Fantasy Body Swap

The villagers looked scared shirtless by your presence. You understood it a little. They just felt relieved that their tyrant ruler got vanquished, only to see their hero turn into the exact same monster afterwards. You moved slowly, careful not to break anything else. Everyone seemed to afraid to say anything, until someone who looked like former chief of the town before the dragon took over went forward.

"You... What are you?"

Though visibly scared, there was still a shred of dignity in his voice, as expected of someone who used to lead his town.

"I..." you felt surprised at your own booming voice, but continued, "I am the one who killed that dragon. This cursed bracelet must have turned me into him"

The chief listened to your explanation, then said, "then I and this town thank you, hero, for we have been saved from his tyranny. But now I must ask you, what are you going to do?"

You fell silent, unsure what to do yourself, when the chief continued, "as much as we feel grateful of your help, you cannot stay here, as your presence will bring back bad memories from that dragon. I will have to ask you to leave"

Sadness overcame you, as you realized they had abandoned you. But given your current condition, you knew you couldn't live among humans any longer. You nodded, and said you would leave immediately.

"But before that, I need to know where that Dragon's body is"

You said this because you didn't see an identical but dead dragon like you lying around. The chief, as if he knew you would ask this, waved his hand above his head. Two men came forward, bringing a cartwheel with them. On the cartwheel, something was covered with a large rag. The chief grabbed the rag, and you were shocked to see your body, all complete with your armor. The head was severed, much like how you killed the dragon earlier.

"As you were turning into a dragon, his corpse turned into you," the chief said.

You couldn't bear to look at it any longer, and, without saying anything else, flew upwards, sending gust of winds towards the surrounding townsfolks. You didn't know how to fly, but it seemed your new body remembered it. You flew towards the mountain, away from civilization.

*****

It had been a week since you turned into a dragon. You'd been living in a cave, quite high in the mountain, where you sure no one should wander around. You knew your days living with human was over, so you opted to live in seclusion. You never came down to villages to eat their lifestocks. You'd been feeding on forest dwellers such as deers and wolves, swallowing them whole in one gulp. You at first was worried that the bracelet would turn you into your prey, but fortunately that didn't happen. You still hadn't figured out the extent of its power, or how it was actually work.

You almost gave up and accepted living alone as a dragon for the rest of your life, until they came. A pair of hunters, much like what you used to be, wandered inside your territory (you unconsciously set one). You knew they were coming for you, so you came straight to them. Suddenly dropping in front of them out of nowhere seemed like a good greeting, so you did just that. The earth shook as you landed, and the two hunters fell backwards from the shockwave.

"M-master Birg! There it is! A d-d-dragon!"

One young woman was still on the ground, frantically pointing at you. The other, a middle aged man, however, was already on his feet, brandishing his spear.

"Don't falter, Catlyn! On your feet! Prepare yourself!"

"Y-yes master!" On his master's order, Catlyn rose to her feet and prepared her spear as well.

"You... Why have you two come here?" you boomed at them.

"Oh? So the beast can talk? I..." Birg said, but you cut him short.

"I AM NOT A BEAST! I USED TO BE HUMAN MUCH LIKE YOU!" you spew hot smoke as you roared.

"...oh? So the townsfolk's story were true?"

"What?" you were surprised at his remark.

"They called us, told us to exterminate a dragon up in the mountain. They promised lots of gold to us. They also telling crazy story about a man turning into a dragon, but I didn't believe that... Until now"

You felt silent. You had never bothered the town that you saved ever since you became a dragon. And yet they called hunters to slay you. You felt betrayed. Your one week living in seclusion felt useless. Why living here if in the end they still wanted to kill you? Your anger rose quickly, probably from dragon hormone or whatever, and you decided to take revenge. But before you could have your revenge, there were two obstacles in front of you.