Darkness.
It was the first thing he knew. A suffocating, endless void that pressed against his senses, neither hot nor cold, but heavy enough to feel like the weight of an ocean.
And then—awareness.
"…Where… am I?"
The thought echoed, but there was no voice. Only silence, and the faint, hollow pulse of something deep within his chest. He tried to move, but his limbs didn't obey. Panic flared, sharp and raw, until his senses sharpened.
Hard. Enclosed.
He was inside something. A shell?
Crack.
The faint sound sent a jolt through him. A thin line of light pierced the void. Instinct took over. He pushed, scratched, clawed. His body—small, fragile, yet driven by desperation—fought against the prison. Cracks spread, spiderwebbing through the shell.
And then, with a final surge, the world shattered.
Light flooded in.
His eyes—slit pupils, glowing faintly—snapped open to a cavern filled with bioluminescent crystals. Jagged stone walls glistened with moisture, and rivers of glowing blue water cut through the cavern floor. Strange plants pulsed with soft light, their tendrils swaying as if breathing.
He gasped—or tried to. Smoke puffed from his tiny maw instead. His body shook as his lungs filled for the first time, and then—
"...No way."
The words didn't leave his mouth, but his thoughts were his own. They were clear. Human.
"I… I'm alive. I… hatched?"
He looked down at himself. Small, clawed feet pressed against fragments of a broken egg. Black scales glistened faintly with a blue sheen under the cavern light. A slender tail twitched, unsteady. His wings—tiny, underdeveloped stubs—trembled as he flexed them.
He wasn't human.
He was… a dragon.
A flood of memories surged. Not from this life—from another. A crowded city. A dull life filled with endless work, constant exhaustion. The glow of a computer screen late at night, his eyes burning as he read one more chapter of his favorite webnovel. He remembered the pang of longing—wanting adventure, power, freedom.
And then… nothing. Darkness.
Until now.
"…I died. And reincarnated. As… a dragon."
The absurdity of it almost made him laugh. Almost. But the sharp scent of sulfur in the cavern air and the faint rumble of distant growls reminded him this was no dream. This was real.
His body trembled again, weaker this time. Hunger gnawed at his insides, raw and primal.
Ding!
A faint chime rang inside his mind. A translucent blue screen flickered before his eyes.
---
[System Awakening…]
Welcome, Reincarnator.
Race: Lesser Wyrmling (Dragon)
Rank: F (Newborn)
Title Obtained: [Reincarnated Soul] – Retains fragmented memory of previous life. Slight bonus to growth speed.
Skills Acquired:
Draconic Physique (Passive) – Enhanced body, scales, and claws.
Instinct (Passive) – Natural combat awareness.
Dragon's Breath (Locked) – Incomplete. Requires growth.
---
His breath caught—or would have, if dragons breathed like humans.
"A system… just like a game…"
It wasn't identical, but the similarity was uncanny. Only silence, and the glowing text.
Still, the confirmation filled him with both relief and dread. Relief, because he had a guide. Dread, because if such a system existed, then the world was likely far more dangerous than anything he could imagine.
The hunger clawed at him again. He stumbled forward on shaky legs, claws scraping against stone.
Food.
Instinct screamed louder than reason. His nostrils flared, catching the faint, musky scent of life. Something skittered in the shadows near the cavern wall. His head snapped toward it, eyes narrowing.
A creature emerged—an insect-like beast the size of a dog. Its body was armored in chitin, glowing faintly green, with razor mandibles that clicked hungrily.
[Enemy Identified: Cave Crawler | Rank F]
The notification blinked across his vision just as the monster lunged.
Ryomen flinched back, instincts screaming. His tiny body moved clumsily, but the Cave Crawler's strike missed by inches, mandibles snapping where his head had been. Fear shot through him like lightning, but beneath it… something else.
A pulse.
A low growl built in his chest. His scales prickled, claws flexing. His vision sharpened.
He moved before thinking, swiping his claw. The strike was clumsy, weak—yet his scales and talons cut deeper than he expected. The crawler screeched as black ichor spilled.
The scent of blood awakened something deep inside.
The monster lunged again. He didn't dodge this time. He opened his maw and roared. It was weak, high-pitched—yet the crawler faltered. In that instant, he lunged, biting down with his small fangs.
Crunch.
The taste was metallic, bitter, disgusting—yet intoxicating. His jaw clamped harder, tearing through the creature's neck. The crawler twitched violently before collapsing.
Ding!
---
[Victory Achieved.]
You have slain: Cave Crawler (F-Rank).
Exp gained.]
Skill Fragment Obtained: Venom Resistance (Lv.1).
---
Ryomen stumbled back, chest heaving, ichor dripping from his fangs. He stared at the twitching corpse, torn between revulsion and exhilaration.
He had killed. He had survived.
And with that survival came power.
"…So this is how it begins."
His hunger pushed aside hesitation. He devoured the crawler, crunching through chitin and flesh. It was foul, but as the meat slid down his throat, warmth spread through his body. His claws felt steadier, his legs stronger.
Another notification appeared.
---
[Evolution Energy: +2%]
---
His eyes widened.
"Eating… gives me evolution energy."
It was exactly like the monster evolutions he had read about. If he kept feeding, kept killing, he could grow. From a weak wyrmling… into something unimaginable.
The thought ignited a fire in his chest.
But then, the cavern shook.
A deep rumble echoed through the stone, dust falling from above. Ryomen froze. His small body tensed as the ground quivered. A roar—low, guttural, powerful—shook the cavern. Not from him.
From deeper inside.
[Warning: High-Rank Entity Detected.]
Cold terror gripped him. His instincts screamed louder than any words: Run.
His legs wobbled, but he forced himself to move. He stumbled across the cavern, dragging his weak wings against the ground. The glow of crystals flickered as shadows grew.
Another roar thundered behind him. The sound alone rattled his bones, sending spikes of fear through every nerve. Whatever it was, it was stronger than him. Far, far stronger.
He pressed against the cavern wall, body trembling, breath ragged. His claws dug into the stone, trying to steady himself.
And then he saw it.
From the depths of the cavern, eyes like molten embers opened. A hulking silhouette slithered forward, scales shimmering crimson beneath the crystal light. Its maw dripped with flames, each step shaking the cavern.
A dragon.
Not like him. Bigger. Older. Stronger.
[Entity Identified: Juvenile Fire Dragon | Rank C.]
---
His heart stopped.
He was an insect before this thing. If it noticed him—if it so much as glanced—he would be crushed in an instant.
The fire dragon's head swept slowly across the cavern. Its breath rolled out, scorching hot. For a moment, Ryomen thought it had locked eyes with him.
But then, a shriek echoed from the cavern tunnels. More Cave Crawlers—dozens—poured in, swarming toward the dragon.
It turned its attention away, unleashing a roar of flame that engulfed the swarm. The heat seared Ryomen's scales even from a distance. He cowered low, praying the beast wouldn't notice him.
The battle raged, fire against swarm, shadows against flame. And Ryomen, a newborn wyrmling, crouched in silence, heart pounding.
For the first time since hatching, reality sank in.
He wasn't the apex predator. He wasn't the chosen hero.
He was prey.
And if he wanted to survive this world… he would need to climb. To devour. To evolve.
His claws clenched. His eyes glowed faintly, catching the reflection of fire.
"…Fine. If that's how it is…"
A spark of determination flickered in his chest.
"…Then I'll become the strongest dragon this world has ever seen."