Chapter 4 The Escaped Beast
"Hu, hu"
The young red dragon hid in a cave somewhere deep in the forest, with dense branches hanging down to cover the entrance.
Cassius was not sure whether he had escaped the pursuit of the half-elf paladin, so he had to flee deep into the Boka forest.
He did not look back, nor did he stop.
He did not know how long it had been until he was almost out of strength and came to this relatively hidden cave, where he felt a little relieved.
When going out, the main thing is to be cautious.
"I think he got rid of it."
Cassius was panting, and his tone was still uncertain.
The light curtain slowly unfolded again, and another three-dimensional trophy image appeared.
Gained the achievement [Escape Beast]
"The hunter is coming, run away, leave here, and never come back."
Gained passive characteristics:
[Fugitive]
Agility +2
Stealth +2, Movement +4
(Note: Long-term training has made you proficient in how to escape. This is not a shame, but just a means of survival.)
Suddenly, the red dragon felt a breeze-like force that did not exist in reality clinging to his body, and it was rapidly transforming it with the naked eye.
And he naturally accepted this change with pleasure.
After several hours in the cave, the force was finally calmed down.
"Is this a spell?"
"No, I didn't feel the flow of elements."
"It's more like a kind of psychic power."
The red dragon observed himself in the puddle:
The limbs and torso are still muscular, but they are changing to a more beautiful and streamlined direction.
No longer has the exaggerated appearance of the original red dragon's "swollen muscles all over the body", and even the wing membrane has undergone some slight changes, allowing himself to better cling to the elements in the air to fly.
Compared to before, the red dragon is now lighter.
The achievement system seems to be its own unique feature. You can get rewards by completing certain events. Passive abilities such as metal scales and fugitives are not weak in the later stages of the game.
But what puzzled Cassius was his template.
In the previous life of "Elzegai", the player template and the monster template were two completely different things.
Before the legend, the player template could gain experience (xp) through battles and tasks to upgrade itself. Therefore, in the later stages of the game, tens of thousands of extraordinary warriors above level 12 were mass-produced to change the situation.
The monster template was born and raised in this world, and can only enhance its strength through self-exploration and aging.
But the panel is still there, so everything is easy.
The translucent blue light curtain slowly unfolded.
Cassius found that his prefix had changed.
[Rich Young Red Dragon]
Name: Cassius Claudeu Norikius
Template: NPC (ten years, one day and four hours before the server is launched)
Category: Large dragon, lawful neutral
AC: 20 (natural armor, metal scales)
Attributes:
Strength - 21
Agility - 12
Constitution - 19
Intelligence - 12
Perception - 11
Charisma - 14
Skill proficiency: Stealth +6, Athletics +4, Perception +8, Hunting +2, Escape +4, Knowledge (Future) +4
Immunity to damage: Fire
Senses: Blindsight 10 feet, Darkvision 60 feet, Passive Perception 14 feet
Languages: Dragon Language, Common language
Actions: Bite, Claw, Tail, Fly, Breath Attack (Fire)
Features: Metal Scales, Fugitive
Battle Equipment: Magic Nullification Amulet, Ring of Dexterous Mage Action, Scorcher Staff, Amulet of Talking with the Dead, Lava Sputterer, Ring of Blade Immunity, Amulet of Silent Footsteps, Mask of Owlbeast Detection.
Challenge Level: 8 (3,600 XP)
Evaluation: "Even when facing a young red dragon, never underestimate it, otherwise it will become a nightmare for your whole life. What's more, this is a wealthy young dragon with more than ten magical items. Once you are not careful, you will fall into his control."
So the prefix will change?
It's really interesting.
The yellow-brown feather fell to the tip of the red dragon's nose, and he couldn't help but spit out a breath of sulfur-smelling hot air, burning the feather black and blowing it away.
"The owner of the nest should probably come back."
Casius thought so.
As expected.
Soon, an angry roar came from the entrance of the cave.
"Roar! Roar!"
