Chapter 174: The Leash
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 174: The Leash
“Geeeeeeek!”
“Stay still!”
If I stay still, I’m pretty sure I’m screwed.
“I-I’ll make it quick…!”
What are you going to make quick?
You’ve got a crazy look in your eyes right now.
You’ve bound me with ice, and your eyes have gone wild.
Your front paws are fumbling around, exploring every inch of my body…
“Geeeeeeeng!”
You’re going to kill me!
“That’s not it!”
Seeing you drool like that, I’m pretty sure it is.
“No… wait, maybe it is?”
See? I knew it.
“Gek.”
I don’t know what’s going on, but you’re a wolf right now, you know?
I’m a lizard, and you’re a wolf.
We have to draw the line somewhere!
“Hmm… if it’s because of our species, I could turn human… No, then the sizes wouldn’t match…”
Baek Rang muttered something I felt I shouldn’t understand.
I tried my best to resist, but for some reason, my body had no strength.
It was different from just having my limbs bound by ice.
It felt like there was something wrong with my dantian itself.
Did I eat something bad?
The only thing I ate was the Unicorn’s horn…
No way…!
I had forgotten something so obvious.
As a pure lizard, I was fundamentally incompatible with a Unicorn.
Even if my body had healed, taking in an opposing power was bound to cause problems.
The backlash had arrived.
“Gek gek!”
…But why is Baek Rang overflowing with energy?
Could it be that she’s highly compatible with the Unicorn’s power?
No, that doesn’t seem right.
How should I put it… it’s like the will of the Unicorn has possessed her.
“One hus… hehehe… many wiv… hehe…”
“Gek gek!”
Now I’m hearing things.
To think their will was this strong.
It seemed the Unicorns were endorsing the current situation. The proof was that even though we consumed the same horn, my strength was draining away while Baek Rang’s was surging.
“Geeeeeeeng!”
“Just a taste… I’ll just have a taste…”
Baek Rang stuck out her tongue as if she couldn't hold back any longer.
Nephila Jurassica.
Tus Pus.
Swish-Swish.
My dear Snake Queen.
And Tang-something and Master.
Chirpy, too.
From Ilrang to Chillang.
Even the nameless little lizards.
…Why are there so many?
In any case, I bid farewell to all the connections in my life as they flashed before my eyes.
Thanks for everything.
“Now, if I just get this out of the way…!”
It was the moment Baek Rang’s paw tried to peel off my scales.
Pang!
A black wave of energy pushed Baek Rang away.
Wham!
It wasn’t a particularly strong force.
But it was enough to knock Baek Rang off me.
“Gek…?”
What in the world is this power?
Did I awaken an ability I didn’t know I had?
“…This is a familiar energy.”
Baek Rang muttered, looking at me.
“It doesn’t matter if you push me away!”
She charged at me again, as if she’d made up her mind.
Pang!
“Yelp!”
But she was blocked by a translucent black barrier.
“Gek gek gek…”
A black protective shield.
It seemed to be a new ability of the Crushing Dragon.
To think she helped me discover a power I didn't even know I had. How should I thank her?
I had become a Gomodo-Crushing Dragon.
“Grrrr…”
Baek Rang glared at me with fearsome eyes.
Hey, what’s with that look?
I know it seems like I pushed you away, but if I hadn’t, I would’ve been in deep trouble.
“The giant snake… Right, the Queen must have marked her territory.”
“Gek?”
Baek Rang wasn’t glaring at me.
She was glaring at the necklace around my neck.
“This is ridiculous. Seriously, you’re using that precious divine object not for battle, but to block something like this?” she grumbled.
It seemed this black shield wasn’t something I was controlling.
The necklace Swish-Swish had put around my neck—the Snake Queen’s Token.
The token’s power had activated.
…But wait, I’ve been wearing that for a long time.
There were times my life was in danger.
It didn’t activate then, but it activates now?
What on earth are the conditions?
“Grrrrrr…”
Baek Rang continued to glare at something invisible.
There’s a saying that dogs and cats can see ghosts.
If they suddenly start barking at empty air in the middle of the night, it means a ghost is there, or so they say.
“…Share him after he’s all grown up?”
I don’t know what it was, but it didn’t seem like an ordinary ghost.
To say something so creepy.
“Gek…”
The baby lizard couldn’t help but tremble.
