The First Template

Anger, jealousy, hatred, and an envy and greed so thick they could not be dispelled.

Negative emotions churned in Xisitana and Kalpu's eyes as they looked at Sol, nearly spilling over. If they had the chance, they certainly wouldn't mind pouncing on him and sinking their teeth into him.

But the widening gap in their sizes was like an invisible barrier, keeping them from charging forward. They could only bare their teeth and arch their backs like two furious wildcats, shouting defiantly.

"You damn bastard, who wants your stinking meat?!"

"We already ate our fill outside. We're not hungry at all!"

Sol gave a noncommittal chuckle, his eyes openly mocking.

Words might lie, but the notification that had flashed before his eyes, showing an increase in his Mental Power Essence Fragments, could not.

Soon, the balance displayed there passed ten points, and Sol licked the last shred of meat from the deer leg.

He casually tossed the white bone aside. It landed with a light clatter, and he crawled into his usual corner of the cave, struggling to contain his excitement.

The Dragonvein Crystal he had drawn earlier had already helped Sol's growth considerably. If he could draw a suitable creature template this time, it would certainly bring about a qualitative leap.

As ten points of Mental Power Essence turned into a streak of starlight and slammed into the enormous wheel, its two outer layers began to turn slowly.

A glimmer of light flashed erratically across the wheel like neon, finally coming to a stop on a small square. Looking closely, he saw a simple drawing of a wyvern inside it.

[Congratulations! You have obtained the Mernos Template. Withdraw it now? Yes/No.]

[Warning: The template must be loaded immediately upon withdrawal. If compatibility is low or energy attributes conflict, loading may fail and cause adverse consequences.]

[Current compatibility: High.]

Information about the Mernos flashed through Sol's mind.

It was a creature about four or five meters long, with a wingspan of six or seven meters. Its body was covered in scales that faded from deep blue to light green, and a magnificent crown of horns topped its head. It mainly inhabited the Ancient Forest and was a small, omnivorous wyvern.

At the thought, Sol couldn't help feeling a little disappointed. It was an unremarkable creature, not much different from the pterosaurs of the real world.

In the game, most of the time they were either food for other monsters or carried the player character as they flew across the various maps.

Wait! Flew across the various maps?

Sol's eyes lit up as he realized he had overlooked something crucial.

An adult male hunter weighed at least seventy kilograms. Add a full suit of armor and that absurdly large greatsword, and the total weight would probably reach two to three hundred kilograms.

Yet a little wyvern like the Mernos could carry a fully equipped hunter for dozens or even hundreds of kilometers. Its flying ability was clearly extraordinary.

If the creature template I drew can perform as it did in the game, then...

Unable to wait, Sol focused on the glowing icon and selected "withdraw now" without hesitation.

A hazy halo appeared out of thin air, with the indistinct figure of a wyvern soaring with its wings spread visible inside.

Like a formless spirit, it met Sol's pale golden eyes with a pair of eyes glowing white.

Time seemed to freeze at that moment. It felt like an eternity, yet also like the briefest instant. Then the ball of light suddenly lunged forward and plunged straight into Sol's body.

It was like a surge of heat exploding inside him. At the same time, lines of small text flashed repeatedly before his eyes.

[Mernos Template loaded successfully. Fusion in progress.]

[Sharp fangs and claws, tough scales, omnivorous digestive system, dual respiratory organs, and other traits are inferior versions compared to the host and have been converted into pure life energy.]

[Powerful wings retained.]

[Agile flight retained.]

[Please prepare sufficient food in the coming days to meet the energy requirements of the body's transformation.]

Sol felt as though his whole body were soaking in a hot spring, pleasantly warm all over. The wings on his back were especially hot.

The little deer he had just eaten was already more than half digested. Under the effect of the surging heat, the remainder was completely digested in an instant.

His body steadily absorbed the abundant nutrients and energy. The wings on his back were like two ravenous mouths, greedily gulping it down.

Beneath the bright red scales, the contours of his wing muscles gradually grew more defined, while the wing metacarpals and wing finger bones slowly lengthened.

Only a short while passed before Sol felt a pang of hunger.

Meanwhile, the wings on his back had grown a size larger. The wing hawk bones and dragon ulnae at his shoulder blades had become immensely thick and strong, even more so than the four limbs below them.

He gave his wings a powerful flap, and their tough membranes instantly sent a broad gust of air surging outward with a muffled boom.

A powerful counterforce pushed against his body, lifting him straight off the ground.

Most true dragons and birds needed to push off with their legs before taking flight to gain enough initial lift, to say nothing of wyrmlings whose wings had yet to fully develop.

Those that could take off from a standstill either had outstanding magical abilities or belonged to a species exceptionally skilled at flight.

Red dragons belonged to neither category. Although they had the greatest wingspan among chromatic dragons, they were also among the heaviest, and were better suited to straight-line bursts of speed and long-distance flights.

When it came to flying skill, the best of the five chromatic dragons were the black dragons, who were as skinny as skeletons.

Even without magic, they could hover in midair like hummingbirds, displaying superb flying skills.

"My wingspan relative to my body size has definitely surpassed that of the vast majority of red dragons my size. It can compare to those mutated individuals now."

Sol excitedly flapped the wings on his back, striving to stay airborne inside the cave.

Not only would these wings allow him to gain full flight capability sooner, but taking off from a standstill would also let him get away from the ground faster and avoid sudden danger.

That alone made the ten points of Mental Power Essence worth spending. Besides, judging by the text that had appeared, it seemed more abilities had been converted into pure life force.

Is it those warm currents that have been flowing through my body? What effects will they have?

Having noticed no other changes, Sol soon found he could no longer bear his hunger. Taking advantage of the darkness before dawn, he rushed out of the cave in a swirling gust.

The instant he flew out of the cave, the vast expanse before him lifted his spirits. He involuntarily beat his wings hard, climbing higher and higher.

Before, he could only glide at a height of one or two hundred meters. Now, he felt as though there were no limit to how high he could fly, and that he could keep climbing.

But a gust of cool night wind cleared his excitement-heated head, and he hurriedly descended again.

Even if his flying ability had improved somewhat and his ability to survive had greatly increased, he was still far behind some of the ferocious creatures that dwelled at high altitudes.

"Keep a low profile! Keep a low profile! If I draw a Valstrax template someday, I'll definitely trample every creature beneath my feet."