Useless Dragon

I sped away from the island, skipping along the surface like a stone. The hot sun warmed my pink scales, wings cooled off by the ocean's spray. My tail churned the water, kept able to sprint for dozens of minutes by the strength of my breath, and most concretely of all, Topaz's [Pet Speed] Skill. My Quickness stat still read 12 despite the tangible difference in actual travel speed- leading me to believe the stat encompassed more than how much ground I could cover per hour. Forceful breath and stamina cap up leveled once each, better facilitating quick, predatorial bursts of movement.

The island appeared crystalline, broad leaves of the trees refracting light in a shimmering scatter of green on the unusually bright orange sand. Spiral-shelled crabs roamed the coast, purple translucent stones glowing on their backs as they parted the sand with gestures in search of prey to eat. I focused on a group of four and charged, entire foot and a half of serpentine dragon hitting one with a controlled crash. Its top-heavy balance fell to the sand with a quiet thud, and my wings pushed me back out of its claw range. The crab tried to gesture with a claw, throwing a clump of dry sand at me as I lined up a bite. I coughed and sputtered at the sand clump striking my gills, [Forceful Breath] clearing the gravelley grains and letting me line up a [Bite] on the crab's flailing underside. It shrieked and spasmed, Poison from my single fang coursing through its pounding veins.

[Skill: Bite has risen to level 4. You have slain: Mana crab. Experience Gained]

The other three crabs fixed on me their undivided attention. I panicked and flapped backwards, uncoordinated winglike fins unsuited to air travel, and making large targets for the crabs' thrown sand-gravel. One's spray shot wide, one pierced my underside, and the third caught my wing. I slithered towards the water, trying to serpentine between sprays from those annoying caster-crabs, and practically rolled into the water once I hit shallows deep enough to hide in.

While I waited, the mental bridge pulsed. [Are you hurt?] Topaz asked, voice sounding recorded but very much hers.

"And my wing's pierced. Can you do anything about that?" I challenged, but the answer was already on its way. My peripheral vision picked up a cyan light, and I flexed my wing just enough to see the largest holes closing. Her healing, while small, seemed to coast along, persisting even after the light faded. I watched the smallest wound close, taking a minute or two, then turned my vision back through the turbulent surface. The mana crabs surrounded their fallen ally, claws raised. They took a minute to snap performatively at eachother, feistiest one approaching the dead crab and wrenching the purple stone from its back. The other two took to scraping apart the body and shoveling their own species into their mouths, while the 'winner' grasped the purple stone with an odd focus. Its glow subtly dimmed while the crabs had their meal, but something large and dark blue from the bushes interrupted all three. A bear, large and strong even by ursine standards, crunched its jaws around the winning crab's shell. The other two uselessly tried to fight back, defeated by a claw swipe and a gesture of its sharklike tail. The tail struck nothing, merely glowing with power, but that was enough. A deluge of water burst from the ground, shooting into the crab's underbelly with no hope of defense.

The bear's feasting took only slightly longer than its fighting. it scooped and slurped, large paws and barbed tongue unusually dexterous in removing the coastal meat before walking away, likely in search of other prey.

I knew I had to act fast, but not so fast as to put myself on the bear's menu. I swam up to the fallen crabs, course-correcting for my damaged wing, and pressed my snout to the half-drained stone.

[Initiate Mana drain?] The System asked

I slashed the [Yes] button faster than I slashed most forms of prey. The idea of being a wizard called out to me like a Greek mythos siren, and starting magic without an actual organ for mana sounded preposterous.

[Valerie, Phyllopteryx Hatchling is missing component: Kanastone. Loot sufficiently magical foes to acquire one.]

I looked around at the stones the crabs carried. They were magical all right, but nowhere near as much as the bear's must be. Having no way to carry them, I pushed the Kanastones in the ground with my snout and slitheringly swam around the coast. The bear entered my view again, casting another spell with a gesture of its paw. Water around a ridged seal thickened and surged, pushing it onto the beach for a chomp from the bear. It seemed satisfied with itself, licking off its lips and slowly walking back inland. I followed at a distance, trusting the aura of death by ursine to protect me from predators. 

