NOVEL NEXT Chapter 2
Chapter 2: “I’m Sorry About That.”
A golden slit pupil, resembling a serpent, gazed at me.
Yeon-woo felt a surge of terror. It was a fear so immense that it felt like all the terrifying moments he had long buried surged forth at once.
What in the world did Richard Owen, the one who named the fossils “dinosaurs,” see to label those mere bones as scary lizards? The reptiles that truly deserved dread were right here.
Even though we faced each other directly, I couldn’t grasp just how massive it was. Given its size, I was certain it could crush an orphanage in one stomp.
The orphanage, yes, I had to protect the orphanage.
Yeon-woo attempted to stand up, clutching the spear he had missed earlier, but he couldn’t muster strength in his knees.
Instinctively, he understood. It was all too clear why a human’s body would freeze in front of a beast. Everyone must have tasted this kind of fear at some point.
‘Fear…!!’
He banged on his trembling lower body.
Move, move! I can’t die like this. No, even if I die, I have to do something!!
If one day the gate exploded and the inside rushed into the world, that moment would spell doom for the orphanage.
So he needed to move.
Yet, for some reason, the dragon showed no signs of movement.
Was it mocking him? Was it thinking, “Well, you’re just a snack anyway?” Was it caught off guard and letting its guard down?
‘…Ha, ha, ha.’
A slow, ambiguous voice of unspecified gender struck his mind like a hammer.
Yeon-woo lifted his head. The enormous eyes, which he couldn’t believe belonged to a living being, somehow drew a gentle curve.
‘You seem to be having some interesting thoughts, so I’ll let you be. But that ‘lizard’ comment is quite bothersome. Be cautious, or else…’
With a slow, wet sound, the dragon’s massive jaws opened and then abruptly closed right in front of him. The pungent smell of saliva and warm air rushed in, creating an explosive current.
‘Even though I’m a rather gentle being, I might get angry.’
At those words, Yeon-woo shut his mouth.
It was said that dragons could communicate with humans, but he never believed it was true. Yet, here was a dragon that could even read his thoughts.
In a daze, Yeon-woo wracked his brain for a question. After all, it seemed this dragon didn’t intend to eat him immediately. If communication was indeed possible, maybe there was room to negotiate.
“Why aren’t you killing me?”
The spear held at his side was raised, ready to strike at any moment.
Besides, dragons didn’t like their snacks bearing teeth. The evidence lay in the ice dragon that resided in the Himalayas, who received regular tributes from dwarves.
If you presented tributes without animosity, you could gain protection.
‘I’m rather old, you see.’
“?”
‘Why the puzzled look? I am old. Do humans make the elderly work until they die?’
If he wanted to, sure? No, that wasn’t it. That meant…
“So, you don’t feel like moving because you’re old?”
‘Exactly.’
A chuckle escaped from the giant before him. Somehow, he felt he was starting to understand this dragon’s personality.
“But you still need to eat, right?”
‘Now, now, think about it with that tiny brain of yours. Which requires more calories: opening my mouth or eating you? Especially after I just opened it, I’d be losing double.’
That was true. How much energy could be gained from devouring him? In terms of calories spent on merely opening that massive mouth, it would hardly be a gain.
‘Better rejoice in having found an entertaining conversational partner. Although it’s not the case for you.’
“No, well… at least it’s lucky I’m not dead… But what do you mean, it’s not the case for me?”
He actually wanted to let out a sigh of relief. Yet, there was a slight ominous undertone to that tone.
‘Though my lifespan may be short, I don’t wish to die on your behalf. However, to get out, you’ll have to kill me, won’t you? That’s just how gates are. I won’t resist out of sheer annoyance, but honestly, with your skills, killing me is quite unlikely.’
That was undoubtedly the case.
…But didn’t it just say it wouldn’t live for long?
‘I’d wager it would take a hundred years for me to die. Are humans capable of enduring such times without eating anything?’
That was… undeniably unfortunate.
*
The visitor, after centuries, had a complicated expression frozen on their face.
How could they not? There was no way out, no means to survive. There was no way to kill the dragon either.
Now, that kid would realize they were at a dead end and succumb to despair.
It wasn’t that hard to understand, but the gold dragon, Alkeinea, was frankly quite disappointed in humanity.
Let me state this clearly: humans were weak.
They were outclassed by dwarves in strength and skill, elves in affinity with nature and beauty, and beastmen in resilience; they had nothing to boast about in any regard. To compare with dragons seemed a bit unfair, so let’s leave that aside.
They lived quite a long time for a short-lived species, but compared to the dwarves who lived for hundreds of years or the elves who lived nearly a thousand, it was nothing.
Nonetheless, it was humans who played the biggest roles in events, big and small. This fact didn’t change whether in the ‘previous world’ or the current one.
