Chapter 7 The Giant Lizard

Ybur crawled aimlessly for a while, then suddenly felt the world around it begin to take on colour, as its highly light-sensitive Eye Point was stimulated by something—there was a light shining from someplace afar.

Hmm? Light?

Ybur tensed up.

In the Underground World, there's usually no light; a source of light meant there could be humans or some other intelligent Races holding Lanterns approaching. It immediately shrank back, trying to find a crack to squeeze into, but after a while, Ybur realized that the source of light didn't seem to be moving.

Encouraged, Ybur slowly crept towards it, generating Eye Points on its tentacles, and cautiously peeked out.

It turned out to be a piece of ore, emitting a faint glow.

"Luminous Stone."

Inside its body, Sherry chimed in, explaining, "Classificatorily speaking, Luminous Stone is a type of Magic Rock, that is, rocks distorted or permeated by Magic Power. Luminous Stones are often formed from rock salt and, apart from emitting a faint glow, they also look much like ordinary rock salt, only more transparent, and even taste salty."

Sherry was certainly right, so much so that Ybur saw that there was a giant lizard lying at the edge of that patch of Luminous Stone, sticking out its tongue and licking the rock now and then.

The lizard had a length from head to tail of about one meter forty, alarmingly large compared to Ybur.

Its body colour nearly matched the rocks, three claws grew on each limb, its expression looked dull, its small eyes gave off a clueless vibe, and its body reactions seemed very sluggish, often taking a long time before sticking out its tongue again to lazily lick the Luminous Rock once more.

An utter dimwit.

But Ybur knew that the lizard actually possessed agility that was completely at odds with its cumbersome appearance. When attacking, this critter could burst forth with lightning speed.

Ybur's thoughts immediately began to race.

Hungry.

Such a large lizard could feed it for a very long time... but could it hunt it down successfully given the size?

It should be possible.

Slime didn't have the concept of being injured; even if its body was damaged, it only needed to eat the fallen parts to quickly regenerate, as long as it ensured it wasn't eaten by the other creature. And with the "Survival Guide" as a powerful Shield, even if the hunt didn't succeed in the end, it probably wouldn't put itself in too much danger, right?

So act boldly!

As Ybur's thoughts raced, its body already dashed out at its fastest speed!

—It began to sprint at a rate of probably ten centimeters per second.

Gurgle, gurgle.

Like a soft, slippery jelly rolling on the ground.

The giant lizard clearly heard the noise. Its seemingly slow-witted eyes swiveled like camera lenses for a moment, glancing at Ybur and making a quick threat assessment.

Then, completely against Ybur's expectation, the lizard didn't charge. Instead, it twisted its body and climbed deftly up the wall of rock, its hefty form "sticking" lightly to the wall and ascending rapidly, almost instantly moving out of Ybur's Acid attack range.

...Did it run away?

Ybur was dumbfounded.

No, why don't you come and attack me? I was all ready with my Acid Spray Gun to biu you right in the face!

Do I not look tasty enough? You damned cowardly lizard!!

Ybur cursed in irritation, causing its body to shudder uncontrollably. Meanwhile, the lizard simply stuck to a high spot on the wall, its drab skin blending in with the surroundings, and if not for Eye Point's thermal sensing Ability, Ybur would have had a bit of trouble distinguishing the creature from the stones.

It rolled over, giving it a try, but it had no way of climbing up the wall. Its surface was slippery, unable to grip the rock face, and it lacked the strength to overcome gravity and climb upwards.

And the giant lizard just stayed motionless in that spot.

Neither fighting nor fleeing, what on earth did this creature want to do?!

However, this was good, as Ybur could now try out the power of God Secret Source.

It began to concentrate once more. God Secret Source emerged in Ybur's mind, and it cautiously controlled the Mysterious Source. After a moment, that feeling of "wanting to shoot" emerged again. Ybur's Spirit concentrated, and something intangible flew out, hitting the lizard precisely.

That dizzying and rending sensation appeared again, Ybur felt like it was split in two, half still on the ground, the other half reaching the high place. The lizard looked around in confusion, perhaps not quite understanding what had happened to it.

Ybur tried to give a command: Come here!

But the lizard showed no reaction, simply glancing at it. Ybur felt as though facing an unshakable mountain.

