Dorian came awake slowly, blinking his eyes blearily. He struggled to his feet, looking around.

He was still in the underground cavern. He glanced off to the corner where the discarded pouch lay.

The chalk white bones were nowhere to be seen.

He felt at his body, closing his eyes. In his mind he visualized his soul. The visualization itself was something that came naturally to him in this world despite not being told how to do it.

His soul was a soft, floating bubble of white light. In his soul, the golden bead that had a countless number of symbols represented his Soul Spell Matrix. Next to that golden bead was a much small red bead he hadnt seen before.

You have successfully stored the Aura of the fallen human, degraded to the middle of King Class. The Aura itself is not permanent, and will be used up slightly every time you activate it. The amount you have stored is enough to draw on it 4 or 5 times. Ausras voice rang out in his mind, coldly informative.

Dorian let out a smile, shaking away the bleariness of his mind.

He then turned towards the exit and swam his way out of the cave.

As he emerged from the underground cavern, be looked around at the night sky, a hint of worry on his face. Nighttime was the most dangerous time to be out.

The night sky of this world was different than his old world of earth. Instead of millions of stars dotting the guy, there was only a single, large pale white moon, identical in size and scale to the sun that appeared in the daytime.

His stomach grumbled reminding him of how badly he needed food. Absorbing that Aura had taken an enormous amount of energy, and he needed to get something to eat now.

As this thought ran through his mind, his eyes slipped to the side, where a few fish were resting in the river.

..

After eating his fill of some random, low Class fish, Dorian snuck back into his underground cavern, spending the night there. The hiding spot was very out of the way, and the safest place hed discovered thus far. Far safer than hiding in a tree.

Despite having been unconscious for several hours, Dorian easily fell back asleep, still recovering from exhaustion.

Several hours passed and it was soon morning again.

Sunlight gleamed into the valley, filtering through the trees. Dorian took one last wistful glance around before turning back, headed towards the forest hed originally appeared at.

His journey back was uneventful. He ran into a few Earth Class beasts, but nothing dangerous. His luck seemed to be in place as he managed to avoid any of the fearful beasts that lived in the mountains, making it out unharmed.

He also managed to snag another Magic Herb on the way out. He ate it down greedily, feeling the energy flow through him.

-Red Salamander Growth Stage: (4/5) Mature Adult-

Growth Progress 812/956

He was rapidly approaching the last bit of energy he needed to grow into a fully fledged Red Salamander. He nodded his head sharply at that, pleased.

According to Ausra, the power structure of this world was both simple and complex.

The difference between each class was largely centered on the Soul of each beast, and their Soul Spell Matrix. A Sky Class beast had a Soul Spell Matrix developed to the Sky Stage.

An Earth Class had their Soul Spell Matrix at the Earth Stage. A Master Class reached the Master Stage, and so on.

Soul Spell Matrixes were what allowed beasts to draw energy to form powerful abilities, like Dorians Flame Claws, to pull energy to regenerate from injuries, and to draw on energy to strengthen their attacks and be physically stronger or tougher.

There wasnt too big a difference between an Earth Class beast and a Sky Class beast. A Sky Class beast would usually be physically stronger, and have a higher ability to regenerate, but the gap would not be too large. At such a low level, the amount of energy in a Soul Spell Matrix was too small to have a significant effect.

Dorians own natural regenerative abilities as a Red Salamander already outweighed the amount he could regenerate using his Earth Class Soul Spell Matrix.

The difference between a Sky Class beast and a Master Class beast, however, was significant, by at least a factor of three.

The difference between a Master Class and a Grandmaster Class was at least a factor of six.

At higher levels, the differences became even more extreme.

Legends had it that beasts at the highest class of all, the Ascendancy Class, could have their entire body destroyed, and would still possess the ability to regenerate from a single molecule.

At the minimum, if Dorian wanted to survive in this area, he needed to reach the Grandmaster Class as quickly as possible.

Thankfully, he already had a plan to achieve that.

