Haegyeom Yi stopped by a nearby mart to do some shopping.
"Fruits, meat, feed..."
Candidates for food to give the hatchling.
"Mealworms, hmm."
He wanted to get some, but there wasn't anywhere nearby to buy them, so he decided to pass for now.
"If needed, I can order online later."
Honestly, Haegyeom hoped it wouldn't come to that.
Anyway.
Carrying his purchases back to his semi-basement rental, he found the hatchling already awake.
"Sleep well?"
Pya!
Just looking at the first slot in his inventory brought a warm smile to his face.
[Status]
[Tenant: Red Dragon Hatchling]
[Status: Grateful, Hungry]
Thanks to a good night's sleep, the "lethargy" status had vanished from the tenant management window.
Now, all he had to do was feed it, and everything would be perfect.
"Here. I didn't know what you'd like, so I bought a bit of everything?"
With his inventory open, he laid out his purchases on the floor: bananas, mangoes, blueberries, pineapples, dragon fruit, beef, pork, chicken, dog food, cat food, churu...
The hatchling watched with eyes full of curiosity.
"So, anything here look good?"
Haegyeom pondered.
Dragons probably like meat, right?
But the hatchling showed no reaction.
"...Why? You're hungry, aren't you?"
Maybe it couldn't smell anything from inside the inventory?
Haegyeom cautiously reached into slot 1 to try pulling the hatchling out.
Shake shake shake shake.
"Huh?"
Shake shake.
The hatchling reacted vigorously.
"Don't wanna come out?"
Nod nod.
It had tried so hard to get out back in the tower, so why not here?
'Well, it says no...'
He decided to leave it be.
Remember: today's goal is to build rapport.
Instead,
Haegyeom tried putting the food directly into the inventory.
'Will this work...?'
Normally, each inventory slot held only one type of "item," limited to 15kg per slot.
'The hatchling was in there from the start, so somehow it fit as a tenant...'
But putting in regular items that weren't "items"?
He never would have tried before.
But now that his inventory had become residential?
"Banana first... Oh!"
It worked.
Perfectly.
Staring at the banana that had entered slot 1, Haegyeom muttered,
"This actually works."
Storing regular goods that weren't items in his inventory?
The possibilities were endless.
'Like bringing guns into the tower.'
But that wasn't the priority right now.
"...It's not eating."
The hatchling ignored the banana completely.
Haegyeom tried the other fruits next.
Pya-?
The hatchling just tilted its head, showing no interest in any of them.
"Then meat?"
Same with the meats.
Raw or cooked, no difference.
"...Feed and churu..."
Even those he'd bought just in case were predictably ignored.
Pya pya!
Amid all the putting in and taking out, the only incident was the hatchling latching onto his hand, thinking it was playtime.
"Cute... but seriously, what does this thing eat?"
Haegyeom stroked the hatchling's head—clinging to his hand inside the inventory—with his other hand, murmuring to himself.
It was soft... no.
This was serious.
"Do I really have to buy some?"
Mealworms and such bugs.
He didn't have a huge aversion, but he didn't exactly want them close by either.
Buying them wasn't the issue.
Just...
"...Somehow, I doubt it'll eat those either."
Given how it rejected everything food-like, mealworms probably wouldn't cut it.
"What now?"
Stroke stroke—
As he pondered while petting it,
[The Red Dragon Hatchling is hungry!]
[The hatchling requires appropriate food.]
"Huh?"
A loud rumble echoed from the hatchling's belly at the same time.
Grrrooowl—
Pya, pyaa...
The hatchling clutched its stomach with its front paws.
"...Yeah, I know that. I just don't know what to give you."
System message?
He'd hoped for something concrete, but nothing useful.
Instead, though?
Sniff sniff.
Pyaak!
The hatchling wriggled free from his hand and crawled to one side of the inventory slot.
Then,
Sniff sniff.
Pyang!
Pressing against the wall, it gazed at Haegyeom with sparkling yellow eyes!
...It seemed to desperately want something.
And.
"No way?"
The wall it clung to was the boundary between the first and second slots.
Between 1 and 2.
And what was in 2...
Mana Stone 12.5kg
"...Mana stone?"
It was mana stone.
Side income from his old job, plus rewards from clearing the tower's first floor with SSS+ grade.
"You eat mana stones?"
On a hunch, Haegyeom pulled some from slot 2 and offered it.
Pya—!
The hatchling's eyes lit up as it grabbed the mana stone with both hands.
Nom nom.
It chomped down hard.
"...For real?"
Part of the mana stone vanished into the hatchling's belly.
"..."
Haegyeom thought,
'Well, it's a dragon.'
Not that strange.
Dragons can eat mana stones.
The problem was...
'How much does it eat?'
The hatchling was devouring it at an alarming rate!
Mana stones cost a million won per kg.
Already, nearly 3kg had disappeared into its stomach.
Nom.
"...Tasty?"
Nyaam.
Pyahaha—!
The happiest expression he'd seen yet.
"Eat up."
What could he say?
He had no intention of stopping it.
'It earned all this anyway.'
Haegyeom was sharp about profits but had his pride.
...He'd have to give up dreams of cashing in over ten million won.
Nom.
Munch munch.
Anyway, the hatchling was adorable.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
After the mana stone meal,
Haegyeom checked the remaining amount.
[Mana Stone 7.5kg]
"5kg in one go...?"
How did that tiny body hold it all?
And its weight hadn't increased noticeably.
"Doesn't make sense, but..."
That "breath" attack was the same.
Haegyeom decided not to dwell.
So,
the facts were: the hatchling's meal cost nearly five million won,
[The Red Dragon Hatchling requires a name.]
—and he had to name the hatchling.
"Yeah, can't keep calling it hatchling forever."
Haegyeom nodded.
But there was one big issue.
"I'm terrible at naming..."
He had zero sense for it!
Haegyeom met the hatchling's eyes.
Pyaah...!
It stared back expectantly with sparkling eyes.
'We communicate somewhat... Maybe throw out a few options and let it pick?'
He decided to toss out some names.
"Red dragon, so... Redryong? Shorten to Drong, how's that?"
When pitching to clients, you always gave crappy first and second options.
Throw out junk, then refine later.
That was the plan.
Pya!
[The Red Dragon Hatchling is extremely satisfied!]
[Hatchling's name confirmed as 'Drong.']
"What."
[Status]
[Tenant: Drong (Red Dragon Hatchling)]
[Status: Grateful]
"..."
[Bond with the hatchling has been further strengthened!]
And so, the hatchling's name became Drong.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Haegyeom blankly watched Drong waddling around inside the inventory.
"No, really... this name's okay?"
He should've put more thought into the first pitch.
"...As long as it likes it."
What could he do?
The client approved.
Cheers.
And honestly, it wasn't bad.
Like a cute nickname that suited it perfectly, like Chun-sik or something.
"...Ahem."
Haegyeom cleared his throat awkwardly.
"Eh, whatever. Can't change it now."
Overthinking would just give him a headache.
Instead, he pulled up the Awakener Community on his smartphone.
By now, word of his SSS+ clear should have spread, and he wanted to gauge reactions.
That would solidify his next moves.
The community was—
[Breaking News]
[Title: The SSS+ Clearer Has to Be a Regressor - Straight Facts EU]
"...Huh?"
—exploding with more reaction than he'd imagined.
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