I Became the Only Reptile in the Community

Chapter 16

—–CROW—– 

My name in this life was decided.

El Grace.  Since it was a bit long, I’d be called El.

It was a name hard to imagine belonging to a Korean, but as a fresh start in this new life, it wasn’t bad.

“Haaam~  Maybe it’s the change in sleeping arrangements. My body feels stiff.”

Several days had passed since I received my name.

Silphy had started living outside the inner part of the cave she’d introduced as her home.  It seemed she preferred our company to solitude, but since we couldn’t enter the deeper parts of the cave without her help, this arrangement was likely a compromise.

*Crunch.*

“I can’t believe I didn’t realize this sooner. I’ve wasted half my life as a spirit.”

Living together with Silphy had also unexpectedly yielded a piece of crucial information.

No one considered Amrita as food.

As discussed in the previous gallery, Amrita was the original form of Ambrosia, a recognized elixir.  Naturally, it was edible.

However, that was knowledge only available in the modern era, after countless years had passed.  In this ancient era, no one thought of Amrita as something to eat.

*That’s why there’s so much Amrita, yet no one eats it.*

Thinking about it, there had been some inconsistencies.

Why hadn’t that giant rat, my first opponent, eaten the abundant Amrita around it before attacking me?

Why hadn’t Cheong, that cat, eaten the Amrita I offered her at first? And even when she did eat it, why did she always share it with me?

It was because they instinctively felt a resistance to consuming Amrita.

And that applied to Silphy, the spirit, as well.

Every time she saw us eating Amrita, she stared with such wonder that it became quite burdensome.

Well, now the problem was that she ate even more Amrita than we did.

*Crunch.*

“If I’d known it was this delicious, I would’ve tried it sooner.”

…However, wasn’t she eating a bit too much?

Fortunately, she was a spirit, so her body didn’t change despite the large quantities of Amrita she consumed. If she were an ordinary being, she would have gained weight rapidly at this rate.

Even now, fragments of what were once at least ten Amrita fruits were scattered around her.

And that was the amount she had devoured in just one sitting.

*It’s a good thing there’s so much Amrita. Otherwise, it would’ve been a disaster.*

There was still plenty of Amrita left.  And as long as this ancient era, where Amrita existed, persisted, there would be no shortage of it.

Although the number of Amrita fruits dwindled rapidly thanks to Silphy, they miraculously regrew to their original quantity within a day.

Was this bizarre growth rate due to the characteristics of the ancient era? Or was it an inherent property of Amrita itself?

*I think it’s probably both.*

Amrita grew by absorbing the surrounding mana, and the abundant mana characteristic of the ancient era accelerated its growth. It seemed like a miraculous growth rate resulting from the synergy of these two factors.

Otherwise, it wouldn’t make sense that something with such a growth rate had gone extinct.

*Gulp.*

I swallowed my share of Amrita and discreetly opened the gallery.

While my recent experience in this life had been unique due to Silphy’s unexpected appetite for Amrita, the gallery was offering a different kind of novelty with the arrival of new members.

Yes, finally, after me, various newcomers had arrived here.

*[Where am I?]*

*- Author: TranscendentSlime*

*Where am I?*

*I was suddenly pulled away while playing the game. Where is this place?*

*I’m really scared, so please help me ㅠㅠ.*

*- Wow, a fresh newbie.*

 *└ (Author): Please help me.*

*- Sniff sniff.*

 *└ (Author): Help me ㅠㅠ.*

*- Just lurk for three days and you’ll figure it out.*

 *└ (Author): What does lurk mean?*

 *└ Shut up and lurk for three days.*

 *└ (Author): It’ll be okay if I just lurk for three days, right?*

A post from a newbie who had just arrived.

Did I react like that too?

No, this person seemed a bit more sensitive than I was.

What was the reaction when I wrote my first post?

Recalling that memory, I slowly typed a reply.

*- This is the world of Gigyong. You’ve been summoned as the player protagonist.*

 *└ (Author): Possessed by the game character? Is that even possible?*

 *└ Then how do you explain the current situation?*

 *└ (Author): What should I do? I don’t know how to fight or anything.*

Yes, it would be impossible to explain.

Suddenly waking up in a strange place while playing a game?

And that place being exactly the same as the beginning of the game you were just playing?

*This newbie seems more timid than others.*

Somehow.

This person seemed more flustered and struggling than the others.

Could they adapt properly?

*- Newbie, calm down and lurk for three days. You’ll be fine. You were playing Gigyong, so you roughly know the story, right?  There won’t be any problems in the beginning, so don’t worry.*

 *└ (Author): Is this really the world of Gigyong? Did you all come here too?*

 *└ Yeah, we’re the same as you. But we’re in different dimensions, so we can’t meet.*

 *└ (Author): ㅠㅠ.*

After that, the new newbie disappeared for three days.

