That was the big question. Humans and most intelligent races had it easy. They could study magic, cultivate battle aura, read books, train with teachers. But what about him?
What was he going to do, absorb a supernova like SpaceGodzilla?
Eat a nuclear bomb like Showa Godzilla?
How did magical beasts even level up?
He vaguely recalled that dragons grew stronger naturally by sleeping, gaining inherited memories and evolving over time. But besides that? Nothing.
No skill tree. No tutorial.
Was he supposed to do push-ups? Go for morning jogs? That sounded ridiculous.
Maybe he could learn from humans eventually. Pick up some language skills, study their magic systems. But that plan was far off, he didn't look even remotely human, and he doubted anyone would sit him down for lessons.
"Grrr…" His stomach growled, cutting through his thoughts like a blade.
"…I just ate. Again already?"
Was it the SpaceGodzilla factor? Or were dragons just bottomless pits? Either way, hunger didn't wait.
He looked around. Unfortunately, his short height meant his view was limited, but he could tell he was in a fairly open forest.
Scattered boulders and dry patches of dirt dotted the terrain. He probably could eat dirt, like some dragons were rumored to do, but that was a last resort. Hunting sounded way better.
Time to think smart.
His bloodline had given him an absurdly sensitive sense of smell. He could detect moisture, faint trails, even the iron tang of blood lingering in the air.
He followed those traces, guessing they'd lead to water and where there was water, there'd be prey.
Whether or not he could beat that prey? Not a concern. He'd already slaughtered something way bigger than him while half-delirious.
Now that he was actually focused? No contest. And sure enough, things played out in his favor.
Near a flowing stream, a small herd of strange creatures massive six-legged reindeer with antlers like sharpened blades stood at the bank, drinking.
One of them spotted movement in the water, flinched, and let out a sharp cry, alerting the others.
But it was already too late.
Belial was already in the stream, completely submerged and enjoying himself. He had no idea how he was breathing underwater, but apparently his weird body was fine with it.
Even better, There were fish. Big ones. 70 to 80 centimeters long, some smaller, but all edible.
They weren't exactly Earth fish, but close enough to look familiar. As long as they didn't have human faces or glowing eyes, he was willing to try them.
He didn't know how to fish the normal way, but that didn't matter. He tried catching one by hand once, it slipped right through. So he adapted. He used his claws like spears.
It stung at first, ramming his limbs through water like a living harpoon, but he got used to it fast.
Splash!
His claw burst from the water, impaling a fish with such force that it sent a jet of water skyward. His strength and reflexes were ridiculous. Sure, he lost a few early on, but once he got the timing right. One hit, one kill.
He didn't bother cooking. He just bit into the fish raw, swallowing chunks whole. He didn't care about poison, if his stomach couldn't handle it, what was the point of having dragon traits and SpaceGodzilla Dna?
His body devoured the food at an insane speed. He ate far more than his own body weight and barely looked bloated.
What surprised him most was the taste. Raw fish wasn't bad at all, slightly sweet, with a hint of salt.
Guess new body came with a new set of taste buds. It Feel like eating luxurious Sushi.
After scarfing down 70 or 80 big fish, and who knows how many small ones. Belial finally dragged himself out of the stream, belly stuffed and fully satisfied.
Now all he wanted to do was sleep.
But before that, he needed a place to sleep. He looked around but didn't spot any ready-made cave or hollow tree.
Then he looked down at his claws, sharp, curved, perfect for digging.
Grinning, he walked over to a pair of boulders and started clawing at the dirt between them. After a little work, he had himself a small dugout just big enough for him to curl up in.
As sleepiness crept over him like a wave, Belial curled into his self-made den, closed his eyes, and drifted off into a peaceful slumber, dreaming some censored event on his past life.
***
Belial opened his eyes, his eyelids cracking open to reveal the dim sky above. Crawling out of the cave he had dug, he paused, taking in the surroundings.
From the faint traces left around and the soft glow of the sky, it seemed like he had barely slept for six hours. In human terms, that would have likely left him groggy, but for a dragon, it was just like closing his eyes for a moment.
Despite this, he felt fully charged, taking in deep breaths of fresh air. The oxygen flowed into his lungs, and his body seemed ready to burst into life.
It had been some time since he first entered this new world and embarked on his first hunt. He also had to continually expand his cave as his body grew at an insane rate.
"I'll have to expand again..." he muttered under his breath.
Looking back at the cave, which had been expanded several times, he realized it was starting to feel cramped once more. His growth had been rapid and relentless.
If he compared his previous body length to a unit of measurement, he'd say it was now five times its original size. This happened after barely ten rounds of eating and resting. Every time he woke up, it was clear he had grown again.
At first, he had worried. What if he never grew past a certain point, stuck as tiny creature in this large dangerous world.
He feared stagnation, that no matter how much he consumed, he would remain small. Powerless. Insignificant.
But now, seeing the massive form he had taken, those worries seemed foolish.
As for why he measured time by how many times he'd slept rather than days…. well, without a clock, he had to rely on the sun's position to judge whether it was morning or evening.
Sometimes he'd sleep through what felt like hours, other times it seemed like days. His sleep patterns were erratic, and he had long since lost track of actual time.
Belial couldn't be certain if the night he slept through was the same night he woke up to. It was confusing. But at this point, it didn't matter much.
The thing that truly woke him up each time was simple.
Grumble…
"Hunger again," Belial sighed, already used to the feeling. He had figured out that his growth depended largely on the nutrients he consumed.
His body, especially with the Space Godzilla DNA, grew unusually fast. The majority of his food was funneled directly into increasing his size, rather than being stored as fat. His cells kept dividing, and every nutrient he took in went to supporting that rapid growth.
In fact, he could often feel himself growing while he ate, as his body visibly expanded. It was almost absurd.
This constant growth made him stronger, but the cost was clear, hunger. It was an unrelenting need that woke him up every day.