The boy looked down. He was standing in the middle of a massive magic circle, smack in the center of bustling traffic.
Horns blared, engines roared, and people shouted in confusion as the runes beneath his feet began to pulse with an otherworldly glow.
His body started dissolving first his fingertips, then his arms, a strange, tingling numbness spreading like fire under his skin.
The circle flared brighter, the light so intense it drowned out the city noise. He opened his mouth to scream, but the words never came.
In an instant, everything vanished.
He floated in a pitch-black void, weightless and disoriented. Then, a giant panel materialized in front of him, glowing with cold blue text.
A mechanical voice echoed in his headflat, emotionless, like a machine reading from a script.
Detected otherworldly soul. Reincarnation process starting immediately.
Detected host soul strong for a normal body.
Detected magic overloaded.
Detected no skill error.
Detected desire to live longer.
Detected not to be looked down upon.
Detected hunger for power.
Assessment complete. Assigning race.
Detected race found.
Reincarnation starting.
The boy's mind spun. The heck is this voice? What does all that mean? No way… don't tell me this is one of those reincarnation thingies from novels?
He stared at the panel, heart racing. Shit, no skills? Magic power overload… am I OP or not?
The voice continued, ignoring him completely.
The system.
Complete reincarnation to the world of Alveriam.
"Whaa. ...wait! Before that, tell me what kind of world that is! Hey!" he shouted, reaching out desperately. But the void didn't answer. The light exploded again, swallowing him whole.
He screamed as he was hurled through nothingness.
Then impact.
He hit soft moss with a thud, the wind knocked out of him. The air smelled of pine, wet earth, and something faintly metallic.
Sunlight filtered through massive trees overhead, dappling the forest floor in golden spots. Birds sang in the distance. It was peaceful. Too peaceful.
"Fuck, what was that?" he groaned, shaking his head to clear the dizziness. He pushed himself up, but his body felt… wrong. Small. Light. Wrong.
He looked up and froze.
A girl stood in front of him.
Tall. Dark hair scattered wildly around her shoulders, like she'd just fought her way through thorns. Vivid green eyes locked on him, wide with shock.
She wore simple, dirt-stained clothes a loose tunic and pants, boots caked in mud. She looked like she'd been running. Or hiding.
"What the fuck? Why is that girl so big? What the heck did I get reborn as?"
He tried to speak. "Hey! You! What the hell is going on?"
But the sound that came out was a low, rumbling growl like a predator's warning.
His eyes widened in horror. Fuck. What was that? Don't tell me that's mine…
He looked down.
His hands were tiny, clawed. Green scales covered them, shimmering in the light like polished jade. Small wings tucked against his back. A tail curled behind him. He was a dragon a tiny emerald wyrmling, no bigger than a large cat.
The girl approached slowly, boots crunching leaves. Her expression shifted from confusion to something like awe. She knelt down, eyes never leaving him.
"So this is an E-rank pet, huh? My pet…"
She reached out and scooped him up in her hands. Her palms were warm, calloused. She lifted him to eye level, studying him closely. Her dark hair fell forward, framing her face. She smelled faintly of sweat and forest.
"System, show me its stats."
A translucent panel flickered into existence in front of her visible to him too.
Pet: No Name
Level: 1
Race: Dragon
Heir to the Green Dragon Emperor
Skills: None
Stats:
Strength: 100
Agility: 50
Defense: 500
Stamina: 100
Mana: 5001
The girl's eyes widened in sheer astonishment. It wasn't just surprise; it was a tidal wave of shock that drained the color from her face.
She dropped to her knees right there in the forest dirt, her hands shaking as she cradled him closer.
Her breath came in short, ragged gasps. Her face darkened not with fear, but with something deeper. Realization. Overwhelm.
"What… what did I summon? This… this is a dragon. The high noble clan… a Green Dragon's heir? And it's still level 1, but it has level 100 strength and 5001 mana? That's… I can't even think of it."
She stared at him, face inches away, searching his red eyes. Her voice dropped to a whisper. "You… you can understand, right? If you do… can you nod?"
He thought: The heck is she talking about? Is she talking to me? And that panel… don't tell me I have one too? He focused inward. System!
Nothing. Silence.
Shit. Why no answer? Don't tell me I don't have a system. But if what this girl said is true… I'm a dragon with insane strength. I should play it cool for now.
He nodded slowly awkward, but clear.
Sera's eyes lit up with relief, though her face remained shadowed by worry. "So you have intelligence, but can't speak. I see. If you're freshly born… then I'll fill you in on the basics."
She sat back on her heels, still holding him gently. Her fingers brushed his scales absentmindedly warm, careful.
"I'm Sera. I Awakened two days ago. E-rank class: Summoner. One slot for a lifetime, and one summoned familiar. That's all. I had a family… but I don't have the right to be there anymore."
Her voice cracked slightly on the last part. She swallowed. "And you're my one and only familiar. With my E-rank ability, I shouldn't have been able to summon anything like you.
A dragon heir? That's something even SSS-rank summoners dream of. I don't know what happened… but I summoned you.
Something that even an SSS-rank shouldn't be possible."
She looked at him, green eyes locking with his red ones. The bond between them pulsed warm, invisible, unbreakable.
He thought: So this world has a class system, and this girl is E-rank. But somehow, I a guy from another world was summoned here as a dragon?
She continued, her words tumbling out as if she'd been holding them in too long. "And right now, I'm in the middle of the exam for the National Academy."
As she was talking, the forest stirred unnaturally. Leaves rustled too loudly, branches snapped. A low growl rumbled from the shadows.
A hulking figure stepped into the light an orc-like monster, skin mottled green and gray, muscles bulging under ragged hides.
It carried a crude club studded with bones. Its beady eyes fixed on Sera with raw hunger. Tusks gleamed as it snarled.
Sera's face paled. "Shit… a Forest Orc. Level 10, at least. Stay close, uh… dragon boy."
The dragon's red eyes narrowed.