Zero paid attention to the change he felt after crushing the crystal, but he could not pinpoint it. At most, maybe, it was an invigorating feeling. Zero decided to ignore it. Looking at the smaller Harvest Critter, he decided to use it as his new water source, it would be lighter. Then he continued on his way.
It was a while before Zero encountered another direct confrontation. As he was reaching a ravine's side, he finally found a source of meat.
It was a quadrupad with black scales and an occasional orange highlight. It had a tail that tapered down to the width of a snake's head. If it stood up on its hind legs, it would be about a meter taller than Zero. Its head was dragon-like, but it had a surprising amount of chub. If Zero knew the correct term, he would likely call it a drake, but for now he just thought of it as a dragon.
'Huh, is a dragon the only animal I know?'
Zero shook off his thoughts and began creeping closer to his prey. He had long dropped his water source and summoned his sword. The drake was standing on the edge of a ravine edge, or maybe it was the end of the island, and two islands were next to each other.
When Zero came within ten meters of the beast, it seemed to sense something was wrong and looked around. Zero darted behind a tree until he heard the slight rustling stop. Peaking his head out, he entered the fractured plane and started to feel his Vie slowly diminish.
The drake was relatively unharmed, and its skin did not seem to be too tough. After all, the base fracture was rather deep for it, almost that of a human. Zero picked out a particular, slightly deeper fracture on the drake's neck and decided to act.
After dismissing the fractured plane, Zero came out from behind his tree and began approaching. Once he found himself close enough, he set out in a burst of speed.
Brandishing Valiant Blade, Zero aimed a stab at the drake's neck. Instantly, he felt his blade move with a mystical amount of swiftness, but it was still not enough.
The drake moved its head at the last moment and managed to turn the lethal stab into just a devastating cut. Blood oozed out of the drake's neck as it jumped back while shifting its body to face Zero.
Zero flicked into the fractured plane to see his damage, but judged that it was not a lethal strike.
Before he had time to make a new plan, the drake charged forward bearing its teeth. Zero attempted to side step while raising his blade to deflect, just as he had seen Azarax do. Unfortunately, Zero was not as fast as the dancing swordsman, and his blade was pushed back, while the drake's snout collided with his waist.
A dull pain shot forward, but it was rather bearable. Both beasts fell into a tumble, but Zero was able to stand first. Picking the target at the neck, Zero slashed forward. Unfortunately for him, the drake was able to get up in time and bite at the blade. Then it flicked its head, causing Valiant Blade to be ripped out of Zero's hand.
His blade bounced off the ground once, then clattered off the cliff. Quickly thinking, Zero dismissed the blade and tried to manifest it again, but the drake would not give him time.
Charging again, Zero unceremoniously rolled to the side and ended up letting go of the manifesting remembrance, causing it to disappear into dust.
Then, Zero got up and ran while attempting to summon his blade. Thanks to the drake's messy charge, Zero was able to get a head start, despite the drake being faster than him. This allowed Zero to fully manifest Valiant Blade once more.
With the drake on his trail, he stuck out his arm and quickly shifted his momentum while grabbing onto a tree offshoot. This allowed him to make a 90-degree turn faster than the drake, despite its claws meant for the terrain.
Zero then slowed down and stopped, watching the beast change its direction and face him. Bracing his hands against his sword, Zero let the beast charge at him. Then he side-stepped at the last moment, but left his blade in place. Prepared this time, he was not hit by the drake.
The sword which he held ran a streak across the drake's face, and almost reached his first stab wound. The new pain likely caused the drake to completely lose its balance and fall into a tumble.
Zero wasted no time and charged the beast. The target, its neck.
The beast attempted an awkward swat at Zero, who managed to deflect it. Then Zero brought his blade around in an arc and cleaved into the beast's neck.
When it did not go through cleanly and got stuck. Zero crossed his hands over so that the tip of the blade faced straight. Then he stabbed forward, managing to hit his original target. The drake twitched, then laid still.
'Agh… food!'
{Enlightened Nascent Drake slain}
{Remembrance Nascent Drake Head has resonated with your Spirit}
Zero smiled, then plopped down on the ground and let his heart recover. A moment later, he walked over to his smaller woody backpack and drank some water.
With a slightly giddy look, Zero opened the glyphs and looked at his new remembrance.
{
[Nascent Drake Head] (Enlightened)
(Description)
(A baby drake is born without wings. Should it be separated from its mother, the wingless beast is unlikely to survive for long. But if it is to survive and grow wings, it will become a fearsome Wrath.)
(Attributes/Skills)
Drake Skin: The armor grants the wielder resistance to fire and keeps the wearer warm on the coldest of nights.
Soft Skin: The baby skin of a Nascent Drake makes it partially resistant to blunt forces.
}
Zero questioned what a Wrath was, but was unable to come to a conclusion. Maybe it was the tier above Enlightened.
Skimming through the attributes, Zero found them a bit useless, but perhaps they could protect his head in case a Harvest Critter or Gnat hit his face.
Manifesting Nascent Drake Head slightly startled Zero, as a soft lining surrounded his head and eventually gained some weight. His vision was also obstructed on the edges by something.
Zero dismissed the helmet, then remanifested it into his hand. He found himself looking back into the head of the drake he just killed.