The Dragon Heir (A Monster Evolution/Progression LitRPG)

There were plenty of things the passage of life could signify. In the end, it was a journey, sometimes uphill, sometimes straight into a pit. Some argued that the future was carved into stone the moment you took your first breath. And in a world where divinators could quite literally peek past the curtain of time, that idea didn't sound entirely absurd. History had its share of prophets who claimed to have mapped the fates of thousands.

But… that's where the contradiction gnawed at the edges. If you could glimpse the threads of fate, didn't that also mean you could tug on them? Shift them? Snap them? How could the future be "set in stone" if a single choice, or a shove, could send it skidding off the rails? Even if it were true, could such a future account for every last alteration? Every misstep? Every stubborn refusal to play along?

Reiner wasn't about to spend the day philosophizing over life's supposed grand design. As far as he was concerned, the whole thing was crap. Predestined future? Hah. What was next, telling him tooth fairies were real? Which, annoyingly, they sort of were. Tier 3 monsters, nasty pieces of work if you didn't know what you were doing. But that wasn't the point. Or maybe it was…

A massive tentacle, lined with thorny, tooth-like growths, lashed toward him. He didn't waste time on thought, he dodged.

Tooth fae, tooth fairy… it had a small library of names, none of them pleasant. The creature was about the size of a Manaroe, with a pair of insect-like wings on its back, a lean body built like a praying mantis, and two long, tooth-riddled tentacles where normal arms should be.

And if the old monster compendiums were to be trusted, a tooth fae was never alone. Sure enough, from the treeline, wings shimmered in the dappled light before more of them swooped low, their tentacles snapping like whips. Just looking at them made your head spin; linger too long in their spore haze and the dizziness became a pounding, disorienting fog. Coupled with their natural resilience, it made them a royal pain to deal with. Which meant Reiner had to finish this fast, before the fight turned into a stagger-fest.

"Form up!" Reiner barked. He didn't have to repeat himself, his team moved like they'd drilled this a hundred times. Which, technically, they had. The monster wave had already rolled through by the time they arrived, but the sheer number of stragglers was mind-boggling. Reiner was certain they'd all be corpses if they'd wandered in during the actual wave.

Not that he could've gotten here earlier, anyway. Lithrindel's borders were on lockdown, so coming here to Vraal'kor wasn't an option. Unless, of course, he could fly and handle Tier 4 airborne monsters at the same time, which was far beyond his current résumé.

He scanned the battlefield.

Giles was already on the left flank, ice blooming along his blade as he intercepted a fae mid-lunge. He'd improved, nearly at high yellow core now. Each strike was sharper, more deliberate. Since that last scrap with the Natura Ape, Giles had gotten more creative with his Ice Swordsmanship, using it less like a guillotine and more like a net. Ice magic was better at locking things down than slicing them apart. Whenever a tooth-lined tentacle tried to wrap his weapon, a sheath of frost sealed it before it could tighten.

On the right, Lavinia stood her ground like her boots were welded to the earth. Massive metal spikes erupted around her, locking down that flank, while her enchanted hammer swept in wide arcs that cratered the ground and shattered bone in equal measure. She wasn't quick, but she didn't need speed, anything that wandered into reach got pulped.

Behind them, Cedric worked with one hand raised, drawing runic circles in the air. Layer upon layer of protective wards wrapped around the caravan they were actually supposed to be guarding. Giles had a knack for finding the kind of wealthy merchants who could afford hazard pay; this job paid about ten times the usual rate. Reiner couldn't help but smile at that.

Beatrice held a staff and chanted in a rapid-fire cadence, every third word igniting a faint glyph across Reiner's skin. He felt the runes sink in, each one bolstering his resilience, softening incoming blows, and sharpening his agility, closing the gaps between his dodges.

Since Giles had stepped down as captain, insisting Reiner was better suited for it, Reiner had been running the show. He wasn't entirely sure how that made sense. His background was in enforcement: hunting down rogue humans and mages, occasionally tangling with the odd criminal elf or beastkin. Monsters… That was supposed to be outside his wheelhouse.

Yet every time he faced one, his mind kicked into overdrive. Instinct took over, mapping the quickest, cleanest path to victory, as if he'd been doing it all his life. Which… wasn't true. Not like he could remember much of that life anyway, not after Jade. One day, he'd woken up in a healer's ward in Randall, memories just… gone. The healers blamed head trauma and said the damage was permanent.

