Chapter 202: Fox Bead
What is Gecko’s Bedroom Technique?
「Gecko’s Bedroom Technique」
The ultimate form of a bedroom art mastered by Komodo, the divine beast of the gecko.
It allows for the free handling of two massive spears.
Even if one’s energy is depleted, their breath will not cease.
Hmm….
I stared intently at the status window.
When it comes to bedroom techniques, they usually involve certain... skills.
But reading the description, it didn’t seem to be limited to just that.
The ambiguous phrasing made it a bit suspicious, but it was not a bad skill to have.
The part about handling spears didn’t seem particularly relevant to me.
What mattered was the phrase beneath it.
The statement about not losing breath even after expending all energy could be interpreted in various ways.
For example, even if my MP ran out, I could still move my body, or I might survive somehow despite being exhausted.
It was unlikely I’d face such a situation, but having preventative measures could be meaningful.
Just as "Immune to All Poisons" made it possible to deceive enemies who wielded poison, this could also serve as a deceptive tool.
…Although calling a bedroom technique a deception tool sounded a bit odd, I’d do whatever it took to survive.
If something like Buddha’s Divine Palm had appeared, that would’ve been amazing.
The Hundred-Step Divine Fist could also be adapted to unleash sword energy if used skillfully.
It was a bit disappointing, but I’d take what I could get.
Next time, give me something better.
…Huh.
This time, I didn’t hear that purring sound.
Not that I missed it or anything.
“Great hero… Are you alright?”
Bak Gi-gae, bowing politely, addressed me.
Just a moment ago, his tone had been weightier, but now he suddenly acted like a docile lamb.
“To think you would become so enraged….”
Huh?
I did?
“Gekekek.”
You’ll understand my feelings someday.
It’s like expecting spicy cod and getting sweet chicken instead.
I thought I’d get Buddha’s Divine Palm, but then some strange martial art showed up….
“So that’s what it is. Yes, I understand.”
Do you, though?
Do you even understand spicy cod?
“But earlier, you spoke quite eloquently. Why now…? It’s not like communication isn’t possible, but may I ask why?”
“Gekekek.”
Well, naturally….
…Wait?
Now that I think about it, I was speaking smoothly earlier.
But now, I was back to making gek-gek sounds.
Is there some condition for me to speak?
Let’s think about when I could speak.
When I fought the Red Dragon.
And when I fought Cheoldu-ryong.
The Red Dragon had injured Baeklang, and Cheoldu-ryong had insulted my master’s Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
…Was I only able to speak when I was angry?
No, that didn’t seem to be the only case.
Otherwise, I’d start talking every time I glanced at Tang So-yeong’s chest.
“Gekekek.”
“Ah, but I can still hear you clearly. Ah, perhaps it might be related to the form I briefly saw...?”
Why are you suddenly acting all formal?
This tone feels strange.
…Or does it?
Maybe this is actually normal?
The ones treating me like a mount or underestimating me despite being their god might be the abnormal ones.
Anyway, about the form you briefly saw.
“Though it was fleeting… I clearly saw a human figure emerge from your body.”
I sensed internal energy focusing on his eyes.
It felt like he was spying on something, so that’s what he had done.
It might work similarly to my Wild Eyes.
“White hair and blue eyes. I thought that if the great hero transformed into a human, that might be your appearance.”
For a moment, I thought he had seen through my past life, but that didn’t seem to be the case.
White hair and blue eyes—aren’t those the features of Paryong?
Perhaps, like the Mirror of Possibilities, he saw a potential version of my human form.
“This strange feeling of two voices overlapping... It's a shame that I can’t confirm it now since I’ve lost the Fox Bead.”
I should test it with him later.
“…I believe I spat it around here?”
Cheoldu-ryong was searching the ground.
From the way he was fumbling, he seemed to be looking for the purple bead he dropped earlier.
“Gek…”
I whistled.
It’s not like I was hiding it between my right front paws or anything.
“…The great hero took it, didn’t you?”
What? You said you couldn’t use that weird ability anymore.
How did you figure that out?
“It’s only natural for the great hero to take it. I’m already grateful you didn’t split open my belly to extract the core. Plus, you bestowed the Ice Bird’s core to this lowly Bak Something-or-Other….”
Why does he talk so brutally?
Why would I split open your belly?
Still, maybe because he lived at Shaolin, he’s good at social etiquette.
“But to explain… This item is called a Fox Bead.”
Fox Bead.
The name alone sounds promising.
“It’s a powerful artifact, equivalent to a dragon’s Yeouiju.”
A Yeouiju?
“Gekek!”
Hold on.
I may look like this, but I’m a mid-tier dragon species.
A mid-tier dragon possessing a Yeouiju?
“Gekekekek…”
They say good deeds bring rewards.
This must be the moment I become a true dragon.
“…Of course, it’s not completely identical to a Yeouiju. Even a fox that’s trained for a hundred years can create a Fox Bead.”
“Gek.”
So close, yet so far.
Still, isn’t a hundred years a tremendous feat?
“A dragon’s Yeouiju surpasses that… But even so, the reason they’re considered equivalent is due to foxes that have trained for a thousand years.”
A thousand years!