And it worked. Something large flew overhead, earning a twitch to the bear's rounded ears. A roar from the sky chilled my blood, but only earned a roar back from the bear, louder in volume and carrying a much closer impact to it, to the point where I felt several scales crack under the pressure. The bear stood at its full height, balancing with the help of its shark tail, and tracking its eyes I saw its foe. 

A green spiky wyvern, looking slightly mismatched in proportion, swooped towards the bear. It pulled up at the last second, flat of its bulky-looking tail clubbing the bear upside the stomach. It coughed, even its desperate regulation of air making me think of the sound and threat level of a chainsaw's motor, slashing upwards at the wyvern's feet. It responded in kind, attempting to land on the bear and failing on paper- but slashing with the claws of a powerful wing before flapping away with that same wing. It began to fly in a large circle for another attack, but the bear looked ready despite its wounds, bending down to scoop water from the ground. The spiked wyvern swooped again, lining up another attack, when that same blast of water struck it point-blank. Not enough to disrupt its next swing, but enough to slow it down- and enough for the bear to drive a claw into the underside of the very tail. It slammed downwards, leverage-deprived wyvern breaking something from the force of the throw. The bear turned back, apparently satisfied with its win, but its opponent wasn't done yet. Steam escaped the wyvern's mouth, scaled head conjuring a glob of dark waxy substance and practically spitting it towards the bear. 

"Is that fire synthesis?" I thought, my desire to be a fire-breathing dragon growing at this display. The burning wax struck the bear's back fin, forcing it to roll on the ground, but not before lumbering back and biting the wyvern's long-ish neck. It lifted and lowered the head in a single, powerful shake, gold-speckled blood pouring from the wound.

Where the bear saw a win, I saw an opportunity. I slid around, careful to dodge a still-twitching wing, and spat poison into the wound. The wyvern thrashed, its pain only rising with its weakness, and I watched in violent glee as my poison took effect

[You have slain: Young Wrath wyvern. You have gained much Experience. Level has risen to 9. Vitality +1. Skill point gained.]

[Fundamental skill: Poison Synthesis has risen to level 5. Upgrade available.]

I multitasked, chomping away at the wyvern while reading the choice of upgrades. I wasn't expecting much, in the face of the fairly bland options for [Breath], but this floored me.

[-Upgrade choices-]

[0 SP: Advanced, Efficient, Strong, Compressed] I could, without spending a single resource, turn my poison into a flat-out better version of itself. Or specialize it for this same waived cost, to either hit harder, cost less stamina and therefore food, or store more before running dry

[1 SP: Clinging, Bursting, Speedy] I could change how the poison behaved, sticking to surfaces, spreading quickly, or make it shoot faster

[2 SP: Sharp, Burning, Freezing, Corrosive] I could add an elemental effect, lightning seemingly replaced with acid in the trio I was used to. Sharp seemed odd, until I thought of how tiny blades in the bloodstream could wreak havoc on a person's internals

[4 SP: Mana-breaking, Life-Seeking, Viral, Gravity-amplifying] These weren't as obvious. Mana-breaking turned the damage into mana reduction, relegating poison to strictly utility and stopping it from directly killing anything. Life-Seeking seemed to do the opposite, altering not the raw power of my poison but very much the end result. Viral seemed like the odd one out. Would it spread? Snowball in power? Evolve through use, beyond my Skill levels? And of course, Gravity seemed like a gimmick. 

"Now this is the Fundamental Power" I mused in awe.

[I saw your options, are you having trouble?] Asked Topaz.

"That was eerily quick. Just how much are you doing outside of watching my Status?"

