At the outskirts of the Dragon Spine Mountain Range, the morning dew had not yet dried.
A massive Savage Swine Beast was patrolling its territory with an arrogant, swaggering gait.
As the local tyrant of this area, at a high Rank of LV.15, it felt it was doing quite well for itself.
Not only did it possess tusks harder than rock, but it also had a little secret known only to itself—
Wine making.
That dead old tree ahead was its private wine cellar.
Half a month ago, it had stuffed a bunch of random fruits inside. Calculating the days, today was exactly the time to open the vat and drink its fill. Thinking of that sweet and sour taste with a bit of a kick, the drool at the corners of the Savage Swine Beast's mouth was about to drip onto the ground.
It hummed a little tune, its pig trotters moving quickly. Turning past the bushes ahead, the wine cellar was right before its eyes.
Then, its smile froze.
The originally hidden tree hole, now had a shimmering silver butt stuck in it. Behind that butt trailed a tail—it wasn't clear if it was a lizard's or what—swishing back and forth in a particularly punchable way.
That silver "thief" had half its body shoved into the tree hole, its two hind legs kicking occasionally, clearly digging away with great enthusiasm.
Squatting next to it was a deep blue shark-headed monster, holding a leaf and picking through the fruits being tossed out of the tree hole as if selecting vegetables.
It looks like... a Dragon?
Living in the Dragon Spine Mountain Range, the Savage Swine Beast naturally recognized Dragons.
But the two before it—one was excessively fat and looked none too bright, likely an impure-blooded dragon beast.
The other looked strange and bizarre, probably also a dragon beast.
—Just two dragon beasts not even as sturdy as itself, and they dared to steal its fruit?
Unacceptable!
This was simply not showing any respect to the "Big Brother" of the forest!
The Savage Swine Beast was enraged. Its eyes instantly became bloodshot, and its originally grayish-black skin took on a layer of eerie red light.
Roar—!
It let out a roar like a pig being slaughtered, its four hooves pawing the ground fiercely, its body launching forward like it was equipped with rocket boosters.
Ability activated: [Pig Rush: Acceleration]!
It ran faster and faster, its Aura growing stronger with every step. The Savage Swine Beast felt like an indestructible meatball tank at this moment. As long as it hit, no matter what that silver butt was, it would definitely be rendered unable to care for itself, with its intestines practically gored out!
Closer! Even closer!
That deep blue shark monster didn't even turn its head to look at it.
Heh, scared stiff, aren't you?
Just a second before the Savage Swine Beast was about to slam into that silver butt, the shark monster that had been squatting on the ground suddenly moved.
There was no turning around, nor any preparatory movement.
Caesar just casually swung a claw backward.
The [Shadow Claw] with a five-meter range deployed instantly!
Puchi!
A soft sound, like a hot knife cutting through butter.
The Savage Swine Beast felt a chill on its neck, and then the whole world began to spin. It saw its own body still charging forward, then slamming headfirst into the tree trunk, knocking that silver thief out.
This was the final image of its pig life.
"Ouch, Earth Dragon, you're headbutting me again?!"
Cecilia rolled out of the tree hole looking disheveled, her hands still clutching two purple fruits tightly. She turned her head and saw a massive pig head lying nearby, staring at her with eyes that refused to close in peace.
"Whoa! How did this pig run its own head off?" Cecilia was startled and jumped directly behind Caesar.
Caesar shook his claw and calmly dragged over the still-twitching pig body.
"Regardless of how it fell off, at least lunch is sorted."
Saying this, he squatted down and began skillfully processing the ingredients.
That [Shadow Claw] just now had precisely severed the cervical vertebrae, even saving the step of bleeding it.
As expected, "fishing law enforcement" is still the most effective tactic.
The poor Berserk Savage Swine Beast was thus taken in by the two little dragons, fruit and all. But it didn't matter; it would soon be reunited with its precious fruits. Caesar planned to make a roasted whole pig, crushing the berries into a sauce to stuff inside its belly.
Caesar looked at the pile of fruit on the ground.
As a veteran pokémon player, when Cecilia was throwing them out earlier, he had felt something was off. The patterns on the skin of these fruits looked familiar no matter how he looked at them.
He picked up a yellow fruit that looked like a pineapple.
A System panel popped up with a prompt:
[Obtained Item: Leppa Berry (Unripe)]
[Effect: Restores 10 MP after consumption; taste is slightly sour and astringent.]
Holy cow.
Caesar's eyes lit up.
These weren't just wild fruits; this was clearly the magic potion version of a PP berry!
Besides the Leppa Berry, there was a whole mess of other things on the ground.
Oran Berries, for healing.
Pecha Berries, for curing poison.
There was even an Iapapa Berry that looked like a bitter melon, used for when one is in Confusion.
This pig really knew how to live, storing a warehouse of strategic resources.
Unfortunately, the System indicated that many of these fruits had already rotted and could not produce their original effects.
"Are these all edible?" Cecilia poked her head out, staring at those weirdly colored fruits with a bit of disdain. "They look poisonous."
"At this point, you're still afraid of poisonous things?" Caesar picked out all the usable fruits and stuffed them into the System's held item slots, pushing the rest to Cecilia.
