Chapter 187
Chapter 187
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 186
Chapter Title: Dinner with F·D
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“Meow!”
Cheda meowed again. My prediction that calls wouldn’t come often was turning out dead wrong. I checked the name once more.
This time, it definitely wasn’t someone from the broadcasting station.
[Bae Sarang.]
I hesitated for a moment before deciding to take the incoming call first.
“Cheda. Connect me to Flower.”
“Connecting to Flower…… Jaeyeon?”
“Yeah, Flower. Long time no talk.”
“Jaeyeon…… you really never call…….”
Cheda’s voice turned chilling. It was because of Flower’s tone on the other end.
It might’ve seemed eerie to some, but it felt refreshing to me. No one had spoken to me like that in the past ten years.
“Flower. Are you annoyed with me right now?”
“Huh…… What? No? I mean, not really.”
I calmly explained to the startled, stumbling Flower.
“I’ve been swamped with all sorts of things. Mountains of work to handle. But how have you been? Your manager’s behavior aside, it seems like everything’s gotten pretty tangled up right now.”
Her true identity as a Chromatic Dragon was information beyond my reach, so she’d introduced herself as a “young dragon of a special bloodline.”
‘Even the Shadow Dragon acting as her manager seemed to believe that.’
Of course, not everyone in the world would be clueless about her. Dragonia’s highest-ranking dragons would know, and given that she’d come to the 34th Earth, Game Master Gwandaeha undoubtedly knew as well.
But put another way, it stopped right there.
There was no way a ton of people knew. A Chromatic Dragon—Noblesse’s top elder, bordering on an upper god—doing idol activities? That was a scandal of cosmic proportions. Ordinary folks might think, “So what if it gets out?” But high-ranking dragons staked their lives on face more than anyone.
“Oh, um…… Like I said before, I’m still a minor in Dragonia. And hatchlings have their freedoms restricted in many ways.”
“I heard they’re protected.”
“Same difference.”
Hatchling referred to a newly hatched reptile, especially right after birth.
It didn’t feel quite right for the offspring of dragons—transcendent beings beyond intelligent species—but if the dragons themselves called it that, who was I to argue?
More importantly…… the near-derogatory term they used themselves revealed their view of hatchlings.
Flower spoke in exasperation.
“Official activities are basically impossible! No dating, no traveling. For a whole thousand years!”
It did sound stifling now that she mentioned it. Transcendent dragons developed intelligence rapidly after birth, speaking almost right away. In other words, they gained full intellect young, yet had their freedoms controlled.
For a full 1,000 years, no less.
“That’s some serious oppression. I’m amazed there hasn’t been more fuss about it until now.”
Being young didn’t mean they couldn’t engage in politics. Even human middle and high schoolers protested and issued statements. So why hadn’t these centuries-old hatchlings done anything?
As if understanding my curiosity, Flower explained through Cheda.
“Hatchlings sleep a lot. Dragons grow best during sleep. Their waking hours are mostly spent training in magic.”
“Don’t they get bored?”
“Not really. Learning magic is instinctive, passed down through blood—it’s their ultimate playtime.”
So the other hatchlings had no complaints.
“But you’re different.”
“Yeah. As you know, I’ve already mastered everything worth learning.”
As part of a Chromatic Dragon, she already possessed magical prowess that would awe archmages. And given her nature, she probably didn’t need much sleep either. She wasn’t “growing” as a dragon.
In short.
‘She has to endure 1,000 years wide awake, and she can’t hack it. That’s the gist.’
Having grasped the situation, I organized my thoughts and asked.
“So your maturity beyond your age is the issue.”
Flower—and her group F·D—had power that could slap transcendents silly, yet on the surface, they were minors.
450 years old was like living history to humans, but to dragons, it was preschool age.
They couldn’t tolerate a scandal like this.
‘Her even leaving Dragonia to wander around doesn’t make sense.’
Dragons’ overprotection of hatchlings was universally infamous. She could probably roam freely only because she’d blackmailed the high-ranking dragons who knew her secret.
‘If she weren’t a minor, that’d fix it.’
But revealing her Chromatic Dragon identity?
That would blow up far worse than a minor scandal.
“Oh, uh…… Yeah. It’s a problem…….”
“That’s too bad.”
“Oh, uh, is that…… all? Just ‘too bad’?”
“……?”
Her baffling words threw me off. Was she expecting something?
Flower went silent for a bit.
The sound cut off completely, like she’d muted the call briefly.
Then, moments later.
“Oh, uh, Jaeyeon. Didn’t you say you’d buy me a meal once?”
“Oh, right. Of course. But if we meet now, just the two of us…….”
She jumped in quickly.
“Not just us—looks like the other F·D members will come along too…….”
I paused at her words.
‘Wait, one meal turned into five? And at a high-end place, no less…….’
“Would that be okay?”
Her voice was tentative. I felt my inner cheapskate bubbling up from deep down, but I suppressed it with transcendent enlightenment.
‘Social life…… social life…….’
Chanting that to myself, I replied.
“Of course. When’s good?”
“Let’s meet tonight. Precisely…….”
That’s how I set up the dinner with Flower and hung up.
It was my treat, but given the circumstances, she picked the place.
It was a course meal—500,000 won per person.
“Damn…… what kind of meal costs this much?”
