Pot now possessed great strength—broad shoulders, strong limbs, a burly physique, and a massive belly.
Just sitting there, his build put him in a completely different weight class from the other Grimalkynes.
If every Grimalkyne in the Glavenus tribe shared Pot's current physique, they could consistently hunt Large Monsters—from Barroths to Anjanaths. Their survival pressure would decrease significantly.
Their ecological standing in the Wildspire Waste would rise accordingly, at least reaching the middle tier.
However, rather than the changes in Pot, the first thing that came to Asterion's mind was his Kulu-Ya-Ku brother—had he found the reason why the Kulu-Ya-Ku had suddenly become so intelligent?
Pot recalled everything he had done with that scale very clearly. Asterion had bestowed the scale upon him, and after carrying it home, Pot couldn't suppress his excitement and tried to take a couple of bites, but he couldn't make a dent in it.
All the changes began after Pot ground a little powder from the edges of the scale, mixed it with water, and drank it. His teeth gradually became sturdier and sharper. He knew clearly that his actions were destroying Boss Glavenus's gift, but Pot just couldn't help himself.
He was just craving it, just wanted to eat it. Then he thought he was only grinding a bit of powder from the side; if he kept his movements small, the other cats wouldn't notice... That was Boss Glavenus's scale, after all! Which Grimalkyne in the Glavenus tribe could resist Boss Glavenus's items?
A slippery slope!
His thoughts were gradually sliding down a slippery slope!!
By the time Pot realized something was wrong, he had inadvertently bitten off a thinner section of the scale's edge. He chewed and swallowed it down, only for his feline face to turn pale when he realized he had broken the holy relic bestowed upon him by the Boss.
Well, Asterion didn't actually care about the loss of a scale. After all, once he gave something away, it had nothing to do with him anymore. He didn't care about Pot's mental journey, but the method of using the scale that this cat had accidentally discovered was worth noting.
The Kulu-Ya-Ku brother had also eaten Asterion's shell just like Pot, though he hadn't even ground it into powder—he had swallowed the shell fragments whole. Whenever his "bird brain" acted up, the restless Kulu-Ya-Ku would peck at Asterion or peck around the nest.
Back then, Asterion often saw the Kulu-Ya-Ku swallowing small stones or fragments of shell dropped from his body. He never understood why this picky eater, who only ate the yolks when stealing eggs, needed to swallow stones to grind food in his stomach like a real bird.
But ultimately, he had eaten them.
Perhaps, just like Pot, the Kulu-Ya-Ku brother had evolved because he ate his shell?
But why did the Kulu-Ya-Ku brother's changes manifest in his brain, rather than becoming stronger, taller, and more gluttonous like Pot?
Asterion still remembered living with the Kulu-Ya-Ku years ago. Back then, the Kulu-Ya-Ku had the IQ of a Samoyed. Forget about expressing himself freely and smoothly in Draconic like he did now; back then, to make the Kulu-Ya-Ku understand his intentions, Asterion had to put in a massive amount of effort performing on the spot to make him remember through actions.
That was incredibly exhausting.
Could the fact that the Kulu-Ya-Ku was getting smarter really be related to him?
With this in mind, Asterion simply called the Kulu-Ya-Ku over. He then controlled a blade-scale to detach from his body, used his sharp sword-tail to chop the scale into uneven fragments, and selected a small piece with dull edges for the Kulu-Ya-Ku to eat.
"Roar?" (Feel anything?)
"Gu-ga?" (What sort of feeling?)
The bird face was blank. Asterion had to waste some spit explaining it to the Kulu-Ya-Ku from the beginning.
"Gu-ga? Gu-gu-gu-gu-ga!!" (Really, kid?! Can I become as big as you?!)
"Roar!" (Maybe.)
The Kulu-Ya-Ku might grow as huge as a Glavenus, but then again, it was unlikely a Kulu-Ya-Ku would actually grow to the size of a Glavenus.
This was a magical world where treasures from other worlds or transmigrators would appear from time to time—Asterion couldn't help but think of that Kulu-Ya-Ku that grew to an immense size after obtaining a crystal from the Final Fantasy XIV world.
If the Kulu-Ya-Ku brother could attain that kind of size by devouring his scales and shell, Asterion wouldn't need to worry about his good brother's safety anymore.
