I Became an Evolving Lizard in a Martial Arts Novel-Chapter 270

Human Transformation!

For most spirit beasts, it’s the ultimate dream.

Well, not for me. I’m sure there are a few others out there who feel the same way.

There have to be spirit beasts who dislike looking human and prefer scales or fur instead.

There are even humans like that, so it’d be weird if no spirit beasts felt the same.

At the very least, the ones around me seem to really like human transformation.

Some have already learned how to do it, while others train every day in the hopes of achieving it.

Pus and Tus were learning from Nephila, and the wolves spent their days spinning in circles under Baekrang’s instruction, trying to mimic the foxes in old stories who transformed by flipping through the air.

I wasn’t sure if that would actually work for wolves, but since Baekrang was teaching them, I had no right to complain.

She’d never done anything like that when she transformed, so she must’ve picked it up from somewhere else.

Since she was close to the Thousand-Year Fox, she probably got the idea from other foxes.

Either way, it seems that spirit beasts instinctively want to resemble humans.

Even back when Pus and Tus weren’t fully spirit beasts yet, and when Ilrang and Chilrang were still just wolves, they all wished to take on human form.

Besides, the previous Gomodo and Jinryong both had ties to humans.

Well, Jinryong’s case was a little more complicated, but even he admitted he liked having a human partner.

If high-ranking spirit beasts like them sought out humans, then taking on a human form must be a fundamental instinct.

But in my case... it’s a little different.

Human transformation?

Sure, it’d be nice to have.

But honestly, I didn’t mind being a lizard.

I never seriously pursued human transformation because I didn’t know how. I just accepted my reptilian existence.

And let’s be real—I could barely talk back then. Learning human transformation didn’t even seem like an option.

Looking back now, despite being stuck in a lizard’s body, I was living a pretty damn good life.

Of course, the beginning was brutal.

One moment I was human, and the next, I was a tiny lizard. There was no way that transition was going to be smooth.

Survival took priority, so I didn’t have the luxury of complaining. But in hindsight, every day was a struggle.

I had to gnaw on dried-up bugs just to eat. I couldn’t even close my eyes to sleep, so I had to place leaves over them.

Back then, if someone had offered to turn me back into a human, I would’ve done anything.

Shimma?

If it had shown up and asked, “Why are you only calling for me now?” I’d have sold my soul on the spot.

But if someone made that same offer now...

I don’t think I’d go that far.

I’d trade Seolhwa’s honey rice cakes, maybe. But that’s about it.

That just goes to show how little I care about it now.

I mean, being a lizard isn’t that bad.

Sure, my size was becoming an issue, but I could handle that with the miniaturization technique I learned from Old Man Compi.

And honestly? I’m not even sure human transformation would be a good idea.

I used to want it in a vague, “because it’s human” kind of way, but now I see a huge problem.

I might not be able to Gero-ron anymore.

Gero-ron, in this context, refers to wiggling my tail and burrowing into warm, soft spaces.

Some might call it weird or perverted, but as a cold-blooded creature, temperature regulation is a serious issue.

I never wanted to do it, but I had no choice.

Of course, it only worked because I was a small, cute lizard.

But if I turned into a grown man and did that?

Yeah, I doubt anyone would see it in a positive light.

...Wait. A grown man?

If I transform into a human, what exactly would I look like?

Would I regain my body from my past life?

Or would I take on a form that matches my current age?

...Wouldn’t that make me a two-year-old kid?

No, that’s unlikely.

Thinking about Nephila, she’s older than me, but not by that much. A few months at most.

Yet she turned into a full-grown woman.

Sure, her chest was on the smaller side, but you could call that a slender build.

...Wait.

Nephila and I aren’t that different in age, but she was a fully matured spider.

Meanwhile, I wasn’t even a fully grown lizard.

I mean, it’s weird to think I’m not an adult, considering my size, but most spirit beasts I meet still call me a baby lizard.

They’ve never seen another one like me, but their instincts seem to say I’m not fully grown.

So... would I end up looking like a middle schooler?

Would that be enough to get away with Gero-ron?

...Yeah.

That alone is reason enough to learn human transformation.

"Hu-hu... This is a technique you won’t find anywhere else."

Docheol spoke with utmost confidence.

The Progeny of the Dragon really did seem to have a knack for picking up random tricks.

From Chodo, I learned how to control my throat.

From Docheol, the secret of human transformation.

And from Gongbok...

Hmm. I should drop by the Rocky Mountain sometime and steal something.

"Alright. First, you start by turning into a human."

...What?

