Kai had just reached the base of the mountain when a sharp, ear-piercing cry tore through the forest to his right.
He froze.
A second later, a glowing notification appeared in front of him.
Side Quest Obtained:
Find the source of the noise.
Reward: Redacted
Requirement: Insight Required
Kai stared at the screen.
Then he slowly closed his eyes.
“Ugh. This bullshit again.”
The screen hovered silently.
“I am so sick of seeing ‘redacted,’ and it’s only been happening for, what, two hours?”
Unsurprisingly, the system did not care about his complaints.
Kai looked toward the mountain.
Then toward the forest.
Then back at the screen.
The quest only said to find the source of the noise. Not fight it. Not save it. Not defeat whatever horrible monster was probably hiding in the trees. Just find it.
That sounded manageable.
Technically.
Also, there was a reward. A redacted reward, sure, but still a reward. And considering his current situation, Kai was not exactly in a position to reject free help.
He sighed.
“Fine. I’ll look. But if this gets me killed again, I’m haunting that stupid system forever.”
With that, he turned away from the mountain and headed into the forest.
For the next ten minutes, nothing happened.
No more screams.
No footsteps.
No monsters.
No convenient trail of glowing arrows leading him to the quest objective.
Just trees, bushes, and Kai slowly becoming more irritated with every step.
Eventually, he stopped and rubbed the back of his neck.
“What am I even doing?”
He looked around.
“I’m wandering through a monster forest with no weapon, no map, no health bar, and a system that’s about as useful as a locked vending machine.”
He turned back toward the mountain.
“Yeah. No. I’m done.”
Then he heard it again.
This time, it was softer.
A whimper.
Kai went still.
The sound was low and weak, barely louder than the rustling leaves. But he heard it clearly. More importantly, he recognized it.
Something was hurt.
Badly.
His irritation vanished.
Kai had wanted to be a veterinarian for as long as he could remember. Animals had always been the one part of life that made sense to him. People were complicated. People lied, judged, abandoned, and disappointed each other.
Animals were different.
They were honest.
If they were scared, they showed it. If they were angry, they showed it. If they loved you, they showed that too.
The pet shop Kai used to visit had an animal clinic inside, and whenever he could, he watched the workers there. At first, they thought he was just another kid staring through the glass because puppies were cute.
Then he kept coming back.
Again and again.
After a while, one of the younger employees started explaining things to him. Basic care. How to clean wounds. How to calm frightened animals. How to tell when something was seriously wrong.
Eventually, Kai began helping out.
Unofficially, of course.
He cleaned cages, held animals steady during checkups, brought supplies, and learned everything he could. He had even helped with minor procedures. The workers were surprised by how naturally he handled injured animals, but Kai wasn’t.
It was the only thing he had ever been good at.
And now, somewhere nearby, an animal was crying in pain.
Kai reached for his belt.
His heart skipped.
The first aid kit was still there.
Somehow, despite dying, reincarnating, passing out twice, and running through a monster forest, the small emergency kit he always carried was still attached to him.
He quickly opened it and checked inside.
Bandages. Gauze. Antiseptic. Tweezers. Medical tape. A few basic tools.
Nothing missing.
Nothing broken.
Kai let out a breath.
“Thank you, whatever god decided not to screw me over completely.”
Then he ran toward the sound.
The whimpering grew louder as he moved through the forest. Each cry made his chest tighten.
But soon, another sound joined it.
Heavy footsteps.
Very heavy footsteps.
The ground trembled with each one.
Kai’s stomach dropped.
Something else had heard the cries too.
And whatever it was, it was big.
“Of course,” Kai muttered, pushing himself harder. “Because why would the injured animal be the only problem?”
He broke into a full sprint.
His body hated him immediately.
Kai was not athletic. He was lanky, underfed, and built more like someone who survived on vending machine snacks and spite than actual nutrition. His legs burned. His lungs screamed. Branches scratched his arms as he forced himself forward.
But he didn’t stop.
The injured animal was close.
So was the thing chasing it.
Kai burst through a line of trees and stumbled into a clearing.
The whimpering stopped.
A small shape lay a few feet ahead of him, curled against the ground.
Kai could not make out much at first. The clearing shook with the approaching footsteps, making it hard to focus. All he saw clearly were two beautiful orange eyes staring back at him.
Bright.
Afraid.
In pain.
Kai took one step forward.
Then another.
“It’s okay,” he said softly, raising his hands. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
The creature trembled.
Before Kai could get a better look, the trees on the opposite side of the clearing exploded outward.
A massive green beast crashed into view.
Kai’s blood went cold.
The monster was enormous. Its body was bulky and muscular, with thick green skin stretched over a hulking frame. A single horn jutted from the center of its forehead, and in one hand, it dragged a club so large it looked like it had been ripped from a tree.
Drool poured from its mouth in thick strands as it sniffed the air.
Kai immediately understood one very important thing.
He was in trouble.
Serious trouble.
The smart choice would have been to run.
The normal choice would have been to run.
Kai looked down at the wounded creature.
A dark pool of blood spread beneath it.
His hands tightened.
“Damn it.”
He had already come this far.
And Kai, for all his flaws, could not leave something injured behind to be eaten.
He lunged forward and carefully scooped the creature into his arms.
The second he lifted it, his stomach twisted.
There was so much blood.
Too much.
Whatever this thing was, it had already lost a dangerous amount. If he did not get it somewhere safe soon, it was going to die.
The green beast let out a wet, hungry snort.
Kai ran.
The creature in his arms was heavier than he expected, and his already exhausted body protested with every step. His breath came out ragged. His legs felt like they were full of fire.
Behind him, the beast thundered forward.
Kai glanced back once.
Then immediately wished he hadn’t.
The monster had stopped in the clearing.
It was crouched over the bloodstained ground, licking and slurping up the pool of blood like it was the sweetest thing in the world.
Kai almost tripped.
“That is the most disgusting thing I have ever seen.”
The sight was horrifying, but it gave him a few precious seconds.
The monster had smelled the blood. That was why it had come. Which meant the wounded creature in Kai’s arms was the thing it wanted.
Kai looked down.
Blood still dripped from the creature, leaving a trail behind them.
“Okay,” he panted. “That’s bad.”
He changed direction.
Then changed again.
Then again.
Kai ran in uneven, random paths, hoping the scattered blood trail would confuse the monster long enough for him to find somewhere safe. He ducked under branches, stumbled over roots, and pushed through bushes without caring how badly they scratched him.
Eventually, he saw it.
A dark opening in the side of a large rock formation.
A cave.
For once, the universe seemed to offer him something useful.
Kai hurried inside.
The cave was bigger than it looked from the outside. The entrance was narrow enough that the massive green beast would have trouble forcing its way in, but the interior opened into a wide stone chamber. A small hole in the ceiling let in a thin beam of sunlight, just enough for Kai to see.
“Good enough.”
He carefully set the injured creature down and pulled out his first aid kit.
“Okay,” he whispered. “Let’s see what I’m working with.”
He gently spread out its limbs.
Then he stopped.
For a moment, Kai forgot how to breathe.
He stared at the creature lying in front of him.
The scales.
The wings.
The small horns.
The long tail curled weakly against the stone.
His mind tried to reject what he was seeing, but there was no mistaking it.
Kai swallowed.
“No way…”
The wounded creature opened one orange eye and gave a tiny, broken whimper.
Kai stared in disbelief.
It was a dragon.