Unbeknownst to Rena, the symbolism of dragons on the continent was immense.
This was separate from the reverence for the transcendent powers owned by an individual dragon.
A dragon was proof of the legitimacy of a king of a nation, the ancestor of a renowned family, and in ancient times, even a deity worshiped by the masses.
The Great Forest’s reputation as a place of fear originated from the legend that the forest was owned by dragons.
However, with the passage of time, dragons became questionable in the modern age as to whether they had ever actually existed.
Tracing back the last sighting of a dragon required counting time in centuries, which was far too long a period for creatures prone to forgetfulness.
For these reasons, the discovery of a dragon, even if it were a corpse, was an event that could turn the continent upside down.
Mages would go insane over it, those in power would spend fortunes to acquire any information about it, and adventurers would see it as a chance to make their name renowned across the land.
“Wow, it’s huge.”
But that applied to other people’s situations.
Rena’s impression ended just there.
Should she have any other impressions?
Dragons are fascinating, but at the end of the day, they’re just lizards with wings, right?
Of course, if it were alive, it would wield incredible magic, command elementals, and be skilled in martial arts, making it a game-changing character, but that was when it was alive.
In front of Rena lay the skeleton of a dead dragon.
Her impression was little different from visiting an ancient animal skeleton in a museum.
What could you do with this? Just marvel briefly and that’s it.
This was probably why the wolf, uncertain itself, finally brought her here.
Will you eat the bones or use them like a weapon?
…Hmm, you could eat it, I guess.
You could boil the bones for soup.
Rena looked up at the dragon skeleton and smacked her lips.
Given its size, the marrow must be thick, right?
It would make a great tonic, especially when the body feels weak during seasonal changes.
The broth of monsters was always tasty, so how special would a dragon’s be?
Tail soup, dog bone soup, ox bone soup, ox sinew soup.
While Rena joyfully fantasized about what she could cook from different parts, the sensation of itching that she didn’t quite adapt to returned.
She had just leveled up not long ago.
Why the heck is this happening?
This wasn’t a skin-deep sensation but an ingrained tickle directly into the soul.
Rena closed her eyes and delved into her inner world.
The surroundings darkened, and as expected, the paths of destiny that should lead to levels weren’t open yet despite not leveling up.
Amid all this, only one path blazed ahead—the wilderness’s fate which she had already attained.
“No, that’s not the way.”
Rena quickly turned her gaze elsewhere.
If the system wasn’t malfunctioning, there must be a change.
Even if Rena treated the status window as a useless relic, she trusted it when it came to her class.
She had certainly benefited significantly through the wild fate.
As her gaze swirled through the darkness, it shot upward and abruptly halted.
Up until now, the paths of destiny had existed on the ground beneath Rena’s feet.
Even if it was made of light, it was still tangible underfoot, a way forward.
This time, it was different.
Above the sky floated a constellation.
A huge dragon-shaped constellation connected with dozens of stars.
In ancient times, constellations were timeless mysteries in the heavens.
Although scientific advancements revealed that stars were merely colossal stones in the universe, that was just a mundane argument from science.
The constellations were symbols leading destinies and guiding people’s paths.
But it was something people could never directly carve out.
It was a force of destiny descending from above—star thrones.
In short, it was a hidden class change.
“…”
Rena quietly stayed.
How could someone possibly touch a star without spaceships or superhuman powers alone?
Even if one could jump extraordinarily high, could they narrow the distance of hundreds of light-years by even a speck?
The basic common knowledge of a hundred light-years, the distance light travels, was a fact everyone, even those not scientifically inclined, recognized.
Therefore, inversely, the stars came to her.
Not in a “meteor” or comet collision sense, but as brilliant starlight cascading down toward her.
The starlight formed a dragon and Rena intuitively recognized it as the same dragon that had only left behind its skeleton in its den.
The enormous body made of starlight, its emerald-like scales resembling lush vegetation, the elongated pupils characteristic of reptiles, the wings spread wide enough to envelop the world, and a sturdy tail.
Overwhelmed by wonderment, Rena couldn’t move as the dragon impacted her.
Similar to when she had awoken to the wild fate’s awakening, the dragon’s shape transformed into her figure and overlapped with her.
「The awakened destiny of the Wild has achieved a miraculous causality!」
「The blessing of the Green Dragon protects the player!」
*
While Rena was lost in her inner world, the wolf had come out of its frustration.
This cold-blooded potential pet owner had ignored the animal’s melancholy, walking away as if it weren’t there.
While children often cry, it’s rare for them to cry to the point where they’re soaked in tears.
Most times, it’s their way of waiting for attention from their family and parents.
