You, Fuck, Passed – Dragon Bites the Bait Hard
I jumped up from my seat right away and opened the beat-up old fridge in the corner of the junkyard office. This should do the trick. I grabbed a bar of chocolate I'd been saving for when my blood sugar crashed. The ultimate sweetness packed with Earth's ruthless refined sugar, processed butter, and synthetic sweeteners. I pulled out one bar and opened the Multidimensional Secondhand Market's [1:1 Gift] function.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
Sent 'Rich Milk Chocolate' to Anonymous.
The item vanished into thin air with a blue glow, seeping away like mist. I leaned back in my chair and stared at the monitor. Would this mass-produced pinnacle of modern tech sweetness work on a picky old dragon grandpa? The chat went dead silent. 1 minute, 2, 3. No text from Jermad. Did I send something too cheap? Or did it piss him off 'cause it didn't suit his taste? Just as anxiety started creeping in and sweat beaded down my back—
Text started flooding the screen at insane speed, like it was about to burst through.
— [Anonymous]
You.
— [Anonymous]
Fuck.
— [Anonymous]
Passed.
The dragon swore. Game over—he was hooked.
— [Anonymous]
What the hell is this insane sweetness and smoothness that melts in your mouth like snow?! The violent sugar hit that makes your brain explode the second it touches your tongue!! Even the imperial chefs of the Ereinia continent couldn't make a miracle food like this!!
— [OP]
Looks like it suits your taste. Glad to hear it.
Earth's convenience store capitalism had perfectly conquered a top-tier fantasy world boss. Jermad kept typing excitedly, tossing dignity out the window.
— [Anonymous]
Hey, you! From now on, if you wanna trade anything on the market, hit me up first! Got it?!
— [Anonymous]
Keep supplying me with these sweet desserts, and I'll trade treasures from my lair. Got it!?
— [OP]
Whew, if you're offering that, I'm all thanks.
"Pfft… ahahahaha!" I clutched my stomach and burst out laughing. The terrifying calamity dragon who'd just threatened to find me and wipe out my country had crumbled to a single convenience store chocolate bar, turning into my treasure vault lackey. Ah, modern life is the best. Hats off to those food corp PhDs.
Still grinning, I hammered the keyboard.
— [OP]
Sounds good, big bro. I'll send you lots of tasty stuff from now on, so take care of me.
— [Anonymous]
Deal! For a while, I'll watch your growth for fun. Oh, and that Dragon Words Magic 'Suh' I told you about earlier.
— [OP]
Yeah.
— [Anonymous]
It's not just some shallow spell to pull objects. Infuse mana into your weapon, throw it, then shout 'Suh' to call it back to your hand. You can amp up the power by adsorbing mana too—endless uses, so get creative. Got it?
My eyes lit up. Throw the weapon and call it back? That's some bullshit Thor-level movie tech right there.
— [Anonymous]
Bonus service: 'Suh' direction is fully controllable.
— [OP]
Direction?
— [Anonymous]
Yeah. Cast 'Suh' on heavy objects or terrain, and instead of pulling them, you get yanked toward them—3D mobility. Master it, and you can fly freely without wings.
— [OP]
……Whoa…… Insane. Totally insane.
Dragon Words Magic lived up to the hype. One spell solved ranged attacks and aerial mobility. And my weapon? A spear. Spears are built for throwing. If it comes back…? Infinite spear throws in theory! Oh, fuck yeah. Praise the dragon.
— [OP]
I respect you, dragon bro.
— [Anonymous]
Now you get my greatness. Gotta analyze this fine dessert now, so I'm out. Looking forward to more fun, otherworld stranger.
Jermad vanished offline after that. I set my smartphone down and pulled the Black Iron Spear from today's inventory purchase. Gripping the matte black shaft, I naturally channeled the dragon mana pulsing from my heart throughout the spear. Oh, this feeling. Like I was marking my spear.
I eyed the mountain of scrap metal piled in the junkyard corner. My hand itched to hurl the spear and test the new Dragon Words power. Just a light toss? I lobbed it gently.
Whoosh— Then, before it hit the ground, I activated it. Can't break the junkyard.
