Chapter 7: A Portal in the Woods

A strange wet sensation against his cheek slowly pulled him from his sleep.

Still half-asleep, Chris frowned and shifted his head to the side, only for the sensation to follow him. Something warm and wet brushed against his cheek again, and when he finally opened his eyes, a pair of tiny crimson eyes were staring directly at him.

A small black creature was licking his face.

For a moment, he simply stared at it.

Then his eyes widened.

"What the..."

The creature continued licking his cheek as if nothing unusual was happening, forcing him to react quickly. He reached out with one hand and carefully grabbed its small body before lifting it away from his face.

The little creature was surprisingly light.

Looking at it properly for the first time, he realized just how small it was. It was barely larger than a little puppy, with a completely black body covered in hard scales, four tiny legs ending in sharp claws, and two small black wings folded against its back.

There was no mistaking what it was.

"Is this..."

His gaze immediately moved toward the place where the dragon egg had been resting.

The egg was gone.

He looked around the cave before looking back at the little creature in his hand, and realization slowly dawned on him.

The dragon had hatched.

Most creatures born from eggs would eat the remains of their shells after hatching, so the disappearance of the egg wasn’t particularly strange. What surprised him was how quickly the little dragon had begun interacting with him.

As if to prove his thoughts correct, the creature began licking his palm.

"You really are a dragon..."

A smile slowly appeared on his face.

Standing up, he lowered the little beast to the ground, expecting it to remain there while he prepared himself for the day.

Instead, the moment its feet touched the ground, it immediately began climbing up his leg.

"What are you doing?"

The dragon continued upward without paying any attention to his question, using its claws to climb over his clothes until it reached his waist, then his chest, and finally his shoulder.

Once it reached the top, it settled down comfortably before leaning toward his face and beginning to lick his cheek again.

"Okay, okay... stop, little guy."

He laughed quietly and gently patted its head.

The tiny dragon closed its eyes for a moment, apparently enjoying the attention.

He had expected a dragon to hatch as something bigger than this, so seeing one small enough to sit comfortably on his shoulder was certainly unexpected.

Still, he wasn’t going to complain.

This little beast was a mythical creature from the legends, something that hadn’t been seen in this world for countless years.

He couldn’t help wondering just how large it would become in the future.

More importantly, he wanted to know exactly what kind of power the dragon possessed.

Opening the system, he focused his attention on the creature sitting on his shoulder.

[Name: Unknown.]

[Class: Eternal Fire Dragon - Mythic.]

[Level: 1.]

[XP: 0/100.]

"It seems that you are a fire elemental beast, little buddy."

His eyes lingered on the information.

"I’ll think about the name later. For now, we should go increase your level."

The little dragon raised its head and released a tiny roar.

"Are you agreeing with me?"

Another tiny roar followed.

He chuckled.

"Then let’s go."

After making sure he had everything he needed, he left the cave with the little dragon still sitting on his shoulder.

The morning air was cold, and a thin layer of mist covered parts of the forest. Sunlight had only just begun reaching through the trees.

He immediately began searching for tracks.

With the bow hanging over his shoulder and a handful of arrows secured, he moved slowly through the forest, examining the ground for signs of nearby beasts.

It wasn’t easy. It had rained the previous night, disturbing many of the tracks, while leaves and broken branches covered parts of the ground. Even when he found footprints, they often disappeared after following them for a short distance.

Still, he had spent years surviving in the Wilds. He knew what to look for.

A broken branch here, a patch of disturbed soil there, fresh droppings beneath a tree, the faint marks left behind by claws.

Following one set of tracks, he eventually found a trail leading deeper into the forest. The footprints were relatively fresh, and he followed them carefully while keeping his movements quiet.

After nearly half an hour, however, the trail suddenly disappeared.

He crouched down and searched the ground again.

Nothing.

"Damn it..."

He moved around the area, checking every possible direction, but the tracks simply stopped.

After several minutes, he finally stopped searching.

"Looks like I lost it."

The little dragon suddenly raised its head and released a tiny roar.

Chris glanced at it.

"What?"

The creature sniffed the air several times before turning its head toward the left.

He followed its gaze.

"You smell something?"

The dragon gave a quiet chirp before looking back at him. It was almost as though it wanted him to follow.

"Alright. Show me."

He started walking in the direction the dragon indicated.

At first, he wasn’t convinced.

The forest looked exactly the same in every direction, and there were no obvious tracks on the ground, but the little dragon remained strangely focused. Every few minutes, it would lift its head, sniff the air, and adjust their direction.

Eventually, he noticed something.

A faint trail of disturbed grass led between two trees.

Following it, he discovered several fresh footprints belonging to a beast.

His eyebrows rose.

"You really can smell them."

The dragon proudly raised its tiny head.

"Not bad."

The trail eventually led them to a clearing where a large wild boar was digging through the ground.

He quietly took out his bow and inspected the boar.

The boar was Level 11.

That was more than enough to gain some experience.

Drawing the string, he waited until the beast turned sideways before releasing the arrow.

The arrow struck its neck.

The boar squealed and charged wildly through the clearing, but a second arrow pierced its eye before it could reach the trees.

The beast collapsed.

Chris then checked the system notifications.

[Received 110 XP.]

[Contracted beast received 110 XP.]

