Chapter 13 I Worship D.O.A.T
I am the Green Basilisk.
A three-day-old lizard.
Since it’s been three days since I came here, it’s safe to say I am three days old. In fact, it has only been three days since I hatched from the egg.
The spiders in front of me, hugging each other and crying, are older than me.
They are just smaller in size, not younger in age.
I had no idea how they survived this harsh world.
Even I had narrowly escaped death several times.
Smack!
I hit the still-breathing water beetle with my tail to finish it off.
The spiders, frightened, slowly backed away.
“Geck geck.”
I inserted my claws into the flattened beetle’s shell.
Rip.
I dismembered the beetle’s meat piece by piece with my claws.
Hmm, shouldn’t I get some martial arts skill for this?
It would be nice to get something like the Guum Baekgoljo technique.
“Kiee….”
The trembling creatures started to sniff the air, enticed by the smell of meat.
Instead of handing the beetle’s flesh to them, I dropped it into the water.
“Hiek!”
The smaller one played dead while the larger one jumped in surprise.
They seemed to think I was teasing them.
There was a simple reason for dropping the beetle into the water. The meat had a unique stench.
If you can endure it, it’s edible. A human wouldn’t be able to eat it, but I’ve adapted somewhat to a lizard’s sense of taste.
However, the meat had an almost toxic component that might have had adverse effects on the spiders.
The reason I ate it without washing it was that I hoped to gain some poison-related skill.
“Kioong…!”
Before I knew it, the spider that had pretended to be dead was clapping its thick front legs as if applauding.
Hmm, this one knows how to flatter.
I handed over the cleaned beetle meat.
Tus and Pus began eating the beetle meat voraciously.
“Kieee!”
They exclaimed as if it was delicious.
The sight was so unfamiliar to me.
I was only three days old, but my life had been a series of struggles.
Being chased by Oviraptors, stealing prey from giant spiders.
Fighting ant armies and hunting piranhas.
Getting beaten by toads and turtles.
To someone like me, who had lived such an intense life, the reactions of these small spiders felt refreshing.
“Gegek.”
“Kioong?”
Not because they looked fresh, but because it was a sight I hadn’t seen in a long time.
…Not that they could understand me.
I quietly observed the spiders eating the beetle.
These spiders, namely Tus and Pus, honestly, were quite cute.
They were spiders, but they didn’t quite look like the spiders I knew.
Their overall structure, their eyes looked kind.
Sometimes, they even shook their bodies rhythmically, looking harmless.
Compared to the spider I saw on the tree, these guys were like fairies.
I wondered how that one was doing.
My psychological barriers had probably lowered due to the bond I had formed with Nephila Jurassica.
Before I knew it, they had finished eating the beetle and were looking at me with bright eyes.
“Kiing!”
This fresh feeling.
It was similar to what I felt when I massacred aphids.
“Geck geck.”
“Keek!”
When I let out the cry of a gecko lizard, they were overjoyed.
They looked at me as if I were an idol.
…Not that I had ever felt such a gaze before.
But even receiving it from spiders felt fortunate.
I was now practically an idol in the spider world.
Since the proud Nephila Jurassica acknowledged me, it was no surprise that these small spiders liked me.
A charming lizard. A man who attracted spiders just by standing still.
…….
Is that a good thing?
While watching the spiders’ antics for a while, I devised a plan.
The few friendly creatures I had.
Even if I didn’t travel with them, it would be reasonable to use what I could.
In other words, I should engage in temporary symbiosis.
Tus and Pus.
These two spiders were of different species.
Pus spun webs, while Tus, like a tarantula, used poison.
Their roles didn’t overlap.
“Keeek!”
I wiggled my hands and called the spiders.
At first, they tilted their heads, but soon they understood my actions and crawled over to me.
Good.
1. Lift Pus.
“Keek?”
Shhh!
I extracted Pus’s web in one go.
“Kieeek!”
Startled, it began to struggle.
Tus covered its face with both hands, as if seeing something it shouldn’t.
I continued to pull out Pus’s high-quality web, undisturbed.
“Kiiik….”
100. Put down Pus.
“Gegek.”
Guys.
Let me show you something amazing.
I waved my front arms.
Pus turned its head sharply and trembled.
Its reaction seemed a bit odd.
Did I touch it somewhere inappropriate?
I just pulled out the web, right?
…And you guys are male, right?
*
Pus’s web had a waterproof effect.
Moreover, it was as strong as other spiders’ webs, making it perfect for fishing lines.
I made a very simple form of a fishing rod.
No, it was too primitive to be called a fishing rod.
There was no rod, only a line and a hook.
I fashioned a hook from the beetle’s legs.