…A three-ton tremble.
“I tried to get a head start, but you’re too well-guarded.”
Baek Rang sighed.
“One, two, three, four… No, just how many are there?”
Baek Rang shouted in astonishment.
It seemed she was counting the marks engraved on my necklace.
“…This is a queue. That’s what this is, right?”
What do you mean by that?
A queue?
They just left marks as a sign of our alliance.
“…Fine, I won’t eat you now, so come here.”
So you were trying to eat me just a moment ago?
“Gek…”
“What do you mean, ‘Gek’? I was just acting weird because of the catnip. I’m fine now, so come here.”
Can I trust her?
Crack.
The ice that bound me disappeared.
“Gek gek.”
I cautiously walked over and stood beside Baek Rang.
“Jeez. How do you go around charming everyone you meet? They’re all different species, too.”
Charming them?
They’re just precious connections.
“I tried to get a head start, but I completely struck out.”
Crack, crackle.
A small ice sculpture was formed.
It depicted eight wolves and one lizard being hunted by them.
Why would you make something like that?
It’s making me anxious.
“Gek gek…?”
“If it’s proper to wait in line… I suppose I have to follow the rules.”
Baek Rang’s golden eyes shone brightly.
As if she had an answer she wanted.
“But I’d like to shorten that wait a bit.”
What is this line, and what do you mean by shortening it?
Anyway, you’re not going to touch me for now, right?
“A devout believer would be given a chance before others, wouldn’t they?”
“Gek?”
“Ah, unlike someone else, I don’t have a faith yet.”
…….
I didn’t know how she reached that conclusion, but it was good news for me.
That wolf was looking at me with eyes that were subtly hoping to join the Gaegaek Cult.
[Would you like to recommend the Gaegaek Faith to 【Baek Rang LV75】?]
Of course.
“…Since there happens to be a lizard with a faith, maybe I’ll stick with this one?”
Baek Rang is a hexagonal talent.
Her combat power isn’t bad, her personality is decent, her fur is fluffy, and she’s highly intelligent.
I thought she was good at everything, but there was one thing she couldn’t do.
“…Hey. Could you stop looking at me like that? It’s embarrassing.”
And that was acting.
“Don’t get the wrong idea.”
It was a wonder she didn’t stutter, her acting was so bad.
“It’s not like I’m doing this because I like you or anything. It’s just that I don’t have a faith to serve.”
This one.
She’s a true master.
“…And my younger siblings don’t seem to have a reliable faith either, so I’m just trying it out first.”
To say such things while being so embarrassed.
It made me want to stuff that furball into my mouth right now.
Of course, doing something like that might flip the switch that just turned off.
I’d be trapped in ice and subjected to something horrible.
…Whatever that might be.
“Hmph!”
Shaking off her embarrassment, Baek Rang’s foot touched my chest.
To be precise, it touched the accessory around my neck.
Sssss….
A blue energy seeped in, creating a small, bluish paw print.
“…It just seemed like everyone else was leaving one, so I did it too.”
I stared at Baek Rang without a word.
“I-I’m serious, it meant nothing at all!”
*
Baek Rang joined the Gaegaek Cult.
The process wasn’t what I had in mind, but as long as the result is right, I guess it’s fine.
“I don’t know why, but I feel like I can understand your ‘geks’ better now.”
Baek Rang always understood me well, though.
“Gek gek.”
“…Well, you know that much, at least.”
After spending more time with Baek Rang, we headed for the summit of the volcano.
Isn’t there a saying, “Strike while the iron is hot”?
Now that Baek Rang had joined the Gaegaek Cult, it was time to deal with the Red Dragon.
“So, you said you had someone to introduce me to?”
She’s not a person, but there is something similar.
“…I just hope you haven’t added another female to your collection.”
“Ge-ek!”
“Oh, you lizard, you.”
Smack.
Baek Rang lightly slapped my scales.
She was currently riding on my back.
I don’t know why.
She just said she wanted a ride, turned human, and hopped on.
Still, is it right for a new believer to ride her Divine Beast?
I wanted to ask, but I swallowed the question.
Right now, my goal was to have Baek Rang and the Red Dragon meet.
Allowing her on my back seemed like a fair trade.
“Gek gek.”
And so, we arrived at the summit of the volcano.
