Chapter Text
The pitch black mouth of the massive cave yawned outwards in front of Kim Dokja, the all-encompassing darkness challenging those courageous enough (or perhaps stupid enough) to approach. Inside, the ethereal songs of sirens, the chittering of shadowy creatures, and a deep, low breathing emanated from the wide entrance. As if to punctuate its fatal nature, long-dried blood of previous champions stained the cave’s floors below him. Sacrifices to the cave’s lustful and insatiable hunger, Kim Dokja mused.
To most, it was an obvious threat of death. Kim Dokja, however, had no such reservations.
Humming a catchy tune he'd had overheard in the village nearby, the incarnation nonchalantly plucked a long sword from where it was discarded by the entrance. Still in good shape; the blade was still sharp and rust hadn’t even set in yet. Poor bastard probably didn’t even make it past the entrance, did they?
With an expert’s grace, Kim Dokja flipped the sword around and gave a few practice swipes to get a feel for the weight. Not too heavy, could be useful. Decision made, he tucked it into his waistband to join the other two smaller weapons. He could probably sell the sword for a good amount - no use having it rust away for nothing.
[The constellation Demon-like Judge of Fire praises your resourcefulness.]
Kim Dokja huffed in amusement at the archangel’s message.
The cave breathed once more, the large gust of exhaled air rustling through his hair.
Swiping loose strands of black hair back from his eyes, Kim Dokja unhooked the map off his belt and studied it for the hundredth time in the last hour. He had to be sure. Thankfully, the coordinates confirmed that he was, indeed, in the right spot. With a small sigh of relief, he rolled the map back up and put it away again. Unconsciously, he'd started humming that catchy tune again.
Steady and sure footsteps heralded his arrival into the maw, steel-toed boots making his steps thump aggressively onto the rocky floors below. A flickering blue orb of light hovered just above his left shoulder, sending long shadows across the room as he walked. Kim Dokja didn’t really mind, it’s not like he was going for stealth anyway. It no doubt already knew he was here.
As he walked, Kim Dokja noted the icy waters dripping from the ceiling stalactites, making an uncomfortably loud echo throughout the enclosed space. Spiders, centipedes, snakes, and other small creatures littered the floor and surrounding walls, watching with beady eyes as he walked into the belly of the beast. Unlike most, however, he wasn’t here to be eaten.
He knew he was getting close when the breathing became more pronounced, less of a low hum and more of a loud motor. Air constantly drafted in and out of the cave with each breath, warm and sticky on his tacky skin. Gross, he scrunched his face in displeasure.
Turning a final corner revealed his prize. A golden hoard the size of a small building reached towards the heavens, almost touching the tall ceiling of the cavern. A small, barely noticeable hole in the ceiling giant cavern allowed in a small dusting of sunlight, creating a gorgeous glittering effect on the polished gold. And in front of that hoard, sitting proudly in all its glory, was his prize.
A dragon.
[A hidden sub-scenario has been discovered! Defeat the Infernal Dragon of Gluttonous Hoarding!]
It was massive, taking up more than a third of the whole cavern and absolutely dwarfing Kim Dokja with its height and muscle. Slender and elegant limbs adorned with shiny red scales boasted it’s sharp claws, capable of tearing and shredding any living being apart. On its back were four majestic wings, each one strong enough to blow a whole village away with a single wingbeat. The head of the dragon was blessed with two horns akin to that of a mature goat, twisting back and around again to form perfect circles. To complete the beast, a ring of golden halos encircled its head, making the already beautiful beast near godly in appearance.
It was the Infernal Dragon of Gluttonous Hoarding.
“Dragon!” Kim Dokja announced, unsheathing his main sword from his waist, the blade glinting like the gold that laid behind the dragon. “I’m here for your bounty,” He stated bluntly.
