The Ruins
"Let's go right now."
Soo shot up from her seat, eyes sparkling. But just as quickly, her tail drooped limply, and she plopped back down.
"...No map, so I can't go yet."
"Should I install the nano-computer along with the ID Chip?"
"Yeah."
Soo handed over her backpack without hesitation. But Miko returned it with a grin.
"I'll do it for free."
"Take me to the ruins?"
Miko's face twitched. No need to ask why. Soo had read her intentions. She'd known this was coming even before offering the bag. It was just politeness to offer once. If Miko had snatched it up? Well, nothing to be done—but out in the Wasteland, scavenging wasn't exactly illegal. Keep that in mind.
"...Yes. Of course, I'll follow with a drone so I don't get in the way. I have a tactical drone license, so no worries about my skills."
"It's fake."
Miko flinched. How the hell does she know? Mind-reading magic or something? She averted her eyes and grumbled.
"...Hah, it's never been caught, which means it's that reliable."
"Got it. But you sure you're okay with this?"
Both implants Miko was offering were pricey. Not top-tier Neonic gear, so a bit cheaper, but even cash-strapped scavengers wouldn't sell them for anything less than their own lives.
"No need for touching words with you, Soo. Truth is, compared to what I'll gain sticking with you, this is dirt cheap. Not worth batting an eye over two implants."
"Fair enough."
She hadn't expected, but at least a flicker of surprise. Instead, Miko was the shocked one. Soo's shamelessness was something else.
"...Before the procedure, let's do a scan first. Just sit there."
"Yeah."
Miko's ocular implants gleamed. Moments later, dozens of tiny cameras descended from the ceiling, circling Soo. She wasn't fazed. She'd seen it thousands of times in the game. Still, it was kinda cool. Only in the game, thousands of times.
As Soo's eyes sparkled, Miko couldn't hide her shock.
No implants at all... it's true.
Not a single implant in Soo's body. Faulty scanner? No way. She checked it morning, noon, and night—even if she wasn't in the business. It was her life's savings. Plus, scanning herself showed her implants clear as day. But Soo? Pure organic, through and through.
And with a body like that, she'd wielded magic more perfect than the Exosode from the Big Three corps. Of course, having seen and felt Soo's magic firsthand, Miko knew she was an exceptional... 'mage.' She believed it. But imagining a completely unmodified body pulling it off? Unthinkable.
And...
That plump tail was part of her, too. No implant or surgery. Muscles, bones, nerves—all connected from birth. It screamed real tail.
A real... dragon?
She believed Soo had no affiliations. Believed she was a mage. Dragon? No dice. But she was about to.
If she's a dragon...
Miko swallowed hard, staring at Soo.
"Uh... Soo."
"Yeah."
"...Can I touch your skin? Just once?"
Soo casually extended her arm. Miko poked and prodded—soft, squishy. Moist in a way this world couldn't sustain. The kind a blade could slice right through.
"Procedure? Should be... possible?"
Lots of question marks, but Soo nodded.
"Let's do it now?"
"Yeah."
A syringe needle popped from Miko's fingertip.
*****
"Whoa."
Not Soo's awe. Not awe at all.
"Whoa..."
Miko's lament.
"No, whoa. This is, like, seriously whoa..."
Thirty-nine snapped syringe needles. Twenty-seven ruined scalpels turned to scrap. Eighteen saws with missing teeth. All from trying to cut Soo's skin.
Yet her skin remained pristine white and smooth. Not even her eyelids—the thinnest human skin—had a scratch.
"You didn't, like... use magic, right? Scared it'd hurt or something?"
Given Soo's looks, it wasn't impossible. But no way.
Soo narrowed her eyes at Miko.
"Nope."
"My god."
Miko tried the scalpel again. Just pressing it summoned a transparent film over Soo's skin, crushing the blade.
"Holy crap for real."
Dragon scales, straight out of movies or games. Thick, pure mana ones visible to the naked eye. The reason the procedure failed.
Even blindfolding Soo, blocking ears and nose, and stabbing from any angle—the scales reflexively protected her. Miko's tools never touched flesh.
Researcher curiosity surged. Wanted to fire a shotgun, but held back—Soo'd get mad.
"You're... really, truly a dragon...?"
"I don't lie."
Soo's face blank as ever, but her plump tail thumped the floor in fury. Each thud cracked tiles—terrifying.
"For real...?"
"Gotta lick it to believe?"
For the procedure, Soo had stripped naked. Needed to expose her spine for the nano-computer. Miko had beast-snarled at the tail then—despite the prior scan. Shocking she hadn't believed.
Soo got it, though. World full of cosmetic implants. A dragon tail? Just some rich girl's whim. Miko thought so too.
Until.
Huh?
Wait—ripping off a hundreds-kilo door with no implants? Superhuman speed beyond optic enhancers? Magic mastery with nothing?
Huh??
Mana real, mages real—why not dragons? Parallel universes, third Earth, simulation? All possible now.
Reframed like that.
"Indeed, a true dragon."
Dragons were tame. Luthien churned out near-dragons in Rüchen alone.
"Yeah, I'm a dragon."
"Awesome."
Miko's mind clicked into place. Denying it now was idiocy. Or maybe shock broke her brain. No point agonizing over Soo.
She spoke with resigned eyes.
"But the implant procedure being impossible? That's an unexpected snag."
"Yeah."
Soo blank-faced, but her trembling tail betrayed distress.
"Hm..."
Chewing a pen, Miko bolted up and rummaged the junk-warehouse behind her.
"Not like there's no way."
"External implants too?"
"Don't have 'em. I'll make some."
That quick? Soo eyed her skeptically.
"Heh."
Miko smirked triumphantly, tossing her hair elegantly.
"One day. I'm a genius."
"Oh."
"So for now... slap on GPS and drone tracker, hit the ruins? I'll guide you."
Soo slipped on the ring Miko handed her. A thumb-sized drone buzzed over. Tactical license (fake), yet piloting something this cute? Kinda lame.
*****
"Yeah."
Tiny as a thumb, but Miko's voice crystal clear. Faster than scavengers' buggies too. Still, Soo eyed the drone coldly. It wasn't Miko piloting anyway. It followed the tracker ring on her finger automatically. In sandstorms weakening signal, Miko'd take over—but by then, drone'd be smashed anyway.
Miko swore no storms near ruins—mana repelled them. Total flag.
Four hours of walking per Miko's guidance.
"Sandstorm too."
There, right before the ruins— a majestic sandstorm raged. Immense. Too immense for "storm." More like a wall. A world-severing wall. God's barrier against humanity. Staring made it feel like the world's edge.
No time for sentiment. Had to act.
"Said?"
Soo extended a slender finger at the drone, folding joints one by one.
"Implant procedure failed."
"Too frail, so send a drone."
"Your surefire prediction bombed."
The drone wobbled. Not mimicking Miko—sandstorm winds. Far off, and already this bad? Closer, it'd shatter.
Problem. If ruins were just this one, fine. But Miko prepped two. Hit this, then next. No drone, no guidance.
Leave drone, go solo? Breaks promise to bring her. Miko'd done zilch yet. But making external implants...
Soo rolled her eyes, then decided. Simpler way.
"Just go."
Soo yanked off the ring, snagged the wobbling drone.
"Can't go down the throat."
She popped ring and drone into her mouth.
Miko's voice echoed in her head. Bone-conduction headphones vibe.
"Mmmph."
Tried I'm fine, but mouth clamped—mumbled mush. Figure it out.
"Mmph."
"Mngh."
Miko yapping or not, Soo advanced toward the sandstorm.