I Became an Evolving Lizard in a Martial Arts Novel – Chapter 4

Chapter 4 The Strongest Gecko Ever

Sprint.

I finally acquired the skill I had been aiming for.

In truth, Sprint wasn’t a particularly great name.

It was basically just running.

However, it was many times better compared to Tail Cutting.

「Sprint LV1」

The aura of the wind surrounds the caster’s body. Speed increases dramatically.
MP Consumption: 2

The skill description was anything but ordinary.

It wasn’t just about running fast. The aura of the wind surrounds the body?

Who am I?

The master of Sprint, Green Gecko LV2.

I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Gegegek!”

I let out a roar, though it wasn’t really a roar, and savored the skill called Sprint.

The aura of the wind. It sounded like something out of a fantasy.

The description was fancy, but it didn’t explain the exact effect clearly.

Since my HP and MP had recovered, it was time to test the performance of the newly acquired skill.

‘Sprint!’

[The aura of the wind surrounds your body.]

Oh.

I felt my body lighten.

I had a similar feeling when using Tail Cutting. That was probably because cutting off my tail significantly reduced my weight. However, my tail was still attached now. This meant my speed had purely increased.

Pavavat!

I did a full sprint. I could definitely feel the increase in speed. It felt at least twice as fast.

Of course, I had experienced this speed before. I could achieve this speed with a double Tail Cutting.

If Sprint’s effect was just this, I would have been disappointed. But what if Sprint and Tail Cutting could be stacked?

I would become the fastest gecko ever.

‘Tail Cutting’

My body felt lighter, and my speed increased dramatically.

I wasn’t satisfied yet.

‘Tail Cutting!’

A double Tail Cutting.

The speed was almost uncontrollable.

Ssaeng.

It took only five seconds to go from one end of the branch to the other.

I could definitely feel what the aura of the wind was.

With this, could I even win a running race against an Oviraptor?

I used up 4 MP, but it wasn’t a waste.

Based on this experiment, I had found a way to replenish my MP.

Nephila something-or-other.

Just wait.

*

【Green Gecko LV6】
HP: 24/24
MP: 10/10

The strongest gecko ever had been born.

After a fierce battle with Nephila Jurassica, I had become a super gecko.

It wasn’t that I defeated it.

No matter how fast I had become, I hadn’t grown strong enough to face it head-on. In fact, if its web slowed me down, I would be easily killed.

Despite this, there was only one reason I had grown so much.

【Calligramma LV3】

I stole all the spider’s prey.

I felt a bit guilty, but what could I do?

[Cold Blood’s effect activates.]

My blood is cold.

Still, I wouldn’t starve to death. Every time I stole its prey, I left it one of my tails.

My tail had grown plump, so it might even prefer it.

Wouldn’t a plump gecko tail taste better than a tiny insect?

Should I try eating my tail?

I shook my head.

If I found out my tail was delicious, I might unconsciously become an ouroboros.

…A gecko turning into an ouroboros, what nonsense.

It felt a bit self-indulgent.

But I couldn’t help it. I had achieved level 6 in less than a day. I couldn’t tell if this was impressive or not, but I decided to praise myself, thinking it was good nonetheless.

You never know. Maybe a positive mindset would grant me a new skill.

…It didn’t seem like that was the case.

During my achievement of reaching level 6, I had gathered various pieces of information.

The effect of Predation not only filled my belly, but also gained me experience points when I killed an enemy.

When I bit into a still-living butterfly, my level increased.

Getting experience points from eating prey felt like a bonus.

I had already confirmed multiple times that HP and MP were restored every time my level increased, and when I was moderately full, I slowly recovered.

I had to eat something, no matter what.

Only then could I become stronger.

The reason I needed to become stronger was simple. This place was literally teeming with monsters. I hadn’t ventured down the tree, but I had observed in secret.

This world was filled with dinosaurs.

There were herbivorous dinosaurs that looked docile and raptors hunting in packs. Surviving among such monsters in a lizard’s body was impossible.

Escaping my lizard body would be ideal, but I hadn’t found a way to do that yet.

What could I do when I was born a gecko?

However, if I continued to level up steadily, I might be able to live hidden among those monsters.

__________________________
【Skills】
「Tail Cutting LV6」「Wall Climbing LV3」「Cold Blood LV2」「Predation LV1」「Wild Eyes LV1」「Tail Cutting LV1」「Sprint LV2」「Stealth LV2」
__________________________

My skill window had changed significantly from when I was at level 2. The more I used skills, the more their levels increased, and by repeatedly approaching spider webs while reducing the sound of my footsteps, I had gained the Stealth skill.

If I hunted prey to level up, I could naturally become stronger.

Since I knew how to get stronger, I just had to put it into practice.

But there was a problem.

I had eaten all the bugs caught in the spider’s web.

I thought about catching the spider, but quickly gave up. I couldn’t win a one-on-one fight, and I needed the spider to keep delivering food to me.