Whip— Snap—
"Whoa! Holy shit!"
The flying spear whipped around midair and snapped right back to my hand. But something felt off.
"Yeah. Real weapon tests happen in combat."
I slung on my new ashen Shadow Lynx leather coat with a flourish.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
⚠ ALERT ⚠
🌀 GATE DETECTED 🌀
Rank: F-rank
Location: Incheon Bupyeong Gate Checkpoint
11 PM. The low-rank F-rank gate in a deserted lot on the outskirts was dead quiet. It buzzed with lowbies during the day chasing pocket change, but no one sticks around midnight in a stingy shithole gate like this.
The association guard at the booth, dozing off, scanned my F-rank hunter license with an annoyed grunt.
"Hunter Kwon Daesung. Solo night run on an F-rank gate? Not many monsters left inside, but watch for variables this late."
"Got it. Thanks."
He glanced at my single shoulder bag, didn't pry, and opened the portal control line. Weak monsters here meant you could stroll in like a neighborhood walk.
Fwosh—!
My first solo gate dive. No party members, no Taesoo hyung playing bus driver. I took a deep breath, pulled the Black Iron Spear from my bag, gripped it, and stepped in.
A short walk later, monster noises echoed.
"Grrrrrr……."
"Woof woof woof!!!"
Smelled the intruder, huh? Four red eyes gleamed from the dark, and two dog-like monsters the size of a man's waist—Wild Dogs—bared fangs and charged. Stronger than goblins in combat but dumb as rocks, not too dangerous.
But to my eyes now, their moves looked boringly slow.
Throw, retrieve.
I reared back my right arm gripping the shaft. I pumped mana from the Dragon Heart in my chest into the spear. The black iron gleamed with a bluish glow.
"Hah!!"
I hurled it full power at the lead Wild Dog's head.
Splat—!
It nailed the mouth perfectly, skewering the body. The other freaked, tail tucked, turning to flee.
"Yelp!!"
I clenched my extended right hand and spat the dragon-taught word.
"Suh!!"
Shreeek—
The spear lodged in the cave wall rocketed out like magnet-pulled, flying back at launch speed to my palm.
Throw again! Thunk—!
It sliced air, pierced the fleeing Wild Dog's side, then snapped perfectly back to my hand.
"Whoa, insane. For real."
Goosebumps ran over me as I stared at the bloody spear in my grip. This was F-rank power? No F-rank I knew could do this.
My lips curled up.
"One more."
Swoosh—!
The crisp spear flight echoed through the empty gate.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
How many more fights after that? "Hoo……."
I collapsed on the floor, panting hard.
"Aigoo! Tough!"
Short battles, but sweat beaded my forehead, and my once-sluggish heart hammered like it might burst.
Harder to handle than I thought…?
The dragon mana was potent but felt mismatched for a human body. Still, I improved a bit each throw.
"Practice makes perfect, huh."
Good call coming solo to train.
"Alright, a few more till I get the hang of it."
Spotted another Wild Dog.
"You this time!"
I infused mana without hesitation and threw.
Shreeeek—!
Air split with a sonic crack along the trajectory.
But— Clang—!!
"Kyaaack!!"
Wait, that wasn't the fleshy splat. It was sharp metal shattering on impact. And a scream like tearing.
"Wh-what?!"
Did I hit a person?!
Panicking, I rushed along the spear's path. When I arrived… I froze.
A dead Wild Dog skewered on my Black Iron Spear. But in front, amid shattered metal scraps…
A pretty female hunter stood dazed, clutching only her sword's broken hilt.
No way I hit her, right?
I scrambled to the kneeling woman.
"H-hey, you okay? I was focused on the monster and didn't see anyone…!"
But she ignored my apology, just trembling lips flicking between her broken hilt and my spear. Tears welled in her big eyes. I tried again.
"Um, y-you okay? Hurt anywhere…?"
"Waaaaaah!! My sword! My preeeecious!!"
She finally broke, collapsing and wailing.
"Waaah!! 60 months of installments leeeft!! My sweeeet!!"
"……?"
Her heartbroken sobs echoed through the gate. Brain freeze. What do you do in this situation?
"N-no, hey! Don't cry!"