Chapter 59
When he rubbed where the horns should be, the dragon writhed as if telling him to stop. It’s known that the hatchling of a quadrupedal dragon looks like a snake with horns.
In the process of returning to the past, Yeonwoo had found his original body, but did the dragon obtain a new body? If it was newly born, why was it outside without the protection of a mature dragon?
[Stop asking. I’m not going to tell you. And keep rubbing me more.]
The dragon seemed to enjoy it more than expected, pressing its head forward with force. Yeonwoo stroked the cool scales while organizing his thoughts methodically.
During ‘that time,’ Yeonwoo had been closest to the dragon apart from Chahun, so perhaps a fragment of the dragon’s heart had somehow attached to him. If they had returned to the past together in that state, it might have been reborn by Yeonwoo’s side rather than in a dungeon.
But for a dragon sensitive enough to sense Yeonhwa’s mana in the subspace, wouldn’t it be better to use a nearby gate to return to the dungeon?
“Why aren’t you returning to the dungeon?”
Since monsters could traverse beyond dungeons, returning to its home dungeon should be simple. The dungeon would be safer than the Center, which was teeming with Espers everywhere. Why not go back? It could absorb dungeon mana freely and grow faster.
[Yeonwoo. What do I look like to you right now?]
“…A jewel snake?”
At Yeonwoo’s answer, the dragon sighed heavily enough to sink the ground.
[And what do you think would happen if I returned to the dungeon?]
At those words, Yeonwoo fell silent. Monsters that attacked Espers for growth often attacked other monsters too. A hatchling without protection would become a target as soon as it entered the dungeon.
[As you can see, I’m not the only one targeting a weak, eggshell-like creature like me. How could I enter the dungeon? Right now, I can’t even protect myself, let alone attack anyone else.]
Yeonwoo nodded, remembering how persistently the flame spider had targeted his wrist.
The dragon surveyed its own body with disapproving eyes and fiercely swung its tail. It was a struggle that made Yeonwoo worry it might hit itself with its own tail rather than protect itself. The dragon opened its mouth wide with a “shak!” sound, but nothing came out of its gaping mouth.
[See this? That’s why I was planning to hide quietly until my horns grew, then return immediately. When my heart grows enough for my horns to develop, I’ll be able to protect my body. But the mana here is so scarce that I wasn’t growing at all. So I estimated it would take 4 years before I could return… but thanks to you taking me to many places, I’ve grown a little.]
The dragon stretched out its tail and swished the tip, explaining that its growth rate increased with abundant mana.
[Are you planning to continue visiting places full of dungeon mana like today?]
“Going forward,” would Yeonwoo even have time left?
Rubbing his palm where nail marks remained, Yeonwoo nodded for now. Though he hadn’t been selected for the rear team so he couldn’t enter dungeons, danger zones were also filled with dungeon mana in their own way. At Yeonwoo’s nod, the dragon’s eyes lit up.
[So, I need a protector.]
“A protector?”
[Someone to protect me.]
The dragon climbed down from Yeonwoo’s finger and suddenly started dry heaving.
“I told you not to eat so much.”
Yeonwoo’s finger stopped midair as he was about to pat its back, thinking he had predicted this. He wasn’t even sure which part was its back. Fundamentally, humans and dragons had different structures, so would patting its back even be the right kind of help? As he just stroked it long from head to tail, the coughing dragon spat out something very small, like an eyelash that would be unnoticeable unless one looked carefully.
Did a fruit peel get stuck in its throat? As Yeonwoo was about to take it away, the dragon carefully picked it up with its mouth and nodded to Yeonwoo. When he held out his hand, the dragon placed it on his palm.
“That’s the trash can. See? Throw things in there from now on.”
[It’s not trash!]
The dragon clung to Yeonwoo’s pants, stopping him from walking to the trash can, and nudged its head insistently for him to look at his palm. Looking down curiously, he saw a golden fragment emitting regular waves. Staring at the fragment as if being drawn in, Yeonwoo asked with a confused expression.
“What is this?”
[Close your hand.]
Following the dragon’s instruction, Yeonwoo slowly closed his fist, and a dry cough burst out. He covered his mouth while coughing, finding it hard to breathe with his heart tightening. Then he reached out and grabbed the dragon by the scruff of its neck. The hand that had been covering his mouth was stained with blood.
“Tell me exactly what this is.”
Though his wheezing voice made it sound like a whisper, the dragon seemed to understand, lightly swinging its tail.
[It’s a fragment of my heart. It was bigger originally, but it shrank because greedy, wicked beings tore pieces off.]
