The Dragon of Yongdu Cave
"It's nothing major. I just want the Glorious Guild to have my back."
"Your back?"
"Yes. From personal security to financial support — that would cover it. And if possible, arrange a position for me in the guild as well."
"I understand the funding, but personal security? Why would you need something like that, Master? You of all people?"
"Even I must prepare for the unexpected. In any case, that settles our deal."
It meant he could reap enormous benefits without putting in much effort at all. Ma Seong-yong looked quite tempted by my proposal.
Personal security is absolutely necessary.
I was going through with this plan regardless of Ma Seong-yong's suspicions. The main villain faction would likely make their move in the near future. They would normally be a formidable opponent, but with the Glorious Guild as my backing, that was a different story entirely. And while I was at it, I could forge a connection between the guild and Cha Hyun-woo as well. Beyond that, I desperately needed the Glorious Guild's help if I wanted the story itself to unfold smoothly.
I looked at Ma Seong-yong and added one last thing.
"I get to stay out of the public eye, just as I wish, and the Glorious Guild's prestige soars even higher with that patent. A win-win for both of us, wouldn't you say?"
Cheon Hae-beom, who had secluded himself in the mountains unbound by the world's gaze. My words carried genuine credibility. Perhaps that was why Ma Seong-yong dropped his suspicions.
"To be honest, I've been agonizing over this for a long time. With a master who has insisted on a spirit of non-possession for years, I had no idea what form of compensation would be appropriate."
Non-possession? Was he trying to starve someone to death?
"But you've changed quite a bit, Master. Whether it's the influence of living in society or not, it's a good sign either way. Haha!"
Ma Seong-yong, who had been smiling with mild pleasure, suddenly grew serious. Then he spoke.
"But Master — you always spoke as if you would spend your entire life in the mountains. What reason could have possibly brought you down?"
"......I'd rather you didn't dig into that."
When I brushed it off with an edge in my voice, Ma Seong-yong flinched.
"Ahem. I overstepped. Shall we rise?"
"Yes. Well done."
And so the deal was successfully sealed. With that, I had acquired an overwhelmingly powerful backing.
"Ah, I almost forgot, Master."
"Hm? What is it?"
"Ye-rin says she'll be paying you a visit soon."
"Ye-rin?"
A person? Judging by the name, I guessed female, but no specific individual came to mind.
Someone connected to Cheon Hae-beom, no doubt.
I was Cheon Hae-beom now. Not wanting to raise unnecessary suspicion from Ma Seong-yong, I simply said I understood.
"You might find this meddlesome, but please treat Ye-rin well."
"Do I really have to?"
"You know how it is. She's the one who follows you especially closely and wants nothing more than your recognition."
Even if Ma Seong-yong said so, there was nothing I could do about it. How was I supposed to look after someone I didn't even know?
"She's never shown it, but she must have been through a lot emotionally. When she heard you were taking on other disciples, she was jealous too."
"Understood. I'll handle it myself."
"......Thank you. Then I'll take my leave."
He rose from the sofa, left one last remark, and departed.
"I'll offer my condolences in advance. You're going to have a rough time of it."
"......?"
I didn't understand the meaning behind those words, but I could tell Ma Seong-yong was pitying me. Didn't seem worth fretting over.
That's not what matters right now.
Lizard hunting. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
"A dragon, huh."
Dragons — beings who were themselves the source of mana. Ironically, they were mana-haters. Or more precisely, human-haters.
How dare mere humans use mana, or something like that.
True to their arrogant nature, they treated humans like insects. Those humans had one day begun using mana, and the dragons apparently couldn't stand to watch it.
A major city annihilated. Two hundred and fifty thousand dead. One point four five million injured. A total of one point seven million casualties.
Hellion, the human-hating dragon, had wrought this catastrophe in a mere two hours. And I was currently on my way to catch that very monster.
"Shit, I'm scared as hell...."
The one consolation was that since I couldn't use mana, the dragon wouldn't regard me as an enemy. No, wait — it had killed countless civilians without mana just fine.
I shoved the useless thoughts aside and climbed the mountain. Before I knew it, I had arrived at my destination. According to the novel's setting, this had to be the place.
The academy's back mountain. Midway up — Yongdu Cave.
That hole really does look like a dragon's head.
