5 Chapter 5: To the Zalerian Forest

Must read Authour Note at the end

~~~~~~}Story Start{~~~~~~

(Night Fury POV)

*Ding*ding*ding*ding*ding*ding

I was awoken by a series of loud chiming from the system, the ones that Ms. System had created for me.

"Ok! ok! I'm awake!, I'm awake!! stop it!" and with that the chiming stopped, I take a look at my Status Screen, nothing new really, but I've got to know other parts of me, there was a saying about knowing yourself in a battle or something, don't remember it but knowingbyourself is important, to know your limits and all, so lets see anything new.

"Haaaaaa~" yawning while stretching my body like a cat would and i can definitely say I have woken up from a fruitful nap. 'I hope I've got enough stamina and Shots in chamber' I think to myself as i walk towards the cave entrance however, another problem occured, obviously, it's the surroundings, outside specifically.

"Tsk, tsk tsk", It would've been at least a little more pitch black if not for the full moon shining bright up there, 'hah~ nothing i can do about it, I'm not Piccolo or Roshi so the moon stays living, for now'.

"I hope this doesn't affect my advantage" I say to myself before walking out the caves entrance.

I reach the edge of the mountain where it abruptly falls down to the expansive ground below, it'd be more apt to say that i live near a cliff face rather than a mountain, are they the same thing? Dont know.

I spread out my wings, stretching and flexing it to its maximum before bringing it down with a strong wingbeat which lifts me from the ground before i fly into the sky.

*INHALE* "Haaaaaaaa~, the air smells good and cool" I say to myself, feeling the cold air smoothly running along my body, I dont even feel a single drag on me, kek, pun intended, I know it's bad but so are most puns, 'Ha~, im getting distracted'.

"Welp, time to Hunt" I say while grinning.

Flying has never felt more natural. Each flap of my wings propels me to the skies, faster, higher, the thrill of speed and freedom giving me an absolute high, so high that no drug could ever quench it.

Flying high up above, i could see the dark world below me, only lit up by the moonlight, it was an attention-catching patchwork of shadows and moonlit clearings with some light passing through the leaves of the tall grasses and shrubs below, it was a like a seemingly endless mystery, unfolding as i pass through them, wingbeat after wingbeat.

"Ahh~, this is exhilarating!" I can't help but externalize my emotions, normally i don't do that when im in public but now?, no one here can see, hear, nor judge me for that.

"It's like a dream come true", after finishing the 1st How To Train Your Dragon movie and becoming a fan, I've always wanted to know what it felt like to ride with a dragon, so yeah, my childhood dream did come true, in a rather strange way.

I turn my sights towards the east and see the Zalerian Forest, well I say east but the Forest actually encircles my mountain so it's more accurate to say that the Forest is closer on that part, The Mountain is taller than the trees, i think, My area is more akin to a bald patch in someones hair given how odd it looks, bald patch being my mountain and hairs being the forest.

Anyways, I see the thick trees of Zaleria, the ones that i saw earlier in the morning, looking eerie with its branches that had long strips of mosses and vines drooping from its leaves and branches, despite that, it still looked kind of magical.

Flying for few minutes as fast as I can, I finally arrive there, and the sight is nothing short of breathtaking. The trees that rise from the ground were as tall as buildings, like living skyscrapers, their towering canopies that stretch so high it almost reaches the clouds above.

Each trunk is as wide as a building, Its ancient bark glowing faintly under the moon's silver light, and the things that were making it even more beautiful, were the fireflies, Thousands of them, possibly hundreds of thousands, or millions even!, flickering their little bright lights in the darkness, it was almost like i was inside a magical forest in some fantasy anime.

Taking a short break from all the flying, I land on tree branch near them, a quick observation one the fireflies, it seems they weren't so little after all, The fireflies were actually massive compared to the ones in my previous life, like 10x or 20x more, I appraise one that came close to me, probably curious of the new face in town.

*Ding

[**{Zalerian Fire beetle (Male)} Lvl. 2 Appraisal**

