Chapter 57 Sign it! Dinosaurs have feathers…
This isn’t right.
Why did a bird with a human face suddenly appear?
This is a martial arts world. A place where dinosaurs quietly train their martial arts.
…Is it stranger for dinosaurs to walk around in a martial arts novel?
A bird with a human face could appear, I suppose.
I adjusted my posture and examined the bird.
It floated in the air without moving its wings.
Its gaze was fixed on a parrot circling the sky.
“The king of birds! Caw!”
The king of birds.
Yes.
It was massive enough to deserve that title.
Let’s check it out.
[Target cannot be appraised.]
My eyes stung and ached.
As expected, this creature couldn’t be appraised either.
Like the Hydra evolved from the Titanoboa, it meant this one had transcended normal life forms.
Borrowing Tang So-yeong’s words, could it be considered a divine beast?
I could also be called a divine beast, in a way, but I’m still lacking.
“Uooooooo!”
The bird with a human face let out a loud roar.
It turned its head and looked precisely at where I was.
It was a face I knew.
A human face that could be considered comical at first glance.
A grotesque appearance with decorations like black feathers from the head down to the neck.
“Uoooooo!”
The pressure weighed down on my body.
The chilling gaze fixed on me.
Creeeak.
Its grotesque mouth opened at a bizarre angle.
“You…”
The bird with a human face began to speak.
Since it had a human face, it made sense.
“Do you… think?”
But it wasn’t fluent.
It sounded like it was forcefully mimicking human speech, producing a grotesque noise.
Its voice was unpleasant, like nails scratching metal.
“Uoooooo!”
Another roar.
Just from the roar, I could tell it was an opponent of a different caliber.
If it showed hostility towards me, it would be hard to survive.
The fortunate thing was that it was trying to converse rather than attacking immediately.
“One with… dragon scales…”
Dragon scales.
It seemed interested in the scales covering my body.
If I responded appropriately and offered a few scales, it might let me go.
…Though I wasn’t sure how to answer.
“Is a dragon… a bird or a snake?”
It asked something different from what I expected.
Is a dragon a bird or a snake?
What on earth did that mean?
What was its intention in asking me that?
As I hesitated to answer, a vision flowed into my mind.
“Is the dragon of terror… a snake or a bird?”
The dragon of terror.
I saw a large dinosaur.
The dinosaur gradually shrank and then transformed into another creature.
This was what it was asking me.
“Is the dragon of terror a hideous snake or a beautiful bird?”
Are dinosaurs reptiles or birds?
The images flowing into my mind became clearer.
I felt like my body was beyond my control.
I felt like I would think and speak against my will.
Yes.
I began to feel drowsy the moment I saw those eyes.
I had to give the right answer to the bird with a human face.
My thoughts were being overlaid.
When did I last feel this way?
Yes.
When I saw the vision of Spinosaurus.
It was the same feeling as back then.
“Is a dragon… a snake? Or… a bird?”
You look down on me.
Do you mean to say that dinosaurs are actually birds?
That Tyrannosaurus is nothing but a feathered chicken?
[「%! Ja■□ 」is activated.]
Creeeak!
The ominous thoughts that enveloped me shattered.
“Caw! A lizard has defied the king of birds! Provoked the king of birds!”
Provoked?
“Grrooo…”
You were the one who started this.
“You’re… crossing the line…”
The bird with a human face glared at me in displeasure.
Flap.
Its massive wings moved once.
Whoooosh!
A tremendous gust of wind blew.
Craaaack!
Just by moving its wings, my body almost flew backward.
I barely managed to hold on by digging my claws into the ground.
As expected, it was immensely powerful.
Someone like me would be just a meal for it.
“Stone honey with dragon scales… I’ll ask you one last time… Is a dragon a snake or a bird?”
Facing the bird with a human face wasn’t a good choice.
Running away was impossible, too.
How could I escape from such a monstrous bird?
The only way to survive was to comply with its words.
If I acknowledged that dinosaurs were birds, I might live.
Yes.
If I said Tyrannosaurus was actually a feathered scavenger, I might survive.
But.
But.
What meaning would there be in surviving so disgracefully?
Craaaack.
[「Reverse Scale lv1」is activated.]
[「Overwhelming Presence」is temporarily acquired.]
Sometimes, there are beliefs more important than life.
How dare you demean dinosaurs as birds?
“Grroooorrr…”
From the beginning, “saurus” meant lizard.
Dinosaurs couldn’t not be reptiles.
Regardless of the truth.
This was the path I believed in.
My conviction.
“You were… a minion… of the hideous… queen snake…”
The bird with a human face spouted incomprehensible words.
I prepared for its attack.
Its mouth opened at a grotesque angle.
Creeeeak.
And the profound internal energy converged into a single point.
Could it be…?
Kwagagagagagak!
A destructive beam shot out, capable of penetrating any substance.
I’d die if it hit me.
I used every trick I could.
