Chapter 82 Three meals a day.
I carefully received the token that my mother-in-law, or rather, my wife, handed me.
It was a beautiful piece of jewelry mixed with seashells and gemstones.
Did she also give this to me when I was given the drink?
Judging by the shape, it seemed to be something to hang around my neck.
My arms weren’t particularly short, but structurally, it was difficult to hang something around my neck.
Just then, didn’t the Snake Queen have the upper body of a human? I stared at her, hoping for help.
What was this? The Snake Queen just watched me blankly after giving me the jewelry.
“Gekek…”
Help me with this.
I waved my arms, but the Snake Queen did not respond.
She simply lifted her wriggling daughter.
“Hieek…”
Shikshik quietly bit the necklace with her mouth as she was lifted.
Shikshik looked at my neck intently with her big eyes.
Wriggling, she tried to hang the jewelry around my neck.
It wouldn’t be easy for Shikshik without hands, but despite that, she didn’t give up and kept trying.
“Just a little more effort.”
The Snake Queen only held her daughter, not putting it on herself.
Finally, the necklace successfully hung around my neck.
“Beep!”
Shikshik swung her tail while dangling in the air.
Yes, thank you.
“Hehe. Now that the ceremony is done, the only thing left is to return safely.”
Yes.
…Huh?
A ceremony?
I never heard about such a thing?
[【Ball Python lv18】wishes for your safe return.]
I see.
It must be a ceremony to wish me a safe return.
[【Ball Python lv18】hopes you achieve your desires.]
Shikshik wagged her tail while squeaking.
After tickling her belly for a moment, I turned around.
“Gek.”
Alright.
I’ll be back soon.
“Return safely.”
The Snake Queen and Shikshik saw me off.
I had only planned to receive the elixir and leave the jungle, but now it felt like I had to stay here for a while.
…There was no particular reason to leave, so staying here for some time wouldn’t be too bad.
“Gek.”
I raised one arm to indicate I’d be back.
“Beep!”
Shikshik saw me off with a desperate voice.
[【Ball Python lv18】looks forward to the full moon night to complete the remaining ceremony.]
Yes, I also look forward to the remaining ceremony….
“Hieek….”
I quickly exited the temple using the mystery of the Soaring Dragon’s Ascension Step.
That was close.
If I had hesitated even a little, I had a feeling I would’ve been surrounded by those shiny scales for months.
…First, let’s find that fellow, Honhwi or Kompin, whichever one.
*
The weather kept getting hotter.
Was it because I had grown bigger?
I roughly understood why the Snake Queen and her daughter stayed inside the temple.
It made more sense to laze around in the cool temple rather than fight the heat and insects outside.
I wanted to roll around with them, but I had things to do.
Learn what I needed, eat what I needed, and strengthen my relationship with the Snake Queen and Shikshik.
I didn’t know when Nephila Jurassica’s treatment would end, but when it did, I might have to move my habitat again.
I could play the househusband role here, living with snakes and spiders, but that could wait for later.
I wanted to search for other hidden opportunities in the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains and grow stronger before I allowed myself that luxury.
So, not living snugly with them, but living lazily while slithering around.
Although I looked like a lizard, I still had my human memories.
…Of course, every time I saw Nephila Jurassica or the Snake Queen in their human forms, I felt a strange, inexplicable feeling, but I hadn’t crossed the line yet.
I wanted to live together with those I had formed ties with, cackling together.
There would be many complicated issues, but that was my desire.
For that, I needed to become stronger.
Even the King of Birds wasn’t an opponent I could challenge in my current state.
But that didn’t mean I had set him as my goal.
My goal was, of course, Baek Yeonyeong.
I didn’t think I could surpass her.
My first goal was to grow to the point where I could surprise her.
So, enough to leave a mark when I bit her finger.
Yes.
My goal was to chomp Baek Yeonyeong’s finger.
For that, more training was needed.
Miniaturization was part of that.
Seeing me grow too big, Baek Yeonyeong might stop giving me her finger.
I had to transform into a small form to catch her off guard and bite her fingers playfully.
“Gekekek….”
I let out a wicked laugh.
“Gigikik….”
Three monstrous birds answered my laugh.
While searching for Honhwi’s abode, I ran into terror birds.
【Devinkenjia lv26】
【Devinkenjia lv28】
【Devinkenjia lv22】
__________________________
【Devinkenjia】
A giant bird known as a terror bird.
Standing over 2 meters tall and weighing up to 350kg, it is a formidable and massive bird.
With its powerful beak, it can vertically peck and shatter the skulls of its enemies, making it a threatening and heavy hunter.
__________________________
Devinkenjia.
It was a terror bird similar to the Titanis I had seen before.
Except it was a bit larger in size.
The difference was that this time there were three of them together.
【Devinkenjia lv22】
【Traits】
「Petrification Resistance」「Poison Resistance」「Faith in the Bird King」
【Status】
「Alert」
And those traits it carried.
Resistance to petrification and poison, and they worshipped the Bird King.
One thing I could guess.
The Cockatrice that betrayed the Snake Queen and sided with the Bird King.
Its abilities were petrification and poison.
They were creating subordinates to counter the Snake Queen using a creature with similar abilities.
“Gigikik!”
The terror birds communicated with each other through screams.
They seemed to be discussing how to deal with me.
Would you really not attack?
I was the mate of the Snake Queen.
“Grrrr….”
I let out a low growl and shook my head once.
Clink.
The Snake Queen’s token glimmered in the sunlight.
