My face remains frozen as I stare at the true dragon standing right before me.

  It possesses a gigantic, robust body, standing nearly eight meters tall. A long, powerful tail drags behind it, its elongated neck towering above me, intimidating limbs ending in sharp claws, and vast wings rising from its back. Its red, gleaming scales form a natural suit of armor.

  At the top of its head are four horns: two slightly curved backward and two twisted forward, forming a kind of horned crown.

  The moment it fully reveals itself to me, it stops walking and begins to observe me in suffocating silence. In the end, our gazes meet, and I can see my own reflection in its calm, arrogant eyes. The air around us grows so heavy that breathing itself becomes difficult.

  Our surroundings are scorched and lightly smoking from its mere presence.

  What do I do?

  Run?

  Fight?

  Could I even do any of those things?

  But the one thing I must not do is remain frozen, lost in hesitation. I have to act, running is the best option. I bend my knees, ready to leap backward and run like mad, but the moment I prepare myself, a mysterious force wraps around me.

  I fall to my knees and slam my face into the ground, forced into a posture of worship. I try to resist, but it is useless. I desperately force myself to stand, yet I cannot.

  Our eyes meet. Its gaze is that of one who has never considered others as equals.

  I clench my teeth.

  I won’t accept this!

  My body trembles, instinctively recognizing an existence far above me. Even so, I slam my fist into the ground and push myself up, rising by force. I plant my feet firmly before the red dragon.

  In an instant, all those terrible feelings of submission, and the force that drove me to my knees vanish, leaving me lighter. Even so, I cannot remain calm.

  As I observe the dragon, I notice that its eyes seem slightly impressed.

  "Hmph."

  "A human resisting draconic pressure…"

  "That’s not something you see every day."

  I am stunned and astonished.

  He can speak?

  But wait… how am I understanding him?

  He doesn’t seem to be speaking a language I know.

  I have no time to think about it, for the dragon soon speaks again.

  "Very good, human."

  "Then I will increase my intentions a little."

  The dragon stares at me with a slightly more serious expression.

  My body turns pale, the blood stops circulating. I feel my organs collapse and cease to function. I tremble violently and, without realizing it, my consciousness slips away. Everything goes dark, and my entire body stiffens.

  ***

  To the dragon’s eyes, the human’s life force flickers.

  The human suddenly stops moving.

  "Did he die?!"

  The dragon notices that the human’s irises have turned white.

  He watches the human with clear disapproval.

  "Disappointing."

  "What a shameful, pathetic human!"

  "I only released a little more of my intent, and he couldn’t endure it."

  Even so, the dragon continues to observe him patiently, as if there were still a faint hope of seeing him move. However, everything indicates that he has truly died.

  "What a pity."

  "He was weak."

  "Human, if you lacked the strength to endure, you should have remained kneeling."

  "I could have buried you here near our dwelling, but now I’ll have to throw you to our dogs."

  ***

  My hand trembles, and my mouth moves slightly.

  My Regeneration kicks in. The organs that had shut down return to life, and soon my body regains its tan skin tone. The irises of my eyes turn blue again, and my vision slowly returns.

  But I drop to my knees, bracing my arms against the ground. My body won’t stop shaking, saliva drips from my mouth, and I feel waves of nausea. Only after that do I begin to regain my thoughts.

  My regeneration tries to eliminate these symptoms, but even it seems to struggle to deal with this.

  "What…"

  "What happened?"

  "What did he do to me?"

  The dragon seems surprised to see me alive.

  "Impressive."

  "You did well, human, to return to life. You truly possess strength beyond the norm."

  "But unfortunately, you do not have the honor of being buried here."

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  "You had died."

  "But now… I cannot simply throw you to the dogs."

  "So what shall I do with you?"

  "Should I use my breath?"

  "No, you are not worthy of witnessing it."

  I cannot understand everything he says. My body and mind are still confused, but some words stand out.

  I died just now?

  Worthy of what?

  My mind clears, and my body finally stops trembling. I raise my head to face him.

  But I do not even have time to see him properly. Suddenly, I feel my entire body burning in flames, without understanding how it happened.

  The fire consumes me.

  Where did that attack come from?!

  My eyes see the dragon watching me with a calm and serene expression.

  "Grrr!"

  I stomp my foot on the ground and release gigantic waves of water to extinguish the fire covering my body. I force my regeneration to act quickly, then direct the water to attack the dragon.

  The released water knocks down trees and forms a true sea beneath my feet. However, when it advances toward the dragon, it simply stops, remaining meters away from him, as if it had no right to approach.

  The dragon watches me from above.

  "Human, you have great courage to attack a dragon."

  He merely raises a paw. Fire and lava surge forth. The water dries so quickly that I do not even see steam rise.

