Dragon in a Cyberpunk World

"Whoa."

Magic in a cyberpunk world. And in a dragon's body, no less! A mod I'd never seen in 6,298 hours of playtime. The file size was insane—twice as big as the base game, packed with NPCs that moved like living, breathing people thanks to full AI.

"Whoa!"

This is it. I have to try this. How would the ruthless humans of cyberpunk react to magic and dragons? What fresh build could smash corps this time? First things first, delete the parents. Done.

Mod installed. Character creation and customization finished.

"Huh?"

I opened my eyes to stark white walls and ceiling. Sleek yet oddly clunky monitors straight out of the game. No sign of human life—just a barren, desolate vibe. If anyone had been here, it was ages ago. No one recently. The faint, depressing smell and stale air screamed abandoned lab.

One thing stood out amid the ruin: the girl reflected in the mirror. Unlike the trashed lab, she looked like something you'd raise as a forbidden treasure. Ash-gray hair and eyes that blended fragility with mystery. Grow into that face, and you'd never starve.

"Oh."

No mistaking it for anyone else. No cliché "Is this... me?" line. My customized character stared back, so yeah, this was me. Not that her beauty kept my eyes from wandering—she was naked, after all. But something else stole the show.

A plump tail swishing near her hips.

"Ooh."

A dragon tail! Super-strong dragon, no matter what! Dragon for life! My modded dragon!

Her focus locked on it. Possessed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠into a modded game? Age regressed? Gender-swapped to female? Human form despite being a dragon? Cyberpunk hellhole world? None of it fazed the girl.

Who am I? Cyberpunk cutie dragon.

She tapped the shattered eggshell around her, then stepped forward. Even a cute dragon needed the tutorial.

The research lab corridor lay in ruins, utterly smashed.

"Need a translation implant."

Hugging her precious tail, the girl grimaced amid the barrage of merciless English. No regrets about slacking on English studies. Cyberpunk world—blame the implants first. With a translator implant, she wouldn't have struggled to read the name.

S-U.

"Soo? Sooo? Soo?"

She sounded out the English on her lab door. Obvious choice for her name.

"Soo's the best."

[Woof! Woof woof!]

[Grrr...!]

"You guys think so too, right?"

[Yelp! Yap! Yel-elp!]

"Chunsik, quit nipping or you're in trouble."

Soo gently pried the cyborg puppies gnawing her arm, then nodded. Not the original protagonist Enoch—Soo. Mods created separate characters for game reasons. Did that mean the canon protag existed too?

Thud— Boom—

Her tail, now ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠free, whipped wildly. Walls crumbled, chairs smashed into ceilings, floors cracked and sprayed debris. Chunsik, head of the cyborg-dog family, flopped belly-up.

[Gack... Grrrk... Eee! Ngh! Eee...]

Even then, Soo's tail kept thrashing. She was thrilled at the thought of meeting the protagonist. But too excited? Nah—dragons stayed aloof. She hugged her tail tight. It rebelled harder, but obeyed its owner. Chewing the tip calmed it.

Soo resumed wandering the wrecked lab. Doors ripped off hinges as standard, claw scratches and tail-crushed walls everywhere, deep footprints aplenty. All her doing, but she didn't blink. Fine here.

Outside: yellow wasteland. Beyond mega-city Eden. Scavenger hunting grounds, backstage for mercs fleeing corps. Raided abandoned lab? No issue.

[Grrrrrr!]

Cyborg pups dangling from her tail yipped excitedly. Proof.

"You guys like me that much?"

[Woof! Woof woofwoofgaaaack!]

"Aw, so much."

Chunsik especially. Basically permission. Soo scampered through the lab.

Eventually, munching canned peanuts—crunch crunch—she stopped at a massive door. Pups had clung desperately en route; this was the exit.

Should've brought Chunsik.

Too bad—cyborg dogs couldn't tag along. Abandoned long ago, they tired fast chasing her. One thigh nip and teeth flew; a pat shed parts. Miracle they'd followed this far. But come quiet, leave quiet.

Soo shrugged off regret, eyed the huge door. How to open?

