Ryomen stood over the twitching corpse of the Cave Scorpion, ichor dripping from his fangs. His chest rose and fell rapidly, his small body trembling from both exhaustion and exhilaration. The pain across his side still burned where the scorpion's claw had struck him, but his scales had held enough to keep him alive.
Alive… and stronger.
---
[Victory Achieved.]
Evolution Energy: 29%]
Skill Acquired: Venom Resistance (Lv.2).]
---
The glowing notification still lingered in the corner of his vision, and he couldn't help but stare at it with a grin curling across his maw.
He had killed an E-Rank monster.
A newborn wyrmling, fresh out of his egg, had slain something that could've devoured him whole if not for instinct and desperation.
It hadn't been easy. He had nearly died. But the taste of victory… it was intoxicating.
If I can do this… I can do more.
The hunger surged again, deeper this time, gnawing at his insides. It wasn't just physical hunger now—it was something more primal. His body craved growth, evolution, strength. The meat wasn't just food; it was fuel.
With a growl of satisfaction, Ryomen dug into the scorpion's corpse. The taste was bitter, venom stinging his tongue, but his body absorbed it greedily.
---
[You have consumed: Cave Scorpion.]
Evolution Energy: +6%]
Current Total: 35%]
Skill Enhanced: Venom Resistance (Lv.3).]
---
A warmth spread through his veins, sharper this time, almost painful. His scales glimmered faintly under the glow of the cavern fungi. His limbs felt sturdier, his claws sharper.
He staggered back, shaking his small wings as if instinctively testing them. Still too weak to fly, but… they didn't feel as useless as before.
"Thirty-five percent…" he muttered internally. "Not far now."
The system hadn't explained it outright, but instinct told him: when that bar reached one hundred, something would change. Something big.
Evolution.
His first step toward becoming more than just prey.
---
The tunnels stretched deeper, endless veins of darkness. Strange echoes rippled through them—skittering legs, guttural growls, the drip of water from unseen heights. Every sound set his nerves on edge.
But fear wasn't enough to stop him anymore. Not now.
The Fire Dragon had taught him the truth of this world. He was small. Weak. Worthless. Nothing more than food for something stronger.
If he wanted to live, he had to flip that truth.
He had to devour his way up the chain.
---
Hours passed in that endless dark.
Ryomen hunted cautiously, lurking in shadows, ambushing smaller beasts. Cave Crawlers. Venomous centipedes. Rat-like creatures with glowing eyes. One by one, he tore them down, devoured them, absorbed their essence. Each victory made him steadier on his legs, his instincts sharper.
Notifications came in a steady rhythm, like the heartbeat of his growth.
---
[You have slain: Cave Crawler (F-Rank).]
Evolution Energy: +2%]
[You have slain: Darkfang Rat (E-Rank).]
Evolution Energy: +3%]
Skill Acquired: Keen Smell (Lv.1).]
[You have slain: Venomfang Centipede (E-Rank).]
Evolution Energy: +4%]
Skill Fragment Acquired: Paralysis Resistance (Lv.1).]
---
Soon, the total climbed past fifty percent.
Fifty.
Halfway to his first evolution.
Ryomen crouched in a narrow alcove, licking ichor from his claws. His body felt… different. His senses sharper, his reflexes quicker. His scales seemed to harden with each battle.
But the hunger never faded. If anything, it grew stronger. The more he ate, the more his body demanded. As if the system itself whispered to him: More. More. More.
And deep in his chest, a strange heat pulsed, faint but undeniable. The embryonic spark of something greater.
---
But the tunnels didn't only hold prey.
As he stalked deeper, the air grew colder. The faint glow of fungi dimmed. A foul stench filled the air—rot, blood, and poison.
Ryomen froze, scales prickling. His instincts screamed at him.
Something was close. Something dangerous.
Then he heard it—the dragging scrape of claws against stone. Heavy. Too heavy for a crawler or scorpion.
From the shadows, it emerged.
A hulking beast, its body hunched and grotesque. Gray, leathery skin stretched across bulging muscles. Its head resembled that of a wolf, but its eyes glowed sickly yellow, and its mouth dripped with blood. A thick collar of bone spikes jutted from its shoulders, and its claws were long enough to pierce stone.
[Entity Identified: Ghoul Beast | Rank D.]
Ryomen's blood ran cold.
D-Rank.
That was far beyond him. He wasn't ready. He knew it.
But the beast's head snapped toward him, nostrils flaring as it sniffed the air. Its lips curled back, revealing jagged fangs.
There was no escape.
The ghoul beast lunged, the ground shaking under its weight. Ryomen's instincts screamed, and he leapt aside just in time to avoid claws that gouged trenches into the stone.
His small body scrambled backward, wings flaring uselessly. The beast roared, its hot, rotten breath washing over him.
I can't fight this. I'll die.
But behind the terror, another thought burned.
If I kill it… the evolution energy…
The hunger surged. His claws flexed, tail lashing. His body trembled not just from fear, but from something else.
A whisper in his blood.
Fight. Evolve. Devour.
The beast charged again.
Ryomen roared back—a pitiful sound compared to its bellow, but filled with defiance—and smoke puffed from his jaws. His chest burned, the spark of Dragon's Breath flickering inside.
The ghoul slashed again, claws whistling past his head. He lunged forward, biting down hard on its leg. His fangs pierced flesh, tearing out a chunk. The beast howled, staggering.
Ryomen released instantly, leaping back before it could retaliate. His heart pounded, ichor dripping from his maw.
The taste of blood… it was different. Richer. Stronger. His body absorbed it greedily.
---
[You have consumed: Ghoul Beast Flesh (Fragment).]
Evolution Energy: +5%]
Current Total: 56%]
---
The warmth spread hotter than ever before, almost painful. His claws lengthened slightly, his scales hardening.
The ghoul roared again, enraged.
Ryomen crouched low, growling. He couldn't win. Not yet. But he didn't need to.
He needed to survive. To bite, devour, and run. To chip away until evolution carried him higher.
This was his first true predator's test.
And in the shadows of that cavern, a wyrmling dragon faced down death itself, with hunger burning brighter than fear.