Chapter 186

“Meow!”

Cheddar cried out again. My prediction that there wouldn’t be many calls was proving accurate. I checked the name once more.

This time, it was definitely not someone from the broadcasting station.

I debated briefly on what to do before deciding to answer this first call.

“Cheddar, connect me with Flower.”

“Connecting you to Miss Flower… Jaeyeon?”

“Yes, Flower. Long time no see.”

“Oh, Jaeyeon… You really never call…” Cheddar’s voice sounded ominous. It must have been because of Flower’s tone on the other end.

While it could be seen as a creepy situation, I found it refreshing. No one had spoken to me like this in the past ten years.

“Miss Flower, are you currently annoyed?”

“Huh… What? No, no… That’s not it at all.”

I patiently explained to Flower, who was caught off guard and stammering:

“I’ve been quite busy lately. There’s just so much I need to do. But how about you, Flower? Your manager seems concerned, and things seem complicated right now in various ways.”

Since her true identity as a chromatic dragon remained unknown to me, she had introduced herself as “a young dragon with special lineage.”

It seemed like even her manager, the shadow dragon, was unaware of her true nature.

Of course, not everyone in the world would be ignorant of her identity. The highest-ranking dragons of Dragonia would know, and given that she had come to Earth-34, it was obvious that the generous Game Masters were also aware.

However, that was precisely the extent of her secret. There could be absolutely no one who knew her true identity. The fact that the highest-ranking elder of the Nobles, a chromatic dragon akin to a high-tier god, was engaged in idol activities would truly be a cosmic scandal. While ordinary people might think little of being exposed, weren’t dragons known for risking everything for their dignity?

“Ah, um… as I’ve mentioned before, I’m still a minor in Dragonia. And hatchlings have many restrictions on our freedoms.”

“I heard you’re well-protected though.”

“It means essentially the same thing.”

A hatchling refers to newborn animals, particularly reptiles that have just emerged from their eggs.

Intelligent species? No, it wasn’t quite fitting for hatchlings of the Dragon Race, an extraordinary species transcending mere intelligence. Yet even dragons themselves referred to their young as “hatchlings,” so who were others to say otherwise?

More importantly… The use of this term, almost a derogatory one, by the dragons themselves revealed their perception of hatchlings.

Flower spoke with frustration evident in her voice. “It’s practically impossible for us to engage in any official activities! We can’t even love or travel. For a thousand years!”

Hearing that, I could understand why she felt frustrated. As members of an extraordinary species, dragons possessed remarkable intelligence from birth—so much so that they developed language skills at a very young age. In other words, despite already possessing cognitive abilities, their freedom was being controlled.

For a staggering thousand years.

“Indeed, it’s an immense suppression,” I remarked. “It’s astonishing that they’ve remained silent all this time.”

Age was no barrier to political activity. Even human teenagers—middle and high schoolers—could rally protests and issue public statements. So why did hundreds-year-old hatchlings show no signs of dissent?

As if reading my mind, Flower spoke through Cheddar’s mouth:

“Hatchlings tend to sleep a great deal. A dragon’s body grows best during slumber. When awake, they typically devote their time to magic training.”

“Don’t they get bored?” I couldn’t help but ask.

“Not really. Acquiring magic is like an innate ability passed down through bloodlines, so it’s also our best form of entertainment.”

In other words, the hatchlings weren’t particularly dissatisfied with their situation.

“But you’re saying Flower is different?”

“Yes. As you know, I’ve already honed my skills as much as possible.”

As part of a chromatic dragon, she possessed magical abilities that even impressed other great mages. Moreover, due to her unique origin, she likely didn’t need much sleep either. After all, unlike dragons, she wouldn’t ‘grow’ over time.

In essence:

I have to endure for 1,000 years without any breaks, but I just can’t manage it.

Having roughly grasped the situation, I organized my thoughts before posing a question.

“In other words, your maturity level is too high for your age.”

Flower. And FD, which included her, possessed capabilities that could rival even those of a Transcendent—a being of extraordinary power. Yet on the surface, she appeared as a minor. To dragons, being 450 years old was akin to a human child not yet old enough to attend school.

