The spiders and Tang So-Yeong eagerly gathered up the shed skin from when I was a gecko and the tail piece from my time as the Green Basilisk.

It all felt a bit unethical, honestly. But if I pointed that out, I’d probably start feeling like a regular old Winged Lizard myself.

At this point, that shed skin is basically old garbage, right? Eating something like that could cause indigestion.

[The faith of your followers increases.]

Huh?

Why?

Could it be that to them, this shed skin is some kind of holy relic?

This is getting a bit uncomfortable.

It’s basically just dead skin, exfoliation, really.

Don’t treat that stuff like it’s precious!

"Screech!"

Sigh.

It feels like a waste of time, but I guess listening to the followers is part of the job of a sacred beast.

Nephila, is this really it?

Don’t you have something like the core you fed me?

I glanced at Nephila Jurassica.

The spiders were discussing how to divide the tail, completely ignoring me.

...That’s just shed skin, and I’m the real deal. Feels a bit disappointing.

"Screech!" "So, this is..."

Why are you chatting so naturally with the spiders, Tang So-Yeong?

I lightly wrapped my tail around her thigh.

"Kyaa!"

Tang So-Yeong came shuffling over to me.

Stop acting like the spiders and start searching for any treasure hidden around here.

"Screech."

I lightly slapped her hand.

Why? Well, she was absentmindedly stroking my tail with a slightly crazed look in her eyes.

"Eek! I didn’t realize..."

If you’re that curious about the structure of the Winged Lizard’s teeth, keep going.

I wonder if the spiders are influencing her—Tang So-Yeong is getting weirder by the day.

At first, I thought she was a timid Tang family member, but she’s far from timid.

She seems to have awakened to something odd.

Why is there never a normal person around me?

I gave the spiders some free time and decided to explore the cave with Tang So-Yeong.

Maybe Nephila Jurassica had forgotten about some hidden treasure.

"Lord Go, I found a Luminous Pearl here! It’s perfectly round, and it doesn’t seem naturally formed..."

Looks like Tang So-Yeong found something.

She pointed to a round stone emitting a greenish glow.

So, that’s a Luminous Pearl.

No wonder she moves around in the dark so easily—it must have been the light from this.

Wait, a Luminous Pearl?

I’ve seen that shape before, back in the Silver Dragon’s cave.

Was this place artificially made too?

Silver Dragon Cave #2?

"Lord Go, come look at this! There’s a massive mural here!"

Ah, of course.

This too?

I quickly walked over to where Tang So-Yeong was shouting from.

"Wow, look at this!"

It was a large rock, similar to the one I saw in the Silver Dragon’s cave.

Scratches and drawings covered its surface.

A quick glance told me that the content was different from the mural I saw before.

"I may not be on the path of martial arts, but I can tell this mural holds incredible value."

This mural? It’s pretty good.

It’s what allowed me to use the Winged Claw technique, after all.

It should be worth at least a low-grade core.

"This is like a martial art manual carved into a mural. Of course, it’s incomplete, with only the movements recorded, so it’s not a full manual. But even this is priceless. If news of this got out in the martial world, there’d be a bloodbath."

Is it really that valuable?

Was it this important?

I thought it was more like an instructional poster stuck to a fridge, but it’s at the level of a legendary martial arts manual?

I flexed my claws a bit.

The martial art shown in the mural was the Winged Claw technique.

Baek Yeon-Yeong taught me this technique.

She said she didn’t use it often, but she had mastered it.

Given how strong Baek Yeon-Yeong is, I knew the Winged Claw wasn’t an ordinary technique.

It was originally from Shaolin, after all.

Does that mean all the techniques on this mural are at least as good as the Winged Claw?

"...It even has the Plum Blossom Sword Technique from the Mount Hua Sect and the Namgung family’s sword technique. I can’t fully comprehend it, but any master would hunt for this mural."

The Mount Hua Sect and the Namgung family.

Even someone like me, who doesn’t read much martial arts fiction, knows those names.

There were probably many more techniques like this in the previous mural too.

It’s a pity, but sword techniques aren’t really my thing.

I used a sword in the fight against the Dilophosaurus, but it’s not my main weapon.

I could use it for the sake of unpredictability, but my Winged Claw technique is superior to most swords in every way.

"The text is faded, but...this one says ‘Dragon Leg’? No way. A technique that was thought to be lost!"

Dragon Leg?

That’s a new one, but it piques my interest.

It’s a leg technique.

Right now, my fighting style relies heavily on my hands.

I use poison techniques often, but if I encounter an opponent like the Dilophosaurus, who’s immune to poison, I’d have to rely solely on my movement technique and Winged Claw to fight them.

Adding a leg technique to my arsenal would give me a lot more variety.

And the name has "dragon" in it.

Dragon Ascension Step, Winged Claw, Dragon Scales.

