episode_0002

Kwaaah-!!

Volkid passed through the dimensional gateway.

The pressure was immense.

If he stayed still, even a dragon like himself felt like he would be crushed into a pulp.

, ,

He activated a series of defensive spells.

Mana gushed out in chunks, but the pressure remained significant.

If he were a weak mortal, he would never be able to pass through the dimensional gateway.

Well… Volkid wasn’t exactly at ease.

‘Is it still… not over….’

Mana was rapidly depleting.

Dragons were creatures of mana.

If mana ran out, they died.

If the dimensional gateway didn’t close early, he had a gut feeling that he would die from mana depletion.

‘Is this also my fate. No. I still have to fulfill the will to live in the new world.’

Dying was fine.

But he had to fulfill his grandfather’s will to live in the new world.

Living in the new world without going mad.

And facing mortality.

These were the goals of Volkid’s life.

So he couldn’t die in the dimensional gateway.

“There it is!”

Thankfully.

He could see the end of the gateway in the distance.

Thud!

Volkid adjusted his wings to increase his speed.

And-

He passed through the end of the gateway.

The exit was narrow.

Crunch! Due to forcibly squeezing the dragon’s body into the narrow hole, his scales were torn off.

A sharp pain followed.

And.

The new world he arrived in was….

“Hmm.”

It looked barren.

There was no sign of life-filled soil.

Only rocks and metals were visible.

Occasionally, there were unidentified objects that looked like machinery.

And.

“Ugh! Seriously, no mana….”

There was no mana at all.

“At this rate….”

Dragons were creatures that consumed a tremendous amount of mana just by existing.

If mana was infinite, they would live forever.

But in a place without mana, they were mortal.

‘At this rate… I’ll die within an hour.’

He couldn’t just sit still.

He had to into another species.

Dragon’s transformation magic.

Polymorph.

This magic not only changed his appearance but also transformed him into a completely different species with different characteristics and abilities.

It was a rare and powerful magic allowed only for dragons.

If he into a mortal….

He wouldn’t consume mana as much as when he was in his dragon form.

‘But, what species should I transform into?’

The problem was….

He knew nothing about this world.

What species lived here.

And which species he shouldn’t transform into.

Volkid had no idea.

‘I can’t replenish mana in this world. I have to rely solely on the mana left in my dragon heart. I probably can’t use multiple times.’

Maybe he only had one chance.

Once he transformed, he might not be able to revert.

“Is anyone there?”

He had to directly observe and analyze the species of this world to into their likeness.

Volkid desperately scanned his surroundings.

And….

‘Someone is there!’

As if by fate, Volkid came face to face with a being.

That being was….

“A corpse… is it.”

It had the familiar appearance of the human species to Volkid.

And it was also a corpse.

It seemed like the person had died suddenly, clutching their heart and curling up, their breath stopped, possibly from a sudden illness or seizure.

‘Imitating a corpse for transformation is fine.’

The fact that the transformation target was a corpse wasn’t an issue.

In fact, it was good.

He could live in place of that corpse.

But the problem was….

“But… a woman?”

The corpse appeared to be in the form of a young girl.

With long black hair, a suitable height, and a proper volume.

No matter how you looked at it, she was a perfect woman.

“Why… why does it have to be a woman?”

Dragon’s could change his appearance regardless of species or gender.

But dragons also had genders.

No dragon would transform by reversing their gender.

If they were male, they remained male. If they were female, they remained female.

“Do I… have to become a woman?”

Furthermore, Volkid was the grandson of Dragon Lord.

He was considered to be of a class similar to that of a prince of the dragon race.

As a man, he had an extremely high sense of pride.

“This is… ”

In this world, there was no mana.

Once transformed, there would be no mana left to use transformation magic again.

And so.

The moment of choice arrives.

To change or not to change.

That choice would be replaced like this.

To die immediately or to live a short life.

“…What a troublesome situation.”

Volkid had no room for choice.

***

“Ha, damn it.”