They literally shut up and lurked for three days.

And the post that appeared after three days was…

*[Gallery Master]*

*- Author: TranscendentSlime*

*Gallery Master, are you really a snake? And before the main story even starts?*

*You’re the only one here who isn’t human. Is there a reason for that?*

It was a post about me.

*- The Gallery Master is unique.*

 *└ Agreed.*

*- About being born as a snake in the ancient era of the game I was playing.*

 *└ Wow, instant webnovel title.*

 *└ No, this is light novel style.*

 *└ Isn’t it the same thing?*

 *└ What did you say?*

*- I think it’s just a bug.*

 *└ Lol, Gallery Master is a bug.*

 *└ ?? : Why am I a snake?*

 *└ GM!!!!  Fix the bug!*

 *└ Lol.*

Perhaps because it was about me.

It generated more activity than the usual newbie posts.

*-(Author): So, will the Gallery Master continue living in that era?*

 *└ Yeah, right?*

 *└ (Author): Isn’t that too much? I got information from the gallery and read books in the nearby library, and the ancient era is more than 5,000 years in the past.  Having to spend that time alone… it doesn’t seem right.*

I paused.

Someone else, a newbie who had just arrived, was talking about me like this.  It made me feel…

…warm inside.

 *└ So what? Even if you say that, nothing changes.*

 *└ (Author): Still, this isn’t right.*

 *└ So, is there anything we can do? No, there isn’t. The Gallery Master knows that too. That’s why they’ve accepted it and are living well.*

 *└ Are they really living well?*

 *└ They’re living with young Silphy, so they’re living well.*

 *└ Damn, suddenly I envy the Gallery Master.*

 *└ Lol.*

 *└ Silphy is a win.*

 *└ Is this a grooming scenario?*

 *└ Grooming the future Spirit King?  ㅗㅜㅑ*

Of course, the feeling quickly faded with the usual stream-of-consciousness comments that followed.

*Grooming, my foot.*

I already viewed the current Silphy and the future Spirit King Silphy as different individuals.

They would be surprised.

To see what Silphy was like now.

A shut-in who hated going outside, loved eating, devoured dozens of Amrita fruits a day, slept late, and woke up late. Could they even imagine the benevolent, caring, exemplary Silphy we knew?

“What? Is someone talking about me?”

See?

Lying in the air and picking her ear.  A familiar sight.

*-(Author): So, will the Gallery Master live there until they die?*

 *└ No. I heard the Gallery Master’s goal is to become a mythical creature, transform into a human, and then live until the original story timeline.*

 *└ Honestly, it’s not impossible if they become a mythical creature.*

 *└ But is it easy to become a mythical creature?*

 *└ The Gallery Master isn’t an ordinary animal, so they’ll probably manage somehow.*

 *└ (Author): How exactly does one become a mythical creature?*

 *└ I don’t know.*

How to become a mythical creature?

Just manipulate mana.

But that was still a distant dream for me.

I was struggling just to adapt to mana, let alone manipulate it.

*But my adaptation to this place is almost complete.*

If I set my mind to it, I could venture deeper into the cave.

Of course, reaching the area where Silphy used to live was still out of the question.

*Wheezing.*

“Hee hee. Catch me!”

“Meow!  Mrow!”

“Hoit!”

Leaving Cheong and Silphy playing energetically, I slowly regulated my breathing and examined my inner self.

My body had become accustomed to the pressure of mana.

My venom was becoming increasingly dangerous and potent with time.

Ah, and speaking of my venom, I had something to say.

I hadn’t realized it at first, but even Silphy was surprised by how dangerously potent my venom was becoming.

She said that if it continued to intensify at this rate, even mythical creatures and spirits could become critically ill from contact with it.

Of course, it would take a considerable amount of time for my venom to reach that level of toxicity.

“Sssaaa.”

*Will it eventually become like the venom of creatures like the Hydra or Nidhogg?*

The representative venomous monsters in Gigyong.

If I possessed venom of that level, I could potentially harm even divine beings, not just mythical creatures.

Of course, acquiring such venom would require an immense amount of time.

But who was I?

Time? I had over 5,000 years until the timeline I desired.

5,000 years.  I suspected it might actually take even longer.

And that time would be sufficient to develop venom comparable to those creatures.

*So, I’ll diligently cultivate it from now on.*

However, I didn’t know at the time.

*”At this rate, you might not become a mythical creature.”*

The shocking truth that this venom could prevent me from becoming a mythical creature.

—–CROW—–