To summarize before I awakened, I was with my girlfriend and friends, heading to a karaoke session.

  Then, disaster struck—an accident occurred.

  I lost my life in the explosion.

  And now, in the present moment…

  Lying on a hard floor, I find myself deep in thought, trying to grasp my situation.

  I have become a monster.

  Stretching out my right hand, I see light-red, scaly skin—my own hand, not someone else’s.

  The reality sinks in—I am no longer human.

  I have no idea how much time has passed—hours, days, or more.

  Yet, I still clung to the hope that this was just a dream—a mere nightmare.

  After all, what human would readily accept waking up as a monster? Logically speaking, anyone in this situation would assume it was nothing more than a bad dream.

  With those thoughts swirling in my mind, exhaustion overtook me. Mentally drained, I decided to sleep again, wishing that when I woke up, this ridiculous nightmare would finally end.

  ?

  ?

  I opened my eyes, only to be greeted by the same sight—the cave.

  I gnced left, then right. Nothing had changed.

  I was still trapped in this absurd dream… or at least, that’s what I wanted to believe.

  I remained in the same spot, unmoved, still lying on the cold, hard ground.

  Rumble

  I had lost count of how many times I’d heard that sound, but I knew exactly what it was and where it came from.

  Rumble

  Again—this time, louder, more distinct. It was my stomach.

  I was almost impressed that I had endured this long without food. Perhaps monsters function differently from humans.

  Rumbleeee

  Now, my stomach growled incessantly, demanding to be fed.

  After starving for who knows how many days, my body felt weak and numb, completely drained of strength

  To make things worse, there was no food.

  If I truly thought like a monster, I should go outside and hunt. But I cked the will and the mindset to take action.

  I still couldn’t accept this ridiculous reality.

  Rumbleee

  "Guess starving to death wouldn’t be so bad," I muttered, trying to escape from the truth.

  "But… I’m still afraid to die. Even though I’ve already died once."

  No one wants to die—that’s a fact. Even for someone like me, who had already faced death once, unaware and reckless until the very end.

  "They say curiosity killed the cat… heh."

  I let out a dry chuckle. That phrase fit me all too well.

  Rumbleeeee

  Once again, my stomach growled, demanding to be fed. The numbness that dulled my senses—my attempt to escape reality—shattered.

  Twitch Twitch

  My nose twitched as a sweet scent drifted through the air.

  My head moved on its own, turning toward a specific spot.

  There, I saw the shattered remains of an egg—the very one I had emerged from.

  The sweet aroma was coming from that direction as well.

  Stand

  Before I even realized it, my body moved on its own, rising onto all fours. At this moment, I was acting purely on instinct, as if something else was controlling me.

  Step Step

  Drawn by the enticing sweetness in the air, my body advanced, taking slow, deliberate steps toward the source of the aroma.

  Stop

  I halted in front of a fragment of the shattered egg.

  Sniff Sniff

  Lowering my head like a beast, I sniffed the piece, confirming that the sweet scent was indeed coming from it.

  Reaching out, I picked up the fragment, and the moment I was sure of its source, I brought it to my mouth and ate it.

  The moment I ate the shattered piece of the egg, a wave of sweetness spread through my entire being. It felt as satisfying as indulging in my favorite food, filling me with warmth.

  But it wasn’t enough.

  Driven by hunger and the irresistible taste, reason faded from my mind. I devoured every remaining fragment of the shattered egg on the ground.

  And then, without hesitation, I consumed the very egg I had come from.

  Now sitting down, I picked up the st remaining piece of the egg and ate it without hesitation.

  "Delicious," the word slipped from my lips as I finished consuming every st fragment.

  With that, my hunger was finally satiated, and a deep sense of satisfaction washed over me.

  Wooong

  A surge of power erupted from my stomach, spreading rapidly throughout my entire body.

  Then, transformation began.

  The energy I had lost from days of starvation—energy wasted by doing nothing—was now fully restored.

  My bones grew stronger and denser as the power reshaped them.

  Muscles and flesh underwent changes, becoming firmer as tightly bound muscle fibers connected seamlessly to tendons, granting me newfound ease of movement.

  Even my scales transformed—their light-red hue deepened into a crimson red, hardening to a strength greater than steel.

  Then, the power reached my head, flooding me with information and sharpening my senses.

  The sensation was overwhelming, yet strangely familiar—like my body had finally fully adapted, as if a missing piece had fallen into pce.

  I felt natural now, as though I truly belonged in this form, gaining a deeper understanding of myself.

  "Dragon…" I murmured absentmindedly, still absorbing the knowledge granted by this otherworldly power.

  "I’m a dragon!!"

  With that confirmation, I fully grasped the reality of what I had become.