The majestic beast craned its head to peer at Kim Dokja, unamused by his taunts. It's massive chest heaved, blowing out a stream of fire into the air just above his head. He could feel his hair singe a little, but didn’t move from his position. It was only a warning. “It’s not often I receive such boastful challengers,” the Infernal Dragon of Gluttonous Hoarding boomed. “What makes you believe your blood won’t stain my hoard like the rest?” It’s four wings stretched endlessly outwards to block out the little amount of natural sunlight Kim Dokja was provided. The magical orb beside him turned back on automatically in the sudden falling darkness. He could no longer see the hulking figure, but he knew it must have still been in front of him.
“What makes you believe I won’t succeed?” Kim Dokja grinned, unfazed as he adjusted his stance. Not a moment too soon, because within moments the beast had decided it was finished speaking. A burst of dragon fire lit up the blackness with a hellish red glow, aiming straight for him.
Without delay he threw himself to the side, dodging the fatal fire with nary a burn and ending up behind a rocky wall. It must have been a bit flimsy though, because the dragon had no trouble knocking it down, almost trapping him within the falling rubble.
[The constellation Demon-like Judge of Fire is holding her breath.]
“It’s fine, Uriel,” Kim Dokja reassured her breathlessly.
Trying to calm his breath, he adjusted his grip on his sword. He had very little time, and he already knew the dragon wasn’t trying its hardest to kill Kim Dokja yet. It had assumed he was a loud and easy kill, nothing to worry about - he could use that. Spinning around to avoid another lazy breath of fire, Kim Dokja darted past the dragon and ran through it’s legs to get behind it- cutting though it’s scales as he went.
The dragon roared in fury as Kim Dokja narrowly evaded its efforts. Frantically, he shoved his sword back into its sheath and pulled out a complicated-looking device he paid a fortune to procure from his satchel, hoping against hope that it would work. Wasting no time, the bold mortal rolled out of the way of the enraged beast’s horned tail (suffering minor scrapes along the way) and stabbed the device’s pointed end into its back leg. The Infernal Dragon of Gluttonous Hoarding screeched in something closer to anger than pain, and tried its hardest to whirl around to face Kim Dokja. Luckily, the sheer size of the dragon slowed down its movements in the confined space of the cave. He took that moment to flip open the plastic switch protector on the device, and pressed down on the large red button located on top. Please work, please work , he prayed.
The device blinked with a blinding white light, before shrieking and letting loose a powerful elemental attack on the organism it was stabbed into. The beast roared once more, one clawed hand slashing at Kim Dokja and slicing his cheek before the man could duck- another near fatal miss. It was fine though, the device had already been activated; Kim Dokja just had to wait for the payoff.
It came only seconds later, a burst of red (red, why was it red?) magic sparking and flickering over the dragon’s body. The acrid scent of smoke and raging fire drifted out from the sparking device.
Fire?!
The dragon spoke, it’s voice shaking the walls, “You foolish mortal!” It laughed, “Using fire on a dragon ! Hah! Killing you will be a mercy to humankind’s evolution!” Another whip of it’s barbed tail, this time catching Kim Dokja in the side and rocketing him into the uneven wall. Sharp rocks dug into his soft body as Kim Dokja screamed on impact. Staggering back upright, he was surprised to see that nothing was broken, but it all felt broken.
[The constellation Demon-like Judge of Fire is outraged at the seller’s treachery!]
Kim Dokja took a valuable second to read the message, and agreed wholeheartedly. Damn that salesman! He knew the shady seller was bad news, offering him shitty magical artifacts and lying about what element it was. Was he trying to kill him ? Once he got out of here (and he will ), he was going to have words.
The dragon was still laughing, assured that it’d won over the foolish mortal that dared enter its den. Pride always was a dragon’s downfall, Kim Dokja supposed. The Infernal Dragon of Gluttonous Hoarding was no different.
Exhaling a gentle breath - his ribs were burning with the fire of a thousand suns - Kim Dokja took out his sword once more.
