Chapter 5: Timeskip, Two years passed...
"I guess I'll be having meat balls in my meal this lunch~."
I said amusingly as I looked towards the crushed Earth Dragon/Iguana under the stalactite.
I stood up and noticed that my body is already on tip-top shape. The only thing left from the battle earlier was my dizziness from my overusing my mana. I guess it won't help me in regenerating my mana after all... Oh well.
Shaking my head, I made my way towards the meat paste, carcass, iguana-patty, you decide.
I activated the remote looting function(Just storing things without touching) and looked at my spoils.
Just like I thought, meatballs. Yep, definitely meatballs. Aside from that, there are the scales, claws, fangs, and horns. But one thing caught my eyes. It is the first time that I got something like this. A round blue marble-like thing.
Curiously, I brought up its description. I already have my guess, but just to be sure.
[Mana Core]
- the mana center of every mana beast/magic beast. This is the concentrated mana which forms whenever a powerful beast dies.
Uses: magical purposes, item creation, medicinal purposes
Uses for the host: can increase the host's mana capacity by 200 points.
"Wow. Now this is what I call worth it~!"
I said and immediately retrieved it from my Inventory and immediately threw it in my mouth.
What? How can I absorb the mana inside if I don't consume it?
Immediately, warm currents spreads from my stomach and went up to my chest, fusing with my own mana.
"Well, that felt great. But anyway. I'll not be fighting any of these powerful beasts anymore, well... Not yet. Just now, I almost lost my life there! Even though I can respawn, I still don't want to experience death for a second time any time soon!"
I said as I shuddered.
I mean, honestly. I looked like a kid in front of that massive iguana!
[Author: Uhm... Duh?]
And besides... Just who the f*ck likes dying?! Bring him in front of my face and I'll kill him myself!
I walked out of the cave and came out of the open as the fresh breeze caress my face, washing away my earlier tension.
"Fuuuu~. I'll take a bath when I reach my cave later."
I said and took off and flew towards the direction of the water fall and up to my cave.
Walking under the water curtain, I felt my body get lighter despite the heavy pressure from the flowing water.
I stayed for a while to wash all of the dust and dried up blood off my body before walking inside. Taking a sip from the pool to quench my thirst, I laid down on the ground and took some of the whole meat from the earth dragon to cook. Well, I was planning on meatballs, but I remembered that I don't have a frying pan. So maybe next time.
I began to cook. Or more precisely, I began to roast.
=======================
Like fleeting wind and the passing of shooting stars, two years passed.
And I gotta say, in this two years, not only did I became even more powerful, I'm even close to my next evolution~! So Hurray!
The only thing that's keeping me from evolving is that my attribute stats didn't reach the SSS rank yet even though I've already been level 100 for over three months now. Haist~. Talk about troublesom~.
I mean, it's a pain in the ass that I still have to raise my attribute stats to rank SSS. Like, seriously!
Can't I just receive like... Ten or so stat points every time I level up? Why do I only get a point in each stat every time?!
Haist. I guess this is what it means to be "put in restrictions".
Anyway. I've searched for ways to raise my stats, through externel factors as I roam around the forest, killing beasts from the bottom to the top of the power rankings in this forest. And fortunately, I didn't die for a second time! I found myself in multiple life threatening battles these past two years and there were even some times that I almost lost half of my body! Damn!
Those experiences were terrifying for me. But because of these battles that put my life on the line, I've matured enough... Well, for a second time.
As it is, your mentality gets influenced by your physical age, that's why I've been acting like a child for a total of ten months and only gained my maturity after facing stronger opponents day by day. But I can't say that I really act matured at all~!
After my fight with the Earth Dragon, I've gone back to killing weaker beasts again and gradually faught stronger ones until I found myself already fighting with what I called, "The Lords" as all of them have their own territory they oversee.
The first lord I faught was a Steel-Backed Alligator near a swamp area I chanced upon my travels.
And I tell you, it was really, really, really, ugly!
Man! And people on Earth even calked alligators and crocodiles the last dinosaur species! They jist don't look the same!
I mean, dinosaurs are cool but this Steel-Backed Alligator is really lame looking! It looks so pathetic!
But still, it was also powerful and I had my second tough battle because of it.
After killing it with several bruises and wounds, I stoted it in my Inventory and looked at my spoils. I was surprised that I found a yellow mana core instead of the usual blue colored cores!
I took it out and appraised it.
[Mana Core]
- the mana center of every mana beast/magic beast. This is the concentrated mana which forms whenever a powerful beast dies.
Uses: magical purposes, item creation, medicinal purposes
Uses for the host: can increase the host's Intelligence stat for 20 points.
And wow~! I was so excited that it can actually increase my stat for several points at once!
I was so ecstatic the I let out a loud roar that shook the surroundings of the swamp and before I even noticed it, all beasts in the swamp are already kneeling in front of me. Like what? I was confused too. But then I remembered that once a lord or a ruler of an area dies or killed, the one who defeated/killed/dethroned that said ruler will be the next ruler of the area.
So I guess this makes me a lord now too.
Oh well, I'll just leave it at that. I didn't put them in mind and just let them go about freely and didn't restrict them and I minded my own business.
