Free Web NovelChapter 20: Gluttony Dragon
"Hey, System, tell me something," Ren called out to the System. "About the Ruler Dragon, is it all just about buffing my followers? I get why it’s pretty cool, but that would limit me if that’s the case.
My Devour manages to gain me more abilities and strength. I fear if I choose that Ruler, I’d lose all of that and have to start grinding for EXP," he asked the System a question and waited for a reply.
A few seconds went by, and no reply.
"Sigh." He heaved a heavy sigh.
[Ruler Dragon is a dragon willing to give everything to make his followers stronger.]
The System replied. It was short and managed to deliver what was needed. Ren read it once, and then twice. He heaved a sigh and then spoke.
"I understand," he muttered and then looked around. He saw all the wolves and lizardmen that relied on him. There was no way he could allow them to stay without strength.
"Yeah, I have to defend and protect them, and to do that I have to grow stronger myself. Gluttony will allow me to do that. It will allow me to reach the peak of my strength faster, and that way I can lend and give strength to them.
That does it. I’ll not take the uncertainty of the Ruler Dragon. Give me Gluttony."
[Do you wish to evolve?]
"Yeah, yeah. Do it."
The moment the words left his mouth, his eyes closed. The same energy sphere that had formed to protect him the first time formed again.
Every monster in the forest, and even beyond, felt the flow of mana change, all of it surging toward the dragon that was about to take another step now.
Remu, who was close by, watched in pure shock and admiration. He had genuinely picked a good master.
[.......]
The night passed in total stillness inside that hidden corner of the cave, but stillness was not the right word for what was actually happening to him.
His body grew.
Slowly at first, then faster, bones lengthening, muscle and scale stretching to accommodate a frame that no longer fit the dimensions he’d carried into the dome. By the time the process finally settled, he had gone from a respectable four feet to a staggering eight, more than doubling in size over the course of a single night.
The golden lines at the edges of his scales had deepened too, brighter now, more defined, two clean streaks of gold running from the base of his skull all the way down beneath each eye, like war paint etched permanently into his own hide. His wings had grown to match the rest of him, broad and powerful, folded neatly along his back as the dome finally dissolved around him.
Ren’s eyes opened slowly.
He looked down at himself, at limbs that felt entirely different beneath him, and for a long moment he simply stared, genuinely speechless at the sheer scale of the change.
"Okay," he finally managed. "Okay, that is... that is a lot bigger than I expected."
[Evolution Complete]
[You have become: Gluttony Dragon]
[+30 to all stats]
[New Skills Unlocked: Fusion, Borrowed Might, Ultimate Gluttony]
[EXP Requirement Reset]
[New EXP Scaling: 1,000 per level, flat]
[Evolution Threshold: Level 30]
Ren pulled up his full status, eager to see everything laid out properly this time.
[Status]
[Name: Ren]
[Race: Dragon — Gluttony Dragon]
[Level: 1]
[EXP: 0 / 1,000]
[Strength: 122]
[Speed: 124]
[Stamina: 124]
[Skills: Glide, Dragon Vision, Claw Strike, Ember Breath, Devour, Inherit, Scale Hardening, Dragon’s Rage, Flame Dragon Form, Sonic Roar, Venom Fang, Fusion, Borrowed Might, Ultimate Gluttony]
He stared at the numbers for a long moment, then focused on the three new skills, curiosity pulling his attention immediately.
[Fusion: Consume two or more creatures in quick succession to combine select traits or properties into something new. Results vary based on the nature of what is consumed.]
[Borrowed Might: Upon consumption, temporarily inherit the full combat strength of the slain creature for 24 hours. Effects stack with multiple consumptions, allowing layered, compounding power for the duration.]
[Ultimate Gluttony: Grants access to an ever-expanding pool of strength, with no fixed ceiling, so long as consumption continues. Failure to consume regularly will result in rapid strength decay, followed by death.]
Ren read that last one twice, eyebrows lifting.
"Okay, that one’s... that one’s a double-edged sword if I’ve ever seen one." He let out a low whistle. "Infinite growth as long as I keep eating, or I just... what, waste away? Cool. Cool, cool, cool. No pressure there."
Still, even with that warning baked into it, he couldn’t deny the appeal sitting underneath all three. Fusion alone opened doors he hadn’t even considered yet, and Borrowed Might sounded like exactly the kind of tool that could turn close fights into easy ones.
He flexed his new claws slowly, getting a feel for limbs that finally matched the strength he now carried.
Outside the hidden corner, the wolves and lizardmen had already gathered, drawn by the same surge of mana that had rippled through the forest hours earlier. When Ren finally stepped out into the open cave, every single one of them froze.
Remu’s jaw actually dropped.
Silas, beside him, simply stared, ears pinned back in something between awe and disbelief.
None of them had expected this. None of them had a frame of reference for a transformation this complete, this fast.
"Yeah, I know," Ren said, rolling his shoulders, testing the new weight and reach of his much larger frame. "Big glow-up. We’ll talk about it later."
He activated Dragon Vision out of habit, scanning toward the distant camp before anything else, and felt his stomach tighten the instant the image resolved.
They were moving.
The camp had emptied out, students and instructors alike advancing through the treeline in organized formation, weapons drawn, clearly no longer interested in waiting around for permission.
The confrontation had started. They had been warned. Whatever came next was of their own bringing.
"Remu, do what I asked you to."
Ren spread his wings, and in one thunderous blast, he shot out of the cave.
