Chapter 4: The First Hunt
Anyway, if I had indeed been transported into the world of the novel I had been reading before my transition, then my first objective would be clear without hesitation.
To eliminate the Golden Lion and the Six-Eared Monkey…
Then kill the protagonist of the novel himself, William.
That thought was not merely a passing desire.
Rather, it was a cold decision, quietly taking shape within my mind.
In this world…
only predators survive.
In the novel, the reason for the presence of the red dragon in that forest had been clearly mentioned.
When William ascended to a higher realm thanks to the dragon aura emanating from his bloodline, that aura did not go unnoticed.
It was detected by the dragon forces,
the followers of the Golden Dragon King.
It did not take long before William fell into their hands, and he was then taken in chains to the king's palace by direct order.
When the Golden Dragon King met William, he did not speak immediately.
The first thing he did…
was examine him.
A slow, deep gaze, as if tearing through his hidden layers.
After a few moments of silence, the king confirmed the truth.
William was not a dragon.
But merely a human… who had obtained the dragon bloodline somehow.
Only then did the king ask his question.
How did you obtain the Red Dragon bloodline?
William had no reason to lie.
Nor any reason to hide the truth.
So he told him everything.
The story of the forest.
The confrontation.
And the blood he had obtained.
The Golden Dragon King listened in silence.
And when William finished speaking, he became convinced that what he had heard was not a lie.
Then he told him the truth that William did not know.
The crimson dragon whose bloodline you obtained…
was not an ordinary dragon.
But the heir of the Crimson Dragon clan.
And if that clan were to learn that their heir had been killed…
and that his bloodline had been stolen…
they would hunt you.
Until the end of the world if necessary.
And they would kill you in revenge.
But instead of killing him…
the Golden Dragon King offered William an unexpected proposal.
A place in his palace.
To become one of the dragon commanders.
Then he granted him a special tool.
A tool capable of concealing the aura of Adam's bloodline.
And with the presence of this tool…
the Crimson Dragon clan would not be able to detect that William carries the Red Dragon bloodline.
Anyway…
This matter is not important to me now.
All that occupies me at this moment… is only one thing.
Hunger.
It was not an ordinary hunger.
But a raw, primal hunger, rising from the depths of the body, as if it were a slow fire burning in the bones.
A heavy sensation pressing in my stomach.
Burning.
Continuous.
The instinct was clear.
The body knows what must be done… before the mind even thinks.
But the truth that cannot be ignored…
is that I am not human.
I am a newly hatched red dragon.
A creature that has almost just emerged from its shell.
A relatively small body.
But the blood that flows in my veins…
is the blood of an ancient predator.
Blood that belongs to the peak of the food chain in this forest.
I slowly raised my head inside the cave.
The air was cold and damp.
Drops of water were falling from the rocky ceiling.
One drop…
then another…
Their sound echoed quietly in the stone emptiness.
The smell of mud and moisture filled the place.
And the darkness inside the cave was dense…
but it was not an obstacle to my eyes.
The eyes of a dragon do not need light as humans do.
I moved my claws slightly over the rocky ground.
Scratch… scratch…
A faint sharp sound came from their tips as they rubbed against the stone.
The claws were relatively small…
but they were sharp.
Sharp enough to tear flesh easily.
I stretched my small wings slightly.
The dark red membrane between the bones moved slowly.
They were not strong wings yet…
but they were enough to give me balance.
And to reveal my true nature.
I am a dragon.
I raised my nose slightly.
Then I inhaled the air slowly.
The forest outside was breathing.
Scents flowed with the air.
The smell of trees.
Wet leaves.
Soil.
But among those scents…
there was something else.
Something warm.
Something alive.
Prey.
The pupils of my eyes contracted slightly.
The hunger intensified immediately.
The instinct stirred within me.
The blood in my body began to flow faster.
The beating heart inside my chest became heavier.
I lowered my body slightly.
Then I began to move toward the entrance of the cave.
One step…
then another.
The light coming from outside began to flow inward.
A faint light piercing the rocky darkness.
And when I reached the entrance…
I stopped for a moment.
The forest before me stretched without end.
Massive trees.
Twisted trunks.
Dense branches blocking a large part of the sky.
A light mist floating between the trunks.
And the silence…
was not a true silence.
But the silence of predators watching one another.
This was not an ordinary forest.
This was a forest of monsters.
