DSMC Chapter 120

Finding the dragon wasn’t Yan Jiyun’s main concern, as he could track it by scent. The real problem was how to persuade it to work with him once he found it.

When he entered the city, Adonis and Daniel mentioned there were dragons in the arena, but those would be heavily guarded. It was better to find the one that had escaped. He trusted that with Qi Feng and Chu Mo’s experience, they could handle the other two dragons.

Yan Jiyun darted through the streets, slipping under shop racks, sprinting at full speed toward where the black dragon was hiding.

The unique scent grew stronger.

Dragons were large creatures. If one needed a place to rest, it would have to be somewhere spacious.

Perhaps due to game settings, the dragon’s range was limited to Angel City. That further confirmed his suspicion; only by interacting with the dragon could he obtain the information card.

But since Western dragons were usually evil, would it be suspicious and hard to approach?

Behind an abandoned house, Yan Jiyun spotted the black dragon lowering its head, eating something. Apparently a delicious roasted chicken.

The smell made his stomach growl. He was truly hungry.

No!! He was here to negotiate with the dragon.

Yan Jiyun climbed onto the roof and slowly approached it.

At close range, he observed the big-bellied black dragon. It wasn’t as massive as he had imagined, probably because its wings were folded, making it less intimidating and even somewhat… amusing-looking.

In its resting state, he could clearly see its appearance.

Its entire body was pitch black, just like him, looking like a black lump from afar. Its torso resembled a lion’s, its wings were bat-like, and it had no fur, only scales that shimmered in the sunlight. Its powerful limbs ended in sharp claws, and its tail swayed happily as it ate, leaving deep marks on the ground and scraping the grass bare.

At the moment, one of its foreclaws was pinning down a roasted chicken.

From the rooftop, Yan Jiyun’s stomach let out an ill-timed growl.

The black dragon suddenly lifted its head and saw a black cat crouching on the rooftop at eye level.

The cat was pitch black, had four limbs, fur instead of scales, and no wings. Aside from the color, it looked nothing like its kind.

Definitely not the same species.

Instead, the black dragon thought… it might be nice to keep something like this as a pet.

The dragon straightened its upper body and reached out its sharp claws toward the black cat on the roof.

Yan Jiyun didn’t regret being discovered, as his goal had been to approach the dragon anyway. It seemed the dragon had taken an interest in him.

The dragon tossed the remaining half of the chicken in front of him.

Uan Jiyun: “…”

It could even tell he was hungry. This dragon definitely had some intelligence.

To gain its trust, Yan Jiyun decided to test the “poison” himself and try the roasted chicken. Of course, for health reasons, he avoided the oily skin and only ate the breast and thigh meat.

Pressing the meat with his paws, he took a bite. Perhaps because he was hungry, the flavor burst in his mouth, filling it with rich meaty aroma.

Not bad. Just enough to fill his stomach.

He’d heard Western dragons could breathe fire. If this chicken had been roasted by its flames, then this dragon would be incredibly useful.

After finishing about half the chicken, Yan Jiyun licked the grease off his paws and pushed the remaining meat back toward the dragon, signaling it not to waste food.

Life wasn’t easy. The black cat sighed.

Black dragon: “…”

After grooming himself, Yan Jiyun paced around on the rooftop. He glanced at the dragon’s back. There were no protruding spikes. This dragon looked rideable.

While he was eating, the dragon had also been observing him. It knew he posed no threat. He was so small that it could flatten him with a single swipe.

Yan Jiyun tried jumping onto the dragon’s back, but the dragon was facing him, watching his every move. When he moved left, its head followed left; when he moved right, it followed right.

Both of them were pitch black. If it weren’t daytime, they might stare at each other all night without being noticed.

Curious, the dragon reached out a claw to poke him. Those sharp claws looked like they could easily pierce his skin, so Yan Jiyun quickly jumped back. When the dragon grew slightly impatient and leaned forward again, he instead reached out and touched its claw.

If the dragon touched him, it might hurt him; but if he touched the dragon, there was no such risk.

The soft pads of the black cat pressed against the dragon’s sharp claw. Its skin was extremely hard and rough, but cool to the touch, perfect for cooling off in summer.

