Chapter 5
However, she couldn’t keep running forever.
Yuna was not a warrior with boundless stamina; she was a frail healer who should be protected by such a warrior.
Her physical strength had a clear limit, and knowing that limit, Yuna tried to fight back against the goblins pursuing her, just like she did with the zombies.
“Ugh…!”
But unlike the mindless zombies, the goblins could think.
They were capable of teamwork, and when Yuna lashed out at them, the goblins calmly began to wear her down, like a hunter slowly exhausting its prey.
“I’m being hunted!”
“Kkaruk! Kkiruk…!”
Yuna realized she was being hunted like a beast by the goblins, but by the time she realized it, she had already fallen into their trap.
In a desperate attempt to escape the trap set by the goblins, Yuna ran along the mountain path, but it seemed that the goblins had no intention of letting her go.
With their tongues hanging out and eyes filled with lust, they pursued Yuna, their gazes fixed on her as she ran for her life. And in the end…
“Is this the end?”
She reached a dead end.
To be precise, it was a cliff. If she jumped off the cliff, she might be able to escape the goblins chasing her, but the height was overwhelming.
It was easily over 100 meters high.
A normal person would die instantly from such a fall, and even an awakened being with a tougher body couldn’t guarantee survival.
But behind her, a green monster with a lustful gaze was chasing her, intent on violating her.
“Ugh… ugh…”
In front of her was the cliff; behind her, the green monster with a lewd look.
Yuna faced a choice between physical death and mental death, and the situation forced her to decide.
“…Maybe if I’m lucky, I’ll survive!”
Still, Yuna couldn’t bear the thought of losing her dignity to those monsters, so she closed her eyes and threw herself off the cliff.
She felt the sensation of floating and the harsh, fierce wind against her body, signalling that she had thrown herself off the cliff.
“Kkaruk! Kkaruk!”
“Eat dirt…!”
Yuna swore at the green monster that was watching her in shock as she plummeted down the cliff.
However, soon the fear of falling and the terror of impending death enveloped her entire being.
She wished to die without pain, and if she were lucky enough to survive, she wondered if she could use her skill to heal herself.
As she continued to feel the endless floating sensation, awaiting the pain and death she expected, she suddenly realized,
“Huh?”
She didn’t feel any pain at all.
All she felt was the continuous sensation of floating.
By this point, she should have already hit the ground, but her body kept falling down the cliff.
When she opened her eyes, Yuna realized that somehow, she had reached the ground without injury.
“No injuries at all… What happened?”
She had reached the bottom of the cliff without any wounds or pain.
In this miraculous situation, Yuna felt the urge to pray to the heavens, but before that, she noticed something strange in her surroundings.
“What’s that? A cave?”
It was a cave.
The cave Yuna found appeared to be a natural formation created by the collision of natural elements, rather than one made by human hands.
Faced with the sudden appearance of the cave, Yuna hesitated, but she thought it would be a good place to hide from the mountain monsters and decided to explore the interior.
Of course, the cave could have been a dwelling for a monster, but Yuna confirmed that there were no tracks of monsters or animals near the entrance.
There were no footprints or signs that were common in the mountains around the cave entrance.
Thus, Yuna was convinced that this cave had remained undiscovered by others until now.
“…Wow.”
At first, she thought it would be a temporary shelter, but Yuna soon realized her thoughts were changing.
The entrance appeared to be a natural cave, but inside, it was filled with intricate carvings and mysterious symbols that seemed to represent something.
It seemed like a sort of ruin, marked by the traces of someone unknown.
“It’s a ruin.”
Yuna, who had never imagined finding such ruins on Namsan in Gyeongju, slowly advanced further, relying on the light from her smartphone.
“A statue?”
After some exploration, she discovered a finely crafted statue.
Nearby, murals illustrated the deeds of the figure depicted in the statue, and the same symbols she had seen at the cave entrance appeared around them.
The murals depicted a large dragon interacting with a woman.
