Reincarnated as a Dragon Hatchling Vol. 1

by Necoco

  Catching the lizard through ordinary means would prove impossible. It was just too fast, and it would surely disappear the moment I made a move toward it. I had to make a bold gamble. If I failed, I would never find it again. I’d either have to make an antidote myself or cut off my own arm.

  I supposed as a last-ditch effort I could go into the village and find someone to cure me. They’d probably try to kill me on sight, but if I really ran out of options it might be worth a try.

  At the moment, it seemed most likely that I’d have to cut off my own arm, which would be painful and terrifying and would probably earn me another bizarre title skill. But that had to be Plan B. I was going to evolve soon anyway, and since evolution changed my physical form, my arm might fully regenerate. But I needed to prepare myself for the worst-case scenario.

  Having thought it all through, it was time to get started on my plan. To track down this black lizard I’d have to rely on something truly ingenious.

  The black lizard had run off in one direction, and I ran in the opposite.

  PART 3

  GOING IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION seemed counterintuitive, but since I’d already lost sight of my quarry, it was my best bet. If the black lizard had really wanted to flee from battle, it would have activated Roll. I’d done the same thing myself a ton of times, and I was pretty sure I was right.

  But fleeing didn’t make sense in this case. As far as the lizard was concerned, this would be an easy victory. I was closer to death than I ever had been before; it had the distinct advantage.

  Therefore, its goal had to be something other than running away. It must be somewhere nearby, waiting for the poison to spread through my body. It wouldn’t want to lose sight of me; if I ran away from it, I could get it to chase me.

  The best strategy for the lizard would be to hide, mark its target, then stay at a reasonable distance and keep an eye on me. If I started to run, it would have to give chase—losing me would mean the risk it had taken attacking me was all for nothing. I’d be screwed if the black lizard possessed some kind of innate ability to sense its prey, but I didn’t see anything like that among its skills. Still, I was playing a dangerous game. I didn’t fully understand all its skills, so I was taking a gamble. But this was my best play.

  I ran to an open area to try to spot the lizard. If I failed, I’d be left with only bad options—search for some anti-venom, flee to the village for treatment, or cut off my own arm. That was it.

  So I’d pretend to run away, and when it rushed me I’d double back and go after it as fast as I could.

  The lizard was clever. I knew that if it sensed even a hint of danger, it would run away for real. So I needed to stop wasting time running simulations. It was time to put my guard up and run. It was time to play hide and seek.

  The lizard might be faster than me, but my Roll skill was better—it was my signature move, after all. I’d been using it since I was born. That meant my pride was on the line here. I couldn’t lose.

  I ran for the cliff, where the grass and trees began to thin out.

  I couldn’t use Roll yet. If I moved too fast, the black lizard might sense some danger, and my cautious foe would give up and leave, taking the antidote with it. I needed to let it think it had a chance to catch up.

  All right, this should be good.

  I stopped out in the open, did an about-face, and raced off in the opposite direction. I kicked off the ground and dove into Roll. As the world spun around me, I carefully checked my surroundings. Not here. Not here. I don’t see it.

  Did I screw up? Did the black lizard already run away?

  The wind blew cold on my scales as I spun to a halt. Would I have to cut off my arm after all? I glanced around wildly, panic rising.

  There it was. A little flash of black in my vision, desperately trying to run away from me. Thank God, my instincts had been right. Now I couldn’t let it get away from me.

  Should I just Roll over it? No, I had to catch it alive. That was way tougher than just a clean kill.

  I quickly closed the gap between us and swooped in to grab it, but just before my claws reached it, it dove into forward somersault and curled its body up for Roll.

  Even if my skill level was higher, the black lizard’s Roll was incredibly fast. It got further and further away from me, the open terrain letting it move even faster than before.

  But I hadn’t lost yet. I just had to figure out what to do next.

