Player who Returned 10,000 years Later

"Hng... KangWoo?"

The black-haired girl who had just woken up called his name while rubbing her eyes.

"Echidna?"

KangWoo looked at her, perplexed.

The girl who wasn't wearing any clothes looked around.

"Hmm?"

She looked at her own body.

She couldn't understand why she had a human form.

"Were you always able to take a human form?"

"No... It's the first time this has happened."

Echidna seemed interested in her arms that had turned into a human's, so she answered while moving them.

KangWoo didn't know what part of Echidna to rest his eyes on.

Creak-

At that moment, Han Seol-ah entered the room.

"Mr. KangWoo~ Breakfast is r..."

"..."

There was a heavy silence.

Han Seol-ah's expression hardened after seeing a little girl on top of KangWoo's body.

"Mr. KangWoo..."

"It's a misunderstanding."

"H-how... To such a... little..."

"I'm innocent," KangWoo said, with an expression that showed he found this situation unfair, to Han Seol-ah.

No, it was really unfair.

Who would've known that Echidna would turn into a human form during the night?

'Your honor, I'm innocent.'

It took a lot of time to explain to Han Seol-ah what happened.

* * *

After the situation calmed down…

Han Seol-ah, Echidna, and KangWoo were in the living room.

Echidna was wearing the clothes Han Seol-ah used to wear when she was a kid.

"Isn't there something you can think of?"

At KangWoo's question, Echidna placed both hands on her chest and tried to remember.

"Last night..."

"Last night?"

"While sleeping with KangWoo, I felt something hot entering my body."

"..."

"Wh-what?"

KangWoo's expression stiffened, and Han Seol-ah looked at him while stuttering.

Echidna's explanation kept going on.

"It was a very hot... And strong energy."

'Echidna…'

"As that energy spread through my body... I felt like I became one with KangWoo."

'Why are you doing this to me.'

"At first, it hurt a little bit... But soon, it started to feel good."

'Did I do something wrong to you?'

As her explanation continued, he felt an angrier gaze from Han Seol-ah.

It was as if she was looking at a bug.

"Mr. KangWoo... You..."

"Nothing happened."

KangWoo sighed and opened his mouth.

"Can you return to your dragon form?"

KangWoo still wasn't sure how strong she was.

But considering that her strength had gone down after becoming smaller, it would be fatal if she couldn't return to her original form.

"Yes, I think I can return to my original form."

After saying that, she transformed her left arm into a dragon's.

Seeing a dragon's arm on a girl's body looked weird, but the important thing was that she could return to her original form.

"I'm glad."

Her being able to transform at her own will was great news.

Even if her size was small, a dragon was still a dragon.

She was going to catch other people's attention.

'But now that I think about it, isn't this form even more eye-catching?'

KangWoo looked at the unrealistically beautiful appearance of Echidna. She looked like a doll who could move of her own will.

He thought that appearance could catch more people's attention than the dragon form.

'I'll leave this to her.'

Regarding that, he was planning to respect Echidna's decision.

'Hmm...'

KangWoo began to think about why Echidna could suddenly turn into a human.

Her explanations crossed his mind.

'Is it because she became a summoned monster?'

Just like a familiar spirit created with the Authority of Subordination could use part of his strength, maybe she could also use a bit of his strength.

'Anyway, I guess it doesn't matter as long as she can return to her dragon form.'

KangWoo leaned his back on the sofa.

Echidna, who was next to him, naturally walked toward him and sat on his lap.

"What are you doing...?"

"I'm more comfortable here."

"..."

The soft sensation of skin was stimulating him.

'Doing this with her human form is a bit too much.'

He didn't mind when she was in her dragon form, but when she was in her human form, he felt like he was committing a crime.

KangWoo made Echidna sit next to him.

Echidna looked at him like an abandoned puppy.

"KangWoo, you don't like me being in my human form?"

"No, that's not it."

If asked what form he preferred, he would answer that he liked the human form more.

"Then why is it that you don't want me to sit on your lap?"

"Hng. That..."

KangWoo looked at her with a troubled expression.

He wasn't sure how to explain the situation.

"L-let's eat breakfast first!"

"That sounds great."

Just in time, Han Seol-ah proposed that they should all go and have breakfast.

Dodging Echidna's question, KangWoo went to the table.

Echidna pouted while looking at KangWoo's back.

Click, Click-

"Hmm... Then, we should go and get some clothes today."

