Chapter 168: Clearing Karma
Thus, my double life began.
Though the term "double life" might sound a bit strange, I wasn’t doing anything particularly unusual.
It was just a grand term for sneaking into the cave at night to meet White Wolf in secret.
...Does that sound a bit weird?
Officially, it was to relay my news to the wolf pack.
If I had simply left for another place, they could have sent me off neatly, but I was now confined to the volcano.
I was told this would make Chillang anxious, leaving no choice.
Couldn’t they just say I was somewhere other than the volcano?
I considered it but chose not to say it out loud.
After all, I was gaining a few things from this clandestine meeting.
“Ugh, it’s really heavy.”
“Geck geck.”
During the day, I had the scorching warmth of Red Dragon, and at night, the coolness of White Wolf.
It was the ultimate pillow selection based on my mood.
“…Put your tongue back in. You look really sleazy right now.”
“Geck?”
This wasn’t purely due to personal preference; I had my reasons.
Among the mystical medicines in my body, the most prominent were Fire Carp and Snow Ginseng.
Azure Sky Immortal Dew, Myriad-Year Golden Spirit Fruit, and the cores of divine creatures were just as remarkable, but I was directly utilizing the power of Fire Carp and Snow Ginseng.
Similarly, Red Dragon and White Wolf respectively controlled heat and cold.
While there was a disparity in their power, the energy I was exposed to made little difference.
Absorbing heat during the day and cold at night naturally built up my internal energy.
This could be the clue leading me to evolve into Paryong.
“…It’s fine to lie there, but why do you keep snuggling?”
“Geck geck.”
“You only act like a child at times like this.”
The greater the contact area, the better the absorption of cold energy.
So, I lay on White Wolf’s lap, undergoing rigorous training while munching on the meat I hunted.
Obtaining food had become easy.
While the meat Red Dragon hunted was great, I often caught my own prey during my free time.
Perhaps it was due to catching Fire Rats, but animals previously unseen started gathering near the volcano, allowing for varied hunts.
Of course, during the day, when Red Dragon was active, they hid as if their lives depended on it, only coming out when she soaked in lava.
But that didn’t matter to me.
After all, the time I could move freely was at night.
Hiding in the darkness, I would sneak up and snap their necks—hunt complete.
While there were times I got caught due to the omnipresent fire and lava, the result remained unchanged.
Even if they saw me, they couldn’t stop me.
I was stronger than ever.
Though my body pleaded to evolve right away, I endured.
As the saying goes, patience is bitter, but the reward is sweet; I suppressed my desire to evolve.
If I evolved into Komodo-Salamander, I feared it would be a path of no return.
I could already imagine Red Dragon losing control and pouncing on me.
In many ways, it was dangerous.
If I were to evolve into Salamander, it had to be after escaping Red Dragon.
Of course, the best option was to evolve into Paryong.
Though I hadn’t found the key, spending time this way seemed to bring gradual changes.
By resisting evolution and continuing training and hunting, I could feel power accumulating deep within my dantian.
I thought of Kompi and his subordinates, the dinosaurs and lizards.
They could clearly evolve but chose not to.
I felt I might now understand why.
Refraining from evolution was a form of training too.
“Geck geck.”
Though my overflowing power led me to overhunt at times, White Wolf made it manageable.
She froze the meat with her cold energy, and the surplus was taken to the wolves.
Nothing went to waste; every piece was used efficiently.
As expected of White Wolf—her resourcefulness impressed me.
Perhaps it was because she was the eldest sister of the wolf pack.
Still, her den wasn’t exactly close to the volcano. Wasn’t coming every day tiring for her?
Shouldn’t she skip a day?
As I wondered, White Wolf yawned and spoke.
“Yawn... Right, you said you caught the Guardian?”
“Geck geck.”
“Yet your body hasn’t changed? That rumor can’t be false… Are you deliberately staying in this state?”
White Wolf had many admirable traits.
Her fluffy fur was delightful to touch, and her cold energy rivaled that of the Snake Queen.
