NoveLight ™
“Hee, as I’ve told you before, your body structure is different from that of humans. Simply imitating me won’t allow you to reach your full potential.”
Baek Yeon-Yeong had been grabbing my hands and legs, moving them around all day.
It didn’t seem like she was trying to teach me anything in particular—she just seemed to be enjoying herself, playing with me like I was some kind of toy.
“Hee, you need to feel the flow of your internal energy. What’s the point of learning techniques like Dragon Claw Hand if you can't even get close to your opponent? Once you’ve accumulated enough internal energy, distance won’t matter anymore.”
Another day was spent learning how to regulate my internal energy.
“Hee, your scales are quite beautiful. How about donating one for my sake?”
She spent another day plucking my scales and venom.
...Is she just indulging herself at this point?
“Hee, I don’t mean to pry, but I think it’s time you understood your identity. It’s fine to have your preferences, but those spiders… they're not a match for you, size-wise.”
Another day spent on romance counseling.
Seriously, when are we leaving?
At this rate, the spider will die!
But then again, Nephila Jurassica looked perfectly fine.
Baek Yeon-Yeong had been giving her some pills from her pouch, which seemed to restore vitality. Thanks to that, the spider was doing well.
But we can’t keep relying on these forever, so we should leave soon.
Since we won’t see each other for a while, I should spend more time with them now.
“Keeeng…”
Yeah, go and evolve into an Arachne quickly.
Another day passed.
Today, I would finally learn martial arts.
I had only one choice for what I wanted to learn—the Goryong Kick, a technique depicted on the mural.
The name itself felt like it was meant for me.
“A kicking technique, huh.”
Baek Yeon-Yeong glanced at the mural for a moment and nodded.
“The Goryong Kick combines speed, weight, and confusion.”
Speed, weight, and confusion!
I’ve heard of those, but I don’t know the details.
Roughly speaking:
That’s all I know.
“Power and flexibility are the basics, so I won’t explain those.”
Huh? Isn’t that the most important part?
Don’t overestimate me.
“There are three basic moves. The first is a backward step followed by continuous strikes. The second is more like an extension of footwork, striking the opponent with power in a thud. The third involves striking with an unpredictable trajectory...”
…
“Geeeek!”
Just listening to this is making me run out of breath.
Can you slow down a bit when explaining?
I’m struggling here.
“Do you understand?”
Not really.
“Gek? Gek.”
I’d forgotten, but my master is terrible at explaining things.
When I was learning Dragon Claw Hand, I didn’t understand it for a long time either.
Is it my comprehension that’s lacking?
No, it’s not that. It’s Baek Yeon-Yeong’s strange way of explaining things.
At least, that’s what I believe.
“Ugh! Why is it that you still don’t understand?”
“Gekgegek!”
Maybe explain it better!
Baek Yeon-Yeong rested her chin on her hand, contemplating.
“Am I going to have to demonstrate again…?”
She glanced at me out of the corner of her eye.
You’re not planning to try it on me, are you?
“Geeeeeek!”
I quickly fled to Tang Soyeong’s side, but she was busy pretending to treat the spider and ignored me.
“Gegegek!”
In the end, I was dragged back to where I had originally been.
And so, a new lizard-shaped scarecrow was recruited.
Baek Yeon-Yeong stood before the scarecrow, looking at it intently.
“I’ll show you quickly.”
“Gegegek!”
Please just let me live.
Baek Yeon-Yeong’s foot cut through the air.
Her foot grazed past my cheek as she continued striking without any apparent need to recover.
The speed was unbelievable, but I could tell she was holding back her power.
“This is Speed.”
As soon as she said that, Baek Yeon-Yeong pushed her foot forward with incredible force.
BANG!
Though the movement was slow, the power behind it was immense.
“And this is Weight.”
Her leg swung upwards toward the top, then abruptly changed trajectory.
Shiiiiing!
“And this is Confusion.”
A kick aimed at the upper body that suddenly shifted to target the lower body.
…Isn’t that just a Brazilian kick?
“How was it?”
How was it, you ask?
I saw everything clearly, but… how do I put this? It was different from what I had imagined.
I was a bit disappointed.
With a lizard’s body, I couldn’t possibly perform those moves.
Especially the Brazilian kick—how could I ever pull that off?
“The Goryong Kick is a martial art created by the founder of the Heavenly Demon Sect.”
The founder?
If it’s the founder of the Heavenly Demon Sect, then of course…
“Yes, it’s a martial art left to us by the Heavenly Demon.”
The Heavenly Demon!
My heart pounded.
“However, the Goryong Kick is a martial art that can’t be fully used by a human body. What I just showed you was an altered version.”
Wait a minute.
A martial art that can’t be used by a human body?
Does that mean the Heavenly Demon was that powerful?
Or that the Heavenly Demon wasn’t human?
“Now, let me show you the original.”
The original?
But didn’t she say it can’t be used by a human body?
Baek Yeon-Yeong looked at the cave wall.
In the blink of an eye, she moved slightly.
BANG!
CRACK!
The delayed sound of her movement reverberated through the cave.
There were more than ten holes in the wall.
I hadn’t even seen her foot move, and yet the speed was terrifying.
“This is the essence of Speed. Flying Dragon Lightning Strike.”
Flying Dragon Lightning Strike.
The name was cool.
It was way better than the Green Basilisk Rapid Strikes or whatever I had been doing.
“And this is Weight.”
Kuguuuuuu!
An overwhelming aura of internal energy pressed down on everything around us.
It felt similar to when I had activated Reversal of Strength.
Thud.
Baek Yeon-Yeong took just one step.
Kudududududuk!