[Looking out for anything. The Island's empty, and forgive my excitement, that evolution's my ticket out of here]

"Fair enough. I'm looking to make use of my three skill points. Life-seeking is tempting, but-"

[You probably won't reach level ten without it, that island is smaller and nine to ten seems to take as long as one to nine]

I gasped, rethinking my game plan on the spot. Gone was the desire to save up for life-seeking, I needed something more practical now.

"I have a really bad feeling about sharp. Lots of creatures resist their own acid, but whatever it's doing I don't want liquid sharpness anywhere near me."

[How much resists acid?] Topaz offered. [If something does, it's either specialized to resist acid and not much else, or defies physics so much that you probably don't want to fight it anyway]

I made my choice, feeling something churn within the back of my throat. Fearing for the worst, I pointed my mouth away from my meal, but the only thing to come out of me was a Systematic congratulation

[Fundamental skill: Poison Synthesis Level 5 (I+) has evolved into Corrosive Poison synthesis (II+) level 1]

That was a definite mouthful. My other choice of skill was something I should have chosen already, if not for the opportunity cost. 

[Stealth]. Good for hunting or not being hunted. I could tell my species was some sort of apex predator, but I was in the stage of weakness known as childhood and needed all the help I could get. Plus, sneaking up on prey would be that much easier. I continued having my fill of the spiky wyvern, smaller teeth tearing apart the gamey meat and swallowing it down, dodging only the scent of my own poison

[Skill: Scent has risen to Level 2] 

Smells seemed sharper, tastes just as much so. I took in the fresh, black-licorice barbeque taste of the wrath wyvern, the refreshing salty sea air, and from one side, the damp, heavy, sweat-and-brine smell of the coast bear.

Halfway through a wing, I felt my weight shift. While snakes ate once a week and saved it slowly, clearly my species only got the first half of the memo. Too heavy to fly, I slithered like a stuffed sock in the direction of the bear's trail, suspicions only confirmed when I saw the center of the island. A small, slightly snaking channel of water connected the island's edge to its center, where a cave of grey stone stood. And within that, a bear of dark, walrus-like skin lay, painting the water a faint red with its blood.

"This is almost too easy" I whispered, getting into position at the edge of the bear's lake and conjuring an orb of newly corrosive poison into my mouth. My stamina fell, draining into this orb of condensed unpleasantness. It dropped into the water as I caught my breath, radiating outwards in a sampler platter of gross hues. I recognized the oily purple of my old poison, but somehow interwoven with a thicker yellow-green without fading together into brown. The water, formerly a faint red, darkened. I slid away as far as I could to catch my breath, feeling the wyvern meat in my gullet dissolve into energy at a rapid pace. A suspenseful minute passed, and I nearly shouted in surprise when the System made any sort of noise.

[Skill: Stamina cap has risen to level 3]

Not one to look that in the mouth, I slithered to the side of the bear's watery den. Despite the quick initial spread, the dreadful mixture seemed to be taking its time to reach the bear.

"Meaning" I whispered with a smile "I've got more chances to soil the pool."

Another orb formed in my mouth, fundamental skill being given a strain. More stored meat burned up, returning me to my standard shape. and more corrosive poison joined the water, bubbling and sizzling as it paraded across the pool, diffusion bringing tendrils ever closer to my sleeping prey. I watched them with baited breath, waiting for the ubiquitous feelings of muscle-burn to fade before trying again. Unfortunately, I didn't think I'd have to recharge stamina for a third full burst. I inhaled, angled my mouth downwards, towards the densest center of the disgusting mass I made, and let out a fresh gust of [Forceful Breath].

Purple liquid surged towards the bear, only now realizing something was off, to a hideous synergy. Poison blown into slowly-closing wounds was bad enough, compounded by enough acid to hold them open. Not knowing what was going on, the bear trudged towards me with a snarl. Fear from the sound began to overtake me, no doubt a Skill the bear brought upon me, when it raised its paw to cast a spell on what it saw as a helpless foe. The start of the same water orb spell tried to rise out of the murky water, but I saw the spell wobble and leak, thrown at me like a punctured water balloon. Lacking any ability to dodge, I blew a gust of wind at the orb, slowing and widening it- to hit me a second later like a thrown blanket.

