By the stream, several Aptonoth grazed on grass while warily scanning their surroundings. Even while eating, they remained alert—ready to abandon everything and flee at the slightest disturbance.
It couldn't be helped.
As creatures at the bottom of the food chain, their survival rule was simple: when danger appears, run first. Whether the threat was real or not didn't matter.
Meanwhile, hidden in the nearby grass, Kael stared intently at them, drool almost dripping from his mouth as he cautiously closed the distance.
There was no choice.
He was still a Rathalos that couldn't fly. Unlike Rathian, which excelled at ground mobility, his overly long toes forced him to walk by bending his joints awkwardly. Because of that, the closer he got, the higher his chances of success.
Soon, as Kael stepped forward, the grazing Aptonoth suddenly perked up their ears, becoming highly alert as they looked around.
He knew he couldn't wait any longer.
His entire body shot forward like an arrow released from a bow, wings spreading wide as he burst out of the grass.
Already on guard, the Aptonoth scattered in all directions at once.
Kael locked onto the target he had chosen beforehand and chased after it without hesitation.
With the Acceleration trait activating, his speed kept increasing. Before long, he clamped his jaws firmly around the fleeing Aptonoth.
However, unable to brake in time, his body tumbled forward and slid several meters before finally stopping.
The Aptonoth in his mouth kicked wildly, struggling with strength far greater than a forest gecko's. But with Kael refusing to loosen his bite, it soon went still.
Seeing that his prey had stopped moving, he didn't even bother brushing off the dirt clinging to its body and began tearing into it on the spot.
Unlike the cold-blooded geckos, Aptonoth meat was warm and far more to his liking—soft, tender, and slightly chewy. The faint metallic scent only made it more addictive.
He couldn't help speeding up his chewing, even letting out satisfied sounds.
"Wuh-ho~"
Just as Kael was feasting happily, a low, muffled roar suddenly echoed from not far away.
He hurriedly swallowed the meat in his mouth, licked his lips, and looked up.
The next instant, his pupils shrank.
He instinctively lowered his body, letting out a deep, guarded growl.
Three adult Diablos, accompanied by two juveniles, emerged from behind a massive boulder.
The largest among them glared angrily at Kael, its forelimbs scraping against the ground again and again, clearly ready to charge at any moment and smash this low-threat hatchling to pieces.
Faced with such sudden hostility, Kael refused to back down and let out his own still-immature roar.
He was a ferocious carnivorous wyvern.
And not just any—he was a Rathalos, one of the strongest among them!
If he got scared off by a few herbivores like this, how would he ever hold his head high in the future?
"Help, help, help—!!"
In the jungle, Kael flapped his wings frantically, running like a panicked ground-bound chicken as he dashed over obstacle after obstacle, completely losing his sense of direction. Rapid, meaningless yelps escaped his throat.
Behind him, two Diablos, eyes bloodshot and nostrils flaring with hot breath, lowered their heads and pursued relentlessly—determined to trample him to death.
At this moment, Kael was filled with nothing but regret.
Deep, overwhelming regret.
Why did I have to roar back just now?
Now it was over.
What had originally been a simple attempt to chase him away so they could drink peacefully had turned into a full-blown rage-induced pursuit.
Fortunately, from the very moment he started running, the Acceleration trait had activated again.
Relying on the complex terrain of the Ancient Forest, Kael managed to survive the most dangerous initial phase. As his speed increased step by step, the two Diablos—never known for agility—gradually fell behind.
In the end, they could only watch helplessly as Kael vanished into the woods.
The two Diablos looked at each other in confusion.
With their not-so-flexible brains, they simply couldn't understand how a hatchling Rathalos that could barely flap its wings had managed to run that fast.
Elsewhere, Kael finally slowed down, gasping for breath.
The physical exhaustion was manageable.
What really bothered him was that once he left combat, the light, effortless sensation granted by Acceleration faded rapidly. In its place came an oppressive heaviness that he couldn't adapt to right away.
It felt as if his body, which should have been wearing light clothes, had suddenly been wrapped in a full suit of heavy armor.
"Good thing I finished that rabbit… Otherwise, this trip would've been a total loss."
After recovering slightly, Kael sighed inwardly.
That one had been pretty plump. Eating it whole had finally given him the long-lost feeling of having actual food in his stomach.
Just then, a rancid, fishy smell suddenly entered his nostrils.
Earlier, he had been too exhausted for his senses to function properly. Now that he had relaxed, his keen sense of smell was rapidly recovering.
Following the scent, he looked toward a distant rock wall.
There, a patch of sticky mucus glistened clearly under the sunlight.
"This is… a territory mark?"
Most large creatures in this world had the habit of marking their territory—whether with mucus, claw marks, or shed scales.
Kael didn't know who had left this mark.
But with a Rathalos's natural eyesight, he could see two deep claw grooves near the rock wall.
From those marks alone, it was obvious.
This was left by something big.
And without realizing it, he had trespassed into someone else's territory.
His heart, which had just settled down, shot back into his throat.
Kael cautiously scanned his surroundings, afraid that a massive beast with jaws wide open might suddenly burst out from behind some corner and charge at him.
With his current small body, outrunning Diablos was already his limit.
If he really ran into those colossal monsters, one of their steps would cover ten of his. How was he supposed to escape then?
As he carefully surveyed the area, a sudden chill ran down his spine.
At the same time, the familiar lightness brought by Acceleration appeared once more.
There was no giant beast.
Instead, standing before him was a creature with yellow-green scales as its main color. Dark, eyeshadow-like markings lay beneath its eyes. Brown spikes rose prominently along its spine, and its slightly open mouth revealed rows of sharp, saw-like teeth.
It looked like an oversized green iguana.
And it was staring at Kael with cold, emotionless eyes.
A Jagras.
One of the lowest-tier carnivorous wyverns.
Aside from relatively sharp claws and barely passable biting power, it had almost no outstanding traits.
Because of its small size and weak stamina, Jagras usually only attacked smaller creatures. When facing larger ones, they often became so timid that they would climb trees to hide.
They were practically at the bottom of the food chain.
In terms of danger, this thing posed even less of a threat to Kael than the Diablos earlier.
What's more, it was even smaller than him at this stage.
But in reality, Kael felt a headache coming on.
Jagras were pack creatures.
Sure enough, two more Jagras emerged from the jungle, joining the first and forming a pincer formation around him.
As they advanced, they kept glancing up at the sky, checking whether an adult Rathalos was protecting this hatchling.
"What kind of cursed luck is this?!"
This world was way too unfriendly to unprotected hatchlings!
Kael wailed inwardly, already preparing to turn around and run again.