The Boss Was Me

The Boss Was Me

"Roar—"

A massive roar came from the distance.

It made the mountain peaks tremble, the earth quake, and birds and beasts flee in terror. It also jolted awake a young beast sleeping deep within a cave, leaving it at a loss.

"Hiss."

"What the hell happened?"

Lin Kai felt as though he had just awakened from a nightmare, his mind still muddled.

But before him was not his familiar room, nor was there a high-tech Game Pod and its accompanying equipment.

Instead, there was a dark yet warm cave, hard stone, and even several scattered Gold Coins.

"Where am I?"

Lin Kai felt as though his head were splitting apart as countless memories flooded into his mind. There was magic straight out of fantasy novels, as well as memories of his past life as a player.

He only remembered accepting a job from some rich player to farm Hill Giant fingers, then heading to Giant Gorge and fighting nonstop for more than eight hours.

In the end, his body could no longer take it, so he had no choice but to leave the game running and sleep for a while, planning to get back into the Game Pod and continue fighting after waking up.

Yet the moment he opened his eyes, he had somehow arrived in this damned place—and his body felt strange too.

He struggled to get up and, instinctively walking on all fours, made his way to a puddle nearby.

"A dragon?"

The "beast" before him was covered from head to toe in fine red scales. Its golden vertical pupils radiated ferocity and brutality.

Its body stretched over three meters long and still retained some of a young beast's immaturity, but many parts had already begun to look savage. Its dense sharp teeth, razor claws, and sturdy, powerful limbs were the best proof.

Yes, this was a young dragon.

And among the Five-Colored Dragons, it was the strongest and most brutal kind—a red dragon.

The Sulfur Scent filled its mouth, while a volcano seemed buried deep in its throat, ready to erupt at any moment. Lin Kai found it deeply uncomfortable.

He could not help sneezing, and waves of steaming heat and smoke immediately billowed from his nostrils.

A translucent blue screen suddenly appeared before him.

Young Red Dragon

Name: Keosius Claudeu Norikesius

Template: NPC (10 years, 1 day, and 18 hours until server launch)
Type: Large Dragon, Lawful Neutral
AC: 18 (Natural Armor)
Attributes: Strength—21, Dexterity—10, Constitution—18, Intelligence—12, Wisdom—11, Charisma—14
Skill Proficiencies: Stealth +4, Perception +8, Hunting +2, Escape +4, Knowledge (Future) +4
Damage Immunity: Fire

Senses: Blindsight 10 ft., Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 14 ft.

Languages: Draconic, Common Tongue

Actions: Bite, Claw, Tail Slap, Flight, Breath Weapon (Fire)

Feats: None

Challenge Rating: 6 (2100 XP)

Evaluation: "A red dragon's powerful claws and fangs are enough to become an adventurer's nightmare. They often use breath weapons or other special physical attacks, along with magic mastered since ancient times. Even when facing a Young Red Dragon, never underestimate it, or it will become the nightmare of your life."

"I transmigrated into Erezege?"

"And I became Ke Ge?"

After studying the information for a long while, Lin Kai—or rather, Keosius—finally sorted out his thoughts and understood his current situation.

He then sank into memories of his past life.

"Erezege" was a holographic game based on Dungeons & Dragons from the previous century.

The origins of the game were unknown, as was its publisher, yet it possessed technology that could only be described as black tech. It claimed to create a real world for players, and its highest global concurrent player count had exceeded a hundred million.

From ordinary people to social elites, even tycoons in business and politics, countless people were immersed in it. Some even lived in their Game Pods all day apart from eating and sleeping.

A massive market had also sprung up around this epic masterpiece. Every game update could even affect global markets. A single legendary piece of equipment could sell for an outrageous price of over ten million, making it the Bitcoin of the new era. This drove even more people to throw themselves into the game one after another—Lin Kai had been one of them.

And the so-called "Ke Ge" was his current self. His true name was Keosius Claudeu Norikesius, the first world boss of Anzeta Storms, Erezege Version 1.0: an utterly evil red dragon that had made a pact with an abyssal demon.

He possessed countless titles: Embers of the Burned, Fury of the Mountains, Reaper of Life, and the Newbie Nightmare.

During the early stages of the game, in the Fury of the Winter quest, several thousand players who had only recently entered the game were tormented half to death by the red dragon's flames. Yet because the red dragon soared through the skies, they found it difficult to harm.

