Chapter 22 Until Next Time.
“Little lizard, do you understand now?”
Baek Yeonyeong stood in a pool of blood, looking down at me loftily.
“Of course, your body is different from a human’s. Internal energy techniques created by humans don’t suit you. The same goes for martial arts.”
She truly exuded a tyrannical aura close to that of a master.
“Follow what I showed you but make it your own.”
In a word.
Amazing.
My eyes sparkled involuntarily.
[「Dragon Claws」 acquired.]
The world, Dragon Claws.
I’d been begging to learn an offensive technique, and now, thanks to that woman, I got it.
Sorry, Shaolin teachers, for badmouthing you without knowing.
I really like headbutting dinosaurs.
Seeing Baek Yeonyeong’s lush hair, it seemed there were no side effects like hair loss from mastering Dragon Claws. It meant I could use it with peace of mind.
Moreover, the Nine Yin White Bone Claws she demonstrated.
It was truly an extraordinary technique.
To kill that gigantic white snake in a single strike.
I spread my front paw slightly.
If I mastered that, could I become as strong as her?
Of course, just seeing it once didn’t mean I could replicate the Nine Yin White Bone Claws.
Still, I could use the Dragon Claws.
I must have been able to use it because I clumsily tried to mimic it in my battle with the small snake and then saw the perfected version with my own eyes.
If I worked hard, I could undoubtedly use the Nine Yin White Bone Claws one day too.
Both Dragon Claws and Nine Yin White Bone Claws were martial arts executed with the hands, after all.
If I trained with Dragon Claws as the foundation and gained enlightenment, I could become as strong as Baek Yeonyeong.
「Dragon Claws」
A technique that seizes the enemy with dragon’s claws. It combines the subtleties of fist, palm, and finger techniques, making it adaptable to any situation.
This was martial arts.
Soaring Dragon’s Ascension Step was a good martial art too, but it was a footwork technique, which was somewhat unsatisfactory.
Finally, a proper offensive technique.
Dragon’s claws.
It’s perfect for describing me.
I’ve got both the Dragon’s steps and the Dragon’s claws.
I worried I might evolve from a Green Basilisk into a Green Dragon.
“Gekgek….”
“Are you listening to me?”
I am.
You’re saying Dragon Claws is an amazing technique.
A wave of emotion similar to when I first saw a dinosaur washed over me.
The difference was that I had almost died back then, but now, thanks to this martial art, I survived.
Baek Yeonyeong sighed and lightly extended her hand.
Fwoosh.
Flames rose from her hand.
Given the level of internal energy she displayed, it was reasonable to think this fire was the Three Flame Purification.
Three Flame Purification.
Another piece of dazzling information.
If I could handle that, wouldn’t I be able to cook food with fire?
I might even evolve into something like a Salamander.
…Since it’s a martial arts world, maybe not.
But why did she suddenly bring that out?
Was she going to cook the snake meat?
Cooked meat, she knew how to eat well.
I should stick close and get a few pieces.
Baek Yeonyeong put her hand on the Titanoboa’s corpse.
Fwoosh.
The flames of the Three Flame Purification spread to the Titanoboa’s body.
The fierce flames engulfed the Imoogi’s body.
…She wasn’t lighting it to eat.
“Gekgekgek!”
Why are you burning such a precious thing!
Those flames were meant to incinerate.
The Titanoboa was level 50.
Moreover, it had evolved from that state.
If I ate even a piece of that meat, I could become immensely stronger.
It was like the level-up candy from games.
I quickly ran to Baek Yeonyeong’s side.
“Gekgek.”
No matter what I said, she didn’t look at me.
Reluctantly, I touched her thigh with my tail.
“Little lizard, why do you act like this?”
Baek Yeonyeong turned to look at me sharply.
I flinched under her gaze.
To be honest, I was scared of this woman.
Anyone possessing this level of power would be frightening.
In terms of strength alone, she was closer to a non-human entity than Caiman or Titanoboa.
Even so, it was too wasteful to give up the Titanoboa’s meat.
Since she was going to burn it anyway, there was a perfectly good scavenger here.
I was small, but I could eat it all.
I wagged my tail earnestly.
Who knows, maybe she’d throw me a piece of meat.
It wasn’t the time to care about pride.
Tap tap tap.
“Do you want to eat that? Imoogi meat is inedible. Even more so for one that failed to become a dragon and ended up like this.”
I’m fine thanks to the Ten Thousand Poisons Immunity.
…Won’t Ten Thousand Poisons Immunity work?
I had no choice but to suck my fingers.
The power of the Three Flame Purification was indeed remarkable.
If it were an ordinary fire, it would take a long time to burn that large body, but it quickly turned to ashes.
Among the ashes, a large bead remained.
It was an incredibly familiar object.
A black sphere mixed with white.
[Top-grade Core]
A core. And it even had the adjective top-grade.
Drool dripped from my mouth.
“Do you want it?”
I nodded eagerly.
If I got that core, I could do anything.
“You’re greedy. You still have things inside you that haven’t been digested, yet you want more.”
There are undigested things inside me?
If I had to guess, it was probably the fragment of Caiman’s core.
Even if it was a fragment, it was a high-grade one.
I didn’t feel my internal energy increase when I ate it.
In other words, it was still undigested inside my body.
“This isn’t something I need right now, but it’s not useless either.”
She meant she’d take it.
“Gek….”
It made sense since she was the one who killed it.
