Chapter 99: Seolhwa
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【Elasmotherium】
The Elasmotherium is the largest rhinoceros, measuring around 5 meters in length and weighing up to 5 tons. It is known for its long horn, earning it the nickname “the unicorn of the Ice Age.”
The sharp horn, which can grow up to 2 meters, serves as a formidable weapon, deterring most predators from even thinking about attacking the Elasmotherium.
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Calm down.
Even though it looks like that, it’s still a unicorn.
It kind of resembles a horse.
It has a horn too.
Given how it gets excited and charges at the scent of a maiden’s blood, it’s definitely a unicorn.
“Gwoooaaaarrr!”
Even its roar sounds quite unicorn-like.
Now, I know what I have to do.
Show my pure lizard form, and then claim its horn.
“Gegeek.”
I let my body sway as I revealed myself.
The one-horned beast stared straight at me.
It seemed to recognize my purity and was about to offer its horn.
Look at that. The horn is gradually turning black.
…Turning black?
“Ilbuuuu….”
The one-horned beast emitted a sound that almost resembled human speech.
Was it a creature of mystical wisdom?
But still, how could it speak when it didn’t even have a human head?
“Ilcheooor!”
The words were clumsy, but there was definitely meaning in them.
“Ilbu-ilcheooor!”
…Or is it just a roar?
“Ilbu-ilcheoooorrrr!”
Could it be repeating something it picked up somewhere as part of its roar?
Whatever it was, it was still fascinating.
But the important thing wasn’t its roar.
The crucial part was that it was charging at me with a roar.
I couldn’t understand, but it seemed like it didn’t like me.
There was no avoiding the fight.
[「State: Miniaturization」 is being lifted.]
Crack.
[「Miniaturization lv1」 effect is activating 「State: Gigantification」.]
Even as my body suddenly grew larger, the creature wasn’t surprised.
And why would it be? Its sheer size was still larger than mine.
If that horn pierced me, no matter how tough I was, I’d end up skewered like a lizard kebab.
Boom!
I blocked its charge with my shoulder.
Its horn missed its target and sliced through the air.
To be precise, I blocked the base of its horn with my shoulder.
While every part of it was sharp, compared to the tip, the base was relatively blunt.
And that was something my dragon scales could handle.
Sssss….
The impact of stopping the one-horned beast’s charge pushed me backward.
Normally, I wouldn’t just be pushed back; I’d be sent flying.
Creeeak.
But by bracing my legs, I managed to stop after only being pushed back a little.
“Ilbuuuu…?”
Now, it seemed a bit flustered.
A much lighter lizard than itself had managed to stop its charge, so naturally, it was taken aback.
“Grrrrrr….”
Even though I bore it no ill will, I couldn’t just let it go.
I delivered a strike imbued with the essence of Dragon Claws to its head.
Boom!
Unlike before, I had learned to use my inner energy more efficiently.
In other words, my firepower was now much greater compared to when I fought the Megatherium.
Clang!
The huge head of the one-horned beast smashed into the ground.
Rumble!
The ground shook from the impact.
But the creature wasn’t to be underestimated.
For most creatures, that strike would have snapped their necks, killing them instantly.
However, the one-horned beast’s neck muscles were beyond extraordinary. Despite taking my Dragon Claws head-on, that thick neck held firm.
“Prrrr!”
The one-horned beast quickly raised its head and stood up.
It seemed to retreat for a moment, but then it immediately charged at me again, leading with its horn.
If it attacked the same way as before, it would meet the same fate.
It knew that too.
And so, the one-horned beast employed a different tactic.
It didn’t thrust.
Instead, it swung its horn like a sword.
Whoosh!
As if it were a blade.
Swoosh!
This attack was harder to avoid than I expected.
That horn was a formidable weapon, even to me.
To block this, I’d need to grab hold of the blunter part of the horn, but with this new tactic, that wouldn’t be possible.
I moved quickly to dodge the beast’s sword-like swings.
Slash!
At that moment, I sensed a deep inner energy stirring within the beast’s core.
The one-horned beast, like me, had mastered a martial art technique.
Its sharp horn was now infused with its inner energy.
But that wasn’t all.
If it had a martial art technique, it would naturally have a corresponding martial skill.
Shink!
A barrage of slashes came at me simultaneously from thirty-six different directions.
It was the same *Thirty-Six Sword Technique* that Baekwoon had shown me.
Slash!
Though the beast’s proficiency was lacking compared to Baekwoon’s, Baekwoon’s skill with the sword was quite high, despite being less than a master.
But proficiency wasn’t the issue here.
The beast’s overwhelming size made up for any gap in skill.
That massive frame, moving at such incredible speed.
Combined with the essence of the *Thirty-Six Sword Technique*.
Who could avoid that?
Of course, if they were seeing this technique for the first time.
[「Reverse Scale lv1」 is being activated.]
[You have temporarily acquired 「The Reverberating Aura That Covers the World」.]
Rumble.
I had already experienced the *Thirty-Six Sword Technique*.
*Ancient Dragon’s Kick, Raging Dragon Tremor.*
Boom!
