**Training with the Snake Queen**

After our bodies pressed closely together, an odd atmosphere lingered as we exchanged glances. 

If that’s the case, I could do this all day.

In reality, she placed her energy pouch on my soft belly and looked at me with that kind of expression.

“How do you feel?”

What do you mean, how do I feel? A bit embarrassed, I guess.

The Snake Queen had a minor flaw with her lower body being that of a snake, but if you could overlook that, she was indeed a breathtaking beauty.

Moreover, her energy pouch was quite substantial.

For some reason, it seemed she didn’t even bother to hide it while she was with me.

“Since we both consumed the inner pill of the Biikjo, our strengths should resonate to some degree.”

The Biikjo is a creature that is one and the same yet also two.

Thus, it’s highly likely that its inner pill inherited its nature.

To be precise, one of the two was swallowed by the Shweik, while the other was shared between us.

While it would be more accurate to say it resonates with the Shweik’s, it also felt like the inner pill we both consumed resonated with each other.

“So, the more we act together, the more we can draw out that power. Training together would be the most efficient approach.”

I kept talking, but being close to the Snake Queen was always welcomed.

In fact, even without that excuse, I could easily live sticking to her.

But now I had this excuse to cling even more.

Since our skin was pressed together, it really felt like the power of the Biikjo was getting stronger.

“However, I am not currently in a position to devote all my time to you.”

The Snake Queen was right.

She had many things to do.

It wasn’t as if I could keep her here for too long just for training.

“Then let’s make it short and impactful.”

The smooth body of the Snake Queen gently caressed me.

…Smooth?

No, the Snake Queen’s body was always smooth.

That wasn’t the problem.

What was concerning was that her tail, which was caressing me, was getting larger.

And her beautifully refined face was transforming into something quite terrifying.

For some reason, every time we locked eyes, I felt like my body was turning to stone.

“Saahhh!”

A basilisk was looking down at me.

“Ggegegegek!”

What the hell! Why did she suddenly change into that form?

If she didn’t quickly return to her human form, I’d confiscate Okbong’s honey.

“Get into position.”

The basilisk’s eyes shone brightly.

Was I missing something?

Let me think it over.

Training, short and impactful, and the main body.

Combining those, one conclusion emerged.

“I should see your skills.”

She was suggesting a sparring match under the guise of training.

But I wasn’t the type to accept that so easily.

Why would I spar with the Snake Queen?

“Ggegek?”

I made an innocent lizard face, completely oblivious.

Gomodo had no idea!

“If you think you’re going to die, just say so.”

Why say it like that?

I feel hurt.

Kwaaaang!

“Ggegegek!”

I feel like I might die!

---

The world is vast, and there are many strong beings.

One arrogant lizard, believing it had reached the level of Gomodo-Rania, knelt down.

The Snake Queen, still in her human form, continued to stroke me.

Nadenade.

But it hurt.

It felt like the part she just stroked was turning to stone. Was it just my imagination?

“Ggeek!”

“Whew. Does it hurt a lot?”

My body didn’t really hurt that much.

The Snake Queen wasn’t trying to kill me.

The pain was not in my body, but in my heart.

Status screen!

I still can’t even see the Snake Queen’s level!

“Ggeek…”

“I remember when I first saw you. Compared to then, your skills have grown remarkably. To have become this strong in such a short time is unprecedented.”

…Was I too shameless?

It had only been about four months of lizard life.

I don’t know, but compared to the Snake Queen, who had likely lived for at least decades, if not hundreds of years, it might be rude to even compare.

“I’m serious. If this were a real battle, even if I won, my body wouldn’t have been intact.”

I might have lost a scale or two.

She was overestimating me.

This sparring match (one-sided beating) made it clear where I currently stood. I had aspirations to capture the Bird King, but realistically, that seemed difficult.

At the very least, the Bird King would possess a strength equal to the Snake Queen.

My role would be to assist her or counter the Filbang or Nazchal.

“The more amazing thing is that I can become even stronger here. And that before the war against the Gae-chalko-atak.”

“Ggeck!”