"Gu-ga!" (Then I'll eat it!!)
He pecked the dull fragments clean in a few bites. Asterion didn't expect immediate results, so after confirming the Kulu-Ya-Ku was still jumping around energetically, he let him go out to play.
If his hypothesis was correct, more changes would appear in the Kulu-Ya-Ku in the future. As for now, it was time to check on the Grimalkynes.
Feeling a sudden strike of interest, Asterion asked the Old Shaman and Sparky to gather all the Grimalkynes.
Before long, Asterion's spacious nest was packed with black-and-white cats. Centered around his position, some stood in the open clearing, while others crouched in the crevices of the stone walls. Every single one poked their head out, whispering in a mix of amazement and curiosity about Pot, who stood in the center of the nest.
With Pot's current size, standing among the other Grimalkynes gave him a "crane among chickens" vibe. If his fur color and facial features hadn't remained unchanged, he might have been stripped of his Grimalkyne citizenship.
"Roar roar! Roar roar roar!"
Asterion sat on his haunches with rare seriousness. After confirming the cats had mostly arrived, he let out a loud roar.
"Boss Glavenus has spoken, meow!"
Standing in front of Pot, the Old Shaman had to raise his cane just to touch Pot's head. He translated Asterion's words with a solemn face.
"From this day forth, you are the First Warrior of the Grimalkynes, meow!"
"Your name shall be—The Slayer, meow!!"
Pot's feline eyes glowed with excitement.
"F-First Warrior, meow? Even a cat like me can be one, meow?"
"Idiot, meow. Listen to their voices, meow." The Old Shaman tapped Pot's head with his cane, gesturing for him to look around.
"First Warrior? So cool, meow!!"
"Why did Pot get so big, meow?! We were about the same size before, we even gathered cactus together, meow!!"
"Unfair, meow!!"
"The Slayer, meow! The Slayer, meow!!"
"What a handsome title, meow! As expected of the First Warrior, meow!!"
"Slayer Pot, meow!!!"
"..."
The spectating Grimalkynes were going crazy with excitement and envy.
They shouted Pot's name loudly, and Pot instinctively turned and waved his paw at them—a tough cat's life was lived for a moment like this!!
Asterion watched the lively scene with interest. He inexplicably felt like he was playing a gacha raising game, and Pot was the Gold-rarity unit he had pulled from the Grimalkyne pool.
Ahem. The title "Slayer" was naturally given out of a sense of bad humor. Given his own uniqueness, Asterion calling himself the God of Gluttony wouldn't really be a problem.
The God of Gluttony celebrating the Gluttony Festival... since he was the God of Gluttony, he naturally had to have his own Chosen One.
It was actually quite interesting. It added a bit of entertainment to a dragon life that otherwise consisted only of eating and sleeping. Life finally wasn't so boring anymore.
For Asterion, who was once a modern human who couldn't leave his phone or electronics from the moment he opened his eyes, boredom was his greatest enemy in this world once his basic food and security needs were met—this was also where his behavioral logic differed vastly from other monsters.
Although it sounded a bit arrogant, Asterion really wanted to know what this Grimalkyne tribe would become, physically or psychologically, due to his influence.
It would start with Slayer Pot.
Asterion's concept of time was deteriorating. Well, not deteriorating, but becoming blurred, adapting to his long lifespan as a wyvern.
Generally speaking, monsters other than Elder Dragons rarely lived to their natural lifespan limits. Life, accidents... in short, with a bit of bad luck or a sign of physical decline, they would quickly be turned into dung by other monsters.
However, the biggest factor was the lack of timekeeping. Gnawing a path toward the Ancient Forest, hunting other monsters, sleeping, watching the Grimalkynes make a fuss... Asterion's life rotated infinitely through these events.
Until one day, just as Asterion had dashingly killed a Diablos with his sword-tail and was preparing to drag it back to the nest for an extra meal, he suddenly felt a long-lost sense of crisis—BOOM!!
He jumped away from the Diablos's corpse without hesitation, positioning his sword-tail in front of him. Asterion's dragon face looked serious as he watched the monster that had nose-dived from the sky and crashed heavily onto the Diablos carcass.
It had a winged, quadrupedal skeleton like his own, but this monster's wings were exceptionally broad, enough to shroud its entire body—far beyond what Asterion's decorative wings could compare to.
