Internet broadcaster.
Recently, as society entered the information age and video platforms developed, the job of being a one-person content creator gained attention.
After information about the earnings became public, everyone began to dive in, turning the market into a red ocean.
“… The store I just visited was not as good as I expected. It looks great, but it feels like there’s too much MSG. My personal rating is 4 out of 10! I was looking forward to it, but the taste didn’t live up to the hype.”
This young man, Hong Du-sik, was one of those caught up in this trend, earnestly chatting while looking at his smartphone connected to a selfie stick on the street.
His main content focused on finding hidden eateries.
In reality, he knew little about gourmet food, but he was confident in his ability to talk convincingly, so he jumped in with high hopes…
‘Ah, why are there so few people today? Should I go for a more stimulating direction?’
His average viewer count barely reached double digits, and the views on his clumsily edited videos on the platform were dismal.
He had mobilized family accounts and gotten help from friends, desperately trying to benefit from the algorithm!
“Well then, next up is dessert! The place we’re going to check out now is a crepe stall that’s slowly gaining buzz on SNS. Let me try it first…”
Today was just another ordinary day, no different from usual.
It was so monotonous that he even thought about quitting and getting a part-time job.
Yeah.
That was before the incident happened.
Crackle—!
The sound of sparks as if high-voltage electricity was flowing.
“Uh…?”
Suddenly hearing that sound, a tingling sensation rushed through his entire body.
He instinctively stopped in his tracks, feeling goosebumps rising on his skin.
He wasn’t the only one reacting to this strange occurrence.
Others around him also paused their activities and stared blankly at the sky where the sound had come from.
Like the others, his head slowly tilted upward.
Crackle—!
Is this what they mean by a bolt from the blue?
In the clear sky, a loud spark was flashing fiercely.
‘Wait, could that be…?!’
Then, suddenly feeling as if ice-cold water had been dumped on him, chills ran down his spine, and his frozen mind began to whirl.
That was clearly an event caused by a supernatural phenomenon, wasn’t it?
Moreover, it was a large-scale supernatural manifestation that had occurred without any prior warning!
If that’s the case…
‘Awakened One terror!’
Panic surged through him.
Recently, people referred to as vigilantes, including Hahoe Masks and Phantoms, had been actively patrolling, making safety in Korea, particularly Seoul, exceedingly good.
His decision to focus on outdoor content had been greatly influenced by that!
Crackle! Crackle—!
The sparks above him grew larger and larger.
He was an ordinary person with no connection to the supernatural, yet somehow he instinctively understood.
If that energy erupted all at once, he wouldn’t even leave a trace at this distance; he would just evaporate.
‘Ah, and I haven’t even gotten a girlfriend yet!’
Thoughts scrambled and mixed in his mind as memories rushed by.
Even in the midst of this, he subconsciously turned his camera angle to capture the bizarre phenomenon happening in the sky.
Whether it was his mediocre journalist instincts as a broadcaster or a primal urge to leave a reason for his demise, he couldn’t tell.
Fwooosh—
At that moment, a brilliant golden light exploded in the center of the sparks.
And just after that…
[Kraoooon——!]
With the emergence of that presence—.
An overwhelming roar swept through the area.
Rumble—
“Uaaaaagh! Ah!”
“Gyaaaah!”
“What, what, what? What is that!”
In that fleeting moment.
A fierce wind swept through, turning the surroundings into chaos in an instant.
This confusion wasn’t limited just to the nearby area.
That enormous figure and the sound of its roar affected the entire vicinity where it could be seen.
Hong Du-sik felt his whole body tremble from the intimidation radiating from that being as he stared blankly at the sky.
A creature covered in golden light—flapping its wings, soaring at several dozen meters in size.
“A dragon…?”
Of course, he had never seen one in his lifetime, yet looking at this presence, the name naturally came to mind.
Having dealt with dragons in games and comics to the point of saturation, he now found the subject familiar.
However, there was one detail that nagged at him—.
‘But what’s that?’
A gigantic orb held in the mouth of the golden dragon.
He had never seen anything like it, yet it felt oddly familiar.
“… Yeouiju?”
Another wave of confusion washed over his still dizzy mind.
It looked like a typical Western dragon, yet it was holding the Yeouiju, traditionally carried by Eastern dragons—what a hybrid!
‘Hmm, no. Maybe that was the preconceived notion…’
After all, he had never seen a dragon or a creature like it in real life, so what did he know?
Now that such a tangible reality had appeared before him.
He must have been trapped in biases formed by the information he had absorbed through media.
While lost in this daze, he suddenly snapped back to reality.
“J-j-j-j-j-just a real d-dragon?! Huh? In the flesh?!”
His confusion-fogged brain belatedly grasped the current situation.
In simple terms, this event meant…
In the skies above Earth.
Right in the middle of Seoul.
A dragon had appeared.
In actual real life.
-???
-What is this, is it for real?
-Crazy, it’s actually happening! There’s a commotion outside!
-What is going on?
The chat window of the smartphone he had been absentmindedly looking at was already a frenzy of confusion.
Messages that had sporadically appeared zoomed by quickly, and the viewer count began to rise rapidly.
Everyone was shocked at the dragon appearing on his screen.
‘… Now that I think about it, this place is indeed a sweet spot.’
