Alright. Dragons are powerful, proud, beautiful, and majestic creatures…
If you ask anyone what the first thing they think of when they hear the word dragon, you will automatically find them answering: fear…
You may ask me why I say this.
Well, I can see a dragon from here. It seems a bit far from me, but it can see me…
How do I know that? Because it is clearly staring straight in my direction.
By the way, I do not even know where I am,
nor do I know how or when I arrived at this place.
This place looks like an uninhabited mountainous region, and at the same time, several waterfalls flow through it; amusingly enough, they all gather in the dragon's location.
The second thing I noticed is that I cannot move,
as if I have no control over my body…
And this is not a pleasant feeling at all—who would enjoy not being able to control their own body?
Suddenly, a loud sound echoed, and I realized it was the dragon.
Let me say this: it was an annoying and rather terrifying sound…
My body began moving on its own, and the destination seemed to be the dragon.
After I got close enough, it placed its finger—
or rather, its claw—directly on my chest, right over my heart…
At that moment, what was completely expected happened…
I felt pain—so much pain that, for the first time in my life, I wished for death…
I suffered greatly, to the point where my screaming voice began to fade, and nothing appeared on my face except tears of pain;
it was the most uncomfortable experience I have ever gone through in my life…
Torment, shattering, screaming…
A cycle that repeated so many times that I lost count.
After what felt like eternity, the pain suddenly disappeared without any warning,
and the red dragon that had pressed on my chest appeared before me…
And then, completely magically…
The dragon transformed into a human form.
To be honest, it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen in the two lives I had lived…
I mean, red hair, a perfect body you could not bear to look at twice,
a small face that makes you want to protect it, and yellow eyes that feel as though they are staring straight into your thoughts…
"I can hear your thoughts."
The calm voice that came from the dragon made me open my eyes wide.
"I don't have much time, so I'll tell you what happened, and you'll discover the rest once you wake up from this sleep."
Looking directly into my eyes, she continued speaking:
"First of all, I am not called 'the Dragon.' My name is Sylvia Belisseron, one of the Great Dragons of this world."
I was struck with shock as I tried to process this.
I mean, there are only five Great Dragons, and suddenly you discover that one of them is standing right in front of you…
"You are dead."
What a lovely way of speaking.
But it was logical. I mean, she pierced my heart a moment ago, didn't she?
"So I helped you by implanting a new heart for you. In your opinion, what heart do you think was implanted?"
I thought of something unexpected and muttered out loud:
"A dragon's heart."
"Correct. I implanted a dragon's heart in you. I know you're wondering why I did this, but trust me—you'll discover the reason. And you'll discover it the hard way, Chosen One… or should I say, Erin Brown~"
She said that with a hint of amusement in her voice.
"Chosen One," she said as she took both of my hands.
"I don't have much time. In exchange for giving you my heart, I want only one task from you."
She spoke with seriousness clearly visible on her beautiful face.
"When you wake up, you'll discover that you're in the room of the book you're looking for. After taking what you want, you'll find a dragon egg. It's a bit large, but you can hide it within your body. Do not leave until you master how to hide it, because it's a dragon egg—people would literally kill to take it from you."
My mind automatically began thinking of every possible implication of this request, and yet I was still surprised. I mean… a dragon egg?
"Oh, and you'll discover something new once you leave. I hope you like it."
Those were the last words I heard before my perception of the world began to distort…
"Farewell, Chosen One. I hope you'll help me in the future, or there will be no future—for us or for you, right, my king?"
A small tear fell from Sylvia's eye, and then she moved closer to Erin…
Trying to memorize his face before her body began to fade…
The last thing she managed to do was place a small kiss on his forehead.
"Move forward on your path, yo—" … ….
Several hours passed while I was unconscious—or so I thought…
I mean, I slept for a bit and woke up to find that two days had passed.
You might ask how I knew. I'll tell you—it was through that device resembling a phone that's in my hand right now…
But seriously, what was that dream? And that beautiful woman…
If we were to measure beauty on a scale of 100, she would score 90 without even opening her eyes…
And if she did open them, she'd reach a full 100 points with just a single smile…
After pulling myself out of my thoughts, I began looking around to figure out where I was and how to get out.
The first thing I noticed was that my vision had greatly improved. I couldn't see this clearly in the dark before.
Then I remembered what the dragon said and muttered softly:
"Status."
Name: ERIN BROWN
Gender: Human (Half-Dragon)
Talent: EX
Rank: E+
Strength: E+
Mana: E
Endurance: E+
Intelligence: D-
Magic: E+
Luck: S
Art: Flash Strike Art (Two Stars)
An art that allows spear strikes to be 90% faster and stronger for critical hits
Skills:
Reader's Mind (EX)
Allows you to think five times faster than normal, making time seem slowed down. Grants resistance to all mental attacks and immunity to the Author's abilities.
Dragon's Presence (S) (Passive)
Most creatures and beasts instinctively fear you and stay away. You can release a mysterious pressure that affects all creatures of equal or lower rank.
"Awesome."
That was all I could say at that moment after seeing my status.
