Chapter 160 Dog tails, huh.
It was strange.
After a round of tag with Baekrang, I returned to the area where the traces of the Magnosaurus were.
“Can you even carry all this? Should we divide it and carry it together?”
Indeed, the Magnosaurus was enormous.
On top of that, it had considerable muscle mass, making it quite heavy.
But it wasn’t to the point where it couldn’t be moved.
Moving such a heavy creature could also serve as a form of training.
To move a creature like this, I had to bite its neck and drag it.
That meant I needed to use my teeth.
Although I primarily used my forelimbs in combat, my teeth were also a significant weapon.
If I bit properly, I could instantly snap its neck, or, at the very least, inject poison into its body.
However, since most martial arts techniques, including Dragon Claws, utilized the arms, I hadn’t often used my teeth.
Even Gecko Death Beam, which involved the mouth, didn’t rely on the teeth.
Since I didn’t use them much in combat, training this way wasn’t a bad idea.
After all, these were dragon fangs verified by Argentarvis, and who knows? I might evolve into the strongest dinosaur.
“Gek-gek.”
It wasn’t a bad idea to prepare for this now, considering my arms might become shorter.
I bit the Magnosaurus’s neck and began dragging it.
“Is it heavy? …Well, your strength is impressive.”
Baekrang stared intently at my legs.
Judging by the way he gulped, he seemed to want to eat the Magnosaurus.
Eating it now to reduce its weight was an option.
But the wolves waiting for us deserved to taste it too.
“Hmph…”
Baekrang walked beside me, humming through his nose.
Earlier, he had hit me and fled, but now he stuck close to me.
It’s hard to understand a wolf’s mind.
Forget the likes of Illang and Chillang; Baekrang, being a mystical creature, was particularly difficult to figure out.
“But something feels strange.”
“Gek?”
“This guy should definitely be living on the mountainside.”
Baekrang and I had planned to climb to the mountainside, swiftly take out the Magnosaurus, and then descend.
On the way, we would inevitably encounter other beasts, so the challenge was to fight our way to the Magnosaurus.
However, the Magnosaurus had come down, saving us the trouble.
What could have been several battles was resolved in a single fight, which was a good thing.
“Those who dwell near Dragon Gate have a tendency to stay as close to it as possible. That’s why the stronger ones live near the mountaintop.”
Yet the fact that this one had come down was the issue.
Drawn by the power of Dragon Gate, many challengers climb the mountain, and the Magnosaurus would have grown stronger by preying on them.
Even if food became scarce, it could solve that problem within the volcano.
But it came down? That could only mean it had been pushed out by someone, which was strange.
The Magnosaurus’s body was unscathed.
If it had lost a fight and fled, it should have had wounds.
So why had it come down?
During the battle, I noticed something peculiar.
The state of the creature through my Wild Eyes.
Fear and confusion.
That word didn’t match the ferocious aura that creature exuded.
And strangely, I felt a sense of déjà vu in that situation.
It felt like I had seen something similar somewhere before.
…Right.
Utahraptor.
It was exactly like the Utahraptor I saw in the cave.
The poor dinosaur being chased by the pseudo-Ankylosaurus that Baek Yeonyeong was pursuing.
If that’s the case, this one must have also come down out of fear, just like the Utahraptor.
“Fire Rat is strong, but it usually stays quiet as long as you don’t enter its territory…”
If the Guardian of the volcano had gone on a rampage, forcing it down, that would make sense, but even that felt off.
My instincts told me there was something more hidden here.
“When I challenge the Guardian later, I’ll need to be extra cautious.”
“Gek.”
I nodded lightly.
Defeating the Fire Rat would be a turning point in my life as a lizard.
To bring it down properly, I’d need thorough preparation.
Now that I’ve gathered all the necessary materials, all I need to do is wait.
With that, I returned to my nest with Baekrang.
“Heh, heh, heh.”
From Illang to Chillang, the wolves wagged their tails as they welcomed Baekrang and me.
Their reactions were amusing: the younger they were, the more they went wild, while the older ones tried to behave more dignified.
But dogs are dogs.
Their wagging tails couldn’t be hidden.
Come on, even your older sister can’t hide hers, so how could you?
“…Could you stop making that sly expression?”
“Gek.”
Baekrang divided the Magnosaurus meat into appropriately sized pieces.
He set aside the parts to be used as materials.
“The kids can’t eat that much anyway.”
Can’t eat that much?
I’ve fed them meat fairly often, but they’re still wolves, after all.
And there are seven sisters even without Baekrang, so they should be able to handle this much meat.
“Kiiing…”
Chillang looked troubled as she stared at the meat.
“Oh, creatures living near the volcano have a slightly spicy taste. That’s why.”
Spicy taste?
Spicy?
“Gekek!”
I put a piece of the meat in my mouth.
A slightly tingling taste spread across my palate.
“You even handle spicy food well?”
Baekrang spoke, looking a little surprised.
In truth, spiciness is something that animals in the wild develop to protect themselves.
Most beasts tend to avoid spicy flavors.
But I’m a lizard with a human mind.
And spicy food?
A taste worth paying for.
“Geg-gek-gek!”
So beasts that use fire have a spicy taste.
This was a new discovery.
Wait, then the Fiery Phoenix I missed last time…
Spicy Chicken?
