EP.45
Cold Blood.
Cool your head a bit.
[The effect of “Cold Blood lv5” is activating.]
Good.
Let’s think quickly with a cool head.
【Tang So-young】
【Status】
「Worship」「Joy」
This is a very good state.
【Artercopus lv9】
【Status】
「Worship」「Infatuation」「Restraint」
【Antracomartus lv8】
【Status】
「Worship」「Infatuation」「Jealousy」
This is a bit concerning, but at least there is worship involved.
It’s probably a somewhat distorted sense of faith.
Considering Tos and Pus are still young, I can understand why they might have such misconceptions.
【Nephila Jurassica lv30】
【Status】
「Injury」「Infatuation」「Affection」「Longing」「Love」「Single-mindedness」「Reproductive Desire」「Possessiveness」「Hunger」
This is unacceptable!
Yes.
From this, I can grasp what emotions this spider possesses.
Thanks to this, I’ve received a title, and Nephila Jurassica saved me without fearing for her own life.
I understand.
But that last part is the problem.
I was feeling sorry for fleeing from the branch, but seeing that changes my perspective entirely.
Had I not escaped, I could have been truly turned into a lizard tanghulu.
Twenty-six pairs of eyes were watching me simultaneously.
Cold blood.
I need to work a little harder.
[The effect of “Cold Blood lv5” is activating.]
While my head is cooling in real-time, it starts to heat up again.
I can’t calm down.
Those eyes.
And seeing the drool dripping, I now understand what primal fear is.
“Kyieeeek…”
Nephila, please don’t drool.
“Keeng.”
“Keeng!”
You two as well.
“To think I’m actually seeing Komodo in person, I could die without regrets…”
Tang So-young.
You shouldn’t say that too.
Why are you drooling?
Three creatures and one person were slowly approaching me.
I spread my hands wide to calm them down.
Like when trying to soothe three raptors in some movie.
Calm down.
“Gekekek!”
Fortunately, their movements stopped.
It seems they haven’t completely lost their senses.
How long can this last?
I need to seek a solution quickly.
At the very least, I should do something about Nephila Jurassica’s hunger.
I extended the tail I had cut off when I was a king lizard.
I wondered if this was ethically right, but it’s a severed tail after all.
Plus, this spider had eaten my tail several times in the past.
Nephila Jurassica carefully took my tail with both hands.
“Kyieeeng.”
Yes.
Eat that and calm down.
“Keeng!”
Tos and Pus also lunged for my tail.
Is it really alright to feed them?
What if they start losing tails while sleeping?
Nah.
That tail belonged to King Crocodile Lizard, and I’m a Komodo now, so they should know there’s a difference.
Let’s extinguish the immediate fire.
Just eat that.
“The, the tail of Komodo…”
No, you can’t have that.
“Gekgek.”
I wrapped my tail lightly around Tang So-young’s legs, pulling her toward me.
“…Huh! I didn’t mean to…”
Right.
I must preserve my last shred of humanity.
You’re different from those spiders.
“Maybe later…”
It’s different, right?
Thanks to sacrificing my tail, the situation has settled somewhat.
The three spiders are now busy eating the severed tail.
And in front of me is Tang So-young.
As someone who sang praises of Komodo, she should have plenty of information.
Hurry up and spill the details.
If you don’t want to see the inside of a Komodo’s mouth.
“… You look just like I heard. Those sharp scales, those blue eyes. I knew Master Komodo would end up like this.”
Right now, I am Komodo.
But why did this woman still call me Komodo when I was a King Crocodile Lizard?
Did she see me as a candidate for Komodo?
“If I could just take a single scale, this incident would be forgiven. I might even be rewarded… eheh…”
Tang So-young is fidgeting with my scales.
Well, I’ve seen enough over time, and one scale wouldn’t be too much.
I could spare up to ten scales, perhaps.
As long as it’s not from the head.
I don’t want to evolve into a Pachycephalosaurus.
“Gekgek.”
But can you move a bit better?
I glanced at Tang So-young’s legs.
They looked perfectly fine.
In fact, she seemed to have been walking normally since she woke up.
Perhaps she caught the meaning of my gaze, as she wore an awkward expression.
“Ahem!”
Well, that’s understandable.
They wouldn’t just kick her out because her legs were healed right away.
Still, if they are healed, she should say so right away.
“My legs feel fine now!”
Yeah.
You shouldn’t act.
You can’t lie, can you?
“This must be the grace of Master Komodo…”
Is that what you think?
No.
In fact, that’s good.
This is a matter we need to address.
Divine Power.
And religion.
Since they always said it was weak divine power, I thought it was nothing special, but now here comes the topic of religion.
The content was as shocking as the statuses of the spiders.
“Gekgek.”
“Truly, Master Komodo… to heal my injured legs immediately!”
I told you not to say that.
“Kyieeek!”
The spiders were waving their hands, making happy sounds.
“Kyieek!”
“Master Komodo is truly amazing!”
“Kyeng!”