I mean, seriously—I jumped an entire rank and ended up at the bottleneck of another one…
But then I suddenly noticed that I had become half-dragon…
"What the hell is this?"
I said as I stared at my status and thought about the details of the novel.
I am absolutely certain that there was no mention of a half-dragon character…
I pushed the dragon-related thoughts to the back of my mind and started thinking about the novel.
Then I remembered something that made me smile instinctively…
"I can be at the same rank as the novel's protagonist when he entered the academy."
I said, recalling that the original protagonist was at rank D, while the Author was at rank E+…
Alright, I'll think about that later. What matters now is finding that art and getting out of this place.
I didn't tell you which art I'm searching for, did I?
It's one of the six five-star-ranked arts mentioned in the novel—the First Protagonist's Art (Zero Max), the Spear Hero's technique, and the art I'm targeting…
You might ask why no one has taken this art yet.
Well, there's a dragon guarding it. Not to mention that it inflicts intense illusions on most who come here, forcing them to leave.
In other words, unless you have SS-rank mental resistance, don't come to this place…
And I have Reader's Mind at the ultimate EX rank.
"Man, it really feels like this art was made just for me."
I said out loud while laughing and thinking about these coincidences…
I didn't know coincidences could be this terrifying.
After a short search in this underground chamber, I found what I was looking for…
"Zero Max Style."
I muttered quietly as I looked at the book in front of me.
The first thing I thought was: "It really does look exactly like it was described in the novel."
Yes, a dark red book that feels like it would tear apart if you tried to grab it with excessive force…
I carefully took the book and brought it close to my head…
I didn't tell you how arts are learned, did I?
Well, it's fairly simple—just take it and bring it close to your head…
Then, as if by magic, the book will dissolve into particles as it transfers into your mind.
Simple, right?
I followed the steps exactly.
The book turned into particles and entered my head…
"…"
Nothing happened. Even I was shocked—I mean, things can't possibly go this smoothly…
I wish I hadn't said anything…
"Ah!"
Suddenly, intense pain struck my head, as if a sewing needle were entering and exiting through my eyes…
Yes, it wasn't like the previous pain, but it was painful nonetheless…
I couldn't understand why I was even comparing the two while suffering.
Seriously, I'm not that shallow…
The pain lasted for about thirty minutes before I lost consciousness…
Suddenly, I woke up in a strange place—a room resembling those found in royal halls…
Old-style curtains, luxurious carpets—
in short, the place radiated elegance…
And what exists in every royal room?
Yes, a throne!
And where there is a throne, there must be an owner…
And there was a man sitting on the throne directly in front of me…
This man appeared to be in his fifties, with light white hair and a muscular body visible even beneath his white clothes…
He looked at me and said:
"It seems my art's heir has arrived… or should I say, the Chosen One."
I instinctively stepped back after hearing his words.
"Don't worry. I have no ill intentions toward you. In the end, I'm merely a remnant of a soul."
He said while maintaining a neutral expression.
"Well, I didn't intend to scare you, but I must test you. This art must never fall into the hands of the wicked, no matter what."
As he spoke, the pressure around him intensified. I could even see dust particles rising from the ground.
"Well, your test is fairly simple. You just have to kill me."
I opened my eyes wide as I realized who was speaking…
The First Protagonist—the owner of the strongest spear technique known to humanity: Zero Max.
I was pulled out of my thoughts when I noticed a spear flying toward me at terrifying speed…
I did the only thing I could, dodging it by jumping to the left into an empty area—a decision that turned out to be bad, as I saw the same spear heading toward where I was landing…
I barely avoided it by twisting my body and rolling across the ground, only to be surprised when the spear grazed my left arm…
"Ah!"
I groaned in pain as I ran away, thinking about this insane man…
I mean, who fights someone without even exchanging a single word first?
After I distanced myself from the spear, the man spoke:
"Why are you so weak? Get up and start attacking me."
He charged straight toward me.
Notably, I could track his movements with my eyes, and it seemed that I was improving in combat…
I mean, I was able to dodge his following attacks with ease, and I felt my blood boiling—a sensation that was relatively new to me, if we exclude games, of course…
After being battered for an hour, I finally began to keep up with him.
Only then did I realize that he had been holding back to avoid seriously injuring me so that I could continue fighting…
"Old man, why are you doing this to me?"
I asked while dodging a spear thrust and counterattacking with equal force.
Believe me, I was thrilled when I realized I had hit him—for the first time after an hour of barely surviving his attacks…
Suddenly, the man stepped back, a smile appearing on his face as he said in a majestic voice:
"Good. You have reached the first level I wanted from you."
He raised his spear and shouted loudly:
"Star Piercer."
The spear began glowing with an ominous black light.
I couldn't think of anything except fear…
I felt like I was going to die at that exact moment…
My thoughts raced, but I couldn't find a solution.
"Damn it…"
I muttered softly as I watched the spear pierce my abdomen…
"You have reached the first level. Go—you will find me again when you reach the second level of this art."
Those were the last words I heard before my vision turned to darkness…