Return: I Became a Dragon
It's been a while... about 200 years ago, I think. I remember it like it was yesterday—just heading home after grabbing a beer from the convenience store, same as always. Then suddenly, a rift cracked open in the sky and yanked me right in. When I opened my eyes, I was in an entirely different world. Yeah, something like that.
I did have a pet lizard back home, but I never imagined I'd end up as a massive one myself. At least dragons are pretty romantic among monsters, right? Breathing fire to torch a city, unleashing a barrage of grand magic, standing tall against some hero—it's all pretty overwhelming.
Hee hee... I've finally collected them all!...
But... turns out being a dragon isn't all that glamorous.
Dragons are instinctively drawn to shiny things. We collect gold and jewels, and just gazing at them fills us with satisfaction and ecstasy. And me? I'm a Gold Dragon—one of the worst offenders. Or as they call us, the Imperial Dragon or the Dragon of Greed. In terms of rank, I'm an apocalyptic-class beast who could wipe out a nation without breaking a sweat.
But maybe because I embody greed, while other dragons waged wars against humans or lorded over kingdoms, I never bothered. I spent my time hunting treasures instead. With enough bling, I was the strongest among them anyway.
The one downside? As a Gold Dragon, whenever combat broke out, I had to burn my gold and jewels in place of mana. Of course, the treasures I hauled in afterward more than made up for it most of the time. Right now, I'd just scrapped with a Red Dragon and scored a red diamond for my troubles.
Polymorph
Tak—
"Phew... nothing beats jewels."
Back in my lair, I paid with gold to polymorph into human form and rubbed the fist-sized diamond against my cheek. The cool surface glided over my skin, but that heavy weight inside felt like it was thrilled someone finally appreciated its worth.
"Ahh... yeah, this is the life."
Sometimes they'd offer "tribute" in the form of their women, but I never got it. Not my thing. What era do they think this is, with human sacrifices? Bring me more gold instead.
"Haaah..."
I was lost in the gem for a good while when a familiar window popped up in midair.
Conditions fulfilled!
You have collected all the treasures of this world.
Return to your original world permitted, along with a special perk.
The system that had guided me since I possessed this body—always so helpful.
I said, "...A perk? Don't tell me it's another treasure?!"
My tail swished at the thought of some valuable new gem.
Special perk [Treasure Digitalization] granted.
A new skill as a special perk, and then:
Begin Return (Earth) procedure?
Caution - Only items in possession at this moment will transfer with you.
Returning to Earth—the very thing I'd longed for when I first arrived here. Sure, by now I had no real attachment left...
Earth's gotta have new treasures, right?
That sparked a fresh desire to go back. I'd collected every last treasure this world had to offer. Staring at my hoard would fill my belly, sure, but that was it. The thrill of hunting and gathering? That joy was gone. Starting fresh somewhere new didn't sound half bad.
"Can't just leave all this behind, though."
I reached out toward the endless piles in my lair.
Material Conversion - Treasure to Treasure
With a single gesture, 20% of the hoard vanished as payment. Everything incompatible melted down, slowly fusing into a single point.
Plop—
Paltry compared to the original value, but compact enough for the cost. A gem holding nearly every treasure from one world. The Immortal Diamond. This would do.
The leftovers stung a bit, but I couldn't take it all. I grabbed a few more handfuls and stepped out of the lair.
Thud, thud—
Earth, huh. Can't wait to see what treasures my hometown has in store.
"Send me back."
A blinding light engulfed me.