Shin Ji-hoo cursed.

As an entertainment manager, it was an action that should never be done, but there was no regret.

“Where did Seo Ee-soo go?”

Today was the day of an important audition.

Moreover, it was a blockbuster audition that even a rookie actor couldn’t dream of, which he was in charge of.

But before the important audition, the actress disappeared.

It wasn’t something that happened once or twice.

His actress was a bit eccentric.

No, she was too mentally weak.

She was always ready to run away at the slightest pressure.

– Hey, where did your actress go? What? She’s not coming? Even if it’s KS Entertainment, that’s not right. Is she ignoring our production?

– No… That can’t be true. I’m really sorry.

Every time, Shin Ji-hoo’s head seemed to bow as if it would touch the ground.

“Damn it.”

Why did he have to live like this?

Shin Ji-hoo.

28 years old.

A fairly good-looking face.

A pretty good educational background.

And an even better family background.

Why did he, one of the lucky ones, have to deal with the whims of an unknown actress?

Shin Ji-hoo felt a sense of unease.

“Running away again? I won’t let you go. This time, I’ll curse you thoroughly.”

Like a general preparing for a decisive battle.

Shin Ji-hoo set out to find Seo Ee-soo.

If he found her, he would definitely give her a good scolding.

But…

– Oh, Ji-hoo. You have that actress this time, Seo Ee-soo. She’s the daughter of an acquaintance of mine. She’s a bit pitiful. She’s a bit peculiar and difficult to handle. Take good care of her.

Thinking of the background of the actress he heard from the CEO of KS Entertainment, he couldn’t bring himself to be too harsh.

“Ugh. Seriously. Where did she hide? Did something happen?”

The strong intention to scold her soon disappeared.

Instead, he was filled with worry about Seo Ee-soo.

What if she was sick again…

If that was the case, he needed to find her and take action before any problems arose.

Shin Ji-hoo’s steps quickened.

“Where… ”

Shin Ji-hoo searched around for Seo Ee-soo.

This was a set.

A place for drama shooting.

It was quite a chaotic place as the shooting was in full swing.

Various shooting sets and containers were scattered around.

“Where are you.”

It was night.

It was a remote set.

There was only one moonlight.

It was dark all around.

Even for the young and bright-eyed Shin Ji-hoo, finding a small girl was not easy.

He searched through the corners, looking for Seo Ee-soo.

After a few minutes…

“—.”

A strange language was heard.

It was a foreign language.

But it was a familiar voice.

“Seo Ee-soo?”

He went to where the voice came from.

Indeed.

It was Seo Ee-soo.

“Hey! What were you doing there? I was worried!”

Shin Ji-hoo approached his actress.

First, he would check her condition.

If there was anything wrong, he would take her to the hospital.

Or give her some medicine.

But.

If she had run away while being perfectly fine.

“I won’t let you go.”

He decided to scold her severely.

“Why aren’t you answering? Hey! Seo… ”

And…

Shin Ji-hoo.

Met her.

“Seo… soo?”

A slightly different Seo Ee-soo from what he knew.

Magic that interprets the material composition of the target.

It was a magic that disassembled the information that made up the existence down to the genetic level to obtain information.

It was commonly a magic that was essential before the magic.

Volkid cast the magic on the corpse of a human female.

Now, all that was left was to transform based on this information.

“Sigh.”

Even until the last moment, Volkid hesitated.

Do I really have to go this far?

His grandfather left a will.

Live in this new world.

If he really transformed into the appearance of this female corpse…

He didn’t even know if he would have to live in this world as a woman without any way to turn back.

But the hesitation didn’t last long.

If he just stayed still, he would really die from mana depletion, so there was no choice.

“…… .”

He activated the magic.

A dazzling light surged.

After some time passed.

Volkid transformed into a charming girl.

Silky black hair.

Eyes that sparkled like stars.

Fair skin.

But the face was peculiar.

It was definitely an attractive and pretty face.

But the features were somewhat blurred, making it hard to grasp clear characteristics.

