Rebirth As Godzilla

Belial began to understand, strength alone wasn't enough. He'd leveled up into a high-tier monster, sure, but he didn't have the reputation, title, or status that came with being someone truly untouchable. 

He was an oddity, something that people might want to capture, tear apart, and study just because he didn't fit the mold.

Even full-grown dragons had to be careful. His inherited memories flashed with scenes of his kind falling in battle, each one a grim reminder of where unearned confidence could lead. 

It grounded him. He couldn't let his ego write checks his body couldn't cash. Surviving in this world wasn't a sprint, it was a long, grueling march. 

Thanks to his atomic furnace, he didn't need to fight over every scrap of food or resource. He could take his time.

With a long life ahead of him, he could afford to lay low, gather strength, and wait for his moment. One day, he'd rise above it all.

He twisted his neck, giving his new form a once-over. His body had grown, now over thirty meters long. 

Big, even by dragon standards. But compared to someone like Godzilla? He was still a runt. A powerful one, maybe, but small in the grand scheme.

"Honestly, keeping a low profile isn't so bad. Fighting all the time gets exhausting," he muttered, thinking back to the old man he'd almost squashed with a single slap. 

All those flashy attacks hadn't even scratched him. Maybe they were just loud and flashy, not dangerous. 

Still, it made him wonder, could someone truly powerful be lurking in this forgotten corner of the world? And humans didn't fight fair anyway. 

They didn't come alone. They planned, worked together, and used numbers to win. If one came to fight him, more would follow. Beating one might just make stronger ones show up next. It could go on and on, until someone came that he couldn't beat, someone too strong to stop.

He turned around and made his way back toward the magic mine he'd left behind. No point letting good energy go to waste. Since activating his atomic furnace, he'd unlocked new abilities.

Now, he could manipulate the magic inside his body, channeling it into his claws to cause a massive explosion on contact, something like a weaker version of SpacGodzilla's Space Claw. 

His body constantly emitted radiation that could damage everything in the area, but he didn't see much use for it. It wasn't enough to scare stronger foes, and it was overkill for weaklings.

He hadn't mastered his coronal beam yet, it still needed more practice. The gravity tornado gave him flight, but his control over gravity itself was still rough around the edges. At least he had something to work with.

His once overwhelming aura had evolved too. 

It wasn't just pressure anymore, it was a force field made of raw magic, something that could boost his radiation attacks or even help absorb energy. It was far more useful than just looking scary.

Belial took a deep breath. There was a lot he didn't know yet, a lot he hadn't mastered. 

But that was fine. He wasn't in a rush. Let the world think he was sleeping. He'd wake them up when he was ready.

Returning to the site where the magic ore vein had collapsed after he activated his atomic furnace, Belial wasted no time. With a blast of radiation, he carved out a new cavern and stabilized the walls using bursts from his gravity tornado. 

Then, letting his energy field pulse outwards, he started absorbing all the nearby magic like a sponge soaking up water. It felt far more satisfying than the slow, passive absorption he'd done while asleep, almost like sinking into a hot spring and feeling every inch of himself come alive.

His entire body reacted like it was rejoicing. Each cell greedily drank in the magic, growing stronger by the second. 

In no time, the glowing rocks around him dimmed as their energy drained away. A sizable portion of the once-rich ore was completely depleted in minutes.

Once his field had sucked everything dry, Belial opened his eyes and noticed something strange, white, crystalline formations, ones that looked like the crystals growing on his own body, had started appearing on the cave walls. They shimmered faintly, with a familiar magical wave.

That's when it hit him. "Right… I'm Space Godzilla." 

He stepped closer to inspect them. In Space Godzilla's lore, those crystals weren't just for show, they created a kind of energy network, often paired with human-built towers, that let him constantly recharge. 

These crystals granted massive power boosts. But what were they actually made of?

Curious, he studied them further. It turned out the crystals formed when his magic field interacted with tiny debris transforming it at a microscopic level. 

When his field made contact with the crystals, they amplified its range and power, which caused more crystals to form, creating a kind of magical feedback loop.

Structurally, they were made from basic, universal materials, altered and crystalized by his own magic. But they couldn't survive without his energy field. The moment they lost that connection, they crumbled into useless dust.

"So I have to be careful with this energy field," he muttered. 

Not because it was weak, but because of how visible it made him. If he fell asleep and let the field spread too far, it would drain nearby magic and leave behind a huge zone covered in strange crystals. 

That kind of unnatural change would draw attention, and the last thing he wanted was to wake up surrounded by high-level enemies eager to cut him down.

Thankfully, he noticed that the effect weakened with distance. The further the crystals spread, the slower they grew. 

The rate of magic depletion seemed tied directly to his own power. With enough strength, he could probably drain entire regions someday.

Testing the field further, he realized it had a short cooldown and could reach a few hundred meters. 

"Good for draining magic fast," he said to himself, though he made a mental note not to keep it active too long scaring off potential prey wasn't worth it.

With the ore drained, he turned his focus to training his abilities. Space Claw was simple enough: channel magic into a strike to increase damage. It didn't need much thought for now. 

Gravity Tornado, on the other hand, was vital. He experimented with lifting small stones and heavier objects at a distance, slowly getting the hang of manipulating mass.

As for his crystal-related abilities, most of them weren't available yet. 

The coronal beam still eluded him; raw power alone clearly wasn't the key. He tried channeling his radiation into a focused beam, dialing back the output. 

It wasn't a full coronal blast, but it was something. And it proved that fine control mattered just as much as strength.

For now, staying awake and maintaining his energy field was the best way to maximize absorption. It was repetitive and dull, but survival came first. He had time, and he planned to make the most of it.