Players Logging In

I had a strange dream where the words "Come here" appeared floating in the air right before I fell asleep, and I wondered about it.

'Players?' Was that the right word? The Korean text was clear as day, but it had been so long since I'd seen it that I froze for a moment. Players were people who played games. Games were something I'd done a lot in my past life, though the memories were fuzzy now.

"So... 'connecting to the world' means users—or players, I guess—are coming to this other world... and this place is..."

.......

Yawwwn...

"Anyway..."

I'm tired. Must've been seeing things. No way would my status window, which I'd screamed for endlessly 300 years ago, pop up now. Probably some prankster fairies or that troublesome mage. You might ask how they know Korean, but I'd taught them back when I was bored. It's an easy script to learn, so they picked it up quick and started using it.

Or maybe I'm still dreaming right now.

"Hng..."

It did feel kinda hazy.

"Weird... a past life dream..."

I hadn't dreamed of my past life in decades.

"So vivid..."

.

.

.

"Ooooooh!!!"

'...?'

Thump thump thump thump!

Something small was scampering around inside the nest, visible through my half-closed eyelids. It was bouncing around so excitedly, it reminded me of a rabbit. Noisy. Did the fairies sneak in?

I told them not to come while I'm sleeping.

The forest fairies were such pranksters—if you didn't warn them multiple times, they'd climb all over you and cause total chaos. I could tolerate a little chattering, but if it disturbed my sleep, I'd scold them properly. Things had been quiet for a while, but if they crossed the line again...

"I did it!!!"

Too loud. Please be quiet...

Snoooore...

How many times do I have to tell them? Looks like after this nap, I'll have to give the fairies a stern talking-to. If only they'd listen nicely...

"Can't let this slide."

Click. Click.

Something small had stuck itself to my face and was striking all sorts of poses. Then it started muttering to the air, and I didn't like the look of that at all. No intention of quieting down, huh? Guess I'll have to flick its forehead.

In polymorph form, it won't die, right?

Grrrrumble!!!

I opened my eyes. My blurry vision cleared, revealing the culprit who'd ruined my sleep.

"You opened your eyes? What're you talking about? You're supposed to be asleep..."

"Who're you?"

A human. A sky-blue bob-cut human woman turning her head with a creak. She looked more like an adult than a girl, but her face was innocently bright, without a trace of blemish. Like a noble, maybe?

But her outfit screams fresh mercenary.

A newbie just starting out on adventures. The human gripped the sword at her waist and started backing away.

"A human?"

"Uh... um. Yeah..."

"How'd you get here?"

"H-hiking..."

"Hiking?"

This high up? The mountain was way too tall for a girl who couldn't even take down an orc. There were plenty of shorter peaks around Red Mountain—those would've been more suitable for hiking.

She's after treasure, probably.

Thieves had always eyed dragon nests, past and present. From her reaction earlier, this girl was likely here for the same reason.

"You're lying. You came to steal from my nest."

"N-no, that's not it!"

"Hmph."

"R-really! For real! I was just gonna head back..."

Crack!

"Eek...!"

"Where do you think you're going?"

I poked a claw into the spot behind her where she'd been slinking away. It carved a hole deep enough for dozens of humans, and she froze, face pale as a ghost.

"Not only did you wake me up, now you're trying to run?"

And not even a fairy—a human? Even fairies would get a harsh scolding; humans were a whole other story. They weren't even cute.

"...Sorry. I'm sorry..."

"Come here."

"......"

"I said come here."

She shuffled over like a guilty puppy. She'd come bounding in earlier like a starving mutt.

"You."

"Yes?"

"What's your name?"

"H-Haring."

"Haring."

I stared down at Haring. Human. Mercenary. Mid-20s, by the looks of it. Noble features, but her gear suggested a regular adventurer.

Or maybe a runaway young lady from some family.

Based on my 300 years of experience, she didn't seem like a total villain.

Hmm.

Decision made.

"You woke me up completely. What're you gonna do about it?"

"Uh... go back to sleep?"

"This."

I raised my hand for a flick on the forehead, like I did with the fairies when they got too rowdy. One problem, though...

Grrrrumble!!

"Eek!"

"Oh."

I was still in dragon form. Good thing I was half-asleep, or I'd have turned her into a corpse.

Shwooo...!

My body shifted. Mysterious mana enveloped me, shrinking my hill-sized frame smaller and smaller and smaller. Red hair cascaded to my waist, red wings unfurled toward the sky. The dragon's signature horns glowed red, and an elegant black dress—fit for an emperor's gift—clung comfortably to my body. Topped off with crimson eyes.

"Wh-what?"

Now I was even smaller than Haring in front of me. For some reason, she started breathing harder than when she'd faced my dragon form.

I balled up my tiny fist.

"Take this."

"Whoa, wait—"

Bonk!!

＊

"Ugh."

Haring came to and sat up. She wasn't at the mountaintop anymore—now she was at the base, surrounded by rabbits and deer.

The pissed-off dragon must've tossed her here. Considering it'd taken almost three days to climb up, this was a bit harsh, but pretty merciful.

"Could've sold this."

If she'd been killed or dumped in a goblin cave, it'd have been a huge loss. Even in newbie territory, death penalties were brutal—gotta be careful.

"Ow ow... got a lump on my head..."

Haring rubbed the swollen bump and checked her system window.

"Whoa. A title."

The intimidation debuff was brutal, but two hidden pieces? Massive. Especially this title—even rankers couldn't buy it for money. If it were sellable, it'd fetch thousands easy.

But more importantly...

"Didn't get the pic... damn."

Insanely cute. The perky little horns and wings were one thing, but those ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠dainty features and round eyes! The way she clenched her tiny fists in anger made me want to squish her cheeks. Wait, dragons aren't supposed to be this cute, right? In novels and comics, they were always busty women or tall handsome guys. But this epic dragon turned out to be an adorable little girl! Total cheat.

Her fancy, elegant dress only amplified the unexpected charm.

"Photo! Needed to snap a photo..."

Going back now would mean death. She'd been merciful once, but lingering would piss off the dragon for sure. At least approach carefully while she's awake.

Haring steeled her resolve and checked her gallery.

The Prolazia Gallery was full of topics, but only ones about her and the dragon. Haring couldn't stop grinning as she closed the gallery.

She'd planned to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠share after getting proper rewards, but that changed the moment she saw the 'human version' of the dragon.

"Not showing that to just anyone."

At least not until she snapped a photo of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that dragon face herself. Haring clenched her fist and set off toward the distant mountain.