I awoke within pure darkness; encased in something, a sticky substance. Seeking an out from my predicament, i stretched out my arms, landing a direct hit on my confinement.
Crack!
The object encasing me broke apart, revealing a small hole. From that hole a ray of light pushed back the darkness bit by bit; however, it was not enough. Groaning lightly, i repeatedly slammed the object, increasing the size of the crack, until it gave way, breaking apart.
Emerging from beneath the ground, the sound of rushing water filled my ears. I gazed at a body of water; it moved in a straight line with moderate speed, creating a fissure that divided this dark and gloomy land.
I looked into the stream, and there I stared at my reflection; however, what stared back at me was a strange reptilian creature. I felt a coldness run through my spine. It was fear as well as shock.
"How," I muttered, staring at my reflection.
Splash!
A creature leaped out of the water, jaws out, ready to bite my head off. Luckily I noticed in time and retracted my head from the range of its attack.
I staggered back, my little heart beating wildly. I frantically observed the area in search of latent dangers; however, nothing came into view, just white mist extending wildly and towering trees.
Raising my gaze above my gaze, I caught a glimpse of mountains standing adjacent each other. Above these hills several black bodies hovered around.
Suddenly, as if noticing my gaze, several of these black bodies swooped down at blinding speed towards my direction. As soon as I saw this, I hastily dashed in the opposite direction, running for my life.
Roar!!!
A low roar erupted in my mind but I brushed it off and kept running. Then sudden gust of wind caressed my back; turning to glance at the source, all I was able to make out were vermilion eyes filled with madness.
Realizing I couldn't outrun these creatures, I turned towards the stream, and an idea popped into my head. It was the only way.
Without slowing down, I leaped with all my might towards the stream of water. As I fell into the stream, a sharp talon grazed my skin, nearly chopping me in half.
Plop
I fell into the stream escaping my pursuers. Moving with the speed of the current I swarm downstream, the darkened nature of the water prevented me from gaining my bearings, this made me anxious.
Deep inside the water could feel the gaze of numerous terrifying creatures watching, waiting for an opportunity.
I swarm to shore as fast as I could, that stream was just too terrifying.
Roar!!!
A familiar roar echoed in my head, "Argh, I wonder what that sound was about." clutching my head I focused my attention to the place where the noise came from.
Thump...Thump
My head throbbed in anticipation, Suddenly a black panel with golden runes etched onto it appeared. It read,
"Welcome to the World's Engine."
"You may call me"
"Solomon"
I took a moment to digest the words I had just seen, "A system that would explain this bizarre situation.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
I could vaguely remember reading about something like this before. Yes, before I had a name. What was it?. "
"Would you like to take a look at your profile"
"Yes a profile would help me straighten this out." I reasoned, as a flicker of hope emerged within me.
"Yes." I muttered in a deep voice.
The words in the panel receded one by on, then new words emerged from nothingness.
Name:???
Evolution pathway: Unknown.
Trait: None.
Species: Dragon hatchling.
Age: 1 day old.
Rank: (Basic)
Level: 1
Titles:???
Stat Points: 0
Achievement points: 0
[Stats]
Strength: 6
Intelligence: 9
Agility: 8
Mana: 5
Overall assessment: F+
[Skills]
Dash[ newly acquired] [lv 1]
Amber eyes [lv 1]
[System notification]
You have acquired a new skill [dash]
Dash lv 0 →[lv 1]
Amber eyes lv 0 →lv 1
"I stared at the panel in disbelief, I have no name then who am I." I whispered inwardly.
"Solomon, who am I?, why do I have these vivid memories? ." I questioned the voice.
"Sorry, I can only answer such questions in exchange for achievement points, Knowledge isn't free." The voice replied in a friendly tone.
"How do I gain achievement points." I quickly followed up with this.
"Well, I would tell you, but your not eligible yet, gain a certain level of strength first."
Noah sighed in disappointment then he stared at his stats, "My stats are really terrible and I almost died twice within 30 minutes ,but on the bright-side I gained a new skill while running away."
"My level and stats are too low for me to gain any answers, So I have to increase my them fast. But I am at the bottom of the food chain."
The images of those monster that nearly took my life were fresh in my memory.
"Which means I need to find creatures weaker than myself."
An friendly voice added."That...isn't always the correct option."
"What do you mean by that" I questioned.
"You find out soon... enough." The voice spoke before fizzling away.
"No time to waste." I mumbled before heading off.
I immediately left where i was standing before those flying monsters came back to finish the job.
I found a hiding spot close to a pile of black rocks, due to my jet black body, it provided a good camouflage.
"Originally hunting at the stream would have been Ideal, but the creatures lurking around it are no joke. I'll just watch and wait.
I had already used my skill, amber eyes to remain alert. A skill that boosts the power of vision heavily.
Over the next hour several creatures came by the stream to drink, a black tiger, a huge snake and monstrous black centipede. One thing I've noticed is that they all had strange tattoos etched onto their skin.
"Strange." I whispered underneath my breath
After a few minutes of waiting, a dark brown rodent, a rat, about 1 feet tall scurried towards the stream to drink some water. I watched it keening as it drank to it's fill then i waited for it to leave.
The rodent walked for a while before stopping at an inconspicuous hole, it sunk into the hole smoothly leaving me outside, astonished.
"It's a rat so compared to me it won't be much of a challenge." I reasoned to myself before leaping into the hole.
It was dark, but I was able to discern certain things with my amber eyes still active, like the fact that the tunnel began to tremble. "This can't be good." I mumbled as numerous foot steps approached the entrance.
Before me several red beady eyes glared intently, It seems that they laid a trap for me. This must be the method they use to hunt, I need to leave as fast as possible.
Squeak!...Squeak...Squeak
Loud and unsettling squeaks echoed through out the cave as the several rats rushed at me, Due to the nature of the cave entrance they could only approach me one at a time, a good thing too.
I gritted my teeth preparing for their assault, The first rat lunged at me with all its might, I instantly swiped at it's eyes and rammed it with my head. It fell backwards to the others with a pained cry and rest rushed to me for a turn.
This time two squeezed through and attacked simultaneously, using my claws I stabbed into the first with my claw and pierced the second with horns on my head. Blood rolled into my eye staining it, but i didn't care.
The adrenaline was talking.
"Come on!" I yelled at them in order to provoke them the best I could.
Several swarmed me squeezing their bodies to fit as much as possible. I slashed at their eyes causing them to scream in pain, while one bit me sinking it's teeth into my skin.
I ignored it and bit the head of the rat clean off with single bite.
Following that I tore through every single rat I could lay my hands on, while taking minor damage.
Soon the remaining rats lost their courage and ran away their squeaks spreading throughout the tunnel.
I stood at the entrance panting as drops of blood dripped down from my wounds, The tunnel was silent once again yet the smell of iron lingered.
I slowly called up the black panel with a mental command to check my stats.
[System notification]
You have acquired a new skill [Dragon Claw] lv 0-> lv 1
Amber eyes lv 1 → lv 2
You have gained experience from killing a dozen [Red eyed rats]
Your lvl has risen lv 1 →lv 2
Your lvl has risen lv2 →lv 3
Strength: 8
Intelligence: 11
Agility: 10
Mana: 7
Skill points: 4