Chapter 4 The Escaped Beast
"huh, huh"

The young red dragon hid in a cave somewhere deep in the forest, with the entrance shaded by drooping dense branches.

Cassius was not sure whether he had escaped the pursuit of the half-elf paladin, so he had to flee deep into the Boka Mountains.

Don't look back, and don't stop.

He didn't know how much time had passed until he was almost out of strength and came to this more secluded cave, where he felt a little relieved.

When you go out, the main thing is to be cautious.

"It should be thrown away."

Cassius panted, his tone still uncertain.

The light curtain slowly unfolded again, and another three-dimensional trophy image appeared.

Obtained the achievement [Escaped Beast]

"The hunters are coming, run away, leave here, and never come back."

Gain passive properties:
【The Fugitive】

Agility+2
Stealth +2, Movement +4
(Note: Long-term training has made you proficient in how to escape. This is not a shame, but simply a means of survival.)
Suddenly, the red dragon felt a non-physical, breeze-like force clinging to his body and rapidly transforming it visibly.

And he naturally accepted this change with pleasure.

After staying in the cave for several hours, the force finally subsided.

"Is this a spell?"

"No, I don't feel the flow of elements."

"It's more like a kind of psychic power."

The red dragon observed himself in the puddle:

The limbs and torso are still muscular, but are changing towards a more beautiful and streamlined shape.

It no longer has the exaggerated appearance of the original red dragon's "swollen muscles all over the body", and even the wing membrane has undergone some slight changes, allowing it to better cling to the elements in the air to fly.

Compared to before, the red dragon is now lighter.

The achievement system seems to be its own unique feature. You can get rewards by completing certain events. Passive abilities such as metal scales and fugitives are not weak in the later stages of the game.

But what puzzled Cassius was his own template.

In the previous life of "Elzegai", player templates and monster templates were two completely different things.

Before Legend, player templates could gain experience (XP) through combat and missions to level themselves up. Therefore, in the later stages of the game, tens of thousands of extraordinary warriors above level 12 were mass-produced to change the course of battle.

The monster templates are native to this world and can only increase their strength through self-exploration and aging.

But the panel is still there, so everything is fine.

The translucent blue light curtain slowly unfolds.

Cassius discovered that his prefix had changed.

【Rich Young Red Dragon】

Name: Cassius Claude Noricius

Template: NPC (10 years, 1 day and 4 hours before server launch)

Type: Large dragon, lawful neutral
Ac: 20 (natural armor, metal scales)
Attributes:
Strength - 21
Agility - 12
Constitution——19
Intelligence - 12
Perception – 11
Charm - 14
技能熟练：隐匿+6、运动+4、察觉+8、狩猎+2、逃亡+4、知识（未来）+4
Damage Immunity: Fire

Senses: Blindsight 10 ft., darkvision 60 ft., passive perception 14 ft.

Languages: Draconic, Common

Actions: bite, claw, tail attack, fly, breath weapon (fire)

Features: Metal Scales, Fugitive

Combat Equipment: Magic Nullification Talisman, Ring of Agile Mage Action, Scorcher Staff, Talisman of Speak with the Dead, Lava Sputterer, Ring of Blade Immunity, Talisman of Silent Footsteps, Mask of Owlbeast Perception.
Challenge Rating: 8 (3 XP)

Comment: "Even when facing a young red dragon, never underestimate it, otherwise it will become a nightmare for your whole life. Moreover, this is a wealthy young dragon with more than ten magical items. If you are not careful, you will fall into his control."

Will the original prefix change?
Really interesting.

The yellowish-brown feather fell onto the tip of the red dragon's nose. He couldn't help but spit out a breath of hot, sulfur-smelling air, which burned the feather black and blew it away.

"It's probably time for the owner of the nest to come back."

Cassius thought so.

as predicted.

Soon, an angry roar came from the cave entrance. "Roar! Roar!"

A ferocious beast suddenly lifted the branch - a dull ivory eagle beak and strong limbs covered with eagle feathers.