- **Physical Description**: The Zalerian Fire beetle is significantly larger than typical fireflies, about the size of a rugby ball, with a vibrant, luminous abdomen that it uses to communicate as well as threaten predators.

(1/2»). ]

'Dang, a rugby ball huh? How big is it compared to my hand?' I know Toothless was a big boi but i wanna know how much this bug compares to my hand, I raise my arm, trying to compare my arm to the ones close to me, As my hand grabs it, the flickering and relatively weak light it emits suddenly Intensifies and starts flashing on and off like a police Siren.

I don't budge of course, it's just flashing light, would be a different case if I wasn't accustomed to it earlier when i arrived here, so i still kept on grabbing the big boy, measuring it, and then playing with it, the intense bursts of light also made it's friends curiously approach me as well, clearly i didn't know social cues because while i kept on playing with the bug, they all, at the same time, released a foul odor in the air.

"Uggghh!!" Ewwwww!!, That smell, Uggh that is smell is absolutely disgusting!, It's as if the stank from a Rice Stinkbug was added with the smell of rotten eggs and Orange-flavored Paracetamol Syrup minus the orange part and a couple of other scents which i could not compare to anything in my old world.

But the greatest smell that gave me PTSD was the Medicine smell, it reminded me of what my Nanny forced me to drink, that medicine whenever i had a fever, Ugkkkhh, just remembering the taste of Orange-flavored Paracetamol Syrup makes me want to vomit, 'I guess you got to find some way to protect yourselves too huh?' I fly up, away from the fireflies' stinking odor.

"Alright, note to self, don't touch the fire bugs" I say to myself before flying again, "and don't get distracted again".

Maneuvering through the colossal trunks, showcasing my {Flying} skill to the max, The air here had the scent of old earth and sap, a smell as intoxicating as any I've ever known, I breathed it all in like there was no tomorrow, hopefully to put aside the fire beetles stench which is now getting further away.

Flying between these giants, I'm reminded of just how small I am in this vast world, yet how free I am to explore its wonders.

The thrill of discovery pushes me onward, deeper into the forest where few have ventured and fewer still have soared.

I place my attention around me, "Wow" I whisper to myself, in complete awe of the forest.

Taking the sweet clean air before exhaling it, focusing myself to not get distracted, I ready myself for the hunt, for tonight, WE EAT FRESH MEAT!!

"Ok, so what should I eat?" I go down, closer to the forest floor to see if there's any small animals I can catch.

There's not a lot of action here surprisingly, 'Maybe the Fire beetles have something to do with it?' i look up to see them lighting up the upper parts of the forest, which also inadvertently lights up the forest floor, and because they stank, and with that i move towards the darker parts of the Forest, Away from the fireflies, hoping to score some kills, which didn't take long, as there was one close by using the little light provided by the Fireflies, feeding on the bushes.

*Ding

[**{Camostegus} Lvl. 2 Appraisal**

- **Physical Description**: The Camostegus is a large dinosaur, resembling a once extinct prehistoric animal, The Stegosaurus, easily identifiable by its row of large, bony plates along its spine and a spiked tail, these are highly elusive beasts despite its relatively huge size. It stands roughly 4 meters tall and about 9 meters long. The only difference between them is that the Camostegus can blend in its surroundings with the help of it's color changing scales, hence the name.

(1/2»).]

'Wow, I i would not have detected that thing if it wasn't for my keen eyesight' i think to myself in amazement by being surprised yet again by how crazy this world is.

"Hmm, i wonder what dinosaur meat tastes like?" I mutter to myself while eyeing the lone....stego? camostego?, whatever.

With the stealth of a seasoned predator (self-proclaimed), I circled around to position myself in the shadows, right at where i judged to be it's blind spot, ensuring my presence would not alert my prey.

The Camostegus, remained blissfully unaware, which, to be honest, wasn't that hard to believe considering that if they were like a Stegosaurus, they'd also have a brain the size of a walnut, or was it peanut?, doesn't matter.

How the hell something evolved to be a Stegosaurus-shaped Chameleon was beyond me, I know that Kaiju DNA was adaptable and malleable based on the Behemox's Appraisal but it makes me wonder to you know? I mean-

