Chapter 81: Three Hosiki Chickens
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 81: Three Hosiki Chickens
My mother-in-law… no, I carefully accepted the token my wife handed me.
It was a beautiful ornament, a mix of seashells and jewels.
Did I get this along with the wine she gifted me?
Judging by its shape, it seemed to be a necklace.
My arms weren't exactly short, but my body's structure made it difficult to put something around my own neck.
The Snake Queen, conveniently, had the upper body of a human. I stared at her, hoping for some help.
But what was this? After giving me the ornament, the Snake Queen just stood there, staring blankly.
"Gekgek…"
Help me with this.
I waved my arms, but the Snake Queen didn't respond.
She simply lifted her wriggling daughter.
"Hieeek…"
Swish-Swish was lifted gently, then took the necklace in her mouth with a little chomp.
Her large eyes studied my neck intently.
Wriggling, she tried to put the ornament around my neck.
Since Swish-Swish didn't have hands either, it couldn't have been easy, but she didn't give up and kept trying.
"Just a little more effort."
The Snake Queen didn't put it on me herself, only holding her daughter up.
And finally, she succeeded in placing the necklace around my neck.
"Piik!"
Swish-Swish dangled in the air, wagging her tail.
Yeah, thanks.
"Huhu. Now that the ritual is complete, all that's left is for you to return safely."
Right.
…Huh?
A ritual?
I don't remember hearing anything about that.
[【Ball Python LV18】 wishes for your safe return.]
Oh, that's all.
It must be a ritual for a safe return.
[【Ball Python LV18】 wishes for you to achieve all that you desire.]
Swish-Swish chirped, wagging her tail.
After tickling her belly for a moment, I turned to leave.
"Gekgek."
Right.
I'll be back soon.
"Return safely."
The Snake Queen and Swish-Swish even saw me off.
I was just planning to get the elixir and leave the jungle, but now I feel like I have to stay.
…Then again, I don't really have a reason to leave, so staying here for a while wouldn't be so bad.
"Gek."
I raised one arm, signaling that I would return.
"Piiik!"
Swish-Swish saw me off with a plaintive cry.
[【Ball Python LV18】 looks forward to the night of the full moon to complete the rest of the ritual.]
Right, I'm also looking forward to the rest of the rit—
"Hieeek…"
Using the principles of the Soaring Dragon Ascension Steps, I quickly exited the temple.
That was dangerous.
I had a gut feeling that if I'd hesitated for even a moment, I would have been wrapped in those smooth, shiny scales for months.
…First, let's find that guy, whether his name is Honhwi or Kompin.
*
The weather keeps getting hotter.
Is it because I've gotten bigger?
I think I was starting to understand why the Snake Queen and her daughter cooped themselves up inside the temple.
It's better to laze around in the cool temple than to go outside and fight the heat and bugs.
I have a desire to squeeze in between them and roll around too, but I have things to do.
I need to learn what I must, eat what I must, and strengthen my relationship with the Snake Queen and Swish-Swish.
I don't know when Nephila Jurassica's treatment will be finished, but when it is, I might have to move my habitat again.
I could live here as a kept man with the snakes and spiders, but that can wait.
I feel like I can only allow myself that luxury after I've found the other fortuitous encounters hidden in the 100,000 Great Mountains and become much stronger.
I'm not talking about living all lovey-dovey with them, but about living lazily, just lounging around.
Although I look like a lizard, I still have my memories from when I was human.
…Of course, whenever I see Nephila Jurassica's or the Snake Queen's human forms, I get a strange, inexplicable feeling, but I haven't crossed any lines yet.
I want to live in one place with all the beings I've formed bonds with, just 'gek-gek-gekking' together.
There would be many complicated problems, but that's my selfish desire.
To do that, I had to get stronger.
The King of Birds alone was not an opponent I could currently challenge.
But I haven't set him as my goal.
My goal is, of course, Baek Yeon-yeong.
I don't think I'll ever be able to surpass her.
My first goal is to grow strong enough to surprise her.
Strong enough to leave a mark when I bite her finger.
That's right.
The goal is to chomp Baek Yeon-yeong's finger.
To achieve that, I need more training.
Miniaturization is part of that plan.
If Baek Yeon-yeong sees how big I've gotten, she might not offer me her finger anymore.
I'll turn small, lure her into letting her guard down, and then bite her finger like crazy.
"Gehekhek…"
I let out a wicked laugh.
"Kkigigik…"
Three monstrous birds responded to my laughter.
While searching for Honhwi's whereabouts, I had run into some Terror Birds.
【Devincenzia LV26】
【Devincenzia LV28】
【Devincenzia LV22】
__________________________
【Devincenzia】
A giant bird known as a Terror Bird.
It grows to over 2 meters tall and can weigh up to 350 kg.
It is a threatening and powerful hunter that uses its strong, hooked beak to smash its enemy's skull with a downward strike.
Devincenzia.
A Terror Bird similar to the Titanis I saw before.
Aside from being slightly larger, it was almost identical.
The only difference, I suppose, was that this time there were three of them.
【Devincenzia LV22】
【Traits】
「Petrification Resistance」「Poison Resistance」「Faith in the King of Birds」
【Status】
「Wary」
And look at all those traits they were loaded with.
Petrification and Poison Resistance, and they served the Human-faced Bird.
I could make one guess.
The Cockatrice that betrayed the Snake Queen and sided with the King of Birds.
Its abilities were petrification and poison.
He was using a creature with abilities similar to the Snake Queen's to create minions that could stand against her.
"Kkigigik!"
The Terror Birds shrieked, communicating with each other.
It seemed like they were discussing how to deal with me.
As if you could resist attacking me. I'm the Snake Queen's companion, after all.
"Grrrr…"
I let out a low growl and shook my head once.
