On the western shore of the Old Continent, within a forest that had only recently thawed.
Racked with hunger, David awoke in a barren pit, still looking a bit dazed. After crashing through dozens of trees, it was impossible for his head not to be. It was also thanks to transmigrating into a Red Dragon that he was tough and hardy. If he had been in a human body, he wouldn't have just been splattered; he would have been smashed to pieces and buried on the spot.
But it was his first time being a dragon. Lacking experience, he had nearly depleted his already scarce 'fuel' to 'launch' himself as far as possible. For a dragon, a creature known for its massive energy consumption, this was definitely taboo. For a hatchling, failing to replenish food in time could be fatal!
By the time David realized this, it was somewhat late. Before he could spread his wings for an emergency mid-air stop, he crashed into the frozen ground. Thrown off course by a conifer thicker than his own head, he shot out over a hundred meters, accidentally killing a bear that had just emerged from its den after hibernation, finally ending his hit-and-run journey. Due to extreme hunger, all David felt at that moment was darkness clouding his vision and his limbs growing cold, while his stomach churned with a burning, twisting pain. He was acutely aware that if he didn't eat something soon, his stomach, like a steel furnace, would begin to digest itself. All he could do was muster his strength, take a massive bite of the unlucky bear's head, close his eyes, and lose consciousness, until he awoke at this moment.
It's just that... he distinctly remembered performing an extreme drift before fainting, a reverse parking maneuver into a bear's den, and even giving the den's owner a final kiss goodbye. So how did he end up falling into such a deep pit?
A hunting trap?
His rebooting brain had just conjured this alarming thought when countless bizarre and unbelievable memory fragments from various perspectives began to surface:
I dig and dig in the soil, unearthing a withered and rotting flower. I consume it to produce more nutritious poo, and then continue digging and digging until something indescribable snaps my intestines...
An earthworm?
I spent my entire life serving you, hoping only that you would still the thrumming of your abdomen and, in return, grant me the infinite power to love and be loved, my supreme Queen...
An ant?
I'm a little frog, a cute little frog... RIBBIT!
What is all this even about?
David was utterly baffled by these memories, automatically coupled and assimilated by his own information streams, when he saw a memory from a perspective closer to that of an intelligent being:
As the glaciers thawed and life reawakened, it too opened its drowsy eyes, its digestive tract rumbling with hunger. Yet, just as it stepped out of its cave, it saw a red object crash onto the frozen ground and rapidly approach. Although it didn't know what the thing was, the thick scent of blood instinctively made it rear up on its hind legs, spreading its claws and opening its mouth wide! The next second, it was sent tumbling, crashing heavily onto the ground. The last image in its memory was a Red Dragon, its eyes glowing green, opening a vast, blood-red maw that filled its entire field of vision. The Red Dragon clamped down on its head and then fainted. But even as it did, the bear tried with all its might to struggle free, yet that gaping mouth seemed to transform into an abyss that devoured everything... dragging it forcefully inside...
These were the bear's memories!
But how could he have the bear's memories?
Could it be...
Finally realizing something, he quickly searched through his thoughts. When he indeed found the 'record' left by the other being, he once again fell into a stupor.
[Authority: Lust]
[Authority: Gluttony]
[Gluttony]
[Gluttony]
[Gluttony]
...
...
"..." David.
So, his ability wasn't the [Wrathful Dragon, Long Aotian] he initially assumed, but rather the goddamn Seven Deadly Sins!
Aside from Pride, Wrath, Lust, and Gluttony, what else was there in the Seven Deadly Sins? Sloth...? Greed...? And then... Envy and Jealousy?
Setting those aside for the moment, there was no question that this was the effect of the so-called Authority of Gluttony. Of course, he had dug this pit himself—with his mouth... In the process, he had inadvertently drawn some innocent small animals into the mess, inviting them into his entrails. But this domineering Authority could even devour and plunder the memories of others...
Before I come of age, I absolutely must not use this Authority to consume intelligent beings, especially not Long-lived Races like elves! David firmly admonished himself.
