The card glowed again in Drahon’s hand, each flash brighter than the last, until thin golden motes began spinning off its edges like sparks from a forge.
The glow bled into the air, twisting into lazy spirals before snapping into sharp, deliberate rotations.
The three of them stepped back out of impulse.
[You’ve awakened a ticket to the Dragon Shop. ]
[ Warning: This ticket grants a maximum stay of 4 days in the Dragon Shop dimension. After the time limit, you will be forcibly returned to your original location. ]
The words scrolled across the air in front of them, hanging there with the cold authority of the System.
Devon whistled. "Four days? That’s... oddly specific."
Ayvira folded her arms. "Dragon Shop? Came at the right time."
Drahon glanced between them, then back at the card. The spinning glow reached a fever pitch before condensing into a single swirling point in mid-air. With a sharp whump, a vertical seam of light tore through the hallway. The edges of the light folded outward like some invisible curtain being pulled, revealing a swirling, rippling portal.
The players stared at it in surprise.
It reminded Drahon of the one he saw back at the orphanage, the portal that had led to the Dragon Game.
Through it, they could see nothing but shadows moving beneath an eerie golden haze.
"Well," Devon said after a few seconds, "either it’s a trap... or it’s awesome."
Drahon shrugged. "Could be both, don’t you think?"
They stared at the portal a little longer than they should have, seemingly impressed by it, yet afraid at the same time. They couldn’t say for sure what lay inside.
Drahon had read enough science fiction to be careful when it came to portals. What if this led to some void?
Back when he entered the portal that had led to the Dragon Game at level one, he hadn’t really had anything to lose. His life was, to him, a mess at the time, living in a place where he wasn’t loved was hellish, and he’d always wanted to escape Miss Fiddleson, who gave him punishments he shouldn’t have had to do just because he had horns. Life at the orphanage had been like a sheep living among wolves. Dangerous, emotionally, at least.
But now, this was the Dragon World. He knew for sure what could happen in a place as cursed as this.
Here, life was a gamble; waking up to see the morning was already an achievement. This wasn’t a place where you could trust things as they were. It was better to see a mountain and call it a hill than agree it was a mountain. Or see a frog and call it a goat.
This was a world of the Damned, where life was a thread, ready to be snapped at any given moment.
They all exchanged glances, contemplating in the silence. Should they really be entering this?
Finally, Drahon shrugged and said to Devon and Ayvira:
"The words say it leads to a Dragon Shop, and we’re hungry, so... we frankly have nothing to lose."
"This world’s damned. It’s only right if we don’t give a damn."
They both looked at Ayvira, expecting her to say something, but she didn’t. She only nodded, giving her consent.
"Let’s hold each other’s hands," Drahon suggested. "Then we jump inside the portal together."
The others didn’t object. They stretched their hands toward him, and he took them, standing in the middle.
They looked at the portal again, staring at what they were about to enter into.
A soft yet vibrant force seemed to hum from it.
"One," Drahon said, starting a countdown.
He hesitated for a second and a half before:
They stepped through, all at once.
The air changed instantly.
It was cooler here, carrying the faint tang of metal and... something else they couldn’t quite place.
They were standing in a dungeon-like chamber with high vaulted stone ceilings, the walls lit by flickering sconces. The floor beneath them was smooth black stone polished to a mirror shine.
Ayvira glanced around. "Not what I expected from a ’shop.’"
"Look," Devon said, pointing ahead.
Beyond a short corridor, the dungeon opened into a massive underground clearing. Sitting in the center of it was a building, though it seemed more like a fortress than a shop, unlike anything they’d ever seen.
It looked medieval at first glance, with towering stone walls, iron-bound gates, and sharp, angled battlements. But woven into its architecture were sleek, modern touches: glass panels glinting under the glow of suspended crystal lights, metallic framework reinforcing the towers, and strange runes crawling lazily across its surface like neon letters from some sci-fi Drahon had read. This content belongs to novel✦fire.net
He wondered why everything in this world seemed to have some sort of rune glow, almost like it was mandatory. Although, it could just be a coincidence.
Above the enormous main gate, a massive sign in flawless gold lettering read:
They barely had time to take it in before the System interrupted again.
[ Objective Assigned ]
[ Fight off the Draconic Rats blocking the path to the Dragon Shop. ]
[ Tip: Eliminate all threats to unlock the gate.]
Devon blinked at the words. "...We have to fight to shop here? Is this some kind of premium membership test?"
Ayvira raised an eyebrow. "Guess they don’t want under-leveled players wandering in."
From the shadows near the far wall came a sound, low at first, then sharper, claws scraping stone.
And then they saw the ’supposed’ Draconic Rats.
The first padded into the light, and it was nothing like the sewer vermin. This thing was massive, up to Drahon’s waist, its fur coarse and patchy, with scales protruding through in uneven plates. Rough-looking horns curled from its skull, and its eyes burned a deep molten red.
A second one scuttled out beside it. Then a third.
The sound of claws grew louder, until... there were many.
The System flickered again:
[Draconic Rat – Lv. 8 ]
• Classification: Elite Monster
• Fire Resistance: Pretty Low (25%)
• Weakness: Minor vulnerabilities to precise strikes
• Special Trait: "Pack Instinct" — increases speed by +20% when near allies
[An aggressive hybrid of rodent and low-tier dragon kin, Draconic Rats are known for their ferocity, speed, and tendency to swarm. While individually manageable, they become far deadlier in packs, using coordinated rush tactics to overwhelm prey.]
"Great," Devon muttered. "They’re tanky and fast. How surprising."
Seemed he was being sarcastic, or at least trying to be.
Ayvira summoned her sword in one smooth motion. "Could be worse. I mean, it’s always worse."
The rats didn’t wait for them to make a plan. The first one darted forward with a burst of speed that caught Drahon completely off guard.
Instinct took over, he shifted his stance, preparing to intercept-
But the thing leapt, higher and faster than expected, its shadow blotting out the torchlight as it came down on him.
Its teeth sank into his forearm before he could get his blade up. Pain lanced up his arm like fire.
The System’s notification came instantly:
[ You’ve just been bitten by a Draconic Rat. ]