Chapter 6
Chapter 6
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: Became the Gallery's Only Reptile
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About a month had passed since I was born as a snake.
This past month had helped me adapt fully, and thanks to that, I could now confidently say I was the most accomplished snake around.
Ssss.
It felt like just yesterday I was only crawling on the ground, but now I could even climb walls.
My body had grown enough that I could swallow an Amrita whole without sharing it.
And especially! The biggest gain from this past month had to be this.
Regulate my breathing! Tense my belly...!
"Shaa...!"
'Kahk! Ptoo!'
Sizzle.
Take a look at this.
That's right. The truth is, I'm not an ordinary snake—I'm a venomous one!
One that spits acidic venom strong enough to melt anything it touches!
'Though I've never heard of a snake like this before.'
The venomous snakes I knew used hemotoxins that coagulate blood or neurotoxins that paralyze nerves.
'Well, it's probably due to the ancient era's characteristics.'
This wasn't reality—it was a game. Jijiyong's world.
A fantasy world overflowing with mana from the start.
There were surely plenty of things even more venomous than me.
Yeah, a snake like me that only uses acidic venom is pretty ordinary.
'But the gallery's awfully quiet today.'
Normally, it would be buzzing with posts flying up fast, but for some reason, the gallery's activity was unusually low today.
Even after I posted this, it took a long time for replies to come in.
Replies that would normally appear in under 10 seconds only trickled in after 10 whole minutes.
"Shaa!"
'This bastard!'
But the prank ended there, and the guy immediately explained the reason in a sub-reply.
Well, studying is important.
As a veteran player who proudly played Jijiyong, I knew well how exams affected things.
'But everyone's in different time zones, right?'
The problem was that gallery users lived in their own dimensions, different time zones.
Take me—I was active in the ancient era.
With everyone crossing over at different times, their times should all differ, yet so many were simultaneously ditching the gallery for exams.
This was beyond the comprehension of my low-intelligence self.
'Ugh, my head wasn't great to begin with, but it feels like my intelligence is dropping day by day.'
I worried it might drop to my current body's snake level.
I quickly found the post he mentioned.
'What is this?'
I had no clue what any of it meant.
No replies either.
Other posts said similar things.
How was I supposed to understand any of this?
I went back to the previous post and replied.
'Isn't understanding that the weird part?'
Was I the only one who didn't get it?
Then, reinforcements arrived to help me.
What the heck.
So it wasn't exam studying that made everyone go quiet all of a sudden.
I was racking my brain alone because of that swallowable jerk.
'Whoa, the world.'
I was annoyed at falling for such a prank, but a new term plunged my head into confusion again, making it ache.
'So what's a Gallery Maintenance Check?'
But I didn't post or reply asking what it was right away.
I'd realized from that last exchange.
Look it up yourself before asking.
That would resolve over 80% of my curiosities.
And this one fell into that 80%.
So, the Gallery Maintenance Check analyzes your actions over the past year and imposes restrictions on gallery activity?
Pass it, and you unlock DMs for 1-on-1 chats with others.
'From the posts, everyone gets checked on the same day.'
Fixed date, hence the current situation.
In other words, everyone posting here now was a newbie like me, less than a year in.
I didn't know how long the check took, but I hoped they'd return soon.
...And exactly 35 minutes later.
Those who'd undergone the Gallery Maintenance Check returned safely.
They posted right away upon return, announcing their survival.
Some mentioned unfortunates who failed and got banned, but reading what they'd done didn't evoke much sympathy.
"Shaa!"
'History Restoration Maniac! You're back!'
Of course I'd read it!
It was a bit deflating that it wouldn't help me immediately, but I'd already gained tons of info from what he'd shared before!
Anyway, this time I'll talk about beings that survived from the ancient era to our modern times.
Let's start with one everyone knows.
This guy's name comes up most when asking who's the strongest in Jijiyong.
The Tiger Queen who rules all of the western continent when it's split into east, west, south, north.
Her name, face, power scale—all unknown, existing only in lore.
I thought her story or raid boss might get revealed someday, but even newbies don't know, so she's still shrouded in mystery.
'Tiger Queen, huh.'
I'd seen the name before.
A mythical creature whose existence was even in doubt.
To think it lived from the ancient era.
Her story has tons of mysteries.
Why she rules the western continent. Why she doesn't appear in modern times.
I wanted to investigate more, but the moment I spotted her, she pierced through time's flow and saw right through me. If I'd turned away a bit slower, my mana would've backlashed, and I wouldn't be posting now.
Even dragons aren't this bad. Still gives me chills.
(A blurry, out-of-focus blue photo)
Couldn't get a good shot, but it's of the Tiger Queen's eyes.
Barely managed it, so don't complain.
I really almost died.
But damn, her eyes were pretty.
Like the sky? Super clear, sparkling, with a sacred vibe.
"Shaa..."
'Hmm...'
Eyes photo, huh.
The image is so out of focus it's hard to make out.
Just a vague blue glow around the center.
'Eyes like the sky.'
I craned my neck to gaze at the sky.
I didn't know if the sky History Restoration Maniac thought of when seeing the Tiger Queen matched what I saw now.
But if it did, yeah, they'd definitely be beautiful.
...
Chirp chirp.