On average, each player died dozens of times. The charred player corpses piled up into mountains, and among them were many future-famous professional players. In the end, they only managed to defeat it by throwing lives at it and launching suicide attacks.

That glorious record earned Keosius the immortal title of "Ke Ge."

Even now, with the game already in Version 4.0 and the level cap raised to Level 20, some players had begun roaming the Astral Plane, taking jobs across planes, and traversing the multiverse. Yet stories of Ke Ge still circulated: tales of a red dragon using masterful human barbecue techniques to brutalize experts from every side, turning them into piles of charcoal.

"Ke Ge's barbecue is unmatched under heaven."

But what point in the timeline was this? "Roar!"

Another roar from outside the lair interrupted Keosius's thoughts.

The overwhelming pressure in the air made even the Dragon Whelp's heart tremble. Still, he forced down the urge to flee, scampered toward the cave entrance, and cautiously poked his head out to observe the situation.

High in the distant sky, an enormous red dragon beat her massive Wings, whipping up gusts of wind as she looked down upon the ground from above.

That should be Keosius's biological mother. Her gigantic dragon body was over twenty meters long, making it clear that she was a powerful red dragon in the prime of her life.

"You half-human, half-elf mongrel, get out of my territory!"

"Who do you think you're facing?"

"Before you stands Tiamat's most favored child, the ruler of Cloud Peak, the noble and mighty red dragon Aclenia!"

The red dragon's tone was incomparably arrogant. That was something her bloodline had granted her.

Standing on the ground and confronting the dragon without fear was a Fighter clad in dark golden armor. Her face was indistinct, as though veiled by a faint glow.

Only her partially exposed pointed ears revealed her Half-elf identity, while her figure barely suggested that she was female.

She stood with a sword on her back, her tone resolute and calm. "Evil dragon, you are so arrogant and conceited, yet you cannot foresee the end that awaits you—your destruction."

The Half-elf stared at the dragon in the sky and spoke each word with force and conviction. "You plunder ill-gotten wealth and slaughter innocent people. Everything you have done has shattered the justice and order of this entire world."

"No matter what god stands behind you, we who uphold our oaths will make you pay the price you deserve—your life!"

This was the Paladin's Vengeance Oath!

After speaking, the Half-elf drew the Silver Sword from her back.

The red dragon in the sky snorted, let out a Long Cry, and dove straight down with a beat of her Wings.

Her gaping, savage maw seemed ready to tear the tiny Half-elf apart.

Scorching flames suddenly erupted from deep within her throat, the terrifying heat warping even the air.

"It's Rhea, the Twilight Blade."

Keosius could not help thinking, finally recalling the questline related to himself.

Main Quest: Cold Night Fury

[Ten years ago, the mother of the red dragon Keosius Claudeu Norikesius was slain by the wandering Half-elf Paladin Rhea, the "Twilight Blade." The young red dragon fled in panic. It lay low in the Anstica Mountains, silently waiting for an opportunity to take revenge on humanity.

Now, it has made a pact with an ancient demon deep in the mountains and become the "Embers of the Burned." It has destroyed several cities in succession. The evil dragon will lead its wicked army, shatter justice and order, and reduce the entire northern lands to ashes!] And now was likely the time of that battle between the red dragon and the Paladin—ten years before the players descended! In Keosius's eyes, the distant Half-elf Paladin was already Level 20, on the verge of crossing the threshold into legend. She even bore divine favor, making her an unquestionable world-class powerhouse.

One had to know that an adult red dragon's standard Challenge Rating was only 17. Even if its life level had already reached legendary status, it was still no match for a Paladin blessed by the gods, someone with cheats like her.

What was more, the renowned Twilight Blade had already successfully advanced into a legend in Version 4.0 of his past life. She was one of the important NPCs in the Elven Kingdom series of main quests.

It seemed his cheap mother was doomed.

The red dragon shook his head. He had no time to think about so much. He merely flapped his immature Wings and ran and hopped back into the lair, preparing to pack up and flee.

Of course, before leaving home, he still needed to openly and properly "take" some capital for independence from this cheap mother of his.

"Tiamat above, this is a red dragon's treasury."

"Hope it's not too shabby..."

Keosius exhaled a breath of sulfur-scented heat, lightly shook himself, and stretched his somewhat stiff Wings.

This is pseudo-D&D. The red dragon setting mainly references 3R, with innate caster levels included. The player classes mainly reference 5E, with some modifications.

Also, this is a game world in another realm! Another realm!