The pale white hand, tinged with a faint blush, was nothing short of perfection, truly deserving of the term seomseomoksoo—delicate, jade-like hands.

Her eyes were like a deep, bottomless lake, appearing emotionless yet holding a depth that was impossible to measure. At a glance, her gaze might seem sharp, or even cold, but that only added to her beauty.

Under her eye was a small mole, which brought to mind the old idiom huarongjeomjeong—the final touch that completes a masterpiece. Just like how drawing the dragon's eye brings the painting to life, it felt like that tear-shaped mole was what turned this woman from an artwork into a living person. Her appearance was almost otherworldly, as though each bold and delicate line had been carefully crafted, resulting in a masterpiece.

If I had to compare, she was like an ink wash painting.

Yes, her flowing hair was like a waterfall painted with rich black ink.

Had I ever seen someone this beautiful in my life?

If I had to choose the most beautiful person in the world, I would pick her without hesitation.

Of course, she was the only person I'd seen since arriving here, so there wasn’t much competition.

Despite the long description of her looks, my situation could be summarized in a single sentence.

A person had appeared in front of me.

A human, and not just any human—a woman.

A very beautiful woman at that.

"Gehgegek!"

Hello.

I may look like a lizard, but I’m actually a human.

I ended up like this because I posted a picture of a Spinosaurus in a maid outfit on a forum.

...

Not that she would understand me.

But why was a person in a place like this, in the first place?

This cave wasn’t easily accessible. I’d only reached it because the ground had collapsed.

There were a lot of strange things happening.

And hadn’t I been meditating just moments ago?

This woman had touched me, too.

Just hearing the turtle scream had inflicted internal injuries on me, yet this woman had touched me directly, and nothing had happened to her.

Why hadn’t she suffered any internal injuries?

Did I fail in my meditation?

My mind was swirling with questions.

As I was pondering all of this, the woman's lips moved.

"At first glance, your skin seems tough, but it’s surprisingly soft. And this soft, white belly... it’s plump in just the right way, making me want to keep touching it."

She was kneading my belly.

"Gehgegek!"

No matter how pretty you are, that’s not okay.

That’s a sensitive area!

"What a curious creature you are. I’ve seen many mystical beasts, but none like you."

Of course, I must be a good-looking lizard.

I mean, I even managed to charm a Nephila jurassica back in the day.

"Your face may be plain, but you do have a certain charm."

"Gek, gek!"

Just because you’re pretty doesn’t mean you can say whatever you want.

I expressed my displeasure with my entire body.

"And these small feet... why does a lizard have webbed feet?"

She was now fiddling with my front claws.

It was hard to tell whether her words were meant as compliments or insults, and being touched while hearing such strange comments was making me feel uneasy.

"And your tail is quite a sight, too. It’s thin and long, with a pleasing texture."

Now she was gently stroking my tail.

Fine.

I’ll let it go for now.

There’s not much I can do about it.

If I saw a lizard like me in front of me, I’d probably want to touch it too.

Of course, I’d probably get bitten right away.

Look at me—I haven’t bitten her even once, despite all this touching.

It’s absolutely not because my teeth are sore and I can’t open my mouth properly.

It's one thing to enjoy petting a lizard like me, but how about letting me go now?

I was starting to feel a little trapped.

"You would make excellent material for sugungsa."

A smile curled up at the corner of her lips.

Sure, whatever sugungsa is, but can you let me go first?

Wait, sugungsa?

What was sugungsa again?

...I remembered.

Sugungsa (守宮砂) is a type of cosmetic—red clay that is applied to the body. It has a unique property, similar to a martial arts version of a unicorn’s magic.

Once applied, the red clay remains on the body until the person dies, with one exception: it disappears only if the person engages in sexual activity.

It’s commonly used by the Ami Sect to verify the purity of their members.

It’s also sometimes applied to the daughters of noble families.

In short, it’s an extraordinary, high-class virginity detector.

Up to this point, it's fine.

A product friendly to unicorns.

But the key ingredient of sugungsa is...

A lizard that has been fed cinnabar.

"Gekgegegegegek!"

I thrashed about in panic.

You said you were going to keep me!

You said you were going to raise me!

Well, okay, you never said that, but you didn’t say you were going to grind me up either!

"What’s troubling you?"

The woman grabbed me by the scruff of my neck and lifted me up.

My strength drained out of me.

Dangling helplessly, I couldn’t do anything.

"Gek..."

"Gek? Gekko? Even your cries are strange."

"Geck..."

This was odd.

Why couldn’t I muster any strength?

When I faced off against Caiman, I managed to move in the end.

And this woman didn’t even look particularly strong.

She was just bigger than me.

The black-haired woman raised her other hand and pressed firmly on my belly.

"There’s so much packed into this little body. You haven’t digested most of it yet."

"Gek!"

Please don’t press there.

I just ate, you know.

"Gekgek!"

In a desperate attempt, I used the only move I had—my wailing cry.

Maybe my plea reached her, because she finally spoke the words I wanted to hear.

"Alright, I’ll put you down, but stay still."

I was getting closer to the ground.

She was definitely going to let me go.

She told me to stay still, but I had a gut feeling that this might be my only chance.

...Should I make a run for it?

Even though she subdued me with some strange technique, she didn’t seem that strong.

There’s no way she could keep up with my movement techniques.

Okay, the moment I touch the ground, I’ll run for it.

