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“Most people fundamentally misunderstand what a ‘Dragon’ is. No, it is not a type of super-powered reptile with wings. That’s a misconception, it’s actually a title; though reptiles are able to attain Dragonhood more easily because of their genetic single-minded obsession with strength. Overall, though, any beast that has attained a certain level of strength is called a Dragon.”
-A Genealogy of Beasts
By Srikanth Tenor, a independent
1923/12/322 A.L.K
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I awoke to a horrifying smell and a cold feeling. My awareness returned and my eyes bolted open. I tried to push myself up but fell with a loud CRASH.
Being a quadruped will need getting used to.
I unsteadily stumbled onto my feet, and began looking around. I was in the middle of a forest. I felt something ask for my attention in my head, so I opened it. Unlike my body, I had gotten the hang of the ‘system’.
Name:
Balm
Race:
Wise Echo Tamandua {Anteater}
Age:
0 years, 0 months, 0 days
Tier:
0 (0% to next tier )
Level:
0 (0% to next level)
Evolution Credits: 0
Skill Points: 0
Affinity Points: 0
SKILLS [0/6]
-
MUTATIONS [0/6]
-
AFFINITIES [2/2]
Echo Affinity Lvl. 1
Aspect of Effect: You may see the chains of cause and effect, however it cannot be turned off.
Knowledge Affinity Lvl. 1
Aspect of Acquisition: Doubles the amount of general skills you can have, however you need to completely fill your skill slots to increase your tier
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I shook my head. I’d deal with this bullshit later. I needed to get my bearings first. Around me was a dense tropical forest. Insects buzz loudly, and a chorus of birds filled the air. The air was damp, cooling me down, and the sun hangs resplendent in the air.
Slowly, I stumbled forward. Compared to my previous size, I was small - around knee length vertically.
I swivelled my head around, slowly getting a feel for my senses, and tried practising walking in a circle - leaves crunching as I made candid steps.
I tried turning, moving up and forcing myself onto my hindlegs for small amounts of time, then slashing forward with my honestly quite sizable claws. I slowly gained a very basic insight into how my body moved. The main difference between the way bipeds and quadrupeds moved was that bipeds were practically falling for half the time. One leg would always be in the air, allowing gravity to assist and severely lessening the energy load of movement. On the other hand, quadrupeds had to move everything every time.
I was seriously helped by following the musculature of my body. Though I did not seem to have very many instincts, I could still tell whether or not I was supposed to move a limb a certain way by whether or not that particular movement caused my muscles to stress or flex.
I was going to try and practise running when I realised the forest had suddenly quieted down. Immediately, I began looking around. I felt sunlight on my fur, so it was still day. That meant that there was something scaring everything away.
That meant danger.
I immediately seized all movements, trying to stand as still as physically possible.
A low growl filled the air.
My eyes slowly moved to the back.
Standing there was a hound. It had pitch black fur, as if a black hole had gained shape. Its legs were spindly and chitinous, like a spider, and it had a cavity where a snout should be.
Actually, scratch the hound part. It was a sentient abstract art-piece or something, but not a hound.
I couldn’t tell if it was looking at me, on account of the fact that it didn’t have a face, nor could I really confirm if its muscles were tense, on account of its fur: so I did the only thing I could think of - attacking with extreme prejudice.
I burst into motion, my body stumbling and faltering a bit but in the end managing to surprise the thing as I slashed a claw across the monster’s face.
It hit the edge of its face with a loud clang.
Faintly I saw grey shadows appear in my vision, showing the myriad ways the thing could counterattack me.
My eyes widened.
Its neck subtly shifted.
I threw myself back with all my might as the area I used to be…ceased. A void existed there, like nothing had ever existed there.
Another apparition, another leap - this time to the side.
I bounded to it’s flank in a triangle and thought about all I knew about the thing.
1. It could ‘void’ areas. (Code for instant obliteration)
1. It hasn’t yet voided anything not directly in front of it’s face cavity
2. It’s face cavity seems to be the only part of its body I can hit.
1. My claws slip or clang against anywhere else
3. It hasn’t tried moving properly yet. I know for a fact that spiders and dogs can be fast if they want to.
I grimaced internally.
So I can only hit it in the one place it can shoot instant death from?! Cringe.
Still, I had an idea.
You see, the thing was very efficient and robotic, which made it predictable. I could maybe exploit that. Betting on the incompetence of the enemy is a poor strategy, but it’s realistically my only strategy.
I darted forward and quickly nicked it at the top of the head by hooking my claws over the top of it’s face, then threw myself to the side before it voided my claws.
I jumped to the left as it abruptly made a 180 degree turn to face me and voided the area I was in. My eyes widened as I saw what happened next.
The area where I had slashed it with my claws, both in the beginning, and the second time, where not working - leaving small blotches of the ground intact. This applied to the places where blood had been left as well!
Hope!