"Gek?"

They say starting is half the battle, but isn’t this a bit too fast?

"What’s with that dumb expression? You look like you think you can’t transform."

I flicked my tail.

I mean, you did say you’d teach me human transformation.

But now you’re saying turning into a human is just the first step? How does that make any sense?

"Wait! Stop swinging that tail around and listen! Did you really think I’d just teach you some basic human transformation? This is a far superior technique!"

I want the basic version.

"Gek-geek."

Just tell me that first.

"Hmm... So you really can’t transform? You’ve been walking around as a lizard this whole time, so I guess that makes sense..."

To be fair, it hasn’t been that long since I met Docheol.

I guess she wouldn’t have known.

Fine. Since I’m such a generous lizard, I’ll let it slide this time.

But you better teach me human transformation.

"Why are you asking me? Wait! Stop waving your tail around every time you get annoyed!"

I gave Docheol a sharp glare.

If she had looked like an old man, I’d have smacked her with my tail already.

"I would teach you if I could, but our bodies are different. Someone of your own kind has to teach you, or you have to figure it out yourself. If an outsider interferes, you’ll die."

...Ugh.

That actually makes sense.

Baekrang was teaching her siblings.

Pus and Tus were learning from Nephila.

Shishishi was asking the Snake Queen.

It seemed like human transformation could only be taught by the same species.

Docheol had some lizard traits, but she was closer to a wolf.

So she couldn’t teach me.

No wonder the Snake Queen told me to focus on miniaturization instead.

"Gek..."

...Would Jeokryong be able to teach me, then?

No, probably not.

For now, I was still just a lizard that resembled a dragon.

I belonged to the same mid-tier dragon lineage, so we looked similar, but we were fundamentally different species.

More than anything, if we were to compare our spiritual forms, Jeokryong had six limbs, while I only had four. That alone made us vastly different.

And knowing Jeokryong’s personality—she loved turning into a human. If she could teach me how, she would’ve done so already.

She even tried to teach me how to speak, after all.

"Ahem. Don’t be disappointed and keep listening. If you continue training, human transformation will come naturally. And when that happens, you’ll understand the true value of the technique I’m about to teach you."

...Then what exactly is this technique he’s talking about?

"It is called... Divine Avatar Descent!"

Docheol proudly declared the name, then glanced at me as if expecting some kind of reaction.

Did... did he want me to applaud?

"Ahem, ahem." He cleared his throat and quickly continued. "Even the strongest spirit beasts naturally weaken when they take on human form. They can compensate for it with human martial arts, or even enhance their strength, but they still lose the sheer advantage of their massive size."

His voice was oddly rushed, almost like he was embarrassed.

"But what about me?"

...What about you?

"Gero-ron."

"Yes, that’s exac— Wait, no! That’s not what I meant!"

He scowled at me before proudly straightening his posture.

"Observe! Even in human form, I can exert the full physical power of a spirit beast. Unlike others, I am stronger in this form!"

He wasn’t wrong.

Jeokryong and the Snake Queen usually stayed in their comfortable humanoid forms, only shifting into their true beast forms when combat demanded it.

But Docheol was different.

His human form wasn’t weaker—it was just as strong as his spirit beast form.

No, to be precise, he didn’t lose any of his strength at all.

"Even with a smaller body, I can still manifest my true power. And that... is Divine Avatar Descent."

So this was the technique he wanted to teach me.

There was no downside to learning it.

I had to admit, it did look cool as hell.

Not that I’d say that out loud—I wasn’t about to feed his ego.

Still, the faint, ghostly image of his true form flickering behind him was nothing short of spectacular.

It gave off an Ora Ora, Muda Muda kind of vibe—something no self-respecting man could simply ignore.

"Gek-geek."

If he was willing to teach me, I’d gratefully accept.

...But could I even learn it when I couldn’t transform into a human in the first place?

Well, it wouldn’t hurt to understand it in advance.

Who knows? Maybe my next evolution would include a human form.

It’d be weirder if it didn’t, considering I was progressing beyond a mid-tier dragon lineage.

Sure, Divine Avatar Descent was a pretty cringe-inducing name, but as long as I didn’t say it out loud, no one would ever know.

"Kuhaha! Yes, behold! This is my Divine Avatar Descent!"

...Can you please keep it down?

*

I learned the technique Divine Avatar Descent from Docheol.

Well, not in the sense that I could use it right away—I only got the theoretical explanation. But that wasn’t a big deal.

I had Reverse Scale, after all.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say it was the most overpowered skill I had.

