Lore looked at the food he had “cooked” with satisfaction, though if a human saw this preparation process, it would definitely ruin their appetite.
But to him, as well as Luna and Mother Zinogre in the nest—Zinogres themselves—as long as it was fresh meat, it was a delicacy.
Having finished all this, Lore picked up the specially prepared steak again, carefully took a few detours to ensure he wasn’t being followed, and finally slipped familiarly into the nest located beneath a steep cliff.
Inside, the nest was dry and warm, lined with dry moss and withered leaves.
Mother Zinogre was lying in the center of the nest, her spirit not looking much better than when he had set out, which was why Luna was nuzzling up to her mother, showing worry and concern.
Seeing Lore return with such a huge chunk of meat, Luna immediately let out an excited “wu-ao” howl, rushing over eagerly, circling around the meat, her tail wagging non-stop.
Mother Zinogre also raised her head, a hint of surprise and relief flashing in her pale blue eyes.
But her experience and caution as an adult Zinogre made her immediately notice the source of the meat.
She propped herself up, walked a few steps closer, and sniffed it carefully.
This scent…
it was an Arzuros!
And extremely fresh!
Mother Zinogre let out a low growl from her throat—not a threat, but a questioning sound filled with worry.
Instead of immediately enjoying this rare feast, she fixed her gaze firmly on Lore.
She stepped in front of Lore, lowered her head, and gently and thoroughly nuzzled his entire body with her nose and cheeks, from the top of his head to his back, then to his limbs and tail, not missing a single spot.
She was searching for any claw marks or bite wounds that might have been left from a fight with the Arzuros.
Although Lore had already set a precedent by killing the Tyrant Zinogre, a young dragon challenging such a thick-skinned, ferocious prey seemed far too risky to her at any time.
Lore stood quietly, letting his mother inspect him.
He understood this worry, and a warm feeling welled up in his heart.
Mother Zinogre checked him inside and out, over and over, and only after confirming that Lore was truly unharmed did she finally let out a long sigh.
She extended her warm, large tongue, affectionately licking Lore’s cheek, while her throat made comforting and approving purrs.
Even though she was the sick patient who needed care, at this moment she focused all her attention on ensuring her child was safe and sound.
This deep and gentle motherly love made Lore feel both helpless and incredibly warm.
He gently nuzzled his mother’s chin to show he was fine.
Once the misunderstanding was cleared, Mother Zinogre finally growled in relief, calling Luna over to share this sumptuous “feast.”
The three Zinogres gathered together, sharing the Arzuros meat that embodied Lore’s hard work and luck.
In the days that followed, under the continuous nourishment of Lore’s specially made “Mega Potion Cured Meat,” Mother Zinogre’s body recovered quickly, gradually regaining her former vitality and majesty.
At the same time, the strength Lore displayed during this hunt, which far surpassed that of young dragons his age, completely won her trust.
Thus, following the ancient habits of the Zinogre pack—where males were typically responsible for hunting to provide food for the family, while females primarily raised the young and guarded the nest and territory—
Mother Zinogre confidently handed over the primary hunting duties to the increasingly reliable Lore.
She herself spent more time patrolling the territory and teaching Luna, occasionally assisting Lore from the sidelines when he hunted.
Several months quietly slipped away in a cycle of hunting, growing, and resting.
Lore’s limbs became longer and more powerful, and his claws and fangs grew sharper by the day.
During one hunt, after chasing down a panicked Popo, he felt a dry throat, so he followed the scent of moisture to a familiar forest stream.
He habitually leaned down, and as he drank deeply, the water reflected his current appearance.
Lore’s movements paused slightly as he carefully examined the image in the water.
Compared to the fluffy, somewhat clumsy young dragon he was when he first transmigrated, the reflection in the water had undergone a significant change.
His body size had increased by more than a full size, and the outlines of muscles were beginning to take shape beneath his light gray fur.
Most noticeably, the soft down that once covered his entire body, symbolizing his cub status, had now shed quite a bit, faintly revealing the texture of the majestic carapace that a Zinogre possesses upon reaching adulthood.
