Chapter 40 Sichuan Tang Clan
“Listen. It would be beneficial for you to come to me, in many ways.”
“Kieek!”
“Put aside your old grudges and let’s think about this rationally. Consider the size difference between you and Mr. Go.”
“Kieek….”
“If you return to the clan, I’ll personally ensure your complete transformation….”
What on earth are you talking about?
Since when did you become so friendly?
“Kiek!”
Tus, who had been quietly listening to their conversation, waved her hand.
“Oh, you’re here…. Huh? What’s that in your mouth!”
Tang So-yeong pointed at the Deinonychus in my mouth.
“This, this is…. It’s the one we saw before….”
Tang So-yeong, in a flurry, began to explain about the Deinonychus.
Her explanation wasn’t the kind of useful information like my status window.
She was going on about how she encountered the Deinonychus yesterday, how intelligent it was, and how she managed to escape using a smoke bomb.
Yeah, totally useless information.
“Indeed, Aunt is amazing….”
Tang So-yeong’s fuss ended as always with praise for Aunt.
“Mr. Go. Would it be okay if I handled the cooking?”
I looked at her frail body.
She was going to handle this large piece of meat with that weak body?
There’s a reason why the Dragon Claws are the Dragon Claws.
“Just trust me. I’ll repay the grace you’ve shown me with the best dish. Besides, I’m confident in handling poisonous meat.”
Tang So-yeong took out a wooden container from her chest.
Clink.
This sound was familiar from somewhere.
Tang So-yeong opened the lid and showed me the contents.
A white powder with no color or odor.
Could it be salt?
“Gekgek!”
Proceed immediately!
From today, I’ll leave the cooking to Tang So-yeong.
I crouched down and watched her cooking skills.
She cut the large Deinonychus into appropriate sizes.
Removing the skin was a tough job, so I helped a little with the Dragon Claws.
Now, all that was visible were delicious-looking chunks of meat.
In reality, the only cooking method available here was grilling.
That meant directly cooking the meat over a bonfire.
If I used my head a bit, skewering might be an option.
But Tang So-yeong used her head quite a lot.
Sizzle.
On the bonfire was a sword.
It was the sword I had picked up.
She placed the thinly sliced meat on the hot side of the sword.
Sssss.
Then she sprinkled white salt, like snow, over it.
Since the meat was thinly sliced, it cooked very quickly.
Tang So-yeong moved the well-cooked meat to a leaf bowl.
I licked my tongue, waiting until the cooking was finished.
Today’s meal?
Deinonychus Salt Mix!
“Geggek!”
I had a good eye for people.
It was a good decision to bring her along.
Tang So-yeong.
I’ll place you at rank 2 of the people I’ve met here.
Don’t get too complacent though, it might change anytime, so keep up the good work.
As I was enjoying the taste of the salted meat.
“Mr. Go. Can we talk for a moment?”
“Gekgek.”
I nodded my head vigorously.
After making such good food, of course.
“I have a request.”
Oh, you want me to remove the poison?
Go ahead, take it.
If you want, I could even give you one of my molts.
“Would you mind leaving these spiders to me?”
Huh?
“Kieek?”
That wasn’t what I expected.
“…I think I should explain why these spiders are reacting this way.”
Alright, let’s hear what she has to say.
“Have you heard of ‘Black Poison’?”
I nodded.
“Actually, these spiders were meant to be used as materials for Black Poison.”
I looked at Tus and Pus.
Seeing them slightly trembling, it seemed they had a conversation with Tang So-yeong before I arrived.
“I can’t say I’m unrelated to it, but I didn’t want to make Black Poison. Instead, I argued it would be better to naturally raise them to become human-faced spiders.”
That’s a good idea.
But it wouldn’t have been accepted.
Tus and Pus were still wary of her.
“It wasn’t accepted. They said it was beyond my authority. So these spiders were soon to be put into a jar.”
“Kieeeng….”
Pus trembled, recalling that time.
“But then, an intruder broke into the clan. They stole various elixirs and spirit creatures stored in the clan. Among them was the container with these spiders.”
“Kieek!”
“From the tiger-like spider to these little spiders here. Thanks to that, there are no more spiders in the clan now.”
So, these spiders escaped after leaving the clan.
They were very lucky.
“But encountering some of these spiders in the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains feels like fate.”
Did they come all the way to the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains?
Quite a distance….
Wait, the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains?
This place is the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains?
Why are you telling me this now?
“So, I want to take these spiders with me. Now that spiders have become rare, they won’t even think of using them for Black Poison. I’ll take responsibility and raise them. These kids have talent.”
So, she recognized the talent of Tus and Pus and wanted to take them?
“It’s not easy for a normal spider to become a human-faced spider. Evolution. Or perhaps transformation is a better term.”
Transformation, huh. That’s a very cool word.
“If they create a core and continue to build their internal energy, the species itself can change.”
Yeah. I’ve experienced it twice.
“…This is a general transformation. I mean, when it comes to spirit creatures. Humans need a more special process, like enlightenment.”
It’s not just a click on the status window?
I felt a bit guilty.
“If there’s a general transformation, then there must be another way too. You could call it a true transformation.”
“When emotions reach their peak. Whether it be anger, sadness, or joy. When it reaches its extreme, there are cases where the species changes.”
This was quite valuable information.
“The best among them is when there’s something to protect.”
Sounds like something out of a shonen manga.
