Chapter 1
Chapter 1
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: Dragon's Nest
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Lately.
An interesting rumor has been making the rounds.
“They say a Dragon's Nest has been discovered. Is that really true?”
Dragon's Nest.
A mysterious place said to be piled mountain-high with treasures collected by dragons over tens of thousands of years.
They say a dimensional gate leading to the Dragon's Nest opened somewhere in a mountain in South Korea.
According to the rumor, anyway.
“It's all bullshit.”
Most people dismissed the rumor as bullshit.
A perfectly natural reaction.
Monsters from other dimensions had started appearing on Earth, and the planet was going straight to hell, to put it bluntly.
Then suddenly, a Dragon's Nest full of treasure exists?
It was the kind of children's fairy tale story where the ones believing it were the real losers.
“Who'd buy that? We're not suckers.”
But.
Among the suckers buying into the rumor, there was at least one named Sang Ho-gu.
“Alright—got the sleeping bag and some grub packed. Time to hit the road.”
That was me.
I was firmly in the camp that believed the Dragon's Nest was real.
Which was why I shouldered the heavy backpack digging into me and stepped out of my moldy, damp one-room apartment.
“Let's find that nest in style. Time to turn this life around!”
Thud—
The battered iron door was plastered with overdue notices for phone bills, rent, utilities, and loans.
So many piled-up amounts that no normal job could ever pay them off.
“To settle those debts, treasure's my only shot.”
Once I found the treasure and came back, I'd rip every last one of those notices down.
Tsk—
I clicked my tongue and turned toward the stairs.
To escape the dark basement and see some light.
To track down the rumored Dragon's Nest.
“I'll find the Dragon's Nest. And change my entire life.”
I set off on an adventure that was staking my life—and might be my last.
***
Six months later.
I'd learned the hard way what it meant to be the ultimate sucker falling for bullshit rumors.
“F-fuck... Ah, it hurts... I'm dying...”
Dying.
I was going to die.
Without ever finding the Dragon's Nest, I'd meet my end on this blinding white snowfield.
Thanks to the Werewolf limping after me from behind.
*Heard the nest was in some mountain, so I came to the last likely spot, Seoraksan. What the hell is this?*
Why was that thing here?
It had gashed my thigh right at the base of Seoraksan, and now halfway up, it had been chasing me nonstop.
“Damn it... Why was it hanging out at the entrance...? I thought they hid out midway up the mountain...”
Even the heavens had no mercy. My luck was utter shit.
If my body had been even a little stronger, I could've outrun it.
“I know its weak points... its behavior patterns... but no power to kill it, no speed to lose it...”
Goddamn it.
Times like this, I hated my weak-ass body.
Hated myself for chasing pipe dreams with this unawakened weakling frame.
“Should've just lived within my means...? Like everyone said, ditched the pipe dreams... and taken that factory job even if it was late...?”
A massive wave of regret hit me out of nowhere.
But I didn't want to die to some monster, so I limped on, stamping footprints into the white snow.
“...Still, I won't go down easy. Would suck even more if those people turned out right.”
A cave up ahead—somewhere to hide for a moment.
I mustered every ounce of strength and bolted toward it.
The thing was probably bounding after my tracks from behind, but I didn't bother looking.
After twists and turns, I finally reached the cave. Inside was damp and pitch-black.
“Haa... haa... This won't shake it... What do I do...?”
Werewolves had noses like bloodhounds.
It'd sniff out the blood I'd trailed here all the way into the cave.
Then it'd be claws shredding me to pieces, end of story.
“Haa... You think I'll just roll over...? I'll run till the end...”
All I had left was my fragile pride.
And a stubborn persistence that bordered on obsession.
I dragged my dying body deeper into the cave.
Deeper. Keep going.
Even as the werewolf's footsteps started echoing through the cave, growing louder by the second.
I wrung out my last dregs of strength and pushed inward.
“Haa... haa...”
Finally, the end of the cave.
A dead end.
That's when I spotted it—a blue vortex swirling in midair.
The dimensional gate I'd hunted for six straight months.
“No way... the Dragon's Nest...?”
A dimensional gate linking to another world.
You could never tell beforehand if that world was human-friendly or hostile.
Only way to know was to step through.
The key part? This gate might lead to the rumored Dragon's Nest.
Though it might not.
“Shit. If I had time, I'd think this through.”
The werewolf's footsteps boomed louder from behind.
Jumping into an unknown dimensional gate was a huge gamble.
But I had no options left.
“No choice but to go.”
Fuck it.
I hurled myself into the gate without a second thought.
***
30 seconds.
That's how long that bizarre, indescribable sensation lasted as I crossed dimensions.
My body didn't feel like mine—like I'd gone limp, adrift on ocean waves.
Anyway, I whipped my head left and right to scope out whatever dimension I'd landed in.
“Hmm...”
No clue.
Looked like the guts of some ruined building, but blocked windows and ceiling made it impossible to pinpoint where—or when—this was.
