Chapter 9
Chapter 9
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: Became the Gallery's Only Reptile
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What is this cat?
Why is it munching on my tail like it's so damn delicious?
I stared blankly for a moment at the way it was devouring my tail with such gusto, like it could be a mukbang star.
Well, part of it was that I just couldn't wrap my head around the current situation.
Pak.
"Shaa?!"
‘Ouch?!’
I finally snapped out of it and started rationally assessing the situation thanks to the pain of getting smacked on the head.
I rolled my eyes, and there was the culprit, frowning pitifully at me while swishing its tail.
It must have felt burdened by me spacing out while watching its "eating show."
‘No, still... you slapped me?’
I'd woken up from sleep, had my tail half-eaten, and now I'd even gotten slapped.
Bzzt.
"Shaa!"
‘You pudgy jerk!’
No matter how magnanimous I was, I couldn't let this slide.
I glared at it and prepared for battle.
It might not know this, but I'd hunted a giant rat over five times my size without taking much damage.
A cat like that? I could take it down in no time flat!
"Shaa!"
‘Here I go!’
Feeling sorry for the cat? Sorry, but the moment it started chowing down on my tail, it was game over.
Just like with that giant rat, it had touched me first.
"Shaa!!"
With a body that size, one hit. Two at most, and it'd be down.
I coiled my body like a spring and launched myself at it in an instant.
I opened my mouth and coated my few teeth with as much venom as I could muster.
Then I sank them right into its body!
Whoosh.
‘What?!’
But my charge was effortlessly dodged as it casually twisted its body aside.
How? That lunge had worked perfectly on the giant rat.
At that moment, blinded by rage toward this white cat, I couldn't properly recall that fight.
The giant rat hadn't just stood there waiting—it had charged at me too.
‘This...?!’
But that wasn't a big problem.
It was just that my initial ambush had failed.
Even without the surprise, I could beat a little cat like that.
Swish. Swish. Whoosh.
But why...?
Why was it dodging my attacks so easily every time?
"Myaah~."
‘That bastard...’
Now it was yawning like it was bored?
It was totally crushing my pride.
Hot rage flowed through my head. I gritted my teeth and forcibly calmed myself.
If I let instinct take over now, there was zero chance of winning.
I was already being toyed with like this. Instinct? In-stinct? It'd be like telling me to just die.
Whoosh.
"Shaaak!"
"Myung~."
How the hell was I supposed to attack?
Rushing straight in normally? It dodged too easily.
Hated to admit it, but how predictable were my moves for it to yawn from boredom?
‘Make my attacks land. Make the enemy unable to dodge... Ah!’
Right, that method would work.
This was the cave entrance. Plenty of stuff around to use.
Slither slither slither.
I slowly sidestepped, picking up a stone from the ground.
Good, supplies acquired.
Target locked... Done. Ready to fire... Okay.
"Shaa!"
‘Going!’
I hurled the stone straight at the cat.
"Myung?!"
Clear panic, different from before.
And with it, a jump so high it was incomparable to anything prior. I smirked triumphantly.
‘This is human wisdom.’
Humans use tools, after all!
But this brilliant tactic didn't yield satisfying results.
There was a flaw in my role as a slingshot throwing the stone.
‘Argh, my tail!’
No tail meant it took longer to pick up the stone, no tail meant less power, no tail meant accuracy way worse than expected.
If only I had my tail...
But my tail was currently being munched on in its mouth.
Whoosh. Whoosh.
Hop. Hop.
Throw stone. It dodges.
Throw again. It dodges.
Throw yet again. It dodges.
No hits.
Just endless cycles of throw and dodge.
At some point, it stopped even flinching at the incoming stones, jumping around like it was skipping rope.
"Myamyung~ Myung~."
That thing was enjoying this, right?
Treating my ace move like a fun game.
But it wasn't time to relax yet.
‘Yeah, keep having fun like that.’
Until it lost all interest in me.
The moment its focus shifted fully from me to the stones—that would be my time to strike with my final blow.
Drip.
What happens if stones keep coming and then suddenly stop?
It'll stop moving, tilt its head, and think, Huh? No more stones?
"Myung?"
The instant its head tilted and turned toward me, its movements naturally halting—that split-second window.
Crunch.
Finally, I sank my teeth into its body.
‘I win.’
For this one strike, I'd gathered venom in my teeth.
Venom injected into its body. 10 seconds. 30 seconds. 1 minute. 3 minutes... 5 minutes...?
"Shaa?"
Eh?
Why is it fine?
It should have collapsed dead by now?
Something was wrong.
Realizing that, I noticed a bizarre fact I'd overlooked until now.
‘How can that cat move so freely around here?’
Even the giant rat had struggled in this place.
I'd taken quite a while to adapt when I first arrived.
But it? During our fight, had it ever seemed even slightly inconvenienced by movement?
‘Ha, I was thinking wrong.’
The answer was simple.
It was no ordinary monster—it could casually handle the mana here.
‘Not a spirit beast yet.’
But close to one. Probably wouldn't be long before it became one.
‘Why did it take me this long to realize?’
I should have figured it out ages ago.
Why hadn't I?
There were a few reasons. First, after ten straight days glued to the gallery, the sleep I'd barely gotten was interrupted after just an hour.
On top of that, a stranger appearing before my eyes, damage to part of my body, and a slap—the triple combo had fried my normal thinking, leading to this mess.
"Hahk!"
Smaack.
A devastating blow incomparable to before rocked my head.
The impact was so intense I thought my head had exploded. No joke—even stars sparkled before my eyes like in cartoons.
Thud.
Am I going to die here?
No, I can't die here. Already born a snake and pissed about it—die as a snake before even turning human?
‘Don't make me laugh.’
Whoosh.
"Myung?!"
"Shaaa!!"
I won't die.
Absolutely. Never. Definitely! I'll become a spirit beast! Live as a human! And die as one!
Grip.
"Haaak!!"
"Shaaa!!"
The earlier head smack must have done real damage—my vision was blurry and wavering.
One becoming two, two becoming three, in this super hazy state, I mustered all my strength to climb its body and wrap my neck around its throat, squeezing.
I didn't even think about whether I was choking its neck or not.
"Kek. Hahk!!"
Its reaction gave me the answer.
Venom doesn't work? Fine, choke off its airway and suffocate it.
Crunch.
Of course, it wasn't going down easy.
It rolled around, slamming impacts into my body here and there, sharpening its claws to pierce my scales and gouge wounds.
‘I won't let go.’
But I'm a tenacious Korean.
Not dumb enough to blow this last chance, and plenty stubborn.
‘Blame your small body.’
If it were giant-rat sized, I wouldn't have even attempted this.
Luck was on my side.
Fortune for me, misfortune for it.
Thump.
As I squeezed hard, its arm finally stopped resisting and flopped to the ground.
‘I win.’
In the end, the victor was me.
Slither. Thud.
Like the fallen cat on the ground, my body tilted and I collapsed onto it.
Killing it right now would be ideal, but unfortunately, I'd hit my limit too. No strength left.
"Shaa......"
My eyes grew heavy. In the sinking mire of my consciousness, I prayed desperately inside.
Recalling the one real goddess of this world.
‘Goddess Raine, please let me wake up before it does.’
"Myamya-myung~."
Roll roll.
"Myung~ Mya-myung~."
‘God is dead.’
Otherwise, there's no way it would have woken up before me.
Feeling its paws rolling my coiled body around, I etched this humiliating moment into memory and vowed inside.
‘You pudgy jerk. I'll definitely kill you someday!’
Of course, whether that would happen... who knows right now.