Chapter 159: A Dog's Tail
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 159: A Dog's Tail
After a round of tag with Baek Rang, we returned to the Magnosaurus’s remains.
“Hey, can you carry all of this? Should I take some?”
The Magnosaurus was certainly massive.
What’s more, its muscle mass was considerable, so its weight was no joke.
Still, it wasn’t so heavy that I couldn’t move it.
And moving a heavy creature like this could be a form of training in itself.
To move it, I’d have to bite its neck.
That meant I had to use my teeth.
While I mainly used my front paws in combat, my teeth were a weapon that couldn't be ignored.
A proper bite could snap its neck bone, and even if that failed, I could still inject venom into its body.
However, since most of my martial arts, including the Dragon's Claws, involved my arms, I hadn't used my teeth much. The Gekgek Death Beam was a technique that used my mouth, but it was a far cry from using my teeth.
Since I didn't use them often in battle, training them this way wouldn't be a bad idea.
Argentavis himself had vouched for them as a dragon's teeth, and there was always the chance I could evolve into the strongest dinosaur.
“Gekgek.”
My arms would probably get shorter eventually, so it wasn't a bad idea to prepare now.
I clamped my jaws onto the Magnosaurus's neck and began to drag it.
“Isn’t it heavy? …You really are strong.”
Baek Rang stared intently at my legs.
The way she gulped, it was clear she wanted to eat the Magnosaurus.
I could eat some now to lighten the load.
But the wolves waiting for us deserved a taste, too.
“Hmph…”
Baek Rang hummed as she walked beside me.
Just a moment ago, she was hitting me and running away, but now she was stuck to my side.
A wolf’s heart is a mystery.
I could somewhat understand Irang through Chillang-i, but a spirit beast like her was definitely hard to read.
“But something’s a little strange.”
“Gek?”
“This thing, it’s supposed to live halfway up the mountain.”
Baek Rang and I had planned to climb halfway up the mountain, quickly deal with the Magnosaurus, and then head back down.
The key was to fight our way through the other beasts that would pop up along the way until we reached the Magnosaurus’s location.
But since the Magnosaurus had come down on its own, all of that became unnecessary.
It was a good thing, really, turning multiple potential battles into a single one.
“The creatures that stay at the Dragon Gate have a habit of wanting to be as close to it as possible. That’s why the stronger ones live near the summit.”
The problem was that this creature had no reason to come down.
Countless beings, drawn by the power of the Dragon Gate, would climb the mountain, and it would have grown stronger by preying on those challengers.
Even if food became scarce, it was a problem that could be solved within the volcano.
So for it to come down? The only explanation was that it had been pushed out by something, but that was strange, too.
The Magnosaurus’s body was perfectly fine.
If it had lost a fight and fled, it would surely have wounds.
Then why on earth did it come down?
I did notice something peculiar during the fight.
The creature's state, as seen through my Wilderness Eye.
Fear and Confusion.
Those words didn't match the ferocious aura it had been emitting.
And I felt a strange sense of déjà vu.
I was sure I had seen a similar situation somewhere before.
…That’s right.
The Utahraptor.
The Utahraptor I saw in the cave was in this exact state.
That poor dinosaur, chased by a pseudo-Ankylo, which in turn was being chased by Baek Yeon-yeong.
That meant this creature, like the Utahraptor, had been terrified and fled downhill.
“The Fire Rats are strong, but they usually keep to themselves as long as you don’t enter their territory…”
It would make sense if the volcano’s guardian had gone on a rampage and driven it down, but that didn’t feel right either.
My instincts told me there was something more hidden here.
“Looks like I’ll have to be extra careful when I challenge the guardian later.”
“Gek.”
I gave a slight nod.
Defeating the Fire Rat would be a turning point in my lizard life.
And to defeat it for certain, I would need a lot of preparation.
I had all the ingredients now. All that was left was to wait.
With that, Baek Rang and I returned to our den.
“Pant, pant, pant.”
From Irang to Chillang-i, the wolves greeted Baek Rang and me, wagging their tails.
Their reactions were amusing. The younger they were, the more of a fuss they made, while the older ones tried to act more composed.
But a dog is a dog.
They couldn't hide their furiously wagging tails.
Well, even your big sister can't hide hers, so what chance do you have?
“…Could you stop with that creepy look on your face?”
“Gek.”
Baek Rang cut the Magnosaurus meat into reasonably sized pieces.
The organs needed for the ingredients were set aside.
“The kids can’t eat that much anyway, you know?”
Can’t eat much?
I had been feeding them meat quite often, but they were wolves, for crying out loud.
Besides, even without Baek Rang, the seven sisters should be able to handle this much meat.
“Whine…”
Chillang-i looked at the meat, looking troubled.
“Ah, the creatures that live near the volcano taste a little spicy. That’s why.”
Spicy?
Spicy, you say?
“Gegek!”
I popped a piece of the cut meat into my mouth.
A pleasant, piquant flavor spread through my mouth.
“You eat spicy food well?” Baek Rang said, looking a little surprised.
In truth, spiciness is a defense mechanism that creatures in the wild develop to protect themselves.
Most animals tend to avoid things that taste spicy.
But I was a lizard with the mind of a human.
And spiciness?
That was a flavor you’d pay good money to eat.
“Gegegek!”
So, fire-using beasts taste spicy.
That was a new discovery.
Wait, then the Bifang I missed last time…
Was it a spicy fire chicken?