But the most conspicuous features were its massive, demonic horns that stretched from its head to both sides, colored white with yellow tints and turning black at the tips.
Asterion had once hunted a unique monster called a Seregios, which had reverse scales covering its head, wings, and tail. But even the Seregios, with weapons hidden all over its body, seemed friendly compared to this monster.
This monster was covered in sharp black spikes from its forelimbs to its wings and tail. From a distance, it looked like a hedgehog, but a hedgehog didn't have this monster's size. He couldn't imagine how painful it would be to take a shoulder check from those spiked wings and shoulders given its strength.
Nergigante—Asterion recognized the monster's identity at a glance. The first monster in history to become a flagship monster with the status of an Elder Dragon!
Wait, why the hell are you here???!!
Asterion was completely dumbfounded. He hadn't expected to encounter a Nergigante under these circumstances at all.
As the Nergigante breathed, its overflowing Elder Dragon aura oppressed Asterion. It turned out the crisis he felt earlier wasn't a physical danger, but the scent of an Elder Dragon.
Asterion had specifically sought out the Seregios partly because of its high-speed regeneration ability—but when it came to regeneration, the Seregios wasn't even fit to carry Nergigante's shoes.
Even though it didn't possess the ability to directly influence the external environment like other Elder Dragons, Nergigante was still a member of the Elder Dragon species. It maintained its status solely through high-speed regeneration and a formidable physical body, even establishing an ecological niche as an Elder Dragon that hunted other Elder Dragons.
It was unimaginably strong. Asterion didn't doubt the Nergigante's combat power at all—even in his Elder Dragon Hunting Plan, Nergigante was ranked near the bottom.
Muscles all over his body were mobilized. Asterion adjusted his physical state, preparing to face the enemy in his best form.
Nergigante possessed a violent personality and combat prowess that matched its appearance. It definitely wasn't a benevolent dragon you could just say hello to and walk away from. Look, it was currently burying its head in the Diablos carcass, gorging itself.
Case closed. This guy had descended from the sky just to steal Asterion's prey. This kind of thing wasn't new in nature.
But more importantly, even as this Nergigante buried its head to devour the Diablos's flesh, its yellow eyes remained fixed on Asterion. This guy was actually planning to eat two meals in one go.
Clatter, clatter, clatter, clatter...
Unlike his usual leisurely hunts, Asterion had brought out his best skills for this stage. The blade-scales on his body surface ground against each other, vibrating to produce a crisp metallic sound—a dangerous warning.
Hiss!!
The scorching steam generated within his body after the battle with the Diablos was venting from the heat-dissipating vents at the tip of his sword-tail. Even that tail, usually kept in a smooth, sharp curve, was now held completely straight.
The blade-scales on both the upper and lower ends of the tail had popped up. Connected by tight muscles, those diamond-shaped scales were twitching spasmodically, glinting with a cold light.
Although fighting a Nergigante right now wasn't part of Asterion's plan, he had no intention of running away. Instead, he was eager to try. The so-called ecological niche wasn't defined by hunters, but established by monsters through combat.
The most violent Elder Dragon species, huh? Just watch me saw you apart and be done with it!
Finally stopping its gluttonous eating, the Nergigante raised its head to gaze at Asterion. Dark red blood dripped continuously from its mouth, matching its demonic appearance to perfection.
The Nergigante... was surprised.
It was surprised that this dragon, possessing no Elder Dragon aura, hadn't fled while it was eating. But this was fine, too. Although it was its first time seeing a dragon like this, just looking at that physique, it knew the creature must contain a lot of bioenergy.
Nergigante's greedy gaze had already fallen upon Asterion. It wanted a second course.
Yes, as an Elder Dragon, even though Nergigante's highest goal was to hunt other Elder Dragons, its diet wasn't limited to them. It ate any creature containing large amounts of bioenergy.
Its fighting style was extremely violent, and its aura vicious, but Nergigante was not a brainless monster that only thought about eating and fought recklessly until death.
It possessed intelligence befitting the Elder Dragon tier. At the very least, it knew how to weigh pros and cons. When the energy consumption required for a battle outweighed the potential gains, it would smartly choose to avoid the fight.
However, in the eyes of the Nergigante right now, Asterion's small frame—not even an Elder Dragon—was not on the list of things to avoid.
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