It was just like now. He relied on the consciousness and memories from his time as a human before transmigrating, as if he had experienced a series of bizarre dreams. After a night, his brain would rewrite and process most of it. When he woke up, unless he made a conscious effort to remember, he could at most recall a few scenes, or he might not even remember dreaming at all. But if he suddenly devoured an old monster that had lived for hundreds, maybe thousands of years, the result would probably be far from good... It definitely couldn't be summed up simply as 'indigestion.'
Wait, he could understand the emergence of [Gluttony], but what was this [Lust] all about?!
He hadn't noticed it before, but as soon as his attention shifted to his own body, he immediately felt aches all over, as if eighteen Tyrant Tigers had taken turns swinging at him. He must have broken a few bones, and his wings were fractured too. But these issues shouldn't be too serious. As a dragon, as long as he didn't suffer a fatal injury, he could recover from just about anything by consuming enough food and then sleeping it off somewhere. What made his Dragon Scales stand on end was the sour, swollen feeling emanating from his cloaca.
David immediately bent his neck and spread his legs to take a look. The cloaca, which four Drow technicians working together had failed to pry open, popped open automatically like a car's fuel cap. He saw his pixelated rear, like a frightened cone snail's proboscis, opening and closing rapidly, secreting a shockingly bright drop of blood!
"!!!"
Could it be that while he was unconscious, something had... violated him?
This scared David out of his wits. Then, following his draconic instincts, he gave it a lick. Instantly, like a cat sniffing its owner's smelly socks, he widened his nostrils and mouth, appearing stunned. But the pheromone ligament in the roof of his mouth swiftly captured and analyzed a torrent of substances, providing his brain with a clear response:
Pure as fire.
He hadn't been violated!
David then breathed a huge sigh of relief. Looking at it this way, it must have been because he had used his breath weapon in reverse earlier. He wasn't scorched by fire. Kidding? As long as it was a True Dragon, even one just hatched and flung by its Dragon Mother into a volcano's lava pool could immediately pop up and perform some fancy swimming to win her favor. Most likely, it was because the Dragon Breath had burst out from such a small opening, causing some expansion... He had heard that once that sort of thing was dilated, it could never go back... Wonder if it's the same with dragons?
Forget it. As long as he hadn't been violated, it was fine... Damn, he was almost scared to death.
Wait a minute! Did he just lick his own... rear? FUCK!
Once again, David was dumbfounded by his own 'breakthrough,' something he couldn't have imagined as a human.
Perhaps due to an instinctive gasp, a small flame shot out from his cloaca, like a childhood lighter with its flame adjuster set to maximum, scorching him until his eyes saw stars.
Just then, a piece of information from his thoughts delivered a critical hit:
[Lust]
"...Can this even work?!"
He finally understood how this Authority of his had been developed!
While David was caught between feeling grateful and sorrowful, he suddenly felt the ground begin to tremble faintly. Instantly alert, he spread his claws and quickly looked up. Between the trees, three tall, muscular figures slowly emerged, their footsteps heavy. They had powerful muscles and rough skin. One of them wielded a huge stalagmite, clumsily but forcefully waving it to clear the brush in front of them. Only their slightly shriveled, sagging bellies and eyes gleaming with hunger told David that they were much like him.
Desperately hungry.
Ogres!
And three of them together!
David's heart sank; this was bad news. Given his current terrible condition, Dragon Breath was absolutely not an option. Another blast, and he reckoned he would probably shrivel up and die on the spot. He immediately dug his four claws into the ground, kept his tail parallel to his body, tensed all his muscles, and fixed his amber eyes on them, warily preparing to find an opportunity to flee.
Then he heard one of the Ogres happily pointing at him and saying to its companions, "Look, a lone Red Dragon licking its own ass."
"Let's attack together, hit him, hit him, then eat him," the one with the stalagmite suggested.
"That's a good idea," the other two immediately agreed.
"..." David fell silent for a moment.
Then, like a wolf spider coiled for a leap, he used the pit walls for leverage and pounced towards the Ogre who had spoken first.
"You're the one licking ass!"
[Wrath]