Chapter 25: Gecko Wall-Walking Art
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 25: Gecko Wall-Walking Art
The 【Green Basilisk】 can evolve into:
1. 【Green Iguana】
2. 【Sea Iguana】
3. 【Great Armored Lizard】
4. 【Water Monitor】 (Consumed 「Little Dragon's Sky-Ascending Steps」, fragment of a high-grade inner core)
5. 【Crocodile Monitor】 (Consumed 「Dragon's Claws」, fragment of a high-grade inner core)
I had two choices before me.
Water Monitor and Crocodile Monitor.
The word "King" [wang] in their names told me that these creatures were near the end of the lizard tech tree.
It was a tough decision.
Both would have their pros and cons, but I couldn't remember them clearly.
Wait a minute. My Eye of the Wild skill leveled up, didn't it?
Should I take a look?
【Water Monitor】
A giant lizard that typically grows to 1.5-2m, with a maximum length of 3.5m.
Males can weigh up to 50kg.
An adept swimmer, it can use its sharp claws to dig burrows or climb trees.
Nice.
It was like a creature made by cutting and pasting all the best traits of the lizards I’d seen so far.
It wasn't called a "King" for nothing.
So that was the Water Monitor. What about the Crocodile one?
【Crocodile Monitor】
A giant lizard that typically grows to 1.5-2.5m, with a maximum length of 4m. However, its tail accounts for two-thirds of its total body length.
Males can weigh up to 15kg.
As it primarily lives in trees, it possesses sharp claws, and its teeth are characteristic of a theropod.
This one was pretty good, too. It was longer than the Water Monitor, but its overall build was smaller.
The length was a bit inflated because of its long tail. In terms of weight alone, the Water Monitor was more than three times heavier.
It was definitely outclassed in size.
But the key things to note here were its teeth and claws.
Especially the teeth, said to be reminiscent of a theropod.
In terms of pure attack power, it was probably a cut above the Water Monitor.
Of course, you couldn't ignore the difference in build. If the two were to fight, the Water Monitor would likely win.
But I wasn't betting on which one would win a fight.
I had to choose the one that suited me better, the one that would cover my weaknesses and maximize my strengths.
Hah… This is a tough choice.
If Komodo had been an option, I wouldn't have had to think twice.
I wonder if I could have evolved into a Komodo if I had trained in poison arts.
The Komodo dragon is in a different league.
The English names for these other guys would be something like Water Monitor and Crocodile Monitor.
Here, "monitor" means one who watches.
What do they watch?
Crocodiles, the monitor lizards' competitors and natural enemies.
One of the monitor lizards' survival strategies is to break crocodile eggs when the parents are away, eliminating future competitors.
Because of this, they have an uncanny ability to know when crocodiles are absent, and natives could tell whether crocodiles were nearby just by observing the monitor lizards.
That's how they earned the name "monitor," the watcher.
A watcher. It sounds cool at first glance.
But not as cool as a Komodo.
Because that one is called the Komodo Dragon.
It means that even though they're both monitor lizards, they're on completely different levels.
Unlike the bearded dragon, the Komodo is so large and powerful you'd wonder if it was a real dragon. Plus, it has venom.
It's a shame, but these monitor lizards aren't bad either.
Now, it's time to choose.
The bigger, heavier Water Monitor, or the lighter Crocodile Monitor with higher attack power.
My choice is…
‘The Crocodile Monitor.’
My reason for choosing the Crocodile Monitor was simple.
Currently, I live my life standing on two feet.
That goes for combat and for when I need to run fast.
If I evolved into a Water Monitor, running on two legs might become difficult.
I might lose the Basilisk's long tail and struggle with balance for a while.
On the other hand, the Crocodile Monitor had a body shape similar to the Basilisk, just with more muscle packed on here and there.
This meant I could continue using my previous fighting style.
Cover my weaknesses and maximize my strengths.
There was no reason not to choose the Crocodile Monitor.
Crack.
A white egg enveloped my entire body.
Crunch.
It had begun.
My bones grew rapidly, as if my entire skeleton was being replaced.
Snap. Crack.
It was nothing like when I was a gecko.
As my body had grown larger, the bone growth was proceeding much faster.
Creeak.
Flesh and skin covered the new frame in sequence.
The last thing to form was something else entirely: scales.
The scales of a Crocodile Monitor, like a suit of armor—something I didn't have as a Basilisk.
CRACK!
The egg that confined me shattered.
[Congratulations! The 【Green Basilisk】 has evolved into a 【Crocodile Monitor】.]
【Crocodile Monitor LV1】
HP: 200/200
MP: 50/50
【Titles】
「Beloved by the Spider」
I flicked my tongue and crawled out of the egg.
My body was overflowing with power.
It felt like my very vision had changed.
Looking down from up high, even this cave felt different.
Hey, Status Window, did you forget something?
[「Wall Climbing LV5」 evolves into 「Gecko Wall-Walking Art」.]
Ah, so you are giving me something.
Seems a bit stingy compared to my first evolution, but I'll make good use of it.
The evolution was complete.
Now, the first thing I had to do was…
Fill my starving stomach.
I greedily devoured the closest piece of eggshell.
CRUNCH!
There was almost nothing left inside, but it was quite a delicacy.
It replenished some of my energy, but it wasn't enough to fill my stomach.
The appetizer was finished, so it was time for the main course.
Today's meal?
A double mix of millipede (top) and millipede (bottom)!
I don't know who did it, but someone had cut it neatly in half.
The millipede that had seemed so huge now looked small.
That's how much bigger I'd gotten.
Before evolving, I was about 70cm long.
