Chapter 3: Birth of Calamity

The pack of wolves that had butchered the baby dragon remained not too far from the place. They used a gigantic banyan tree as a shelter from the impending rain. Their leader, a black-furred Death Wolf, sat on the ground, ready to take rest as the others erected a barrier that would prevent the burst of the wind from penetrating and disturbing their master's sleep.

“If not for the rain, we could have enjoyed the delicious dragon meat,” said one of the wolves who erected the dome-shaped barrier.

“Yeah, what a pity,” another wolf just beside him sighed constantly.

There were about 18 wolves at the moment, all of them being adults. 16 of them were males, and 2 females, who supposedly seemed like the so-called Master’s companions.

They sat close by as they overheard the bickering of their clansmen. Though they didn’t indulge in the matter as they too had similar thoughts.

One of the concubines looked up to her husband and asked, “Your majesty, why didn’t we bring the dragon that we killed with us? Our people could have enjoyed the rare meat…”

She herself was drooling and wanted to taste as well.

“Also, I’m not sure why we came here if not for the meat. What was the purpose of visiting such a faraway place, your majesty?”

Eren, the Death Wolf, decided to answer and reveal the fear that was captured within its heart.

“I had a bad dream, Shaka.”

“Bad dream? Wha-”

“In this nightmare, picture this Shaka: A monstrous dragon hatches right here, its power swelling endlessly! It hunts us down with a thirst for blood, tearing us apart one by one. Feasting on our flesh, it turns our bones into gruesome tokens of triumph. Our teeth, ripped out and strung together like macabre prizes. Yet, its hunger is insatiable. To fuel its growth, it seeks every living soul, enslaving them. All helpless, waiting to be consumed on a day stained with doom. Mere livestocks and nothing more...”

Eren's unsettling narrative left Shaka swallowing hard, her throat dry as dust. Her husband's words carried an eerie weight.

"And that is why you came here to kill that being in advance?" Shaka inquired, her voice betraying a mix of fear and curiosity.

"Precisely."

A nervous gulp echoed in the tense air.

"I see. So now, are we safe?" Shaka's eyes trembled as she sought reassurance.

"That's right. Also... The reason I didn't allow anyone to eat the dragon was because it was filled with cursed energy."

"I- I see." Understanding the gravity of Eren's actions, Shaka nodded, seeking refuge in his embrace, trying desperately to erase the haunting images that had been painted in her mind.

Little did they know, Eren's attempt to avert disaster unwittingly contributed to the impending calamity.

...

Dragons, once revered as the epitome of strength centuries ago, now have become symbols for weakness. What caused this fall from glory? The answer lies in their thwarted journey to adulthood. Like a butterfly unable to spread its wings in its larval stage, young dragons are feeble and lacking in power. They require ample time to evolve into their true might.

Upon reaching adulthood, a dragon becomes an unstoppable force.

Tragically, most adult dragons have met their demise or fallen into the clutches of higher powers, leaving only a handful of eggs scattered across the mainland.

Among these eggs, one harbored a Primordial Dragon—the Chaos Dragon. From its depths emerged a small, innocent hatchling destined to bring about destruction. However, a pack of wolves, guided by acute senses, detected the newborn dragon and ruthlessly ended its life. In this cruel twist of fate, Azeth seized the opportunity to claim the dragon's body and, with it, the potential for unparalleled power.

...

Opening his eyes, Azeth found himself in complete darkness yet he could see clearly. His vision was different from that of a human. It was wide and precise, as if he could pinpoint the bug that was on a tree about ten meters away - of course, this was nothing new for a Grand Mage, but for a normal human, it was different.

Lowering his head, Azeth looked at his scrawny and tiny hands that had small pointy claws that had yet to be developed. His body was devoid of scales and was only covered by black skin.

The tail was yet small, half the size of the body which was, in itself, half the size of an adult wolf, about one-fourth that of a man.

Blinking once or twice, he noticed the screen in front of him and the familiar voice.

[Congratulations on reincarnating!

You have become a Baby Dragon.]

[

Here are your stats for reference:

Name: Azeth

Race: Dragon

Stage: Hatchling

Rank: E

Level: 1

Age: 5 days

Attributes:

HP (Hit Points): 20

MP (Magic Points): 10

Strength: 8

Dexterity: 6 [+1]

Speed: 3

Constitution: 10

Stat Points: 5

Abilities [Does not consume MP]:

1. Enhanced Strength Lv.1: Strength attribute is doubled for 2 minutes.
2. Defence Curl Lv.1: Curls into a ball to reduce damage taken; Damage taken decreases by 10%.
3. Sleep Lv.1: HP and MP recover by 1 point per minute.
4. Enhanced Sense Lv.1: Can scan and detect motions or position of things within a radius of 15 metres.

