Wyrmling Evolution!

John trotted around the ship, trying to sniff around for anything with his newly found treasure smell. He realized that everything here was edible, including the metal of the ship, but not much of it had magical energy imbued in it.

Or rather, the parts that did, the engines, the circular stone that seemed to be the control panel, and so on were definitely things he could not just munch on.

But there were a few lingering scents that he followed up to the end of the piloting room, where a wall with three sliding, bulky metal doors stood.

But what about the ship's living quarters? Surely the crew must have kept weapons and odd trinkets and treasures there.

"Hey…," said John, though he came to realize know that he did not know the imp's name. "What's your name, by the way?"

"Hemet is the name," said the imp. "And you?"

"…" John paused for a moment, slightly embarrassed to say his name, but god dammit, it was the name his parents had given him, so what was there to be ashamed of? "John."

"John?" said the imp with a faint hint of surprise. "Hm. James Bond and John. Quite interesting draconic names. Are you two perhaps related under the same clan?"

"Sure," said John with a sigh, because correcting the imp would be rather difficult, to say the least. "You could say that."

Well, in a way, John figured he was once human, and James Bond was human, and John was basically an average joe, but sometimes in his dreams he was pretty badass, so maybe he was similar to James Bond.

[Who exactly is this James Bond? I too am curious] came Mel's voice.

Oh right. She was there too. Always listening to John. Uh…

'It's…it's just a name I made up, don't worry about it, Mel,' said John in his head.

[Understood, my child. Know that I am not here to question you, so do not feel uncomfortable sharing knowledge with me]

'I understand and I appreciate it,' said John.

"I see, heh," said Hemet. "I would much like to see this 'James Bond' one day. A dashing dragon that uses tools of exploration and treasure hunting? That is a dragon after my own heart, I must say."

"Yeah, you'd like him," said John with a slight smile. "Though I cannot even begin to figure out how to get you guys to meet. Anyway, can you open these doors?"

"Oh, of course," said Hemet as he took his gaze off the screen that projected the ship's surroundings. The surroundings were mostly just clouds, John noted, though now the gentle, warm amber rays of the early dawn sun were starting to dance their way across the night glossed clouds.

Hemet stared at the screen that projected the ship's innards and tapped at the wall that held the three doors.

The doors zoomed in, and he quickly read lines of a language John could not read underneath it.

Hemet asked, "Which door? Far left leads to the first crew quarters room. Middle is the captain's quarters. Right is the second crew quarters room."

John's nostrils flared out, and he perceived the strong hint of fresh strawberries best in front of the captain's quarters. "Middle door."

"Hm. It is triple locked," said Hemet. "The captain must be storing quite some treasure. Good that you have picked it out, my friend, your draconic nose truly is a wondrous thing! But tell me, young dragon, did you simply require some privacy to Molt with?"

Huh. John had wanted to go into the room not only to investigate it, but also to privately go into the Molting stage and evolve, for he was not entirely sure whether to reveal ALL of his abilities to the imp.

But it looked like the imp already knew.

"You know about that?" asked John.

"Dragons are creatures of legend," said Hemet. "Much knowledge of them has been lost, it is true, but for those who are worldly like me, traveling and ever searching, their ways are still known to us."

[The imp speaks truly] said Mel. [As beings of incalculable might and majesty, it is simply natural that the lesser races are infatuated with us.

Many of them have tried to study us, and indeed, basic knowledge of our capabilities is quite commonly known, though perhaps rarer now that it has been half a century since our kind has entered the Beyond]

"Take your leave," said Hemet. "I will not pry. You granted me privacy when I retrieved my Bag of Holding, so it is only natural I extend the favor to you now."

"Appreciate it," said John as he saw the metal door slide open. As the imp said, it was triple locked, meaning that there were three sets of metal panels that slide to the side with pressurized, hydraulic clicks and whirs. The doors led into a dark and narrow hallway that fed into a room.

"Any traps here?" said John.

"None on the ship," said Hemet.

"I'll trust you're accurate about that," said John as he traveled in, still being ready to brace for impact and let his Mudclaw Crab shells tank a hit or two if needed. He stalked his way through the hallway, wondering how he would evolve and what new and strange treasures he would find.

Then, when he stepped into the captain's quarters, his night vision laid bare to him a most…unusual sight.

The quarters were littered with paraphernalia of a cat eared girl dressed in star-speckled black dress.

Posters emblazoned with her holding her hand out towards a great crowd from atop a stage, her eyes closed passionately as she sang.

One of the posters, one stuck directly atop the bed, had a flowing, golden, glowing line of text on it that definitely was a signature.

Figurines of her carved in rock and marble lay in a neat row atop a wooden desk. The bed even had a body pillow with her likeness imprinted on it.