Wow, so this is what a dragon looks like. It’s actually kind of cute. It would be great as a pet.

Even if it was part of the game, it felt incredibly realistic.

He couldn’t resist touching it a few more times.

The dragon leaned its head closer, bringing its gaze level with Yan Jiyun.

Now he could see it even more clearly.

Its eyes were black as well.

Summoning his courage, he stood up and patted the dragon’s head.

Both sides were testing each other. The dragon noticed the cat’s emerald-green eyes and how soft its fur looked.

It tried once again to touch the cat’s fur. This time, Yan Jiyun wasn’t afraid, though he kept a close watch on its claws. Those sharp, hard claws couldn’t be allowed to injure him. His back hadn’t fully healed yet.

The dragon’s claw only brushed against his fur. Only then did it realize that their “blackness” was different.

Its own body was covered in hard scales, while this little creature had soft fur.

The dragon opened its mouth. “Ao~”

Yan Jiyun didn’t know exactly what it meant, but it didn’t seem hostile.

Using his black cat form to get close to the dragon had worked perfectly.

Just as their relationship was about to deepen, faint sounds of armor and weapons clashing came from the front courtyard. It must be guards from Angel City.

Both the dragon and Yan Jiyun pricked up their ears.

Among the guards were Adonis and Daniel, whom Yan Jiyun had seen before.

Daniel: “Someone just saw Lucifer enter this backyard. It even stole a few turkeys.”

Adonis sounded excited. “Lucifer likes turkey?”

Daniel: “That’s not the point. We followed the trail of chicken blood here.”

Adonis: “This time I’ll definitely tame it. I’ll ride it back to the arena.”

Daniel: “No one has ever tamed a dragon.”

Adonis stubbornly replied, “If no one has, then I’ll be the first human to do it.”

Daniel sighed. “Why not try tempting it with roasted chicken? Maybe it’ll build trust, like taming a horse.”

Adonis: “I think Lucifer is different from a horse. I’ll wear it down like training a hawk until it submits to me.”

Daniel: “That is, if you can outlast it.”

Adonis shot back, “You think I can’t?”

Daniel replied perfunctorily, “Of course you can.”

Yan Jiyun withdrew his paw, preparing to hide.

At that moment, the dragon tried to grab him with its claw, but Yan Jiyun reacted faster, leaping onto its back.

Compared to a dragon weighing in tons, a cat weighing barely over ten pounds was practically nothing.

The dragon spread its massive wings right there on the ground.

The huge wings flapped back and forth, and Yan Jiyun could feel the powerful gusts they generated. What an incredible ability. Truly worthy of such massive wings!

With just two beats, the black dragon took off.

Yan Jiyun felt his line of sight rising higher and higher from the ground, his body was lifting into the air.

He quickly dug his claws into the dragon’s thick, hard scales. Hopefully he wouldn’t rip any off. He’d heard losing scales hurt a lot, like forcibly pulling out a cat’s fur.

The dragon didn’t fly very high at first. Adonis, Daniel, and the others who rushed in hurled a rope with an iron hook toward them, trying to snag the dragon.

But the dragon wasn’t stupid. It immediately understood their intent and dodged with a sideways tilt.

The maneuver was effortless for the dragon, but not for Yan Jiyun.

“Mroww—!” 

His body tilted along with it. Just a little more and he’d fall right out of the sky!

He inwardly screamed. 

There was no safety harness! What if he fell from this height?!

He clung desperately to the dragon’s back. His claws, which had been retracted before, were now fully extended in panic, gripping tightly into the dragon’s spine. No matter what, he refused to let go, even if it killed him!

He seriously regretted this now. If he’d known, he wouldn’t have jumped on.

At least people riding drop towers had safety belts and restraints. He didn’t even have the most basic protection!

Below, Adonis kept shouting as he ordered his men to throw stones:

“I don’t believe I can’t catch this black dragon today. Knock it down!”

Daniel said, “Lucifer is flying so high. Throwing stones won’t do anything, will it?”

Adonis, fired up, snapped, “What if it does? Maybe I’ll hit its eye and it’ll crash!”

Yan Jiyun wanted to yell down at them, ‘Throw your head instead!’ The dragon wouldn’t fall, but he would!