They'd found him with a child. Jade. His daughter. Same eyes as his. The thought brought its usual dull ache, something just out of reach, always slipping away when he tried to grab it. He shook it off. Now wasn't the time to dig through the past.

The team was running like clockwork, which meant his job as captain boiled down to… everything else.

The tooth fae swarmed through the gaps between Giles and Lavinia, diving low to slip past and rake at the mages in the back. Not on his watch. Fire flared in his palms, his enchanted boots igniting as the flames condensed into orbs of heat laced with shrapnel. He pivoted, the boot thrusters snapping him into position, and flicked his wrist. One orb sailed into a tight cluster mid-flight and burst, heat washing the air as the nearest fae's wings charred to cinders, sending it spiraling into the dirt.

When they closed to melee, he switched gears. Propulsion blasts from his boots hurled him forward, fists wrapped in condensed fire slamming into their insectoid bodies. Each blow was a controlled explosion, heat and concussive force cracking chitin before they could latch on. Mana surged in his veins, drowning out stray thoughts, everything narrowing to a single, burning concept.

Something was there, just at the edge of his awareness, the core of his fire magic. Something skin to this… fiery dominance. He'd been stuck at high yellow core for what felt like forever, but this… this was pushing him toward something more. Skirmishes like this fed it, sharpened it. He didn't bother chasing it; whatever it was would come to him in time.

More. More. And more.

But he didn't let the thrill carry him away. Dominance wasn't a solitary pursuit after all, it was a team effort.

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"Keep that flank tight, Giles! Lavinia, shift forward two paces, they're probing for Cedric!"

Strategy mattered just as much as firepower.

He moved through the fight like the battlefield was a board he'd already memorized, stepping in only when the line bent too far. A fae slipped past Giles's guard, tentacle snapping forward, Reiner's hand shot out, clamping down mid-swing. Fire surged up his arm in a violent rush, pouring into the creature's body. It shrieked once before collapsing into drifting ash.

Every second they held bought the caravan another few paces down the road. He didn't need to wipe the fae out, just keep the teeth off the cargo and the lungs in the people's chests still working. And as long as he was upright, that was exactly what would happen.

Losing wasn't on the table.

***

"Hmm… settlement ahead!" Cedric leaned out, squinting at the horizon. "According to the map, that should be Vranich!" He whistled low, ducking back inside with a shiver and a grin. "Ooh, brisk in here. We've wandered into Flameclaw Sect territory now, our final stop. Honestly thought we were all going to drop dead when we ran into that basilisk."

"Well, lucky for us, it was taking a nap," Giles replied. "And we were warned ahead of time. As long as we didn't disturb it, there was nothing to fear. Locals say it's actually a gentle beast."

"Gentle?" Cedric scoffed. "That 'gentle' thing was radiating mana like a Gold Core cultivator and was the size of a small mountain. Of course I was scared witless, already drafting my will in my head!"

The others chuckled, but Reiner didn't join in. It was a sight to behold, sure, yet the awe they felt wasn't what gripped him. Instead, a prickling déjà vu stirred at the edges of his mind. Had he… been to Vraal'kor before he lost his memories? Even that colossal basilisk had tugged at something buried in him, though the memory refused to surface.

He shook his head, eyes drifting back to the view beyond the carriage. A squat stone wall encircled the settlement ahead, its banners marked with a taloned claw, scaled and wreathed in flame. Flameclaw Sect… Even the name felt naggingly familiar, though he couldn't recall ever hearing it.

A flicker of motion snagged his attention. His tone turned sharp. "Beatrice! Inside. Now!"

She was halfway out her carriage window, floating toward a tree. A moment later, she reappeared holding an outrageously plump squirrel. Reiner reached out and pulled her through his own window before she could escape again.

"Look at this thing! It's so fat! I couldn't help myself!" She patted its fur with unabashed delight. "Ahh… so fluffy!"

Reiner exhaled through his nose, shaking his head. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't stay angry at her. She reminded him too much of Jade. That thought dragged up an old memory, how Jade's eyes lingered on market stalls filled with plush toys. She'd never ask for one, always tucking her emotions away so she wouldn't trouble him. But he'd buy them anyway, and the way her smile bloomed was worth far more than the trinkets themselves.

Beatrice was her opposite, chaotic, transparent, and allergic to the very idea of restraint. Jade, though… calm, composed, always holding up that quiet façade against a world that seemed determined to break her.

He'd done his best, but he couldn't always be there for her. That neglect had nearly cost him her life.

