EP.54
New territories are always welcome.
As Baek Yeon-Young suggested, I headed east.
While it wouldn’t be a bad idea to challenge the upper swamp area, I felt that taking control of it wouldn’t yield many benefits. At most, I might gain another title.
Moreover, seizing the upper swamp isn’t as easy as it sounds.
Even a Baryonyx is a tough opponent for me at the moment.
It’s heavier than Anodontosaurus and larger than Utahraptor.
Additionally, there’s a good chance that even stronger creatures exist than it.
To exaggerate a bit, it could be something like the Piranhas of the lower swamp.
Of course, it likely wouldn’t be that extreme, but I must not dismiss the possibility of encountering beings stronger than a Baryonyx.
Naturally, the jungle area I was heading toward holds the same uncertainties.
Here, too, stronger enemies than a Baryonyx could appear at any moment.
Plus, the terrain is unfamiliar to me.
But this place undoubtedly holds things I can gain.
It means that there’s a chance of obtaining a fortuitous encounter that Baek Yeon-Young recognized.
There should be something that could grant powers equivalent to or greater than the Quartz Stone Oil.
It has been quite a while since I took proper care of myself.
If, hypothetically, Nephila Jurassica were to recover in a month and both Tus and Phus evolved into Arachne…
That would be a good thing for me, but I also feel a bit anxious.
What if the spiders become stronger than me?
Of course, they wouldn’t treat me rudely.
After all, I raised them, and they worship me.
But I still can’t shake off this inexplicable unease.
I feel like I would end up tied up in webs, forced to slap a spider’s bottom all day long.
It feels like I’ll have to offer my tail every day.
And I get the impression that Nephila Jurassica’s conditions would be resolved all at once.
“Gek!”
This could almost be a matter of life and death.
To maintain the dignity of a lizard, I need to become stronger.
If the spiders grow more powerful than me, my prestige will sink to the ground from that day on.
In many ways.
For now, let’s check my status.
【Komodo LV6】
HP: 920/920
MP: 390/390
【Titles】
「Loved by Spiders」
「Master of the Silver Dragon Cave」
「Lord of the Lower Swamp」
The lord of the swamp is still present.
Has someone taken my place?
Or is it the case that once obtained, the title continues indefinitely?
The former wouldn’t matter much.
Even if a creature like a Caiman shows up, I could easily knock it out with a few pats.
My level is still 6.
Since becoming a Komodo Dragon, I haven’t defeated any worthy adversaries, and yet the growth rate is too slow.
Even when I was an Alligator Lizard, I dared to hunt down creatures like Deinonychus.
When it comes to greater power, greater experience points are required.
With a Komodo Dragon, this might be understandable.
If I had defeated an Anodontosaurus, I’d have at least reached level 10, which is a bit disappointing.
At this rate, it’ll take a long time until my next evolution.
However, that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
With the time I have, I can guide myself toward the desired outcomes.
Of course, I have no inkling of what the next stage for a Komodo Dragon might be, but I can at least set the direction.
For example, I could continually walk on two legs like this, forging a path beyond lizards toward theropods.
Or I could practice skills and martial arts that include “dragon” in their names, embarking on the path of legendary beings, the dragon itself.
The probability of becoming a dragon is incredibly low.
But even Titanoboa evolved into something akin to a Hydra.
Looking at it like that, it wasn’t entirely impossible.
_________________________
【Skills】
「Dragon’s Wave」「Small Dragon’s Heavenly Ascend」「Small Water Heaven」「White Poison Immunity」「White Storm Heart Technique」「Wall Tiger Strike」「Great Dragon’s Claw」
「Dragon Scale LV5」「Reverse Scale LV1」「Poison Generation LV4」「Poison Accumulation LV2」…….
____________________________
I carefully examined the skills and martial arts bearing the name of a dragon.
The Great Dragon’s Claw at the end of the martial arts caught my eye.
Ultimately, I managed to learn the Great Dragon’s Claw.
While I can’t unleash the same power as what Baek Yeon-Young demonstrated, the increase in techniques I can use when the Dragon’s Wave doesn’t work is significant.
I offered a moment of silence for the Utahraptor that had sacrificed itself for me.
Still, I should be content since I’ve regained the cave.
It looks a bit thinner, but it will gain weight back soon enough.
Baek Yeon-Young took care to provide some food for it.
Of course, they did suddenly pluck all the feathers, insisting they needed fur.
Returning to the main topic, let’s check my status.
Despite being level 6, I was by no means weak.
In fact, among the lizards in this world, I might just be the strongest.
This Komodo species can be thought of as a larger version of a Komodo Dragon.
Though it may seem slightly lacking to call it a legendary creature, a Komodo is undeniably the apex predator.
The superior version, the Komodo Dragon, was an entity that couldn’t afford to be weak.
If the Alligator Lizard or the Water Monitor are akin to cheetahs, then the Komodo Dragon is more of a leopard or jaguar. And the Komodo would be comparable to a tiger.