Daniel raised a telescope and observed the dragon flying higher and higher. “There seems to be a black thing on Lucifer’s back.”

Adonis snatched the telescope. “Where? I can’t see anything!”

“Of course not. It’s already flown too high,” Daniel replied. Then he ordered the others, “Stop wasting energy. A creature that big can’t hide easily. It’ll be spotted sooner or later. Let’s wait.”

Adonis grumbled, “Daniel, you’re not enthusiastic at all.”

“I’m just being rational. We don’t have wings. We can’t reach it,” Daniel said.

Whatever they argued about on the ground, Yan Jiyun had no energy to care. He was getting higher and higher.

Back in the finals, he had jumped down from above. Now he was ascending from the ground. The feeling was completely different. Either way, it was terrifying. This wasn’t just horror. Being high in the air without any protection, at constant risk of falling, was even worse.

Yan Jiyun let out a frightened “meow.”

He felt the dragon pause midair, then change direction.

Without needing to dodge thrown stones anymore, the dragon’s flight stabilized.

This time, it flew toward the top of a church. Thankfully, the builders hadn’t cut corners—the roof could support the dragon’s weight.

As soon as it landed, Yan Jiyun jumped off and prepared to lecture it.

But in his cat form, he was too small to communicate properly. After confirming no one was around, he used his experience card and transformed into a human right in front of the dragon.

Lucifer: “…”

It had clearly never seen a black cat suddenly turn into a human. It took a step back, confusion in its eyes, and opened its mouth.

Yan Jiyun immediately raised his hands. “Wait, Lucifer, don’t breathe fire at me!”

Lucifer: “…”

A black-haired, black-eyed human.

Yan Jiyun sensed it reacted to his voice. “Save your fire for roasting chickens, don’t aim it at my handsome face, got it?”

Lucifer didn’t want to listen to human chatter. It looked around, searching for the black little creature, but couldn’t find it.

Yan Jiyun only had five minutes in human form. No time to transform back to prove he was the same cat that shared the chicken.

So he resorted to gestures. He pointed at himself. “Me.” Then: “Meow. Got it? We’re on the same side. I’m not here to catch you.”

He extended his hand. “If you don’t believe me, smell me. I still have your scent from your back.”

After observing for three seconds, Lucifer lowered its head and sniffed him. The scent of its scales was indeed there, but it still couldn’t understand how a cat turned into a human.

Magic??

Yan Jiyun waited for it to adjust. Sitting cross-legged, he reflected. Time was running out. Soon Qi Feng would be dragged into the arena for the next match. Hopefully, he and Chu Mo would be fine.

From Qi Feng’s information, winning three arena matches should grant a clue, but no one had succeeded so far. Either the difficulty was extremely high, or players hadn’t found the correct method.

Yan Jiyun stared at Lucifer. Winning the horse race granted an information card, but what about dragons? It wasn’t like he could race them… or could he?

A thought suddenly struck him.

The Dragon Door covered the entire Angel City, meaning both players and dragons were confined within it.

They couldn’t leave. Humans had been restraining them all along.

“Lucifer,” Yan Jiyun asked, “do you want to leave this place? Return to where your kind belongs?”

Lucifer lifted its right wing and patted him, seemingly acknowledging he was the same black cat. After all, no one else was around, and it had seen the transformation itself.

In its eyes, Yan Jiyun hadn’t tried to bind it, attack it, or tame it. He was peaceful.

It wasn’t that dragons were inherently suspicious, it was that humans always treated them with hostility.

Yan Jiyun recalled how he had chosen Zhuifeng in the stables, won the race, and obtained the information card. Zhuifeng had reached a state of satisfaction…. So was that the key?

Did Lucifer also need to feel happy?

The game didn’t require solving puzzles in Angel City. Perhaps the arena offered a more direct method: defeating the dragon in the third match.

But since Yan Jiyun entered differently, perhaps his method of obtaining the clue would also differ.

Why was his entry different?

Was it because the Demon Forest and Angel City were on the same map?

He had only entered four of the twelve doors so far. Only the Horse and Dragon Doors shared a map. The Rat and Tiger gates were definitely separate.

Suddenly, it clicked.

The twelve zodiac signs represented the password sequence. They just needed to find connections between the gates.

