I started looking around and examining my surroundings after finally locating an uphill trail. I looked at the trees, the grass, the flowers, and basically everything else I happened to come across. And each time I looked at something new, I activated Analyze to learn more about it. The skill taught me all sorts of different things. For example. I came to know that sherlmie grass was a potent herb containing a lot of mana, and that I should never eat amanita explodias because they were sure to detonate upon consumption.
Long story short, Analyze was convenient, extraordinarily so. Apparently, the ability was something that'd come with my discoloured eye. At first, I was actually quite discontent with my newfound heterochromia. I thought of it as nothing but a reminder of the fact that I too was once a nerdy middle schooler with a penchant for roleplay. But now, my opinion had taken a full 180 degree turn. I no longer saw the eye as a stigma, but rather, a blessing. Learning more about this world's flora would've been much more difficult without it.
The skill taught me about many interesting plants the likes of which I'd never before seen. But more importantly, it allowed me to discover fruits and vegetables fit for consumption. I no longer had to depend on the dungeon and my dwindling reserves of DP for sustenance. And that, in and of itself, was a huge load off my mind.
My original objective, surveying the area surrounding the dungeon and getting a grasp of the terrain, had long been forgotten. Of course, it wasn't because I was careless and got swept up in my excitement, but rather because I simply didn't need to bother with it. My menu had acquired a map function the moment I took my first step out the dungeon's door. This new function allowed me to generate geographical information about everything I laid eyes on.
All I had to do was look at an area to get an accurate, detailed map of it. Even just emerging from the cave containing my dungeon and admiring the scenery around it had already allowed the dungeon's menu to learn an incredible amount about my surroundings. The only problem with the map was that it didn't display enemies, but that weakness was one that I could easily circumvent. There was an option to add an enemy detection feature at the cost of a good bit of DP. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough DP on hand quite yet, but the feature seemed useful, so I made note of it and decided I'd get it some time down the line.
After spending a good bit of time taking in my surroundings and wandering about, I decided to head back to the dungeon. I hadn't gone too far, but I was still worried that something would happen, both to the dungeon, and to myself.
With that thought in mind, I turned around—only to catch a glimpse of silver.
At first, I'd just thought that it was probably a large bird or something. I'd heard it flapping its wings, but the sound seemed to have come from far away, so I more or less ended up ignoring it.
But then it drew closer. I turned my head towards it yet again because I realized how quickly it was approaching. Next thing I knew, the creature was right above me, flapping its wings to lower its speed as it landed. I tried to get a better look at it, but I couldn't. The force of the wind that came with its descent forced me to close my eyes and cover my face.
I didn't get a chance to gaze upon the creature until the wind finally died down. When it did, I nervously opened my eyes, only to find that the thing that'd landed next to me wasn't actually a bird. It was something much more majestic and intimidating.
A dragon.
Its body was covered in head to toe with beautiful silver scales. It was massive, but it carried with it an air of elegance nonetheless.
***
Name: Leficios
Race: Ancient Dragon
Class: Supreme Dragon
Level: 987
Titles: Supreme Dragon
***
Uh…
Shit.
W-What the actual fuck?
I'd long been prepared to run into and confront some sort of monster. I was more than ready for it. I knew I had to fight, that I had to prove that I was fit to survive if I didn't want to die. In fact, I was even kind of excited by the prospect of slaying a monster.
But I was not prepared to take on a dragon, let alone the one that stood before me. The silver beast was clearly no ordinary, run of the mill flying lizard. Its title, race, and class all screamed that it was at least a superior specimen.
What the fuck!? You have to be shitting me! What kind of unbalanced as fuck encounter is this supposed to be!? Not even the worst games brick wall you this god damn hard! Like, dude! That thing's level 987. It looks like it's almost fucking capped, god damn it!
The dragon's level was so much higher than my own that I couldn't even see its stats.
Wait, wait, calm down Yuki. Granny always said that "nothing good'll ever come out of panicking!" [1] Not that I was actually ever a Granny's boy, but whatever. Right, anyway, maybe this is just one of those worlds where the levels are super inflated or something. 987 might not even be that high. Like, I'm still level 1, and I'm probably still fucked, but like, I might actually have a chance.
I decided to run a more detailed check on the dragon's stats after momentarily regaining a bit of composure. I started by checking its class, but for some odd reason, I couldn't get the details to show up, so I moved on and checked its title, as the two shared a name.
Supreme Dragon: A title granted to the most powerful dragon in the world, the dragon that reigns above all others. This title drastically boosts the stats of those who possess it. It also provides the "Supreme Ruler's Intimidation" skill and the unique Supreme Dragon class.
…Fuck.
I felt the urge to smash my palm into my face.
I dunno what I expected. I should've seen that coming.
The dragon standing before me was undoubtedly strong. It clearly sat at the top of not only this region's, but the entire world's food chain. Thinking back, I should've realized that something was off. I was totally new to foraging, but despite that, I was able to find food all over the place. And yet, I didn't run into a single monster. It made no sense for monsters to avoid an area with this much food.
Unless they feared a predator.