“Tsk, tsk,”
Lore clicked his tongue in his mind,
“Looking at it this way, the Growth cycle of a Zinogre doesn’t seem too slow.”
He couldn’t help but compare it to the Growth rate of humans in his previous life,
“It takes humans over a dozen years of dawdling to grow into adulthood.
These monsters probably only need a short three to five years to reach their complete form, right?”
He imagined the day he would reach full adulthood, fully charged with Super Thunderbugs and surrounded by crackling lightning.
“When that time comes, with the boost from pokémon skills, maybe I really will have a chance to go toe-to-toe with those legendary Elder Dragons?”
This thought made his heart surge with excitement.
But turning his thoughts back to reality, Lore couldn’t help but feel a bit anxious.
Speaking of pokémon skills, ever since that Arzuros provided a substantial amount of experience points, he had been stuck at his current level for quite some time.
Although the experience from that Arzuros was generous, it wasn’t enough to make him break through to level thirty, so naturally, acquiring new powerful skills was out of the question.
Over the past few months, he had mostly hunted Popo and Kelbi, occasionally dealing with wild boars or Jagras that actively provoked him, and the experience points provided by these small monsters were a mere drop in the bucket compared to what was needed to level up.
“Sigh…”
A wave of helplessness washed over him, and he couldn’t help but grumble to the entity in his consciousness,
“I see systems in other novels displaying status screens with attributes, skills, inventory, quests…
a whole laundry list that practically takes up two pages of screen space, padding the word count so shamelessly, yet I can’t even argue with it.
How come when it’s my turn, you, this trash system, are so bare-bones?
Aside from level, skill slots, and those few brief descriptions, there’s absolutely nothing else.
And leveling up is such a pain.
Is this system of mine even any good?”
The more he spoke, the more aggrieved he felt, feeling as though he had received a “beggar’s version” cheat.
*Ding!*
Just as Lore’s internal complaints were growing increasingly intense, a familiar, flat mechanical notification tone suddenly rang out in his consciousness.
“Detected that the host has repeatedly questioned this system’s working capacity and existential value.
A friendly reminder: This system also has a bit of a temper.”
This cold, emotionless “warning” instead made Lore feel like he had punched a ball of cotton, carrying absolutely no deterrent effect.
This completely ignited Lore’s soul of complaint.
He simply found a flat rock by the stream to lie down on and focused entirely on “arguing” with the system in his mind:
“No, I say a couple of things and you get upset?
Come, come, come, I just want to ask you, isn’t this leveling mechanism of yours a bit too much of a scam?
I only get one skill every 10 levels, stingy as hell.
Tell me honestly, what is my maximum level cap?”
There was a brief silence in his consciousness.
Just as Lore thought the system was going to play dead again, the mechanical voice rang out once more, clearly stating a number:
“LV100.”
“How much?!”
Lore almost jumped off the rock.
“Son of a…!
I finally transmigrated to such an exciting different world, and you tell me my cheat only goes up to level 100 at most?!
Meaning, even if I work myself to death to reach max level, I can only get 10 skills in total?!
Ten?!
This isn’t just being stingy, you’re outright scamming me, aren’t you?!”
Lore felt like his lungs were about to burst with anger, and his imagined dream of fighting Elder Dragons seemed to be cast in a shadow.
Ten skills to fight an Elder Dragon?
What kind of international joke is this!
He wished there was a table in front of him to flip to express his inner fury.
However, just as his emotions were running high, the cold mechanical voice seemed to have a rare, extremely subtle delay—akin to “clearing its throat.”
Immediately after, its tone seemed to take on a barely perceptible, attempt-to-soothe “gentle” turn?
“Host, please do not be overly agitated; abnormal energy fluctuations are detrimental to physical stability.
This system is not as simple as it appears on the surface, and is by no means as…
useless as you believe.”
“Hmm?”
Lore’s anger was slightly suppressed by the information implied in these words.
He calmed down and sharply caught the key point.
“What do you mean by that?
Don’t beat around the bush, make it clear!”
The voice in his consciousness seemed to return to absolute calm, but the words it uttered made Lore’s heart skip a beat:
“This system, in fact…
has a built-in hidden reward mechanism.”