Magnus walked away from his cave. He intends to return to it since the magical energy in that place is too precious to leave fully.

I'll leave it when... what?... when what?

Magnus stopped for a moment. Why was it important for him to stay in a place with a lot of magical energy? Energy is enough to stop his hunger but that could be done by hunting. Magnus' instincts confirmed that he could indeed hunt other animals so there wasn't a need for energy. So why does he feel the need to return to it?

Nevermind. I'll think about it when I get there.

With a quick thought, Magnus banished his confused thinking. For now, Magnus was simply interested in his surroundings. His cave was well-hidden. It was covered with dozens of foliage and greenery. It barely had a mound in which a hill would form and the trees around it formed a nice barrier. And most important of all, it seemed natural to the area.

The forest was huge. Magnus tried to use his wings to fly but it seems that he cannot muster the strength to fly, for now at least. But the forest is still huge beyond Magnus' perception. His sharp senses told him that even as he walked, there were many creatures around him scuttling around, minding their own business.

There was a manner of many types of creatures in this wide world but Magnus did not care much for them. He stopped again. That was a mistake. His old memories told him that not caring was a mistake.

But why?

His mind and instincts were telling him that he should worry. He should think. He shouldn't rely on simply his strength. There's something that is warning him that he must not ignore the weak. Not anymore.

Despite not knowing the full reason, Magnus chose to trust his instincts. He then observed the creatures around him as he traversed the thick forest. The number of creatures present was too many. It would be too burdensome to list all of them but Magnus categorized these creatures in his head.

Insignificant

Magnus is not belittling these creatures for no reason. For him, these creatures are not powerful and not in any way able to affect the world. They balance the ecosystem but great enough magic can do that. This isn't looking down on these creatures but understanding that while they do have a job in the world, it can be replaced.

The voice in his head telling him to not ignore the creatures has quieted down. This is enough for now.

As Magnus continued on his way, his sharp senses alerted him to something. He heard the almost imperceptible rustling of leaves. Magnus turned his head to the right. He saw a collection of thick trees.

It wouldn't have been a problem but dragons, even ones that recently hatched, are extremely attuned to nature unless that dragon has chosen to live a life of destruction, in which only the thoughts of the next chaos would fill their heads. In this case, Magnus felt the forest spirits fly away, as if afraid of something.

Dragons are characterized by many things but mostly curiosity and pride. While there is a famous phrase "curiosity killed the cat", there is also another famous phrase in this world. It is "you've got a dragon's curiosity" which meant that one was strong enough to have that level of curiosity.

Magnus turned to his right and started to follow the direction where the forest spirits were running from. The forest spirits are invisible entities that help guide the forest. They are simply what allows the forest to be a forest. The swaying of every tree, the bending of a flower, and even the sweetness of fruit are caused by a forest spirit. Magnus acknowledged them because while similar to insignificant creatures, the work of forest spirits is far more important.

I smell... iron... no... blood...

Magnus first caught wind the scent of iron but as he continued his walk, he realized it was blood. After demolishing a few shrubs, Magnus reached a clearing.

"Kill them!"

The sound of slaughter and metal clashing was everywhere. Magnus saw a group of skeletons attack helpless animals. Behind all of this cruel order is a robed individual. The robed individual was an old man whose face was emaciated but his eyes were filled with hate-filled vigor.

Magnus watches as the poor denizens of the forest are getting slaughtered. He contemplated whether he should help or not. Dragons used to rule the world and in this current world, Magnus knew that he was alone. Dragons no longer rule the world and while he did not have any proof, he felt it in his essence. If he were to reveal himself and many heard about a young dragon, many would try to harm him.

But there it was again. His instincts... No... It wasn't his instincts. A dragon's instincts would never tell him to jump into a dangerous situation and take the risk of revealing himself. These were his old memories. Magnus felt the calling of the past. He must change. His instincts will protect him as a dragon but the dragons of the past lost when they followed their instincts.

We need new instincts.

And to gain new instincts, one must change their thoughts. Magnus stepped forward.

Melinoe was a necromancer. He was once a student of the magical academy but he had horrible talent. It was enough to learn magic but not enough to pass the academy. It meant that his future of becoming an esteemed mage was not going to happen and at most, he would have become a minor assistant to some accomplished mage.

This did not sit well with the young and impressionable man. Frantic and desperate, Melinoe started looking for any way he could increase his power, just so he could pass. And he did, he found his source of power. A book filled with evil magic. It was in the school library. Why and how could such an evil book be present in a library that did not deal with evil magic?

It was simple. Someone planted it for gullible and weak-minded individuals like Melinoe. And just as planned, Melinoe delved deep into this evil magic. With forbidden arts, Melinoe passed but before he could celebrate, his teacher discovered his depredations and attempted to slay him. Melinoe, with his newfound powers, escaped.

As he delved deeper into the book, Melinoe did not realize that it cost so much power and energy to use these monstrous magics. Just to progress the book's lessons, Melinoe spent his early years, transforming him into a monstrous old man despite being only at the young age of 21. Too late did he realize his folly. Now there's only one way left and it was the path to madness.

Melinoe looked at his small but respectable army. It was a great number of more than two dozens of skeleton warriors, all reanimated from a defiled graveyard. He intended to summon more and according to the book's next passages, he could create an undead ravager if he can create more skeletons and fuse their bodies.

With this number of undead, Melinoe could ransack a small village. According to the book, the slaying of innocent souls render demonic mana, a powerful source of energy that's compatible with the lessons present in the book. When Melinoe destroys a village, it would not only give him demonic mana but also more bodies to work with, allowing him to create an even bigger army. If he is smart about how he acts, he will snowball to become a powerful and untouchable grand necromancer.

Melinoe could not help but laugh. His maniacal laughter filled the area as his servants ruthlessly massacred the forest's denizens. Their deaths, while small in amount, give Melinoe some demonic mana. This amount would be more than enough to raise two more dozens of the undead.

I can feel it! The academy will be forced to apologize! Accept my power! And induct me in the rank of mages! No! Archmages!

As he was imagining his triumphant return, he felt a sudden stillness. He looked to his servants and saw that the skeletons were standing still as if their connection to their master was cut. Even the wounded animals refused to move as if the incoming entity is more terrifying than whatever wound they had now.

All the skeletons and animals turned their eyes towards a part of the trees. Melinoe did so too.

In the thick foliage, Melinoe saw two bluish slits staring at him. Those eyes felt terrifying as if a predator was looking down on its prey.

"Wha-... Skeletons! Check that bush! Now!"

Melinoe manages to command his servants. The skeletons suddenly come back to life as their master's command suffuses them with purpose. Before the skeletons could actually move, Melinoe's curiosity was immediately answered as the foliage started to move. The thick collection of leaves and shrubbery made for a beautiful entrance as Magnus stepped forward, his golden body reflecting beautifully in the sunlight. His presence made the skeletons stop once more. The animals started to whimper in fear. Melinoe's jaw dropped as he saw a creature he only knew as a legend.

"Dra-dragon!"