A Dragon's Curiosity

Charging headfirst at the [Goblin] earned Accalia her first lesson. The green skinned monster did not panic and carefully stepped back as the wolf rushed at it. Holding its wooden club in front of its chest, the scrawny creature blocked the mindless claw swing aimed at it with comparable ease, retaliating as soon as the wolf drew back in order to regain her balance.

The loud smacking slam revealed the brute force applied to Accalia’s shoulder, much like the yelp she uttered from being hit. Afraid of the pain and the unexpected resistance shown by the [Goblin], the wolf hastily retreated outside of its range.

Assured by its initial success and the fact that the second opponent, Nisha, had stayed outside of the conflict so far, the green monster was very satisfied it roared with pleasure - as much as any creature with a scrawny build and shrill voice could roar, anyway.

Looking to her master for instruction or reassurance, Little Lia learned her second lesson almost right away. Seeing the beast distracted, the monster grew confident and stepped bravely forward. Bringing its club up in a mighty overhead swing, the wolf only barely escaped a gruesome fate as her instincts kicked in and Accalia shifted the center of her body slightly in the nick of time as the blow rained down on her. Instead of hitting her squarely on the head, the wooden weapon grazed her shoulder and almost broke it.

Being at the second aura rank protected the wolf’s body somewhat, but the distance between the first and second rank was not big enough to disregard a hit from a weapon. Confused and hurt, Accalia drew back again and ran to her master.

Nisha acted like a passive observer so far and could only sigh.

Maybe I spoiled Lia too much. Even I did better in my first fight.

Reminiscing the past, where the four dragons assaulted a horned rabbit, the lowest monster on the ladder there was, for a bit of meat, Nisha ignored the [Goblin], which inched closer and closer as neither of the two offered it resistance. Gathering all its courage to take on two opponents at the same time, it roared again and swung its club wildly, hoping to do as much damage as it could in a short amount of time.

Without paying attention, Nisha stepped to the side ever so slightly to evade by a thin margin and pushed the creature over, unwilling to expend much effort on a critter at the middle of the first rank.

Turning around while the [Goblin] screeched in indignation and scrambled back, the dragon turned to her companion and applied a small amount of mana as the only healing spell she knew. The dark light ate away at Little Lia’s shoulder, who whined much less, now that the black light ate away at the damage.

“Listen, rushing in without a care is a viable strategy in only one case when you are so much stronger than your enemy that the difference does not matter anymore.

While you are currently stronger than a [Goblin], you also lack fighting experience. If it had the strength to completely shatter your bones and you took that hit without me being here, the battle might be over already.

Concentrate on studying its movement and look for an opportunity to strike. I will not help you again; try to take it down without getting too injured.”

Their current predicament mirrored a bad situation most monster tamers faced. A monster born from the eggs sold by the guild often lacked the necessary survival instincts that came with being born in the Wilderness or similar environments. To counteract that weakness, monster tamers often trained their beasts for moons before they brought their contracted creatures into the Dungeon for the first time. The dragon, herself, had to survive countless fights at each rank, often driven by hunger and squeezing her last reserves out of a wounded and battered body to ensure the survival of her siblings and herself.

Compared to that, Accalia lacked in every aspect.

Thankfully the contract binding them and the monster language spoken by Nisha allowed her to understand the critical aspects quickly. Instead of blindly rushing in again, the wolf stalked around the green monster, which nervously gave some distance at well.

From clashing with the elf, it already knew she was the more tricky opponent and felt very thankful for having to face only the wolf.

Accalia had the freedom to circle the [Goblin] completely, while it had to keep away from Nisha to avoid a pincer attack. With neither side opening the hostilities, tension built in the air as both of the combatants now respected their adversary and looked for an opening to enter the melee.

Inside her mind, the dragon praised the wolf; acting recklessly in this situation earned her nothing. Seeing her companion learn after a single mistake convinced her there might be hope for Little Lia to grow into a capable fighter.

In the end, the goblin could not suppress its pride, and it carefully ran into range to swing its weapon but far enough to stay away from the wolf’s claws.

Jumping to the side of the bash, the wolf barely scraped by the wood again, her fur dampening the remaining force. Latching on the [Goblin]’s wrist, Lia crushed her teeth together, maiming the green creature and ruining its grip on its weapon.

It wailed in pain and dropped the club, scampering away and bringing as much distance as possible between itself and the ball of sharp teeth.

Lia ignored the pain in her shoulder and pursued the defeated creature, not willing to give up the opportunity.

Bestial instinct kicked in, and the wolf closed her fangs around the [Goblin]’s neck. With a single jerk, a loud crack rang out, indicating how the skinny bones broke apart, and the light left the creature’s eyes.

In a frenzy, Lia continued to tear at the corpse, ripping out chunks of meat and satiating her inner monster.

“Not bad. When you are done, I have some tips for you.”

Nisha herself did not mind the situation at all. As a dragon, she understood her little darling’s instincts, the need to sate herself with the flesh of a defeated enemy. Although Little Lia might have to learn not to stain herself so much with blood while picking apart a corpse.

After she devoured about half of the [Goblin], the wolf finally settled down and regained clarity. Giving the inert body a last shake with her paw, Lia returned to her master’s side. She looked at the elf with gleaming eyes, clearly waiting for praise.

The dragon swallowed the words she wanted to say and softened up. Stroking the golden fur for a while, Nisha indulged the wolf.

