A pack of [Feathered Ancient Claw-Foot Dragons] investigate the scene of a hunt. The smell of the blood absolutely coating the surroundings is salivating. One chirps in alarm, and the rest get shaken out of their stupor.

The pack hones in and discovers why one of their members alerted them. The uneaten corpse of a pact member lays with its neck mangled beyond comprehension. It looks like a poor attempt at a beheading using multiple stabs rather than a single slash.

The pack is on high alert, as the hunter might be around as they haven't touched their meal. But when nothing happens, and no one detects any movements, they decide that the predator must be long gone.

The pact surrounds their fallen brethren and begins the feast on their corpses, uncaring for the scales and feathers that clog their throats.

~~~

~~~

I've covered myself in dirt and mud. The blood on my body is an excellent binder.

I'm trying to hide the smell of blood until I can find a place I can wash off... which would be difficult since I'm lost in this massive jungle.

Lost would imply that I knew where I was from the get-go. I'm on an island inhabited by [Ancient Dragons]. From what I saw from cratering, there should be a volcano in the middle, and the entire island should be surrounded by an ocean. I recall seeing a sandy area - perhaps a desert - and a few massive rivers.

But I have no idea what direction I should head in or what I should be aiming for. I'm strong enough to climb a tree with one arm, so I start scaling the closest one. I try to activate my [Court of Allegiance] skill with mild success. The countdown doesn't appear, so I use my privilege to force-start a meeting.

It buzzes, and I get terrible feedback. I almost fell from my tree, but my legs firmly grasp the barky exterior. Six faint outlines appear for a second before disappearing.

SHIT!

I rest for a moment before reaching the apex of the tree.

I can see the volcano way off in the distance. It's massive and surpasses well above the cloud layer. I can't see any oceans from here, but I can see some flying creatures in the distance. I don't like being high up like this. It's too exposed.

I jump off and land into a sprint. I keep low and try to dart from foliage to foliage, avoiding any source of sound I can. I find a large rock that reminds me of Flash Gordon. It's roughly the same shape but not the same size.

It's significantly larger, and the area underneath it is hollowed out. Whatever made a den here is going to be pissed when it finds me squatting in its home.

I take this as a sign from god, fate, Flash Gordon, whomever that this is a safe place to rest, if not for a moment. I utilized this sign to check the system notifications I ignored.

Then I fled because I heard something - or somethings -approaching. I rolled around and packed my wounds with mud before running off into the distance. During the fight, I had to use my remaining stat points to increase my health.

[Your attuned energies humm with excitement.]

[Fell the Mighty lv3 > 4]

Ah. That's my title that increases my experience gained when I kill something higher level than I. The fact that it leveled up means that the creature was a minimum of roughly 3x my level. Oh shit, did I kill something around level 500?

[Bolster Resistance B Lv2 > 3

The user can spend mana equal to half of their target resistance stat to double it for ten minutes. ⬆]

Let's check my new level and allocate some stats then.

Name / Nickname

Ellis Vincere / The Last Winner

Race

Human

Class

Monarch Master (Rank A)

Level

200 (0b/4b)

Titles

Proud Owner of a Rock, Fell the Mighty, Heptad Attuner, Indulger… ▽

~

~

Health Points

19,000/19,000 (+280% bonus)

Mana Points

500/2,500

Armor Points

0

Might

413 (375 +10%)

Agility

472 (375 > 420 +10% + 10)

Vigor (P)

1000* (830 > 886 + 10% + 25)

Mind

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500 (300 > 395 + 75 + 30)

Spirit

520 (385 > 425 + 20% + 10)

Perception

100

Charisma

100 (45 + 15 + 40)

Attunement

100

Luck

2

Unused

180 > 13

"..."

I feel robbed. Shouldn't I get more experience than this? Wait, isn't this the level where I fully unlock my energies? Is this what the first notification meant?

Shit, I guess it's finally time. I basically have two choices for each of my seven energies. I can even internalize them, which most 'warriors' do, or externalize them, which most 'mages' do.

I can use my [Pain] attribute as an example. If I internalize it, I will always constantly feel pain, or if I externalize it, I can imbue my skills with 'pain.' Internalizing it would also make me immune to pain, but I'm not sure how that works. I can't feel pain besides the constant one I'm already afflicted by? Sounds redundant.

I'd prefer not to constantly be wracked with pain. It's just a personal preference.

Internalizing [Fire] would give you the nifty trick of [Fire] resistance, and parts of your body would be augmented. Your blood might light things aflame when shed, your skin could burst into flames on command, etc. I imagine your resistance is high enough to where you don't kill yourself, but that should be a given. With that basis in mind, do I want to externalize or internalize [Death]?

Do I want to resist [Death] (and be able to die on command), or do I want to be able to kill things better? I have always backed the idea that a good offense is a great defense. I don't imagine the changes are enough to obliterate everything I touch, either... If I had to guess, anything higher level (than me) would be immune to my augmented attacks.

Regardless of my answer, I should have [Life] and [Undead] follow suit to maintain a balance...

I decided.

Energies I'm externalizing: [Pain], [Madness].