Skills [Consumes MP]:

1. Rage Lv.1 [3 MP per minute]: Doubles Strength, Speed, Dexterity, and Constitution.

Equipments:

1. Shell-Helmet [Rank E]: A helmet made out of shell from which the dragon has hatched; Dexterity +1.

]

Azeth was wise and smart enough to know what these stats meant, the numerical representation for his strength. However, he just couldn’t concentrate on that, for he could already sense danger surrounding him.

There were a lot of Mud-Worms, crawling slowly towards him, about twenty of them to be precise, who had surrounded him from all sides.

While Mud-Worms were not that much of a threat usually, to someone as small as the baby dragon, they were comparable to predators.

‘Ha, I’m reincarnated as a dragon, and even before I can get used to it, I have to face these insects?

One of the Mud-Worms closed in, way too close, and Azeth, upon seeing that, stood up.

“Ah, nice meeting you, weaklings. Greetings from me, the weakest one.”

His height barely increased due to his tiny legs, but this was more than enough for him to take a stance against the monsters.

[

Race: Mud-Worms

Stage: Hatchlings

Rank: E

Level: 3

Age: 8 days

Attributes:

HP (Hit Points): 15

MP (Magic Points): 0

Strength: 5

Dexterity: 5

Speed: 6

Constitution: 5

Stat Points: 0

Abilities [Does not consume MP]:

1. Bite Lv.1: Increases strength stat by 1 point.
2. Crawl Lv.2: Increases speed stat by 1 point.

Skills [Consumes MP]:

none -

Equipments:

none -

]

All the ten Mud-Worms possessed the same info. It looked like they had been hatched from the same egg not too long ago. In a normal case, the baby dragon would have ended up being hunted, but the case right now was different.

The rain had long stopped and the ground had turned muddy. No wonder the Mud-Worms came out on a stroll.

Azeth’s body was covered in mud, making him look brown, but he didn’t care about that, after all, he was going to get a new paint for his own good.

Splash!

Without a second thought, he lunged forward, snagging the first Mud-Worm right smack in the middle of its squiggly body. This thing, though half his size, felt like a small mountain in his hands.

Closing his right fist tight, Azeth unleashed a punch with all the power he could muster.

Bam!

Expecting some serious damage, he was in for a surprise. The worm's squishy body played it cool, acting like a dang cushion, soaking up most of the punch.

But don't get it twisted, there was still some damage done!

[HP -2]

Azeth wasted zero time, unleashing a relentless storm of ten punches, one after another.

Bam! Bam!

The worm transformed into a sorry pile of mush before he could even blink. Its blood? Well, that became the paint Azeth was after, now proudly decorating his face and arms in a gruesome shade of red.

With a sly smirk, he counted the worms like they were mere test subjects. "Nine more to go...?"

The worms were quite the perfect guinea pigs for his twisted experiment.

Smirking like a mad scientist, he declared, "Let's kick off the test run!"

His usually deep black eyes transformed into a fiery red, like he just flipped the anger switch. Nothing fancy, just his little trick: Rage!

*Ding*

[You have used the skill Rage.]

[3 MP will be consumed every minute.]

[Strength, Speed, Dexterity and Constitution have been doubled.]

In the blink of an eye, all nine worms were completely wiped out, resembling nothing more than the mud that had covered him moments before.

"Hah! This is just a hint of my strength!" Azeth declared, but why? He wasn't foolish. Why create such a ruckus in a forest where he was considered prey by many?

If not foolishness, what else could it be?

Well, it was all about showing off. To whom?

To the one secretly hiding behind a bush, observing the spectacle.

"Enjoyed the show?" Azeth inquired as he turned around.

A red glint, like lightning, flashed from his left eye, giving him a fearsome appearance.

The figure that had been silently witnessing everything suddenly hesitated and stumbled before swiftly getting up and darting away.

‘Scaring him is enough. Need to recover my MP and HP,’ he thought to himself as he walked towards a tree in the front and sat down, for his HP had decreased by the damage he took while punching the worms to the ground.

‘Looks like that was a good catch.’

He smirked as he looked at the text on the screen.

[Exp collected: 27]

[You may use Exp to raise your level.]

‘Alright, time to grow stronger.’