Alright.

There were more than a few things I needed to process.

First, the fact that an Allosaurus had been surprised.

At first, it was a Raptor, then an Iguanodon, and now even an Allosaurus was astonished. Unlike before, I wasn’t told what achievement triggered this, but I could make a guess.

It must have been from defeating the Dilophosaurus.

But was beating a Dilophosaurus really enough to surprise an Allosaurus?

It seemed a bit vague.

It was more likely the process than the result.

It made sense to think that using both Nine Yin White Bone Claw and Releasing Strength to Move Mountains was the reason for the achievement.

Since the details didn’t really matter, I focused on the reward.

The reward was a hidden option.

In other words, the Gomodo.

Up until now, I had thought it was something from Tang So-yeong’s wild imagination, but it seemed that it actually existed.

As she had mentioned, it was likely a rare and valuable evolution.

The conditions for evolving into Gomodo were using Releasing Strength to Move Mountains and Nine Yin White Bone Claw, along with consuming an advanced inner core.

Such strict conditions meant one thing—the Gomodo’s abilities wouldn’t be disappointing.

Let’s check it out.

【Gomodo (古氂屠)】

The ancient death with a tail.

A legendary creature.

That’s it?

And it’s short!

Even the Gecko Lizard had a longer description than this.

At the very least, shouldn’t it give the length or weight?

Calm down.

Let’s break down the characters.

The first one is “old,” the second one likely means “tail,” and the last is probably “death.”

Well, the name sure is grand.

Is it specialized in its tail?

My tail is one of my primary weapons.

Although I haven’t been using it as much lately since Dragon Claw became more powerful, it’s still a useful weapon. It’s also got a longer range than Dragon Claw.

Not bad at all.

And according to what Tang So-yeong always says, this Gomodo species must also have extremely potent poison. She said its venom was far more powerful than even the Piranha Caiman’s.

I didn’t know how big it would be, but it probably wouldn’t be smaller than me now.

So, do I choose the safe Komodo Dragon?

Or take the risk with the more exciting Gomodo?

A real dilemma.

But no matter how I think about it, the hidden option wouldn’t be worse than Komodo, right?

Gomodo.

Yeah.

Let’s go for it.

I’m curious to see what the Gomodo that Tang So-yeong always talked about looks like.

[Are you sure you want to evolve into Gomodo?]

Why are you asking me that with such hesitation?

Since when did it ask for confirmation like this?

Fine.

Crack.

This was my third evolution, but it still didn’t feel any less strange.

That familiar sensation of my body being reconstructed.

I could feel my bones growing.

Yeah.

I was definitely going to get bigger.

Crack.

Muscles began forming.

Perhaps even more than before.

I could feel my once streamlined Crocodile King Lizard body transforming.

I was definitely gaining weight too.

Shwaa!

Finally, my scales began covering me.

They were much tougher and a darker teal than before.

Crack!

I broke through the egg that had surrounded me.

[Congratulations! Your Crocodile King Lizard has evolved into Gomodo.]

【Gomodo LV1】
HP: 854/854
MP: 350/350
【Titles】
「Loved by the Spider」
「Master of the Silver Dragon Cave」
「Master of the Swamp (Lower Region)」

The changes were immense.

Even greater than when I evolved into the Crocodile King Lizard.

My HP and MP had massively increased, but the real sign of change was the expanded field of vision.

That meant I had grown significantly in size.

And with that size came a massive hunger.

Without hesitation, I ate the fragments of the broken egg and began devouring the Dilophosaurus meat beside me.

Crunch.

Chomp.

Thanks to my increased size, it didn’t take long to finish the meat.

It wasn’t exactly satisfying, but it filled my stomach.

But right now, hunger wasn’t the most important thing.

What was most important was the messages constantly ringing in my head.

[You have acquired 「Poison Generation LV1」.]

[You have acquired 「Poison Gathering LV1」.]

[You have acquired 「Reversed Scale LV1」.]

These new skills were certainly making themselves known.

Alright, let’s take a look at them.

【Skills】
「Dragon Claw」「Small Dragon Ascending the Heavens Step」「Small Circulation」「Hundred Poison Immunity」「White Orchid Mental Technique」「Azure Horizon」
「Dragon Scales LV5」「Reversed Scale LV1」「Poison Generation LV1」「Poison Gathering LV1」...

I listed my martial arts and the new skills I’d obtained.

「Poison Generation LV1」
Generates poison in the air.
The greater the amount of MP consumed, the greater the quantity and quality of the poison.
MP Consumption: 10

「Poison Gathering LV1」
Concentrates poison in one area.
The gathered poison can be injected into an object.
The more MP consumed, the more poison can be collected.
MP Consumption: 10

If my venomous fangs were beginner skills, these were at least intermediate.

With these two skills, it might be possible to pull off varied attacks like the Dilophosaurus, creating poison mists or launching attacks like Mancheonhwawu. Of course, with my current low mastery, it was impossible, but the potential was immense.

