Noir moved his body with unusual slowness. He was a little annoyed; he still hadn’t gotten used to his new body.
Walking on all fours... was strange, but he didn’t mind at all; he just had to get used to it. This was better than lying in bed for 24 hours.
His eyes scanned the surroundings; it seemed he was in some cave... or was this his dragon’s lair?
So where were the jewels, the mystical gear, all kinds of weapons, raw minerals, and black rocks that exuded ferocity and nobility, and the mountains of gold coins?
Noir was a little disappointed; he had hoped to get some of that, too. Dragons were greedy creatures who liked to hoard riches. Why didn’t he get any?
’Well, I can’t have everything,’ he thought with a sigh. Escaping a life tethered to machines was already a big enough reward; he wasn’t in a position to complain about not having a treasure.
He kept moving until he passed over the cold rock and touched the grass. The blade brushed against his paw; the sensation was strange and, at the same time, wonderful.
It was the first time he’d ever touched grass.
Curious, he swallowed it... and it had no taste at all.
Wagging his tail happily, Noir kept moving forward.
***
A week had passed since Noir left the place where he had been reincarnated.
The first thing that worried him was food.
So the first thing he did was explore his surroundings, which were nothing but an abundance of grass.
The initial excitement he had felt had faded almost completely.
’I was expecting to come across a monster or some imprisoned dragon that would speak directly to my mind, but...’ Noir shook his head in boredom and went back to eating grass.
After all, HE. HAD. ABSOLUTELY. NOTHING. TO. DO!
So, in the midst of all that, he began experimenting with the mana particles floating in the air, which, to his surprise, turned out to be extremely easy to manipulate.
He had also tested his other abilities, which he found fascinating; he felt like an invincible superhero, but... only one of them was better than the rest.
Devour, which he had used before, and he couldn’t have been happier; even Noir took a look at the description the system had for it.
[Devourer] Unique Skill Description: "Allows you to break down and absorb targets through digestion. The target’s energy, structure, and properties are analyzed and converted into nutrients. The higher the target’s resistance or the greater the power difference, the lower the absorption rate."
’In short, this ability allows me to grow infinitely.’
Noir was thrilled: it was a powerful Skill—and the most important one—and no matter what he was reincarnated as, with it he would become very strong.
Wagging his tail with excitement, he kept moving forward.
He had been wandering for who knows how long when something caught his eye.
A light.
He stopped dead in his tracks.
Amid the grass and damp rocks, a small golden sphere floated silently.
It wasn’t a crystal.
The light was soft, warm, and strangely alive.
Noir tilted his head.
’...Huh?’
The sphere was barely larger than a small piece of fruit and made no sound. It hovered in the air, swaying slowly.
For some reason, his Draconic Senses did not react with hostility. Cautiously, he took a step forward, and the sphere moved back.
Noir blinked.
He took another step forward.
The light moved away again.
’...Is he messing with me?’
Moving his little legs quickly, he tried to get closer, but the sphere always stayed the same distance away, floating among the rocks as if it were guiding him.
Or mocking him.
After a whole week of eating grass and talking to himself, Noir decided that following a glowing ball wasn’t exactly the worst decision of his life.
’Well, it can’t be any worse than reading a novel I’ve given up on.’
The golden sphere disappeared into a narrow tunnel.
Noir hesitated for a few seconds before following it.
The path led downward.
The grass began to disappear little by little, replaced by bare rock and roots protruding from the walls. The air changed, too; it was more humid and heavy.
The light continued to move forward.
It was simply there, and that gave him a strange feeling; it wasn’t threatening, just... mysterious.
’Could it be some kind of spirit?’ Noir had no way of knowing, but that only made him more curious about the place they were leading him to.
The little dragon wagged his tail curiously and quickened his pace. After several minutes of descending, he began to notice something different.
A smell.
Noir stopped, and his nose twitched instinctively. It wasn’t the smell of grass, nor that of dampness... It was a metallic, unpleasant odor.
His body tensed without him even thinking to do so.
The golden sphere came to a stop a few meters ahead.
Then Noir heard it.
Crunch!
The sharp sound of something breaking.
His pupils contracted.
Another sound followed.
Crunch, Crunch!
His draconic senses kicked in. Something was ahead, and it was very close. From the darkness of the tunnel, two small yellow eyes slowly opened.
Noir felt his wings tremble.
The creature stepped partially out of the shadows. It was short, covered in gray scales, and had a jaw that was too large for its body.
And between its teeth... were broken bones.
Noir stood motionless.
So did the creature.
For a few seconds, neither of them moved.
Its yellow eyes glowed faintly in the darkness, watching him with a wariness that struck him as uncomfortably intelligent.
’...That definitely wasn’t on my list of normal animals.’
The monster was small, barely larger than a medium-sized dog, but its body was covered in gray scales resembling weathered rock. Four short legs supported its hunched frame, and its jaw jutted out grotesquely.
Fragments of bone hung between its teeth.
Crunch!
The creature chewed again.
Noir swallowed hard. His heart began to race.
It was the first time he’d seen anything alive since he’d been reincarnated. Well... Anything alive other than grass.
The golden sphere continued to float a few meters ahead, completely indifferent.
"Aren’t you going to help or something?"
The creature sniffed the air.
Then it raised its head.
Noir’s draconic senses reacted strongly. And, to his surprise, it happened before he could even think.
The beast let out a low growl.
Noir took a step back.
The monster did the same.
That confused him.
’...Is it afraid of me, too?’
The thought struck him suddenly. Until now, he had overlooked an important detail.
He was a dragon.
Maybe small.
Maybe adorable.
But he was still a dragon.
His wings fluttered slightly as he watched the monster.
For a moment, neither of them moved.
Then the creature dropped the bones.
And it charged.
"Shit!"
It all happened too fast.
The monster lunged at a speed Noir hadn’t expected. Out of pure reflex, he jumped to the side.
His legs were still clumsy. Noir rolled across the ground and slammed into the rock.
The creature struck the spot where he had been a second earlier, and its jaws snapped shut with a sharp crack.
Noir felt a chill run down his spine.
’That would have ripped half my head off!’
The monster spun violently and lunged again.
But this time, something inside Noir reacted. A strange heat coursed through his chest, his claws tensed, and his breathing grew heavy.
Without realizing it, he opened his mouth. And a rough, small, immature roar escaped his throat.
The reaction was immediate.
The creature froze, its yellow eyes flickering.
Noir blinked.
’...Huh?’
The invisible pressure spread around its body.
The beast hesitated.
Just for a moment.
But that moment... could decide who would end up as food.