Chapter 219

219 – The Stone Shrine

I landed in the forest safely . For the time being, I’ll follow the river upstream . If I didn’t know where the water was, things would be difficult . But seeing as I’ve got water, even if I can’t find any prey I’ll somehow be able to make do .

I suppose I’ll take a look at my new skills while I walk . I don’t want to rely on it… but, God’s Voice, I’m counting on you .

Starting with the shady-sounding one… [Soul AppendmentFake Life] .

【Normal skill [Soul AppendmentFake Life】

【Confers a false life to corpses . 】

Umm… is this a revival-type skill? Although the “false” part sounds pretty ominous… It probably doesn’t return them to a normal state of life . It’ll probably be that ‘zombie chick’ thing .

I get the feeling that if I raise its level I might find some other way to use it… hmm… For now, I’ll try testing it on a monster . If I get used to it I might be able to find some value in it, though it doesn’t seem particularly useful just now .

Then… next up is an even more shady-sounding skill . There’s seriously no way this skill will be anything good . Then again, I’m not sure whether I’ll even be able to appraise it .

【Divine skill [Human Realm]】

【Grants the authority to rule the human world . Although the original power is lost, a great influence on the evolution path is conferred . 】

…It was successfully analysed, but, it’s somehow even more than I expected . It hasn’t got a level… I wonder if it’s ok to think of it to be like a title skill .

The influence on my evolution path is fine and all, but I can’t be wholeheartedly happy about it . With a name like [Human Realm], I don’t get the feeling I’ll become something horrible, but somehow it sounds too good to the point of being suspicious . There was that time I got lured by the [Humanisation Technique] and evolved to a Plague Kid Dragon and got my expectations betrayed after all . Let’s hope I don’t get an exquisitely disgusting evolution where just my face and head are human or something .

I might as well take a look at my other skills . Some of them might actually be helpful after all . The normal skills I generally know how to use, and the resistance skills are what they sound like . There’s nothing I’m curious about in the characteristic skills, so I’ll take a look at the title skills .

【Title skill [King Ant]】

【A title granted by a queen ant to a [Commander Ant] which has achieved great merits . 】

【As one who has outstanding genes, authority is granted to raise children with a queen ant . 】

【Primarily recognised by the nest of red ants . 】

…I-I see . This’ll do for the title skills . Now that I think about it, there’s generally no point in knowing the function of title skills . [Walking Egg] has helped me out a lot though .

“Gaa! Gaa!”

On my left, my partner stretches her neck out towards the river . It seems she’s thirsty .

Together we taste the river water . While drinking, I glance to my left . My partner drinks noisily, splashing around . I see something like plaque floating away downstream .

… I sure am glad we have the river .

Upon raising my head, I see a simple stone structure on the riverbank across from me . It looks like the entrance is on the other side .

It’s about 4 metres tall, and the same width . It’s 10 metres long, so it’s fairly large . Even without stooping, my huge body can fit inside . The river’s close, so as a place to live, it looks perfect . It might not be a bad idea to use it as a base for the time being .

I spread my wings and jump across the river . The shock of my landing reverberates through the surroundings… I really ought to be more careful . The sound of it might have agitated any nearby monsters .

Even though I haven’t seen any dangerous monsters, according to Adofu there should be monsters even stronger than the giant centipede around here .

What was it again? Ah, right, the Lithovar tribe . I remember he told me there was a dangerous race of demons by that name around here . For the time being, I’ll do my best to be careful of them .

With light footsteps, I approach the stone structure . Circling around, I see a pair of dragon statues flanking the entrance .

No, these aren’t normal dragon statues . They each have two necks . Just like me, they’re two-headed dragons .

Hrm… They have quite detailed craftsmanship I see . Let’s have a look… They’ve been very carefully produced indeed .

As I get closer, I feel the presence of a monster lurking inside . It’s a pretty large presence too . It seems the owner must be home .

It might be a bad idea to approach without a plan . It would be bad if something on the same level as the giant centipede came tearing out, so it might be a good idea to turn back now .

But then there’s the dragon statues, so it might be that there’s a dragon sleeping inside . I kinda want to take a peek inside… But no, I really ought to retreat here . I don’t want to poke a hornet nest .

As I turn my back, my partner cries out .

“Gaa?”

I get the impression that she’s asking whether it’s really ok to run away here . I am able to somewhat understand what my partner wants to say when looking at her face and hearing her voice . This must be the effect of [Mutual Understanding] I guess .

“Ah… no, please no… Kyaaaa!”

While stuck in indecision, I hear a scream coming from inside the building . Could there be a person in there as well? I was too distracted by the monster’s presence and didn’t notice . From what Adofu had told me, I didn’t think there would be any humans around here . Now that I focus, I can feel two human presences inside .

Flustered, I circle around the entrance .

“GuoooOOhhh!”

I let out a roar to draw the monster’s attention . By revealing my hostility I’ve lost my chance for a preemptive strike, but it can’t be helped . I charge forwards, narrowly avoiding trees . I hear the sounds of something standing up inside . The next moment, a yellow monster bursts out .

I let out a roar to draw the monster’s attention . By revealing my hostility I’ve lost my chance for a preemptive strike, but it can’t be helped . I charge forwards, narrowly avoiding trees .

I hear the sounds of something standing up inside . The next moment, a yellow monster bursts out .

“Gebagebagebaah!”

Letting out a stupidly loud roar, it turns to face me . It looks to be around seven metres in length . Around the same size as me .

It looks like a gigantic lion, with yellow fur and a reddish-brown mane surrounding its face . It’s got a round stinger at the end of its long tail, and its face is a weird mix between a woman’s and a lion’s .

The side of its mouth was soaked in blood . The upper body of a child was visible there, its torso pierced by a tooth . It was all too cruel .