Now, Dragon Leg?

Let’s go!

Of course, I don’t expect to learn the technique just by looking at the mural.

At best, I’d have to practice the movements daily while living here to master it.

But right now, that’s not possible.

Soon, I have to take Nephila Jurassica to Sichuan.

I had originally thought of staying there, but now I’ve changed my mind.

If there are two murals like this, there must be a third.

No.

There definitely is.

I’ll take Nephila to Sichuan for treatment, wait until she recovers, and then return to the Ten Thousand Mountains with the spiders.

Of course, if they want to stay in Sichuan, I’ll leave them in Tang So-Yeong’s care. But I doubt these spiders will want to leave my side.

Like it or not, they’ll come with me.

"Screech!"

I know the distance between Sichuan and the Ten Thousand Mountains is considerable, but it should only take about a week.

...Or maybe not?

Still, I have a growing desire to stay in the Ten Thousand Mountains.

Once Nephila is healed, I’ll come straight back.

First, I’ll master the techniques on this mural, then go in search of more.

By continuously gaining strength, I might evolve again.

Like Nephila Jurassica did.

Even if that’s not the case, there’s no reason to refuse becoming stronger.

Before all that, though, I should memorize the Dragon Leg movements.

I can practice them during the journey to Sichuan.

There are quite a few movements.

But none seem impossible to replicate.

If I incorporate my tail, the effect will likely be even better.

Tang So-Yeong was massaging her temples, trying to memorize other martial arts from the mural.

It seemed like she was trying to memorize them like I was, but her eyes kept darting around, so it didn’t seem like she’d succeed.

Don’t be greedy. Just focus on one thing at a time.

"Ugh...If I can memorize this and take it back, I’ll be set for life..."

Well, yeah, it’s basically like stealing the techniques of other sects.

The Tang family will welcome her with open arms.

That is, assuming she memorizes it perfectly.

"If we could stay here for just one month...no, even just one week...oh, what am I saying? We have to think of the spider lady..."

At least she understands.

The faster we return, the safer Nephila will be.

We’ll look at the mural and head out immediately.

"...Huh, what’s this?"

Tang So-Yeong tilted her head and looked up.

Ah, that.

It was the same marking I saw in the previous mural.

It looked like claw marks.

"That beast from earlier couldn’t have made this, it’s too high up."

The markings were about 5-6 meters up on the wall.

Given that the Utahraptor is much shorter than that, it couldn’t have made the marks.

"It’s carved pretty high up...but the claw marks are small. It’s odd. If a beast could reach that high, it’d have to be massive, but its claws are small?"

So, it’s not a beast’s mark?

Looking closely, it seems like the markings could represent some martial arts movement.

The straight and curved lines were all intertwined.

It’s hard to figure out.

Maybe I’ll understand once I’ve studied other murals.

Now I have even more reasons to come back to this place.

I can’t leave this mystery unsolved.

As we finished examining the mural, and I was about to drag Tang So-Yeong and the still-debating spiders out of the cave, I heard a noise.

Thud.

Thud.

Something was approaching the cave quickly.

I recognized the sound of those footsteps.

It was the Utahraptor from earlier.

The thief who stole my elixirs was coming back.

Perfect timing.

Thud!

[Utahraptor LV27] [Status] [Panic] [Exhaustion]

The Utahraptor charged toward me at high speed.

Alright.

This time, I’ll take you on.

...But something felt off.

No way...

Thud!

Thud!

The Utahraptor passed me by again, running deep into the cave.

What’s up with this guy?

"Sorry! It must have run away in fear of my Mancheonhwa U!"

I ignored Tang So-Yeong’s nonsense and started thinking.

First of all, that Utahraptor is a massive coward.

It had clearly been scared of me and fled outside.

But now it came back here.

Even after seeing me again, it ran deeper into the cave.

Why?

The answer was simple.

It encountered something scarier than me.

Thud!

And that something had chased the Utahraptor all the way here.

Thud!

"What is that?!" Tang So-Yeong screamed.

"It’s...a sacred beast!"

The creature revealed itself.

A monstrous form, its massive armor-like body like a tank.

Its tail bristled with spikes.

Crack!

It stomped on the ground with all four legs, smashing everything in sight with its massive, hammer-like tail.

"Th-that’s...Ankylosaurus!"

Indeed, the name of this terrifying beast was none other than Ankylosaurus.

[Anodontosaurus LV32]

–––––––––––––––––––––––– [Anodontosaurus]

With a body length of 4-5 meters and weighing up to 2 tons, this medium-sized armored dinosaur is closely related to Ankylosaurus. Its key features are the bony plates on its back and its massive, club-like tail. Though herbivorous, it is not known for having a gentle temperament, and even predators are reluctant to challenge it. ––––––––––––––––––––––––