Going Out

"Do you want to live on rocks forever? Even the lowliest worms don't live like that!

"We're red dragons! Noble, powerful, savage red dragons! Only the freshest flesh is worthy of being our food!

"Look at the vast mountains, forests, and fields outside the cave. Countless prey are waiting for us to hunt them..."

Sol stood on a jutting rock in the cave, his entire upper body reared upright as he waved his short, thick foreclaws and spoke passionately to Xisitana and Kalpu.

He had had enough of eating rocks. It might have been all right if he had never eaten anything else since birth, but he had tasted wild boar scraps not long ago.

The aroma of flesh had lingered in his mind ever since.

Their dragon mother went out every two days, but she always returned with a full belly and empty claws. She didn't take care of the three wyrmlings, much less give them a chance to scavenge her scraps.

Sol had had enough of going hungry and finally decided to go hunting himself.

Adult red dragons might be all kinds of arrogant and badass, but their wyrmlings had it rougher than those of almost any other true dragon.

Metallic dragons went without saying: they all took great care of their offspring. The neutral gem dragons and ferrous dragons didn't just leave theirs to fend for themselves, either.

Among the chromatic dragons alone, blue dragons regarded all their young as their property and generally provided them with some care. In return, the young dragons had to risk their lives for them once they grew up.

Black dragons, which liked living in swamps, green dragons of the forests, and white dragons of the glaciers and snowfields were all born with protective coloration that helped them get through their wyrmling stage.

Red dragons were different. Their bright red scales stood out in the wild. Not only would prey run away at the sight of them from afar, but they were also more likely to draw the attention of dangerous predators.

As a result, most red dragons spent their wyrmling stage hiding in underground caves and digging up worms to live on.

Sol didn't want to eat worms. Not one bit. All he wanted was meat, great mouthfuls of it.

But a wyrmling hunting alone had a very low chance of success and would have trouble escaping if it encountered a dangerous creature.

So he went so far as to start coaxing Xisitana and Kalpu, hoping they would go out with him.

After all, how did that saying go? He didn't need to outrun the bear; he only needed to outrun his companions.

If one person encountered a tiger in the wild, they would almost certainly die. But if there were three, there was a good chance one or two would escape.

Was I born into the wrong dragon species? Maybe a green dragon would have suited me better?

As these thoughts went through his mind, Sol's coaxing soon had Xisitana and Kalpu showing interest in going out as well.

The three wyrmlings were already nearly unable to stand their hunger, so they didn't wait long. That very night, they quietly crawled out of the cave under cover of darkness.

Their natural darkvision let them see clearly even in dim light.

Looking down from the platform jutting out of the cave entrance, the first thing they saw was a vast expanse of low hills, covered in lush vegetation and overgrown with weeds. It was a region of earthen, rocky hills.

Judging by the intermingled yellow and green blades of grass and the seeds weighing down the weed stalks, it was probably autumn.

That was good news for the three little wyrmlings. To prepare for the coming winter, prey would have built up a thick layer of fat by now, making for rich, succulent meat.

A true dragon's flight was less a matter of flapping its wings than a spell-like ability, with the wings serving only as an aid.

So even though the three little wyrmlings' wings weren't fully developed and looked very short in proportion to their bodies, they could still glide long distances.

Without hesitation, they leaped from the platform outside the cave and glided on the cool night breeze, finally dropping into a patch of dense grass in the distance.

A seven-foot-long wyrmling might sound big, but most of that length was neck and tail. The torso was probably only around three feet long, smaller than a large hunting dog.

They easily concealed themselves in the grass, creeping carefully around on quiet feet as they searched.

One benefit of their dragon mother's presence was probably that the ferocious aura she gave off had frightened away many predators, leaving no particularly dangerous creatures in the low hills.

After pushing aside a thick clump of weeds, the three wyrmlings found a gray, long-eared creature beneath a reed-like plant, crunching away at a grass stalk. It was a wild hare.

"Good luck. In a moment, we..."

Sol's eyes lit up. He was about to have the other two wyrmlings help him surround it when, unexpectedly, two bright red figures shot out from beside him.

"This prey is mine! Neither of you is taking it from me!"

"Damn it, Kalpu, it's mine!"

The sudden voices instantly startled the ever-watchful hare. Its long ears twitched, and it kicked off hard, turning into a streak of gray that vanished into the distant brambles.

The two wyrmlings couldn't stop in time and crashed straight into them. Even with their protective scales, they were pricked until spots of blood appeared.

Before they could struggle back to their feet, Sol had already clenched his claws into fists and slammed them into their foreheads.

"You two idiots can't even catch a rabbit, and you still have the nerve to call it your prey!!"

With that, he grabbed the two wyrmlings by the neck and hauled them off the ground. Thrusting his round head forward, he glared fiercely into their eyes and said,

"Remember, all the prey is mine. You can only eat once I've had my fill. Understood?!!"

"Why should we...?!"

"No way! Don't even think about it!"

Xisitana and Kalpu instantly flew into a rage. Twisting their bodies, they tried to lash out and fight back.

But their smaller size meant they couldn't break free of Sol's claws no matter what they did. Instead, he gripped their necks and smashed their heads together several times.

"You still dare talk back! Looks like you don't respect me as your older brother at all. I'm bigger, stronger, and smarter than you. Are those reasons enough?!!"

After another chaotic scuffle and a harsh lesson for his stupid younger brother and sister, Sol looked at the tiny text drifting across his vision, his expression turning pleased.

Those two were stupid and dim-witted, and they had nasty personalities, but for the sake of the mental power essence, he could give them a few scraps once they caught some prey.

After all, producing mental power also consumed energy. How could they possibly feel emotions intensely enough on empty stomachs?

Having brought the group into line through force, Sol led the two wyrmlings in search of new prey.

They worked their way from downwind toward upwind. That way, they could avoid giving away their scent and use dragons' naturally keen sense of smell to extend the range of their search.

There was never a shortage of prey in the wilderness, only a shortage of ways to catch it.

After some time, the night breeze brought the three wyrmlings the scent of prey: a bharal lying in a rocky crevice, almost blending in with the stones.