It immediately became clear to me that all nearby monsters avoided this area because they knew that it was the Supreme Dragon's territory. They understood that it was impossible for them to stand up to it, and that they'd be subject to a one-sided slaughter should they foolishly attempt to challenge it.
I, however, had no idea. I didn't know that I was wandering into the dragon's den, nor that there'd even been a dragon in the area in the first place.
And now, I was totally fucked.
The dragon looked towards me and opened its mouth as I stared it, speechless and totally paralyzed in fear.
"A superior demon? At a place like this? How curious," said the dragon, as it narrowed its eyes.
Wait. It spoke? IT SPOKE!? THE DRAGON FUCKING SPOKE!?
I felt my jaw drop as my brain slowly worked to process the event that had just transpired. I felt the urge to screech out of sheer confusion, but I stopped myself before I did.
I knew that I would at least have to seem calm if I didn't want the dragon to realize that it terrified me. If it caught on, then I'd lose all initiative. I narrowly managed to stop my jaw from dropping all the way as I took a deep breath. Then, I steeled myself and made sure I didn't stumble over my words as I responded in as relaxed a tone as I could manage.
"I uh… don't know much about the superior part, but yeah. I am apparently some sort of demon."
I mean, I'm pretty sure an archdemon's a demon. Wouldn't really make sense for it not to be.
Like many other fantasty-esque scenarios, the world I'd been summoned to was home to many similar but different intelligent races. Humans aside, it had demihumans, beastkin, and of course, demons like me. To be frank, I was really looking forward to meeting the races. I wanted to meet beastkin so I could pet them and play with their animal-like parts. I also wanted to meet a demi-human. More specifically, I wanted to nibble on an elf girl's ears and make her blush.
Wait, what the fuck are you doing, Yuki? Stop being all delusional and shit. This situation's desperate as all hell, but practicing escapism really isn't going to make anything any better.
"What a peculiar manner of phrasing, but no matter. I suppose I should ask the reason for which you are here, demon," said the dragon, warily.
I couldn't help but notice that the dragon's voice was pleasant to the ear. Though she and I were different species, I could tell that she was female.
"Exploring, I guess," I said with a shrug.
"…In a place like this? What bizzare tendencies you have."
The dragon blinked several times in an expression of wonder.
It doesn't look like she's going to attack me right away. Whew. Wait, does this mean that demons aren't evil incarnate, and that people don't attack them on sight? I assumed that would be how it was since that's normally how it was in all the games I used to play.
The dungeon's database had very little information on anything to do with inter-species relationships. It did distinguish between different monsters and races, but it failed to describe them in sufficient detail. All it really did was declare them all fiends out to destroy the dungeon. None of the descriptions contained any real lore or useful information.
Thus, I temporarily filled in the gaps in my knowledge by making assumptions based on the information I'd acquired back in Japan. That is, I assumed that demons were evil and considered hostile by basically everything else.
At this rate, she might even actually just let me walk away.
"But again, it matters not. You have invaded my territory, so I will destroy you."
'Twas not meant to be, that it was not.
I couldn't help but make a mental quip in an outdated, samurai-like manner of speech as the dragon sentenced me to death. While I would've loved to continue with a chain of retorts, I was cut short, disallowed by the sheer amount of bloodlust that filled the air the moment after she finished speaking. It was so pronounced that even I could pick up on it.
Cold sweat began running down my brow.
I was screwed.
My only two choices were to figure something out or die, and I had no idea what to do. My mind was blanking, but I somehow managed to reel it in and force it into overdrive before the dragon attacked me. I had every single part of my brain, which normally did nothing but lazily think about video games, focus every last resource it had on solving the crisis at hand.
Alright, Yuki, focus. What can this new body of yours do? Let's see… Well, its senses are way better… Wait! That's it!
"Hold on! I can make not killing me worth your time!"
I pushed both palms in front of me in an attempt to get the dragon to stop.
"Can you really?" The dragon immediately froze and narrowed its eyes.
"I can, but you gotta hear me out." I paused to take a breath. "Let's strike a deal."
"A deal, you say?"
"Yeah, and a pretty good one. You like eating sweet foods, right?"
"I-I know nothing of the matter you speak. It is not as if I just returned from raiding a beehive for lunch!"
The dragon's response was so dramatic that it almost made me laugh. She was clearly a terrible liar.
Wait, why's she trying to bluff it off anyway? It's not like there's anything wrong with liking sweets, is there?
"I mean, deny it all you want, but I can practically smell the honey you just ate wafting off of you, so…"
"A-Again, I know not of what you speak."
"In fact, you remind me of this yellow bear I used to know. The guy was known for wearing a red shirt and always just reeking of honey." [2]
"I-I've never heard of a bear with such interesting preferences."
"Well, he does exist, somewhere out there. Anyway, about that deal we were going to strike. You see, I've got the perfect thing for anyone that loves sweets as much as you do. Feast your eyes on this!"
I pulled a chocolate bar out of my item box and held it up to the dragon. It was something I'd coincidentally decided to buy right before I headed out. I'd heard that chocolate was good for hikes and other long-lasting physical activities due to how filling it was. A single bite was enough to stave off hunger for a good hour or so.