There isn’t much difference in appearance compared to a Komodo.
However, I had learned the Dragon Scale, so there is a distinction between me and the Komodo.
One might say I’m a Komodo adorned in armor.
With a slightly thicker neck and more muscle than a typical Komodo.
If I were to transform the Dragon Scale, the divergence from a Komodo would grow even more pronounced.
I might be akin to the black dragon one would find in a fantasy novel.
Having seen many lizards, I’ve never come across a more handsome lizard than I am in this state.
When I yawned, it seemed like I could exhale breath.
“Gyaaa….”
Of course, even if I yawned, no breath would come out.
Could drooling count as breath?
With poison mixed in, I could somewhat call it a Poison Breath.
The coloration gives me a greenish tint, so perhaps I could be likened to a Green Dragon.
Such frivolous thoughts occupied my mind as I continued walking, and I began to notice the terrain of the jungle that Baek Yeon-Young mentioned.
The jungle.
The jungle refers to a forest densely populated with trees.
In other words, it’s a tropical rainforest or jungle.
Swish.
I pushed through the grass that was as tall as my height.
It was advantageous to have a higher vantage point, so I walked on two legs, yet these grasses were still taller than me.
Surely, this being an area inhabited by dinosaurs, the sizes of the plants were enormous.
The size of the dinosaurs eating such grass must be immense as well.
The carnivorous dinosaurs hunting those creatures would be even larger.
I should feel a bit on edge.
The jungle was, as expected, hot and humid.
The herbivorous dinosaurs I spotted scattered around were indeed gigantic.
They seemed tense, taking defensive stances upon seeing me, but I didn’t mind and pressed forward.
At least, I should hunt after surveying the terrain.
Charging ahead blindly might lead to unpredictable consequences.
Moreover, there was no need to directly confront such large herbivorous dinosaurs.
Crackling!
Sure enough, being in the jungle, the insects flying around were also of considerable size.
There were mantises almost the size of a Velociraptor, and enormous dragonflies that made me wonder if they were pterosaurs flying around. At that size, I could definitely have a hearty meal right now.
Of course, there was no reason to hunt insects, so I didn’t pursue them.
I only used to eat such things when there was nothing else.
It’s been a long time since I became a civilized lizard that roasts meat.
…Wait, now that Dang So-Young is gone, how do I roast it?
Do I need to wait for lightning to strike?
Visibility in the jungle was extremely limited.
With so many tall plants around, that’s only to be expected.
Tall plants, gigantic herbivorous dinosaurs, and massive flying insects.
It’s a distribution of organisms that can be called a jungle, but something felt off.
One thing was missing.
That was the absence of predators.
There should normally be something capable of preying on insects, even if not the massive herbivorous dinosaurs.
However, I couldn’t even see such dinosaurs.
Could it be that this place lacks predators?
No, that cannot be right.
There were other dinosaur corpses scattered around.
Fresh carcasses that hadn’t begun to decompose, indicating they hadn’t died long ago.
Large footprints were visible everywhere.
There was something different about them compared to what one would suspect was a dinosaur’s.
Right.
These were bird tracks.
What this information revealed was one thing.
There’s a predator around me.
A clever and large one.
Could it be a Deinonychus?
No, it was something even more dangerous.
It was stalking me silently.
When it started wasn’t important.
They made mistakes too.
If they had ambushed me from the underbrush, it would have been dangerous.
But I had already changed my position.
At least to a more open area.
For them to attack me, they would have no choice but to show themselves.
“Grr….”
I growled in a low voice.
I know you are hiding.
If you don’t come out, then I’ll come in.
It was a warning.
The jungle was not silent.
Sounds from various creatures echoed around me.
The calls of birds or perhaps pterosaurs flying above.
The distant roars of dinosaurs.
The sounds of insects fighting each other.
And the sound of someone—or something—running at a rapid speed.
Pababababat!
“Kiieeek!”
“Ggigigigik!”
There wasn’t just one following me.
There were two.
And they were quite dangerous.
【Titanis lv14】
【Titanis lv18】
__________________________
【Titanis】
A type of terror bird, its name originates from the Titans of Greek mythology.
Standing at 1.4 to 2 meters tall, it is a gigantic terror bird weighing around 250 kg.
With legs capable of running at speeds up to 50 km/h, its limbs are one of its most powerful weapons.
With a strongly hooked beak, it is a formidable hunter that can shatter an enemy’s skull with a vertical strike.
__________________________
“Kiieeeeeek!”
The terror bird emitted a roar reminiscent of an eagle.
Flapping its wings, which were incapable of flight, it puffed its feathers to intimidate me.
Indeed, it was impressive.
With that roar and size, it would likely intimidate most prey right from the start.
“Grrrrrrrrr…”
But that wouldn’t work on me.
I need to show it what a real roar is.
“Ggegegegeggk!”
Come on, two pieces of chicken.
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