However, Ybur's mind worked very quickly, and it immediately conceived a new idea. Through the invisible mental link, it sent aggressive and insulting thoughts towards the lizard.

Sherry chuckled, "The Swear Words Handbook is useful, isn't it?"

The lizard was instantly enraged.

The strong hostility caused the mental link between them to snap, making Ybur almost throw up its stomach. But at that moment, the eye points on its body suddenly detected slight vibrations. In an instant, a new eye point rapidly formed and looked towards the direction of the noise—the lizard had moved.

It quickly climbed off the wall, no, its speed was almost like pouncing!

Such incredible speed!

In just the next second, the lizard pounced directly! Ybur's movement was relatively sluggish in comparison and with a squelch, its whole body was pressed down by the lizard. The impact spread throughout Ybur's body, causing a dizzy sensation as if its "brains were shaking."

But Ybur was not horrified but delighted!

It wasn't afraid of the lizard's approach, only if it hadn't come at all!

The lizard, relying on its strength, pinned Ybur down and immediately opened its mouth, attempting to bite off a piece of "flesh" from the slippery foe. But the moment the lizard opened its mouth, Ybur compressed its body and then suddenly swelled up! Half of its body was pushed into the lizard's mouth, and it crazily surged towards the lizard's throat!

The lizard didn't feel nervous or afraid, probably due to its limited intelligence, Ybur was merely prey delivered to its door. It tried to chew but couldn't succeed because the "Survival Guide" lodged in its mouth prevented it.

Sherry: "…Damn it, I really can't take this anymore! Explode the world with one punch!!"

With its mouth obstructed, the lizard didn't struggle but shook its head upwards, trying to swallow Ybur whole.

Just what Ybur wanted.

Ybur's slippery body slid right into the lizard's gaping mouth and throat.

It immediately released acid.

Long-accumulated, capable of dissolving flesh and corroding steel—digestive acid.

A massive amount of acid sprayed outwards, and it was only at this moment that the lizard realized what impending doom felt like! Under the severe pain, it started convulsing and struggling madly, shaking its head desperately trying to fling Ybur out. But Ybur filled its entire mouth and throat, squeezing further inside while continuously releasing acid. A few seconds later, the lizard ceased struggling and fell to the ground with a thud.

It was only then that Ybur belatedly remembered something.

The lizard's teeth and saliva were actually poisonous.

However, this seemed to have no effect on a Slime.

Although being just an unremarkable gelatinous creature, it possessed many of a Slime's characteristics. And upon reflection, being a gelatinous monster was quite strong; without this powerful digestive acid, it would have indeed had difficulty defeating the lizard.

Ybur's body shook with a bit of pride and was in no hurry to emerge from the lizard's mouth.

This prey was too large to swallow, so it started to digest it from the inside out, studying the lizard's physiological structure in the meantime, to see if it could transform.

Ybur even emitted a hint of exploratory spiritual light, wondering if it could occupy the lizard's body from the inside like those symbiotic Slimes.

Furthermore, the lizard's climbing ability made it quite envious, and Ybur wanted to analyze it closely to see if it could gain similar abilities through transformation.

Under the mental link of God Secret Source, Ybur could also acquire various perceptions of the target creature. If this linked state could last a little longer, could it intimately perceive the other's body? This seemed to aid in its mimicry and transformation… Hisss, could this be the profound intent of Ruby? Ruby, you're so powerful!

That said, if it had been Ruby during her childhood, she probably wouldn't dare to kill a chicken, right? Despite being cultivated from Ruby's own template, Ybur didn't understand why it felt no psychological burden doing such things—could it be that the body also influences the soul? Ybur temporarily lapsed into a trance, suddenly feeling the difference between itself and humans.

This realization unexpectedly made it experience a tinge of loneliness.

In Ruby's memories, there was a childhood, family, teachers, and classmates, as well as the bright spring sun. But what about itself?

Ybur looked outwards, only to see Luminous Stones silently casting a steady, feeble light.

Stalactites hung like fangs in an upside-down fashion, the empty Underground World resembling a giant monster's open throat, with further stretches of silence and darkness, not even a whisper to be heard.

No enemies, no counterparts.

The sliver of loneliness deep within swelled like a tide, without limit or end.

Suddenly, Ybur yearned to shout out loud. But it had no vocal organs and couldn't even cry out, only able to vigorously pulsate its body, making gurgling noises as if squeezing empty bubbles.