That’s why telling a kid who says, “I’ll be here while mom goes home” isn’t child abuse, but a wise handling to restore family discipline.
The wolf was similar.
Knowing its antics were futile and would only cause its own harm, it quickly adjusted its mindset.
Huh?
But suddenly, something seemed off with its potential owner.
She had stopped in her place, and then froze stiff like a statue.
This was alarming for the wolf.
Something was wrong with the potential owner!
As it worriedly approached, a terrifying scream escaped its throat.
Rena’s eyes, which had abruptly opened, were emitting a yellow aura.
That wasn’t all.
The pupils had changed.
The vertically slit pupils of a reptile implied such an existential transformation.
Rena’s atmosphere had completely flipped.
While the wolf had already perceived her as a monstrous human, this oppressive energy had increased dozens of times.
Its legs trembled uncontrollably, and its tail had tucked itself tightly between its legs.
The wolf’s fur bristled up as goosebumps would on a human feeling unease.
Its teeth uncontrollably clattered against each other.
Fortunately, just before it fainted from fear, Rena returned to her senses.
She blinked a few times to focus her eyes and curiously asked the wolf curled up in front of her like a ball,
“What are you doing here?”
Kiing!
The wolf cried in frustration.
Upon reconsidering its current state, it was also slightly embarrassed.
But who was the culprit that put it in this state?
Ignoring its concern and treating it so unfairly, the wolf felt like jumping and going mad.
“Huh, that’s not acceptable.”
Rena remained cold.
I guess ignoring me has made her finally decide to distance herself from my melancholy.
Although the wolf had curled into a ball, Rena didn’t understand its meaning.
It was normal for animals to behave in ways people couldn’t comprehend.
Like dogs that suddenly woke up and barked at a wall or cats that asked for petting but ran away when touched.
It was normal that animals’ inner states couldn’t be deduced by a human.
Rena kicked the wolf with her foot and pushed it away.
More important than that was the cascade of letters appearing before her eyes.
「‘The Mystery of the Great Forest’ completed!」
「The player awakens the hidden destiny, the Green Dragon’s Star Throne!」
────────────────
[Star Throne of the Green Dragon]
────────────────
「The Mystery of the Great Forest is continuing through a connected quest!」
────────────────
[The Heritage of the Dragon]
Among the remains of the last dragon on the continent in its homeland, the Great Forest,
although its breath had ceased, the dragon’s spiritual essence remains eternally unerased.
Thus, over long eras, it is transferred to someone with proper qualification.
You have been entrusted with this duty and destiny.
Gathering the Dragon’s heritage is thus…
────────────────
“Ugh, my eyes hurt.”
Rena tightly shut her eyes and shook her head.
The cascading letters, which even chased after her retinas, mixed up chaotically and melted away like cotton candy touched by water.
Phew, I’ll live.
The status window!
In stories, it was a player cheat code, but for Rena, it was a deceptive art lowering vision and disorienting her mind.
With the name being the only clear detail, the rest was either pixelated or blurred, creating a haze that confused focus more as one’s eyesight grew better.
Thus, forgetting the rest, remembering only the phrase ‘Green Dragon’s Star Throne’ was sufficient.
The awakened Wild destiny had naturally embedded itself into Rena’s being.
Even now, Rena could feel the imprinted form of the wild being inside her chest.
Save for the slightly altered naming, the changes in context since the dragon throne rose in her inner world were similar.
Instead of external skin, Rena could now comprehend the vividly imprinted star pattern within herself.
It must have been due to seeing the actual dragon and some kind of triggering mechanism that had activated a hidden class.
Since the system was game-based and she was the player, the event was naturally linked to her.
Surprisingly, this conclusion was pretty close to the truth.
While it was true that Rena often acted as if there wasn’t much upstairs between her ears,
it wasn’t due to innate low intelligence but rather a congenital lack of concern or an overly peaceful demeanor.
For modern humans, living amid the sea of indiscriminate information provided by the internet, deducing the truth using the given clues was a fundamental skill.
“The Star Throne of the Green Dragon.”
Rena rolled the words in her mouth.
It’s a pretty cool name, and I like it.
While the exact effects are unclear due to the messy system, it’s bound to be something grand given the ‘dragon’ name.
Even a dung beetle knows how to roll.
Would a dragon disappoint?
Despite having nothing to eat, Rena felt full and satisfied.
And after this, it was normal that her heart began to waver about propositions she had previously rejected outright.
“I’m being particularly kind.”
Rena spoke as if bearing a great burden.
“I hereby appoint you as our family’s watchdog.”
Auuuu!
Caught off guard by the sudden decision for a moment.
The wolf howled in joy.