  Since there was little brush in the area, this was purely a battle of speed, so I couldn’t let up on the gas pedal. I had to choose a path that was smooth enough for easy movement, watch my footing, and beware of trees and monsters.

  Time to see just what this lizard’s Roll Lv 3 was capable of.

  My Roll was Lv 4. I’d smashed into all sorts of objects as I rolled around trying to escape from that giant spider taranturouge. I’m gonna drive you to the left and force you on a difficult route, lizard!

  Just as I expected, the black lizard’s speed dropped as more trees came into view.

  Oh, problems? We’re gonna hit monsters soon, buddy. Hmm? What happened to Chicken Runner Lv 4, huh?

  I was supremely confident in my ability to win in a battle of Roll. I’d been in this dilemma many times before, and every time I’d emerged victorious.

  I’ll show you what real speed is!

  PART 4

  THE BLACK LIZARD was forced to slow slightly, but it still zigzagged its way steadily through the trees. It darted between obstacles and feinted to shake me off, yet it never lost its footing.

  It still wasn’t panicking, despite this encounter going way off the usual script. Staying calm was easy for a monster like that because it knew exactly how powerful it was. Enemies like that were dangerous. If it were me, I would’ve probably lost my cool right away and pushed myself too hard.

  I bet the black lizard would master Roll way faster than me, too. But it hadn’t beaten me yet. If I aimed for a place with lots of trees, unsteady footing, and a lot of monsters, it would have to slow down. And if it kept losing battles, I’d win the war.

  I just had to keep track of its direction, speed, and tempo as it rushed past obstacles—then I’d be able to predict its next move. No matter how complex the terrain proved to be, I wouldn’t lose it.

  I saw the exact moment it had to make a choice. It couldn’t keep its speed up and also make it around those three trees up ahead without decelerating. Neither of us could.

  From my experience, there was a big difference between chasing and being chased. If I let the black lizard go, I’d only have worst-case scenarios left. If I caught it, I’d make it cure me, but I wouldn’t let it get away after. Once it healed me, I’d turn it into experience points right there on the spot. And I was sure it knew that, too.

  Panic and anxiety were never an advantage.

  The black lizard feared death, while I was worried whether my arm would grow back or not. For the moment, I had the mental advantage.

  When we reached terrain where it would be easy to make bad choices, I carefully watched the black lizard’s mistakes and learned from them. I wouldn’t make the same ones. I had the upper hand.

  We were about eight meters apart when the black lizard lost its confidence and slowed. It quickly tried to speed up again and leave me in the dust, but it was clearly shaken. It kept messing up more and more.

  I slowed down, maintaining the same distance between us. There was no reason to rush. I’d chase it to the cliff and then catch it.

  Normal Skill “Roll” Lv 4 has become Lv 5.

  Oh, it went up! There’s no way I’ll lose now. All thanks to my trusty partner Roll.

  The cliff was coming up fast now.

  Just as the black lizard made a wide turn, I shot in and got within five meters of it. If you don’t slow down, you’ll run into a monster and really be in trouble!

  Another meter closer. Yeah, the terrain looks rough, but if you make little jumps you can just barely clear it. If you keep r
olling around things to avoid them, you’re going to lose!

  Another meter. No, don’t speed up there! You can get over that area without going any faster! You’ll get a speeding ticket at this rate.

  All right, three meters! I reached the goal! What did you think of my flawless performance? Yep, no one else even comes close to my mastery of Roll.

  Too bad for you, black lizard. If only we’d met after you’d had more time to grow, you could have been a formidable rival Roll-user.

  Huh? Why did it slow down all of a sudden? Did it realize it wouldn’t be able to outrun me and give up?

  “Gsssshhh!”

  A barrage of brown pellets came hurling at me from the rolling black lizard. It was the bullet attack again, Clay Gun.

  Pretty fancy, even with its accuracy low from being shot while rolling. That just scattered them randomly, making them even harder to avoid.