“Guess I’m doing this the old fashioned way,” he muttered. It wasn’t the best way - it’d damage his sword and get blood everywhere - but the other option simply isn’t possible anymore.
[The constellation Demon-like Judge of Fire says that she prefers it this way anyways.]
He snorted, “Thanks.”
[The constellation Demon-like Judge of Fire nods her head enthusiastically.]
Bracing himself, Kim Dokja steadied his hold on the leather grip and rushed it while the dragon laughed. The dragon’s chuckles stuttered and rapidly changed to a guttural cry as he thrust his sword into its large gut and sliced it open, golden ichor spilling out and pooling into the uneven floors. Careful not to step in it - although a good amount still made its way into his hair - Kim Dokja sidestepped another slash at his head and pointedly stood next to a crumbling section of the walls. The enraged dragon had hardly noticed Kim Dokja’s positioning, and clawed at his head once more. It missed, getting his claws stuck into the rocky wall and allowing him to cut its scaly fingers off. The dragon flailed, screaming as wings recklessly hit the cavern’s roof and sides, throwing debris and other smaller chunks of rocks to the ground.
The dragon wasn’t going to go down easy, but that’s okay. Kim Dokja had fought and killed many like it before.
The evening setting sun brought with it a sky awash with the colors of fire and blood. Consequently, that was also what the figure currently stumbling out of an ominous looking cave looked like. Blood and burns danced across their exposed skin as they limped and huffed out large breaths, the lithe figure dragging behind them a massive dragon’s head. Scaled red and adorned with golden rings, the head left a sizable blood trail of liquid gold as the tiny human (in comparison) lugged the beast’s proof of bounty around. If one had been watching, they would have seen the human cursing to themselves before finally binding the head into the spatial storage of their white coat- storing it away for later.
“Steve!” Kim Dokja barked, entering the small wooden building. The flimsy door shut behind him with a bang. On the walls to his right hung multitudes of steel and iron weapons, each shined to perfection and ready to be sold to any incarnation with the money to do so.
“Steve!” He called again, louder this time. The golden blood was still covering his clothes, dripping onto the floorboards now, as he didn’t bother changing clothes before confronting this guy. The mix of red and gold blood garnered many stares from the locals, but being stared at was the least of his problems right now.
The stout shopkeeper in question finally showed his weaselly face, a tiny pair of glasses Kim Dokja knew he didn’t need perched upon his nose. He peeked from behind the wall next to the cashier’s desk, sweaty face giving a nervous smile.
“Y-yes?” He squeaked.
Without another word Kim Dokja marched up to him and slammed his hands on the wooden desk that separated the two of them. “Wanna tell me why you gave me a fire element instead of an ice one?” He asked with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
“I-it was ice? How strange! I could have sworn -” Kim Dokja cut him off with another empty smile. Pointedly, he pulled out the same sword that slayed the Infernal Dragon of Gluttonous Hoarding and laid it on the desk. It was chipped in places, but the amount of gold on it gave little doubt for what it’d been used for. Steve paled.
“Don’t play games with me, please. You were banking on me dying in there. Who cares about one random incarnation when you’ve finally gotten rid of the useless fire devices you needed to sell?” He grinned wider, “Didn’t think I’d actually kill it, huh?”
Steve was shaking now, sweat dripping off his brow and onto his thin clothes. The golden ichor had somehow gotten on his hands, staining his collar when he tugged at it skittishly, and Kim Dokja took pride in knowing that he’d never be able to wear that shirt again without thinking of him. “Ple- please don’t-”
“Don’t what? Kill you? Isn’t that what you tried to do to me? Why would I extend the same courtesy?” Kim Dokja asked calmly, leaning forward on his hands.
[The constellation Demon-like Judge of Fire is asking you if you’re actually going to kill the shopkeeper]
“Th- three ice charms! For- For free! Three ice charms on the house!” The shopkeeper blurted out, wringing his hands and avoiding Kim Dokja’s steady gaze.
