Chapter 77 The Fourth Evolution
I was released from the coils of the Snake Queen and Shikshik.
To be honest, it was ambiguous to say that I was released.
They were flicking their tongues while staring at me from a short distance away.
“Hiek…”
They seemed to be telling me not to worry about them, but that was easier said than done.
For now, I tried to think they weren’t there.
Currently, it was as if I had consumed three elixirs.
One top-grade core.
And the Thousand-Year Fire Carp and the Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng Liquor.
I decided to think about the core later.
Though it was my first time with a top-grade core, I had committed incomprehensible acts of swallowing cores whole and digesting them when needed countless times before.
There was probably no one who knew more about cores than I did.
However, these two elixirs were different.
[You have consumed Supreme Elixirs.]
It was a very welcome message.
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【Thousand-Year Fire Carp】
Though it doesn’t reach the level of the Myriad-Year Fire Carp, the Thousand-Year Fire Carp is also classified as a supreme elixir.
It contains a strong Yang energy that, if consumed recklessly, could cause your body to explode.
If you take appropriate measures before consuming the Thousand-Year Fire Carp, you will be able to handle its fiery energy.
Effect: Special effect granted to 【Dragon Scales lv5】
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【Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng Liquor】
Though it doesn’t reach the level of the Myriad-Year Snow Ginseng Liquor, the Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng Liquor is also classified as a supreme elixir.
It contains a strong Yin energy that, if consumed recklessly, could cause your body to freeze to death.
If you take appropriate measures before consuming the Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng Liquor, you will be able to handle its cold energy.
Effect: Special effect granted to 【Dragon Scales lv5】
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This was amazing.
Although it didn’t reach the level of the Myriad-Year Fire Carp or the Myriad-Year Snow Ginseng Liquor, they were items deserving the name of supreme elixirs.
If there had only been one of these precious elixirs, it wouldn’t have been very meaningful.
Just eating one of them could have turned out to be poison instead.
If I was lucky, it would have just been a healthy meal.
If not, I would have died instantly.
But my situation was different.
Thanks to the Snake Queen’s appropriate measures, I was able to eat the exquisitely prepared Thousand-Year Fire Carp together with the Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng Liquor.
The Yin and Yang energies offset each other, allowing me to fully absorb the power without any side effects as described.
「Dragon Scales lv5」
Dragon scales cover your body.
They can transform into various forms.
Thousand-Year Fire Carp: Dragon Scales gain strong resistance to fire energy.
Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng Liquor: Dragon Scales gain strong resistance to cold energy.
This was the result.
The description of the Dragon Scales had become more detailed.
Strong resistance to fire and cold energies.
A very excellent effect.
Although I had not yet encountered enemies who used fire or cold, I had to assume I would eventually face them since there were also spiritual creatures that used destructive beams.
Why was I able to defeat the Cockatrice this time?
Resistance to petrification.
And deceiving the enemy by pretending I didn’t have it.
Enemies using cold or fire could be similarly outwitted and defeated.
Moreover, the explanation about being able to transform into various forms had subtly changed.
Various forms.
Not just forms focused on attack like now, but appropriate forms suitable for the situation.
I would have to experiment to know for sure, but increasing the variety of my tactics was always good news.
“Gegegek!”
I let out a roar of joy.
Of course, considering I had consumed the Thousand-Year Fire Carp and the Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng Liquor, the changes felt a bit underwhelming.
It would have been perfect if I had gained the power to manipulate fire and cold in line with the elixirs’ descriptions.
But I wasn’t disappointed.
From my past experiences, I knew that the cold and fire energies hadn’t gone elsewhere.
It was clear that they had added more options to my evolution choices.
【Komodo LV30(+)】
HP: 2110/2110
MP: 670/670
【Status】
「Snake Queen’s Mark」
「Snake Princess’s Mark」
…Something seemed to have been added?
I decided to ignore it for now.
My current level was 30.
The symbol at the end indicated that I could evolve anytime.
I had done everything I could.
I was more prepared than ever.
Maximized potential with the Myriad-Year Golden Spirit Fruit, consumed a top-grade core, and on top of that, eaten two elixirs representing Yin and Yang energies.
Could I be any more prepared?
Unless someone like Baek Yeonyeong decided to fully support me, it would be impossible.
I glanced at the Snake Queen.