If she’d left even a piece of meat, I wouldn’t feel so regretful.
“Even if you were given this core now, you wouldn’t be able to digest it. Maybe when you grow more. I’ll check next time we meet.”
Oh.
Does that mean there’s still a chance?
“Gekgek.”
Yeah.
Even if it’s just words, it’s something.
But wait, next time we meet?
I climbed onto Baek Yeonyeong’s foot.
I wrapped my tail around her calf and thigh.
Baek Yeonyeong looked down at me quietly.
“…What are you doing?”
Isn’t this the part where you take me with you?
I reincarnated as a lizard in a martial arts world but get picked up and pampered by an SSS-class beautiful girl.
Isn’t that the plot?
Baek Yeonyeong grabbed me by the scruff of my neck and dropped me to the ground.
I lifted my head slightly and watched her.
She seemed somewhat angry for some reason.
That wouldn’t be good.
If this woman bore any hostility, I’d be dead.
“Gekgek.”
I had to negotiate somehow.
I wagged my tail as a sign to take me with her.
Baek Yeonyeong grabbed me under my armpits and lifted me up.
Her blue eyes stared into mine.
“Little lizard.”
Yeah, it seems like you’re considering taking me with you!
“Is it truly your wish to grow up in my care?”
…….
It felt like I got hit on the head with something hard.
Was it because she was the first person I met since coming to this world?
Or because she was a pretty girl?
Or maybe because she had the strongest power of anyone I’d seen?
Why did I have such a stupid thought?
“Lizard. Little lizard.”
Remember.
Why did I fall to the bottom of this cave?
“Is that truly your desire?”
Because I ran away.
I fled pathetically, crying, because I couldn’t beat Caiman.
It was because I was weak.
And even now, I was trying to run away.
I clenched my fist.
A lizard’s hand wasn’t structured to make a fist.
My claws dug into my flesh.
Blood dripped down.
It wasn’t the time to be leisurely and complacent.
What if this woman hadn’t been kind to me?
What if I had met the adult Titanoboa before meeting her?
What if I hadn’t found the crevice in the rock when being chased by Caiman?
What if the Oviraptor had eaten me along with the egg?
It was all a series of coincidences and luck that kept me alive.
I survived because the opponent made mistakes, I was lucky, the timing was right, or the person’s nature wasn’t bad.
None of this had my will in it.
If someone else had been in
this situation, they would have survived up to this point too.
This world wasn’t kind.
There were countless opponents stronger than me.
Even Caiman paled in comparison to this woman.
And I ran away from such a creature.
At the very least, I had to defeat that creature with my own hands.
If I couldn’t, I would never move forward again.
I looked at Baek Yeonyeong with fierce determination.
What was in my eyes was a resolute will and ambition.
“Gekgek.”
I won’t run away anymore.
“Huhuh.”
Was my vision wrong?
Baek Yeonyeong’s face showed an expression.
Not a false smile, but a genuine one that looked pleased.
It was very brief, but I definitely saw it.
“Admirable.”
Baek Yeonyeong, who had briefly smiled, put me down on the ground.
“Little lizard, I have a feeling we’ll meet again soon.”
Yeah.
We will meet again.
Until then, keep that core safe for me.
I raised my forelegs in a gesture of respect.
To ask her to take care of the core.
“Aha! What are you mimicking with those tiny hands?”
Baek Yeonyeong stopped laughing.
She made a fist with one hand and spread the other, accepting my gesture of respect.
“Good. Coming to the Silver Dragon Cave was more fruitful than I expected.”
Silver Dragon Cave?
Is that what this place is called?
“Little lizard, I look forward to the moment you break free from your small vessel.”
With those words, Baek Yeonyeong vanished instantly.
It was like she hid in the shadows.
She moved so fast I couldn’t even see it.
Is that what distinguishes a master?
I had a new goal.
Baek Yeonyeong.
That woman is my goal.
But it’s impossible to reach her level immediately.
I need a smaller goal.
The one who caused me to fall here,
Piranha Caiman.
I steeled my resolve.
Now, all that was left for me was training.
In this pitch-black cave with no light, until I could defeat Caiman.
I would gnaw on insect carcasses and build my strength.
….
…Wait, couldn’t she have at least taken me out of here?
Or told me where the entrance was?
Did she think I was from this damp cave?
Where’s a cave lizard that looks like me!
“Gekgekgek!”
Come back!
Take me out!
Or at least show me the way!
I can train outside too.
I mean, no matter how strong I get here, I can’t catch Caiman.
Wouldn’t I just end up growing big like that Imoogi and hiding in this cave?
“Gekgek!”
Baek Yeonyeong, who had already disappeared, couldn’t answer.
Rustle rustle.
Only other creatures responded.
The loud noise from Baek Yeonyeong and Titanoboa’s battle.
And the void left by the disappearance of the overwhelming presence of Baek Yeonyeong.
It could be understood as two powerful beings fighting, with one dead.
Just like the thoughts of the insects flocking here.
“…Gek.”
To survive in this cave, I would have to feast on the bodies of fallen predators.
They’re really gathering.
But there’s no Imoogi corpse here.
Baek Yeonyeong disappeared a long time ago.
All that’s left is one little lizard.
This is an opportunity.
Don’t mistake me for the old Green Basilisk.
I’m the Basilisk who learned Dragon Claws.
Baek Yeonyeong’s direct disciple, the Green Basilisk.
“Gekgek!”
Come at me, insects.
…But your numbers keep increasing?