Waterproof spider silk.
The bait was the leftover beetle remnants.
After a moment of silence for the generous beetle, I tested the fishing line’s performance.
The results were very satisfying.
【Black Piranha LV2】
【Black Piranha LV3】
Though smaller than the one I encountered yesterday, they were the same species.
Meaning there would be no difference in taste.
“Kiooong!”
The spiders circled around me, waving their hands.
I had long surpassed the status of an idol for the spiders.
Worship.
They were worshiping me.
To these creatures, who couldn’t even hunt a single beetle, the piranha was like a bully of the area.
But a very handsome green lizard caught two piranhas with a miraculous method, so their reaction was understandable.
The spiders, who had been worshiping me for a while, seemed to want to say something, poking each other with their small legs.
Seeing their drooling mouths, they were definitely curious about the taste of the fish.
Well, since you worship me, I should reward you accordingly.
I’ll make you full with five beetles and two fish.
I quickly prepared the beetles and fish.
Thus, the special swamp set meal was complete.
Tus and Pus devoured the food without a moment’s hesitation.
You guys must have been really hungry.
Just watching you eat makes me full… Leave one piranha!
[【Arthrocofus LV4】and 【Anthracomartus LV3】worship you.]
Huh?
Do you even tell me things like this now?
When the status window tells me something like this, there’s usually something to gain.
A skill or a title.
[A faint divinity dwells within your body.]
…A faint divinity!
What does that mean?
Tell me more.
I stared at the status window, but there was no further change.
Is this it?
Didn’t you forget something?
Gosh.
Maybe because it’s a faint divinity, there’s no noticeable change.
If many beings worship me, there might be some changes….
It’s not easy.
There are no beings like humans who collectively worship someone.
Still, I saw the possibility.
If these spiders tell their offspring about me, the faint divinity might grow into a small divinity.
Tus and Pus had already finished eating all the food.
【Anthracomartus LV4】
【Status】
「Worship」「Fullness」
【Arthrocofus LV5】
【Status】
「Worship」「Fullness」
I thought I caught too much, but they ate it all.
And their levels went up.
They patted their now plump bellies.
They approached me and bowed their heads.
“Kieng.”
Nice to meet you.
The food was delicious.
We will tell your story to future generations.
I guessed they were saying something like that.
Watching them quickly crawl somewhere, I thought the nuance was about right.
Thud!
I quickly ran and caught Tus and Pus.
“Kieeek!”
Startled, they began to tremble again.
Though cute, they had no conscience.
Did they think I fed them for free?
“Gek gek!”
Repay me with your bodies.
I’ll make you pay as much as you ate.
*
Pus’s once plump belly had slimmed down.
It was because I had extracted so much of its web.
While extracting Pus’s web, Tus watched me in fear.
Though it would have been nice to turn Tus’s plump belly into web, Tus was a spider that couldn’t produce web.
But I wasn’t disappointed.
Tus had its own usefulness.
In the last battle with the ant army, I realized my vulnerability.
I was susceptible to poisoning.
Which creature wouldn’t be affected by poison, but in my case, it was especially severe.
I could overcome most other things.
Even if a dinosaur bigger than me chased me, I could escape.
But there was no way to heal from the poison inflicted by small insects like ants.
I could only hope the poison naturally wore off or level up to remove the status effect, both of which were tough.
In the former case, if the remaining poison damage exceeded my HP, I would die without a doubt.
In the latter case
, it was difficult to level up in the middle of a battle at my discretion.
I needed to find another method.
I had figured out the mechanism of my skills to some extent.
If attacked by acid, I gained acid resistance.
If stung by a paralyzing stinger, I gained paralysis resistance.
If poisoned, I would gain poison resistance.
However, despite being poisoned in the fight with the ant army, I didn’t acquire any related skill.
I believed it was due to insufficient experience, having been bitten only once.
If I repeated it several times, I would naturally gain poison resistance.
But being exposed to poison multiple times meant I could die.
There was no creature that would gently bite me to help me gain resistance.
In such a situation, I met a small venomous spider that worshiped me.
Tus.
“Gegegek.”
Are you ready?
“Hioong….”
I brought Tus’s venomous fangs to my tail.
In case any uncontrollable variables arose, I could immediately cut off my tail.
“Gek gek.”
Bite gently.
I took a deep breath and cleared my mind.
It would hurt. It would hurt a lot.
But I had no choice if I wanted to become stronger.
There’s a saying that a drop of sweat in training replaces a drop of blood in battle.
I emptied my mind and clenched my teeth.
I had the confidence to stay composed, like the general who played Go while treating his poisoned wound.
Come on, bite me!
Crunch!
“Geeeeek!”