No wonder this situation had become a scandal.

To be honest, it doesn’t make sense for me to leave Dragonia and wander around like this.

The dragons’ overprotectiveness towards hatchlings was universally renowned. Perhaps the only reason Flower could venture out was because she’d threatened some high-ranking dragons who knew her true identity?

In truth, this wouldn’t be an issue if he weren’t a minor.

But revealing his identity as a chromatic dragon? That would escalate things far beyond a mere underage scandal.

“Ah, that… Yes. It is indeed a problem…”

“How unfortunate.”

“Uh, I… How unfortunate it ends there?”

”…?”

I was taken aback by these cryptic words. Did they imply some unfulfilled desire on their part?

For a moment, Flower remained silent. The line seemed to have cut off momentarily before resuming.

And after a brief pause:

“Oh, right, Jaeyeon-ssi. You were going to treat me to dinner, weren’t you?”

“Yes, of course. But meeting now might not be wise…”

At my words, Flower quickly added, “It won’t be just two; another FD will likely join us…”

Her remark made me pause.

Wait, I agreed to treat one person, but now it’s five? And we’ll have to go to an upscale restaurant…

“Um, is that okay with you?” she asked cautiously.

I felt a surge of impulsive frustration from deep within, but I managed to suppress it through transcendent understanding.

Societal life… societal life…

Mentally repeating this mantra, I replied, “Of course. When would you like to meet?”

“Let’s say tonight then. To be precise…”

With that, I scheduled our appointment with Flower before hanging up the phone.

Although I was treating her to dinner, she chose the restaurant given our circumstances.

It was a set meal costing five million won per person.

“Ah, crazy… How can food be this expensive?” The exclamation slipped out involuntarily. With six people booked, that meant eighteen million won just for dinner.

The problem wasn’t that she was trying to take advantage of me or indulging in excessive luxury; it was simply that this price range seemed appropriate for what she considered an ‘adequate’ formal occasion.

“This is transcendent…”

Feeling somewhat pained as I made the reservation, I then called Love, who had been unreachable earlier.

She answered before the first ring could finish.

“Oh, finally! No, why aren’t you answering your phone like this?”

“I’m busy. What do you need?”

In response to my question, Love immediately got to the point.

“It’s work-related. We’ve decided to upgrade our top-tier Form to a special-grade one and carry out a major update. That’s why we need your help.”

”…A ‘major update’ in this situation?”

“Exactly because of this situation that we must do a major update. We have to survive!”

Love began her explanation.

“The stocks of most existing game companies are plummeting right now. It’s because Earth-34 has entered a sort of wartime regime.”

“But from the outside, there doesn’t seem to be any difference.”

Indeed, the streets appeared peaceful. People were resting, watching movies, and chatting in Gwanghwamun Square as always.

However, Love had declared:

“It may seem like daily life is unchanged, but everything is shifting. The mainstream has already changed, and soon this transformation will spread in all directions.”

“The mainstream,” I repeated.

This was why game companies’ stocks were plummeting. But if that was the case, it raised another question.

“Then wouldn’t a large-scale update have the same effect?”

“That’s not quite right. While other game companies are on the verge of collapse, Blade & Magic’s Korean Soft, Great War’s Leonhardt Soft, and Real Stage’s Sky Soft are actually seeing their stock prices rise.”

“Blade & Magic… Great War… Real Stage…”

These games were a bit different from ordinary ones—they relied on skill rather than luck or chance. They had stripped out most traditional game elements, making them almost like simulations.

Even after Revenge implemented virtual reality that worked for ability users as well, these games didn’t suffer much impact because they were already so close to simulations.

In fact, training simulations don’t need to perfectly replicate reality; their goal is not immersion but education.

It was just like the simulation software I used back when I trained my chakra—the “Chakra Opening and Training” program.

“Hold on. Then ‘deepening’ means…”

“Yes. We want Revenge to have an image of being a skill-based game.”

”…”

I honestly wanted to ask if he was crazy, but I held back.

