive evidence, it can be assumed the creatures of this forest can sense your aura.》
"My aura huh…" I couldn't help but mutter out loud. It made sense, I remembered the first time I felt Veredia's aura back in the cave after gaining [Magic Sense, it had certainly been something that lit up the red flags within me. If creatures of this world used that as a means to sense danger then it only made sense that they'd run away every time they sensed my approach.
'Mom said that even as an Arch Dragon my prowess and magicules far surpassed that of any creature within the forest. That it was because of my 'Dragon Factor' or something like that.' I honestly didn't like where this train of though was taking me, 'Then she named me not too long after, and my power increased drastically.'
"Hey [Great Sage, switch the perspective of [Magic Sense]. I want to take a look at myself." I said out loud, I couldn't help but be nervous at what I was going to see, but it was better to see it now and fix it if need be.
《Understood: Switching perspective of [Magic Sense]》
I closed my eyes as my vision changed. All of a sudden there was a dark shroud in the air, with me at the epicenter of it all. It just kept pouring out of me in waves, spreading over numerous miles into the surrounding forest!
'Jesus! How the heck did I not notice this sooner?!' It was no wonder those monsters kept on running away from me, with my aura stretching so far and being so potent, I may as well have been approaching them with freaking sirens all over me. It certainly explained a lot though, getting the drop on any good game was going to be next to impossible unless I planned to skydive them or something like that. 'Hey [Great Sage, is it possible to actually suppress this aura?'
《Alert! : While suppressing your aura is possible, it is ill-advised to suppress all of it, as that could result in self-injury.》
"Huh." Well that didn't sound good. 'Okay then, how much can I safely suppress then?'
《Answer: You should be able to safely suppress 75%.》
"That's a lot more than I though I'd be able to suppress." The whole 'danger' thing from [Great Sage] gad led me to believe I'd be limited, but three quarters was a pretty good deal all things considered. "Alright I'm gonna go ahead and do that."
I then focused on drawing in all the leaking energy from my body, as well as reducing its potency. I could already feel some discomfort from doing so, but nothing that was too distracting or worrying. I couldn't help but wonder what would happen if I tried to suppress more than I'd been advised. Answer, I wasn't that eager to find out.
"There we go." I groaned, [Great Sage] warned me when to stop sucking it in and I did so. Using [Magic Sense] once more I could tell that the radius and potency of my aura had gone done by a large amount.
Thankfully it was still enough that any creature that got any funny ideas would actually think twice before attacking me. So in other words, strong enough to still deter the beasts in the forest, whilst also being mellow enough to get in close enough that even if my aura was detected it would be too late for the monsters to escape.
With that sorted out I switched back the perspective of [Magic Sense] back to normal, and began to use all my tracking skills to find some prey.
...and it was during these hunts that I encountered the ogres