3. Dragon-nim Wants to Get Contracted!
Deciding to lay the foundations inside a mountain cave near the city first. Starting with a chamber big enough for my massive frame, then carving out a proper path to the temple for any visitors who might come.
I figured the top priority was securing a place for myself to live, so I tackled my personal quarters first. Since I was building a home... no, a temple, I resolved to make it a magnificent chamber that would inspire awe in any visitors.
Cave Life, Day 2. Using magic, I worked all day and completed my chamber deep in the mountain cave. But it was just a bare space for sleeping—nothing to awe humans with. By human standards, it was a pathetic room with nothing but a lonely bed. So I started brainstorming ways to decorate the interior.
My first idea: craft statues sized for humans. A dragon surrounded by countless adoring statues? Even I thought it sounded badass, so I got right to work.
Cave Life, Day 3. No issues with materials for the statues. I just sculpted chunks of rock left over from digging out the chamber—plenty to spare. But one problem cropped up: how exactly should I sculpt them? A plain human figure might work, but screw it up, and visitors could mistake me for some tyrant dragon who oppresses humanity.
Hmm... Now I had to seriously ponder the concept.
Cave Life, Day 4. I poured my heart into finishing the first statue. It depicted an idealized woman from my past life's fantasies. Given my size, holding it in my hand felt just like assembling a plastic model from back then... or rather, even smaller, like building a Nendoroid. Hell, if you swapped this statue in my claw for a figure or Nendoroid from my old life, it'd be no different.
...Damn. Suddenly feeling kinda down.
Cave Life, Day 7. Finished all the human statues for interior decoration. Next up: dragon statues. Problem was placement and coloring. How to arrange them for maximum beauty and cool factor? What terrain and scenery around them would create harmony? And finally, the colors.
That sparked it—I started obsessing over terrain features and backdrops to place near the statues. A lone statue by itself just wasn't impressive. True style demands using every element of the environment.
Cave Life, Day 13. After agonizing over human statue placements and nearby terrain shapes, I shifted focus: not my viewpoint, but the visitors'. Since humans would be tiny compared to me, I shaped and positioned everything to look grand and visible from their eye level. Lying prone to match their perspective was exhausting at my size, so I invented a new spell, Far-Seeing Mirror, to compensate.
Truly productive days. With the new magic, I paved walkable paths and roads. Crafting bricks for roads and stairs, polishing stray rocks—it was actually fun. Guess my old hobby of building figures and models gave me a knack for this.
Cave Life, Day 20. Finally completed the basic landscape for statue placement. I laid bricks one by one with precision, positioning statues at perfect spots. Statues appearing one after another along the path to me would make visitors sense this was a mystical place. But something still felt missing.
Despite the smooth roads and stunning human statues, why the dissatisfaction? Sticking close to the ground or using my Far-Seeing Mirror spell to mimic human sight revealed the answer: from their view, it was just roads and a few statues—far from the grandeur I envisioned. Terrain placement was solid, but the scenery beautifying the statues was downright shabby.
Ugh... So far from the temple I dreamed of. More thinking required.
Cave Life, Day 32. Solution: fill the surroundings with intricate patterns. My claws were too big for fine work visible to humans, but I improvised—carved detailed patterns into the walls using a toothpick-thin tool by my standards, then duplicated them magically elsewhere.
The patterns had no real meaning at first, just scenery. But why not make them symbolic? From now on, they'd represent my emblems: a dragon walking with humans, aiding them, listening patiently to their songs, slaying their foes. In other words, motifs screaming, "This body is a benevolent dragon overflowing with goodwill toward humanity!"
Strategic placement along the path to my chamber would paint me in a friendly light for visitors. Oh, and since it was a dark cave, I added auto-igniting lights for anyone who showed up—post-setup flawless!
Cave Life, Day 42. With the visitor path perfected, time to furnish my own chamber. It'd also serve those who reached it, so I aimed for maximum grandeur and majesty. First: seven stone statues resembling me. Why seven? One alone wouldn't convey the awe and dignity.
There's a saying—many hands make light work, or rather, more is better. I judged the chamber needed as many statues as possible. Now adept, I carved them directly into the walls with care.
Cave Life, Day 50. Completed the seven dragons to embody grandeur and majesty, plus motifs accentuating their dignity. Seeing it, I nodded in satisfaction. At first, I wondered if seven was overkill, but the result exceeded my wildest dreams. Perfect balance of pressure and reverence for visitors. Just as I prepared to open the temple path...
Oh no! The massive seven dragons had eaten up all the space for me to stay!
Too focused on sculpting them, I'd neglected my spot. At my size, carving one now meant ditching the seven. Tough choice: scrap them for my space, or keep them and build mine separately?
A worrisome night.
Cave Life, Day 51. Decision: keep the seven dragons. Too heartbreaking to abandon my heartfelt work, and reducing even one would ruin the vision. But a brilliant idea struck: excavate below their chamber for my quarters.
No need to sacrifice them, no risky expansion into the mountain walls. First, reinforced the foundation against collapse, then dug downward.
Cave Life, Day 55. Finished my underground chamber beneath the seven-dragon room. Polished the upper floor into a mirror reflecting my space below. Visitors fixated on the dragons, hearing my voice, would realize I lurked underneath. My scenario: flawless. All preparations complete.
Endless cave life over—I opened the temple path and awaited visitors.
Temple Life, Day 56. Watched eagerly for visitors. No interest in random hikers, of course. I sought the good-hearted, strong-willed, those who wouldn't abuse my power for evil. In other words, protagonist material. Picky selection, naturally zero visitors today. But I grinned—this was the first step toward that crucial contract. Tourists and hikers abound; one had to fit the bill.
Temple Life, Day 62. Waited again till evening. No one. Regrettable.
Temple Life, Day 68. Waited. No protagonist. Odd.
Temple Life, Day 72. Getting antsy, but staying chill. Yeah! Never expected my ideal to pop up instantly! ............Sorry. I totally did.
Temple Life, Day 75. Oh crap! Finally dawned on me: this spot's a remote, people-free zone. Scholars might explore caves, but regular hikers stick to trails, not risky detours. Sure, poachers after rare mountain goodies exist, but they're not my type.
...Wait, is this actually dangerous?
Temple Life, Day 82. Advertising! I need ads! Dying to promote this temple on YouTube! But no smartphone, modern tech. Won't expose myself publicly and waste all this effort either! Someone like a prince on a white steed will show up eventually...!
............Right? Yeah. Surely?
Statue Life, Day 100. Stared at statues today. Statues. Statues. Statues.
Statue Life, Day 110. Statues. Statues. Statues. Statues. Statues. Statues. Statues. Statues. Statues. Statues. Statues. Statues. Statues. Statues. Statues. Statues. Statues. Statues. Statues. Statues. Statues. Statues. Statues. Statues. Statues. Statues. Statues. Statues. Statues. Statues. Statues. Statues. Statues. Statues. Statues. Statues. Statues. Statues. Statues. Just statues again.
Statues!
Temple Life, Day 120. Sorry. Anyone, please come. There's a dumb dragon here who tricked himself...
Temple Life, Day 130. Temple open for business! Don't worry, just visit already! Save me once, please!!!
Temple Life, Day 150. At last—the white-steed prince of my dreams... no, a princess has arrived!