Chapter 7
Ruuuumble—
[…!]
As if the mana hidden deep within had been released, it burst forth and began to take shape.
Wings sprouted, and a massive tail grew, violently shoving aside the mounds of dirt around it.
- …What?
- Huh?
Even the chat, which had been scrolling frantically until now, fell silent for a moment.
They must be able to feel the overwhelming pressure, even through the screen.
Grrrroooow…—
An enormous body emerged, and an indescribable fear settled thickly over the depths of the abandoned mine.
[Such—]
Right in front of it, the Earth Dragon trembled and looked up.
Yes, it had no choice but to look up.
The vast difference in size and the clear gap in rank it felt deep in its soul screamed at it in a panic.
Kneel before that being. Now.
A dragon whom even proud dragons had to look up at.
—————!!
KRAKAKAKOOM!—
The Gold Dragon manifested in the depths of the abandoned mine.
***
I let out a roar, as if finally free after being constrained for so long.
Though it was a light roar with no mana in it at all, sharp cracks spread across the parts of the abandoned mine that couldn't withstand it.
Then I growled and lowered my head until I was at the Earth Dragon's eye level.
[Well, hello?]
[…!]
The Earth Dragon recoiled in alarm and lowered its posture.
It was a sign of submission, lowering its chin all the way to the ground.
Even if they came from different worlds, dragons were beings whose souls were imbued with rank.
You could think of it as a kind of social status.
As I mentioned last time, I was at least apocalypse-class.
To put it simply, I was in the position of an emperor.
Anyway, no matter how great the difference in rank, dragons don't casually bow their heads.
But from the Earth Dragon's perspective, the being before it had not only a higher rank, but an unimaginable difference in strength.
My very existence must have inspired instinctive fear.
And…
[So, you didn't want me coming to your lair? That's fair.]
[N-no, that's not it…]
[That's why you called me a damn human and a woman, right? Isn't that so?]
[….]
[Answer me.]
And I had my usual domineering streak, too.
The three qualities of a ruler came together perfectly.
[But… this is unquestionably my lair—]
[Withdrawal: 500,000 won - Details: [Multi-Caster] skill usage fee]
[0 won]
[Are you talking back to me?]
Several enormous magic circles appeared around the Earth Dragon.
It was true that my mana efficiency was vastly better in this form than when I was human.
[…I apologize. I was indeed discourteous, but.]
It pressed its snout to the ground, then slowly raised its gaze to look at me.
It was looking straight at me, overcoming even its fear.
[This is my lair. That doesn't change.]
[Earth Dragon - Heat Ray]
Fwoosh!—
As it rose, a vivid red beam shot from its enormous jaws.
It was an attack that melted and compressed the minerals it had eaten and stored inside its body, then fired them as a breath attack.
Among Earth Dragons, it was considered a finishing move.
However.
Whoosh—
[Huh.]
When I casually batted it away with my wing, the breath veered off course and slammed into the wall.
KABOOM!—
For an Earth Dragon, it had some guts.
It sensed the difference in rank, yet overcame its fear and attacked me.
Aren't these guys supposed to spend all their time sleeping underground?
[Were you a Fire Dragon in your past life or something? You're awfully hot-tempered.]
The magic circles I'd summoned lit up all at once.
One of them shone with a brilliant light, then vanished.
KABOOM!—
Immediately, an enormous shock wave struck the Earth Dragon's head, forcibly slamming its snout back down to the ground.
- Damn, that must hurt;
- [I'mGonnaDie] That could take down a building.
- Bite your tongue and it's overㅋㅋㅋ
Flash!—
This time, two.
KWA-GANG!—
Sealing stones shaped like restraints rapidly dropped onto its neck and legs, pinning it in place.
Each of those sealing stones was as big as a truck.
It was a weaker version, but I'd developed the spell to seal another dragon, so it was sure to work.
Next, five magic circles lit up.
A high-powered spell designed solely to kill.
Just as the Earth Dragon gritted its teeth at the sight of them, looking ready to attack at any moment—
[Enough. If you keep this up, I'll really have to kill you. You want to live, don't you?]
[Ghk… What do you want from me?]
[Now you finally feel like talking.]
For an Earth Dragon, it was easygoing and quick to act.
It was quick-witted, too.
Not bad.
I didn't enjoy destroying things, either. I'd like to give it a warning and leave things at that, if I could…
But if I didn't deal with this properly, the Association would keep sending Hunters here anyway.
That wouldn't be good news for either the humans or the Earth Dragon.
