Under the cloak of midnight, a mighty serpent crept.
Nay, it was no serpent—those mighty limbs could not be found on any serpent. Its eyes—its very mighty eyes, glowing in the dark, took in everything that moved in the forest within miles. Slowly but steadily, the great lizard—nay, dragon—stepped towards its target: a frail figure in the distance.
The clouds shrouded the moon, but the mighty dragon could see the flowing motions of the frail figure as it swung a tree branch around like a staff. The breeze brought up the snap-snap sounds of the staff striking against air, rock, and tree, as well as the beautiful scent of marvelous prey.
High quality, yes. Prey of high quality. Hmm, its scent was attractive from a long distance, yes. Very attractive. Must be delicious, yes. Very delicious, yes yes,.
The mighty dragon crept closer. Not that it was hiding, for why would a superior species need to hide from food? No, yes. It was only better—more fun—this way. The dance of predator and prey was a satisfying feeling, yes. Approaching the prey slowly, not hiding but not being seen... that was the best, yes. The moment when it pounced upon the startled and fearful prey was the moment the mighty beast looked most forward to.
So it stepped silently and approached quietly, its motions hidden from sight and hearing by the rustling branches. Little by little, it grew near until it could hear the frail figure’s soft breathing.
Suddenly, the frail figure stopped. The mighty dragon watched in confusion and made sure to remain still. Why would the frail figure suddenly stop? It must have noticed its approach, yes.
The mighty dragon could not understand how the frail figure could have heard its approach. Should it leap forward now and end this game? It would be a pity, yes. No more rush of happiness as the prey remained startled until its death. A pity, yes indeed.
But the mighty dragon, who had already crouched, ready to pounce, was saved from making a lamentable mistake. The frail figure had not noticed its approach after all. It settled down on a big rock and closed its eyes.
The mighty dragon could not contain its happiness. Oh, the frail figure was so frail, yes. Perfect prey, yes yes. Its mighty self was so close to the figure, but the figure still did not notice it. Not only that, it also closed its eyes and lowered its awareness.
The mighty dragon remembered being taught by its trainer the definition of perfect prey. Its trainer had told it never to hope for the perfect prey. Its trainer was exceedingly foolish, yes!
The distance from the mighty dragon to the frail figure on the rock was carefully analyzed, and it quickly concluded how much force to use. The force must be just right to cover the distance, but most importantly... Most importantly, the force must not be so much as to kill the prey before it could realize the situation yes. That was the most important thing to keep in mind.
After completing its assessments, the mighty dragon gathered its power in its legs and propelled itself forward smoothly. It soared across the air, letting out a dreadful howl that tore through the woods. The wind from that howl alone caused fallen leaves to pirouette in the air, and the force of its approach, if it hit, would surely smash that weak rock to pieces.
The mighty dragon stuck out its forked tongue in excitement mid-soar. It waited for the astonishment to appear on the frail figure’s face and for it to change to horror and then despair. It waited to feast upon the complicated emotions of the honored prey of tonight.
But... They never came.
The mighty dragon was very strong, so even though its pounce was fast and powerful, it could still sense the world as though it was standing still. It was a basic property of the mighty dragon, yes. Quite elementary.
This elementary skill allowed the mighty dragon to see something that perplexed it for the second time that night. Why was the prey not wallowing in despair? Why was it not flailing in surprise?
The frail figure did not seem to have heard the roar, neither did it seem to have felt the wind. The pressure of the mighty dragon’s aura did not seem to faze it either. Its eyes did not even so much as twitch, let alone open.
The mighty dragon was saddened. Now it understood why its trainer told it to avoid looking for the perfect prey. It was not because they couldn’t be found but because they were no fun. The perfect prey was so perfect it could not give any joy to the predator that hunted it. Melancholic, the mighty dragon raised its claw to end the prey’s life, no longer in any mood to play around. It would console itself with the delicious flesh of the prey later, yes. Drink itself to sleep with the filling blood of the prey, yes yes...
As the mighty dragon thought all this, it suddenly felt a cold sensation brush against its neck. It returned its attention to the prey and realized it still sat with its eyes closed, but presently, the figure had extended a hand. That hand was, at the moment, resting against the neck of the mighty dragon.
The melancholic dragon was not even interested in the feeble auto-defense mechanism of the fragile figure. It continued, slashing forward with its claws to rip it into two.
But the slash did not happen.
The mighty dragon could not move.
It was a baffling situation, yes. The mighty dragon was hovering in the air, claws poised to strike, but it could not move. It could not even move its eyeballs.
It was only when the frail figure opened its eyes ten seconds later that the mighty dragon finally understood the reality of the situation. Looking into those deep, dark eyes that were blacker than midnight, yes, the lizard finally woke up to reality.
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The figure was the mighty figure.
It was the frail lizard.
The mighty figure only briefly glanced at it, but that moment felt like a long time to the frail lizard—as long as it had been since the trainer left it at that place, yes. A long time indeed, yes yes.
The mighty figure then closed its eyes, and the frail lizard found itself biting the ground. The frail lizard wondered briefly whether to spit out the sand or swallow it but found itself trotting away as fast as it could in the next instant. It really hoped the mighty human would not finish it off, yes. It really, really hoped so, yes yes.
_
It was many minutes later when the frail lizard came to a stop. It leaned against a tree, panting heavily and gulping down saliva. By this time, there was no longer a granule of sand in its mouth, yes. Everything washed down its throat with overflowing spit, yes yes.
The lizard waited for a while, then, gathering its courage, it peeped backward to see if the mighty figure was pursuing.
