Day 16

  PAIN!!

  That was what Isaac woke up to. He felt like shit. It was worse than the one time he had downed a whole fireball in one night. But he had somehow survived and gained something.

  You have awakened your mana.

  Congratulations for awakening your mana from a stone. Hasn't your mother told you not to eat strange objects you find?

  ‘What the...’ he had so many questions.

  Mana nourishment : Middle high~

  ‘That didn't help much either’, there was thankfully more.

  You have gained the passive skill Mana Sight.

  Congratulations. You see more than normal people… you are not crazy; you have gained the skill: ”mana sight”

  This one did tell him something, and as he had just noticed, his eyes were still closed… but he could see the cave… somehow.

  ‘Yeah, no shit, there was a cave.’ Isaac lived in one.

  He opened his eyes.

  And went blind, light of so many colors burned into his dragon eyes, almost knocking him out and making him blind.

  Aharrrg! Isaac growled out.

  Closing his eyes. And after a bit of time, he squinted his eyes and looked around. The light was still overwhelming, but manageable. What he saw was what would be mana? He guessed.

  There were small motes of light… everywhere, and a shit ton of colors of them, all flying around. Most were brown and a blue-ish color, clinging to the wall. The motes were flying around. Some seemed to fly into him each time he took a breath. It was a mesmerizing sight... that still made him very blind.

  There should be a way to turn this off, right? He needed to check his status.

  Isaac

  Dragon: Youngling

  Level: 9

  Dragon Nourishment: 8

  Mana Nourishment: Middle high~

  Skills:

  Bite level 7

  Claws level 11

  Evasion level 3

  Mana sight level 0

  How did he have mana sight at zero? ‘I mean I guess it makes sense, but…’ he had just gotten it, but it was still puzzling. And what the hell was Mana nourishment? 'Something like Dragon nourishment,' but he didn't have any new hunger or craving to eat mana stones, 'yet.' he really hoped not.

  'But I still need to see.'

  Hmmm mana sight.

  He somehow needed to control the mana. He couldn't put his claws on it before, but the feeling he had gotten when he had picked up the mana stone was now all over the lair…and in his eyes if he could just.

  You have gained the skill Meditation.

  Congratulations, for actually thinking for once, you have gained the skill “Meditation”

  … That was not what he was going after, but a nice addition. Now, what did it do?

  He felt like a switch had been turned on when he focused on the skill. His mind sharpened, it was like his focus had been doubled…

  You have leveled meditation to level 1

  Damn, not what he was going for, but now he felt like he could perceive something more behind his eyes. Something he could just turn off like the switch..

  You have leveled mana sight to level 1

  He could now, finally, open his eyes without getting flash-banged, nice.

  He stood up and realized he was again starting to get too big for his lair.

  This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

  Damn, I might need to find a new cave.

  As Isaac moved around, he noticed his back leg was fine, but the dark green scale on his leg was still cracked from the blow.

  'I need to be more careful in the future and pick my fights more wisely.'

  He made a mental note of that.

  He tested a bit more around with his new skills, and found out that there were more nodes where the mana was concentrated. He could feel it, but he could also see it now, and speaking of seeing.

  His new skill, mana sight, did help him see a node of something in the wall, something familiar, something he had eaten. Another mana stone. 'And guessing from the brown motes, the walls here are pretty strong.'

  More testing let him see that when he started digging in the walls, he was also taking off some of the brown mana. 'Hmm, can I move it back?'

  He tried a few things, and what succeeded was stupid in his mind. He led what mana should have gone into him as he took a breath, to the wall, and “asked” the mana to stay… that also gave him a skill.

  You have gained the skill Mana manipulation.

  You have leveled Mana manipulation to level 1

  He was on a skill spree.

  Isaac then started to dig into the wall and found two more mana stones.

  Mana stone: enrichment low

  Mana stone: enrichment Medium

  Hmm, they were lower in power than the last, and they didn't give much of a tinge as the last one… Isaac turned on Mana sight.

  Aaa fuck me.

  It was blinding… again. But not as bad as when he woke up. The stones themselves were making more of the blue mana motes in the air, spewing them out. And into him. He could somehow feel it grow into him… that's weird—

  You have leveled Mana manipulation to level 2

  —and nice.

  He wasn't sure, but the feeling of the mana motes was helping. Giving him a warm soothing sensation. It was nice.

  It also made him sleepy.

  Dragon nourishment: 8

  But before he could do that, he needed food and a stockpile of it.

  It was time for a new hunt.

  Day 20

  Isaac had been very careful for the past few days. Maybe a bit too careful outside the cave. But his hunger was sated, and he had time to make his lair bigger.

  Dragon nourishment: 25

  There, he had finally reached 25 again. Not that it helped him much. He was still a bit short on the levels. And he could always go for success.

  But he was a growing dragon and needed his meat.

  That reminded him, could he eat plants?

  I should really make a list at this point.

  He found a wall and guided more mana motes into it. It was slow and it felt like he was losing a bit of himself each time he did it. But the cave was filled to the brim with the motes, and he just needed a bit of time to gain what he had used.

  He did, however, gain some levels for his effort.

  You have leveled Mana manipulation to level 3

  You have leveled Mana sight to level 2

  You have leveled meditation to level 3

  He had also leveled when he was out hunting, but only his bite

  You have leveled Bite to level 8

  But now that he had a place to write on that was hard and well could last, he started… with all his questions.

  Where was he?

  Veern? Where is that?

  System? Give levels and mana?

  I am a dragon? Am I me? I have an instinct?

  Skills, what gives?

  Are there people out there? Are there only frogs?

  Please no.

  Isaac had sooo many questions but few answers. What he did know was that he had let the dragon instinct take over. And for better or worse, it had saved him… and almost killed him too with the mother frog.

  So what is the plan for the future?

  That was the hard question, wasn't it?

  He did wonder more about his time as a human. But was that the right question to ask now?

  Isaac shook his head, and the feeling from his soul… he knew reinforced itself on him. He had died, and he was now the first dragon in Veern.

  And that was that.

  But he did need a to-do list. He raised his claws and started writing on the wall.

  Dragon growth for survival

  Frogs were from? More living things out there.

  Exploring the world and magic. Where the fuck am I?

  Three-ish things…

  That was doable.

  Now, though, he needed a nap.