[If you stay here, humans will keep coming. This is a world ruled by humans.]
[Humans? Those things are—]
[They're more of a nuisance than you think. You might even end up dead.]
Normally, dragons regarded humans as something like ants.
They thought of humans as one of many weak races—mediocre creatures who'd managed to build a civilization.
But after living on Earth for half a year since my return, I'd realized that Earth's humans were on an entirely different level from those mediocre humans of the medieval era.
Even if other races had appeared on Earth by now, centuries of experience ruling it as a single species hadn't gone anywhere.
Overwhelming technological prowess, and the emergence of Hunters.
Some of them—S-rank Hunters and Hunters with national-level power—looked capable of taking down a low-ranking dragon on their own.
[Choose. Do you want to die by my hand now, die at human hands, or try living in coexistence like me?]
[….]
To say it again, dragons were an extremely prideful race.
I was the unusual one. Coexisting with humans? It was practically unthinkable.
So if it got angry and attacked me again, I'd have to be prepared to really kill it…
[If I choose coexistence, will my lair be guaranteed?]
[Huh? Uh… I can talk to them about it…?]
[Fine.]
Huh? That easily?
[Why are you looking at me like that?]
[No, I'm just surprised you're agreeing to coexist so readily. You were attacking me just now.]
[You chose coexistence, too. I only want to live my life.]
[Wise.]
[Besides, you aren't trying to destroy this place, so there's no reason to keep fighting.]
Was this guy in the top one percent for social skills among dragons?
It had guts and was clever, too.
I acknowledge you. You're the dragon most like a human after me.
- What are you doing?
- Why have you just been growling this whole time?
- Boss… I'm cold…
- [NotAtAllSuspicious] Gaspㅋㅋ Huuughㅋㅋㅋ
- I have a lizard at home. I wonder if I could tame the streamer, too.
- Bullshit
Meanwhile, the chat had turned into a complete mess.
About half of them were curious about what I was doing, and the other half were marveling at my true form.
Time to head back.
[You know how to polymorph, right?]
[I do.]
[I've got this remote-magic thing humans are watching through, you know? Polymorph into a human and say hello. If you show them you're nice, they'll treat you better.]
Saying that, I released the sealing spell and tried to polymorph myself, too, but…
[Insufficient funds.]
Come to think of it, I'd already spent all my money.
…Come to think of it, polymorph was a spell that consumed a tremendous amount of mana, too.
I was pretty sure a few gold bars had vanished just like that in the other world…
Releasing it was cheaper since all I had to do was release the mana that had been bound up, but…
[Required amount - 1,000,000,000 won]
What an absurd amount of money.
What should I do? Would I have to live like this from now on?
Well, I didn't mind, since this was my true form, but going outside would definitely cause problems…
Besides, after talking to the Earth Dragon about coexistence and all that, wouldn't it be embarrassing if I couldn't even polymorph?
[Huh?]
As I wondered what I should do, a status window suddenly appeared before my eyes.
[Skill Use Ticket]
Ah, right. The special reward I got earlier.
Was this telling me to use it?
Well, a skill that cost an astronomical amount like polymorph was the perfect thing to use it on.
[Using Item: Skill Use Ticket.]
[Skill - Polymorph]
As soon as I used the ticket, the mana I'd been lacking surged back, and my body began to glow brightly.
Then, as if being kneaded like clay, my body compressed into a single point before returning to the familiar form of a human.
“Ugh, standing on two legs really is inefficient.”
- The streamer is back!
- What were you talking about?
- It attacked you earlier. Are you okay?
- Wowㅋㅋ That was insanely cool.
- It was seriously as big as a building;
“I'm fine, I'm fine. More importantly, it said it would polymorph, too….”
I said, pointing at the Earth Dragon, which was casting Polymorph.
But its body, which had been compressing much like mine… was smaller than I'd expected.
Wait, why was it still getting smaller?
- Eh
- Eh?
- Oh?
- Loliㅋㅋ
- Boss, you crazy bastard
- A woman, surely.
“….”
“Is… something wrong?”
“Unnie? This child…?”
After I polymorphed, Ha-eun, who'd been watching from a distance, came over, too.
Then I saw it.
Long gray hair and blue eyes.
And… an appearance that looked about as old as an elementary schooler.
What the hell?
“Y-you were a hatchling?”
“Uh… no?”
- Goldie controversy: Seriously fought a grade-school girl
- Boo, what a scumbag
- Upvote if the streamer is about to be charged with child abuseㅋㅋ
- WakyaPyaHeokLoliㅋㅋ
- But even if she looks like that, she's a dragon, so she's hundreds of years old, right?
