Rizen, a 19-year-old college student, walked through the quiet streets of uptown. Music blared through his earphones, drowning the world around him. The street was silent, save for the occasional whistle of the wind.
He strolled aimlessly, the surroundings blurring in his vision.
Wait… did I take something earlier?
The thought struck him. He sifted through his memory, no dope, nothing.
Then why was everything warping like this?
Suddenly, the street behind him lagged, like it had been left in slow motion, falling away from his feet.
He blinked, rubbed his eyes—
Poonn~
A sharp sound erupted behind him. Voices shouted.
A man tackled him from the side, sending them both tumbling to the ground, just as something fast whipped past.
A lizard trail—A reptilian creature, its body sleek and scaled, hauled several armored cabins behind it, a caravan. As it streaked down the street like a runaway train.
Applause echoed. Some people clapped. The man who'd tackled Rizen lay over him, chest heaving, as if he'd just pulled off the most dangerous stunt in the world.
Rizen just stared, breath caught.
What the hell just happened?
Up ahead, the lizard rider had come to a stop. He turned to look back—right at Rizen.
His gaze was sharp, narrowed—disappointment mixed with irritation.
As the rider looked toward the man who had saved Rizen, his tone shifted, loud enough for all nearby to hear.
"Good job! The baron shall reward you in the upcoming event."
With that, he steered his lizard mount and continued toward the distant castle.
The man, perhaps in his sixties, with silver strands in his beard and a tired kindness in his eyes, turned to Rizen.
"Try not to pull anything like that again, kid. You won't always be lucky."
Before Rizen could reply, the man was already being patted on the back by onlookers. A few clapped, others murmured praise, and soon, they all went back to their own work, scattering across the street like nothing had happened.
Rizen remained still.
Trying to make sense of anything at all.
The air was fresh, unusually so. He noticed it now. The scent of ripe fruits and vegetables from a nearby stall. A subtle trace of lavender riding on the breeze. Not city air. Not anything he was used to.
He slowly stood.
And then, without warning, a translucent screen blinked into existence before him, floating midair.
∴ ∴ ∴
Welcome, Dragon God!
True Name:Dragon God
Race:Unique
Affiliation:None
Class:Dragon God
STR: 15,000,000,000
AGI: 1,000,000,000 km/hr
PWR: 12,000,000,000
Ascension:Godhood — ??? ago
Followers: --
∴ ∴ ∴
Rizen just stared at the screen.
Blinking. Once. Twice.
Oh... I see.
He wasn't processing. Just dazed, or maybe overwhelmed.
"Hey, you!"
A voice snapped him out of it.
Rizen turned around.
A gruff man stood behind a cluttered stall.
"Wanna buy something?"
Rizen pointed to himself.
"Are you talking to me?"
The man raised a brow.
"Is there anybody else standing in front of my store?"
Rizen looked left. Looked right.
No one.
"If you're not buying, move along!"
"Uh… oh. Okay!"
Still confused, Rizen shuffled off to the side.
One by one, hawkers along the street called out to him, some eager, some annoyed, as he made his way to the end of the road, each stall more crowded and chaotic than the last.
Two armor-clad guards sat lazily atop chair type structures, swords resting at their sides, looking relaxed despite their imposing appearance. They glanced at Rizen as he approached.
"The fee's been waived today," one of them said, not even facing him directly.
"No charge for going in or out."
They spoke to each other more than to him, casually waving him through with a flick of the hand.
Rizen stood there for a moment, unsure.
"What? You don't want to go?" one of them asked, half-smirking.
Rizen gave a confused, sheepish smile, bowed slightly, and continued walking.
"Weird fellow," the other knight muttered, watching him head off toward the woods.
"So anyway, where were we…"
Their idle chatter resumed.
___
Rizen crossed the wide open field that lay ahead—an expanse of flat earth, cleared of all trees and brush, stretching out for kilometers like a man-made buffer between civilization and wild nature.
At its edge, the jungle loomed.
The moment he stepped beneath the canopy, it hit him.
The scent of leaves, damp bark, and rich earth overwhelmed him, far stronger and more intoxicating than any perfume in a mall.
He paused.
Trees towered on either side, ancient and breathing. Vines curled lazily around thick trunks. Clusters of wild fruits hung overhead, their sweet fragrance mingling with the aroma of fresh flowers in bloom.
Rizen inhaled deeply, taking it all in.
It was... beautiful.
Unreal, even.
And just for a moment,he forgot everything else.
The scent, the damp soil beneath his feet, the cool, calm air rustling gently through the leaves, felt purer and richer than anything from any city or town back on Earth.
Rizen moved gracefully through the forest, stepping gently over sharp, jagged rocks that softened and crumbled beneath him.
He walked with eyes closed, unafraid—an innate confidence and authority guiding his movements. Perhaps this was part of his newfound identity: the Dragon God.
Yet, the deeper he ventured, the more distinctly he heard—another living presence by the lakeside.
He stopped and opened his eyes.
Across the clearing stood a beast easily two or three times his size—a sleek leopard-like creature holding a trembling cub in her jaws. She stared at Rizen, instantly misunderstanding him as a threat. Unknowingly, Rizen radiated a subtle but unmistakably powerful aura—the aura of the Dragon God.
The mother beast dropped her cub gently behind her, immediately assuming a defensive stance. She snarled low, warning him away.
Rizen stood still, simply watching her.
Yet when he moved forward just a single step more, the mother leopard's hesitation vanished. Driven by raw instinct and fierce maternal love, she lunged toward him, abandoning any sense of fear or self-preservation.
In that instant, something within Rizen shifted.
The world seemed to slow, reality breaking into distinct frames, as though time itself moved at a higher frame rate than life normally allowed. The leopard was mid-air, each muscle in her powerful body clearly visible, each ripple in her fur perfectly distinct.