Energies I'm internalizing: [Life], [Death], [Undead], [Rock], [Taboo].

Why would I risk going crazy by internalizing [Madness]? That would be horrible, becoming insane. The rest I just slotted into internalizing because, as a 'non-mage,' I would get more use out of them.

I still don't know what [Rock] does.

I lock in my answers, and the feeling is strange. The clashing energies are now a discomfort rather than a debilitating pain. I try something out, and much to my surprise, it works. I use [Royal Decree] and force my rampaging energies to calm down and get along.

I can innately feel the changes that took place inside of me. My exhaustion and hunger have died down significantly, and I believe my cracked life force is slowly mending itself. My system window isn't telling me my new 'abilities,' so I'm documenting my findings in my [Lexicon].

...My regeneration feels... better. I'm not gaining *more* points a second, but the *quality* of those points is better. I think that's what's mending my cracked life force. The injuries I couldn't heal from my latest fight are healing without scarring.

I imbue myself with [Death] and kill all my scarred flesh, which is a lot. I feel the flesh decay into nothing nigh instantly, then get slowly replaced with clean new skin.

It's strange.

My tests get interrupted as I hear the owner of the den approach. I can almost feel them arrive. I don't know what energy grants me this awareness, but the creature has a burning life force. More than mine.

A thirty-foot-long segmented centipede creature hisses as it notices my trespassing. Its dark, chitinous armor is intimidating. Its massive mandibles stretch open as the sound of hissing vibrates the ground. Its hundred legs stab into the ground like spears.

[Chitinous Ancient Hissing Centipede A lv???]

"..."

~~~

It has a pitifully low [Spirit] stat. It's meager enough to the point where I can ride it around without it making a fuss. It's definitely dumber than the last [Ancient] creature I ran into. As I ride the centipede express, I contemplate killing this damn thing.

What do I want more? Levels or transportation? I should focus on getting out of here, but since I have no idea what that entails, I should run down the list of possible ways to exit.

1. It's where I entered, meaning I have to enter the stratosphere.

2. It's somewhere else, either randomly or deliberately... which requires me to scour this entire island... and possibly the nearby ocean.

3. I have to kill a boss... I don't want to imagine what a boss monster looks like in this place. I almost died from the first mob I came across.

4. ??? Who knows.

I think the safest bet would be to get to the highest point on this island and see if I can force one of those fucked up wyverns into submission so I can check from the skies.

I rode the centipede until I could feel my control slipping. It doesn't want to go any further. I heard rustling in the bushes before I could sense anything there. I've been diligently checking my surroundings, but these creatures must have stealth skills since they got so close.

Roughly a dozen [[Feathered Ancient Claw-Foot Dragons] leap from the bushes using their powerful hind legs. Their bites pierce and crack the centipede's shell. Half go for the legs while the others rip into it elsewhere.

I abandoned my transportation and left it to its fate, but as I ran, two of those bastards noticed me and chased after.

I wanted to scream out, "Hey, I'm not worth the calories!" But these things wouldn't care. I immediately use [Royal Decree] to cause one of them to crash into the other.

While they stumble and roll across the jungle floor, I start running. I can kill one, maybe two if I play my cards right, but not twelve. I'm positive that once that centipede is dealt with, the others will be on my ass.

Either I have to lose them in a chase, or I'll have to separate these two from their pack. My legs kick against the ground as I bolt through the jungle.

I dodge trees and slide under fallen logs. I can hear the footsteps of the dragons behind me. I turn to look, and I notice them gaining on me.

I find a relatively low branch for one of these massive hundreds-of-foot tall trees and utilize my [Battered Bones] skill to make the distance and grab on.

The branch appears barely strong enough to hold my weight but doesn't even buckle at my intrusion. I climb higher as the two dragons don't give up in their pursuit.

The claw on their feet effortlessly digs into the bark, and they climb after me. They are slower than before and less nimble, but they are still gaining on me.

I reach the top of the tree while they are halfway up. This tree is well over 500 feet tall, which gives me a funny plan.

I look down at the dragons walking up the side of the tree with determination. I raise my elbow up and go for it.

I kick off the top of the tree to propel down. The two dragons never expected a suicide charge, but here we are.

I was hoping for my elbow to connect to the face or neck of the left dragon, but I miscalculated. Instead, my entire body slams into the creature, ripping it out of the tree's bark.

We both tumble off, but it's the only one of us to take any damage. When it landed, I could hear something break. When I landed, I bounced up, landed on my feet, and started scrambling away.

I didn't get any experience, so it's obviously not dead. It looks like it landed on a rock, but I'm in no position to try and finish it off.

It's a decent level... It might be less hurt than I initially thought. As long as it slows it down, allowing me to make more distance, I'll be a happy camper.

I run deeper into the jungle, uncertain if anything is pursuing me.

~~~

~~~

The dragon that didn't get body slammed by the strange primate carefully scaled down the tree to check on its packmate. It stares at the pouring blood emanating from a broken leg. The injured dragon coos in pain as its packmate looks on.

Both are hungry. But one is injured. Soon enough, this opportunistic carnivore is neither.