CHUL

Chul's heart pounded in his chest as he clutched the oversized egg, sprinting through the junkyard. Behind him, the enraged shouts of his fellow goblins echoed off the twisted metal and broken glass that littered their domain. The pungent stench of decay and wet, rusting iron filled his nostrils as he leaped over a mound of rotting wood, narrowly avoiding a rusty spike that jutted out under his feet.

"Stop, Chul! Give us the egg!" Jiho's voice echoed in the crowded spaces.

Chul didn't look back, didn't slow down. He knew the dump, its secrets, and its dangers. And he knew what he had to do. He reached a clearing, a rare spot of nature in the maze of Midden he had discovered long ago, filled with wildflowers and buzzing insects.

In the center of the clearing was a nest of hornets hanging from a stone pillar. With a slight slap, Chul disturbed the nest, the hornets erupting in a cloud of anger and confusion. It was a game he’d played many times, usually by himself. He didn’t like the idea of leading the others to this private space, but with a quick glance around, he assured himself that his secret friend was not there to be discovered, and he kept running.

The others stumbled into the clearing; their pursuit halted by the swarm of hornets. They swatted and ducked, cursing, screaming in anger, the chase momentarily forgotten.

"Wubba lubba dub dub," Chul called, triumphant, though his breath was coming in ragged gasps from sprinting with the inexplicably heavy egg in his arms.

Turning his attention back to the task at hand, Chul carefully navigated the remaining distance to his hideaway. Pushing the egg ahead of him, he crawled through a tight channel he had dug out of mollusk shells, a midden whose interior had mostly solidified.

This hidden cranny contained his personal trove, the trinkets and treasures he had collected throughout his life. As he entered, a family of rats scurried back into their nest, an old pile of rags, their beady eyes observing the goblin warily.

"Sorry for disturbing you," Chul whispered to the rats, placing the egg gently on the ground. His heart swelled with pride, certain that the egg would be the crown of his collection.

"Whew," Chul sighed, wiping the sweat from his brow. "That was close. But now you're safe here with me, safe forever."

As he surveyed his sanctuary, Chul's gaze fell upon an old, tarnished mirror, cracked through the middle, but nevertheless one of his favorite treasures. The reflection revealed his disheveled appearance: wild hair matted beneath his straw hat, bright yellow eyes alight with victory, and a crooked grin stretching across his face.

"Welcome home," he said softly, petting the egg. "Did you enjoy the run? Really? Me too." He turned to the rats. "We did it! We escaped those meanie gobbos!" Then back to the egg. “What’s that egg? You feel like dancing? What do you know? That’s me as well!”

Cradling the egg in his arms, Chul began to twirl and spin around the confined space of his sanctuary, his laughter echoing off the calcified walls in a joyous din.

The rats, increasingly disturbed by Chul's antics, scurried in all directions, darting between piles of clutter as they tried to avoid being trampled. Oblivious to the rodents' activity, Chul's foot caught one of them mid-spin, sending him tumbling to the ground.

"Oof!" Chul grunted, instinctively curling around the egg to protect it from harm. Despite his best efforts, it slipped from his grasp, cracking against a rusty piece of iron that had once been the fluke of an old anchor.

Chul stared at the damaged egg in horror, his heart sinking like an anchor itself. "No, no, no…" he chanted under his breath, his long ears drooping in dismay. "I'm such a fool! I should've asked Jiho how to care for you properly. Why didn’t I ask Jiho?"

His thoughts raced, berating himself for his careless and impulsive nature, and he beat at his head with his fists. He had defied the gang to bring the egg to safety, only to jeopardize its wellbeing through his own foolishness. But then, Chul noticed something peculiar: the cracked egg trembled ever so slightly. His breath caught, hope flickering in his eyes.

"Hey," Chul whispered, patting the uncracked side of the egg like he was trying to burp a baby. "You’re okay, right? You’re okay."

As he leaned in closer, Chul held his breath, straining to hear any sound, any movement that might show the life within the egg persisted.

"Please…" he said, “please…” his mind filled with prayers and promise; if only the creature inside survived, he would devote himself to its care and protection. For the rest of his life, he would make amends for his mistake, whatever it took.

A sense of anticipation enveloped Chul as he watched the crack in the eggshell widen, revealing a hint of the small, scaly creature within. The tiny horn on its snout poked through the gap, chipping away at the edges with determined persistence. Chul was captivated, his eyes following every twitch and movement of the emerging creature.

