Collisions with otherworlds also mean there’s a clash in myths, systems, and symbols scattered all around the world.
The more universal a symbol is, the greater its impact.
Case in point — dragons.
They appear in myths, legends, and heroic stories both in the east and west although their meanings vary by region.
With a few exceptions, the idea of dragons in the east generally symbolized the power of nature, kings, agents of gods, and wise men.
Dragons are engraved on garments and sediments of emperors in the East.
‘But dragons of the west are different.’
In the west, dragons are described as a being that needed to be hunted.
Beowulf, the German hero who slayed a dragon to save people.
Hercules, a hero that slayed a dragon as one of his twelve tasks.
Aside from them, there were countless named dragons that were slain by heroes.
One was the dragon that Cadmus killed, Drakon Ismenios.
One difference is that Cadmus eventually became a dragon himself.
‘Considering the reason why Cadmus became a dragon, it’s reasonable that he’d hate dragons even more.’
Drakon Ismenios, the protector of the sacred spring of Ares, killed one of Cadmus’ subordinates who was searching for water.
In revenge, Cadmus killed the dragon and pulled out his teeth, and planted it on the ground.
In the wake of the incident, Cadmus’ descendants were cursed for generations and lived as servants of god for eight years.
Because the dragon that Cadmus killed was the son of Ares and Demeter.
Their successors all lived unhappy lives, and Cadmus couldn’t overcome his guilt.
So he prayed.
That he’d rather turn into a dragon.
And so he did.
‘At first read, it would seem like the hero received grace by becoming a dragon, but that’s not the case. Considering Cadmus’ worldview, it’s like he was cursed and turned into the monster that he hates.’
Cadmus went to Elysion, and after the collision between worlds, he returned after having some kind of contract with the Black Screen.
In this turbulent world, Cadmus was classified as a non-human royal lineage and a member of the Dragon Clan.
However, as a dragon that was first a hero that slayed dragons, he wasn’t involved with the Dragon Clan.
Rather, he killed dragons to fulfill his contract with the Black Screen.
‘There’s a story that Cadmus spawned the Spartoi, armed warriors that came from the Dragon Fang that he pulled from Drakon Ismenios, and those Spartoi ended up fighting among themselves. There’s a limit on how many times he can use the Dragon’s Fang, but… I’m sure he’ll use it on Yong Jegun.’
Cadmus’ main weapon is a spear.
Although Cadmus has excellent skills and abilities, he would be against the mythical dragon, one of the most powerful in the Dragon Clan.
Cadmus would surely use it on Yong Jegun, the Dragon King’s valued son.
‘In PMH, he used it on Cheongryong and Yeom Junyeol’s teacher. He has a different target nearby now, so he’ll surely use it this time.’
Thanks to intelligence, Cheongryong survived in the game.
However, Yeom Junyeol’s teacher was pierced in the neck by the Dragon’s Fang.
If there’s anything in the legends that are powerful enough to block the power of dragons, it’s not with Yong Jegun since he only carries around one item.
If he runs into Cadmus, Yong Jegun’s life would be in great danger.
I needed to come up with something to prevent this.
‘Cadmus has a weakness.’
As the Hero of Thebes, Cadmus vowed one thing — to not harm humans.
With this, Cadmus placed strict restrictions on himself so as not to repeat his mistakes before.
And so before we confronted Cadmus, I proposed something to Yong Jegun.
“I have a suggestion.”
“Tell me.”
Yong Jegun answered readily.
“The opponent is waiting for you, Professor Jegun. If you don’t show up, he’ll know something is up.”
“That’s correct in terms of the rules of ambush. So?”
Yong Jegun seemed prepared to accept my suggestion.
Considering my playable character’s personality, I know he’d reject it if he knew exactly what would happen, so I decided to leave out some parts.
I loosened my uniform’s necktie.
“I’ll disguise myself as you, Professor Jegun. Although our appearance would be different, people of royal lineage can generally control their appearance on the basis of age. Professor, please change to an age similar to my physique.”
“…The ability that lets you turn into Junyeol!”
Yong Jegun looked ecstatic as he gave his consent without question.
Yong Jegun and I quickly turned around and changed clothes.
After changing, I looked at Yong Jegun.
Yong Jegun is now of similar height to Jo Euishin, a 17-year-old student.
He’s wearing my school uniform, and his long hair is hidden in the uniform’s jacket.
“This is amazing, Euishin! I’ve seen countless transformation skills, but none of them are on this level.”
I already transformed into Yong Jegun, and I was now taller than him.
He looked at me in wonder and I felt somewhat embarrassed to see Yong Jegun do that while wearing a uniform with my nametag on it.
“I’m sure you can use my skills. What about my light skill? No, you can summon Junyeol’s Hongryong, that means you can use my light skill of course.”