Its eight-foot-tall, sturdy body was covered with thick dark feathers, and its size alone made it even larger than Cassius'.

This is the owlbear, a brutal predator of the wild.

It might be a sample created by some crazy wizard in ancient times based on bears and owls. Now it has spread all over the continent, and the panel of the owlbear in front of him also appeared in front of Cassius.

[Based on your own strength, you can observe the following information]
Adult male owlbear

Type: Large beast, always neutral
Ac: 15
Attributes:
Strength - 20
Agility - 12
Constitution——19
Intelligence - 2
Perception – 12
Charm - 10
Proficiency: Listening +4, Perception +8, Hunting +4
Senses: Smell 14 feet, passive perception 16 feet, moonkin intuition 20 feet

Language: None
Movement: Grapple, bite, ram, claw

Ability: Improved Grappling

Challenge Rating: 3 (700 XP)

Comments: "Owlbears are extremely vicious predators and are generally considered to be ferocious, aggressive, and very bad-tempered. They tend to attack anything that moves without warning."

Cassius looked at the beast in front of him, spread his wings, and used magic items to cast the animal conversation spell in advance to test it:
"Submit to me, Owlbear."

However, the violent beast roared and beat the ground with its claws.

It came in from the cave and rushed towards the red dragon.

With only 2 points of intelligence, these beasts could only roughly estimate the size of the dragon, and would never realize the terrifying power hidden in the body of the young dragon.

What's more, the red dragon has not yet awakened its aura, making it even more "ordinary".

“Is it really just a beast?”

Cassius shook his head, showing no fear of the beast charging at him, and just opened his mouth nonchalantly.

【Scorching Ray】

The fire element crystal on the staff in his body flickered red, bursting out with hot magical energy, casting this second-level spell.

Although the red dragon, which serves as the carrier, is young and has not yet mastered the ability to cast spells, its natural affinity for the element of fire makes the spells more powerful when they are transmitted through its throat.

"Bang bang bang!"

Three rays of blazing flame spurted out, all hitting the owlbear's body.

For this kind of hairy beast, the effect of the fire element is more significant. The moment the flame ray touches the owl bear, large pieces of his hair are singed and then burn fiercely.

"Ow—"

The giant beast howled in pain and rolled on the ground.

But this could not stop the raging flames, nor could it stop the young dragon that pounced on him and bit his body hard.

Even the "molten heart" in Cassius's belly emits a scorching magical aura, causing additional fire damage.

Soon, the cave was filled with the smell of burning fur and the rich aroma of barbecued meat.

"good."

"It's just a little firewood."

Cassius chewed the thick, slightly charred bear meat in big mouthfuls, and the panel unfolded in front of him again.

[Kill an adult male owlbear and gain 700xp]
[Level Upgraded to Level 1]
[Due to your racial characteristics, it will be more difficult to upgrade your career level, but you will also gain more powerful power]
Obtained the achievement [First Blood]

"Welcome to this colorful world."

Get the player's occupation panel
Several professional medals such as warrior, mage, warlock, monk, etc. are presented on the panel, and under these major professional categories, there are densely packed branch sub-professions.

Cassius was stunned at first, then ecstatic.

He then remembered that in the game of his previous life, players had to complete the novice mission "Kill a turkey" in an unknown space before unlocking the player's career panel.

Dragons crave power.

But seeking out the skills of humanoids is not a natural thing for them to do. They are proud and look down on non-dragon knowledge.

In general, dragons hate to learn the abilities of "lower" species, so their heritage lacks any avenues for improvement, relying instead on natural spells and endless greed for treasure.

Although players can easily find ways to become stronger, their basic panel is imported based on real data.

In the early stages of the game, player attributes were appalling. There was even a barbarian player who wished to remain anonymous who created the "miracle" of starting with 8 intelligence.

But Cassius can easily combine the dragon race's terrifying talents with the player's profession.

(End of this chapter)