Regulus Eda Grigori Azali had been following the Molrret ever since they met.

As it dug mazes of tunnels, Regulus Eda Grigori Azali used all his might to try to catch up with it.

It wasn't an easy task.

Molrret did not dig straight tunnels. They dig up, then down, curve, diagonally, and sometimes they just dug a huge space.

Regulus Eda Grigori Azali had to climb and slide down the snaking tunnels just to catch up. He had to do all this in the dark, relying only on his nose and ears to track down the Molrret that moved at its own pace.

It was an impossible task for most infants, for a malnourished infant like Regulus Eda Grigori Azali, it should have killed him.

The only source of nutrition that he had was the Molrret's piss and whatever food the Molrret gave him.

The Molrret would dig underground critters and feed it to him.

Sometimes, they came across plants, rooted deep inside the ground. Whenever they came across such plants they would eat it directly, just like most underground critters did.

There were times when they were digging, the tunnels they're in would suddenly be filled by water.

When that happened, the Molrret would dig up and down and up again, preventing the entire tunnel from being drowned.

Once they're no longer in danger of drowning, they would drink the water to satiate their thirst.

One day they would meet a herd of Molrrets, digging and moving together. They would join this herd and dug together with them.

Regulus Eda Grigori Azali noticed that most of the Molrrets in this pack were smaller than his Molrret. He correctly assumed that they were young Molrrets.

Adult Molrret usually traveled alone. But whenever they are raising their young, they would form a herd with other Molrrets they met and move together.

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In the herd, Adult Molrrets will guide and feed their young together. They did not make any distinction between the young Molrret they birthed and the one that they did not.

A Molrret herd also produced a huge amount of piss and smell. Young Molrrets learn information through the smell of the piss. The pool of piss also served as sustenance for the young Molrrets.

During their travel, it was common for individual Molrret to break off from the herd. They would dig their own tunnel path and disappear on their own.

Sometimes they returned on their own.

Sometimes they were gone for good, never to be heard or smelled again.

It was one of the methods of how a Molrret herd got broken off. Either they all dug their own separate tunnels, or there were no more young or pregnant Molrrets to take care of.

It was the major reason why Molrret never progressed beyond the stone age societally. They did not find the need to create a community to survive.

Regulus Eda Grigori Azali grew up with the herd.

He would drink their piss, learn their smell, and dig tunnels with them.

At first, his brittle fingers would be in constant pain all the time as he scraped the mighty earth.

As he traversed with the herd, the pain would eventually go away. And the mighty earth would be broken by his fingers.

'Iron Body'

The most basic of magic that all creatures are capable of doing.

A simple magic where one layers their skin, muscle, bones, or any body parts with mana. Strengthening them.

A magic that can be done subconsciously, a magic that was so simple it cannot be dispelled, a magic that got stronger with simple practice and repetition.

It was a simple magic that Regulus Eda Grigori Azali had used subconsciously to survive.

A magic so simple his malnourished body could use.

A magic that got stronger as he continuously used it as he traveled and dug.

As he dug, he used Iron Body on his fingers. Strengthening them, lessening the pain.

As he dug, his fingers turned black, a sign of advanced mastery of 'Iron Body' where the skin temporarily turned black, resembling iron.

As he dug, his fingers started to warp, imitating the claws the Molrrets possesed.

As he dug, his fingers became permanently black and warped, like claws.

Regulus Eda Grigori Azali had achieved 'Dragon Claw', a state where 'Iron Body' was permanently engraved on the body.

It was normally achieved on one's hand, thus the moniker 'Dragon Claws'. Body parts that showed this symptom became nigh unbreakable, they became weapons that can break the unbreakable.

A master who achieved 'Dragon Claws' became a living weapon, a biological tank.

It was the True pinnacle of mastery of 'Iron Body'.

Regulus Eda Grigori Azali mastered 'Dragon Claws'. He easily tore the earth asunder.

Not long after, patches of black started to appear on his body. 'Dragon Claws' started to manifest all over him, especially his hands and feet.

His was no longer 'Dragon Claws'. His mastery of 'Iron Body' had reached an uncharted level of mastery.

Traveling with the herd became easy. Soon, he was the one who dug the main path for the herd, as he became one of their best diggers.

As he traveled with the herd, he slowly lost his vision, becoming blind. There was no need to see in the deep dark tunnel.

In exchange for his vision, his ears became sharper. Able to acutely hear any sound.

Without his vision, he started to see with his ears. The darkness he constantly saw became a board for him to visualize the bouncing sound that he heard.

He learned how to echolocate.

He wanted to communicate with the Molrret. So he started to remember all the smell the herd produces. He analyzed the composition of the smell that he remembered, and he figured out the language of Molrret, the language of smell.

He learned how to communicate with Molrret. He was the only foreign creature able to do so.

Regulus Eda Grigori Azali traveled with the herd.

He drank with the herd, ate with them, conversed with them, and dug with them.

He became one of them.

One day, he noticed that his Molrret, the first one that he ever met, was no longer with the herd.

So he decided.

He decided to find the Molrret.

He dug his own tunnel, his own path.

Regulus Eda Grigori Azali left the herd.

He was no longer a young Molrret.