Was the captain some kind of idol junkie? Was this new world just filled with weird people?

Though, John did have to admit as he put one claw to his crab plated chin, peering at the poster in a thinking pose reminiscent of an art connoisseur inspecting a masterpiece, the cat girl was pretty cute.

The captain had good taste, at least.

[I sense some level of attraction within you. Know that dragons are compatible with every species, for we in our boundless generosity are capable of granting our blood to all that are lesser than us]

'Okay, good to know, but that's not what I'm here for,' said John hurriedly, embarrassed to hear that out loud even if it technically was just in his head.

He focused on the task at hand and sniffed around, finding the treasure scent emanating most strongly from a rack of swords. It held three blades, but one of them was absent, probably held by the captain on his person.

More treasure scents emanated from a wooden, box-like contraption. It looked valuable with ornate, flowery carvings etched into its lacquered body.

John used the pointed end of his snout to open it up, and the top and bottom halves of the box slid apart to reveal four glowing crystals embedded in indents made for holding them.

[These are mana crystals] said Mel. [None of them reach beyond the third tier, however. In terms of scaling, you may consider the tier of a mana crystal the same as the tier of a spell. A 1st tier mana crystal may hold enough mana to power a 1st tier spell, and so on.

Consuming these will either grant you Essence or you may choose to metabolize them into pure mana to restore your mana reserves]

'And their color?' said John. He noted each of them was different. Red, blue, green, and white.

[They represent an elemental affinity from the environments they were crystallized under. Red for flame, blue for water, green for nature, and white for ice]

'Wow…this crew must have traveled quite a bit,' said John. He curiously tapped his nose on a red crystal, and all of a sudden, it flashed brightly, sending John cautiously skidding backwards.

In the next moment, an image projected from the red mana crystal. A moving, holographic image of the cat girl as she danced and sang on a fire and lava themed stage.

"Hello, my little kittens! Astra is here to-" shouted the cat girl, and a crowd of musclebound beastmen roared in excitement beneath her.

John performed a body maneuver he had never done before: the draconic cringe. It looked like a shiver that ran up from his tail and to his head, making flaps of thin, membranous pink skin envelop his eyes closed in second hand embarrassment.

"Oookay, that's enough of that," said John as he used one of his legs to close the box with a shake of his head. It seemed that degeneracy was universal, no matter what world he was in.

"Alright, enough distractions: time to evolve. I'll think about eating the treasures after I'm done with that," said John.

He willed the Molting process to begin, and he felt heat course through his body, enveloping each individual scale.

As the heat traveled, the muddy brown of his plated scales started to glow a bright white, lighting up the room and all its idol merchandise.

John ignored the idol stuff and got to evolving. First was his evolution into the much-awaited Wyrmling stage when he would unlock the vast majority of his draconic abilities.

[Upon entering the Wyrmling stage, you shall be recognized as a true dragon, one who has survived the dangers of infancy to become worthy of accessing our Arcanas, Immortality Matrix, Inner World, and Elemental Breath.

This is a monumental event.

When our clans still stood strong, those hatchlings that were left in the wilds and made their way back to us as proper Wyrmlings would have received great blessings and celebration.

I am saddened I cannot do the same for you, my child, all I can give you is my solitary congratulations, especially for reaching this stage so soon]

'That's all I need, Mel. Never was much of a party person, anyway,' said John.

[Thank you for being understanding. Then, your evolution shall now commence:]

John felt his body changing. It was slightly uncomfortable feeling the muscles under his skin twitch and ripple, expanding and growing. Kind of like a bad muscle cramp where you could feel your muscles moving under your skin, but except without the pain.

His bones extended and became sturdier, the muscle padding around them, and he kept growing and growing until ten seconds later, he was a good deal larger than before. His head started to itch, and then before he knew it, one singular horn popped out on the left side.

He was now sizably larger than before, almost twice the size of a normal man, and the room around him felt incredibly cramped.

John now looked like a proper dragon. Large, flight capable wings furled out from his back, folding down so as to not knock anything over.

His face had lost any infantile features with his larger eyes now narrowed down to a fierce, slit-pupiled stare and his jaw became filled with dagger-like teeth properly meant for hunting and killing.

[Your body has changed. Now, it is time for your soul to undergo change. Close your eyes, my child, and remember this feeling as I take you to your Inner World. What you feel now is what you must remember to enter it, and it is crucial you are able to do this alone.

For when I am gone, it is through your Inner World that you may access our draconic Arcana]

John nodded and closed his eyes, and as darkness enveloped his vision, he saw it: the image of a sun.

A bright, shining, golden sun radiating its splendid and warm rays outwards, infusing his being with the feeling of comfort, that in this light, nothing could go wrong or be hidden.

That was when he entered his Inner World.