I Woke Up as the Villain

The Dragon Egg trembled, swaying from side to side. The cracks on the hard shell’s surface indicated that a creature was about to hatch from it.

Realizing the Dragon Egg that he had been habitually checking every night was showing a significant change, Yu-Seong couldn’t hide his excitement.

‘When I first saw the egg, I thought that it would hatch right away, but…’

After the arrival of winter following a long autumn, the Dragon Egg finally showed signs of hatching. The wait had been much longer than Yu-Seong anticipated.

While waiting for his own Dragon Egg to hatch, Yu-Seong had grown increasingly envious as he witnessed the impressive performance of Antareus, Do-Jin's dragon.

‘I’ve encountered him once in the Tower of Heaven.’

Before the Tower of Heaven, Yu-Seong had last seen Antareus when fighting with the Tyrant of the Swamp. Surprisingly, in that short span of time, Antareus had grown to two heads taller and larger as well. And although he spoke in a clumsy fashion, Antareus could still converse with Do-Jin in the human language.

Certainly, Yu-Seong couldn't help but feel envious. However, finally, he was going to have a Dragon too.

‘We both obtained the Dragons at the same time… It's just that I'm really late. I wonder what this fellow, hatching from a violet Dragon Egg blessed by the god Loki, would look like?’ 

Having watched the egg while eagerly waiting for it to hatch this entire time, Yu-Seong observed the egg finally cracking open. The first thing that emerged from the cracked egg was a fairly long tail.

‘Purple…’

When he first laid eyes on the tail's dark purple color, Yu-Seong suddenly thought of Loki's dark gaze.

‘Well, since Loki blessed it, perhaps it's only natural.’

After that, everything happened in a flash. The Dragon, with its tail emerging first, swiftly freed itself from the shell and vigorously extended its arms. Then, with a loud crack, a head slightly resembling that of a lizard but definitely looked like a Dragon emerged from the shell to reveal itself to the world.

When the Dragon slowly turned its head toward him, Yu-Seong muttered to himself, “Wow, those purple eyes really resemble Loki's.”

At that moment, the Dragon effortlessly brushed off the crumbling eggshell and opened its mouth to speak, "Heh, well, since I am Loki myself, of course I resemble her.”

“Is that so… I mean, what?” exclaimed Yu-Seong.

The moment of excitement about his Dragon’s birth was short-lived. Yu-Seong was so captivated by the sight of the Dragon speaking in human language that his eyes widened in surprise.

“Why? Is it the first time you've seen a Dragon speak as soon as it's born?”

“N-No, it's just... You… Are you really...?”

How come he could clearly perceive Loki's cold and mischievous aura through the Dragon's behavior and demeanor? He had to be mistaken, for sure.

Looking at Yu-Seong’s stunned expression, Loki showed a cool smile on the Dragon’s lips and nodded. “Yes, you're right, Choi Yu-Seong. It is I, a Joke-loving Prankster, who has appeared here!”

The Dragon, or rather Loki, took a short-legged pose commonly seen in animation and, with a twinkle in her violet eyes, said, “Be happy. It's a very rare occurrence.”

“You are joking!”

Yu-Seong could only scream like a mad person.

***

The moment of shock lasted for a long while.

Regardless of Yu-Seong's expression, Loki showed no concern at all. She simply showed a pleased smile while hopping around the vast room on her short legs to check her physical condition.

"Hmm, the body of a Dragon is indeed excellent. The ability to be so active upon waking up,” muttered Loki calmly. Then, looking over at Yu-Seong, she said, "Choi Yu-Seong, I have a favor to ask of you."

"Uh?"

"Put me up on the bed," said Loki confidently as she stretched her short arms. With her wings still not fully unfolded, she asked, "Since I've become a Dragon, shouldn’t I have to practice using my wings?"

“That’s something you can handle yourself…”

"Unfortunately, my arms and legs are too short. I might be able to fly if I use mana, but I'd prefer to fly using my own body... By the way, if you don't listen to me, I'll throw a tantrum on the floor," said Loki.

"Is that something a god should say?" said Yu-Seong.

"As you know, I don't have the dignity of a god. Are you going to keep resisting?" asked Loki, who was still in the form of a Dragon.

“Sure, sure,” said Yu-Seong.

Yu-Seong let out a deep sigh as he lifted Loki, who had taken on the attitude of a cat being served by a cat butler, onto the bed.

In that short time, Loki, no, the Dragon attempted to move and fly on the bed with her wings unfurled. However, she suddenly fell flat on the floor. Then, she looked up at Yu-Seong and spread her arms once again.

‘...You want me to pick you up again after that failure.’

There were so many things that Yu-Seong wanted to say, but he had to suppress his inner thoughts and lift Loki back onto the bed again.

Loki let out a chuckle and said, "As expected of you, Yu-Seong! I like you for your quickwittedness!”

In this unclear situation of who was the owner and who was the pet, Yu-Seong could only pat his chest.

***

‘My Yongyong[1] that I thought of…’

In fact, the Dragon Yu-Seong had in mind was a rather playful one that followed him around like a child. It had a childlike innocence while showing some Dragon-worthy strength at times.

“Oh, it seems like the wings are starting to move now. Hey, Choi Yu-Seong, I think we just need to invest another hour.”

This bad-tempered behavior of making Yu-Seong her slave was not at all what he had expected.

"Hey, why do you look so upset? Is there something bothering you?"

“How can I not be upset…?”

Search bit.ly/3iBfjkV for the original.

“Of course, you should be absolutely ecstatic. You were chosen by this divine being, not just any ordinary Dragon. Well, most of my powers were left in my original body, but I’m still much greater than a Dragon raised by someone like Kim Do-Jin, or whoever that is,” declared Loki proudly.

