Run!
Nickname: Yong-bak-i. Level 33.
In Frolazia, where most players were still newbies, he ranked as something of a "ranker"—and one of the most dedicated posters on the Frol Gallery.
A hardcore dragon fanatic who'd been collecting every scrap of dragon-related information since childhood. He'd watched every movie, comic, novel, and anime that featured dragons, and loved them so deeply he kept twenty lizards at home.
Living with that kind of passion, he'd trembled the moment he saw Frolazia. Because right there in the trailer, however faintly, a dragon had appeared.
A chance to see a real dragon—something that had only ever existed in his dreams and imagination. Whether it was "real" or not was another question, but this was the first time he'd ever get to see one so vividly.
So from the moment the game launched, Yong-bak-i had searched tirelessly for a dragon—only to find not even the first letter of the word. Figuring that if one existed at all, it would be in a high-level zone, he'd been half-ready to give up when—
"Haring… that guy is a god!"
He'd found it.
A user who'd been steadily posting climbing logs on the gallery had found the real deal. Yong-bak-i had sent Haring dozens—hundreds—of whispers and posted daily praise threads (until a one-day ban for spamming shut him down), but unfortunately, Haring refused to tell anyone the dragon's location.
Apparently he had no intention of sharing until he'd secured a proper hidden piece for himself… which Yong-bak-i could understand. He wouldn't have told anyone either, if it were him.
"If he won't tell me, I'll just have to find it myself."
But he had no intention of sitting around and watching. No matter what it took, he would find it. Find it, and finally realize his dream of dragon riding!
"Let's go!!"
And so, after every effort imaginable, he finally stood before a dragon…
"Has God abandoned me…?"
It wasn't a dragon.
No—it was a dragon. The little kid in front of him was unmistakably a dragon, and that form was almost certainly a Polymorph. But what good did that do?
A human-form dragon isn't a dragon!
The massive wings and twin horns that were the very symbols of a dragon jutted out tiny, like a cosplay costume. No matter how much those wings flapped, there was no majesty to it.
Flap flap.
"......"
Could you even call that a dragon? Wasn't that just a little kid in a dragon costume, while the real dragon had gone somewhere else?
Yong-bak-i denied it over and over, but the truth didn't change. Of course, you could argue—
Come on, how many works these days even feature dragons that don't transform?
It was an age where transformation was the default for dragons and wyrms alike. Yong-bak-i wasn't about to reject that trend entirely—but there had to be limits. Limits!
"A little kid is just… no…"
Even granting a hundred concessions—not a seductive older sister, not a cool old man, but a little kid? This was truly wrong.
"This is really not… not… this is really not…"
"Hey~ wake up~"
"Not…"
"Hmm. The Flame Dragon told me to wake you. Guess I've got no choice."
Splash!!!
Blub blub blub!!!
Water poured over Yong-bak-i's head. He flailed his hands in shock, eyes flying open—and there before him was a short-haired woman with blue hair, snickering as she tapped the empty water bucket in her hands.
This person was…
"…Climbing Gallery guy?"
"Oh. Hiya. You're Yong-bak, right?"
"What happened…"
"You mouthed off to the Flame Dragon and got wrecked, huh? Looks like you really did exactly what you said on the gallery."
Snicker. Haring stowed the bucket in her inventory and spun on her heel. Yong-bak-i rose with a dazed expression and followed after her.
The place he'd blacked out was inside a cave. Soft, cotton-like material lined the floor and walls, and orange luminescent stones were embedded in the ceiling. It was closer to a bird's nest than a dragon's lair. The space was far smaller than a dragon's size, too—probably a place for someone else, or a dragon in transformed form.
Transform…
"…Damn it."
"Even if the Flame Dragon is cute, you still have to be careful. Cross the line and it's straight to pancake-ville, you know."
"......"
"You saw the gallery posts, right? The thieves who got stomped flat and died. Best to keep your head down if you want anything out of this."
"Cute? What are you talking about… I'm extremely disappointed right now?"
"Huh?"
"The dragon I imagined wasn't like that…"
Yong-bak-i scrubbed his dry face and began to vent. A dragon's human form was the trend of the times—he'd have to accept it with tears in his eyes. But he'd imagined a cool, dignified dragon, or an older-sister type—and the result was a baby dragon? What kind of cruel twist of fate was this?
