The man reeled me in and gave me an odd look, as if shocked by what I did. He furrowed his brow and said, “You’re not a Northlands frost dragon…”

‘Eh, no. Apparently not. Sorry to disappoint.’

Obviously, he couldn’t hear me, even though I wished he could. The guy inspected me, as if I was broken or something. Up and down, left and right—hell, I felt incredibly exposed right now, and for a second, I thought that he wasn’t going to let me walk away. Until he settled me down on the floor and then leaned over to the charred bodies on the other side of the cage.

Finally, a smirk found his face. And then, a transparent screen appeared between him and the dead goblins opened up.

It looked like my codex, maximized to the [Inventory Section]. I hadn’t realized yet that you could [Inspect] bodies and then loot them afterward as a sub-action, with their inventory panels open for everyone else to see.

Again, RPG mechanics.

It was going to take some time for me to get used to the way things worked around here, even though I was an avid gamer. And I’d expect it to take even more time for me to get used to being an actual inhabitant, rather than a character behind a computer screen. But I hoped I could learn quickly— so far, this world seemed pretty unforgiving, with a pretty steep survival curve.

He checked Fos first. He started rummaging through items, ignoring me for the time being. I watched as he pocketed a few things—a goblin dagger imbued with magic, a bag of gold coins, a crimson potion bottle, just to name a few. He then moved to the [Skill Scroll Locker] of the goblin’s codex and began snatching different scrolls.

It was that easy.

One would think a locker that important would have a combination lock or something.

After he took everything he wanted there, including a healing potion that he downed in less than two seconds, he turned to Grezzly and snatched only one item—an eye in a small jar filled with clear liquid.

Startled, I took two steps back, my chest skipping a beat. He got up on his feet right after he looted the goblin, and then raised the jar to face-level.

It was his eye… the one that was gouged right out of his skull.

My face was twisted with disgust. He looked at it for a moment, swirling it around the jar gently before pocketing it in his inventory. His good eye turned to Grezzly’s remains, and then he smashed his leather black boot right into the goblin’s crispy noggin.

The man sucked his teeth and grunted, “Good riddance.”

‘Crap. Not only did they beat you dirty, but they took your eye, too? Those heathens!’

Immediately, he snapped his head down to me and dropped his jaw. “What? You could talk?”

‘Hold on, you can understand me?!’

“Now I can,” he said, turning to me fully. “After I took my shit back from those fuckers. I have a rare dragon scale crystal in my inventory that allows me to speak telepathically to dragons. It is active as long as it is in my inventory.”

‘Soooo… normally they can’t talk at all, or…?’

He snorted. “Are you serious?”

‘Hey, cut me some slack. I’m not from here.’

“You’re also an infant. So I’m shocked you can communicate with me at all. Hmm, as a matter of fact,” he uttered curiously, and then he proceeded to approach me. I felt cornered, backing myself into a tree, contemplating if I should attack him. At this point, I was unsure of his intentions, the guy suddenly crouching across from me, the both of us a mere two feet apart.

I could easily unleash hell’s fury on him, but something told me to hold off on attacking.

He scratched his chin and squinted skeptically. “You don’t look like any other dragon I’d seen before…”

‘Heh! Well, my mother did always say that I was a unique child.’

“Dragons are a savage race, and a dying one, too. Humans hunt them.”

I gulped.

“Usually they don’t talk, nor do they have the ability to, not until they are at a higher evolution stage. And even then, they could only talk telepathically to other dragons, and those who have the crystalized dragon scale from the depths of Regori’s Volcano valley. You’re much too young to be formulating cohesive thoughts and sentences. Something’s not right here.”

I blinked at him, my scales shimmering in the growing twilight. ‘So... what does that mean for me?’

There was a looming pause that I just had to fill.

‘Let me just say, before you get any crazy thoughts, I did save you!’

“I am aware, but it changes nothing.”

What?!

“You said you’re not from here. So tell me, where did you come from?”

‘Would you believe me if I said I’m a reincarnation?’

He looked at me funny.

‘From Earth?’

“No, I wouldn’t. But that would clear up a few things.”

‘Honestly, I’m still in the loop here. My codex gave me a vague, and I mean vague overview of why I was reincarnated. Something about dooming people if I don’t accept my destiny. The fate of two worlds rests on my shoulders.’

Again, he paused, but this time, he broke out in gut-wrenching laughter.

Okay, that reaction was valid.

“You?!” he choked out between bursts of laughter. “The fate of two worlds falling on an infant dragon’s shoulders? That’s one diabolical punch-line, kid.”

‘Well, I’m gonna evolve, aren’t I?!’ I retorted indignantly. My tiny claws dug deeper into the ground, my pride pricked. ‘Before this, I was just a regular girl living my very mundane and boring life as a waitress at some diner. I wasn’t anyone special, but this codex saw something in me and brought me here on a mission. I fully accept this mission, and therefore, don’t take it lightly.’

“Alright, alright.” He managed to compose himself, wiping away a tear from his lone eye. “Let’s just assume your outrageous claim is true. You’re an Earthling who has been reincarnated here as an infant dragon and is tasked with saving not one but two worlds. What else should I know?”

I tilted my head. ‘Before that, there’s something that I should know. What is the Tournament of Champions?’

He snickered.

