The first thing Deva has to is hunt, in weird place where the sky is greenish blue. He never hunted and frankly he was pretty damn sure that he never hunted as quadrupedal dragon thing before either.
He will still have to do it because getting stronger requires culling massive of monsters to get strong! The path of becoming a Dragon Lord is a long one and he needs to start.
When he opened his the first a flood of information went straight into his skull. He is the Black Forest of the pangea continent of Myre. It's actual name the Bel Myre Principality of North, South, East, and West.
Various nations, tribes, and kingdoms all reside in the massive continent.
"Furnttt!" Catching with his ears, Deva looked in the direction of the screaming. Thanks to Enhanced Hearing and being a Wymling gave Deva an ability dubbed Hell Ears.
Hearing so good that Deva can hear a coin fall from "tens of kilometers away". With this he could clearly see a deer with four horns in his head and having green fur being mauled by a four armed bear.
The Enhanced vision trait gave Deva excellent eyes. He has the ability to see non-visible spectra of light due to the high amount of cone cells in his eyes and can read electromagnetic auras in order to predict an animal's (or person's) next action. The Four eyes in the two socket can see all types of vision in order to track his prey.
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Hammer Deer
Race: Monster Deer
Gender: Male
Level: 2
[Description: The Hammer Deer are large, monster deer-family members characterized by their big size, prominent light-colored rump patch, and shaggy neck mane (especially in winter), with males (bulls) sporting impressive, branching antlers shed annually. Hammer Deer meat has a mild, slightly sweet, and rich flavor often described as a cleaner, more tender, and superior version of grass-fed beef. It is a very lean, fine-grained red meat with an earthy, savory, or "gamey" undertone that is much less intense than traditional venison]
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Blinking in surprise that he can [Scan] monsters this far away and what is with the description? The text appeared the moment he laid eyes on the Deer next to the bear. He looked at the bear next to see if the text will appear again.
The moment his gaze snapped to the other creature, the world politely obliged.
Letters stitched themselves into reality again, hovering neatly beside fur and muscle.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━Gravepaw UrsorRace: Monster UrsidaeGender: FemaleLevel: 4
[Description: Gravepaw Ursors are hyper-aggressive omnivorous monsters native to dense forest regions. Recognizable by their two primary forelimbs and two secondary shoulder limbs, they possess extreme grappling strength and territorial instincts. Their bone density is nearly double that of common bears. Their meat is tough and iron-rich, often described as bitter and sinewy unless properly prepared. Known to crush prey with layered limb holds before delivering a fatal bite.]━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Deva blinked slowly.
Last he checked, bear meat was not exactly top tier cuisine. He could not remember which survival video it was, but the summary had stuck with him. Bears tasted like whatever they ate. Fish if they lived near rivers. Berries if they stayed inland. And older bears carried a delightful bonus prize of parasites that enjoyed eating brains.
He would very much prefer to keep his brain uneaten.
Although… he was not exactly standard issue anymore. He was a black scaled pseudo dragon with a venom sac, pit organs, regeneration, and a digestive system that probably violated several health codes. Parasites might take one look at him and file a resignation letter.
Still. Why test it?
The Hammer Deer let out another strained cry as the four armed bear locked its secondary limbs around the deer's neck and torso. The primary arms pinned the forelegs with brutal efficiency. It was almost clinical.
Deva crouched lower behind a curtain of dark foliage. The strange greenish blue sky filtered through the canopy, tinting the world in cold hues. His black scales absorbed the light rather than reflected it. The black scales subtly shifted, dulling any shine. [Camouflage] activated almost instinctively.
He moved forward without sound. The [Hunting] skill was already was already proving its value. His body adjusted to terrain automatically, claws slipping between roots instead of snapping twigs. Even his breathing synced with the rustling leaves when the wind passed through.
He did not know it, but skills scaled from 1 to 10, each level demanding absurd amounts of experience. At this rank, he could already stalk G,F, and even low level D ranked monsters without alerting them.
If he had been human, he would have qualified as an expert hunter, the kind villages hired year round for meals.
'Now that I'm close what should I do. Do I use magic? How can I even use magic. Let start with fire I guess.' Deva decided fire was acceptable for a first attempt. Subtlety was overrated anyway. Luckily for him, the bear was completely obsessed with finishing its meal and had not noticed the small black lizard creeping closer through the brush.
He steadied himself, claws digging into soil.
