The Dragonet lunged into the air and took flight as he started patrolling the boreal forest which he called home. About a month has passed since the great Vermin Lord hunt and he was yet again craving for the taste of sweet sweet blood dribbling down his chin.

Many bestial creatures resided in his territory, with the many Elk and Goats being the preferred menu for the various predators here. Of course, such creatures were definitely way too large for the little Dragonet, so he had to make do with simple rodents, insects, reptiles, and whatever else was unfortunate enough to encounter him.

A menagerie of cruel beasts made up the predatory roster of his forest, with canine creatures being especially prevalent.

The little Dragonet was truly fortunate to have wandered into such a bountiful region devoid of a plentiful Draconic population, he could not have imagined trying to carve a place for himself back in his spawning home.

There were definitely way too many of his brethren in that accursed place, he would rather live inside some trapper's cage for Ancestor's sake!

Dragons, no matter what stage of Ascension they were at, were creatures of pure solitude.

They could only thrive in environments where others of their kin could not intrude upon. Admittedly, this facet of their biology wasn't truly prevalent until later stages but our Dragonet was especially anti-social.

No matter how solitary he was, however, seclusion could never fill his stomach... Though fish could!

With that fact out of the way, our little Dragonet flew closer to the river, apparently craving for some sea... River-food.

Dragons didn't possess gills but they could still stay submerged for an extended period of time as they could hold their breaths in for a couple of hours.

A Hare that was taking a drink from the river bolted away as soon as it saw the flying Serpent descend on the shallow water, choosing to prioritize safety over hydration.

A Lynx meanwhile, felt overjoyed and grateful to the Dragonet as the Hare had somehow managed to run into its path, giving it an easy meal at the low low cost of not bothering the Serpent.

The Dragonet enjoyed the cool stream that splashed all over his scales as he swam in the shallow river with a style similar to that of a Sea Snake. He was heading to the deeper parts of the river, eager to feast upon the more exotic foods found deep below.

He swam and swam for a few more dozen minutes in search of any would-be pray, but as he continued to do so, he felt a nagging sensation building up in his Dragonheart.

Near...

He could feel it. There was something nearby that he had to... Collect.

Where...?

The Dragonet swam deeper and deeper up until he reached the river floor where he felt the sensation continuously and progressively turning more and more concentrated.

He employed the warm and cold method where he would follow this instinctual sensation to locate the treasure and acquire it as his own.

He made his way across the river and then swiftly halted as he sensed the treasure getting away...

Something... Is stealing my treasure.

The Dragonet felt an intense bitterness replacing his craving.

Thief!

His Dragonheart boiled in indignation as a distinct sensation compelled him to track down the thief and punish whoever was moronic enough to steal from him.

Punish Thief!

Our little Dragonet practically zoomed across the river as he yearned for draconic justice.

But he then came to an abrupt halt as he silently considered the sight in front of him.

That's not a Fish...

It was another Dragonet, specifically a member of the fairer sex.

A Female.

~New Quest Issued~ "A Rival Or..."

-Uncommon-

A Rival Dragonet of the opposite Sex has wandered into your territory and has even dared to steal your soon-to-be belonging. The only option left is to punish them severely, though because they are a Female you can also attempt...

Objective:

Punish the Rival for stealing your treasure.

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OR

Try to Romance the Female

Huh...

Now the Dragonet was truly motivated... The Ancestor had given him a Quest! a Divine Mission!

That is to either beat the ever-living spirits out of the thief or try his chances with her. He determined that the former was an overall better choice as he preferred Mating Partners who knew their place.

He was 2 years old, for Father's sake! A senior Dragonet on the cusp of his first Dracomorphosis! And this Female had the gall to try something funny with him...

He was never going to let that slide just because it was a potential Mate.

After the Dragonet made his decision, he swam closer to the low ground over which the river flowed in an attempt to obscure his presence and slowly approached the Thief.

The Female's attention was stolen by the twinkling of a metallic object that was partially buried under the sand, gravel, and mud that made up the streambed.

She was utilizing her wings as a sort of excavation tool and was in the process of digging up the treasure. The Dragonet made a wise decision to wait for her to finish up before confronting the She-net. If he were to kill or drive her away now, he'd have to be the one digging! So he might as well let her finish up...

After a short while, she eventually managed to reveal the complete form of the Dragonet's desired.

It was a small circular object made of a shining precious metal with a small gemstone embedded on its top, It was a Ring.

A Ring attached to a skeletal appendage in the form of a long-dead hand, which clearly once belonged to a Jotunoid Lifeform. Admittedly, The Dragonet did not truly understand what a Ring was and its purpose or what the term 'Jotunoid Lifeform' meant but knew enough to figure out that the being who once possessed the ring was one such Jotunoid.

The She-Net briefly admired her new possession before being alerted of the incoming psychic disturbance that made her senses go haywire, she had to thank her Danger Sense Perk for that.

