"What did you do with that big crystal from before?" Goliath looked me up then down, "You definitely didn't eat that one."
"That one's different," I stilled completely, "It's a dragon crystal, and I'm a dragon so I was able to put it somewhere within myself..." I cocked my head, "I'm not sure how that all works. I don't think you'd care to know even if I did figure it out."
"You're right," Goliath looked at my collection, "Are you sure its safe for you to eat those though?"
"They don't have much mana so yes," I popped the one I was holding into my mouth, "If they were stronger I'd have something to worry about."
Goliath gave me a dirty look for talking with something in my mouth. I didn't care though. For the first time ever I had a crystal in my mouth long enough to actually taste it. My scales slowly went up as the crystal melted in my mouth. I swallowed it slowly.
"Tastes like candy," I mumbled as I eyed the rest of the crystals greedily.
I'd had candy since I became a dragon. Thinking it would be a tasty treat, but sugar might as well be dirt on my predatory tongue. I melted another one out of my ice ball, and stared at it for a minute.
"Don't," Goliath's tone was saying I'm warning you.
I tossed it in my mouth anyways. Goliath didn't have time to give me a dirty look before the rest of the crystals dropped into his lap.
"Jacker crystals taste like sour patch toddlers," I smiled as I swallowed the rest of the crystal confirming I'd tasted right the first time round.
Venomous skill level up.
Huh? I thought I had to use skills to level them up. I only poisoned two creatures since I last leveled up.
Absorbing crystals from beasts that carry the same types of poison as the user can upgrade the skill as well.
Does that translated experience work on all my skills?
No.
Figures. At least I don't need to poison everything to level up my venomous skill. After a brief rest we decided it was time to go back up the walls. I waited a minute for Goliath to bag all the crystals I'd given him. Then Goliath headed towards the elevator while I scaled the wall. It didn't take me as long as I thought it would for me to make it to the top of the canyon.
I was so far beyond exhausted I didn't know if I cared to push for the settlement for now. My wings twitched as I looked for a quiet spot to take a nap. My best bet was to get some rest while I could. I snuck into the trees carefully, and pushed my way into a gap under the roots of one of the trees. I did some serious damage to the tree by forcing myself into the gap.
It was a pretty hidden spot though, and my scales were a good color for hiding in this kind of environment. I told the system to wake me up an hour before daybreak. I dreamed of what it might be like for dragons to live peacefully among human kind. I knew it was mostly a pipe dream at the moment, but that didn't stop me from dreaming it. I couldn't even twitch my wings in this tight space without making the tree creak in protest.
I was still tired when the system woke me up. I ignored quite a few notifications while I was in the canyon. Only paying attention to the ones that mattered the most or were in front of me when I wasn't active in a fight. I started heading back to the settlement. My body had gotten bigger, and I was definitely physically stronger than I was before I went down.
System show me my stats.
XP 3650/49600
Level 17
Health 170
Strength 59
Agility 62
Stamina 64
Instinct 26
Damage resistance 74
Mana 309/309
Damn. My stats have skyrocketed. I snorted as I shoved myself back out of the small gap I'd squeezed into a few hours ago. Now to get back into the settlement.
"Where did I leave my bag?" I mumbled to myself as I got moving.
I racked my brain about where I'd switched forms earlier. It didn't take me long to remember where I'd ducked into the trees earlier. We'd casually strolled along earlier when we'd been headed to the canyon. The settlement wasn't all that far from the canyon in the first place. I pulled my watch out of the bag, and messaged Goliath to ask him if we planned on going back in together.
I switched forms, and got dressed while I waited for his response. I read Goliath's response. He would be too busy to meet up with me anytime soon so I decided to walk in on my own. The looks I got from the gate keeper when I walked back in unscathed, and alone. Priceless.
I chuckled to myself as I walked back to the motel we were using. Only to be ambushed by Savannah as soon as I got there. She slapped me hard.
"What the hell were you thinking?" Savannah yelled at me.
"Butterflies, and rainbows," I replied Sarcastically.
"Keep it down," the man patrolling the streets yelled at us, "Some people are still trying to sleep you stupid brats."
I rubbed my cheek, and looked at Savannah.
"Let's take this inside," I yawned as I walked past her.
Savannah looked like she was going to say something else as I walked past her. I went straight to Ethan's room. Unlocking the door with my key, and stepping in. Ethan wasn't awake yet, but it didn't really matter. His connection to me was strong enough that I didn't even have to explain half of what happened to me for him to piece it together.
"What the hell did you leave for?" Savannah's teeth were clenched in anger as she questioned me.