Baek Seol-hwa gave a brief explanation of Baek Yeon-young’s condition.

She noted that it had been a long time since she’d seen her sleep so peacefully, as Baek Yeon-young typically relied on breathing techniques instead of actual sleep to recover. It seemed that with me nearby, she was able to rest more comfortably, and Seol-hwa asked me to continue helping her sleep in this way.

“Gek.”

Of course, she didn’t ask for free. She promised that if I could help Baek Yeon-young sleep soundly, she’d make a special meat dish for me the next day.

The thought of drool-worthy, cooked meat—not just raw meat—was enough to make my mouth water. Though I was still unsure if cooked meat would suit my lizard palate better than raw meat, I couldn’t resist the memory of the delicious roasted meat I’d shared with Tang So-young in the swamps.

And if Seol-hwa was the one cooking… her culinary skills couldn’t be ordinary. With her love for sweet treats and a bit of extra… "padding" in certain areas, I felt certain she knew her way around food.

Seol-hwa left the room quietly, reminding me once more to keep watch over Baek Yeon-young’s sleep. Though she worried that her chatter might wake her, Baek Yeon-young slept soundly, her breath soft and even.

If only my status screen could work a bit harder—maybe I’d get a quest for this.

**Protect Baek Yeon-young’s Sleep.**  
**Reward: A delicious meal from Seol-hwa.**

An easy quest, if you ask me. All I had to do was sit quietly in Baek Yeon-young’s hand and do nothing.

But I am the sacred beast of the *Gaegeuk Sect*, the mighty *Gomodo-Rania*! Sitting still is against my nature. I’d rather live as a hungry lizard than as a contented pig.

“Gek.”

With Baek Yeon-young sleeping so deeply, it meant I could move around freely. This was a rare opportunity that I had to make the most of. Who knows, I might even earn a title or achievement.

I had earned *Loved by Spiders*, so why not something here too? Maybe if I bit her finger, I’d get something like *Fearless One*.

“Gek gek.”

I slipped out of her hand. I worried a bit that she might stir, but the skin contact seemed enough to keep her resting peacefully. Standing on my tiny feet, I gazed at her face. They say everyone looks like an angel when they sleep. Even the fierce Baek Yeon-young looked slightly… cute.

This woman, who had defeated an entire faction in a single strike, was now lying here, completely vulnerable.

“Gek gek gek,” I chuckled, approaching her face with a mischievous grin.

To mess with someone while they’re sleeping is a beastly act—but I’m a lizard, so it’s only natural.

I reached up and squished her cheek.

“Gek gek.”

It was both soft and firm—a strangely addictive texture. I pulled her cheek this way and that, playfully tugging at her ink-black hair. Even I had to admit it was a little too much, teasing my defenseless master like this. But if I wanted titles and achievements, risky ventures like these were the way to go.

I kneaded her cheeks with both hands, wondering why she constantly poked and prodded me. Now I understood—it was oddly satisfying.

“What are you doing?”

“Gek?”

I froze, still holding onto her cheeks, and slowly lifted my head.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Baek Yeon-young’s cold eyes were fixed on me.

“G-gegek!”

---

A limp lizard hung in her grasp.

“Ge-eeng…”

Baek Yeon-young had woken up and promptly dealt with me. Though she didn’t put me in her mouth, she’d thoroughly had her way with my small body.

“Strange, isn’t it? I actually fell asleep.”

She petted my head lightly, but it didn’t do much to improve my mood.

“What’s wrong?”  
“Gek.”

“…Come to think of it, Hui, you seem to have grown a bit.”  
“Gek?”

I looked down at myself. I did feel a bit bigger, but it wasn’t enough to be visibly noticeable.

Baek Yeon-young grabbed me by the scruff and placed me in my usual spot.

…How could this be?

“Look. You’re definitely bigger, aren’t you?”

I was feeling cramped.

“Gek!”

If I get any bigger, I won’t fit here anymore!

A rather silly thought, but I quickly shook it off. I should be glad to regain my full size, not disappointed.

“Hm… I don’t know the exact reason, but I suppose I just need to repeat what we did tonight.”

Repeat tonight’s events?

“Come visit my room every night from now on.”

Isn’t that… a little dangerous?

But I couldn’t refuse. I had to fulfill my promise to Seol-hwa for the food, and for my master’s restful sleep, I’d sacrifice myself.

“Gek gek.”

What a noble lizard I am. I could practically hear the unicorns cheering in admiration.

---

Life in the *Cheonma Divine Cult* continued in this way. In the mornings, I’d head over to Tang So-young for treatment.

“Ke-eeng!”

Every time the spiders saw me, they looked as though they didn’t know what to do with themselves. I tried to ignore it as best as I could.

With strings of drool dripping, Tus, Pus, and Nephila Jurassic would hover close by, their spinnerets working overtime. What were they even trying to achieve?