"Come on, little one," Chul whispered, willing the creature to break free from its confinement. His heart pounded in his chest, a mixture of excitement and anxiety coursing through his veins.

Seeing that the creature was struggling, Chul grabbed a nearby conch and whapped it against the shell, attempting to aid in its escape. The impact caused the egg to roll to one side, and the small being inside let out a muffled chirp of surprise.

"Oops! Sorry!" Chul exclaimed, his face flushing with embarrassment. He hadn't meant to startle the creature. He had just wanted to help.

After what felt like eons to the young goblin, the scaly thing pried itself free from the cracked egg, standing on unsteady legs while its wings; wet, small, and useless, remained plastered to its sides. Its dull grey scales were peppered with black spots, almost a coat of camouflage against the dull colors of the junkyard.

"Hello there," Chul said softly. “You're… you're ugly, aren’t you? Not in a bad way,” he added quickly. “I meant the good ugly.”

The scaly creature tilted its head, looking up at Chul with unfocused eyes. Then, unexpectedly, it let out a loud burp. The sound echoed throughout the cramped space, startling the rats that had been observing from their holes.

Chul couldn't help himself; he burst into laughter. A growing, rollicking reaction that culminated with him rolling on the floor as tears streamed down his cheeks. The creature watched him in obvious confusion throughout the outburst, its eyes slowly focusing in the dim light. After he recovered, he patted it on its head.

“Scaly dog,” he said. “You’re a funny one, aren’t you?”

The creature cocked its head to the side once more, as if trying to make sense of Chul's words. It blinked slowly, taking in its strange new surroundings and the goblin, who seemed so delighted by its existence.

"Welcome to the world, little one," Chul said, wiping the tears from his eyes. "I’m going to be your friend from now on, and I promise to take care of you, no matter what."

The creature didn’t respond other than to open its mouth and work its jaw. It was still unsteady, like a newborn foal, and it took a few practice steps around the little sanctuary.

Chul's eyes sparkled with curiosity as he took in the peculiar creature before him, surrounded by junk and the aggravated rats, its small wings still damp and folded against its body.

"Hey there, little scaly dog," Chul said softly, reaching out a cautious hand. "What's your name?" The creature reacted to his hand this time, jerking its head back on a long, slender neck. It blinked again.

"Russel," it said, and Chul jumped back. The voice didn’t fit the body at all. Apart from the shock of hearing the creature answer him so clearly, it sounded like a man. A human man: the kind of voice Chul heard only in his nightmares.

“Where am I?” Russel said. “Who are you? What's going on?”

Chul recovered quickly. Though the voice was disturbing, it was still a scaly dog, and he had already settled the matter in his mind that his new friend could have whatever sort of voice he liked.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"Welcome to my mansion!" Chul exclaimed, puffing out his chest with pride. "And don't worry, Russel. That’s an odd name, by the way, but you can keep it if it's yours. We're best friends forever now, because I saved your life."

The creature's head drew back, looking the goblin up and down. He seemed about to respond, but the sound of scraping and shuffling coming from the entrance of the makeshift sanctuary interrupted them. The gang emerged from the tunnel one by one, Jiho first, his face screwed up in annoyance, spotted with swelling wasp stings.

"Chul, what is…" Jiho began, his words trailing off as his gaze fell upon Russel. Sooji gasped, while Seok simply stood with his mouth hanging open, staring at the small scaly creature.

"Great Mother," Jiho murmured, unable to tear his eyes away from the animal. "It’s…was that inside the egg?"

As Chul's family gathered in a semicircle around Russel, the young goblin couldn't help but grin at their reactions. He knew they'd seen nothing like this before, though neither had he, now that he thought about it. But the connection he felt with the scaly dog was more profound than just novelty or mere fascination. Chul was a [Marsh Warden], though he was only first level, and he has always wanted an animal companion. As he met Russel’s eyes, which were a deep, soft brown, he felt a shift deep in his soul as a bond snapped into place.

"Okay gang," Chul announced, "meet Russel, my scaly dog!"

"Scaly... dog?" Seok echoed, glancing between the creature and his enthusiastic brother with a puzzled frown.

"Chul," Jiho said, "that's not a scaly dog. That's a dragon."

"Nope," Chul declared, his gaze never leaving Russel's, "no, it’s not. It’s a scaly dog, and we're going to be the best of friends."

Chul, his heart overflowing with affection for his new companion, cautiously extended a trembling green hand toward the hatchling. He wanted to touch it, needed to touch it, to solidify the bond he already felt blossoming between them. This time, as his fingers neared the dragon's face, Russel did not shrink away. Instead, he sniffed the air, and just as Chul's fingertips grazed the edge of the little horn on his snout, the dragon recoiled.