‘No, seriously. What is that? My codex said if I don’t accept my destiny, that Earth and Etheryn will become enslaved. I imagine worse things could happen…’

“Yeah, we could be auctioned off and blown to bits,” he said, a bit too nonchalantly for the gravity of our situation. “It’s a traditional tournament hosted by an infamous bounty hunter, where the strongest warriors gather to fight for their right to galactic freedom. It’s a sick tradition, and a broken system, too. But, I digress….” He turned his head to me, his expression unreadable. “You know, any sane man would just chuck everything you said into the pig’s play pen. Though, there’s something different about you. I can see it in your gaze. Which means that there’s a good chance that you’re not lying to me.”

‘Why would I lie about something like this?’

“To save your hide, for one. I could kill you and have you for supper.”

‘What’s with everyone trying to eat me?!’

He chuckled. “I wasn’t in the market for a dragon pet, but, I guess we’ll just have to make this work, now, won’t we? You’re the most entertaining little thing I’ve met thus far.”

‘Hey, I’m not a pet!’

He reached his hand out, offering a handshake. “The name’s Nolan Black.”

I gave him my tiny paw and he shook it gently. ‘Freya Raseni.’ I smiled. ‘Cool name, by the way.’

“And yours sounds like royalty.” He smirked.

My eyes lit up. ‘So you don’t mind me sticking around? Showing me the ropes? You know, everything I need to know about this world and how to survive in it?’

“Well, I’d say you’d be doomed otherwise,” he taunted playfully as he erected himself again. “I feel it is my obligation to mentor you. After all, you’ve been given an important task by your codex. Apparently, my survival depends on your success to level up and enter the tournament.”

‘Huh? Who said anything about entering a tournament?’

“Well, how else are you going to get close enough to Nyx?”

‘Nyx?’

“The bounty hunter made galactic warlord overnight. Nyx Rexius.”

Nyx? Why did that name sound familiar?

‘Does this Nyx guy happen to have a huge bodyguard warlock in a dark suit of armor?’

“You mean Oth?” He raised an eyebrow. “You met Nyx before?”

I lost my breath. ‘He was the one who killed me….’

“Oh shit,” he hesitated. “Sorry about that. I didn’t know he visited worlds like that. And, you know, not blow the entire thing up.”

‘He did it out of sport… our lives meant nothing to him….’

“You know you can’t get hung up on that, right? It’ll eat you up. You need to focus on moving forward.”

‘Yeah… I know. It’s just the wound is still fresh.’

Speaking of wounds, Nolan started to strip a piece of his undershirt across the hem. He then tied it across his naked eye socket, creating some type of eye patch for the gaping wound.

‘About that,’ I started, ‘Shouldn’t you get that checked out?’

“Minor occupational hazard,” he said, but I could tell by the depth of his words that he was pretty broken up about it.

Hell, anyone would be livid for losing a goddamn eye, but I guess he didn’t want to show his emotion to someone he hardly knew just yet.

So I moved the conversation along and asked, ‘Occupational? And what is your occupation exactly?’ I said curiously, trying to distract myself from the severity of his wound.

He smirked and looked down at me. “Bandit. Gun-runner. Mercenary for hire. Wanted Dead or Alive. Whatever slang is floating around town nowadays.”

I laughed inwardly at his joke, and then I had to fix my face when I realized he wasn’t kidding. ‘Wait, you’re serious?!’

“In the words of a spunky dragon baby, why would I lie?”

‘I’m hanging around with a gun-slinging vagabond!’ I shrieked.

“The official term is rogue,” he clarified a lot less defensively than I expected. In fact, he seemed pretty damn proud of his title with that solid smirk on his face. “And yes, yes, you are. Damn, to be so lucky.”

‘You live a dangerous life,’ I observed. ‘I’m not so sure it’s wise to expose myself at this, er, eh-hem, early stage of new life. I might get myself killed hanging around you.’

“You’ll be fine.”

‘But you’re a walking dead man!’ I passionately protested.

“And you’re a dragon discussing the nuances of planetary invasion and galactic warfare,” Nolan pointed out teasingly. “You’re not exactly living a life of sunshine and rainbows either, princess.” He chuckled. “Man, the gods pulled the gag card on this one big time. I’m still trying to wrap my head around you being an Etheryian Champion.”

‘Not yet, at least….’

“You have to reach world level 150 and max out your skill proficiency. Only then would you qualify to be a champion.”

‘That seems very demanding. Not only do I need to hit level 150 and max out my skill proficiency, but my codex wants me to build an army to fight Nyx.’

He laughed. “Heh, I’ll take it back. That’s the punchline.”

‘At least that’s my assumption now that you’ve explained a few things.’ I sulked. ‘So, you think it’s impossible?’

He looked down at me straight and serious for a few seconds before he let out an exasperated sigh. “Life’s cruel. I know that more than anyone. That being said, I don’t want to jump into any conclusions. Not before knowing what you got to work with.”

‘So you have faith in me?’

“There has to be some reason your codex would give you this egregious task. Codices are established by dungeon cores, centralized systems embedded in worlds that were created by the gods. Usually they don’t carve out destinies, only providing stats and sometimes options to classes where some type of proficiency has been already established. So, despite my amusement in all of this, it has to make sense somewhere.”

It was an odd concept, now that I stopped to think about it, to ask him such a thing. I barely knew Nolan, yet for some reason, his trust in me meant something.

I guess it was because he was the only person I knew so far in this strange world. And if I could cling to his faith in me, then maybe I really could level up, build an army, become a champion, and win the tournament so I could stop this galactic jackass. Maybe in all of this, I could even find my mother….

“Hey, up front,” Nolan said, jerking his head forward to a bunch of shadows drawing closer to us. “We got company.”