"Clothes?"

"Yes. The clothes I used to wear are all old, and my size also doesn't seem to fit her well."

"Ah, I see."

KangWoo looked at the clothes Echidna was wearing, Han Seol-ah's clothes definitely didn't fit her.

'Especially around the chest area.'

KangWoo coughed and turned his eyes to Han Seol-ah.

"Where are you planning to go?"

"There's a big shopping mall not so far from here. So I was planning to go there. Mr. KangWoo, do you want to come as well?"

"No. There are some things I must do, so I don't think I'll be able to go. I'll leave Echidna to you, Seol-ah."

"KangWoo... You're not coming?"

Echidna grabbed his clothes with a sad expression after hearing that he had things to do.

KangWoo patted her head softly.

"Stay with Seol-ah today. I'll be back tonight."

"Okay..."

Echidna nodded while biting her lips a bit.

'To move freely as a human, she will probably need an ID.'

In the modern world, not having an ID was quite bothersome.

So KangWoo was thinking of meeting with Chae YeonJoo and asking her to make an ID for Echidna.

'Great, I was already planning to go and see her.'

He had another reason why he wanted to meet Chae YeonJoo…

* * *

'I'm going to ask for a permanent S-rank gate access pass.'

He couldn't use his temporary gate access pass anymore.

He was planning to ask Chae YeonJoo for a pass that would let him enter whenever he wanted.

'An S-rank Gate...'

Initially, he had no intentions of going to an S-rank gate so soon.

He was planning to gain more experience on B and A-rank gates and challenging the S-rank gate after completing the sixth Awakening.

But after getting Echidna as his summoned monster, his opinion changed.

KangWoo looked at Echidna, who was eating with a sad expression.

'If it's with Echidna, I'm sure I'll be able to hunt in an S-rank gate.'

Although she was a hatchling, she was still a dragon.

She would probably be able to handle one or two S-rank monsters.

To be honest, he could perfectly hunt alone in an S-rank gate.

The problem was what would happen when something unexpected happened.

He had no problems with one or two, but things could get complicated if more than that number appeared.

Echidna was going to be solid support in those situations.

"I'll take you shopping later."

"Thank you, Mr. KangWoo."

After breakfast, he sent a message to Chae YeonJoo and told her he would visit her; Then he took Echidna and Han Seol-ah to the shopping mall in the car.

"Ugh..."

"Don't be sad. We're going to see each other tonight."

Echidna grabbed his clothes and trembled as if she didn't want to be separated from him. After calming Echidna, KangWoo drove to the Red Rose Guild's house.

Beep-

"It's me."

"Ah, come in."

He saw a wide office after opening the door.

"So, what brings you here today?"

"There are a few things I wanted to ask you."

KangWoo told her what’d happened in the S-rank gate.

"Someone from another world appeared...?"

"Yes. They said that they were from the Ernor Continent."

"Oof..."

Chae YeonJoo frowned. She couldn't believe what she was being told.

Since she didn't know what to ask because of the surprise, KangWoo asked another thing.

"Do you know anything about the Gaia System?"

"No, it's the first time I've heard that word."

"Hmm... I see."

"The monster you summoned came from the Ernor Continent?"

"Yes."

"Could I see her...?"

"She didn't come with me today, I'll present her to you later, but you probably won't be able to get a lot of information from her."

After her father disappeared, she’d spent most of her time alone in the lair.

She probably didn't know many things about the world she used to live in.

"I need an ID for Echidna."

"Huh? You want me to get an ID for the summoned monster?"

She looked at him as if she were saying nonsense.

KangWoo explained to her about Echidna.

"Oof... To think that you would summon a dragon... Just what are you?"

"Isn't it a bit late to ask me that?"

"Hng."

Chae YeonJoo looked at him, displeased.

"You can do it. Right?"

"Oof... Okay. Send me a picture later on."

"Thanks. And there's one more thing that I wanted to ask."

"What now."

Chae YeonJoo looked at him with a tired expression after seeing how well KangWoo was using her.

"I want an official S-rank gate—"

Knock, knock-

The sound of a knock cut what KangWoo was saying.

KangWoo and Chae YeonJoo looked at the door.

"There's something I need to talk about."

Creak-

The person who entered the room was a girl with silver hair tied in a ponytail.

"Baek HwaYeon...?"

KangWoo mumbled her name that was left in his memories.