CH 005: Finally Some Action
(A/N: Alright, info dropping is finished! Sorry for not updating for a while. I've gone through a surgery, and am currently recovering from it.)
(Time: Day 1 / Location: Low-Class Monster Forest)
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"C'mon, cheer up." Walking in the forest, Natasha patted the head of the sulking baby dragon laying on her head :"Don't worry, I'm sure it will be fine with time. We'll find a way to dispel it, so cheer up."
A few hours had passed. When they found out about his seal, Natasha tried to break it with Holy Magic, thinking that it was caused by Curse Magic. But she had failed. Not because she wasn't strong enough. But because the seal had nothing to do with Curse Magic.
"Since it's not Curse Magic, then it's not harmful. Believe me, sealing someone's strength is possible even if Curse Magic isn't used. Well... I know that myself..." Seeming to be reminded of something, she sighed, catching Slathilia's attention :"Gauw? (Really?)"
"Really." She understood his words. It was one of the functions of Contracted Companion, a Lv 8 Holy Magic Spell. It was one of the highest levels of Holy Magic and, according to Natasha, something very difficult to acquire. It wasn't at full function, since she had said they should lay that off for later. According to her, it would be something very important and would raise their strength a lot, so she wanted him to get a grip on his strength first before anything else.
"As far as I know, it can be done in a few ways. Curse Magic is one of them, and the only method that causes damage to the target. Another method is using pure Mana. Which does nothing but seal the target's power. Think of any method of sealing as just tying up the limbs with rope, while Curse Magic tying someone's limbs with scorching metal, or at worst case scenario, just outright cutting off the target's limbs. Since your situation isn't Curse Magic, the worst case scenario is avoided. With patience, your situation will be entirely solved with time."
"Gauw... (Alright...)" He sighed, before shrugging nonchalantly :"Gauw. (Forget it, I guess. We'll deal with it eventually when the time is right.)" Earning a chuckle from Natasha :"Now that's the spirit. We can't do anything about it right now, so worrying about it will simply ruin our moods. Don't worry, I'll make sure nothing bad happens to you. By the way..."
She trailed off, catching his attention :"How in the hell does one "gauw" translate to a whole ass paragraph?" And he shrugged :"Gauw. (I don't know. I'm not the one who invented our language. Ask someone else. Like the guy who made it.)"
"... Yeah, what the heck... guess cursing and arguing in Draconic Language is one hell of a battlefield, huh?" She shrugged in the end, before smirking :"By the way, wanna do something that will take your attention? I think you may like it."
"Gauw?" As he chirped in curiosity, wondering what she meant he sensed something in the distance. It was an unfamiliar feeling, to be able to sense the existence of something without seeing it. The most he could think of comparing it to was when he was being stared at. 'Guess my Stats are really starting to show their effects, huh?'
As he turned to the direction he felt the presence from, a figure finally showed up after a few moments. When it jumped over the bushes, he saw the first ever monster in his life. Well, at least the first living one. Except himself, of course.
"Gauw..." He called out in curiosity, looking at the green figure the same height and size as a human preteen. But well, a lot uglier. With his knowledge of fantasy worlds, he didn't even need to think much before figuring out what it was :'So that's a goblin, huh?' He awed at the ugly thing wearing close to nothing and holding a piece of wood as weapon :'... Damn, it's ugly as hell... I mean, it was ugly in mangas and animes, but its ugliness is something else in person.'
The goblin, unaware of how he was getting judged for his appearance, glared at the two viciously. But Natasha looked as carefree as before :"Hey, Thilia, wanna take care of it? Maybe test your strength? Can be a great way of letting out pent up frustrations, you know? I'm talking out of experience here."
"Hmm... Gauw! (Sure!)" Thinking about it, he quickly nodded excitedly. Putting him down gently, she stepped back :"Goblins are F-Class monsters that can reach up to Lv 25 with Stats up to 150. This one is an adult, so it's definitely over Lv 20. I don't think you need to worry much, but still be careful. I will be careful too, so you won't get hurt unexpectedly."