Seeing that mark, the terror bird at the forefront rushed at me.
It was faster than I expected.
Along with its enormous size and sharp beak.
If I just took the hit, it would hurt quite a bit.
Dragon Scale Transformation.
Schk schk schk.
The appearance of my dragon scales changed.
If the previous transformations were like spears, this was more like a shield.
I braced myself with the thickened dragon scales to take on its charge with my head.
Kwaaang!
Normally, my body would’ve been pushed back.
Speed and mass.
The bird’s power was tremendous.
But this time, I didn’t budge an inch.
As it should be, my Megalania body was estimated to weigh over 1 ton.
My Komodo-Lania body inherited the characteristics of Megalania strongly.
Not just in size but also in weight, reaching levels comparable to medium-sized carnivorous dinosaurs.
The terror bird was heavy for a bird.
But it couldn’t compare to me.
Crackle.
The terror bird seemed flustered when I didn’t budge.
“Kee… Kiek!”
It urgently screamed, seemingly to call its companions.
If it hadn’t called its friends, I would’ve experimented a bit more.
Grip.
I grabbed the base of its wing with my right hand.
If I had wielded it with the mystery of the Dragon Claws, I could’ve delivered a fatal blow.
But I didn’t do that.
Winning that way would’ve been no different from usual.
It was important to understand what kind of combat suited my body.
Crunch!
I opened my mouth as wide as possible and bit its neck hard.
“Kieeek!”
Even this alone should be a fatal blow.
Crack.
But I wasn’t satisfied with that.
I spun my body at high speed.
Crack, crack, crack.
With a horrible sound, the terror bird’s neck twisted completely.
Death Roll is deadly even if you know how to counter it, and it seemed the bird didn’t even think of countering it.
“Grrr….”
With a single attack, I had ended its life.
I turned my gaze to the remaining terror birds.
If they were going to attack, they should have done so earlier, but they seemed bewildered by the shocking scene.
If they hesitated like that, it was fortunate for me.
Thump.
Crack.
Gulp.
I swallowed the giant terror bird whole.
It didn’t have a core, but it tasted okay.
Spit.
I wished it didn’t have feathers.
I spat out the feathers filling my mouth and glared at the remaining birds.
“Grrrr….”
The two terror birds were clearly terrified.
Ideally, I wanted to finish both of them, but if they ran away, I wouldn’t chase them.
It wasn’t efficient enough to chase and kill them.
If they attacked me, I could practice my skills, but if they ran away, it would just be annoying.
“Gigikik!”
The two terror birds turned as if to flee, then immediately charged at me.
I could commend them for that.
Of course, only from my perspective.
From their perspective, this was the worst move they could
make.
If they were going to do this, they should have attacked together from the start.
Keeping a trump card hidden isn’t always the right strategy.
You could end up fighting in a severely weakened state from the start.
I wanted to try Dragon Blood, but I doubted I’d bleed against these birds.
Let’s focus on quadrupedal movement.
Schrak.
I backed up.
The mystery of the Soaring Dragon’s Ascension Step wasn’t limited to just bipedal movement.
Walking on water favored bipedal movement.
But there was no need to insist on two legs on flat ground like this.
Sure, two legs were faster than four, but against these birds, that speed meant nothing.
Tadat!
I pretended to swing my front leg.
The terror birds, knowing the power of my attacks, instinctively flinched.
Even though they knew they were out of range.
I used that brief hesitation to move quickly.
The beak of the terror bird that regained its senses aimed at where I had been.
But its attack didn’t reach my body.
Schwak!
I combined the mystery of Soaring Dragon’s Ascension Step with the illusion of the Dragon Phantom.
Tadat!
To the birds, it must have looked like another one of me suddenly appeared.
As if they had attacked a ghost.
From the terror bird’s perspective, it must have been maddening.
This speed in such a large body.
Using strange techniques instead of straightforward combat.
But what could they do?
They were up against a Komodo-Lania.
Schk schk schk!
The dragon scales transformed once again.
They now resembled a highly aggressive dragon form.
In this state, my tail was like a giant sword.
Swaaak!
Slash!
I swung my tail and cut the terror bird on the left.
“Gigikik!”
Realizing this was its only chance, the remaining terror bird rushed at me with its beak.
That decision was commendable.
Because in this stance, I couldn’t use my tail, hands, or feet.
[Using 【Reverse Scale lv1】.]
I felt a bit sorry.
[Temporarily acquiring 【Gecko Death Beam lv1】.]
Because their opponent was me.
The terror bird looked despairing.
Who would’ve thought a lizard could shoot such a beam from its mouth?
And not just any lizard, but one specialized in close combat.
Kwaaaang!
A blue beam shot out quickly.
It obliterated the terror bird’s head along with the surrounding trees.
Even its master shot destruction beams, so they should’ve expected something like this.
[Level up.]
Oh, level up.
Killing three terror birds barely increased my level by one.
I could already foresee the hardships ahead.
I couldn’t even guess how long it would take to reach the next evolution.
Still, there’s a saying that even a thousand-mile journey begins with a single step.
If I devoured all the terror birds I just killed, I would gain some experience points.
I should eat quickly and continue searching for what I was looking for.
I already ate one.
The one charred by the beam was over there.
And the one struck by my tail was….
Yeah, it was under that lizard.
Wait, a lizard?
“Gekek?”
“Kehekeck!”
A dull face.
A small build.
Yet, a profound internal power.
It seemed I had found the creature known as Toosulisu.
.