"W-What manner of food is that?" The dragon's eyes were wide with surprise, but at the same time, they also seemed to shine with a sort of excitement. "It carries a wonderful scent."
She seemed a bit hesitant because she recognize the sweet treat as something edible, so I tried giving her another push.
"It's called chocolate. Just try it, I'm sure you'll love it."
I tore the chocolate bar from its wrapper and chucked at the dragon. She skillfully caught it in her mouth and immediately began biting into it.
"What a splendid flavour," she said, impressed. "It is sweet, but mellow. I knew not that this kind of flavour existed."
A shiver ran up the dragon's spine as she slowly savoured the chocolate bar's taste.
Her expression was easy to read. She was clearly impressed, shocked to the point of losing all her composure. At first, she was dignified, but now, she almost seemed to give off the same sort of impression as an excited child. The massive shift in her personality was overwhelming. I almost wanted to break into laughter and relax. But that said, I wasn't about to let my guard down. I wasn't safe yet. I was still facing something many, many times stronger than me, a creature that could literally kill me with the lightest of scratches. I'd shown her my product and impressed her, but negotiations were still ongoing. I'd yet to seal the deal.
"I'm pretty sure I'm the only person in this world capable of making chocolate. I mean, you've never heard of the stuff before, right?"
I wasn't one hundred percent sure my statement was correct, but I was at least fairly confident in its authenticity. Though I highly doubted that I was the only reincarnator, I did think that I was likely the only reincarnator that also happened to be a demon lord. In other words, no one else would be able to produce the exact same sort of chocolate that I'd just fed the dragon.
"T-that is correct," the dragon nodded.
"So if I die, then chocolate'll die with me. You'll never be able to eat it ever again. But if you let me live, I'll treat you to the stuff whenever you want."
Feeding the dragon was probably going to drain the hell out of my DP, but it was still a better choice than letting her bite my head off. Besides, most of the creatures that lived in the area seemed to fear her, so having her stop by from time to time would probably serve to keep unwanted pests away.
"I only have two conditions. The first is not to kill me, and the second is to allow me to live in that cave over there," I said, as I pointed towards the entrance of my dungeon.
"Hmmm…"
The dragon furrowed its brows. It seemed like it was on the fence.
"There's not really too much to think about, is there? If you don't kill me, then I get to live, and you get to eat chocolate. It's a win-win situation."
The dragon turned her face towards me. She opened her mouth, as if to speak, but then suddenly cut herself off by closing it. She repeated this motion several times before finally making up her mind.
"…Very well. I accept," she nodded. "I will allow you to live in exchange for chocolate."
Booyah! I fucking did it! I can't believe I pulled it off!
I felt the urge to strike a victory pose, but stopped myself short. The deal was struck, but its exact terms had yet to be finalized.
"The only thing is that I doubt I can actually feed you enough to fully satisfy you. I mean, I'd love to, but you're a bit too big for that."
"You make a fair point. Fret not, I've the perfect solution."
The dragon's body began radiating a dazzling light the moment she finished speaking. For a second, I thought I should probably close my eyes, but in the end, I never did. I didn't need to; the light faded as rapidly as it appeared.
Like the light, the dragon was gone. In her place stood a girl that looked to be about thirteen or fourteen years old. She was a good bit shorter than me. If I had a little sister, I would imagine her to be the same height as the dragon's current form. Her hair was platinum, her face was charming, and her body so beautifully crafted that I'd almost thought it a piece of art. I simply couldn't believe it to be natural.
Every part of her looked human, save for the horns extruding from her head and the long, draconic tail extending from her waist.
"Why the stare?" she asked. "The look on your face is as silly as that of a goblin's."
"I-I'm just surprised, is all. I didn't know you could do that."
"I've lived a long life. Taking on a human form is mere childsplay," she said, arrogantly.
"What is more important to note is that this form requires less food to satisfy."
I analyzed the dragon girl and confirmed that her race hadn't changed. She was still an ancient dragon.
"The time to fulfill our contract is nigh, demon! Provide me with what you promised!"
She flung her arms around like a spoiled child as she made her demand. The dignified impression she'd given me when we first met was nowhere to be seen.
"A-Alright, but at least put this on first."
I took off my shirt and threw it at her.
"Nn? What are these? Your underclothes?" She narrowed her eyes in confusion.
"Well uh, I can't really look at you the way you are now, so…"
The dragon girl was buck naked, which, admittedly, did make sense. Dragons didn't need clothes, after all. Fortunately, she wasn't the curvy type. I was sure that a certain part of me would've reacted had her appearance just been a slight bit more mature.
"I see, then I suppose it cannot be helped."
The dragon smiled and purposefully struck an alluring pose as she replied. She clearly knew exactly what I was getting at.
"It is exactly as you say. My body is far too charming, and it simply would not not do for you to lose to your temptations and attack me. Very well, I shall dress myself. Do ensure that you compensate me for my efforts though. I believe the brown substance you fed me earlier would suffice."
"Yeah, yeah, I get it already! I'll feed you, so hurry up and get dressed goddammit!"