Depending on the makeup, the face could change drastically.

“Sigh……”

Volkid pondered over the aftermath of the transformation magic, then suddenly realized that there was something left to do.

In front of him, the corpse still remained.

But the corpse was not intact.

It withered away in the wind as if turning into dust.

It was the aftermath of the magic.

The target that had been analyzed down to the genetic level lost all vitality and ended up like this.

“…I’m sorry. Nameless girl.”

Volkid was not a villain.

He was not a supremacist who looked down on the mortal races as dragons.

Rather, he was someone tormented by guilt for his kind causing the extinction of the mortal races in the original world.

Not that he did it to survive.

And it was just a corpse anyway.

He felt melancholic and sorry for the situation where the girl couldn’t even leave a body due to the magic he cast.

“May you rest in peace in the afterlife.”

Volkid bowed his head as if in silent prayer.

He wished for the girl’s soul, now dispersing into dust, to find comfort in the afterlife.

How long had it been?

Ping-!

A distant dizziness overwhelmed him.

“Ugh! My mana….”

It was because his mana was consumed too rapidly.

The defensive spells to withstand the dimensional portal.

And the short time he spent as the true form of a dragon in a mana-less world.

Followed by the and magic.

All of it was raw mana consumption.

In a situation where he could no longer recover mana, it was an incredibly severe depletion.

“Ugh… This body is truly fragile.”

Moreover, the girl’s body Volkid transformed into was inherently fragile.

It seemed like there were no muscles in the body.

It felt like it could die from a sudden illness.

“What a frail body. How am I supposed to proceed with this in the future?”

Volkid sighed deeply.

He didn’t know what threats lurked in this world.

But with such a weak body.

The future didn’t seem easy.

That’s when it happened.

“——————–!”

A man was approaching Volkid.

His voice was loud. And rough.

‘Is he a hostile entity?’

Volkid became wary all of a sudden.

‘Should I use magic? But in this world, mana supply is impossible.’

For a dragon, mana was life.

And in this world without mana.

Using magic meant, in other words, shortening one’s lifespan.

But if he had to use it, there was no choice.

Life was already predetermined by the will.

There was no room for regrets.

Volkid prepared his magic.

“——-.”

However, the man’s voice was gradually changing.

Growing up in a loud and boisterous voice, then in a small and gentle voice.

“……”

Volkid quietly listened to the man’s words.

This was a different world.

A different culture was established here.

Naturally, the language was incomprehensible.

But it was not impossible to understand the emotions embedded in the language.

The man’s voice clearly contained a hint of worry.

‘An enemy… or not?’

Volkid tilted his head in confusion.

And then,

“It can’t be helped. Well, if I’m going to live in this world anyway, language is essential.”

He used magic once again.

“Ugh!”

The mana, which was already running low, was about to reach its limit.

Dizziness intensified.

“—-?!”

The man’s worry seemed to deepen.

He hurriedly approached Volkid to support him.

“That’s not necessary.”

Volkid reached out his hand to refuse it.

The words that came out of Volkid’s mouth perfectly resembled the language used by the man in this world.

It was the result of the magic .

Language is an essential element that shapes the culture and subconscious of that world.

Acquiring it without any knowledge of it was like accessing the Akashic Records of that world and downloading a large amount of information all at once.

For the mortal beings without the spiritual essence like dragons, it was an unusable magic.

Truly a high-risk magic.

Mana consumption was great, but the effect was certain.

Unlike before, the man’s language began to be interpreted and heard.

“Hey! Are you okay?!”

***

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. You seem to be a very worried person.”

Shin Ji-hoo thought something was strange.

‘What is it…?’

It was clearly Seo Ee-soo.

No matter how you looked at it, it was Seo Ee-soo, a pretty actress he knew.

But there was an impression that something had changed.

He couldn’t erase the feeling that something had changed, even though he didn’t know exactly what or how.

Anyway, something had changed.

However, he didn’t have time to think deeply about it.

