Wait, why did it feel like I was hearing music?

It almost made me feel like I should start dancing at any moment.

Looking into those dull eyes gave me an oddly strange feeling.

But the feeling stopped at that.

Could this creature really be the Tusulus I was searching for?

The atmosphere was somewhat similar, but there was something off about it.

Let’s take a closer look.

【Coelophysis LV24】
【Traits】
「Poison Resistance」「Light Bones」「Soaring Dragon Faith」
【Status】
「Curiosity」「Miniaturization」

【Coelophysis】

A dinosaur that can grow up to 3 meters in length but weighs only about 45 kg, thanks to its unique skeletal structure. Its light weight enables it to move quickly, and its specialized skeletal system allows it to make precise turns while running at high speeds.

Coelophysis.

This guy was a fairly well-known dinosaur.

It might not be as famous as the Stegosaurus or Triceratops, but if you dig a bit deeper into dinosaurs, you'd know the name Coelophysis.

There’s even a whole family of dinosaurs named after it.

It’s relatively well-known.

But that’s beside the point.

Was this really the Tusulus I was looking for?

My answer: No.

Sure, it was definitely small.

Much smaller than what was stated in its status window.

And I could see that miniaturization had been applied.

But there was something lacking for it to be the Tusulus.

Would something this minor have been acknowledged by the Serpent Queen?

She’s very strict.

The only reason she let things slide with me was probably because I’m me. From what I’ve gathered from her occasional comments, she’s definitely no pushover.

There was no way she would acknowledge a mere level 24 dinosaur.

And on top of that, one of its traits was "Soaring Dragon Faith."

This indicated it was under the influence of someone else.

In other words, the Tusulus I was looking for wasn’t this creature.

This guy was merely a subordinate of the Soaring Dragon.

“Ge-gegek!”
“Ke-ke-kek!”

The Coelophysis tilted its head, its eyes going wide.

“Kehek!”

It must have just noticed the jewelry hanging from my neck.

Yeah. If this were Hunhui, he wouldn’t have reacted like that.

It flapped its arms nervously, making a fuss.

“Kek-kek!”

Then, cautiously, it approached and started drawing something on the ground with its claw.

Looking closely, I could see it was drawing a picture.

Yes, a picture.

It wasn’t perfect, but it clearly resembled an arrow.

I’d never seen a dinosaur with this kind of intelligence before.

No matter how smart a dinosaur could be, communication like this was unheard of.

It must have been taught by someone.

Most likely, that someone was the Soaring Dragon, its god.

In other words, Hunhui.

“Kek!”

The Coelophysis tilted its head again, as if asking me if I understood the symbol.

With that level of intelligence, it’s at least as smart as Tang So-yeong. Maybe even Shicksick.

“Gegek.”

I nodded, indicating I understood.

It was probably telling me to follow it.

The Coelophysis’s face brightened up.

It pointed its snout toward the fallen Terror Birds.

It seemed to be asking if it could have them, since I wasn’t going to eat them.

Well, I might as well give it a gift. It wouldn’t hurt to make a good impression.

“Ge-gegek!”

•  

I followed the Coelophysis as it led the way.

With one Terror Bird in my mouth and another wrapped in my tail, my pace was inevitably slow.

After walking for a while, I witnessed a strange sight.

I came across a rare creature.

It was a lizard.

Yes, a lizard.

Since arriving at the Hundred Thousand Mountains, this was the first lizard I’d seen.

How could lizards be rarer than dinosaurs?

There weren’t any Green Geckos or Green Basilisks, but seeing a lizard at all was still refreshing.

“Ge-gegek.”

The lizards seemed to be intimidated by my large size at first but soon began gathering around me one by one.

Judging by their eager, sparkling eyes, they seemed to feel something like respect for my overwhelming size.

...Maybe I could steal away a few more followers if I play my cards right?

“Gek!”

I let out a dignified cry.

I’m a lizard too, you know.

If you believe in Gaegek, you too can become like this.

I tossed them a piece of the Terror Bird’s meat I had caught earlier.

“Ge-ge-gek!”
“Ge-ge-ge!”

The lizards began hopping around excitedly.

As much as I wanted to actively recruit them into my faith, they already seemed to be followers of the Soaring Dragon Faith.

As they say, those who’ve had a taste of something good tend to seek more of it. If I showed off my dragon scales, most of them would probably convert to my side.

But I wasn’t here to antagonize Hunhui.

I was here to learn some techniques, so I needed to restrain myself.

If they were already too far gone into the Gaegek cult, there was nothing I could do about it.

If they were willing to change their faith over a piece of meat, they’d likely switch to anything else anyway.

“Kek...”

The Coelophysis nudged me.

It seemed uneasy, as though it wasn’t allowed to directly stop me because of the Serpent Queen’s token, but its face clearly showed worry.

Even though we couldn’t communicate verbally, I could tell what it was thinking just from its expression.

It was probably scared of being reprimanded for losing followers under its management.

And it wasn’t like it could do anything to me.

“Keeeng…”

Yeah, I get it. You’ve got it tough.

I’ll hold back.

