Chapter 357
The Imoogi, born in the Core, had a dream since its hatchling days, inspired by a tale the elders told it. “If we Imoogis train diligently for two thousand years, we can become dragons.”
The journey would be long and arduous, but they said that if it endured the pain and hardship and dedicated itself with unwavering effort, then one day, it could become a dragon.
Wholeheartedly believing in those teachings, the Imoogi had lived its life idolizing dragons, wanting nothing more than to be one of their kind. Even after becoming a gatekeeper, it never neglected its training. Rain or snow, no matter how rough the weather, it gave its all each day to reach that goal.
There were days when things felt too hard, days when it wanted to quit. But each time, it consoled itself, endured, and pushed on. It was never meant to be an easy path. After all, if just anyone could become a dragon, there would be nothing special to admire about them.
“Only when the time of endurance passes, and your body and mind mature into completeness, can you finally become a dragon. A dragon must possess a noble nature above all else.”
The Imoogi engraved the words of the sages deep in its heart. Naturally, its admiration and respect for dragons only grew stronger. Well, it had grown stronger until a certain day, when it met an adventurer and his two companions.
***
“Head, head, head, head, head, head, head,” a voice kept saying.
Each repetition of “head” was followed by a loud thwack. Lumps were forming on the Imoogi’s head, one swelling on top of another, and yet another stacked on that. Its mouth foamed, its consciousness hanging by a thread.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
How long would this go on? Tears welled up in the corners of its eyes, then overflowed.
Then suddenly, it snapped its eyes open and shouted in defiance, “Aaaaah! Time out!”