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The forest greeted Yuki with a quiet intensity. Now several days old, his senses had sharpened. Each rustle of underbrush, every flutter of a wing, registered in his evolving instincts. The heat of his inner core pulsed like a forge, and his body—a blend of ancient magic and reborn mortality—grew stronger with each passing hour.
He perched atop a moss-covered ridge, the firelight of his scales glinting through the canopy. Below him, a herd of Ashfang Lizards scuttled through the underbrush—sleek, red-scaled beasts with smoke-wreathed tails and a reputation for aggression.
Yuki narrowed his gaze. These weren't the docile creatures he'd first avoided. They were territorial, swift, and hunted in numbers.
He crouched low and leapt.
The first lizard noticed too late. A flare of heat and a swipe of claws tore through its scales, sending it tumbling. The others hissed, forming a half-circle as they prepared to strike in unison.
"Flame Sovereign's Breath," Yuki thought, the words instinctive.
Fire exploded from his maw, engulfing two in a twisting spiral of heat. One escaped with singed scales, another fell in a crumpled heap. He lunged at the third, claws raking across its neck, then pivoted, tail sweeping another aside.
The battle was short, but brutal. Blood steamed on the forest floor, and ash mingled with the scent of burnt wood.
Breathing heavily, Yuki stood amidst the bodies.
A soft chime echoed within his mind.
> **Predator Core Analysis Complete. Skill Eligible: \[Ember Vein Reinforcement]**
> **New Skill Acquired: \[Flame Clad Lv.1]**
Warmth rushed into his limbs—an instinctive layering of flame across his body. His scales shimmered, each one now radiating heat and hardened like molten metal cooled by resolve.
His claws glowed faintly. He tested a swipe against a stone and watched it melt slightly beneath the strike.
It was raw, primal power. A fusion of growth and survival.
Yuki let out a low roar—not of dominance, but of triumph.
This forest was no longer a mystery to him.
It was his proving ground.
And he would carve his legend through flame and fang.
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