Chapter 1: The Boss Is Actually Myself
"Roar———"
A massive roar echoed from afar.
It made the mountains tremble, the ground shake, and sent birds and beasts fleeing in terror, startling the young beast deep in the cave awake, bewildered.
"Hiss"
"What on earth happened?"
Lin Kai seemed to have just woken up from a nightmare, his mind still not fully clear.
But instead of the familiar room, there was no high-tech gaming pod and accompanying equipment.
In its place was a dark, warm cave, hard rocks, and even a few scattered gold coins lying around.
"Where is this?"
Lin Kai felt a splitting headache as countless memories surged into his mind. There was magic like a fantasy novel, along with experiences as a player in a previous life.
He only remembered taking on a task from a rich player to grind Giant Fingers in the Giant's Canyon for over eight hours straight.
In the end, unable to keep going physically, he went AFK to catch some sleep, planning to get back into the gaming pod and continue later.
But when he opened his eyes, he inexplicably found himself in this strange place, and his body felt odd.
He struggled to get up, instinctively walking on all fours to a puddle of water nearby.
"A dragon?"
The "beast" before him was covered in dense red scales, with golden slit pupils that exuded a sense of ferocity and brutality.
The body, over three meters long, still had a hint of youthful softness, but many parts showed the beginnings of something savage, with fine sharp teeth, razor-sharp claws, and strong, powerful limbs as proof.
Yes, this was a young dragon.
And it was the most powerful and most ferocious of the five-colored dragons, a red dragon.
His mouth was filled with the scent of sulfur, and deep in his throat, it felt like a volcano was ready to erupt, making Lin Kai feel uncomfortable.
He couldn't help but sneeze, and steam and smoke billowed out from his nostrils.
A translucent blue screen suddenly appeared in front of him.
[Young Red Dragon]
Name: Cassius Claudious Norrixius
Template: NPC (10 years, 1 day, and 18 hours until server launch)
Type: Large Dragon, Lawful Neutral
AC: 18 (natural armor)
Attributes:
Strength — 21
Dexterity — 10
Constitution — 18
Intelligence — 12
Wisdom — 11
Charisma — 14
Skill Proficiencies: Stealth +4, Perception +8, Hunting +2, Escape +4, Knowledge (Future) +4
Damage Immunities: Fire
Senses: Blindsight 10 ft, Darkvision 60 ft, Passive Perception 14 ft
Languages: Draconic, Common
Actions: Bite, Claw, Tail Attack, Flight, Breath Attack (Fire)
Feats: None
Challenge Level: 6 (2100 XP)
Description: "The strong claws and sharp teeth of a red dragon are enough to be an adventurer's nightmare. They often use breath attacks or other special physical attack methods, as well as ancient magic. Never underestimate even a young red dragon, or it will become your lifelong nightmare."
"Did I transmigrate to Erezaghe?"
"And became Kai Ge?"
After browsing through this information for a long time, Lin Kai, or rather Cassius, finally cleared his thoughts and understood his current situation.
He began to recall memories from his past life.
"Erezaghe" is a holographic game based on the Dragon & Dungeon (D&D) system from the last century.
This game has unknown origins, no known publisher, yet boasts technology that can only be described as black magic, claiming to create a real world for players, with over a hundred million players online worldwide at peak times.
From ordinary people to social elites and even business and political giants, countless people are immersed in it; some even live in the game pods all day, only coming out to eat and sleep.
Surrounding this epic masterpiece, a huge market has developed, with each game update even causing fluctuations in the global market. A piece of legendary equipment could fetch a sky-high price in the millions, making it the Bitcoin of the new century, leading more people to throw themselves into this game — he was one of them.
And the so-called "Kai Ge" was now him, real name Cassius Claudious Norrixius, the first world boss in the Erezaghe 1.0 version [Anzeta Turmoil], a wicked red dragon who signed a contract with an abyssal demon.
He had countless titles: Ashen Flame, Mountain Rage Fire, Player Life Reaper, and Newbie Nightmare.
In the early stages of the game, during the [Winter Fury] quest, thousands of players who had just entered the game were tormented by the red dragon's flames, almost drunk on death, unable to hurt the dragon as it soared in the sky.