“'I don't need that. Return my cute Yongyong to me,” responded Yu-Seong.

Come to think of it, where did the soul that was supposed to be attached to the Dragon's body go?

In response to Yu-Seong's curiosity, Loki raised her nose in the air and said confidently, "Ah, that cute little thing. I placed it inside the body of my Giant creature. Since it has no idea it was originally a Dragon, it seems quite satisfied. It’s happy to have a good mother and father."

Although something was definitely off, the heartwarming story ended in such a way that it was difficult to grasp.

“Don't be too disappointed. Actually, I already knew it, but you're quite useful, Choi Yu-Seong,” said Loki.

“Huh?”

Despite her being in a Dragon form, Yu-Seong felt a chilly playfulness in Loki's smile. He immediately became expressionless after understanding the full situation.

“My Chakra...is decreasing…?”

He wasn’t practicing anything, nor was he using any skills. Nevertheless, his amount of Chakra was continuously decreasing.

“I've tried many things, but it's not easy to be a great god's incarnation on Earth in this young Dragon's body. Your Chakra, the mana that's become deformed, is being well utilized. It's much more powerful than ordinary mana,” commented Loki.

Currently, it appeared that Yu-Seong's Chakra was necessary for Loki's activities. In fact, his Chakra was flowing into Loki without any permission or explanation. He was left speechless by the entire situation.

"What the hell have you done?" asked Yu-Seong.

"You and I have a clear contract, Choi Yu-Seong. It's not difficult to share the Chakra," said Loki.

Indeed, Loki was enjoying it. She was happy to see Yu-Seong suffering.

Yu-Seong had no choice but to grit his teeth to Loki's wickedness, no different from the actions of a myth. He cried out angrily, "You’re just a burden, after all!"

"A burden? You're saying such a regrettable thing. Even though I am limited by having a Dragon's body, I can still use the power of god."

"By using my Chakra?" exclaimed Yu-Seong.

"Of course!" said Loki.

Yu-Seong was at a loss for words in the face of Loki's confidence.

"Well, your mana is quite useful. But with the current situation, I will drain you of your mana just from using my power of god once,” explained Loki.

"...Just admit it, you're a burden," said Yu-Seong.

Ultimately, Loki was nothing more than a one-time-use skill at the moment. Moreover, it was a one-time-use skill that continuously consumed mana like a summon. Even after thinking about it some more, Yu-Seong still felt like Loki was just a burden.

"Hey, my contracted friend, don't say such regrettable things. The situation may be like this for now, but as I grow, things will change. Don't you see? And what do you think about the power of a god? Don't underestimate it just because it can only be used once."

Loki's playful gaze gradually faded away as she added, "It wouldn't be difficult to blow up a small city on Earth or anything, with that one use alone.”

"...What?" claimed Yu-Seong.

"Of course, it's only when there is enough mana to support it, but..." Loki shrugged her short shoulders lightly. "Besides, I'm busy too, so I can't keep playing around in this body. I have things to do up there. So, most of the time, I'll be asleep."

“You’d be asleep?” asked Yu-Seong.

"Young Dragons grow faster the longer they sleep. You can place me inside the subspace that you have. A Dragon's body can withstand the cold temperatures in that space without issue. What's more, your Chakra won't be depleted while I'm sleeping..."

"When needed, I can summon you to borrow your power of god, right?" asked Yu-Seong as his disappointed eyes sparkled.

"That's right. Your head's finally working, Choi Yu-Seong," smirked Loki, pointing at herself with her short claws. "As I grow, the power I can wield will become more diverse. And besides, I'm basically a god, you know?"

"What does that mean?" asked Yu-Seong.

"And you have Eye of Replication and Fusion skills," explained Loki.

"Yes..." Yu-Seong's eyes widened with his voice trailing off.

"Normally, I can only transmit skills through sponsorship. But with a Dragon's body like this?"

"You can use the skills," said Yu-Seong as he realized.

"Yes, and you have the ability to copy them," said Loki.

"Wow..."

Yu-Seong couldn't help but marvel.

The path of growth that should have followed the A-rank became much broader for him. And with this, Yu-Seong could potentially reach the maximum potential for growth that could be shown at A-rank much faster than expected. No doubt, the time needed would certainly be much shorter.

"I'm sorry for calling you a burden. I sincerely apologize," said Yu-Seong.

At Yu-Seong's honest admiration, Loki's nose raised with pride. She replied, "Finally, you recognize my true worth, Choi Yu-Seong. Hehe..."

Perhaps it was because of Loki’s rather cute appearance as a young Dragon? Yu-Seong had completely forgotten the dark and cold aura that she had within the Tower of Heaven.

When Yu-Seong lifted her in his arms and started rubbing her face against him, Loki cried out, "What, what are you doing?!"

"This pretty little thing!" said Yu-Seong.

The Dragon's exterior, which was thought to be cold and hard, turned out to be warm and soft. Maybe it was because she was still a baby, or maybe it was because she could change the temperature and texture as needed? Either way, Yu-Seong would trust anything about Dragons.

"Stop it, Yu-Seong! How dare you do that to a god!" demanded Loki.

As always, Loki brought joy alongside challenge and hardship. Yu-Seong couldn't help but feel happy whenever he experienced her temper, even though he knew her temperament well.

"You, you really are the best," said Yu-Seong excitedly, not even noticing Loki’s hint of rebelliousness.

1. Yongyong is a cute nickname that Yu-Seong has given to his Dragon, drawing inspiration from the Korean word ‘Yong,’ which means dragon. ‘Draggy’ or ‘Gongony’ are alternative translations for this term. ☜