Really?

The Snake Queen gently stroked my wounds with her tail, analyzing the recent battle.

My habits.

And points for improvement.

It was advice that would become blood and scales.

Although it felt a bit disheartening to think of it as the cost of being beaten up to the point of losing scales, I still gained quite a bit.

Even when I won battles before, it was just winning, as no one had ever given me feedback.

Now, having been beaten up and with my nose rubbed in it, the Snake Queen allowed me to reflect on my weaknesses.

She truly wasn’t called a queen for nothing.

Even with her large and beautiful tail, she would have moments where she couldn’t utilize it properly, or when she insisted on using her claws when she could use her teeth.

Her advice hit like a hammer.

I listened intently as she spoke, despite feeling a bit hurt from the Snake Queen's feedback.

Now that the whip had ended, it was time for the carrot.

“What’s with that expression?”

“Ggegekk.”

“…I see. There are many things to praise.”

Open your mouth; praise is coming in.

“The technique itself wasn’t bad. Especially that blue ray that seemed to mimic my technique. The output is quite impressive.”

Gae-gege-death beam.

The original was the Snake Queen’s destruction ray.

I had stolen it with my reverse energy and improved it with faith, turning it into the Gae-gege-death beam.

Its power was among the highest of the techniques I possessed.

In close range, I had the Guum Baekgol Jo; at long range, I had the Gae-gege-death beam.

Of course, one could argue that neither of them truly belonged to me.

They were not techniques that were registered in my status screen, nor were they ones I could use just because I understood their intricacies and principles.

Both required reverse energy to be used.

Those without a status screen would surely feel indignant: How could a lizard use such techniques!?

But what could I do about it?

I was a lizard with a status screen.

I had to utilize what I could to the fullest.

“Above all, the most impressive thing is the power you demonstrated. The strength to suppress enemies as if uprooting mountains. That’s surely what you call the reverse energy explosion.”

This too was a technique dependent on reverse energy.

It could be said to be the very thing that kept me alive.

If we were to liken it to a game, it would be a wide-area debuff combined with a personal buff.

Versatile.

Aside from the somewhat high MP consumption, it was a technique without drawbacks.

“To be honest, I’m a bit envious.”

The fact that the Snake Queen felt envy.

Well, it was a technique used by Baek Yeon-Yeong, after all.

It seemed to be quite a high-level technique.

However, I didn’t think it was something the Snake Queen should be saying.

The Snake Queen was strong enough that she didn’t need to use reverse energy explosion.

Furthermore, the effect of suppressing enemies could easily be replicated by emitting her energy.

As I tilted my head in confusion, the Snake Queen seemed to read my thoughts and elaborated.

“That’s not a technique that can be mimicked just because one has a lot of energy. It requires an essential realization to use it. One must understand what one is, what kind of power one is using, and what one aims for.”

Realization…!

The Snake Queen was speaking something profound.

Status screen click.

Reverse energy click.

What on earth am I, having used reverse energy explosion like this?

I felt sorry for the Snake Queen.

…No, wait.

Thinking it over, it seems I used reverse energy explosion before even using reverse energy.

The first time I used reverse energy explosion was when I fought the Dilophosaurus that had become the Poison Dragon.

Immediately after that battle, I evolved into Gomodo and gained reverse energy.

That means I realized something without even being aware of it.

However, the fact that it wasn’t registered in my skill screen means I used it unconsciously.

I felt like I was grasping a clue.

Reverse energy explosion and Guum Baekgol Jo.

Both techniques were used when I didn’t have reverse energy.

But now, that energy is absent.

As the Snake Queen said, I had to delve into what realization meant.

“The techniques my master tried to teach me were the same. Without realization, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t even mimic them.”

The techniques the Snake Queen’s master taught her.

I had

 seen them in her mind’s eye.

Give it a strong shout and Pabbat!

Head honcho this, most excellent that.

It was quite an obscure phrase.

“I believe that you might realize what those words mean. And if you gain my master’s realization, you could become strong enough to reach me.”

“Ggegegek.”

