I stood at the highest point of the volcano, surveying my domain.

The vast area before me, far surpassing the marshlands, had become entirely mine.

Standing here, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of nostalgia.

I think back to when I was born as a gecko, being chased by an Oviraptor.

Did I ever imagine that I would come this far?

...No, just surviving a single day felt like a struggle back then.

Every day was a fight for survival, a battle for tomorrow.

In the acacia trees, in the marshlands, in the Silver Dragon Cave...

Though there were times I could rest for a while, in the end, it always turned into a brutal fight for survival.

Always fighting for my life, I have finally found a place where I can rest.

A mid-tier dragonkin, Paryong.

At this point, it wouldn't hurt to indulge in a little complacency.

My inherent strength is on par with the Red Dragon, and I've gathered powerful followers.

The Volcano and the Snow Mountain.

Managing both of them simultaneously means I will only grow stronger without lifting a finger.

The reason I lived so actively up until now was because I wanted a life of comfort like this.

The first time I faced a wall, Kaiman.

I’ve seen Ihmuki, who was much stronger than Kaiman, and I’ve even seen my master, who subdued such a creature in a single blow.

I realized that simply becoming moderately strong wouldn’t allow me to survive here.

That’s why I’ve pushed myself this far.

...Though there were times when I faltered, I can confidently say that I’ve come a long way.

For one, I’m still younger than my followers, and that alone proves it.

Of course, there are still things left to do.

There are many tasks, but the most important one is related to the Yongsaenggugja.

I still need to deal with them.

They are probably preparing as well.

Being dragonkin themselves, they must have realized that the master of the Volcano has changed, and they must also know that I’ve absorbed the Snow Mountain.

However, the fact that they didn’t attack immediately after I consumed the Volcano means their chances of launching an attack are very low.

If Chodo or Gongbok come, I’d actually be grateful.

If it’s Gomodo—beating him up is not a problem, even if he's one of the Yongsaenggugja.

If I had to hunt them down here, things would be different, but that too can be solved the moment the Red Dragon returns.

I could take either Baeklang or the Red Dragon with me.

For now, I’ll take a rest.

I need to train my followers, and I need to learn more about this Fox Orb.

There’s no need to rush like before.

“Ughh…”

Dangsoyeong under me let out a sound.

“Hah!”

It seems like she’s finally coming to her senses.

“What…what just happened?”

Though I didn’t want to, I was holding her in my arms.

It was like how a hen would protect her eggs.

Since the Red Dragon, who could control fire, wasn’t around, I had to keep her warm this way to thaw her out safely.

Fortunately, she was only slightly frozen on the outside, so I don’t think there’s a big issue, but you never know.

Sooyeong doesn't have much fat, and if the only healer we have gets hurt, she won't be able to treat anyone.

“Did Great Master wiggle his finger…? He was beckoning me over…”

Dangsoyeong, like someone who had just woken from a sleeping trance, mumbled nonsensically.

“Ugh… But why did the Great Master…?”

I wasn’t sure if I should leave her to the wolves, but since she’s my follower, I thought it was only right for me to care for her.

Seizing the rare opportunity, Dangsoyeong began to fumble around, feeling my scales.

“Hehehe…”

...Could you please wipe your drool?

“But, Great Master, you’re… technically a reptile, aren’t you?”

As she gently touched my scales and fur, she continued speaking.

“But why is your body warm?”

Warm, huh?

That’s probably because of the fur, but I’m fundamentally a lizard, a cold-blooded creature.

That doesn’t mean my body is cold, but there’s a distinct coolness to it.

She probably thought I was warm because she was just thawing from being frozen.

“Well, it’s not bad. Honestly, I thought you didn’t like me much.”

Why wouldn’t I like you?

I took the title of ‘god’ away, but it wasn’t because I hated her.

I did it to prevent her from turning into Dangsoyeong in front of the Red Dragon.

...If it’s the Dangsoyeong I know, she would have done that.

“Dangga did some bad things to the spider servant... they did something really bad to her.”

Dangga did things to Tuss and Puss.

And it’s clear they tried to make Nepila live in solitude.

But I couldn’t just hate her without reason.

She came from Dangga, but it seems she has nothing to do with them now.

