The air was lying.
There was no way it should've been that quiet. Not with three moons overhead, glaring down like grumpy old gods. Not with jagged floating rocks tossing long, skewed shadows over glowing blue vines that pulsed like exposed veins. And definitely not with whatever had been rustling in the brush a moment ago deciding to just... stop.
Face-down in the mud—cold, drenched, and keenly aware of how breakable the human body really is—I stayed very, very still. Every nerve screamed at me to move. So naturally, I did what any true webtoon addict would in a forest that screamed "fantasy death trap."
I played dead.
Okay—mostly dead. Just still enough to maybe fool whatever hunted by motion. You know. Jurassic Park logic.
[System.exe: Detecting entities nearby.]
[Threat Level: Moderate-to-High. Comparable to opening your report card in front of your mom.]
I flinched. Not just because of the looming danger—but because the System sounded way too cheerful about my odds of surviving the next minute.
Then came the sound.
Not footsteps. More like... the absence of sound. Something big was moving nearby, but the world seemed to hush around it. Even the leaves refused to rustle, like they were afraid.
A branch creaked.
I didn't move.
A shadow flickered between the trees—luminous, like a street lamp made of moonlight.
Then another figure joined it.
And just like that, I wasn't alone.
Two figures stepped out of the mist. They walked like time didn't apply to them. Unhurried. Unbothered. The kind of walk that says: You'll be dead before we finish blinking, so why rush?
They looked mostly human—but up close, that illusion cracked. Oil-slick skin shimmered beneath their armor, black scales flashing in the low light. Their eyes gleamed amber, slitted and deeply wrong. Smoke drifted lazily from the taller one's mouth.
Right. Dragon guards. Obviously.
"I hate how predictable this is," I muttered.
[System.exe: Incoming encounter. Initiating quest protocol...]
[Quest Unlocked: Don't Get Eaten]
Objective: Convince the scary dragons not to kill you.
Reward: Continued existence.
Penalty: Refer to quest title.
Clarity: 10/10.
I pushed myself up slowly, arms lifted in the universal pose of please don't vaporize me. The guards halted. One arched a brow. The other squinted.
Time to name them. Anyone that deadly and mysterious who didn't wear a nametag needed one ASAP.
Tall, grim, smoky—Zerath.
Shorter, sharper, bad vibes—Voryn.
Solid boss names if this were a JRPG and I was dramatically underleveled.
"Uh. Hi," I said, voice barely above a squelch. "I come in peace. Mostly by accident."
Voryn's gaze sharpened.
[System.exe: Skill Unlocked – Insight Lv.1]
[Activate Insight? Y/N]
Yes. YES. Mentally screamed Y. The HUD popped up.
[Zerath – Dragon Realm Guard]
Realm Tier: D
STR: B | AGI: C | INT: C | MAG: B
Skills: Flame Breath (Basic), Scale Armor
Note: Likes rules. Hates surprises.
[Voryn – Dragon Realm Guard]
Realm Tier: D
STR: B | AGI: B | INT: C | MAG: C
Skills: Claw Strike, Aura Sense
Note: Cranky. Doesn't like outsiders. Or probably anyone.
"Doesn't like outsiders," I read. My stomach dropped.
I was very foreign. As in, "walking magical red flag" foreign.
So I smiled—nervously. Prayed my deodorant wasn't lying too.
"You're not supposed to be here," Voryn said. His voice dragged across the air like silk with hidden razors. "How did a human pass the Realm Wards?"
Accent? Flawless. Tone? Hostile.
My instincts suggested a classic combo: lie, run, cry—in that order.
"Uh… portal?" I offered.
Not wrong. Subway tunnel, cursed symbols, glowing ruin—close enough.
Zerath narrowed his eyes. "No human crosses into the Realm by accident. You were either summoned… or smuggled."
"I vote 'fell in' with a side of massive misunderstanding. Also, didn't even know there were wards. I'm new here."
[System.exe: Alert – Stat Differential Detected]
[Recommendation: Keep talking. Or run. Up to you.]
