After a month of exploration, he had already mapped a good portion of the territory around his cave in his mind. Not perfectly, of course—the forest was far too large for that—but he had identified several landmarks.

  Large rock formations.

  Particularly old trees.

  Water sources.

  One of those sources was a small stream that branched off from a larger river somewhere deeper in the forest.

  It wasn’t very wide. In most places it was only a few meters across, its water clear enough to see the stones resting on the bottom. Small currents moved lazily around fallen branches and smooth rocks, reflecting sunlight through the canopy above.

  The small stream flowed quietly through the forest, its clear water reflecting fragments of sunlight that slipped between the leaves above. It looked harmless—peaceful, even.

  The young draco-phoenix walked slowly along the edge of the water, his sharp eyes scanning the surroundings. He wasn’t exactly hunting. This was more like exploration.

  Until now, every creature he had encountered had been weak. Most species in the area had a life-level limit of three at best. None of them had been capable of threatening him.

  Perhaps that was why he had grown slightly careless.

  His gaze swept the nearby bushes and the shallow water close to the shore. He searched for enemies within what he considered a reasonable distance.

  But not far beyond that.

  And that was his mistake.

  Deep within the stream, hidden among stones and aquatic plants, something watched him.

  An Arrowfish.

  It was a relatively weak creature, a species whose life-level limit barely reached seven. However, judging by its size and the firmness of its body, this one was close to adulthood.

  Level five… maybe six.

  More importantly, it possessed a dangerous ability.

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  The creature slowly adjusted its position underwater, its narrow mouth aligning with its target.

  Then—

  THWIP!

  A thin bone arrow shot out of the water, propelled by a burst of high-pressure water.

  The projectile moved incredibly fast.

  The draco-phoenix sensed something an instant before impact. His instincts screamed a warning.

  But his body was still that of a newborn creature.

  Level one.

  Slow.

  His wings tensed, trying to move.

  Too late.

  CRACK!

  The bone arrow struck his wing.

  A sharp pain exploded through his body as the projectile pierced through the scales and lodged itself deep in the flesh.

  “—!”

  The young draco-phoenix staggered, nearly collapsing to the ground.

  For most creatures, the wound would have been catastrophic.

  But not for a dragon or a phoenix.

  His body possessed extraordinary vitality. for a dragon tree or phoenix, as long as their brain and heart remained relatively good, even severe injuries were rarely fatal.

  But he was neither a normal dragon nor a normal phoenix. in the case of the death dragon, only if their heart is completely destroy they will die.

  and in the case of the life phoenix, it is the same as the others phoenix, but the velocity of health regeneration is on a completely different level, and can regenerate of a mortal injurie in seconds.

  so there are two ways to kill them, first reduce their regeneration velocity and harm their hearts or brains , second cut or destroy their head.

  in the case of a life and dead dracophoenix, there is only one option, reduce their regeneration velocity and completely destroy their hearts.

  of course, that only applies for an adult.

  Still, the pain was very real.

  And the damage was serious.

  Another splash came from the stream.

  The Arrowfish was preparing to fire again.

  Our draco-phoenix didn't hesitate.

  He immediately retreated, dragging his injured wing as he rushed away from the water's edge. He didn't even try to locate the enemy this time.

  Whoever it was… it could attack from much farther away than he had expected.

  That alone made the stream dangerous.

  He kept moving until the sound of flowing water became distant.

  Only then did he stop.

  Breathing heavily, he used the most basic application of the Life attribute.

  Warm energy spread through his body.

  The wound slowly began to close. Flesh regenerated, blood flow stabilized, and the pain gradually faded.

  Within minutes, the injury had almost completely healed.

  A normal creature would have needed days… or even would not have been cured.

  The draco-phoenix flexed his wing carefully.

  Good as new.

  But his expression darkened.

  “Idiot…”

  He muttered to himself.

  He had grown complacent.

  So far, every species he had encountered had been weak. Most of them couldn't even reach life level three.

  None of them had posed a real threat.

  And because of that…

  He had stopped being careful.

  If that arrow had struck his head instead o heart…

  The thought made him shudder.

  The young draco-phoenix glanced back toward the direction of the stream.

  For a long moment, he stared at it silently.

  Then he turned away.

  “I'm not going back there for a while.”

  The forest was much larger than a single stream.

  And clearly…

  He still had a lot to learn about surviving in it.