[Ding! 13 mercenaries killed. +130 Upgrade Points.]
The system notification hadn't even faded when another flash of steel sliced through the rain.
The Knight-Captain's longsword went straight for Logan's wing.
Logan twisted hard to the right and barely cleared the strike.
Man and dragon circled once, stepping over scattered corpses, widening the gap as both settled into fighting stances.
Logan stayed calm.
He'd known from the start—this fight was already over.
The Knight-Captain was strong, no doubt. But after a long chase and several skirmishes, his stamina was shot. Now rage had drowned out his reason completely.
And rage only made him easier to kill.
Sure enough, even though he was clearly stronger than a young dragon, the Knight-Captain roared and charged head-on.
Maybe he'd already decided that he wasn't walking out of this alive.
His aura-infused blade cut through empty air.
The opening was so obvious that it practically screamed.
Logan's tail flicked.
The Knight-Captain lost his balance and hit the ground.
The black dragon pounced, slamming a claw down on the man's back.
His first instinct was the classic dragon finisher: breath to the skull.
He reared back, his throat swelling--
Nothing came out.
The acid breath was spent.
Beneath him, the Knight-Captain thrashed, eyes wild with hatred and despair.
Logan didn't hesitate.
The level gap was too wide.
His hardened claws punched straight through the man's aura shield.
One clean slash across the throat.
Rain washed the blood away.
Moments later, the Knight-Captain died—drenched in grief and rage.
[Ding! Human Knight-Captain killed. +15 Upgrade Points.]
Logan didn't eat people.
Even the original owner of this body—Vorthras—had never considered humans food.
Sure, blood and meat were what dragons craved. But unless a dragon was starving out of its mind, humans weren't on the menu.
Simple reason:
They tasted awful.
Still, he couldn't leave these bodies near the nest.
Logan moved fast.
He stripped every pouch and satchel off the bodies and looped them around his neck without even checking what was inside. Then he started dragging the bodies away, one at a time.
He made sure to dump them deep in the forest—downwind, well away from the nest.
The blood would be washed away by the rain.
The wind would carry the smell somewhere else.
Once the storm passed, other monsters would follow the scent and come to feed.
And when they did, he'd be ready to hunt them.
He only liked the legs anyway.
When he finished cleaning up, Logan hauled the Knight-Captain's longsword and the mage's wand back to the cave.
Only then did he unhook the pouches and start sorting through the loot.
Seven gold, fifty-three silver, and a fistful of copper—he didn't bother counting the rest.
Standard currency—used across the human kingdoms.
The backs bore a lion crest; the fronts bore the face of Emperor Valdric Goldmane.
The same emperor who'd conquered the continent and minted the currency fifteen centuries ago. Gold and silver coins were still hard currency - accepted even in non-human territories.
The rain hadn't fully let up, and the coins gleamed with a soft, wet shine on the cave floor.
Logan couldn't help it. He picked one up in his jaws, gave it a lick—then, without thinking, slid it into a gap between the scales on his chest.
A second later, he groaned and slapped himself lightly on the head with a claw.
Damn dragon instincts.
That possessiveness over gold was practically hardwired into his bones.
The mage's pack held the real prize.
Along with a copy of Basic Magic Manual: All Schools, there were two potions:
[Restoration Potion: Healing Effect (Resistance)]
[Clarity Potion: Meditation Boost (Resistance)]
"Nice."
Logan nodded in approval.
He remembered Aurelia had strong affinities for Light and Water magic.
Once she recovered, she may actually be able to begin learning spells.
The thought barely formed before a jolt ran through him.
--The medicine.
Logan immediately coughed up the herbs and clamped the Restoration Potion between his jaws, lumbering over to Aurelia.
One look, and his heart sank.
In just a few hours, her complexion had gone even paler. Her lips were starting to turn bluish.
[Remaining Lifespan: 17 hours]
Time was slipping away—silent, merciless.
"We start treatment. Now."
Logan's mind was razor-sharp.
He chose to use the Restoration Potion first.
From years of gaming, he knew these potions usually just restored HP - good for stabilizing someone on the brink of death, but not an actual cure. Still, it might buy her time.
He reached out a claw.
Then stopped.
His reinforced claws were way too sharp. Even the back side could slice her skin if he was not careful.
"If only I could retract them—like a cat."
The thought barely crossed his mind before his eyes sharpened.
Logan opened the system's free modification interface, targeted his right foreclaw, and started redesigning the structure - designing it from his memory of feline retractable claws.
Once the design was done, the system provided him with a quote.
[Free Modification: Right Foreclaw | Custom Design]
[(Dragon Dissonance: 10%)]
[(Upgrade Point Cost: 50)]
"Fifty points... I can live with that."
Logan nodded and couldn't help asking:
"System, what is this 'Dragon Dissonance'?"
[Ding! Dragon Dissonance measures how far the host's custom modifications deviate from standard dragon physiology.]
[The higher the dissonance, the more Upgrade Points required.]
"Got it."
Logan nodded understandingly.
Fair enough.
Otherwise, with enough points, he could turn himself into a walking war machine.
"Wouldn't even be a dragon at that point."
He muttered under his breath,
"Might as well go all Decepticon."
...