Small.

Very small.

Having experienced the overwhelming size of Komodo-lania, the drastic contrast in size hit me hard.

I didn’t expect the miniaturization to be this effective, even though I had only just unlocked Miniaturization LV1.

Look at the case of the Coelophysis. At most, the size difference between the original and its miniaturized form might be around four or five times.

But what about me right now?

From Komodo-lania’s 7–8 meters in length to the 20–30 centimeters of a Green Gecko.

I had shrunk far more than I expected.

This unfamiliar perspective...

No, it wasn’t completely unfamiliar.

It reminded me of when I first met Nephela Jurassic—the view was quite similar.

“Ge-gegegek!”

I let out a fierce lizard cry.

“Kek-kek.”

Compy laughed wickedly, seemingly amused by my predicament.

Why was Miniaturization LV1 so effective?

Wait… what about Compy then?

If he's mastered the highest level of miniaturization, what would happen if he undid it?

“Ge-gegek...”

I glanced at Compy.

Come to think of it, he was the dinosaur recognized by the Serpent Queen, wasn’t he?

It’s possible he could be even bigger than the Serpent Queen in her true form.

I mean, we’re almost certain her true body is massive.

But Compy? The dinosaur known as a symbol of smallness?

Could he really get that big?

“Keh-hek!”

Compy pointed a finger at me and burst into laughter.

I should have known when he smirked before that dance, he had anticipated this outcome.

As petty as he looks...

“Keh?”

Oh, you can read minds now too?

Compy started wriggling next to me with that dumb expression of his, clearly mocking me.

My proud Dragon Claws were weeping inside.

...What could I even do with these tiny claws?

Maybe if I used Bone-Crushing Claws and Gaegek Death Beam, I could wipe the floor with him.

I wouldn’t let him utter a word.

“Gerrruk...”

Even my cries sounded strange.

When I was Komodo-lania, my communication was mostly made up of Gegeks and Grrs.

I used Gegek for almost everything and saved Grrr for threatening enemies.

It was one of my more dignified sounds, you could say.

But now I couldn’t even let out that kind of growl.

“Gegegek!”

I let out a pitiful Gegek sound.

“Kek-kek-kek!”

After mocking me for quite some time, Compy slowly approached.

It seemed he had teased me enough.

Fine, just teach me how to control my size already.

I still have the Serpent Queen’s token, you know.

I glanced at the beautiful necklace hanging around my neck.

...Wait, why is it still on my neck?

The ornament had shrunk in size.

It was now so small that it didn’t look out of place on a Gecko.

Was it a magical item of some sort?

If it hadn’t shrunk, it could’ve snapped my delicate little neck.

Anyway, the Serpent Queen’s token was intact.

If Compy didn’t want to get on her bad side, he’d better teach me how to undo this soon.

“Kek!”

With that cry from Compy, Coelophysis, the one who had led me here, came running over.

He had looked so small before, but now, he appeared to be a giant, at least twice my size.

“Kek!”
“Kek-kek!”

The two of them exchanged their Kek cries in what seemed like communication.

How can they communicate with such sounds?

Then again, I could communicate well enough with spiders.

Since Compy was their spiritual leader and Coelophysis followed his faith, it made sense that they could communicate with those cries.

After their conversation ended, Coelophysis turned to me.

“Kek...”

He slowly approached with those dull eyes, his body wriggling.

It was the reverse of the dance I had seen earlier.

As the invisible song played in my head, Coelophysis’s body began to change.

Crack.
Snap.

Was this what it looked like when I evolved?

It was like witnessing the release of the Bone-Shrinking Technique.

His body grew larger and larger, so much so that I could no longer take it all in with my Gecko’s eyes.

“Kikikikikik!”

Finally, Coelophysis returned to his original form.

No, it would be more accurate to say he was slightly larger than the Coelophysis I knew.

“Kek.”

Compy nodded at me, explaining that this was how to undo miniaturization.

Fine, I’ll take your word for it.

I still wanted to see how big Compy could get, but I’ll save that for later.

For now, I just needed to return to my original size.

Until I increased my proficiency with miniaturization, or found another method, I would have to seal it off.

If I stayed this small, I’d be vulnerable in many ways.

I’d be susceptible to enemy attacks, or even the antics of Shicksick or the spiders.

So, all I had to do was follow the same dance in reverse, right?

Alright, let’s give it a try.

I put on my best dull face.

...Did I really need to mimic the facial expressions too?

Better safe than sorry.

I wriggled my body with all my effort.

Even swayed my tail a little.

Alright, bring me back to my original form!

“Gegek?”

But nothing happened.

I was still a Gecko.

Nothing more, nothing less.

“Ge-ge-ge-gegek!”

I was fooled again!

Compy, you petty little...

Just wait until I get back.

I’ll tell my wife everything.

I glared at Compy, hoping my eyes conveyed my demand to be returned to normal.

“...Kek?”

Compy’s expression looked odd.

Why aren’t you transforming?

He seemed genuinely confused.

“Gegek?”

Come on, stop messing with me.

I admit it, I was wrong. Just turn me back already.

...Wait, could this be real?

“Kek...”

“Geeeeek!”

•  

Compy left me behind in the cave and ran off somewhere.

He was probably looking for a way to reverse this.

At least, that’s what I told myself to believe.

