Chapter 184: Gecko Goes Hungry
Crash!
I sprinted across the ground, heading toward the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
Compared to before my evolution, my size was roughly the same, but my weight had increased significantly.
It seemed like it had at least doubled.
Despite that, my speed hadn’t slowed down at all.
No, in fact, I was even faster now.
Whoosh!
“Geck... geck…”
Sneaking into the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult’s headquarters wouldn’t be too difficult.
The first time I visited that place, I was nestled in my master’s arms for unavoidable reasons, which meant I couldn’t see the path.
That showed just how meticulous my master was.
To think he knew how to fix the sight of a lizard like me.
Still, even though I hadn’t seen the path, I remembered the direction.
And since I had also traveled from the cult to the jungle once, it would be strange if I couldn’t find the way.
I arrived near a side gate instead of the main entrance.
Of course, being the cult it was, even the side gate was heavily guarded.
The structure was such that suspicious humans couldn’t enter.
The guards weren’t particularly strong, but any odd movements would immediately alert everyone.
But it was fine.
I wasn’t a suspicious human; I was just a lizard.
“Geck!”
With a gecking cry, I would look like an ordinary lizard.
“Ahh! A dragon!”
Well, that is, if I applied miniaturization.
I made a slight misstep.
Perhaps it was because I had spent too much time among beings who treated me as a lizard, regardless of my size.
Of course, if a human saw a figure this large, they would be startled.
This was all the Snake Queen’s fault.
After a brief commotion, I quickly retreated.
“What, were you asleep on guard duty or something? Suddenly, a dragon?”
“Didn’t you see it just now?”
“See what? How would I see something inside your dream?”
Eavesdropping on their conversation, it seemed like I had gotten away cleanly.
“I swear, I really saw a dragon!”
“A dragon, my foot. I was standing right next to you.”
It seemed the guard had briefly dozed off and hallucinated.
“No, it was a handsome dragon, staring suspiciously at your chest!”
“My chest? You just say whatever you want, don’t you?”
...Their eyesight was sharper than I had expected.
To think they noticed where I was looking in that fleeting moment.
No wonder they were part of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
“I’m serious!”
“Good grief. Let’s say a dragon did show up. Why on earth would such a sacred being sneak a glance at your chest and run off?”
“Well, that’s…”
“You must’ve just had a weird dream while dozing off. You pervert.”
There seemed to be a minor misunderstanding, but they’d sort it out among themselves.
Although I had been spotted once, it didn’t seem to pose a significant issue.
As long as I applied miniaturization, I could sneak in without being detected.
If my size shrank, I would look like a regular lizard with two horns and white fur.
Occasionally firing beams from my mouth or walking on two legs might raise eyebrows, but I had an unfounded belief that they’d overlook such quirks.
“Geck… geck…”
However, there was something I needed to do here before applying miniaturization.
A bundle was tied to my tail.
Inside were treasures brought by the Red Dragon.
Unfortunately, unlike the divine artifact hanging around my neck, the treasures couldn’t change size.
Carrying this with a smaller body would be impossible.
Of course, I could technically carry it, but its conspicuous size would draw suspicion.
It reminded me of a tiny creature running away with a hamburger recipe.
Though it was a bit undignified, I decided to bury it in the ground and inform my master of its location.
Of course, my master might misunderstand.
He could think, *Is this just a bathroom break he expects me to clean up?*
Such a thought would hurt my dignity as a lizard, but it wasn’t entirely implausible.
To avoid that misunderstanding, I planned to set aside a few treasures to show the buried items were valuable.
The item I chose to keep was a ring.
Even with miniaturization applied, carrying it wouldn’t be a problem.
I could carry over ten of them by threading them onto my long tail.
In that case, I’d become a suspicious lizard with two horns, fur, and ten rings on its tail, but perhaps the open-minded cult members wouldn’t think much of it.
They might simply assume I was someone’s pet lizard.
A wild lizard with rings on its tail would be an oddity, after all.
“Geck.”
Swoosh!
As I had expected, infiltrating the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult was incredibly easy.
“Gasp! A-a dragon!”
Thud!
A guard stationed further inside suddenly collapsed, for reasons I couldn’t explain.
Perhaps he was simply exhausted from his watch.
…Actually, the truth was, he panicked when our eyes met, and I reflexively struck him with my tail, knocking him out.
“Geck…”
I mean, I only hit him once, and he fainted.
Should guards really be this weak?
Granted, it wasn’t the main gate but still.
What if a malicious beast with impure intentions snuck in?
It was fortunate that only a virtuous lizard like me had come through.
At least this incident would teach him a lesson.
