I stared at the tiny creature on my shoulder. It was barely the size of a kitten, with scales as dark as the void and eyes that glowed like molten gold.
"Level 1... a pitiful start for someone with my bloodline. But at least you aren't 'Hollow' anymore, Master."
My heart nearly stopped. My eyes went wide, and I stumbled back, hitting the edge of the prep table.
"Y-you... you just talked?" I stammered, my voice cracking.
In this world, elemental beasts were partners, but they were animals. A Wolf-type might growl; a Wind-Bird might chirp. But they never spoke human languages. If the Association found out I had a talking beast, they wouldn't just rank me—they'd put me in a lab.
The tiny dragon huffed, a small puff of purple smoke escaping its nostrils. It looked at me with an expression that seemed almost... annoyed. It didn't answer out loud this time, but I could feel its hunger vibrating through my own skin.
It wasn't looking at me anymore. Its eyes were locked on the pile of ash where the Iron-Hide Hound had died.
In the center of the soot lay a glowing, jagged Magic Crystal. It was a Level 2 Earth-attribute core, pulsing with a faint brown light.
Before I could reach for it, the tiny dragon leaped from my shoulder. It moved like a blur—faster than my eyes could follow. With a sharp crunch, it bit into the crystal, shattering the hard mana stone like it was a piece of candy.
[NOTIFICATION: BEAST CONSUMPTION DETECTED]
[EXPERIENCE GAINED: +25 EXP]
[SATURATION LEVEL: 15%]
I watched in shock as the dragon swallowed the shard. Usually, hunters had to process these crystals or sell them at the Guild for credits. But this thing... it just ate it raw.
As the crystal disappeared, a wave of warmth flowed from the dragon back into my own chest. My Strength stat flickered on the blue screen, feeling a tiny bit heavier, a tiny bit more real.
"You eat them to level up?" I whispered.
The dragon let out a satisfied chirp and climbed back up my arm, settling into the pocket of my stained apron. It closed its eyes, falling into a deep sleep to digest the mana.
I looked at the wreckage of the kitchen. The sirens of the Emergency Hunter Squad were getting louder outside. If they found me here with a dead Level 2 monster and an extinct dragon, my life would be over before it started.
I grabbed my jacket and slipped out the back door into the rain.
[NAME: KAI]
[LEVEL: 1]
[EXP: 25/100]