"...K.O.!"
Staring at his character being carted back to camp by the Palico, Luo Yun dropped the controller with a sigh. His eyes lingered on the game,over screen, blank and unblinking.
It felt like his brain just froze for a moment. Then,bang! He slapped the desk hard enough that his HP bar would've taken damage, his whole body flushing red like a steamed prawn.
"No way! That whiffed too?!"
He needed to calm down.
Luo Yun took a deep breath, twisted his stiff neck, and was just about to grab his water glass,
The next second, an enormous shadow fell over him. The sound of shattering glass and crumbling walls rang out, and one thought flashed through his mind.
"So… turns out you can get lucky at home too?"
In the New World's Ancient Forest, deep inside a hidden tree hollow, a patch of glowing moss pulsed faintly in the dark.
Several forest geckos clung silently to the damp moss,covered bark, waiting patiently for insects to be lured in by the dim light. Their eyes shifted ever so slightly,like seasoned hunters biding their time.
They didn't realize that danger was creeping closer by the second.
From the shadows, a figure padded silently forward. Once in position, its powerful legs bent low, wings tucked in tight to balance.
With the scrape of claws against wood, the shadow lunged. Its gaping maw clamped down before the geckos could react, and a savage shake followed until the prey went limp.
Only then did it stop, pinning the lizard with its talons and tearing into it eagerly beneath the glowing moss.
In the dim light, its form was revealed.
A juvenile Rathalos.
The red scales had only just begun to sprout spines, its oversized head out of proportion with its small body. As for its wings,they were nothing more than featherless chicken flaps, completely useless for flight.
By all rights, this hatchling should still be in its nest, crying for food from its parents.
Yet here it was, completing a hunt on its own,even if the prey was just a harmless forest gecko.
After devouring the gecko, licking the last tang of blood from his jaws, he eyed the moss again. When it was clear no more insects or lizards would come, he reluctantly slunk back into the shadows.
The hollow was roomy,for now. But that was only because Luo Yun was still a hatchling.
He shuffled over to a damp corner, chewed down half a poisonous mushroom he'd saved, snapped up a passing bitterbug, then padded back to the underground stream to lie down.
It had been days since he'd crossed over, and he still didn't understand: why was he a Rathalos hatchling, and why had he been born not in a nest, not in a Kulu,Ya,Ku's food stash, but in this tree hollow that felt suspiciously like a starter safehouse?
There was water, an easy supply of small critters just enough to keep a newborn dragon from starving, and an entrance covered by vines and brush,narrow enough to keep out massive predators.
If that wasn't a tutorial zone, what was?
Still, such thoughts no longer mattered. His body had grown explosively these past few days, and the food in the hollow couldn't keep up.
A gecko and a mushroom,once enough to fill him,now barely took the edge off his hunger.
"So… is this the end of the newbie tutorial?"
He smacked his spiny tail against the ground in irritation, then closed his eyes.
Slowly, a strange warmth rose from the earth and seeped into him, strengthening his body bit by bit. Luo Yun guessed this must be the world's life energy,the force that made this ecosystem so vibrant and wild.
Unlike normal wyverns, he could sense it, even draw it in,like the legendary Elder Dragons of myth.
But in the blind spot of his vision, tiny silver motes appeared, glowing with an icy,blue light. They slipped into him alongside the life energy,completely unnoticed.
Time passed. When Luo Yun finally felt he'd hit his limit, he opened his eyes again.
"Sigh… Even as a dragon, there's still a limit? Then what was the point of ditching humanity?"
He muttered to himself, and with a thought, a crude panel appeared before his eyes.
[Name: Luo Yun
Race: Flying Wyvern – Rathalos
Trait: Randomizing… (99%)]
The panel was barebones, but as a veteran reader of webnovels, Luo Yun knew: this was his lifeline.
The rest of his survival relied on his body,the body of the so,called King of the Skies.
Sure, Rathalos had been reduced to stepping stones in the games of his past life, their prestige dropping lower and lower. But in this reality, they were apex predators, the top hunters of the world.
"Almost there… just a little longer."
He suppressed his excitement, closed the panel, and turned toward the glowing moss.
The food in the hollow wouldn't last. Venturing out was inevitable.
The trait he drew now might be the key to survival.
After downing another forest gecko, the trait bar finally ticked to 100%. With a flash of garbled symbols, the result appeared.
[Trait: Acceleration (The longer the battle, the faster you become.)]
"…???"
Wait. Was this that trait?
It sounded suspiciously like something from a certain famous game back on Earth. Except here it scaled with battle duration, not turns. And there was another line,more traits could be drawn. Composite traits? A second, a third, even a fourth?!
Luo Yun's eyes widened at the thought. If his guess was right, then his future wasn't just about survival.
He might one day reach for something greater,something forbidden.
A realm beyond even this world's food chain.
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