But first, I’ll just double-check something.

I focused my eyes.

[Unable to appraise the target.]

Huh?

What was that?

Unable to appraise?

I could see Caiman's level and name, though?

This was the first time I had seen a message like this since arriving here.

Is it because she’s human?

No way she’s stronger than Caiman, right?

It must be that my skill doesn’t work on humans.

...Just in case, I decided to stay put for now.

Her talk about sugungsa was probably just some kind of bad martial artist joke.

It would be easier to believe if she said she was going to eat me.

"Gek!"

I gave her my best puppy-dog eyes.

"What’s with that face? Ho. Seems you know what sugungsa is."

Something was off.

Why was she talking as if I could understand her?

"You even know how to meditate in lotus position, so it’s not strange for you to understand sugungsa."

Ah, so she saw me meditating.

Well then, treat me better.

I’m a rare lizard, after all.

"In that case, the scars on that snake were no coincidence."

The woman pointed to the snake bones I had left behind after eating.

I had eaten everything edible, so there was barely any flesh left. What could she be seeing?

"Crude as it is, those marks couldn’t have been left by a lizard’s movements alone."

"Gek!"

I was shocked.

She figured that out just by looking at the bones?

Was it because she saw me meditating?

"Did you imitate the drawings on the wall?"

Her blue eyes were staring into mine.

They were deep, so deep that I couldn’t see the bottom.

A massive pressure, like a tidal wave, pressed down on me.

I had no choice but to be honest.

"Gekgek."

I nodded my head.

"I had a good dream last night, and it seems it was to meet you."

For some reason, she looked pleased.

"Even if a mystical creature can understand speech, they usually aren’t this friendly. But you’re different."

Of course, I’m acting friendly because I feel like you’d turn me into lizard powder if I didn’t.

"Very well."

I don’t know what’s going well, but it doesn’t seem good for me.

"I don’t normally interfere with nature, but it would be a waste to leave you as you are."

No, it wouldn’t be a waste.

"Just for a moment, I’ll teach you the ways of Baek Yeon-Yeong."

Wait, what?

The teachings of Baek Yeon-Yeong?

What’s that?

Who’s Baek Yeon-Yeong?

"…But don’t go around boasting that you were my last disciple. If you must, do it after you’ve joined the cult."

So, her name was Baek Yeon-Yeong.

Does this mean she’s going to teach me martial arts?

But I’m a lizard.

These martial artists are way more open-minded than I expected.

"I’d prefer if you were a little bigger, but for now, this will have to do."

Baek Yeon-Yeong tapped my belly lightly with her finger.

If I grew bigger, she’d probably use me as material.

Like Hansel and Gretel!

I absolutely won’t let myself get fat.

"Gekgek!"

Wait, is she really going to teach me martial arts?

I must’ve gotten involved with the wrong person.

This woman doesn’t seem normal.

...Then again, a master wouldn’t kill their own disciple, right?

I’ll just pretend to learn. As long as I avoid becoming sugungsa, I’ll be fine.

And if I do manage to learn a real attack skill, that’d be great.

Alright. Let’s hear what she has to say.

"Little lizard, assume your stance."

"Gek?"

Baek Yeon-Yeong. I didn’t know who she really was, but one thing was clear.

"Eiii, that’s not how you do it."

This woman was a terrible teacher.

"Gekgekgekgek!"

"How can you not understand this? Go from a straight line to a curve. Flow naturally, like water."

She was waving my arms around in some sort of demonstration, but I had no clue what she was doing.

She seemed like, at best, a third-rate martial artist.

No, even a random kid on the street would explain it better than this.

"Do it like this. Do it like that. Something about yin and yang, and the mysteries of nothingness."

"This is so frustrating. This is why I don’t take disciples."

This is why I don’t take masters, either.

"Gekgek!"

All Baek Yeon-Yeong did was grab my hands and feet and flail them around.

"Watch closely. Push your left hand forward while moving your right foot back..."

"Gekgekgek!"

This is lizard abuse!

"Hmm, yes. Since you have a tail, you can use that too. Here, this is just my idea..."

This didn’t feel like martial arts training at all. It felt more like I was a toy for her amusement.

A toy lizard.

"Gek... Gek..."

I was feeling very frustrated.

I was seriously considering biting her fingers and making a run for it.

"Hmm, I suppose showing you once would be easier than explaining it a hundred times."

Oh.

Finally, you understand.

Just show me quickly.

You may be third-rate, but you should at least know the basics.

Baek Yeon-Yeong picked me up by the scruff and set me on a high rock.

"Gek?"

"Wait here quietly."

Was this supposed to be my personal seat?

Not bad.

Baek Yeon-Yeong raised her hand.

Finally!

And then she started petting me.

...What are you doing?

"Gekgekgek!"

Weren’t you going to show me?

She spent a long time just stroking me.

"Wait a moment. It should be arriving soon."

What?

What’s arriving...

Suddenly, a chill ran down my spine.

The same feeling I had when I first encountered Caiman.

My danger sense was flaring wildly.

Kugugu.

At first, the sound came from far away.

Kuuuuuuuuung!

But I could tell that the source of the sound was approaching rapidly.

KWAANG!

A massive rock wall shattered, and the owner of the sound appeared.

【Titanoboa LV50(+)】

It was larger than any creature I had seen so far.

The sheer size was overwhelming, but Baek Yeon-Yeong simply smiled.

"An Imoogi."