This wasn't the only abnormality Asterion sensed about himself. Although he had yet to see any other Glavenus whelps, he couldn't help but feel that his current size was definitely a full size larger than others his age.
After all, their energy absorption efficiency was completely different.
Given the series of anomalies manifesting in his body, Asterion finally confirmed he was different. Whether this was due to his transmigration or some other reason didn't matter. All he knew was that this difference would help him survive in this world, and that was enough.
As for anything beyond that... it wasn't something his current self needed to worry about.
Scrape! Scrape!
He habitually ground his tail against the ground twice. The resounding, metallic scraping was truly pleasing to the ear. Ever since he had eaten enough ore to coat his still-not-fully-hardened tail in a layer of mineral secretions, Asterion had developed this new hobby.
The sound, along with the sensation of his tail slicing through things, gave him a profound sense of security.
Every Glavenus forges the perfect sword for itself; this is an instinct and a pursuit etched into its very bones.
Furthermore, while searching for ore veins, he had also found some coal and combustible minerals. An organ located in Asterion's throat finally began to function—the Flamesac.
He swallowed all the coal and combustible minerals he found, storing them in his Flamesac. This organ possessed a temperature unimaginable to ordinary wyverns. Inside, the coal and minerals were burned, melted, and refined into a magma-like substance.
When facing battle, Asterion could spit this refined, high-heat magma or use it to whet his sword-tail, causing it to become heated and increasing its lethality.
Of course, he could also spit it out directly. This stuff didn't just cause physical impact and burn damage; it also exploded.
Being well-armed, his sense of security naturally continued to rise.
He curved his sword-tail, now polished so brightly its edge could serve as a mirror, and held it inverted before him. Asterion gazed with satisfaction at the handsome dragon reflected within.
A sharp, protruding jawbone, a curved brow-ridge sprouting a pair of horns... Though still young, he already exuded the fierce aura of an apex predator.
He opened his mouth and bit down on his own sword-tail. He didn't even need to recall the game mechanics for this move; Glavenus instinct told Asterion exactly how to maximize the damage.
Sharpening!!
Ahem, actually, it was the Spinning Tail Slam.
Like a coiled spring suddenly released, like a swift gale, Asterion shot forward. In the next instant, he landed heavily on the opposite slope.
In front of him, the large, protruding boulder that had blocked his path moments before slowly slid apart—only its upper half.
It had been sliced clean in two by the attack. The cut surface was exceptionally smooth.
Iai!
Don't ask how, but he drew!
"Kwee!!"
The Kulu-Ya-Ku bro, who had witnessed the whole thing from the sidelines, let out a cry of amazement. Already familiar with Asterion, it wasn't alarmed. Instead, it immediately scurried over to the severed rock, inspecting it curiously.
Tap! Tap!
The little guy was tapping the cut surface with its beak, a skeptical look on its face.
"HROAR! HROAR-ROAR!" (How about that! Bro, I've mastered a divine technique!!)
"Kwee! Kwee-kwee-ka-ka!!"
The Kulu-Ya-Ku bro looked very happy... ...well, Asterion thought it looked happy, anyway.
Clang! Clang!
He ground his tail on the ground twice more. This behavior was, in fact, a Glavenus marking its territory, though Asterion himself didn't realize it at the time.
He was already getting impatient. He wanted revenge.
So, you're the one called Jyuratodus, huh?
You dare steal my meal? Sooner or later, I'll send you flying!
Glavenus. A carnivorous large Brute Wyvern. Outside of mating season, only one Glavenus can occupy a single territory. If two meet, the encounter ends either when one flees with a severed tail, or when one is dead.
They are extremely aggressive, with a fierce, warlike temperament. This desire for battle is instinctual, coming from the very core of their being—like a feather constantly tickling his soles, the craving for revenge and combat relentlessly urged Asterion, sometimes even startling him awake from sleep.
For a "swordsman" among wyverns like the Glavenus, a fiery temper and immense pride are everything. They are the most proactive and ruthless of predators. Even after satisfying their hunger, they will actively seek out other monsters in their territory to battle.
Such a nature and behavioral logic are extremely rare in the natural world. After all, logically speaking, animals should avoid conflict as much as possible after consuming enough energy, thereby reducing the chance of injury and conserving stamina.
An injury, after all, can lead to death or leave one vulnerable to other predators.
Perhaps this is one of nature's invisible checks. Lifeforms possessing both a voracious appetite and immense combat strength often also possess this overwhelming fighting spirit. This, in turn, culls their numbers, preventing the ecosystem in their territory from falling out of balance.
(Ahem, Deviljho would like a word.)
In this world dominated by wyverns, creatures holding high ecological niches often possess considerable intelligence. Some Elder Dragons at the very apex are even smarter than many humans... There are even rumors that some Elder Dragons commission quests for hunters, essentially hiring them.
Ahem, rumors, just rumors... In any case, when high intelligence combines with base instinct, it results in many wyvern species exhibiting distinct personalities and forming their own unique behavioral patterns.
Asterion was the same, but unlike a normal Glavenus, he possessed even greater intelligence.
He didn't reject this combat instinct, however. Instead, he would leverage his intelligence—using tactics, ambushes, and traps. In short, he would do whatever it took to maximize his chances of winning and emerge the victor.
Yes, Asterion knew he wasn't at his strongest. If he just waited a few more months, until he was fully past his fledgling stage, or even if he hunted his way to adulthood, a mere Jyuratodus would be nothing. Even a large one would be just meat on the chopping block.
But Asterion couldn't wait that long. He was combat-capable now, wasn't he?
