I Received System to Become Dragonborn

The humanoid figure looked so much like a monster that Erend almost attacked him on instinct. His hands had already clenched at his sides as he prepared to strike while he watched the enormous creature standing several meters away.

But then the creature did something Erend had not expected at all. He spoke.

"Don’t... come closer..."

Erend blinked. Confusion and surprise immediately crossed his face. For a moment he just stared at the five-meter-tall humanoid covered in thick brown fur. "What just happened?"

"What? You can talk?" Erend asked.

Even though the creature had spoken, Erend did not immediately relax his guard. There was always the possibility that this was nothing more than some kind of trick. Perhaps the creature had learned how to imitate human speech to make travelers lower their defenses before attacking them.

After all, a monster capable of mimicking a human voice was not something impossible.

The creature looked at him and spoke again. "I... am warning you. Don’t come any closer. You will die..."

His voice sounded unmistakably human, but it was rough and grating. His deep voice sounded as though his throat had never been designed for speech in the first place. Every word came out with visible effort, yet he continued speaking anyway.

"Who are you? Why can you speak?" Erend asked.

The creature released a long sigh. There was something helpless about the sound. It almost seemed as though he had grown tired of repeating the same warning to people who refused to listen.

But Erend was far too curious to simply turn around and leave.

Besides, he did not feel particularly threatened by the creature standing before him or the forest itself.

"There are a lot of things in this forest that will kill you in the blink of an eye," the creature said. "I am here to warn you. Just as I warned the other people who wandered here before you. Please... just... go."

Erend remained where he stood. His posture was relaxed and confident.

"Thank you for your concern. But I won’t die that easily. I came here to investigate this forest."

The creature stared at him for several seconds.

"A lot of people have boasted like you," he finally said. "But their bodies have already become part of the soil. There is no place for your confidence in this forest. I have done this for thousands of years. I have watched the same thing happen again and again. Too much death..."

Erend frowned deep. He asked, "You’ve been here for thousands of years?"

The creature slowly nodded. "Yes..."

"Then you were here before the Apocalypse happened?"

The creature paused before answering. "I came here when it happened."

Erend’s expression changed. He had found another clue. Perhaps he had just encountered one of the rarest living witnesses to the true history of the Apocalypse.

For thousands of years, this creature had remained inside this forest and survived everything that had happened to Valthoria. He might even have been the only living being left who had actually witnessed the disaster with his own eyes.

Erend’s gaze moved across the creature’s massive body.

The mutation immediately became another possibility. Perhaps prolonged exposure to the artificial Magic energy had changed him. Maybe that strange energy had extended his lifespan while simultaneously altering his body over the centuries.

If that was true, then this creature might know more about the Apocalypse than anyone Erend had encountered so far.

"Tell me what you saw back then," Erend said.

The creature sighed again. "Listen—"

Before he could continue, the creature suddenly turned his head toward the forest behind him.

Erend immediately noticed the change in his expression. The helplessness disappeared. The creature looked alarmed.

Erend followed his gaze and activated his enhanced senses. He sensed something approaching. Something was running through the forest.

The movement was fast and aggressive. Heavy footsteps shook the ground with every stride. Something large charged toward them from deeper within the trees.

Erend narrowed his eyes. Whatever was coming was not approaching peacefully.

"Go!" the creature suddenly said. His voice had become tense. It was even deeper than before. "You have to leave now!"

Erend just stood still there.

Then the trees ahead of them suddenly shook. Several branches snapped.

A massive shadow burst through the vegetation.

The creature that emerged from the forest was far more monstrous than the humanoid standing beside Erend.

It was enormous, easily surpassing the height of an ordinary human several times over, with a body covered in thick twisted flesh and patches of coarse fur.

Its limbs were unnaturally long and heavily muscled with several large claws extended from its hands and feet.

Its head was shaped like that of some ancient predator. A wide jaw opened to reveal rows of irregular teeth, and dark saliva hung between them as it released a guttural growl.

Its eyes immediately locked onto Erend. There was no hesitation in them. Only pure aggression and hunger.

The creature lowered its body while keeping its charge at him.

The five-meter-tall humanoid stepped forward instinctively, placing himself between Erend and the approaching monster.

"Run!" he shouted again.

But Erend only stared at the newcomer with a cold gaze. He did not say another word.

He suddenly launched himself forward with incredible speed. His movement was so fast that the humanoid creature did not have time to react.

One moment Erend had been standing behind him and the next there was only a cloud of dust and a powerful gust of wind that swept through the trees.

The approaching monster continued charging without slowing down. It had no idea that it was running directly toward its death.

Then Erend reached it.

There was no prolonged battle. The monster was simply overwhelmed by the sheer force of Erend’s attack.

In the next instant, the creature’s massive body exploded into countless pieces of flesh. Blood and chunks of meat flew in every direction, striking the surrounding trees, splattering across the reddish soil, and scattering among the leaves. Some of the remains even struck the humanoid creature standing nearby.

The humanoid froze. His eyes widened in genuine shock, and his expression looked remarkably human as he stared at the gruesome remains scattered throughout the forest. For a moment, he seemed unable to understand what had just happened.

Then he looked forward and saw Erend stood there several meters away, completely still.

His body was covered in blood. Drops of the monster’s blood slowly ran down his arms and dripped onto the ground beneath him.

The humanoid creature stared at him in silence.

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