Chapter 94: You Tricked Me?
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 94: You Tricked Me?
Old Man Compy taught me not only miniaturization but also a variety of other techniques.
They were martial arts that, if I were to name them myself, I’d call something like the Little Dragon Strike, the Little Dragon Fist, or the Little Dragon Kick.
They seemed like techniques that would pair well with the Little Dragon Mental Cultivation Method.
But I had created the Gaegaek Mental Cultivation Method, not the Little Dragon one.
I could probably learn the Little Dragon method if I tried, but for now, it was better to focus on Gaegaek.
That didn't mean the martial arts I learned from the old Compy were useless, however.
The techniques I already possessed were ones whose efficiency increased with my size.
The Ancient Dragon Leg Art and the Gekgek Death Beam, in particular, had power directly proportional to my size.
It felt like a waste to use them in a shrunken state.
On the other hand, the techniques bearing the name "Little Dragon" were perfectly suited for fighting in a small body.
It meant I could continue to fight even while miniaturized.
Of course, the most efficient method would be to deactivate miniaturization and use my original techniques, but the more cards you have in your hand, the better.
A situation might arise where I’d have to insist on fighting at a small size, after all.
I ended up spending more time with Old Man Compy than I’d expected.
I had to stay here until I had perfectly mastered miniaturization to avoid any problems later.
During the day, I sparred with the old man in the waterhole.
I practiced the Little Dragon techniques in my shrunken state and learned how to counter the old man’s attacks in my enlarged state.
Before, the gap between us was so vast that I couldn't even graze one of his scales without resorting to trickery, but things were a little different now.
By creating the Gaegaek Mental Cultivation Method, I could now use my internal energy more efficiently.
The sparring matches became much more evenly matched than before.
Of course, the moment the old man started using his internal energy, I’d get pushed back again.
Still, I’d made considerable progress.
I had managed to knock that old man into the water several times.
I had to slam my face into the water’s surface dozens of times just to knock him in once, but it was an encouraging result nonetheless.
After the sun set, I would meditate in the cave with the murals.
The purpose of my meditation was to understand the passages recorded on the walls.
I thought I might be able to comprehend them now that I’d broken through the wall of the Peak Realm, but as expected, there was no significant change. That’s not to say there were no results at all.
Meditation allowed me to focus more deeply on the Gaegaek Mental Cultivation Method.
My progress was slower compared to my martial arts, but my proficiency in the Gaegaek method steadily increased.
After meditating, I would head to the area where the lizards stayed.
What I did there was a little different from training.
It was simply sharing meat with the lizards and befriending them.
I’d been training all day, so I needed a break too!
…That wasn’t my real reason.
This, too, was part of my method for growing stronger.
Old Man Compy had officially acknowledged me.
Just like with the Snake Queen, a part of my Gaegaek Faith had been integrated into the Little Dragon Faith.
In other words, the divinity and experience points sent by the lizards here would now accumulate for me as well.
I was getting friendly with these guys to increase that amount.
I was hoping that if these lizards had offspring or met others of their kind, they would talk about the lizard with dragon scales.
Besides that, I also wandered around the territory, searching for any potential traces of Green Geckos.
Since there were other geckos, there was a chance my own kind might be here too.
But this endeavor didn't yield much success.
Still, I didn't despair.
If the lizards here met my kind, they would probably tell them about me.
By imitating my cry, of course.
“Gekgek.”
I started the chant.
“Gekgegek!”
“Gekgegegek!”
The lizards that had gathered around me mimicked my cry.
Even species that weren't geckos copied my cry.
It’s a bit much to say it myself, but during my time in the old man’s territory, I had become quite the popular figure.
My appearance was enhanced by my dragon scales, I had single-handedly defeated the Megatherium that attacked the lizards, and I had earned the acknowledgment of the Little Dragon.
There was no reason for the lizards not to like me.
If I were a lizard with no business ethics, I would have taken my followers and defected to the Snake Queen’s territory in the middle of the night.
But messing with my father-in-law's followers just didn't feel right.
…Come to think of it, that old man.
Could it be that he acknowledged me so quickly because he was afraid I’d do just that?
“Kekek!”
Compy let out a cry as if to ask why I was looking at him like that.
He stood among the gekgek-ing lizards with his hands clasped behind his back, his expression unchanging as always.
There was only one reason the lizards and the old man had gathered in one place.
It was time for me to return to the Snake Queen.
My martial arts, mental cultivation, faith, and miniaturization had all been raised to a high level.
I wanted to stay a little longer to cultivate myself further, but for some reason, Compy didn't seem to want that.
To be precise, he seemed eager to send me back to the Snake Queen.
“Kekek.”
Old Man Compy handed me a giant stone slab.
It was covered in characters I couldn't read.
No, they were more like pictures than characters, scribbled all over the slab.
“Kekek!”
After all the time we’d spent together, it wasn't too difficult to understand the old man’s intentions.
The stone slab he handed me was a kind of letter.
A letter to be delivered to the Snake Queen.
I didn't know what it said, but I felt I absolutely had to deliver it.
“Gekgek.”
All in all, I had spent about a week with the old man.
It was a period neither too long nor too short.
All sorts of things had happened during that time.
The most memorable event was when he took out a bottle of liquor he had buried deep in the ground and shared it with me.
Once he was tipsy, he grabbed my scales and started a drunken tussle.
We couldn't communicate with words, but I could grasp his meaning to some extent.
Seeing him grumble and kekek, he was probably talking about his daughter.
I raised the Snake Queen myself.
She’s a truly innocent child.
If you make a single tear fall from her eye, I will bury you.
I could tell that was the general nuance.