“Ge-eek…”

I looked at my reflection in the small puddle within the cave.

Some features of Komodo-lania remained.

My claws were still sharp, and my body was still covered in Dragon Scales.

[Komodo-lania LV2]
HP: 4162/4162
MP: 477/922
[Status]
[Serpent Queen’s Mark] [Serpent Princess’s Mark] [Miniaturized]

Looking at my status, I could see that my HP and MP remained unchanged.

But the loss of size was a serious blow.

Sure, if I drew from my past experience, I could still make good use of this body.

I could zip around with the Soaring Dragon Step and slash at enemies with Dragon Claws or take them down with Gaegek Death Beam.

But even an enemy the size of a Utahraptor would give me trouble.

No matter how many times I slashed with these tiny claws, the damage would be minimal.

The same goes for the Gaegek Death Beam. While it’s better than the Dragon Claws, the range is short. I couldn’t expect the same performance as before.

Perhaps, like Compy, if I honed martial arts to an extreme and focused on physical combat, this body could still be useful.

But as of now, it didn’t suit my fighting style.

I needed to return to my original form as soon as possible.

The good news was that miniaturization was only temporary.

How temporary? I wasn’t sure.

But Compy had gone off to find a solution, so all I could do was wait.

For now, I decided not to worry about the miniaturization.

No point in overthinking it.

Instead, I should look at the advantages of being small.

There had to be some perks to this tiny body.

Remember when Tang Soyeong was startled when she first saw me?

Would she still be surprised if I were this size?

No, she’d probably hide me in her sleeve, calling me a cute little lizard.

Being small meant I could lower people's guard.

Just like how these lizards were tilting their heads at me in curiosity.

Compy.

I was trying to be fair, but your pettiness has gone too far.

I’ll start preparing.

If I befriend these lizards in this form, I might be able to lead them away from the Soaring Dragon Faith and into the path of Gaegek.

In other words, these lizards were a treasure trove of faith.

And what’s more, taking the faith of Compy’s followers would be quite valuable.

This is your karma, Compy.

“Ge-gegek.”

Believe it or not, I once charmed Shicksick with my Dragon Scales.

It’s possible that to lizards and spiders, I’m perceived as quite the handsome lizard.

When I let out a dignified cry, more lizards gathered around me.

Yes.

They’d never seen a lizard with Dragon Scales before.

[Red-Eyed Armored Lizard LV34]
[Curled Tail Lizard LV42]
[Green Anole Lizard LV29]

What are those levels?

“Gegek!”

Wait, since when were lizards this high level?

In this world, I understood that once a creature reached the limit of its level, it could evolve to the next species.

Was this exclusive to me because of the status window?

No, that couldn’t be the case.

I’d personally witnessed the Titanoboa evolve into a Hydra in the Silver Dragon’s Lair.

I’d seen Nephela Jurassic evolve into an Arachne.

So, why were these lizards stuck at such high levels without evolving?

To evolve, you needed a significant amount of inner energy.

Had they failed to gather enough energy?

That didn’t seem likely either.

Some of these lizards were naturally sitting in a meditative pose.

It was clear Compy had taught them how to cultivate their inner energy.

Now that I think about it, Compy hadn’t evolved either.

Was he deliberately rejecting evolution and training in a smaller body?

No matter how much I thought about it, it seemed he was intentionally refusing to evolve.

But why?

If it was to master some technique that required a smaller body, wouldn’t learning miniaturization solve the problem?

After all, Compy was a pretty good teacher.

No matter how high a lizard’s level was, there were limits to their species.

Even a Green Gecko at level 100 would still be far weaker than a level 1 Komodo.

As I said before, the size difference is critical.

Without Compy’s level of skill, it would be hard to overcome that.

A single Terror Bird at around level 20 could wipe out all of these lizards.

Sure, the Coelophysis would try to hold them off, but still.

Even if they’re high-level lizards, I couldn’t ignore them.

A level 2 lizard should never be underestimated.

If I had remained a Green Gecko, I’d have surpassed level 100 easily by now.

“Gegek!”

When I let out another cry, even more lizards gathered around.

“…Gek?”

Actually, quite a few more than expected.

A tidal wave of lizards, all above level 30, swarmed over me.

“Ge-eeek!”

I had overlooked something.

It seemed that my face, covered in Dragon Scales, was considered extremely attractive to lizards.

They started running their short little arms all over my body.

“Ki-eek!”

The touch reminded me of Tus and Pus.

It felt oddly affectionate, yet suspicious at the same time.

Tus.

Pus.

Nephela Jurassic.

Tang-something.

Master.

Queen.

Princess.

I’m sorry.

This poor lizard feels like he’s about to lose something very important today.

Eventually, the tide of lizards receded.

A few had stepped in to bring order to the chaos.

Such admirable lizards.

I felt a small sense of gratitude.

Ssss.

The tails of those that had saved me draped over my body.

The sensation of all those plump tails pressed together gave me an odd feeling.

Surely, reptiles should have cold bodies.

But there was a warmth to this.

Not scientifically warm, but emotionally.

It felt like… family, maybe?

I should thank them.

“Ge-gegek!”
“Gek-gek.”

...Gek-gek?

That strange sound.

Those plump tails.

Those broad feet.

“Ge-ge-ge-gegek!”
“Gek-gek-gek!”

The ones protecting me were none other than other Gecko lizards.