(???): The [Lady] had fallen asleep yet again it seems. Goodness, sleeping all day is not something I approve of. Such bad behavior is the root of laziness after all. I cannot blame her though. Just 3 days old and has already dispatched 4 [Wonderbeasts], 5 If you count the first one. That is almost 2 a day. My, the [Lady] seems to be quite talented when it comes to fighting. Well, given her peerage it is only natural. I just hope it will not reflect badly on her personality in the future. Still, it is preferred given the dangerous situation. Seems like I have to look for a way to offer her some help. After all, [Lord] Befall will behead me if anything happens to her. Heheh. Oh my, aren't my jokes funny?
"I don't get it."
(???):... Wait you can hear me?
---
"So you want me to-"
Experience is rewarded for defeating 2 Wonderbeasts(youngling).
Experience is rewarded for defeating 1 Wonderbeast(youngling) with the help of others.
Extra experience is awarded for defeating enemies significantly stronger than you.
Extra experience is awarded due to the growth skills present.
Hatchling lv. (1)=>Hatchling lv. 2=>Hatchling lv. 3
Notifications resounded in my mind as I awoke from my slumber. The second time, just today. I'm starting to grow tired of it, honestly. What is the point of waking up if you have to sleep in just a few minutes afterward?
Going through the motions of my slowly standardized mornings, I woke to the sight of fire. It burned a bright red, alighting the dark background. Casting shadows as it hit the surrounding trees. But it wasn't only shadows of trees on the scattered ground. 2 other dark Visages were visible in the night. One; the shape of a giant lizard. Another; a girl. Both on opposite sides of the campfire, starking their shadows in opposite directions.
The girl's eyes darted my way, somehow alerted by my quizzical gaze. However, she did not shake uncontrollably like last time. Instead, she greeted me.
"Um, hello?"
Well, it came out more as a question than a greeting. As if her fear of me was replaced with confusion of how to interact with me. Not that I can blame her though. I'm quite strong after all. It is only natural that she would quake in my presence!
Feeling a sense of pride in place of aggravation, I took no offense to her behavior. In fact, I kind of sympathized with her. Being caught in situations where you have to interact with strangers. Ones that could eat you whole at that. If our roles were swapped; I would have already ran away while she was knocked out.
Hmm, but instead of running away, she stayed. I pondered on her reason. Even if I would not harm her, she had no way of knowing that.
As I closed my eyes in thought, I felt a chilly feeling on my hand. Opening my eyes to look down they were met with a plant, a leaf to be exact. A verdant green, stained with red, my blood.
Suddenly, I remembered the damage I had sustained. How the smallest beast had been able to pierce my scales before I activated my [Sancta Scail Mail], drawing blood. Hesitatingly, I lifted the leaves to ascertain the damages. However, under the peled leaves were only white jade-like scales. No bruises or cuts, not even a scar. If not for the blood-soaked green, one would not be faulted for thinking I had come away unscathed. The plant had seemingly mended my wounds.
Intrigued, I tried to analyze the leaf, only to catch myself. Remembering I had company.
Right, greetings. Can't give away an opportunity for a good first impression... Well, I guess it'd be a second impression.
"H-Hey."
Voice slightly shaking, I made my move.
"Looking at my wounds, it seems like you helped me out a fair bit. Thank you."
"Um, think nothing of it. You helped me out as well. If it weren't for you holding them back, I would not have been able to break free from the Darkus spell."
Darkus spell? Oh yeah, those hungry academics. So that really was an illusion, huh? Why academics though? I could only wonder.
"Well, I would have died if not for you finishing the last wonderbeast."
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"Then I guess we can say we both saved each other?"
The girl pressed her fingertips against her chest before turning them around, pointing them in my direction. The stiffness in her joints was visible.
"I guesss huh? hahaha"
"hahaha"
---
(???): And thus the Dragon and Wolf laughed awkwardly into the night. Seriously, I know some people are bad at social cues but this takes the cake. Well, I guess this is what happens when you place two awkward introverts in the same room. At least their cuteness acts as a sweetener to the conversation. If not, this would be literally unwatchable.
Well, knowing [Lord] Befall he would probably prefer her being a shut-in. I swear, if he wasn't this protective I would not be-
---
As we continued to talk, the awkwardness began to wane. Honestly, who would have thought that my conversation skills were this bad? T-though I'm a prodigy for being able to hold my first conversation, no, my first words with this much fluidity! Even the world recognized me and gave me the [Prodigy] title. Yes, that is definitely what happened.
We browsed through different topics regarding the fight and what we were doing in the forest.