  I’d been so excited to fight this lizard with my signature move that I’d gotten sloppy. Now what? What do I do now?

  Calm down. Just make a wide arc around to the right…

  My consciousness flickered off for a moment, then I found myself lying on my back, staring up at the sky. I had a fleeting impression of how vast the world was and how insignificant I was in comparison. I couldn’t help but laugh.

  It took me a few seconds to realize what had happened. The sudden counterattack had thrown me off guard, and I’d lost control of my Roll and slammed into a tree. Yep, that sure happened.

  I sat up and saw the black lizard scurrying away. Well, you got me. I never expected that you could use Clay Gun and Roll at the same time. I tip my hat to you. My compliments.

  Should I just let it go? Let it go and lose an arm? This is ridiculous!

  Even if someone told me it’d grow back next week, I’d still have to cut off my arm! There was no way I was doing that.

  I’d been too confident. I hadn’t been honest about the risks and overestimated my abilities. I was just too cocky, wasting my time trying to drive it to the cliff in the first place. I should’ve just tackled it from behind and taken care of it right there.

  I was an idiot! A stupid idiot! I let a stupid game of tag go to my head, and ended up knocked unconscious by a simple counterattack!

  I curled into a ball and recklessly took off in the fastest Roll I could manage.

  Right, left, right! I’m going so fast I won’t be able to dodge all the trees in front of me, but I don’t care! I won’t slow down! I’ll slam into that tree and knock it over! I don’t care if I get hurt in the process, I can take it!

  Why was I trying to show off how fast I could run anyway? I can take some damage, so why not push it down the most dangerous path!

  I used the trail the black lizard left behind as it rolled… No, I won’t. I’ll follow it and make my own path. Our bodies are completely different, after all. Instead of relying on a trail, I’ll focus on Roll and make this a real race.

  PART 5

  I KEPT THE ROLLING black lizard in my sights as I focused on moving as fast as I could. I made deep tracks in the dirt and blasted through trees as I charged aggressively forward.

  No more Mr. Nice Dragon. I didn’t even care if I caught it alive anymore. I’d just run it over at full speed. Hope one blow doesn’t kill you, black lizard. Even if it takes everything I’ve got, I’d rather take you down with me than let you get away.

  The closer I got, the faster it moved. I charged right into anything and everything and took down whatever was unlucky enough to cross my path. Just a glance in my direction would be enough for the lizard to see it—it if slowed even slightly, it would mean certain death.

  But no matter how fast you go, there’s no way you can shake me if you keep carefully avoiding all the obstacles in your path!

  “Gssshhh!”

  The black lizard cried out, and another brown pellet shot towards me.

  Here it is! Clay Gun!

  It waited to shoot until I was distracted by avoiding a rock. But I’d been expecting it to happen at any moment. I got the feeling that this fight was the first time it had ever used Roll and Clay Gun together. There were more bullets this time and they were faster.

  It’s impossible to completely avoid them!

  I jumped to a spot where the pellets were weakened and would strike at a bad angle. I chose the best spot I could, but it was still a dangerous position. I took the hits all over my body and nearly rocketed to a stop.

  But I’d braced myself from the very beginning, and I knew I could withstand a bit of damage. It slowed me a lot, but didn’t stop me. I sped back up to full speed almost immediately, making up for lost time.

  You stupid black lizard! Did you really think that’d be enough to stop me?!

  I mowed down trees like a rogue pinball as I chased after the lizard. My entire body hurt. I had a feeling my HP was getting low, but I was too afraid to check. I couldn’t do anything about it right now anyway.

  But now I could see the cliff stretching out in front of the black lizard.

  It had finally come to this. I raced towards it to drive it over the cliff. I would make a wide curve to run along the edge and then slam into it!

  The lizard definitely knew what I was up to, and I guessed its next move would be using Clay Gun again. And if I can just stave that off, I’ll win.