Using the technique infused with the essence of *Raging Dragon Tremor*, I stomped the ground hard.
Crack!
The ground split open instantly as if a drought had hit.
As long as the beast’s feet were on the ground, a gap would inevitably form.
Whoosh.
I seized the opportunity and swung both hands.
Clang!
Its horn met my strike.
The beast’s horn was a sword, and my claws were swords too.
Clang!
Sparks flew as the fierce clash continued.
Slash!
In the end, the *Thirty-Six Sword Technique* was broken by my Dragon Claws.
But it wasn’t over yet.
The beast still had strength left.
It swung its horn widely.
As I moved to dodge, the beast pulled back as well.
The one-horned beast took a deep breath.
It seemed ready to unleash a powerful technique.
A big technique requires a big response.
Just as I was about to use the Gecko Death Beam to match the one-horned beast’s move…
“Gwoooaaaarrr!”
The beast let out a roar and immediately turned around.
Then, at the same speed it had charged at me, it ran off in another direction.
For a moment, I stood there, dumbfounded, unable to react.
Could it be running away?
At this point?
Did it think it would lose?
No, I could tell its nature from just a brief encounter.
It wasn’t running away out of fear.
It simply found something more important than fighting me.
Whatever it was, my goal was the one-horned beast’s horn.
I quickly chased after it.
The beast had long since disappeared from sight.
Its charge was faster than mine.
But tracking it wasn’t difficult.
It had left a clear trail, smashing through trees as it ran.
Thud, thud, thud!
After running for a while, I finally spotted the one-horned beast.
It had climbed up a hill in the distance.
But its horn was missing.
And it was wagging its tail in that state.
What’s going on here?
Why was the horn missing?
And why didn’t it seem to care, looking so satisfied?
Something was strange.
Swish.
I flicked my tongue, using my lizard’s keen sense of smell to its fullest.
I caught a scent that was both familiar and unfamiliar.
A sweet fragrance wafted toward me.
It smelled like the honey-laden dumplings I had tasted in the Silver Dragon Cave.
But that wasn’t all.
I also caught the scent of a human.
A scent more fragrant than the honey.
The horn was missing.
The one-horned beast was smiling happily.
And I could smell a human.
That crazy unicorn had caught the scent of a pure maiden in the middle of our fight and bolted off. And it even offered its horn as a gift.
…Even though it looks like that, it really is a unicorn.
Now, I had no reason to mess with the one-horned beast.
What mattered now was meeting the human who had taken
the beast’s horn.
But first, I had something to do.
For some reason, humans seemed to be afraid of my appearance.
Setting aside oddballs like Baek Yeonyeong or Tang So-yeong, ordinary people like Jang Bong or Baekwoon found my appearance off-putting.
Now that I had grown even larger, they would be even more wary.
I activated miniaturization to shrink my size.
Even an alligator king lizard would scare people, so I went even smaller.
Down to the size of a Green Basilisk.
Sssss….
Good.
This should be less frightening, right?
Now, let’s try negotiating in this state.
If I threw a few scales their way, they’d probably be happy to take them.
And if any nasty person tried to hunt me, I could just blast them with the Gecko Death Beam.
I pushed through the bushes, heading toward where I had caught the human scent.
Thud, thud, thud!
Thanks to what I had learned from Soaring Dragon, I could now move through the jungle faster than before.
Swish, swish, swish!
After running for quite some time, I finally found a human.
Even though I was small, suddenly jumping out might still startle them.
I needed to move as politely as possible.
I confirmed the human’s appearance.
…Wait a minute, they look familiar.
Black hair.
Blue eyes.
And pale white skin.
…Baek Yeonyeong?
In an unfortunate turn of events, it was actually fortunate.
I had been worried about how to negotiate, but if the person was Baek Yeonyeong, it was a different story.
A little tail wagging, and she might just hand over the one-horned beast’s horn.
I was also curious about the spiders’ current state.
Let’s approach confidently.
And show off some of the skills I’ve honed.
With the essence of *Soaring Dragon’s Ascension Step*, I leaped toward my target.
My target: Baek Yeonyeong’s soft, firm fingers.
Whoosh!
Landed successfully.
Before she could react, I made my move.
Chomp.
Nom.
As expected, they didn’t easily give in.
I chewed and gnawed, but the result didn’t change.
But I hadn’t used my full strength yet.
This time….
…The taste is a bit different?
“Gegeek?”
I tilted my head up to look at Baek Yeonyeong.
Something was different.
From a distance, her hair had looked black.
But now, the color was gradually fading.
Even her inner energy pouch felt unusual.
It was more grandiose than Baek Yeonyeong’s.
No, it didn’t pale in comparison to the Snake Queen.
In fact, it might be even greater than the Snake Queen’s.
Whoosh!
I quickly jumped off her finger.
After landing on the ground and looking up, the woman I had mistaken for Baek Yeonyeong now had completely white hair.
As if that was her original hair color.
“Hmph.”
She let out a nasal sound that Baek Yeonyeong would never make and crossed her arms, looking down at me.
“What’s this handsome lizard trying to say?”