Clink.
The Snake Queen's token glittered in the sunlight.
The Terror Bird at the very front must have spotted the token, as it charged at me like an arrow.
Faster than I expected. On top of that, it had a huge body and a sharp beak.
Getting hit by that would hurt quite a bit.
Dragon Scale Transformation.
Sh-sh-sh-shk.
The form of my dragon scales changed.
If the transformations until now were like a spear, this one was like a shield.
I met its charge head-on, leading with my thickened dragon scales.
KWAAAAANG!
Normally, my body should have been pushed back.
Speed plus mass. The force it possessed was immense.
But this time, I didn't budge an inch.
It made sense. A Megalania's weight was estimated to be over one ton.
My Gomodo-Lania body had strongly inherited the traits of a Megalania.
Not just my size, but my weight had reached a level comparable to a medium-sized carnivorous dinosaur.
The Terror Bird was heavy for a bird, that's true. But how could it compare to me?
Kk-deu-deu-deuk.
When I didn't get pushed back, I could see the Terror Bird was flustered.
"Kki… Kkigik!"
It seemed to be hastily screeching to call its comrades.
If it hadn't called its friends, I would have experimented a little more.
Thwump.
I grabbed its wing with my right hand.
If I had swung with the principles of the Dragon's Claws, I could have dealt a fatal blow.
But I didn't.
Winning like that would be no different from usual.
It was important to figure out the right fighting style for this body.
KWACK!
I opened my mouth as wide as I could and bit down hard on its neck.
"KKIEEEK!"
This alone should have been a fatal wound.
W-d-d-d-deuk.
But I wasn't satisfied with just that.
I spun my body rapidly.
T-d-d-d-deuk.
With a horrific sound, the Terror Bird's neck was twisted completely around.
It's hard to survive a death roll even if you know how to counter it, but the bird didn't even seem to think of countering.
"Krrrrrr…"
I had snuffed out its life in a single attack.
I turned my gaze to the remaining Terror Birds.
If they were going to attack, they should have done it earlier. I could see they were stunned by the shocking sight.
If they hesitate like that, it's a gift to me.
Chomp. Crunch. Gulp.
I swallowed the giant Terror Bird whole.
As expected, there was no inner core inside, but it tasted alright.
Ptooey.
It would be better without the feathers, though.
I spat out a mouthful of feathers and glared at them.
"Grrrrrr…"
The two Terror Birds were clearly terrified.
I'd like to finish them both off, but if they run, I won't bother chasing them.
It wasn't efficient enough to be worth chasing them down to kill them.
If they attacked me, I could practice my techniques, but if they were determined to flee, it would just be a hassle.
"Kkigigik!"
The two Terror Birds turned their heads as if to flee, then immediately rushed toward me.
It was a praiseworthy decision. From my perspective, of course.
From their perspective, this was the worst possible move.
If they were going to do this, they should have attacked together from the start.
A fighting style that hides your cards isn't always the right one.
You might end up fighting in a severely weakened state from the very beginning, just like this.
I'd like to try using Dragon Blood, but there's no way I'd bleed against these guys.
Let's focus on quadrupedal movement.
Shwarak.
I pulled my body back.
The principles of the Soaring Dragon Ascension Steps weren't limited to just two feet.
Bipedalism would be more advantageous when walking on water.
But on flat ground like this, there was no need to insist on using two feet.
Of course, two feet were faster than four, but against opponents like these, that difference was meaningless.
Tadadat!
I feinted, pretending to swing my front leg.
The Terror Birds, well aware of my attack's power, couldn't help but flinch for a moment.
Even though they knew they were out of my attack range.
I used that brief moment of hesitation to move my body quickly.
The Terror Bird that came to its senses aimed its beak at where I had been.
But the attack never reached my body.
Chwaak!
I combined the principles of the Wandering Dragon Illusion with the Soaring Dragon Ascension Steps.
Tadadadat!
To their eyes, it would have literally looked as if another me had suddenly appeared.
Like attacking a ghost.
The Terror Birds probably felt like cursing.
This size, this speed. And on top of that, instead of a direct confrontation, I was using strange techniques.
But what could they do? Their opponent was a Gomodo-Lania.
Ch-j-j-j-jang!
The form of my dragon scales changed once more.
A highly aggressive form reminiscent of a dragon.
In this state, my tail was like a giant sword.
Swiiiiish!
Seogeok!
I swung my tail and sliced through the Terror Bird on the left.
"Kkigigik!"
The remaining Terror Bird, realizing this was its only chance, charged at me with its beak leading the way.
That was an excellent judgment call.
In this position, I couldn't use my tail or my limbs.
[Activating 【Reverse Scale LV1】.]
I almost feel sorry for you.
[Temporarily acquiring 【Gaegaek Death Beam LV1】.]
Because your opponent is me.
The Terror Bird wore a look of despair.
Who would have thought a beam like this could come out of a lizard's mouth?
And not just any lizard, but one that specialized in physical combat.
KWAAAAAAAAAAAAANG!
A rapidly fired blue beam.
It obliterated the Terror Bird's head along with the surrounding trees.
Its own master shoots destruction beams. It should have predicted something like this.
[Level Up.]
Oh, a level up.
I only gained one level from killing three Terror Birds.
I can already see the difficult road ahead.
I couldn't even predict how long it would take until my next evolution.
Still, they say a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
If I stuff all these dead Terror Birds into my stomach, I should at least get a little more experience.
Let's eat quickly and get back to searching.
I already ate one.
The one whose surface was burned by the beam is over there.
And the one hit by my tail is…
Right, it's under that lizard.
Wait, a lizard?
"Gegegek?"
"Kekekek!"
A dazed face. A small body. And yet, a profound internal energy.
I think I've found the being called Tusulisu.