- Shut up, looks are what matter
- ♿️+♿️+♿️+❗️+❗️
As I'd explained before, Polymorph usually takes the form most ideal for the person using it.
But…
“What would you like me to do?”
No matter how I looked at it, this was a bit of a problem.
I'd originally planned to have her make a double peace sign after polymorphing and rake in some donations, but there was no way I could do that now.
It'd be seriously dangerous to make a kid like this do something like that!!
[ChildProtectionCenter donated 100,000 won!]
[Please buy the kid some snacks^^]
[IWantToBeABCupHunter donated 50,000 won!]
[Loliㅋㅋ]
[PotatoBo donated 30,000 won!]
[Look at that figure]
[WakyaPya donated 150,000 won!]
[Boo, what a scumbag. You're scaring the kid.]
But why did donations keep coming in?
These suspicious bastards…
I should remember their usernames.
Just as I was thinking that and about to explain a little about the Earth Dragon,
[Condition met.]
[Gate collapse begins.]
Huh, wait a second.
It was just going to collapse like that?
“Sorry, Earth Dragon.”
“Pardon?”
“We have to give this place up. …Well, that's how it is.”
“What??”
***
With the Earth Dragon in tow, Ha-eun and I came out of the collapsing Gate and found a nearby hangover soup restaurant.
We were a little hungry, and I figured I should put something in the sulking Earth Dragon's stomach.
And I… was calling the Association to let them know what had happened.
“You're saying the monster inside was a dragon?”
“Yes. I somehow managed to talk it into coming out, but, um… it seems upset. It lost its lair….”
“…I can't imagine what happened. It would be best to bring it to the Association first—”
Beep—
I heard the sound of an email arriving from the other end of the phone.
“…It would be best if Hunter Lee Se-yeon took responsibility for it.”
Just like yesterday, what was with that email?
Were they actually watching this situation unfold?
“You want me to take care of it?”
“Yes. Since you're the same kind of dragon, wouldn't you be better suited than us?”
“No, I mean, why me?”
“As compensation for having the Returnee handle its socialization, we'll provide additional subsidies. About twice what you're currently receiving—”
“Thank you. Of course I'll take responsibility. I'll raise it well.”
After saying that, I hung up and leaned back heavily in my chair, then sighed and spoke.
“Ha-eun, have you ever raised a kid?”
“What? N-no…?”
“What am I supposed to do with this kid…?”
Judging by how it was glaring at me with its arms crossed, it didn't look like it was going to listen to anything I said.
It hadn't even touched the hangover soup.
“Um, just try eating some, okay? We bought this with our own money, too.”
“….”
“Sigh, I said I'm sorry. I didn't know the Gate would collapse so soon… Still, I brought you out with me, didn't I?”
Even if it was lower in rank than me, I did feel a little bad about making it lose its lair right after we'd reached an agreement.
To a human, it'd be like losing your home in an instant.
Even if I'd wanted to stop it, I didn't know how to prevent a Gate from collapsing.
“Here, I picked all the meat off the bones, so try it. I'll take responsibility and find some way to deal with your lair. For now, let's go to my lair.”
“…You mean Goldie's lair?”
“Yeah.”
At that, the Earth Dragon's eyes widened.
No matter the circumstances, dragons didn't easily let others into their lairs.
Of course, my lair was just an apartment, but it should be decent enough for living in human form.
No, it might even be nice.
And since I told it my name, it sure was quick to use it.
Isn't that sort of thing usually difficult for them?
“…All right.”
Thankfully, it seemed my sincerity had gotten through. The Earth Dragon looked down at the soup, then picked up the spoon beside it.
“Don't hold it like that. Hold it this way.”
“Okay.”
Then, after I placed a piece of meat on the spoonful of broth, it sniffed it a few times, looking uncertain, before slowly bringing it to its mouth.
“…!”
“How is it? Pretty good, right? Humans here have amazing technology.”
“I-it's delicious.”
After tasting it once, the Earth Dragon began eagerly scooping up the soup.
As expected, no one can resist good food.
“Here, have some more.”
After that, the Earth Dragon ate seven more bowls of hangover soup before it finally cheered up.
It did come to nearly 80,000 won, but I thought of it as a necessary investment.
Earth Dragons were quite skilled at working with gems, after all.
It would probably be a big help to me in one way or another from now on.
And… Ha-eun actually paid the bill.
She said that things had gone smoothly today thanks to me.
Well, it's all good if it works out.