I played along with my father-in-law’s words with my own gekgeks.
Actually, the Snake Queen is my cover wife, and your granddaughter has fallen for me.
It’s not just snakes; spiders and even humans covet my dragon scales!
Words like that almost slipped out, but thankfully, only gekgek-ing sounds emerged.
Old Man Compy kekek-ed for a long while before collapsing in the cave, fast asleep.
Watching him, I felt a little sorry for him.
From what the Snake Queen had told me, it didn't seem like she thought of Compy as her father.
She had only said he was one of the few beings she acknowledged.
She even said she couldn't pinpoint his location, which meant they probably hadn't seen each other for a very long time.
If they had met in the interim, she would have known he was living here with these lizards.
The stone slab the old man had pressed upon me might be a letter filled with those emotions.
A letter to a daughter who left home long ago.
…Of course, that probably wasn't all. There had to be other things written on it.
This stone slab was absolutely massive, after all.
“Gekgek!”
I’ll take responsibility and deliver the letter. And if I can get a reply, I’ll come back.
“Kekek.”
With that, I left Old Man Compy and the lizards behind and departed from the Little Dragon’s territory.
The walk back to the Snake Queen’s temple felt lighter than when I had left.
My current size was that of a Gomodo, not a Gomodo-Lania, so perhaps that was only natural.
I had succeeded in almost perfectly controlling my miniaturization.
It would be best to maintain this smaller form for the time being.
Miniaturization didn't just end with shrinking my body.
There was a hidden effect.
When the ability was deactivated, a rebound effect of gigantification was applied.
And through several experiments, I had discovered that the longer I maintained the miniaturized form, the larger the rebound.
In other words, if I normally moved around in a conveniently small size and then deactivated the ability when needed, I could use the gigantification to gain a greater advantage in battle.
It was good for luring the enemy into a false sense of security, but since my body itself would become even larger than before, the effect would be doubled.
I wanted to shrink even more right now, but I couldn't because of the stone slab the old man had given me. I had to be at least the size of a Gomodo to carry this thing with ease.
And so, I walked to the Snake Queen’s temple.
I ran into a Sword Dragon loitering nearby.
Upon seeing me, the creature bowed its head in greeting.
Now that I was the Snake Queen’s proper companion, this level of treatment was to be expected.
“Gekgek.”
Yes, thank you for your hard work.
I let out such a cry and entered the temple.
As expected, the traps didn't activate.
Once I pass through here, I’ll see the Snake Queen and Swish-Swish.
…But is it really okay for a queen to be cooped up in here all the time?
With the princess, no less?
Crash!
As I was walking down the corridor, I heard something collapsing inside the temple.
It wasn't a serious sound; it was more like the sound of a Basilisk hastily transforming into a Lamia.
“You’re quite late.”
The Snake Queen greeted me in an extremely awkward pose.
Yep, she definitely transformed in a hurry.
“Gekgek!”
“Pyaaaak!”
Swish-Swish, who seemed to have been sleeping, also staggered to her feet and let out a happy shriek.
It’s good to see you after so long.
…You seem to have gotten a bit bigger, though.
“You’ve gotten a little smaller. However, what you learned from Honhwi shouldn’t be just this.”
As expected, the Snake Queen was sharp.
Now that I had successfully carried the stone slab this far, there would be no problem shrinking even more.
I set the slab down and performed the dance the old man had taught me.
I felt as if I could hear a song that conjured a waterscape.
Vacant eyes.
Limp, swaying arms.
Swoooosh!
My Gomodo-sized body continued to shrink until, finally, it was reduced to the size of a Green Basilisk.
I no longer even needed my reverse scale to use miniaturization.
It had become one of my official skills.
“Gekgek!”
I let out a valiant cry.
The Snake Queen would be incredibly surprised.
She couldn't have imagined that I would be able to use miniaturization so perfectly.
“…How can this be.”
The Snake Queen’s mouth fell open in disbelief.
A hint of emotion slowly colored her expressionless face.
That’s right. Praise me.
“…Heehee.”
Heehee?
“Ahaha.”
Ahaha?
“Ahahahat!”
The Snake Queen burst out laughing.
Loud enough to make the temple shake.
After laughing so hard she cried, she finally calmed down and wiped the corners of her eyes.
What’s so funny?
“Where did you learn that dance?”
Where did I learn it? From Old Man Compy, of course…
Could it be?
“Ahahat! Such movements are not necessary for miniaturization.”
…What?
No way.
You’re lying.
Then what the hell was that dance I’ve been doing all this time?
“Gekgegegek!”
“He must have taken quite a liking to you, to pull such a prank.”
He took a liking to me?
He liked me, so he pulls this crap on me?
“Heeheehee.”
I felt my black scales turning red.
I’m so embarrassed.
Extremely so.
I had been performing that dance with such a serious heart all this time, completely unaware that the old man had lied to me.
“Pyaak!”
Swish-Swish slowly waddled toward me.
Yes, Swish-Swish.
You’re the only one for me.
Looking at this one’s chubby body will surely heal my wounded heart.
“Peep!”
Letting out a sound of pure joy, Swish-Swish chirped and wagged her tail.
Yep. Just like a puppy.
Then, she presented her chubby tail to me.
“Gekgek.”
I stared, gekgek-ing to ask what this meant, when she suddenly lunged at me.
“Ge-Gek?”
Swish-Swish coiled herself tightly around me.
What is this?
“Kyaaaa!”
…Swish-Swish?
Drool dripped from Swish-Swish’s mouth.
No, it can’t be, right?
Just because I’ve gotten smaller…
As if thinking, ‘Now’s my chance…’
“Pyak!”
“GEEEEEEK!”