“These spiders have higher intelligence than any other spirit creature I’ve seen. Ah, except for Mr. Go. Higher intelligence means they can feel emotions well. In other words, they have a very high potential for transformation.”
I understood what she was saying.
Currently, spiders are rare in the clan.
Besides, Tus and Pus had a high likelihood of becoming a spiritual creature, or in other words, they were candidates for such a status.
Tang So-yeong planned to take Tus and Pus to the Tang family to make them spiritual creatures.
The intention was good.
It might have been an attempt to make up for the mistake of losing Dilopo, but if you only listen to the story, it seemed beneficial for Tus and Pus as well.
“Grrrr….”
But I couldn’t send them.
How could I give away the ones I had raised?
And how could I trust and send our precious Tus and Pus to the Tang family?
Frankly, they could just shut their mouths and put them in a jar as soon as they arrived at Tang family.
No way.
I would raise Tus and Pus myself.
“Keeeng!”
Tus and Pus gathered around my front legs.
Even if it hurts to put you in my eyes… well, it might hurt a bit, but I still couldn’t give you up.
You don’t want to study abroad, do you?
This swamp is so nice, isn’t it?
“Kieeng…!”
Yeah, yeah.
“The spiders also seem to dislike going for now. But please reconsider. Ultimately, we have to solve the size difference too….”
Huh?
What did she mean by size difference?
“Kieeng….”
Why were you embarrassed?
There seemed to be some misunderstanding.
I didn’t know. Anyway, explaining wouldn’t make them understand, so let’s just eat meat.
Crunch crunch.
*
After finishing our meal, the four of us – no, three creatures and one person – were basking in the sun at our nest.
Campfires were nice, but sunlight was the best.
“Huaaam… I find it hard to understand your training methods, but they seem to be somewhat effective….”
Tang So-yeong yawned loudly.
Tus and Pus, seemingly drowsy, stuck close to Tang So-yeong and were dozing off.
When did they become so close?
Wait, could this be Tang So-yeong’s trick?
Gaining the spiders’ favor when I wasn’t around, and then taking them later.
Letting the spiders make the decision, Tus and Pus would choose Tang So-yeong, and I’d become a sad Crocodile King Lizard losing custody.
Outrageous.
Chomp.
“Kyaa! It’s wet! …But it feels somewhat comfortable.”
After giving Tang So-yeong a blow, I rolled my body around.
A nice smell came from somewhere.
It smelled somewhat like honey.
Shriek.
I flicked my tongue to amplify the scent.
“Mmm…. It smells good….”
“Keeeng….”
It seemed that Tang So-yeong and the spiders also noticed the smell.
It was a pleasant scent that made me feel drowsy.
I had eaten, the weather was warm, so I thought about taking a nap.
Lying down right after eating was supposed to make you gain weight, but on the contrary, it could increase my size.
No reason not to do it.
…The smell was really nice.
I wanted to keep smelling this scent.
….
[「Crisis Detection LV7」 level has increased.] I felt the scales all over my body standing on end.
I opened my eyes immediately.
【Dilophosaurus LV35】
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【Dilophosaurus】
A medium-sized carnivorous dinosaur with a body length of 7 meters and a weight of about 400 kg.
Though its gums were small compared to its sharp and long teeth, its tooth roots were wide, making its dental structure sturdy.
It was a ruthless predator that slaughtered its prey with sharp teeth and long arms.
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“Grrr!”
I made a loud noise, but Tang So-yeong and the spiders showed no signs of waking up.
Did they say it used poison?
The sweet smell from earlier was the poison.
If I weren’t immune to all poisons, I would have been affected too.
…It didn’t seem to be a life-threatening type of poison.
I should consider it a kind of sleeping agent.
Its purpose was to make us lose consciousness.
To eat us alive, perhaps.
“Grrrr….”
I growled lowly, directing it towards the creature.
“Grrr….”
Its red eyes glared at me fiercely.
My heart pounded.
I had underestimated the Dilophosaurus.
In the movies, they were no bigger than a Deinonychus, so I hadn’t paid much attention.
Seeing it in person, I realized it was just a movie.
It wasn’t like a Deinonychus, but more comparable to a Baryonyx.
“Kieek….”
It pointed its tail at Tang So-yeong.
Then shook its head a couple of times.
“Krrrk krrk….”
It seemed to be talking to me.
Predators don’t fight each other.
Even if they win, if they get injured, they could die next time.
The creature thought I wasn’t an easy target to bring down without getting hurt.
With its main weapon, poison, neutralized, it would want to avoid the fight more.
“Grrrrk….”
The Dilophosaurus kept pointing at Tang So-yeong.
Its business was with that woman, and it wanted to go its way.
There was no need to shed blood.
It was just prey, after all.
…I didn’t want to fight it either.
It was definitely strong.
It reminded me of the Baryonyx I had seen from afar.
It evoked the same feelings I had when I first saw the Caiman.
If I could just take care of Tus and Pus, retreating wasn’t a bad option.
After all, Tang So-yeong wasn’t that deeply connected with me.
We had only known each other for a little over a day.
If I weighed my life against Tang So-yeong’s, of course, my life came first.
Abandoning her would feel a bit uncomfortable, but nothing was more important than my life.
However.
I couldn’t retreat.
It wasn’t because I wanted to save that woman.
It was to keep my vow of never running away again.
“Grrrrrr….”
And.
I was the master of this swamp.
Dilophosaurus.
I would make it understand its place.