In this place…
the law is simple.
Either you hunt…
or you are hunted.
I smiled slowly.
A small smile revealing a row of sharp fangs.
Then I murmured quietly:
Alright…
let the hunt begin.
I lowered my body further.
Then
I burst out of the cave.
Dry leaves scattered beneath my claws.
The cold air struck my face with force.
And my small red body rushed between the shadows.
In this forest…
my first hunt had begun.
I rushed between the tree trunks.
Dry leaves tore beneath my small claws.
Rustle… rustle…
The cold air surged through the forest, carrying with it dozens of mixed scents.
Soil.
Moss.
Tree bark.
And a distant smell of blood that could barely be perceived.
But something strange happened from the very moment I came out of the cave.
Before I even approached any prey…
the creatures began to flee.
Inside the nearby bushes…
a wild rabbit suddenly jumped.
Its eyes widened.
Its body trembled for a fraction of a second.
Then
it fled.
It dashed through the grass at insane speed, as if escaping from a catastrophe.
Immediately after it…
a small bird was standing on a low branch.
It flapped its wings violently.
And flew away without waiting another moment.
I stopped for a moment.
I lowered my head.
And my narrow eyes moved slowly between the trees.
I had not attacked.
I had not roared.
I had not done anything.
And yet…
everything was fleeing.
I breathed slowly.
Then I understood the reason.
The pressure of the bloodline.
The Red Dragon bloodline.
Even though I am merely a newly hatched dragon.
My blood still carries the prestige of a predator higher than most of the monsters in this region.
For creatures with weak bloodlines.
My presence alone is enough to make their instincts scream:
Run.
I sighed slowly.
The hunger in my stomach had not disappeared.
It had increased.
This situation is not good for hunting.
If the prey runs before I approach.
I will not be able to catch it.
I raised my head slightly.
And looked deeper into the forest.
The shadows there were heavier.
The trees denser.
And the scents…
more dangerous.
There in the depths.
The stronger monsters live.
Creatures that may be weaker than me in terms of bloodline.
But their physical strength is far greater than mine now.
And if I enter those depths.
I might turn into prey myself.
For this reason.
I am now at the edge of the forest.
The boundary between the weak… and the true predators.
I lowered my head slightly.
Then I began to move more slowly.
This time…
I did not rush.
Instead, I advanced between the trees with caution.
Each step was quiet.
The claws touched the ground gently.
The body low.
The wings folded close to the back.
The forest was silent…
but I could feel movement.
There.
Behind the bushes.
I stopped immediately.
My eyes stared at a single point.
A faint scent reached my nose.
The smell of a small animal.
I lowered my body further.
Then I began to advance very slowly.
One leaf moved beneath my foot.
But I stopped immediately.
The silence returned.
Two seconds passed.
Then three.
It did not flee.
Good.
I moved closer.
Now I can see it.
A small creature resembling a forest lizard.
Its body about the length of an arm.
Its skin brown with a hint of green.
Its tongue moving in and out slowly as it searched for insects.
It was not strong.
But it was not completely weak either.
At least…
enough to silence this hunger.
But suddenly
it raised its head.
Its body froze.
Its instincts sensed me.
Even before it fully saw me.
Its small eyes met mine.
And in that moment
it exploded with fear.
It turned immediately.
And dashed to escape.
But I was faster.
I pushed the ground with my claws.
I rushed forward.
Leaves scattered.
And small branches broke beneath my body.
The lizard ran between the roots.
Trying to hide among the rocks.
But the difference between us was clear.
I leaped over a fallen tree trunk.
Then
I extended one claw.
Scratch!
My claws struck its back.
Its small body flipped onto the ground.
It tried to crawl…
But I landed directly on top of it.
My claws pinned it down.
Its body trembled violently.
It tried to resist.
But the strength was unequal.
I lowered my head slowly.
And opened my mouth.
The sharp fangs sank into its flesh.
A short scream came out of it…
then
silence.
Its body stopped moving.
I dragged it slightly to the side of the tree.
Then I began to eat.
The flesh was warm.
And fresh.
And the hot blood filled my mouth with a sharp taste.
The hunger began to calm gradually.
But while I was tearing the flesh…
I suddenly stopped.
My ears moved slightly.
Somewhere inside the forest…
at a distance not far away
a sound was made.
A heavy step.
Then…
another step.
Something…
was approaching.