When Rue next awoke everything was different. The ambient noise that she had hardly noticed before was suddenly absent. Looking around there was a tense atmosphere, her siblings were clustered together and a large tail was clustered protectively around everyone, much tighter than usual.

There was a sudden shockingly loud growl, it emanated from above Rue. Tracing the noise back it was her mother making the noise. Standing up from her lying pose she traced the line of sight from her mother and found the threat. Weird two-legged creatures had gathered in the entrance to the cave overhang. They were grunting and sputtering at each other, flailing their limbs in her mother's direction.

They had lots of sharp claws on the limbs, really long and very sharp they hinged at unnaturally acute angles and gleamed menacingly in the light from the entrance. They looked dangerous, there were nearly 20 of the creatures massing in the entrance. Rue had the urge to hiss at the obvious attackers but resisted so as not to disturb the temporary silence.

When the fight did start it was not the large shiny creatures in the front that moved but the non-shiny ones in the back, they twitched and there were several flashes of something moving very fast in the air. Their mother roared and the creatures visibly flinched, there was a clattering and some thuds as weird sticks fell to the stone ground and some stuck into Rue's mother's shoulder.

That looked painful and Rue could see small rivulets of blood flow from the puncture wounds, she let out a low whimper at the pain inflicted to her protector. Her mother, on the other hand, being nearly twice the size of a large horse, was simply enraged at the pain. She let out another mighty roar as her mouth dripped a slimy green fluid some splattering on the stone where it hissed quietly.

With her latest display of strength the mighty dragon took a chance, she leapt forward to meet the invading creatures before they could spread out. She would fight them before they had a chance to fan out and hunt for her vulnerable young. Despite her relatively massive size, she had both power and dexterity, reaching the group in a matter of seconds. Prepared the shiny creatures raised big flat appendages glinting in the light to meet her charge. The first swipe of the dragon's claws flung one of the creatures back out into the forest and a high pitched cry coming from it. With a hole opened into their midst, she then bit forward rotating her head to grip a creature in her jaws. It struggled but when she bit down there was a rending screech and crunch as blood squirted out from its shell. With it dead the dragon dropped the corpse, she let out another victorious roar.

It was then that another rain of the small wooden sticks flew at her, most bounced harmlessly off her scale but a few stuck into her flesh. Mere moments after, the big shiny creatures had closed in from both sides of her and began to slash their huge claws at her. Some of the blows were at poor angles and deflected off her scales but many of them cut deep wounds onto the softer belly and neck of the dragon. The wounds slowed the dragon but did not gush blood, like the stick wounds they merely trickled blood. A faint green glow could be seen on the wounds.

After a few seconds of slashing from the creatures, the dragon regained some composure under the rain of blows and clawed into another of the creatures. Her claws hooked into its shiny skin and he was dragged under the dragon, meanwhile, her head had snapped forward and slipped off a large flat limb, but with a quick snap of her jaws, one of its legs was snagged in her teeth. With a mighty grunt and flick of the dragon's head the creature was thrown against a wall where it made a crunch sound. It wiggled on the floor wheezing but did not get back up to join the fight.

The creature that had been caught by her claws was summarily ripped to bloody shreds by her four clawed limbs. Its meat was smeared on the floor and its gore coated the green dragon's fine scales.

Many of the first wounds inflicted on the dragon had already scabbed but still restricted the dragon's movement and drained her stamina. Each wound made it more difficult for the dragon to doge and after several exchanges with the mighty beast and six more dead creatures it was beginning to overwhelm the dragon.

The remaining dozen shiny creatures stood battered and bloody before the dragon, its proud green eyes stared defiantly at the invaders, desperate to protect her young she could not retreat. One of the creatures warily approached the half slumped dragon and raised its claws to strike. With a sudden and unexpected ferocity, the dragon lunged with a burst of speed to grip the creature's body where she bit down and was rewarded with a fountain of blood and satisfying crunch.

The rest of the creatures closed in during the dragons' move and swung their claws, wet thuds and squelches were heard as the claws descended and a last defiant gurgles hiss from the mighty wyrm.

