Greenskin Encounter

It has been ten nights since my hatching—yes, I counted diligently. During this time, I have hunted, fought, slept, eaten, and explored the forest. My home, Valdrakar's Hold, has withstood the short test of time, as I have not been disturbed once. The cave system further in is intriguing, but I haven't bothered exploring it yet, mainly because I dislike tight spaces. Instead, I barricaded it to ensure that if something dwells down there, it won't come for me.

At this point in my journey, I mostly ignore simple animals; they aren't worthy of my attention. Unlike their evolved counterparts, the monsters, animals don't bring me closer to my next soul core or age stage evolution. After my hard-fought triumph over the Strangling Serpent and my shameful retreat from the Dire Wolf, I have encountered and triumphed over many more strange creatures. I examined my status:

[Name: Valdrakar Nemesis]

[Race: Devouring Dragon]

[Title: -]

[Age Stage: Wyrmling]

[Soul Core Stage: 1st Tier Peak]

[Vitality: 600/600]

[Mana: 300/300]

[Strength: 40 -> 64]

[Dexterity: 30 -> 58]

[Magic: 35 -> 50]

That's right, I've advanced from 1st Tier Intermediate to Peak, and my stats have significantly increased as a result. My vitality, strength, and dexterity received the largest boost, though my magic and mana have not seen as much of an improvement. I suspect the reason is my lack of spells to cast. Without devouring a dragon, I am just a glorified, overly physical lizard. It hurts to admit, but I must. In fact, I've met lizard monsters that could cast spells, so even that comparison might be overstating my current self.

On the positive side, I feel that I'm getting closer and closer to the evolution leading me into the next age stage, which fills me with great excitement—much more so than advancing to the 2nd tier of the Soul Core. I can feel it in the marrow of my bones that this is what my current self is greatly missing. Of course, that is not to say that I don't care about increasing my Soul Core Stage—not at all. In fact, my power has nearly doubled since I fought the Strangling Serpent, and I suspect this is the main reason behind such an occurrence.

As I was deep in thought, I almost failed to recognize the new scents entering my nostrils carried by the wind. The smell was pungent, almost repulsive, yet mixed with something faintly sweet and unfamiliar. My curiosity piqued, I followed it, prowling through the forest with all the stealth I could muster. The scent led me to a clearing where two green-skinned muscular creatures were carrying a weak-looking, long-eared being tied to a wooden staff.

These green-skinned beings were strange, unlike anything I had seen before. They walked on two legs and their guttural conversations echoed through the trees. The captive, on the other hand, was frail, her pale skin and delicate features creating a stark contrast to the brutes holding her.

"Let me go, you filthy, ugly degenerates!" she cried, her voice trembling with a mix of fear and anger. "My father will have your heads for this!"

The response the captive got was a mixture of laughter and strange oink sounds, which honestly made me salivate a bit. From all the animals I've tasted, boars were certainly highly desirable, perhaps even my favorite. But then there's the tasty fishes from the rivers and the small forest rabbits that were also a flavorful delicacy; ah, I simply can't decide on a favorite!

"Hehehe-oink! Pretty woman, boss happy, me reward! Hehehe! Oink!" The one walking in front replied, ignoring the not-so-scary threat. Father? Where? I can't smell him anywhere nearby, thus he is not a threat to these strange green creatures either.

"Me eat lot tonight! Big Meal!" The other replied cheerily. It seemed the woman was something valuable, but I couldn't wrap my brain around why. In fact, I inspected her and my eyes almost bulged out of their sockets.

[Name: Elera Iarmyar]

[Race: Wood Elf]

[Title: -]

[Class: Druid]

[Soul Core Stage: 1st Tier Initial]

[Vitality: 90/90]

[Mana: 20/180]

[Strength: 7]

[Dexterity: 9]

[Magic: 20]

This creature was actually pathetic in my eyes; I didn't even get an urge to consume her, and that's a first for me. It was a strange feeling. 7 Strength? 90 Vitality? 1st Tier Initial? Animals don't have such status windows so I couldn't compare her to them, but so far this white-skinned being had the lowest numbers I've seen, besides her magic which was passable at best. In fact, I had more magic and mana despite having never cast a spell in my life.

She only had 20 mana left, which indicated that she at least fought for her life before getting captured, though the fact that she is completely unharmed could only mean that the green creatures shrugged her spells off easily and restrained her. I had the urge to just ignore the situation but things changed when I examined her captors.

They looked very strong and capable despite their questionable intelligence, and they had something I've never seen before; weapons. The front one had a wooden shaft and some gray blade etched onto its end while the other only had a wooden staff but it was much bulkier towards the end. (picture)

[Name: Duluk]

[Race: Orc]

[Title: -]

[Class: Warrior]

[Gender: Male]

[Soul Core Stage: 2nd Tier Initial]

[Vitality: 800/800]

[Mana: 100/100]

[Strength: 85]

[Dexterity: 40]

[Magic: 5]

So these beings are called orcs. The other had very similar numbers to Duluk. This is the first time I've seen creatures with such high strength and vitality numbers. Even the Dire Wolf had less, although it was balanced out with higher dexterity and magical capabilities.

It is strange to see them possessing a so-called class. Even the elf, at the very beginning of the soul core stages, has one. If I had a wizard class, how wonderful would it be? All this mana and magic of mine are completely going to waste. It feels horrible, almost as bad as leaving a half-eaten carcass behind. Okay, maybe not that bad, as that would be completely sacrilegious.

(Author: The story has been getting more reads than I expected, so I decided to release an extra chapter today and tomorrow (3 chapters instead of 2) to celebrate. On the other hand, I've almost not received any feedback, so please do leave a review to voice your thoughts.)