Kim Dokja hummed, closing his eyes and putting a hand to his chin like he was thinking, “I think my life is worth more than three ice charms,” he said.
“F-five! No, Ten! Ten ice charms!”
Kim Dokja opened his dark eyes and looked around the room appraisingly. “I don’t need ice charms anymore,” he took a moment, then pointed to something nearby, languidly to seem like he hadn’t been eyeing it the whole time. “I’ll take that instead.”
Steve whined in protest when he saw the coin Kim Dokja gestured toward. It looked just like a dusty gambling chip, almost hidden in the innocuous way it was put on display, but Dokja knew exactly what it was as soon as he’d walked in. A large, golden number one was etched into one of the sides. It was the ‘Coin For A Lucky Gamble.’
Not many knew of its value, and when asked the shopkeeper no doubt named an exorbitant price tag that seemed outrageous, but Kim Dokja knew. When the Coin For A Lucky Gamble was flipped, if it landed on the gold number one an extra life would be given to the wielder for one time only. If it landed on the empty side however, nothing happened and you’d (presumably) die to whatever was killing you in the first place. Each person had only one shot to flip it, with the stipulation that your life had to actively be in danger to use it. It’s a bit of a win-win artifact: if you flip and get lucky you get another chance, but there’s no consequence to failing the flip - unlike other resurrective artifacts. In this way, the coin was incredibly advantageous to him.
“Are you - are you positive you want that old thing? It’s just a - it’s really not worth more than a few ice charms! What about -?”
“No. No, I want that one,” he doubled down.
“But - “
“I guess I could always just cut you down here and take it,” Kim Dokja pondered to himself, pretending like he was thinking about doing just that instead of intimidating the seller.
The seller trembled where he stood, behind the flimsy protection of the desk. “You’re just like a gangster-”
“-It takes a gangster to deal with a conman,” he interrupted. “So, the coin? Or am I going to have to play the real role of a gangster?” He took his sword back in hand.
“Fine! Take it you hooligan!” Steve threw up his hands, allowing the transaction to go through. The coin appeared in Kim Dokja’s outstretched hand, twirling in place like a dropped item in a video game.
[The constellation Demon-like Judge of Fire is satisfied with how the situation turned out]
“--Excuse me?” Someone cleared their throat from the shop doorway. Kim Dokja whipped his head around to meet the eyes of a royal guard, the oddly humanoid dog’s ear flicking in clear anxiety at interrupting them.
“Oh thank god!” Steve gasped, “Please you have to stop this person he’s trying to rob me-!”
“-Um, actually, I’m here to fetch someone.” The dog person said Kim Dokja’s name.
“...That’s me.”
“Oh! Wonderful! The king requests your presence.” The dog’s ears perked up, excited he found his goal so quickly. His tail wagged frantically behind him. Kim Dokja wavered for a moment, he wasn’t all that enthused about meeting such a powerful person face to face.
[The constellation Demon-like Judge of Fire tilts her head in confusion.]
[The constellation Demon-like Judge of Fire asks what the king would want with Kim Dokja.]
“...What does the king need from me?”
“It’ll all be explained when you get there! Please come along.” The guardsmen insisted, holding his hand out to lead Kim Dokja out the door. He gave one last pointed look at Steve - still behind the desk - before sheathing his sword and following the guard out the door.
Outside sat an elegant and expensive looking carriage. He glanced back at the dog person, making sure he was really supposed to get in it. He was still covered in monster gore after all, scrapes and bruises marring his skin; hardly suitable for meeting a king. The guard simply nodded, gesturing with his hand (paw?) towards the transport. Shrugging, Kim Dokja entered. Not his funeral if someone got mad that a royal carriage was stained with blood and dragon-bits.
If Kim Dokja knew what he was getting into that day, he would have never stepped foot in the carriage. He’d have been happier going ahead and selling the dragon head’s bounty, never to be seen again. Alas, hindsight is 20/20, and by then it was far too late to back out.