Most importantly, he felt he could win.
What if that Jyuratodus got itself killed in the meantime? Wouldn't he lose his chance for revenge forever?
For a wyvern that had been starving since birth, the grudge over a stolen meal was carved deep into his bones.
The main thing was, he couldn't stand the humiliation!
He was a Glavenus! A monster far above Jyuratodus on the food chain!
Yet he had been forced to watch helplessly as the very first prey of his life was stolen!
Could anything be more humiliating?!!
And so, having confirmed he now possessed a decent amount of combat strength, Asterion was impatient to find that Jyuratodus and test his mettle.
The flower-dotted marsh.
Peace and tranquility were still the prevailing mood in this area. The gentle sunset was nothing like the midday sun, which seemed intent on baking every creature alive. Instead, it draped the area in a soft, golden veil.
The hazy light mingled the pale purple flowers with the layers of green leaves, making Asterion almost reluctant to shatter the quiet.
He was faking it.
Asterion wanted nothing more than to fight that Jyuratodus right here, right now, and hack it into seventeen or eighteen pieces, scattering the fish chunks all over the swamp.
As for these flowers and plants... they could grow back. Thanks to the bioenergy from the earth, even if the energy flow beneath the Wildspire Waste was somewhat blocked—preventing the flora from growing as wildly as in the Ancient Forest—they still grew back plenty fast.
That Jyuratodus was the lord of this small patch of swamp. From Asterion's observations, it came here every evening at dusk to prey on the Apceros that came to drink.
Able to dive and swim rapidly beneath the muck, the Jyuratodus could easily break through the Apceros's defenses from below. After all, their soft underbellies had no such armor.
It liked to eat the herbivores' internal organs. It currently had no mate and always hunted alone. Perhaps because it had dominated this swamp for so long without incident, it showed little vigilance while hunting and eating, appearing very relaxed.
However, it was important to note that while the Jyuratodus acted alone, a school of Gajau always followed behind it to eat the scraps. The two were clearly familiar, their interactions practiced, almost like a symbiotic relationship. This meant that as soon as the fight began, these Gajau would become the enemy's helpers. They would be a major nuisance and needed to be dealt with first.
Luckily, it wasn't the rainy season in the Wildspire Waste, and no Kushala Daora had brought a storm recently. This meant the Jyuratodus had no young nearby, and the environment wasn't excessively muddy. ...Then again, it seemed these creatures didn't really care for their young anyway.
They adopted a strategy of bearing many young and then leaving them to fend for themselves. Only a small fraction ever survived to adulthood.
This was good news for Asterion. Jyuratodus young were carnivorous from birth. They would drill into a creature's body through any opening—mouth, nose, or wounds—and parasitize it, devouring the host's organs from within.
Even more disgustingly, the gills of the young were lined with barbs, ensuring a host could never dislodge them. Asterion had no desire to be infested by such a disgusting creature mid-battle.
If that happened, his tiny arms would be useless to save himself. He could only wait to die. Even asking his Kulu-Ya-Ku bro for help would be pointless. To top it off, he still hadn't seen a single trace of hunter activity. The entire New World was likely still isolated, untouched by the Commission.
Asterion observed meticulously. To ensure victory, he wanted to completely overwhelm the Jyuratodus, giving it no chance to escape by relying on its large-monster vitality.
Apologies, but he wasn't just an ordinary Glavenus. He was an Intelligence Glavenus.
Plan first, then strike. The real hunt had already begun long before the first blow.
Asterion planned to eliminate the Jyuratodus's helpers first: those Gajau swimming around the swamp. They were already accustomed to gathering at this exact time every evening, waiting for scraps.
From his hiding spot, Asterion could clearly see a dozen long dorsal fins cutting through the swamp's surface in the distance. Each fish was about a meter long. Those were the Gajau, the Jyuratodus's partners in crime, gathering as their daily feeding time approached.
He couldn't be careless. Even counting his sword-tail—which was coated in its ore "great sword" and took up nearly half his total body length—Asterion was only just over five meters long.
If he got surrounded and swarmed by a dozen meter-long Gajau, the situation would be far from ideal. Asterion had no desire to be skewered like a pincushion.
Gajau were carnivorous and extremely aggressive, even leaping onto the banks to prey on animals that came to drink.
Gently, slowly, bit by bit... Asterion lifted his tail from the reeds. He held his breath, carefully gripping the sharp tip of his sword-tail in his maw.
No offense, fellas, but a quick draw is always satisfying.
Rather than testing the waters, Asterion preferred to open with his single most powerful attack.
His claws dug into the rocks at the bottom of the marsh. Powerful muscles coiled and tensed as Asterion focused all his strength. The faint creak of his teeth gripping the tail's edge even caught the attention of the distant Gajau.
They raised their heads from the water, two catfish-like barbels twitching as they gathered information. But it was already too late.
The only thing reflected in their eyes was a silver-white flash, as if the air itself had split open, or a tidal wave had magnified in the blink of an eye.
Only as darkness consumed them did the Gajau register the heavy, muffled thud of impact and the sound of water splashing violently.
Forget all that, just SHARPEN!!
With devastating momentum, he tore through everything between himself and the Gajau. The swaying reeds were sliced in two before they even had time to bend. The Gajau offered no resistance as they were instantly reduced to a pile of fish corpses.
Well, two fish had slipped through the net. But without the school, Asterion finished them off with just a few precise swings of his tail.
Phase one: Eliminate the Jyuratodus's accomplices. Success!
He'd even harvested a pile of meat in the process. Two birds with one stone.
Looks like an extra course for dinner tonight.
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