I’ll have to hunt it for sure next time we meet.
As I savored the spicy meat, the wolves’ appetites seemed to stir, and they each began to claim their share.
“Awoo!”
“Whine…”
Their inability to handle the spice was only momentary; they soon began to devour the meat at a rapid pace.
While we ate, Baek Rang gathered the ingredients I had collected.
She arranged the materials, including the Magnosaurus’s inner core, into a circle, and Baek Rang’s cold energy seeped into them.
Since the prep work had already been done, it didn’t take long.
Crrraaaack.
And just like that, a single blue orb was created.
“This should be pretty useful. It’s a one-time use item, which is a shame, but eating this will give you strong resistance to fire energy for a while.”
What Baek Rang had created was a pseudo-Ice Crystal.
It didn't grant the power to wield cold energy, but it greatly increased one's resistance to fire.
She said it was essential for fighting the Fire Rat.
Apparently, every single one of its attacks surpassed the volcano’s version of the Sky-Filling Flower Rain.
“Gekgek.”
After finishing the meat, I accepted the blue orb with both hands.
Since it was single-use, I couldn't eat it now. I’d have to save it for the fight against the Fire Rat.
“Awoo! Awooo!”
The wolves, who had been munching on the Magnosaurus meat, suddenly bolted outside.
I looked to see what they were doing and saw them all sticking their snouts into a puddle of water.
“I told you to eat in moderation.”
Baek Rang sighed and let her cold energy flow into the surroundings.
Crrraaaack.
A thin layer of ice formed over the puddle.
“Awoo!”
The wolves yelped with joy and began to break and eat the thin ice.
Thin ice, huh.
They’ve got good taste.
The more I saw of Baek Rang, the more I coveted her abilities.
I liked her fur, and her powers were quite decent.
For starters, her species was basically a dog.
And she looked just like Whitey.
“…I don’t know what you’re thinking, but your expression looks incredibly rude.”
“Gek.”
Baek Rang sidled up to me.
Then she plopped down right next to me.
She was so close that her tail would touch me if she tilted it my way.
“I’ve been thinking lately, since you came, the kids seem to be getting… rounder.”
Getting rounder.
This wolf pack had bared their teeth and threatened me when we first met.
Their faces had become triangular, just like Swish-Swish’s when she looks at old man Compy.
But that was only for a moment. After I joined the pack, their faces gradually began to change.
Starting with Chillang-i, they slowly transformed from wolves into puppies.
It wasn't something I did intentionally.
I just petted their fluffy fur a few times.
As wild wolves, they had probably never been touched like that by anyone, so they were easily won over.
And it seemed Whitey wasn't the type to pet her younger sisters much, either.
Of course, if the wolves’ wild instincts were to diminish because of me, I would stop immediately.
I wasn't going to be with this pack forever, so I shouldn't do anything irresponsible.
But thankfully, it seemed to be fine so far.
They might wag their tails inside the cave, but they still showed their old sharpness when they were hunting.
“They weren’t originally like this. I feel like I’m watching my own kind being tamed by human hands.”
Well, the line between a wolf and a dog is a fine one.
“Honestly, I feel a bit conflicted. I mean, they’ve opened their hearts to a lizard that appeared out of nowhere.”
“Gegek.”
True, it wasn't exactly logical for a wolf and a lizard to become friends.
Of course, I was an exception, having befriended a human, a snake, a spider, and a bird before.
“I don’t get why they’re so happy, wagging their tails at someone who’s going to leave soon anyway.”
Whitey gently poked the blue orb.
“It feels like they listen to you better than me now, you know?”
“Gegegek.”
You should have treated them better then.
“I don’t get what’s so great about a creature that’s all scales.”
Scales have their own charm. You’d understand if you saw Swish-Swish.
“Anyway, I don’t get it. It’s not like you have fluffy fur, just scales.”
Whitey emphasized the "just scales" part.
Could it be that in the wolves' eyes, I looked like some kind of bald creature?
Then again, all the wolves had an abundance of fur.
Especially Whitey’s chest fur, which was extra fluffy.
“What’s funny is, they don’t seem to have much reaction even when I change into my human form anymore.”
That was true.
Feeling threatened by me petting the wolves, Whitey would sometimes transform into her human form to pet them herself.
Aside from a certain black lizard occasionally falling for her sorcery, it didn't seem to have much of an effect.
It all came back to the lizard.
It wasn't a difference in appearance, but a difference in handiwork.
My skill in petting puppies was on a whole other level.
“I don’t know what’s so great about being petted by those huge hands that they make such a fuss.”
Whitey stared intently at my front paws.
With all the other wolves outside, it was just the two of us in the cave.
Gulp.
The sound of her swallowing was perfectly clear.
Was it because she hadn't eaten any of the Magnosaurus meat?
No, she had been like this since we were at the entrance to the volcano.
I was about to back away to offer her the remaining meat.
Grip.
Baek Rang’s front paw caught mine.
“So my conclusion is, there’s something about those front paws of yours.”
Whitey’s tail began to wag.
“…And I need to find out what it is.”
Her golden eyes gazed at me intently.
“Will you… pet me?”
Baek Rang’s roundabout way of asking to be petted.
Well, the wolves will obviously be sad when I leave, so it’s probably best for her to learn this secret technique.
“Gegegek.”
I’ll make your body unable to live without a lizard’s touch.
The wolf’s tail wagged.
No, that was a dog’s tail now.