Running? Not an option. My legs felt like expired pudding. That left verbal chaos.
"In most isekai," I said, "the first people you meet either rescue you or murder you. Just figuring out which side you're on."
Zerath took a step forward.
Voryn's aura flared like pavement heat in summer.
I raised my hands even higher. "I'm harmless! Swear! Level 1! No equipment! Best weapon is sarcasm!"
No reaction.
Voryn moved.
His claw slashed down.
And I saw it.
Not a warning strike. Not a threat display. Actual, full-intent murder.
I flinched, arms up—knowing it was pointless, because his claws would go through me like Wi-Fi through sadness—
—but then everything stopped.
No footsteps. No wind. Just a shift in the world, like something huge had joined us and the universe hadn't caught up yet.
The world bent.
At first, I thought I was fainting. Or maybe dying in slow motion.
My chest caved in. My insides tried to flee. My thoughts collapsed inward like a star at the end of its life.
[System.exe: Critical Aura Surge Detected]
[Health: 9% → 7%]
[Error: System shielding overwhelmed. Initiating emergency sarcasm buffer...]
[Buffer Failed.]
[Commentary: Wow, you're squishier than expected.]
This is it.
Death by dragon forest.
No stat bonuses. No pants upgrade. Just a sarcastic tombstone.
Here lies Han Jihoon.
Age: who cares.
Cause of death: dragon vibes + poor decision-making.
Last words: "At least let me eat snacks first."
My fingers twitched. My ears rang. Pretty sure my soul was trying to pack a bag.
Then—he appeared.
He didn't walk. He glided.
Ten feet tall. Almost humanoid. But every inch of him whispered wrong.
Obsidian-black scales shimmered like glass in moonlight. His aura didn't radiate—it pulled. The world leaned toward him like it owed him something.
His eyes—like twin, sleepy suns—landed on us.
And suddenly, I was nothing.
[System.exe: Attempting low-resolution aura scan…]
[Result: Nope.jpg]
[Error Code: YOU'RE KIDDING, RIGHT?]
[Health Warning: Continued exposure may lead to spontaneous soul disintegration.]
[Advice: Do not taunt. Do not touch. Maybe just curl up and sob.]
He looked at me.
I couldn't move. Couldn't breathe. Couldn't blink properly. Just stood there, soaked and shaking, being dissected by someone who probably sunbathed inside volcanoes.
"A human," he said. Calm. Low. Like thunder mumbling.
Zerath didn't flinch. Voryn didn't breathe.
The Elder stepped closer. Vines withered under his boots.
"What are you, little spark?" he murmured. "A glitch in the weave? A joke from the gods?"
My mouth opened.
Words fell out.
"Honestly? I think I clicked the wrong pop-up ad."
He stared.
Then chuckled. Quiet, but enough to freeze the guards and rattle my ribs.
[System.exe: Alert – Entity is experiencing minor amusement.]
[New Passive Trait Acquired: Momentarily Interesting to a Cosmic Horror]
Tharagon knelt.
Up close, he was worse. Perfect in the way only nightmares are. Like someone carved a demigod out of obsidian and gave it style notes from a black hole.
"You don't belong here," he said, voice almost gentle. "And yet... something clings to you."
"Might be subway dust," I said. "Or trauma."
His hand touched my forehead.
Warmth.
Not fire. Not magic in the Hollywood sense. Just pure will flowing into my system like a blood transfusion from a nuclear reactor.
[System.exe: Foreign Entity Intervening...]
[Health Restored: 7% → 100%]
[Status Effect Applied: Lingering Cosmic Weirdness (Mild)]
[Note: You feel better, but also like you've been sponsored by a Lovecraftian wellness brand.]
His head tilted.
"You speak lightly, while your life hangs by threads."
"Coping mechanism," I replied, grinning through static.
Tharagon rose.
"You are mine now. My Toy.
He turned to the guards. "Touch him again, and I'll teach you what it feels like to die backwards."
They flinched.
Whatever that meant, they'd seen it before.