  If it used its attack while it was rolling, it would split its focus. Its speed dropped significantly the first two times it had done it. In other words, if it missed with Clay Gun, its lack of focus and decreased speed, combined with the sudden curve up ahead, would give me an opening. I just had to jump on it.

  “Gsssshhh!”

  Here comes the Clay Gun! If I can avoid this, I win!

  Pellets shot at me as I increased my speed and used a little hillock to launch myself into the air.

  I slowed my spin and spread my wings, shooting out a blast of Baby’s Breath. The force of it launched me higher into the air and I wheeled round, intent on my destination.

  The Baby’s Breath came out with so much force that I burned my own stomach, but I managed to evade the lizard’s attack and gain momentum. Unfortunately, more speed meant less control. I was going so fast that I lost my sense of direction. If I was off my trajectory by even a little, I’d end up completely horizontal.

  Am I close enough to hit the black lizard? Eh, I’ve come this far, might as well leave the rest up to fate. Come on!

  “Gsshbbt!”

  I charged into the lizard as hard as I could, the force of the impact knocking us both out of our Rolls. I slammed into the ground while the lizard was tossed up into the air. I crawled on my belly, scooting myself along, burned stomach rubbing painfully against the dirt.

  But I did it! Now all I had to do was catch that lizard and make it cure my poison.

  I looked up just in time to watch it make a beautiful arc in the air, flying towards the cliff.

  “Gssshh!”

  The black lizard screeched, legs flailing.

  My cure! Get over here, you jerk! Do you have any idea what you’ve put me through?! If you fall to your death, my arm is going to die with you!

  I used the last bit of my strength to Roll at full speed toward the cliff and leap into the air, spreading my wings. I caught the lizard at the last moment and held it tight until we landed safely on the other side of the canyon. There my exhaustion caught up to me and my legs collapsed from under me, the lizard still held in my arms. My injured shoulder, wrapped in the healing grass, slammed into the ground. The makeshift poultice was already tattered from my Roll, and now it tore completely off.

  “Raaaaaar!”

  Owww, that hurts! I’m gonna die! My arm, my swollen, poisoned arm! Something burst inside of it! Something split, like my blood or skin or something!

  I gritted my fangs against the intense pain and let go of the black lizard. It rolled several times and then scrabbled up on four legs. It stared at me with its beady black eyes.

  I’ve come so far! I
can’t let you get away. I have to make you cure me. But my arm hurts, it really hurts! It’ll take me time just to stand up, and even when I do, I don’t think I’ll be able to move much. But if I let you get away now, this’ll all have been for nothing!

  My vision was streaky and wavering, but I somehow managed to stand up. I’d all but given up on the lizard, but it was still there, staring at me.

  Aren’t you gonna run away? Or are you sure I’m beaten now since I’m in so much pain? Fine, then. Bring it on. I’m barely hanging on, but I can still catch a puny lizard.

  PART 6

  I RAISED MY GOOD ARM and pressed my palm against my pounding head. All that cardio had got my blood pumping, and now my poultice was gone. The poison must be spreading.

  But I couldn’t just sit around complaining. I took a deep breath and tried to calm my racing heartbeat. That should slow the spread.

  Now that our rolling race was over, my real battle with the lizard was beginning.

  I was seeing double. Two black lizards. Is this really a good idea? I’m having trouble just standing up.

  Okay. First, I needed to check its status and come up with a plan.

  Species: Venom Princess Lacerta

  Status: Bleeding (Slight)

  Lv: 19/35

  HP: 23/108

  MP: 50/127

  My approach was working, but the lizard was doing better than I expected. Still, I’d just have to convince it to cure me. But can I really catch it?

  I had no other choice. My poultice was gone and the poison was circulating through my body. I had to get it to cure me or I’d die. But that still didn’t answer the question—why wasn’t it running?

  If it was planning to eat me, all it had to do was hide out until the poison incapacitated me. Did it figure I was so far gone it could finish me off right here without any risk of injury?