Chapter 7: To be better

I closed my eyes for the assimilation, waiting for muscle tearing, nerve-wracking pain….

[There won't be any pain during the assimilation process] Trevor said seemingly amused by the preparation.

"There is no loss in bracing myself just in case" I retorted

Trevor didn't say anything further, he just stared at the frog's body, the next moment two blue light beams shot out from his eyes.

Puff!

The moment the beam touched the body, it burst into a golden mist which floated in the air for a moment, then it started to move, it started swirling like a tornado around me to be more precise, and the particles melted as soon as it touched my body…..

Soon the mist disappeared. I could instantly discern changes in my body, my muscles have become much more flexible and stronger, my vision has become much clearer in the dark and I also seem to receive a minor poison resistance.

I could feel it

The power

The potential

What I can achieve with this sort of strength! 

[Let's go to the next floor]

I nodded in agreement and moved toward the next floor. At first, I was jogging, then slowly my steps became wider, and my legs moved faster until I was in a full-on sprint…….

This dungeon is built like a cave, where each floor is deeper than the previous one. Each floor of the dungeon has different types of monsters guarding it and each floor has a boss monster… this dungeon. Moreover, the lower I go the more dangerous monsters I will encounter...it will take some time to achieve my goal to conquer but the most important fact is that…….

This is dangerous

This is life-threatening

But I am not going to stop, not because I feel obligated to Trevor……well his persuasion did play a part in me walking on this path. However, right now there is a feeling in my heart, and with each passing day, the feeling is becoming more predominant.

To leave behind my weak self back

To leave my past behind

To grow and become………..better.

The feeling was like a blazing fire that kept burning and spreading. It is pushing me to fight more fights, to reap more wins no matter what the risk is……

I like to think this is my dragon side talking, the pure turbulent emotions that keep driving me to face the more dangerous path, to face more dangerous threats, the feeling that fills my blood with fervor and excitement in each battle….

All of these are changes that happened to me after reincarnation. At least that is what I think…

But I can't be sure.

After all, in my past life, I never really tried to learn about myself, I always tried to mold my likes and dislikes to my family's preferences….even after leaving them behind I never tried to change the old ways, the only time I choose for myself was when I choose to go to art college…and I cannot say it was a great decision.

But now it is different. Now I want to find myself.

I want to grow!...

[We are here!] I was notified by Trevor. I decided to clear my mind and bring my attention to urgent matters at hand and when I did I was baffled. 

The second floor was more green compared to the first floor, it was wide and spacious and it looked like a grassy plain. The soil was moist, Trees were growing here and there and the surface was covered with a thick blanket of grass.

But these are not the things that baffle me.

What baffles me is the absence of light, don't get me wrong I can see without any problem but only because I have good night vision which was upgraded earlier.

I am pretty sure without the frog upgrade I would have a hard time on this floor due to how dark it was here and according to Trevor, this dungeon does not simulate day or night.

So this lush greenery was grown in the absence of light which means it was personally created by the dungeon,

there are no way plants can sustain themselves here otherwise

I halted my sprinting

From now on I decided to move cautiously, I noticed that the grass that grows here was very long and thick not enough to hinder my movements but enough to block my view…….hmmmmm 

"A room where visibility is less and long grasses that hide what's beneath it…something tells me that my new opponents like to play hide and seek," I thought. It was pure speculation based on movie logic

Trevor didn't say anything about my comment, he never does actually, he doesn't interfere or help with my hunts, his reason is that I will become too dependent on him which will affect my growth.

I cautiously walked forward, trampling the long grasses on the way. It was an effort to change the surroundings to my advantage. 

but it was a mistake, my stomping helped the enemy track me faster, it followed the vibrations and locked on to me, 

It came closer to me hiding behind the long grass and when it reached close enough it lept.

It was at the last moment, I saw it from the corner of my eyes.

It was quick 

It was precise

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It was a snake….

Its aim was my neck, but I was not going to let it happen. I raised my arm to hit it in mid-air at least that was my intention but the timing got messed up and it ended up with the snake biting my arm….

Although my heart did skip a beat I realized there was no pain, with a quick examination I found out that the snake had failed to Pierce my scale, although it was trying hard, its teeth were not strong enough, I quickly slashed at the snake, ending the creature's life.