The pressure vanished. I could breathe again—sort of.
That's when I realized—
I wasn't dead.
I'd been adopted.
By a dragon demigod.
Tharagon turned.
"We fly," he said.
I blinked. "Wait, like—on you? Or—"
He lifted a hand. Space folded.
A floating platform appeared, made of woven obsidian and starlight. Silent. Waiting.
"Cool," I muttered. "Dramatic Uber."
We rose into the air, the forest falling away beneath us. I looked down to see the trees bend aside—like they feared looking up.
The sky around us shifted colors, bending with Tharagon's will. Moons rearranged like chess pieces.
"So," I said, clutching the edge of the platform as clouds passed below, "is this a mentorship, kidnapping, or experimental extradimensional internship?"
"Whichever ensures your obedience."
"Obedience," I said. "Love that. So trendy right now."
He didn't answer.
The forest around us twisted into even stranger shapes.
We passed through a canyon where waterfalls flowed upward, and glowing winged fish leapt between pools like fireworks.
Then a meadow of blinking flowers—literal eyeball-petals, tracking our movement. I waved. One winked.
"Okay," I muttered, "magical forest, sentient flowers, disobedient fish. Next stop: mermaid tax collectors?"
"There is an aquatic realm," Tharagon said, "but they collect souls, not coin."
"Same bureaucracy though?"
"Worse," he said. "They file in triplicate."
Of course they do.
We crossed a bridge made entirely of massive bones.
"What… was this thing?" I asked, gawking at a rib the size of a bus.
"A Leviathan Seraph. Slain in the Third Reconciliation of Flame and Flesh."
"Cool, cool," I lied. "Not still alive though… right?"
He paused.
"…Mostly."
Not helpful.
[System.exe: Environmental Log Initiated]
[New Biome Unlocked: Dream-Broken Forest | Threat Level: Variable]
Note: Terrain includes illusion hazards, mana fog, and flora with predatory giggle reflexes.
"Did that just say giggle reflexes?" I whispered.
The nearest tree giggled.
Loudly.
I nearly fell off the trail.
Eventually, we reached obsidian steps glowing faintly beneath our feet. Just as I opened my mouth to ask how far, the mountain came into view.
Not a mountain. A fortress. A living one.
It hadn't been carved—it had grown. Like the land warped around a god's skeleton and called it a Council Hall.
Massive dragon-wing arches soared above. Statues lined the ascent—warriors, mourners, judges.
They radiated the kind of energy that said: We've seen empires die. We remember.
Then—The Gates.
Twenty stories tall. Obsidian, gold, and light. Symbols pulsed across the surface like echoes of dead civilizations.
And me?
Just a soggy mortal in a hoodie.
Tharagon stopped.
"This is where you stop being amusing," he said, "or become legendary."
I swallowed. "Cool. No pressure."
He smirked. "The opposite."
[System.exe: Quest Phase Initiated – Trial by Council]
Main Objective: Survive.
Bonus Objective: Don't say anything stupid.
[Warning: You are extremely likely to say something stupid.]
[Final Tip: Try not to trip.]
The gates opened.
No guards. No fanfare. Just inevitability.
Light spilled out—warm and cold all at once, brushing over my skin like fingers trying to guess who I was.
I took a breath.
And stepped inside.
And instantly regretted not writing a will.
📝 Author's Note:
Jihoon survived being almost-murdered, got adopted by a dragon demigod, and now has cosmic trauma with a side of sarcasm. Progress?
Next chapter: ancient dragon politicians and maximum social anxiety.
Pray for him. Or don't. He probably deserves this.
📊 Chapter 2 Poll: What Would You Do If Adopted By a Cosmic Dragon Daddy?
1. Say "thank you" and cry silently until the trauma fades.
2. Ask for belly rubs and a dental plan.
3. Try to romance him and speedrun a bad ending.
4. Attempt escape via dramatic monologue and hope he respects theatrics.
5. Accept your new life as an emotionally confused pet.
🐉 Bonus points if your answer involves snacks, sarcasm, or suspicious contracts.