It was as if the dragon was advertising, I'm right here. Practically begging to be caught — how could I refuse?
I took my first step toward it. Or rather, I was about to.
"Is this... a barrier?"
Something was off — a translucent membrane covered the cave entrance. It looked roughly like a mana barrier the dragon had put up. Unlike their arrogant personalities, dragons valued safety and had a habit of erecting barriers around their habitats.
A barrier that reacted to a target's mana. Superhumans with low-level mana couldn't even perceive a habitat protected by such a barrier, while high-level superhumans could perceive it but couldn't enter. And right now, I was an ordinary person with no mana at all. I could both perceive it and enter simultaneously.
Even so, every hair on my body stood on end in warning. I absolutely must not go in. There was a strong possibility Hellion had taken additional precautions. Just looking at the cave filled me with instinctive revulsion.
"Hoo... Let's go."
I steeled my resolve and took the first step inside. As expected, the barrier couldn't stop me from entering.
This one probably never imagined it either.
That a human with no mana whatsoever would overcome the oppressive aura and walk right in. I'd probably look like someone hoping to die.
How much time passed after that? Beside a massive boulder, an even more massive wolf caught my eye. It was curled up, deep in sleep.
"That wolf must be the dragon."
No doubt about it. A mere wolf couldn't have breached this barrier, so that wolf was definitely a polymorphed dragon. According to the setting, dragons loathed showing their true forms to others to an extreme degree. Because of that, they always maintained their polymorphed forms. Honestly, it was pointless caution. No living creature besides the dragon could exist here. But from its perspective, better safe than sorry — that kind of attitude, I supposed.
I walked toward it. Before long I was right in front of it, and its snorting breath slammed into my face.
Why is it so huge.
Even roughly, it looked over five meters tall. I opened the backpack I'd brought and took out a single fruit.
Dragon fruit. Yes, the same red, spiky fruit that existed in the real world. The one difference was that this dragon fruit contained mana. It had been artificially injected.
I held it up to the creature's nose. The sleeping wolf sniffed. It seemed to like the scent quite a bit — the speed of its sniffing gradually increased.
—Sniff sniff
The wolf kept working its nose without rest. Suddenly, its eyes snapped open.
"Uh... you're awake?"
Startled, I waved my hand. And the wolf was staring straight through me. After a brief moment of blinking—
—Grrrah!
"Whoa, shit! You scared me!"
It recoiled in shock, scrambling backward.
"Hey, what kind of dragon gets spooked by a human? My heart's pounding here."
—Grrrr...
Did it understand what I was saying? It let out a small growl as if in reply. But that looked like wariness toward me. The hostility it was projecting felt excessive.
"Is the ability not working? That can't be right."
Don't tell me Mother Dragon's Scent is a dud? Or is this Hellion already an adult? Those suspicions vanished before long.
—Sniff sniff
The wolf that had been backing away strode right up to me and started smelling me. There wasn't a shred of intent to attack.
It wasn't smelling the dragon fruit — it was smelling me.
It wouldn't take its nose off my body for even a second. The rather embarrassing behavior made me instinctively lean back.
—Grrrr....
"Ah, I get it. I'm staying put."
That gave me a scare.... I stood perfectly still as the creature wished. Only then did it seem satisfied and drop its fierce gaze.
"Are you really a dragon? You're more like a puppy."
Was this truly that catastrophic monster? I just couldn't make the connection.
"Hey, hey! Hold on!"
It went beyond smelling and started licking my face. Its tongue was so massive that my entire face was soaked in drool.
"Ugh. So damp."
It was gross, but I should still be happy about it, right? This was its own way of showing affection, I figured. Wanting to return that affection, I placed my hand on top of its head.
—Grrrr....
At that, it projected hostility again. Hmm. Well, if a complete stranger touched your body for the first time, you'd get annoyed too. I tried to pull my hand away.
In that moment, I caught its gently swaying tail.
"So is that a yes or a no?"
To check, I withdrew my hand. The moment I did, the tail that had been wagging nonstop came to a dead stop. I reached out again and stroked its head. The stopped tail started swinging as if it were dancing.
"You're really easy to read, you know that?"
Trying to threaten me with fierce eyes was useless. Tails don't lie. I deliberately ignored those cool eyes and focused on petting it. The more I did, the faster its tail wagged.