Haring shook her head as she watched him genuinely grieve. Just like on the gallery, he wasn't right in the head. And somehow this kind of person lived a normal life in reality.
"Uh, well… sorry you're sad."
"Haa…"
"More than that, your speech is different from the gallery. Same for me, though."
"…Talking the same way on the gallery and in real life would make you a psycho."
"This is a game, though."
"Frolazia is life."
"Ah, I'll give you that one."
Haring nodded. At Frolazia's level, you could call it a second reality without exaggeration.
"Anyway, the Flame Dragon is deliberating."
"About what?"
"Whether to kill this insane human or not."
Even humans who spouted nonsense or arrogantly challenged her, she'd spared once. But a dragon never gave a second chance. If he acted arrogant a second time, Yong-bak-i was as good as dead. Miss this opportunity, and even future meetings would become difficult.
Yong-bak-i put on a serious expression.
…Right. At the end of the day, the true form is a dragon.
Even if the transformed appearance was a little kid, hadn't he seen it? That magnificent, beautiful form in the photos. If he could just take in that sight he'd dreamed of with his own two eyes, he wouldn't care even if that being were a demon.
Yong-bak-i steeled himself and stood straight. Besides, by now she should have returned to dragon form…
"But she's still in Polymorph form, you know."
"Ah."
"You're up?"
"Yeees~"
From deeper in the nest, a man and a woman walked over—Haring waving her hands energetically, and a man with slumped, defeated energy. I lay in the nest, crunching on cookies, and tilted my head.
He was an extremely disagreeable fellow, but I had no intention of punishing him right away over one poorly chosen word. His head had been dented in, so he should have come to his senses—and thinking about it carefully, these people were heroes, after all.
Apprentice heroes, but still.
No matter how senile she might be, the Goddess wouldn't have picked hero candidates carelessly. They had to have some talent, however minor. Of course, looking at Haring made even that highly questionable…
"What is it?"
"You're not running?"
"Huh? I already finished running yester—"
"Run more."
Watching Haring's face crumple as she took off at my words, well—at least she wasn't completely lacking in persistence. For reference, Haring had completed one set of a hundred laps and was now running another hundred.
Leaving Haring gasping as she dodged my staff behind me, I looked at the slumped man. His age looked similar to Haring's, or a little younger. But these were apprentice heroes chosen by the Goddess.
Age is just a number.
The Goddess's power would keep their bodies in peak condition, so being younger or older wouldn't be strange.
"What's your name?"
"Yong-b… Yong-ba."
"Yong-ba. Unusual name."
"Well… yeah."
Sounded like an ice cream flavor. The man called Yong-ba swallowed tears with a strained grunt and bowed his head. Anyone watching would think I'd hit him…
"I did hit you, didn't I?"
"?"
But that was his own fault. Sparing him instead of killing him was something he should be grateful for, from his perspective.
Mm-hmm.
I crossed my arms and nodded.
"Yeah. So. Got something to say?"
"…Would you possibly undo your transformation just once?"
"Transformation?"
"Yes! Please, I beg you! I'll do anything you ask!"
Yong-ba threw himself to the ground in a full bow, pleading desperately. One person wants me to transform, another wants me to undo it. I'd been transformed for quite a while and did kind of want to undo it, but…
"Nooo!"
"Why?"
"Don't undo it! I like it way better not undoing it!"
Thud thud thud!!
Haring shouted as she diligently ran around the nest. Even so, she clenched her teeth and picked up speed to avoid getting hit—which was amusing, but. I turned back to Yong-ba.
Still face-down on the ground, bowing. I was annoyed enough by his loose mouth that I wanted to kick him out, but…
That's the same for Haring, though.
Thinking about how Haring had first invaded the nest and woken me from a deep sleep, it wouldn't have been strange to throw her out immediately either. If she hadn't kept bringing cookies and snacks, I would have kicked her out long ago.
"What can you do?"
"Uh… well, if it's something I can do…"
"Then want to run too?"
"Huh?"
"Ah, and buy some snacks while you're at it. Haring already brings the sweets, so I'd like some meat."
I hadn't eaten meat in a while, and I was starting to feel a bit empty. It'd been ages since I'd hunted, out of sheer laziness…
"Huh?"
"What are you waiting for?"
Run.