**Chapter 2: Waking Up as a Dragon**
*Translated by Vine | Proofread by Lust*
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When I opened my eyes, I found myself lying in a mountain forest.
It felt strange, to say the least. As I stared up at the unfamiliar sky, I had one thought: *Ah, I must be dreaming*. After all, this wasn’t my house, and nothing around me looked familiar.
Thinking it was a lucid dream, I tried to sit up.
“Huh?”
But the moment I moved, a loud *thud* echoed through the ground, as if an earthquake had struck. Startled, I froze, and only when I stopped moving did the ground stop shaking.
Breathing a sigh of relief, I slowly wiped the sweat from my brow. That’s when I noticed something terribly off.
“*This… this isn’t my hand!*”
I didn’t scream, but I probably should have. Covering my arm were black scales, and instead of human fingers, I had sharp claws. And worst of all, I could feel them. These monstrous hands… were *my* hands.
As I stared at the dark blue scales that now covered my body, a sense of panic welled up inside me. This was no ordinary dream—something had changed.
“This can’t be….”
But the more I looked, the more the memories came rushing back.
That’s right. I recognized this form.
This was the avatar I had customized in a game. Could it be? Had I somehow reincarnated into my game character?
“…I don’t get it! How could something this ridiculous happen out of nowhere? There wasn’t even a warning or anything!”
I was completely clueless.
Let me think—what exactly happened before I ended up here?
“There was no typical isekai truck, no godly being giving me a new life, no strange fortune teller. Hell, I didn’t even write a 5,700-word rant to some poor web novel author….”
Nothing. There was nothing that could explain how this happened!
I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself and piece together the situation.
“Okay, let’s sort this out.”
First off, I was an ordinary guy. A typical 20-something who liked video games.
Before I found myself here, I had been playing a high-freedom TRPG-style game where you create your character sheet and explore the world based on that character. I remembered setting up my character and fully customizing it with my ideal backstory.
“The problem is… now I’m stuck as that character in the middle of a random mountain.”
That much was clear. But why? What had gone wrong? Was it because I got so hyped up about how perfect my character was that I kicked my computer tower in excitement? Or maybe because I carelessly shut off the power when a blue screen popped up?
“Ugh, none of this makes sense! I can’t remember anything that would explain this!”
Try as I might, I couldn’t recall any event that could have led to this bizarre situation.
But still…
“I liked controlling things in games, not *being* the things I controlled….”
I sighed, looking down at my scaled hand. As cool as this dragon form was, I much preferred controlling it from behind a screen, not living as it.
If I had ended up as a regular human, at least I wouldn’t feel so out of place.
“Plus, there’s no way I can just stroll back home like this.”
The problem was that my customized character wasn’t a normal person at all!
“I need a mirror or something… huh?”
No sooner had I wished for it than an ice-like reflective surface appeared in front of me. Surprised, I quickly realized that this must be one of my character’s abilities—being a master of all kinds of magic.
Summoning an ice mirror was probably as easy as breathing for this body. With a mix of nervousness and excitement, I leaned forward to check my reflection.
“Whoa… this is… amazing.”
Standing over 50 meters tall, my body was a blend of blue, yellow, and red scales that shimmered in the light. Unlike traditional Western dragons that walked on all fours, I stood on two legs, more reminiscent of an Eastern dragon, with two massive wings that extended from my back.
Four solid horns jutted out from my head, giving me a regal, almost divine appearance.
In short, I didn’t look like some evil Western dragon. I looked like a majestic, holy Eastern dragon—almost like a dragon-human hybrid.
“No matter how you look at it, I’m not a human anymore… I’m a dragon. A ridiculously good-looking one, but still a dragon.”
Lastly, I noticed my eyes—calm, gentle, and blue. It finally sank in: I was no longer human. I had become a dragon.
There was no way I could just waltz into a city like this. If I even tried, the military would probably treat me as a monster and try to hunt me down.
Given how powerful this character was, I might be able to fend off medieval armies easily, but…
“Hmm, this is definitely modern-day Earth, isn’t it?”
With my enhanced dragon senses, I could clearly see beyond the mountain to the city in the distance. The tall apartment buildings, the modern architecture… it was unmistakably the world I knew.
But why had I ended up in the modern era instead of a typical medieval fantasy world where I could roam freely?
“What should I do…?”
If this were a regular fantasy world, I could probably just go around doing whatever I wanted without much trouble.
But this was the modern world!
Surveillance satellites could spot me from space, and if modern military forces unleashed their firepower on me, it would definitely hurt—no matter how big or tough I was.
Even a massive dragon like me wouldn’t stand a chance against the firepower of a modern army! The military would probably scream, “Don’t underestimate modern technology, fantasy creature!” before blasting me to pieces!
“Plus, if there’s someone like me, there might be other beings or people out there strong enough to take me down.”
It wouldn’t be surprising if, like in novels, there were superhuman hunters out there who hunted monsters.
The more I thought about it, the more I began to panic.
What if, the moment I made myself known, I ended up captured and dissected by greedy humans for my precious scales and organs?
“Think, brain! Think! Left brain! Right brain! Come up with a way I can live alongside humans peacefully!”
I had already given up on fighting. I needed to figure out a way to coexist with humanity.
But no matter how much I thought about it, I kept imagining the same outcome: being hunted down the moment I revealed myself to the public.
Still, there was one option left.
“If I remember my character’s sheet correctly….”
I recalled the character profile I had written back in my human life. This dragon was a benevolent, kind-hearted being—a protector of the weak.
A dragon who sympathized with the oppressed and was always willing to help those in need without expecting anything in return.
“Helping people without asking for anything in return?”
An idea started forming in my mind.
Since I couldn’t avoid being a dragon, I might as well enjoy it. I would role-play my character to the fullest!
“Alright, time to build a temple where people can come and form contracts with me!”
In many games, dragons weren’t just creatures to be hunted—they were also revered as god-like beings you could form alliances with.
I would establish myself as a dragon that helps humans and, through forming contracts, build trust with them. If word got out that I was a benevolent dragon willing to aid humanity, I might even be accepted as a good neighbor instead of an enemy!
It was the perfect plan—full of dreams and hope!
“Of course, I’ll have to be picky about who I form contracts with.”
I wasn’t going to make deals with just anyone. If I was going to help people, it had to be in dramatic, meaningful moments. That’s the whole point of this role-playing thing!
“And with magic, I can easily bring this plan to life.”
With my mind made up, I decided to act quickly.
I used a spell to turn myself invisible and began moving through the forest, my massive body stirring up a ruckus that would’ve been impossible to ignore—if not for the soundproofing magic I cast.
The mountain where I had woken up was a high, remote area, and I decided to carve out a massive cave where I could build my temple and start my new life as a dragon god.
“Alright, let’s check off this bucket list!”
This was going to be more fun than I’d expected.
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