Naya walked carefully through the rocky area that was dotted by bushes and sparse trees. Her hand lingered over the small pouch that hung from the right side of her waist. The pouch contained various tools and materials that she could use to cast spells quickly to defend herself, attack, and also to help her with taming a beast.
The Geldale Forest in which the Endola Beast Taming Academy conducted its final test was home to a number of threatening and powerful beasts. While the academy often sent out its experts to cull the number of powerful beasts, they still left enough beasts to make sure that the ecosystem of the Geldale forest remained in balance
Rustle...
A bush to the right shook and Naya spun in its direction. She turned, finding a small, weasel like creature that was about the size of her forearm. It looked relatively harmless, and was just biting into some berries that grew on the bush. However, before she could think of what to do next, the weasel let out a screech and leapt towards her, revealing terribly long claws that exuded a chilling red glow.
Naya was not slow either, holding up her left hand to cast a basic defensive spell, while also reaching into her pouch with her right hand and pulling out a small marble that was the size of her fingernail. The marble shimmered with a red light under the late morning sun.
Thump!
The body of the weasel slammed against the pale blue shield that had appeared in its path, and came to a stop. At the same time, Naya had activated the red marble. A blazing spear of flames launched forward and impaled the weasel through the barrier that it had hit, sending it crashing back toward the bush that it had come from with a squeal of pain and agony.
"Phew... that was close. I shouldn't let my guard down again." Naya sighed as she confirmed the weasel was dead. She packed up its body and stuffed it into another pouch that hung behind her. She could roast it over a fire later for a meal.
.
.
Keegan rolled around, his entire body buzzing with excitement. It had taken him a few hours, but he had finally managed to gain control over all of his motor functions. He could move around and navigate well enough. It was much different from when he was a human, but experience was still experience. He was not a baby who was barely even cognitive.
Over the past few hours, Keegan had come to realize something. It was that he was not completely clueless about this world. The reason for this was because of a repository of knowledge that sat at the back of his mind. The name he had gotten from it was the Codex!
The Codex was an archive of knowledge that possessed information on basically everything there was to know of this world! Of course, Keegan could not just instantly access all this knowledge at once, but if he was ever faced with something he was curious about, information about it would suddenly be available to him.
Of course, there was a reason why the Codex was at Keegan's fingertips. This reason was also gotten from the very same Codex. Keegan, after his reincarnation, was not born as a human, but as he had later found out, he had been reborn as a Dragon!
Dragons were Mythical Creatures in this world, creatures that stood at the apex of the world, the very cream of the crop. They enjoyed great benefits regarding their abilities, growth, strength, and potential when compared to every other being in the world. And Dragons just happened to occupy one of the top spaces among all Mythical Creatures!
And atop that totem pole where Dragons sat at the top, Keegan was occupying the very peak! Among Dragons, there were special types of Dragons. These were referred to as Legendary Dragons. They possessed special capabilities that allowed them to stand head and shoulder above every other type of Dragon. Keegan was one such Legendary Dragon, and was even the rarest of them all, the Everscale Dragon!
The Everscale Dragon was unique in that it incorporated the powers and uniqueness of all other types of Dragons! This meant it possessed the advantages of every other type of Dragon, all while bearing none of their weaknesses.
However, there was a downside. There could only ever be one Everscale at a time. If there were more, then the balance of the world would be thrown into turmoil. It would never end well.
Because of the power and rarity of the the Everscale, it also became the most precious source of incredibly rare and powerful materials that could be used to create many miraculous potions and artifacts! This made the growth stage of an Everscale incredibly dangerous! There was once a time where an adolescent Everscale had been killed. Just a liter of its blood was enough to send entire kingdoms into debt!
"This period is the most dangerous to me. And based on what I have been able to glean from the Codex, I am within the vicinity of one of the most powerful forces of the world. Just great." Keegan sighed and rubbed his scaled chin. It was a human gesture that had followed him into this life.
Keegan was currently laying on his back with his wings folded underneath him while he contemplated all this information. It was a lot to take in, but he was eager to explore it all. He just needed to find a way to survive this period when he was at his weakest.
The Everscale was an incredibly powerful force on its own. If it was allowed to grow into its full potential, it would be unstoppable. Every Everscale, except those that had been killed when they were young, had gone on to dominate the world, or establish power blocs that withstood the test of time. It was a testament to their strength.