"Chiche. Darn it."
Staring at the game screen showing his character being carted back to camp by the Felynes, Yuno slumped in frustration, controller slipping from his hands. He stared blankly at the screen, utterly speechless.
It was as if his brain had glitched for a moment.
Then suddenly, he slammed his palm on the desk with a loud HP-1 thud, roaring in rage. From a distance, he looked like an overcooked shrimp turning bright red in fury.
"What the hell?! That missed too?!!"
Nope, he needed to cool down.
Yuno took a deep breath and rolled his stiff neck, just about to get up and grab a glass of water...
The next second, a massive shadow engulfed him. With a thunderous crash of shattering walls and shuddering windows, a single absurd thought popped into his mind:
"So... turns out you can strike it lucky even while home."
New World – Ancient Forest
In a hidden hollow beneath the ancient trees, a cluster of glowmoss pulsed with faint light.
Around it, several forest geckos lay quietly on the damp, mossy bark, their eyes swiveling ever so slightly as they waited like seasoned hunters for insects drawn to the light.
Unbeknownst to them, danger was slowly creeping in.
Under the cover of shadow, a figure approached silently. Once it found a suitable spot, it crouched down, powerful legs coiled for a spring, wings tucked tightly for balance.
With a scrape of claws against the ground, the shadow burst forward, maw wide open, clamping down on its unsuspecting prey before the forest geckos could even react. It whipped its head violently until the struggling gecko fell limp, lifeless.
Once the hunt was complete, the predator eagerly pinned down the gecko's body with its claws and began to devour it under the dim glow.
Gradually, the creature's form emerged from the darkness,
A juvenile Rathalos!
Its crimson scales still small and uneven, spikes barely poking through. Its head was disproportionately large compared to its body, and its wings were just two bare flaps clinging to its sides, more like featherless chicken wings than the majestic limbs of flight. Flying? Out of the question.
At a glance, this was clearly a hatchling, one that should still be huddled in its nest, fed by its parents.
And yet, this infant Rathalos had just completed a solo hunt, even if the prey was merely a harmless forest gecko.
After finishing his "hunt" and licking the blood from his fangs, Yuno glanced toward the glowmoss again. Seeing no sign of new prey gathering, he reluctantly turned and disappeared back into the shadows.
The hollow wasn't exactly small, but only relative to the size of a juvenile like him.
Wobbling over to a damp patch he'd used before, he gnawed off half a poisonous mushroom he'd deliberately saved and swallowed it down in one gulp. Then, spotting a passing bitterbug, he popped it into his mouth like a snack before returning to a quiet stream within the hollow and collapsing beside it.
It had been several days since he transmigrated, and he still couldn't figure it out. Why had a Rathalos like him hatched not in a proper nest, nor in some bird wyvern's food cache, but in a tree hollow that screamed beginner's safety zone?
It had water, a decent supply of easily obtainable food that could keep a newly hatched dragon alive, and the narrow, vine-covered entrance was camouflaged enough to keep out larger monsters. Nothing over ten meters long was getting in here.
Just a secure hideout for a lone baby dragon... too convenient not to feel like fate had a hand in it.
But now wasn't the time to dwell on that. As his body grew rapidly over the past few days, the food in the hollow could no longer sustain his hunger.
Just like now, a forest gecko and a large mushroom only barely kept the gnawing starvation at bay. A few days ago, that would've been more than enough.
So... was this the end of his tutorial phase?
Irritated, Yuno slammed his spiked tail on the ground to vent, then closed his eyes.
A strange warmth began to rise from the earth beneath him, slowly seeping into his body. This energy nourished him from the inside out, subtly strengthening his constitution. In Yuno's mind, this must be the life force unique to this world, something mysterious and almost magical.
This life energy was likely what created the dazzling ecosystem of this world.
Still, Yuno wasn't sure if he was an exception, because he could sense and actively absorb this energy, just like the ancient dragons of legend.
What he didn't see, hidden in the edges of his vision, were small silver particles glowing with a cold blue light. They floated in from nowhere and were drawn into his body alongside the life energy, completely unnoticed.
Time ticked by.
When Yuno felt his body had reached a certain threshold, he opened his eyes again.
"Tch... Even after becoming not human, my body still hits limits? Then what's the point of not being human?"
Muttering in frustration, he willed something to appear.
A simple, translucent panel only he could see flickered into view:
[Name: Yuno
Species: Flying Wyvern – Rathalos
Trait: Drawing... (99%)]
The panel was crude, but as a long-time webnovel reader, Yuno knew: this might be his best shot at surviving in this brutal world.
The rest of his edge came from being a fire wyvern, a species sitting atop the food chain, one known as the King of the Skies.
Back in his previous life's games, Rathalos were often reduced to stepping stones, their rank plummeting with each update. But here, in this living world? They were apex predators, powerful and fearsome.
Top-tier hunters.
"Almost there... Just a little more."
Suppressing his rising excitement, Yuno dismissed the panel and walked toward the glowmoss.
The food in this hollow wouldn't last much longer. Sooner or later, he'd have to venture out.
And the trait he was about to draw would give him an extra edge.
As he devoured another unsuspecting forest gecko, the trait bar on his panel finally ticked to 100%. With a flash of garbled code, the draw was complete.
[Trait: Acceleration (Increases speed the longer combat lasts)]
"???"
Was this that kind of trait?
The description reminded him of a famous skill from a game in his past life, but now adapted to a real-time battle system. And there was something new, the addition of a second trait slot.
So, was this a compound trait system?
Would there be a third? A fourth?
The implications stunned Yuno. If things were truly evolving the way he guessed... then his future wouldn't just be about survival.
He might even rise to touch that realm,
The one they call 'Forbidden.'
The realm beyond the food chain itself.
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