  When I realize it, my body is burned and severely dehydrated.

  I can feel myself being mysteriously disintegrated. Even so, I force my regeneration to restore me, replenishing my strength.

  When I turn my attention back to the dragon, he is lying down and relaxing, as if nothing had happened.

  Suddenly, an urgency overtakes me. I sense immense danger approaching. Instinctively, I leap to the right, but an explosion of fire strikes me and hurls me away.

  More attacks follow, but I cannot identify where they come from. A small pillar of fire appears very close to me, and I narrowly dodge being incinerated.

  I look at the dragon. In the distance, I see him in the same spot, merely watching.

  Once again, urgency grips my heart and I leap. At the exact spot where I had been standing, lava erupts and melts the ground.

  I stop atop a tree, but I need to leave immediately. I land on the ground, and the instant I leave the tree, it is completely incinerated, leaving nothing but ash to tell the tale.

  But then I realize my right leg has been incinerated.

  How does he do this?!

  My arms are struck and charred, and before I can react, a mass of molten lava explodes against my face, burning my head.

  I fall to the ground, weak and drained.

  The dragon watches, knowing that something will still happen.

  "..."

  My head, leg, and arms regenerate, and I immediately force myself to my feet. When I face the dragon, I see him rise and approach, stopping just a few meters away.

  A faint glow appears in the dragon’s eyes. A chill runs down my spine, and I feel as if he is seeing me completely naked.

  "Curious."

  "You do not use Ancient Arts… and yet you survive."

  "There is a decent Source, strong vigor, and regeneration. That is not natural for humans. You possess a rare talent."

  "Strong elemental affinities of fire and water. In a well-developed state."

  "Water that can turn into ice, and I can see that fire nearly walks the path of lava."

  "So that is how you managed to survive."

  The dragon narrows his eyes, as if perceiving every detail.

  "Aside from that mystical rag on your body, I see no equipment that aids you in using Skills."

  "It is not common for humans to achieve all this without equipment. It is admirable in you."

  "I suppose it is not without reason that you managed to reach this place."

  "But even so… how did you manage to get past our dogs?"

  "With this level of strength, they should have stopped you."

  The dragon thinks and speaks to himself. Meanwhile, I remain nervous and cautious. I cannot say anything, nor show any reaction. He seems distracted by his own thoughts, but I can feel that I would not be able to escape him even if he turned his back on me.

  "..."

  The dragon looks at me again.

  "Human, how did you manage to get past our dogs?"

  I remain silent.

  The dogs?

  Is he referring to the drakes, wyverns, and wyrms?

  He was able to see all of my capabilities and even my Skills.

  But apparently, he cannot see how I made it here.

  If only I could use that to my advantage. Soon, I see the dragon point one of his claws at me, from his right hand.

  "Human!"

  "I asked you a question."

  I drop to my knees, feeling my body grow heavy. I try to resist like before, but I cannot. The pressure is far too strong, my bones begin to crack and break, and blood flows from my mouth.

  Desperate, I blurt out everything I had been holding back.

  "I ran!"

  "And I kept fleeing… and fighting against all the creatures!"

  "Until they surrounded me, and by accident, I bumped into a tree of white scales, and all of them retreated!"

  The dragon keeps his claw pointed at me.

  "I see."

  "You were lucky to have found the protective trees."

  "But why did you come?"

  "What is the purpose of your coming here?"

  I open my mouth and tell him everything.

  "I came to this place because… ah!"

  "Because I followed the silver mountains, using them as a reference."

  "I thought they were the way out of this forest!"

  "I’m lost here!"

  As soon as I finish my explanation, the dragon lowers his claw and the pressure vanishes. My regeneration works over my body. I manage to stand up, trembling, still stiff.

  The dragon looks upward, thoughtful, and then toward the silver mountains.

  "I see."

  I notice the dragon seems to grow slightly sad.

  "Human, it is unfortunate that you had the misfortune of choosing to come to our mountains."

  "But very well."

  He turns his gaze back to me.

  "Tell me, what is your name?"

  I remain silent.

  "..."

  The dragon slightly furrows his brow and points his finger at me again.

  "Human, do not make me repeat myself."

  My eyes widen and I take several steps backward.

  "Nagaro!"

  "My name is Nagaro!"

  The dragon calms down and lowers his claw.

  "Human Nagaro.

  "I thought of burning you alive until you turned to ashes and then throwing those ashes into a volcano."

  "But because of your strength and your courage, I have decided what I will do with you."

  "Your death will at least give meaning to the mistake of coming this far."

  "I will even create a tombstone dedicated to your name, for being the first non-dragon being to reach so deep into the forest."

  I listen to everything carefully.

  "Wait!"

  "What?!"

  Before I can react, the dragon closes his claws around me and takes flight.