'Xiaolin Mars: Grand Fireball!'
Yes. He absolutely remembered too much anime. No regrets.
He focused inward and grabbed onto the sensation that felt hot and restless inside his chest. Fire mana. It responded eagerly, surging upward when he willed it. The warmth gathered in his throat, pooling behind his fangs. It was not painful. It felt natural. Like preparing to cough, except instead of air, something heavier was building.
The bear shifted, tightening its hold around the Hammer Deer's neck. Its aura flared with lethal intent. The deer's electromagnetic signature flickered wildly in Deva's enhanced vision.
Now.
Deva opened his maw wide.
A sphere of blazing orange condensed at the back of his throat, rapidly swelling until it was roughly the size of a human torso. For half a second he panicked. That seemed… large.
Too late.
The fireball launched.
Swish!
It tore through the air far faster than he expected, compressing the space in front of it with a sharp hiss. Five seconds was generous. It reached the target in what felt like less.
Impact.
The explosion was immediate.
Flame bloomed outward in a violent burst, orange and gold swallowing the clearing. It detonated like a grenade made of concentrated sunlight. Heat rippled through the undergrowth, leaves curling at the edges as the shockwave kicked up dirt and ash.
The Gravepaw Ursor roared, the sound twisting into something between fury and pain. Fire clung to its fur, racing along its shoulders and back. The Hammer Deer was thrown aside, its body tumbling across the forest floor, already blackened.
For a brief moment, the clearing was a furnace.
Deva stared.
He had expected a decent fireball.
He had not expected artillery.
The smell of burning fur and scorched vegetation filled the air as embers drifted lazily downward. The bear staggered inside the flames, still alive, but it soon died to the heat.
[Gained 100 EXP][Gained 67 EXP]
The notifications slid into view with a faint crystalline chime, as if the system itself were politely applauding.
Deva remained frozen for a moment, smoke curling lazily around his small black frame.
He had won. It was Super easy to do it.
The clearing still smoldered. The Gravepaw Ursor lay collapsed, fur charred and limbs slack. The Hammer Deer was little more than roasted loot at this point.
Deva slowly closed his maw.
"…Huh."
The word came out as a low hiss.
Maybe he had underestimated himself.
Or maybe Level 7 Fire Magic was wildly inappropriate for forest hunting.
His stomach growled.
Right. Hunting was not about fireworks. It was about eating.
He approached the deer first. Safer option. Less potential parasite anxiety. The roasted flesh still radiated heat, juices bubbling faintly beneath the cracked surface.
He lowered his head and bit in.
His conodont teeth sank through the crisp outer layer with a satisfying crunch before meeting tender meat underneath. Steam escaped as he tore away a chunk.
He paused.
Oh.
The system description had not exaggerated.
The flavor was rich but clean, like grass fed beef that had gone to the gym. Slight sweetness lingered beneath the savory depth. There was a faint earthy note, but not overwhelming. No harsh gamey punch. Just lean, dense muscle with a smooth finish.
It was good.
Very good.
He chewed slowly, savoring it. As he swallowed, warmth spread through his body. Not fire mana. Something more primal. Fuel. Strength converting directly into potential.
Another bite. Larger this time.
Juices ran along his tongue, metallic but pleasant. His sharp teeth made short work of sinew and bone alike. He felt his digestion working aggressively, breaking down protein and marrow with alarming efficiency.
He glanced at the bear.
For science.
He padded over and tore into the Gravepaw Ursor's shoulder. The meat was thicker, darker. Even roasted, it resisted more.
Crunch.
He chewed.
Immediate difference.
Heavier. Iron-rich. The flavor was stronger, almost bitter at the edges. There was a faint sweetness beneath it, likely from berries judging by the aftertaste, but it was buried under dense muscle and a mineral tang that clung to his tongue.
Not bad.
Just… intense.
Definitely not something you would serve medium rare at a fancy banquet.
He swallowed.
No immediate brain-eating parasite apocalypse.
Good.
Deva sat back on his haunches, belly slowly filling, smoke curling around his small but dangerous form. The clearing smelled like a battlefield and a barbecue had merged into one questionable event.
First hunt.
Successful.
Delicious.
He licked a streak of blood from his snout and glanced at the faint glow of his status interface still hovering in the corner of his vision.
Experience gained. Levels waiting. Growth accelerating.
The path to Dragon Lord suddenly felt less abstract.
It tasted like victory.
And slightly like berries.