She probed the surroundings for a few minutes but failed to discover any adversarial threats against her well-being. That is before she was met with a sight similar to that of an ocean of blades that targeted her most vulnerable area; her exposed neck.

She didn't have time to evade as her neck fell victim to the Adversary's razor teeth.

"Raagh...!" She let out a wail of agony that was muffled by the river water as she trashed for freedom from the jaw chomping down at her neck. With breakneck speed, she whipped and swatted the Adversary's head away with her durable tail, escaping his hold.

The Adversary was a mighty Dragonet like her, but he had a distinct Red shading to his scales, the direct opposite of her Blue scales... he was also a bit larger than her, obviously older by a year or so.

The Adversary was very obvious to spot in the background, so much so that she felt a bit silly as she could have and should have easily spotted the Adversary earlier had she been more cautious of her surroundings.

She didn't have any time to waste on the matter, however, as the Adversary tried his luck again with another lunge as his maw opened wide.

For the first time in her life, she felt grateful for her rather small stature in comparison to her kin as by exploiting the size difference between her and the Adversary, she could, with some effort, evade the attack unharmed.

She silently considered her opponent for another brief moment before choosing to flee-No, how could she even think of that!?

This Dragonet in front of her obviously wanted the precious Ring for himself! What a greedy eggobler!

The moment she had discovered and dug up the Ring, it became hers, her possession, her property, her treasure, and most importantly of all, the first addition to her future Hoard. As a Dragon, she could not just let some wanna-be King of the Lake steal from her Hoard.

Her draconic pride forbade it. She would show this Adversary who had the strength to take want they wanted... And oh, in the name of the Ancestor, She wanted that Ring!

~New Quest Issued~ "Protect What Is Rightfully Yours!"

-Uncommon-

A Dragonet of Red coloring has intruded upon your river and has attempted to steal from your Hoard. As a Dragon, you cannot possibly let this Adversary get away with this crime. You must defeat and subjugate the Adversary and reunite with your Ring.

Objective:

Slay Subjugate Drive away the Adversary

Note: Due to certain factors, we have concluded that attempting to subjugate the Adversary is a fruitless endeavor, and the chances of you successfully slaying him are slim... Though far from impossible.

And she even got a quest for it!

With her Dragonheart ablaze and her sight solely on the Adversary, she ignored her bleeding wound and utilized her speed to... Tackle the Adversary!

Her opponent was momentarily stunned and she fully utilized this to her advantage as she released her Draconic Venom from her fangs and mixed it with her saliva.

Draconic Venom would of course not have any real effects on other Dragons, but it still dealt some pain to the victims.

She spat her now venomous saliva directly at the Adversary's left eye, making him suffer some intense phantom pain and briefly obscuring his vision.

This, however, did not stop the Adversary from moving as he replicated her earlier action by using his somewhat massive tail to swat her away, instantly making distance between the two of them.

The Adversary did not make another move instead, he simply stayed put, menacingly...

A Frightful Phantom escaped from the Adversary expanding out the nearby waters. Almost immediately all of the surrounding fauna that were capable of swift underwater movements bolted away from the area, terrified for their lives.

This was a Perk ability, one that focused on overpowering opponents with pure unadulterated terror... It was quite obvious. The She-Net desperately tried to keep her mind clear as she sense an unimaginably terrifying existence demanding her head on a silver platter.

Who would have thought that her Danger Sense would backfire so massively!?

It was at this point that she realized what the Construct truly meant when it said how difficult the fight would be, even to the extent of giving her a personalized note...

She had lived and breathed in this world for just about 14 months yet she had faced many dangers that she was sure others had a hard time with considering that she truly was a genius when it came to intellect among her kind who also had unnatural agility to boot... But now she could confidently say the Adversary in front of her was the closest to ever slay her, ever.

She had to give him props for that.

And then the Blue-scaled Dragonet who was once a brave specimen desperately swam away as quickly as her Serpentine form could muster.

Screw Draconic Pride, Screw the Quest, Her life was way more important!

The Red Dragonet was momentarily stunned as he didn't expect the She-Net who he thought was a headstrong Rival to suddenly put her tail between her legs and run away like some cowardly Squirrel.

Fuck Squirrels.

Though he couldn't really blame her that much... Guess he was just too mighty to face head-on, Zahahaha!

~Quest Completed~ "A Rival Or..."

-Uncommon-

Reward:

+50 Experience

Rare Grade Item - Masterwork Emerald Ring (Deteriorated)

Favor with the ANCESTOR

He felt gratified and was quite satisfied with the rewards... Favor with Ancestor? He was truly blessed!

A feeling of excitement and euphoria built up inside of his physical vessel even though he could not even fathom what 'Favor with the Ancestor' truly meant.

Nevertheless, he was still quite ecstatic.

With that out of the way, he returned his attention back to his glorious prize.

Masterwork Emerald Ring...