Even the ground trembled beneath her.
She gathered her strength again.
Kuuururururuuuu!
The entire cave shook as if the earth was splitting apart.
“This is Descending Dragon Tremor.”
Kuaaarrrr!
“And finally, Confusion.”
Baek Yeon-Yeong moved more slowly than ever before, deliberately allowing me to follow her movements.
Her foot moved.
But it wasn’t just one foot—it was dozens, hundreds of feet.
It was like watching a clone technique in action, with afterimages swirling around her.
BANG!
She delivered a single kick.
But that one kick felt like hundreds, all at once.
“This is Wandering Dragon Phantom.”
My mouth hung open.
The martial arts she showed me were more beautiful and powerful than anything I had ever seen.
“Normally, I wouldn’t teach this to you. There aren’t even illustrations of these moves on the mural—only the marks left by the founder.”
Marks?
There was only one thing here that could be called a “mark.”
The faint scratches etched high on the rock.
An impossible mark carved in an unreachable spot.
The one who left that mark was the Heavenly Demon.
Could it be that the murals in the Silver Dragon Cave also depicted martial arts created by the Heavenly Demon?
I felt a fire ignite within me.
If there were two murals, there could be more.
Does that mean there are more martial arts created by the Heavenly Demon?
This truly was Heavenly Demon Martial Arts!
“Even though I can’t call it Heavenly Demon Martial Arts, this is a versatile martial art that can be used in many situations.”
So it’s not Heavenly Demon Martial Arts.
Well, I suppose that requires learning internal energy techniques first.
Still, the fact that this was a martial art left by the Heavenly Demon was a powerful motivator to train.
Of course, I’m still just a large lizard who can’t even use the Goryong Kick properly, but someday, I’ll learn all the techniques depicted on the murals.
Training.
More training.
“As I’ve repeatedly said, your body is different from mine. You need to develop your own movements. This martial art might even suit your body better than mine.”
“Gek gek!”
That’s right.
Let’s take it slow and steady.
I’ll practice in the empty space until I develop my own movements.
“There just so happens to be a good opponent.”
Huh?
Baek Yeon-Yeong’s scarecrow suddenly disappeared.
She reappeared in the distance, holding something familiar in her hands.
【Utahraptor lv27】
【Status】
[Shocked][Starving]
Uh… hello?
Have you been stuck here all this time?
Were you too scared of Baek Yeon-Yeong to leave?
Poor thing.
I’ll let you go soon.
…After I practice the Goryong Kick.
More time passed, and a week had gone by since we arrived at the cave.
It wasn’t perfect, but I could finally use the Goryong Kick.
That meant my training was over.
And when training ends, it’s time for goodbyes.
“Dae-hyeop, I’m so grateful for everything.”
Tang Soyeong held my hand tightly.
I was a bit worried about her going to the Heavenly Demon Sect’s headquarters without me, but over the past week, she had grown closer to Baek Yeon-Yeong.
She still stammered occasionally, but as long as she didn’t offend anyone more powerful than Baek Yeon-Yeong, she should be fine.
Be careful and take care of my spiders too.
Make sure they evolve into Arachne.
You know what to do, right?
“Gek gek.”
As I gave her my final instructions, the spiders scurried over.
“Keeek.”
“Kieeeek.”
“Kieeng!”
Sorry, I still don’t know what you’re saying.
But you take care as well.
Let’s meet again when you’ve all evolved into beautiful Arachne.
Especially you, Nephila Jurassica.
Even if you don’t evolve, at least make sure there are no side effects.
I finished saying my goodbyes to the four sisters of the Tang Clan.
There was no need for a long farewell.
We’d be seeing each other again in a few months anyway.
I would just be wandering around the Ten Thousand Mountains, waiting.
…Just kidding. I’d be scratching my belly and rolling around while Baek Yeon-Yeong found me eventually.
“Hee.”
My master called my name.
“If you meet a human who tries to speak to you, what will you do?”
What else? I’ll just respond with gek-geking.
“Obviously, no sane person would try to talk to a lizard they’ve never met before.”
I know that, but you’re the last person who should be saying that.
“…Huh!”
Why do you look so shocked, Soyeong?
“From now on, don’t trust anyone you meet too easily. They’ll be stronger than you, and more ruthless.”
Baek Yeon-Yeong warned me.
Now that I think about it, there were other people who entered the Ten Thousand Mountains, just like Tang Soyeong.
“Gek.”
I let out a brave cry to reassure her that I understood.
“Good. Always be careful.”
“Gegek!”
It was time to go.
I hadn’t decided where to go next.
Now that I was on my own, challenging the upper swamp wouldn’t be a bad idea.
Returning to the Silver Dragon Cave to study the sword marks on the mural wouldn’t be a bad choice either.
“If you don’t have anywhere specific to go, why not head east?”
East?
That’s not somewhere I’d thought of.
“There’s a tropical rainforest in the east. I have no real connection to it, but I have a feeling there’s some hidden opportunity there.”
…There’s definitely something there!
It’s probably some rare herb or treasure.
Yeah.
When an opportunity is handed to you like this, you’d be a fool not to take it.
“Gegegegek!”
With a powerful cry, I bowed to Baek Yeon-Yeong.
Well, it was more of a nod, but she seemed satisfied.
“Are you bowing in reverence? …Not bad. Stay safe. And don’t worry about the Tang Clan girl. I’ll make sure to look after her.”
That’s reassuring.
Everything was settled.
It was time to say a brief farewell and embark on a new journey.
The tropical rainforest.
The jungle.
Just wait for me.
The opportunity hunter is on the way.
“Gegegegek!”