No, how could Revenge now suddenly become a skill-based game? It was common knowledge that Revenge was a pay-to-win game, which I knew, Love knew, and everyone in the world knew.

“Uh, wouldn’t this deviate greatly from what Revenge has traditionally pursued?”

“Yes. That’s why we’ve been rejecting suggestions even though employees kept bringing them up.”

His unexpected words left me dumbfounded.

“You were rejecting them?”

“Yes. I don’t want a game decided by skills. I want one decided by payments.”

”…”

Her honesty was almost frightening. At this point, I realized that she must be creating a game like Revenge.

“Well, just in case, I’ve arranged some insurance. You never know what life will bring.”

Her words brought something to mind.

”…Avatars and servants?”

“Exactly!”

When Nemesis added virtual reality to Revenge, instead of allowing players to directly inhabit their characters as before, they chose to split each character into two separate entities.

The avatar (avatar) character allowed players to personally experience the virtual world through direct immersion.

And the servant (servant) character continued hunting and playing automatically, much like traditional characters had always done.

Until now, avatar characters were used for riding amusement park rides in the city, sightseeing, or receiving special services… But from now on, we’re going to make those characters reflect their abilities in reality.

And once that happens?

Those characters will participate in the “war” that breaks out every day in Revenge.

“There might be some resistance… but it’s not a bad idea.”

“Isn’t it? The engineer said that there needs to be a Transcendent present for the technology application experiment, and I immediately thought of you, Jaeyeon-ssi. Can you come tonight?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, but I have plans this evening.”

My refusal surprises Love.

“Huh? No plans with Jaeyeon-ssi? I thought you said you’d be home every day…”

I chuckled at this blatant fact.

“I have commitments with F·D members.”

”…”

Suddenly, Cheddar closed his mouth.

“What’s wrong?”

“Oh, uh… Right. You’re part of Five Dragons, aren’t you? With that Flower person?”

“Yes.”

”…Right…” Love hesitated before continuing. “Well, if you have plans, there’s nothing we can do about it.”

“Can we meet tomorrow then?”

“Yeah, sure.”

After ending the call, I reviewed my schedule.

If I mess this up, my whole week will be thrown off… I’ll probably need to catch some Zs in Ardenia while I’m at it.

But first things first:

A dinner costing five million won per head was on the menu.

”…”

Love felt an indescribable emotion as he stared blankly after ending the call.

“Oh, wait. Wait a minute.”

His heart sank during the conversation with Jaeyeon, and he also felt angry. Yet, he couldn’t be upset with her. It was obvious; there was no relationship between them.

“Huh? What is this feeling…?”

It wasn’t like she had no experience in romance. As the youngest daughter of Pae Jaisuk, the world’s richest man, her background was dazzling. She possessed beauty and exceptional talent—how many men had been drawn to her because of these qualities?

But never before had she experienced something like this.

He wasn’t pretending to be interested in her just to provoke her; he genuinely treated her as an equal human being—even though they could almost be considered rivals.

“Dragon… What is this? Is it a dream?”

Meanwhile, on the other end of the line, she wasn’t the only one feeling utterly bewildered.

“Hey! You stupid bitch, what’re you doing, standing there like an idiot?! Agh! I’m gonna explode!” Ruby, the red dragon, screeched furiously. Her chest throbbed with agitation, causing the air around her to vibrate audibly.

Sapphire, the blue dragon, watched this spectacle with disdain before opening his mouth.

“No, Flower… It’s bad enough that you’re attracted to mere humans, but what exactly are you lacking that you have to settle for second-rate romance… Ugh, how infuriating.”

The Black Dragon Hwakyu listened quietly to their lamentations as he painted his nails with manicure polish.

“From what I see,” he said, “it seems…”

“Oh, Hwakyu. Am I really that wrong? I just…”

“That man. What a hairy beast!”

”…”

“Heh. How dare they treat our innocent Flower like this? I’ll have to teach him a lesson today…”

“No, please guys. This isn’t the right time…” Flower whimpered pitifully.

But whether they liked it or not, the Five Dragons—Otulong—were ready for battle, each head brimming with determination.

Everything would be decided at dinner time.