Not the Dragon I Expected
Yongbak. Level 33. In Prologia, where most players were still newbies, he was something of a ranker—and the main culprit behind all those fervent posts on the Progal.
A dragon fanatic from a young age, he'd collected every scrap of info on dragons out there. He'd devoured movies, comics, novels, anime—anything with dragons—and even kept twenty lizards as pets at home, his love ran that deep.
Then Prologia hit, and he was thrilled to his core. Why? Because the trailer had shown—just barely—a dragon making an appearance. A chance to see dragons, which had only existed in dreams and fantasies, for real. Well, real as a game could get, anyway. It was the first time he'd ever get to see them so vividly.
So from the moment the game launched, Yongbak hunted high and low for dragons. No luck—not even a hint of one. He figured if they showed up, it'd be in high-level zones anyway, so he was half-resigned to it... until...
"Haring... she's a god!"
He'd found it. A user who'd been steadily posting climbing updates on the gal had struck gold.
Yongbak bombarded Haring with dozens, hundreds of whispers, and even posted daily praise threads (got temp-banned for spamming after the first day). But sadly, she wouldn't spill the dragon's location to anyone. Seemed like she planned to keep it secret until she snagged a proper hidden piece for herself... He got it. If it were him, he wouldn't share either unless pushed.
"If she won't tell, I'll find it myself."
But he wasn't about to sit idle. No matter what it took, he'd track it down. He'd make that dragon-riding dream come true!
"Let's gooo!!"
...
After all that effort, he finally had a dragon right in front of him... but...
"Has god forsaken me...?"
It wasn't a dragon. Wait, no—it was a dragon. The little kid before him screamed dragon, and that form was almost certainly Polymorph. But what did that matter? 'A human-form dragon isn't a dragon!'
The massive wings and twin horns—dragon symbols extraordinaire—were shrunken like some cosplay getup. No matter how much those wings flapped, they had zero cool factor. Flap flap.
"......"
Could you even call that a dragon? It was just a kid in dragon cosplay—the real one's probably off somewhere else, right? Yongbak denied it over and over, but reality didn't budge.
Sure, you could argue: 'C'mon, how many dragon stories these days don't have transformations?' Shapeshifting was the default now, dragons and wyrms popping up everywhere. Yongbak wasn't against the trend, but come on—there were limits.
"A little kid? That's a hard no..."
Even if he conceded a hundred times, he could've stomached a seductive big sis or a badass grandpa dragon. A kid? Absolutely not.
"No way... not this... this is not it..."
"Um, excuse me~ Time to wake up~"
"Not..."
"Hmph. The Flame Dragon said to wake you, so no choice."
Splash!!!
Blurble blurb!
Water dumped over Yongbak's head. He flailed in panic, eyes flying open, to find a short-haired blue-haired woman giggling in front of him. She tapped the now-empty bucket in her hand—clang clang.
This was...
"...ClimbingGal?"
"Oh, hey! You're Yongbak, right?"
"How did..."
"You pissed off the Flame Dragon and got wrecked, huh? Just like you said on the gal."
Giggle giggle.
Haring stowed the bucket in her inventory and spun on her heel. Yongbak, dazed, got to his feet and trailed after her.
The spot where he'd passed out was inside a cave, floored and walled with soft, fluffy padding like cotton. Orange glowstones dotted the ceiling. Less dragon nest, more bird's—way smaller than a dragon's size, too. Probably for someone else... or a dragon in transformed state.
'Transformed...'
"...Damn it."
"Even if the Flame Dragon's cute, you gotta be careful. Cross the line, and it's insta-bye-bye."
"......"
"Saw the gal posts, right? Those thieves who looted? All smashed flat. Better bow your head unless you wanna get something out of it."
"Cute my ass... I'm super disappointed right now?"
"Huh?"
"The dragon I imagined... wasn't this..."
Yongbak rubbed his dry face and launched into his lament. Human forms were the trend, fine—he'd swallow his tears and accept it. But he'd pictured a majestic, badass dragon or a hot sis type, and instead he got a babbling baby dragon? What cosmic joke was this?
Haring shook her head at his genuine grief. Just like on the gal—not all there. How did a guy like this function in real life?
"Eh, well... must suck."
"Haa..."
"Your speech is way different from the gal, though. Me too."
"...Talking gal-speak IRL would make you sound insane."
"This is a game."
"Prologia's my life."
"Fair."
Haring nodded. Prologia was basically a second reality.
"Anyway, the Flame Dragon's mulling it over."
"Mulling what?"
"Whether to kill this nutjob or not."
Even mouthy challengers got one pass. But dragons didn't give second chances. Mess up twice, and Yongbak was dragon chow. Miss this shot, and future meetings were off the table.
Yongbak got serious.
'...Right. It's still a dragon at core.'
Even if the transform was a kid, he'd seen it—that majestic beauty in the photo. If he could etch that dreamscape into his eyes with his own two, devil or not, he didn't care.
Yongbak steeled himself and stood tall. Plus, she'd probably shifted back by now...
"She's still in Polymorph, though."
"Oh."
＊
"You up?"
"Yeees~"
Two figures approached from deeper in the nest: Haring waving wildly, and a guy with zero energy.
I lay in the nest, munching crunchy cookies, and bobbed my head.
I hated the guy, but I wasn't about to smite him over one slip-up. His head was probably leveled now—lesson learned. And hey, they were heroes, technically.
'Apprentice heroes, but still.'
Even a doddering goddess wouldn't pick scrubs. They had some talent, surely. Haring made it doubtful, though...
"Why the stare?"
"Not transforming back?"
"Huh? We did laps yesterday..."
"More laps."
Haring's face fell as she started running again. At least she had some grit.
FYI, she'd finished 100 laps once, now on her second set. I ignored her panting around the staff and eyed the slouched guy.
Seemed around Haring's age, maybe younger. But they were goddess-picked apprentice heroes.
'Age is just a number.'
Goddess power kept their bodies prime, so age didn't mean much.
"What's your name?"
"Yong... Yongba."
"Yongba. Neat name."
"Uh... yeah, sure."
Sounded like ice cream. Yongba gulped tears and bowed his head. Anyone'd think I'd hit him...
"I hit you, huh?"
"?"
Self-inflicted, though. Sparing him was mercy enough—he should be grateful.
'Mmm.'
I crossed my arms and nodded.
"Yeah. So? Got something to say?"
"...Could you maybe drop the transform? Just once?"
"Transform?"
"Yes! Please, I beg you! I'll do anything!"
Yongba prostrated himself desperately. One begs for the transform, the other to drop it. I'd been polymorphed a while anyway—tempting...
"No way!"
"Why?"
"Don't drop it! I like you untransformed way better!"
Pat pat pat!!
Haring yelled while sprinting around the nest, gritting her teeth to dodge the staff. Hilarious.
I turned back to Yongba, still groveling.
His loose lips irked me—wanted to boot him... but...
'Same goes for Haring.'
She'd barged in and woken my nap too—could've kicked her out anytime. Only stuck around 'cause of snacks.
"What can you do?"
"Uh... anything I'm able..."
"Wanna run laps too?"
"Huh?"
"Oh, and grab snacks. Haring does pastries, so meat for you."
Meat sounded good—been a while since I hunted, too lazy...
"Huh?"
"What're you waiting for?"
Run.