And then…
“W-what is this!? What is happening?”
As Yuna approached the statue to inspect it more closely, the ruins seemed to welcome her arrival. Starting with the statue she was looking at, numerous flames began to ignite one after another.
The flames illuminated a path deeper into the cave—or rather, the ruins—urging her to proceed. Yuna felt a mix of awe and fear at the mysterious sight before her.
“What could be at the end of this?”
At the same time, she felt curiosity and reverence.
It was clearly not an ordinary cave, but a ruin with a mystical aura.
So, what could be at the end of this shrine?
Could there be a treasure or artifact like those found in fantasy novels?
Or perhaps, could there be a miraculous encounter that might change her bleak reality?
In normal times, such thoughts would be fanciful, but having experienced the story-like disaster of a zombie apocalypse, Yuna found herself trembling with a newfound adventurous spirit.
“Let’s go. I have nowhere else to return to anyway.”
Compelled by the mysterious scene before her, Yuna overcame her fear and stepped slowly into the depths of the shrine.
“It’s deep.”
The deeper she went, the more statues and murals appeared.
Realizing that the carvings followed a consistent pattern, Yuna began to think that the statues in the shrine might be a sort of historical record.
Though the gender and appearance of each figure varied, they all consistently depicted interactions with a certain dragon.
“Is this a shrine dedicated to a dragon?”
Yuna wondered if this might be a ruin dedicated to some dragon.
Eventually, she reached the end of the ruins and found a staircase that led endlessly upward.
“Wow… It feels like a temple.”
Without an escalator, just an unadorned staircase, she thought it would be tiring to climb, but Yuna, having awakened, was physically stronger than ordinary people.
After struggling to climb the stairs, Yuna finally reached the top…
“……”
She fell silent.
When she reached the top of the stairs, what appeared before her were seven gigantic dragon statues and an altar.
The seven dragons, with human-like bodies but dragon faces, stared at Yuna.
Their overwhelming presence made Yuna instinctively shrink back, and even though they were mere statues, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of awe.
“Haha… they’re just statues. There’s no problem… Yeah, no problem at all.”
Yes, they were just statues.
She was filled with awe at their size, intricacy, and the stunning sight that didn’t seem man-made, but they were just statues.
Surely, these statues wouldn’t come to life, she thought. But at that moment…
“…I never imagined a visitor would come to this place.”
“Huh? A voice? Where is it? Who’s there?!”
A dignified voice reverberated throughout the shrine, shattering Yuna’s naïve thoughts.
The low, majestic voice that filled the room made Yuna look around in a panic.
There were only the dragon statues around her, no signs of any living beings.
As she reached the unsettling realization that perhaps the statues were actually alive…
“Below you.”
She looked down instinctively at the direction of the voice.
It was only then that Yuna noticed something beneath her feet.
She had been so distracted by the sight of the giant dragon statues that she hadn’t noticed the massive, imposing presence below the transparent floor she was standing on.
“A Dragon?”
It was a massive dragon.
Beyond what seemed to be a transparent glass, the dragon sat majestically, as if seated on a stone throne.
With calm blue eyes, the dragon gazed at Yuna gently, and Yuna finally realized that the voice she heard came from this dragon.
“I welcome a visitor after such a long time.”
“A visitor… Does that mean… I am the visitor of this place?”
“Yes. Or perhaps it is more appropriate to call you a guest of my shrine.”
Yuna wasn’t sure what to think.
She looked at the dragon with a fearful expression.
For now, the huge dragon was staying still, so nothing had happened yet. But if that dragon decided to be hostile, Yuna knew she would just be prey for those giant claws.
Overwhelmed by the dragon’s massive presence, Yuna felt a wave of fear and terror and was about to collapse in despair.
“Cast away the fear in your heart. I am… Bahamut. A benevolent dragon who protects people. I safeguard the weak and act with virtue. Thus, you have no need to fear. To me, you are one of those I am bound to protect.”