As I passed through the area with the lizards, I finally came upon a cave.

The entrance to the cave was almost absurdly small.

If I had been even a bit bigger, I wouldn’t have been able to stick my head inside.

Even now, I couldn’t enter easily.

One wrong move, and I could cause the cave to collapse.

So, I decided to wait outside.

While waiting, I played around with the lizards crowding around me.

I was once your size too, you know.

“Ge-gegek.”
“Ge-ke-gek!”

The small lizards tried to imitate my cry in their awkward little voices.

I found their attempts cute and almost went to pat them, but then I remembered that most of them were older than me.

Some of them were probably old enough to be my parents.

“Gek…”

As I was handing out meat to the lizards, the Coelophysis emerged from the cave.

Beside it was an even smaller lizard.

No, it wasn’t a lizard.

It was about the same size as a gecko, but its structure was different from that of a lizard.

Its neck and limbs were longer.

It was clear that its body had been miniaturized.

That must be Tusulus.

The one the Serpent Queen called Hunhui.

If the Serpent Queen acknowledged it, then it was probably classified as a spiritual beast as well.

【Procompsognathus LV???】

Wait, what?

I blinked in disbelief.

There were several things that stood out to me.

First, its species.

Procompsognathus.

Also known as Compy for short.

【Procompsognathus】

A small dinosaur that grows up to 1 meter in length and weighs only about 1 kg. It moves nimbly and preys on small insects and lizards with its tiny body.

When I first heard the name Hunhui, I immediately thought of this species.

The name Hunhui and its small size naturally brought to mind the Compy.

So, this result wasn’t surprising.

However, the level next to its name was the problem.

Just like the Serpent Queen, its level was unreadable.

Even the Cockatrice’s level was visible.

This meant it was stronger than the Cockatrice.

Look at the way it walked, hands behind its back.

It looked like a seasoned martial artist with a deep well of internal energy.

Its face resembled the Coelophysis from earlier, with those dull eyes that made me want to dance.

But in stark contrast to that, the sheer power it exuded was overwhelming.

Just watching it made my body tingle.

I hadn’t felt this much pressure from either the Serpent Queen or the Bird King.

It wasn’t that their power was lesser than this Compy’s.

The Serpent Queen and the Bird King were mythological creatures: a basilisk and a Quetzalcoatl.

It made sense that they were strong.

But this small creature was a Procompsognathus.

It hadn’t evolved even once, yet it had forcibly raised its level to reach such heights.

Normally, as one’s level increases, so does their size.

But this Compy had trained miniaturization to the extreme, refusing even that natural growth.

Its size was smaller than a regular Compy.

It stared directly at me.

Or rather, at the necklace around my neck.

Thump.

My heart raced.

To be honest, I’d been getting a little overconfident.

I thought that even if I encountered a medium-sized carnivorous dinosaur, I wouldn’t have too much trouble defeating it.

After all, I’d gotten bigger, and I had internal energy and martial arts on my side.

I’d encountered other spiritual beasts and even defeated the Cockatrice, so I thought no ordinary dinosaur could challenge me anymore.

But that was a mistake.

Just as I could use internal energy and martial arts, dinosaurs could do the same.

The pseudo-ankylosaurus had displayed powerful external martial arts, and the Dilophosaurus had even used a secret technique from the Sichuan Tang Clan.

Despite witnessing this firsthand, I had grown complacent.

Look at the immense internal energy that Compy possesses.

Size means nothing in the world of dinosaurs.

A Deinonychus I easily devoured could just as easily defeat me if it consumed enough spiritual elixirs and reached a higher level.

“Ge-gegek!”

I needed to let go of my arrogance.

Look at Compy’s dull face.

If it had deliberately hidden its internal energy, would I have even suspected?

Had I underestimated an opponent based on their size in battle, I would have ended up as a giant grilled lizard skewer.

Compy walked toward me slowly.

Its steps exuded the calm demeanor of a veteran master.

After inspecting my necklace, it gave a slight nod.

It was probably signaling its willingness to teach me.

It was going to teach me the secret of miniaturization.

But that wasn’t enough for me.

This tiny creature possessed such deep internal energy.

What could that mean?

It meant that it knew a vast array of martial arts.

Not the kind suited for human bodies, but techniques designed for lizard bodies.

And the name of its faith? Soaring Dragon Faith.

Soaring Dragon.

Where had I heard that before?

The very first martial art I learned: Soaring Dragon Step.

“Ge-gehek…”

I let out a sinister chuckle.

Are you ready, Reverse Scale?

It’s time for a righteous faith thief to make his move.

Might as well take some martial arts while I’m at it, since they don’t wear out.

Compy looked slightly confused.

It seemed to have caught on to my intentions.

But what could it do?

Compy still owed a debt to the Serpent Queen.

And who was I?

The Serpent Queen’s mate, of course.

“Ge-gegek!”

I shook the necklace given to me by the Serpent Queen.

Our wife says you have a debt to repay, right?

[The Serpent Queen thinks being a house husband wouldn’t be so bad.]

Fine. I’ll be a house husband if that’s what it takes.

Now, bring out your hidden martial arts.