The dragon's golden eyes locked onto Arin.
For a moment, the world stopped moving.
Arin couldn't breathe.
The creature was enormous.
Even from hundreds of meters away, its presence crushed the air itself.
The system window flickered again.
[WARNING]
[Ancient Flame Dragon detected.]
[Recommended action: RUN.]
Arin didn't need the system to tell him that.
His survival instincts screamed.
"Move!"
The dragon opened its mouth.
A terrifying flame gathered inside.
Arin turned and ran with everything he had.
Behind him—
BOOM!
A massive explosion shook the forest.
Flames devoured everything in their path.
Trees burned instantly.
The ground melted.
The heat slammed into Arin's back like a wall.
He jumped behind a giant rock just as the firestorm passed over him.
For several seconds, the entire forest burned.
Arin clenched his teeth.
"If that hit me directly…"
He didn't finish the sentence.
Because he already knew the answer.
He would have been erased from existence.
The dragon roared again.
The sound alone shook the sky.
But then—
Another message appeared.
[Ancient Dragon has lost interest.]
[Target no longer considered a threat.]
The massive creature slowly spread its wings and flew deeper into the mountains.
Arin collapsed onto the ground.
His entire body trembled.
"I almost died again…"
But strangely—
A small smile appeared on his face.
If such monsters existed in this world…
Then the power he could obtain here was beyond imagination.
And Arin intended to reach the top.