"Get out, get out, get out, get out!" the dragons surrounding the place bellowed. Their roars echoed like waves crashing against a wall of fire.
The air was thick with tension, dust, and dense magic. Every dragon present kept their gaze fixed on him: hatred, contempt, and mockery all mixed in their glowing eyes. Suho—or rather, the body he now possessed—was trembling. The ground vibrated beneath him, and the massive wings on his back moved clumsily, as if they didn't belong to him.
In front of him, the purple dragon—colossal, with gleaming scales and a deep scar running across his left eye—let out a snort filled with fire and exhaustion.
"Fine, whatever you want," he said finally, his deep and rumbling voice making the earth shake. "One way or another, you're no longer our king."
Suho, confused, looked around trying to understand something—anything. His human mind couldn't process the weight of the scene. Everything felt too real. The smell of sulfur, the heat of the magma flowing through the cracks in the ground, the air thick with ash and ancient magic.
Inside his head, thoughts clashed in a messy, desperate jumble.
"Damn it… I'm a dragon… but how did I end up reincarnating as a dragon? This doesn't look good. How could something like this even happen?"
His breathing was labored, his chest expanding with each gasp, and thick smoke puffed from his jaws every time he exhaled.
"Look, Mr. Purple Dragon… maybe it sounds dumb, but I'm not the king you think I am. I… my name is Su…"
He tried to pronounce his name, his real name. But the words got stuck in his throat. He couldn't remember it. It was as if his memory itself had abandoned him, leaving behind only something vaguely related to his name.
The purple dragon stared at him in silence, and his expression shifted from hatred to contempt, and then to pity.
"Well…" he said sarcastically. "You're downright pitiful, Zarkrion. I don't get how a pathetic, good-for-nothing dragon like you ever became king of our empire. Look at you… I don't know whether to feel sorry for you or ashamed of you."
Park Suho—now "Zarkrion"—lowered his gaze. His breathing grew heavier. Something inside him cracked. He didn't remember his name, didn't remember his world, and no one recognized him as what he once was.
"Damn… I can't remember my real name. What am I supposed to do now?"
The echo of that thought suffocated him. It felt like everything he'd ever been was slowly fading away.
Finally, Zarkrion closed his eyes. The warm air of the volcano blew against his scales, and a thick, burning tear slid down his draconic face.
"It doesn't matter anymore," he said with a broken voice. "I already knew what was coming. Just finish this."
The purple dragon sighed. His gaze softened for a moment. There was a trace of melancholy—maybe regret—but it vanished quickly.
"Fine then… no one will remember you anyway."
The dragon raised his enormous wings, and magical energy began swirling around him. A massive magic circle formed beneath Zarkrion's feet, covered in ancient runes glowing in purple and gold. The entire mountain shook beneath the weight of the spell.
Particles of light surrounded Zarkrion's body. He stared in panic, unable to understand what was happening.
"With this spell, we will send you far from this dungeon's floor," said the purple dragon. "You'll appear somewhere in the outside world, randomly. Do whatever you want, deal with it however you can. We don't care."
His voice echoed like a careless decree with no remorse.
"But if I ever see you around here again… if you so much as set a claw in our kingdom," he continued threateningly, "I swear I'll exile you, but in the sky."
[Author's Note: He meant he'll kill him, you know.]
Zarkrion swallowed hard. His body trembled, the circle beneath him spinning faster and faster.
"You'll never see me around here again, I swear!" he shouted, though it sounded more like a desperate roar than a promise.
The spell reached its peak. A blinding light consumed him, and in an instant, Zarkrion Volcanius IV vanished from the dragon kingdom.
Silence overtook the mountain.
Only ashes drifting through the air remained. ... ...
A purple flash tore through the sky in a distant region. In the middle of a valley surrounded by mountains and endless forests, a magical rift opened in the clouds.
From it fell a massive figure engulfed in flames. It was Zarkrion.
The wind howled fiercely, and the roar of his fall echoed for miles.
As he descended, his eyes caught two vastly different landscapes: To his right, a majestic forest filled with light, flowers, and crystal-clear waters. Animals roamed freely, and the air was filled with calm and purity.
"At least I'll land in a pretty place."
To his left, a dark, dead forest, covered in purple mist, with thunder rumbling in the clouds above. Dry trees, deformed beasts, and a sky that looked poisoned, without a single ray of sunlight to brighten the area.
"No, no, no! Please, not there!" he roared desperately, flapping his wings, trying to steer toward the bright forest.
But a powerful gust of wind shoved him violently in the opposite direction.
"This makes no sense! I'm a dragon, for god's sake! I should be able to fly easily!"
His body twisted in the air. His wings, large but clumsy, moved without coordination. Gravity devoured him completely due to his total lack of familiarity with the body.
The impact was brutal.
