A beast, looking to be somewhere between a bear and a dog, was sent flying as it was struck by a long, thick tail. Jaekyung silently approached the writhing beast. The impact on his tail had been heavy.
At least a couple of its bones must have been broken for sure.
Snap!
He bit the neck of the struggling creature, ending its pain. There was no need to bite and shake, or to sink his fangs in multiple times. Biting down with force once was enough.
It had been about two months since he began his prosperous days in cooperation with Cheong-o. Jaekyung was truly realizing what explosive growth felt like. His body had grown to a length he thought must be nearly ten meters. His torso had also grown proportionally thicker.
Was it only his body that had grown? No, that was not the case. He hadn't missed a single day of ‘tree constricting’, nor had he been lazy with his ‘tail striking’.
The results were showing now. He had reached a point where he needed to control his strength against most beasts. If he used his full power, their bones wouldn't just be crushed; their entire bodies might just explode.
This was no exaggeration. A few days ago, he had struck a fierce badger with all his might, and the creature’s body had burst, forcing him to wander around searching for the dirt-covered pieces of flesh scattered everywhere. It was not a very pleasant experience.
He could now eat meat no matter what was on it, but perhaps due to the influence of his past life, he preferred it to be clean if possible. Cheong-o, on the other hand, looked as if he would only peck at a few clean fruits, but his appetite was more voracious than most boars.
He truly devoured everything in sight without discrimination. It wasn't just a matter of having a good appetite; he ate as if he were nursing a deep grudge.
“I like meat too. But I couldn't eat it.”
He was a bit incoherent, but to summarize, he meant that he lacked hunting skills and couldn't hunt properly. Just as he had guessed before, Cheong-o possessed a handsome appearance and superior intelligence, but his actual combat power was next to nothing.
It was sufficient for picking small tree fruits or pecking at insects, but it was not enough to hunt beasts with ample flesh.
"Big snake! Good snake! Strong snake!"
Because of this, to eat meat, the bird had to rummage through the leftovers of other beasts, and even then, he had to compete with other scavengers. Compared to those difficult times, his current situation could be called a life of luxury.
So, just as Jaekyung was more than satisfied with their partnership, Cheong-o too had no choice but to be satisfied with his partnership with Jaekyung. Moreover, the advice he had given offhandedly had been surprisingly effective. Cheong-o's body had gotten a little bigger.
However, this ‘little’ was by Jaekyung's standard; from Cheong-o's perspective, it was a noticeable change. He hadn't done anything particularly special. He had simply flown around diligently after meals, yet his body grew bigger and his strength increased.
Jaekyung presumed it was due to sufficient nutrition, but for Cheong-o, it was a miraculous, great change. So it was only natural that the cautiousness he had subtly shown had considerably diminished.
“I told you to call me Jaekyung.”
"Right. Jaekyung."
A period of well over a month was by no means a short time. On top of that, hunting together several times a day, they couldn't help but grow close naturally. Furthermore, Cheong-o was the first being in this world with whom Jaekyung could communicate.
Even in an environment preoccupied with survival, loneliness would occasionally visit him, so for him, Cheong-o was not only a competent partner but also served as a source of mental support to some extent. That was why he had told him his name. Because when he was called Jaekyung, he could feel his own existence here.
“Jaekyung. Jaekyung, Jaekyung.”
Cheong-o repeated the name several times, as if determined not to forget it again. But he knew that unless he was conscious of it, the bird would call him snake again. This fellow was certainly smart, but perhaps because he was a bird-brain at his core, he showed deficiencies in some areas.
"Grrr!"
Right in the middle of their meal, a beast drawn by the smell of blood appeared, announcing its presence with ragged breaths. It resembled a jaguar, but it was larger and had two horns like a bull's on its head. Revealing a ferocious aura, it seemed to have no intention of backing down.
"Jaekyung! Jaekyung! Fight?”