I decided to look for other prey.

That spider wasn’t the only one in the tree.

It only occupied one branch.

That meant there were likely other creatures of similar level elsewhere.

I walked proudly.

Not crawled.

Walked.

Standing on two legs and using my tail to balance, I managed to keep my balance.

It wasn’t a particularly meaningful action.

If I had to find a reason, it would be to see a bit farther?

It might also make me appear larger, scaring away predators.

Actually, it was more of an action born from my identity as a former human.

I moved to the second branch.

There were no guests before me.

At least, not to my naked eye.

【Acacia Aphid LV1】
【Acacia Aphid LV1】
【Acacia Aphid LV1】
【Acacia Aphid LV1】

With Wild Eyes, I could see what was previously invisible.

They were so small that I almost missed them.

__________________________
【Acacia Aphid】

A tiny insect about 1mm in size that sucks sap from plants. Known as a representative pest, it often lives in symbiosis with ants by producing sweet substances from the sap it digests.
__________________________

Oh.

Aphids.

If they were acacia aphids, did that mean this tree was an acacia?

It didn’t look like it.

Aphids were known as the weakest of pests.

Having them as my first opponent was quite anticlimactic.

I didn’t even need to use Tail Cutting.

It was time for a massacre.

Waang.

With one swipe of my tongue, I caught about six aphids.

Their small size was disappointing.

But the taste was quite good. The popping texture and sweetness were pleasant. Aside from the goal of leveling up, I felt compelled to catch them for their taste and texture.

The aphids began to flee in all directions.

Seeing them run away from me gave me a strange sense of omnipotence.

To them, I must have been a dinosaur.

The Green Gecko Saurus swept its tongue and caught them all.

It was half leaves, half aphids.

I savored the sweet taste that filled my mouth.

…However, no matter how many I ate, I couldn’t get full.

It felt like I needed to eat a thousand of them to level up.

Although they were nutritious enough, I wasn’t hunting them just to gain nutrition.

But I still had to eat.

Waang.

After devouring the trembling aphids, I patted my slightly unsatisfied belly.

The aphids had gathered on a single leaf.

Before finishing them off, a good idea struck me.

I wouldn’t level up just by eating them.

I decided to invest for tomorrow.

I bit the leaf off.

Placing the leaf on my tail, I headed toward Nephila Jurassica’s nest.

“Gegegek.”

I deliberately made a sound, causing the spider to appear, tense and alert.

Although it didn’t have good vision, it stared intently at my location.

“Kieek!”

It waved its arms in anger.

Had I stolen too much?

If it were me, I’d be angry too.

I gently attached the aphids I had brought to the spider web.

“Kiek!”

I immediately backed off.

The spider quickly rushed toward me.

It soon reached the spot where the aphids were and tilted its head.

“Keeek?”

It moved its legs in confusion, not understanding what had happened, then began eating the aphids I had given it.

The aphids were already dead, so it didn’t need to wrap them in webbing. After glancing at me once, it devoured the aphids greedily.

Although the amount was insufficient for me, it would be a significant help to the spider purely for survival. Aphids were essentially sugar lumps.

When it had almost finished eating, I threw in more aphids attached to another leaf.

“Hiek!”

Was its cry sounding a bit cuter, or was it just my imagination?

Yes, eat up.

Eat a lot and

stay strong so I can steal better bugs.

*

Night had fallen.

It was time to sleep.

But I felt a bit chilly.

I hastily gathered leaves and made a nest.

Although it was still cold, I didn’t think I would freeze to death anymore.

I curled up and tried to sleep.

But I had overlooked a critical issue.

Geckos can’t close their eyes.

Without eyelids, I couldn’t close my eyes even if I wanted to.

Like wild lizards, I had to sleep with my eyes open, which was quite difficult.

I had never done it before.

I bit the leaves diligently.

I placed the cut leaves over my eyes as if attaching them.

Good, now I couldn’t see.

I could finally sleep.

…

I couldn’t sleep.

Why?

Could it be that geckos are nocturnal?

Then what had I been doing during the day?

Even if they were nocturnal, now was the time for a good sleep.

I had to sleep when it was safe like this.

One raptor, two raptors.

I decided to count dinosaurs instead of sheep.

It was surprisingly effective.

Six raptors, one T-Rex.

…Now a full T-Rex.

My stream of consciousness flowed like that.

T-Rex… Mecha T-Rex….

Before I knew it, the imagined T-Rex had evolved into a golden Mecha T-Rex.

At the moment I tried to focus on its majestic form, something strange appeared.

【Acacia Fire Ant LV1】

Just an ordinary ant.

Don’t disturb Green Gecko LV. 6 and leave.

【Acacia Fire Ant LV1】
【Acacia Fire Ant LV1】
【Acacia Fire Ant LV1】
【Acacia Fire Ant LV1】
【Acacia Fire Ant LV1】

It wasn’t something to dismiss lightly.

Ants move in swarms.