Could pass for an ancient temple. Or the inside of a crumbled castle.
“Dragon's Nest? Way too spartan. Shouldn't it be all sparkly?”
No gleaming treasures.
Just heaps of junk-like antiques and furniture piled into mountains.
Looked a lot like a landfill at first glance.
I clamped my bleeding wound with my hand and scanned the area closely.
Priority one: my life hanging by a thread.
“Floor's got dolls, rattles, hairpins, scalpels, brushes, basketballs...”
Zero rhyme or reason. No telling the owners' genders.
No idea what purpose this dump even served.
I snatched up a gender-ambiguous doll from the floor that looked like an old PC comm avatar.
“Dust tells me it's ancient—”
—Don't touch it.
The sudden voice made me jump and yell.
“W-who's there?!”
—Put my doll down on the floor. Now.
“...”
A neutral voice barking orders.
I didn't fight it—set the doll down nice and easy.
My gut screamed that disobeying meant death.
*'Who the hell is—'*
—Want to know who? Come forward.
“...”
Who the fuck.
Did it read my mind?
I dragged my shaking body ahead like it said.
—Don't step on my stuff. Watch your step.
“...”
Following the mystery voice's orders.
I picked my way slowly past ancient junk and furniture.
—Now climb that furniture pile ahead. Use it like stairs.
When I finally scaled the mound of modern furnishings upward.
“Uh, uhh...”
There it was.
The stuff of legends. A dragon.
A massive white dragon blanketed in thick scales.
Perched atop the furniture mountain, brooding an egg about my size.
The dragon cracked open its eyes, fixed me with reptilian slits, and spoke without moving its jaws.
—You made it to the Dragon's Nest. Too bad, though, human.
“...Too bad?”
—Yeah. No treasure like you hoped.
You're gonna die soon anyway.
—Sucks for you.
The dragon said it, then eyed my wound.
—Human. Nice you found the Dragon's Nest, but you've lost too much blood. No proper treatment? You're done for.
“...I'm gonna die?”
—Yep. Dead. Dragged that weak body here chasing the Nest. Bit off more than you could chew. Should've stuck to your fated lot.
“Why the hell should I die?”
I'd finally found the damn Dragon's Nest.
*'Bet my whole remaining life, busted my ass to get here...*
And now I'm dying?
Maybe 'cause death was knocking, I screamed without fear.
“Do you know how much shit I went through to find the Dragon's Nest...? Die...? Bullshit—!!”
—Anger's bad for you. Already low on blood, now it's all rushing to your head. You'll croak faster. Shame.
“Ha, can't even blow up on my terms?”
Plop—
I let my strength go and collapsed right there.
“Haa... haa...”
—Not bad grit for a human, though. Top-tier among the ones I've met. Makes it more of a shame.
“Why's it a shame for you, you scaly fuck...”
—Prime mental fortitude wasted on a frail shell. The mind-body mismatch is the pity. If your physique matched, it'd be ideal.
“You think we pick our bodies...? Unreal...”
I let out a disbelieving chuckle.
The dragon peered down and spoke.
—Human. Keep mouthing off? I was about to offer you a 'chance.'
“...Chance?”
—Yeah. Chance. Your call. Lucky for you, you qualify. Mentally, anyway. Physique might catch up later.
The dragon flashed a reptilian grin.
With that, its colossal form vanished—and beside the egg it had been guarding appeared a figure with white hair, gender impossible to pin, mysteriously striking.
“Polymorph. Dragons can shift human. Lets us blend into society for fun.”
It approached me sprawled on the floor and stated flatly.
“Truth? I'm dying soon too, just like you. Lights out. Humans call it terminal, right?”
“I'm the one fading here... not super interested... but politely... why...? Aren't dragons immortal?”
“Eternity's way more boring than you think. No death means boredom sets in, passions fizzle. Nothing thrills anymore. Lived too long in this world, I guess. Time for cycles over straight lines.”
Cycles over continuation? No idea.
But why spout this crap to a dying guy who wants to live?
*'Not like this lizard's roasting my guts or anything.'*
Saying you wanna die, right in front of someone desperate to live.
Empathy deficit?
The thought had barely formed when the dragon shot back.
“From a human view, sure, might seem cold. But dragons feel too—we empathize. Time just dulls it. Anyway.”
It gazed down at me lying there, locking eyes.
“No time left now. Wanna grab that chance? Up to you.”
“...What kind of chance?”
“I'll save your life. In return, make a promise.”
The dragon nodded toward the eggs.
Green, blue, red.
It jabbed a claw at the massive eggs and told me.
“Those three eggs. You take 'em. Raise them.”
“W-what?”
“Like I said—I'm checking out soon. So promise you'll raise my kids for me. Till they're full-grown adults. Do that, and you're saved. Deal?”
“...”
Vision blurring out.
I raised my arm high, pinky extended.
“Save my life? Hell yeah, deal.”
No reason on earth to say no.