"Gauw." He nodded, growing serious as he glared at the much taller monster. Growling, he would look very intimidating for those with knowledge. But to others, he would look as cute as an angry kitten. However, the goblin, not caring about appearance, and definitely not a knowledgeable one, didn't care about anything. Slathilia simply looked like food for him. "Grr..." The two growled at each other, both of them understanding each other's intentions.
[Slathilia: SS-Class Dragon (Sealed), Lv 3, 240 Stats]
[Goblin: F-Class Goblin, Lv 22, 132 Stats]
(A/N: Call me silly lol, but I like it when there's a bit of introduction like this. By the way, Slathilia's shown Stats are his Personal Stats, not Devoured & Absorbed Stats.)
Slathilia wasn't going to be careless, but he still wanted to see his capabilities without using the absorbed ones. The two glared and growled, before the goblin finally rushed at him with a war cry. Raising his mace-like wood, he roared as he rushed :"Gaaaw!!"
Fixing his stance, Slathilia took a deep breath as he felt an unfamiliar but welcome energy move in his body. Opening his mouth, where the energy was beginning to gather, and where sparks of dark purple flames were sipping out, he roared towards the incoming goblin :"Gauuuw!!"
[Majestic Fire Breath Lv 1 (SS)]
The moment his mouth was opened, a wave of fire was released. One not something that should've fitted inside of him with his small size. The moment he roared, a large wave of dark purple fire was unleashed as it completely enveloped the goblin and then some, scorching it into ashes immediately.
Seeing the damage caused, the baby dragon quickly stopped, looking at the missing figure with wide eyes as only a single Mana Core was left behind. 'Damn, I really just did that...?'
"Oh, wow..." Natasha awed at the destruction :"You have a lot of firepower for someone your size, huh? Guess that's a dragon for you, even if just a newborn one." Nodding in amazement, she pointed at the creepy fire that was burning the trees :"I've heard dragons can control the elements unleashed by their Skills. That means you should probably be able to put that off with just will. Give it a try. I'll take care of it with Water Magic if you fail though, so no worries."
Nodding, he grew serious again. Focusing on the fire that was eating away at a few trees in rapid speed, he felt a sort of connection he seemed to have with it. Concentrating hard on the fire, he began to order it, will it to disappear. And after a few moments of trying, it finally disappeared. Like it was never even there. The burnt areas on the trees would speak otherwise though.
"Gauw..." He awed, at his own newfound power, before he felt the same rush of power he felt when eating the food or the Mana Core of the monsters from a while ago. As he summoned his Status Screen, he looked at what had changed, and what had brought the change.
[Devouring (Overlink)]
[Ingestion (Overlink)]
(A/N: Quick note, the added Stats is multiplied according to how many of MC's absorbing Skills were activated. Basically, since two were activated here, the added Stats were multiplied by 2. Since 264 Stats were added, each Skill individually gave 132 Stats. Also, fuck it, change those last three Stats, Talent, Intelligence and Charisma to how the other Stats are raised when absorbing them. Believe me, randomizing it is really annoying. I spent like 10 minutes or something to organize everything here and in my notes.)
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(Skills)
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Devouring: by killing something or someone, Slathilia can completely absorb their stats, abilities, etc.
Ingestion: by killing something or someone, Slathilia can completely absorb their soul to acquire their stats, abilities, etc.