The ground shook as if a meteor had struck. A thunderous boom echoed across the valley, making bats and nocturnal creatures flee from the trees in terror.
Zarkrion rose slowly, letting out a low growl of pain. His body was covered in dust and dry leaves. He looked around: the forest was gloomy, the trees twisted, and the nearby river carried a dark sheen.
He walked for a long time. The ground crunched beneath his claws. In the distance, the echoes of unknown monsters reverberated through the trees.
Eventually, he stopped in front of a huge rock beside a flow of murky water. Exhausted, he leaned against the stone, letting out a long sigh.
"All of this happened in the blink of an eye…" he muttered. "I still don't understand anything. How is it possible that I reincarnated into this dragon's body?"
The reflection in the water showed his draconic face. Those fierce red eyes stared back at him—eyes that weren't his.
Then he remembered.
That message.
The author's email.
"'For your dedication and support to our vast and infinite universe, I grant you an opportunity in the world you love so much.'"
Zarkrion's eyes widened.
"It can't be…" he whispered. "That message… it was his fault."
His mind began connecting the dots. Every detail started making sense. The game's author, the creator of the universe of [The Rise of the Legendary Hunter], had sent him there.
"Because of him, I reincarnated as a monster!" he roared with fury, making the entire forest tremble. "And not even a powerful one!"
He collapsed back onto the ground.
"That means… my life is in danger if I don't do something about it."
Silence enveloped him. Only the river and the cracking of branches broke the stillness.
Then he realized:
"I reincarnated as Zarkrion Volcanius IV… the useless dragon king who gets exiled at the start of the second arc… one of the monsters the protagonist brutally kills."
The "Hunter." The story's hero. A player or character obsessed with slaying monsters. The perfect killer.
"If I'm in his world…" he said with terror. "I'm doomed."
But his mind, though terrified, was sharp.
"I know this world. I know how it works. If I'm smart, I can survive using my knowledge… or at least try."
Zarkrion looked toward the dark sky.
"The exile of Zarkrion happens in Volume 1, Arc 2," he murmured, recalling, "right when he falls into this forest… the 'Black Forest.'"
An absolutely dangerous place, full of unknown monsters of varying levels depending on the area. Even if it doesn't seem like it, the forest is enormous—big enough to be a country, though obviously it isn't because of its toxic and deadly habitat.
It's like a dungeon, except without descending through floors or exploring dimensions and universes. It's more about carefully navigating zones and taking note of each danger level. That's why many adventurers and high-level hunters come here for balanced areas.
Whether for resources or experience, it's basically suicide for Zarkrion Volcanius.
If he was correct, then he still had time. In the novel, the Hunter took a month to reach the Black Forest. But if the world he was in was the game's world… then the protagonist could appear at any moment without warning.
"If it's the game version… I'm screwed." He clenched his fangs. "In that case, the Hunter would already have all the abilities I unlocked with my character."
He looked at his claws, his gigantic body, and then the dark forest surrounding him.
"What can I do… a weak, exiled dragon… against a max-level player?"
His breathing grew heavier. The shadows seemed to creep closer, as if the forest itself was watching him.
Finally, he dropped to the ground, exhausted.
"Damn author…" he whispered bitterly. "Why did you make me reincarnate as the worst character in this story? You sent me to die… in the very world I loved."
"What a way to give me an opportunity."
For Park Suho, it had always been a dream to experience that kind of thing—to reincarnate as a character in a webnovel or game.
Now that his wish had come true, he wished it never had. He never wanted this. To reincarnate as an antagonist doomed to die pathetically, a good-for-nothing nobody. No one would ever wish to reincarnate as a talentless filler character.
Anyone would choose the typical protagonist who gains all the powerful abilities and becomes nearly invincible in a world that isn't theirs. That's what he had wished for—he should've reincarnated as the Legendary Hunter, his avatar.
What Zarkrion Volcanius wanted most now was to beat the author who created this universe senseless.
Now the world he once loved didn't seem so lovable when he was a monster.
Then, a metallic sound broke the silence.
A "ding" echoed inside his head, followed by a robotic voice.
... ...
[Appreciation System – Activated]
[Status Window]
Host: Zarkrion Volcanius IV
Level: 1
Rank: G-
Race: Dragon
Age: 500 years
Strength: F-
Speed: F-
Endurance/Durability: F-
Attack: D+
Magic:
Unique Skill: (Yet to be Acquired)
Class: (Yet to be Acquired)
... ...
... ...
Zarkrion blinked several times.
"Huh? What is this thing?"
His voice echoed through the forest.
He looked up, confused. A floating panel shimmered in front of him, covered in blue letters like a holographic video game window.
["Do you accept the terms and conditions to acquire the benefits and assignments of the Appreciation System?"]
[PUSH — YES / NO]