If I meet it again, I’ll definitely hunt it.
As I enjoyed the spicy meat, the wolves seemed to regain their appetite and each began taking their share.
“Awooo!”
“Kiiiing…”
Though they struggled with the spiciness at first, they quickly adapted and began devouring the meat.
While we were eating, Baekrang gathered the materials I had collected into one place.
He formed them into a round shape, including the Magnosaurus’s Core, and infused them with his icy energy.
Since all the prep work had been done in advance, it didn’t take long.
Squelch.
And so, a single blue orb was created.
“This should be useful enough. It’s unfortunate that it’s a one-time use, but if you eat it, you’ll gain strong resistance to heat for a while.”
What Baekrang had made was a pseudo Ice Orb.
Although it didn’t grant control over ice, it significantly increased resistance to fire.
He explained that it was essential for facing the Fire Rat.
Each of the Fire Rat’s attacks was said to surpass the volcanic-style Mancheonhwau.
“Gek-gek.”
After finishing all the meat, I took the blue orb in both hands.
Since it was a one-time use, I couldn’t eat it now; I’d save it for when I faced the Fire Rat.
“Awoo! Awooo!”
The wolves, who had been happily eating Magnosaurus meat, suddenly dashed outside.
When I looked to see what they were doing, they had all plunged their snouts into the puddle outside.
“That’s why I told you to eat in moderation.”
Baekrang sighed and spread his icy energy into the surroundings.
Squelch.
A thin layer of ice formed over the puddle.
“Awoo!”
The wolves happily crunched on the thin ice.
Thin ice.
They had good taste.
The more I looked, the more envious I became of Baekrang’s abilities.
I liked his fur, his abilities were impressive, and…
He was a dog.
And he looked like a white pup.
“…I don’t know what you’re thinking, but your expression feels really rude.”
“Gek.”
Baekrang approached me quietly.
Then he plopped down beside me.
Close enough that his tail could touch me if it leaned my way.
“I’ve been thinking lately, ever since you arrived, the others seem to have mellowed out.”
Mellowed out.
This pack of wolves had once bared their teeth and threatened me when we first met.
Their faces had turned triangular, much like Shikshik’s expression when she saw Old Kompi.
But that was only for a moment, as their faces began to soften after I joined the pack.
One by one, from Chillang to the others, the wolves gradually turned into puppies.
It wasn’t intentional.
All I did was stroke their fluffy fur a few times.
Being wild wolves, they likely hadn’t experienced such touch before, so they succumbed quickly.
It didn’t seem like White Pup stroked her siblings much either.
Of course, if I felt that their wild instincts were weakening because of me, I would stop immediately.
After all, I wouldn’t be staying with this pack forever, so I shouldn’t act irresponsibly.
Fortunately, they still seemed fine so far.
Even though they wagged their tails in the cave, they showed their sharp instincts again when hunting.
“They weren’t like this before, but now it feels like seeing kin tamed by human hands.”
Well, wolves and dogs are just a step apart.
“Honestly, it feels a bit unsettling. They opened their hearts to a random lizard that appeared out of nowhere.”
“Gekek.”
True, the idea of wolves and a lizard becoming friends wasn’t exactly normal.
Of course, I’m an exception, having bonded with humans, snakes, spiders, and birds before.
“Still, I don’t get why they wag their tails so happily for someone who’s leaving soon.”
White Pup tapped the blue orb lightly.
“They seem to follow you more than they do me now.”
“Geg-gek.”
See? You should’ve treated them better from the start.
“I don’t know what they like about a creature covered in nothing but scales.”
Scales have their own charm.
You’d understand if you met Shikshik.
“Seriously, I don’t get it. You don’t even have fluffy fur, just scales.”
White Pup emphasized the “just scales.”
Could it be that wolves see me as some kind of bald creature?
Well, considering all the wolves had thick, fluffy fur, that made sense.
Especially White Pup, whose chest fur was particularly lush.
“The funny thing is, even when you turn into a human, it doesn’t seem to impress them anymore.”
It was true.
Perhaps feeling a sense of crisis from my interactions with the wolves, White Pup occasionally transformed into a human and patted them.
But aside from a random black lizard falling for her tricks, it didn’t seem to have much effect.
It always came back to the lizard.
It wasn’t about appearances but about technique.
It’s the difference in the mastery of stroking dogs.
“My big hands… What’s so great about being stroked by them?”
White Pup stared intently at my forelimbs.
With all the wolves outside, it was just the two of us in the cave.
Gulp.
The sound of swallowing was crystal clear.
Was it because she hadn’t eaten the Magnosaurus meat?
Come to think of it, she’d been like this since the foot of the volcano.
I was about to step back and offer her the leftover meat.
Squeeze.
White Pup’s forepaw grabbed me.
“So, my conclusion is that there’s something about your forelimbs.”
Her tail wagged softly.
“…I need to know what it is.”
Her golden eyes gazed at me.
“Could you… stroke me?”
White Pup expressed her desire to be petted in a roundabout way.
Well, since the wolves would surely be sad when I left, it wouldn’t hurt to pass on this secret technique.
“Geg-gek.”
I’ll make her someone who can’t live without a lizard’s touch.
The wolf’s wagging tail.
No, at this point, it’s a dog’s tail.