Push. Pull. Slide. Push then pull. Pull then slide. No consistency—doors were chaos. Especially to here. Some push, some pull, some slide-back-pull-forward nonsense.

This one's aura screamed different. Apartment-three-stories tall. Normal tricks? Nah. ID scanner ahead, but newborn-no-parents Soo had no chip. No ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠implants for hacking either.

Then?

Use door-opening magic.

Soo never doubted her magic. Dragons were magic masters in every subculture. Mod lacked spells, but dragon = possible. Magic from belief!

Crunch crunch— She dumped remaining peanuts in her mouth, approached.

Chant? Cooler, but...

Silent cast's dragon-style cool.

Grinning smugly, hands on door.

"Hah!"

Crunch! Arms sank in deep. Slowly pried apart. Door followed—not opening, tearing.

Screeeeech—!

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Earsplitting groan echoed. Alarms blared, white lights turned red. Distant sleeping Chunsik and fam barked mad. Yellow gas spewed from ceiling.

Soo's hands didn't stop. She beamed, pouring more into her door-opening magic (physics). Finally—thud—door opened. Soo-sized gap.

*****

"Whoa, shit. Boss, you seeing this gas level? Sniff it sans seal-suit for three seconds and you're toast. Cr... True boss."

"Kid, you know my experience."

Gas-sealed scavenger. Topher Family head Topher chuckled, advancing. First time grinning this wide.

Not from praise. The sealed lab door—joint corp project by Eden's big three—had opened. Rumors of mystery accident a year back quarantined it. Accident dubious, joint research real. Every wasteland scavenger dreamed of raiding it.

Today: entry. Not open—torn kid-sized hole. But accessible.

"Boss, who did this? Our gear last time? Not a scratch. Pricey stuff too."

"Corps, duh. Neonic's secret cyborg? Or Zailek Tech spec ops. Whatever—don't dig. Corps ties? Worse than death."

Topher, merc name-brand, fled to wasteland for that. Crave cash and fame? Shun corps. Broke the unwritten rule, paid by scavenging.

"Saying that, we entering? We fucked?"

"Kid, we alone? Sun drops, swarm incoming. Today even."

"Heh! Right. Boss knows."

Topher shrugged, crouched. Hole tiny—crumple to squeeze. His bulk didn't help, but still ridiculous.

"So... what's inside?"

Lab thick with yellowish gas. Skin-melting on touch, lethal inhale in three seconds. Even upgraded filter lungs? Dead. Graph off the charts.

Red glow through gas chilled veteran Topher. Far off...

"What?"

Shadow. Four-legged crawler beyond gas.

Instant: mantis foreleg blade from forearm. Lifesaver, his fave implant: Mantis Arm. Blade glinted red.

And—

"Huh?"

Clang—blade snapped.

"What the fu—"

No finish. Shadow arrived post-break. Beyond fast/slow—bypassed perception, always there.

"—ck—"

Topher snatched flying shard barehanded, swung wild.

"—ing mutt!"

Crunch— gaping maw chewed it.

End.

No next move.

"Guhk...!"

Body slammed floor. Saw nothing, felt nothing. Just agony. What speeds this?

"Wha... Boss!"

Now visible: gas-lurking beast.

"H-Hound..."

Neonic's cyberware hounds—Eden corp cyber kingpins. Not mere dogs; led Neonic victory over Luthien Bio-Tech. Blades? Bounce. Bullets? No. Heavy sniper rounds barely scratched. Speed? Untargetable.

"Fuck..."

Cyborg rasp echoed. Hound eyes—extra-red—gleamed. Fifteen pairs.

Topher paled, eyed his bro.

"Lucci. Next Topher Family head: you."

"Boss!"

"Last order. Run, Lucci. I'll hold."

Hold? Feed. Legs jammed anyway. But sounded cool. Better than "take me!" bullshit.

Shit, figured death soon... not today.

Scavenger life, right? He drew waist dagger, bellowed.

"Come on, you dog bastards!!"

Roar drowned it. Lead hound charged.

And—

"Chunsik, sit."

BOOM—!

Hound cratered the floor.