In a burrow within the treacherous Mire of Bones, a fierce-looking adult female black dragon watched intently over three dragon eggs.

Under her gaze, one of the eggs began to show cracks on its surface, and a tiny black dragon slowly opened its yellow eyes.

Ray felt as though he had been asleep for eons, shaking his head slightly in an attempt to fully open his eyes.

How odd!

His alarm hadn't gone off this morning. It must have been because he stayed up too late last night.

Darn it, he swore he'd never engage in those mind-numbing solo gaming sessions again.

Last night, while playing League of Legends, another player had scoffed at the champion Cho'Gath, calling him useless and clumsy, always getting kited by enemies.

Ray didn't take kindly to that comment; after all, Cho'Gath was his go-to champion. The creature was a formidable force with crowd control, sustain abilities, and the potential to become an overpowering presence in the late game, thanks mainly to his ultimate ability, Feasting.

Feast, Cho'Gath's talent, allowed him to deal true damage by greedily devouring an enemy, increasing his size and a fixed amount of health with each stack.

But the Thresh player wouldn't stop rambling.

"Cho'Gath unbeatable in late game? Buddy, do you have any idea how strong Thresh can get with a thousand souls collected? His magic and armor are off the charts. Think your little bug can stand a chance against that?"

Ray was no stranger to trash talk. "A thousand souls for Thresh? Pfft, as if that matters. My Cho'Gath's true damage with a thousand Feast stacks can bypass all that armor and magic resist, swallowing you whole in one go!"

"Prove it then, in a solo match, if you dare!" the Thresh player retorted, riled up.

"Bring it on, who's afraid of who, kiddo?" Ray shot back without a hint of politeness.

Two hours later, it was clear that Thresh wasn't cut out for a solo match. Ray's Feast stacked gloriously, and playing with a Cho'Gath boasting tens of thousands of health was nothing but a thrill.

Just as Ray was about to deliver the final blow at the fountain, an overwhelming drowsiness overtook him, and he lost consciousness.

When Ray opened his eyes again, a massive, skull-like head loomed before him. Startled by the presence of the enormous beast, his body's instincts kicked in, and he began to calm down.

Taking a closer look at his body, Ray noticed the freshly hatched, tender black scales covered in the remnants of his shattered egg, still slick with mucus.

"Sarlon... Tristam... Langvald..." he instinctively uttered the name.

That's my true draconic name!

So, now I am a black dragon, one of the malevolent black dragons among the chromatic dragons!

There's no doubt about it!

Ray gazed at the fierce head of the mother dragon, her likeness nearly identical to the black dragons from the video games in his past life.

How did this rebirth happen without a lightning strike or some other bizarre accident?

Well, there's nothing I can't accept, Ray consoled himself. At least he hadn't been reborn as some lowly goblin or gnoll.

Even though he was a relatively weak black dragon, that weakness was only relative to other dragon species.

To most humans and other creatures in this world, an adult black dragon is nothing short of a nightmare.

So, it's settled then. I, Ray—no, I mean, I, Sarlon, am no longer human. It's time to start living as a dragon!

The mother dragon, Lysa, watched the newly hatched black dragonling call out his true name and felt reassured. It seemed he wasn't one of those despicable dragonspawn.

She had been worried when she saw his dazed and foolish appearance, thinking he might be a dragonspawn.

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Even if she had only one true dragon, Lysa felt her careful nurturing had not been in vain. She could now report with confidence to Tiamat, the great mother of the chromatic dragons.

Under Sarlon's watchful eye, Lysa pulled a carcass, unrecognizable and covered in signs of acid corrosion and wriggling maggots, from a nearby mud pit.

Sarlon knew that among the chromatic dragons, red dragons breathed scorching flames, blue dragons unleashed linear bolts of lightning, green dragons exhaled cones of poisonous gas, and black dragons, his kin, spat acid.

Unlike other chromatic dragons, black dragons didn't favor fresh meat.

It seemed this was the first meal Lysa had prepared for her offspring. Not bad, Sarlon thought, certainly better than some chromatic dragons who abandon their young at birth.

Wanting to ignore the carcass, Sarlon turned his attention to the eggshells on the ground and began to crunch away.

Crunch, crunch.

Hmm, tastes like chicken, nice and crispy!

If only there were some cumin and chili to add. What a shame!

Sarlon amused himself with the thought, planning to lie low for a century or so until he reached maturity. As long as he steered clear of those he couldn't contend with, he could easily take a few princesses from a small kingdom here and there.

His inherited memories told him that elves were particularly tasty in this world, so why not capture a few of them, too?

With a lifespan of thousands of years as an adult dragon, there would be plenty of time for him to savor the pleasures of life.

Lysa, the black dragon, watched her newly hatched eldest son with a hint of worry flickering in her heart at his foolish behavior. What in the world was this little one doing? Since it was her first time hatching eggs, she didn't have much experience and decided to let it be.

But at that moment, Sarlon was truly astounded. He stared at the small characters that appeared before his eyes:

【Sarlon: Health Points 50】

【Talent: Feast Activated】

【Feast Stacks: 0】

【Progress to First Stack of Feast: 3%】

What's this? Some kind of cheat code?

After focusing his senses, Sarlon realized what was happening. It seemed he had inherited some abilities akin to Cho'Gath, the Terror of the Void, allowing him to stack Feast. Unlike in the game, he couldn't simply gain a stack instantly; he had to eat continually until the progress bar reached 100%, after which he could add a stack, increasing his size and health points.

Sarlon figured that such an ability in reality would be different from a simple game mechanic.

