Ch.22. I Became a Dragon of National Power Level.

When I opened my eyes, I was lying in the mountains.

It’s truly a random statement, but finding myself lying somewhere other than my familiar home made me think, “Ah! I must be lost in a dream.”

Believing this was all a lucid dream, I slowly tried to raise my body.

“Huh?”

But the moment I moved, a massive sound like a cannon firing—BOOM—spread like an earthquake.

Startled, I remained perfectly still, and confirmed that the booming sound had disappeared.

After the sudden earthquake-like sensation, I sighed with relief and slowly raised my hand to wipe the sweat from my forehead. That’s when I finally realized the abnormal phenomenon happening to me.

‘That’s… that’s not my hand!?’

I felt I’d done well just by not screaming at the sight before my eyes.

Black scales covered my arm, and sharp claws were clearly visible.

The problem was that this was MY hand moving according to MY will, and seeing it made me realize my body had transformed.

Dark blue scales visible to my eyes.

Looking at my body wrapped in things that couldn’t possibly exist on a human, I was overwhelmed with the urge to scream.

“Wait, this is…”

But soon I realized this appearance was familiar.

Of course it was—this was the appearance of the character I had customized.

Was this the famous reincarnation as a game character?

‘…I have no idea! Did something completely disconnected from reality just happen!? If there had been some kind of sign, I might be able to accept this!’

I really don’t understand.

Let’s try to remember what happened before I came here.

‘No cliché reincarnation truck. No divine being you typically meet when reincarnating. I didn’t even meet some strange fortune teller… Like the couch potato I am, I never wrote a 5,700-character rant to a novelist. In other words, plausibility has gone to the dogs.’

…I have absolutely no memory of meeting any mysterious being who could explain this situation!

There’s nothing in my head that could plausibly explain this situation!

“Right, let’s organize the situation.”

I calmed my startled heart and slowly decided to sort things out.

I was an ordinary adult man.

I was a normal guy in his 20s who liked games… and I remember playing some high-freedom game before coming here.

It was a TRPG-style game where you create character settings and sheets, then travel the world with that character concept. I remember creating a concept and customizing an RP character.

“The problem is that I’m in some unknown mountain as the character I designed, right?”

Yes, that much wasn’t an issue.

But the problem was that I had become the character I designed and was abandoned on some unknown mountain.

What exactly is the problem here?

Was it because I got too excited seeing my perfectly created character, and kicked my computer tower like a madman while laughing hysterically, demanding praise for my perfect creation?

Or was it because when I saw the blue screen and error message afterward, I thoughtlessly forced a shutdown by pressing the power button with my toe while thinking “What the heck?”

“Argh! I don’t have any memory of why I came here! It makes absolutely no sense!”

No matter how hard I think, I have no idea what the problem is!

My presumed memories of my previous life end here, so there are no more clues to remember.

By the way…

“…I liked controlling characters, not becoming a real creature.”

I sighed looking at my scale-covered hand.

Since it was a character I designed myself, it was certainly an impressive dragon on the outside.

But I preferred controlling from behind a screen—I never imagined actually becoming a dragon.

If I had at least been a normal human, I wouldn’t feel this sense of alienation.

“Besides, I can’t go back to my home looking like this.”

The problem was that what I customized wasn’t an ordinary person!

“Sigh, if only there was a mirror… Huh?”

Wanting to confirm my appearance with a mirror, I thought about needing one—and suddenly a kind of ice block appeared, reflecting my image.

I couldn’t hide my surprise at the sudden appearance of this ice block, but then I realized that according to my character’s settings, he was a master of all magic.

I might not know how to control this body, but for the original dragon, creating ice that could be used as a mirror was as easy as breathing.

My heart secretly raced at using magic like something from a fantasy world as I checked my appearance.

“Wow. Incredibly awesome.”

An enormous body presumably over 50 meters tall, with brilliant scales shining in dark blue, yellow, and red.

Not a western four-legged dragon, but one that could stand on two legs like a human, with an appearance closer to an Eastern dragon.

