Chapter five- The dragon
Hwon, who was now lying on the ground covered in saliva, let out a sigh of relief and thought, "I'm alive." Hwon then started laughing as he said, "That's it, no matter what happens, I won't give up until I make it out of here! If my hands get broken, I'll use my feet! If that fails me, then I'll use my teeth. No matter what, I'll survive."
The scene suddenly changes to that of the Death King and the young lady. The Death King, laughing, then said, "He actually made it out alive. He really is one tenacious kid, though his luck is terrible." His expression changed to a smile as he said, "I haven't had this much fun in a while." The young lady stood there with a blank face as she thought, I really hope you can make it, Hwon.
The face of the Death King glowed with a wicked grin as the room became darker.
Hwon stood up from the ground, finding his body suddenly feeling light. He looked at his hand, which had been healed. His fingernails were now also longer and black in color. He also noticed his canines had gotten longer, and his vision was a lot clearer and sharper. Hwon thought, Is this because I ate the dragon's flesh? But my body felt like it changed before I bit into it...
Hwon wondered about the changes in his body. Scratching his head, he then noticed his short hair was now longer, bouncing just to the base of his neck. Hwon became more confused but decided to leave it for now.
Hwon thought that if he wanted to survive, he would have to stay near the lake, but not get too close to avoid getting attacked again. Hwon's stomach began to rumble as he realized that he had not eaten anything since he got here. "This place is too dangerous for me to randomly go looking for food. Then I'll gather the bodies of the hellhounds I killed," Hwon thought.
So, soon, after, Hwon left the lake area, and hellhound corpses started piling up one by one as Hwon dragged them. As Hwon was gathering the hounds, a horn quietly popped out from the lake. Hwon, who was still busy, didn't notice this. As he continued to gather the hounds, the horn grew bigger and eventually revealed the eyes of the dragon. But it didn't seem like it intended to attack. With its injuries, it didn't want to be reckless against an unknown opponent.
Hwon, who had now gathered the hounds' bodies, began skinning them. "I need to get better clothes to wear, even if it's just this," Hwon thought.
Meanwhile, in the lake, the dragon—who was watching Hwon curiously—saw him finish skinning the hounds and begin roasting the meat over a small fire that was caused by the lava. The smell from the meat normally would have attracted more monsters, but because this was the dragon's territory, he didn't have to worry.
At night, when the lava in the area became cooler, Hwon was fast asleep and foolishly let his guard down. The dragon, who noticed this, quietly came out of the lake and was right on top of Hwon, ready to kill him. But then it stumbled. It hadn't gotten the chance to hunt for food because of its injury, so its attention shifted to the meat Hwon had gathered. It went to eat the meat and then returned to the lake.
Immediately after, Hwon woke up, breathing heavily with sweat dripping from his face. "Can't believe I fell asleep in such an environment. Was I really that tired? I can't leave myself so defenseless like that again," he thought.
He then stood up, wanting to eat something, but to his surprise, the meat was gone. Then he noticed the dragon's footsteps on the ground and also beside the spot where he was sleeping. A cold sweat dropped from his forehead as he realized that the dragon could have killed him if it wanted to. But he wondered why it didn't.
"Maybe it was hungry and decided to take the food instead. If I keep giving it food, it would leave me alone," Hwon thought.
He smiled and then said while looking at the lake, "Who knew you were such a foodie? Well, if it's food you want, I can get it. But in return, I'll continue to stay here."
Hwon stood up, grabbing a rib bone he had removed from the hound's body earlier, and decided to go for a hunt. Hwon went out of the lake area, hunting hellhounds. This time, it was a lot easier; he could easily defeat up to three hellhounds together without much trouble. His body seemed to have gone through some changes, as it was now stronger and lighter, allowing him to outrun monsters he couldn't handle easily. Hwon had hunted up to twenty hellhounds when he said, "I don't know how much the big guy eats, but this should be enough." Hwon dragged the bodies to a more convenient location and then carried four on his shoulders and went back to the lake. As Hwon walked, he said to himself, "I really have gotten stronger. Could I have awakened? Nah, I don't think so. Maybe it's some kind of mutation from eating the beast's flesh. I even grew taller, which is kind of a plus for me. I was kind of short. Plus, I still haven't seen the System. It said you'd see it once you awakened."
Hwon kept walking with a smile on his face as he remembered the days he worked at a construction site to earn money. "This brings back memories. I wonder how those guys are doing. Those workers were really nice to me back then, and during that time, I felt somewhat happy." Hwon reached the lake and dropped the bodies in front of the water and waited to see if it came out. But after about thirty minutes, nothing happened. Hwon got annoyed and left to get more.
As Hwon left, the dragon's head came out, looking at the food Hwon had left. It was hesitant. Just as it was wondering whether to eat or not, Hwon came back with more. The dragon quickly submerged back into the lake without Hwon noticing. Hwon, who looked more annoyed, said, "Stupid dogs trying to take away my hunt. Well, it only added to the food." Hwon dropped the meat and went again.
The dragon came out again and this time went to eat the meat and went back into the lake. Hwon returns and sees the meat disappeared: "Thoughts where did all the meat go? Since the big guy wasn't eaten, I wanted to use the meat and remove their fur for clothing and their bones for weapons. Could it be that those stupid dogs came and took it? They did try to steal the meat I had collected before." Hwon's face now clouded with annoyance as he stared at the empty space. A spark of anger ignited within him, and he clenched his fists. "Stupid hounds!" he shouted, his voice echoing through the lake area. "I swear I'll kill them!" Hwon, in anger, carried the bone and left in anger, hunting all the hellhounds he could find in the area.