“There’s still a bit of fire energy left here. Maybe it’s because I can feel that red lizard’s presence, but I feel a little strange.”
Baek Rang got off my back and surveyed the area.
“Geeeeek…”
She seemed to think the red lizard had run away.
But the Red Dragon was just soaking in the crater.
Now that we were here, I should explain things step by step.
If I had explained down below, she would have fought tooth and nail not to come.
First, that the Red Dragon is not our enemy…
“You’re here, my Divine Beast?”
Just as she seemed to have finished her hot spring bath, my eyes met with the Red Dragon’s, who was covering her chest with a red cloth.
…Why are you on this side?
I’m sure I saw you go in from the opposite side.
Crack-crack-crackle!
“This red lizard…!”
Baek Rang’s cold energy surged madly.
“…Oh? You brought a little white doggy, too?”
Fwoosh.
Flames erupted as if not to be outdone.
BOOOOOOM!
Flames and frost clashed.
And caught between them, a black lizard couldn’t help but shed tears.
“Geeeeeeek!”
*
Hot and cold.
Being hit by both of their attacks at once made my tough scales instantly turn soft.
So this is the effect of using fire and cold energy together.
“…So, you didn’t defeat that red lizard, you two just fought to a draw?”
My bodily sacrifice bought us time to talk.
The Red Dragon went back into the lava, and Baek Rang stood still, listening to me.
“And she came under your command?”
“Gek.”
“…Why would she do that?”
“Ge-ek?”
“Spirit beasts don’t usually serve under other spirit beasts. She must be plotting something.”
Baek Rang said seriously.
I looked back at her with an equally serious face.
“M-My case is different!”
So you’re plotting something too.
“…Anyway, you’re quite talented, thinking of taming that violent lizard.”
I didn’t exactly tame her; it’s more of an alliance.
“Divine Beast! Are you not done yet?”
…Look at her.
“No, wait, should I call you Master now? Hehe.”
The Red Dragon giggled.
She seemed to be completely immersed in her role-play.
She must be role-playing as an adult dragon who has submitted to a young lizard.
“…Master?”
“Gek gek.”
No, that’s just what she calls me.
Baek Rang’s eyebrow twitched upward.
“…I don’t like her.”
“Gek gek!”
I understand completely.
It would be weirder if you didn’t, considering what she did to you.
I knew that, which is why I arranged this meeting as a sort of apology.
“She met you later than I did, yet she gets a gift like that.”
A gift?
I looked at Baek Rang with the face of a lizard who knew nothing.
“The thing around her neck.”
The thing around her neck?
…Are you talking about the collar?
“Gek gek gek.”
I didn’t give her that.
She made it herself.
“……Aren’t you going to give me one?”
She looked at me as if she were hurt.
Surely she doesn’t want a collar, she just wants a gift, right?
It’s hard to understand, but seeing as how even the Snake Queen strangely likes gifts, it might be a common trait among spirit beasts.
So she wants me to give her something…
What do I have?
Unfortunately, I was empty-handed.
…Should I cut off my tail for her?
No.
If Baek Rang gets a taste of my tail, my future will be bleak.
“Gek.”
…Want a scale instead?
Just in case, I tried to peel off a scale from my chest.
Since it had been hit by both fire and cold, I was able to remove it without much trouble.
“……You want me to have a scale?”
Is this not the right move?
That Tang-something was crazy about my scales…
Tang Soyeong, you just wait.
I’ll show you what the back of my throat looks like.
“…Honestly.”
Just as I was about to put the scale back, Baek Rang snatched it away at high speed.
“Gek?”
Swoooosh!
Baek Rang’s cold energy began to gather on my fallen scale.
The dragon scale writhed and twisted, gradually elongating.
It took on the shape of a black whip.
…A whip?
Click.
The black whip wrapped around Baek Rang’s neck.
No, this wasn’t a whip.
It was a collar, similar to the one on the Red Dragon’s neck but different in color.
“You expect to put something like this on a wolf and get away with it?”
I told you, I had no intention of putting a collar on you.
Despite her words, the corners of Baek Rang’s mouth curled up.
The end of the collar that was in Baek Rang’s hand was transferred to mine.
Though she was in human form, she struck a pose that somehow reminded me of a puppy.
“…There. Happy now, you pervert?”
She wagged her tail rapidly.
…Look who’s calling who a pervert.