Wait, you're saying that you fell down from the mortal realm? Who sentenced a literal fetus to become a fallen? Also, you're a newborn? How did you fight against 3 Wonderbeasts that were 4 levels below you?! None of this makes any sense!
And so on and so forth were a few of the many many questions I got asked as I explained my story. Some of the questions were not even directed at me, but an exclamation to the world. The girl's distant demeanor was washed away by a wave of confusion and was now replaced with a tinge of anger. Also, it seems she has made some wrong assumptions in regard to my origin. I did not know the details myself, but I was certain I came from the Divine realm, not the mortal realm. Well based on my status it was not wrong to say my birth spanned multiple realms. As such, I did not correct her. She wasn't entirely wrong after all.
"Huh, so you're not a Behemoth?", she said, visibly relaxing her shoulders. The tension in her body disappeared together with the last of her coldness and anger.
Seems she had some misunderstanding about my species or something too. Fare enough, considering even I had questions regarding what I was. As mentioned previously, my birth certificate and status made little sense to me beyond what my instincts told me about them. One thing I knew for sure though; I was a Dragon, not a Behemoth. Whatever a behemoth was anyway.
After a bit more venting from the now not-so-quiet girl, it was my turn to ask the questions. The crimson-eyed girl answered in kind, now much more relaxed.
What I gathered from our conversations was that she had fought a strong enemy in the forest yesterday. Not seeing any way to win, she decided to flee. Luckily, she was able to run away without getting hurt, though she was exhausted afterward. She almost fainted, though she ended up fainting anyway when she saw me.
Yeah, first impressions are overrated, second impressions are where it's at!
Thus she decided to recuperate in a tree by a clearing. It had seemed a good plan at first. The clearing gave her ample view in case any predator came, and the tree itself was quite large, being able to easily house her in its upper branches. However, a fight had suddenly erupted while she was asleep. Leaving her unable to run, else she would draw the combatants' attention. And who were these combatants? Yours truly of course! Well, yours truly and that pile of meat, or rather what was left of it. Seemingly it had fully turned into ash by now. While having experienced a lot of different mysterious phenomena after I had broken out of my prison, I still found how the meat had dissipated to be weird. Understanding it to be unnatural. Thus, as I finally had a talking-companion, one who didn't have amnesia I might add, I concluded it wouldn't hurt to inquire. Regarding most subjects, an experienced perspective tends to be preferable, after all.
"Why the wonderbeasts dissipates after you defeat them? What do you- Ah right, I guess that does not happen in the mortal realm."
Shifting about while sitting on a large wooden log, the girl moved about in thought. Placing her tail in her lap, pressing her heels against the log, as she stared into the fire. I could not help but be entranced by her eyes, as if under a spell. She might have stared at the fireplace, but her eyes gave off an almost brighter glow. Her unique-shaped pupils and red irises burned in contrast against the darkening background.
"You're in the Demonic realm. Here, all life gets absorbed by the world itself when they die. There are a few exceptions though. Such as legacy items."
I did not really get why the world absorbed the bodies of the dead, but looking at the red-eyed girl she probably did not know either. She even struggled to come up with that answer just now. Well, it makes sense. If you asked any person about how gravity works, they would probably struggle too, despite being under its control all the time. The best answer most people could give would be an example such as when an apple falls it's due to gravity.
Some might be able to give a more educated answer. Still, even if you gave a large info dump on a subject, that doesn't mean you understand the concept behind it. You're just copying and pasting facts you've read in a book somewhere else. Even Newton's laws themselves are but theory. Respected theory, but theory nonetheless. A true comprehension of the laws of the universe is not attainable by mortals. One can only make educated guesses based on observations and testing.
You can observe the laws of the world, see how they interact with you and your surroundings, but that doesn't give you the ability to explain the truth behind it.
Growl*
While I went on an inner tangent about the laws of the world, my companion seemed to have gotten hungry. Turning my head, I was met with a pair of red cheeks. They almost turned as red as her eyes. She held her stomach with both hands as her body crumpled up, trying to seem as small as possible. It was kind of cute.
It didn't look like she had eaten anything in a while. In fact, looking her over one more time one could even say she looked a bit emaciated.
Never one to let one's guests go hungry(at least I felt like I wasn't), I turned around to grab some of the Soul-Fruits that had fallen off the trees. Cracked it open with my claws, before handing it over to the girl. For some reason, she looked utterly befuddled as I placed the fruit in her lap. Mouth agape, in the shape of an O.
Then she dug in.
My, seems like I'm a cooking prodigy as well.
[https://i.imgur.com/YakA4go.jpg]