"Ugh," Russel coughed, his eyes narrowing. "You stink!"

"Hey!" Chul protested, momentarily taken aback before his indignation gave way to a sense of pride. "I worked hard on my stink; you know. You should appreciate it. I have the best stink in the gang."

Jiho closed his eyes for a moment, running a hand through his oily coif to calm himself before opening them again. His brow furrowed in concentration, summoning what little magic he had at his disposal.

"[Identify]," he intoned, the word suffused with an authority that did not entirely belong to him.

A blue status screen materialized in front of Jiho, hovering in the dimness of Chul’s hideaway. The goblins had all seen him perform this trick before, and they leaned in to get a closer look.

Russel “Rusty” Garfield

Trash Dragon

Level 1

Class Skills:

Locked

Attributes:

Wits: F5

Vigor: D1

Agility: E1

Spirit: F4

Might: D1

Health: D1

Mana: F6

Recovery: E8

"Russel, huh?" Jiho mused, scanning the data on the screens. "You’re a special sort of dragon, aren’t you?"

"Rusty?” Chul said, barely glancing at the screen before grinning at the hatchling. “Rusty is so much better than Russel. Can I call you Rusty, Russel?”

“I…I guess,” Rusty said. “What did he just do? What’s on that screen?”

“It’s you,” Chul said, “sort of.”

“Oh, god.” The dragon blinked. “Is this an isekai? Did I get isekaied?”

“What’s an isekai?” Chul asked innocently.

“Are we not going to talk about these ability ratings?” Sooji interjected, tenderly holding her right arm, which was marked with angry red stings from the wasps. “He’s stronger than any of us. Stronger than all of us put together. Look at that! D rank [Might], D rank [Vigor]? That’s incredible.”

Jiho shushed his sister, causing the screen to vanish with a flick of his hand. “I’m thinking, I need to think.”

“Uh…” Rusty said, focusing on the one goblin in the room who was actually paying attention to him. “An isekai is someone who dies and gets reborn in another world. Or it's a story about that kind of person. The terminology doesn’t really matter. I just…oh. Oh god.” He sat back on his haunches. “I feel wrong. This all feels wrong.”

“He may be strong,” Seok said, crossing his arms, “but he’s stupid and clumsy. He’ll get in the way. We should get rid of him.”

“Are you kidding?” Sooji’s voice elevated to just below a shriek. “You’re just insecure because you’re not the strongest member of the gang anymore. I mean, you were never really the strongest, but you can’t even pretend anymore. He’s has a D ranks. At level one. He's a triple D!”

“He’s not in the gang,” Seok said, sullenly, turning his back on the rest of them to hide his pout. “I didn’t say he could be in the gang, and I’m the gang's security, so I get to say who gets to be in. I’ve got to protect us from his stupid clumsiness.”

“It’s okay,” Chul said, touching the little dragon’s cheek. “You were just born, so it’s okay for you to be confused and say strange things. You don’t have to worry about dying though, you just started being alive. We can grow up together, and you’ll learn everything I know.”

“You know nothing,” Jiho snapped, but he wasn’t looking at Chul. He was looking at his own face in the broken mirror, at the fractured reflection, seeing something else entirely.

“Let me see that screen again,” Sooji demanded.

“No,” Jiho said flatly, “you’ve seen enough.”

“You’re my favorite scaly dog,” Chul said, reassuringly. “You don’t have to worry about anything.”

“I’m not,” Rusty twisted away, retreating to a far corner of the hideaway, scattering more rats. “I’m not a scaly dog, and I’m not a dragon either. I’m a human. A human.” He lifted one of his claws, turning it over under his snout. “I think.”

“Human? Where?” Jiwoo didn’t like running, and he had just now caught up to the gang, laboriously dragging himself through the tunnel into Chul’s hideaway, his enormous belly and broad shoulders having nearly gotten him stuck. “Did we catch one? If we caught a human, I want the nose. The nose is the best part.”

“There are no humans here, grandfather,” Sooji said, helping Jiwoo back to his feet.

Chul crouched beside Rusty, concern etching lines into his youthful face, his ears drooping nearly to his neck. “Why would you want to be human?” He asked. “Humans are the worst.”

“Gingersnaps!" Jiwoo swore, eyes bulging. “When did we get a dragon?”

“It was the egg,” Sooji explained patiently.

“But I was going to eat that…” Jiwoo trailed off, obviously disappointed.