Yong Jegun kept talking with this ecstatic expression on his face, and even though he’s disguised as someone else, I think anyone could recognize him like this.
So I took out the crow mask and gave it to Yong Jegun.
“It can’t be helped, but I sure don’t like the Crow Devil.”
Yong Jegun was still in quite a good mood, so he complied as he grumbled while wearing the crow mask.
‘Yong Jegun knows about my exchange with Sidelentium. I wonder how much he knows about the crow devil.’
Come to think of it, Yong Jegun also said last time that he wasn’t fond of the crow.
— Euishin, you seem to treasure your crow mask. Does it have any special meaning?
— Why?
— The Crow Devil and I have very very different tastes, and something recently caught my attention.
Taste, something that caught his attention.
His words had a lot of things that bothered me, but now is not the time for that.
Right now, we have to deal with Cadmus.
‘Having him wear the mask makes it difficult to recognize him as Yong Jegun.’
He looked perfectly like a simple student wearing a mask.
All his defining features — his long cyan hair, ecstatic expression, and eyes — were hidden.
The only thing left is for him to stifle his presence.
“Professor Jegun, please hide your presence as a royal lineage, but still show yourself.”
“Right. If I compress transparent spaces and stack them in layers, I’d be able to hide my presence even though it would be a bit difficult to move.”
“Then once we encounter the enemy, I’ll get his attention. Please take the chance to make a surprise attack.”
Cadmus has a weapon that can neutralize a dragon’s attack, but it cannot prevent everything.
If I draw his attention and make him throw the Dragon’s Fang at me, it could work.
And so my plan went as I imagined.
Kwaaadeuk! Fwak!
The burning pain of my back and shoulder being stabbed went through me.
I reflexively invoked a spatial technique, but the Dragon’s Fang destroyed it and penetrated my body.
At that moment, I couldn’t help but relax and smile.
‘He attacked me instead of Yong Jegun!’
Following the sense of achievement that things went as planned, the intense pain suddenly hit me.
Perhaps it’s because of the adrenaline rush, but I couldn’t feel the pain at first.
Anger followed that terrible feeling of pain.
‘This thing almost pierced through Yong Jegun…!’
I almost lost myself, but I needed to get behind my next move.
There was something I needed to confirm before that, and Cadmus’ startled voice did it.
“…Απολλωv!”
Cadmus seemed to realize what kind of being he just attacked.
He saw right through the appearance of my playable character that I copied.
‘He knows who’s protecting and gave an order my playable character.’
All dragons of the Orient are protected by the Dragon King.
But this is something he wouldn’t have imagined.
I, who’s in the appearance of Yong Jegun, just showed that I have Apollo’s light skill and order.
“He said ‘Apollo’ just now… Impossible!”
Yong Jegun must’ve realized what I had done.
In my hand, I held the card of The Fate of the Unknown.
The character I selected through that card is none other than Ham Geunhyung.
Professor Ham Geunhyung is known for so many things, one of which is his connection with four superior beings.
One of those beings is Apollo, a being that also has a connection to Cadmus.
‘Cadmus vowed to never harm those that the Greek God cherishes. But now that he essentially stabbed Professor Ham Geunhyung with the Dragon’s Fang…!’
Right now, I am both a dragon and a human with Apollo’s order.
When Cadmus pierced me with that Dragon’s Fang, he broke his vow to the gods.
‘…Maybe it’s because two light skills are overlapping? I’m a dragon right now but since I’m also human, it seems like I’m not dying.’
In the midst of my intense pain, I deactivated my Player Identity skill.
When I was no longer in Yong Jegun’s appearance, the Dragon’s Fang lost its strength and fell from my body.
As a punishment for breaking his vow, the Dragon’s Fang began to rot and disappear.
As it did, blood began to flow from my body.
Drip, drop…
The sudden increase in bleeding made me extremely dizzy.
‘I still have something to do…!’
I transformed into Professor Ham Geunhyung’s appearance, and Yong Jegun supported me as I fell.
“Don’t move! Use your recovery item!”
Yong Jegun said while invoking his spatial skill.
At that moment…
Flames erupted as the jade-color space and Cadmus collided in front of my eyes.
Fwaaaa! Clash!
Cadmus, who knew that the Dragon’s Fang was now unusable, surged at Yong Jegun with his spears.
It’s not as powerful as the Dragon’s Fang, but Cadmus was known to have defeated dragons with only a spear as his weapon.
I can’t waste time using recovery items.
I decided to immediately do my next move.
<Using character’s light skill, Marksman’s Sight, and Bare Bow.>
A shrine with the light of the sun appeared above my hands.
Along with Apollo’s arrow aimed directly at Cadmus.