Still, The Nightmare, a Gold Core demigod, occasionally still sent him letters. She claimed Jade was safe. Never much detail, no matter how hard he pressed, but enough for him to cling to. If a cultivator of that level swore she was alive, he believed it.

But belief didn't smother the need to see her, even just once.

His chest tightened, heartbeat quickening until he had to close his eyes and steady himself.

Just one glimpse… that's all I need.

***

The escort mission was finally complete. Payment in hand, Reiner accepted the praise from his employer, who seemed more than pleased that most of the convoy had made it through in one piece. One carriage was a bit worse for wear, some goods dented or broken, but without someone with his monster-fighting experience, it could have been far worse. They were impressed, almost suspicious, at how he'd seemed to know what a beast was about to do before it even twitched. The compliments nearly made him flustered, so he excused himself at the earliest opportunity.

They'd decided to stay in the city for the night. Giles had mentioned a massive festival scheduled in the Vraal'kor capital, Varkaigrad, a rare event worth the trip. But when they asked around, locals advised against going, apparently the city wasn't exactly safe at the moment. A terrorist group known as the Vor'akhs was active there.

That bit of news put a dent in the plan. Giles and Cedric were both itching to go, rare chances like this didn't come often, and the idea of enjoying the festivities in the beating heart of Vraal'kor was tempting. Still, if the place was crawling with trouble, they'd be steering clear. No matter how much Cedric whined or Giles tried the wide-eyed, puppy-dog stare, Reiner's word as captain was final: they'd be heading back tomorrow.

For now, though, his coin purse was pleasantly heavy. The mission's payout had been more than worth it. They split up to explore the town, and it didn't disappoint. Vraal'kor's culture was… something else. Even here, the settlement felt half like a fortified garrison and half like a bustling market. Reiner wouldn't call it a civic city, more like a well-armed trade outpost carved out of the wilderness.

He wandered the market with Beatrice while Cedric and Giles went to poke around the garrison side of town. Hunters came and went in steady intervals, hauling in massive beasts, their kills drawing plenty of stares. Lavinia had vanished without saying where, just promising to meet them back at the inn.

Flameclaw Sect disciples, this was their territory, were gathering in the square. Looked like some kind of announcement was brewing. Reiner nudged Beatrice, who was currently eyeing a stall piled with those suspiciously spicy-looking mushrooms she had bought earlier.

"We can grab more later," Reiner said. "Looks like something's going on in the square. Wanna check it out?"

Beatrice perked up, nodding eagerly. "But we are getting more of these for everyone later! They have to try them! Melts in your mouth like a buttery, spicy little slice of heaven." She popped another one in her mouth and bounced on her heels. "Yum!"

Reiner ruffled her hair and led the way through the crowd gathering in the square. But by the time they arrived, the Flameclaw disciples were already wrapping up… whatever they'd been doing.

Whispers rippled through the crowd, and it didn't take long to see why. A massive bounty board stood in the center of the square, marked with the Flameclaw Sect's crest. From the murmurs around them, it was clear, if your face ended up on that board, you'd made an enemy of the most powerful sect in Vraal'kor. Your days were numbered.

Reiner scanned the posters. The bounty amounts made his eyes widen. Even the lowest reward was ten times what he'd earned from their weeks-long escort mission… and that had already been considered an extremely well-paying job.

Not a single monster on the list, only people. But the term "people" was generous. Even the smallest bounty was for a Red Core cultivator.

He was halfway down the list of ten or so names when his breath caught. His gaze locked onto a face. His heart hammered, and his pulse roared in his ears.

The girl's hair was silver-white instead of black. Her eyes were a deep crimson rather than the clear blue he remembered. But the face… the shape, the gaze, the ears, the curve of those horns, he'd know them anywhere.

No stranger could mistake her for Jade. But he wasn't a stranger. He'd watched her grow up.

It was his daughter…

***

"What made you change your mind?" Cedric asked later, brow furrowed. He knew Reiner well enough to know the man didn't reverse a decision once it was made.

Reiner shrugged. "Well, if you want, I can change my mind back and we'll head out tomorrow. You and Giles were the ones pushing to visit Varkaigrad, remember?"

"Hey, hey! Calm down!" Cedric waved his hands. "I'm just asking, not complaining." A grin spread across his face. "Doesn't matter either way."

Before Reiner could respond, Cedric was already bolting out the door, shouting for Giles at the top of his lungs.

They were going.

He never noticed the way Reiner's expression had darkened.