“My head hurts,” Rusty said.

“I dropped you,” Chul said, shamefaced. “I dropped you a lot.”

“This can’t be real,” Rusty had curled into a scaly ball. “Please go away. Please, everything go away.”

“See,” Seok said, turning to Jiho, “he doesn’t even want to be in the gang.”

“He’s a baby,” Sooji said. “This is probably a lot for him. Maybe we could give him some space.”

Jiho ran his hands through his hair again, checking in the mirror that every strand was in place. “That’s right,” he said, “all of you should leave. Chul and I can take care of the hatchling for now.”

“Whatever you say.” Seok walked over to Jiwoo and started pushing him back into the tunnel. “As long as he doesn’t get to be in the gang.”

“Stop it!” Jiwoo protested the rough treatment. “I don’t fit.”

“You got in this way,” Seok said, “you can get back out.”

“Fine, fine,” Jiwoo shrugged him off. “I’m going, don’t push me.”

Jiwoo and Seok left the hideaway, and with a last, longing look at the dragon hatchling, Sooji followed them out. Jiho smiled to himself as they obeyed him.

Chul crouched behind his new companion, looking at him as if the rest of the world had fallen away, and Jiho came to stand over them both.

“Tell me what you remember about being human,” he said.

Rusty raised his head.

“I’m trying to remember,” he said. “I’m trying to think about how I got here. It’s all a blur.”

“That’s good,” Jiho smiled again, but it wasn’t a pleasant smile. He smiled like someone who had been told how to be friendly but had never quite gotten the knack. “The less you remember, the better. This is your world now. This is your life. You can take some time to get used to it, but there’s no going back.”

Chul took off his hat, twisting it nervously between his hands. “Does that mean he really is human?”

“Of course not, buddy,” Jiho patted Chul on the shoulder, “he’s a dragon. A [Trash Dragon], to be specific. Whatever that means.”

“He’s a scaly dog,” Chul said, frowning.

“Call him whatever you want. Rusty, is it? Listen to me, Rusty, there are stories about beings like you, souls that cross over from other worlds. Transmigrators. It’s very rare, and from what I’ve heard, they don’t always do so well. You shouldn’t tell people you used to be a human. You should try to pretend you never were. It’ll be easier for you that way, I promise. Tell me, how do you feel?”

“How do I feel?” Rusty’s voice broke. “I feel terrible. Everything feels wrong. This isn’t my body. This isn’t real.”

Jiho knelt down so that his face was level with the little dragon’s. “It’s very real, and when you're ready, I can tell you all about this world. I can be your guide. But you’re going to have to behave. You’re all alone here.”

“He’s not alone,” Chul said firmly. “He’s got me.”

“Of course, he does,” Jiho said, still wearing a false smile. “He’s got you. I meant he doesn’t have anyone but us. You and me. The others won’t be any help. They don’t need to know about any of this. Rusty can be a part of our family from now on. Why don’t you rest here, Rusty? It’s got to be hard crossing over. But it will get easier if you let it get easier. Stop trying to hold on to the past. Whatever your past was, it might as well have been a dream.”

Rusty blinked, his eyes losing focus again. “How do you know? How do you know any of this?”

“I read about it. I’ve read a lot of things. Let Chul watch over you while you rest. You just hatched, after all. You must be thirsty. Here, drink this.” Jiho reached under his netted shirt and withdrew a small vial of amber liquid. He uncorked the vial and presented the sweet-smelling draught to the dragon hatchling.

Rusty looked at Chul, who nodded encouragingly.

“You can trust Jiho,” Chul said. “He’s our leader, and he’s never led us wrong.” Chul took the vial and pressed it against Rusty’s snout, helping him drink. A moment later, Rusty was asleep.

“Good,” Jiho said, “better than good. Wonderful. He’ll feel better tomorrow. Watch over him, buddy, won’t you?”

“Of course, I will,” Chul said. “He’s my best friend.”

“That’s right,” Jiho said, standing. “Your best friend. He’s going to be all of our best friends.” Jiho stared down at the hatchling, which was barely larger than a house cat, with a critical eye. “He’ll be starving when he wakes up, so I’m going to fetch you both some food.”

“Thanks, Jiho,” Chul said brightly, “you always know what to do.”

“Never forget it.” Jiho patted him on the shoulder once more and left the pair alone in the hideaway. Chul edged closer to Rusty, laying down beside him in the filth, listening to the little scurrying sounds of the rats, as well as the beat of his own heart. He was happier than he had ever been in his life.