Evolution: From Lizard to Lord

The forest was different now.

The moment his body had undergone that blinding transformation—scales hardening, senses sharpening, instincts deepening—the world around him had shifted. It wasn't just brighter; it was louder, richer, more alive. Every rustle of leaves, every scent on the breeze was clear as speech.

Yet something in that wind stirred unease.

The undergrowth trembled. Not with fear, but rhythm. Steady, powerful steps. Heavy. Measured. A predator's walk. And not the kind he had dominated in his early days. No, this was something else entirely.

He stilled.

'That sound… too deliberate. Not prey. Not mindless. Something hunting—'

A low, guttural growl rolled through the trees.

He turned slowly toward the sound, muscles tense beneath newly formed scales. His tail, thicker and heavier now, swept lightly behind him for balance. He crouched low beneath the cover of a thorned fern and peered ahead.

Out from the treeline stepped a creature of nightmares—a Barghest.

At least two meters tall at the shoulder, canine in shape but far from any simple beast. Its fur was deep black with streaks of crimson that shimmered like veins of fire beneath the surface. Two piercing yellow eyes scanned the forest, glowing with an unnatural intelligence. A cursed hound from the dungeons of Nazarick itself.

Not just intelligent. Sentient.

A cruel grin formed on its lips as it lifted its snout and sniffed.

He froze. The Barghest stopped too.

Then it turned its head—right at him.

The lunge came without warning. One moment it stood poised, the next it had crossed ten meters in a blink, fangs bared.

Instinct took over.

He hurled his body sideways as claws raked the space he'd just vacated. Dirt exploded where he'd stood. Rolling to his feet, he opened his jaws and breathed—not fire, not ice, but pressure.

"RAAAAHHH!"

A roar. Not magical, not flashy, but thunderous. The kind that made birds scatter from the trees.

The Barghest staggered back a step, surprised more than injured. It snarled and circled.

This wasn't going to be easy.

'It's testing me… I need to do the same.'

The Proto-Drake lunged, claws forward, jaws snapping. The Barghest ducked under the bite but took a grazing slash to its side. Black blood sprayed. It yelped but countered with a full-body tackle, slamming into his ribs.

CRACK!

Pain.

He tumbled across the dirt, the world spinning as branches snapped beneath his weight. A tree trunk stopped him with a sickening thud. The bark caved inward.

[Damage sustained. Activating passive defense.]

[Skill activated: Hardened Scales (Minor)]

A shimmer passed over his body. The bruised scales on his left flank gleamed for a moment—then hardened, dulling the pain.

'That would've broken bones before... but now—'

The Barghest charged again, but this time he was ready.

He didn't dodge.

He met the charge, slamming both forelimbs into the beast's shoulders. The Barghest growled in surprise as momentum halted. The Proto-Drake twisted, dragging claws across the monster's throat. Not deep enough.

The beast retaliated with a claw slash that gouged his side, but it didn't penetrate the reinforced scales. Not fully.

[Skill Hardened Scales (Minor): Damage reduced.]

He dropped low and swept his tail under the Barghest's legs. The strike landed clean. The beast crashed onto its side with a startled growl.

He pounced.

Teeth sank into its shoulder.

Crunch.

It howled. Kicked. Bit back. Fangs tore through his softer underbelly.

[Minor injury detected.]

He ignored it. Adrenaline—no, magicules—burned through him. He gripped tighter.

But the Barghest's body shimmered.

"Damn," he hissed aloud.

The beast's skin rippled with dark magic. A skill?

A pulse of darkness exploded from its body, hurling him off like a ragdoll. His body crashed into another tree, and this one didn't stop his momentum—it broke in half.

'That was magic… Tier magic?'

No. Something cruder. Like a racial ability. But the danger was real.

The Barghest stood slowly, breathing heavily. Blood dripped from multiple wounds, but it was still grinning. Enjoying itself.

'It's not fighting to survive. It's fighting for fun.'

He growled low.

"Then let's stop playing."

He charged—not wildly, but fast. This time, he used the terrain. Rocks. Roots. Trees. He twisted around a trunk and came at the Barghest from the side, biting at its hind leg.

The beast yelped as he clamped down and threw it off-balance. He didn't let go. He dragged the creature, using weight and force, slamming it into a stone outcrop.

The Barghest howled in agony.

He struck again.

Claws raked the beast's underbelly.

More blood.

The Barghest kicked wildly, slashing his shoulder. Pain lanced through him. Blood flowed freely. But he didn't retreat.

Instead, he pressed closer, forcing the Barghest onto its back. With a roar, he sank his teeth into the creature's neck—

This time, he didn't let go.

The Barghest thrashed. Whimpered. Growled. Fought.

Then stopped.

Its breathing slowed.

Then halted.

He held a moment longer, until certainty took hold.

Only then did he release his jaws, breathing heavily, blood dripping from his muzzle. The beast's body lay still beneath him.

Silence returned to the forest.

Then—

[Predation complete.]

[Analyzing corpse... Skill fragment detected.]

[Extra Skill gained: Night Sense (Minor)]

A pulse passed through his mind. Sight adapted. Darkness—already something he was learning to master—became even clearer.

'So… I can gain from them too. Just like before.'

He stood over the corpse, breathing slowly. His scales were scratched and bloodied, but they had held. His muscles burned, but not in defeat.

In triumph.

This was what it meant to grow.

To evolve not just in body—but in strength, in experience, in skill.

The battle hadn't just been a random encounter. No. It was a test. A trial.

And he had passed.

As he looked at the torn-up battlefield, the broken trees, and the blood-soaked soil, a quiet thought drifted through his mind:

'I'm going to need more of this. Stronger prey. More magicules. More power.'

He looked down at his claws, gleaming with Barghest blood.

'I'm still just beginning.'

And somewhere, deep within him, that voice returned—cold, mechanical, ever watching.

[Magicule saturation: 0.11%]

He chuckled.

"Still a long way to go."

But for the first time since his rebirth…

He felt like he was truly alive.