It was almost time for Seo Ee-soo’s audition.

“Anyway, let’s go quickly.”

Shin Ji-hoo reached out his hand.

He grabbed Seo Ee-soo and tried to go to the audition site for the drama casting.

“What are you doing?”

But Seo Ee-soo was not refusing by hiding her hand behind her back.

Shin Ji-hoo unconsciously scratched his head.

“No… we don’t have time for this. Are you not going to the audition, Seo Ee-soo?”

“……Audition?”

“Yeah! Audition! It’s an audition for a mini-series on Wednesday!”

A mini-series.

And not just a minor role, but a significant supporting role.

Originally, an audition opportunity should not have come for Seo Ee-soo, who was already a well-known actress.

For both Seo Ee-soo and her manager, Shin Ji-hoo, it was an opportunity that could not be missed.

“An audition, you say.”

But.

Seo Ee-soo seemed a bit strange today.

She tilted her head.

She said.

“What is an audition?”

“…What?”

Shin Ji-hoo froze.

***

Shin Ji-hoo is a person with a wide vocabulary.

Perhaps that’s why.

“So what is an audition?”

“Well….”

Having too broad a vocabulary can be a barrier to entry for those who have less information about the world than an elementary school student.

It took Shin Ji-hoo much longer than he thought to convince Seo Ee-soo of the definition of an audition.

They might be late at this rate.

Shin Ji-hoo became increasingly anxious.

The acting field is narrow.

If a negative reputation is established for a rookie actress like Seo Ee-soo, it might be irreversible.

It was fatal for both the actress herself and her manager.

“…Do you understand now?”

“Yeah. I got it. It’s a position to be chosen by the high-and-mighty PD, right?”

“Yeah. If you understand, let’s go now. We might really be late.”

But that wasn’t the end of it.

“But wait.”

“Why now.”

“Why do I have to be chosen by a PD whose face I don’t even know?”

“…What?”

Do I still need to explain this?

We really don’t have time now, do we??

Shin Ji-hoo felt a distant emotion.

“Hehehe.”

And then, Seo Ei-soo.

Smiled with pursed lips.

“It’s a joke, a joke! Seeing you so desperate, I can’t help but cooperate for a moment, even if I don’t feel like it. Lead the way.”

“….Sure.”

“Hmm?”

It was night.

Under the moonlit sky.

There was no artificial light, so the world was in darkness.

Therefore, only the places touched by the moonlight were clear and silver without the contamination of light.

“Ahaha. Just kidding.”

Under that moonlight.

Seo Ei-soo.

Was also sparkling in silver.

It was strange.

Seo Ei-soo was definitely beautiful, but in the world of actors, it was rare for a not-so-pretty woman to stand out more.

There were more beautiful people than her, far and wide.

Yet, somehow.

Shin Ji-hoo kept feeling drawn to Seo Ei-soo.

“You….”

“Why are you like this?”

She looks at him with a smile.

That smile was peculiar.

It looked innocent, as if not knowing anything about the world, which made it beautiful.

On the other hand,

That smile was peculiar.

Carved and polished by the world’s storms.

Nothing left to be carved, only the curves remained, looking beautiful.

It looked like that kind of smile.

“Seo Ei-soo. Right?”

“What nonsense. Who am I….?”

“Seo Ei-soo.”

“Yes. I am clearly Seo Ei-soo.”

Shin Ji-hoo now understood why he had been feeling strange and unfamiliar about Seo Ei-soo since earlier.

‘Surely, the facial features are the same.’

There was no change in appearance.

Eyes, nose, mouth were all in the same place.

But with a slight change in expression.

The curve of the eyes had changed from before.

So.

Seo Ei-soo looked different from before.

More.

Even more.

Appealing.

She exuded that impression.

She says, “It’s an audition. It should be fun. Let’s go together. Okay?”

She reached out her hand.

Asking for guidance, inviting him.

Shin Ji-hoo, as if under a spell, took her hand.

He held her hand.

And walked towards a world she had never experienced.