Chapter 166: Dragons and Dragons
The Red Dragon didn’t take long to return.
It flew off with a swoosh and came back squawking loudly.
If I had tried to escape, I would have been caught at the edge of the volcano.
“Did you guard it well?”
“Gek gek.”
I had thought about running away a few times, but there was no need to voice it.
Not that I could even voice it.
The returning Red Dragon brought back something large.
Rather than calling it a bundle, it would be more accurate to say it brought back an entire house.
What it brought was the symbol of a Red Dragon.
Just looking at it filled me with awe and made it impossible to take my eyes off.
“You’re still a kid, huh?”
In other words, treasure.
Gold and jewels!
“Gekeke!”
There were golden statues, jewels that seemed to be garnets or sapphires, and even armor and swords that didn’t seem of Eastern origin.
The items were so precious that the gold and silver coins felt like mere pebbles in comparison.
How much would all this be worth if I took it all?
No, even if I just took one pebble, I’d become ridiculously rich.
…Though I had no place to spend it.
Would Master like it if I gave it to him?
Would he pat me on the back and praise me?
The Snake Queen would probably love something pretty if I brought it to her.
Should I grab a few and give them to that Tang-whatever guy?
He seemed to be from a prestigious family, but whenever I mentioned my scales and venom, his eyes would light up about money, so he didn’t seem that well-off.
“Gek gek.”
“…Huh?”
I had been about to sneak a few gold coins when I made eye contact with the Red Dragon.
“What are you doing, kid?”
I obediently put them back in place.
“Since the statue is here, you should sit next to it.”
“Gek?”
I thought it was mad because I touched the gold, but fortunately, that didn’t seem to be the case.
It gently pulled my tail, adjusting my position.
“Now that I put it here, it definitely looks better.”
…Huh?
The Red Dragon arranged other ornaments in suitable positions.
Did that mean it considered me one of the decorations too?
“If I put it like this, I can tell right away if someone tries to steal it.”
Flames flickered around us.
As if warning anyone who dared to covet its possessions.
“No idiot would dare touch my stuff, anyway.”
“Geeeek…”
“Of course, you’re an exception, kid. A statue with a golden crown doesn’t just disappear because it’s moved.”
Should I think of this as a good thing?
It felt like I had been granted a special privilege, or maybe it was just saying it didn’t care since it was mine anyway.
Even though I had these thoughts, there wasn’t much I could do for now.
Ever since the treasure came in, life had become more luxurious.
You might think that’s ridiculous since I couldn’t even use it, but treasures lose their value when exposed to high temperatures.
And this place was at the top of a volcano.
Just breathing here felt like I would catch fire.
Despite that, the fact that the Red Dragon placed those treasures here meant…
It had some method to lower the temperature.
Psss…
Just as I expected, the place the Red Dragon claimed as its nest wasn’t that hot.
I didn’t know what kind of trick it used, but a steady stream of cold air flowed out, cooling the surroundings.
Thanks to that, it became bearable enough to shed my fur pelt and move around.
“You’re young, but already like this.”
“Gekek?”
The Red Dragon muttered something incomprehensible.
Hey, what’s the big deal about shedding one fur pelt?
I didn’t even need that thing to begin with.
Time passed as I remained confined in the Red Dragon’s nest.
Though I say “confined,” I was living a relatively luxurious life.
Even without moving, the Red Dragon would provide food, and since water was scarce in the volcano, it brought me fruits full of moisture.
All I had to do was lie down, scratch my belly, and open my mouth for food to come in.
But every time the Red Dragon muttered, “When will you grow up?” while giving me food, it reminded me of a scene from a fairy tale, making me instinctively shrink back.
You know, that kind of story.
A witch fattening a child to eat them.
The child fools the witch by showing her bones to buy time, but unfortunately, the Red Dragon’s eyesight was excellent. Being a dragon, it probably had some kind of “Dragon’s Eyes” or whatever.
Of course, the Red Dragon wouldn’t eat me.