But the dragon gently revealed his name to Yuna, declaring that he had no intention of being hostile.
The dragon, whose presence was both gentle and solemn, expressed his intent to protect Yuna, calling her a weakling in need of protection.
“Wow…”
Only then did Yuna cast away her fear and look at the dragon in admiration.
His massive form was adorned with mostly dark blue scales, with golden and red scales accentuating various parts of his body.
The dragon, whose size was dozens of times larger than hers, had wing-like appendages on his back that resembled claws covered in scales. He rested his hand near what seemed to be his chin.
He appeared to be contemplating what to do with Yuna, who had arrived at his sanctuary, but Yuna could only focus on the imposing figure of the dragon beyond the transparent barrier.
“Visitor, what brings you to this place?”
“Well, um… I was running away from monsters and ended up here by chance.”
Yuna, awed by the dragon’s appearance, replied honestly about her reason for visiting the place.
“Monsters?”
“Well, um, green creatures… Ah, do you know goblins?”
“I see. I understand.”
The dragon nodded slowly and gravely, as if empathizing with Yuna’s situation. For the first time in a while, Yuna felt a sense of comfort and relief.
A comfort she hadn’t felt at the survivor camp washed over her, and Yuna sank to the ground as if all her strength had left her.
But before she could drift off to sleep, the next words made her snap back to attention.
“This is a sacred shrine where contracts are made. It was completed with my power. Those who form a contract with me here can receive my power.”
“P-power? Are you saying I can obtain your power?”
It seemed she could gain power here.
Yuna, shocked by the dragon’s words, looked down at the dragon beneath her and asked again.
“Yes. But it is not entirely without cost. Through your contract and strength, I will manifest in this world, and in return, I will lend you my power. It is a kind of contractual relationship.”
The dragon clarified that there was indeed a price, though not without any benefits.
Hearing the dragon’s explanation, Yuna fell into deep thought for a moment.
‘If I can borrow that dragon’s power, it’s not just a price. It’s like I can borrow the dragon’s power with practically no cost.’
But that thought only lasted for a moment.
Yuna considered that the cost mentioned by the dragon was trivial in comparison to the power she might receive.
The only problem was…
‘But can an ordinary person like me really make a contract with such a great being?’
Could someone as ordinary as her be worthy of forming a contract with such a magnificent creature?
‘I’m someone who killed my own parents…’
Her next thought was of the guilt she had carried from the past.
Was it really okay for her to survive and seek salvation on her own?
“…The fact that you made it here means you have the potential to grow into a being that could influence the entire world one day.”
And as if understanding her inner turmoil, Bahamut began to speak, as if to console her.
“You’re saying… I could become such a great being?”
“Whether it is to bring good to the world or to bring destruction, I cannot say.”
It was hard to believe she could become such a significant figure.
But the dragon’s solemn demeanour seemed to suggest that he had already decided on her future.
“So, if you prove your justice and convictions, I will lend you my power in the name of my honor.”
“I… I…”
And he said he would help her along that path.
Yuna didn’t understand any of the dragon’s words.
But there was one thing she did know.
“I want to live! I want to return this damned world to normal and live again!”
She knew that this was her last chance.
Yuna, without hesitation, cried out to the dragon that she wanted to live and restore the world from the zombie apocalypse to its original state.
“That is enough. If that is your desire, I will lend you my power. I swear it upon my name, Bahamut.”
【You have changed your class.】
【Class: Priestess of the Dragon has been unlocked.】
With Bahamut’s declaration, a status window appeared, confirming that the contract with the dragon was complete. Yuna, feeling a wave of relief… collapsed.
“…Huh?”
It seemed that Yuna’s body, exhausted from the journey, demanded rest.
Seeing Yuna collapse like a stringless puppet, the dragon behind the barrier looked at her with a perplexed expression.
“It’s fine. No problem. At least things didn’t go wrong.”
What do you mean, “no problem”? You foolish dragon.
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