He’d remember the hard way that letting his guard down could lead to getting smacked by a tail and knocked out.
“Geck.”
With a virtuous lizard’s cry, I rummaged through the man’s belongings.
There didn’t seem to be anything worth taking.
Although I spotted a few coins, they were useless to me.
I considered just leaving him there, but since he fainted because of me, I decided to help him a little.
If his comrades saw him in this state, it might cause unnecessary commotion.
After all, it looked like he had been attacked by someone and knocked out.
Leaving him lying like this might also make his mouth go slack.
Let’s at least change his position.
I’ll make it look like he’s a lazy guard who just fell asleep on the job.
“Ge-ge-ge-geck.”
No need to thank me.
After perfectly fabricating the evidence, I finally entered the interior of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
I flicked my tongue and savored the scents in the air.
A lizard’s body amplifies smells by flicking its tongue.
In other words, I could roughly determine the location of my target once I caught its scent.
Now that I’d arrived at my destination, it was time to get to work.
The first place I intended to visit was Baek Seolhwa’s room.
Judging from the scent, it seemed Baek Seolhwa wasn’t in the room.
This was the perfect chance to steal some snacks.
Of course, stealing now might result in a slightly dangerous situation.
If I were caught, they would surely do everything to track me down.
The safest choice would be to steal the snacks right before I left.
But the fewer risks, the fewer rewards.
If I only stole something on the last day, I’d have just one chance.
But if I stole something today?
Baek Seolhwa might get mad, but she’d probably buy more snacks.
Which meant I could steal again.
“Ge-ge-geck-geck…”
It was like discovering a snack duplication glitch.
Even I had to admire my own plan.
...Still, I’d feel a little bad if I only stole snacks every time, so I decided to leave a gift.
I picked a fruit that seemed to have a similar taste.
Yeah, since she spends money buying snacks, throwing in one of my treasures would probably make her happy.
I’d leave one of the rings threaded on my tail.
How big was her finger again when I bit it?
Was it about this size?
Flash!
I left a fruit and a ring behind and successfully stole all of Baek Seolhwa’s snacks.
With my mouth full of honey dumplings, I crawled to the room where the spiders lived.
Remembering the trouble I caused last time, I adjusted my size appropriately.
If I kept myself around the size of a medium-sized dog, the spiders wouldn’t swarm me.
Avoiding the gazes of passersby, I arrived at the building where Tang So-yeong was staying.
Perhaps my master had been considerate, as there weren’t any cult members around this area.
Which meant I could walk freely on two legs here.
It was when I stood in front of the door.
“Ki-ong…”
“Keeek!”
I heard the spiders chattering among themselves.
“Ahem.”
Tang So-yeong was here, too.
“I’m an expert in this field, so trust me.”
I was curious about what she was talking about.
Was she giving a lecture on medicine?
Or maybe, as a member of the Tang Clan, she was teaching them poison techniques?
Tang So-yeong’s expertise would fall into one of these two categories.
“Have you heard of Feng Yuhuan?”
...Feng Yuhuan?
You’re not an expert at all.
“What’s with that look? Are you doubting my words?”
“Kieeng!”
“Kiooo!”
“Hah! If I weren’t dressed like this, you’d see that I—”
Tang So-yeong was deceiving the spiders with her nonsense.
As a virtuous lizard, I couldn’t ignore this any longer.
Creak.
I opened the door slightly and slipped inside.
“Geck!”
I had returned to put an end to whatever evil deeds Tang So-yeong was committing.
“Kyah! ...Go Dae-hyeop?”
Tang So-yeong screamed.
Her reaction suggested she had a guilty conscience.
Leaving our innocent spiders aside, your sins...
...Beside the flatly lying Tang So-yeong, someone else caught my eye.
The black clothes she usually wore weren’t there.
Her upper body, unclothed, was fully exposed.
Of course, she was turned away, so I couldn’t see everything, but the visual impact was overwhelming.
Next to her were some herbs and needles.
It seemed there was some treatment that required her to remove her top.
Sensing my presence, the golden-haired woman turned her head.
She looked momentarily startled, but upon recognizing me, she gave a slight smile.
It was a familiar face and a familiar smile.
Nephila Jurassica.
She had finally evolved.
I was momentarily speechless.
Nephila evolving meant her treatment was complete.
She was fully healed now.
But I felt strange.
I wasn’t just happy.
Something felt empty.
Void.
Yes, the word “void” described my feelings perfectly.
Something massive was missing.
I alternated glances between Nephila and Tang So-yeong.
“Geeng...”
My shoulders slumped.
At this rate, I might starve to death...