"Damn. It."
Staring at the screen where his character had been carted back to camp in the game, Kael listlessly set down the controller and fell into a long silence.
It was like his brain had suddenly short-circuited. After a while, his palm slammed onto the desk with a loud thud—HP-1 for the table—as he roared, his face red like an overheated shrimp from a distance.
"Seriously?! How did I whiff that?!!"
No, he needed to calm down!
Kael took a deep breath and twisted his stiff neck, just about to get up and grab a glass of water.
The next second, a massive shadow engulfed him. Amid the deafening crash of shattered windows and walls, only one thought flashed through his mind:
"So you can hit the jackpot at home, too?"
***
In the New World, deep within the Ancient Forest, a cluster of luminous moss emitted a faint glow in a hidden tree hollow.
Around the moss, a few forest geckos clung motionlessly to the damp, moss-covered walls, waiting for insects drawn to the light—their eyes shifting slightly like seasoned hunters.
Unbeknownst to them, danger was creeping closer.
From the shadows, a figure stealthily approached. Once in position, its powerful hind legs bent slightly, wings tucked in, adjusting its balance.
With the scrape of claws against the ground, the figure lunged forward, jaws snapping shut on an unsuspecting gecko before it could react. The predator violently shook its head until the prey in its mouth went limp.
After securing the kill, the figure eagerly pinned the gecko's lower half underfoot and began tearing into it under the dim glow of the moss.
Gradually, the figure's form became visible.
It was a juvenile male Rathalos!
The red scales on its body bore only small, budding spines. Its oversized head still looked slightly disproportionate to its frame, and the wings it would one day take pride in were currently nothing more than featherless chicken wings plastered against its sides—utterly useless for flight.
By all accounts, this should have been a hatchling still dependent on its parents for food.
Yet this supposedly helpless whelp had just completed a solo hunt, even if the prey was just a harmless forest gecko.
After finishing its meal, it licked the lingering metallic tang of blood from its jaws and glanced back at the luminous moss. Seeing no signs of the geckos regrouping, it resignedly retreated into the shadows.
The tree hollow wasn't small—but only relative to Kael's current size as a hatchling.
Wobbling over to a damp spot, it bit off half of a carefully preserved toxic mushroom and swallowed it whole, then snapped up a passing bitterbug before finally settling beside the hidden stream inside the hollow.
Several days had passed since his transmigration, but he still couldn't figure out why, as a Rathalos, his birthplace wasn't a Rathalos nest or a Kulu-Ya-Ku's food stash, but this perfectly tailored "beginner's safehouse" of a tree hollow.
It had water, a steady supply of easily obtainable food just enough to keep a freshly hatched whelp from starving, and an entrance obscured by hanging vines and thick grass—narrow enough to keep out any large creatures measuring over ten meters in length.
A safehouse like this, plus being the only dragon here, made it impossible not to suspect some "divine arrangement" was at play.
But dwelling on it now was pointless. After days of explosive growth post-hatching, the food in the hollow could no longer meet his needs.
Take today, for example: one forest gecko and a large mushroom only barely staved off the gnawing hunger—a portion that would've stuffed him full right after hatching.
So... was this the end of the tutorial phase?
Irritated, he thumped the ground with his newly spiked tail to vent before slowly closing his eyes.
Soon, a strange warmth seeped up from the earth, gradually absorbed into his body. This energy enhanced his physique slowly but holistically—what Kael assumed to be this world's unique life energy.
It was this miraculous energy that birthed the vibrant ecosystem of this world.
Though Kael wasn't sure if his case was special. Like the legendary Elder Dragons, he could sense and actively absorb this life energy flowing through the earth's veins.
Unbeknownst to him, faint silver-blue particles materialized in his blind spot, merging with the life energy as it was drawn into his body.
Time passed. When Kael felt he'd reached his current limit, he reopened his eyes.
"Tch. Even after ditching humanity, my body still has limits. What was the point of becoming a monster then?"
Muttering to himself, he willed a simple panel—visible only to him—into existence.
[Name: Kael Drakethorne
Race: Flying Wyvern — Rathalos
Trait: Random selection in progress (99%)]
The panel was crude, but as a veteran web novel reader, Kael knew this thing was one of his lifelines in this world.
As for the rest? That'd be his high-tier Rathalos body—a species dubbed "King of the Skies."
Don't let the games fool you, where Rathalos constantly jobbed to other monsters, their status plummeting with each installment. In this real world, Rathalos were undisputed apex predators, sitting at the top of the food chain!
"Almost there, just a bit more..."
Suppressing his anticipation, Kael closed the panel and headed back toward the luminous moss.
With the hollow's resources no longer sufficient, venturing outside was inevitable.
And whatever trait he drew next would tip the scales in his favor.
After downing another forest gecko, the trait selection finally hit 100%. A chaotic string of garbled text later, the result appeared:
[Trait: Speed Boost (Grows faster over time in combat)]
"???"
Is this what I think it is?
This description sounds just like that one trait from a famous game! Except it's "over time in combat" instead of "per turn." Plus, there's a second trait slot now—so stacked traits? Could there be a third? A fourth?
The implications stunned Kael. If true, his future wouldn't just be about survival—he might just reach for that realm, the one called [Forbidden], transcending this world's ecological order!
***
By the stream, several Kelbi grazed warily, heads constantly swiveling. As bottom-feeders in the ecosystem, bolting at the first sign of danger was their survival strategy, whether the threat was real or not.