I see. At that level, it could rival a dragon.
“The fact that a Fox Bead is wandering around like this means its owner has died. Obtaining the Fox Bead of a thousand-year-old fox is as difficult as plucking a star from the sky.”
Humming softly, the purple bead trembled slightly.
This Fox Bead seemed like just an ordinary artifact.
It was a bead that had lost its owner and rolled into Bak Gi-gae’s hands.
“…It was handed to me by someone with the Namgoong surname. In hindsight, it’s strange. Even the weakest Fox Bead would have required at least a hundred years of training… How did that person….”
The name Namgoong Yeon came up again.
Who on earth was this person for their name to appear so frequently?
Let’s sort out the situation.
The Fox Bead in front of me now was something Bak Gi-gae had swallowed.
It was likely the bead of a fox that had trained for just over a hundred years.
Namgoong Yeon acquired it and then handed it over to Bak Gi-gae.
I could roughly gauge the bead’s effectiveness.
Cheoldu-ryong’s level had been 132.
After I defeated him, he vomited up the Fox Bead, and his level dropped to 95.
About a 40-level difference.
And he wasn’t just any beast but a divine beast-class Cheoldu-ryong.
If I made this bead’s power my own, my strength could grow exponentially.
“…It’s only right for the great hero Komodo to claim it.”
When I stared silently, he offered those words.
Yeah.
I’m going to take it.
Still… I felt uneasy.
Was it because it came out of Cheoldu-ryong’s stomach?
Or was it because it was an artifact that had lost its owner?
Humming softly.
Maybe it was because it trembled slightly?
…Huh?
“What is this!”
The Fox Bead suddenly shook violently and leapt into the air.
“The Fox Bead… is moving?”
Judging by Cheoldu-ryong’s reaction, it didn’t seem to be a normal occurrence.
“Great hero… Lower your head!”
Could this mean it was a dangerous situation?
I tried to move quickly, but it seemed I was already too late.
The Fox Bead, flying like a dart, touched my neck.
It started rubbing itself wildly against me.
“Gek?”
What is this?
At some point, Cheoldu-ryong had burrowed into the ground, leaving only his head exposed.
“…Wow, this is quite curious. It’s behaving like a child reunited with its parent.”
Behaving like a child reunited with its parent.
That description fit perfectly.
It was similar to how Shikshik and the spiders acted when they hadn’t seen me in a long time.
…But why is it doing this to me?
“Unless it intends to use the heat from rubbing your neck to pierce your dragon scales, it’s truly…”
Exactly.
Wait, what?
I glanced at the Fox Bead.
After hearing Cheoldu-ryong’s words, its movements did start to feel like it was trying to do something through friction.
“Gekek!”
I jumped back in alarm.
Of course, a bead like that wouldn’t actually harm me, but after hearing such a comment, I couldn’t just let it continue.
Humming softly again.
The bead floated into the air and began spinning furiously.
“Gekekek.”
What now?
I didn’t know exactly, but it felt like it was acting angry.
Humming grew louder.
“This… These vengeful spirits…!”
Vengeful spirits?
Right, there must be vengeful spirits here, left by the monks killed by Cheoldu-ryong.
Though Doin and Dojeong took temporary measures, they were just that—temporary.
The vengeful spirits began moving wildly, responding to the Fox Bead’s actions.
Though I couldn’t see them, as a mid-tier dragon species, I could sense the flow of energy.
This is bad.
The vengeful spirits began screaming in unison.
Not just the souls of the humans who died recently, but also the souls of other divine beasts.
If I didn’t do something about that Fox Bead immediately, a disaster was bound to occur.
Just as I was about to act—
Silence.
The wailing of the vengeful spirits stopped abruptly.
The falling snow seemed to freeze midair.
The Fox Bead, too, stopped moving, as did Cheoldu-ryong, who was preparing to act alongside me.
It was as if time itself had stopped.
Even I couldn’t move my body.
“Hooh.”
A voice rang out.
“I sensed the energy of the Fox Bead and decided to drop by.”
It was a voice laden with exhaustion.
“You may look unmistakably like a dragon, but I see something else in you.”
Still, my movements weren’t completely frozen.
The fact that I could hear the voice was proof of that.
Grinding noises.
I struggled to move my body.
“This is fascinating.”
Though my whole body trembled, I began to move slightly.
“You’re able to move even though I haven’t granted permission?”
The mysterious figure spoke with amused interest.
Despite the fatigue in the voice, there was an undeniable curiosity.
Grinding continued.
I managed to turn my head slightly.
A woman with golden hair was holding a long smoking pipe.
Fox ears adorned her head.
And behind her, numerous tails swayed.
I instinctively knew who she was.
The figure Baeklang had mentioned in passing before.
An ancient being with nine tails.
【Celestial Fox Lv???】
“Ancient-tailed death, I’ve become curious about you.”
I couldn’t believe my eyes.
Cheoldu-ryong, the Red Dragon, the Snake Queen—
No matter how powerful a divine beast, I could measure their level with my current gaze.
But this woman was different.
Her overwhelming strength.
And her immense, indescribable internal energy.
“Gerooorooong…”
Wow, she’s massive.