It was commendable that he called him by his proper name, but there was no time for praise now.
“Yes.”
Jaekyung narrowed his eyes at the beast, which showed no signs of being intimidated despite seeing his size. It wasn't as if this had never happened before. Most beasts had a keen sense of smell, and a few exceptional ones would show up almost immediately after a hunt was over.
But in the world of beasts, the logic of power is absolute, and physique is power. Few creatures did not retreat upon seeing Jaekyung rear his body up. But ‘few’ meant that sometimes, there were those that did not retreat.
Like this one right now.
“Grrrrrr.”
The beast bared its sharp teeth and slowly closed the distance. It was a battle of wills, a threat. A command to quietly leave the remaining meat and withdraw.
'Not a chance.' It wasn't just his body that had grown over these past two months. Jaekyung had perfectly adapted to the life of a beast, a life in the wild.
He had become accustomed to the beast's instinct, the predator's instinct, that had vanished in a civilized life. His instinct was telling him. There was no need to retreat, no need to fear.
This was prey that had come on its own two feet. Shouldn't he be happy instead?
"Kuaang!"
When Jaekyung didn't back down, the beast charged without delay. It seemed to want to finish him off before another competitor appeared. Since nothing would change by continuing to stare each other down, it was a rather wise decision.
For its size, its movements were quite swift. But Jaekyung could see it, and he could react. The moment it closed the distance, he twisted his entire body and swung his tail.
"Kiehk!"
The beast tried to twist its body to dodge, but it couldn't evade completely. One of its legs was struck by the tail, and the beast cried out as it was thrown aside. Jaekyung did not miss the opening and lunged forward.
His wide-open maw clamped down on the beast’s lower body.
“Kuaaang!”
The beast convulsed. It clawed at him and twisted its body, trying to bite back. Ignoring the sharp pain, Jaekyung shook his head violently.
It was a clumsy imitation of the crocodiles he had seen in his past life. Was it called a death roll? Because it was a rudimentary imitation, it didn't have that level of power, but his bite force was certainly no less than a crocodile's. After shaking his head three or four times, the beast's resistance subsided.
Jaekyung slammed the half-dead creature to the ground and then tore into its neck.
“Snake is amazing! Jaekyung is strong!”
Cheong-o flew over, making a fuss.
“Pick one.”
Jaekyung let out a small laugh, calming his excitement. A moment later, after finishing another rough meal, Jaekyung frowned at the stinging sensation he felt on his face and the surrounding area. He hadn't noticed it while he was excited, but now that the excitement had subsided, it was quite bothersome.
'I have to get used to it.' It wasn't the first time he had been injured, nor was it the first or second time he had made such a resolution, but he still couldn't get used to it. When on earth would he get used to it?
Would he even live that long? With a full stomach, stray thoughts chased each other in his mind. The pain made it even worse.
Still, he didn't sink into melancholy as he had before. This too was probably proof that he was growing and getting stronger. 'But this is a bit… strange.'
Jaekyung, who had been enduring the pain with his eyes closed, sensed something strange not long after. At first, he thought it was stinging because of the wound, but as he endured it quietly, the stinging sensation began to spread wider. And at some point, the stinging turned into an itch.
It was by no means a misperception. 'What is this?' Sensing that something was amiss, Jaekyung opened his eyes and raised his body.
At the sudden movement, the tree branch he had chosen as his resting place for the night shook with an unsettling crack! But Jaekyung didn't hear the sound. The itch spread as fast as a wildfire, making it impossible for him to keep his wits about him.
He now understood the saying that itching is a form of pain. The stinging that had made him frown just a moment ago was child's play compared to this itch.
“Kuuuuuh!”
In the midst of his violent struggling, the tree branch, finally unable to withstand his frenzy, snapped with a sharp crack! Jaekyung, who had been wrapped around the branch, naturally fell to the ground with a dull thud. Normally, he would have groaned from the considerable pain, but not now.
