Dragon Snapshots and Cookie Bribes
Munch munch. "Hahaha! I did it!"
Haring hopped down the mountain, letting out a triumphant yell. She'd taken photos! Five of them, no less! Honestly, she hadn't expected to pull it off so quickly. Their first encounter had gone so poorly, and dragons in movies or novels always had that ferocious image. Having already gotten smacked once, she'd figured there was a high chance of dying. 'Sure, there's a resurrection cooldown if I die...' But if she managed to snap some pics, it'd be worth it. With that in mind, she'd gone full sprint... and the dragon had just stared blankly at her.
"She just let it slide."
The dragon had only watched Haring with a dumb look. The reason was obvious—no human could scratch her with even a fingernail, no matter what they tried. Plus, she seemed like the ultimate lazy type. Thanks to that, Haring had scored a bunch of high-quality shots and was totally satisfied.
Once she was a safe distance from the nest, Haring opened her system photo album. It held screenshots from the in-game camera, and the most recent ones popped up first: the little dragon with her annoyed expression and Haring herself frantically throwing up double peace signs.
"Whoa, so freaking cute!"
Just looking at that face made her heart melt. She wanted to hug her so bad it hurt. 'Yeah, I'd be dead for real if I tried.' Staring blankly while she took photos was one thing, but there was no way she'd let anyone touch her.
"Or maybe?"
If the dragon's laziness was maxed out, she might just let it happen... "Gonna push my luck next time? Feels like a waste to stop here..."
The dragon's cuteness aside, what was the whole point of this mountain climb? Hidden pieces. That's what she'd scaled the peak for a whole month, what countless gallery users were still craving right now.
"Two titles feels kinda cheap."
No dragon-horn weapons, skills, or special abilities like in the novels. And hadn't the dragon herself said there were people training under her? Not to brag, but Haring had grit—she'd spent a whole month hiking while everyone else partied.
"No reason I can't!"
She didn't know how tough the training would be, but it was a game—nothing seemed impossible. Bonus if she could sneak in a hug.
With visions of a bright future dancing in her head, Haring opened the gallery. Let's see...
"Sorry, but not yet."
She felt bad for Yongbak, who posted dragon threads a dozen times a day, but she wasn't sharing the spot just yet. This wasn't some quest that ended with a photo.
"What the. They're deducing it faster than I thought."
How'd they pinpoint the location already? Was posting all those climbing proofs a mistake? Haring shook her head with a wry smile—without them, everyone would've given up ages ago. 'A month of hiking without gal posting? Nah.'
"Won't that guy come sniffing around too?"
That guy—her big bro. The one who'd gotten her into the game and introduced her to the gallery. He'd quit gal for streaming, but you never know. Streams and communities were basically twins. Right now it was just ProGal buzzing, but if it hit his stream and the streaming gal...?
"...Gotta hurry."
Users might flood Red Mountain. Then dragon seekers would swarm, and no more easy meetings. Streaming gals were way bigger than mid-tier ProGal.
"First..."
＊
"Yawwwn..."
So sleepy. She wanted to crash hard, but things kept getting in the way of a solid nap. The mana drain from sleep was mostly gone, but that weirdo Haring kept barging in with her weird bell? Cheer, and the fairies had pestered her too. Fairies were whatever, but this human showing up constantly was the issue...
"Dragon-nim."
"......"
"Dragon-nim. Dragon-nim. Or should I say Flame Dragon-nim?"
"Call me whatever."
"Got it!"
After bolting once, she'd gained some guts—visits ramped up to every three days? On the third, Lea had planned to shoo her off, but the snacks swayed her.
'Doesn't do much anyway...'
Compared to the fairies treating her body like a climbing wall, Haring was quiet.
Haring rummaged in her pouch and pulled out a small box of tempting cookies.
"Hehehe. Look forward to it today. Got these cream puff cookies from the village at the mountain base."
"...Cream puffs, but cookies?"
"Yep. Try one."
She liked cream puffs, but... Lea took the cookie nonchalantly. She was in polymorph form now. Haring muttered "Hand touched!" with a grin, but Lea ignored her, focusing on the cookie. Looked like a cookie slathered in cream.
Crunch.
"!"
"How is it? Tasty, right?"
"...Yummmmy~."
"Hehe. Pricey stuff—10 silver. Buff food, super expensive."
"This is good. Bring this from now on."
"Huh? It's kinda pricey..."
"Bring it."
Munch munch. Lea devoured every crumb, not wasting a drop of cream. Tiny for a dragon, but polymorph didn't demand much food. Just enough to fill the belly felt perfect. She could eat more, no issue.
Haring looked troubled but nodded.
"You like it that much?"
"Yeah."
"...Shoulda got the cheap ones."
"Hey, you."
"Yes?"
"What'd you do before?"
"What?"
"In front of me."
Two weeks back, Haring had struck poses then fled. Lea figured it'd be the last she'd see, but here she was, bold as brass. Those moves screamed magic or spell. 'No change, so totally not.'
Haring hesitated, then mumbled.
"Pho... I mean, like a savable picture..."
"Photo?"
The photo I know?