The bear's expression was confused. It looked at its own paws, looked at its foe, and roared again- failing to see anything wrong with the orb of liquid flying towards it. Having nothing to fear from a blob of liquid, it gestured with a paw to block with its liquid-manipulating hydromancy it knew to expect, but realized too late there was no water in this attack. 

The blob of acid hit the side of the bear's face. Completely undiluted, it burned through the bear's pain resistance with a sizzle, dripping to its shoulder wound from the wrath wyvern's wing. Not panicking, the bear dipped into its trusty pool of water to wash off, only to be blindsided by even more of this pain. Base instincts took over, the bear rolling and flailing in a roar that might as well have said "get this bad magic off me now," only further sloshing poison through its system, slowing its movement and overwhelming any sort of healing it was likely relying on. 

[Skill: Corrosive Poison synthesis has risen to level 2]

And then a minute later, the best notification I had seen thus far.

[You have slain: Coast bear. Valerie, Phyllopteryx Hatchling reached level 10. Skill point gained. One fundamental power gained. Evolution Available.]

I breathed a sigh of relief, as Topaz shouted mirthfully through our mind link. 

[I was watching your evolution options the whole time, but didn't want to distract you] Topaz admitted. I let her talk my tympanum off while I curled up across the cave and watched the battle between whatever potency the acid had left, and the flesh still on the bear's skeleton.

After a minute or two, the dissolving stopped. The toughness of monster parts and the subtle exchange of water left the fallen bear a clear winner, but weakened for me to claim my prize. No sooner did my tailblade stop cutting through weakened flesh and clink against what felt like glass did I hear the System speak again.

[Kanastone found. Integrate?]

no sooner had I said yes than something inside the bear broke down, swirling up my tail and forming behind my skull. An electrical brainfreeze ignited within my head, pure world-editing power spreading through my systems. I cared not for the pressure at the top of my spine, as no doubt my new form would accommodate that. Before I could make any decision, words rapid-fired through my mental link.

[What just happened your list of options just tripled in size]

"I held down a kanastone. Do you really think I'd let that go to waste?"

[Fair point. Most of your old options were around your fundamental skills, and I'm probably in a better state to filter them. It says you've got a skill point and pick of fundamental power left, choose something new wisely and it'll integrate into your new form.]

I brought up my skill list again. It too had grown, with some party tricks and real picks. Water, Poison, Mind, Healing, and Acid served as schools of magic for me to choose, unhelpfully called Spell-ements by Topaz. And while I lacked any reason to choose one without a magic type, mana Skills followed. Gathering, saving, compression, storage, perception... that last one looked useful, but not enough to pivot an evolution around. 

I thought for nearly a hundred seconds, when the answer slapped me in the face. I was an aquatic dragon, and my element was everywhere. To flee from it would be pointless, so I chose to double down.

[Fundamental Skill purchased: Water magic (I+) level 1.]

"I made my choice. Can you find something that specializes in the magic part more than the water part?"

As I waited, I idly practised with the water magic I saw. Nothing fancy, I simply pushed water back and forth until my mana ran dry.

[Skill: Water magic has risen- I found one!] topaz cut in with a singsong voice. 

[It does... pretty much everything you want it to. It's fairly large for a tier 2 ontop of better vitality and a healing factor, it's good at multitasking]

"Please, get on with it"

Topaz sent a statblock over the mind bridge, and it looked unconventional, but useful. Better mind and defense, but truly tied together by its name. I accepted it with only a mild sigh, taking a spot in the shallows and readying myself to evolve. 

[Valerie, Phyllopteryx Hatchling (I) began her evolution into a Hydrapprentice (II)]