My tail was about 50cm of that, so my body itself was only 20cm.
Now, I was at least 1.5m. My tail still made up a large portion of that, but it didn't change the fact that I was incredibly large. My body had thickened up a lot, too.
Chomp.
Munch, munch.
Even the sound of my eating was different.
The millipede's carapace, which had been so hard to break before, now shattered with ease.
The fact that it was dead probably helped, but it was mostly thanks to my stronger jaw and bite force.
Crack.
Gulp.
Crunch.
Gulp.
Even after finishing the entire millipede set meal, I was still a bit hungry.
Still, I wasn't about to starve to death, so I should take care of the next most urgent thing.
Splash, splash.
I crawled toward a puddle of water with imposing sounds.
It was stagnant water, so I was a bit hesitant to drink it, but since I'm immune to most poisons, it should be fine.
Gulp, gulp.
As I quenched my thirst, I examined my faint reflection in the puddle.
Is that me?
My bright green skin had turned a dark teal.
It might have been the lighting, but it was definitely darker than before.
My eye color had also changed to something closer to blue.
My protruding teeth looked absolutely terrifying.
I'd say I was at a level where I could go and throw my weight around a bit.
Let's try making a dignified roar befitting this new form.
“Gegegek!”
…Huh?
*
I was worried I might have become a Gecko Monitor, but that was a groundless fear.
I had just made the "gegek" sound so often that it had become a habit.
I can make other sounds, too.
“Groooaaan…”
…That’s not great.
Sounds a bit like a zombie.
“Keong!”
What is this?
Whatever, who cares if my cry is weird.
I'm a Crocodile Monitor.
Nothing can stop a Crocodile Monitor.
I had become like a king in this cave.
I still hadn't found the exit, but in my current state, I could climb the walls of the entrance to get out.
Shing!
Look at my claws.
Is there any way I can't escape with these?
Of course, these claws were just a supplementary tool.
The key was the martial art I gained through evolution, the Gecko Wall-Walking Art.
The original name for Gecko Wall-Walking Art is Byeokho-yujanggong (壁虎遊牆功).
A tiger climbing a wall.
That's roughly what it means.
…is what people mistakenly believe.
This martial art doesn't refer to the movements of a tiger.
While it's true that ho means tiger, byeokho has another meaning.
What byeokho actually means is… a gecko.
“Gegegek.”
The Gecko Wall-Walking Art is a martial art for sticking to walls, just like a gecko.
In other words, this martial art was made for me.
I can escape this cave whenever I want.
Of course, I had no intention of escaping right now.
Leaving through that entrance would lead me straight into the swamp. And that meant facing the caiman.
I needed to get used to this body first, then come up with a plan to take down the caiman before leaving.
There were a few places in this cave I hadn't been able to go.
One was the place presumed to be the Titanoboa's nest, and the other was the cave's exit.
I didn't go to the former because it was dangerous, and I didn't go to the latter because I didn't know where it was.
And there was one more place.
The thin thread I grabbed when I fell from above.
It was hard to think of that thread as something natural.
This cave itself is a peculiar place. It has murals depicting martial arts, an incredibly strong woman appears here, and an Imugi lurks within.
There must be something at the location of that thread I grabbed.
Alright, let's go.
“Gegek!”
….
“Keong!”
Tat-tat-tat!
I scrambled up the wall at high speed.
My sharp claws pierced the rock as if it were tofu.
Thanks to the profound principles of the Gecko Wall-Walking Art, a strange adhesive force formed on my feet, making it easy to climb the wall.
Scrape.
Thump.
After climbing for a good while, the thread I saw back then came into view.
It was a thread.
A five-colored thread, at that.
I quickly launched myself toward the spot where the thread was.
Thud.
The place led to another tunnel.
A thick stone door blocked the tunnel's entrance, making it look difficult to enter.
…And seeing what this place looked like, I didn't particularly want to go in anymore.
Five-colored threads and straw dolls were scattered everywhere, and the stone door was plastered with talismans.
Yeah. Messing with this seems like a bad idea.
I'd probably get cursed or something.
Still, I came all this way. Should I just take a quick look?
I mean, what could possibly happen?
Even as I thought that, I maintained a safe distance.
It's not that I, a Crocodile Monitor, was scared or anything. Maintaining a safe distance is just an essential virtue.
First, there were Chinese characters written all over the place.
I could barely read any of them.
I could only recognize the character for "heaven" when I saw it occasionally.
Is that one the character for "poison"?
Alright.
I've seen enough.
I'll say it again, it's definitely not because I'm scared.
That stone door is shut tight, so how could I possibly…
Creeak.
The stone door opened.
……Why did you do that?
I'm scared.
No, wait, I have Crisis Detection, right?
Since it's not saying anything, it should be fine.
Should I just peek inside?
I turned around and slowly inserted my long tail.
Even after waving it around for a while, there was no reaction.
Okay. Let's go in.
This has to be a fortuitous encounter.
As soon as I entered the tunnel, I wrinkled my nose.
Inside were the corpses of countless insects.
It was clear that a long time had passed since this place was sealed.
Maybe that was a good thing. I could just take whatever was inside without having to fight.
What could be waiting for me?
I hope there are elixirs and inner cores.
It's about time I had another one.
Just as I was indulging in some happy delusions, I saw something whitish.
To be precise, it was something thin growing on the backs of these insects.
…Mushrooms?
Why are there mushrooms growing on their backs?
Screeeeeeech.
THUD.
The stone door slammed shut.
And at that very moment.
“Kieeeeeeek!”
The insects that had been lying on the ground rose to their feet.