I Became the Only Reptile in the Community

Chapter 26

—–CROW—–    

It hurt like hell.

It easily ranked among the top two most painful experiences of my current life.

Don’t ask what number one was.  I’m sure you can all guess.  That whole ordeal with the three poison sacs.

*Crack*

Ah, but this really did hurt.  It would be strange if the process of my entire body being broken down and rebuilt didn’t hurt.

But despite the pain, I didn’t let out a single scream.  Ironically, having gone through similar experiences multiple times in a short period, I had become quite adept at suppressing screams.

‘How sad, how sad.’

*Crack*

Ah, was my tail already done?  As the smallest part of my body, the pain in my tail had already subsided.

*Pop. Crack.*

‘This seems like it’ll take a while.  Should I check Gallery?’

Right, I needed to distract myself.  That way, the pain would be less noticeable.

[Is this the Lena route?]

-Posted by: FlagMaster

I’ve gotten pretty close to Lena since we became teammates. We went on a date over the weekend, exchanged gifts, and are practically inseparable. Does this mean I’ve unlocked her route?

-Sigh.

-Sigh.

-Sigh.

-Sigh.

-(OP): Why is everyone sighing?

That post was depressing from the start.  To think someone so clueless about Lena had stumbled into our midst.  They probably chose a ridiculously easy achievement at the beginning.

‘Yeah, that’s possible.’

Anyone who’d experienced it would know the true meaning behind Lena’s actions.  In “Save Earth Hero,” Lena’s behavior wasn’t genuine; it was an act, following  *That guy’s* orders.  FlagMaster was falling for her performance.  Those of us who knew Lena and had suffered at her hands in the game could only sigh at the appearance of another unsuspecting victim.

-Our friend’s about to get backstabbed in real-time.

└Hey, hey, no spoilers.

└Lol.

└Wow, they don’t even know?

└The newbies these days are something else.

└Back in my day…

└Here we go again. Just eat your food, grandpa.

└The soup is too salty!!

└Lol.

It had been shocking enough in the game; how much more painful would it be in reality?  My condolences to FlagMaster in advance.

*Crackle, pop.*

‘Oh?’

Being entertained by FlagMaster’s post on Gallery had definitely helped.  Nearly half of my body had already transformed.  From my tail to almost halfway up my body, I was covered in new, black scales.  A faint membrane was visible over them, but it didn’t diminish the blackness.

‘Oh, this is pretty cool.’

I quickly took a picture of my transformed lower body and posted it on Gallery.

*Click.*

[Evolution!]

-Posted by: DragonScaleSnack

Praise me, everyone.

(Picture of a strangely black body, seemingly absorbing the surrounding light.)

This body.  Evolving in real-time.

-Wow, evolution!

-But why is it so black?

└Dark evolution.

└Lol.

└Is it turning into SkullGreymon?

└Nah, black, so BlackWarGreymon.

└Oh, that’s way cooler.

-What about the face? If it’s an Imugi, shouldn’t it look more dragon-like?

└(OP): My face is undergoing real-time plastic surgery.

└?

└?

Well, it wasn’t exactly wrong.  The difference was that the “plastic surgery” encompassed my entire body, not just my face.

*Crack, crack, pop.*

‘Is it finally over?’

After posting on Gallery and interacting with others in the comments, the transformation was complete.  The pain in my body had vanished.

‘But my vision is blurry.’

Gallery, due to its unique nature, appeared clearly, but everything else was hazy, as if I was looking through fogged-up glasses.

*Crack*

My senses, heightened by becoming an Imugi, told me the transformation was complete.  It was time to shed this constricting skin and reveal myself to the world.

*Rip.*

With a tearing sound from my back, the tightness I’d been feeling eased.  And I instinctively knew.  I was shedding my skin!

I’d been wondering why it hadn’t happened yet.  It had been strange that I’d grown without shedding my skin.  I’d thought it wasn’t something I’d experience, but here I was.

The shedding process was quite smooth.  All I had to do was wriggle towards the opening in my back.  It might seem difficult, like trying to take off clothes while lying down without using your arms or legs, but considering how I’d been moving around all this time, it wasn’t a problem.