“Kyoong…”  
“What… what are they doing so early in the day?” Tang So-young muttered, blushing as she glanced between me and the spiders.

What indeed.

After the treatment, despite my lack of enthusiasm, I had to endure another new “therapy” she had devised.

With a dark grin, Tang So-young grasped my arm while the spiders clung to my legs, stretching and pulling my body as if trying to force an increase in size.

And oddly enough, it seemed to be working. I had noticeably grown in size.

“Gek…”

Once my stretching session was done, I’d sneak into Seol-hwa’s room in the afternoon.

“Gek gek gek.”

Silly humans.

Snickering to myself, I’d swipe one of her dumplings each day. Seol-hwa would serve the promised meal, but she would shoot me disapproving looks the entire time.

Eventually, she begged me to be satisfied with dried persimmons instead of her dumplings. But I’m a dragon at heart—naturally, I took both.

She probably would have grabbed me by the tail and spun me around, if not for the importance of Baek Yeon-young’s sleep. Seeing how she quietly brought out the food each time, she must have decided it was best not to make a fuss.

I’d eat my fill of the braised pork, sometimes even snatching a massive dumpling.

“You perverted little lizard!” she’d yell, eventually chasing me out of her room, where I’d then wander around the cult grounds.

While the thought of getting caught crossed my mind, I’d already been spotted on the very first day. And with my size increasing, it was now even harder to avoid detection. Since hiding was out of the question, I decided to carry myself with pride.

“Sek, Sekchuk…!”

The humans who used to chase me had changed tactics.

“Good lizard. Here, want some of this?”  
“Gek.”

They’d offer me food as tribute. They must have realized that catching a lizard as fast as me, with the *Sorong*’s agility, was impossible.

Occasionally, a master would try to approach, but they’d disappear as soon as I noticed them. High-level martial artists didn’t see the need to go out of their way to catch a single lizard.

“Careful! Last time, the elders tried to catch Sekchuk and ended up passing out.”  
“What? That lizard’s that powerful?”  
“No, the sect leader knocked them out.”

“…What?”

The disciples would exchange baffled glances, not understanding the odd situation.

“Gek gek.”

Gradually, I became a recognized creature within the cult—a bit like a campus cat that everyone knows.

The black lizard that grew larger each day.

The *Ten Thousand Mountains* might be home to many spiritual beasts, but I’m sure none of them had ever seen a creature quite like me.

“Look at that! The lizard’s walking on two legs!”  
“They say when it rains, it leaps across raindrops!”  
“It even shoots beams from its mouth sometimes!”  
“And it’s apparently a ladies’ lizard!”

I’d even gathered some admirers.

Could I end up recruiting some of the cult’s disciples to my side at this rate?

Well, probably not. Even if Baek Yeon-young favored me, she wasn’t exactly the cult leader. And if the true cult leader caught wind of this, I’d be chopped up before I knew it.

Tang So-young had warned me that the cult leader was vicious enough to grind up a lizard like me for a snack.

“Gek gek.”

In the mornings, snacks from Tang So-young and the spiders.

At lunch, a meal and dumpling from Seol-hwa.

And snacks from the cult disciples in between.

Eating like this every

 day, I continued to grow exponentially. I’d grown so much that Baek Yeon-young could barely wrap her arms around me to sleep.

“Gek ek… gek gek!”

While the idea of being cuddled by her was heartwarming, the reality was less so—it felt more like sleeping with a balloon. If she had a nightmare, I’d pop for sure.

Adjusting her blanket with my tail, I positioned everything just right to make sure she slept as comfortably as possible.

And so I evolved from a hungry lizard to a well-fed one, growing bigger each day.

Growing up in the wild made regaining my size faster than I’d expected.

Eventually, even fierce creatures like the *Death Worm* found their way into my mouth. Once small, they now felt like mere chunks of meat as I continued to gain levels and increase my size.

I had finally grown so large that I needed to shrink down just to fit into Baek Yeon-young’s room.

“You’ve gotten quite big, haven’t you?”

She stroked me gently before falling asleep, marveling at my size.

“Gek gek.”

To think I get to share a bed with a beauty like Baek Yeon-young—how lucky. Then again, one wrong move and I might end up as dried lizard jerky.

Perhaps because I’d grown, she no longer let me rest in her energy pocket, so I lay stiffly, resigned to the role of her “bamboo wife.”

“At this rate, I think it’s time you received the *Odusa’s* core,” she murmured.

“Gek!”

Finally…!

The core of the *Odusa*, which was more or less a hydra. Truly a formidable beast.

Receiving its core was the final step. It was time for me to evolve into a three-headed lizard, the ultimate *King Gomodo*.

“Hui, have you heard of the *Market Fist Technique*?”  
“Gek?”  
“Never mind, just a random thought.”

Stop with the cryptic words and hand over the core!