“For a first time, you did fairly well. Just remember to observe your enemy first in the future. Charging straight ahead is a bad idea in most cases. Take your time; look for an opening and feint if you can’t find one. Although, an artificially created opening is not as good as a natural one; you can still probe that way.”

Getting praise from her favorite owner, the furry creature instantly rubbed herself against Nisha in a spoiled manner, yipping from satisfaction and happiness.

The elf only rolled her eyes at the display, giving Lia a small kick to get her to stand up.

“I really don’t know what you are so happy about. This is only a single rank one opponent, not even one close to the peak of rank one. You leeched so much energy from me to enter the second aura rank and still have trouble taking down a goblin impostor; aren’t you losing face to me? Come on; we’re going to look for some more practice.”

Despite her slightly harsh respite, Nisha unconditionally loved the wolf in the same manner, making sure the little critter was not injured in the previous battle. After giving her a full-body rub-down, which totally did not serve to indulge Nisha in any way, the two of them entered the next room, looking for more combat experience.

Regrettably, they did not find an opponent right away; therefore the elf imparted some of her insight in the way of a Hunter to the wild beast.

Nisha had never enjoyed systematic training, either as Little Flame or in the [Royal Academy] so far’ all of her insight had been born out of her own history, stalking stronger prey for the pivotal opening, allowing her to strike at a vital moment and then retreat before the injured, angry, and confused prey had a chance to realize what was going on. Stalking her target, melding into the shadows, and using speed to overwhelm an unaware opponent, her own style was born out of trial and blood.

With the benefit of the dragon knowing the monster language and having a deep bond with the wolf, the younger beast greatly benefitted from her teachings when they found a small group of foes in the fourth room they looked into.

Huddling around a pile of unrecognizable meat, three boars with red highlights in their fur feasted.

As a curious peculiarity, the dungeon stipulated a few regulations on the monsters it gave birth to, at least from the understanding of adventurers in the past.

No matter how wounded or vulnerable a group was, the monsters felt extremely reluctant to step out onto the pathways. Therefore a group could spend time and plan for an encounter if they had a line of sight before engaging with the hostile group.

Conversely, every style of monster also threw long-range attacks at adventurer teams whenever they remained too long in the open, which developed a trend of thief type classes acting as scouts on the lower floors.

Naturally, there also existed stealth brand existences roaming around, making a visual sweep by an inexperienced scout a risky affair for newly formed teams.

Thankfully Nisha had never experienced such problems. Her [Spirit Eyes] already confirmed no other monsters besides the [Crimson Specked Boars] lurked inside this room.

With just a smidgen of fire aura in their bodies, these three represented the lowest layer of the first rank, enough to give Accalia a challenge but not dangerous enough to require Nisha to step in.

“Alright, now go, and make me proud. As a rank two beast, these small fries are not really worth having you go all out. Focus on the weak spots, and never stay in the same spot. Taking on three at the same time ought to be a good lesson; just keep in mind I will not step in. If it gets too much, come back out here. Go.”

True to the way of the beast king, Nisha gave her little cub, at least Little Lia looked like that to her, a generous push in the right direction. Namely, right in the middle of the room, where three enraged boars waited for the wolf.

Howls of sorrow rang out from the betrayal, yet they did not save Lia. Sprinting away from the three black-furred monsters, the wolf had to run several laps before finding an opportunity to retaliate the first time.

Sadly, her hasty swipe did not do much damage, only adding several bloody lines to the shoulder of a now even angrier pig.

To her credit, Accalia absorbed her master’s teachings like a dry sponge, and when the enraged boar rammed the place she had launched her attack from, the wolf had already sprinted away. She did wait to see the result of her attack and opted for safety instead.

The wolf had the superior physique and advantage when it came to speed. Contrary, the [Crimson Specked Boars] had trouble making turns and keeping track of the agile cat, scrambling and uttering infuriated squeals.

Surrounding them as a golden blur, Lia managed to return about one strike for every three charges the boards made as they took turns assaulting her.

Still, the superior rank two aura reinforcing the wolf’s body meant the scale pattern of her fur protected Accalia from the worst when she took risks. Through gaining experience and learning more about the patterns and weaknesses of the pigs, Lia left deep streaks leaking blood on their bodies and even crushed two separate eyes. The boars almost did not register the damage, but the accumulated blood loss over time slowed them even further. Ultimately they dropped one by one, succumbing to the inevitable.

Nisha showed her approval when Little Lia came to her after dealing with the last [Ember Specked Boar] instead of feasting on them right away again.

Walking up to one of the corpses, Nisha’s [Taurith Short Sword] flashed as one of the pigs crumbled into bite-sized portions and several bits flew into the air, where the elf directly devoured them. To humans or elves, this raw meal would have evoked feelings of revulsion or invoked doubt as to whether the elf was a monster on the inside; however, the wolf only felt admiration for the accuracy and speed of her weapon. Lia conceded on being inferior in all aspects compared to her beloved master and craved to increase her own strength to catch up.

“Alright, this is barely passable. Since you caught them by yourself, eat your spoils of war; I will keep this one.

Oh, and when you are done, we will go look for the next room; the day is still young after all.”

The praise suddenly felt much more hollow to Accalia and felt an instinctive urge to escape as fast as possible from her owner, who did not seem so lovable anymore.

On that day, several adventurer teams postponed their plans to explore the first layer of the Dungeon, the wails of a ghost coming up the stairs deterring them from going in.