But that didn’t mean I could relax.
After all, it had clearly said it was raising me to eat.
If it wasn’t going to crunch me up, what else could it mean…
“Geeeek…”
Still, I wasn’t living a shameless life, just lying around and mooching off its food.
I was learning various techniques from the Red Dragon.
“You’ve been learning well, kid. You even know how to shoot a beam from your mouth.”
The Red Dragon praised me for my Gecko Death Beam.
“But that’s a technique ordinary snakes use, you know? For beings like us, something more like this….”
Ssssss.
It took a deep breath.
Fwoooosh!
It spewed crimson flames into the air.
“This suits us better.”
A Breath!
My tail wagged instinctively.
The Red Dragon before me was undoubtedly a dragon.
Dragon Breath—definitely an alluring technique.
But my Gecko Death Beam doesn’t pale in comparison.
“Of course, having that isn’t bad either. But if you walk the path of a dragon, you’ll often face powerful foes.”
The best choice would be to use both without giving up on either.
“It’s a widespread attack and can be used just by inhaling and exhaling. It might be too much for you now, but if you walk the dragon’s path someday, you’ll learn it.”
“Gek gek.”
Once I evolve into a Salamander, I’ll be able to use it immediately.
Of course, it won’t be a simple breath like a dragon’s, but an application of my ability to control flames.
Meeting the Red Dragon hasn’t been bad for me.
It feels like meeting a senior who’s far ahead of me.
I’ve learned quite a bit about dragons.
Better to learn while I can.
Even if I can’t become a Paryong, after this evolution, I could aim for a lower-tier dragon.
And if I do become a Paryong, even better.
The Red Dragon seemed to have some inkling of this and frequently demonstrated dragon techniques for me.
Watching those techniques, eating more food,
Trying to mimic the language of spiritual beasts instead of my usual gecko sounds,
That’s how I spent my time.
“Hm… This is strange. You should be speaking by now.”
The Red Dragon gently stroked my head.
It seemed to pity me for not speaking yet.
Did it think I was a bit of a slow-witted lizard?
But that wasn’t fair.
I was human by birth, so it’s natural that I couldn’t speak the lizard’s language.
Besides, when I was born as a lizard, I didn’t have parents, and I was immediately chased by an Oviraptor.
Of course, I couldn’t learn to speak.
But since I couldn’t explain my complicated circumstances, I had no choice.
“Should I catch you and teach you telepathy? …No, it’s useless if you don’t know words.”
“Gek!”
There’s a solution for that!
“Gek gek!”
It’s not that I don’t know words.
I can understand everything being said even now.
I just don’t know how to speak them.
If I learned telepathy, I’d be able to communicate easily.
I nodded furiously, but the Red Dragon didn’t seem to understand my intention.
“Geeek….”
No, isn’t nodding and hopping around clearly a request to teach me? How can it not get that?
When I glanced at it, the Red Dragon had closed its eyes, lost in thought.
“Gek?”
“Oh, I was just thinking for a moment.”
Alright, let’s try to push the idea of telepathy again.
As I prepared to make my case,
“Hey, kid. Can you sit down for a moment?”
Following its request, I rested my head on its lap.
“Um… That’s not what I meant, but whatever.”
“Gek gek.”
“Kid, how much do you know about dragons?”
“Gek.”
The Red Dragon couldn’t understand me.
In other words, it wasn’t expecting an answer but had something it wanted to say.
I was just there to listen.
“Well, I suppose you could say I’m a dragon too.”
It might seem random, but the Red Dragon often did this.
Perhaps because I couldn’t yet speak the language of spiritual beasts, it felt comfortable sharing all sorts of stories with me.
Like how someone named Lee Rihwa was part of the Hwasan Sect, what kind of food she liked, who the Head Disciple was, and what they had done.
It seemed to think of me as a kind of bamboo forest where it could vent.
…Though considering the Red Dragon’s personality, it didn’t seem like the type to hold back its words anyway.
“But it seems that the dragons people talk about carry a Yeouiju.”