No wonder the mini-games seemed unremarkable. The real purpose was to reveal the sequence.

With three minutes left on his card, he finally grasped the key point. He had to tell Qi Feng.

Otherwise, once the card expired, he’d be stuck as a cat and rely on Qi Feng to carry him through.

Meanwhile, Lucifer watched him silently muttering and slapping his thigh, completely confused. ‘Black cat, say something already.’

When Yan Jiyun looked up, Lucifer suddenly swept him aside with its wing.

“Hey! What are you doing, Lucifer?!”

He quickly understood. It had been chased by humans for so long that being ignored made it unhappy.

‘So that’s how it is…’

A dragon’s mind wasn’t that hard to read. From the beginning, it hadn’t seen him as human.

That’s why he approached it as a silent cat. First impressions mattered.

If it first saw a cat, it would think he was a cat. If it first saw a human, then turning into a cat later would seem like deception.

Better to show the truth upfront.

Yan Jiyun admitted. Right now, he was being a cunning human.

Lucifer tapped him again with its wing, making him stumble.

“If you keep that up, I’ll cough blood to death. We little cats are very fragile.”

As the five-minute duration ended, Yan Jiyun turned back into a cat and deliberately bared his teeth.

“Meow!”

Lucifer couldn’t swat him with its wings anymore, so it nudged him with its head.

Taking the chance, Yan Jiyun jumped onto its head, then to its back, then onto its thin, bat-like wings.

Lucifer received the message: ‘This creature is having fun.’

To build rapport, Yan Jiyun had no choice but to act cute and silly. He’s ruly a cunning human, he even despised himself for it.

Just as they were bonding, the sound of hooves echoed below the church.

From above, Yan Jiyun spotted Adonis again, still stubbornly pursuing Lucifer. Daniel followed closely beside him.

Lucifer immediately became alert and stopped playing.

Yan Jiyun seized the moment and used his experience card again. “Lucifer, show me your fire.”

Lucifer understood and spat a fireball at his feet.

Yan Jiyun jumped back. “Trying to roast me? But nice fire. Let’s go save your companions, and burn down the arena while we’re at it.”

This suited Lucifer perfectly. It lowered its back in invitation.

Yan Jiyun jumped on without hesitation.

Just as Adonis thundered up the stairs, Lucifer took off again, flying into the sky before he could catch up.

This time, Yan Jiyun held tightly onto its neck.

Looking down at Angel City, he saw a beautiful yet brutal medieval city, soaked in bloodshed.

“Lucifer, let’s head to the arena!”

Lucifer: “…”

[Want to be Human] livestream channel: 

“Holy shit, first-person view is fucking insane!! Even better than riding a horse!”

“This cat boy is unbelievable, he’s even riding a dragon now. What’s next?!”

“Did he just figure out the key to the puzzle?”

“What key? I thought these were just mini-games…”

“The twelve zodiac signs are the password sequence. I saw someone analyzing it on the forum.”

“Some players guessed it already, but he’s not slow either.”

“But if he doesn’t get to the arena soon, those level 4 and 5 streamers might get killed.”

Lucifer carried Yan Jiyun toward the arena.

Below, a player was fighting a furious lion, half his arm mangled, while the crowd cheered wildly.

Yan Jiyun patted Lucifer’s neck. “Aim your fireballs over there.”

He pointed at the VIP section.

Instead of saving the player, causing chaos would distract the guards.

Fireballs rained down, igniting tents and wooden structures.

Chaos erupted instantly.

Guards threw nets, but Yan Jiyun shouted, “Up! Dodge them!”

Under his command, Lucifer dodged swiftly.

“Keep firing!”

But soon Yan Jiyun realized, the fireballs weren’t enough to cover the entire arena.

The guards adapted. Instead of targeting Lucifer, they hurled spears at Yan Jiyun.

He barely dodged each one.

Where were the other dragons? Had Qi Feng and Chu Mo freed them?

He was reaching his limit.

Taking a deep breath, he shouted at the top of his lungs:

“Qi Feng— Qi Feng— help!!!”

T/N:

Yan Jiyun to Lucifer: “hehe, a pet.”

Lucifer to Yan Jiyun: “hehe, a pet.”