Chapter 55 Heading to the Jungle
A new area was always welcome.
As Baek Yeonyeong suggested, I headed east.
There was no harm in challenging the upper part of the swamp, but even if I conquered it, there wouldn’t be much to gain. At most, I might earn another title.
And conquering the upper part of the swamp was no easy task either.
Even the Baryonyx was a difficult opponent for me to handle at my current level.
It was heavier than the Anodont and larger than the Utahraptor.
Moreover, there was a fair chance that something stronger than it might exist.
To exaggerate a bit, it could be like the Piranhas in the lower part of the swamp.
Of course, it wouldn’t be that extreme, but I couldn’t rule out the possibility of something stronger than the Baryonyx appearing.
This uncertainty applied to the jungle area I was heading to as well.
Even here, stronger enemies than the Baryonyx could emerge at any time.
Additionally, the terrain was unfamiliar to me.
However, there was definitely something to gain here.
It meant there was a fortuitous encounter acknowledged by Baek Yeonyeong.
There would be something comparable to or stronger than the Azure Sky Immortal Dew.
It had been a while since I last had some nourishing food.
If, by any chance, I managed to heal the Nephila Jurassica in a month and Tus and Pus evolved into Arachne,
it would be a good thing for me, but I couldn’t help feeling a bit uneasy.
What if the spiders became stronger than me?
Of course, they wouldn’t treat me carelessly.
I had raised them and the spiders worshipped me.
Yet, there was an inexplicable sense of unease.
A feeling like I might have to spend all day spanking the spider’s butt, tied up in its web.
A feeling like I might have to offer my tail every day.
And a feeling like Nephila Jurassica’s problems would be solved all at once.
“Gegek!”
This was almost a matter of life and death.
To maintain the dignity of a lizard, I needed to become stronger.
If the spiders became stronger than me, my prestige would be shattered after that day.
In many ways.
First, let me check my status.
—
**Komodo LV6**
HP: 920/920
MP: 390/390
**Titles**
“Beloved by Spiders”
“Master of the Silver Dragon Cave”
“Master of the Swamp (Lower)”
—
The title of the swamp’s master was still there.
Had no one taken my place?
Or maybe it was a continuous title once obtained.
It didn’t matter much either way.
Even if something like the Caiman appeared, I could make it cough up a core with a few pats.
My level was still 6.
After becoming a Komodo, I hadn’t defeated any significant enemies, but the leveling up process still felt too slow.
I had even fed on creatures like the Deinonychus, which were too daunting to consider as prey when I was a Crocodile King Lizard.
Great power required great experience points.
Being a Komodo, it might be natural to some extent.
If I had defeated the Anodont, I would have been at least level 10, which was a bit regrettable.
At this rate, it would take a long time to evolve again.
But that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
With more time, I could steer the evolution towards the result I wanted.
Although I had no clue what the next stage of Komodo would be, I could at least decide the direction.
For example, continuing to walk on two legs like now and following the path of theropods, moving away from lizards.
Or consistently practicing skills and martial arts with “dragon” in their names, aiming to walk the path of the legendary dragon.
The chances of becoming a dragon were very slim.
However, seeing that Titanoboa evolved into a creature similar to Hydra,
it wasn’t entirely impossible.
—
**Skills**
“Dragon Claws” “Soaring Dragon’s Ascension Step” “Minor Heavenly Circuit” “Immune to All Poisons” “White Orchid Heart Technique” “Gecko Kung Fu” “Dragon Horn Kick”
“Dragon Scales LV5” “Reverse Scale LV1” “Poison Generation LV4” “Poison Gathering LV2” …….
—
I carefully examined the skills and martial arts with “dragon” in their names.
At the end of the martial arts list, Dragon Horn Kick stood out.
I eventually mastered Dragon Horn Kick.
Though I couldn’t unleash the same power as Baek Yeonyeong showed, it was significant to have a technique to use when Dragon Claws didn’t work.
I paused for a moment to pay respects to the Utahraptor who sacrificed itself for me.
It would be satisfied since I reclaimed the cave.
It looked a bit thinner, but it would soon regain its weight.
Baek Yeonyeong had provided some food for it.
Of course, she plucked all its feathers, saying she needed fur suddenly.
Returning to the main point, let me check my status again.
Although my level was only 6, I was by no means weak.
I might be the strongest lizard in this world.
This Komodo species could be thought of as a larger version of the Komodo Dragon.
It might seem a bit lacking to be called a legendary creature, but even the Komodo Dragon was an apex predator.
A Komodo, being its superior counterpart, couldn’t be weak even if it wanted to.