Sprint, Tail Cutting, Soaring Dragon’s Ascension Step, Gecko Kung Fu.
I combined all of them to evade that attack.
Krrrrang!
The destructive beam tore through the ground, ruthlessly destroying massive trees.
I managed to avoid a direct hit somehow.
But.
[Warning! HP is low.]
Even a glancing blow felt like my entire body was being shattered.
Fortunately, my limbs were intact.
It was painful, but I could still move.
I needed to stay calm.
It wasn’t over yet.
The last card I had left.
If I could inflict a fatal wound on it, I might escape this place.
“Indeed… dragon scales…”
Saaa….
The bird with a human face slowly flew towards me.
It wouldn’t be able to use that incredibly powerful technique in quick succession.
To kill me, it had to get closer.
Just a bit.
Just a bit more.
[「Reverse Scale lv1」 is activated.]
[「Overwhelming Presence」 is temporarily acquired.]
It was then.
“Kieeeeeeeek!”
A massive pterosaur flew towards the bird with a human face.
【Pteranodon lv23】
【Status】
「Vengeful」「Angry」
__________________________
【Pteranodon】
The Pteranodon is relatively light at 50 kg, but its wingspan is 6.25 to 6.5 meters, and its body length is 2.6 meters, making it a massive pterosaur.
The hook-like claws at the ends of its wings help it hang onto cliffs or trees.
It prefers hunting by diving vertically from the air like a seabird.
__________________________
It was a Pteranodon.
“Grr… inferior dragon… disgusting creatures…”
Three Pteranodons attacked the bird with a human face.
Were they swept up in the destructive beam?
No, something was different.
Pteranodons didn’t usually fight like this.
If they had seen that destructive beam, they would typically either hide or flee far away.
But they didn’t.
“Disgraces…”
It was as if they knew each other.
I sensed an emotion beyond anger.
The battle between the three Pteranodons and the bird with a human face began.
It was an aerial battle I couldn’t intervene in, even if I wanted to.
I didn’t know the circumstances, but this was an opportunity.
A chance for a strategic retreat.
I dispersed the internal energy gathered in my hand and immediately turned around.
I had intended to make a last gamble with the Nine Yin White Bone Claws, but unexpected luck had found me.
Seizing an opportunity was also a skill.
Thank you, Pteranodon.
I won’t catch and eat a pterosaur if I see one in the future.
*
Dragging my exhausted body, I barely managed to escape. No, I succeeded in making a strategic retreat.
[HP is low.]
【Komodo LV9】
HP: 45/990
MP: 130/410
【Title】
「Beloved by Spiders」
「Master of the Silver Dragon Cave」
「Master of the Lower Swamp」
Although my limbs were intact, my body was in a state not much different from a corpse.
MP was recovering on its own over time.
But HP didn’t budge.
I should be grateful that it wasn’t decreasing.
The two Terror Birds I had caught flickered before my eyes.
If I had brought them, my HP would have recovered.
The first thing I needed to do was restore my body to its original state.
There were three ways to recover HP.
The first was to use my title.
Soaking my body in water would slowly recover HP.
But there was no water nearby.
So, pass.
The second method was to aim for a level-up and shedding.
To level up, I needed to catch a strong opponent, but in my current state, I was more likely to become the material for someone else’s level up.
The last method was to eat something.
The effect wasn’t as significant as leveling up, but filling my stomach would still recover HP.
If I had encountered those bugs I ignored earlier, I would have caught and eaten them immediately.
There was an unusual lack of life around here.
Had they all fled due to the destructive beam’s aftermath?
I needed to get something in my mouth, no matter what.
…
I guess I wasn’t destined to die just yet.
There was a snake nearby.
It seemed quite sizable, but a snake was still just a snake.
【Ball Python lv14】
Ball Python.
I liked its appearance.
Its plump body looked like it had plenty of meat.
I concealed my presence and slowly approached it.
The snake hadn’t noticed me yet.
One more step.
Another step.
And now!
I swiftly put strength into my hind legs and charged at the snake.
“Shreeeek!”
At that moment, I locked eyes with the Ball Python.
There was still some distance between us.
It would surely launch a sharp counterattack.
Like the Titanoboa’s offspring, it might strike with a resilient tail, using the Snake Fist.
Could I withstand it in my current state?
No, the die was cast.
I had to endure and finish it with one blow.
I gathered strength in my forelimbs and was about to swing when.
“Hiieeek!”
The snake flipped over in that state.
…Huh?
I barely managed to stop my attack and observed its behavior.
What was it doing?
Was it using a technique I didn’t know about?
That plump snake was now lying there with its tongue sticking out.
…Was it playing dead?
【Ball Python lv14】
【Status】
「Playing Dead」「Surprised」
I mean, I could see it with my Wild Eyes…
Even without that, I could tell it was pretending.
“Hii… Hiieek…”
And making a sound while playing dead? How ridiculous.