'Geez, just focus man' I reprimand myself.

Huu~, i got distracted again, but it's alright, Its attention is completely on the vegetation it is happily eating, lil bro doesn't know that that would be its final meal, kekeke.

Timing my approach with the natural, albiet minute sounds of the forest to mask my movements, I closed in.

My target was the creature's relatively small head, a critical point for a swift takedown.

'Fufufu, this is quite exciting, acting like a predator like those nature documentaries I watched as kid, it's quite the feeling.

'Well I am a predator, just not the kind that attracts the Multiversal FBI' I muse to myself.

With each step, i get closer and closer, judging that i was at the optimal distance to strike, I burst into motion, pouncing from the shadows. My powerful hind legs launched me forward and my wings beat in tandem to boost me in the initial pounce before tucking it in for less drag, I aimed for the head with the full force of my body behind the attack.

The Camostegus was startled, but in a split second, it immediately froze in place, trying to blend more to its surroundings with the help of its camouflage ability, it was so adapted and confident into thinking it could hide from predators.

Immediately freezing in that short time frame was nothing short of impressive to see, showcasing that it's camouflage ability is extremely effective at hiding from it's predators.

'I already see you little bro!, you ain't hiding from me!!' I shout in my mind with manic glee

You can hide from your other predators with your camouflage but i'm built different, My jaws, armed with razor-sharp teeth, snapped shut on the dinosaur's neck right below the skull—a fatal blow aimed to sever the spinal cord and incapacitate the massive herbivore instantly.

The bite was significant, and the big bag of meat buckled under the unexpected assault, collapsing to the forest floor with a heavy, muffled thud that sent a tremor through the nearby underbrush.

The forest briefly fell into silence, the echo of the fall fading into a nothingness. As I stood over my downed quarry, the rush of dopamine and adrenaline from the successful ambush left me exhilarated, yet respectful of the life I had just taken.

"Hah, that was easy" licking my mouth that had its blood on it.

I go to its belly, opening my mouth, teeth out, before taking a chunk out of it.

Honestly I thought about just going near it non-chalantly and then kill it when im close as it is a very good camouflage, and it more accustomed to freezing in place rather than running, not that that would help, just delay the inevitable, but my gut and the little child inside me is telling me not to, which im quite glad I didn't, it was sort of satisfying, in a strange way.

'Oh God, being a dragon has messed with how my mind works huh?' i thought to myself as kept on eating quietly.

________________

A few hours of feeding and I am now satisfied, yes, satisfied, not full nor stuffed, but that's okay, I might encounter flight problems if i fully stuff myself.

The meat was alright, I think it might've tasted better had i cooked it using a {Plasma Stream} on it but I don't want to give away my location, I mean a bright light in the middle of a dark forest, come on, so I saved some for cooking later in my cave, the leftover meat was its ribs, all connected for easier carrying, I left the bones there, clean from meat as i thoroughly ate it all.

Judging that it's probably time to go home to my cave, I flap my wings and start my journey to leaving the forest while carrying the leftover ribs on my strong hind legs.

~~~~~End Of Chapter~~~~~

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Authors Note:

Im planning to rewrite the entire thing while it is still early, to be honest i just went and posted this story without much thought, i gave the script to a friend of mine who is an editor to other works (He does editor works for web novels) , and he said that the motivations, reasons for reincarnating, were kinda lacking in the story and to be honest i agree.

The starting and premise wouldn't change much, hopefully.

My friend intends to correct grammar mistakes as long as i give him my drafts and keeps telling me to "Start slow, build the world first" which I didn't put much thought into when writing this.

I'll start rewriting this maybe next month after Finals are over and hopefully no supplementary classes over summer, but I'll still be posting chapters.

Bye.