A curse slipped out. With six people reserved, that was 3 million won just for food.
The issue wasn’t her trying to screw me over or splurging—it was just her idea of a “decently formal spot.”
“Transcendent indeed…….”
Chest aching, I booked the restaurant, then called Sarang, who had a missed call.
She picked up before the first ring.
“Oh, finally! Why haven’t you been picking up?”
“Busy. What’s up?”
She cut straight to the chase.
“Work. We’re upgrading Grade 1 dungeons to special grade and doing a massive update. We need your help, Jaeyeon.”
“……A massive update in this situation?”
“That’s exactly why we need it. To survive!”
Sarang began explaining.
“Most game companies’ stocks are crashing. The 34th Earth’s basically in wartime mode.”
“Doesn’t look any different from outside.”
The streets looked peaceful. People lounged in Gwanghwamun Square, watched movies, chatted—just like always.
But she insisted.
“Daily life’s the same, sure. But everything’s changing. The mainstream’s shifted, and that ripple will spread everywhere soon.”
“Mainstream, huh.”
The game stocks tanking was part of that.
But that raised another question.
“Wouldn’t a big update suffer the same?”
“Not quite. While other game companies tank, Blade & Magic’s Korean Soft, Great War’s Leonhardt Soft, and Real Stage’s Sky Soft are seeing stocks rise.”
“Blade & Magic. Great War. Real Stage…….”
Games with a different vibe from typical ones.
Skill-based games, you could say.
They stripped out gamey elements, bordering on pure simulations.
Even after Revenge implemented VR that worked for ability users, these took minimal hits. Simulations didn’t need perfect realism—the goal was training, not immersion.
Like the simulation software I’d used for chakra training: [Chakra Awakening and Practice].
“Wait. So raising dungeon grades means…….”
“Yeah. Revenge is pivoting to a skill-based image too.”
“…….”
I nearly blurted, “Are you insane?” but held back.
How could Revenge—a game infamous for pay-to-win—pivot to skill-based now? Everyone knew what it was.
“Wouldn’t that clash hard with Revenge’s usual direction?”
“Yeah. That’s why I’ve been ignoring staff suggestions to bundle it away.”
Her unexpected words left me stunned.
“You’ve been ignoring it?”
“Yeah. I don’t want a game decided by skill. I want one decided by spending.”
“…….”
Her brutal honesty was almost scary. It explained how a game like Revenge got made.
“But I did prepare some insurance, just in case. Life’s unpredictable.”
Something clicked.
“……Avatars and servants?”
“Spot on.”
When VR was added to Revenge, Nemesis split characters into two instead of letting players possess their old ones.
The avatar: where players directly experienced VR.
The servant: the old character, auto-hunting and playing as before.
Avatars had been limited to city rides, sightseeing, or special services…… but now, they’d tie to real-world [skill].
And then?
Those avatars would join Revenge’s daily [wars].
“There’ll be backlash, but…… not a bad idea.”
“Right? The techs said we need a transcendent for the implementation test, and you popped into mind. Can you come tonight?”
“Sorry, got plans tonight.”
She sounded shocked at my refusal.
“Huh? You don’t do plans, Jaeyeon. You said you just stay home every day…….”
Her blunt fact made me chuckle dryly.
“Plans with F·D members.”
“…….”
Cheda suddenly went quiet.
“What’s wrong?”
“Oh, uh, well. Five Dragons, with that Flower person, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Yeah…….”
After dragging it out, Sarang said.
“Well, if you have plans, nothing to do about it.”
“Then tomorrow?”
“Yeah.”
I wrapped up the call and sorted my schedule.
“Screw this up, and it’ll all tangle…… I’ll sleep in Ardenia and grind tight.”
But first.
The 500,000-won-per-head dinner.
* * *
“…….”
Sarang stared blankly after hanging up, lost in an indescribable mood.
“Wait. Hold on.”
During the call with Jaeyeon, her heart had sunk. She’d felt anger too.
But she couldn’t snap at him.
Obviously. They had no relationship.
“Huh? What’s this feeling……?”
She wasn’t inexperienced in love. As the youngest daughter of the world’s richest man, Bae Jaeseok, with her stunning looks and genius talent—how many men had approached?
Yet she’d never felt like this.
Not provocation or pretense, but a man treating her as a person. Human to human.
Even if he was her rival.
“Dragons…… what is this? A dream?”
Meanwhile, on the other end of the cut call, she wasn’t the only one dazed.
“Hey! You idiot bimbo, don’t freeze up like that! Argh! Pissing me off!”
Red Dragon Ruby shrieked, pounding her chest. The adorable gesture made space hum.
Watching pitifully, Blue Dragon Sapphire spoke.
“Flower…… getting drawn to a mere human is bad enough, but picking the submissive role in romance? Ugh, you hopeless case.”
Black Dragon Heukyo, listening silently while painting her nails, chimed in.
“To me, it looks like.”
“Oh, Heukyo. Did I mess up that bad? I just…….”
“That guy’s a total sleazy bastard.”
“…….”
“Hmph. Treating our innocent Flower like this? We’ll give him hell tonight…….”
“Please, guys. It’s not that kind of thing…….”
Flower made a pleading face.
But regardless, Five Dragons—all five heads—waited with battle intent firm.
Everything would be decided at dinner.