Despite being inferior in every respect, they daringly appeared as heroes in battles that determined the fate of the world and vanquished the evils that threatened it.
That was the mysterious power humans possessed.
However, no one had shown such valor in front of Alkeinea until now.
Whether it was because there were too many individuals, resulting in a plethora of mediocre beings compared to the heroes, he had yet to see a satisfactory one.
Yet this fellow, Choi Yeon-woo, was quite bold. The first thought that came to mind when seeing such a sight was to ‘protect the orphanage.’ He was the most promising human she had encountered.
“…I’m relieved.”
‘…What?’
Alkeinea doubted her ears. Had old age taken a toll? Did she lose her hearing? That couldn’t be; a dragon’s body was perfect until the very moment of death.
“At least, the orphanage won’t collapse due to the gate exploding. Ah, what a relief.”
The man, adorned with scars, spoke with a refreshing expression.
‘…You’re going to die? In this cave, leaving nothing behind, dying miserably and without anyone knowing how you died?’
“Everyone dies eventually.”
With a sudden serious expression, Yeon-woo spoke, then let out a soft laugh.
“Someday, yes. It was a first in history for a misfit to rank at the very bottom, so perhaps that was the flash before the end. If I’m going to die someday, then at least… well, it’s better to die without pain, right?”
With a grin, he lay down on the ground.
Clang! The spear he had propped up fell to the ground. The man seemed more comfortable than ever, flailing his arms and legs as if lounging in the snow.
‘…Aren’t you regretful? Surely… you’ve undergone training that breaks bones. No matter how long you’ve been stuck in here, you know what a misfit means. It’s not like there wasn’t one in the ‘previous world’ either. The meaning of hunter rankings is uncertain, but it must signify something tremendous.’
To illustrate, it was like a commoner with no mana managing to join the kingdom’s knight order purely through effort.
Most humans monopolized the methods and secrets of harnessing mana down to bloodlines, so it was certainly a feat equivalent to threading a sea serpent through a needle’s eye.
“Isn’t it regretful? Here I am, ranked 100, in a body with no mana. Even if it’s just the Korean rankings, there are nearly ten million hunters on this small piece of land. I made it there, but what if I did have mana?”
Uh-oh… going all out… aiming for the top spot…
In a sudden shift to a bizarre dialect, Yeon-woo spoke. As previously mentioned, he felt it worthwhile to conserve calories and didn’t actually open his mouth, but Alkeinea could hardly grasp what he was saying. Just… just that?
‘Is that all? You’re, well, not that young. When I was your age, I was a cute hatchling flapping about. You still have many days to live, and you’re lamenting being born with such a body?’
“Dragons also say they looked good as youngsters. I was quite a beauty back then.”
Perhaps finding a sense of camaraderie in an utterly unexpected place, the human chuckled. Then, with an expression of delight, he said.
“It’s a secret from the nun, but I strained a lot to chase after those with no mana. They say you die in less than five years if you do nothing.”
Having mana or not made a monumental difference in the profession of a hunter.
The difference was like having armor or not. A considerable gap existed between a misfit and someone who had no idea how to harness mana at all.
…Dragons themselves were synonymous with magic. Much less so in the nests they dwelled in. Like every wizard, magic grew stronger in prepared places.
What about dragons using magic in their lair?
In their nests, dragons were nothing short of gods. And gods, without any action, had space shift to fulfill their desires.
Thus, it wasn’t Alkeinea’s fault that she read the man’s memories. It was simply the omnipotence of a dragon transcending common sense.
The man’s life was already akin to a battle against oneself.
He suppressed his survival instincts, his libido, his appetite, and every desire that existed within a human, all of them suppressed by sheer will. He had no desire for fame or success. Under the guise of ‘repayment’, he manipulated everything.
That didn’t mean the man lacked desires. Even with stronger desires than others, he lived as he did.
Alkeinea was a dragon. A being possessor of the rarest material in this material realm, the dragon heart. A race that comprehends all things through its heart, thus wiser than anyone else. Even the ferocious dragon-kin shared this trait.
Alkeinea comprehended the man named Choi Yeon-woo through the heart. She accepted everything that constituted him through her heart. That was what the dragon heart was.
“This is enough effort. I’m not sure what more could be done, and I guess it’s too early to let go of regrets.”
Truly, the one bearing the spirit of a hero despaired for not being born with a hero’s body.
…Troublingly, Alkeinea, the gold dragon ‘Heart of God’, genuinely felt pity for him.
She thought it a cruel pastime of gods to revel in the misery of heroes, yet the power of a name could not be dismissed.
‘…What if, just what if…’
‘If you were to gain mana, would you be able to try again?’
(To be continued in the next episode)