Chapter 13: Growth Spurt.
Her red irises flickered with something unspoken, perhaps unhappiness towards him not praising her or maybe resignation but, in the end, she nodded and slipped out again, her form a blur of white and crimson against the jagged landscape.
Time and time again, she returned, each trip yielding another rabbit, and each time Su Ping consumed the meal with ravenous speed, his hunger a bottomless pit that drove him to push her further, his commands seemingly constant without end, but tinged with the urgency of survival.
As the purple moon sank below the horizon, replaced by a dark purple night sky and blood red sun that cast an eerie glow over the Abyss, From the looks of it, something was definitely wrong with the heavenly bodies in this place.
Bai Ming Yao returned once more, her steps heavy, her fur dulled by exhaustion.
She dropped a demonic rabbit before Su Ping and collapsed onto the cave floor, her sides heaving as she panted, the air around her thick with the scent of sweat and blood.
' Maybe I've been pushing her too much... Nope, I definitely did.'
Su Ping's glowing eyes softened with guilt as he watched her, a pang of pity stirring within him.
"She'll work herself to death at this rate." he thought, his mind heavy with the realization that he needed more subordinates to share the burden, to carve out a place in this hostile world.
Putting the thought aside, he dug into the rabbit, the meat's warmth spreading through him as he ate, his jaws working quickly to sate the hunger that still gnawed at his core.
As he swallowed the last bite, a sudden warmth surged through his body, a purple-black glow enveloping him, pulsing with an energy that seemed to resonate with the very air of the Abyss.
His scales shimmered, and his body grew rapidly, stretching and expanding until he stood at five meters, his form no longer that of a small lizard but a formidable adolescent drake, his muscles taut, his claws sharper, his presence commanding.
After consuming what he felt was up to over a hundred demonic rabbits. It seemed the reward was worth the wait.
Bai Ming Yao, startled from her exhaustion, scrambled to her feet, her red irises widening with astonishment as she circled him, her nose twitching as she snooped around his new form, her tail swaying with a curious energy completely different from her earlier collapse.
Su Ping eyed her awkwardly, his thoughts tinged with wry amusement. "Wasn't she just exhausted moments ago?" he mused inwardly, marveling at the sudden spark in her movements, as if her curiosity had reignited her vigor.
"How does she have so much energy to spare?"
Before he could dwell on it, a black system panel flickered into existence, its purple text glowing against the cave's dim interior.
[Congratulations on evolving to the Adolescent Stage.]
[Hp + 100]
[Mp + 100]
[All Physical stats + 50]
[Mental stats + 100]
The words hung in the air, like a quiet affirmation of his growth, and Su Ping's glowing eyes squinted into happy crescents, a flicker of pride in his heart.
His current status was.
[Status]
• Race: "Adolescent" Dark Drake.
• Bloodline: Dark Dragon King.
• Level 1 Rare Unit.
• Innate Talent: Dark Dragon Eyes.
• HP: 150.
•MP: 200.
•Strength: 60.
•Speed: 60.
• Will: 105.
•Skills: None.
Su Ping wanted to go out and test out his strength, but seeing the change in the sky, he didn't.
' Looks like that's what passes of as night time here? Or is it day time?' he wondered.
' It's better to be cautious either way, I don't know if this place is like earth were even more dangerous creatures come out during the night.'
A drake might be within the dragon family tree but right now he was an adolescent, not to mention that after seeing the notification that his bloodline was only within the top 1000 he was even more cautious with how he carried himself from now.
Su Ping found a corner in the cave to lay down but he felt slightly uncomfortable. His body was now 5 meters in length, with the cave being ten square meters, he new he couldn't stand to stay here for long, he needed to plan for relocation, at least to somewhere more spacious.
' Huh?' Su Ping who had just shot his eyes to rest, opened his left eye to see Bai Ming Yao laying next to him. The fox demon felt a strange comforting warmth from Su Ping's body in this cold cave, even though he was technically supposed to be a reptile. But one could only attribute it to him being a dragon.
Moreover, she wanted to be as close as possible to her master, whether it was due to the system inducting her as his subordinate or her own personal reasons, Su Ping didn't know, nor did he care.
He curled his tale around himself to build warmth, indirectly pulling her closer. Su Ping didn't feel irritated by her fur brushing against his face but secretly enjoyed the warm sensation. She felt like a natural soft pillow.
Bai Ming Yao was startled when she felt her body suddenly being moved but when she opened her eyes to see the faint comfortable smile on the adolescent drakes face, she felt glad and even nozzled closer.
The both of them soon fell asleep and the cave was plunged into silence, except for the strange cries that were heard in the distance. By now Su Ping had already gotten used to them without knowing, his body was slowly getting used to the Abyss's strange environment.
After who knew how long, Su Ping woke up with a yawn, his mouth filled with gleaming fangs, created a frightening image.
His body movements woke up Bai Ming Yao as well, the white fox demon yawned while stretching her body. Waking up to the sight of her new companion beside her, she gave him a lick.
Su Ping didn't mind it, shrugging it off before getting up. He then lay'd down with his front limbs crossed before opening the system map.