Its… a baby… dragon…?

We moved on and made our way for a few hours as the sun set towards the next dungeon. Once it became too dark to really see as the moon light didn't really help in the forest we made camp, starting a fire and getting ready to sleep.

Yawning Kleek looked at me once she finished setting up some hides for herself, "goodnight… maybe tomorrow we can fins the next dungeon… and hopefully… its… quicker…" her eyes drooped closed as she slowly sat back falling asleep.

I got up and covered her with her hides before laying in my own and drifting off to sleep myself.

My dreams were that of my old life, the good times i had with my boss… joking around, sometimes insulting each other with a straight face only to end up laughing after… i don't even remember how it all started, but it was a great distraction from the daily grind. Eventually the dreams shifted to the one person who had always been on my mind… she was beautiful… her gorgeous light blue eyes looked like a partially cloudy sky… her laugh sparking joy deep inside… but like any dream eventually you have to wake up…

I startled awake to a bird chirping nearby. Sitting up i saw Kleek was still asleep and the fire was now just coals. I started to quietly gather my hides and once i was done Kleek also woke up. I doused the fire as she gathered her things.

"Lets go." I stated ready to leave

"But… what about breakfast…?" She asked as she held up two small leather bags.

"Eat on the way…?"

"If we must…"

I took the bag from her and ate some trail rations of various nuts and berries that seemed incredibly fresh. After a few hours we made it to the next dungeon and entered. This one was filled with just level 10 skeletons, 40 of them to be exact. The boss wasnt much either, just a level 20 skeleton knight, all of which had moderate dexterity but very low stats otherwise. They all fell to a single swipe of my sword and gave me a nice 4,000 XP for the low level mobs and 6000 for the boss before the bonus. 30,000 XP in total and an additional 15,000 XP for the dungeon after effects.

Each of the next two dungeons were the same, only skeletons, the third one providing another 50,000 XP and the 4th netting me 38,000 XP.

The two of us decided to push to the two closest to the north, the east most of the two was reptile based one having lizard men, who were just as easy to fight as the skeletons but a bit higher in level granting more total XP, the boss being a drake. A solid 71,000 XP after my equipment boost brought me to the next level.

Name: Jack Tradesman

Level: 15

Experience: 410,295/800,000

Class: None

HP: 255

Mana: 255

Armour: 40

Free Stat Points: 42

STR: 255

DEX: 255

CON: 255

WIS: 255

INT: 255

CHA: 255

The next dungeon was far more difficult though… the lizard folk here were level 35 at the start. They gave me a semi difficult time but still fell easy enough as i swiftly hacked my way through over 100 of them before even reaching the halfway point of the first floor. A solid 600 XP each after buffs for a whopping 60,000 XP. The second half became a little bit harder as they got stronger, now level 40.

I slashed my way through another 200 of these stronger lizards, taking a few cuts here and there but the damage negation was just too good to not see its effects. Another 900 XP each for a total of 180,000 after buffs. I entered the boss door and found myself face to face with a strong boss for once.

"Level 70 Dragon identified"

'Wow… a level 70…' i looked at kleek then back at the dragon. "Stay back Kleek, this might be a tough battle"

I charged without looking back and dropped down as the dragon opened its mouth sliding under neath its fire breath. Once i slid far enough i got back on my feet quickly and dashed under the dragon slashing my sword along its belly before it jumped back a little with insane speed and swiping a clawed hand at me sending me flying away with gouges on my chest. I was glad i made the choice to use 2 healing salves to bring me back to max HP before entering the boss room as that one attack dealt me 130 damage… if i didnt have the legendary item that negated damage i would have died upon getting hit.

I dashed forwards twice closing the distance rapidly again as i prepared an ice bolt for size and temperature being careful to not go over the top causing it to be weaker, but it still froze over a large oart of its chest allowing me to stab my sword with all my strength shattering the hard ice and taking a large chunk out of its chest. I leapt backwards as it did the same trying to catch me with the same attack again.

I narrowly escaped reach of its claws and went in again to attack but its speed far surpassed my as it slammed its tail into me sending me flying once again. Another large chunk of my HP went as i took another 100 damage leaving me with just 25 HP…

I was hurt but so was it, i could see as the ice thawed blood began dripping from its chest. Seeing the opportunity i feinted another attack and it went for another tail swipe, where i leapt over casting another ice bolt followed by a slash on its rear flank, hitting harder this time making a larger hole this time before backing away.

Enraged the dragon activated a skill that engulfed its body in fire… which only melted all the ice on its body leaving large gaping wounds the spewed blood. The intense flame started to cauterize the wounds but the damage was done as the dragon's strength left it causing the skill to falter and deactivate before it fell to the ground, too weak to move. I waited patiently for it to die afraid to get close and it died after a few moments.

"Level 70 dragon defeated whilst in protection mode, granting bonus XP for increased difficulty… 200,000 XP awarded. Adjusting for boosts… 600,000 XP awarded.

Dungeon of the mother Dragon cleared, 300,000 XP awarded, adjusting for boosts… 900,000 XP awarded."

'Wow… 2 levels from this dungeon was definitely a good outcome… but… mother dragon…' just then i saw it… shining a brilliant red amongst the dull grey of the stone walls… I approached cautiously… reaching out i touched the warm and hard red surface… whatever this was it had to be valuable right?

My thoughts of vast fortune was very quickly interrupted as the object began cracking. Very quickly it fell apart revealing it was not some valuable stone but an egg… a dragon egg… a pair of large gold eyes looked up at me as it weakly squeaked…

"A creature has submitted to you, willing to become a pet. New feature unlocked pets. Do you accept this creature as a pet?"

"I… yes…" i knew the system couldn't perfectly explain what happened, but i knew this dragon saw me as its parent… this would be a powerful ally later on given how hard its mother was to kill in a regular mode, if i didn't do the insane damage i had and cause the bleeding that i did i would've struggled to fight its mother… "system, how does the pet function work…? Like how does the pet grow?"

"The pet will share XP with you. Any XP you earn after any bonuses will also be applied to the pet. The same is true for the opposite. Any active pets will also benefit from any equipment buffs you experience as well."

'Well then… i should give it a name…'

"I think you look like an ember… what do you think…?" I asked as i looked at the dragon.

"It looked up at me happily as it squawked again."

"Is… is that… a dragon…"

Kleeks voice startled me as i didn't expect her to appear so suddenly. "Y-yeah… and its my new pet…"

"Wow… its so… small…"

"But in time it will hopefully grow into a mighty dragon…"