Even Gae Gak Death Beam and Nine Yin White Bone Claws had started out as techniques I copied using Reverse Scale.

Of course, Reverse Scale had its limitations.

I needed to understand the technique to some extent, and if it was physically impossible for me to replicate, then I couldn’t use it.

For example, I could mimic Iron-Clad Dragon’s Lion’s Roar, but I couldn’t copy his spinning headbutt.

Human transformation was the same.

I had no clue how it worked, so I couldn’t copy it with Reverse Scale.

However, I had heard enough about how to use spirit beast powers while in human form to make my ears bleed.

So if I ever did learn human transformation, I had an unwarranted confidence that I’d naturally be able to use Divine Avatar Descent too.

After receiving Docheol’s lesson, accidentally pushing her into the river for a bit, and wrapping up the mess at Black Cloud Faction, I was finally able to return to my nest.

Seolhwa had left with the Heavenly Demon Cult followers to escort the captives from Black Cloud Faction, saying goodbye on the way.

Before leaving, she made a Gero-ro-ro-rong-worthy promise that we’d visit the hot springs together next time.

Of all the things she said, that was the only one I absolutely planned to remember.

And next time... that would be when my tail was fully matured.

I’d been stockpiling all that elixir instead of digesting it, and my tail kept getting plumper.

If I cut it off for my master now, the side effects were bound to be severe.

Even I would need some time to recover.

Imagine this—my master fully healed, Seolhwa offering her thanks... and all of us relaxing in the hot springs...

"Keroong... Keroro-rorong..."

"Hui, what are you thinking about?"

Perched on my shoulder, my ever-kind centipede friend looked at me with concern.

"Gek-geek."

Most of the venomous creatures from Black Cloud Faction had chosen to follow me.

That made sense.

They had all been captured by those bastards and harbored deep hatred toward them.

Obviously, after I destroyed Black Cloud Faction and freed them, they had no choice but to stick with me.

"Pioooong..."

"Piiing!"

There were even some spiders among them.

...Would Pus and Tus get territorial?

They were proper spirit beasts now, so I doubted they’d feel threatened by a bunch of regular venomous insects.

Still, you never knew.

At least Nephila would handle things well, so I had nothing to worry about.

Besides, I wasn’t planning to put the venomous creatures under my guardians—they were going under Soyeong’s command.

With her Tang Clan poison techniques, I was sure she’d create some incredible synergy with them.

All in all, this trip had been a huge success.

I’d swallowed a ton of elixir, even if I was keeping it stored in my tail, and I’d managed to screw over Jinryong big time.

Feeling mighty pleased with myself, I returned to my nest, and the first ones to greet me were...

"Huhuhu... Hu?"

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"Il... Ilbu... Ilbuuuu... Yangcheo? Ilbu Gukcheoooh?"

"Beyond regulation...! Black Sun God...! Huhuhu...!"

...Of course, it was the Bicorns.

They gazed at me with eyes full of reverence, and for some reason, it made me uncomfortable.

Were they looking at me too favorably?

"Ilbu... Ilcheoooo..."

Ignoring the muttering bicorns and passing by the unicorn, who was sobbing in a corner while covering its crotch, I was met with another greeting.

"Ko Dae-hyup!"

To my surprise, it was Soyeong!

Wait, she was actually awake?

This was the same Soyeong who usually scratched her stomach and slept whenever I returned.

Sure, the bicorns had been the first to greet me, but they didn’t count—they were regulation-breaking freaks.

Was Soyeong finally acting like a proper human?

I was about to praise her when she suddenly waved her hand and reached into her chest pocket.

...Could that even be called a pocket?

Still, she managed to pull something out.

It was a coin tied to a string.

Was she trying to show off something she learned from Tang Muyeong?

"Ko Dae-hyup, look at this."

The coin dangled back and forth.

...What the hell was she doing?

"How do you feel?"

Soyeong’s expression was dead serious, like she was desperate for this to work.

"Gek?"

Wait, and what’s up with your speech pattern?

"Ko Dae-hyup, you will serve me for life. That is your fate. Is good, yes?"

...Wait.

What the hell did Tang Muyeong teach her?!

"H-Huh? W-What? Really?"

When I didn’t immediately react, Soyeong’s eyes widened in shock.

"Hoo... Hoohoo... My apologies, Ko Dae-hyup. It seems I’ve accidentally discovered my latent hypnosis talent..."

She started waving her hands in weird motions and advanced toward me.

"This time... You will be mine!"

Of course, I already knew exactly what I needed to do.

BAM!