If Crocodile King Lizard or Water King Lizard were cheetahs, the Komodo Dragon would be like a leopard or jaguar. And the Komodo would be akin to a tiger.
Its appearance didn’t differ much from a Komodo Dragon.
However, in my case, possessing Dragon Scales set me apart from a Komodo.
It was like a Komodo wearing armor usually.
A Komodo with a thicker neck and more muscles.
If I transformed my Dragon Scales, the gap from a Komodo would widen further.
It would be like a black dragon from a fantasy novel.
I’ve seen many lizards, but none as handsome as me in this state.
I looked as if I could breathe out fire when I yawned.
“Geeeeeng….”
Of course, even if I yawned, no fire came out.
Would the drool dripping be considered breath?
Since it was mixed with poison, it could be called Poison Breath.
The fact that I had a greenish-blue color probably made me a Green Dragon.
While indulging in such trivial thoughts, I continued to walk and started to see the terrain of the jungle Baek Yeonyeong mentioned.
Jungle
A jungle refers to a forest densely packed with trees.
In other words, it is a tropical rainforest.
Rustle.
I pushed my way through grass as tall as myself.
Even walking on two legs to have a better view, these grasses were still taller than me.
Surely, since this was an area where dinosaurs lived, even the grass was enormous.
Dinosaurs that grazed on such grass must be gigantic.
And the carnivorous dinosaurs that hunted them would be even bigger.
I needed to be a bit more tense.
As expected, the jungle was hot and humid.
The herbivorous dinosaurs seen here and there were also massive.
They seemed tense and wary of me, but I didn’t care and kept moving forward.
I should at least understand the terrain before hunting.
Rushing to attack without a plan could end disastrously.
Besides, there was no need to fight those huge herbivorous dinosaurs head-on.
Crunch!
As expected of a jungle, even the flying insects were huge.
There were mantises almost the size of Velociraptors, and dragonflies so large they seemed like they could be pterosaurs. With insects that size, I could get quite full even now.
Of course, there was no reason to go out of my way to eat bugs.
I only ate those when there was nothing else.
It had been a long time since I became a civilized lizard that cooked meat.
…Wait, with Tang So-yeong gone, how would I cook my meat?
Should I wait for a lightning strike?
The visibility in the jungle was extremely limited.
With so many tall plants, it was naturally hard to see far.
Tall plants, huge herbivorous dinosaurs, and flying giant insects.
It was an ecosystem that could be called a jungle, but it felt a bit off.
Something was missing.
That was the presence of predators.
Even if there weren’t giant herbivorous dinosaurs, there should have been creatures preying on the insects.
However, I saw no such dinosaurs.
Was this a place without predators?
No, that couldn’t be.
There were dinosaur carcasses scattered around.
They hadn’t been dead long, as they were fresh and not yet decomposing.
I saw large footprints everywhere.
They looked different from dinosaur footprints.
Yes.
These were bird footprints.
There was only one conclusion from this information.
A predator was around me.
A large, intelligent one.
Like a Deinonychus?
No, something even more dangerous.
It was silently following me.
Since when wasn’t important.
The fact that they had made a mistake was what mattered.
Had they ambushed me from the grass, it would have been dangerous.
But I had already moved to a more open area.
They would have to reveal themselves to attack me.
“Grrr….”
I growled lowly.
I knew they were hiding.
If they didn’t come out, I would go in.
It was a warning.
The jungle wasn’t silent.
The sounds of various life forms came from all directions.
The sounds of birds or pterosaurs flying.
The roars of dinosaurs from afar.
The sounds of insects fighting each other.
And the sound of something running quickly.
Thump thump thump!
“Screech!”
“Chirp chirp chirp!”
There wasn’t just one following me.
Two.
And they were quite dangerous.
—
**Titanis lv14**
**Titanis lv18**
—
**Titanis**
A type of terror bird, its name originates from the Titans of Greek mythology.
It can grow from 1.4 to 2 meters tall and weigh around 250kg, making it a gigantic terror bird.
Its legs, capable of running up to 50km/h, are one of its powerful weapons.
With a strong beak curved at the tip, it can vertically peck and shatter the skulls of its prey, making it a formidable hunter.
—
“Screeech!”
A terror bird let out a roar similar to an eagle’s.
It spread its flightless wings and fluffed its feathers, trying to intimidate me.
Indeed, it was impressive.
With that roar and size, it would have scared off most prey.
“Grrrrr….”
But it didn’t work on me.
I had to show it what a real roar was.
“Gegegegegek!”
Come on, two big chickens.