A ferocious beast suddenly lifted the branch - a dull ivory beak, and strong limbs also covered with eagle feathers.
The eight-foot-tall sturdy body was covered with thick dark feathers, and the size was even larger than that of Cassius.
This is the owl bear, a brutal predator in the wilderness.
It may be a sample created by a mad wizard in ancient times based on bears and owls. Now it has spread all over the continent, and the panel of the owl bear in front of Cassius also appeared in front of him.
[Based on your own strength, you can observe the following information]
[Adult male owl bear]
Category: Large beast, always neutral
Ac: 15
Attributes:
Strength - 20
Agility - 12
Constitution - 19
Intelligence - 2
Perception - 12
Charisma - 10
Proficiency: Listening +4, Perception +8, Hunting +4
Senses: Smell sensitivity 14 feet, passive perception 16 feet, owl beast intuition 20 feet
Language: None
Actions: Grab, Bite, Slam, Claw
Features: Grapple Mastery
Challenge Rating: 3 (700xp)
Comment: "Owlbears are extremely brutal predators and are generally considered ferocious, aggressive, and very bad-tempered. They tend to attack any creature that moves without warning."
Casius looked at the beast in front of him, just spread his wings, used magic items to cast the Animal Speak spell in advance, and tried to test it:
"Submit to me, Owlbear."
However, the violent beast roared and pounded the ground with its claws.
It crawled in from the hole and rushed towards the red dragon.
With only 2 points of intelligence, these beasts can only roughly estimate the size, and will never realize how terrifying the power contained in the body of this young dragon is.
What's more, the red dragon has not yet awakened its aura, so it is even more "ordinary".
"Is it really just a beast?"
Casius shook his head, not afraid of the beast rushing over, just opened his mouth carelessly.
[Scorching Rays]
The fire element crystal on the staff in the body flashed red light, bursting with hot magic energy, casting this second-level spell.
Although the red dragon as the carrier is young and has not yet mastered the ability to cast spells, its natural affinity for the fire element also makes the spell more powerful when it is transmitted through the throat.
"Bang, bang, bang!"
Three blazing flame rays sprayed out and hit the owl bear.
For this kind of hairy beast, the effect of the fire element is more significant. The moment the flame ray touched the owl bear, his hair was scorched in large areas, and then burned fiercely.
"Ah——"
The giant beast let out a painful wail and rolled on the ground.
But this could not stop the blazing flames at all, let alone the young dragon that pounced on him and bit his body hard.
Even the "Lava Heart" in Cassius's belly exuded a scorching magic aura, causing additional fire damage.
Soon, the smell of burnt fur and the rich aroma of barbecue came from the cave.
"Not bad."
"It's just a little bit woody."
Cassius chewed the thick bear meat that was burnt a little black, and the panel opened in front of him again.
[Kill an adult male owl bear and get 700xp]
[Level up to level 1]
[Due to racial characteristics, it will be more difficult to increase your professional level, but you will also gain more powerful power]
Obtain the achievement [First Blood]
"Welcome to this colorful world."
Obtain the player's professional panel
Several professional medals such as warrior, mage, warlock, monk, etc. are presented on the panel, and under these major professional categories, there are densely packed branch sub-professions.
Cassius was stunned at first, and then ecstatic.
He remembered that in the previous life game, players need to complete the novice task "Kill a turkey" in an unknown space before unlocking the player's professional panel.
Dragons crave power.
But seeking the skills of humanoid creatures is not a natural thing for them. They are proud and disdain non-dragon knowledge.
In general, dragons hate to learn the abilities of "lower" species, so their heritage lacks ways to improve, and is more about natural spells and endless greed for treasure.
Although players can easily find ways to become stronger, their basic panels are imported based on real data.
In the early stages of the game, player attributes can be said to be unsightly, and there was even a barbarian player who did not want to reveal his name who created the "miracle" of starting with 8 intelligence.
But Cassius can easily combine the terrifying talents of the dragon race with the player's profession.