The distance was neither too far nor too close, just right, and without any obstacles in the middle, it was the perfect position to capture the creature entirely on camera.
Facing this shocking situation, it seemed his fear had turned into opportunity.
‘This could be a chance, maybe?’
A first report of a dragon appearing in real life was a prime scoop!
Hong Du-sik gulped and tightly gripped his smartphone.
From a rational standpoint, he should have bolted far away, but at that moment, he saw nothing but the dragon.
‘My broadcasting life is starting now!’
‘This is a scoop! I have to capture this no matter what!’
‘Wow! If I post this on SNS…!’
And in this vast, populous Seoul, there were many others sharing the same thought.
Was it what they call safety insensitivity?
Amidst the chaos, as people tried to flee as far away as possible, a few individuals began raising their lenses to capture this historic event.
Thus, perfectly in line with the information age, this news quickly spread throughout Korea… no.
It rapidly spread worldwide via the internet.
Carrying the magnificent appearance of Horus that had appeared on Earth.
*
‘As expected, the effect is definitely certain.’
To be honest, abruptly revealing Horus felt a bit hasty.
And immediately utilizing “Heart of the Elder Dragon” and showcasing the complete form of a mature dragon was a rash move.
‘But doing this is the most certain approach.’
In short, it was shock therapy.
Any awakened one who reached a certain level would sense it upon seeing a dragon soaring in the skies.
That creature was not of this world.
It could never belong to such an existence.
Unlike vampires, werewolves, or undead that were derived from humans, it was truly a race fundamentally different from Earthlings.
That was the status of dragons, beings that ruled as the strongest in most dimensions.
‘High Elf Harris could have been a decent alternative, but visually, Horus is overwhelmingly superior.’
There could be no comparison between a delicate-looking fairy male and a gigantic dragon spanning dozens of meters.
Thanks to that, the goals were adequately achieved.
However, during this process, a minor, albeit unavoidable,… trivial issue had arisen.
Earlier, in the space where discussions with Heinrich were happening.
“…”
“… Hoo.”
Those who had been marveling at the stunning figure of the gold dragon that abruptly appeared were now rubbing their eyes tiredly.
The notable change was that the number of people present in this location had doubled compared to the beginning.
Their serious gazes were mostly concentrated in one direction in a corner of the meeting hall.
Nom nom.
In that heavy atmosphere, the sound of someone munching something casually echoed softly.
Seated nonchalantly in a high chair, swinging tiny legs, was a child-like figure—Gold Dragon Horus, energetically munching on snacks.
He was truly the rightful main character of this gathering, surpassing Heinrich.
“… I apologize once again. I caused trouble by moving too hastily.”
While everyone’s attention was focused on Horus, Heinrich repeated his apologies, bowing his head.
Naturally, they couldn’t just overlook the sudden appearance of a huge dragon in the sky.
“Haha…”
“… It’s alright. It’s already in the past.”
“Ha ha, it can’t be helped. We should have informed you sooner.”
It was complete chaos.
Emergency sirens blared constantly as large-scale magical barriers activated, and awakened combat teams, including Guardians, rushed in.
Even Yoon Ji-yoon, who is considered one of the top three in Korea, arrived with her body engulfed in lightning.
Of course, Horus had done his best to keep his energy under control when he used “Polymorph” and “Heart of the Elder Dragon.”
After all, this was right in the heart of the Republic of Korea.
If Horus unleashed his true power in full mode and unleashed dragon fury, it could lead to a calamitous incident!
Most civilians in this area had extremely low resistance to supernatural phenomena, so if anything went wrong, it could have resulted in a horrific disaster.
‘I deliberately blew things up for global headlines, but… I also paid attention here, and with Saint Heinrich present, I’m sure a serious accident didn’t actually occur.’
There was some damage, but fortunately, it wasn’t at a critical level.
During the cleanup process, those gathered here, along with other concerned parties, had to deal with quite a bit of hardship.
“That child… was the dragon earlier…?”
“Goodness, a being that seems to belong to another world has crossed into Earth. I suppose another upheaval is about to begin.”
“I couldn’t possibly recall the earlier sight. If it weren’t for the immense magic hidden within that small body, I would never have believed it.”
“… So cute.”
Anyway, everything was going according to plan.
Now, there wasn’t a single person here who disbelieved that Heinrich had come from another world.
This included everyone present and everyone who had encountered this commotion.
*
Pantheon Headquarters in the United States.
“Puhuh—!”
From the relaxed expression of the secretary enjoying tea time came a sudden spray of tea.
Her eyes shook as if an earthquake had hit.
“… What the hell is that?”
Reflected in her eyes was the astonishing news transmitted from somewhere on the opposite side of the globe.
On the massive monitor in the lounge, a large, majestic being showcased its wings while clutching a mysterious orb, repeatedly flaunting its tremendous presence.
“A dragon…? Why is it on Earth…?”
And of all places, it was happening in Seoul, Korea!
Where the Saint of Auterica, Heinrich, was supposed to meet with the dispatched investigation team from the Pantheon!
An uncertain sense of foreboding began to crawl up her spine.
She could instinctively feel, as one who had reached the level of a transcendent, that—
‘… Wait, if this keeps going…’
Something had gone terribly wrong.
And it was significant.