*Hiss.*

How much time had passed?  I wasn’t sure, but it felt like about ten minutes.

Finally, the shedding was complete.  Like a butterfly emerging from its chrysalis, I had shed my snake skin and become an Imugi.

“Shaaa.”

My vision cleared as the shed skin fell away.  I looked up at the clear sky and wondered if the heavens were celebrating my transformation into a sacred beast.

There was a single cloud in the sky, shaped remarkably like a dragon.  The sun was the Yeouiju, and the cloud surrounding it was the dragon.  Looking at it, I felt like the heavens were telling me, *This is the path you must take next…*

Looking at the sky, I thought, *Right now, I’m looking up, but someday… I want to look down on the blue sky from above.*

—–CROW—–

“[Ahem.  Ah, ah.  A-E-I-O-U.  Ga-Na-Da-Ra-Ma-Ba-Sa.]”

What was I doing now that I was an Imugi?

I was practicing mana-based communication.  Farewell to the days of “Shaa, shaa.”  While it wasn’t vocalization, but communication through mana, the barrier to communication was gone.  Silphy and I had always been able to understand each other, but Cheong was different.  Now, I could convey my thoughts to her perfectly.

‘But my body feels so… squishy.’

I’d also noticed something else while moving around.  My body was incredibly soft.  I wouldn’t be exaggerating if I said it felt like a slime toy.  I assumed it was a characteristic of newly shed skin, like with other creatures that molted.  Over time, my scales and body would harden, probably even more so than before.

“[Sigh…!]”

Now, all that remained was… transformation into a human.

The method for transformation was ingrained in my mind.  Perhaps thanks to the Yeouiju, I could recall how to manipulate mana and the common abilities used by sacred beasts.  Mana-based communication was one such ability.

“[Hup…!]”

I enveloped my body in mana and visualized the form I desired.  A human body.  A human, standing on two legs, able to grasp and manipulate objects with two arms.

“[Huh?]”

But it seemed it was still beyond my capabilities.  No matter how I tried to manipulate mana according to the memories in my head, I couldn’t transform into a human.  My initial disappointment faded as I remembered I had only just become a sacred beast.

“[Right.  Time will solve this.  I’ll just wait.]”

*Hiss.*

“[…Huh?]”

Instinctively, I coiled my body.

“[Wait a minute.]”

I uncoiled and stretched out.  Then, I moved my head and tail, leaving marks, and slithered to the side…

“[Did I shrink?]”

Looking at the marks, I realized I was smaller than before.

“[I-Is this even possible?]”

Shouldn’t I be bigger?  That’s why my field of vision felt the same.  I hadn’t grown; I’d shrunk.

I didn’t know the reason at the time, but it was a natural consequence.  Even though I had absorbed and broken down the Dragon King’s Yeouiju, making its power my own, the fact remained that I had used something created by another.  Even if the heavens approved, some rules couldn’t be broken.

But perhaps feeling reluctant to curse me outright, especially since I was still a newly born snake, the heavens had adjusted my transforming body to match my age, making me a baby Imugi.  At least I wasn’t cursed.

Unaware of this, I began pondering how to grow bigger, my thoughts interrupted by Silphy and Cheong, who, worried about my sudden silence, rushed to my side.

“-El!!”

“Myamyang!”

Silphy arrived on the wind, with Cheong hot on her heels.  I was wondering how to explain the situation when Silphy’s words made it unnecessary.

“-El?  That form…!”

She recognized my transformation immediately.

*Clap, clap, clap.*

“-Congratulations! You’ve become an Imugi!”

“[Thank you, Silphy.]”

“-Wow! That’s El’s voice! It doesn’t suit your cute appearance at all!”

“[I’ll take that as a compliment.]”

As I exchanged playful banter with Silphy…

“…Myang?”

Cheong’s uneasy voice drew our attention.  She had turned away from me and was looking at my shed snake skin on the ground.

Was it that fascinating?  I suppose it was, since I hadn’t shed my skin while we were together.

“[Cheong, come here…]”

“…Grrrr.”

*Pause.*

What was that?

That chilling growl…

—–CROW—–