She was resourceful, intelligent, and dependable.
No wonder she was the leader.
If she weren’t part of a pack and were as small as Tus and Pus, I might’ve given her a scale to accompany me.
Then I could touch her fur whenever I wanted to relax.
“Geck geck.”
I nodded lightly.
“Hmm, you’re already big enough, so what are you aiming for?”
White Wolf’s eyes scanned my body.
From my head to my tail and back again.
Then she stopped midway.
She stared intently at a particular spot.
Gulp.
White Wolf swallowed audibly.
Her tail wagged slightly.
“…This is awkward in many ways.”
I couldn't tell what they were thinking, but their face was slightly red.
“I'm getting a bit tired. Should we sleep now?”
“Gek….”
That meant they were about to switch back from their human form to their wolf form.
“You seem to like this form an unusual amount.”
But it wasn’t bad.
It meant I could sleep hugging their soft fur.
I got ready for bed.
During the day, it was Red Dragon; at night, it was White Wolf.
I had to divide my time properly to ensure I got enough rest.
If I kept sleeping during the day, Red Dragon would question me, and if I slept only at night, White Wolf would feel left out.
….
…Why was I even worrying about this?
Maybe it was because I had been here for too long, sometimes having strange thoughts.
White Wolf curled up and stuck close to my side.
“Awooo….”
It was cooler here compared to other places, but it was still a volcano, so there was no need to stick so close.
However, I didn’t bother pointing it out.
Because it meant I could freely touch this furry companion.
“…Hey.”
“Gek?”
“Sometimes, when you’re asleep, you slightly bite the back of my neck, you know?”
Me?
“…No, you wouldn’t even know what that means.”
“Gekek?”
What the heck, bringing it up and then leaving it at that.
“Never mind. Just sleep.”
“Geeeeek….”
I curled up my body as well and fell asleep.
Whenever I woke up, my body would be covered in fur, but it probably wasn’t a big deal.
At night, I was with White Wolf.
And during the day?
“Hey, little one. Why do you keep digging into my thigh?”
I was with Red Dragon.
If I filled White Wolf’s chill, then it was only right to fill Red Dragon’s heat.
It was absolutely not for selfish reasons, but for training.
If it were up to me, I would keep Red Dragon and White Wolf together and just roll around happily, but that was close to impossible.
I wasn’t sure about White Wolf, but Red Dragon would never allow it.
In fact, this place could essentially be considered Red Dragon’s territory now.
White Wolf was more like an intruder sneaking into this territory.
Though White Wolf sometimes stayed in a cave near the mountainside, she avoided coming around when Red Dragon was active during the day, so they hadn’t crossed paths yet.
But what if, by some chance, they did encounter each other?
It wouldn’t be pretty.
The fate of an intruder trespassing in a dragon’s domain was all too clear.
Occasionally, while I stayed here, I would see a few spiritual beasts brave enough to conquer their fear of Red Dragon and ascend to the peak of the volcano.
Like a horse surrounded by flames or a giant snail made entirely of lava.
Thanks to that, I discovered what horse meat and snail meat tasted like.
They burned to a crisp with just one breath from Red Dragon, who hadn’t even taken on her dragon form.
Even spiritual beasts that controlled fire couldn’t withstand it.
Red Dragon’s power was beyond my imagination, and she didn’t tolerate any being approaching her nest.
Thus, it was crucial that Red Dragon and White Wolf never met.
It was only because I was the one dealing with her that she tolerated it; if Red Dragon saw White Wolf, she would swallow her whole.
And there was a high chance she would take me along for the ride.
“Gek.”
“Can you make some other sound besides ‘gek’?”
It was a bit surreal that such a dangerous Red Dragon was currently teaching me how to speak.
“Groooong.”
“…Not that.”
“Bark bark!”
“What’s that now?”
Could learning to speak be a condition for evolving into Paryong?
Otherwise, even a random gecko would’ve figured it out by now—why was it so difficult for me?
“Grrroooo….”