"Man….that scared the shit out of me, thank God my scales were tough" 

Thank God indeed, although I contribute my victories to my intelligence and adaptability, I was again reminded that these claws and scales have a huge role in my battles, and made my battles one easy mode.

I examined my claws, I have four slender fingers and my claws were like a curved blade, with a 2inch length. Considering my size, which is just the size of a big cat or small dog it was pretty big.

In novels, dragons' claws and scales are portrayed as good material to create weapons. I guess there is some truth in that. 

I moved forward, and now and then I will get ambushed by snakes, only for them to get killed by my hands

Their attack pattern was simple, close in under the cover of the thick grass and strike decisive attacks aimed at the vitals. It also seems that they greatly favor my neck. but after their initial strike, they were quite vulnerable, they didn't have any sort of defense.

 

And with my solid scales negating their attacks, it was all but slaughter for the snake kin but I have to say they were helluva annoying, they were relentless and did not care for their fallen Brethren, at some point they started to swarm me from everywhere like a frenzied colony of ants.

Although it only takes one stroke to kill a snake, the sheer number of them was overwhelming, and there is no way I can kill every one of them, so I decided to do the best thing I could do…..

I started to run.

The mob on this floor turned out to be annoying, killing all of them would be a waste of time, so I decided to kill the boss and move on to the next floor, it didn't take me much time because the floor boss will always live near the entrance of next floor, after all, they are its guardian, the ones that tasked to challenge the intruders and stopping them from breaching it.

The guardian was with no surprise a snake, a big ass scary-looking king cobra, it was curled into a ball and sleeping in front of the entrance of the third floor.

Well, no reason for me to wake it up……

Without making any sound I charged at a lightning-fast speed, by the time it was able to sense me it was too late, I was already near it…..

Opening my mouth I aimed for its hood. In my mind, the head was the safest choice. It will prevent it from retaliating with its bite. Although I have tough scales, I am not going to try to find out which one is stronger, its teeth or my scales.

My sharp teeth sank into its hood…..

"Hissssssss Hissssssssss" unsurprisingly the snake started to thrash and wriggle furiously to escape from my jaws but found it was useless, my jaws were quite strong and It carries quite a biting force.

When it seemed like there was no use in trying to escape from my mouth it changed its tactic, mustering the last of it the strength it coiled around me in an attempt to choke me…

I was not going to let that happen…..again! with my two arms, I grabbed its slippery body with a tight grip and pulled very hard with both my mouth and hands….

With every strength I have, I pulled, blood gushed into my mouth, and I could feel its skull breaking apart under the pressure of my jaws, and with a final pull, I tore its head from its body.

"Kuiiii" 

[Congratulations on killing two-floor bosses in a single day] Trevor said floating beside me, 

I spat the head out in disgust "yukkkk, it tastes like shit" 

For the first time I tasted something this horrible, I don't know whether it was blood or the meat, it tasted like molten tar….

[It's the poison that leaked out when you damaged its glands]

I turned around in shock "what?"

[You don't have to worry, your poison resistance attribute has already started to negate the poison, you will be perfectly fine in 10 minutes]

I sighed in relief, it would be stupid if I died from poisoning after willingly biting a snake.

[Let's move on to the assimilation process ] Trevor said in his robotic voice, I nodded.

Again Trevor shoots out his 'mistifying beam' onto the snake's body which turns to golden mist which was absorbed by me again.

The changes…..I could feel it again like earlier, my canine teeth became much longer and stronger, and my poison resistance skills increased by one level. I grew in size, it was barely noticeable by anyone else but I could notice it, realize it……my growth. I felt happiness in my growth, satisfaction in my development 

These feelings are pleasant but I feel like it's not enough…..

I have taken one more step forward but it's not enough!

One more step toward leaving my past self behind but it's not enough!

it's not enough, I need to fight more fights, 

need to take more steps,

To become the greatest of all Guardians 

To become the mightiest of all dragons

So that I can truly say I am better than old me, 

I narrowed my eyes at the entrance of the next floor, my heart was filled with determination, "whatever it takes" I muttered.

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