"Crunch..."
A crisp sound of eggshell cracking echoed through the rugged and steep Karugu Highlands, exceptionally piercing.
A biting gale seeped silently through the newly formed fissure in the eggshell, causing the tiny, curled-up creature inside to shiver.
That little creature was currently hugging its head, tail unconsciously coiled, immersed in the chaotic dream before hatching.
Xia Er felt a suffocating pressure, as if tightly wrapped in a cold, tough, transparent membrane. Wanting to stretch its limbs, it felt an unprecedented stiffness and restraint.
Instinctively opening its mouth, a gust of cold wind instantly entered its throat. This sudden stimulation immediately dispelled the haze, making it fully awake.
Where is this? How did I end up here?!
Xia Er was somewhat startled. The last memory fragment was of returning home from work, falling asleep on the sofa while playing a game. How did I wake up here?
Moreover, everything within sight was pitch black.
It seemed... trapped inside some kind of sealed container, with only a tiny crack allowing faint, thread-like points of light to pierce the darkness.
There's hope!
Xia Er's will to survive erupted explosively, and it began struggling violently.
Amidst the shaking, the cracks in the eggshell suddenly widened, and a gap was knocked open!
The next moment, Xia Er's head pushed its way out of the eggshell with all its might.
And the instant Xia Er's head made contact with the cold air, it was as if an ancient seal had been broken!
A flood of knowledge, memories, and instincts, like a bursting dam, violently surged into the depths of Xia Er's consciousness.
The impact of this torrent of information was so fierce that it instantly made Xia Er forget to breathe, its mind going blank.
"Xaer Cassium!"
A string of true names uncontrollably rolled out from Xia Er's... no, Xaer's throat. After finishing, Xaer immediately realized.
I... crossed over and became a dragon?
Xaer was somewhat dumbfounded, wiggling its tail and claws, feeling a complex mix of emotions for a moment.
Now, Xaer felt it could describe itself with a line from a song.
I have horns on my head, a tail behind my back...
Looking at its own scales, green to the point of appearing black, Xaer understood.
I am a Green Dragon.
Green Dragons, one of the Chromatic Dragons, are extremely evil great dragons, mainly distributed in forests, with a particular preference for building nests near hot springs.
Xaer learned all this information from its inherited bloodline memories.
Of course, this "extremely evil" part was Xaer's own summary. In the bloodline memories, Xaer saw many Green Dragon predecessors who considered themselves peerless in cunning and immensely greedy, building luxurious palaces in forests, finding pleasure in deceiving and tormenting living beings, while also being supremely confident, believing no one could deceive them.
Naturally, within the bloodline memories, there were also many scenes of Green Dragon elders being killed...
Only half of Green Dragons die in combat; the other half die by their own overconfident trickery.
'These old-timers are truly a bunch of fools. If it were me, how could I possibly be tricked by humans?'
After seeing the summaries of several Green Dragons, this thought involuntarily rose in Xaer's mind, immediately startling itself again.
Wait, why would I think that?
Xaer took a deep breath, forcefully suppressing that thought.
Looking around, it saw a boundless expanse, with mountains standing tall all around. Clearly, it was on a highland plateau.
Seeing this endless wilderness, Xaer was flabbergasted.
Green Dragons...
Aren't they distributed in forests, with a particular preference for nesting near hot springs and waterfalls?
Looking at the cliff-like highlands surrounding it, not a single tree was in sight.
What the hell? Where's my mom?
Doesn't the evil Dragon Queen Tiamat forbid mother dragons from abandoning their young? Where the heck have I been dumped? Is this even within the country?
Without a mother dragon, where am I supposed to get meat? Could it be that I'll become the disgrace of the Chromatic Dragons, hiding in a corner eating dirt for five years to survive the wyrmling stage?
As for where dad went... that's something not to be mentioned among Chromatic Dragons.
Just like with Black folks' fathers, they vanish after conception.
Scanning the surroundings, no large dragons were seen, only dragon eggs in other nests. There were eight in total, of varying sizes and colors, though some appeared dull and lusterless, clearly somewhat malnourished.
What the hell?
Based on Xaer's peerless wisdom as a Green Dragon, it could tell at a glance that these eggs clearly weren't from the same clutch. Yet, gathered together like this, it felt somewhat indescribably odd.
However, perhaps because it had just hatched, Xaer couldn't help but feel a surge of drowsiness and hunger.
With fewer chaotic thoughts in its mind, Xaer immediately picked up the scattered eggshell fragments on the ground and began devouring them heartily.
The taste was average, but somewhat crunchy. Thanks to the dragon's naturally robust physique, eating this thick eggshell felt like snacking on peach shortbread or biscuits.
These eggshells, imbued with special energy, were enough to help Xaer get through this unbearable stage of hunger.
Full stomach leads to sleepiness. With no apparent danger around, Xaer flapped its wings a couple of times, barely managing to get airborne, though its newborn strength was insufficient, making the flight somewhat wobbly.
Even the noble Chromatic Dragons are particularly fragile right after birth, requiring at least several hours or even days to gradually possess the power of a true dragon.
As the saying goes, a well-fed man thinks of pleasure. After eating and drinking its fill, Xaer found itself in a leisurely mood for idle thoughts, musing inwardly, "Green Dragon Xaer Cassium? Whatever the reason I've come to this world, I must survive!"
But after just a few thoughts crossed its mind, Xaer, still in the wyrmling stage, was swept by a wave of drowsiness. Curling its tail, it balled its body up, preparing to sink into slumber.
This wasn't the wyrmling's dormant period, but simply the first sleep due to being newly born.
The wyrmling's first sleep primarily uses the energy obtained from feeding to stimulate every organ throughout its body, allowing a dragon to truly transition from the 'yolk' stage into the wyrmling stage.
The duration isn't very long, ranging from a few hours to four or five days at most.
Just as drowsiness overwhelmed Xaer and it was about to fall completely asleep, a blue flash suddenly appeared before its eyes, revealing a floating frame resembling a game panel.
[Welcome to the Evolution Game!]
[User initialization successful. Player initial name: Green Dragon XT40392.]
[User current level: LV1.]
[You have touched the supernatural and are destined to become supernatural.]
[Please choose your path! Will you proudly spread your wings, announcing the roar of a newborn dragon to all realms, leading the impending tidal wave? Or will you lurk in the shadows, observing coldly with your innate cunning, delivering the most fatal blow at the most critical moment?]
[Unleash the power deep within your bloodline, embrace this fate imposed upon you!]
[Welcome to the Gods' Killing Ground!]
"Me? Gods' Killing Ground? Come on, I'm just a wyrmling born a day ago."
Xaer was startled for a moment, but this heavy, drowsy feeling still made it yawn, and then it drifted off into a deep sleep.
Whatever.
Sleep first. Any major issue can wait until after waking up.