NOVEL WEB EP.25
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The 【Green Basilisk】 can evolve into:
1. 【Green Iguana】
2. 【Marine Iguana】
3. 【Large Armored Lizard】
4. 【Water Dragon Lizard】 (Requires ‘Little Dragon Ascending Step’, consumed fragment of advanced inner pill)
5. 【King Crocodile Lizard】 (Requires ‘Dragon Claw Technique’, consumed fragment of advanced inner pill)
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I have two choices given to me.
The Water Dragon Lizard and the King Crocodile Lizard.
With “king” in their names, it’s clear these creatures are near the pinnacle of the lizard tech tree.
I’m troubled.
Both must have their pros and cons, but I couldn’t recall them clearly.
Wait, now that I think about it, my wild eye level has increased.
Should I take a look?
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【Water Dragon Lizard】
This gigantic lizard typically grows to 1.5 to 2 meters and can reach up to 3.5 meters in length.
The weight can go up to 50kg for males.
This lizard is accustomed to swimming and can dig tunnels or climb trees with its sharp claws.
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Good.
It seems to be a creature crafted from the strengths of all the lizards I’ve seen so far.
There’s a reason it’s named the king.
That’s the Water Dragon Lizard; now, how about the crocodile side?
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【King Crocodile Lizard】
This giant lizard typically grows to 1.5 to 2.5 meters and can grow up to 4 meters, though its tail constitutes two-thirds of its total body length.
The weight can go up to 15kg for males.
It primarily inhabits trees, possessing sharp claws, and its teeth resemble those of theropods.
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This one is also quite commendable. While it’s longer than the Water Dragon Lizard, overall, it has a smaller body mass.
The length is somewhat inflated due to its tail. In terms of weight alone, there’s over a threefold difference compared to the Water Dragon Lizard.
The weight class is indeed lacking.
However, what stands out here are the teeth and claws.
Especially the teeth, which are reminiscent of theropods.
If we solely consider offensive power, it would likely be a step above the Water Dragon Lizard.
Still, one cannot ignore the weight class difference, so if these two were to fight, the Water Dragon Lizard would likely emerge victorious.
But I’m not betting on who would win between the two.
I need to choose the one that better suits me, maximizing strengths while concealing weaknesses.
Sigh… This is quite a dilemma.
Had there been a Komodo as an option, this wouldn’t be a problem at all.
If I had trained in poison art, would I have been able to evolve into a Komodo?
The Komodo Lizard is something else entirely.
The English names for the others would be Water Monitor and Crocodile Monitor, I suppose.
Here, “monitor” refers to a watcher.
What are they watching?
They watch over their competitive rivals and the natural enemies, the crocodiles.
Taking advantage of the absence of parents, they break eggs to eliminate future competitors, which is one of the survival strategies of the king monitors.
Because of this, they precisely know when crocodiles are absent, allowing indigenous people to tell whether there are crocodiles present by observing king monitors.
That’s why they have the nickname “monitor.”
A watcher. It sounds somewhat cool at first glance.
However, it wasn’t on the level of a Komodo.
Why?
Because this creature is called the Komodo Dragon.
Though both are monitor lizards, they are not of the same caliber.
Unlike the Bearded Dragon, the Komodo feels genuinely dragon-like due to its size and strength. Plus, it possesses venom.
It’s regrettable, but these king monitors aren’t bad either.
Now it’s time to choose.
Will I go for the bigger-bodied Water Dragon Lizard, or the lighter, more offensive King Crocodile Lizard?
My choice is…
The ‘King Crocodile Lizard.’
The reason for picking the King Crocodile Lizard is simple.
Currently, I live bipedally.
Whether in combat or when I need to run quickly, evolving into a Water Dragon Lizard might make it difficult to run on two feet.
I could lose balance for a time losing the Basilisk’s long tail.
In contrast, the King Crocodile Lizard seemed like a more fleshed-out version of the Basilisk.
This means I can carry over my previous combat style.
Covering weaknesses to maximize strengths.
There was no reason to choose anything other than the King Crocodile Lizard.
Crack.
A white egg enveloped my entire body.
Pop!
It began.
As if every bone in my body was being replaced by new ones, I quickly grew.
Crack.
This was incomparable to the Gecko Lizard.
As my physique grew larger, the growth of my bones was also progressing rapidly.
Snap!
Layer by layer, flesh and skin enveloped me.
And finally, the last layer to cover me was none other than scales.
The scales of the King Crocodile Lizard—like armor—were something I hadn’t had before as a Basilisk.
Crash!
The egg that encased me shattered.
[Congratulations! The 【Green Basilisk】 has evolved into the 【King Crocodile Lizard】.]
【King Crocodile Lizard LV1】
HP: 200/200
MP: 50/50
【Title】
“Beloved by Spiders”
As I licked my tongue, I emerged from the egg.
I was overflowing with strength.
It felt as if my vision had changed completely.
Looking from a height, this cave felt different.
Status window, is there anything I may have forgotten?
[“Wall Climbing LV 5” will evolve into “Wall Climbing Technique.”]
Well, at least they’re giving me something.
Though it feels a bit stingy compared to my first evolution, I’ll make good use of it.
The evolution has concluded.
Now, the first thing I need to do is—
Satisfy my ravenous hunger.
I greedily gulped down the eggshell nearest to me.
Crack!
Though little of the egg white remained, it was still quite a delicacy.
I’ve replenished some calories, but it’s still insufficient to fill me up.
The appetizer is done, so it’s time for the main course.
What’s today’s meal?
Millipede (Upper), Millipede (Lower) double mix!
Whoever prepared this did a lovely job cutting it in half.
The millipede that looked so large now seems small.
It’s because my size has increased significantly.
Before the evolution, I was about 70cm.
