The shattered remains of the woman vanish without a trace.
“An illusion or something?”
Gaining 20 levels’ worth of EXP means I defeated something higher-leveled than me.
Even granting peace to thousands of zombies only raised my level by 3 or so. Even if it was an illusion, the scene in my room is insane.
My room’s straight out of the Ice Age. If I had to compare, it’s like the ice house from Infinite Challenge’s butterfly effect episode.
Like the inside of an igloo. The furniture’s coated in ice, completely frozen.
Inside, it’s winter, but the balcony where the fairy princess is remains summery, adding to the eerie vibe.
Beyond ruining my appliances, it’s cold as hell. The woman shattered, but there’s no debris. No items either.
Meanwhile, the rice cooker’s flipped over on the icy floor, lid open. The power cord’s plugged in, so it’s still running.
[It didn’t come from the gate—it was summoned from thin air. Then it turned into your size and flipped me over!]
“Really? Why’re you still down there?”
[How am I supposed to get up?!]
Fair point. No matter how much the rice cooker thrashes, it’s like a turtle stuck on its back.
“Hey, CatMan, you alive?”
[Our kind originated in the Middle East, not Siberia!]
He’s alive.
“What happened?”
[Save me…]
“Your HP’s barely down. Don’t you hate water?”
They say cats don’t need frequent baths, so I don’t bother, and he—er, the cat himself—says licking’s enough, freaking out at water.
Thawing him in hot water feels iffy. He got one-shotted, but his HP’s fine.
[If you’re human, how about another method?]
“Wanna go in the microwave on defrost?”
[MROWWW!]
“Alright, kidding. Why so mad?”
I soak CatMan in warm water instead. Coming out of the bathroom, my room’s a spectacle.
Man, when this ice melts, the wallpaper’s gonna be soaked… Ha. Hahaha.
What kind of wallpaper pro are they trying to make me? It’s freezing, so I grab my long puffer coat.
Washed it after blocking that corpse explosion last time—nice and fluffy.
“So, what happened?”
CatMan’s thawing but still trapped in ice as he speaks.
[They said bugs come out, but this one was my size!]
“That’s your size?”
It was practically human! Though creepy—white pupils, slit like a cat’s, a murky white distinct from the sclera. At a glance, it looked eyeless.
Wooosh.
“Huh?”
Whiiiir, whoooo.
Suddenly, white clouds gather around the 500-won-coin-sized gate, swirling like a typhoon heading north.
“What the hell? No time to gawk.”
If I don’t sense this is a serious situation, I’m an idiot.
Gripping my kitchen knife and fly swatter, the fan’s frozen, but some appliances near the desk aren’t.
The cordless vacuum’s charged and ready. I hold three pieces of gear and stand by. I set up the painstakingly crafted toothpick trap, Vlad’s Spikes.
And prep the hit-and-run attack. Like wind rattling car windows on a stormy day, a whiiiing sound comes, and dandruff-like flakes fall from the gate.
“Snow?”
It’s like snow. Fire didn’t work, so now they’re judging me with an ice age?
“Huh?”
Tiny snowflakes from the gate start merging. The swirling snow draws a pattern in the air.
“Damn, what’s coming with this kind of visual?!”
It’s drawing a magic circle in midair. I punch and swipe at it, but no effect.
Then something rises from the circle, about four or five times the size of a honey pancake. Something massive emerges.
Still small, but a cat-tail-like thing pops up, followed by a long-necked, winged reptilian beast.
Holy crap, I’m seeing a dragon in my lifetime.
I tried slicing it with Intangible Sword before it fully emerged, but the circle’s protected.
Clang!
It’s blocked. Above the dragon’s head, with a dramatic entrance:
<White Dragon LV ?????> Unable to read further information. The target blocks its info with a skill. Requires higher Intelligence than the skill’s caster.
My Intelligence too low? I aim my Samsung Foundry Exynos-powered camera, trusting its smarts.
“Same thing.”
Question marks for levels? Tens of thousands? True to its dragon name, it’s bigger than CatMan.
[That’s the one!]
“This guy?!”
[While I was fighting it, it turned into that white-haired woman. That’s it!]
“I killed her—uh, no.”
Saying I killed it makes me sound like a murderer. She shattered, not died. Even if I killed her, it’s a body-less crime, no legal evidence.
So this dragon transformed into a human-sized form, flipped RiceCookerMan, and was evenly matched with CatMan.
“Phew!”
There’s a mighty dragon in their world. That’s all I know.
The Swordmaster and rear-guard knight both shared one thought about dragons:
“If dragons had fought for humans, we might not have perished.”
That’s it.
So, they’re an insanely strong race, with magic surpassing even demons, the source of mana.
They don’t necessarily oppose humans, etched in my mind. But…
“Screw it, die!”
Killing one dragon could net me a five-digit level.
“Huh?!”