Guided by pure instinct, Rizen's arm rose smoothly, almost casually.
Yet something deeper resonated within him. An unsettling calmness.
He felt neither anger nor fear—only a profound indifference.
At this moment, he cared neither for the mother nor the cub.
Neither for his own life nor hers.
A glowing window hovered before his eyes:
∴ ∴ ∴
Transform into the desired form of the Dragon God?
∴ ∴ ∴
Before Rizen could even think of an answer, the choice was made for him.
The air beside him shimmered, warped, as if folding in on itself. His body blurred, limbs melting into light and re-forming, bones cracking and stretching, muscles tightening like steel cables drawn taut.
His entire being reshaped in seconds.
In one breath, he went from 5'11" to a towering 7'8". The world below shrank. He was no longer looking up at the panther, he now stood above it, like a beast before a bigger beast.
His hand, still gripping the lunging beast, had changed—no longer his hand, but a monstrous arm, thick and coiled with muscle, larger and more powerful than anything he could have imagined. Its sheer size made it look like the neck of a dragon—scaly, sinewed, and lethal.
The beast in his grasp froze.
Its fierce glare vanished, replaced by something primal: awe, fear, disbelief. It stopped struggling. A stunned panic rippled through its wide, gleaming eyes, as though it had just realized it was no longer the predator.
It was prey.
Rizen looked down at himself.
His clothes were in shreds. His shirt hung in tatters from his broad frame, the fabric torn by the sudden expansion. Even his undergarments hadn't survived, his body had simply outgrown them.
His torso was immense—an impossibly wide, granite-hard chest layered with wild, corded muscle. An eight-pack stretched across his abdomen like carved armor. His waist was tight, legs thick and powerful, like they could leap over mountains. His arms were absurd, massive and long, flexed in natural readiness, built to wield divine power.
He stared in quiet disbelief, awed by the sheer might of this new body.
But reality snapped back into focus.
A soft whimper.
He looked to his hand—the black leopard still hung from it, her body tense, her eyes pleading. She wasn't fighting anymore. Just trying to breathe.
The transformation's strength had made him squeeze harder than he intended.
With a blink of realization, Rizen loosened his grip and gently tossed her toward her cubs.
The mother beast landed safely, dazed but unharmed. She touched her jaw once, then quickly clutched one of her cubs and darted into the shadows of the forest. The others followed, scampering behind her.
Rizen stood there, barefoot, shirtless, massive, watching them disappear between the trees.
Rizen glanced around, taking in the vast forest and the towering form of his new body.
His aura—thick, ancient, and oppressive, had already spread across the jungle like a silent storm. Even without trying, he could feel it dampening the entire forest. Through his heightened draconic senses, he could sense it all.
Beasts—both predator and prey, fled in chaotic unison. Hierarchies shattered. Survival instincts overruled bloodlines. Hooves pounded the earth. Wings beat against the air. The entire ecosystem trembled under the weight of a power they didn't understand.
Rizen breathed slowly, deeply, as if drawing in the wildness of the world itself. The forest felt… peaceful. Natural.
He briefly considered exploring deeper, something in him hungered for it.
But then, he paused.
Not today.
Let's see the city first…
If the beasts become a problem later, then maybe.
He turned.
And moved.
With a single step, he crossed meters of land, his long, muscular legs covering distance effortlessly.
__
Back at the city's gate, the two armored knights jolted upright in their chairs, faces suddenly pale.
"You feel that?" one asked, voice hoarse.
The other simply nodded, sweat already trailing down his temple.
Up on the city walls, drowsy guards snapped out of their half-sleep. Within moments, the commander burst up the stone steps, barking orders.
"Everyone to the walls! Now!"
Horn signals blared. Orders rang out. Armor clashed. A soldier was already slipped through the northern gate to call for reinforcements, just in case the city was overrun.
They had no idea what was coming.
But every instinct told them: it wasn't human.
Soldiers lined the walls. Spears were gripped tight. Arrows drawn. Their bodies trembled, breath held.
And then…
Nothing.
No monster.
No stampede.
Just a single figure walking calmly down the wide field.
A man.
But not.
Towering at 7.8 feet, wide-shouldered, carved of flesh and bone, he moved with the calm of a creature that feared nothing.
The commander's voice dropped.
"That's no man..."
The soldiers instinctively stepped back as the towering figure approached. Their commander, to his credit, held his ground. He stepped forward, clasping his hands together in a respectful gesture.
"Great adventurer," he said, voice formal, though the word great came with an intentional weight, as if trying to flatter whatever entity now stood before him.
"How may we assist you?"
Rizen stared at him, expression unreadable. His eyes, however, drifted behind the commander—to the gathered army. Spears, swords, bows… all aimed, yet all hesitant. His gaze lingered, silent.
Great adventurer? Rizen thought.
Must be someone else.
Without a word, he casually stepped past the commander and the line of soldiers, not wanting to cause them trouble, or draw more attention.
But to the soldiers, his calmness only deepened the mystery. The commander's expression tightened, gaze fixed on Rizen's back.
He leaned toward one of the guards and whispered:
"Send for an advance party from the capital. I don't know who or what he is, but his presence is... too unnatural."
Unbeknownst to them, Rizen had heard every word. His draconic senses picked up even the lightest breath.
But he didn't care.
Because his mind was elsewhere.
He walked through the city streets, towering above the crowd. Civilians paused, eyes wide, whispering among themselves. His bare, massive frame, ripped clothes, carved muscles, unearthly aura, drew stares and fear in equal measure.
Yet Rizen barely noticed.
He was thinking.
Since I don't need food or sleep…
Should I explore this world to its fullest?
A slow, curious smile crept onto his face.