With a tail measuring around 50cm, I could say my body length was about 20cm.
Now, I’m at least 1.5m. While the tail takes up a significant proportion, it’s undeniably large. My body has also thickened considerably.
Chomp.
Munch, munch.
The sound of my eating has changed remarkably.
The shell of the millipede, which used to be tough to break, crumbled easily.
While the creature’s death played a part, the increase in my grip and bite strength was probably the main reason.
Crack.
Gulp.
Crack.
Gulp.
Even after devouring the entire millipede feast, I still felt hungry.
However, it wasn’t dire enough to starve, so I needed to address the next urgent matter.
Splash, splash.
With a grand sound, I crawled over to the water puddle.
The stagnant water was somewhat off-putting to drink, but since I’m immune to toxins, there shouldn’t be any issues.
Gulp, gulp.
As I quenched my thirst, I caught a faint reflection of myself in the water puddle.
Is that really me?
My bright green skin has turned into a dark teal.
It might be due to the lighting, but it’s undoubtedly darker than before.
The color of my eyes has also shifted closer to blue.
My protruding teeth now look quite fearsome.
I could say I’m now at a level where I can flex some authority.
Let me produce a solemn roar fitting for this appearance.
“Gekekek!”
…Huh?
*
I was worried I might have become a Gecko King Lizard, but that was just my imagination.
Because I had made that sound so often, it had become a habit.
I can produce other sounds as well.
“Grrrr…”
…That’s a bit off.
It sounds somewhat zombie-like.
“Roar!”
What is this?
No, it doesn’t matter if my roar sounds strange.
I am the King Crocodile Lizard.
Nothing can stand against the King Crocodile Lizard.
I’ve become the sovereign of this cave.
Though I still haven’t found the exit, I can definitely scale the cave walls.
Swing!
Look at my claws.
With these claws, there’s no way I won’t escape.
Of course, these claws are merely a supplementary means.
The key is the martial skill I obtained during my evolution, the Wall Climbing Technique.
The original name of the Wall Climbing Technique is “Gecko Wall Climbing Technique.”
It means something like“the tiger climbs the wall.”
…this is what people seem to think.
This martial art does not refer to the movement of a tiger.
While “ho” does mean tiger, “byeokho” has another meaning.
What “byeokho” actually refers to is the Gecko Lizard.
“Gekek!”
The Wall Climbing Technique is a technique that allows me to cling to walls like a Gecko Lizard.
In other words, this technique is tailored for me.
At any moment, I can escape this cave.
Of course, I had no intention of escaping just yet.
If I head out that entrance, I’ll be right in the swamp. And that means I’ll encounter a Cayman.
At least, I need to formulate a plan to catch a Cayman after I’ve become accustomed to this body.
There are several places in this cave that I haven’t explored.
One is presumed to be a Titanoboa’s nest, and the other is the exit of the cave.
I avoided the former due to the danger, and I couldn’t go to the latter because I didn’t know its location.
And there’s one more location.
The strand I caught when I fell from up there.
That strand is too ambiguous to be considered something natural.
This cave itself is a peculiar place. There are murals depicting martial arts, a very powerful woman appears, and an Imugi lurks within this space.
There must be something at the location where I found that strand.
Alright, let’s check it out.
“Gekek!”
….
“Roar!”
Tatadat!
I quickly climbed up the wall at a rapid pace.
My sharp claws pierced the rocks like tofu.
Thanks to the peculiar adhesion from the Wall Climbing Technique, scaling the wall wasn’t a problem at all.
Crack.
Chomp.
After climbing for a while, I noticed something that resembled the strand I saw back then.
It was thread.
And multicolored thread at that.
I swiftly leaped to the spot where the thread was.
Thud.
There was another cave leading from that place.
A thick stone door obstructed the entrance to the cave, making it look difficult to enter.
…Seeing the state of this place, I found that I didn’t particularly want to go inside anymore.
Multicolored threads and straw dolls were scattered here and there, with talismans plastered all over the stone door.
Hmm. It feels like touching this would lead to something strange happening.
It seems like they would probably cast a curse or something.
But since I’ve come all this way, how about just looking with my eyes?
What could possibly happen, right?
Even while thinking that, I kept my distance thoroughly.
The reason I, as the King Crocodile Lizard, maintained distance wasn’t out of fear; it’s simply a mandatory virtue to ensure safety.
At first glance, there were Han characters written everywhere.
I could barely read them.
The only thing I could occasionally comprehend was about three or four characters like “sky.”
Could that possibly be the character for “poison”?
Good.
I’ve seen all I wanted to see.
Again, I must emphasize that this isn’t out of fear.
How could I possibly enter when the stone door is firmly closed?
Creeeak.
The stone door opened.
…What’s wrong with you?
I’m scared.
No, but I do have a sense of danger, after all.
If this thing isn’t saying anything, it must be fine.
Shall I just sneak in for a quick look?
Turning around, I slowly inserted my long tail.
Despite wriggling around for a while, there was no particular reaction.
Alright. Let’s go inside.
This must surely be some serendipity.
As soon as I entered the cave, my brows furrowed.
There were countless corpses of insects inside.
It showed clearly that a lot of time had passed since they were sealed.
Rather, it might be a good thing; I won’t have to worry about fighting and can just snack on whichever leftovers are inside.
I wonder what might be waiting for me.
I hope there are spiritual medicine and low Qi.
It’s about time for me to have one.
While I was imagining such bliss, something pale caught my eye.
Specifically, it was something slim that was growing on the backs of these insects.
…Mushrooms?
Why are mushrooms growing on these creatures’ backs?
Kiiiiiiiiik.
Thud.
The stone door closed.
And at that very moment.
“Kiyeeeeeek!”
The fallen insects began to rise.