Now that Richard was confident that he wasn’t a cursed beast of any sorts, and now more calm, ready to contemplate, he gave himself a quick once over. Yes, he seemed to be a dragon, and one of the quadrupedal varieties too. Despite this, he seemed to have opposable thumbs, and although he could stand, he much preferred being on all fours. This didn’t bother Richard. Just being able to run and gallop was a pleasure in of itself. No hair unlike some dragons, nor any horns, save the row of bumps trailing down his back. When looking into the lake, he observed that he had retained his blue eyes. Richard also noted how he looked a bit liked a stuffed animal, something which both amused and fascinated him. Hatchlings were rare in the wild (for good reason) and the ones with parents were kept far from any kind of public eye, and dragons themselves were already rare enough. He decided it was time to ask the vital questions he needed to ask, and suspected this… system would have his answers.

“System, may I ask you a few questions?” inquired the polite hatchling. He believed in being polite to people, and to this system which seemed to belong to Isis, politeness was the very least it deserved.

[Certainly. The System is here to answer all questions you have. If you Wish, I can also pull up your status.]

Richard was sure the second part of the sentence was important, but he decided that he’d ask his question first. “Do I have parents” asked the hatchling, filled with apprehension. He certainly hoped so, because otherwise…

[No]

‘That’s not good’ thought Richard. It’s well known in the empire that monsters are born in areas with high concentrations of mana, with the rarity of monsters affecting it being born in certain areas. With dragons being considered (to a certain extent) monsters, adult dragons often survive in the wild but oh so often, baby dragons will just spawn in the wild. Those are treated as horror stories, with the unfortunate hatchlings being torn to shreds. The only proof of this in the books were the bodies, but the bodies were evidence enough, as overprotective dragons would’ve died near the hatchlings, yet no such corpses were found. Richard felt panic rising in his throat, choking him alive before he managed to calm himself down, realizing it would do him no good if he were to keep freaking out. Better to calm himself and analyze the current situation.

Richard decided he would prepare. “System, could you show me this status you mentioned?” Inquired the hatchling.

[Certainly]

[status]

Name: Richard

Species: Dragon (Hatchling)

Level 1

Health: 100/100

Spd: 10

ATK: 20

Mana: 50

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

Skills: Scratch, Glide, Screech, Appraisal(lvl 1)

Mana circles: 0

Points: 0

Skill Points: 0

[Inventory]

[Gacha]

[Shop]

“Hmmm” hummed the hatchling as he pondered over the blue screen appearing before him, which vaguely reminded him of illusion magic or light magic. He could guess what these points described with atk being his attack power and spd being speed, though what that means would likely need some time to analyze. The skills seemed to be a useful section, as it served as an index of what he had available. If there were a few things that really grabbed his attention it was the inventory, gacha, shop, and that skill appraisal, all of which seemed weird and unusual. Richard decided to ask the system and when he asked he was met with this:

[Inventory is an interdimensional space where the player can store their loot. The higher level you are, the more slots you gain. If you have more of the same material, you can hold them together in 1 slot. You currently have 5 slots]

[The shop is where you spend the points given by leveling and slaying monsters. The shop offers many things, ranging from skills, to rare materials, as well as the occasional egg or two. When the number of players reach the correct threshold, the system will add the marketplace, where players can barter for materials. ]

[Gacha is a gamble, where depending on which prize box you wish to gamble from, you may receive something common, or extremely rare. The more expensive of a gacha box you choose, the greater the general rarity, as well as the greater chance of getting a lucky prize will arise. Currently the three categories are eggs, materials, and equipment. The situation may change given time.]

[Appraisal is a spell given to all players. Appraisal is a spell with high potential, as the higher the level of appraisal, the more knowledge you’ll be able to view of the target. Appraisal can be blocked depending on how much stronger the enemy is in regards to the player, or blocked the same way a scrying spell is blocked. ]

Left with these results, Richards was left with even more things to think about. He realized that the shop could be a valuable resource depending on what was for sale, and the gacha sounded like a gambling scheme. Considering his situation, and how theoretically easy the points should be to get, he thought it worthwhile. The eggs seemed especially useful if the train of thought he had lined up with the system’s line of thinking. Looking at a rock he stated “Appraisal” and found:

[A rock. A nice round rock. Hard, but not that hard.]

While it wasn’t amazing yet, the potential indicated seemed amazing. This was all very exciting of course, but he realized that for any of this to be of use, he would actually have to fight something.

So, he ran over to a wall and started scratching his claws against the wall.

Of course, he wasn’t just scratching a wall. Just because he had become a hatchling didn’t mean he had the mentality of one. No, he decided to prepare for what lay outside his cavern, he decided to start sharpening his claws. According to the books in the library, certain monster species like blade moles or even sabretooths liked to scratch their natural weapons against rocks to sharpen them to appropriate sharpness. Richard wasn’t sure what a normal hatchling would do out of the egg, but he knew he would prepare. Richard may not have been attacked yet, but knowing the areas in which hatchlings spawned in, sharpened claws were the least he needed.

…

An hour later, after sharpening his claws till they looked like serrated knives, Richard received a notification.

[Player Richard has learnt the skill (sharpening)]

Seeing this, Richard decided to take a look at his status, and lo and behold, a sharpening skill had shown up. Richard finally felt safe enough to do something stupid. So he decided to start with leaving this tiny hole for the world outside. As he walked out, he was filled with apprehension. What would he see? Manticores? Phoenixes? Thunderbirds? Titans? As he worried about what he would encounter outside, he creeped outside, and what he saw left him breathless. Richard saw… slimes.

So many slimes.

Like hundreds of slimes.

“What?”