Hidden in the grass, Kael drooled as he eyed the Kelbi, inching closer with painstaking care.
What could he do? He was a flightless Rathalos. Unlike the more agile female Rathians, his elongated toes forced him to walk on bent knuckles, so closing the distance was key to a successful hunt.
Soon, as Kael took another step, the grazing Kelbi's ears shot up, heads whipping around in alarm.
Knowing he couldn't wait any longer, Kael burst from the grass like an arrow, wings flared wide.
The Kelbi scattered instantly. Kael zeroed in on his chosen target and gave chase.
With [Speed Boost] active, his pace steadily increased. Within moments, his jaws clamped down on the Kelbi's hindquarters. Momentum carried him forward, tumbling into a clumsy slide before skidding to a stop.
The Kelbi in his mouth kicked wildly, far stronger than the geckos, but Kael held firm until the struggles ceased.
Without bothering to brush off the dirt, he tore into the warm meat right then and there.
Unlike cold-blooded geckos, the Kelbi's tender flesh suited his palate better—soft, slightly gamey, and utterly addictive!
His chewing sped up involuntarily, even drawing out a pleased growl.
"Mrrgh~"
Just as Kael was feasting, a deep, guttural roar echoed nearby. Swallowing hastily, he licked his chops and looked up.
The next second, his pupils shrank. Instinctively crouching low, he let out a defensive snarl.
Emerging from behind a boulder were three adult Aptonoth and two juveniles. The largest Aptonoth glared at Kael, front hooves pawing the ground aggressively—clearly ready to charge and trample this low-threat whelp.
Faced with sudden hostility, Kael defiantly roared back—though it came out more like a squeaky growl.
He was a carnivorous wyvern, damn it! A top-tier predator at that! If he backed down from a few herbivores now, where would his dignity be?!
"Shitshitshit!!"
Through the undergrowth, Kael flapped his wings like a panicked chicken, scrambling over obstacles while emitting frantic, incoherent yelps.
Behind him, two enraged Aptonoth snorted heavily, heads lowered as they pursued relentlessly, determined to turn him into paste.
Right now, Kael was drowning in regret.
Why had he roared back?!
Now, what was originally just a warning to shoo him away had escalated into a full-blown chase. The Aptonoth were out for blood.
Thankfully, [Speed Boost] activated the moment the chase began. Using the Ancient Forest's dense terrain, Kael survived the most dangerous initial phase. As his speed snowballed, the already sluggish Aptonoth fell behind until they could only watch helplessly as he vanished into the trees.
The two Aptonoth exchanged confused looks. Their tiny brains couldn't comprehend how a flightless Rathalos whelp could outrun them.
Meanwhile, Kael gasped for breath after finally shaking them off.
The physical exhaustion was one thing, but as combat ended, the lightness from [Speed Boost] faded rapidly. The returning heaviness made his body feel like it'd been strapped into lead armor—every movement a struggle.
"At least I finished that Kelbi. Would've been a total loss otherwise."
The one he'd caught had been plump, filling his belly for the first time in what felt like ages.
Just then, a pungent, rotting stench assaulted his nostrils. Too exhausted earlier to notice, his senses were now sharpening again.
Following the odor, he spotted a glistening patch of mucus on a distant rock face under the sunlight.
"A territory marker?"
Most large creatures in this world marked their domains—be it mucus, claw marks, or shed scales.
Kael didn't know whose mucus this was, but his innate Rathalos vision picked out two deep gashes beside it. The sheer depth screamed "giant predator."
And he'd just trespassed into its territory.
His barely settled nerves spiked again. Kael scanned the surroundings warily, half-expecting some behemoth to come charging around a corner, jaws wide.
At his current size, outrunning Aptonoth was his limit. Against true giants, one of their steps equaled ten of his—how was he supposed to escape?
As he cautiously turned, a chill shot down his spine. The familiar lightness of [Speed Boost] returned.
No behemoth appeared—but what did emerge was a creature mostly yellow-green, with black "eyeshadow" markings under its eyes, a row of tall brown spines along its back, and a maw full of serrated teeth. It stared at Kael with cold, reptilian eyes.
A Jagras. One of the lowest-tier carnivores, armed with decent claws and a passable bite—but otherwise unremarkable.
Small and weak, Jagras only preyed on creatures their size or smaller, often fleeing up trees when faced with larger threats. Bottom-feeders, through and through.
Individually, this thing was less dangerous than the Aptonoth earlier—hell, it was even smaller than current Kael.
But here's the problem: Jagras were pack hunters.
Sure enough, two more emerged from the brush, flanking Kael while scanning the skies for any adult Rathalos that might be guarding him.
"What kind of cursed luck is this?!"
This world was downright hostile to unaccompanied wyvern whelps!
Kael internally wailed, already pivoting to flee.
***
But just as he coiled to sprint, a series of earth-shaking footsteps thudded closer.
Branches snapped. Ferns taller than Kael were shoved aside. In this sea of green, the source remained unseen—but each step reverberated like a war drum.
The three Jagras immediately stood upright, pinpointing the direction—then bolted the opposite way without hesitation. Hunger was preferable to death.
Kael was already moving too, faster than them. As he dove into the thicket, his peripheral vision caught a massive, snarling head bursting through the foliage, roaring after his fleeing form.
"Holy—Anjanath?!!"