There was no figure that the lizard could see, so surely no mighty figure too... yes? If it was correct, and it was sure it was, the mighty figure surely had no reason to follow it all this way, yes? Then it was safe, for biting sand would have been the least of its worries had the mighty figure wanted to kill it. Biting the dust would have been its end, yes.
What are you doing out here, fifty-one?
The frail lizard turned around and immediately shrunk back. The mighty figure that almost killed it was already forgotten, for the figure before it was the real mighty figure. Its trainer had said it would serve the clan, so it had been happy. But the torture it went through afterward... It was hellish, yes!
And this figure... this hunk of flesh with green slitted eyes, a silver horn, and silvery scales was the harbinger of that horror, yes yes!
Did you not hear me? The harbinger took one step closer. Were the trees bowing? They seemed to be bowing, yes—as they should. The frail lizard could not help but bow as well.
But when it did so, the harbinger looked surprised. It stared at the frail lizard for many moments, speechless.
Hahahahahahahaha... Years of effort, wasted! Hahahaha.
That one was not the harbinger. That voice belonged to the harbinger’s assistant, who was as large as the harbinger but with scales the color of blood and a perpetual grin that showed yellow teeth from which tiny flakes of meat still hung. The harbinger’s assistant had appeared out of nowhere, but the frail lizard wouldn’t dare try to fathom its goings and comings, yes. The dull scale that stuck between two slimy teeth and drew the frail lizard’s attention every time it looked at the harbinger’s assistant, looked eerily like a scale of a fellow clan member, but who was it to talk, yes yes!
The harbinger sighed heavily. The frail lizard shrunk farther.
What will you do now? The harbinger’s assistant drawled. How can you possibly find a replacement at this time, as close as we are to the time of ascension?
I’ll think of something, the harbinger said, but he could not hide the distraught in his voice. If it is necessary, I can do it myself.
Oho! That is a noble cause, truly. The harbinger’s assistant grinned. The frail lizard did not think it appreciated the nobility of the cause—not that it knew what it was. Still, it was content to remain invisible while the two contemplated what they were contemplating, yes. No need to draw unnecessary attention to itself, yes yes.
The harbinger’s assistant turned his crimson eyes on the frail lizard. Its heart skipped a beat.
What about this one? It is already useless. And it’s wasted so much of your time and effort. Can you give it to me? Can you?
The frail lizard vehemently shook its head, almost shooting off in fear, but it restrained itself. The harbinger was usually righteous... Sometimes, it put him through hell only five times a day instead of six... It would surely refuse, yes?
The harbinger was silent. Its gaze was fixed on the frail lizard, and the frail lizard cowered under it until it tasted sand once more.
You can’t use it for anything. It's useless. The harbinger’s assistant was persistent. Besides, it would have died anyway.
The frail lizard wanted to be shocked at the statement—die anyway?—but then something happened that was much more urgent.
The harbinger slowly nodded once. Then, once more.
Do whatever you want. I’ll do this myself... even if I die.
Before the harbinger completed its statement, the frail lizard had already taken off, running for its little life. It was running the way it had come. Despite the situation, the frail lizard was still smart, yes. Very smart, yes yes. The mighty figure from before did not kill it before, so it could gamble on not dying this second time. If it could get there, it might survive this. Maybe the harbinger’s assistant and the mighty figure would fight one another to death. Maybe... Maybe the frail lizard would taste delicious meat anyway.
If it could get there.
Hahaha, don’t mind if I do!
The harbinger’s assistant’s voice at the beginning sounded from a distance. However, when it reached the end, it was a low growl in the ear of the fleeing lizard.
It was the end for the frail lizard, yes. It was the end, yes yes.
In the afternoons, the Dawnwood Inn was certain to be filled to the brim with scores of abnormals—Campers who had their residences close by, alongside Adventurers who wanted to make use of the opportunity to eat high-quality food. It wasn’t just the Dawnwood Inn either. Word had gone around, and everybody knew that the restaurants were sourcing as many high-level foodstuffs as possible to maximize their profit. As a result, the high-level meals that had not been available for the general public were now more easily obtained, and the Adventurers were ready to take full advantage of it.
Eldon did not think many abnormals were like him—able to fully utilize the vital energies in the meals and convert them to strength—but there was no denying that eating high-level food strengthened one's physique and upgraded one’s constitution. Even if the gains were minuscule, for the Adventurers who fought each day venturing into dangerous lands, those gains might save their lives at a crucial moment.
However, the shop Eldon was in was different. There were few customers here, and none were Campers. Given that he was a Camper, he could eat for free. The only thing was that the food available was different from those elsewhere. There was no C-rank food, and neither was there wine or alcohol. All he could drink with his miserly meal was big cups of black bitter liquid the waiter had proudly served him. It was called “coffee”.
Eldon had never tasted it before, so he didn’t know what to expect, but when he saw the way the customers were chugging the thing down like it was the sweetest nectar, he tried it eagerly. And instantly spat it back out.
The waiter said nothing, but Eldon could sense the old man’s displeasure. To compensate, Eldon steeled himself and took several tentative sips, ignoring how the bitter taste squeezed his taste buds, at which the waiter seemed to be appeased. But when the waiter left, Eldon pushed the cup to one side without delay and focused on eating the meager food on his plate.
Sighing, Eldon ate a mouthful and glanced out the window. He tried not to make it obvious, but it felt like everyone in the place already knew his intention from the moment he picked the window seat upon his arrival. After all, the rest of the customers were on the other end of the room.