Chapter 2: Definitely No Next Time

In a cave, Zheng Yichen, holding a pile of loot, lightly flicked his claw, adding another stroke to an unfinished tally mark on the wall. He counted the marks; there were thirty-one now.

Sitting on a rock, resting his chin on his dragon claw, he drifted into thought. It had been half a year since he arrived in this world. Aside from the language barrier, he had mostly adapted to life here. His size was growing rapidly, as if he had eaten some special fertilizer—contradicting the typical long growth cycles of dragons often seen in stories or games.

The consequence of his fast growth was that Zheng Yichen often needed to expand this dug-out cave.

In the earlier months, he worried that because of his dragon identity, groups of real dragon slayers might come to hunt him down. This fear lingered for a long time, but he only encountered a bunch of self-important wannabe dragon slayers. Their most notable traits were being weak in skill but rich in equipment—wealthy!

He shuffled through today’s loot. There were some jewelry emitting strange vibrations. After seeing people shoot fireballs not long ago, Zheng Yichen knew this world was unusual. An ordinary world wouldn’t have creatures like dragons, right? These were probably magic items, but since he didn’t know how to use them, he tossed them aside.

Another type of loot was armor and weapons, followed by coins like gold and silver. Lastly… Zheng Yichen stared silently at the two pairs of damp “underwear” caught on his dragon claw. Why had he accidentally brought these back while looting? Maybe living alone—no, as a dragon—was too lonely.

Should he imitate dragon predecessors from various tales and kidnap a princess or two for some eye candy? He shook his claws, dried the garments, and tossed them onto his bed. They could serve as a mattress!

Looking down at his claws, he decided to stay hidden here for now. If he encountered some powerful do-gooder wanting to vanquish evil, he would be the one in trouble. He tapped his claw against a nearby black stone; sparks from the collision landed on prepared tinder, lighting a fire that illuminated his dragon face.

In a town beneath the Tote Mountain Range, the residents were used to seeing dragon-slaying teams return looking disheveled after being robbed. Earlier, this would happen seven or eight times a day. Thanks to that young dragon, this remote town was gradually gaining popularity.

“Sob, Sister Bina, will we never be able to marry now?” Judy asked, walking awkwardly, her face flushed as she pulled at the young woman ahead who was in a similar state. They now regretted their impulsive decision to come here and challenge the dragon. That dragon was just as the rumors said—it didn’t kill people, but…

“Shh! Keep your voice down! Only we two know about this!” Bina tightly covered Judy’s mouth, under the puzzled stares of Sander and the other noble boys and girls. “I’ve decided. After we go back, I’ll train hard. Once we slay that perverted dragon in the future, no one will know what happened to us.”

“But… can we defeat it?” Judy felt pressured remembering how the pitch-black dragon had lightly flicked its claw and knocked out their elite guards. “Maybe we should just let it go… It’s just underwear…”

“It’s not just underwear—it’s a matter of honor! We can’t let it go.” Bina gritted her teeth, her expression filled with shame and anger. After all, watching that evil dragon hook away their underwear was an unforgettable memory, even though the dragon had been courteous enough to take them somewhere else.

“Then… Sister Bina, you work hard?” Judy said weakly.

“You? No way! To keep the secret, you have to join me!” Bina was firm, leaving no room for discussion.

“Though the process was unpleasant, you both came out of the forest unharmed. Our commission is complete,” Sander said, coughing lightly as they reached the entrance of the Mercenary Guild branch. “Let’s cooperate again if we get the chance!”

Seeing how terrified they were, Sander knew there definitely wouldn’t be a next time!

With his badge in hand, Sander approached the reception counter to submit his quest. Lowering his voice, he asked the receptionist, “Is that dragon really a young dragon?”

“Of course, it is indeed a young dragon.”

“…How old is that information?” Thinking of the dragon’s size he saw today, Sander felt a headache. A young dragon? Since when are young dragons that big!?

The receptionist pulled out a booklet and checked. “Five months old. Given the Dragon Clan’s growth rate, this information won’t change for five years.”

“But the dragon I saw today looked more like a Juvenile Dragon…”

“We’ve had similar feedback. We’re investigating. You could also take on a related investigation quest to speed things up.” Sander focused on the mission sheet the receptionist handed him.

The quest involved not only investigating the young dragon’s current state but also had an extra objective: if they could determine whether its mother existed and her location, they’d receive five times the reward! After all, since the young dragon appeared, everyone assumed it was secretly protected by its mother, but so far, this so-called Mother Dragon had never shown herself!

Was there really a Mother Dragon protecting it?

“No, I need a couple of days to rest.” Sander put down the quest sheet and shook his head. This quest wasn’t like leading a group of rookies to pay tuition to the young dragon; it could get people killed. For someone who had just earned a hefty reward, it wasn’t worth the risk. At the very least, he’d wait until he’d spent most of his reward before considering such a long-term commission.

“Huh? What are they looking for?” Zheng Yichen crawled out of his dragon den, carefully covering the entrance. He found a hidden platform and, with his keen eyesight, spotted several sneaky figures moving near his den!

He twitched his wings—another pain point he couldn’t quite explain. As his body grew rapidly, his wings became broader and thicker. Every flap could stir up a strong gust, but he still couldn’t fly!

Even when he flapped his wings desperately, he could only manage to glide at most. Zheng Yichen concluded that flying might require certain skills. Since he had a human soul, he couldn’t easily master them… Whether that was true or not, he needed to console himself!

Glancing back at his den, his most important hiding spot, he imagined the chaos if it were discovered—hordes of dragon-slaying squads clamoring outside his home all day…

After quietly moving a safe distance away from his den, Zheng Yichen roared and charged toward the sneaky figures.

“Roar roar roar!!~ Hiccup…”