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(Added Stats)
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Devoured & Absorbed Stats:
Lv: 40 -> 84 {+44}
Stats: 664 -> 928 {+264}
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Dragon Physiology Stats {3rd Seal}:
Lv: 3 -> 4 {+1}
Stats: 240 -> 320 {+80}
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(Devoured & Absorbed Abilities)
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Accelerated Aging Lv 1 (F: Goblin)
Bite Lv 2 (F: Goblin)
Sprint Lv 2 (F: Goblin)
Climbing Lv 2 (F: Goblin)
Ambush Lv 1 (F: Goblin)
Clubmanship Lv 1 (F: Goblin)
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'... I know I'm not nearly as overpowered as I should be because of these seals, but aren't I growing too fast? I'm barely a few hours old, you know?' He mused to himself, playfully acting confused but still very much happy. This was an actual world of Magic and power, meaning power was above anything and everything. Why wouldn't he be glad at being able to grow quickly?
'Wait, fuck! I got too excited and burnt everything except its Mana Core! Now I can't use my Consumption as well!' He groaned, before sighing :'Oh well, can't be too greedy. Goblins individually are at the bottom of the barrel anyway. Better learn from wasting their Stats than a high Class monster instead.'
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Consumption: by eating the flesh and bones of someone or something, Slathilia can completely absorb their stats, abilities, etc.
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Returning to his happy mood, he went ahead and picked up the fallen Mana Core. Inspecting it only for a moment out of curiosity before throwing it into his mouth, eating it right away.
[Lv: 84 -> 106 {+22}
Stats: 928 -> 1,060 {+132}]
Humming to himself, he hopped his way to Natasha, causing her to raise an amused eyebrow :"Well, somebody seems to like fights. Guess we're gonna get along more than I thought, huh?"
Slathilia :"Gauw? (You like fighting?)"
Natasha, smirking :"I love fighting. So, wanna fight even more? I can point out the monsters in our way so you can kill them if you want."
Slathilia, excited :"Gauw! (Let's do it!)"
Natasha, chuckling :"You're really excited, huh? Fine, let's go."
And so, they began walking again. But this time, actively seeking out the monsters that were in their way. As they came across a few G-Class Green Slimes, the redhead stood back as the baby dragon immediately rushed into action.
[Majestic Fire Tail-Blade Lv 1 (SS)]
His tail, as short as an adult's finger, was suddenly enveloped in the same dark purple fire as before. But instead of harming him, it transformed into the shape of a long blade, multiple times the length of his tail, before he jumped towards slimes and swung the Tail-Blade :"Gauw!"
The moment the tail came in contact with the monsters, they were all immediately slashed into pieces. As they died, their Mana Core, which was inside of their nucleus, showed up. This time, he was careful enough to not waste everything. So this time, he managed to gain all the Stats he could get from them.
"Gaaaw!" A goblin tried to ambush him, but he was already aware of its presence. So, instead of panicking, he dodged before counterattacking immediately :"Gauw! (Go to hell!)" But a few more tried to jump him again :"Gauw! (Scum!)"
As he hummed happily, nearly dancing when walking, he sensed another presence. But this one was strong. A lot stronger than whatever he had fought until now. And even stronger than him. Growling, he immediately got serious. Putting away his excitement and playfulness as he waited for the predator that was trying to ambush them.
Seeing that his ambush had failed, the predator walked out cautiously, growling as he bared his fangs at the growling baby dragon who was ready to fight. Seeing the new fighter, Natasha smiled :"Ooh, this one may be tough. It's an E-Class Horned Wolf. A strong one at that. Normally, it wouldn't be anything for a dragon, but you should be careful. Since they can reach up to Lv 50 with Stats up to 1,000. I'll pay attention though, so don't worry. Just be careful."
[Slathilia: SS-Class Dragon (Sealed), Lv 7, 560 Stats]
[Horned Wolf: E-Class Horned Wolf, Lv 45, 900 Stats]
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(Devoured)
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Goblins x5
Green Slimes x3
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(Devoured & Absorbed Stats)
Lv: 106 -> 195 {+89}
Stats: 1,060 -> 1,555 {+495}
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(Dragon Physiology Stats)
Lv: 4 -> 7 {+3}
Stats: 320 -> 560 {+240}