Counseling session?
It could be that.
Sometimes, just having someone listen can resolve a problem.
Though this also didn’t quite align with the usual Red Dragon, you can’t judge everything by appearances.
“Honestly, I’ve never thought of it as enviable. I’ve never seen a dragon carrying a Yeouiju, but I don’t think I’d lose to one.”
“Gek gek.”
“But they say dragons with a Yeouiju can control the weather.”
Unlike Western dragons, Eastern dragons are regarded as gods.
Their association with Yeouiju grants them divine status, able to summon rains or control storms.
“Gek?”
“Of course, being a god doesn’t necessarily mean they’re stronger than me.”
The Red Dragon seemed contemplative.
“They can control weather, sure, but it doesn’t mean they could beat me in a fight. Their powers are different.”
The conversation had taken a turn into a reflection on the nature of strength and status.
Dragons, it seemed, came in many forms, with abilities and roles varying greatly depending on their origins and stories.
I listened attentively, storing away this information.
For now, my focus would remain on learning and evolving.
The power to control the weather also originates from that.
“How enviable it is.”
The Red Dragon gently stroked my scales with its calm touch.
“Of course, I can imitate it to some extent too.”
As she said, she probably could imitate it.
Something like causing a drought, for example.
If she released enough heat, the ground would crack, and the water would dry up.
“But it’s nothing more than mimicry.”
There’s a fundamental difference between the power of a dragon and mere imitation.
“A dragon doesn’t need to do that. They bring rain and make the land fertile.”
Instead of a godly power that enriches the land, hers was the ability of a beast that withers it.
“The warmth of spring, the heat of summer.”
The Red Dragon’s golden eyes gazed at me.
“The coolness of autumn, the chill of winter.”
“Gek….”
“They can simply decide what they want. Hearing that makes me envy dragons a little.”
The Red Dragon gently tugged my cheek.
“Hey, kid.”
“Gekek.”
“There’s something even my flames can’t melt. Can you believe that?”
Something her fire couldn’t melt?
That was hard to believe.
Maybe my master wouldn’t melt, but she wasn’t talking about him, was she?
“There’s something in the world that’s the coldest and at the same time the most insignificant.”
The Red Dragon smiled faintly.
“No matter how much I try with my artificial flames, I can’t melt it.”
“Gek?”
“I’ve been thinking it might be possible with the warmth of spring or the heat of summer.”
Something her flames couldn’t melt could be melted by mere weather?
Tang So-yeong’s energy pouch expanding sound effect.
It meant disbelief.
“If it’s a dragon, they could probably melt it.”
The Red Dragon stared at me intently.
Silence fell between us.
“…Why did I even bring this up?”
The Red Dragon broke the silence as easily as always.
She was as casual and playful as ever.
“Feeling a bit shy now.”
Then she patted my head as if it was no big deal.
“I wonder if it’s because I feel strangely at ease when I’m with you. Maybe it’s a good thing you can’t speak yet.”
Why did she have to say something so scary?
Was it just my imagination, or did it sound like she would burn me to ashes to erase the evidence if I could speak?
“Geeek….”
It was probably one of her usual jokes.
“Anyway, got it?”
She winked clumsily, closing one eye.
“When you become a dragon someday, can you melt what I couldn’t?”
If I could become a dragon, there’s nothing I wouldn’t do.
“Gekek!”
“Well, it’s probably faster for me to create a Yeouiju than for you to become a dragon.”
“Geeek…”
The Red Dragon grinned slyly.
“Anyway, it’s a promise, okay?”
“Gek gek!”
Fine.
When I become a dragon, I’ll do anything, so how about teaching me that telepathy now?
The Red Dragon didn’t understand my words and continued to play with my scales for a while.
“Gek…”
A powerless lizard could only be toyed with.
…
But suddenly, it felt like the weather was getting colder. Was it just my imagination?
Maybe it was because I had taken off the Fire Rat fur coat.
I felt a faintly familiar chill.