The blast radius of my punch freezes solid around the dragon’s magic circle. It’s like it’s frozen, no exaggeration.
I’ve never seen this energy flow. I’ve seen indirectly how swinging my fist through a wall hole triggers destruction, but still.
[Impressive… Even for a giant, that kind of power.]
First time I’ve seen such a dramatic summon. And it’s ominous. The size is on another level.
“What are you? You the one who trashed my place?”
[I apologize for attacking the strange pot and this place’s monster. They attacked first, so I had no choice. I didn’t kill them, so don’t worry.]
CatMan’s a monster now, huh.
“The rice cooker doesn’t have attack functions.”
[It opened its lid. Quite threatening. To my clone, at least.]
“So I took out a clone?”
I stay on guard. No guarantee I won’t get frozen like that.
[I won’t say more. The imp’s trickery is clear. Return my child.]
“Your child? The egg?”
[Yes.]
Those bastards gave me something so valuable, but it was just a trap to stir trouble.
Damn them… just wait.
Killing a five-digit-level dragon. Possible?
Honestly, the egg’s stats and effects are tempting. But with a five-digit-level dragon bigger than CatMan, its magic attacks would likely overwhelm my low Magic.
Unless my boss-tier puffer coat holds up. Dealing with a magic-user is a pain. The wraiths, bitter about magic, don’t know much either.
Still, I don’t want to just hand it over with a “yep!”
“The egg was a diplomatic gift from the Succubus Queen. If I hand it over or destroy it, I’d betray trust and invite disaster.”
To me, it looks like they sent the egg to provoke a dragon into killing me.
Just in case, let’s stay neutral and hear their side.
In times like this, you gotta hear the other party’s honest opinion. Next time the imp shows up, it’s interrogation with torture.
If I survive, that is. Dying in summer with CatMan and RiceCookerMan as frozen corpses would be a mysterious death.
[That wench… Fine.]
I tense up. If it comes to it, I’ll hit again. Last time, I held back to avoid wrecking the house.
[Return it, and I’ll pay the price. Then there’s no issue. I’ll collect the cost from the Succubus Queen and the imp.]
Like a mom demanding her kidnapped child back from abductors. Of course, I should return it.
But… Look at the mess they made of my place. Hand it over nicely?
Just giving it feels wrong. Plus, they’re monsters, right?
“Your kind lives long, don’t you?”
[Yes.]
“You may not get it, but clinging to life is primal. After seeing that description, it’s hard to give up. Shouldn’t there be a treasure of equal value?”
I’m tense, but just saying “here you go” feels like a waste of my size. Like an elephant scared of a mouse—pathetic.
But rather than being stubborn, I want to show there’s room for compromise.
[Fine, something more valuable then?]
“What?”
[A Dragon Heart.]
I’ve heard of that. If their world aligns with the fantasy game settings I know, then…
“The source of magic?”
[You’ve heard of it, even from another world.]
For real.
“But doesn’t taking it out kill you?”
[I’ll give you one left by another. If you want mine, come at me. I could kill you and take it without this talk.]
A cat-sized floating creature speaks emotionlessly, more threatening than expected. Level Detection can’t read its level but keeps warning me to avoid danger.
“Then try killing me.”
[I can’t until you tell me where the egg is.]
“So you’ll kill me if I tell you?”
[I know the demons provoked me to invade here, and I’ve no reason to play their game.]
“No reason to play mine either.”
[No, I respect your caution. You didn’t eat the egg for stats, so you haven’t harmed my child. If it’s safe, I’m willing to respect you.]
It knows I’m storing the egg based on my stats.
“But a Dragon Heart’s a big deal, right?”
[A dead dragon’s heart is just a magic source. An egg births a new child. You, a human, understand that value.]
Comparing a massive inheritance to a child’s life… The child’s more important.
“Fair.”
[It’s a better deal than keeping my child. A dead dragon’s heart gives humans greater power, magic, life replenishment, and physical restoration. Unlike the egg, it can be used multiple times.]
“Multiple uses?”
[See for yourself.]
A gem, fit for a ring, glows before the dragon.
<dragon heart>
When held, amplifies Magic by 3x. Requires 1000+ Magic. Additional conditions vary by race.
When consumed, increases Stamina by 1500 and restores a body matching that Stamina. When divided, stats distribute accordingly.
A straight-up superior treasure? You can even split it? The gem, glowing white and red, lands in my palm.
“Alright.”
I open the mini fridge. I stored it like an egg, thinking it needed warmth to avoid spoiling. It’s fine, right?
[Hm.]
“Ugh?!”
A white light pours from the dragon, growing larger.
***
The dragon’s egg, not consumed, is kept at the perfect temperature for hatching.
This giant, beyond being cautious, seems kind and gentle enough to prioritize protecting a child over extending his own life.
The egg’s stored at the ideal temperature, proof of that. The humans in that world were selfish, not worth protecting, but this giant seems worthy.