On my back were magnificent claw-shaped wings matching my body’s scales, and two pairs of horns on the back of my head looked incredibly solid.

My overall appearance was closer to a sacred Eastern dragon or a humanoid dragon form than the evil dragons depicted in Western lore.

“…No matter how many times I check, I’m not human but a dragon with an impressive appearance.”

With gentle blue eyes, I finally properly recognized that my current form wasn’t human but a dragon.

Like this, I couldn’t go to the city, and even if I headed there, I would certainly be treated as a monster and subjugated by the military.

Of course, considering this character’s strength settings, I was confident I could win even if medieval armies came in droves.

“Hmm. This looks like the modern era no matter how I look at it, right?”

My eyes, which were clearer than when I was human, showed me that the city of people outside the mountain was the modern city I was familiar with.

Densely packed apartment complexes and massive buildings proudly standing tall among them were no different from the modern era in my memories.

Unfortunately, it seemed this wasn’t a medieval fantasy world where I could act freely, but the modern world.

“What should I do…?”

If this had been a common medieval fantasy world, I could have acted freely without problems.

But this is the modern era!

My appearance could easily be confirmed by satellites in space, and if modern weapons were fired at me, it would certainly be incredibly painful!

No matter how large a dragon I was at over 50 meters, the overwhelming firepower of our proud country’s artillery units would proudly proclaim, “Don’t underestimate modern weapons, fantasy creature!”

“If beings like me exist in this world, there might also be beings capable of defeating creatures like me.”

And there could also be supernatural hunters who hunt monsters, like in those hunter novels.

When my thoughts reached that point, I fell into intense fear.

If I moved around carelessly and was discovered by people, wouldn’t my beautiful scales and internal organs be dissected by humans tainted with greed!? Such thoughts ran wild in my mind.

“Think, my brain…! Left brain! Right brain! Think of a way to live alongside humans right now!”

Knowing the terrors of modern society, I had already given up on fighting and was searching for a way to coexist.

But no matter how much I thought about it, all I could imagine was being treated as a monster and defeated by modern weapons the moment I approached the city with this enormous body.

But there was still a way.

“Surely this character’s sheet…”

I thought about the character sheet I had created in my previous life.

This character was definitely a dragon closer to good, and at the same time, infinitely merciful to the weak.

A good dragon who always empathizes with the weak, feels sorry for them, and thinks about helping them.

Someone who helps people in difficult situations without asking for anything in return…

“Without asking for anything in return?”

…A good idea came to mind.

Since I’d already become a dragon, I thought the best approach was to enjoy it if I couldn’t avoid it.

Yes, I would act according to my character’s settings and sheet—give an outstanding performance… no, RP.

Well, don’t I have a life! Don’t I have pride!

“I’ll create a shrine here where people can make contracts with me!”

Yes, in many games, dragons are depicted as beings that must be subjugated, but conversely, they’re also portrayed as divine beings that can be contracted with for cooperation.

In other words, as a species with clear good and evil, I decided to build trust by making contracts with people who came to me and helping them without asking for anything in return.

And if the fact that I’m a dragon friendly to humans spreads through the internet and communities, people will surely accept me not as an evil to be defeated, but as a good neighbor to live alongside!

Hmm, truly a perfect plan full of dreams and hope!

‘This means I’ll have to be selective about who I contract with.’

However, I had no intention of making contracts with people carelessly.

If I’m going to make a contract, human psychology—no, dragon psychology—dictates that I’d want to contract with impressive, excellent people in dramatic situations.

“I have magic. If I use this magic, I can easily accomplish what I’m thinking of now.”

Having decided what to do next, I just needed to start quickly.

I used invisibility magic to hide my enormous form and slowly rose to my feet.

Just my movement alone seemed like it would spread noise throughout the entire mountain, but when I used noise-canceling magic, I could reduce the sound of my movements to the extreme.

As it happened, the place where I woke up was a mountain with prominent high ground, and I decided to create a huge cave inside the mountain to make a shrine where people could contract with me.

“Now, it’s time to start a bucket list that any man should have!”

I felt like this would be more enjoyable than I had imagined.