Now that I have found a way to raise my stats through external means, it felt as though something inside of me awakened and I began to crave for more and more battles as I battled it out with the lords in the forest. Of course, I didn't come out unscathed as every battle were really hard and my opponents are usually several times stronger than me.
Then the time came when I experienced the thing that I have been preventing to happen. I died, for the f*cking second time! That was a terrifying experience and can also be said the worst thing that I have experienced since I've been reincarnated!
It felt horrible as even though I know that I can't actually die for real, I can still feel the extreme pain from dying! It was horrible!
Then that's when the respawn ability came in. It appeared like a prompt message through the System that went...
[You have died. Do you want to respawn? Y/N]
I immediately said yes in my mind and a pointer appeared. It seems that I can select where I can respawn and selected behind the beast that killed me, a twenty meter tall drake. It is a sub species from the dragon race, but not pure blooded, that's why they are called drakes. But even though they are just a sub species, they are still extremely powerful when matured, just like this bastard that have killed.
And some are maybe wondering why I chose to respawn behind it if I can already escape if I select the respawn point outside, right? Well, let's just say that it's a matter of pride.
Immediately, my body dematerialized into specs of blue lught and immediately formed behind the drake.
[Due to the host's death, 100 points have been deducted from Intelligence.]
'Tch! Damn!'
Just really...!!! Arghhh!!! Damn it! A god damn 100 points for f*cks sake!
But still, it is still fortunate as my intelligence is already in the 900s, and my mana capacity won't decrease too much because I can just increase it with the blue mana cores.
Looking at this, my anger towards the drake was fueled.
Gathering every bit of my strength and every ounce of my mana, I concentrated all of them in one attack!
[Crimson Dragon's Wrath!]
A new skill was made.
My body got enveloped by my crimson aura and a thirty or so meters crsimson dragon materialized above my head!
"ROAR!!!"
It roared with an intimidating pressure as it pressed down on the drake and sent it flying towards the cliff and embedded its body in the process. But it was not done yet!
The crimson dragon "Avatar" lunged itself towards the drake and attacked with its massive claws!
*BOOM!!!*
*ROAR~!!!*
*BOOM!!!*
Booming sounds of explosion resounded in the valley along with the wails of the drake.
After the attack was delivered, the crimson dragon avatar turned into specs of light and disappeared.
The clouds of dust cleared and I saw the mangled body of the drake stuck on the cliff face.
Damn! That was awesome~! It so cool and domineering!
It was so huge but I clearly have its image saved in my brain. It looked exactly like me but much more intimidating and more fearsome!
Getting out of my daze, I looked at the dead drake. Its limbs were twisted in the worst way possible and its head was even only being connected to its head with a little bit of flesh.
Looking at its current state, I smirked and made my way towards it and stored it in my Inventory. And I once again got another different colored mana core! It's red right now!
"Hm~! I wonder what you can do~."
I said as I hummed in my tone and appraised it.
[Mana Core]
- the mana center of every mana beast/magic beast. This is the concentrated mana which forms whenever a powerful beast dies.
Uses: magical purposes, item creation, medicinal purposes
Uses for the host: can increase the host's Strength and Defense stat for 20 points.
"Holy mother dragon god~! This stuff is great! It's even better than the yellow one! Oh, wait. I better name these things properly as I can't just call it by their colors, it just doesn't sit well with me...
Hm. The blue one will be called Mana stone, the yellow will be Int. Stone, and the red will be Std. Stone from now on."
After searching for anything of value and finding nothing, I flew back to my cave. I couldn't stop myself but feel disappointed as that drake is, even though just a sub species, a dragon! And dragons are supposed to be guarding some treasures, but that drake is too damn poor!
Even I, kid dragon like me have the Earth Essence, but this drake got nothing!
...
A year passed since the battle with the drake and I already grown powerful that I can confidently say that I can kill that guy with just a swing of my tail!
I've fought even powerful opponents than before. Much, much, much more powerful.
All of them makes the beasts I killed at first look like ants in front of them!
Basically, every fight I have with this type of opponents, the "Ultimate Lords", my life will only be hanging by a thread every time after the battle. Of course, I killed them and even managed to not die a third time but got myself in a half death state multiple times.
If not for my cheat like regeneration and my Earth Essence, then who knows how many times I've been crippled by now?
But still, my will to get stronger didn't let me rest. I know, just this forest already houses such strong entities what's more in the other parts of this world? Heck! Even now I still don't know what world I'm in~! But one thing I'm sure about, more powerful beings are out there~. Much, much, much stronger by a hundred or even thousand folds stronger!
So I really have to become powerful! And to evolve!
With that resolve, I actively provoked powerful beings and fighting to death!
Just like this, another year passed. And I already killed all the strong beasts in this forests, well... Except for one. I've tried challenging this one some time ago and barely escaped with my life intact.
It's a lesser dragon. But! Don't you dare underestimate this being! Even though it's only a lesser dragon and doesn't really have a complete intelligence, it's still a dragon! The king of beasts!
I have been avoiding it all this time, but I had enough. I already have the level of strength that I know I can already fight it head on, so I'm going to fight it to death! Once, and for all~!