Yeonwoo quickly looked down at his hand, but the golden fragment that had been shimmering in his palm was gone. Wondering if it might have fallen, he tried to look around, but instead collapsed in his seat, coughing painfully. After coughing for quite some time, Yeonwoo glared at the dragon, which was bringing him a tissue in its mouth.
“If you’re going to bring something, bring more. What good is just one?”
[Could you appreciate that I almost lost it while bringing even that? Anyway, how do you feel, Yeonwoo?]
Sitting on the floor, Yeonwoo looked at his palm. So that was the Dragon Heart. When he closed his eyes, he could feel his mana core producing mana with pleasant pulsations. As the mana core, which had been matching rhythm with his heartbeat, faltered, another cough erupted.
Covering his mouth while coughing, Yeonwoo wrapped a tissue around it. Gasping for breath, he grabbed the dragon.
“C-*cough*-*cough* couldn’t you, *cough*, warn me first?”
[Alright. I’ll warn you next time.]
Worried that Yeonhwa might be alarmed, Yeonwoo cleaned up the surroundings, putting the blood-stained tissues in a black bag. After meticulously checking if there was any blood left uncleaned or if there was a blood smell, he washed the blood from his face and came out.
Throughout the cleanup, the dragon kept annoyingly asking how he felt, so Yeonwoo had to place his hand on his chest. Upon checking, he realized that his mana core’s capacity had increased. Not only that, but the Dragon Heart stuck to one side of the mana core was infusing vitality into his heart.
[How is it? Even with just that small fragment, you can get such effects. Wouldn’t everyone be greedy to possess me completely?]
Of course. No matter how many A-rank monster magic stones one collected, the energy from the Dragon Heart was far greater. That’s why everyone had set out to subjugate the dragon with burning determination. Though the attempts had all ended in failure.
“Why did you give this to me?”
[Raise me.]
“No.”
At his resolute answer, the dragon’s mouth gaped.
[You promised to feed me kimbap!]
“I can share food with you. But I can’t raise you. If I go around with you, all sorts of monsters will chase after you to eat you, just like today, and I’m already overwhelmed just protecting myself.”
At those words, the dragon, which had been coiled on the table, climbed onto Yeonwoo’s palm. Though it was thinner than his finger, it was still a dragon. There was no way a mere C-rank like Yeonwoo could protect a dragon.
[A mere C-rank, you say.]
The dragon, squinting its eyes, clicked its tongue.
[Anyway, I’m not asking you to raise me empty-handed. If you contract with me, you’ll become a dragon contractor, and then you can share the mana core with me. Your mana core will probably become the largest in this world. Then protecting me will become easier, right? Just raise me until my horns grow. I’ll pay you adequately in return.]
The dragon wrapped itself around Yeonwoo’s pinky finger, saying it promised. Resting its chin on the finger, the dragon looked up at Yeonwoo with sparkling golden eyes. Looking into those eyes, Yeonwoo swallowed a sigh and asked.
“What do I need to do?”
[I’ll take care of everything else, you just need to feed me mana. Dungeon mana would be best, but fruit like earlier isn’t bad either.]
He couldn’t feed it mana. Yeonwoo’s mana core was too small and precious, barely enough to use abilities. From now on, all the dungeon accessories Yeonhwa brought would belong to the dragon. Yeonwoo lay down on the table and pressed his forehead against the cold glass.
He couldn’t raise the dragon in a situation where he didn’t even know what would happen next. If something went wrong with Yeonwoo and the bracelet’s identity was revealed, it was obvious that all blame would fall on Yeonhwa.
[Yeonwoo, I told you. I’m not just asking for a simple contract. I’ll add the condition of hiding my identity, so if there’s anything you need, please tell me. If you’re anxious, it’s fine to place restrictions on the Dragon Heart. Please understand that I’m in a desperate situation to be begging like this.]
The dragon, saying it wouldn’t rush him and to think slowly, circled around the table, occasionally striking its tail down. At the tapping noise, Yeonwoo raised his head, and the dragon quickly crawled over, raised its body, and met Yeonwoo’s eyes.
[And if you contract with me, the future you’re worried about won’t come.]
At those words, Yeonwoo sat up and snatched the dragon. When his grip tightened, the dragon bit the back of his hand and squirmed, saying it hurt.
“What do you mean by that?”
[Exactly what I said. You want to escape from causality, right? If you contract with me, you’ll also belong to, what do they call it here… ah, yes, the dungeon. You’ll belong to the dungeon, so you can escape causality.]
The dragon whispered gently.
[It means you can change the future as you wish.]
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