"Take these back to use as side dishes to remove the gaminess."
"Oh..."
Half an hour later.
A fragrance began to permeate the woods.
Caesar used two sharpened pieces of hardwood to skewer the Savage Swine Beast into a whole roasted pig. To add flavor, he crushed those Oran Berries and Iapapa Berries. In this world, there was no cumin or chili powder, so he could only stuff the fruit jam into the pig's belly all at once.
Cecilia squatted nearby, her Dragons Kiss bulging as she blew air with effort.
A small cluster of flames flickered at her mouth; that was the Draconic Magic she was so proud of—Ember. The dignified Silver Dragon Young Miss had now completely devolved into a humanoid fire starter.
"Is it ready yet? I want to eat that piece of leg meat." Cecilia stared at the dripping hind leg of the pig, her drool nearly flowing out.
"What's the rush? The skin isn't crispy yet." Caesar turned the wooden spit, occasionally using his claws to make a few cuts in the pig skin to let the fat seep out. "Blow a bit harder."
"Whoosh—!"
Cecilia squatted by the fire, constantly swallowing her saliva, her tail wagging behind her like an electric fan.
"Is it ready? Is it ready?" she asked for the fifth time.
"What's the rush? It's not cooked through yet." Caesar turned the roasting rack.
When the pig skin turned golden-brown and made a "sizzling" crackling sound, Caesar finally nodded... "Time to eat!"
The two dragons didn't need utensils at all.
Cecilia directly used her claws to tear off a hind leg larger than her entire dragon self, and without fearing the heat, she started gnawing on it.
Although it was only crudely seasoned, a magical creature like the Savage Swine Beast ran all year round, so the meat was firm and springy. Combined with the special sweet and sour taste fermented from the fruit jam in its belly and the charred aroma of the charcoal fire, it was unexpectedly delicious.
"Mmm mmm! Delicious!" Cecilia ate with her mouth covered in grease, her previous disdain completely gone. "This pig looks ugly, but the meat is quite fragrant!"
Caesar also tore off a rack of ribs and chewed on them unhurriedly.
The System notification sounded in his ear:
[Soul energy detected, automatically channeled into 〔sharp claw〕...]
Though it was little, even a mosquito's leg is meat. Viola was still deep in sleep; eating more couldn't hurt.
A single breakfast, including bones and meat, plus the fruit jam inside the body, was swept clean by the two dragons—not even the Soul was left, a perfect Clean Plate Campaign action.
Having eaten and drunk their fill, it was time to get down to business.
This forest was only the edge of the Dragon Spine Mountain Range. To go to the human world, they had to walk out first.
Caesar remembered there was a thin stream of water next to that tree hole. Since there was water, following the stream downstream would likely lead them out of the mountains.
"Let's go, fat dragon." Caesar kicked Cecilia, who was still licking her claws.
"Who's a fat dragon! I'm still growing!" Cecilia retorted indignantly, but her body followed honestly... The further downstream they went, the wider the stream became.
Soon, that thin stream converged into a clear creek, with the water depth reaching about Caesar's knees.
There were many strange-looking creatures in the water.
Turtles covered in moss, fish with four legs, and a kind of transparent shrimp that kept blowing bubbles.
This environment was a bit uncomfortable for Caesar as an Earth Dragon; the wet mud would make his feet slip.
But Cecilia seemed very excited.
Perhaps it was because she was full, or perhaps because she had been traumatized by that kick this morning and didn't want to be scolded on the bank.
Her eyes darted around, and she suddenly thought of something.
Splash.
This fellow jumped directly into the water.
Immediately after, a familiar magical ripple spread out.
The spray settled.
An... extremely abstract fish appeared on the water's surface.
If a normal fish is streamlined, the fish she turned into was a rectangular prism.
The silver scales were still her original dragon scales, just forcibly plastered onto the fish's body.
Most absurdly, this fish actually had four short legs and a pair of fins that looked like wings no matter how you looked at them.
"..."
Caesar stood on the bank, looking at this creature swimming in a spiral pattern in the water, and fell into deep thought.
Is this the legendary Mew-equivalent god-tier skill, [Transformation]?
Ditto would weep seeing this, and Mew would call the police.
"How is it? Isn't it perfect?"
The "Square Fish" in the water blew a string of bubbles, making a muffled sound.
"It's pretty perfect." Caesar said expressionlessly, "If you can't make it in the future, you can go to an aquarium as an unsolved mystery exhibit."
Cecilia didn't catch the sarcasm at all; instead, she wagged her tail proudly.
She swam very happily in the water.
The Silver Dragon clan seemed naturally drawn to water; even after turning into this monstrous form, her speed in the water wasn't slow.
Even more miraculous.
The native river fish that were originally hiding in the rock crevices all swam out now.
As if they had seen some kind of lead brother, they circled around Cecilia, that abstract fish, constantly blowing bubbles of admiration from their mouths.
Caesar watched, dumbfounded.
What is the logic behind this?
Could this be the legendary "Schooling" ability?!
Visit my Patreon to read up to 87 chapters ahead and enjoy daily updates: patreon.com/02Fanworks