“Don’t worry. I will protect you.”
She seemed to know that I was about to evolve.
Well, that’s why she had given me the elixirs.
After thanking the Snake Queen, I moved to a corner of the temple.
[A mystical energy envelops your body.]
[A mystical energy reaches its peak.]
Something was different.
The atmosphere of this evolution felt different from before.
Golden light emanated from my body.
[Evolution is possible.]
This wasn’t an ordinary evolution.
Yes.
This was what I had been waiting for.
[Would you like to evolve?]
Of course!
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【Komodo】 can evolve into
1. 【Sea Crocodile】
2. 【Titanoboa】
3. 【Stupendemys】
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It wasn’t the choice I wanted, but I decided to take a look anyway.
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【Sea Crocodile】
A massive crocodile over 6 meters long and weighing over 1 ton.
With an enormous bite force of up to 3.5 tons, it can crush prey, bones and all.
It possesses intelligence surpassing that of the King Lizard, making it a colossal reptile fit to dominate the ecosystem.
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Sea Crocodile.
A very decent choice.
The Sea Crocodile is the largest species of crocodile currently existing.
Of course, in previous eras, there were many larger species than the Sea Crocodile.
Large size with strong attack power.
Additionally, intelligence surpassing that of the King Lizard.
A very powerful species.
But, how should I say this…
I felt a bit of regret.
So, I decided to pass for now.
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【Titanoboa】
A snake over 15 meters long and weighing over 1 ton, the largest snake ever.
Due to its exceptional weight, it is assumed that it mainly lived underwater.
Its primary diet was fish, but even strong species like crocodiles were reluctant to antagonize the Titanoboa.
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Titanoboa.
First of all, it’s a snake.
No matter how excellent its combat power, the lack of legs was a critical drawback.
Normally, I would have dismissed it without a second thought, but the Titanoboa was different.
Because I had seen its higher-level form in the Silver Dragon Cave.
If I became a Titanoboa, I could evolve into a Hydra with multiple heads.
It meant I could become a mythical creature.
It was tempting.
But I also felt uneasy.
I had a feeling that if I chose this, my large size would soon shrink.
Was it just a feeling that I saw the Snake Queen and Princess’s sleek skin withering day by day, or was it a terrible future looming?
I decided to pass.
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【Stupendemys】
The largest freshwater turtle in history, with a shell alone measuring 3 meters.
Although it had a gentle nature, its enormous weight of 1.1 tons and large shell made other predators hesitant to attack it.
Using its wide-opening mouth, it could easily capture prey protected by hard shells.
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Stupendemys.
The name was unfamiliar, but it seemed to be a giant turtle.
Just seeing that its shell alone was 3 meters indicated it was an out-of-the-ordinary creature.
If the Sea Crocodile was attack-oriented, this one seemed defense-oriented.
It wasn’t bad, but there was no reason to focus on defense at this point.
Especially since I already had Dragon Scales.
I reviewed all three given choices.
Just in case, I checked, but none of them were particularly appealing.
It seemed that just because I was a spiritual creature, I wouldn’t always have similar options for evolution.
But these choices weren’t the end.
I patiently waited for the next message from the status window.
My achievements.
And the tremendous amount of elixirs I had consumed.
It would be stranger if a special evolution didn’t appear.
Come on!
[You have met the conditions for a special evolution.]
Exactly.
[Your divine power is above a certain level.]
[【Gecko Faith】, 【Gecko Cult】 are involved in the evolution.]
Huh?
This was unexpected.
But it shouldn’t be bad.
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【Komodo】 can evolve into
1. 【Sea Crocodile】(Faith, Religion Dissolves)
2. 【Titanoboa】(Faith, Religion Dissolves)
3. 【Stupendemys】(Faith, Religion Dissolves)
4. 【Salamander】(Faith, Religion Dissolves), (Consuming Thousand-Year Fire Carp, Myriad-Year Golden Spirit Fruit, Top-Grade Core (Yellow))
5. 【Komodo-Lania】(Faith, Religion Maintained), (「Gecko Death Beam」, Consuming Myriad-Year Golden Spirit Fruit,
Top-Grade Core (Yellow))
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I opened my eyes wide.
Salamander!
Literally, the mythical lizard that controls flames.
A very tempting choice…
But I would need to think carefully.
As always, but now it seemed this was my turning point.