“Your crying does seem to be getting more diverse….”
“Gerrrrrrr….”
“Why can’t you talk?”
She looked at me with a slightly serious expression.
“You keep repeating words like ‘gegek.’ Is there some hidden reason I don’t know about?”
Red Dragon grabbed me by my armpits and tried to lift me up.
Given her size, it didn’t work very well.
“The strangest part is that as time passes, it feels like I’m starting to understand your cries more and more.”
“Geeeek?”
Wouldn’t that be a good thing?
“This kind of thing is unheard of…. Beasts at your level can all talk, you know.”
Red Dragon thought for a moment before clapping her hands as if something occurred to her.
“Ah, could it be because of faith?”
Faith?
The Gecko Faith?
“Then this is a hassle…. If you learned to talk and then gained faith, it wouldn’t matter, but since it’s the other way around….”
“Geeeek?”
Was faith the issue?
Considering how evolution also seemed tied to the gecko, it didn’t seem entirely impossible.
“Faith isn’t something that forms so easily. Besides, the chances of a lizard that can’t even speak becoming the center of faith are practically nonexistent.”
“Gekek.”
“This is getting complicated. Teaching you how to speak might not even matter.”
What was that supposed to mean?
“Gekek!”
Then why am I even stuck here!
All I do is rest my head on Red Dragon’s thigh and sometimes rub my face into the warmth pouch—that’s it!
…Does that even mean anything?
Still, if what Red Dragon said was true, it would be a real shame.
It would mean I’d have to live my whole life as a lizard that just makes ‘gekek’ sounds.
…Well, technically, that’s true for lizards, but still, if possible, I’d like to learn how to speak.
“There’s a way, though.”
“Gek!”
That’s the Red Dragon for you.
If there’s a solution, that changes everything.
“You’ll be able to communicate with your followers.”
That was certainly true.
My spiders understood what I said fairly well.
Even Tang So-yeong wasn’t perfect, but she got the gist of what I meant.
“Then I could become your follower, right?”
“Gekekekek?”
Sorry, Pus.
It looks like the position of the first follower will have to go to Red Dragon.
“…Pfft, I’m just joking. Just a joke.”
I almost felt like I could hear crying sounds.
“No matter what, how could I possibly become your follower?”
As if to emphasize it was a joke, Red Dragon gently patted my back.
Slaaaap!
“Geeeek!”
From my perspective, it wasn’t gentle at all.
“Ah, so cute.”
“Geeeeeng….”
She grabbed both my cheeks and pulled them mercilessly.
“Do you want big sister to become your follower?”
“Gekekekek!”
Red Dragon smiled mischievously.
“Hmmm, too bad. You know it’s at least 100 years too early, right?”
“Gekek.”
Let go of me, you jerk.
It hurts.
“If you stay with me for just 50 years, I might think about it?”
“Gekekekek!”
Fifty years?
That’s enough time for an ordinary lizard to die of old age twice over.
…Wait a second.
What’s my lifespan, anyway?
Well, I’m a spiritual beast, so I should live longer than most humans, right?
No way I inherited a gecko lizard’s lifespan.
“You really want to stay with big sister, huh?”
Red Dragon hugged me tightly.
I had a feeling she was interpreting my inability to speak in a way that suited her, but if she kept doing that, I wouldn’t be able to stay quiet either.
If she didn’t let go of me…
Squish.
…I’ll let it slide this time.
“Ah, you’re just too cute.”
She started rubbing her face all over my body.
It felt like I’d become a pet, and the feeling was complicated.
It wasn’t bad, but it felt like my dignity as a divine beast was slipping away.
“Geeeek!”
That’s enough, stop now!
When I shouted that, Red Dragon’s movements froze.
They say even a dog recites poetry after three years at a school. It seemed her ability to interpret my ‘gekek’ sounds had improved significantly.
“…Hey, little one.”
The strength in Red Dragon’s arms hugging me tightened.
That’s when I realized.
She hadn’t understood what I said.
“I smell another female on you.”