Chapter 2
The greatest dilemma of a modern human being is, without a doubt—
“What should I eat for lunch?”
I stood in the kitchen with my arms crossed, deep in thought over my late lunch menu.
When I worked as a Hunter, I often skipped meals.
Because of sudden Gate deployments, there was rarely time to sit down and eat properly.
Most days, I’d just chew on a dry energy bar, and when even that felt like too much effort, I’d gulp down a mana recovery potion instead.
Now that I thought about it, my old lifestyle had really been a mess.
“Should I just eat an energy bar again…?”
No.
That wasn’t right.
I’d already quit being a Hunter.
There was no reason to live like that anymore.
Since today was my first day in my new home—my fresh start—I decided I should cook myself a proper meal.
“…The problem is ingredients.”
The nearest supermarket was all the way in town—a bit too far for a quick trip. Fortunately, I’d found some leftover groceries among my moving boxes.
Rice, eggs, Spam, some old kimchi, and a bit of seaweed flakes.
That was about it.
“What can I make with this…”
Kimchi fried rice, maybe? Simple, delicious, and quick.
Decision made, I started cooking.
Click! Fwoosh!
The gas stove lit perfectly. Thankfully, there was still some gas left in the tank.
I poured a generous amount of oil into a hot frying pan and tossed in chopped kimchi and diced Spam.
Chhh—!
The sizzle filled the air, and the savory aroma immediately spread through the kitchen. The glossy, oil-coated kimchi and Spam shimmered invitingly.
“That’s the stuff.”
When they were nicely browned, I lowered the heat and added rice.
I stir-fried until the grains loosened and turned golden before turning off the flame.
I topped it with a soft-fried egg and sprinkled some seaweed flakes. Not bad at all—looked like something straight out of a restaurant.
“Might as well eat outside.”
I placed the bowl on a small tray and carried it to the wooden porch. Sitting down, I looked out at the still-empty yard and picked up my spoon.
My first bite—just the fried rice.
“Mmm…!”
A sound of delight escaped my lips.
The deep flavor of the kimchi and the salty, rich taste of the Spam filled my mouth. The fluffy rice grains blended perfectly with the rest.
“This is… amazing.”
Next, I poked the egg with my spoon.
The runny yolk spilled out, coating the rice in a golden sheen.
I scooped up a bite and tasted it.
“Wow…”
Despite the spiciness, the egg’s smoothness balanced it out, and the kimchi’s crunch gave it the perfect texture.
Was I always this good at cooking?
It wasn’t even complicated—I just threw everything into a pan! But the result was so good it almost shocked me.
“Maybe it’s just been too long since I’ve had home-cooked food.”
I kept eating as I looked out at the peaceful scenery.
The air was crisp and clean. The spring sunlight warm. In the distance, the soft murmur of a stream reached my ears.
A far cry from the dark, suffocating dungeons where I’d gnawed on stale energy bars.
“Yeah… let’s not think about the past.”
I was about to scrape up the last of my perfect fried rice when—
“……Byeol!”
A faint cry echoed from somewhere.
At first, I thought I misheard it.
“Bye, bye!”
There it was again.
What was that? An animal? A stray creature?
Curious—and a little uneasy—I set down my spoon and began looking around.
“Sounded like it came from over there…”
I crouched and peered under the porch. Nothing. Just some old farm tools.
I straightened up—
“Byee!”
“Ahh!”
I jumped in surprise, smacking my head on the porch.
But the pain vanished instantly when I saw what had appeared in the yard.
A tiny creature—its body covered in silvery scales that shimmered like molten metal.
It had a chubby body, stubby limbs, two small horns, and a pair of wings.
Wait a second—
“A… lizard?”
“How dare you call me a lizard!”
The “lizard” talked.
“Obviously, A real dragon?
Its high-pitched, almost childlike voice didn’t match its pompous tone at all.
I blinked hard, staring again.
Yeah… definitely not a lizard. And that look—it was familiar.
Not from experience, but from a book.
Specifically, The Great Compendium of Legendary Gate Monsters (with Compatibility Chart & Mini Handbook).
Which meant—
“…It’s a real dragon?”
If my guess was right… this was a newborn dragon hatchling.
It tried to hop onto the porch but failed miserably with its short legs.
“Why is this thing so high!”
After a few grunts and wiggles, it finally clambered up and puffed out its tiny chest.
“Hmph! Child’s play!”
Then, with exaggerated dignity, it waddled toward me—flapping its wings slightly with each step, wobbling adorably.
Without thinking, I reached out to pat its head—
Wait. No.
Hold up.
A dragon? Here? Out of nowhere?
My Gate Monitoring App was silent. That meant there hadn’t been a Gate within 50 kilometers.
So how could a dragon just… appear?
Is this what they call “cat adoption” but with dragons? Dragon-picking?
Before I could think further—
Hey!
The dragon leaned toward my meal, drooling visibly.
“Give me food!”
“…What?”
“I’m starving, Darling!”
Oh.
It wanted to eat.
“You’re hungry? You want this?”
“Huhhhh!”
It nodded so hard its whole body wobbled.
Feeding a baby dragon didn’t sound like a great idea… and this was kimchi fried rice—it was spicy!
Could dragons even eat rice?
“Hold on. I’ll find you something else—”
“No! I want that one! It smells delicious!”
Well… if it insisted.
I scooped a tiny spoonful of fried rice and held it out.
The dragon took it carefully, chewing with its tiny mouth and flapping its wings in delight.
“Tasty?”
“Hey!”
It chirped happily.
I added a bit of egg next time.
Its eyes sparkled, and it giggled like a toddler.
Too cute.
Without realizing it, I kept feeding it more and more.
Before long, the little dragon was shoving its snout into the bowl, devouring everything.
Once it finished, it flopped onto the porch, belly round and shiny.
“Byaaaah…”
Completely stuffed.
I couldn’t help but smile.
“Full now?”
“Yup! I might explode!”
“Then it’s time for you to go home.”
“Bye, byeee…?”
Its face froze in shock. Its eyes widened as if to say, How could you be so heartless?
Still, I had no plans to raise a dragon.
“No way. I can’t.”
Even cat or dog adoption was too much for me, let alone dragon adoption.
Then again…
Dragons were exceptionally rare. Even in Gates, they were near-mythical.
Most recorded ones were red or green.
A silver-scaled dragon like this? Never heard of it.
Which meant… this little one was probably one of a kind—and likely powerful beyond imagination.
“Should I… maybe keep it?”
The thought crossed my mind—but then, pain shot through my right arm.
Twinge.
The arm with the broken mana circuit.
“…Right.”
I sighed.
A washed-up, crippled ex-Hunter like me? Raise a dragon? Impossible.
I steadied my voice.
“I’ll take you home. Where do you live?”
“I don’t know, Byul-ah.”
“Your parents?”
“Don’t know that either.”
“Then… what do you know?”
It shook its head sadly.
“I don’t remember anything, ughhh…”
Apparently, it had hatched right here in my backyard and had no idea where it came from or how long it had been sleeping.
I rubbed my temple.
“What am I supposed to do with this…”
Of all the things to happen on my first day of country life, this was not on the list.
“Should I report it to the Gate Monster Research Institute?”
If I did, they’d send people right away. It was, after all, an extremely rare species.
But before I could decide—
“I want to stay here! Ughhh!”
The dragon suddenly clung to my leg.
And in that instant—
[The Mythic-Class Dimensional Dragon ‘Asphelor’ has chosen you.]
[Will you accept the role of Guardian of the Mythic-Class Dimensional Dragon ‘Asphellor’?]
Yes / No
…What!?
