Chapter 4 : Golden Misfortune

"I fucked up," Ye-Rin muttered, her voice barely above a whisper as she gripped her brand-new ax. The cool metal of the weapon did little to steady her trembling hands. "What do you mean you fucked up? What did you do?" I demanded, my tone a mixture of concern and exasperation. She hesitated before lifting a holographic profile into view. "My Status Window..." she replied. The screen displayed her character’s details in crisp, digital text: Name: Shin Ye-Rin Race: Human     Age: 19 Nature: Lucky Roulette Master Class: Dragon Rider Sub-Class: (Unlocks after Mission 5) Title: (Unlocks after Subclass) Level: 001 Strength: 020    HP: 014 Agility: 004     Mana: 002 Stamina: 010 You have incredible luck. • You have an affinity with Dragons. • You can summon a Dragon of your own choice. • "Stats Sharing" with your summoned Dragon. • "Wryen’s Command": Tame and handle Wryen-type monsters. Note: 50% of your stats are shared. Once the dragon is summoned, it cannot be unsummoned. For "Wryen’s Command" to work, you must be stronger than the alpha of its pack. To Summon a Dragon, Press Here! • You can select one weapon of your choice. (Selected: DrakeCleaver (B-)) A double-sided battle axe with curved, dragon-fang-shaped blades forged from scaled dragonsteel. Its dark metallic sheen is accentuated by glowing draconic runes, and the obsidian-black handle—wrapped in supple dragonhide leather—culminates in a dragon claw tip. The blades emit a subtle, pulsing glow, resonating with a dragon’s nervous system to calm them for taming. Intricate ancient engravings along the axehead reinforce its mystical bond with dragonkind. ("Dragon’s Lullaby": When held near a wild or enraged dragon, the axe emits a subsonic frequency that soothes the creature.) ("Infernal Bite": The blades store heat from previous attacks, releasing flames upon command.) ("Scalebound Grip": The weapon naturally clings to its wielder, preventing disarmament by conventional means.) Before I could even process this, Ye-Rin’s screen flickered and another window materialized—strikingly similar to the one I’d seen when selecting my own weapon: To Summon a Dragon [Press Here!] ("Confirmed") A cascade of warnings scrolled beneath: Note: Dragons are nearly Divine Beasts. Your current level is extremely low—its class will be lowered. The summoned Dragon takes the form of what the user teaches. Dragons are prideful; if you fail their Test, they become wild monsters. The dragon appears in the area and must be tamed by Day 6 or it will transform into a boss monster. If it is killed before or after taming, the penalty is Instant Death. Both my mother and I stood in stunned silence. "You should have read all the details before summoning a dragon!" I yelled, anger mingling with disbelief. Ye-Rin’s face flushed scarlet as she dropped her ax, its descent echoing a bitter finality. "I didn’t know... Nothing was written until after I pressed confirm," she stammered. "Those damn demons," I fumed, "they’re messing with us—literally daring us to screw up!" Mother, ever the calm voice in chaos, added, "It must be because your Ye-Rin Card was Platinum. You’ve been given a sub-quest of your own." Her words confirmed my suspicions—and only deepened my frustration. I drew aside the curtain on the balcony, peering into the sky. High above the beach, a giant dark-blue void marred the heavens like a wound in reality. "How long until that thing comes down?" I asked. "It says about 12 hours... Wait... wa-wait. What’s happening?" Ye-Rin’s voice quavered as a new barrage of messages began to pop up on her screen: ~ You are the first to summon a Dragon successfully without dying. ~ As a reward, the waiting time is reduced to zero. ~ The Dragon of Thunderstorm, Voltrax, has accepted your request. ~ You have summoned the dragon in the first round. ~ Appropriate penalty will be placed on Voltrax. ~ The Dragon has lost its original name. ~ Its stats are reduced to level 20. ~ If not tamed by Day 6 of Golden Hell, it will become a Boss Monster on Day 7. ~ Good luck. At that exact moment, a massive blue portal tore open above us, its edges crackling with arcs of electricity as the very fabric of reality trembled over the sunlit beach. The once-calm waves recoiled, and the air itself seemed to hold its breath. Then, from the swirling vortex, emerged a colossus. A three-headed golden dragon—towering twenty stories high—stepped onto the sand. Its serpentine necks moved with a terrifying grace, each head crowned with razor-sharp horns and piercing, glowing eyes. Molten-gold scales caught the sunlight, casting dazzling reflections across the beach. With a tremendous beat of its colossal wings, it plunged the area into shadow, and its roar—a deafening, triple-voiced shriek—sent shockwaves that bent palm trees and fractured the quiet of the shore. Crackling golden lightning danced along its massive frame, igniting the air with raw energy. "Hey, Ye-Rin!" I called out, watching her stand near Mother as she fixated on the summoned beast. "Isn’t that basically Monster Zero from Gojira: King of the Monsters?" "It did say that dragons take the form of the user’s imagination," Mother replied evenly, her eyes scanning the creature with an analyst’s precision. "Do we need to tame that thing?" Ye-Rin asked, her voice tinged with dread. "Absolutely," I said firmly. "If you don’t tame it, you’ll face that deadly penalty. We must secure it." "But what about its stats?" Mother wondered aloud, squinting as if trying to divine secrets from the creature itself. I shrugged. "Do your eyes work like mine? Remember when you used a blunt chair to stun that bat? They can reveal stats." Mother grinned in recollection. "Right, that helped me take it down in one strike." Ye-Rin tapped a tab on her profile, and another window appeared—this one detailing the dragon’s abilities: Name: Forgotten Race: Dragon     Age: Unidentified Nature: Thunderstorm Title: (Unlocks after Subclass) Level: 20 (Temporary) Strength: 350    HP: 2500 Agility: 200    Mana: 500 Stamina: 350 Ruler of Thunderstorm Mother’s eyes widened in disbelief. "That thing is a monster." I exhaled slowly, the weight of our predicament settling over me. "We can’t tame it at our current level. We have five days to level up if we’re going to save Ye-Rin—and our skins. Luckily, after that ear-splitting roar, it’s gone into a deep sleep." Suddenly, Ye-Rin grabbed the left sleeve of my shirt. "Brother!" she cried. "Relax," I soothed, meeting her fearful gaze. "Nothing’s going to happen to you. But I need you to be brave. I want you to be the tank for our party." Her eyes darted with uncertainty. "W-what do you mean?" A small, reassuring smile tugged at my lips. "You’ll take the brunt of the enemy’s attacks, holding them off while the rest of us strategize." Before she could respond further, a new message flashed before her eyes: ~ Shin Mi-Sun wants you to join a party. [Accept]   [Decline] Ye-Rin turned to Mother, incredulous. "What? Isn’t it normal to form parties so we can share EXP?" Mother nodded, as though this were the most natural thing in the world. "Exactly." I continued, "We’re staying the night here. At 6:00 AM tomorrow, we leave for hunting. Pack the essentials and get some rest—trust me, we’re going to need all the energy we can muster." Ye-Rin managed a nervous smile as she patted her cheeks. "Thanks for trying to lighten the mood, Hyung. I’ll do my best." As Mother and Ye-Rin retreated to their rooms, I stared out at the dormant behemoth, its golden scales glinting even in sleep. In a quiet, almost desperate whisper, I added, "I hope you’re safe too, Han Ji-a."