On average, they died dozens of times, with mountains of scorched player corpses piling up, including many future famous professional players. They finally defeated him only by sacrificing lives in suicide attacks.
This glorious achievement earned Cassius an immortal title — "Kai Ge."
Even now, with the game in its 4.0 version, the level cap raised to 20, players have started exploring the Astral Plane, accepting cross-planar missions, traversing the multiverse, yet stories of Kai Ge still circulate: the tale of a red dragon skilled in roasting players to perfection, turning experts into piles of charred remains.
"Kai Ge's BBQ, unmatched in the world."
But what's the timeline now?
"Roar!"
Another roar outside the nest interrupted Cassius's contemplation.
The powerful aura in the air made the young dragon's heart tremble, but he held back the urge to flee, sneaking over to the cave entrance to peek outside.
In the distant sky, a massive red dragon was flapping its enormous wings, stirring up fierce winds, and looking down on the ground below.
That should be Cassius's current mother. Just from the over twenty-meter-long body, it was clear this was a powerful red dragon in its prime.
"Half-human, half-elf bastard, get off my territory!"
"Do you know who you're facing?"
"Before you stands the favorite offspring of Her Majesty Tiamat, the ruler of the Cloud Peak, the noble and powerful red dragon Arcalenia!"
The red dragon's tone was filled with arrogance, a trait endowed by her bloodline.
Standing fearlessly on the ground, facing the giant dragon was a warrior in dark golden armor, their face blurred, as if shrouded in a faint glow.
From the slightly pointed ears, one could tell they were a half-elf, and the slender frame hinted they were female.
She stood with her sword, her tone firm and calm: "Evil dragon, so arrogant and conceited, yet you cannot foresee your end."
The half-elf stared at the giant dragon in the sky, speaking each word forcefully, "You have plundered unjust wealth and harmed innocent people. Your actions have shattered the justice and order of this entire world."
"No matter what god stands behind you, those of us who uphold our oaths will make you pay the due price — with your life!"
This was the Paladin's Vow of Vengeance!
Finishing her words, the half-elf drew the silver sword from her back.
The red dragon in the sky snorted, let out a long roar, and dove straight down.
Her gaping, ferocious maw looked as if it would tear the tiny half-elf apart.
From deep in her throat, scorching flames burst forth, the searing temperature distorting the air.
"It's the 'Twilight Blade' Rhea."
Cassius couldn't help but think, finally recalling the quest line related to him.
Main Quest: [Winter Fury]
[Ten years ago, the mother of the red dragon Cassius Claudious Norrixius was slain by the wandering half-elf paladin "Twilight Blade" Rhea, and the young red dragon fled in panic. It lurked in the Ansica Mountains, awaiting a chance for revenge against humanity.
Now, it has signed a pact with the ancient demon in the depths of the mountains, becoming the "Ashen Flame," destroying several cities in succession. The evil dragon will lead its wicked army, breaking justice and order, turning the entire Northlands to ashes!]
Now, this was likely the time of that battle between the red dragon and the paladin — ten years before the players' arrival!
From Cassius's view, the half-elf paladin in the distance was at level 20, nearly on the threshold of legendary status, and even bore divine favor, a world-class powerhouse without a doubt.
It's worth noting that a mature red dragon's standard challenge rating is only level 17. Even with a legendary status, it's not enough against a paladin blessed with divine
favor, this kind of "cheater."
Not to mention, this famed "Twilight Blade" had already advanced to legendary status by the 4.0 version in the previous life and was an important NPC in the main storyline of the [Elven Kingdom] series.
It seemed that his dear mother had little hope of survival.
The red dragon shook his head; he had no time to dwell on it. He just flapped his young wings, running and hopping back to the nest, preparing to pack up and flee.
Of course, before leaving his childhood home, he needed to "legitimately take" some starting capital from his dear mother.
"By Tiamat, this is the treasure trove of a red dragon."
"Let's hope it's not too stingy..."
Cassius let out a breath of sulfur-scented heat, shook his body lightly, and stretched his somewhat stiff wings.
Fake D&D, the red dragon's setup is based on 3R, with innate spellcasting levels (5E's flying lizards are really lacking) while player classes mainly reference 5E, with some modifications.
Additionally, it's a game-like otherworld! An alternate world!