[Contracted beast’s level increased.]

[Attribute points: +10.]

He stared at the messages.

"So the experience is shared..."

That was extremely useful.

Even if the dragon couldn’t fight yet, he could level it simply by hunting beasts himself.

The little dragon chirped excitedly from his shoulder.

"Don’t get too excited. We still have a long way to go."

Chris, however, didn’t like too many system notifications. He turned off the notifications for his contracted beast’s XP. The beast would receive the same amount of XP he gained, so he wouldn’t need to see two similar notifications.

He also disabled the notification for attribute points, as for every level-up in the Mythic-rank class, he would receive 10 attribute points. His contracted beast was also a Mythic-rank beast, so it would also receive 10 attribute points for each level increase.

The hunt continued.

The dragon’s sense of smell turned out to be far more useful than he had expected. Whenever he lost a trail, the little creature would raise its head and point him toward the scent.

With its help, finding prey became much easier.

A Level 10 deer fell to an arrow through the chest.

Then came a Level 11 wild boar.

After that, he found a Level 9 wolf wandering alone near a stream.

Each kill provided experience to both of them, and the little dragon continued gaining levels.

[Contracted beast’s level increased.]

[Contracted beast’s level increased.]

The further they traveled, the more confident he became in following its directions.

The dragon wasn’t capable of fighting yet, but its nose was incredible.

By midday, the little creature had already led him to several beasts he would have never noticed on his own.

He hunted from a distance whenever possible, using the bow rather than risking unnecessary injuries, and the dragon remained perched on his shoulder throughout most of it.

When he killed another beast, another notification appeared.

[Received 130 XP.]

[Level increased.]

[Contracted beast’s level increased.]

He couldn’t help smiling.

"You’re growing pretty quickly."

The dragon answered with another tiny roar.

As the afternoon approached, the forest became quieter.

They continued hunting.

A Level 13 beast gave them even more experience, followed by another Level 12 beast and a Level 14 horned beast that nearly caught him off guard.

The experience kept accumulating. Eventually, after another successful hunt, the final notification appeared.

[Level increased.]

[Contracted beast’s level increased.]

He looked at the tiny creature on his shoulder.

"Level 8 already."

The dragon rubbed its head against his cheek.

He laughed and pushed it away gently.

"Don’t get cocky."

He didn’t know how strong it would become once it reached higher levels, but even now, he could already see the potential.

His own level also increased to Level 14.

Unfortunately, the peaceful hunt didn’t last. A low growl suddenly echoed from behind.

Chris stopped.

The dragon’s entire body stiffened.

Then came another growl, and another.

He slowly turned around.

Several pairs of yellow eyes stared at him from between the trees.

Wolves.

Not one or two, but a whole pack. And they were all above Level 20.

He counted at least ten, and more were moving behind the trees.

"Seriously?"

One of the wolves stepped forward, its lips pulling back to reveal its sharp teeth.

He immediately grabbed his bow, but after seeing the number of beasts surrounding him, he knew fighting wasn’t an option.

He turned and ran.

The wolves immediately charged after him.

Branches whipped against his face as he sprinted through the forest, his boots pounding against the uneven ground.

"Why are there so many of you?!"

The little dragon screeched from his shoulder, clinging tightly to his clothes as the trees blurred around them.

"I know! I’m running!"

A wolf suddenly lunged from the side.

He twisted away just in time, feeling claws scratching the fabric of his sleeve.

"Damn it!"

He accelerated.

Ahead, a deer suddenly appeared between the trees.

An idea flashed through his mind.

He stopped just long enough to draw his bow while still moving.

The arrow flew and struck the deer in the leg.

The animal cried out and stumbled, immediately drawing the attention of the wolves.

Several of them broke away from the pursuit and rushed toward the injured deer.

He didn’t wait to see what happened.

"Sorry!"

The wolves that remained continued chasing him.

He ran harder, his lungs burning as the forest rushed past.

The little dragon screeched again, almost as though it were cheering him on.

"Stop screaming! You’re not helping!"

Another wolf snapped at his back.

He jumped over a fallen log and kept going.

His legs were beginning to ache, but stopping meant being surrounded.

Then, through the trees ahead, he noticed something strange.

A faint blue glow.

He narrowed his eyes.

There was a small cliff ahead, and at its base, surrounded by darkness, a swirling blue light hung in the air.

His expression changed.

"A dungeon portal?"

He had seen these before.

Dungeons appeared randomly throughout the world, sometimes deep within forests, mountains, deserts, or even near human settlements. Adventurers frequently entered them to hunt beasts and obtain treasures, and many made their living by exploring dungeons.

But they were also extremely dangerous. The beasts inside could be of almost any level.

Until someone entered, there was no reliable way of knowing what waited on the other side.

Normally, he would never have approached an unknown dungeon without preparation, but right now, he didn’t have a choice.

The wolves were still behind him, and the blue portal was directly ahead.

His only chance was to take the risk.

"Fuck... Please don’t be worse than the wolves."

He sprinted toward the glowing opening.

The wolves were already closing in again.

The dragon clung tightly to his shoulder as he reached the portal.

Without slowing down, he jumped into the blue light, and the wolves behind him stopped at the edge of the portal.

The world around him immediately twisted, then everything went dark.