Reborn as a DRAGON

Chapter 164: Exploration

After the sudden interruption by the strange fish monster. I hastily left the area of the strange astral sea. Although water was one of if not my strongest element. The multicolored ocean in the astral plane was anything but normal.

A single glance was enough to send a chill running down my spine. I couldn't see it with my eyes, but I could feel it. It was dangerous, very very dangerous. I didn't sense only one presence down there, no, I sensed many. Each was stronger than the last.

And these were only those I managed to sense. There were always the lurkers, those were the ones I was more concerned about. Monsters that could sneak up on you, silently. By the time you noticed something was amiss, it would have been already far too late.

Add to the fact that my spiritual vision was blocked. I was in quite the dilemma. The multicolored ocean was like a deep dangerous abyss, one that I was better off staying away from. Curious about the massive landmass behind me, I decisively turned around and flew towards it without hesitation.

If the astral plane was a mirror world, akin to the real one. Then that would mean, the massive landmass before me was the equivalent of the dragon continent in the astral world. I momentarily hesitated at the thought of that.

If the ocean was that dangerous, just how bad would the continent be? It was after all our homeland. And although I never quite managed to explore it throughout my short life, I did visit quite a few places to know that It was also filled with all sorts of danger.

My hesitation did not last long, however, as I sensed a giant presence lurking in the waters below. I couldn't see its figure, only its massive shadow was noticeable. This was enough for me to fly towards the island without looking back.

I was still too weak to face whatever was in there. Hell, I might even end up meeting with something worse along the way, but I had no other choice. As I flew across the sky, my eyes constantly scanned my surroundings as I kept my guard up.

The mana in my soul space was steadily rotating, as I kept it close by in case of an unexpected incident, such as the previous harpy ambush. Luckily for me, however, no such thing happened again.

The forest below was somewhat similar to the one in the real world. Still, some differences were very striking. The trees were twisted in various shapes, giving them an almost comical look. Their sizes varied as well, with some towering over the rest, while others looked exceptionally small.

Their colors were another thing to note, as they were also multicolored, giving off a similar vibe to the ocean. Surprisingly, I was able to spot a few creatures in the forest below. The strange thing, however, was how they reacted to my presence ... No, it was better to say the lack of reaction.

Usually, back in the real world, whenever I would pass by a forest, plain, or any land in particular. All sorts of creatures would scurry away in fear. This time though, none of the forest residents reacted. Instead, most just ignored me as I flew by.

This made me gulp down subconsciously. The feeling of nervousness welled up in my chest the more I thought about it. If they were not intimidated by my presence, that could only mean one thing. They were used to seeing, or dealing with creatures at, or above my level of strength.

My scales tingled at the thought of that, as my mind fell in conflict with my instincts. My rational side argued that this was nothing but bad news for us and that I should hide, at least until I have a better grasp of my situation. My more dragonic side, however, felt excited at the notion of stronger prey and exciting fights.

This caused me to become inwardly conflicted as I began to weigh my options. The idea of fighting strong opponents and increasing my strength was enticing. I mean, that was the entire reason for this trip. Though on the other hand, was it truly worth risking my life over it?

The fight against the harpies had a few close calls. But as much as I tried to deny it ... It was fun. I had never used my mana in such a way prior to that, and seeing how everything worked out better than expected gave me a feeling of satisfaction.

"Ah, damn. It doesn't matter, let's just take things one step at a time." I muttered to myself as aimlessly flew east.

Along the way, I would occasionally stumble across a few of the forest occupants fighting amongst each other. Beasts, to be exact, though their appearances were also strange. Something which was to be expected considering how bizarre the whole plane was.

The beasts had a few traits similar to their counterparts in the normal world. Though, they also had their fair share of differences. For example, just earlier, I had come across a large bear fighting against an ant like-monster that was twice its size.

The bear had golden fur and a single glass-like horn protruding from its forehead. The ant monster, on the other hand, was scarlet, with terrifyingly sharp mandibles.

Their fight was brutal, the bear's physical body strength couldn't compete with that of the ant monster. Still, its horn would occasionally glow in a bright color, strengthening the bear's body for a few seconds.

The ant monster, however, didn't seem to have any other ability other than its large sturdy body. Their fight destroyed the surrounding area, toppling trees, and creating craters. I silently lurked in the sky above, as I was mostly curious about the magic the bear was using.

It was somewhat familiar, but it didn't seem to be mana. This discovery made me frown as I waited for the bear to activate its ability once again. The ant monster was slowly growing agitated as the fight prolonged. It began making larger swings, impatiently, as If it wanted to deal with the bear as soon as possible.

"Hmm, it's over," I mumbled to myself.

The ant monster attempted to bite off the bear's head, yet its movement was too large. The bear easily ducked, its horn began glowing once again as it attempted to reinforce its body. It was then that my eyes narrowed in surprise, something unexpected happened.

The ant that showed no signs of using any other powers besides its physical strength, began glowing with an ominous red hue. The sudden gleam was brief, followed after it was the sound of an explosion as a fireball slammed against the bear's head causing it to explode into pulp.

My mouth hung open at the sudden come back as I began reconsidering the fight that just concluded. 'It was baiting the bear? All this time? How terrifying, even random monsters in the forest are this cunning, just what the hell is this place!?'