We’ve spent so many years living together—why should I suddenly hold that against her?

Seeing the spiders play with Sooyeong shows that they’ve probably forgiven her a long time ago.

“It might sound sudden, but meeting you, Great Master, feels like fate.”

Ugh.

She made a sound, leaning against me.

She was so light I almost couldn’t feel her presence.

“When I was in Dangga, I couldn’t live so freely.”

She spoke, gazing at the scenery, just like I had.

“I jokingly said I’d stay in the Cheonma sect, but still, I think being next to you, Great Master, is much better.”

This girl...

Why is she suddenly acting like this?

She would usually be jumping up and down if I told her I was taking her to the Cheonma Sect.

“Actually, it was a little hard without you, Great Master. Living with spirits and animals close to them, even ordinary actions could be dangerous sometimes.”

Dangsoyeong is an average human.

Though she could be considered a higher being if she used poison, against creatures of a much larger scale, like the beasts, it wouldn’t work as well. They often have resistance to poison.

To put it simply, Dangsoyeong right now is weaker than Tuss and Puss.

I wouldn’t leave Dangsoyeong alone, and my other followers would prioritize protecting the healer, but in an emergency, Dangsoyeong is the most dangerous.

Right now, if she were to meet Iggak, she’d faint from a light headbutt.

She was frozen by the cold that Tuss and Puss handled.

“But… opportunities like this, being with these spirit beasts, don’t come often. I’ll try to hang on... but I’ll hold on to you, Great Master!”

She playfully did some mischief, even hitting my rear from time to time, but now I feel a little guilty.

Dangsoyeong is the only human among my followers.

I must have subconsciously considered that when deciding to keep some distance.

After all, I’m not human, but a lizard.

It’s ridiculous that I took a human as a follower when I’m a lizard.

Clunk.

From my chest, I pulled out a sphere from my Yongrin.

“Wh…What is this?”

It was the Neidan of the Inmyeonjo that my master had given me.

I had been thinking about who to give it to.

Should I give it to the Red Dragon or Baeklang to boost their power, or give it to Tuss and Puss to accelerate their evolution?

The Red Dragon and Baeklang are already strong without the Neidan.

Tuss and Puss are weak right now, but they’re gradually stepping into the path of spirit beasts.

The transformation of spirit beasts is much easier than humans, so they might evolve on their own soon.

But Sooyeong is different.

Even if she trains, it’s almost impossible for her to reach the transformation of a spirit beast.

She has no one to help her train.

Few spirit beasts know the human way of training.

What I know is specialized for my own body.

So, the one who could use this Neidan most efficiently is Dangsoyeong.

“Are you… giving this to me?”

Sooyeong looked surprised.

And yet, she reached out her hand.

“No, I... I’m fine with just a regular Neidan…”

Her eyes spun, and her face turned red.

She stared at the Neidan for a long time, then smiled sheepishly.

“If you really insist, I’ll accept it graciously.”

She lifted her head and looked at me with a playful expression, her face still flushed.

“Really, thank you, Great Master.”

…

…That came out of nowhere.

“Actually... there’s a very, very high chance that my body can’t accept it, but what’s the problem with that!”

Huh?

Come to think of it, that’s right.

For someone with a body like mine, recklessly taking the Neidan is incredibly dangerous.

Would this second-rate person be able to handle this powerful Neidan?

“Well, I don’t refuse anything when offered.”

She quickly tried to hide the Neidan.

Since I gave it to her, I wouldn’t take it back, but...

I hope she won’t eat it all at once and blow herself up.

“...Huh? My Neidan?”

Someone snatched the Neidan from me.

“Hiiiyaaa!”

Dangsoyeong jumped up in surprise like a startled cat.

From my back, Nephila peeked out and stared at us.

“Kiooong…”

“Keeng…”

Naturally, Tuss and Puss were hiding somewhere in my fur.

“Th-This... I mean...”

Dangsoyeong was flustered, as if she had been caught in an affair.

“Hey, give it back! The Great Master gave it to me directly!”

She was trying to lunge at Nephila, unlike usual.

Of course, just like always, she was subdued by the Left and Right Laws.

“Hwaek…”

Well, I haven’t really given Nephila anything either.

