Lizard Lord - Chapter 2 (Part 2)
Chapter 2 - Big Lizard (Part 2)
It was a map with unfamiliar, crookedly written characters and crude drawings, but he could somewhat understand them.
A forest occupied most of the sheepskin scroll, with lines resembling streams and pools, as well as various circles and crosses.
There was a big question mark in the depths of the forest, indicating that the map's author didn't have much knowledge about that area.
He knew this map would be useful to him, but he couldn't take it with him directly at the moment, so he chose to memorize its contents.
The map didn't cover much area, and Tang Zhao only chose to remember a part of the images, which took about five to six minutes.
After confirming that he didn't miss anything, he climbed up the uneven cave wall and reached the hanging vines responsible for concealing the cave entrance.
The vines were directly connected to a tall tree, and Tang Zhao climbed to the canopy in one breath. After ensuring his temporary safety, he turned his head to look at the situation below.
There was a cleared space deliberately cut out, with tents set up on it. There was no campfire in the middle, but instead, five or six wild wolves were sleeping.
Not interested in disturbing their slumber, Tang Zhao quickly increased his four-legged movements and climbed towards the branches of another tree.
Perhaps due to being overly cautious, Tang Zhao was worried that the scent of the worm sausages he had eaten earlier might still linger on him. So he decided to jump into the stream after climbing a certain distance, using the water to mask his scent.
He drifted for quite a while before coming ashore and found a tree to hide in for evolution.
Finding a spacious tree hollow, Tang Zhao lay down and curled up.
{Start?}
【Start】
Feeling a drowsiness that was like being injected with anesthesia, Tang Zhao didn't resist and fell into a deep sleep.
...
Opening his eyes, Tang Zhao found himself surrounded by an endless expanse of sand.
{Search and select Core 0/2}
This message came to his mind, and Tang Zhao, who had previous experience, immediately looked around and found several partially buried dark decorative panels in the sandy ground.
Using his front paws to dig away some sand, Tang Zhao bit onto the corner of one of the panels and pulled it out with force.
It was a hexagonal decorative panel with a simple carving of a pentagram pattern.
Following the same procedure, Tang Zhao dug out several more panels and piled them together.
He had already explored the entire sand desert on his previous visit and found these panels scattered everywhere, which were referred to as "Cores" by the dark green mark.
The appearance of these panels was identical, but Tang Zhao's current condition couldn't analyze their internal properties yet.
It was a bit like opening a blind box, and until confirmed by the mark, Tang Zhao wouldn't know which abilities he had chosen.
Once confirmed, it couldn't be changed.
Tang Zhao didn't want to keep lingering in this stage, so he decided to choose the first and last panels he had dug out.
【Selection complete】
{Confirm?}
【Confirm】
{Selected: Scale Armor/Sense of Smell}
A wave of weightlessness and dizziness came over him. When Tang Zhao regained his senses and opened his eyes, he didn't see the vast desert or the narrow tree hollow.
He was lying on the top of a broken tree trunk, which resembled the one he had crawled into before, only much smaller.
【No, it's not that it's smaller, but I have become much bigger】
As soon as he realized this, despite feeling a bit groggy, Tang Zhao immediately became alert.
His paw, which had grown significantly larger, easily embedded into the tree bark. Tang Zhao controlled his strength and leaped directly from the tree trunk.
He arrived at the nearby stream and, aided by the gentle flow of the water, examined his current appearance.
Previously, Tang Zhao resembled a gecko, but now he was more akin to a giant lizard.
His head had become more robust, his claws sharper, and his tail thicker than before.
It was not simply a matter of enlarging his body but rather making it suitable for hunting more powerful prey.
The dark green mark had mentioned that he had chosen "Scale Armor" and "Sense of Smell," so he paid extra attention to these features.
The most noticeable change was certainly the scale armor, which had transitioned from emerald green to a deeper shade, blending in with the forest floor rather than the canopy.
He no longer needed his coloration to protect himself but rather to capture prey.
The previously fine scales had become larger and sturdier, with some bony protrusions on his back and limbs, reminiscent of crocodile skin.
It gave Tang Zhao a sense of security and, by animal standards, could be considered excellent defense.
Although the improvement in his sense of smell might not be obvious, it was equally useful.
His tongue, which was already forked like that of a giant lizard, was relatively rare among reptiles.
The tongue assisted in sensing scents in the air, granting him a keen sense of smell that had now been taken to a higher level.
Calming his mind and quietly sensing, Tang Zhao could detect the scent of nearby plants, the scent of distant animals, and even the scent of insects in the soil.
Previously, he could be considered a bottom-level predator within the forest ecosystem, but now, even if not at the top, he could at least be called a middle-level opportunist predator.
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