This feels overwhelming.
It makes it seem like they’re praising me or something.
[Conditions have been met.]
Huh?
Light is emanating from my body.
Am I evolving into a glowing lizard?
The color of the light was dim.
It felt more like an effect produced by final bosses rather than divine light.
It was an ominous hue.
“This… this is…!”
I don’t know what’s going on, so please explain.
Tang So-young hurriedly bowed.
“To witness the Divine Beast and see a miracle…!”
A miracle?
Don’t use such grand terms.
I’m just going to become a glowing lizard.
The light gradually faded.
The spiders and Tang So-young looked up at me.
They didn’t say anything.
… What am I supposed to do?
“Gekgek.”
Tang So-young bowed once again, and Tos and Pus followed her lead.
“Gegeok… Gegeok…? Grasping the high ground! So this is the profound meaning behind the cry! Yes! Gegeok Sect! This is the beginning of the Gegeok Sect!”
What is that?
It’s Gegeok, not Gegeok.
And it doesn’t have such a grand meaning; it’s just a cry.
In response to Tang So-young’s shout, Tos and Pus clapped and cheered.
“Kegeok!”
“Kegeok!”
Tos and Pus imitated my cry.
No, are they just mimicking Gegeok?
Yeah. Go ahead and mimic it all you want.
It doesn’t really change much.
[【Gegeok Faith】 has been established.]
______________________________
【Gegeok Faith】
A faith akin to Gecko-level beliefs.
It is a faith believed by those who worship the legendary creature, Komodo.
While it is still early to be called a religion, it has great potential for development.
The faith of the members is very strong.
Members
First disciple: 【Artercopus lv9】
Second disciple: 【Antracomartus lv8】
Third disciple: 【Tang So-young】
______________________________
What is this?
I’m starting to feel scared.
And where’s Nephila Jurassica in all this?
Well, she wasn’t mentioned in the status screen either.
Weak divine power gathering and turning into faith is indeed remarkable.
So is this the end?
Isn’t there something I forgot?
When something so grand comes out, there should be a reward.
An achievement that would astonish Komodo! Something like that.
I stared at the status screen.
Obtaining things like Dragon Scale and other items was great, but I’m still hungry.
Give me more.
[Due to the effects of Gecko-level faith, the stats of the disciples are slightly amplified.]
No, that’s not it.
It’s not ‘give me more.’
It’s ‘give me all.’
[You now share a portion of the experience points gained by the disciples.]
Sharing a portion of experience points?
Now that’s truly an achievement that would astound Komodo.
I almost jumped for joy.
This is an effect that can’t possibly be bad.
Isn’t it almost akin to automatic hunting?
Of course, it won’t come to leaving the hunting to Tos and Pus.
And the same goes for Tang So-young.
Still, if I manage to increase the number of disciples later, the benefits will be substantial.
For now, it would be great if Nephila Jurassica joined as a disciple.
Sigh, why doesn’t she believe in the great Komodo?
“Gekgek.”
Nephila, it would be wise for you to join quickly.
If you join now, you’d be rank 4, you know?
Of course, it feels off to be ranked below Tos and Pus, but who knows? I might end up luring someone like Baek Yeon-Young later. Then you would be ranked higher than that person.
“Gekgek.”
Think it over.
“Kyek!”
Nephila Jurassica tried to understand my words but shook her head.
There are limits to communicating with just “Gekgek” and “Kyek.”
Right, it’s a feeling.
If you join now, I’ll rank you higher than Tang So-young. After all, we have a bond.
“Kyeng.”
The spider lowered its head and was diligently tearing at the meat of its severed tail.
Alright, let it be.
Let’s not provoke unnecessarily.
I just calmed it down with my tail.
Setting Nephila aside for now, shall I have a solid conversation with our first disciple?
“Kyieek!”
Pus nodded.
….
This time, I didn’t even make a sound. How did he understand me?
Indeed, the first disciple is different.
“Kyooong!”
Then Tos, the second disciple, got all riled up.
I realized.
My disciples can read my thoughts.
Let’s try an experiment.
‘Tang So-young!’
Tang So-young showed no reaction.
Sigh, was that not it?
I thought it was like telepathy, but was it just coincidence?
Then again, the spiders responded immediately.
‘The Ten Great Clans do not include the Sichuan Tang Sect.’
Tang So-young tilted her head.
“…What? I suddenly feel uneasy!”
It wasn’t entirely ineffective.
It seems that part of my thoughts—albeit just a little—is being conveyed.
Although it seems she doesn’t yet realize that it’s me sending it.
It’s a double-edged sword.
However, having it isn’t necessarily bad.
‘The Ten Great Clans include the Mu Yong Clan, the Je Gale Clan, the Nam Gung Clan, the Ha Buk Peng Clan, and the Huang Bo Clan. The Sichuan Tang Sect dares not interfere.’
“Something feels strange!”
A long-distance scratch that leaves no evidence behind.
I’ve learned an extremely vicious new skill.
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