Leaving the mountains proved much easier than entering them, and he made excellent time. Soon he managed to arrive near the zone where he had originally spawned in at by midday.

As a Red Salamander, he seemed to have gained an innate sense of direction, which helped quite a bit.

Since he was about to achieve the full culmination of a Red Salamanders growth, it would be time to pick a new beast to Evolve into.

Ausra, can you tell me more about the beasts I have bloodlines for? Ignore all the fish and the clam. Hed absorbed the bloodlines of the Brown Treasure Claim, but was disappointed in its very weak growth potential. As for the fish hed eaten: none of them had anything other than ordinary bloodlines.

Certainly. Ausras voice responded in his mind. A moment later, and a screen appeared in his mind.

-Bloodlines Stored-

Red Salamander

Forested Ancient Snake

Hollow Lizard (Degraded)

Myyr Dragon (Degraded)

The Red Salamander has a maximum growth reaching the Sky Stage. The Forested Ancient Snake maxes out at the Earth Stage. The Hollow Lizards potential reaches the Sky Stage, while the Myyr Dragons potential reaches the Grandmaster Stage.

Dorians eyes lit up. One of his bloodlines had the potential to reach the Grandmaster Stage! It was the one with Dragon in its name.

He frowned, however, remembering that the bloodline was degraded.

Ausra, how much more of the bloodline would I need to gather for you to recover the bloodline, and allow me to use it? He queried.

Ausra was silent for a moment before responding,

Going by the amount found in the Red Salamander Approximately 18 more Red Salamanders at at least the Earth Stage. Roughly 13 if chosen at the Sky Stage.

Dorians eyes glinted as he nodded. It made sense. He then sniffed at the air, making a decision.

It was time he went hunting.

..

Several days passed.

Over those days, Dorian underwent a transformation, not only in strength, but in mindset as well.

Red Salamanders were a common beast in this area of the forest. It was no coincidence that he ran into a Red Salamander on his first day here. All of the Salamanders in this area seemed to share similar bloodline origins, including the degraded Myyr Dragon bloodline.

The first time he tried to hunt one down, Dorian had almost died in the fight. Despite having taken the Salamander by surprise, and pouncing down on it from above, the Salamander had managed to sink its claws into his chest, almost ripping him apart.

While Dorian was in the body of a Red Salamander, he did not have most of the natural instincts and fighting capability of one. At his core he was still a human being.

That said, he had activated his Flame Claws ability, and turned the tide, smiting the Salamander. He was careful to not torch the body, however, saving the blood for him to absorb. It seemed not all Red Salamanders had the Flame Claws ability.

The grievous wounds he had sustained were vanquished almost immediately as he gained enough energy to Evolve into the final stage of growth for a Red Salamander, becoming an Elder Red Salamander.

His body was now a full 2 meters long, with heavy, plated red scales covering him, and a line of sharp spikes down his spine. His claws had grown an inch longer, and his teeth half an inch longer. Physically he was stronger, able to break a two foot thick tree with a swipe of his claws.

He felt his regenerative ability increase a small amount, adding to his natural ability to heal as a Red Salamander. He felt like he could take on two of his previous self and come out a winner in a fight. The change in physique and strength made him recognize a bit more what the difference between a Sky Class and an Earth class beast were.

After killing one Red Salamander and evolving, Dorian had a much easier time taking out the other Red Salamanders. He also hardened himself to the violence, becoming inured to it. This was something he needed to do for his survival.

It was very rare for any Red Salamander to become old enough to reach the Elder Salamander stage. Before Dorian, no beast could simply devour another beast or Magic Herbs to directly Evolve into its next growth stage. Instead, they had to wait for an accumulation of time for their Soul Spell Matrix to slowly grow stronger, maintaining their peak condition.

Over the course of the next 3 days, Dorian hunted down 18 Earth Class Red Salamanders. He didnt manage to find any Sky Class Elder Red Salamanders.