In the lore, from the moment Cho'Gath appeared in Runeterra, it was driven by an insatiable hunger. The Void's desire to devour all life was perfectly manifested in Cho'Gath, whose complex biology could rapidly convert matter into growth.

This process would not only increase the mass and density of its muscles but would also make its exoskeleton as hard as diamond.

When mere growth in size ceased to satisfy it, the creature from the Void would expel the excess material as sharp bone spikes from its body, piercing its prey and making ready for the feast to come.

But in his heart, Sarlon couldn't help but wish for the abilities of his favorite champion, the Star Forging Dragon, Aurelion Sol. Alas, it seemed there was no change.

Shaking off the impractical daydream, Sarlon focused on harnessing the talent of Feast.

Now he was overwhelmed by an unmatched hunger; even after crunching all the eggshells, his progress had only reached 11%.

He was still so hungry!

Then, a delicious aroma caught his attention. He slowly turned towards the black dragon mother, Lysa. That scent seemed promising, as did the two other dragon eggs nearby, yet to hatch.

Feeling Sarlon's gaze, Lysa shuddered with an uneasy feeling. Yet she quickly chided herself for being paranoid over a mere hatchling.

Glancing at his mother's formidable size and sharp claws, Sarlon's reason overcame his hunger.

No, no, what was he thinking? How could he even entertain the thought of consuming his own mother and his unhatched siblings?

Left with no other choice, Sarlon, his eyes red with hunger, turned to the decaying carcass beside him. What did it matter now? He was a dragon, after all; dignity was a luxury he couldn't afford.

He pounced on the rotting body and to his surprise, found the taste quite satisfactory. The sensation of the maggots bursting in his mouth was oddly satisfying.

And indeed, the prey Lysa, the black dragon mother, had hunted was clearly some kind of magical creature, making the meal exceptionally satisfying.

Lysa took no further notice of her son's dining as she moved towards the deeper reaches of the cave to her treasure trove.

As Sarlon continued to devour, the progress bar kept unlocking. Reaching 100%, he felt a tremor throughout his body.

Suddenly, he seemed to enter a pitch-black space, watching his body become more robust and swell in size before his very eyes.

Sarlon realized he could potentially reshape his body with thought alone, such as bulking up muscles in certain areas. However, he refrained from doing so, as the Feast ability inherited from Cho'Gath would naturally refine his body to its peak form.

Opening his eyes to inspect his body, Sarlon noticed the black dragon scales fitting tightly against his skin. The body that was around 2.5 meters at birth had grown a little over three meters.

The bone on his snout no longer felt tender and soft, and his wings were now sturdy and strong, not limp as before.

Sarlon flexed his wings, giving them a few beats—not in an attempt to take flight, as he was still too young to fly as a dragonling.

True dragons did not rely solely on wings to fly. They soared with the help of draconic magic in tandem with their wings. For wings alone to lift them, they would have to be incredibly powerful and expansive.

Sarlon's eyes brightened as he read the information before him:

**Sarlon: Health Points 70**

**Feast Stack: 1**

**Feast Cooldown: 3 Days**

**Activated Talent: Carnivore. You can restore health and energy by slaying enemies. The amount restored is determined by the vitality of the enemy's life force.**

"Your soul shall feed the Void." — Cho'Gath

Carnivore! That's Cho'Gath's passive ability! This was the behemoth's key to sustaining himself in the early stages of the game. And a cooldown for Feast meant he didn't feel as famished for the time being.

Sarlon sighed in relief. Thankfully, there was a cooldown; otherwise, enduring constant hunger like Cho'Gath would be unbearable. Plus, when the cooldown ended, Sarlon could decide whether to unleash Feast.

The profound hunger from the depths of his soul had terrified him; he had audaciously considered preying on his own dragon mother, Lysa...

Amongst malevolent dragons, kinship was hardly a concern, but if Lysa discovered her newborn's fleeting thought of consuming her, Sarlon couldn't fathom the consequences.

However, Sarlon quickly shifted focus to studying his Feast talent. Despite not being fully sated for now, the silver lining was that he could prepare his meal in advance, aiming for a Feast at full capacity.

With that in mind, he glanced at the remaining half of the magical beast's carcass nearby.

This was the sustenance for his growth. A young dragon needed meat, eggs, and milk!

Moreover, he had sensed an even more enticing aroma emanating from the depths of Lysa's cave.

Sarlon stealthily made his way deeper into the cave.

There, he discovered a veritable mountain of treasure, glittering with gold and silver coins, radiant gemstones, and jewels, as well as an assortment of armors, weapons, and magical staves.

Probably relics of some overbold adventurers.

Lysa, the black dragon mother, lay atop the treasure pile, her eyes shut.

Sarlon could distinguish a myriad of scents wafting from the treasures, all distinct from Lysa's own aroma. The most intoxicating scent came from a massive axe in the distance, even more enticing than Lysa herself — a behemoth of a weapon spanning over three meters.

Lysa's eyes suddenly snapped open, casting a cold gaze upon Sarlon as she exhaled two streams of vapor from her nostrils.

Sarlon cautiously retreated.

He understood the warning all too well — don't even think about touching the treasure. To the malevolent dragons, treasure was life, a second lifeline, and they would show no mercy, not even to their own offspring.

After all, raising children was just part of fulfilling the reproductive mandate advocated by Tiamat, the dragon queen of many colors. But the treasure, that was truly theirs!

Upon leaving the cave, Sarlon mused that Lysa's hoard could probably buy several apartments in the third ring of the Imperial Capital back in his previous life.