Rue watched horrified as the creatures stepped back to reveal a bloody corpse and a severed head of her mother. She and many of her siblings whimpered at the sight and let out mournful cries. The soft cries made the creatures turn towards the young dragons and Rue felt an extreme sense of danger. The creatures made grunting and wheezing sounds and flailed their limbs around. More un-shiny creatures came from outside, they had weird lumps on their backs and lacked the big claws and the others, yet they were clearly the same species.

Ding! For Identifying A Creature +[Identify]

Rue despite the danger quickly read the description of the ability in case it would help her survive.

Ability

Effects

Roar

You have learned to let out a mighty roar from your throat, you will find it easier to intimidate opponents and prey.

Identify

Tells you the basic [Species] and [Level] of targets.

She quickly looked at the dead creature and used the ability.

[Human Lv27]

In quick succession, she scanned the shiny creatures all of them the same race and ranging from Lv19 to 29. She then looked at the smaller un shiny creatures, they were humans as well but ranging from Lv4 to 11, much lower. They were still larger but maybe she could outrun those ones.

While the creatures had begun their slow approach, the 45 baby dragons had become a restless seething mass of tiny scales that seemed to be fearful yet aggressive. They sensed that there was strength in numbers but also that if they all fled, then perhaps some of them might survive.

It was Rue’s roar that made up their minds, they resolutely faced the creatures and unanimously fled towards the cave entrance in hopes of making it past the group of creatures. The lower levelled humans pulled out shiny cages and started capturing the baby dragon in them, many managed to run through their legs but at least 3 were gripped by powerful hands or trapped under a cage.

Rue mourned the capture of her brethren but still ran for all she had towards the forest, just as she was about to leave the last of the humans behind a paw shot out from one of them and gripped her tail, the appendage stopped her momentum firm. A jubilant sound emanated from the human having caught its prey, in her desperation and fury at having her world shattered by these savage creatures Rue turned and scrambled over to the creature now lying prone after having dived for her. She clawed the human's hand and then ran at its face and neck clawing into it and biting the very soft neck. There was a high pitched screech and hands battered at her trying to find purchase on her lithe body. She was inflicting considerable damage on its undefended weak spot. She could feel the desperation in the struggling creatures gasps and gurgles as she tore at its throat, before she could deal any more damage she was hit by a huge foot and catapulted off the small human, she flew over 10 feet and landed in a bush just outside the cave. She could feel her bones broken and large gash in her side from the shiny covering the creature had. It hurt to breathe but she should live. Before she could get comfortable in the bush Rue forced herself to get to her feet and flee, it would not have to have escaped and be found again. She limped off in the opposite direction of the cave, the thick undergrowth hiding her relatively small form.

After a few minutes, she felt a weird sensation, a flood of energy. Just like the duel.

Ding! For Slaying [Human Lv7] In Combat +41xp

Ding! For Slaying a Foe [6] Levels Above Your Own [+6%] xp +2xp

Ding! For Slaying a Foe 2x Your Level [+20%] xp +8xp

Ding! For Slaying a Foe 3x Your Level [+30%] xp +12xp

Ding! For Slaying a Foe 4x Your Level [+40%] xp +16xp

Ding! For Slaying a Foe 5x Your Level [+50%] xp +20xp

Ding! For Slaying a Foe 6x Your Level [+60%] xp +25xp

Ding! For Slaying a Foe 7x Your Level [+70%] xp +29xp

Total Xp Earned From Combat Encounter +153

Ding! Level Up [x5]… [Stat Points] +25

Ding! Stat Points Allocated For Species [Dragon - Hatchling] +25

Ding! Stat Points Allocated For Species [Red Dragon - Hatchling] +25

Race

Level

XP/Growth

Stat Points

Dragon [Red Dragon]

6

31/58 [-5 /pd]

25

Strength

Vitality

Dexterity

Intelligence

26 [+20]

28 [+20]

11 [+5]

13 [+5]

Ability

Effects

Roar

You have learned to let out a mighty roar from your throat, you will find it easier to intimidate opponents and prey.

Identify

Tells you the basic [Species] and [Level] of targets.