-Red Salamander Growth Stage: (5/5) Elder Salamander-

Growth Progress 2,313/0

He mentally looked over his Growth Progress, nodding his head. The excess energy he gained from hunting down and killing various Red Salamanders had been stored in his Soul Spell Matrix, none of it going to waste.

Eating and absorbing the energy from other beasts was different than eating Magic Herbs in that he could keep on absorbing over and over. When hed tried to eat a second Magic Herb while on the mountain, he felt an overwhelming feeling of sickness, as if he was already stuffed full and eating anymore would be dangerous.

Ausra, Im ready. After killing the last required Salamander Dorian had decided to sleep, the exhaustion of searching through the forest for the beasts he required taking its toll.

It was now the morning of the fourth day since he returned to the forest.

The Myyr Dragon bloodline has been fully restored. Further, you have enough of it to successfully evolve into a 1st Stage Myyr Dragon. Do you wish to Evolve? Ausras voice rang out in his head.

Yes. Dorians eyes flashed.

A flash of light surrounded him, and he abruptly found himself in a misty white landscape. The Evolution Space he had appeared in before.

A ball of light appeared in front of him. Ausras form.

The Myyr Dragon is a creature renowned for its lustrous green scales. It is a draconic creature, with a draconic form. As a fully grown adult, its height reaches roughly 4 meters tall, not including its flight-incapable wings. At its highest potential growth stage, it reaches the Grandmaster Class.

A visualization of the Myyr Dragon appeared in front of Dorian. He grinned as he stared at it, his blood pumping.

It was an actual dragon!

(Authors note: Imagine this https://pm1.narvii.com/6200/9f82e019125c12ca51959991394fba65cfceaea9_hq.jpg (but with greener scales))

Evolve me into it, immediately!

-Absorbing Myyr Dragon bloodline-

-Body Reconstruction in progress-

..

Meanwhile:

Roughly a thousand miles away from where Dorian was, an enormous World Bridge connected the Hasnorth Planet to the Mesor Planet.

The appearance of a World Bridge connecting to a planet was mystifying. It looked like an enormous, three hundred mile wide pillar of land shooting off into a portal of spatial storms high in the sky.

Gravity operated in a mysterious fashion around this connected area. Instead of everything on the bridge simply falling down, gravity shifted as you walked to the enormous tract of land. You could walk in a straight line to the bridge, and then straight up, and it would feel completely normal.

Down on the bridge was always towards the center of the World Bridge, no matter where you stood on it.

(Authors Note: Here is a (poor) rendition of what I mean for those confused: https://i.imgur.com/IRf1Jvr.png )

The World Bridge here was filled with several large forests, and an enormous river that went all the way down to the planet, and continued on the planet. These swathes of forests were dominated by beasts, and a designated danger zone on the planet and bridge.

The enormous river, however, was home to one of the Three Great Powers on the Hasnorth Continent, the Obsidia River Empire.

The capital of the Obsidia River Empire was located just a few miles from one side of the World Bridge, the side containing the nearly 80 mile wide river.

The capital city, Obsidia, was an enormous city spanning a full twenty six miles, almost a small nation by itself, just off the side of the enormous Obsidia River that ran up the World Bridge. It was teeming with more than 3 million human beings, crowded into various shops, homes, a few castles and palaces, and a few outer villages that existed on the edge of the capital.

Obsidia was one of the centers for trade on the planet, and one of the few places where one could find a trading caravan that journeyed to other planets.

The leader of the Obsidia River Empire was a powerful Lord Class Wizard, studying High Water Magic. A full cohort of eight Grandmaster Class Wizards served as the Royal Wizards, making the Obsidia River Empire one of the most powerful forces to be reckoned with on the planet.

It was a massive empire that spanned more than 3,000 miles.

Currently, however, the capital of Obsidia was trembling in fear.

For, overhead, an enormous dragon made of Black Lightning had appeared, sending out an incredibly dangerous aura.

Hadrion smiled as he looked down at the fear-struck capital, his eyes aloof.

We have arrived.