These were very good skills.

Now, let’s check the remaining ones.

「Dragon Scales LV5」
Dragon scales cover your body.
Their form can be altered.

Just from the name alone, it was cool.

And they could change form?

Cool thing + cool thing = even cooler thing.

Let’s try it out.

Since there’s no visible MP cost, it must be a passive skill. That means the scales currently covering me are the Dragon Scales.

I had gained this skill before evolving, so perhaps I was already wearing dragon scales instead of the Crocodile King Lizard’s scales back then.

Let’s see how they look.

I moved to the clearest water I could find to check my reflection.

What I saw was a large, impressive-looking lizard.

I had grown significantly.

I couldn’t tell my exact length, but I was about the size of a large tiger from a zoo. One of those big, muscular ones.

On the surface, I didn’t look much different from a regular Komodo Dragon. The only noticeable differences were the bulkier muscles and tougher scales.

I was pretty satisfied with this change.

But that wasn’t all.

It could change its form.

That was what the skill description said.

How does it work?

Let’s focus.

A sharper appearance, maybe?

Shwa-shwa-shwak!

The shape of my scales began to change.

As I looked at my reflection in the water, I was shocked.

Before, I had looked like a large Komodo Dragon. Now, I looked more like something out of Western mythology—a creature resembling a dragon.

My body was black, my eyes red, and I looked like a dragon straight out of a fantasy novel.

The only difference was that I didn’t have wings, and my eyes were blue instead of red.

A blue-eyed black dragon.

In short, I looked…

Really, really cool.

In this form, even body-slamming someone would be a deadly attack.

Though, I instinctively felt that the durability of the scales was lower.

They seemed designed more for offense than defense.

That’s enough for the Dragon Scales.

Now for the main event.

The Reversed Scale.

The reversed scale on a dragon’s neck.

It was known as the dragon’s weak spot.

So, did evolving mean I gained a weak point?

Of course not.

The Reversed Scale had to be an amazing skill.

Maybe it was some kind of skill that dealt a powerful attack at the cost of some confusion.

Let’s see.

「Reversed Scale LV1」
Recreates skills or martial arts that you have not mastered.
MP consumption varies depending on the difficulty of the skill or martial art being recreated.

This was unexpected.

Does this mean I can use Releasing Strength to Move Mountains and Nine Yin White Bone Claw again?

An incredibly useful skill.

Sure, the MP cost would probably be enormous, but I could use it at least once.

This was a great gain.

The difference between me now and me ten minutes ago was like night and day.

Even if ten Crocodile King Lizards attacked, they wouldn’t stand a chance against me now.

Was it okay to be this strong?

The Gomodo is incredible!

Now that I’ve discovered this lizard, I might never go back to Komodo.

I was ridiculously powerful and looked insanely cool.

This was the moment a man’s instincts kicked in.

I had to show off.

When else would I get a chance to do this?

I strutted elegantly on all fours, like one of those dogs with long legs prancing at a dog show.

“Gegegek!”

Hey, guys.

Check this out.

Tus, Pus, Nephila Jurassica, and Tang So-yeong all stared at me.

Were they mesmerized by my dazzling form?

No one said a word. They just stood there, staring.

“G-Go-Gomodo Daehyeop…”

Tang So-yeong stammered, her eyes wide like a startled rabbit.

“K-Kieeek…”

You didn’t have to stammer too, guys.

Tang So-yeong stood up.

Yeah. I bet you were surprised.

“Gegege.”

Even I’m impressed.

Keep watching.

Just as I was about to bask in the glory of my new scales...

“…I greet the divine beast.”

Tang So-yeong suddenly bowed to me.

I was taken aback.

After finishing her bow, she stood up and slightly bowed her head again, her expression respectful.

Well.

The Tang family did treat Gomodo as something sacred, so I guess this wasn’t too unexpected.

[Tang So-yeong worships you.]

Huh?

[Tang So-yeong’s faith increases.]

[Antrakomartus’ faith increases.]

[Atercopus’ faith increases.]

Huh?

[You now have three worshippers.]

[Your divinity has slightly increased.]

[A new religious possibility has been discovered!]

What is this?

I just wanted to show off my awesome scales!

【Tang So-yeong】
【Status】
「Worship」「Joy」

I could see Tang So-yeong’s information.

Normally, I couldn’t see anything about humans.

Even when they were weaker than me, all I got was a message saying they couldn’t be appraised.

Could I see her now because she worshiped me?

Not bad.

Let’s check the others.

There might be some changes there too.

【Atercopus LV9】
【Status】
「Worship」「Crush」「Jealousy」

【Antrakomartus LV8】
【Status】
「Worship」「Crush」「Jealousy」

What the hell, guys?

You’re starting to scare me.

【Nephila Jurassica LV30】
【Status】
「Injured」「Crush」「Affection」「Longing」「Admiration」「Devotion」「Desire to Mate」「Possessiveness」「Hunger」

…It seems like something is going wrong here.