On the contrary, he welcomed the pain. Because for the moment he felt pain, he could be liberated from this horrid itch.
"Grrrr!"
With his eyes wide open, Jaekyung charged towards a tree. He slammed his head against the rough tree bark and rubbed his body against it. As he rubbed until his body grew hot, it became somewhat bearable.
Jaekyung did not know. That as he was so frantically and desperately enduring the itch, his skin had begun to peel off bit by bit. * How much time had passed?
By the time he noticed that the tree he had been rubbing against had all its bark stripped away and was visibly thinner than before, Jaekyung could see the large and small pieces of scales scattered on the ground. 'What is this?' As the bewildered Jaekyung stood there, he heard Cheong-o's chatter.
“Snake! Are you okay? I thought you went crazy!”
“…I was half-crazy.”
It was simply unbearable. It was dozens of times worse than being bitten by a vicious mosquito, no, even more than that. It was clearly an abnormal event, and now seeing the scales scattered on the ground, he had a rough idea of what had happened.
'Did I shed my skin?' What was this called? Was it molting?
But was this normal? So sudden and violent? Jaekyung was a complete novice with no related knowledge in his previous life or this one, but he was certain that this phenomenon was not normal.
“Snake… no, Jaekyung. Did you get bigger?”
"Huh?"
Bigger?
Jaekyung raised his body in wonder. And as he carefully looked over his own body… it really seemed like he had gotten a little bigger. No, getting bigger wasn't the issue, but…
'My body is overflowing with power.' Even after that frantic episode just now, his body was overflowing with power. It wasn't just a feeling of being full of energy; it felt like his strength itself had become stronger.
'What is happening?' Drunk on the overflowing power and confidence, he casually wrapped himself around the tree. And when he squeezed with all his might, a cracking sound came from the giant tree, which was at least eight to nine meters in circumference.
Could this be…?
“Ugh!”
After a great struggle, he realized. 'This isn't it.' He quickly came back to reality, but it was clear that he had become stronger.
It was also clear that his body had grown larger.
“Is this a natural growth process?”
Recalling his parents, who seemed capable of crushing not just trees but entire buildings, he felt that simply eating and sleeping wouldn't be enough. Could it be that this kind of abnormal growth was necessary to grow to such a monstrous size?
'Well, fine.'
His body had grown larger and his strength had increased, so it was a good thing. If his body became too big, that could be another problem, but he was still far from reaching that level, so for now, such growth was only welcome.
“Jaekyung is amazing!”
Cheong-o exclaimed in admiration, looking at the deeply gouged tree. Then his eyes sparkled as he chattered away. Asking how he did it, saying he wanted to do it too.
Jaekyung had nothing particular to say, so he just told him he couldn't because he was a bird. At that, the simple bird drooped as if he had never been excited.
“What are you so disappointed about? You have wings and can fly in the sky. That's something I can never do.”
Cheong-o was always envious of his large body and great strength, often becoming downcast comparing himself to his small and weak self. Whenever that happened, cheering him up like this usually worked, but not this time.
“What good is flying? I always have to run away. If only I were big and strong like you, then that nasty frog….”
“Nasty frog?”
Cheong-o, who had been complaining, shut his mouth. After hesitating a few times, he let out a deep sigh.
“He’s a nasty one. I found it, but he stole it! He even tried to eat me!”
Cheong-o stopped talking and started panting with rage. He seemed to be having a hard time containing his anger. It seemed he had suffered a great injustice, likely because of that something that had been stolen.
“What was stolen?”
"A lotus! It's a good thing! It has the energy of an Immortal! I found it first, but the frog took it!"
At the words ‘energy of an Immortal,’ the look in Jaekyung's eyes changed.
“Tell me in detail.”
The scales piled on the ground and his sudden growth were instantly pushed to the back of his mind. Without Jaekyung himself noticing, an emotion greater than interest flickered in his yellow, vertically slit pupils.