Cold blood.

Cool my head.

[「Cold Blood lv5」 has been activated.]

Good.

Let’s calm down and think clearly.

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

This is a very good status.

【Atercopus lv9】
【Status】
「Worship」「Crush」「Jealousy」

【Antrakomartus lv8】
【Status】
「Worship」「Crush」「Jealousy」

This is a bit concerning, but they still have "Worship" listed. It’s like a slightly warped form of faith.

Tus and Pus are still young, so I can understand why they might be confused.

【Nephila Jurassica lv30】
【Status】
「Injured」「Crush」「Affection」「Admiration」「Longing」「Devotion」「Desire to Mate」「Possessiveness」「Hunger」

This is not okay!

Alright.

I get the emotions this spider is feeling. After all, I received a title thanks to her, and Nephila Jurassica risked her life to save me without hesitation.

I understand.

But the problem lies in that last part.

I had been feeling guilty about leaving her behind in the tree, but seeing this, I’m glad I did.

If I hadn’t, I might have ended up as a skewered lizard snack.

Twenty-six eyes were staring at me all at once.

Cold Blood.

I need to put it to work a bit more.

[「Cold Blood lv5」 has been activated.]

My head is cooling, but it keeps heating up again.

I can’t calm down.

Those eyes.

And the drooling.

That’s when I truly understood what primal fear felt like.

“Kieeeeek…”

Nephila. Please, stop drooling.

“Keeeng.”
“Keeeeng!”

You two as well.

"To think I’d see a real Gomodo… I can die without regrets now..."

Tang So-yeong.

You too?

Why are you drooling?

Three creatures and one human, slowly creeping toward me.

I spread my hands wide, trying to calm them down, just like in that one movie where the guy calms down the raptors.

Calm down.

“Gegegegek!”

Thankfully, they stopped moving.

It seemed they hadn’t lost their senses completely.

But how long would this last?

I needed to find a solution quickly.

At the very least, I needed to deal with Nephila Jurassica’s hunger.

I cautiously held out the severed tail I had shed back when I was still the Crocodile King Lizard.

Ethically questionable? Maybe. But it was already severed.

Besides, this spider had already eaten my tail several times before.

Nephila Jurassica gingerly accepted my tail with both hands.

“Kieeng.”

Good.

Eat that and calm down.

“Keeeng!”

Tus and Pus also lunged toward my tail.

Is it okay for them to eat that?

Are they going to start cutting off my tail while I’m asleep?

No, they should know better. After all, that was the Crocodile King Lizard’s tail, and I’m a Gomodo now. They should understand the difference.

Let’s deal with the immediate crisis first.

Just eat that for now.

"The Gomodo’s tail…"

Not you, Tang So-yeong.

“Gegek.”

I lightly wrapped my tail around Tang So-yeong’s legs and gently pulled her toward me.

“…Ah! I-I almost lost control for a moment.”

Yeah.

Let’s hold onto what little humanity you have left.

You’re different from these spiders.

“I’ll sneak some later…”

Are you?

Thanks to sacrificing my tail, the situation seemed to calm down a bit.

The three spiders were now fully engrossed in eating the severed tail.

And Tang So-yeong stood before me.

She was the one who had been singing praises of Gomodo for so long, so she must have plenty of information.

Time to spill it.

Unless you want to see the inside of a Gomodo’s mouth.

“…You look exactly like I heard. These sharp scales, blue eyes. I knew you were destined to become this, Daehyeop.”

I’m Gomodo now.

But why did she call me Gomodo even when I was the Crocodile King Lizard?

Did she think I was just a Gomodo candidate?

“Just one scale… If I take even one, I’ll be forgiven for everything. I might even be rewarded… Hehehe…”

Tang So-yeong muttered as she stroked my scales.

Fine. I’ve seen you in action, so I can spare a few scales.

Maybe up to ten.

Just not from my head.

I’m not trying to evolve into a Pachycephalosaurus.

“Gegek.”

You’re moving quite well, aren’t you?

I glanced at Tang So-yeong’s legs.

They looked perfectly fine.

In fact, she had been walking just fine since she woke up.

She must have realized what my gaze meant because she looked a bit embarrassed.

“Ahem!”

Well, it happens.

I won’t kick you out just because your legs healed.

But next time, tell me immediately when you recover.

“M-My legs are fully healed!”

Yeah, don’t try acting. You’re terrible at it.

You can’t lie.

“This must be Gomodo-nim’s blessing…”

Really? You’re going there?

Actually, this is good.

This was another issue I needed to address.

Divinity.

And religion.

I used to dismiss my “faint divinity” as nothing special, but now suddenly I’m hearing talk of religions?

It was just as shocking as the spiders’ status messages.

“Gegek.”

“As expected of Gomodo-nim… To heal my injured legs so quickly!”

I told you to stop with that.

“Kieeng!”

The spiders made happy noises, waving their arms.

“Kieeek!”
“Gomodo-nim is truly amazing!”
“Kieeng!”