The words of the Snake Queen’s master that I had seen in her mind.

And her posture.

She was clearly pointing one hand towards the sky.

The bald man that Compi showed me in the stone tablet had the same pose.

Was it a coincidence that they both did the same?

“You seem to be lost in thought. While I would love to be by your side if only my heart were willing, there’s no more time left.”

The Snake Queen smiled gently.

She continued to stroke me and then headed toward the entrance of the temple.

When I say entrance, I mean the large hole created from our sparring.

She was going to do what she needed to do.

She took the time to convey something to me.

With the Snake Queen gone, I was left alone in this place.

Now wasn’t the time to be idle.

“Ggegekk.”

I surveyed my surroundings.

There was definitely no one here, right?

Not that anyone would be here, but it’s just how lizard feelings work.

Even knowing I was alone, I still felt the urge to check.

“Ggegekk.”

Ggeoktae screen.

【Gomodo-Rania LV20】  
HP: 5110/5110  
MP: 1630/1630  
【Titles】  
「Beloved by the Spider」  
「Master of the Silver Dragon Cave」  
「Master of the Swamp (Lower)」  
「Companion of the Snake Queen」  
「Heir of the Small Dragon」

This incredible spec… 

What’s that?

There are two strange things attached.

「Companion of the Snake Queen」  
The Snake Queen has recognized you as her companion. Beings with Snake Queen faith worship you.  
You have a strong resistance to poison and petrification.

「Heir of the Small Dragon」  
The Small Dragon has recognized you as a son-in-law. Beings with Small Dragon faith worship you.  
You receive enhancements for 「Small Dragon Ascension」 and its derived techniques.

What is this?

Why did something like this come in without any warning?

I just wanted to check my specs.

It felt like the Snake Queen and Compi had stamped a seal on each of my cheeks. 

1++ Lizard vibes.

…Let’s just move on for now.

That’s not what I’m looking at right now.

---

**Skills**  
「Dragon Roar」「Small Dragon Ascension」「Soju Cheon」「Baekdok Bulchim」「Gaegege Death Method」「Bokho Gong」「Koryong Gak」  
「Dragon Scale LV10」「Reverse Energy LV1」「Poison Creation LV10」「Poison Gathering LV8」「Dragon Blood LV1」…….

---

What I should be looking at are these skills.

The training I had undergone until now was merely for the sake of becoming stronger.

Leveling up, eating inner pills to make that power my own.

I thought that as long as I got stronger in some way, it was fine.

Of course, that method wasn’t bad.

Raising my level, which only I could see, became a significant advantage.

But now, even leveling up once felt like a chore.

Even if I caught ten Horror Birds, it wouldn’t make a dent.

In this time-restricted situation, I needed to use a more efficient method.

I crossed my legs and closed my eyes.

I drew up my energy from deep within my dantian.

Once again, my heart’s eye became visible.

There was no reason to face my spirit, so I could only see a calm lake.

The water in the lake wasn’t overflowing.

It didn’t mean that the water had decreased.

The size of the lake itself had grown.

That must be my vessel.

Sssssss.

I inhaled deeply.

Huuuuuu.

I exhaled again.

Through my conversation with the Snake Queen, I grasped a clue.

A way for me to move forward.

Training is essentially the process of gaining realization.

Of course, it was highly unlikely that I would understand something in a flash that even the Snake Queen didn’t comprehend.

But that was okay.

The skill I possessed, reverse energy.

I intended to delve into this.

Why it hadn’t leveled up despite being used countless times.

The reason I could use Baek Yeon-Yeong’s technique even without the reverse energy skill.

I was determined to achieve at least one thing.

If I couldn’t achieve even a single thing?

Then I’ll just have to confront the great one that sleeps deep in my lake.

Grrr.

Bubbles formed beneath the lake.

It felt like something was anticipating, but that couldn’t be true.

Whether I leveled up my reverse energy or gained realization.

I would definitely achieve one of those two.

Grrr… 

…It feels like I’m in a desperate situation.

Eh, I don’t know.

There’s no way I can fail.