How many Neidan did I receive?

Though I wasn’t planning on giving it to Nephila, I do have a separate reward for her.

It’s the Pungyuhwan, which is said to be in the Yongsaenggugja's nest.

I don’t know why, but once I get that, I’m sure Sooyeong and Nephila will fight over ownership.

Sooyeong gets the Neidan of the Inmyeonjo.

And Nephila gets other Neidan and the Pungyuhwan.

With that, they shouldn’t fight anymore.

“If it’s that, I don’t mind giving up the Neidan...”

Dangsoyeong fiddled with her fingers, calculating.

That’s not going to happen.

Sooyeong shouldn’t get the Pungyuhwan.

“Eyy, then at least give me that Neidan!”

She made a scene, acting as if I had given her a present, but she couldn’t take it back now.

I told her I would give Nephila something else instead.

Just as I was about to mediate...

“…It’s not like that.”

Nephila’s red eyes looked at me.

And at that very moment...

Thump!

She shoved the Neidan into my mouth.

“G-Get?”

Was she trying to feed me the Neidan?

Why? Suddenly?

I tried to spit it out quickly, but I couldn’t.

Nephila's pink lips were pressed against mine.

...What’s going on here?

A sudden and inexplicable action followed.

Why now? After all this time, why try to feed me the Neidan at this moment?

I couldn’t think about it.

The moment the Neidan of the Inmyeonjo entered my body, sleep overwhelmed me.

The last thing I saw before I fell asleep was a hint of purple energy mixed with the red glow in Nephila's eyes.

*

A vast lake appeared before me.

It was a sight so familiar.

Yes, this was my inner world.

The Neidan of the Inmyeonjo was definitely something of value.

Normally, I could swallow any Neidan without issue, but the fact that it made me fall asleep suggests this one was different.

Or perhaps Nephila did something more?

Nephila is not the kind to act without reason.

Even in her sleep, if I heard Nephila's words, I’d feel like an extra treat would fall into my lap.

Let me think about why she sent me here and what I can do now.

I briefly surveyed my inner world.

A lake, far deeper and larger than anything I’d seen before, stretched out before me.

An endless lake.

I instinctively knew that all the power I’d accumulated over time was submerged beneath the surface of the water.

Beneath the lake...

I hoped I would wake up before that one showed up.

Whoooosh!

As soon as that thought crossed my mind, an enormous splash erupted.

The one I had been waiting for finally revealed itself.

Not in its usual comical attire, but in the form I first saw it.

Red skin, claws so sharp they seemed ready to tear everything apart.

A massive comb, large enough to block the sun itself.

But a loser of the era that fled before the Tyrannosaurus.

A Spinosaurus.

Yes.

That’s why it had been acting strange all this time.

My heart started pounding.

A being of terror.

A being that traps me in a trap.

Or perhaps, my true adversary.

My inner beast had manifested as this creature.

...Sometimes, its bizarre form was the problem, but that too was likely one of its strategies.

Seeing its current imposing figure, my blood began to boil.

I wanted to conquer this beast, a warrior’s instinct stirring within me.

— Krrrghhh.

The beast let out a low growl.

It glared at me as if it were ready to devour me at any moment, but it did not attack.

Instead, it simply stretched out a finger and pointed at the center of the lake.

As if there was something it wanted to convey to me.

Plop.

A drop of water fell into the vast lake.

A new image appeared at the center of the lake.

A desolate mountain of rock, nothing left standing.

The dismembered Iggaksu lay fallen.

A dragon that controlled flames had crashed to the ground.

...What was this?

It was such a horrific scene that I doubted my own eyes.

A wolf that controlled ice was trapped in the ice.

The spiders, shedding tears, were trying to wake the girl of Dangga who had closed her eyes.

Iggaksu, the Red Dragon, Baeklang.

Tuss, Puss, Dangsoyeong.

They were all lying there, fallen.

A giant serpent made of stone stared at them with cold eyes.

The swordsman, with plum blossoms scattering from his blade, was staunchly trying to stop the bleeding from his severed arm.

— Kaaaaaak!

The lizard, with its horn cut off and its tail missing, could not rise up, only howling in anguish as it watched the tragedy unfold.

...

This was not the time to become complacent.