This was getting a bit overwhelming.

It really felt like they were worshipping me now.

[Conditions have been fulfilled.]

Huh?

My body started glowing.

Was I evolving into a glow-in-the-dark lizard?

The color of the light was dark.

It didn’t feel sacred—it was more like the ominous effect a final boss would have.

It was a foreboding color.

“Th-This… This is…!”

I have no idea what’s happening, so please explain it to me.

Tang So-yeong immediately bowed.

“Not only do I get to see the divine beast, but now a miracle as well…”

A miracle?

Don’t use such grand words.

I’m just becoming a glow-in-the-dark lizard.

The light slowly faded.

The spiders and Tang So-yeong looked up at me.

They were silent.

…What am I supposed to do?

“Gegek.”

Tang So-yeong bowed again, and Tus and Pus followed suit.

“Gae-gaek… Gae-gaek…? To grasp the high ground! Even your cries have deep meanings! Yes. Gae-gaek faith! This is the beginning of the Gae-gaek faith!”

What?

It’s not Gae-gaek, it’s Gegek.

And it doesn’t have some profound meaning. It’s just a cry.

Tus and Pus clapped their hands at Tang So-yeong’s declaration.

“Kae-gaek!”
“Kae-gaek!”

Tus and Pus were mimicking my cry.

Or maybe they were just copying Tang So-yeong’s misunderstanding?

Well, whatever. Go ahead and copy it.

Nothing’s really going to change.

[The Gae-gaek Faith has been created.]

【Gae-gaek Faith】
A faith at the level of a gecko lizard.
The faith of those who revere the legendary Gomodo.
It has yet to develop into a full-fledged religion, but it holds great potential for growth.
The followers' faith is very high.

Followers:
First follower: 【Atercopus lv9】
Second follower: 【Antrakomartus lv8】
Third follower: 【Tang So-yeong】

What is this?

I’m starting to get a little scared.

And yet, Nephila Jurassica isn’t listed.

Well, she didn’t have “Worship” in her status either.

To think that faint divinity could accumulate into actual faith.

It’s quite surprising.

So, is this it?

Is that all I get?

Shouldn’t I receive something more when such a grand thing is unlocked?

Like Gomodo-level achievements or something.

I glared at the status window.

Sure, getting Dragon Scales and the rest was great, but I’m still hungry.

Give me more.

[As a result of the Gae-gaek Faith, the stats of your followers are slightly enhanced.]

No, not more for them.

Give me everything.

[You will now share a portion of the experience gained by your followers.]

Sharing experience?

Now that’s a Gomodo-level achievement.

I almost jumped out of my skin in surprise.

This is an incredibly beneficial effect.

It’s basically like automated grinding.

Although, I doubt I’ll be leaving Tus and Pus to handle hunting.

Same goes for Tang So-yeong.

But if I can expand my followers later, this could turn out to be a very useful ability.

I should try to bring Nephila Jurassica into the fold.

Why doesn’t she believe in the great Gomodo?

“Gegek.”

Nephila, you really should join.

If you join now, you’ll be fourth in the hierarchy.

Sure, it’s below Tus and Pus, but who knows? Maybe later I’ll recruit someone like Baek Yeon-yeong. Then you’d still outrank them.

“Gegek.”

Think it over.

“Kieeek!”

Nephila Jurassica tilted her head, trying to understand me, before shaking it in confusion.

Looks like there’s a limit to how much communication can be achieved with Gegek and Kieek.

Alright, fine.

If you join now, I’ll rank you higher than Tang So-yeong. We do have history together, after all.

“Kieeng.”

The spider bowed her head and went back to eating the severed tail.

Fine, forget it.

Let’s not push it any further.

At least my tail calmed her down.

I’ll leave Nephila for now. Time to have a proper conversation with my first follower.

“Kieeng!”

Pus nodded eagerly.

…

Wait.

How did she understand me when I didn’t even say anything?

First followers really are different.

“Kioong!”

Now Tus was getting all riled up.

I realized something.

My followers could read my thoughts.

Let’s run an experiment.

‘Tang So-yeong!’

Tang So-yeong didn’t react at all.

Huh, guess that wasn’t it?

I thought it might be telepathy, but maybe it was just a coincidence?

But the spiders responded immediately.

‘Mancheonhwawu isn’t a martial art from the Tang family, it’s from the Beggars' Sect.’

Tang So-yeong frowned.

“…Why do I feel so irritated all of a sudden?”

So, it wasn’t entirely ineffective.

It seems a tiny portion of my thoughts gets transmitted.

Though she doesn’t realize it’s from me.

What a strange and tricky ability.

Still, it’s not a bad skill to have.

‘The Five Great Clans are the Murong Clan, the Zhuge Clan, the Namgung Clan, the Northern Peng Clan, and the Huangbo Clan. The Tang family has no business among them.’

“My head… Why does it feel so weird?”

A long-distance annoyance, leaving no evidence behind.

I had just learned a wonderfully devious new skill.