The Endless Swarm of Apprentice Heroes
"Dragon~"
"Is that the kid here?"
"Come one, come all! Flame resistance potions for sale~ 10 silver~"
"Should I leave the food here?"
"Man, there are so many people..."
So many voices. "Hey! Don't push, you bastard!" "What the hell is this otaku?" "What did you say?! Let's see if you can say that after tasting my ultimate secret technique!" "Alright, I'm out here at the dragon's nest right now~" "Dragon! I didn't fight!" "Whoa, the dragon emperor is badass." "Transform!!" "Line up! Line up! Hey, no cutting!"
Way too many. I stared at the teeming crowd filling the space in front of my nest, feeling an immense wave of fatigue wash over me. I'd figured a bunch of apprentice heroes would show up, but not this many. At most twenty? And even then, probably straggling in sporadically. I'd planned to weed them out once they hit a certain number. No matter how much food or rare treasures they brought, my treasure hoard was already overflowing. A few more wouldn't make a dent—I was just gonna take some snacks and call it a day...
"How many is this?"
At least a hundred, easy. And the scarier part? That number was growing in real time. At this point, there had to be some kind of communication network among the apprentice heroes. No other way this many could pile up so fast.
"What the hell are they thinking?"
Even if there were hundreds of apprentice heroes, wasn't that a bit much? Heroes usually numbered under ten at most. No wonder the ones who showed up yesterday seemed lower quality than expected. All part of the reason.
'With hundreds of heroes, of course there'd be duds!'
No talent, no perseverance—just blessed by the goddess and rampaging like wild beasts. That was the reality of most apprentice heroes.
"Ugh..."
My head was starting to hurt. Oblivious to my plight, they kept trying to force their way into the nest. Good thing I'd blocked the entrance early, or they'd be ransacking the place by now.
"...They're circling around."
Not every apprentice hero was stuck out front, of course. Some were scouting the nest's perimeter for gaps, and way over there on that high rock, one was gearing up to dive right in. At this rate, it'd only be a matter of time before they breached.
Flap. Fine. 'Gotta chase 'em all off.'
KRAAAAAWWWWRRR!!!
"Kyaaah!"
"W-what?!"
"Ooooooh! The dragon's roaring!"
"Flame dragon's cute!"
"Huh?"
Some weird noise mixed in, but the sudden dragon roar froze the players solid. Most who'd come to the flame dragon's nest were newbies, there to gawk at the dragon's looks. Seeing its ferocious side now, they started edging backward. Even in a game, a dragon's roar was plenty terrifying to any living thing.
"Yes! That's the dragon flavor we want!"
"Rawr. Rawr."
"Wanna ride that thing once..."
But some players cheered even louder, clinging to the rocks in front of the nest. The type who figured any interaction—even death—was a win. They tried every trick in the book to breach the nest. And among them, the highest-level guy, Lebn, gripped his long sword and stood up. The gap was barely wide enough for one person, but with a skill, he could squeeze through.
Lebn glanced up at the floating semitransparent orb in the air. The camera.
"Alright. Let's head in. Bros."
"No raid right now. Dragon's impossible anyway."
Lebn was a level 37 high-ranker and streamer. Viewer count hovered around a thousand, up to two thousand on good days—a solid mid-tier name in the scene. Until recently, he'd been in a massive raid with top rankers, streamers, and guilds. The main quest boss debut: 'Corrupted Ogre Lord'—the biggest raid yet. Any ranker had to join that S-tier event, and Lebn had... but.
"...Not like that. Just doing some side stuff. Me and Hajin bro are cool."
During the raid party, he'd gotten reamed by Hajin—top 10 ranker and mega-corp streamer. Simple reason: the party had to sync up to wipe ogre packs, but Lebn's massive screw-up caused two full wipes. Not one, but two. Cumulative losses piled up, so raid leader Hajin chewed him out hard. Sure, some streamer WWE flair, but a mistake was a mistake. Lebn ended up bailing. Hajin later streamed an invite back, but...
'Fucking asshole. Thinks he's hot shit just 'cause he whales for top ranker gear. Skill-wise, we're even—or I'm better.'
Grab a dragon-related hidden piece here, and he'd close that gap easy.
'Wait up. Gonna knock that smug nose flat.'
Lebn dreamed of sweet revenge as he wormed into the gap. The nest inside was surprisingly quiet. Outside chaos made the cozy interior feel even warmer—unlike the flashy dragon.
Lebn stayed alert, scanning around. The dragon that'd been roaring like the apocalypse? Gone. Transformed maybe?
"What? Where is it?"
"People?"
Lebn turned at the chat. In the corner, a blue bob-cut girl swinging a sword nonstop. She spotted him mid-swing, tilted her head, and approached.
"Huh. How'd you get in?"
"? That's..."
The first dragon discoverer. Known as ClimbingGallery—the culprit behind this mess. Lebn didn't haunt communities much, but he'd heard the rumors.
Lebn glared at Haring.
'...Pisses me off.'
Felt weirdly like Hajin, the guy who'd chewed him out. Totally different vibe and looks, but that nagging displeasure. Lebn looked away, scanning the nest interior. No dragon.
"Where's the dragon?"
"Why?"
"Tell me."
"Nah~"
"......"
"Whoops, kidding. But for real, no can do. Flame Dragon said no visitors."
Haring waved her hands and dipped her head. The dip felt mocking somehow. She meant it from training fatigue, but Lebn took it wrong.
"And showing up like this is no good. Flame Dragon's basically endgame— you could really die—"
"Whatever. You don't wanna die? Then spill."
"Pardon?"
"Wanna die?"
Shing.
Lebn drew his unique-grade sword and glared. Haring shook her head wildly. Even leveled up, she was a newbie with only mountain-climbing experience. Outmatched in skill and gear, big time. She asked with genuine worry.
"No regrets?"
"Not your business."
"Ah, okay... Follow me."
"This is tricky..."
After my big roar, I lay in the back of the nest, staring blankly at the ceiling. It worked—most scattered—but a few stubborn ones still lurked nearby. Part of me wanted to fly out and stomp around...
'Apprentice heroes, huh...'
No matter how many, heroes are heroes. Wipe 'em out, and that old goddess bag might get pissy. Not that her disappointment or whining visits mattered to me. Still, heroes basically tried to save the world. Me, a homebody dragon, killing them would just make things messier...
"Siiiigh... Huh?"
Step. Step.
Someone coming deeper in. Leading was familiar Haring, awkward-faced, with a stranger behind. Apprentice hero, probably. Haring approached me, looking troubled.
"What?"
"S-someone wants to meet Flame Dragon. Told him to leave, but..."
"So you're the dragon."
"Yeah, that's me."
Shing.
The guy apprentice hero drew his sword. Decent mana, better than Haring or Yongba. Faintly glowing blade—good sword for an apprentice. Still mid-tier at best.
"I'm hero Lebn. I challenge you, great dragon, to a duel."
"Duel?"
"Yes. Come outside."
"......"
"A mere human like me is nothing to you, of course. But I must test my strength..."
"Cool."
"Huh?"
"Sure."
I hopped right up. The old lady'd understand one, right?